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Lib Dems accuse Reform leader of wanting to water down women's rights after reports of help from advocacy groupNigel Farage has been urged to explain why a US anti-abortion advocacy group helped arrange a meeting in London with Trump administration officials and diplomats.The meeting, first reported by the New York Times, took place in March between Farage and a delegation from Trump's state department, which it said was overseen by the US embassy and brokered by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) group. The meeting was said to have discussed abortion rights, free speech and online safety laws. Continue reading...

Sue Rizzello is among thousands in UK suing the firm, which denies selling baby powder containing asbestos

Party tries to reassure MPs over build and function of the scheme and gather ideas for how it could improve public services

Proposed timeframe leaves 12 days to scrutinise most significant changes to national environmental protection regime since 1999

Stories Matter strategy responds to urgent pressures such as declining reading rates and growing impact of digital media on publishing, minister says

Chancellor adds she wants to get the balance right' and not deter wealthy people from making the UK their homeRachel Reeves has said those with the broadest shoulders" should pay their fair share" into the exchequer, as she prepares to raise taxes in next month's budget.The chancellor is expected to deliver a package of tax increases and spending cuts on 26 November to meet her fiscal rules in the face of deteriorating forecasts from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). Continue reading...

Martin Hewitt tells MPs political instability' is factor in failure to roll out more interventionist tactics

Rule would require adopted children born abroad to prove substantial connection' to Canada to pass on citizenshipCanadian parents of children adopted abroad say a proposed citizenship bill represents a shocking and unconscionable" erosion of their children's rights by the governing Liberals.The federal government is in the midst of overhauling the Citizenship Act so Canadians born abroad can pass citizenship to further generations born abroad. The bill would also restore or grant citizenship descendants who were excluded under older citizenship laws. Continue reading...

Barrister finds multiple procedural failures' in payment to Cate Saunders, who had close' relationship with former DPS secretary

Melbourne man Zivan Radmanovic, 32, was fatally gunned down in a Bali villa in June

Watchdog says some business and practitioners are taking advantage of the compassionate release of superannuation process

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A resilient labour market is the jewel in Labor's crown when it comes to its economic record. Is this month's data a blip, or the start of something bigger?

Exclusive: Articles about Sam and Brittany Groth failed to include key comments, documents filed in defamation and privacy case say

Treasury secretary Scott Bessent raises possibility of taking more direct stakes in companies to protect national security in wake of Beijing's curbs on rare earths exportsThe Trump administration has criticised China's increased restrictions on rare earth exports as a threat to global supply chains, and said it would seek to tighten control over strategic sectors by taking more stakes in key companies to counter Beijing.Treasury secretary Scott Bessent told an event on Wednesday that China's dramatic new restrictions on rare earth minerals and magnets demonstrated the need for the US to be self-sufficient in critical materials or rely more on trusted allies. Continue reading...

GP services will end at the Collingwood, Fitzroy, and Kensington sites in December

An additional 60 South Koreans remain detained by Cambodian authorities after a crackdown on scam operationsSouth Korea has issued its most serious travel warning for parts of Cambodia, issuing a code black" ban that orders citizens to leave areas in which the government has identified surging employment scams and detention cases targeting its nationals.The travel prohibition covers the border towns of Poipet and Bavet, along with the Bokor Mountain region in Kampot province, 140km south-west of Phnom Penh, where a 22-year-old Korean student was allegedly tortured to death in August. Continue reading...

There's no question Victoria has a crime problem, but the federal Coalition parachuting in with little more than talking points is not the answer

Documents reveal messages between the accused pair warning: You're in spy territory now'The Crown Prosecution Service abandoned a case against two Britons accused of spying for China despite being told by the UK's deputy national security adviser that Beijing's intelligence agencies harm the interests and security of the UK".Three witness statements were released by Keir Starmer on Wednesday night in an effort to draw a line under a row over why the case was dropped against the two, one of whom also warned the other in a message: You're in spy territory now." Continue reading...

Netanyahu says Israeli military receive two bodies; Trump says as soon as I say the word' Israel would resume Gaza attacks

Outside the supreme court, protesters invoked the legacy of civil rights giants with a key Voting Rights Act plank at stakeWearing a T-shirt proclaiming We won't Black down", Wanda Mosley had made the trip from Atlanta. I had to be here because the Voting Rights Act is on life support," the 55-year-old explained. Today the court will synthesise the arguments and decide if they're going to kill it - or allow it to live."Mosley was among a few hundred protesters who gathered in warm October sunshine outside the supreme court on Wednesday. Inside the building, whose facade was obscured by scaffolding, justices were weighing arguments in a case involving Louisiana electoral districts and section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Continue reading...

Democrats and Republicans accused each other of inflexibility, while federal workers face disrupted paychecksThe government shutdown festered into its third week on Wednesday after lawmakers failed to advance legislation that would restore funding, with Republicans and Democrats still at odds over spending priorities and healthcare provisions.The ninth failed Senate vote came as the parties gathered separately at the Capitol to accuse one another of being inflexible, while military families - and federal workers more broadly - face the prospect of disrupted paychecks by month's end. Continue reading...

Army assumed power after parliament voted to impeach Andry Rajoelina following widespread protestsMadagascar's new military ruler will be sworn in as the country's president on Friday, the military said on Wednesday, as the African Union suspended the island nation after a coup that ousted President Andry Rajoelina.The Indian Ocean nation has been plunged into its worst political upheaval in years after the elite Capsat army unit assumed power on Tuesday, moments after parliament voted to impeach Rajoelina, who appeared to have fled the country as street protests escalated. Continue reading...

Campaigners say go-ahead for theme park' attraction in quarry could imperil area's Unesco world heritage statusPlans to create an underground zip wire experience in a 19th-century Lake District slate quarry have been given the go-ahead by a high court judge.On Wednesday, Mr Justice Mould delivered a ruling that could bring an end to a long-running battle that has generated discussion about how people can and should experience national parks. Continue reading...

Radosaw Sikorski says Putin consolidated western opinion against him with the incursion into PolandPoland's foreign minister has accused Russia of a tactically stupid and counterproductive" escalation of the war in Ukraine, saying its drone incursion into Poland last month appeared to be deliberate.Radosaw Sikorski, on a visit to London, said all Vladimir Putin had achieved with the incursion was a consolidation of western opinion against him. He also dismissed Russian concerns that supplying US Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine would be unnecessarily provocative. Continue reading...

Review of screenplay, novel, and comics suggests film-makers made late decision to make diminutive Jedi master greenYou must unlearn what you have learned," Jedi master Yoda instructed his stubborn apprentice, Luke Skywalker. And now Star Wars fans may have to do the same after confirmation that the beloved fictional alien was very nearly blue, or even purple.Reviews of archival sources - and new testimony from a special effects makeup artist who worked on the first Yoda puppets - suggest film-makers made a decision late in the development process to switch the character's skin colour to green. Continue reading...

Michael Moore, Lynn Nottage, Ava DuVernay and Amanda Palmer will take part in an event series to unite in defiance'Artists and artistic organisations around the US are set to take part in a series of protests and events to speak out against Donald Trump and his administration.According to the New York Times, the acts of creative resistance" will be known as the Fall of Freedom and will take place on 21 and 22 November. Continue reading...

EHRC writes to Bridget Phillipson over implementation of code on single-sex public spaces after supreme court rulingThe equalities watchdog has taken the unusual step of publicly urging ministers to act with speed" in implementing guidance on how institutions should respond to the landmark supreme court ruling on transgender people's rights.The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said it had written to Bridget Phillipson, the equalities minister, pointing out it had sent the guidance six weeks ago, warning that as things stand, there is no legally accurate advice available. Continue reading...

Bank joins smaller competitors in changing interest-related restrictions on some accounts - despite RBA leaving interest rates unchanged in September

Villagers in Lustleigh ask council why it has taken filming of TV adaptation of JK Rowling books to secure street repairsResidents of cities, towns and villages across the UK complain their lives are blighted by the plague of potholes. But life in one small village on a moor in the English West Country is going a little more smoothly after some of its potholes were repaired as if by magic.Scenes for the new HBO adaptation of the Harry Potter books are due to be filmed in Lustleigh, Devon, and the film-makers have filled in at least some of the potholes in the area. Continue reading...

Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority reduce deferral period from eight years to four

Communications regulator finds millions of important letters are arriving late' and persistent failures'

Odinga, who ran five times for presidency and had profound influence on Kenyan politics, has died in IndiaThe veteran Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga, who ran five times for the presidency and had a profound influence on the country's politics, has died aged 80 in India.An Indian police source told Agence France-Presse he was walking with his sister, daughter, a personal doctor and two security officers when he suddenly collapsed" and was taken to hospital where he was declared dead. Continue reading...

Habit of rising early for livestreams growing rapidly, suggesting Brazil is testing ground for religious influencersPsychologist Claudia Rodrigues de Oliveira Barbosa, 54, needs to be at work by 7.40am, but she wakes up at 3.40am - not because she has a lengthy commute, but to watch a dawn prayer" livestream on YouTube.She is one of the millions of Brazilians who tune in to the 4am sermons of Catholic friar Gilson da Silva Pupo Azevedo, 38, known as Frei Gilson, who has recently averaged an impressive 2m daily views for each video. Continue reading...

Search teams look for Daryl Fong in Mount Field national park, while Peter Willoughby has been missing for 10 days in Hollybank forest reserve

Active pension scheme expected to start in January is part of chancellor's autumn of reforms' to tackle economic stagnationGermans who continue in the labour market beyond retirement age will be able to earn up to 1,750 (2,000) a month tax-free on top of their pension under a scheme aimed at boosting economic growth and labour force participation rates.The Aktivrente", or active pension scheme, due to come into force in January, was promised on the campaign trail by the chancellor, Friedrich Merz, before he came into office five months ago. Continue reading...

Chinese president is behind patriarchal turn in politics with activists silenced for promoting gender antagonism'Addressing dignitaries gathered in Beijing on Monday, Xi Jinping praised the historic achievements" of women's rights in China. In the past 30 years, the Chinese president said, maternal mortality rates had dropped by nearly 80%, and women were now participating in the project of national governance with unprecedented confidence and vigour".Xi was speaking at the global women's summit, an event on Monday and Tuesday to mark the 30th anniversary of the historic UN's world conference on women, which took place in Beijing. It was there in 1995 that Hillary Clinton, the then US first lady, delivered her women's rights are human rights" speech, lines now often quoted by people in China advocating for women's rights. Continue reading...

Coroner decries profoundly distressing milestone' as state surpasses yearly record after only nine months, with expert saying tough on crime measures compounding problem

Study of female runners in Canada highlights shortcomings of footwear traditionally based on male anatomySports footwear manufacturers are being urged to ditch the shrink it and pink it" approach when it comes to women's running shoes.Over the past five decades, brands have invested billions of dollars into the development trainers that prevent injury, maximise comfort and boost performance. Continue reading...

Hamas accused of breaching agreement by withholding bodies of hostages but Palestinian militants say they face obstacles in retrieving themThe fragile ceasefire in Gaza faced its first test on Tuesday when Israel said the flow of aid into the devastated Palestinian territory would be cut by half and the crucial Rafah border crossing with Egypt would not open as planned, blaming Hamas for delays in the return of bodies of hostages.The militant group handed over the remains of four hostages to the International Committee of the Red Cross on Tuesday night, bringing to eight the number of bodies transferred since the US-brokered ceasefire took hold, leaving 20 to be accounted for. Hamas said it was facing obstacles as not all the burial sites had been identified. Continue reading...

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Rhiannon Skye Whyte, 27, was stabbed 23 times with a screwdriver after shift at hotel where Deng Chol Majek livedAn asylum seeker accused of stabbing a hotel worker 23 times with a screwdriver and leaving her to die was seen dancing and laughing in the aftermath of the attack, a murder trial jury has heard.Deng Chol Majek, who claims to be 19, was clearly excited about what he had done" after inflicting fatal wounds on Rhiannon Skye Whyte, who worked in the hotel where he was living, Wolverhampton crown court heard. Continue reading...

Longtime organizer and founder of House of gg earned reputation as champion for liberation of Black trans womenMiss Major Griffin-Gracy, a trailblazer of the transgender rights movement, longtime community organizer and veteran of the Stonewall riots, died on Monday, her representatives announced.The acclaimed activist died at her home in Little Rock, Arkansas, surrounded by family, the House of gg (the final organization she founded and led) announced. She was 78, and the group's statement did not give a cause of death. Continue reading...

Investigating officer says he went against procedure to test Julia Wandelt, accused of campaign of harassment against McCann familyAn alleged stalker's claim to be Madeleine McCann was ruled out after a DNA test proved conclusively she was not the missing girl, police have revealed in court.Julia Wandelt, 24, is accused of a campaign of harassment against the family of Madeleine, who went missing from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three. Continue reading...

Returning the bodies of 28 hostages was part of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas but only four have been handed over

Campaigners deeply concerned' about response to prompts about suicide, self-harm and eating disordersThe latest version of ChatGPT has produced more harmful answers to some prompts than an earlier iteration of the AI chatbot, in particular when asked about suicide, self-harm and eating disorders, digital campaigners have said.Launched in August, GPT-5 was billed by the San Francisco start-up as advancing the frontier of AI safety". But when researchers fed the same 120 prompts into the latest model and its predecessor, GPT-4o, the newer version gave harmful responses 63 times compared with 52 for the old model.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 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

People trafficking among allegations against six people who face measures including property freezes and travel bansThe US and UK have seized $15bn (11.3bn) in bitcoin and frozen London properties owned by the alleged leaders of scam centres in Cambodia that trick victims around the world and torture their trafficked workers.Two Chinese-born businessmen are among the six people hit by travel bans and sanctions that aim to tackle the growing threat of organised crime gangs carrying out online fraud globally on an industrial scale. Continue reading...

Observers and opposition says prosecution of Riek Machar for crimes in relation to attack by rebel militia puts peace deal at riskSouth Sudan's opposition and observers have warned that the prosecution of the country's suspended vice-president, Riek Machar, risks jeopardising a peace agreement that ended a devastating civil war and plunging the country into full-scale conflict once again.On 11 September, Machar was charged with murder, treason, crimes against humanity and other serious crimes in connection with a deadly attack by the White Army rebel group on a government army garrison in Nasir county in the country's north-east. President Salva Kiir then suspended him from his post. Continue reading...

Counter-terror laws being weaponised' against pro-Palestine groups in UK, US, France and Germany, says FIDHThe right to protest has come under sustained attack across the west, according to a report highlighting the growing criminalisation of pro-Palestinian demonstrations.The study by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) pays particular attention to the UK, the US, France and Germany, where it says governments have weaponised" counter-terrorism legislation as well as the fight against antisemitism to suppress dissent and support for Palestinian rights in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Continue reading...

Party hoped to take 30 municipalities but secured three after share of vote halved from parliamentary electionsPortugal's far-right Chega party has won its first mayoral seats in local elections, final results showed, but fell well short of expectations and its vote share halved from parliamentary elections in May.The six-year-old nationalist party, whose name means Enough", took control of three city halls: Sao Vicente on the island of Madeira; the central town of Entroncamento; and Albufeira in the south. It won an 11.86% share of the overall vote. Continue reading...