78 minutes ago Middle East crisis live: Israeli airstrike on Lebanon kills at least one Lebanese soldier and injures 18 others

Lebanese military says strike took place in southwestern Lebanon on coastal road between Tyre and Naqoura while Israeli military says strike is under reviewSpeaking at the news conference in Beirut, Josep Borell also urged Lebanese leaders to pick a president to end a two-year power vacuum in the country, and he pledged €200m (£166m) in support for Lebanon’s armed forces.The EU’s outgoing foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has called for pressure to be exerted on both the Israeli government and on Hezbollah to accept a US ceasefire proposal. Continue reading...

Events

98 minutes ago Iranian minister to meet European counterparts after nuclear offer rejected

Meeting comes amid fears Middle East tensions will lead Iran to redouble its efforts to acquire a nuclear weaponIran’s deputy foreign minister, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, will meet his European counterparts in Geneva on Friday after the collapse of a deal last week under which Iran would have limited its uranium enrichment to 60% purity, just below the threshold to make nuclear weapons.The offer was regarded by Iran as a first step to rebuilding confidence between it and the west over what it insists is its civilian nuclear programme. There are growing fears that wider tensions in the Middle East could result in Tehran redoubling efforts to acquire a nuclear weapon and trying to declare it necessary for its national self-defence. Continue reading...

Politics

2 hours ago Everything we know about the rabbi missing in UAE who Israel says was murdered

Israel says rabbi was killed in what they branded a ‘heinous antisemitic terror incident’

Events

3 hours ago Hundreds flee north Gaza as IDF orders more evacuations amid intense airstrikes

Fresh wave of civilian displacements triggered overnight on Saturday, while Israeli strike on hospital injures directorThe Israeli military has ordered the evacuation of new areas of northern Gaza, setting off a fresh wave of civilian displacements on Sunday as intense airstrikes continued across much of the territory.The Israel Defense Forces said the orders for the Shujaiya neighbourhood were issued after Palestinian militants fired rockets at Israel on Saturday from a location within the densely populated district. Hamas’s armed wing said it had targeted an army base over the border. Continue reading...

Events

6 hours ago Rabbi missing in UAE murdered in ‘heinous terror incident’, Israel says

Netanyahu vows to ‘seek justice’ over death of Zvi Kogan in Dubai

Events

17 hours ago From Strictly Ballroom to Sydney’s saviour: how heritage town halls are staging a comeback

Inner West council has thrown open the doors of seven town halls to arts organisations free of charge as it tries to revive its buildings and address a performing arts crisisFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastIt’s been more than three decades since Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom was filmed in Petersham town hall. But earlier this year, the 82-year-old building in Sydney opened its doors to the Inner West Theatre Company’s production of the classic, free of charge.Beautiful brick early 20th-century town halls were once venues for council meetings, award nights and country dances. But in recent decades many have been under-used or left entirely empty as modern buildings serve changing community needs. Continue...

Politics

30 hours ago What is the International Criminal Court and what does an arrest warrant mean for Israel’s Netanyahu?

Hague prosecutors have accused Israeli and Hamas leaders of possible war crimes and crimes against humanity

Events