Power cuts in Ukraine after Russia’s biggest drone attack yet

Posted on by

Moscow is pushing hard on eastern frontline amid uncertainty as to how Trump taking office will affect war

Russia launched its biggest ever drone attack on Ukraine on Monday night and Tuesday morning, sending a reported 188 drones into the country against various targets, resulting in power cuts in part of western Ukraine and damage to residential buildings outside Kyiv.

Russian forces are pushing hard along the frontline in the east of the country, amid uncertainty as to how the dynamics of the war might change once Donald Trump takes office in January. Russia also vowed “retaliatory actions” for fresh Ukrainian strikes on military targets inside Russia that used long-range missiles sent by the US.

Continue reading...

Four bodies recovered from Red Sea day after tourist boat capsizes

Posted on by

Five more rescued and seven still missing from the Sea Story, which was carrying 30 tourists and 14 crew

Egyptian naval forces recovered four bodies and rescued five more people from the Red Sea a day after a large tourist boat sank in rough waters, officials have said. Seven people are still missing.

The Red Sea governor, Amr Hanafi, said the yacht, called Sea Story, had been struck by high waves on Monday and sank in less than 7 minutes.

Continue reading...

Lebanon’s Shiites increasingly reject role of scapegoat in Hezbollah’s war on Israel – The Times of Israel

Posted on by
  1. Lebanon’s Shiites increasingly reject role of scapegoat in Hezbollah’s war on Israel  The Times of Israel
  2. Lebanon’s Shiite Muslims pay high price in war between Israel and Hezbollah  The Associated Press
  3. Lebanon’s economy had been in crisis. Then Israel invaded  Financial Times
  4. Costs of Israel-Hezbollah conflict on Lebanon, Israel  Reuters.com
  5. A look at the Israel-Hezbollah war, by the numbers  The Hill
Posted in Uncategorized

What would a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah entail and would it succeed?

Posted on by

Deal to end 13 months of fighting between neighbouring countries could be announced on Tuesday evening

A ceasefire to pause the fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah is expected to be announced as early as Tuesday evening by the US president, Joe Biden, and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, and come into effect sometime on Wednesday.

The Biden administration, wary of regional escalation that could draw in Hezbollah’s major ally, Iran, has been trying to broker a truce for months. The conflict began 13 months ago when the powerful Lebanese militia began firing rockets and shells at Israel a day after the Palestinian group Hamas attacked Israel, triggering the Gaza war.

Continue reading...

New home construction slumps to near 40-year low as renovation spending booms

Posted on by

‘This indicates that there is not enough money and resources being attracted to expanding the housing stock,’ urban economist says

New private residential construction is at its lowest level for almost four decades but spending on renovations has boomed, according to a new analysis.

The report by KPMG found that new private residential construction spending per capita is at its lowest level since 1987-88, as renovation spending surged from 34.2% of total residential construction spend in 2018-19 to 40% in 2023-24.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

The 1920s desecration of a Gutenberg Bible shocked the US – but miraculously gave a Jewish family new life in Australia

Posted on by

Michael Visontay discovered that a ‘crime against history’ in the book world set off a chain of events that led to his family’s delicatessen in 1950s Sydney

It was a brazen act of extreme literary vandalism that desecrated one of the world’s most valuable books. But it also allowed a family of Holocaust survivors to forge a new life in Australia.

The extraordinary tale was uncovered by the author and journalist Michael Visontay while researching his family history during Covid lockdown and has now been published as a book, Noble Fragments.

Continue reading...

Albanese government says Australia on target to reduce emissions – but campaigners say they could do more

Posted on by

Departmental analysis includes contentious measurements, but climate minister says government is cleaning up after ‘decade of denial, delay, dysfunction and utter neglect’

The Australian government will claim it is on track to meet its legislated 43% emissions reduction target by 2030 after a departmental analysis found it had improved its position over the past year.

The government said annual emissions projections, based on an assessment of government policies and other trends, suggest national climate pollution would be at least 42.6% less than 2005 levels by the end of the decade, compared with 37% last year. The forecast included the impact of an underwriting scheme for new large-scale renewable energy and batteries, and vehicle efficiency standards that from next year require auto companies to start selling more zero and low-emissions cars.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

‘Deaths of needless poverty and despair’: homelessness report reveals surge in fatalities

Posted on by

‘Staggering’ annual death toll of 1,500 revealed in 10-year analysis ‘a shocking indictment on our society’, expert says

Almost 1,500 people are dying in homelessness every year, with new research from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare showing a 63% surge in preventable deaths.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare today released an analysis of a decade of data, showing 12,500 people who had accessed homelessness services died over the 10-year period to 2022.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Banks and bookmakers tricked by ‘sophisticated’ gambling syndicate may have breached anti-money laundering laws

Posted on by

Exclusive: Documents seen by Guardian Australia show syndicate placed bets with Sportsbet while using another person’s name

Banks and bookmakers that were hoodwinked by a gambling syndicate that created multiple accounts in other people’s names to hide their true identities may have breached their anti-money laundering obligations.

Guardian Australia has confirmed a gambling syndicate paid $1,000 to desperate men for their ID documents, which were used to create multiple bank and betting accounts in their names. Cash was deposited into these bank accounts and gambled with at least nine bookmakers.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Russia expels UK diplomat over spying allegations

Posted on by

Security service accuses diplomat of ‘reconnaisance and subversive activities’ amid rising tension

Russia said it was expelling a British diplomat for alleged spying as tensions between London and Moscow rose after Ukraine’s recent use of British weapons to strike deeper into Russia.

The FSB, Russia’s domestic intelligence agency, announced on Tuesday that it had acted on documents accusing a British diplomat of engaging in “reconnaissance and subversive activities that threaten the country’s security”.

Continue reading...

4 dead, 9 missing after tourist boat sinks off Egyptian coast, officials say – ABC News

Posted on by
  1. 4 dead, 9 missing after tourist boat sinks off Egyptian coast, officials say  ABC News
  2. Egypt boat sinking: Five survivors found day after tourist yacht sank in Red Sea  BBC.com
  3. 7 Still Missing After Tourist Boat Sinks in Egypt  The New York Times
  4. Bodies recovered from capsized tourist boat off Egypt's Red Sea coast, 13 still missing  NBC News
  5. At least 16 tourists missing after Egyptian yacht carrying Americans sinks in high-waves Red Sea  Fox News
Posted in Uncategorized

Laos hostel staff detained after suspected methanol deaths – BBC.com

Posted on by
  1. Laos hostel staff detained after suspected methanol deaths  BBC.com
  2. Alcohol poisoning in Laos leaves 2 tourists hospitalized  The Associated Press
  3. Father of Australian teen who died in Laos urges government ‘to protect others’ from tainted alcohol  CNN
  4. Mass tourist poisoning prompts travel advisories to holiday destination  TheStreet
  5. Doctors reveal surprising treatment for methanol poisoning — in wake of 6 tourists’ deaths in Laos  New York Post
Posted in Uncategorized

Thirty-five million Africans driven from homes by war and climate disasters – report

Posted on by

Data shows a threefold increase in internal displacement across the African continent since 2009, with flooding and drought posing a growing threat

Wars and climate disasters have driven a threefold increase in the number of internally displaced people in Africa over the past 15 years, according to new data.

There are now 35 million people internally displaced on the continent, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), compared with 11.6 million in 2009, when African governments signed a landmark deal legally binding them to tackle the causes of displacement.

Continue reading...