Australia’s rainforests are releasing more carbon than they absorb, warn scientists – BBC

  1. Australia's rainforests are releasing more carbon than they absorb, warn scientists  BBC
  2. Australian tropical rainforest trees switch in world first from carbon sink to emissions source  The Guardian
  3. Aboveground biomass in Australian tropical forests now a net carbon source  Nature
  4. One of Earth’s most vital carbon sinks is faltering. Can we save it?  New Scientist
  5. Australia's tropical trees emit more carbon than they absorb: study  Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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Hamas accuses Israel of breaching ceasefire by ‘killing at least 24 people’ since Friday – as it happened – The Guardian

  1. Hamas accuses Israel of breaching ceasefire by ‘killing at least 24 people’ since Friday – as it happened  The Guardian
  2. LIVE: Aid ‘critically low’ in Gaza a week into ceasefire amid Israeli delay  Al Jazeera
  3. Israel, Hamas trade blame over truce violations amid delay in return of dead hostages  Reuters
  4. Two said killed by Israeli fire in north Gaza; IDF: suspects crossed ‘Yellow Line’  The Times of Israel
  5. Israel’s Mounting Ceasefire Violations in Gaza  The Intercept
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‘Gen Z’ protesters lead global wave of generational discontent – AP News

  1. ‘Gen Z’ protesters lead global wave of generational discontent  AP News
  2. Frustrated Gen Z Threatens to Topple African Governments  The New York Times
  3. The Gen-Z Movement: This is why we’re risking our lives to protest  Amnesty International
  4. Is Gen Z Reshaping Africa’s Political Landscape?  Foreign Policy Research Institute
  5. Young people around the world are leading protests against their governments  The Conversation
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Jim Bolger, former New Zealand prime minister who drove reconciliation with Māori, dies at 90

Tributes flow from across political spectrum for man known for high ideals but also remembered for controversially slashing welfare and health spending

Former New Zealand prime minister Jim Bolger, whose political legacy was defined by his deep commitment to reconciliation with Māori as well as his brutal cuts to welfare and deregulation of the labour market, has died aged 90.

Bolger died peacefully surrounded by his wife, Joan, nine children and 18 grandchildren, his family said in a statement on Wednesday. Bolger suffered kidney failure last year and had been undergoing dialysis.

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A reward to Gazans for locating hostages’ bodies and the fear of ‘civil war’: This is what is happening in Gaza now – Ynetnews

  1. A reward to Gazans for locating hostages' bodies and the fear of 'civil war': This is what is happening in Gaza now  Ynetnews
  2. As Gaza ceasefire hinges on returning remains, Waltz says U.S. to help find the missing, including Americans  CBS News
  3. Mediators said seeking pressure on Israel to advance Gaza talks before bodies returned  The Times of Israel
  4. Official: U.S. to offer cash rewards to Gaza civilians for helping locate hostage remains  Haaretz
  5. Israel, US and Arab Partners Launch Task Force To Recover Bodies of Deceased Hostages  The Media Line
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US may take strategic stakes in rare earths companies to tackle China ‘power grab’

Treasury secretary Scott Bessent raises possibility of taking more direct stakes in companies to protect national security in wake of Beijing’s curbs on rare earths exports

The Trump administration has criticised China’s increased restrictions on rare earth exports as a threat to global supply chains, and said it would seek to tighten control over strategic sectors by taking more stakes in key companies to counter Beijing.

Treasury secretary Scott Bessent told an event on Wednesday that China’s dramatic new restrictions on rare earth minerals and magnets demonstrated the need for the US to be self-sufficient in critical materials or rely more on trusted allies.

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Xi directs quashing of Chinese feminists even as he praises advances at women’s conference – The Guardian

  1. Xi directs quashing of Chinese feminists even as he praises advances at women’s conference  The Guardian
  2. China Hosts a Summit on Women’s Rights, While Stifling Activism  The New York Times
  3. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun’s Regular Press Conference on October 9, 2025  fmprc.gov.cn
  4. Ghana's former First Lady hails China's leadership in women's empowerment  People's Daily
  5. UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous concludes the official visit to the People’s Republic of China, strengthens global partnerships for gender equality and women’s empowerment  UN Women Asia and the Pacific
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French Socialist party to fight for wealth tax as it seeks to capitalise on crisis

Party has promised to stand back as weakened prime minister prepares for crucial no-confidence vote

The French Socialist party says it will fight to introduce a flagship wealth tax to raise revenue by targeting France’s richest people, as the divided parliament prepares to begin debating next year’s budget.

Boris Vallaud, the head of the Socialist party grouping in parliament, said on Wednesday that taxing very high-wealth individuals in France was “one of our principal battles and we’re going to put all our energy into it”.

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Agnes Wanjiru’s niece urges Labour to extradite ex-soldier while still in power

Esther Njoki says family has seen ‘big change’ under Labour, after long fight for justice over aunt’s 2012 death in Kenya

The niece of Agnes Wanjiru, who was killed in Kenya, said she hopes the former British soldier charged with her aunt’s murder will be extradited while the Labour government is still in power.

On her first trip outside Kenya, Esther Njoki travelled to London, where she was invited to parliament to meet the defence secretary, John Healey, whom she urged not to delay the potentially years-long extradition process.

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‘I need to do everything now’: the Ukrainian combat medic-turned playwright

Since Alina Sarnatska’s first play premiered a year ago, she has documented wartime Ukraine with unflinching frankness

Eighteen months ago, Alina Sarnatska was serving as a combat medic on Ukraine’s frontline – including in the hellish battle for Bakhmut – and had barely been to the theatre.

Six months later, she was preparing to watch the premiere of her first play in Kyiv. Now Sarnatska, 38, has several dramas under her belt and is emerging as one of Ukraine’s most powerful voices in the theatre.

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Why China still loves its five-year plans – Financial Times

  1. Why China still loves its five-year plans  Financial Times
  2. CNBC's The China Connection newsletter: Beijing gears up for a big strategy meeting as tensions with Washington deepen  CNBC
  3. Purges, personnel, and policy: a primer on China’s Fourth Plenum  Brookings
  4. China to keep its 'all about production' economic playbook as rivalry with US intensifies  Reuters
  5. Self-Strengthening for Strategic Competition: What to Watch at China’s Fourth Plenum  Asia Society
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South Korea bans travel to parts of Cambodia amid deepening scam crisis that has left 80 missing

An additional 60 South Koreans remain detained by Cambodian authorities after a crackdown on scam operations

South Korea has issued its most serious travel warning for parts of Cambodia, issuing a “code black” ban that orders citizens to leave areas in which the government has identified surging employment scams and detention cases targeting its nationals.

The travel prohibition covers the border towns of Poipet and Bavet, along with the Bokor Mountain region in Kampot province, 140km south-west of Phnom Penh, where a 22-year-old Korean student was allegedly tortured to death in August.

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October 15, 2025 – Gaza ceasefire news – CNN

  1. October 15, 2025 – Gaza ceasefire news  CNN
  2. Hamas Says It Has Returned All Hostage Remains It Can Recover  The New York Times
  3. Israel receives remains of 2 more hostages as military says another body was not that of a hostage  AP News
  4. Israel-Hamas peace deal may hinge on return of all Israeli hostage remains, but is that possible?  CBS News
  5. Hamas returns remains of two more hostages and says 'significant efforts' needed to retrieve others  NBC News
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Hamas reasserts control on streets of Gaza, turning guns on its rivals – The Washington Post

  1. Hamas reasserts control on streets of Gaza, turning guns on its rivals  The Washington Post
  2. With Truce in Place, Hamas Pursues Bloody Crackdown on Rivals in Gaza  The New York Times
  3. Video shows Hamas fighters executing Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel  CBS News
  4. After Israeli Withdrawal, Hamas Launches Violent Crackdown on Rivals in Gaza  The Wall Street Journal
  5. Why Is Trump Making Excuses for Hamas?  The Atlantic
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Pakistan and Afghanistan announce ceasefire after deadliest clashes in years – Politico

  1. Pakistan and Afghanistan announce ceasefire after deadliest clashes in years  Politico
  2. Pakistan says it's ready for talks with Afghanistan, Kabul residents recall airstrike shock  Reuters
  3. Video: Tanks Race On Afghan Streets. Taliban Says It Captured Them From Pakistan Forces  NDTV
  4. Survivors Of Afghanistan-Pakistan Conflict Describe Toll On Civilians  Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
  5. A failed strike and then a 6-day conflict: Meet Noor Wali Mehsud - man who brought Pakistan its knees  Times of India
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Trump says he authorized covert CIA operations in Venezuela as Maduro decries the move as ‘coups d’etat’

Move marks escalation in Maduro pressure campaign as president says US mulling strikes on Venezuelan territory

Donald Trump said on Wednesday he had authorized the CIA to carry out covert operations in Venezuela, marking a sharp escalation in his administration’s pressure campaign against Nicolás Maduro’s government.

Trump further suggested he was considering strikes on Venezuelan territory, a dramatic step that would go beyond a series of recent lethal attacks on boats in the Caribbean, which Democrats and United Nations experts have forcefully condemned as unlawful.

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