Australia politics live: speculation teals may form new party; Gaza flotilla activists arrive home

Helen Haines says ‘the clock is ticking’ on replacing deputy commissioner Nicole RoseGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA key architect of the National Anti-Corruption Commission says parliament should consider new merit-based and independent selection processes for major appointments, urging the Albanese government to use an existing vacancy to restore public confidence in the watchdog.Independent MP Helen Haines, who helped craft legislation to establish the Nacc, sits on its parliamentary oversight committee. She said “the clock is ticking” on replacing deputy commissioner Nicole Rose, who announced her resignation this month. Continue reading...

Lee Zeldin says ‘low-volume release’ of flammable chemicals is most likely amid fears of explosion at Orange county facility near DisneylandGovernment officials in Orange county, California, have warned that an overheated chemical tank “will fail” and could result in a chemical explosion in the area, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator said on Sunday.“We’re being told that the tank will fail, but there are different scenarios as to what that means,” Lee Zeldin, told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. Zeldin, a former Republican congressman with no prior experience in environmental policy, was chosen by Trump as the head of the EPA. Continue reading...

World Health Organization says outbreak poses ‘very high’ risk for Congo, but risk of disease spreading globally remains lowCongolese authorities say that suspected Ebola cases have now passed 900 in the ongoing outbreak in the east of the country.The Congolese Ministry of Communication, in a post on X on Sunday, said there were 904 suspected cases and 119 suspected deaths. Continue reading...

The US has apparently had to agree to unfreeze billions of Iranian assets for a regime more hardline than before the warMiddle East crisis: live updatesOn 24 May each year, Iranians celebrate a historic victory in the war with Iraq: the liberation of Khorramshahr in 1982.This year, some were hoping a peace deal looking likely to be signed with the US might mark a similar turning point in their country’s history. Continue reading...

Announcement comes after Alan Milburn says Britain has neglected generation of young people struggling to access work and training opportunitiesMinisters are expanding youth work experience and training schemes, after Alan Milburn warned Britain is spending £25 keeping young people on benefits for every £1 spent helping them into work.Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary will announce plans for 300,000 extra work experience placements over the next three years as Labour attempts to tackle what the minister described as a “quiet crisis” in youth employment. Continue reading...

Actor recounts three alleged approaches by intelligence services, including through senior BBC executiveRiz Ahmed, the Oscar-winning actor, has claimed that Britain’s intelligence services tried three times to recruit him, including one occasion involving a senior BBC executive.Ahmed, 43, said: “Well, it’s happened three different times and they’re all slightly ridiculous, and this is what I mean by it, it’s just like inherently comedic. Continue reading...

Education secretary asks UK watchdog to look into nursery practices, including non-refundable depositsBridget Phillipson, the education secretary, is ordering a competition review of hidden childcare charges amid concerns parents are being hit with extra charges, despite the government’s flagship expansion of funded childcare hours.Phillipson has written to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) asking it to examine practices including non-refundable deposits, compulsory add-ons and restrictions attached to government-funded childcare places. Continue reading...

Suspect who died after exchanging fire with agents had tried to enter the complex last summer, records showA gunman who opened fire outside the White House on Saturday before he was shot by federal agents was already known to the US Secret Service, court records show.The man, 21, was taken to a nearby hospital, before he was later pronounced dead. He had previously tried to enter the complex, according to an affidavit filed in DC superior court in 2025, following an arrest nearby. Continue reading...

Ousted Republican congressman says his party is facing ‘Trump disappointment syndrome’ over president’s agendaDonald Trump’s Republican party is on course for a damaging rejection at the ballot box in November, according to a maverick US congressman ousted by a challenger handpicked by the president.Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, became the latest of Trump’s targets to be defeated in the party’s primaries this week. He had repeatedly broken with the president over military action against Iran, government spending and the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Continue reading...

Some casualties after attacks on multiple locations in south and east of country on Sunday, state media reportsMiddle East crisis: live updatesIsraeli strikes have hit southern and eastern Lebanon, a day after 11 people were killed in a single raid on the south despite a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war and claims that the US and Iran are about to reach a peace deal.Saturday’s strike in Sir al-Gharbiyeh “resulted in a massacre whose final toll is 11 dead including a child and six women, and nine wounded including four children and a woman,” Lebanon’s health ministry said. Continue reading...

Reform UK leader claims ‘counter-espionage experts’ suggest state-sponsored hackers are behind the disclosure of £5m giftNigel Farage is under mounting pressure to provide evidence for his claim that a state-sponsored Russian hack was behind the disclosure of the £5m gift he received from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne.Reform UK claimed over the weekend that analysis of Farage’s phone by “counter-espionage experts” suggested that “Farage’s phone, email and bank accounts were compromised by hostile actors, almost certainly linked to Moscow, using spear phishing tactics”, before the Guardian revealed details of his undeclared gift last month. Continue reading...