Reeves’s tax cut on children’s meals a political ‘soundbite’, say restaurateurs

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Chancellor’s measure to help families save money during summer holidays ‘won’t make any difference’

Cutting tax on children’s meals is a political “soundbite” that will make little difference to families or businesses, restaurateurs have said.

This week, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, announced a temporary reduction in VAT on the children’s menu in restaurants from 20% to 5% between June and September, in order to help families with the cost of living crisis and offer a boost to the hospitality sector.

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Board of Peace focus on Hamas risks return to war in Gaza, critics say

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US-backed board has put sole blame for stalled ceasefire on militant group despite Israel not fulfilling its obligations, analysts say

The top diplomat from the Board of Peace has blamed Hamas for the stalled ceasefire, but critics have said the US-backed board’s lack of even-handedness in implementing the truce risks a return to war.

The “high representative for Gaza”, Nickolay Mladenov, told the UN security council on Thursday that Hamas was the “principal obstacle” to the ceasefire’s continued implementation because “it refused to accept verified decommissioning, relinquish coercive control and allow a genuine civilian transition”.

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China mine explosion: death toll leaps to 90 after gas blast

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Xi Jinping urges authorities to ‘spare no effort’ in rescue operation after blast in northern Shanxi province

At least 90 people have been killed in a gas explosion at a coalmine in China’s northern Shanxi province, the country’s deadliest mining accident since at least 2009.

The gas explosion occurred late on Friday at the Liushenyu coalmine in Qinyuan county, with 247 workers on duty underground, the state news agency Xinhua reported.

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Fraudster trying to sell fake ancient statues to Sotheby’s foiled over bogus invoices

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Paperwork supplied by Andrew Crowley, 46, found to be made using printing methods 25 years too modern

A fraudster who tried to sell fake ancient statues to Sotheby’s was foiled when his bogus accompanying paperwork was found to be written with printing methods that were 25 years too modern, a court has heard.

Andrew Crowley, 46, asked the auctioneers to value three Cycladic figures and one Anatolian stargazer statuette that he had inherited from his grandfather, Southwark crown court in London was told on Friday.

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Albanese joins coalition of nations calling for an end to Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank

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Australia joins the UK, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands and New Zealand in condemning illegal settlements

The Israeli government is undermining stability in the West Bank as settler violence reaches unprecedented levels, a coalition of western countries says, as its leaders call for an end to construction of Israeli settlements it says breach international law.

In a joint statement issued on Friday, Anthony Albanese and the leaders of the UK, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, Norway, the Netherlands and New Zealand said:

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Jacinta Allan launches state-sponsored apprenticeships at Victoria’s Labor conference ahead of election

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The premier is offering 2,000 apprenticeships at the revived State Electricity Commission as part of a pre-election push

Jacinta Allan has used Labor’s final state conference before the election to announce a plan for a government-owned electricity body to hire apprentices to address significant workforce shortages and job insecurity.

The Victorian premier announced the plan in a speech that drew on her father’s experience as a linesman at the State Electricity Commission (SEC), which was revived by Daniel Andrews in 2023 after being privatised by former premier Jeff Kennett in the 1990s.

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Stephen Hawking’s father worried his son ‘does not study much’, diaries reveal

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Exclusive: New biography uncovers Frank Hawking’s papers in which he lamented that his son had ‘little initiative’

In exploring the physics and geometry of the universe, Stephen Hawking became a world-renowned pioneer of black hole theory, writing the bestselling book A Brief History of Time, which has sold more than 13m copies, and inspiring people to “look up at the stars and not down at your feet”.

But, during Hawking’s student years and as he approached adulthood, his father was deeply concerned about how his son would turn out. Frank Hawking lamented that “he hangs round the house with little initiative and does not study much”, according to previously unknown diaries that he had written partly in code.

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Anthony Albanese visibly emotional after defending Labor’s capital gains tax and negative gearing changes

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Prime minister launches impassioned argument in favour of much-maligned reforms announced in last week’s federal budget

A visibly emotional Anthony Albanese has launched an impassioned defence of Labor’s proposed changes to negative gearing, the capital gains tax discount and family trusts, saying he will “not allow Australia to become a country where aspiration is only for some”.

The prime minister has faced sustained criticism to the reforms, which include limiting negative gearing to new-builds while grandfathering existing properties, changing how CGT is calculated and imposing a new 30% minimum tax on discretionary trusts.

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Israeli strikes in Lebanon killed 10, including six paramedics, health ministry says

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Lebanon’s health ministry condemns attacks as violations of international law; Israel says it struck Hezbollah infrastructure sites and militants

Israeli strikes in Lebanon killed 10 people, including six paramedics and a child, in the space of 24 hours, Lebanon’s health ministry said on Friday, placing further strain on a US-brokered ceasefire. The ministry condemned the attacks as violations of international law.

Further airstrikes were reported on Friday night into Saturday. An AFP correspondent in the southern city of Tyre reported hearing two blasts as one building on the outskirts was struck, then another inside the city, sending plumes of smoke into the air. Earlier, officials worked to evacuate people from the neighbourhood, using loudspeakers urging them to leave.

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Trump Mobile investigating potential exposure of would-be customers’ personal information

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Phone company launched by Donald Trump’s family says names and contact details appear to be affected, but not credit card or banking information

A phone company launched by Donald Trump’s family business is investigating a potential security flaw on its website that appears to have exposed the personal details of an estimated 27,000 people who sought to buy a gold-coloured smartphone.

Trump Mobile said in a statement that it was investigating the issue – “with the assistance of independent cybersecurity professionals” – in which the full names, addresses and phone numbers of people who filled out preorder forms appeared to be exposed.

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Three die in ‘horrific’ south Sydney vehicle crash after police welfare check

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A 42-year-old fled from police before being involved in a two-vehicle crash in Sans Souci, police say

Three people have died in a crash in Sydney after a man fled from police who had been attempting to carry out a welfare check.

Police officers had been called to a property in Gymea Bay, southern Sydney, at 12.25am on Saturday. When they arrived, a 42-year-old man drove away in a white Audi, New South Wales police said.

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