The Guardian

It’s sure to leave many mortgage holders feeling short-changed given the RBA’s equally historic 13 rate hikes through 2022 and 2023 Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The Reserve Bank’s governor, Michele Bullock, has effectively ruled out further rate cuts and flagged that hikes may be needed in 2026 if the recent inflationary rebound proves persistent. Speaking at a pre…

Valerie Amos’s investigation finds women let down and slow progress on reforms, with ‘devastating consequences’ Victims of NHS maternity failings received “unacceptable care”, leading to “tragic consequences”, the head of an investigation into maternity care in England has said. Changes within services have been too slow despite being necessary and urgent, according to a report by Valerie Amos, w…

Booming Chinese exports have driven trade surplus past $1tn but also reveal the extent of country’s reliance on foreign markets A boom in exports that has pushed China’s trade surplus past $1tn for the first time reveals the extent to which its economy is still overwhelmingly reliant on foreign markets – and the difficulty figures like Donald Trump will have in trying to rebalance global trade. D…

Tech company has installed the advertising screens in hundreds of apartment blocks across 20 British cities Digital billboards that can film viewers’ responses to adverts have been installed in hundreds of apartment blocks, in a move that civil liberty campaigners called “creepy as hell”. The supplier, 30Seconds Group, says the cameras allow them to track “occupant engagement” from residents who …

In today’s newsletter: As the 2026 tournament expands, questions are being asked about its new format, its environmental impact and whether Fifa is bending too many of its own rules Good morning. Last week in Washington a lengthy and glitzy ceremony saw the draw taking place for the 2026 men’s Fifa World Cup, the largest edition of the tournament to date, to be staged across the US, Mexico and Ca…

Police say ‘active crime scenes remain at houses and dwellings’ in Koolewong on the Central Coast after devastating weekend blaze ‘It came from everywhere’: NSW town counts the cost after bushfire hits Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A “treasured and long-serving” New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Servic…

Migrant support groups in France say lack of action over British activists is ‘encouraging violent and xenophobic practices’ UK and French authorities have been accused of “encouraging violent and xenophobic practices” by failing to tackle anti-migrant British activists who travel to northern France in an attempt to stop small boat crossings. In an unusual move, nine French associations working w…

Defeated Tory and Labour rivals describe force of Reform ‘machine’ as police assess claims of overspending The Tory and Labour candidates who Nigel Farage beat to win his Westminster seat of Clacton have described a Reform campaign that felt like a “juggernaut”, as police began assessing claims of overspending by the Reform UK leader. The candidates spoke after a former aide alleged that Reform U…

Information regulator reminds council leaders of need for compassion when releasing files on childhood care The UK’s information commissioner has raised alarm over the “lengthy, traumatic and often demoralising process” people face when trying to access their care records, writing to local authority leaders to say his office will take action over legal breaches. The data protection regulator said…

Independent review calls for sweeping restructure of NSW’s greyhound racing industry but government rejects key recommendations Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Retired New South Wales greyhounds will continue to be rehomed overseas despite an independent review of the racing industry finding the practice is “distr…

Defence agreement kept afloat through sheer political will, despite Pentagon doubts over its ability to ever deliver what it promises Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast “Full steam ahead” is the new Aukus catchcry, the unintentionally ironic Trump-inspired mantra for nuclear-powered boats. Certainly, the money is pow…

Legal team of man who was part of cohort of non-citizens freed after high court decision argues Nauru’s medical facilities are ‘insufficient’ to treat his severe asthma Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Lawyers for an Iranian refugee Australia wants to deport to Nauru say there is a “real risk he will die” there, setting the stage for a showdown against the federal gove…

Exclusive: Charity Commission chief condemns public hostility towards staff helping women and refugees and at places of worship A surge in death and rape threats and harassment has created a “culture of fear” at charities serving women and refugees, and at mosques, churches and synagogues, the head of the Charity Commission has warned. Mark Simms said he feared growing hostility towards charity s…

Civicus, a non-profit that monitors global civic freedoms, moved the US from the ‘narrowed’ to ‘obstructed’ category A coalition of global civil society organizations has downgraded the United States’ civic health rating from “narrowed” to “obstructed.” In a report released on Tuesday, Civicus, a non-profit that monitors civic freedoms in 198 countries, placed the US in its “obstructed” category.…

Agents who kneeled in 2020 accuse Kash Patel of retaliation and say they were trying to calm volatile situation Twelve former FBI agents fired after kneeling during a 2020 racial justice protest in Washington have sued to get their jobs back, saying their action had been intended to de-escalate a volatile situation and was not meant as a political gesture. The agents say in their lawsuit that the…