- Venezuela detains two Americans among group of 'mercenaries' DW (English)
- More Americans jailed in Venezuela pose a test of Trump’s deal-making foreign policy The Associated Press
- 2 Americans arrested in Venezuela on eve of Maduro inauguration over ‘terrorism’ claims Fox News
- Two Americans, five other 'mercenaries' detained in Venezuela FRANCE 24 English
- Venezuelan Regime Hunts for Foreign Hostages to Pressure Its Rivals The Wall Street Journal
Man accused of setting fire to Caulfield racecourse grandstand also broke into Jewish centre, court hears
Alleged arsonist Travis Bird, 51, charged with nine offences over Tuesday’s blaze and another three grassfires at nearby Attenborough park
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A man accused of setting fire to a heritage-listed racecourse grandstand before breaking into a Jewish community centre will remain behind bars after facing court.
Travis Bird, 51, appeared at Melbourne magistrates court on Wednesday after being charged with nine offences – four counts of arson, two of trespass and one each of burglary, criminal damage and theft.
Continue reading...Foreign tourists among three dead after Rottnest Island seaplane crash
Privately owned Cessna 208 Caravan 675 plane was carrying seven people when it crashed off Western Australia coast
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Three people have died after a seaplane crashed near Western Australia’s popular tourist destination Rottnest Island with seven people on board.
The privately owned Cessna 208 Caravan 675 seaplane is believed to have struck a small limestone outcrop called Phillip Rock while taking off from Rottnest Island, off the coast of Perth, at about 4pm local time on Tuesday.
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Continue reading...Fire reaches Getty Villa museum grounds in California, but structures not burned
Fueled by major windstorm, Pacific Palisades fire touches museum site but officials say collection safe
A rapidly spreading wildfire in southern California reached the grounds of the Getty Villa museum north of Santa Monica on Tuesday, but officials said no structures had burned and the collection was safe.
The Pacific Palisades fire, fueled by a major windstorm and prompting mass evacuations in Los Angeles county, burned some trees and vegetation on site at the Getty Villa, but museum leaders said the galleries and archives were protected.
Continue reading...Trump floats “Gulf of America,” seizing Panama Canal in wide-reaching presser – Axios
- Trump floats "Gulf of America," seizing Panama Canal in wide-reaching presser Axios
- Mexico's president tries turning tables on Trump with 'nice' naming idea of her own Fox News
- Trump says he will change the name of the Gulf of Mexico. Can he do that? The Associated Press
- Poking Fun at Trump, Mexico’s President Suggests U.S. Should be Called ‘Mexican America’ The New York Times
- Can Republicans actually change the name of the Gulf of Mexico? MSNBC
‘She’s my life’: A mother’s mission to help Nigerians with cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is believed to be one of the most common neurological disorders in Nigeria.
Nigerian atheist freed from prison but fears for his life
Mubarak Bala was jailed for blasphemy in a case that attracted criticism from rights groups.
Trump Raises Using Military or Economic Force to Take Greenland and the Panama Canal – The New York Times
- Trump Raises Using Military or Economic Force to Take Greenland and the Panama Canal The New York Times
- January 7, 2024 - Presidential transition news CNN
- Greenland, Panama and Faucets: Trump Conference Shows Hints of Chaos to Come The New York Times
- The Political Logic of Trump’s International Threats The Atlantic
- ‘Hell will break out’: Trump hints at military moves in Mideast, Americas Al Jazeera English
Indonesia places a $28bn bet on free school meals – Financial Times
- Indonesia places a $28bn bet on free school meals Financial Times
- Indonesian government tells ranchers to import cattle for school meals programme Reuters
- Indonesia kicks off ambitious $45b free meal plan ABC News
- Indonesia launches free meals program to fight stunting NPR
- Indonesia’s US$4 billion free meal scheme: feeding dreams or fuelling debt? South China Morning Post
Chinese Ship Suspected of Cable Sabotage May Have Had Two AIS Devices – The Maritime Executive
- Chinese Ship Suspected of Cable Sabotage May Have Had Two AIS Devices The Maritime Executive
- Taiwan, China trade barbs over undersea cable damage Reuters
- Taiwan Says It Suspects a Chinese-Linked Ship Damaged an Undersea Internet Cable The New York Times
- Taiwan believes China is behind damage to one of its crucial undersea cables Business Insider
- Chinese Vessel Cuts Taiwan Internet Cable in Apparent Sabotage The Wall Street Journal
‘Massacres’: Women, children killed as Israel bombs Gaza’s ‘safe zone’
Al Jazeera's correspondent says fear dominates in Gaza as Israeli attacks intensify, targeting 'humanitarian safe zone'.
China’s millionaires eye the exit as economic storm clouds gather
Some 15,200 Chinese millionaires were expected to relocate in 2024, according to Henley & Partners.
Former Cambodian opposition politician shot dead in Bangkok – reports
A gunman on a motorcycle opened fire on the dual Cambodian-French national as he arrived in Thai capital from Cambodia’s Siem Reap
A former Cambodian opposition lawmaker and French national was fatally shot by a gunman in Thailand’s capital of Bangkok on Tuesday, Thai police have confirmed.
Lim Kimya, 74, died at the scene, police said, and was attacked just hours after he arrived in Thailand from the Cambodian city of Siem Reap by bus, accompanied by his French wife and brother.
Continue reading...Former Cambodian opposition politician shot dead in Bangkok – reports – The Guardian
- Former Cambodian opposition politician shot dead in Bangkok – reports The Guardian
- Former Cambodian Opposition Member Lim Kimya Killed in Bangkok The New York Times
- Suspected killer of former Cambodia lawmaker arrested, Thai police say Reuters
- Thai police hunt hitman for shooting of Cambodian opposition figure Al Jazeera English
- Suspected killer of former Cambodian MP arrested Bangkok Post
Biden designates two new national monuments after advocacy from tribes
Chuckwalla and Sáttítla monuments in California will be safeguarded against extraction and energy development
Joe Biden will designate two new national monuments in California in his last days in office, after tribes and environment groups asked him to take urgent action.
The designation of the Chuckwalla monument in southern California and the Sáttítla monument in the far north of the state will place 840,000 acres (339,935 hectares) of land under protection, shielding it from extraction and energy development.
Continue reading...How Canada’s immigration debate soured – and helped seal Trudeau’s fate
Immigration has long been a polarising issue in the West but Canada mostly avoided it - until now
Schools in England face ‘death by a thousand cuts’, headteachers say
Rising costs likely to outstrip funding in coming year, despite recent injections of additional money
Schools in England are facing “death by a thousand cuts”, headteachers have said, after a leading economics thinktank said rising costs are likely to outstrip funding in the coming year, despite recent injections of additional money.
Without more ambitious government investment in education, the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said there could be yet more cuts in England’s already depleted schools, reducing pastoral support and curriculum choice, while class sizes are likely to grow.
Continue reading...Labour says cap on school uniform items could save families £50 a child
Government plans to limit branded student kit to three articles, plus a tie, from September 2026 in England
Plans to cap the number of branded uniform items schools in England can require to three, plus a tie, could save families more than £50 a child, with additional annual savings of £450 from free breakfast clubs in all primaries, the government has said.
The cost-saving measures are laid out in the government’s children’s wellbeing and schools bill which is due to be debated on Wednesday when it gets its second reading in parliament.
Continue reading...‘Flat packing them’: soldier says SAS described killing Afghans in casual way
Inquiry hears elite forces had a ‘kill all males on target whether they posed a threat or not’ policy in Afghanistan
Afghans who were killed by members of the SAS in Afghanistan were described dismissively as having been “flat packed” according to revealing testimony given by a former member of the elite force’s sister unit to a public inquiry.
The soldier, known only as N1799, said he had been party to a conversation with a member of the SAS in 2011 who had served in Afghanistan, in which he had been “shocked by the age and methods” used to kill Afghans.
Continue reading...Appeals court hears case that could dilute Black voters’ power in Louisiana
Fifth circuit, seen as primed for the Maga era, hears arguments challenging state’s newly created maps
A federal appeals court heard arguments Tuesday in a case that could further erode voting rights protecting minority voters or solidify that Louisiana’s legislative maps diluted Black voters’ power.
The fifth circuit court of appeals, which hears cases brought for appeal from Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, will weigh in on Nairne v Landry, a case in which a federal judge in Louisiana ruled the Republican-controlled legislature had violated section 2 of the Voting Rights Act with its newly created maps.
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