Reformers were ‘spectacularly unsuccessful’ in taking over NSW Liberals, Catholic schools boss says
The Guardian

Reformers were ‘spectacularly unsuccessful’ in taking over NSW Liberals, Catholic schools boss says

Catholic Schools NSW chief executive Dallas McInerney tells Icac corruption inquiry that Christain factional group driven by ‘a calling … a duty’Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA factional ally of the federal opposition leader, Angus Taylor, has told a corruption inquiry a group of Christian Liberal power brokers who ...

Why India is eyeing France’s next-generation combat aircraft tech amid jet shortage
SCMP

Why India is eyeing France’s next-generation combat aircraft tech amid jet shortage

India is looking to join France’s sixth-generation fighter programme in a long-term bid to secure a role in the next era of air warfare, from advanced aircraft technology to the industrial work of designing and building future combat systems. But analysts said the move, while potentially a major step in India’s defence partnership with France, would do little to ease the country’s immediate shorta...

Nearly 200-country study shows China’s Belt and Road Initiative cuts debt and corruption
SCMP

Nearly 200-country study shows China’s Belt and Road Initiative cuts debt and corruption

A study analysing data from hundreds of countries and regions suggests China’s Belt and Road Initiative is linked to better governance and economic development, according to researchers from Nanjing University. They found the trade and investment scheme – which spans Africa, Asia, Europe and beyond – was also associated with improved corruption control and that it reduced debt risks. The team – fr...

Australia politics live: Angus Taylor rebukes Andrew Bragg for expressing ‘personal views’ on migration numbers; Chris Minns steps in to deflect melon-gate question to PM

Australia politics live: Angus Taylor rebukes Andrew Bragg for expressing ‘personal views’ on migration numbers; Chris Minns steps in to deflect melon-gate question to PM

The Guardian

Opposition leader says he has ‘made clear’ to Bragg that his job is to express the views of the Coalition. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLegislation forcing tech companies to pay for Australian journalism to be introducedThe government will today introduce its legislation forcing tech companies to pay for journalism in Australia after making a s...

Telstra CEO gets $700,000 pay rise to $6.8m despite Australia-wide outage

Telstra CEO gets $700,000 pay rise to $6.8m despite Australia-wide outage

The Guardian

Telco board cuts senior executive bonuses by total $1.3m after tech fail that affected millionsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTelstra has paid its chief executive, Vicki Brady, $6.8m for the year ending in June, after docking 20% of her bonus in response to the network’s nationwide outage in July.The company reported...

Overseeing jury trials – the demanding job of a High Court judge

Overseeing jury trials – the demanding job of a High Court judge

SCMP

Jury trials are a rarity among the world’s legal traditions, but a fundamental bedrock of the common law system. The jury’s role as the decider of a defendant’s guilt makes them the natural centrepiece of a criminal trial, but an often overlooked part of the process is the role of the trial judge. The judge does not sit in the back seat while waiting for the jury to deliver its verdict; rather, th...

Stop mourning Hong Kong. It’s evolving, not dying

Stop mourning Hong Kong. It’s evolving, not dying

SCMP

Hong Kong has changed since the turmoil of 2019-20. Few people would dispute this. The more important question is what kind of city it is becoming. It is evolving into a more nationally integrated yet still distinctive city. The emerging model seeks to combine market dynamism and international connectivity with clearer alignment to national development. This is not decline. It is a search for a vi...

Russia warns of ‘chaos’ in global food market after Ukraine pummels grain terminals

Russia warns of ‘chaos’ in global food market after Ukraine pummels grain terminals

SCMP

Three of Russia’s largest grain terminals in the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk have halted operations after being damaged in a massive overnight drone attack by Ukraine. Grain shipments from Novorossiysk are currently impossible because of serious damage to terminal infrastructure, people familiar with the matter said. A loading gallery at United Grain’s Novorossiysk Grain Plant collapsed after t...

David McBride leaves prison on parole after being jailed for leaking Afghanistan war documents

David McBride leaves prison on parole after being jailed for leaking Afghanistan war documents

The Guardian

Attorney general grants former army lawyer’s release after 27 months in jail Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastDavid McBride, the former army lawyer jailed for his role in stealing secret defence documents about the Afghanistan war and leaking them to the media, has been released from prison in Canberra on Thursday.McBr...

Australia politics live: Telstra pays CEO $6.8m for year despite nationwide outage; Victorian premier tells student protesters against Pauline Hanson to ‘stay in school’

Australia politics live: Telstra pays CEO $6.8m for year despite nationwide outage; Victorian premier tells student protesters against Pauline Hanson to ‘stay in school’

The Guardian

Vicki Brady still paid close to $7m despite 20% of her bonus being docked by the company. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLegislation forcing tech companies to pay for Australian journalism to be introducedThe government will today introduce its legislation forcing tech companies to pay for journalism in Australia after making a series of 11th-hou...

What comes next for Hong Kong as a global financial hub?

What comes next for Hong Kong as a global financial hub?

SCMP

What will a stronger international financial centre look like for Hong Kong? Doubling down on yuan internationalisation is a key focus, experts say in this second of our five-part series on the city’s first five-year blueprint. Read part one here. With a symbolic press of a button, top officials and securities regulators from Hong Kong and mainland China earlier this month marked a historic moment...

Fubon Bank’s Hong Kong subsidiary opens first mainland China branch in Shenzhen

Fubon Bank’s Hong Kong subsidiary opens first mainland China branch in Shenzhen

SCMP

Fubon Bank (Hong Kong) has opened its first branch outside its home market, moving into mainland China to tap surging cross-border business opportunities as competition among foreign lenders in the Greater Bay Area intensifies. The branch, located in Shenzhen’s Qianhai financial zone, would initially focus on corporate banking, offering tailored cross-border financing to technology firms and enter...

Travis Kelce says wedding to Taylor Swift was 'the best night of my life' in first official comments

Travis Kelce says wedding to Taylor Swift was 'the best night of my life' in first official comments

The Guardian

Kelce’s remarks on his marriage to Swift at Madison Square Garden comes weeks after the event, which remains shrouded in mysteryAmerican football star Travis Kelce has described his secretive early July wedding to pop sensation Taylor Swift as “the best night of my life.”“I appreciate everybody who came out and celebrated and, you know, had fun with us,” the Kansas City Chiefs player told a briefi...

AI threatens nearly a quarter of Southeast Asia’s workforce but not all is lost

AI threatens nearly a quarter of Southeast Asia’s workforce but not all is lost

SCMP

Fears of a new industrial revolution in which artificial intelligence replaces manual labour have yet to materialise in Southeast Asia – but white-collar workers should brace themselves. Nearly one in four workers in the region face generative AI (GenAI) disrupting or affecting their jobs, according to a July report by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Clerical, administrative and profe...

AI threatens nearly a quarter of Southeast Asia’s workforce but all not lost

AI threatens nearly a quarter of Southeast Asia’s workforce but all not lost

SCMP

Fears of a new industrial revolution in which artificial intelligence replaces manual labour have yet to materialise in Southeast Asia – but white-collar workers should brace themselves. Nearly one in four workers in the region face generative AI (GenAI) disrupting or affecting their jobs, according to a July report by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Clerical, administrative and profe...

Australia politics live: Andrew Bragg says low-income earners should accept they will live in substandard housing; David McBride granted parole

Australia politics live: Andrew Bragg says low-income earners should accept they will live in substandard housing; David McBride granted parole

The Guardian

Shadow housing minister defends speech after criticism move would lock disadvantaged into skyrocketing power bills. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLegislation forcing tech companies to pay for Australian journalism to be introducedThe government will today introduce its legislation forcing tech companies to pay for journalism in Australia after m...

Colombia quake death toll hits 265, as rescuers race against the clock

Colombia quake death toll hits 265, as rescuers race against the clock

SCMP

Tonnes of aid from regional partners began to roll into Colombia on Wednesday, as the search for survivors in the rubble of a powerful earthquake grew more desperate after the temblor razed buildings, buckled roads and crushed cars. The devastation has tested Colombia’s new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, and his government as it scrambles to respond to the disaster and civil society as it pu...