World news | The Guardian

Follow today's news liveAngus Taylor and Anthony Albanese on leave this weekThe opposition leader, Angus Taylor, is on leave for most of this week, his office has announced, with the deputy leader, Jane Hume, acting in his stead.NSWRL owes a massive debt of gratitude to Laurie for the service he has given to his state as both a player and a coach.He has also led NSW to arguably two of the greatest Origin series wins of all time as a coach, after ending Queensland's eight-year winning streak in 2014 and overcoming adversity to steer the Blues home in 2026. Continue reading...

Former 2UE and 2GB radio broadcaster is facing 22 charges. Jones, 85, has pleaded not guilty

Another five people assessed by ambulance personnel after roof and wall cave in on Wattle St in Ultimo

Authorities issue alert saying indoor spaces without airconditioning are dangerous' as temperatures pass 40C for fifth straight daySouth Korea has registered its highest temperature since records began more than a century ago, as authorities warned people to immediately" stop all outdoor activities in affected areas.The south-eastern city of Yangsan saw the temperature reach 42.5C on Sunday afternoon, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said, the highest temperature reported since modern weather observation began in 1904. Continue reading...

Body providing care in east London and Bedfordshire accused of unfathomable and unacceptable' moveAn NHS mental health trust plans to cut a wide range of its services and axe hundreds of jobs to close a 25m hole in its finances.The move by the East London foundation trust (ELFT) and the scale of potential cuts involved have been called unfathomable given demand for NHS mental health support is rising rapidly. Continue reading...

Todd Blanche issues formal order terminating measure widely derided as a slush fund', in move that could clear path for his nomination as attorney generalActing US attorney general Todd Blanche issued a formal order late on Sunday terminating Donald Trump's $1.8bn anti-weaponization fund" to compensate his political allies, a move that follows weeks of negotiations with two Republican senators who were blocking his nomination to become attorney general.While Blanche has repeatedly said publicly that the fund was dead, the justice department had resisted formally confirming that in writing. That had drawn concern from lawmakers that it could be revived in some form, especially after Trump expressed continued support for the idea. Continue reading...

Former Liberal, anti-woke' film animator and councillor who says he used to work on Daniel Andrews' security team among lineup for November's state poll

Passing of bill gives English same status as Mori and sign language but, with it already spoken by 95% of country, critics call it a pointless exercise'Legislation recognising English as an official language of New Zealand has been passed by parliament, prompting derision from linguists and legal experts and a now-viral broadside from a Mori MP who called it pathetic".The English language bill became law on 30 July giving English, which is spoken by 95% of the country, the same official status as te reo Mori (Mori language) and New Zealand sign language. Continue reading...

British band say they are proud to have made this impromptu expression with our fans in Singapore', where open display of all foreign flags is bannedMassive Attack have called being banned from Singapore a surreal experience" after displaying a Palestinian flag during their show.On Wednesday, the English trip-hop collective - whose current lineup includes Robert 3D" Del Naja and Grant Daddy G" Marshall - played a show at the Star theatre. Continue reading...

Officials are banning some compressed hikes' which involve walkers tackling demanding routes in short timeframesMalaysia's government is tightening hiking rules nationwide after a social media trend left increasing numbers of adventurers needing to be rescued when they became lost or stranded in remote locations.In the first five months of 2026, Malaysia saw 52 cases of lost hikers, an increase of nearly 30% compared with the same period the previous year, the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department told local media. Continue reading...

Former rugby league player turned TikTok influencer tells parliamentary inquiry his spiralling addiction to gambling cost him about $1m

The new London and South East University Group will be UK's third largest higher education institutionThe UK's first super-university", which will merge the universities of Greenwich and Kent, is set to launch in September.The new London and South East University Group, to be known as the LASEUG, will have more than 50,000 students on four campuses across London, Medway and Kent, making it the third largest higher education institution in the UK. Continue reading...

Singer was due to reunite with Wicked co-star Jonathan Bailey in London production of Sunday in the Park With GeorgeAriana Grande has announced plans to take a break from public-facing work after her tour ends due to endless, ongoing public scrutiny". She is pulling out of the upcoming London revival of Sunday in the Park With George.The pop singer was due to appear opposite her Wicked co-star Jonathan Bailey in a new production of Stephen Sondheim's critically acclaimed musical at the Barbican in 2027. Continue reading...

New Order and Simon Armitage among more than 100 signatories to criticise foolish and shortsighted' cutsMore than 100 artists, writers and scientists have called for the UK government to save the world's clearest eyes on the sky", after funding for thenetwork of radio telescopes at Jodrell Bank Observatory was slashed.New Order, the Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield and the poet laureate, Simon Armitage, are among those calling on the new prime minister, Andy Burnham, to save the deep space observatory which includes the Grade I-listed Lovell telescope, prized by astronomers who study galaxies, star formation and planets beyond the solar system. Continue reading...

Decision comes after group of survivors claimed ex-Harrods owner's associates must have helped facilitate his crimesAt least five victims of the former Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed have been confirmed by the Home Office as victims of human trafficking.A group of survivors of abuse by the deceased businessman had called for the Metropolitan police to make trafficking the main focus of its investigation, arguing that Fayed could not have committed his offences without a steady stream of women sent to him by associates. Continue reading...

Chancellor says the government wants to prevent shoppers being taken for a ride' at the pump or tillThe chancellor, John Healey, has said the government is standing by to prevent the public from being taken for a ride at the pump or the till" as the Iran war continues to hit prices.While he said there had been no significant evidence of so-called price gouging" during the crisis, he used a weekend column to tell the big retailers that ministers were watching closely" for any signs of profiteering. Continue reading...

Lowe says the two should put personalities and our past disagreements aside for good of the country'The leader of Restore Britain, Rupert Lowe, has extended an olive branch to Nigel Farage, saying the two should put personalities and our past disagreements aside for the good of the country".Lowe told the Reform UK leader that if he was prepared to work together around serious policies, serious reform and serious government, then so are we".Mass deportation of illegal migrants including women and children".Tougher rules on legal migration, a ban on halal and kosher slaughter, the burqa, cousin marriage and sharia courts.A referendum on the death penalty.Welfare cuts to fund self-sufficiency".The exclusion of former Tory ministers from any future cabinet. Continue reading...

Greek police say 26-year-old Afghan national is believed to have left Elisabeth-Jane Ross's body in derelict buildingGreek authorities have arrested an Afghan national in connection with the death of a Scottish woman whose body was found in a suitcase in an abandoned building in central Athens.Elisabeth-Jane Ross, 38, a charity worker described as an angel full of innocence and goodness" by friends, had been in Greece for almost three weeks when she is believed to have died. Continue reading...

Prime minister says UK needs to bring back that control' and safe routes for refugees are necessary to tackle traffickingAndy Burnham has pledged to be relentless" in tackling small boat crossings after tens of thousands of migrants entered the Spanish territory of Ceuta, and he said safe routes" for refugees were necessary to tackle trafficking gangs.Speaking during a visit to Dover, the prime minister said he had been assured by the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, that approximately 98% of the estimated 50,000 people who entered Spain's north African territory of Ceuta last week had now been returned to Morocco. Continue reading...

Fire department says two-person crew of one aircraft killed in incident during gale-force winds to west of capitalTwo firefighting helicopters have collided west of Athens, killing the two-person crew of one of the aircraft, as efforts to control a massive wildfire barrelling towards the outskirts of the Greek capital intensified.Footage showed one of the helicopters losing control in the face of gale-force winds that have pushed flames towards settlements on Athens' western fringes. Continue reading...

Farmers battle to salvage what they can of their crops as heatwave set to continueBritain could face shortages of certain foods after punishing drought in parts of England, the National Farmers' Union (NFU) has warned as a heatwave was forecast to continue into next week.The UK's Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued heat health alerts for eight regions of England, with temperatures set to rise above 30C in parts of the country. UKHSA said rising temperatures may increase health risks, particularly for vulnerable groups. Continue reading...

Harrison Simpson was subject of arrest warrant for breach of court order 18 months before killing girlfriend's daughterCleveland police failed to arrest a paedophile for breaching a non-molestation order, 18 months before he sexually assaulted and murdered and his girlfriend's two-year-old daughter, a court heard.Isabelle Welsh died on 14 September 2025 after what police described as a campaign of violence" against her. The two-year-old collapsed at her home in Teesside after weeks of abuse that left her covered in bruises and with 21 broken bones. Continue reading...

Review goes down to the wire after ministers speak with victims' representatives and support servicesAndy Burnham is focused on preventing the release of child sexual abuse perpetrators as part of the government's early release scheme, as urgent talks on which serious criminals could be exempted go down to the wire.Government ministers are understood to have 24 hours to assess which criminals can be released early to free up prison space, with every exemption weighed up against the threat of the criminal justice system's collapse. Continue reading...

Farms and rooftop panels contribute 14.4% to the grid - and figures reveal a surge in new installationsSolar energy supplied more power to Great Britain's grid in July than in any previous month as households turned to rooftop panels to cut their energy bills.Solar farms and rooftop panels provided 14.4% of the country's electricity after some parts of the UK recorded almost twice the average sunshine hours for the time of year. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Outsourced guards, largely from minority ethnic backgrounds, barred from staff hub for mainly white employeesThe National Gallery's security staff, of whom the vast majority are from minority ethnic backgrounds, are facing shocking segregation, a senior curator has claimed.Its outsourced guards are barred from the building's high-quality hub" - bright and airy recreation rooms that are available to the institution's mainly white employees. They are not allowed to take their breaks there, or even sit in that area. Continue reading...

The 85-year-old former broadcaster faces 22 charges from six different complainants in what is expected to be a four-month trial

Exclusive: Karlene Whitton says her son Matthew Roberts took his own life three months into his jail term. I keep picturing it every night'

Cotality data shows a drop in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, as nation's median home price falls about $19,000 below its March peak

New education secretary says it is false trade-off' by critics to suggest schools cannot pursue academic excellence alongside technical skillsLucy Powell has said she wants to be an ambitious tiger mum" for all young people, whatever their route through education, after the government was accused of dumbing down England's schools with plans to create more vocational routes.The new education secretary said secondary pupils should be able to pursue academic excellence as well as high-quality vocational training, and it was a false trade-off" to suggest schools could not provide both. Continue reading...

More than 20 people injured in blast near Italian restaurant Balzi Rossi in centre of Russian capital on Saturday nightA homemade bomb carried by a woman killed three people and injured at least 21 in an explosion near a restaurant in central Moscow on Saturday evening, prompting speculation on social media that the attack may have been linked to the war in Ukraine.The explosion occurred just before 8pm local time (6pm UK time) close to an Italian restaurant in one of Moscow's seven Stalin-era skyscrapers at Kudrinskaya Square, police said. Continue reading...

People among the more than 50,000 who entered Spanish enclave this week describe the journey and their prospectsFour days ago, Youssef El Abbas saw an opportunity to reclaim the life he had lost seven years earlier. News was circulating that about 400 people had swum from Morocco to the neighbouring Spanish enclave of Ceuta on the north African coast, approximately 12 miles (19km) across the strait of Gibraltar from mainland Spain.Here was a chance for the 44-year-old Moroccan father of four to return to Spain, from which he had been deported when his residency expired after the loss of his job in Bilbao in 2019. Continue reading...

Volunteers painstakingly gather plastic pellets washing up on beaches after ship collision on 19 JulyYou've got a local community that really cares about the coastline," said Alice Laverty, reflecting on the huge army of volunteers who had taken to crisis-hit beaches in north-east England with passion and only the most basic tools. They've all got a dustpan, a brush, a bucket, a kitchen sieve."On beaches from Cambois in Northumberland to Seaburn on Wearside, up to 2,000 dedicated volunteers have been painstakingly sifting through sand to find tiny, lentil-sized pellets of plastic. Continue reading...

After years of building lives in UK, potentially thousands of EU citizens could be told they have no right to remainThe UK Home Office has started stripping some EU citizens of their post-Brexit residency rights, in a move that has raised concerns about Britain's compliance with its withdrawal agreement with Europe.The UK internal affairs authority has told at least 100 people that they were given residency rights in error", disrupting their lives just as they come to the end of their five-year pre-settled status" and prepare to upgrade to the permanent settled status". Continue reading...

The measure will impact people travelling by plane or boat between the two countriesSpanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez is now in Ceuta, accompanied by interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska.He first visited the Tarajal border crossing, and is now talking to officials from local authorities, border and police services. Continue reading...

Authorities in Delaware tackle cluster with vaccination and contract tracing - but field has been weakened by cutsMeasles outbreaks are igniting throughout the United States as the nation passes the highest case count in 30 years - putting greater pressure on state and local health departments and highlighting the importance of early identification and quick action.The US has officially surpassed last year's tally of measles cases, reaching 2,371 confirmed infections by the end of July. Those numbers have been driven by clusters in Arizona, South Carolina, and Utah - but in times of high transmission, outbreaks elsewhere become more likely. And with decreasing vaccination rates across the country, these sparks are falling on increasingly dry timber. Continue reading...

Visible impact of warming climate is impossible to ignore across landscapes that have been starved of rainfallHalf of England and the whole of Wales are officially in drought and July is set to be the driest month on record as extreme heat intensified by the climate crisis continues to grip the UK and Europe this summer.The announcements this week by England's Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales mark the third such event over the past five years, and come in the wake of four record-breaking heatwaves since May which have fuelled huge wildfires and left farmers, wildlife and protected habitats running out of water. Continue reading...

David Crisafulli says Queenslanders will enjoy for generations' as opponents point to lack of detail

Council leaders say crumbling infrastructure and lack of water are jeopardising government's plans for new homesThe government's housebuilding agenda is hitting the stark reality of a lack of water and crumbling infrastructure across the east and south-east of England.Half the country was declared to be in serious drought this week, for the second consecutive year, with the Environment Agency warning of dire consequences for the economy, environment and wildlife. Continue reading...

The EU is using a currency revamp as an opportunity to be less neutral and try some finely balanced identity-buildingIs Europe best represented by the bold intellect of Marie Curie, the sprawling imagination of Miguel de Cervantes and the intense musical genius of Ludwig van Beethoven? Or by a migrating stork and a bee-eater, swooping across borderless plains and enjoying freedom of movement across European countries?The quest to settle this issue has engaged a surprising number of people across the continent, after more than 6 million people voted in a survey within just a week of its launch to determine whether the newly redesigned euro bank notes should depict either cultural figures or birds and waterways. Continue reading...

Security lapse leaves sensitive information and contact details of 51 government officials exposed for 40 hoursThe public body in charge of the UK's state investments has been pushed to improve its internal security after a data breach left high-level management information" publicly accessible for nearly two days.UK Government Investments (UKGI), the agency that manages the taxpayers' interest in a swathe of companies including Channel 4 and the Post Office, said the security failure also left more than 50 government officials' personal details exposed for nearly 40 hours. Continue reading...

Police chief say shooter found dead after very chaotic scene' near busy shopping area in Twin FallsThree people were killed and seven more were injured, some critically, in a shooting at an In-N-Out Burger restaurant in southern Idaho on Saturday afternoon, a Twin Falls city spokesperson said.Police who responded to the shooting found the body of the suspected gunman in an area near the restaurant, Twin Falls city public information officer Josh Palmer said. He did not know if the suspect was included in the fatality count. Continue reading...

Australians bought EVs and hybrids at nearly same rate as petrol cars between April and June, Australian Automobile Association data shows

Senior officer behind closure says SDS caused incalculable harm' by infiltrating groups that posed no threatAn undercover police unit that spied on tens of thousands of political activists had to be shut down amid severe criticisms and recriminations, the spycops public inquiry has heard.Jon Boutcher, a senior police officer who took over responsibility for the Special Demonstration Squad (SDS) unit, concluded within months that it had to be wound up because it was conducting unjustified surveillance and was badly run. Continue reading...

Exclusive: At a launch site in the Ukrainian countryside, members of the elite Magyar's Birds' brigade are turning Russia's vast size into a weaknessSparrows were cheeping as the sun set over a field of tall yellow sunflowers when a moped-like growl suddenly disturbed the evening calm. The noise rose, dipped, and rose again. Lt Col Ray - a Ukrainian commander with the 414th aviation brigade - took cover in a leafy ditch.Seconds later a Ukrainian drone roared into a mauve sky. It jerked upwards at a 45-degree angle, orange flames fizzing, and then motored serenely onwards. The flying object resembled a sleek grey biplane with a wooden propeller and tail. It left behind clouds of billowing black smoke and a whiff of gunpowder. Continue reading...

Activists in the region say politicians regard LGBTQ+ people as the easiest scapegoats to maintain their power'A growing number of west African countries are implementing or strengthening anti-LGBTQ+ laws, amid local political pressures and a global pushback against LGBTQ+ rights.In March, Senegal doubled the maximum prison sentence for gay sex to 10 years and criminalised the promotion" of homosexuality. Niger criminalised sexual relations with a person of the same sex" in February, the first time same-sex intimacy had been outlawed in the country. Continue reading...

Community members concerned about loss of community green space and areas of cultural importance. This blog is now closed

PM argues for codified model of decentralisation that would fundamentally change centuries-old workings of stateAndy Burnham has said his programme of devolution strengthens the case for a written constitution for the UK, a move that would fundamentally alter the workings of the state that have developed over centuries.The prime minister has long believed the UK's antiquated" political system needs a dramatic overhaul if opportunity is to be shared equally across the country. Continue reading...

Aircraft crashes into field after departing from nearby city of Pisco, according to local authoritiesPolice in Peru report that 13 people, among them foreign tourists, have been killed in a plane crash in southern Peru, near the Nazca Lines.Local authorities in Nazca confirmed that 11 tourists and two pilots died when the Cessna Grand Caravan crashed in Pueblo Viejo, approximately 4 miles (6km) from the city of Nazca and roughly 12km from the Nazca Lines site. Continue reading...

Divisions remain in the bloc over mass crossing of migrants into Spanish territory in north AfricaThe EU is to hold an urgent meeting of interior ministers on Tuesday amid continued divisions in the bloc over the arrival of more than 50,000 migrants in the Spanish territory of Ceuta in north Africa.The decision was taken by officials representing EU member states and Frontex border agency experts at what was described as a sobering" meeting on Saturday. Continue reading...

Police also released notes received from presumed abductors of mother of Today anchor Savannah GuthrieThe family of Nancy Guthrie issued a new appeal on Saturday for information on the whereabouts of their missing grandmother, six months after she disappeared from her home in Tucson, Arizona, and a day after local investigators released two purported ransom notes.Six months ago, someone took her out of her bed in the dead of night. We have lived every moment, every breath, and every heartbeat in agony and despair ever since," a post on Instagram said. Continue reading...