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Australian women accused of slavery in Islamic State territory in Syria face Melbourne court

Kawsar Ahmad, 53, also known as Abbas, and her daughter Zeinab Ahmad, 31, did not apply during brief hearing

Two Australian women charged with slavery offences that allegedly occurred while they lived under Islamic State rule in Syria have faced a Melbourne court.

Kawsar Ahmad, 53, also known as Abbas, and her daughter, Zeinab Ahmad, 31, were arrested by officers from the Victorian joint counter-terrorism team at Melbourne airport on Thursday.

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Wales has been hit by a political earthquake – and the UK government is in a very tricky position | Will Hayward

If Starmer’s Labour refuses to concede more powers to Plaid Cymru, the triumphant independence party, it will only accelerate its own decline

On Saturday, I stood on the steps outside the Senedd, listening to the leader of Plaid Cymru, Rhun ap Iorwerth, take questions from the media. It was one of those rare moments of almost feeling history being made. As one of the other journalists said to me: “I have never seen a political event like this in Wales.”

A crowd of Plaid supporters had gathered to welcome their 43 new MSs. People were giddy with excitement: for the first time since the party was founded just over 100 years ago, it was about to form the next Welsh government. And for the first time in Wales’s history, the country’s highest-ranking political representative would be from a party committed to securing independence – to breaking away from the United Kingdom. Some of the Senedd members were crying. The crowd starting singing the Welsh national anthem, Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, and were joined by the assembled politicians.

Will Hayward is a Guardian columnist. He publishes a regular newsletter on Welsh politics

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David Gingell’s recipe for roast chicken with braised peas and lettuce

Roast chicken the Cornish way (with a splash of cider), for a simple, lighter Sunday lunch

Roasting a whole chicken seems to be one of those things that works all year, whether with salad in the summer or as a part of a heavy roast in the chillier months. This is a Cornish riff on the French classic petits pois à la française, and a really simple, lighter alternative to a traditional Sunday lunch. Plus, braising vegetables really unlocks another level of sweetness.

David Gingell is chef and co-founder of Primeur, Westerns Laundry and Jolene, all in London

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‘It’s like we went bankrupt overnight’: poorest Somalis suffer as piles of worthless shillings mount up

Banknotes are now so tattered that even buses refuse to accept them, as a dollarised economy and mobile phone payments push up the cost of essentials

As US troops withdrew from Somalia in the spring of 1994, a teenaged Muse Omar Jama began working as an exchange trader in Mogadishu’s Bakara market. More than three decades later, he still does the same job, but wonders for how much longer.

Jama, 49, sits in a plastic chair in the one-room office he shares with other traders. The auto-rickshaws speed by outside, but inside is quiet; the noise of bargaining has faded and the traders exchange few words between themselves.

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Minority groups brace for surge in racism after Reform UK election gains

Members of minority communities in Birmingham and elsewhere fear results could lead to rise in hostile rhetoric

Conceding defeat at the election count at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena on Friday, the outgoing Labour leader of the city council, John Cotton, made a plea. “What I would encourage the next administration in this city to do, whatever form that administration takes, is that it ensures it champions the diversity of this city,” he said.

Labour’s 14-year rule of the local authority had come to a crashing end, with Reform emerging as the largest party with 22 councillors so far, followed by the Greens on 19, albeit both parties a long way off the 51 needed for a majority.

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Cambridge University seeks deal with Saudi defence ministry despite rights concerns

Senior academics describe the Judge business school’s proposal to provide services and training as ‘horrifying’

Cambridge University’s business school is seeking to provide “leadership development” and “innovation management” to Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry despite concerns over its government’s record on human rights and climate change, the Guardian has learned.

Cambridge’s leadership has approved a proposal by the university’s Judge business school to form a “memorandum of understanding” with the ministry for services and training, after an initial introduction by the UK’s Ministry of Defence.

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Gezondheidszorg in Gaza stort volgens Rode Kruis verder in

GAZA-STAD (ANP) - Het Rode Kruis waarschuwt dat de gezondheidszorg in Gaza "onder de radar steeds verder afbrokkelt". De Palestijnse Rode Halve Maan kampt met een structureel tekort aan medicatie, medische apparatuur, voedsel en tenten. Volgens cijfers van de organisatie zijn nog 20 van de 240 medische posten en klinieken in de Gazastrook deels operationeel en van de 33 ziekenhuizen zijn er nog vijf die functioneren.

"De blik van de wereld is niet meer gericht op Gaza en ongezien balanceert de levensreddende zorg nu opnieuw aan de rand van de afgrond", schrijft het Rode Kruis. "Alle hulp die mondjesmaat binnenkomt, wordt direct uitgedeeld aan mensen in nood. Het is veel en veel te weinig", zegt Carla Jonkers, hoofd Internationale Noodhulp bij het Rode Kruis.

Sinds het begin van het jaar ontving de Palestijnse Rode Halve Maan volgens het Rode Kruis vijftien vrachtwagens met medicijnen en medische hulpmiddelen. Het Rode Kruis roept op om alle grensovergangen in Gaza te openen. "Hulpgoederen moeten onbelemmerd en structureel naar binnen", zegt Jonkers.


Code geel voor noordelijk kustgebied in de avond door windstoten

DE BILT (ANP) - Het KNMI waarschuwt voor zware windstoten in het noordelijk kustgebied. Vanavond geldt in de provincies Noord-Holland, Flevoland, Friesland en Groningen code geel. Dat gaat om 19.00 uur in en eindigt om middernacht.

De windstoten komen uit noordwestelijke richting en kunnen een snelheid hebben van 80 kilometer per uur. "Verkeer en buitenactiviteiten kunnen hier hinder van ondervinden", waarschuwt het weerinstituut. In de nacht gaat de harde wind weer liggen.


Rijnmond - Nieuws

Het laatste nieuws van vandaag over Rotterdam, Feyenoord, het verkeer en het weer in de regio Rijnmond

Man naar ziekenhuis na steekpartij, vrouw aangehouden

Aan de Westduëlstraat in Rotterdam-Charlois is maandagochtend vroeg een man neergestoken. Dat gebeurde waarschijnlijk in een auto of op straat, zegt een woordvoerder van de politie. De man liep vervolgens een woning in, waarna de politie en ambulance werden gebeld.

IBM: Bouw een team van AI-agents

AI-agenten zijn ontworpen voor complexe taken die een standalone LLM niet alleen kan oplossen. Net als in menselijke teams vereisen complexe problemen samenwerking tussen rollen: uitvoerders, denkers, supervisors en communicatie, elk met hun eigen rol.

Lauren McHugh Olende van IBM gaat in deze video in op de verschillende rollen als het gaat om AI-agents. In de video leer je hoe  het ReAct-patroon een actiestap (toolbediener), redeneerstap (planner) en observatiestap (criticus) combineert tot een antwoord (presentator).