Former student arrested after man shot with crossbow at University of Surrey

• The Sudanese crisis, which began in April 2023 as a power struggle between two generals, has evolved into a complex regional proxy conflict. • Qatar is playing a significant role in the geopolitics of polarization, influencing the reengineering of power within the war-torn nation.

• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukrainian strikes destroyed 60,000 tonnes of Russian ammunition at a Baltic Fleet arsenal near St. Petersburg and targeted key defense-industrial facilities. • Zelenskyy claimed that Moscow has been forced to shift its air defenses to protect the Kerch Bridge and the capital city of St. Petersburg.

New party dubbed Community Strong Australia follows secret talks about future of community independentsTeal independents Zali Steggall and Allegra Spender have launched a new political party called Community Strong Australia, with the aim of providing a centrist alternative for voters amid the rise of One Nation and the turmoil inside the Coalition.The party will focus on issues including housing affordability, cost of living, climate change, childcare, education, healthcare and social cohesion, according to Steggall, the member for Warringah. Continue reading...

Annual list of creatives invited to join the Academy also includes Josh O’Connor, Teyana Taylor and Jon BernthalJacob Elordi, Jenna Ortega and Stephen Fry are among the 529 creatives invited to join this year’s member class of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.“We are delighted to invite this remarkable group of film artists and professionals from around the world to join the Academy,” said CEO Bill Kramer and Academy president Lynette Howell Taylor in a statement. “Through their commitment to filmmaking, this year’s exceptionally talented class has made significant contributions to our global movie industry.” Continue reading...

Spending on government contracts with tech firms that use AI-powered tools to track immigrants has soared to record levels under Trump 2.0, report saysA new report sheds light on the unprecedented growth of the US government’s immigration surveillance arsenal, revealing fresh details about how spending on technology and AI tools to find and track migrants has soared to record levels during Donald Trump’s second term.The report, released this week, analyzed US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) contracts with 11 companies the authors said provide surveillance tech. They found the money awarded to these firms doubled from 2024 to 2025, to just over $310m – and in 2026, that number soared to a record $513m. Continue reading...

Aemo modelling shows electricity use will nearly double by 2050. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live politics blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Krishani Dhanji with the main action.There will be plenty of politics to come but we start with good news: thanks to the recent boom in batteries connected to the national power grid, we’re going to save money on new transmission lines. That’s despite our power use being expected to nearly double in the next decade or so. Continue reading...

A 41-year-old man has been arrested after Isaac Clare-Watts, 26, found at Nine Ladies monument on Monday A 26-year-old man who died in a suspected murder during a summer solstice event at a Bronze Age stone circle has been named by police.Isaac Clare-Watts, from Nottingham, was found at the Nine Ladies stone circle in Stanton Lees in the Peak District in Derbyshire at about 1.38pm on Monday. Continue reading...

Ruling is win for democracy advocates who have fought back against Trump’s push to take power over votingA US federal court blocked Donald Trump’s attempt to regulate elections via executive order, a win for democracy advocates who have fought back against the US president’s push to take power over voting.Trump issued an executive order on elections, including a documentary proof of citizenship requirement that would have necessitated that people show passports, birth certificates or other documentation when they registered to vote, or changed their registration. Continue reading...

Report uncovers biggest childbirth scandal in NHS history in which 520 mothers and babies suffered ‘potentially avoidable’ harm or diedHorrific failings led to 520 mothers and babies in Nottingham suffering harm or dying, sparking calls for a public inquiry into maternity care across England.In all, 444 women and 76 newborn babies suffered “potentially avoidable” outcomes, a damning three-year long review of the biggest childbirth scandal in NHS history concluded.A “bullying and toxic culture” persisted at NUH over many years and impeded moves to improve care.Maternity service managers and the trust’s senior leaders were repeatedly warned about a host of serious problems in the maternity units at both hospitals but did not take effective action.Maternity staff displayed “a culture of not admitting women who were seeking admission in labour”, despite the risks this posed to them and their babies.Both maternity units were consistently seriously short-staffed and could not cope with the number of births and complexity of cases they had to handle.One baby girl who died early in gestation was “inadvertently disposed of as clinical waste by laboratory staff after her postmortem examination”, compounding her parents’ distress. Continue reading...

Downing Street figures plan to convince Burnham to revive ‘war bonds’ when he becomes prime ministerDowning Street aides are planning to lobby Andy Burnham during access talks to revive the idea of “war bonds” to pay for higher defence spending when he becomes prime minister, the Guardian understands.Senior No 10 figures want the Treasury to be allowed to borrow more for military spending and will try to convince Burnham to invest beyond the £13.5bn earmarked for the long-awaited Defence Investment Plan (Dip). Continue reading...

Refugee charities fear controversial changes, including on forced removals and age checks, are being rushed throughShabana Mahmood’s controversial plans to increase the forced removal of people refused asylum, introduce stringent age checks for people claiming to be children and limit applications under human rights laws are scheduled to be placed before MPs within days.The immigration and asylum bill is expected to be put before parliament next Tuesday and will face opposition from some Labour, Lib Dem and independent MPs. Andy Burnham’s team, widely expected to be in No 10 within weeks, is understood to be aware of the bill and its contents. Continue reading...

Some worry choosing James Purnell, former Demon Eyes teammate, would show Labour struggling for new talentThe most powerful football team in the country is getting back together.Andy Burnham’s decision to appoint James Purnell as his chief of staff should he become prime minister will reunite not only two old friends and former Labour ministers but two of the linchpins of the famous Demon Eyes team set up in the late 1990s. Continue reading...