The Guardian

One of the key figures in Melbourne’s years-long gangland war, Mokbel was jailed for 30 years in 2012 after pleading guilty to masterminding an elaborate drug syndicate Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast One of Australia’s most famous gangsters will walk free after prosecutors on Friday said they would drop a planned…

Emails appear to show Mountbatten-Windsor getting child sex offender introductions to UAE crown prince via foreign affairs minister Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor vouched for Jeffrey Epstein during a UK state visit to the United Arab Emirates with Queen Elizabeth II in 2010, according to newly released emails. The email was sent from “The Duke” to Epstein on 24 November of that year, with the subject…

Authorities respond to reports of crash at 99 Ranch Market after victims, some trapped under vehicle, die at scene Three people were killed and six others were hurt after a car driver collided with a bicyclist and then slammed into a grocery store on Thursday afternoon in Los Angeles, authorities said. The crash was reported shortly after noon at a 99 Ranch Market in the city’s Westwood neighborh…

There is a profound inequity when it comes to tax breaks for investors. The reform could boost the government’s budget bottom line and reduce renters being outbid by investors Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Slashing tax breaks for property investors might not put much of a dent in house prices, but that’s not to say it can’t make a meaningful difference to home owner…

While labels list dozens of possible risks only four are supported by evidence, say researchers Almost all side-effects listed for statins are not caused by the drugs, according to the world’s most comprehensive review of evidence. Other than the well-known risks around muscle pain and diabetes, only four of 66 other statin side-effects listed on labels – liver test changes, minor liver abnormali…

Tech giant reports $213bn in revenue after its founder, who owns the Post, lays off a third of newspaper’s employees Amazon announced plans to spend $200bn on artificial intelligence and robotics this year, the latest tech giant to vow fresh enormous investments in the artificial intelligence arms race. The news of the investment comes one day after the Washington Post, owned by Amazon founder Je…

Severe lack of public defenders has meant people charged with crimes have been routinely unable to fight their cases The Oregon supreme court has ruled that a large number of criminal cases across the state must be dismissed due to a severe shortage of public defenders, a major decision that attorneys say will impact more than 1,400 pending cases. The problem has been years in the making and has …

Shabana Mahmood insists deportations will rise, as Labour government is accused of promoting ‘harmful stereotypes’ of migrants Nearly 60,000 unauthorised migrants and convicted criminals have been removed or deported from the UK since Labour took office, the Home Office has said. The announcement came amid claims that the government was promoting “harmful stereotypes” by equating migration with c…

Anonymous insider alleges director of national intelligence withheld classified information for political reasons The Republican leaders of the House and Senate intelligence committees have rejected a top-secret complaint from an anonymous government insider alleging that Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, withheld classified information for political reasons. The responses thi…

Prime minister will meet with Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto to sign Australia-Indonesia Treaty on Common Security, announced in November Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Health minister says surge in ebikes a ‘real emergency’ Health minister Mark Butler says the spate of dangerous ebike riding is a “real emergency” after a group of riders swarmed the Sydney Har…

Amid warnings McSweeney’s survival would leave his position ‘untenable’, PM apologises to Epstein’s victims for appointing Mandelson as US ambassador Downing Street has defied calls to remove Keir Starmer’s most senior aide, insisting Morgan McSweeney retains the prime minister’s confidence, as frustration grows over a wait for documents on Peter Mandelson, which some fear could last for weeks. A…

US president says deal, which he previously described as act of ‘great stupidity’, was ‘best’ PM could make Donald Trump has watered down his criticism of the UK’s plan to hand the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius, saying the deal was the “best” Keir Starmer could make. The US president had described ceding sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory, which includes the Diego Garcia militar…

Vodafone also reviewing its contract with Global Counsel after revelations of former minister’s links to Jeffrey Epstein Barclays has reportedly cut ties with the lobbying firm co-founded by Peter Mandelson, after intense scrutiny of the founders’ dealings with the late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Vodafone has also said it is reviewing its contract for public affairs services with Global …

Lester’s 1990 classic about the wonders of nature wins Guardian Australia poll ahead of Possum Magic in second place Alison Lester interview: ‘Everything I do looks a bit like a stuffed toy’ Children on their favourite picture book: ‘I also like that the dad cries’ Magic Beach by Alison Lester has won Guardian Australia’s poll to find Australia’s best children’s picture book of all time. More tha…

While the US president’s many mentions in the Esptein files seem to have no consequences, in the UK Starmer could be the first world leader to fall All around Europe, the political and business elite are facing an inquest on what blinded so many to think it was permissible to consort with a known sex trafficker. As the 3m emails and 1,800 photos released on Friday by the US Department of Justice …