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Case numbers were higher in the fortnight ending 6 January than during the 2023 winter peak, NSW Health data shows

Donald Day Jr made serious threats to kill others after allegedly encouraging deadly Queensland shootings, prosecutors sayAn American conspiracy theorist arrested in connection to religiously motivated shootings by an Australian family in Queensland later used the killings to bolster his alleged threats against public figures, United States prosecutors have said.Donald Day Jr, 58, was arrested in December 2023 by the FBI in Arizona on two counts of interstate threats" following the December 2022 fatal shootings in Wieambilla, Queensland. Continue reading...

777 Partners, which launched Australian budget carrier in early 2023, had leased four planes for Flair Airlines in Canada, UK court documents show

Andrzej Duda's remarks escalate battle for rule of law with new government and come as politicians convicted of abuse of power begin hunger strikePoland's president has said he will not rest until two politicians from the opposition nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party - both on hunger strike - are freed from prison, in a further dramatic escalation in the new government's battle to restore the rule of law.I will not rest in the fight for a fair and just Polish state," the president, Andrzej Duda, who is closely aligned with PiS, declared on Wednesday. I won't be scared. I will act legally, in accordance with the constitution and the law - as before." Continue reading...

Research by Sutton Trust finds disadvantaged students less likely to get into top performing schools in England than their peersSome comprehensive schools are more socially selective" than grammar schools, according to new research which has called on the government to review the admissions code in England to improve access for poorer pupils.While grammars are inherently selective, as admission is based on passing an 11-plus examination, comprehensive secondary schools admit local children, regardless of academic ability or social background, based on a school's admissions policy. Continue reading...

Rates for lung, liver, brain, oesophageal, pancreatic and stomach cancers worse than in most comparable nationsThe UK has some of the worst cancer survival rates in the developed world, according to new research.Analysis of international data by the Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce found that five-year survival rates for lung, liver, brain, oesophageal, pancreatic and stomach cancers in the UK are worse than in most comparable countries. On average, just 16% of UK patients live for five years with these cancers. Continue reading...

US and UK warships shoot down barrage of rockets, drones and cruise missiles fired at ships by Yemeni group

Al-Shabaab fighters attack after aircraft carrying medical professionals and soldiers lands in their territoryAl-Shabaab fighters in Somalia have attacked a United Nations helicopter that made an emergency landing in rebel-held territory, killing one passenger and abducting five others.The minister of internal security of Galmudug state in central Somalia, Mohamed Abdi Aden Gaboobe, said the helicopter made the landing in Xindheere village on Wednesday after engine failure. Continue reading...

Labour leader hits out at perceived criticism as he attacks Tory record on child health

Labour leader was director of public prosecutions when three cases brought by CPS resulted in convictionsKeir Starmer has denied he was aware of Crown Prosecution Service prosecutions against post office operators caught up in the Horizon IT scandal when he headed the agency.The Labour leader's comments came as calls grew for the former Post Office boss Paula Vennells to hand back 3m in bonuses earned during her period in charge. Continue reading...

Alicia Kearns' remarks come as up to 10 Tories prepare to join Labour in voting against bill affecting public bodiesA senior Conservative MP launched a scathing attack on a controversial bill banning local councils from boycotting Israel, as eight Tories voted against the proposed legislation.Alicia Kearns, the Conservative chair of the foreign affairs select committee, told the Guardian that the bill undermined free speech, went against international law and risked leaving the UK isolated on the global stage. Continue reading...

Pete Buttigieg says no timeline for return of aircraft as Alaska Airlines announces cancellation of 110-150 flights each dayThe US transportation secretary announced on Wednesday afternoon that no grounded Boeing 737 Max 9 would return to service until it is safe", after Alaska Airlines announced the cancellation of all flights on its 737 Max 9 planes at the direction of the Federal Aviation Administration.Pete Buttigieg said he was not putting a timeline" on when the FAA will allow the planes to resume flights. Continue reading...

Barrage apparently targeting western warships suggest Hamas's Yemeni allies are keen to test west's warnings

Impact of six-day stoppage means NHS has had to rearrange more than 1.3m appointments over past 13 monthsMore than 110,000 patients had their NHS care cancelled because of the junior doctors' strike that ended on Tuesday, figures show.The impact of the six-day stoppage means the health service in England has now had to rearrange more than 1.3m appointments as a result of industrial action by doctors, nurses and other staff over the last 13 months. Continue reading...

Daniel Noboa designates nearly two dozen gangs as terrorist groups after wave of violence across countryEcuador's president, Daniel Noboa, said on Wednesday that his country was at war" with drug gangs who are holding more than 130 prison staff hostage and who briefly captured a TV station live on air, in a wave of violence that has left city streets deserted.At least 10 people have been killed, including police officers, in the attacks. Continue reading...

Gabriel Attal attempts to set tone as Macron government tries to counter rise of Marine Le Pen's far-rightThe new French prime minister, Gabriel Attal, has sent a strong message on law and order on his first full day in office, visiting a police station and promising to deliver security to responsible working French people", who he said wanted calm.There is no security without our police," said Attal on Wednesday outside a police station in Ermont in the Val-d'Oise, setting the tone for his attempts to counter the rise of Marine Le Pen's far-right. Continue reading...

Customers can collect their parcels and try on items in one trip during trial at La Poste branchesIt is an increasingly common irritant of modern life. You order an item of clothing online; you wait with anticipation for it to arrive, and five minutes after it has arrived you're packaging it up because it doesn't fit.For shoppers in France, however, the national post office may have the answer - or at least a way of making the process less logistically challenging. It is experimenting with in-store changing rooms to cater to people who want to quickly return purchases they do not want. Continue reading...

Kevin Hollinrake, responding to urgent question about Post Office scandal, says evidence was not available at time of prosecutionsRishi Sunak is facing a revolt by Tory MPs later today when the Commons votes to give the economic activity of public bodies (overseas activities) bill a third reading. The vote will take place early in the evening, after MPs have debated the finance bill. Aubrey Allegretti from the Times says around a dozen Conservatives will refuse to vote for the bill.Rishi Sunak faces his first rebellion of the new year later today.

Alan Bates, who inspired ITV drama, welcomes blanket acquittal proposalThe man who inspired the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office has described the government's plan to grant a blanket acquittal for thousands of post office operators convicted in the Horizon IT scandal was a positive step forward" but said there is more to be done.Alan Bates, who ran a post office in the seaside town of Llandudno, north Wales, told the BBC Radio 4's World at One programme that more work was needed to ensure those impacted by the scandal receive adequate compensation. Continue reading...

Zelenskiy said that Putin would not stop at Ukraine but would attack other neighbours unless allies joined forces to stop himThe UK's Ministry of Defence has published its latest defence intelligence update.It states that Russia has accidentally discharged two aerial munitions on two separate occasions in the past week" and that Russian forces continued propensity for munition accidents" are likely exacerbated by inadequate training" and crew fatigue". Continue reading...

Japanese company's Horizon IT system caused accounting errors that were blamed on subpostmastersPressure is mounting on the government to review more than 2bn in new contracts awarded to Fujitsu since a court ruling in 2019 found its Horizon IT system caused accounting errors that were blamed on more than 900 subpostmasters who were then wrongly prosecuted by the Post Office.The Japanese company, which continues to hold the prestigious status of being a key strategic supplier" making more than 100m annually from government work despite the scandal, has won 101 new contracts worth 2.04bn since the landmark legal ruling. Continue reading...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereAdam Bodnar, Poland's justice minister, has outlined the legalities around the Mariusz Kamiski case on social media.Polish president Andrzej Duda said today that he would not rest until the politicians Mariusz Kamiski and Maciej Wsik are freed from prison.I will not rest in the fight for a fair and just Polish state. I will not rest until Mariusz Kamiski and his colleagues are free. I won't be scared. I will act legally, in accordance with the Constitution and the law - as before. Continue reading...

Philip Jacobs was originally named only in the credits of Attenborough and the Giant Sea MonsterThe BBC has finally name-checked the man who found the prehistoric star of David Attenborough's latest documentary after a barrage of complaints that he had been airbrushed" from the programme.There was outrage that Philip Jacobs, who discovered the 150m-year-old fossilised pliosaur during a beach walk in Dorset, was only fleetingly mentioned in the credits of Attenborough and the Giant Sea Monster rather than in the main body of the much-lauded show. Continue reading...

Ex-president and Republican frontrunner claims he is victim of political persecution in remarks after court hearing in WashingtonThere will be bedlam" in the US if criminal cases deny Donald Trump a White House return, said the former president who incited the deadly January 6 attack on Congress but who is the clear frontrunner for the Republican nomination this year.I think they feel this is the way they're going to try and win, and that's not the way it goes," Trump told reporters, referring to Joe Biden and Democrats, after a court hearing in Washington DC on Tuesday. Continue reading...

One former operator says he missed seeing dying father, as others describe horrors of prison and the stigma they suffered

Supermarket reports 8.6% rise in grocery sales, although consumers rein in spending on electrical goods

Rapper says I vow to be more mindful going forward' after image of shaven-headed, tattooed people was used on artwork for single Gas Me Up (Diligent)The Mercury prize-winning British rapper Skepta has apologised after artwork for his single Gas Me Up (Diligent) was criticised on social media for having unintentional but palpable allusions to the Holocaust.The artwork features a group of people in matching overcoats with shaved heads, and the words gas me up" tattooed on the head of one of them, perceived as reminiscent of the head-shaving, tattooing and gas chambers used in Nazi death camps. Gas me up" is slang for hyping someone up or praising them. Continue reading...

Pennon, which owns South West Water, Bristol Water and Bournemouth Water, has bought SES Water in a 380m dealThe owner of South West Water, one of the UK utility firms fined for illegal sewage dumping last year, has bought Sutton and East Surrey (SES) Water in a deal worth 380m.Pennon, which also owns Bristol Water and Bournemouth Water, has confirmed the acquisition of the supplier, which has 745,000 customers across parts of Kent, Sussex, Surrey and south London. Continue reading...

Winchester court told licensing regime endangers lives' after man admitted causing death by careless drivingThe family of a couple killed when their car was hit by an 80-year-old motorist who failed to see them have called for elderly drivers to face retests.Michael Hamburger, a businessman from Alton, Hampshire, pulled out directly in front of Roger and Christine Barton although he had an unobstructed" 500-metre view of oncoming traffic. Continue reading...

Postal services minister says ministers not ruling out emergency legislation to quash all the convictions

Ecuador's president has declared a state of internal armed conflict". How did the country find itself in the grip of armed gangs? Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. At about 2pm local time yesterday, a live news broadcast on an Ecuadorian TV channel was interrupted by a group of masked men carrying guns, grenades, and dynamite. The intruders pointed guns at employees and made them lie on the floor. Don't shoot, please don't shoot!" one person shouted. One of the attackers said the attack was the result of messing with the mafias". The TC Television broadcast continued for at least 15 minutes. Then the signal was cut off.Some 13 gunmen were later arrested, and the hostages taken to safety. The astonishing scenes in the city of Guayaquil were part of a series of audacious coordinated attacks by members of Ecuadorian gangs that have killed at least 10 people. They follow the escape from prison of the country's most feared gang leader, Adolfo Macias, and new president Daniel Noboa's subsequent declaration of a state of emergency. And while the situation is evolving rapidly, it appears to represent a declaration of war on the country's fragile democratic institutions.Post Office Horizon scandal | The former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells is to hand back her CBE over the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of staff, with over 100 more potential victims having come forward in recent weeks. Vennells said on Tuesday she was truly sorry for the devastation caused to the sub-postmasters and their families".Israel-Gaza war | The British government has accepted that Israel as an occupying power had a legal duty to provide basic supplies to the people of Gaza. David Cameron, the foreign secretary, told MPs that Israel should remove barriers on the delivery of humanitarian aid that were risking real, widespread hunger".Climate crisis | 2023 has smashed the record for the world's hottest year by a huge margin. The planet was 1.48C hotter in 2023 compared with the period before the mass burning of fossil fuels ignited the climate crisis, scientists have said.Child protection | Boys are watching violent porn on their smartphones then going on to attack girls, police have said, as new data showed children are now the biggest perpetrators of sexual abuse against other children. Overall, the data shows a quadrupling of sexual offences against children.US news | A group of men belonging to a Hasidic Jewish community in New York were arrested on Monday amid a dispute over an illegal tunnel secretly dug into the side of a historic synagogue, which has since been closed. Action by law enforcement after the tunnel came to light led to a brawl with those who had created the passageway. Continue reading...

Girls as young as 16 arrested in shops, classes and markets in Kabul by the Taliban, who labelled them infidels' for wearing bad hijab'Girls as young as 16 have been arrested across the Afghan capital, Kabul, in the past week for violating the Taliban's hijab rules.The girls - who were detained in shopping centres, classes and street markets - were accused of spreading and encouraging others to wear a bad hijab" and wearing makeup. Continue reading...

Queensland premier rejects opposition's interpretation of numbers, as the total crime rate remains below mid-2000s levels

Exclusive: Leonard Farruku's former roommate was offered no support after being relocated to another room without belongingsThe man who was found dead on the Bibby Stockholm barge after it was suspected he had killed himself lay undiscovered for up to 12 hours, his former roommate has claimed.Speaking publicly for the first time since Leonard Farruku, 27, an asylum seeker from Albania, was found dead in a shower room on the barge last month, his roommate urged the Home Office to stop using it to accommodate those seeking refugee status.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. Youth suicide charity Papyrus can be contacted on 0800 068 4141 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Lt Col Carlos Luis Malatto fled Argentina in 2011 and will be tried in Rome for premeditated killing of eight people in last military dictatorshipA judge in Rome has ordered Lt Col Carlos Luis Malatto, a former Argentine army officer accused of murder and forced disappearances during Argentina's 1976-83 military dictatorship, to stand trial in Italy for the premeditated killing of eight people.The former military officer is accused of crimes against humanity in Argentina, but he fled the country in 2011 and had been living in a tourist village in the province of Messina, Sicily. In a letter to the court of appeal in the Argentine state of Mendoza, Argentine prosecutors alleged that Malatto actively participated in various detention procedures and is one of the most infamous perpetrators" of the dictatorship for his participation in interrogations under torture". Continue reading...

Federal opposition leader told audience at Roy Hill mine that parents and teachers should instruct children about benefits of miningPeter Dutton was flown to a party at the Pilbara mine of Australia's richest person, Gina Rinehart, by another billionaire rich-lister, where he made a speech suggesting parents and teachers talk to children about the positives of the mining sector.In a speech at Hancock Prospecting's Roy Hill mine in November last year, Dutton repeatedly thanked those working in resources. He described the work carried out at Hancock Prospecting's mine as a national treasure". Continue reading...

Alternative to 1km path in Caulfield East has been proposed by the government to the local councilGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastAbout 250 trees set to be cut down to make way for a new Melbourne bike path could be spared under a last-minute proposal put forward by the state government after a community campaign.The 1km path, which would connect the new Glen Huntly railway station to other stations, would require the felling of 250 mature trees, including several that are on the council's classified tree register, on Queens Avenue in Caulfield East. Continue reading...

Letter calls for restoration of safe and quiet neighbourhood' after Hamilton hotel hosts about seven families over new year

Supporters of the African nation's dictatorial regime have clashed with opponents in the diaspora at similar events in other countriesAustralian federal police and government officials have met representatives of the Eritrean community in a bid to avoid potential violence during a planned cultural festival in Melbourne's western suburbs this weekend.Similar events held in Europe and North America in recent months have ended in violence and arrests, as supporters of the African nation's regime clashed with members of the pro-democracy youth movement Birged Nhamedu.Sign up for Guardian Australia's free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

Freedom of information request finds more than 1,700 items are absent from collectionsA drawing of Queen Victoria and an aircraft navigational system are among the items missing from museums in England.Freedom of information requests by the PA news agency to museums and galleries that receive public funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) asking for details on absent items from the last 20 years found that more than 1,700 items were absent from collections. Continue reading...

Police data shows 52% of alleged offenders in England and Wales are minors - a situation exacerbated by accessibility of violent porn'Boys are watching violent porn on their smartphones then going on to attack girls, police have said, as new data showed children are now the biggest perpetrators of sexual abuse against other children.Police data shows there has been a quadrupling of sexual offences against children, in what officers say is the most authoritative analysis of offending against youngsters. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Advocates say outdated and contradictory workplace laws are to blame for the disparity

Moderates Conservatives push back against amendments seeking to end migrants' legal challengesA damaging row over Rishi Sunak's asylum policy has been reignited after ministers announced that the Rwanda bill will return to the Commons next week.The prime minister came under pressure from rightwing Tory MPs, including Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick, to accept amendments that would limit individual challenges by migrants and prevent the European court of human rights from blocking deportation flights to central Africa. Continue reading...

Gangsters unleashed wave of terror following move by President Daniel Noboa in response to gang leader's prison escape

Men had taken refuge in presidential palace in escalation of standoff between new and previous governmentsPolish police have arrested two politicians convicted of abuse of power who had taken refuge for hours in the palace of President Andrzej Duda, in a dramatic escalation of a standoff between the new and previous governments.Duda had welcomed the members of the former ruling party into the presidential palace as police went to their homes to arrest them. Polish media reported the men were arrested inside the palace. Warsaw police gave no details, saying only that the arrest was in accordance with the court order." Continue reading...

David Cameron urges Israeli authorities to clear barriers to aid deliveries amid risk of widespread hunger'The British government accepted on Tuesday that Israel as an occupying power had a duty under international humanitarian law to provide basic supplies to the people of Gaza.The admission came as David Cameron, the foreign secretary, urged Israel to remove barriers on the delivery of humanitarian aid into the territory that were risking real, widespread hunger". Continue reading...

CEO when hundreds of PO operators were prosecuted, says she will hand back honourThe former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells is to hand back her CBE over the wrongful prosecution of hundreds of staff, with over 100 more potential victims having come forward in recent weeks.Vennells said on Tuesday she would return the award given to her in 2019 as the fallout from ITV's drama about the scandal continues to grow. Continue reading...

IDF says no damage or casualties caused after Lebanese militant group launches explosives as Safed base

Maria Kartasheva's in-absentia conviction over blogposts about Ukraine war threatened application for Canadian citizenshipCanada has reversed course after initially blocking a Russian anti-war activist from receiving citizenship because she had run afoul of Moscow's harsh laws criminalizing dissent over the invasion of Ukraine.Maria Kartasheva's plight had baffled immigration lawyers and exposed the confusing reality of Canada's immigration bureaucracy. Last year, the 30-year-old was charged and convicted by Russian prosecutors of violating a law barring criticism of the military. And even though her opinions mirrored Canada's foreign policy, the conviction threatened to derail her application for Canadian citizenship. Continue reading...

Yvette Cooper opens debate that, if passed, would force government to publish confidential documents about costs of Rwanda scheme. This live blog is closedThese posts on X are from Warwick Mansell, who runs the Education Uncovered website, giving his take on Bridget Phillipson's speech. (See 12.23pm.)Returning from @bphillipsonMPs speech on education. Interesting to see room so packed, with quite a few prominent ed figures in audience. Sense of government in waiting, perhaps. Substance also interesting.Lots of angles, which will write about. BP praised Michael Gove's energy and sense that ed was at centre of nat conversation, which had been lost, tho stressed twice she often disagreed with him on detail.Labour refocusing on poverty alongside ed would be back to pre-MG approach.Also interesting to hear Kevan Collins say that big element of his post-covid plan which had been rejected by government had been support for children's social needs, post-pandemic.Really significant dimension,that has got lost? Not seen point about his plan reported before...(?)BP also stressed need for ed to support children's emotional needs, as children's don't learn well if unhappy. Huge issue in cases I follow. Continue reading...