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Australian federal police arrested and charged two men after allegedly finding 2.7 tonnes of cocaine in bunkers' under shipping containers

Allegra Spender, Sophie Scamps and Nicolette Boele are understood to be open to the idea but other crossbenchers are firmly against

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Mediators Pakistan and Qatar issue statement saying talks will run for rest of the week, as fighting in Lebanon continues to threaten agreementIran's foreign minister has declared progress" after the first day of talks between high-ranking officials from Washington and Tehran ended in Switzerland, despite a tense opening marked by Donald Trump threats to restart attacks.A joint statement from mediators Qatar and Pakistan said the US and Iran agreed to a roadmap towards a final deal within 60 days. Technical talks between lower-ranked officials will continue for the rest of the week, according to the statement, with fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon at the top of the agenda. Continue reading...

Poultry producer Ingham's announces move, as a brown skua and a giant petrel the first confirmed H5 cases on Australia's mainland

The influential role vacated by the new Makerfield MP will be fiercely contested by Labour, Reform and the GreensAs Andy Burnham maps out the final steps on his path to Downing Street, he may feel that his future is clear. But a look back over his shoulder reveals a cloudier outlook, inviting the question: what now happens to his former role as Greater Manchester's mayor?An election has been set for 30 July, and with the job widely seen as having grown under Burnham's tenure to become one of the most influential in British politics outside Westminster, Labour is desperate to cling on to it - but parties to its right and left both see an opportunity. Continue reading...

At age 24, workers born in the late 1990s are paid more than any cohort since those born in the 1950sGen Z's early careers are more financially rewarding than those of millennials, research suggests.Those typically born between 1997 to 2012 are experiencing a mini-rebound in pay packets, according to the research by the Resolution Foundation, in a seeming contrast to how the previous generation entered the job market. Continue reading...

Head of Greater Manchester force refutes claims of anti-white bias but says he understands where it comes fromPolicing in Britain has adopted the language of activism" and official guidance has over-corrected" to combat accusations of racism, one of the UK's most senior officers has said.Sir Stephen Watson, the chief constable of Greater Manchester police, said he did not believe that two-tier policing" existed or that forces were biased against white people. Continue reading...

Preliminary data show 47.7% of homes sold at auction in the week ending 21 June, the lowest rate has been since April 2020

Talks expected to continue for rest of the week despite disruption caused by US president's threat to bomb Iran and kidnap negotiating teamHigh-stakes talks between the US and Iran are expected to continue for the rest of the week in Switzerland, after a tense start that saw Iranian negotiators walk out in protest at a stream of threats issued by Donald Trump on social media.The US president had threatened to bomb Iran and even to kidnap the Iranian negotiating team unless the strait of Hormuz was reopened, forcing mediators Qatar and Pakistan to continue negotiations in the background. Continue reading...

Leftwing opponent alleges vote count irregularities after Trump-endorsed lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella secures narrow majorityThe Trump-admiring far-right millionaire lawyer and self-styled outsider" Abelardo de la Espriella has won Colombia's presidential runoff, defeating the leftwing senator Ivan Cepeda.With 99.99% of ballots counted in the preliminary vote tally, De la Espriella had secured 12.96m votes, or 49.66%, just 250,830 more than Cepeda, who received 12.7m votes, or 48.7%. A further 1.6% of ballots were cast blank. Continue reading...

Exclusive: While recruits will increase headcount for now, broader adoption of AI could lead to job cuts in futureLloyds Banking Group has launched an AI recruitment drive for 300 tech experts, weeks before its chief executive, Charlie Nunn, announces a strategic plan for the 261-year-old lender.The bank said it intended the recruits to work on its use and development of agentic AI by September, referring to autonomous AI models that can plan and execute tasks with minimal human oversight. Continue reading...

Two-thirds of respondents support increasing the 2% digital services tax for multinationalsTaxpayers want the UK to increase levies on giant global technology companies such as Facebook owner Meta, Google and Amazon, a survey of Britons' attitudes on corporate taxes suggests.The polling released on Monday by the Fair Tax Foundation - abody providing businesses with certification around responsible tax conduct - found that 67% of respondents believe that the government should charge higher digital services taxes on multinational technology groups to increase their overall tax contribution in the UK". Continue reading...

Company extremely sorry' for unacceptable' email urging customers to Snap up these deals quicker than a croc can catch a kid!'The discount voucher website Wowcher has apologised after appearing to make reference to a crocodile attack on a toddler at a zoo in an email promoting its offers.A spokesperson for Wowcher said it was urgently reviewing its marketing content after the subject line of an email on Saturday urged customers to Snap up these deals quicker than a croc can catch a kid!" Continue reading...

White Scottish man, 38, charged after five men were injured in spate of attacks in city on Friday nightWitnesses to the alleged knife attacks on Muslims and others in Edinburgh on Friday have described seeing a taxi and an Uber bike courier being targeted in Leith.The attacks, suspected of being directed against Muslims and people of colour, began near a mosque in the west of Edinburgh, followed by incidents on Leith Walk in the east of the city. Continue reading...

While PM's desire to fight was strong, time with his inner circle at Chequers sharpened his sense of the inevitableOn Friday, as the dust settled on Andy Burnham's thumping victory in the Makerfield byelection, Keir Starmer was in defiant mood. I have said repeatedly, I am not going to walk away," the prime minister said, adding: Let's pull together as a party and a movement."Just 48 hours later, one of his most loyal ministers was on the BBC sending a very different message. I don't want to come on here and be delusional that there is no process, there are no forces at work which are challenging the prime minister as leader - that is clearly the case," said the business secretary, Peter Kyle. Continue reading...

Ministers say Starmer will set out his intentions on Monday morning with an autumn departure the most likely optionKeir Starmer is expected to announce a timetable for his departure on Monday morning, clearing the way for Andy Burnham to become prime minister without a formal contest by the autumn.Cabinet ministers say Starmer will set out his intentions outside No 10 Downing Street, starting a process of the UK installing its seventh prime minister in a decade. Continue reading...

PM said to be reflecting on political realities', as president Trump joins in criticism of his leadership saying he has failed badly'

New leader could be chosen unchallenged or after a quick contest while outgoing PM has time to finalise his legacy

Family of Shaun Burton, 60, say they are devastated by his loss' and their thoughts are also with those affected'

Exclusive: Productive State policy paper envisages state regaining control of basics to make life affordable, in fleshing out of ManchesterismAndy Burnham's government should reverse 40 years of privatisation with a long-term plan to take over failing utilities in administration, issuing bonds for shares" and setting up state competitors, according to a new blueprint for Manchesterism".The policy paper - The Productive State - is released on Monday as Burnham arrives in Westminster to be sworn in as the MP for Makerfield. He widely expected to seek to enter No 10 to replace Keir Starmer in a matter of weeks. Continue reading...

Former negotiating team member gives shock interview claiming supreme leader's instructions were not followed

Rob Jetten acknowledges grief and pain of Moluccan families as crowdfunded monument unveiled in RotterdamThe Dutch prime minister, Rob Jetten, has formally apologised for the heartless" mistreatment of thousands of Moluccan soldiers who fought for the Dutch colonial army during Indonesia's struggle for independence.About 12,500 men from a group of Indonesian islands who served in the Royal Dutch East Indies army came with their families to the Netherlands in 1951, many having been given no choice. They thought it would be a temporary evacuation after Indonesia had won independence. Continue reading...

Sports and nationwide music festival affected, with temperatures for some expected to reach 42C from MondayAuthorities in France have placed more than a third of the country under a red heat alert, cancelled some outdoor sports events and restricted alcohol consumption at the nationwide Fete de la Musique event amid a brutal heatwave forecast to push temperatures above 40C.Level 1 or 2 heat alerts were issued on Sunday for about 53 million people, just over 75% of the population. A record 35 of the country's 96 mainland departments were put on danger-to-life red alert, with another 45 under an orange warning. Continue reading...

Health alerts are in place as very high humidity adds to danger of heat stress for the most vulnerableThe Met Office has expanded its extreme heat warning for the UK, predicting record-breaking highs of 38C (100.4F) this week.The Met Office forecasts that extremely high temperatures could last from Monday until Thursday, leading to health concerns for elderly and vulnerable people. The forecaster said there was growing confidence" that this week may break the record for the hottest June temperature of 35.6C, which was set in 1976 in Southampton and Camden Square, London, in June 1957. Continue reading...

Albanese government under pressure to wind back fuel tax credit scheme for multinational miners as analysis shows cost to budget

Thanks to rushed deadlines, financial pressure and overworked staff, titles are going to market before they're ready - and then sliding from view immediatelyA Sydney author - I'll call her Rebecca - vowed never to write another book after the deranging experience of publishing her first. She's using a pseudonym because one day she might change her mind; the notoriously small Australian publishing industry does not tend to look with favour on authors who complain.When Rebecca was proofing her debut - a work of nonfiction published by one of the big five - she discovered that a pivotal chapter had been cut. I thought it was a mistake, that it had somehow been left out of the papers they'd sent," she says. Turns out they'd deliberately excised it and thought I wouldn't notice." Continue reading...

Business secretary says Starmer is reflecting on political realities' amid overwhelming pressure from MPs

Artist had requested only his partner and great-nephew attend, with memorial services planned in places he livedOnly two people attended David Hockney's funeral last week - in line with the British artist's final wishes.The two mourners at the private ceremony were Hockney's 61-year-old partner, Jean-Pierre Goncalves de Lima, and his 33-year-old great-nephew, Richard Hockney, a photographer who worked as the artist's assistant and frequently modelled for him. Both are trustees of the David Hockney Foundation, established by the artist in 2008. Continue reading...

A secretive investigation into the attack that killed at least 175 has concluded, reports suggest. Will its findings ever see the light of day?The attack on a girl's elementary school in the Iranian town of Minab was one of the US military's deadliest civilian bombings in decades. But nearly four months on, the Pentagon has produced no answers about why the military fired a Tomahawk cruise missile into a school on the first day of the war, killing at least 175 people, mostly children.Some critics doubt that the Pentagon ever will, or will bury the results under classifications to keep the worst mistakes secret from the public. Continue reading...

Maps created as part of Defra-funded Slimers project allowed test growers to halve amount of slug pellets usedFarmers believe they have a new weapon in their age-old battle against the slugs that destroy their crops: modern technology.Slug prediction maps, which have been created by computer models as part of an research project, are now helping growers to better target the use of pesticides, saving them money and reducing environmental harm. Continue reading...

Former party leaders reflect on the turbulence that followed the referendum in which most Scottish voters backed the losing sideThe decision to quit the EU bolstered support for Scottish independence, which a decade after the Brexit referendum is at near record levels, according to Scottish Labour's former leader Kezia Dugdale.Dugdale said the Brexit vote creates a frame around fairness" for many in Scotland because, unlike England, Scottish voters comprehensively backed remain in 2016, by 62% to 38%, yet found their country taken out of Europe. Continue reading...

For one day every June, South Africa's searing racial inequality seems to melt away at Comrades raceIn the early morning dark, thousands of runners waited, jostling with anticipation. South Africa's national anthem rang out. Then the haunting swell of Shosholoza, first sung by Zimbabwean migrant workers in South Africa's goldmines. Finally, that unmistakable, spine-tingling piano: Chariots of Fire.Runners gather before the start of the marathon Continue reading...

Advocates say the Safe Third Country Agreement forces immigrants to head to an unsafe country: the United StatesIt was the threat of gang violence in Honduras that pushed Carlos and Antonia to flee their home. In 2021, with their toddler, Alejandro, and a handful of belongings, the married couple ventured north hoping to reach safety in the US.The journey, through Guatemala and Mexico, was filled with danger and uncertainty Continue reading...

Bank details at risk as criminals use AI to create fake sites and emails offering pre-release beta test versionLike millions of gamers around the world, you have been waiting years for Grand Theft Auto VI to be released. Now you have the opportunity to play the much-anticipated game before everyone else.An email has arrived inviting you to play a pre-release beta" version of the game so that you can alert the makers to any bugs before its official release later this year. Continue reading...

Spain's leading festival of photography showcases the work of more than 300 visual artists in nearly 100 exhibitions across the countryPhotoEspana, Spain's leading festival of photography, held its official opening in Madrid this month and by September nearly 100 exhibitions will have showcased the work of more than 300 visual artists in the capital and across the country. Loosely corralled under the theme of reimagining, the exhibitions feature work by major figures in Spanish and international photography and less well-known emerging artists.From the series Invisible Line. Photograph: Alejandro Cartagena Continue reading...

Scores of Alan Latham's firms were removed by Companies House, including one set up for movie starring Liz HurleyA prolific film producer, whose projects have starred the likes of Frasier's Kelsey Grammer and Four Weddings and a Funeral's Anna Chancellor, has had scores of his production businesses forcibly removed from the UK's companies register, leaving workers unable to chase unpaid fees.Alan Latham, whose low-budget films have previously raised questions over his use of tax credits, has seen 50 of his film businesses compulsorily struck off by Companies House, according to data compiled by the film workers' union, Bectu. Continue reading...

Ten years ago Ebbw Vale had the highest proportion of leave voters in Wales despite huge EU funding, which has not been fully replacedWhere Ebbw Vale's steelworks once stood is now a cluster of gleaming modern buildings including a hospital, a leisure centre and a college. Over the past decade, these public facilities have been joined by a public-private cybersecurity research centre and two tech firms. A new railway station opened at the site in 2015.Yet, during the Guardian's visit to the Welsh valleys town last week, the area was quiet. Nearly as many sheep as people appeared to be using the new facilities: a ewe and three lambs, escaped from somewhere, busied themselves in a strip of rewilded land next to the tech buildings. Continue reading...

Frontrunner Abelardo de la Espriella has vowed to return to full-scale military confrontation with armed groupsColombians go to the polls on Sunday in a presidential runoff expected to trigger to a dramatic shift in the country's decades-long armed conflict, now at its most violent point since the landmark 2016 peace agreement between the government and most of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc).Polls show the frontrunner is the Trump-admiring far-right lawyer and millionaire businessman Abelardo de la Espriella, who has vowed to abandon President Gustavo Petro's total peace" plan of negotiating the disarmament of all criminal organisations and instead return to full-scale military confrontation with armed groups. Continue reading...

Even voters for far-right and Eurosceptic parties back closer relations, polling saysTwo-thirds of EU citizens would back Britain rejoining the bloc, while most UK voters say Brexit has been bad for the issues they care about and want closer ties, including levels of integration - such as free movement - long seen as toxic, a survey has found.Ten years after the Brexit referendum, the polling by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), a thinktank, found 66% of respondents across 15 countries felt UK membership was a very good, good or neither a good nor a bad" idea. Continue reading...

Unclear if threat has been carried out or if move will jeopardise talks with US scheduled for SundayIran has said it is closing the strait of Hormuz after waves of Israeli strikes in Lebanon in a move that threatens to derail the fragile interim peace deal with the US, signed just days ago.The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned ships not to approach the strategic waterway, which before the war carried a fifth of global oil and liquid gas supplies, citing what it called Israeli crimes in Lebanon and a US violation of commitments to establish a ceasefire there. Continue reading...

Bulldozers sent in to clear roadblocks that have stifled the country as farmers and Indigenous groups protest against conservative presidentBolivia's president declared a state of emergency on Saturday and deployed soldiers and bulldozers to raze anti-government roadblocks that have paralysed the country.For more than six weeks, unions, Indigenous groups and coca farmers have marched through cities and blocked roads across the country with rubble, logs and debris in protest against the conservative government. Continue reading...

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Police Scotland arrested 36-year-old man after five people were injured, with counter-terrorism investigators brought inPolice Scotland said a man was charged after a series of attacks in Edinburgh on Friday night.Counter-terrorism officers were brought in to investigate the attacks in which five people were injured. Continue reading...

Blaze broke out in single-storey pavilion in New Zealand Way in White City on Saturday eveningThree people have died after a fire at a building in London, the London fire brigade (LFB) has said.The fire service said it received reports of the blaze in New Zealand Way in White City, west London, at 6.52pm on Saturday. Continue reading...

Buckingham Palace says move is intended to increase clarity and accessibility' of monarchy's financesKing Charles will become the first head of state to reveal their personal tax bill in what the palace said was an attempt to enhance the transparency of royal finances.Charles, 77, will publish his financial details as part of the royal household increasing the clarity and accessibility" of the monarchy's finances by producing a new report on the subject. Continue reading...

One Nation leader appears to suggest women should not be paid by employers while on maternity leave and calls for family income splitting

Wishah among at least 260 journalists killed since Israel's war on Gaza began in October 2023Qatar-based news network Al Jazeera has said one of its journalists was killed by an Israeli strike in Gaza on Saturday, becoming one of the at least 260 Palestinian journalists to have been killed since Israel's war on Gaza began in October 2023.Ahmed Wishah, a cameraman for the network, was killed in a strike targeting a house in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, the broadcaster said on its website. Continue reading...

Italian house's catwalk emphasised the brand's molto sexy' look with flamboyant, sometimes revealing outfitsDolce & Gabbana leaned heavily into the art of theatrical misdirection on the second day of Milan fashion week as it aimed to draw attention away from its debt issues, catwalk controversies and management reshuffles.On the catwalk its signature molto sexy" Italian aesthetic that comes served with a generous scoop of la dolce vita was in full swing. This was Euro summer on steroids. There were clingy muscle vests and micro shorts that made short shorts look modest while some models simply went topless. Jeans came ripped, shredded or smothered in sparkling jewels while T-shirts featured everything from giant prints of Sicilian lemons and ancient amphitheatres to a mosaic depiction of Christ. Continue reading...

East of England ambulance service says number of people listed as seriously injured has increased to 32Nine people are in a critical condition after the Bedford train crash that killed the driver of one of the trains, police have confirmed.The total number of people listed as seriously injured has increased to 32, East of England ambulance service said on Saturday. Continue reading...