Belfast harbour operator to invest £1.3bn as NI economy grows

HMAS Farncomb had been due to be retired this year, but is now expected to operate until about 2036Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTaxpayers will fork out an extra $11bn to extend the lifespan of Australia’s ageing Collins-class submarines for another decade, bridging the capability gap before the scheduled arrival of the first Aukus vessels in 2032.Originally designed to have a 30-year working life, the six Adelaide-built submarines have already been operational for between 23 and 30 years. The Albanese government announced in 2024 that it would undertake so-called “life of type extension” works to keep the six Collins class boats in the water for an additional 10 years. Continue reading...

Pay growth eases to 3.4% as businesses face pressure from soaring energy costsUnemployment in the UK has unexpectedly risen to 5% while wage growth has slowed, according to official figures, in the first snapshot of how companies are reacting to the impact of the Iran war.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the rate of unemployment was up in the three months to March, from 4.9% in February, a rate that City economists had expected to hold. Continue reading...

Study of Channel finds levels of toxic Pfas in Solent at 13 times safe limits in some places, with much coming from treated sewageScientists have found high levels of toxic Pfas, or “forever chemicals”, in soil, water and throughout the marine food chain in the UK’s Solent strait, including at protected environmental sites, according to a new study.In some samples, pollution was 13 times the safe threshold for coastal waters. Others, which were below legal limits for individual chemicals, failed tests for combined toxicity. Continue reading...

Rising volume of components imported from China prompts warning of cannibalisation of European industriesEurope is facing a fresh China shock that threatens to cannibalise local factories, leading to job losses and de facto colonisation of industry by Beijing, trade analysts and representatives have said.They fear the plunging exchange rate and support for Chinese “zombie firms” has echoes of the crisis in the US 25 years ago when the term “China shock” was coined. It referred to the impact of China bursting on to the global trade stage after becoming a member of the World Trade Organization, with soaring imports displacing local industries and causing the loss of up to 2.5m jobs. Continue reading...

Dr Sharmila Chandran suspended until 20 September as Royal Australasian College of Physicians agrees to work with regulator to meet its obligationsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe charities regulator has suspended the president-elect of one of Australia’s oldest medical colleges for allegedly contravening a direction from the NSW work health and safety watchdog. The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) on Monday issued a notice suspending Dr Sharmila Chandran as a responsible person of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, which is a registered charity, until 20 September. SafeWork NSW advised that Chandran’s alleged failure to comply with a directive not to contact RACP staff was exposing them to “immediate and serious risks” to their psychological health and safety, the ACNC said in a public statement.The intervention follows months of conflict within the RACP’s board, which culminated in an extraordinary general meeting last month to which police were called. Continue reading...

In today’s newsletter: Labour has been decimated, Reform has taken up the official opposition, and the Senedd has expanded massively – taking the country’s new leadership into uncharted watersGood morning. While Westminster-watchers were obsessed with Labour’s leadership shenanigans, a new chapter in the relationship between Cardiff and the UK government opened.After claiming power in this month’s elections, Plaid Cymru has wasted no time in testing Keir Starmer’s “openness” to reform. In London, the party tabled an amendment to the king’s speech, calling for a number of justice, infrastructure and welfare powers to be devolved to the Senedd.UK news | A rescue deal for Thames Water is under threat because of a potential change in prime minister, government insiders have said.UK politics | Andy Burnham drew the battle lines for the future of the Labour party on Monday as the Greater Manchester mayor promised he would “change Labour” and win back the voters the party had lost.US news | Five people, including two suspects, were killed in a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, California, in what authorities said was being investigated as a hate crime.Middle East | Iran has made a new proposal for a deal to definitively end the war, officials in the region said, with Donald Trump claiming he had postponed new military strikes so talks could continue.Technology | A jury ruled in favour of Sam Altman in the culmination of a long and bitter legal battle that pitted the richest person in the world against a leader of the AI boom. Continue reading...

Global Sumud Flotilla organisers say 38 ships holding 319 activists were about 250 nautical miles from the coast of Gaza when they were interceptedFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastEleven Australians attempting to deliver aid to Gaza as part of a global flotilla have been detained by Israeli forces in international waters off the coast of Cyprus, with the government “urgently seeking” confirmation of their welfare.On Monday local time, the Global Sumud Flotilla alleged the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) encircled 38 ships that were part of a fleet of 54 boats which left Turkey last week for the embattled strip, which remains under naval blockade by Israel. Continue reading...

The foreign affairs select committee meets this week to discuss next steps and there are concerns any conclusions reached at this stage may be prematureThe parliamentary inquiry into Peter Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador has heard more than 77,000 words of evidence from five of the most senior officials and advisers in government. Yet, as MPs on the foreign affairs select committee meet this week to discuss next steps, there are concerns that key questions remain unanswered.The committee’s investigation has been hampered by a lack of documentary evidence, amid concerns that the government is not adhering to the terms of a parliamentary motion that ordered the release of “all papers” relating to the appointment. Continue reading...

SBS also declines to adopt International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition, which some claim conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitismFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesSign up for Guardian Australia’s free weekly media newsletter hereThe ABC has chosen not to adopt the definition of antisemitism used by the Bondi royal commission and will use its internal editorial guidance on hate speech instead, in order to maintain its independence.The royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion announced in February that the inquiry would apply the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Potential investors fear Andy Burnham could push to bring utility companies into public ownershipA rescue deal for Thames Water is under threat because of a potential change in prime minister, government insiders have said.Ministers are negotiating a takeover deal for the stricken water company with a consortium of creditors led by American investment firm Elliott Management. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Families of victims have called for health workers to be first responders and police minister says deal with NSW Health ‘very close to being signed’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastNew South Wales police and the health department are expected to sign a new agreement on how to deal with mental health incidents, as the police union demands officers no longer be the “default response for every crisis”.“There is an MoU that is very close to being signed,” the police minister, Yasmin Catley, told police union members on Tuesday when discussing mental health call-outs. Continue reading...

Commemoration of atrocity at Nova music festival confronts those who deny its gravity, says Elkana BohbotTwo police vans waited expectantly near the front entrance. Officers patrolled the pavements while suited security men with ear pieces stood stern-faced, casting suspicious looks at those approaching. The location in east London had not been disclosed until that morning but no chances were being taken.It was not for a visiting dignitary or even an embassy of a country in conflict that all this was deemed necessary but the Nova exhibition, a commemoration of the 378 people massacred at a music festival on 7 October along with the 44 taken as hostages and the 19 of those who died in Hamas captivity. Continue reading...