- Macron, Von der Leyen press China's Xi on trade in Paris talks Reuters.com
- China’s Xi Jinping is visiting Europe for the first time in five years – his goodwill tour will be an uphill struggle CNN
- Ukraine, brandy and EVs top the agenda as Xi meets Macron BBC.com
- Hungary and Serbia's autocratic leaders to roll out red carpet for China's Xi during Europe tour The Associated Press
- Economic Statecraft Latest: China and European economic relations Bloomberg
Fear in Rafah as Israel orders 100,000 to evacuate | First Thing
Unrwa says offensive will cause more ‘civilian suffering and deaths.’ Plus, death toll climbs in Brazil floods
Good morning.
Israel’s military sparked fears for an upcoming ground invasion after issuing calls for residents and displaced people to evacuate Rafah’s eastern neighbourhoods and head to an “expanded humanitarian zone” in southern Gaza.
News from the border into Gaza: One of the main crossings used to deliver humanitarian aid into Gaza was closed after a rocket attack claimed by Hamas killed three soldiers, the Israeli military said, with a reprisal strike on a house in Rafah killing multiple Palestinians.
News from inside Israel: Israeli authorities shut down the local offices of Al Jazeera, which critics calls a “dark day for the media”. The network, funded by Qatar, has accused Israel, which it denies, of deliberately killing its journalists for their coverage of the war.
The war’s humanitarian cost: After the Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostage, the Israeli assault on Gaza has killed about 35,000, destroyed much of the coastal strip’s infrastructure and housing stock, and is causing a “full-blown famine,” according to the director of the UN World Food Program.
Just how bad is the flooding? The flooding across the state has surpassed that seen during a deluge in 1941, according to the Brazilian Geological Service. In some cities, water levels were at their highest since record-keeping began almost 150 years ago, the agency added. In some areas as much as 15cm (6in) of rain fell in 24 hours.
Is global heating a factor? The state of Rio Grande do Sul sits at a geographical meeting point between tropical and polar atmospheres, giving rise to a weather pattern that includes periods of intense rain and drought. Local scientists say the pattern has been intensifying as a result of the human-made climate crisis.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war live: Putin orders nuclear weapons drills
Kremlin says tactical drills are a response to statements from the West about possibly sending troops to Ukraine
Germany will not be represented at the inauguration of Russian President Vladimir Putin for his next six-year term in office on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry said.
Relations between Russia and Germany, which used to be the biggest buyer of Russian oil and gas, have broken down since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Continue reading...House set to vote on Marjorie Taylor Greene effort to remove Mike Johnson
Far-right congresswoman has spearheaded effort to oust fellow Republican as speaker but motion to vacate widely expected to fail
The House is expected to vote this week on a motion to remove Republican Mike Johnson as speaker, but the effort, spearheaded by hard-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, faces virtually no chance of success.
Greene announced on Wednesday that she would move forward with forcing a vote on Johnson’s removal this week, following through on a threat she first issued in late March. Greene has consistently attacked Johnson for advancing bills that have attracted widespread bipartisan support, such as the government spending proposal approved in March and the foreign aid package signed into law last month.
Continue reading...Boeing hopes to polish its reputation with Starliner crew capsule launch
Company, which has been plagued by safety issues in its avionics wing, will send two astronauts to the ISS in its new spacecraft
Boeing has an opportunity on Monday night to restore some luster to its tarnished name, with the scheduled first crewed launch from Florida of Starliner, a pioneering new capsule designed to transform human exploration of space.
Although the company’s space operations are entirely independent of its aviation wing, which has been plagued by a recent series of safety and quality issues, the spacecraft’s pathway to the Cape Canaveral launchpad, and planned 10.34pm ET liftoff, has been similarly bumpy.
Continue reading...Israel-Hamas war: Palestinians ordered to evacuate parts of Rafah as assault looms – The Associated Press
- Israel-Hamas war: Palestinians ordered to evacuate parts of Rafah as assault looms The Associated Press
- Israel tells Gazans in parts of eastern Rafah to evacuate: Live updates CNN
- IDF urges civilians to evacuate parts of Rafah and Ole Miss opens student conduct investigation: Morning Rundown NBC News
- Israel urges Palestinians to evacuate Rafah ahead of expected ground operation in Hamas stronghold Fox News
- Israel Tells Thousands to Evacuate Rafah in Gaza: Israel-Hamas War Live Updates The New York Times
John Swinney set to be confirmed as new SNP leader and Scotland’s first minister – UK politics live
Swinney may be only candidate after withdrawal of Graeme McCormick
Labour has marked the anniversary of the Conservatives re-entering government at the 2010 election by launching a what the opposition have called “Conflix” website [geddit?] that mockingly tells the story of “14 years of Tory chaos”
The party’s chair, Anneliese Dodds, was challenged about the site on Sky News this morning and whether the party was relying on “stunts” rather than policy proposals. She insisted that the “detail of policy” was there, in the form of initiatives like GB Energy.
Continue reading...Italian government accused of using defamation law to silence intellectuals
Philosopher being sued by Giorgia Meloni’s brother-in-law says such trials are part of a political strategy
The government of Giorgia Meloni is making strategic use of defamation suits to silence public intellectuals, a philosopher who is being sued by the Italian prime minister’s brother-in-law has claimed.
In the latest of a series of lawsuits drawing on Italy’s comparatively harsh defamation laws, Donatella Di Cesare of Sapienza University in Rome will appear at a criminal court in the Italian capital on 15 May, after a complaint by the agriculture minister, Francesco Lollobrigida, over comments she made comparing one of his speeches to Hitler’s Mein Kampf.
Continue reading...Canberra accuses Chinese fighter jet of dropping flares dangerously close to Australian helicopter
Defence minister Richard Marles says protests made to Beijing over ‘unacceptable’ altercation that forced pilot on UN mission to avoid being hit
The federal government has accused a Chinese fighter jet of dropping flares dangerously close to an Australian helicopter on a United Nations mission in international waters.
The defence minister, Richard Marles, branded the incident “unacceptable”.
Continue reading...SNP activist ‘not leaned on’ to pull out of challenging Swinney for leadership
Depute leader insists Graeme McCormick’s last-minute withdrawal proof party is united
The Scottish National party’s depute leader has denied that a party activist was “leaned on” to pull out of the leadership race against John Swinney.
The party’s depute leader, Keith Brown, said Graeme McCormick’s last-minute decision on Sunday night not to stand against Swinney was proof the party was united and focused on delivering independence.
Continue reading...Drake denies allegations by Kendrick Lamar of underage sex and harbouring secret child
Drake says ‘I feel disgusted’ by allegations, as enmity between rap superstars deepens following weekend flurry of diss tracks
Drake has denied allegations of child sex offences and of him harbouring a secret child, both levelled at him by Kendrick Lamar in recent days.
The enmity between the rap superstars has escalated over a series of diss tracks in the past few weeks, culminating in a flurry of activity during the weekend with three tracks by Lamar and two by Drake.
Continue reading...David McBride: commonwealth prosecutors seek jail sentence for Australian defence whistleblower
Former army lawyer asks for leniency on basis of ‘exemplary character’ after pleading guilty to leaking secret defence documents to media
The commonwealth wants to see army whistleblower David McBride in jail for more than two years for his role in leaking secret defence documents on the Afghanistan war to the media, a court has heard.
At a sentencing hearing on Monday, a decade after McBride first began secretly taking classified documents from the Australian defence force where he worked as an army lawyer, the commonwealth’s counsel, Trish McDonald, said McBride’s actions amounted to “egregious conduct” and affected how defence conducted some operations as well as Australia’s relations with allies.
Continue reading...Vanessa Hudson has provided a soft landing for Qantas as the airline cuts deal with ACCC
While the new CEO has stemmed some of the reputational damage of the past, the $120m fine is a clear success for the ACCC
In agreeing to pay a $100m penalty and compensate tens of thousands of customers to the tune of $20m for selling them tickets on already-cancelled flights, Qantas has abandoned its farcical claim that as an airline it doesn’t sell seats on a specific service, but rather a “bundle of rights”.
For new CEO Vanessa Hudson – who stepped into the top job eight months ago after allegations aired in the consumer watchdog’s legal action against Qantas hastened former boss Alan Joyce’s retirement – the landmark settlement is a retreat from her predecessor’s confrontational style that many argued had trashed the airline’s brand.
Continue reading...Detective allegedly abused position to rape 19-year-old at western Sydney police station, court hears
Glen Coleman did not deny he had sex with the woman at Windsor police station but said it was consensual
After a teenager attended a western Sydney police station to make a sexual crime complaint, a detective abused his position to touch, grope and rape her, a jury has been told.
Glen Coleman met the 19-year-old at Windsor police station in February 2022 after she came in to make a complaint that her cousin had threatened to share naked images of her online.
Continue reading...Child support used as ‘tool of violence’ for economic abuse of women in Australia, report finds
Women’s Legal Services Australia says fathers take ‘extraordinary measures’ to reduce taxable income and support payments
Child support has become a “tool of violence” used to economically abuse women in Australia, new research has found.
Those paying child support are overwhelmingly men and some are coercing and controlling payees – mostly women – through avoiding payment.
Continue reading...Synergy360 boss drops defamation case against Nine – as it happened
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‘Lower the temperature’ on protests at university campuses, education minister says
The education minister was also asked about the pro-Palestine encampments taking place across Australian universities, and whether they should be allowed to continue for as long as students are willing to man them.
There’s always going to be protests in a democracy, that’s part of being a democracy. What there’s no place for is hate or violence or prejudice or discrimination and certainly no place [for] antisemitism or Islamophobia – whether it’s on our university campuses or anywhere else in the country.
What I’d say is that we’ve just got to lower the temperature. You know, what’s happening on the other side of the world is trying to pull our country apart. We’ve got to work together – whether it’s politicians or religious leaders or community leaders, whether it’s the media, or student representatives – to work to keep our country together, not let it get pulled apart.
There’ll be a lot of people who will still be able to work at the same time as they’re doing [placements]. But there are people who can’t [and] this will provide that bit of extra help to pay the bills, put food on the table, pay for transport, sometimes the relocation costs that come with prac.
The commonwealth government hasn’t done this before. This is the first time that this has happened. It’s happened in the in response to calls from students – both teaching students and nursing students and social work students – across the country, and it’s come out of the work for the universities accord team that heard loud and clear that there is placement poverty in this country.
Continue reading...Chalmers says Labor’s budget will be neither ‘scorched-earth austerity’ nor ‘free-for-all of spending’
Ministers promise ‘responsible middle path’ and hint at second consecutive surplus but warn some spending deficits will remain
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The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has declared next week’s budget neither the time for “scorched-earth austerity” nor for unrestrained spending as he hints again at a possible second consecutive surplus.
“The budget is in much better nick than the budget that we inherited almost precisely two years ago,” Chalmers said on Monday.
Continue reading...Weather tracker: torrential rainstorms cause death and destruction in Brazil
This part of South America is no stranger to major rainfall, but last week’s storms were particularly devastating
Torrential rainstorms in Brazil’s southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul have caused the worst flooding the country has seen in 80 years, many deaths and the displacement of thousands of families. Central parts of the state were hit the hardest after the storms began last Monday, with unofficial weather stations in the area recording 50-100cm (20-40in) of rain over the past week.
Widespread floods and landslides have caused major damage to homes and infrastructure, most alarmingly triggering the partial collapse of a small hydroelectric dam on Thursday, which sent a 2-metre-high wave through the surrounding area. At least 57 deaths have been reported and 24,000 people have been displaced, alongside an estimated 500,000 being without power and clean water.
Continue reading...Israeli police raid Al Jazeera, network off air in Israel – Axios
- Israeli police raid Al Jazeera, network off air in Israel Axios
- Israel orders shut down of Al Jazeera in the country, seizes equipment, in ‘dark day for democracy’ CNN
- Israeli Cabinet Votes to Shut Down Al Jazeera's Operations in the Country The New York Times
- Israel orders Al Jazeera to close its local operation and seizes some of its equipment The Associated Press
- Netanyahu's government votes to close Al Jazeera offices in Israel NPR
Xi Jinping arrives in France with Ukraine and EU trade row at top of agenda
On his first visit to Europe since 2019, Xi is set to meet with Emmanuel Macron before heading to Serbia and Hungary
Xi Jinping has lauded China’s ties with France as a model for the international community as he arrived in Paris amid threats of a trade war over Chinese electric cars and French cognac.
On his first visit to the EU in five years, China’s president will meet his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, and the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, who will urge him to reduce trade imbalances and use his influence with Russia over the war in Ukraine.
Continue reading...