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Gordon Brown's Our Scottish Future thinktank says reforms and investment hampered by focus on referendumsScotland's devolved government has been beset by poor decision-making for the past decade because of an obsession with constitutional disputes, a thinktank has found.The report, from Gordon Brown's Our Scottish Future thinktank, which has close ties to Labour, said much-needed reforms to public services and economic investment have been hampered by short-term decision-making and an unrelenting focus on referendums and elections. Continue reading...

Reese Kelly, of Workington, was described as a monster' after son Dallas died from catastrophic injuriesA man described as a monster" and ticking timebomb" has been found guilty of murdering his four-month-old baby son.Jurors at Carlisle court heard that Dallas Kelly died from catastrophic injuries after being left in the care of his father, Reece Kelly. Continue reading...

Former deputy cabinet secretary describes misogyny, lack of planning and over-confidence in government's pandemic response

Exclusive: documents show transport minister met former airline chief at Parliament House two months before she ruled against Qatar Airways request

An impressionist masterpiece is being displayed in the Tweed Valley as the National Gallery shares its collection around the countryIn late October an armoured van traveled through the flat cane fields of the Tweed Valley, in northern New South Wales. Carrying its precious cargo past tractors ploughing the earth after the cane burn-off, the fortified van came to a stop in what was, until relatively recently, a cow paddock.It was here in this bucolic setting that a $174m impressionist masterpiece, in a specialised crate to insulate it from heat and vibration, was unloaded into the Tweed Regional Gallery and Margaret Olley Art Centre. Continue reading...

Services Australia and prosecutors are unable to say exactly how many past convictions may be affected

New government report finds 78% of weather-related hospitalisations and over 43% of extreme weather-related deaths were due to extreme heat

Speaking in London, Abbott criticises the emissions obsession' of a climate cult that will eventually be discredited'

County Councils Network says local bodies are running out of road' to avoid insolvency after sharp rises in child protection costsOut of control" increases in child protection spending since the outbreak of the Covid pandemic have put one in 10 of England's biggest councils at risk of effective bankruptcy in the next few months, a survey has revealed.Many county councils and unitary authorities are running out of road" to avoid insolvency as they grapple with high inflation, increases in children being taken into care, and massive bills for children's homes, the County Councils Network (CCN) said. Continue reading...

Rose Jackson says the way authorities respond needs to change, acknowledging system has failed' in some instances

Police have established a crime scene at St Lucy's School in Wahroonga on the city's upper north shoreA 10-year-old boy has died at a school for children with disability on Sydney's upper north shore after becoming trapped under a lift.New South Wales police said emergency services were called to St Lucy's School in Wahroonga about 2pm on Wednesday after reports a child was trapped. Continue reading...

From January, it will be standing room only in some carriages so people can use the South Korean capital's metro lines more comfortably and safely'Seoul's subway system plans to introduce trains with carriages with no seating in order to alleviate congestion during peak hours, its operator has announced.The trial programme, set to start in January, will involve the removal of seats from two carriages on subway trains running on two of the South Korean's capital's nine major lines during morning and evening rush hours, Seoul Metro said on Wednesday. It forms part of a broader project aimed at reducing congestion on one of the world's busiest metro systems. Continue reading...

Media regulator cracks down while federal government considers recommendation to ban online gambling ads within three years

De Niro denied he was verbally abusive or sexist towards Graham Chase Robinson and called her $12m lawsuit nonsense'Robert De Niro shouted Shame on you!" at his former executive assistant and vice-president on Tuesday as he testified in a New York courtroom, denying claims he was abusive towards his employee who is now seeking millions of dollars in damages.Graham Chase Robinson watched with her lawyers while De Niro's anger built as attorney Andrew Macurdy pelted him with accusations his client made about De Niro's behaviour toward Robinson as she served his needs, large and small, from 2008 until her resignation in 2019. Continue reading...

Latrell Mitchell and Jack Wighton have beaten charges of fighting outside Canberra nightclub Fiction

The UN says Russian strikes are inflicting unimaginable suffering'; Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskiy warns against expecting success too quickly

One of Chinese e-commerce app's ads appeared on British news site portraying child in sexual way'Five adverts for the Chinese shopping app Temu have been banned in the UK for their sexualised nature, with one found to have been irresponsible in how it depicted a young girl to sell bikinis.The company has been warned against presenting under-18s in a sexual way in future or portraying adults as stereotypical sexual objects" after several ads featured disembodied images of the women wearing tight and revealing clothing". Continue reading...

Public accounts committee issues sobering reminder' there are no guarantees money spent will be recovered after collapse of BulbBill payers could be on the hook for almost 6bn to cover the cost of bailing out suppliers that went bust during the energy crisis, according to the government's spending watchdog.The public accounts committee (PAC) has issued a sobering reminder" that the government has no guarantee that it will be able to recover almost 3bn in costs for rescuing about 1.5m households affected by the collapse of Bulb Energy. Continue reading...

Patients from minority ethnic backgrounds wait longer for, and have worse outcomes from, referrals than white counterpartsBlack, Asian and minority ethnic people experience longer waiting times, and are less likely to be in recovery after treatment, when accessing NHS mental health services compared with their white counterparts, a report has found.The research looked at 10 years' worth of anonymised patient data from NHS Talking Therapies, formerly known as Improving Access to Psychological Therapies - an NHS programme that launched in 2008 to improve patient access to NHS mental health services. A total of 1.2 million people accessed NHS Talking Therapies services in 2021-22, and by 2024 the programme aims to help 1.9 million people in England with anxiety or depression to access treatment.In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org. You can contact the mental health charity Mind by calling 0300 123 3393 or visiting mind.org.uk Continue reading...

Landmark coronial inquest into deaths of four Aboriginal women reveals NT government rejected internal proposals for $180m to tackle domestic violence

Already declining support for prime minister falls further as calls grow for his resignation and public anger rises

Financial institutions have cut ties with hedge fund set up by Brexiter and Conservative party donorOdey Asset Management is closing down, five months after allegations of sexual misconduct made by junior female members of staff against its founder Crispin Odey threw the hedge fund into turmoil.The business said on its website: Odey Asset Management [OAM], including Brook Asset Management and Odey Wealth, will be closing. Fund managers and funds have moved to new asset managers." Continue reading...

Democracy activist hasn't enjoyed any direct sunlight for over four years' and his children fear their father risks being left to die in a Chinese prison

Members of Boris Johnson's inner circle have started to give evidence, with senior civil servant Martin Reynolds the first to appear

Lord Bethell says Boris Johnson did everything he could' to avoid focusing on pandemic in early days of crisis

Unknown number of people held in building in Warabi after suspected shooting at nearby hospitalA suspected gunman has taken an unknown number of people hostage in a post office in Japan after an apparent shooting in a nearby hospital.The city's authorities said: At approximately 2.15pm today (05.15 GMT), a person has taken hostages and holed up at a post office in Chuo 5-chome area of Warabi city ... The perpetrator is possessing what appears to be a gun. Continue reading...

Some of the 200 British or dual nationals in strip tell of life amid Israel's attack and the communication blackoutWhen Musheir El-Farra climbs into bed in Gaza each night, he cannot get the sounds of people screaming out of his head.Since last week, the British civil engineer has been plagued by memories of an Israeli bomb attack on a residential block in Khan Younis in which, he said, 16 of his relatives were killed. Continue reading...

New Zealand Justice Evangelos Thomas criticised failures of safety audits given obvious risks' that led to 2019 fatal eruptionA New Zealand court has found the owner of White Island/Whakaari, the offshore volcano that erupted in 2019, killing 22 people, guilty on one charge of breaching workplace safety laws.On Tuesday, Auckland district court ruled Whakaari Management Limited (WML), the holding company of landowners Andrew, James and Peter Buttle, had not met its obligations to visitors to the volcano. Continue reading...

More than 70 flood warnings issued across the UK with the Met Office warning of rainfall of up to 100mm in some areasFlooding has been reported in parts of Northern Ireland ahead of the arrival of Storm Ciaran on Wednesday, as police urged people against travelling and officials issued weather warnings for areas across the UK.The Met Office has issued an amber warning for rain, the second highest level, for much of the south-eastern part of Northern Ireland. The warning covers Counties Antrim, Down and Armagh. Continue reading...

Albanese government is rushing through laws to underpin the ID verification service, say experts who have privacy concerns

Parents say government's planned review has too short a timeframe and will not be sufficiently rigorousBereaved parents whose children have killed themselves while at university have criticised thegovernment's planned review of student suicides in England, describing it as a slap in the face" for families.The higher education minister, Robert Halfon, announced the national review earlier this year amid mounting concern over student mental health and a series of suicides that attracted widespread coverage in the media.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. 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...

Identity of firearms officer NX121, which had been protected by a court order, can be revealed next yearThe Metropolitan police officer charged with murder after Chris Kaba was shot dead can be named by the media, a judge has ruled.The identity of the firearms officer known only as NX121 had been protected by a court order. Continue reading...

Former Ukip leader said to be in advanced negotiations to join reality TV show in a deal worth up to 1m

Suella Braverman will meet police and national security officials at No 10 to discuss accelerated' risk

Jeremy Fewtrell says upcoming bushfire season will include periods of really intense activity' as he takes up commissioner role

Concerns raised over possible misclassification of children as adults as Home Office's new hotel maximisation' policy beginsChild asylum seekers are being forced to share hotel rooms with adults, as the Home Office's new hotel maximisation" programme begins doubling the capacity of refugee hotels by putting two strangers in roomsspaces that were previously single occupancy, a charity has warned.The Refugee Council has warned that frequent misclassification of child refugees as adults at the UK border is exposing them to serious safeguarding risks, with the dangers heightened by the government's new drive to reduce the cost of hotels by introducing a room-sharing policy. Continue reading...

Debt pause comes after watchdog found historical income apportionment' method breached social security law

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A judge also ordered the state to pay the five men more than $500,000 in compensation, including interest and legal costs

In today's newsletter: The home of tennis wants to get bigger so it can compete with other grand slam championships in New York and Paris Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. Israel has extended its ground offensive in Gaza, and ordered the evacuation of a key hospital in Gaza City where 14,000 people are said to be sheltering. You can catch up with the latest developments on our liveblog here.Today we're taking you to Wimbledon, where the bosses of the tennis championships have been fighting a decades-long battle to take control of the Capability Brown-designed park next door to add 39 more courts to the tournament.Israel-Gaza | Hamas confirmed it was engaged in heavy fighting" with Israeli troops inside northern Gaza, as besieged residents were again warned by Israel to flee southward. The fierce fighting came as nearly three dozen aid trucks entered Gaza through the territory's southern border on Sunday.Matthew Perry | Hollywood stars have hailed the comedic genius" of Friends star Matthew Perry after the actor's death at 54. Justin Trudeau and Adele were among public figures to speak fondly of actor best known as Chandler Bing in Friends.Asylum | A 23-year-old Nigerian man has made an attempt on his own life in an Essex hotel car park after hearing he was due to be transferred on to the Bibby Stockholm barge, according to a local charity.Housing crisis | Local leaders have warned that England's housing crisis will push many local authorities into bankruptcy. The worst-hit councils are now spending millions of pounds a year to try to cope with an unprecedented and rapid explosion in homelessness caused by rising rents and a shrinking supply of affordable properties.Guantanamo Bay | The UK's intelligence agencies are facing a fresh judicial investigation into allegations British spies were complicit in the CIA's post-9/11 secret torture and rendition programme. Continue reading...

Navishta Desilva, 36, pleads guilty to dishonestly obtaining financial advantage

Exclusive: Standard of care, exorbitant fees and difficulty getting treatment among 1,982 issues reported in 2022-23Record numbers of patients are complaining to the NHS Ombudsman about poor care, exorbitant fees and difficulty getting treatment from NHS dental services in England.Mistakes by dentists mean some patients are being left in agony - in some cases unable to eat - while others are being landed with huge bills for work on their teeth. Continue reading...

Reports of fierce clashes inside Gaza as the second phase' of the Israeli military's war against Hamas continues

Australian foreign minister's call comes as six former prime ministers issue joint statement expressing solidarity with Jewish and Palestinian communities

Legislation is first step' before phasing out other products, says government, after similar moves in England and ScotlandSeveral single-use plastic products have been banned from being sold across Wales as new legislation comes into force.The Welsh government said the ban would reduce the flow of plastic pollution into the environment by prohibiting the supply of certain products. Continue reading...

Budgets could be overwhelmed as evictions and rising mortgage rates cause homelessness to surgeEngland's housing crisis will push many local authorities into bankruptcy as the increasing cost of emergency accommodation for thousands of homeless families threatens to overwhelm council budgets, leaders have warned.The worst-hit councils are now spending millions of pounds a year - in some cases between a fifth and half of their total available financial resources - to try to cope with an unprecedented and rapid explosion in homelessness caused by rising rents and a shrinking supply of affordable properties. Continue reading...

Remarks by rights chief come as civil society groups warn of a rise in antisemitism amid Israel-Hamas warAntisemitism is a deeply ingrained racism in European society" that poses an existential threat to the continent's Jewish community and the fundamental aims of the European Union, an EU official has warned.Michael O'Flaherty, the director of the bloc's agency for fundamental rights, said it was worrying that only a third of the general population considered antisemitism a big problem, when there was no doubt dramatic moments in our societies trigger antisemitic responses". Continue reading...

High house prices, soaring rents and benefit cuts are forcing more and more to seek help from local authoritiesBankruptcy, Ernest Hemingway once wrote, comes gradually, then suddenly. For years, England's dysfunctional housing market was a distant concern for most district councils in the relatively affluent home counties; now, unexpectedly, it is in their faces, out of control and threatening to overwhelm them.Hastings, a coastal district in East Sussex, has warned it could become effectively insolvent this year as the housing crisis rips through. High house prices, soaring rents, housing benefit cuts, a 120% year-on-year rise in evictions, shortages of social housing and a shrinking, volatile, local private rented sector have created a perfect storm. Continue reading...

Flower memorial goes up for the 21-year coach killed on Sydney private school's grounds and special assembly held

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