Rome cancels support for Gergiev concert – Slippedisc

  1. Rome cancels support for Gergiev concert  Slippedisc
  2. Navalny’s widow leads calls for Italy to cancel concert by pro-Putin conductor  The Guardian
  3. Putin’s friend Gergiev set to conduct as Italy breaks ban on pro-Kremlin artists  BBC
  4. Italy minister warns concert with pro-Putin conductor risks turning into propaganda coup  Reuters
  5. Peter Gelb Condemns Valery Gergiev’s Upcoming Perfomance in Italy  OperaWire
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UK ex-Middle East minister accused of transparency rule breach over Bahrain advisory role

Tory peer Tariq Ahmad denies contact while in office with King Hamad Global Center for Peaceful Coexistence

A former UK Middle East minister has been accused of breaching transparency rules over a paid advisory role with an influential Bahraini centre that has links to the Gulf state’s government.

The Conservative peer Tariq Ahmad, who denies wrongdoing, was cleared by a watchdog to take up his role as a paid adviser to the King Hamad Global Center for Peaceful Coexistence (KHC).

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Architectural home designs for $1: NSW releases housing pattern book aimed at boosting construction

Premier says plans have affordability and fast approval in mind as expert welcomes potential to ‘democratise good design’

What if you could buy architect-designed drawings for a new home for $1 – and have certainty your council would approve it within 10 to 20 days?

The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, will release the state’s housing pattern book on Wednesday, which contains eight blueprints for architect-designed townhouses, terraces and manor houses, chosen from internationally renowned firms including Sam Crawford Architects, Carter Williamson Architects, Saha and Anthony Gill Architects.

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Social services department warned Tanya Plibersek she faces uphill battle amid ‘political polarisation’

Brief obtained under freedom of information laws shows new minister told of ‘increased risk of entrenched disadvantage’ in Australia

Tanya Plibersek has an uphill battle to justify and prioritise Australia’s multibillion-dollar social services system, her department has warned, against a backdrop of “rising geopolitical tensions and political polarisation”.

The Department of Social Services, which is responsible for a quarter of federal government spending, delivered the warning to the new social services minister about the flow-on effects of global uncertainty in a brief dated 13 May and obtained by Guardian Australia under freedom of information laws.

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French PM floats axing 2 public holidays to escape financial crisis – politico.eu

  1. French PM floats axing 2 public holidays to escape financial crisis  politico.eu
  2. France's PM wants to scrap two public holidays to help fix public finances  Reuters
  3. How the French government came up with a contested goal of €40 billion in savings  Le Monde.fr
  4. French Premier Says Country on Cliff Edge as Debt Soars  Bloomberg
  5. French prime minister 'set to cancel two public holidays' in austerity budget  The Local France
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China Pledges Closer Ties With Russia After Trump’s Sanctions Threat – The Moscow Times

  1. China Pledges Closer Ties With Russia After Trump’s Sanctions Threat  The Moscow Times
  2. Russia's Lavrov meets with China's President Xi, Russia says  Reuters
  3. China vows ‘deeper’ support for Russia after Trump threat  The Telegraph
  4. China pledges deeper support for Russia amid Trump tariff threats  The Kyiv Independent
  5. China-Russia ties are more mature and stable than any major relationship: Wang  South China Morning Post
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Trump permits Nvidia to sell advanced chips in China, CEO says

Chipmaker’s CEO, Jensen Huang, recently met with Donald Trump as US-China trade rivalry deepens

Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, says the chipmaker has won approval from the Trump administration to sell its advanced computer chips used to develop artificial intelligence to China.

“Today, I’m announcing that the US government has approved for us filing licenses to start shipping H20s,” Huang told reporters in Beijing.

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The UK says thousands of Afghans have been brought to Britain under a secret resettlement program – AP News

  1. The UK says thousands of Afghans have been brought to Britain under a secret resettlement program  AP News
  2. Secret Afghan relocation scheme set up after major data breach  BBC
  3. Taxpayer could face £1bn compensation bill for Afghan leak victims  The Telegraph
  4. U.K. Secretly Resettled 4,500 Afghans in Britain After Huge Data Exposure  The New York Times
  5. Thousands offered UK asylum in secret scheme after personal data of Afghans who helped British forces leaked by mistake – live  The Guardian
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