Young first-time buyers face toughest time since financial crisis, says UK housebuilder

Minister spares 700kg beast after security concerns around the unusual level of public interest in the animalA rare albino buffalo in Bangladesh nicknamed “Donald Trump” for its distinctive blond tuft has been spared from Eid al-Adha sacrifice after a last-minute government intervention, according to a home ministry official.The nearly 700kg (1,543lb) animal had already been sold for ritual slaughter when authorities stepped in, citing security concerns after a surge of public interest before Thursday’s festival. Continue reading...

It’s a thumbs up from the country’s 3 million students, who can now buy cheap meals up to twice a dayWhere in France can you get a nutritious and balanced three-course meal for €1?If you are one of the country’s estimated 3 million students in higher education, the answer is: the university restaurant or cafe. Continue reading...

Aiden Daniel Cuevas allegedly told undercover officer reporter ‘needed to be taken off the board’An Alabama neo-Nazi accused of trying to start a paramilitary unit to take out “high value targets” aimed to kill a journalist who once reported on him, according to law enforcement testimony obtained by the Guardian.Aiden Daniel Cuevas allegedly used “coded talk” to tell an undercover officer in November 2024 that the journalist was a “pawn” that “needed to be taken off the board”. Continue reading...

Legal action claims newspaper tarnished reputation by describing card to Jeffrey Epstein as bearing his signatureDonald Trump has refiled a defamation lawsuit seeking at least $10bn in damages against the Wall Street Journal over its reporting on his alleged ties to Jeffrey Epstein, after a judge threw out an earlier version over legal deficiencies.The lawsuit is one of several the US president has brought in his personal capacity against news organisations and is part of what critics say is a wider pressure campaign against the media. Continue reading...

The lawsuit is one of several that the president has brought in his personal capacity against news organizationsHello and welcome to the US politics live blog.Donald Trump has refiled a defamation lawsuit seeking at least $10bn in damages against the Wall Street Journal over its reporting on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, after a judge threw out an earlier version over legal deficiencies.In a new interview with CBS News, Jill Biden, the former first lady, said that she was “frightened” as she watched her husband, then-president Joe Biden, freeze up during his disastrous 2024 debate against Donald Trump. Pressed to explain what happened, Jill Biden said: “I don’t know what happened. I mean as I watched it, I thought, ‘Oh, my God, he’s having a stroke’. And it scared me to death.”Two House Democrats, Don Beyer of Virginia and Dina Titus of Nevada, announced that they plan to introduce a bill that would “explicitly prohibit construction of President Trump’s proposed ‘triumphal arch’ outside Arlington National Cemetery”.Cam Higby, a rightwing activist disguised as a pro-Palestinian activist, disrupted a news conference with the Democratic congressmen Jerry Nadler and Dan Goldman outside the Delaney Hall immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey. Continue reading...

The $1,000 tax deduction, $250 ‘working Australians tax offset’, and CGT and negative gearing changes will most benefit young people, Treasury secretary saysGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastNinety per cent of young Australians will be better off under the Albanese government’s tax proposals, the Treasury claims, as Labor moves to pass its reforms into law.The government introduced the tax changes to parliament on Thursday before a heated question time in which the opposition leader, Angus Taylor, called Anthony Albanese an “arrogant prick”, while separately the Nationals demanded the government call an early election. Continue reading...

Tribunal decision on Geoffrey Dalton comes as advocacy group releases data showing 30 greyhounds have died at or after Victorian races this yearGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA veteran greyhound trainer whose dog was found to have cocaine in its system at a race has avoided a temporary ban despite the industry regulator calling for one.The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (Vcat) on Thursday decided not to impose tougher penalties on Geoffrey Dalton, who was fined $300 after the dog tested positive for cocaine before a 2024 race. Continue reading...

Parents face anxious wait for updates after blaze tears through Utumishi girls academy in Gilgil, Nakuru countyA fire that ripped through a dormitory at a girls’ school in Kenya overnight has killed at least 15 students, according to police, while dozens more were injured.Gilgil police station said at least 15 girls died at Utumishi girls academy in Gilgil, Nakuru county, about 76 miles north-east of Nairobi, according to a police report seen by Reuters. Continue reading...

Albert Manifold disputes reports about his behaviour and says he always tried to set exampleThe boardroom turmoil at BP deepened after its ousted chair, Albert Manifold, claimed allegations about his conduct were “lies”.In a new and lengthy statement, Manifold disputed reports about his conduct, insisting “at no point in my tenure as chairman of BP has anyone raised with me any issue about my conduct or my relationship with my colleagues”. Continue reading...

Human rights groups and lawyers say policy amounts to ethnic cleansingIsrael’s defence minister has said he is committed to the ethnic cleansing of Gaza through large-scale migration of Palestinians as part of Israel’s long-term plans for the territory.Israel Katz said the government would implement a plan for large numbers of Palestinians to leave Gaza “at the right time and in the right manner”, in a statement on Wednesday marking the targeted killing of Mohammed Odeh, Hamas’s most recent military commander. Continue reading...

EU chief diplomat says ‘not much happening’ in talks as she cautions against focus on personalities rather than strategyBut other foreign ministers appear somewhat divided on the concept of appointing a single EU negotiator for Russia.Austria’s Beate Meinl-Reisinge said it was a necessary step as “the EU should not get ready.”“It’s a trap that Russia wants us to walk into, that we discuss who talks to them, and they are already picking who is suitable, who is not. Let’s not walk into that trap. Negotiations are always a team effort. You have good cops, you have bad cops, you have a strategy [on] how you go to the table, so that is why the substance is much more important.”“This is what Russia does. Because it’s not really gaining ground on the battlefield, what they are doing now is really increasing the terrorist attacks, because you can’t really describe it in other ways, creating fear inside the society. It hasn’t worked for four years, and I don’t think that it’s going to work now.” Continue reading...