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Received today — 4 May 2026 The Guardian World news

News live: Bell says royal commission will look at ‘ugly displays of hostility’ towards Jewish Australians as hearings begin

4 May 2026 at 01:17

Meanwhile treasurer says next week’s budget will save more than it spends. Follow today’s news live

Jim Chalmers says next Tuesday’s budget will not extend the 26 cent fuel tax cut beyond June.

But with Australia “hostage” to the wild swings in global oil prices amid the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran, the treasurer said there was “a range of contingencies” prepared to help support households and the economy from any escalating damage as a result of the Middle East conflict.

The budget will be calibrated for the conditions, but it will also still be consistent with our ambitions.

The election began a year of delivery, and the budget will begin a year of more ambitious reform, reform which is made more not less, urgent by global inflation and global economic uncertainty.

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© Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

© Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

© Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

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  • The Devil Wears Prada 2 struts to stunning $233m opening weekend at box office Sian Cain and agencies
    Sequel a rare example of female-skewing movie leading the North American summer offerings – and highest opening weekend yet for a Meryl Streep filmGird your loins: The Devil Wears Prada 2 has had a huge opening weekend at the box office, making $233m (£171m, A$323m) worldwide from an overwhelmingly female audience.The Devil Wears Prada 2 earned $77m at the North American box office, and $156.6m internationally. In the US and Canada, the sequel bumped Michael to second place, though the musical b
     

The Devil Wears Prada 2 struts to stunning $233m opening weekend at box office

4 May 2026 at 00:42

Sequel a rare example of female-skewing movie leading the North American summer offerings – and highest opening weekend yet for a Meryl Streep film

Gird your loins: The Devil Wears Prada 2 has had a huge opening weekend at the box office, making $233m (£171m, A$323m) worldwide from an overwhelmingly female audience.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 earned $77m at the North American box office, and $156.6m internationally. In the US and Canada, the sequel bumped Michael to second place, though the musical biopic held on in its second weekend to earn $54m, falling only 44%.

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© Photograph: Macall Polay/AP

© Photograph: Macall Polay/AP

© Photograph: Macall Polay/AP

‘Increasingly unsafe’: Australia’s in-home childcare program under threat from rising costs, advocate warns

4 May 2026 at 00:00

The little-known publicly funded scheme is used by about 800 families with children who cannot access mainstream care

Rebecca Mohr Bell, a cattle farmer and business owner, lives 100km south-west of Katherine in the Northern Territory, and with three young children, has relied on in-home childcare since 2018.

The little-known taxpayer supported program is used by about 800 families with children who cannot access mainstream care, including because they live in remote locations, have serious illness or a disability, or because their parents work unusual hours.

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© Photograph: Lourdes Balduque/Getty Images

© Photograph: Lourdes Balduque/Getty Images

© Photograph: Lourdes Balduque/Getty Images

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  • Spirit Airlines says it has nearly finished refunding customers after shuttering Roque Planas
    Budget airline left thousands stranded on Saturday after ceasing operations amid financial troublesSpirit Airlines shutdown: how to get home and get refundsPolitical blame game begins and passengers left adrift after Spirit ceases operationsSpirit Airlines has almost finished refunding customers for flights abruptly canceled over the weekend as the company folded.The budget airline left thousands of customers and staff stranded after deciding on Saturday to pull the plug on a business that was s
     

Spirit Airlines says it has nearly finished refunding customers after shuttering

3 May 2026 at 23:49

Budget airline left thousands stranded on Saturday after ceasing operations amid financial troubles

Spirit Airlines has almost finished refunding customers for flights abruptly canceled over the weekend as the company folded.

The budget airline left thousands of customers and staff stranded after deciding on Saturday to pull the plug on a business that was struggling for years, before a surge in the price of jet fuel blew a new hole in its budget.

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© Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock

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  • Rudy Giuliani hospitalised in ‘critical but stable’ condition Guardian staff and agencies
    Spokesperson calls former New York City mayor ‘a fighter’ but does not say cause of his hospitalizationRudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City, has been hospitalised and is in a “critical but stable condition”, his spokesperson said on Sunday evening.Ted Goodman, the spokesperson, posted on social media: “Mayor Giuliani is a fighter who has faced every challenge in his life with unwavering strength, and he’s fighting with that same level of strength as we speak. We do ask that you join us i
     

Rudy Giuliani hospitalised in ‘critical but stable’ condition

3 May 2026 at 23:32

Spokesperson calls former New York City mayor ‘a fighter’ but does not say cause of his hospitalization

Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City, has been hospitalised and is in a “critical but stable condition”, his spokesperson said on Sunday evening.

Ted Goodman, the spokesperson, posted on social media: “Mayor Giuliani is a fighter who has faced every challenge in his life with unwavering strength, and he’s fighting with that same level of strength as we speak. We do ask that you join us in prayer for America’s Mayor Rudy Giuliani.”

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© Photograph: Seth Wenig/AP

© Photograph: Seth Wenig/AP

© Photograph: Seth Wenig/AP

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  • ‘They know they’re safe’: beagles saved from US research facility after protests Associated Press
    Big Dog Ranch Rescue made deal to buy 1,500 dogs from Ridglan Farms, a Wisconsin breeding and research facilityThe first beagles removed from a Wisconsin dog breeding and research facility that was the site of recent protests seemed to know right away that they were safe.“They started within an hour or so coming up to us, wanting attention. Some crawled in people’s laps. Every single one of them are super sweet,” Lauree Simmons, the president and founder of Big Dog Ranch Rescue, said on Sunday.
     

‘They know they’re safe’: beagles saved from US research facility after protests

3 May 2026 at 22:59

Big Dog Ranch Rescue made deal to buy 1,500 dogs from Ridglan Farms, a Wisconsin breeding and research facility

The first beagles removed from a Wisconsin dog breeding and research facility that was the site of recent protests seemed to know right away that they were safe.

“They started within an hour or so coming up to us, wanting attention. Some crawled in people’s laps. Every single one of them are super sweet,” Lauree Simmons, the president and founder of Big Dog Ranch Rescue, said on Sunday. “I think they are loving the attention. I just know they know they’re safe.”

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© Photograph: AP

© Photograph: AP

© Photograph: AP

Received yesterday — 3 May 2026 The Guardian World news
  • ✇The Guardian World news
  • Merz ‘not giving up on working with Trump’ despite Iran war spat Agence France-Presse in Berlin
    German chancellor downplays US military drawbacks and president’s barbs in TV interviewThe German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has said he will not give up on working with the US president, Donald Trump, despite a spat between the leaders over the war in Iran.“I am not giving up on working on the transatlantic relationship,” Merz told the public broadcaster ARD in an interview due to air on Sunday night. “Nor am I giving up on working with Donald Trump.” Continue reading...
     

Merz ‘not giving up on working with Trump’ despite Iran war spat

3 May 2026 at 20:27

German chancellor downplays US military drawbacks and president’s barbs in TV interview

The German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, has said he will not give up on working with the US president, Donald Trump, despite a spat between the leaders over the war in Iran.

“I am not giving up on working on the transatlantic relationship,” Merz told the public broadcaster ARD in an interview due to air on Sunday night. “Nor am I giving up on working with Donald Trump.”

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© Photograph: dts News Agency Germany ARD/Thomas Ernst/Shutterstock

© Photograph: dts News Agency Germany ARD/Thomas Ernst/Shutterstock

© Photograph: dts News Agency Germany ARD/Thomas Ernst/Shutterstock

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  • Three passengers dead after suspected hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship Matty Edwards and agencies
    Dutch husband and wife and third unidentified person reported to have died, with three further people taken illA suspected outbreak of the rare hantavirus infection on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean killed three people – including an elderly married couple – and sickened at least three others, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and South Africa’s health department said on Sunday.The WHO said an investigation was under way but that at least one case of hantavirus had been confirmed. One of
     

Three passengers dead after suspected hantavirus outbreak on cruise ship

3 May 2026 at 22:55

Dutch husband and wife and third unidentified person reported to have died, with three further people taken ill

A suspected outbreak of the rare hantavirus infection on a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean killed three people – including an elderly married couple – and sickened at least three others, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and South Africa’s health department said on Sunday.

The WHO said an investigation was under way but that at least one case of hantavirus had been confirmed. One of the patients was in intensive care in a South African hospital, the UN’s health agency said in a statement to the Associated Press, and the WHO was working with authorities to evacuate two others with symptoms from the ship.

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© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

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  • California, Arizona and Nevada propose water-saving plan for Colorado River Roque Planas
    Proposal includes cutbacks for three years as negotiations over future of shrinking reservoirs have been unsuccessfulThe states of California, Arizona and Nevada have proposed voluntary water-saving measures for the next three years aimed at buying time while negotiations remain deadlocked over the future of shrinking reservoirs filled by the Colorado River.The Colorado River provides water to some 40 million people in the American west. But the two massive reservoirs filled by the river, Lake M
     

California, Arizona and Nevada propose water-saving plan for Colorado River

3 May 2026 at 19:32

Proposal includes cutbacks for three years as negotiations over future of shrinking reservoirs have been unsuccessful

The states of California, Arizona and Nevada have proposed voluntary water-saving measures for the next three years aimed at buying time while negotiations remain deadlocked over the future of shrinking reservoirs filled by the Colorado River.

The Colorado River provides water to some 40 million people in the American west. But the two massive reservoirs filled by the river, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, both stand at historically low levels, after consistent overdrawing coupled with reduced snowpack and warming from climate change.

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© Photograph: Guillermo Arias/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Guillermo Arias/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Guillermo Arias/AFP/Getty Images

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  • Teens storm Scientology church in New York in latest ‘speed running’ incident Lucy Campbell
    Group broke through locked door in Manhattan, damaging property and injuring a staff member, church saysA group of youths forced their way into a Scientology church in New York on Saturday in the latest in a string of nationwide “speed running” incidents that have gone viral on social media in recent weeks.The group broke through a locked door to gain entry to the Church of Scientology on West 36th Street in Manhattan, throwing objects, damaging the property and injuring a staff member as worshi
     

Teens storm Scientology church in New York in latest ‘speed running’ incident

3 May 2026 at 19:28

Group broke through locked door in Manhattan, damaging property and injuring a staff member, church says

A group of youths forced their way into a Scientology church in New York on Saturday in the latest in a string of nationwide “speed running” incidents that have gone viral on social media in recent weeks.

The group broke through a locked door to gain entry to the Church of Scientology on West 36th Street in Manhattan, throwing objects, damaging the property and injuring a staff member as worshippers and visitors attended a seminar, the church said in a statement to the Guardian.

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© Photograph: Chris Pizzello/AP

© Photograph: Chris Pizzello/AP

© Photograph: Chris Pizzello/AP

Green candidate seen canvassing in London after arrest over alleged antisemitism

Sabine Mairey, who was arrested on Thursday over social media posts, pictured with party activists in Clapham

A Green council candidate arrested this week over alleged antisemitic social media posts has been seen canvassing subsequently alongside other party members, prompting Labour to say it showed the issue was not being taken seriously by Zack Polanski’s party.

Sabine Mairey was one of two Green candidates in Lambeth, south London, arrested by the Metropolitan police on Thursday morning.

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© Photograph: No Credit

It is understood that Mairey is being investigated by party officials and is likely to be suspended in the coming days.

© Photograph: No Credit

It is understood that Mairey is being investigated by party officials and is likely to be suspended in the coming days.

© Photograph: No Credit

It is understood that Mairey is being investigated by party officials and is likely to be suspended in the coming days.
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  • Trump’s disapproval rating hits record high, new poll shows Lucy Campbell
    Disapproval rose to 62%, the worst of his two terms in office, amid economic issues since launching his war against IranSix months out from November’s midterm US elections, Donald Trump’s disapproval rating has reached 62% – the worst of his two terms in office – according to a new Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll.The US president received his worst ratings on the cost of living and other economic issues since launching his deeply unpopular war against Iran in February, which has plunged the
     

Trump’s disapproval rating hits record high, new poll shows

3 May 2026 at 17:00

Disapproval rose to 62%, the worst of his two terms in office, amid economic issues since launching his war against Iran

Six months out from November’s midterm US elections, Donald Trump’s disapproval rating has reached 62% – the worst of his two terms in office – according to a new Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll.

The US president received his worst ratings on the cost of living and other economic issues since launching his deeply unpopular war against Iran in February, which has plunged the global economy into an oil crisis and sent gas prices rocketing to a four-year high.

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© Photograph: Matt Rourke/AP

© Photograph: Matt Rourke/AP

© Photograph: Matt Rourke/AP

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