‘I watch my back’: Spike in BBC journalists living in exile
The number of BBC World Service journalists working in exile is estimated to have doubled since 2020.
Floods maroon tourists in Kenya’s Maasai Mara
Helicopters are deployed to evacuate tourists and staff trapped in the famous game reserve.
Two 17-year-old climate activists claim WA premier Roger Cook defamed them over Woodside protest
Emma Heyink and Tom Power say the premier made false comments about protest at company’s annual general meeting
Two 17-year-old climate activists are alleging the Western Australian premier, Roger Cook, defamed them by falsely claiming during a press conference they intimidated and threatened the children of the CEO and chair of petroleum giant Woodside Energy.
The two teenagers, Emma Heyink and Tom Power, are activists involved with campaign group Disrupt Burrup Hub and were involved in a protest at the Woodside annual general meeting at Crown Casino last Wednesday.
Continue reading...Australian MP Dan Repacholi shoots for Olympic Games record
The first-term federal Labor MP is in Azerbaijan where he hopes to qualify for Paris in the men’s 10-metre air pistol shooting event
From Cessnock to Canberra to the Caspian Sea, the Hunter MP, Dan Repacholi, has flown to Azerbaijan chasing a historic feat. The first-term parliamentarian is gunning to become one of what is believed to be only two federal politicians to qualify for an Olympic Games.
He hopes it is the final stage of qualifying for what would be Repacholi’s sixth Olympic Games, a record currently bettered by only one Australian Olympian in history. In Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku on Friday, he will be seeking qualification in the men’s 10-metre air pistol shooting event for the Paris Games in August.
Continue reading...Majority of university chiefs in Victoria earn over $1m despite budget woes
Federal government vows crackdown as institutions increased their vice-chancellor’s salaries amid job losses in the sector
More than half of Victoria’s vice chancellors are earning annual salaries of more than $1m, new data reveals, as the federal government vows to to crack down on excessive senior university pay packages.
The 2023 annual reports of Victorian universities, lodged on Wednesday, revealed six of Victoria’s eight vice-chancellors had their salaries boosted last year, including separate rises of more than $50,000.
Continue reading...Florida six-week abortion ban will be felt beyond the state
The new law came into effect on Wednesday, ending Florida's place as a hub for the procedure in the US south.
Dublin asylum seekers moved from Mount Street tents
The asylum seekers have been living in a makeshift camp outside the International Protection Office.
Marjorie Taylor Greene to force vote on ousting Mike Johnson as speaker
Extremist’s bid to remove House speaker appears certain to fail as Democratic leaders indicate they will table or kill motion
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene announced on Wednesday that she would move to force a vote next week on removing her fellow Republican Mike Johnson as House speaker, even though the measure appears certain to fail.
“I think the American people need to see a recorded vote,” Greene said at a press conference. “And so next week, I am going to be calling this motion to vacate – absolutely calling it. I can’t wait to see Democrats go out and support a Republican speaker and have to go home to their primaries and have to run for Congress again.”
Continue reading...US judges reject new Louisiana voting map with second majority-Black district
Rejection by three-judge panel fuels new uncertainty about district boundaries as state prepares for congressional elections
A new congressional map giving Louisiana a second majority-Black House district was rejected on Tuesday by a panel of three federal judges, fueling new uncertainty about district boundaries as the state prepares for fall congressional elections.
The 2-1 ruling forbids the use of a map drawn up in January by the legislature after a different federal judge blocked a map from 2022. The earlier map maintained a single Black-majority district and five mostly white districts, in a state with a population that is about one-third Black.
Continue reading...Middle East crisis: Jordan says some Israeli settlers attacked aid convoys on way to Gaza – as it happened
Two convoys on the way to Gaza attacked by some Israeli settlers, reports Jordan’s state news agency
Reporting for Al Jazeera from Rafah, Tareq Abu Azzoum has said that Israel appears to have “ramped up airstrikes and land bombardment”. He writes for the news network:
Israeli artillery units have been relentlessly pounding the Nuseirat refugee camp – in the northern part of that densely populated area – where thousands of Palestinians are. They have also been taking a systematic approach to destroying residential buildings in al-Mughraqa.
Here in Rafah in the south, the situation is also dire. A number of houses were attacked, with two Palestinian children killed. The children arrived at the Kuwaiti hospital alive, but they succumbed to their wounds.
You have to hear this to believe this. The international criminal court in The Hague is contemplating issuing arrest warrants against senior Israeli government and military officials as war criminals.
This would be an outrage of historic proportions. International bodies like the ICC arose in the wake of the Holocaust committed against the Jewish people. They were set up to prevent such horrors, to prevent future genocides.
This ICC attempt is an attempt to paralyze Israel’s very ability to defend itself. The government and people of Israel reject outright this grave threat to our security, this grave threat to our very existence.
And I want to assure you, no ICC action will impact Israel’s ironclad determination to achieve the goals of our war with Hamas terrorists. We will destroy Hamas’ military and governing capabilities in Gaza. We will release all our hostages. And we will ensure that Gaza never poses a threat to Israel again.
Continue reading...Dorset auction house withdraws Egyptian human skulls from sale
MP says trade in remains is ‘gross violation of human dignity’, as skulls from Pitt Rivers collection removed
An auction house has withdrawn 18 ancient Egyptian human skulls from sale after an MP said selling them would perpetuate the atrocities of colonialism.
Bell Ribeiro-Addy, the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Afrikan reparations, believes the sale of human remains for any purposes should be outlawed, adding that the trade was “a gross violation of human dignity”.
Continue reading...Georgian police fire teargas as huge ‘foreign agents’ bill protests rock Tbilisi – as it happened
Masked police also used water cannon and stun grenades against rally protesting over legislation viewed as authoritarian and Russian-inspired
Michael Roth, chairman of the German Bundestag’s foreign affairs committee, has called on Georgia’s leadership to stop the violence and withdraw the foreign agents bill.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said today that he “strongly” condemns violence against protesters and said use of force is “unacceptable.”
Continue reading...Watch: Russians flock to see captured Western tanks
The exhibition was on display in Moscow's Victory Park, it included British hardware given to Ukraine.
Saudi women’s rights activist jailed for 11 years
Manahel al-Otaibi was convicted of "terrorism charges" reportedly related to her social media posts.
Russia-Ukraine war: Moscow claims it has hit Ukraine’s southern army HQ – as it happened
This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our Ukraine war coverage here
The Russian military has attacked the command headquarters of the Ukrainian army’s southern grouping, using missiles and artillery, Russia’s defence ministry said. The claims are yet to be independently verified.
Ukraine’s special services claimed responsibility for a drone attack that hit a Russian oil refinery in Ryazan, south of Moscow, early on Wednesday morning. It said the attack took place about 2:00am (2300 GMT). The governors of the Kursk and Voronezh regions in southwest Russia that border Ukraine also reported drone attacks on their territories, saying there was no damage or injuries.
Russia attacked the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine with guided bombs on Wednesday, killing at least two people and injured two others, the regional governor said. The two people were killed when a car was struck in the village of Zolochiv, where a private home was also struck, governor Oleh Syniehubov wrote on Telegram.
Ukrainian forces defending the strategic eastern stronghold of Chasiv Yar say they are still waiting for fresh ammunition after the US approved a major military aid package. Oleh Shyriaiev, commander of Ukraine’s 225th Separate Assault Battalion that is fighting near the town, said more artillery shells would help his unit hold their positions. “I hope we receive artillery shells soon,” he said. Chasiv Yar is emerging as a key battleground because of its position on elevated ground that could serve as a gateway to the cities of Kostiantynivka, Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
The US Senate has unanimously approved legislation to ban imports of Russian uranium, after the House of Representatives passed the bill in December. The US president, Joe Biden, is expected now to sign the uranium imports bill into law.
We reported earlier (see post at 09.23) how Ukrainian forces defending the strategic eastern stronghold of Chasiv Yar say they are still waiting for fresh ammunition as they try to repel intensifying attacks.
Continue reading...US asylum app strands migrants and aids organised crime, rights group says
CBP One app offers far too few appointments, meaning asylum seekers must wait or pay human trafficking groups, report reveals
A US government smartphone app that tightly limits asylum appointments at the US-Mexico border is stranding vulnerable migrants in Mexico and enriching organised crime groups, according to a new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW).
The report, which draws on interviews with more than 100 migrants, as well as officials and activists, documents how the CBP One app – which is all but mandatory for asylum seekers – offers 1,450 appointments a day, when arrivals at the border averaged 7,240 a day between May 2023 and January 2024.
Continue reading...OnlyFans investigated over children accessing porn
Ofcom suspects the platform is not doing enough to stop under-18s accessing explicit material.
Bonza administrators in global talks on grounded budget carrier that helped ‘push down air fares’
Transport minister Catherine King says it is unlikely the airline will be saved, while insiders think repossessed planes will be returned to the US
The administrators determining Bonza’s future have held round-the-clock talks, including with international aviation figures and the owner of the airline’s aircraft, as Australia’s airports maintain the budget carrier was “instrumental in improving competition and pushing down air fares”.
Administrators had meetings scheduled late on Wednesday evening and into Thursday morning with “key industry participants” in Australia and overseas, their second day working to such a schedule. They also had an “open dialogue with the lessor of the company’s fleet” of Boeing 737 Max 8 planes that remain parked at airports across the country.
Continue reading...Saudis push for ‘plan B’ that excludes Israel from key deal with US
Riyadh seeks more modest agreement with Washington in absence of Gaza ceasefire and Netanyahu resistance to Palestinian state
The US and Saudi Arabia have drafted a set of agreements on security and technology-sharing which were intended to be linked to a broader Middle East settlement involving Israel and the Palestinians.
However, in the absence of a ceasefire in Gaza and in the face of adamant resistance from Benjamin Netanyahu’s Israeli government to the creation of a Palestinian state – and its apparent determination to launch an offensive on Rafah – the Saudis are pushing for a more modest plan B, which excludes the Israelis.
Continue reading...Columbia’s Hamilton Hall: A history of student action at Gaza protest hub
Students have occupied the building at pivotal moments in American history, often triggering policy change.