Shocking

Health secretary announces move after Amos review finds childbirth and neonatal care in need of ‘urgent reform’Analysis: Transparency, standards and a new commissioner – but does maternity review go far enough?A powerful maternity commissioner will be appointed to push through an urgent transformation of childbirth care in England after a major review concluded that it had multiple failings.Ministers have bowed to growing pressure by agreeing to recruit the UK’s first commissioner for maternity and neonatal care. Whoever takes on the role will pursue hospitals over persistent failures in care, ensure wide-ranging improvements are made and try to restore the faith of families in a maternity system in England that has been rocked by a series of scandals.Maternity triage services – the childbirth equivalent of A&E – need an urgent overhaul, including more staff on duty, so that women’s concerns are acted on more quickly.Families should get the right to seek a fresh, independent investigation when things go wrong if they are not happy with the hospital’s own inquiry.The NHS’s “brutal” and “cruel” system of agreeing compensation with harmed and bereaved families should be replaced by a new process in which hospitals admit errors immediately.The NHS must root out racism and discrimination that is “embedded throughout the maternity and neonatal system”. Continue reading...

• Recent strikes in the Russia-Ukraine conflict have resulted in five deaths, signaling an intensification of hostilities. • Authorities in Crimea have suspended public fuel sales to prioritize supplies for medical services, emergency responders, and critical infrastructure. • These measures underscore the severe logistical and humanitarian challenges currently facing the region as attacks continue.

• Diplomatic negotiations have reportedly regressed following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), reversing previous progress. • While the MoU was initially viewed as a breakthrough for broader cooperation, talks have since stalled due to unresolved key issues. • The reversal is significant as it raises fresh concerns among officials and observers regarding the viability of the diplomatic process.

The Mason Lee case was not an anomaly. Queensland’s police and coronial systems work as designed – and that’s the core of the current crisisNine months before the death of the toddler Mason Jet Lee, a woman called police to warn them about the boy’s killer, William Andrew O’Sullivan. They placed a flag on his file labelling the woman’s claims “vexatious”. But that’s not the most shocking part of this story.Police already had evidence O’Sullivan was suicidal and homicidal. Months earlier they’d gone with him to a hospital, seeking mental health treatment, and while there he threatened to “skin” the woman and kill children. But that’s also not the most alarming thing. Continue reading...

Charlie Verco managed to grab hold of the woman and bring her back to shore after the Sydney shark attack on Saturday Elite paddleboarder Charlie Verco has only seen one shark bigger than the one he saw on Saturday at Sydney’s Coogee beach.The North Bondi athlete was training for the world championships in Hawaii in July on Saturday morning when he heard a swimmer shouting “shark”. Continue reading...

Conservationists say cherished creatures such as whales, dolphins and seabirds are being killed in large numbers by fishing tackleThousands of Britain’s most charismatic and protected marine wildlife, including whales, porpoises, dolphins, seals and seabirds are being killed as “collateral damage” by fishing vessels every year, according to the first-ever analysis of bycatch data.The analysis, by the Wildlife and Countryside Link, a coalition of voluntary conservation groups, reveals the devastating toll bycatch, the accidental capture and killing of non-target species by fishing vessels, is having on marine species. Continue reading...

Australia’s foreign minister condemns video posted by Israel’s national security minister taunting detained activists. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has condemned the actions of Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who posted a video of himself abusing bound activists captured while trying to sail an aid flotilla to Gaza.Wong joined international condemnation of the footage, which shows Ben-Gvir waving an Israeli flag, mocking and taunting the detainees, including shouting: “The people of Israel live” in the face of one bound man. In a statement, Wong said: “The images we have seen are shocking and unacceptable”.We condemn the actions of Israeli Minister Ben-Gvir – who Australia has sanctioned – and the degrading actions of Israeli authorities towards those detained. I have asked Australia’s Ambassador to Israel to make representations to Israel, reiterating our call for the release of the detained Australians and for Israel to ensure no ill treatment of any detainees and to act in line with international obligations. Continue reading...