Elon Musk’s Doge pushes to access taxpayer data from IRS Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge) is making an unprecedented push for access to an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that houses detailed financial information about every taxpayer, business and nonprofit in the US, raising alarms over privacy, security, and government overreach, The Washington Post…

A police cordon outside the Three Horseshoes pub in Knockholt in Kent. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA A police cordon outside the Three Horseshoes pub in Knockholt in Kent. Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA Police continue to search River Thames for suspect over Friday’s fatal shooting of Lisa Smith, 43, from Slough A woman shot dead at a Kent…

A group of more than 900 Labour members and trade unionists, including MPs and peers, have accused the government of copying the “performative cruelty” of the Conservatives in its migration and asylum policy. In a joint statement, they singled out the Home Office’s decision, revealed last week, to refuse citizenship to anyone who arrives in…

M23 rebels have captured and occupied Bukavu, the second-largest city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Congolese government has confirmed, days after the Rwanda-backed militia launched an attack. In a statement posted on X, the DRC communications ministry said it was monitoring the situation “marked by the entry of the Rwandan army…

Chlorinating drinking water at levels common in the United States and European Union probably increases the risk of several cancers, a new analysis of recent research from across the globe finds. The process of disinfecting water with chlorine creates trihalomethane (THM), a byproduct found in virtually all public drinking water systems across the US and…

Cyclone Zelia became the first tropical cyclone to make landfall in 2025, hitting north-west Australia on Valentine’s Day as a category 4 system. It brought damaging winds of 130mph and heavy rainfall, with 440mm of rain falling in two days. Prior to landfall, Zelia affected southern Indonesia, including Bali, with winds of more than 45mph.…

China’s president, Xi Jinping, has met some of the country’s top business leaders, including the Alibaba founder, Jack Ma, as he attempts to halt an economic slump in the world’s second-largest economy. Xi met Ma, who was at the centre of a crackdown on the tech industry in recent years, as well as the bosses…

Police are investigating if two alleged assaults in Melbourne were Islamophobic incidents after women in hijabs were attacked during the day. Victoria police said two women, a 30-year-old from Lalor and a 26-year-old from Wollert, were allegedly attacked by the same assailant at Epping shopping centre on High Street between 1.10pm and 1.20pm on Thursday.…

The Cook Islands says it has signed a deal to expand relations with China, stressing that the accord does not impinge on ties with former colonial power New Zealand. Prime minister Mark Brown said he signed an “action plan for the comprehensive strategic partnership” with Chinese premier Li Qiang in the northern city of Harbin…

Dutton says RBA cutting interest rates would be ‘fantastic’ but not an endorsement of Labor policy The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has been speaking with reporters in Brisbane. Asked about tomorrow’s RBA interest rate decision, Dutton said he is hoping for a “25 point cut, or if it’s more than that, that’s fantastic.” If there…