- JK Rowling Threatens To Sue Amnesty International Into Oblivion For Expressing An Opinion About A Charity She Funds Techdirt.
- Amnesty UK self-reports to watchdog after calling JK Rowling women’s centre ‘anti-rights’ The Guardian
- JK Rowling's sexual violence support centre demands apology from Amnesty BBC
- JK Rowling ‘burning with fury’ after Amnesty blacklists women’s charity The Telegraph
- JK Rowling: Amnesty has ‘deep-seated hostility’ to women’s groups The Times
Ilya Remeslo, the informant who helped put Navalny in legal jeopardy, just learned what it costs to call Putin a war criminal – Meduza
- Ilya Remeslo, the informant who helped put Navalny in legal jeopardy, just learned what it costs to call Putin a war criminal Meduza
- A Russian Political Battle Ends With a Visit From Masked Men The New York Times
- One anti-war critic fined, another held as Russia clamps down on dissent BBC
- Pro-Kremlin blogger who turned on Putin is arrested as Russia steps up crackdown NBC News
- Russian courts target two outspoken critics of war in Ukraine Reuters
Berry tough: Ribena seeks to make hardier blackcurrants to beat extreme weather
£200,000 investment comes after harvests in Britain hit by wet winter, spring frost and hail, then heatwaves
The owner of Ribena is to invest £200,000 in helping blackcurrant bushes withstand stress after extreme weather put a squeeze on this year’s UK harvest.
That harvest is now under way in the berry’s main growing regions including East Anglia, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Kent and Scotland. It is expected to be about 10% below the average of 10,000 tonnes, as the climate crisis drives extreme weather across Britain and elsewhere.
Continue reading...Ontario Wildfires Burn On, and New Ones Spring Up – The New York Times
- Ontario Wildfires Burn On, and New Ones Spring Up The New York Times
- Wildfire Smoke Maps and Live Updates: Air Quality at Dangerous Levels in U.S. and Canada The New York Times
- Thousands flee as First Nations bear the brunt of Canada’s wildfires grist.org
- Watch: Dramatic video shows freight train, crew caught in Canadian wildfires FOX Weather
- Ontario Asks Canada to Ready Military for Fire Evacuations Bloomberg.com
Somali pirates blamed for seizure of second tanker in three months near Yemen – BBC
- Somali pirates blamed for seizure of second tanker in three months near Yemen BBC
- Tanker boarded by armed group off Yemen, says British military AP News
- Vessel hijacked off Yemen as satellite images show Iranian missile hit US Patriot battery Ynetnews
- Suspected Somali pirates seize tanker near Yemen amid wave of hijackings Al Jazeera
- Pirates Seize Small Product Tanker off Yemen The Maritime Executive
Second tanker in three months hijacked off Yemen by suspected Somali pirates
There have also been several unsuccessful attacks in a region where piracy appears to be making a comeback.
Israeli strikes kill Palestinians attending Gaza funeral for earlier strike victim – Reuters
- Israeli strikes kill Palestinians attending Gaza funeral for earlier strike victim Reuters
- Israeli attacks on Gaza kill 14, including mourners attending funeral Al Jazeera
- Israeli strike on Gaza funeral killed at least seven people, hospital says The Guardian
- Israeli Strike in Gaza Kills Seven People, Health Officials Say The New York Times
- Israeli strikes kill at least five Palestinians in Gaza, Palestinians say The Times of Israel
Russia roils global market for diesel after Ukraine attacks – Axios
- Russia roils global market for diesel after Ukraine attacks Axios
- Fuel crisis, attacks in Azov Sea tighten squeeze on Russian farmers Reuters
- Putin is a ‘cornered rat’ – here’s why that’s bad news for Ukraine – and us The Independent
- Putin’s War Comes Home to Russia Foreign Policy
- Russian pensioners dying in queues for fuel The Telegraph
‘We slept with three of the same women’: 12 people on what it’s really like dating a friend’s ex – The Guardian
France, Germany expand defence partnership as Europe seeks more military autonomy – Reuters
- France, Germany expand defence partnership as Europe seeks more military autonomy Reuters
- Germany’s Merz hails nuclear deterrence cooperation with France Al Jazeera
- Franco-German defense cooperation under strain as Macron, Merz meet Defense News
- Germany and France Announce Strategic Defense Partnership and Nuclear Deterrence Integration Kyiv Post
- Merz, Macron vow quick work on EU priorities ahead of potential Le Pen presidency politico.eu
Air conditioner sparked deadly blaze at children’s orphanage – police
Eleven people, including children, died in the fire that also injured 19 others.
Israeli strike on Gaza funeral killed at least seven people, hospital says
Another 22 reportedly injured while mourning Palestinian killed in Israeli attack earlier in the day
An Israeli strike on a funeral in the Gaza Strip has killed at least seven people and injured another 22, according to a local hospital.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Continue reading...Venice protests greet U.S. Ambassador Fertitta’s arrival on superyacht – Reuters
- Venice protests greet U.S. Ambassador Fertitta's arrival on superyacht Reuters
- As Trump Scraps With Meloni, His Envoy to Italy Is at Sea The New York Times
- Trump’s envoy faces protests in Venice on latest stop of super yacht diplomacy tour AP News
- Billionaire U.S. ambassador greeted by protests in Venice on latest stop of super yacht diplomacy tour NBC News
- Trump envoy’s tour on $450mn superyacht stirs anger in Italy Financial Times
Timelapse shows World Cup final stadium nearly vanish in smoky haze
MetLife stadium in New Jersey, where the World Cup final will be held, was shrouded in haze caused by hundreds of wildfires in Canada.
Xi offers AI olive branch to the world, calling for ‘symphony of global cooperation’ – Fortune
- Xi offers AI olive branch to the world, calling for ‘symphony of global cooperation’ Fortune
- Analysis: As Trump accuses China of stealing voter data, Xi pitches Beijing as a responsible tech leader CNN
- China’s Xi Touts Open-Source AI and Takes a Swipe at U.S. Dominance WSJ
- Xi Jinping of China Pitches ‘Openness’ in Push to Shape the Path of A.I. The New York Times
- Twenty-nine countries sign agreement to establish global AI cooperation body Reuters
Leaked Iran report finds record public anger as regime focuses on holding power – Fox News
Robodebt whistleblower was told her royal commission evidence ‘could cost you your job’, court hears
Exclusive: Jeannie-Marie Blake is suing the Australian government over alleged threats, which her department denies making
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A key robodebt whistleblower is suing the Australian government, alleging she was threatened before she appeared at a royal commission and was warned that her testimony “could cost you your job”.
Services Australia whistleblower Jeannie-Marie Blake has filed proceedings in the federal court, alleging her department made repeated threats against her before and after her explosive evidence to the robodebt royal commission.
Continue reading...Peter Falconio murder: British expert says he has identified a ‘most likely’ burial location
UK police adviser in the early 2000s and global consultant in ‘no-body’ homicide cases says he has narrowed down the outback search area
The former British government expert who consulted on the search for the remains of the murdered backpacker Peter Falconio says he has now identified a “most likely” potential burial location – an abandoned racetrack only 8km from the scene of the infamous outback attack at Barrow Creek.
In July 2001, Falconio and his partner, Joanne Lees, both from Yorkshire, were ambushed and attacked by Bradley John Murdoch as they drove along a remote stretch of road in Australia’s Northern Territory, about 300km north of Alice Springs.
Continue reading...Ukraine Says It Hit Russia’s Yanos Oil Refinery Thursday – Bloomberg.com
- Ukraine Says It Hit Russia’s Yanos Oil Refinery Thursday Bloomberg.com
- Ukraine Pounds Russian Ships in Its Campaign to Cut Off Crimea The New York Times
- Ukraine hammers Russian shipping, opening new front in campaign to pressure Putin NBC News
- Strait of Hormuz-style crisis looms for Russia as Ukraine forces shutdown of a key waterway CNN
- Unmanned Systems Forces hit 13 more vessels of Russia's shadow fleet Ukrinform
Iran proves it can still inflict damage despite waves of US attacks
Leaked US intelligence report concluded Iran retained 70% of missiles and launchers after 38-day spring campaign
Iran and the US have been trading blows for six consecutive nights and there are no shortage of signs that the renewed fighting will worsen further. Tehran and Washington remain far apart diplomatically, and though the US retains a significant military overmatch, Iran has more than enough capability to inflict damage.
Friday’s developments are a case in point. A wave of US attacks, with missiles launched from jets, drones and warships, targeted Iranian ports and the south of the country, collapsing a tower at Chabahar, on the Gulf of Oman, and highways and bridges into the strait of Hormuz port of Bandar Abbas, perhaps in an effort to cut it off.
Continue reading...