Syria asks Russia for reparations – Financial Times

  1. Syria asks Russia for reparations  Financial Times
  2. Russia tight-lipped on Syrian demand of al-Assad for military bases  Al Jazeera English
  3. Russian diplomats arrive in Syria to smooth ties  DW (English)
  4. Russian army recruitment centers in Moscow see five-fold drop in applicants, media reports.  Kyiv Independent
  5. Syria Pushes Russia for Compensation With Talks on Bases Stalled  Bloomberg
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Milei government plans to remove femicide from Argentina penal code

Government plans to remove legal recognition of gender-based killings in latest attack on women’s rights

Femicide will be struck from Argentina’s penal code, according to a vow from the administration of Javier Milei, the president. It is his administration’s latest attack on women’s rights.

Mariano Cúneo Libarona, the justice minister, said the government will “eliminate the figure of femicide from the Argentine penal code” adding that feminism was a “distortion of the concept of equality”.

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Caravan laden with explosives found in Sydney allegedly intended for antisemitic attack

NSW police investigating after explosives found in Dural with premier Chris Minns warning incident could have led to ‘mass casualty event’

More than 100 counter-terrorism police are investigating after a caravan was found laden with explosives at a residential property in greater Sydney with indications the explosives would be used in an antisemitic attack.

Police said they had found the caravan on a property in Dural, on the outskirts of Sydney on 19 January after a report was made.

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Multiple people killed in crowd crush at world’s largest religious festival – CNN

  1. Multiple people killed in crowd crush at world’s largest religious festival  CNN
  2. In Photos: The Aftermath of the Maha Kumbh Mela Stampede  The New York Times
  3. Video shows aftermath of deadly crowd crush at world’s largest religious festival  CNN
  4. A look at stampedes and crowd disasters in India over the years  The Associated Press
  5. Dozens feared dead in crowd crushes at Kumbh Mela religious festival in India  The Guardian
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Putin Says Ukraine Peace Talks Possible, But Not With Zelensky – The Moscow Times

  1. Putin Says Ukraine Peace Talks Possible, But Not With Zelensky  The Moscow Times
  2. Ukraine war briefing: Putin refuses direct talks with Zelenskyy  The Guardian
  3. Ukraine-Russia war live: Putin rejects Zelensky talks as North Korean cannon deployed  The Independent
  4. Zelenskyy accuses Putin of being 'afraid' of peace talks  NBC News
  5. Ukraine war latest: Putin claims Zelensky doesn't have a right to sign any potential peace deal  Kyiv Independent
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14 members of an Australian religious group are convicted over diabetic girl’s death – ABC News

  1. 14 members of an Australian religious group are convicted over diabetic girl's death  ABC News
  2. 14 Convicted in Death of Girl for Depriving Her of Insulin  The New York Times
  3. Elizabeth Struhs: Australian sect members guilty of killing girl  BBC.com
  4. Instead of giving her life-saving insulin, Elizabeth Struhs's parents prayed over her dying body  ABC News
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Tyres burned, embassies attacked in DR Congo’s Kinshasa protests – Al Jazeera English

  1. Tyres burned, embassies attacked in DR Congo’s Kinshasa protests  Al Jazeera English
  2. Rwanda does a Putin in Congo  The Economist
  3. M23 rebels expand their control in east Congo as Rwanda’s Kagame joins calls for ceasefire  The Hill
  4. Congo's M23 rebels take control of Goma airport, embassies attacked in capital  Reuters
  5. The situation concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo - Security Council, 9853rd meeting  Welcome to the United Nations
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Wednesday briefing: The problems, perils and precedent of ‘cleaning out’ Gaza

In today’s newsletter: After Donald Trump’s remarks, renewed alarm about what will follow the first phase of the ceasefire

Good morning. Donald Trump presented his proposal as one rooted in a concern for the safety of Palestinians: it was time to find many of the residents of Gaza somewhere else to live. “I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing at a different location where they can maybe live in peace for a change,” he said. “You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say: ‘You know, it’s over.’”

That was more than stream of consciousness: Trump doubled down on his comments on Monday. But the idea of “cleaning out” Gaza is not welcomed by the Palestinians who live there – or the countries that Trump has in mind as their new home. And if they were to be forced to leave after Gaza was devastated by the Israeli military, it would appear to be a clear case of ethnic cleansing.

Kumbh Mela festival | Dozens of people are feared to have died in crowd crushes at India’s Kumbh Mela festival, local officials have said, as vast crowds went to bathe at one of the holiest sites of the Hindu gathering. People were crushed in the early hours of Wednesday as tens of millions flocked to immerse themselves in the sacred confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.

UK economy | Rachel Reeves is unveiling plans to create “Europe’s Silicon Valley” between Oxford and Cambridge as she stakes the government’s success on kickstarting economic growth. The chancellor will announce a blueprint to improve infrastructure across the region in the hope of adding £78bn to the UK economy within a decade.

Extremism | Yvette Cooper will reject internal Home Office advice to widen the definition of extremism to include violent misogyny and conspiracy theorists, the Guardian understands. The home secretary is expected to reject a report saying that authorities should adopt an “ideologically agnostic” approach in favour of focusing on Islamist and far-right violence.

Tax | Roman Abramovich, the billionaire Russian oligarch, may owe British tax authorities as much as £1bn, according to analysis of documents that suggests his companies failed to pay tax on profits made through an elaborate offshore investment scheme.

Technology | US tech stocks tentatively recovered on Tuesday after the emergence of the Chinese DeepSeek app wiped $1tn (£800bn) in value from the leading US tech index. Nvidia recovered somewhat from Monday’s 17% drop, rising 9%.

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Doomsday Clock moves closer to midnight than ever before, marking unprecedented danger – WKRC TV Cincinnati

  1. Doomsday Clock moves closer to midnight than ever before, marking unprecedented danger  WKRC TV Cincinnati
  2. The Doomsday Clock has never been closer to metaphorical midnight. What does it mean?  NPR
  3. Scientists update their prediction of how close we are to the end of the world  CNN
  4. The Doomsday Clock is running out of time  Vox.com
  5. 2025 'Doomsday Clock': This is how close we are to self-annihilation, scientists say  ABC News
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Elizabeth Struhs: Australian sect members guilty of killing girl – BBC.com

  1. Elizabeth Struhs: Australian sect members guilty of killing girl  BBC.com
  2. Religious sect followers prayed and sang as an 8-year-old died. All 14 have been found guilty of manslaughter  CNN
  3. Religious group members found guilty of manslaughter of eight-year-old Elizabeth Struhs  ABC News
  4. Elizabeth Rose Struhs's parents and members of religious sect guilty of her manslaughter  Sky News
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Picture prefect: Japanese city deploys guards to control unruly tourists seeking perfect shot

Overseas tourists are blocking roads or walking onto railway tracks in Otaru to capture its views, stoking local resentment and complaints of overtourism

Authorities in Japan are stepping up measures to deter crowds of overseas visitors from taking risks in their quest for the perfect photo, in another attempt to address the negative impact of a record surge in inbound tourism.

Tourism officials in Otaru, a small city in the northernmost main island of Hokkaido, deployed security guards this week to prevent people congregating on Funami-za, a steep street and the perfect spot for photos of the port and sea in the distance.

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Italy’s Meloni says she is under investigation for release of Libyan official – The Washington Post

  1. Italy’s Meloni says she is under investigation for release of Libyan official  The Washington Post
  2. Victims of Libyan war crimes suspect express dismay, fear after Italy frees him  Reuters
  3. From Israel to Libya, Italy is Protecting Alleged War Criminals  Human Rights Watch
  4. Giorgia Meloni says she is under investigation for repatriation of Libyan warlord  The Guardian
  5. Situation in Libya: ICC arrest warrant against Osama Elmasry Njeem for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes  the International Criminal Court
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Palestinians Report 10 Killed in West Bank Attack; IDF Says It Targeted Militants in Airstrike – Haaretz

  1. Palestinians Report 10 Killed in West Bank Attack; IDF Says It Targeted Militants in Airstrike  Haaretz
  2. Middle East latest: Israeli strike kills at least 10 people in the West Bank, officials say  The Associated Press
  3. Palestinian Militant Group Releases Video of Civilian Hostage in Gaza  The New York Times
  4. Israeli airstrike kills 10, including top terrorist commander, in northern West Bank  Ynetnews
  5. Two Palestinians killed as Israeli army expands deadly raids in West Bank  Al Jazeera English
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Scoop: White House envoy met senior Palestinian official in Saudi Arabia – Axios

  1. Scoop: White House envoy met senior Palestinian official in Saudi Arabia  Axios
  2. As Trump envoy pushes Gaza ceasefire, Persian Gulf states eye postwar role  The Washington Post
  3. Israel, Trump, and the Gaza Deal  Foreign Affairs Magazine
  4. Trump Invites Netanyahu to White House as U.S. Envoy Heads to Israel  The New York Times
  5. Report: Trump envoy told Netanyahu US will delay rebuilding north Gaza until buffer zone is secured  The Times of Israel
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