Author: James Martin
Israeli security forces entered the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem before dawn on Friday as thousands of Palestinians were gathered for prayers during the holy month of Ramadan, setting off a series of clashes.Israel said its forces entered to remove rocks and stones that had been gathered in anticipation of violence. The holy site, which is sacred to Jews and Muslims, has often been a flashpoint for Israeli-Palestinian unrest, and was the centre of days of violence during Ramadan last year.Videos circulating online showed Palestinians hurling rocks and police firing teargas and stun grenades on the sprawling esplanade surrounding the…
7m ago02.02In case you missed this assessment from CIA director William Burns, here is a quick re-cap.During a speech at Georgia Tech university in Atlanta on Thursday, Burns said Russia’s President Vladimir Putin may resort to using a tactical or low-yield nuclear weapon in light of military setbacks in the invasion of Ukraine.Given the potential desperation of President Putin and the Russian leadership, given the setbacks that they’ve faced so far, militarily, none of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential resort to tactical nuclear weapons or low-yield nuclear weapons.”The Kremlin said it placed Russian nuclear forces…
Western Australian Liberal senator Ben Small has been forced to resign due to his New Zealand heritage, the latest victim of the section 44 constitutional requirements, but has pledged to stand again at the looming election.Small released a statement on Friday saying he had written to the Senate president to advise him he was resigning as a senator for WA.“My resignation is the result of me becoming aware that I was, until recently, a dual citizen of Australia and New Zealand,” he said.“I was born in Perth in 1988 and have always been an Australian Citizen. At the time of…
Two Liberal party candidates for the forthcoming federal election have been accused of “plagiarising” ads from the recent successful state campaign of South Australia’s Labor premier, Peter Malinauskas.Assistant treasurer and current member for Deakin in Melbourne, Michael Sukkar, and Liberal candidate for Boothby in Adelaide, Rachel Swift, are both alleged to have imitated the distinctive visual style and script of Malinauskas’ ad, released in January, for their federal election campaigns.SA Labor alleged on Twitter that Sukkar had been “caught plagiarising almost word for word” Malinauskas’ ad. The tweet, posted on Thursday night, was accompanied by a video that showed approximately…
Health authorities are urging caution following the emergence of a hybrid Omicron variant of Covid-19 in Australia.The recombinant variant, known as XE, is a combination of BA.2 – “stealth Omicron” – and BA.1 – the original and highly transmissible Omicron variant of the virus.The first confirmed case of XE in Australia was detected in an overseas traveller who tested positive to the subvariant on 9 April after touching down in New South Wales.No further XE cases have been detected, however since Monday, mandatory negative Covid tests prior to arriving in Australia have been lifted, prompting concern subvariants of the virus…
Retired judges have criticised the Morrison government’s broken promise on the federal anti-corruption commission as a “massive policy failure”, saying the Coalition’s explanation for walking away from the pledge was “spurious”.The Coalition is under pressure over its failure to introduce legislation establishing its proposed anti-corruption commission, despite promising to do so prior to the last election.Scott Morrison and other Liberal MPs have sought to blame a lack of Labor support for its failure to legislate the watchdog, an explanation described by Labor’s Chris Bowen as a “farce” and “complete nonsense”.Retired New South Wales supreme court judge Anthony Whealy, now chair…
Penrith’s ultimate successes have, historically, been fleeting. Not this time. The signing of star halfback Nathan Cleary and coach Ivan Cleary to long-term deals has set the Panthers up for sustainable security at the top of the premiership ladder. This may not be Melbourne Storm longevity but it is hard to see Penrith missing out on the top four anytime in the 2020s now the Clearys have locked themselves in as centrepieces.Amid a great deal of controversy in 2019, Nathan Cleary was reunited with his father Ivan, who left the Wests Tigers in acrimonious circumstances to return to Penrith for…
Australian golfing great Jack Newton has died, aged 72.Newton, the 1979 Australian Open champion, died overnight due to “health complications”, his family said.Newton’s Australian Open victory was one of three triumphs on the Australian tour – he also won once on the PGA Tour and was a three-time winner on the European Tour. Newton’s stellar career also included runner-up finishes at the British Open in 1975 and the US Masters in 1980.His golfing career ended prematurely in July 1983 when, aged 33, he lost his right arm and eye after walking into a plane’s spinning propeller.“[He] was a fearless competitor…
Russia’s flagship missile cruiser Moskva has sunk in “stormy seas” while being towed to a port in the Black Sea following an explosion, the Russian defence ministry has announced.The Ukrainian southern military command claimed late on Wednesday to have struck the Moskva with Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles, while distracting its crew with an aerial drone, causing it to start sinking and forcing the crew to abandon ship.Russia’s defence ministry initially denied reports that it had sunk and claimed the fires had been extinguished. Four Russian ships that had gone to the Moskva’s rescue were being hampered by stormy weather and…
Adolescent overdose deaths in the United States more than doubled from 2010 to 2021, jumping from 518 to 1,146 deaths annually, according the study, which published in JAMA.In 2021, fentanyl was involved in more than 77% of adolescent overdose deaths, the study said. Fentanyl is 50 times more powerful than heroin and is extremely cheap to produce, according to the US Drug Enforcement Agency.With drug use among teens currently at a historic low, researchers said the amount of fentanyl being sold to them in the form of counterfeits of common medications — and the lack of awareness of the risks…