Nigel’s ‘chiselled cheekbones’ make the news – Reform’s the Reformer, digested by John Crace

Editor, agony uncle, crossword compiler – he even interviews himself. Our sketchwriter finds there’s no end to Farage’s talents

Welcome to your new super, soaraway Reformer. The paper that aims to take you back to the 1950s with all the stories that the mainstream media don’t want you to read. Free to all patriots. And those who happen to have found a copy on the floor of the bus.

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Avanti West Coast paid out £20m in ‘delay repay’ passenger refunds this summer

Intercity train operator’s compensation bill likely to top £70m this financial year amid rise in claims across network

Avanti West Coast paid out more than £20m to passengers in just three months this summer in refunds for disrupted journeys on Britain’s main intercity rail network.

The intercity operator paid out almost as much in a four-week period to 25 July – £9.3m – as its annual profits for each of the past two years. It repaid a further £12.2m in the subsequent eight weeks.

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Storm warnings for Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane as cold front ‘packs a punch’

BoM predicts hail, damaging winds and possible flash flooding across Victoria, NSW and parts of Queensland into Sunday

Storm warnings are in place for multiple capital cities across Australia’s east and south-east as a severe weather front sweeps across the country.

Heavy rain, winds and thunderstorms are forecast to hit Melbourne and eastern Victoria throughout Saturday afternoon as a cold front meets warm, humid air.

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Is time up for backyard fireworks? UK ministers weigh partial ban over noise concerns

Consultation follows growing calls from campaigners, vets and National Farmers’ Union for tighter regulation

As the nights draw in, the season of sparklers begins, with Diwali, Bonfire Night and New Year’s Eve among the occasions typically celebrated with fireworks. But if campaigners get their way, this could be the last blast for bangers in the back yard.

In January concerns about the noise and availability of fireworks were aired in a parliamentary debate, with two petitions clocking up more than 180,000 signatures each, while earlier this month the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade closed a consultation on proposals including making louder fireworks only available to professional users.

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Luigi Mangione’s lawyers file to dismiss state charges, citing double jeopardy law

Mangione pleaded guilty in August in federal case in the killing of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson

Luigi Mangione’s lawyers filed paperwork on Friday once again pushing for dismissal of his state-level case in the killing of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson following his federal guilty plea.

Mangione pleaded guilty on 14 August to federal charges in Thompson’s grisly death outside a Manhattan hotel on 4 December 2024. The shocking plea came less than a month before his state murder and weapons trial, which had been scheduled for 8 September.

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Albanese looks for reset on world stage as ‘spot fires burn’ domestically and likely interest rate hike looms

The prime minister will speak with King Charles and others at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Antigua and Barbuda

As “summit season” begins, reaffirming ties with fellow leaders on the world stage could be a circuit breaker for Anthony Albanese amid domestic and economic woes, analysts have said.

But a likely interest rate hike, triggered by higher-than-expected inflation, while the prime minister is overseas will make his job – and the treasurer’s – even harder.

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Ukraine’s Zelenskyy praises US over $2.1bn Patriot missile deal but warns it could take years

The Ukrainian president called the US decision strong, but added that delivery of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles ⁠could take years

The US has approved the sale ⁠of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles ⁠to Ukraine for an estimated $2.1bn, but Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned deliveries could take years and stockpiles were needed now to counter Russian ballistic missile attacks.

“The proposed sale will improve Ukraine’s capability to meet current and future threats by improving its integrated air and missile defense capabilities,” the US state department said in a statement on Friday.

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A top-secret spy mission, a decades-old scandal – and the Austin Powers-esque saga to lift the lid

Rex Patrick’s latest transparency fight is over what he calls ‘most open secret in the history of Australian spying’ – maybe even the world

A campaign to uncover any documents relating to whether Australian spies bugged Timor-Leste to gain the upper hand in sensitive oil and gas negotiations will be a little less secret after a critical win by the former senator Rex Patrick.

The politician turned transparency advocate is trying to finally lift the lid on the top-secret mission in 2004 that became a public scandal years later after an ex-spy and a former attorney general attempted to mount a case in The Hague.

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