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Tens of thousands march in London for annual Pride parade

Tens of thousands of people marched through central London for the annual LGBT+ Pride parade. Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, joined the crowd as they proceeded through the capital on Saturday afternoon. The event’s organisers said that more than 35,000 marchers from about 600 groups made their way from Hyde Park Corner to Whitehall via Piccadilly, many carrying rainbow flags. The activist Julian Hows, 70, who was at the front of the parade, told journalists: “Pride is important because it needs to have an underlying level of protest, and you can see the freedoms that we have can so easily be taken away. “We also always need to push further because there’s always somewhere where our rights are being taken away.” Madonna would not be attending the Pride event, organisers have said. Pride in London posted on social media: “In response to the rumours, we can confirm that Madonna will not be appearing or performing at Pride in London. “We have two fantastic headliners at Trafalgar Square to conclude a brilliant day of protest and celebration.” Speaking prior to the event, a Pride spokesperson said: “The urgency is clear: NHS gender-affirming care waiting lists now exceed four years in some regions while a comprehensive trans-inclusive ban on conversion therapy remains uncodified into law despite a 2018 government pledge. “At the same time, the community infrastructure LGBTQ+ people rely on is shrinking – since 2006, 58% of London’s LGBTQ+ venues have closed. “Together, these gaps in care, protection and safe spaces are unfolding amid continued hostility, with Home Office figures showing that more than 18,000 hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation were reported to police in 2025.” Britain’s first official Pride march took place in London in July 1972, inspired by the Stonewall uprising in New York three years earlier. Police raided a popular gay bar called the Stonewall Inn, leading to a week of demonstrations against harassment and discrimination. Rebecca Paisis, the event’s interim chief executive, said she wanted to oversee “the most inclusive Pride in London event yet”. She said: “Our movement has always been built on many voices becoming one united front – from the people who marched in 1972 to those joining us for the first time this year. That’s where our power lies. “As LGBTQ+ people, we’ve never been strangers to adversity, but neither are we strangers to collective action. This year’s campaign is a reminder that while the community often faces challenges in isolation, it is by coming together that we can change history.” However, in recent years, the London event has been criticised by some LGBTQ+ activists who no longer feel represented by it. It has faced accusations of “pinkwashing” by allegedly allowing some corporations to profit from their involvement in the event without any real commitment to LGBTQ+ equality. Some activists have also suggested the event is not diverse enough. Since 2024, a number of LGBTQ+ groups have tried to distance themselves from the London march, due to concerns about sponsors’ connections to the arms trade and the war in Gaza.

‘The situation is terrible’: aid workers on life in Sudanese city pummelled by drone strikes

Fatima has lost count of the number of drone attacks on the besieged city of El Obeid in Sudan, but said the attacks this past weekend were the most violent so far. The drones hit schools and fuel stations, killing more than 20 people, including students, she said. “Over the past few months, seeing 40 or 45 drones is the norm. You can literally count them,” said the aid volunteer, whose name has been changed for fear of retribution. El Obeid, a city of half a million people, is a key battleground in the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Attacks mounted by the RSF have prompted the UN and other agencies to warn of the risk of atrocities. Located between RSF-held areas in the western Darfur region and army-controlled regions in the east, El Obeid has suffered repeated drone strikes on its infrastructure. The army is fighting to stop the paramilitary group setting up another blockade after a siege in February last year. At least 45 people were killed and 41 injured in 15 drone strikes in the city and surrounding areas from 6 June to 28 June, according to the UN human rights office. There are growing fears of a repeat of the massacre in the city of El Fasher last year, when RSF fighters went on a rampage after capturing the city at the end of an 18-month siege. Amnesty International released a report on Wednesday saying the RSF had committed ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity in its campaign to capture El Fasher. An independent fact-finding mission for the UN had already said the RSF’s seizure of the city showed the “hallmarks of genocide” against non-Arab communities. On Friday, Volker Türk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, addressed delegates in Geneva during an urgent debate of the UN human rights council called by the UK and backed by Germany, Ireland, Norway and the Netherlands. He said: “The ‌signs from El Obeid are ‌clear and unmistakable: another human rights catastrophe is unfolding in Sudan. “This is not a drill. It is a red alert that needs to land on the desks of heads of state and government around the world. Their phones should be running hot in the coming days and weeks, with ideas on how to prevent atrocity crimes in El Obeid and in other places in Kordofan.” El Obeid hosts an SAF infantry division and an airbase, in addition to about 100,000 refugees displaced by violence. Experts have highlighted significant concentrations of RSF troops around the city and warn of an imminent ground offensive. A report released on Monday by the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab found damage to electricity generation, fuel storage facilities and the main market that was “consistent with intentional bombardment of civilian infrastructure necessary for the sustainment of life”. The report also noted an increase of more than 700 temporary structures at internally displaced persons camps in El Obeid in one month that was “consistent with a recent influx of highly vulnerable civilian populations to the city”. It said the SAF has constructed about 30 miles (50km) of defensive positions – suggesting it expected a siege. Nohad Eltayeb, a senior research assistant at the Acled conflict monitoring group, said it had recorded 27 drone strikes last month around El Obeid, the highest monthly total since the start of the conflict in 2023. In a audio diary for the Avaaz human rights advocacy group, Fatima spoke of living life on the edge because of drone attacks on hospitals, fuel stations and other facilities. An attack last week struck the city’s main power station, causing blackouts in most of the city, she said. Drones have also hit people gathering to share Starlink internet connections when telecommunications networks are down, she added. “I cannot begin to describe how terrible the situation is right now,” Fatima said. “Even the way people talk at funerals is different. Instead of praying for the deceased, they would be talking about how they died.” According to Fatima, merchants have increased prices, saying their goods are targeted by drones on the way to El Obeid from other parts of the country or simply looted. Ahlam, a humanitarian worker whose name has also been changed, said residents had become accustomed to pain, loss and fear from constant drone attacks. “In just the past two weeks, nearly every essential service and piece of critical infrastructure has been hit,” she said. She added that some people had considered leaving the city, but attacks on fuel stations had driven up prices, making transport much more expensive. She fears devastating consequences if the conflict escalates, noting the already huge number of displaced people in the city. Will Davies, Sudan director at Avaaz, said the drone attacks had created an “extremely dire” situation in El Obeid. He said the city lacked the ethnic dynamics that were a factor in the El Fasher killings and there was unlikely to be a major ground offensive because “the evidence isn’t there in terms of a force big enough to do it”. Mohamed Badawi, director at the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies, called for a ceasefire and for the international community to push for the creation of safe corridors for people to flee El Obeid. The war began in April 2023 when a power struggle between the SAF headed by Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF led by Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo erupted in violence in the capital, Khartoum. The fighting has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced many more. It has been fuelled by foreign powers with vested interests who are supporting sides in the conflict. On Monday, the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights and a coalition of civil organisations referred high-level officials based in the UAE, Iran, Turkey and Egypt to the international criminal court “for aiding and abetting atrocity crimes” in Darfur. They accused them of supplying arms, mercenaries, equipment, financing and logistical support.

UK woman, 21, arrested in Thailand after allegedly stabbing boyfriend to death

A 21-year-old British woman has been arrested in Thailand after allegedly fatally stabbing her boyfriend, according to local media reports. The Bangkok Post reported that on Thursday morning local time, officers found the body of a 34-year-old man, who operated a cannabis farm, in a luxury rental home in the Pattaya area, a beachside region two hours from Bangkok known for its large expat population and nightlife. Police officers found the man lying in a bathroom attached to a bedroom with several stab wounds, according to the paper. Police believe the man had been dead for six hours before they arrived. The victim’s girlfriend was found sitting near the body. Police told the Bangkok Post that a 50cm machete-like knife had been washed clean in a sink. The woman claimed her partner had injured himself, but investigators found inconsistencies in her account, the paper said. The Bangkok Post added that the victim’s body appeared to have been moved, while bloodstains and signs of a struggle were found throughout the house. Images from Pattaya Cable TV show police at the property while the young woman with red hair sits on a couch in a large room with purple curtains. In another clip, the woman is questioned by police outside the home. Thailand became the first country in Asia to legalise cannabis in 2022, which led to an explosion in marijuana shops across the country. Although laws were introduced last year banning recreational use, it is still sold widely. A spokesperson for the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “We are supporting the families of two British nationals in Thailand and are in contact with the local authorities.”

Pope praises US history of welcoming migrants in implicit rebuke to Trump

Pope Leo has used his first key address to his home country to praise the US history of ⁠welcoming migrants, urging Americans to live up to the ideals put forward in the ⁠Declaration of Independence. In his latest implicit rebuke to Donald Trump, the first US leader of the Roman Catholic church said the word “America” had become ‌a “byword for freedom” across the world because of the way the country welcomed migrants. In a speech given live from the Vatican to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia ‌as he received the its Liberty Medal, Leo said he hoped that ideals of “unity, justice and peace” held by the founding fathers would guide the US as it celebrated its 250th anniversary. “This historic anniversary presents ⁠us with the opportunity to reflect once again on the nation’s founding principles in the hope that America will remain ever true ‌to the dream that has earned it the title of land of the free and home of the brave,” the pope said. Leo marked US’s 250th anniversary on Saturday with a brief visit to the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, one of the main entry points to Europe for people making the perilous sea crossing from north Africa in search of refuge. Leo arrived in Lampedusa by helicopter early on Saturday morning. Among those gathered near Italy’s southernmost port to see the pope were newly arrived migrants, Italian coastguard search-and-rescue ‌officials and aid groups. Leo told them he had come to show that the pope “continues to accompany you, support you and encourage you”. The pope also called on European leaders to tackle migration “in a comprehensive manner, integrating immediate relief efforts into a long-term strategic plan capable of receiving, protecting, supporting and integrating migrants”. He also called on leaders to help improve conditions in migrants’ home countries so that fewer people felt compelled to leave. Like Francis, Leo has clashed with Trump over his immigration policies, calling in November for “deep reflection” in the US about the treatment of people held in detention. Relations with the Trump administration worsened further after the pontiff strongly condemned the US-Israeli war in Iran. Days before Leo’s trip to Lampedusa, JD Vance, the US vice-president, said the Vatican’s views on immigration were “troubling”. Leo is yet to take up Trump’s invitation to the White House, made by Vance during a meeting at the Vatican the day after Leo’s inaugural papal mass in May last year. The US is not on Leo’s overseas itinerary for 2026, although there were reportedly expectations among some in Trump’s administration that he would attend the Fourth of July celebrations. Marco Politi, a Vatican journalist and author, said: “Leo’s trip to Lampedusa is strongly symbolic and is also a political sign. He is focusing on the theme of immigration. This means reaffirming what he recently said in Spain about the dignity of every human being, but the trip is also a political message against the persecution of immigrants and what is being done by ICE agents in the US. “Furthermore, it is a strong political message against all the parties in Europe who sow hatred and polarise.” Andrea Vreede, the Vatican correspondent for the Dutch broadcaster NOS, said Leo’s trip was partly to pay homage to Francis but also to make a point to Trump. “The pope is telling Trump what is important to him, and that is migrants. He chose 4 July to make this point.” Lampedusa, home to roughly 6,000 residents and located closer to Tunisia than mainland Italy, has for decades been the first port of call for people crossing the Mediterranean in flimsy boats from north Africa. More than 182,000 people have transited the island’s reception centre in the past three years, Vatican News reported this week, citing data from the Italian Red Cross. Since 2014, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has recorded tens of thousands of deaths of people who set off from Tunisia or Libya. Despite a sharp drop in arrivals along Italy’s southern shores in recent years, the fatalities continue. Between January and early April, the IOM reported nearly 1,000 people either dead or missing in the Mediterranean. Leo will celebrate mass and speak to people who have survived the journey as well as humanitarian workers in Lampedusa before leaving shortly after midday. Kandeh Abdourahman, a cultural mediator who works on the island for the International Rescue Committee, said: “I was one of those thousands who crossed the Mediterranean and landed in Lampedusa in 2015, exhausted and uncertain. The pope’s visit speaks to every one of us – a reminder that our stories are seen, that ‘welcome’ is not just a word but an act of humanity that can help us reach all 118 million people displaced in the world today.”

Malta’s ‘trial of the century’ revives interest in murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia

On the steps of the courts of justice in Valletta, there is a bronze statue of Malta’s late president. A bundle of papers in one hand, Guido de Marco stands on a plinth, looking out at passersby in the busy street below. Every morning since Wednesday this week, his daughter has walked up the steps of the same courthouse, in dark glasses and smart clothes, a bundle of papers in her hand. A sought-after criminal lawyer, Giannella de Marco is representing the man accused of ordering the 2017 murder of the investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, in a case that continues to dominate public debate nearly nine years after the event. The man she is defending, Yorgen Fenech, is another establishment figure. If Malta has an equivalent to the Trump dynasty, the Fenechs are it. Their firm runs several Hilton hotels and it owns the Portomaso tower, the island’s second tallest structure. For Caruana Galizia’s family, a gruelling fight against the powerful and well-connected has taken place since the car bombing that ended her life. The journalist had made enemies at the very highest levels through her investigations. In a deeply polarised society, she had become a target of frequent attacks by government supporters. In a statement this week, the nonprofit group Reporters Without Borders described the Fenech trial as “historic” and an “emblematic European case”, a reminder that eyes outside Malta are watching. Herman Grech, editor-in-chief of the Times of Malta, says the scandal has resonated far beyond its shores. His play about the scandal, They Blew Her Up, has toured Europe, filling theatres. “This is undoubtedly the most consequential trial we’ve had in the 21st century,” he said. “The murder of Daphne was the biggest shock of my generation. We had seen other car bombs, but when it targets one of your own, it’s terrifying. It did bring down one of Malta’s most popular prime ministers.” Caruana Galizia’s biggest scoops concerned members of the government of Joseph Muscat, a young politician who had returned the Labour party to power after years in opposition. In 2019, amid concerns about political interference in the police investigation, and shortly after Fenech’s arrest, Muscat resigned. The family secured a public inquiry, which ran for 18 months and concluded, in July 2021, that the state had allowed “an atmosphere of impunity” to spread from the highest level of government to regulators and the police, leading to a collapse in the rule of law and creating a “favourable climate” for the murder. Their foundation has set up a news publisher, Amphora Media, and the family has capitalised on public attention to push for greater safeguards for journalists, making it harder to use the law to silence reporting of genuine public interest. Caruana Galizia was facing 43 civil and five criminal libel suits at the time of her assassination. On the day she died, she was on her way to the bank to arrange some payments because her accounts had been frozen as part of the legal proceedings. In Brussels, the Maltese MEPs David Casa and Roberta Metsola – now in her second term as president of the European parliament – campaigned with the family to secure new legislation designed to allow judges to dismiss the most abusive libel claims before they reach trial. The ripples have been felt as far as the UK, where Labour and Conservative politicians have called for similar measures, and two private members’ bills are being brought forward, one in the Lords and one in the Commons. Back in Malta, the trial has revived interest in the case. But conspiracy theories abound on social media, and many feel as though they have lost the thread, leaving them unsure of who or what to believe. While Caruana Galizia never wrote about Fenech, she was investigating him when she was killed, and the police have said they believe this was the motive for the murder. Fenech denies any involvement in the crime, and his lawyers have claimed he was framed. Years later, the case still divides public opinion and some remain openly hostile to Caruana Galizia’s memory. “Most people are happy she was got rid of,” said Albert, a barman in Valletta. “The people want to put it behind them. For the people the case is solved, it was solved efficiently.” While Muscat resigned, his party retains many supporters. Labour secured a historic fourth term in a snap election held in May under Muscat’s successor, Robert Abela. Abela was this week forced to deny the date for the vote was chosen in order to get ahead of any fallout from whatever happens in court. Sources say what the government fears most is that the trial, delayed multiple times, will collapse on a technicality. It is a chapter they wish to see closed. For now, the jury continues to hear the evidence. “We’ve waited a long time for this trial to begin,” said the journalist’s sister, Corinne Vella. “Our family has learned to be prepared for anything, but the evidence against the accused is simply overwhelming which gives us real hope we’ll finally see justice for Daphne’s murder.”

Ukraine war briefing: Germany calls reports Russian soldiers are being trained in China ‘deeply disturbing’

The Chinese ambassador in Berlin has been summoned for urgent talks about media reports that Russian soldiers were being trained in China, the German foreign ministry said on Friday. These “deeply disturbing” reports point to support for Russia from Chinese state actors, in particular the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, it said. “Anything that enables Russia to continue its war of aggression against Ukraine also represents a threat to our security,” the ministry said. On 20 May, the German daily Die Welt reported that the Chinese army had secretly trained several hundred Russian soldiers on its territory, some of whom had been deployed in Ukraine, citing classified documents from European intelligence services. Russia’s ⁠Defence Ministry claimed ⁠on ⁠Friday its forces had “completely” taken ⁠control of Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine, ⁠whose capture Moscow ‌has long sought in its advance through Donetsk ‌region. The battle for this city, which had about 78,000 inhabitants before the war, has been taking place since late 2025 and now constitutes the main Russian effort on a front more than 1,000km long. “The city is now entirely under our control,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. There was no independent verification of the claim. A massive Russian glide bomb strike on the centre of the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy on Friday has killed at least four people, including a ⁠child, ⁠and injured 27, regional governor Oleh Hryhorov said. Other areas in the Sumy region and in southeastern Ukraine, closer to the frontlines, also came under Russian ⁠attack, killing a total of six people. After the attack, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for Ukraine’s allies to intensify pressure on Russia “so that the terror can be stopped”. Sumy region, under near-constant attacks by Russian forces, is on the Russian border and Moscow has been trying to expand what it describes as a buffer zone there. Ukraine is looking ⁠for ways to lower tension ⁠with Warsaw, Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk said on Friday, adding that Poland’s neighbour to the east should come to terms with its history in order to join the European Union. Diplomatic relations between the two countries ⁠deteriorated after Polish President Karol Nawrocki stripped Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Poland’s top honour because Zelenskyy had named an army unit after insurgents who massacred Poles in the second world war. Tusk, a political opponent of Nawrocki, has been trying to smooth tensions, and said he ‌had received positive signals from Friday’s meeting ‌between Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and his Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski in Warsaw. There are proposals for consultations between historians and talks between religious leaders from both nations, Tusk said. Lithuania’s president said Friday his country wants to be integrated into western nuclear deterrence against Russia as it moves to end a ban on atomic weapons deployment. Speaking at a Berlin press conference, President Gitanas Nauseda said Lithuania was taking steps to remove the constitutional ban and added: “We would like to be the integral part of this nuclear deterrence.” “A few days ago, I initiated a constitutional amendment to remove the existing restriction on the possible deployment of nuclear weapons in Lithuania,” he added. Shortly afterwards, a group of 50 Lithuanian lawmakers submitted an amendment, which still has to be put before parliament. The World Athletics Council on Friday reaffirmed its decision ⁠to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes from international competition, four years ⁠after it ⁠initially imposed sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine. World Athletics voted to end its eight-year ⁠doping ban of the Russian Athletics Federation in 2023 but the separate ban over ⁠the invasion of Ukraine kept out their athletes. “We presented options for the ‌Council to ‌consider on this matter, however the original decision remains ‌on the sanctions that protect the integrity and fairness of our competitions, with no tangible movement towards peace negotiations having materialised,” World Athletics President Seb Coe said in a statement.