Social media platforms ‘monetise gore and fringe content’, eSafety regulator tells antisemitism commission 02. July 2026 (13:41) Julie Inman Grant singles out X when giving evidence to royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesionGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMainstream platforms are fighting to distribute and monetise “gore” and “fringe” content, the eSafety watchdog has told the antisemitism royal commission.Australia’s eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, on Thursday singled out X, telling the inquiry her office has to fight its billionaire owner, Elon Musk, to try to keep footage – including some posted of the Bondi terror attack – restricted or off the platform. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Forecasters warn of record-breaking US summer heat amid intense El Niño 02. July 2026 (13:30) More than 100 million people could be affected in week leading to 4 July, with increased risks of droughts and wildfiresMeteorologists are anticipating a tumultuous summer that could rank as one of the US’s hottest ever.New data released on Tuesday showed the first six months of the year were the hottest ever measured for parts of eight western states. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Côte d’Ivoire floods kill 59 as west Africa endures torrential rains 02. July 2026 (13:01) Authorities say rainy season getting deadlier, with Ghana reporting 13 dead and floods hitting Benin, Togo and NigeriaFloods in Côte d’Ivoire have killed 59 people since May, the communication minister told a cabinet meeting in Abidjan.There are fears the toll could further rise as rescue teams continue to search for victims during the rainy season, which runs from May until July, the minister, Amadou Coulibaly, added. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Far-right French mayor causes outrage after cancelling play about migrant 02. July 2026 (12:28) Writer says ‘Trumpish’ decision to ban staging is warning of what may happen if National Rally runs countryIn the Anglo-French playwright Alexis Michalik’s play Passeport, a young man has been beaten and left for dead in the notorious Calais refugee camp known as “the Jungle”.When he wakes up, he has no idea who he is – and his only possession is a blue Eritrean passport containing the name Issa. With two others from the camp he decides to leave, not to take the perilous Channel crossing to the UK but instead to try to integrate into France and obtain the necessary papers to remain. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Release of Rochdale grooming gang leader ‘really scary’, says whistleblower 02. July 2026 (12:01) Exclusive: Health worker Sara Rowbotham fears for women and girls because of ‘weak’ probation serviceThe impending release of the Rochdale grooming gang leader is “really scary” for local women and girls because of failings in a “weak” probation service and his lack of remorse, a former health worker who exposed the paedophile ring has said.Sara Rowbotham, whose team gathered evidence that led to the imprisonment of Shabir Ahmed and eight other men in Rochdale, said she is “terrified” by the prospect of meeting him in the street. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump hijacked US’s 250 anniversary to serve ‘political ideology and pet projects’, congressional report says 02. July 2026 (12:00) House Democratic subcommittee report outlines web of alleged corruption, wire fraud and pay-to-play schemesDonald Trump staged a hostile takeover of the US’s 250th anniversary celebration to enrich political allies, harvest voter data and promote Christian nationalist ideology, according to a congressional investigation released on Thursday.The interim report, “From Vanity to Insanity: How the White House Cheated the American People Out of Their 250th Birthday”, outlines a web of alleged corruption, wire fraud and pay-to-play schemes orchestrated through a shadow corporation embedded within the National Park Foundation (NPF). Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Kyiv attacks death toll rises to 17 as Russia warns it will ‘continue to increase pressure’ on Ukrainian capital – Europe live 02. July 2026 (11:44) Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that at least 20 sites were attacked overnight, with ‘most of them ordinary residential buildings’in DublinVolodymyr Zelenskyy has said he hopes not to wait too long for the results of an Irish government investigation into alumina exports to Russia thought to be feeding the Kremlin’s war machine.“Unfortunately there are companies in Europe that are owned or effectively controlled by Russia and its sanctioned oligarchs. They keep supplying the aggressor with essential materials even now.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Young Indonesian couple publicly caned after kissing on TikTok 02. July 2026 (11:18) Unmarried man and woman whipped 21 times each because they had violated province’s version of Islamic lawA young couple in Indonesia’s conservative Aceh province have been publicly caned after a Sharia court convicted them of violating Islamic law by kissing during a TikTok livestream.The court ordered the couple, a 22-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman, to be whipped with a rattan cane 21 times each for kissing without being married. At least 100 people witnessed the caning, carried out by a group of people wearing robes and hoods on a stage in Bustanussalatin City Park in Banda Aceh. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Bankers and unions set for clash over possible Burnham tax raid on UK banks 02. July 2026 (11:00) City bosses say move would be economically disastrous, but union leaders urge likely new PM to ignore ‘vested interests’Battle lines are being drawn between City bosses and trade unions over a possible tax raid on UK banks to help fund Andy Burnham’s package for struggling households this winter.While bankers have warned the move would be “economic suicide”, union leaders have said Britain cannot afford to be “held hostage” by City lobbyists, given growing pressures to find money for defence and cost of living support. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Understanding Ebola’s wildlife origins is crucial to preventing next big outbreak 02. July 2026 (11:00) If we don’t know the source, not only do humans remain at risk but wildlife can suffer needlessly via retaliationWhile virologists and public health departments were palpitating over the news of an Andes virus infectious disease outbreak on a cruise ship (13 cases, three deaths), in the Democratic Republic of the Congo the Bundibugyo virus, the root of the current Ebola outbreak (currently more than 1,250 cases and at least 362 deaths), was smouldering under the radar.Bundibugyo virus is a horrifying, highly fatal pathogen. Symptom onset is sudden and includes headaches, diarrhoea, malfunctioning kidneys and liver, and, less frequently, internal and external bleeding (hence the term “haemorrhagic disease”). Grimly, contagiousness remains after death, meaning the family and loved ones of the deceased can be exposed when they wash and clothe the body in preparation for the funeral. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
