Good morning. This morning we reveal how a series of catastrophic security failures involving the US private prison company running Australia’s immigration detention centres has allowed the escape of high-risk detainees, caused ill-equipped staff to be injured and triggered multiple investigations, one of which warned its “minimalist staffing model” was putting workers and detainees at risk.
Elsewhere, the US and Iran appear to be edging towards ending their war – but Donald Trump is facing backlash from hawks within Republican ranks.
And there are warnings over US-based “prediction market” sites raking in huge money in bets on Australian politics.
Plus, we have all the latest on an action-packed final round in the English Premier League.
Australia
Helen Haines, who helped craft legislation to establish the Nacc, says deputy commissioner Nicole Rose should be replaced through a clear and transparent process. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
World
Women gather around a portrait of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei during a ceremony honouring Iran’s armed forces in Tehran. Photograph: Vahid Salemi/AP
Full Story
Composite: Joe Harrison/Guardian
New Zealand grapples with how to protect its braided rivers
Braided rivers are a stunning and rare global phenomenon – waterways that change direction and size, weaving multiple dynamic patterns influenced by rain and glacial shifts. Reged Ahmad speaks with Eva Corlett about how the waterways are now under threat as communities around them have sought to tame and control their flow, leaving Māori tribes to watch the ecological impact with horror.
Full StoryNew Zealand grapples with how to protect its braided rivers – Full Story podcast
Sorry your browser does not support audio – but you can download here and listen $https://audio.guim.co.uk/2026/05/22-15853-FS_BRAIDED_RIVERS.mp3
In-depth
Ali Hamka and his daughter Akiya at home in Kingsgrove, Sydney. Their family’s ancestral home in southern Lebanon has been destroyed in bombing by Israeli forces. Photograph: The Guardian
The destruction of homes and villages in southern Lebanon leaves a mark not just on those living there, but the Lebanese diaspora living across the globe. They have watched on in horror as the continued assault by Israeli forces has left their ancestral homes in ruins. Sarah Ayoub spoke with families witnessing the bombardment of their homeland from afar.
Not the news
‘I’ve taken the spirit of this selfless act with me into adult life, taking many chances to pay it forward.’ Composite: Alamy/Guardian Design
In the latest in our Kindness of strangers series, we hear from a reader who was a broke youth radio host announcing a gig for Beck – an artist they were dying to see but couldn’t afford to. Then a listener called in with a generous offer – and a lesson in the joy of giving.
Sport
Jarrod Bowen reacts after West Ham United are relegated from the Premier League. Photograph: Peter Cziborra/Action Images/Reuters
A coalition of more than 100 investors, businesses, unions and advocacy groups is pushing the government to strengthen Australia’s modern slavery laws, the Age reports. One of Tasmania’s leading water scientists has sounded the alarm over a $300m irrigation project, ABC News reports.
What’s happening today
NSW | Public hearings are scheduled in the NSW parliamentary inquiry into fossil fuel sector emissions.
NSW | The second block of public hearings in the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion begins today in Sydney.
Politics | Federal parliament is sitting this week.
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