Russia is relying on strength of numbers, and Putin may not honour a peace deal
After three years of Russia’s attempt to occupy and annex Ukraine, the country continues to put up a fierce resistance.
Russia is suffering more than 1,500 casualties a day and only slowly taking ground. But the Ukrainian army is also being put under immense pressure.
Continue reading...Rush broke out as travellers scrambled to board trains in India’s capital to go to world’s largest religious gathering
At least 18 people have died in a crush at a railway station in India’s capital when surging crowds scrambled to catch trains to the world’s largest religious gathering, officials have said.
The Kumbh Mela attracts tens of millions of Hindu faithful every 12 years to the northern city of Prayagraj, and has a history of crowd-related disasters – including one last month, when at least 30 people died in another crush at the holy confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers.
Continue reading...Three non-citizens with criminal histories taken into immigration detention in preparation for removal from Australia, home affairs minister says
Three members of the NZYQ cohort of non-citizens, including a convicted murderer, will be resettled in Nauru after the Albanese government struck a deal with the tiny Pacific nation for an undisclosed sum.
The trio were placed into immigration detention in preparation for their removal from Australia after being granted 30-year resettlement visas by Nauru on Saturday, the home affairs minster, Tony Burke, announced on Sunday.
The NZYQ cohort includes non-citizens released into the community in Australia as a result of a landmark 2023 high court decision, where the court ruled in favour of “NZYQ”, a stateless Rohingya man, who faced the prospect of detention for life because no country had agreed to resettle him, due to a criminal conviction for raping a 10-year-old in Australia.
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Continue reading...This blog is now closed
On the upcoming election, Spender says “we need to see how this plays out” and that “it is very unclear exactly what [parliament] is going to look like in the end.”
On statements from Peter Dutton this morning that the Independents should back him in any minority government:
Yes, I’m sure that is what he thinks and it will depend on the numbers and the shape of the crossbench and what people are willing to negotiate and back at that time so I think we really need to look at it at the time.
In relation to climate, I haven’t worked with the Coalition because I don’t think they are committed to a transition in terms of the most cost-effective and frankly good for the climate transition that we have at the moment.
So my point is I take things on the basis of the arguments and on the basis of the evidence and I am very open to working with a coalition government and I’m open to working with the Labor government, but that depends on what they are actually going to put on the table.
What I want to see is good process, good parliamentary process where all of these issues are really fleshed out, where community can actually listen to the experts arguing about these laws so that we can get one answer that is going to get big money out of politics and make sure there is a level playing field.
Myself and I think others on the crossbench have approached decisions on parliament and how we vote and what we support really on the basis of what the evidence is saying. Is it in our long-term interests? What do our communities think? What are the experts think? Bringing that together, backing good ideas from all sides, working with all sides to try and get good policy through – that is how I will continue to behave whatever form the next parliament takes.
Continue reading...Rescuers still searching for victims at the illegally operated mine in the west of the country
At least 48 people have been killed in the collapse of an illegally operated goldmine in western Mali, authorities and local sources have said.
Mali is one of Africa’s leading gold producers, and mining sites are regularly the scene of deadly landslides and accidents.
Continue reading...Train workers claim Fair Work Commission win as rail union warns of more potential delays and disruptions across network
Sydney commuters have been urged to work from home or check travel apps before leaving on Monday to avoid being caught up in potential public transport chaos amid rail unions’ ongoing standoff with the New South Wales government.
The warning comes as the Fair Work Commission on Sunday ruled high rates of sick leave by Sydney train drivers and guards on Friday did not constitute industrial action.
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Continue reading...Opposition leader says more competition needed as growing numbers unable to afford home and car insurance
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, says the Coalition could seek to break up insurance companies found to be gouging policyholders and more competition is needed in the sector.
In an interview with Sky News on Sunday, Dutton said the Coalition’s divestiture policy – which threatens to carve apart big supermarkets and hardware chains as a “last resort” to combat price rip-offs – could also be applied to big insurers.
Continue reading...Critics cast doubt on effectiveness of policy, citing low volume of purchases by overseas buyers, as Labor seeks to improve housing affordability
Prospective home buyers will face less competition from overseas, with Labor promising to ban foreign investors from purchasing existing homes for at least two years.
But the restriction – which replicates a policy announced by the Coalition last year – will capture less than 0.4% of the housing market, casting doubts over its efficacy.
Continue reading...Police say motive for killing of Hendricks, who ran a mosque for LGBTQ+ Muslims near Cape Town, is unknown
Muhsin Hendricks, considered the world’s “first openly gay imam”, has been shot dead near the southern city of Gqeberha, South African police have said.
The imam, who ran a mosque intended as a safe haven for gay and other marginalised Muslims, was in a car with another person on Saturday when a vehicle stopped in front of them and blocked their exit, police said.
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