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Government told all-encompassing law' is needed to tackle so-called Slapps against critics and journalistsPlans to outlaw wealthy individuals launching spurious legal battles to evade scrutiny and intimidate critics must not be kicked into the long grass", ministers have been urged.The call came after a taskforce was launched to develop non-legislative" measures to stop journalists being targeted by so-called Slapps ( strategic lawsuits against public participation). Continue reading...

Palestinian Authority leader caused outrage after talking about Hitler and European Jews in a speech to his Fatah partyDozens of leading Palestinian intellectuals, artists and other public figures have published an open letter condemning antisemitic comments made by the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas.In a letter published on Sunday, 96 people, including Rashid Khalidi, the historian, Dana el-Kurd, the political scientist, and Sam Bahour, the prominent businessman, said they unequivocally condemn the morally and politically reprehensible comments" made by Abbas, which were publicly circulated last week. Continue reading...

We feel like foreigners in our own home,' says activist as city's population dwarfed by visitorsThe number of beds available to tourists on Venice's main island has surpassed the number of year-round residents for the first time, as a Unesco decision on the city's fate on the world heritage site list looms.There are now 49,693 tourist beds, across hotels and rented holiday homes, compared with 49,304 inhabitants. Continue reading...

Five children of Sara's father Urfan Sharif found in Jhelum as search continues for the father, his wife and brotherFive children of Urfan Sharif, who fled to Pakistan with his wife and brother after his 10-year-old daughter Sara was found dead in Surrey, were found by police in Pakistan during a search on Monday, police officials have said.Police recovered the children from Sharif's father's home in the northern city of Jhelum. Continue reading...

Three days of mourning declared in stricken cities as footage shows people stranded on car roofsA powerful storm and heavy floods have killed 150 people in the eastern Libyan city of Derna over the past two days and the death toll is expected to rise to 250, the head of the Red Crescent in Benghazi has said.Footage on social media showed people stranded on the roofs of their vehicles as Storm Daniel hit Benghazi, Sousse, Al Bayda, Al-Marj and Derna, a city on the Mediterranean 150 miles east of Benghazi. Continue reading...

ACT senator wants to move forward with workers' compensation for PTSD and banning discrimination against employees experiencing domestic violence

Actor and director says he was trying to play superhero' in front of his daughter before accidentThe French actor and director Mathieu Kassovitz has said he was trying to be a superhero" and impress his daughter when he had a motorbike accident that left him in hospital with serious leg injuries.Kassovitz, best known for his 1995 film La Haine and his role in the 2001 film Amelie, came off his bike after misjudging a corner on a training course. His daughter was on a motorbike behind him with an instructor, and his wife and son also witnessed the accident. Continue reading...

Speaking at the Toronto film festival where he was accepting an award, the auteur recalled the press response to his 1989 filmSpike Lee has criticised press reaction to Do the Right Thing on its release in 1989, saying those motherfuckers" claimed the film would incite black people to riot".Lee was speaking at an awards ceremony at the Toronto film festival, at which he was given the Ebert director award, designed to recognise film-makers who have exemplified greatness in their careers". The award is named after prominent film critic Roger Ebert, who died in 2013, and Lee acknowledged Ebert's support when the film received its world premiere at the Cannes film festival. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Criticism comes after it emerged ministers took assurances from one previously slavery-linked firm on trust

Former soldier allegedly absconded from London jail by attaching himself to underside of food delivery vehicleDaniel Khalife, the terror suspect who became the subject of an intensive four-day manhunt, has appeared in court charged with escaping from Wandsworth prison.The former British soldier is accused of fashioning a strap to attach himself to the underside of a van leaving the prison - possibly from bedsheets - and going on the run. Continue reading...

Man's arrest led Rishi Sunak to confront Chinese premier over interference in UK democracyA parliamentary researcher arrested on suspicion of spying for China has insisted he is completely innocent".The man said he had spent his career highlighting the challenge and threats presented by the Chinese Communist party". The arrest under the Official Secrets Act led to Rishi Sunak confronting the Chinese premier, Li Qiang, at the G20 summit on Sunday over what he described as an unacceptable" interference in democracy. Continue reading...

Suggestion comes after the competence of several legislators - both Democrat and Republican - has come into questionCongress should have a rule requiring certain top federal officials to disclose medical records, the Republican US senator Bill Cassidy said on Sunday.Speaking on NBC's Meet the Press, Cassidy - a gastroenterologist who was elected as a US senator for Louisiana in 2008 - said that it should certainly be a House rule" for elected officials to disclose their medical records. Continue reading...

Smarting after Janet Protasiewicz's election to the state's high court, Republicans are now changing tack to challenge DemocratsRepublicans in Wisconsin are threatening to remove from office the newly elected state supreme court justice Janet Protasiewicz if she refuses to recuse herself from cases involving gerrymandering. The effort comes on the heels of Republicans in the state senate advancing a move to oust the state's top elections official.The efforts to remove Protasiewicz and the Wisconsin elections commission administrator, Meagan Wolfe, from office have been decried by Democrats and government watchdog groups as undemocratic and could affect the administration of elections in 2024. Continue reading...

Sharon White says 6,000 shops have closed over the past five years and rethink is needed

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Storm to continue north-westwards across Atlantic, while European temperatures to fall closer to averageHurricane Lee, the 12th named storm of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season, will continue on its north-westwards trajectory across the Atlantic Ocean this week. Lee rapidly developed into a category 5 hurricane last week, packing maximum sustained winds of almost 155mph (250km/h) on Friday. By Sunday, this had fallen closer to 105mph, which is classed as a category 2 hurricane.Lee will continue to move to the north of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, causing dangerous surf and rip currents across Bermuda and the US east coast this week. The hurricane's intensity is fluctuating at the time of writing, but it is forecast to strengthen again early this week. The National Hurricane Center is predicting maximum sustained winds of 115 knots (around 130mph) and gusts of 140 knots. Towards the middle of this week, atmospheric conditions will cause Lee to gradually turn northwards. There is significant uncertainty on the speed of Lee's movement beyond this, with its effects potentially being felt across the north-eastern US and Atlantic Canada towards the weekend. Continue reading...

Simon McDonald says department was in mourning' after 2016 referendum, leading him to reveal his personal viewsThe former top Foreign Office civil servant has acknowledged revealing to colleagues - including government ministers - that he voted to remain in the EU during the 2016 referendum.Simon McDonald said he was speaking to colleagues shocked at the result in an effort to maintain credibility by stressing they must deliver the government's policies, regardless of their personal views. Continue reading...

Response comes after Westminster researcher with links to senior Conservatives and potential access to sensitive information was arrestedBeijing has labelled as malicious slander" and a political farce" the scandal surrounding the arrest of a man in London on suspicion of spying for the Chinese government.On Sunday it emerged that a parliamentary researcher with links to senior Conservatives and potential access to sensitive information had been arrested over allegations of spying for China. Continue reading...

Push to access restricted files comes as government confirms there are 33 active investigations into alleged criminal offences by Australian soldiers

Large-scale field trials that provided healthy food packages to sufferers and their families showed radical reductions in fatalitiesInfectious, deadly and long associated with poverty, tuberculosis causes weight loss, while poor diets increase the likelihood of developing the disease. Now, a study in India has found that improved nutrition can cut the risk of death by 60% and reduce the chances of infection within families by about 40%.India has the highest burden of TB and TB deaths globally and has launched an ambitious plan to reduce incidence and death rates by 80% and 90% respectively by 2025. Continue reading...

Three people charged after car allegedly stolen in Northcote and an 18-year-old man was abducted

Exclusive: Study finds little benefit in making patients wait months to be fitted with implantable defibrillatorsPatients are needlessly being put at risk of dying from heart problems because they have to wait months to be fitted with lifesaving implantable defibrillators, experts have said.Two million people in the UK live with coronary heart disease, which is a leading cause of heart failure. Those at the highest risk of dying as a result of heart failure may be offered an implantable cardioverter defibrillator device (ICD). These can kickstart the heart and may save their life. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Rocco Forte backs Wycombe MP and arch-Brexiter Steve Baker, having not donated since 2019A hotels tycoon and disillusioned Conservative donor who vowed not to contribute to the party again has bolstered the Tory coffers in a move designed to support the arch-Brexiter Steve Baker.Sir Rocco Forte, the Brexit-backing hotelier who helped to fund Boris Johnson's election win and hosted a 12,000 leadership victory party for him, had distanced himself from the party and repeatedly expressed frustration over its handling of Brexit. Continue reading...

Greens leader Adam Bandt and housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather say minor party will now support Housing Australia Future Fund

Unicef UK research says parents feel anxious, alone and unsupported, with poorest households hit hardestMillions of parents in Britain are struggling with their mental health, a survey suggests, amid the rising cost of living, a lack of childcare and fewer support services.Sixty-one per cent of respondents revealed concerns about their mental health, with those on lower incomes most likely to be affected, a poll for the charity Unicef UK found. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Celebrated Ukrainian commander asks president to call for pardon for Alexander Garms-RizziA decorated Ukrainian commander has urged Volodymyr Zelenskiy to intervene in the case of a British soldier who has been sentenced to 12 months in jail after deserting his unit to go to fight in Ukraine.Alexander Garms-Rizzi, 21, slipped away from his regiment while it was deployed in Estonia and joined Ukraine's foreign legion. He spent six months fighting on the frontline near the southern city of Mykolaiv before returning to the UK. Continue reading...

Andrew Giles says Morrison government's limited work' to find alternatives to detention is concerning

ALP had pledged to give parliamentary intelligence committee certain powers to enable an investigation of Timor-Leste bugging scandal

Rangers had tagged the dingo in January and noticed increased behavioural problems including stalking and biting

Canadian PM was due to return home on Sunday after G20 summit in Delhi but a mechanical fault kept him in India overnightCanadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and his entire delegation have been forced to extend their stay in New Delhi for the G20 summit by an extra day after his aircraft broke down, Canadian officials confirmed.Trudeau arrived in India for the meeting of the leaders of 20 leading economies on Friday. Continue reading...

Ive Distribution allegedly hired more 400 children aged under 15 between July and September 2022

Home secretary calls breed clear and lethal danger' after attack on 11-year-old girl in BirminghamSuella Braverman is pushing for a ban on American bully XL dogs, arguing they are a clear and lethal danger", particularly to children.The home secretary announced she has commissioned urgent advice on outlawing the dogs after she highlighted an appalling" attack on an 11-year-old girl in Birmingham. Continue reading...

Spanish football boss forcibly kissed Jenni Hermoso after the final and had previously refused to step downLuis Rubiales has resigned as the head of Spain's football federation almost a month after he grabbed and kissed the midfielder Jenni Hermoso during the celebrations of the country's victory in the Women's World Cup, sparking fury, incredulity and a national and international debate on sexism.Rubiales had initially attempted to brush off the controversy over the unsolicited kiss after the team's 1-0 victory over England in Sydney. He dismissed critics of his actions as idiots and stupid people" as the incident provoked global outrage, led to his being provisionally suspended by Fifa, and prompted Hermoso to make a criminal complaint accusing him of sexual assault. Continue reading...

Campaigners are keen for federal politics to take a backseat so the campaign can get more attention

PM says he will not speculate over policy as he grapples with how to fund tax cuts demanded by Tory MPsRishi Sunak has refused to commit to keeping the pensions triple lock in the next Conservative manifesto, as he grapples with how to fund tax cuts demanded by his own MPs.The prime minister told reporters during the G20 summit in Delhi that the triple lock - which guarantees that pensions will rise by at least 2.5%, and by either inflation or earnings if they are higher - remains government policy. Continue reading...

The Arizona capital reached 55th day above 110F this year, but forecast says that cooler temps - even rain - are on the horizonResidents in Phoenix, Arizona, are set to experience some relief from the blistering heatwave following the city's record of the most days at or above 110F (43.3C) this year despite reaching 112F (44.4C) on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).On Sunday, the NWS announced that temperatures in Arizona's largest city will finally begin to retreat closer to the seasonal normal" with highs expected to range between 102F (38.9C) and 104F (40C) between Monday and Friday. Sunday's temperature broke the daily high record of 111F (43.9C) set in 1990. Continue reading...

Man is known to have had unescorted access to large parts of the Westminster estateMPs have reacted with alarm after it emerged that a parliamentary researcher with links to senior Conservatives and potential access to sensitive information had been arrested over allegations of spying for China.The man, who is in his 20s and was arrested in March along with another person, is known to have held a parliamentary pass, allowing him unescorted access to large parts of the Westminster estate. Continue reading...

Attack comes in the week that Daniel Khalife escaped from the jail in south-west LondonAn inmate at HMP Wandsworth is in a critical condition in hospital after being stabbed inside the prison.The Metropolitan police and London ambulance service were called at about 3.20pm on Sunday to reports of an assault inside the facility in south-west London after an incident" between prisoners. Continue reading...

Trade union body says British government move is in breach of international law'The Trades Union Congress has lodged a complaint with the UN's labour standards body claiming the UK government flouted the watchdog's orders over its newly enforced undemocratic" anti-strike law.Paul Nowak, the general secretary of the organising body for trade unions in England and Wales, said it had taken its case to the International Labour Organization (ILO) because the strike act was in breach of international law. Continue reading...

Khalife, 21, will appear at Westminster magistrates court on MondayDaniel Khalife has been charged with escaping from custody at HMP Wandsworth, the Metropolitan police have said.The former soldier, 21, was arrested on a canal towpath in west London at 10.41am on Saturday after being pulled off a push bike by a plainclothes counter-terrorism officer. Continue reading...

Ulma family including unborn child all beatified for their actions to help Jews during second world warThe Vatican has beatified a Polish family of nine - a married couple and their small children - who were executed by the Nazis during the second world war for sheltering Jews.During a ceremonious mass in the village of Markowa, in south-east Poland, the papal envoy Cardinal Marcello Semeraro read out the Latin formula of the beatification of the Ulma family signed last month by Pope Francis. Continue reading...

Help has yet to arrive in the village of Moulay Brahim in the Atlas mountains where many homes have been reduced to rubbleIn a narrow passage in the village of Moulay Brahim, in Morocco's Atlas mountains, a house had spilled across the lane in a drift of sandy ruins. It was largely unrecognisable from what it once was, save for the unlikely survival of a solitary room left beached atop the rubble, the blue paint of its walls still visible.Abderahim Imni, with his hand bandaged from where he was injured by falling masonry during Friday's devastating earthquake, was directing the cleanup in the street where his home once stood. Continue reading...

The week until Sunday was the first-ever time such a protracted heatwave had occurred in September, the Met Office saidThe UK had an unprecedented seventh consecutive day of 30C heat on Sunday but it will be replaced, the Met Office said, by heavy, thundery showers and possible hailstones up to 2cm in diameter.Forecasters said there had never been a September heatwave on record as long-lived as the one which lasted until the weekend. Sunday became the seventh consecutive day of 30 degree weather in the UK with 32.5C recorded in Cambridge. Continue reading...

Gen Mark Milley, head of the US military, says offensive has gone slower than anticipated' but battle isn't doneA Spanish aid worker was killed when a missile hit the vehicle in which she was travelling in Ukraine, the Spanish foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares, said on Sunday.Unfortunately, I can confirm a missile hit a vehicle in which this Spanish worker was travelling who was working for a humanitarian NGO in Ukraine. We have verbal confirmation of her death," Albares told reporters in India, where he attended the G20 meeting.That offensive kicked off about 90 days ago. It has gone slower than the planners anticipated. But that is a difference between what Clausewitz called war on paper and real war.So these are real people in real vehicles that are fighting through real minefields, and there's real death and destruction, and there's real friction. And there's still a reasonable amount of time, probably about 30 to 45 days, worth of fighting weather left. Continue reading...

Father of dead 10-year-old understood to be negotiating trio's safe transfer to UK authorities as local police pressure relativesThe family of Urfan Sharif, who is on the run in Pakistan with his wife and brother after his 10-year-old daughter Sara was found dead in Surrey, are negotiating with local politicians for the fugitives to hand themselves in to the authorities.It has been a month since Sharif arrived in Pakistan and called 999 in the UK to report that his daughter was dead at his home in Horsell, near Woking. Continue reading...

Four-day search for Daniel Khalife was coordinated at new Counter Terrorism Operations Centre in LondonThe capture of escaped terrorism suspect Daniel Khalife is being hailed as a vindication of a decision to bring together police and the intelligence agencies into a new 412m surveillance centre.The four-day search for Khalife was coordinated at the Counter Terrorism Operations Centre (CTOC) in West Brompton, central London, where for the first time in a manhunt counter-terror police worked alongside members of MI5 and MI6. Continue reading...

Villagers bury their dead while Red Cross warns recovery may take years and other countries offer aidRescuers in Morocco were trying to find survivors in the rubble of collapsed buildings as the country began three days of mourning for victims of a disaster that killed more than 2,000 people and left many more injured and homeless.Friday's 6.8-magnitude quake, Morocco's deadliest in more than six decades, had an epicentre below a remote cluster of mountainous villages 45 miles south of Marrakech, and shook infrastructure as far away as the country's northern coast. Continue reading...

Language on invasion of Ukraine noticeably softened compared with statement after last year's summitRussia's foreign minister has hailed the G20 summit in Delhi as a success, after Moscow was shielded from criticism over the Ukraine war in a joint declaration.We were able to prevent the west's attempts to Ukrainise the summit agenda," Sergei Lavrov said as the two-day meeting drew to a close. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Respect for law being undermined by disparagement of lawyers and judges', says Helena KennedyA leading British lawyer has compared UK government attacks on the profession to the tactics used by authoritarian regimes.Helena Kennedy KC, one of the UK's most renowned criminal lawyers and a Labour peer, said ministers were deliberately creating scapegoats. Continue reading...

One of Britain's longest serving newsreaders says he has been diagnosed with early onset vascular dementiaAlastair Stewart, one of Britain's longest serving and most familiar newsreaders, has revealed he has been diagnosed with dementia.The 71-year-old was one of ITV's flagship newsreaders for more than three decades and most recently presented programmes for the rightwing TV channel GB News. Continue reading...