The Guardian

Mark Brown says Beijing deal that covers trade, investment, oceans, infrastructure and transport complements ties with New ZealandThe Cook Islands says it has signed a deal to expand relations with China, stressing that the accord does not impinge on ties with former colonial power New Zealand.Prime minister Mark Brown said he signed an “action plan for the comprehensive strategic partnership” with Chinese premier Li Qiang in the northern city of Harbin during a five-day state visit to China last week. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/17/cook-islands-signs-china-deal-agreement Author : Eva Corlett and agencies Publish date : 2025-02-17 04:08:00 Copyright for syndicated

Impending tax rises from autumn budget fuel collapse in sentiment and rising redundancy intentions, surveys showUK employers are preparing for the biggest redundancy round in a decade amid collapsing business confidence as firms brace for tax increases from April that Rachel Reeves announced in her autumn budget.In a fresh blow for the chancellor, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), which represents human resources professionals, said a survey of 2,000 employers showed redundancy intentions at their highest level in 10 years, barring the Covid pandemic. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/feb/17/uk-firms-mull-biggest-layoffs-in-a-decade-as-business-confidence-slumps Author : Phillip Inman Publish date : 2025-02-17

Tagline has quickly become the subject of derision, with some critics likening it to a clearance sale slogan A New Zealand tourism campaign targeting Australian visitors has been ridiculed for sounding like a clearance sale slogan and for being tone-deaf amid widespread public service job cuts and record numbers of New Zealanders moving overseas.The government launched its “Everyone must go!” campaign on Sunday, in a bid to encourage Australian holiday-makers to visit New Zealand. The NZD$500,000 campaign will run on radios and social media in Australia between February and March. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/17/new-zealand-everyone-must-go-tourism-campaign-criticism-emigration Author : Eva Corlett

Resolution Foundation report says failure to reform has ‘slowly recreated the issues that undid the poll tax’Britain’s poorest households are paying an increasing share of their income on council tax, according to new analysis that likened it to the poll tax that contributed to the downfall of Margaret Thatcher.The poorest fifth of households paid 4.8% of their income on council tax in England, Wales and Scotland and on domestic rates in Northern Ireland in the 2020-21 financial year, up from 2.9% in 2002-3, according to research by the Resolution Foundation. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/feb/17/uk-poorest-households-income-share-council-tax-resolution-foundation Author : Jasper Jolly

Lee calls unanimous decision a ‘violation’ of principle of valuing an artist’s voiceFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Creative Australia board meeting that led to Lebanese-Australian artist Khaled Sabsabi being dumped as the nation’s representative for the 2026 Venice Biennale was “fraught and heartbreaking”, the artist Lindy Lee has revealed.On Monday the federal arts funding organisation announced an immediate, independent, external review of the selection process.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/17/artist-lindy-lee-quits-creative-australia-board-after-decision-to-dump-biennale-artist-ntwnfb Author : Nour Haydar and Kelly Burke Publish

Heavy snowfall expected in New England, with bone-chilling cold predicted for northern plainsMuch of the US faced another round of biting winter weather on Sunday, with torrential rains causing intense flooding in Kentucky and resulting in multiple deaths.The Kentucky governor, Andy Beshear, on Sunday said at least eight people were dead amid the inundation, with the number possibly increasing. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/16/us-weather-kentucky-flooding-cold-snow Author : Associated Press Publish date : 2025-02-16 20:33:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Chief commissioner Shane Patton leaving the role ‘effective immediately’. Follow today’s news headlines liveGood morning, and welcome back to a new week on the Australia news live blog. I’m Emily Wind, and I’ll be taking you through our rolling coverage for most of today.As AAP reports, Victoria’s police commissioner Shane Patton has advised he would step away from the role “effective immediately”. He said last night:It is with a heavy heart that I have made this decision, however I think it is the right one to allow fresh leadership in the role. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2025/feb/17/australia-news-live-victoria-police-sydney-trains-industrial-action-interest-rates-election-campaign-cost-of-living-ntwnfb Author :

President posted ‘he who saves his country does not violate any laws’ quote attributed to French emperorCritics rounded on Donald Trump on Sunday for likening himself to Napoleon in a “dictatorial” social media post echoing the French emperor’s assertion that “he who saves his country does not violate any laws”.The post came at the end of another tumultuous week early in Trump’s second presidency, during which acolytes questioned the legitimacy of judges making a succession of rulings to stall his administration’s aggressive seizure or dismantling of federal institutions and budgets. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/16/trump-napoleon-judges-government-firings Author : Richard Luscombe

Pischane in Donetsk back under Kyiv’s control as Zelenskyy renews call for fighting to end ‘with a just and lasting peace’Ukraine has recaptured a village on the frontline in the country’s east, amid signs Russia’s advance may be slowing down and as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy renewed his call for fighting to end “with a just and lasting peace”.On Sunday Ukrainian forces took back the village of Pischane, south-west of the city of Pokrovsk, military officials said. Russian units made rapid gains in the area in December and January, seizing a string of settlements that threatened to cut off Pokrovsk in

European papers express deep alarm at declaration of an ‘ideological war’, while the NYT says Putin may soon ‘realise his dream’This year’s Munich security conference exposed the chasm in core values separating the Trump administration from most Europeans and sparked deep alarm at US efforts to control the Ukraine peace process and exclude European governments from it.Here is what some of the main European and US newspapers had to say about it. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/16/the-us-is-ready-to-hand-russia-a-win-newspapers-on-europes-trump-shock Author : Jon Henley Europe correspondent Publish date : 2025-02-16 16:05:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Police in upstate New York say Sam Nordquist, 24, who was from Minnestoa, endured weeks of tortureFive people in New York have been charged with subjecting a transgender man from Minnesota to “repeated acts of violence and torture” before murdering him, according to police.The allegations come after the discovery of human remains believed to be those of Sam Nordquist, 24, in a field near Canandaigua in upstate New York on 13 February.Agence France-Presse contributed reporting Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/16/trans-man-new-york-five-charged-murder Author : Guardian staff and agencies Publish date : 2025-02-16 14:44:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked

Martyn Oliver says change in working habits since pandemic has led to a shift in attitudes among pupils in EnglandSchool attendance rates are being affected by parents working from home after the pandemic, the head of Ofsted has said.The chief inspector of the schools watchdog in England, Martyn Oliver, told the Sunday Times that the widespread change in working habits after the pandemic had led to a shift in attitudes among pupils. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/feb/16/parents-working-from-home-affecting-school-attendance-ofsted-chief Author : Geneva Abdul Publish date : 2025-02-16 13:05:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Republican Bill Cassidy calls state surgeon general’s halt to promotion of mass vaccination a disservice to parentsBill Cassidy, the Republican US senator, has said his home state of Louisiana’s recent decision to cancel the promotion of mass vaccination against preventable diseases is a disservice to parents who want to keep their children healthy.Nonetheless, before those remarks, the medical doctor-turned-politician who has clashed with Donald Trump joined 51 of his fellow Republicans in voting to confirm anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F Kennedy Jr as secretary of the US’s health and human services department. Cassidy had also previously voted to advance Trump’s

Government in Nordelta approves plans to control numbers of world’s largest rodent – but not all are in agreementA contraception debate is gripping one of Argentina’s most notable luxury neighbourhoods – not for its wealthy residents, but for its original occupants, the capybaras.In recent years, the lovable rodents have been accused of overrunning the Nordelta, a meticulously landscaped and manicured suburb north of Buenos Aires. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/16/buenos-aires-argentina-capybaras Author : Harriet Barber in Buenos Aires Publish date : 2025-02-16 10:00:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Reports of planned meeting between US and Russian officials in Saudi Arabia leaves Europe concerned over Ukraine ceasefire negotiationsAnalysis: JD Vance laid bare collapse of transatlantic allianceIn the UK, the business and trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds has been questioned by Sky News’ Trevor Phillips about the US’s approach to the.Phillips asked Reynolds about the differing statements given by London and Washington about Ukraine’s Nato membership. Keir Starmer has repeatedly said the UK will continue to back Ukraine’s “irreversible path” to joining the military alliance despite Washington appearing to rule out membership. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/feb/16/ukraine-us-europe-donald-trump-russia-uk-relations-munich-conference-keir-starmer-live-latest-news Author : Yohannes

People living in tents at Suttons Beach Park, Redcliffe, forced to move to avoid fines for ‘storing goods on public land’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA Brisbane council has issued compliance notices threatening fines of more than $8,000 while implementing its second homeless clearance in a day.On Friday, four of the approximately eight homeless residents at Suttons Beach park in Redcliffe were given just two days to vacate the area.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/feb/16/queensland-council-denies-trying-to-make-homelessness-as-residents-threatened-with-8000-fines Author : Andrew Messenger Publish date : 2025-02-16 08:05:00 Copyright for syndicated

Higher tuition costs have already been ‘wiped out’ by government tax hikes, critics claimA fall in international students applying for visas risks prolonging the existential threat facing some of England’s universities, sources in higher education say, amid warnings that an increase in tuition fees has already been “wiped out” by the government’s tax rises.Despite the decision by ministers to increase fees for UK students this year to £9,535 – the first rise in eight years – figures across the universities sector said the financial situation remained dire, with further course closures and redundancies being widely considered. Continue reading... Source link

Rush broke out as travellers scrambled to board trains in India’s capital to go to world’s largest religious gatheringAt least 18 people have died in a crush at a railway station in India’s capital when surging crowds scrambled to catch trains to the world’s largest religious gathering, officials have said.The Kumbh Mela attracts tens of millions of Hindu faithful every 12 years to the northern city of Prayagraj, and has a history of crowd-related disasters – including one last month, when at least 30 people died in another crush at the holy confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical

Train workers claim Fair Work Commission win as rail union warns of more potential delays and disruptions across network Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastSydney commuters have been urged to work from home or check travel apps before leaving on Monday to avoid being caught up in potential public transport chaos amid rail unions’ ongoing standoff with the New South Wales government.The warning comes as the Fair Work Commission on Sunday ruled high rates of sick leave by Sydney train drivers and guards on Friday did not

Opposition leader says more competition needed as growing numbers unable to afford home and car insuranceFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe opposition leader, Peter Dutton, says the Coalition could seek to break up insurance companies found to be gouging policyholders and more competition is needed in the sector.In an interview with Sky News on Sunday, Dutton said the Coalition’s divestiture policy – which threatens to carve apart big supermarkets and hardware chains as a “last resort” to combat price rip-offs – could also be applied to big

Three non-citizens with criminal histories taken into immigration detention in preparation for removal from Australia, home affairs minister saysFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThree members of the NZYQ cohort of non-citizens, including a convicted murderer, will be resettled in Nauru after the Albanese government struck a deal for an undisclosed sum.The trio, who were among those released into the community in Australia after a landmark 2023 high court decision, were placed into immigration detention in preparation for their removal from Australia after being granted 30-year resettlement visas

Follow all today’s headlines liveAnalysis: With a cost-of-living election to fight, Dutton strikes a delicate balance on the ‘trans debate’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOn the upcoming election, Spender says “we need to see how this plays out” and that “it is very unclear exactly what is going to look like in the end.”On statements from Peter Dutton this morning that the Independents should back him in any minority government:Yes, I’m sure that is what he thinks and it will depend on the numbers and the shape of the crossbench and what people are willing

Courts are currently backlogged with 3.7m cases as US president demands more deportationsThe Trump administration fired 20 immigration judges without explanation, a union official said on Saturday amid sweeping moves to shrink the size of the federal government.On Friday, 13 judges who had yet to be sworn in and five assistant chief immigration judges were dismissed without notice, said Matthew Biggs, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, which represents federal workers. Two other judges were fired under similar circumstances in the last week. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/15/trump-administration-fires-immigration-judges Author : Associated Press Publish date :

The suspect was detained in the city of Villach after a 14-year-old boy diedA 14-year-old boy has died and four other people have been injured in a knife attack in southern Austria on Saturday, according to police, who said they had arrested a 23-year-old suspect.The suspect was detained in the city of Villach, where the attack took place, police said on Saturday. He is a Syrian national with legal residence in Austria, they said. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/15/teenage-boy-dies-and-four-injured-in-knife-attack-in-austria Author : Associated Press Publish date : 2025-02-15 20:31:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Wildfire-management groups say Trump’s latest push to trim government could impede firefighting effortsThe US Forest Service is firing about 3,400 recent hires while the National Park Service is terminating about 1,000 workers under Donald Trump’s push to cut federal spending and bureaucracy, according to a report on Friday.The terminations target employees who are in their probationary employment period (which includes anyone hired less than a year ago), according to Reuters, and will affect sites such as the Appalachian trail, Yellowstone, the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr and the Sequoia national forest. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/15/us-forest-service-national-park-service-layoffs Author :