section
Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
3009 stories archived
$20m public liability insurance to rally in a park: how council red tape hinders the right to protest
Public gatherings stymied by bureaucracy, Australian Democracy Network and Deakin University researchers find Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Council red tape is stymieing the right to protest, a report has said, after a regional New South Wales council told a protest organiser they needed a $20m public liability insurance policy to hold a rally in a park. A report released on Wednesday, co-authored by Australian Democracy Network (ADN) and Deakin University’s Centre for Law as Protection, raised concerns about incidents in which councils have required protest organisers to obtain insurance when rallies are held on council land. It also expressed concern about the power some regional and urban councils have to issue financial penalties if public gatherings are held without a council permit. Continue reading...
Iranian woman handed death sentence for ‘blasphemy’ in social media post
Rights groups warn of Tehran regime’s increasing use of executions to suppress dissent, with at least 600 this year Human rights groups have raised the alarm over the growing number of death sentences and executions in Iran, after reports that a 23-year-old woman, Najmeh Amini, has been sentenced to death for blasphemy over a social-media post. Amini, an accounting student, is being held in Vakilabad prison in the north-east city of Mashhad. She has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison and death in separate cases heard by a revolutionary and a criminal court. Continue reading...
Ukraine is littered with landmines on a scale last seen in Vietnam. How can they be removed?
Faced with deadlier threats, demining groups are coming up with new ways of working using drones and AI Crouched over on her hands and knees in a field of weeds, Olena Kabanova is digging into the ground. With a shovel and a steady hand, the 58-year-old digs out a neat square around the spot where a mine detector has sensed a suspicious object. Four years ago, this field in eastern Ukraine was occupied by Russian soldiers. Now back under Ukrainian control, it is littered with landmines. Civilians such as Kabanova are trying to make the land usable again. Continue reading...
Family of Indigenous woman found dead in Melbourne mourn ‘vibrant, beautiful young girl’
Police have charged a 31-year-old man with the alleged murder of Jayda Allen Bonner, whose body was found in a Carlton apartment on Saturday Follow our Australian politics live blog for latest updates Get our new political email , free app or daily news podcast Warning: This article contains images of and references to Indigenous Australians who have died The family of a young Indigenous woman found dead in an apartment complex in Melbourne’s inner-north on Saturday say they are “absolutely crushed and shattered” by her death. Jayda Allen Bonner, 21, was found dead on the fifth floor of an apartment block on Cardigan Street, Carlton on Saturday at about 1.45am. Continue reading...
Peralta shines as Rays seize on Ramírez error to level ALCS against Guardians
Freddy Peralta pitches six scoreless innings in 3-1 win José Ramírez error opens door to three-run fourth ALCS heads to Cleveland at 1-1 for Thursday’s Game 3 Freddy Peralta pitched six innings of four-hit ball, Liam Hicks lined a two-run single after a fielding error by José Ramírez and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-1 on Tuesday night to level the American League Championship Series at 1-1. Game 3 of the best-of-seven series is Thursday night in Cleveland. Continue reading...
Beau Lamarre-Condon trial shown crime scene reconstruction as ballistics expert traces bullet trajectories
3D computer video of Paddington terrace shown to jurors outlines prosecution version of alleged murders of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies A computer-generated reconstruction of the alleged double murder of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies has been played to a Sydney jury, as pictures showing gun marks on a bedroom door were examined by the supreme court. Beau Lamarre-Condon, 31, has been accused of shooting dead the Sydney couple with his police service weapon in Baird’s Paddington home on 19 February 2024. Continue reading...
’How do you explain the deletion of 130 million names?’ Why Indian voters are on the streets
Anger at electoral roll changes has boiled over, sparking a crisis for Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government Born into a small village in West Bengal, Shahida Fakir had always taken her vote for granted. That was, until it was suddenly taken away. She presented officials with her Indian birth certificate and family land documents from the village going back to 1962. Both her parents had been on the electoral roll going back decades, so she showed proof of that too. But when the final revised voter list came out in April, Fakir was not on it. Continue reading...
Court overturns Tanya Plibersek’s protection order which company says blocked controversial NSW goldmine
Federal court overrules decision by former environment minister for the McPhillamys goldmine development at Blayney The federal court has overturned a rare protection order issued by former environment minister Tanya Plibersek under Indigenous heritage legislation, which the company said effectively blocked a controversial goldmine in the central west of New South Wales. Regis Resources challenged the decision by the former minister to issue the order in 2024 under section 10 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act. Continue reading...
Rachel Smith will turn 39 in prison. The high court says she could freeze her eggs from behind bars
Australia’s highest court says Queensland drug trafficker extracting and storing eggs is not ‘assisted reproductive technology’ Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A woman has won an appeal in Australia’s highest court about her right to freeze her eggs while behind bars. Rachel Smith is serving a 10-year prison term in Queensland for trafficking in a dangerous drug. Continue reading...
USWNT returnees earn 2-2 draw against Spain, an early World Cup wake-up call
The US were on the verge of losing two straight at home, but second-half goals from Ashley Sanchez and Mallory Swanson saved a draw It was nearly time for the panic button. Maybe not to press it, but to look at it – to acknowledge that it’s within reach. A listless, shorthanded US women’s national team were struggling against Spain, down 2-0, and facing the ignominy of two straight decisive losses at home after Saturday’s 3-0 drubbing in Washington DC. Then two players who had just returned to the team after long absences turned the tide. Ashley Sanchez and Mallory Swanson, after international scoring droughts of 1,648 days and 801 days, respectively, each scored in the second half to earn a 2-2 draw with the defending World Cup winners. Continue reading...
Russia arrests Japanese journalist on allegations of spying
FSB security agency said reporter was arrested on island of Sakhalin, alleging he was collecting information about Russia’s defences Russia has arrested a Japanese journalist on the far east island of Sakhalin and accused him of espionage, Moscow said on Tuesday. Russia regards Japan as an “unfriendly” country because it has joined western sanctions over its war in Ukraine. Russia has arrested several citizens of “unfriendly” countries in recent years, accusing them of working for western intelligence services. Continue reading...
Graduate student accused of poisoning colleague and trying to flee to China arrested at LAX
Microbiologist Aili Wang, 32, poisoned tea of colleague in Wyoming who had pending patents, prosecutors allege A Wyoming microbiology graduate student from China has been arrested on accusations she poisoned the tea of a colleague who had pending patents and with whom she did not get along, then tried to flee the country after police questioned her. Aili Wang, 32, was arrested 6 October at Los Angeles international airport, where prosecutors allege she sought to return to China. With her were laptops, electronic storage devices and documents now in the possession of police, who allege Wang was seen on surveillance video rummaging through the desk of the victim who specialized in technology for disease treatment – research similar to work she had done in China. Continue reading...
Jim Chalmers denies Anthony Albanese rolled him over credit card payments for tax bills
Treasurer’s comments come after prime minister revealed he intervened to delay a controversial ban on such payments to the ATO Follow our Australian politics live blog for latest updates Get our new political email , free app or daily news podcast Treasurer Jim Chalmers has denied being rolled by Anthony Albanese after the prime minister personally intervened to stop a Tax Office ban on credit card payments a day before stopgap funding was announced. After sustained criticism of the government’s handling of the ban on tax bills being paid by credit card, Chalmers last week announced new funding for the ATO to ensure card payments could continue until the end of the financial year. Continue reading...
‘Chip on his shoulder’: Brian Flores lawyers condemn racial stereotypes in NFL coaching report
Recruiting report prepared for Raiders’ 2024 search Lawyers say assessment contains racial stereotypes Flores sued NFL over discriminatory hiring in 2022 A recently unsealed recruiting report on Brian Flores contains multiple examples of “racial stereotypes” and amounts to unlawful retaliation for the coach’s discrimination lawsuit against the NFL, according to his lawyers. The Korn Ferry report, made public on Tuesday and obtained by the Associated Press, lists six strengths and seven weaknesses that Flores’ attorneys say demonstrate the league’s continued reliance on racial stereotypes in hiring and its retaliation against the coach for his lawsuit alleging racial discrimination. Continue reading...
Fostering in crisis: can flexible care models fix England’s child placement shortfall?
New recruitment campaign to target adults in their 30s and 40s in bid to create 10,000 new foster care places Viennetta Basterfield, 67, spent two decades fostering more than 100 children in her west London home before she and her husband handed in the reins during Covid. Her own mother had died when she was nine and she was brought up by another woman who took her in. There was no doubt in her mind that she wanted to dedicate her life to passing that gift on to others. Continue reading...
Cryptocurrency exchange founded by Reform donor Ben Delo sued for £20m
Former investor alleges BitMEX sold products in UK despite not being regulated by Financial Conduct Authority A cryptocurrency exchange founded by the billionaire Reform UK donor Ben Delo is being sued for £20m over claims that the company mis-sold financial products in the UK. Lewis Barber, who is a software engineer, alleges that BitMEX offered crypto derivative products to investors in the UK, despite not being regulated or approved to do so by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Continue reading...
Stop making sense: focus on sounds to help learn a language, study suggests
Research shows that the best linguists process unfamiliar foreign speech sounds more like non-speech sounds If you want to get really good at French, Arabic or Hungarian, don’t start with rote learning vocabulary and grammar, focus on how they sound instead, research suggests. A new study of how humans learn modern languages has found that the brains of the most talented linguists hear foreign terms as random noise, not words. Continue reading...
Rules, London’s oldest restaurant, donated to National Trust
Historic eatery in capital’s theatreland given to heritage charity after changing hands only three times in 228 years When Thomas Rule served his first oyster to diners on Maiden Lane in London’s Covent Garden, “mad” George III was on the throne of England, John Adams was US president and William Pitt the Younger had just come up with a wheeze called income tax to pay for the Napoleonic wars. More than two centuries later, Rules , the restaurant Thomas founded in what became the capital’s theatreland, has outlasted nine British monarchs and 45 prime ministers – but has changed hands only three times. The interior of its four-storey home, stuffed with historic playbills and vintage caricatures and gilded antlers, is little changed from the 19th century, nor has the tone of its determinedly meaty menu – think rabbit rillettes, shin of veal and roast guinea fowl. Continue reading...
Man who died in Six Flags rollercoaster fall in Georgia was a father and educator
Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem was a father of 10-year-old daughter, and overcame two bouts of cancer, his family says Police on Tuesday identified the victim of the fatal accident at Six Flags Over Georgia as 42-year-old Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem of Atlanta. Kariem fell to his death after being ejected from his seat and several others were injured in an incident involving a rollercoaster at the theme park. Continue reading...
Burnham to host Zelenskyy at No 10 in show of ‘rock-solid’ support
Prime minister reiterates UK backing after the Ukrainian president’s latest round of difficulties with Donald Trump Andy Burnham will host Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Downing Street on Wednesday as the UK seeks to further underline its support for the Ukrainian president, in contrast to his difficulties with Donald Trump. The UK prime minister said his message to Zelenskyy and his country would be: “We are with you for as long as it takes.” Continue reading...
Florida officials say six people dead from Hurricane Isaias
Governor Ron DeSantis says death toll ‘sad’ but praises work of local officials for helping to minimize storm’s impact Six deaths have been confirmed in Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias. In a press conference on Tuesday, Florida governor Ron DeSantis praised the work of local officials for minimizing the impact of the storm, which made landfall late on Friday, bringing strong winds, rain, flash floods and tornado threats across parts of the US south-east, leaving hundreds of thousands of residents without power. Continue reading...
Former NFL star Mark Sanchez reaches settlement over stabbing altercation
Former QB fought with 69-year-old last October Fox Sports parted ways with Sanchez over incident Sanchez was charged over Indianapolis confrontation Former NFL quarterback and Fox Sports analyst Mark Sanchez has reached an agreement in principle with the truck driver who stabbed him during an altercation last October, according to the Athletic . Sanchez was stabbed and pepper sprayed by Perry Tole, who was 69 at the time, during the incident in Indianapolis , where the former New York Jets star was due to cover an NFL game between the Colts and Las Vegas Raiders. Prosecutors said Tole used pepper spray and a knife to defend himself after Sanchez attempted to enter his truck during an argument over a parking spot. Continue reading...
Man charged with murder over shooting death of boy, 12, in Sydney last month
A 19-year-old man was arrested and charged at Silverwater correctional facility on Tuesday Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A man has been charged with murder over the shooting death of a boy, 12, in Sydney’s north in September. Police were called to a unit on Fairway Drive, Norwest, on 21 September 2026 after reports of a shooting. Continue reading...
Australian politics live: Chalmers urges against mocking, cancelling or talking down to One Nation supporters
Follow the day’s news live. Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The Josh Frydenberg book-promotion/comeback-to-politics tour continues. The former treasurer, and ousted member for Kooyong, appeared on 7:30 last night, again raising the possibility of his return to frontline politics. No two countries will follow exactly the same pathway to reducing emissions. What remains important is the commitment to the goal and a peaceful and inclusive journey toward it, so that we can minimise the damage caused by climate change, while making sure our communities have the energy they need. Continue reading...