Author: DispatchTimes News Desk

The Australian Labor government is on course to oversee the highest-taxing administration in the country’s history, after tax receipts rose to 24.1 per cent of economic output in the latest budget figures. The figure, recorded in the Final Budget Outcome for 2025-26, was above the 23.6 per cent forecast in May and exceeded the 23.9 per cent tax-to-GDP limit set by former Coalition finance minister Mathias Cormann. It remains just below the modern record of 24.2 per cent, reached under the Howard government during the mining boom. Government payments also remained high at 26.9 per cent of GDP, one of…

Australia household spending was flat in August, ending a strong run of spending growth. The latest reading indicates that household expenditure remained unchanged during the month, following its earlier sustained performance.

Brandon Frankel has shared an underwear photo to celebrate his wife Gabourey Sidibe’s show American Horror Story: 13 reaching number one on Hulu’s charts. Sidibe has returned as Queenie in the latest instalment of the horror anthology, which reached the top spot following its three-episode premiere last week. Frankel had promised to post another “thirst trap” if the programme reached number one. After the milestone was achieved, he followed through with the photograph. “The joke was the show was never not gonna be No. 1, but I love a good excuse to be half naked and support my wife. I’m…

Christopher Leahy, the man accused of fatally stabbing University of Washington student Juniper Blessing, has been found incompetent to stand trial again and ordered to undergo a further period of mental health treatment. The second competency restoration programme is expected to last three months, with Leahy due back before a King County court on 12 December 2026. Criminal proceedings will remain on hold in the meantime. Leahy faces a charge of premeditated first-degree murder over the death of 19-year-old Blessing. His lawyers have repeatedly argued that he is unable to understand the proceedings or assist properly in his defence. He…

A suspected gas leak has led to an evacuation at Brisbane’s Wesley Hospital, with emergency crews managing the incident at the Auchenflower facility. Queensland Fire and Emergency Services said seven vehicles were sent to the hospital after the incident was reported at about 8.15am on Tuesday. Specialist scientific crews were also attending as the evacuation continued. It was not immediately known what type of gas was involved, how many people had been evacuated or whether anyone had been injured.

Hungary’s Parliament has lifted Prime Minister Peter Magyar’s immunity, along with that of two former ministers from Viktor Orban’s government, clearing the way for separate criminal investigations. The vote was overwhelmingly in favour, after Magyar asked lawmakers to remove his immunity so he could answer allegations he described as “character assassination”. Orban’s Fidesz party and its KDNP ally boycotted the session. Prosecutors are investigating Magyar over an incident at a Budapest nightclub in June 2024. They allege he took a mobile phone from a man who was filming him and threw it into the Danube River. Magyar has called the…

Wladimir Klitschko has filed an urgent petition in a Los Angeles court seeking temporary guardianship of his 11-year-old daughter Kaya’s estate, following the death of her mother, actress Hayden Panettiere. The former professional boxer is seeking authority to receive, manage and hold Kaya’s assets on her behalf. The legal action is intended to protect the girl’s inheritance, as she is described in the petition as the sole beneficiary of Panettiere’s estate. Panettiere, known for Heroes and Nashville, died aged 36 on August 16 after being found unresponsive at a residence in South Carolina. Her death was ruled accidental and attributed…

A former Harper ISD teacher has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to 17 felony charges linked to recordings of girls in a bathroom and school dressing room in Gillespie County, Texas. Pedro DeLuna III admitted the offences in court on 3 September. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently, with the 15-year term imposed for possessing more than 50 images of child sexual abuse material. The case involved 10 victims and more than 50 photographs and videos, according to the Gillespie County Sheriff’s Office. Former Harper ISD teacher sentenced over recordings DeLuna pleaded guilty to…

A payphone in Narooma, on the New South Wales far south coast, has been heritage listed for its role in connecting people during the Black Summer bushfires, when mobile coverage and power were cut off. The phone outside Narooma Plaza on the Princes Highway handled almost 1,000 calls over two months during and after the disaster. It has now been marked with a bronze National Trust of Australia NSW plaque decorated with gum leaves. Historian Naomi Parry Duncan, who led the nomination, was holidaying in Narooma on New Year’s Day in 2020 when fires threatened the town. She and others…

Brisbane’s Wesley Hospital has been evacuated after a gas leak prompted an emergency response at the facility in Auchenflower. The incident occurred at about 9am on Tuesday at the hospital on Coronation Drive. Two floors were cleared, with at least five fire crews attending and further crews expected to arrive. Queensland Police said they were aware of possible chemical exposure inside the healthcare facility. Paramedics treated some patients, who were understood to be in a stable condition. Patients were also assessed as they left the building. The total number evacuated and the cause of the leak have not yet been…