Sri Lankan leftist candidate Dissanayake claims presidential election

Posted on by

Second-round victory viewed as widespread rejection of the old political elite amid economic crisis

The Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake has won Sri Lanka’s presidential election, in what was viewed as a widespread rejection of the old political elite who are blamed for the country’s ongoing economic woes.

For the first time in Sri Lanka’s history, the election went into a runoff on Sunday after no candidate managed to get more than 50% of the votes. However, after second-choice votes were counted, Dissanayake was declared the winner in the evening. “This victory belongs to all of us,” he said, writing on X.

Continue reading...

Seven people killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza City school shelter

Posted on by

Director of Hamas-run housing ministry among dead after strike on building housing displaced people, officials say

Seven people have been killed after an Israeli airstrike hit a school housing displaced people in western Gaza City, Palestinian health officials said, amid fears that Gaza’s worsening humanitarian crisis might be forgotten as tensions boil between Hezbollah and Israel.

The strike hit Kafr Qasem school in Beach camp on Sunday morning, officials in Gaza said. Among those killed was Majed Saleh, the director of the Hamas-run public works and housing ministry, they added.

Continue reading...

UN reform plan adopted despite Russian opposition – DW (English)

Posted on by
  1. UN reform plan adopted despite Russian opposition  DW (English)
  2. UN chief António Guterres to seek world leaders’ backing for vision of the future  The Guardian
  3. Pact for the Future: World leaders pledge global action for peace, sustainable development  UN News
  4. UN adopts pact that aims to save global cooperation  Reuters
  5. UN's 'Pact for the Future' full of empty promises, will be 'cudgel' to attack the United States, expert warns  Fox News
Posted in Uncategorized

Manhunt under way after four killed and 17 injured in Alabama shooting

Posted on by

Police say multiple victims were caught in crossfire in nightlife area of Five Points South in Birmingham

A major manhunt is under way in Birmingham, Alabama, for those responsible for a shooting at a nightclub late on Saturday night in which four people have died and 17 were wounded.

The violence is just the latest shocking incident that highlights the epidemic of gun violence and killings that continues to plague the US and yet prompts little to no political action.

Continue reading...

Swiss voters reject biodiversity proposal in blow to conservation campaigners

Posted on by

Plan aimed to expand protection of endangered ecosystems, but opponents said it posed risk to business development

Voters in Switzerland have rejected a proposal to make authorities do more to protect natural habitats from pollution and development, preliminary results of a referendum have showed.

The biodiversity initiative, which the Swiss government and parliament had already rebuffed, envisaged changing the law to set aside more land for conservation beyond areas that were already protected.

Continue reading...

Fake UK news sites ‘spreading false stories’ about western firms in Ukraine

Posted on by

Suspected Russian propaganda operation prompts calls to force UK-registered news sites to reveal ownership

Fake news websites registered in the UK and made to resemble trusted British outlets are allegedly spreading disinformation about western companies operating in Ukraine.

The suspected Russian propaganda operation has prompted calls by parliamentarians for a change in the law to force UK-registered news websites to reveal their ownership, as happens in the EU.

Continue reading...

France’s new government under pressure as opponents threaten no-confidence vote

Posted on by

Critics of new cabinet, finalised by Michel Barnier on Saturday night, said it was ‘same-old, same-old’

Mounting threats of a parliamentary motion of no-confidence have put Michel Barnier’s new government under considerable duress before it has even had a chance to start work, as street protesters continued to voice their anger over the French prime minister’s new administration.

Eleven weeks after Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, called a snap general election, the new government was finally appointed on Saturday night. But there was little sense that the new cabinet, which signals a clear shift to the right, would bring calm into the political realm.

Continue reading...

UN chief calls on Sudanese paramilitary leader to end siege of North Darfur city

Posted on by

António Guterres ‘gravely alarmed’ by RSF assault on al-Fashir as EU foreign policy chief warns of another genocide

The UN secretary general, António Guterres, is “gravely alarmed” at reports of a full-scale assault on the Sudanese city of al-Fashir by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and has called on its leader to halt the attack immediately, according to Guterres’ spokesperson.

“It is unconscionable that the warring parties have repeatedly ignored calls for a cessation of hostilities,” Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement.

Continue reading...

Israeli soldiers raid and order closure of Al Jazeera’s Ramallah offices – CNN

Posted on by
  1. Israeli soldiers raid and order closure of Al Jazeera’s Ramallah offices  CNN
  2. Watch: Israeli forces order 45-day closure of Al Jazeera West Bank office  BBC.com
  3. Israeli forces attack Shireen Abu Akleh’s image, again  Al Jazeera English
  4. Israel Raids, Temporarily Shuts Down Al Jazeera’s West Bank Bureau  The Wall Street Journal
  5. “Israel Has No Right”: Al Jazeera Managing Editor Slams Israel’s Raid & Closing of West Bank Bureau  Democracy Now!
Posted in Uncategorized

NSW to help renters avoid added app fees and make it easier to keep a pet

Posted on by

Landlords will have to offer convenient ways to avoid extra charges when paying the rent

New South Wales renters will no longer be made to pay extra fees when they pay the rent and will have greater rights to keep a pet in a suite of reforms to be announced on Monday.

The state government plans to introduce legislation to modernise the state’s rental regulation into parliament in October.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Why News Corp’s realestate.com.au can put fees ‘up and up and up’, according to ex-CEO

Posted on by

Simon Baker says REA Group’s property portal is viewed ‘jealously’ by others around the world because the home-sellers pay the bills

A former chief executive of the News Corp-controlled realestate.com.au says the company views real estate agents as its “outsourced sales force”, outlining how home sellers have been targeted with ever-rising advertising costs.

Simon Baker, who was chief executive of REA Group from 2001 to 2008 and now works as a consultant in the property tech industry, says the “vendor-paid” advertising market operating in Australian real estate is rare globally.

Continue reading...

Attack on foreign diplomats’ convoy kills police officer in Pakistan – NBC News

Posted on by
  1. Attack on foreign diplomats' convoy kills police officer in Pakistan  NBC News
  2. Bomb targets foreign diplomats' convoy in Pakistan's restive northwest, policeman killed  CBS News
  3. Attack on foreign diplomats' convoy in Pakistan kills police officer, police say  Reuters
  4. Cop dead as bomb explodes near convoy of envoys of 12 countries in Pakistan  The Times of India
  5. Bomb targeting foreign diplomats’ convoy kills policeman in Pakistan’s restive northwest  The Associated Press
Posted in Uncategorized

Health and productivity losses from obesity ‘far outstrip weight-loss jab costs’

Posted on by

Exclusive: £100bn-a-year cost of obesity to UK makes clear economic case for use of drugs such as Ozempic, says report

Spiralling healthcare costs and productivity losses from the global obesity crisis far outstrip the cost of new weight-loss drugs, according to a report, which also calls on governments to prioritise prevention by promoting a healthy diet and exercise.

In the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, there is a clear economic case for these medications, the report says, as the annual cost of the diabetes drug Ozempic is lower than the cost of additional healthcare needed by people with obesity. The cost of the weight-loss injection Wegovy is higher, but still dwarfed by the overall economic cost to society of obesity, according to the research by ING Bank, shared with the Guardian.

Continue reading...