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Seven accused officers are alleged to have opened files with no proper policing purpose' in 2021Scotland Yard is facing new revelations over the death of Sarah Everard, with seven officers accused of wrongly accessing case files about her abduction and murder.The officers face disciplinary charges of gross misconduct, and the five currently serving could be sacked if found guilty, while all face bans from policing and even forfeiture of their pensions. Continue reading...

Closures planned at Liverpool Street, Paddington and Crewe, and nine days of work planned north of St PancrasSome of London's main railway stations will be closed and train services diverted around Christmas, Network Rail has said.Passengers have been advised to plan ahead for the festive period, with Liverpool Street - now Britain's busiest station - shut for eight days, Paddington for three days, and nine days of work planned affecting Thameslink and East Midlands services north of St Pancras. Continue reading...

Martina Karos, 40, who provided round-the-clock care for disabled daughter Eleni, was very tired' and struggling'A woman believed to have killed herself and her eight-year-old disabled child in Salford was a desperately struggling mother who was failed by the authorities and was not a monster", a close friend has said.The bodies of Martina Karos, 40, and Eleni Edwards were discovered on Monday morning after emergency services were called over a concern for their welfare. Police have said they are investigating the deaths but are not looking for anyone else and there was no wider threat in the community".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 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Contingency plan using sea tankers to deal with future shortages would be paid for from customers' billsSouthern Water, one of Britain's biggest water companies, is drawing up contingency plans to tanker water from Norway to deal with future supply shortages and drought.Southern, which has 2.7 million customers for drinking water supply in the south-east of England, could import water from Norwegian fjords to provide up to 45m litres a day, and would pay for it from customers' bills. Continue reading...

Exclusive: America Pac has up to 400 employees in each of the seven key states, with the campaign dependent on itDonald Trump's mass voter turnout program in crucial battleground states is now principally being run by America Pac, the political action committee backed by the billionaire Elon Musk, according to multiple people familiar with the situation.The Trump campaign gambled with its general field operation for the 2024 cycle and outsourced it to Super Pacs, while it targeted its focus on turning out Trump supporters in rural areas who typically do not vote. Continue reading...

FBI investigating call in which AI appearing to be Dmytro Kuleba asked Ben Cardin politically charged questions'A deepfake actor" imitating Ukraine's recently departed foreign minister targeted the chairman of the Senate's powerful foreign relations committee in a suspected attempt at election interference, US officials have confirmed.Ben Cardin, the Democratic senator for Maryland, grew suspicious during a pre-arranged Zoom call on 19 September with a person posing as Dmytro Kuleba, who stepped down as Ukraine's top diplomat in a government reshuffle this month. Continue reading...

Chung Pui-kuen sentenced to 21 months while Patrick Lam gets 11-month term but is released on medical groundsThe former editor-in-chief of Hong Kong's Stand News has been sentenced to jail on sedition charges for the publication of news reports and other articles that prosecutors said tried to promote illegal ideologies".Chung Pui-kuen, 55, the former editor-in-chief and the former acting editor-in-chief Patrick Lam, 36, were found guilty of conspiring to publish seditious materials in late August after almost a year of delays. The parent company of the now-defunct Stand News, Best Pencil Ltd, was also convicted. Continue reading...

Transaction will reportedly provide investment firm Song Capital with ground rent on 76 supermarkets for 45 yearsMorrisons has raised 331m to cut its debt pile through the sale of ground leases on 76 supermarkets as part of a turnaround plan under the new chief executive, Rami Baitieh.If all the proceeds are used to pay down debt, Morrisons would have net debt of 3.6bn, down from as much as 8.6bn at the end of last year. Continue reading...

End of super-deduction' by Conservatives means Amazon UK Services paid 18.7m last year on sales of 27bnAmazon's main UK division has paid corporation tax for the first time since 2020 after the end of a super-deduction" tax break introduced by Rishi Sunak.Amazon UK Services, which employs more than half of the group's UK workers, said it paid 18.7m in current tax" last year - which is understood to be largely corporation tax. Continue reading...

Gambling Commission accuses $4.3bn business promoted by Premier League of providing unlicensed gamblingBritain's Gambling Commission is to prosecute Sorare, a multibillion-pound company that makes a fantasy football game promoted by the Premier League, for providing unlicensed gambling.Sorare, which is valued at $4.3bn (3.21bn) and counts major international investment firms such as SoftBank among its backers, will appear in court on 4 October in what will be an extremely rare use of the gambling regulator's prosecutorial powers. The company denies the charge of unlicensed gambling. Continue reading...

Calls rise for Benedict Willard to be punished after recusing himself from Lawrence Hecker case on morning of trialCourt watchdogs and advocates for victims of sexual abuse are calling for a New Orleans judge to be punished and voted out of office after he controversially delayed the trial of retired Catholic priest charged with child rape and kidnapping - on the morning of jury selection.Judge Benedict Willard's critics say his angry outbursts have been a problem over more than two decades on the bench. But they are raising fresh concerns after Willard's decision to remove members of the local district attorney's office during a rape trial in August reverberated to affect the eagerly anticipated trial of Lawrence Hecker, 93, on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Government had objected to report's publication as it may damage trust of affected communities'The Home Office has been forced to release a suppressed report on the origins of the Windrush scandal by a tribunal judge who quoted George Orwell in a judgment criticising the department's lack of transparency.For the past three years, Home Office staff have worked to bury a hard-hitting research paper that states that roots of the scandal lay in 30 years of racist immigration legislation designed to reduce the UK's non-white population. Continue reading...

Call comes after Scott apologises for university's handling of antisemitism complaints

Member for Kiama denies he was drunk at the time and says some media reports concerning the incident are defamatory'

Vast majority of borrowers servicing their debts but arrears could grow if economy slows more than expected, bank says

Sydney's temperature plummets as wintery' weather sweeps up southern and central coast, but forecast looks bright for Melbourne's AFL grand final

Review of gambling regulation finds clubs advertising gambling on pages aimed at, or featuring, minorsHalf of Premier League football clubs have advertised gambling on webpages aimed at, or featuring, under-18s, prompting concern about a voluntary code of conduct drawn up with the help of the betting industry.A review of gambling regulation published last year resulted in English football clubs avoiding any new government-imposed restrictions affecting their income from betting sponsorship. Continue reading...

President-elect refuses to invite Spanish king to her inauguration after lack of apology for crimes of conquestA festering diplomatic row between Mexico and Spain has been reopened after the Latin American country's leftwing president-elect refused to invite King Felipe to her inauguration because of his failure to apologise for crimes committed against Mexico's Indigenous people during the conquest 500 years ago.In 2019, Mexico's president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador wrote to King Felipe and Pope Francis, calling for them to apologise for the abuses" of the conquest and the colonial period. Continue reading...

Elizabeth Britton looked generally terrified' when paramedics arrived at her Pottsville home, inquest into her death hears

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Inmate jailed in 2017 for 2015 murder and sexual assault of Mahmoud Hrouk, 16, dies in Lithgow correctional centre

ALP MPs appear open to re-examining controversial tax write-off amid housing crisis as Coalition launches fierce campaign to protect it

Closure of hundreds of outlets hitting rural areas, older people and deprived communities hardest, according to Healthwatch EnglandHigh street pharmacies are closing at such an alarming rate that it threatens the drive to use them instead of GPs to care for millions of people, the NHS's patient champion warns today.A total of 436 community pharmacies in England shut permanently last year and there were also 13,863 temporary closures, which stopped patients from obtaining health advice and medication.Cheshire and Merseyside ICB saw the most permanent closures last year - 51The North East and North Cumbria ICB had the highest number of temporary closures - 1,438The same area also saw the highest number of hours lost to temporary closures - 4,054And pharmacies in the Norfolk and Waveney ICB area shut temporarily for the longest number of hours on average - 17.48 Continue reading...

Washington says Israel has legitimate security problem and more complex diplomatic agreement is required

Main political rival of Canada's prime minister fails to gather enough support to end nine years of Liberal ruleJustin Trudeau, Canada's prime minister, has easily survived a vote of confidence after his main political rival failed to muster enough support to end nine years of Liberal party rule.Legislators in the House of Commons voted 211-120 to defeat a motion by the official opposition Conservative party declaring a lack of confidence in Trudeau's minority Liberal government. Continue reading...

Scottish standup posts video saying she is getting palliative care and will be going into a hospiceThe comedian Janey Godley has revealed she is receiving end-of-life care after her terminal cancer spread.The 63-year-old announced she would be getting palliative care and going into a hospice in a video shared on social media on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Some ministers have rallied around chief of staff while others accuse her of control freakery'Keir Starmer has become exasperated about in-fighting across government involving Sue Gray, with the prime minister under pressure from senior aides and cabinet ministers to resolve the row.Sources said the situation would come to a head after he returned from his trip to the UN in New York, where he was joined by his chief of staff. Starmer is said to be dismayed at tensions inside the No 10 machine. Continue reading...

Courthouse and some city buildings closed after suspect reportedly throws bag that exploded into courtroomA man has been detained after an explosion at a courthouse in Santa Maria, California, injured two people, authorities have said.The explosion came from an intentionally set improvised explosive device", wrote Raquel Zick, the Santa Barbara county sheriff public information officer, on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Strikes designed to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure before possible incursion by troops, says Israel's top general

Comments are strongest yet against allowing Ukraine to launch long-range missiles into Russian territoryVladimir Putin has escalated his nuclear rhetoric, telling a group of senior officials that Russia would consider using nuclear weapons if it was attacked by any state with conventional weapons.His remarks on Wednesday came during a meeting with Russia's powerful security council where he also announced changes to the country's nuclear doctrine. Continue reading...

Alleged poisoning follows last year's killing of human rights lawyer and 2021's pro-democracy protestsEswatini's main opposition party has alleged that its leader was poisoned in an assassination attempt, putting renewed scrutiny on the southern African country that is one of the last remaining absolute monarchies, where authorities have for years moved to quash pro-democracy movements.The People's United Democratic Movement party (Pudemo) said its president, Mlungisi Makhanya, was hospitalised after being poisoned in neighbouring South Africa on Tuesday. It said he was under security protection but gave no detail on his condition or the circumstances of the alleged poisoning. Makhanya had recently said there would be new pro-democracy protests in Eswatini next month. The Eswatini government spokesperson Alpheous Nxumalo denied any involvement. Continue reading...

Former Tory minister to take reins at magazine bought recently by Paul Marshall, with Charles Moore as chairThe former cabinet minister Michael Gove has been named as the new editor of the Spectator magazine, weeks after the GB News backer Paul Marshall completed a 100m takeover of the rightwing magazine.Gove, who will take over from Fraser Nelson on 4 October, will be joined by the former Daily Telegraph and Spectator editor Charles Moore, who has been named as chair. Continue reading...

Ukraine president made forceful call for just peace' at UN, but winning more US support and fending off Russia are both uphill battlesVolodymyr Zelenskyy has come to the US with a mission: to sell his vision for a Ukrainian victory despite the growing odds against Kyiv in its war with Russia.The Ukrainan president spoke out forcefully on Tuesday and Wednesday in the security council and then at the general assembly of the United Nations, calling on other countries to back Ukraine's proposal for a just peace" and refrain from holding alternative talks with Vladimir Putin. Continue reading...

A land incursion would be a far more complex undertaking than the intelligence-led strikes pursued so farNo two wars are alike, even those fought between the same two combatants on the same terrain. But many of the challenges remain the same.Israel's most senior military commander has told troops that airstrikes will continue inside Lebanon as the Israeli military prepares for a possible ground operation. If its forces do cross the northern border they are likely to face obstacles they have seen before. Continue reading...

Bill by Giorgia Meloni's far-right government comes down hard on climate activists and migrantsDemonstrations are being held across Italy on Wednesday evening against a new security bill described as repressive" and dangerous for the country's democracy".The raft of 24 laws contained in the bill, which passed its first hurdle in the lower house of parliament last week and now needs approval in the senate, is the latest attempt by Giorgia Meloni's far-right government to get tough on law and order. It comes down especially hard on climate activists and migrants. Continue reading...

Greater Manchester police's Andrew Talbot used police systems to look up potential drug dealers to give drugs toA detective who stole almost 4kg cocaine from the police evidence store at work and supplied it on the streets of Manchester has been convicted of multiple offences.Andrew Talbot, who worked within Greater Manchester police's (GMP's) serious crime division, conducted multiple searches of the force's confidential computer systems for known or suspected drug dealers to help him sell the drugs, which he supplied between February 2018 and January 2020. Continue reading...

Footage taken by Animal Equality UK before MSPs' visit was a daily procedure, says Scottish Sea FarmsThe removal of tonnes of dead fish from a salmon farm before a Scottish parliament fact-finding mission there gave a misleading impression of conditions, an animal rights charity says.Footage secretly filmed by Animal Equality UK shows salmon being disposed of on Monday morning before a visit to Dunstaffnage salmon farm, near Oban, later that day by committee members carrying out an inquiry into the industry. The committee said the footage raised questions about fish mortality. Continue reading...

Masoud Pezeshkian calls for new era of cooperation' in UN speech while hemmed in by escalating tensions and critics at homeOn his first visit to the US, Iran's new president has spoken of a new era of cooperation" with the west. It is an offer that intrigued diplomats, but left them struck by the constraints - ideological, internal and geopolitical - standing in the way of a substantive change in relations.Masoud Pezeshkian came to New York for his first UN general assembly since his election asking the west to look at Iran again - largely by challenging the double standards that led to its silence about the massacres in Gaza. He has insisted Israel and the US, not Tehran, were the region's troublemakers. Continue reading...

Ballot backs rise of 4.5% this year from train companies and from Network Rail, reducing chance of more strikes

Some politicians welcome a fresh and bold response to address affordability, while others wary of resurrecting a debate lost at the 2019 election

No requirement to go to GP for new prescription for pill, as long as it has been taken for at least two years

Exclusive: woman says she was desperate' to find a home for her and her child and was preyed' on by the staffer

Plea for repatriation comes as high court refused appeal brought by Save the Children to return Australian families of slain Islamic State fighters

Former senator Rex Patrick claims massive win for transparency' in case dating back to 2020 sports rorts'

Prosecutors say Moroccan suspect had previously been convicted of rape and ordered to leave FranceFrance's new rightwing interior minister has said there will be consequences after a Moroccan man suspected of murdering a 19-year-old university student and leaving her body in a forest was arrested in Switzerland.A source close to the case said the alleged attacker was a 22-year-old man of Moroccan nationality. Prosecutors have said the suspect had been previously convicted of rape and had been the subject of an order to leave France. Continue reading...

Vote calling on ministers to reverse cuts came after union leader said UK needed investment, not austerity mark II'

Group to trial technology that can detect shoplifting and attacks on staff after losses from crime rose by almost 20% to 40m in six months

Lebanese minister says only Washington can help end the fighting. Plus, Missouri executes Marcellus Khaliifah' WilliamsGood morning.Israel began a third day of strikes in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, as Lebanon's foreign minister said only Washington could help end the fighting.The conflict is growing out of control: Up to half a million people are estimated to have been displaced by Israel's attacks, according to Lebanese officials, as displaced families slept in makeshift shelters, cars, parks or along the seaside. Israel said attacks would continue.World leaders are pleading for restraint: The UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, said: Lebanon is at the brink. The people of Lebanon - the people of Israel - and the people of the world - cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza." President Joe Biden said a diplomatic solution was still possible.But Lebanon's foreign minister said only the US could pressure Israel into de-escalation: Abdallah Bou Habib said the US - Israel's strongest ally and biggest arms supplier - was the only country that can really make a difference in the Middle East".Follow our live blog here. Continue reading...

Three candidates - Russell Findlay, Meghan Gallacher and Murdo Fraser - vie for top job in contest ending this Friday