Russia and Ukraine Quietly Resume Talks About Partial Ceasefire: Report – Newsweek

  1. Russia and Ukraine Quietly Resume Talks About Partial Ceasefire: Report  Newsweek
  2. Ukraine should strike back if North Korean troops cross into its territory, Biden says.  Kyiv Independent
  3. Ukraine and Russia in talks about halting strikes on energy plants  Financial Times
  4. Kremlin Calls Report About Talks to Halt Energy Plant Strikes ‘Fake’  The Moscow Times
  5. Russia and Ukraine in talks to stop bombing energy facilities  The Telegraph
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Amit Shah, Indian minister accused by Canada, is Modi’s closest aide – Reuters India

  1. Amit Shah, Indian minister accused by Canada, is Modi's closest aide  Reuters India
  2. Canadian official alleges Modi minister behind Indian plot targeting Sikhs in Canada  Axios
  3. Canada admits to leaking information on Indian officials to US paper  The Times of India
  4. Are 'Canadian criminals' directing operators in India? What RCMP head told MPs  Hindustan Times
  5. Canadian allegations against Amit Shah ‘concerning’, says U.S.  The Hindu
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At a Glitzy Saudi Investment Forum, Almost No Mention of War – The New York Times

  1. At a Glitzy Saudi Investment Forum, Almost No Mention of War  The New York Times
  2. At ‘Davos in the Desert,’ It’s ‘AI or Die’  The Information
  3. Foreign investors flock to flagship Saudi economic conference — but face less free-flowing cash  CNBC
  4. Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund pivots from international investments  Financial Times
  5. AI Leaders Gather in Saudi Arabia to Talk Energy  Bloomberg
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Millions of people celebrate Diwali this week. Here is what you should know – NPR

  1. Millions of people celebrate Diwali this week. Here is what you should know  NPR
  2. What is Diwali and why is it celebrated? What to know about the Hindu festival of lights  USA TODAY
  3. Diwali starts Thursday. What to know about the holiday and how it's celebrated  The Arizona Republic
  4. Diwali Lakshmi Puja 2024 timings: Shubh muhurat for Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Noida, Gurgaon & other cities  Business Today
  5. India celebrates Diwali, the festival of lights  BBC.com
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Middle East crisis: UN security council warns against attempts to dismantle Unrwa – as it happened

This live blog is now closed. For the latest on the Middle East, read our full coverage here.

Under the laws – which will not be implemented for several months – Unrwa could not “operate any institution, provide any service, or conduct any activity, whether directly or indirectly”.

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ABC chair says pressing ‘digital titans’ for revenue is a ‘mainstream democratic imperative’

Kim Williams says funding local news and public interest journalism is crucial in a world where ‘the distortion of culture poses such a grave threat to democracy’

The tech giants must be pursued for a cut of their substantial revenue to fund journalism in order to fight disinformation and “navigate the dangerous world”, ABC chair Kim Williams has said.

Last week a parliamentary committee recommended the government impose a tech tax on companies like Meta and Google as well as establish a fund to help traditional news media organisations.

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Ancient lost Mayan city with pyramids discovered accidentally by student – The Independent

  1. Ancient lost Mayan city with pyramids discovered accidentally by student  The Independent
  2. Scientists detect traces of an ancient Mayan city in southern Mexico using laser-sensor technology  ABC News
  3. Lost Maya city with temple pyramids and plazas discovered in Mexico  The Guardian
  4. A Lost Mayan City Has Been Found With Laser Mapping  WIRED
  5. Vast ancient Mayan city is found in a Mexican jungle — by accident  NBC News
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Jacinta Nampijinpa Price to pay federal court over delay in defamation defence

Legal team for NT senator and shadow Indigenous Australians minister failed to file defence on time

The Northern Territory senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has been ordered to pay up by the federal court, before a defamation suit against her has properly begun.

The shadow Indigenous Australians minister is being sued by the Central Land Council chief executive, Lesley Turner, over a media release which he claims defamed him.

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Anthony Albanese denies ever calling ex-Qantas CEO Alan Joyce to ask for an upgrade

Prime minister issues statement saying ‘all travel has been appropriately declared’ after allegations made in new book over politicians’ travel

Anthony Albanese has denied ever calling Alan Joyce for free Qantas flight upgrades during his time as transport minister and opposition leader.

The rebuke comes days after the claims were made in a new book by former Nine newspaper columnist Joe Aston, alleging a number of federal politicians had regularly received free business or first-class upgrades as part of their membership to the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge, described as the “speakeasy for Australia’s ruling class”.

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Attorney general considering releasing full robodebt report – As it happened

This blog is now closed

Mark Butler flags importance of an Australian CDC in future pandemic responses

The federal health minister, Mark Butler, spoke to ABC News Breakfast this morning, after the Covid inquiry report was released yesterday.

Currently, we’re the only developed country that doesn’t have that single authoritative body that can provide to governments and communities about an evidence-based approach to pandemic response and to other communicable diseases. So that is the foundation on which we build a system to respond to the next pandemic - because there will be a next one – much more effectively than we did to Covid.

We all remember just how incredibly difficult and challenging it was, how it affected every aspect of our lives. And in terms of how the government worked during that period of time – we worked with those public health experts and advisers. Our focus was very much on the health and wellbeing of our community, particularly the vulnerable members of our community who were most at risk.

This was a deadly disease. We saw, particularly overseas, it killed so many people. So we were focused on a public health response – a public health response that was focused on supporting the health of our community, and also too understanding the significant additional supports that we needed to provide to small businesses to support them during this incredibly difficult time.

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Mount Fuji’s Lack of Snow Is a Big Deal – Newser

  1. Mount Fuji's Lack of Snow Is a Big Deal  Newser
  2. Japan’s iconic Mount Fuji has yet to see snow this season, breaking a 130-year record  CNN
  3. Japan's Mount Fuji Has Now Remained Snowless for the Longest Time in Its 130-Year Record  Smithsonian Magazine
  4. Mount Fuji snowless for longest time on record after sweltering Japan summer  The Guardian
  5. Japan’s Mount Fuji faces the heat, records first snowless October in 130 years  Interesting Engineering
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Canada alleges Indian minister Amit Shah behind plot to target Sikh separatists – Reuters

  1. Canada alleges Indian minister Amit Shah behind plot to target Sikh separatists  Reuters
  2. Canadian official alleges Modi minister behind Indian plot targeting Sikhs in Canada  Axios
  3. Top India Minister Authorized Murder Plots in Canada, Official Alleges  Bloomberg
  4. Canada’s top officials say they leaked info on Indian ‘interference’, Amit Shah to US daily  The Indian Express
  5. Why did a Canadian paper name the Washington Post’s anonymous sources?  Columbia Journalism Review
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‘Hold your little ones really tight’: how an ordinary Melbourne primary school pick-up turned to tragedy

Auburn South primary school community mourns car crash victim Jack Davey, 11, as four students remain in hospital

It was an afternoon recess on what should have been an ordinary, sunny spring Tuesday at Auburn South primary school.

Within the grounds of the Melbourne school, five primary school students were seated around an outdoor table overlooking a soccer pitch. Moments later, the scene turned to one of horror.

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Broken Hill customers to get bill reprieve as power outages continue

Origin and EnergyAustralia agree to defer bills after brownouts cripple region for better part of a week

Customers who have suffered through Broken Hill’s mass outages are set for a temporary reprieve on their bills as locals continue to be hit with night-time power cuts in sweltering conditions.

Two power companies – Origin and EnergyAustralia – have agreed to defer bills to those who have been affected by the outages that crippled the region for the better part of a week.

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Wednesday briefing: Five key messages that will define the budget

In today’s newsletter: Labour has told two stories about Rachel Reeves’ budget. Will it be an end to austerity – or an acceptance of “the harsh light of fiscal reality”?

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Good morning. There will be no triumphalism, no big giveaways and certainly no rabbits out of hats: this, Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have been at pains to tell us, is going to be a very grownup budget. And even though Reeves will promise today that “the prize on offer is immense”, we might also therefore expect it to be a painful one. Since the entire thing appears to have been briefed out in advance over the last few weeks, nobody can say they haven’t been warned.

In a way, it feels like two budgets: the optimism and ambition of a minimum wage rise, a major boost for the NHS, and significant new investment in infrastructure; and a bleaker story about misleading pledges, limited ambitions, and the biggest set of tax increases in budget history.

UK news | The suspect charged with the murder of three girls in Southport is to be separately prosecuted on suspicion of possessing terrorist material and producing ricin, a powerful poison, police have said. Axel Rudakubana is due to appear in court on Wednesday.

US election | Kamala Harris urged American voters to elect a “new generation of leadership” in a speech at the same place Donald Trump spoke on January 6 almost four years ago. Likening her opponent to a “petty tyrant”, Harris told the crowd: “Donald Trump would walk into that office with an enemies list … I will walk in with a to-do list.”

Middle East | Israel is not addressing the “catastrophic humanitarian crisis” in Gaza, the US envoy to the UN has said, ahead of a deadline for the Israelis to improve the situation or face potential restrictions on US military aid. The warning came as Gaza’s civil defence agency said 93 people had been killed in an airstrike on a crowded block of flats.

Conservatives | Britain’s former colonies should be thankful for the legacy of empire, Conservative leadership candidate Robert Jenrick has said. Jenrick’s comments, which follow an agreement among Commonwealth leaders that “the time has come” to discuss reparations, were condemned as “an obnoxious distortion of history”.

Mexico | A team of researchers have stumbled on a lost Maya city of temple pyramids, enclosed plazas and a reservoir, all hidden for centuries by the Mexican jungle. The discovery was made possible by the use of laser mapping techniques in an area previously ignored by archaeologists.

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