- ‘It was revenge for our movie’: Oscar winner says soldiers helped settlers attack him in West Bank The Guardian
- How ‘No Other Land’ Became an Unlikely Box Office Success The New York Times
- Palestinian Oscar winner feared for his life during Israeli settler attack Al Jazeera English
- Oscar-winning Palestinian director says Israeli soldiers beat him after attack by settlers The Associated Press
- Oscar-winning Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal released by Israeli forces NBC News
Intelligence chiefs deny they discussed war plans on Signal in House hearing
National intelligence head Tulsi Gabbard and CIA director John Ratcliffe argue ‘no classified information’ was leaked
US intelligence chiefs on Wednesday denied breaking the law or revealing classified information in a group chat where they discussed details of air strikes on Yemen in the presence of a journalist, despite allegations from Democrats that the leak was reckless and possibly illegal.
The director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, and CIA director, John Ratcliffe, were giving their second day of congressional testimony on global threats facing the United States, which Democratic lawmakers seized on to condemn their use of the Signal app to discuss arrangements to bomb the Houthis in a group that included Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic.
Continue reading...Aboriginal women are scared to seek help for fear their children will be taken, report finds
Human Rights Watch spoke to 33 Aboriginal parents who between them have had 114 children removed and placed in out-of-home care
Warning: this story contains distressing descriptions of violence
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Briana* was just starting to get a handle on the unpredictability of feeding, bottles and all that comes with a newborn when she received an email informing her she had lost custody of her three-month-old son.
Days later, child protection authorities took her child. With him, they took many of the milestones the 36-year-old first-time mother was looking forward to. “I’m going to miss those first words, the first rollover, everything,” she says.
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Continue reading...Groceries are getting more expensive at Woolworths but cheaper at Coles, report finds
Choice price tracker finds cost of shopping at Aldi barely changed between March and December 2024 in quarterly assessment of 14 common items
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The cost of groceries at Woolworths has gone up even when factoring in specials, while prices at Coles decreased and Aldi’s remained relatively stable, according to Choice’s latest supermarket price tracker.
The consumer advocacy group has released its fourth quarterly report, funded by the federal government, into supermarket prices, which it assesses by purchasing a basket of 14 common grocery items from different stores.
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Continue reading...Brisbane Olympics infrastructure body urges LNP to fast-track controversial venues with special laws
Save Victoria Park says it has briefed barristers and could launch a legal challenge to protect the site
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The infrastructure authority for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games is pushing the Queensland government to suspend normal procurement rules and consider special planning laws to fast-track the approval and construction of controversial new venues.
The Queensland government announced its venues plan for the Olympics on Tuesday, including plans to build a new stadium in the heritage-listed Victoria Park, Brisbane’s largest inner-city parkland.
Continue reading...Service Members Admit: Yep, We Swiped Paddington – Newser
- Service Members Admit: Yep, We Swiped Paddington Newser
- Vandals of Paddington Statue Were ‘Antithesis’ of Beloved Bear, Judge Says The New York Times
- Paddington Bear statue: RAF engineers admit damage BBC.com
- Judge accuses RAF pair of ‘wanton vandalism’ for destroying Paddington Bear statue | Children The Guardian
- How Paddington took over the justice system The Spectator
More than 3m Britons to lose out from benefits cuts
Families forecast to lose an average of £1,720 a year, according to official government analysis
More than 3 million people will lose out as a result of the government’s sweeping cuts to welfare, according to the official government analysis, with families losing an average of £1,720 a year.
The official assessment of the impact of the benefits cuts – including a sharper-than-expected cut to universal credit payments – shows those eligible for disability payments will be hit the hardest.
Continue reading...Sweden to increase defence spending sharply to 3.5% of GDP – Financial Times
- Sweden to increase defence spending sharply to 3.5% of GDP Financial Times
- Sweden plans largest military buildup since the Cold War amid Russia threat and uncertain US-EU ties The Associated Press
- Sweden targets $30B increase in defense spending, to hit 3.5% of GDP by 2030 Breaking Defense
- Sweden Raises Defense Spending Target to 3.5% of GDP by 2030 Bloomberg
- Sweden to boost defence spending $30 bn over a decade Herald Palladium
Russian strikes show Moscow does not want ‘real peace’, says Zelenskyy
Ukraine’s president says drone attacks just hours after ceasefire talks were ‘a clear signal to the whole world’
Ukraine’s president has accused Russia of being insincere about making peace as he reported an attack by 117 drones, before he headed to Paris for a discussion with EU and Nato leaders about establishing a post-conflict security force.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that launching nationwide strikes after negotiations over maritime and energy ceasefires was proof of Russia’s true intentions, though the Kremlin insisted the US-brokered talks were proceeding constructively.
Continue reading...People doing intense exercise experience time warp, study finds
Research suggests those who push themselves when working out perceive time to move more slowly
If your sessions at the gym seem to drag on for hours, you are in good company. People who push themselves when working out report a form of time warp, making it feel as if they have been exercising for longer than they have, researchers say.
Adults who took part in 4km cycling trials on exercise bikes perceived time to have slowed down, scientists said, with the cyclists underestimating how long they had been pedalling for by about 10%.
Continue reading...Trump officials pause some green card applications in immigration crackdown
Approved refugees reportedly affected by freeze on processing after Trump demands more aggressive vetting
The Trump administration has paused the processing of certain green card applications as the US government continues to implement a hardline immigration agenda.
CBS News reported that approved refugees are part of the processing freeze, as the White House enacts an effort to more aggressively vet immigrants to the US.
Continue reading...What Palestinians in Gaza say about Israel’s ‘Migration Directorate’
Israel plans to establish a government agency to oversee the "voluntary departure" of Palestinians from Gaza.
Newly shared Signal messages show Trump advisers discussed Yemen attack plans
The Atlantic releases more text from chat after Trump officials claimed none of it was ‘classified information’
The Atlantic magazine has published fresh messages from a group chat including top US officials where they discuss operational details of plans to bomb Yemen.
The initial revelations by the magazine and its editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, who was accidentally added to the chat on the messaging app Signal, have sparked a huge outcry in the US, with the Trump administration facing withering attacks over the disastrous leak of sensitive information.
Continue reading...Europe wants to pour billions of dollars into its own defense companies — but market watchers say it may not be able to shut American firms out – CNBC
- Europe wants to pour billions of dollars into its own defense companies — but market watchers say it may not be able to shut American firms out CNBC
- Europe Talks Tough on Military Spending, but Unity Is Fracturing The New York Times
- Southern Europe rebuffs von der Leyen’s debt-based defense plan POLITICO Europe
- EU not ready for Eurobonds to boost defence spending, says Commissioner Kubilius Euronews
- 'War economy:' Is the European 'peace project' at risk? DW (English)
Iowa law banning books including 1984 and Ulysses blocked by US federal judge
Judge rules that law banning school libraries and classrooms from carrying books depicting sex acts had been applied unconstitutionally
A lawsuit brought by publishers and authors including John Green and Jodi Picoult has led to a portion of a law banning Iowa school libraries and classrooms from carrying books depicting sex acts being halted.
On Tuesday, a federal judge temporarily blocked the measure, writing that it had been applied unconstitutionally in many schools and that books of “undeniable political, artistic, literary, and/or scientific value” had been caught up in it, including Ulysses by James Joyce, Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, Beloved by Toni Morrison and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.
Continue reading...Woman tells court Gérard Depardieu groped her buttocks and breasts on set
Film assistant says actor groped her several times in three incidents while filming Les Volets Verts
The French actor Gérard Depardieu sexually assaulted an assistant director on three occasions while she was working with him on a film shoot, placing his hands on her buttocks and breasts, leaving her feeling “petrified”, the woman told Paris’s criminal court on Wednesday.
Depardieu – the biggest French cinema star to face trial for sexual assault since the #MeToo movement – is charged with sexually assaulting the assistant director three times during the shooting of the feature film Les Volets Verts (The Green Shutters) in Paris in 2021.
Continue reading...Israel embraces France’s far-right, turning a blind eye to its Nazi past – CNN
- Israel embraces France’s far-right, turning a blind eye to its Nazi past CNN
- How Antisemites Got Invited to an Antisemitism Conference Haaretz
- Israel's antisemitism strategy: Picking political allies over Diaspora Jews - opinion The Jerusalem Post
- Israel’s antisemitism confab to start amid controversy over far-right invitees The Times of Israel
- Israel's antisemitism conference kicks off amid criticism DW (English)
Hegseth Addresses Indo-Pacom Partnerships During First Trip to Region – Department of Defense
- Hegseth Addresses Indo-Pacom Partnerships During First Trip to Region Department of Defense
- Tokyo frets about durability of US alliance ahead of visit by Pete Hegseth Financial Times
- Hegseth to fly to the Philippines and Japan in first visit to Asian treaty allies at odds with China The Associated Press
- China Sends Ominous Warning to US Ally: 'Playing With Fire' Newsweek
- Hegseth’s Asia Tour Won’t Fix US Credibility Crisis Bloomberg
Airbus chairman sees ‘strong indications’ an emboldened Putin is mobilizing forces to attack NATO’s eastern flank – Fortune
Former Citibank exec settles maternity discrimination case for £215,000
Maeve Bradley, who worked for Citibank in Belfast, lost out on expected promotion after having a baby
A former Citibank employee has received £215,000 in a discrimination settlement after she lost out on an expected promotion when she returned from having a baby.
Maeve Bradley, who had worked at the American bank’s offices in Belfast as an assistant vice-president of derivatives since March 2021, took maternity leave in 2023 and said she was devastated to be offered a different role on her return.
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