World News Hub

FCA closes investigation into Drax over biomass sourcing

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Regulator launched inquiry amid concerns that firm made misleading statements about origins of wood pelletsBusiness live – latest updatesThe City watchdog has closed an investigation into the power generator Drax, after an almost 10-month review into the sourcing of wood pellets for its biomass power station.The Financial Conduct Authority said it had “reviewed thousands of pages” but that it “did...

Ukraine hits Moscow oil refinery in response to strikes on Ukraine – Europe live

The Guardian • 2 months ago

The attack forced commercial flights and airports to be suspended for safety reasons Hegseth says that “some of Nato’s largest economies, some of our richest countries, allies that are happiest to go on about the rules-based international order and middle powers banding together still think the era of free riding is here.”He says Trump disagrees.“This is not what any reasonable person would expect...

Jackie O pursues claim against Kiis FM after Kyle Sandilands settles – as it happened

The Guardian • 2 months ago

This blog is now closedMedia union blasts Pauline Hanson’s ‘bitter, unprofessional’ attack on Guardian journalistGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastCoalition says it’s good Hanson and One Nation getting the scrutiny of a party on the riseKevin Hogan, the shadow assistant treasurer, says he thinks it’s good Hanson was able to speak at the press club yesterday as One Nation “...

Cambridge experts recreate 336-year-old garden to commemorate ‘father of natural history’

The Guardian • 2 months ago

John Ray, 17th-century botanist who coined words petal and pollen, was a tutor at Cambridge when he created his first gardenHe coined the terms petal and pollen, helped to lay the foundations of modern biology and is widely regarded as the greatest English naturalist of the 17th century.But it was while he was a young college tutor at Cambridge in the 1650s that the botanist John Ray – also known ...

Russian oil refinery on fire after barrage of Ukrainian drones strike Moscow

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Scale of long range-attack catches Muscovites by surprise, prompting panicked messages on social mediaUkrainian drones have hit several locations across Moscow, including setting an ⁠oil refinery on fire, sending out flames and towering plumes ⁠of smoke over the city and forcing the capital’s airports to suspend flights.The scale of the long-range attack, apparently designed to shut down operation...

Australia news live: Rinehart presents Hanson with toy bulldozer; Jackie O pursues claim against Kiis FM after Kyle Sandilands settles

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastCoalition says it’s good Hanson and One Nation getting the scrutiny of a party on the riseKevin Hogan, the shadow assistant treasurer, says he thinks it’s good Hanson was able to speak at the press club yesterday as One Nation “needs to be put under much more scrutiny” amid surging support.The GetUp stunt completely backfired, it makes the...

Plan to ban ‘private equity sharks’ from social care dropped, Wes Streeting says

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Exclusive: Ex-minister accuses Labour of ‘overcautiousness’ and says his proposal was cut from manifestoWes Streeting has said his plan to ban “private equity sharks” from the social care sector was removed from the Labour manifesto, as he accused the government of “overcautiousness” in reforming the industry.In a Fabian Society report on how to create a national care service, Streeting said overh...

Tesco’s UK sales growth more than halves amid Iran war uncertainty

The Guardian • 2 months ago

UK’s biggest retailer reports better figures than expected by City analysts and is cheered by strong online salesBusiness live – latest updatesTesco’s UK sales growth has more than halved as it said the conflict in the Middle East had created “ongoing uncertainty for many households”.The UK’s biggest retailer said comparable sales rose 1.8% in the three months to the end of May, well below the 4.2...

Media union blasts Pauline Hanson’s ‘bitter, unprofessional’ attack on Guardian journalist

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Union calls for journalists to stand with colleagues when they are targeted by politicians as Anthony Albanese says media organisations play ‘vital roles in our democracy’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe media union has condemned One Nation leader Pauline Hanson’s attack on Guardian Australia senior correspondent S...

UK unemployment rate falls to 4.9% and wages grow more than expected

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Drop will put pressure on Bank of England to raise interest rates despite peace deal in Iran warBusiness live – latest updatesUnemployment fell and wages increased in April, official figures showed, putting pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates despite a peace deal in the Middle East.The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed unemployment slipped to 4...

Australia news live: Jackie O pursues claim against Kiis FM after Kyle Sandilands settles; Rinehart presents Hanson with toy bulldozer

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastCoalition says it’s good Hanson and One Nation getting the scrutiny of a party on the riseKevin Hogan, the shadow assistant treasurer, says he thinks it’s good Hanson was able to speak at the press club yesterday as One Nation “needs to be put under much more scrutiny” amid surging support.The GetUp stunt completely backfired, it makes the...

Inquest into Melbourne influencer’s death following freebirth halted after new phone evidence discovered

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Coroner tells freebirth inquest new material ‘of such significance’ any findings must be postponed so information can be analysedThe closing submissions in an inquest into the death of a woman who gave birth at home with no support from medically trained health workers has been delayed, after new evidence came to light following a forensic analysis of her mobile phone.Stacey Warnecke, a 30 year-ol...

Australia news live: Jackie O pursues claim against Kiis FM after Kyle Sandilands settles; press gallery objects to One Nation threats to ban journalists

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastCoalition says it’s good Hanson and One Nation getting the scrutiny of a party on the riseKevin Hogan, the shadow assistant treasurer, says he thinks it’s good Hanson was able to speak at the press club yesterday as One Nation “needs to be put under much more scrutiny” amid surging support.The GetUp stunt completely backfired, it makes the...

Moscow oil refinery on fire after ‘large-scale’ Ukrainian drone strike

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Mayor of Russian capital claims ‌about 180 drones heading to the city were shot down as flames and smoke billow over outskirtsUkrainian drones hit Moscow’s ⁠oil refinery for the second time ⁠this week, sending out flames and plumes ⁠of smoke over the south-eastern district of Kapotnya on Thursday morning.“Air defence forces are continuing to repel a large-scale attack. Several drones managed to re...

Dubai property sales have fallen ‘off a cliff’ since start of Middle East war

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Sellers of luxury villas have wiped tens of millions of pounds off asking prices, with sales down 19% in May from the previous monthProperty sales in Dubai have fallen “off a cliff”, a leading market watcher has said, after war in the Middle East forced a dramatic slowdown in one of the world’s most expensive real estate markets.Sales in the city dropped 19% in May compared with the previous month...

Ukraine bolsters its northern defences amid fears Belarus is being dragged into war

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Kyiv is not taking any risks amid Moscow’s efforts to integrate Minsk ever more closely into its warRussian spy drones flying into Ukraine from Belarusian airspace have sharply increased since the beginning of the year, as senior officials in Kyiv express mounting concern over Belarus’s involvement in the war.Ukraine has stepped up by reinforcing fortifications on its northern border, including an...

Labour campaigners fear hordes of MPs may annoy public as Makerfield votes

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Up to 3,000 activists – including cabinet ministers and other MPs – descending on constituency to back Andy BurnhamUp to 3,000 Labour campaigners are expected to descend on Makerfield for Andy Burnham, prompting fears among organisers that the hordes of activists may end up overwhelming voters during Thursday’s byelection.Local hotels are fully booked and party members are expected to be dispatche...

Russia-linked arson attacks show bad actors targeting UK, says Starmer

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Prime minister says country needs to resist those who seek to ‘exploit division’ and ‘destabilise democracy’The trial of two Russian-linked arsonists who targeted property connected to Keir Starmer shows that the UK is under attack from bad actors who want to “exploit division” and “destabilise our democracy”, the prime minister has said.Roman Lavrynovych, 22, from Ukraine, and Stanislav Carpiuc, ...

Labour campaigners in Makerfield fear their sheer numbers may annoy voters

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Up to 3,000 activists – including cabinet ministers and other MPs – descending on constituency to back Andy BurnhamUp to 3,000 Labour campaigners are expected to descend on Makerfield for Andy Burnham, prompting fears among organisers that the hordes of activists may end up overwhelming voters during Thursday’s byelection.Local hotels are fully booked and party members are expected to be dispatche...

BBC made second Ashley Cain TV series despite alleged misconduct

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Filming in Las Vegas was suspended and Cain replaced as presenter after he appeared to be drunk, sources sayBBC presenter Ashley Cain called women ‘slags’, ‘sluts’ and ‘bitches’Warning: this article contains sexually explicit, offensive languageThe BBC made a second documentary series fronted by the presenter Ashley Cain just months after it was informed about an incident of alleged misconduct on ...

Taliban order ban on smartphones as officials shown destroying devices

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Directive aimed at government workers, but reports of wider implementation spark warnings of future Afghanistan-wide prohibitionThe Taliban have ordered a sweeping ban on the use of smartphones by government officials – in what some analysts say could foreshadow broader, population-level restrictions.In a directive issued by the Taliban’s military courts and reviewed by the Guardian, the ban was t...

Death of Indigenous teen found on rail tracks with towel under head ‘suspicious’, NSW coroner says

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Police initially ruled Mark Haines’ 1988 death a suicide but coroner says investigation hindered by racism and deeply flawedWarning: This article contains images of and references to Indigenous Australians who have diedFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe police investigation into the death of Indigenous teenager Mark ...

Racism hindered NSW police investigation into the 1988 death of Indigenous teenager Mark Haines, inquest found

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Coroner overturned initial police finding of suicide, saying their investigation was ‘deeply flawed, superficial and inadequate from the outset’•Warning: This article contains images of and references to Indigenous Australians who have diedFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe police investigation into the death of Indi...

More than 13,000 seal pups die on remote Australian island amid bird flu outbreak

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Testing confirms spread of deadly H5N1 virus on the subantarctic Heard Island, about 4,000km south-west of PerthFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMore than 13,000 seal pups have died on an Australian territory, as testing confirmed the spread of deadly H5N1 bird flu among penguins, seals and petrels on subantarctic isla...

Middle East crisis live: Tehran says it will charge ships in strait of Hormuz after 60 days; US-Iran presidents sign peace deal

The Guardian • 2 months ago

Chief Iranian negotiator says key waterway will ‘not return to prewar conditions’ after 60-day window; both sides sign memorandum of understanding extending truceReaction: Donald Trump’s Iran deal met with anger, relief and incredulityAnalysis: Trump’s Iran deal is result of unrealistic ambitions for an untenable warPakistani prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said earlier in the day that the agreement...