How a hardline ‘Trump-style’ Liberal immigration policy to ban migrants from Gaza and Somalia was developed 17. February 2026 (07:00) Another senior member of Sussan Ley’s team has expressed serious reservations about aspects of the planFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnother senior member of Sussan Ley’s team has expressed serious reservations about aspects of the hardline migration plan secretly developed in the former Liberal leader’s office, as fresh details emerged about how the policy evolved.Guardian Australia has confirmed the proposal to ban migration from certain regions in 13 countries was concocted inside Ley’s office after the Bondi terror attack and never went to shadow cabinet for discussion, blindsiding senior Liberals when it was leaked to several media outlets on Monday. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Police ‘determined’ to target abusers who drive women to suicide but say they lack of resources 17. February 2026 (07:00) NPCC lead for domestic abuse says officers dealing with huge caseloads, made worse by justice system backlogsRevealed: The true toll of female suicides with domestic abuse at their corePolice are “determined to do more” to hold to account domestic abusers who drive victims to kill themselves, the National Police Chiefs’ Council has said.Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe, the NPCC lead for domestic abuse, has said that “more posthumous investigations are taking place”, but that officers struggle with a lack of resources, adding that 20% of all crime relates to domestic abuse in most forces. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Madrid museum shuffles its pack charting decades of rapid change in Spain 17. February 2026 (07:00) Reina Sofía’s three-year rehang of works by artists from Spain and beyond is billed as a ‘critical reinterpretation’The Reina Sofía’s new rehang opens, quite pointedly, with a painting of a detained man sitting, head bowed and wrists shackled, as he waits for the arbitrary hand of institutional bureaucracy to decide his fate.The picture, Document No …, was painted by Juan Genovés in 1975, the year Francisco Franco died and Spain began its transition to democracy after four decades of dictatorship. Genovés’s faceless, everyman victim of the Franco regime’s control and repression is the natural starting point for the Madrid museum’s exploration of the past 50 years of contemporary art in Spain. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Tony Burke ‘taking advice’ from security agencies about Australian women and children in Syria seeking to return 17. February 2026 (06:35) Temporary Exclusion Orders allow the home affairs minister to stop a person entering for up to two years, but there is a high bar for the powersFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastHome affairs minister Tony Burke is “taking advice” from security agencies on whether Australian women and children in a Syrian detention camp should be temporarily banned from returning, but it is unclear how many in the cohort such an order would apply to.On Monday night, 34 Australian women and children – the wives, widows and children of dead or jailed Islamic State fighters – left from the al-Roj camp, in north-eastern Syria, after being released by Kurdish authorities for their expected repatriation to Australia. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Chinese tourists shun Japan over lunar new year holiday as rift deepens 17. February 2026 (06:30) Japanese prime minister’s refusal to back down over Taiwan comments brings more criticism and travel warnings from ChinaChinese tourists are continuing to shun Japan in large numbers, with the country falling out of the top 10 destinations for those celebrating the lunar new year with a trip abroad.Japan has had a dramatic drop in the number of Chinese visitors since the end of last year as a diplomatic row between Tokyo and Beijing over the security of Taiwan continues. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Economic fighters’: the volunteers helping direct sanctions against Russia 17. February 2026 (06:00) Civil society groups and individuals from around world are working to aid Ukraine by damaging Moscow’s war machineIn August 2022, Olena Yurchenko stumbled across a heated discussion on a Russian-language online forum – and made a discovery that would ultimately affect US and European sanctions policy on the Ukraine war.The war had begun six months earlier. Yurchenko, 22, had been forced to leave Ukraine for Latvia after Russian strikes on her home town in the north. She had joined a nascent effort to pressure western companies to move their operations out of Russia. But the “name and blame” tactic only went so far, she said. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Perth court lifts suppression order on identity of man accused of attempted Invasion Day bombing 17. February 2026 (05:57) Liam Alexander Hall is the first person to be charged with terrorism offences in Western AustraliaFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA Perth magistrate has lifted a suppression order on the identity of Liam Alexander Hall, a 32-year-old man accused of attempting to bomb an Invasion Day rally in Perth.Magistrate Lynette Dias told the Perth court on Tuesday that openness of the court is fundamental in the administration of justice. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
‘Landmark’ greenwashing case against Australian gas giant Santos dismissed by federal court 17. February 2026 (05:41) Legal bid by shareholder advocacy group over alleged misleading ‘net zero’ and ‘clean energy’ claims failsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesSign up for climate and environment editor Adam Morton’s free Clear Air newsletter hereGas company Santos has successfully defended a landmark greenwashing case in which it was accused of making misleading claims about its net zero plans and being a producer of “clean” energy.In a blow for climate activists, the federal court on Tuesday dismissed the case brought by the shareholder advocacy group the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR). Continue reading...(The Guardian)
NSW police end restriction on protests now Israeli president has left the country 17. February 2026 (04:49) Widespread allegations of police brutality followed a rally outside Sydney’s town hall on 9 February against visit by Isaac HerzogFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe New South Wales police commissioner has ended a restriction on protests that effectively banned marches in designated areas, now that the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, has left Australia.On Tuesday, Mal Lanyon announced the restriction would cease, meaning protest organisers can once again use the form 1 system to facilitate marches with police, without the risk of being arrested in the Sydney CBD and the eastern suburbs. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Frederick Wiseman, prolific documentary film-maker, dies aged 96 17. February 2026 (02:44) Recognised with an honorary Academy Award in 2016, Wiseman directed and produced almost 50 films with a lifelong commitment to curiosity and naturalismFrederick Wiseman, the prolific film-maker whose documentaries primarily explored US public institutions and communities, has died aged 96.His death on Monday was announced in a joint statement from the Wiseman family and his production company, Zipporah Films. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
