Georgia will allow Trump to challenge order keeping Fani Willis on election interference case

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Appeals court said it would allow Trump to challenge decision not to disqualify Willis over relationship with her deputy

The Georgia state court of appeals on Wednesday said it would consider an appeal from Donald Trump of an order allowing Fani Willis, the district attorney, to continue prosecuting his election interference case in Fulton county.

In a one-page order, the appeals court said it would allow Trump to challenge the decision not to disqualify Willis over her relationship with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor she hired to lead the Trump case. Scott McAfee, the trial judge overseeing the case, ruled in March that Willis could stay on the case as long as Wade resigned. Wade subsequently resigned the same day McAfee issued his decision.

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Robert F Kennedy Jr says health issue caused by dead worm in his brain

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Third-party US presidential candidate says 2010 issue ‘caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died’

Robert F Kennedy Jr, the third-party candidate for US president, said a health problem he experienced in 2010 “was caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died”, the New York Times reported.

The startling words were contained in a divorce case deposition from 2012 the Times said it obtained.

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Brazil’s far right pilloried for Madonna outrage after figures spotted at concert

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Supporters of rightwing ex-president Jair Bolsonaro among 1.6m people at show despite conservative criticism of ‘satanist’ singer

For conservative supporters of Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro, Madonna’s recent mega show in Rio had seemed the perfect opportunity to score points against what they see as the ungodly and morally degenerate left.

After the Queen of Pop threw the biggest concert of her 40-year career on Copacabana beach on Saturday, one far-right congressman called the singer a “satanist”. Another reprehended the “immoral acts” that had unfolded on stage during the sexually charged event and called Madonna’s performance “an affront to Brazilian laws”.

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Kate Osamor has Labour whip restored after investigation into Gaza genocide comments

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Exclusive: MP apologised for saying on eve of Holocaust Memorial Day that Gaza should be remembered as a genocide

Kate Osamor has had the Labour whip restored after an internal investigation was conducted into her comments on Holocaust Memorial Day.

The MP for Edmonton apologised for sending her local party members a message saying Gaza should be remembered as a genocide on the eve of the memorial day.

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Soaring number of migrants trapped in Yemen face abuse and starvation, say NGOs

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Urgent funding needed to help people return home as humanitarian crisis reaches critical levels, according to migration organisation

The number of African migrants stranded in Yemen, many of whom endure “horrifying and brutal” violence while trapped there, is reaching critical levels, according to international NGOs and civil society organisations based in the Arab state.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) put out a warning this week about the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, leading a call for urgent funding to support the “safe and voluntary return of migrants to their countries of origin”.

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Russia-Ukraine war: UK to expel Russian defence attache, who it claims is ‘undeclared military intelligence officer’ – as it happened

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Several Russian diplomatic premises that UK believes have been used by Russian intelligence also closed. This live blog is closed

The Kremlin also said that it valued its relations with North Korea, when asked about a report that Russia has been shipping refined petroleum to North Korea at levels that appear to breach a cap set by the United Nations Security Council.

“We value our bilateral relations with North Korea and intend to further develop them in all possible areas,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

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Budget sneak-peek predicts higher wages and tax breaks – but no increase for Australians on jobseeker

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Government dampens hopes for an increase to jobseeker, despite pressure from economists, social justice groups and equality advocates

Australians are forecast to have more disposable income next year, according to budget predictions, with higher wages, tax cuts and lowering inflation.

But those on unemployment payments are unlikely to see any major change to their financial situations, with the government dampening expectations the base jobseeker rate will increase, despite growing pressure from economists, social justice groups and equality advocates.

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Australia’s health watchdog warns patients are being overprescribed psychotropic medication

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Royal commissions into disability and aged care found ‘a fundamental problem’ with how the drugs were used

Glenda Parkin was 56 when she was diagnosed with younger-onset dementia, a rare visual variant of Alzheimer’s disease known as posterior cortical atrophy. She became functionally blind and her ability to perceive the world around her gradually deteriorated.

While the diagnosis forced Parkin to retire at the zenith of her career as a school principal in Perth, losing her abilities to read and write alongside other basic capabilities, she carried on a fulfilling life, according to her husband, Bronte, her carer for 10 years.

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‘Huge’ proportion of mental health conditions in Australia found to be caused by childhood maltreatment

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Almost a quarter of the 1.8m cases of depression, anxiety and substance disorders could be prevented, researchers find

If child abuse and neglect did not exist, almost a quarter of the more than 1.8m cases of depression, anxiety and substance use disorders in Australia could be prevented.

The finding comes from the first Australian study to estimate the proportion of mental health conditions which are directly caused by childhood maltreatment and independent from other influences such as genetics and social environments.

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US paused weapons shipment to Israel amid concern over Rafah, senior US official says

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Rafah’s mayor says city ‘stands on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe’ as pressure builds on Israel to pull back from attack

The Biden administration paused the supply of thousands of large bombs to Israel last week in opposition to apparent moves by the Israelis to invade the Gaza city of Rafah.

Confirming the move on Wednesday, Lloyd Austin, the US defence secretary, said: “We’ve been very clear … from the very beginning that Israel shouldn’t launch a major attack into Rafah without accounting for and protecting the civilians that are in that battle space.

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European People’s party declines to sign letter condemning far-right political violence

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Commitment of Ursula von der Leyen’s party to fighting destructive forces is in question, say signatories

A row has broken out among political parties in Europe after the centre right group to which Ursula von der Leyen belongs refused to sign a letter condemning the far right and a spate of attacks on politicians in Germany, Belgium, Spain, Sweden and Ireland.

The open letter calls on von der Leyen to “reject any normalisation, cooperation or alliance with the far right and radical parties” and denounces a physical assault on the German centre-left politician Matthias Ecke. Ecke was “seriously injured” after allegedly being attacked by four young men while putting up campaign posters.

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Bankrupt crypto exchange FTX says it will be able to repay creditors full $11bn

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CEO confirms once company has sold off remaining assets it will have more than amount required

The bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX has said it will be able to repay creditors the full $11bn (£8.8bn) it owes, as the boom-bust cycle repeats itself with a sharp increase in bitcoin prices.

John Ray III, who succeeded the disgraced Sam Bankman-Fried as the chief executive of FTX shortly after its collapse, said that once the exchange had sold off its remaining assets, it might have more than $16bn – well in excess of its debts.

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Oil services company John Wood Group rejects £1.4bn takeover offer

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Aberdeen-based firm listed on FTSE 250 knocked back unsolicited approach from Dubai-based Sidara

The British oil services company John Wood Group has rejected a £1.4bn takeover offer from a Dubai-based rival, Sidara, which “fundamentally undervalued” the company.

Aberdeen-based Wood is the latest British company on the London Stock Exchange to face takeover speculation amid deepening concerns that UK-listed stocks are undervalued compared with other markets.

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Suspect detained after Berlin senator attacked – as it happened

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Franziska Giffey was injured when a man struck her from behind with a heavy object in a local library. This live blog is closed

A 74-year-old has been detained in Germany, after Franziska Giffey, a Berlin senator and former city mayor, was injured when a man struck her from behind with a heavy object in a local library.

Reuters reported, citing police, that the suspect was previously known to law enforcement for hate crime and unspecified incidents against state security, and was also believed to have mental health issues.

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No sign of breakthrough in hostage and ceasefire talks, Israeli official says; Kerem Shalom aid crossing reopens – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story here

Israel was reopening the Kerem Shalom crossing on its border with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, reports the Reuters news agency citing a statement from the Israeli agency in charge of it said.

According to the statement, aid trucks routed through from Egypt were already undergoing security inspections there.

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Disease and hunger soar in Latin America after floods and drought, study finds

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Climate chaos is threatening food production, trade and lives, says World Meteorological Organization

Hunger and disease are rising in Latin America after a year of record heat, floods and drought, a report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has shown.

The continent, which is trapped between the freakishly hot Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, probably suffered tens of thousands of climate-related deaths in 2023, at least $21bn (£17bn) of economic damage and “the greatest calorific loss” of any region, the study found.

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Dozens reportedly arrested as police clear George Washington University encampment

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The school’s student paper reported arrests as hundreds of Washington DC police dismantled the impromptu tent village

Hundreds of Washington DC police, some deploying pepper spray, cleared a pro-Palestinian encampment at George Washington University early on Wednesday, in the latest clash between law enforcement and protesting students to sweep the US.

The GW Hatchet student paper reported that at least a dozen people had been arrested as the impromptu tent village was dismantled in University Yard. The Metropolitan police department said the arrests had been made for “assault of a police officer” and “unlawful entry”.

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