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David Crisafulli promises real-time health data and housing fund changes in budget reply

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With some signs of poll fatigue, the yes campaign will have to work hard and hope an appeal to the heart is enough to get it over the line

Cross-party committee says ex-PM would have faced 90-day suspension had he not quit in rage at findings last week

Hundreds more feared missing from overcrowded fishing vessel that reportedly sailed from Libya for ItalyAt least 78 people have died and hundreds more are feared missing in the deadliest refugee shipwreck off Greece this year.The victims, nearly all of them men from Afghanistan and Pakistan, drowned when the large trawler they were travelling in capsized off the southern Peloponnese. Continue reading...

Founding pastor, who has pleaded not guilty, is on trial for not reporting his father’s confession to sexually abusing a young boy

Exclusive: Tufan Erginbilgiç prevented from seeing documents because he holds joint UK and Turkish citizenship

In today’s newsletter: Ahead of a new report on the government response to Channel crossings, today’s newsletter looks at the growing challenges the Royal National Lifeboat Institution faces

Deal signed last month gives US ‘exclusive use’ of parts of bases, as Palau PM says he has asked US to step up patrols after Chinese incursions into its watersThe US military can develop and operate out of bases in Papua New Guinea, according to a landmark security pact that is part of Washington’s efforts to outflank China in the Pacific.The full text of the deal was tabled in Papua New Guinea’s parliament on Wednesday evening and obtained by AFP, shedding light on details that have been closely guarded since the pact was signed in May. Continue reading...

Probyn said he was told by the ABC they ‘no longer need a political editor and they want to reinvest the money into social and digital reporting roles’

Proportion of women on boards of 585 FTSE all-share listed companies rises from 36% to 40%, data showsUK businesses have improved female representation on their boards, research shows, but two-fifths of FTSE 100 firms still do not have a woman in one of their top four executive roles.The proportion of women on the boards of the 585 FTSE all-share listed companies has risen over the past year from 36% to 40%, according to the analysis of Companies House data. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Comments about shadow education secretary revealed as lobby group steps up pushback against Labour plansThe body representing independent schools in the UK has described the shadow education secretary as “very chippy” in private messages, as it steps up its campaign against Labour’s plan to add VAT to school fees.A public access request to the Independent Schools Council about Bridget Phillipson revealed that officials said she “doesn’t know diddly” and suggested she should “appreciate the great good our sector does”. Continue reading...

More than 62% of fathers would take more time off after births if statutory pay rate was increased, poll findsAlmost a third of fathers took no paternity leave after the birth of their child, as a result of the UK’s “measly” paternity leave rights, according to research.Two decades after paternity leave rights were established, research suggests that the UK has fallen behind and now has the least generous entitlements in Europe. Continue reading...

Eight Royal Mail stamps featuring original artworks by Black British artists were commissionedA special collection of stamps has been issued to mark the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the hundreds of passengers from the Caribbean to the UK on the Empire Windrush.Eight Royal Mail stamps featuring original artworks by Black British artists were commissioned to celebrate the occasion, which will be revealed at the Black Cultural Archives in Brixton on Thursday. Continue reading...

Huge increase in applications means officials are left with little time to read student statementsThe hours spent by students writing personal statements for UK university applications may be in vain, according to figures, showing that many are barely read by admissions officers.The ritual of applying for a place at university has for decades included a personal statement as part of the admissions process, with the applicant – and often their parents, teachers and even paid consultants – helping to craft an essay limited to 4,000 characters, approximately 600 words. Continue reading...

Employers expand workforces even as growth slows, surprising economists

Rosemary Penwarden said her letter telling oil executives a petroleum conference was off was satirical protest but was found guilty of forgery offencesA New Zealand climate activist who wrote to oil executives posing as a fossil fuel conference organiser and telling them their gathering was cancelled has been found guilty of forgery, and could face up to a decade in prison.Rosemary Penwarden, 64, who sent the letter to an oil company’s delegates argued it was a form of “satirical protest”, and said she was astonished by the outcome. Continue reading...

Pre-inquest hearing told footage shows Gareth, Nathaniel and Stacey Train shooting at police during the 2022 attack

Cyclone Biparjoy, which means ‘disaster’ in Bengali, is expected to make landfall on Thursday eveningMore than 100,000 people have been evacuated in India and Pakistan ahead of the expected landfall on Thursday of a “very severe cyclonic storm”.Biparjoy, a cyclone whose name means “disaster” in Bengali, is making its way across the Arabian Sea and is expected to make landfall on Thursday evening, government weather monitors said. Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese says he has briefed opposition on move in response to ‘clear security advice’ about risk of premises so close to parliament

Despite widespread reports that all eight submarines would be built in Australia under $368bn deal, up to five SSNs will be US Virginia class

Ukraine counteroffensive making slow progress, say western officials; Chechnya ruler Kadyrov says right-hand man alive after all Continue reading...

Finance minister announces immediate review of Canada’s involvement with Beijing’s alternative to the World BankCanada is freezing its ties with the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) after the bank’s global communications director resigned and said the bank was “dominated by the Communist party”.Finance minister Chrystia Freeland said on Wednesday Canada was putting its ties with AIIB on hold while it investigated the allegations and did not rule out any outcomes, a clear hint that Ottawa could pull out of a bank it officially joined in March 2018. Continue reading...

Citizens Advice says landlords may be issuing section 21 notices before practice is banned in EnglandA record number of renters need help with no-fault evictions, suggesting landlords may be pushing cases through before the practice is banned in England under new legislation.Citizens Advice said last month it helped almost 2,000 people with section 21 evictions, the most in a single month on record and a 25% increase since May 2022. Continue reading...

Two days after returning from mental health break, veteran north Queensland MP announces he will take more leave, citing back issues

Former SAS corporal arrives in Perth from New Zealand and comments for first time on judgment in civil case that found on the balance of probabilities he had committed war crimes

Christina Quinn, who was the chief executive of a hospice, died when the diving boat burst into flames in the Red SeaOne of the three Britons who died after a diving boat burst into flames in Egypt’s Red Sea on Sunday has been named as Christina Quinn, who was the chief executive of a hospice.The 58-year-old was on a medium-sized scuba diving boat called Hurricane that went up in flames in the sea off the resort town of Marsa Alam. Continue reading...

José Rubén Zamora, 66, convicted and sentenced on money-laundering charges press freedom groups say were trumped upA veteran journalist and founder of one of Guatemala’s oldest newspapers has been sentenced to six years in prison for money laundering, in a case widely condemned as politically motivated.José Rubén Zamora, 66, was convicted on Wednesday by a three-judge panel in Guatemala City, who ruled that there was “no doubt” the outspoken critic of government corruption masterminded the laundering of almost $40,000 in 2022. The court absolved Zamora of blackmail and peddling influence charges. Continue reading...

Met says man found on railway lines in Streatham after driver fled scene of crash following police pursuitA 34-year-old man has died on railway tracks in south London after being involved in a car chase with Metropolitan police officers, the force has said.A pursuit began after a car headed towards Streatham High Road failed to stop for police at about 3.26am on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Ex-minister responds to Downing Street pressure to stand down with demand for unredacted details of decision

Families of Barnaby Webber and Grace Kumar, two of the victims, attended as staff and students led series of tributesTell us: have you been affected by the situation in Nottingham?We are yet to hear from the Nottinghamshire police today, but yesterday the force said it was not looking for any other suspects:The family of university student Barnaby Webber, 19, who was killed yesterday, have paid tribute to him, saying he was a “beautiful, brilliant, bright young man, with everything in life to look forward to”.Complete devastation is not enough to describe our pain and loss at the senseless murder of our son.Barnaby Philip John Webber was a beautiful, brilliant, bright young man, with everything in life to look forward to. Continue reading...

Sources tell Guardian 31-year-old suspect has had mental health issues and was previously known to police

Nine-year-old, who is not transgender, left in tears by incident at shot put final as anti-trans hate on the rise across the countryA Canadian man who allegedly shouted at a nine-year-old girl and questioned whether she was transgender has been banned from attending elementary school athletics competitions, after an incident that activists say reflects a broader rise in anti-trans hate across the country.Kari Starr told the Guardian that her nine-year-old daughter was preparing for a shot put competition in the British Columbia city of Kelowna when a man attempted to halt the competition, alleging Starr’s daughter was either a boy or transgender. Continue reading...

Huge turnout as parents and friends of Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar pay tributeAt the centre of a sea of University of Nottingham students, the parents of Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar clung to each other for support. The huge turnout at Wednesday’s vigil was testament to the impact the students made in one academic year at the university – the two friends were excellent sportspeople, incredibly sociable and academically gifted.Their families were seated on the front row, meeting for the first time since they found out their 19-year-old children had been killed alongside each other while walking home from a night out, in a seemingly random act of violence. The families had hugged each other and sobbed as they met. Continue reading...

First inquest to formally involve a gambling operator hears that Luke Ashton at one point had debts of £18,000A gambler was making as many as 100 bets a day online and had previously accumulated £18,000 in debts before he took his own life, the first inquest of its kind has heard.Luke Ashton, 40, from Leicester, died in April 2021, after having longstanding problems with gambling, his wife, Annie, told the inquest at Leicester coroner’s court. Continue reading...

Counteroffensive is still ‘going in the right direction’ says officials, in one of west’s first assessments of Ukrainian action launched on 4 June

Research has found those who use medications such as Ritalin without having conditions such as ADHD actually reduce their mental performance

Former PM targets Bernard Jenkin over allegations that he attended birthday drinks during Covid restrictionsBoris Johnson has called for a Conservative MP on the privileges committee to resign as a furious blue-on-blue row erupted on the eve of a long-awaited report that will find he misled parliament over Partygate.In an attempt to disparage the findings of the report, Johnson called allegations that Bernard Jenkin attended a birthday drinks in parliament during Covid restrictions a “total contempt of parliament” and said he has “no choice” but to recuse himself from the panel. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Festival organisers say onerous new licence rules for onsite drug testing could endanger livesThe Home Office has been accused by leading festival organisers of endangering the lives of revellers after in effect blocking on-site drug testing last weekend.The Parklife festival in Manchester last weekend was for the first time since 2014 unable to test confiscated pills because the government department said they needed to apply for a special licence. Continue reading...

Georgia Bilham, 21, found not guilty of 16 other sexual offences at Chester crown courtA woman accused of posing as a teenage boy to sexually abuse a shortsighted woman has been cleared of 16 sexual offences and found guilty of one count of sexual assault by kissing.Georgia Bilham, 21, had previously told Chester crown court she got trapped in a “web of lies” after posing as a boy to meet girls online. She kissed her victim while disguised as a boy, but the jury was not satisfied that by the time the pair had a sexual relationship, the woman had thought Bilham was a man. Continue reading...

Gunmen stormed a village close to the capital of the remote north-eastern state on TuesdayAt least nine people have been shot dead in the remote north-eastern Indian state of Manipur in the latest incident in weeks of violence that has claimed more than 100 lives.Clashes between members of the Kuki ethnic group, who mostly live in the hills, and Meiteis, the dominant community in the lowlands, erupted on 3 May, sparked by resentment over economic benefits and quotas in government jobs and education reserved for hill people. Continue reading...

Operator announces route to town of Hel has been redesignated as No 669 – a change that has prompted public outcryThere will be no more going to Hel on bus 666.The bus to the town of Hel on Poland’s Baltic coast has long been popular with tourists. But some Christian conservatives have protested against the use of a number signifying the devil on a bus leading to a place that sounds like the word “hell” in English. Continue reading...

Ombudsman rules that hospital in Nowy Targ failed to tell Dorota Lalik, 33, that her life was in danger and could be saved by an abortion“Stop killing us,” protesters across Poland chanted this evening, demanding the legalisation of abortion, after reports reached the media of a pregnant woman’s death in a hospital in May.On Monday, Poland’s patients’ rights ombudsman, Bartłomiej Chmielowiec, said that the John Paul II hospital should have told 33-year-old Dorota Lalik that her life could be saved through an abortion. The hospital violated her rights by withholding the information, the ombudsman ruled. Continue reading...

Russian Asset Tracker published findings weeks after country’s brutal assault on UkraineThe Guardian has won a prestigious international journalism prize for its work identifying assets owned by Russian oligarchs.Russian Asset Tracker, a collaborative project led by the Guardian and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, won the Innovation award at the European Press Prize in a ceremony held in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Friday. Continue reading...

Fresh protests expected against proposals as opposition members threaten to quit compromise talksA key vote in Israel’s Knesset related to the government’s bitterly contested judicial overhaul is set to be delayed at the behest of the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in a move that could torpedo negotiations with the opposition and galvanise the anti-legislation protest movement.Parliamentarians were due on Wednesday to elect two political representatives to the country’s nine-member judicial selection committee, the composition of which is one of the most important issues in the now six-month-old political crisis. Continue reading...

PM’s office says Mid Bedfordshire deserves ‘proper representation’ and delay to resignation ‘obviously unusual’Fell put it to Braverman that customers were not learning to protect themselves from online fraud because, if they are cheated, they tend to get their money back from banks. He suggested that people were being “coddled”. It was as if they were leaving their front door open, leaving themselves vulnerable to burglary, he said.Braverman said Fell had a point. She told him:I think that’s a really important point and I’m passionate about increasing awareness - much like practice changed when it came to wearing a seatbelt …I think we need a step change when it comes to online activity. We are far more vulnerable than we appreciate and I think people’s lives are lived so politically online that they forget that there are fraudsters operating in that online world. Continue reading...

Supporters wave flags outside Milan Cathedral but critics says ex-prime minister should not be ‘beatified’Silvio Berlusconi has been given the privilege of a state send-off at Milan’s imposing cathedral in a ceremony that drew thousands of mourners to a square outside but appalled critics of the scandal-tainted former Italian prime minister.Supporters waved Italian flags with Forza Italia – the name of the party he founded in 1994 – written on them and, in reference to his long association with AC Milan football club, chanted: “There’s only one president.” Continue reading...

Russia has had 12 months to prepare defensive positions supported by superior air power

Family of university student describe ‘complete devastation' at ‘senseless murder of our son’The families of Nottingham University students Barnaby Webber and Grace O’Malley-Kumar have described their “complete and utter devastation” after the pair were killed in a series of attacks in the city.David and Emma Webber said “complete devastation is not enough to describe our pain and loss at the senseless murder of our son”. Continue reading...

Complaint also relates to mention of letter allegedly sent by Brittany Higgins to Wilkinson, who claims she has no record of it