For India budget, tightrope walk between creating jobs and gov’t deficit
Growth is slowing but there is 'no room for fiscal leniency' if India is to meet fiscal deficit targets, economists say.
Combative Trump blames diversity policies after air tragedy
The president started his White House news conference as "consoler-in-chief" but then pivoted into unevidenced political blame, writes the BBC's Anthony Zurcher.
Australia news live: youth vaping rates plummet after law reform; police alert 5000 Australians targeted by overseas romance scam
The federal health minister cited data showing vape use among young Australians has significantly reduced meaning new laws are working. Follow today’s news live
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Cyclone threat looms in northern Australia as drenched region braces for yet more rain
North Queensland is on cyclone watch with three tropical lows given a chance of developing in the coming days, bringing heavy rain that has flooded roads and homes.
Continue reading...Man who staged Quran burning protests in Sweden shot dead, authorities say – CNN
- Man who staged Quran burning protests in Sweden shot dead, authorities say CNN
- Man who burned Quran 'shot dead in Sweden' BBC.com
- Man Who Burned Qurans in Sweden Shot Dead During TikTok Livestream The Wall Street Journal
- Swedish PM says shooting of anti-Islam campaigner may be linked to foreign power Reuters
- Iraqi at center of Quran burnings in Sweden shot dead before court verdict The Washington Post
Fatah terrorist Zakaria Zubeidi released with 109 Palestinian prisoners – The Jerusalem Post
- Fatah terrorist Zakaria Zubeidi released with 109 Palestinian prisoners The Jerusalem Post
- LIVE: Israel to release 90 Palestinians, 3 captives to be freed in Gaza Al Jazeera English
- Crowds greet militant leader Zakaria Zubeidi among prisoners released in Ramallah The Guardian
- Prominent Palestinian prisoner freed in Gaza deal unable to return to embattled hometown Reuters
- Zakaria Zubeidi among terrorists to get heroes’ welcome as Israel frees 110 prisoners The Times of Israel
Five key impacts of Brexit five years on – BBC.com
- Five key impacts of Brexit five years on BBC.com
- 5 years after Britain left the EU, the full impact of Brexit is still emerging The Associated Press
- Norfolk businesses reflect on backing Brexit BBC.com
- Entre Nous - Five years on: Brexit regrets? Cancelled trips? FRANCE 24 English
- Number of Britons who think Brexit was right decision hits new low - YouGov poll The Independent
New Orleans archbishop fires food bank leaders for refusing to fund abuse settlement
Bankrupt Roman Catholic archdiocese replaced members at church-affiliated non-profit over $16m dispute
The archbishop of New Orleans’ bankrupt Roman Catholic archdiocese on Thursday abruptly fired and replaced top leaders at a church-affiliated food bank, with those dismissed saying it was because the non-profit refused to contribute to paying survivors of child sexual abuse by clergymen.
The ousted members of Second Harvest’s board of directors say the changes “follow months of increasingly aggressive pressure placed on Second Harvest to contribute as much as $16m toward helping to resolve victims’ claims related to the church’s sexual abuse-related bankruptcy”, which has been pending since May 2020.
Continue reading...The ‘speedo’ beats the Worm as commercial TV catches federal election fever | The Weekly Beast
Seven reveals its latest psephological device as the network makes an early start on election coverage. Plus: Daily Telegraph’s tiny correction for big maths fail
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The date for the federal election has not been set but that hasn’t stopped the Seven network from unveiling its Election Needle, a gimmick resembling a car’s speedometer which they say will predict whether Anthony Albanese or Peter Dutton is winning the election.
The network that brought you the “Screen of Dreams” and “The Panic Station” during the 2022 race between Scott Morrison and Albanese rolled out the Election Needle’s first prediction this week.
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Continue reading...An iceberg 5 times the size of New York slams into a British island, threatening its wildlife with inevitable disaster. – farmingdale-observer.com
- An iceberg 5 times the size of New York slams into a British island, threatening its wildlife with inevitable disaster. farmingdale-observer.com
- World's biggest iceberg is on the loose in the Atlantic. Where is it headed? USA TODAY
- World's biggest iceberg could be on collision course with Antarctic penguin island: "Game of Thrones-esque" CBS News
- The world's largest iceberg is on a collision course with vital penguin sanctuary National Geographic
- Satellites watch world's largest iceberg on crash course with Antarctic penguin island (photo/video) Space.com
The senators who’ll make Trump sweat over RFK Jr. and Gabbard votes – Axios
- The senators who'll make Trump sweat over RFK Jr. and Gabbard votes Axios
- Live updates: Trump news, executive actions and latest remarks on DC plane crash | CNN Politics CNN
- Donald Trump’s Cabinet of Revenge The New Yorker
- Conspiracies, espionage, an enemies list: Takeaways from a wild day of confirmation hearings The Associated Press
- Five Takeaways from Tulsi Gabbard and Kash Patel hearings BBC.com
Ros Atkins on… what may have caused Washington DC plane crash
The BBC's Analysis Editor Ros Atkins on the unanswered questions around a fatal crash between a commercial airplane and a military helicopter near Washington DC.
US court rules banning gun sales to young adults under 21 unconstitutional
Conservative New Orleans court ruling for people between 18 and 21 comes amid major shifts in firearm legal landscape
A conservative US appeals court on Thursday ruled that a ban on handgun sales to people between the ages of 18 and 21 violates the second amendment.
The ruling, handed down by a panel of three judges on the fifth US circuit court of appeals in New Orleans, comes amid major shifts in the national firearm legal landscape following a landmark US supreme court decision that expanded gun rights in 2022.
Continue reading...US and Russian figure skaters were on board crashed plane
They include two teenage athletes, their mothers and two former Russian stars, according to their club in Boston.
DR Congo’s failed gamble on Romanian mercenaries
Several hundred well-paid foreign soldiers fighting on the side of the Congolese government surrender.
DR Congo’s failed gamble on Romanian mercenaries
Several hundred well-paid foreign soldiers fighting on the side of the Congolese government surrender.
A ray of sunshine for Myanmar’s wounded rebels as civil war rages
The Sunshine Care Centre has helped hundreds of badly injured fighters from Myanmar’s civil war recover from injuries.
Exclusive: Trump Middle East envoy says rebuilding Gaza could take 10 to 15 years – Axios
- Exclusive: Trump Middle East envoy says rebuilding Gaza could take 10 to 15 years Axios
- Trump's Mideast envoy visits Gaza before meeting with Netanyahu NPR
- Trump is pushing Netanyahu to pursue stage two of Gaza deal, despite political risks Haaretz
- Witkoff meets freed soldiers, ex-hostages, officials, stresses commitment to full deal The Times of Israel
- As Trump envoy pushes Gaza ceasefire, Persian Gulf states eye postwar role The Washington Post
In one of the ‘most controlled’ airspaces, how could crash happen?
Experts say the deadly incident poses grave questions about how a collision was able to happen over the US capital.
‘Epidemic’ of violence against women and girls in UK is getting worse – report
National Audit Office says government attempts to tackle misogynistic violence are hampered by poor coordination
An “epidemic of violence against women and girls” in the UK is getting worse despite years of government promises and strategies, a highly critical report from Whitehall’s spending watchdog has said.
The National Audit Office report comes four years after a major government response to violence against women and girls (VAWG) was launched after the murders of Sabina Nessa and Sarah Everard.
The Home Office did not have “centrally coordinated funding” for VAWG, unlike that for the 2021 illegal drugs strategy, and had underspent on its own VAWG budget by an average of 15% between 2021-22 and 2023-24.
There was no consistent definition for VAWG – the Home Office includes all victims, while police forces only include women and girls – which “made it difficult to measure progress in a consistent way”.
While 78% of the commitments in the strategy had been met by July 2024, several were not new, and “most” related to additional funding, holding meetings and publication of new guidance.
Continue reading...Human Rights Commission considers discrimination complaint against Peter Dutton over Gaza comments
Complaint lists numerous public comments by the Liberal leader, a staunch supporter of Israel, which it alleges show discriminatory behaviour towards Palestinians, Muslims and Jews
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The Australian Human Rights Commission is considering a complaint that alleges Peter Dutton discriminated against Palestinians and Muslims in public comments after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks and during the subsequent war in Gaza.
The complaint, coordinated by the law firm Birchgrove Legal, includes allegations that “Palestinian-Australian, Arab-Australian and Muslim-Australian complainants” reported feeling “dehumanised … and humiliated as an ‘Other’ who does not and should not matter to Australia” as a result of some of the Liberal leader’s public commentary.
“justifying or otherwise failing to condemn violence against Palestinian civilians by Israel in likely breach of international humanitarian law”;
“erasing the human rights and equal dignity and worth of Palestinians by denying crimes and atrocities committed against them”;
“and conflating Palestinians as being terrorists or terrorist sympathisers”.
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