New Zealand PM’s ratings dip as fragile economy fails to impress before November election, poll shows

• House Republicans are advancing a resolution this week to affirm support for over 100,000 DHS employees, including 50,000 TSA frontline workers, unpaid for 37 days due to Democrats' refusal to fund the department. • The shutdown has led to $1 billion in monthly unpaid wages, coinciding with elevated terror threats including recent attacks in Texas, New York, Michigan, and Virginia, and FBI warnings of lone wolf attackers and sleeper cells. • Republicans highlight over 10 million illegal immigrants entering under Biden from 160 countries, including 400 on the Terrorist Watch List caught at borders, arguing the shutdown endangers national security.

• President Trump ordered federal immigration agents to assist TSA at U.S. airports by guarding exit lanes and checking IDs amid a partial DHS shutdown causing hourslong traveler waits and unpaid screeners. • Democrats express concerns that adding ICE presence could escalate tensions, demanding changes to immigration operations following deaths of two U.S. citizens by agents in Minneapolis. • Senate advanced Sen. Markwayne Mullin's nomination as DHS secretary by 54-37 vote, potentially confirming him Monday after Kristi Noem's tenure; border czar Tom Homan leads the airport effort.

In today’s newsletter: Off Duty revisits the conviction of Alexander Villa, raising troubling questions about how it was builtGood morning. On the evening of 29 December 2011, Clifton Lewis – an off-duty Chicago police officer working as a security guard at a minimart on the city’s west side – was shot dead during a robbery. The killing prompted a huge manhunt and an intensive investigation by the Chicago police department. Years later, prosecutors said they had their man, and in 2019 Alexander Villa was convicted of Lewis’s murder and sentenced to life in prison.But the case against Lewis has long been contested – and as the Guardian’s new investigative podcast series, Off Duty, explores, there are troubling questions about how that conviction was secured, from confessions that were later recanted to evidence that appears shaky or missing. And it revolves around a justice system that, once it settled on a suspect, seemed unwilling to reconsider.Iran | The global energy crisis caused by the war in Iran is equivalent to the combined force of the twin oil shocks of the 1970s and the fallout of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the head of the International Energy Agency has warned.UK news | Four ambulances belonging to the Jewish community ambulance service have been set on fire in Golders Green, with police saying they were treating the incident as an “antisemitic hate crime”.Technology | Palantir is to be granted access to a trove of highly sensitive UK financial regulation data, in a deal that has prompted fresh concerns about the US AI company’s deepening reach into the British state, the Guardian can reveal.UK news | An undercover police officer has admitted he was exposed as an infiltrator by his own blunder, which has been described by activists as worthy of Inspector Clouseau, the spycops public inquiry has heard.Business | Several porridge products in the UK have been recalled over a possible mice contamination at their manufacturing site. Continue reading...

Energy minister Chris Bowen says ‘we’re a long way’ from further action like fuel rationing despite shortagesHundreds of service stations across Australia have run out of fuel, with the federal government inking a deal with Singapore, one of our biggest sources of refined petroleum, to keep supplies of diesel and gas flowing.Concerns are now broadening to supplies of fertiliser and other chemicals, heaping more pressure on the Albanese government’s leveraging of overseas exports of coal and gas in a bid to handle of the crisis. Continue reading...

Federal Coalition tells Pauline Hanson’s party to expect more policy scrutiny after historic result in South Australia electionThe Albanese government has sharpened its attacks on One Nation as a party of “stunts and the vibe” after the South Australian premier warned Pauline Hanson is a threat to Labor following its historic state election result.The federal Coalition is also dialling up the pressure, warning One Nation to expect more scrutiny of its policy positions as it attempts to avert a SA-style collapse in other parts of the country. Continue reading...

The regulator has issued a ground stop for all planes and New York’s emergency management authority warned people to expect cancellations and delaysNew York’s LaGuardia airport was closed to flights early on Monday after an Air Canada flight and Port Authority vehicle collided.The New York police department confirmed the collision but could not immediately offer further information. The update came after flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said in post on X late on Monday that an Air Canada Express plane had collided with a ground vehicle at the airport. Continue reading...

Narelle weakens to a tropical low after bringing heavy rain to already-saturated parts of the Northern Territory Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastCommunities in Australia’s far north were again on flood alert as ex-Tropical Cyclone Narelle continued its destructive westward journey on Monday, with forecasts suggesting the system could re-intensify and potentially threaten the Perth region this weekend.Narelle had weakened to a tropical low system on Monday after bringing heavy rain to already-saturated parts of the Northern Territory over the weekend. Continue reading...

Doubling tariffs on imported steel will raise cost of the metal when Iran war is already inflating steel and concrete pricesOne of HS2’s biggest contractors has warned the government that raising tariffs on foreign steel imports will “exacerbate” cost pressures for the UK construction industry, amid growing concern over the £100bn railway’s rising budget.Ministers said last week they would double the tariffs on imported steel and slash the amount that can be bought from overseas, in an attempt to save Britain’s struggling steelmakers. Continue reading...

Fatih Birol says effect on energy markets of Iran bombings and closure of Hormuz strait not initially understood by world leadersMiddle East crisis live – latest updatesThe global energy crisis caused by the war in Iran is equivalent to the combined force of the twin oil shocks of the 1970s and the fallout of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the head of the International Energy Agency has warned.Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director, said the growing fallout could be seriously compounded through interuptions to the “vital arteries of the global economy”, including petrochemicals, fertilisers, sulfur and helium. Continue reading...

From steel to screen, podcasts to defence, Sheffield’s economy is diversifying amid a wave of new investmentIt has seen its fair share of Hollywood parties – albeit with a twist. Instead of champagne and caviar it is usually Guinness and scampi fries. Red carpet? There aren’t even cushions on the seats.The tiny Sheffield pub, Fagan’s, has raised more than a few toasts in the last year as Adolescence, the Netflix hit made by two of its owners, scooped multiple awards at the Emmys and Golden Globes and became one of the world’s most-watched dramas. Continue reading...

Handful of billionaires gave huge sums in particular to media organisations that boosted rightwing politicians, says Liam Byrne MPMore than £170m was given to MPs, political parties, media organisations and thinktanks aligned with the UK’s populist right over the past five years, new research from the Labour MP Liam Byrne has found.Byrne, a former cabinet minister who chairs parliament’s business committee, said he had identified a “media-political complex” funded largely by a handful of billionaires. Continue reading...

Police say four ambulances from Jewish community ambulance service were damaged in a suspected arson attack in Golders GreenFour ambulances belonging to the Jewish community ambulance service were set on fire in Golders Green early on Monday, with police saying they were treating the incident as an “antisemitic hate crime”.Officers were called to Highfield Road, Golders Green, around 1.45am on Monday after receiving reports of a fire. Continue reading...