Australia news live: Bragg says ‘every back yard’ could fit a new house or granny flat as he ties Liberal party’s future to housing
Shadow housing minister urges Liberals to seriously address housing affordability. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAlbanese and Ley respond to tragic firefighter deathThe prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has issued a statement after the death of a firefighter who was battling a blaze at Bulahdelah on the NSW mid-north coast.My heart goes out to the loved ones and colleagues of the firefighter who has tragically lost their life in the Bulahdelah bushfire. All Australians are thinking of you in your time of grief.This terrible news is a sombre reminder of the dangers that our emergency services personnel face to keep our homes and communities safe – and the extraordinary courage that their job demands. We honour that bravery, every day.All Australians are with the firefighter’s family, friends and the team who worked beside him. Our emergency services put themselves in harm’s way to keep Australians safe. Today we mourn this terrible loss. Continue reading...
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Benin coup thwarted by loyalist troops, president tells nation
Patrice Talon says the situation is "totally under control" not long after explosions were heard in Cotonou.
Release secured of 100 kidnapped Nigerian schoolchildren but many still being held
Gunmen abducted 315 pupils and staff last month from St Mary’s school in Niger state as part of spate of kidnappingsNigerian authorities have secured the release of 100 kidnapped schoolchildren taken by gunmen from a Catholic school last month, a UN source and local media said on Sunday, though the fate of another 165 students and staff thought to remain in captivity remained unclear.In November 315 students and staff were kidnapped from St Mary’s co-educational boarding school in north-central Niger state, as the country buckled under a wave of mass abductions reminiscent of the infamous 2014 Boko Haram abduction of schoolgirls in Chibok. Continue reading...
Ilhan Omar says Trump’s anti-Somali tirade ‘completely disgusting’
Minnesota representative says ‘hateful rhetoric’ can lead to ‘dangerous actions by people who listen to the president’US House member Ilhan Omar on Sunday defended the Somali community in her Minnesota congressional district, saying it was “completely disgusting” when Donald Trump recently referred to them as garbage.“These are Americans that he is calling ‘garbage,’” Omar, a Somalia-born Democrat, said while responding to the president’s remarks on CBS’s Face the Nation. “I think it is also really important for us to remember that this kind of hateful rhetoric – and this level of dehumanizing – can lead to dangerous actions by people who listen to the president.” Continue reading...
Firefighter dies in NSW as premier warns of ‘foreboding’ start to bushfire season
Member of national parks firefighting team killed by tree at Bulahdelah in ‘deeply distressing turn of events’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA firefighter has died on the New South Wales mid-north coast, as the state’s premier issued a warning about a “foreboding beginning” to the bushfire season.The deputy secretary of the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Alex Graham, on Monday confirmed the death of one of their firefighters. Continue reading...
Anthony Albanese warns of ‘difficult’ bushfire season ahead as almost 40 homes lost in NSW and Tasmania
Disaster payments announced after 16 homes destroyed in Koolewong and four at Bulahdelah in NSW. Nineteen homes were lost in TasmaniaFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has warned of a “difficult” summer bushfire season ahead, as a natural disaster was declared in parts of New South Wales and crews battling more than 70 fires gained the upper hand on Sunday.The most destructive blaze – an out-of-control bushfire at Koolewong, not far from built-up areas of the Central Coast – destroyed 16 homes on Saturday. The threat had eased by midday on Sunday as strong winds gave way to a cool change.Central CoastMid coastUpper HunterMuswellbrookWarrumbungleDubbo Continue reading...
The New Syria
The country certainly still faces many challenges. But some things are now going right there — and those are worth our attention, too.
Republicans in Congress mocked Trump privately, Marjorie Taylor Greene says
Georgia lawmaker says colleagues who made fun of president before 2024 win now support him out of fearRepublicans in Congress privately made fun of Donald Trump only to come around to support him when he won their party’s 2024 White House nomination, outgoing GOP House member Marjorie Taylor Greene said on Sunday.“I watched many of my colleagues go from making fun of him, making fun of how he talks, making fun of me constantly for supporting him, to when he won the primary in 2024, they all started – excuse my language, Lesley – kissing his ass,” Greene, a Georgia Republican, said in a clip of an interview that is set to air on Sunday on CBS’s 60 Minutes program. Continue reading...
Troops and warplanes deployed in Benin after ‘failed coup attempt’
West African Ecowas forces sent to country after group of soldiers announced dissolution of government on state TVWest African troops were deployed to Benin on Sunday after what the country’s president described as an unsuccessful coup attempt.Benin’s president, Patrice Talon, said on Sunday that the situation was “totally under control” after security forces acted to end a coup attempt by a group of soldiers who attacked state institutions. Continue reading...
Benin Coup Attempt to Oust Talon Has Been Foiled, Interior Minister Says
A spokesman said 14 members of the military had been arrested. The West African country’s president, who was not seen for hours, appeared on television Sunday night and said the coup plot would “not go unpunished.”