Last of the summer rain puts southern states on flood watch and Sydney on alert for bull sharks 28. February 2026 (01:33) SA premier Peter Malinauskas warns residents to prepare for heavy falls and possible flash floodsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLate summer rain is causing havoc across Australia, with South Australia on flood watch, Victoria cleaning up after a downpour, and Sydney issuing a shark warning after heavy falls.Almost all of South Australia, much of western Victoria and parts of western NSW were on flood watch as a slow-moving pressure system from central Australia moved east. Queensland had also seen severe rainfall. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Neil Sedaka, Breaking Up Is Hard To Do singer and pop song hitmaker, dies aged 86 28. February 2026 (00:04) Musician died after being rushed to hospital in Los Angeles on Friday, with his family remembering him as a ‘true rock and roll legend’ and ‘inspiration to millions’Neil Sedaka, the singer-songwriter behind Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, Oh! Carol, Calendar Girl and Bad Blood as well as many hits performed by other artists included Stupid Cupid and Love Will Keep Us Together, has died aged 86.A representative confirmed his death to Variety on Friday, hours after he was reportedly rushed to hospital in Los Angeles. No cause of death was given. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Polls, preferences, potential defections: can Victoria’s Liberal party ward off the rising threat of One Nation? 28. February 2026 (00:00) Opposition leader Jess Wilson is under pressure to reveal her position on a deal with Pauline Hanson’s party as the state election approachesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastWhile internal divisions have long been the Victorian Liberal party’s main obstacle to winning government, a new threat is emerging on its right flank: One Nation.Just four years ago, One Nation received just 8,077 lower house first-preference votes out of more than 3.6m cast in Victoria – equivalent to 0.22% of the total – and won a single seat in the upper house. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump orders US agencies to stop use of Anthropic technology amid dispute over ethics of AI 27. February 2026 (23:49) Department of Defense and artificial intelligence company were unable to reach agreement before deadlineSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxDonald Trump said Friday he will direct all federal agencies to “IMMEDIATELY CEASE” all use of Anthropic technology.The Department of Defense and Anthropic hit an impasse with neither side backing down as a deadline for an agreement lapsed on Friday afternoon. The Pentagon had demanded the artificial intelligence company loosen ethical guidelines on its AI systems or face severe consequences. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Shabana Mahmood vows to stick with hardline migration policies after byelection defeat 27. February 2026 (23:30) Home secretary will defy ‘plain wrong’ calls from unions and leftwing MPs that she is alienating Muslim votersShabana Mahmood will press on with hardline immigration policies despite calls for a reversal from unions and left-leaning Labour MPs after the Green party’s byelection victory.Senior Labour sources insisted that the home secretary would continue to roll out changes to asylum policy, dismissing as “plain wrong” claims that it would further alienate Muslim voters. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Two transgender men sue Kansas over ‘dehumanizing’ driver’s license law 27. February 2026 (23:25) Law demanding IDs must match ‘sex at birth’ invalidated the driver’s licenses of about 1,700 trans people in the state Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxTwo transgender men are suing Kansas over a new law that invalidated their driver’s licenses and about 1,700 others for reflecting people’s gender identities and not their sex assigned at birth, arguing that the measure is “dehumanizing”.The men filed their case Thursday, the same day the law took effect, and argue that it violates rights to privacy, personal autonomy and due legal process guaranteed by the Kansas state constitution. The men also are challenging the law’s tough, new enforcement provisions for the state’s three-year-old policy of barring transgender people from using public restrooms or other single-sex facilities associated with their gender identities. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump advisers scramble to justify US military intervention in Iran 27. February 2026 (21:24) Tehran’s ICBMs cannot currently reach the US, experts say, and White House has claimed its nuclear programme has been destroyedSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxDonald Trump’s likely casus belli for an attack on Iran – which would be the largest US intervention since the Iraq war – is fraught with contradictions, and his top advisers have been left to cover for him as the White House makes the case for intervention.In his State of the Union address this week, Trump alleged that Iran posed a direct threat to the US and that the country was “working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America”. But that claim has not been backed up with evidence by the White House or the Pentagon, and US intelligence reports from just last year say that it would take Iran 10 years to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile that could reach the US. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump suggests US could carry out ‘friendly takeover’ of Cuba 27. February 2026 (21:12) As tensions between two countries reach new highs, US president says regime is ‘talking with us’Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxDonald Trump has suggested the US could carry out a “friendly takeover” of Cuba as tensions between Washington and Havana reach a new high following the capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.As he left the White House for a campaigning event in Texas on Friday, Trump said: “The Cuban government is talking with us. They’re in a big deal of trouble.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Suicide forum found to be in breach of Online Safety Act after failing to block UK users 27. February 2026 (21:03) Ofcom says that after provisional ruling it could apply to courts to demand internet providers stop access to siteA suicide forum linked to deaths in Britain has been ruled provisionally in breach of the Online Safety Act after it failed to properly block access to UK users when ordered to do so last year.Ofcom, the online regulator, said it could now apply to the courts to demand internet service providers block access to the site in the UK. This will depend on how the site, which also faces fines, responds over the next 10 days. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
US officials arrest more people over Minnesota anti-ICE church protest 27. February 2026 (21:02) Attorney general Pam Bondi says 39 people now charged over January protest and warns ‘more to come’Federal authorities have arrested more people on Friday for their alleged involvement in a protest at a church in Minnesota in January, following earlier arrests of organizers and journalists that were demonstrating amid sweeping, and often violent, immigration enforcement efforts in the state.Attorney general Pam Bondi said the justice department unsealed an indictment that charged 30 more people for the demonstration. Of those charged, federal agents have already arrested 25 of them, Bondi said, with “more to come”. The latest arrests bring the total number of people charged to 39. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
