Top World News
Australia politics live: Graeme Samuel says Coalition ‘manoeuvred themselves into irrelevance’ on nature laws reform
Follow today’s news liveExplainer: Seven ways Australia’s nature laws are changing after Labor’s deal with the GreensGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast‘We are very close’ on environment bill, Hanson-Young saysHanson-Young says she’s feeling more positive about a deal on the environment bill than she was at the start of the week.I don’t expect that we will get everything we want. We’re just trying one last time [on the basis] that I wanted more protections for our forests, and protections for climate, of course.If we can get movement on those issues, I’ve always said that I’m up for helping the government improve these laws. We’re not there yet. But I’m feeling more positive than I was at the beginning of the week.There’s no requirements on them to create a space that doesn’t have harmful content … That doesn’t target them with advertising.For those kids who just decide – oh, well we might not be on Instagram or Snapchat, but go over to somewhere else that hasn’t been designated – it’s those darker corners of the internet that I’m worried about. Continue reading...
Teens seek urgent high court injunction to block Australian government’s social media ban
Noah Jones and Macy Neyland, both 15, are supported by a digital rights group led by NSW Libertarian MP John RuddickGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTwo teens and a digital rights group led by a New South Wales state politician are seeking an urgent high court injunction to block Australia’s under-16s social media ban, just two weeks before the ban is due to commence.The two young people, 15-year-olds Noah Jones and Macy Neyland, are supported by the Digital Freedom Project – an initiative led by NSW Libertarian MP John Ruddick. Continue reading...
National Guard shooting: Trump says US should ‘re-examine’ all Afghan refugees after suspect named
President calls the shooting in Washington an ‘act of terror’, as officials name Rahmanullah Lakanwal as suspected shooterDonald Trump has called for his government to re-examine every Afghan immigrant who entered the US during Joe Biden’s administration, after law enforcement officials identified the suspect in the shooting of two national guard members in Washington as a man from Afghanistan.A statement from the Department of Homeland Security named the suspect asRahmanullah Lakanwal, a 29-year-old Afghan national who entered the US under a Biden-era policy allowing Afghans set up after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. Immigration authorities granted Lakanwal asylum earlier this year, according to CNN. Continue reading...
St Vincent prime minister seeks record sixth term in tight election
Ralph Gonsalves campaigns on strong economy in bid to retain office he has held since 2001Voters in St Vincent and the Grenadines will go to the polls on Thursday with Ralph Gonsalves seeking a record sixth consecutive term as prime minister.The elections are expected to be a tight contest between the ruling Unity Labour party, which has been in power since 2001, and the opposition New Democratic party.In the last election, ULP won nine of 15 seats, but the NDP won the popular vote. Continue reading...
Pope Leo to visit Turkey and Lebanon on first overseas trip as pontiff
Vatican says ‘demanding’ six-day mission will be packed with meetings with political and religious leadersPope Leo will make his debut overseas trip as leader of the Catholic church on Thursday, travelling on a six-day mission of peace and unity to Turkey and Lebanon in what the Vatican said was expected to be a “demanding” schedule packed with meetings with political and religious leaders amid heightened Middle East tensions.In Turkey, a country with a Muslim majority and home to an estimated 36,000 Catholics, the Chicago-born pontiff, who was elected in May, will first meet President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara. Continue reading...
European progressives must tackle housing crisis to beat far right, say researchers
Centre left can win broad support by addressing soaring house prices and rents, according to data analysisCentre-left parties can build a broad new coalition of support if they tackle Europe’s deepening housing crisis, researchers have said. Conversely, ignoring it risks pushing increasingly fed-up voters into the arms of the far right.Research by the Progressive Politics Research Network (PPRNet) suggests dramatic rises in the cost of housing over recent years have eroded support for centre-left parties – once the champions of affordable housing – and fuelled anti-establishment disaffection. Continue reading...
Shock and dismay after national guard troops shot near White House
Amid a frenetic scene, some residents said Trump’s militarization of the capital had much to answer forThe scene around Washington’s Farragut Square on Wednesday afternoon seem to fit Donald Trump’s most lurid stereotypes of a crime-ridden capital in need of federal troops to bring a firm smack of law and order.An area normally the preserve of professional office workers, coffee shops and lunch venues instead bore the hallmarks of a major crime scene as news spread that two national guard troops had been shot. Authorities later said the shooting suspect had been identified as an Afghan man. Continue reading...
£15,000 prize launched for writers from refugee and migrant backgrounds
The Footnote x Counterpoints prize is intended to uncover new literary voices whose work reflects the experiences of migrationFootnote Press and Counterpoints Arts have announced a new fiction award celebrating writers from refugee and migrant backgrounds, offering a £15,000 prize and a publishing deal for the winner.The Footnote x Counterpoints prize for fiction, launching on Thursday, marks the second time the two organisations have collaborated on a prize. In 2023, writers were invited to submit narrative nonfiction, but now the prize will focus on fiction for the first time. Continue reading...
UK net migration predicted to drop to pre-Brexit levels, figures show
The British Future thinktank’s data predicts net migration to the UK will fall to about 300,000, less than a third of 2023’s figuresNet migration figures due on Thursday are predicted to drop to pre-Brexit levels of about 300,000, according to a thinktank.British Future, which calculated the drop in overall migration, also found that most Britons remain unaware of the falling numbers, and expect the figures to rise or stay the same. Continue reading...
Judges allow North Carolina to use Republican-drawn congressional map
New map takes aim at state’s only swing sweat and gives Republicans chance to flip seat as part of Trump campaignA federal three-judge panel on Wednesday allowed North Carolina to use a redrawn congressional map aimed at flipping a seat to Republicans as part of Donald Trump’s multi-state redistricting campaign ahead of the 2026 elections.The new map takes aim at North Carolina’s only swing seat, currently held by Democrat Don Davis, an African American who represents more than 20 counties in the state’s north-east. The first district has been represented by Black members of Congress continuously for more than 30 years. Continue reading...
Myanmar's military rulers grant a mass amnesty ahead of election
State media in Myanmar say the country's military rulers have granted amnesty to over 3,000 prisoners locked up for opposing army rule and dropped charges against over 5,500 others ahead of next month’s election
Severe asthma can be controlled by a monthly injection, trial finds
Tezepelumab treatment may mean asthmatics for whom inhalers are ineffective can reduce or stop taking steroidsA monthly injection could allow people with severe asthma to stop taking daily steroid tablets, a clinical trial has found.More than 260 million people are thought to have asthma worldwide. While most can control their asthma with inhalers to treat immediate symptoms and preventive ones to reduce inflammation, those with the most severe asthma often take daily doses of oral corticosteroids as well. Continue reading...
