The Guardian

Benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closes down by 2.85%, marking the single biggest one-day drop since Donald Trump’s ‘liberation day’ tariffs announcement Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Australian shares plunged on Monday, wiping about $90bn from the value of the ASX, after a sharp rise in oil prices caused by the Middle Eas…

Figure above 40% every week since early January as report says situation ‘no longer in freefall nor in recovery’ Workers are heading back to offices across the UK in droves, pushing office occupancy to the highest since before the Covid-19 pandemic, as an expert described the numbers as “no longer in freefall nor in recovery mode but settling”. Investment banks such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan …

David Weaver says proposed jury reforms and slow progress on equality risk eroding support in marginal seats Labour is in “deep trouble” with Black voters, a former government adviser has warned, saying the party is at risk of being seen as “accepting the normalisation of racism”. David Weaver, who is the chair of Operation Black Vote (OBV), said the government’s plans to restrict juries would “h…

Lawyer for 24-year-old asks for identifying details of mother and siblings to be kept secret for their ‘mental and physical safety’ Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Family members of the alleged Bondi attacker have been granted an interim order suppressing their names and home and work addresses to protect their me…

Network Rail said Scotland’s busiest station will remain closed ‘until further notice’ Train passengers are facing major disruption after a large fire broke out on Sunday near Glasgow Central station. Dozens of trains were cancelled on Sunday evening after the blaze at a vape shop in Union Street. Continue reading...

President of Antwerp court makes comments after anonymous judge warned country was turning into ‘a narco-state’ International drug crime poses a danger to social stability in Belgium, a senior judge has said, after his colleague warned the country was evolving into “a narco-state” where mafia groups were forming “a parallel force” in society. Bart Willocx, the president of the Antwerp court of ap…

At least nine cities to pursue full bans as emergency decree gives decisive veto powers to mayors and local councils Romania’s government has overhauled gambling regulations through an emergency decree allowing municipalities to restrict or ban betting shops and slot machine halls in the biggest tightening of the industry the country has seen. Licensed operators must now obtain not only a nationa…

Amon had testified he held an honest and reasonable belief that the teen was over the age of 16 Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A former Liberal MP may face a second child abuse trial after a jury cleared him of some but not all charges related to a 13-year-old boy. Rory Amon was found not guilty of four counts of…

Schools and highways close and Territorians living near major rivers leave amid possibly record-breaking rain Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Katherine’s mayor has warned locals to be wary of flood waters inundating the town after a crocodile was spotted on the town’s AFL oval, as residents are warned to boil thei…

Iran has named hardliner Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new supreme leader; Donald Trump says oil price spike ‘a small price to pay’ as markets tumble Full report: Ali Khamenei’s son Mojtaba chosen as Iran’s new supreme leader Tell us: how have you been affected by the latest events in the Middle East? Australian shares plunged on Monday, wiping about $13obn from the value of the ASX midway th…

Kasasa island, in the Seto Inland Sea, has only seven residents but its fate is strongly intertwined with relations between Tokyo and Beijing His island home is shrouded in mist, but his union jack woolly hat makes Hideya Yagi easy to spot as he greets the approaching boat. The 80-year-old, a former president of a construction company, is pleased to see the small group of passengers disembark, ma…

Ukrainian president hopes for reciprocal support for Kyiv in repelling Russian forces. What we know on day 1,474 Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Kyiv’s drone experts will be on site in the Middle East “next week”, as he seeks US air defence missiles in exchange for drone expertise. Ukraine is facing a shortage of the expensive US PAC-3 air defence ammunition and Kyiv f…

Minister announces action plan to boost social cohesion that will also give regulator powers to shut down charities The UK government will expand powers to tackle extremism by setting up a new whistleblowing route for university staff and giving the Charity Commission powers to shut down charities, as part of a new action plan to strengthen social cohesion. The plan, announced by the housing, com…

Huge improvements in prevention, diagnosis and treatment have driven the fall, Cancer Research UK says The rate of people dying from cancer in the UK has fallen by almost a third since the 1980s amid seismic progress in prevention, diagnosis and treatment, a report has found. About 247 in every 100,000 people die from cancer each year, a 29% drop from the peak in 1989 of about 355 per 100,000, ac…

Musician behind Vietnam war protest hit I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag dead from Parkinson’s complications, his wife confirms “Country Joe” McDonald, a hippy rock star of the 1960s whose protest track I-Feel-Like-I’m-Fixin’-To-Die Rag rebuked the Vietnam war and became a highlight of the Woodstock music festival, died on Sunday. He was 84. McDonald died in Berkeley, California. His death from …