Australian politician admits to sending text saying ‘my job is boring’ during a hearing

• Prof. Michel Chossudovsky reports on a secret U.S. War Department "Doomsday Blueprint" dated September 15, 1945, which allegedly planned a nuclear strike to "wipe the Soviet Union off the map." • The article asserts that the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki served as a "dress rehearsal" for this larger strategic objective.

• The UN Security Council met on Wednesday to evaluate the ongoing threat posed by ISIL (Dae’sh) to global peace and security. • Briefings highlighted that ISIL, Al Qaeda, and their affiliates remain "adaptive and resilient" despite international counter-terrorism efforts.

• The Israeli military has ordered residents in southern Lebanon to evacuate for the first time in weeks, alleging that the Iranian-backed Hezbollah has committed a "blatant violation" of the current ceasefire. • Diplomatic efforts to resolve the situation were disrupted, with a State Department official reporting that the second day of talks ended prematurely due to escalating events on the ground.

Coffee chain faced backlash over marketing promotion tied to anniversary of Gwangju massacreSouth Korean police have raided the headquarters of Starbucks Korea as part of an investigation into a marketing campaign accused of trivialising the country’s 1980s pro-democracy movement.Investigators searched the building in southern Seoul on Tuesday, police said on Wednesday. No further details were released, although South Korean media reported that officers also searched the homes of the Starbucks Korea executives. Continue reading...

Former AFL inclusion manager tells inquiry One Nation leader’s conduct is encouraging people to use ‘similar behaviour and words’The rise of One Nation is fuelling racism, a federal parliamentary inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at First Nations people has been told, with high‑profile Indigenous journalists warning the inquiry that 1970s‑style racism “is back”.The inquiry is holding public hearings in Melbourne this week, hearing evidence from prominent personalities and sporting groups about their experiences of racism, discrimination, violence and harm across Australia. Continue reading...

Former 2UE and 2GB radio broadcaster is facing 22 charges. Jones, 85, has pleaded not guiltyFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA former student sports star has denied in a Sydney court that he “fabricated” indecent assault allegations against broadcaster Alan Jones after he lost his police job and fell on “extremely hard times”.Jones’s defence barrister Gabrielle Bashir SC on Wednesday suggested to complainant J during cross-examination that he had a financial motive to report his alleged indecent assaults 20 years after the incidents. Continue reading...

Some want the chancellor to exploit newly flexible fiscal rules – others want a more creative approach, such as borrowing from marketsWith just 12 weeks to go until his first budget, new chancellor John Healey is seeking ways to ramp up public investment, without busting the Treasury’s fiscal rules – and some economists are urging him to be bold.As he settles into No 11 Downing Street, the former defence secretary’s most immediate challenges concern day-to-day government spending. Continue reading...

Investigation by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty and Legal Agenda shows Israel deliberately attacked Amal Khalil and colleague Zeinab Faraj knowing they were civiliansAn Israeli strike that killed Lebanese journalist Amal Khalil and injured her colleague Zeinab Faraj in April was a war crime, three rights organisations said on Thursday.Investigations from Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International and Legal Agenda showed that Israel deliberately and directly attacked Khalil and Faraj, with apparent knowledge that they were civilians. The organisations called for the attacks to be investigated as war crimes, while HRW called for states to halt arm sales to Israel and put targeted sanctions on Israeli officials responsible for ongoing crimes. Continue reading...

Jean-Claude Perrottet, brother of former NSW premier, asked about messages referencing federal opposition leader and factional group ReformersIcac’s spotlight has shone on Dominic Perrottet’s brother – and it won’t be the last we hear from his familyNew South Wales’s anti-corruption watchdog has been shown text messages which suggest Angus Taylor “had paid some money to the Reformers … or was refusing to”, according to the lawyer assisting the inquiry.Taylor, the federal opposition leader, is not named in Icac’s allegations and has previously denied making payments to the hard-right factional group the Reformers. Continue reading...

Van Viet Truong was critically injured after coming to the aid of a fellow retail worker in SunshineFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastCouncil flags are flying at half-mast in honour of a good Samaritan who died days after he was allegedly attacked by shoplifting youths outside a local shopping strip.Van Viet Truong was critically injured after he rushed to the aid of a fellow retail worker trying to stop the group stealing clothes at Sunshine in Melbourne’s west on Saturday, police allege. Continue reading...

After Ukraine failed to shoot down a single ballistic missile fired by Russia on Wednesday, the president urged allies to increase supplies of Patriot interceptorsNato is working to get Ukraine the air defences it “urgently needs”, its secretary general has said, after Kyiv failed to shoot down a single Russian missile in an attack on Wednesday, and as Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Moscow was seeking to significantly boost missile ⁠production ahead of winter.Speaking at a National Security and Defense Council meeting on winter resilience, the Ukrainian president did not rule out the idea that stalling missile supplies from western allies were “aimed at making Ukraine, so to speak, more willing to compromise” in peace talks with Russia. Continue reading...