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France evacuates Cap Ferret peninsula as Spain battles to prevent wildfires merging near Madrid – Europe live

Earlier today, the European Commission said it was following the situation in France and Spain with “great concern,” deploying its firefighting planes under the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism. The EU has a fleet of 22 planes and five helicopters ready to deploy, alongside over 700 firefighters “pre-positioned” across the key risk areas. Four firefighting planes will be sent to help in Spain, and three to France, it said. “We obviously hope that all hell will not break loose but we are preparing for a severe situation given that we will be seeing these extreme weather events more frequently, and they will be harshed and more brutal,” EU spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said.

‘The captain told me to wear a nappy on board’ – why is air travel so humiliating for disabled passengers?

When Hannah Babalola boarded KLM flight 598 on 26 May, she was tired. A Paralympic athlete, she had been competing at an event in South Africa’s Cape Town, and was hoping there would be no hold ups on her journey back home to Chicago. Babalola, 37, is well-travelled. A former wheelchair racer, she now competes in marathons and has flown to dozens of countries over the years without big problems. The first stretch of her journey home was a flight of almost 11 hours to Amsterdam. After boarding, she was told by the captain and crew that she wouldn’t be able to access an onboard wheelchair, known as an aisle chair. These narrow wheelchairs are used by people with disabilities so they can access the toilet during a flight. Crew members told her when she boarded the plane that if she needed to use the toilet, she would have to do so without a wheelchair – if this wasn’t possible, she was told she would have to get off the flight altogether. Astounded by this – aisle chairs are generally available on wide-bodied aircraft – Babalola stood her ground, despite becoming increasingly distressed. The crew offered various justifications for their position, including the captain’s fears that the chair would be unsafe to use if there was turbulence. She was also wrongly told that she hadn’t booked the flight as a disabled person (disabled passengers are advised to book special assistance at least 48 hours before taking a flight – which Babalola had done). She had bought a return ticket and had had no trouble receiving assistance as a disabled passenger on her outward journey. “It was the first time anything like this had happened to me on a plane,” says Babalola. “They made me feel as if I wasn’t a human.” The crew called the police and security. Both declined to take any action against her, as there was no evidence she had done anything wrong. Desperate to get home, she finally agreed not to use the toilet during the flight. “The humiliation was unbearable,” she says. What happened to her is not an isolated incident. When the Guardian first reported on Babalola’s case, a flurry of emails followed from others who had had similar experiences. According to data published by the World Health Organization in 2023 approximately 16% of the global population experiences significant disability – about 1.3 billion people. The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority outlines the rights of passengers to accessible air travel, which includes assistance moving through airports, and when boarding and disembarking planes. But such assistance has limitations. It applies only to people flying from UK airports on any airline, and for returns to the UK on either UK or EU airlines. The National Centre for Accessible Transport published a report in July 2025, called Invisible Barriers: How public attitudes affect inclusive travel. It found that people with impairments or access needs that fall outside certain models have to fight to get those needs met. Those who were interviewed for the report said they had experienced negative treatment when travelling, due to assumptions and stereotypes around disability. The report looked at various types of transport, including planes; it found that disabled travellers sometimes have to endure abuse from other passengers, and that transport staff have a limited understanding of disability. One wheelchair user quoted in the report, who was travelling by plane, was denied assistance as they had limited mobility; they could stand up and walk in certain circumstances, but were unable to get down the plane steps without assistance. A crew member said: “Well you can stand, you can get off, you can go down the stairs.” Sophie Morgan, a British TV presenter, writer and disability rights campaigner, is co-founder of Rights on Flights and an energetic campaigner for people with disabilities who fly. She was paralysed from the chest down after a car accident at 18, and began campaigning because her wheelchair was broken so many times by airport staff when she flew. “I honestly think that if the airlines could ban us from flying, they would,” she says. “I feel sad that the same problems that were happening three years ago are still happening now. It feels like a case of one step forward, 200 steps back. When I was campaigning in the beginning I thought: ‘They just need to be told.’ In fact, they actually know full well, but they just don’t care. Where are we? We are nowhere. One plane captain told me I should wear a nappy on board.” Sarah Richardson has a disability called arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, which causes severe problems with her joints and bones. This makes travel, including plane travel, very challenging, and led her to conduct research for her MBA with 36 disabled travellers from around the world. Half the respondents encountered problems “almost always”. None reported no problems. More than 83% of her respondents experienced stress and anxiety when travelling, and restricted food and drink in the hours before travelling to avoid the struggle of using the onboard toilet. Some resorted to wearing nappies on flights in case toilet access was impossible. “I was really shocked by what I found in the interviews,” says Richardson. “Travelling systems are just not made for people with disabilities, and things have got worse with automation.” While researching her thesis, Richardson found that, as travel infrastructures have become more automated to boost efficiency and economic return, accessibility for disabled travellers is increasingly treated as a conditional service rather than something baked into the design of systems. “Travel systems are designed for average bodies and toilets are not designed for people with disabilities. It is particularly terrifying on long-haul flights.” On a recent flight, she asked if she could move to a seat with more leg room, which was vacant, but was told she could only switch if she paid an extra $300. “When you are up in the air, you are a hostage. Disability is not a niche market. We are part of the community. Being disabled is seen as not important, not sexy, not interesting,” she says. Some disabled travellers say they have to prepare for the worst when they book a plane ticket. Hasan Adeel has muscular dystrophy and flies frequently to visit family and to speak at conferences about his disability. He says he is frequently wrongly handled when being transferred between his wheelchair and his plane seat. “I have never yet used an aeroplane bathroom, as I can’t get through the door,” he says. “I feel that for airlines, rules are ranked higher than humanity. But you can’t argue with the airlines or they won’t let you get on the plane.” On one trip, Adeel landed in Doha in Qatar and asked staff to help him transfer from his aeroplane seat to his wheelchair. He was left for 20 minutes. “They said they had never transferred a person like me before but that they would try,” says Adeel. “First they transferred me to the narrow aisle chair and from there into my wheelchair. They did not know the correct way to transfer someone with my disability and the transfer was not done in a professional way.” Payal Shrishrimal, an artist who lives in India, is determined not to let the significant challenges of air travel get her down. She also has muscular dystrophy and, at 41, has far outlived the life expectancy of 20 that she was given as a child. “On one journey, when I was travelling home after recovering from surgery, the crew started whispering about me and my disability. They kept asking why I was using a wheelchair, and it made me feel very nervous and humiliated … Two or three hours before I leave home to travel to the airport I have to stop drinking water, because I know I won’t be able to use the toilet on the plane. Once, I was even asked to pay for the transport of my wheelchair, although there are [supposed to be] no charges for this.” A recurrent complaint among wheelchair users is that, when their chairs are stored in the hold – in perfectly good condition – on landing they are returned to them battered and broken. One man discovered his electric wheelchair had been badly damaged when he arrived in London on an Emirates flight on 18 May. He is completely reliant on the chair and, as a result of the damage, has been confined to his home. “I have effectively been trapped inside my home, and unable to attend medical appointments, shop independently, or carry out normal daily activities,” he says. “This situation has caused significant distress, loss of independence, emotional suffering and disruption to my life.” He received no response from the airline, and nor did others who wrote to Emirates trying to advocate for him. After the Guardian contacted Emirates, the airline agreed to take action. A spokesperson said: “We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience he experienced. We are in direct contact with him and have arranged a temporary mobility device. We are also assessing options to replace his wheelchair as a permanent solution, and will continue to support him until the issue is fully resolved.” Even those who are powerful and high-profile report appalling experiences when they travel by plane. Samanta Bullock, Brazil’s former No 1 wheelchair tennis player, now lives in the UK. She founded Bullock Inclusion, which creates social projects in fashion and sport to promote inclusion for all, and aims to change attitudes to transform the lives of people living with disabilities. Last month, she flew to New York to take part in the UN’s 19th Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which aims to further the rights of people with disabilities. She and her team had organised a fashion show for the event and discussed with officials how best to advance the rights of disabled people. But when she arrived at JFK airport for her flight back to the UK, she was told by British Airways staff that she couldn’t board the flight without a carer to take her to the toilet, as the flight crew wouldn’t be able to assist her. This would have required her to buy an expensive extra ticket. “I have travelled my whole life and never had this experience before,” she says. “Eventually, they said they could transfer me to an American Airlines flight. I thought about not accepting the transfer and fighting this. But I was so tired from my trip and I just wanted to get home, so I agreed to the change.” A British Airways spokesperson said: “We want to ensure a seamless flying experience for everyone and we’re sorry that our customer had a negative experience on this occasion. We are aware our customer has expressed concerns regarding her experience and we have reached out to her to discuss further. “We serve hundreds of thousands of customers who require additional assistance every year and while we’re committed to continually improving our service, we work hard to support accessibility requirements throughout their journey.” Morgan says that, because cases like Bullock’s continue to happen, she will keep on fighting. “I fly with my rights in my pocket, but our rights continue to be violated. We need to rebrand this as a crisis.” As for Babalola, she continues to fight KLM. When the Guardian asked the airline to comment on her case, KLM said in a statement: “We regret that an incident occurred involving one of our passengers on the flight from Cape Town to Amsterdam on 26 May. Out of respect for the privacy of both the passenger and our crew, we find it inappropriate to discuss the details of the situation.” Babalola has now engaged a lawyer to help her. “I need to take legal action, because otherwise this abuse of power against disabled people will continue. The experience I had on that KLM flight was distressing, degrading and humiliating. I felt intimidated by the flight crew.” On 19 June, she received a further letter from KLM, saying it was important to the company that all passengers are treated with “the utmost respect and dignity”. “We are disappointed that we fell short of that expectation,” the airline added. It went on to apologise for the fact she hadn’t received the assistance she requested and included “sincere apologies” for her experience. The letter concluded: “We once again apologise for Ms Babalola’s experience on board flight KL598 and are making efforts to ensure that such a situation does not reoccur in the future.” None of the people interviewed for this piece are holding their breath.

Friday briefing: How disabled creators are challenging an ableist world

Good morning. Among a display of slogan T-shirts in the V&A Dundee’s Design and Disability exhibition, the first that meets your eye reads “Access is love”. Then, lest you presume you’re in for an easy ride, the next one declares “Piss on pity”. That one’s a reference to the 1990 Block Telethon campaign, a pivotal moment when hundreds of disability activists gathered outside ITV studios in London during a live fundraising broadcast and noisily protested their portrayal as tragic victims and plucky heroes deserving of a charitable pat on the head from the public. Decades later, it is still not easy to be a disabled person in an ableist world where accessibility so often remains an afterthought. For today’s First Edition, I spoke to Frances Ryan, Guardian columnist and author of Who wants normal? Life Lessons from Disabled Women about access, adaptation and radical acts. Before that, this morning’s headlines. Five big stories UK politics | Regional mayors are to be given a leading role in the UK’s economic policy, Andy Burnham has said, as he called the opening of No 10 North “the biggest rebalancing of power our country has seen”. Trump tariffs | Donald Trump’s administration has imposed a fresh wave of sweeping tariffs on dozens of US trading partners to replace a 10% global duty that was set to expire early Friday morning, which includes the UK. UK news | The Southport killer Axel Rudakubana has been moved from prison to a psychiatric hospital after clinical assessment, the Guardian can disclose. Middle East | The US president has said he is close to deciding whether to launch “a massive attack” against Iran, on a scale larger than strikes already witnessed during the months-long conflict with Tehran. Environment | Parts of Wales are now in drought and all other areas of the country are experiencing prolonged dry conditions. In Europe, brutal heat has forced nearly 20,000 people to flee wildfires in France and a marine heatwave scalds the Mediterranean. In depth: ‘Good design can reach far beyond its initial purpose’ Upending the assumption that disabled people are a problem to be solved, Design and Disability, which I visited last month, is a celebration of DIY design and grassroots organising. Initially exhibited in London, the show celebrates the radical contributions of disabled, deaf, and neurodivergent people to contemporary design and culture, and has been re-imagined for the V&A Dundee, with new pieces from Scottish designers like Jamie O’Donnell, who makes airline seats for neurodivergent and low vision travellers. This footprint extends well beyond care settings and adaptive housing, like a harness that allows hearing-impaired gig-goers to feel music as vibrations on their chest, a self-tightening shoe and the ubiquitous fidget spinners, which have become a popular stress reduction – or stimming – object for neurodivergent people. There are adaptive bras and bikini briefs designed by Slick Chicks, who make underwear for people with limited mobility, and recently teamed up with a dating platform to discuss sex and relationships. It is a raucous testament to the big and small innovations that challenge daily exclusions, and shows how good design can reach far beyond its initial purpose. But adaptation doesn’t always mean progress. Tactile paving slabs, inspired by braille, were developed in the 60s to allow those with low vision to feel for the edge of train platforms and pavements. Nowadays they are regularly misused as decorative touches in urban design, confusing people who use them as navigational aids. “As someone born with a disability that means I use a wheelchair, I soon realised it was completely normal for me to be blocked off from every day parts of life, from the changing room in a clothes shop, a bar for a friend’s birthday, to the tube to get to the Guardian offices,” Frances told me when we spoke after my V&A visit. “But that isn’t ‘normal’, of course. It’s a choice society makes and can address if there is the political will.” But what’s also apparent is the snail’s pace of change. One item exhibited, the McGonagle Reader – an audio-assisted tactile voting device to help blind people vote independently – was only released in some parts of the UK for the 2024 general election. *** Design at the vanguard As I wandered through the exhibition, I was struck by how a non-disabled person like me can miss the inherent usefulness of an object. We’ve reported recently on profound privacy concerns around smartglasses: but many readers got in touch to remind us that smart technologies can be gamechanging for those with sight or hearing loss. One of them, Colin Hughes, a former BBC producer who lives with progressive muscular dystrophy and has worked with tech companies to improve their accessibility, told me: “Smart glasses are transformative for people like me who are paralysed … I can’t pick up my phone but by saying ‘take a photo’ I can share a picture with my family. You can’t put a price on that kind of independence”. Hughes also made the point that many disabled people are priced out of tech: “It costs thousands of pounds to make your home truly smart”. It’s something that Frances told me too: “It recently cost me £20k to build an accessible bathroom and I was just quoted £1.8k for a smart curtain rod.” These sums are out of reach to many: in research published earlier this month by the Disability Poverty Campaign Group, nearly three-quarters of respondents said their income does not consistently cover the cost of the food they need to stay healthy. “I’m lucky I have a job to fill in the extra costs – and the developments in tech are incredible – but it’s striking how much cash disabled people have to find just to live like everyone else. Non-disabled people spend their spare income on a holiday. We spend it on being able to open our curtains.” *** Protest works Alongside Block Telethon, the exhibition documents other historic protests and activism, like the 80s and 90s Campaign for Accessible Transport during which wheelchair users chained themselves to buses. Contemporary examples are also present, with images of disabled people protesting outside Westminster last summer, when campaigners risked their health in the searing heat to force Starmer’s U-turn on proposed cuts to disability benefits. Personal independence payments (Pip) are made to people aged 16 to 66 to assist with the extra costs they face through ill health or disability. One of Starmer’s proposals to fix the “broken” benefits system by tightening eligibility criteria was met with a fierce backlash from campaigners and MPs. Disability minister Stephen Timms has been tasked with reforming the whole system – Burnham kept him in post when he appointed his new cabinet this week – and there is a rare opportunity, according to Frances, to lobby for “an ambitious new safety net for 2026 and beyond”. She outlined how a progressive alternative to Pip, which was brought in by the coalition government in 2013, could radically rethink the current system of point-based assessments which don’t account for individual experience or fluctuating conditions. These tick box tests are given far more weight in assessments than evidence from a disabled person’s actual medical team and have also resulted in humiliating questioning: she was asked “How do you put your bra on?” last time around. Frances also wants to see the return of indefinite awards for people with permanent conditions, which were phased out in 2013. “Research by the anti-poverty charity Z2K shows there were more than half a million pointless reassessments last year of people with conditions such as cerebral palsy, learning disabilities and amputations – presumably to check someone’s leg hadn’t grown back”. *** Radical acts At the opening of Design and Disability in Dundee, curator Natalie Kane told the colourful crowd that the exhibition was “an act of joy and resistance.” These words resonate against the current backdrop of deliberately fostered hostility towards minority groups – which Frances highlighted back in April when she reported on how blue badge users are being harassed, questioned and even assaulted as anti-benefits rhetoric becomes more mainstream in the UK. Kane said the daily reality of disabled living demanded “one radical act at a time”, a sentiment Frances echoed. “I never underestimate the power of every day protest. Wear your favourite summer dress with your scars visible. Kiss your boyfriend when the waiter asks if your ‘carer’ wants the bill. Speak incredibly loudly to the hotel receptionist when she directs her questions to the non-disabled person behind you. In a world that still too often says disability is miserable and shameful, living a life of freedom and joy is a radical act.” What else we’ve been enjoying Our appetite for tribute acts is insatiable, and Daniel Dylan Wray investigated why. I can highly recommend the scouse Dolly Parton who played at my friend’s wedding. Michael I’d read a shopping list if our US culture writer Alaina Demopoulos had written in. In this typically smart feature, she examines how the right has weaponised women’s menstrual phases. Libby I’ve already spent 15 minutes and counting exploring this interactive story which ranks the world’s most powerful passports. Michael I nearly filed my newsletter late because I couldn’t stop watching this incredible footage of young orcas playing with a giant sunfish. Sad times for the sunfish of course, as the point of the game is to explode it into smithereens. Libby Since my own reporting trip to the Antarctic, I’ve been obsessed by Ernest Shackleton’s legendary expedition to the continent. These freshly digitised images of his early 20th-century adventure are remarkable. Michael Sport Commonwealth Games | The surreal sight of King Charles and Queen Camilla stepping out of a Tardis – and a mechanical Loch Ness monster roaring the first few bars of Flower of Scotland – marked the opening of the Games in Glasgow. Cycling | Richard Carapaz won stage 18 of the Tour de France, but uncertainty surrounds the health of race leader Tadej Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates XRG, which has been swept by a virus since Monday’s rest day. Cricket | The Middlesex chief executive, Andrew Cornish, has been dismissed after misconduct charges against him were upheld by an independent disciplinary panel. Something for the weekend Our critics’ roundup of the best things to watch, read, play and listen to right now TV A Toxic Love Story | ★★★★☆ The sound of barrel-scraping during true-crime documentaries is becoming more and more frequent at Netflix these days. A Toxic Love Story is a welcome, if doubtless temporary, return to form. It is a rigorous, 88-minute recounting of an astonishing story that became notorious about 10 years ago in the US and was known as “the Anaheim Craigslist case” or “the Anaheim Craigslist rape fantasy case”. “To put it lightly,” says one of the investigators, “this is a monster of a case.” The question of quite how many monsters it involves is one that keeps you watching, goggle-eyed and barely breathing, until the end. Lucy Mangan Music Charli xcx: Music, Fashion, Film | ★★★★★ Music, Fashion, Film is another gorgeously astute and disarmingly deep album about the instability of identity – not just as a vanguard songwriter striving for evolution, but how much we can ever know one another, or even ourselves. There’s no moralising side-eye: it is as acute as Brat in Charli’s scrupulous lens on how self-commodification is just the way we live now, how it might offer an escape from dire times, or helpfully beckon the hellfires faster. Does she contradict herself? Absolutely. Does that unsparing compulsion to lay it all out for us – the ego and self-hate; the defensiveness and chagrin – make Charli our most consistently bracing pop star? God, yes. Laura Snapes Film Nostalgia | ★★★★★ Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1983 film is a mysterious, imagist cine-poem about alienation and belonging, whose title means a yearning not simply for a lost time or lost place but for something, anything, else – with a profound anguished sense that the here-and-now of existence is unsatisfactory. A distinguished Russian scholar, Andrei, is in Italy to research the life of the (fictional) Russian composer Pavel Sosnovsky who is supposed to have travelled there before being overwhelmed by homesick longing. On arriving in the Tuscan spa town of Bagno Vignoni, Andrei appears to be overcome by a kind of breakdown or emotional paralysis. It is an unimprovably stark, sad film. Peter Bradshaw Theatre Sweeney Todd | ★★★★☆ (at Birmingham Rep) The story of a serial killer who provides the grisly contents for his landlady’s pies is ripe with the kind of dark gothic humour that appealed to the Brothers Grimm. Director Joe Murphy gives Sweeney Todd the full operatic treatment. His superb staging is as rich in detail as it is austere in execution. This is a London rendered in grimy monochrome, where the period costumes in pastel shades of mustard, lime and peach stand out in defiance of the poverty around them. Seriousness of purpose, however, does not make it heavy going. Yes, an excellent Ramin Karimloo never cracks a smile in the title role, but that only gives the blade-wielding barber a nobility that belies his actions. His chilling surface calm suggests all his efforts are going into suppressing a murderous rage. Mark Fisher The front pages “Burnham: No 10 North is Britain’s biggest ever rebalancing of power”, is the Guardian’s front page today. The Telegraph leads with “Burnham orders halt to early release”, the Times says “Burnham eager to get drilling in North Sea”, and Metro, on Burnham cutting rates for pubs, has “Ahead on pints”. The FT writes “Oil hits $100 as Trump weighs ‘massive’ strike on Iran targets”, the i Paper has “State pensioners with no other income will be exempt from tax”, and the Mail says “Every single advanced AI model ‘goes rogue’ in testing”. The Express runs with “New cells will end the early release scandal”, and the Mirror splashes “Tragedy on beach trip”. The Latest Gary Lineker calls for Burnham to introduce wealth tax for millionaires Millionaires including former footballer Gary Lineker are asking Andy Burnham to tax their wealth more. More than 100 wealthy Britons have signed an open letter to the prime minister, saying: ‘We want you to tax us. We can afford it.’ So should the government introduce a wealth tax? And why is the idea getting more popular? Nosheen Iqbal speaks to columnist and senior economics commentator Aditya Chakrabortty. Cartoon of the day | Ben Jennings The Upside A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad Sustainable forestry in Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve shows how community‑run concessions can halt deforestation. In the multiple‑use zone, cooperatives harvest only a few carefully selected trees per hectare under strict rules, keeping forest loss near zero. Communities such as Carmelita and Uaxactún earn income from value‑added timber, carpentry, tourism and non‑timber products, boosting local jobs and services. Others, like La Pasadita, focus on restoration, growing more than 120,000 seedlings to regreen degraded pasture and reduce wildfire risk. Forest cover in several concessions is increasing, proving that livelihoods tied to sustainable use can protect biodiversity while raising incomes. The model is now shaping national policy. It goes to show, says José Román Carrera, a forestry director at the Rainforest Alliance that “the forest is best protected by those whose livelihoods depend on it”. 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

Ireland urged to put pressure on Germany over pro-Palestinian activist’s trial

A cross-party delegation of Irish politicians has urged Dublin to send observers to a high-security trial of pro-Palestinian activists in Germany and to raise concerns about the Irish defendant’s detention when the German chancellor visits next week. Mairéad Farrell of Sinn Féin, a member of the seven-member delegation, said she and her colleagues had attended the hearing in Stuttgart on Wednesday of the so-called Ulm 5 activists, who are facing charges over an attack on an Israeli arms company. Farrell and two other members of the delegation visited Daniel Tatlow-Devally, the Irish defendant being tried as part of the group, in prison. “I was quite shocked by the treatment that he is receiving. He is 23 hours a day in his cell,” Farrell said, calling on the Irish prime minister, Micheál Martin, to discuss the issue with the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, when he visits on Tuesday. Farrell said: “His cell, from what I understand, is 5x2 metres. He doesn’t have much in his cell, so he’s stuck there for 23 hours a day. He only has an hour of visitation per month, which is obviously incredibly short. “It just seems that there’s very harsh conditions that seem unwarranted for the scale of the fact that these people haven’t harmed people.” German prosecutors say Tatlow-Devally was part of a group of five activists who trespassed on to a site owned by Israel’s Elbit Systems last September in the southern city of Ulm, shouting pro-Palestinian slogans as they destroyed equipment and smashed windows. They allegedly caused about €1m (£850,000) in damage. The activists posted videos online in which they claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was aimed at drawing attention to Germany’s support for Israel and its actions in Gaza. Germany is the second biggest supplier of arms to Israel, after the US. The defendants have remained defiant throughout the proceedings, with Tatlow-Devally telling the court in May that the group was motivated by “urgent humanitarian concerns” and sought to “make a fuss … in the hope to at least interrupt” Elbit’s deliveries to Israel. Last month, a British judge imposed lengthy custodial sentences on four Palestine Action activists who smashed up drones and other equipment at an Elbit Systems UK factory, after ruling that there was a “terrorist connection” to their offending. Farrell said German authorities had not allowed the Irish delegation to discuss the case with Tatlow-Devally. “That felt, I suppose, quite unusual for us,” she said. The politicians also found fault with the trial itself. The defendants, Farrell said, “are basically in a glass cage or behind a glass wall, unable to communicate with their lawyers in … a kind of free manner”. She said: “One of the accused said that they felt that they couldn’t really participate fully in the trial … because of these barriers that have been put in place.” Lawyers for the defendants, Berlin-based activists who are British, Irish, German and Spanish citizens, have repeatedly raised the issue of the glass wall with the court, saying it hinders their clients’ right to representation. The five activists have been charged with trespassing, destruction of property and membership of a criminal organisation – Palestine Action Germany – under section 129 of the German criminal code. That charge means authorities consider the accused a threat to society, allowing them to deny bail, even after the six-month limit of pre-trial detention had passed. If found guilty, they face up to five years in prison. Court representatives have said the conditions of the defendants’ detention are warranted based on the severity of the charges against them. Before the trial began in April, Stuttgart’s higher regional court ordered the continuation of pre-trial detention for all defendants based on “a risk of flight, which would not be sufficiently mitigated even by the posting of bail”. Farrell said it was “absolutely crucial” for the Irish government to send envoys to regularly attend hearings until a verdict was delivered. “That was something that couldn’t have been clearer coming out of that trial yesterday: that there is a need for observers,” she said. Farrell urged Martin to bring up the Ulm 5 case when Merz visits for talks focused on Dublin’s six-month presidency of the EU, which began on 1 July. She said the Irish prime minister needed to raise concerns expressed by the defendant, his family and the delegation related to his treatment in prison and “his access in terms of legal representation as part of the trial”. The delegation included the MPs Richard Boyd Barrett and Ruth Coppinger, both of the People Before Profit-Solidarity party, Barry Ward of Fine Gael and Duncan Smith of Labour, as well as senator Patricia Stephenson of the Social Democrats and MEP Lynn Boylan of Sinn Féin. Farrell said the group aimed to return to Germany before the trial wrapped up, probably in January: “This isn’t the end for us. We will be keeping an eye on this trial.”

Middle East crisis is ‘getting out of control’, UN chief warns – as it happened

Our live coverage of the Middle East crisis is now ending, but you can read our latest story from the region here. The US military carried out a 13th consecutive night of strikes on Iran, targeting drone facilities, coastal surveillance sites and more. The wave of attacks lasted more ⁠than two hours, according to the US Central Command. Iranian state media reported explosions along the strait of Hormuz in Qeshm and Bandar Abbas, where two people were reportedly injured, as well as to the north-west near Andimeshk and Omidiyeh. The UN secretary general, António Guterres, warned that the Middle East is being pushed to the “edge of the unimaginable” amid mounting fears over the trajectory of the conflict. “The situation is getting out of control. It is teetering on the edge of the unimaginable. The region is being pulled into an ever-widening circle of confrontation. One crisis feeds another. One escalation triggers the next,” Guterres told a security council meeting. “As this dynamic spreads, the political objectives are becoming increasingly obscured by the confrontation itself.” It comes after Donald Trump said he was close to deciding whether to launch “a massive attack” against Iran, on a scale larger than strikes already witnessed during the months-long conflict with Tehran as the US president flounders in his attempts to get a grip on the spiralling crisis in the region. Speaking to Axios, the US president said: “I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it.” He acknowledged that such a decision would have consequences but said he had not yet made a final determination. Israel “would join in two minutes if I ask them to”, he added, before saying: “We don’t need anybody.” Trump’s comments followed the earlier threat of “major military punishment” against Iran and the Houthis, after the Iran-backed Yemeni militia’s attacks on two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea. The Houthi attacks threatened the safety of a second major maritime route connecting the Suez canal to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. They also came amid reports that Iran had sent military advisers and drone parts to the Houthis 10 days ago. Trump wrote on social media: “If [the Houthis] do this again, the US will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves.” In a separate development, Trump clarified that an announced agreement that the US would help Saudi Arabia with its civilian nuclear programme would require the kingdom to normalise relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords, a move Saudi Arabia has long resisted until there is demonstrable movement on Palestinian rights and statehood. During Thursday’s press briefing, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, reiterated that the Saudi Arabia nuclear deal is “contingent” on the kingdom on joining the Abraham Accords. “The president is always the final dealmaker, as you know... He has said, if they don’t join the Abraham accords, the deal is off,” she said. It emerged later that Trump had not spoken to Saudi Arabia about the new condition. Oil prices once again surged past the symbolic $100 for a barrel of Brent crude, the international benchmark, and amid indications the price could go higher still.

‘We feel like we are failing’: Myanmar doctor speaks out as health system teeters on ‘brink of collapse’

When Myanmar’s junta seized power in a 2021 coup, Elle* and a fellow doctor fled to the jungle to provide aid to the resistance movement, one of 45,000 healthcare workers to lend their support. Elle does not regret her decision, she supports the pro-democracy movement and later married the doctor with whom she escaped, but years of sacrifice have taken a toll. She treats patients from refugee camps at a clinic but does not earn enough to send money back to support her parents in their old age, which is her greatest wish. “We did everything we could for our country,” she says. “But for ourselves and our families, we feel like we are failing.” Five years into the civil war, the military has recently gained ground, bolstered by tens of thousands of new conscripts as well as weapons from China. After years of being targeted by the junta, Myanmar’s healthcare workers face a desperate situation, despite their enormous personal sacrifices, experts say the fragmented healthcare system is on the verge of collapse with increasing attacks on health infrastructure and a critical lack of essential medical supplies. Attacks on health care sites increased significantly, driven by intensified airstrikes, with the World Health Organization (WHO) verifying 70 attacks, 148 deaths and 186 injuries in 2025. Dr Andrew Green, chair of the British Medical Association’s (BMA) medical ethics committee, told a webinar this month that “the violations of international humanitarian law, and the principle of medical neutrality have resulted in the reduction, or, indeed, the complete destruction of medical services in the country.” The overall effect, he said, was that Myanmar’s healthcare system was now “on the very brink of collapse”. Military blockades have also compounded severe shortages of essential medical supplies across the country, including bandages, antiseptic, antibiotics, IV fluids and malaria tests as well as maternal and child health supplies. The shortages have in some areas triggered a resurgence of malaria, and outbreaks of other preventable diseases due to the rise in unsafe drinking water, while routine health programs have been interrupted. The ailing system presents a crucial barrier to the more than 16 million people who require life-saving assistance and protection services in the country, according to the WHO. ‘Clinics have been targeted from the air again and again’ Following a series of humiliating defeats in 2024, the military recaptured some ground this year. The gains amount to a small slice of overall territory but carry strategic value as they disrupted the resistance’s supply lines and operations. More than 100,000 people have now been killed since the conflict began in 2021, according to monitor ACLED (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data). In a six-month period around the elections, which ended in January and were widely condemned as a sham, the military was responsible for at least 702 civilian deaths, according to the UN. The healthcare industry has not been immune from the violence. There have been at least 1,948 incidents of violence against, or obstruction of access to healthcare staff, with 932 health workers arrested and 175 killed since the start of the conflict, according to data from Insecurity Insight. “These were not accidents of war,” a doctor from Global Health Partnerships, originally from Myanmar who wished to remain anonymous, told the BMA webinar. “Clinics in contested regions have been targeted from the air again and again, precisely because they kept communities alive and resistant to the military rule,” the doctor said. The junta has previously denied civilian deaths at healthcare sites, saying those killed or injured were not civilians, but terrorists and their supporters. Even before the conflict, there was a shortage of healthcare professionals, with only one health worker per 1,000 in Myanmar. Now, many professionals have been forced to suspend clinical practice, flee to safer areas, or leave the country. As Elle reflects on her decisions – she once had a position at a prestigious hospital – there are mixed emotions. Lacking phone reception, it was months before her husband learned his mother had died. Elle gave birth to her first child at a clinic for refugees, making the dangerous journey by motorbike to a border area. Eight days later, authorities arrested her husband, and she went through postnatal depression. Her husband was eventually released and together they now treat patients from refugee camps at a clinic, including many victims of the civil war. Despite their training, the impacts of the conflict are sometimes hard to bear. “Doctors see death,” she says, “But when I see dying [from this war], and especially children, injured or dying, it hurts.” “Now that I’m a mother,” she adds. “It could be my son.” * Name has been changed

Ukraine war briefing: EU sanctions oust Russian president of world chess

Arkady Dvorkovich, the president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), said on Friday he ⁠was suspending his activity with the organisation after being placed on the EU list of sanctioned Russians. Dvorkovich, a former Russian deputy prime minister, complained that the designation was “unlawful and unfair”. A statement said Viswanathan Anand, an Indian world chess champion, would take over as the federation’s interim president. It came as the E⁠U has unveiled its largest sanctions package in four years against Russia, targeting 218 individuals ⁠and entities. The EU foreign policy chief, Kaja ⁠Kallas, said the measures hit more than 100 banks and cryptocurrency operators, more than 40 ‌vessels from Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, as well as several oil refineries. The package adds more ⁠than 50 military-industrial entities to the sanctions list, including key actors ‌involved in producing Russia’s long-range drones. The Russian oil price cap is frozen at $44.10 per barrel for 12 months, preventing an automatic increase that would have raised it to about $58.50. The new listings take the total number of designations to nearly 3,000. There is a full asset-freeze on ⁠94 Russian financial institutions, nearly all banks, and disconnection of 33 Russian banks from the Swift international payments system. Moscow’s stock exchange ⁠is added to the sanctions. Internationally, banks or cryptocurrency platforms are hit in countries including Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, India, Georgia, Panama, the Marshall Islands, Belarus, the United Arab Emirates and Africa. The package also targets actors linked to Russia’s satellite communications system being developed as an alternative to Starlink. There are 56 entities and persons added to the sanctions list for involvement in Russia’s military industrial complex – most of them linked to long-range Garpiya drones. There are 51 entities added to list of companies that face export restrictions on dual-use goods and technology. Some ⁠are in third countries: China, including Hong Kong, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and the UAE. Ukrainian drones hit a warehouse in Russia – reportedly part of the Wildberries chain – triggering a fire that filled the skies over St Petersburg with smoke, the Agence France-Presse and local officials said. The company said two of its warehouses in the city had temporarily halted operations, without giving more details. “St Petersburg came under attack by military-purpose unmanned aerial vehicles … the strike hit civilian infrastructure facilities,” said the local governor, Alexander Beglov. Ukrainian strikes have hit several Wildberries sites in the past week, including those serving Moscow. Kyiv says the Wildberries chain stores and ships sanctioned military goods. Volodymyr Zelenskyy remained under pressure to restore the ousted defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, to his post after Fedorov said he would not accept alternative roles in government put forward by the president. The Maga influencer Laura Loomer has turned up in Ukraine where she met with the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after recently reversing her stance on the war. It was unclear what had prompted Loomer’s trip or how she had arranged the meeting with Zelenskyy. Loomer spent years minimising Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, amplifying Russian propaganda and abusing Ukraine as “a country full of Nazi apologists … led by a jihadi apologist”. During her Ukraine visit, Loomer posted: “Just experienced my first air raid in Ukraine. Sirens blaring. This is everyday for every Ukrainian. I often said I don’t care. Looking back, that wasn’t very nice of me to say … We need to have moral clarity.” Loomer appeared to reverse her stance on Ukraine in June after her podcast editor visited Kyiv and Odesa just as they came under heavy attack, and after rival far-right influencer Candace Owens visited and praised Russia. Trump’s supposed Russia-Ukraine war peace broker, Steve Witkoff, has repeatedly visited Russia but has yet to go to Ukraine. A ⁠Russian attack ⁠on ⁠a food business in the ⁠Ukrainian city ⁠of Pavlohrad ‌killed ‌three and ‌injured at least 10 people, the regional ‌governor Oleksandr Hanzha said. The attack ⁠caused a fire. Ukrainian strikes killed three people, including a child, and wounded eight in Russia and in Moscow-annexed Crimea on Thursday, local authorities said.