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Commissioner Michael Murphy says Northern Territory police invested in cultural reform" after allegations of racial vilification and unequal pay

In today's newsletter: The party have been criticised for being too pessimistic while Keir Starmer has been rocked by a scandal over freebies. Can the party reset their message to the public in Liverpool? Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning.Since the party won the election in July, Labour's messaging has been downcast. Abandoning the high spirits that followed their seismic victory, Keir Starmer has opted for gloom-laden predictions of hard times ahead. The prime minister's message to the country late last month was that things will get worse before they get better". Coming into office and immediately setting expectations so low is a political risk - if there was ever a moment to lead with hope and optimism, critics argue, it is now. As Labour's annual party conference kicks off in Liverpool, there are big questions about whether the government will move on from the pessimism that has characterised their first few months in power, and steer the tone and tenor of the conversation on to something else. In a conversation in yesterday's Observer, the prime minister was keen to stress that he offers more than just doom and gloom, with plans to provide a vision for what Britain could be.Israel-Gaza war | Seven people have been killed after an Israeli airstrike hit a school housing displaced people in western Gaza City, Palestinian health officials said. Meanwhile, Hezbollah has said it has entered an open-ended battle of reckoning" with Israel after launching a series of rocket attacks on the north of the country as world powers implored both sides to step back from the brink of all-out war.Politics | Rachel Reeves will announce that she has ordered investigations into more than 600m worth of Covid contracts awarded under the Conservatives as Labour struggles to get back on the front foot over questions of ethics.Sudan | The UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, is gravely alarmed" at reports of a full-scale assault on the Sudanese city of al-Fashir by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and has called on its leader to halt the attack immediately, according to Guterres' spokesperson.Business | Fifty pubs a month closed for good across England and Wales in the first half of this year, with experts warning that tax rises in 2025 could make it even harder for some businesses to keep their doors open.Inflation | The price of petrol and diesel in the UK is falling at the fastest pace this year, with households paying about 4 less to fill up a family car than they did a month ago. Continue reading...

Physical services have been unaffected but limited access to online services continues to cause headachesAs cyber-attacks go, it could have been worse. In Nightsleeper, the new BBC thriller airing just after Transport for London revealed its systems had been breached, passengers are locked aboard as a train seized by hackers hurtles dangerously towards the capital.In real life, the troubles for TfL customers are far less dramatic. The actual physical transport services, the buses, trains and tubes - many of which are effectively remote-controlled - have been unaffected by its cyber-attack. Continue reading...

Number of pubs open fell to 39,096 by end of June and experts say tax rises in 2025 could result in more closuresFifty pubs a month closed for good across England and Wales in the first half of this year, with experts warning that tax rises in 2025 could make it even harder for some businesses to keep their doors open.Analysis by the real estate intelligence company Altus found that 305 pubs were forced to shut their doors permanently in the first six months of the year, meaning the number of pubs in England and Wales fell to 39,096 at the end of June. Continue reading...

Households paying about 4 less to fill up a family car than a month ago, with further drops expectedThe price of petrol and diesel in the UK is falling at the fastest pace this year, with households paying about 4 less to fill up a family car than they did a month ago.Analysis from the RAC found that the average price of a litre of unleaded petrol in the UK was now just above 136.15p, down 7p from the 142.86p recorded last month. Diesel now costs almost 141p a litre, compared with just under 148p a month ago. Continue reading...

Dr Claire Hubbard-Hall reveals contribution of Kathleen Pettigrew, most senior secretary in MI6 and inspiration for Ian Fleming, and others in new titleFor decades, their work has been hidden from view, their names missing from the history books.Now, a new book is seeking to shine a light on the secret and unacknowledged contributions of female spies who worked for MI6 in the early 20th century, and establish their place in history using previously classified evidence and newly unearthed documents. Continue reading...

Floods inundated emergency housing built for those who lost their homes in an earthquake that hit Ishikawa on the Sea of Japan coast in JanuaryAt least six people have died and 10 others are missing after heavy rain triggered flooding and landslides along a peninsula in Japan that is still recovering from a deadly earthquake at the start of the year.Public broadcaster NHK and other outlets said on Monday that six people had been confirmed dead, while the Kyodo news agency said more than 100 communities had been cut off by blocked roads after almost two dozen rivers burst their banks. Continue reading...

Mikey Brennan disappeared from view as wave crashed over him at notoriously dangerous surf spot Shipstern BluffA big-wave specialist says he is lucky to be alive after escaping relatively unscathed from a massive wipeout at a notoriously dangerous surf spot in Tasmania.Mikey Brennan was surfing at Shipstern Bluff, a remote slabbing wave that can only be accessed by a 30km jetski ride or a two-hour hike, when he was gobbled up by the giant waves off the Tasman Peninsula coastline. Continue reading...

No government institution is entirely at arm's length, but an intervention by Jim Chalmers would likely be calamitous

Competition watchdog alleges supermarkets briefly increased prices on hundreds of products before placing them in discount promotions

Prof Rawinia Higgins tells the Guardian that te reo Mori is under threat from the rightwing coalition despite long-running efforts to revive itNew Zealand's Mori language commissioner has described government policies to limit the use of the Indigenous language in the public service as a risk" to the half-century effort to revive it.Any affront to the efforts that we have been making has to be taken seriously," the commissioner, Prof Rawinia Higgins, told the Guardian. We're seeing a reaction - only from a small corner of people, but enough that we don't want that to snowball." Continue reading...

Chancellor will confirm inquiries in conference speech as Labour tries to move on from donations scandalRachel Reeves will announce on Monday that she has ordered investigations into more than 600m worth of Covid contracts awarded under the Conservatives as Labour struggles to get back on the front foot over questions of ethics.After days of bruising allegations over donations, the chancellor will confirm that she will refer more than half of contracts for material such as masks to the incoming Covid corruption commissioner, after the previous government recommended dropping any attempt to investigate them. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Welsh secretary will use conference speech to announce measure for elective treatment and outpatientsNHS patients in Wales will be allowed to travel to England to receive care for the first time ever under plans to be announced by the Welsh secretary on Monday.Jo Stevens will tell the Labour conference in Liverpool that she is drawing up proposals to allow patients to travel between England and Wales to receive outpatient or elective treatment. Continue reading...

AfD calls its performance in Brandenburg huge success' but Social Democratic party projected to take the leadVoting has ended in Brandenburg. Here's a first exit poll, from ARD:Social Democratic party (SPD): 31% Continue reading...

Both sides engage in significant escalation in conflict, prompting UN to say region is on brink of imminent catastrophe'Hezbollah has said it has entered an open-ended battle of reckoning" with Israel after launching a series of rocket attacks on the north of the country as world powers implored both sides to step back from the brink of all-out war.In a significant escalation of the conflict, Israeli warplanes carried out their most intense bombardment in almost a year across southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah responded with its deepest rocket attacks into Israel since the start of the Gaza war. Continue reading...

Deputy prime minister tells Labour conference she expects chancellor to make promise on building at spending reviewAngela Rayner has given her strongest hint yet that Labour will announce a major package of social housebuilding in next month's spending review, saying the party will have abandoned its moral mission" if it fails to do so.The deputy prime minister told an event at Labour conference on Sunday she expected the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to make a promise on social housing next month, with the government under pressure to build hundreds of thousands more social homes. Continue reading...

Israel examining plan to use siege tactics against Hamas in northern Gaza, Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly saysIran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has been speaking to the media in New York ahead of the UN general assembly. According to the Hareetz reporter Allison Kaplan Sommer, he said Israel has created a real hell in Gaza" and that the crimes of the Zionist regime in Lebanon, even though they are being committed out of frustration, will not be left without response".The main hurdle in achieving ceasefire and stopping this war has really been the support provided by the US and Western countries," Araghchi said, as he blamed western support for Israel being able to continue its devastating military actions. Continue reading...

Home Office brands operation targeting people smugglers a success after cash and false ID documents seizedMore than 30 people have been arrested across the UK in a Home Office crackdown against people-smuggling gangs exploiting the invisible border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.The operation, which took place between 16 and 18 September, resulted in 14 arrests in Belfast and 400,000 in cash and 10 false ID documents seized at various locations across the UK. Continue reading...

Olaf Scholz's SPD appears to have made late comeback after trailing far-right party throughout Brandenburg campaignThe far-right Alternative fur Deutschland party appears to have narrowly missed out on victory in an election in the German state of Brandenburg, according to exit polls, three weeks after making historic gains in two other regions.In what had been widely interpreted as a referendum on the federal government of Olaf Scholz ahead of next autumn's general election, his Social Democratic party (SPD) appeared at the 11th hour to have clawed back its lead over the anti-immigrant populists who had been on course for months to seize victory in the state for the first time. Continue reading...

Major trade unions are lining up to back motion to reverse chancellor's decision to cut pensioners' fuel allowance

The party should be toasting its landslide, but instead a state of near-paralysis seems to have set inWe may need to have a rethink. Over the last few days it seemed to have become apparent that Keir Starmer wasn't very good at the politics of being a politician. Taking the free suits and glasses. Being slow to realise this could make him look hypocritical. Sitting back while different factions within the Labour party elite kick lumps out of one another. Making a mess of the winter fuel allowance. Unsure whether he was making cuts or means-testing benefits. Unable to move on from days of bad media. Generally looking a tad on the dim side.Now not so much. Come the start of Labour's party conference in Liverpool, Keir was a man on a mission. Willing to learn from his mistakes. Ready to do whatever needed to be done. And what needed to be done was ... nothing. It's usual for the prime minister to make himself available for TV interviews on the Sunday politics shows during conference. A rite of passage. Continue reading...

Minister tells Labour conference delegates that Whitehall should focus on stopping perpetratorsCivil servants were told to rewrite a proposed social media campaign to combat drink-spiking after the original appeared to blame victims, a minister has told Labour conference delegates.Alex Davies-Jones, the minister for violence against women and girls, suggested that Whitehall encouraged a culture of victim blaming" and should instead focus on stopping perpetrators. Continue reading...

Qatari broadcaster has been ordered to close office for 45 days, months after being banned from operating in Israel

Critics of new cabinet, finalised by Michel Barnier on Saturday night, said it was same-old, same-old'Mounting threats of a parliamentary motion of no-confidence have put Michel Barnier's new government under considerable duress before it has even had a chance to start work, as street protesters continued to voice their anger over the French prime minister's new administration.Eleven weeks after Emmanuel Macron, France's president, called a snap general election, the new government was finally appointed on Saturday night. But there was little sense that the new cabinet, which signals a clear shift to the right, would bring calm into the political realm. Continue reading...

Antonio Guterres gravely alarmed' by RSF assault on al-Fashir as EU foreign policy chief warns of another genocideThe UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, is gravely alarmed" at reports of a full-scale assault on the Sudanese city of al-Fashir by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and has called on its leader to halt the attack immediately, according to Guterres' spokesperson.It is unconscionable that the warring parties have repeatedly ignored calls for a cessation of hostilities," Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. Continue reading...

Landlords will have to offer convenient ways to avoid extra charges when paying the rentNew South Wales renters will no longer be made to pay extra fees when they pay the rent and will have greater rights to keep a pet in a suite of reforms to be announced on Monday.The state government plans to introduce legislation to modernise the state's rental regulation into parliament in October.Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Continue reading...

In remarks apparently directed at White House, UK foreign secretary says Kyiv's allies need to show nerve'The UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, has indicated that delicate negotiations with the White House to allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadow missiles inside Russia are ongoing, arguing it was a time for nerve and guts".The apparent encouragement to Joe Biden comes just over a week after Lammy and Keir Starmer visited the US president in the White House but failed to resolve the sticking point between two countries. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Relief rolled out in 2023 will cost 30bn in taxes but spur only up to 10.5bn investment, analysis showsCorporate tax breaks designed to encourage companies to buy new machinery and equipment are set to cost the taxpayer around three times as much as they generate, according to analysis of official forecasts.The tax relief on new plant and machinery announced by Jeremy Hunt as chancellor in 2023 was billed as a major part of the solution to the problem of Britain's low economic productivity. Labour supported the measure at the time and have now promised to make it permanent. Continue reading...

Categories will boost visibility of shows in a new, fractured media landscapeChildren's television was once a thriving, fantastical realm, peopled by Wombles, Tweenies and Danger Mouse - not to mention a car called Brum, an engine called Ivor and a dog called Roobarb - and British-made shows were available every day on the major terrestrial channels. Since then, the magic has largely retreated to the margins of broadcasting.But the embattled landscape is to receive a high-profile boost from Bafta, the Observer has learned. After prolonged campaigning from influential figures such as the former PlaySchool presenter Floella Benjamin, the children's maths whiz Johnny Ball, the Dr Who writer Russell T Davies and Anne Wood, a veteran creator of worldwide hits such as Teletubbies, Bafta is to recognise the inventive work that is still entertaining Britain's children. The British Academy has created three high-profile awards to sit alongside the trophies it hands out to adult television shows. The new categories will go some way to replace Bafta's abandoned children's TV awards event. Continue reading...

The long-running investigation will enter a new phase this week with findings from a revealing survey of current operatorsTo date, the public inquiry into the Post Office Horizon IT scandal has heard or received written testimony from more than 500 witnesses over 152 days of hearings, amassing a vast paper mountain of evidence.What has been exposed has been a litany of cover-ups and poor management, as well as an at-best dysfunctional relationship with supervising government ministers stretching over decades. This is in addition to the many harrowing stories from post office operators the panel has heard. Continue reading...

Lib Dems and Tories say health secretary has failed to reach out to them for ideas on a solution, despite declaring he wanted to do so in the summerLabour has made no contact with other parties over new talks to resolve England's social care crisis, amid fresh demands for a workable plan that secures cross-party support.Wes Streeting, the health secretary, said over the summer that he was keen to hear ideas from across the political divide as part of a renewed attempt to make progress on a crisis that has remained unresolved for more than a decade. Continue reading...

Israeli military says its jets targeted hundreds of Hezbollah sites, while Hezbollah says it launched dozens of missiles at an airbase in northern Israel

Deputy PM denies wrongdoing but says I get that people are angry, I get that people are upset'

Methane gas blast at mine in South Khorasan province leaves further 20 injured, state media saysA gas explosion in a coalmine in Iran's South Khorasan province has killed at least 51 people and injured 20, Iran's state media said.The accident was caused by a methane gas explosion in two blocks, B and C, of the mine run by the Madanjoo company, state media said on Sunday. Continue reading...

Many people now feel trapped despite major provider's guidance that mortgage, rent and service charges should not exceed 40% of take-home payResidents who bought shared-ownership properties promoted as affordable homes" say they now feel trapped because they have to spend more than half of their net salaries on mortgage repayments, rent and service charges.Campaigners say residents have become the victims of financial abuse after buying properties promoted as a step on the property ladder, only to be told of dramatic increases in service charges. Some residents face annual charges of more than 5,000 a year. Continue reading...

Buoyed by the team's success in 2022, the kingdom is eyeing a bigger goalThe rendering is dramatic, a vast white stadium inspired by the design of a Maghrebi communal tent, known as a moussem.The language used to describe it is no less flowery: think of it as almost like a Noah's Ark, a place for all nature and animals to come together", says Tarik Oualalou, head of Paris architecture firm Oualalou + Choi, one of five teams in the design consortium. Continue reading...

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Sister of headteacher Ruth Perry, who killed herself last year, joins call for complete reset' of schools inspectorateEducation unions are to warn that Ofsted cannot be trusted to reform itself, as headteachers continue to report that school inspections are leaving their staff feeling distressed.Prof Julia Waters, sister of the Reading headteacher Ruth Perry, who killed herself last year after an inspection downgraded her school from outstanding to inadequate, will call on the government to make deeper reforms of the inspectorate at the Labour party conference on Sunday. While welcoming the government's recent confirmation that Ofsted's single-word judgments will be scrapped, Waters, along with all four teaching unions, said the inspector still operated with a culture of fear and terror". Continue reading...

Vladimir Kara-Murza and his wife, Evgenia, speak of his time in a Siberian jail and why the truth about Russia will come outThe last time I met Evgenia Kara-Murza, it was a grim day in early March. The timing couldn't have been worse. As we spoke, Alexei Navalny's coffin was being lowered into the frozen ground in a Moscow cemetery. Meanwhile Evgenia's husband, Vladimir Kara-Murza, was still incarcerated in a Siberian prison cell almost identical to the one in the Arctic Circle in which Navalny had been found dead, presumed murdered.The parallels were eerie. Because Vladimir, a journalist turned political activist, was not just also loathed and feared by the Kremlin and imprisoned on spurious charges, he'd also been poisoned - twice - targeted by the same FSB (Federal Security Service) unit that had poisoned Navalny. Continue reading...

Despite cementing control, the EU commission's president faces a daunting second term amid the rise of the far rightUrsula von der Leyen was leaving nothing to chance. At a private meeting with members of the European parliament in Strasbourg last Tuesday, she chose not to reveal who would get what job in her incoming European Commission, due to take office at the end of the year.Then immediately afterwards, during a brisk 21-minute press conference, she announced every single name, leaving MEPs fuming. That's not how it should be done," said one. Continue reading...

Federal health minister also calls for prosecution of shopkeepers caught illegally selling vapes

Phillippa Kaufmann KC, who helped black cab rapist's victims sue the Metropolitan police, is helping examine whether the force should have done more to bring Harrods boss to justiceThe lawyer who helped victims sue the Metropolitan Police for failing to investigate John Worboys, the black cab rapist, is working with women allegedly attacked by Mohamed Al Fayed.Phillippa Kaufmann KC has joined the legal team examining whether police had a duty to do more to bring Fayed to justice when allegations were made against him. Continue reading...

Labour wants to see apartment blocks built in more densely populated cities to achieve its housing targetsA radical scheme to speed up the building of more apartment blocks in towns and cities - as opposed to individual houses and bungalows - has been announced by the prime minister on the eve of the Labour party conference.Keir Starmer told the Observer in an exclusive interview that the new system of planning passports" would be a game-changer" as the government strives to build 1.5m new homes within five years. Continue reading...

Thirty-two-year-old in custody after attack on man, 25, on Stapleton Road in the east of the cityA man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the death of a 25-year-old man in Bristol, police have said.Avon and Somerset police arrested a 32-year-old man in the Eastville area of the city at about 5.45pm on Saturday. He remains in custody. Continue reading...

New cabinet likely to face immediate no-confidence motion from leftwing bloc sidelined by presidentThe French president, Emmanuel Macron, has named a new government led by the prime minister, Michel Barnier, marked by a shift to the right 11 weeks after an inconclusive parliamentary election.The first major task for Barnier, appointed just more than two weeks ago, will be to submit a 2025 budget plan addressing France's financial situation, which the prime minister this week called very serious". Continue reading...

Police warn unauthorised drone users could be prosecuted as restrictions are in place for conference weekDrones have been seized by police after they were flown in breach of airspace restrictions during the Labour party conference in Liverpool.Merseyside police said they seized three drones on Saturday after a temporary airspace restriction covering much of Liverpool city centre was put in place. Continue reading...

Woman says store's former owner told her he was her boyfriend' and kissed her on the foreheadA former Harrods worker has criticised Harrods for the way it handled the alleged misconduct of the store's former owner Mohamed Al Fayed.Five women have alleged they were raped by Fayed, who died last year at the age of 94, and a number of others have alleged sexual misconduct. Continue reading...

Meliesha Jones sacked by Vale Curtains and Blinds after replying he's a twat' to customer complaintA worker who was sacked after calling a customer a twat" in an email she mistakenly sent to him has won more than 5,000 in an unfair dismissal claim.Meliesha Jones, who had been a part-time administrator at Vale Curtains and Blinds since 2021, was dealing with a customer complaint with a colleague when she hit the wrong button. Continue reading...

Prime minister insists he offers more than doom and gloom' in an interview with the Observer, but admits that leaks and squabbles are damaging the Downing Street operation

The former Conservative justice secretary is on a shortlist to lead a policy review that could herald radical reformsKeir Starmer is considering appointing former Tory justice secretary David Gauke to head a review into sentencing policy in a move that could signal a radical change in approach towards short prison sentences.Government sources confirmed on Saturday night that Gauke was a strong contender", despite being a member of the Conservative party, and that he was on a shortlist of names that also included former Labour home secretary David Blunkett. Continue reading...