Icac revelations have left Angus Taylor’s colleagues anxious – and his factional enemies angry

• A Ukrainian strike on an Iranian cargo vessel in the Caspian Sea has occurred, signaling a dangerous escalation in global geopolitical tensions. • The event effectively merges the U.S. proxy war in Eastern Europe with ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, specifically involving Iran.

• A joint study by UNESCO and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean reveals that the region will have 38.3 million fewer school-age children by 2050. • The report highlights a significant demographic shift and recommends integrating data on births, migration, enrollment, and location to better manage educational resources.

• Pakistan has gained international recognition for its recent diplomatic efforts, specifically for facilitating pauses in the conflict between the United States and Iran. • Simultaneously, China has transitioned from a manufacturer of low-cost imitation goods to a global leader in high-tech innovation, particularly in AI and robotics.

• The United States has resumed exchanging military strikes with Iran, marking a sudden escalation in tensions. • This development follows a Tuesday interview with Fox News where President Trump appeared to hesitate over the humanitarian costs of targeting Iranian infrastructure, such as power plants and bridges.

President says he has no objection to pulling his former lawyer’s name until dissenting Republicans are out of officeUS politics live – latest updatesDonald Trump has threatened to “temporarily” shelve a bid to permanently install his former personal lawyer Todd Blanche as US attorney general amid resistance in US Congress.Blanche, currently serving as acting attorney general, has been struggling to persuade a handful of Republican senators to back his nomination for the role. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Reform’s Robert Jenrick says party confident it followed all rules at the time, after latest Guardian revelationsThe Electoral Commission has been asked to investigate whether Reform UK has broken donations rules, after the Guardian revealed that the convicted fraudster George Cottrell transferred more than $2m to his mother in the days before her donations to the party in 2024.Labour’s new chair, Bridget Phillipson, wrote to the commission on Thursday asking for it to examine the donations and whether they had been recorded correctly. Continue reading...

Government fears social discontent on ‘most important battlefield’ of economy and livelihoods as war takes its toll amid anti-state dissentIran, in the midst of an escalating five-month war with the US, continues to stumble from one internal crisis to another – whether it is over public executions, the rising cost of living, the alleged bias of the state broadcaster or even the post-midnight destruction of pavements outside liberal-leaning Tehran cafes. Very little that happens in Iran, cultural or political, momentous or trivial, does so uncontested.But there is now a growing threat of a long diplomatic deadlock, forged by mutual distrust in which neither side believes the other will stick to any agreement. That impasse has occurred as the war broadens, drawing in Yemen, Iraq and now Egypt. In Iran, at least, the advocates of escalation are winning. As a result, a convergence of Iran’s conflicts, internal and external, becomes more likely. Continue reading...

Sam Mostyn says there is a widespread ‘failure to understand and engage with and feel proud of the very civic underpinnings of our democracy’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia faces a “growing catastrophe” from poor understanding of the country’s constitutional foundation, the governor general, Sam Mostyn, has warned as attacks on institutions and threats against elected officials undermine democratic participation.Two years after her appointment as King Charles’s representative in Canberra, and as she brings a modern touch to the role of vice regal, Mostyn said that knowledge of how the country’s system of government operates was in steady decline and better civics education was needed. Continue reading...

UK’s highest court gives permission for Huda Ammori to challenge court of appeal rulingThe co-founder of Palestine Action has won permission to challenge the ban against the group at the UK’s highest court.The direct action group was proscribed as a terrorist organisation in July last year but its co-founder, Huda Ammori, has been fighting to have it overturned amid a mass civil disobedience campaign. Continue reading...

Official figures expose widening gap in road casualty rates between poor and wealthy postcodesThe number of children killed or seriously injured crossing roads is almost five times higher in the most deprived postcodes than the wealthiest areas, official analysis suggests.The figures from the Department for Transport show a widening gap over the past 10 years in road casualties between those living in the poorest 10% of postcodes of England and the most affluent 10%. Continue reading...

Lawmakers question delays in medical care, casualty figures and Pentagon’s handling of drone attack in KuwaitUS politics live – latest updatesThe Trump administration is facing growing demands to explain why wounded US soldiers went more than a week without adequate hospital care after a March drone strike in Kuwait, just days into the US-Israel war on Iran.In a letter to the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, congressional Democrats urged the Pentagon to answer their questions – which include why the Pentagon’s public casualty count for the war with Iran briefly changed – by 12 August. Continue reading...