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Dan Harry, who won the BBC reality show I Kissed a Boy, teams up with LGBTQ+ rights charity Stonewall to battle hate crimesIt was only when strangers started hugging him in the street that Dan Harry fully appreciated what his appearance on the UK's first all-gay dating show had meant.People would get really emotional, saying: Thank you for what you've done for this community,' and I don't necessarily see it like that. I just went on holiday and kissed some boys," says the 27-year-old who grew up in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, and now lives in London. Continue reading...

Of the 255 people who took the repatriation flights, Clare O'Neil says, most are Australian citizens and family members

Police say a 30-year-old man arrived at Gosford police station and was taken to hospital where he remains under guard after emergency services were called to Umina beach

Concerns over fuel capacity with 27 120kg wrestlers onboard led to national carrier taking the unusual step' of transferring sumo rikishi to another flightJapan's flagship carrier has been forced to lay on an extra flight at short notice after concluding that two of its planes were at risk of exceeding their weight limits. The culprit was not excess baggage, however, but a passenger list that included some of the country's heaviest men.Japan Airlines took the very unusual" step of transferring a number of sumo wrestlers to a hastily arranged special flight last week over concerns that the two aircraft they had originally been due to fly would be unable to carry sufficient fuel due to weight restrictions. Continue reading...

Students and recent arrivals will begin to return and current record figure of 606,000 will be halved in coming yearsNet migration to the UK is likely to fall significantly in the coming years but remain at pre-Brexit levels of about 300,000, analysis by academic experts suggests.Net migration was a record 606,000 in the 12 months to June 2022, up 24% on the previous year, prompting Rishi Sunak to say numbers are too high, it's as simple as that, and I want to bring them down". Continue reading...

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Research conducted in the final week of the campaign gauged what people were thinking when they took to the ballot box

Broadcaster must pay Russell $390,000 but judge did not award aggravated damages, finding the former commando embraced the public controversy'

Asked about another referendum on Indigenous recognition, opposition leader says Australians won't want that for some time'

Platforms that hold over $1,500 of an individual's assets or $5m in aggregate will be subject to existing Australian financial services laws

Russia's biggest offensive in months is failing, says Ukrainian commander; at least six people killed in Russian strikes

Polls put ruling PiS in first place but suggest route to government for opposition coalition led by Donald Tusk's party. This blog is now closedEyes on smaller groupsThe final outcome could depend on how well three smaller groupings do. The leftwing Lewica and centre-right Third Way are expected to form a coalition with Tusk's Civic Coalition if between them they can muster the 231 seats required to claim a majority in the lower house of parliament. Continue reading...

Justice secretary planning to remove overseas criminals after six months and give more community sentences in England and WalesThe justice secretary will commit to freeing up space in the dangerously overcrowded prison estate by deporting more foreign criminals and phasing out short sentences in favour of community punishments.Two-thirds of prisons in England and Wales are overcrowded, according to Guardian analysis of official figures, and last week judges were told to delay the sentencing of convicted criminals on bail, including rapists and burglars, because jails are almost full. Continue reading...

Martyn Brabbins says proposals to axe 19 posts and employ remaining musicians part-time is plan of managed decline'Martyn Brabbins has announced his resignation as music director of English National Opera. His decision follows the announcement on 13 October of a proposal to axe 19 orchestral positions and employ its remaining musicians on part-time contracts.I cannot in all conscience continue to support the board and management's strategy for the future of the company," he said in a statement released on Sunday by his management. Continue reading...

Peace and love are more powerful than terror,' say friends of 23-year-old Dorin AtiasThe friends of a 23-year-old killed in a kibbutz after seeking refuge from the massacre at a music festival last Saturday plan to rebuild the settlement as a sign that peace and love are more powerful than terror".Dorin Atias was due to start a shift as a bartender at 7am at the Supernova festival but decided to arrive earlier to get some dancing in before her work started. Continue reading...

US is concerned heavy Palestinian casualties caused by expected ground assault will provoke Iran and inflame wider tensions

As people in the Gaza Strip move south en masse, we look at the prospects of their being granted refuge in Sinai

Volodymyr Zelenskiy praises troops for holding their positions in areas including Avdiivka, where fighting is particularly hot'

Film of shows from summer concerts at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles could end up being biggest October opening everMovie theaters turned into concert venues this weekend as Swifties brought their dance moves and friendship bracelets to multiplexes across the country. The unparalleled enthusiasm helped propel Taylor Swift: the Eras Tour to a massive, first-place debut of between $95m and $97m in North America, AMC Theatres said on Sunday.It's easily the biggest opening for a concert film of all time, and, not accounting for inflation, has made more than the $73m Justin Bieber: Never Say Never earned in 2011. In today's dollars, that would be around $102m. And if it comes in on the higher end of projections when totals are released Monday, it could be the biggest October opening ever. The one to beat is Joker, which launched to $96.2m in 2019. Continue reading...

Greater Manchester area is home to more than 10,000 Jews and extra police are being deployed to counter hate crimeAntisemitic incidents are increasing as Israel's retaliation against Gaza intensifies, a council leader in Greater Manchester has warned as police in the region deployed extra officers to deal with hate crime.Bury, home to more than 10,700 Jews, has seen reports of antisemitism increase throughout the week, according to council leader Eamonn O'Brien. What started as one or two isolated, relatively minor incidents has started to escalate," he said, with Jewish residents worried about what's to come". Continue reading...

Network Rail cautions passengers to check services as it reopens lines to and from station after disruptionRail passengers endured hours of delays on trains to and from London's Euston station after a points failure on Sunday.Network Rail warned passengers at Euston to expect major disruption" as all trains were suspended from about 10.40am to 1pm at the earliest. Continue reading...

James Cleverly says updated figure of those captured in attack on Israel is not an unreasonable estimate'

Study shows widespread concern over quality of managers, with 82% of bosses deemed accidental', having had no formal trainingAlmost one-third of UK workers say they've quit a job because of a negative workplace culture, according to a new survey that underlines the risks of managers failing to rein in toxic behaviour.Research carried out by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) pointed to widespread concern about the quality of management, and its impact on workers' daily lives. Continue reading...

Ability of populists or Civic Coalition to form a government is likely to depend on other, smaller partiesPoles are voting in the country's parliamentary election, with the populist Law and Justice (PiS) government trying to win a third term in office and see off a challenge from an opposition led by the former prime minister and European Council president Donald Tusk.Polling in the run-up to the vote suggested the race was too close to call, and the ability for either PiS or Tusk's Civic Coalition to form a government is likely to come down to the results of other, smaller parties. Continue reading...

HMP Wandsworth holding more extra prisoners than any other jail despite recent high-profile problemsTwo-thirds of prisons in England and Wales are officially overcrowded, with HMP Wandsworth holding more extra prisoners than any other jail despite the alleged escape of a terror suspect last month.In September there were 663 more men in Wandsworth than the 950 the south London prison has good, decent" accommodation for, under the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) definition. That means prisoners sharing cells designed for one, often with a toilet in the middle shielded by a curtain. Continue reading...

Memo by military police chief said there was no shortage of detractors' in Whitehall of elite unit's conductSenior figures in Downing Street were calling in 2016 for the SAS to have its wings clipped" as it emerged that a growing number of suspected murders of Afghan civilians were being investigated by military police.Critics of the elite unit's behaviour were led by Jeremy Heywood, who at the time was cabinet secretary to the then prime minister, Theresa May, according to a memo cited last week during a public inquiry into allegations of unlawful SAS killings in Afghanistan. Continue reading...

Joseph Barnes charged with murder of Tafari Thompson-Mintah, 16, and is due to appear in court on MondayA 40-year-old man has been charged with the murder of a teenager in south-east London.Tafari Thompson-Mintah, 16, was riding his moped in Orpington, when he was involved in a fatal collision last Monday afternoon. Continue reading...

Airport says it is working with insurers to see if any personal items can be saved from destroyed vehiclesLuton airport has said it is unlikely that any vehicles will be salvageable after a huge fire that caused a car park to collapse.Bedfordshire fire and rescue service has received a report about the blaze on level three of the airport's terminal car park on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Prospect of appeals causes disquiet among police, with one harassment victim fearing some union members will now be supporting our abusers'

Albanese government plans to let dust settle after Saturday's loss with focus potentially shifting to state-based voice and treaty processes

Major assault in Donetsk launched on Tuesday said to have resulted in serious losses for Moscow's forces

Juan de Pareja's story sheds light on the role of slavery in creating the great works of Spain's golden ageThe portrait, showing a man of African descent gazing frankly towards the artist, set the art world abuzz when it was revealed by Diego Velazquez in 1650.The painting cemented the artist's stratospheric rise, but the spotlight has been recently cast on the extraordinary trajectory of the man who is the subject of the portrait, Juan de Pareja, who went from being enslaved in Velazquez's studio for more than two decades to becoming a successful artist in his own right. Continue reading...

According to shadow chancellor, no-go areas' don't exist for party now, as close fights loom for two previously safe Tory seats

Another 6.3-magnitude quake strikes outside Herat in western area where thousands were killed last weekA powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake has struck western Afghanistan, just over a week after strong quakes and aftershocks killed thousands of people and flattened entire villages in the same region.The US Geological Survey said the latest quake's epicentre was about 21 miles (34km) outside Herat, the provincial capital, and the focus was 5 miles below the surface. Continue reading...

Fountain', by the father of conceptualism, is seen as a pinnacle of 20th-century art - but new evidence casts doubt on its authorshipFor more than a century, the art world has celebrated Marcel Duchamp's Fountain. His work, simply a urinal signed and dated R Mutt 1917", is widely regarded as a pinnacle of 20th-century art, with a replica on display in Tate Modern, London. For some, Duchamp is the father of conceptualism, the so-called art of ideas. For others, he is a charlatan responsible for the demise of traditional artistry.Now two leading art historians are challenging the whole foundation stone of conceptual art" after uncovering what they say is evidence that the urinal has been erroneously attributed to the French-born artist, who simply played along with the charade. Continue reading...

IDF should avoid mass casualties in any ground attack, says James Cleverly, in change of tone by British government

Guidelines ban shared accommodation but breaches are at an all-time high, with patient safety and dignity compromisedNHS England has recorded more than 120,000 breaches of its mixed-sex hospital accommodation guidance in the past six years, a 257% increase.Guidance added to the NHS constitution in 2012 states that hospital patients will not share sleeping accommodation with members of the opposite sex except where appropriate". Exemptions include critical care wards or patients receiving treatment, such as chemotherapy, where they may derive comfort from the presence of other patients with similar conditions". Continue reading...

South-west Sydney MP says a lot of people felt disfranchised' as Hunter MP Dan Repacholi says voters were more keen to hear about cost of living'

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Polling catchments where Indigenous Australians form more than 50% of the population voted on average 63% in favour of the voice

Newspapers and broadcasters abroad and in Australia reflect on the defeat and ask what happens next

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Foreign minister says flights are subject to factors including the security environment' with Israel invasion of Gaza imminent

Request for Australians to reflect on the role of racism and prejudice' in the referendum result

Russian forces are attacking eastern city of Avdiivka with everything they have', says head of its military administration; Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanks troops for holding the line

The actor, who left acting in 1955 and finally returned to play mother to Sissy Spacek, died of old age, her manager saidPiper Laurie, the strong-willed, Oscar-nominated actor who performed in acclaimed roles despite at one point abandoning acting altogether in search of a more meaningful" life, died early Saturday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 91.Laurie died of old age, her manager, Marion Rosenberg, told the Associated Press via email, adding that she was a superb talent and a wonderful human being". Continue reading...

Keir Starmer also backs Israel but issues call for all parties to act in line with international lawRishi Sunak has voiced unequivocal" UK support for Israel not just today, not just tomorrow, but always" in a lengthy statement to mark one week since Hamas militants murdered 1,300 Israeli civilians and soldiers, and took more than 150 people hostage. The prime minister's remarks - in which he makes no mention of the plight of innocent Palestinians now trapped in Gaza, or the need for their safe evacuation - come amid growing political tensions in the UK over how to respond to Israel's retaliatory bombing of Gaza, and its orders to more than 1 million Palestinians to flee their homes for their own safety.Senior Labour figures believe the Conservatives are deliberately trying to paint them as less supportive of Israel, and to suggest that some on the left of the party are somehow sympathetic to Hamas and antisemitic, because they are pro-Palestinian. Continue reading...

There was a rush to hold hearings before the anti-death penalty governor, John Bel Edwards, leaves office in JanuaryThe Louisiana state board of pardons has voted against granting clemency hearings to five Louisiana death row prisoners, effectively ending a campaign to hold hearings for 55 death row inmates before the state's anti-death penalty governor, John Bel Edwards, steps down in January.On Friday, the four-member panel sitting in Baton Rouge denied the hearings to four people on a split vote, and by a majority to a fifth, Winthrop Earl Eaton, who was convicted in the 1985 killing of a Louisiana pastor, on the grounds that he is unlikely to be executed because he is mentally incompetent. Continue reading...

Police say romance fraud has soared' but true extent unknown as many victims do not come forwardPolice have warned online daters of the risks of fake celebrity profiles after a woman lost about 5,000 to a romance fraudster posing as TV chef James Martin.Nottinghamshire police said the scam is part of a trend where fraudsters pose as celebrities on dating profiles to lure fans. Continue reading...