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EU agrees to launch membership talks with Ukraine next week

The European Union has agreed to start membership talks with Ukraine next week

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Liberals are scaring first home buyers with warnings of negative equity – but experts believe there’s little to worry about

Exclusive: Economists say falling house prices are largely in the more expensive parts of Sydney and Melbourne’s markets and are less likely to affect first-time property ownersFears that first-time buyers with tiny deposits will find their mortgages are worth more than their homes may be assuaged by new data showing falling prices are concentrated in the top end of the Sydney and Melbourne property markets.Climbing inflation, interest rates and worries about the economic fallout from the Middle East conflict have helped depress housing values in the country’s two biggest cities. Continue reading...

NDIS changes ‘retrogressive’ and out of step with review, MPs say

Report by Labor-led joint human rights committee says cuts to the $50bn scheme could limit support for those in needGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastSweeping changes to the NDIS appear “retrogressive” and lack alignment with a landmark independent review to improve the $50bn-a-year scheme, a Labor-led committee has found.The 57-page scrutiny report from the joint human rights committee, released on Friday, examined the proposed changes under the Albanese government ahead of a separate report due next week by a Senate inquiry. The Labor-chaired committee questioned the human rights implications of winding back access for more than 200,000 participants in the coming years, which could leave many without sufficient disability support. Continue reading...

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‘I only had this father, and he’s gone’: Wafa Mustafa’s fight for truth and justice for Syria’s missing

With more than 177,000 people forcibly disappeared since 2011, short doc Maybe Tomorrow captures ‘the violence of waiting’ experienced by familyWhen Wafa Mustafa was a child, she remembers her father playing the music of Umm Kulthum non-stop at home in Syria, humming along to the legendary Egyptian singer’s melodic tones. One day, in an effort to encourage his daughter to appreciate music, he asked her to take a pen and paper and write the lyrics of a song she loved. Wanting to impress him, Mustafa chose an Umm Kulthum song called “Aghadan Alqak”, which translates to: “Will I meet you tomorrow?”“The lyrics are literally about someone who’s gone, about the waiting for them and the love you have for them,” says Mustafa. “It feels like I knew what was coming … as if I manifested my life since I was very young.” Continue reading...

DNI rebukes faulty intelligence analyses of Havana Syndrome

Outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard revoked two U.S. intelligence reports on brain injuries suffered by U.S. diplomats and intelligence personnel called Havana Syndrome, an official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said Friday.