The ‘ordinary’ woman accused of assassinating a Russian commander in Crimea

• The new leader of Iran’s top security body, Rezaei, has warned neighboring countries against participating in U.S.-led economic sanctions designed to squeeze Tehran's economy. • Rezaei accused the United States of increasing global nuclear insecurity and cautioned against deploying additional military personnel to the region.

Move would allow mayors to greenlight large-scale developments and have more say on national housing fundingAndy Burnham is expected to give mayors new powers to take control of local planning decisions and greenlight large-scale developments in proposals to be presented next week.The move would allow mayors to “call in” the decisions and direct councils to take them forward or refuse them. Continue reading...

Letter written in 1847 to Sandbach, Tinne and Company’s Liverpool office reveals it engaged in practice after receiving taxpayer-funded compensation, book saysWhen Britain abolished slavery, plantation owners from powerful families notoriously received huge sums in compensation, while those who were enslaved got nothing.Now evidence has come to light that Sandbach, Tinne and Company – a corporation closely linked to the merchants who got the biggest taxpayer-funded compensation payouts – continued to traffic enslaved Africans illegally after abolition to Guyana, in South America. Continue reading...

Opposition leader Jess Wilson says new dedicated court of criminal appeal would set precedents for tougher sentencesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA radical overhaul of Victoria’s highest court, proposed by the Liberal party to increase sentences, has been criticised by legal and human rights groups who warn it would politicise the judiciary.The opposition leader, Jess Wilson, on Sunday announced that if elected in November the Coalition would split the court of appeal in two, creating a dedicated court of criminal appeal alongside a separate court of civil appeal. Continue reading...

Hardliner Mohsen Rezaei also threatens American economic interests in first interview since appointment to supreme national security councilThe new leader of Iran’s top security body has warned its neighbours against joining new US efforts to squeeze Tehran’s economy, and threatened US commercial interests in the region, as Donald Trump doubled down on his fanciful view that the strait of Hormuz was a new US territory.Mohsen Rezaei, the hardline new leader of Iran’s supreme national security council, told state television that Iran would target oil-shipping routes out the Gulf – alternatives to the strait of Hormuz – if its neighbours joined what he called the “economic war” waged by the US. Those neighbours would be “considered an enemy” and “we will target their interests”, he said. Continue reading...

David Farley says party wants 100,000 migrant rural workers in addition to the 130,000 migration target it considers the ‘true’ numberFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOne Nation MP David Farley has conceded the minor party’s net migration target is “not too different” to Labor’s, echoing an earlier claim over which he was counselled by his party leader, Pauline Hanson.Appearing on the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday morning, Farley argued skilled workers and backpackers were critical to keeping Australia fed, and argued they should be considered as a separate category to migration “in its true form”. Continue reading...

‘Landmarks’ side of the medal features the Allianz Arena in German city rather than Allianz Stadium in SydneyFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIn a week’s time, the proud runners finishing the Sydney Marathon will receive a medal showing the landmarks they have just sped past – plus one they definitely didn’t.In what organisers have admitted was an “unfortunate error”, a stadium in Munich, Germany, was erroneously etched on to the event’s participation medal instead of a local Sydney landmark. Continue reading...

Seal found dead at Beachport in South Australia on Wednesday follows three mass mortality events in ternsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA long-nosed fur seal has died from H5 bird flu in South Australia, marking the first confirmed case in a mammal on the Australian mainland. The seal was found dead at Beachport on Wednesday on the state’s Limestone Coast. It marks a fresh escalation in the spread of the virus days after the South Australian premier, Peter Malinauskas, announced three mass mortality events on offshore islands involving more than 1,000 greater crested terns.The highly pathogenic strain of bird flu has killed millions of birds globally and crossed over into mammal species, including elephant seals. Long-nosed fur seals and the endangered Australian sea lion are among the mammal species the federal government has assessed as facing very high risk from the virus. The SA government has also confirmed a little penguin found at Kangaroo Island this week also tested positive for H5 bird flu. Continue reading...

Exclusive: campaigners warn 600-year-old New Barn at Harmondsworth could be ‘shaken to pieces’ by vibrationsSix hundred years after it was built, England’s largest surviving medieval timber-framed barn could now be “shaken to pieces” by aircraft vibrations, campaigners warn.The public has until 1 September to submit objections to the Heathrow airport expansion, which could threaten the survival of the New Barn at Harmondsworth, considered a remarkable example of medieval architecture. Continue reading...

New court of criminal appeal would give effect to new bail and sentencing laws, opposition leader says. Follow liveThe Victorian Liberals have announced that, if elected, they will split the court of appeal into two and appoint a new judges to set precedent they say will match “community expectations”.The opposition leader, Jess Wilson, will today announce a plan to split the existing court of appeal into two separate courts – a court of criminal appeal and a court of civil appeal – and appoint additional judges specialising in criminal matters to the former.Our new criminal court will empower specialist criminal law judges to ensure sentencing of criminals meet community expectations. Each sentence they hand down will form part of case law going forward, helping to establish appropriate consequences for criminal actions. Continue reading...

Weather service warns of flooding and mudslides, particularly in areas strongly affected by previous stormTropical Storm Moke is poised to slam into the south of Hawaii’s islands with forecasters predicting heavy rains and strong winds on Saturday evening, just days after the region was devastated by Hurricane Lala.The tropical storm is gathering strength as it advances west, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Continue reading...