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Charges dropped against man arrested in mass shooting at Ohio festival that wounded 12

Eljay Crisp-Carr, 20, spent five months behind bars before prosecutors asked to dismiss charges

Ohio prosecutors on Friday dropped charges against a man arrested in connection with the 6 June shooting at Toledo’s Old West End festival that injured 12 people.

Eljay Crisp-Carr, 20, had faced more than 50 felony charges stemming from the shooting, including 25 counts of attempted murder. He was released after spending about five months behind bars.

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© Photograph: Rebecca Benson/The Blade/AP

© Photograph: Rebecca Benson/The Blade/AP

© Photograph: Rebecca Benson/The Blade/AP

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Experts warn AI copyright changes could breach Australian constitution and spark huge compensation rights case

Scraping copyrighted material from internet could ‘potentially’ amount to acquisition of property by government, Anne Twomey says

Altering copyright law to allow AI companies to scrape music, books and journalism could trigger a constitutional breach, Coalition senators and the recording industry have warned, as they raise new fears it could open Australia to massive legal action and compensation claims from rights holders worldwide.

The attorney general’s department admitted it was “extremely alive” to the issue, and Australia’s leading constitutional expert, Anne Twomey, agreed there was “potentially” a concern – depending how legislation was drafted – that granting AI companies permission to scrape copyrighted material from the internet could amount to an acquisition of property by the government.

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© Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

© Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

© Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

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TUC leader expects wave of union recognition in private sector over coming year

Paul Nowak says ‘hundreds, if not thousands’ of employers could sign access agreements as ‘transformative’ rules come into force

The TUC general secretary, Paul Nowak, is predicting a wave of union recognition deals in the private sector over the next year as “transformative” rules on accessing workplaces come into force.

From Friday, as part of Labour’s Employment Rights Act, unions will have the right to enter workplaces or communicate with staff electronically. From January, employers will be obliged to inform workers of their right to join a union.

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© Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

© Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

© Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

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TUC leader expects wave of union recognition in private sector over coming year

Paul Nowak says ‘hundreds, if not thousands’ of employers could sign access agreements as ‘transformative’ rules come into force

The TUC general secretary, Paul Nowak, is predicting a wave of union recognition deals in the private sector over the next year as “transformative” rules on accessing workplaces come into force.

From Friday, as part of Labour’s Employment Rights Act, unions will have the right to enter workplaces or communicate with staff electronically. From January, employers will be obliged to inform workers of their right to join a union.

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© Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

© Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

© Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA

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The White House Farm massacre phone calls: could a single disputed digit set Jeremy Bamber free?

He has been in prison for 41 years for killing five members of his family. But if a phone call was made to the police by Bamber’s father on the night of the murders – as his team believes – one of the UK’s most notorious criminals could be exonerated

On 7 August 1985, five people were found dead at White House Farm in Essex, England: 28-year-old Sheila Caffell (known to her family as Bambi); her six-year-old twin sons, Daniel and Nicholas; and her 61-year-old adoptive parents, June and Nevill Bamber. All five had been shot with a rifle. Caffell’s 24-year-old brother, Jeremy Bamber, who was also adopted, had called to alert Essex police to a disturbance inside the farmhouse – he said his father had called to tell him – and had been outside with the police for four hours before the bodies were discovered. Caffell, who had recently been hospitalised with schizoaffective disorder and is said to have feared her children were going to be taken into foster care, was found with the rifle lying on her chest, pointing towards her neck. There were two gunshot wounds to her neck and chin and a bloodied Bible by her side.

The case was initially thought to be open and shut, a tragic murder-suicide committed by Caffell. But a month later, Bamber was arrested after relatives went to the police to voice their suspicions about him; his former girlfriend Julie Mugford then told police he had made a confession to her. The relatives went on to inherit from Nevill and June Bamber’s considerable estate after Bamber’s convictions. It was later discovered that Mugford had agreed to sell the story of their relationship to the News of the World for £25,000 if Bamber was convicted. Essex police and crown prosecutors had also agreed to drop charges against her for burglary, chequebook fraud and selling cannabis, because “prosecuting her could jeopardise her availability or credibility as a key witness” against Bamber.

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© Composite: Guardian Design; Sinenkiy/Getty

© Composite: Guardian Design; Sinenkiy/Getty

© Composite: Guardian Design; Sinenkiy/Getty

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More than half of Victorian lawyers use AI – but only a quarter have cut client fees as a result

Research finds 55% of lawyers are using AI in legal practices, up from 37% last year, though efficiency gains aren’t as high as expected

More than half of Victoria’s lawyers have reported using AI in their work, according to a new study, but just over a quarter say they have reduced fees as a result of efficiency gains.

They also say clients seeking advice from chatbots have added to their workload, forcing them to correct errors made by AI.

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© Photograph: Posed by models; Jacob Wackerhausen/Getty Images

© Photograph: Posed by models; Jacob Wackerhausen/Getty Images

© Photograph: Posed by models; Jacob Wackerhausen/Getty Images

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More prisoners recalled to jail than released in England and Wales

Ministry of Justice figures show recalls rose 27% in year to June despite emergency measures to ease overcrowding

More people were recalled to jails in England and Wales in the first half of this year than were released, despite government efforts to reduce the prison population, according to figures released on Thursday.

Ministry of Justice (MoJ) data shows that 12,338 people were recalled to custody between the beginning of April and the end of June, while 12,278 people were released. It continues a trend set between January and March, when 13,193 people were returned to prison and 12,977 released.

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© Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA

© Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA

© Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA

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Lawyers for Marist Brothers face questions over advice to keep serial offender out of ‘legal arena’

A once-confidential letter says child sexual abuser might implicate senior church officials if allowed near ‘the legal arena’ upon his release from jail

Lawyers from a leading law firm for the Marist Brothers have been subpoenaed to explain a once-confidential document showing they advised the Catholic order to keep a serial offender out of “the legal arena”, suggesting he was too honest and might implicate senior church officials.

The offender was “regrettably up front” about his interactions with senior leadership, and could not be trusted to heed “suggestions” about “not dumping on others excessively”, the document says.

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© Composite: Getty images

© Composite: Getty images

© Composite: Getty images

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Toblerone owner sues British vegan chocolate brand over chunky shape

Catherine’s Originals denies Mondelēz claims in London high court of ‘passing off’ and trademark infringement

The owner of Toblerone is taking legal action against a tiny British vegan chocolate brand which it claims has been copying the Swiss chocolate bar’s famous chunky shape.

Mondelēz has filed papers at the high court in London accusing Catherine’s Original’s of “passing off” and trademark infringement with its O’bar – a length of chocolate divided into segments each with a rounded semi-oval hump.

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© Photograph: Catherines Originals

© Photograph: Catherines Originals

© Photograph: Catherines Originals

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Toblerone owner sues British vegan chocolate brand over chunky shape

Catherine’s Originals denies Mondelēz claims in London high court of ‘passing off’ and trademark infringement

The owner of Toblerone is taking legal action against a tiny British vegan chocolate brand that it claims has been copying the Swiss chocolate bar’s famous chunky shape.

Mondelēz has filed papers at the high court in London accusing Catherine’s Originals of “passing off” and trademark infringement with its O’bar – a length of chocolate divided into segments each with a rounded semi-oval hump.

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© Photograph: Catherines Originals

© Photograph: Catherines Originals

© Photograph: Catherines Originals

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Cambodian police and soldiers helped guard abusive scam compounds, Amnesty alleges

Survivors tell rights group that serving officers who worked as guards administered electric shocks and beatings

Cambodian police and military officers worked as private security guards in scam compounds where thousands were forced to work in the online fraud industry, according to a report by Amnesty International.

The global rights group alleged they worked for security companies as part of a system that enabled slavery and rape in the compounds, with some guards using electric batons to keep people trapped.

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© Photograph: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images

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Cambodian police and soldiers helped guard abusive scam compounds, Amnesty alleges

Survivors tell rights group that serving officers who worked as guards administered electric shocks and beatings

Cambodian police and military officers worked as private security guards in scam compounds where thousands were forced to work in the online fraud industry, according to a report by Amnesty International.

The global rights group alleged they worked for security companies as part of a system that enabled slavery and rape in the compounds, with some guards using electric batons to keep people trapped.

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© Photograph: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images

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Guardian and ITN have ‘duty to public and sources’ to publish sexual allegations against well-known figure, court hears

Individual known in court as PPT is seeking a permanent injunction, with lawyers citing his risk of suicide

Two news organisations have a duty to the public and their sources to publish allegations of exploitative sexual behaviour by a well-known figure despite claims he is “highly likely” to attempt suicide, the high court has heard.

The anonymous individual, known in court simply as PPT, is seeking an injunction against the Guardian and ITN to stop them publishing the allegations, which he denies.

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© Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters

© Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters

© Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters

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Guardian and ITN have ‘duty to public and sources’ to publish sexual allegations against well-known figure, court hears

Individual known in court as PPT is seeking a permanent injunction, with lawyers citing his risk of suicide

Two news organisations have a duty to the public and their sources to publish allegations of exploitative sexual behaviour by a well-known figure despite claims he is “highly likely” to attempt suicide, the high court has heard.

The anonymous individual, known in court simply as PPT, is seeking an injunction against the Guardian and ITN to stop them publishing the allegations, which he denies.

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© Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters

© Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters

© Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters

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Socialist Hasan Piker sues conservative counterpart for ‘violent racist’ portrayal

The $72.5m suit alleges Scott Jennings falsely told listeners Piker had a ‘plan of returning our country to lynchings’

The prominent socialist political commentator and influencer Hasan Piker is suing his conservative counterpart Scott Jennings for $72.5m over comments on a podcast that he said portrayed him as “a violent racist” who advocated the lynching of Black people.

Piker’s defamation lawsuit, filed on Tuesday in US district court for the District of Columbia, states that Jennings misrepresented his comments in a podcast and subsequent social media post in August.

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© Photograph: Julius Constantine Motal/The Guardian

© Photograph: Julius Constantine Motal/The Guardian

© Photograph: Julius Constantine Motal/The Guardian

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Socialist Hasan Piker sues conservative counterpart for ‘violent racist’ portrayal

The $72.5m suit alleges Scott Jennings falsely told listeners Piker had a ‘plan of returning our country to lynchings’

The prominent socialist political commentator and influencer Hasan Piker is suing his conservative counterpart Scott Jennings for $72.5m over comments on a podcast that he said portrayed him as “a violent racist” who advocated the lynching of Black people.

Piker’s defamation lawsuit, filed on Tuesday in US district court for the District of Columbia, states that Jennings misrepresented his comments in a podcast and subsequent social media post in August.

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© Photograph: Julius Constantine Motal/The Guardian

© Photograph: Julius Constantine Motal/The Guardian

© Photograph: Julius Constantine Motal/The Guardian

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Give UK workers right to know colleagues’ pay to prevent disparities, says watchdog

EHRC says transparency needed to prevent pay discrimination, particularly against women

Workers should have a legal right to know their colleagues’ pay to help prevent pay discrimination, particularly against women, the UK’s human rights watchdog has said.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) made the recommendation in response to government proposals to overhaul equal pay laws, saying workers deserved a right to transparency if they suspected other staff were being paid more for similar work.

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© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

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‘Well-known’ public figure in bid to stop publication of allegations of inappropriate sexual activities

Individual seeks permanent injunction against Guardian and ITN to block claims, citing high risk of suicide

A “well-known individual” attempting to block two media outlets from publishing allegations about him has been accused of inappropriate and exploitative sexual activities with girls and young women, the high court has heard.

The individual, referred to in court as PPT, is seeking a permanent injunction against the Guardian and ITN to stop them publishing the allegations, which he denies. His legal team argued that publishing them would “highly likely lead him to commit suicide”.

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© Photograph: Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu/Getty Images

© Photograph: Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu/Getty Images

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UK sanctions Sudanese military leaders implicated in El Fasher ‘campaign of rape’

Commanders suspected of sexual violence during the largest and fastest slaughter of civilians in more than 30 years have been subjected to travel ban and asset freeze

Senior Sudanese commanders implicated in a “campaign of rape” have been targeted by the UK on the first anniversary of a mass atrocity that saw tens of thousands of civilians killed over several days.

A year after the fall of El Fasher, the British government said it had sanctioned military leaders from both sides in the country’s ongoing conflict whom it suspected of sexual violence during the siege of the city.

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© Photograph: Ebrahim Hamid/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Ebrahim Hamid/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Ebrahim Hamid/AFP/Getty Images

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