Former NSW Liberal MP pleads not guilty to sexually assaulting teenage boy

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Rory Amon committed to stand trial on 10 separate charges, including sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 14

A former New South Wales Liberal MP has been committed to stand trial over multiple alleged sexual assaults.

Rory Amon is accused of sexually assaulting a teenage boy he knew on Sydney’s northern beaches in 2017.

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Trump plans to cut more than 90% of USAid foreign aid contracts

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Internal memo and court filings reveal president to also eliminate $60bn in overall US assistance around world

The Trump administration said it is eliminating more than 90% of the US Agency for International Development’s foreign aid contracts and $60bn in overall US assistance around the world.

The cuts detailed by the administration would leave few surviving USAid projects for advocates to try to save in what are current court battles with the administration.

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Taiwan condemns China for conducting shooting drills off its coast – The Associated Press

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  1. Taiwan condemns China for conducting shooting drills off its coast  The Associated Press
  2. China Takes Tougher Tone on Taiwan, Announces Military Drills  Bloomberg
  3. China says Taiwan drills 'routine', as Taipei details surge in military activity  Reuters
  4. China holds 'shooting' drills off Taiwan's coast, as Beijing vows 'reunification' push  NBC News
  5. Taiwan says China set up ‘live-fire training’ zone off its coast without warning  CNN
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Affluent suburbs targeted in Victorian government move to seize planning controls to build more homes

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South Yarra and Windsor among 25 new ‘activity centres’ identified by Labor for higher-density housing

The Victorian government has announced affluent suburbs such as Prahran, South Yarra and Windsor are among the final 25 areas where it will seize planning controls in an effort to increase housing density.

Two local government areas – Melbourne and Yarra – have also been named “city-wide activity centres” to allow for the rezoning of under-utilised areas.

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Penny Wong accuses Coalition of ‘gunboat diplomacy’ in Senate estimates as Chinese warships sail into Great Australian Bight

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James Paterson questions whether PM was across detail of live-fire drill, prompting Wong to say opposition senator ‘not actually interested in detail’

Three Chinese warships have sailed west into the Great Australian Bight, as Penny Wong accuses the Coalition of deliberately stirring controversy over live-fire drills that the flotilla conducted last week in the Tasman Sea.

During a fractious Senate estimates hearing Thursday morning, the foreign affairs minister accused the shadow home affairs spokesperson, James Paterson, of ignoring national security in favour of spearheading a “political attack” on the government.

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Man allegedly behind Melbourne’s ‘Pam the Bird’ graffiti bailed to live with ‘no nonsense’ grandmother

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Jack Gibson-Burrell, 21, released after flagging he will fight more than 50 offences and being accused of painting on Melbourne landmarks

A Melbourne man alleged to be the creator of the prolific “Pam the Bird” graffiti has been released back into the community to live with his grandmother in Geelong, who has warned it is “my house, my rules”.

Jack Gibson-Burrell’s legal team successfully argued for their client to be granted bail under strict conditions including not possessing abseiling-related equipment or graffiti implements, a night-time curfew, $30,000 surety and residing with his grandmother.

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North Korea behind $1.5bn hack of crypto exchange ByBit, says FBI

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The US agency said it refers to this specific North Korean malicious cyber activity as ‘TraderTraitor’

North Korea was behind the theft of approximately $1.5bn in virtual assets from a cryptocurrency exchange, the FBI has said, in what is being described as the biggest heist in history.

The haul, which reportedly has since lost some of its value, exceeded the previous record sum of $1bn stolen by the dictator Saddam Hussein from Iraq’s central bank before the 2003 war, and underlines the North’s growing expertise in cybercrime.

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Syrians emerging from dictatorship bristle at new threat from Israel – The Washington Post

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  1. Syrians emerging from dictatorship bristle at new threat from Israel  The Washington Post
  2. Israel Strikes Syria Hours After Country’s Leader Demands Withdrawal  The New York Times
  3. Israel bombs ‘military targets’ in southern Syria, outside Damascus  Al Jazeera English
  4. How will Israel’s airstrikes in Syria affect region? - analysis  The Jerusalem Post
  5. Israel says it is conducting strikes in southern Syria  ABC News
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Trump signs executive order expanding power of Elon Musk’s Doge agency

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Order calls for ‘transformation’ in US spending on contracts, grants and loans by requiring centralized payment system

Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order meant to expand the power of Elon Musk’s governmental cost-cutting program, the so-called “department of government efficiency”, or Doge.

The new order calls for a “transformation” in federal spending on contracts, grants and loans by requiring agencies to create a centralized system to record and justify payments, which may be made public for transparency – an initiative that would be monitored by Musk’s team.

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Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, February 26, 2025 – Institute for the Study of War

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  1. Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, February 26, 2025  Institute for the Study of War
  2. Russia aims to seize Ukrainian cities through ultimatums, not military force – ISW  Ukrainska Pravda
  3. Russia Demands Ukraine Cities It Doesn't Control as Part of Trump Deal: ISW  Newsweek
  4. ISW Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, February 26, 2025  Kyiv Post
  5. ISW: Russia will have to fight until at least 2108 to take control of the other 80 percent of Ukraine  Telegrafi
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US and allies must get tough on Russia, China’s deep-sea cable sabotage – New York Post

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  1. US and allies must get tough on Russia, China’s deep-sea cable sabotage  New York Post
  2. Video: Chinese-crewed cargo ship suspected of cutting undersea cable detained in Taiwan  CNN
  3. Taiwan coastguard detains mainland China crew after undersea cable damaged  South China Morning Post
  4. NATO's 'shadow fleet' dilemma has come to Asia — Taiwan says it caught a Chinese-crewed vessel slicing an undersea cable  Yahoo
  5. Taiwan catches Chinese-owned ship in act of cutting subsea cable  Financial Times
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