Italian PM was all smiles at start of G7 summit as she met parade of haunted-looking statesmen, most of whose days in power are numbered

• G7 summit live – latest updates

Never has a host had so little in common with her guests. Standing serene in a salmon pink trouser suit and topping the poll in the European parliamentary elections, Italy’s far-right leader, Giorgia Meloni, waited to greet her fellow leaders from the G7 group of nations. She stood on a small stage under an awning and azure sky with the backdrop a suspiciously imported olive tree, a pointless rustic water pipe and the brash G7 flags discreetly put to one side so they did not spoil the view’s centrepiece – Ms Meloni.

To her right was a large stone arch that acts as the entrance way to Borgo Egnazia, the purpose-built “medieval” holiday complex giving celebrities an authentic sense of Puglia’s rural life, including a one-star Michelin restaurant, spas and wellness clinics.

Trump’s was a ‘made-up charge’, while Hunter Biden was ‘convicted of a real crime’, conservative commentators say

Two weeks, two big trials, two convictions. After Donald Trump was found guilty of falsifying business records at the end of last month, Hunter Biden, son of Joe, was convicted on Tuesday of buying and owning a gun while being a user of crack cocaine.

The rightwing media had howled in anguish when a jury ruled that the former US president was guilty of 34 felony charges: commentators claiming that the justice system was rigged, that the conviction was political persecution, and that Joe Biden had wielded undue influence in Trump being prosecuted.

Newtown students declare ‘time for change’ more than 11 years after one of the deadliest US school shootings

Students who survived one of the deadliest school mass shootings in US history are graduating high school on Wednesday, as many call for more action on gun control.

Emotions were running high at Newtown high school in Connecticut on Wednesday, more than 11 years after a former student entered Sandy Hook elementary school in 2012 with guns and killed small children, teachers and staff in a massacre that shook the nation .

Analysts say guilty verdict undermines Trump’s claim that a weaponised justice department is unfairly pursuing him

Hunter Biden’s conviction on gun-ownership charges may have handed his father, Joe, a boost in the forthcoming presidential election, analysts say, because it undermines the image of a president weaponising the US justice system to pursue Donald Trump.

Trump, the former president and presumptive GOP presidential nominee, has pushed that line relentlessly to explain his conviction last month on charges related to the concealment of hush-money payments to a porn star to help him win the 2016 election.

A lie is a lie, but the president’s support of his son - and of the legal system - has been moving to see

If you didn’t know better, you might think the jury that found Hunter Biden guilty this week knew precisely what they were doing. The evidence against the president’s son – that he lied about his drug use on a firearms form six years ago – was overwhelming, but so too was the impression of a trivial, overegged charge. But, by finding him guilty, the jury in this area of solid Democratic support have potentially done more injury to his father’s political rival than if they had found him not guilty on all counts.

For those of us watching, the entire spectacle has at times been an uncomfortable exercise in flushing out biases. Like the Trump children, Hunter Biden has the demoralised air of a scion struggling to escape his father’s shadow, albeit in a different style. If the Trump boys are chinless dimwits, Hunter has about him the seedy air of a second- or third-tier Hollywood actor, clamped behind aviators and accompanied seemingly everywhere by his much younger wife.

Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist

US treasury secretary said new sanctions target Russia’s ‘remaining avenues for international materials and equipment’

The House speaker, Mike Johnson, criticized Joe Biden’s immigration policies, telling reporters on Wednesday:

The Biden border catastrophe continues in spite of his window dressing of the executive order.

Nothing’s changed, of course. In fact, many have argued that this increased the incentives for people to try to come and, you know, avail themselves of the welcome mat that the Biden administration has put forward.

Today’s actions strike at their remaining avenues for international materials and equipment, including their reliance on critical supplies from third countries …

We are increasing the risk for financial institutions dealing with Russia’s war economy and eliminating paths for evasion, and diminishing Russia’s ability to benefit from access to foreign technology, equipment, software and IT services.

Human rights body lists outrages carried out during Hamas’s October 7 attack and Israel’s subsequent Gaza offensive

A UN investigation has accused Israel and Hamas of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity on and since 7 October, the date of Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel.

The allegations were contained in two parallel reports prepared by a commission of inquiry formed in 2021 by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate human rights violations in Israel and the Palestinian territories, chaired by the former UN human rights chief Navi Pillay.

El Paso mayor says order ‘will save lives’ but advocates express concern over heat and exploitation by criminals

The sun blazed relentlessly on the border terrain of New Mexico, with Texas directly to the east and Mexico directly to the south, revealing inhospitable desert covered with poignant reminders of the human journey.

Discarded water bottles, worn-out shoes and torn clothes scattered on Mexican soil along the towering US fence serve as silent witnesses to the passage of those who traverse this harsh land, heading north in search of a better life.

Countries sign memorandum to develop advanced AI model testing amid growing safety concerns

The United States and Britain on Monday announced a new partnership on the science of artificial intelligence safety, amid growing concerns about upcoming next-generation versions.

The US commerce secretary, Gina Raimondo, and British technology secretary, Michelle Donelan, signed a memorandum of understanding in Washington to work jointly to develop advanced AI model testing, following commitments announced at an AI safety summit in Bletchley Park in November.