- Russia Sends Four Missile Warships Near Japan After Putin’s Provocative Kuril Islands Visit united24media.com
- Putin visits disputed island near Japan, drawing Tokyo's ire Reuters
- Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 13, 2026 Institute for the Study of War
- Putin Visits Islands Seized From Japan in World War II, Angering Tokyo The New York Times
- ‘Absolutely unacceptable’: Japan condemns visit by Vladimir Putin to disputed Kuril Islands The Guardian
Nazi artefacts still being sold online years after trade outlawed across Australia
One seller says second world war memorabilia containing banned Nazi symbols is legal under exemptions to the laws
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
Nazi artefacts bearing prohibited symbols are being openly sold in Australia three years after the federal government made it illegal to do so, with vendors saying they are doing so for “educational” reasons.
The government in 2023 outlawed the display and trade of items bearing the Nazi Hakenkreuz (swastika) and double-sig rune that was the logo of the Schutzstaffel (SS), after multiple states passed similar laws that banned the display of Nazi symbols and the performance of the Nazi salute.
Continue reading...Europe’s tallest Virgin Mary statue unveiled in small Polish village
Hundreds watched the 56-metre monument’s consecration, including anti-communist leader Lech Wałęsa
An enormous statue of the Virgin Mary that is believed to be Europe’s tallest was inaugurated on Saturday in a small Polish village, in the presence of the anti-communist leader Lech Wałęsa.
Hundreds of people took part in the consecration of the monument, which towers 55.6 metres (182ft) over Konotopie in central Poland, a village of fewer than 150 people.
Continue reading...Europe’s tallest Virgin Mary statue unveiled in small Polish village – The Guardian
- Europe’s tallest Virgin Mary statue unveiled in small Polish village The Guardian
- Europe's tallest Virgin Mary statue unveiled in rural Poland BBC
- Europe’s tallest statue of the Virgin Mary is inaugurated in a small Polish village AP News
- Europe's biggest Virgin Mary statue - taller than Rio's Christ the Redeemer - unveiled in Polish village Notes From Poland
- Europe’s tallest statue of Mary blessed in Poland. “She directs us toward God” Vatican News
What is Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, linked to Japan’s wartime atrocities? – Al Jazeera
- What is Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, linked to Japan’s wartime atrocities? Al Jazeera
- Japan defence minister visits contentious Yasukuni Shrine to war dead Reuters
- Takaichi skips controversial shrine on 81st anniversary of Japan's World War II surrender Politico
- At Yasukuni, the politicians followed the script, but the shrine did not The Japan Times
- China Protests Japan PM, Defense Minister’s Yasukuni Actions Bloomberg.com
Kyiv launches large attack on Russian military and energy facilities – euronews.com
- Kyiv launches large attack on Russian military and energy facilities euronews.com
- Ukraine attacks Russia with hundreds of drones - one of Kyiv’s largest assaults of the conflict CNN
- Ukraine launches one of its largest aerial attacks of the war, killing at least 6 people in Russia Dallas News
- Ukrainian drone attack on Russia kills at least six, says Moscow The Guardian
- Ukraine launches 600 drones toward Moscow in major barrage, mayor says ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos
A Mile-Long Ancient Roman Engineering Marvel Has Suddenly Surfaced from Beneath This Famous Waterway – thedebrief.org
- A Mile-Long Ancient Roman Engineering Marvel Has Suddenly Surfaced from Beneath This Famous Waterway thedebrief.org
- Remains of two Wehrmacht soldiers found in Danube: one served in Waffen-SS euronews.com
- Europe’s dry rivers are exposing mammoths and Nazi warships The Economist
- News - Drought Exposes Roman Bridge in Bulgaria Archaeology Magazine
- Danube river's low water levels reveal remains of WWII German soldiers in Hungary BBC
Cambridge University defends its mental health support for Jason Arday
University says it continued to provide support after resignation of academic, who was found dead on Friday
The University of Cambridge has defended its mental health support for the academic Jason Arday.
The university said it had continued to provide Arday with extensive mental health support and security measures, including installing panic alarms and screening racist emails and post, after he resigned from his post as professor of sociology of education this month.
Continue reading...Logies 2026: Sam Pang wins gold and Sam Neill wins posthumous best actor at Australia’s TV awards
Neill won for his performance in legal thriller The Twelve: Cape Rock Killer, at a ceremony dominated by wins for the ABC
Sam Neill has won a posthumous best actor award at Australia’s biggest television awards, the Logies, with comedian Sam Pang taking home the night’s top honour, the Gold Logie award for most popular personality.
Neill, who died in July, won his posthumous Logie for best lead actor in a drama, for his performance in legal thriller The Twelve: Cape Rock Killer. His close friend, the actor Heather Mitchell, accepted the award on his behalf.
Continue reading...Deepfake Anthony Albanese used in celebrity scams duping Australians out of $7.4m, Asic warns
Australia’s corporate watchdog says PM is the figure most commonly used in deepfakes to promote phony investment opportunities
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
There has been a steep rise in scammers luring victims into phony investment opportunities using deepfakes of celebrities and politicians, Australia’s corporate watchdog has warned.
And Anthony Albanese is the figure most commonly co-opted.
Continue reading...‘She is a hero’: 13-year-old survivor of Michigan shooting rampage called 911
Girl called police after she was shot four times in shooting spree that left six dead, including gunman
A 13-year-old girl in Michigan survived being shot four times in a shooting spree that left six people dead – including the suspected attacker – and called emergency help herself shortly before investigators identified the gunman, according to a state police official and her family.
Those actions made the teen a “hero”, said a relative of hers as well as two of the dead victims.
The Associated Press contributed
Continue reading...British drones used in Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russia for first time – report – The Independent
- British drones used in Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russia for first time - report The Independent
- UK drones used for ‘deep strikes’ in mainland Russia for first time The Times
- UK-made drones strike targets inside Russia BBC
- A Millennial Furniture Designer Is Behind the Drones Battering Russia WSJ
- Ukraine reported to have begun using British drones for long-range strikes on Russia – photo Українська правда
‘Absolutely manic’: hot weather puts unprecedented pressure on Greater Manchester police
Force has seen busiest month in its history, with heatwaves putting added strain on criminal justice system
On England’s hottest day of the year so far, Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester was thronging with pedestrians, many clutching ice-creams or cold drinks as they passed through the town centre.
Officers from Greater Manchester police were also out in force, some in plainclothes, some stationed by a facial-recognition van, apprehending wanted suspects and stopping persons of interest. In total, officers made 54 arrests across the borough of Tameside as part of Operation Avro, GMP’s blitz on local crime which runs in a different district each month.
Continue reading...Bab el-Mandeb Strait faces growing threat as Houthi attacks raise fears of a second Hormuz – Fox News
- Bab el-Mandeb Strait faces growing threat as Houthi attacks raise fears of a second Hormuz Fox News
- August 15, 2026 — Shipping faces more disruptions in the Middle East CNN
- Houthis reportedly kill six in first deadly attack since start of Iran war BBC
- Politics The Economist
- New attacks on shipping as Iran war talks hit fresh impasse Reuters
Renaissance paintings by Antonello da Messina stolen from Sicilian museum
Theft of four works on national holiday described as wound to historical memory and cultural identity of city of Messina
Four of the most important works of art by the 15th-century Renaissance master Antonello da Messina were stolen during a national holiday from a museum in the Sicilian port city of Messina.
Thieves gained access to the Regional Museum of Messina, or MuMe, on Saturday evening, possibly capitalising on attention being focused on La Vara, a huge religious festival that takes place in the city on 15 August, when Italy marks the Ferragosto national holiday.
Continue reading...Four ‘extraordinary’ Renaissance paintings stolen from Italian museum
The works were taken overnight without alarms being triggered, raising suspicion of a professional hit.
Four ‘extraordinary’ Renaissance paintings stolen from Italian museum
The works were taken overnight without alarms being triggered, raising suspicion of a professional hit.
Houthis launch new attacks on al-Makha and Marib as Yemen conflict escalates – Al Jazeera
- Houthis launch new attacks on al-Makha and Marib as Yemen conflict escalates Al Jazeera
- Yemen's Mocha port halts operations after Houthi attacks, port director says Reuters
- Iran-backed Houthis clash with Yemeni forces and other Mideast developments AP News
- Yemeni Army Says it Carried out 181 Operations against Houthis in 24 Hours ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English
- Houthis launch sixth ballistic missile at Marib city Middle East Eye
At least 12 killed as Polish pilgrimage bus overturns in Hungary – politico.eu
- At least 12 killed as Polish pilgrimage bus overturns in Hungary politico.eu
- Twelve killed and at least 10 injured in Polish bus crash in Hungary Reuters
- Bus carrying Polish pilgrims crashes in Hungary, leaving 12 dead The Guardian
- Twelve killed as Polish bus veers off Hungarian motorway BBC
- PM Tusk: Poland to Send Emergency Aircraft to Budapest after Coach Crash ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English
Murder inquiry opens after death of man bitten by dog in West Yorkshire
Detectives say 55-year-old man arrested and appeal for anyone who witnessed altercation in Wakefield
Police in West Yorkshire have launched a murder investigation into the death of a man after he was bitten by a dog.
Officers were dispatched to Wakefield just after 1.30pm on Saturday, after receiving reports of an altercation a short time earlier on an old trainline footpath.
Continue reading...