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By Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN The Italian city of Florence has long been a draw for tourists due to its architecture and art. Photo: Getty Images The historic Italian city of Florence is taking steps to cut overtourism, introducing measures including a ban on key boxes used by short-term rental landlords and tour guide loudspeakers, amid complaints that a surge in visitors has become unsustainable. With stunning Renaissance art and architecture, Florence, in Tuscany, has long been popular with travellers. But, like many other places in Italy and elsewhere, it has seen a drastic increase in tourists in recent years, leading to a backlash from residents priced out of their homes. This week, as the city prepares to host tourism ministers from the G7 group of the world's most advanced econ...

The eruption of Mt Lewotobi Laki Laki as seen from the Eputobi rest area in East Flores, East Nusa Tenggara on 9 November, 2024. Photo: AFP / National Disaster Mitigation Agency Several international airlines cancelled flights to and from Indonesia's resort island of Bali on Wednesday, after further eruptions of a volcano that has spewed ash clouds as high as 10km (32,808 feet) and forced thousands to evacuate. Jetstar and Qantas said they had stopped flights to Bali on Wednesday for safety reasons because of volcanic ash, while plane tracking website Flightradar24 showed flights to the island by AirAsia and Virgin were also cancelled. Singapore Airlines said it had cancelled a flight on Wednesday from Bali to Singapore due to the eruption. Bali is Indonesia's top tourist hotspot and is...

By Jim Sciutto, CNN Pete Hegseth (file photo) has been announced as Donald Trump's selection for secretary of defence. Photo: Brett CARLSEN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP Analysis - Within minutes of President-elect Donald Trump's announcement of Fox News host and Army veteran Pete Hegseth as his selection for secretary of defence, current and former senior military commanders began messaging and calling me with their reactions. "Ridiculous," said one. "An effing (euphemism inserted) nightmare," said another. To be clear, these were not partisans, but senior commanders who have served under both Presidents Trump and Joe Biden. Their critiques, as they continued, were not personal. None had anything negative to say about Hegseth. Their central concern is that they see Trump, with ...

Matt Gaetz. Photo: DREW ANGERER / AFP By Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Republican Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida to serve as his attorney general. "Few issues in America are more important than ending the partisan Weaponisation of our Justice System," Trump wrote Wednesday in a post on his Truth Social platform. "Matt will end Weaponised Government, protect our Borders, dismantle Criminal Organisations and restore Americans' badly-shattered Faith and Confidence in the Justice Department." Gaetz said in a post on X that it would "be an honour to serve" in the role. The congressman remains under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for sexual misconduct, with the bipartisan committee saying in a rare statement in June that some of the allegati...

Full House star Dave Coulier, here in 2017, has cancer. Photo: Kathryn Page/Getty Images via CNN Newsource By Lisa Respers France, CNN Dave Coulier, an actor and comedian who found fame as Uncle Joey on Full House, has revealed he has been diagnosed with stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a blood cancer. Coulier shared the news Wednesday during an interview on Today. He told the show's co-anchor Hoda Kotb that he was diagnosed five weeks ago. "In that time I've had three surgeries, I've had chemo, I've lost a little bit of hair," he said, patting his head. "I kind of look like a baby bird now, but it has been a rollercoaster ride, for sure." Coulier said he has "B cell lymphoma," which he described as "aggressive." "The onset of this growing lymphoma in my groin area was very quick so I said...

By Laura Mayers, ABC News Samantha Murphy. Photo: Victoria Police / Supplied A 23-year-old man accused of the high-profile murder of Ballarat woman Samantha Murphy has pleaded not guilty to the charge. Patrick Orren Stephenson appeared from custody via video link at the Ballarat Magistrates Court on Thursday. Stephenson elected to fast-track the case in order to go to Supreme Court for trial. The Ballarat man was arrested in March after 51-year-old Murphy left her home for a jog on 4 February and was never seen again. Police have continued search efforts to find her remains, including in the Enfield State Park in September. Patrick Orren Stephenson appeared in Ballarat Magistrates Court on Thursday. Photo: ABC News / Paul Tyquin Murphy's husband, Mick Murphy, was in the courtro...

Ed Sheeran and Rita Ora will be part of a new mix of charity song 'Do They Know It's Christmas'. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone, Frazer Harrison/Getty Images/AFP An "ultimate mix" of Do They Know It's Christmas is set for release later this month to celebrate 40 years since the festive charity hit's recording. Rockers Bob Geldof, Midge Ure and producer Trevor Horn said the latest version will feature vocals from Sting, Ed Sheeran, Rita Ora and the late George Michael and Sinead O'Connor among other major music names. The song was originally recorded by the Band Aid supergroup of music stars assembled by Geldof and Ure in 1984 to raise money to fight famine in Ethiopia. Two other versions followed for its 20th and 30th anniversaries in 2004 and 2014, featuring other groups of singers and ...

By Riley Stuart, ABC Kevin Rudd's social media posts were deleted last week, but some people have not forgotten them. Photo: AFP / Alex Wong In short: Dan Scavino, a close aide of Donald Trump's, has posted what appears to be an ominous message to Kevin Rudd on X. Scavino posted a GIF of sand trickling through an hourglass next to a message from Australia's ambassador to the US on Tuesday - something that usually signifies when someone's "time's up". What's next? What role Mr Scavino may have in the next White House is yet to be announced by Trump. A key Donald Trump aide appears to have sent the clearest message yet about what the incoming White House administration may think of Australia's ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd. In an ominous post to his 2 million followers on X, Dan Sca...