- ‘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.
Syria calls Israeli air strikes on Damascus a ‘dangerous escalation’
Benjamin Netanyahu says strikes intended to deter Syria’s new leadership from any hostile move against the Druze
Syria’s new rulers have angrily denounced raids launched by Israel’s air force against unidentified targets near the presidential palace in Damascus, warning of a “dangerous escalation”.
Israeli officials said the attacks were intended to send a message to the Syrian government after days of bloody clashes near Damascus between pro-government militia forces and fighters from the Druze minority sect.
Continue reading...Gaza aid ship on fire after reported drone attack
An aid ship heading to Gaza has sent out a distress signal after crew members say it was hit in a drone attack.
Nick McKenzie denies seeing privileged communication between Ben Roberts-Smith and his lawyers
Investigative journalist says ‘legal strategy’ he referred to in secret recording was reference to war veteran allegedly telling his ex-wife to lie to court
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Investigative journalist Nick McKenzie has denied in a Sydney court that he saw privileged communications between Ben Roberts-Smith and his lawyers during the proceedings of the war veteran’s failed defamation case against him and Nine.
The court also heard a “secret” recording where McKenzie allegedly told a witness in the defamation proceedings that Roberts-Smith’s ex-wife, Emma Roberts, and her friend Danielle Scott were “actively briefing us on his legal strategy in respect of you”.
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Continue reading...Trump signs executive order to cut funding for public broadcasters
President says neither NPR nor PBS ‘presents a fair, accurate, or unbiased portrayal of current events’
Donald Trump has signed an executive order seeking to cut public funding for NPR and PBS, accusing the news outlets of being biased.
NPR and PBS are only partly funded by the US taxpayer and rely heavily on private donations.
Continue reading...Why is Trump ending the ‘de minimis’ tariff loophole on low-value imports?
Goods worth less than $800 will be subject to 120% levy meaning prices on Chinese exports will probably increase
At one minute past midnight on Friday, eastern time, a US tariff exemption that has fuelled the rise of companies such as Shein and Temu, and stocked the wardrobes of millions of Americans with cheap fast fashion and other household goods, closed. As part of Donald Trump’s flurry of tariffs on China, the US is closing a loophole that allowed low-value goods to be shipped into the US without paying any import fees. The “de minimis” loophole, known by the Latin phrase for “of little importance”, was “a big scam going on against our country”, the US president said on Wednesday. “We put an end to it.”
Continue reading...NatWest profits soar by 36% as full privatisation looms
Government stake reduced to under 2% as bank’s profit of £1.8bn beats analyst forecasts by £200m
NatWest has reported a 36% increase in profits in the first three months of this year as the government reduced its stake in the bank to less than 2%, paving a return to fully private ownership after 17 years.
The bank reported operating profit before tax of £1.8bn, up from £1.3bn in the same period last year, beating analyst consensus forecasts by £200m.
Continue reading...HMS Researcher Denies Lying To Border Patrol Officials – The Harvard Crimson
- HMS Researcher Denies Lying To Border Patrol Officials The Harvard Crimson
- Harvard researcher detained in February for failing to declare frog embryo samples says she didn’t lie to government Yahoo
- Harvard researcher held in Louisiana awaits judge’s decision on deportation to Russia CNN
- Harvard Scientist Detained By ICE Just Wants To Go Back To Cancer Research HuffPost
- Russian-born Harvard scientist seeks to clarify details that led to ICE detention WGBH
Is Nigel Farage’s quest to rid Reform of ‘amateurism’ paying off?
Runcorn win was much bigger than polls implied, suggesting overall effectiveness of ground campaign
For the last few months, Nigel Farage has been promising to professionalise his Reform UK party, saying its general election result of five seats had been hampered by the party’s “amateurism”.
Friday’s narrow victory in the Runcorn and Helsby byelection suggests his strategy is starting to bear fruit. Not only did the party win a seat in which it came a distant third less than a year ago, but it did so with a much bigger swing than implied by the national polls – demonstrating the effectiveness of the party’s ground campaign.
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