- Indians throng last day of Maha Kumbh festival that drew 663 million Reuters India
- Maha Kumbh Mela, World’s Largest Religious Gathering, Comes to a Close The New York Times
- Maha Kumbh 2025 ends today: Maha Shivratri rush at Sangam for final ‘snan’; police on alert in Prayagraj | 10 points Hindustan Times
- "Whole World Is Surprised How...": PM Modi As Maha Kumbh Draws 66 Crore People NDTV
- AI meets Maha Kumbh: Demystifying crowd-counting process at Prayagraj India Today
Pope Francis sleeps well as health shows slight improvement – Vatican News
- Pope Francis sleeps well as health shows slight improvement Vatican News
- Pope’s Illness Is Surrounded by Intrigue Over Possible Resignation The New York Times
- Pope Francis' slight kidney insufficiency has receded as he battles pneumonia, Vatican says Fox News
- Pope Francis’ friends around Rome pray for him as he fights pneumonia The Associated Press
- Pope resting peacefully on 14th day in hospital ABC News
Ita Buttrose’s emails ‘hammering’ top ABC executives instrumental in Antoinette Lattouf’s sacking, court hears
Court hears how journalist’s social media post on Gaza was seized upon as a ‘pretext’ to get rid of her in an ‘utterly abnormal’ fashion
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Ita Buttrose’s emails “hammering” executives with complaints about Antoinette Lattouf’s social media presence were influential in her sacking, the federal court has heard in closing submissions.
Lattouf’s barrister, Oshie Fagir, argued the former chair was one of four ABC figureheads who played a pivotal role in the removal of the casual host from air, including the formal decision-maker, Chris Oliver-Taylor, the chief content officer at the broadcaster.
Continue reading...Transgender US military personnel must be identified and stood down, says Pentagon memo
Being transgender is not compatible with service, court filing says, foreshadowing removal of people from service within 60 days
Transgender service members will be separated from the US military unless they receive an exemption, according to a Pentagon memo filed in court on Wednesday – essentially banning them from joining or serving in the armed forces.
Donald Trump signed an executive order in January that took aim at transgender troops in a personal way – at one point saying that a man identifying as a woman was “not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member”.
Continue reading...What Donald Trump’s closer ties to Russia mean for China – Financial Times
- What Donald Trump’s closer ties to Russia mean for China Financial Times
- 'China is the real winner': Trump's reversal in Ukraine aids Beijing, Western officials say NBC News
- Great Powers Don't Bluff | Opinion Newsweek
- Trump’s Abrupt Turn to Russia—and Whether a U.S.-Russia Team Could Gain Any Sway in South and Southeast Asia Council on Foreign Relations
- Trump's Russia Pivot Keeps China Guessing On Ukraine Barron's
‘I’m still dancing’: Derbyshire woman has 105th birthday rave at care home
Hilda Jackson and fellow residents partied with strobe lights, glowsticks and drum’n’bass from festival-headliner
It was a birthday party that would do even the most seasoned raver proud, with strobe lighting, glow sticks and a headline act who has played some of the biggest festivals in the UK.
The birthday girl sipped on champagne, while guests helped themselves to free-flowing cocktails from a pop-up bar run by Jägermeister. This was not an Instagram influencer’s Ibiza pool party, however – it was Hilda Jackson’s 105th-birthday rave in her Derbyshire care home.
Continue reading...Ukraine’s economy could grow by 5% next year if hostilities end, EBRD says
European reconstruction bank will help rebuild country if peace is agreed but a lasting end to conflict is needed
The war-torn Ukrainian economy could expand by 5% next year if a ceasefire is agreed, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has predicted – but prospects for reconstruction depend on a lasting peace.
The London-based lender has invested $6.2bn (£4.9bn) in projects in Ukraine over the course of the three-year conflict.
Continue reading...Over 7,000 from scam centers in Myanmar are awaiting repatriation after crackdown – NPR
- Over 7,000 from scam centers in Myanmar are awaiting repatriation after crackdown NPR
- Why Scam Centers in Southeast Asia Keep Flourishing The New York Times
- Thailand's scam centre crackdown not enough, top lawmaker warns Reuters
- 84 Indonesians taken out of scam centers in Myanmar are set to go home ABC News
- 7,000 foreigners in Myanmar await repatriation Bangkok Post
Aerial footage captures forest fire burning in northern Japan
Local officials in Japan blamed the unusually dry winter and strong winds.
Germany’s Merz in Paris for talks with President Macron – DW (English)
- Germany's Merz in Paris for talks with President Macron DW (English)
- Merz travels to Paris for dinner with Macron Euronews
- Macron and Merz meet, keen to revive French-German engine Le Monde
- Macron to Host Next German Chancellor to Discuss Trump, Ukraine Bloomberg
- France's Macron and Germany's Merz agree new chapter in relations, source says Reuters
Iran’s government hits out at crypto again as currency freefalls
Iran appears poised to impose new levels of control and oversight into crypto amid deteriorating economic conditions.
‘In a scary world, he gives us hope’: Faithful gather to support the Pope
The latest statement suggests that the 88-year-old is able to sit in his chair, eat normally and do what the Vatican calls "light work".
With flattery and frank talk, Starmer urges Trump not to abandon Ukraine in press to end Russian war – Yahoo
- With flattery and frank talk, Starmer urges Trump not to abandon Ukraine in press to end Russian war Yahoo
- U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer says his country is ready to put "boots on the ground" to support peace deal in Ukraine CBS News
- Keir Starmer sees 'value' in Trump's pursuit of Ukrainian mineral rights deal NBC News
- UK prime minister believes his country will play 'leading part' in maintaining security guarantees for Ukraine Fox News
- UK ready 'to put boots on the ground, planes in the air' to back Ukraine peace deal, Starmer says Kyiv Independent
Sadiq Khan aims to add £100bn to London’s economy by 2035
Capital’s mayor wants return to productivity growth, which has struggled to recover from 2008 financial crisis
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has announced an ambitious plan to add more than £100bn to the capital’s economy within a decade.
Unveiling what he is calling the London growth plan, Khan said he was allocating hundreds of millions of pounds in devolved funding in an attempt to return the annual productivity growth of the London economy to the levels seen before the 2008 financial crisis.
Continue reading...Top Democrat says Trump may seek mineral deal with both Russia and Ukraine
Jeanne Shaheen discusses Trump’s demand that Kyiv grant US firms access to rare-earth reserves for helping end war
Donald Trump may be pursuing a mineral rights deal with Vladimir Putin and Russia as well as with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine, a top Senate Democrat has warned, discussing the US president’s demand that Kyiv grant US firms access to 50% of its rare-earth reserves, as a price for helping end the war three years after Russia invaded.
“I think anything that helps position Ukraine for any peace negotiations is a positive move,” said Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the ranking Democrat on the Senate foreign relations and armed services committee, who recently visited Ukraine.
Continue reading...Electric Shocks and Tied Crucifixion-Style: The Life of a Scam-Mill Worker – The New York Times
UK bumblebee numbers fell to lowest on record in 2024, shows data
Bumblebees declined by almost a quarter compared with the 2010-2023 average, according to conservation charity
Figures show 2024 was the worst year for bumblebees in the UK since records began.
Bumblebee numbers declined by almost a quarter compared with the 2010-2023 average, according to data from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. The researchers said the drop was probably due to the cold and wet conditions in the UK last spring.
Continue reading...Merz’s all-male team photo revives question of gender equality in Germany
Image posted on social media rekindles idea that prospective new chancellor has a Frauenproblem
Six beaming election winners huddled around a table and not a woman among them: a viral social media image of the man likely to be Germany’s next chancellor and his transition team has revived longstanding questions about whether Friedrich Merz can bridge a persistent gender gap.
“Not great optics” was among the more generous of the thousands of comments on the post by Merz’s Bavarian ally Markus Söder, which seemed to hark back to another time.
Continue reading...Mother had carer’s allowance stopped while with disabled daughter in hospital
Rachel Adam-Smith says stopping benefits when loved ones are in hospital fails to recognise carers’ ongoing role
The mother of a severely disabled young woman was left in financial hardship after her carer’s allowance was wrongly stopped while her daughter was seriously ill in hospital.
Rachel Adam-Smith, 48, spent five weeks in hospital alongside her 22-year-old daughter who was being treated for severe gastrointestinal issues last month.
Continue reading...Trump Shocks Europe Into Chasing Billions for Military Buildup – Bloomberg
- Trump Shocks Europe Into Chasing Billions for Military Buildup Bloomberg
- Europe's NATO members take an economic hit : The Indicator from Planet Money NPR
- Von der Leyen floats EU effort to finance missiles, ammunition and air defense POLITICO Europe
- EU prepares biggest defence plan since Cold War: hundreds of billions of euros for security Ukrainska Pravda
- Opinion | Europe Scrambles to Rearm, Sort Of The Wall Street Journal