Scandals fail to knock Germany’s AfD off course before electoral tests

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Far-right party’s poll numbers have fallen but analysts say negative headlines unlikely to sway its supporters

Scandals buffeting Germany’s far-right AfD are unlikely to do enough damage to blow the party off course before pivotal elections this year, analysts say, but the votes will offer crucial insights into whether the centre can hold against an anti-democratic onslaught.

Embarrassing allegations of spying for China and collusion with Russia, after the bombshell revelation in January of a mass “remigration masterplan” for foreigners and German nationals alike backed by several party members, have sent the AfD’s poll numbers plunging to as low as 15% nationwide. That is its worst score since April 2023.

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ACT watchdog to investigate if Walter Sofronoff acted corruptly by leaking Lehrmann trial report

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The former Queensland judge leaked his own report to an ABC journalist and The Australian newspaper’s Janet Albrechtsen

The ACT’s integrity watchdog will investigate whether Walter Sofronoff acted corruptly by leaking his final report on the Bruce Lehrmann trial to select journalists ahead of its official release.

On Monday, a statement confirmed the ACT integrity commissioner, Michael Adams, would launch an investigation “into the impugned conduct as [the commissioner] suspects, on reasonable grounds, that Mr Sofronoff’s conduct may constitute corrupt conduct”.

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Four Vietnamese people found near Broome as Australia’s asylum boat policy under strain

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Exclusive: ‘Unauthorised maritime arrivals’ arrive near WA town after two other boat arrivals in last week

Australia’s policy of deterrence against asylum seeker boats is under strain, with three boat arrivals in the last week including four people found near Broome.

In addition to five Rwandans who arrived on Saibai Island and 33 people who landed on Christmas Island, Guardian Australia can reveal that four Vietnamese “unauthorised maritime arrivals” arrived near Broome on Friday morning. The group was intercepted just offshore.

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Three men charged with aiding Hong Kong intelligence service, says Met

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Men also charged with foreign interference under National Security Act, police say

Three men have been charged under the National Security Act with allegedly assisting the Hong Kong intelligence service and foreign interference, the Metropolitan police said.

Chi Leung (Peter) Wai, 38, of Staines-upon-Thames, Matthew Trickett, 37, of Maidenhead, and Chung Biu Yuen, 63, of Hackney, east London have each been charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service, contrary to section 3(1) and (9) of the National Security Act 2023.

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PM promises ‘Labor party budget through and through’ – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

More details on government’s plan to cap international student numbers

The government has released a little more information on its plan to cap international students in a bid to ease housing shortages and clamp down on sub-standard education providers and agents. It will introduce legislation next week which will:

Prevent education providers from owning education agent businesses.

Pause applications for registration from new international education providers and of new courses from existing providers for periods of up to 12 months.

Require new providers seeking registration to demonstrate a track record of quality education delivery to domestic students before they are allowed to recruit international students.

Cancel dormant provider registrations to prevent them being used as a market entry tool by unscrupulous actors.

Prevent providers under serious regulatory investigation from recruiting new international students.

Improve the sharing of data relating to education agents.

[The Coalition will announce its] energy policy not at the time of the media’s choosing or at a time of the government’s choosing but a time of the Coalition’s choosing.

But it will be very clear in advance of the next election the way we want to go about opening up a new energy source for Australia. That will deliver emissions free energy and lower energy prices by increasing the mix of types of energy over the long term.

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Minister apologises to women affected by birth trauma after UK inquiry

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Inquiry hears ‘harrowing’ testimonies and finds postcode lottery for quality of maternity care

A health minister has apologised to women affected by birth trauma after a parliamentary inquiry that heard “harrowing” testimonies from more than 1,300 women about giving birth found a “postcode lottery” for maternity care.

The birth trauma inquiry, led by the Conservative MP Theo Clarke and Labour MP Rosie Duffield, will call for an overhaul of the UK’s maternity and postnatal care.

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Charlise Mutten murder trial: accused killer claims nine-year-old was shot dead by her mother, not him

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Alleged murderer Justin Stein claims nine-year-old schoolgirl was shot dead by her mother, Kallista Mutten, not by him, jury told

A man on trial for murdering Charlise Mutten claims it was the nine-year-old’s mother who shot the schoolgirl rather than him, a court has been told.

Justin Laurens Stein, 33, is accused of murdering Charlise on or around 12 January 2022, at Mount Wilson, in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney.

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Indonesia: Floods and cold lava from Marapi volcano kill 41 – BBC.com

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  1. Indonesia: Floods and cold lava from Marapi volcano kill 41  BBC.com
  2. Dozens killed in cold lava mudslides on Indonesian island of Sumatra  The Guardian
  3. Death toll in Indonesian floods, volcanic mud flows rises to 41  Al Jazeera English
  4. Indonesia: Rescue underway after flash floods kill dozens  The Associated Press
  5. Cold Lava and Floods Kill 37 on Indonesian Island of Sumatra  The New York Times
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Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen expected to testify in hush-money trial

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Key prosecution witness set to take the stand after tough week for Trump in which court heard vivid testimony from Stormy Daniels

Donald Trump’s criminal hush-money trial enters its 16th day on Monday in New York with the potential for bombshell testimony as his former fixer turned prosecution witness, Michael Cohen, is expected to take the stand.

Cohen is core to the case against Trump, as he is accused of shuttling $130,000 to the adult film actor Stormy Daniels days before the 2016 election – in exchange for her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump 10 years prior.

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Prunella Scales returns to role of Queen Victoria for Edinburgh fringe show

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The Fawlty Towers actor has often played the monarch in the past and has now recorded audio for a new production at the festival

At the age of 91, Prunella Scales has reprised one of her favourite roles. The actor, who was diagnosed with vascular dementia 10 years ago, has recorded the part of Queen Victoria for a production at the Edinburgh fringe this summer.

She played the character more than 400 times in An Evening With Queen Victoria, a play written for her by Katrina Hendrey in 1979. She returned to the show on and off in performances around the world until 2007 and brought it to an end only because she was finding it hard to remember the lines.

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Accused Islamic State terrorist Neil Prakash ‘enticed’ by sermon at Melbourne mosque, court told

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Notorious alleged jihadi changed from a peaceful convert after being influenced by an ‘inflammatory’ brand of Islam, a magistrate has heard

An accused Australian jihadi was “enticed” by a radical Islam sermon delivered on the day of his conversion and was influenced by members of the mosque, a court has been told.

Once branded Australia’s most-wanted alleged terrorist, Neil Christopher Prakash faced Melbourne magistrates court on Monday accused of six terrorism-related offences.

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Jacob Rees-Mogg accuses Bank of England of ‘miserable incompetence’ over inflation

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MP criticises policies on interest rates and bond-selling as Tory rightwingers call for review of Bank’s independence

Jacob Rees-Mogg has accused the Bank of England of “miserable incompetence” over its failure to reduce inflation more quickly and its bond-selling strategy, as rightwing Tories prepare to renew their attacks on the Bank’s independence.

The former business secretary accused the Bank of damaging the economy with its interest rate decisions and costing the taxpayer tens of billions of pounds by selling off government debt too quickly in an attempt to reduce its balance sheet – a policy known as quantitative tightening (QT).

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Vatican Museums faces unprecedented legal dispute over job conditions

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Petition by 49 employees could lead to Holy See being taken to court for ‘undermining dignity and health’

Forty-nine employees at the Vatican Museums have started an unprecedented legal dispute over job conditions and workplace safety, which could lead to the Holy See being taken to court.

The staff, mostly custodians who have worked at the museums for years, claim they are treated as “commodities” by Pope Francis’s administration, according to a report in Corriere della Sera.

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