The CGT ‘backflip’ is more tweak than transformation. Labor hasn’t changed its mind on housing 18. June 2026 (17:00) Do the concessions undermine the original objective of helping young Australians buy their own home? NoGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe noise, negative headlines and internet memes that have surrounded Labor’s capital gains tax changes since their budget night unveiling made a backdown feel like an inevitability.It wasn’t a question of if concessions would be offered but rather when and, most importantly, how much they might undermine the original purpose. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Pauline Hanson says she ‘had to have a conversation’ about immigration and the Aboriginal flag with new Farrer MP 18. June 2026 (17:00) David Farley was told One Nation’s policy was to fly only the Australian flag, party leader tells conferenceFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOne Nation’s leader, Pauline Hanson, says she “had to have a conversation” with the new Farrer MP, David Farley, after he appeared to defy her policies on immigration and flying Indigenous flags.Shortly before winning Farrer in May’s byelection – the first federal lower house seat One Nation has won outright – Farley said Labor’s current immigration intake of 306,000 was “probably not” too much. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Australian net overseas migration falls to lowest level since 2022 – but the Coalition says that’s still too high 18. June 2026 (17:00) Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show migration growth is above pre-pandemic levels but tracking steadily downGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastNet overseas migration added 301,000 people to Australia’s population last year, the lowest increase since mid-2022 but still above the pre-pandemic pace.The new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics come amid an increasingly fraught political debate around immigration, following Pauline Hanson’s declaration that our society should be “monocultural”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Cuban economy needs ‘urgent changes’ as US blockade deepens crisis, says president 18. June 2026 (16:46) Miguel Díaz-Canel cites China and Vietnam as possible models for opening up the country’s economyCuba’s economy needs urgent changes to overcome a crisis intensified by a US oil blockade, the president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, has said in a speech to Communist party leaders.“The situation calls for urgent and necessary changes,” Díaz-Canel told the party’s politburo in his frankest admission yet of the need to overhaul the country’s communist model. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Anger at ‘send them back’ chants by rightwing MEPs after EU migration law vote 18. June 2026 (16:41) Other lawmakers respond with ‘shame on you’ in heated confrontation over passing of plan to increase deportationsRightwing MEPs have come under fire after they celebrated a vote aimed at increasing deportations across the EU with chants of “send them back”, leading other lawmakers to respond with cries of “shame on you”.The heated confrontation in the European parliament came on Wednesday after lawmakers voted 418 to 218 to approve controversial measures aimed at increasing deportations of undocumented people. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Eton figures to join populist politicians and wealthy backers at ‘anti-woke Davos’ 18. June 2026 (15:45) Exclusive: Event co-founded by Jordan Peterson will bring together rightwing figures, US state officials and anti-abortionists in LondonNigel Farage and fellow Reform UK MPs Sarah Pochin and Andrew Rosindell will be there. As will a plethora of Reform advisers, backroom staff and figures, such as Ben Delo, a British crypto billionaire who has given £4m to Nigel Farage’s party.Yet as populist-right politicians from across the globe and their multimillionaire backers prepare for this year’s Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (Arc) – a rightwing London summit labelled an “anti-woke Davos” – others whose expected attendance has not been publicised potentially raises more questions. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Lake Tahoe residents ‘horrified’ by plans to spray cancer-linked glyphosate in public lands 18. June 2026 (15:00) Federal agency to use herbicide to clear lands for replanting after 2021 Caldor fire – but public reaction to plan is fierceKatherine Levy remembers a childhood deeply rooted in the natural offerings of Lake Tahoe – water-skiing in the summer and working as ski instructor on the surrounding snow-covered mountains during winter months.She recently moved back to live out her retirement along the lake’s north shore. But she doesn’t like what she has found upon her return: a US government plan to spray multiple types of herbicides, including the cancer-linked glyphosate weed killer – within national forest property that abuts the community’s cherished lake. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Supreme court to release opinions with several high-stakes rulings to come including birthright citizenship – US politics live 18. June 2026 (14:48) Trump’s immigration agenda is on the supreme court docket with rulings still to come on birthright citizenship and TPS for Haitian and Syrian immigrantsSign up for the Breaking News US emailIn case you missed it, last night Donald Trump signed a 14-point agreement with Iran, claiming it delivered a “major win” for the United States – even as it made significant political and financial concessions to Iran to reopen the strait of Hormuz and prevent a “worldwide depression”.In extraordinary remarks yesterday, Trump went from threatening Iran with a new wave of attacks to suggesting the country had basic rights to enrich uranium for civilian use, that he would not pressure Tehran to abandon its ballistic missiles programme and the US was “going to have to give back” billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets.The agreement is a record of US failure. People will see it and judge. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
FDA panel considers a first-of-its-kind flu vaccine using mRNA technology 18. June 2026 (14:45) Moderna seeks FDA approval of its new shot, mFlusvia, as option for 50 and olderUS health advisers are debating a new kind of flu vaccine Thursday, the first made with the same mRNA technology that was key to ending the Covid-19 pandemic.Moderna is seeking Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of its new shot , dubbed mFlusiva, as an option for people 50 and older. The FDA advisory committee meeting is a step toward a final decision ahead of the winter flu season. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Whole-life order given to UK teacher who sexually abused and murdered adopted baby 18. June 2026 (14:39) Jamie Varley jailed for life and partner John McGowan-Fazakerley jailed for 25 years over death of Preston DaveyA secondary school teacher has been jailed for life for sexually abusing and murdering the baby boy he was adopting with his partner.Jamie Varley, 37, was sentenced to a whole-life order on Thursday for abusing and killing 13-month-old Preston Davey. It means he will stay in prison for the rest of his life and never be eligible for parole, the judge Mr Justice Turner said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
