First Thing: Trump says US does not need Nato after strait of Hormuz rebuf | Clea Skopeliti

Trending 2 months ago

Good morning.

Donald Trump has said nan US does not request Nato, aft a number of nan organization’s members rejected his telephone to nonstop their warships to reopen nan strait of Hormuz.

Speaking to reporters from nan Oval Office, nan US president described nan rejection of his calls arsenic a “very foolish mistake”, adding without evidence: “Everyone agrees pinch us, but they don’t want to help. And we, you know, we arsenic nan United States person to retrieve that because we deliberation it’s beautiful shocking.”

A number of US friends person questioned Trump’s shifting rationale for nan warfare against Iran. There has besides been pushback internally: nan US national counter-terrorism halfway director, Joe Kent, discontinue connected Tuesday, saying Iran posed nary imminent threat to nan US. And immoderate person argued morale is thinning onboard nan USS Gerald R Ford: presently stationed successful nan Red Sea, nan world’s largest craft bearer has been astatine oversea for almost 9 months and has precocious suffered occurrence damage.

The war, successful which astatine slightest 2,000 group person been killed, is successful its 3rd week pinch nary extremity successful sight. Iran’s service main Amir Hatami connected Tuesday vowed retaliation for Israel’s killing of nan main of nan nationalist information council, Ali Larijani. Israeli missiles pounded cardinal Beirut connected Wednesday morning, while an Iranian rocket onslaught connected cardinal Israel killed 2 people.

Asal stands connected a precocious pavilion pinch a position of nan Tehran down her
Asal, 35, a clothing designer who runs her ain atelier successful Tehran. She says she still feels calm and safe successful her home. She wants to stay, moreover erstwhile it’s difficult, because it’s her home. Photograph: Mohammad Mohsenifar
  • How galore group person been displaced successful Iran? Up to 3.2 cardinal people, according to nan UN’s exile agency. Here, Tehran residents speak astir their regular life nether bombardment.

  • For nan latest updates, follow our liveblog.

Juliana Stratton wins Illinois Democratic Senate superior race

Juliana Stratton speaking from down a lectern
Juliana Stratton aft winning nan Democratic superior for a Senate spot successful Illinois. Photograph: Erin Hooley/AP

The Illinois lieutenant governor, Juliana Stratton, has won nan Democratic superior race to win nan state’s US legislator Dick Durbin, defeating nan US typical Raja Krishnamoorthi.

With astir 90% of nan ballot tallied, Stratton – a progressive backed by nan governor, JB Pritzker – was starring Krishnamoorthi by much than six percent points connected Tuesday night, according to nan Associated Press.

Stratton had been down her much mean rival until caller weeks, erstwhile she benefited from a backing injection from nan politician arsenic good arsenic a hardening sentiment connected migration arsenic Chicago recovered from nan Trump administration’s migration crackdown connected nan city.

  • How apt is Stratton to go senator? She is expected to triumph nan wide predetermination successful November, arsenic Republicans person not won a statewide predetermination successful Illinois successful much than a decade.

Millions of children dying from preventable causes, study reveals

Mothers hold pinch their babies extracurricular a doorway
Mothers waiting extracurricular nan malnutrition ward of nan Bunj infirmary successful Maban, South Sudan, successful August 2025. Photograph: Guy Peterson/AFP/Getty Images

Most of nan 4.9 cardinal children who died successful 2024 could person been saved, a UN study has found, arsenic an master warned that assistance cuts were “reversing decades of progress”.

Progress towards ending nan preventable deaths of children nether 5 by 2030 has slowed by 60% since 2015, nan study found. Sub-Saharan Africa and southbound Asia person persistently had nan worst rates of kid death, mostly driven by nan deaths of newborns.

The astir communal causes were premature birth, pneumonia and trauma suffered by nan kid during birth, while infectious diseases were besides significant. Severe malnutrition was an underlying origin for galore children who died of different conditions.

  • How are assistance cuts affecting healthcare provision? 6,600 wellness accommodation were affected by past year’s assistance cuts, pinch a 3rd forced to close, according to monitoring by Global Health Cluster.

In different news …

Soldiers guidelines defender complete Patrice Lumumba and Joseph Okito
Soldiers opinionated defender complete Patrice Lumumba (right) and his subordinate Joseph Okito aft their apprehension successful December 1960. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
  • A 93-year-old erstwhile Belgian diplomat should beryllium tried for alleged complicity successful nan 1961 execution of Patrice Lumumba, nan first premier curate of what was past nan recently independent Congolese state, a Brussels tribunal has ruled.

  • Europe must hole for drone strikes by non-state actors including terrorists and criminals, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned, as entree to nan exertion spreads.

  • Instagram will region end-to-end encryption for backstage messages successful May, allowing Meta to position each users’ messages, aft years of disapproval from law enforcement and kid information groups.

Stat of nan day: Judge orders much than 1,000 Voice of America labor to beryllium reinstated

Voice of America signage connected a building
‘Voice of America has ne'er been much needed,’ nan VOA head Michael Abramowitz said aft nan ruling. Photograph: Gene J Puskar/AP

A Republican-appointed national judge has ordered that much than 1,000 Voice of America (VOA) staffers return to work aft nan Trump management successful effect dismantled nan news outlet. The US territory judge Royce Lamberth ruled that attempts to shutter operations of nan independent national agency overseeing VOA were forbidden and mandated that labor return to activity by 23 March.

Well actually: ‘Strong evidence’ shingles vaccination lowers dementia risk

A encephalon scan
Shingles is simply a viral infection caused by nan varicella-zoster virus, which besides causes chickenpox. Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images

Despite nan truth that one successful 3 Americans get shingles, vaccination rates stay low. Experts opportunity much group should see taking up immunization against nan viral infection, arsenic location is simply a increasing assemblage of grounds suggesting that it whitethorn little nan consequence of dementia, changeable and bosom attack.

Don’t miss this: Alex Villa spent much than a decade successful jailhouse for nan execution of an off-duty constabulary serviceman successful Chicago. The problem? He almost surely didn’t do it

Alex Villa
Alex Villa spent much than a decade successful jailhouse for nan sidesplitting of Clifton Lewis astatine an M&M convenience shop successful Chicago. Photograph: Kevin Serna

The Guardian US investigative newsman Melissa Segura has been investigating really nan execution of a Chicago constabulary officer, Clifton Lewis, successful 2011 led to 3 men being imprisoned for a crime they opportunity they did not commit. One of nan men, Alex Villa, refused to confess and nan lawsuit was plagued by allegations of misconduct crossed nan ineligible system. “The lawsuit shows that sedate injustices don’t ever request expansive plans,” writes Segura, adding: “Yet it’s besides nan communicative of what happens erstwhile group who do attraction astir justness conflict back.”

Climate check: Reduced beingness activity owed to world heating will lead to emergence successful wellness issues, study says

A man jogging successful a scorched Victoria Park
A man jogging successful Victoria Park, eastbound London, during a heatwave successful 2022. Photograph: Victoria Jones/PA

Global heating is making workout undesirable and moreover dangerous successful galore parts of nan world, and researchers pass that this will person deepening knock-on effects connected people’s wellness arsenic temperatures proceed to rise. Reduced beingness activity is already a large world wellness problem and is responsible for an estimated 5% of each big deaths, according to nan study.

Last Thing: Why is everything branded pinch a animation characteristic these days?

T-shirts and packaging showing animation bagels, java cups and pizzas
Clockwise from bottommost left: a Yard Sale pizza T-shirt creation by Patrick Schmidt, a Hard Lines House Party java pouch, a brackish beef bagel T-shirt by Batch 1 and 2 much Schmidt designs for Yard Sale connected a T-shirt and a pizza box. Composite: Guardian Design/Batch1/Yard Sale

From smiling bagels to anthropomorphic java cups, 1 illustration style is popping up everyplace astatine nan moment. The creation dates from a 1920s and 30s animation method known arsenic “rubber hose”, named aft US animation characters pinch “exaggerated facial expressions” and “flailing rubber hose limbs without joints”. Whether you’ve spotted it connected merch for an independent pizza spot aliases for a brew pub, here’s why it has go ubiquitous.

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Source theguardian.com
theguardian.com