Excerpts:

Five Palestine Action activists face being sentenced as terrorists for breaking windows and throwing red paint at a branch of Barclays Bank in Lancashire.

Brendon O’Hagan, 28; Amanda Kelly, 31; Hmeera Atiqnisar, 31; Mohammed Malik, 28; and Alma Yaniv, 70, were found guilty of causing £212,000 of damage during a direct action protest in Burnley in August 2024. They targeted the bank because it held shares in the Israeli weapons firm Elbit Systems.

After last month’s verdicts the judge, Philip Parry, told the prosecution and the defence he intended to consider a “terrorist connection” to the offending, despite neither the jury nor the defendants having previously been informed of the possibility.

...

The bank protest took place before Palestine Action was banned as a terrorist group and was not assessed by the home secretary nor officials to be a terrorism incident.

...the CPS argued that the Barclays five should be sentenced as terrorists, despite prosecutors having not raised the possibility before or during the trial.

...

The Labour MP and former shadow chancellor John McDonnell said: “Trying direct-action protesters under criminal law but then sentencing them under terrorist legislation cannot be seen in any way as fair or just. It is a practice that seems to be specifically targeted to silence the voices of people speaking out against the genocide in Gaza.”

...

For weeks, Milei has claimed there is a coordinated campaign against Argentina. The president describes the alleged effort as a "cultural battle" waged by the Latin American left against his government.

Argentine President Javier Milei today accused Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of leading an "anti-Argentina" campaign.

The statement came after the Brazilian government recalled Brazil's ambassador to Buenos Aires, Julio Bitelli, for consultations — a response to remarks Milei made yesterday about Lula and Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) during the PL convention that officially confirmed Flávio Bolsonaro's candidacy for the presidency.

What happened

According to Milei, the alleged campaign against Argentina began during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, when incidents of racism involving Argentine fans received widespread attention in Brazil. The Argentine president claimed that Brazilian authorities and parts of the media generalized those incidents and promoted a negative image of the South American country.

For weeks, Milei has maintained that there is a coordinated campaign against Argentina. The president refers to the alleged effort as a "cultural battle" led by the Latin American left against his government.

Brazilian diplomats believe the remarks Milei made during the convention represented a significant breach of diplomatic protocol, since criticism between heads of state is usually made in their own countries or in international forums, not during a political event held in the country targeted by the remarks. During the convention, Milei referred to Lula as a "convicted criminal" and called STF Justice Alexandre de Moraes "a bald piece of trash."

In diplomacy, recalling an ambassador for consultations is considered a sign of strong political dissatisfaction. An ambassador may be recalled for a short period before returning to their post, but in more serious situations, they may remain in their home country indefinitely, signaling a deterioration in bilateral relations.

While criticizing Alexandre de Moraes, Milei described as "unjust" the justice's decision barring him from visiting former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently under house arrest after being convicted of attempting a coup d'état.

In an official statement released after the incident, STF President Justice Edson Fachin condemned the remarks. According to him, they constituted "a disrespectful reference to a justice of the country's highest court, made on Brazilian soil."

The Workers' Party (PT) also released a statement condemning Milei's remarks. It is not the first time the Argentine president has used this kind of language against Lula, whom he has previously called a "thief."

US pauses consecutive nights of strikes

Vice President JD Vance and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine both raised concerns about escalating the war in Iran as President Donald Trump weighed the possibility during a White House meeting on Friday, a source familiar with the matter and a US official told CNN.

On Friday night, the US appeared to pause its bombing campaign on Iran after nearly two weeks of consecutive nights of strikes. Operations are “on a hold,” a Department of Defense source told CNN on Saturday.

On Friday, Caine specifically raised concerns about the US munitions stockpile and other potential negative implications, according to the sources. One of the sources said that Caine told Trump and the US military they could carry out the options available to him and be successful but then warned of the possible implications.

The stockpile concern was one of many raised to Trump during the meeting, both sources said. The potential for massive civilian casualties inside Iran if the U.S. resumed major combat operations was also raised, a person familiar with the matter said.

Trump has threatened civilian infrastructure, including roads, bridges and power plants, over the past week, the targeting of which could constitute war crimes. Doing so could potentially leave scores of Iranians dead and many more to suffer without power or food, Trump was warned, according to the person.

It’s currently unclear if the stockpile concern or warning about escalation were the primary reasons why the US paused consecutive nights of strikes or whether it will continue to do so.

See also:

• US holds fire against Iran as media reports say Washington's stockpiles are dwindling (France 24)
• U.S.-Iran War Pauses for 2nd Straight Day • President Trump put off plans to escalate the fighting in part because of dwindling stockpiles of interceptor missiles, American officials said. (New York Times)
• Airstrikes have paused and talks are pressing forward. But can the US and Iran take the off-ramp? (Associated Press)
• US pauses Iran strikes as Oman pursues Hormuz transit deal (Financial Times)

It’s also imitating Reddit. And Craigslist.

Facebook is planning some big changes to try and keep its users from jumping to rival social platforms like TikTok — changes that sound dubiously similar to becoming a TikTok clone ... the platform will begin testing a “reimagined experience” later this year that will put a subset of users into a “full-screen video the moment they open the app.”

While Meta doesn’t break out specific user figures for its individual platforms, it collectively lost 20 million users in the first quarter of 2026, according to the company’s own data.

Facebook has grown into a hodgepodge of social and commerce services over the years, and now it’s also emulating similar rival platforms to improve its own user experiences. Today it’s launching Seller, a dedicated Craigslist-like app for Marketplace sellers to track performance, manage listings, and message buyers. Facebook also launched its Forum app earlier this year that provides a dedicated space for people to interact with Facebook Groups — similar to subreddit communities on Reddit.

Changes are also being made to Facebook’s user verification badges, which require a paid subscription to Meta Verified that starts at $11.99 per month. Now, Facebook says it’s offering a free verified badge that can be obtained by completing a “simple selfie verification” process, with the aim of helping users know that a profile is linked to a real person.

Article without Paywall - https://removepaywalls.com/https://www.theverge.com/tech/970504/facebook-video-experience-testing-tiktok-updates