Sydney rents explode

 

David and his partner had been living in their inner-Sydney property for only 12 months when they were issued with a 50% rent increase. They had been paying $800 a week for a three-bedroom home with a study and one car space.  Now, they were told, it would jump to $1,200.

“Their justification was it’s in line with market value,” David says. “We said we’d be prepared to pay $1,000 a week, even though the air conditioning didn't work.”

The same week, they were served with a lease termination notice instructing them they had 30 days to vacate the property.

 

Iranian women before the revolution

 

Iranian women taking part in a march on international women's day through the capital Tehran to protest new rules making the Hijab compulsory. 8th March 1979 

Edward Snowden granted Russian Citizenship

 

Sept 26 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin on Monday granted Russian citizenship to former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, nine years after he exposed the scale of secret surveillance operations by the National Security Agency (NSA).

Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline leak

 

Authorities in Germany are trying to establish what caused a sudden drop in pressure in the defunct Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, with a spokesperson for its operator saying it could have been a leak.

The pipeline has been one of the flashpoints in an escalating energy war between Europe and Moscow since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February that has pummelled western economies and sent gas prices soaring.

Nord Stream 2’s operator said pressure in the undersea pipeline dropped from 105 to 7 bar overnight.

Russian school gunman kills 17

 

MOSCOW (AP) — A gunman opened fire in a school in central Russia on Monday, killing 17 people and wounding 24 others before shooting himself dead.

The shooting took place in School No. 88 in Izhevsk, a city 960 kilometers (600 miles) east of Moscow in the Udmurtia region.

Lebanese retired military personnel fight for pension increase

 

Lebanese army soldiers clash with retired military personnel as they try to break into the Parliament in Beirut, during a session to approve the 2022 budget.  The protesters were demanding a increase in their monthly retirement pay, decimated during the economic meltdown.

Ukrainians hunt for wood

 

Reuters / Sunday, September 25, 2022

Local residents collect firewood from abandoned blindages of the Russian army to heat their homes, as they have no electricity, water and gas, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the town of Izium, recently liberated by Ukrainian Armed Forces, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine September 25.  REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

Reluctant Russian recruits

 

Reservists drafted during the partial mobilization line up outside a recruitment office in the Siberian town of Tara in the Omsk region, Russia.  26 September. Reuters/Alexey Malgavko

 

Poland's fear of the cold

 

Krakow, Poland

Activists hold banners during a Malopolska provincial session, as the council considers changes to a 2017 anti-smog resolution that campaigners say will allow citizens to burn any kind of fuel, even garbage, resulting in high levels of air pollution.  Photograph:  Omar Marques/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

 

 

Putin retires to his palace

 

VLADIMIR Putin is said to have vanished to a luxury palace in a secret location as a new wave of protests over his war draft swept Russia.

The Russian leader's disappearance has sparked fresh rumours about the state of his health with sources claiming he is resting "body and soul."

 

 

Italian Election

 

This woman was born under Mussolini and is witnessing history repeat itself.

Italy's Giorgia Meloni no friend of Ukraine

 

Far-right leader Giorgia Meloni has won Italy's election, according to exit polls, and is on course to become the country's first female prime minister.

Her allies, Matteo Salvini of the far-right League, and former PM Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right Forza Italia have both had close ties with Russia. Mr Berlusconi, 85, claimed last week that Vladimir Putin was pushed into invading Ukraine while Mr Salvini has called into question Western sanctions on Moscow.

 

Optus, Australia Hack

 

Optus reported a massive data breach on Thursday, which included the details of 11.2 million customers and more than 3.6m driver’s license numbers. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

 

Mahsa Amini protest in Iran

 

Women take part in a sit-in following the death of Mahsa Amini in Beirut, Lebanon 21 September 2022.  Reuters/Mohamed Azakir

Where are the world's "Most Influential Jews?"

 

How many of the world's "Most influential Jews" are begging the State of Israel for defensive weapons against a genocidal invader - to no avail?

Putin preparing to block men from leaving Russia

 

Vladimir Putin is preparing to block men of conscription age from leaving the country as queues of people flee Russia.

Large crowds have been seen at the borders of neighbouring countries of Georgia and Finland. 

Roger Federer bows out

In front of a 17,500 sell-out crowd at the 02 Arena in London, Roger Federer returned for the final match of his career.

Federer and Nadal both let their emotions show after their final competitive match on the same court.

Sitting in the dark in Ukraine

 

Ludmilla Lavrova, 70, sits in her kitchen without power on September 23, 2022 in Izium, Ukraine. In recent weeks, Ukrainian forces have reclaimed villages east and south of Kharkiv, as Russian forces have withdrawn from areas they've occupied since early in the war.

PAULA BRONSTEIN, GETTY IMAGES

So-called referenda to join Russia a sham

 

Residents in Russian-controlled parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions were told to vote on proposals for the four areas to declare independence and then join Russia.

The polls have been widely condemned in Kyiv and the west as illegitimate, and are due to run until Tuesday.

 

Ukraine's Foreign Legion

 

Meet German Barinov, the first Estonian soldier awarded the Ukranian Order for Courage by President Zelensky.   Barinov has been wounded twice and is still fighting in the Ukrainian Foreign Legion. "The job needs to be finshed here" he says.

 

Russian Conscripts' outdated rifles

 

Russian conscripts get Nagant/Mosin rifles, designed in 1890/91, and obsolete already at the time of WWII.

 

 

 

Hans Niemann beats Magnus Carlsen

 

Hans Niemann, a 19-year-old American and the lowest-ranked player in the tournament, faced Carlson, a man who had dominated chess for more than a decade.

 

Magnus Carlsen, 31 and from Norway, was undefeated in 53 games in classical chess, and had the advantage of playing white - thereby moving first.

 

But if Niemann appeared daunted, he didn't show it. After confidently nullifying the advantage of the first move, he gradually took over the game. Facing a difficult defence in the endgame, Carlsen faltered and soon resigned in a hopeless position.

 

Soon after the game, Carlsen withdrew from the tournament without explanation, despite there being another six rounds left - a virtually unprecedented move at the top level of chess.

 

Niemann admitted to cheating online on two separate occasions aged 12 and 16 by using computer software assistance, but denied ever cheating over the board - widely regarded as a much more serious offence - saying he was even prepared to play naked to prove his innocence……..

 

Source:  BBC News  https://www.bbc.com/news/world-63010107

 

 

 

Russians welcome in Germany

 

Russians fleeing forced military service could have grounds to seek asylum in the EU

 

German ministers have indicated that people fleeing Russia could apply for asylum in Germany after President Vladimir Putin ordered what he called a "partial military mobilization."

Several German government ministers have indicated that under specific conditions, Germany is ready to take in Russians fleeing the "partial military mobilization" ordered by Russian President Putin.

"Deserters threatened with serious repression can, as a rule, obtain international protection in Germany," Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in an interview with the daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

"Anyone who courageously opposes Putin's regime and thereby falls into great danger, can file for asylum on grounds of political persecution," she said.

Burning our Australian flag

First Nations protesters burn the British and Australian flags during an anti-monarchy rally in central Brisbane. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Senator Lidia Thorpe

Senator Lidia Thorpe dipped her hands in red paint to symbolise blood at an anti-monarchy protest. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

Revolutionary Guard poised for 'decisive action'

 

Revolutionary Guard poised for ‘decisive action’ crackdown on Iran street protesters outraged by the murder of Mahsa Amini by Morality Police

 

 

Lebanese banks close indefinitely

 

Banks across Lebanon have closed “indefinitely” after a spate of incidents in which account-holders arrived armed to demand access to their money.

 

Laver Cup 2022, London

 

Cam Norrie, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Matteo Berrettini, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Roger Federer of Team Europe take a selfie in front of Tower Bridge.  Photograph: Getty Images for Laver Cup

The 2022 Laver Cup is the fifth edition of the Laver Cup, a men's tennis tournament between teams from Europe and the rest of the world. It is to be held on indoor hard courts at The O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom from 23 until 25 September.

Anti-Monarchy protest in Australia

 

Melbourne, Australia

Red dye is smeared over a coat of arms at the British Consulate during an anti-monarchy protest.  Photograph: Joel Carrett/EPA

Aiden Aslin back home

 

Mother of Aiden Aslin who returned to the UK following his release by Russia said she “thought this day would never happen” – Aiden will always be a hero to me, I’m very proud of him for defending Ukraine against Putin.

 

Military age men flee Moscow

 

Military age men mobilized at Moscow airport yesterday.

Russian protesters will be sent to Ukraine

 

More than 1,000 people have been arrested across Russia, following protests against Moscow’s partial mobilisation order on Wednesday.

Some of those arrested were served a summons to report to military enlistment offices on Thursday, the first full day of conscription.

 

Dennis Tipakalippa took on Santos and won

 

Today, David slayed Goliath. Our client, Dennis Tipakalippa took on Santos and won. Drilling at Barossa will stop. A historic day. He says he is the happiest man alive

Russian cosmonauts ready for take-off

 

Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev (C) and Dmitri Petelin (R) and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, members of the International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 68 main crew, walk prior to the launch at the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Photograph: Natalia Kolesnikova / AFP

 

Mahsa Amini protest in Turkey

 

A protester holds a portrait of Mahsa Amini during a demonstration in support of the Iranian woman who died after being arrested by morality police in Tehran.  Photograph: Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Imates

200 stranded pilot whales in Tasmania

 

Tasmania, Australia

More than 200 stranded pilot whales on the beach near Macquarie Heads on Tasmania’s west coast.  About half are thought to be alive and rescuers are trying to get them back into the sea.  Photograph: Dept of Natural Resources/AFP/Getty Images

 

Iran protests unlikely to change for women

 

A woman argues with Basij militia members after removing her hijab during Iran protests

Anatoly Gerashchenko's accident

 

The former head of the Moscow Aviation Institute has died after falling down "several flights of stairs," the institute reported Wednesday.

Scientist Anatoly Gerashchenko, 72, "fell from a great height," according to the university, which described his death in the Russian capital as an accident.

Putin's Sacrifice

 

Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov's German residence raided

 

ROTTACH-EGERN, Germany, Sept 21 (Reuters) - German police raided the lakeside residence of Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov in the southern state of Bavaria on Wednesday, along with several other properties, as part of investigations into suspected sanctions violations and money-laundering.

Alisher Usmanov is founder of USM holdings and has an estimated net worth of $20 billion.

 

 

Ukraine recaptures another Russian-held village

 

Ukraine has recaptured a village close to the eastern city of Lysychansk, in a small but symbolic victory that means Russia no longer has full control of the Luhansk region, one of Vladimir Putin’s key war aims.

Luhansk’s governor, Serhiy Haidai, said Ukraine’s armed forces were in “complete control” of Bilohorivka. “It’s a suburb of Lysychansk.   Soon we will drive these scumbags out of there with a broom,” he said. “Step by step, centimetre by centimetre, we will liberate our entire land from the invaders.”

Source:  The Guardian

Mo i Rana, Norway

 

A hiker stands in front of Austerdalsisen, an arm of the Svartisen glacier, one of Norway’s largest.  Photograh: Lisi Niesner/Reuters.

McDonalds re-opens in Kyiv

 

A McDonald’s employee checks orders before passing them to food delivery couriers inside a restaurant after the chain reopened, despite the ongoing war.  Photograph:  Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters

Emergency workers in Izium, Ukraine

 

Emergency workers load a body into a refrigerated truck after its exhumation in the recently retaken area.  Photograph: Evgeniy Maloletta/AP

500 rescued by Spanish ship

 

Mediterranean Sea

People sleep on the deck of the Spanish NGO Open Arms lifeguard ship after they were rescued from open waters during an operation in the international water zone.  Around 400 people from Egypt, Syria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Eritrea, Sudan,  Ethiopia, Somalia, were rescued.  Photograph: Petros Karadjias/AP

Mahsa Amini protests in Tehran

 

Demonstrators gather around a burning barricade during a protest for Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic’s morality police.

 

Mahsa Amini dies of heart attack in police custody in Tahran

 

In Tehran, Mahsa Amini, 22 years old, was spotted by the morality police not wearing a hair covering.  She was arrested and shoved into a car.  Three days later, she was dead.  Police said she died of a heart attack.

Her family told local media she had no history of heart trouble and her father, Amjad Amini, said police pressured him to bury his daughter at night to reduce the chance of protests.  However, the family was able to bury her in the morning.

"Massive" crowds at Trump's recent Ohio rally