‘Warring kingdoms’: cofounder of religious Reformers compares NSW Liberal party factionalism to Braveheart 30. July 2026 (07:03) Robert Assaf tells Icac that Angus Taylor wasn’t ‘that involved’ but the federal opposition leader ‘definitely wasn’t opposed’ to work of conservative groupA member of a group of young conservative Liberal power brokers being investigated for allegedly soliciting illegal donations has compared their factional work to Mel Gibson’s Braveheart – and said they “didn’t think the law applied to us” when it came to political funding.The Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) on Thursday heard from Robert Assaf, the first witness from the conservative right Liberal factional group the Reformers to give evidence. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
UK government reviews why police ceding criminal cases to US military 30. July 2026 (07:00) Exclusive: ministers and police chiefs examining how cases involving US military personnel on UK soil are handled after Guardian revelationsThe UK government and police chiefs are reviewing the process through which US military personnel accused of committing serious crimes on UK soil are avoiding the British justice system.The effort, involving multiple government departments, is examining why UK police forces, which have primary responsibility for investigating such cases, have been ceding jurisdiction to US military investigators. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
A quarter of young Africans believe USAID cuts could be positive, survey finds 30. July 2026 (07:00) Losing funds should force leaders to confront their own challenges, they said, while many voiced concerns over increasing foreign influence A quarter of young Africans believe aid cuts by the US could have a positive impact, saying that losing foreign money will force leaders to confront and solve their own challenges, according to a new survey.In Ghana and Nigeria, almost half (41% and 40% respectively) of young people aged 18 to 24 were optimistic, with Liberia not far behind (37%). A further one in 10 (11%) young people were uncertain about the impact, according to the African Youth Survey, which interviewed almost 5,000 people across 16 of the continent’s 54 recognised countries. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Lenin was an enemy of humanity’: Why Kyiv wants to put Cossack chief statue in place of Soviet leader 30. July 2026 (07:00) Removal of Soviet-era statues sped up when Russia seized Crimea in 2014, and since Putin’s 2022 invasion has moved at pace as Ukrainians question their identitySince 2013 the plinth at the bottom of Taras Shevchenko Boulevard in Kyiv has been eerily empty. The scruffy monument is daubed in white paint and graffiti. Someone has stuck a Ukrainian trident where Lenin once stood, gazing down during the years of Soviet communism. A crowd toppled the sculpture during Ukraine’s Maidan revolution, which ousted the pro-Russian government, and smashed it with sledgehammers.In June, Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed putting a new figure on the plinth: Ivan Mazepa, a Cossack military and political leader, who broke with Moscow and fought for Ukraine’s independence. “I am certain that where Lenin fell, Mazepa will stand firm,” Zelenskyy said. He spoke next to a bust of Mazepa in the Pechersk Lavra, an ancient Kyiv monastery hit by Russian missiles. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Anthony Fauci’s diaries take aim at News Corp journalist Sharri Markson’s ‘nonsense’ Covid-19 investigation 30. July 2026 (06:10) US former top health official, who was subpoenaed to appear at a Senate hearing into Covid-19, says Markson’s reporting about virus’s origin ‘does not make any sense’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDr Anthony Fauci, the US’s chief medical adviser at the start of the pandemic, has described a book by News Corp investigative journalist Sharri Markson backing the “lab leak” theory of Covid-19’s origins as a “bunch of nonsense” in his newly released diaries.This week, Fauci, 85, was subpoenaed by the Republican senator Rand Paul to appear at a Senate hearing into Covid-19 and his handling of the pandemic. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Carmakers ‘delaying investment in UK factories until EV sales rules relaxed’ 30. July 2026 (06:00) Industry wants mandate forcing manufacturers to sell increasing share of electric cars each year to be easedCarmakers are delaying final decisions to invest in UK factories until electric car sales rules are relaxed, according to the head of the British car industry’s lobby group.The chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), Mike Hawes, said those with existing UK operations were considering building new models, but had held back so far. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Federal Labor MP Luke Gosling charged with assaulting NT administrator 30. July 2026 (05:23) Member for Solomon has previously denied alleged incident with administrator David ConnollyFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLuke Gosling, the federal Labor member for Solomon, has been charged over an alleged assault on the Northern Territory’s administrator earlier this month, NT police have said.“The Northern Territory police force has charged the 54-year-old federal member for Solomon, Luke Gosling, in relation to an alleged assault on the administrator of the Northern Territory,” police said in a statement on Thursday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Deadly strikes on Ukrainian cities after Zelenskyy warns of ‘massive’ Russian attack 30. July 2026 (05:19) Six dead in Kryvi Rih including two children and fires in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, after wave of ballistic missile launchesA Russian missile strike killed at least six people in central Ukraine, including two girls, the head of Kryvyi Rih’s military administration said, while at least one person died in Kyiv, after the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, warned the country hours in advance of Moscow launching another massive attack.“In a village on the outskirts of Kryvyi Rih, a direct strike by an Iskander-M ballistic missile, launched from Voronezh, hit a private house where a large family lived, killing girls aged five and 12 and four adults,” said Oleksandr Vilkul, adding that a further eight people were wounded and that the death toll may rise. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US launches fresh strikes on Iran after days-long pause, amid fears the war is widening 30. July 2026 (05:17) Trump vowed to hit Iran ‘very hard’ after it targeted a base in Jordan that hosts US troops, a day after joint US-Saudi strikes on militants in IraqMiddle East crisis – live updatesThe US military has launched strikes on Iranian targets in response to Tehran’s attack on American forces in Jordan on Wednesday, raising the risk of a return to all-out-war in the region.The new strikes were launched hours after president Donald Trump vowed to hit Iran “very hard” after it targeted a base in Jordan that hosts US troops, and comes after a days-long pause in violence between the two sides. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Death toll in Japan earthquake rises to 23 as aftershock and heat complicate rescue efforts 30. July 2026 (04:59) Soldiers and emergency workers are combing through a badly damaged shopping mall and collapsed houses looking for trapped survivorsThe death toll from the major earthquake that hit Japan on Tuesday rose to at least 23 as the search for trapped survivors inside a badly damaged shopping mall and collapsed houses in the country’s south-west continued.The magnitude 6.8 earthquake that struck the Kumamoto prefecture on the island of Kyushu has injured at least 62, the prefectural government said. That number has steadily grown, fanning fears it will rise. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
