Mutiny brews in French bookshops over Hachette owner’s media grip

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Booksellers take stand against influence of conservative billionaire by limiting orders of his company’s books and placing them on lower shelves

A conservative Catholic billionaire and media owner is facing an independent bookshop rebellion in France over his influence in the publishing world.

Dozens of independent booksellers are trying to counter the growing influence of Vincent Bolloré, whose vast cultural empire includes television, radio, the Sunday paper Le Journal du Dimanche, and also, since 2023, the biggest book publishing and distribution conglomerate in France, Hachette Livre.

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Rachel Reeves says Spring Statement will not ‘tax and spend’ – BBC.com

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  1. Rachel Reeves says Spring Statement will not 'tax and spend'  BBC.com
  2. Borrowing overshoot will test Rachel Reeves’s resolve on tax rises  The Guardian
  3. Rachel Reeves Prepares UK Spending Cuts Forced by Budget Call Gone Wrong  Bloomberg
  4. Rachel Reeves to outline more than £10bn in cuts to help restore UK finances  Financial Times
  5. The Spring Statement will be bad but the true state of public finances is even worse  The Telegraph
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Czech Republic to rescue Radio Free Europe after Donald Trump funding cuts – Financial Times

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  1. Czech Republic to rescue Radio Free Europe after Donald Trump funding cuts  Financial Times
  2. Radio Free Europe Sues Overseer USAGM To Block Termination Of Federal Grant  Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
  3. Opinion | A U.S. Retreat in the War of Ideas  The Wall Street Journal
  4. Exiled Russian journalists left ‘high and dry’ after US cuts radio funding  The Guardian US
  5. Trump cuts threaten reporters with return to repressive regimes  ICIJ.org
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Changes in Help to Buy housing scheme will make ‘most first home buyers’ eligible, Labor says

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Minister announces increase in both income and property price caps as part of 2025 budget

Labor will increase the income and price caps for its signature Help to Buy scheme as part of next week’s budget, which it has promised will deliver cost-of-living relief.

Under the shared equity scheme, the commonwealth provides first home buyers with 30% of the purchase price of an existing home, or 40% for a new home.

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UNICEF calls on the Taliban to lift ban on girls’ education as new school year begins in Afghanistan – The Associated Press

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  1. UNICEF calls on the Taliban to lift ban on girls' education as new school year begins in Afghanistan  The Associated Press
  2. As new school year starts in Afghanistan, almost 400,000 more girls deprived of their right to education, bringing total to 2.2 million  UNICEF
  3. A mother’s dreams, a daughter’s fight  The Campus
  4. UN Tells Afghan Rulers: No Peace and Prosperity Until They Reverse Bans on Women and Girls  U.S. News & World Report
  5. Voices of Afghanistan Interview Series: 'We, Afghan girls and women, will call for freedom with every breath'  JURIST
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Bob Brown urges Greens to punish Labor at election if Albanese amends law to protect salmon farming

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PM’s pledge to protect Tasmanian industry will weaken laws already failing to protect natural sites and at-risk species, environmentalists say

Former Greens leader Bob Brown has urged the minor party not to preference Labor ahead of the Liberal party in Tasmanian seats at the upcoming election if the Albanese government legislates to effectively exempt salmon farming from national environment laws.

Conservationists have sharply criticised Anthony Albanese’s pledge that he will rush through legislation next week to protect the salmon industry in Macquarie Harbour, on the state’s west coast, from the potential results of a long-running legal review.

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Hegseth to fly to the Philippines and Japan in first visit to Asian treaty allies at odds with China – The Associated Press

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  1. Hegseth to fly to the Philippines and Japan in first visit to Asian treaty allies at odds with China  The Associated Press
  2. Pentagon chief to visit Philippines for security talks, envoy says  Defense News
  3. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth Travel to Hawaii, Guam, Philippines, and Japan  Department of Defense
  4. Hegseth’s Manila visit ahead of Balikatan signals strong US-Philippines ties  South China Morning Post
  5. Hegseth Skips South Korea Visit as Leadership Vacuum Takes Toll  Bloomberg
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