‘Will haunt me for life’: nurse suspended over Covid lockdown baby shower in Melbourne aged care home before deadly outbreak

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Father-to-be was unaware of planned party at Epping Gardens aged care facility and stayed only five minutes, tribunal hears

An aged care nurse who attended a baby shower at a nursing home during a Covid lockdown has been suspended, telling a tribunal the mistake “will haunt me for the rest of my life”.

Staff at the Epping Gardens aged care held a surprise baby shower in July 2020 for registered nurse Denis Baniqued and his wife, who also worked at the facility.

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Thousands of women rally nationwide for abortion rights and feminist causes

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Demonstrators from Texas to Connecticut and Washington DC carried signs and chanted: ‘We won’t go back!’

Thousands of women rallied Saturday in the nation’s capital and elsewhere in support of abortion rights and other feminist causes ahead of Tuesday’s election.

Demonstrators carried posters and signs through city streets, chanting slogans such as: “We won’t go back!” Some men joined with them. Speakers urged people to vote in the election – not only for president but also on down-ballot issues such as abortion-rights amendments that are going before voters in various states.

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Student debt relief will make ‘massive difference’ for young Australians, education minister says

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Hecs debt will be reduced by 20% for university students under a government proposal should Labor win the next election

Slashing the Hecs debts of millions of university students will be a major boost for young Australians, the education minister says, as the federal government seeks a reset by targeting younger voters.

The government has indicated it will take 20% off students debts, which would apply to $16bn worth of loans, if Labor wins the next election.

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Boy, 14, charged with attempted murder after stabbing of girl, 13, near Hull

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Young victim found beside A63 in Hessle early Friday morning with lacerations to neck, stomach, chest and back

A 14-year-old boy has been charged with attempted murder after a 13-year-old girl was stabbed in the neck, stomach, chest and back near Hull on Friday morning.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has also been charged with possession of a bladed article.

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Georgia judge rejects last-ditch Republican attempt to block voting

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Judge allows Fulton county election offices to be open Saturday and Sunday for mail-in ballots to be dropped off

A Georgia judge on Saturday rejected a Republican lawsuit trying to block counties from opening election offices on Saturday and Sunday to let voters hand in their mail ballots in person.

The lawsuit only named Fulton county, a Democratic stronghold that includes most of the city of Atlanta and is home to 11% of the state’s voters. But at least five other populous counties that tend to vote for Democrats also announced election offices would open over the weekend to allow hand return of absentee ballots.

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Trump Thinks America Wants His Perversions – The Bulwark

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  1. Trump Thinks America Wants His Perversions  The Bulwark
  2. Trump Still Can’t Stop Talking About Women  The New York Times
  3. Opinion: What do women want? Not Donald Trump  Los Angeles Times
  4. Men Are Hopeless, but Don’t Worry: Women Will Save America. As Usual.  The New Republic
  5. Trump wants to narrow his deficit with women, but he’s not changing how he talks about them  The Boston Globe
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Rockets from Lebanon wound 11 in Israel – Reuters

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  1. Rockets from Lebanon wound 11 in Israel  Reuters
  2. Attack on central Israel injures 11 as Iran’s leader promises a punishing response  The Associated Press
  3. 130 rockets, 10 drones fired at Israel Saturday; helicopter downs drone south of Haifa  The Times of Israel
  4. Hezbollah fires around 100 projectiles into Israel from Lebanon throughout Saturday  The Jerusalem Post
  5. Rocket Fire From Lebanon Wounds 11 in Central Israel, Damages Cars, Buildings  Haaretz
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Drugs and weapons seized in sweep of jail where Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is held

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Brooklyn detention center holding 1,200 has been under scrutiny since two fatal stabbings this summer

Federal authorities have confirmed that they seized drugs, homemade weapons and electronic devices during a sweep of the jail where Sean “Diddy” Combs is being held on sex trafficking conspiracy charges ahead of a trial next year.

The Bureau of Prisons, which headed up the interagency sweep of the Metropolitan detention center (MDC) in Brooklyn that began on Monday, said the action was not related to Combs’s detention but was “preplanned and coordinated to ensure the safety and security” of staff and inmates.

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New Yorkers urged to conserve water after driest October in 150 years

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Mayor Eric Adams asks residents to take shorter showers as city agencies ordered to prepare conservation plans

New York’s mayor urged residents to take shorter showers, fix dripping faucets and otherwise conserve water, issuing a drought watch Saturday after a parched October in the city and in much of the United States.

A drought watch is the first of three potential levels of water-saving directives, and Eric Adams pitched it in a social media video as a step to try to ward off the possibility of a worse shortage in the United States’ most populous city.

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How Europe is preparing for a possible second Trump presidency – The Washington Post

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  1. How Europe is preparing for a possible second Trump presidency  The Washington Post
  2. ‘Bitter medicine’: Why some EU officials quietly yearn for Trump  POLITICO Europe
  3. How the US election may unsettle Europe  Financial Times
  4. Ahead of possible second Trump term, Europe 'not naive' on trade anymore, says France's Europe minister  CNN
  5. Jitters in Europe ahead of US elections  VOA Asia
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King and Prince William’s estates ‘making millions from charities and public services’

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Duchies of Cornwall and Lancaster likely to make at least £50m from leasing land to services such as NHS and schools, according to investigation

King Charles and Prince William’s property empires are taking millions of pounds from cash-strapped charities and public services including the NHS, state schools and prisons, according to a new investigation.

The reports claim the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, which are exempt from business taxes and used to fund the royals’ lifestyles and philanthropic work, are set to make at least £50m from leasing land to public services. The two duchies hold a total of more than 5,400 leases.

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Armed group kidnaps more than 200 military personnel and seizes base in central Bolivia – CNN

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  1. Armed group kidnaps more than 200 military personnel and seizes base in central Bolivia  CNN
  2. Bolivia military post taken over and soldiers held hostage  BBC.com
  3. Bolivia's Arce says Morales backers behind military posts takeover  Reuters Canada
  4. Supporters of Bolivian ex-president Evo Morales take about 20 soldiers hostage  The Guardian
  5. Bolivia says Morales supporters detained over 200 soldiers  DW (English)
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Israel abducts alleged Hezbollah official in unprecedented sea raid

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Commandos land in northern Lebanon in highly unusual operation to capture supposed militant group member

The Israeli military abducted who it said was a senior Hezbollah official in an unprecedented operation on Saturday morning during which Israeli commandos landed on the shores of Batroun, northern Lebanon, captured the alleged official and escaped via speedboat.

In a statement, an Israeli military official said its forces captured a “senior operative of Hezbollah” and transferred him to its territory to be investigated by military intelligence. The media outlet Axios cited Israeli sources as saying the captured man – Imad Amhaz – was responsible for Hezbollah’s naval operations.

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