North Korea boasts of ‘the world’s strongest’ missile, but experts say it’s too big to use in war – The Associated Press

Posted on by
  1. North Korea boasts of ‘the world’s strongest’ missile, but experts say it’s too big to use in war  The Associated Press
  2. See North Korea launch its ‘perfected’ ballistic missile  CNN
  3. North Korea boasts of new ICBM able to reach the U.S. mainland  NBC News
  4. US and Ally Stage Air Power Drills in Response to North Korea's ICBM Test  Newsweek
  5. North Korea, in the Spotlight Over Ukraine, Launches a Long-Range Missile  The New York Times
Posted in Uncategorized

David Crisafulli breaks election promise to elevate shadow team to Queensland government frontbench

Posted on by

LNP leader’s cabinet includes several changes, including former leader Tim Nicholls as health minister and Fiona Simpson in women’s portfolio

Queensland’s new premier, David Crisafulli, has unveiled his new cabinet, breaking a pre-election promise to automatically elevate his existing shadow team to the government frontbench.

The LNP leader repeatedly promised the shadow cabinet he took to last week’s election would be the cabinet after it.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

David Crisafulli: premier and minister for veterans

Jarrod Bleijie: deputy premier, minister for state development, infrastructure and planning, and minister for industrial relations

David Janetzki: treasurer, minister for energy and minister for home ownership

Ros Bates: minister for finance, trade, employment and training

Dale Last: minister for natural resources and mines, minister for manufacturing and minister for regional and rural development

Tim Nicholls: minister for health and ambulance services

Deb Frecklington: attorney general and minister for justice and minister for integrity

John-Paul Langbroek: minister for education and the arts

Dan Purdie: minister for police and emergency services

Laura Gerber: minister for youth justice and victim support and minister for corrective services

Brent Mickelberg: minister for transport and main roads

Ann Leahy: minister for local government and water and minister for fire, disaster recovery and volunteers

Sam O’Connor: minister for housing and public works and minister for youth

Tony Perrett: minister for primary industries

Fiona Simpson: minister for women and women’s economic security, minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships and minister for multiculturalism

Andrew Powell: minister for the environment and tourism and minister for science and innovation

Amanda Camm: minister for families, seniors and disability services and minister for child safety and the prevention of domestic and family violence

Tim Mander: minister for sport and racing and minister for the Olympic and Paralympic Games

Steve Minnikin: minister for customer services and open data and minister for small and family business

Continue reading...

Ellie Price murder: anguished mother blasts sentence that could see ‘vicious’ killer Ricardo Barbaro released in 17 years

Posted on by

Barbaro, 38, killed Ellie Price, 26, in her South Melbourne home in a stabbing attack a judge described as senseless and cruel

A killer who stabbed his defenceless girlfriend to death in a vicious and senseless attack should have been jailed for life, his victim’s mother says.

Ricardo Barbaro, 38, will instead be eligible for parole in 17 years. A judge sentenced him on Friday after he was found guilty of murdering Ellie Price at her South Melbourne home.

Continue reading...

At least 18 federal passport office officials under investigation after scathing audit report

Posted on by

Auditors examined APO contracts and found undeclared conflicts of interest and wrongly identified preferred suppliers

At least 18 officials within the federal government’s passport office are facing investigation after a scathing audit report revealed multiple instances where conflicts of interest were not declared and preferred suppliers had wrongly been identified ahead of time across $1.6bn in contracts.

The Australian National Audit Office’s report into the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Australian Passport Office, released Thursday, found its contracting processes “fell short of ethical standards”, including a failure to keep proper documentation, appropriately deal with conflicts of interest and find value for money.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Continue reading...

Plane fails to land amid fierce typhoon in Taiwan – BBC.com

Posted on by
  1. Plane fails to land amid fierce typhoon in Taiwan  BBC.com
  2. Tropical Storm Kong-rey threatens Shanghai and China's coast  VOA Asia
  3. Kong-rey among biggest typhoons to hit Taiwan in decades  Yahoo! Voices
  4. China's Shanghai braces for torrential rain as Typhoon Kong-rey advances  Reuters.com
  5. Tropical storm Kong-rey moves toward Shanghai and China’s coast after sweeping Taiwan as typhoon  The Times of India
Posted in Uncategorized

War Day 391: Knesset Bans UNRWA, Hezbollah Command Center Destroyed – Anash.org – Good News

Posted on by
  1. War Day 391: Knesset Bans UNRWA, Hezbollah Command Center Destroyed  Anash.org - Good News
  2. Why Israel's UNRWA ban could be devastating for Palestinians  NBC News
  3. What to know about UNRWA, the U.N. organization banned by Israel  The Washington Post
  4. Gaza is on the brink of mass starvation. Will a new Israeli law make it worse?  Vox.com
  5. UNRWA chief says Israeli forces damaged agency's West Bank office; Israel disputes claim  Reuters.com
Posted in Uncategorized

‘People are scared’: Arizonans fear political violence as election looms

Posted on by

Nerves are particularly stretched in Maricopa county, which will likely decide which way the state swings in the polls

Pearl Hubbard picked up some yard signs for Kamala Harris at the vice-president’s speech in Phoenix, Arizona, on Thursday afternoon, but wasn’t yet sure whether she’d risk displaying them outside her home in a city that sits in some of the most hotly contested political territory in the country.

“I’m scared to put them up,” Hubbard said. “As I drive … I only saw one place that had a [Harris] sign. Just don’t see them. I think people are scared to put them up.”

Continue reading...

Peanut the Instagram-famous squirrel is seized by New York officials

Posted on by

Wild squirrel that was taken in by Mark Longo seven years ago was confiscated after conservation officials received reports of ‘potentially unsafe housing of wildlife’

A New York man who turned a rescued squirrel into a social media star called Peanut is pleading with state authorities to return his beloved pet after they seized it during a raid that also yielded a raccoon named Fred.

Multiple anonymous complaints about Peanut – also spelled P’Nut or PNUT – brought at least six officers from the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to Mark Longo’s home on Wednesday, Longo said.

Continue reading...

Ukraine war briefing: western allies’ response to North Korean deployment is ‘zero’, Zelenskyy says – The Guardian

Posted on by
  1. Ukraine war briefing: western allies’ response to North Korean deployment is ‘zero’, Zelenskyy says  The Guardian
  2. US says 8,000 North Korean soldiers to begin combat operations in war with Ukraine 'in coming days'  Fox News
  3. US says 10,000 North Korean soldiers now at Ukraine border  The Independent
  4. U.S. Turns to China to Stop North Korean Troops From Fighting for Russia  The New York Times
  5. Zelenskiy blasts allies for 'zero' response to North Korean deployment  Reuters
Posted in Uncategorized

How will Israel’s new anti-UNRWA laws impact the controversial agency’s operations? – The Times of Israel

Posted on by
  1. How will Israel’s new anti-UNRWA laws impact the controversial agency’s operations?  The Times of Israel
  2. UNRWA chief says Israeli forces damaged agency's West Bank office; Israel disputes claim  Reuters.com
  3. What will Israel's UNRWA ban look like? Experts warn of 'a massive ripple effect'  Haaretz
  4. Israel bans UN Palestinian aid org, after 9 employees involved in Hamas attack  USA TODAY
  5. What to know about UNRWA, the U.N. organization banned by Israel  The Washington Post
Posted in Uncategorized

Avengers stars assemble to endorse Kamala Harris – by brainstorming an election catchphrase

Posted on by

Actors Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Don Cheadle, Chris Evans, Danai Gurira and Paul Bettany appear in video, released days before the US election

The cast of Marvel’s Avengers movies have come out in support of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris less than a week before the US election.

In a video posted first on Vanity Fair on Thursday evening, actors Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Don Cheadle, Chris Evans, Danai Gurira and Paul Bettany playfully riffed on their respective characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe while encouraging viewers to vote for Harris.

Continue reading...

Stormy Daniels honored at witches’ ceremony in Salem, Massachusetts

Posted on by

Organizers award embattled actor and magic practitioner, under belief she has fallen victim to modern-day witch hunt

Practicing witches from around the world gathered in Salem by the hundreds on Thursday night to honor Stormy Daniels at their annual “magic circle” ceremony recognizing loved ones who have died.

Daniels – the adult film actor who allegedly had an affair with Donald Trump and was at the center of his May criminal trial that led to the former president’s conviction on 34 felonies – was chosen to be honored in the Halloween ceremony as the organizers believe that she has been the victim of a modern-day witch hunt.

Continue reading...