Holly Morton-Bowles and Bianca Jones were travelling in Laos in late 2024 when they were fatally poisoned with methanol at Nana Backpackers Hostel in Vang Vieng

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Australia will send a special envoy to Laos as it investigates the methanol poisoning deaths of two teenagers.

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, announced the appointment on Thursday after the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade apologised earlier this week for not providing more information to the victims’ families.

Public opinion polling agency says decision ‘solely based on Gallup’s research goals and priorities’

Gallup, the public opinion polling agency, will stop tracking presidential approval ratings after almost nine decades, a spokesperson confirmed.

As Donald Trump continues to closely scrutinize polling of his popularity, and publicly lambast media companies that report on unfavorable numbers, Gallup insisted its decision was “solely based on Gallup’s research goals and priorities”.

Adam Mosseri defends app on witness stand and says critics must separate ‘clinical addiction’ from ‘problematic use’

Instagram’s CEO dismissed the idea that users can be addicted to social media at a landmark California trial on Wednesday.

“I think it’s important to differentiate between clinical addiction and problematic use,” Adam Mosseri said on the witness stand. Psychologists do not classify social media addiction as an official diagnosis. Researchers have documented the harmful consequences of compulsive use among young people, and lawmakers around the world are worried about its addictive potential.

The late actor became known for his role in Kevin Williamson’s era-defining teen show but in the years after he worked hard to subvert his persona

• James Van Der Beek, star of Dawson’s Creek, dies aged 48

• James Van Der Beek: a life in pictures

When an actor like James Van Der Beek dies, the obvious thing would be to concentrate on their biggest role. In the case of Van Der Beek, that would be Dawson’s Creek, Kevin Williamson’s soapy drama that ran for six seasons across the millennium.

And that would be perfectly justified, since in its time Dawson’s Creek was a genuine sensation. It might be hard to remember, since the show became the water that all teen drama swims in, but Dawson’s Creek had a rare knack for meeting its audience where it was.

Manchester City’s week is moving along sweetly, this win closing the gap to three points to Arsenal, who travel to Brentford on Thursday. On Sunday, they defeated Liverpool at Anfield, on Wednesday they downed Fulham at home to reel off a 20th consecutive victory against them.

The rosiest moment for the title challengers was Erling Haaland’s 39th‑minute strike, a first in the competition from open play in nine games, though more concerning was his removal at the break, when City led 3-0.

Cognitive health in later life is ‘strongly influenced’ by lifelong exposure to intellectually stimulating environments, say researchers

Reading, writing and learning a language or two can lower your risk of dementia by almost 40%, according to a study that suggests millions of people could prevent or delay the condition.

Dementia is one of the world’s biggest health threats. The number of people living with the condition is forecast to triple to more than 150 million globally by 2050, and experts say it presents a big and rapidly growing threat to future health and social care systems in every community, country and continent.

Israeli leader was expected to advocate for more forceful US intervention during sixth visit to current White House

Donald Trump has said that he is still seeking a deal with Iran to prevent it from seeking a nuclear weapon following a three-hour meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu in which the Israeli leader was expected to advocate for a more forceful intervention by the US military.

Netanyahu’s sixth visit to the White House since Trump returned to office ended without any public remarks between the two leaders. The results of the hastily arranged meeting were announced by Trump in an online post.

Sunderland finally lost this season at the Stadium of Light, Virgil van Dijk making the difference with his second-half header

2 min: … the ball’s played back to Angulo, who tries to trick Alisson at his near post. The keeper reads the danger and claims. That’s got the home fans, already giving it plenty, going some. Meanwhile here’s Peter Oh: “Liverpool have had such bad luck with injuries, shipping comical last-gasp goals, and suspensions. How could things possibly get worse? Running into eleven Black Cats maybe? Sigh.”

1 min: It has been belting down on Wearside all day. It’s still raining. Windy as well. And Sunderland are on the front foot early doors, Mukiele in space on the right and winning a very early corner off Robertson. From which …

Tribe, which was forcibly removed from its lands near Lake Tahoe, used $5.5m grant and private donations for purchase

The Washoe Tribe has purchased more than 10,000 acres of land near Lake Tahoe for conservation in one of the largest tribal land returns in California history.

The sprawling property, located 20 miles north of Reno, Nevada, stretches from the Great Basin through the Sierra Nevada and encompasses sagebrush scrublands and juniper and pine forests.

Andrew Paul Johnson was found guilty of five counts including molesting a child under 12 and another under 16

A man who took part in the 6 January 2021 attack on the US Capitol and later pardoned by Donald Trump was found guilty on Tuesday of multiple child sexual abuse charges in Florida, officials said.

Andrew Paul Johnson was arrested in Tennessee this August and extradited to Florida. He pleaded not guilty.

A teacher and five students among those killed in attack in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, on Tuesday

Canadian police have identified the suspect who carried out a school massacre in remote British Columbia as an 18-year old woman with a history of mental health problems.

Six people, including a teacher and five students, were killed in the attack on Tuesday in the town of Tumbler Ridge, in foothills of the Rocky mountains. The victim’s mother and step-brother were later found dead at the family home, police said. The body of the shooter was also found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Matt Murray defends paper’s strategy as ‘demoralized’ staffers ask tough questions in contentious town hall

Top Washington Post editor Matt Murray acknowledged “a widespread sense of loss, of genuine trauma” in a contentious town hall meeting with staff on Wednesday after the company laid off nearly a third of its employees a week ago – though he expressed confidence that the Post was now on a path to success.

“There’s no doubt that just the sheer depth of the cuts – and also, with that, the reality of what we face at the Post – has been a very hard thing to wrap our heads around and to grapple with,” Murray said, according to a recording of his remarks obtained by the Guardian.

Actor best-known for role in Hal Ashby’s black comedy also appeared in films by Robert Altman and Wes Anderson

Bud Cort, the actor best known for his role in dark comedy Harold and Maude, has died at the age of 77.

According to Variety, Cort died in Connecticut after a long illness.

Closure of airspace draws attention to crime groups’ high-powered weapons – and may give Trump an excuse to attack

An alleged incursion by Mexican cartel drones into US airspace and the sudden closure of El Paso’s airspace has drawn renewed attention to the use of high-powered weapons by organized crime groups in Mexico.

There were conflicting accounts on Wednesday about whether the city’s airspace was shut down due to cartel drones or a disagreement over the Pentagon testing of counter-drone technology, but experts say the use of drones by drug gangs at the border has become increasingly common.

Arsenal delivered a dominant and efficient display away to OH Leuven to take a 4-0 lead into the second leg of their Women’s Champions League playoff at the Emirates Stadium next week.

Frida Maanum opened the ­scoring, Olivia Smith added the second, Maanum struck again and Alessia Russo finished things off against the Belgian side before the midfielder Kim Little came off the bench late on to put the cherry on top of the evening, making a staggering 400th appearance for the club.

Transcription tools used by councils in England and Scotland reported to wrongly indicate suicidal ideation

AI tools are making potentially harmful errors in social work records, from bogus warnings of suicidal ideation to simple “gibberish”, frontline workers have said.

Keir Starmer last year championed what he called “incredible” time-saving social work transcription technology. But research across 17 English and Scottish councils shared with the Guardian has now found AI-generated hallucinations are slipping in.

Actor who also starred in Varsity Blues and Rules of Attraction revealed in 2024 he had been diagnosed with cancer

• James Van Der Beek: a life in pictures

James Van Der Beek, the actor best known for playing the lead in hit 90s teen drama Dawson’s Creek, has died.

“Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning. He met his final days with courage, faith and grace,” reads a statement shared on Van Der Beek’s official Instagram page on Wednesday.

Whether it’s the $1bn price tag or the US president’s outsized power, key allies are steering clear of the board

• This was originally published in This Week in Trumpland; sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday

Hey, do you like peace? Oh, cool, you do? Then, how about we establish a group of countries, all committed to that concept, working together to create global harmony? No, not the one that has already existed for 80 years. A new one. Who’s in?

It turns out: not that many world leaders or global citizens.

• American crashed out of Olympic downhill event

• Bryan Graham: Crash a violent but honest ending

• Medal table | Live scores and schedule | Results

Lindsey Vonn says she has had a successful third surgery on the broken leg she suffered during the women’s Olympic downhill on Sunday.

Vonn posted an update on Instagram that included photos of her giving a thumbs up in her hospital bed with a metal frame attached to her leg.

• Wambach is first major sports figure to depart agency

• Agency founder had emailed with Ghislaine Maxwell

• LA 2028 Olympics board says it backs chairman

Former US soccer star Abby Wambach has announced she is leaving the Wasserman talent agency and called for its founder and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics chairman, Casey Wasserman, to resign after emails between him and Ghislaine Maxwell were revealed in the Jeffery Epstein files.

The two-time gold medalist and World Cup winner shared a statement on Wednesday saying she was leaving Wasserman, an agency that represents an extensive roster of athletes and celebrities across the sports and entertainment industries.

Defending European strategic interests must be a priority to level the economic playing field in an increasingly volatile world

Given the daunting nature of the challenges they face in the era of Donald Trump, it is perhaps understandable that European politicians should wish to get away from it all. This week, in what is being billed as a “leaders’ retreat”, a remote castle in the Belgian countryside has been selected for an EU summit on competitiveness. The pastoral setting may soothe the spirits of attending heads of state; but it belies the urgency of the debate they need to have.

Europe in the postwar period has never felt so insecure. Mr Trump’s America First administration has made clear its intention to bully the continent economically through tariffs and threats, and the transatlantic alliance can no longer be relied upon for its defence. Hi-tech competition from China threatens to overwhelm European industry’s attempts to keep up in key areas, such as the green transition. Across the European Union, support for the far right is on the rise.

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Ukaleq Slettemark is a beacon of hope at a time when even the Greenlandic sports minister worries ‘Trump is crazy’

They don’t fly the flag of Greenland at the Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee only recognises independent sovereign states, and, as all the world, even the most distant corners of the US, now knows, Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. But the flag, which is known as the Erfalasorput, was there in the grandstands at the Anterselva Biathlon Arena all the same, even if it wasn’t flying from rooftops above it. It was being waved by all the Danish fans who wanted to show their support for the only two Greenlandic athletes competing here at Milano Cortina.

Their names are Ukaleq Slettemark and Sondre Slettemark, brother and sister, and both biathletes. They were born in Nuuk, and raised between Greenland and Norway where their parents, who are also biathletes, took them to learn the sport when they were children. For the last four weeks, the Slettemark siblings have been caught in the middle of a whirlwind of media attention. There aren’t many famous people from Greenland, Ukaleq explains, in what is perhaps the 20th interview she has had to do after she finished 52nd in the women’s 15km event.

PM calls comments by Man United co-owner, who also hit out at people on benefits, ‘offensive and wrong’

Keir Starmer has said Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe should apologise for his comments that the UK is being “colonised” by immigrants.

In an interview with Sky News on Wednesday, Britain’s seventh-richest man, who moved to tax-free Monaco in 2020, took aim at people receiving state support and immigrants.

Small opening cut into floor at Merchant’s House Museum indicates site was probably used as ‘safe house’, experts say

A landmark house in Manhattan preserved as a museum to New York’s 19th-century history has revealed an even more intriguing secret: its previously unknown status as a refuge for people who escaped slavery before and during the civil war.

The Merchant’s House Museum’s link to the Underground Railroad, a network of abolitionists who secured the safe passage of enslaved people to freedom, was discovered when archaeologists looked beneath the drawers of a built-in dresser in the wall of a hallway leading to bedrooms on the building’s second floor.