New Caledonia polls open in first local vote in the French territory since 2019

Election will determine balance of power in New Caledonia before fresh negotiations with France on the territory’s status

Polls opened in the French overseas territory of New Caledonia on Sunday for the archipelago’s first provincial elections since 2019, after the vote was delayed as talks stalled over its political future.

The election, initially planned for 2024, will determine the balance of power in New Caledonia ahead of fresh negotiations with France on the territory’s status, with independence remaining the defining political issue.

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Australia news live: auction clearance rates continue to hover under 50% as Chalmers defends tax reform plan

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Big tech not cooperating ‘as much as we’d like them to’: Watt

Federal cabinet minister Murray Watt, says the government knows it’s needed to take more action to ensure social media giants are complying with a ban for under 16s that came into effect in December.

These laws were brand new, never developed anywhere in the world. And what we’ve learned is that the powers that the safety commissioner has do need to be beefed up, also to give her powers across things like age assurance tools. So things that sit outside the social media platforms themselves, but compelling them to provide information so that she can do her job even better.

The pace of change is accelerating, the global and generational pressures are intensifying, and people have got legitimate concerns about where they fit in that, and then we’ve got the anger industry, and parties of the populist right trying to make that worse rather than trying to make that better.

It is a difficult time around the world to be an incumbent government, from our point of view. We are using the power of incumbency to take real action, to deliver cost-of-living help, to deliver real change. The best antidote to anger is action … The Albanese Labour government has chosen to address those concerns rather than dismiss them.

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Live Updates: Latest from Israel, Iran, and Middle East – The Jerusalem Post

  1. Live Updates: Latest from Israel, Iran, and Middle East  The Jerusalem Post
  2. Live updates • IDF: Israeli soldier killed in clash with Hezbollah militant in southern Lebanon  Haaretz
  3. IDF soldier killed in clash with Hezbollah gunman in south Lebanon  The Times of Israel
  4. IDF Reservist Dies in Southern Lebanon as Withdrawal is Contested  IFCJ
  5. Israeli soldier killed in southern Lebanon  Middle East Eye
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Israeli politicians lash out after Netanyahu announces intention of ‘broad national government’ – Yahoo

  1. Israeli politicians lash out after Netanyahu announces intention of 'broad national government'  Yahoo
  2. Benjamin Netanyahu announces government plans, Knesset members lash out  The Jerusalem Post
  3. Netanyahu: Opposition to Palestinian state, desire to avert 'civil war' can form base of broad government I lead  The Times of Israel
  4. Netanyahu says he wants broad coalition after Israel election  Middle East Eye
  5. Netanyahu’s call for a broad national unity government sparks angry reactions from both the coalition and the opposition  i24NEWS
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Explosions, fires reported in Kyiv amid Russian missile attack – The Kyiv Independent

  1. Explosions, fires reported in Kyiv amid Russian missile attack  The Kyiv Independent
  2. Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv hit with ballistic missiles, as civilians killed by drone strikes in Russia  The Guardian
  3. Russian Nighttime Attacks on Kyiv, Dnipro and Chernihiv Injure 6 and Damage Civilian Infrastructure  Kyiv Post
  4. ADF neutralizes seven missiles, 125 Russian drones since yesterday evening  Ukrinform - Ukrainian National News Agency
  5. Authorities declare air raid alert in Kyiv as Russian strike drones approach  mezha.net
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Four people have died from flash floods in Kentucky, governor says

Floods caused by thunderstorms that have dumped inches of rain on Kentucky and Indiana, with more possible

Andy Beshear, the Kentucky governor, says four people have died as a result of flash floods from thunderstorms that have brought as much as 7in (18cm) of rain to the state.

Beshear confirmed the four deaths in a social media post, noting three people were from Madison county and one was from Jackson county. “Please join Britainy and me as we pray for their families during this difficult time,” Beshear said.

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