Reader Q&A: ask international correspondent Luke Harding a question now pred 1 dnevom, 3 urami in 11 minutami The Guardian’s senior international reporter Luke Harding will be answering your questions live from 1pm BST. Ask him about his new book on Trump and Putin, the state of the war in Ukraine, or his career reporting from Kyiv, Moscow and around the worldAsk a question: log in or sign up hereLuke Harding, author and award-winning foreign correspondent, has covered wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria and most recently Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2011 he was the Guardian’s chief writer in Moscow before being expelled by the Kremlin.Luke has been reporting this week on the Andy Burnham’s renewal of support for Ukraine and Russia’s loudening threats to Britain. He has also recently written in depth about Ukraine’s increasingly successful drone warfare tactics and the aftermath of injuries for Ukrainian soldiers. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US Treasury’s Scott Bessent ‘making mistake’ interfering with bond markets, former mentor warns pred 1 dnevom, 3 urami in 13 minutami Trump ally should cut budget deficit rather than try to suppress bond yields, says billionaire Stanley DruckenmillerScott Bessent’s attempt to calm the bond markets and push down America’s cost of borrowing have attracted a rebuke from the US Treasury secretary’s former mentor.Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller, who worked with Bessent at George Soros’s fund management firm in the 1990s, has warned that his former pupil is courting danger by trying to suppress US bond yields. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Man denied parole a second time over anti-Israel graffiti despite judge’s scathing critique of case pred 1 dnevom, 3 urami in 16 minutami NSW parole authority says Mohommed Farhat followed ‘extremist ideology of antisemitic character’ while separately judge ruled ‘Fuk Israel’ was ‘political comment’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA Sydney man convicted of writing “Fuk Israel” on cars and setting another vehicle alight has had his release on parole rejected a second time, despite a supreme court judge stating the case appeared to be a “serious miscarriage of justice”.Mohommed Farhat, 22, was initially due to be released on parole in December after serving 10 months in prison following the November 2024 vandalism in Woollahra. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Major Sydney property developer collapses after ‘perfect storm’, leaving buyers in limbo pred 1 dnevom, 4 urami in 7 minutami Bathla Group says softening sales and impacts from federal government’s May budget contributed it being placed in voluntary administrationFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastEmbattled home builder Bathla Group has been placed into voluntary administration, leaving customers in limbo in what it says is a “perfect storm” of circumstances.It joins the long list of Australian residential builders and property developers which have entered voluntary administration or liquidation due to soaring material costs, labour shortages and fixed-price contracts. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
eHarmony deceived Australian customers with ‘subscription traps’ that cost hundreds of dollars, court finds pred 1 dnevom in 5 urami Australian consumer watchdog says it received hundreds of complaints about the US-based dating site and its membershipsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDating website eHarmony engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct over subscription traps that cost thousands of customers hundreds of dollars each, the federal court has found.The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) sued the US-based eHarmony in 2023 over claims of providing free dating on its platform, and the information consumers were given on subscription costs and renewal terms when buying a premium subscription. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Like smoking a cigarette’: Indonesia chokes on haze as blazes intensify amid super ‘El Niño’ pred 1 dnevom, 5 urami in 54 minutami In Indonesia’s Kalimantan, fires have ravaged tens of thousands of acres, with suffocating smoke reaching Malaysia and putting Singapore on alertSuwadi can barely see five metres in front of him when he steps outside his home in Indonesian Borneo.Each breath, he says, feels “like smoking a cigarette”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Freddie Mercury’s ‘splendid things’ to go on display at V&A pred 1 dnevom, 6 urami in 11 minutami Eight costumes spanning Queen frontman’s career will feature in a free trail developed with his former fianceeEight famous costumes worn by Freddie Mercury, including the outfit featured on the cover of Queen’s debut album and the catsuit from the video for Bohemian Rhapsody, are to go on display at the V&A in London this autumn to mark what would have been the singer’s 80th birthday.Freddie Mercury | Splendid Things, a free trail developed with Mercury’s former fiancee and close friend Mary Austin, will run from 24 October 2026 to 17 January 2027. Austin is lending seven of the looks, which span Mercury’s career from the 1970s to his final years. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Europe’s heatwaves threaten insurers’ earnings, rating agency S&P says pred 1 dnevom, 6 urami in 11 minutami Rise in claims linked to heat-related deaths and illness, especially among older people, could drive up premiumsEurope’s intense heatwaves could hit insurers’ earnings as companies face a rise in claims linked to heat-related deaths and worsening health conditions, the rating agency S&P has said.While a long summer of extreme heat will have increased drought and wildfire-related claims, the rating agency said there would also be fallout for life and health insurers, and for the reinsurers who provide financial protection to insurance companies. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
NHS England to offer women ‘gamechanging’ free home testing kits for cervical cancer pred 1 dnevom, 6 urami in 11 minutami NHS has target of eliminating the cancer by 2040, but up to 4 million eligible women are not up to date with screeningMillions of women in England who have missed cervical screening appointments will be offered free home testing kits on the NHS.The move comes amid concerns that only two-thirds of women attend in-person cervical screening appointments when asked to do so, leaving as many as 4 million women not up to date. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
At least 35,000 excess deaths recorded in Europe’s back-to-back heatwaves pred 1 dnevom, 6 urami in 11 minutami True figure likely to be much higher as it only covers about half of continent and does not include August totalsAt least 35,000 more people died during Europe’s four record-breaking, back-to-back heatwaves this summer than would normally be expected, according to incomplete figures from barely half the continent.Excess mortality in three of the EU’s larger countries – Germany, France and Spain – alone has already exceeded 25,000, according to the provisional national figures, and experts say the toll will rise significantly once August totals are consolidated. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
