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NSW government should also consider having additional desalination plants and plan for new ‘rainfall-independent’ water sources, report saysA new water strategy for the Sydney basin says the New South Wales government needs to look urgently at investing in alternative sources of water, including more desalination plants and large-scale recycling of wastewater.But the state’s minister for water, Kevin Anderson, skirted around the most contentious part of the report: the consideration of large-scale recycling into the drinking-water system.Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning Continue reading...

Thomas Mark Rickard, who served in ADF, avoids conviction but is ordered to pay $1,000 good behaviour bond for leaving reporter abusive and threatening voicemail

Tactical police fired bean bag rounds into Tarek Zahed’s black BMW on Edgecliff street

With the global economy also at a crossroads, Beijing’s leadership faces a perilous test of nerve on its lending crackdown and zero-Covid strategyChina has reached a point of no return in its battle to contain what could be the biggest property crash the world has ever seen, experts believe, creating a perilous moment for the country’s Communist leadership and the global economy.As western countries stand on the edge of a potentially ruinous recession in the coming year, China is also facing a slump thanks to “total collapse” of confidence among ordinary people in the once-buoyant housing market, the continued ravages of Beijing’s draconian zero-Covid strategy and an extreme heatwave that is affecting the supply of power and food. Continue reading...

Flights found to run more than 14 minutes late on average as UK plans to reduce compensationThe budget airline Wizz Air was the worst performer for UK flight delays among its peers last year, according to analysis that has raised fresh concerns about government plans to slash customer compensation schemes.The Hungarian carrier – which operates short-haul flights from 10 UK airports including Belfast International, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Gatwick and Luton – was found to have flights running an average of 14 minutes and 24 second behind schedule in 2021, months before the latest travel chaos took hold. Continue reading...

UK’s biggest warship suffers propeller shaft damage off south coast after setting sail for USThe £3bn Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales has broken down just one day after departing from Portsmouth to begin a four-month deployment to the US.The 65,000-tonne warship remained in the south coast exercise area near the Isle of Wight as the Royal Navy conducts “investigations into an emerging mechanical issue,” a spokesperson said on Sunday. They declined to comment further. Continue reading...

Research to update record of cities in UK and overseas territories reveals Gibraltar was awarded status in 1842 but omitted from listResidents of Gibraltar smarting at missing out on gaining city status in a recent competition have been handed an unexpected surprise: it has been one for the last 180 years.Gibraltar was among 39 places across the UK and British overseas territories vying to win city status as part of the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations in a competition last year, up against sites ranging from Alcester to Wrexham, via the Cayman Islands. Continue reading...

Labor hopes together business, unions and the community sector will be able to find ways to lift wages, spur productivity and ease skills shortages

Exclusive: Ministers encouraged to stay at Westminster to devise emergency plans to address cost of living crisisThe next Conservative leader has been urged to scrap MPs’ four-week break for party conference season and told it would be “immoral and insulting” to go “missing in action” during the worsening cost of living crisis.With the Commons due to go into recess for a month in mid-September for the parties’ annual conventions, ministers were encouraged to remain in Westminster to devise and debate emergency plans for supporting struggling people through the winter. Continue reading...

When Covid struck and BAME patients died disproportionately, students of heath inequalities were not surprisedAs the first Covid wave hit, it quickly became clear that people from black and ethnic minority backgrounds were dying in disproportionate numbers.The immediacy and visibility of these deaths was shocking and revealed a disparity so clear-cut that some wondered if the explanation could be genetic. But those who have spent a lifetime studying health inequalities were less surprised. People from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds do worse across a wide range of health outcomes. Continue reading...

Merseyside police say anyone withholding information in case is ‘protecting the killers’Police have urged anyone with information on the killing of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel to come forward, saying “silence is not an option”.In a video released on social media, Merseyside police said anyone withholding information was “protecting the killers”. Continue reading...

Man resisted all attempts to contact him, laying traps and firing arrows at anyone who came too closeAn unidentified and charismatic Indigenous man thought to have been the last of his tribe has died in the Brazilian Amazon, causing consternation among activists lamenting the loss of another ethnic language and culture.The solitary and mysterious man was known only as the Índio do Buraco, or the “Indigenous man of the hole”, because he spent much of his existence hiding or sheltering in pits he dug in the ground. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Open letter puts pressure on party’s stance on strikes amid talk of coordinated autumn actionMore than 600 Labour councillors have declared their full backing for all rail, postal, dock and other workers on picket lines, as the party comes under continuing pressure over its stance on strikes.Amid a wave of strikes over pay and increasing talk of coordinated industrial action this autumn, the councillors signed an open letter saying they offered “full solidarity and support” to the Rail, Maritime and Transport workers’ union (RMT), the Communication Workers Union (CWU), Unite and others. Continue reading...

Head of children’s services says cash-strapped authority had no choice but to pay up to provide care

Exclusive: Concerns raised as cost of providing specialist care for vulnerable children soars

Teachers and charities say free meals needed for all state pupils as 800,000 children in poverty do not qualifyHunger will be the “single biggest challenge” schools face as children return to classrooms in the coming weeks, sparking calls for the government to introduce universal free school meals to help tackle the crisis.Already, 800,000 children living in poverty in England do not qualify for free school meals, according to the Child Poverty Action Group, and now headteachers are bracing for rising numbers from homes that cannot afford to feed them properly. Continue reading...

Surveys reveal that up to 12% of the country supports unification with China, including five of its citizens in a Taipei restaurantAt a Cantonese restaurant in Taipei, Harry Chen and four old friends are shouting at each other over a Lazy Susan, stopping occasionally to toast each other with Canadian whisky or translate their argument into English.All are retired men in their 70s – the sons of Chinese nationalist soldiers – and were born or grew up in Taiwan during its brutal decades of martial law. Continue reading...

No new support packages offered to Homes for Ukraine sponsors as the first group of six-month placements is set to come to an end

Famous names list their unwanted items on Depop and eBay as Gen Z shuns fast fashion in favour of pre-owned purchasesWould you buy a pair of Christian Dior trainers previously worn by Lily Allen? What about a playsuit sported by Olivia Rodrigo or cropped jeans from Maisie Williams?The chance to buy clothes directly from a celebrity has become a new shopping option, thanks to a slew of famous names teaming up with websites that sell secondhand clothes. Continue reading...

Young professionals seeking private rental property tell of ‘hundreds’ applying for the same letBeth Holloway seems like the ideal tenant. The civil servant, 23, has a stable job, good references and earns a decent salary. And she doesn’t smoke or have pets – factors that are often a disadvantage in a fiercely competitive market.But after three months of flat-hunting in London, involving hundreds of enquiries to agencies, two dozen viewings and 10 offers on properties, she says she cannot take it any more. Each time she and the friend she had planned to live with put in an offer on a property, they were outbid by someone else. “We’ve offered £200 over [the listed price] and not got it because someone else offered six months upfront. I’ve heard of people offering £500 or £600 over or offering to pay a year upfront in cash,” she said. Continue reading...

Traffic deaths dropped by only 4.7% in last decade, compared with a 31% fall worldwideWhen Islamic Jihad, the second largest militant group in the Gaza Strip, fired about 1,000 rockets at Israel during an unexpected flare-up of violence earlier this month, most were intercepted by the Iron Dome air defence system, and no Israelis were seriously hurt or killed.On the country’s roads, however, it was a different story. In the same week, 19 people were killed in traffic incidents during a wave of particularly serious crashes. Continue reading...

More than 33 million people have been displaced as destructive monsoon rains continue to wreak havocFlash floods triggered by destructive monsoon rains across much of Pakistan have killed more than 1,000 people and injured and displaced thousands more since June, officials have said.The new death toll came a day after the prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, asked for international help in battling deadly flood damage. More than 33 million people have been displaced. Continue reading...

Serbia to abolish entry-exit document for Kosovo ID holders and Kosovo agrees not to introduce themSerbia and Kosovo have agreed on an arrangement for free movement between their countries, the EU’s foreign policy chief announced Saturday.Serbia agreed to abolish its entry-exit document for Kosovo ID holders, and Kosovo agreed to not introduce them for Serbian ID holders, said Josep Borrell. Continue reading...

Community-based groups are looking for candidates but they may find it harder to gain traction than federal independents

Party would insulate broadcaster from political pressure, says shadow culture secretary, as Liz Truss prepares to wage war on itLabour has pledged to strengthen the BBC’s political independence and retain it as a publicly-owned, public service broadcaster at the heart of British life, amid signs that a Tory government led by Liz Truss would wage war on the corporation.Lucy Powell, the shadow culture secretary, told the Observer she is examining a series of reforms to insulate the BBC from political pressures, including ending “revolving door” appointments of people in politics to top posts in the corporation, and extending the charter renewal period from 10 to 15 or 20 years to reduce pressures on BBC leaders to toe the government line. Continue reading...

Hard-up producers replace wheatfields and vineyards with a more lucrative, drought-resistant cropThey’re calling it green gold, the cash crop that could rescue one of Spain’s poorest regions from decline and depopulation as farmers plough up wheatfields and vineyards and replant them with pistachios.With farmers earning between 65 and 85 cents for each kilo of olives they produce, and around 65 cents for grapes, pistachios, which fetch €6-8 a kilo, are in a different league. Continue reading...

New data shows average waits for treatment at some hospitals in England are above 30 weeksNearly 40% of NHS hospital departments in England have average treatment waiting times above 18 weeks – with average waits at some well over 30 weeks, according to Observer analysis of NHS data.In England, the NHS Constitution sets out that patients should wait no more than 18 weeks from GP referral to treatment. But analysis of hospital waiting time data published on the NHS My Planned Care site shows that 813 out of 2,148 specialties at hospital trusts in England had average wait times for non-cancer treatment of more than 18 weeks in mid-August – 38% in total. Continue reading...

Rates of anxiety and depression have decreased since first year of the pandemic but there still aren’t enough therapistsEric Wood, a mental health professional who leads virtual support groups for Indiana judges and attorneys, can look at a screen full of heads nodding in reaction to what someone said and know that the meeting is providing some relief for participants who have struggled during the Covid-19 pandemic.Wood, who lives in Indianapolis, can also see how his wife, Diane Keller Wood, has made gradual improvements in her recovery from long Covid’s significant effects on her mental and physical health. Continue reading...

Ivy owner Richard Caring wins council permission to close part of Onslow Square, a busy ambulance and bus route, for two weeksRichard Caring, the billionaire owner of the celebrity hotspot restaurant the Ivy and private members’ club Annabel’s, has won permission to close a main road in South Kensington, central London, in order to have dozens of trees planted in the grounds of his £40m mansion.Caring, who has built up an estimated personal fortune of more than £1bn from his clubs and restaurants empire, which also includes the Sexy Fish in Mayfair, secured permission from the council to close part of Onslow Square for two weeks in order to install a crane to carry the mature trees over a row of neighbouring terraced houses. Continue reading...

Arrest of 33-year-old follows earlier arrest of 36-year-old man suspected of being the gunmanA second man has been arrested by armed police on suspicion of the murder of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel in Liverpool. The 33-year-old, from Dovecot, was also arrested on suspicion of two counts of attempted murder.He was arrested by armed officers on Lunsford Road in Huyton, Liverpool, on Friday afternoon. Merseyside police said the man has been taken to a police station where he will be questioned by detectives. Continue reading...

A rash of major health announcements is sure to spread further before the state election – but the devil is in the detail

Inquiry by commissioner for standards into Alan Campbell will look at source of emails sent to a mailing listThe Labour chief whip is under investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner for allegedly misusing confidential information given to him as an MP.The inquiry concerns allegations that Sir Alan Campbell breached rules on the “use of information received in confidence in the course of the Member’s parliamentary duties”, as well as on the use of his parliamentary email address. Continue reading...

Tour operators hope House of the Dragon will end long winter of low visitor numbersIn 2019, Northern Ireland seemed set for a sunlit future of Games of Thrones-themed tourism.Devotees of the HBO fantasy series flocked to the show’s locations in castles, forests and harbours, spending £30m each year, with more expected once an official studio tour opened in County Down. Continue reading...

Northern Lighthouse Board looking for someone to maintain lighthouses at Cape Wrath and Stoer HeadThe role of a retained lighthouse keeper is, says Barry Millar, an extremely attractive job. At 74, the former biology teacher has no intention of quitting his position maintaining 10 lighthouses across Ayrshire and Galloway across Scotland’s south-west coast.And his message to anyone considering an application to fill the vacancy for a keeper at the most north-westerly point on mainland Britain is simple: “Give it a go.” Continue reading...

Event’s boss says it ‘means too much to too many people’ for it not to have returned after Covid hiatusThe Notting Hill carnival is here to stay because it “means too much to too many people”, its organiser has said before the event’s return after a three-year hiatus.Matthew Phillip, the carnival’s chief executive, said Europe’s largest street festival, which was forced online during the pandemic, was stronger than ever, with 2 million people expected to gather and celebrate in west London this bank holiday weekend. Continue reading...

In a country where politicians are held to very high moral standards, it does not take much to provoke debateSanna Marin has been the focus of unusual – by Finnish standards – international attention ever since she became the world’s youngest prime minister at the age of 34 in December 2019. Not every Finnish prime minister makes it on to the cover of Time or has their holidays reported on in Italian national newspapers.Raised in modest circumstances by her mother and her mother’s female partner, Marin worked in her 20s as a cashier in a department store. Now, as well as prime minister, she is mother to a young child, has a social life and occasionally goes to festivals and parties. For the more conservative parts of society, all that seems hard to combine in one person. Continue reading...

T Raja Singh suspended earlier this week for hate speech after allegedly abusive commentsPolice in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad have arrested a suspended leader of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) for making allegedly abusive remarks about the prophet Muhammad.Police arrested T Raja Singh, 45, on Thursday after thousands of Muslims took to the streets in the city protesting against his speech. Continue reading...

The Dogger, which has not left the water in 134 years, will be ‘undressed’ so it can pass under low bridgesThe oldest houseboat on the canals of Amsterdam is being removed after being left unable to pass under the low bridges around it.The Dogger, built in 1865, is a former watership that transported drinking water to the breweries. It is believed to have moved into the Prinsengracht canal in 1888. Continue reading...

First Nations housing must meet minimum standards by 2031, under new targets set by joint council and states and territories

For the Zinthiya Trust and those in Leicester who it helps, the price cap rise is just one in a stack of mounting problemsA tear rolls down Shama Omar’s face. She is describing the pain of her disabled daughter’s death last year, after 29 years of attentive care. It is a familiar tale of delays and stretched health service resources. “If the GP had seen her on that day, my daughter would have not died,” she says.Now, she is surviving on one cooked meal every two weeks, deciding on whether to pay for council tax, food or water next. “I need to take cancer medication, which gives me hot flushes but I can’t afford to have the fan on all the time,” says Omar. “I had to think whether to spend £4.60 for the bus here, that could have helped me make meals for two days.” Continue reading...

State auditors express fears ‘pink education’ threatens boys’ mental health and the country’s economyHungary’s state audit office has issued a report about the risks of the country’s education system being “too feminine”, saying it could hurt the development of boys and create demographic problems.The report was issued last month but had not caught the public’s attention until a newspaper article was published on Thursday. Continue reading...

Government to build centre on mainland instead following community campaign against the development

The alleged offences were committed during an altercation with a freelance camera operator in Manly on 3 July

Former anti-corruption activist who has fled to Netherlands tells how Russian state infiltrated oppositionWhen Mikhail Sokolov signed up to work for the FSB security services, he never imagined his journey would end here: in a crowded refugee camp on the outskirts of a sleepy town in the rural Netherlands.“The last six years were a rollercoaster. I am happy I am no longer in the claws of the FSB,” the former FSB informant and staffer for the jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s anti-corruption network said in an interview with the Guardian this week. Continue reading...

Jaden Francois-Esprit, a trainee who died aged 21, had described bullying and racism at his Wembley stationThe family of a trainee firefighter who killed himself two years ago has called on London fire brigade to issue a public apology for “multiple failings” they believe played a part in his death.On the second anniversary of Jaden Francois-Esprit’s death on Friday, Francois-Esprit’s mother, Linda Francois, an NHS worker, 55, has called for major changes to the fire service to prevent similar tragedies.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or by email at jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org. Continue reading...

State fair trading minister, Victor Dominello, welcomes David Chandler’s decision to stay in role, saying he’s ‘a big fan’

Justice secretary criticised by senior officials after board is ‘last to hear’ about important policy changesDominic Raab was accused by a senior Parole Board official of making a “difficult job next to impossible” after making big policy changes without notice, newly uncovered documents show.Members of the Parole Board also said the justice secretary would have to increase the number of prison places by 800 every year if he was to force through major changes. Continue reading...

Truss remained loath to ‘bung money’ at those struggling to afford spiralling bills, Sunak said millions may be forced into destitutionLiz Truss has doubled down on her reluctance to “bung more money” at those who will struggle to afford spiralling energy costs this winter while Rishi Sunak said millions may be forced into destitution without extra support, as the pair clashed at the penultimate hustings of the Conservative leadership race.With energy regulator Ofgem expected to raise the price cap to £3,500 a year from October for the average dual-fuel tariff, Truss warned the issue of spiralling fuel costs was not a short-term one. “If people think this problem is going to be over in six months they are not right. This is a long term problem,” she told the audience in Norfolk. Continue reading...