
Australia news live: Albanese defends Anika Wells over taxpayer-funded travel expenses; ‘strong and erratic’ winds a challenge for NSW firefighters
Albanese says communications minister’s family trip to Thredbo was ‘completely within rules’. Follow the day’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAlbanese has also defended a $100k expense for communications minister Anika Wells, a staffer and a public servant to join the prime minister and foreign minister Penny Wong in New York for a United Nations meeting.Anika Wells was doing her job as the communications minister who is in charge of this world-leading, world-leading legislation, passed with bipartisan support, to give credit to Peter Dutton when he was opposition leader. And it was an important event. And it wasn’t just the event there, it was then the follow-up of people wanting to have meetings, have discussions, how is this going to work? What can we do to get buy-in here? When you’ve got Australia, a middle power, taking on these global giants.There’s family reunion entitlements, all of the travel within guidelines.I’m saying it was within entitlements and Anika Wells was working on that trip as sports minister, participating the lifting up of para-sport.But we’ve said very clearly that this won’t be perfect. Just like chances last night was Saturday night, somewhere in Australia, somewhere under 18s got a drink in a pub. But it’s the right thing to do for society to express its views, its judgement about what is appropriate. Continue reading...
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West Midlands police chief sorry for saying Jewish community supported Maccabi fan ban
Senior officer had told MPs some Jewish representatives did not want Maccabi Tel Aviv fans at Aston Villa game classified as high riskA senior police officer has apologised to Birmingham’s Jewish residents after he told MPs that some had expressed support for the exclusion of Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending last month’s match against Aston Villa.The decision to ban supporters of the Israeli team from the Europa League game at Villa Park in Birmingham had triggered political uproar, including Keir Starmer saying he was “angered by the decision”. Continue reading...

Several tourists among at least 23 killed in blaze at Goa nightclub
Fire broke out at midnight in the popular club in Arpora in the North Goa district, according to reportsAt least 23 people have been killed in a fire at a popular nightclub in the Indian resort city of Goa, officials said.Several tourists were among the dead in the fire, which broke out at about midnight at a club in Arpora in the North Goa district, according to the Press Trust of India. Continue reading...
A year on, protesters in Tbilisi, Georgia refuse to accept pivot to Russia
Protesters in Tbilisi, Georgia mark a year of unrest, accusing the government of ditching Europe for closer ties with Russia.

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