Coalition’s claim that fuel efficiency standard would raise prices based on car no longer on sale

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Questions arise over election proposal to axe penalties for high-emitting cars after revelations Toyota RAV4 model used in analysis has been discontinued

The Coalition’s claim cars will be more expensive as a result of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) has come under scrutiny because at least one of the opposition’s headline figures is based on a car no longer on sale.

The revelation casts doubt on a key Coalition election proposal to eliminate penalties for cars that emit CO2 beyond regulated limits, to ensure “Australians save thousands when buying a new car”.

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Iran Update, April 18, 2025 – Institute for the Study of War

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  1. Iran Update, April 18, 2025  Institute for the Study of War
  2. Iran: Regime-Linked Banks And Entities At Heart Of Housing Crisis – OpEd  Eurasia Review
  3. Iran News: IRGC Mouthpiece Warns Even Sanction Relief Won’t Stop Unrest  National Council of Resistance of Iran - NCRI
  4. Iran in the News  Philadelphia Jewish Exponent
  5. Officials Sound the Alarm as Iran Plunges Deeper into Crisis Despite Resource Wealth  National Council of Resistance of Iran - NCRI
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ACLU urges US supreme court to block ‘imminent’ deportations of Venezuelans

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Emergency filing says group of men could be deported on Friday or Saturday without court-ordered judicial review

The American Civil Liberties Union asked the US supreme court to block what the group called the imminent deportation of a new group of Venezuelan men detained in Texas without the judicial review previously ordered by the court.

In an emergency Friday court filing, ACLU lawyers said dozens of Venezuelan men held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Bluebonnet detention center in Texas were given notices indicating they were classified as members of the Tren de Aragua gang and would be deported under the Alien Enemies Act, and were told “that the removals are imminent and will happen tonight or tomorrow”.

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Russia sentences 19-year-old woman to nearly three years in a penal colony after poetic anti-war protest – CNN

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  1. Russia sentences 19-year-old woman to nearly three years in a penal colony after poetic anti-war protest  CNN
  2. Russia jails 19-year old for condemning its war in Ukraine  Al Jazeera
  3. Russian Court Sentences Anti-War Activist Who Glued Poem To Ukrainian Statue  Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
  4. Russia jails 19-year-old for condemning Ukraine conflict  Yahoo
  5. Russia jails 19-year-old for nearly three years for condemning Ukraine conflict  Reuters
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Gaza photojournalist who wrote, ‘If I die, I want a resounding death’ killed in Israeli airstrike – CNN

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  1. Gaza photojournalist who wrote, ‘If I die, I want a resounding death’ killed in Israeli airstrike  CNN
  2. ‘If I die, I want a loud death’: Gaza photojournalist killed by Israeli airstrike  The Guardian
  3. Photographer Fatima Hassona killed ahead of Cannes documentary debut  Euronews.com
  4. ‘I Refused to Accept Her Death’  Vulture
  5. Cannes Selects Film on Gaza Photographer Fatma Hassona; A Day Later, She’s Killed in Israeli Strike  Democracy Now!
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Detained Turkish student must be transferred from Louisiana for hearing, judge rules

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Rumeysa Ozturk was taken by immigration officials over what her lawyers say was apparent retaliation for op-ed

A federal judge on Friday ordered that a Turkish Tufts University student detained by immigration authorities in Louisiana to be brought to Vermont by 1 May for a hearing over what her lawyers say was apparent retaliation for an op-ed piece she co-wrote in the student newspaper.

US district judge William Sessions said he would hear Rumeysa Ozturk’s request to be released from detention. Her lawyers had requested that she be released immediately, or at least brought back to Vermont.

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Congo boat disaster death toll rises to 148, with more than 100 still missing

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Fire broke out during onboard cooking before wooden vessel capsized with 500 passengers aboard

The death toll from a boat fire and capsizing in the Democratic Republic of Congo earlier this week has risen to 148 with more than 100 people still missing, officials said on Friday.

About 500 passengers were on board the wooden boat when it capsized on Tuesday after catching fire on the Congo River in the country’s north-west.

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Pubs in England and Wales allowed to stay open later for VE Day anniversary

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Venues to remain open until 1am as PM urges UK to come together to mark 80th anniversary on 8 May

Pubs will be allowed to stay open until 1am to celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE Day, the UK prime minister has announced.

The government will allow pubs in England and Wales to close at 1am on 9 May to allow drinkers to continue celebrating into the early hours.

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Trump to reclassify wide swaths of federal workers to allow for more firings

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President announces more employees under ‘Schedule F’ can be hired or fired based on their allegiance to him

Donald Trump on Friday said his administration is implementing a move that will allow far more firings of federal employees and will make significantly more roles into politically appointed positions beholden to the president.

The office of personnel management (OPM) on Friday published a new rule that invokes “Schedule F”, a prior attempt to reclassify wide swaths of federal workers not as civic service roles with protections regardless of who’s in power – but as political appointees who can be hired or fired based on their allegiances to the president.

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