The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is expected to trigger a review of the auto-enrolment pension scheme next week in a move that could ultimately force employers to raise their contributions to staff retirement pots. The announcement could come as early as Monday, forming a key part of the Labour government’s pensions review, industry sources told the…

The family of a Palestinian grandmother detained in Sydney by immigration authorities after a pre-dawn raid have pleaded with the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, for answers about her visa cancellation and “real representation” to secure her freedom. Maha Almassri, 61, was on Thursday morning awoken by border force officers at her son’s home in…

An unusual bird is ravaging crops and infuriating farmers in north-eastern Italy: the flamingo. Flamingos are relatively recent arrivals in the area, and have settled into the flooded fields that produce rice for risotto in Ferrara province, between Venice and Ravenna. The birds aren’t targeting the rice seedlings but use their webbed feet to stir…

A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to halt indiscriminate immigration stops and arrests in seven California counties, including Los Angeles. Judge Maame E Frimpong on Friday blocked the administration from using what has been called unconstitutional tactics in raids after a lawsuit was filed by immigrant advocacy groups last week. The lawsuit in…

The remarkable Gout Gout story speeds on with the Australian producing another blistering performance to further his European track education in Monaco. Guesting in an invitational 200 metres at the prestigious Diamond League meeting at the Stade Louis II in the Principality during his school holidays on Friday, the teenage phenomenon raced away to another…

Brazil has elected its first Black woman to the Brazilian Academy of Letters, founded in 1897 and modelled on the Académie Française. Ana Maria Gonçalves, 54, is one of Brazil’s most acclaimed contemporary authors, and her election on Thursday is being widely celebrated by writers, activists, literary scholars and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva….

Fire activity is increasing across the American west, as critically dry landscapes and spiking temperatures fueled blazes in 11 states on Friday. Evacuations were ordered at two national parks – Colorado’s Black Canyon of the Gunnison and the Grand Canyon in Arizona, as hot weather, low humidity and gusty winds pushed flames closer to recreation…