Donald and Melania Trump evacuated from White Houe Correspondents’ Dinner as loud bangs heard

• The article examines whether a potential military failure in Iran would fundamentally change U.S. strategic approaches to warfare and foreign intervention. • It notes a historical trend where veterans and voters punished previous administrations for the high costs of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Angus Taylor and other Coalition members not supporting shadow housing minister’s target migration numbers, which would be the lowest figures since the mid-2000sFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLiberal senator Andrew Bragg has stood by his proposal to lower net migration to 180,000 per year in a wide-ranging speech where he lamented not stopping the Morrison government’s “madness” – even as colleagues side-stepped supporting the target figure publicly.The opposition frontbencher said a housing “shortfall” – comparing the number of dwellings against population size – could be rectified if the net overseas migration (Nom) target was set at 180,000 or under over four years. Continue reading...

Martin Jones expresses concern scheme will increase pressure on probation service as Burnham addresses controversy over PC Harper’s killersGood morning. Andy Burnham is chairing a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee this afternoon to discuss the heatwave and the climate crisis.About time too, some people will say. One of them is Zack Polanski, the Green party leader, who has been calling for this and who posted this on social media in response.Good.Now we need action. Tax fossil fuel giants to pay for firefighting helicopters. A cool space in every community. A maximum working temperature. Continue reading...

Voters will be required to number at least five parties above the line in order of preference after bill passed upper house 33 votes to fourFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastProminent MPs such as Georgie Purcell and other microparty members will face an uphill battle to retain their seats in Victoria’s upper house after parliament voted to abolish group voting tickets.Victoria’s legislative council was the only remaining upper house in Australia to use the GVT system, in which voters could only choose one party above the line on the ballot paper, with their preferences then allocated by the party if it was knocked out during counting. Continue reading...

Exhibition in Port Talbot is part of project exploring how communities experience endings and transitionsMargaret Heggett, 95, does not remember a time when Port Talbot was ever quiet. Born and raised in the shadow of the steelworks, with a father, brother and husband who worked there, she never imagined what the town could look or sound like without its blast furnaces.“I’m not saying it was beautiful, but there were jobs. We did know the closure was coming and we have to move with the times but it’s affected the town a lot and it’s very sad,” she said. Continue reading...

High temperatures continue with forecasts reaching 38C on Thursday and wildfires stretching emergency servicesThe prime minister will chair a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee on Wednesday in response to extreme heat, which has caused wildfires and plunged many parts of Britain into drought.Andy Burnham will meet with ministers, officials and agencies as high temperatures continue across the UK on Wednesday afternoon, with temperatures of 33C forecast, and up to 38C on Thursday. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Pay increases to two weeks in England and Wales after Guardian revealed officers ‘mocked’ for taking time offPaid paternity leave for police in England and Wales is to double, after the Guardian revealed last year that officers were “mocked and ostracised” for taking time off to spend with their babies.The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has increased the amount of paid parental and adoption leave for officers from one week to two across all forces, with fathers’ leave upped to be in line with mothers’. Continue reading...

In today’s newsletter: As ministers scramble to resolve overcrowding in prisons, experts say the crisis demands a rethink of who we lock up – and what happens when they’re set freeGood morning. On his family holiday last week, the prime minister, Andy Burnham, was reported to be taking daily calls from Ministry of Justice officials about his government’s early release scheme. A furious public outcry has gathered pace since it emerged that the plan – brought in by his predecessor, Keir Starmer, to alleviate overcrowding in prisons across England and Wales – might include two of the killers of PC Andrew Harper and other serious sexual offenders, including grooming gang perpetrators.After several weeks of “system says no” briefings, which Harper’s mother Debbie Adlam has described as “a rollercoaster … really draining”, yesterday Burnham endeavoured to put a pin in it until September.UK news | Repeated debilitating heatwaves this summer are likely to have cost the UK economy more than £4bn in lost economic output by the end of July, new analysis shows.Meta | Courts in England and Wales have joined a number of restaurants, theatres and pubs in banning the controversial Meta glasses, which can record video footage while being worn.Middle East | Firefighters and residents of south Lebanon have accused the Israeli military of lighting wildfires in the region, as forested areas burned down in blazes sparked by Israeli bombing.UK politics | Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice has been accused of using “nasty tactics” in an attempt to intimidate journalists and deflect attention from his own financial affairs after issuing a legal threat to the Guardian.US news | Democrats called on Tuesday for a congressional briefing over a stunning charade in which Donald Trump was secretly spirited to a different plane than the one the public and press believed he was travelling on. Continue reading...

Lobbyist Jeremy Greenwood gives evidence about allegations linked to Reformers at Independent Commission Against Corruption hearingMembers of a conservative Christian Liberal group received a “kickback” from consultancy payments made by the governing body for more than 600 schools in New South Wales, an inquiry has heard.Consultant and lobbyist Jeremy Greenwood gave his third day of evidence to the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s (Icac) Operation Rosny on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Master’s student made first bar with 100% UK ingredients since 1932 to highlight affect of climate crisis on cocoa plants The late queen was the only person in history to have ever eaten a chocolate bar made with 100% British ingredients, after she was given one as a six-year-old in 1932 by the confectioner Rowntree’s.The bar was created from a glasshouse-grown cocoa plant, at Rowntree’s headquarters in York. Continue reading...

Forecasters warned the Chinese capital could receive more than one-third of its average annual rainfall over 24 hoursThousands of people have been evacuated from areas at risk of flooding and landslides in Beijing, as the remnants of Typhoon Dolphin continue to bring torrential rain to northern and central China.Forecasters warned on Tuesday that the Chinese capital could receive more than 150mm of rain over the following 24 hours, with some districts forecast to exceed 200mm – more than one-third of Beijing’s average annual rainfall of 528mm. Continue reading...

Rio Tinto said in December it may cease operations at the Tomago aluminium smelter at the end of its current electricity supply contractAnthony Albanese and the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, are preparing to mount a major bailout of Australia’s largest aluminium smelter, in a deal worth as much as $2.5bn.Resources giant Rio Tinto said in December it was contemplating ceasing operations at the Tomago aluminium smelter in NSW at the end of its current electricity supply contract. Continue reading...