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Politics
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UNSW academic subjected to Nazi salutes in class, antisemitism commission hears
Royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion hears lived experiences of Jewish students and academics Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast An academic at UNSW was subjected to Nazi salutes by students in his business class, the royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion has heard. The fourth block of hearings, taking place in Melbourne this week, is examining the lived experiences of Jewish students and academics, including the response of universities to combat hate. Continue reading...
Is the most popular song played on Australian radio stations the product of generative AI?
Josh Fawaz’s song, a cover of Like a Prayer, has raised questions over how generative AI is being used in music and whether it should be declared An Australian producer has gone from a little-known artist to a viral sensation in a matter of months, with his hit song catapulting onto global charts and receiving thousands of radio spins. There’s just one problem: music experts and other musicians are questioning whether he produced it. They claim Josh Fawaz’s most popular song, a cover of Madonna’s Like a Prayer which reached the #1 spot on the National Radio Airplay chart, could have been made using AI. Continue reading...
Britons give classic round tomato the red card as coloured and vine varieties score
Premium cherry-on-the-vine are poised to take top spot in Britain’s £1bn-a-year tomato market For a long time the classic round, red tomato has dominated British salads and sandwiches, but its supremacy is coming under threat as sales of rainbow colours and the upmarket rival “cherry on the vine” take off. “Non-red tomatoes” sales are up 21% this year, a growth rate that far exceeds the overall market, according to Paul Faulkner, of Evesham Vale Growers. Continue reading...
Swedish MEP files police complaint accusing Danish colleague of racist hate speech
Abir Al-Sahlani targeted on social media after condemning anti-immigration chants in European parliament A Swedish MEP has filed a police complaint accusing a fellow MEP of racist hate speech after she was targeted on social media over her condemnation of far-right, anti-immigration chants in the European parliament. The complaint, which was filed last week with police in Sweden, relates to the aftermath last month of the decision by some rightwing MEPs to erupt in chants of “send them back” following a vote aimed at increasing deportations across the EU. Continue reading...
Mastermind of €88m Louvre heist thought they ‘could have taken more’
Alleged thieves in October 2025 robbery damaged a gem-encrusted crown worn in the 19th century by Empress Eugénie Two men suspected of making off with €88m (£75m) worth of crown jewels from the Louvre museum in Paris last October have reportedly told investigators that the alleged mastermind behind the heist was disappointed by the haul and thought “they could have taken more”. The French newspaper Le Monde cited transcripts of the alleged thieves’ questioning last month by two investigating judges in charge of the inquiry, offering detailed insights into the burglary that made global headlines and led the museum’s director to resign . Continue reading...
H.R. 8684: Transparency in Billing Act of 2026
Bill Text: This bill's text for status (July 13, 2026) is now available.
H.R. 4541: EARLY Act Reauthorization of 2025
Bill Text: This bill's text for status (July 13, 2026) is now available.
Jana Armstrong’s former partner appears in court charged with murder after body found near Toowoomba
Dharminder Singh ‘asserts his innocence’, lawyer tells reporters, amid outpouring of grief for young mother in Queensland city Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The former partner of a woman whose body was found near Toowoomba at the weekend has appeared in court for the first time after being charged with her murder. Dharminder Singh covered his face and appeared to sob as he appeared in Toowoomba magistrates court via video link, charged with the murder of 30-year-old Jana Armstrong. Continue reading...
Fire bomber planes battle Fointaineblue forest blaze near Paris
Wildfire quickly burnt more than 800 hectares, with villages evacuated, highway partly closed and high-speed rail disrupted French officials rushed two firefighting planes to the Paris region on Sunday after a “very virulent” fire of “exceptional scale” erupted in the sprawling Fontainebleau forest about 60km (40 miles) south-east of the capital. The fire began late afternoon in the one-time royal hunting preserve that today is dotted with quiet villages. It raced across 800 hectares (2,000 acres) and was still spreading early on Monday, officials said, causing the partial closure of the A6 highway, the country’s main north-south artery, and disrupting traffic during a busy, heatwave-stricken summer travel weekend. Continue reading...
US launches new wave of strikes against Iran as Tehran says diplomacy has proven ‘futile’
American and Iranian forces exchange heavy missile and drone attacks over control of strait of Hormuz, increasing pressure on truce The US military has launched a new wave of attacks against Iran amid the escalating standoff over the strait of Hormuz, with Tehran saying the latest strikes had “rendered futile” all the diplomatic efforts of the past few months. The US military began launching more strikes against Iran at 9pm GMT on Sunday, US Central Command (Centcom) said on X, “to continue degrading their ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the Strait of Hormuz”. Continue reading...
Disney’s live-action Moana fails to make a splash at box office with underwhelming opening
Latest film in franchise takes just $43m in North America and $95m globally, against a $250m budget The Walt Disney Company’s live-action remake of Moana may be the No 1 movie at the North American box office but it did not make a big splash in its first weekend in theaters. The movie, which cost a reported $250m (£187m, A$360m) to produce, earned just $43m from ticket sales in the US and Canada, according to studio estimates on Sunday. Continue reading...
Home Office to spend £250m on protecting Jewish communities in England and Wales
Three-year plan will deliver an extra 500 officers to patrol Jewish neighbourhoods after series of antisemitic incidents More than £250m will be invested by the government to increase policing in Jewish communities after a spate of violent attacks, the Home Office has announced. The funding over the next three years will deliver more than 500 additional officers across England and Wales in Jewish neighbourhoods and around schools, synagogues and community centres, while strengthening national counter-terrorism capabilities. Continue reading...
Calls for radical action as Burnham told homelessness in England may rise 25% by 2030
Exclusive: Report warns an additional 50,000 people could be added to current record figure without bold policies Andy Burnham has been warned that an additional 50,000 people in England will become homeless in the next four years without a radical “housing first” agenda of government. The incoming prime minister’s leadership team is understood to have been briefed on projections, due to be published on Monday, showing the current record levels of homelessness rising 25% by 2030 to more than 230,000 people. Continue reading...
Middle East crisis live: US launches new wave of strikes on Iran; Tehran says attacks render diplomacy ‘futile’
Iran has sought to establish a permanent system for collecting fees in the strait of Hormuz and warned vessels not to sail without its authorisation The US and Iran have again exchanged heavy missile and drone assaults , with Tehran targeting US facilities in states across the Gulf and saying it had again closed the vital strait of Hormuz. The US military began launching more strikes against Iran at 5 pm ET on Sunday, US Central Command said in a statement, “to continue degrading their ability to attack civilian mariners and commercial ships freely transiting the strait of Hormuz.” Continue reading...
Lindsey Graham tributes from Israel and Ukraine point to complicated, often bloody legacy
Republican senator, who died Saturday, had a global reach few could rival and was vital in shaping Trump’s worldview It was revealing that one of the first tributes to Lindsey Graham, a US senator who died on Saturday aged 71, came from Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s national security minister, a far-right provocateur who recently caused widespread anger by sharing footage of himself taunting bound activists who had been trying to sail to Gaza with aid. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, was not far behind, calling Graham a “great friend of Israel and a cherished friend of mine”, and he was quickly followed by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who described him as “a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer”. Continue reading...
Mitch McConnell reveals fall led to hospitalization after weeks of silence
Senator says in statement he has undergone battery of tests after weeks of mounting speculation about his health US senator Mitch McConnell on Sunday revealed for the first time that a fall led to his hospitalization, breaking the silence about the Kentucky Republican’s condition after weeks of mounting speculation about his health. McConnell, 84, said in a statement that he has undergone a battery of tests as doctors try to determine what led to his fall. He explained the long silence about his condition by saying that “folks of my generation often hesitate to share the vulnerability that comes with growing older”. Continue reading...
Australia news live: auction clearances nudge up after weeks under 50%; state farewell for Richard Scolyer
Almost 55% of homes at auction were sold, weekend figures show. Follow today’s news live Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Richard Scolyer to have state memorial service at Sydney Opera House Richard Scolyer , the 2024 Australian of the Year, will be honoured with a state memorial service on Monday, after his death from brain cancer on 7 June. He was 59. Every day, this remarkable man – the cancer specialist who became his own subject – took us into his confidence and he lifted us all in the process. Continue reading...
At least 27 killed in blaze at Bangkok pub, Thai officials say
Fire is one of the deadliest such incidents in the popular tourist destination in recent years At least 27 people have been killed in a fire at a pub in Bangkok, Thailand’s prime minister and other officials said on Monday, in one of the deadliest such incidents in the tourism hub in recent years. “There are more than 27 dead,” said Anwut Pho-ampai, of the Ruamkatanyu Foundation, which operates a voluntary emergency rescue service. Continue reading...
Man fatally shot by ICE is mourned at vigil: ‘dedicated to the American dream’
Congressman says Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s ‘blood is on Trump’s hands’ after federal agents killed Texas builder The builder got up every morning long before dawn, left home to pick up his construction crew and then headed out to work on yet another house somewhere across the sprawl of Houston . Fourteen hours later, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo would return to the wife he’d met as a teenager in Mexico and the modest house he’d built for his family on the city’s east side. Continue reading...
US congressman says ‘IDF is lying’ about his detention by settlers and soldiers
Israeli ambassador to US accuses Ro Khanna of political stunt to distract from support for Graham Platner Ro Khanna accused the Israeli government and military of “lying” on Sunday about the US congressman’s detention by armed settlers and Israeli soldiers during a recent visit to the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Khanna – a California Democrat – had posted video evidence on social media of Israeli settlers and soldiers blocking the path of his convoy on Wednesday in the South Hebron hills, near the village of Zanuta, where Israelis have driven Palestinians from their homes in what Amnesty International calls a government-backed “ethnic cleansing campaign”. Continue reading...
More than 100 firefighters tackle railway embankment blaze in east London
Fire in Walthamstow producing a ‘significant amount of smoke’, says London fire brigade More than 100 firefighters are tackling a fire at a railway embankment in east London. Twenty-five fire engines and about 125 firefighters were called to the incident near Vallentin Road in Walthamstow. Continue reading...
Police: speculation during Widdecombe murder investigation is ‘unhelpful and distressing’
Politicians should not comment before facts are established, says former chief constable, after Farage describes killing as ‘premeditated murder’ Senior police figures and politicians have warned against speculation during the murder investigation into Ann Widdecombe’s death, after detectives said there was “nothing to suggest” political motivation after an intervention from Nigel Farage. Devon and Cornwall police said on Sunday the killing investigation was not being treated as terrorism nor as politically motivated. Officers said they remained open-minded about the motive and urged the public not to speculate, warning it was both unhelpful to the investigation and distressing for Widdecombe’s family. Continue reading...
Two men die after going into sea to rescue children at County Durham beach
Youngsters confirmed safe but men pronounced dead after being brought out of water at Seaton Carew, Hartlepool Two men have died after going into the water at a beach in County Durham to try to help two children who had gotten into difficulty, police said. Officers were called at about 3.45pm on Sunday after concerns were raised about two youngsters in the water at Seaton Carew beach in Hartlepool. Continue reading...
‘Mr President, you’re not far behind God’: Lindsey Graham in his own words
The South Carolina senator illustrated the changing face of the Republican party, from being an anti-Trump voice to a supporter of his war with Iran Lindsey Graham dies after sudden illness aged 71 Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina senator who died on Saturday night , unexpectedly at the age of 71, was a politician who more than many illustrated the changing face of the Republican party in the age of Donald Trump. A former House member, Graham sat in the Senate from 2003 as a foreign policy hawk and a close friend and ally of John McCain, the relatively socially liberal Arizona senator who became the party’s presidential nominee in 2008. My Story, 17 June 2015 Washington Post, 5 October 2018 Press conference, 20 November 1998 Press conference, 24 October 2019 CNN, 8 December 2015 CNN, 8 December 2015 CNN, 8 December 2015 CNN, 8 December 2015 Press gaggle, 25 February 2016 To CBS News, 2 March 2016 Social media, 3 May 2016 Press gaggle, 12 May 2016 To MSNBC, 2 June 2016 New York Times, 25 February 2019 New York Times, 25 February 2019 New York Times, 25 February 2019 Congress, 6 January 2021 Fox News, 6 May 2021 South Carolina, 10 June 2026 Continue reading...