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ACT says it remains extremely disappointed' Walter Sofronoff released report to media outlets

Group, which runs services for NHS, councils and military, reports loss of almost 68m for first half of yearCapita expects to take a financial hit of as much as 25m as a result of a cyber-attack that began in March, pushing the outsourcing group to a pre-tax loss of almost 68m for the first half of the year.The group is still recovering from the attack by the Black Basta ransomware group, which hacked its Microsoft Office 365 software and accessed the personal data of staff working for the company and dozens of clients. Continue reading...

Second victim in a stable condition after shots were fired when fight broke out in city centreOne of two people who were shot in downtown Auckland on Thursday night has died in hospital, police have confirmed.Police were called after receiving reports of a fight between a group of people at about 11.30pm on Thursday on lower Queen Street, in Auckland's city centre. Continue reading...

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North Yorkshire police criticised over major security breach' after protesters covered PM's home in black fabricA group of Greenpeace activists arrested following an anti-oil protest on the roof of Rishi Sunak's constituency manor house have been released while inquiries continue, police have said.North Yorkshire police, who have come under criticism following the security breach at the prime minister's grade II-listed mansion in Kirby Sigston on Thursday, said their investigation remains ongoing". Continue reading...

Potential test case on the state's use of watch houses to detain children takes unexpected turn, with hundreds possibly affected

Five Australian women are suing the airline and its subsidiary over what they claim was unlawful physical contact' in Doha in October 2020

Children suffering from shameful' failure to protect play with park budgets falling by 350m in 11 yearsPlaygrounds around England are falling to pieces, missing large pieces of play equipment, or simply being locked up, as councils facing huge budget cuts struggle to maintain them. In some of the poorest parts of the country, family groups are warning that children face a summer spent indoors because of a lack of safe and free spaces to play.The head of Play England has said that children's mental health will suffer as a result, and has called for radical change from what he called a shameful" lack of protection for children and play in planning. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Deleting national emissions ceiling regulations as part of scrapping EU laws a clear example of deregulation'The government is ignoring its post-Brexit green watchdog over the removal of air quality regulations, in a move that has been described by experts as a clear example of deregulation".The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) was set up in 2020 to replace the role the EU had played in regulating and enforcing environmental law in the UK. Campaigners raised concerns at the time that it might not have the same teeth as the EU and that it would not be able to stop the government riding roughshod over environment protections. Continue reading...

Campaigners urge more openness after more than $1m handed to influential British thinktanks by donors in USTransparency campaigners have called for thinktanks to be more open about their funding sources, after it emerged that some of Britain's most influential ones received more than $1m (787,000) from from donations in the US in 2021.They include the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), regarded as an inspiration for policies adopted by the Liz Truss government, and Policy Exchange - a conservative thinktank used as a platform by ministers to trail new measures and which recently incubated hardline immigration plans. Continue reading...

ACT chief police officer Neil Gaughan says Mr Dutton was not briefed in relation to Radiance International or Mr Bhojani' regarding Nauru contracts

The Reserve Bank's latest update predicts a retreat in GDP per capita but rent inflation will increase

Academic says Indigenous voice supporters are being maliciously targeted by those in the referendum no camp

Announcement comes weeks after the Australian state of Victoria pulled out of hosting the 2026 GamesThe province of Alberta has withdrawn its support for a bid centred around Calgary/Edmonton to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, weeks after the Australia state of Victoria pulled out of hosting the 2026 Games.Alberta's tourism minister, Joseph Schow, said that cost was behind the decision. Continue reading...

Yoon Suk Yeol tells officials to provide cold water trucks and improved food, after hundreds fall ill with heat-related illnesses amid soaring temperatures

US statement comes as ousted president says he is being held hostage and calls on international community to restore orderJoe Biden has called for the immediate release of Niger's elected president and for the country's democracy to be restored, in the highest profile statement by the US since the coup that removed Mohamed Bazoum from power, as Senegal also ramped up the pressure by saying its troops would join a a military intervention if necessary.I call for President Bazoum and his family to be immediately released, and for the preservation of Niger's hard-earned democracy," the US president said in a statement on Thursday, the 63rd anniversary of Niger's independence. In this critical moment, the United States stands with the people of Niger to honour our decades-long partnership rooted in shared democratic values and support for civilian-led governance." Continue reading...

The former US president appeared in court on Wednesday charged on four counts related to his efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 election. Hugo Lowell reportsThe attack on our nation's Capitol on 6 January 2021 was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy," special counsel Jack Smith said on Tuesday. As described in the indictment, it was fuelled by lies."Donald Trump has been charged over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The former president faces four counts: conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights. Continue reading...

ACCC says second-tier banks such as Suncorp are important competitors against major banks which dominate market

Police allege Ellen Craig, 60, killed Tillie Craig near Oberon, NSW, and disposed of her remains at the Ministry of God cult headquarters

Andrews government unveils plan for 20-bed Collingwood facility as public drunkenness is decriminalised

Emergency services were called to the fire at a Teviotville property in the Scenic Rim region during the early hours of Friday morning

Defence minister launches first security strategy warning New Zealand faces greatest geostrategic challenges in decadesNew Zealand needs to spend more on its military and strengthen ties with countries in the Indo-Pacific to help meet the challenges of great power rivalry and climate change, the government said amid an ongoing defence review.Launching the country's first ever national security strategy, defence minister Andrew Little said New Zealand faced more geostrategic challenges than it had in decades. Continue reading...

Health secretary says every available resource' must be used to help patients access diagnosis and treatment fasterMore private and third sector providers should be used by the NHS to help cut post-Covid waiting lists, Steve Barclay, the health secretary, will say after a review of capacity in the health service.Barclay will draw on the work of his elective recovery taskforce" - a group convened by ministers to look at how to bring down waiting times. Continue reading...

Buenos Aires records hottest start to August in 117 years, Chile sees highs towards 40C and Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil also bakeNow should be South America's bleak midwinter, but several parts of the continent are experiencing an extraordinary unseasonal heatwave that scientists believe offers a disturbing glimpse of a future of extreme weather.Argentina's riverside capital, Buenos Aires, this week recorded its hottest 1 August in 117 years. Continue reading...

Some legal experts are concerned changes to the law could curtail freedom of speech

Police in remote Welsh town appeal to anyone who may have seen someone have sudden influx of beehives'Police in a remote Welsh town are on the hunt for a thief who stole 14 beehives.Witnesses have been urged to come forward after the hives disappeared from Blackwood Road near Llangollen, North Wales, over the weekend. Continue reading...

Chancellor wants Financial Conduct Authority to investigate whether practice is widespread'Jeremy Hunt has asked the financial regulator to urgently investigate whether banks are barring politicians from accounts on a widespread" basis, after Nigel Farage had his account shut down by private bank Coutts.The chancellor said everyone must be able to express their opinions and people must have access to banking. Continue reading...

Deputy PM suggested FBU's Labour affiliation influenced its decision to raise concerns about the Bibby StockholmThe deputy prime minister has been accused of making disgraceful" comments after claiming that the firefighters' union had raised safety concerns over a barge due to house asylum seekers because of close links to Labour.Oliver Dowden suggested that the Fire Brigades Union's affiliation and donations to the opposition were a motivating factor behind fire and overcrowding concerns raised about the Bibby Stockholm in Portland, Dorset. Continue reading...

Opponents of Eritrean government tore down tents and set cars on fire, with around 100' people arrestedMore than 50 people have been injured and dozens detained in Stockholm after opponents of the Eritrean government stormed an event in the Swedish capital organised by regime supporters.About 1,000 anti-government demonstrators who had been authorised to hold a protest nearby broke through a police barrier, tearing down festival tents and setting booths and vehicles on fire. Continue reading...

PC Luke Christopher Horner admits offence, which he recorded on victim's phone, at Northampton crown courtA police officer has admitted to penetrative sexual activity with a 13-year-old girl in Northamptonshire after recording the act on the victim's phone.PC Luke Christopher Horner of Thames Valley police travelled to Rushden, a town about 18 miles east of Northampton, while off duty to commit the offence on 11 June. Continue reading...

Harry Vaughan, convicted of 14 terror offences in 2020, admitted further crimes including possession of indecent images of childrenA convicted satanist and far-right extremist who was given a suspended sentence as a teenager has now been imprisoned after admitting further crimes including making an indecent photograph of a child.Harry Vaughan, from Twickenham, south-west London, was 18 when he admitted 14 terror offences and two of possessing indecent images of children during his first trial at the Old Bailey. Continue reading...

Brussels' foreign policy chief calls on nations to speak with a unified voice to help people most in need'The EU's foreign policy chief has written to G20 ministers urging them to help Brussels persuade Vladimir Putin to reopen the main export route for Ukraine grain to countries in Africa and the Middle East.In a letter seen by the Guardian, Josep Borrell warned that Russia's decision to walk out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI) last month was risking the lives of children and others in war-torn countries and conflict zones. Continue reading...

Calls for overhaul of defamation laws in Italy after legal action brought against Brian MolkoThe Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, is suing Placebo frontman, Brian Molko, for defamation after publicly calling her racist" and fascist", according to local media reports.Molko made the comments during a performance by the band at the Sonic Park festival in Stupinigi outside Turin in July. Giorgia Meloni, piece of shit, fascist, racist," he appeared to shout in Italian in footage posted on social media by fans who attended the gig. Continue reading...

Belarusian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, is close ally of Vladimir Putin and EU says regime is accomplice in Russia's unprovoked war'

Pair have cases to answer in death of black man who died shortly after being restrained by up to nine officers, says watchdogTwo Metropolitan police constables will face a gross misconduct hearing after the Independent Office for Police Conduct's reinvestigation into the death of Kevin Clarke, who died shortly after being restrained by up to nine officers.The watchdog said the constables should be subject to misconduct proceedings over their alleged failure to provide an appropriate level of care to Clarke, a mentally ill black man, who could be heard saying the words I can't breathe" while being restrained, and for alleged dishonesty and lack of integrity. Continue reading...

Singer calls claims of harassment and a hostile work environment sensationalized stories'Lizzo has spoken out in response to several of her tour dancers levelling allegations of sexual harassment against her, calling their claims sensationalized stories".Earlier this week, a lawsuit filed by three of the singer's tour dancers alleged that Lizzo had sexually harassed them and created a hostile work environment through sexual, racial and religious harassment in various incidents between 2021 and 2023. Continue reading...

Remaining 11 members of jury will continue to deliberate in case against nurse charged with murdering seven babiesA member of the jury in the Lucy Letby trial has been discharged for good personal reasons", a judge has told Manchester crown court.The nurse, 33, has been on trial for almost 10 months charged with murdering seven babies and attempting to kill another 10 on the hospital neonatal unit where she worked. Continue reading...

Lords standards commissioners to investigate Lord Chadlington over alleged rule-breaking in relation to 50m PPE contractsThe House of Lords conduct watchdog has opened an investigation into the Conservative peer Lord Chadlington after new details about his introduction of a firm that was awarded 50m in PPE contracts were reported by the Guardian.The inquiry by the standards commissioners into Chadlington, whose real name is Peter Gummer, follows a request sent by the Labour peer George Foulkes. Continue reading...

The FBU had said the Bibby Stockholm could be a floating death trap' for asylum seekersThe Greenpeace campaigner Philip Evans says the four activists who have been on the roof of Rishi Sunak's house since around 6am are holding firm for now".Speaking from outside the house, Evans told the PA Media news agency they had made sure the prime minister's family were on holiday and not going to be at home before carrying out the protest, which is a response to Sunak saying he would max out" oil and gas in the North Sea.It's an incredibly dangerous thing to be saying and in general there's been an attack on the climate since the Uxbridge byelection.Rishi Sunak's government has been the worst government we've had on climate.This is the prime minister. He is the one that was standing in Scotland going to drill for every last drop of oil while the world is burning. He is personally responsible for that decision and we're all going to be paying a high price if he goes through with it. It is personal. Continue reading...

Work and pensions secretary said working for Deliveroo could be good option for older people, despite low pay and job insecurityThe TUC has accused the work and pensions secretary, Mel Stride, of glorifying the gig economy" instead of tackling the real challenges facing older workers, after he suggested unemployed over-50s consider becoming delivery riders.On a visit to the London headquarters of food delivery firm Deliveroo, Stride said it was good for people to consider options they might not have otherwise thought of", including those traditionally seen as being for younger workers. Continue reading...

Wet weather fails to dampen demand as retailer raises profit guidance againStrong trading at Next's summer sale as shoppers continue to spend more on clothing than expected has prompted a second profits upgrade at the retailer in just over six weeks.Next, which has about 550 stores in the UK and Ireland and is considered a good barometer of British consumer spending, said it expected to make 845m in annual profit, 10m more than previously forecast, as last month's exceptionally wet weather dampened, but did not snuff out, shopper demand. Continue reading...

Sixty-eight organisations sign letter amid fears Lu Siwei could be deported at request of Chinese authoritiesSixty-eight human rights groups have signed an open letter calling on the Laos government to release Lu Siwei, a Chinese former human rights lawyer detained by Laotian police near Vientiane last week.Lu was seized by police on Friday as he attempted to board a train from Laos to Thailand, where he planned to catch a flight to the US to join his wife and daughter. Nearly one week later, he appears to still be held in Laotian immigration detention, despite reportedly being told that he would be deported to China. Continue reading...

Video has been released in appeal to find Aidan Roche, last in contact on 22 June from the EigerThe family of a British hiker last seen on a Swiss mountain six weeks ago said they were hoping for a crazy survival story" as they released the last video footage he had shared.Aidan Roche, 29, an offshore chemical engineer from Middlesbrough, was last heard from on 22 June on the Eiger, in the Grindelwald area, about 50 miles from the Swiss capital, Berne. Continue reading...

Musician best known for BBC's Pride and Prejudice and 1981's The French Lieutenant's Woman also composed for silent film, stage and concert hallBafta-winning composer and conductor Carl Davis has died at the age of 86, his family has announced today.Davis, whose work included the music for the BBC's 1995 drama Pride and Prejudice, won a Bafta and an Ivor Novello award for his score to 1981 film classic The French Lieutenant's Woman. Continue reading...

Gusts of up to 65mph forecast to hit English and Welsh coasts on Saturday along with prolonged rainFerry and rail passengers have been warned of cancellations and delays as gusts of up to 65mph (105km/h) are forecast to batter the English and Welsh coasts at the weekend.The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for wind in parts of England and Wales from 6am on Saturday until 9pm the same day, and prolonged rain was forecast. Continue reading...

Walter Sofronoff KC provided copies under embargo to ABC and the Australian, but ACT spokesperson said release affected the inquiry process'

UN Refugee Agency and IOM urge steps - including more legal pathways for migrants - to curb humanitarian crisisInternational bodies have called for urgent intervention in the Darien Gap to prevent a further escalation of a humanitarian crisis as new figures showed that record numbers of people are risking their lives to cross the lawless 100-mile stretch of rainforest between Panama and Colombia.The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) also called for the creation of more legal pathways to migrate to the US in order to help reduce irregular migration. Continue reading...

Deputy PM confident' asylum barge will soon be used and that fire safety concerns will be taken into account

Staffing levels reduced as US says White House is committed to restoring president after last week's coupThe US and UK have ordered the evacuation of some staff from their embassies in Niger after last week's coup, as the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said the White House was committed to restoring the stricken country's government.Niger is a key western ally in the fight against Islamist insurgents in the region. Foreign powers have condemned the takeover, fearing it could allow the militants to gain ground. Continue reading...

Move by new CEO to hike prices for servicing jet engines pays off with 673m profit and surge in share priceRolls-Royce increased its profits fivefold in the first half of this year after its new chief executive, Tufan Erginbilgic, raised prices for servicing jet engines.The FTSE 100 engineering company made an underlying operating profit of 673m between January and June, up from 125m in the same period last year, it said in a statement to the stock market on Thursday. Continue reading...