Alastair Campbell urged Australian politicians and media to lower political hostility and strengthen public support for democratic politics after the alleged attack on independent MP Helen Haines. He said public calls for change after attacks on British politicians faded quickly, and argued that economic hardship and distrust have helped fuel populist politics.
Key Facts
A 43-year-old man has been charged over the alleged attack on Helen Haines, and police are investigating.
The attack outside Haines’ electorate office in northern Victoria left her without both legs, according to the article.
Campbell said Haines’ expected return to parliament could help keep attention on the consequences of political violence.
Campbell cited the killings of British MPs Jo Cox and David Amess as cases after which political debate briefly drew calls for change.
He urged politicians and media to consider how they speak to the public and why their professions face low trust.
Campbell linked the rise of populist politics to the lingering effects of the 2008 financial crisis, including austerity and pressure on living standards.
Campbell is due to visit Australia for a speaking tour next month.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel needs a right-wing government and warned against relying on Arab parties to form a coalition. Early election projections showed Likud leading as the largest party, but neither Likud’s bloc nor the opposing alliance appeared likely to secure a governing majority.
Key Facts
With more than half of ballots counted, projections put Netanyahu’s bloc at 56 seats and Gadi Eisenkot’s alliance at 49.
Israeli Channels 12 and 13 projected Likud to win 27 seats, compared with 21 for Eisenkot’s Yashar party.
Netanyahu said final results would take another one or two days to emerge.
Netanyahu cited Israeli military operations and security zones in Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria as achievements of his current term, which began in 2022.
Netanyahu said Israel had an opportunity to work with U.S. President Donald Trump to address what he called the threat from Iran.
Analysts said the party seeking to form a government may need an uncomfortable coalition agreement, while opposition voters would oppose a deal with Netanyahu’s coalition.
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Simon Tisdall argues that President Donald Trump may renew military action against Iran after the U.S. midterm elections, potentially alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He warns that another attack could raise energy prices and disrupt trade, and says diplomacy is needed to prevent wider harm.
Key Facts
The article says Trump reportedly rejected Netanyahu’s push for an attack on Iran this month, partly because of concerns about the midterm elections.
Tisdall argues that Trump’s political calculations may change after the midterm polls close.
The article says Netanyahu may favor renewed conflict to strengthen his position in post-election coalition talks.
The article reports that a renewed assault could target a mountain complex where Iran’s enriched uranium is believed to be stored.
Pentagon officials reportedly say Iran could retaliate against Gulf oil infrastructure and undersea internet cables.
The article warns that attacks or disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab could affect energy supplies, transport and trade.
Tisdall argues that renewed fighting could push oil prices higher and harm consumers worldwide.
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India’s relationship with President Donald Trump’s administration has grown more strained ahead of the US midterm elections, a shift from the public warmth between Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019. Indian officials have criticized US policies on trade, Pakistan and terrorism, while negotiations over a trade deal have stalled.
Key Facts
In 2019, Modi praised Trump at a Houston rally attended by more than 50,000 Indian Americans and used the slogan “This time, a Trump government.”
Trump lost the 2020 presidential election.
India has traditionally had close ties with Republican administrations, including under Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.
The article says India usually raises disagreements with friendly countries privately but has recently criticized the Trump administration more openly.
Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said the administration had been insensitive to India’s concerns about terrorism, had warmed to Pakistan and had pursued self-centered trade policies.
India is among the countries most affected by Trump’s tariff policies, according to the article.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said trade negotiations with the United States had reached a plateau.
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Two major unions have withdrawn support for Victoria’s Labor government ahead of the November 2026 state election. The Australian Services Union is running ads criticizing Premier Ben Carroll and will not canvass for Labor, while the Electrical Trades Union has canceled its planned statewide campaign and redirected funds toward preparing for a construction royal commission.
Key Facts
The Australian Services Union says it will not door-knock for Labor in the weeks before the election.
The ASU’s ads accuse Ben Carroll and Labor of lying over the government’s decision not to lift a cap on council rates.
The ASU says it had an agreement with former premier Jacinta Allan to lift the cap, but Carroll scrapped the plan after taking over as premier.
The ASU ads are scheduled to run online in several electorates, including Carroll’s seat of Niddrie and seats held by senior Labor figures.
The Electrical Trades Union’s state council resolved not to run a third-party campaign for Labor at the 2026 election.
The ETU said it would use campaign resources to prepare for and defend the union and its members in the construction royal commission.
The ETU resolution cited polling that it commissioned, which predicted Labor would win 25 seats, 10 fewer than an earlier forecast.
A Victorian government spokesperson said Carroll was fighting for working people and criticized the Liberal–One Nation coalition.
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Gulf states are pursuing a multi-part deal to prevent renewed fighting between the United States and Iran. The proposals include reopening the Strait of Hormuz after sanctions relief, reducing Houthi forces in Yemen, and discussing a broader regional security agreement, while the United States is seeking Iran’s return to nuclear inspections.
Key Facts
Iran’s deputy national security council secretary said Iran could agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz four days after economic sanctions are lifted, rather than seven days.
European diplomats say allowing UN weapons inspectors to return to Iran and visit bombed nuclear sites is a minimum requirement for a breakthrough with the United States.
Iran has so far refused to readmit the inspectors and says it will discuss its nuclear program only in principle.
A delegation from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan visited Tehran to discuss terms for ending the Yemen conflict and a longer-term regional security arrangement.
Iran’s security council secretary met with the Houthi ambassador to Iran as Iran acknowledged a role in mediating the Yemen conflict.
The Houthis are seeking an end to what they describe as a Saudi naval and air blockade of territory they hold.
Iran is promoting a regional security pact involving Gulf states and Iran, with a reduced or ended US military presence in the Middle East.
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Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels was first published anonymously in October 1726, and events across Ireland are marking its 300th anniversary. An exhibition at Trinity College Dublin explores the novel’s editions, adaptations, characters and themes, alongside talks, performances and other anniversary events.
Key Facts
Swift wrote the novel under the title Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.
The book satirized Georgian society and later reached popular audiences through translations, children’s editions, comics and films.
Trinity College Dublin’s exhibition runs until December and is also available online.
The exhibition includes materials from the university’s collection, including a 1726 edition, a 1976 Marvel comic and a surviving 1761 abridgement.
The exhibition examines modern retellings that imagine the perspective of Gulliver’s wife, Mary.
Co-curator Aileen Douglas said Gulliver’s visit to Laputa connects with present-day concerns about technology.
Anniversary events include a Trinity panel discussion, a children’s choir premiere and events at the Robinson library in County Armagh.
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A friend of Beau Lamarre-Condon told his murder trial that he arrived at her home after Jesse Baird and Luke Davies disappeared and scrubbed blood from his van while she sat nearby. Lamarre-Condon has pleaded not guilty to murdering the men in 2024 and says he acted in self-defence; prosecutors allege he planned the killings.
Key Facts
The friend, identified in court as Fiona Rosso, said Lamarre-Condon arrived unannounced and told her he had “done something bad.”
Rosso testified that Lamarre-Condon asked her to look up schizophrenia and said he had experienced an out-of-body experience.
She said she sat with a glass of champagne while he tried to scrub blood from the back of his van.
Rosso told the jury that Lamarre-Condon said he had driven with another woman to dispose of the bodies in a dam.
Baird and Davies, both in their 20s, were found at a rural property inside surfboard bags.
Lamarre-Condon says he killed the men in self-defence after entering Baird’s home to retrieve his belongings.
Prosecutors allege Lamarre-Condon killed Baird and then shot Davies to eliminate a witness.
Prosecutors rejected Lamarre-Condon’s offer to plead guilty to Baird’s manslaughter; the trial is continuing in New South Wales Supreme Court.
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Flávio Bolsonaro, who lost Brazil’s presidential runoff to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, landed in the United States, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The U.S. State Department said it would allow Bolsonaro and his family to enter and issue them visas; Brazilian authorities had been investigating whether he left the country.
Key Facts
Lula defeated Flávio Bolsonaro in Brazil’s presidential runoff on Sunday.
Two sources told ABC News that Bolsonaro landed in the United States.
A senior State Department official said the United States would allow Bolsonaro and his family to enter and issue them visas.
Brazilian authorities said they did not know Bolsonaro’s whereabouts and were investigating whether he had left for the United States.
Brazilian authorities are investigating Bolsonaro in connection with a sports betting case and a probe into a film about his father, Jair Bolsonaro.
Two U.S. officials said the Trump administration had tracked Bolsonaro’s plans and expected him to leave Brazil for the United States.
Trump said Brazil’s election looked rigged, but the article reported no evidence supporting that claim.
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Victoria’s Court of Appeal is due to rule on Friday on Erin Patterson’s appeal against her convictions for three murders and one attempted murder. The court will also consider whether her life sentence, with a 33-year non-parole period, should be increased; the convictions appeal could lead to a retrial or acquittal, or leave the convictions in place.
Key Facts
Patterson was convicted of murdering Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson after serving them lunch.
She was also convicted of attempting to murder Heather Wilkinson’s husband, Ian, who survived.
Patterson received a life sentence with a 33-year non-parole period.
The Court of Appeal heard arguments in August and is scheduled to deliver its decisions from 10 a.m. Friday.
Patterson’s lawyers argued that jurors staying at the same hotel as police and prosecutors during deliberations compromised the trial.
The court could reject the appeal, order a retrial, or enter an acquittal.
If the court upholds the convictions, it may also decide whether Patterson should be resentenced.
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Exit polls from Israel’s election show Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc and the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot tied at 51 seats each, below the 61 needed for a majority. Vote counting is still underway, and the results could change; turnout exceeded 77%, the highest in more than two decades.
Key Facts
More than 30% of votes had been counted when the report was published.
Israel’s major television networks’ exit polls put both blocs at 51 seats.
A governing coalition needs at least 61 of the Knesset’s 120 seats.
Exit polls in Israel are often revised and can differ from final results by several seats.
More than 77% of eligible voters cast ballots, about 7 percentage points above turnout in 2022.
Palestinian parties were projected to win as many as 18 seats, up from 10.
Eisenkot could seek support from Palestinian parties or attempt to govern as a minority if his bloc falls short of a majority.
The Central Elections Committee said it had seen no evidence of systematic election tampering after Netanyahu alleged efforts to steal the election.
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Rogerio Marinho, a former campaign manager for Flavio Bolsonaro, said the senator did not tell him he planned to leave Brazil. Reports allege Bolsonaro secretly went to Florida after losing Sunday’s presidential election, while police investigate possible money laundering.
Key Facts
Rogerio Marinho previously served as Flavio Bolsonaro’s campaign manager.
Marinho said Flavio Bolsonaro did not tell him about plans to leave Brazil.
Reports allege Bolsonaro secretly left Brazil for Florida.
The reported departure followed Sunday’s presidential election loss.
Police are investigating possible money laundering.
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A ginkgo planted in Geelong Botanic Gardens in 1859 was named Victoria’s 2026 Tree of the Year. It won 27% of 4,435 public votes and is a popular wedding spot in the gardens.
Key Facts
The National Trust of Australia (Victoria) announced the award on Tuesday.
Geelong’s ginkgo beat eight other finalists.
A smooth bark apple myrtle in Prahran placed second, and an Apollo Bay myrtle beech placed third.
The tree stands 20 metres tall and may be the largest ginkgo in Victoria and Australia.
Its seeds were brought from China, possibly by a ship’s captain stopping at Geelong’s port.
The tree has stalactite-like growths found on older female ginkgos.
The National Trust is calling for stronger legal protection for significant trees and a planning approach that makes tree removal a last resort.
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Syria will reopen the Nassib border crossing with Jordan on Wednesday, restoring regular passenger and commercial traffic after a brief closure. The countries agreed to investigate Jordanian airstrikes in southern Syria that killed at least seven people and to set up a security committee to coordinate responses to militant threats.
Key Facts
Nassib is Jordan’s only border crossing with Syria.
The crossing was briefly closed after Jordan carried out airstrikes in southern Syria on Monday.
The strikes targeted sites Jordan described as ISIL hideouts and killed at least seven people in Deraa and Suwayda.
Five of those killed were members of one family, including three children.
Syria and Jordan agreed to form a security committee to investigate the strikes and improve field and intelligence coordination.
Jordan said the airstrikes responded to a church shooting in Karak, Jordan, on Friday; ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack.
The church shooting killed at least nine people and wounded 34.
Jordanian security forces arrested two brothers and their brother-in-law on suspicion of carrying out the shooting.
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Human rights groups urged countries to oppose UAE diplomat Lana Nusseibeh’s bid to become UN secretary-general, citing allegations that the UAE supports Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The UAE denies the allegations, while Nusseibeh says ending the war and supporting accountability for abuses would be priorities for a new secretary-general.
Key Facts
Nusseibeh, 48, is seeking to become the first woman to lead the United Nations.
The UAE has been accused of funding the RSF, which has fought Sudan’s army since 2023; the UAE denies the accusation.
Human Rights Watch head Ken Roth criticized Nusseibeh’s responses to questions about the UAE’s alleged support for the RSF.
Protection Approaches co-director Kate Ferguson questioned whether Nusseibeh would be independent of the UAE government.
Nusseibeh said she had taken leave from her UAE minister-of-state post to respect the independence expected of a secretary-general.
Nusseibeh said the RSF’s abuses should be addressed and called for the conflict to end.
A candidate needs at least nine votes on the 15-member UN Security Council and must avoid a veto by any of its five permanent members.
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Israeli television exit polls showed a close race between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc and an opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot, with neither projected to reach the 61 seats needed for a Knesset majority. The article says voters considered Netanyahu’s leadership and his government’s response to the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks; official results were still pending and could differ from the exit polls.
Key Facts
Channel 12’s exit poll projected 52 seats for Netanyahu’s bloc and 49 for Eisenkot’s opposition bloc.
Channel 13’s earlier exit poll projected 51 seats for each bloc.
The polls projected Likud as the largest single party, with about 27 seats, compared with 21 for Eisenkot’s Yashar party.
Arab parties were projected to win 19 seats collectively.
Israeli voters elect parties, which then form coalitions; a governing majority requires 61 of the Knesset’s 120 seats.
Eisenkot said the vote signaled a desire for change, while Netanyahu called for a right-wing government and said his bloc had a majority.
Bezalel Smotrich said his party was projected to win seven seats and pledged to continue expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The exit polls were unofficial; preliminary official results were expected the following day.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said forming a government with Arab parties would be “a disgrace and a shame.” Exit polls indicate that neither his party nor the opposition is projected to win the 61 Knesset seats needed for a majority.
Key Facts
Netanyahu is Israel’s prime minister.
Netanyahu called the prospect of governing with Arab parties “a disgrace and a shame.”
Exit polls project that Netanyahu’s party will not secure a majority.
Exit polls also project that the opposition will not secure a majority.
A majority in the Knesset requires 61 seats.
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Exit polls in Israel’s general election show no clear majority for either Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc or the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot. Arab parties may hold the balance of power, and official results and coalition talks will determine who can form a government.
Key Facts
Two broadcasters projected 51 seats each for Eisenkot’s bloc and Netanyahu’s bloc; a third gave Netanyahu’s bloc a three-seat lead.
Later exit-poll updates showed the blocs tied at 51 seats or gave Netanyahu’s bloc a narrow lead.
The Knesset has 120 seats, and a governing coalition needs at least 61 to hold a majority.
The United Arab List and Joint List were projected to win a combined 18 or 19 seats.
Turnout was 77.7% when polls closed, the highest at that hour since 1999, according to the Central Elections Committee.
About 600,000 absentee ballots, mostly cast by military personnel, were not expected to be fully counted until Thursday.
After final results, Israel’s president will consult political factions and invite the leader considered most likely to form a coalition.
If a candidate fails to form a government, Israel may hold another election.
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Naveed Akram’s case over his alleged role in the Bondi Beach attack has been adjourned until 24 February. Prosecutors say they need more time to consult victims and their families and complete the formal process of confirming which charges will proceed to trial.
Key Facts
Akram, 24, faces 78 charges, including 15 counts of murder and one count of committing a terrorist act.
He has not entered a plea.
The attack at a Hanukah festival on 14 December killed 15 people and injured 40, according to the article.
Akram’s father, Sajid Akram, was shot and killed by police at the scene.
Prosecutor Danielle New said the case brief includes thousands of witness statements, medical and financial records, purchase records, and video footage.
The judge granted the adjournment after the defence did not oppose the prosecution’s request.
Prosecutors allege the attack may have been inspired by Isis; police also alleged the pair planned it for months and visited Bondi two days beforehand.
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Thick fog is forecast in parts of the UK, with poor visibility likely to disrupt Thursday morning commutes. High pressure and lighter winds are expected to bring further mist and fog into next week, while rain will be limited in many areas.
Key Facts
Wednesday will bring showers mainly to southern Scotland, northern England and north Wales before drier weather and sunny spells develop.
Temperatures on Wednesday are forecast to reach 12 to 16C, slightly above average.
Fog is expected to develop overnight into Thursday, especially in east Wales and central and southern England.
The fog could be dense and may persist in some places until lunchtime Thursday.
Rain is likely on Friday and Saturday across Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern parts of England and Wales.
Mist and fog may also form in eastern and southern England on Friday and Saturday.
High pressure is expected to bring light winds and further morning fog through much of the first week of November.
The article says some reservoirs remain exceptionally low despite England and Wales receiving around average October rainfall.
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