- Over 7,000 from scam centers in Myanmar are awaiting repatriation after crackdown NPR
- Why Scam Centers in Southeast Asia Keep Flourishing The New York Times
- Thailand's scam centre crackdown not enough, top lawmaker warns Reuters
- 84 Indonesians taken out of scam centers in Myanmar are set to go home ABC News
- 7,000 foreigners in Myanmar await repatriation Bangkok Post
Aerial footage captures forest fire burning in northern Japan
Local officials in Japan blamed the unusually dry winter and strong winds.
Germany’s Merz in Paris for talks with President Macron – DW (English)
- Germany's Merz in Paris for talks with President Macron DW (English)
- Merz travels to Paris for dinner with Macron Euronews
- Macron and Merz meet, keen to revive French-German engine Le Monde
- Macron to Host Next German Chancellor to Discuss Trump, Ukraine Bloomberg
- France's Macron and Germany's Merz agree new chapter in relations, source says Reuters
Iran’s government hits out at crypto again as currency freefalls
Iran appears poised to impose new levels of control and oversight into crypto amid deteriorating economic conditions.
‘In a scary world, he gives us hope’: Faithful gather to support the Pope
The latest statement suggests that the 88-year-old is able to sit in his chair, eat normally and do what the Vatican calls "light work".
With flattery and frank talk, Starmer urges Trump not to abandon Ukraine in press to end Russian war – Yahoo
- With flattery and frank talk, Starmer urges Trump not to abandon Ukraine in press to end Russian war Yahoo
- U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer says his country is ready to put "boots on the ground" to support peace deal in Ukraine CBS News
- Keir Starmer sees 'value' in Trump's pursuit of Ukrainian mineral rights deal NBC News
- UK prime minister believes his country will play 'leading part' in maintaining security guarantees for Ukraine Fox News
- UK ready 'to put boots on the ground, planes in the air' to back Ukraine peace deal, Starmer says Kyiv Independent
Sadiq Khan aims to add £100bn to London’s economy by 2035
Capital’s mayor wants return to productivity growth, which has struggled to recover from 2008 financial crisis
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has announced an ambitious plan to add more than £100bn to the capital’s economy within a decade.
Unveiling what he is calling the London growth plan, Khan said he was allocating hundreds of millions of pounds in devolved funding in an attempt to return the annual productivity growth of the London economy to the levels seen before the 2008 financial crisis.
Continue reading...Top Democrat says Trump may seek mineral deal with both Russia and Ukraine
Jeanne Shaheen discusses Trump’s demand that Kyiv grant US firms access to rare-earth reserves for helping end war
Donald Trump may be pursuing a mineral rights deal with Vladimir Putin and Russia as well as with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine, a top Senate Democrat has warned, discussing the US president’s demand that Kyiv grant US firms access to 50% of its rare-earth reserves, as a price for helping end the war three years after Russia invaded.
“I think anything that helps position Ukraine for any peace negotiations is a positive move,” said Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the ranking Democrat on the Senate foreign relations and armed services committee, who recently visited Ukraine.
Continue reading...Electric Shocks and Tied Crucifixion-Style: The Life of a Scam-Mill Worker – The New York Times
UK bumblebee numbers fell to lowest on record in 2024, shows data
Bumblebees declined by almost a quarter compared with the 2010-2023 average, according to conservation charity
Figures show 2024 was the worst year for bumblebees in the UK since records began.
Bumblebee numbers declined by almost a quarter compared with the 2010-2023 average, according to data from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. The researchers said the drop was probably due to the cold and wet conditions in the UK last spring.
Continue reading...Merz’s all-male team photo revives question of gender equality in Germany
Image posted on social media rekindles idea that prospective new chancellor has a Frauenproblem
Six beaming election winners huddled around a table and not a woman among them: a viral social media image of the man likely to be Germany’s next chancellor and his transition team has revived longstanding questions about whether Friedrich Merz can bridge a persistent gender gap.
“Not great optics” was among the more generous of the thousands of comments on the post by Merz’s Bavarian ally Markus Söder, which seemed to hark back to another time.
Continue reading...Mother had carer’s allowance stopped while with disabled daughter in hospital
Rachel Adam-Smith says stopping benefits when loved ones are in hospital fails to recognise carers’ ongoing role
The mother of a severely disabled young woman was left in financial hardship after her carer’s allowance was wrongly stopped while her daughter was seriously ill in hospital.
Rachel Adam-Smith, 48, spent five weeks in hospital alongside her 22-year-old daughter who was being treated for severe gastrointestinal issues last month.
Continue reading...Trump Shocks Europe Into Chasing Billions for Military Buildup – Bloomberg
- Trump Shocks Europe Into Chasing Billions for Military Buildup Bloomberg
- Europe's NATO members take an economic hit : The Indicator from Planet Money NPR
- Von der Leyen floats EU effort to finance missiles, ammunition and air defense POLITICO Europe
- EU prepares biggest defence plan since Cold War: hundreds of billions of euros for security Ukrainska Pravda
- Opinion | Europe Scrambles to Rearm, Sort Of The Wall Street Journal
US cutting foreign aid budgets by more than 90%, Trump administration says
US State Department says overseas development and aid programmes to be cut by $54bn.
Former NSW Liberal MP pleads not guilty to sexually assaulting teenage boy
Rory Amon committed to stand trial on 10 separate charges, including sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 14
- Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
- Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
A former New South Wales Liberal MP has been committed to stand trial over multiple alleged sexual assaults.
Rory Amon is accused of sexually assaulting a teenage boy he knew on Sydney’s northern beaches in 2017.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...Trump plans to cut more than 90% of USAid foreign aid contracts
Internal memo and court filings reveal president to also eliminate $60bn in overall US assistance around world
The Trump administration said it is eliminating more than 90% of the US Agency for International Development’s foreign aid contracts and $60bn in overall US assistance around the world.
The cuts detailed by the administration would leave few surviving USAid projects for advocates to try to save in what are current court battles with the administration.
Continue reading...Taiwan condemns China for conducting shooting drills off its coast – The Associated Press
- Taiwan condemns China for conducting shooting drills off its coast The Associated Press
- China Takes Tougher Tone on Taiwan, Announces Military Drills Bloomberg
- China says Taiwan drills 'routine', as Taipei details surge in military activity Reuters
- China holds 'shooting' drills off Taiwan's coast, as Beijing vows 'reunification' push NBC News
- Taiwan says China set up ‘live-fire training’ zone off its coast without warning CNN
US reports first measles death since 2015
School-aged child dies in Texas amid outbreak concentrated among followers of Christian sect.
Affluent suburbs targeted in Victorian government move to seize planning controls to build more homes
South Yarra and Windsor among 25 new ‘activity centres’ identified by Labor for higher-density housing
- Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
- Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
The Victorian government has announced affluent suburbs such as Prahran, South Yarra and Windsor are among the final 25 areas where it will seize planning controls in an effort to increase housing density.
Two local government areas – Melbourne and Yarra – have also been named “city-wide activity centres” to allow for the rezoning of under-utilised areas.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...Penny Wong accuses Coalition of ‘gunboat diplomacy’ in Senate estimates as Chinese warships sail into Great Australian Bight
James Paterson questions whether PM was across detail of live-fire drill, prompting Wong to say opposition senator ‘not actually interested in detail’
- Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
- Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
Three Chinese warships have sailed west into the Great Australian Bight, as Penny Wong accuses the Coalition of deliberately stirring controversy over live-fire drills that the flotilla conducted last week in the Tasman Sea.
During a fractious Senate estimates hearing Thursday morning, the foreign affairs minister accused the shadow home affairs spokesperson, James Paterson, of ignoring national security in favour of spearheading a “political attack” on the government.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading...