General news

• Biden to remove Cuba from list of state sponsors of terrorism

  14-01-2025 23:49 via theguardian.com
  
  Deal negotiated through Catholic church will involve ‘gradual’ release of 553 political prisoners, says HavanaThe Biden administration has notified Congress that it will remove Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism in a deal the country’s communist government said would involve the “gradual” release of 553 political prisoners.The deal, which administration officials said was negotiated through the Catholic church, was announced on Tuesday, just five days
  
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• Dozens of survivors and dead pulled from abandoned South African mine as hundreds remain underground

  14-01-2025 23:06 via foxnews.com
  
  Months after South African authorities initially cut off supplies to miners working illegally in an abandoned gold mine, rescuers brought dozens of bodies and emaciated survivors to the surface Tuesday with hundreds more still believed to be underground, many of them dead and others too weak to come out on their own.At least 60 bodies and 92 survivors had been pulled from one of South Africa's deepest mines since Monday in a red cagelike device lowered thousands of feet underground, police said.
  
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• Queen Elizabeth II was kept in the dark for years about a Soviet spy in the palace

  14-01-2025 22:00 via nbcnews.com
  
  Queen Elizabeth II was not officially informed for nearly a decade that Anthony Blunt was a Soviet spy, newly declassified documents reveal.
  
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• Philly Chinatown says new 76ers arena plans offers relief, but skepticism remains

  14-01-2025 22:00 via nbcnews.com
  
  A sudden reversal in plans to move the 76ers' arena to near Philadelphia’s Chinatown has left activists breathing a little easier while still feeling some distrust.
  
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• Wedding band found under rubble of Altadena home destroyed by the Eaton Fire

  14-01-2025 21:33 via nbcnews.com
  
  Among the rubble and debris that had overtaken the space where an Altadena home once stood, firefighters were able to find a tiny symbol of family and love that meant the world to the Desantis family.
  
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• Biden administration will remove Cuba's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism

  14-01-2025 21:25 via nbcnews.com
  
  President-elect Donald Trump designated Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism shortly before he left office in January 2021.
  
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• Resignationcast: Tulip Siddiq

  14-01-2025 21:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  And, Israel and Hamas are thought to be close to agreeing a ceasefire deal.
  
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• India steps up diplomatic relations with the Taliban as rival Pakistan loses influence in Afghanistan

  14-01-2025 20:50 via foxnews.com
  
  India's foreign secretary, Vikram Misri, met acting Afghanistan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Dubai last week, making a strong leap forward in bilateral relations. While India has been gradually increasing its engagement with the Taliban, this latest meeting represents the highest-level talks since the Islamic group's takeover of Afghanistan in 2021. Notably, this was the second meeting between officials from New Delhi and Kabul in just two months, indicating both countrie
  
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• More than half a million ‘TikTok refugees’ flock to China’s RedNote as ban looms

  14-01-2025 20:30 via theguardian.com
  
  RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu, rockets to top of US app stores, along with ByteDance’s Lemon8New users have piled in to the Chinese social media app RedNote just days before a proposed US ban on the popular social media app TikTok, as the lesser-known company rushes to capitalize on the sudden influx while walking a delicate line of moderating English-language content.In a live chat dubbed “TikTok Refugees” on RedNote on Monday, more than 50,000 US and Chinese users joined
  
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• Canada’s provincial leaders in disarray over response to Trump tariff threats

  14-01-2025 20:16 via theguardian.com
  
  Responses range from conciliation to retaliation, including cutting off electricity and halting the purchase of US liquorCanada’s provincial premiers are sharply divided on how to prepare for US trade tariffs, less than a week before Donald Trump takes office with a threat to dramatically reshape the relationship between the two countries.Canadian officials have sought to defuse the crisis with personal appeals to the president-elect, multimillion-dollar advertising sprees and targeted thr
  
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• Minnesota state House Democrats walk out in effort to block GOP speaker vote

  14-01-2025 20:05 via nbcnews.com
  
  Minnesota’s Democratic state representatives walked out Tuesday, failing to show up for the first day of the legislative session to deny the state House a quorum amid a fight over how to manage a chamber that's set to be equally divided.
  
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• Hegseth nomination appears on track after Senate hearing

  14-01-2025 20:02 via nbcnews.com
  Pete Hegseth's nomination as defense secretary appeared to be on firm footing with Republican senators following his first confirmation hearing. Democrats, meanwhile repeatedly focused on allegations of sexual assault, financial mismanagement, and public intoxication.
  
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• Videos reveal new incidents of deadly brutality by Bangladesh police

  14-01-2025 20:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Exclusive: ‘Grotesque’ footage shows previously undocumented incidents on day PM Sheikh Hasina fled countryBangladeshi police killed or injured at least 20 unarmed protesters in two previously undocumented incidents during the demonstrations that engulfed the country last year, according to newly examined video footage.The International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP), a rights group that documents alleged abuses, has analysed video footage of two incidents in Dhaka on 5 August &nda
  
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• Meta announces 5% cuts in preparation for 'intense year.' Read the internal memo.

  14-01-2025 20:00 via nbcnews.com
  
  Meta is set to cut about 5% of its workforce, focusing on the company’s lowest-performing staffers, CNBC confirmed Tuesday.
  
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• USDA documented insects and slime at Boar's Head plants, records show

  14-01-2025 19:48 via nbcnews.com
  
  Government inspectors documented unsanitary conditions at several Boar’s Head deli meat plants, not just the factory that was shut down last year after a deadly outbreak of listeria poisoning, federal records show.
  
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• Trinidad and Tobago extends state of emergency amid escalating violence

  14-01-2025 19:43 via theguardian.com
  
  Parliament unanimously agrees on three-month extension of security measures after gang warfare kills six last weekEscalating violence in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) has caused the country’s government to extend emergency security measures declared in December, after a week of bloody gang warfare that left at least six dead.Late on Monday evening, the T&T parliament unanimously agreed on a three-month extension of a state of emergency announced on 30 December after police said they re
  
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• José 'Cha Cha' Jiménez, Young Lords founder and civil rights leader, dies at 76

  14-01-2025 19:08 via nbcnews.com
  
  Jiménez was a prominent Puerto Rican civil rights leader and founder of the Young Lords Organization.
  
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• Michelle Obama will not attend Trump's inauguration

  14-01-2025 18:36 via nbcnews.com
  
  Former first lady Michelle Obama will not be attending President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration next week.
  
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• Starmer says ‘door remains open’ for Tulip Siddiq following her resignation as Treasury minister – UK politics live

  14-01-2025 18:17 via theguardian.com
  
  PM appoints Emma Reynolds as her replacement as Siddiq steps down but implies she could return to government in futureStephen Doughty, a Foreign Office minister, has told MPs that the future of Greenland is a matter for the people who live there. And he said that he made this clear in a meeting with Greenland’s foreign minister.But he did not explicitly criticise Donald Trump for threatening to use military force to seize the island for the US.Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark an
  
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• Father and daughter, 14, ‘messing about’ before fatal knife wound, UK court hears

  14-01-2025 18:16 via theguardian.com
  Simon Vickers accused of murder or manslaughter of his child after incident at home in DarlingtonA father accused of stabbing to death his 14-year-old daughter in the family kitchen told police they were “just mucking around” throwing objects at each other while cooking tea, a court has heard.Simon Vickers, 50, is standing trial at Teesside crown court in Middlesbrough accused of the murder or manslaughter of his daughter Scarlett Vickers. He denies both charges. Continue reading...
  
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• LA fires live: officials warn winds still ‘tremendous threat’ as California braces for ‘extremely critical fire conditions’

  14-01-2025 18:11 via theguardian.com
  
  Firefighters expect a difficult and treacherous day amid dangerous winds as Red Flag weather warning is in place with winds of up to 70mph forecastLargest LA electricity firm sued over claims equipment started fires‘Convoy of incredible people’ saving animals from firesTell us about financial consequences you are facingCalifornia homeowners and business owners who lost everything in the devastating Los Angeles-area fires now have to tackle their insurance companies to recover the val
  
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• Princess of Wales visits London hospital where she was treated for cancer

  14-01-2025 18:10 via theguardian.com
  Palace aides say trip to meet patients and staff at Royal Marsden is important moment in her ‘personal journey’The Princess of Wales has visited the hospital where she was treated for cancer to thank staff and meet patients, as she expressed her “relief” at being in remission.During a poignant unannounced visit to the Royal Marsden in London, described by palace aides as an important moment in her “personal journey”, Catherine recalled her shock at her own dia
  
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• French TV show pulled after ridicule of woman who fell for AI Brad Pitt

  14-01-2025 18:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Anne, 53, faces wave of online mockery for believing she was in relationship with actor and paying scammer €830kA French woman who believed she was in a long-term romantic relationship with Brad Pitt and was scammed into paying €830,000 (£700,000) to help him with medical treatment faced such a wave of online mockery that a TV programme about her has been withdrawn.The interior designer, named as Anne, 53, has been targeted on social media and even a satirical sketch on France&rs
  
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• Afghans evacuated by US in chaos of withdrawal are languishing in foreign camps, documents reveal

  14-01-2025 18:05 via theguardian.com
  Exclusive: records show evacuees with pending applications to enter US ‘forced to remain in limbo’ in at least 36 countries, some in ‘untenable conditions’Afghan citizens who fled the country with American assistance after the US’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan remain stranded in third countries, new documents shared exclusively with the Guardian suggest, some at prison-like facilities and many with no clarity about their prospects for resettlement.US official
  
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• Israel-Gaza war live: Ceasefire deal at ‘closest point yet’ as Blinken says need to forge ‘new reality’ in Middle East

  14-01-2025 18:02 via theguardian.com
  US secretary of state, in last major foreign policy speech, says countries in Middle East must achieve their aspirations in a climate of peace and securityHere are some of the latest images sent over the news wires from Gaza.Lebanon’s National News Agency reports that Israeli forces are operating to the west of Meiss El Jabal. It states they are “raiding and storming residential homes” and continues:They are also carrying out searches, vandalism, scattering contents and burning
  
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• CFPB sues Capital One for 'cheating' customers out of over $2 billion in interest

  14-01-2025 18:00 via nbcnews.com
  
  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Tuesday that it was suing Capital One for misleading consumers about their savings account interest rates and “cheating” them out of more than $2 billion in interest.
  
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• Trump’s Pentagon pick testifies amid claims of sexual assault and alcohol use

  14-01-2025 17:56 via theguardian.com
  Pete Hegseth acknowledges he is ‘not a perfect person’ as Democrats grill him at Senate confirmation hearingUS politics live – latest updatesPete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s controversial pick for US secretary of defense, defended his record in a contentious Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, acknowledging he was “not a perfect person” as Democratic lawmakers grilled the military veteran and Fox News host on allegations of sexual assault, excessive alcohol us
  
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• Sam Kerr appears in court charged with alleged racially aggravated harassment

  14-01-2025 17:51 via theguardian.com
  The Australia and Chelsea striker, who denies the charge, appeared at Kingston crown court on TuesdayGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe Matildas and Chelsea superstar, Sam Kerr, has appeared in court charged with alleged racially aggravated harassment of a police officerThe Australian striker attended a hearing, wearing a black coat and a white jumper, at Kingston crown court on Tuesday. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘Assume the worst’: fears rise that LA drinking water could be contaminated

  14-01-2025 17:47 via theguardian.com
  Growing concern that toxic chemicals released by wildfires can get into damaged drinking water systemsAs fires continue to burn across Los Angeles, several utilities have declared their drinking water unsafe until extensive testing can prove otherwise.A warmer, drier climate means wildfires are getting worse, and encroaching on cities – with devastating impact. Toxic chemicals from those burns can get into damaged drinking water systems, and even filtering or boiling won’t help, expe
  
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• Caitlin Clark's alleged stalker says he wants to stay in jail, yells he's guilty in court

  14-01-2025 17:44 via nbcnews.com
  
  INDIANAPOLIS — The Texas man accused of stalking WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark loudly declared he's “guilty as charged” on Tuesday before a judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf.
  
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• Councils ‘keen’ to help Home Office move asylum seekers out of hotels

  14-01-2025 17:33 via theguardian.com
  
  Authorities in England and Wales say they want to help house refugees, amid concern about local tensionsCouncils across England and Wales have said they are keen to help accommodate asylum seekers as the government attempts to move as many as possible out of hotels, in part to try to ease community tensions.Angela Rayner’s housing and communities department is in talks with the Home Office about the possibility of exercising a 2026 break clause in contracts with three private companies tha
  
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• Comedian Tony Slattery dies aged 65 after heart attack

  14-01-2025 17:33 via theguardian.com
  
  Slattery, who rose to fame in 1980s, appeared on shows such as Have I Got News for You and Whose Line Is It Anyway?• Tony Slattery: ‘I had a very happy time until I went slightly barmy’
  • Tony Slattery – a life in picturesThe comedian and actor Tony Slattery has died aged 65 after a heart attack, his partner has announced.Slattery was known for his improvisations on the popular comedy show Whose Line Is It Anyway?, as well as his appearances on Just a Minute and Have
  
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• Tulip Siddiq resigns as Treasury minister over alleged Bangladeshi financial links

  14-01-2025 17:22 via theguardian.com
  
  Siddiq was under pressure over her occupancy of properties linked to her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s ousted leaderTulip Siddiq has resigned as a Treasury minister after repeated questions about her financial links to the ousted Bangladeshi government run by her aunt.Siddiq, who was the City and anti-corruption minister, was not found to have broken any rules by Laurie Magnus, the adviser on ministerial standards, over her use of properties given to her and her family. Continue readin
  
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• Oregon hospital sued after man’s face caught fire mid-surgery

  14-01-2025 17:13 via theguardian.com
  Family of John Michael Murdoch demanding $900,000 for incident that occurred while he was allegedly awakeThe family of a man in Oregon is demanding $900,000 from the hospital where his face caught on fire mid-surgery while he was allegedly awake.The allegations are contained in a malpractice lawsuit filed by the wife of John Michael Murdoch against Oregon Health and Science University, as reported by the Oregonian. The lawsuit maintains Murdoch’s ordeal unfolded as he was undergoing surger
  
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• More than a million Haitians forced from their homes amid gang violence

  14-01-2025 17:11 via theguardian.com
  UN agency says more than half of the displaced people are children, as gang attacks see upswing in Port-au-PrinceMore than 1 million people have been forced from their homes in Haiti amid a sharp upswing in gang attacks in the country’s embattled capital, Port-au-Prince, the UN has said.The UN’s migration agency, the IOM, said that never before had such a large number of Haitians been reported to have been displaced by violence. More than half of those internally displaced people (ID
  
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• Senator Gillibrand grills Hegseth over comments on women

  14-01-2025 17:09 via nbcnews.com
  Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., accused Pete Hegseth of "denigrating" women actively serving in the military, citing multiple past comments from the defense secretary nominee.
  
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• American conservatism’s wild frontier: the rise of Wyoming’s Freedom caucus

  14-01-2025 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Wyoming’s state house is the first to be controlled by a Freedom caucus, known for its hardline conservative stancesOn 7 January, Republican Wyoming state representative Jeremy Haroldson stood on checkerboard tiles at the heart of the state capitol rotunda and outlined the ascendant Freedom caucus’s vision for a new Wyoming.“This nation was founded on godly principles,” said Haroldson, who is also a pastor. “And those are the principles that we will continue to gove
  
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• Intoxicated ‘nervous flyer’ caused New York flight to divert to Dublin

  14-01-2025 16:52 via theguardian.com
  
  American Zachary Greear, 34, receives suspended sentence after unruly behaviour on United Airlines planeA “nervous flyer” whose unruly behaviour caused his transatlantic flight to be diverted to Dublin has been given a two-month suspended sentence.Dublin district court heard that the 34-year-old American had mixed the tranquilliser Xanax with alcohol to combat his anxiety before becoming disruptive on the United Airlines flight on Monday. Continue reading...
  
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• Chemicals in sewage sludge fertilizer used on farms pose cancer risk, EPA says

  14-01-2025 16:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Environmental Protection Agency officials warn of toxic PFAS found in sewage often spread on pastureHarmful chemicals in sewage sludge spread on pasture as fertilizer pose a risk to people who regularly consume milk, beef and other products from those farms, in some cases raising cancer risk “several orders of magnitude” above what the Environmental Protection Agency considers acceptable, federal officials announced on Tuesday.When cities and towns treat sewage, they separate the liq
  
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• Hegseth vows to bring 'warrior culture' back to Department of Defense

  14-01-2025 16:24 via nbcnews.com
  During an opening statement repeatedly interrupted by protesters, Pete Hegseth said that he will remove politics from the Pentagon if named secretary of defense.
  
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• WATCH: Protesters interrupt Pete Hegseth's opening statement

  14-01-2025 16:22 via nbcnews.com
  Multiple protesters interrupted Pete Hegseth's opening statement before the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing. Hegseth, President-elect Trump's defense secretary pick, is facing an allegation of sexual assault and claims of excessive drinking.
  
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• Trump interest in Greenland is ‘wake-up call to Copenhagen’, says minister

  14-01-2025 16:05 via theguardian.com
  
  Greenlandic minister says Denmark has failed to act over demands for action on minerals and alleged state abusesA Greenlandic government minister has said she views Donald Trump’s interest in the territory as positive, saying it has acted as a “wake-up call to Copenhagen” after years of failing to adequately respond to its demands for action on minerals and alleged abuses by the Danish state.Naaja Nathanielsen, Greenland’s minister for housing, infrastructure, minerals, j
  
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• MSNBC President Rashida Jones steps down after four-year tenure

  14-01-2025 15:46 via nbcnews.com
  
  Rashida Jones, the president of MSNBC, announced Tuesday that she is stepping down after four years of steering the cable news network.
  
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• North Korean soldiers in Russia resort to suicide amid capture of first POWs by Ukraine

  14-01-2025 15:23 via foxnews.com
  
  This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).North Korean soldiers fighting in Russia’s Kursk region against Ukrainian forces have begun resorting to drastic measures to evade capture, including suicide, a report by Reuters on Tuesday said. Following a battle this week, Ukrainian special forces reportedly scoured the snowy terrain where more than a dozen North Ko
  
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• Middle-income Australians experiencing rental stress with a third of pay spent on housing, report shows

  14-01-2025 15:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Rent has increased by 36% nationally since Covid, CoreLogic finds, which equates to an extra $171 a week on averageGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastEven Australians on median incomes are in rental stress, a new report has found, with households on middle incomes spending 33% of their wages on housing.Last year saw the smallest annual rental increase since 2021, going up 4.8% over the year – down from 8.1% in 2023, CoreLogic’s report found.Sign up for Guardia
  
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• Commonwealth to invest a further $200m in rare earth mining project backed by Gina Rinehart

  14-01-2025 15:00 via theguardian.com
  
  National reconstruction fund to buy stake in Arafura Rare Earth’s planned facility 135km north of Alice SpringsGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe federal government will pour another $200m into the Gina Rinehart-backed Arafura Rare Earths, taking the total volume of taxpayer support for the critical minerals venture beyond $1bn.The industry and science minister, Ed Husic, will on Wednesday announce that the commonwealth’s national reconstruction fund will
  
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• After costly appeal and dispute over research standards, religious institution becomes Australia’s 44th university

  14-01-2025 15:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Australian College of Theology is the third theological institution to get university status since 2020, demonstrating growing power of religious providersGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA college that describes itself as Australia’s largest provider of theological education has become the nation’s 44th university, ending years of costly appeals and demonstrating the growing power of small religious providers.The Australian College of Theology (ACT) –
  
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• German police investigate AfD flyers resembling plane tickets for immigrants

  14-01-2025 14:40 via theguardian.com
  
  Karlsruhe police say they have opened inquiry into ‘persons unknown on suspicion of incitement of racial hatred’German police have launched an investigation after the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party distributed flyers designed to resemble plane tickets for deportation that were addressed to “illegal immigrants” as part of an increasingly provocative campaign for next month’s general election.People from immigrant communities in the south-western cit
  
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• Hamas has accepted draft agreement for Gaza cease-fire, hostage release: officials

  14-01-2025 14:30 via foxnews.com
  
  Hamas has reportedly agreed to a draft cease-fire deal with Israel that would include the release of dozens of hostages, according to The Associated Press, which cited "officials involved in the talks." This potential agreement is the first sign in months that the war between Israel and Hamas, which has gone one of over a year, could be nearing its end.The possible agreement will reportedly take place in three phases, the first of which would kick off a 42-day cease-fire. During that time, 33 ho
  
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• UK bans German meat and dairy products after foot-and-mouth case

  14-01-2025 14:26 via theguardian.com
  Import of pork, lamb and beef as well as live cattle, sheep and pigs suspended amid outbreak near BerlinBritain has banned imports of German pork, lamb, beef and dairy products to prevent foot-and-mouth disease spreading to the UK after a case of the disease was confirmed last Friday on the outskirts of Berlin.As well as prohibiting imports of ham, bacon, salami and cheese, the measure bans the import of live cattle, sheep and pigs, along with other animals which are susceptible to foot-and-mout
  
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