From the Guardian

  • Samantha Murphy’s alleged killer charged with drink and drug driving offences

    Patrick Stephenson charged over crash that occurred months before Ballarat mother’s alleged murderFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastThe man accused of Samantha Murphy’s murder has been charged over a crash that occurred months before the Ballarat mother’s alleged killing.Patrick Orren Stephenson has been charged with careless driving, drink driving and drug driving offences after a crash on 1 October...

  • A New Zealand politician can’t name a home grown novel but Kiwi artists are have always conquered the world

    Government arts spokesperson Todd Stephenson’s inability to name a New Zealand author for 20 minutes in an interview has rightfully raised eyebrowsPoliticians are used to being asked tough questions – and voters are, by now, used to their stalling in response. Still, you might not imagine that “name a New Zealand author” could ever be one of them – especially for a New Zealand politician holding an arts portfolio.Yet that’s exactly how the ACT party’s arts spokesperson, Todd Stephenson, has...

  • Ukrainian athletes told to avoid Russians at Olympics in Paris

    Contact with ‘representatives of the aggressor states’ discouragedRecommendations serve to avoid possible ‘provocations’Ukraine’s athletes have been urged by their Olympic chiefs not to have any contact with their Russian and Belarusian counterparts at the Paris Games in July and August.Ukraine had threatened to boycott the Games after the International Olympic Committee decided Russians and Belarusians who do not openly support the invasion of Ukraine and have no army connections can compete as...

  • More than 2,000 pro-Palestinian protesters arrested across US campuses

    Police arrest more than 200 students at UCLA as law enforcement clears camp at Dartmouth, arresting more than 90 studentsMore than 2,000 people have now been arrested during pro-Palestinian protests across dozens of US college campuses in recent weeks.Police arrested more than 300 pro-Palestinian demonstrators on college campuses on Wednesday night into Thursday morning, pushing the total past 2,000, according to an Associated Press tally. Continue reading

  • Ukraine war briefing: Ukrainians ‘have the right to strike inside Russia’, says David Cameron

    France’s Macron stands firm on potentially sending troops; sanctions on Russian gas leave Gazprom with record annual loss. What we know on day 800See all our Russia-Ukraine war coverage Continue reading

  • China to launch ambitious mission to far side of the moon amid Nasa ‘space race’ concerns

    The launch of the uncrewed Chang’e-6 is part of China’s effort to put a human on the lunar surface by 2030China will attempt another mission to the far side of the moon on Friday, the first of three planned over coming years as part of its goal to land a human on the lunar surface by 2030.The launch of the uncrewed Chang’e-6 is expected sometime between 8.30am GMT and 11am GMT and the mission – if successful – would go far to bolster China’s ambitions to put a man on the moon by 2030. Continue...

  • Australia’s best new sustainable homes of 2024 – in pictures

    A pocket-sized city terrace extension and a multigenerational riverside property inspired by a country shed are among the innovative dwellings shortlisted in the sustainability category of the Houses awards, Australia’s premier residential design prize. This year’s five-panel jury noted a number of new sustainable design trends, including a move towards net-zero housing, abodes that accommodate adult children, innovative multi-use spaces for working from home, a growing appreciation for...

  • Rutgers and University of Minnesota reach resolutions with Gaza protesters

    Schools join Northwestern and Brown in arriving at agreements with students to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampmentsStudents at Rutgers University in New Jersey and the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis reached agreements with administrators on Thursday to peacefully dismantle their Gaza solidarity encampment protest.Rutgers and the University of Minnesota now join Northwestern and Brown in successfully reaching deals to peacefully end their encampment protests. Continue reading

  • Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka set up Madrid Open final rematch

    Swiatek eases past Keys, Sabalenka rallies to beat RybakinaJiri Lehecka into men’s semis after Daniil Medvedev retiresIga Swiatek made light work of Madison Keys on Thursday to book a rematch with Aryna Sabalenka in the Madrid Open final.Top seed Swiatek beat her American opponent 6-1, 6-3 in just 70 minutes in their semi-final on Thursday. She will now have a chance at revenge for last year’s defeat against Sabalenka, who rallied from a set and break down to edge fourth seed Elena Rybakina 1-6,...

  • Jak Jones battles back to level with Stuart Bingham in Crucible semi-final

    Bingham takes 3-0 lead but Welshman hits back to make it 4-4Kyren Wilson calls himself ‘a wally’ after missing chance of 147There was little to pick between the last four in the World Snooker Championship, with Jak Jones fighting back to 4-4 in his semi-final against Stuart Bingham after Kyren Wilson and David Gilbert also battled to stalemate at the Crucible.Wilson, the only seed left in the tournament, came from 3-2 and 4-3 down to go in level after the first session in Sheffield. But Jones...

  • ‘Life-changing’ drug for sickle cell disease to be offered by NHS in England

    Voxelotor, which can help reduce need for blood transfusions, is administered as a daily tabletA new treatment for sickle cell disease has been recommended by the health watchdog in a move described as life-changing for people living with the condition in England.The drug, Voxelotor, has been recommended for use on the NHS in England by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) in people with the disease who are aged 12 and over. Continue reading

  • Dua Lipa: Radical Optimism review – ‘psychedelic pop-infused’? Pull the other one!

    (Warner Records)The British superstar has said her new album is influenced by Britpop, rave culture and Primal Scream, but you could go mad trying to find the evidenceEarlier this year, Dua Lipa gave a lengthy magazine interview, the first salvo on the promotional trail for her third album. It wasn’t very interesting – she’s smart enough to keep her private life and her opinions on anything contentious to herself in a world of over-sharing and constantly simmering online outrage – but there was...