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Groups call for Benjamin Netanyahu's arrest and urge Australia to pressure Israel on Palestine just as South Africa was over apartheid

Zoe Conolan-Glen's discrimination case has now been referred to the federal court

President begins issuing flood of immigration-related executive orders after being sworn into office

Gulf of Mexico to be called Gulf of America, and Denali, highest North American peak, reverts to Mount McKinley

Trump's team has learned how to weaponize his power over the Republican party to achieve their political goals

President instructs US government to remove radical gender ideology guidance' and review diversity programsDonald Trump issued an executive order rescinding two orders that Biden signed on his first day in office four years ago, one advancing racial equity for under-served communities and another combating discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.One executive order, called Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government", instructs the federal government to remove all radical gender ideology guidance, communication, policies, and forms". Continue reading...

Authorities say agent was killed in line of duty and that one suspect is dead while another is in custodyA US border patrol agent was killed on Monday in northern Vermont south of the Canadian border, authorities said.The Department of Homeland Security's US Customs and Border Protection said in a statement that the agent was killed in the line of duty, although it did not provide details. Continue reading...

Executive order effectively reinstates Schedule F', which sought to categorize workers as political hires

Ninety-nine senators back confirmation of Rubio, 53, first member of Trump's cabinet to win Senate approvalThe Senate has confirmed one of its members, Republican Marco Rubio of Florida, as the next US secretary of state on Monday, giving Donald Trump the first permanent member of his cabinet just hours after the new president was sworn in for the second time.Rubio, 53, received overwhelming support from his former colleagues, with 99 senators backing his nomination. Rubio, who becomes the first Latino American to serve as secretary of state, was expected to be easily confirmed, as senators largely viewed him as one of the least controversial of Trump's cabinet picks. Continue reading...

Industry body says businesses and jobs at risk unless Rachel Reeves's tax changes delayed or alteredThe hospitality industry will incur an extra 1bn of costs for 774,000 of its workers who will be newly eligible for employer national insurance contributions from April, endangering jobs and businesses, a leading industry body has claimed.UKHospitality, which represents thousands of restaurants, hotels, pubs, cafes and nightclubs, is calling on the government to delay or alter changes to the tax announced in Rachel Reeves's October's budget in order to protect jobs. Continue reading...

Family members, Gen Mark Milley, Anthony Fauci, Liz Cheney and January 6 committee members pardoned

Desire to be unifier' rubs up against 47th US president's ambitions for territorial expansion

While the first lady seemed less than keen to pick up the traditional fashion baton, Ivanka was happy to step in

President plans to sign an order to change the name within the US - but other countries would not have to follow suitIn his inaugural speech, Donald Trump repeated his intention to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.The ocean basin - bounded by the US Gulf coast, Mexico's eastern states and the island of Cuba - is an an important centre of economic activity, including fishing, maritime transport, and oil and gas production, which perhaps offers an explanation for Trump's interest.Trump sworn in as 47th president - follow live inauguration updatesFactchecking Trump's speechA who's who of far-right leaders in WashingtonMigrant groups at US-Mexico border await mass deportationsDoge' violates federal transparency rules, lawsuit claims Continue reading...

Trump promises actions, from declaring a national emergency' at border to ending birthright citizenship

Palestinian prisoners describe being held in poor conditions after their release as part of ceasefire dealIn the dead of night on Sunday, after hours of waiting, a white bus carrying dozens of Palestinian prisoners, released in exchange for three Israeli hostages handed over by Hamas to Israel, arrived at Fawakeh square in the West Bank city of Ramallah.A group of young men had climbed on to the vehicle, waving Palestinian and Hamas flags. Disembarking from the coach were mostly women and many minors, the majority of whom were detained after 7 October 2023. Continue reading...

Despite tensions brewing with China, US president-elect is expected to clean house' with those who stray from agenda

Former footballer collects Crystal Award for work on children's rights, as World Economic Forum begins in DavosThe UK chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will travel to the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos this week in the hope of convincing some of the world's largest companies to invest, with allies saying she will use spending cuts rather than further tax increases to meet her own fiscal rules.At the same time, the Treasury is considering a push to cut the benefits bill, in a move that is causing nervousness among Labour MPs. Continue reading...

Protein found in Sydney rock oysters' haemolymph can kill bacteria and boost some antibiotics' effectiveness, scientists discoverAn antimicrobial protein found in the blood of an Australian oyster could help in the fight against superbugs, new research suggests.Australian scientists have discovered that a protein found in the haemolymph - the equivalent of blood - of the Sydney rock oyster, Saccostrea glomerata, can kill bacteria itself and increase the effectiveness of some conventional antibiotics. Continue reading...

Keir Starmer said state had failed in its duty' after Axel Rudakubana admitted murdering three girlsYvette Cooper has announced a public inquiry into the murder of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance club in Southport after confirming the extremely violent" killer was known to the authorities.The home secretary said the inquiry would provide answers to the families of Axel Rudakubana, 18, who pleaded guilty on Monday to murdering the three girls. Continue reading...

Report uncovered sadistic' sect-like abuses of power at Sodalitium of Christian LifePope Francis has taken the remarkable step of dissolving a Peruvian-based Catholic movement, the Sodalitium of Christian Life (SCV), after years of attempts at reform and a Vatican investigation. The investigation uncovered sexual abuses by its founder, financial mismanagement by its leaders and spiritual abuses by its top members.The Sodalitium on Monday confirmed the dissolution, which was conveyed to an assembly of its members in Aparecida, Brazil, at the weekend by the pope's top legal adviser, Cardinal Gianfranco Ghirlanda. In revealing the dissolution in a statement, the group lamented that news of Francis's decision had been leaked by two members attending the assembly, who were definitively expelled". Continue reading...

Hungary PM says US leader will bolster Europe's rightwing forces as nationalist politicians attend inauguration

Lawsuit filed moments after Trump's swearing-in challenges legality of department of government efficiency'

Reform UK leader, who is in the US for Trump's inauguration, says early election is not impossible'Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, thinks that his chances of becoming PM before Donald Trump leaves the White House in January could be as high as 25%. He made the comment in an interview with Dan Walker for 5 News being broadcast tonight. Farage told Walker he did genuinely believe he could be the next PM. And this is what he said when he was asked if that could happen during Trump's presidency.Look, Labour have got a whopping great big majority. The only thing that really brings an early election is if we get an economic meltdown.Now, that is not impossible for two reasons. One, the level of indebtedness is worse than it was in 2008 when we had the big meltdowns. And I think we've lived through rocketing stock markets for years. That can't go on.For Reform to replace the Tories three things would need to happen. First they would need to sustain their current momentum well into 2025, then there would need to be a tipping point moment when donors, right-wing media and a number of Tory MPs decided to shift support en masse, and then they would have to win more seats in the 2028/2029 election.The first of these seems fairly likely. The enthusiasm of Reform's voter base, the weakness of the Tory party, and the media need for narrative all point the same way. The biggest barrier is probably Farage's ability to manage the negative associations caused by Musk (who is not at all popular in the UK).It may take a long time but if - and it is a big if - Reform remain a major player in British politics, under the voting system we have, it will ultimately lead to the end of the Tory party as we know it. Continue reading...

The search for thousands of people buried under rubble has started as the ceasefire in Gaza enters its second day

Trump promises a blitz of executive orders, radical shake-up of the global order and revolution of common sense'

Security forces struggle to tamp down on rising leftwing violence as 11,000 people remain displacedColombia's security forces are struggling to contain a surge in leftwing guerrilla violence that has now killed more than 100 people in five days and threatens to derail the country's troubled peace process.Even as thousands of soldiers rushed to quell violence near the north-eastern border with Venezuela - where more than 80 people have been killed and 11,000 displaced by days of fighting - the defense ministry reported a similar outbreak of fighting in a remote Amazon region. Continue reading...

Human rights bodies have long criticised the tests as culturally unsuitable for Greenlandic peopleDenmark has announced it is abandoning the use of highly controversial parenting competency" tests on Greenlandic families, amid fury over the way that they have been routinely used on people with Inuit backgrounds, often resulting in the separation of children from their parents.Campaigners have been warning about the discriminatory impact of the psychometric tests used in Danish child protection investigations - known as FKU (foraeldrekompetenceundersogelse) - for years. Human rights bodies have long criticised them as being culturally unsuitable for Greenlandic people and other minorities living in Denmark, which once ruled the Arctic island as a colony and continues to control its foreign and security policy. Continue reading...

Ceasefire celebrations replaced by shock and sorrow as people begin to assess the scale of devastation

Yellow warning for parts of the country with potential power cuts, travel disruption and damage from ThursdayA weather bomb" is forecast to hit parts of the UK later this week, bringing strong winds, heavy rain and snow.The first half of the week will be benign" with cloudy weather and outbreaks of rain for much of the country before the arrival of more unsettled conditions, the Met Office said. Continue reading...

Bank is considering sale of British business amid mounting frustrations over regulation

If a strike goes ahead, 56 of the company's warehouse stores across five states would be affectedMembers of the Teamsters union have authorized a strike against popular US retailer Costco next month as a pre-emptive bargaining-position ahead of the expiration of a work contract for 18,000 company workers.If a strike goes ahead, 56 of the company's warehouse stores across five states would be affected after 85% of Teamster members voted to authorize the action over wages and benefits. Continue reading...

Leadership at international criminal court fears new US administration will move quickly to shut it downThe international criminal court is bracing itself for Donald Trump to launch aggressive economic sanctions against it this week, amid fears such a move could paralyse its work and pose an existential threat.ICC officials are preparing for Trump's new US administration to act quickly once in office to impose draconian financial and travel restrictions against the court and senior staff, including its chief prosecutor and judges. Continue reading...

The scale of Australia's trade with blacklisted companies, revealed in Guardian investigation, prompts anger across the Uyghur community

Critics say new draft policies, including a rule about sending political emails, are even worse' than last year's draconian' crackdown

Proof of group's survival demonstrates stalemate that gave rise to ceasefire and is likely to fuel more conflict

Ripples from Axel Rudakubana's killing of three girls spread wide and deep, from the personal to the politicalSouthport is a quiet, kind place in which nothing ever happens," said the Rev Thomas Carter, the morning after it happened. People are struggling to understand it."It wasn't just Southport; the whole country struggled to process the carnage that took place late on a sunny Monday one week into the school holidays. Continue reading...

Publisher was helped by strong digital advertising performance towards end of year, say analysts

Incoming president has promised retaliation against his opponents. Plus, billionaire wealth grew $2tn in 2024Good morning.The United States braces for a new era of disruption and division on Monday with Donald Trump scheduled to be sworn in as its 47th president, promising a blitz of executive orders and radical shake-up of the global order.What did Trump promise yesterday? We're going to stop the invasion of our borders ... We're going to unlock the liquid gold that's right under our feet ... We're going to bring back law and order to our cities ... We're going to get radical woke ideology the hell out of our military."How are some assessing the Biden administration? Joe Biden was a remarkably consequential one-term president", writes Katrina vanden Heuvel. Internationally, Biden was assuming a world that no longer existed" - with calamitous results - but domestically, Biden consolidated the break" with failed market fundamentalism".What is the status of the three Israelis? On Sunday, three women held hostage by Hamas in tunnels beneath Gaza - Emily Damari, 28, Romi Gonen, 24 and Doron Steinbrecher, 31 - were released and reunited with their mothers. Videos showed them in apparently reasonable health.Were there any obstacles? Yes, a three-hour delay to the start of the truce, during which Israeli warplanes and artillery pounded the Gaza Strip. The delay meant a further 13 people were killed, Palestinian health authorities said. At least two missiles hit a family travelling on a donkey cart as they tried to return home, Al Jazeera reported. Continue reading...

Renewed program would allow hunters to eliminate up to 80% of the animals on 20,000 acres of state landAlaska is set to resume the aerial gunning of bears and wolves as a population control measure aimed at boosting caribou and moose herd numbers, even as the state's own evaluation of the practice cast doubt on its effectiveness.The renewed program would allow hunters to eliminate up to 80% of the animals on 20,000 acres of state land. Environmental groups opposed to what they label a barbaric" practice of shooting wildlife from helicopters is more about sport than scientific practice in part because hunters want caribou populations to increase because they are trophy animals. Continue reading...

FRC confirms inquiry into accounting firm's 2022 audit of Ladbrokes, Coral and Sportingbet owner

Rate of wealth growth last year was three times faster than 2023, Oxfam inequality research revealsThe wealth of the world's billionaires grew by $2tn (1.64tn) in 2024, three times faster than in 2023, amounting to $5.7bn a day, according to a report by Oxfam.The latest inequality report from the charity reveals that the world is now on track to have five trillionaires within a decade, a change from last year's forecast of one trillionaire within 10 years. Continue reading...

State asks Industrial Relations Commission to urgently arbitrate on the matter before resignations take effect from Wednesday

Renata Edward Manning has been accused of attempting to kill Destiny Otton-Rakuraku and assaulting another woman

Rents spiral and neighbourhoods lose charm as cities report tourist flat boom and surge in housing speculationCiutat Vella, the old city of Barcelona, was once quirky and mysterious.Now it has become a parody of itself, a place from which the local population has been exiled in the interests of tourism and maturing investments. Doorways have sprouted combination key safes, a telltale sign of an apartment given over to tourist lets. A 100-year-old apothecary and shirtmaker that stood on La Rambla for two centuries have been replaced by shops selling flamenco dolls and ceramic bulls. Continue reading...

Plan sparks debate about use of urban space, housing costs and investment in public transport amid climate crisis

Journalists and broadcasters at Sana wait for actions, not words' but look to future after fall of Assad governmentZyad Mahameed finally has the job he always wanted. In his previous role in the media team for the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, he often thought about the Syrian state news agency - an Assad regime mouthpiece he considered his opposition - and what he would do if he was in charge there. Now he is.As an appointee of the HTS-led caretaker government, his position is at present temporary but his plans for the Syrian Arab News Agency (Sana) stretch far into the future. Continue reading...

State government will force 1,500 petrol stations to report fuel prices a day in advance under cost-of-living shake-up'

Those killed in attack on camp for relatives of junta soldiers in Rakhine state were women and children, Arakan Army saysA Myanmar junta airstrike has killed 28 people, including children, and wounded 25 at a temporary detention area in western Rakhine state, an ethnic minority armed group has said.The Arakan Army (AA) is engaged in a fierce fight with the military for control of Rakhine, where it has seized swaths of territory in the past year, all but cutting off the state capital Sittwe. Continue reading...

Labour's embrace of plans to reduce the incapacity benefit bill by 3bn has the potential to trigger a backbench revoltOne of the most important takeaways from last week's high court ruling declaring the government consultation on reform of incapacity benefits to be unlawful was the clarity with which it highlighted the failure of Conservative ministers to be honest about why they wanted the changes, and who will lose out as a result.The ruling effectively pointed out that the previous administration's presentation of cuts to incapacity benefit as a positive development for low-income claimants was misleading because it unaccountably neglected to mention 420,000 of them would also be 416 a month out of pocket, and many of them thrust into abject poverty. Continue reading...