Chinese man jailed in US for sending weapons to North Korea
Shenghua Wen received around $2m (£1.5m) from North Korean officials to ship weapons from California.
Victoria’s urgent childcare review recommendations unveiled: major reforms but no ‘silver bullet’ to stop ‘dangerous individuals’
Allan government commits to accepting all 22 recommendations, with several also directed at federal government
Major reforms to working with children checks, a new database and regulator, more unannounced visits to childcare centres and an urgent rethink of how the entire early childhood education system is funded have been recommended as part of Victoria’s urgent review into the childcare sector.
The review, written by former South Australian premier Jay Weatherill and senior bureaucrat Pam White, was released in full by the state government on Wednesday.
Continue reading...China to unveil advanced weapons at huge military parade to mark WWII end
Chinese military to showcase advanced fighter planes, missile systems on 80th anniversary of end of World War II.
‘Don’t call this racist’: row grows over motives behind England flag campaign
Organisers say they are just being patriotic but some suspect far right is behind ‘dangerous’ lamp-post movement
“This is NOT racist never has been never will be,” reads the fundraising page of a group calling itself the Wythall Flaggers, which by Tuesday afternoon had raised more than £2,000, mostly in small donations of £5 and £10. “We have members of the community of all ethnicities and religions stopping by and praising what we are doing so please don’t call this racist.”
The money, according to the page’s organiser, will be used for “coating the local community in England flags as this is home and we should be patriotic and proud … We need help to cover every street in Wythall with our beautiful St George’s cross.”
Continue reading...Mali’s Choguel Maiga charged with embezzlement, remanded in custody
Charges against Choguel Maiga comes as the military intensifies a crackdown on dissent in the West African country.
Australia hits back at Netanyahu amid escalating diplomatic row over Gaza
Australia's Home Affairs minister says 'strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up'.
Australian novel attracts controversy over fictionalised depiction of gay codebreaker Alan Turing
Nick Croydon, the CEO of QBD Books, has faced criticism for his thriller The Turing Protocol
A novel written by a prominent book industry figure in which persecuted gay man Alan Turing has sex with a woman and fathers a child has been criticised online for its portrayal of the codebreaker.
The Turing Protocol was released in July and was written by Nick Croydon, the CEO of QBD Books, the largest Australian-owned bookshop chain, where the book is being heavily promoted.
Continue reading...A soldier admits to attempted espionage in New Zealand’s first spying conviction – AP News
- A soldier admits to attempted espionage in New Zealand’s first spying conviction AP News
- A soldier admits to attempted espionage in New Zealand's first spying conviction NBC News
- Attempted spy dismissed from service for betraying oath ThePost.co.nz
- NZ soldier sentenced to two years' detention for attempted espionage yahoo.com
- Soldier found guilty of spying in historic first case for New Zealand The Independent
Trump says Smithsonian museums only cover ‘how bad Slavery was’ in US
US President says a review of the national museums will be similar to those he has ordered for universities.
Australian Book Week is here – and we’d love to see your children’s costumes
The annual event, which promotes literacy, is celebrating 80 years as part of Australian school life
Book Week is in full swing, marking it’s 80th year celebrating all things reading and literacy for Australia’s schoolchildren.
The theme for the week, which runs from Saturday 16 to Saturday 23 August, is “Book an Adventure”, encouraging children to explore new worlds through stories.
Continue reading...Israel’s Netanyahu lashes out at France’s Macron, Australian PM Albanese
Israeli PM accuses French president of stirring anti-Semitism, and claims Australian PM has abandoned Australian Jews.
Family of New Zealand fugitive on the run for almost four years with his children plead for his return
In a New Zealand television interview, relatives spoke of their anguish since Tom Phillips disappeared with his three children in late 2021
The family of a fugitive father who has been hiding for more than three years in New Zealand’s rugged wilderness with his three children has pleaded with the man to come home, in some of their first public comments since he vanished.
Just before Christmas 2021, Tom Phillips fled into the Waikato wilderness with his children Ember, now 9, Maverick, 1o, and Jayda, 12, following a dispute with their mother. Phillips does not have legal custody of his children.
Continue reading...Trump’s tariffs replace diplomacy as other US tools of statecraft are discarded
Measures meant to rebalance America’s economy are wielded instead against the likes of Canada, India and Brazil ‘to compel loyalty to the president’
On the campaign trail, Donald Trump pledged to use tariffs to revitalise American industry, bringing jobs home and helping to make America great again. But more than six months into his administration, experts say the president’s trade war is increasingly being wielded as a political cudgel, in lieu of more traditional forms of diplomacy.
The president’s current target, India, has been unable to reach a trade agreement, and Trump appears ready to follow through with his threat to impose a further 25% tariff on Delhi – bringing the total to 50% – the joint highest levy on any country, along with Brazil.
Continue reading...Texas Democrats tear ‘permission slips’ imposed by Republican house speaker
Lawmakers refuse to vacate house chamber to protest surveillance after they left state over GOP attempt to redraw maps
Texas Democrats are tearing up “permission slips” they signed in order to leave the chamber, joining state representative Nicole Collier ahead of Wednesday’s vote on the controversial Texas congressional redistricting maps.
The slips are part of new surveillance protocols set by Texas Republicans in the house chamber, stating that Democrats would “be granted written permission to leave only after agreeing to be released into the custody of a designated [Texas department of public safety] officer” who would ensure their return to the chamber.
Continue reading...Watch: Competitors walk slackline 400m above Chinese gorge
Participants walked between two peaks more than a kilometre apart on a slackline just 2cm wide.
No US troops in Ukraine, Trump says
US president suggests security guarantees for Ukraine could see Washington provide air support.
North Korea slams South Korea’s peace overtures as US drills continue
North Korean leader's sister says South Korea cannot be a diplomatic partner, denounces ongoing army drills with the US.
Son of Norway’s crown princess charged with rape, sexual abuse – The Washington Post
- Son of Norway’s crown princess charged with rape, sexual abuse The Washington Post
- Son of Norway's crown princess, Marius Borg Hoiby, charged with 32 offenses, including 4 counts of rape CBS News
- Marius Borg Høiby: Son of Norway's crown princess charged with rape and abuse BBC
- Crown Prince Haakon of Norway Breaks Silence After Stepson Is Accused of Rape and Faces 32 Charges People.com
- Prosecutors indict the son of Norway’s crown princess on multiple counts including rape CNN
Noel Gallagher opens up about his brother Liam on Oasis reunion tour: ‘He’s been amazing’
Noel says his long-estranged brother is ‘smashing it’ during the band’s stadium shows and that he’s ‘proud’ of him
Noel Gallagher has opened up about his feelings towards his long-estranged brother Liam during Oasis’ sold-out global reunion tour for the first time, saying: “He’s been amazing … it’s great being back in the band with Liam.”
Oasis announced they would be reuniting in August 2024, 15 years after their split in 2009 when Noel quit the band after a backstage brawl at the Rock en Seine festival in Paris, saying he “simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer”.
Continue reading...Six severed heads found on road in Mexico
Police have not given a motive for the killings in a large peaceful region of central Mexico.