Illegal

Move comes as 137 Labour MPs sign letter demanding ‘urgent, concrete action’ to stop settler violenceThe UK Foreign Office and a group of western countries are due to announce a package of sanctions against Israel this week designed to deter companies from becoming involved in a new proposed West Bank settlement that would split the territory in two and render the concept of a two-state solution near impossible.The package follows a warning by nine countries including France, the UK and Australia that settlement violence must stop and no company should be involved in what is known as the E1 development. Tenders were opened this month for the development of more than 3,000 homes between Jerusalem and the Ma’ale Adumim. The development would split the West Bank between north and south, and so effectively make a contiguous Palestinian West Bank impossible. Continue reading...

NSW seeking leave to appeal against successful class action including aggravated damages of $20,000 awarded to woman strip-searched at music festivalGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe woman awarded $93,000 after an illegal strip-search by NSW police thought until “just before” the trial that she would be called a liar in the proceedings by the officers who conducted the search. This was despite the officers submitting statements 12 months before her appearance that they had no recollection of the woman or the search, a court was told on Friday.Lawyers acting for the woman, Raya Meredith, and 6,000 music festivalgoers appeared before the NSW court of appeal on Friday in the final day of a two-day hearing where NSW is seeking leave to appeal after losing a class action over unlawful strip-searches conducted at music festivals between 2018 and 2022. Continue reading...

• The Champions League final attracted 7 million legal viewers in the UK, but was heavily impacted by piracy with an estimated 16.2 million illegal streams. • The surge in piracy occurred after TNT Sports placed the match behind a paywall, limiting accessibility for general audiences. • This shift in viewership highlights the ongoing tension between subscription-based sports broadcasting and the prevalence of digital piracy.

• European authorities dismantled nine organized crime groups and removed over 27,000 URLs hosting illegal live sports and copyrighted media. • The seven-month initiative, known as Operation Kratos 2, involved collaboration between 14 countries, including the U.S., UK, France, and Italy. • Key partners included anti-piracy associations and major sports entities such as La Liga and the UEFA Europa League to combat digital piracy.

• Bulgaria and Europol coordinated "Operation KRATOS 2," a seven-month international crackdown on criminal networks profiting from illegal streaming of premium sports, films, and television. • The operation led to the arrest of 29 individuals, the dismantling of nine organized crime groups, and the removal of over 27,000 illegal streaming URLs. • This action targets networks generating millions in illicit revenue, addressing the widespread intellectual property theft and financial losses faced by legitimate broadcasters.

Senate estimates hearing told issues caused by a glitch in the automated system that runs the controversial mutual obligations schemeFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe government has admitted it illegally cancelled hundreds of thousands of Centrelink payments because of a glitch in the automated system that runs the controversial mutual obligations scheme, it has been revealed.Speaking at senate estimates on Wednesday, representatives for the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations said the number of illegal cancellations, where people were not given enough time to reconnect to a job provider after missing a compulsory activity as part of their mutual obligations, was in “the vicinity” of 300,000. Continue reading...

Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates nicotine consumption rose 40%, with illicit sources accounting for 80% of all tobaccoFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralians are consuming more nicotine than they were eight years ago but are spending less, new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows, as 80% of the cigarettes smoked by the nation last year were cheaper illegal products.The analysis released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Wednesday showed the amount of nicotine consumed around the country soared by 40% between 2017 and 2025, despite population growth rising by just 14%. Continue reading...