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The Old Oak, about tensions in a former mining village when refugees arrive, has touched a nerve more raw now than when filming beganThe veteran film-maker Ken Loach is famous for storylines that depict life's bleakest injustices. But his latest film has touched a political nerve that is more raw now than when it was conceived before the pandemic.Loach, now 87, has said that The Old Oak, which opened in cinemas on Friday, will be his last in a career spanning more than six decades. The six-week shoot was challenging, he says, but plays down the difficulties of making a big film at his age with the sight in one eye almost gone. Continue reading...

A structural failure' during Sunday service trapped dozens in Santa Cruz church in Gulf coast city of Ciudad MaderoThe roof of a church has collapsed in northern Mexico during a Sunday mass, killing at least nine people and injuring about 50, authorities said as searchers probed the wreckage late into the night looking for survivors and other victims.Approximately 30 parishioners were believed to have been trapped in the rubble when the roof caved in, officials said. Searchers crawled under the roof slabs and officials brought in dogs to help search for possible survivors. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Defence and trade affected by poor post-Merkel rapport, says chair of foreign affairs committeePoor relations between France and Germany are slowing down key decisions in the EU including deals on defence in Ukraine and trade, an influential German MEP has claimed.David McAllister, chair of the European parliament's foreign affairs committee and a key figure in the opposition Christian Democrats party, says he is concerned that the lack of contact between the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, is causing delays on key decisions on battle tanks and fighter jets, and a future trade deal with Latin America. Continue reading...

Victorian coroner examining five suicide deaths says tertiary sector faces difficult challenge in encouraging students to seek help

Police allege the accused was aggressively seeking items' from units before knocking on alleged victim's door

Home affairs minister, Clare O'Neil, says rorts and loopholes' in sector will be shut down

Jeremy Rockcliff's administration is teetering on the edge of collapse after Elise Archer quit as attorney general amid a leaked messages scandal. Here's the state of play

US president says he is sick and tired' of domestic political brinkmanship as Volodymyr Zelenskiy vows to fight on in speech released on Defenders Day

Joe Biden urges Congress to swiftly approve Ukraine aid left out of US government funding bill; Rishi Sunak rows back on defence minister's suggestion that British troops could carry out training in Ukraine

The 22-year-old was flown to the Alfred hospital in Victoria with facial injuries on Saturday night

Comments from the UK prime minister come after his defence secretary, Grant Shapps, said soldiers could be deployed to Ukraine to carry out trainingThere are no immediate plans to deploy military instructors to Ukraine, UK prime minister Rishi Sunak said on Sunday, rowing back from comments by his defence minister who had suggested troops could carry out training in the country.To date, Britain and its allies have avoided a formal military presence in Ukraine to reduce the risk of a direct conflict with Russia. Continue reading...

Refugee Council study suggests asylum claims by three out of four crossing Channel would be grantedSuella Braverman's claim that most asylum seekers are economic migrants has been challenged by an analysis which suggests that three out of four people crossing the English Channel in small boats this year would be granted asylum if their claims were processed.Using Home Office statistics on Channel crossings, the Refugee Council said that 74% of arrivals in 2023 would be recognised as asylum seekers, an increase from 65% last year. Continue reading...

LSE research suggests faith-based admissions requirements deter disadvantaged childrenChurch of England and Roman Catholic primary schools take fewer pupils with disabilities or special needs than other local schools in England, according to research that suggests faith-based admissions requirements deter pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.The findings led the author, Dr Tammy Campbell of the London School of Economics, to conclude that faith schools serve as hubs of relative advantage" for children from more affluent families who were less likely to have special needs. Continue reading...

Workspace provider IWG says 73% have cut rental costs while 80% have changed to accommodate hybrid workingMore than half of businesses have opened offices or working spaces outside city centres, in response to the shift towards hybrid working, according to new research.Flexible workspace provider IWG, which operates about 300 offices under brands including Regus and Spaces, said that 82% of firms have changed their office space needs to cater for more flexible working.If you ask intelligent people to commute unnecessarily for two hours a day, to come to an office to use a laptop that they could have used down the road from their home, they are going to question that." Continue reading...

Arrest made after reports that image of deceased young mascot was displayed at football ground to goad Sunderland fansA man has been charged with a public order offence after the image of football mascot Bradley Lowery was displayed during a match.The six-year-old Sunderland fan, who struck up a close friendship with the team's striker Jermain Defoe after being diagnosed with neuroblastoma, died in 2017 having helped raise more than 1m for charity. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak's hopes of united front flounder with MPs and even ministers challenging policy and jockeying for positionRishi Sunak is struggling to hold together his fractured party as the first day of the Conservative conference saw attempts at a united front collapse into rival groups battling over tax, culture wars and the fight to be the next Tory leader.In his own carefully planned comments, the prime minister used interviews and a rally in Manchester to portray himself as a figure of change, making difficult but necessary long-term choices above the fray of petty politics. Continue reading...

Action follows suicide bomb blast outside Turkish government building claimed by Kurdish militantsThe Turkish defence ministry says its warplanes carried out raids on suspected Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq on Sunday after a suicide attack on a government building in the Turkish capital.A ministry statement said 20 targets of the Kurdistan Workers' party, or PKK, were destroyed" in the aerial operation, including caves, shelters and depots. Continue reading...

Garigarra Riley-Mundine feels the opinions of the leading no campaigner are at odds with how her family was raised

Exclusive: Conservatives' standing badly undermined by broken promises made in 2019, says report

A row over tax cuts, a car crash start for Onward and the home secretary accused of attention-seekingI don't know what the intention was around that - it might just be get attention ... This side of a general election, I might politely suggest it is about delivery, and the government will be judged on delivery.- Priti Patel on home secretary Suella Braverman's speech in the US this week Continue reading...

Speaking on Desert Island Discs, comedian revealed how she confronted unnamed man she believed to be a perpetrator of sexual assault'The comedian Katherine Ryan has spoken on Desert Island Discs about the moment she decided to confront a male comedian over allegations of predatory behaviour.Last month Deadline reported that Russell Brand, who is facing allegations of sexual assault and rape against him after an investigation by the Times, the Sunday Times and Channel 4 Dispatches first published on 16 September, was dropped from Comedy Central's Roast Battle in 2018 after Brand was reluctant to be roasted when Ryan, repeatedly accused him of being a sexual predator" in comments which were not broadcast. Continue reading...

Party succeeded in neutralising' issue of public services with generous promises that are now unmet and unrepeatable

Rival governments urged to work together to best manage donations for Derna after catastrophic floodingThe government in eastern Libya has been forced to postpone a reconstruction conference for the stricken city of Derna amid concerns about how donations will be spent and a lack of coordination with the west of the country.A large part of Derna was destroyed on the night of 10 September when severe flooding caused two dams above the town to burst. The death toll has been put at more than 10,000, but no official figure is yet deemed accurate. Continue reading...

Prime minister says the best tax cut we can give is to cut inflation' after Michael Gove says taxes should be cut before general electionThe BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg is starting. As well as Rishi Sunak, Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, is also being interviewed.Q: Do you still think we've had enough of experts?Economic forecasting was invented to make astrology look respectable. Continue reading...

Four others were injured in the blaze in the Teatre club in Murcia, south-eastern Spain, as rescue workers search for more victimsAt least 13 people have been killed in a fire in adjoining Spanish nightclubs, amid fears the death toll could rise further as rescue workers continued to search for those still unaccounted for.Outside the club, young people hugged each other as they waited for information after the fire, which broke out in the early hours in the two-storey Teatre nightclub, also called Fonda Milagros, on the outskirts of the southern city of Murcia. Continue reading...

It seems likely Russia will target the grid with its missiles again, but engineers say they are better prepared now

Leader of Polish opposition addresses supporters as large parts of the capital come to a standstillHuge crowds have gathered in central Warsaw at a rally organised by opposition leader Donald Tusk, two weeks before a crucial election that will have major implications for the future political course of Poland and its role in Europe.As a closely fought and vicious campaign enters its final straight, Tusk had called on supporters to rally in Warsaw to put on a show of strength and galvanise the opposition. Victory, he claimed, was in sight. Continue reading...

The disability royal commission was split in its final report over whether segregated education should be phased out from 2025

Demand follows part withdrawal after US warning of potential punitive measures against BelgradeKosovo has demanded that Serbia pull its troops back from their common border and warned it was ready to protect its territorial integrity, after the US warned of punitive measures against Belgrade and Serbia's president insisted he does not want war".We call on ... Serbia to immediately withdraw all troops from the border with Kosovo," the Kosovan government said, demanding that Belgrade demilitarise" 48 forward military and police bases, which pose a permanent threat to our country". Continue reading...

Alicia Menendez, a weekend anchor on liberal network, says she has been watching father's case along with all of you as a citizen'The MSNBC anchor Alicia Menendez said her colleagues at the network would aggressively" cover the corruption scandal involving her father, the indicted New Jersey senator, Bob Menendez - as they should".Alicia Menendez hosts a weekend show on the liberal-leaning network. Continue reading...

Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada and former defence minister agree to pay for 2003 violence in which 60 protesters were killedA former Bolivian president and his defence minister have agreed to pay damages to the families of people killed by the military during their government, in a landmark settlement that sets a precedent by which other foreign leaders could face accountability for human rights abuse in US courts.The settlement concerns events in 2003, when massive protests broke out over then president Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada's plan to export Bolivia's natural gas. The army was sent to clear blockades in the largely Indigenous and working-class city of El Alto, killing more than 60 protesters and injuring hundreds. Continue reading...

Prime minister says investors are excited about Britain and that he instinctively understands what the public wants

Robert Fico's Smer party moves ahead of Progressive Slovakia in vote that could fuel fears about future foreign policy stanceThe Smer party, led by the populist former prime minister Robert Fico, was on course to win Slovakia's election on Sunday, garnering more support than its rival Progressive Slovakia in a dramatic knife-edge race.With almost all votes counted, Smer was poised to take nearly 23% of the vote. Michal imeka's Progressive Slovakia (PS) came second with close to 18%, followed by Peter Pellegrini's Hlas with 14%. Continue reading...

Road infrastructure campaign has been launched in honour of designer Emma Burke Newman, who was killed in lorry collisionOn the long and busy stretch of road where Glasgow's riverside meets its city centre, hundreds of commuters and visitors travel into and out of town each day. Since January this year, many will have spotted a new addition to their route: a white ghost bike", adorned with flowers and messages, parked at a busy junction where 22-year-old French-American architecture student and experienced cyclist Emma Burke Newman was killed in a collision with a lorry, just six months after moving to the city.Now, former colleagues at architectural firm New Practice, where she worked as a designer while studying at Glasgow School of Art, have launched a road infrastructure campaign in her honour. Focusing on three specific junctions along the riverside, including the one where Burke Newman lost her life, the Waiting To Happen campaign aims to gather data about road users' experiences of these locations with a view to creating a set of possible improvements. Continue reading...

Exclusive: former staff member at equality watchdog says she was vilified, silenced and punished for speaking up on raceA former staff member at the Equality and Human Rights Commission is suing the watchdog, alleging race discrimination and unfair dismissal, at an employment tribunal this week.Preeti Kathreca, a senior associate and race protected-characteristic lead at Britain's equality watchdog until 2021, claims she was vilified, silenced and punished for doing my job" by speaking up about race. Continue reading...

The barrister famous for his work on landmark cases such as Grenfell, Stephen Lawrence and the Birmingham Six has written a book about fighting injusticeThe Birmingham Six. The Guildford Four. The Mangrove Nine. The McLibel Two. The Angry Brigade. Kenneth Noye. Valerio Viccei. Bloody Sunday. The Marchioness disaster. Stephen Lawrence. Hillsborough. Grenfell. The landmark cases in which Michael Mansfield KC has been involved as a barrister add up to a legal panorama of the last half-century. Now in his 80s, he has written what amounts to a call to arms for anyone who feels despair at the state of our justice system, our politics - and our planet.The book, The Power in the People, aims to highlight the achievements of those who have fought injustice, secrecy or bigotry. People are fed up with the fact that we seem to be in a hopeless situation in which we have feckless people in power who pay no real regard to the constituencies they represent," says Mansfield. I don't think we have a parliamentary system that reflects the public any more." Continue reading...

But memories of colonial project to wipe out Tasmania's natives boost yes campaign on islandPatsy Cameron stands in her dining room in Tomahawk - a small fishing village on the north-east coast of Tasmania, Australia. She tells a story - a few decades old - of how she boarded a plane back from Darwin, her hands full of cultural objects she had bought. The man next to her turned and said: They should have shot them all like they did to the Tasmanians." She started crying. He responded by offering her a piece of cake, and an apology.Behind her is a cabinet full of shell necklaces and drawings of her ancestors. The home she shares with her husband, Graham, is filled with cultural artefacts that the historian learned to make by reading diaries and anthologies of colonisers. Piece by piece she has put history back together. Piece by piece she is reviving her culture. Continue reading...

Campaigner Tony Pierre is demanding answers as to why his home was searched by immigration officers without a warrantA prominent refugee campaigner has demanded an explanation from the Home Office and Northumbria police after immigration enforcement officers raided his home without a warrant.Tony Pierre - who has worked with refugees in Newcastle and abroad for the past seven years, making at least 10 trips to bring aid to refugees living on the streets in Calais and Dunkirk - said two immigration officers claiming to be looking for illegal immigrants" searched his house in an isolated hamlet last week, with local police officers in attendance. Continue reading...

Activists say feedback from the doorsteps bodes well for a result that they hope will herald a revival for the party in ScotlandLabour insiders have described the Rutherglen and Hamilton West byelection this week as the biggest vote since the last election, amid notable confidence they will win the seat from the SNP.The claim has been made in internal discussions before the vote on Thursday, with Keir Starmer's most senior advisers regarding it as by far the most important of three byelection campaigns currently under way. There will now be a deluge" of activists and shadow cabinet ministers visiting the seat before polling day. Continue reading...

Cap in Great Britain is falling to 1,834 a year - here's how it works, and the help you can getSky-high bills have made the price cap set by the energy regulator Ofgem a key number for British households. The good news is that from Sunday the cost of the average annual dual-fuel bill in Britain will drop below 2,000 a year for the first time since April 2022 as a new, lower cap kicks in.The bad news is there is no repeat of the 400 universal bill subsidy this year, and the End Fuel Poverty Coalition says the financial squeeze created by the ongoing cost of living crisis means people will still feel the pain of high energy bills this winter". Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak failure to commit to HS2's northern leg has raised concerns about the future of several large-scale transport projectsThe future of several prestige transport projects, including a planned 9bn road tunnel under the Thames, are in increasing doubt this weekend after prime minister Rishi Sunak failed to commit to building the northern section of the HS2 high-speed rail line to Manchester.MPs and transport industry experts now believe that a number of other schemes, including the Lower Thames Crossing, intended to link Kent and Essex, as well as a new tunnel under the Stonehenge world heritage site, face more delays and may never be built as costs soar and political commitment wanes. Continue reading...

Party loses 40% of 2019 voters in south and Midlands according to exclusive Opinium poll for the ObserverAfter winning the 2019 general election Boris Johnson thanked voters behind the so-called red wall" who had voted Conservative for the first time and helped his party storm to an emphatic victory. You may only have lent us your vote, you may not see yourself as a natural Tory," Johnson said.The then prime minister insisted that the Conservative government's challenge over the coming years would be to earn their trust and repay their faith. By that he meant keep their vote for next time. Continue reading...

Police have not ruled out possible drug overdoses but say they are looking at all avenues' of investigation

With the party riven by factions and differences on policy, the prime minister has a job on his hands trying to find a coherent way forwardBefore what could well be the last Conservative party conference before the next election, more than one MP reflected on the state of the party by invoking the infamous jewellery mogul famed for mocking his own products and torpedoing his brand.It's been like Gerald Ratner saying his products were crap and then wondering why nobody bought them," said one MP, assessing the various criticisms being made of the government by its own MPs. That seems to be what's going on with our offer to voters. It's almost like we've become a sort of protest movement masquerading as a government." Continue reading...

UK business leaders have asked for a meeting with the home secretary to press for a new offence of assaulting or abusing shop staffAlmost 90 retail leaders, including the bosses of Tesco, Sainsbury's, Boots and WH Smith, have written to the government demanding action on rising retail crime, in which violent criminals are emptying stores".The retailers, who also include the bosses of Aldi, Primark and Superdrug, call for the creation of a new UK-wide aggravated offence of assaulting or abusing a retail worker - as already exists in Scotland - which would carry tougher sentences and require police to record all incidents of retail crime and allow the allocation of more resources. Continue reading...

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Education minister Jason Clare supports a recommendation by the ACCC in its latest report into childcare costs

Donald Tusk says his march of a million hearts' is the last chance to save democracy in the countryPoland's largest opposition coalition hopes to fill the streets of Warsaw with its supporters on Sunday, two weeks before a parliamentary election that polls suggest is too close to call.Donald Tusk, the former European Council president who leads the main opposition coalition, has called on supporters to rally in central Warsaw at midday, in what he has dubbed the march of a million hearts", intended as a show of strength before the vote on 15 October. Continue reading...

Election could decide whether country sticks with liberal, pro-western line or begins to lean more towards RussiaSlovakia's election day in picturesThere is a real concern that after the vote Slovakia could become some sort of Trojan horse of Russia in the EU and NATO," said Andrej Matisak, a journalist at Slovak daily Pravda. Continue reading...

Can the campaign for the Indigenous voice defy the polls and climb the goat track' of victory?