The Guardian

Salzburg bans tourists from driving into historic centre over summer

Day trippers face fines for entering Austrian city’s old town during July and August in action to curb ‘chaotic traffic situations’ Salzburg has begun enforcing a summer ban on visitors driving into its historic centre, picking up a policy modelled by other car-choked European cities plagued by overtourism.Authorities in Austria’s fourth largest municipal area said they hoped the “less traffic, more city” restrictions in July and August would reduce the number of vehicle entries by 1,000 a day.

general  Jul 1, 2026

NY Times World

After Trading Attacks, U.S. and Iran Edge Back Toward Diplomacy

With negotiators in Qatar, oil prices are easing as shipowners send more vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, unblocking energy flows.

general  Jul 1, 2026

The Guardian

E Jean Carroll asks judge to order Donald Trump to pay $5m he owes her

Move follows supreme court refusal to hear Trump’s appeal of civil case verdict in sexual abuse and defamation caseThe New York journalist E Jean Carroll asked a judge on Tuesday to mandate that Donald Trump pay her the $5m she is owed from a jury verdict that found the US president liable for sexually abusing her in the 1990s and defaming her after she publicly described in 2019 being attacked by him in a city department store.Lawyers for Carroll filed papers in a federal court in Manhattan one

general  Jul 1, 2026

The Guardian

Two people onboard small plane die after it crashes in field in Essex

Two-seat Cessna aircraft was carrying out short flight experience when it crashed in Ongar on Tuesday, police sayTwo people have died after a light aircraft on a “short flight experience” crashed in a field near Ongar in Essex, police have said.The two-seat Cessna plane crashed in a field off Mill Lane, Ongar, on Tuesday after taking off from North Weald airfield about seven miles west, Essex police said. Continue reading...

general  Jul 1, 2026

The Guardian

Alarm bells over conflict of interest as filing shows Trump raked in $2bn in 2025 | First Thing

President made more than $1bn from crypto businesses last year while federal government oversaw regulation. Plus, giant seal causes havoc in Tasmania – but locals love himGood morning. Donald Trump has raked in more than $1bn from his crypto businesses since returning to the White House, according to financial disclosures, making him substantially richer and ringing alarm bells over a conflict of interest.According to a 927-page document released on Tuesday by the US Office of Government Ethics,

general  Jul 1, 2026

The Guardian

Duke of York’s theatre to be renamed after Tom Stoppard

New name recognises the playwright’s huge impact on British theatre with producer Sonia Friedman saying he would be ‘tickled pink’The Duke of York’s theatre in the West End is to become the Tom Stoppard theatre in honour of the playwright who died in November.The theatre is currently presenting Carrie Cracknell’s revival of Stoppard’s 1993 masterpiece Arcadia and the same play was produced there in 2009. The playwright’s wife, Sabrina Stoppard, said: “Tom was in his element whenever he had a pla

general  Jul 1, 2026

The Guardian

Fears of Catholic schism as defiant sect ordains ultra-conservative bishops

Consecrations by Society of Saint Pius X bring automatic excommunication for bishops – and crisis for Pope LeoA rebel group of ultra-conservative Catholics has defied Pope Leo by ordaining bishops without his consent, which they declared a “sacred duty” despite it causing their automatic excommunication.In a ritual-filled ceremony on Wednesday streamed live from the Swiss village of Ecône, the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) went ahead with the consecrations of four bishops, one from Switzerland,

general  Jul 1, 2026

The Guardian

New Orleans residents on warning to abandon sinking city: ‘Nobody wants to leave home’

After a recent study found New Orleans is at a ‘point of no return’ amid the climate crisis, some locals say they will ‘only leave if forced to’. But what would it take to stay?When a study in May concluded that New Orleans has hit a “point of no return” due to the climate crisis that will require people to eventually retreat from their storied yet ultimately doomed city, the local reaction was swift and fiery.The onward march of rising seas around a sinking city was unsettling, but the study is

general  Jul 1, 2026

The Guardian

Trump to attend opening of Roosevelt library amid overturning conservation efforts

Theodore Roosevelt protected swathes of land, while Trump has lifted them from more than 86m acresDonald Trump will attend a ribbon cutting for the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library on Wednesday, touting the legacy of a president his own administration is attempting to destroy, critics say.While in office from 1901 to 1909, Roosevelt established five new national parks, protected swaths of land and passed legislation enabling himself and future presidents to proclaim historic landmarks

general  Jul 1, 2026

The Guardian

Family of boy injured in Cambridgeshire crocodile enclosure thank zoo staff who rescued him

Three-year-old remains in hospital after ‘undergoing multiple surgeries’ but is now in stable conditionThe family of a three-year-old boy who was seriously injured in a crocodile attack at a zoo have thanked staff at the attraction in a new statement released through the police.Last month, officers were called to Johnsons of Old Hurst zoo in Huntingdonshire at over “reports of an incident involving a three-year-old boy, during which he ended up in the crocodile enclosure”. Continue reading...

general  Jul 1, 2026

The Guardian

Sudan’s RSF committed crimes against humanity in El Fasher, Amnesty says

Report accuses paramilitary force of crimes including ethnic cleansing in systemic campaign against civiliansThe Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces committed crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing during its seizure of El Fasher last year, Amnesty International has alleged.Many of the crimes, including murder, torture, rape, enslavement and sexual slavery, were carried out as part of a widespread and systematic attack against civilians and amounted to crimes against humanity, the h

general  Jul 1, 2026

The Guardian

BBC staff fear strike action inevitable after 1% pay rise offer prompts anger

Unions reject proposed below-inflation increase which comes as corporation prepares to cut thousands of jobsBBC staff fear a strike is on the horizon at the broadcaster after anger over a below-inflation pay rise offer made amid plans to cut thousands of jobs.There is widespread consternation among staff at the offer of a 1% increase, seen as derisory given that inflation is running at almost three times that level. It also comes with staff across the BBC worried about their jobs, as the corpora

general  Jul 1, 2026

BBC World

Several killed and injured in fire at Antwerp apartment building

The fire broke out in the 10-storey block in the Linkeroever district of the Belgian city.

general  Jul 1, 2026

The Guardian

Halifax to disappear from UK high street as Lloyds axes bank brand after 173 years

Group confirms it will stop opening new accounts under the name and move existing ones to LloydsLloyds Banking Group has announced it is axing the Halifax brand, meaning the 173-year-old former building society’s name will disappear from UK high streets.The group will stop opening new accounts under the Halifax brand, and kickstart a process of shifting existing accounts to Lloyds branding over the coming days. Continue reading...

general  Jul 1, 2026

The Guardian

Coventry Cathedral glass engraving damaged in set-up for music event

Figure in John Hutton’s west screen, considered a 20th-century masterpiece, cracked by ladder used in lighting rigDeep cracks have appeared in one of the huge angels etched into John Hutton’s west screen of glass panels at Coventry Cathedral after a major music event.It has prompted concern that the increase in cathedrals hosting outside events, a big source of revenue, risks damaging some of the UK’s most important religious architecture. Continue reading...

general  Jul 1, 2026

The Guardian

Death by firing squad: archaic method on the rise in US as Idaho opens new execution chamber

Supporters of the method say it’s foolproof – but forensic experts say it can be ‘excruciating’ amid allegations it’s been intentionally botchedThe tangled path of US capital punishment takes a new turn on Wednesday as Idaho becomes the first state to adopt the firing squad as its primary form of execution, embracing the brutal killing technique even as concerns grow that it can inflict excruciating pain and suffering.The state’s department of corrections (IDOC) says it has met its deadline, set

general  Jul 1, 2026

The Guardian

‘It’s like being close to home’: World Cup vibes immaculate in richly diverse New York

Fans of all stripes pack the bars to sing, cheer and commiserate in city where more than 3m people were born outside USAlmost 200,000 Ecuadorians and Ecuadorian Americans live in New York City, and last week quite a lot of them were in a Brooklyn restaurant called El Encebollado de Victor to watch their football team take on Germany – a traditional World Cup powerhouse.It made for quite a sight: a sea of yellow shirts under the restaurant’s blue roof, which had been adorned with red, blue and ye

general  Jul 1, 2026

The Guardian

Trump’s affordability crisis hits his supporters hardest as he calls housing bill of ‘minor importance’

A housing shortfall, record home costs and cuts to subsidies are intensifying the US affordability crunchOf the various dimensions of the affordability crisis weighing on US families, housing probably weighs heaviest. The typical home price has risen above five times the annual income of the typical family. The monthly cost of owning a home has hit record highs.The US faces a housing shortfall of millions of homes. But builders are not rushing to meet the shortfall. The supply of new homes decli

general  Jul 1, 2026

The Guardian

US labor board more likely to dismiss worker and union charges under Trump, analysis finds

Report points to staffing shortages, procedural changes and lack of a board quorum as contributing factorsDismissals of unfair labor practice charges have surged at the National Labor Relations Board under Donald Trump, according to a new analysis.From January 2025 to 29 April 2026, the US top labor watchdog dismissed 34.7% of all unfair labor practice charges filed by labor unions, a 14.2% increase from 2024. The agency dismissed 67.4% of unfair labor practice charges filed by workers, 10.7% hi

general  Jul 1, 2026

The Guardian

Up to 150 former WH Smith stores to close as high court approves restructure

Restructuring plan involves writing off debts to suppliers and cutting rent for many landlordsBusiness live – latest updatesUp to 150 former WH Smith high street stores are to close after the high court approved a swingeing restructure that could affect thousands of jobs.The books to paperclips retailer, which has 450 stores and employs about 5,000 staff, was bought by the private equity firm Modella Capital, which also owns Hobbycraft, last year and rebranded TG Jones. Continue reading...

general  Jul 1, 2026