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Australia fires: NSW bushfires cause tens of thousands to flee as Victoria declares state of disaster – live Victorian premier Daniel Andrews declares state of disaster for East Gippsland, urging people to flee bushfire zones, while Scott Morrison is abused by fire victims in Cobargo. Follow today’s live news and latest updates 12.03am GMTHMAS Choules is expected to reach Hastings at 11pm tonight after leaving Mallacoota today. 12.00am GMTLong time Moruya resident Ryan Gallagher will be back here by the river if the town is badly hit by fire, “ready to jump in if I need to.”“You can kind of feel that tentative angst in the air, you know it’s coming.”#NSWfires @abcnews @ABCemergency pic.twitter.com/D9xNL9FkwI Continue reading... Go to Source

Lib Dem MP Layla Moran announces same-sex relationship MP decides to go public after being approached by journalistsThe Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran has announced she is in a “really happy, loving, stable relationship” with a woman, saying she decided to go public after being approached by journalists.The MP for Oxford West and Abingdon said she found attributing labels to people’s sexuality contrived, but that the term she most identified with was pansexual, meaning she is attracted to people regardless of their sex or gender identity. Continue reading... Go to Source

Report shows betting industry's reliance on problem gamblers Exclusive: Regulator considers banning VIP schemes after betting firm data reveals widespread use‘It keeps you coming back’: the rise of VIP gambling schemesThe dependence of the UK gambling industry on high-spending VIPs, customers who are disproportionately likely to be addicts, has been laid bare in a secret report obtained by the Guardian.The Gambling Commission is considering whether to ban VIP schemes in Britain after collecting data from betting firms, including one that took 83% of all deposits from 2% of its customers. Continue reading... Go to Source

Families pay tribute to couple found stabbed to death in Derbyshire Man, 39, charged with double murder as victims are named by Derbyshire policeThe families of two people who were found stabbed to death in Derbyshire on New Year’s Day have paid tribute to them.Helen Hancock, 39, from Duffield, and Martin Griffiths, 48, from Derby, who were found at a property in Duffield, were formally named by Derbyshire police. Continue reading... Go to Source

More than 200 members of Congress urge US supreme court to reconsider Roe v Wade Appeal in an amicus brief in a Louisiana case was signed by 205 Republicans and two Democrats More than two hundred members of Congress have urged the US supreme court to reconsider the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling which legalized abortion nationwide.The appeal came in an amicus brief in a Louisiana case, and was signed by 205 Republicans and two Democrats, and calls on the high court to revisit the ruling, which affirmed that access to safe abortion is a constitutional right. Continue reading... Go to Source

Levels of child criminal exploitation 'almost back to Victorian times' Exclusive: police chief says problem is at a high for modern era amid lack of youth facilitiesThe criminal exploitation of children is at its highest level in modern times as gangs capitalise on a lack of youth facilities and school exclusions to groom children, a police chief has revealed.Chief constable Shaun Sawyer said that as state provision for children receded in the last decade, driven in part by austerity, criminals had exploited the space between “the school gate and the front door”. Continue reading... Go to Source

Starmer says he wants Labour 'rebuilt ... as trusted force for good' as poll puts him leadership favourite - live news Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happenAfternoon summaryStarmer says he wants to see Labour ‘rebuilt ... as trusted force for good’Blow to ‘continuity Corbyn’ as poll makes Starmer favourite for leaderDUP signals it won’t be rushed into hasty deal to restore power-sharing 5.45pm GMT 5.27pm GMTAnd Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP’s new leader at Westminster, also told reporters after the talks about power-sharing in Belfast that getting the devolved institutions restored was “an absolute priority” for his party. But he said the DUP would not be rushed into an agreement against its interests. He...

Australia fires: tens of thousands stranded while attempting to flee Visitors who were told to evacuate a vast area along the NSW south coast before even worse fire conditions return stuck for hours in gridlocked traffic Tens of thousands of people remained stranded on Thursday evening while attempting to flee bushfire-ravaged areas of the south-east Australian coast – having earlier been urged to leave before the return of extreme and dangerous weather conditions.The mass evacuation of communities in New South Wales and Victoria is among the largest ever emergency movements of people in Australia. The numbers fleeing the bushfire crisis remain unclear, but are expected to compare to the 60,000 people who were flown out of Darwin after Cyclone Tracy in 1974. Continue reading... ...

Labour leadership: Blow to 'continuity Corbyn' as poll of members suggests Starmer clear favourite - live news Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen 11.43am GMTYouGov included Yvette Cooper in its list of seven potential Labour leadership candidates for its poll of party members. (See 9.51am and 10.21am.) But, according to a story by Jason Groves in the Daily Mail, Cooper is expected to announce that she won’t be standing, because she has concluded that her opposition to Jeremy Corbyn would make her unelectable given how popular he is with members. Groves quotes a “friend” of Cooper’s as saying:From the way Yvette is talking, she is not going to stand. The way the party is now, it is going to be very difficult for anyone who ...

Northern rail to be stripped of franchise, says Grant Shapps Transport secretary says he has started process after year of chaos and cancellationsThe process to strip Northern rail of its franchise has begun after years of poor performance, the transport secretary has said.Grant Shapps told the BBC he had started the process that could result in removing the firm’s routes, calling its service “completely unacceptable”. Continue reading... Go to Source

Carlos Ghosn prepares to speak as Japan comes to terms with saviour who fled Wife dismisses reports husband escaped inside an instrument case as world awaits full explanation from fugitiveThe world will have to wait until next week for what could be the only definitive account of how Carlos Ghosn managed to leave Japan months before he was due to stand trial for alleged financial misconduct.The former Nissan chairman who fled the country to Lebanon while out on bail, will speak to the media in Beirut next Wednesday, media reports said, in a public appearance that could provide answers to myriad questions swirling around his daring escape. Continue reading... Go to Source

Turkish parliament to vote on sending troops to Libya Lawmakers expected to approve action to back UN-supported Tripoli governmentTurkey’s parliament is to vote on Thursday on whether to send troops to Libya to back the UN-supported government in Tripoli in its fight against forces loyal to a rival administration in eastern Libya seeking to capture the capital.Lawmakers are expected to approve the motion at the emergency session called for later in the day, and grant a one-year mandate for the deployment, despite concerns that Turkish forces could aggravate Libya’s conflict further and destabilise the region. Continue reading... Go to Source