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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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Australia news live: man charged with murder after discovery of remains believed to be missing Queensland woman
Jana Armstrong was reported missing from Newtown after she was last seen on 7 July. Follow the day’s news live Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce has failed to guarantee the party will cost all of its policies ahead of the election after the Coalition claimed the rightwing party’s agenda would destroy the budget and drive up interest rates. The opposition leader, Angus Taylor , last week used a major speech to argue Hanson’s platform would cost more than $1tn over a decade, force the Reserve Bank to lift rates and even risk a sovereign debt crisis. We will do it to the best of our ability. I’m not going to give a sort of guarantee like that, Andrew, because that means I have the resources to do it. And if I get the promise that we’re going to have the resources to do it, it certainly makes it a lot easier. We’ll have to. Continue reading...
Man dies after falling from Eleventh Night bonfire in east Belfast
Warren Lyttle, who was in his 40s, died from his injuries after incident on the Braniel estate on Friday A man in his 40s has died after falling from an Eleventh Night bonfire in Belfast, police said. The incident occurred in the Braniel estate in the east of the city on Friday night. Continue reading...
AI companies want to water down Australia’s copyright laws. Artists are outraged, Labor is split
Anthony Albanese will deliver a landmark speech on AI this week as MPs are torn between attracting datacentre investment and protecting the rights of creatives Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast When Anna Funder stood before a pack of journalists at Parliament House earlier this month, she presented herself not just as a writer but also a “victim of crime”. The Stasiland author was using the analogy to illustrate how technology companies have flagrantly “hoovered up” her literary works for their own profit. Continue reading...
One Nation is capitalising on Australians’ economic pessimism like never before. Is a ‘stagflation impulse’ to blame?
By tying housing costs to immigration, Pauline Hanson promises a simple solution to a multilayered problem Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast In the three decades since Pauline Hanson entered federal politics, Australia has experienced numerous bouts of voter frustration with the mainstream parties. But it is only lately that the negative sentiment towards the majors has propelled One Nation to unprecedented polling numbers and delivered Hanson higher net approval ratings than the prime minister and opposition leader. Continue reading...
Heatwave conditions in England and Wales to continue into next week, says Met Office
Temperatures will stay above 30C on Sunday, with warnings of wildfires and heat health alerts in some areas The scorching heatwave conditions experienced by much of England and Wales will last until at least next week, the Met Office has said. Temperatures in parts of England and Wales will continue to exceed 30C on Sunday and into next week, the forecaster said. Continue reading...
Trump rushed Kennedy Center renovations for Fifa peace prize ceremony, whistleblowers say
Letter from Democratic senator outlines more no-bid contracts and second botched reflecting pool redo The US senator Sheldon Whitehouse has sent a letter to the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts detailing allegations from whistleblowers that some renovations were “rushed” and federal contracting laws “were ignored” to get the center ready for events, including for Donald Trump to receive the Fifa “peace prize” during the World Cup draw he hosted there in December. “I have received allegations that the Kennedy Center has conducted rushed renovation and maintenance work with disregard to its commitments to Congress and the federal contracting standards the Center has long applied to its own procurements,” the Rhode Island Democrat wrote in the letter dated Thursday. Continue reading...
US congressman says he was detained by armed Israeli settlers in occupied West Bank
Ro Khanna said settlers were armed with US-made weapons and Israel Defense Forces refused to intervene The US congressman Ro Khanna says armed Israeli settlers detained him during a visit to the Israel -occupied West Bank recently, describing the experience as a first-hand view of the realities faced by Palestinians living under occupation. In an interview with Reuters on Thursday from a Palestinian village, the progressive US House Democrat from California said his detention happened the previous day while his delegation visited an area of the southern West Bank that has experienced repeated attacks by Israeli settlers. Continue reading...
In-form Haeran Ryu shoots LPGA major-record 60 to lead Evian Championship
Historic 11-under 60 sets LPGA major mark South Korean opens three-shot final-round lead Ryu chasing second major in three weeks Haeran Ryu set the scoring record for LPGA majors on Saturday with an 11-under 60, giving the South Korean player a three-shot lead in the Evian Championship as she goes for a second straight major. Two weeks after winning her first major at the Women’s PGA Championship, Ryu birdied four of her last five holes at Evian Golf Resort. She had a chance at tying the LPGA scoring record of 59 but settled for a lengthy two-putt birdie putt on the closing hole. Continue reading...
Family pleads for answers in death of young Black man in Mississippi
Body of Nolan Wells, 18, found after he traveled to Horn Island over Fourth of July weekend with three white friends A mother on Friday pleaded for anyone to come forward with information about what happened to her son, Nolan Wells , a young Black man whose body was found on an island off the coast of Mississippi after he traveled there over the Fourth of July weekend with three white friends. “We just want to know what happened and why our baby didn’t come home,” Christine Wonsley, choking back tears, said at a news conference about her son. Continue reading...
Elon Musk’s family foundation took Tommy Robinson to Russia, says Musk’s father
Errol Musk says far-right activist is ‘a fine young man’ and held meetings with Russian business figures Elon Musk’s family foundation took Tommy Robinson to Russia, according to the billionaire X owner’s father, who was with the British far-right activist in Moscow as he encouraged anti-migration protests in Britain. Robinson – whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – appeared last month in Moscow , from where he issued calls for supporters to take to the streets after a knife attack in Belfast. He shared video of himself in a luxury Moscow hotel with the older Musk, whose son has been a vocal supporter of Robinson. Continue reading...
Hunter Biden wins $1.7m in suit over Iran bribery claim by ex-CEO of Overstock.com
Biden sued Patrick Byrne for defamation over claim that he sought bribe to lobby his father to free $8bn in Iran assets A federal judge on Friday awarded Hunter Biden $1.7m in punitive damages in a defamation lawsuit he filed against former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne. Biden sued Byrne – a Donald Trump ally who denied the results of the 2020 election and funded efforts to overturn them – in 2023, accusing Byrne of lying in an interview that Biden had previously sought a bribe from Iran’s government in the fall of 2021. Continue reading...
Trump administration subpoenas New York Times journalists over new Air Force One reporting
Outlet said journalists subpoenaed to testify before grand jury after story detailed security concerns with Qatar-gifted plane The Trump administration has issued subpoenas to several New York Times journalists after the newspaper reported on security concerns with the president’s new plane, according to the outlet . The Times said its journalists were subpoenaed on Friday by the US justice department to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan five days later, marking the latest effort by the Trump administration to compel testimony from journalists under the threat of penalty. Agents delivered some of the subpoenas to the Times reporters at their homes, the paper added. Continue reading...
‘A slap in the face’: small farmers say Trump is turning his back on them
The president wooed farmers in his campaign, but now the USDA is yanking funding, citing ‘DEI’ and wasteful spending It’s just an eighth of an acre, but for Lawrencia Rogers, the plot where she grows broccolini, lettuce and beans on land once tilled by poorhouse residents in eastern Iowa is the closest she has come to living her dream. Iowa is one of the most agriculturally productive states in the country, but getting into farming is not easy, particularly for people like Rogers who have no family connections to the business. It’s nonetheless been a lifelong passion for the 33-year-old Iowan: at age six, she planted a rosebush that’s still alive today, and managed to grow cantaloupe on a strip of dirt and chain-link fence next to the driveway of her grandmother’s house. Continue reading...
Is the US trying to make scientists’ work so difficult that they simply give up? | Daniel Malinsky
New Trump administration rules would undermine longstanding research practices. It’s death by a thousand cuts A politician who aims to gradually privatize and ultimately destroy an institution funded by tax dollars – say, a public school system or public transportation network – may choose to do so by strategically disinvesting resources from that institution until it becomes barely functional, leading users to look elsewhere to meet their needs. Eventually, the user-base of the public system gets so low or frustrated that it seems reasonable to scrap the thing entirely, or re-direct public funds to private companies as contractors to provide the needed “service”. We’ve seen this strategy play out many times in states and city councils across America. It appears that the endgame of the Trump administration’s attacks on science and the research funding ecosystem is similar: grant freezes and administrative disarray at federal funding agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), new layers of project review by political appointees hunting for forbidden keywords such as “disparity” and “marginalized”, and proposed new restrictions to make international collaboration difficult or impossible all point towards a world where it’s just too onerous to do federally-funded scientific research. Is the goal to make scientists simply give up on the endeavor? Daniel Malinsky is an assistant professor of biostatistics in the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University Continue reading...
Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro reportedly involved in physical altercation at NBA Summer League
Adebayo and Herro involved in altercation Young unfazed by scrutiny over Wizards deal NBPA vows fight against second apron Former Miami Heat teammates Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro had a brief verbal and physical altercation at a practice facility for the NBA’s Summer League in Las Vegas on Friday, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Adebayo struck Herro at least once during the encounter, said the person, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither player nor their teams revealed any details publicly. Continue reading...
Ann Widdecombe may have been killed 24 hours before her body was found
Devon police working on assumption the former politician was attacked on Wednesday afternoon Ann Widdecombe: obituary Ann Widdecombe may have been dead at her home for 24 hours before her body was discovered, police believe. In an update on Saturday afternoon, officers said they were working on the assumption that the 78-year-old former politician was attacked at about 12.30pm on Wednesday. Continue reading...
Probation hostels in England and Wales forced to shut after staffing crisis
Watchdog says public being put in danger by closure of premises that accommodate most dangerous offenders Nearly one in ten probation hostels where England and Wales’ most dangerous offenders live after leaving prison have been closed after a staffing crisis. As ministers prepare the early release of thousands of inmates in September, a leaked memo revealed that “staffing challenges” have led to temporary closures of the heavily-supervised “approved premises”. Continue reading...
More than 200 people at summer camp airlifted to safety as Missouri faces flooding
Another 20 people were rescued from a campground after a building collapsed due to heavy rain and flooding Heavy rainfall and widespread flooding battered parts of Missouri on Friday, forcing the helicopter evacuations of more than 200 children and staff from a summer camp and the rescues of about 20 people who had moved to safety on a campground building that collapsed. With nearby roads washed away and more rain in the forecast, the children were trapped at Camp Taum Sauk in the small south-eastern community of Lesterville, according Sgt Eddie Young of the state’s highway patrol. The army national guard used Black Hawk helicopters to fly them to a nearby elementary school and reunite them with their families, he said. Continue reading...
Drones are detecting more sharks at US beaches but do they make public safer?
Increase in sightings may not reflect increase in sharks with little evidence that threat to swimmers has risen Experts say that despite recent increased investment in drones to monitor for sharks in states like New York, the machines have limited usefulness as a public safety tool and there does not appear to be evidence that the threat to swimmers from sharks has increased. There have, however, been more reports of sharks around local beaches. Continue reading...
As Democrats pick up the pieces after Graham Platner, many wonder: how did this happen?
The former US Senate candidate’s spectacular fall has upended the Maine Senate race and left voters fuming at the party Almost exactly one year ago, Graham Platner, who has no political experience, was cherry-picked by out-of-state political activists. According to a person familiar with the campaign, Daniel Moraff and Leanne Fan, who have made a name for themselves by recruiting populist candidates across the country, traveled to Maine and rented a house near Platner’s home in Sullivan to convince him to run for the US Senate. Throughout the process, Moraff became Platner’s “right-hand man”, the person described, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of backlash. Continue reading...
Is Mitch McConnell secretly deceased? | Arwa Mahdawi
The senator’s health is shrouded in mystery after he was hospitalized. Why can’t we get a clear answer? Is Mitch McConnell dead? This shouldn’t be a difficult question to answer. The response is either “yes”, “no”, or something along the lines of “he’s on life-support but appears to be brain dead.” Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
Nigeria says army has killed 300 bandits in north-western state of Zamfara
Gangs made up of cattle rustlers and jihadists have long terrorised communities in northern and central Nigeria Nigerian soldiers killed more than 300 members of kidnapping and cattle bandit gangs in the north-western state of Zamfara this week, according to a government official. Nigerian government troops targeted the gangs in Gummi district in a two-day operation that “led to the elimination of more than 300 terrorists,” Zamfara’s information commissioner, Mahmud Muhammad Dantawasa, said in a statement. Continue reading...
TV presenter Dermot Murnaghan dies after being ill with prostate cancer
Murnaghan ‘died peacefully’ at his home in London on Saturday, says his family The TV presenter Dermot Murnaghan “died peacefully” at his home in north London on Saturday morning “following a period of illness with prostate cancer”, his family said in a statement. More details to follow … Continue reading...
Datacentres drive up carbon emissions of Microsoft, Amazon and Google to a third of those of France
All three companies say they still aim to achieve net zero carbon output despite construction boom Microsoft, Amazon and Google’s collective carbon emissions have increased by nearly a fifth in the past year, driven largely by datacentre construction. In the financial year ending March 2026, the three tech companies emitted 119m mTCO₂e (metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent), or about a third of those of France. Continue reading...