Australia’s housing affordability expected to worsen and homelessness soar under fossil-fuelled future 15. May 2026 (02:00) Rents will rise and homelessness quadruple in a decade unless serious steps to cut emissions are taken, University of Sydney researchers findFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGlobal heating could worsen housing affordability, push up rents and quadruple homelessness in a decade without fairer housing policies and action to reduce emissions, new research has found.Home prices and rents in Australia are influenced by a complex mix of factors, from incomes and mortgage rates to insurance premiums, available land and population. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Canada is welcome to join Eurovision, says song contest director 15. May 2026 (01:58) ‘We know that Mark Carney wants to sort of embrace Europe,’ says competition director Martin GreenCanada is welcome to join Eurovision if it wishes, its director has said, months after the country revealed it wanted to “explore” joining the song contest in its federal budget.Eurovision director Martin Green told the BBC on Wednesday that Canada hadn’t yet applied, but would be welcome to. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US justice department accuses Yale medical school of illegally using race in admissions 15. May 2026 (01:11) A 2023 supreme court decision banned the use of affirmative action in college admissionsThe US Department of Justice on Thursday accused Yale University of illegally considering race in admissions to its medical school – the second institution to face discrimination allegations by the federal agency this month.In a letter to a lawyer for Yale, Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights, said a justice department investigation found that Black and Hispanic students have a much higher chance of admission to the medical school than white or Asian students, despite having lower grade-point averages and lower test scores. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
NSPCC reports sharp rise in children being blackmailed over sexual images in UK 15. May 2026 (01:01) Charity says calls to its Childline service about online sexual abuse and exploitation have risen 36% in a yearChildren reported a rise in online blackmail attempts involving sexual images in the UK last year, according to a leading charity.The NSPCC said contacts with its Childline service relating to online sexual abuse and exploitation rose by 36% last year, driven by an increase in cases related to online blackmail. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Renowned feminist artist and film-maker Valie Export dies aged 85 15. May 2026 (00:46) Export’s performances scandalised Austria in the 1960s, but are now recognised for exposing the objectification of the female bodyValie Export, the Austrian performance artist and film-maker who inverted the male gaze in ways that were provocative, shocking and often outrageously fun, has died aged 85.The artist’s own foundation announced on Thursday evening that Export died in Vienna earlier the same day, three days before her 86th birthday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
One dead and two more ill after meningitis outbreak in Berkshire 15. May 2026 (00:35) Health officials say close contacts being offered antibiotics as a precaution after cases discovered in ReadingA young person has died and two others are being treated after an outbreak of meningitis in Berkshire, health officials have said.It follows a major outbreak in Kent, linked to a Canterbury nightclub, that killed two people and left more than a dozen needing hospital treatment in March. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Tape shows Bolsonaro son asking jailed banker for $26.8m to fund film on father 14. May 2026 (23:58) Flávio Bolsonaro, Brazil’s leading rightwing presidential hopeful, caught on tape asking banker for millionsFlávio Bolsonaro, Brazil’s leading rightwing presidential hopeful, has been caught on tape asking a banker accused of corruption for $26.8m (£20m) to fund a film about his father, the former president Jair Bolsonaro.The leaked voice memos and text messages were published on Wednesday by the Intercept Brasil, and later acknowledged by Flávio Bolsonaro, a far-right senator who is tied in polls with president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ahead of October’s election. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Australia news live: migrant advocates accuse Angus Taylor of using budget reply to ‘chase votes with dogs whistles’ 14. May 2026 (23:47) Taylor claimed that migrants were coming to Australia and claiming benefits before they were becoming citizens, a situation he said Australians did not accept. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning, it’s Nick Visser here to take over the blog. Let’s get to it and see what Friday holds.Big news to start the morning: Australia’s Delta Goodrem has qualified for the Eurovision final. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Supreme court allows abortion pill mifepristone to continue to be available by mail 14. May 2026 (23:38) Louisiana had sued the FDA in a bid to curtail the regulatory agency’s rules on prescribing mifepristone remotelySign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailThe US supreme court upheld nationwide access to mail-order mifepristone, an abortion medication, in a shadow-docket decision on Thursday.Louisiana sued the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in October in a bid to curtail the regulatory agency’s rules on prescribing mifepristone remotely, arguing that it interfered with the state’s ban on abortion. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK ministers accused of weakening legal protections for torture victims seeking asylum 14. May 2026 (23:30) Council of Europe members plan to change interpretation of rights laws to make it easier to deport peopleKeir Starmer’s government has been accused of trying to water down legal protections for torture victims as ministers from 46 countries including the UK prepare to make it easier to deport refused asylum seekers and foreign criminals.Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, is expected to agree a “political declaration” on Friday with other members of the Council of Europe, which oversees the European convention on human rights (ECHR). Continue reading...(The Guardian)
