HS2 bill could rise to £102bn with first trains delayed until 2039, government admits

Exclusive: Science agency is planning to sack a third of the team working on the national climate model, sources sayGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastJob cuts at the national science agency mean Australia will no longer be able to submit climate projections to form part of global reports and will have significantly reduced ability to forecast future damage to the country, leading researchers have warned.Multiple sources told Guardian Australia that CSIRO planned to sack a third of the team working on the national climate model that provides projections relied on by governments, councils, industry and farmers as they plan for the future. Continue reading...

About 40% of parking spaces under apartments in Australia sit empty, yet strict planning rules mean more unwanted spots continue to be builtGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia risks squandering $5.2bn by building 86,000 unwanted car parking spaces in the next five years, according to research by the Grattan Institute.The report recommends urgent reform to planning rules, including scrapping a requirement for a minimum number of car parking spaces per bedroom for new builds. Continue reading...

‘It’s heartless to cut supports we need to leave the house, work and study at a time when the cost of living has dramatically increased’, advocate saysGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastProposed funding cuts to NDIS would disadvantage Australians with visual impairment, psychosocial disability and Down’s syndrome the most, according to government analysis, with the government hoping to slash those budgets by 50% by the end of 2027.It also forecasts the cost of the NDIS will more than double in 10 years to $117bn, representing 2.4% of GDP, unless significant changes are made to the $50bn program. Continue reading...

Attack marks first time military action has forced a fully operating nuclear power plant to rely on backup generators• Middle East crisis – live updatesA drone strike that cut off external power to a nuclear reactor in the United Arab Emirates this week has revived concerns over the safety of nuclear plants during wartime.Reactor no 3 at the Barakah nuclear plant lost off-site power, which is critical for its own functioning, for about 24 hours after the attack on Sunday, forcing it to rely on emergency diesel generators. Continue reading...

Darren Jones says there are good reasons not to disclose certain details and next batch will be released next monthUK politics live – latest updatesA senior minister has defended the government’s decision to withhold information relating to the appointment of Peter Mandelson as Washington ambassador from a powerful parliamentary committee.Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the prime minister, told the Commons on Tuesday there were good reasons not to disclose certain information, adding that the next tranche of documents would not be published until next month. Continue reading...

Frank Cottrell-Boyce tells MPs to focus on early-years reading, with more support for parents and nursery workersThe children’s laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce has urged the government to prioritise pleasure over learning in children’s reading.Giving evidence to MPs on the education committee, which is investigating the crisis in reading for pleasure among children, the screenwriter and novelist said conversations about children’s reading too often revert to attainment in school. Continue reading...

Garden featuring giant woman carved out of tree makes designer one of few female artists to winFeaturing a giant, slumbering woman carved out of a fallen tree, Sarah Eberle’s hauntingly beautiful Chelsea Flower Show garden has won the top prize.Eberle, now the Royal Horticultural Society’s most decorated gardener, is a rarity; she’s one of only three women to have won Best in Show at Chelsea as solo designers in its 100-year history. Continue reading...

Odai Shanah details being among the children forced to huddle in a classroom during attack at the Islamic CenterA nine-year-old boy has described witnessing Monday’s deadly shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego, saying that he “saw bad stuff” and huddled in closet during the attack.Odai Shanah, whose mother emigrated from war-torn Gaza and settled in southern California two decades ago, told Reuters that he heard a barrage of gunshots coming from outside the walls of the mosque complex, which also houses an Islamic day school. Continue reading...

Enthusiasts track down weapon used to fell fleeing Eli Wallach amid preparations for 60th anniversary of film’s releaseSix decades after Clint Eastwood nonchalantly used a cigar to light a cannon’s fuse in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly to fell a fleeing Eli Wallach, the Manchester-made weapon has been rediscovered in a museum in south-east Spain.The artillery piece was tracked down by the Sad Hill Cultural Association, a group of volunteers dedicated to restoring the graveyard near Burgos, northern Spain, built for the climax of Sergio Leone’s seminal spaghetti western. Continue reading...

Abstract expressionist’s Number 7A, 1948, becomes the fourth most expensive work ever sold at auctionA Jackson Pollock painting has sold for a record $181.2m (£135.3m) at Christie’s in New York.The sale on Monday made Number 7A, 1948 the fourth most expensive work ever sold at auction, according to ARTnews. Continue reading...

Yvette Cooper and Jonathan Reynolds urge colleagues to support each other and remember ‘who we’re here to serve’UK politics live – latest updatesTwo cabinet ministers have warned Labour colleagues against damaging anonymous briefings as the party prepares for a probable leadership contest, arguing it is disrespectful to voters to wage a factional war in public.The comments by Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, and Jonathan Reynolds, the chief whip, came as Labour MPs gathered late on Monday for the weekly meeting of the parliamentary Labour party. Continue reading...

Smotrich vows to retaliate by waging ‘war’ on Palestinian Authority and orders evacuation of a West Bank villageMiddle East crisis – live updatesIsrael’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has said the international criminal court (ICC) prosecutor has sought a confidential arrest warrant against him, and promised to retaliate by waging a “war” on the Palestinian Authority.He said he had ordered the evacuation of the Palestinian Bedouin village of Khan al-Ahmar in the Israeli-occupied West Bank as part of measures against the authority, which exercises limited self-rule in parts of the West Bank under agreements with Israel. Continue reading...