Australian defence force officer stripped of security clearance over loyalty to Israel

Asio believed the man, anonymised as HWMW, was at risk of being exploited by the Mossad

An officer in the Australian army has been stripped of his security clearance because Asio believes he is more loyal to Israel than Australia, and at risk of being exploited by the Mossad.

The man told Asio interviewers he did not view Israel as a foreign government and that he would share classified information with the Israel Defense Forces if they asked for it.

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Backyard chickens: Floridians start raising hens to combat rising egg prices

Despite conflicting laws, a wave of amateur homesteaders have started keeping fowl in the spirit of self-sufficiency

Katie Whalen’s backyard in the Florida city of Port St Lucie is testament to her journey towards a life of self-sufficiency. She grows mangoes, avocados, starfruit, jackfruit and coconuts. She is cultivating a tropical tree spinach known as chaya.

What she really wants, however, is a chicken coop and hens to provide eggs that are becoming increasingly unaffordable in stores. As bird flu worsens across the US and commercial suppliers struggle to keep up with demand, the keeping of fowl and production of eggs in home environments, has surged in popularity, and Whalen is keen to join the revolution.

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Telegram fined nearly $1m by Australian watchdog for delay in reporting about terrorism and child abuse material

Telegram took 160 days to provide information, with the delay obstructing online safety scrutineer from doing its job, commissioner says

Encrypted messaging app Telegram has been fined nearly $1m by Australia’s online safety regulator for failing to respond on time to questions about what the company does to tackle terrorism and child abuse material on its platform.

The notice was issued to Telegram, among other companies, in May last year, with a deadline to report back in October on steps taken to address terrorist and violent extremism material, as well as child exploitation material on its platform.

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Energy giant AGL disputes $25m fine for wrongly taking welfare money from hundreds as ‘excessive’

Exclusive: Court documents obtained by Guardian Australia show appeal argues judge was wrong to decide penalty was needed to ‘provoke’ leadership attention

Energy giant AGL is disputing a “manifestly excessive” $25m fine for using the Centrepay debit system to wrongly take welfare money from hundreds of vulnerable Australians. It argues that a judge should not have used the massive financial penalty to try to “provoke some attention” from the company’s board and executive leadership.

Late last year, the federal court imposed the hefty fine and excoriated AGL for wrongly taking money from 483 welfare recipients via Centrepay, the scandal-plagued, government-run system that allows automatic diversion of social security payments to essential services, like electricity bills and rent.

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Russia unleashes biggest drone attack of Ukraine war on eve of anniversary – POLITICO Europe

  1. Russia unleashes biggest drone attack of Ukraine war on eve of anniversary  POLITICO Europe
  2. Russia launches largest drone attack on Ukraine on eve of third year of war  CBS News
  3. Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events – day 1,095  Al Jazeera English
  4. Russian attacks kill one in Kryvyi Rih, damage houses in Kyiv, Ukraine officials say  Reuters
  5. Russia launches record number of drones at Ukraine -- as Kyiv nears mineral rights deal with US  New York Post
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Amid Regional Diplomatic Furor, Sudan’s Paramilitaries Forge a Rival Government – The New York Times

  1. Amid Regional Diplomatic Furor, Sudan’s Paramilitaries Forge a Rival Government  The New York Times
  2. Kenyan tea exporters fear Sudan blowback over RSF meeting  Semafor
  3. Sudan’s RSF, accused of genocide, signs charter to form rival government  Al Jazeera English
  4. Covert with calculated risk: How Iran is shifting its Israel strategy  Al-Monitor
  5. President Ruto markets contentious Sudan mediation as US lawmakers target him  Nation
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Trump compared to mobster Tony Soprano by former envoy to Panama

John Feeley launches stinging critique of US president’s bully-boy approach to Latin America

The former US ambassador to Panama has launched a stinging critique of Donald Trump’s approach towards Latin America, comparing his conduct to that of the ruthless and egotistical fictional mob boss Tony Soprano.

In the first month of his presidency, the US president has shocked some observers with his aggressive focus on a region many expected him to largely ignore. Early steps have included threatening to “take back” the Panama Canal, accusing Mexico’s government of being in cahoots with narco-traffickers, sending an envoy to meet the Venezuelan dictator, Nicolás Maduro, and clashing with Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, over deportation flights.

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Colombian city faces worst violence in decades as armed groups wreak havoc

Cúcuta imposes curfew as National Liberation Army (ELN) clashes with army in province bordering Venezuela

Residents of a violence-torn province in northern Colombia are bracing for further bloodshed as a conflict between rival armed groups spread to a regional capital in scenes residents said they had not witnessed since the cartel unrest of the 1990s.

The mayor of Cúcuta imposed a 48-hour curfew on the population of 1 million inhabitants in the hope of regaining control of the city after combatants of Colombia’s largest armed group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), attacked police stations with assault rifles and grenades and destroyed toll booths with car bombs.

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Ukraine war live: Russia launches largest drone attack on eve of third anniversary of invasion

Drones intercepted in at least 13 regions including Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv and Odesa, according to Ukrainian authorities

Volodymyr Zelenskyy added in his post on X earlier today that a “lasting and just peace” in Ukraine can only be achieved through the unity of all its allies, namely Europe and the US.

It comes after US and Russian officials met in Saudi Arabia this week, without Ukraine’s involvement, raising concerns in Kyiv and the EU that any deal to end the war will be favourable to Moscow.

Every day, our people stand against aerial terror. On the eve of the third anniversary of the full-scale war, Russia launched 267 attack drones against Ukraine — the largest attack since Iranian drones began striking Ukrainian cities and villages. In total, nearly 1,150 attack drones, more than 1,400 guided aerial bombs and 35 missiles of various types were launched this week.

I thank everyone who repels such attacks on a daily basis—our aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare units and mobile fire groups of the air force and defence forces. I also thank those on the ground who save lives and respond to the aftermath of shelling—the state emergency service, medics, and the national police. The war continues. Everyone capable of helping with air defense must work to enhance the protection of human life.

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‘A source of national shame’: shelters in England turn young people away as number of rough sleepers soar

Charities across the country highlight the rising demand for emergency accommodation as costs spiral to care for those most in need

Holly Udobang is packing the last bag: a sleeping mat, gloves, woolly hat, waterproof poncho, hand warmers. It’s the sort of kit that teenagers might need for a Duke of Edinburgh trip.

But this bag is for young homeless people, to give them a fighting chance of getting some sleep on the streets of London. Holly and her colleagues at the New Horizon Youth Centre are packing them to give to the young people they now have to turn away every day, as an increasing number of emergency shelters shut their doors.

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‘Real anger’: Labour can expect hostile reception at farmers’ annual gathering

UK food producers plan more protests over inheritance tax changes ahead of this week’s NFU conference in London

The suits and black cabs which typically dot the streets around Westminster have been frequently replaced by the wellies, tweed jackets and tractors of aggrieved farmers of late. The next protest in London by the nation’s food producers is expected on Tuesday morning, ahead of the annual get-together of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU).

Farmers have regularly swapped their fields for the city since October, when changes to inheritance tax (IHT) for agricultural businesses were announced by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, angrily protesting and waving banners.

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Custody spat over New Orleans escape-artist dog settled with visitation agreement

Scrim the tramp terrier, known for his many getaways, now has a home and an extended family to look over him

Calling King Solomon.

The wiry terrier named Scrim who had virtually all of New Orleans looking for him while he spent most of the previous year on the run – enduring a hurricane, a historic snowfall and other perils – landed in the middle of an adoption controversy among those who recently brought him to heel again and then wanted to keep him.

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