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NSW police say no one should open or remove any of the packages after finding seven washed ashore

New South Wales police have issued a warning to the public about packages suspected of containing cocaine washing up on beaches between Sydney and Newcastle.

At least seven packages – with “significant barnacle growth” on the outer plastic wrapping – have been found on beaches since Friday night, and police on Sunday warned people not to open or remove any further finds.
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Police issue warning after suspected cocaine packages appear on beaches between Sydney and Newcastle #news #breakingnews https://www. theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/24/police-issue-warning-after-suspected-cocaine-packages-appear-on-beaches-between-sydney-and-newcastle

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Police issue warning after suspected cocaine packages appear on beaches between Sydney and Newcastle #news #breakingnews https://www. theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/24/police-issue-warning-after-suspected-cocaine-packages-appear-on-beaches-between-sydney-and-newcastle

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The weather bureau has issued an extreme fire danger warning for the Burrup district on Saturday

Firefighters on Saturday continued to battle multiple blazes across Western Australia as authorities warn of more “difficult” days ahead.

Seven emergency-level blazes have destroyed homes and torn through bushland, rural properties and suburbs on Perth’s fringes in the past three days.
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Christmas bushfire warning for Western Australia after homes destroyed on Perth’s outskirts #news #breakingnews https://www. theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/23/christmas-bushfire-warning-for-western-australia-after-homes-destroyed-on-perths-outskirts

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Christmas bushfire warning for Western Australia after homes destroyed on Perth’s outskirts #news #breakingnews https://www. theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/dec/23/christmas-bushfire-warning-for-western-australia-after-homes-destroyed-on-perths-outskirts

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Conservationists call for more action after reptiles, fish and birds added to list, including 10 species deemed critically endangered

Seventeen species, including two birds, two fish, several reptiles and the Lord Howe earthworm, have been added to Australia’s list of threatened species.

The sooty shearwater, known for its long-distance journeys, has been listed as vulnerable, while the red-tailed tropicbird, which breeds on Christmas Island, has been listed as endangered.
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Governments accused of not doing enough as 17 species added to Australia’s threatened wildlife list #news #breakingnews https://www. theguardian.com/environment/20 23/dec/22/australia-threatened-wildlife-species-list-added-government-criticism

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Governments accused of not doing enough as 17 species added to Australia’s threatened wildlife list #news #breakingnews https://www. theguardian.com/environment/20 23/dec/22/australia-threatened-wildlife-species-list-added-government-criticism

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94% of owners say cat sets the rules, only fetching specific objects for certain people

They may have a reputation for being independent and aloof, but scientists have found that playing fetch is a surprisingly common behaviour in cats.

A survey of owners found the vast majority reported their cat fetched objects, normally without having been trained. However, cats tended to set the rules of engagement, often only fetching specific objects for specific people.
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Cats like to play fetch but on their own terms, owner survey finds #news #breakingnews

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Cats like to play fetch but on their own terms, owner survey finds #news #breakingnews

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Emmanuelle Debever died on same day the allegations were re-aired on TV, according to French media

Emmanuelle Debever, a French actor who was among the first to accuse Gérard Depardieu of sexual assault, died earlier this month, the same day her allegations against her former co-star were re-aired on television, French media reported.

Debever, who in 2019 accused Depardieu of assaulting her on the set of the 1982 film Danton, died on 7 December, Libération newspaper reported on Thursday.
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French actor who accused Gérard Depardieu of sexual assault dies #news #breakingnews

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French actor who accused Gérard Depardieu of sexual assault dies #news #breakingnews

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Singer who played for Nelson Mandela at his home had been hospitalised with ‘physical pains’, and previously suffered liver damage from alcoholism

The South African pop singer Zahara, whose soaring voice and strident ballads earned her multiple platinum-selling albums in her home country, has died aged 35.

South Africa’s sports, arts and culture minister, Zizi Kodwa, announced her death, saying: “My deepest condolences to the Mkutukana family and the South African music industry. Government has been with the family for some time now. Zahara and her guitar made an incredible and lasting impact in South African music.”
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Zahara, platinum-selling South African singer-songwriter, dies aged 35 #news #breakingnews

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Zahara, platinum-selling South African singer-songwriter, dies aged 35 #news #breakingnews

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Some sites are charging up to £6.45 a transaction and need to be more transparent, says regulator

Online train ticket sellers have been warned to be upfront about booking fees, with more than half of those who charge failing to clearly display the eventual cost.

The rail regulator has written to seven ticket retailers to highlight concerns about “drip pricing”, in which consumers are shown an initial price before add-ons are revealed later.
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UK online train ticket sellers warned to be more upfront about booking fees #news #breakingnews

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UK online train ticket sellers warned to be more upfront about booking fees #news #breakingnews

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Author blamed literary success of the fictional detective for his highbrow historical novels ‘lying unread’

Arthur Conan Doyle secretly hated his creation Sherlock Holmes and blamed the cerebral detective character for denying him recognition as the author of highbrow historical fiction, according to the historian Lucy Worsley.

Doyle was catapulted from “obscurity to worldwide fame” after his crime stories began appearing in a magazine in 1891, Worsley writes in the Radio Times. Eleven years later he was awarded a knighthood.
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Arthur Conan Doyle secretly resented his Sherlock Holmes creation, says historian #news #breakingnews

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Arthur Conan Doyle secretly resented his Sherlock Holmes creation, says historian #news #breakingnews

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CDC researchers say life expectancy has rebounded to 77 years and six months as pandemic wanes but still down on 2019 statistic

US life expectancy rose last year by more than a year but still is not close to what it was before the Covid pandemic.

The 2022 rise was mainly due to the waning pandemic, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers said Wednesday. But even with the large increase, US life expectancy is only back to 77 years and six months – about what it was two decades ago.

Life expectancy increased for both men and women, and for every racial and ethnic group.

The decline in Covid deaths drove 84% of the increase in life expectancy. The next largest contributor was a decline in heart disease deaths, credited with about 4% of the increase. But experts note that heart disease deaths increased during Covid-19, and both factored into many pandemic-era deaths.

Changes in life expectancy varied by race and ethnicity. Hispanic Americans and American Indians and Alaska Natives saw life expectancy rise more than two years in 2022. Black life expectancy rose more than 1 1/2 years. Asian American life expectancy rose one year and white life expectancy rose about 10 months.
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US life expectancy increases but remains below pre-Covid level #news #breakingnews

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US life expectancy increases but remains below pre-Covid level #news #breakingnews

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Actor said that his address had been edited to remove polemic against falsifying history

Robert De Niro said that his speech at the Gotham awards in New York was censored without his knowledge due to his anti-Trump comments.

De Niro came to the stage as part of the Gotham historical icon and creator tribute for the Martin Scorsese-directed Killers of the Flower Moon, and after reading out some remarks about the film, said that the first part of his speech had been removed from the prompter.
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Robert De Niro says anti-Trump speech censored at Gotham awards ceremony #news #breakingnews

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Robert De Niro says anti-Trump speech censored at Gotham awards ceremony #news #breakingnews

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Major wildfires in 2014 and 2015 killed a multitudinous number and destroyed vast swathes of their natural territory

A rare species of gray squirrel has been placed on the endangered list by wildlife officials in Washington state as escalating climate emergency and land overdevelopment rob the rodents of their habitat.

Only three isolated pockets of western gray squirrels survive, the officials say, acknowledging the failure of recovery efforts since unprecedented major wildfires in 2014 and 2015 killed a multitudinous number and destroyed vast swathes of their natural territory.
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Western gray squirrel placed on endangered list in Washington state #news #breakingnews

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Western gray squirrel placed on endangered list in Washington state #news #breakingnews

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In his strongest words in the 30-day war, Vermont senator demands end to killing of ‘innocent men, women and children’

Bernie Sanders has stepped up his calls for a humanitarian pause in Gaza, demanding an immediate stop to Israeli bombing and an end to the killing of thousands of “innocent men, women and children” in the enclave.

In some of his strongest words in the 30-day war, the independent US senator from Vermont decried the 7 October Hamas attack inside Israel. He labelled Hamas as an “awful terrorist organization” that had “slaughtered 1,400 people in cold blood”, reiterating his belief that Israel had the right to defend itself.
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Bernie Sanders calls for end to Israeli strikes and killing of thousands

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Bernie Sanders calls for end to Israeli strikes and killing of thousands

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Kate Bush and Soul Train creator Don Cornelius were also inducted, with Missy Elliott closing the ceremony with roof-shaking set

Sheryl Crow and Olivia Rodrigo kicked off the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Friday night and Missy Elliott closed the show more than four hours later with a roof-shaking set, as the hall celebrated a strong representation of women and Black artists.

Chaka Khan, Kate Bush, Soul Train creator Don Cornelius, the Spinners and DJ Kool Herc were also inducted in a celebration of funk, art-rock, R&B and hip-hop, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts Missy Elliott, Chaka Khan and DJ Kool Herc

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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts Missy Elliott, Chaka Khan and DJ Kool Herc

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Indigenous groups say huge project in northern Nevada threatens environmental, cultural and historical destruction

The rugged and beautiful Thacker Pass in the desert mountains of northern Nevada has long been a sacred site for Native American tribes in the region.

It has witnessed bloody and terrible history. On 12 September 1865, US federal soldiers in the 1st Nevada cavalry committed a massacre of Native Americans, the Numu, across Thacker Pass, named Peehee Mu’huh – Rotten Moon, in the Numu language. Thirty to 50 Native Americans are believed to have been killed, including women and children.
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‘We were not consulted’: Native Americans fight lithium mine on site of 1865 massacre

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‘We were not consulted’: Native Americans fight lithium mine on site of 1865 massacre

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Spencer played down concerns about AI being used to streamline the video game production process and said it had a role in moderation

Artificial Intelligence is very much on the news agenda right now. The unstoppable rise of ChatGPT and the seemingly imminent prospect of generalised AI able to re-create broad human thinking processes has seen concerns raised by everyone from major business CEOs to Geoffrey Hinton, one of the godfathers of AI research. AI has been an element of video game design and production for at least two decades, but now with AI art programs and the rise of procedurally generated game dialogue, there are growing questions over how AI is going to effect not just the content of games, but the teams that make them.

Talking at the Xbox games showcase in Los Angeles recently, Xbox chief Phil Spencer played down concerns that AI could be used to streamline the game production process and therefore lead to smaller teams.
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Phil Spencer, Xbox chief, on AI: ‘I’m protective of the creative process’

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Phil Spencer, Xbox chief, on AI: ‘I’m protective of the creative process’

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Finding in Gallup poll comes just before first anniversary of supreme court overturning Roe v Wade

More than a quarter of registered US voters say they will only vote for candidates who share their beliefs on abortion, according to a poll released on Wednesday, a total (28%) one point higher than last year.

The survey, from Gallup, was released before the first anniversary of Dobbs v Jackson, by which conservatives on the supreme court removed the right to abortion that had been safeguarded since Roe v Wade in 1973.
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Increase in Americans planning to vote for candidate who shares abortion view

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Increase in Americans planning to vote for candidate who shares abortion view

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Religious site contains burial mound serving as a solar calendar as well as remains of about 60 people

Dutch archaeologists have unearthed an approximately 4,000-year-old religious site – nicknamed the “Stonehenge of the Netherlands” – that includes a burial mound that served as a solar calendar.

The mound, which contained the remains of about 60 men, women and children, had several passages through which the sun shone directly on the longest and shortest days of the year.
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Archaeologists unearth 4,000-year-old ‘Stonehenge of the Netherlands’

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Archaeologists unearth 4,000-year-old ‘Stonehenge of the Netherlands’

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Twenty-six stadiums will host the pop star, including four nights at Wembley, following huge success in the US leg of the career-spanning tour

Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, whose three-hour, career-spanning shows have made it a huge critical and commercial success in the US, is to arrive in the UK and Europe.

The tour encompasses 26 stadium dates, beginning 9 May 2024 in Paris, followed by gigs in Stockholm, Madrid, Lisbon and Lyon.
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Taylor Swift’s Eras tour to reach the UK and Europe in summer 2024

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Taylor Swift’s Eras tour to reach the UK and Europe in summer 2024

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The city’s new Labour leader has accepted that some of the 17,500 trees cut down were healthy

Sheffield city council has issued a lengthy open apology for misleading the public, the media and the courts in a bitter dispute over its “flawed” programme to fell 17,500 street trees – many of which it now accepts were healthy.

Tom Hunt, the council’s new Labour leader, said he accepted some people would “never forgive” the local authority for the mistakes it made during the long-running saga, which led to elderly residents being arrested in dawn raids and one councillor facing prison.
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Sheffield council issues apology over tree-felling scandal

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Sheffield council issues apology over tree-felling scandal

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Israeli security forces say gunman was shot and search for other attackers continues after incident near settlement of Eli

A Palestinian attacker has opened fire at a gas station near an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, killing at least four people and wounding several others, Israeli medics have said, as violence continued to roil the occupied territory.

Israeli security forces said they shot the gunman and were still searching for other attackers near the settlement of Eli north of the Palestinian city of Ramallah. The condition of the attacker was not immediately clear. Photos circulated of a man lying face-down in the street beside what appeared to be an M16 rifle.
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At least four people killed by Palestinian gunman in West Bank

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At least four people killed by Palestinian gunman in West Bank