Upon entering the "highly sophisticated" tunnel, authorities were met with barricades seemingly placed to prevent law enforcement from finding its entrance, the announcement noted.

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as Switzerland and Philippines cut interest rates

Newsflash: We have a third interest rate cut this morning!

Norway’s central bank has surprised analysts by cutting its policy rate by a quarter of one percentage point, to 4.25%. The rate had been set at 4.5% since December 2023.

“Inflation has declined since the monetary policy meeting in March, and the inflation outlook for the coming year indicates lower inflation than previously expected.

A cautious normalisation of the policy rate will pave the way for inflation to return to target without restricting the economy more than necessary.”

“The uncertainty surrounding the economic outlook is now greater than normal. If the economy takes a different path than currently envisaged, the policy rate path may be adjusted. But our objectives stand firm. We will finish the job and ensure that inflation is brought all the way back to 2 percent.”

The Monetary Board also noted indications of a deceleration in global economic activity, driven primarily by uncertainty over US trade policy and the conflict in the Middle East. This would lead to slower growth in the Philippines.

A rise in oil prices, electricity rate adjustments, and higher rice tariffs, would add to inflationary pressures.

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© Photograph: Carlos Jasso/Reuters

© Photograph: Carlos Jasso/Reuters

Putin’s comments come as fighting continues and Ukraine says Russia avoiding peace talks

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has just posted a video of his visit to the site of the Russian “vile attack” earlier this week, which killed 23 civilians.

This strike is a reminder to the world that Russia spurns a ceasefire and chooses to kill.

I am grateful to all our partners who understand that Ukraine must grow stronger every single day. I thank everyone who is ready to exert pressure on Moscow in a way that makes them feel the true cost of this war.

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© Photograph: Libkos/Getty Images

© Photograph: Libkos/Getty Images

Terry Luttrell was the lead vocalist on the band’s self-titled debut album in 1971.

Blockage of strait of Hormuz, through which about 25% of world’s oil passes, could shock energy market, says Wael Sawan

• Business live – latest updates

An escalation in the Middle East conflict could have a “huge impact on global trade”, the boss of the oil company Shell has warned, as Donald Trump suggested the US could enter the air war between Israel and Iran.

Shell, one of the biggest traders of oil and natural gas in the world, said it had contingency plans in case the conflict disrupted flows from the region. There is a risk that a blockage in the strait of Hormuz could shock the energy market.

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© Photograph: Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters

© Photograph: Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters

Southern Mexico’s Pacific coast was braced for a Thursday morning impact with the approach of Hurricane Erick, which was upgraded to an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 early Thursday, the US National Hurricane Center said.

A senator handcuffed, people snatched in public, military deployed – Trump’s slide towards autocracy has come quicker than critics feared

It reads like a checklist of milestones on the road to autocracy.

A succession of opposition politicians, including Alex Padilla, a US senator, are handcuffed and arrested by heavy-handed law enforcement for little more than questioning authority or voicing dissent.

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© Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images

© Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images

Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, announced in March 2024 that she was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer. In January, the mother of three said she was in remission.

California law enforcement faces unprecedented violence during Los Angeles immigration raids, with officers working long shifts amid hundreds of arrests and multiple injuries

Japan faces overtourism challenges with 36 million visitors in 2024, raising concerns about two-tier pricing and the environmental impact on sacred sites like Mount Fuji.

Veterans Affairs chief Doug Collins criticizes California officials for ignoring impact of Los Angeles anti-ICE riots on veterans as a VA clinic is forced to close.

OTTAWA — Canada’s helicopter industry is charging the federal government with a “serious breach” in allowing the RCMP to patrol the Canada-U.S. border with antiquated military helicopters that don’t meet the government’s own safety regulations, National Post has learned. Read More

The Starship experienced a “major anomaly” before starting its 10th flight test. Elon Musk’s giant moon and Mars rocket has a mixed record of success.

Anthony Volpe admitted that he got played on Wednesday night, and it cost the Yankees a chance to end their five-game losing streak.

The guest said that the meal was for two kids and three adults, with the total including a $150 tip — just over 20% of the original amount.

Elon Musk's SpaceX Starship exploded into an enormous fireball on Wednesday night during a test for an upcoming launch, in a catastrophic setback for the private space company.

Erick set off flash floods in the states of Oaxaca and Guerrero. A stretch of the Pacific coastline, including Acapulco, was under a hurricane warning.

© Jorge Luis Plata/Reuters

Frankie Montas’ final line for his potential last minor league rehab start before joining the Mets hardly suggests he’s ready for the big stage.

The Los Angeles Sparks came under fire on social media this week for a post that some users claimed sexualized one of the team’s players. 

Border Patrol agents uncovered a sophisticated narcotics smuggling tunnel connecting Tijuana and San Diego, featuring electrical and ventilation systems.

A new slogan has offered a non-partisan rallying point – and last weekend, protests overshadowed the president’s weird military parade

Two months ago, around the US, mass demonstrations against Donald Trump were organised in what felt like the beginning of the great unfreezing of the popular movement. Since the inauguration in January there have been plenty of ad-hoc anti-Trump protests, but compared to the huge numbers that turned out in 2017 – half a million at the Women’s March in Washington DC alone – the response has been muted. What was the point? The threat was so large, and the failure of the first movement apparently so great, that Americans have been suffering from what appeared to be a case of embarrassed paralysis: a sense, at once sheepish and depressed, that pink hats weren’t moving the needle on this one.

It looks as if that thinking has changed. On Saturday, in a follow-up to the protests in April, more than 2,000 coordinated marches took place in the US, organised by multiple groups under the umbrella No Kings Day and attended by numbers that at a glance seem startling. While in the capital on Saturday, Trump oversaw his weird, sparsely attended Kim Jong-un style military parade, an estimated 5 million people country-wide took to the streets to protest peacefully against him, including an estimated 80,000 in Philadelphia, 75,000 in Chicago, 50,000 in New York, 20,000 in Phoenix, and 7,000 in Honolulu. More heartening still were the numbers from deep red states, such as the 2,000 odd protesters who gathered in Mobile, Alabama, and a reported 4,000 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist

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© Photograph: Ringo Chiu/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Ringo Chiu/AFP/Getty Images

Today’s rumours prefer baking

Viktor Gyökeres may or may not have spat the dummy out after reportedly refusing to hold clear-the-air talks with Sporting over his desire to move. Arsenal and Manchester United have been linked with the Sweden international but the Portuguese side want a wheelbarrow full of cash for his services, which is putting off potential suitors. Gyökeres wants the club to lower their demands but if the striker does not get what he wants, then he could go on strike to really show his employer who is boss.

In a further blow to Arsenal, the Athletic Club winger Nico Williams has told anyone who will listen that he only wants to join Barcelona this summer. It is now up to Barça to look down the back of the sofa for the cash to pay for him. If the Spain international does head from the Basque Country to Catalonia, it will end any chance of Marcus Rashford joining the Spanish champions. Rashford might need to turn to Italy where Napoli, Milan and Como are interested in helping him escape from Manchester United.

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© Photograph: Alexandre de Sousa/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Alexandre de Sousa/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

Amina says the constant influx of baked goods is too much. Ruby says she’s just trying to bring joy to the workplace. You decide who should bake off

Find out how to get a disagreement settled or become a juror

I’m not saying we should have no cakes ever, I just think we should stop assuming cake is always welcome

Bringing cakes in shows we care and adds a little joy to the office. I’m not force-feeding anyone

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© Illustration: Igor Bastidas/The Guardian

© Illustration: Igor Bastidas/The Guardian

After a run of greats at the helm, the tourists’ early promotion of their new leader is an intriguing choice to steady a listing ship

Shubman Gill was a pretty laid-back character when he played for Glamorgan three summers ago. So laid back, in fact, that early on during his time there he parked the brand new Volvo the club had arranged for him and apparently left the keys in the ignition. Sure enough, after training, he returned to find it had been pinched.

Cue panic in the finance department at Sophia Gardens, calls to the insurers and the like. But at least his new teammates had material for some lighthearted mickey-taking. Gill, just turned 23 but already an India star on the rise, had arrived for three September rounds of the County Championship in 2022. Saying hello with 92 on debut in Cardiff, and goodbye with 119 at Hove, it sounds like he fitted in well.

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© Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA

© Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA

There are fears the crackdown against ‘outsiders’ is driving widespread persecution as expelled Indians are returned by Bangladesh border guards

The Indian government has been accused of illegally deporting Indian Muslims to Bangladesh, prompting fears of an escalating campaign of persecution.

Thousands of people, largely Muslims suspected of being illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, have been rounded up by police across India in recent weeks, according to human rights groups, with many of them deprived of due legal process and sent over the border to neighbouring Muslim-majority Bangladesh.

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© Photograph: Kazi Sharowar Hussain/Supplied

© Photograph: Kazi Sharowar Hussain/Supplied

Playing out from the back works for top teams but sides at the bottom are giving away too many chances

By Opta Analyst

Long-ball football has, for better or worse, been on the decline for years. Football was once a kick-and-run game, shaped by long balls and the thinking that getting the ball close to the opposition’s goal as quickly as possible increased the chances of scoring, well, more quickly.

That was swiftly disproved and left further and further in the rear-view mirror as the game sped off into the Premier League era and further still in the Pep Guardiola-inspired 2010s. As the technical standard of players increased, the ball was kept on the floor more and more. The laws of the game have even been changed to allow teams to play passes so short from goal-kicks that they do not even leave the penalty area.

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© Illustration: Opta

© Illustration: Opta

JWP Connatix, a leading video technology company and monetization platform, is in a new phase of growth since Connatix and JW Player merged last October.

Abby advises a reader on how to help her dad and father get along despite their differences.

A heartbreaking video captured a Bronx shooting victim’s last breaths as bystanders pleaded -- ultimately in vain – for the bleeding man to cling to life. 

Aaron Judge extended his first true statistical slump of the season by going hitless in four at-bats in the Yankees’ 3-2 loss to the Angels.

Several public officials have been the recipients of anonymous pizza deliveries, which law enforcement officials say convey the message that the sender knows where they live.

At 15, she began seeing an older man and conceived her beloved daughter. It was years before she properly understood it as abuse. Now she is working tirelessly in parliament for other survivors

Natalie Fleet is nervous about this interview. Her assistant has warned me and Fleet tells me several times, before and during. “I just feel sick,” she says. “I don’t know if it’s because it’s about me or because of the subject. It just doesn’t seem to get any easier.”

The subject is rape – specifically Fleet’s experience of being groomed by an older man when she was 15, becoming pregnant and having the baby. That daughter, “the love of her life”, is now 24. Since entering parliament last summer as the Labour MP for Bolsover, Fleet has spoken a good deal about rape, her life story and the lack of support for mothers whose children were conceived this way – and each time it upsets her. “My husband said: ‘I don’t want you to be the “rapey MP”,’ and I don’t want that either,” says Fleet. “But it’s such a massive void in our national conversation. If nobody’s talking about it, then people won’t report it or understand it, perpetrators won’t be prosecuted or convicted. And shame really does need to switch sides. That can only happen if we start telling each other that it’s not our fault.”

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© Photograph: Alicia Canter/The Guardian

© Photograph: Alicia Canter/The Guardian

Ben Rice passed his first test as a starting catcher in the majors. He came up through the minor league system primarily as a catcher before serving as a first baseman and a DH the past two seasons with the Yankees. Wednesday he made his first start behind the plate of his MLB career in...

“The United States is not a safe haven for human rights violators. Those, like the defendant, who commit immigration fraud to hide their violent pasts will be charged and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

“I don’t want this situation to end up like Minnesota over the weekend,” Dalzell wrote. “When lawmakers make laws and the state doesn’t follow the laws they created it would probably piss some people off right."

In this frank, exposing memoir, Jong-Fast reflects on her dysfunctional upbringing as her family falls apart

In 2023, Molly Jong-Fast had the year from hell. Her husband, Matt, discovered he had pancreatic cancer; her father-in-law, aunt and stepfather all died; and her then 81-year-old mother, the novelist and poet Erica Jong, was diagnosed with dementia. “My mother is just a body now,” she states in How to Lose Your Mother. “Erica Jong the person has left the planet.”

That year also marked the 50th anniversary of Fear of Flying, Jong’s autobiographical novel. Hailed as a landmark of feminist literature, it made a star of its author, selling more than 20m copies and leading to appearances on The Tonight Show and the cover of Newsweek. The book coined the phrase “the zipless fuck” to describe casual sex. “Now think about being the offspring of the person who wrote that sentence. And pour one out for me,” writes Jong-Fast.

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© Photograph: Barbara Alper/Getty Images

© Photograph: Barbara Alper/Getty Images

Premium sports tracker adds built-in torch, smartwatch and accuracy upgrades, plus useful new training tools, but costs far more than rivals

Garmin’s new top running watch, the Forerunner 970, has very big shoes to fill as it attempts to replace one of the best training and race companions available. Can a built-in torch, a software revamp and voice control really make a difference?

The new top-of-the-line Forerunner takes the body of the outgoing Forerunner 965 and squeezes in a much brighter display, useful new running analytics and more of the advanced tech from Garmin’s flagship adventure watch the Fenix 8.

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© Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

© Photograph: Samuel Gibbs/The Guardian

Birthplace of vermouth, grissini and espresso, the north Italian city is a fitting host for the annual World’s 50 Best Restaurants ceremony on 19 June. But you don’t need to have deep pockets to enjoy its great food scene

Many renowned dining destinations have hosted the annual “food Oscars” – the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. This year is the first time the honour goes to Italy, with Turin, capital of Piedmont, holding the ceremony on 19 June. Although Emilia-Romagna is usually regarded as the country’s food capital, Piedmont has a proud gastronomic tradition, with white truffles, rice, chocolate, pastas and cheeses, not to mention wines such as barolo and barbaresco.

Greener than most Italian cities, Turin, the former capital of Savoy and briefly capital of Italy, also has elegant piazzas, royal palaces, possibly Europe’s biggest outdoor market and the wide Po River for strolling, cycling and kayaking. It is where vermouth (see below), grissini breadsticks and espresso coffee were invented.

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© Photograph: PR IMAGE

© Photograph: PR IMAGE

From combatting racist skinheads to fixing railway lines, these photographs and stories reflect the enduring, positive impact Windrush arrivals had on the UK. Portraits by Amit Lennon.

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© Photograph: Amit Lennon

© Photograph: Amit Lennon

Move by Lloyds Banking Group-owned pension provider comes as government pushes for more investment in British companies

As the world’s attention moves to Iran, what are Israeli forces doing in Gaza? Emma Graham-Harrison reports

Israel faced growing international pressure earlier this month as hundreds of starving people in Gaza were killed as they tried to reach aid distribution sites. Since Israel launched its attacks on Iran on Friday, however, that diplomatic outcry has largely disappeared.

The Guardian’s chief Middle East correspondent, Emma Graham-Harrison, tells Nosheen Iqbal that the killings in Gaza have by no means stopped and that many aid experts believe the current food distribution system, based around an opaque organisation called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, has been doomed from the start.

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© Photograph: Jehad Alshrafi/AP

© Photograph: Jehad Alshrafi/AP

Lord Hermer is said to have cautioned against British engagement unless UK personnel are targeted

© PA Wire

Soroka Hospital damaged after Israel strikes a key nuclear facility in Iran

© REUTERS

Erick could become the most intense hurricane to make landfall along Mexico’s Pacific coast this early in the season

© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

The 25-year-old scored and created an assist in City’s 2-0 win over Wydad AC

© AFP via Getty Images

New convenience stores will also open across the country

© Getty

Maro Itoje captains the touring side for the first time and is joined in the starting XV by Marcus Smith.

© PA Wire

Experts reveal how to protect your alfresco furniture from sun, rain and mildew – and make it last more than one summer.

Ofgem says the provider ‘fell short’ of its standards

© Getty Images

Stock market reaction and business news from Thursday

© Getty/iStock

This Lewis Hamilton-produced sports film is a soulless endeavour, and far too infatuated with the near-mythical bravado of Pitt’s racing veteran to really work

© Warner Bros

A SpaceX rocket being tested in Texas has exploded, sending a dramatic fireball high into the sky

© Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

The British No.1 came through a tough contest with Alexei Popyrin to reach the quarter-finals

© PA Wire

European champions PSG will face Copa Libertadores holders Botafogo in one of the biggest games of the tournament so far

© Getty Images

© Reuters

Lionel Messi’s Miami side face Portuguese giants Porto in the second game of their Club World Cup campaign

© Getty Images

Final film in the franchise will be a family affair

© Invision

© Getty Images

Exclusive: UK visitors face extra Brexit red tape, including fingerprinting, as Rock aligns with Schengen area formalities

© Simon Calder

© PA Archive

© AFP via Getty Images

Danny Boyle says it was inevitable the Covid-19 pandemic would shape his latest film, 28 Years Later, which premiered in London on Wednesday (18 June).

© The Independent

Musician wants to ‘stay in shape and feed my competitive appetite’

© Getty Images

© AFP/Getty

Obama and her brother, Craig Robinson, recently appeared on the ‘Las Culturistas’ podcast

© Getty

All the essential cost of living information you need

© Gareth Fuller/PA Wire

Either way, the sun is likely slated to consume Earth in billions of years

© NASA

Super-tight security is smothering The Hague around a summit of NATO leaders next week

© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

Only 10 cans with Osbourne’s DNA were sold by Liquid Death

© Getty Images

Ordinary Iranians are now caught in a war they neither chose nor are prepared for, reports Sayeh Rahimy

© WANA

Experts believe only Washington has the weapons capable of halting Iran’s nuclear programme

© Getty

‘I don’t think I’ve ever said this publicly before,’ actor said of surprising admission

© Getty

Scientists warn world may exceed Paris Agreement’s 1.5C limit as early as February 2028 as greenhouse gas emissions continue rising

© PA Wire

With the critical success of ‘Mindhunter’, the Irish-born actor graduated from supporting tough guy parts in films like ‘Fight Club’ to leading his own shows. As he prepares for the release of ‘The Waterfront’, he speaks to Annabel Nugent about his traditional parents, how he almost turned down ‘Alien 3’ – and why for him, ‘chivalry is not dead’

© Getty

Singer had been left ‘shocked’ at pregnancy after adopting in November 2024

© Instagram/JossStone

Tough border policies aren’t just good politics. They’re progressive, as Britain’s Labour Party shows.

The cult documentary maker tells Hannah Ewens why he’ll never use words like ‘neoliberal’ in his films, how money has burrowed its way into our consciousness and why the real self has disappeared deep within our minds and we’ll never find it

© BBC

Hvar may be best known as a party town, but Joanna Booth packs her trainers and swaps cocktails for running trails to discover a whole new side to the Croatian island

© Croatia Tourism, Hrvoje Serdar

Mark World Tapas Day in true Spanish style with José Pizarro’s crowd-pleasing recipes – think golden tortilla, salty devilled eggs and croquetas worth burning your fingers for

© Handout

Lilly Subbotin eats, drinks and dances her way around Glasgow – and finds the city’s restaurants, bars and legendary hospitality might just tempt her to leave the Big Smoke behind

© Getty/iStock