Exact terms of the deal not clear amid differing claims from both sides on when access to the global shipping route would be restored Middle East crisis – live updatesA peace deal between the US and Iran has been reached following nearly four months of fighting in the region, Donald Trump and senior Iranian officials have said.Iranian deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi confirmed the agreement in televised comments in the early hours of Monday, saying it puts an “immediate end” to the countries’ war, and that it included Lebanon. Continue reading...

Geochronologists say Antrim coastline’s basalt columns developed over 5.5m years – 8m less than thoughtFor centuries, the tale has been passed from generation to generation: how the Irish giant Finn McCool built the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland to fight Benandonner, his Scottish rival, by hurling chunks of the Antrim coastline into the sea.Now, scientists have revealed it was intense volcanic activity during a “major globally impacting volcanic event” – and not a legendary battle between two destructive giants – that led to the formation of the coastline’s 40,000 distinctive interlocking basalt columns about 60m years ago. Continue reading...

Those in favour forced to defend themselves against claims the terms amount to capitulationMiddle East crisis – live updatesIranian hardliners have mounted a rearguard rejection of a deal with the US as as they say it does not guarantee sanctions relief, compensation or control of the strait of Hormuz.“The fact that they say we won and America has retreated is a blatant lie,” said the Iranian MP Kamran Ghazanfari. Meysam Nili, the managing director of Rajanews and brother-in-law of the hardline former president Ebrahim Raisi, called the deal on the table a catastrophic capitulation. He urged Iranians not to sit quietly. Continue reading...

Demonstrations took off in Washington and across US as Trump throws first private, for-profit sporting event ever held on White House groundsDozens of people stood across the entrance gates to the Ellipse, the park south of the White House, on Sunday afternoon, holding protest signs and chanting as the president prepared to host seven mixed martial arts fights on the lawn.Thousands of fight fans streamed past the protesters into the sprawling public viewing area that the Trump administration and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), which is hosting the fights, erected steps from the White House. The cage fights, marketed as a celebration of the country’s “fighting spirit” ahead of its 250th anniversary, are being held on Donald Trump’s 80th birthday. Continue reading...

Vice-president says he tries not to make decisions until he ‘absolutely must’ but has ‘no doubt’ Trump will support himJD Vance said that he will discuss a 2028 US presidential run with his wife after the 2026 midterms.The US vice-president gave insight into his ongoing decision on whether to run during an interview with CBS Sunday Morning where he spoke on his new memoir, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, which details his conversion to Catholicism. Continue reading...

Trump also says in ‘friendly and frank’ phone call that US is nearing peace deal with Iran, according to Putin adviserDonald Trump told Vladimir Putin that ending Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine was critical and that he was prepared to help, reported Russia’s TASS news agency.During a phone call on Sunday, Trump also informed the Russian president that the US was nearing a peace deal with Iran as the US-Israel war against the country continues, according to Yuri Ushakov, a Putin adviser. The call between Trump and Putin, which lasted about an hour, was described as “friendly and frank” by Ushakov. Continue reading...

Alternative singer and internet personality among six who died when two helicopters collided over Rio de JaneiroThe American musician Oliver Tree has died in a helicopter crash in Brazil at the age of 32, according to reports.Two helicopters collided over Rio de Janeiro on Sunday morning and crashed in the city’s western zone, killing all six people onboard, including Tree, several Brazilian media outlets reported. Continue reading...

Crash reportedly occurred shortly after departure from Butler Memorial airport on Sunday morningSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailTwelve people were killed in a plane crash near Butler, Missouri, on Sunday.According to Bates county emergency management, a private plane that had departed Butler Memorial airport shortly before 11.30am turned back before crashing near Business 49 Highway, Fox 4 reported. Continue reading...

US senator is getting ‘excellent care’ after being hospitalized on Sunday morning, spokesperson saysSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailMitch ⁠McConnell, a US senator ⁠from Kentucky, was admitted ​to ‌the ‌hospital ‌on Sunday morning, ‌a ​spokesperson ⁠said ​in ​a statement.“Senator McConnell was admitted to the hospital this morning. He is receiving excellent care,” the statement read. Continue reading...

Met seizes far-right activist’s phones after he disembarks flight at Heathrow under counter-terrorism provisionsBritish police say they stopped the far-right activist Tommy Robinson and seized his phones as he returned from a trip to Russia.Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, met Elon Musk’s father in Moscow during his trip. Continue reading...

Far-right plan would have obliged the Swiss government to limit the population, currently 9.1 million, to 10 million by 2050Voters in Switzerland have rejected an unprecedented far-right proposal to cap the country’s population at 10 million in a divisive referendum dubbed “the Swiss Brexit”.Some 54.79% of voters were against the proposal by the Swiss People’s party (SVP) and 45.21% were in favour. Turnout was 58.86%. Continue reading...

Two friends found Kathryn Woessner, 68, in wooded area almost entirely submerged in mud puddleA woman has been rescued from a mud pit in Minnesota after becoming trapped for several days.On 6 June, two friends, Adam Sandbeck and Mike Gravalin, were riding their all-terrain vehicles through a wooded area near Backus and Hackensack in northern Minnesota when they discovered Kathryn Woessner, 68, almost entirely submerged in a mud puddle. Continue reading...