Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General

• A declassified Pentagon report reveals that U.S. military operations in Yemen resulted in the deaths of 153 civilians last year. • Tensions rise in the Middle East as firefighters accuse Israeli forces of starting wildfires in Southern Lebanon, while MSF condemns an Israeli blockade of essential supplies as a "policy of attrition."

Interim report calls for carve-up deal that has only benefited Western Australia to be ‘reshaped’ as it has achieved almost none of its objectivesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Productivity Commission (PC) has criticised the controversial GST deal with Western Australia as a costly mistake that should be reversed, saying tens of billions of dollars of taxpayer money has since gone to the country’s richest state.An interim report from a PC review of the deal said the reform – requested by WA and implemented under the former Morrison government with Labor’s support – had achieved almost none of its objectives and had made the system less equitable. Continue reading...

Evacuation orders issued for 400,000 as torrential rains hit Chiba prefecture as flooding risks remain high despite rainfall easing At least four people died in eastern Japan after “unprecedented” heavy rain that left nearly 7,000 stranded at Tokyo’s Narita airport, and forced thousands to take refuge in government buildings.The torrential rains hit Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo, on Thursday night, triggering landslide warnings and power outages. Evacuation orders were issued for more than 400,000 people in Chiba and other areas, and about 45,000 homes lost power, as 115mm of rain fell hourly, approximately the same amount usually recorded for the whole month of August. Continue reading...

Blaze fuelled by hot, dry and windy conditions comes within metres of West Kalimantan rehabilitation centreOrangutans rescued from wildlife traffickers face a new threat from the record number of fires that have broken out in Indonesia in recent weeks.Flames have come within metres of an animal rehabilitation centre in West Kalimantan as hot, dry and windy conditions have been amplified by a powerful El Niño and the human-driven climate crisis. Continue reading...

Airservices boss says planes remained 1km apart so runway incursion ‘didn’t meet mandatory reporting requirements’ but safety bureau is ‘concerned’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe organisation that manages Australian skies has defended its decision not to immediately report a fresh safety incident at Sydney airport when a Virgin plane aborted its take-off.The chief executive of the commonwealth-owned Airservices Australia, Rob Sharp, said he did not believe the incident met the reporting threshold given the substantial distance between the Virgin plane and a Qantas aircraft crossing the runway in front of it on Sunday. Continue reading...

The Reform UK leader will not be present at vote count in byelection he has tried to frame as the ‘people versus the establishment’Nigel Farage set for decisive but arguably empty victory in ClactonHello and welcome to this special UK politics live blog, where we will be bringing you the result from Nigel Farage’s latest vanity parade. Sorry, I mean the 2026 Clacton byelection.Thousands of residents in the Essex seat voted on Thursday in a ballot featuring Nigel Farage and a range of novelty and fringe candidates led by Count Binface, after all the main political parties (and Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain) decided against fielding candidates. Continue reading...

Former 2UE and 2GB radio broadcaster is facing 22 indecent assault and sexual touching charges. Jones, 85, has pleaded not guiltyFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA driver for Alan Jones aspired to be a producer but was required to make the 2GB host’s breakfast of soft-boiled eggs with bread soldiers, clean his bathroom at the radio station and iron underpants, a Sydney court has heard.Complainant C told Jones’s indecent assault trial on Friday he was “star-struck” when the broadcaster offered to pay him $40,000 a year to be his driver in the mid-2000s. It was his dream job, C said in Downing Centre local court. Continue reading...

Cernavoda shutdown poses immediate problems for Moldova, which relies on Romanian power ​to cover its own electricity shortagesRomania has been forced to shut down the last working ⁠reactor at its only nuclear plant after drought caused the Danube river to fall to record lows – a rare move that will immediately affect power supplies in neighbouring Moldova.Drought and record-low water levels have deepened fears of an energy crisis across Europe, which is facing a new summer heatwave. Continue reading...

Shizuoka Crown melons are part of an important cultural gifting practice in Japan, where they are hand-patted by growers to achieve an even shape and textureThe melons at the centre of a national imbroglio involving the Australian prime minister have the sweetness of a watermelon, the snap of a honeydew and the perfume of a peach, according to fruit sellers.Anthony Albanese maintains he has nothing to apologise for, after a joke he made regarding a gift he received from Japan’s prime minister. Continue reading...

Pilot scheme will provide three weeks of training as part of UK government’s latest attempt to address Neets crisisYoung people out of work or at risk of unemployment in the UK are to join “AI boot camps” where they harness the technology to get a foothold in the workplace.The government’s latest attempt to address the crisis in Neets – young people not in work or education – involves turning to a technology that many view as a potential threat to employment. Continue reading...

Stephen Parkinson says court should have been told that sex offender was being investigated for even more serious offencesThe director of the Crown Prosecution Service has apologised and vowed to increase staff numbers after conceding that the court deciding whether to release Simon Levy on bail should have known the serial sex offender was being investigated for rape and murder.Levy, 40, was this week given a rare whole-life sentence for the murders of Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo and Sheryl Wilkins, and the rape of another woman. Continue reading...