Australian public school voluntary fees surge almost 40% in two years

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Greens vow to abolish public school fees and accuse major parties of shifting costs on to families struggling with cost of living

The average amount paid in voluntary fees and contributions by parents with children at public schools has surged by almost 40% in two years, new data shows.

While government schools in Australia are free, they can request parents pay voluntary contributions or donate funding towards the curriculum or extracurricular activities.

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‘Misleading’: Gina Rinehart’s mining firm breached environmental code with ‘clean gas’ job ad, panel rules

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Ad Standards Community Panel upholds complaint over Hancock Prospecting’s promotion in the Weekend Australian

The advertising regulator has found that Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting misled consumers with an unsubstantiated claim that gas was clean, in an online advertisement in The Australian last year.

Ads for Hancock Prospecting’s recruitment webpage futureaustralianjobs.com ran in the digital edition of the Weekend Australian in October 2024.

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French foreign minister makes rules-based order plea to global south over Ukraine

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Jean-Noël Barrot tells G20 to prioritise those who support the law rather than power by force

European powers have made a plea at the G20 in South Africa to countries in the global south that they show unambivalent support for the international rules-based order, including the sovereignty of Ukraine.

Writing in the Guardian, the French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, said the real line of geopolitical division was not between north and south but between those who supported the international rules-based order and those who did not.

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‘Sweating like a mafioso’: calls in Italy to bar Estonia’s ‘offensive’ Eurovision entry

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Consumer group complains about song’s stereotypes of Italians – but other Italians say the lyrics are ‘no stresso’

The Eurovision song contest is several months away but the drama has already begun, with calls from Italy for Estonia’s catchy pick for the competition to be scrapped due to lyrics poking fun at Italian stereotypes of being coffee-drinking, spaghetti-eating mafiosi.

Espresso Macchiato, by the rapper Tommy Cash, is sung in a blend of broken English and Italian and depicts a life of sweet indulgence. “Ciao bella, I’m Tomaso, addicted to tobacco. Mi like mi coffè very importante,” the first verse begins.

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China repatriates more than 1,000 online scam workers rescued from Myanmar – NPR

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  1. China repatriates more than 1,000 online scam workers rescued from Myanmar  NPR
  2. Chinese extricated from Myanmar scam centres fly home from Thailand  Reuters
  3. 260 foreigners rescued from virtual slavery in Myanmar's online scam centers are being repatriated  The Associated Press
  4. Myanmar scam center survivors recall torture and coercion  The Japan Times
  5. Thousands freed as Myanmar scam hubs empty out – but for how long?  South China Morning Post
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Hamas Hands Bodies of 4 Hostages Back to Israel – The New York Times

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  1. Hamas Hands Bodies of 4 Hostages Back to Israel  The New York Times
  2. Bodies of Bibas boys returned to Israel in tragic end for youngest Oct. 7 hostages  USA TODAY
  3. Hamas hands over bodies of youngest Gaza hostages taken from Israel  Reuters
  4. Bodies of four slain hostages in IDF custody in Gaza Strip  The Jerusalem Post
  5. Bodies of four slain hostages cross border back into Israel, 503 days since they were abducted alive to Gaza  The Times of Israel
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