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Ukraine’s cyber spy chief says attack on Kyivstar should serve as a ‘big warning’ to the westPolish farmers blockaded the Medyka border crossing with Ukraine on Thursday, private broadcaster Polsat News reported, resuming a protest intended to secure government subsidies for corn and prevent tax increases.The farmers, who are demanding a written agreement with the government, had suspended their protest at the crossing in...

Rank-and-file members say joining the ICJ case accusing Israel of genocide would send a ‘powerful signal to the world’Rank-and-file Labor party members are urging the Albanese government to intervene in and support South Africa’s case against Israel at the UN’s international court of justice (ICJ), pointing to Australia’s previous support of Ukraine in a similar case against Russia.The first hearing in The Hague is...

Expert says if you see a snake you should leave it alone and call for a professional catcherWhen Tennille Bankes walked into a toilet cubicle in Goondiwindi, Queensland, she was greeted by the scaly tail of a spotted black snake peaking out beneath a closed lid.The wildlife carer and snake catcher was called by police to the public bathroom after a local, surprised by...

Queensland woman arrested after victims alleged dresses bound for dry-cleaning ended up for sale on social mediaA woman has been charged with running an alleged wedding dress business scam on dozens of unsuspecting brides in Queensland.The six-month police operation was launched after a Cairns woman allegedly gave her custom wedding dress to a bridal company in September 2022 for dry-cleaning, before spotting on social...

Prime minister pledged to halve inflation, grow economy, cut national debt, lower NHS waits and ‘stop the boats’This article is extracted from our First Edition newsletter. Sign up hereOne year ago today, Rishi Sunak made five pledges that he said were a straightforward yardstick for his government’s success: “No tricks. No ambiguity. We’re either delivering for you or we’re not.” Here’s a report card...

Fashion and homeware chain raises profit forecast again after bagging £38m more than expectedNext has upgraded profit hopes for the year after ringing up £38m more in sales than expected in the run-up to Christmas.The fashion and homeware chain said that full-price sales stepped up dramatically, rising by 10% in the last two weeks before Christmas. As a result, sales rose by 5.7% in...

The 54-year-old died on the same night a ‘code white’ was declared across the city’s public hospitalsA man has died after waiting more than 10 hours for paramedics in Adelaide’s east, South Australia’s ambulance employees association (AEA) has alleged.The 54-year-old SA man made a triple-zero call on 27 December, the same night a “code white” was declared for emergency departments across the city. Continue...

Man, 49, in custody after reports of shots at shop, outside a cinema and at a nearby propertyA man has been arrested after shots were fired at three locations in Liverpool on Wednesday night, Merseyside police have said.The 49-year-old was arrested by armed response officers in Fazakerley after a Taser was deployed. Continue reading...

Only eight Australians were on the Japan Airlines flight that crashed in Tokyo rather than the 12 initially suspectedThere were four fewer Australians on the Japan Airlines flight that burst into flames after landing than originally feared but all are safe and accounted for.Only eight Australians were on the Japan Airlines plane rather than the 12 initially suspected. Continue reading...

Second year of falling prices expected though recovery is likely in the second half as interest rates come downBritain’s housing market is “past peak pain”, the upmarket estate agent Savills has said. The big mortgage lenders Halifax and Nationwide building society have recorded monthly house price gains in recent months, which have taken some by surprise. But that does not mean the annual declines...

In today’s newsletter: Guardian experts assess the government’s progress on the prime minister’s key promisesSign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. After Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year, the last great festival of the season: Rishi Sunak’s five pledges anniversary day. The prime minister is marking the occasion with a trip to the east Midlands, while Keir Starmer is making a...

Data shows 2023 had second-highest record of rooftop solar installations as small-scale solar continues to growQuarterly installations of new solar panels reached a record at the end of 2023, with Australian households more than three times as likely to have a photovoltaic system as a back yard swimming pool.Households and businesses added 921 megawatts of solar photovoltaic capacity in the December quarter, according to...

Israel’s decision to defend itself at the international court of justice will make it harder for it to brush aside any adverse findingSouth Africa’s request for an interim measure by the international court of justice to prevent Israel from committing acts of potential genocide – primarily by calling for a halt to combat operations – has suddenly taken on an urgency and relevance that...

The 2024-page document released by a US judge is littered with names, but some secrets stay hiddenIt has long been known that the disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein operated at the center of a globe-spanning network of the rich, famous and powerful but the documents released Wednesday were nonetheless shocking in revealing the sheer magnitude of his elite circle.Through the prism of a defamation...

A day after resigning, university’s first Black president says the call to testify on antisemitism at elite colleges was ‘a well-laid trap’The first Black president of Harvard, who resigned Tuesday after a successful rightwing campaign to oust her, warned that the tactics used against her were “merely a single skirmish in a broader war to unravel public faith in pillars of American society”.“Trusted institutions...

Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, David Copperfield and Prince Andrew among names contained in court documentsExplainer: who was Epstein and what are court documents about?Click here to read the documents in fullNumerous court documents identifying associates of notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were made public on Wednesday.Some of the high-profile names in the court documents include Prince Andrew, the former US president Bill Clinton, Michael...

Flight attendants needed permission from cockpit to open emergency exits, broadcaster reportsPilots on a Japan Airlines plane that became engulfed in flames just after all 379 passengers and crew escaped were initially unaware the aircraft was on fire, according to fresh details reported in local media.The airliner collided with a coast guard plane after landing at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Tuesday evening. All but...

The mother and uncle of Ragi A Sckak were taken from Gaza in an operation coordinated by the US, Israel and Egypt, according to a US officialThe mother and uncle of a US service member were rescued from the fighting in Gaza in a secret operation coordinated by the US, Israel, Egypt and others, according to a US official speaking to the Associated Press.It...

Stainless steel mesh beneath iconic 1.7-mile span took decades of advocacy and is already workingA long-awaited suicide prevention barrier at the Golden Gate Bridge has been completed, officials announced on Wednesday, marking the culmination of a tireless campaign by families who lost loved ones at the famous structure.Crews had been working to finish installing stainless steel nets on both sides of the bridge before...

Hundreds of pages of documents linked to Epstein associates were made public on Wednesday. You can read them here in fullFull report: Jeffrey Epstein court documents unsealedExplainer: who was Epstein and what are court documents about? Court documents linked to associates of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have been made public on Wednesday.The unsealed papers run to almost 950 pages and list people including Prince...

US hedge fund manager Bill Ackman posts 4,000-word screed decrying ‘racism against white people’ after Gay’s departureChief among the campaigners celebrating the resignation of Claudine Gay as president of Harvard University was a man who arguably did the most to push Gay, Harvard’s first Black president, out the door: Bill Ackman, a billionaire hedge-fund manager and Harvard alumnus.Ackman, who accused Gay of antisemitism and...

Steven Kabuye was stabbed by unknown assailants on a motorbike after receiving death threatsA prominent Ugandan LGBTQ+ activist is in a critical condition after he was stabbed on his way to work on Wednesday by unknown assailants on a motorbike.Steven Kabuye, 25, suffered knife wounds and was left for dead in the assault on the outskirts of the capital Kampala before being found by...

US points towards Islamic State or Sunni extremists but Iran has accused IsraelIt is still unclear who is responsible for the double bombing of a crowd in the south-eastern Iranian city of Kerman, but whoever is behind the outrage is clearly willing to risk igniting a regional war.In Washington, officials have been pointing towards the possible role of Islamic State or some affiliated Sunni...

Two explosions at Kerman ceremony marking anniversary of killing of Qassem Suleimani raise Middle East tensions furtherMore than 95 Iranians were killed and scores more injured in a terrorist attack at a ceremony in Iran to commemorate the assassination of a top general, further heightening tensions in the increasingly volatile Middle East.The explosions came at a memorial ceremony in Iran marking the fourth anniversary...