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Received today — 1 May 2026 The Guardian World news

Australia news live: Jefferson Lewis was unconscious when apprehended, police say; Kumanjayi Little Baby’s grandfather calls for calm in Alice Springs

1 May 2026 at 01:30

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A man has allegedly stolen nearly $3,000 worth of diesel in jerry cans and drums from a South Sydney service station.

Police said they were told a driver of a white ute allegedly filled large drums and jerry cans with 915 litres of diesel, valued at over $2,870 (or about $3.14 a litre), without paying at about 7.15pm on 11 April.

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© Photograph: Em Jensen/The Guardian

© Photograph: Em Jensen/The Guardian

© Photograph: Em Jensen/The Guardian

Australian hiker missing in Nova Scotia national park not heard from for two weeks

1 May 2026 at 01:25

Denise Ann Williams, 62, was last heard from on 15 April

A search is continuing for a 62-year-old Australian woman who was reported missing on Tuesday while hiking in a Canadian national park.

Denise Ann Williams was last heard from on 15 April, when she told family she was travelling to Chéticamp, a fishing village on the west coast of Cape Breton island in Nova Scotia.

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© Photograph: Nova Scotia Royal Canadian Mounted Police

© Photograph: Nova Scotia Royal Canadian Mounted Police

© Photograph: Nova Scotia Royal Canadian Mounted Police

  • ✇The Guardian World news
  • Fema employees who criticized Trump cuts reinstated after months on leave Gabrielle Canon and agencies
    Workers wrote ‘Katrina declaration’, warning that funding cuts made US dangerously unprepared for natural disastersFourteen employees with the US Federal Emergency Management Agency returned to work this week, after spending eight months on administrative leave for signing a public letter criticising the Trump administration.The so-called “Katrina declaration”, sent last August to members of Congress and a federal council formed to help determine Fema’s future, was written as a rebuke from the w
     

Fema employees who criticized Trump cuts reinstated after months on leave

1 May 2026 at 01:01

Workers wrote ‘Katrina declaration’, warning that funding cuts made US dangerously unprepared for natural disasters

Fourteen employees with the US Federal Emergency Management Agency returned to work this week, after spending eight months on administrative leave for signing a public letter criticising the Trump administration.

The so-called “Katrina declaration”, sent last August to members of Congress and a federal council formed to help determine Fema’s future, was written as a rebuke from the workers about the dangerous erosion in US capacity to prepare for and respond to natural disasters.

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© Photograph: Ken Cedeno/Reuters

© Photograph: Ken Cedeno/Reuters

© Photograph: Ken Cedeno/Reuters

‘Don’t fall!’: foil boarders describe hair-raising shark chase caught on video off California coast

1 May 2026 at 00:29

Foil boarders were pursued by shark – likely a great white – off Santa Barbara before it lost interest and swam away

Ron Takeda and Tavis Boise were a few miles off the coast of Santa Barbara when they noticed the large mass trailing behind them.

“Tavis, is it a dolphin?” asked Takeda as he stood on his foil board, a specialized form of surfing, propelling himself through the waves. Boise, who was filming their run, recognized the question as an ominous sign – the veteran surfers are familiar enough with dolphins that Takeda should have recognized one immediately.

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© Photograph: smallwavetav

© Photograph: smallwavetav

© Photograph: smallwavetav

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  • US Congress passes short-term renewal of Fisa warrantless spying powers Sanya Mansoor
    Lawmakers agree 45-day extension but Republican and Democratic critics urge reform of surveillance programThe US Congress has passed a 45-day extension of a law that grants US intelligence agencies warrantless spying powers.Bitter infighting over section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in the Republican wing of Congress has repeatedly tanked conservative leaders’ plans to renew the controversial surveillance law for multiple years. The deadlock continued on Thursday, as the Repu
     

US Congress passes short-term renewal of Fisa warrantless spying powers

30 April 2026 at 23:24

Lawmakers agree 45-day extension but Republican and Democratic critics urge reform of surveillance program

The US Congress has passed a 45-day extension of a law that grants US intelligence agencies warrantless spying powers.

Bitter infighting over section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in the Republican wing of Congress has repeatedly tanked conservative leaders’ plans to renew the controversial surveillance law for multiple years. The deadlock continued on Thursday, as the Republican House speaker Mike Johnson refused to include key reforms pushed by hardliners in his party and progressive Democrats.

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© Photograph: Kevin Carter/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kevin Carter/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kevin Carter/Getty Images

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  • Tim Cook takes victory lap as Apple’s financial results soar past Wall Street expectations Sanya Mansoor
    Company details $111.2bn in revenue in first earnings report after announcement of Cook’s pending departureApple blew past Wall Street expectations in its first earnings report since it announced CEO Tim Cook would be stepping down.Cook shared his thoughts about the leadership transition on Thursday, saying: “There’s no one on this planet I trust more to lead Apple into the future” than incoming CEO John Ternus. Asked by an investor what advice he has given Ternus, Cook said: “Never forget the n
     

Tim Cook takes victory lap as Apple’s financial results soar past Wall Street expectations

30 April 2026 at 23:21

Company details $111.2bn in revenue in first earnings report after announcement of Cook’s pending departure

Apple blew past Wall Street expectations in its first earnings report since it announced CEO Tim Cook would be stepping down.

Cook shared his thoughts about the leadership transition on Thursday, saying: “There’s no one on this planet I trust more to lead Apple into the future” than incoming CEO John Ternus. Asked by an investor what advice he has given Ternus, Cook said: “Never forget the north star for the company. You know, we’re about making the best products in the world that really enrich other people’s lives.”

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© Photograph: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

© Photograph: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

© Photograph: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Tony Blair’s thinktank urges Labour to scrap ‘unaffordable’ pension triple lock

State pension was ‘built for a different era’, says former PM’s organisation amid pressure on government finances

Labour has been urged by Tony Blair’s thinktank to scrap the pensions triple lock amid mounting pressure on government finances.

With the Iran war threatening to derail public spending plans, the Tony Blair Institute (TBI) said the “unaffordable” manifesto pledge to maintain the triple lock should be torn up as part of a wider overhaul of the state pension.

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© Photograph: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

© Photograph: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

© Photograph: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

MPs accuse South East Water leaders of incompetence over repeated outages

30 April 2026 at 23:01

Parliamentary committee takes unusual step of declaring no confidence in executives at utility provider

MPs have accused the leadership of South East Water of incompetence over repeated water outages for tens of thousands of customers, and expressed no confidence in their ability to reform the company.

MPs from across the political spectrum said David Hinton, SEW’s chief executive, and the board of directors operated a culture of unaccountability at the company, which provides drinking water for 2.3 million customers in Berkshire, Hampshire, Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

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© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

  • ✇The Guardian World news
  • Gen Z leads birdwatching boom as more Britons reach for the binoculars Patrick Barkham
    Birdwatching no longer niche, old-fashioned pastime, says RSPB as research shows 47% increase in hobby since 2018Birdwatching is the second fastest growing hobby for generation Z after jewellery making, according to a multiyear study of more than 24,000 people.Almost 750,000 gen Zers (16 to 29-year-olds) in Britain regularly enjoy watching birds, a -1,088% increase since 2018, according to research by Fifty5Blue published by the RSPB. Continue reading...
     

Gen Z leads birdwatching boom as more Britons reach for the binoculars

30 April 2026 at 23:01

Birdwatching no longer niche, old-fashioned pastime, says RSPB as research shows 47% increase in hobby since 2018

Birdwatching is the second fastest growing hobby for generation Z after jewellery making, according to a multiyear study of more than 24,000 people.

Almost 750,000 gen Zers (16 to 29-year-olds) in Britain regularly enjoy watching birds, a -1,088% increase since 2018, according to research by Fifty5Blue published by the RSPB.

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© Photograph: Outdoor Images/Alamy

© Photograph: Outdoor Images/Alamy

© Photograph: Outdoor Images/Alamy

Martha’s rule may have saved more than 500 lives in England since 2024

30 April 2026 at 23:00

Patient safety mechanism which gives patients the right to seek a second opinion having ‘lifesaving impact’, says health secretary

More than 500 people have received potentially life-saving care thanks to Martha’s rule, which gives hospital patients the right to seek a second opinion about their health.

They were moved to intensive care or a specialist unit after they, a loved one or a member of NHS staff triggered the patient safety mechanism, which the NHS in England began using in 2024.

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© Photograph: Mills/Laity family photograph/PA

© Photograph: Mills/Laity family photograph/PA

© Photograph: Mills/Laity family photograph/PA

Former Spandau Ballet singer jailed for 14 years for multiple rapes and sexual assaults

30 April 2026 at 22:41

Ross Davidson, who sang with group in 2018, was convicted of offences committed against six women

Musician Ross Davidson, a former singer for Spandau Ballet, has been jailed for 14 years for multiple rapes and sexual assaults.

Davidson, 38, was convicted across two trials of two counts of rape, an attempted rape, three sexual assaults and two charges of voyeurism, in offences committed against six women between August 2013 and December 2019.

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© Photograph: Metropolitan Police/PA

© Photograph: Metropolitan Police/PA

© Photograph: Metropolitan Police/PA

Unrest in Alice Springs after Jefferson Lewis arrested over death of Kumanjayi Little Baby

30 April 2026 at 21:23

Dozens of people gather outside hospital where 47-year-old was being treated five days after the five-year-old girl disappeared

Warning: This article contains references to and images of Indigenous Australians who have died

An angry crowd has clashed with police outside a hospital in Alice Springs where a 47-year-old man arrested by police in connection with the death of five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby was being treated.

Council workers were assessing the damage on Friday morning, as fires smouldered in skip bins and a nearby service station had been pulled apart.

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© Photograph: Rhett Hammerton/AAP

© Photograph: Rhett Hammerton/AAP

© Photograph: Rhett Hammerton/AAP

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