‘I don’t want flowers, I want my Ukraine’: women’s acts of resistance against Russian occupation

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Zla Mavka movement – meaning ‘wicked forest spirit’ – drops fake rouble notes bearing pro-Ukrainian images and shares messages of solidarity

On 8 March 2023, International Women’s Day, Russian soldiers were handing out tulips and boughs of mimosa to women and girls in the city of Melitopol, southern Ukraine – a move designed to promote friendly relations between the occupiers and the inhabitants.

But the night before, someone had been discreetly sticking posters to walls and lamp-posts. They bore the image of a young Ukrainian woman, dressed in a traditional embroidered shirt, smashing a bouquet over a Russian soldier’s head. “I don’t want flowers,” read the slogan. “I want my Ukraine.”

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Former world’s tallest man calls for more compassion for vulnerable in UK

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Hussain Bisad, who has had health problems, says government should do more for people with physical or mental illness

When Hussain Bisad first settled in north London as an asylum seeker after fleeing from war in Somalia 23 years ago, he did so in the hope of a new and more settled life. Little did he know that shortly after arriving he would be at the centre of the media spotlight, not for his story of escaping conflict but for something altogether different: his height.

Bisad had been in the UK for five months when Guinness World Records measured his height as 2.3 metres (7ft 6.5in), making him then the world’s tallest living man.

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North Koreans suffering ‘significant losses’, unprotected by Russian forces – EURACTIV

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  1. North Koreans suffering ‘significant losses’, unprotected by Russian forces  EURACTIV
  2. North Korea Is Experiencing Mass Casualties in Russia, White House Says  The New York Times
  3. North Koreans die in droves even as Russia unleashes firepower on Ukraine  Al Jazeera English
  4. North Korean troops experience mass casualties on Ukraine front lines, White House says  Reuters
  5. ‘I thought it was fake news’: secrecy around North Koreans fighting in Kursk  The Guardian
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India mourns former PM Manmohan Singh with Delhi state funeral

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Coffin flanked by honour guard and carried to Congress party headquarters in capital as Modi hails one of country’s ‘most distinguished leaders’

Mourners in India’s capital gathered on Saturday to pay their respects to former prime minister Manmohan Singh ahead of a state funeral for a leader who was key to the country’s economic liberalisation.

Singh, who held office from 2004 to 2014, died at the age of 92 on Thursday, after which seven days of state mourning were declared.

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Blair proposed SDLP Irish nationalists support England at World Cup, papers show

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Unsealed documents show British PM’s idea in 2002 did not go down well with Northern Ireland politician

The 2002 World Cup had been a gruelling rollercoaster for the Republic of Ireland. Nine days before the team’s first match in the tournament, hosted by Japan and South Korea, its captain and talisman Roy Keane was on his way home before a ball had been kicked, after publicly berating his manager, Mick McCarthy.

Two draws and a victory against Saudi Arabia had taken Ireland through the group stages, but after a dramatic penalty shootout against Spain, they were knocked out of the competition.

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‘Illegally smuggled’ cannon at Tower of London subject of dispute with Ireland

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Newly released documents show Irish officials sought return of cannon sold by ‘gang of British treasure hunters’

Rare cannon allegedly smuggled out of Irish waters by a gang of British treasure hunters and acquired for a knockdown price by a Tower of London official were at the centre of a decades-long dispute between British and Irish officials, according to newly released records.

Irish officials made extensive efforts to convince UK authorities to return the bronze cannon after claiming they were “illegally smuggled” from a Waterford shipwreck and sold to the Tower of London.

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New Victorian Liberal leader Brad Battin promises party unity after messy battle

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New opposition leader puts focus on crime crackdown – and not on all-male leadership team

The Victorian Liberal leader, Brad Battin, has praised John Pesutto – the man he toppled for the top job – as he seeks to unite the fractured party.

“John is an important part of our team,” Battin told reporters in Melbourne on Saturday.

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Mild weekend weather brings relief to firefighters after homes lost in Grampians bushfire

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Victorian temperatures to rise from Monday, with fire warnings also in place in NSW and Western Australia

Milder conditions across the weekend will bring temporary relief to firefighters who continue to battle an out-of-control bushfire in Victoria’s Grampians.

But the forecast rain was not expected to extinguish the fires and hot weather was expected to ramp up again from Monday.

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Indonesia receives official request from France to transfer death row prisoner Serge Atlaoui

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Minister says request regarding welder arrested in 2005 on drugs charges will be discussed in January amid spate of transfer of high-profile detainees

Indonesia has received an official request from France to transfer a French death row inmate imprisoned on drugs charges since 2005, a senior Indonesian minister said on Saturday.

“We have received a formal letter requesting the transfer of Serge Atlaoui on 19 December 2024. The letter was sent on behalf of the French minister of justice,” senior Indonesian law and human rights minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra told Agence France-Presse.

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Search for man missing off NSW north coast amid string of drownings across holiday period

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21-year-old Taewoo Kim last seen going for a swim at Moonee beach, near Coffs Harbour, on Boxing Day; police say another man’s body found in sea south of Wollongong

A multi-agency search is under way for a man presumed missing in the ocean since Boxing Day, off the north coast of NSW, as another man’s body has been pulled from the water further south.

Taewoo Kim, 21, was last seen around 1pm on Thursday, police said in a statement, going into the water at Moonee beach, north of Coffs Harbour.

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