Top Democrat says Trump may seek mineral deal with both Russia and Ukraine

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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.

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UK bumblebee numbers fell to lowest on record in 2024, shows data

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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.

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Merz’s all-male team photo revives question of gender equality in Germany

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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.

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Mother had carer’s allowance stopped while with disabled daughter in hospital

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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.

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Trump Shocks Europe Into Chasing Billions for Military Buildup – Bloomberg

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  1. Trump Shocks Europe Into Chasing Billions for Military Buildup  Bloomberg
  2. Europe's NATO members take an economic hit : The Indicator from Planet Money  NPR
  3. Von der Leyen floats EU effort to finance missiles, ammunition and air defense  POLITICO Europe
  4. EU prepares biggest defence plan since Cold War: hundreds of billions of euros for security  Ukrainska Pravda
  5. Opinion | Europe Scrambles to Rearm, Sort Of  The Wall Street Journal
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Former NSW Liberal MP pleads not guilty to sexually assaulting teenage boy

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Rory Amon committed to stand trial on 10 separate charges, including sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 14

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.

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Trump plans to cut more than 90% of USAid foreign aid contracts

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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.

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Taiwan condemns China for conducting shooting drills off its coast – The Associated Press

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  1. Taiwan condemns China for conducting shooting drills off its coast  The Associated Press
  2. China Takes Tougher Tone on Taiwan, Announces Military Drills  Bloomberg
  3. China says Taiwan drills 'routine', as Taipei details surge in military activity  Reuters
  4. China holds 'shooting' drills off Taiwan's coast, as Beijing vows 'reunification' push  NBC News
  5. Taiwan says China set up ‘live-fire training’ zone off its coast without warning  CNN
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Affluent suburbs targeted in Victorian government move to seize planning controls to build more homes

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South Yarra and Windsor among 25 new ‘activity centres’ identified by Labor for higher-density housing

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.

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Penny Wong accuses Coalition of ‘gunboat diplomacy’ in Senate estimates as Chinese warships sail into Great Australian Bight

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James Paterson questions whether PM was across detail of live-fire drill, prompting Wong to say opposition senator ‘not actually interested in detail’

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.

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Man allegedly behind Melbourne’s ‘Pam the Bird’ graffiti bailed to live with ‘no nonsense’ grandmother

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Jack Gibson-Burrell, 21, released after flagging he will fight more than 50 offences and being accused of painting on Melbourne landmarks

A Melbourne man alleged to be the creator of the prolific “Pam the Bird” graffiti has been released back into the community to live with his grandmother in Geelong, who has warned it is “my house, my rules”.

Jack Gibson-Burrell’s legal team successfully argued for their client to be granted bail under strict conditions including not possessing abseiling-related equipment or graffiti implements, a night-time curfew, $30,000 surety and residing with his grandmother.

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North Korea behind $1.5bn hack of crypto exchange ByBit, says FBI

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The US agency said it refers to this specific North Korean malicious cyber activity as ‘TraderTraitor’

North Korea was behind the theft of approximately $1.5bn in virtual assets from a cryptocurrency exchange, the FBI has said, in what is being described as the biggest heist in history.

The haul, which reportedly has since lost some of its value, exceeded the previous record sum of $1bn stolen by the dictator Saddam Hussein from Iraq’s central bank before the 2003 war, and underlines the North’s growing expertise in cybercrime.

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Syrians emerging from dictatorship bristle at new threat from Israel – The Washington Post

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  1. Syrians emerging from dictatorship bristle at new threat from Israel  The Washington Post
  2. Israel Strikes Syria Hours After Country’s Leader Demands Withdrawal  The New York Times
  3. Israel bombs ‘military targets’ in southern Syria, outside Damascus  Al Jazeera English
  4. How will Israel’s airstrikes in Syria affect region? - analysis  The Jerusalem Post
  5. Israel says it is conducting strikes in southern Syria  ABC News
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