South Africa’s anti-migrant backlash
The country would benefit more if it stuck to its pan-African principles
The main event
Worth reading
Not the busiest stories. The pieces most likely to sharpen the mental model.
The world may not like Trump’s Gaza plan — but there is no alternative
If even I, an implacable opponent of the president, can accept this as the best option, then surely others can too?
Assisted dying bill is shoddy and riddled with defects
Selected from The Times as an argument-led read.
Times letters: Human cost of inaction over defence funding
Selected from The Times as an argument-led read.
Don’t Blame Plunging Birthrates on Phones
Low fertility rates are a lagging indicator, the final outcome of a string of social shifts.
More headlines
Financial Times
US-Iran accord opens way for Hormuz charges, industry warns
Shipping executives fear language will enable Tehran to introduce fees after 60 days or a fund similar to Strait of Malacca
Financial Times
Iran to get access to $6bn of frozen funds to buy US goods
Money held in Qatar to be released in phases under interim deal with Trump administration
Financial Times
Hegseth unveils six-month review of US military presence in Europe
Defence secretary announced decision as he scolded Nato allies for failing to support Washington in Iran war
Financial Times
How Brexit still divides British voters
In the Makerfield by-election, Andy Burnham is trying to win over an area that voted heavily for Leave
BBC News
Man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after boy injured in crocodile enclosure
A three-year-old boy was taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital with critical injuries and is in a stable condition, Cambridgeshire...
BBC News
Bowen: US-Iran deal raises inescapable question of what the war was for
While the human cost is clear, the Iranian regime has not just survived the war, it has been empowered.
BBC News
Teacher who murdered adopted baby son Preston Davey given whole life prison sentence
Preston Davey died after months of sexual and physical abuse at the hands of Jamie Varley.
BBC News
Moscow residents complain of black rain after largest Ukrainian attack hits oil refinery
A refinery and a shopping centre burned after almost 200 Ukrainian drones struck an area to the south-east of the Russian capital.
BBC News
Foreign Office drops 'do not travel' advice for Dubai, but calls situation unpredictable
Thousands of Brits were left stranded in the Middle East when the US-Iran war broke out in early 2026.
The Economist
America’s AI power grab
NYT Europe
The Major Oak, Ancient Tree of Robin Hood Legend, Has Died
The Major Oak in the Sherwood Forest was between 800 and 1,200 years old. It succumbed to a combination of over-tourism,...
NYT Europe
Iran and the U.S. Have an Understanding. Will It Lead to a Deal?
Europe and the larger world will be watching carefully to see if talks produce a lasting agreement on Iran’s nuclear program...
The Telegraph
Welcome back to the realities of England captaincy, Joe Root
Welcome back to the realities of England captaincy, Joe Root
The Telegraph
South Africa’s late, controversial penalty punishes complacent Czechs
South Africa’s late, controversial penalty punishes complacent Czechs
Wales
BBC Wales
Gasps and tears in court as 10 more sentenced over Ely riots
The deaths of teenagers Kyrees Sullivan and Harvey Evans sparked hours of violence and vandalism.
BBC Wales
'Stunningly beautiful' blue sea creatures appear on Welsh beaches
Velella velella, or by-the-wind sailors, have been spotted on beaches at Anglesey, Gwynedd and Tenby.
BBC Wales
Why a Gen Z Londoner can graze sheep on land in the Welsh valleys
Caleb Tutt travelled from Lambeth to a hilltop in Llantrisant to claim his ancient birthright.
BBC Wales
'Scared to go to work': Shop assistant tells of customer abuse
Finnola Tzagorakis shared her story as MPs debated tackling abuse against people in customer facing roles.
Sport
BBC Sport · Cricket
England in trouble after dreadful day against NZ
England are in a dire position against New Zealand after spiralling from a chaotic morning on day two of the second Test at The Oval.
BBC Sport · Football
Tuchel's complaints lead to Fifa moving photographers
England head coach Thomas Tuchel has won a battle with Fifa to get photographers moved away from the bench during the national anthems.
BBC Sport · Cricket
Lord Botham criticises Stokes for breaking curfew
Lord Botham criticises England captain Ben Stokes for breaking a team curfew and says there is no way to "justify what happened".
BBC Sport · Football
Lionesses will face Greece in World Cup play-offs
England will face Greece in round one of the 2027 Women's World Cup play-offs, with Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales also...
The Race
Mercedes backs out of bid to get Monaco result reviewed again
Mercedes has dropped its petition for a right of review over the result of Formula 1's Monaco Grand Prix
The Race
Gary Anderson on Ferrari's race-winning 2026 upgrade
Ferrari started the 2026 F1 season with a relatively basic aero package. But the same can't be said of what it has now
The Race
Mercedes gets hearing date over Monaco penalty U-turn
A date has been set for Mercedes’ right of review petition over the controversial overturning of Pierre Gasly’s two penalties...
The Race · F1
How Ferrari's mastering F1's new hidden development war
There was more to Ferrari's first win of F1 2026 than meets the eye - as it appears to have got the jump on its rivals in a...
Formula 1 Official
Vasseur urges Ferrari to ‘stay calm’ amid title talk
Fred Vasseur has explained how he will be trying to keep Ferrari “calm” as the 2026 campaign develops, after Lewis Hamilton’s...
Formula 1 Official
Where Hamilton now ranks among the oldest GP winners
Lewis Hamilton recently secured his maiden Grand Prix victory with Ferrari at the age of 41 – who does he join on the list of...
ESPN Cricinfo
New Zealand surge with Phillips' century and Henry's wickets
Gay's half-century the only solace for England who fumbled good batting conditions
ESPN Cricinfo
Scotland bowl; Henry and Taylor return for WI
Scotland are unchanged from their win against Ireland
Science
New Scientist
Remarkable fossils rewrite the story of how animals conquered the land
Palaeontologists have found new evidence that the early ancestors of amphibians, reptiles and mammals did not have a larval...
New Scientist
Waves reflecting off Earth's core shifted Japan after 2011 earthquake
An extremely unusual tectonic movement took place 15 minutes after the Tohoku earthquake in 2011, causing almost the whole of...
New Scientist
A quantum state that lasts forever may finally be within our grasp
Defying the laws of thermodynamics, experiments are beginning to show that a quantum state that is frozen forever might not be...
New Scientist
Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World is still supremely relevant today
Beautifully written, this guide to distinguishing between truth, misinformation and lies, first published in 1995, remains an...
Nature
Clues to the sloth’s sloth found in its genome
Nature, Published online: 18 June 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01869-y Sequencing shows duplication of genes that affect...
Nature
It slices! It dices! Sashimi-Bot handles seafood with ease
Nature, Published online: 18 June 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01871-4 Fillets of raw fish are irregular in shape and floppy...
Nature
Is AI ruining our skills? Early results are in — and they’re not good
Nature, Published online: 18 June 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01947-1 Reliance on artificial-intelligence tools degrades the...
Nature
Brexit tore apart European science — now the research rifts are healing
Nature, Published online: 18 June 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01841-w The UK’s share of EU research funding is climbing, but...
Technology
The Verge
The best early Amazon Prime Day deals so far
Amazon’s earlier-than-usual Prime Day doesn’t begin until June 23rd, but there are several even earlier deals on must-have...
The Verge
This robotic self-driving toilet comes to you
During a recent expo in Shanghai that focuses on elderly care, assistive devices, and rehabilitation medicine, a Chinese...
The Verge
A year of Walmart Plus is half off ahead of Prime Day
Do you often find yourself shopping at the big blue, or perhaps you’re just looking for an alternative to Amazon? Either way,...
The Verge
Firefox’s new home page widgets are helping me focus
I launched Firefox this morning to find some new blocks on my home page. The widgets that are currently rolling out add sports...
Techcrunch
Almost half of U.S. singles feel negatively about AI in dating, Match says
About 47% of singles look negatively at the use of AI in dating -- but, many dating app users are open to AI helping with...
Techcrunch
Amazon hopes to challenge Nvidia more directly by selling its AI chips
AWS is in talks to sell its chips to other data centers. CEO Andy Jassy has said this represents a $50 billion opportunity for...
Techcrunch
Rivian owners file lawsuit alleging false promises on self-driving features
Plaintiffs in the class action complaint allege Rivian falsely promised for years it would bring hands-free driving to its...
Techcrunch
Mivo’s new app takes a mindful approach to managing screen time
Doomscrolling on social media is a very common problem and can feel like an endless loop of constantly losing track of time....
Wired
Trump Mocked Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos by Showing Off Fawning Texts
“You would not believe the texts I got from these tech guys,” NYT reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan quote Donald...
Wired
3 Amazon Workers Say They’re Under Investigation for Speaking Out About Data Centers
The software engineers filed a complaint with Seattle’s civil rights office accusing Amazon of illegally retaliating against...
Hacker News · 294 pts
A website that lists websites to submit your website to
Hacker News · 393 pts
I found 10k GitHub repositories distributing Trojan malware
Hacker News · 438 pts
Swiss parliament lifts ban on new nuclear power plants
Hacker News · 34 pts
Migrating from GNU Stow to Chezmoi
Hacker News · 227 pts
Hospitals and universities repurposing drugs at 90% lower cost
Hacker News · 64 pts
Launch HN: TesterArmy (YC P26) – Agents that test web and mobile apps
Papers
Computer science
ATIM: An ACT-R-Based Task Interface Model for Predicting Operator Action Time in Digital Nuclear Control Rooms
Computer science
Human-Machine Bidirectional Trust-Aware Analysis and Design for Human-Led Truck Platooning
Congenital Heart Block