Newcastle council has barred climate group Rising Tide from holding events on council land after consulting New South Wales Premier Chris Minns. The decision comes ahead of a smaller protest this Saturday and the group’s next annual blockade, planned for February.
Key Facts
Lord Mayor Gavin Morris used his casting vote on Tuesday night to block council licenses for Rising Tide events on council land.
Rising Tide holds protests at the Port of Newcastle, where participants use kayaks and rafts to try to block coal ships.
The group calls for an end to new fossil fuel projects, a stop to Newcastle coal exports by 2030, and a 78% tax on fossil fuel profits.
A court invalidated a four-day maritime exclusion zone the New South Wales government imposed around the port ahead of Rising Tide’s 2024 protest.
Police charged 173 protesters in 2024; they later withdrew charges against 125 people.
Police charged 129 protesters who entered the water during the 2025 blockade, which stopped three coal ships from entering the port; those cases remain before the courts.
Rising Tide went to the New South Wales Supreme Court on Wednesday after police rejected its application for a permit for Saturday’s event.
Minns told the council that licensing the events could make it complicit in illegal activity and put lives at risk.
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El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele said Salvadoran forces and Haiti’s National Police attacked a complex near Port-au-Prince that he described as the headquarters of the 400 Mawozo gang. The BBC said it could not verify the video or the site’s identity, and authorities had not confirmed the damage or reports of deaths.
Key Facts
Bukele said the attack destroyed the home of gang leader Wilson “Lanmò San Jou” Joseph and the gang’s headquarters.
The attack involved ground and air forces and took place near Croix-des-Bouquets, a 400 Mawozo stronghold, according to the article.
Video posted by Bukele showed helicopters firing on a complex as people fled; the BBC could not verify the video.
Several media outlets reported that as many as 20 people were killed, but authorities had not confirmed the reports.
The Miami Herald reported that Joseph was not at the complex during the attack.
Haiti’s National Police drone task force took part in the attack, supported by Salvadoran soldiers, the Miami Herald reported, citing sources.
About 2,000 Salvadoran soldiers were deployed to Haiti last month after four Salvadoran air force technicians were abducted in October.
Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé thanked El Salvador for its support and said the countries would continue working with the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force.
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UK newspapers report allegations of sexual misconduct against actor and comedian David Walliams, following his unsuccessful legal bid to prevent the claims from being published. Walliams denies grooming or sexually exploiting women and says he regrets behaving thoughtlessly in some relationships; the BBC is removing some programmes featuring him.
Key Facts
The Guardian and ITV News conducted a joint investigation lasting three years into allegations against Walliams.
Walliams lost a legal bid to stop the claims from being made public.
Walliams said he was not a sexual predator, had not broken the law and regretted not always considering other people’s feelings.
A woman identified as Lilly Creighmore alleges Walliams groomed her when she was 18; he denies grooming her or acting inappropriately.
Walliams denies that gifts or offers of help to Creighmore were attempts to manipulate or coerce her into sex.
The Sun reports that the BBC is removing some programmes featuring Walliams, including Little Britain.
The Daily Telegraph reports that London’s Metropolitan Police contacted the Guardian and ITV News to say potential victims could report criminal allegations to police.
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Pro-Palestinian protesters threw milk toward Joe Biden during a visit to Trinity College Dublin, where his son Hunter was receiving an award for public discourse. The article says the protest was over Biden’s support for Israel.
Key Facts
Pro-Palestinian protesters threw milk toward Joe Biden.
The incident took place in Dublin, Ireland.
Biden visited Trinity College Dublin without announcing the visit in advance.
Hunter Biden was receiving an award for public discourse.
The article links the protest to Joe Biden’s support for Israel.
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Former Iraqi lawmaker Ahmed al-Alwani was found dead in an apartment in Beirut on Monday. Lebanese authorities opened a murder investigation; preliminary findings reported by a judicial source indicate he was strangled, and a suspect has been arrested.
Key Facts
Al-Alwani’s body was found in Beirut’s Tariq Al-Jadeeda neighbourhood.
Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces are investigating under the oversight of Judge Ahmed Rami al-Hajj.
A Lebanese judicial source told AFP that a Lebanese national suspected of involvement had been arrested.
The same source said authorities were searching for two Syrian suspects.
Al-Alwani’s office called his death an assassination and demanded a transparent investigation.
Al-Alwani represented Iraq’s western Anbar province in parliament and was released from detention in April 2025 under Iraq’s General Amnesty Law.
Iraq’s ambassador to Lebanon said the embassy was following the case and awaiting the final report from Lebanese security agencies.
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U.S., Ukrainian and Russian delegations began trilateral peace talks in Abu Dhabi. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the first day of negotiations as constructive and expressed positivity.
Key Facts
The peace talks involve the United States, Ukraine and Russia.
The negotiations are taking place in Abu Dhabi.
The first day of talks was Tuesday.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the first day was constructive.
Zelenskyy expressed positivity about the negotiations.
The report did not provide details about any agreements or outcomes.
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Egyptian journalist Lina Attalah is due to face a criminal court retrial over allegations that Mada Masr operated without a licence and published false news. The UN and press-freedom groups have criticised the case amid a wider crackdown on independent media in Egypt.
Key Facts
Attalah heads Mada Masr, an independent Egyptian news outlet.
A court sentenced Attalah to one year in prison in absentia in 2024 over the charges.
Attalah says she learned of that sentence last month after her release in a separate case.
In the separate case, a court fined her three million Egyptian pounds, reported as about $56,000, and ordered Mada Masr shut down.
Attalah said Mada Masr had submitted licensing applications repeatedly over eight years without receiving answers.
The UN criticised what it called widening assaults on press freedom in Egypt and raised concerns about due process in Attalah’s prosecution.
The article reports that six journalists from the fact-checking platform Matsadaash remain in pretrial detention after their newsroom was arrested in September.
The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Egyptian authorities to end the crackdown and reverse Mada Masr’s shutdown.
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At least 39 people died when a migrant boat capsized off Senegal’s northwest coast. The report describes the disaster as one of Senegal’s deadliest migration tragedies in recent years and discusses why people continue to risk the journey.
Key Facts
At least 39 people died in the boat capsize off Senegal’s northwest coast.
The incident involved a migrant boat.
The report describes it as one of Senegal’s deadliest migration tragedies in recent years.
Aissata Kane, the International Organization for Migration’s chief of mission in Senegal, appeared as a guest to discuss the risks of migration.
The program also reported that an attack in western Ethiopia killed 65 people, including 27 civilians.
Senegal won two taekwondo medals, including a gold, at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.
Senegal moved to sixth place in the Youth Olympic Games standings.
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U.S. prosecutors charged three men they describe as Iranian-backed operatives over alleged attacks and attempted attacks in the United States and Europe, including a plot targeting RAF Fairford in England. Prosecutors allege the men acted for groups linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iraq’s Kataib Hezbollah; Iran has denied involvement in the Fairford incident. The charges add to earlier allegations against one defendant, who is jailed in New York and has pleaded not guilty.
Key Facts
The defendants are Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, Mohsen Mohajeri and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani.
Prosecutors allege al-Hassani directed others to drive vans, including vans carrying fuel barrels, to RAF Fairford.
Prosecutors allege al-Saadi used coded calls to family members in Iraq to pass messages to al-Hassani and Mohajeri.
Al-Saadi, who holds Iranian and Iraqi citizenship, has been in U.S. custody since May and has pleaded not guilty to earlier charges.
U.K. police arrested six people after a report of suspicious activity at Fairford in September; all were released on bail, and two were later charged under the National Security Act.
The U.S. military withdrew its B-1 bombers from Fairford days after the incident.
Flight-tracking data showed the U.S. military had removed at least a dozen aircraft from RAF Mildenhall, another U.K. base, on Tuesday.
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Haiti Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime praised El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele after Salvadoran troops supported an operation that destroyed a suspected gang headquarters near Port-au-Prince. The deployment of more than 2,000 Salvadoran soldiers has raised questions about coordination with Haiti’s security forces and a UN-backed mission, as well as compliance with human rights law.
Key Facts
Bukele said Salvadoran forces destroyed the home of gang leader Wilson Joseph, also known as Lanmo San Jou, and a 400 Mawozo gang headquarters in Croix-des-Bouquets.
A Miami Herald report said the attack took place Sunday and was carried out by a Haitian police task force backed by Salvadoran troops.
The Miami Herald reported that 20 people died, citing anonymous sources.
Joseph was not at the house during the attack, according to pro-government media in El Salvador.
Bukele sent more than 2,000 soldiers to Haiti after four Salvadoran troops went missing following an October 18 ambush.
The deployment has raised concerns about rules of engagement and coordination with the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force.
Amnesty International urged Haiti and El Salvador to ensure Salvadoran operations comply with international human rights law.
Dominican President Luis Abinader called for El Salvador and the Gang Suppression Force to coordinate, while offering support to Bukele.
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British police said they arrested a senior U.S. Army soldier stationed in the United Kingdom on Tuesday. The soldier is suspected of spying for Russia; the report provides no further details about the case.
Key Facts
British police announced the arrest.
The arrested person is a senior U.S. Army soldier.
The soldier was stationed in the United Kingdom.
Police arrested the soldier on Tuesday.
Authorities suspect the soldier of spying for Russia.
The report does not state that the soldier has been charged or convicted.
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Algeria hosted a delegation from Lawrence, Kansas, on an all-expenses-paid trip. The visit thanked the city for welcoming Algeria’s national team during the World Cup.
Key Facts
Algeria hosted the delegation from Lawrence, Kansas.
The trip was all expenses paid.
The visit was described as a thank-you to Lawrence.
Lawrence welcomed Algeria’s national team during the World Cup.
The article did not specify which World Cup or when the team visited Lawrence.
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A UK public inquiry into alleged SAS killings in Afghanistan has released photographs from two 2011 operations in Helmand province. The inquiry’s lead barrister said the images may be essential evidence of possible war crimes; investigators are now subjecting them to forensic analysis.
Key Facts
The inquiry is examining allegations that SAS personnel killed unarmed civilians and detainees during night raids from 2010 to 2013 and planted weapons to conceal the killings.
The newly released photographs show people lying in beds with apparent head injuries, including blood around their heads.
Seventeen people were killed in the two operations shown in the photographs; the youngest victims were 15 and 14.
Lead barrister Oliver Glasgow said the images may contradict SAS accounts that insurgents opened fire on troops.
A military police investigator said the photographs raised concerns, but requested further testing was not carried out at the time.
The inquiry is now arranging expert forensic analysis of the photographs.
The public inquiry was established in 2022 after BBC Panorama reported on allegations concerning SAS raids in Afghanistan.
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Families displaced from Western Tigray have spent years living in a former school in Abi Adi, with shortages of food, clean water and medicine. Renewed fighting since September 2026 has deepened fears that they may not return home, while disputes over territory and governance remain unresolved despite the 2022 peace agreement.
Key Facts
Displaced families from Western Tigray have lived for years in classrooms at a former high school in Abi Adi.
The Pretoria agreement, signed in November 2022, ended two years of war between Ethiopia’s federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front but left major disputes unresolved.
Western Tigray remains disputed after Amhara forces took control during the war, and the return of displaced Tigrayans remains contentious.
Fighting escalated on September 22, 2026; TPLF forces launched an offensive the next day and seized Mekelle’s airport.
Federal forces and allied fighters retook Mekelle on October 4, while fighting continued elsewhere in Tigray.
The federal government established a six-month caretaker administration for Tigray to govern, restore public services and prepare for elections.
Human Rights Watch and other organisations warned the UN Human Rights Council that renewed hostilities threatened the peace agreement and cited reports of attacks near populated areas and displacement camps.
People at the Abi Adi displacement site report shortages of food, clean water and essential medicines, along with overcrowding.
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Pope Leo visited Argentina as the second leg of an expansive tour of South America. The visit followed his lung surgery; Argentina was the home country of the late Pope Francis.
Key Facts
Pope Leo visited Argentina.
The visit was the second leg of his tour, according to the article headline.
The tour covers South America.
The article describes the tour as expansive.
Pope Leo’s tour followed his lung surgery.
The article identifies Argentina as the home country of the late Pope Francis.
CBS News correspondent Chris Livesay reported on the visit.
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The U.S. Department of Justice charged three men it says were Iran-backed operatives with plotting attacks in the United States and Europe, including a suspected plot near RAF Fairford in England. The department alleges that Mohammad Ali al-Hassani directed preparations involving vans and fuel; Iran has denied involvement in the Fairford incident.
Key Facts
The DOJ said an eight-count indictment against Mohsen Mohajeri, Mohammad Ali al-Hassani and Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi was unsealed on Tuesday.
Al-Hassani allegedly paid people in the UK to conduct surveillance and prepare logistics for the RAF Fairford plot.
The DOJ alleges that three vans were driven toward the base on 26 September; some reportedly contained barrels of fuel.
Police declared a major incident near RAF Fairford on 27 September after three suspicious vans were reported. No explosives were found, and police seized petrol.
Seven men have been arrested in the UK in connection with the Fairford incident, according to the article.
The DOJ said a group called HAYI claimed responsibility for 18 attacks in Europe in spring 2026, including seven in the UK.
The DOJ linked the alleged plots to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah; Iran has denied involvement in the Fairford incident.
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Former police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon denied making a fake Grindr account for Jesse Baird, a court heard during his double murder trial. He said he tried to check whether an email address linked to a man Baird had been seeing was active, but did not create or use an account in that man’s name.
Key Facts
Lamarre-Condon is accused of fatally shooting Jesse Baird and Luke Davies in Baird’s Sydney home on 19 February 2024.
He has pleaded not guilty to two murder charges and one charge of aggravated break and enter.
A friend previously testified that Lamarre-Condon made fake profiles of Baird on dating apps, including Grindr.
Under cross-examination, Lamarre-Condon said it had never happened that he told a friend he made a fake Grindr account related to Baird.
He told the court he attempted to use an email address he believed belonged to a man Baird had been seeing to check if it was active on the app.
Lamarre-Condon said he could not confirm the email address was that man’s and had seen it on social media.
The trial is being heard in the New South Wales Supreme Court before Justice Natalie Adams.
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Thomas Markle is back in custody after allegedly cutting off his ankle monitor, CBS News reported. He had been arrested on an allegation of possessing child sexual abuse material.
Key Facts
Thomas Markle is Meghan Markle’s father.
Markle is back in custody.
Authorities allege that Markle cut off his ankle monitor.
Markle had been arrested on an allegation of possessing child sexual abuse material.
CBS News reported the update.
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A newly unsealed U.S. indictment alleges that Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi coordinated suspected terrorist plots from a Brooklyn jail using coded messages and payments. Prosecutors say the alleged plots targeted Jewish communities in Europe and the United States, as well as RAF Fairford, a British base that has hosted U.S. troops and bombers.
Key Facts
The superseding indictment charges al-Saadi and two other men with conspiring to carry out nearly 20 attacks.
Prosecutors allege the defendants acted for an Iran-aligned network that included the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Kata'ib Hezbollah.
Al-Saadi allegedly communicated with co-defendants Mohsen Mohajeri and Mohammad Ali al-Hassani through calls with family members in Iraq.
British authorities detained six suspects in connection with the suspected RAF Fairford plot; all were later released on bail.
The United States withdrew bombers stationed at RAF Fairford and redeployed them to their home bases.
Al-Saadi is the only defendant currently in U.S. custody, and he pleaded not guilty in June to charges involving alleged plots across Europe.
Iran has denied involvement in the suspected plot.
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Prince George’s kingfisher drawing appears in a special edition of Country Life magazine guest edited by his father, Prince William. The edition also includes an interview with Catherine and William’s comments on supporting women in the British armed forces.
Key Facts
Prince George drew the kingfisher at home in the spring, when he was 12.
The drawing appears in a 300-page special edition of Country Life published this week.
Prince William guest edited the edition.
Catherine gave an interview and discussed the healing power of nature.
William called for a more inclusive and respectful culture for women in the British armed forces.
The article connects William’s comments to the death of soldier Jaysley Beck in 2021; a coroner said the Army’s failure to act after harassment and sexual assault contributed to her suicide.
The edition also features Aston Villa manager Unai Emery, who praised William’s support for the club.
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