Good morning, Martin Belam here. I will be popping into your inbox writing First Thing regularly for the next little while. Here are today’s main stories …
Trump promises war with Iran ‘will all work out well in the end’
Donald Trump has told critics of his Israeli-backed war on Iran to “sit back and relax”. Posting on Truth Social, the US president claimed securing a deal with Iran to end the war was being made more difficult by what he said were “political hacks” who “keep negatively “chirping”, but that “it will all work out well in the end. It always does!”
Meanwhile, the US said it struck Iranian military sites at the weekend, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Monday it had targeted an airbase used by the US for an attack on southern Iran. Air defences in Kuwait, where a large US base is located, were intercepting missile and drone attacks on Monday as sirens sounded across the country, the state news agency Kuna reported.
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Is this the end of the ceasefire, then? The US and Iran have sporadically exchanged strikes since their ceasefire took effect in early April, as negotiations aimed at a more durable agreement drag on. A similar exchange occurred last Thursday. The war launched by the US and Israel on 28 February has killed thousands of people – mainly in Iran and Lebanon – and caused global economic pain by pushing up energy prices.
Lead prosecutor withdraws from criminal case against James Comey
The lead prosecutor in the former FBI director James Comey’s case over a controversial social media post has withdrawn from the case, according to a court filing.
The justice department filed notice with the court on Friday evening that Matthew Petracca, a prosecutor from the US attorney’s office for the eastern district of North Carolina, had been replaced by the assistant US attorney Timothy Severo. The documents did not include any explanation for the change.
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What was Comey accused of? Comey, who was indicted in North Carolina in April, faces up to 10 years in prison for a photo of seashells arranged to read “86 47.” Prosecutors allege the post constituted a threat against Donald Trump, the 47th US president. Comey denies the allegation.
Colombia’s far-right presidential candidate Espriella wins first round of vote ahead of runoff
The far-right lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella won the first round of Colombia’s presidential election on Sunday. He will face Senator Iván Cepeda, the candidate backed by the leftwing president, Gustavo Petro, in the runoff.
With 99.97% of ballots counted, the outsider and Trump admirer Espriella secured 43.7% of the vote – just over 10.3m votes – compared with 40.9% (about 9.6m votes) for Cepeda, a philosopher and human rights activist who has served as a senator since 2014.
Although polls in recent weeks had identified Espriella’s rapid rise, most showed him trailing Cepeda, who for months appeared to have a solid lead. The two will face each other in a runoff on 21 June.
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What did Espriella say after the victory? In a video alongside his wife and children, all wearing Colombian national soccer team shirts, he said: “Compatriots, defenders of the homeland, more than 10 million Colombians placed their trust in el Tigre and joined the pack … In 21 days, we are going to change the history of Colombia for ever.”
In other news …
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European leaders have condemned Israel’s expanding incursion into Lebanon, after its military captured the medieval Beaufort Castle and Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, vowed to push even deeper into the country.
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The French navy has boarded an oil tanker that was subject to international sanctions and was sailing from Russia, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, has said.
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The Facebook whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams was forced to sit in silence on stage at an event at Hay festival in the UK, after lawyers advised her not to speak because of ongoing legal action brought by Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta.
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A United Airlines plane bound for Spain from Newark Libertyairport turned around midflight after a possible security threat. According to air traffic control audio, security came to inspect the aircraft after someone named their Bluetooth device a “certain four-letter word”.
Stat of the day: California reports huge decline in homelessness
California recorded one of the largest declines in homelessness in the US over the past year, according to a report from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The state’s unhoused population fell to 181,934 in 2025, a decrease of almost 3% compared with the previous year, placing California among the five states with the biggest reductions since 2024. Significant drops were recorded in Illinois (44%), Hawaii (41%), Florida (11%) and New York (8%).
Building power: ‘We won’t stop until they’re free’: protesters outside a New Jersey ICE facility, in their own words
Last week, more than 300 Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees were on a hunger and labor strike at Delaney Hall in Newark, New Jersey. The mood among the dozens of organizers and community members rallying outside the facility was tense but energized, Lex McMenamin found.
Don’t miss this: a visual guide to Fifa World Cup stadiums
The 2026 World Cup will be the largest men’s soccer tournament in history, featuring more stadiumsacross more countries than ever before. In the run-up to kick-off on 11 June, Alexander Abnos, Ella Brockway and Paul Bellsham have produced a comprehensive visual guide to all 16 venues in the US, Mexico and Canada.
… or this: how Nigeria’s bandit crisis spun out of control
Nigeria’s bandit crisis has its roots in conflicts between farmers and nomadic herders over land and resources that have become more intense because of the climate crisis, deforestation and rapid population growth. Some herders formed vigilante groups, which morphed into criminal gangs. Eromo Egbejule reports from Batsari, with striking photography and drone footage by Terna Iwar.
Climate check: Australia’s household battery revolution
Australia is pioneering a revolution in home renewables and battery use, proving what is possible with the right policies. Batteries counter the long-used arguments against renewables – that they are unpredictable and intermittent and therefore put an additional on a national grid, which must have an expensive backup power source such as gas. Instead, batteries mean solar power can be stored and used when needed.
Last Thing: The ruthlessness and redemption of Rupert Everett
Rupert Everett admits he lied to his partners, disrespected his audiences, betrayed his friends, describing his younger self as “brash, disingenuous, lethal”. In this candid interview with Simon Hattenstone, the English actor, 67, reflects on years of recklessness, the transformative experience of caring for his mother and the long road to adulthood.
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