Thursday, March 12

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England cricket legend Sir Ian Botham falls into crocodile-infested waters – and is rescued by former rival Merv Hughes | Offbeat News
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England cricket legend Sir Ian Botham falls into crocodile-infested waters – and is rescued by former rival Merv Hughes | Offbeat News

England cricket legend Sir Ian Botham was rescued by a former Australian rival after he fell off a boat into water "infested" with sharks and crocodiles.The retired all-rounder was on a fishing trip with former Australian fast-bowler Merv Hughes when he got his flip-flops caught in some roping and plunged head-first into the Moyle River near Darwin, northern Australia. Sir Ian, nicknamed Beefy, suffered severe bruising to his torso after hitting the boat on his way down – but escaped a worse fate when Hughes and fellow fishermen quickly pulled him out. Image: Merv Hughes was an on-pitch rival of Sir Ian during their cricket careers. Pic: Reuters The 68-year-old wrote on Instagram on Friday: "My catch of the day was the barr...
Nearly 70% of Gaza war dead are women and children, UN rights office says
World News

Nearly 70% of Gaza war dead are women and children, UN rights office says

By Emma Farge, Reuters Palestinians survey the damage from an Israeli airstrike in Rafah in April, reported to have killed about 35 people. Photo: Jehad Alshrafi / AP Report covers fatalities verified by UN rights office It says nearly 70 percent were women and children Israel says it takes care to avoid harming civilians The U.N. Human Rights Office says nearly 70 percent of the fatalities it has verified in the Gaza war were women and children, and condemned what it called a systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law. The U.N. count covers the first seven months of the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Gaza Strip that began more than a year ago. The 8119 victims verified by the U.N. Rights Office in that seven-month period is considerably l...
White supremacist Jacob Hersant first to get jail sentence for Nazi salute under Australian law | World News
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White supremacist Jacob Hersant first to get jail sentence for Nazi salute under Australian law | World News

A white supremacist has become the first person in Australia sentenced to jail for doing a Nazi salute - but ended up spending just an hour in custody.Jacob Hersant, 25, performed the gesture outside a Melbourne court in October 2023 after avoiding being locked up for violent disorder. At the same time, he praised Adolf Hitler and stated: "Australia for the white man."The salute had been made illegal by state parliament days before and has since been outlawed across Australia.Hersant was convicted last month and had been on bail until sentencing. He faced a maximum 12-month jail term and a A$24,000 (£12,300) fine but received a single month in prison."If there was physical violence, then I would have imposed a sentence close to the maximum penalty," said magistrate Brett Sonnet. He sai...
Vladimir Putin praises Donald Trump, says he’s ready to talk to him
World News

Vladimir Putin praises Donald Trump, says he’s ready to talk to him

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, looks at US President Donald Trump before posing for a family photo before the G20 summit in Argentina, 30 November, 2018. Photo: Vladimir Astapkovich / Sputnik via AFP By Vladimir Soldatkin, Reuters Russia President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Donald Trump on winning the US presidential election, praising him for showing bravery when a gunman tried to assassinate him, and said Moscow was ready to talk to the Republican president-elect. "I would like to congratulate him on his election as president," Putin told the Valdai discussion club in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. Trump said during campaigning that he could bring peace in Ukraine within 24 hours if he was elected, but has given few details on how he would seek to end the biggest land w...
Israel to collect soccer fans from Amsterdam after apparent antisemitic attacks
World News

Israel to collect soccer fans from Amsterdam after apparent antisemitic attacks

By Enas Alashray and Bart H. Meijer, Reuters Dutch police officers stand guard after several scuffles broke out after a football match between Ajax Amsterdam and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Photo: VLN Niews Israeli PM sends rescue planes to Amsterdam Dutch PM "horrified" by attacks after soccer match Police detain 57 after pro-Palestinian protests Dutch PM tells Netanyahu perpetrators will be prosecuted Israel sent two planes to bring back fans of an Israeli soccer team from the Netherlands on Friday (local time) after overnight attacks in the streets that officials described as antisemitic. Videos circulating on social media showed riot police intervening in street clashes, with some attackers shouting anti-Israeli slurs. Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema said Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters wer...
Economic upheaval and political opportunity – what Trump’s return could mean for China
World News

Economic upheaval and political opportunity – what Trump’s return could mean for China

By Nectar Gan, CNN Xi and Trump during the latter's first term. Photo: Brendan Smialowski / AFP China is bracing for what could be a volatile and highly unpredictable path ahead in its escalating great power rivalry with the United States, after Donald Trump made a historic political comeback to win the race to the White House. His return could bring tariffs as high as 60 percent on Chinese goods - which could devastate economic growth in the world's second largest economy and upend global supply chains - more technology controls and fiery rhetoric on Beijing, heightening tension in already rocky relations between the superpowers. But Trump's protectionist trade posture and transactional approach to foreign policy may also weaken US alliances and global leadership, presenting opportu...
COP29: The almighty row over climate cash that’s about to boil over | Science, Climate & Tech News
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COP29: The almighty row over climate cash that’s about to boil over | Science, Climate & Tech News

China says it's a developing country, so it doesn't have to pay into a major new fund to help poor countries cope with climate change. The United States disagrees.This is at the heart of an almighty row about to boil over at the UN COP29 climate talks next week in Azerbaijan. Or is it all just an elaborate "distraction"?Driving this brewing storm is something called "climate finance".It's been whipped up further by the re-election of Donald Trump, a climate denier expected to withdraw the world's largest historic greenhouse gas emitter from global efforts to tackle climate change. Why do countries pay for overseas climate aid?Back in 2009, 23 developed countries - including the UK, US and Japan, and the EU - agreed to pay $100bn (£75.5bn) a year by 2020 to developing nations, to help them ...
Californians desperately flee their homes amid raging wildfires
World News

Californians desperately flee their homes amid raging wildfires

A firefighter tries to control the fire burning down a house in Camarillo, California, on 6 November 2024. Photo: AFP / Etienne Laurent Terrie Morin, 60, and her husband, Dave, were at the barber shop when they heard about a raging wildfire making headway toward their Camarillo home in California on Wednesday (local time) morning. The couple were hosting two guests at the time, but because their guests worked late, Morin suspected they slept through the residence's fire alarms. "I run in the house, and I'm banging on the door, and they did not hear me. They were knocked out," Morin told CNN. "Get the dog. Get out of here. You don't have time, just get out!" she recalled telling them. Ten minutes later, Dave noticed sparks in their backyard. The temperature was also picking up. "It was h...
‘Why do you think she lost big?’: Residents on US-Mexico border explain why they back Trump on immigration | US News
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‘Why do you think she lost big?’: Residents on US-Mexico border explain why they back Trump on immigration | US News

In a town that sits between two nations, Arnoldo Montiel knows exactly where he stands on immigration. The 80-year-old has lived in Nogales, on the border between Mexico and the US, virtually all of his life. He says the issue is one of the main reasons he voted for Donald Trump.Trump latest: President-elect makes first major appointment"These are people who are illegal. They don't belong in the United States," he says. "If they need to come in, we welcome them. But they have to be legal." Driving towards the border wall that straddles the Arizona town, he says he believes the issue is why Kamala Harris lost the election."Why do you think she lost big?" he asks, before answering his own question: "The border and foreign affairs." In...
Israel: More families stream out of north Gaza, as tanks push deeper
World News

Israel: More families stream out of north Gaza, as tanks push deeper

By Nidal al-Mughrabi for Reuters Children stare at the destruction following an Israeli strike in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on 7 November. Photo: EYAD BABA/AFP Israeli forces have stepped up bombardment across the Gaza Strip and ordered more evacuations, creating a fresh wave of displacement from northern Gaza, to which Palestinians fear they will not be able to return. Palestinian health officials said at least 10 people had been killed and several others wounded in an Israeli air strike on a school housing displaced families in Shati refugee camp in Gaza City. The Israeli military said the strike targeted a Hamas command centre embedded inside the compound that previously served as a UN-run school. It accused Hamas of exploiting civilian facilities for mil...