Trump critics say inauguration optics show oligarchy in action
In a break with tradition, Silicon Valley CEOs feature prominently at presidential inauguration.
Taliban announces release of two US citizens in prisoner swap deal
Taliban government in Afghanistan says US nationals released in exchange for Afghan serving life sentence in California.
South African humanitarian in pro-Israeli crosshairs over Palestine support
Imtiaz Sooliman, driving force behind prominent African aid agency Gift of the Givers, says his work is not political.
Fact check: Was Trump truthful in his inauguration day speeches?
Trump targeted the Panama Canal and undocumented migrants, repeating old claims and making new ones. We fact check them.
Hong Kong chief justice claims overseas judges have left due to ‘orchestrated harassment’
Andrew Cheung defends city’s legal processes as ‘transparent, fair and independent’ despite mounting concerns from departing legal officers
Hong Kong’s top judge has claimed the exodus of foreign judges from the judiciary’s benches since the introduction of the national security law is due to escalating geopolitical tensions and “orchestrated harassment”.
The city’s chief justice, Andrew Cheung, made the remarks at the ceremonial opening of the city’s legal year on Monday evening in a speech which acknowledged the changing political environment but otherwise stridently defended the judiciary. Hong Kong has a common law system separate from the Chinese mainland’s, but observers say it is under growing political pressure.
Continue reading...Three Israeli hostages and 90 Palestinians freed as Gaza ceasefire takes hold – The Washington Post
- Three Israeli hostages and 90 Palestinians freed as Gaza ceasefire takes hold The Washington Post
- As Cease-Fire Takes Hold, Gazans Return to Destroyed Homes: Israel-Hamas War Live Updates The New York Times
- ‘The struggle remains immense’: daily life in Gaza as the truce takes hold The Guardian
- As first Israeli hostages are released, Hamas sends a message: It is far from being destroyed CNN
- Israelis’ Joy at Hostage Release Is Weighed Down by Dread The Wall Street Journal
Trump inauguration live: president pardons January 6 rioters and exits Paris climate agreement in slew of executive orders
On his first day on office the US president sought to undo much of Joe Biden’s legacy, also vowing to ‘unleash’ oil and gas drilling and revoking birthright citizenship
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Donald Trump’s inauguration and first day in office.
Immediately after his swearing-in ceremony on Monday the new US president set into motion a slew of executive orders seeking to make good on his campaign promises and undo the legacy of his predecessor Joe Biden, including the pardoning of January 6 defendant and a crackdown on immigration to the US.
Trump pardoned about 1,500 January 6 defendants facing prosecution for their role in the 2021 storming of the US capitol. Among those pardoned is Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the Proud Boys, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison on seditious conspiracy charges. Trump also commuted the sentence of Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers militia, who had been sentenced to 18 years in prison on sedition charges.
He also signed an executive order seeking to revoke birthright citizenship – automatic citizenship for people born in the US – for the children of undocumented immigrants. Birthright citizenship is protected by the 14th amendment and the order will almost certainly be challenged in court.
One order declared a “national emergency” at the southern border, paving the way to send US troops to the area and another that designated drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
He signed an executive order to, for a second time, withdraw the US from the Paris climate accords. He also declared a national energy emergency as part of a barrage of pro-fossil fuel actions and efforts to “unleash” already booming US energy production.
Another order will remove the US from the World Health Organization (WHO). “World Health ripped us off, everybody rips off the United States. It’s not going to happen any more,” Trump said at the signing. The withdrawal of the US would dramatically cut funding from the global public health organization.
He issued an executive order requiring federal agencies revoke the use of “gender” and “gender identity” and instead use a binary definition of “sex” in implementing policy – including in issuing passports, a move that LGBTQ+ rights groups have vowed to challenge in court.
Another order reclassified thousands of federal employees as political hires, making it much easier for them to be fired. Key aides to Trump have called for mass government firings. Project 2025 made attacks on the deep or administrative state a core part of Trump’s second term.
One order renamed the 617,800 sq mile Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s 20,000ft Denali. The Gulf of Mexico will be renamed the Gulf of America, and Denali, the highest mountain in North America, will revert to Mount McKinley, which it was called before Barack Obama changed the name in 2015. The order will have no bearing on what names are used internationally.
Trump also signed an executive order temporarily delaying the enforcement of a federal ban on TikTok for at least 75 days. “I guess I have a warm spot for TikTok that I didn’t have originally,” Trump said at the White House.
Continue reading...Australia news live: second child dies after Tasmania house fire; mental health ward closures begin in NSW after mass resignation of psychiatrists
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The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, says it was a “privilege and honour” to be the first Australian foreign minister to “be invited and to attend an inauguration on behalf of our country”.
She spoke with the Today show from Washington DC, where she attended Donald Trump’s inauguration.
My message here in Washington to those I meet is to point out the reality of the economic relationship between Australia and the United States, that there is a surplus in America’s favour. There has been for decades. In fact, it’s about two to one. And of those exports from Australia that come here, about half of them go into the US production.
As we know, the Wall Street Journal is obviously reporting, now [Trump is] going to review the trade situation and then look at what sort of tariff changes need to be made.
We need to make sure that our foreign affairs ministry, our trade minister and our ambassador are deeply engaged in that review process to make sure our national interest is upheld.
Continue reading...Debris balls that closed Sydney beaches contained faecal matter and E coli bacteria, tests reveal
As Northern Beaches mayor awaits confirmation of pollution source, water expert says: ‘We know it’s sewage’
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Testing of the debris balls that closed nine Sydney beaches last week has revealed they contained faecal matter, E coli bacteria and saturated fatty acids.
The Northern Beaches council said on Tuesday it had received the results of further analysis of balls it sent to the New South Wales Environment Protection Authority (EPA) for testing.
Continue reading...Prisons minister aims to close one women’s jail in England and Wales
Exclusive: Timpson says government plans to reverse rise in female inmates and use alternative forms of punishment
A women’s jail in England or Wales should be closed by diverting offenders to alternative forms of punishment and rehabilitation, the prisons minister, James Timpson has said.
In an interview with the Guardian, the former head of the shoe repair chain said the government planned to reverse the rise in the number of women being sent to jail, around half of whom are mothers.
Continue reading...Calls for Home Office to protect asylum seekers after accommodation violence
Exclusive: NGOs say safeguarding policies need improving, as victims tell of multiple assaults and incidents of race hate
NGOs are calling for improvements in UK government safeguarding policies after multiple acts of violence and race hate incidents in Home Office accommodation.
The incidents include 20 assaults of asylum seekers in one small area of Essex and a separate incident where another was attacked and threatened with a knife by a man recently released into shared asylum accommodation from prison on licence. Slices of bacon were also laid over food belonging to Muslim residents stored in a communal kitchen fridge.
Continue reading...Trump grants clemency to all charged over January 6 US Capitol attack
US president sweeps away years-long effort to punish those responsible for trying to overturn the 2020 election.
TSMC says all its sites operating following Taiwan quake – Reuters
- TSMC says all its sites operating following Taiwan quake Reuters
- Taiwan Earthquake Injures 27 The Weather Channel
- Taiwan Quake Spurred TSMC Plant Evacuations in Island’s South Bloomberg
- Strong earthquake in Taiwan injures 27 and causes scattered damage The Associated Press
- Southern Taiwan is hit by 6.4 magnitude quake; no reports of major casualties NBC News
Food poisoning outbreak mars Indonesian president’s flagship free meal program
Dozens of children fall ill during rollout of program that was a centrepiece of President Prabowo Subianto’s election campaign
Dozens of Indonesian schoolchildren have suffered food poisoning after consuming free meals offered through a new flagship program of President Prabowo Subianto, his office has confirmed.
Rolled out this month, Prabowo’s multi-billion dollar policy was a centrepiece of the former general’s election campaign, with a pledge to reach 82.9 million children and pregnant women out of the country’s population of 280 million by 2029.
Continue reading...Ohio State hold off Notre Dame to claim first national football title in 10 years
- Ohio State Buckeyes 34-23 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- Jeremiah Smith’s big play clinches championship
Instead of having to mull over another collapse, Ohio State can celebrate another national title after holding off a Notre Dame comeback bid on Monday night to walk away with a nailbiter of a 34-23 victory over the Fighting Irish.
Will Howard hit big-play receiver Jeremiah Smith for 56 yards on a late third-and-11 to lock down a game that had been a laugher, then turned into something else. Trailing 31-7, Notre Dame scored two touchdowns and two two-point conversions to make it a one-score game late in the fourth quarter.
Continue reading...Taiwan Quake Spurred TSMC Plant Evacuations in Island’s South – Bloomberg
- Taiwan Quake Spurred TSMC Plant Evacuations in Island’s South Bloomberg
- A magnitude 6 earthquake hits southern Taiwan, leaving 15 people with minor injuries CNN
- Taiwan braces for more shocks after 6.4-magnitude earthquake terrifies residents South China Morning Post
- TSMC assessing impact of 6.4-magnitude Taiwan quake on chip hub Nikkei Asia
- Magnitude 6.4 earthquake strikes southern Taiwan Focus Taiwan
‘Now it’s our turn to shine!’ How world leaders greeted Trump’s inauguration
Most leaders were diplomatic about their differences, while others more ideologically aligned with the new US president voiced their joy
International leaders have responded with a mixture of wariness, anger and enthusiasm to Donald Trump’s inauguration as US president, with Panama pushing back on his pledge to retake the Panama Canal and Mexico vowing to defend its people ahead of a crackdown on migrants.
After Trump declared that the Panama Canal was a “foolish gift” to Panama that “should never have been made” during his inauguration speech, Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino said the waterway “is and will continue to be Panamanian”.
Continue reading...Trump says US needs Greenland for international security – Reuters
- Trump says US needs Greenland for international security Reuters
- The new American imperialism The Economist
- Opinion | The Dark Roots of Donald Trump’s Obsession With Panama and Greenland The New York Times
- How the world is reacting to Donald Trump’s inauguration Semafor
- 'We're taking it back': Trump promises action on Panama Canal NBC News
Trump refugee ban ‘strands Afghans endangered by US withdrawal’
More than 1,600 people eligible to resettle in the United States are waiting to flee Afghanistan and Pakistan, say advocates
More than 1,600 Afghans eligible to enter the US as refugees will see their entry blocked under an executive order signed by Donald Trump on Monday evening that suspends the resettlement of all refugees to the United States for an indefinite period of time.
The decision has led to panic among prospective Afghan refugees, including family members of hundreds of active-duty service personnel and children waiting to be reunited with family members already in the US, according to a leading refugee resettlement activist and a US official who spoke with the Guardian on condition of anonymity.
Continue reading...Australia’s pro-Palestine movement shifts focus to pressuring Albanese to cut ties with Israel
Groups call for Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrest and urge Australia to pressure Israel on Palestine just as South Africa was over apartheid
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Pro-Palestine protests that have been held every week in Sydney and Melbourne since 7 October 2023 will now switch focus to pressuring the federal government into cutting ties with Israel, organisers have said.
Amal Naser, from the Palestine Action Group (PAG), called the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel a “step forward” for the pro-Palestine movement in Australia, and said the group would now pivot from weekly protests to targeted protests that call for specific policy change in government.
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