General News

The Australian government is refusing freedom of information requests at a rate not seen for a decade, data shows, prompting concerns for transparency and accountability. Data held by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, the watchdog overseeing the FoI system, revealed the proportion of FoI requests being completely refused has shot up to 27%…

US president Donald Trump will speak to Vladimir Putin on Monday to stop the “bloodbath” war in Ukraine, saying the conflict is killing thousands of soldiers a week, “AND TRADE.” Trump wrote on social media he would follow-up that chat with another with Volodymyr Zelenskyy so the war “WILL END,” Oliver Millman reports. The leaders…

At least one person is dead after a car exploded near a reproductive facility in Palm Springs, California, on Saturday morning, according to local authorities. “The blast appears to be an intentional act of violence,” the Palm Springs police chief Andy Mills said in a statement. “There has been one fatality. The person’s identity is…

A Eurovision song contest crew member was hit with paint after two people tried to rush on stage to disrupt Israeli singer Yuval Raphael’s performance on Saturday, organisers in Basel said. The incident took place while Raphael, 24, was performing New Day Will Rise. No one was injured, and the man and woman involved were…

Five people were killed when two helicopters collided and crashed in a wooded area near Eura airport in south-western Finland, police have said. Police said the mid-air collision occurred shortly after noon on Saturday near the town of Kauttua, with the wreckage falling 700 metres from the Ohikulkutie road. “Five people have died in a…

Every Victorian child will get free public transport from 1 January next year, the state government has pledged. A new youth myki, valid across the state, will save families up to $755 a year (the cost of a yearly student pass) under the scheme. Anyone under 18 in non-Myki areas will also be eligible to…

A second man has been arrested in connection with suspected arson attacks on two properties in London and a vehicle linked to Keir Starmer, police have said. The 26-year-old was arrested at about 1.45pm on Saturday at London Luton airport on suspicion of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life, the Metropolitan police…

Greece is taking legal action after authorities were caught unaware by the fifth-century BC Acropolis playing a star role in an Adidas advertising campaign. The decision to feature the western world’s enduring symbol of democracy for commercial purposes in a hi-tech drone show has left Athens with no choice but to press charges, the country’s…

Pedro Pascal has sharply criticised Donald Trump’s attacks against artists, as the director of a conspiracy theory satire starring the actor said he feared the political messages of films could be weaponised by US border guards. “Fuck the people that try to make you scared,” the Game of Thrones and The Last of Us actor…

Downing Street is actively investigating changes to the controversial winter fuel payment cut over growing concerns about the policy’s deep unpopularity among voters. No 10 has stepped up its work on reviewing the policy by carrying out internal polling and focus groups on how voters would respond to potential modifications to it. The Guardian first…