Australian consumer confidence plunges to worst level since 1990s after RBA rate rise pred 6 urami in 33 minutami Key indicator dropped about 20% after the Reserve Bank last month announced the highest interest rates since 2011Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralian households are the most persistently pessimistic they have been since the early-1990s recession, after a fourth rate rise this year.Confidence among Australian consumers has plunged about 20% since the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted interest rates to the highest levels since 2011, according to the Westpac–Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Agreement to transition away from fossil fuels ‘not open for renegotiation’, Pacific leader tells pre-Cop pred 7 urami in 26 minutami International leaders visit Tuvalu as part of climate talks co-hosted by Australia ahead of Cop31 conferencePacific island leaders have urged a promised global transition away from fossil fuels must not be left open to renegotiation as they gather in tiny Tuvalu in a bid to build momentum before a major climate summit.About 50 dignitaries – 14 national heads including Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, a list of climate change ministers and the heads of global agencies – flew to the low-lying atoll nation in a bid to bring attention to the plight of the countries most at risk from the climate crisis. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Tigray rebel groups ‘forcibly recruiting boys as young as 15’ as fighting spreads pred 7 urami in 27 minutami Civilians try to flee as men and boys rounded up on streets by new alliance as Ethiopia conflict erupts againAs renewed fighting has threatened a fresh humanitarian crisis in the northern region of Ethiopia, reports are emerging that a new alliance of armed groups in Tigray has been forcibly recruiting men and boys to its ranks.Renewed conflict erupted on 23 September between Ethiopia’s federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which rules the region, shattering the fragile Pretoria peace agreement signed between the two sides in November 2022. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
RSPCA NSW director quits over welfare standards for RSPCA-branded chicken pred 8 urami Mark Steele says he is ‘ashamed to be associated’ with the RSPCA Certified scheme, which badges 97% of chicken sold in AustraliaGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe vice-president of RSPCA New South Wales has left the animal welfare group, saying he is “sincerely ashamed” of the standards for RSPCA-certified chicken.Mark Steele, a senior counsel who was a volunteer member of the board from 2021 and also served as a non-executive director of RSPCA Australia until March, issued a statement on LinkedIn outlining his decision to leave the group’s NSW branch for good at the end of September. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Alan Jones corresponded with 13-year-old who asked for financial help, court hears pred 8 urami in 29 minutami Radio host took teenager to lunch, had him visit his apartment, and told him to keep some conversations secret, court hearsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAlan Jones corresponded extensively with a 13-year-old who had written to him asking for financial help, showering the teenager with praise and asking him to keep some secrets from his mother.The teenager, known as complainant A, posted a letter to Jones after his father left and his single mother was struggling financially, the court heard on the first day of evidence given by complainant A in a closed court. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Judith Lucy announces breast cancer diagnosis: ‘I’m in shock, but I’m OK’ pred 9 urami in 23 minutami Comedian reveals cancer in a joke-packed video, saying she will undergo a double mastectomy and ‘I’ll be keeping you abreast of everything, Australia’Get our weekend culture and lifestyle emailComedian and actor Judith Lucy has revealed she has been diagnosed with breast cancer.In a video shared to Instagram on Tuesday afternoon, the 58-year-old said she had “a little, not-so-fun update” to share.Sign up for our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Sunday morning Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Beau Lamarre-Condon trial shown CCTV of accused’s movements across Sydney after alleged double murder pred 9 urami in 47 minutami Former NSW police officer has pleaded not guilty to February 2024 murders of Jesse Baird, 26, and Luke Davies, 29Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastJurors have seen how dozens of CCTV cameras tracked Beau Lamarre-Condon’s movements across Sydney well into the night after he allegedly murdered his former partner.The 31-year-old former senior constable has pleaded not guilty to the murders of Jesse Baird and the 26-year-old’s new partner, Luke Davies, saying they were killed in two separate violent struggles. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump says Super Pac will pay for taxpayer-funded ads that sparked outcry pred 10 urami in 52 minutami President’s U-turn comes after Democrats and Republicans condemned use of tax dollars for pro-Trump adsDonald Trump said on Monday he would pay for taxpayer-funded, pro-Trump ads “with money I raised for MAGA, Inc.”, a political action committee, after the television advertisements glorifying himself sparked a major backlash.In a social media post, Trump characterized the ads, which cost at least $1.5m in federal funds, as “a positive promotion for our Great U.S.A.” and called them “a rather standard thing to do”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Trump approves firing-squad execution of Fort Hood shooter, Pentagon says pred 10 urami in 53 minutami Nidal Hasan sentenced to death by military jury in 2013 for carrying out deadly shooting attack at army base in TexasDonald Trump has approved the execution by US army firing squad of Nidal Hasan, who was sentenced to death for killing 13 soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009, chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a social media post.Hasan, who was an army psychiatrist, would become the first US soldier to be executed by the US military in more than 60 years. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
OpenAI to reiterate apology to Australia over Medicare hack as inquiry told artists risk becoming ‘roadkill’ pred 11 urami in 33 minutami Representative to acknowledge company has ‘more work to do to rebuild trust with the Australian people’ as ABC says copyright laws do not need changingGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastOpenAI will use an appearance before a parliamentary committee to apologise again to Australia about the hack on Medicare last month, on the same day media and entertainment organisations argue weakening Australian copyright law for AI model training would leave artists as “roadkill”.Ahead of an appearance before the joint parliamentary committee hearing on artificial intelligence in Sydney on Tuesday afternoon, OpenAI released its opening statement in which the company apologises for its AI agents attacking a number of Australian government websites in June. The multibillion-dollar company notified the government via an email to a public-facing address three months after the breach. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
