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Lenders increase borrowing rates by 0.25%; pro-Palestine meeting barred from council venue goes ahead outside in Darlington. Follow updates liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastNext week’s federal budget will fund a dedicated national centre to detect and disrupt the evolving threat of online violent extremism and terrorism.The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, will announce the $74m in funding over two years for the project on Wednesday. It is part of the government’s response to the Bondi terror attack in December.A bolstered online threat capability will give AFP and Asio the resources they need to target terrorists and violent extremists online.Just because I, and other people, might find it personally offensive does not mean that governments have unlimited power to constitutionally strike down the right of everybody else to freedom of political communication. Continue reading...

Man, 32, taken into custody after police called to Rosemeadow incident in early hours of Sunday morningFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA third victim has died and a man is in police custody following an incident at a home in Sydney’s southwest.NSW police arrived at the house in Rosemeadow on Sunday at 1.30am after reports of a disturbance. Continue reading...

Man, 32, arrested in the early hours of Sunday morning after incident in Rosemeadow. Follow updates liveFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA third victim has died and a man is in police custody following an incident at a home in Sydney’s southwest, AAP reports.NSW police arrived at the house in Rosemeadow on Sunday at 1.30am after reports of a disturbance. Continue reading...

Alex Greenwich says inquest crucial to understand what failures led to Bikram Lama’s death and avoid similar deaths Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe New South Wales attorney-general, Michael Daley, has been urged to order an inquest into the death of Nepali rough sleeper Bikram Lama in Hyde Park.The death of Lama – who was also known as “the birdman” for his love of the area’s pigeons – has prompted widespread calls for change, after Guardian Australia revealed last week that the young migrant’s body lay unnoticed for up to a week in bushes near a busy thoroughfare into St James station. Continue reading...

Man, 51, arrested after allegedly assaulting multiple people at Prince of Wales hospitalFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA patient has been shot with a Taser after allegedly attacking several people at a Sydney hospital, including a nurse who was left seriously injured.Police restrained a 51-year-old patient after the Saturday night melee at Sydney’s Prince of Wales hospital, which left a nurse in hospital. Continue reading...

Valentine officially retired in February after almost 40 years in radio, for treatment for a recurring cancerFriends and former colleagues of James Valentine say the much-loved musician and ABC radio presenter has died.The ABC confirmed his passing on air on Thursday morning. Continue reading...

Three other men already charged over February death remain before the courtsA fourth man has been charged over the kidnapping and murder of an elderly Sydney man, who was allegedly abducted in a case of mistaken identity.More than two months after 85-year-old Chris Baghsarian was abducted from his home in Sydney’s north in the early hours of 13 February, police arrested a 19-year-old on Tuesday over two offences, including murder. Continue reading...