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It comes as the opposition leader says Gooreng Gooreng man Justin Mohamed is being flown around the world doing I don't know what'

RBA decision was in line with economists' forecasts as economy endures persistent inflationary pressuresThe Reserve Bank has left its key interest rate unchanged for a seventh meeting as the central bank waits for clearer evidence inflation is in retreat before it begins cutting borrowing costs.The RBA ended its latest two-day board meeting on Tuesday by keeping its cash rate at 4.35%, the level its remained since November. The decision was as economists had expected. Continue reading...

Police stationed across territory and curfews tightened over concern of new outbreaks of violence after months of deadly unrestNew Caledonia was on edge on Tuesday, with fears tensions could spill over into fresh unrest as the territory marked the anniversary of the French takeover - and some independence figures prepared to issue calls for sovereignty.September 24 is a symbolic day in New Caledonia, long regarded as a day of mourning among the Indigenous Kanak population. This year the anniversary comes after months of deadly unrest and heightened tensions in the French Pacific territory between pro-independence Kanak people and the communities loyal to Paris. Continue reading...

Tony Armstrong, a Logie winner for best new talent and Gold Logie nominee, to leave in October amid negotiations with the ABC for a new TV show

Former diplomat Michael Kovrig, who was taken into custody in December 2018, says he spent months in solitary confinement and was interrogated dailyA former Canadian diplomat detained by China for more than 1,000 days said he was placed in solitary confinement for months and interrogated for up to nine hours every day, treatment he said amounted to psychological torture.Michael Kovrig, speaking to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp in his first major interview since his release, also said he had missed the birth of his daughter and met her for the first time when she was two-and-a half years old. Continue reading...

Analysis of satellite images show 60-metre crater at silo suggesting a catastrophic failure' after ignitionRussia's Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile - known in the west as Satan II - appears to have suffered a catastrophic failure" during a test launch, according to analysis of satellite images.The images captured by Maxar on 21 September show a crater about 60 metres (200 feet) wide at the launch silo at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. They reveal extensive damage that was not visible in pictures taken earlier in the month. Continue reading...

Chiapas, Oaxaca and Guerrero brace for impact as life-threatening' category 2 storm to make landfall TuesdayMexico's southern coast was bracing for flash floods and storm surges as Hurricane John quickly intensified into a category 2 storm on Monday afternoon.Originally forecast as a tropical storm, Hurricane John rapidly strengthened" into a category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 100mph (160kmh), according to the US National Hurricane Center, which warned of damaging hurricane-force winds, life-threatening storm surge and flash flooding". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Marieha Hussain asks police watchdog to look into claim the force pursued a politicised case against herThe teacher acquitted of a racially aggravated public order offence after she held a placard depicting Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman as coconuts at a pro-Palestine protest has called on the police watchdog to investigate the Metropolitan police over its handling of the case.Marieha Hussain, who was found not guilty at Westminster magistrates court earlier this month, claims the Met and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) pursued a politicised case against her without justification after she attended the march in November last year. Continue reading...

Filippo Turetta accused of killing university student Giulia Cecchettin in case that has ignited calls for cultural changeA major femicide trial has opened in Italy, after the brutal murder of a university student by her ex-boyfriend that triggered outrage and national soul-searching over the roots of male violence against women.The stabbing in November of Giulia Cecchettin, 22, a biomedical engineering student at the University of Padua, cast a grim spotlight on femicide in Italy, where the vast majority of victims are killed at the hands of their current or former partners. Continue reading...

Exclusive: store issues new statement as lawyers describe redress scheme it has set up as attempted whitewash'Harrods is investigating whether any of its current staff were directly or indirectly involved" in the alleged sexual abuse of women by its former owner Mohamed Al Fayed.With more than 100 women having come forward to allege being raped or assaulted by the Egyptian tycoon, the luxury store said it had launched a review and was in direct contact with Scotland Yard. Continue reading...

The chancellor beamed her way through a conference speech that offered hope at least but little of substance

Bodies responsible for monitoring accounting and legal sectors not doing enough to stop money laundering, watchdog saysA lack of proper oversight across the City of London's network of lawyers, bookkeepers and accountants is hampering efforts to crack down on dirty money being funnelled through the UK, the City watchdog has warned.The latest report by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) flagged concerns over the work of the UK's 25 professional bodies - which oversee the accounting and legal sectors - and found that some were spending as little as 73 a year on anti-money laundering supervision or were outsourcing it entirely to third parties. Continue reading...

Inquiry into murder of babies at the Countess of Chester hospital hears about newborn girl fitted with stomaThe parents of an extremely vulnerable newborn girl have said they were disgusted to find her covered in her own faeces" while under the care of the nurse Lucy Letby.The inquiry into the murder of babies at the Countess of Chester hospital heard that one child had been fitted with a stoma as well as a catheter, known as a Broviac line, after her birth in October 2015. Continue reading...

Symphonic ballad will be released on Thursday, ahead of new album Songs of a Lost World which awaits an official announcementThe Cure have announced their first new song in 16 years, entitled Alone, to be released on Thursday.A post on the band's social media contains a snippet of the song: a symphonic ballad with heavy drums and lurching electric guitar, with frontman Robert Smith singing: This is the end of every song that we sing / the fire burned out to ash, the stars grow dim with tears." Continue reading...

Almost all operators who continue to face discrepancies' say they involve a financial shortfall, survey finds

Some areas may experience 100-120mm of rain with potential for disruption and flooding, says Met OfficeMore than a month's worth of rain could fall in parts of England on Monday, with flood warnings issued and an amber weather alert in place for central and southern parts of the country.The Met Office issued an amber weather alert for rain until 9pm in an area including Milton Keynes, Oxford, Reading, Bath and Gloucester, meaning some flooding and travel disruption was expected. Continue reading...

Director of public prosecutions says by contrast other parents seemed to view joining in disorder as a day out'A 14-year-old boy was spared prosecution for involvement in the riots that gripped parts of the UK this summer because his parents gave him a stern telling-off, whereas others had appeared to regard the disorder as a bit of fun, the director of public prosecutions has said.Stephen Parkinson drew a comparison with another case, in which the mother of a 12-year-old boy was ordered to pay 1,200 in compensation to his victims, and the child was given a referral order, after she went on holiday to Ibiza rather than attend court. Continue reading...

Operators of e-scooter share schemes face penalties if rentals are not removed from City of Melbourne streets by midnight

Many considered too old to be easily integrated into mainstream schooling and too young for further educationThousands of teenage asylum seekers are thought to be spending up to a year out of education in a no man's land" because schools are reluctant to accept them if they arrive after September, a report warns.Teenage asylum seekers are seen as too old to be easily integrated into mainstream schooling and too young for further education, leaving many stuck in a limbo that leaves them vulnerable to isolation, mental health deterioration and exploitation, according to research conducted by the charity Refugee Education UK (REUK) and funded by the Bell Foundation, an education charity. Continue reading...

Anti-gambling advocates say pre-commitment card offers best chance to reduce overwhelming' harm caused by losses of half a million dollars a day

Mark Rowley launches initiative that includes reset of stop and search, but acknowledges there is still a lot to do'Scotland Yard has launched its latest steps to try to rebuild trust with London's black community, which the Met police commissioner acknowledged had been let down for many years.Mark Rowley said there remains a long way to go and there is a lot more work to do", but that the force's race action plan was a step in the right direction. Continue reading...

Health secretary shares light-hearted quip at party's conference over embattled No 10 aideWes Streeting has joked that Keir Starmer's embattled senior aide Sue Gray also shot JFK" and was hiding Lord Lucan" amid a continuing row over her salary.The health secretary made light of suggestions of mounting acrimony at the heart of government as he spoke at an event on the sidelines of the Labour party conference in Liverpool. Continue reading...

More serious exchanges of fire could lead to cross-border attack but it is a move that is fraught with riskSo serious were the exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah this weekend, it is hard to be sure that the two sides have not already crossed the threshold of all-out" war.Israel's air force said it had struck 290 targets in southern Lebanon on Saturday, killing at least three. Hezbollah responded by launching 150 missiles, rockets and drones into Israel overnight, the deepest attack since violent hostilities broke out when the Iran-aligned group began launching rocket attacks in support of Hamas after 7 October. Continue reading...

Weather warnings to continue into Monday after weekend of flooding, lighting strikes and a tornadoA damp squib of a summer has abruptly ended in an appropriately biblical fashion after intense thunderstorms swept the UK over the weekend with severe weather warnings for rain continuing into Monday across most of England and Wales.Forecasters warned the public to be wary of flooding, with the potential for some communities to be cut off by flooded roads and a chance of power cuts, amid yellow and amber warnings for rain on Monday. Continue reading...

Donations scandal rumbles on into Labour conference as allies call for a change in strategy

Director of Hamas-run housing ministry among dead after strike on building housing displaced people, officials saySeven people have been killed after an Israeli airstrike hit a school housing displaced people in western Gaza City, Palestinian health officials said, amid fears that Gaza's worsening humanitarian crisis might be forgotten as tensions boil between Hezbollah and Israel.The strike hit Kafr Qasem school in Beach camp on Sunday morning, officials in Gaza said. Among those killed was Majed Saleh, the director of the Hamas-run public works and housing ministry, they added. Continue reading...

Mateusz Kulik says Home Office has informed his lawyer that removal flight on Monday has been cancelledA Polish man who has lived in the UK since he was seven has been granted a last-minute reprieve after facing deportation because officials said he had not provided enough proof of living in the country for the last 20 years.Officials were planning to remove Mateusz Kulik to Poland on Monday morning despite the fact he completed primary and secondary education in Britain as well as a college course in travel and tourism. He pays tax in the UK and works for a transport company completing customs documents for goods exported from Britain to EU countries. He provided the Home Office with years of school records and bank statements to prove his long residency. Continue reading...

Simon Baker says REA Group's property portal is viewed jealously' by others around the world because the home-sellers pay the billsA former chief executive of the News Corp-controlled realestate.com.au says the company views real estate agents as its outsourced sales force", outlining how home sellers have been targeted with ever-rising advertising costs.Simon Baker, who was chief executive of REA Group from 2001 to 2008 and now works as a consultant in the property tech industry, says the vendor-paid" advertising market operating in Australian real estate is rare globally. Continue reading...

Outgoing president congratulates Marxist rival Anura Kumara Dissanayake after second-round victory

Police unable to find perpetrator, leaving residents of Shiptonthorpe unsure of whom they can trustA cloud of vitriol" hangs over an East Yorkshire village amid a two-year campaign of anonymous poison pen letters that have caused some people who lived there to move away, they have said.The personal, obscene and targeted" letters have caused chaos in the quiet hamlet of Shiptonthorpe over the last two years, leaving residents upset, frightened and unable to know who they can trust. Continue reading...

Ballot being seen as referendum on Olaf Scholz's government ahead of next autumn's general electionThe far-right Alternative fur Deutschland party is hoping to come top in an election in the German state of Brandenburg on Sunday, three weeks after making historical gains in two other regions.The AfD, which has been classified as rightwing extremist in several states by domestic intelligence agencies, is running almost neck and neck with Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) in the state, a belt of urban and rural communities that surrounds the capital, Berlin. Continue reading...

One trust reported more than 900 incidents including patient harms after it rolled out new softwareThere are serious safety risks" for patients in the rollout of electronic health records in hospitals across England, a charity has warned.Patient Safety Learning said incidents involving new systems were likely to be under-reported and must be flagged. It has urged the government to ensure adverse-incident reports are monitored more effectively. One trust reported more than 900 incidents, including potential patient harms after it rolled out new software. Continue reading...

Perry Kouroumblis, 65, was arrested at Rome airport and held for the alleged murders of Suzanne Armstrong and Susan Bartlett

Campaigners want Labour's key education policy to provide food for all primary aged pupils rather than just in schoolsMinisters are coming under mounting pressure to extend free breakfast clubs in primary schools to cover pupils in special schools and alternative provision to ensure they do not miss out on Labour's leading education policy.The government is planning to unveil the children's wellbeing bill early next year, outlining plans for free breakfast clubs in all primary schools in England. Ministers say the project - one of its key promises before the 4 July general election - will help children concentrate more in school, and make a big contribution to the wider fight against poverty by saving hard-working parents" more than 400 every year. Continue reading...

Take Home Naloxone program, which allows access without a prescription, sees rise in use after multiple reports of people who unknowingly used laced drugs and died

Australian Study of Health and Relationship study finds 3.9% of women aged 16-69 had experienced contraceptive interference and 4.9% forced abortion

Opinium poll for the Observer finds a 45-point drop in the prime minister's approval rating since he won the electionKeir Starmer has suffered a precipitous fall in his personal ratings since winning the election, according to a new poll for the Observer that comes before his first Labour conference as prime minister.The latest Opinium poll reveals that Starmer's approval rating has plunged below that of the Tory leader Rishi Sunak, suffering a huge 45-point drop since July. While 24% of voters approve of the job he is doing, 50% disapprove, giving him a net rating of -26%. Sunak's net rating is one point better. Continue reading...

Aqil, who has reportedly been killed by an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, had risen through the ranks of the organisation

Lee Anderson, Richard Tice and Nigel Farage give speeches at Reform party conference. This live blog is closedRichard Partington is the Guardian's economics correspondentUK national debt has hit 100% of the country's annual economic output, the highest level since the 1960s, underscoring the challenge facing the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, as she prepares for next month's budget.As leader, you've got a huge job, because you're campaigning everywhere. You're sorting out the professionalisation with the chairman and so we're sharing and sharing alike and that's an important part of it. You can't be everywhere all the time. It's really difficult. But let me tell you, no one works harder than Nigel Farage.As a leader of a party that is now becoming mainstream, international affairs, our relationship with our most important, strategic international partner - the US - is very important and the world will be a safer place if Donald Trump wins the presidential election. Nigel's strong relationship with Donald Trump is actually to the benefit of this country and it's quite right that he cements and strengthens that.No one's got more visibility, frankly, than Nigel on social media. I'm getting millions of views on mine. The other three MPs, likewise. We're out there. We're making a noise. Frankly, we are the real opposition. The Tories have vacated the premises, we hardly ever see them in the House of Commons.I've spoken 16 times, I've challenged the zealot-in-chief, Ed Miliband. I've challenged the home secretary. I've challenged the health secretary on the failings of the NHS. So look, we're holding them to account. That's what people expect of opposition parties. Continue reading...

Rodent posed risk to electrical wiring on Scandinavian Airlines flightA mouse that crawled out of a passenger's meal has forced a Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) flight to make an unscheduled landing, the company said on Friday.The incident occurred during Wednesday's flight from Oslo to Malaga, forcing the plane to land in Copenhagen. Continue reading...

Killing comes a week after an officer fatally wounded another suspect held on accusations of blasphemyPolice in southern Pakistan have shot dead a blasphemy suspect during an alleged shootout with armed men, in the second such killing in a week.Police identified the slain man as Shah Nawaz, a doctor in the Umerkot district in the Sindh province, who had gone into hiding two days ago after being accused of insulting Islam's Prophet Muhammad and sharing blasphemous content on social media. Continue reading...

Alex Edwards, 19, sentenced to more than five years in jail as judge says he has entrenched mindset of hatred'A teenage far-right extremist has been jailed for more than five years for sharing terrorist documents and attacking a transgender woman by kicking her in the head before posting best day ever" online.Alex Edwards, formerly known as Alex Hutton, was sentenced at Winchester crown court for causing actual bodily harm, disseminating terrorist material and having a bladed article in a public place. Continue reading...

Piece dating from 1760s, probably composed when Mozart was in his early teens, uncovered by researchers in LeipzigA previously unknown piece of music composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart when he was probably in his early teens has been uncovered at a library in Germany.The piece dates to the mid to late 1760s and consists of seven miniature movements for a string trio lasting about 12 minutes, the Leipzig municipal libraries said in a statement on Thursday. Continue reading...

Israeli commentators and analysts question timing of explosions and what they will lead to

Gavi uses newly established First Response Fund to secure doses, but 10 million are needed to meet demand on the continentA batch of 500,000 mpox vaccines has been bought by the vaccine alliance Gavi, for delivery this year to virus-affected countries in Africa, where until now doses have been scarce.It is estimated that 10 million vaccines are needed to meet demand, but the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which accounts for most cases, only received 100,000 vaccines earlier this month despite having had more than 700 deaths this year and 22,000 cases of the new Clade 1b strain. Neighbouring countries Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya have each reported a handful of cases. Continue reading...

Allies must face reality of divergence under Orban and country's doublespeak', says David PressmanThe US ambassador in Budapest has said Hungary's democracy problems and foreign policy divergence from the west can no longer be dismissed as rhetoric and that the time has come for a reckoning".Since coming to power more than 14 years ago, the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orban, has concentrated political and economic power in the hands of his ruling party and a handful of businesspeople close to the government, while also nurturing relationships with Moscow and Beijing. Continue reading...

Open Rights Group say digital documentation system is prone to data errors, system crashes and other glitchesMillions of migrants have been urged to register for a new eVisa scheme as campaigners warn the document could create a digital Windrush scandal.The scheme, which will be introduced at the end of the year, is designed to replace physical biometric residence permits that show proof of the right to reside, rent, work and claim benefits with digital eVisas. Continue reading...

Lib Dem leader speaks about importance of care and carers as he addresses final day of party conferenceThe number of migrants who have crossed the English Channel since Labour won the general election has passed 10,000, according to provisional figures from the Home Office. As PA Media reports, some 65 migrants were detected crossing the Channel on Monday, taking the cumulative number of arrivals since July 4 to 10,024. PA says:The cumulative total for the year so far now stands at 23,598.This is 1% lower than the equivalent figure at this point last year, which was 23,940, and 21% lower than the total at this stage in 2022, which was 29,783.The home secretary announced the package of up to 75m, which redirects funds originally allocated to the previous government's Illegal Migration Act. It will unlock sophisticated new technology and extra capabilities for the NCA to bolster UK border security and disrupt the criminal people smuggling gangs. The investment is designed to build on a pattern of successful upstream disruptions announced at an operational summit, attended by the prime minister, at the NCA headquarters last week.The truth is that in the last few years, something went badly wrong. Badly wrong, in our national debate on climate change and net zero.Net zero became, under the Tories, a battleground. A battleground of the worst type of narrow-minded Westminster tactical warfare. Continue reading...

Former Liberal Democratic party eager to increase influence at state and federal level after unexpected success in NSW council elections

The PM likely hopes the possibility of an existential threat to some in the Senate generates more cooperation