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Plans to secure loan with Russian funds moving to happy resolution', says Polish foreign ministerEuropean leaders, including in the UK, are increasingly confident a proposal to lend Ukraine 140bn (159bn) secured on frozen Russian central bank deposits can be agreed by the end of the year, in a move deemed critical for Kyiv to maintain its defence effort.Proposals from the European Commission were discussed at a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Washington last week and will be debated at an EU leaders summit on Thursday in Brussels. US participation remains uncertain. Continue reading...

AEC data shows $1.1m raised by Alex Dyson's campaign was left unspent, which he says was an administrative error

Trump made the comments after a tense meeting with Zelenskyy in which the Ukraine leader failed to secure supplies of Tomahawk missilesDonald Trump has suggested the best way to end the war in Ukraine would be to cut up" the country's Donbas region in a way that would leave most of it under Russian control, after reportedly pushing Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a White House meeting to give up swaths of territory.Let it be cut the way it is," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday. It's cut up right now," he said, adding that you can leave it the way it is right now". Continue reading...

Multiple locations across Australia's eastern states are facing temperatures up to 18C above average over the coming week, BoM says

Burning object made of carbon fibre discovered on desert road near mine site close to Newman on Saturday

Sunday's election marked the first time since 2005 that no candidate from Evo Morales' Mas party was on the ballotCentre-right senator Rodrigo Paz Pereira, 58, won Bolivia's presidential runoff on Sunday and will be the country's next president, marking a shift to the right after nearly 20 years of dominance by the leftist Movimiento al Socialismo (Mas) party.With just over 97% of ballots counted in the electoral court's preliminary" tally, Paz Pereira secured 54.6% of the vote, while rightwing former president Jorge Tuto" Quiroga received 45.4%. Continue reading...

Post-summer bounce in activity fails to materialise as buyers and sellers, in the south especially, opt to wait and see'The UK's housing market is showing signs of slowing down amid speculation that Rachel Reeves could announce tax increases on property in next month's budget.In a sign of growing caution among house hunters, figures from Rightmove showed that both the number of new buyers contacting estate agents about homes for sale, and the number of new sellers coming to market, slumped by 5% in September compared with the same month a year earlier. Continue reading...

Former Nationals leader insists nothing locked in' for next step after announcing intention to leave party

Ukraine's president calls for meeting of European-led coalition of the willing' on his return from talks with TrumpUkraine's president has urged allies against appeasing Russia after returning from a trip to the US, where he failed to secure long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles.Volodymyr Zelenskyy had flown to Washington after weeks of calls for the weaponry, hoping to capitalise on Donald Trump's growing frustration with Vladimir Putin after a summit in Alaska failed to produce a breakthrough in the war. Continue reading...

IDF says attack followed Hamas forces killing two soldiers, but both sides say they are committed to ceasefireIsrael launched waves of lethal airstrikes on Sunday and cut off all aid into Gaza until further notice" after a reported attack by Hamas, in escalations that marked the most serious threat so far to the increasingly fragile ceasefire in the devastated territory.Two Israeli soldiers, including an officer, were killed in the Hamas attack. Palestinian officials said dozens died in the retaliatory airstrikes. Continue reading...

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Veteran leftwinger Tufan Erhurman wins after campaign on reviving stalled talks to reunify islandTurkish Cypriots have handed the pro-European leftwing leader Tufan Erhurman a resounding victory in a presidential poll likely to inject renewed vigour into the deadlocked peace process on Cyprus.Erhurman, 55, who campaigned on reviving stalled UN-brokered talks to reunify the island, defeated the incumbent nationalist, Ersin Tatar, by nearly 27 percentage points - a landslide win that surprised even his most ardent supporters. Continue reading...

Calls grow for parliamentary rule changes to strip Andrew of titles and ask questions of royalsParliament is under mounting pressure to examine what the royal family knew about Prince Andrew's links to Jeffrey Epstein and introduce a mechanism to strip him of his titles.There were calls on Sunday night for Andrew to face a police investigation and for ancient rules barring parliament from freely scrutinising royals and formally removing their titles to be revisited. Continue reading...

Necklace given by Napoleon to his wife among items taken from Paris museum in highly professional daylight raidFrench police are hunting four thieves who carried out a highly professional daylight raid on the Louvre, breaking into one of the museum's most ornate rooms and escaping with eight pieces of priceless" historic jewellery, including a necklace given by Napoleon to his wife.The world's most-visited museum was suddenly closed for the day on Sunday after the break-in targeted pieces in two glass cases in its Apollon gallery, where the French crown jewels are held. Continue reading...

Trump's 20-point plan is forcing regional rivals to set aside differences and collaborate after years of competition

Nu-metal group says Rivers brought a light and a rhythm that could never be replaced'Sam Rivers, the bassist and backing vocalist of the US nu-metal group Limp Bizkit, has died at the age of 48, the band has said.Limp Bizkit announced the death in a social media post, describing Rivers as the band's heartbeat" but not disclosing where Rivers died or the circumstances. Today we lost our brother. Our bandmate. Our heartbeat," the band wrote. Continue reading...

Former French president set to start five-year sentence for scheme to obtain campaign funds from Muammar Gaddafi's regimeThe former French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, will go to prison on Tuesday after a court sentenced him to five years for criminal conspiracy over a scheme to obtain election campaign funds from the regime of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.Sarkozy, who was the rightwing president of France between 2007 and 2012, will become the first former head of an EU country to serve time in prison, and the first French postwar leader to be jailed. Continue reading...

Five Yemenis and 15 foreign workers held as Iran-backed group steps up its campaign against international agenciesHouthi rebels have detained 20 employees at a UN facility in Sana'a, the capital of Yemen.They are holding five Yemenis and 15 international workers but released another 11 after questioning them on Sunday. It was the second raid on a UN building in Sana'a in 24 hours. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Mandatory company disclosures show one bonus amounted to $2.5m, more than double their annual salary

Fake reviews, forged certificates and stolen corporate identities being used to lure victims, KwikChex findsSuspected scam investment companies are exploiting Trustpilot's review system by giving themselves five-star ratings to persuade would-be investors that they are legitimate businesses, a report has warned.An investigation by the verification firm KwikChex found operators using fake reviews, forged certificates and stolen corporate identities to lure victims. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Survey finds 13% of British Indians back Nigel Farage's party compared with only 4% at last electionSupport for Reform UK among British Indians has tripled since the election, according to polling from a diaspora group that suggests Nigel Farage's party is gaining ground in some demographics where it has struggled.Research by the 1928 Institute, a group of Oxford academics who analyse the British Indian community, shows backing for Reform has jumped in the past year from 4% to 13%. Continue reading...

Soldier was first reported defection to South Korea across 248-kilometre-long militarised zone since August 2024A North Korean soldier defected to South Korea across the rivals' heavily fortified border on Sunday, South Korea's military said.The military took custody of the soldier who crossed the central portion of the land border, South Korea's joint chiefs of staff said in a statement. It said the soldier expressed a desire to resettle in South Korea. Continue reading...

Leaked emails suggest Andrew passed accuser's details to Met bodyguard hours before bombshell photo came to lightThe Metropolitan police are looking into claims that Prince Andrew asked his taxpayer-funded close protection officer to uncover information about Virginia Giuffre hours before the emergence of a bombshell picture of them together.Leaked emails that suggest Andrew passed his Met bodyguard Giuffre's date of birth and confidential US social security number were deeply concerning", said a government minister on Sunday. Continue reading...

Entries include Welsh language names for fields and hills in move to ensure preservation of stories and legendsDozens of placenames in Welsh, some hinting at ancient legends, others telling rich stories of how people used to live, have been submitted to a project designed to make sure they are preserved.The Welsh government appealed for people to add historical names that may be missing from online maps so they could be saved for future generations. Within two weeks, about 200 submissions were received, including local Welsh language names for fields, hills and areas.Dol y Tylwyth Teg (Fairy Folk Meadow/Fairies' Meadow) in Aberfan, south Wales. The person who sent the suggestion said the field was known by the Welsh name by people who spoke Cymraeg, the Welsh language. A nearby school that teaches through Welsh refers to the field by this name and uses it for events.Caeau Maelorddin (Fields of Maelor City) near Aberystwyth, west Wales, are a collection of fields near Tanybwlch beach. The contributor said his late grandfather recalled many people referring to a group of now individually named fields as Caeau Maelorddin. They were close to Pen Dinas, the hill where the giant Maelor Gawr was said to live.Ffynnon Glog (Rock Well) near Rhyd, in Gwynedd, north Wales, is a hidden well in a roadside bank, according to the contributor. The water in the well was once used as a remedy for ailments and takes its name from Y Glog, a prominent rocky outcrop nearby. Continue reading...

Levies thought to be under consideration by Rachel Reeves will remove profits, say bosses, with thousands of job lossesBetfred has said it will close all 1,287 of its high street betting shops if Rachel Reeves raises taxes on the gambling industry in next month's budget.The company's threat comes amid speculation that the chancellor is considering a tax increase worth up to 3.2bn on sports betting to help to close a potential 30bn shortfall in the public finances. Continue reading...

Louise Shackleton says current law is traumatising families and she wanted jury to assess her innocenceA woman who was under police investigation for accompanying her husband to an assisted dying clinic in Switzerland said she wished her case had gone to trial so she could have proved her innocence in front of a jury.Louise Shackleton, 59, spent 10 months under investigation for assisting a suicide before North Yorkshire police announced this week that the Crown Prosecution Service had decided it was not in the public interest to prosecute her. Continue reading...

Exclusive: letter to Rachel Reeves from drinks, tourism and farming bodies calls for freeze on spirits duty in budgetA coalition of drinks, tourism and farming bodies has urged the chancellor to protect the Scottish whisky industry from a steeper sales slump and further job losses by freezing spirits duty in her budget next month.The grouping, which includes the Scottish arms of the National Farmers' Union, the Institute of Directors and UKHospitality, has written to Rachel Reeves to argue that a freeze in duty would be a strategic investment" that could increase tax revenues. Continue reading...

Connor Weston, 27, reportedly declared himself a non-offending pedophile' and threatened to kill himselfAn Ohio man is facing criminal charges after he allegedly stormed a stage at a Wikipedia conference in New York City with a gun - as well as a sign declaring himself a non-offending pedophile" - and threatened to kill himself.Connor Weston, 27, was reportedly tackled by organizers of WikiConference North America 2025, thwarting tragedy, before police said officers booked him on counts of criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment. Continue reading...

Tory trade minister promised to assist' plans to open 600m Puy du Fou site in Oxfordshire, emails showsA French business that is planning to build a vast 600m historical theme park in rural Oxfordshire won help for its plans from the previous government despite its founding family's ties to the far right and past praise of Vladimir Putin.Correspondence obtained under freedom of information (FoI) laws showed the Conservative peer Dominic Johnson, a business and trade minister in Rishi Sunak's government, promised to assist" Puy du Fou - one of France's most popular theme parks - in finding a UK site. Continue reading...

Lib Dem leader urges suspension of fines imposed on hundreds of thousands who fell foul of discredited rulesPenalties imposed on thousands of unpaid carers who fall foul of the discredited carer's allowance benefit rules should be suspended until the government has fixed the system, the Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, has said.A Guardian investigation last year revealed hundreds of thousands of unpaid carers were landed with huge debts - and in some cases prosecuted for fraud - after being inadvertently trapped by chronic failures in the benefit's design and administration. Continue reading...

End of almost two decades of leftist rule could revive war on drugs' in change of approach to coca cultivationBolivians go to the polls on Sunday in an election that, whatever the result, will mark a complete shift to the right after nearly 20 years under the rule of the leftist Movimiento al Socialismo (Mas).The country's first-ever presidential runoff pits the centre-right senator Rodrigo Paz Pereira, 58, who won the first round in August, against the rightwing former president Jorge Tuto" Quiroga, 65, who in recent weeks has overtaken Paz Pereira in the polls. Continue reading...

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Reptile was removed after guests filmed it lying at the Sheraton Mirage in Port Douglas on Saturday

Nationals leader says maverick MP still has a contribution to make between now and when he retires'

The Guardian's Queensland correspondent and three SBS journalists win top award for investigation into children locked up in police watch houses

Club cited possible safety concerns' after West Midlands police decided to ban Maccabi fans from fixtureAston Villa told matchday stewards they would not have to work during the club's Europa League fixture against the Israeli football team Maccabi Tel Aviv, citing possible concerns" over safety, it has been reported.West Midlands police decided to ban Maccabi fans from the forthcoming match, after saying the force would not be able to police the fixture safely owing to violent clashes and hate crime offences" at a previous match in Amsterdam in 2024. Continue reading...

Authorities urge UN to intervene to protect unarmed civilian populations' after attack on bus that killed 11Gaza's media office has accused Israel of violating the ceasefire with Hamas 47 times since the truce came into effect in early October, killing 38 Palestinians and wounding another 143.These violations have included crimes of direct gunfire against civilians, deliberate shelling and targeting, and the arrest of a number of civilians, reflecting the occupation's continued policy of aggression despite the declared end of the war," reads the statement. Continue reading...

Officials say reopening of gateway between Gaza and Egypt would depend on Hamas returning remains of dead hostagesThe Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt will stay closed until further notice", Israel has said, after the Palestinian embassy in Cairo said the territory's sole gateway to the outside world would reopen on Monday.The statement by Benjamin Netanyahu's office said reopening Rafah would depend on how Hamas fulfils its ceasefire role of returning the remains of all 28 dead hostages. Israel's foreign ministry earlier said the crossing would probably reopen on Sunday. Continue reading...

Mid Norfolk MP George Freeman calls spread of AI-generated misinformation a dangerous development'A Conservative MP has reported an AI-generated deepfake" video of him announcing that he has joined Reform UK to the police, according to reports.George Freeman, the MP for Mid Norfolk, denounced the video and, in a Facebook post, called the deliberate spread of misinformation through AI-generated content a concerning and dangerous development". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Automated systems have generated cookie cutter' responses that fail to account for individual circumstances, financial watchdog says

Five MTV channels will close at the end of the year in the UK, leaving just one - which mostly plays reality TV. And with budgets pinched, directors say they are strugglingThe launch of MTV, in 1981, ushered in a new era of music. Showing music videos 24 hours a day, the television channel redefined artist marketing and launched the careers of artists such as Michael Jackson and Madonna, whose public personas became inseparable from the gripping, frequently controversial clips they produced to be played on the service.Now, that chapter of music history appears to be drawing to a close, with MTV's parent company Paramount announcing last week that its five dedicated music channels in the UK - MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV and MTV Live - will cease broadcasting after 31 December. (The flagship MTV channel, which broadcasts reality programmes such as Catfish, The Hills and Geordie Shore, will remain in operation.) Continue reading...

Decommissioning Hamas weapons seen as major stumbling block, with British diplomats advising on processA European and US-backed UN security council motion to give a planned international stabilisation force robust powers to control security inside Gaza is being prepared, with the strong expectation that Egypt will lead it, diplomats have said.The US is pressing for the force to have a UN mandate without being a fully fledged UN peacekeeping force and will operate with the kind of powers given to international troops operating in Haiti to combat armed gangs. Continue reading...

Canada isn't helping to repatriate refugee applicant Mahin Shahriar, a 28-year-old Bangladeshi man, his lawyer saysA refugee applicant living in Canada is trapped at a US immigration detention facility after he says he mistakenly crossed the border, but his lawyer says Canada isn't helping to bring him back.Mahin Shahriar, 28, who came to Canada from Bangladesh in 2019, told the Canadian Press he accepted an invitation from a friend" to visit a property near Montreal, which he now suspects was part of a broader human trafficking operation. Continue reading...

Tehran terminates 2015 deal under which sanctions were lifted in return for curbs on country's nuclear programmeAn international deal with Iran designed to keep the world safe from the spread of atomic weapons has officially ended, with Tehran announcing the termination of the decade-old agreement.Iran said on Saturday that it was no longer bound by the 2015 agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), under which international sanctions were lifted in exchange for limitations on Tehran's nuclear programme. Continue reading...

Jason Clare says artificial intelligence is supercharging bullying' to a terrifying' extent

Unusually high temperatures in the low to mid 40s to hit parts of NSW, Queensland and SA, the Bureau of Meteorology predicts

Ukrainian president repeats call for weapons but US president insists they're not easy for us to give you' and says Putin wants to end the war'The key to success is in the sky': the Ukrainian defenders struggling to stem Russia's air assaultFirst came the sound of drones. Then a boom that rattled windows. Shortly after that, two columns of black smoke rose over the Shebelinka gas processing plant in Ukraine's Kharkiv region. Towering flames threatened storage tanks. Continue reading...

Boots, hit show about a closeted teen joining the marines, has led to a statement on restoring the warrior ethos'The Pentagon has slammed Netflix for making woke garbage" after the release of the hit gay military drama Boots.The show, based on Greg Cope White's 2015 memoir The Pink Marine, tells the story of a closeted teenager who enlists in the United States Marine Corps in the 1990s. Continue reading...

In the six attacks on similar vessels launched by Trump, this is the first where any survivors have been reportedThe US has seized survivors of a military strike on a suspected drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean, the first since Donald Trump began launching deadly attacks in the region last month, according to officials in Washington.Trump later confirmed the attack, telling reporters that the targeted vessel was a narco-submarine. Continue reading...

University of Texas at Austin faculty fear changes from new taskforce that could restructure humanities programsFaculty at the University of Texas at Austin fear entire academic departments might be on the chopping block after the university quietly appointed a committee charged with studying the restructuring of its liberal arts programs.The university - the largest in the public University of Texas system - has not made any announcements about cuts or restructuring, but faculty there have learned the committee was established earlier this semester and tasked with a review that they believe is focused on ethnic and regional disciplines such as African and African diaspora studies, Mexican American and Latina/o studies, as well as women's and gender studies. Continue reading...