Top World News

Oct 12, 2026 - World

Penny Wong welcomes Iraqi government’s decision to allow engineer to leave Baghdad but Pether’s team criticise timing of media statementGet our new political email, free app or daily news podcastAdvisers to Australian Robert Pether have expressed concern about the timing of a statement from the foreign minister announcing his depature from Iraq, saying it was issued at a sensitive period while the engineer was still transiting through Turkey.Penny Wong’s office issued a statement on Monday announcing that Pether had been allowed to leave Iraq after five years trapped in the country, including a four-year stint in jail that his family feared would kill him. Continue reading...

Oct 12, 2026 - World

Thinktank’s influential pre-budget report urges key decisions to be made now and not put off until next yearJohn Healey has been warned by Britain’s leading tax and spending experts that his budget risks being a “work of fiction” unless he sets out plans to cover £35bn in spending pressures.As the war in the Middle East rattles the public finances, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the damage from higher inflation meant the chancellor would need to either top up funds for his current government spending plans or impose deep real-terms cuts by the end of the decade. Continue reading...

Oct 12, 2026 - World

Mark Rowley says inclusivity is crucial for the force and he refuses to be ‘blown off course’ by criticsSir Mark Rowley: I will have more police officers of colour in the UK capital – and the culture wars won’t stop me doing itMark Rowley has said the Metropolitan police must recruit more black and Asian officers in order to gain the trust of minority ethnic communities in London, and vowed not to be “blown off course by the culture wars”.The right has criticised drives for diversity, claiming they lead to lower standards. Rowley, who is commissioner of the Met and Britain’s top police officer, said that as a leader of a major organisation he was prepared to take a stand against the “toxicity” surrounding the diversity debate and criticised other leaders for “running away from the subject”. Continue reading...

Oct 12, 2026 - World

Post-recess statement will focus on damage caused by Brexit and the need to cooperate on immigration and tradeAndy Burnham will put Brexit back on the Commons agenda as MPs return from recess, warning that failing to pursue a better deal with the EU would be a “major dereliction of duty”.The prime minister will use a statement to the Commons on the first day back after the party conference break to urge MPs to face up to the damage caused by Brexit, and embrace closer ties with the EU to increase economic growth and tackle illegal immigration. Continue reading...

Oct 12, 2026 - World

This blog is now closedGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLabor not watering down 30% tax on discretionary trusts, says assistant treasurer The assistant treasurer, Daniel Mulino, says Labor is not watering down proposed changes to put a minimum 30% tax on discretionary trusts.We’re not watering this down. This is a very substantial review. This is about fairness in our tax system. It’s about trying to better align the taxes that people pay when they earn income through trusts versus when they earn income from working, from providing their labour.These are changes that have been called for by experts for decades. If we go back to major reviews in the 1970s and all the way through the Howard government, the Henry review, even the Abbott government’s review, these changes to trust taxation have been called for.I think he’s getting that from lots of corners. People are saying that the Liberal party needs to do better.The polls are showing that the Liberal party is at an all-time low. And so, things have to change. Because there’s something existential about the threat that I think the party now faces.Look, I certainly haven’t closed the door, but I don’t need to rush to a decision. The next election is 18 months away. Continue reading...