Trump tells 10-year-old rescued by teen lifeguard: ‘I don’t know if I’d do it’ 18. August 2026 (01:09) President hosts Nathanial Rai and lifeguard Ryder Williams at White House after video of California rescue went viral Nathanial Rai had been swept off his feet along the California coast, was rescued by a 16-year-old lifeguard – and was now sitting in the Oval Office with Donald Trump.Of the rescuer, Ryder Williams, Trump said to Nathanial: “He’s a real hero. I don’t know if I’d do it. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Sydney Swans coach ‘extremely disappointed’ as club faces call on standing down players over alleged sexual assault 18. August 2026 (00:56) Victoria police investigating allegation of sexual assault in the early hours of Monday morning at a Melbourne hotelFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Sydney Swans coach, Dean Cox, says he is “extremely disappointed” as the team and the AFL face a decision on whether to stand down several Swans players under investigation over an alleged sexual assault.Victoria police attended the Pullman Hotel in East Melbourne on Monday and said they were investigating a report of sexual assault in the early hours of the morning. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Lindsay Clancy had ‘thoughts of harming the children’, mother testifies at trial 17. August 2026 (23:49) Paula Musgrove stated her daughter had said medications were ‘destroying’ her mind and she was becoming ‘paranoid’The defense in the Lindsay Clancy filicide case called the defendant’s mother as one of its first witnesses Monday, after three weeks of prosecution evidence laid out, in often harrowing detail, events surrounding Clancy’s killing of her three children.Under questioning from defense attorney David Reddington, Clancy’s mother, Paula Musgrove, testified that her daughter’s statements and actions had unsettled her in the months leading up to 24 January 2023. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Melbourne’s Armenian-Lebanese eatery Zareh named Gourmet Traveller’s restaurant of the year 17. August 2026 (23:40) Previous winners of the award have included Saint Peter, Attica, Orana by the late Jock Zonfrillo, and QuayArmenian-Lebanese eatery Zareh has been named Gourmet Traveller’s restaurant of the year, in a category of the annual industry awards that has historically been dominated by European-leaning cuisine and fine-dining establishments.The restaurant’s menu pulls from the Armenian, Egyptian and Lebanese backgrounds of co-owners Tom Sarafian and Jinane Bou-Assi: aish baladi (Egyptian flatbread) is made with a flour milled in the Mornington Peninsula; kafta nayyah comprises raw minced lamb from Tasmania and Victoria; hummus is crowned with spanner crab. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Burnham scraps restrictions on disabled people’s bus passes in England 17. August 2026 (23:30) Move means holders will be able to travel free on local services at any time of day or night from April next yearDisabled people across England will be able to use their free bus passes at any time of day from next April, as Andy Burnham expands a policy he introduced as mayor of Greater Manchester.The prime minister has said the current weekday restrictions on when disabled people can use their bus passes will be removed from 1 April 2027. Their passes are valid only between 9.30am and 11pm on weekdays, although some councils pay to allow people free travel outside those hours. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Election denier Tina Peters to be hired as elections consultant in conservative California county 17. August 2026 (23:07) Shasta county, hotbed of US election denialism movement, set to appoint ex-Colorado clerk who served prison termA northern California county that has become a hotbed of activism for those who sow doubts about the reliability of voting machines plans to hire Tina Peters, the prominent Colorado election denier recently released from prison, to work on elections.Clint Curtis, the top election official in Shasta county, told the Guardian he plans to hire Peters as a consultant to replace Brent Turner, his top deputy, who has been on medical leave. He said Peters would not have access to the county’s voting system. Plans to hire Peters were first reported by Action News Now. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Tens of thousands pay tribute to Jason Arday at Trafalgar Square vigil 17. August 2026 (22:32) MPs, friends and campaigners gathered to remember former Cambridge professor after his death on FridayTens of thousands of people gathered in Trafalgar Square in London to remember and pay tribute to Jason Arday, the former Cambridge professor who died on Friday.Stand Up to Racism, which organised the vigil, estimated that 30,000 mourners had gathered in the square to listen to emotional speeches from MPs, friends and campaigners on Arday’s life and legacy and join in a minute’s silence. Many were dressed in black and held flowers, which they were asked to leave beneath Nelson’s column. People also carried placards reading “rest in power”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Netanyahu party campaign billboard likens Mamdani to leaders of Iran and Hezbollah 17. August 2026 (21:54) Likud’s depiction of Zohran Mamdani is latest move in spat between Israel’s prime minister and New York City mayorBenjamin Netanyahu’s party has compared the New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, to the leaders of Iran and Hezbollah on a campaign billboard.The billboard in central Tel Aviv depicts Mamdani alongside the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, and the chief of the militant group Hezbollah, Naim Qassem. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Huge number of children would fall into poverty under Reform’s benefits plans, say campaigners 17. August 2026 (21:11) Party wants to cut £50bn from UK welfare bill but charity says proposals would cause ‘horrific levels of destitution’ Hundreds of thousands of children would be tipped into poverty and destitution under plans unveiled by Reform UK to slash £50bn a year from the UK benefits bill, campaigners have warned.The warnings came after Reform published plans to drastically reduce disability payments, ban non-UK citizens from claiming benefits and introduce compulsory 20 hours a week unpaid workfare for thousands of long-term unemployed people. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US Navy destroyer adrift in South China Sea for four days after losing power 17. August 2026 (20:35) USS Benfold lost power after ‘engineering casualty’ leaving sailors without galley services, toilets and air conditioningA US guided-missile destroyer reportedly spent four days adrift and without power in the South China Sea in July, furthering concerns about strain being placed on deployed military members.The USS Benfold, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer which had been sailing with the George Washington carrier strike group, was reported to have been towed to Subic Bay in the Philippines, according to the US Naval Institute News, an independent military publication. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
