World news | The Guardian

With no sanctions imposed on Russia, and no ceasefire agreed, Moscow feels it has the upper hand

Meteorologist says while there is disagreement over how much rain will fall, the general consensus is NSW and Queensland will have another wet weekFor Australia's east coast, the wet weeks are dragging on with no immediate reprieve in sight.I know people in Sydney and other parts of New South Wales will be sick of hearing this," the Bureau of Meteorology's Angus Hines told the ABC on Saturday. But it will be another wet week across the eastern coastline, all the way from the Illawarra through New South Wales, through Sydney, Newcastle, through Brisbane up to the Wide Bay in Queensland". Continue reading...

Most of the dead were reported in the mountainous province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with more rain forecastThe death toll from heavy monsoon rains that have triggered flash floods across northern Pakistan has risen to at least 321 people in the past 48 hours, the country's disaster authority said on Saturday.The majority of the deaths, 307, were recorded in the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. Continue reading...

Buckland Abbey recreates music telling of medieval life in extraordinary discoveryAlmost five centuries ago a community of monks in the West Country of England gathered to sing, imploring their God to help them endure the challenges of medieval life.Thanks to an extraordinary discovery of music that survived Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries in the early 16th century, the songs created by the Buckland Abbey monks were ringing out again across the hills and woods of the Tavy valley in Devon this weekend. Continue reading...

Russian president argues root causes' of war must be addressed, but Ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko says Putin has ambition of destroying democracy next door'

Liam and Noel used to be taken for summer holidays with relatives in Mayo and kept returning after finding fameEmigration ripped the heart out of Charlestown: generations of young people took the boat to England and left behind derelict homes and shuttered shops, a hollowing chronicled in a landmark 1968 book, The Death of an Irish Town.Some returned to this corner of County Mayo for summer holidays - with children who were growing up with English accents and city ways - before vanishing back across the Irish Sea and leaving Charlestown to its decay. Continue reading...

US president says Chinese counterpart told him I am very patient and China is very patient'The US president, Donald Trump, has said that his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, told him China would not invade Taiwan while Trump is in office.Trump made the comments in an interview with Fox News on Friday, ahead of talks with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Prime minister Feletei Teo says Tuvalu may withdraw from crucial meeting after key countries such as Taiwan were barred from attendingTuvalu's prime minister Feletei Teo said his country may pull out of the region's top political meeting next month, after host nation Solomon Islands moved to block all external partners - including China, US and Taiwan - from attending.The Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting will be held in Honiara in September. On 7 August, Solomon Islands prime minister Jeremiah Manele told parliament that no dialogue partners would be invited to the annual gathering. Continue reading...

EHRC calls for clearer guidance for officers to avoid a chilling effect' on freedom of expressionThe UK's official human rights watchdog has written to ministers and police expressing concern at a potentially heavy-handed" approach to protests about Gaza and urging clearer guidance for officers in enforcing the law.In the letter to Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, and Mark Rowley, the head of the Metropolitan police, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said the perception that peaceful protest could attract disproportionate police attention undermines confidence in our human rights protections". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Contenders teed up for future contest, which MP says seems to pre-empt results of investigation'Moves to find a successor to Diane Abbott in the parliamentary seat she has represented since 1987 are under way, prompting concern that her fate has been decided before an investigation into her latest suspension has concluded.Figures on Labour's national executive committee (NEC) have spoken to potential contenders, teeing them up for a future contest in her constituency of Hackney North and Stoke Newington, and giving them informal advice on how to prepare, according to a party source. Continue reading...

Israeli-Palestinian magazine says IDF legitimisation cell' set up to blunt global outrage over killing of media staffA special unit in Israel's military was tasked with identifying reporters it could smear as undercover Hamas fighters, to target them and to blunt international outrage over the killing of media workers, the Israeli-Palestinian outlet +972 Magazine reports.The legitimisation cell" was set up after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack to gather information that could bolster Israel's image and shore up diplomatic and military support from key allies, the report said, citing three intelligence sources. Continue reading...

Queen, Keir Starmer and veterans of second world war in Asia hear testimonies at remembrance serviceKing Charles led VJ Day commemorations in the UK as a national service of remembrance and two-minute silence marked the 80th anniversary of Japan's surrender in the second world war and the end of the six-year-long conflict.He was joined by the queen, the prime minister, Keir Starmer, and veterans who served in the far east theatres of war as wreaths were laid at the National Memorial Arboretum service in Staffordshire. Continue reading...

Energy policy had been an area of mostly bipartisan agreement for the NSW opposition - until now

The best way to undermine claims that the productivity roundtable is a stage-managed talkfest is to make it a success

The freeze comes as the university pursues $100m in cost cuts and after it announced in April it could axe 400 jobs

Attack on cargo vessel more than 500 miles from frontline is show of force before Trump-Putin meeting

Itamar Ben-Gvir posts video footage showing him making threatening remarks to a gaunt Marwan BarghoutiIsrael's national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has posted video footage in which he is seen taunting the imprisoned Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti in jail, prompting strong condemnation from Barghouti's family and Palestinian leaders.The 13-second clip shows Ben-Gvir, a far-right politician on whom the UK and several other countries imposed sanctions this year for incitement to violence against Palestinians, making threatening remarks to Barghouti while Israel's prisons minister, Kobi Yaakobi, an ally of Ben-Gvir stands nearby. Continue reading...

French president responds to felling of olive planted in memory of young Jewish man tortured to death in 2006The felling of an olive tree planted in memory of a young French Jewish man tortured to death in 2006 caused outrage in France on Friday, with Emmanuel Macron promising to punish an act of antisemitic hatred".Politicians across the political spectrum condemned the act as an attack against the memory of Ilan Halimi, who was kidnapped by a gang of around 20 youths in January 2006 and tortured on a low-income housing estate in the southern Paris suburb of Bagneux. Continue reading...

Development comes as the military continues to crack down on dissent after a pro-democracy rally in MayMali's military rulers say they have arrested a group of military personnel and civilians, including two Malian generals and a suspected French agent, accusing them of attempting to destabilise the country.The security minister, Gen Daouda Aly Mohammedine, who announced the arrests on the local evening news on Thursday, told viewers an investigation was under way and that the situation was completely under control". Continue reading...

Foreign minister's attire and inflight menu for Russian media are latest in series of provocations towards UkraineIn a not-so-subtle act of trolling, Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, arrived in Alaska on the eve of the US-Russia summit wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with USSR".Once seen in western capitals as a pragmatic and skilled diplomat, the 75-year-old has in recent years mirrored the Kremlin's radicalised politics, adopting an increasingly combative tone and resorting to trolling and mockery. Continue reading...

One person dies after storm whips up waves, while temperatures approach 50C as heatwave grips Middle EastTyphoon Podul crossed southern Taiwan on Wednesday with wind speeds of up to 110mph (177km/h), equivalent to a category 2 hurricane.Podul had developed a week earlier, near the Northern Mariana Islands, and tracked west across the Philippine Sea, achieving typhoon status on Tuesday before making landfall in south-east Taiwan the following day. Continue reading...

Nicholas Teplin, 41, allegedly struck three men on Thursday afternoon, a day after airport arrest during which a police gun accidentally fired

Two aircraft clipped wings as they taxied to runway for takeoff, with no reports of injuriesFlights were briefly suspended at Manchester airport on Friday morning after two easyJet planes collided, clipping wings as they taxied to the runway for takeoff.The aircraft, which were flying to Paris and Gibraltar, came into contact at about 6.30am but were able to return to a stand where all the passengers disembarked. There are no reports of injuries. Continue reading...

Party leader calls on PM to address democratic disparity', claiming it is unfair that parties with fewer MPs are representedNigel Farage has called for the right to nominate Reform UK supporters to the House of Lords, claiming this would address a democratic disparity".In a letter to Keir Starmer, the Reform leader said it was unfair that other smaller parties, including the Greens, had peers in the upper chamber but his party did not, despite attracting more votes in the general election last year. Continue reading...

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Michelle Rowland says consistency' across jurisdictions will ensure workers banned in one state or territory are banned in all', but rules out national scheme

Sharren Haskel accuses demonstrators of marching with terrorist organisations' but organisers reject her claims and say people are outraged'

Exclusive: Darrell Sanders, 55, of Windsor, will stand trial in the district court in Sydney next July

In today's newsletter: From peaceful demonstrations to political strategy, recent arrests reveal how the battle for key voters seems to be the biggest influence on the way the law is enforcedGood morning. An award-winning poet, a decorated army officer, and a retired head teacher are handcuffed together in the back of a police van ... It's not the start of a terrible joke, but a representation of just some of the eyebrow-raising arrests the police have made in recent weeks.These eminently establishment figures are just a few of the 700 arrested for showing support for Palestine Action after it was proscribed as a terrorist organisation. Many were in their seventies or older, and video footage made one of the mass arrests look like a giant garden party gone sour.Ukraine | Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelenskyy have hailed a visible chance for peace" in Ukraine, as long as Vladimir Putin proves he is serious about ending the war when he meets Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday.Education | Students in England gained record levels of top grades in this year's A-level exams, driven by young men producing their strongest performances outside the pandemic years.Gaza | More than 100 aid organisations working in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank have accused Israel of weaponising aid" in its application of rules for groups involved in delivering humanitarian assistance.Climate crisis | UK firefighters have warned that 2025 is on track to beat the national record for wildfires, with frontline staff pushed to their limits".US news | Donald Trump cold-called Norway's finance minister last month to ask about a nomination for the Nobel peace prize, Norwegian press reported. Continue reading...

Sebastian Robinson accused of concocting a story that Wright had asked him to manipulate helicopter flying hours

Letter marking the anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese rule a sign of increasingly close ties between Russia and North KoreaRussian president Vladimir Putin hailed North Korean troops sent to fight in Ukraine as heroic" in a letter to Kim Jong-un, North Korean state media reported on Friday.In a letter marking the anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese rule, Putin recalled how Soviet Red Army units and North Korean forces fought together to end Japan's colonial occupation. Continue reading...

Queensland attorney general says she is considering high court challenge to the decision

Trump's talk of land swaps' as a simple transaction belies grim reality of what it would mean for people in ZaporizhzhiaThe city of Zaporizhzhia, an industrial hub in south-east Ukraine, is as good a place as any to grasp the stakes of freezing Russia's invasion of Ukraine along its current frontlines, or of implementing a land swap for peace" deal as envisioned by Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.Since Russian troops began rolling into Ukraine in February 2022, Zaporizhzhia, with its broad avenues and Stalin-era apartment blocks, has been a 30-minute drive from the frontline. It has been under near-constant attack from missiles and drones. On Sunday, a Russian guided air bomb hit a bus station, wounding 24 people - just another day of suffering in a city that has known many of them. Continue reading...

Daniel Billings' lawyer tells Parkes local court negotiations continuing, with defence and prosecution teams to meet later in August

Since its launch in January, Prabowo Subianto's signature policy has been marred by mass food poisoning cases affecting over 1,000 peopleMore than 360 people fell ill in the Indonesian town of Sragen in Central Java after consuming school lunches, according to officials, in the largest food poisoning case to hit president Prabowo Subianto's flagship free meals programme to date.Since its launch in January, the free school meals programme has been marred by mass food poisoning cases across the archipelago, affecting over 1,000 people. Continue reading...

Frontman Dave Mustaine says he is writing the thrash metal band's final album and they will embark on a farewell tour in 2026Call it a symphony for dissolution. American thrash metal giants Megadeth have announced they are retiring and that their forthcoming album will be their last. They will also embark on a farewell tour in 2026.There's so many musicians that have come to the end of their career, whether accidental or intentional," Megadeth founder and frontman Dave Mustaine shared in a statement on Thursday. Most of them don't get to go out on their own terms on top, and that's where I'm at in my life right now. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Racial Justice Centre to file Australian Human Rights Commission complaint against Merivale restaurant Jimmy's Falafel

Sixteen-year-old from Huddersfield held on suspicion of murder and rapeA teenager has been arrested on suspicion of rape and murder after the death of a 13-year-old girl in West Yorkshire, police have said.Officers were called to a flat on Sheepridge Road in Huddersfield on Monday night to reports that a girl was unresponsive. West Yorkshire police said the victim died in hospital and her death was being treated as unexplained" after a postmortem examination. Continue reading...

Exclusive: $1m grant comes after reports of rising Islamophobia and a huge turnout for the Sydney Harbour Bridge march

Exclusive: Krish Kandiah invites Tory shadow minister to help him de-escalate fear and anger' after BBC controversyThe theologian who accused Robert Jenrick of xenophobia on the BBC has invited the shadow justice minister to work with him to ease tensions over migration rather than ramping up anti-immigrant sentiment".Dr Krish Kandiah's comments on Radio 4's Thought for the Day, raising concerns about Jenrick's remarks about the safety of his daughters because of small boat arrivals, caused a row after a complaint from the shadow justice secretary, with the item being retrospectively edited by the BBC. Continue reading...

The fee, which critics had branded a fat tax', would have seen a cemetery charge an extra 20% for a 6ft-wide plot compared to the standard 5ftA council has decided against introducing a premium on wider burial plots in Wolverhampton following condemnation that it was a fat tax".Danescourt cemetery in Tettenhall had planned to charge an extra 20% to families whose loved ones need a 6ft-wide plot, as opposed to a standard 5ft grave. Wolverhampton council previously said the higher charge was in response to an increase in obesity levels in the Midlands city, where a third of people are obese, compared with the national average of just over a quarter. Continue reading...

Finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has said he believes E1 plan will bury the idea of a Palestinian state'Israel appears set to give formal planning approval to a highly controversial settlement project for more than 3,400 new homes - which has been frozen for decades - which critics say would split the occupied West Bank in half.Strongly opposed by the international community, the so-called E1 plan would extend the existing Jewish settlement of Ma'ale Adumim towards Jerusalem, further cutting occupied east Jerusalem from the West Bank, and further separating the north and south of the territory. Continue reading...

The US president had put pressure on the pharmaceutical industry to make drugs cheaper for AmericansThe price of the weight loss jab Mounjaro will rise by up to 170% in the UK, its US manufacturer has said, as Donald Trump ramps up pressure on drugmakers to increase their prices for Europeans so that they can make them more affordable for Americans.Eli Lilly has said it will increase the price of the drug from September, with a month's supply of the highest dose rising from 122 to 330. Continue reading...

Some of first group of small boat arrivals to be detained say they are terrified of being sent back to their home countriesAsylum seekers locked in detention centres as part of Labour's one in, one out" deal have said they had not heard of the scheme before arriving in the UK on small boats and were terrified of being returned to their home countries.The prime minister, Keir Starmer, has said the plan to send one small boat arrival back to France in exchange for accepting another to live in the UK would deter the thousands from crossing the Channel. Continue reading...

Monarch will pay tribute to military personnel and reflect on horrors experienced in Asia-Pacific regionKing Charles will mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day on Friday with a message paying tribute to the service and sacrifice of military personnel in the second world war who fought and died in the Pacific and far east, saying they will never be forgotten.In an address, Charles will reflect on the horrors experienced by prisoners of war and civilians of occupied lands in the region whose suffering reminds us that war's true cost extends beyond battlefields, touching every aspect of life". Continue reading...

Critics say Vectus Global's presence - including snipers - will undermine Haiti's police and UN security forceHundreds of combatants from the US, Europe and El Salvador will reportedly be deployed to Haiti in the coming weeks to battle the country's gangs as part of a mission led by the controversial Blackwater founder and Donald Trump backer Erik Prince.According to Reuters, Prince's new security firm, Vectus Global - which has been operating in the violence-ravaged Caribbean country since March - is preparing to intensify its activities there to help authorities win key roads and territories back from heavily armed criminal groups. Continue reading...

NFU welcomes fresh evidence from tax researchers that planned changes may not target wealthiest landownersThe National Farmers' Union (NFU) has called for a meeting with Rachel Reeves to discuss changes to Labour's inheritance tax reforms, after fresh evidence from tax experts that the planned changes may not achieve their stated goal of removing the incentive for rich people to shelter their wealth from tax by buying up farmland.The chancellor's plan, which comes into force next April, largely protects family farms whilst limiting claims by the wealthiest estates", according to a new report by researchers at the Centre for the Analysis of Taxation (CenTax), which has proposed amendments to the inheritance tax changes. Continue reading...

Ron DeSantis announced move as judge to decide whether to close Alligator Alcatraz' facility in EvergladesFlorida's Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, said on Thursday that the state will open a second immigration jail, as a federal judge weighs whether to close the controversial existing facility in the Everglades known as Alligator Alcatraz".DeSantis painted the forthcoming detention center at the shuttered Baker correctional institution in Sanderson as supplementary to the remote tented camp. He also said the facility would hold up to 1,300 undocumented immigrants awaiting deportation. Continue reading...

Gratzloasen - low-cost, urban parklets' built by volunteers - are on the rise in Vienna as sceptics are being won over by the splash of welcome greenery and boost to community spiritsIn a quiet corner of Vienna's well-to-do 18th district, Jana is explaining how her assembly of wooden decking and planters is bringing a bit of greenery to the area. There's not a single tree on this whole street - it's just parking spaces on both sides."This is a gratzloase, or neighbourhood oasis - a miniature park tucked into the side of the road. With the blessing of the city hall, more than 100 of them have sprung up across Vienna. The scheme has been growing since 2015, and its proponents say it's struck a rare balance for urban projects: cheap, community-driven and appreciated by local people. Continue reading...