Sydney records hottest June since 1859 as expert warns new high a ‘signature’ of global warming

• China has reached a milestone with its reusable Long March 10B rocket, while the People's Liberation Army recently released a video featuring a diamond-shaped sixth-generation stealth aircraft. • The footage, which shows the aircraft's shadow and airmen discussing a refueling mission, leaves the exact stage of the jet's development and testing unclear.

• Ethiopia is currently navigating a turbulent environment shaped by overlapping conflicts, geopolitical rivalries, and significant economic risks. • The situation highlights the limitations of diplomacy, as weak trust between major international actors hinders the resolution of regional crises.

• A shipment of dialysis equipment intended for 44,000 patients has finally arrived in Iran after being detained by the United States for 95 days. • The eight-container shipment was held starting on April 20 before its eventual release.

Firm urges customers to avoid running washing machines and dishwashers between 6pm and 8pm on WednesdayWhere in the UK will get the best view of the solar eclipse?Business live – latest updatesGreat Britain’s biggest household energy supplier is calling on its customers to use less electricity this week during the deepest solar eclipse in almost 30 years.Octopus Energy has urged customers to avoid running washing machines and dishwashers between 6pm and 8pm this Wednesday as the moon is expected to block up to 95% of the sun over parts of Britain. Continue reading...

Ninety vehicles confiscated in weekend operation including rare Ferrari Monza SP2, driven by someone without insurance or full licenceA police officer got the opportunity to drive an open-top limited edition Ferrari in Mayfair, London, after the car was seized as part of a record-breaking crackdown on uninsured vehicles and dangerous driving.The Dubai-registered supercar, worth £3.7m, had been in the UK for just a day when it was confiscated by the police because it was being driven by someone with a provisional licence and no insurance. Continue reading...

Chloe Moffat, 26, killed herself after disciplinary proceedings which coroner found be to be flawedThe Treasury “materially contributed” to the death of Chloe Moffat, a 26-year-old personal assistant who took her own life after facing disciplinary proceedings, a coroner has found.Anna Crawford also found there was a risk of future deaths within the civil service from flawed handling of disciplinary proceedings. She said she would send a prevention of future deaths report to the head of the civil service, the Treasury, and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas). Continue reading...

Crossing in larger vessel highlights changing tactics despite increased enforcement on French coastUK politics live – latest updatesEurope live – latest updatesA dinghy carrying a record 230 people has arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel in the early hours of Monday.It is the clearest indication yet that people smugglers in northern France are adapting their business model and escalating their so-called taxi boat strategy to evade enforcement by UK and French authorities. Continue reading...

Monday is last day Miller can resign and give his party time to find a replacement candidateHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Today is the last day that Max Miller, the beleaguered US Republican representative from Ohio, can resign and give his party time to find a replacement candidate.Donald Trump announced on Sunday that ⁠Will ​Scharf, the staff secretary who helped secure approval for the $400m White House ballroom project, will become ⁠White House counsel and assistant to the president. Effective 1 September, Scharf will replace David Warrington, who will be leaving the administration to join the private sector. Warrington ​formerly served ​as a ​personal counsel and a ​lawyer ‌for Trump’s ​2024 campaign.Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has announced she is going to freeze her eggs and will be sharing the process online. The progressive New York congresswoman, 36, revealed her decision to undergo fertility treatment in a series of Instagram stories this weekend. “This is a choice that I am making to feel more in control of my life,” Ocasio-Cortez said.Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for US Senate in Michigan, embraced Donald Trump’s suggestion that the two represent “VERY DIFFERENT” versions of the US, pledging to fight inequality while the president is “making billions of dollars off of you”. In a Saturday night post on his Truth Social platform, Trump shared an image of himself and the first lady, Melania Trump, beside a photo of El-Sayed, who is Muslim, and his wife, Sarah Jukaku, wearing a hijab. “Two VERY DIFFERENT America’s [sic],” read the caption.Some of Taylor Swift’s songs have been removed from videos posted on social media by Donald Trump’s campaign and the White House, silencing efforts to mock the pop star. A video posted 3 August featuring the US president and the first lady, Melania Trump, watching fireworks was posted this month on TikTok with Swift’s song August. Continue reading...

Discovery of 2,100-year-old vessel hailed as ‘one of the most important underwater archaeological discoveries of recent years’A 2,100-year-old Roman shipwreck carrying about 500 amphorae has been discovered 3 miles off the coast of Mazara del Vallo in Sicily.Italy’s cultural heritage police, the Carabinieri, investigated the wreck with the help of divers and underwater cameras after receiving a tip-off from fishermen. The vessel was found at a depth of about 46 metres (151ft) and was carrying hundreds of amphorae – ancient two-handled ceramic jars with a narrow neck – thought to have been used mainly to transport wine. Continue reading...

Grid operator Neso can now respond with rolling blackouts as last resort without need for government powersBusiness live – latest updatesMillions of households could face power cuts at short notice under new rules to help the electricity system operator avoid widespread blackouts when energy supplies run low.The changes, which come into effect this week, will make it easier for the national electricity system operator to call for rotating blackouts at short notice if power supplies are running short. Continue reading...

Jane Coates says foreign secretary should draw attention to coroner’s finding that Lucy Harrison was unlawfully killedThe UK foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, is being urged to push US authorities to reopen an investigation into a man who shot dead his 23-year-old British daughter while she was visiting him in Texas.Lucy Harrison, from Warrington in Cheshire, was fatally shot on 10 January 2025, the day before she was due to fly home to the UK. Continue reading...

Israeli PM is insisting on a full Hamas disarmament before the deal can be implemented. Plus, what it feels like to get locked in to an opera performance that lasts nearly 24 hoursGood morning.Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected a US-backed 15-point peace plan for Gaza in a rare public break with Donald Trump. In a statement, Israel’s prime minister said he was confronting a “wave of rumours about Israeli weakness and Israeli withdrawals on all fronts” and rebuked US pressure to end wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran without Israel’s buy-in.What other developments have happened in the region? Iran has issued tough new demands for reopening the strait of Hormuz, while the United Arab Emirates said one of its ships was targeted by an Iranian missile over the weekend. Tehran said the strait of Hormuz would not open until the US “corrects its behaviour”. Yemen’s Tehran-aligned Houthis have claimed responsibility for an attack on a refinery in Saudi Arabia on Sunday morning.What impact is the conflict having on seafarers in Hormuz? The US-Iran war has stranded up to 20,000 seafarers, mostly Indian and Filipino crews, with none knowing when the nightmare will end. Seventeen seafarers have died since hostilities began, the majority following Iranian strikes.What sort of exercises did they take part in? Justin Vail, who leads the DC office of the non-partisan advocacy group Protect Democracy, said: “These tabletop exercises are a standard planning tool for experts and stakeholders to prepare for potential scenarios. We’re not predicting exactly what would happen. But we do want to create a realistic context that can help us identify gaps, test our assumptions, and strengthen coordination, and then ultimately develop some recommendations to increase our preparedness.”How has Trump been working to undermine confidence in US elections? Voting rights advocates pointed toward Trump’s July primetime address as indicative of the president’s intentions – rhetorical attacks on the integrity of voting machines and elections offices, potentially escalating into more direct interference. Trump threatened the broadcast licenses of networks that refused to carry that address live, and in his speech, he again implored Congress to pass the Save America Act, which would ban mail-in ballots nationwide and impose new identification requirements on voters when they register and report to polls. Continue reading...