- Southeast Asian cities among world's most polluted, ranking shows Reuters
- Pollution-hit Bangkok closes hundreds of schools and offers free public transport The Guardian
- Thai authorities seek to ease air pollution in capital by offering free public transport Yahoo! Voices
- Alarm sounds over haze Bangkok Post
- Thailand trials unconventional 'cloud seeding' as air pollution wreaks havoc ABC News
Japan’s leader says he’s preparing for tough negotiations with Trump on maintaining US presence – The Associated Press
- Japan's leader says he's preparing for tough negotiations with Trump on maintaining US presence The Associated Press
- Japan and US Agree on Bringing Ties to New Heights Bloomberg
- Japan's Shigeru Ishiba to Warn Trump Against Asia-Pacific 'Power Vacuum' Newsweek
- Japan has no choice but to strengthen defence, foreign minister tells new Trump administration Reuters
- U.S. top diplomat vows to ensure stability in Indo-Pacific: Japan FM Nikkei Asia
Second man charged over attempted arson of Sydney synagogue – as it happened
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- Albanese accuses Dutton of ‘not having the guts’ to face media in first major election year speech
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The anti-fracking group Lock the Gate Alliance has launched a legal challenge to a Northern Territory government decision to approve another gas exploration project in the Beetaloo basin.
The case in the territory’s civil and administrative tribunal is challenging the merits of the government’s approval of the environment management plan for Empire Energy’s “Larrimah” exploration project.
Our robust regulation of the onshore petroleum industry is informed by the best available science. As the project is before the NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal, it would be premature to make any further comment on the matter.
For too long, vice-chancellors and senior executives have escaped any real accountability for some of the terrible decisions that have damaged our public universities. An inquiry would be a golden opportunity to get to the bottom of what’s allowing the wage theft epidemic, rampant casualisation and a raft of other serious problems to flourish in our sector.
This is the path to lasting reform that will ensure staff can deliver the world-class teaching and research our students and community deserve.
Continue reading...‘Hot garbage’: Australians react to smell of ‘corpse flower’ in bloom
Almost 20,000 people visited Sydney's Botanic Gardens to catch a whiff of a rare plant in bloom.
Teen fighting for life and another injured after Melbourne street fight shooting
Detectives believe the boys, aged 15 and 17, were shot in a targeted attack during a Collingwood brawl involving up to 50 youths
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Two teens are lucky to be alive after a targeted shooting during a street fight that embroiled dozens of youths, police say.
A 17-year-old boy is fighting for his life in hospital while a 15-year-old has been hospitalised with serious injuries after both were found with gun shot wounds on Vere Street in Collingwood, inner Melbourne, about 1am on Friday.
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Albanese accuses Dutton of ‘not having the guts’ to face media in first major election year speech
PM labels opposition leader ‘weak’ for failing to make a single national press club address since 2022
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Anthony Albanese has branded Peter Dutton “weak” for skipping appearances in front of the national media in Canberra, accusing the opposition leader of “not having the guts” to face tough questions as the prime minister sought to flip the script on his opponent after enduring months of character attacks.
Albanese, in his first major speech of the 2025 election year at the National Press Club, portrayed himself as a “tough” leader for making difficult decisions such as breaking an election promise in order to recast the stage-three tax cuts – despite negative media coverage – and defending his first-term achievements.
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Continue reading...Victoria and South Australian schools to be fully funded after securing landmark federal government agreement
But Queensland and New South Wales still hold out on agreement that will see southern states get a 5% boost in commonwealth public school funding
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Victoria and South Australia have secured a landmark 5% increase in commonwealth public school funding meaning they will be fully funded by 2034, leaving just Queensland and New South Wales holding out on signing up to the historic education agreement.
The move is a major win for the states and for Labor ahead of the federal election, bringing an end to more than six months of disputes over who will pay to deliver on fully funding public education for the first time.
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Continue reading...Britain’s response to Russian ‘spy ship’ is game of political messaging – for now
Deteriorating security environment and incidents in Baltic have forced military reassessment in northern Europe
Submarines normally operate in secret, lurking in the deep. So when the British defence secretary, John Healey, authorised a Royal Navy Astute-class attack sub to surface close to the Russian “spy ship” Yantar south of Cornwall in November, it was unusual enough.
What was even more notable, however, was that the minister went on to tell the House of Commons on Wednesday what he had done. It was, Healey said, conducted “strictly as a deterrent measure”, as was his decision to accuse the Kremlin of spying on the location of undersea communication and utility cables that connect Britain to the world.
Continue reading...Europe overhauls funding to Tunisia after Guardian exposes migrant abuse
Allegations of rape, beatings and collusion by EU-funded security forces prompt shift in migration arrangements
The European Commission is fundamentally overhauling how it makes payments to Tunisia after a Guardian investigation exposed myriad abuses by EU-funded security forces, including widespread sexual violence against migrants.
Officials are drawing up “concrete” conditions to ensure that future European payments to Tunis can go ahead only if human rights have not been violated.
Continue reading...Kemi Badenoch co-wrote report saying Prevent scheme could ‘alienate communities’
Tory leader backed 2015 inquiry but has now criticised Labour for having same concerns about counter-terror strategy
Kemi Badenoch, who criticised a Labour manifesto that warned the UK’s Prevent programme could alienate communities, co-authored a report which expressed concern that the same anti-radicalisation scheme was alienating communities.
The Conservative party leader backed an inquiry in 2015 that concluded “the public must not be the forgotten partner in the fight against extremism” and noted that Prevent was “subject to accusations of police heavy-handedness”.
Continue reading...IDF said bombed apartments were Hezbollah base – but most killed were civilians
The missile strike on a Lebanese apartment block targeting Hezbollah left mostly civilians dead, BBC finds.
IDF said bombed apartments were Hezbollah base – but most of dead were civilians
An IDF attack on a Lebanese apartment block targeting Hezbollah killed mostly civilians, BBC finds.
Captain Cook statue in Sydney doused with red paint ahead of Australia’s controversial national day
Randwick mayor says vandalism does ‘disservice to reconciliation’ but Greens councillor says statue marks ‘devastating impacts of colonisation’
A statue of Captain Cook in Sydney’s eastern suburbs has been damaged and doused in red paint for a second year in a row.
New South Wales police were investigating after the damage to the sandstone statue of the explorer and naval captain was discovered on Friday morning before the Australia Day long weekend.
Continue reading...Rudd and Keating statues decapitated in mass vandalism attack on 20 prime ministers’ busts
Early investigations point towards four people and a white ute spotted around Ballarat Botanical Gardens on Thursday morning
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Vandals have cut off the heads of the statues of Kevin Rudd and Paul Keating in Ballarat, and damaged 18 others.
A total of 20 busts on Prime Ministers Avenue in the Ballarat Botanical Gardens in Victoria were attacked between 2am and 5am on Thursday. The avenue features busts of Australia’s first 29 prime ministers.
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Continue reading...Gender dysphoria diagnoses among children in England rise fiftyfold over 10 years
Study of GP records finds prevalence rose from one in 60,000 in 2011 to one in 1,200 in 2021 – but numbers still low overall
The number of children and young people in England with a diagnosis of gender dysphoria recorded by a GP has risen fiftyfold over 10 years, researchers have found, though numbers are still relatively small.
The growing number of birth-registered females seeking referrals to gender clinics has raised concerns in recent years, with tensions over how best to tackle gender dysphoria in children resulting in the Cass review last year.
Continue reading...Irish-language cinema has bright future despite Oscars snub, says Kneecap director
Comedy film loosely based on lives of Belfast hip-hop trio missed out on nominations for best international feature and original song
Hollywood may not have been quite ready to see Kneecap “walking down the red carpet smoking a joint” but the makers of the comedy biopic about the hip-hop trio say it has shown there is a “bright future” for Irish-language cinema and an indigenous industry in Belfast.
The producers of the film – which is named after the group – and their family and friends turned out to watch the Academy Awards nominations announcement in Madden’s bar in Belfast with the band tuning in on Zoom from London, where they are recording a new album.
Continue reading...Nature lovers urged to take part in UK bird count amid fears over climate and disease
Birdwatch survey comes as concerns grow over infection risks posed by garden bird feeders
People are being urged to spend an hour this weekend counting the birds in their garden, park or local green space for the world’s largest survey of garden wildlife.
More than 9m birds were counted last year by 600,000 participants in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch, providing a vital snapshot of how wild birds are faring.
Continue reading...Rubio vows to work ‘tirelessly’ to free hostages during call with FM Sa’ar – The Jerusalem Post
- Rubio vows to work 'tirelessly' to free hostages during call with FM Sa'ar The Jerusalem Post
- US top diplomat Rubio discusses Iran, Gaza hostages with Israeli PM Netanyahu Reuters
- FM Sa’ar thanks US Secretary of State Rubio for actions against ICC, Houthis and more The Times of Israel
- Middle East crisis: hundreds leaving their homes in Jenin, says Palestinian official, as Israel continues West Bank raid – as it happened The Guardian
- Rubio holds first call with Netanyahu as secretary of state CBS News
Captain Cook statue vandalised in Sydney ahead of Australia Day – BBC.com
- Captain Cook statue vandalised in Sydney ahead of Australia Day BBC.com
- Captain Cook statue in Sydney defaced ahead of Australia's national day NBC News
- Captain Cook statue vandalised again before controversial ‘Australia Day’ Al Jazeera English
- Captain Cook statue vandalised before Australia Day celebrations The Telegraph
Amanda Knox slander conviction upheld in Italian court, ending legal saga – The Washington Post
- Amanda Knox slander conviction upheld in Italian court, ending legal saga The Washington Post
- Amanda Knox’s Slander Case in in the Hands of an Italian Court: Here’s What to Know PEOPLE
- Rubio’s First Official Visit Will Be to a Country Trump Already Offended The Daily Beast
- Amanda Knox Slander Conviction Is Upheld by Italy’s Highest Court The New York Times
- Amanda Knox fails to overturn slander conviction in Italy Sky News