Brisbane schools and public transport shut as Cyclone Alfred to hit later than expected
Parts of Queensland and NSW prepare as BoM weather forecast shows Alfred making landfall between Maroochydore and Coolangatta
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Schools, airports, public transport and most businesses are beginning to shut down in Brisbane and across south-east Queensland, as authorities advised Tropical Cyclone Alfred will likely arrive later than expected.
Advice to residents is now that Alfred’s track to the coast has slowed, and that it will likely cross the southeast Queensland coast at some point on Friday.
Continue reading...Starmer highlights UK’s war record in implicit rebuke to Vance as Lib Dems mock Badenoch for defending him – as it happened
Interventions follow US vice president’s comments about ‘20,000 troops from some random country that has not fought a war in 40 years’. This live blog is closed
In response to a question about intelligence cooperation with the US, Sir David Manning, a former ambassador to Washington, said he thought this would become “more difficult” because there was a problem of trust. He explained:
If you have some of Trump’s appointees in these key jobs who have very strange track records, and have said very strange things about Nato allies, the Nato alliance and so on, and you have people in the administration who seem to be, let’s say, looking for ways of appeasing Russia, then you have a problem on the intelligence front, because these are not the values that we have.
Continue reading...Middle East crisis: Netanyahu tells new military chief Israel ‘determined’ to achieve victory – as it happened
Lt Gen Eyal Zamir says that mission to defeat Hamas is ‘not accomplished’ amid deadlock over ceasefire negotiations
An Israeli rights group says Israel demolished a record number of Palestinian homes in annexed East Jerusalem last year, reports the Associated Press (AP).
Ir Amim, which closely tracks settlement activity and demolitions in the city, said on Wednesday that 181 homes were destroyed last year, in addition to dozens of other structures.
It said that more recently, Israel appears to have dropped a longstanding policy against demolishing homes during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began last weekend. It said a residential building and three apartments have been destroyed over the past week, according to the AP.
Rights groups say discriminatory policies make it nearly impossible for Palestinians to expand or redevelop their neighbourhoods in East Jerusalem, forcing many to build without permits. Israel also demolishes the family homes of Palestinians who carry out attacks, reports the AP.
The US state department has reinstated the “foreign terrorist organization” designation for Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi group, fulfilling an order announced by Donald Trump shortly after he took office.
Continue reading...Exposure to combination of pesticides increases childhood cancer risk – study
Study on cancer data in US agricultural heartland finds children more at risk than if exposed to just one pesticide
Exposure to multiple pesticides significantly increases the risk of childhood cancers compared to exposures to just one pesticide, first-of-its-kind research finds, raising new fears that children are more at risk to the substances’ harmful effects than previously thought.
The study’s authors say they are the first to look at the link between exposures to multiple widely used pesticides and the most common childhood cancers. Most research considers pesticides’ toxicity on an individual basis, and the substances are regulated as if exposures occur in isolation from one another.
Continue reading...IRS workforce ‘could halve’ after Trump hails cuts to federal staffing in marathon Congress speech – US politics live
Federal agencies have until 13 March to formulate staff reduction plans as allies and critics react to Trump’s marathon Congress speech
The Trump administration has listed over 300 buildings for sale in a further move to gut the federal government. It describes the properties as “not core to government operations”.
In a posting to US general services administration website, the administration says the 320 properties across multiple states are “designated for disposal”.
We are identifying buildings and facilities that are not core to government operations, or non-core properties for disposal. Selling ensures that taxpayer dollars are no longer spent on vacant or underutilized federal spaces. Disposing of these assets helps eliminate costly maintenance and allows us to reinvest in high-quality work environments that support agency missions.
I also have a message tonight for the incredible people of Greenland. We strongly support your right to determine your own future. And if you choose, we welcome you into the US.
We need Greenland for national security and even international security. And we’re working with everybody involved to try and get it. But we need it really for international world security. And I think we’re going to get it — one way or the other, we’re going to get it.
Continue reading...Why is America afraid of ‘No Other Land’?
The widely acclaimed film has failed to find a US distributor because it reveals truths Americans should not see.
Tesla’s UK sales rise despite threat of backlash over Musk’s political role
Sales of battery-powered cars jumped in February, with Model 3 and Model Y most popular after Mini Cooper
Sales of Teslas in the UK rose by more than a fifth last month as demand for battery-powered cars increased, despite the prospect of a buyer backlash over Elon Musk’s controversial and divisive behaviour since becoming a key figure in Donald Trump’s administration.
Almost 4,000 Teslas were sold in the UK in February, with the Model 3 and Model Y proving the second and third most popular after the Mini Cooper, according to the latest new car registration figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Continue reading...Kabul bombing suspect arrested: What it means for US-Pakistan relations
US thanks Pakistan for helping arrest the 'mastermind' behind Kabul bombing, but analysts say ties still need a reset.
What is Ukraine’s new peace plan that Zelenskyy presented to Trump?
Zelenskyy has said he is eager to negotiate peace, a day after Trump moved to pause military aid to Ukraine.
TPS ending for Springfield Haitians: 5 things to know – Dayton Daily News
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- Lawsuit challenges Trump's end to Haitian, Venezuelan deportation protections Reuters
- Exclusive | Trump moves to close 'humanitarian parole' loophole for 500,000+ migrants New York Post
- Midwestern cities fear fallout of Trump revoking Haitian residents’ status The Guardian US
What it’s like to travel as a woman in Saudi Arabia – CNN
Pope Francis: Like Mary and Joseph, let’s search for the Lord with hope – Vatican News – English
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- For those who embrace Christ’s love, death is not the end, pope writes The Catholic Weekly
- Pope Francis shines light on Bible’s elderly ‘pilgrims of hope’ in Wednesday catechesis Catholic News Agency
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- Pope Francis urges acceptance of mortality in Lenten Message amid health struggles Orthodox Times - Orthodoxtimes.com
US actor Jesse Eisenberg gets Polish citizenship
The star wrote and directed a film about two cousins who travel to Poland to honour their grandmother.
Zambia government’s neglect exposing more children to lead poison, HRW says
Report says more than 95 percent of children in the central town of Kabwe had elevated levels of lead in their blood.
Key court hearing as Alabama threatens prosecutions over abortion support
Experts say victory for state could give green light for other states to attack those who help women travel for procedure
A bellwether test of states’ ability to prosecute people over abortions that take place across state lines will hold a critical hearing on Wednesday, when Alabama abortion rights supporters will square off against the state attorney general over his threats to prosecute groups that help women travel for the procedure.
In the months after the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade in 2022, clearing the way for Alabama to ban virtually all abortions, Alabama attorney general Steve Marshall repeatedly suggested that abortion rights activists who help people go out of state for abortions could be charged as participants in an illegal conspiracy. The Yellowhammer Fund, an abortion fund that helped people pay for the procedure, and the West Alabama Women’s Center, a former abortion clinic that pivoted to providing services like miscarriage management, joined with other abortion rights advocates to sue Marshall over his comments.
Continue reading...How Trump’s “bad manners undermine his geopolitics” – Salon
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- America’s Friends Are Not Amused by Trump’s Bravado POLITICO
- Donald Trump has begun a mafia-like struggle for global power The Economist
- Trump's new world order: Strongmen make the rules Axios
- America vs. The World: Trump Shows How Far He Is Willing to Take ‘America First.’ The New York Times
Russia ‘will never agree’ to European peacekeepers in Ukraine, Lukashenko says – ABC News
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- Trump insists Putin wants peace. But the war is raging – and Ukrainian civilians are dying CNN
- Trump expresses hope Russia's war in Ukraine is nearing an endgame as he meets with France's Macron The Associated Press
- After Trump comments, Kremlin reaffirms opposition to European peacekeepers in Ukraine Reuters
- How Trump is proceeding on the future of Ukraine's war with Russia CBS News
SPT Main Event | 2025 SunBet Poker Tour Time Square – PokerNews
Exile is ‘a little bit less than death’ for lawyer forced to flee Guatemala
Virginia Laparra spent two years in prison after reporting her suspicion that a judge leaked sealed details of a case
A Guatemalan anti-corruption prosecutor forced into exile after being pursued by the country’s conservative elite has said that leaving the country was the only way to save her life but was only “a little bit less than death”.
Virginia Laparra, 45, spent two years in prison for allegedly abusing her position after she reported her suspicion that a judge had leaked sensitive details from a sealed corruption case to a colleague in 2017.
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