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Iran responds by targeting US-allied Kuwait and Qatar and accusing US of striking near its sole nuclear power plant

The US has launched new airstrikes against Iran, hours after Donald Trump threatened to escalate the conflict unless Iran stopped attacking ships in the strait of Hormuz.

Iran, which was burying its former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Thursday, responded by targeting US-allied Kuwait and Qatar and accused the US of striking near its sole nuclear power plant.

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• England defender’s challenge deemed serious foul play

• Misses quarter-final as well as potential semi-final

Jarell Quansah has been banned for two World Cup matches following his red card in England’s last-16 victory over Mexico on Sunday.

Quansah was dismissed after a VAR review of a sliding challenge on Jesus Gallardo that Fifa have subsequently deemed to be serious foul play, and in accordance of Article 14 of their code of conduct that has led to a two-game ban for the defender.

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Platner’s former backers are seeking ‘real progressive’ to prevent nomination going to establishment Democrat

• US politics live – latest updates

Progressive groups and lawmakers who rallied behind Graham Platner’s insurgent bid for a US Senate seat are now racing to decide where to transfer their support after his withdrawal from the Maine race following yet another allegation of sexual assault.

The scramble and apparent heartbreak underscores the uncertainty facing the coalition surrounding Platner’s anti-establishment message, and the response from more centrist Democrats to proceed with caution. Organizations, voters, volunteers and elected officials that once saw him as a vehicle for a more populist progressive agenda are now weighing whether to unite behind a successor, or hold back until the party’s replacement process plays out.

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Donald Trump's erratic performance at the Nato summit in Turkey left his allies guessing. One moment he criticised fellow leaders for their contribution to defence spending, the next he praised the alliance's unity.

From Ankara, Guardian defence and security editor Dan Sabbagh explains how Nato emerged from the chaos

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Exactly one year on from appointing Laurent Mekies as only the second Team Principal in their history, Red Bull find themselves in exactly the same place in the Teams' Championship – P4. But have the six-time World Champions plateaued or are there signs of rejuvenation behind the scenes?

Charles Leclerc and Ferrari posted the first laps of the Madring circuit in an F1 car on Thursday, with the team taking part in a filming session at the all-new venue.

Op het terras van Café Place de France in Tanger schuift een straatkat tegen het onderbeen van Ahmed El Hiri, en snuffelt tussen zijn benen door op zoek naar iets eetbaars.

De Emiraten leveren geld en wapens aan de Rapid Support Forces, die vorig jaar een massaslachting aanrichtten in de Soedanese stad Al Fashar en dat in El-Obeid nu weer dreigen te doen. In november sprak de EU ook al over Soedan, maar liet de rol van de Emiraten toen onbenoemd.

Tabaksgigant Philip Morris hielp burgers AI-teksten te maken voor de consultatie rond strengere EU-regelgeving. Longartsen dienden een klacht in bij de Reclame Code Commissie. De fabrikant: „Wij moeten klagers bedanken voor de aandacht voor burgerparticipatie.”

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

date stamped on slide July 1963

Zichtbaar en aanspreekbaar zijn. Dat is het idee achter de Havendialoog: een nieuw initiatief van Havenbedrijf Rotterdam en Deltalinqs, de belangenvereniging van havenondernemers. “We willen écht van omwonenden horen wat ze van de haven vinden,” zegt de projectleider. Maar lukt dat ook?

The European Commission has ended an investigation into possible anticompetitive practices after SAP agreed to abolish reinstatement fees and reduce back-maintenance fees. The move could reduce barriers for customers considering third-party support for products nearing the end of their vendor support terms, including thousands of large businesses that rely on SAP ERP Central Component (ECC) to run their business operations. SAP's mainstream support for ECC ends in December 2027, while customers can opt for extended maintenance until December 2030 by paying an additional two percentage points on their maintenance fees. The most recent figures from Gartner showed that in Q4 2024 only 39 percent of worldwide ECC customers – from a total of 35,000 – had bought or subscribed to licenses to start their transition to SAP S/4HANA, the replacement ERP product. In September last year, the European Commission launched a formal investigation into SAP's behavior in the aftermarket for maintenance and support services in Europe. It said it was responding to concerns that SAP restricted competition in this crucial aftermarket by making it harder for rivals to compete, leaving European customers with fewer choices and higher costs. In October, SAP published its response. “SAP’s commitments aim at improving the financial attractiveness for customers who wish to reinstate SAP maintenance and support services. Thus, future costs associated with reinstatement will not financially prevent customers from choosing to terminate SAP maintenance and support for a given period of time,” the document said. SAP has now agreed to abolish reinstatement fees and reduce back maintenance fees charged to customers who return to SAP's support after a period of absence, the Commission confirmed. It also agreed to clarify conditions that allow customers to choose different maintenance and support service providers and different levels of support from SAP. The agreement is relevant to customers considering third-party support to extend their use of ECC beyond vendor maintenance. For example, last year, European retailer Kingfisher — owner of well-known UK brands B&Q and Screwfix — told a Gartner conference it had chosen Rimini Street to support ECC 6.0 because it saw insufficient value in migrating to SAP S/4HANA. EC executive VP Teresa Ribera said in a statement, “SAP’s software is critical to businesses across Europe, and indeed globally. Today’s decision gives customers using SAP’s popular on-premises business management software more freedom to choose maintenance and support services without unfair restrictions that raised their costs and stifled competition. The legally binding commitments secured by the Commission set a benchmark for the industry more broadly and should serve as a warning against practices with similar effects in the cloud markets, where customers are increasingly moving.” SAP said in a statement that its maintenance practices were aligned with industry standards and that customers had a broad range of deployment, licensing, and support options across its on-premise and cloud products. “The commitments strengthen customer choice and predictability by making policies more transparent, introducing targeted flexibility for exceptional shelfware situations and reinforcing consistent execution through improved guidance, training and independent oversight," it said. “The decision relates solely to on-premise maintenance policies and does not concern SAP’s cloud offerings. However, the added clarity and flexibility support customers as they modernize toward an AI-enabled autonomous enterprise at their own pace. In closing this matter, SAP is able to move forward with a clear framework for customers, partners and investors.” The commitments offered by SAP will remain in force globally for ten years. ®

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The Smashing Pumpkins

MapTap is like a quicker, easier version of GeoGuessr: you’re given a series of place names and you need to click as close as you can to them on a globe.