Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Photograph: Ibrahim Amro/AFP/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenSmoke rises from the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Photograph: Ibrahim Amro/AFP/Getty ImagesFirst Thing: Trump accused of ‘threatening possible war crimes’ in Iran postChuck Schumer accuses president of ‘ranting like an unhinged madman’ in threat to obliterate Iran’s power plants and bridges. Plus, Audrey Hepburn’s son Sean on her movies, marriages, good works and fascist parents
Donald Trump has faced sharp criticism after threatening to wipe out Iran’s power plants and bridges in an expletive-riddled social media post yesterday.
The US president told Iran they would “be living in Hell” if they didn’t open the strait of Hormuz. He separately suggested there was a “good chance” of an agreement to end the five-week war today telling US media that negotiations were happening.
Trump’s post drew criticism from Capitol Hill. Chuck Schumer, a senior Senate Democrat, said: “The president of the United States is ranting like an unhinged madman on social media … He’s threatening possible war crimes and alienating allies. This is who he is, but this is not who we are. Our country deserves so much better.”
How has Iran reacted? Iran’s parliament speaker responded with a warning that the US president’s “reckless moves” would mean “our whole region is going to burn”.
This is a developing story. Follow the liveblog here.
View image in fullscreenIf all proceeds smoothly, as the Orion spacecraft whips around the moon, the astronauts could set a record by venturing farther from Earth than any human before. Photograph: NASA/AFP/Getty ImagesThe four astronauts on Nasa’s Artemis II mission have entered the moon’s “sphere of influence”, where its gravity has a stronger pull on the spacecraft than Earth’s.
The crew made the transition, four days, six hours and two minutes into the mission, when about 39,000 miles (62,800km) from the moon, and 232,000 miles (373,400km) away from the Earth. The next key milestone will be the trip later on Monday to the far side of the moon, venturing deeper into space than any humans before.
“We’re all extremely excited for tomorrow,” Lori Glaze, the deputy associate administrator for Nasa’s Exploration Systems Development Mission, said yesterday.
The crew are the first astronauts bound for the moon in more than half a century, picking up where the Apollo programme left off in 1972.
What will they see? During the flyby, which will last about six hours, the crew will have to observe the celestial body with their naked eyes, along with cameras they have onboard. The journey promises views of the moon’s far side that were too dark or too difficult to see by the 24 Apollo astronauts who preceded them.
View image in fullscreenA long-exposure image shows a trail of a group of SpaceX’s Starlink G6-27 satellites passing over Uruguay, with part of the Milky Way and planet Venus (left) in the frame. Photograph: Mariana Suárez/AFP/Getty ImagesProposals to deploy reflective mirrors and up to 1m more satellites in low Earth orbit could have far-reaching consequences for human health and ecosystems, leading sleep and circadian rhythm researchers have said.
Presidents of four international scientific societies representing about 2,500 researchers from more than 30 countries are among those who have raised concerns in letters to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The regulator is considering plans by the startup Reflect Orbital to illuminate parts of the Earth at night using reflective satellites, as well as applications from SpaceX that could dramatically expand satellite numbers in low Earth orbit.
What impact could it have? Experts say altering the light-dark cycle could disrupt biological clocks that regulate sleep and hormone secretion in humans and animals, migration in nocturnal species, seasonal cycles in plants and the rhythms of marine phytoplankton that underpin ocean food webs.
View image in fullscreenMark Zuckerberg at Senate committee hearing last year. Photograph: Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images Meta has just lost a multimillion-dollar legal battle over its failure to prevent children being sold on its platforms. Here’s how the Guardian uncovered evidence that became part of the case against it.
An 18-wheel fuel tanker crashed into another vehicle, toppled power lines, then burst into flames outside Fort Worth early yesterday morning, according to local authorities.
Salvage crews in Fiji are working to prevent an oil spill after a cruise ship ran aground off the island on which the 2000 Tom Hanks film Cast Away was filmed. The ship grounded at a reef near the uninhabited Monuriki Island on Saturday, according to Fiji’s maritime rescue agency.
View image in fullscreenProtesters gather at the capitol in Austin, Texas, to rally against an expansion of the border wall in Big Bend. Photograph: Roque Planas/The GuardianThousands of people gathered at the steps of the Texas capitol on Saturday to protest against the construction of a border wall through Big Bend, in a show of bipartisan opposition to the White House’s plans. Organizers gathered postcards from protesters to deliver to Greg Abbott, the Texas governor, who has yet to weigh in publicly on the border wall expansion plans at Big Bend.
View image in fullscreenSenator Bernie Sanders speaking at a ‘tax the rich’ rally hosted by the Democratic Socialists of America last month. Photograph: Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis/Getty ImagesLast fall, a survey found that 70% of respondents across age and party lines agreed that “our economic system is rigged in favor of corporations and the wealthy.” Now in at least 10 states, residents are organizing campaigns to tax wealth in order to fund schools, prisons and other social services. With these billionaire tax proposals, politicians and advocates hope to capture Americans’ intensifying anger at the rich.
View image in fullscreenAudrey Hepburn with her son Sean Hepburn Ferrer in New York in 1961. Photograph: Bettmann/Bettmann ArchiveThe heroine of Roman Holiday and Breakfast at Tiffany’s knew war and poverty, riches and fame, love and betrayal – yet claimed to have lived a “terribly boring” life. Sean Hepburn Ferrer paints a very different picture in his new biography, Intimate Audrey, which, he tells Pamela Hutchinson, is a “behind the scenes” take on the life of one of the 20th century’s most famous women.
View image in fullscreen‘Trump’s venal persona and his war on Iran will do untold damage to America’s ability to make a positive difference in the world,’ says Richard Stengel. Composite: The Guardian/Getty ImagesAmerica’s global influence has long depended less on military might than on “soft power” – the pull of its culture, values and media. Beyoncé always beats bureaucracy. Taylor Swift is more important than Tomahawk missiles. But Donald Trump’s war in Iran risks driving favourability to historic lows, overshadowing the cultural appeal that once defined “Brand USA”, writes Richard Stengel.
View image in fullscreenThe matchmaking event is the first in a series that aims to skirt Japan’s controversial ban on married couples having separate surnames. Photograph: Tom Merton/Getty ImagesAt the very least, the three men and three women calming their nerves on a Friday evening at a venue in Tokyo know they have one thing in common: they all share the same surname. The event is the first in a series that aims to skirt Japan’s controversial ban on married couples having separate surnames by getting people with the same surname together. The gatherings highlight growing frustration with the rule, as campaigners and businesses push for reform.
First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you’re not already signed up, subscribe now.
If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com
