* . * . *
close

The Guardian

‘Paid actors’ appear to be behind some antisemitic attacks, Albanese says

‘Paid actors’ appear to be behind some antisemitic attacks, Albanese says



Prime minister says recent incidents don’t appear to be motivated by ideology as Coalition demands more informationFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnthony Albanese says it appears some of the perpetrators behind a spate of antisemitic attacks in New South Wales and Victoria were paid actors rather than ideologically motivated offenders, seemingly confirming the target of police investigations.But the prime minister resisted the Coalition’s demands to disclose further details about the Australian federal police probe, suggesting it could compromise efforts to track down the alleged criminals.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jan/22/paid-actors-antisemitic-attacks-australia-pm-anthony-albanese-police-afp-ntwnfb

Author : Dan Jervis-Bardy, Josh Butler and Rafqa Touma

Publish date : 2025-01-22 01:00:27

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Read more

DWP crackdown could see people banned from driving if welfare debts go unpaid

DWP crackdown could see people banned from driving if welfare debts go unpaid



New fraud, error and debt bill will also allow money to be recovered direct from bank accounts of people fraudulently claiming benefitsPeople could be banned from driving if they repeatedly fail to repay money they owe under a new government crackdown on welfare fraud.The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will also be able to recover money directly from the bank accounts of people fraudulently claiming benefits. Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jan/22/dwp-crackdown-could-see-people-banned-from-driving-if-welfare-debts-go-unpaid

Author : Nadeem Badshah

Publish date : 2025-01-22 00:01:04

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Read more

Trump administration sued over order making it easier to fire federal workers

Trump administration sued over order making it easier to fire federal workers



In a ‘step backward’, Trump effectively reinstated Schedule F, reclassifying thousands of employees as political hiresOne day after Donald Trump returned to office, a leading government labor union filed a lawsuit against his administration’s reclassification of thousands of federal workers as political hires.An executive order signed by the president – making public sector workers easier to fire – amounts to a “dangerous step backward”, according to the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents federal government employees across 37 agencies and departments. Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/21/labor-union-lawsuit-trump-administration

Author : Michael Sainato

Publish date : 2025-01-21 23:09:55

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Read more

California prepares for possible new fires as winds create conditions for ‘explosive growth’

California prepares for possible new fires as winds create conditions for ‘explosive growth’



Gusts could peak at 70mph (113km/h) along the coast and 100mph (160km/h) in the mountains and foothillsWinds picked up on Tuesday in southern California and at least a couple of new wildfires broke out as firefighters remained on alert in extreme fire weather, two weeks after major blazes started, two of them still burning, in the Los Angeles area.The fresh high winds – that are coming amid still bone-dry conditions – mark the end of a break in dangerous high fire-risk conditions that have allowed the beleaguered city’s firefighters to largely contain the disastrous blazes that have burnt thousands of homes. The fires have killed at least 27 people and destroyed more than 14,000 structures since they broke out during fierce winds on 7 January. Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/21/wind-new-fires-california

Author : Guardian staff and agencies

Publish date : 2025-01-21 22:02:39

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Read more

UK experts warn of dangers of violent content being readily available online

UK experts warn of dangers of violent content being readily available online



Ofcom figures show number of people seeing material depicting or encouraging violence or injury has risenSix minutes before Axel Rudakubana left home to murder three girls at a Southport dance class, he searched for a video of the Sydney church attack in which a bishop was stabbed while livestreaming a sermon.

That video from last April, which is still available online, was among Rudakubana’s internet history, which officials said showed his “obsession with extreme violence”.

The 18-year-old had reportedly spent hours in his bedroom researching genocides and watching graphic videos of murder, and had looked at material about school massacres in the US. Documents about Nazi Germany, “clan cleansing” in Somalia, electronic detonators and car bombs were also found on Rudakubana’s devices during police searches of his home.

The details of the shocking case have led Keir Starmer to warn that Britain faces a new threat of terrorism from “extreme violence perpetrated by loners, misfits, young men in their bedrooms accessing all manner of material online”.

“To face up to this new threat, there are also bigger questions,” the prime minister said on Tuesday.

“Questions such as how we protect our children from the tidal wave of violence freely available online, because you can’t tell me that the material this individual viewed before committing these murders should be accessible on mainstream social media platforms, but with just a few clicks, people can watch video after horrific video – videos that, in some cases, are never taken down. No. That cannot be right.”

The number of people seeing content online depicting or encouraging violence or injury has increased, according to Ofcom, the communications regulator. Its latest research, dating to May and June 2024, shows that 11% of users aged 18 and over had seen such material on social media and elsewhere online, up from 9% a year earlier.

Meanwhile 9% of internet users aged 13 to 17 had also seen content depicting or encouraging violence or injury. More broadly, as of June 2024, 68% of users aged 13 and over said they had encountered at least one potential harm in the past four weeks, the same proportion as reported in June 2023 and in January 2024.

Prof Sonia Livingstone, from the London School of Economics department of media and communications, said violent content was easily available and that there had been an increasing amount of research on boys and young men accessing misogynist and hateful material.

“That’s not to say everyone is looking at it and in my research I talk to lots of teenagers who avoid it, or see it and deplore it, or see it and are intrigued but wouldn’t dream of taking any action,” she said.

“So however much we can see that there’s a problem with online, in this particular case, it’s never going to be the whole explanation. We also have to look at the question of who was this young man.”

Rudakubana was obsessed by violence but was deemed to have no coherent ideology. Starmer promised legal reforms on Tuesday to allow attackers to be charged under terror laws despite lacking such an ideology.

Dr Julia Ebner, a researcher specialising in radicalisation, extremism and terrorism at the University of Oxford and the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, said there had been an increase in radicalisation cases involving people with “fluid ideologies”.

“It’s a phenomenon of our time,” she said. “We all have highly tailored content and individualised feeds on Instagram or TikTok or Telegram. Because people can be part of several different groups or subscribe to different channels, they will see the content that is radicalising them, and at the same time, misogyny and potentially white supremacy or Satanism.”Rudakubana had downloaded an academic study on Al-Qaida that is banned under terror laws and which police believe he may have used to make the ricin. He also used security software to hide his identity when he bought knives from Amazon in the days before his attack on the Taylor Swift-themed dance club in Merseyside on 29 July last year. Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jan/21/expert-warn-of-dangers-of-violent-content-being-readily-available-online

Author : Emine Sinmaz

Publish date : 2025-01-21 20:38:23

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Read more

Australia news live: Greens pledge $800 ‘back to school’ bonus for public school pupils; boy crushed by parking meter

Australia news live: Greens pledge $800 ‘back to school’ bonus for public school pupils; boy crushed by parking meter



Party leader Adam Bandt to launch policy at Brisbane school. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with some of the best overnight stories before Emily Wind takes the reins.Sydney’s Jewish community is in shock after the latest antisemitic attack in the city targeted a childcare centre in Maroubra and left people fearful about their safety. Since late November, there have been six major antisemitic incidents in Sydney and one in Melbourne, five of those involving arson. Yesterday federal police revealed they were investigating whether the attacks have been funded by “overseas actors” using cryptocurrency. Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2025/jan/22/greens-school-pupils-payment-bandt-politics-universities-antisemitism-inquiry

Author : Martin Farrer

Publish date : 2025-01-21 19:33:37

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Read more

Digital passports among IDs to be available in UK government app

Digital passports among IDs to be available in UK government app



The app announced by Peter Kyle, the secretary of state for technology, will launch in June with driving licences and veteran cards the first available IDsUK citizens could soon be able to carry their passports in a digital wallet on their phones along with their driving licence, universal credit account and marriage and birth certificates.The plan was announced by Peter Kyle, the secretary of state for science, innovation and technology, as part of a new smartphone app to simplify interactions with government services. He said it meant “the overflowing drawer rammed with letters from the government and hours spent on hold to get a basic appointment will soon be consigned to history”. Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/21/digital-passports-among-ids-to-be-available-in-uk-government-app

Author : Robert Booth UK technology correspondent

Publish date : 2025-01-21 17:52:24

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Read more

Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders among January 6 prisoners released by Trump

Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders among January 6 prisoners released by Trump



Far-right figures Enrique Tarrio and Steward Rhodes set free after being imprisoned for helping plot Capitol attackExtremist supporters of Donald Trump who attacked the US Capitol on 6 January 2021 or were involved in planning the insurrection began leaving prison on Tuesday, after the newly installed president issued sweeping pardons shortly after being sworn in on Monday.The Republican president’s pardon of 1,500 defendants on Monday drew outrage from lawmakers who were endangered in the attack, when thousands of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent Congress from certifying his 2020 loss to Joe Biden. Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/21/january-6-pardons-trump

Author : Marina Dunbar in Washington and agencies

Publish date : 2025-01-21 16:40:33

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Read more

Trump fires Mark Milley and José Andrés amid plans for mass purge of Biden administration

Trump fires Mark Milley and José Andrés amid plans for mass purge of Biden administration



Milley was once the most senior uniformed officer at the Pentagon and had turned against Trump in the years between his presidenciesUS politics live – latest updatesDonald Trump fired Mark Milley from his role on the National Infrastructure Advisory Council on Tuesday. Milley is a retired army general who served as the most senior uniformed officer at the Pentagon as chair of the joint chiefs of staff under Trump and Joe Biden.Trump announced the firing in a social media post, after Milley sharply turned against him in the years between his presidencies, ultimately branding him “a total fascist”. Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/21/trump-fires-mark-milley-jose-andres

Author : Adam Gabbatt in New York

Publish date : 2025-01-21 15:20:15

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Read more

Anthony Albanese has pledged action on antisemitism – but Peter Dutton is still setting the agenda | Josh Butler

Anthony Albanese has pledged action on antisemitism – but Peter Dutton is still setting the agenda | Josh Butler



The prime minister’s about-face after attack on Sydney childcare centre has left him once again looking like he’s playing catchupGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnthony Albanese has pledged action on antisemitic attacks – but his decision to call a snap national cabinet meeting less than a day after rebuffing that suggestion has left him once again looking like he’s playing catchup.The prime minister condemned an arson and graffiti attack on a childcare centre in the Sydney suburb of Maroubra this week as a hate crime and “vile, antisemitic violence”. Scheduled to hold a press conference in western Sydney on Tuesday morning, he rerouted to the city’s east instead, visiting the site of the attack and then holding a press conference with the New South Wales premier, Chris Minns.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jan/22/anthony-albanese-has-pledged-action-on-antisemitism-but-peter-dutton-is-still-setting-the-agenda-ntwnfb

Author : Josh Butler

Publish date : 2025-01-21 14:00:33

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Read more

Trump’s withdrawal from Paris climate deal ‘truly unfortunate’ or even ‘fatal’ – Europe live

Trump’s withdrawal from Paris climate deal ‘truly unfortunate’ or even ‘fatal’ – Europe live



EU climate chief warns rising temperatures are ‘potentially catastrophic’ while outgoing German vice-chancellor urges Europe to continue low-carbon focusIn the last few minutes, von der Leyen has been speaking about what will be the EU’s position on Ukraine given potential changes in the US policy under Trump.This is what she said:I think we should never forget where it all started. Ukraine is a sovereign country, and it determined its own future by asking for accession to the EU. That’s where it all started. The response was an invasion by its neighbour, Russia.We should also never forget … it is never only about the security of Ukraine, but about European security. Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/jan/21/europe-live-donald-trump-reaction-latest-news

Author : Jakub Krupa

Publish date : 2025-01-21 12:59:52

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Read more

Gaza ceasefire: Displaced Palestinians return to destroyed homes as aid is delivered to strip – live updates

Gaza ceasefire: Displaced Palestinians return to destroyed homes as aid is delivered to strip – live updates



Humanitarian organisations express cautious hope truce deal will allow to scale up aid from 18 to 500 truckloads a dayUS President Donald Trump has reversed the Biden administration’s sanctions on violent Israeli settlers in a concession to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid the precarious ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. You can follow our US Politics blog for the latest on all the key policy actions taken by Trump on inauguration day here.Trump rescinded an executive order Biden signed last February, which gave the US government the power to sanction any foreign nationals who tried to attack, intimidate or seize the property of Palestinian people in the occupied West Bank. Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/jan/21/gaza-ceasefire-palestine-israel-homes-aid-strip-live-updates

Author : Yohannes Lowe

Publish date : 2025-01-21 11:11:05

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Read more

South Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol denies ordering troops to ‘drag out’ lawmakers

South Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol denies ordering troops to ‘drag out’ lawmakers



Impeached president appears in constitutional court following last month’s short-lived martial law orderSouth Korea’s impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol has denied ordering troops to “drag out” lawmakers from the country’s parliament to prevent them from overturning his short-lived declaration of martial law last month.In his first appearance at the constitutional court, which will decide whether to uphold his impeachment, Yoon replied “no” when asked by a judge whether he had ordered the military to remove lawmakers from the national assembly building. Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/21/south-korea-yoon-suk-yeol-denies-ordering-troops-drag-out-lawmakers

Author : Justin McCurry in Tokyo and agencies

Publish date : 2025-01-21 09:41:23

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Read more

Keir Starmer to give statement on Southport attack inquiry – UK politics live

Keir Starmer to give statement on Southport attack inquiry – UK politics live



Prime minister is addressing cameras from Downing Street this morningGood morning. Keir Starmer is due to give a statement, and hold a press conference, within the next hour to discuss the government’s decision to hold a public inquiry into the Southport attack.According to briefing in advance, Starmer is also keen to use the event this morning to refute claims that there was some sort of cover-up last summer because information about the attacker, Axel Rudakubana, was withheld from the public. Reform UK politicians were particularly vocal in amplifying these claims, and they were a factor that led to the rioting that broke out in some parts of northern England, with attacks on hotels housing asylum seekers. The police insisted there was a limit to what they could say about Rudakubana because the release of information about his violent background could prejudice a trial. Starmer is expected to repeat those points this morning, with reference to his background as a former head of the Crown Prosecution Service. Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2025/jan/21/keir-starmer-southport-attack-labour-uk-politics-latest-news-updates

Author : Andrew Sparrow

Publish date : 2025-01-21 08:14:30

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Read more

Albanese vows to continue climate action despite Trump’s plans to pull out of Paris agreement

Albanese vows to continue climate action despite Trump’s plans to pull out of Paris agreement



Prime minister acknowledges US president’s move would ‘impact the globe’ but says Australia remains a sovereign nation Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAnthony Albanese has vowed to continue Australia’s action on climate change after United States president Donald Trump once again moved to pull his country out of the Paris agreement.The prime minister acknowledged Trump’s move would “impact the globe” on Tuesday but said Australia remained a sovereign nation with an interest in meeting the challenge of extreme weather events.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading…



Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jan/21/australia-reaction-trump-inauguration-penny-wong-trade

Author : Josh Butler and Sarah Basford Canales

Publish date : 2025-01-21 06:21:42

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.

Read more
1 2 3 319
Page 1 of 319

.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . %%%. . . * . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . . . .