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Victoria police believe alleged offender is heavily armed and urge local residents to stay indoors

Online fashion seller's losses widen to 264m as Poundland confirms plans to close up to 150 storesThe online fashion seller Debenhams, formerly known as Boohoo, is considering the sale of its Pretty Little Thing (PLT) brand and the closure of its distribution centre in Burnley, which could lead to the loss of 1,251 jobs.The company said it was exploring a range of long-term options", understood to include closure for the Burnley site and the sale of an already closed warehouse in the US amid falling sales and widening losses. Continue reading...

Grammy winner posted on Instagram to comment on his arrest after pleading not guilty to attacking police in LALil Nas X has released his first statement since his arrest in the early hours of 21 August.The 26-year-old rapper and singer posted a story on his Instagram to comment on the incident. Continue reading...

Open letter has been signed by 209 former EU ambassadors, senior diplomatic staff and ambassadors from EU nation statesThe UN says that Israel must not only investigate alleged unlawful killings in Gaza like the hospital strike that killed 20 people, including journalists, the previous day, but also ensure those probes yield results.There needs to be justice," United Nations rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan told AFP in Geneva, adding that the large number of media workers killed in the Gaza war raises many, many questions about the targeting of journalists".The Israeli authorities have, in the past, announced investigations in such killings.It's of course the responsibility of Israel, as the occupying power, to investigate - but these investigations need to yield results. Continue reading...

Rich sponge cake topped with buttercream dates from 1890s and M&S version comes in two varietiesIt has been a fixture of bake sales and cafes in Australia for more than a century. Now the lamington is making its debut on the British high street as Marks & Spencer launches its own version.The chain will stock two varieties: a classic" chocolate and coconut lamington and a caramelised biscuit version, which went viral on social media after being launched by Woolworths in Australia last month. Both will be baked in the UK and sold in packs of two for 4. Continue reading...

Sales surge to 112m at fashion business on strong growth online, including new cosmetics productsDavid and Victoria Beckham and the private equity firm Neo have pumped a further 6.2m into the former Spice Girl's fashion empire this year as losses widened to almost 5m despite a surge in sales last year.Sales rose 26.5% to 112.7m in 2024, the brand's fourth consecutive year of growth, helped by strong sales online and at Victoria Beckham's London flagship store, as well as a 24% leap in online sales of cosmetics, including a new concealer pen and eyeliner. Continue reading...

Duma Boko announces urgent funding package for medicines to be distributed with military oversightBotswana's president has declared a public health emergency due to shortages of essential medicines and equipment, as a downturn in the global diamond market and US aid cuts take a toll on the country's finances.The announcement came after the Ministry of Health suspended non-urgent surgeries on 4 August, stating that the country was short of medicines to treat hypertension, diabetes, cancer, asthma and eye conditions, as well as supplies including bandages and sutures and those for sexual and reproductive health. Continue reading...

If Tehran was behind antisemitic attacks in Australia, experts say it is a sign of weakness rather than strengthIran's involvement in clandestine violence and espionage overseas takes many forms, but all have a single aim - to win advantage for Tehran by striking unexpectedly at the soft underbelly" of enemies.It's a strategy that dates back to the 1979 revolution, and is rooted in a pragmatic if regretful assessment of Iran's continuing weakness on the conventional battlefield. Continue reading...

Dutch newspaper AD says it has traced Giuseppe Ghislandi's Portrait of a Lady to house near Buenos AiresMore than 80 years after it was looted by the Nazis from a Jewish art dealer in Amsterdam, a portrait by an Italian master has been spotted on the website of an estate agent advertising a house for sale in Argentina.A photo shows the painting, Portrait of a Lady (Contessa Colleoni) by the late-baroque portraitist Giuseppe Ghislandi, also known as Fra' Galgario, hanging above a sofa in the living room of the property, in a seaside town near Buenos Aires. Continue reading...

Specifics on Ukraine's defence should be detailed in near future' as Finnish president says Russia deploying a typical' delaying tacticA combat drone, presumed to be Ukrainian, went off course and exploded over Estonia without causing any casualties, the Baltic state and close Ukraine ally said on Tuesday, AFP reported.Pieces of the drone, which left a crater on crashing, were discovered by an agricultural worker near the south-eastern town of Tartu, 75 kilometres (45 miles) from the border with Russia. Continue reading...

DNA test tied man to newborn in case prosecutor calls among most serious, as girl's mother also accusedAn Oklahoma man is facing charges of child sexual molestation after an 11-year-old girl in his orbit gave birth in her home, and her mother is accused of enabling abuse in a case that a local assistant district attorney called possibly the most serious ... I have ever prosecuted".The charges that the Muskogee county district attorney's office filed against Dustin Walker, 34, on Monday came after a DNA test confirmed he was the father of the newborn at the center of the case, the Oklahoma news outlet KWTV reported, citing officials. Continue reading...

Justyna Czoska, a horse riding instructor, and her partner, Wojtek Kowalkowski, died along with a third personA couple who died in a helicopter crash during the bank holiday on the Isle of Wight have been named by relatives.Justyna Czoska, 52, a horse riding instructor, and her partner, Wojtek Kowalkowski, 49, from Bloxham, Oxfordshire, died after the aircraft crash-landed at about 9.24am on Monday between Shanklin and Whiteley Bank. The helicopter had taken off from Sandown airport 20 minutes earlier. Continue reading...

Moscow willing to support six-month extension of deadline before punishments are reimposed, reports suggestRussia and Iran could back an extended six-month deadline before European powers reimpose sweeping United Nations sanctions on Iran over its refusal to allow UN inspectors back into nuclear sites after the Israeli-US assault in June.France, Britain and Germany - known as the E3 - have long threatened to trigger a snapback" of sanctions at the UN security council before 18 October, when a largely defunct nuclear deal struck 10 years ago between Tehran and major powers expires. Continue reading...

Ministers will also press ahead with plan for retirement age of 80 after bill abolishing remaining hereditary peers goes through

World's largest wealth fund says it has excluded bulldozer maker and five Israeli banking groups on ethics grounds

Critics warn of top sports becoming a second-by-second gambling opportunity' as new study shared with the Guardian reveals scale of marketing blitzHockey fans are bombarded with gambling logos and adverts - sometimes as often as every 13 seconds - during TV coverage of high-profile games, according to exclusive research shared with the Guardian.Viewers of June's Stanley Cup finals encountered an average of 3.5 marketing messages from betting firms every minute, a new study by the University of Bristol found. Continue reading...

Officers step up patrols for Bournemouth's Jewish community after teenage boy shot with air rifleDorset police have launched an investigation and stepped up patrols for Bournemouth's Jewish community after a wave of antisemitic hate crimes in the seaside town.Over the weekend, a teenage boy was shot with an air rifle and injured, and swastika graffiti appeared on buildings, police said. Continue reading...

Adass Israel synagogue board member says announcement of Iran's involvement in December arson attack has caused general fear' among congregation

Safeguarding minister says tool used to decide which domestic abuse victims get support doesn't workThe main screening tool used to determine which domestic violence victims need support has obvious problems" and should be replaced, the UK safeguarding minister, Jess Phillips, has said.Phillips is reviewing systems, including the Dash (domestic abuse, stalking, harassment and honour-based" violence) questionnaire, largely relied on by police, social services and healthcare workers across the UK since 2009 to assess risk. Continue reading...

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Labor's decisive response may counter criticism it has not pushed back enough against rising instances of antisemitism since 7 October

Bulk of UK scrap steel is exported, which industry groups say could cost up to 5bn in lost revenue and 20,000 jobsMetals recyclers are at loggerheads with the British steel industry over a call to limit lucrative scrap exports so steel can be reused by UK furnaces.The British Metals Recycling Association (BMRA) claims a ban on scrap steel exports to less wealthy countries could cost 5bn in lost economic activity and as many as 20,000 jobs. Steelmakers in the UK are keen to retain the metal to melt down into new steel. Continue reading...

Australia's spy agency finds Iran behind incidents including arson attack on Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne

Vijay Rangarajan says Electoral Commission's material for schools will be impartial and calls on teachers to follow suitSchools will need to give democracy lessons to children from the age of 11 and ask teachers to leave their politics at the classroom door to help prepare for votes at 16, the head of the UK elections watchdog has said.Vijay Rangarajan, the chief executive of the Electoral Commission, said democratic education would be rolled out at first to those aged over 14 in preparation for votes at 16 at the next election. Continue reading...

Six staff members speak of new arrivals' exhaustion and ill-health and colleagues' indifference to their plightWhen asylum seekers first arrive at Manston, a former military base outside Ramsgate in Kent, they are ushered from one enormous, grubby marquee to the next for a series of interviews and checks.As many as 1,000 people a day are processed at the site after crossing the Channel in small boats, and interviews continue through the night. Upon arrival in the UK, exhausted and disorientated, their phones and other belongings are taken from them and placed in distinctive blue plastic bags. Continue reading...

Lamarre-Condon charged with murders of flight attendant Luke Davies, 29, and TV presenter Jesse Baird, 26, in February 2024

Coalition of rights groups says law covering collusion' could be abused to stifle government's opponentsCambodian parliamentarians have passed legislation allowing people who collude" with foreign countries to be stripped of citizenship, a law rights groups fear will be used to banish dissent.Rights monitors have long accused Cambodia's government of using draconian laws to stifle opposition and legitimate political debate. Continue reading...

Controversy over housing allowance, which is almost 10 times minimum wage, comes amid President Prabowo Subianto's austerity driveRiot police have fired water cannon and rounds of teargas at thousands of stone-throwing protesters in Indonesia's capital as anger over the lavish allowances of parliament members has fuelled public anger.Thousands of students, workers and activists demonstrated outside the nation's parliament on Monday against a monthly housing allowance of 50 million rupiah ($US3,075) for MPs, which is almost 10 times the Jakarta minimum wage. Continue reading...

Royal Life Saving Australia and Surf Life Saving Australia say there were 357 deaths from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025 - 27% more than the 10-year average

After lawsuit brought by AGs of 23 states, California AG Rob Bonta says agreement secured for funding to be restoredAfter a multi-state lawsuit over Donald Trump's abrupt decision to freeze more than $6.8bn in education funding to US schools, the Trump administration has agreed to restore the funds for a range of educational services, including after school and summer learning, teacher training, and support for English-learners.The administration did not give a clear explanation as to why it had withheld the congressionally-allocated funds, though a spokesperson for the White House Office of Management and Budget had indicated that review found instances of federal education money being grossly misused to subsidize a radical left-wing agenda". Continue reading...

The power to immediately suspend an individual's working with children check during an investigation is among changes expected to pass parliament this week

Test that uses machine learning to find signs of the disease in blood could significantly improve patient outcomesScientists have developed a simple blood test to spot ovarian cancer early that could significantly improve" outcomes for women with the disease.More than 300,000 women, mostly over the age of 50, are diagnosed worldwide each year, according to the World Cancer Research Fund. Ovarian cancer is often diagnosed late, which makes treating the condition more difficult. Continue reading...

Law change, professional training and awareness campaign part of Labour's pledge to halve violence against women and girlsMinisters are introducing a clearer legal definition of honour"-based abuse in an attempt to catch more perpetrators and protect women and girls from violence and coercion.The law change is intended to improve how public services respond to honour"-based abuse in England and Wales, and forms part of Labour's plan for change, which includes a pledge to halve violence against women and girls. Continue reading...

Signed by lawmaker James Comer, letter is latest in events around disgraced late financier's links to powerful peopleA Republican-led congressional committee has subpoenaed documents from the estate of the disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein, according to a release on Monday.The subpoena was signed by congressman James Comer, the Republican chair of the House oversight committee. The estate is registered in the US Virgin Islands. Continue reading...

Musician held on bail after officers say he charged at them when they confronted him for walking naked down streetLil Nas X was charged on Monday with four felonies after police say he charged at them when they confronted him for walking naked down a Los Angeles street last week.Prosecutors charged the musician, whose legal name is Montero Lamar Hill, with three counts of battery with injury on a police officer and one felony count of resisting an executive officer, the district attorney's office said. He was initially booked on suspicion of misdemeanor obstructing an officer on Friday. Continue reading...

Comments come after US ambassador accused government of failing to do enough to stem hate crimes against JewsCabinet ministers and Jewish groups have said France has no lessons to take" from the US on tackling antisemitism, as Washington's ambassador to Paris was summoned after accusing the government of failing to do enough to stem hate crimes against Jews.Charles Kushner, who is Jewish, was ordered to report to the foreign ministry on Monday after he wrote a letter to Emmanuel Macron criticising a lack of sufficient action" by the government to confront the dramatic rise" in antisemitism in France. Continue reading...

BBC's Stranded on Honeymoon Island tests whether love can flourish in toughest of conditions', says Davina McCallThe new BBC series Stranded on Honeymoon Island is a social experiment" about the reality of marriage that will teach audiences about moving forward with your life", its host, Davina McCall, has said.Made by the producers of Married at First Sight UK, the show features 12 singles looking for lifelong love who are matched with someone on a speed date and married". They are then stranded on a tropical island dressed only in their wedding outfit for a three-week honeymoon without phones, luxuries, family or friends. Continue reading...

Paul Bean may have breached civil service impartiality rules over alleged social media postsCampaigners have complained to the Home Office after it was revealed a councillor for Reform UK also works for the government department processing asylum and immigration claims.Paul Bean, who serves as a councillor for Crook ward at Durham county council, declared his day job as a civil servant at the Home Office in his register of interests. Continue reading...

Francois Bayrou to seek parliamentary backing for his unpopular plans to shore up France's public financesFrance's embattled prime minister looks likely to be ousted and his government toppled next month in a high-stakes confidence vote that could plunge the EU's second-biggest economy into even deeper political crisis.Francois Bayrou said on Monday that he would seek parliamentary backing for his unpopular plans to shore up France's ailing public finances on 8 September, asking deputies to confirm the scale" of spending cuts he says are needed to save 44bn (38bn) a year. Continue reading...

In North Karelia the border guard is training conscripts, the only road crossing is empty - but there is still some limited cross-border cooperationAmong the serene lakes, thick forest and summer houses of North Karelia's border zone, the line between Finland and Russia is almost invisible. Walking along the border path in Meriinaho, part of the Finnish border guard station of Ilomantsi, we are closer to St Petersburg than to Helsinki. This is the most easterly point of the continental European Union.Every now and then a discreet pair of matching striped fibreglass posts pop up from the blueberry patches on either side of the frontier. One is painted blue and white to indicate Finland, the other green and red to mark Russia. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Environment department document states that Burrup peninsula site near Woodside gas plant under threat of injury or desecration'

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Ian Wilkinson says he is no longer Erin Patterson's victim' as Victorian supreme court hears of impact of crimes on family membersIan Wilkinson says he forgives Erin Patterson for trying to murder him but cannot offer her forgiveness for killing three other people with poisoned beef wellingtons, a Victorian court has heard.The supreme court also heard on Monday that the prosecution and defence both agreed that Patterson should receive a life sentence for her crimes, which Justice Christopher Beale agreed were horrendous". Continue reading...

Pre-sentencing hearing at Victorian supreme court concludes after Patterson was found guilty of triple murder and attempted murder in JulyCourt hears statement from sister of Gail Patterson and Heather WilkinsonProsecutor Nanette Rogers SC is reading a victim impact statement on behalf of Lynette Young, the sister of Gail and Heather. She says:I'm just so angry and so sad that my people are not here to be the loving parents and grandparents that they always were.She was more concerned about our own family, our work, our kids, than she was about her own sudden and unexpected health crisis ...I miss her daily and life feels less bright without her.The world seems colder and harsher knowing this. Continue reading...

The renowned Gokteik bridge was bombed on Sunday, with the ruling military junta and rebel forces blaming each other for its destructionA colonial-era bridge in Myanmar that was once the world's tallest railway trestle has been destroyed during fighting in the years-long conflict.A civil war has consumed Myanmar since a 2021 coup deposed the civilian government, with the military battling myriad pro-democracy guerrilla groups and ethnic armed organisations. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Health secretary says he will not let patients be ripped off' by pharmaceutical companies amid standoff

SPF50+ Collagen Glow Mineral Sunscreen stocked at leading beauty retailer Mecca, which confirms with brand that no other products affected

Tighter family reunification laws are causing long separations, traumatising children, and can push people towards traffickers, campaigners sayStanding outside Germany's parliament in June, Ahmad Shikh Ali fought back tears as he held up a blurry photo of his three-year-old son. Since fleeing Aleppo more than two years ago, Shikh Ali had done all he could to secure his son a safe future: moving to Hanover, getting full-time employment and wading through endless paperwork so that his wife and son could join him.He was close to reuniting with his family, with just two cases in front of his in the queue. That was, until Germany's lower house of parliament passed a bill in June to suspend family reunifications for migrants like him for at least two years. Continue reading...

Russian foreign minister praises Trump's effort and was defensive when asked if Putin was stringing along' TrumpRussia accused western European leaders on Sunday of not wanting peace in Ukraine, as Moscow's most senior diplomat praised efforts by Donald Trump to end the war, while Vice-President JD Vance said the US would keep on trying" to broker talks in the absence of a deal.Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, made the comments during a sometimes contentious interview on NBC on Sunday morning, during which he denied his country had bombed civilian targets in Ukraine. Continue reading...