Government scrambles to save British Steel as firm faces crisis within crisis

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Union leaders have welcomed moves towards public ownership but it is not an auspicious environment for nationalisation

Blast furnaces have been making steel in Britain for 300 years, ever since they helped start the Industrial Revolution. This weekend, parliament will sit for the first Saturday in decades as it tries to keep the last two furnaces running for a bit longer.

Keir Starmer has recalled MPs to discuss emergency powers to direct steel companies, including British Steel’s Scunthorpe steelworks, to “preserve capability and ensure public safety”. The move would be short of nationalisation, but it would give the government more influence on the steel industry than at any point since Margaret Thatcher.

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Red Cross chief says Gaza is ‘hell on earth’ as Israeli assault continues – BBC

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  1. Red Cross chief says Gaza is 'hell on earth' as Israeli assault continues  BBC
  2. UN chief says Palestinians in Gaza in ‘death loop’, demands end to blockade  Al Jazeera
  3. U.N. says Israel’s aid blockade has opened ‘floodgates of horror’ in Gaza  The Washington Post
  4. Gaza 'hell on earth' as hospital supplies running out, warns head of Red Cross  Reuters
  5. ‘War without limits’: Aid agencies sound the alarm as Israel’s Gaza blockade enters a second month  CNN
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Homeland security apparently used British man’s tattoo to identify alleged gang members

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‘Average man from Derbyshire’ shocked to find photo of tattoo celebrating child’s birth was used to deport migrants

A British man was shocked to discover that a photo of his tattoo was included in a US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) document used to identify alleged members of a notorious Venezuelan criminal gang, Tren de Aragua (TdA).

Earlier this week, 44-year-old Pete Belton, who lives in the English county of Derbyshire, told the BBC that he was stunned to find a photo of his forearm tattoo featured in a DHS document among nine images of tattoos intended to assist in “detecting and identifying” TdA members.

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Labour MPs urge ministers to focus on rebuilding trading relationship with EU

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Call to prioritise reset with Europe comes after top adviser to Trump downplays prospect of US tariffs being reduced

Ministers should focus on rebuilding bridges with the EU, Labour politicians have said, after a senior adviser to Donald Trump downplayed the prospect of a breakthrough with the US.

MPs said the government should “prioritise our trading relationship with the EU” and “get a sugar rush of growth” instead of banking on the prospect of preferential treatment from Washington.

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Mexico to send water to Texas farmers as US treaty threat grows

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Mexico’s failure to keep up 81-year-old water-sharing treaty has sparked a diplomatic spat with the US

Mexico will make an immediate water delivery to Texas farmers to help make up its shortfall under a treaty that has strained US relations and prompted tariff threats by Donald Trump, said Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, on Friday.

Mexico is looking for alternatives to comply with the 81-year-old water-sharing treaty with the US, Sheinbaum said in her regular news conference. A proposal had already been sent to US officials, she said.

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Revealed: nearly 2m hectares of koala habitat bulldozed since 2011 – despite political promises to protect species

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Guardian Australia is highlighting the plight of our endangered native species during an election campaign that is ignoring broken environment laws and rapidly declining ecosystems

Nearly 2m hectares of forests suitable for endangered koalas have been destroyed since the iconic species was declared a threatened species in 2011, according to analysis for Guardian Australia.

The scale of habitat destruction in Queensland and New South Wales – states in which the koala is formally recognised as being at risk of extinction – has continued despite political promises it would be protected.

Get Guardian Australia environment editor Adam Morton’s Clear Air column as an email

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Liberal candidate co-authored inquiry submission suggesting Hazaras not persecuted for ethnicity in Afghanistan

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Exclusive: Zahid Safi, who is running in Melbourne seat of Bruce, listed as last author on 2021 Senate submission which says victims of Afghanistan war ‘not based on ethnicity’

The Liberal candidate for Bruce co-authored a parliamentary submission suggesting the Hazara community in Afghanistan was not persecuted on the basis of its ethnicity, contradicting the Australian government and drawing rebuke from international human rights groups.

Zahid Safi co-authored a submission to a 2021 parliamentary inquiry into Australia’s involvement in the Afghanistan war, which incorrectly cited a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report to allege Hazara “warlords” had “cut the breasts of women” and watched “live delivery of pregnant women” during the early 1990s. The 2005 HRW report does not mention these acts.

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It’s week two of Peter Dutton’s campaign and (almost) everything is tightly scripted

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The Coalition leader muzzles the press pack in a way Albanese often struggles to achieve – after a train wreck opening week, he’s taking back control

“Who won the election?” 12-year-old Sammy asks Peter Dutton, leaning through the window of the passenger seat where the opposition leader sits.

The Coalition leader has just finished his last pit stop in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs for the day: a petrol station. By this point, he’s been to six of them in the last seven days – mostly cleared of regular punters – selling his party’s promise to bring down petrol costs by about $14 per car a week. Economic analysts put that estimate a lot lower – about $7.56.

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Tell us about the people in your community working to protect our endangered species

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While the election is ignoring the issue of Australia’s extinction crisis, volunteers and community groups all around the country are doing their best to save our endangered species. We want to hear about them

Australia is in the midst of what experts say is an extinction crisis, but the decline of the country’s unique wildlife and the state of the environment has not been mentioned by the major parties this election campaign.

This week, Guardian Australia launched a new series, Last Chance, to put a spotlight on everyday people standing up for endangered species in their local environment.

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Allies pledge €21B in weapons for Ukraine while denouncing Russian attacks – politico.eu

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  1. Allies pledge €21B in weapons for Ukraine while denouncing Russian attacks  politico.eu
  2. Ukraine allies pledge €21bn in fresh military aid  BBC
  3. Western ‘coalition of the willing’ stumbles on reassurance force troop numbers, timeline  Breaking Defense
  4. Ukraine allies promise €21bn in military support for Kyiv  The Guardian
  5. European countries vow billions in military support for Ukraine as US envoy meets Putin  AP News
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Ukraine allies promise €21bn in military support for Kyiv

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Ukraine defence contact group accuses Putin of dragging his feet over deal and Trump urges Russia to ‘get moving’

Ukraine’s allies have announced a record €21bn (£18.2bn) in additional military support for Kyiv and accused Vladimir Putin of dragging his feet and delaying US-led negotiations over a ceasefire deal.

Speaking at a meeting of the Ukraine defence contact group in Brussels, the British defence secretary, John Healey, said the Russian president had rejected a 30-day pause in fighting proposed a month ago by Donald Trump.

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