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Exclusive: Documents show officials raised concerns SAS might be mentioned in US state department's human rights report

Hopes of a rapid breakthrough proved over-optimistic in the face of entrenched defences but Russian forces are suffering major damageThe first casualty of the Ukrainian counteroffensive was wishful thinking. Any hope that Russian troops would abandon their trenches and flee has now been left far behind on the battlefield.The occupying forces held firm and have mostly kept their discipline in the first seven weeks, absorbing one attack after another, often counterattacking to recover lost ground, and mounting offensives of their own in Luhansk and other spots on the frontline where they sensed weakness. Continue reading...

Child welfare expert says a nationwide standard of risk assessment needs to be driven at the federal level

Acclaimed Indigenous art group says attack on their integrity has been thrown into the rubbish bin'

Dancer tells Kate Garraway he kept attack secret, as he recalls growing up with violent and alcoholic parentThe Strictly Come Dancing judge Anton Du Beke has revealed that he was once stabbed by his father and had to spend three days in hospital.Appearing on Kate Garraway's Life Stories on ITV, the 57-year-old dancer said that his father stabbed him in the leg and stomach on Boxing Day at their family home in Kent. Continue reading...

Thousands more women will be forced into unsafe abortions and die in pregnancy and childbirth, ministers toldHundreds of thousands more women will face unsafe abortions and thousands will die in pregnancy and childbirth as a result of UK aid cuts in 2023-24, Foreign Office ministers were warned in an internal assessment.The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) published its programme allocations for the next two years last month, showing that Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend is due to rise marginally in 2023-24 and then increase by 12% in 2024-25 to 8.3bn. Continue reading...

Labor premier Chris Minns requested the resignation, alleging a clear breach of the ministerial code'

Team in no way colluded with the activists,' broadcaster says as Western Australian premier Roger Cook demands answers

Mark Willacy tells defamation trial he was prepared at any time to have a chat' with former commando, who is suing the broadcaster

Thinktanks say the check and balances of civil society such as judges and campaigners are under political attack' by ministersThe threat to Britain's democratic spaces is growing as charities and civil society groups come under political attack" by ministers, a report has warned.Anti-protest laws and culture wars perpetrated by the government are among the issues highlighted by two thinktanks, which said that the urgent and alarming" problem was largely going unnoticed". Continue reading...

Embattled operator hit with $140,000 penalty after pleading guilty to 11 charges in Brisbane magistrates court

Unlawfully apportioning' income could cause incorrect calculations on welfare payments but practice unrelated to robodebt, report says

Managing director David Anderson says change is due to audience feedback, while another service, program or staff may be targeted for savings

The Solomon Star denies accusations of giving away' its independence by accepting thousands of dollars' worth of equipmentLocal media in Solomon Islands have been accused of compromising their independence by entering into agreements with Chinese news organisations and accepting thousands of dollars' worth of equipment from the Chinese embassy.Since the Solomon Islands government signed a high-profile security agreement with China in March 2022, some newspapers in the Pacific country have received cars, cameras, phones and printing machinery that costs thousands of dollars from the Chinese government, via its local embassy, according to local journalists. Some have raised concern about the gifts and the continued close dialogue between media organisations in China and Solomon Islands. Continue reading...

In 2023, an average of 16,000 babies have been born a month, compared to as many as 23,000 babies born monthly before Russia's invasionUkraine's birthrate has fallen by 28% since the start of the war, according to new data, with 38,324 fewer babies born in the country in the first six months of this year compared with 2021, before Russia invaded.While birthrates have been declining by 7% per yer since 2015, according to Ukrainian data analytics company OpenDataBot, the drop from 2021 to 2023 is the largest since Ukraine gained independence in 1991. The next steepest drop was in 2015, in the aftermath of Russia's annexation of Crimea. Continue reading...

With some suspicious and others not even aware the voice referendum is taking place, volunteers face uphill battle in the suburbs of Melbourne

Family overwhelmed with joy' after video emerges of teenager, believed to be Zahab, looking healthy and speaking into a camera

Unions say widespread job losses in recent months have left UK teetering on the brink of recession'The TUC has urged the Bank of England to call a halt to interest rate increases after warning that widespread job losses in recent months have left the UK teetering on the brink of recession".Employment had fallen in more than half of Britain's 20 industrial sectors in the three months to June, the union body said as it predicted a fresh increase in the cost of borrowing would put tens of thousands more livelihoods at risk. Continue reading...

Four men traveled about 5,600km before being rescued by Brazilian federal police in south-eastern port of VitoriaOn their 10th day at sea, the four Nigerian stowaways crossing the Atlantic in a tiny space above the rudder of a cargo ship ran out of food and drink.They survived another four days, according to their account, by drinking the sea water crashing just meters below them, before being rescued by Brazilian federal police in the south-eastern port of Vitoria. Continue reading...

Polish military says army helicopters crossed eastern flank, adding to tensions caused by proximity of Wagner fightersPoland has rushed troops to its eastern border after accusing Belarus, Russia's closest ally, of violating its airspace with military helicopters.The Belarusian military denied any such violation and accused Poland, a Nato member and one of Ukraine's most fervent backers in its conflict with Russia, of inventing the accusation to justify a buildup of its troops. Continue reading...

Cloud, who portrayed Fezco Fez' O'Neill in the HBO teen drama, had recently lost his fatherAngus Cloud, the actor best known for his role on HBO's teen drama Euphoria, has died aged 25, his family confirmed on Monday.Cloud's publicist, Cait Bailey said Cloud died Monday at his family home in Oakland, California. No cause of death was given. Continue reading...

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Three former backup dancers allege in lawsuit the singer created a hostile work environment and pressured staff at afterpartiesThree of Lizzo's tour dancers have accused the singer of sexual harassment, and of creating a hostile work environment through sexual, racial and religious harassment in several incidents between 2021 and 2023, according to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday.The dancers also alleged that Lizzo, known as an advocate for body positivity and self-love, criticized a dancer's recent weight gain and later berated, then fired, that dancer for recording a meeting. Continue reading...

FBU to write to Home Office with overcrowding concerns after first group's arrival delayed due to safety issues on Dorset-based vesselFirefighters have accused ministers of attempting to house asylum seekers on a potential deathtrap" after health and safety officials prompted a further delay to the use of a giant barge until next week.The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) said it is planning to write to the Home Office about overcrowding and access to fire exits on the vessel. The health and safety officials' intervention had already led to the postponement of the arrival of the first men who were due to stay on the 222-bedroom Bibby Stockholm in Portland, Dorset. Continue reading...

Robin Caliskal was in water with family just an hour into holiday at Atlantic Reach holiday park in NewquayA five-year-old boy has drowned in a swimming pool at a resort in Cornwall, police have said, just an hour after arriving for a family holiday.Robin Caliskal was swimming with his parents and six-month-old brother at the Atlantic Reach holiday park in Newquay when he got into difficulty. Medics were called just after 5pm on Monday but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Continue reading...

Investigation under way after theft at Swiss luxury watch shop on Rue de la Paix in high-end Place Vendome areaArmed robbers have raided a store of the luxury Swiss watch brand Piaget in central Paris, escaping with between 10m to 15m ( 8.5m to 12.8m) worth of jewellery, the Paris prosecutors office said.The robbery took place around lunchtime on Tuesday at the store on the Rue de la Paix in the high-end Place Vendome area, home to several jewellers, watchmakers and luxury brands. The area has seen a spate of armed robberies in recent years. Continue reading...

Ralph Percy lost an application in 2021 to build 80 flats on part of his Grade I-listed Syon Park estateAn attempt by the Duke of Northumberland to replace allotments with dozens of new homes on his west London estate is simply an effort to line his already deep pockets", a public inquiry has heard.Ralph Percy, the 12th Duke of Northumberland, lost an application in October 2021 to build 80 flats on part of his Grade I-listed Syon Park estate after the council received more than 900 objections from local residents to the plans. Continue reading...

Six activists who occupied tunnel network near London station either pleaded guilty or were found guiltySix environmental activists who underwent a retrial over charges related to tunnelling near Euston station in London in protest against HS2 have been sentenced.All six either pleaded guilty or were found guilty in the retrial, and were given suspended sentences of between one and three months on Tuesday. They had initially been acquitted of aggravated trespass. Continue reading...

Prime minister seems to be waging war against existing Conservative policiesMuch of being prime minister is necessarily reactive, but as Rishi Sunak pushes back against everything from green policies to traffic schemes, it can sometimes feel as if he is not so much running a government as responding in real time to newspaper campaigns.Prime ministers often run out of policy steam if kept in office long enough, gradually slipping into a comfort zone of keeping the friendly media onside and giving in to the niche concerns of their loudest MPs. Continue reading...

Family courts in England and Wales can take more than a year to make decisions on where children will live after separationTens of thousands of children in England and Wales are being left in limbo by delays in the family court that have meant many waiting over a year for their future to be resolved.The Law Society said the system is in crisis after data showed children who have been removed from their parents are having to wait an average of 46 weeks to get a final decision on where they will live. Continue reading...

Decision to oust Covid rule-breaking MP from Scottish seat of Rutherglen and West Hamilton prompts contestA byelection will be held in Rutherglen and Hamilton West after constituents voted for the Covid rule-breaking MP Margaret Ferrier to be removed from her seat.Voters in the constituency had six weeks to sign a recall petition, which was automatically triggered after Ferrier, the former Scottish National party member who now sits as an independent, was suspended from the Commons for 30 days after being convicted of breaking travel rules during lockdown. Continue reading...

As with the Rwanda plan, the PM has been frustrated in his attempts to house asylum seekers on a giant bargeIt should have been the week when another key element of Rishi Sunak's plans to tackle small boat crossings of the Channel finally fell into place.Instead, yet more delays have frustrated the movement of the first 50 migrants on to the Bibby Stockholm. The three-storey-high barge was billed by the Home Office as a way of providing cheaper and more orderly accommodation for those arriving in small boats". Continue reading...

Le Journal du Dimanche staff accept they must quit or work under new boss Geoffroy LejeuneJournalists at France's only dedicated Sunday newspaper have ended the country's longest media strike in decades, on the day a controversial editor aligned with the far right took up his post as editor in chief.Staff at Le Journal du Dimanche (JDD) said on Tuesday they were throwing in the towel knowing that their decision would mean they would either leave the paper or have to work under its new leadership. Continue reading...

Decision comes after junta accused France of plotting to reinstate Mohamed BazoumFrance has said it will immediately begin evacuating its citizens and other Europeans from Niger, days after a junta toppled the president, Mohamed Bazoum, and seized power in the west African country.The evacuations were announced the day after neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso said any outside intervention to restore the ousted government would be seen as a declaration of war. Some analysts were sceptical of the statement, with both countries struggling to contain jihadist insurgencies. Continue reading...

Legalise Cannabis party's Jeremy Buckingham says risk of losing driver's licence under current drug-driving laws acts as disincentive for patients

Melinda Simmons claims alleged kidnappings are designed to remove next generation of defendersBritain's ambassador to Ukraine, Melinda Simmons, has characterised Russia's alleged mass abduction of children from Ukraine as a deliberate strategy to sever ties between Ukraine and the next generation that will defend the country".Simmons told the Ukrainian news outlet ArmyInform that the alleged abductions were part of its hybrid invasion" of the country. Continue reading...

Duties will increase by more than 10% overall, but lower-alcohol drinks and most sparkling wine will cost lessMany alcoholic drinks will cost more from Tuesday after Rishi Sunak and the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, enforced tax rises on booze.Under the shake-up first set out by the prime minister when he was chancellor in 2021, duty will now be levied according to the strength, rather than type, of alcohol. Continue reading...

Bakery chain reports 41% rise in pre-tax profits, helped by demand for evening food dealsGreggs is to open more shops in supermarkets and airports, after the bakery chain reported higher sales thanks to strong demand for its evening pizza deals.The company said sales rose 16% in its core chain in the six months to 1 July after it put up prices in January by 5p to 10p on many items with its sausage rolls rising 5p to 1.20. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Maurizio Bragagni, who has given over 700k to Tories and 30k to chancellor, attended event

Meg O'Neill says protesters trespassed at her Perth home on Tuesday amid climate backlash over Burrup Hub expansion

Bank says it earned 17bn in first half and will hand more money back to shareholdersHSBC more than doubled its profits in the first half of the year, as rising interest rates increased returns for the London-headquartered lender.The bank reported pre-tax profits of $21.7bn (17bn) in the first six months of 2023, up from $8.8bn during the same period last year, despiteputting aside more money to protect against potential defaults, as rising living costs put pressure on customers' finances. Continue reading...

UK surgeon told the Public Health Association of Australia's Cancer Screening Symposium screening is a double-edged sword'

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Minister for government services says real victims are all those Australians who lost trust in government' due to scheme

Previously nominated authors Sebastian Barry, Tan Twan Eng and Paul Murray join 13-strong field including four debuts

Australian Agricultural Company tells stock exchange its board members did not share confidential information with Tottenham Hotspur owner, who has been charged with securities fraud in the US

Acma report shows locally made children's television content shrank from 605 hours to just 95

Ousted leader granted clemency on five charges as part of amnesty but faces a further 14 casesMyanmar's junta will pardon Aung San Suu Kyi on five legal charges, military-controlled TV has announced, although the deposed leader remains saddled with more than a dozen other cases.Aung San Suu Kyi has been held in detention by the military since 1 February 2021 when it ousted her democratically elected government. The 76-year-old has since been sentenced for multiple charges - including incitement, electoral fraud and corruption - which add up to more than three decades in prison. Continue reading...

Oil and gas company to return another $1.5bn to investors through a share buybackBP has angered climate campaigners by reporting profits of $2.6bn (2bn) for the second quarter of the year as the climate crisis triggers extreme heatwaves.The company blamed falling oil and gas markets for the fall in profits from $8.5bn in the same period last year when Russia's invasion of Ukraine ignited a surge in global energy markets. Continue reading...

The RBA has left the official cash rate on hold at 4.1%, the highest level since 2012, in line with investors' expectations