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Amid backbench and opposition criticism, the prime minister says non-citizens do not have a legitimate' reason to stay in AustraliaAnthony Albanese has insisted there's nothing secret" about a $400m deal with Nauru to offload hundreds of non-citizens to the tiny Pacific island as questions mount over the agreement's fine print.The Albanese government quietly announced the news on Friday evening without attaching a dollar figure to the deal, nor providing details of the agreement between the nations. Continue reading...

Rescue efforts hampered by steep terrain after shallow quake that was felt more than 100 miles away in Kabul

Average price for a home drops by 0.1% to 271,079 in August compared with July, according to Nationwide

Australia had its second coolest winter this decade, bureau data shows, but temperatures were still above long-term average

Housing providers and charities want development rights abolished amid concern over lack of affordable homesDozens of organisations have signed an open letter calling on the government to scrap office-to-residential conversions in England, which analysis has found led to the loss of almost 28,000 affordable homes.Local government campaigners, housing providers and homelessness charities have all joined the call to abolish some permitted development rights (PDR), which grant automatic planning permission to building projects and are often used to convert office blocks into housing. Continue reading...

East Midlands passengers to check in for travel on their phones and will be automatically charged the best fares at the end of dayA new pay-as-you-go rail ticketing system that tracks passengers' locations as they travel is to be trialled in England for the first time, as part of the government's plan to reform the railway network's complex fare system.Passengers on routes in the East Midlands will be the first in the country to test a pilot system, checking in for travel on their phones with their journey tracked using satellite location technology. Continue reading...

China's leader urges attendees to oppose cold war mentality' while Russian president claims Ukraine war was provoked by the west'Xi Jinping has criticised the bullying behaviour" of other countries while Vladimir Putin has blamed the west for his war on Ukraine, on the second day of a major summit in China which seeks to challenge western-led multilateral blocs.The Shanghai Cooperation Summit (SCO) began in the city of Tianjin on Sunday, with Xi welcoming dozens of leaders from Eurasian member states and other partner and observer countries, including Putin, and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. Continue reading...

At the end, the poor guy from Guinness world records was still there, having to pull down my sweaty undies to verify it ... he doesn't get paid enough,' says Daniel ByrnesThey came from around the globe, aged in their teens to their 80s. They were dressed as Labubus, pints of beer and kangaroos. One wore thongs and carried a surfboard, while another donned dozens of underpants.Sydney's debut as a World Marathon Majors event wasn't just a testament to athletic prowess. It was also a celebration of creativity, culture and smashing little-known world records, with many participants opting to stand out in their long-distance attire. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: Nigel Farage ploughed ahead in the polls over recess, and Keir Starmer is now under pressure to define what his party stands forGood morning. Parliament has returned from its summer recess. MPs are filing back into those hallowed halls to resume the business of running the country. Have you missed them? Judging by polling on trust in politicians, the answer from many of you is likely a resounding no.For most MPs, the summer recess is a chance to pause and reset. Not so for Reform UK. The insurgent party, which has just four MPs, spent the summer working the country like it was in the middle of a general election campaign. It has been hard to escape Nigel Farage (pictured top) and Reform: the party has held at least five press conferences since recess began (with another scheduled for today). There has also been a flurry of statements and open letters, and record-breaking polling to top it all off. Reform returns to parliament riding high.Afghanistan | At least 250 people were dead and hundreds more injured in a magnitude 6 earthquake that struck eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border. The quake was centred 27km north-east of the city of Jalalabad.Israel-Gaza war | Israeli airstrikes and gunfire killed at least 18 people in and around Gaza City, local health authorities said, as Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet prepared to discuss plans to seize the city.Conservatives | Doubts have surfaced over Kemi Badenoch's claim to have been offered a place at a prestigious US medical school at 16, with admissions staff unable to recall the proposal and the university not providing the course.UK news | A police officer was allegedly punched in the face and four people were arrested at an anti-immigration protest march in London on Sunday.Heart disease | Doctors have found a drug that is better than aspirin at preventing heart attacks and strokes, in a discovery that could transform health guidelines worldwide. Continue reading...

Members of the public are helping harbour the gunman alleged to have shot dead two officers, police believeVictoria police believe people are helping harbour alleged Porepunkah gunman Dezi Freeman, saying some members of the community know where the fugitive is.Speaking to media on Monday afternoon, Supt Brett Kahan said Freeman's network was wide" and asked those who know where he is to come forward. Continue reading...

Police set up checkpoints across Jakarta on Monday after deadly protests that have forced Prabowo Subianto to remove perks include a housing allowance worth 10 times the minimum wageIndonesian political parties have agreed to cut some lawmakers' perks, including a controversial $3,000 housing allowance, the president said, as security measures were stepped up in an attempt to halt protests that have gripped the country for a week.President Prabowo Subianto, accompanied by leaders of eight Indonesian political parties, told a televised news conference in the capital, Jakarta, on Sunday that they had agreed to cut the housing allowance and suspend overseas trips for members of parliament. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Chris Evans says blind spots' in modern slavery laws means few prosecutions occur and some companies are taking the mickey' in their approach to reporting

All 2025 Tesla Model Y variants affected by issue that risks window closing on body parts with excessive force'

At least 50 men, mostly clad in black, approached Camp Sovereignty as sun was setting on Sunday. Four people were injured

I'm really touched,' Kath & Kim favourite tells 10-year-old, adding that cancer treatment is smacking me around right now'

About 74,150 patients waited at least 12 hours on trolleys in June and July, a situation almost nonexistent 10 years agoCorridor care in the NHS is now a year-round crisis, experts have warned, as analysis showed nearly 3 million patients attended A&E over the first two months of the summer.The latest NHS figures in England, analysed by the Liberal Democrats, show that since 2015 the number of people going to A&E in June and July has increased 15% to 2.9 million - the highest level recorded over the past decade. Continue reading...

Balancing productivity gains with the potentially negative impact on jobs and our way of life will be a defining issue for governments for decades

Home secretary to announce overhaul of family reunion policy in attempt to quell fractious immigration debateMinisters are planning to make it harder for refugees to bring family members to the UK as part of a package of measures that Yvette Cooper will announce on Monday as she looks to get a grip on the fractious debate over irregular migration.The home secretary will tell MPs she plans to make a number of changes to the way asylum cases are treated, including to the family reunion policy, which officials believe is acting as a magnet for people crossing the Channel. Continue reading...

CPS hails major step forward' in crime prevention with potential for companies to receive unlimited finesCompanies could be prosecuted and face unlimited fines if they fail to prevent fraud that their firm profits from under a corporate offence coming into force on Monday.Under the new failure to prevent fraud" law, large companies can be held criminally liable where an employee, agent, subsidiary or other associated person'" commits a fraud intending to benefit the organisation. Continue reading...

Valentine Low's Power and the Palace relays story in which young Camilla whacked attacker in the nuts' on train to PaddingtonQueen Camilla was a victim of an attempted sexual assault as a teenager and used the heel of her shoe to fight off her attacker, a new book about the monarchy has claimed.According to Power and the Palace, serialised in the Sunday Times, the queen told Boris Johnson about the attack while he was mayor of London. Continue reading...

Met reports small number' of aggressive masked protesters at what began as peaceful demonstration at Canary WharfA police officer was allegedly punched in the face and four people were arrested at an anti-immigration protest march in London on Sunday.The Metropolitan police said they had been facilitating a peaceful demonstration along Manchester Road and Westferry Road on the Isle of Dogs before a small number of masked protesters then became aggressive towards members of the public and police". Continue reading...

Education secretary defends her cabinet colleague against claims she avoided stamp duty when buying propertyBridget Phillipson has defended her cabinet colleague Angela Rayner over accusations the deputy prime minister avoided tax when buying a seaside property in East Sussex.The education secretary said Rayner had the right to buy the 800,000 flat in Hove so long as she followed all the rules", after reports Rayner had avoided 40,000 in stamp duty by listing it as the only property she owns. Continue reading...

UN condemns arbitrary detentions' by Iran-backed group at World Food Programme and Unicef offices in YemenThe Iranian-backed Houthis raided offices of the UN's food, health and children's agencies in Yemen's capital, detaining at least 11 employees, as the rebels tightened security across Sana'a after the Israeli killing of their prime minister and several cabinet members.The UN envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said on Sunday evening: I strongly condemn the new wave of arbitrary detentions of UN personnel today in Sana'a and Hodeidah ... as well as the forced entry into UN premises and seizure of UN property. At least 11 UN personnel were detained." Continue reading...

Stanford University staff and academic experts raise questions over Tory leader's claim of place and partial scholarship offered at 16Doubts have surfaced over Kemi Badenoch's claim to have been offered a place at a prestigious US medical school at 16, with admissions staff unable to recall the proposal and the university not providing the course.The Conservative leader has said in interviews that she was offered a place and a partial scholarship to study medicine - sometimes describing it as pre-medicine - at Stanford University in California, one of the most competitive in the US. Continue reading...

Toll includes 13 people trying to get food near distribution point, as Israeli cabinet to discuss next stages of offensiveIsraeli airstrikes and gunfire killed at least 30 people in and around Gaza City, local health authorities said, as a 20-boat humanitarian aid flotilla carrying activists including Greta Thunberg set sail from Barcelona for the stricken territory.Authorities said the toll from Israeli tank and gunfire included 13 people who died trying to get food near a distribution site in the Gaza Strip, two in a house in Gaza City and 15, including five children, in a strike on a residential building on Saturday.With Reuters and Agence France-Presse Continue reading...

Officers want to question a man after two men were injured within 24 hours over the weekend in LondonPolice have released a CCTV image of a man they want to question after two people were stabbed at Oxford Circus tube station in London within 24 hours of each other over the weekend.Emergency services were called to two incidents in the early hours over the weekend, which police said were connected. The first incident took place at 3.40am on Saturday and the second just after 1.30am on Sunday. Continue reading...

MoD says agreement will support 4,000 jobs and significantly strengthen Nato's northern flank'Norway has agreed a 10bn deal for anti-submarine warships that will be built in the UK, as the two countries plan joint operations in northern Europe to deal with increased Russian activity.The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the agreement to build Type 26 frigates was the UK's biggest ever warship export deal by value, and Norway's biggest defence procurement deal. Continue reading...

Chinese president hosts bilateral meetings on sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in TianjinXi Jinping and Vladimir Putin have met on the sidelines of a showpiece summit in China that seeks to challenge US-led, western-dominated blocs and is being attended by the leaders of more than two dozen nations.The Chinese and Russian leaders, who are closely allied under what they have termed a limitless" partnership, discussed Putin's recent meeting with Donald Trump, according to a Kremlin official, who gave no further details. Continue reading...

Mayor says city stands firm against antisemitism after message scratched into black marble memorialA Holocaust memorial unveiled only eight months ago in the French city of Lyon has been inscribed with the words Free Gaza", local officials said, amid growing concern about antisemitic incidents in France.The words were scratched into the black marble memorial late on Saturday, the city's mayor, Gregory Doucet, said. Yonathan Arfi, of the Council of French Jewish Institutions (CRIF), posted a photo on social media and called the incident despicable". Continue reading...

Home secretary could face legal action over decision to keep 25-year-old man from Nigeria in prisonYvette Cooper could face legal action over the decision to keep an asylum seeker with schizophrenia in prison.The high court has ordered the home secretary to release the 25-year-old man by 8 September, and the Home Office may have to pay him damages for breaching his human rights. Continue reading...

Russian president and his Chinese counterpart shake hands as more than 20 world leaders attend Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in TianjinFollowing a meeting with Ukraine's top general, Oleksandr Syrsky, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that his country's forces are planning new strikes deep into Russia.In a post on X, the Ukrainian leader wrote:We analysed in detail the situation in the Zaporizhzhia direction and the enemy's intentions. Also the situation in the border areas of the Sumy and Kharkiv regions.We will continue our active operations in exactly the way needed for Ukraine's defence. The forces and resources are prepared. New deep strikes have also been planned. Continue reading...

A Year in Normandy features iPad works with which British artist brought people comfort during Covid crisisIn the spring of 2020, as the Covid-19 virus was going mad", David Hockney kept himself busy by painting winter trees bursting into blossom in his Normandy garden. Many people said my drawings were a great respite from what was going on," Britain's pre-eminent living artist said at the time.Citizens of the post-pandemic world, with its rollercoaster of conflict, rightwing populism, climate crisis and techno-revolution, may still be in need of Hockney's respite by next spring. They will find it at an exhibition of his extraordinary 90-metre frieze, A Year in Normandy, and other works at the Serpentine gallery in London. Continue reading...

No one matched the six numbers since 31 May as jackpot swells to $1.1bn, the fifth-largest prize in game's historyPlayers in a US lottery will get another chance Monday at a jackpot estimated at over $1bn.No one has matched all six numbers in the Powerball game since 31 May, allowing the jackpot to swell to $1.1bn, which would be the fifth-largest prize in the game's history. Payments would be spread over 30 years, or a winner could choose an immediate lump sum of an estimated $498.4m, again before taxes. Continue reading...

Family submitted a case last year accusing police, social services and courts of serious failings' but had no responseThe family of a woman killed by an ex-partner who bombarded her with hundreds of messages and calls will ask a judge on Monday to force the French authorities to explain why they failed to protect her.Sandra Pla had complained to police three times about Mickael Falou's threatening behaviour over a period of six months, but her application for a protection order was rejected. Continue reading...

Oxfordshire manor once planned as hub for global technologists and philosophers now offered at 5.95mWytham Abbey, a 15th-century grade I-listed manor that was once planned as a hub for technologists and philosophers to solve some of the world's toughest problems, has had its sale price slashed by 60% to 5.95m as its charity owners struggle to find a buyer.The Effective Ventures Foundation (EVF), formerly the Centre for Effective Altruism, bought the 27-bedroom, 18-bathroom Oxfordshire estate in April 2022. Continue reading...

Infant's mother had not been vaccinated against the highly infectious disease, which affects the lungs and airwaysA baby in the UK has died from whooping cough, marking the first such death in the country this year.The infant's mother had not been vaccinated against the highly infectious disease, which affects the lungs and airways. This death occurred as vaccination rates among children and pregnant women in the UK have fallen to their lowest levels in 15 years. Continue reading...

There is no shortage of challenges for the PM as MPs head back to Westminster and he tries to get on the front footAs Keir Starmer returns from his summer break in Europe, and Labour MPs head back to Westminster for the new parliamentary session, the government will be hoping to get on the front foot after a tumultuous few months.The recess has given ministers time to think, and to plan, but also the chance to study the polls. This week, YouGov put Labour on just 20% - the lowest level in more than five years - and eight points behind Nigel Farage's Reform UK. Continue reading...

Deputy leader says archbishop should stay out of matter after Stephen Cottrell calls policy isolationist and kneejerkReform UK has engaged in a war of words with the Church of England over the party's plans to deport all asylum seekers who arrive in small boats, after the church's most senior bishop called the proposal isolationist, short-term [and] kneejerk".Richard Tice, the party's deputy leader, hit back against the archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, on Sunday, accusing him of interfering in domestic politics. Continue reading...

Education secretary targets 800 schools as she attempts to turn around post-Covid trends with enhanced supportParents and caregivers need to do more" to reverse post-Covid trends of poor attendance and behaviour in schools, the education secretary has said, announcing new measures to support schools in England before the start of the new school year.Bridget Phillipson unveiled a UK government programme on Sunday targeting 800 schools attended by about 600,000 pupils, beginning with an initial wave of 21 schools that will serve as attendance and behaviour hubs. Continue reading...

Critics of the legislation want the government to water it down, but for many employees change can't come too soonWhen Seamus Foley took a job on a zero-hours contract at a board games bar in London two years ago, the flexibility it offered was appealing. Now, it is a deal so bad he is prepared to walk out on strike.It's exhausting. You're constantly living your life on the back foot," says the employee at Draughts, which has bars in Stratford and Waterloo. There, workers fed up with last-minute rota changes and a lack of basic protections are staging industrial action. Continue reading...

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson joins gathering in Canberra while far-right figure speaks outside state parliament in Melbourne

This blog is now closedAsked about the planned anti-immigration protests across Australia today, Julian Leeser says he's concerned about some of the anti-Indian and antisemitic sentiment being expressed. But he also adds that there are people who will be attending these protests with goodwill":There are people there of goodwill who want to change policies in relation to this country. But I would say to them be careful of the company you keep. I've seen some of the material for that particular protest and I'm really concerned about the anti-Indian sentiment that is being expressed and some of the antisemitic undertones of some of those protests.We are working through this legislation through our processes but I will say this: This cohort of people have had ample opportunities to put their case. They have exhausted all appeal avenues and the question now is whether they can be removed to another country.This is a legitimate arrangement. The only reason people can remain in Australia - and this is very well established under the migration law of this country - is if they have an Australian citizen or on a valid visa. Continue reading...

The 18m deal to acquire Challenge Recruitment Group assets from administration repaid private funders in fullThe UK exchequer is chasing about 90m in unpaid taxes after a temporary staffing business was rescued from insolvency proceedings in an 18m deal that reimbursed private funders in full.The main assets of Challenge Recruitment Group, which counted Tesco, Sainsbury's and Co-op among its top customers, were acquired from administration in July by the US website swipejobs, in what appears to be the second time the British staffing business has emerged from insolvency while owing tens of millions of pounds to the exchequer. Continue reading...

Amalia Freeman says Victoria police have her full support' in search for fugitive accused of fatally shooting two officers

Ten years after Angela Merkel declared We can do this' at the height of the 2015 migration into Europe, Syrian refugee Somar Kreker looks back at his 44-day odysseyThe trip would be tough, Somar Kreker knew, but he was not overly fearful. It was the summer of 2015, and in a small flat in Amman, Jordan, this young Syrian's only thought was how to turn a long and arduous journey into something more bearable. The engineering student had fled Syria three and a half years earlier after refusing to enlist in the brutal regime's army. He was now ready to begin a new chapter of his life, starting with a new task: to reunite with his younger sisters, still trapped in Damascus, and lead them to Germany, where their brother was living.I was never worried or stressed about the trip," says Somar, just 27 years old at the time. I never had any thought about danger or failure. My only thoughts were how I could make the trip a happy adventure for me and my sisters. Continue reading...

Ahmed al-Rahawi killed alongside several ministers gathered for prerecorded speech by rebel group's leaderAn Israeli airstrike killed the prime minister of the Houthi rebel-controlled government in Yemen's capital, Sana'a, the Houthis have said.Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed in a strike in Sana'a on Thursday along with a number of ministers, the rebels said in a statement on Saturday. Other ministers and officials were wounded, the statement added without providing further details. Continue reading...

Irish aid worker and director Gena Heraty was taken along with seven Haitians, including a three-year-old childAn Irish aid worker and seven fellow captives have been released nearly a month after they were kidnapped in Haiti.Gena Heraty, a missionary who ran the Our Little Brothers and Sisters orphanage in the hills outside Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, was abducted on 3 August along with seven Haitians, including a three-year-old child. Continue reading...

Jewish Artists for Palestine interrupted a BBC Proms performance at Royal Albert Hall on Friday, claiming the MSO silenced artists' and silenced protest'

In federal court documents, the 24-year-old's family claim officers acted unlawfully in apprehending him and applying force to him such as to cause the loss of his life'Warning: This article contains reference to Indigenous Australians who have died