Even before the Dublin event gets under way, we should hear from Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte who is in Berlin today, where he is attending a cabinet meeting and meeting with Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz and defence minister Boris Pistorius. The trio have a press conference scheduled in about an hour from now. I will bring you all the key lines here.
A “witch-hunt” is under way in Niger, where dozens of people have been arrested for homosexuality in the west African state following the introduction of a new penal code earlier this year. Up to 40 people have been arrested and 16 men, including high-ranking military officials, have been imprisoned across the country, according to local media. Organisations providing HIV services to men who have sex with men have had to stop working, according to a source who asked to remain anonymous. “With the recent witch-hunt, and these arrests that are taking place, the climate here is truly toxic,” they said. “LGBTQ+ populations are keeping a low profile and have gone into hiding because they are at risk. We have lost contact with many and the recent arrests have exacerbated tensions.” Niger’s new penal code, enacted in February, dictates that “indecent or unnatural acts” and “sexual relations with a person of the same sex” are punishable by imprisonment of up to 10 years and a fine of up to 100m West African CFA francs (£130,000). It is the first time in the country’s history that homosexuality has been criminalised and follows the introduction of similar laws and penal codes in neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso within the past two years. Gen Abdourahamane Tiani, the head of the military government, seized power in a coup d’état in July 2023 and was sworn in as president in 2025 for a term of five years, dissolving all political parties in the country. The former UN peacekeeper has pushed anti-imperialist rhetoric and formed the Alliance of Sahel States with Burkina Faso and Mali, breaking away from the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas). Larissa Kojoué, a political scientist and pan-African activist, dismissed the idea of homosexuality being somehow linked to western culture. “Political leaders are using this to advance their own political agenda,” she said. “They claim ‘African values’, sovereignty and culture, all the while happily undermining human rights for people.” She added: “There is no culture that encourages violence against innocent people, or that doesn’t hold perpetrators of violence accountable. But on the [African] continent you can do whatever you want with LGBTQ+ people and get away with it.” The changes to the penal code started under Niger’s previous civilian president, Mohamed Bazoum. But in March 2025, Tiani’s regime promulgated the Charter of the Refoundation to replace Niger’s 2010 constitution. Although the charter prohibits LGBTQ+ relations, criminal penalties related to these measures were only introduced with the new penal code in February. As well as harsh punishments for same-sex relations, it also mandates prison terms of up to 20 years for those participating in, witnessing or organising a gay marriage. Any person or organisation involved with clubs, societies or organisations for LGBTQ+ people, either directly or indirectly, is liable to be imprisoned for up to 20 years and face a fine of up to 500m CFA. Men who have sex with men no longer have access to condoms, testing services or PrEP (medication protecting against HIV). The anonymous source warned of the risk of HIV infections spreading, saying: “When people go into hiding, we won’t see them and they won’t be able to protect themselves. So you see the impact [this penal code] has. We are truly saddened by it.” Last week, Niger was among eight countries that voted against the UN’s political declaration on HIV/Aids, which was adopted by 149 votes. HIV infections increased between 2010 and 2025 in the Middle East, north Africa, Latin America, eastern Europe and Central Asia, according to the declaration. While western and central Africa has seen a 49% decline in new infections between 2010 and 2022, sub-Saharan Africa remains disproportionately affected, representing 64% of all people living with HIV globally. There were an estimated 32,000 new infections in Niger in 2023. The reform of Niger’s penal code is part of a trend across sub-Saharan Africa towards more punitive legislation against LGBTQ+ people. In recent years several African states have introduced or strengthened laws criminalising same-sex relations. Examples include Uganda’s 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act, which made homosexual acts punishable by death; a new law in Senegal doubling the maximum prison term to 10 years for same-sex relations and criminalising the “promotion” of homosexuality; and a bill in Ghana criminalising groups promoting gay rights and identifying as LGBTQ+. Globally, half of the 66 countries that criminalise consensual same-sex acts are African. In a statement, the international human rights group Front Line Defenders said it was “deeply concerned” about developments in Niger, and called on authorities “to repeal all provisions that criminalise individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity, as well as the individuals supporting and defending them”.
The friend of the 17-year-old girl allegedly murdered in Thailand reported her missing to police and then visited the condo of the Australian man charged over her death. Security footage images obtained by the Guardian shows the friend at the apartment of Simon Peter Carman. The footage is time stamped 1.49pm on Friday 26 June, although it is not clear whether the time stamp was added manually. Carman, 45, was charged on the weekend with the alleged murder of Thunchanok Donhomla, whose body was found in a suitcase near railway tracks in Pattaya, on Thailand’s eastern gulf coast, in the early hours of Saturday. Carman has denied the charges. Pattaya city police began investigating on 26 June, when the friend reported Donhomla missing. Police said Donhomla, who was from the province of Kalasin in north-eastern Thailand, had only arrived in Pattaya a week earlier to visit a friend. The friend told police Donhomla had been hanging out with a foreigner, and had been gone for about 24 hours. Security footage images show the friend went to Carman’s apartment after reporting her missing. In one image Carman appears at the door of his apartment in Jomtien, a beachside area of Pattaya. Donhomla’s friend can be seen entering the condo. A second image with a time stamp less than a minute later shows the friend in the apartment speaking with Carman. Images taken at 1.24pm that day show Carman’s apartment. The mattress appears to be stripped of bedding, while clothes appear in piles. Dishes are visible in the kitchen. Some buildings in Thailand have tight security, and visitors would need to be accompanied by a security guard in order to enter the building. Colonel Anek Srathongyoo, a superintendent at Pattaya city police station, said the last text messages on Donhomla’s phone show she sent her friend a message saying “don’t worry I already arrived in the room. It’s messy”. After the friend filed the report, police tracked movements from CCTV inside the condo, where Carman was living. CCTV footage, seen by the Guardian and verified by police, allegedly showed Donhomla holding hands with Carman in the lobby of the condo he rented in Jomtien in the early hours of Thursday morning. Footage later that day showed Carman leaving the condo, but Donhomla was never seen leaving, Srathongyoo said. CCTV footage taken at about 9pm showed Carman leaving the condo with a suitcase, police said. Carman was out for 20 minutes on a motorcycle with the suitcase. After returning to his condo, the suitcase was no longer with him, police said. Srathongyoo said they acted swiftly because they had seen incidents before of girls going home with tourists and not returning. Police said when they went to search Carman’s condo, they didn’t find any evidence suggesting a murder had taken place. They found a copy of his old passport and a room rental contract. Police have charged Carman with murder, concealing a corpse in an attempt to hide the cause of death, and abduction of a minor over 15 but not yet 18 years of age for indecent purposes, and taking a person over 15 but not yet 18 for indecent purposes, even if the person consents.
The shaking seemed to come from nowhere. In a moment captured by fishers off Venezuela’s Caribbean coast, two earthquakes struck seconds apart. Plumes of dust appear where buildings once stood in the recording as the camera rises and falls with the swell. The men rapidly head for the shore in search of their families. “I’m shaking,” says the cameraman. Since the quakes struck last Wednesday, the search for missing loved ones has not stopped for scores of Venezuelans. Officially, more than 1,700 people have died. But tens of thousands remain missing: desperate relatives are walking up and down streets lined by rubble and collapsed buildings with photos of those they cannot find, asking for help. One week on, people are still being pulled from the rubble. On Monday, a 21-year-old Aaron Levi Cantillo Vargas was rescued after spending 106 hours trapped under a collapsed building. But with every passing second, hope is fading in a nation that was already fragile due to economic crises, corruption and the capture of its former dictator Nicolás Maduro by US forces earlier this year. For today on First Edition, I spoke with Clavel Rangel, a Venezuelan journalist, who has been reporting for the Guardian on the earthquake and the desperate search for survivors since it struck. But first, the headlines. Five big stories World news | A child has been rescued from the rubble in Venezuela, six days since the country was hit by devastating twin earthquakes. UK politics | Andy Burnham will have to find an extra £4.7bn for defence in his first budget, after Keir Starmer announced a £298bn defence investment plan (Dip) without having fully identified how it will be funded. US politics | The US supreme court has upheld the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship, affirming that nearly all people born on US soil are American citizens and rejecting a central pillar of Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda. UK news | The European media group Axel Springer has completed its £575m takeover of the Telegraph, ending years of uncertainty over the future ownership of the 171-year-old titles. US news | Nine matches in the World Cup group stage were played amid potentially dangerous heat and humidity, a Guardian analysis shows. In depth: ‘We all thought we were going to die’ Clavel was back in Venezuela for her birthday when the earthquake struck. She had not been home for six years. After the capture of Maduro in January, she wanted to return and visit her parents. Last Wednesday, her family gathered together under the impression that they were going to celebrate her cousin’s graduation. In fact, Clavel was there to surprise them all. She was hiding before the party when the shaking began. “We really thought the building would collapse,” she said, describing how her family huddled together. “At school, they teach you to be under a door and other stronger parts of the house, so we were under an arch in the kitchen. The shaking went on for so long, maybe two minutes. We all thought we were going to die.” Mercifully, all came out unscathed. During last Wednesday’s 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes, thousands of scenes of desperation played out along Venezuela’s Caribbean coast. Many were not as lucky as Clavel’s family. Entire apartment blocks collapsed in several towns and cities with people inside. The shaking started so quickly that many had almost no time to escape. La Guaira, a rundown port city near Venezuela’s main international airport, was devastated by the natural disaster. Fissures have opened up on roads. Homes have been destroyed. Official statistics belie the true scale of the disaster, says Clavel. Mortuaries are overwhelmed, with a steady flow of bodies turning up in the back of cars, pickup trucks and motorcycles. The UN is trying to source 10,000 body bags to help the country deal with the disaster. Civil society groups in Venezuela have banded together to create websites to help people to find missing family members. “It is very important not to trust the official statistics, especially in Venezuela.” says Clavel. “Over the past 10 to 15 years, opacity has been the rule in this country. In the civil society databases, family members have reported more than 40,000 people missing so far.” *** A community in action The aftermath of the earthquake has highlighted some of the absurdities of Venezuela’s current regime. Heavily armed military police patrolled the worst-hit areas in the days following the natural disaster, their faces covered with balaclavas. Under Maduro, these same police forces would kidnap opponents to the regime, the same forces that forced Clavel to flee to Miami. That means Venezuelans are suspicious of their presence. In videos on social media, people question why they have come with guns – why are they not focused on the search for survivors, says Clavel. “The military police have been very successful at repressing people fighting for democracy or their human rights, we have not seen the same effort trying to save people under the rubble,” says Clavel. “When I was visiting the most affected areas on Saturday, people were walking along the streets with photos saying ‘this is my grandmother, this is my dog’. The police were just there with their faces covered. They have guns but the government does not have equipment to respond to this kind of emergency. No power tools or drones for the search. People feel abandoned.” Since the earthquake, there has been a major international effort to get search teams on the ground. From Argentina to the UK, specialists have been sent to the site of the disaster to help locate and recover victims with sound detectors, dogs and thermal imaging equipment. But many Venezuelans have resorted to picking through the rubble themselves. *** International help The US has pledged more than $300m in funding to Venezuela after the natural disaster in the form of water, sanitation, food and medical care. Until recently the sight of US military on the ground was unthinkable, but US marines are working to repair the port in La Guaira, at the epicentre of the quake, to aid the delivery of supplies by sea. Venezuela’s acting president Delcy Rodríguez, put in power with the blessing of the Trump administration, has sought to hold up messages of hope on social media by sharing videos of survivors being saved. Clavel says that observing the US and Venezuela working together on responding to this incident has been surreal – but it is obvious tensions remain. Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela’s feared security chief, who has a $25m bounty on his head from the US government, was filmed berating US rescue teams as they tried to search for bodies – prompting fury online and calls from US politicians to arrest him. But that behaviour isn’t mirrored by most Venezuelans, who are simply grateful for the help, even if they wish there was a greater push to replace the current regime with one that would allow the construction of a more resilient country. “Without the US and all the international aid, this tragedy could be much, much worse. At least the Venezuelan government is letting them into the country,” says Clavel. “Many think that America should be doing more to promote democracy. It would give us the possibility of having a government that is able to respond to this kind of tragedy.” *** No accountability With many still trapped under the rubble, attention has not yet turned to rebuilding the country. Barely a week has passed, and there is still a desperate need for humanitarian aid to prevent the crisis from escalating. Aftershocks continue to terrorise survivors. On Monday, a 5.2 tremor shook the site of the original earthquake. Famously, Venezuela was once the wealthiest country in Latin America, with the most advanced seismic monitoring systems in the region, now in disrepair. Clavel says the natural disaster has highlighted what Venezuela has become. “We haven’t had proper health data about the country for about 10 years. We don’t have proper economic data. We haven’t even had a proper census since 2011. There is so much opacity. This is important information for guiding where the humanitarian aid needs to go,” says Clavel. “Ultimately, we need freedom of expression and the right to demand accountability. Some of the buildings that collapsed were built by Chavez and Maduro for the socialist revolution. I remember as a journalist many years ago, my colleagues looked at corruption when they were being built. They had used cheap materials. And in the earthquake, many of these places collapsed. We need a proper investigation.” What else we’ve been reading I was delighted to find newsletters supremo Toby Moses sharing his World Cup memory, which has all the elements of the perfect anxiety dream but was in fact real. Libby Melissa Denes has written an extraordinary deep dive on the life and death of Cuban-American artist Ana Mendieta, who fell from her 34th-floor apartment in New York in 1985. Patrick I’ve been using tarot cards since I was a teenager, so I enjoyed this write-up of a new exhibition in New York that traces the artistic evolution of these divining decks. Libby World Cup 2026 On the pitch Côte d’Ivoire 1-2 Norway | Erling Haaland launched Norway into the last 16 after scoring in the 86th minute against Côte d’Ivoire, setting them up to play Brazil on Sunday. France 3-0 Sweden | France will face Paraguay after winning comprehensively against Sweden, with Kylian Mbappé scoring his 17th and 18th goals at the World Cup, drawing alongside Lionel Messi in the race for the golden boot. Mexico 2-0 Ecuador | Mexico will face the winner of England v DR Congo after winning against Ecuador in Azteca cauldron. Off the pitch England | Tonight, England begin their adventure in the World Cup knockouts. Jacob Steinberg has previewed the game against the Democratic Republic of the Congo and contemplates how far this group of players will go. Japan | It has been a dismal World Cup for Asia. Just Australia survive from the nine countries that qualified. Japan had been tipped as dark horses to go deep in the tournament, but were knocked out by Brazil on Monday. Morocco | Jan Willem Spaans spent the early hours of Tuesday with jubilant Moroccan fans who were celebrating their knockout victory against the Netherlands. Today’s Fixtures England v DR Congo, 5pm on BBC Belgium v Senegal, 9pm on ITV USA v Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1am on BBC Sport Tennis | Serena Williams was beaten 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3 on Centre Court, with Maya Joint fighting off a second-set rally to close out a thrilling match. The front pages “PM’s defence funding plan leaves Burnham with £5bn hole to plug”, is the Guardian’s front page today. The Telegraph goes with “Starmer leaves £5bn defence black hole”, the Times, similarly, writes “Starmer puts Burnham in £5bn defence black hole”, and the i Paper says “Starmer’s gift to Burnham: £4.7bn hole in first Budget to fund war plan”. The FT leads on “Europe’s rearmament is sustaining 195,00 US defence jobs, Rutte says”, Metro, also on defence plans, has “Britain need you … to queue”, and the Express says “PM still puts welfare ahead of defence boost”. And the Mirror’s splash is “Same Gold Farage”. The Latest Is the UK spending enough on defence? The prime minister has unveiled his long-delayed defence investment plan, promising an extra £15bn in defence spending over the next four years. The funding, which will be spent on drones, nuclear projects and RAF fighter jets, has been made available through cuts to energy, transport and housing projects. Keir Starmer urged his likely successor, the Labour MP Andy Burnham, not to borrow more money to pay for it. Lucy Hough speaks to Guardian policy editor, Kiran Stacey Cartoon of the day | Ella Baron The Upside A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad “Can you find enchantment in the physical world when your relationship with it is so fractious?” Inspired by author and academic Ian Bogost’s new book The Small Stuff – a manifesto for tuning into tiny opportunities for gratification – Emma Beddington decided to embrace this attitude for a week. Results varied. Spaniel tickling proved a hit; fig-tree-licking, less so. Emma discovered unexpected pleasure in everyday experiences. “Teasing apart intertwined plant seedlings with the perfect degree of pressure; the click of my scent bottle’s magnetic lid; the cool smoothness of a fresh pillowcase under my cheek … It felt quite profound to recognise my simple bodily existence has so much to offer.” Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday Bored at work? And finally, the Guardian’s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Quick crossword Cryptic crossword Wordiply
Perched dramatically on a hilltop in western Japan, Himeji castle’s striking white-plastered, tiered roofs earned it the moniker “white heron castle”. The sweeping 17th-century complex is regarded as the finest existing samurai fortress, and attracts more than one and a half million visitors a year. But as Japan seeks to manage greater numbers of foreign tourists, Himeji is one of the attractions raising admission prices for non-residents. The World Heritage site increased its admission fee to 2,500 yen ($15.50) on 1 March, but left the price for those who live in Himeji city at 1,000 yen ($6.20). In the first month of the price rise, admissions dropped 17% - roughly in line with the management bureau’s expectations – and Kensuke Tsushi from the castle’s management bureau says “there were voices cautioning that it might damage the castle’s image”. However, ticket revenue more than doubled. “It’s often reported as ‘dual pricing’, but we see it as a flat 2,500 yen with a discount for city residents who show ID,” says Tsushi. Overseas visitors to Himeji grew to 547,000 last year, up from 387,000 in 2018. The castle’s 10-year management plan forecasts that this could reach 1.2 million annually, leading to increased wear and tear costs. Tsushi says the complaints about the system were coming from from Japanese visitors outside the city rather than foreign tourists. “What we hear from Japanese visitors is: it’s a national treasure, it receives national tax money, so why do only Himeji residents get the discount … we just explain our reasoning and try to get them to understand.” Japan has ambitious targets to further raise overseas visitor numbers and revenue, but they come amid growing concerns about overtourism. That includes congestion in places such as Tokyo and Kyoto, littering and anti-social behaviour, as well as increased maintenance costs for historic sites. One strategy being adopted is dual pricing. However, partly to avoid appearing discriminatory to overseas visitors, many sites implementing differentiated prices are opting to charge everyone who lives outside the locality more. Japan is also tripling the departure tax for all travellers to 3,000 yen ($18.55) this month, and visa fees are set for a fivefold jump to 15,000 yen ($93). ‘It feels quite segregating’ Kyoto has become the overtourism poster child, with local residents complaining of congestion and being unable to ride buses that are packed with overseas tourists. In response, the city is considering raising bus fares for non-residents, Japanese and foreign alike. The practice is long-established in regional Japan, including for ferries to remote islands. Yoko Fujihara is a resident of mountainous Nagano, where charging non-residents more for ski passes and onsen hot springs is common. “There are onsen I go to where non-residents have to pay 200 yen ($1.25) more. It makes sense as some local people don’t have baths at home and so go there every day – it’s fine for others to pay more when they visit,” says Fujihara. Elsewhere, the Agency for Cultural Affairs has decided to introduce higher admission prices for overseas tourists at state-run museums and art galleries. And nature-experience theme park Junglia Okinawa has priced its one-day ticket cheaper for those who live in Japan, at 6,930 yen ($43), versus 8,800 yen ($54.45) for everyone else. Lauren Kelly, a Briton based in Bangkok, has made multiple trips to Japan and plans more. She is not enamoured with the idea of dual pricing in a mature economy, even though it is practised in her adopted home. “It feels quite segregating,” says Kelly. “However, Thailand is a poorer country than Japan, so in a sense I think that would make it feel worse.” Japan overseas visitor numbers on the rise Growth in overseas visitors to Japan has been rapid: after topping 10 million for the first time in 2013, numbers reached more than 42 million last year. The government has raised its target to 60 million by the end of the decade. Spending by overseas visitors grew 16% in 2025 to a record 9.5tn yen ($59bn). The domestic tourist industry, which also logged an all-time high last year, has reached 26.8tn yen ($170bn). Much of that is earmarked for countermeasures to reduce littering and other anti-social behaviour that fuel complaints. The Japan Tourism Agency increasing its budget by more than 700% to 10bn yen ($62m) for initiatives including AI crowd-detection cameras, booking systems that cap visitor numbers, park-and-ride schemes and smart bins. There will also be increased efforts to ease congestion by encouraging tourists to go beyond the usual hotspots of Tokyo, Mount Fuji, Osaka and Kyoto, though there are challenges to getting tourists off the most beaten tracks. Two-tier pricing is already in wide use in Asia. Overseas visitors have been paying more for food and services for decades in China, Indonesia and Thailand among others. At some of the continent’s most iconic sites, such as India’s Taj Mahal and Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, overseas visitors pay significantly more than locals, who in some cases have the fees waived entirely. It is also a growing trend in Europe, where Paris’s Louvre hiked entry only for non-European Economic Area residents by 45% to €32 ($36.40) in January. Back in Nagano, Fujihara worries about the knock-on effect of higher prices making life harder for some Japanese, but she acknowledges the economic boost that foreign tourism delivers. “Of course, I want people to come and enjoy Japan,” she says.
Swedish defence equipment maker Saab has signed a contract to deliver 16 Gripen E fighter aircraft to Ukraine in a deal worth about 24.6bn Swedish crowns ($2.54bn). Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said the agreement reached with Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson involved the purchase of the 16 aircraft and included technical support. Saab’s timetable differed from that outlined by Zelenskyy, who said deliveries would begin in 2027, while the Swedish defence equipment maker said deliveries were scheduled for 2029-2030. Ukraine’s top military commander said in an interview broadcast on Tuesday that his forces were preparing for a possible new Russian attack from the north, but any attempt to advance on Kyiv was unlikely. Oleksandr Syrskyi, interviewed on TSN Ukrainian television, also said an attack from neighbouring Belarus was unlikely after weeks of Ukrainian allegations that Moscow was trying to press its ally to play a greater role in the war. “The most likely scenario, and this is confirmed by several data sources, is possible offensive action in the north from the territory of Russia, from the Bryansk region,” Syrskyi said.“This is a realistic option, of course, and we are preparing for it.” Russian glide bombs killed two people and injured at least 15 in the south-eastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Tuesday, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said. Fedorov, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said Russian forces had deployed seven bombs over a 90-minute period in the city, a frequent target of Russian attacks. Denmark announced on Tuesday a new military donation package to Ukraine worth about 4.4bn crowns ($671.8m). “Around 1.3 billion crowns is allocated to ‘the Danish model’, which makes it possible to finance the Ukrainian state’s procurement costs through its own defence industry,” the government said in a statement. “In addition, more funds have been allocated for long-range artillery ammunition.” It is Denmark’s 30th military support package to Ukraine Police on Tuesday were searching for the suspect behind a parcel bomb that seriously wounded a sanctioned multimillionaire of Ukrainian origin and two others in Monaco. Officers in Monaco and neighbouring France were hunting for a man in a black fisher’s hat who appeared in surveillance footage after leaving a package in a residential building near the border, authorities said. The device exploded at around 9pm (1900 GMT) on Monday, leaving a man and a woman seriously wounded and a 13-year-old with lighter injuries, according to the Monegasque authorities. Monaco public prosecutor Stephane Thibault said as of Tuesday the man had been stabilised, but the woman’s condition remained “life-threatening”. He said the blast was being investigated as “attempted murder” but was not being considered as a “terrorist” act. He declined to say who was the presumed target of the blast, but several sources have said it was Ukrainian-born businessman Vadym Yermolaiev, who is a permanent resident of Monaco and has acquired Cypriot nationality. Yermolaiev is a sanctioned multimillionaire with a reportedly long list of enemies in his homeland. Kyiv alleges the 58-year-old maintained an alcohol business in Russia-annexed Crimea – paying taxes to Moscow even after it invaded Ukraine in 2022. Kenya’s cabinet on Tuesday approved the country’s accession to two international anti-mercenary treaties, a move aimed at curbing the recruitment of citizens into foreign conflicts and combating human trafficking. Kenya is among several African countries whose citizens have reportedly been forcibly conscripted into the Russian army to fight in Ukraine after being lured with promises of jobs abroad. The foreign affairs ministry officially estimates that 291 Kenyans have been victims of Russia’s “irregular military recruitment”, including 19 dead and 32 missing. • This article’s subheading was amended on 1 July 2026. An earlier version said that the Saab contract was a $24.6bn deal. In fact, it was a deal worth about 24.6bn Swedish crowns or $2.54bn.
Talks at an indirect level between US and Iranian officials over unfreezing at least $6bn Iranian assets will recommence on Wednesday in Doha, Iran has said. The two sides are yet to have their first face-to-face meeting since signing a deal to extend the ceasefire and reopen the strait of Hormuz. US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were in Qatar on Tuesday for talks covering regional issues including the Iran ceasefire and Lebanon, but Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Majed Al-Ansari, stressed these were with Qatari mediators. “They are not here for their negotiations with the Iranians,” he said. The US team is seeking details of a plan for Iran to charge tolls in the strait of Hormuz, and how the plan relates to proposals for consultation being tabled by Oman that would introduce fees for navigational services. The lack of renewed direct contact between the US and Iran on how to implement the memorandum of understanding signed on 17 June reflects tensions over Iran’s determination to maintain control over commercial oil tanker traffic through the strait of Hormuz, as well as Iran’s opposition to the proposed Lebanon ceasefire negotiated by Israel, the US and the Lebanese government last week. Talks between Iran and the US have not even started on Iran’s nuclear programme even though only 60 days from 17 June had been set aside to complete the complex talks, and further negotiations appeared at risk after both sides traded fire in the strait of Hormuz over the weekend. In theory those talks can be extended beyond the 6o-day deadline, but the slow progress is starting to alarm some diplomats. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, speaking at a press conference in Tehran, warned European powers such as France and the UK not to seek to become involved in de-mining the strait of Hormuz. “Iran is better aware of its responsibilities than any other party and is capable of fulfilling them, and there is no need for the intervention of others. Interventions that, even if made with good intentions, will in practice only complicate the situation,” he said. Western powers object to Iran’s plan to impose tolls for commercial shipping passing through the strait, but may be more open to discussing Oman’s plan for voluntary contributions or fees charged for specific services. Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on state TV on Tuesday: “The sovereignty of the strait of Hormuz lies with Iran and Oman, and traffic in the strait is subject to arrangements determined by Iran”, adding that fee-free passage through the strait is only for 60 days, as per the memorandum of understanding. The UN’s International Maritime Organisation was holding informal discussions with Iran about Tehran ’s objections to the IMO opening a sea route through the strait close to Oman in conjunction with the US and Oman. At one point last week the IMO thought it had the agreement of the Iranian foreign ministry to the route, but Iran then attacked two ships, possibly fearing its control of the strait was being eroded. The IMO secretary General Arsenio Dominguez then suspended the route to hold talks with Iran. According to data from Kpler, a maritime tracking firm, 40 ships transited the waterway on Monday, up from 24 the previous day and 39 on Saturday. Hundreds of vessels have been stranded since the war between the US and Iran broke out on 28 February, leaving as many as 10,000 seafarers stranded. Not all ships have their transponders on, making an accurate count hard, but Iran may regard this level of traffic as so far below normal levels as to keep the pressure on the price of oil. It is committed to using its best endeavours to lift the blockade in the strait within 30 days Giving a relatively optimistic account of the state of relations with the US, only days after the two sides exchanged fire arising from a dispute over the control of the strait, Baghaei said: “From the beginning when we entered this diplomatic process, no one imagined a smooth and unchallenged process. Keep in mind that this diplomatic process began after two wars in less than a year […] we expected to face challenges in the implementation phase.”
Fourteen children died after the roof of a tutoring centre collapsed in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore on Tuesday, rescue officials have said, as authorities opened the way for a possible negligence investigation. Punjab’s emergency service said rescuers found children and a 30-year-old female teacher under the rubble of the private after-school facility. The children killed were aged five to 16 with most below nine. Punjab information minister Azma Bokhari said preliminary reports showed the tutoring centre was unregistered and operating inside a privately owned residential building under a dilapidated roof. Such centres are common across Pakistan, where children attend extra lessons outside regular school hours. “If negligence, carelessness or any violation of the law is established, those responsible will face strict legal action,” Bokhari said in a statement. Workers had been repairing tiles on the building when the roof gave way, a witness told the AFP news agency. Broadcaster Geo News aired images of uniformed rescuers and civilians using spades and their hands to dig through dirt and rubble in the partially collapsed building. “The roof was in poor shape,” the uncle of one of the victims told the AFP news agency, adding that repair work was being carried out on tiles while the children studied. Authorities promised an investigation and provincial police said on X that two people had been taken into custody over the disaster. Police said they were collecting evidence at the scene and posted video of officers speaking with rescuers wearing hardhats at the building, which was in a tightly packed residential area. Marryam Khan, Lahore’s commissioner, said in a statement that “those responsible for the incident will be found through a transparent, unbiased and immediate investigation”. Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief and said he “prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured and directed the authorities to provide them with every possible medical assistance”, according to a statement released by his office. Roof and building collapses are common across Pakistan, mainly because of poor safety standards and unsafe construction materials. In July last year, 27 people were killed and 10 injured when a five-storey building collapsed in the impoverished area of Lyari in the southern city of Karachi. With Reuters and Agence France-Presse