Republican anger clouds Zelensky-Biden ‘victory plan’ meeting
Ukraine's leader was due at the White House, while a feud escalated over a trip to an arms factory.
Outcry as New Orleans judge further delays retired priest’s rape case
Calls rise for Benedict Willard to be punished after recusing himself from Lawrence Hecker case on morning of trial
Court watchdogs and advocates for victims of sexual abuse are calling for a New Orleans judge to be punished and voted out of office after he controversially delayed the trial of retired Catholic priest charged with child rape and kidnapping – on the morning of jury selection.
Judge Benedict Willard’s critics say his angry outbursts have been a problem over more than two decades on the bench. But they are raising fresh concerns after Willard’s decision to remove members of the local district attorney’s office during a rape trial in August reverberated to affect the eagerly anticipated trial of Lawrence Hecker, 93, on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Alabama executes death-row prisoner with nitrogen gas
Alan Miller, 59, second person in US to be executed via controversial technique, shook and trembled on gurney
Alabama has carried out the second execution in the US using the controversial method of nitrogen gas, an experimental technique for humans that veterinarians have deemed unacceptable in the US and Europe for the euthanasia of most animals.
Alan Eugene Miller, 59, was pronounced dead at 6.38pm local time at a south Alabama prison.
Continue reading...Dame Judi Dench and John Cena to voice Meta AI chatbot
The firm also unveiled the first working prototype of Meta's augmented-reality glasses, called Orion.
‘Thrown like a rag doll’: British tourist narrowly survives hippo attack in Zambia
Roland Cherry, from Warwickshire, sustained severe bite wounds after being mauled by animal during safari
A man narrowly survived after being dragged to the bottom of a river and “thrown through the air like a rag doll” when he was attacked by hippo while canoeing on holiday in Zambia.
Roland Cherry, who was on five-week holiday through southern Africa with his wife, Shirley, sustained severe bite wounds across his body, including a 10in wound to his abdomen, as well as a thigh injury and dislocated shoulder in the attack.
Continue reading...‘Chucky goes north’: Rochdale reacts to arrival of ‘creepy’ giant baby
Lilly, an 8.5-metre tall puppet designed to help children talk about the environment, provokes mixed response
They say it is rude to comment on a baby’s appearance but that has not stopped the residents of Rochdale, who awoke on Wednesday to a “freaky” new arrival.
Lilly, an 8.5-metre tall puppet designed to help children talk about the environment, went on display in the town centre to a somewhat bewildered response.
Continue reading...Thames Water credit ratings slashed to lower levels of junk as default fears grow
S&P and Moody’s cut ratings by five notches on risk troubled company will run out of cash
Thames Water’s debt rating has been slashed to the lower levels of junk by two major credit rating agencies, piling further pressure on the UK’s biggest water company, which is rapidly running through cash and fighting to stave off renationalisation.
S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s said the utility was fast running out of money and on the brink of default. S&P cut its rating on Thames’s £15bn top-ranking debt pile by five notches to CCC+, taking it into the triple-C category that is considered very risky. Thames lost its investment-grade credit rating in July.
Continue reading...Walkley-award winning journalist to investigate potential issues in ABC’s Line of Fire reports
Alan Sunderland to undertake independent review of online article and 7.30 story about an Australian military operation in Afghanistan
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The ABC has appointed veteran journalist and media executive Alan Sunderland to undertake an independent review of the broadcaster’s Line of Fire reports about an Australian military operation in Afghanistan.
The Line of Fire reports concern an online article and 7.30 story by one of the ABC’s most experienced journalists, Mark Willacy from the ABC’s Investigations unit.
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Continue reading...How Russia’s RT went from a cable news clone to covert operator – NPR
- How Russia’s RT went from a cable news clone to covert operator NPR
- Russia-Backed Media Outlets Are Under Fire in the US—but Still Trusted Worldwide WIRED
- Why Meta is now banning Russian propaganda DW (English)
- Opinion | How I became a propagandist for Russian media The Washington Post
- India becoming the propaganda battleground between Americans and Russians Firstpost
Hong Kong gets two more giant pandas as Finland says it can’t afford its own bears – NBC News
- Hong Kong gets two more giant pandas as Finland says it can't afford its own bears NBC News
- Panda pair arrive to VIP welcome in Hong Kong, as Beijing marks 75 years of communist China CNN
- Hong Kong hopes these giant pandas will boost tourism Euronews
- Panda pair arrive in Hong Kong, boost city's total to highest ever Reuters
- Christmas gifts: giant pandas An An and Ke Ke to meet Hongkongers in December South China Morning Post
World’s longest-serving death row inmate acquitted in Japan
After more than half a century on death row Iwao Hakamada, 88, has been acquitted of murder.
Meryl Streep takes on the Taliban with a story about cats, squirrels and birds – CNN
- Meryl Streep takes on the Taliban with a story about cats, squirrels and birds CNN
- Meryl Streep: Today In Kabul A Female Cat Has More Freedom Than A Woman Forbes
- Taliban to be taken to international court over gender discrimination The Guardian
- The Inclusion of Women in the Future of Afghanistan… Welcome to the United Nations
- Afghanistan: Cats have more freedom than women, says Meryl Streep BBC.com
Peter Dutton says if Mark Scott had ‘any shred of integrity’ he would resign as University of Sydney vice-chancellor
Call comes after Scott apologises for university’s handling of antisemitism complaints
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The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has called for the University of Sydney vice-chancellor, Mark Scott, to resign, saying he would do so if he had “any shred of integrity”.
The university has come under fire for its handling of protest camps set up on campus in opposition to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza after Hamas’s October 7 attack.
Continue reading...US Hails China’s Advanced Notice of ICBM Test as ‘Good Thing’ – Bloomberg
- US Hails China’s Advanced Notice of ICBM Test as ‘Good Thing’ Bloomberg
- Why China would want to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile out into the Pacific Business Insider
- China launches intercontinental ballistic missile into Pacific hours after Biden's UN address Fox News
- China Releases Photo of Rare ICBM Test in Pacific Newsweek
- China fires ICBM into Pacific Ocean in first such public test in decades as regional tensions flare CNN
Watch: Building collapses into river in India
No-one was injured in the incident, which occurred during heavy rains in Bihar state.
Japanese man who spent 46 years on death row cleared of murders
Iwao Hakamada found not guilty of 1966 murder of his boss and his family after a retrial was ordered a decade ago
A Japanese man who spent almost half a century on death row has been found not guilty of multiple murders, in a closely watched trial that has raised questions about Japan’s use of the death penalty.
Iwao Hakamada, 88, was sentenced to hang in 1968 after being found guilty of murdering his boss, his wife and their two teenage children, and setting fire to their home two years earlier.
Continue reading...Three charges including one of rape against high-profile Sydney man withdrawn during trial
The man is accused of raping five women, with charges regarding a sixth withdrawn on Thursday. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges
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A high-profile Sydney man has had three charges against him – including one count of rape – withdrawn for an undisclosed reason and the complainant will no longer appear before the court.
The complainant who alleged the man had assaulted her three times, which led to the charges, was set to be the sixth and final complainant to appear before the New South Wales Downing Centre district court.
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Continue reading...NSW MP Gareth Ward says he went to parliament in his underwear at 4am after being locked out of his apartment
Member for Kiama denies he was drunk at the time and says some media reports concerning the incident are ‘defamatory’
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New South Wales politician Gareth Ward has denied being drunk when he went to state parliament at 4am on a Sunday morning in July, insisting he was simply collecting a spare key after locking himself out of his apartment in his underwear.
The Kiama MP said he made the eight-minute trip to parliament on foot from his Potts Point apartment on the “freezing” morning because he’d been locked out without his phone.
Continue reading...RBA warns two factors risk increasing number of Australians caught in mortgage struggle
Vast majority of borrowers servicing their debts but arrears could grow if economy slows more than expected, bank says
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The number of Australians in financial stress is “small” but will be “magnified” if the economy slows more than expected or interest rates linger higher for longer, the Reserve Bank has warned.
While overseas challenges – including a faltering Chinese economy – could also upset forecasts, Australia’s financial system continued “to display a high level of resilience”, the bank said in its semi-annual financial stability review.
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Continue reading...Benin arrests three men over suspected coup plot
The accused include the head of the Republican Guard, who is accused of planning to allow the coup to proceed.