Review urged after blood-spattered shirt ads ran alongside domestic violence news in Australia 23. September 2026 (02:00) Gruesome ads embedded in articles about family violence ‘make light’ of violence and could distress victim-survivors, expert warnsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesWARNING: this story contains an image some readers may find distressingNews stories about domestic violence inadvertently ran alongside advertisements for faux-bloodstained shirts reading “problem solved”, prompting advocates for victim-survivors to urge publishers to avoid making light of recent deaths.Australia is reckoning with a surge in family and domestic violence incidents after three women were allegedly murdered in unrelated incidents on Saturday, and police allege a mother stabbed her three children on Sunday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Pay rent, eat or keep warm? Growing numbers face hard choices as housing benefit gap grows 23. September 2026 (01:01) Wirral mother among renters turning to food banks as gap between a two-bed and housing benefit hits £158 a month – rising to as much as £324 in LondonDo you prioritise paying the rent, putting food on the table or keeping the house warm in winter? In practice, says Laura Braddock, a single mum from Wirral, Merseyside, you always pay the rent first and improvise the rest. “If I’ve got a roof over our head, then everything else I can muddle through.”The pressing problem for Braddock, 39, is that muddling through is getting harder. The monthly rent for her two-bedroom flat far outstrips the local housing allowance (LHA) she receives – and the gap may widen. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
England’s mayors should face greater scrutiny as powers expand, thinktank says 23. September 2026 (01:01) IPPR North says one bad decision could derail devolution agenda as regions gain control of billions in fundingEngland’s mayors should face much greater official scrutiny to avoid Andy Burnham’s devolution agenda being “derailed by one bad decision”, a thinktank has said.Ministers will set out plans next month to give regional leaders control over potentially billions of pounds of additional funding under a “transformational” shift of power outside Whitehall. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US supreme court declines to intervene in custody fight over baby born via surrogate 23. September 2026 (00:38) Surrogate who rejected abortion request had asked justices to halt court order recognizing LA couple as legal parentsThe supreme court has refused to get involved with a custody dispute between an Alaska surrogate and a California couple whose child was born with a rare and serious heart defect.On Tuesday, Justice Elena Kagan denied an emergency request from McKenna West, an Alaska nurse and surrogate who had asked the US’s highest court to halt a California court order recognizing the couple, Omar Ahmed and Nausheen Gilkar, as the boy’s legal parents. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Children as young as 13 being referred to UK hospital suffering from ‘ketamine bladder’ 23. September 2026 (00:30) County’s first such clinic, at Alder Hey in Liverpool, treating children suffering from chronic bladder problems with severe cases needing dialysisChildren as young as 13 in the UK have been referred to a specialist clinic for a “devastating” bladder condition linked to sustained use of ketamine.Medics at Alder Hey children’s hospital in Liverpool opened the first ketamine clinic in the UK for young people amid a surge in urology problems linked to addiction of the drug. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK doctors develop non-invasive test for womb cancer in women bleeding after menopause 23. September 2026 (00:30) Test using urine and vaginal fluid samples raises hopes thousands of lower-risk women could be spared internal ultrasounds and hysteroscopiesDoctors have developed a simple test that could help rule out womb cancer in women who experience bleeding after menopause.The approach has the potential to transform care for thousands of women each year and spare them from invasive and uncomfortable tests that can also be costly for healthcare systems. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Kamala Harris returns to Michigan to campaign for Abdul El-Sayed for Senate 23. September 2026 (00:18) Former VP, who lost state to Trump in 2024 elections, is lending her popularity to unite fractured partyKamala Harris returned to Michigan on Tuesday to campaign for Abdul El-Sayed, lending her popularity among Black voters to a progressive Senate nominee still working to unite a party fractured by a bruising primary – and the former vice-president’s loss to Donald Trump in the state.Appearing with El-Sayed at a Detroit birth center, Harris used a roundtable on Black maternal health to frame that November’s contest against the Republican Mike Rogers as a fight over women’s access to care. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Spain allows US extradition case against pro-Palestine aid donor to proceed 23. September 2026 (00:16) Lawyers for James ‘Fergie’ Chambers, wanted over alleged support for Hamas, say client is being persecutedThe Spanish government has decided to allow the Trump administration’s controversial extradition request to extradite wealthy activist James “Fergie” Chambers to continue in the country’s courts.Chambers, a US citizen and wealthy donor to leftwing and humanitarian projects, is currently imprisoned in Madrid. It is the first known case of the US seeking to extradite a citizen over alleged support for Hamas, an accusation tied to money Chambers has donated to support Palestinians, including the Sameer Project, in Gaza. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Taylor distances himself from Bragg’s proposal to let homebuyers use super as collateral for mortgages 23. September 2026 (00:11) Opposition leader said the idea for Australians to use their superannuation savings as collateral for a loan ‘is not our policy’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our new political email, free app or daily news podcastAngus Taylor has immediately distanced himself from the latest policy proposal from Liberal frontbencher Andrew Bragg that would let first home buyers use their superannuation savings as collateral for a loan.Bragg, the shadow housing minister, floated “a range of ways” on Tuesday that Australians’ retirement savings could be used to help more people into home ownership.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s Politics, really newsletter here Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Australia news live: ABC watchdog criticises ‘culture of secrecy’ and factchecking at Four Corners 22. September 2026 (23:51) Follow the day’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAssistant treasurer maintains ‘appropriate protections’ needed on big techDaniel Mulino, the assistant treasurer, maintained the government plans to put in place “appropriate” protections on big tech after warnings from the White House against any “censorship” of protected speech.We have stressed that at the heart of our policy response is choice, that we’ve said that people should have the right to opt out of the algorithms, but that on the policies that we’ve put forward in their current form, that the default would be for those algorithms to be what would apply, but that people would have choice.I would expect … that we would apply this to digital platforms no matter where their origin is, and that’s the right position to take when it comes to regulating technology in a way that is achieving the right policy outcomes. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
