Independent News & People Network Desk of News

‘No transparency’: Labor to scrap levy secretly placed on Victorian public transport fares

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-08-27T01:38:00+00:00

Premier confirms levy, which was intended to help pay for the multibillion-dollar Suburban Rail Loop and other Big Build projects, will be abolishedFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA levy secretly slapped on Victorian public transport users – designed to help pay for the Suburban Loop and other Big Build projects – will be scrapped, the state premier has announced.Ben Carroll announced on Thursday that he would move to abolish the levy “because there was no transparency in its creation and implementation”. Continue

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Police investigate death of teenage girl two days after alleged ‘sexual choking’ act in Sydney

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-08-27T01:31:36+00:00

Officers called to northern beaches home on Sunday evening before 16-year-old dies in hospital on Tuesday night after what source says was sexual strangulation actFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastNew South Wales police are investigating the death of a 16-year-old girl after a suspected sexual strangulation act.Police said emergency services were called to a home in Elanora Heights in Sydney’s northern beaches on Sunday evening in response to a welfare concern report. Continue reading...

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Australia news live: tour operator has grave fears for group of 15 Australians aged 11 to 63 missing amid Nepal flooding

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-08-27T01:27:29+00:00

Sagar Pandey says he lost all contact with his tour group. Follow today’s news liveNepal flash flood disaster – live updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says Dfat officials are ready to provide consular assistance to Australians in Nepal, after the devastating flooding in the country.A local tourism official said they believed 34 Australians were missing in the area, among hundreds of foreign nationals. Australian officials were not confirming numbers at this stage, and were working to check on the welfare of people they know

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Is Mark Ruffalo anti-Semitic?

Source: Al Jazeera - World · Published: 2026-08-27T01:19:39+00:00

Ruffalo is accused of anti-Semitism for calling out the family behind an impending media deal.

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Cyborg cockroaches with tiny syringes could soon join search and rescue teams in major disasters

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-08-27T01:16:21+00:00

Giant burrowing cockroaches with added cameras and medical injectors are being tested as potential ‘first responders’ in earthquakesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFor people trapped under rubble in an earthquake or similar disaster, the arrival of a fleet of cockroaches could one day be the difference between life and death.Biorobotics engineers have been working on the design of six-legged cyborg insects with cameras and miniature medical injectors for search and rescue missions. Continue reading...

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Cyborg cockroaches with tiny syringes designed to join search and rescue teams in major disasters

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-08-27T01:16:21+00:00

Giant burrowing cockroaches with added cameras and medical injectors are being tested as potential ‘first responders’ in earthquakesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastFor people trapped under rubble in an earthquake or similar disaster, the arrival of a fleet of cockroaches could one day be the difference between life and death.Biorobotics engineers have been working on the design of six-legged cyborg insects with cameras and miniature medical injectors for search and rescue missions. Continue reading...

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Australia’s refugee intake to be slashed as Labor works to reduce migration amid One Nation pressure

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-08-27T01:15:37+00:00

Quota to fall by a third to Coalition-era levels in move that the Greens say makes Australia ‘meaner and weaker’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAustralia’s annual refugee intake will fall by a third next financial year, as Labor works to drive down migration levels over increasing political pressure from One Nation.Currently set at 20,000 arrivals per year, the annual refugee quota will drop back to Coalition-era levels of 13,750 in 2027-28. Continue reading...

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Qantas profits dip to lowest in four years as jet fuel costs climb after Iran conflict

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-08-27T01:11:09+00:00

Airline declines to predict impact of new carry-on luggage charge on Jetstar revenue or ticket sales, saying it is offering customers ‘choice’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastQantas has recorded its lowest pre-tax profits in four years, at $2.06bn, after the US war on Iran pushed up its fuel costs by $610m.Australia’s national airline also announced it would phase out its Airbus A380 models as it prepares to add new planes to its fleet, handing down annual results on Thursday. Continue reading...

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Busy Philipps reveals brain tumour diagnosis: ‘I’m grateful to be alive’

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-08-27T01:09:43+00:00

Actor says she had the ‘weirdest six months of my life’, after being diagnosed days after her Dawson’s Creek co-star James Van Der Beek died of cancerBusy Philipps has revealed she had a brain tumour removed, which was diagnosed shortly after her Dawson’s Creek co-star James Van Der Beek died from bowel cancer.The 47-year-old, born Elizabeth Philipps, starred in the hit US teen drama as Audrey Liddell opposite Van Der Beek, who died in February aged 48 after being diagnosed with bowel cancer. Continue reading...

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Donald Trump décrète l’état d’urgence sur le réseau électrique, une mesure qui vise la Chine sans la nommer

Source: Le Monde - International · Published: 2026-08-27T00:59:59+00:00

Cette décision, annoncée mercredi 26 août, interdit l’achat et l’installation d’équipements de réseau provenant de pays sous embargo ou sanctions américaines sur le commerce des armes. Parmi les Etats figurant sur cette liste, seule la Chine exporte ce genre de matériel vers les Etats-Unis.

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Nepal flash flood live updates: search on for hundreds missing near Tibet border as officials warn death toll could rise higher

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-08-27T00:59:53+00:00

At least 160 people have died, while officials believe 340 foreign nationals from India, the US, UK, Australia, Malaysia and Ukraine among those missing. Follow the latest newsFlash floods on Nepal-Tibet border leave scores dead and hundreds missingTell us: have you been affected by the flash floods?Authorities in Nepal and Tibet have said they fear the death toll from catastrophic flooding could be much higher than 160 people already killed, as search and rescue efforts to locate the hundreds missing continue.A huge wall of mud and rock collapsed into a river on the Himalayan border of Nepal

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Key witness in Meta trial says terms of settlement insufficient to halt apps’ harms to teenagers

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-08-27T00:37:10+00:00

Exclusive: Arturo Béjar, an ex-Facebook employee and whistleblower, said outcome ‘is not an all clear to say the product is safe’Meta agrees to major changes to Facebook and Instagram in settlementThe star witness in the US government’s landmark trial against Meta believes that a multibillion-dollar settlement reached on Wednesday does not go far enough to stop the social media giant’s harms to young users.“The limitations that are in the agreement are the equivalent of saying: ‘Well you can smoke as many cigarettes as you can in two hours a day,’” said whistleblower and ex-Facebook employee A

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Queensland woman gave birth to twins with different parents after surrogacy coincides with natural pregnancy

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-08-27T00:12:53+00:00

Both children were born on same day in November 2025 in situation so rare it had not been contemplated by state surrogacy lawsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA Queensland woman gave birth to twin children with separate sets of biological parents last year, in what is believed to be an Australian first situation so rare it had not been contemplated by state surrogacy laws.The woman, anonymised in a court judgment, conceived an unplanned natural pregnancy about the same time as she received an IVF embryo transfer un

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Australia news live: Victoria scraps secret public transport levy; former Treasury chief says WA GST deal might ‘break’ federal system

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-08-26T23:44:24+00:00

Ben Carroll announces he will ‘abolish the rail improvement charge’. Follow today’s news liveNepal flash flood disaster – live updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says Dfat officials are ready to provide consular assistance to Australians in Nepal, after the devastating flooding in the country.A local tourism official said they believed 34 Australians were missing in the area, among hundreds of foreign nationals. Australian officials were not confirming numbers at this stage, and were working to check on the welfare of people

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En Algérie, 12 morts dans des incendies de forêts

Source: Le Monde - International · Published: 2026-08-26T23:22:24+00:00

Selon un bilan du ministère de l’intérieur, douze personnes ont été tuées, mercredi 26 août, dans des feux qui ont ravagé plusieurs régions dans le nord-est du pays.

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En Algérie, douze morts dans des incendies de forêts

Source: Le Monde - International · Published: 2026-08-26T23:22:24+00:00

Des dizaines de personnes ont été évacuées face à la progression des feux jusque dans des zones résidentielles de plusieurs régions du nord-est du pays.

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En Algérie, douze morts dans des feux de forêt

Source: Le Monde - International · Published: 2026-08-26T23:22:24+00:00

Des dizaines de personnes ont été évacuées, les incendies progressant jusque dans des zones résidentielles de plusieurs régions du nord-est du pays.

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London neurosurgeons perform first successful AI-assisted operation to remove brain tumour

Source: The Guardian - World · Published: 2026-08-26T23:01:25+00:00

Surgeons aided by real-time analysis of camera footage that identified critical anatomy in brain to be avoidedNeurosurgeons in London have performed the world’s first successful AI-assisted operation to remove a brain tumour, saving the sight of a 48-year-old man, health officials have said.The surgery was performed in May at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN), part of University College London hospitals NHS foundation trust, but details were kept secret until Thursday while the patient, Rhys Hibbert, recovered. Continue reading...

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Crolla il tetto del mondo, l’alluvione in Nepal uccide centinaia di turisti

Source: Repubblica Homepage · Published: 2026-08-26T23:00:00+00:00

Si stacca un pezzo di un ghiacciaio, onde giganti spazzano i villaggi al confine con il Tibet cinese. I morti sono almeno 157, oltre 400 i viaggiatori stranieri dispersi. Si attiva la solidarietà internazionale

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Campo largo, il nodo delle primarie a ottobre

Source: Repubblica Homepage · Published: 2026-08-26T23:00:00+00:00

Servirà almeno un altro mese per decidere su leadership e programma. Bonaccini frena: “Prima il programma, poi valuteremo”. Gli incontri alle feste dei partiti

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