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Middle East crisis live: Iran warns it will attack US forces if they enter strait of Hormuz after Trump says US will help ‘guide’ stranded ships

The IDF has said it has begun a wave of airstrikes on what it claimed was Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon, after issuing evacuation warnings for four villages in the south. The ceasefire in Lebanon came into effect on 17 April after the US requested Israel come to the negotiating table with the Lebanese government, in an apparent attempt to ensure peace talks with Iran were not disrupted by the renewed Israeli invasion of Lebanon. But since then Israel has been accused of violating the agreement many times, with strikes killing civilians and homes continuing to be demolished despite the military saying it is only targeting Hezbollah sites. Lebanon’s national news agency said Israeli forces carried out bombing operations in Khiam and Qantara in southern Lebanon overnight. Israel has said its attacks are in response to what it describes as violations of the deal by Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group and political party, which was not involved in the ceasefire agreement. Hezbollah, which has been striking Israeli troops in Lebanon, says it will not cease its attacks on Israeli troops inside Lebanon and on towns in northern Israel as long as Israel continued its ceasefire violations. Under the agreement’s terms, Israel retains its “right to take all necessary measures in self-defence, at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks”.

Monday briefing: Will a new alliance of nations be able to guide the world towards a post-fossil fuel future?

Good morning. The cost of fossil fuels is threatening to strangle the global economy once again. Last week, oil prices surged after the US president, Donald Trump, warned that a blockade of Iranian ports could last months – causing the price of oil to jump to its highest level since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. With it, the spectre of global recession looms large. But on the Atlantic coast in Colombia last week, a coalition of the willing was working to break the cycle. Almost 60 governments met in Santa Marta for the world’s first conference on transitioning away from fossil fuels. At the conference, each country agreed to develop roadmaps on how to move away from fossil fuel dependency. For today’s First Edition, I spoke with the Guardian’s environment editor Fiona Harvey, who was in Colombia for the summit, about whether the war in Iran has inadvertently given renewable energy a major boost. But first, the headlines. Five big stories AI | The biometrics commissioner for England and Wales has warned that national oversight of AI-powered face scanning to catch criminals is lagging far behind the technology’s rapid growth. UK politics | Labour’s deputy leader, Lucy Powell, has warned there will be “no magic bullet” to solve Labour’s problems or major challenges facing the country as its MPs grapple with how to navigate the fallout from the local elections. Iran | Donald Trump has announced that the US will “guide” ships trapped by the Iran war out of the Gulf through the strait of Hormuz on Monday morning, and claimed his representatives were having “very positive” discussions with Iran. Europe | Canada is to become the first non-European country to attend a meeting of the European Political Community when the prime minister, Mark Carney, joins today’s summit in Armenia. Israel | Spain’s foreign ministry has demanded the immediate release of a Spanish national it said was being “held illegally” by Israel after the interception of a Gaza-bound flotilla. In depth: An immense irony seems to be unfolding Amid Donald Trump’s second presidency, the climate crisis has largely disappeared from the global agenda. A coordinated attack on the green movement by his administration has seen the US government leave the Paris agreement once again; withdraw from the UN convention of climate change; defund a swathe of projects around the world helping to improve resilience and adaptation; and demand others follow their example. At the recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group (WBG) spring meetings, the US did all it could to stop countries even mentioning climate change. But the US is starting to seem out of step globally. As the UN’s climate chief Simon Stiell pointed out on Thursday, an “immense irony is unfolding” as a result of the war in Iran: the rocketing price of oil driven by US-Israeli attacks on Iran has supercharged the boom in renewable power. Governments, businesses and households around the world are looking to solar power and wind to escape the biting cost of fossil fuels. While oil and gas companies, particularly those based in the US, may enjoy bumper short-term profits, the genie is already out of the bottle. Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), told the Guardian that the war has changed the fossil fuel industry forever, shattering its image of reliability, and boosting nuclear power and renewables. The world will need and use fossil fuels still, but countries seem to be losing trust. “The vase is broken, the damage is done – it will be very difficult to put the pieces back together. This will have permanent consequences for the global energy markets for years to come,” he said. *** A roadmap for action The immense irony is not lost on those who wish to see more action on climate. The summit in Colombia, which was organised jointly with the Netherlands, arouse out of an immense frustration with the UN climate process. It has caveats, being voluntary, and lacking attendance from most of the world’s biggest emitters. But during what feels like a historic political low for the climate movement, the conference maintains momentum on efforts to avert extreme temperature rises, says Fiona. “This summit is not going to solve the problems of the world, or replace the official UN climate process, but in its own way, it can help solve some of the current problems in the climate movement. You need to get buy-in from countries who want action on this issue. They also need to find a way to communicate with governments who do not, which are largely autocracies,” she says. In the end, 59 countries participated in the talks, representing more than half of global GDP, nearly a third of energy demand and a fifth of fossil fuel supply. But one country in particular loomed large over the talks. “We have never seen a United States government like this before,” Fiona tells me. “When I first started writing about the climate, George W Bush was in charge and he wasn’t keen on the climate. But he didn’t go around saying things to the tune of we’re going to smash up renewables, halt investment in them, and say that climate change is a hoax. “It’s a very different landscape with Trump in charge – and Santa Marta is an expression of how countries are responding to that.” *** Petrostates versus electrostates The Trump administration’s rejection of action on the climate and the energy transition has opened up a technological fissure. On one side, there is the US which has full energy independence with fossil fuels and under Trump, wishes to continue using the technologies that have dominated the last century. On the other, there is China which is on its way to becoming the world’s first electrostate, dominating the production of solar panels, wind turbines, affordable electric cars and the supply chains needed to produce them. “The petrostate v electrostate division has been an issue for the last year or so. The idea is that you’re either hooked on oil, gas and coal, or you move to an electrified future. The discourse has been precipitated by Donald Trump as he has made things very stark,” Fiona says. “We always knew that electrification was the only way to get out of the climate conundrum. It’s much easier to get off fossil fuels if you electrify everything first.” Many governments are wary about their potential dependence on China if they make this transition, with European governments in particular looking to ensure that they are not entirely reliant on Beijing to make the energy transition. They will need to walk a tightrope between the US and China moving forwards. *** Concrete solutions As government representatives departed the Colombian Atlantic coast, many left with a hint of optimism for the first time in years. Momentum was already hard to find in official UN climate talks before Trump returned to the presidency, but enough was achieved for this coalition of the willing, which agreed to meet annually alongside Indigenous leaders, scientists and other experts. Despite the overwhelming weight of scientific evidence that humans are driving global heating due to the consumption of fossil fuels, the official UN climate process still struggles to agree on this simple fact. Now, a significant minority have – and it is up to them to build the world of tomorrow. “We decided not to resign ourselves to an economy built on the destruction of life,” said Irene Vélez Torres, Colombia’s environment minister and chair of the talks. “We decided that the transition away from fossil fuels could no longer remain a slogan but must become a concrete, political and collective endeavour.” What else we’ve been reading Jenny Kleeman looks at a fascinating case – twins Lavinia and Michelle thought they knew about their family history, but it turned out, they have different fathers. Martin For five years, the Guardian’s You Be the Judge has tried to settle domestic disputes. This week, they return to some of the biggest arguments – think squabbles of shared toothbrushes – to find out what happened next. Patrick Has Simon Hattenstone ever done a bad interview? His interrogation of Danny Dyer is, as you would expect, top notch. Martin Five authors, including Yomi Adegoke and Bella Mackie, reflect on throwaway comments that transformed the way their saw their lives. Patrick I am not sure I would ditch my clothes for a story, but Rowan Jacobsen does for Slate, as he investigates the apparently diminishing appeal of nudism. Martin Sport Football | Tottenham moved out of the bottom three after goals from Conor Gallagher and Richarlison gave them a 2-1 win at Aston Villa. Formula One | Kimi Antonelli held off Lando Norris to win the Miami GP, with Oscar Piastri third. The Mercedes driver’s third consecutive win this season extends his championship lead to 20 points over George Russell. Tennis | Jannik Sinner became the first man to win five consecutive Masters 1000s, beating Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-2 in 56 minutes. The front pages “Alarm over ‘toothless’ oversight of AI facial recognition systems” is the lead story in the Monday print edition of the Guardian. The Times has “Britain told to pay £1bn a year to EU after ‘reset’” while the Mirror runs with “Reform in new race row”. A local elections frightener in the Mail: “Labour’s plan to double parking fine fee”. The Telegraph reports “Welfare pays more than work for 600k households”. “State pension triple lock under threat if UK goes to war with Putin” – that’s in the i paper while the Financial Times tells us “Banks in danger of ‘choking’ on data centre financing seek to offload risk”. “Cheers to you” – the Express reports on a campaign it ran to help a group of second world war veterans. Commuter paper the Metro is on bank holiday. Today in Focus The women who took their own lives after domestic abuse Geraldine McKelvie and Hannah Al-Othman tell the stories of women who died after enduring sustained campaigns of cruelty Cartoon of the day | Tom Gauld The Upside A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad Whether it is the ageless joy of sitting in the front seat at the top of a bus, doing a cartwheel, cooking from scratch or just getting lost, a whole host of Guardian writers recommend 50 ways to simply have fun. Yes, some of them require a bit of cash, but challenging the rest of the family to a battle of “drawing your own nose”, counting how many dogs you see on a day out, or learning how to play a favourite song can all be done on a shoestring budget this bank holiday. Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday Bored at work? And finally, the Guardian’s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Quick crossword Cryptic crossword Wordiply

Japan sees largest protest in support of pacifist constitution as PM Takaichi pushes revisions

Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has called for “advanced discussions” on revising the pacifist constitution, as large demonstrations were held nationwide to oppose any changes to the country’s supreme law. Speaking during an official visit to Vietnam, Takaichi said the constitution, which was written by US occupation forces after the second world war, “should periodically be updated to reflect the demands of the times”. Takaichi and others on the conservative wing of the ruling Liberal Democratic party have long called for change, saying the current document restricts Japan’s ability to respond to growing security threats from North Korea and China. Revisionists have set their sights on article 9 – the co-called “pacifist” clause – which forbids Japan from threatening or using military force to settle international disputes. While controversial legislation passed a decade ago theoretically allows Japan to exercise collective self-defence – or coming to the aid of an ally under attack – Takaichi has turned reform into a focal point of her administration since becoming prime minister last autumn. Any revisions would need to secure a two-thirds majority in both houses of Japan’s national diet – or parliament – and a simple majority in a national referendum. Recent opinion polls reveal deep divisions among the public, from broad support for minor revisions, such as recognising the legal status of the self-defence forces, to opposition to fundamental changes to Japan’s postwar pacifism. In a poll published at the weekend by the conservative Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, 57% of respondents were in favour of revision, while a survey by the liberal Asahi Shimbun put support for reform at 47%. The constitutional constraints placed on Japan’s military were highlighted in March, when Takaichi cited article 9 when she turned down a request – reportedly with reluctance – by Donald Trump to send the maritime self-defence forces to the strait of Hormuz. On Sunday – constitutional memorial day – an estimated 50,000 people gathered at a park in Tokyo in support of the document, whose wording has remained unchanged since it went into effect on 3 May 1947. Protesters holding anti-war placards said article 9 had succeeded in keeping Japan out of ill-advised US-wars, including Iran. “Under Takaichi, Japan is following America like a dog follows its owner,” said Hiroko Maekawa, a councillor for a Tokyo ward. “The LDP wants to turn the self-defence forces into a traditional military, because they know the constitution, as it is, prevents them from doing that.” Another local councillor, Megumi Koike, described Japan’s constitution as “a national treasure and a treasure to the world”. “Takaichi thinks that most Japanese people want to change the constitution because they believe there is a threat from China and North Korea, but that’s just not true,” she said. “We should be spending money on healthcare, education and jobs, not on more weapons.” Demonstrations were held in dozens of other towns and cities on Sunday – a public holiday – attended by people old enough to recall how the postwar constitution had brought peace and stability to a country ravaged by conflict. “I want to cherish the constitution like I do my own child, and pass it on to the next generation,” Haruka Watanabe, an 87-year-old protester in Osaka, told the Kyodo news agency. As she prepared to travel to Australia to discuss energy security, critical minerals and defence with the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, Takaichi said the time for debate was almost over. “We mustn’t have discussion just for discussion’s sake,” she said in Hanoi, according to Kyodo. “To retain the trust placed in them by the people, politicians must discuss the issue and make a decision.” Although Trump has criticised Japan for not sending troops to the Middle East, the US embassy in Tokyo posted a message that could be interpreted as support for constitution, which went into effect during the US occupation led by Gen Douglas MacArthur, the supreme commander of the Allied Powers. The document, the embassy said on its official X account, had upheld “popular sovereignty, respect for fundamental human rights, and pacifism”. It added: “This constitution, highly praised by Gen MacArthur in his memoirs, has continued to serve as the foundation of Japanese society for 79 years since its enactment, without ever having been amended.” Sunday’s protest in Tokyo was the latest in a wave of demonstrations that are attracting people in greater numbers each time. An estimated 3,600 people demonstrated outside parliament in late February, swelling to 36,000 later that month.

Women in developing countries hardest hit by rising debt burden, UN research finds

Women are hit hardest when the debt burden in developing countries rises, a trend expected to worsen as the war in the Middle East continues, UN research shows. A report by experts from the UN Development Programme (UNDP), based on data from 85 countries gathered across three decades, shows women are disproportionately affected when debt repayments increase significantly. As governments cut back public spending to accommodate rising debt costs, women, who are overrepresented in sectors such as education and care, are more likely to lose their jobs – and then to shoulder additional caring duties as the state retreats. The UNDP’s administrator, Alexander De Croo, said the research underlined the importance for debtor countries of weighing the impact of potential spending cuts. Even before the US-Israel war on Iran, he highlighted, 56 countries were spending more than 10% of government revenue on servicing their debts. The conflict is likely to exacerbate that situation as energy and fertiliser costs rise and global interest rates increase. “In a moment like this, due to the instability in the world, but definitely induced by what is happening in the Gulf region, you see that governments are even more pressed to make choices,” he said. “What we really want to point to in this report is that, look, when you make those choices as governments, please be careful: if you reduce your social spending, you should know that big chunk of social spending is going to women, and a bigger part of the employment that social spending is going to – it’s going to women.” The report finds that, between the early 2010s and 2022, debt-servicing burdens in the 85 developing countries studied almost doubled. It estimates this led to the loss of 22 million women’s jobs in the short-term, and more than 38 million in the long term. In general, moving from a moderate to a high debt-servicing burden – measured as a share of a country’s exports – causes on average a 17% decline in women’s income per capita, the report finds, while men’s income is unchanged. Life expectancy tends to decline for women and men. Achieving gender equality is one of the UN’s 17 sustainable development goals. De Croo suggested creditor countries could consider linking debt relief to commitments to avoid spending cuts that disproportionately hit women. “Helping women to have an income, to have a job, has a very high development outcome, and it actually has a higher development outcome than providing men with an income,” he said. “The countries providing loans can go into that logic and say: ‘Let’s have a discussion on making sure how you actually preserve your path towards prosperity and towards repaying those debts.’” The research underlines the risks of the rising debt burden across the developing world as the conflict in the Middle East takes its toll. Soaring prices for oil, gas and fertiliser are hitting, just as many countries have been affected by steep cuts in overseas aid – including by the UK. The International Monetary Fund warned last month that developing countries are more exposed to rising interest rates and currency instability because of the growing status of private investors, such as hedge funds, as lenders. The UNDP echoes that analysis, stressing the resulting currency volatility can worsen governments’ existing challenges with servicing their debt. In the current crisis, the report warns: “As currencies weaken and inflation rises, the cost of servicing debt increases, precisely when governments face growing demands to shield households from rising food and energy prices. “This creates a reinforcing cycle in which external shocks deepen debt vulnerabilities, further constraining fiscal space for social investment.”

Could Iran’s escalating economic crisis weaken negotiating position with US?

Iran may not be choking like a stuffed pig as Donald Trump predicted, but its economy is in serious difficulty as a combination of a massive war-damages bill, inflation, currency devaluation, unemployment and a contraction in oil revenues combine to leave the political elite worrying how hardline they can afford to be with their US negotiators. One estimate circulating in Iran’s media suggests the damage to the economy from the US-Israeli attacks is nine times the value of the Iranian budget last year. The UN Development Programme has estimated that 4.1 million more Iranians could fall into poverty. Trump made his prediction that Iran would choke on the basis that the country would soon run out of oil storage space because of the US naval blockade. On 26 April, he predicted that Iranian wells would “explode” in a “very powerful” destructive process starting in three days. Behind this prediction was a belief that the US naval blockade launched on 13 April would prevent Tehran’s tankers from reaching the strait of Hormuz, depriving the Iranian regime of at least $175m (£129m) a day in oil export revenue. Once the oil was stuck inside the country, Iran would soon run out of storage, forcing it to close the taps. Such a closure would irreparably damage the wells. “When it explodes, you can never, regardless, you can never rebuild it the way it was,” Trump told Fox News in an interview, adding that capacity would be reduced to about 50% of what it was “right now”. The US Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, last week likened the Iranian leadership to “rats in a sewer pipe” who found it hard to understand what was going on. Kharg Island, Iran’s primary oil export hub, was “soon nearing capacity”, he said. For good measure Trump put a further squeeze on exports to China by imposing US sanctions on companies linked to Chinese refineries, a step that has led the Chinese ministry of commerce on Saturday to issue a counter-injunction. Although it is true Iran is now producing more oil than it can export, it appears for the moment enough tankers are making it through the US naval blockade, while remedial steps such as flaring means storage space has not run out. Independent estimates, including from the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, suggest that Iran has up to three weeks of free useable storage capacity. Yet something is putting renewed pressure on the Iranian currency. The value of the toman, the primary unit of currency used in commerce and daily life in Iran, has fallen almost 22% on the open market, to 190,000 to the dollar on Sunday. Overall inflation is put at 73.5%, while food and beverage prices have surged 115%. The Iranian government on Sunday said it was considering doubling the value of the voucher it already gives citizens, an inflationary step in itself. The monthly minimum wage in Iran is less than 170m rials ($92), and that is after the government raised it by about 60% in March. Imported cars or iPhones are available only at incredibly high prices. More than 23,000 factories and firms have been hit by US-Israeli airstrikes, resulting in a million jobs lost, according to Iran’s deputy work and social security minister, Gholamhossein Mohammadi. Unemployment, already high, has increased by an estimated 1 million people, with those reliant on digital trade worst affected. A digital-based economy cannot be shut in perpetuity, and at some point the needs of the economy may have to be put before those of security. The Iranian communications minister, Seyed Sattar Hashemi, has repeatedly promised that the country’s digital lockdown is temporary, but he has no means of forcing the true decision-makers in the intelligence services to lift the restrictions. Reza Olfatnasab, the head of the Union of Virtual Businesses, said in a statement: “The largest decrease in sales occurred in March. Unfortunately, businesses lost the key end-of-year market, and the issue of ‘non-profitability’ was very prominent and tangible during this period.” According to him, even now some large businesses are facing a 40% to 50% drop in sales. This is despite the fact that these companies have 50 million to 60 million users and their apps are installed on most people’s phones in Iran. “When large platforms with such dimensions and infrastructure suffer this level of sales decline, one can predict what a disaster and deep damage has occurred for small and micro businesses,” Olfatnasab said. Ahmad Zeidabadi, a reformist journalist and political analyst critical of the government, said: “The internet and the economic conditions of the people are no joke. The reality is without the internet normal life and social stability are impossible.” “If a fundamental solution is not quickly devised, exactly the event that opponents of internet connection fear will happen,” he added, in a reference to the renewal of January’s nationwide protests. Nor has the rainy season delivered what was needed. A spokesperson for the country’s water industry said: “Despite a positive national index, 10 provinces remain below normal precipitation levels, mostly located in the downstream and upstream regions of the Alborz mountain range. These provinces include Tehran, Qom, Yazd, Isfahan, Qazvin, Alborz, Gilan, Mazandaran and Semnan.” The spokesperson said the Tehran and Alborz regions had now entered their sixth consecutive year of drought. Open debate about the best course for the Iranian negotiating team is circumscribed by state newspaper censorship, the effective closure of parliament, and of course by the continued internet shutdown that allows only certain licensed voices to be heard. Despite reports of splits in the Iran negotiating team, in practice it seems only a small minority of parliamentarians have openly opposed talks, and this is the group that has always opposed reaching deals with the US. But that does not mean Iran is immune from pressure.

Security or justice? Syria faces post-Assad reckoning after string of arrests

Ahmad al-Homsi is a deep sleeper, but when he was woken last month and told that Amjad Youssef, a Syrian intelligence officer who killed civilians in the 2013 Tadamon massacres, had been arrested, he bolted out of bed. He ran into the street to find other people already celebrating the news. “We stayed out for almost three or four days celebrating. People from neighbouring areas sent camels, sheep, livestock for us to slaughter and distribute them to people. The tears of joy didn’t stop,” said al-Homsi, a 33-year-old activist with the Tadamon Coordination Committee, which documented the atrocities in the Damascus neighbourhood. To al-Homsi and people all over the country, Youssef’s arrest was a milestone in Syria’s long road to achieving justice for the Assad regime’s atrocities. The video of Youssef killing blindfolded civilians as part of a series of massacres that killed at least 300 civilians had become synonymous with the regime’s brutality. But al-Homsi’s joy turned to anger when he saw a seemingly forced confession released by Syria’s interior ministry last Sunday, in which Youssef was put in front of a camera and said he acted alone in his killing of civilians. “Of course it upset us. Of course I didn’t like what he said. This was a cover-up for others [involved],” al-Homsi said. “There are many more criminals. We want to know everyone who held a position or was responsible at the time of the massacres.” The aftermath of Youssef’s arrest has exposed a tug of war between two very different visions of transitional justice in Syria – and with it, of the country’s future. Victims of Assad’s atrocities, and those of other parties in the country’s long civil war, are demanding transparent processes of accountability. However, some in Syria’s new government have prioritised internal security, showcasing the arrest of some of Assad’s henchmen while making deals with others in the name of stability. “We’ve moved from transitional justice into selective and performative justice,” said Ali Aljasem, a researcher at Utrecht University’s Centre for Conflict Studies. “The idea is, you arrest a couple of people, put them on TV and use them as scapegoats.” Aside from Youssef’s confession video, Aljasem also pointed to the first hearing in the trial of Assad’s cousin Atef Najib, the former head of political security in Deraa province, last Sunday. The picture of Najib sitting in a courtroom cage, and being confronted by one of the teenagers whose torture he oversaw at the beginning of Syria’s revolution, has been hailed by the public as a first step towards transitional justice. However, a narrow focus on showcasing the punishment of a few “bad guys” can distract from a proper reckoning with past crimes, said Nousha Kabawat, the head of the Syria programme at the International Centre for Transitional Justice. “Transitional justice is not just a punitive process; it is about rebuilding a society and rebuilding trust. While some level of performance is part of this, it should not overshadow fairness, and the Syrian people should be treated as partners rather than spectators in the rebuilding process,” Kabawat said. Aljasem, who co-authored a recent report on the government’s deal-making with former regime cronies such as Mohammed Hamsho and Samer Foz, warned that a security-first approach could have long-term consequences for Syria’s future. “These deals have nothing to do with justice or moving away from the past. Instead, they risk reproducing authoritarian structures from that past,” he said. The government has worked out reconciliation deals with Assad-era war profiteers in return for assets and information, as well as temporarily shielding some past security officials in exchange for intelligence and to tamp down an insurgency by Assad loyalists on Syria’s coast. Aljasem said a key middleman between the old and the new guard was Fadi Saqr, a former commander of the Assad regime’s NDF militia who has helped the government mediate with some regime figures while aiding in the arrest of others. Saqr is widely accused, however, of involvement in the mass killing of civilians in Tadamon and other Damascus districts. Saqr has denied responsibility. “Even those now protecting Fadi will tell you he’s a criminal, but he’s useful to them,” Aljasem said. “Their reasoning is: if you arrest Fadi, you only arrest one person, but if you keep him, he will lead you to many others.” The Syrian government is internally divided on the approach to transitional justice, but not all sides wield equal influence. While the administration has integrated former activists, lawyers and academics dedicated to transitional justice, analysts say decision-making on security issues lies with a narrow circle of confidants around the president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, who prefer a security-focused approach. Cooperation between former regime officials and the government has angered victims, who, while understanding the need for stability, have been frustrated by the lack of transparency. “We have trust in the government; we don’t want to immediately say: ‘No this is not correct.’ But we will demand our rights and the rights of all the families,” said al-Homsi, who has met Syrian officials to discuss Tadamon families’ concerns over the role of Saqr in the new government. The strategy also risks undermining the credibility of some of the grassroots work that the government has done to encourage social cohesion. It has worked on inter-communal dialogue and has brought Assad-era perpetrators to face their victims in areas of north Syria such as Salamiyeh and Homs to try to defuse sectarian tensions there. The process, while successful in some areas, is uneven, and lags behind in other parts of Syria. The legal structure of Syria’s nascent government is also not equipped to properly tackle the legacy of the civil war. The Syrian penal code does not define war crimes or crimes against humanity as independent legal categories and it may be many months before parliament passes a transitional justice law to address these issues. Still, mounting popular pressure for justice has pushed certain parts of the government towards accountability. The Guardian revealed on Thursday that the Commission for Transitional Justice was preparing a case against Saqr accusing him of war crimes and crimes against humanity – claims that he denies. The commission expects that a wider case will be mounted against those implicated in the Tadamon massacres, not just Youssef. “Just an arrest is not justice,” said Zahra al-Barazi, the commission’s deputy chair, referring to Youssef’s recent capture. For years, al-Homsi documented atrocities in Tadamon in silence, stealing out when no one was watching to take pictures and gathering information in whispers. Now that Assad is gone, he is determined to see that evidence used. Only then can he and other residents of Tadamon move forward with their lives. “People are returning and want to live in their homes. They want to rebuild,” said al-Homsi. “But we are standing there saying: ‘This entire place is a mass grave. It’s full of martyrs; you can’t build yet. You can’t erase the scene of the crime.’”

EU forging closer ties with Armenia as it sends experts to help counter Russian interference

The EU is sending a team of experts specialised in combating Russian propaganda and interference to Armenia, as it increases its support to the former Soviet republic in a tense political period. In a highly symbolic sequence of events, EU leaders will hold their first summit with Armenia on Tuesday, after a pan-European gathering of about 45 leaders at the European Political Community summit in Yerevan. The EU has been deepening links with Armenia as Russian influence has waned since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine that is seen as having diverted Moscow’s attention other countries it regards as its “near abroad”. On Tuesday, Armenia’s prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, and the EU leaders, Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa, are expected to formally welcome the concept of an EU mission to counter foreign interference in Armenia at the summit in Yerevan, where they will also discuss energy, transport and economic support. The EU is setting up a team of 20-30 civilian experts for a two-year mission based in Armenia aimed at improving the response to Russian cyber-attacks, information manipulation and interference, as well as countering illicit financial flows. The mission, which could be increased in headcount and duration, is expected to start work after parliamentary elections on 7 June. Separately, the EU’s foreign service has announced “a hybrid rapid-response team” with the short-term goal of battling foreign interference before those elections, which are seen as pivotal in determining whether Armenia stays on a broadly pro-western path. The EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said last month: “Armenians are facing massive disinformation campaigns and cyber-attacks. When Armenians go to the polls in June, they alone should choose their country’s future.” A senior EU official described the EU-Armenia summit as a “critical milestone in our relationship” and “a symbol of Armenia, gradually, slowly, geographically reorienting towards the west”. The EU is attempting to improve transport links and the green transition in Armenia and has embarked on talks that could eventually allow Armenians visa-free travel to the bloc for short stays. Armenia was long Russia’s staunchest ally in the Caucasus, but disillusionment set in after Moscow failed to send military aid during the 2020 and 2023 Nagorno-Karabakh wars. Armenia’s 2018 velvet revolution, which emphasised democracy and the rule of law, also set the former Soviet republic on a different path to Russia, which slid deeper into authoritarianism. Even before signing a peace agreement with Azerbaijan, Armenia had been seeking to move closer to the EU. Speaking to the European parliament in March, Pashinyan signalled an intention to adopt EU standards, while Armenia’s parliament passed a law last year declaring its intention to apply for EU membership. But Armenia is under heavy pressure from Russia, still a significant trading and security partner, which has a base in the city of Gyumri. Moscow has imposed restrictions on the sale of imported Armenian mineral water and cognac, which recalls similar attempts to use economic leverage over its neighbours. Vladimir Putin has also warned Pashinyan that cheap Russian gas supplies are at stake if Armenia pursues deeper integration with Europe. MEPs last week urged the EU to go beyond the symbolism of events in Armenia. In a non-binding resolution, the European parliament called for a robust international election observation mission, cybersecurity for electoral infrastructure and strong safeguards against vote buying. The French centrist MEP Nathalie Loiseau, who was involved in drafting the text, said: “Faced with all those seeking to pressure Armenian voters, the country is looking to the European Union to help it hold free and fair elections.”

Rare comet to flash through New Zealand skies – before it disappears for 170,000 years

A comet formed on the edges of the solar system will grace southern skies over the next fortnight, giving viewers a rare chance to glimpse it before it disappears from view for another 170,000 years. The comet – known as C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS – had been travelling through the northern hemisphere but has “swung around the sun” and is now visible in the south, said Josh Aoraki, an astronomer at Te Whatu Stardome in Auckland, New Zealand. The comet is fairly bright, but people would need binoculars, a telescope or a camera to see it, Aoraki said. “It’s not naked-eye brightness … [but] this one is a decently easy one to photograph, which is always nice,” he said. The comet will gradually decrease in brightness over the next two weeks, and interested viewers in New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and the Pacific should aim to capture it as soon as possible, Aoraki said. Those wishing to see the comet should find a clear, unobstructed view of the western horizon just after sunset, when the comet is still low in the sky. It will be most visible in the hour after the sun goes down. For those who do manage to spy it, they can expect to see a blue-green orb – a temporary gas around the nucleus, called a coma – and a smudgy tail. “You get the coma and the tail looking like a little fuzzy meteor in the sky.” C/2025 R3 PanSTARRS originates in the Oort Cloud – a vast shell of icy comet-like objects surrounding the distant-most edges of our solar system. It was discovered in 2025 and is a long-period comet that takes roughly 170,000 years to orbit the sun – that’s if it doesn’t break apart first. “It’s really hard to predict the trajectory of them, because as they do go around the sun, they’re losing mass, and that can change the path,” Aoraki said. “So it could be back in that amount of time, but it also could be ejected from the solar system entirely.”