Lebanon: UN vehicle torched as Hezbollah supporters protest – DW (English)

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  1. Lebanon: UN vehicle torched as Hezbollah supporters protest  DW (English)
  2. Senior UN peacekeeper injured in convoy attack in Lebanon  BBC.com
  3. Lebanon says 25 arrested after attack on UN peacekeepers  The Times of Israel
  4. UN peacekeeping mission deputy commander injured after convoy attacked in Beirut  Reuters
  5. Lebanon: UN peacekeeping commander injured after convoy attacked by protesters  Sky News
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Southport killer’s sentence will not be referred to court of appeal

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Attorney general declines to refer Axel Rudakubana’s 52-year minimum sentence to unduly lenient sentence scheme

The sentence of the Southport killer will not be referred to the court of appeal under the unduly lenient sentence scheme, the attorney general has said.

Axel Rudakubana, 18, was handed a 52-year minimum sentence for murdering three girls at a dance class, the second-longest sentence imposed by the courts in English history, but the Southport MP Patrick Hurley previously asked the attorney general to review the sentence as “unduly lenient”, saying it is “not severe enough”.

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Rubio Says Arabs Should Offer Alternative to Trump’s Gaza Plan – Bloomberg

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  1. Rubio Says Arabs Should Offer Alternative to Trump’s Gaza Plan  Bloomberg
  2. Arab States Wake Up to Fact That Trump Means What He Says on Gaza  The Wall Street Journal
  3. Trump's Palestinian Plan Has Triggered a New, United and Angry Arab Front  Haaretz
  4. How much longer will Arab leaders let Trump and Netanyahu run amok?  Middle East Eye
  5. Europe works with Arab states on alternative to Donald Trump’s Gaza plan  Financial Times
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Trump and Vance are courting Europe’s far right to spread their political gospel

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US vice-president’s speech and meeting with Germany’s AfD chief signal administration’s wider plans for continent

The Trump administration is making a big bet on Europe’s hard right.

Speaking at a conference of Europe’s leaders in Munich on Friday, the US vice-president JD Vance stunned the room by delivering what amounted to a campaign speech against Germany’s sitting government just one week before an election in which the anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim AfD is set to take second place.

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Luxury London hotel Chiltern Firehouse evacuated after fire breaks out

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Firefighters from across the capital sent to popular venue

The popular celebrity venue Chiltern Firehouse in London will remain closed until further notice after a fire forced about 100 people to evacuate on Friday lunchtime.

The London fire brigade (LFB) said 125 firefighters and 20 fire engines attended the blaze at the restaurant and luxury hotel on Chiltern Street in Marylebone after a 999 call was made at 2.52pm.

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Education minister accused of ‘political interference’ over review of funding for prominent pro-Palestinian academic

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Jason Clare has asked Australian Research Council board to investigate $870,000 grant to Randa Abdel-Fattah, who has faced criticism for controversial comments

Academics have accused the education minister of “arbitrary political interference” in the Australian Research Council after requesting the body’s board investigate the fellowship of a prominent academic and Palestinian advocate.

Randa Abdel-Fattah, the recipient of an ARC Future Fellowship and an academic at Macquarie University, has faced sustained criticism from the Coalition, some Jewish bodies and media outlets for a series of controversial comments, including alleging Zionists had “no claim or right to cultural safety”, and posting “May 2025 be the end of Israel” in the new year and changing her profile picture to a picture of a Palestinian paratrooper after the 7 October attacks.

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Police raid home of Sydney nurse taken to hospital after allegedly threatening Israeli patients on video

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Israeli influencer Max Veifer posts video on Instagram stating: ‘The police are asking me for the unedited version. I have nothing to hide. Here it is’

A Sydney nurse at the centre of a video chat showing two hospital workers allegedly making anti-Israel threats to an Israeli influencer has had their home raided after being taken to hospital due to “welfare concerns”, police say.

New South Wales police confirmed officers from Strike Force Pearl executed a search warrant at a home on Friday night, as part of an ongoing investigation.

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OpenAI rejects $97.4bn Musk bid and says company is not for sale

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Maker of ChatGPT rebuffs consortium led by Tesla owner and rejects ‘latest attempt to disrupt his competition’

OpenAI on Friday rejected a $97.4bn bid from a consortium led by billionaire Elon Musk for the ChatGPT maker, saying the startup is not for sale.

The unsolicited approach is Musk’s latest attempt to block the startup he co-founded with CEO Sam Altman – but later left – from becoming a for-profit firm, as it looks to secure more capital and stay ahead in the AI race.

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High Above Chernobyl, Workers Grapple With Ice, Fire and Nuclear Fears – The New York Times

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  1. High Above Chernobyl, Workers Grapple With Ice, Fire and Nuclear Fears  The New York Times
  2. Drone strikes Chornobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine, Russia says not to blame  Al Jazeera English
  3. IAEA confirms drone attack damaged outer wall of Chernobyl dome  Voice of America
  4. Update 275 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine  International Atomic Energy Agency
  5. U.S.-Russia Talks 'Obsolete' After Chernobyl Drone Strike – Kallas  The Moscow Times
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A drone pierced the outer shell of Ukraine’s Chernobyl nuclear plant. Radiation levels are normal – The Associated Press

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  1. A drone pierced the outer shell of Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear plant. Radiation levels are normal  The Associated Press
  2. High Above Chernobyl, Workers Grapple With Ice, Fire and Nuclear Fears  The New York Times
  3. Ukraine says Russia drone attack hits Chernobyl nuclear plant, radiation levels normal  CNN
  4. Zelenskiy says Russian drone damages Chornobyl plant's radiation shield  Reuters
  5. Ukraine blames Russia for attack on Chernobyl's radiation shield  Yahoo
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Trump agrees to ‘friendly meeting’ with Keir Starmer after making surprise call

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President phoned while PM was with Mark Burnett, the Apprentice producer appointed as ‘special envoy’ to UK

Donald Trump has spoken to Keir Starmer again after what appears to have been a spur-of-the-moment phone call from the US president that was not expected by the British prime minister and his team.

News of the call, which took place on Thursday evening, emerged in a Downing Street statement about Starmer’s meeting with Mark Burnett, the British TV producer whom Trump has appointed as special envoy to the UK.

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