Algorithm-based tool for home support funding is ‘cruel’ and ‘inhumane’, Australian aged care workers warn 17. February 2026 (15:00) Mark Aitken, who worked in the sector for 16 years, said eight times out of 10 he disagreed with the integrated assessment toolGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAged care clinicians and carers say an algorithm-based assessment tool that determines federal home support funding packages is “cruel” and “inhumane”, stripping away clinical expertise and leaving elderly people with inadequate support.The integrated assessment tool (IAT), introduced in November, is used across aged care to determine eligibility and classification for services, including residential care. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Role of far-right ‘manosphere’ in homophobic attacks on men to be investigated in Victoria 17. February 2026 (15:00) Exclusive: Greens move to call parliamentary inquiry after series of ‘disturbing’ attacks targeting gay and bisexual men lured via dating appsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe role of “far-right manosphere influencers” in fuelling homophobic attacks where victims were lured through fake dating app profiles before being assaulted is set to be investigated by a Victorian parliamentary inquiry.Aiv Puglielli, the Greens’ equality spokesperson, will on Wednesday move a motion calling on the upper house’s legal and social issues committee to investigate the scale of such crimes, as well as the state’s current response and support available to victims. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Farage insults female reporter as Braverman says Reform UK wants to scrap Equality Act – UK politics live 17. February 2026 (14:53) Party leader tells FT journalist she should ‘write some silly story’ after press conference revealing roles for his top teamNigel Farage is speaking.He starts by saying that 4.6m voters will get the right to to vote in the local elections because of his party.I am writing a book on Nigel Farage for @headlinepg.No holds will be barred. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Tarique Rahman sworn in as Bangladeshi prime minister 17. February 2026 (14:42) Many are hopeful moment will be a turning point away from repression and unrest and a chance to revive economyBangladesh’s new prime minister has been sworn in, sealing a dramatic political comeback for the Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP) and formally closing the turbulent chapter that toppled Sheikh Hasina in 2024.The swearing-in of Tarique Rahman restored an elected government after 18 months of caretaker rule led by Nobel peace prize laureate Muhammad Yunus. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Freemasons’ legal challenge attempt against Met fails 17. February 2026 (14:33) High court judge rules in favour of police force’s decision to compel staff to declare membership of organisationFreemasons have failed in their attempt to bring a legal challenge against Britain’s biggest police force over its decision to compel staff to declare whether they are or have been members.Mr Justice Chamberlain said on Tuesday that the Metropolitan police’s decision “serves a legitimate aim, maintaining and enhancing public trust in policing, and is proportionate”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Warner Bros gives Paramount seven days to make ‘best and final’ offer 17. February 2026 (14:20) Waiver from Netflix allows film company to engage with rival bidder if it could lead to a ‘reasonably superior offer’Business live – latest updatesWarner Bros Discovery (WBD) has reopened talks with Paramount Skydance, giving the company seven days to table its best and final offer and top an existing agreement with Netflix.WBD has so far stuck to its binding agreement with Netflix and rejected a series of sweetened offers from Paramount, resulting in the company pursuing a hostile $108.4bn (£76.8bn) takeover directly with shareholders Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Second round of Iran-US nuclear talks in Geneva ends after just four hours 17. February 2026 (14:14) Discussions held amid US naval buildup and Iranian announcement of live-fire exercises in straits of HormuzA fresh round of indirect nuclear talks in Geneva between Iran and the US, focusing on the terms for Tehran constraining its nuclear programme under the supervision of the UN nuclear weapons inspectorate, ended after just over four hours, Iranian state media reported.The talks were held against a backdrop of a now-familiar slew of contradictory messages from Donald Trump, in which he said he believed Iran wanted a deal but also highlighted the US naval military buildup in the region. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Early voting begins for high-stakes Texas primary elections 17. February 2026 (14:11) Democrats, who haven’t won statewide race since 1994, aim to gain ground with liberal rising stars as Republicans clash between incumbent and embattled Maga allyA Texas-sized showdown is brewing deep in the heart of the largest red state in the US. As early voting begins on Tuesday for the Lone Star state’s 3 March primaries, Republicans and Democrats alike face a high-stakes choice that could set the stage for one of the fiercest Senate races of the 2026 midterm cycle.At the center of the fractious Republican contest is a clash between the party’s old guard and a Maga culture warrior, with four-term incumbent John Cornyn, a conservative fixture of Senate leadership locked in the fight of his political career against the state’s scandal-plagued attorney general, Ken Paxton. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Questions swirl over Ohio billionaire Les Wexner’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein 17. February 2026 (14:00) Retail mogul’s name was this week unredacted from trove of files – how did he and his model town fuel Epstein’s rise?Les Wexner’s alleged note to Jeffrey Epstein marking his 50th birthday in 2003 included a hand-drawing of a woman’s breasts.And yet today, the billionaire Wexner’s name and portrait sits front and center across Ohio’s most respected institution – the Ohio State University. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Mamdani faces first showdown with NYPD – will he risk alienating police? 17. February 2026 (13:00) As an assembly member, Mamdani backed the Stop Fakes Act. Now, the NYPD has admitted to spying online – but wielding actual power as mayor is complexWhen Zohran Mamdani was a New York state assembly member, he sponsored the Stop Fakes Act, which would have prohibited law enforcement from creating fake electronic communication service accounts and collecting users’ account information.“Digital dragnet surveillance is widespread and dangerous, yet it continues to go unregulated,” Mamdani co-wrote in a 2023 City & State op-ed. “Although the NYPD claimed in a Department of Justice report to keep detailed records of its undercover accounts, the department refuses to provide any documentation of its social media surveillance policies or practices for public review.” Continue reading...(The Guardian)
