Australia news live: Anthony Albanese says OpenAI agent hacked Medicare

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Anthony Albanese has revealed an artificial intelligence agent developed by OpenAI hacked Medicare in June.

The prime minister made the comments at the UN summit in New York.

This incident occurred in June this year and involved an Open AI agent gaining unauthorised access into the public-facing Medicare statistics reporting service portal, which is administered by Services Australia.

The AI agent accessed both public and non-public files.

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‘My friend’: Anthony Albanese announces $60m more for Ukraine at Zelenskyy meeting

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An emotional prime minister says that Kyiv’s cause is ‘an issue for the world’ as he also sets out the need for a new global order

Anthony Albanese has announced Australia will provide $60m more in support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion during an emotional meeting with Volodymyr ⁠Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the UN meeting in New York.

With the prime minister planning to use a key speech in New York to warn that the international world order was “no longer fit for purpose”, he hugged the Ukrainian president as the latter thanked Australia for its support.

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Save the Children officially warned by regulator over staff put at risk in Yemen

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Warning from Charity Commission for England and Wales concludes two-year investigation after death of Hisham al-Hakimi in October 2023

The international aid charity Save the Children has been issued with an official regulatory warning over management failures and misconduct that put staff at its Yemen office at serious risk.

The warning concluded a two-year investigation by the Charity Commission for England and Wales into the running of the office after the death of its safety and security director, Hisham Al-Hakimi, in October 2023 after he was detained by the Yemeni authorities.

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Texas to execute death-row prisoner over 2005 triple killing

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Ker’Sean Ramey, 41, set to die by lethal injection, sixth person to be executed by Texas officials this year

A man found guilty of fatally shooting three people during a 2005 attempted robbery at a rural Texas home is scheduled to be executed Wednesday, a week after the other man convicted in the killings was put to death.

Ker’Sean Ramey, 41, is set to die by lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He would be the sixth person executed so far this year in Texas, with three more scheduled.

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Milei threatens at UN that Argentina will take ‘matters into our own hands’ on Falklands

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Argentinian president accuses United Nations of being filled with ‘parasites’ in bellicose general assembly speech

Javier Milei has condemned the UN as he warned that Argentina would take “matters into our own hands” in its dispute with Britain over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands.

In a caustic speech at the general assembly in New York, the Argentinian president criticised the UN for being ineffective when it came to the long-running tensions over the British overseas territory in the south Atlantic known in Argentina as the Malvinas.

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UK shares findings of damning climate crisis national security report suppressed under Starmer

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El Niño poses critical threat to nations’ defences, says Ed Miliband in presentation to global foreign ministers

The UK has warned countries around the world that the climate and nature crises and the coming El Niño threaten their national security and defence, presenting foreign ministries with the findings of an explosive report suppressed under Keir Starmer.

Ed Miliband, the foreign secretary, made a presentation to the foreign ministers of the EU as well as Kenya and other countries on Wednesday night at a private meeting during the UN general assembly in New York, based on the report by the UK’s spy chiefs that found the collapse of natural systems around the world would lead to conflict, migration and food shortages.

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‘We hope he’ll accept’: US invites Putin to G20 summit at Trump golf club

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Kremlin yet to respond publicly to US invitation that is likely to raise concerns from Ukraine and EU countries

The United States has invited Vladimir Putin to take part in the meeting of the G20 scheduled in Miami in December in what would be the first major summit with the Russian leader present since he launched his invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The invitation, which marks a significant reversal by the Trump administration of Russia’s international isolation, was announced by Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, during a press conference on the sidelines of the United Nations conference in New York.

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No signs Chagos deal can be adapted to suit Trump, say UK officials

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Agreement with Mauritius over Diego Garcia unlikely to be revived unless president changes his mind, insiders believe

The Chagos Islands deal is on hold for as long as Donald Trump objects to it, UK officials believe, with no immediate signs it can be adapted to suit the US president.

After Trump savaged the three-way plan as “a terrible deal” during a meeting with Andy Burnham at the UN general assembly, the prime minister said he was “confident” the UK would be able to find a solution to revive the idea.

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FBI investigates breach of jobs website as hackers claim ‘very sensitive data’ stolen

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FBIjobs.gov offline on Wednesday as ShinyHunters group claims to have accessed records of agents and applicants

The FBI is investigating an apparent breach of its jobs website as a criminal hacking group claimed to have accessed “very sensitive data” on nearly all agents and job applicants.

“The FBI is aware of claims regarding unauthorized activity affecting FBIjobs.gov and is currently investigating,” the bureau said in a statement. The website, the main portal for prospective employees to learn about the FBI and initiate the application process, remained offline Wednesday morning.

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UK to launch military squadron to protect satellites in space

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New RAF unit will warn of incoming missile attacks, and support offensive and defensive operations

A new military unit dedicated to defending satellites, protecting services people need on Earth and potentially supporting offensive operations is being launched by the UK.

The No III Space Effects Squadron will be announced on Wednesday, with the defence secretary, Wes Streeting, warning that Britain needs to “keep pace in the new space race”.

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Philadelphia teacher admits to lying about being Palestinian and Black: ‘I hid the truth’

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Local advocacy groups say they have cut ties with Hannah Gann, who ‘fully lied about her identity and background’

A Philadelphia teacher is facing criticism from her fellow colleagues and activists after it was revealed that she fabricated being both Palestinian and Black.

The Racial Justice Organizing Committee (RJOC) and Philly Educators for Palestine (PEFP) announced over the weekend that it was cutting ties with “one of their long-time members”, Hannah Gann, who “completely lied about her identity and background, claiming at various times to be Palestinian, Tunisian and Black”.

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Iran’s president hits out at ‘bully’ Trump in UN speech but signals willingness to talk

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Masoud Pezeshkian says Tehran is ready for dialogue and diplomacy ‘but without the language of force’

Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, turned the tables on Donald Trump, describing the US as the true bully and terrorist in the Middle East while insisting that Iran had always shown a commitment to the negotiating table.

In a defiant speech to the UN general assembly in New York, his first since the US and Israel launched an all-out war on Iran, Pezeshkian repeatedly vowed that Tehran would never bend the knee to the US.

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Germany pledges to phase out fossil fuels for first time with target of 2045

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Campaigners say plan marks notable shift away from oil and gas as previously pledges were only for carbon neutrality

Europe’s biggest economy, Germany, has committed to phasing out fossil fuels by 2045, despite fierce debate about its green policies.

In a roadmap published on Wednesday, the German government set out for the first time an explicit promise of “transitioning away” from fossil fuels. Previous pledges were only for “carbon neutrality”.

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Property investors may pay less capital gains tax under Labor’s reforms, analysis suggests

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Researcher says public debate since May budget has overstated how much reforms will cost landlords and investors

Most property investors may end up paying less capital gains tax after Labor’s budget reforms, research based on an analysis of historical data suggests.

The e61 Institute’s analysis also found half of all landlords would have faced higher costs from the loss of negative gearing over the period from 2008 to 2025 if the new system had been in place, suggesting the tax reforms alone cannot explain a slump in investment demand.

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Gas lobby ‘scare campaign’ urges Victoria to scrap ban in new homes, leaked documents show

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Exclusive: Australian Gas Infrastructure Group lobbying campaign warns energy bills could increase by $100 unless ban is reversed, despite experts disagreeing

The gas industry has been accused of unleashing a “scare campaign” before the Victorian election as it pressures the state government to reverse a ban on gas in new homes.

A paper prepared by a lobbyist for the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG) and shared with ministers has warned annual household gas bills could increase by $100 unless the ban is overturned, without providing evidence to support that claim.

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The EU’s Canada offer is more mood than reality but it could hint at a future geometry for the bloc

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While Brussels and Ottawa desire a deeper partnership born of Trump-era volatility, ​the EU has no legal framework to accommodate it

The EU and Canada, Ursula von der Leyen said last week, “see the world with the same eyes”, with shared stances on everything from AI to the climate crisis, the Ukraine war and the unholy chaos unleashed by the current occupant of the White House (OK, she didn’t actually say that last bit. But I like to think she almost certainly thought it.)

So, the European Commission president went on, Canada should become “the first associate member of the EU”. In the audience, Mark Carney beamed with delight. The next day, Canada’s prime minister enthusiastically embraced the idea of an “alliance for the future”, to build “collective resilience” through “deep cooperation”.

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UK to join EU ocean science scheme to better predict extreme weather events

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Cooperation on OceanEye, which aims to create ‘real-time’ model of world’s oceans, comes amid efforts to boost EU ties

Britain is to join a major new ocean science programme, led by the EU, to better forecast extreme weather and climate events, the environment secretary is to announce in New York.

The announcement on Wednesday will come as Andy Burnham’s government aims to rebuild the UK’s relationship with Europe, and follows warnings this year’s “supersized” El Niño, tracked in the Pacific Ocean, will fuel more extreme weather globally.

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Delcy Rodríguez poses with Trump in New York as Maduro languishes in jail nearby

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Venezuela’s interim president hails ‘historic meeting’ and does not say whether she will visit snatched predecessor

Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, has celebrated a “historic” meeting with Donald Trump in New York, posing for a smiley photo with the US president, less than nine months after he ordered the abduction of her boss, Nicolás Maduro.

The former foes met at a five-star hotel a few blocks from Trump Tower in Manhattan late on Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN general assembly. The hotel is about 7 miles from the Brooklyn prison where Maduro has been held since he was snatched during a special forces raid on Caracas in January.

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