Putin and Xi hold video call in show of unity hours after Trump inauguration

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Timing may show two leaders want to coordinate approach in engaging with new US administration over Ukraine

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, held a video call with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in a symbolic display of unity just hours after Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the US.

Speaking from his Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Putin highlighted the close ties between the two countries, stating that their relations were based on “shared interests, equality, and mutual benefit“, calling Xi his “dear friend”.

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Record-Breaking Seizures of Viagra-Laced ‘Erectile Honey’ in France – A Dangerous Trend on the Rise – Indian Defence Review

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  1. Record-Breaking Seizures of Viagra-Laced ‘Erectile Honey’ in France – A Dangerous Trend on the Rise  Indian Defence Review
  2. Love honey: the ‘erectile nectar’ causing a storm in France  The Guardian
  3. Tons of ‘aphrodisiac honey’ seized in France as officials issue health warning  CNN
  4. Customs officials issue warning about 'erectile honey' flooding France  Euronews
  5. "Aphrodisiac honey" usage is surging despite potentially serious health risks, customs officials in France warn  CBS News
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Gaza Strip will cost $80 billion to rebuild – but who will rule it? – The Jerusalem Post

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  1. Gaza Strip will cost $80 billion to rebuild - but who will rule it?  The Jerusalem Post
  2. Updates: 137 bodies found in Rafah on day two of Israel-Hamas ceasefire  Al Jazeera English
  3. Video shows massive destruction in Gaza  CNN
  4. Satellite photos show the Gaza Strip before and after the devastation of the Israel-Hamas war  The Associated Press
  5. This Is What Gaza Looks Like Today: The Scale of Destruction Caused by Israel Is Revealed  Haaretz
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Suicide and soap operas: North Koreans react to being Ukrainian POWs – POLITICO Europe

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  1. Suicide and soap operas: North Koreans react to being Ukrainian POWs  POLITICO Europe
  2. What the North Koreans took into battle against Ukraine  The Washington Post
  3. North Korean POW Tells Ukrainian Interrogators About Major Troop Losses  The Moscow Times
  4. Inside an Elite Ukrainian Unit’s Mission to Capture a North Korean Soldier  The Wall Street Journal
  5. The Witness of a Consecrated Life  Word on Fire
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Israeli Settlers Burned West Bank Homes in Riots Organized on Chat Groups – The Wall Street Journal

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  1. Israeli Settlers Burned West Bank Homes in Riots Organized on Chat Groups  The Wall Street Journal
  2. Violence and restrictions in the Occupied West Bank coinciding with ceasefire implementation  ReliefWeb
  3. Justice officials question police officer who shot two Israelis during settler rampage  The Times of Israel
  4. IDF slams Jewish extremists of West Bank village attack, no mention of soldier  The Jerusalem Post
  5. Israeli settlers attack West Bank villages under army’s protection  Al Jazeera English
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Same-sex marriages will soon become legal in Thailand after historic law – NBC News

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  1. Same-sex marriages will soon become legal in Thailand after historic law  NBC News
  2. Same-sex couples in Thailand speak of happiness before marriage equality law takes effect  The Associated Press
  3. Historic Thai law recognises same-sex marriages - but not all families are equal  Reuters
  4. Marriage equality kicks off  Bangkok Post
  5. TAT celebrates ‘Equal Marriage’ with nationwide travel programs  Nation Thailand
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Trump mistakes Spain for a member of the BRICS bloc and repeats the threat of massive tariffs – The Associated Press

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  1. Trump mistakes Spain for a member of the BRICS bloc and repeats the threat of massive tariffs  The Associated Press
  2. Donald Trump Feels The Heat From A Rising BRICS+, Threatens 100% Tariff  NDTV
  3. Trump Starts Presidency by Failing Basic Geography Question  Yahoo! Voices
  4. Donald Trump threatens 100% tariffs against India, other BRICS nations but...  Moneycontrol
  5. Trump flunks Foreign Relations 101 by calling Spain a BRICS nation  MSNBC
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Anthony Albanese has pledged action on antisemitism – but Peter Dutton is still setting the agenda | Josh Butler

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The prime minister’s about-face after attack on Sydney childcare centre has left him once again looking like he’s playing catchup

Anthony Albanese has pledged action on antisemitic attacks – but his decision to call a snap national cabinet meeting less than a day after rebuffing that suggestion has left him once again looking like he’s playing catchup.

The prime minister condemned an arson and graffiti attack on a childcare centre in the Sydney suburb of Maroubra this week as a hate crime and “vile, antisemitic violence”. Scheduled to hold a press conference in western Sydney on Tuesday morning, he rerouted to the city’s east instead, visiting the site of the attack and then holding a press conference with the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns.

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‘Catastrophic’: Great Barrier Reef hit by its most widespread coral bleaching, study finds

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More than 40% of individual corals monitored around One Tree Island reef bleached by heat stress and damaged by flesh-eating disease

More than 40% of individual corals monitored around a Great Barrier Reef island were killed last year in the most widespread coral bleaching outbreak to hit the reef system, a study has found.

Scientists tracked 462 colonies of corals at One Tree Island in the southern part of the Great Barrier Reef after heat stress began to turn the corals white in early 2024. Researchers said they encountered “catastrophic” scenes at the reef.

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Water quality expert calls for wider PFAS ban as NSW community seeks blood tests on ‘poisoned’ land

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Cost of fixing ‘forever chemical’ pollution should be borne by manufacturers and polluters, not governments and consumers, expert tells Senate inquiry

A water quality expert says the Australian government should expand a planned ban of PFAS as a New South Wales indigenous community called for funding for blood tests for people living on “poisoned” land.

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), a group of several thousand synthetic compounds, are found in a wide variety of products including waterproof fabrics, food packaging, hygiene products and firefighting foam. They are sometimes referred to as “forever chemicals” because they are slow to break down and persist in the environment for extended periods.

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Australian children who play Roblox spending average of 139 minutes a day on the gaming app, data shows

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Study by parental control software firm Qustodio also shows Roblox is the gaming app most blocked by parents

Australian children who play Roblox are on the app for an average of 139 minutes a day and it is the gaming app most blocked by parents, a new industry report has found.

It comes as new documents reveal the federal government excluded games from the under 16s social media ban due to “regulatory overlap”.

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Israel’s top general resigns, citing ‘terrible’ 7 October security failures

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Lt Gen Herzi Halevi becomes most senior Israeli figure to resign over security breakdown during 2023 Hamas attack

Israel’s top general has resigned, citing the “terrible failure” of security and intelligence related to Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 that triggered the war in Gaza.

Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, the chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), is the most senior Israeli figure to resign over the security breakdown when thousands of Hamas-led militants carried out a land, sea and air assault into southern Israel, rampaging through army bases and nearby communities for hours.

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Israeli security forces launch operation in West Bank city of Jenin

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Palestinian health ministry says at least eight killed in operation launched day after Donald Trump lifted sanctions on violent settlers

Israeli security forces have launched an operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, a day after bands of Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians, smashing cars and burning property and the new US president, Donald Trump, announced he was lifting sanctions on violent settlers.

At least eight Palestinians were killed and 35 people were injured, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

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Hope and scepticism in Ukraine as Zelenskyy says Trump can bring about ‘just peace’

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Some in Kyiv think deal touted by US president is unrealistic but others have he will help end the war

People in Kyiv expressed a mixture of hope and scepticism on Tuesday that Donald Trump can end the war in Ukraine, as Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the US president as a “decisive” leader who would bring about a “just peace”.

Trump described himself as a “peacekeeper” who would avoid entangling the US in damaging foreign wars in his inauguration speech, but did not mention Ukraine, or explain how he might persuade Vladimir Putin to engage in negotiations almost three years after his full-scale invasion.

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Starmer orders inquiry after killer admits to stabbing three children – Euronews

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  1. Starmer orders inquiry after killer admits to stabbing three children  Euronews
  2. Teen pleads guilty to murder in stabbings at Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England  The Associated Press
  3. Southport Killer Had ‘Sickening and Sustained Interest’ in Violence, U.K. Officials Say  The New York Times
  4. Southport attack: why is so much information being published only now?  The Guardian
  5. Starmer says the killing of 3 girls must lead to ‘fundamental change’ in how state protects citizens  ABC News
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Wards in NSW’s largest psychiatric hospital close as mass resignations begin

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Doctor calls situation ‘an absolute disaster’ for public mental health system and vulnerable patients

Mental health wards have begun to close in New South Wales as negotiations to avert the mass resignations of psychiatrists continue.

At Cumberland psychiatric hospital, the largest mental health facility in NSW and the oldest in Australia, the acute and rehabilitation wards have closed, and the NSW branch of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) predicts more will follow.

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Attacker stabbed Saif in back to free himself from actors hold: Cops – The Tribune India

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  1. Attacker stabbed Saif in back to free himself from actors hold: Cops  The Tribune India
  2. Saif Ali Khan Leaves Mumbai Hospital 6 Days After Knife Attack At Home  NDTV
  3. Saif Ali Khan: Man arrested over stabbing of Bollywood actor  BBC.com
  4. Ailing mom & poverty led Saif Ali Khan's attacker to India, crime: Cops  The Times of India
  5. In Photos: Saif Ali Khan's return to home with cast on hand, bandage on neck  Hindustan Times
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