Robodebt whistleblower was told her royal commission evidence ‘could cost you your job’, court hears 17. July 2026 (17:00) Exclusive: Jeannie-Marie Blake is suing the Australian government over alleged threats, which her department denies makingGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA key robodebt whistleblower is suing the Australian government, alleging she was threatened before she appeared at a royal commission and was warned that her testimony “could cost you your job”.Services Australia whistleblower Jeannie-Marie Blake has filed proceedings in the federal court, alleging her department made repeated threats against her before and after her explosive evidence to the robodebt royal commission. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Peter Falconio murder: British expert says he has identified a ‘most likely’ burial location 17. July 2026 (17:00) UK police adviser in the early 2000s and global consultant in ‘no-body’ homicide cases says he has narrowed down the outback search area• Peter Falconio murder 25 years on: new footage shows dying Australian outback killer’s refusal to reveal body’s locationThe former British government expert who consulted on the search for the remains of the murdered backpacker Peter Falconio says he has now identified a “most likely” potential burial location – an abandoned racetrack only 8km from the scene of the infamous outback attack at Barrow Creek.In July 2001, Falconio and his partner, Joanne Lees, both from Yorkshire, were ambushed and attacked by Bradley John Murdoch as they drove along a remote stretch of road in Australia’s Northern Territory, about 300km north of Alice Springs. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Ribena owner invests in helping blackcurrants withstand extreme weather 17. July 2026 (17:00) The £200,000 move comes after harvests in Britain hit by wet winter, spring frost and hail, then heatwavesThe owner of Ribena is to invest £200,000 in helping blackcurrant bushes withstand stress after extreme weather put a squeeze on this year’s UK harvest.That harvest is now under way in the berry’s main growing regions including East Anglia, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Kent and Scotland. It is expected to be about 10% below the average of 10,000 tonnes, as the climate crisis drives extreme weather across Britain and elsewhere. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Iran proves it can still inflict damage despite waves of US attacks 17. July 2026 (16:52) Leaked US intelligence report concluded Iran retained 70% of missiles and launchers after 38-day spring campaignIran and the US have been trading blows for six consecutive nights and there are no shortage of signs that the renewed fighting will worsen further. Tehran and Washington remain far apart diplomatically, and though the US retains a significant military overmatch, Iran has more than enough capability to inflict damage.Friday’s developments are a case in point. A wave of US attacks, with missiles launched from jets, drones and warships, targeted Iranian ports and the south of the country, collapsing a tower at Chabahar, on the Gulf of Oman, and highways and bridges into the key Hormuz port of Bandar Abbas, perhaps in an effort to cut it off. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Brenda Fricker, Oscar winner for My Left Foot, dies aged 81 17. July 2026 (16:48) The acclaimed Irish actor started her career in Coronation Street and Casualty before a string of high-profile Hollywood rolesBrenda Fricker, who became the first female Irish Oscar winner for acting with My Left Foot, has died aged 81. Her agent Phil Belfield told the BBC in a statement: “We will never see her like again and the world is lesser for the lack of her … I was honoured to know, love and work with her and she will always have a place in my heart and in the heart of so many film and TV fans the world over.”In My Left Foot, Fricker plays the mother of Christy Brown, whose cerebral palsy means he only has muscular control over one of his feet. The film, directed by Jim Sheridan, was released to enormous acclaim in 1989, winning the best actor Oscar for Daniel Day-Lewis as well as best supporting actress for Fricker. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump speech lays groundwork for him to tamper with midterm results, critics warn 17. July 2026 (16:36) Democrats and advocates sound alarm at Trump rehashing false claims about 2020 election in his primetime addressDemocrats and voting rights groups say Donald Trump’s primetime speech making unverified claims of Chinese interference in the 2020 election is the clearest sign yet that the president is laying the groundwork to tamper with the results of November’s midterms.The upcoming elections to decide the balance of power in Congress and many state legislatures will be a major test of Trump’s appeal to voters two years after he resoundingly beat the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris to return to the White House. With polls showing that the president is disliked by majorities of voters and his Republican allies are at risk of losing their control of the House of Representatives, the president’s Thursday evening speech rehashing allegations about the 2020 election he lost to Joe Biden sparked fears he was already looking for ways to ensure November’s results are in his favor. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Fifa flies Portugal’s World Cup team on plane used for ICE deportations 17. July 2026 (16:01) Aircraft that transported team to match is same one used to deport dozens of Venezuelans to Cecot mega-prisonA plane used by the Portugal men’s soccer team to fly to a World Cup match is the same one used daily for the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign, and brought dozens of Venezuelans to a Salvadoran mega-prison last year against a judge’s orders.Video shows Portugal flying on a Global Crossing Airlines (GlobalX) aircraft en route to Dallas on 4 July ahead of their match against Spain, with the plane’s tail number, N837VA, clearly visible. A review of flight records for that Airbus shows it flew removal-related flights both the day before and after flying the Portuguese athletes. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Biodiversity fears as human-bred hybrid fish integrate into Philippines lake 17. July 2026 (16:00) Escaped flowerhorn cichlids are causing concern for native species and about parasites capable of infecting humansEscaped ornamental aquarium fish have integrated into a local ecosystem in the Philippines, but scientists say they may be threatening the native biodiversity of the lake.Flowerhorn cichlids – human-bred hybrid fish prized for their bright-gold colour and prominent head humps – are believed to have escaped from breeding facilities into Lake Sampaloc, which sits in a volcanic crater, during a typhoon. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
More Canadian wildfire smoke shrouds US midwest, mid-Atlantic and north-east 17. July 2026 (15:49) 109 million people face another day of poor air quality as smoke from blazes in Ontario drifts over the USSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email Tens of millions of Americans face another day of smoky skies, irritated eyes and bad air quality, as Canadian wildfire smoke spread again over huge swathes of the US, affecting about 109 million people across the midwest, mid-Atlantic and north-east.The pungent wildfire blanketed cities such as Chicago and Detroit, where residents on Friday were warned to stay indoors and reduce activity levels after the air quality index reached a “hazardous” 361, according to the government website AirNow. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Dismissal of Ukraine’s defence minister highlights wider issues for Zelenskyy 17. July 2026 (15:42) Mykhailo Fedorov, celebrated by many for innovative, tech-driven approach, was sidelined for military old guardVolodomyr Zelenskyy’s abrupt dismissal of Ukraine’s youthful and innovative defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, at precisely the moment Kyiv appeared to be gaining advantages in several spheres of its war with Russia has exposed, not for the first time, a troubling flaw in the president’s leadership.The move, which has startled senior European officials and caused consternation, and demonstrations, in Ukraine, is all the more shocking given Fedorov’s role in pushing a clear strategy to prosecute the war, leveraging Ukraine’s rapidly developing technological advances in drone and missile technology. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
