Transgender US military personnel must be identified and stood down, says Pentagon memo

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Being transgender is not compatible with service, court filing says, foreshadowing removal of people from service within 60 days

Transgender service members will be separated from the US military unless they receive an exemption, according to a Pentagon memo filed in court on Wednesday – essentially banning them from joining or serving in the armed forces.

Donald Trump signed an executive order in January that took aim at transgender troops in a personal way – at one point saying that a man identifying as a woman was “not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member”.

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What Donald Trump’s closer ties to Russia mean for China – Financial Times

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  1. What Donald Trump’s closer ties to Russia mean for China  Financial Times
  2. 'China is the real winner': Trump's reversal in Ukraine aids Beijing, Western officials say  NBC News
  3. Great Powers Don't Bluff | Opinion  Newsweek
  4. Trump’s Abrupt Turn to Russia—and Whether a U.S.-Russia Team Could Gain Any Sway in South and Southeast Asia  Council on Foreign Relations
  5. Trump's Russia Pivot Keeps China Guessing On Ukraine  Barron's
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‘I’m still dancing’: Derbyshire woman has 105th birthday rave at care home

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Hilda Jackson and fellow residents partied with strobe lights, glowsticks and drum’n’bass from festival-headliner

It was a birthday party that would do even the most seasoned raver proud, with strobe lighting, glow sticks and a headline act who has played some of the biggest festivals in the UK.

The birthday girl sipped on champagne, while guests helped themselves to free-flowing cocktails from a pop-up bar run by Jägermeister. This was not an Instagram influencer’s Ibiza pool party, however – it was Hilda Jackson’s 105th-birthday rave in her Derbyshire care home.

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Ukraine’s economy could grow by 5% next year if hostilities end, EBRD says

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European reconstruction bank will help rebuild country if peace is agreed but a lasting end to conflict is needed

The war-torn Ukrainian economy could expand by 5% next year if a ceasefire is agreed, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has predicted – but prospects for reconstruction depend on a lasting peace.

The London-based lender has invested $6.2bn (£4.9bn) in projects in Ukraine over the course of the three-year conflict.

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Over 7,000 from scam centers in Myanmar are awaiting repatriation after crackdown – NPR

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  1. Over 7,000 from scam centers in Myanmar are awaiting repatriation after crackdown  NPR
  2. Why Scam Centers in Southeast Asia Keep Flourishing  The New York Times
  3. Thailand's scam centre crackdown not enough, top lawmaker warns  Reuters
  4. 84 Indonesians taken out of scam centers in Myanmar are set to go home  ABC News
  5. 7,000 foreigners in Myanmar await repatriation  Bangkok Post
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With flattery and frank talk, Starmer urges Trump not to abandon Ukraine in press to end Russian war – Yahoo

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  1. With flattery and frank talk, Starmer urges Trump not to abandon Ukraine in press to end Russian war  Yahoo
  2. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer says his country is ready to put "boots on the ground" to support peace deal in Ukraine  CBS News
  3. Keir Starmer sees 'value' in Trump's pursuit of Ukrainian mineral rights deal  NBC News
  4. UK prime minister believes his country will play 'leading part' in maintaining security guarantees for Ukraine  Fox News
  5. UK ready 'to put boots on the ground, planes in the air' to back Ukraine peace deal, Starmer says  Kyiv Independent
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Sadiq Khan aims to add £100bn to London’s economy by 2035

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Capital’s mayor wants return to productivity growth, which has struggled to recover from 2008 financial crisis

Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has announced an ambitious plan to add more than £100bn to the capital’s economy within a decade.

Unveiling what he is calling the London growth plan, Khan said he was allocating hundreds of millions of pounds in devolved funding in an attempt to return the annual productivity growth of the London economy to the levels seen before the 2008 financial crisis.

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Top Democrat says Trump may seek mineral deal with both Russia and Ukraine

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Jeanne Shaheen discusses Trump’s demand that Kyiv grant US firms access to rare-earth reserves for helping end war

Donald Trump may be pursuing a mineral rights deal with Vladimir Putin and Russia as well as with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine, a top Senate Democrat has warned, discussing the US president’s demand that Kyiv grant US firms access to 50% of its rare-earth reserves, as a price for helping end the war three years after Russia invaded.

“I think anything that helps position Ukraine for any peace negotiations is a positive move,” said Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the ranking Democrat on the Senate foreign relations and armed services committee, who recently visited Ukraine.

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UK bumblebee numbers fell to lowest on record in 2024, shows data

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Bumblebees declined by almost a quarter compared with the 2010-2023 average, according to conservation charity

Figures show 2024 was the worst year for bumblebees in the UK since records began.

Bumblebee numbers declined by almost a quarter compared with the 2010-2023 average, according to data from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. The researchers said the drop was probably due to the cold and wet conditions in the UK last spring.

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Merz’s all-male team photo revives question of gender equality in Germany

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Image posted on social media rekindles idea that prospective new chancellor has a Frauenproblem

Six beaming election winners huddled around a table and not a woman among them: a viral social media image of the man likely to be Germany’s next chancellor and his transition team has revived longstanding questions about whether Friedrich Merz can bridge a persistent gender gap.

“Not great optics” was among the more generous of the thousands of comments on the post by Merz’s Bavarian ally Markus Söder, which seemed to hark back to another time.

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Mother had carer’s allowance stopped while with disabled daughter in hospital

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Rachel Adam-Smith says stopping benefits when loved ones are in hospital fails to recognise carers’ ongoing role

The mother of a severely disabled young woman was left in financial hardship after her carer’s allowance was wrongly stopped while her daughter was seriously ill in hospital.

Rachel Adam-Smith, 48, spent five weeks in hospital alongside her 22-year-old daughter who was being treated for severe gastrointestinal issues last month.

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Trump Shocks Europe Into Chasing Billions for Military Buildup – Bloomberg

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  1. Trump Shocks Europe Into Chasing Billions for Military Buildup  Bloomberg
  2. Europe's NATO members take an economic hit : The Indicator from Planet Money  NPR
  3. Von der Leyen floats EU effort to finance missiles, ammunition and air defense  POLITICO Europe
  4. EU prepares biggest defence plan since Cold War: hundreds of billions of euros for security  Ukrainska Pravda
  5. Opinion | Europe Scrambles to Rearm, Sort Of  The Wall Street Journal
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Former NSW Liberal MP pleads not guilty to sexually assaulting teenage boy

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Rory Amon committed to stand trial on 10 separate charges, including sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 14

A former New South Wales Liberal MP has been committed to stand trial over multiple alleged sexual assaults.

Rory Amon is accused of sexually assaulting a teenage boy he knew on Sydney’s northern beaches in 2017.

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Trump plans to cut more than 90% of USAid foreign aid contracts

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Internal memo and court filings reveal president to also eliminate $60bn in overall US assistance around world

The Trump administration said it is eliminating more than 90% of the US Agency for International Development’s foreign aid contracts and $60bn in overall US assistance around the world.

The cuts detailed by the administration would leave few surviving USAid projects for advocates to try to save in what are current court battles with the administration.

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