From The%20Guardian

  • Australia news live: DFAT issues Middle East travel advice; Nationals concerned after fire ants spotted near Murray Darling Basin

    Reports of explosions in Iranian city of Isfahan prompt sell-off of stocks in Australia – and in other markets such as Japan. Follow the day’s news liveMiddle East crisis live: Israel has carried out an attack on Iran, US officials say, after blasts reported near IsfahanGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastThe NSW police commissioner, Karen Webb, is speaking to the media after a 16-year-old was charged with a “terrorist act” for allegedly stabbing a bishop on...

  • Middle East crisis live: Israel has carried out an attack on Iran, US officials say, after blasts reported near Isfahan

    US officials say military operation carried out, without giving further details; Iran state media says air defences fired and airspace closed in some areasWhat we know so far about Israel’s strike on IranFollow all our Middle East crisis coverageIt’s 7:24am in Tehran and 6:54 In Tel Aviv. Let’s get a reminder of what we know so far:US officials have confirmed that Israel has carried out military operations against Iran but did not describe those operations.The Israeli military has told news...

  • Letting grass grow long boosts butterfly numbers, UK study proves

    Analysis of 60o gardens shows wilder lawns feed caterpillars and create breeding habitatGood news for lazy gardeners: one labour-saving tweak could almost double the number of butterflies in your garden, according to a new scientific study – let the grass grow long.In recent years nature lovers have been extolling the benefits of relaxed lawn maintenance with the growing popularity of the #NoMowMay campaign. Now an analysis of six years of butterfly sightings across 600 British gardens has...

  • What to wear now you can’t wear Sambas

    Rishi Sunak has killed them off, at least for now. So while your Sambas take a breather and wait for the storm to pass, here are some other looks led by trainers not yet tainted by having cropped up in the halls of government Continue reading

  • Rwanda bill: what does the latest delay mean?

    Flights have been pushed back to summer after the House of Lords spoke out for Afghans and refugees – here’s what to expect over the coming weeksRishi Sunak’s plan to fly people seeking asylum to Rwanda this spring appears to have been put back to the summer after House of Lords insisted on changes to the scheme.On Thursday the prime minister’s spokesperson said the Lords were responsible for any delay after attaching unwanted amendments to the deportation bill. Continue reading

  • Taylor Swift: The Tortured Poets Department review – fame, fans and former flames in the line of fire

    (Republic)Subtly detailed album splits the difference between 1989’s glossy pop-rock and Midnights’ understatement – and lets her ex Matty Healy have it in no uncertain termsThe two cliches used to describe the new release by a major star are that it’s long-awaited and eagerly anticipated. You could hardly describe Taylor Swift’s 11th studio album as long-awaited – it’s barely 18 months since her last album, Midnights, a blink of an eye in the release schedule of a pop superstar. She’s also put...

  • A historic revolt, a forgotten hero, an empty plinth: is there a right way to remember slavery? – podcast

    As the author of a book about a pivotal uprising in 18th-century Jamaica, Vincent Brown was enlisted in a campaign to make its leader a national hero. But when he arrived in Jamaica, he started to wonder what he had got himself into Continue reading

  • Joanna Scanlan among actors backing gender equality push in theatre

    Women in Theatre Lab will act as incubator for playwriting and acting talent and address gender inequalityGemma Arterton, Joanna Scanlan and Stella Kanu are some of the figures backing an initiative to promote women in the theatre, who are being overlooked across the industry, according to the project’s founder.Women in Theatre Lab will primarily act as an incubator for playwriting and acting talent. Its founder, Jennifer Tuckett, said the group would also put pressure on Arts Council England...

  • Most UK dairy farms ignoring pollution rules as manure spews into rivers

    Exclusive: 80% of Welsh dairy farms inspected, 69% of English ones, 60% in Scotland and 50% in Northern Ireland breaching regulationsThe majority of UK dairy farms are breaking pollution rules, with vast amounts of cow manure being spilled into rivers.When animal waste enters the river, it causes a buildup of the nutrients found in the effluent, such as nitrates and phosphates. These cause algal blooms, which deplete the waterway of oxygen and block sunlight, choking fish and other aquatic life....

  • Lost orchards and blossom flourish in placenames across England and Wales

    Doubling of related street, house and farm names since 1900 gives glimpse of flower ‘ghosts’, says National TrustOver the last century orchards and blossom trees have been slipping out of the British landscape at an alarming rate but the “ghosts” of lost flowers are glimpsed in an increasing number of placenames recalling the vanished pinks and whites, researchers have found.A National Trust study has discovered that the number of street, house and farm names relating to orchards and blossom has...

  • Basque election: leftwing coalition partly descended from Eta leads in polls

    Surveys suggest EH Bildu’s focus on health, housing and employment is attracting younger votersA leftwing coalition of Basque separatists, partly descended from the political wing of the defunct terrorist group Eta, could become the largest party in the Basque Country’s parliament after an election in the northern Spanish region on Sunday.Latest polls suggest that EH Bildu, which is led by a convicted Eta member who later played a key role in persuading the group to end its armed campaign for an...

  • Peter Bol case prompts Wada to reform synthetic EPO testing processes

    Anti-doping agency now requires two experts to assess resultAustralian’s ban was lifted after analysis of second sampleAthletes who record inconclusive initial doping test results for synthetic EPO may be saved from public shaming, following World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) reforms prompted by the Peter Bol saga.The Australian Olympian was provisionally suspended from competition in January 2023 after an out-of-competition test showed he had elevated levels of synthetic EPO, which can stimulate...