Australia’s economy was the envy of the world. Now it’s falling behind
After record-breaking streak of growth, Australia is lagging behind its peers amid cost-of-living and productivity woes.
Prosecutor who investigated Hunter Biden denounces president’s criticism
Special counsel David Weiss defended his investigations, calling them "thorough and impartial".
What is ‘waste colonialism’ and why has Thailand banned imports of plastic?
China had taken in nearly half of the world's plastic waste since 1992 until it imposed an import ban in 2018.
Why is thyroid cancer more common in women?
One woman talks about being diagnosed with two autoimmune diseases and thyroid cancer after years of medical oversight.
North Korea launches multiple, short-range ballistic missiles
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles travelled up to 250km (155 miles) before landing in the sea.
Boy, 13, charged with attempted murder as Coles worker fights for life after alleged Queensland stabbing
Woman, 63, allegedly stabbed in the back while working at supermarket in Ipswich’s Yamanto Central shopping centre
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A 13-year-old boy has been charged with attempted murder after an alleged stabbing of a Coles employee.
Police allege the teenager approached the 63-year-old woman while she was working at the supermarket in Ipswich’s Yamanto Shopping Centre, south-west of Brisbane, and stabbed her in the back with a knife before attempting to flee the scene.
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Continue reading...Mahakumbh: Naked ash-smeared ascetics to lead India bathing spectacle – BBC.com
- Mahakumbh: Naked ash-smeared ascetics to lead India bathing spectacle BBC.com
- Dreadlocked Indian ascetics take holy dip in Hindu Kumbh festival Yahoo! Voices
- Rs 2,000,000,000,000: The Revenue Maha Kumbh Is Likely To Generate For UP NDTV
- ‘Over 3000 special trains, 554 ticketing counter, 1176 CCTV cameras’- Indian Railways plan to cater the Mahakumbh The Indian Express
- India’s Maha Kumbh Mela festival gets under way for first time in 144 years The Guardian
Mornington Peninsula house falls down cliff in landslide
One person taken to Frankston hospital after home collapses at Penny Lane in McCrae south-east of Melbourne
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A house on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula has collapsed down a cliff in a landslide on Tuesday morning, with one person taken to hospital.
The house on Penny Lane in McCrae collapsed shortly before 9am on Tuesday.
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Continue reading...Operation under way to rescue trapped miners from South African gold mine
The Mining Affected Communities United in Action group says at least 400 men remain trapped in the abandoned mine.
New York traffic falls after $9 congestion fee
Traffic has fallen by 7.5% since the charge was introduced on 5 January, according to preliminary data.
Yoon Suk Yeol impeachment: trial of suspended South Korean president begins
First of five hearings into martial law declaration lasts only minutes, while Yoon Suk Yeol remains holed up inside his presidential compound
The first hearing in the impeachment trial of South Korea’s suspended president, Yoon Suk Yeol, ended after just a few minutes on Tuesday as Yoon failed to appear at the constitutional court.
The court’s justices have about five months to decide whether to strip Yoon of his presidential duties over his short-lived declaration of martial law on 3 December or return him to office.
Continue reading...The lawyer risking everything to defend LGBT rights
Cameroonian Alice Nkom thinks accusations she is funding terrorism are a ploy to stop her advocacy.
Actor Dirk Bogarde was ‘disturbed’ by KGB sting warning, declassified files reveal
MI5 told Bogarde in 1971 that he had been identified as ‘practising homosexual’ of interest by Russian spies
The film star Dirk Bogarde was “clearly disturbed” and “troubled” after MI5 warned him that his name had been given to the KGB as a “practising homosexual” and he risked being compromised in a sting operation, newly declassified intelligence files show.
Bogarde, who died in 1999 and never came out publicly but lived with his life partner and manager, Anthony Forwood, was told by security services that his name was on a list of “six practising British homosexuals” given to the Russians by an unnamed source who had himself been sexually compromised during a visit to Moscow in the late 1950s.
Continue reading...Charities forced to ‘evict’ adults in their care to stay solvent, survey finds
Annual sector review says tax and wage rises and council funding cuts have left services in ‘state of acute precarity’
Charities providing specialist care to thousands of vulnerable adults with learning disabilities and severe autism are having to “evict” residents to avoid insolvency because of tax and wage rises and local authority funding cuts.
Non-profit providers say their work is in a “state of acute precarity” with many preparing to cut services, close doors to new residents and effectively evict tenants because the fees councils pay no longer meet the cost of care.
Continue reading...MI5 files suggest queen was not briefed on spy in royal household for nine years
Documents indicate monarch was informed Anthony Blunt was Soviet agent in 1973, though he confessed in 1964
The late Queen Elizabeth II was not told for almost 10 years that Anthony Blunt, a surveyor of the queen’s pictures and a member of the royal household, had confessed to being a Soviet double agent, previously secret security files suggest.
Declassified MI5 documents throw intriguing new light on how the security services closely guarded news that the art historian, of the notorious Cambridge Five spy ring, had confessed in April 1964, with records indicating the queen was only informed in 1973.
Continue reading...ABC names Hamish Macdonald as new Sydney Mornings radio host after dumping Sarah Macdonald
Decision not to renew former presenter’s contract triggered angry backlash from listeners and colleagues
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Hamish Macdonald will replace Sarah Macdonald as host of ABC Radio Sydney’s Mornings program, two months after listeners and staff reacted angrily to the axing of the popular female presenter.
In November Sarah Macdonald revealed on air that her contract would not be renewed after two years in the slot, sparking a backlash and delaying the announcement of a replacement.
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Continue reading...Why Trump Turned to Manifest Destiny – The New York Times
- Why Trump Turned to Manifest Destiny The New York Times
- Column: Trump wants to grab control of Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal. He's already bungled it Los Angeles Times
- Donald Trump isn’t even in office yet and silly season has already begun | Sidney Blumenthal The Guardian
- Trump Criticizes Foreign Allies The Atlantic
- Breakingviews - Trump and Musk’s ally-bullying weakens the West Reuters
Reliance on fertility apps on rise in England and Wales, study shows
Trend away from hormonal contraception corresponds to rise in abortion rates, say researchers
Women in England and Wales are increasingly ditching the pill in favour of fertility-tracking apps, raising the risk of a rise in unplanned pregnancies, a study suggests.
Researchers concluded there had been a shift in attitudes towards contraception in the last five years, from “more reliable” hormonal options, such as the pill and the implant, to “fertility awareness-based methods”.
Continue reading...No. 2 Senate Democratic leader will back Rubio for secretary of State – The Hill
- No. 2 Senate Democratic leader will back Rubio for secretary of State The Hill
- Rubio’s Authority as Secretary of State Threatened Even Before Trump Term Begins Bloomberg
- Marco Rubio’s first headache POLITICO
- US secretary of state has an expansive job that could make or break peace deals and key foreign alliances The Conversation United States
- Durbin Statement On Meeting With President-Elect Trump's Secretary Of State Pick, Senator Marco Rubio Senator Dick Durbin
Biden insists US is ‘winning’ on world stage – what would losing look like?
The president defended his record on Ukraine, Gaza and Afghanistan but foreign policy successes have been few
On paper, few US presidents could boast the foreign policy bona fides of Joe Biden, a veteran statesman with nearly a half-century of experience before he even stepped into office.
But as his term comes to an end, critics have said that the president will leave a legacy of cautious and underpowered diplomacy, as even allies have conceded that the administration is still grasping for a cornerstone foreign policy success.
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