Tram collision in Strasbourg leaves dozens injured

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Rescue services treat 100 more people for shock or stress after collision in tunnel leading to central train station

Two trams collided in Strasbourg in eastern France on Saturday, causing dozens of injuries, though none critical, authorities said. The accident took place during the afternoon in a tunnel leading to the city’s central train station.

An additional 100 people, though uninjured, were assessed for shock or stress, said René Cellier, director of the Bas-Rhin fire and rescue service. Emergency services deployed 130 firefighters, 50 rescue vehicles and established a wide safety perimeter.

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Over 100 famous works by Australian authors rescued from oblivion by literary heritage endeavour

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Three-year project returns out-of-print classics – including six Miles Franklin winners – to circulation and into ebook format for the first time

More than 160 books by noted Australian authors have been rescued from oblivion, including six winners of the Miles Franklin literary award.

The three-year project, which culminated at the end of last year, has put out-of-print titles by Thea Astley, Mem Fox, Charmian Clift and Anita Heiss back in circulation and into ebook format for the first time.

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UK can be ‘AI sweet spot’: Starmer’s tech minister on regulation, Musk, and free speech

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Technology secretary Peter Kyle has the task of making Britain a leading player in the AI revolution, but says economic growth will not come at the cost of online safety

With the NHS still struggling, a prisons crisis still teetering and Britain’s borrowing costs soaring, there are few easy jobs going in Keir Starmer’s cabinet at present.

But even in such difficult times, the task of convincing Silicon Valley’s finest to help make Britain a leader in the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution – all while one leading tech boss uses the Labour government as a regular punching bag and others ostentatiously move closer to Donald Trump – is among the most challenging.

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Tech giants told UK online safety laws ‘not up for negotiation’

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Senior cabinet minister promises not to dilute new measures despite Zuckerberg’s attacks on countries ‘censoring’ content

Britain’s new laws to boost safety and tackle hate speech online are “not up for negotiation”, a senior government minister has warned, after Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg vowed to join Donald Trump to pressure countries they regard as “censoring” content.

In an interview with the Observer, Peter Kyle, the technology secretary, said that the recent laws designed to make online platforms safer for children and vulnerable people would never be diluted to help the government woo big tech companies to the UK in its defining pursuit for economic growth.

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Russia Says U.S. Risks Global Energy Instability With New Sanctions – The Moscow Times

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  1. Russia Says U.S. Risks Global Energy Instability With New Sanctions  The Moscow Times
  2. Biden admin imposes harsh sanctions on Russian oil industry to cut off funding for Ukraine war effort  CNN
  3. U.S. Imposes New Sanctions to Squeeze Russia’s Energy Sector  The New York Times
  4. Crude prices jump as U.S. imposes sweeping sanctions against Russia oil industry  CNBC
  5. Why Biden’s Farewell Russian Oil Trade Sanctions Are a Big Deal  Bloomberg
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Gloom and pessimism take hold of Democrats as they look for new leaders

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Questions about the viability of a female presidential candidate rise after a crushing presidential defeat

Democrats are harboring strong feelings of stress and gloom as the new year begins. And many are questioning whether their party’s commitment to diverse candidates – especially women – may lead to further political struggles as Donald Trump is sworn in for a second presidency on 20 January.

A recent poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that a significant number of Democrats believe that it may be decades before the United States will get its first female president.

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‘He is peddling stories’: Bob Woodward denies Republican’s claim he said Biden was corrupt

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Washington Post reporter says he never made comments to James Comer published in the congressman’s new book

The Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward forcefully denied making statements attributed to him by James Comer, the Republican chair of the powerful House oversight committee, in which Woodward supposedly said Joe Biden was financially corrupt.

“The statements attributed to me in what is apparently his book are false,” Woodward said. “I made none of those statements he attributes to me. I repeat none, and not even in a paraphrased form.”

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Reeves’ drive for growth seeks China lifeline after UK market turmoil

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Chancellor’s mission to Beijing weighted with greater expectations

Rachel Reeves hailed a new era of “respectful and consistent future relations with China” as pressure grew on the embattled ­chancellor to deliver on her government’s central promise to fire up UK economic growth.

After meeting China’s vice-­premier, He Lifeng, in Beijing, Reeves said Britain’s relationship with the world’s second largest economy would be “frank and open on areas where we disagree”, while stressing it would be pragmatic in ­“finding opportunities for safe trade and investment”.

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How Elon Musk has meddled in European affairs – The Guardian

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  1. How Elon Musk has meddled in European affairs  The Guardian
  2. Elon Musk helped Trump win. Now he's looking at Europe, and many politicians are alarmed  NBC Washington
  3. Musk urges Germans to vote for AfD in latest involvement in European politics  CNN
  4. Spain's prime minister joins foreign leaders concerned with Musk's interest in European politics  The Associated Press
  5. Elon Musk's latest foray into politics: a live chat with Germany's far-right candidate  NPR
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How Elon Musk has meddled in European affairs

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From bashing Keir Starmer to promoting the AfD, the X owner is not shy about intervening

A limited – at best – understanding of the continent of Europe and its component countries has not prevented the world’s richest man from intervening in the domestic politics of several of them, as well as attacking the EU itself.

Here we take a brief look at some of the occasions on which X owner Elon Musk has used his position as proprietor of one of the world’s largest social media platforms to meddle in the internal affairs of sovereign democratic states outside the US.

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Friend of British hiker missing in Italy voices ‘acceptance’ as search continues

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Joe Stone says authorities ‘trying everything’ to find Aziz Ziriat after body of Sam Harris discovered on Wednesday

A close friend of a British hiker who has been missing in the Dolomites since New Year’s Day has said “there is an acceptance that it won’t be good news” as search efforts continued.

Sam Harris, 35, and Aziz Ziriat, 36, from London, last sent messages home on 1 January and the pair did not check in to their flight home on 6 January. Friends and relatives have travelled to Italy.

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Thousands gather in Germany to protest far-right AfD congress – Al Jazeera English

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  1. Thousands gather in Germany to protest far-right AfD congress  Al Jazeera English
  2. Co-leader of Germany’s far-right AfD calls for mass deportations  Financial Times
  3. Far-right party’s convention draws protests as Germany’s election campaign warms up  The Associated Press
  4. Protesters stage blockade as AfD holds conference before German elections  The Guardian
  5. Protesters chanting ‘no to Nazis’ block access to AfD party congress  POLITICO Europe
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‘So immoral’: gig economy workers forced to pay fee to receive their wages

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Retail assistants on low pay using YoungOnes platform docked cash or told to wait up to 30 days for earnings

Retail assistants have accused a gig economy firm of “holding them to ransom” by making them pay a fee if they want to receive their wages within a month.

A new payment system brought in by YoungOnes, which supplies “freelance” retail assistants to many well-known high street stores, charges gig workers 4.8% of their earnings to be paid in one minute or 2.9% to be paid in three days. If they decline, they typically have to wait 30 days. Previously the workers were paid in three days, without a charge.

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Search for missing sisters in Aberdeen extended to coast

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Eliza and Henrietta Huszti last seen near Victoria Bridge in city centre in early hours of Tuesday

The search for two sisters, who went missing in Aberdeen on Tuesday morning, has been extended to the coast, police said.

Eliza and Henrietta Huszti – who are part of a set of triplets – were last seen in the city on Market Street at Victoria Bridge at about 2.12am on Tuesday.

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One of four lynx captured in the Scottish Highlands dies – The Associated Press

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  1. One of four lynx captured in the Scottish Highlands dies  The Associated Press
  2. Illegally released lynx captured in Scottish Highlands dies  The Independent
  3. Fears of ‘rogue rewilding’ in Scottish Highlands after further lynx sightings | Scotland  The Guardian
  4. Two lynx cats spotted loose in Scotland after two others captured  UPI News
  5. Four Lynx Have Been Illegally Released Into the Scottish Highlands. Officials Think ‘Guerrilla Rewilding’ Is to Blame  Smithsonian Magazine
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IAF strikes Hamas command center embedded within school in Jabaliya – The Jerusalem Post

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  1. IAF strikes Hamas command center embedded within school in Jabaliya  The Jerusalem Post
  2. Israeli siege of north Gaza leaves 5,000 dead, missing after 100 days  Al Jazeera English
  3. Gaza: Israel bombs school sheltering displaced people  Vatican News - English
  4. Gaza death toll has been significantly underreported, study finds  CNN
  5. Researchers Say Study Shows Gaza Death Toll Far Exceeds Official Figures  Haaretz
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