Pope’s pick for Washington archbishop sets stage for conflict with Trump, experts say

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Appointment of progressive Robert McElroy comes as rightwing Catholics wield significant influence in US capital

When the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, sought to shut down a Catholic charity that was was providing shelter and aid to undocumented migrants at the border, the San Diego cardinal, Robert McElroy, took a robust public stand against the attempt.

“The state of Texas is using governmental pressure to curtail the work of the Church in one of its most fundamental obligations: to feed the hungry, to shelter the homeless, and to provide drink to the thirsty,” McElroy said in a statement at the time. “No government can morally tell us to abandon or limit this mission.”

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Tory police cuts are only part of the ongoing crisis affecting victims of crime

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Austerity affected courts, prisons and public services while rates of poverty surged, creating the conditions for more crime

The period in which clear-up rates for the most serious crimes collapsed coincided with big cuts to police budgets, and the subsequent fall in police officer numbers of about 20,000.

The last Conservative government, responsible for the cuts after 2010 in the name of austerity, spent its time denying they would have any damaging effect on crime fighting in England and Wales. Then, in its final years, it started to reverse the cuts, and pretended “wokery” among law enforcement had diverted officers’ attention.

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Lloyds bankers could face bonus cut if not in office two days a week

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Group reviews office attendance as part of performance-related bonus targets forsenior employees

Senior bankers at Lloyds could be at risk of having their bonuses docked if they fail to follow company orders to be in the office at least two days a week.

Lloyds Banking Group – which owns the Halifax, Lloyds and Bank of Scotland brands – has confirmed it is reviewing office attendance as part of performance-related bonus targets for its most senior employees. That includes hybrid staff who, in 2023, were ordered to be in the office at least 40% of the time, which typically amounts to two days a week for those on full-time contracts.

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Biden says he was the steady hand the world needed after Trump, who’s ready to shake things up again – Yahoo! Voices

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  1. Biden says he was the steady hand the world needed after Trump, who's ready to shake things up again  Yahoo! Voices
  2. Biden to emphasize NATO and other foreign partnerships in final foreign policy speech  CBS News
  3. Biden to give prime-time farewell address to nation  ABC News
  4. Biden to highlight foreign policy legacy in State Department speech  WBAL TV Baltimore
  5. Daywatch: President Biden prepares to say goodbye  Chicago Tribune
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Climate activist who graffitied Tanya Plibersek’s office says he stands by his actions

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Environment minister said vandalism and intimidation were ‘completely unacceptable’

A climate activist who graffitied the word “liar” on the federal environment minister’s office has stood by his highly publicised actions, urging the public to stand up for their beliefs.

Zachary “Zack” Edward Jaworowski Schofield took a can of red spray paint to Tanya Plibersek’s Sydney electorate office in December.

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Democrats warm to Laken Riley bill as Senate to take up measure – The Washington Post

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  1. Democrats warm to Laken Riley bill as Senate to take up measure  The Washington Post
  2. House Passes Bill to Deport Unauthorized Immigrants Charged With Minor Crimes  The New York Times
  3. Senate Republican News Conference on the Laken Riley Act  C-SPAN
  4. A new immigration bill named for Laken Riley gives states unprecedented veto power  MSNBC
  5. Polzin: What I liked and didn't like from the Packers' playoff loss to the Eagles  Madison.com
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What to know about the latest effort to bring an end to Turkey’s 40-year Kurdish conflict – The Associated Press

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  1. What to know about the latest effort to bring an end to Turkey’s 40-year Kurdish conflict  The Associated Press
  2. Efforts to end Kurdish militant conflict in Turkey face Syria test  Reuters.com
  3. Demirtaş gives 'full support' to PKK leader Öcalan's peace efforts  Duvar English
  4. The Kurdish dilemmas facing Erdogan  Kathimerini English Edition
  5. What to know about the latest effort to bring an end to Turkey's 40-year Kurdish conflict  Livingston Enterprise
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India’s Maha Kumbh Mela festival gets under way for first time in 144 years

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The grand version of the 12-yearly Hindu pilgrimage is expected to draw more than 400 million devotees

The world’s largest religious gathering kicked off on Monday as millions of Hindu devotees gathered on the banks of Ganges in India to mark the beginning of the Maha Kumbh Mela.

The Kumbh Mela pilgrimage takes place every 12 years and is widely seen as the “festival of festivals” in the Hindu religious calendar in India, attended by a vibrant mix of sadhus or holy men, ascetics, pilgrims and tourists. This year’s celebration is particularly significant as the Maha or grand Kumbh Mela only takes places every 144 years, marking the 12th Kumbh Mela and a special celestial alignment of the sun, moon and Jupiter.

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Drawing in North Korean Soldier’s Diary Shows Drone ‘Bait’ Tactic – Business Insider

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  1. Drawing in North Korean Soldier's Diary Shows Drone 'Bait' Tactic  Business Insider
  2. A stick-figure drawing in a North Korean soldier's diary showed how Pyongyang's troops wanted to use each other as drone 'bait'  Yahoo! Voices
  3. The expendables? How North Korean soldiers are being used as bait by Russia in Ukraine war  Firstpost
  4. Diary of a dead North Korean soldier reveals grisly battlefield tactics  Mint
  5. North Korean soldiers final diary notes reveal disturbing 'bait' tactic used by Russia  MSN
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Albanese says Coalition ‘more conservative than they have ever been’ as Dutton labels him ‘weakest’ prime minister

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Prime minister and opposition leader start election bids with early campaigning and funding announcements

Anthony Albanese has launched a stinging attack on Peter Dutton, accusing the opposition leader of a “cold-hearted, mean-spirited” politics that has targeted vulnerable people and skewed the Coalition “more conservative than they’ve ever been”.

As both men started their election bids with early January campaigning, Dutton brushed off the prime minister’s criticisms as “mud” and “lies”. The opposition leader is under pressure to announce some new substantial policies and a long-awaited reshuffle of his shadow ministry, just months out from the election – a fact Albanese highlighted, calling the Coalition’s weekend campaign rally a “damp squib”.

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One poll finds majority of Greenland respondents support joining US – The Hill

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  1. One poll finds majority of Greenland respondents support joining US  The Hill
  2. Letters to the Editor: Has Trump asked the people of Greenland if they want to be American?  Los Angeles Times
  3. Opinion: Instead of joining the U.S., Greenland should join Canada in an economic union  The Globe and Mail
  4. More than half of Greenland's population agrees to become the new state of America  Eurasia Daily
  5. Greenland – A New American State?  OpenCanada
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Germany’s far right seeks electoral legitimacy from Trump administration – POLITICO Europe

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  1. Germany’s far right seeks electoral legitimacy from Trump administration  POLITICO Europe
  2. Ros Atkins on...Elon Musk's political interventions  BBC.com
  3. German leader is more worried about Musk’s backing of a far-right party than his insults  The Associated Press
  4. Elon Musk helped Trump win. Now he's looking at Europe, and many politicians are alarmed  NBC Washington
  5. Watch Musk’s Conversation With AfD’s Weidel: What We Learned  Bloomberg
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Forget Elon Musk — here’s what’s really terrifying the UK government – POLITICO Europe

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  1. Forget Elon Musk — here’s what’s really terrifying the UK government  POLITICO Europe
  2. Elon Musk’s Latest Terrifying Foray Into British Politics  The New Yorker
  3. What Is the U.K. ‘Grooming Gang’ Scandal Seized On by Elon Musk?  The New York Times
  4. What Elon Musk’s tweets about sex abuse reveal about British politics  The Economist
  5. British politics are not Elon Musk’s to toy with | Letters  The Guardian
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22-year-old tourist killed by an elephant while bathing with the animal – Stewartville Star

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  1. 22-year-old tourist killed by an elephant while bathing with the animal  Stewartville Star
  2. Expert warns Americans about elephant tourism after law student, 22, is killed in Thailand: ‘Recipe for disaster’  New York Post
  3. Should you participate in elephant tourism? Here’s what experts say.  The Washington Post
  4. Tourist killed by "panic-stricken" elephant while she was bathing the animal at Thai sanctuary  CBS News
  5. Tourist Killed at Sham Elephant ‘Sanctuary’ in Thailand—3 Reasons to Stay Far Away From These Facilities  PETA
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Croatian president re-elected in landslide victory – BBC.com

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  1. Croatian president re-elected in landslide victory  BBC.com
  2. Croatia's Milanovic to win presidential vote, preliminary result shows  Reuters
  3. Populist incumbent sails to victory in Croatia presidential election  POLITICO Europe
  4. Croatian President Skeptical of Aiding Ukraine Wins Second Term in a Landslide  Bloomberg
  5. Russian-friendly incumbent Zoran Milanovic re-elected president of Croatia.  Kyiv Independent
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Chuck D pleads for people to stop using Public Enemy’s Burn Hollywood Burn on videos of LA fires

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The 1990 protest track ‘has nothing to do with families losing everything they have’ says the rapper, hitting out at TikTok and Instagram videos

Public Enemy’s Chuck D has asked people to stop using the rap group’s song Burn Hollywood Burn as a soundtrack on videos of the California wildfires, saying it has “nothing to do with families losing everything they have”.

The rapper issued the statement on the weekend in response to several videos uploaded to TikTok and Instagram that use the 1990 Public Enemy song over footage of the wildfires, which have killed at least 24 people, destroyed more than 12,300 buildings and displaced more than 200,000 people so far.

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