John Major’s rise from obscure whip to PM part of new National Theatre season

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Play is one of eight world premieres in programme with global conflict and political upheaval at its heart

A new play about John Major’s rise to power, written by James Graham, will premiere at the National Theatre in London next year, as part of a season that puts political upheaval and global conflict at the heart of its programme.

Major reunites Graham with Jeremy Herrin, the director behind the acclaimed parliamentary drama This House. It will chart Major’s emergence from relatively obscure whip to prime minister, taking over from Margaret Thatcher at a pivotal moment in Britain’s relationship with Europe.

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Enact Trew’s law to automatically review ‘bent copper’ convictions, says report

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Experts say failure to immediately review cases involving corrupt police officers risks ‘ruining’ more lives

Convictions that imprisoned police officers were involved in obtaining should be automatically reviewed to correct miscarriages of justice such as those perpetrated by the corrupt and racist officer DS Derek Ridgewell, a report says.

The proposed Trew’s law, named after Winston Trew – who was framed by Ridgewell and spent decades fighting to clear his name – would trigger an immediate, independent review of past cases linked to any jailed officer in England and Wales.

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Deadly Philippines ferry fire leaves scores of people missing

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Forty-three people rescued and early death toll stands at five after blaze aboard MV ‌June Aster in waters off Coron, Palawan, says coast guard

Five people were confirmed dead ⁠in early counting and ​more than 80 were missing after a ferry caught fire ⁠off Palawan island in the western Philippines on Wednesday night, the Philippine coast ⁠guard said.

Forty-three people were ​rescued from the MV ‌June Aster in waters off Coron, Palawan, the coast guard said. Footage showed flames engulfing parts of the vessel and responders placing victims ‌in body bags.

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SMH columnist Peter FitzSimons tells Alan Jones trial alleged victim was ‘revolted’ by abuse

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FitzSimons tells court that complainant C told him Jones, who has pleaded not guilty, would touch his penis and he ‘kept pushing it away’

Sydney Morning Herald columnist Peter FitzSimons has told the Alan Jones trial an alleged victim he spoke to in 2019 was “tearful” and sounded “emotionally traumatised” when detailing alleged assaults by the 2GB broadcaster.

The commentator and author gave evidence in the Downing Centre local court on Thursday about a telephone call he had with the alleged victim known as complainant C in October 2019.

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Rhode Island’s Democratic governor loses primary amid anger over bridge

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Helena Foulkes beats incumbent Dan McKee after criticizing handling of Providence’s Washington bridge, now expected to be completed in 2028

Rhode Island’s Dan McKee became the first sitting governor to lose a primary in nearly a decade, bested not by a more progressive challenger or a more youthful upset but by frustration over a bridge.

McKee lost his Democratic primary to Helena Foulkes, a former longtime executive with Rhode Island-based retail pharmacy CVS, the Associated Press said on Wednesday.

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Rubio says US will work with allies to stop drug-trafficking as three killed in latest boat strike

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Rubio visits Ecuador and welcomes cooperation after campaign of unilateral strikes on alleged ‘narco-terrorists’

US secretary of state Marco Rubio gave new clarity on the approach toward combating drug trafficking in Latin American waters, saying the Trump administration was focused on working with allied countries and aligning with their laws but insisting the military will “still blow up ships if need be.”

The public acknowledgment of a shift in US strategy comes a year after Washington began a campaign of unilateral deadly strikes against those it calls “narco-terrorists” operating boats in international waters.

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UK chancellor urged to remove £100k childcare ‘cliff edge’ prompting parents to cut work hours

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Critics say threshold pushes higher-paid staff to cut back on work and often mothers to stop working to avoid losing entitlement

John Healey has been urged to fix the £100,000 childcare “cliff edge”, that means some higher-paid employees cut back on work to avoid losing their entitlement.

Since the latest expansion of taxpayer-funded childcare in 2024, families with young children in which both parents earn less than £100,000 a year can be entitled to 30 hours a week of care - or none at all, if one of them cross that threshold.

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Notorious Ecuadorian crime gang designated a terrorist group by US

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Trump administration to seek extra funding from Congress to ‘dismantle’ Los Tiguerones over narcotics trafficking

The US has designated Ecuador’s Los Tiguerones gang, which stormed a television station during a live broadcast in 2024, as a terrorist organisation as the Trump administration expands its campaign against narcotics traffickers it says are destabilising Latin America.

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, made the announcement in Quito, where he met Ecuadorian president Daniel Noboa, one of several rightwing allies of Donald Trump whom Rubio is courting as a security partner during a three-nation tour through Latin America that began on Tuesday.

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Victoria’s koalas in chronically poor health and population is half what was previously estimated

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Exclusive: State government delayed releasing major report into the health of the koala population for more than 12 months

The Victorian government sat on a report for more than 12 months that found the state’s koala population was in chronically poor health.

The review of the state’s koala populations, led by state science agency the Arthur Rylah Institute in conjunction with scientists from major universities, was completed for the Victorian government in June 2025.

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