Rey is teaching Sunny, aged about two weeks, all her adopted baby needs to know to fend for herselfBefore last month, a young southern sea otter named Rey would never have imagined she would be a mother.That changed when she met Sunny, a pup ā about two weeks old ā found orphaned and alone on Asilomar state beach in February. The pairing went off without a hitch. Continue reading...
The 155-page interim report released on Thursday shows how little is known ā and can be shared ā about the 14 December shootingGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIf thereās one thing thatās clear from the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesionās 155-page interim report, itās how much about the Bondi massacre remains unknown ā and how little of what is known can be shared with the public.More than a third of the recommendations from the report ā which was released on Thursday ā were confidential, although the Albanese government plans to implement all of them. Continue reading...
Article 42.7 had languished in obscurity for decades ā until Donald Trump began casting doubt on US commitment to Nato⢠Donāt get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereMost people have heard of Natoās article 5. The āone for all, all for oneā clause states an armed attack on one member country should be considered an attack on all, requiring member states to come to the victimās aid ā including with āthe use of armed forceā.Not so many, till this week, had heard of the EUās own mutual defence clause, article 42.7 (pdf), which says that if a member state comes under armed attack, the others āshall have towards it an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their powerā. Thatās perhaps because there hadnāt, until recently, been much need for Europeans to consult article 42.7. More than 40 US military bases and 85,000 troops across the EU (and UK) were testament to Washingtonās defence commitment to the old continent. Continue reading...
15 South American migrants and asylum seekers deported from the U.S. to the DRC are now living in uncertainty in a country an with ongoing armed conflict, where they have no ties.(Image credit: Schalk Van Zuydam)
In todayās newsletter: After the dramatic events of Saturday night, White House security arrangements are under scrutiny and political violence is once again in the spotlightGood morning. On Saturday night the annual Washington ritual of the White House correspondentsā dinner descended into chaos as the US president and first lady were evacuated after the event was interrupted by gunfire.Journalists ducked under tables as authorities rushed Donald Trump and members of his cabinet out of the room. The president and his wife were unharmed, and a suspect is in custody ā identified as Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old man from southern California. In todayās newsletter, I will bring you the latest updates on what we know about the incident. First, the headlines.UK politics | Labour figures from across rival factions have begun circulating informal proposals for an āorderly transitionā of power away from Keir Starmer, the Guardian understands, shifting their discussions from whether the prime minister could be removed to how.Europe news | Private jets laden with the spoils of those whose wealth swelled during Viktor OrbĆ”nās years in power have been taking off from Vienna, while other individuals are racing to invest their assets abroad.Trade | UK business leaders have called on the government to build an EU-style ātrade bazookaā to protect Britainās economic interests in response to the latest tariff threats from Donald Trump.Middle East | Hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations between Iran and the US faded further on Sunday, amid a deepening sense of a deadlock in the nearly two-month-long conflict.Science | Simultaneous exposure to toxic chemicals and climate changeās impacts likely contributes to the broad global drop in fertility. Continue reading...
National Transportation Safety Boardās preliminary report further says crash prevention system didnāt generate alertA firefighter whose truck collided with an Air Canada jet last month on a runway at New Yorkās LaGuardia airport, killing both pilots, heard an air traffic controller warn āstop, stop, stopā but didnāt know who it was for, federal investigators said Thursday.The National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report on the 22 March collision that a crash prevention system for air traffic controllers didnāt generate an audio or visual alert, and lights on the runway that act as a stop light for crossing traffic were on until about three seconds before the collision. Continue reading...
Fires that spread during drought in Georgia and Florida have blanketed cities hundreds of miles away in smokeSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxWildfires tearing through the south have forced hundreds of Georgia residents to flee in minutes, leaving them distraught about the homes and animals they left behind.The fires that spread this week during an extreme drought in Georgia and Florida have blanketed cities hundreds of miles away in smoke, leading to more air quality warnings Thursday across the southeast. Continue reading...
In todayās newsletter: As questions mount over transparency and accountability in the ambassadorial appointment process, the political fallout continues to spread across āKeir Starmerās government Good morning. Today the prime minister will face parliament in the wake of the Guardianās exclusive revelation that during the process of appointing Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US, the former New Labour āprince of darknessā failed UK security vetting ā something Keir Starmer says he was not told about.On Friday, Starmer said he was āabsolutely furiousā and described the situation as ātotally unacceptableā. But the episode has once again raised questions about his political judgment, with opposition parties ā and some of his own MPs ā calling for his resignation.Iran | Tehran is not planning to take part in new talks with the US in Islamabad, Iranian state media reported, as its military accused America of violating a fragile ceasefire by attacking a cargo ship.US news | At least eight children were killed and two adults wounded in a mass shooting in Shreveport, Louisiana. Police said the suspect, who died after a police pursuit, killed seven of his own children and wounded their mother, as well as killing another child.UK politics | Keir Starmer will deliver a high-stakes statement to MPs on Monday setting out how Peter Mandelson was able to take up his role as UK ambassador without the Foreign Office revealing it had overruled the decision to fail his vetting.Protest | Seven people from an activist group calling for higher taxes on the super-rich have been arrested by police on suspicion of conspiracy to steal after a plot to steal from high-end stores was uncovered.Crime | A woman has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a car hit pedestrians in central London in the early hours of yesterday morning. A woman in her 30s was in hospital in a critical condition and a man in his 50s suffered life-changing injuries. Continue reading...
This yearās conference had plenty of newsworthy aspects, but itās a mystery why the press fails to talk about itThe 72nd meeting of the Bilderberg group, the elite and secretive policy conference that is the longtime subject of endless conspiracy theories, was held at the weekend in Washington DC. A security cordon went up around the opulent Salamander hotel for the notoriously media-shy summit, which was packed as ever with prime ministers, military leaders, tech billionaires and the heads of giant investment companies.Bilderberg, which since the 1950s has been the intellectual engine room of Nato, took place this year at a time of immense crisis and uncertainty for the alliance. In recent weeks, with Trump threatening at every turn to withdraw from the āpaper tigerā of Nato, the āTrans-Atlantic Defence-Industrial Relationshipā (as itās called on the agenda) has reached a strained breaking point. Continue reading...
Tolkan, known for portraying authoritarian figures, died āpeacefullyā in Lake Placid, New York, his agent saidJames Tolkan, known for his roles as an authoritarian figure in the Back to the Future and Top Gun films, has died. He was 94.Tolkan died Thursday in Lake Placid, New York, where he lived, his booking agent, John Alcantar, said Saturday. A brief obituary published on the Back to the Future website said Tolkan died āpeacefullyā, but no cause of death was given. Continue reading...