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Understanding the rightwing backlash over the government scheme helping people with serious disabilities get cars

Commitment may quell caucus angst about party's environment credentials, but could face backlash from Western Australia's industry and government

Police seize copies of novel to be forensically examined as 33-year-old charged with producing child abuse materialA Sydney woman has been charged with producing child abuse material in relation to a novel.New South Wales police said they began investigations in March following reports of a fiction novel containing child abuse material".Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: How a dubious scandal' about the scheme to help people with serious disabilities get a car made its way into the mainstreamGood morning. Motability really ought to be a boring subject. A government scheme designed to help people with serious disabilities get a car by using a portion of their benefits to pay for the lease doesn't sound like fertile territory for a scandal, after all. But over the last week, anyone who had never heard of Motability before would have got a much more lurid impression.First in the Daily Mail last Saturday, and then in a string of stories spinning off the same basic analysis, Motability was portrayed not as a useful mechanism for reducing some of the inequities that always accompany disability - but an outrageous example of con artists milking the taxpayer to live a life of luxury. The saga took in bedwetting boy racers", so-called sickfluencers" teaching fellow chancers how to cheat the system, an anonymous social media user who has previously caught the eye of Elon Musk and even the legacy of the Battle of Britain.UK economy | Keir Starmer has been warned against appeasing" Donald Trump as he considers reducing a major tax for US tech companies while cutting disability benefits and public sector jobs. Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed on Sunday that there were ongoing" discussions about the UK's 1bn-a-year digital services tax.Canada | Canada's prime minister, Mark Carney, has called a snap election on 28 April, firing the starting gun on a contest expected to focus on the strained relationship with the US amid threats to Canada's economic and political future. Carney's decision comes as the Liberals experience an unprecedented polling swing putting them ahead of the Conservatives.Gaza | Malnutrition is spreading in Gaza, medics and aid workers in the devastated Palestinian territory are warning, as a total Israeli blockade of all supplies enters its fourth week. On Sunday, Palestinian officials said the total death toll from nearly 18 months of conflict had passed 50,000.Heathrow | There was enough power for Heathrow to remain open during the entire period it was shut down on Friday, the head of National Grid has said. Speaking for the first time since a fire forced North Hyde substation to close, the National Grid chief executive, John Pettigrew, said two other substations that serve Heathrow were working and could have supplied the airport.Turkey | An Istanbul court has formally arrested the city's mayor, Ekrem mamolu, on corruption charges, sending him to pre-trial detention on the day he received his party's nomination to run for president. Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in the city after days of tension sparked by mamolu's initial detention in a dawn raid earlier this week. Continue reading...

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Talks to take place with operators about the scheme, announced in 2020, which has failed to make any grantsMinisters are considering diverting money from a 950m scheme to install rapid chargers for electric cars on the UK's motorways, announced five years ago, after it failed to make a single grant.Much of the cash allocated to the rapid charging fund (RCF) could be redirected to investments in other charging schemes, or to support the transition to electric vehicles more broadly, although decisions have yet to be made, according to a person close to discussions in government. Continue reading...

Labor admits it missed the mark' with social media posts sharing T-shirt that states This is Australia, we eat meat, we drink beer and we love Medicare!'

Ekrem mamolu, rival of Recep Tayyip Erdoan, placed in pre-trial detention along with dozens of staff and officialsAn Istanbul court has formally arrested the city's mayor, Ekrem mamolu, on corruption charges, sending him to pre-trial detention on the day he received his party's nomination to run for president, while tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in the city.The mayor of Turkey's largest city and a rival of the president, Recep Tayyip Erdoan, was jailed on charges of leading a criminal organisation, bribery, misconduct and corruption, along with dozens of his staff and municipal officials. Continue reading...

Poll finds up to 48% of voters believe Scottish students who can afford it should pay, with 29% opposedScottish voters are divided over Scotland's policy of free tuition for Scottish studentsas the crisis over university finances intensified.A poll commissioned by the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland found that up to 48% of voters believe Scottish students who can afford it should pay for tuition, with 29% opposed. Continue reading...

Rami Battikh, 24, got caught up in five-year nightmare after stolen ID card was used in string of crimesA young German citizen has told how his life has been destroyed after a London criminal used his ID to rack up a string of convictions that now appear on the German database against his name.The phantom record has left the 24-year-old in despair, effectively blacklisted and unable to get a job for the past four years in his native Bonn, stymying a budding career and the start of his adult life. Continue reading...

Group received emails about Ahsan Mansur, the central bank official investigating money laundering allegationsBritish MPs believe they may have been targeted by a disinformation" campaign aimed at discrediting the man leading efforts to trace funds allegedly laundered from Bangladesh into the UK.MPs raised the alarm after receiving emails about Ahsan Mansur, who was installed as the central bank governor of Bangladesh last year, after a student-led revolution swept away the autocratic government of Sheikh Hasina. Continue reading...

Disability Advocacy Network urges politicians not to treat scheme as a football to be punted around at the expense of people with disability'

People who suffer cardiac arrest are more likely to survive in Victoria than almost anywhere else in the world thanks to key interventions

The ruling is the latest twist in months of political turmoil since suspended president Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration last yearSouth Korea's constitutional court has ruled against the impeachment of the country's prime minister, Han Duck-soo, and to restore his position as acting president, marking the latest political twist in months of political turmoil.Han took over as acting president after the country's leader, Yoon Suk Yeol, was himself impeached over his short-lived declaration of martial law late last year. Continue reading...

Man shot in ankle in broad daylight in Fawkner in Melbourne's northern suburbs

Children from poorer families growing up amid a mix in income groups are likely to earn more as adultsFriendships that bridge economic divides are good for social mobility, a major study has found, with low-income children growing up where there is more mixing among income groups likely to earn an extra 5,100 a year as adults.The research, combining anonymised Facebook data covering 20 million adults in the UK with official data, points to the benefits of what the authors call more economically connected communities". Continue reading...

Landlords are left with no choice to offset looming tax rises introduced by the chancellor, says trade bodyLondoners might not bat an eyelid at paying 5 for a pint but the national average is poised to rise above that watermark for the first time, with publicans blaming tax rises introduced by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves.The sobering milestone is likely to be reached next month, according to research by Frontier Economics, with the average price of a pint of beer on course to hit 5.01, up from 4.80. Continue reading...

As Washington signals hope for real progress', Moscow warns difficult negotiations' lie aheadUS and Ukrainian officials have met for further talks aimed at hammering out a ceasefire in Russia's war in Ukraine, with Washington signalling its hope for real progress" even as Moscow warned that difficult negotiations" lie ahead.The gulf in expectations marked the start of the latest round of negotiations in Saudi Arabia, which was set to follow with a meeting between American officials and Russia on Monday. The US is pushing for a broad ceasefire in Russia's war in Ukraine by 20 April, according to Bloomberg, though sources said the timeline may slip given the wide gap that exists between Kyiv and Moscow's positions. Continue reading...

Arrest of 16-year-old follows that of two other boys earlier this month after schoolboy died in Clarendon StreetPolice in Scotland have arrested and charged a third teenager in connection with the death of 15-year-old Amen Teklay in Glasgow.The arrest of the 16-year-old boy follows the arrests of two other boys, 14 and 15, earlier this month. Continue reading...

Ebrahim Rasool, declared persona non grata by Washington, was surrounded by crowds at Cape Town airportThe South African ambassador who was expelled from the US and declared persona non grata by the Trump administration was welcomed home on Sunday by hundreds of supporters who sang songs praising him.Crowds at Cape Town International airport surrounded Ebrahim Rasool and his wife Rosieda as they emerged in the arrivals terminal in their home town, and they needed a police escort to help them navigate their way through the building. Continue reading...

Esther Ghey describes social media as absolute cesspit' at screening of film exploring teenage daughter's murderThe mother of the murdered teenager Brianna Ghey has said the under-16s should be banned from social media, describing it as an absolute cesspit".Esther Ghey was speaking at a screening of an ITV documentary that explores the murder of her 16-year-old daughter by two schoolchildren. Continue reading...

Children's magazine TV show, which first aired in 1958, will now be pre-recorded due to changing viewer habitsBlue Peter has recorded its final live episode as the show moves to a pre-recorded format, the BBC said.Airing weekly on Fridays, the longest-running children's show in the world began on 16 October 1958 with its intrepid presenters and characterful pets. Continue reading...

You can't cut your way to growth,' says PCS head as Reeves confirms move to cut administrative costs by 15% by 2030Rachel Reeves's planned cuts of 2bn to government departments will hit frontline services from jobcentres to HMRC phone lines and efforts to cut the asylum backlog, a union has said.On Sunday the chancellor confirmed plans to seek a 15% reduction in admin costs across Whitehall, amounting to about 2bn a year, by the end of the decade. She said this would also result in about 10,000 job losses in the civil service, although this was not a target. Continue reading...

Labour MP and Lib Dem leader express concern social media companies could be let off hook just as benefits are cutKeir Starmer has been warned against appeasing" Donald Trump as he considers reducing a major tax for US tech companies while cutting disability benefits and public sector jobs.His chancellor, Rachel Reeves, confirmed on Sunday that there were ongoing" discussions about the UK's 1bn-a-year digital services tax that affects companies from Meta to Amazon. Continue reading...

Israel continues to batter territory in renewed offensive as death toll from nearly 18 months of war passes 50,000Malnutrition is spreading in Gaza, medics and aid workers in the devastated Palestinian territory are warning, as a total Israeli blockade of all supplies enters its fourth week.There has been no sign that Israel will open entry points to allow essential aid to flow or ease its new offensive in Gaza, which started on Tuesday with a wave of airstrikes that killed 400 people, mostly civilians, ending two months of relative calm. On Sunday, Palestinian officials said the total death toll from nearly 18 months of conflict had passed 50,000. Continue reading...

Bridget Phillipson instructs Public Sector Fraud Authority to look into whether millions of pounds falsely claimedFraud experts will investigate the university loans system amid concerns that students are falsely claiming millions of pounds without intending to study, the education secretary has announced.Bridget Phillipson has instructed the Public Sector Fraud Authority to coordinate the response to allegations that individuals with no genuine academic intent are enrolling in degree courses to secure loans. Continue reading...

More than a thousand flights were cancelled on Friday after a fire at an electrical substation caused a power cutHeathrow airport has returned to normal business two days after it was forced to close when a fire at an electrical substation caused a power cut.Europe's busiest airport had more than 1,000 flights cancelled on Friday after the fire at the substation in Hayes, west London. Continue reading...

Actor, 76, denies claims made by assistant director and set designer who worked with him on Les Volets VertsGerard Depardieu will become the most high-profile French person to stand trial on #MeToo abuse allegations when he appears in a Paris court on Monday.The actor, a titan of French cinema with more than 200 films and television series to his name, is accused of sexually assaulting two women during a film shoot in 2021. Continue reading...

Prime minister launches contest expected to focus on US relations, as Liberals enjoy lead over ConservativesCanada's prime minister, Mark Carney, has called a snap election on 28 April, firing the starting gun on a contest that is widely expected to focus on the strained relationship with the US amid threats to Canada's economic and political future.We are facing the most significant crisis of our lifetime because of President [Donald] Trump's unjustified trade actions and his threats to our sovereignty," he said. He wants to break us, so America can own us. We will not let this happen. We're over the shock the shock of the betrayal, but we can never forget the lessons. We have to look out for ourselves. We have to look out for each other." Continue reading...

Age of command and control' is over, says Demos, with work needed from business, charities, unions and publicLabour's missions are at risk of failing unless the government does more to involve the whole country from businesses to the wider public, as the age of command and control" is over, a report from Demos has warned.The thinktank called on the government to embrace mass mobilisation" for businesses, charities, unions and the wider public to drive its flagship missions, which promise growth, clean energy, cutting crime, rebuilding the NHS and reforming education. Continue reading...

Host of Top of the Pops and My Top Twelve among other shows was one of last people to interview John LennonAndy Peebles, the former Radio 1 DJ and presenter who was one of the last people to interview John Lennon, has died aged 76, his family has confirmed.Peebles began his radio career in Manchester in 1973 and joined Radio 1 in 1978, where he was a familiar voice for 14 years. Continue reading...

White House is said to acknowledge that timeline is ambitious given large gaps between Ukraine and Russia in ceasefire negotiationsMy colleagues Pjotr Sauer, Shaun Walker and Andrew Roth have filed this report on what we can expect when delegations from Kyiv, Moscow and Washington meet in Saudi Arabia on Monday for further so-called peace talks. Here is an extract from their story:Ukraine will have a delegation in Riyadh on the same day the US is holding ceasefire talks there with a Russian negotiating team led by a secretive former FSB chief who played a key role in planning Vladimir Putin's 2022 full-scale invasion. Continue reading...

Group says reporters at independent outlets suffer constant harassment, physical attacks and smear campaigns'Press freedom in Serbia is facing a dangerous turning point" after mounting pressure on independent outlets from ministers and state-backed media, a group of senior editors has warned.The editors, who are all from publications within the independent United Media group, said their reporters faced constant harassment, physical attacks and smear campaigns" after their reporting in the country, which has been gripped by protests against its autocratic president, Aleksandar Vui. Continue reading...

PM agrees with US president that Europe must bear greater burden for its collective self-defenceKeir Starmer has spoken of how he personally likes and respects" the US president, Donald Trump, and understands what he is trying to achieve.The prime minister made the comments in an interview with the New York Times, acknowledging that President Trump has a point when he says there needs to be a greater burden borne by European countries for the collective self-defence of Europe." Continue reading...

Penny Wong says families of Laos poisoning victims Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles foremost in mind' as Smarttraveller campaign announced

Latest round of reprioritised' spending includes $720m from cuts on consultants, contractors and labour hire as Labor tries to rebuild public service

As you decipher how the budget may alter your life on Tuesday night, your politicians will be raking in the cash by wining and dining donors and lobbyists

Inquiry reveals undercover officer who fathered child with woman under fake identity was married to a secondAn undercover police officer who used his fake identity to deceive a woman into a 19-year intimate relationship and fathered a child with her was married to a second woman at the time, a public inquiry has disclosed.The officer hid his real identity from the first woman and never told her his actual job during their relationship. He used his fake name on the birth certificate of their son. Continue reading...

Private understanding ensures tending of British military graves in Russia and Crimea, and Soviet graves in UKIn graves at Murmansk, Arkhangelsk and Vladivostok, in Russia, lie the bodies of 663 British military personnel. Most of the dead lost their lives in the period just after the first world war, when allied troops were sent to support rightwing White forces in the Russian civil war against the Bolsheviks, while 41 are casualties from the second world war Arctic convoys.Their resting places have been tended over decades by the Russian military and by private contractors, paid by the UK's Commonwealth War Graves Commission. But after Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, economic sanctions meant Britain could no longer pay for the graves to be maintained. Continue reading...

Women at Holyrood cite lack of support from party, abuse in chamber and online, and tolerance of bullyingHolyrood is becoming a hostile environment for women" and a significant number of female MSPs in the Scottish National party are stepping down before the May 2026 elections, citing lack of support from the party, tolerance of bullying, and abuse in the chamber and online.Almost four years on from the election of a record number of 58 female MSPs across all parties in 2021, 14 SNP women have so far said they will not stand again, accounting for 23% of the party's current MSP group. Continue reading...

Pontiff says he has had the opportunity to experience the Lord's patience' and pays tribute to tireless care' of medicsPope Francis greeted a large crowd of pilgrims gathered outside Gemelli hospital in Rome in his first public appearance in more than five weeks, before being discharged from the hospital on Sunday.The pontiff, who is recovering from pneumonia in both lungs, made the brief greeting and blessing from the balcony of his hospital room shortly after the release of the text for his Sunday Angelus. Continue reading...

Daughter says Barbie Reynolds, 75, is collapsing from malnutrition and that the health of Peter, 79, is also decliningThe daughter of a British couple in their 70s imprisoned by the Taliban has expressed serious concerns over their deteriorating health after delays to their expected court appearance.Peter and Barbie Reynolds, who run a training business in Afghanistan, were detained last month when they travelled to their home in Bamiyan province. The couple, aged 79 and 75, who have been running projects in schools in Afghanistan for 18 years, had not been informed of the charges, their daughter said. Continue reading...

UK chancellor not satisfied' with the current numbers, but promises the economy and living standards will improveRachel Reeves has promised the UK's economy and living standards will improve, as she pledged to cut running costs of government by 15% and civil service jobs by 10,000.In advance of Wednesday's spring statement, the chancellor defended her stewardship of the economy since the election, saying she had made difficult choices. Continue reading...

Hamas leader in Khan Younis among 19 dead from Gaza bombing, while Iran-backed rebels in Yemen fire missile at IsraelIsraeli strikes across southern Gaza killed at least 19 people overnight into Sunday, including a senior Hamas political leader, officials said.Iran-backed rebels in Yemen who are allied with Hamas meanwhile launched another missile at Israel, setting off air raid sirens. The Israeli military said it was intercepted with no casualties or damage. Continue reading...

This blog is now closedAngus Taylor calls Labor's energy bill rebate Band-Aid on a bullet wound'The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, also says the Coalition will not get in the way" of the government's $150 energy rebate, announced last night.We're not going to get in the way of it. The starting point here though is very clear which is Labor's failed on delivering its promise of a $275 power price reduction.We're not going to stand in the way of Labor cleaning up their own mess. This is putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. The solution here is to get a structural outcome which is a reduction in underlying electricity prices, which has not been achieved, of course. It's gone the other way.They are both supplied by the US with little to no sovereign input, are expensive and outdated. Like Aukus, this equipment is much more about signalling our loyalty to the US than defending Australia. Continue reading...

Treasurer seizes on shadow finance minister's comments on out of control' disability insurance scheme

Recently installed prime minister expected to confirm 28 April ballot as he seeks to keep Liberal party in governmentMark Carney will run for election in the Ottawa riding of Nepean as the new Canadian prime minister seeks to join parliament for the first time, his Liberal party has announced.Carney on Sunday is predicted to trigger an early general election on 28 April. The Liberals said on Saturday that Carney would run to represent the suburban riding, or district, of Nepean, noting in a social media post that Ottawa is where he raised his family and devoted his career to public service. He previously served as the head of Canada's central bank and before that as deputy. Continue reading...

Anger over detention of Ekrem Imamolu becomes a touchstone for opposing President Recep Tayyip ErdoanWhen demonstrators gathered at Istanbul's city hall last week in outrage at the arrest of mayor Ekrem mamolu, 26-year-old Azra said she was initially too scared to defy a ban on gatherings. As protests grew on university campuses and in cities and towns across Turkey, she could no longer resist joining.I saw the spark in people's eyes and the excitement on their faces, and I decided Ihad to come down here," she said with a grin, standing among tens of thousands that defied a ban on assembly to fill the streets around city hall on Friday night. Despite the crowds, Azra feared reprisals and declined to give her full name. Many demonstrators were masked in a bid to defy facial recognition technology and fearing the teargas or pepper spray sometimes deployed by the police. Others smiled and took selfies to celebrate as fireworks illuminated the night sky. Continue reading...

Departments will be asked next week to reduce spending by 10% by 2028-29, says Cabinet Office sourceThe civil service will be told to slash more than 2bn a year from its budget by the end of the decade as part of the government's spending review, with unions warning of significant job losses, the Guardian understands.The Cabinet Office will tell departments to cut their administrative budgets by 15%, which is expected to save 2.2bn a year by 2029-30. Continue reading...

Israeli PM says Ronen Bar sacked over 7 October report, rather than investigation into his office's alleged links to QatarisIsraeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed in a Saturday speech that the decision to fire the country's domestic security chief Ronen Bar was made before the announcement that Bar was investigating the prime ministry for alleged ties to the Qatari government.Netanyahu said that he had decided to fire Bar, the director of Shin Bet, after the agency's report on the 7 October 2023 attack, rather than after it opened its investigation. Continue reading...