General news

• Meta is killing off its own AI-powered Instagram and Facebook profiles

  03-01-2025 23:53 via theguardian.com
  
  Instagram profile of ‘proud Black queer momma’, created by Meta, said her development team included no Black peopleMeta is deleting Facebook and Instagram profiles of AI characters the company created over a year ago after users rediscovered some of the profiles and engaged them in conversations, screenshots of which went viral.The company had first introduced these AI-powered profiles in September 2023 but killed off most of them by summer 2024. However, a few characters remained an
  
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• Mike Johnson hangs on, but his challenges are only beginning: From the Politics Desk

  03-01-2025 23:45 via nbcnews.com
  
  Mike Johnson won re-election as House speaker with a boost from Donald Trump, but his challenges with a narrow Republican majority are only beginning.
  
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• Judge sets date for Trump hush-money sentencing but rules out prison term

  03-01-2025 23:36 via theguardian.com
  
  President-elect will be sentenced for his 34 felony convictions on 10 January, Judge Juan Merchan rulesA judge on Friday set Donald Trump’s sentencing in his hush-money case for 10 January – little over a week before he is due to return to the White House – but promised not to jail him.Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over Trump’s trial in New York, denied the president-elect’s motion to dismiss the case due to his election victory in November. He said Trump is expe
  
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• Nigel Farage ‘very pleased’ Elon Musk backs Reform UK, calling him a ‘hero’

  03-01-2025 23:09 via theguardian.com
  
  Speaking at party conference, its leader calls reports of tech mogul’s potential $100m donation ‘somewhat overexaggerated’Nigel Farage has hailed Elon Musk as a “hero” and said he was “very pleased he’s backing our party”, but he called reports that the tech mogul was preparing to donate $100m (£80m) to Reform UK “somewhat overexaggerated”.Speaking at Reform’s East Midlands conference on Friday night, the party leader said M
  
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• Officials say man in Cybertruck explosion was Army veteran suffering from PTSD

  03-01-2025 22:56 via nbcnews.com
  Las Vegas police and FBI officials shared more information about the man in the Tesla Cybertruck that exploded outside a Trump hotel in Las Vegas on New Year's Day. Authorities say he was a decorated Army veteran likely suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and that they found documents on his phone criticizing the U.S. government.
  
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• Judge sets date for Trump sentencing in hush money case, says court does not intend to jail him

  03-01-2025 22:45 via nbcnews.com
  Judge Juan Merchan denied President-elect Trump's motion to dismiss the New York hush money case against him, but noted "the court’s inclination to not impose any sentence of incarceration" during the January 10 appearance.
  
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• New Senate Majority Leader Thune: Speaker Johnson has 'really tough job' with slim majority

  03-01-2025 22:41 via nbcnews.com
  New Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) tells Kristen Welker he is confident he and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will have a “strong working relationship” and hopes the GOP-controlled Congress can work as a team.
  
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• About 30 killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza as truce talks set to resume

  03-01-2025 22:31 via theguardian.com
  
  ‘Harsh day’ of bombardments with several children among dead, says Gaza’s civil defence agency Gaza’s civil defence agency said about 30 people were killed in Israeli bombardments on Friday, as Hamas said indirect negotiations for a truce in the war were set to resume in Qatar.The Israeli military said three rockets targeted its territory from the Gaza Strip, the latest in a flurry of launches by militants in the devastated Palestinian territory. Continue reading...
  
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• Major winter storms to wallop two-thirds of U.S., could bring heavy snow and hazardous ice

  03-01-2025 22:21 via nbcnews.com
  
  Most of the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. is expected to bear the brunt of winter storms this weekend through to early next week.
  
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• Boy, 7, survives 5 days alone in African game park alongside lions, elephants

  03-01-2025 22:19 via foxnews.com
  
  A missing 7-year-old boy survived five days alone in an African game park, alongside elephants and lions, in what Zimbabwean politicians are calling "a true miracle."Tinotenda Pudu spent nearly a week alone in Matusadonha game park after "wander[ing] away" and losing his sense of direction, Mutsa Murombedzi, a Member Parliment in Zimbabwe, wrote in a post on X.Pudu was found by rangers from Matusadona Africa Parks after walking nearly 15 miles from home, according to officials.SAN DIEGO ZOO TO W
  
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• Austrian liberal party quits coalition talks leaving negotiations in disarray

  03-01-2025 21:58 via theguardian.com
  
  Surprise move by Neos raises doubts about viability of forming centrist government excluding far rightThe smallest of three parties in talks to form Austria’s next government has unexpectedly quit the negotiations, throwing into disarray an effort to form a centrist ruling coalition without the far-right Freedom party (FPÖ).The surprise move by the liberal Neos party raised serious doubts about the future of the coalition talks and buoyed the Eurosceptic, Russia-friendly FPÖ. The
  
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• Gene therapy treatment gives new hope to sickle cell patients

  03-01-2025 21:54 via nbcnews.com
  Only a few patients have undergone an intensive gene therapy cure for sickle cell disease since it was approved by the FDA due to it's high cost and limited access. NBC News' Yamiche Alcindor spoke with one young patient undergoing the first steps of the treatment.
  
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• U.S. House ushers in a tiny Republican majority to tackle enormous tasks in 2025

  03-01-2025 21:13 via nbcnews.com
  
  A new Congress starts Friday with a long to-do list for Donald Trump’s second term: keeping the government open, raising the debt ceiling, immigration and taxes.
  
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• Mike Johnson re-elected as House speaker

  03-01-2025 20:44 via nbcnews.com
  The House Republicans have voted to re-elect Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., as House speaker. NBC News' Julie Tsirkin and Garrett Haake report on Capitol Hill on how Johnson worked to flip opposition during the first round of voting and where Congress goes from here.
  
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• Jake Sullivan, Biden discussed possibility of hitting Iran nuclear program: report

  03-01-2025 20:24 via foxnews.com
  
  In a top meeting with National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan roughly a month ago, President Biden was presented with a series of strike options should Iran make a move to develop a nuclear weapon, reported Axios on Friday. The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions regarding the strike options, but according to the report, Biden has not signed off on any plans to hit Iran’s nuclear program. Biden has vowed not to let Iran develop a nuclear
  
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• Dark web dealer who stole unreleased Coldplay music gets suspended sentence

  03-01-2025 19:40 via theguardian.com
  
  Skylar Dalziel’s hard drives showed access to about 290,000 tracks from artists also including Shawn Mendes, police sayA dark web dealer who stole unreleased music from the likes of Coldplay, Shawn Mendes and Bebe Rexha has been given a suspended 21-month jail sentence.Skylar Dalziel, 22, made tens of thousands of pounds after accessing the copyrighted tracks by illegally accessing cloud storage accounts linked to the artists. Continue reading...
  
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• Georgia bench-warmer Parker Jones collides with ref in loss to Notre Dame, gains internet infamy

  03-01-2025 19:18 via nbcnews.com
  
  A little-known University of Georgia football player accidentally stepped into the limelight Thursday, costing his team 15 valuable yards and earning a permanent spot in social media infamy.
  
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• Government must look at effects of toxic smoke on Grenfell firefighters, minister says

  03-01-2025 19:09 via theguardian.com
  
  Union calls for regular health checks for 600 Grenfell firefighters after many developed long-term conditionsThe government “needs to seriously look” at the effects of toxic smoke inhalation on firefighters who served at the Grenfell Tower fire, a minister has said.The comments from Andrew Gwynne, the health minister, came after the Guardian disclosed that more than a quarter of firefighters who battled against the fire eight years ago have long-term health disorders. Continue readin
  
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• Starmer’s team hope policy blitz will prove that Labour can deliver change

  03-01-2025 19:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Those close to PM worry voters are running out of patience and want reforms to directly help publicKeir Starmer to unveil radical NHS changes to cut waiting timesKeir Starmer has at last managed a family holiday, but by next week the Madeira sun may already feel a distant memory as he embarks on a policy blitz that could be crucial in deciding his government’s fortunes over this parliament.A speech on Monday detailing what No 10 is billing as a “radical” approach to cut NHS wai
  
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• Keir Starmer to announce radical NHS changes to cut waiting times

  03-01-2025 19:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Exclusive: Patients in England to get direct referrals for tests without seeing consultant, but critics say plan is ‘deluded’Starmer’s team hope policy blitz will prove that Labour can deliver changeKeir Starmer will attempt to reset his premiership next week by setting out a series of radical NHS changes aimed at reducing waiting times for millions of patients in England.The shake-up comes after a torrid first six months in government and amid mounting frustration among patien
  
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• Elon Musk demands UK act on grooming gang scandal amid growing calls for probe: 'National inquiry now!'

  03-01-2025 18:54 via foxnews.com
  
  SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is throwing his weight behind growing calls in the United Kingdom for a new investigation into the scandal of child abuse by grooming gangs, going so far as to back calls for King Charles III to intervene."National inquiry now!" Musk stated on X on Friday, declaring the scandal "the worst mass crime against the people of Britain ever."The U.K. has for years been dealing with the revelation that a number of grooming gangs, often consisting of men of South Asian or British Pak
  
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• Justin Baldoni's attorney blasts New York Times story about Blake Lively 'smear campaign' story

  03-01-2025 18:46 via nbcnews.com
  
  An attorney for actor Justin Baldoni denied that there was a coordinated “smear campaign” against his client’s “It Ends With Us” co-star Blake Lively, telling NBC that The New York Times’ article about the actress’ allegations “destroyed people’s careers.”
  
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• Who is Tommy Robinson and why does Elon Musk want him freed from jail?

  03-01-2025 18:30 via nbcnews.com
  
  A convicted fraudster with a violent criminal record, Tommy Robinson has become the latest cause championed by the richest person on the planet, Elon Musk.
  
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• Musk accused of ‘politicising’ rape of young girls in UK to attack Starmer

  03-01-2025 18:17 via theguardian.com
  
  Ex-health worker who exposed paedophile ring says billionaire’s triggering of row ignores plight of survivorsElon Musk has “politicised” the rape of young girls in the UK in an attempt to attack Keir Starmer, a former health worker who exposed a major paedophile ring has told the Guardian.Sara Rowbotham, who gathered evidence that led to the imprisonment of nine men in Rochdale, said the tech billionaire had launched a “political swipe” at the prime minister that ov
  
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• German artists sign open letter against TV show host accused of sexism

  03-01-2025 17:47 via theguardian.com
  
  Choice of Thilo Mischke, author of Around the World In 80 Women, for ARD’s flagship arts show criticisedMore than 100 prominent German writers and artists have signed an open letter refusing to appear on one of Germany’s top culture programmes on public television after the broadcaster announced a new host who has been accused of sexism and racism in his writing.ARD said in late December it had picked the author Thilo Mischke, 43, to co-present its flagship culture show, ttt –
  
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• Zelenskyy says Trump could be ‘decisive’ in bringing an end to the war

  03-01-2025 17:13 via foxnews.com
  
  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy struck a hopeful tone on Thursday during a televised interview and said he believes President-elect Donald Trump could be "decisive" in ending the war as Kyiv stares down the third anniversary of Russia's invasion. "Trump can be decisive. For us, this is the most important thing," Zelenskyy said according to a Reuters report. "His qualities are indeed there. "He can be decisive in this war. He is capable of
  
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• More than 2,200 people died in Mediterranean in 2024, UN finds

  03-01-2025 16:51 via theguardian.com
  
  Figure includes hundreds of children, who make up one in five migrants trying to reach Europe fleeing war and povertyMore than 2,200 people either died or went missing in the Mediterranean while trying to reach Europe in search of refuge in 2024.The figure, cited in a statement from Regina De Dominicis, the regional director for Europe and central Asia for the UN’s children’s agency, Unicef, was eclipsed on New Year’s Eve when 20 people fell into the sea and were reported missi
  
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• Keeping warm when budgets are squeezed

  03-01-2025 16:27 via bbc.com
  
  A cold snap across the UK comes just as energy prices have risen, so here are a few tips to help you keep warm.
  
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• Philippine president removes deputy from security council after alleged plot to kill him

  03-01-2025 15:58 via theguardian.com
  
  Vice-president Sara Duterte is facing an investigation over her alleged threat to kill Ferdinand Marcos Jr The Philippine president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, has removed his vice-president, Sara Duterte, from the national security council (NSC) a month after she allegedly plotted to kill him, according to an executive order released on Friday.The order, signed on Monday by Lucas Bersamin, a lawyer and the Philippines’ executive secretary, removed Duterte and all former presidents from the coun
  
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• French and German foreign ministers ‘want new relationship with Syria’

  03-01-2025 15:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Jean-Noël Barrot and Annalena Baerbock call for peaceful transition in highest-level western visit since Assad’s fallThe foreign ministers of France and Germany have said they want a new relationship with Syria and a peaceful, inclusive transition during the highest-level western visit to Damascus since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime last month.Jean-Noël Barrot and Annalena Baerbock, the first EU ministers to travel to the Syrian capital since rebels seized control on
  
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• Looking after pets during the cold spell

  03-01-2025 15:16 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Pets can need help to stay warm when wintry conditions arrive.
  
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• Rightwing thinktank booked to brief Kevin Rudd on Project 2025 months before Trump win, documents reveal

  03-01-2025 15:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Heritage Foundation officials were due to outline their conservative blueprint at Australian embassy, correspondence showsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe rightwing thinktank behind Project 2025 – cast as a playbook for Donald Trump’s second presidential term – was scheduled to brief Australian ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, on the manifesto months before last year’s election, documents reveal.The Heritage Foundation was due to be hosted a
  
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• ‘A look into the future’: TV drama about Danish climate refugees divides opinion

  03-01-2025 15:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Families Like Ours has become national talking point but some scientists say events depicted could not happenFeaturing scenes of huge crowds boarding ferries, protest and desperation as six million Danes become climate refugees and life as they know it rapidly collapses, the new TV series by the Oscar-winning director Thomas Vinterberg is a potential “look into the future”, he says.Familier som vores (Families Like Ours) – a drama which depicts a flooded Denmark shut down and e
  
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• Smuggled Starlink devices allegedly used to defy India’s internet shutdowns

  03-01-2025 14:19 via theguardian.com
  
  Civilian and armed groups in conflict-ridden state of Manipur using SpaceX’s satellite internet, sources sayElon Musk’s satellite-based Starlink – currently unlicensed for use in India – is being used by militant groups in the conflict-ridden state of Manipur to circumvent government internet shutdowns, fighters and security sources have said.The satellite internet service provider, operated by Musk’s SpaceX company, is not permitted to legally operate in India amid
  
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• Massive cleanup under way in Ghana after fire destroys one of world’s biggest secondhand markets

  03-01-2025 14:14 via theguardian.com
  
  Thousands of traders face ruin after blaze razes two-thirds of Accra’s Kantamanto, which receives an estimated 15m used clothes from global north each weekA huge cleanup operation is taking place after a fire devastated one of the world’s biggest secondhand clothes markets.Thousands of traders’ stalls were destroyed in the blaze that started at about 10pm on 1 January and consumed large sections of Kantamanto market in Accra, Ghana’s capital. Continue reading...
  
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• Thai prime minister declares £324m in assets including 217 designer handbags

  03-01-2025 14:11 via theguardian.com
  
  Paetongtarn Shinawatra made required wealth declaration to national anti-corruption commissionThailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, has declared £324m in assets including a collection of 217 designer handbags and 75 luxury watches in submissions on her wealth to a government body.Paetongtarn, daughter of the billionaire ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, took office in September, the fourth member of the powerful family to lead Thailand. Continue reading...
  
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• 'Dinosaur highway' tracks dating back 166 million years are discovered in England

  03-01-2025 13:49 via nbcnews.com
  
  A worker digging up clay in a southern England limestone quarry noticed unusual bumps that led to the discovery of a “dinosaur highway.”
  
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• Iran executes over 1K prisoners in 2024, highest total in 30 years, report says

  03-01-2025 12:58 via foxnews.com
  
  The Islamic Republic of Iran executed over 1,000 prisoners in 86 prisons across the country in 2024, according to a report by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). The report says the death toll is "an unprecedented figure in the past three decades," and represents an increase of 16% from the 864 executions conducted in 2023.Most of the regime’s executions took place in the latter half of the year. Almost 70% occurred after the July election of President Masoud Pezeshkian. Abo
  
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• ISIS increasingly unopposed following US withdrawal from Afghanistan, collapse of Syria

  03-01-2025 12:32 via foxnews.com
  
  The threat posed by the Islamic State has once again hit the headlines following the New Year's Day attack on a crowded street in New Orleans on Wednesday by a man who may have ties to the terrorist network.Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S.-born citizen who lived in Texas and an Army Veteran, drove a pickup truck with an ISIS flag into a crowd of people on Bourbon Street, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens of others.However, the FBI has not confirmed his direct "affiliation" or "a
  
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• Arrest standoff shows defiance of impeached South Korean president

  03-01-2025 12:14 via theguardian.com
  
  Yoon Suk Yeoul has vowed to ‘fight to the end’ as he resists attempts to hold him accountable amid political crisisSouth Korean anti-corruption officials attempting to arrest the country’s suspended president, Yoon Suk Yeol, must know by now what he meant by his repeated vows to “fight to the end”.In the month since his calamitous declaration of martial law, Yoon, along with most of his party, his legal team and, crucially, his security detail, have resisted at ever
  
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• Investigators suspend attempt to arrest South Korean president Yoon after standoff with security service – as it happened

  03-01-2025 12:09 via theguardian.com
  
  Anti-corruption officials say they faced human wall of 200 presidential personnel at his official residenceInvestigators abandon attempt to arrest South Korean presidentInsurrection is one of the few criminal charges from which a South Korean president does not have immunity.Yoon’s lawyers have said the arrest warrant was illegal and invalid because the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials did not have the authority under South Korean law to request a warrant. Continu
  
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• Frozen and flooded, children in Gaza face dire winter in tent camps amid Israel's offensive

  03-01-2025 11:05 via nbcnews.com
  
  Holding the motionless body of his newborn baby wrapped in a blanket, Yahya Al-Batran imagines what his son, Jumaa, would say if he could speak.
  
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• Weather tracker: Cold air over warm waters brings heavy snow to Japan

  03-01-2025 10:41 via theguardian.com
  
  Prefectures in north hit by falls of up to 30cm in a day as similar weather pattern affects parts of north AmericaHeavy snow fell across northern Japan on Thursday, with the prefectures of Hokkaido, Aomori, Yamagata and Niigata particularly affected. Accumulations of 20-30cm over a 24-hour period were recorded across the affected areas, with local totals of more than 30cm near Aomori City.The snowfall was a result of heavy showers generated by a cold airmass moving in from the north-west across
  
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• Impeached South Korean president avoids arrest after an hourslong standoff

  03-01-2025 10:30 via nbcnews.com
  South Korean investigators left the president's official residence after a nearly six-hour standoff during which he defied their attempt to detain him.
  
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• Investigators abandon attempt to arrest South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol

  03-01-2025 09:32 via theguardian.com
  Officials entered the presidential compound to find themselves blocked by troops under the control of the presidential security serviceSouth Korea’s political crisis took a dramatic turn on Friday when investigators were forced to abandon an attempt to arrest the impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol, over his attempt last month to impose martial law after a tense standoff with his security forces.The confrontation unfolded on a freezing winter’s day in Seoul, as an estimated 1,200 Yoon
  
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• South Korea’s impeached president avoids arrest attempt after hourslong standoff

  03-01-2025 08:46 via foxnews.com
  
  Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday fended off an arrest attempt Friday after a hourslong standoff between investigators with the country’s anti-corruption agency and presidential security. Investigators left the president's official residence after the presidential security service blocked them from entering for nearly six hours due to concerns about their safety. The agency expressed "serious regret about the attitude of the suspect, who did not respond to
  
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• Man arrested over alleged 1997 murder of Meaghan Rose on Sunshine Coast denied bail

  03-01-2025 08:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Keith Lees, 72, evaded warrant for almost 18 months in relation to alleged murder, and is accused of trying to bite policeGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA man is behind bars and will likely face extradition after his arrest over a woman’s alleged murder more than two decades ago.Keith Lees, 72, remains in custody after spending about 18 months evading an arrest warrant over the death of his former partner, 25-year-old Meaghan Louise Rose, who was discovered at t
  
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• ‘Unimaginable tragedy’ for central Victorian community as three-year-old boy found dead after caravan fire

  03-01-2025 07:23 via theguardian.com
  
  Police continue investigation into child’s body found after firefighters put out blaze in BoortGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA regional community is mourning an “unimaginable tragedy” after a three-year-old boy was found dead following a caravan fire.Emergency services were called to Lake View Street in Boort, north-central Victoria, at about 5.50pm on Thursday after reports a caravan had caught fire.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking n
  
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• Brothers wanted over alleged Queensland shooting murder of Chloe Mason believed to be camping in NSW

  03-01-2025 06:58 via theguardian.com
  
  Warrants for the arrest of Codye Thomson and Kaine Thomson-Gleeson have been issued over the killing of 23-year-old in CabooltureGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTwo brothers wanted for an alleged shooting murder north of Brisbane last month are now on the run after they were released after being questioned last month, according to Queensland police.Police named 29-year-old Codye Thomson and 32-year-old Kaine Thomson-Gleeson as wanted for the alleged offence, on Friday.
  
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