Flooding rains expected across three Australian states as parched interior receives drenching

Federal government seeks more than $2bn in damages from multinational manufacturer in its largest legal claim everFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Australian government said on Thursday it had launched legal action against the multinational manufacturer 3M over Pfas chemical contamination at defence bases, seeking damages of more than $2bn (US$1.4bn).The attorney general, Michelle Rowland, said the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as “forever chemicals”, in firefighting foam had caused major environmental and economic harm, resulting in the largest legal claim ever brought by the federal government. Continue reading...

Volunteers head to Dorset countryside to restore the figure, but increasing heat means techniques have had to be adaptedFor centuries, the custodians of the Cerne Giant have clambered up the dizzyingly steep hill every decade or so to rechalk the outline, making sure the hulking figure can be seen far and wide across the rolling Dorset countryside.But the painstaking job, which involves hacking out the grubby old chalk by hand and packing in fresh, felt all the more urgent this week because effects put down to the climate emergency are making the giant a little duller and perhaps a touch more fragile. Continue reading...

After CEO’s comments to investors, opponents urge miner to ‘stop stringing everybody along and spike the project finally’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastSantos chief executive, Kevin Gallagher, has told an investor briefing the company will not be “exerting any effort” on its Narrabri gas project while it awaits outstanding approvals, prompting fresh questions about the future of the controversial development.Gallagher told investors this week the company was prioritising exploration in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin, where it is pursuing an expansion. Continue reading...

After 88 days of near-total blackout, first reactions to the return of partial connectivity were not celebratoryAfter 88 days of near-total internet blackout in Iran, long-delayed messages, images and poems flooded phones and social media feeds at about 5pm on Tuesday, when still-limited connectivity flickered back to life.The first reactions, however, were not celebratory. Many new posts were threaded with scepticism, anxiety and anger. Continue reading...

Musician says ‘we’ve lost that direction for our energy’ as his play The Last Ship returns to West EndThe fact many men no longer use their hands and physicality on a daily basis may be driving some of the toxic traits in modern masculinity, according to Sting.The singer, who on Wednesday announced that his musical about the last days of a shipyard was coming to the West End this autumn, told the Guardian that one of the byproducts of deindustrialisation was the loss of physical productivity for men.The Last Ship will be at Theatre Royal Drury Lane from 22 Sep to 3 Oct. Tickets go on sale from midday on 28 May. Continue reading...

The public broadcaster launched an investigation into the former bikie’s involvement in a podcast sponsored by an online casinoFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Four Corners reporter Mahmood Fazal is no longer working for the ABC after an investigation into the former bikie’s involvement in a podcast sponsored by an online casino.The ABC managing director, Hugh Marks, told Senate estimates on Thursday Fazal’s employment had been “terminated” after the investigation. Continue reading...

Military claims boat targeted in second deadly attack this week was travelling along a known smuggling routeThe US military attacked what it called a drug trafficking boat on Wednesday in the eastern Pacific, killing two men, officials said.It was the second deadly attack in as many days in the Trump administration offensive that began last September and has now left almost 200 people dead. Rights groups say the attacks could amount to extrajudicial killings. Continue reading...

Outdoor clothing company is suing US environmentalist drag performer for $1 plus legal fees, claiming ‘we wish we didn’t have to do this’Patagonia has launched a trademark lawsuit against an environmentalist drag queen named Pattie Gonia, who has accused the outdoor clothing company of “trying to erase an activist”.Wyn Wiley, who performs as Pattie Gonia, has accumulated millions of followers online for their environmental activism, raising almost $4m for non-profits so far. Last year they raised $1m while hiking 100 miles in full drag from Point Reyes national seashore to San Francisco. Continue reading...

The UN’s special rapporteur for Palestine, Francesca Albanese, on the war in Gaza, living under US sanctions and accusations of antisemitismFor a brief period this month, the human rights lawyer Francesca Albanese seemed to have some relief.In an extraordinary move in July last year, the Trump administration placed sanctions on the UN’s special rapporteur for Palestine – placing her alongside figures such as Vladimir Putin and Bashir al-Assad – over her engagement with the international criminal court. Continue reading...

State’s governor looks to thwart US president’s plan to divert money to allies, including January 6 riotersCalifornia governor Gavin Newsom is looking to thwart Donald Trump’s $1.776bn “anti-weaponization fund” by imposing a 100% tax on any payout received by state residents.In May, the Department of Justice (DoJ) announced a fund to compensate alleged “victims of lawfare and weaponization”. It’s unclear who qualifies under this category. Continue reading...

Officials said to be examining whether Carroll committed perjury in 2022 deposition tied to lawsuits against presidentThe Trump administration has opened a criminal investigation into E Jean Carroll, the writer who accused the president of sexual assault, according to news reports.Prosecutors, the New York Times and CNN reported on Wednesday, are looking into whether Carroll, 82, committed perjury in a 2022 deposition during her civil lawsuits against Trump, in which she said she did not accept outside financial support for her legal battles. Continue reading...