Major staff cuts on table at Victorian magistrates court, threatening Allan government’s crime crackdown

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Potential cuts expected to more than 25% of backroom staff, underlining challenge for state government crippled by debt but trying to bolster public safety

The Victorian magistrates court is considering cutting more than a quarter of its backroom staff despite its workload likely increasing as the Allan government presses ahead with “tough on crime” policies.

Leaked documents show it is proposed that 24 out of 92 staff from the courts’ corporate services department are made redundant, including those working in family violence and legal policy areas.

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‘Proud to’: Liberal MP spruiks tougher gambling proposal, but says Coalition plans good ‘first step’

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Exclusive: Keith Wolahan launched ads supporting stronger stance two days after federal election called, but also says Coalition policy important ‘first step’

A Liberal moderate who was part of a bipartisan parliamentary committee that urged the federal government to adopt a total ban on gambling advertising has paid for campaign material, stating he was “proud to” do so, inadvertently highlighting different policy positions within the Coalition.

The Coalition has resisted calls from advocates to take a policy to the election that would ban gambling advertising outright, instead pledging to ban “gambling ads one hour before, during and one hour after live sports broadcasts”.

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Cardinal Krajewski: 20 years ago, the world stood still, knelt, and wept – Vatican News

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  1. Cardinal Krajewski: 20 years ago, the world stood still, knelt, and wept  Vatican News
  2. Pope St. John Paul II's prophecy of peace, 20 years later  Vatican News
  3. John Paul II Embodied the Heroism of Christian Holiness  National Catholic Register
  4. Poland remembers the hour of the death of beloved pope as unifying moment  Catholic Review
  5. Pope St. John Paul II, Doctor of the Church?  Catholic World Report
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‘I never realised something wasn’t right’: Carlo Ancelotti denies €1m tax fraud

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  • Manager accused of failing to pay tax due on image rights
  • Italian claims salary arrangement seemed ‘quite normal’

The Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti, who is on trial for allegedly defrauding Spain’s tax office of more than €1m in undeclared earnings from image rights, has told a court he believed his financial affairs were in order and “never thought a fraud could have been committed”.

Prosecutors allege the 65-year-old former Chelsea and Everton manager used shell companies outside Spain to conceal “the real beneficiary of the income from the exploitation of his image rights” in 2014 and 2015. They are seeking a jail term of four years and nine months and a fine of €3.2m.

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India’s parliament set to debate controversial law on Muslim endowments – AP News

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  1. India’s parliament set to debate controversial law on Muslim endowments  AP News
  2. Waqf bill: Indian MPs debate controversial bill on Muslim properties  BBC
  3. Amit Shah recalls Lalu Prasad's 2013 speech on Waqf bill: ‘PM Modi fulfilling his wishes now’  Hindustan Times
  4. "Waqf For Poor Muslims, Not Theft," Says Amit Shah In Lok Sabha  NDTV
  5. Waqf land: Waqf Boards owned 18 lakh acres in 100 years, added 21 lakh acres in last 12  India Today
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Macron weighs in on Le Pen verdict for first time: ‘The law is the same for everyone’ – politico.eu

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  1. Macron weighs in on Le Pen verdict for first time: ‘The law is the same for everyone’  politico.eu
  2. Marine Le Pen's ban outraged France's far right - and they may well take revenge  BBC
  3. The EU Parliament has transparency problems. Marine Le Pen's case is a window into what's wrong  AP News
  4. Judge who barred France's Le Pen gets police protection as Macron condemns threats  Reuters
  5. The Le Pen ruling is good for liberal democracy, writes Tarik Abou-Chadi  The Economist
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Italian police increase security at Tesla dealerships after 17 cars destroyed in Rome fire

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State police anti-terrorism unit investigating whether blaze in Torre Angela was started by anarchists

Italy’s interior ministry has written to police forces across the country to increase security at Tesla dealerships after 17 of the electric cars made by Elon Musk’s company were destroyed in a fire in Rome.

Italy’s state police anti-terrorism unit, Digos, is investigating whether the fire at the Tesla dealership in Torre Angela, a suburb in the east of the capital, was started by anarchists.

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Norovirus outbreak hits more than 240 people on luxury cruise ship – CNN

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  1. Norovirus outbreak hits more than 240 people on luxury cruise ship  CNN
  2. Over 200 passengers sickened with norovirus aboard luxury cruise ship  ABC7 Los Angeles
  3. More than 230 People Infected With Norovirus on Luxury Cruise Ship  The New York Times
  4. 241 passengers, crew sickened with norovirus on luxury cruise ship  CBS News
  5. 241 sickened with norovirus on Cunard's Queen Mary 2 flagship liner  upi.com
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Israel’s Netanyahu heads to Hungary, defying ICC arrest warrant – Reuters

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  1. Israel's Netanyahu heads to Hungary, defying ICC arrest warrant  Reuters
  2. Netanyahu jets to Orbán’s Hungary, a safe haven from his international arrest warrant  CNN
  3. Israeli leader Netanyahu will visit Hungary, defying an international arrest warrant  AP News
  4. Israel’s Netanyahu heads to Hungary in defiance of ICC arrest warrant  Al Jazeera
  5. Hungary likely to withdraw from ICC during Netanyahu’s visit  The Times of Israel
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Death Sentences Commuted for 3 Americans Over Failed Congo Coup – The New York Times

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  1. Death Sentences Commuted for 3 Americans Over Failed Congo Coup  The New York Times
  2. DRC president commutes death sentences for 3 Americans convicted in coup attempt  CNN
  3. Death sentence overturned for three Americans over DR Congo coup attempt  BBC
  4. DR Congo spares three convicted US coup accomplices of capital punishment  Al Jazeera
  5. Congo commutes death sentences for US citizens in failed coup  Reuters
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Protests broke out against Hamas in Gaza. What do Palestinians think about the militant group? – AP News

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  1. Protests broke out against Hamas in Gaza. What do Palestinians think about the militant group?  AP News
  2. Opinion | In Gaza, ‘Psychic Scars of Fear and Rage’  The New York Times
  3. Parsing Anti-Hamas Protests and Pro-Israel PR  Jewish Currents
  4. Opinion | Why I and thousands of my fellow Gazans say Hamas’s tyranny must end  The Washington Post
  5. EXCLUSIVE: The Family of a Murdered Gaza Protester Speaks Out  The Free Press
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