New Zealand beat Pakistan in second ODI, win series at Hamilton
Pakistan's difficult tour of New Zealand continues, with Mitch Hay leading the home team to a series-clinching victory.
Israel expands ground assault on Gaza, seeks to seize ‘extensive territory’
New offensive comes as Israel's attacks kill 21 Palestinians and its blockade forces all bakeries to shut down.
Hollywood actor Val Kilmer, star of Top Gun and Batman Forever, dies at 65
The actor described himself in a documentary on his career as being 'blessed' and having 'no regrets'.
US approves sale of 20 F-16 fighter jets worth $5.58bn to Philippines
Potential sale of US fighter jets comes as tensions mount between the Philippines and China over maritime disputes.
UN calls Israeli statements on Gaza food supplies ‘ridiculous’
The UN dismissed Israel’s assertion that there was enough food in Gaza to last for a long period of time as “ridiculous”
Exhaustion and despair as Gaza faces new waves of forced displacement
Families flee with few belongings as Gaza's shelters overflow, leaving many without tents or essential supplies.
Nikola Jokic scores 61-point triple-double in Nuggets’ loss to Timberwolves
The All-Star centre became only the third player in NBA history to record a 60-point triple-double.
Nintendo set to unveil Switch 2, follow-up to megahit game console
Japanese gaming giant expected to reveal release date, price and other key details in live presentation on Wednesday.
Massive swells smash windows at Sydney’s Bondi Beach
A powerful king tide smashed glass, cracked footpaths and caused residents to evacuate as it battered Sydney's coast line.
Stephen Curry scores 52 as Warriors win against Grizzlies
The four-time NBA champion hit 12 three-pointers in the victory as Golden State leapfrogged Memphis in the standings.
Passengers hold on as driverless Metro train speeds through Sydney tunnel with an open door
Rail union wants network temporarily shut down and an investigation into ‘one of the worst safety incidents we’ve seen’
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Passengers held on to handrails after a door stayed open on a driverless Metro racing underneath Sydney, with a transport union later calling for the system to be shut down until safety measures were put in place.
A “door fault” was identified on a train travelling between Chatswood and Crows Nest stations at about 8.01am on Wednesday, the Metro Trains Sydney chief executive, Daniel Williams, said in a statement.
Continue reading...South Korea’s acting president urges calm, tighter security ahead of impeachment ruling – Reuters
- South Korea's acting president urges calm, tighter security ahead of impeachment ruling Reuters
- South Korea’s Constitutional Court will rule Friday on Yoon’s impeachment AP News
- South Korea’s President Will Learn His Fate on Friday The New York Times
- Keep calm and respect the ruling: Han calls for stability as rumors, tensions intensify The Korea Herald
- South Korea’s Constitutional Court to rule on Yoon’s impeachment on Friday Al Jazeera
Wednesday briefing: What the latest wave of tariffs mean for the US, UK, Europe – and you
In today’s newsletter: The administration’s sweeping tariffs have left markets bracing for volatility – but what impact will they have on an unsteady global economy?
Good morning. According to Donald Trump, it’s “liberation day”: the advent of a new trade order in which Americans reap the benefit of massive tariffs on imports, and the rest of the world picks up the tab.
Unsurprisingly, the United States’ trading partners tend to take a very different view. And they are doing everything they can to avoid being passive targets for the White House’s carnivorous vision of American exceptionalism.
Israel-Gaza war | Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced a major expansion of the military operation in Gaza on Wednesday, saying large areas of the enclave would be seized and added to the security zones of Israel. Follow the latest here.
Israel-Gaza war | Some of the bodies of 15 Palestinian paramedics and rescue workers, killed by Israeli forces and buried in a mass grave in Gaza, were found with their hands or legs tied and had gunshot wounds to the head and chest, according to two eyewitnesses. The accounts add to evidence pointing to a potentially serious war crime on 23 March.
UK news | More than 20 women have contacted police to say they fear they may have been attacked by the serial rapist Zhenhao Zou, with detectives fearing there may be even more victims to come. Zou, 28, was convicted last month of raping three women in London and seven in China between 2019 and 2024.
US politics | Cory Booker, the Democratic US senator from New Jersey, has broken the record for longest speech ever by a lone senator by spending 25 hours and five minutes inveighing against Donald Trump in the chamber. Booker’s speech was intended to highlight the “grave and urgent” danger that Trump poses to democracy.
Cinema | Val Kilmer, the actor best known for his roles in Top Gun, Batman Forever and The Doors, has died at the age of 65. His daughter Mercedes told the New York Times that the cause of death was pneumonia.
Continue reading...Israel-Gaza war: Israeli defence minister announces expansion of military operations in Gaza – latest updates
Defence minister Israel Katz says large areas of the territory would be seized and added to the security zones of Israel. Follow the latest developments
Israel’s announcement that the army will seize “large areas” of the Palestinian territory comes after a warning last week that the military would soon “operate with full force” in additional parts of Hamas-run Gaza.
Israel restarted intense bombing of Gaza on 18 March and then launched a new ground offensive, ending a nearly two-month ceasefire in the war with Hamas.
Continue reading...Stranger than fiction MI5 tales revealed in first National Archives collaboration
From Guy Burgess’s briefcase to microdots secreted in talc, an exhibition reveals remarkable items from the agency’s archives – and the extraordinary stories behind them
The agency that would become MI5, originally known as the Secret Service Bureau, employed just 17 staff in 1914; by the end of the first world war, the number working for Britain’s domestic counter-intelligence agency had swelled to 850, including a number of female administrators.
While valuable for managing the card index records, noted Edith Lomax, the controller of women staff in 1918, only women under the age of 30 should be recruited “on account of the very considerable strain that was thrown on [their] brains”.
Continue reading...Doctors in NSW public hospitals threaten three-day strike over pay dispute, defying ban
State government warns industrial action could halt elective surgeries, as doctors seek pay rise of up to 30%
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Thousands of doctors in public hospitals across New South Wales are threatening to strike for the first time in decades as they seek a pay rise of up to 30%, as the state government warns the action could halt elective surgeries.
Doctors have threatened a three-day walkout from public hospitals from Tuesday. It marks the latest medical industrial dispute to potentially escalate into diminished patient care, after Guardian Australia on Wednesday revealed that the mass resignation of public psychiatrists over pay and conditions has led to the closure of the HIV psychiatry clinic at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred’s hospital.
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Continue reading...US says China military drills targeting Taiwan put region’s security ‘at risk’
China’s military says drills will continue in the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday and will use live fire
The US has accused China of putting the region’s security at risk after it launched a second day of military drills targeting Taiwan with a rehearsal blockade and attack.
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) began the joint drills without notice on Tuesday morning, sending 76 aircraft and more than 20 Navy and Coast Guard ships, including the Shandong carrier group, to positions around Taiwan’s main island.
Continue reading...Where are the highest, lowest tariffs? Trump’s reciprocal tariffs explained
The US has some of the lowest tariffs in the world. Trump wants to reverse that with reciprocal tariffs on April 2.
Queensland’s recovery to ‘take months and years’ after floods sweep across vast interior
Bureau of Meteorology predicts flooding could continue for weeks as stock losses already estimated at over 150,000
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Queensland’s premier has declared “day one” of a recovery that will take years as the state prepares to wake to clear skies that should reveal the vast scale of its outback floods.
But despite forecasts the rain will pass for soaked central and south-west Queensland by Thursday, towns and homesteads could be cut off or at risk of flooding for weeks to come, according to the Bureau of Meteorology’s senior meteorologist, Dean Narramore.
Continue reading...Last summer was second worst for common UK butterflies since 1976
More than half of Britain’s 59 native species are in long-term decline, UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme finds
Last summer was the fifth worst in nearly half a century for butterflies in Britain, according to the biggest scientific survey of insect populations in the world.
For the first time since scientific recording began in 1976, more than half of Britain’s 59 native species are in long-term decline.
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