There were 66 deaths in custody and police operations in 2025 – 18 more than the previous year

• Warning: This article contains references to Indigenous Australians who have died

There were a record number of New South Wales deaths in custody and police operations last year, with almost a quarter of prisoner deaths recorded as self-harm, a coroners court report states.

Of those who killed themselves, most were by hanging, despite millions being invested to remove ligature points.

Five-year-old’s grandfather and senior Warlpiri elder appeals for calm, saying: ‘It is time now for sorry business’

• Warning: This article contains references to and images of Indigenous Australians who have died

Northern Territory police say one person is facing charges and more are expected to be over unrest in Alice Springs after the arrest of a man in connection with the death of five-year-old girl.

The grandfather of Kumanjayi Little Baby, whose body was found on Thursday 5km from the Old Timers town camp where she was last seen alive on Saturday night, called for calm in the central Australian town on Friday, saying the violent confrontation between police and others at Alice Springs hospital was not “our way”.

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A man has allegedly stolen nearly $3,000 worth of diesel in jerry cans and drums from a South Sydney service station.

Police said they were told a driver of a white ute allegedly filled large drums and jerry cans with 915 litres of diesel, valued at over $2,870 (or about $3.14 a litre), without paying at about 7.15pm on 11 April.

Denise Ann Williams, 62, was last heard from on 15 April, when she told her family she was travelling to the west coast of Cape Breton Island in Canada’s east

A search is underway in Canada for a 62-year-old Australian woman who was reported missing on Tuesday while hiking in a coastal national park in the country’s south-east.

Denise Ann Williams was last heard from on 15 April, when she told family she was travelling to Chéticamp, a fishing village on the west coast of Cape Breton Island in the province of Nova Scotia.

Dozens of people gather outside hospital where 47-year-old was being treated five days after the five-year-old girl disappeared

•Warning: This article contains references to and images of Indigenous Australians who have died

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An angry crowd has clashed with police outside a hospital in Alice Springs where a 47-year-old man arrested by police in connection with the death of five-year-old Kumanjayi Little Baby was being treated.

Council workers were assessing the damage on Friday morning, as fires smouldered in skip bins and a nearby service station had been pulled apart.

Spy tech firm says it’s just ‘a software company’ amid pressure for a ban on new contracts with government agencies

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Just weeks after it implied some cultures are inferior to others in a manifesto described by one UK MP as the “ramblings of a supervillain”, the US spy tech company Palantir says it is just “a software company” amid calls for Australian government agencies to ban any new contracts with the controversial company.

In Australia, state and federal contracts with Palantir have reached nearly $80m, and federal investment in the company is reportedly more than $160m.

State’s police minister says buyback ‘doesn’t focus on keeping guns out of the hands of terrorists and criminals’, leaving NSW only clear supporter of plan

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Queensland has rejected key recommendations from the Bondi royal commission’s interim report, insisting plans for a national gun buyback will not keep weapons “out of the hands of terrorists and criminals”.

The report, handed down by commissioner Virginia Bell on Thursday, raised doubts about whether efforts to establish a national gun register after the 2022 police killings at Wieambilla in Queensland had been “unduly leisurely”. Bell recommended the federal government and the states speed up a jointly funded weapons buyback scheme.

Shares in Domino’s Pizza, KFC operator Collins Foods and multi-brand food franchise owner Retail Food Group have all suffered double-digit falls

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Once a symbol of cheap eating, fast food is transforming into a luxury many can no longer afford due to resurgent living costs.

This shift is reflected on the ASX, where major pizza, fried chicken and doughnut outlets are seeing significant price drops, raising the question: are consumers so downbeat that they are even giving up on fast food?

Exclusive: Government should back projects that prioritise renewables to protect consumers from ongoing price shocks, they say

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Former oil and gas industry leaders, including senior executives from BP and Shell, are warning the Albanese government that Australians risk ongoing price shocks and higher costs if it prioritises fossil fuel development in response to the global energy crisis.

Sixteen ex-executives and professionals – who had worked for companies including Woodside, Inpex, ExxonMobil and Esso – have urged the government to reject calls for fast-tracked gas and coal extraction, arguing it would do nothing to improve the nation’s liquid fuel security.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers had indicated ‘transitional’ proposed changes as Labor attempts to repair a ‘structurally flawed’ budget

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Only applying changes to the CGT discount and negative gearing rules to new investments would “severely delay” desperately needed reforms required to repair a “structurally flawed” budget and boost the economy, Deloitte says.

The consulting firm estimated that a policy which cut the 50% capital gains tax discount to 33% and abolished negative gearing would only generate $500m over the first four years of operation if existing investments were not included – an approach known as “grandfathering”.

The 155-page interim report released on Thursday shows how little is known – and can be shared – about the 14 December shooting

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If there’s one thing that’s clear from the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion’s 155-page interim report, it’s how much about the Bondi massacre remains unknown – and how little of what is known can be shared with the public.

More than a third of the recommendations from the report – which was released on Thursday – were confidential, although the Albanese government plans to implement all of them.

Spokesperson says just two out of 14 Australians remain in communication, after CCTV footage showed Israeli navy boarding vessels in international waters

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The family of a Newcastle man among at least six Australians onboard boats that were intercepted by Israeli navy personnel in international waters has issued a tearful plea for his safety and lashed out at the Australian government for not intervening.

More than 50 boats set sail to Gaza from Italy on Monday as part of the Global Sumud flotilla in the hope of delivering 500 tonnes of aid and volunteers to the Gaza Strip, which remains under naval blockade by Israel.