Russia’s elites say they are tired of waiting for the war to end: report – Business Insider

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  1. Russia's elites say they are tired of waiting for the war to end: report  Business Insider
  2. Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, January 9, 2025  Institute for the Study of War
  3. Russia gained 4,000sq km of Ukraine in 2024. How many soldiers did it lose?  Al Jazeera English
  4. As Russian losses in Ukraine mount, Putin faces ‘devastating’ demographic timebomb  Kyiv Independent
  5. ‘We expected the war to end’  Meduza
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‘I felt less human, not human at all’: Australia faces moral crossroads over Nauru

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Who is accountable for what happens in an offshore processing centre? It’s remarkable this is still a question in Australia

Aarash lost his youth to offshore processing. Sixteen when he was sent to Nauru, he says he cannot remember a single birthday in more than a decade.

“When I see younger ones that age, having fun, playing, going to school, it reminds me of everything I lost,” he says. “I felt less human, not human at all.”

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Burning is risky – so why are tan lines having their time in the sun on social media?

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Gen Z influencers spruik tan lines as summer’s ‘fav accessory’ to generation ‘obsessed’ with looks

In life, there are lots of pleasurable things that we know aren’t that good for us: simple carbs deep-fried in vegetable oil, drinking one or two wines over the recommended limit at dinner with friends, and sitting in the Australian sun.

But despite the risk of cancer and early death the latter poses, parts of the internet are now encouraging extensive time in the sun.

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Soaring air fares between Melbourne and Sydney see travellers take 11-hour train

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Exclusive: Seats on Sydney-Melbourne train service regularly sell out over holiday period, as one-way flights to Tullamarine average almost $500

The 11-hour Sydney-Melbourne train has become so popular services are selling out – even with extra carriages added – as travellers seek alternatives to an aviation duopoly that is stronger than ever, with carriers charging $900 for one-way economy tickets.

Ridership on the Sydney-Melbourne rail corridor has exploded in recent months, with 203,000 passenger journeys between July and December. Data for the 2023-24 financial year revealed 393,000 passenger journeys, a 14% increase on the previous year and just 7,000 shy of the annual record.

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Giant pink slug makes a comeback on extinct volcano in NSW national park

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Exclusive: The kaputar slug, which can grow longer than a human hand, was almost wiped out in the black summer bushfires of 2019-20

A giant, fluorescent pink slug’s comeback on Mount Kaputar has been mapped by eager citizen scientists.

The kaputar slug grows up to 20cm long – outstripping the average human hand – and 6cm wide. The only place it exists in the entire world is on an extinct volcano in NSW’s Mount Kaputar national park.

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‘The worst way of dying’: scientists urge coordinated effort to stop whales getting tangled

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Experts recorded 45 entanglements off Australia’s east coast in 2024 – but believe that’s ‘the tip of the iceberg’

At least 45 whales were entangled by fishing ropes and line on the east coast in 2024, and experts are calling for better management of fishing gear in Australia to prevent marine suffering.

Dr Olaf Meynecke, a marine scientist at Griffith University, said the issue of preventing whale entanglements was “largely ignored in Australia”.

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‘It was extraordinary’: Spanish captain recalls rescue of woman who gave birth in dinghy

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Mother and newborn saved from inflatable boat off Canary Islands, on a route on which thousands have died

The call that would lead to one of the most poignant images of the humanitarian emergency in the deadly waters off the Canary Islands came at 4am.

In the early hours of Monday, the Las Palmas command centre of Spain’s maritime rescue service, Salvamento Marítimo, told Domingo Trujillo, the captain of the search-and-rescue vessel Talía, that a small inflatable boat, packed with people, was adrift 97 nautical miles (180km) off the coast of Lanzarote. Among those onboard, they added, was a woman who was due to give birth at any moment.

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Rachel Reeves faces ‘difficult decisions’ on tax and spending – BBC.com

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  1. Rachel Reeves faces 'difficult decisions' on tax and spending  BBC.com
  2. Rachel Reeves faces another anxious week of second-guessing the City  The Guardian
  3. UK Bond Selloff Puts Reeves’ Economic Project on the Brink  Bloomberg
  4. Rachel Reeves searches for new ideas on economic growth  The Times
  5. Rachel Reeves can run – but her fate is sealed  The Telegraph
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Greenland today, Svalbard tomorrow? Arctic shivers at specter of Trump and Putin – POLITICO Europe

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  1. Greenland today, Svalbard tomorrow? Arctic shivers at specter of Trump and Putin  POLITICO Europe
  2. Rising Tensions and Shifting Strategies: The Evolving Dynamics of US Grand Strategy in the Arctic  The Arctic Institute
  3. From vision to action: New NOAA strategic framework sets path for more resilient Arctic  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  4. Trump has a fighting chance to prevent Arctic meltdown. He should take it.  Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
  5. China's Arctic Presence Worries U.S. Ahead of Trump's Return  Newsweek
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