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Politics
Policy, power, and the news of the day.
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Australia’s inflation rate rises to 4.3%, fuelling fears of fifth interest rate hike this year
CPI release comes ahead of Reserve Bank decision next week as the Middle East conflict intensifies the cost of living crisis Australia’s headline inflation rate has accelerated to 4.3%, with a key gauge that strips out volatile prices also elevated, sharpening expectations of another interest rate rise next week. The Reserve Bank of Australia’s preferred measure of consumer prices, called underlying inflation, came in at an annual 3.6% to September. Continue reading...
Danny Masterson loses appeal against rape conviction after arguing judge was biased against Scientology
That ’70s Show actor was sentenced to 30 years in prison for two counts of rape against two women, who were also Scientologists Danny Masterson has lost the appeal of his rape conviction, meaning his 30-year prison sentence has been upheld. The actor, best known for his role on That ’70s Show, was convicted in 2023 of two counts of rape against two women in 2003, while a third charge relating to a third plaintiff, who alleged she was raped by Masterson in 2001, was quashed. Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html Continue reading...
King Charles to discuss legacy of slavery with Commonwealth leaders at summit
Royal tour of Caribbean comes as Commonwealth nations renew calls for Britain to engage in reparation talks King Charles has confirmed that he will discuss the legacy of slavery at a summit with Commonwealth leaders as he begins his Caribbean tour. The king arrived in the Bahamas to a ceremonial welcome and attended a youth rally at Clifford Park, the site where the country officially gained its independence from British colonial rule in 1973. Continue reading...
Body of missing California hiker recovered on Mount Whitney
Hazardous storm conditions delayed retrieval efforts on mountain that has proved to be a perilous hiking spot The body of a missing California hiker, blanketed in a layer of snow, was recovered on Mount Whitney on Sunday after a blustery storm delayed retrieval operations for five days. The Inyo county sheriff’s office extended its condolences to the loved ones and family of the hiker, who has not been publicly identified, in a Monday statement. Continue reading...
‘Shameful’: Alex Pretti parents accuse Trump officials of shielding son’s killers
Susan and Michael Pretti say they have been ‘ignored and misled’ in quest for justice over son’s killing by US agents The parents of Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old nurse killed by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis earlier this year, accused federal officials of stonewalling them and shielding their son’s killers. During a press conference on Tuesday, Michael and Susan Pretti made their first public remarks since their son’s death in January, calling for the Department of Justice to hold those involved in their son’s death accountable. The federal government has not provided with them with meaningful information about the case, they said. Continue reading...
Trump shows off tanker with ‘1m barrels of oil’ and floats Venezuela as 51st state
President at Texas campaign rally hails deal struck with post-Maduro government as ‘greatest oil victory in history’ Donald Trump suggested Venezuela become the 51st state of the United States on Tuesday as the president showed off a tanker he claimed had “one million barrels of oil on it” from the country, nine months after deposing its president. At a campaign rally in Corpus Christ, Texas, Trump touted a US oil deal with Venezuela, which the US attacked in January, capturing its long-serving leader Nicolás Maduro . Continue reading...
Rise of Palestinian parties in Knesset will redraw Israel’s political landscape
Exit polls indicate opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot will have to work with Arab-Israeli leaders to have a hope of governing Israeli elections: live updates The big gains made by Palestinian parties in Israel’s general election pose an urgent and fundamental challenge to the country’s mainstream opposition: either cooperate with Arab Israelis or hand Benjamin Netanyahu a roadmap to political survival. In the wake of Tuesday’s exit polls , the leader of the opposition bloc, Gadi Eisenkot, declared them a victory for “Israel’s Zionist national majority” but the real outcome looks as if it will be far more complex than that. Continue reading...
Grand jury declines to indict ex-White House staffer who testified about January 6
Cassidy Hutchinson had implicated Donald Trump in US Capitol attack during testimony before House committee The justice department on Tuesday failed to secure a grand jury indictment against a former White House staffer who provided dramatic but disputed testimony against Donald Trump before a House committee investigating the 6 January 2021 US Capitol insurrection , according to two people familiar with the matter. A grand jury in Washington rejected prosecutors’ request to return an indictment charging Cassidy Hutchinson, said the people, who spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the case. It’s the latest setback in the justice department’s efforts to charge perceived adversaries of the Republican president. Continue reading...
Chancellor targets cost of living crisis in budget for a ‘difficult moment’
Healey hopes to give ‘hope for the future’ but only modest policies are expected with important decisions deferred John Healey has acknowledged the UK faces a “difficult moment” but insisted he would put the country on a better path as he delivers his first budget on Wednesday against a turbulent global economic backdrop. But despite the international uncertainty, the chancellor will signal “fresh hope for the future” as he attempts to sound a more optimistic note, by providing households with breathing space from rising cost of living pressures. Continue reading...
AI bots flooded 2023 UK government consultation on disposable vapes ban
Three-quarters of all responses were machine-generated in failed attempt to stop bill from passing into law, research finds AI bots flooded a government consultation with tens of thousands of fake responses in a failed attempt to stop the UK’s ban on disposable vapes. Three-quarters of all the responses to the 2023 consultation on the tobacco and vapes bill were machine-generated, in what is thought to be the first coordinated attempt to use AI to derail health policymaking in the UK. Continue reading...
Serial killer Ted Bundy linked through DNA to 1974 murder of Utah girl
Discovery comes months after Utah county detectives confirmed that Bundy had killed another Utah girl that year The notorious serial killer Ted Bundy has been found responsible, through DNA evidence, for the murder of Melissa Ann Smith, a 17-year-old Utah girl who went missing in 1974 before her nude body was found days later, state authorities announced at a Tuesday news conference. The breakthrough comes months after Utah county detectives confirmed in April that Bundy killed another Utah girl, 17-year-old Laura Ann Aime, in 1974. Continue reading...
Aerial video shows California flooding amid ‘record-breaking tides’ – video
Coastal communities across California were preparing for days of flooding amid potentially 'record-breaking tides' this week, as water levels began rising on Monday. Coastal California braces for flooding amid forecast of ‘record-breaking tides’ Continue reading...
JD Vance steps up extreme attacks on Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed
Vice-president tries to link El-Sayed to Paris protests and claims he would lead rioters in ‘burning down’ Detroit JD Vance has escalated his inflammatory attacks on Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic candidate for US Senate in Michigan who has faced an onslaught of Islamophobia, claiming he would lead rioters in “burning down” Detroit. El-Sayed, who would become the country’s first Muslim senator if he wins next week’s election, has been branded a “jihadist” by Donald Trump, the US president. Continue reading...
Rare Nanotyrannus skeleton, sells for $47.3m at New York auction
Sale makes ‘Jodi’, a smaller relative of T rex, the ‘second most valuable dinosaur ever sold at auction’, Sotheby’s says A rare skeleton of a Nanotyrannus, a smaller relative of the Tyrannosaurus rex, sold at auction in New York this week for $47.3m, making it one of the world’s most expensive fossils. The skeleton, named “Jodi” after the person who found the remains in 2019, sold at Sotheby’s on Tuesday for $47.3m, “after a twelve-minute bidding battle that saw six bidders compete online and over the phones, before ultimately selling on the phone,” Sotheby’s said in a statement. Continue reading...
Israel election too close to call as exit polls give Netanyahu bloc slightly fewer seats
Early indications suggest it will be some time before the shape of new government and who will lead it is clear Israel election – live updates Israel’s election was too close to call on Tuesday night after a historic turnout by voters for an election described by some as the most consequential in the country’s history, and marked by a record participation by Israeli Arab voters. Exit polls published on Tuesday evening, they suggested that the opposition bloc of parties led by the former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Gadi Eisenkot, would win most seats in the Knesset by a slight margin, edging out Benjamin Netanyahu’s right and far-right coalition despite the prime minister’s Likud emerging as the largest party. Continue reading...
Alexander brothers each sentenced to 30 years for drugging and raping dozens of women
Oren, Alon and Tal Alexander sentenced to prison in New York after being convicted in sex trafficking case Three Florida brothers who exploited the wealth and influence of their family’s luxury real estate business to drug and rape dozens of women were each sentenced to 30 years in prison in New York on Tuesday for sex trafficking. Twins Oren and Alon Alexander, 39, and Tal Alexander, 40, were convicted in March on multiple charges after a five-week trial heard details of years of sexual assaults committed in Miami, New York and other high-end locations including the Hamptons; Aspen, Colorado, and on a Caribbean cruise. Continue reading...
Former Met officer who served in same unit as David Carrick and Wayne Couzens found guilty of sexual offences
Mark Tyrrell convicted of one count of rape, three of sexual assault and one of perverting the course of justice at Southwark crown court A former Metropolitan police officer who served in the same unit as Sarah Everard’s killer Wayne Couzens has been found guilty of sexual offences against a woman he met through his work as an officer. A court heard that Mark Tyrrell raped the woman – who cannot be identified for legal reasons – by having sex with her after she repeatedly said no. Continue reading...
Olivia Chow elected as Toronto mayor for second term in victory for progressives
Tightly fought election saw record turnout as incumbent mayor ran against her Conservative rival Brad Bradford The mayor of Toronto, Olivia Chow, promised more rental housing, free school lunches and reduce fares for frequent transit riders after she was elected to a decisive second term as mayor in a wave of support for progressives councillors. The tightly fought election saw record turnout but Chow ultimately turned in a dominant 13 percentage point win over her Conservative rival, Brad Bradford, receiving 54% of the vote compared to Bradford’s 41%. Many had been expecting a far closer race, given weeks of polling that suggested a dead heat between the pair who presented differing visions for Canada’s largest city. Continue reading...
San Francisco estate sells for $10m above listing price as AI boom drives up costs
Eight-bedroom mansion listed at $18.5m sold for $28.5m and has a private garden and three-car garage A San Francisco estate sold for $10m above its listing price this month in a new record for the city as the artificial intelligence boom continues to drive up real estate prices. Located in the city’s tony Presidio Wall neighborhood, the eight-bedroom mansion was listed at $18.5m on 2 October and ultimately sold for $28.5m on 22 October, according to the property’s listing. Continue reading...
Politics live: Greens propose tax change to save Australians $1,000 a year; eSafety says social media akin to gladiator arena
Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Thanks for kicking things off this morning, Martin Farrer . I’ll take us through the blog for another busy sitting day. Australia’s eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant , said she and her family had been subjected to an onslaught of online abuse and threats in the 10 years she has been in the role. When public officials are used for political point scoring, a target goes on our backs and we are subjected to an onslaught of online abuse and threats. As many of you know, this has been the normal state of affairs for me and my family for years, yet somehow this is meant to be accepted as part of public service. Social media is no longer the once envisioned digital town square – it has become more like a gladiatorial arena. Meanwhile, platforms continue to roll back abuse and violent speech policies that let some of the most egregious offenders out of digital jail. Continue reading...
Unpaid carers say chancellor’s plan to scrap allowance cliff edge falls short
Digital taper system for benefit expected in budget, but those already hit with overpayments will still have to pay “On the surface it sounds really positive – and I really hope that it is,” says unpaid carer Guy Shahar of the government’s decision to abolish the notorious carer’s allowance cliff edge . But Shahar is angry that most carers hit with unjust overpayments in the past will still have to repay them, for all the promise of a different future. And he notes that the cliff edge remains in place for four more years, potentially catching out more carers. Continue reading...
Legacy of 7 October looms large as a divided Israel goes to the polls in record numbers
Bereaved families tell voters to remember the victims while others have flown thousands of miles to cast their ballots Election day in Israel began with a protest by some of the voters with most at stake. Bereaved families of those killed in the 7 October attacks held a minute of silence at 6.29 am, the moment when Hamas launched its onslaught just over three years ago. They gathered in a Tel Aviv plaza that has become known as “hostages square” because it was the centre of demonstrations demanding the return of more than 200 captives from Gaza. Holding pictures of their loved ones, they stood in silence then called on voters to remember the losses and betrayals of that day when deciding on the next government. Continue reading...
Sliding Colts trade All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson to Seahawks for draft picks
30-year-old is an eight-time Pro Bowl selection Indianapolis fired GM Ballard last week amid skid The Indianapolis Colts have traded All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks, a person with knowledge of the deal told the Associated Press on Tuesday. The person requested anonymity because the deal had not been announced by either team and said the Colts would receive a third-round draft pick and a fifth-round pick in return for the eight-time Pro Bowler. Continue reading...
Rosebank oilfield would not breach UK emission targets, say government insiders
Emissions from exported oil would not count against carbon budget, insiders say – reasoning likely to draw dismay from climate campaigners The giant Rosebank oilfield can be approved without breaching the UK’s emission targets, according to government insiders, in a boost to those in the cabinet who are pushing for it to be given the go-ahead. The Guardian revealed last week that Miatta Fahnbulleh, the energy secretary, was leaning towards rejecting the project , but her position has put her at loggerheads with cabinet colleagues, including the chancellor, John Healey , who are lobbying for an approval. Continue reading...