Three people including child killed in early morning missile attack on Kyiv; eight wounded in shelling of Belgorod region in Russia

On the day a judge ruled the Victoria Cross winner had lost his defamation case and been proven to be a war criminal, Roberts-Smith didn’t turn up to court

Seven chairman Kerry Stokes, who parachuted the former soldier into a network job in 2015, says ‘the judgment does not accord with the man I know’For Seven’s chairman, Kerry Stokes, the verdict in the Ben Roberts-Smith defamation trial was all bad news.The cost of the trial is estimated to be between $25m and $35m and, with the billionaire media proprietor bankrolling the former soldier and Seven employee, Stokes’s legal tab will be significant if he does pick up the bill.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

Long-serving MP who represents Swansea West faces investigation after claims from five women

Worksafe NSW launches investigation as site staff told missing detonator and accelerant require other components to activate it

Justice Anthony Besanko has handed down his decision in the federal court in Sydney in the defamation trial brought by Australia’s most decorated living soldier – follow live updates and watch a replay of the live stream

Parliament passes landmark legislation aimed at reducing number of Indigenous children entering care

Education minister says if he were to freeze indexation, it would cost taxpayers who might not have a degree

This blog is now closed.

An inquiry investigating how the ACT criminal justice system handled Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations has likely finished hearing evidence

Man, 55, from north of Brisbane accused of attacking 15 children some of whom he befriended while working as a driver between 1983 and 2001

In the federal court of Australia the judge dismissed the Victoria Cross recipient’s case against three newspapers who accused him of war crimes

Exclusive: Analysis shows shift towards non-EU and British workers in sectors which once relied on EU workforceThere are now more non-EU than EU workers in a number of sectors that were previously reliant on European citizens, demonstrating the Brexit effect and the impact of international events on immigration patterns.Guardian analysis shows that the number of non-EU workers surpassed their EU counterparts for the first time in 2022, at an average of 2.7 million against 2.5 million workers last year. Continue reading...

Failure to provide proper financial support left millions exposed to pandemic, says union bossThe Covid inquiry must take an unflinching look at how the UK’s lack of decent sick pay left the country “brutally exposed” during the pandemic, the TUC has said.The UK entered the pandemic with the lowest rate of statutory sick pay (SSP) in the OECD, an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, and with millions unable access it, the union body claimed. Continue reading...

Rideshare giant to limit pricing during disruptions in an area with transport minister stressing it will come ‘at no cost to taxpayers’

Roxanne Tickle is suing Giggle for Girls after it blocked her account because she was ‘considered male’

Woman known as AB tells court she previously omitted some details of sexual activities she did not remember or think relevantA former student of Chris Dawson left out the “intimate, disgusting details” of their alleged sexual activities when questioned by police searching for the woman he’s been convicted of murdering.Dawson, 74, has pleaded not guilty to engaging in sexual activity with a woman known in court as AB between July and December 1980, while she was aged 16 and his student on Sydney’s northern beaches. Continue reading...

Scientists grow tissue from every known type of endometriosis, observing changes and comparing how they respond to treatmentsSydney researchers have made a world-first leap forward that could change the treatment of endometriosis and improve the health of women living with the painful and debilitating disease.Researchers from Sydney’s Royal hospital for women have grown tissue from every known type of endometriosis, observing changes and comparing how they respond to treatments. Continue reading...

Greens senator seeking $150,000 from One Nation leader, who wrote that Faruqi should ‘pack [her] bags and piss off back to Pakistan’

A review indicates the mining giant incorrectly deducted leave for about 28,500 current and former staff

Exclusive: consumer and aviation figures call for continued scrutiny as Australian companies post multibillion-dollar profits and ticket prices remain high

President says national security threats are increasing and urged greater oversight of artificial intelligence and data securityChinese leader Xi Jinping and top officials have called for greater state oversight of artificial intelligence as part of work to counter “dangerous storms” facing the country, state media reported.The president and other ruling Communist party officials agreed at a meeting of the National Security Commission to “improve security governance of network data and artificial intelligence”. Continue reading...

Coroner seeking to establish what happened to Gold Coast school teacher, subject of The Lady Vanishes podcast

Canberra’s National Capital Authority terminated lease on block of land in Yarralumla but federal court rules the move was ‘invalid and of no effect’

Critics say the seeking of permanent stays in cases where perpetrators have died amount to ‘another layer of abuse’ for survivors and a failure of moral leadership

Reduction follows CMA plans to grill executives about ‘sustained higher margins’ but RAC says retailers should go furtherSupermarkets have cut more than 7p a litre from the price of diesel since the UK’s competition watchdog warned it would question retail bosses about unnecessarily high forecourt prices, according to the RAC.The motoring group found that the average price of diesel fell by 7.44p a litre, from 151.02p two weeks ago to 143.58p this week, after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) raised concerns that retailers were making “sustained higher margins” from sales of diesel. Continue reading...

NSW police are investigating after toddler found in Riverwoood on Wednesday afternoonA toddler has been found dead in a Sydney apartment alongside an injured a man, authorities say.The three-year-old was found inside the Riverwood home at about 4pm on Wednesday.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

The blaze, which began near Inverness in Scotland, is still not out after four days and its cause is unknownFirefighters have spent four days battling a wildfire in the Scottish Highlands that officials believe is on its way to becoming the largest by area on record in the UK and which has been photographed from space.The fire broke out at Cannich near Inverness on Sunday and has grown to an area measuring roughly 8km by 8km (24 square miles). Two firefighters were injured on Tuesday after being in an accident in their all-terrain vehicle while tackling the blaze. They have since been discharged from the hospital, the community safety minister, Siobhian Brown, said in the Scottish parliament on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Man arrested on suspicion of manslaughter with eight survivors also recovered from waterA 17-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl have died and a man has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after an incident on Bournemouth beach, Dorset police have said.Police responded to the beach near Bournemouth pier after receiving a call for assistance at 4:32pm. Emergency responders recovered 10 people from the water, including the man in his 40s who investigators later arrested in connection with the incident. Continue reading...

The shipment comes with a warning that the weaponry should not be used to attack within RussiaThe United States has announced a new $300m arms package for Ukraine, including air defense systems and tens of millions of rounds of ammunition – but warned Kyiv that US weaponry should not be used to attack within Russia.“We have been very clear with the Ukrainians privately – we’ve certainly been clear publicly – that we do not support attacks inside Russia. We do not enable and we do not encourage attacks inside Russia,” said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. Continue reading...

The actor will briefly return as Samantha Jones in one scene of the second season of the comedy spin-offKim Cattrall is reportedly returning to play the role of Samantha in one scene of Sex and the City spin-off And Just Like That.According to Variety, the actor shot her dialogue without speaking to or seeing the rest of the cast. Cattrall has spoken of tension between herself and star Sarah Jessica Parker and was not included in the first season of the new series. Continue reading...

A 69-year-old Florida dealer is set to go to federal prison after a scheme involving the sale of fake artworkA south Florida art dealer was sentenced on Tuesday to two years and three months in federal prison in connection with a scheme involving the sale of fake Andy Warhol paintings.Daniel Elie Bouaziz, 69, was sentenced in Fort Pierce federal court, according to court records. He pleaded guilty in February to a single count of money laundering, while prosecutors agreed to drop 16 other counts related to fraud and embezzlement. Bouaziz was fined $15,000, and a restitution hearing is scheduled for 16 August. Continue reading...

Park has long been a target of activists who have sought to shut it down over the lack of care given to its captive animalsA theme park in Canada is facing charges for its handling of black bears in captivity, placing fresh scrutiny on a park that animal rights activists have long sought to shut down.Ontario’s ministry of the solicitor general said on Wednesday it had laid the charges against Marineland, an amusement park on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. The province said the park had failed to comply with an order related to its captive American black bears. Continue reading...

Chocolate maker appoints ‘mission guardians’ with power to veto changes to ethical strategyThe ethical confectionery company Tony’s Chocolonely has introduced a “golden share” mechanism to prevent shareholders from weakening its sustainability commitments in future.In an unusual move, the Dutch company, which makes colourfully wrapped chunky chocolate bars stocked in UK supermarkets, has created a new governance structure with golden shares that carry the power to veto changes to its ethical strategy. Continue reading...

Indigenous doctors group also endorses a yes vote in the referendum as ‘a way of making people feel they have a stake in the future’

Vice-chancellors urge review of tuition fees in light of caps on overseas students and rising costsVice-chancellors are warning the current funding model for UK higher education is “broken” and have urged the government to review the system of tuition fees, which have been capped at about £9,000 for more than a decade.They have made clear that limits to overseas students announced last week on top of rising costs caused by inflation posed a serious risk to universities which would require more funding from government. Continue reading...

Developer hit by higher interest rates and 2022’s mini-budget but online retailer buoyed by stronger sales at M&SThe property developer British Land is being relegated from the UK’s blue-chip share index, ending a 21-year run in the FTSE 100 after its value was hit by rising interest rates and the disruption caused by last autumn’s mini-budget.The online supermarket and retail technology group Ocado has clung on to its prized spot in the ranking, however, despite a sharp fall in its value since the heights of the pandemic. Continue reading...

Teaching unions and charities argue first review of statutory guidance since 2020 is politically motivatedAn expert panel will be set up to review sex education in England’s schools, with updated guidance due in September to ensure that no “disturbing or inappropriate content” will make its way to students.This review will take place over the concerns of teaching unions and more than 50 organisations and charities, who fear the move is politically motivated. Continue reading...

Infants, toddlers and older children died from fever or lack of food while trapped in deteriorating conditionsAt least 60 infants, toddlers and older children have perished over the past six weeks while trapped in harrowing conditions in an orphanage in Sudan’s capital as fighting raged outside.Most died from lack of food and from fever. Twenty-six died in two days over the weekend. Continue reading...

Weekend train services to be severely reduced across England as dispute over pay and conditions continuesA fresh wave of train strikes has led to rail services in parts of England grinding to a halt, with planned industrial action on Friday and Saturday set to affect hundreds of thousands of people travelling to sporting events and concerts.More than 12,000 members of Aslef, the drivers’ union, began a 24-hour strike on Wednesday as part of the long-running dispute between the unions and the government over pay, jobs and conditions. Continue reading...

This live blog has now closed, you can read more of our Ukraine war coverage hereThe drone attacks targeting Moscow early on Tuesday, which have been blamed on Kyiv, were by far the largest wave launched against Russia since the start of its war against Ukraine.There has been speculation that at least one of the drones involved was a UJ-22 produced by the Ukrainian Ukrjet company, which Russia claims has been involved in at least one previous attack. Some other experts disagree, suggesting it is another model of drone, citing differences in appearance. Continue reading...

Drones strike at oil refineries within Russia; Medvedev calls UK an ‘eternal enemy’ which is de facto at war with Russia Continue reading...

Ex-civil servant alleges he was arrested to protect Kim Darroch, former UK diplomat in WashingtonA former civil servant has accused the government of an attempt to cover up “crimes” by the former British ambassador to the US, who he claims leaked intelligence to his lover.Andrew Hale-Byrne is suing the foreign secretary, James Cleverly, and the international trade secretary, Kemi Badenoch, alleging that he was arrested in order to divert attention from Sir Kim Darroch, the former UK ambassador to the US. Continue reading...

Chief executive Carolyn McCall says there has been ‘a lot of inaccuracy’ in reporting of This Morning controversyITV has instructed a barrister to carry out an external review of the facts after Phillip Schofield’s departure from This Morning.In a letter seen by the PA news agency, the ITV chief executive, Carolyn McCall, said: “You will have seen the significant media coverage concerning Phillip Schofield. As you would expect we take the matter extremely seriously and have reviewed our own records over the weekend. These show that when rumours of a relationship between Phillip Schofield and an employee of ITV first began to circulate in late 2019/early 2020, ITV investigated. Continue reading...

Meeting in Chișinău is opportunity to show country is ‘fit for EU membership’, foreign minister saysMoldova wants to start formal talks on becoming a EU member state and will use the a summit of all 50 EU and non-member European leaders in its capital, Chișinău, on Thursday to underline its desire to accelerate the accession process, the country’s foreign minister said.Along with Ukraine, Moldova has official accession candidate status since last year but believes, like its larger neighbour, it can accelerate the years-long process to get a seat in Brussels in the face of continuing threats from Russia. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak must weigh up how it would look for his government to try to conceal material from a government-commissioned inquiryWhy would ministers fight tooth and nail to prevent the release of Boris Johnson’s uncensored WhatsApps and diaries, and the correspondence of a relatively anonymous former political aide called Henry Cook?Rishi Sunak has little interest in protecting his No 10 predecessor and rival from any embarrassment. His relationship with Johnson remains almost as strained as when they were neighbours in Downing Street and Sunak is now reluctant even to pick up the phone to Johnson for a rapprochement. Continue reading...

Putin appears to play down incident despite calls to declare state of war and ‘mobilise the whole of society’

Former prime minister gives a tranche of documents to the Cabinet Office, challenging it to pass them onBoris Johnson has handed over a tranche of WhatsApps and notebooks to the Cabinet Office, challenging it to release the documents in unredacted form to the Covid inquiry.In a move that will pose a major headache for the government, Johnson released a new statement saying it should “urgently disclose” the contents to the public inquiry. Continue reading...

French president calls for ‘path to membership of Nato’ for Ukraine and reconciliation of east and westIt may not be possible to send Vladimir Putin to face war crime charges at The Hague if he is the only person with whom the west has to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war, Emmanuel Macron has said.In a wide-ranging speech at an EU leaders conference in Moldova, the French president also set out plans for a fast enlargement of the EU, reconciliation between the east and west of Europe and a clear path to Ukraine’s Nato membership. Continue reading...