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Australia politics live: Coalition rejects Labor’s ‘unacceptable’ plan to regulate harmful content on social media
Follow the day’s news liveLabor introducing new laws to crack down on illegal tobaccoLabor will introduce new laws to make it easier to prosecute criminals involved in the illicit tobacco trade, as the government fights an uphill battle against the exploding black market.The new laws think about it as a list of observable indicators, very simple, fact-based things like: is the tobacco appropriately packaged? Is it a menthol cigarette even hiding in plain packaging? Is it being concealed? Does it have paperwork at the border?Or my personal favourite: is the retail price of this packet of cigarettes less than the amount of excise and GST combined? If any of these facts are proven, just one of them, that establishes the reasonable suspicion of the criminal offence of importing, possession, or conveying. It’ll give powerful new tools to Border Force but every state and territory police force to go after the crooks.I said, look, my door’s open if you want to talk about this. I don’t know why he thinks I’m a liar. I don’t quite know why he believes I lied about it.I’m disappointed he thinks I’m a coward. I don’t know how he came to that opinion but that’s up to him. I don’t think he’s a traitor. I absolutely respect the services given to our nation, like my family, has given to the service of New Zealand and Australia. Democracy’s a robust thing. Continue reading...
Jacqui Lambie says Pauline Hanson a ‘bloody coward’ after One Nation cartoon calling Andrew Hastie a traitor
Lambie, a veteran and Tasmanian senator, says One Nation leader is showing her ‘true colours’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastJacqui Lambie has accused Pauline Hanson of being a “coward” for a One Nation cartoon calling the Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie a traitor, amid a growing spat between the One Nation leader and the former SAS captain.Lambie, a crossbencher and army veteran, defended Hastie on Thursday, after he called on Hanson to take ownership for a One Nation animated cartoon on social media in which he is repeatedly described as a traitor for giving evidence against Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith in his failed defamation case. Continue reading...
Rubio says US will work with allies to stop drug-trafficking as three killed in latest boat strike
Rubio visits Ecuador and welcomes cooperation after campaign of unilateral strikes on alleged ‘narco-terrorists’US secretary of state Marco Rubio gave new clarity on the approach toward combating drug trafficking in Latin American waters, saying the Trump administration was focused on working with allied countries and aligning with their laws but insisting the military will “still blow up ships if need be.”The public acknowledgment of a shift in US strategy comes a year after Washington began a campaign of unilateral deadly strikes against those it calls “narco-terrorists” operating boats in international waters. Continue reading...
Trump Says Iran War Will End "Immediately" After US Midterm Votes
President Donald Trump said Wednesday he believes the Iran war will end "immediately" after the United States votes in midterm elections in November.
Trump Says Russia's Putin Wants To Make Ukraine War Deal
US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin wants to make a deal to end Moscow's war against Ukraine.
Democrat John Fetterman makes surprise appearance at Republican convention
Senator praises ‘great friend’ Dave McCormick and says he will help him and Trump to support steel in PennsylvaniaDemocratic senator John Fetterman made a surprise virtual appearance at the Republican midterm convention, delivering a video address supporting Dave McCormick, a Republican senator in Pennsylvania.Fetterman, who has increasingly broken with his party since his election in 2022, said in the video that he would always reject “extremes and socialism”, repeating an oft-used Republican critique of the Democratic party’s increasingly popular left wing. Continue reading...
Teachers say holidays in term can be worth more than time in school
School staff tell focus groups they believe school system in England and Wales cannot deal with attendance crisisTeachers have so little belief in the importance of pupils’ full school attendance that they would take their own children on term time holidays if they could, staff have told a three-year research programme.Frontline staff do not believe the school system is set up to deal with an ongoing attendance crisis in England and Wales, where nearly one in five children are now missing at least 10% of school, according to a report based on in-depth conversations with teachers. Continue reading...
UK chancellor urged to remove £100k childcare ‘cliff edge’ prompting parents to cut work hours
Critics say threshold pushes higher-paid staff to cut back on work and often mothers to stop working to avoid losing entitlementJohn Healey has been urged to fix the £100,000 childcare “cliff edge”, that means some higher-paid employees cut back on work to avoid losing their entitlement.Since the latest expansion of taxpayer-funded childcare in 2024, families with young children in which both parents earn less than £100,000 a year can be entitled to 30 hours a week of care - or none at all, if one of them cross that threshold. Continue reading...
Notorious Ecuadorian crime gang designated a terrorist group by US
Trump administration to seek extra funding from Congress to ‘dismantle’ Los Tiguerones over narcotics traffickingThe US has designated Ecuador’s Los Tiguerones gang, which stormed a television station during a live broadcast in 2024, as a terrorist organisation as the Trump administration expands its campaign against narcotics traffickers it says are destabilising Latin America.The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, made the announcement in Quito, where he met Ecuadorian president Daniel Noboa, one of several rightwing allies of Donald Trump whom Rubio is courting as a security partner during a three-nation tour through Latin America that began on Tuesday. Continue reading...
Labour picks former child refugee to stand in byelection for Starmer’s seat
Sagal Abdi-Wali, who came from Somalia in the 1990s, likely to face Zack Polanski in Holborn and St Pancras contestA former child refugee who became the leader of Camden council has been selected to be the Labour candidate for the byelection in Holborn and St Pancras.Sagal Abdi-Wali, who came to the UK from Somalia as a child in the 1990s and was elected leader of Camden council in May, was chosen by Labour members to contest the north London seat vacated by Keir Starmer. Continue reading...
Trump's favorite European allies are quietly siding with Canada amid trade war: report
Even Europe's most Trump-friendly governments are lining up behind Canada in its escalating trade fight with the United States, in a striking snub to a president who's spent months courting the continent's right-wing leaders.European Union ambassadors from all 27 member states met in Brussels Wednesday to discuss deepening ties with Canada, just hours after Washington moved to block a range of Canadian goods, including dairy products, alcohol and motorbikes, from entering the U.S. market, Politico reported. According to two officials granted anonymity to describe the confidential talks, not a single country objected to the plan, despite the obvious risk of appearing to side against Washington.A third diplomat familiar with the preparations said support for the outreach runs deep, even among governments typically wary of provoking Trump's orbit."There's very strong support for [Commission President] von der Leyen making that outreach and for closer cooperation," the diplomat said, naming Italy's Giorgia Meloni, Czech leader Andrej Babiš, and Slovakia's Robert Fico as examples of Trump-aligned leaders backing the move.The European Commission and Council jointly laid out plans for a major summit with Canada set for October 29-30, with both sides eyeing a broader alliance spanning tech innovation, joint research, and access to rare earth minerals, while also working to knock down existing trade obstacles between them. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will personally address the European Parliament next week, part of a broader push to reduce Canada's economic dependence on the U.S. and build a coalition of pro-free-trade democracies.A senior EU official said the trip is meant to send a clear signal that both sides want to upgrade the relationship. Officials are floating ideas ranging from Canadian participation in the EU's Erasmus student exchange program to joint Arctic security initiatives and military-industrial cooperation, though nothing formal has been agreed and talks remain in early stages.The Arctic in particular looks like fertile ground for cooperation, with the Commission preparing an updated Arctic strategy for October and von der Leyen recently signaling Europe wants a bigger presence in the region after a trip to Greenland. One EU official suggested any Canada-related content in von der Leyen's upcoming State of the Union speech would likely center on security."Security and defense is always her happy place," the official said.Officials also pointed to shared interests beyond defense, including critical raw materials, subsea cables, Arctic-capable icebreakers, and cleaner shipping standards — an area where Brussels and Ottawa align but where the U.S. has actively lobbied against decarbonization efforts.Trump has grown more and more belligerent against Canada in recent weeks, passing an order to rename Lake Ontario and posting a cartoon image of himself standing over Carney with a hockey stick.
From Rescue Teams To Relief Funds, How Nepal Is Responding To Flood Crisis
The floods followed a collapse in the Himalayan region that sent a large volume of water, mud and debris into the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river corridors.
