US and Iran reach tentative deal to extend ceasefire, US officials say

Daniel Bush , Washington correspondent, travelling with the vice-president and

Reuters JD Vance speaking to reporters Reuters

The US and Iran still need to work out several sticking points before an agreement on the war can be reached, Vice-President JD Vance has said.

Asked by the BBC if President Donald Trump was close to signing a deal, Vance said it was too early to say "when or if" the two sides would finalise an agreement.

The deal would reportedly extend the ceasefire for 60 days and launch talks on the


Man jailed for 15 years over plot to attack Taylor Swift concert in Vienna

EPA/Shutterstock Taylor Swift performs during the Eras Tour, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. EPA/Shutterstock
Taylor Swift had said the foiled attack had filled her with "a new sense of fear"

A 21-year-old Austrian man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for planning a jihadist attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna during the US singer's Eras tour in August 2024.

The man, named only as Beran A in line with Austrian privacy laws, was also found guilty of a string of other terrorism-related offences.

He was arrested after a

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Portugal breaks hottest May day record as Europe swelters in heatwave

Getty Images A woman shades her head with a fan in front of Jeronimos Monastery in Belem, Portugal Getty Images

Portugal has set a new hottest day in May with 40.3C recorded in the central town of Mora, as countries in western Europe grapple with sweltering-hot weather.

The temperature recorded on Wednesday bests Portugal's previous record of 40C set in May 2001.

Ministers in France are meeting to assess the country's preparedness for heatwaves, while tennis number one Jannik Sinner bowed out of the French Open after suffering from the heat. Meanwhile, Italian authorities

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Learning from Ukraine war, Hezbollah is now using fibre-optic drones to hit Israel

Reuters A fibre-optic drone flies in a clear blue sky across the border from Lebanon into Israel. It has a spool of fibre optic wire hanging under a chassis, supported by four propeller blades around a blue rectangular battery. Reuters
Fibre-optic drones have become Hezbollah's primary weapon against Israel

Fibre-optic drones have become Hezbollah's primary weapon against Israeli soldiers and civilians, along both sides of the Lebanese border, and are now seen as the biggest threat there, as fighting continues six weeks into a supposed ceasefire.

One Israeli soldier was killed and two others injured in a drone attack near the Israeli border community of Shomera on Wednesday.

Of the 11 Israeli soldiers and one civilian defence contractor killed since the ceasefire came into force

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Gaza City hospitals say several killed in strike, as Israel targets Hamas leaders

Reuters People walk past a ruined building following an Israeli strike in Gaza City Reuters
Five children were reported to be among those killed in a strike targeting a senior Hamas operative in a residential building

At least 10 people, including five children, were killed in an Israeli strike on a building in Gaza City late on Wednesday, according to local hospitals.

The target of the attack appeared to have been a local Hamas battalion commander Imad Asleem, who was killed alongside his teenage daughter Israa and buried on Thursday.

Hamas has not officially commented.

The Israeli military has released a short statement saying it struck

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Villas, cars and cash: Italy seizes dead Mafia mobster's millions

Reuters A screengrab taken from a video shows Matteo Messina Denaro the country's most wanted mafia boss being escorted out of a Carabinieri police station after he was arrested in Palermo, Italy, January 16, 2023. Reuters
Matteo Messina Denaro was arrested after decades on the run in 2023, and later died in jail

You may find some of the details of Messina Denaro's crimes disturbing

Anti-mafia investigators in Italy have seized cash, companies and other assets worth more than €200m (£175m) in an operation they say targeted the network of notorious late Sicilian mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro.

The funds, described as "huge amounts of capital" by the financial police in Palermo

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Are US and Iran close to peace or sliding back to war?

Reuters US President Donald Trump (left) speaks next to US Defence Secretary Pete Hegset during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Washington. Photo: 26 May 2026 Reuters
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he was "not satisfied" yet with the terms of a deal being negotiated with Iran.

A ceasefire "hanging by a thread". A diplomatic process "making progress". A president "not satisfied". And explosions echoing around the Gulf.

What to make of the current, confusing state of relations between the US and Iran - are we close to peace or sliding back to war?

It comes towards the end of a week that has tested the ceasefire, which


Israel hits Lebanese capital in 'targeted strike'

BBC A soldier in camouflage uniform and four other people - two wearing black high-viz jackets and hats, and a woman with long hair and a white shirt and a man with a dark grey T-shirt look over a surrounding wall into what appears to be the gutted section of a building that has been damaged BBC
Beirut had until now been spared the intermittent attacks which have occurred despite a ceasefire

Israel has hit the Lebanese capital, Beirut, for only the second time since the start of a ceasefire last month.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the attack at about 14:00 (11:00 GMT) was carried out in a "targeted manner", but gave no details. Israeli media cited unnamed sources as saying the target of the strike had been the head of an Iranian militia.

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EU fines Temu €200m for allowing sale of illegal products

EPA Smartphone screen showing Temu website with flags in the background, at the headquarters of the European Council in Brussels. EPA

The European Union has imposed a €200m ($232m; £173m) fine on Chinese-owned online retailer Temu for having illegal products such as dangerous baby toys and faulty chargers for sale on its platform.

The European Commission said the company had "failed to diligently identify, analyse and assess the systemic risks" of the products and the harm they could cause to consumers.

Temu has been under investigation since October 2024 over whether


Man arrested after three injured in stabbing at Swiss train station

Getty Images A wide shot of of Winterthur train station taken on a spring day in 2019. Two buses are waiting outside the station. Getty Images
The attack took place at Winterthur train station, northwest of Zurich.

A man has been arrested after three people were injured in a stabbing attack at a train station in Switzerland, police said.

They said the three victims - Swiss nationals aged 28, 43 and 52 - were hospitalised after the attack at Winterthur train station.

The suspect, a 31-year-old Swiss man, used a bladed weapon and that the motive was under investigation, police added.

An eyewitness