Judith Durham Dies: ‘Georgy Girl’ Singer With The Seekers Was 79

AFP
South Korean police blocked from raid on president's office
South Korean police said Wednesday that security guards were blocking a raid on President Yoon Suk Yeol's offices to investigate his brief imposition of martial law.Police said earlier that a Special Investigation Team "has conducted a raid" on the presidential office, on different police agencies and on the National Assembly Security Service.
NBC News
Bankruptcy judge rejects The Onion’s bid to buy Alex Jones’ Infowars
A bankruptcy judge on Tuesday rejected a bid by The Onion’s parent company to buy Alex Jones’ far-right media empire, including the website Infowars, ruling that the auction process was unfair.
AFP
Asian markets mixed ahead of US inflation data, eyes on China
Markets diverged on Wednesday ahead of US inflation data that could play a key role in the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision next week, while traders were also keeping tabs on Beijing hoping for more economic support measures."The holiday season is in full swing, and like countless children around the world wishing for something special from jolly old Saint Nick, equity markets are hoping the US Federal Reserve will bring them a comfy-cosy interest rate cut," said Saira Malik, chief inves
Associated Press
Middle East latest: Israeli strike on home in northern Gaza kills 19 people, Palestinian medics say
Palestinian medical officials say an Israeli strike on a home where displaced people were sheltering in the northern Gaza Strip has killed at least 19 people. Hospital records show that a family of eight were among those killed, including four children, their parents and two grandparents. Israel has been waging a renewed offensive against Hamas militants in northern Gaza since early October.
AFP
Taiwan says 'troublemaker' China expands military drills around island
China has expanded military drills around Taiwan aimed at drawing "a red line" for the next US president, Taipei authorities said on Wednesday, branding Beijing a "troublemaker".The security official said on Wednesday that China's plans for the massive maritime operation began in October and were aimed at demonstrating that Beijing could choke off Taiwan and also to "draw a red line" ahead of the next US administration.
AFP
Nikotina, the soundtrack of Mozambique's youth in protest
Popular Mozambique rapper Nikotina KF is rattled and stressed after facing police tear gas and rubber bullets just hours earlier but is determined to bring his voice to the youth-led protests running through his country.It's a social issue," Nikotina told AFP on a busy street in Maputo's rundown Mafalala neighbourhood, his face tired and drawn after that morning's protest dispersed by police.
NBC News
Thousands warned to evacuate in Southern California as wildfires threaten Malibu
A wildfire in Malibu, California, has exploded to more than 2,000 acres, prompting evacuations. Pepperdine University students sheltered in place for six hours.
Associated Press
US defense chief observes drills with Japan, Australia, says he's confident about greater capability
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressed confidence about enhanced military capabilities among the United States, Australia and Japan as he observed joint exercises Wednesday showcasing their closer cooperation as tensions grow in the region. Austin is in Japan to reaffirm the importance of their alliance and Washington’s commitment to regional security. Austin noted as he observed the trilateral Yama Sakura 87 exercises held at the Japanese army’s Camp Asaka on the outskirts of Tokyo that the necessary equipment, munitions and people are in place and “these are the things that will guarantee success if we ever get challenged on the battlefield.”
TODAY
28 funny Elf on the Shelf ideas to try at home
Looking to get a few more laughs from your kids during the holiday season? Look no further than your trusty elf partner for funny Elf on the Shelf ideas.
AFP
Balkan journalists battle deluge of malicious lawsuits
Serbian journalist Radmilo Markovic has gone over every full stop and comma of an article about the powerful mayor of Belgrade that has landed him in court.Serbia is bottom of the class in the region for abusive lawsuits designed to muzzle the media, according to the Europe-wide legal watchdog CASE. It says SLAPPs -- or strategic lawsuits against public participation -- are being increasingly used by the rich and powerful to bully and silence journalists, activists and NGOs. Sapic, a member of
CNN
Investigators search for motive in killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO as suspect’s attorney denies client’s involvement
Investigators are searching for a motive in the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as murder suspect Luigi Mangione fights his extradition to New York from Pennsylvania, where police detained him at a McDonald’s on Monday.
AFP
Tamil migrants reach UK after 'darkest' time in Chagos camp
For three years, Kala and her family were stranded on a remote British-US military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean, trapped in horrific conditions after fleeing persecution at home.Conditions in the camp were "inhumane", she told AFP. The lawyers faced several challenges, including a legal hearing being cancelled "at the last minute" when the lawyers and a British judge were denied access to the US-run military base, she said.
Associated Press
Israeli strikes on Gaza kill at least 26, Palestinian medics say
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip killed at least 26 people overnight and into Wednesday, including one that hit a home where displaced people were sheltering in the isolated north, killing 19, according to Palestinian medical officials. The Israel-Hamas war has raged on with no end in sight, even after Israel reached a ceasefire with Lebanon's Hezbollah and attention shifted to the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad. The strike that killed 19 occurred in the northern town of Beit Lahiya near the border with Israel, according to the nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital, which received the bodies.
Associated Press
A Lebanese man who spent 32 years in Syrian prisons is welcomed home
Suheil Hamwi spent 32 years in a Syrian prison, and now, after an offensive by insurgents that toppled the government of Bashar Assad, he's finally returned to his home in Lebanon. In 1992, Hamwi worked as a merchant, selling various goods in the town of Chekka in northern Lebanon. Hamwi said he handed his 10-month-old son, George, to his wife and went to his car to fetch the whiskey and make the sale.
Associated Press
Taiwan demands that China end its military activity in nearby waters
Taiwan demanded Wednesday that China end its ongoing military activity in nearby waters, which it said is unilaterally undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and disrupting international shipping and trade. The Foreign Ministry, in a statement posted on its website, said it was responding in part to the activities of a “large number” of Chinese naval and coast guard ships in the first-island chain, the Pacific archipelago off the Asian continental mainland that includes Japan, Taiwan and part of the Philippines. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs solemnly demands that the Beijing authorities immediately stop military intimidation and all irrational activities that endanger regional peace and stability,” the statement said.
Reuters
Romanian pro-European parties agree to quickly form broad coalition government
Romania's pro-European parties reached a firm commitment late on Monday to form a governing majority that cordons off the hard right and potentially endorses a single candidate for a re-run of the country's annulled presidential election. The ruling leftist Social Democrats won the most seats in a Dec. 1 parliamentary election which also saw three ultranationalist and hard-right groupings, some with overt pro-Russian sympathies, win over a third of seats. The parliamentary ballot was sandwiched in between two rounds of a presidential election which saw far-right NATO-critic Calin Georgescu emerge from relative obscurity to become the shock frontrunner.
Reuters
Death toll from Russian missile attack on Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia rises to six, officials say
An additional 22 people were injured, governor Ivan Fedorov said on his Telegram messaging channel. "All emergency services of the city are working at the scene," he said. Ukraine's State Emergency Service of Ukraine said its rescuers were able to pull out two women overnight from underneath the ruins of the building.
Associated Press
Rural resurrection: A Greek village leans into faith in fight against demographic collapse
Fourna, home to 180 people and hidden in the fir-tree covered mountains of central Greece, is a vanishing village that is determined to keep its place on the map. A winding four-hour drive from Athens, it enjoys near total silence, periodically broken by church bells and howling dogs. Elderly residents measure the village’s chances of survival by the number of children enrolled at the local primary school.
Associated Press
Brazilian beef and leather companies fall short in tackling deforestation, a study finds
The next United Nations climate conference, COP30, will be held in Belem, the capital of an Amazon region where widespread deforestation mainly driven by cattle farming has turned the surrounding rainforest from a vital carbon sink into a significant carbon source. Now a new report concludes around 80% of Brazil’s leading beef and cow leather companies and their financiers have made no commitments to stop deforestation.
Reuters
Philippines' VP Sara Duterte a no-show for questioning over Marcos threat
Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte failed to appear on Wednesday for questioning over an alleged threat to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, and said she was expecting more legal cases against her and her possible removal from office. Duterte, an influential ally of Marcos until their acrimonious fallout earlier this year, was subpoenaed to appear before the National Bureau of Investigation to explain her remarks during a Nov. 23 press conference, when she said she had hired a hit man to kill the president, his wife and the lower house speaker, in the event that she herself were killed. The daughter of firebrand former President Rodrigo Duterte has not detailed any specific threat to her life, while Marcos has described her remarks as "reckless and troubling".

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