- Fire near Jerusalem impacts Catholic communities Vatican News
- Several countries sending firefighting planes to Israel to help tackle major wildfire ABC News
- Israel declares national emergency as wildfires force evacuations The Guardian
- Israel wildfires spread near Jerusalem, drawing national emergency declaration from Netanyahu CBS News
- Appoint clowns, expect a circus: Jerusalem fire exposes core flaws in Netanyahu government Haaretz
Germany: Intelligence agency labels AfD party as ‘extremist’ – DW
- Germany: Intelligence agency labels AfD party as 'extremist' DW
- Germany defends AfD extremist classification after Rubio slams 'tyranny in disguise' BBC
- Germany hits back at Rubio’s defense of far-right AfD party NBC News
- Rubio and German Foreign Ministry spar on X over comments accusing Germany of ‘tyranny in disguise’ CNN
- Marco Rubio criticized Germany. The foreign ministry hit back AP News
A mummy called the ‘air-dried chaplain’ has long been shrouded in mystery. Scientists say they now have answers – CNN
- A mummy called the ‘air-dried chaplain’ has long been shrouded in mystery. Scientists say they now have answers CNN
- Mummy mystery solved: ‘air-dried’ priest was embalmed via rectum | Austria The Guardian
- 18th-century monk's anus was stuffed with wood chips and fabric to mummify him, researchers discover Live Science
- Exceptionally Well-Preserved Austrian Mummy Was Embalmed With Previously Unknown Method IFLScience
- Mummified Austrian priest’s rectum played important role in preservation Popular Science
Hong Kong police arrest family of pro-democracy activist, reports say
Anna Kwok's father and brother have been accused of helping the US-based pro-democracy activist with her finances, local media report.
How warning signs hinted at Spain’s unprecedented power outage – Reuters
- How warning signs hinted at Spain's unprecedented power outage Reuters
- Europe’s first grid crisis may not be its last Financial Times
- WEF warns of growing cyber threats to energy infrastructure following Iberian blackout Industrial Cyber
- Blackouts In Europe Continue to Raise Cyber Alarms WSJ
- The great Iberian power cut need not spell disaster for renewables The Economist
China ‘evaluating’ US offer to engage in trade negotiations
Comments come a week after Trump claimed talks were already taking place
Beijing is “evaluating” an offer from the US to engage in trade negotiations, the Chinese government has said, a week after Donald Trump claimed talks were already under way.
China’s commerce ministry said on Friday: “The US has recently taken the initiative on many occasions to convey information to China through relevant parties, saying it hopes to talk with China.”
Continue reading...Final polls give Labor a clear lead before the election – The Conversation
- Final polls give Labor a clear lead before the election The Conversation
- After Canada, Trump could drag down conservatives in another election in Australia NBC News
- Australia election 2025: Polls to open as cost of living, housing top voters’ concerns BBC
- Coalition braces for tough result as Albanese hopes to be first PM to win re-election since Howard The Guardian
- Australia votes in national election seen as latest test of global anti-Trump sentiment CNN
German spy agency labels AfD as ‘confirmed rightwing extremist’ force
Upgrade from ‘suspected’ threat will mean greater surveillance of party that came second in last election
Germany’s domestic intelligence service has designated the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), the biggest opposition party, as a “confirmed rightwing extremist” force, meaning authorities can step up their surveillance as critics call for it to be legally banned.
The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) previously considered the anti-immigrant, pro-Kremlin party a “suspected” threat to Germany’s democratic order, with three of the AfD’s regional chapters in eastern statesand its youth wing classed as confirmed extremist.
Continue reading...‘We Don’t Want Russia at Our Borders’ – Top French Diplomat Talks Ukraine Security Guarantees With Trump Officials – Kyiv Post
- ‘We Don’t Want Russia at Our Borders’ – Top French Diplomat Talks Ukraine Security Guarantees With Trump Officials Kyiv Post
- France’s foreign minister on Europe’s role in the ‘new era of multilateralism’ Atlantic Council
- The Atlantic Council hosted French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot on Europe and the new world order. Embassy of France in the United States
- US policies force Europe to open up: French politician bastillepost.com
Europe leads world in media freedom rankings — but Greece trails again – politico.eu
- Europe leads world in media freedom rankings — but Greece trails again politico.eu
- U.S. press freedom falls to historical low Axios
- World press freedom plummets with ‘alarming deterioration’ in US under Trump, says RSF France 24
- Journalist group downgrades US press freedom ranking, cites Trump spending cuts to public media Fox News
- U.S. Press Freedom Plummets to All-Time Low The Daily Beast
Riot police called to crowd chaos outside NSW selective school exams
State education department secretary apologises after thousands of students and parents caught in ‘unacceptable’ situation
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The New South Wales education department has apologised after riot police were called to manage out-of-control crowds at the state’s selective school exams.
Police were called to Canterbury Park Racecourse, south-west of Sydney’s CBD, at about midday on Friday following reports of traffic and crowd control issues. About 1,300 students had finished exams at the Canterbury site and were trying to leave with their parents, as another 1,300 students plus their parents attempted to enter the facility.
Continue reading...Weather tracker: State of emergency as high winds and floods hit New Zealand
Met Service issues red warning amid deepening low pressure, while Europe experiences above average temperatures
Strong winds and flooding spread across New Zealand last week, with a state of emergency declared in Christchurch, after the country was battered by a destructive area of low pressure. A red warning, the highest warning level, was issued by the MetService (the national meteorological service).
The area of low pressure quickly deepened in the Tasman Sea off the west coast of New Zealand and travelled eastwards, with the centre of low pressure moving across the northern island and creating very strong winds, particularly through the Cook Strait, the body of water that separates the two islands. The wind direction was a south-easterly to southerly, which caused the winds to strengthen as they were funnelled between the islands.
Continue reading...Gaza kitchens warn food will run out in days after two months of Israeli blockade
Many Palestinians depend on community kitchens, but one says they have only two weeks of supplies left.
Labor far outspends Coalition and Clive Palmer on Google and Meta ads amid calls for change to blackout laws
Analysis of online ad data shows parties and affiliated groups spent more than $39m for political ads across Facebook, YouTube and Google search since 28 March
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Labor splurged more than $11m across Google and Meta platforms to win votes, far surpassing its opponents – including billionaire Clive Palmer – and outstripping political foes in key seats in the lead-up to polling day.
New data showed the major parties have poured cash into boosting targeted messages to social media users in tightly contested electorates, including marginal seats in Bennelong, Brisbane, Boothby, Blair and Bullwinkel.
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Continue reading...South Korea Lurches From One Political Crisis to Another – The New York Times
- South Korea Lurches From One Political Crisis to Another The New York Times
- South Korea's ex-Prime Minister Han says he will seek the presidency in June election ABC News
- South Korea’s acting leader Han resigns amid reports he will run for president AP News
- South Korea's third acting president is low-key economist at helm amid deep turmoil Reuters
- South Korea appoints new acting leader as ex-PM enters election race Al Jazeera
‘We are too scared to go back’: Kashmiris in India face violence after deadly attack
The militant attack last week has triggered a series of incidents of harassment against Kashmiris across India.
Statement from UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on the situation for children in the Gaza Strip after two months of aid blockade – Unicef
- Statement from UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on the situation for children in the Gaza Strip after two months of aid blockade Unicef
- Desperate children and adults in Gaza struggle to get food as Israel blocks aid AP News
- Palestinian children face starvation under Israel’s total Gaza blockade Al Jazeera
- Headlines for May 02, 2025 Democracy Now!
- “The Situation Now Is So Beyond Imagination” The New Yorker
Gaza blockade: a Palestinian widow, her children and a cupboard that is almost bare
Ibtisam Ghalia and her four children are just one of the families living on brink of starvation with no sign of an end to blockade
Every day, Ibtisam Ghalia and her four children count their remaining stocks of food. These are meagre: a kilo or so of beans, a bag of lentils, a little salt, some herbs, spices, and enough flour for half a dozen flatbreads cooked on a griddle over a fire of wood splinters, waste plastic and cardboard.
In the two months since Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza, stopping food, medicine, fuel and anything else from entering the devastated territory, Ghalia’s “cupboard” has slowly diminished.
Continue reading...Trump administration considering labeling some suspected cartel and gang members inside the US as ‘enemy combatants’ – CNN
South Korea appoints new acting leader as ex-PM enters election race
Han Duck-soo declares candidacy in June 3 election to replace impeached ex-president Yoon Suk-yeol.