Film-maker Jacques Audiard apologises after Mexican outrage over Emilia Pérez

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The director of the award-winning musical about a trans cartel boss has said the film isn’t intended to be realistic, but he is sorry if things in it ‘seem shocking’

Emilia Pérez director Jacques Audiard has apologised after the film was engulfed in a wave of criticism over its depiction of Mexico.

A Spanish-language musical about a cartel boss who transitions to a woman, starring transgender actor Karla Sofía Gascón opposite Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez premiered in Mexico City on Wednesday before its Mexican release on 23 January.

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Human rights report lashes Australia’s ‘diabolical’ asylum seeker treatment and ‘appalling’ youth crime laws

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Latest world report by Human Rights Watch describes Australia as a ‘vibrant democracy … marred by some key human rights concerns’

Australia’s “diabolical” treatment of asylum seekers and youth crime has worsened, a global human rights advocacy body has warned, urging voters to push back on leaders politicising the issue for gain.

Human Rights Watch’s (HRW) latest world report has lashed Australia for going backwards on children in the criminal justice system in 2024, referencing the Northern Territory’s decision to reintroduce spit hoods for youth detainees and the continued use of watch houses to detain children in Queensland.

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Melbourne woman’s fight to keep NDIS support raises legal questions about agency’s ‘troubling’ processes

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Tribunal decision for 54-year-old Veronica Stephan-Miller suggests onus of proof should be on NDIA, not recipient, before revoking benefits

A tribunal has questioned whether it is lawful for the National Disability Insurance Agency to require that participants provide renewed evidence of their eligibility before revoking their access, describing the approach as “troubling”.

The Administrative Review Tribunal on Wednesday granted a 54-year-old Melbourne woman with disability, Veronica Stephan-Miller, the right to continue accessing the National Disability Insurance Scheme while she appealed against the agency’s decision last year to remove her from it.

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NSW government asks private sector to take public hospital patients as hundreds of psychiatrists set to resign

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Exclusive: Guardian Australia has seen an email from the director of Australia’s largest private mental health provider about the contract

The NSW government is considering moving public psychiatry patients into private hospitals in preparation for the mass resignation of the state’s psychiatrists next week, but doctors warn the panicked response will not help the “droves of people with significant illness and crises”.

At least 205 psychiatrists will resign on Tuesday after 16 months of negotiations over the workforce crisis, with the government not agreeing to the psychiatrist’s proposed solution – a special levy increasing their pay by 25%, similar to that which emergency doctors received in 2015.

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A Chinese app is rocketing up download charts – but in Australia, the sudden uptake is not just about TikTok

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Experts say the flood of users to RedNote highlights flaws in the Albanese government’s social media ban

As the TikTok ban looms in the United States, users have flocked to RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu, a China-based app that looks similar to Instagram.

But in Australia, where there is no imminent TikTok ban, the app is also rocketing up the app download charts. And it doesn’t just tell us about TikTok – it also exposes issues with Australia’s forthcoming social media age ban.

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Woolworths sacks two workers and investigates dozens over alleged conduct during 17-day strike

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Letters seen by Guardian Australia focus on alleged pickets on 26 November outside warehouses that were not then on strike

Two workers have been dismissed and Woolworths has told dozens of warehouse employees it is investigating their alleged conduct during a recent 17-day strike that cost it more than $100m in sales.

In November 2024, about 1,500 warehouse staff across four of the company’s distribution centres in New South Wales and Victoria took industrial action over pay and workplace conditions.

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New weather system to strike eastern Australia with strong winds and rain

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Eastern NSW, particularly northern rivers, and Gold Coast at high risk for severe thunderstorms and winds on Thursday, BoM forecasts

Persistent rain and strong winds will sweep across New South Wales into the weekend, the Bureau of Meteorology predicts, with parts of Victoria and south-east Queensland also likely to be affected.

Angus Hines, a senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, said Sydney’s weather could shift from storms to a “dreary” mix of wind, rain and cloud. It would be “persistently windy” and “quite chilly”, he said.

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Lawyer for Ugandan opposition politician ‘arrested and tortured’

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Eron Kiiza, who was representing regime opponent Dr Kizza Besigye, was assaulted and sentenced to nine months’ jail, say colleagues

A human rights lawyer involved in a case featuring a prominent Ugandan opposition leader has been tortured after he was arrested and detained without trial, according to colleagues who have visited him.

Eron Kiiza was assaulted and arrested by soldiers on 7 January while entering a military courtroom where he was representing Dr Kizza Besigye – a political opponent of President Yoweri Museveni – and his aide Haji Obeid Lutale.

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Saif Ali Khan, Famed Bollywood Actor, Is Stabbed at Home in Mumbai – The New York Times

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  1. Saif Ali Khan, Famed Bollywood Actor, Is Stabbed at Home in Mumbai  The New York Times
  2. Saif Ali Khan attacked: In OT for 5+ hours, 3-inch knife tip removed from close to spine  The Times of India
  3. Actor Saif Ali Khan stabbed inside Bandra house: Here are 5 unanswered questions  Hindustan Times
  4. India’s Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan out of danger after stabbing at Mumbai home  CNN
  5. Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan is stabbed by an intruder at his home  The Associated Press
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