Fury as UK’s only all-female chess team promoted – then told they must recruit a man 31. July 2026 (08:00) She Plays to Win face losing one of their female players after being told team must include a maleThe UK’s only all-female chess team have been promoted to the game’s top tier – only to be told they will have to add a man to their squad.She Plays to Win Lionesses A Team have fallen foul of a rule designed to boost female participation in the sport. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Forced out of Australia’s military due to his sexuality, David says an apology is ‘long overdue’ for veterans like him 31. July 2026 (07:48) Exclusive: ADF personnel who were discriminated against for being LGBTQ+ are owed a national apology, federal government toldFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA national apology should be issued to LGBTQ+ veterans and service personnel who experienced discrimination at the hands of the Australian Defence Force, according to recommendations to the federal government.David Gibson, who was discharged from the military in 1989 because he was bisexual and chair of GLBTI Rights in Ageing, said it was time for the prime minister to issue an apology. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
HSBC to close all branches and pull out of Australian retail banking market 31. July 2026 (07:00) London-based company to sell local loan portfolio to Blackstone but will continue private and institutional banking servicesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe London-headquartered HSBC is closing all Australian branches over the next 18 months after selling its local mortgage and personal loan portfolio to the global asset giant Blackstone.The transaction will end HSBC’s decades-long retail presence in Australia, although it will continue to operate private and institutional banking services, the company announced on Friday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Drones offer alternative to balloons for weather research 31. July 2026 (07:00) Pre-programmed flights gather data at different altitudes then return to bases to recharge and downloadWeather happens in the boundary layer, the atmosphere from ground level to a few thousand metres, but this can be difficult to study in detail: weather stations are too low, and aircraft are expensive. Instrumented weather balloons are the traditional solution, and thousands are released every day. But these are at the mercy of the wind and use irreplaceable helium.Drones offer an alternative and the US company Meteomatics has taken the idea further with Meteobase, a base station on the ground with a drone that can be launched and recovered automatically. It carries out a pre-programmed flight, gathering data at different altitudes, then returns to recharge and download data which the Meteobase sends to researchers. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
AOC 2028: Could the US elect its first female president? – podcast 31. July 2026 (06:00) Leftwing Democrats are having their moment in the sun, with Zohran Mamdani in New York, Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan and endless calls for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run for president in 2028. Has Democratic socialism shifted from the political fringe to the mainstream? And can this group lure back the all-important swing voters?Jonathan Freedland speaks to Bhaskar Sunkara, president of the Nation magazine, founding editor of Jacobin and author of The Socialist Manifesto: The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme InequalitiesArchive: AP, ReutersWatch Jonathan Freedland on our new Politics Weekly YouTube channelSend your questions and feedback to politicsweeklyamerica@theguardian.comHelp support the Guardian. Go to theguardian.com/politicspodus Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Will brutal wildfires force French leaders to take climate crisis seriously? 31. July 2026 (06:00) Campaigners worry politicians will have moved on by time of elections in which Marine Le Pen is expected to challengeAs dozens of forest wildfires burned across France this week amid the summer’s fourth brutal heatwave and increasing air pollution, some wondered whether voters’ first-hand experience of the climate emergency would change the political debate ahead of next year’s presidential election.The Green leader, Marine Tondelier, who cut short a tour of France on medical advice that at seven months pregnant she should avoid breathing smoke-filled air in the south-west near a huge wildfire in Gironde, said the political class still had its head in the sand. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘A car in the bus!’: Toyota becomes airborne and then wedges in side of Brisbane bus 31. July 2026 (05:04) Queensland police fine driver of another car that allegedly caused Yaris to swerve before it hit kerb and catapulted into air – and busA Queensland driver has been fined after being involved in a stunning crash that saw a car become airborne and then stuck in the side of a bus.The drama unfolded at Rocklea in Brisbane’s south on Wednesday evening. A blue Toyota Yaris hit a traffic island and was catapulted into the air before smashing into the side of the council bus. The back of the car was left protruding from the bus. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Pauline Hanson’s comments on ‘good Muslims’ don’t breach hate speech laws, Australian federal police finds 31. July 2026 (04:44) One Nation leader’s ‘how can you tell me there are good Muslims?’ remarks were the subject of complaints, but police say the matter has now been finalisedFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Australian federal police has determined One Nation leader Pauline Hanson’s comments about Muslim Australians “do not meet the threshold” of breaching hate laws.The AFP said it received several complaints about Hanson’s remarks to Sky News on 16 February. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump claims agreement for ‘complete disarmament’ of Hamas in Gaza but support uncertain 31. July 2026 (02:39) US president’s board of peace says Israel will withdraw from Gaza following disarmament of Hamas but no immediate statement from either sideWhat is Trump’s Board of Peace and who is involved?Donald Trump on Thursday announced an agreement for the “complete disarmament” of Hamas, calling it a critical step toward a new Palestinian government in Gaza. There was no immediate statement from Hamas or Israel on the agreement.“This agreement is a critical step towards Gaza finally being governed by a new Palestinian government that will work closely with the Board of Peace to help the Palestinian people,” Trump said in a social media post. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Anthropic’s AI Claude escaped testing environment and hacked organizations 31. July 2026 (02:22) Company says it discovered unauthorized access during ‘proactive review’ after rival OpenAI revealed rogue agentAnthropic said on Thursday its AI Claude model hacked systems of three organizations during testing, days after rival OpenAI revealed a rogue agent had gone on a days-long hacking spree at AI firm Hugging Face.Claude gained unauthorized access to the systems during cybersecurity evaluations after a misconfiguration allowed the models to reach the internet from testing environments that were supposed to be isolated, Anthropic said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
