Merz backs plans to raise Germany’s retirement age to 70 in pension changes 23. June 2026 (17:48) Recommendations from commission propose gradual rise in retirement age by the early 2090sEurope live – latest updatesGermany will gradually raise its retirement age to about 70 by the early 2090s under recommendations backed by the chancellor, Friedrich Merz, as a means of future-proofing the pension system for an ageing population.Presenting its findings on Tuesday, an expert commission set up to explore reforms to the pension system said retirement age should be linked to rising life expectancy and early retirement should be scrapped. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Nationalist group leaders agree to stop hoisting St George’s flags in Oxfordshire 23. June 2026 (17:47) Local council secures high court injunction against four leaders of Raise the Colours campaign and ‘persons unknown’Leaders of the nationalist group Raise the Colours have agreed to stop hoisting England flags on lamp-posts in Oxfordshire after the local authority secured a high court injunction against the campaign.Ryan Bridge, Ben Cullen and Trudy Wells told the high court on Tuesday they would not raise St George’s flags from Oxfordshire county council property, encourage others to do so or impede council workers from taking them down. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US supreme court blocks Rastafarian man’s lawsuit over forced head-shaving in prison 23. June 2026 (17:45) In a 6-3 opinion, the court says Louisiana prisoner cannot sue guards after he grew his hair for more than 20 yearsThe US supreme court refused on Tuesday to let a Rastafarian man sue state prison officials in Louisiana after guards held him down and shaved him bald in violation of his religious beliefs, in a landmark case.The case was brought under a federal law designed to protect incarcerated people from religious discrimination. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Major incident declared after bus crash in west Wales 23. June 2026 (17:42) Injuries reported as bus is said to have flipped on to its side after collision on roundabout on outskirts of KidwellyPolice have declared a major incident after a bus crash in west Wales.Dyfed-Powys police said on Tuesday afternoon there had been a collision involving a bus on a roundabout on the A484 on the outskirts of Kidwelly, in Carmarthenshire, at approximately 12.20pm. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Two people killed and child injured in northern California library shooting 23. June 2026 (17:41) Suspect in incident at Chico branch of Butte county library arrested, police say, but no known motiveTwo people were killed and a child was injured in a shooting at a northern California library on Monday evening, authorities said.A suspect in the incident at the Chico branch of the Butte county library has been arrested, according to the Chico police department. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Chilean court convicts three former Pinochet agents in 1976 car bomb attack 23. June 2026 (17:31) The three who were convicted in the Washington DC killing were agents of Augusto Pinochet’s feared secret policeFifty years after Gen Augusto Pinochet’s secret police detonated a car bomb in the heart of Washington DC, killing Orlando Letelier, a former Chilean minister and ambassador to the US, and his American colleague Ronni Karpen Moffitt, a Santiago court has convicted three former agents of Moffitt’s murder.Judge Paola Plaza, a special minister for human rights in Chile, sentenced Pedro Espinoza, José Zara, and Raúl Iturriaga to 15 years in prison for their roles in the killing of Moffitt, 25. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Labor’s tax deal with the Greens is a crucial win – but its NDIS changes could pay the price 23. June 2026 (17:00) The victory may have dinged Labor’s chances of easily passing its significant cost-cutting reforms to the NDIS through the Senate in AugustGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe government scored a crucial win on Tuesday, securing support for its tax changes through the Senate. But that victory may have dinged Labor’s chances of easily passing its other major budget measure – significant cost-cutting reforms to the NDIS – through the Senate in August.Labor’s deal with the Greens sees an inquiry into the NDIS extended for two months, with plans for new public hearings and more time for a committee process, after even the health minister, Mark Butler, admitted he had heard “confronting” evidence from the disability community fearful of losing access to key supports. Eight additional weeks of a public inquiry, spearheaded by an activist party hellbent on trying to kill this bill, is not nothing. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Tasmanian devils, swift parrots, black swans: the animals at risk if bird flu takes off in Australia 23. June 2026 (17:00) Federal government identifies more than 150 native and unique bird species and 10 mammal species at ‘very high risk’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastMore than 150 of Australia’s native and unique bird species have been assessed as being at “very high risk” of extinction or major decline if they catch the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain, with Western Australia’s celebrated black swans among the most susceptible.The federal government analysis of Australia’s 800 different birds and 350 mammals reflects the high level of concern among experts about the arrival of the H5N1 strain, which has killed millions of birds and mammals around the world. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Blue passports, Big Ben and Bpoplive: the Brexit referendum anniversary quiz 23. June 2026 (17:00) Who put Theresa May’s back up on Instagram, what did Boris Johnson say about bananas and much moreIt is 10 years since the British public decided to pack up its troubles in its old kit bag, give Jacques Delors the final up yours and march off into an EU-free paradise. Opinions may differ on how that has worked out. Certainly several of the architects of the whole thing are enjoying lovely well-paid retirements on the speaking circuit or have seats in the House of Lords. Anyway, here are 18 questions about Brexit and the referendum campaign. How much do you remember about some of the weirder aspects of those few weeks, months and then years as the UK negotiated its exit?The Guardian 10th anniversary Brexit referendum quiz Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US supreme court ends lawsuit alleging Cisco helped China pursue Falun Gong 23. June 2026 (16:22) Suit alleged California-based company developed technology that allowed China to surveil members of movementThe US supreme court further limited the reach of a federal law used to hold corporations liable for human rights abuses committed abroad, as it issued a ruling on Tuesday ending a lawsuit by members of the Falun Gong movement accusing Cisco Systems of facilitating religious persecution in China.The justices reversed a lower court’s decision that had breathed new life into the 2011 lawsuit, which was brought under the Alien Tort Statute of 1789. The suit had alleged that Cisco knowingly developed technology that allowed China’s government to surveil and persecute Falun Gong members. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
