UK university halted human rights research after pressure from China 03. November 2025 (06:00) Exclusive: Leading professor at Sheffield Hallam was told to cease research on supply chains and forced labour in China after demands from authorities A British university complied with a demand from Beijing to halt research about human rights abuses in China, leading to a major project being dropped, the Guardian can reveal.In February, Sheffield Hallam University, home to the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice (HKC), a leading research institution focused on human rights, ordered one of its best-known professors, Laura Murphy, to cease research on supply chains and forced labour in China. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Ukrainian computer game-style drone attack system goes ‘viral’ 03. November 2025 (06:00) System rewards soldiers who achieve strikes with points that can be used to buy more weapons in an online storeA computer game-style drone attack system has gone “viral” among Ukrainian military units and is being extended to reconnaissance, artillery and logistics operations, the nation’s first deputy prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, has told the Guardian.Drone teams competing for points under the “Army of Drones Bonus System” killed or wounded 18,000 Russian soldiers in September, with 400 drone units now taking part in the competition, up from 95 in August, Ukrainian officials said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Rare white Iberian lynx captured on film in Spain by amateur photographer 03. November 2025 (06:00) Researchers to investigate whether environmental factors may have affected female animal’s pigmentationAn amateur photographer in southern Spain has captured unprecedented images of a white Iberian lynx, prompting researchers to investigate whether environmental factors could be at play as wildlife watchers revelled in the rare sighting.Ángel Hidalgo published the images on social media, describing the singular animal as the “white ghost of the Mediterranean forest”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Westpac says Labor’s expanded first home buyers scheme saw 150% jump in loan applications 03. November 2025 (05:46) Big bank also reveals it has ceased corporate lending to thermal coalmines, but it still funds oil and gas extraction businessesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastHome loan applications have surged in response to the government’s expanded 5% deposit scheme, according to Westpac, as first home buyers pile into a hot property market accelerating at its fastest pace in years.Applications for government-guaranteed mortgages at the big bank more than doubled in October 2025 compared with October 2024, after a 150% jump when the scheme expanded on 1 October, Nathan Goonan, the bank’s chief financial officer, said on Monday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Push for Ley to dump net zero emissions pledge as some Liberals fear ‘tail is wagging the dog’ 03. November 2025 (04:24) Opposition leader under pressure to call special party room meeting this week to resolve growing split over the policyFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe opposition leader, Sussan Ley, is facing growing pressure from conservative Liberal MPs to dump their commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, with a new hardline position from the Nationals inflaming tensions within the Coalition.Ley has been urged to call a special party room meeting this week to resolve the growing split, as forces aligned with leadership rival Angus Taylor argue the Liberals should match the Nationals’ position which was announced over the weekend. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
George Clooney says replacing Joe Biden with Kamala Harris ‘was a mistake’ 03. November 2025 (02:25) Actor says Harris ‘was given a very tough task’ because ‘she had to run against her own record’, and extends an olive branch to Hunter BidenGeorge Clooney has said he feels it was a “mistake” for Kamala Harris to replace Joe Biden in the 2024 US presidential election, adding that he had no regrets about the New York Times opinion piece in which he called on the Democrats to find a new presidential nominee.Speaking on CBS’ Sunday Morning, the actor and activist, who is a prominent financial donor to the Democratic party, said he would write his op-ed again if given the chance, and that he wished the Democrats had held a new primary to elect a presidential candidate. Instead, Harris was nominated by a virtual vote of party delegates. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Mississippi woman fatally shoots monkey escaped from overturned truck 03. November 2025 (00:15) Jessica Bond Ferguson said her 16-year-old told her about animal in the yard and she shot it to ‘protect her children’One of the monkeys that escaped after a truck overturned on a Mississippi roadway on 28 October was shot and killed early Sunday by a homeowner who said she feared for the safety of her children.Jessica Bond Ferguson said she was alerted early Sunday by her 16-year-old son who said he thought he had seen a monkey running in the yard outside their home near Heidelberg, Mississippi. She got out of bed, grabbed her firearm and her cellphone, and stepped outside where she saw the monkey about 60 ft (18 meters) away. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Louisiana: Alexandria diocese files for bankruptcy over clergy abuse claims 03. November 2025 (00:00) More than 40 Roman Catholic dioceses have filed chapter 11 claims, 28 of which had obvious indicators of abuse falloutThe number of Roman Catholic dioceses in the US which have declared federal bankruptcy amid the worldwide church’s clergy abuse scandal has grown after one in central Louisiana recently filed for chapter 11 protection.The diocese of Alexandria announced in a statement Friday it had joined more than 40 Catholic institutions in the US which have filed for bankruptcy protection. According to Penn State’s law school, 28 of those bankruptcies had concluded in one of the most obvious indicators of the clergy abuse scandal’s fallout. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Mexican mayor killed during Day of the Dead celebrations 02. November 2025 (23:47) Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez, who was under police protection, was shot dead in front of dozens of peopleA mayor in Mexico’s western state of Michoacán was shot dead in a plaza in front of dozens of people who had gathered for Day of the Dead festivities, authorities have said.The mayor of the Uruapan municipality, Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez, was gunned down Saturday night in the town’s historic centre. He was rushed to a hospital where he later died, according to state prosecutor Carlos Torres Piña. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Nine people injured in mass shooting at Ohio party held in Airbnb 02. November 2025 (23:34) Teenagers had gathered at the house for a birthday party and the motive for the shooting was unclearNine people were injured by gunfire early Sunday at a large rental home where teenagers had gathered for a birthday party that was promoted on social media. The scene in north-eastern Ohio was chaotic as some people fled and first responders performed life-saving measures, police said.The shooting happened at about 12.15am local time in Bath Township, about 15 miles (24 km) north-west of Akron. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
