Noise from new Hobart AFL stadium will ruin symphony orchestra’s historic concert hall, CEO fears

Posted on by

Caroline Sharpen says ‘there’s no precedent in the world’ for a concert hall having to deal with 23,000-seat stadium just 170 metres from its stage

The $775m bid to bring an Aussie Rules team to Tasmania will place the state’s symphony orchestra in an unenviable world-first position, which could threaten its future existence.

The plan to build a home for the newly formed Tasmanian Devils AFL team will see a 23,000 seat capacity sports and music stadium constructed on a historic Hobart foreshore site just 40 metres from the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra’s purpose-built performing and recording headquarters, the Federation Concert Hall.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Greens reveal plan for 1,000 new health clinics with free medical and dental care across Australia

Posted on by

Adam Bandt to announce $54bn policy for at least six clinics in every electorate paid for by ‘Robin Hood’ tax reform

The Greens want to open 1,000 new health clinics nationwide with free medical and dental care, in a $54bn policy the minor party says it would push in the event of a hung parliament.

The party’s leader, Adam Bandt, will announce the commitment on Thursday in the seat of Perth – one of the Greens’ major targets at the next election.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Cuddles and drama as live stream shows secret life of ‘ridiculously fluffy’ greater glider

Posted on by

Camera installed inside a tree hollow in NSW forest to raise awareness of the plight of the endangered possum

Conservationists call them “ridiculously cute” and “captivating” – and now a live stream offers a global audience the chance to view life inside the hollow for a family of eastern Australia’s largest gliding possums.

The hollow-cam broadcasting live from a tree in south-east NSW offered unlimited greater glider viewing for animal lovers and reality TV tragics.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Spain logs record number of summer visitors amid overtourism protests

Posted on by

Figure of 21.8 million international visitors to Spain is 7.3% rise on 2023, says national statistics institute

Spain logged a record 21.8 million international visitors this summer, official data has revealed, during a period when anti-tourism protests also took place across the country.

The figure is a 7.3% rise on 2023, the national statistics institute (INE) said.

Continue reading...

Georgian president refuses to sign anti-LGBTQ+ rights bill into law

Posted on by

Salome Zourabichvili opts not to advance bans on same-sex marriages and on adoptions by same-sex couples

Georgia’s president has refused to sign into law a bill aimed at severely curtailing LGBTQ+ rights, weeks after the controversial legislation was passed by the country’s parliament.

Last month Georgia’s parliament was heavily criticised after it approved the legislation, which sets out sweeping bans on same-sex marriages, adoptions by same-sex couples and curbs on gender-affirming treatments.

Continue reading...

Gang violence leaves Haiti facing ‘worst hunger emergency in the western hemisphere’

Posted on by

Half the country’s population now struggling to find food as lawlessness and inflation cause ‘full-blown crisis’, say aid agencies

Half of all Haitians are struggling every day to find food as rampant gang violence and lawlessness are causing “the worst hunger emergency in the western hemisphere”, a report has found.

The UN World Food Programme (WFP) and its partner organisations estimate that 5.4 million Haitians are now regularly finding it hard to get enough to eat, a record for the Caribbean nation and the largest proportion of acutely food insecure people anywhere in the world, WFP said. The figure suggests another 600,000 people have fallen into “crisis” level hunger since the previous peaks recorded earlier this year and in 2023.

Continue reading...

Pope opens major Vatican summit pleading for a church where ‘each person feels welcomed’ – National Catholic Reporter

Posted on by
  1. Pope opens major Vatican summit pleading for a church where 'each person feels welcomed'  National Catholic Reporter
  2. Synod: Cardinal Grech's opening address - Full text  Vatican News
  3. From Management to Ministry?  Commonweal
  4. LETTERS FROM THE SYNOD – 2024: #2 | Xavier Rynne II  First Things
  5. On eve of novel synod, pope asks pardon for new index of sins  Crux Now
Posted in Uncategorized

Typhoon Krathon: one person killed and two missing in Taiwan

Posted on by

Seventy reported injured as schools, offices and financial markets shut and people urged to stay at home

One person has been killed, two are missing and 70 injured in bad weather from a typhoon approaching Taiwan, which grounded flights and closed all schools, offices and financial markets for Wednesday and Thursday.

Typhoon Krathon reached super typhoon status in recent days but movement stalled overnight and its intensity has weakened as it moves slowly towards Taiwan’s south-west. Authorities warned the threat of strong winds and storm surges remained for coastal and low-lying communities on the densely populated west coast, and the mountainous areas remained at high risk of landslides and torrential rain.

Continue reading...