BBC: Australian officials have promised telecommunications giant Optus will face “significant consequences” over a systems outage linked to multiple deaths. The incident last week left hundreds of people across more than half of the country unable to call emergency services for 13 hours. Optus – one of the country’s two major providers – says at […]
Starting Monday, the daily economic burdens of millions of Indians could ease slightly. Staples like milk and bread, life and medical insurance and life-saving drugs will become tax-free. Consumption tax on small cars, television sets and air conditioners will drop from 28% to 18%. And other common goods like hair oil, toilet soap and shampoo […]
BBC: Sir Keir Starmer has announced the UK’s recognition of a Palestinian state, in what represents a significant change in government policy. In a video statement on X, the prime minister said “in the face of the growing horror in the Middle East we are acting to keep alive the possibility of peace and a […]
Reuters: MOSCOW, Sept 21 – Russian Colonel General Alexander Lapin, a senior commander who served in the first phase of the Ukraine war, has been dismissed from military service, Russian media outlet RBC reported on Sunday, citing an unidentified source. Lapin, 61, will be appointed as an aide of Tatarstan’s head, responsible for support for […]
Reuters: MOSCOW, Sept 21 – Two civilians were killed and four injured in Russia’s Belgorod region in Ukrainian attacks, the regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on Telegram on Sunday. One woman died when a shell hit a private house in the settlement of Shebekino and one man was killed in a drone attack on Rakitnoe, […]
Reuters: Sept 21 – A Chinese journalist jailed for four years after documenting the early phases of the COVID-19 outbreak from the pandemic’s epicentre was sentenced on Friday to four more years in prison, Reporters Without Borders said. Zhang Zhan, 42, was sentenced on a charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” in China, the […]
Reuters: CAIRO, Sept 21 – Israeli forces blew up more residential buildings in Gaza City on Sunday, killing at least 31 Palestinians and prompting many others to flee, Gazan health authorities said, as Israel’s tanks pushed further into the densely populated city. Nearly two years into the war, Israel describes Gaza City as the last bastion […]
BBC: A secret Russian-funded network is attempting to disrupt upcoming democratic elections in an eastern European state, the BBC has found. Using an undercover reporter, we discovered the network promised to pay participants if they posted pro-Russian propaganda and fake news undermining Moldova’s pro-EU ruling party ahead of the country’s 28 September parliamentary ballot. Participants […]
BBC: British artist Morrissey has cancelled two shows in the US after receiving a death threat ahead of a concert in Ottawa, Canada. A 26-year-old Ottawa man was released on bail after allegedly uttering a threat to kill the singer, whose real name is Steven Morrissey, ahead of his performance at a music festival last week. […]
BBC: When the right-wing American activist and influencer Charlie Kirk was shot dead aged 31, he was speaking at the kind of university event that helped propel him to social media stardom. Kirk was just 18 when he co-founded Turning Point USA, a student organisation focused on spreading conservative ideas on college campuses. As he […]
BBC: Dutch police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse violent anti-immigration protesters in The Hague on Saturday. Thirty people were arrested and two officers injured as large groups of people clashed with police, with some throwing rocks and bottles. Around 1,500 people blocked a highway crossing the city, while a police car was […]
BBC: Successive UK governments have said recognition of a Palestinian state should be part of a peace process at a time when it can have maximum impact. In July, amid the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza and under growing pressure from his own MPs, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer decided that time was now. He […]
