UNITED KINGDOM

Health secretary says aggressive strain of virus is putting NHS under worst strain since CovidI have beefed up the post at 9.08am to include the direct quote from Wes Streeting about not being able to guarantee patient safety in the NHS if the strike by resident doctors in England goes ahead. You may need to refresh the page to get the update to appear.In his LBC phone-in, when asked about his New Statesman interview (see 9.43am), Wes Streeting, the health secretary, also insisted that his comments about the government’s “technocratic approach” were not a criticism of Keir Starmer. He said:No,

Committee asked to consider if parliamentary rules broken when submission from judge Penelope Wass was used against her by ODDP The powerful New South Wales privileges committee has been asked to examine whether the state’s prosecutors’ office breached parliamentary rules by using a judge’s submission to an inquiry to have her removed from trials.Citing a potentially “chilling effect” for future witnesses, an upper house inquiry asked for an investigation into the conduct of Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP). This came after a submission critical of the ODPP – made under parliamentary privilege by district court judge Penelope

Former police officer admits to taking explicit images of children as young as four in his careFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA former police officer who was secretly working in childcare has admitted taking explicit photos and videos of children younger than 10 when they were in his care.David William James created the child abuse material while working at six out-of-school hours (OOSH) care services in Sydney’s north and city centres between April 2021 and May 2024. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/dec/12/sydney-childcare-worker-david-william-james-pleads-guilty-to-using-children-to-produce-child-abuse-material-ntwnfb Author : Australian Associated

Sussan Ley offers bipartisan truce to work on reform after a week of damaging headlines about MPs’ largesseFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe federal government wants the independent expenses watchdog to provide advice on overhauling travel perks for MPs, opening the door to changes after a backlash over politicians’ entitlements.The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, is prepared to work with Anthony Albanese to reform the system, offering a truce after a week of damaging headlines about MPs’ largesse. Continue reading... Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/dec/12/politicians-travel-perks-expenses-overhaul-advice Author : Dan Jervis-Bardy,