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Firms in England and Wales seek to fund measures including supporting new homes and datacentres

Catholic Schools NSW chief executive Dallas McInerney denies ever asking federal opposition leader for money for Liberal power brokers

High schoolers join university walkouts in major cities and several smaller locations amid urge to fight against racism

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Angus Taylor cautions NSW senator for diverging from policy in National Press Club speech as Nationals warn against changes to working holiday visas

GDP expanded by 0.4% in three months to June, but analysts warn growth is likely to fade'

The three teenagers are students at Scots College, one of Sydney's oldest boys' private schools

Settlers and soldiers cut off water and electricity to homes, and block medical care in campaign of terrorIsraeli militants have besieged two Palestinian families in their homes since the weekend, aiming to take over their properties in the West Bank village of Qusra through a campaign of terror.A group of settlers and soldiers set up a tent outside the home of Yousef Hassan on Sunday afternoon, trapping him inside with his wife and two young daughters. Continue reading...

Judge rejects intimidation claim as high profile trial continues with complainant J's ex-girlfriend cross-examined by shock jock's defence team

Health secretary praises more collegiate style under Andy Burnham and says previous No 10 sidelined her from key policy launchYvette Cooper admits Labour has not done government very well" in the last couple of years, and accused Keir Starmer's No 10 of sidelining her during the launch of a key immigration policy when she was home secretary.Speaking on the Political Currency podcast with the former Conservative chancellor George Osborne, Cooper highlighted some of the difficulties ministers faced with Starmer's leadership, which she summarised as bring me solutions, not problems". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Ministers explore diverting male prisoners serving short terms or on remand away from tougher jailsMinisters are examining a possible upgrade of security at men's category C and women's prisons to deal with an overcrowding crisis across the England and Wales estate, the Guardian understands.Officials have explored diverting prisoners on remand or serving short sentences away from category B reception" prisons such as HMPs Liverpool, Manchester and Pentonville in north London. Continue reading...

Rio Tinto makes power supply deal with federal and NSW government to cut emissions and decarbonise, preventing potential closure

Hakainde Hichilema is bidding for second term, but feud between him and family of Edgar Lungu, who died in 2025, continuesAs Zambians go to the polls, the ghost of the current president's predecessor hangs over the elections.Hakainde Hichilema, 64, is bidding for a second term leading the southern African country after defeating his arch-rival Edgar Lungu by a landslide in 2021. Continue reading...

Rise in new mine proposals, mainly in states of Odisha and Jharkhand, comes despite plateau in global demandEnough new coalmining projects were proposed last year to increase global supplies by 2.5bn tonnes a year, an increase of 11% from the year before, even as demand for coal plateaus, according to a new report.Global Energy Monitor, an NGO, found that India ignited a rise in new coalmine proposals in 2025 despite a global slowdown in the number of mine openings because of falling demand for the fossil fuel. Continue reading...

Victorian corruption watchdog alleges weapon was used to hit man's head, with another officer accused of kneeing him in same incident last yearTwo Victorian police officers have been charged with assault after allegedly using a Taser and knee to repeatedly strike a man in the head during an arrest last year.But the officers remain on duty, police have confirmed. Continue reading...

Telco board cuts senior executive bonuses by total $1.3m after tech fail that affected millions

Attorney general grants former army lawyer's release after 27 months in jail

Kelce's remarks on his marriage to Swift at Madison Square Garden comes weeks after the event, which remains shrouded in mysteryAmerican football star Travis Kelce has described his secretive early July wedding to pop sensation Taylor Swift as the best night of my life."I appreciate everybody who came out and celebrated and, you know, had fun with us," the Kansas City Chiefs player told a briefing. Continue reading...

RCN calls for more air conditioners as Burnham faces pressure to recognise urgency of adaptation to climate crisisNurses are collapsing during shifts amid inhumane and impossible" conditions caused by extreme heat, their union has warned, as Andy Burnham promised to grapple with the bigger questions" of climate adaptation.Amid growing pressure from Labour backbenches to fully acknowledge the urgency of adaptation measures as the climate crisis bites, Burnham said he was for now focusing on the immediate crises caused by an ongoing summer of extreme heat. Continue reading...

Customers will be able to pay using face and palm scans, potentially speeding up transactions - but rollout of the technology is likely to be slow

Eclipse witnessed by tens of millions across western Europe as enthusiasts gather along path of totality

Beginning in Russia's remote Arctic north, the eclipse traced an arc over much of western Europe - with the best views in Spain, Iceland and GreenlandIt was a moment of awe shared by millions across Europe: an eclipse that blocked out the sun, plunging parts of the continent into a daytime darkness in which temperatures dropped and birds suddenly went quiet.Wednesday's eclipse began in Russia's remote Arctic north, going on to trace an arc over much of western Europe. From the UK to northern Italy, tens of millions of people turned to the sky as the light of the setting sun was almost completley blocked out. Continue reading...

People came from far and wide to witness phenomenon that has thrilled humans for thousands of yearsAt 6pm the beach and village began to empty, and those in the know headed up the hill towards the old granite coastguard station on the headland.This is the best spot," said Sennen Cove resident Lisa Redfern, who had built a pinhole camera for the eclipse out of an old Ryvita Thins box. Continue reading...

Angel Aguirre indicted in case that rocked Mexico and became symbol of its brutal cartel violenceThe former governor of Guerrero state in Mexico has been formally charged over his alleged involvement in the disappearance of 43 students in 2014, a case that has become a symbol of the country's brutal cartel violence and government impunity.Angel Aguirre, who was arrested last week, is accused of forced disappearance and obstruction of justice for ordering the destruction of surveillance tapes that may have shed light on what happened to the students from the Ayotzinapa teacher training college on the night of 26 September 2014. Continue reading...

Organisers says new rule will ensure contest provides safe and welcoming environment' for participantsBroadcasters will no longer be eligible to host the Eurovision song contest if their state is involved in an armed conflict" or sensitive geopolitical situation".Eurovision is traditionally hosted by the previous year's winner's broadcaster, with next year's show due to take place in Bulgaria after the singer Dara's victory for the country in May. Continue reading...

PM warns extreme heat conditions could be with us fo some time yet'Just 20 staff are working on climate adaptation within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the part of government tasked with protecting the environment and maintaining food security, a freedom of information request has revealed. Sandra Laville has the story.On his visit to Stevenage, Andy Burnham also said he would visit the town on Remembrance Day to mark its 80th birthday.I'm going to come back to Stevenage on 11 November. We will pay our respects for Remembrance Day around that time, but I'll be here because if I'm right, that will be 80 years to the day that the post-war Labour government created the first new town right here in Stevenage. Continue reading...

Kyaw Zwar Minn was ousted for declaring loyalty to Aung San Suu Kyi after 2021 coup but refused to leave his homeMyanmar's ousted ambassador to the UK has gone on trial on trespassing charges for refusing to leave a diplomatic residence after being unceremoniously locked out of the embassy in 2021.Shortly after Myanmar's military seized power in 2021, triggering mass protests that spiralled into a civil war, Kyaw Zwar Minn was locked out of the embassy for declaring his loyalty to the deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Continue reading...

Family, friends and colleagues attend service at Buckfast Abbey in Buckfastleigh, which former MP described as her safe haven'About 100 family, friends and colleagues of Ann Widdecombe have attended a funeral service for the former Conservative minister, who was killed in her home in Devon last month.Politicians and broadcasters were among the mourners at Buckfast Abbey in Buckfastleigh, a Catholic abbey in Devon where Widdecombe regularly worshipped and which she described as her safe haven". Continue reading...

Errors by police and prosecutors left serial sex offender free to murder Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo and Sheryl WilkinsSimon Levy, the prolific sexual predator left free by police and prosecution errors to murder two women, will never leave prison after being sentenced to a rare whole-life tariff.Judge Lucraft KC said Levy, 40, ruthlessly" exploited women for his sexual pleasure, and had a proven history of sexual offending dating back to 2018. Continue reading...

Crowley pulls off last-minute victory in tight race after polls had shown Hong as the clear Democratic frontrunnerDavid Crowley, the Milwaukee county executive, won the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor after beating the democratic socialist Francesca Hong in a tight contest.Crowley pulled off a last-minute victory in the critical swing state after re-entering the campaign and snagging an endorsement from Tony Evers, the outgoing governor. Continue reading...

Family extremely grateful' to four-month-old Goosey' who ran out of fire-billowing building and repeatedly squawkedA pet goose is being credited with helping save a Texas family's animals after sounding a honking alarm as a fire tore through their barn.The dramatic moment unfolded on the morning of 4 August in Fort Bend county, where four-month-old Goosey repeatedly squawked outside the burning barn, alerting his owners, the Gerber family, to the danger. Continue reading...

Rumors of plea deal in federal case have been circulating since June for suspect accused of killing Brian ThompsonAn unexpected hearing in the federal stalking case against Luigi Mangione has been scheduled, leading to speculation that the alleged United Healthcare CEO assassin was seeking a plea deal that would in turn end a murder prosecution in New York state court beginning next month.Prosecutors and Mangione's lawyers filed a joint letter requesting the hearing at 11am on Friday in Manhattan federal court. Continue reading...

Aircraft carrier's crew in ninth month at sea and has spent record 250 days consecutively without making landMilitary families and Congress members are sounding the alarm about an intensifying mental health crisis onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, as its 5,000 sailors and marines endure a record-breaking deployment at sea tied to the war with Iran.Two leading specialist military papers, the Navy Times and the Stars and Stripes, are reporting that there have been multiple attempts by sailors to jump overboard as poor conditions and mental stresses on the Lincoln reach breaking point. The crew is in its ninth month at sea, and has spent 250 days consecutively without making land - a record for an aircraft carrier in modern times. Continue reading...

Vice-chancellor Deborah Prentice says she recognises the difficult case' has damaged the universityCambridge University's leadership has bowed to internal pressure for an independent investigation into its appointment of Jason Arday as a professor, with its vice-chancellor admitting the affair has damaged the institution.Prof Deborah Prentice said she recognised the anger and anxiety around this damaging and difficult case" but described it as an aberration that should not be used to cast aspersions on the abilities of its staff of colour. Continue reading...

Managing director says guidelines will ensure no individual will be the subject of comedy that is violent in its description in our programming'

Exclusive: Peaceful community rally' of more than 150 people was walking in Broadmeadows when car travelling in same direction allegedly approached

Thanks to the drought, these black-and-white beauties are struggling to catch worms in the rock-hard earth. But there's still good foraging on well-watered fairways and greensName: Badgers.Age: European badgers live for five to eight years in the wild. They have been in the UK, where this story is set, for half to three-quarters of a million years. Continue reading...

Incident marks second familicide in midwest in two weeks, with the children who died ranging in age from three to nineA father killed his four young children and their mother before turning the gun on himself, said authorities in Wichita, Kansas - marking the second incident of familicide in the midwest in two weeks.The Kansas Bureau of Investigation and Winfield police department said a man identified as 53-year-old Ronald Williams Sr called police at 8.50am on Tuesday to say he had killed his entire family and was about to take his own life. Continue reading...

Prime minister suggests possible measure as he prepares to chair emergency Cobra meeting in response to extreme heatHere's today's latest Met Office forecast for UK cities:Aberdeen 22CBelfast 24CBirmingham 32CCardiff 33CGlasgow 25CLiverpool 32CLondon 32CNewcastle 29CPlymouth 31CSheffield 31C Continue reading...

Investigators believe Vikings and Hells Angels members involved in violence that preceded death of Brecon manA man was killed in what is believed to have been a violent brawl between rival motorcycle gangs in the south Wales valleys, police have said.Anthony Tony" Jones, 56, of Brecon, died of his injuries in hospital after the violence in Pontnewynydd, near Pontypool, last Thursday evening, which reportedly involved knives and hammers. Continue reading...

As London restaurants say wild birds are smaller and fewer this year, experts say countryside should not be playground for bloodsports'Every year on 12 August, fans of traditional British cuisine flock to plush restaurants in Mayfair to dine on grouse served with bread sauce and game chips.But those hoping to find the small wild birds, sourced from the UK's moorlands, may be disappointed. Wildfires have been raging on moors across the UK, burning habitats and incinerating wildlife after record-breaking heat has turned the landscape into a tinderbox. Continue reading...

Operation under way to rescue dozens missing after boat overturned by waves at world's largest manmade lakeAt least 15 people have died and 27 are missing after an overcrowded ferry capsized on Lake Kariba in Zimbabwe.The boat had a capacity of 90 people, but was carrying 114 adult passengers, five crew members and an unknown number of children, Zimbabwe's civil protection unit (CPU) said, citing ticket sales. Continue reading...

One Nation MP says failed WA candidate's comments describing same-sex attraction as a mental illness are highly offensive'

Geopolitics and cost of living crisis have cost Europe's largest travel company 60m so farHolidaymakers are waiting until the last minute to book their trips because of the continuing uncertainty caused by the war in Iran and the cost of living crisis, according to Tui, Europe's largest travel company, which said the war had cost it 60m (51m) so far.In the weeks after the outbreak of war at the end of February, Tui recorded a temporary drop-off in customers wanting to travel to Cyprus or Turkey, in what the company called a volatile market". Continue reading...

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Coalition demands police investigate apparent leaking of diplomatic cable to newspaper but Labor calls it a silly political stunt'

Lobbyist Jeremy Greenwood gives evidence about allegations linked to Reformers at Independent Commission Against Corruption hearing

Angus Taylor and other Coalition members not supporting shadow housing minister's target migration numbers, which would be the lowest figures since the mid-2000s

Al-Ahmed, who maintains his innocence, was accused of putting his father in a headlock in March

High temperatures continue across UK with 38C forecast on Thursday and wildfires stretching emergency servicesAndy Burnham will chair an emergency Cobra meeting in response to extreme heat, which has caused wildfires and plunged many parts of Britain into drought.The prime minister will meet ministers, officials and agencies on Wednesday as high temperatures continue across the UK, with temperatures of 33C forecast and up to 38C on Thursday. Continue reading...