12 h. ago Australia to hold general elections on 3 May as Albanese seeks second term

Australia has not ousted a government after just a single term since 1931

Politics

14 h. ago Anthony Albanese calls Australian federal election for 3 May

Albanese visits governor general to kickstart Labor’s five-week election campaign, as Peter Dutton frames Coalition’s pitch around living standardsAustralian election campaign 2025: live updatesSee all our Australian election 2025 coverageGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnthony Albanese has framed the federal election as a choice between Labor’s plan to “keep building” and Peter Dutton’s “promises to cut” after announcing voters will head to the polls on 3 May.The prime minister visited the governor general, Sam Mostyn, on Friday morning to dissolve the 47th parliament, triggering a five-week race to form the next government.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

Politics

18 h. ago Australian federal election date: Anthony Albanese calls poll for 3 May

Albanese visits governor general to kickstart five-week election campaign, with polls suggesting Labor is in a tight contest with Coalition under Peter DuttonAustralian election campaign 2025: live updatesSee all our Australian election 2025 coverageGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralians will head to the polls on 3 May after Anthony Albanese fired the starter’s gun on the federal election campaign.The prime minister visited the governor general, Sam Mostyn, on Friday morning to dissolve the 47th parliament, triggering a five-week race to form the next government.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

Politics

62 h. ago Wong calls ‘reprehensible’ letter targeting Hong Kong activist in Australia a ‘threat to national sovereignty’

Ted Hui received letter offering reward for information about his family after China accused Australia of interfering with its internal affairsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has described another threatening letter sent to an exiled Hong Kong dissident in Australia as “reprehensible”, a “threat to our national sovereignty” and “the safety and security of Australians”.The anonymous letter, mailed from Hong Kong and sent to Ted Hui’s Adelaide office, offered his colleagues $203,000 for information on his whereabouts and his family. It arrived just days after China’s foreign ministry accused the Albanese government of interfering with its internal affairs.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

Events

3 d. ago Australia's science agency sent questions from Trump administration asking if it is taking ‘appropriate measures’ against gender ideology

Other questions include whether science organisation receives funding from China and whether it is a climate or ‘environmental justice’ projectFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Australian government’s scientific agency has joined more than a dozen universities in being sent a questionnaire from the Trump administration asking to confirm whether it aligns with US government interests.On Tuesday, the CSIRO revealed it had received the correspondence from the US. A spokesperson at the CSIRO said it was aware of a “small number” of researchers who had received the questionnaire in recent weeks and was “determining an appropriate response”.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

Politics

4 d. ago Bungling marshals at 1km children's fun run send them wrong way

Around 400 young athletes were supposed to run around 600m along the promenade in Bournemouth before turning back for the finishing line.

Politics

4 d. ago Chaos at the fun run as bungling marshals at 1km children's event send them wrong way

Around 400 young athletes were supposed to run around 600m along the promenade in Bournemouth before turning back for the finishing line.

Events

4 d. ago Iraqi asylum seeker has deportation delayed after people smuggler ‘threw away his phone and ID’

The man reportedly fled Iraq after he was threatened with arrest for alleged exam fraud

Events

8 d. ago Illegal Channel migrants offered discount trips by smugglers across to the UK if they post the journey on social media

Channel migrants who chronicle their journey in social media video footage are being offered discounted passage by people smugglers who are eager to promote their services.

Events

1 week ago Unhoused San Diego woman towed in van found dead inside a month later

Family of Monica Cameroni De Adams, 65, files $50m damages claim as lawyer accuses city of ‘burying her alive’An unhoused woman living out of her van in San Diego was towed away by authorities, who did not realize she was inside the car until she was discovered dead in the vehicle a month later, according to a legal claim and autopsy records made public this week.Monica Cameroni De Adams, 65, was inside her parked Honda minivan at about 1am on 5 November 2023 when a driver crashed into her vehicle and another parked car, lawyers for her children outlined in a wrongful death claim against the southern California city. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago New Vanuatu PM says he will ‘revisit’ 2022 security agreement with Australia

Exclusive: Jotham Napat said pact must be taken ‘back to the drawing board’ and should reflect climate change as security issueVanuatu’s new prime minister has said his government intends to “revisit” a security agreement with Australia, arguing it does not reflect his country’s priorities including climate change and travel mobility for its citizens.Jotham Napat, who was elected in February, said the pact with Canberra had to be taken “back to the drawing board” as he sought a “win-win situation” in a renegotiated deal. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago No exodus to state sector after VAT added to private school fees, say English councils

Most say they have seen no impact on applications for year 7 places, despite warnings from those against policyPredictions that adding VAT to private school fees would set off a wave of parents moving children to the state sector have been proved wrong at their first key test, according to figures from councils in England.While critics including the former chancellor Jeremy Hunt had predicted that up to 90,000 children could flood the state sector if VAT of 20% was charged, most councils say they have seen no impact from the policy in applications to start at state secondary schools later this year. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Western Australia election: Liberals fail to attract swing required as Labor secures third

WA Labor will hold a third term in office, with the early vote count showing the Liberals failing to gain traction with any significant swing• Western Australia has one story about the gas industry. It won’t accept dissent from ‘over east’Labor will govern for a third term in Western Australia, with the Liberal Party failing to attract the swing required to threaten Roger Cook’s majority.Polls predicted a 12-13% swing could put up to 11 seats in reach of the Liberal party. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Closure of West Lothian nursery 'will cost the council rather than save money'

Neil Brady-Campbell told councillors their calculations on saving were wrong, adding that moving all children from Linlithgow Bridge nursery to Linlithgow Primary nursery could actually see an increase in teacher costs by £45,000.

Economics

3 w. ago Government adverts launched to warn of misinformation from people smugglers

The digital content shared by the Home Office comes as part of an international campaign to warn those considering coming to the UK.

Events

last month Extra 220 children may have been wrongly detained as adult people smugglers in Australia, government admits

In 2023 the federal court ordered $27.5m compensation for an initial estimated 220 Indonesian minors wrongly detained – but that number has now doubledFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Australian government has revealed that a further 220 Indonesian children may have been wrongly detained as adult people smugglers, doubling the number initially thought.Late in 2023 the federal court ordered $27.5m in compensation for an estimated 220 Indonesian children who were wrongly detained as adult people smugglers between 2010 and 2012.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

Politics