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French far-right leader and 24 others from National Rally party allegedly embezzled European parliament fundsThe French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has gone on trial on charges of embezzling money from the European parliament, in a high-profile case that could endanger her presidential ambitions.We have not broken any rules," the three-time presidential candidate of the far-right National Rally (RN) said before the start of the hearings in Paris, adding that she was in a very calm" mood. Continue reading...

Whispers at party conference suggest a surprise candidate could join Robert Jenrick in leadership race's final two

Truss blames Tory MPs, Bank of England and OBR for dire reaction to her mini-budget - and refuses to back any leadership contender

Phillips, who the court of final appeal said was stepping down for personal reasons', is the fifth overseas judge to leave Hong Kong this yearThe British judge Nicholas Phillips has stepped down from Hong Kong's top appeals court, the fourth overseas judge to leave the city's judiciary this year.Phillips, 86, is leaving Hong Kong's court of final appeal (CFA) after 22 years for personal reasons" after his fourth term ended on Monday and he said he did not wish to extend it, the court said. Continue reading...

Leading figures Luca Lucci and Renato Bosetti among those detained, with most accused of having mafia linksPolice in Milan arrested 19 people on Monday as part of an operation against hardcore ultra" football fans, most of whom were accused of having links to the mafia.Among those arrested were Luca Lucci and Renato Bosetti, leaders of the AC Milan and Inter Milan ultras respectively. Continue reading...

Corporation upholds some, but not all' of Abbington's complaints about her dance partner, Giovanni PerniceThe BBC has apologised to former Strictly Come Dancing contestant Amanda Abbington, saying it had assessed and upheld some, but not all, of the complaints made".In a statement, the broadcaster said: The BBC has now concluded its review into the complaints made by Amanda Abbington against Giovanni Pernice. We take any allegations of bullying and harassment very seriously and this review has taken time due to its complex nature and our desire to ensure a rigorous and robust process was undertaken. Continue reading...

Decision comes after UK real estate portal turned down fourth offer from Australian property company

Sports Direct owner looks to up 37% stake to 100% amid concerns for future of cash-strapped fashion firmMike Ashley's Frasers Group has filed a possible 83m offer to buy the luxury brand Mulberry as it expressed concerns about the future of the British handbag maker.Frasers - the owner of Sports Direct, Evans Cycles, the House of Fraser department store, luxury streetwear chain Flannels and multiple brands from Slazenger to Jack Wills - already owns a 37% stake. Continue reading...

Dutch and Hungarian politicians among those hailing result for pro-Kremlin, anti-Islam FPOGerman Green MEP Daniel Freund reacted to the Austrian election's outcome with an emoji.Here's an interesting graph of where the far-right's votes came from. Continue reading...

Albanese government names envoy three months after appointing special envoy to combat rising levels of hatred against Jewish community

Men who attended planned concert alone tell how they were searched and asked condescending questions' by securityA venue in Lincoln has apologised for the treatment of some male attendees at a planned concert by the Last Dinner Party - which the band ultimately cancelled shortly before show time due to illness.On X, one man wrote that on arriving at the Engine Shed, he was funnelled into a dark corner with other men, told I might be a pervert cus I'm alone and then taken into a room alone with a security guard where I was interrogated and searched. Feel sick." In subsequent comments, he said he had been asked what his favourite song by the British group was. Continue reading...

Federal government warns against importing radical ideologies of conflict' and threatens to cancel visa of anyone inciting discord'

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Former chancellor's solicitor accused of breaching code of conduct by threatening legal action against tax campaignerNadhim Zahawi instructed his lawyer to threaten legal action against a tax campaigner who helped reveal that the then chancellor was under investigation by HM Revenue and Customs, according to a tribunal document.Zahawi's solicitor, Ashley Hurst, is accused of breaching his regulator's code of conduct by attempting to prevent Dan Neidle from publishing correspondence threatening legal action over the tax expert's revelations about the then Tory leadership candidate. Continue reading...

Thousands, many born after the 1989 murders, have sprung to defence of Lyle and Erik Menendez since broadcast of MonstersIt was a crime that shocked and captivated a nation.On the night of 20 August 1989, Lyle and Erik Menendez, then 21 and 18, stormed into their Beverly Hills mansion, shot their father, Jose, five times at point-blank range in the back of his head, and their mother, Kitty, nine times, including in the face as she tried to crawl away. In a frantic 911 emergency call, they then claimed that somebody had killed their parents. Continue reading...

New figures show nearly 80% of businesses in some parts of England have been denied supportMinisters are being urged to overhaul the nightmare" compensation scheme for flood victims after it emerged that nearly 80% of businesses in some parts of England had been denied support.After heavy downpours caused chaos across much of England and Wales this week, new figures laid bare the opaque" and inconsistent level of help available to those whose properties lay in ruin. Continue reading...

Evidence of Sky News regular's intervention comes after defamation trial against John Pesutto told of Peta Credlin's advice to MP

Rural fire service has already responded to more than 1,600 bush and grass fires across the state since the start of July

Closure to make way for greener electric arc furnace deals heavy blow to local people and ends ability to make virgin steel'The steel town of Port Talbot is braced for the shutdown of the final furnace at its plant on Monday which will result in heavy job losses and deal a devastating blow to communities in south Wales.Tata Steel has begun the process of winding down operations at blast furnace 4 at Port Talbot and engineers have already started altering the raw materials poured into the top of the furnace to prepare for decommissioning. Blast furnace 5 was closed in July. Continue reading...

One woman says an invented claim for 5,000 that was sent to HMRC without her knowledge bore someone else's signatureHMRC has been accused of facilitating fraud by paying fictitious tax rebate claims submitted in the name of unwitting taxpayers by third-party agents.Taxpayers can apply for a rebate if they have paid too much tax. They can choose to appoint an agent to do this on their behalf, but some firms are harvesting details of individuals to make bogus claims. Continue reading...

Party wins 28.8% of votes ahead of centre-right People's party's 26.3%, according to near-complete countThe far right won the most votes in an Austrian election for the first time since the Nazi era on Sunday, as the Freedom party (FPO) rode a tide of public anger over migration and the cost of living to beat the centre-right People's party (OVP).The pro-Kremlin, anti-Islam FPO won 29.2% of votes, beating the ruling OVP of the chancellor, Karl Nehammer, into second place on 26.5%, according to near-complete results. Continue reading...

The 67-year-old will seek an early public mandate after seeing off a rightwing challenge to become the leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic partyJapan's incoming prime minister Shigeru Ishiba is poised to call a snap election for the end of the month, according to media reports, days after he promised to lift his party's dwindling fortunes and put a smile" back on the faces of the public.Ishiba, a moderate who saw off a rightwing challenge on Friday to become the new leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic party (LDP), will be approved as prime minister in parliament on Tuesday and appoint his cabinet later the same day. Continue reading...

Terence Darrell Kelly, who pleaded guilty to 2021 kidnapping, will be eligible for parole after serving 11 years and six months

The NSW government has promised free buses as far as Sydenham, but the shutdown of the T3 Bankstown line still means major change for local residents

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Higher interest rates puts further pressure on property market, with overall transactions at lowest level in a decadeThe number of UK estate agents declaring insolvency has jumped by almost a third with nearly 300 businesses going bust in the last year.The figures underline the gloom around Britain's property market, with the fewest home sales recorded for more than a decade hitting estate agent income. Continue reading...

Assault on Iran-backed proxies expands with attacks on fuel facilities and power plants in Hodeidah and Ras IssaIsrael launched a wave of airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen on Sunday while continuing to attack Hezbollah in Lebanon, where the Lebanese health ministry said 105 people had been killed and another 359 injured. The fresh assaults on Iran-backed proxies across the Middle East risk accelerating a slide towards a devastating regional conflict on multiple fronts.The attack on the port of Hodeidah in Yemen involved dozens of Israeli planes and appears to have targeted fuel facilities, power plants and docks at the Ras Issa and Hodeidah ports. It one of the biggest such operations yet seen in the near year-long crisis in the region. Houthi media reports said the strikes had killed four people and wounded 33. Residents said the strikes caused power cuts in most parts of Hodeidah. Israeli military officials said the raid targeted the Houthis, an armed Iranian-backed group that controls most of Yemen. They have fired at Israeli targets for months in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. They have also targeted international shipping in the Red Sea. On Saturday, they launched a ballistic missile attack on Israel's main international airport when Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, was arriving. Continue reading...

Police continuing inquiries after man in his 60s was held on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughterA man arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter after an eight-year-old boy was shot dead at a farm has been bailed.Police said they were called to the remote farm in the village of Warcop shortly before 3pm on Saturday. A firearm was secured at the scene by police and the child was taken to hospital by air ambulance, having suffered a gunshot wound to his head and face. Continue reading...

Veteran character actor's career spanned over 50 years in TV and films, including Little Big League and Midnight RunJohn Ashton, the veteran character actor who memorably played the gruff but lovable police detective John Taggart in the Beverly Hills Cop films, has died. He was 76.Ashton died Thursday in Fort Collins, Colorado, his family announced in a statement released by Ashton's manager, Alan Somers, on Sunday. No cause of death was immediately available. Continue reading...

Warwickshire police appeal for help to find Akashdeep Singh, who they believe left scene near BanburyPolice are searching for a man in connection with a fatal six-vehicle motorway collision.Warwickshire police believe Akashdeep Singh, 23, may have information about the incident on the M40 which involved five cars and a Peugeot boxer van. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Former Australian PM witnessed shocking act of perjury' and says MI5 are still trying to hide somethingThe former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has accused the UK government of hypocrisy and concealment over the way it continues to block the release of secret files about the Spycatcher affair.Before entering politics, Turnbull was a barrister for Peter Wright, a retired senior MI5 intelligence officer who revealed a series of illegal activities by the British security services in his memoir Spycatcher. Continue reading...

Far-right FPO could become strongest force in the country for first time in postwar periodHere's the projected seat distribution, from ORF:Far-right MEP Harald Vilimsky has thanked voters. Continue reading...

With the leadership contenders vying to out-crazy each other, it was Boris - well it would be, wouldn't it - who outdid them allSee it from the point of view of the Fearless Four. You've already seen off the mighty challenge of Priti Patel and Mel Stride, latter-day Tory titans both, so now you're through to the Birmingham eliminator.You've disappeared through the wormhole into the mephitic swamp where any intelligent life comes to die. Where only the clinically deranged and terminally deluded are to be found. Where the sanest voice is Michael Fabricant's rug pleading with its owner to be allowed to go home. Welcome to the Tory party conference. Continue reading...

Conservative leadership contenders Jenrick, Cleverly and Tugendhat reject rival's comments, while Rosie Duffield criticises Keir StarmerQ: Do you agree with Kemi Badenoch that some cultures are less valid than others?Jenrick says culture matters. But he says he disagres with Badenoch on immigration numbers. He says he thinks you have to have a cap on numbers. And he also says he believes the UK has to leave the European convention on human rights. He says Badenoch is just talking about developing a plan in a few years time, and that's a recipe for infighting and for losing the public's trust". Continue reading...

Leadership contender's team in damage control mode after she is criticised for saying burden on business is excessive'Kemi Badenoch's campaign was in damage control mode on the first day of Conservative party conference, as rival candidates criticised comments she made on maternity pay, saying the burden on business was excessive" and that people should exercise more personal responsibility".Badenoch, the frontrunner among party members in the four-way contest, was forced to twice clarify the comments and emphasise that she of course" believed in maternity pay. But the comments were seized upon by other candidates, who distanced themselves from Badenoch's words. Continue reading...

Ex-Gucci star brings 70s haute bourgeoisie ladies in trailing chiffons and Gen Z boys in tattoos and pearls to the runwayValentino was the hottest ticket of this Paris fashion week, and the show had a sense of occasion to match.A vast floor was laid with smashed mirror tiles, glittering like a ballroom after an earthquake. Five hundred armchairs and a smattering of glowing lamps lay beneath a shroud of white sheets, as if a grand house had been locked up for a long winter. The house of Valentino was shaking off the cobwebs for a new era and hitting the dance floor. Continue reading...

Jean Pallant says return of long-lost coat, spotted in a pile of Oxfam donations, was like seeing a child' againA British fashion designer said rediscovering one of her long-lost designs, which was found in an Oxfam charity shop after nearly 40 years, has been like seeing a child" again.Jean Pallant was told the orange coat with large buttons she had made at her kitchen table in 1988 had turned up in a donation bag at the Oxfam shop in Mill Hill, London. Continue reading...

Telecom has so far extracted 3,300 tonnes of potential 200,000 tonnes of cables amid 15bn rollout of full-fibre broadbandBT has received 105m as an upfront prepayment for the sale of surplus copper cables from its old network which it is replacing in a 15bn rollout of high-speed full-fibre broadband to 25m homes in one of the UK's biggest private national infrastructure programmes.The telecoms company has struck a deal with a recycling company and received the sum after entering into a forward agreement to sell copper granules created from surplus copper cables which are being replaced by its new full-fibre network. The 105m transaction is the first of its kind. Continue reading...

At least nine people have died and 48 are missing after vessel carrying 87 people sinks off island of El HierroPatrol boats and helicopters were searching on Sunday for about 48 people missing after their migrant boat sank near the Spanish island of El Hierro in what could become the deadliest such incident in 30 years of crossings from Africa to the Canary Islands.Nine people, one of them a child, have been confirmed as dead after the vessel sank in the early hours of Saturday morning, emergency and rescue services said. Continue reading...

Contest ends on 2 November, meaning Rishi Sunak would respond to the budget then step down three days laterTwo Tory leadership candidates, Robert Jenrick and Tom Tugendhat, have publicly called for the party to cut short the contest, a move that is opposed by rival Kemi Badenoch.Senior Conservatives were reported to be in talks about bringing forward the announcement by a week, according to the Mail, but the party said on Sunday that there are currently no plans to change the date, despite calls from candidates. Continue reading...

Stand Up to Racism looking for relatives of people who were at Battle of Holbeck Moor, as blue plaque unveiledStand Up to Racism is searching for family members of the 30,000 people who stood up to Oswald Mosley in Leeds at the Battle of Holbeck Moor in 1936, as a blue plaque is unveiled in the city on Sunday.The event was one of the biggest anti-fascist demonstrations in UK history, occurring a week before the Battle of Cable Street in the East End of London. Continue reading...

Treasurer cites lower government spending as the key driver behind the $15.8bn surplus, which is $6bn better than May's forecast

More than 6,000 people do the Mori war dance at Eden Park rugby stadium in Auckland to break France's recordNew Zealand has reclaimed the world record for the largest mass haka after more than 6,000 people performed the Mori war dance, dethroning France.The record was broken in deafening fashion at Eden Park rugby stadium in Auckland, where thousands of men, women and children combined on the pitch to complete the traditional native challenge involving vigorous movements, stamping feet and rhythmic shouting. Continue reading...

Targeting of group's leaders has failed to win Israel significant strategic advantage in past, let alone deal fatal blow

City authorities take case to Lombardy regional court in effort to block initiative by Matteo SalviniMilan council has appealed against a grotesque" move to rename the city's main airport after the scandal-tainted late former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.The council approved a resolution to take the case to the Lombardy region's administrative court after the initiative to rename Malpensa was accelerated by Matteo Salvini, the transport minister in Giorgia Meloni's far-right government. Continue reading...

Five executions, five states: a glut of judicial killing not seen in 20 years took place last week - and there was nothing random about itThe death penalty is waning in America. Most states have abolished it or put it on pause, the annual crop of executions and new death sentences is in decline, and public opinion is turning steadily against the practice.So the battle to break America's primal adherence to a-life-for-a-life is prevailing. Continue reading...

Local Jewish and Palestinian groups are preparing to mark one year since the October 7 attacks

But the national carrier says contingencies are in place to prevent traveller chaos in capital cities on Monday morning

A surge in claims for pension credit will make thousands more people eligible for the payments and other benefitsRachel Reeves has been warned that her cut to pensioner winter fuel payments risks saving hundreds of millions less than anticipated, in a new blow to her attempts to close the hole in Britain's finances.The chancellor and her Treasury team are already re-examining parts of a plan to crack down on non-dom tax status over concerns that it may not raise any money. Continue reading...

Thanks to the city's famously rainy climate, trees suffering in the south can be moved, says the Royal Horticultural SocietyThe climate is changing British gardens everywhere. Well, almost everywhere. The Royal Horticultural Society has modelled how global heating will affect its property until 2075 and discovered that summers will be hotter and drier in all its gardens - except in Manchester.Greater Manchester's renown as a rain trap - there is even a website tracking rainfall, called Rainchester - means that the RHS Bridgewater garden in Salford is being earmarked for species that thrive in a cooler, wetter climate. Continue reading...