Mark Latham accuses One Nation of misusing electoral funds as he quits party

Party’s federal leader Pauline Hanson rejects allegations aired in parliament by ousted NSW leader

• Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
• Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

Mark Latham has quit One Nation to sit as an independent in the New South Wales parliament after he was fired as the rightwing party’s state leader.

The upper house MP told parliament on Tuesday that he would resign, about two weeks after the party’s federal leader, Pauline Hanson, intervened in the NSW executive to have him axed.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Microsoft to sell off Activision cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft in bid for UK approval

Illustration by William Joel / The Verge

Microsoft is restructuring its proposed Activision Blizzard deal to transfer cloud gaming rights for current and new Activision Blizzard games to Ubisoft. The transfer of rights is designed to appease regulators in the UK that are concerned about the impact Microsoft’s proposed $68.7 billion deal will have on cloud gaming competition. The restructured deal has triggered a new regulatory investigation in the UK that could last until October 18th.

“To address the concerns about the impact of the proposed acquisition on cloud game streaming raised by the UK Competition and Markets Authority, we are restructuring the transaction to acquire a narrower set of rights,” says Microsoft president Brad Smith. “This includes executing an...

Continue reading…

Hospital detentions for new mothers challenged in Ugandan court

Two cases to be heard this month could serve as legal precedent to outlaw the holding of patients against their will for unpaid bills

Two women who were prevented from leaving hospital over unpaid medical bills are to have their case against Ugandan authorities heard this month in a case that lawyers hope will end the practice.

Akello Esther Susan, 23, and NS (known by her initials) are jointly suing the government, two district councils and church dioceses over their treatment after giving birth in 2020 and 2021 respectively.

Continue reading...

Bush Craft

[link] [comments]

Tuesday briefing: Life term for UK’s worst child killer

In today’s newsletter: serious questions have been raised after the trial and conviction of a serial baby murderer

• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First Edition

Good morning.

The 10-month trial of Lucy Letby, a 33-year-old neonatal nurse found guilty of murdering seven babies and trying to kill six more, came to a close yesterday. She will never be released from prison after a judge gave her a whole-life sentence, making her the fourth woman to be given such a jail term in the UK. The first woman to be sent to jail for life was Moors murderer Myra Hindley, who was convicted of the murders of two children between 1963 and 1965 across Greater Manchester. The other two women currently serving whole-life sentences are Rose West and Joanna Dennehy.

Continue reading...

Person of interest found in AC/DC manager’s 1993 murder after DNA breakthrough

Blood on Crispin Dye’s jeans linked to another Sydney crime scene from 2002, LGBTQ+ hate crimes inquiry hears

• Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

A forensic breakthrough has identified a person of interest in the unsolved 1993 murder of former AC/DC manager Crispin Dye.

Dye, 41, died on Christmas Day in 1993, a day after he was attacked in Sydney’s Darlinghurst, where he had been celebrating the release of his debut solo album.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

“Well, first the bad news—you’re definitely hooked.”

“Well, Mr. Cody, according to our questionnaire, you would probably excel in sales, advertising, slaughtering a few thousand buffalo, or market research.”

“So! … Out bob bob bobbing along again!”

Stan Grant resigns from ABC and four-decade media career for university role

Former Q+A host appointed professor of journalism and inaugural director of Constructive Institute Asia Pacific

• Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
• Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

Stan Grant says he has walked away from the ABC and the media after four decades because he wants to change the toxic global news culture by working on something constructive.

“I’ll be working out of Monash University in a dual role as professor of journalism and director of the Constructive Institute,” Grant told Guardian Australia.

Continue reading...

Daniel Andrews refuses to name those behind flawed Commonwealth Games business case

Victorian premier says he is not suggesting ‘people didn’t do their best’ amid criticism that Games bid should never have gone ahead

• Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
• Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, has conceded that the business case and costings for the axed 2026 Commonwealth Games were “hardly the greatest piece of work” but declined to say if individuals from the various organisations involved in compiling the documents were working on other government projects.

The documents, released on Saturday after the government reached a $380m settlement with Commonwealth Games organisers to cancel the event, showed the cost of hosting the Games in regional centres blew out from an estimated $2.5bn in April 2022 to almost $7bn in July 2023.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Russia-Ukraine war live: Ukraine reportedly destroys Russian bomber; drones damage apartments near Moscow

Images of Tupolev supersonic bomber jet in flames emerge after Russian defence ministry says warplane damaged in airfield strike; Moscow airspace briefly closed after drone attack

• Russia-Ukraine war at a glance

Ukraine has destroyed a supersonic Russian jet in a drone strike, according to reports from the BBC and Ukrainian media.

The reports were based on images posted on social media which appear to show the long-range bomber, the Tupolev Tu-22, on fire. The images were analysed by the BBC, but have not been independently verified by the Guardian.

Posts on Russian social media channels indicate that Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has published his first recruitment video for the Wagner group since organising a short-lived mutiny against defence officials in Russia. A video posted Monday on Telegram messaging app channels that are believed to be affiliated with Prigozhin shows a person who appears to be the 62-year-old mercenary leader saying the Wagner group is “hiring real strongmen” and “making Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa even more free”. Prigozhin’s comments and some posts in the pro-Wagner channels suggested it was filmed in Africa.

The Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, said Russian war crimes that have taken place in Ukraine “must be punished under international law”. During a press conference with Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday, Mitsotakis added that he “unreservedly condemned” Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.

Greece will take part in training of Ukrainian air force pilots for F-16 jets, Zelenskiy said on Monday. Denmark and the Netherlands on Sunday announced they would supply the first F-16s to Ukraine. “Today, we have the important result for aviation coalition. Greece will participate in training of our pilots for F-16. I am grateful for this proposal,” Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, said during his joint press conference with the Greek PM in Athens.

Denmark’s decision to supply Ukraine with American F-16 fighter jets to fend off Russia’s invasion represents an “escalation” of the conflict, Russia’s ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir Barbin, reportedly said.

The Ukrainian president said during a visit to Sweden that Kyiv was “getting closer” to obtaining Swedish Gripen fighter jets. “Our soldiers are already starting to test them,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly address on Sunday, adding that he had discussed the matter with Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson. Sweden, though, has not made any commitment to supply Gripens to Ukraine.

On Monday in Copenhagen, Zelenskiy thanked Danish politicians on Monday for helping his country resist Russia’s invasion. Ukraine’s president said that if Russia succeeded, other parts of Europe would be at risk from the Kremlin’s military aggression. “All of Russia’s neighbours are under threat if Ukraine does not prevail.”

Ukraine’s forces are repelling Russian attacks and have retaken several square kilometres on the eastern front over the past week, deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said on Monday. Ukrainian forces were advancing south of Bakhmut, the city occupied by Russian forces in May after a bloody months-long struggle, and had liberated another three square kilometres over the past week, she said.

Continue reading...

‘Use it or lose it’: Queensland treasurer warns BHP’s mining leases may be at risk without investment

Cameron Dick uses day of mining giant’s yearly financial results to send message as stoush continues over royalties

• Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
• Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

Queensland’s treasurer has warned BHP that its mining leases might be in jeopardy if the company does not continue investing in the state.

Cameron Dick used the day of BHP’s full-year results to continue his stoush with the mining lobby over Queensland’s progressive coal royalties, first telling the Australian newspaper that the government would not hesitate to revoke mining tenures being “misused” before telling parliament that firms had to “use or lose” their leases.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Energy bills: 13m British homes ‘did not turn on heating when cold last winter’

Which? survey finds about half of households with annual income of under £20,000 made such a decision

Millions of Britons did not switch on their heating during cold snaps last winter in an attempt to save on their energy bills as the cost of gas and electricity soared.

Almost nine in 10 households tried to cut back on their energy usage last winter, while almost half of all British households, or 13m homes, said they did not turn on their heating when it got cold, according to a survey of 4,000 people by the consumer group Which?.

Continue reading...