Dubai-based carriers Emirates and FlyDubai divert around western Iran early on Friday after Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reports explosions in central city of Isfahan Follow all our Middle East crisis coverage Here is a map of Iran – you can see Tehran and its proximity to Isfahan. Iran has suspended flights over several cities including the central city of Isfahan, where state media earlier reported explosions were heard near its airport ..read more

First phase in world’s largest democratic exercise begins, with 969 million people eligible to vote over six-week period Voting has begun in India’s mammoth general election, as Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party hopes to increase its parliamentary majority amid allegations that the country’s democracy has been undermined since it came to power 10 years ago. India’s elections are the largest democratic exercise in the world, with more than 969 million voters, amounting to more than 10% of the world’s population. The voting began at 8am on Friday, when polling opened at 102 constituencies a ..read more

Police have charged 16-year-old boy with terrorism offence over stabbing of bishop at church in Sydney suburb of Wakeley Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast A teenage boy facing a possible life term in prison for terrorism over the stabbing of a bishop has shown behaviour consistent with mental illness or intellectual disability, his lawyer has said. The 16-year-old is accused of travelling 90 minutes from his home to attack Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel during a livestreamed sermon at Christ the Good She ..read more

Three weeks after a calamitous climax to the regular season the Sky Blues are keen to rediscover their mojo in a two-legged semi-final against the Mariners Sydney FC are accustomed to adversity, but this was the handiwork of a higher power. The Sky Blues – the most consistent club in the A-League Women and defending champions – have spent three weeks pulling themselves together after a calamitous collapse in the final days of the season last month, when two losses handed the premiership to Melbourne City ..read more

While 12P/Pons-Brooks may not be as famous as Halley’s, its appearance close to Jupiter is causing great excitement for stargazers Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast The green, horned “Devil comet” is now visible in Australian skies, offering a once-in-lifetime chance to see a unique celestial body. The comet – real name 12P/Pons-Brooks – was nicknamed the Devil comet because eruptions from its nucleus can make it look like it has two horns. More recently, Star Wars fans have nicknamed it the Millennium Falcon ..read more

The arbitrary nature of Anthony Albanese’s act of good will threatens to reinforce the myth of deserving and undeserving migrants Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast The Australian government has granted Bondi’s “bollard man” permanent residency. There are many of us, like myself and my Tamil family who know what it feels like to receive the promise of a permanent home in this country. Stability. Security. Equal opportunity. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletter ..read more

President’s suggestion that his ‘Uncle Bosie’ was eaten by cannibals harms US efforts to build Pacific ties, say local experts Joe Biden’s suggestion that his uncle may have been eaten by cannibals in Papua New Guinea during world war two has been met with a mixture of bemusement and criticism in the country. Biden spoke about his uncle, 2nd Lt Ambrose J Finnegan Jr, while campaigning in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, describing how “Uncle Bosie” had flown single engine planes as reconnaissance flights during the war. Biden said he “got shot down in New Guinea”, adding “they never found the body bec ..read more

Seven men and five women have been chosen to sit on the jury in the ex-president’s hush-money trial. Here’s what we know The difficult process of selecting a jury in the case against Donald Trump neared its conclusion on Thursday, with a jury of 12 people empaneled for the first criminal trial of a former president in US history. The jury is made up of seven men and five women who live in different parts of Manhattan, including the Upper East Side, Harlem, Hell’s Kitchen and the West Village. They come from a range of personal backgrounds and employment histories. Several jurors said they had ..read more

The school’s president, Minouche Shafik, authorized officers to clear the encampments set up by students demanding divestment Tensions on Columbia University’s campus continued to rise on Thursday as the New York police department began breaking up student protests over Israel’s war on Gaza, at the direction of the school’s president, and arrests were made. Hundreds of students pitched tents and began camping out in the center of the famous central campus from early morning on Wednesday in protest, demanding a ceasefire and for the university to financially divest from Israel, prompting Columb ..read more

Paperwork filed shows the royal has informed British authorities that he has moved and is now ‘usually resident’ in the United States Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has formally confirmed he is now a US resident. The acknowledgment is said to underscore the prince’s increasing estrangement from Britain, after he and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, walked away from royal duties four years ago ..read more