SYDNEY Australia's central bank on Tuesday held interest rates steady saying it wanted more time to assess the

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In the wake of the uprising by Wagner Group forces in Russia, the US and Europe have turned their gaze to an increasingly unpredictable Belarus -- a key Russian ally that Western officials fear could give the exiled mercenary troops a new home and serve as a staging ground for Russian nuclear weapons.

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The Republic of Ireland head into their daunting Euro 2024 qualifier clash with France without the man the nation had hoped might inspire a fightback. Stephen Kenny will send his troops into Group B battle with the World Cup runners-up at the Parc des Princes on Thursday evening with in-form Brighton striker Evan Ferguson a frustrated by-stander after a knee injury forced his withdrawal from the squad, just as Ireland’s fledgling campaign reached crunch-point. Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the talking points surrounding a crucial fixture in Paris. Evan help us Ferguson’s absence leaves Kenny facing a rethink after integrating the 18-year-old into his starting line-up in recent games. His two goals in six senior appearances to date – as well as the Premier League hat-trick he scored against Newcastle at the weekend – had established him as a credible weapon with which Ireland could hurt Didier Deschamps’ all-stars. Without him, the manager must piece together a frontline from his remaining frontmen – Adam Idah, Chiedozie Ogbene, Aaron Connolly and Will Keane – who have five international goals between them, with Luton’s Ogbene responsible for four of them. All right on the night? Seamus Coleman and Matt Doherty are two of Ireland’s most accomplished players, but their country’s misfortune is that both excel at right-back and successive managers have had to be inventive to get the pair into their team at the same time. With Coleman injured and Doherty suspended for the game at the Parc des Princes, Kenny needs to plug a sizeable gap. Preston’s Alan Browne, Bristol City summer signing Jason Knight or Festy Ebosele of Udinese, who is yet to win a senior cap, are the likely candidates for the wing-back role, although Kenny has hinted one of his central defenders could yet be redeployed. So near, yet so far Kenny’s men opened their campaign with a 1-0 home defeat by France, but things might have panned out very different. The visitors dominated the game in Dublin, but until a rare error from midfielder Josh Cullen allowed Benjamin Pavard to blast them in front, Kylian Mbappe and company had failed to trouble goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu unduly. Had it not been for a stunning late save from stopper Mike Maignan to deny Nathan Collins a last-gasp equaliser, the Republic might have emerged with something to show for their efforts. Similar resolve in Paris is the very least they will need to secure a better return. Point of no return? The Republic’s fate could be effectively decided by what happens in Paris and in Dublin on Sunday, when the Netherlands come to town, after the first three qualifiers yielded just three points. When the draw was made, it always looked like a battle between Ireland and Greece for third place behind two of Europe’s big guns and defeat in Athens in June gave Gus Poyet’s side the edge. Kenny has targeted this campaign since his appointment in April 2020 and logic suggests they need to win at least one of the two games to retain any hope at all. 2009 and all that Ireland and France have met on three occasions since, but for some the fixture will always rekindle memories of the night in November 2009 when Thierry Henry’s unnoticed handball at the Stade de France cost the Irish a trip to the World Cup finals. Wounds have healed over the last 14 years, but for assistant manager Keith Andrews and coach John O’Shea, who played that night, a measure of revenge in Paris might prove very welcome. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Port Vale unhappy with Robbie Williams – Wednesday’s sporting social Appeal for Daniel Dubois’ defeat to Oleksandr Usyk to be declared no-contest Rob Page: Wales would rather not play South Korea friendly with Latvia to come

The Atlanta Braves could look to trade for Marcus Stroman at the deadline in a deal with the Chicago Cubs to help solidify their rotation.Maybe the Atlanta Braves could make a deal with the Chicago Cubs for right-hander Marcus Stroman before the MLB trade deadline in a few weeks?Atlanta stan...

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The White House said it had information that Russia was executing its own soldiers who retreated from an offensive in Ukraine or refused to follow orders. “We have information that the Russian military has been actually executing soldiers who refuse to follow orders,” White House spokesperson John Kirby told a media briefing on Thursday. “We also have information that Russian commanders are threatening to execute entire units if they seek to retreat from Ukrainian artillery fire,” he added. The US also claimed that some of the Russian casualties near Avdivvka were “on the orders of their own leaders”. Ukrainian forces have been fighting a Russian military onslaught in the frontline town of Avdiivka – a few kilometres north of occupied Donetsk – for several weeks since mid-October. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky described the situation as “particularly tough” earlier this week. Russia’s ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, made no reference to the White House statement but said that the latest military aid package of $150m to Ukraine by the US was “provocative and inflammatory actions in the international arena that look more like pouring oil on the fire”. He wrote on Telegram: “It is long past time to halt the mindless multi-billion dollar flow to the bankrupt Kyiv regime. Time to stop showing total disdain towards the opinions of your own citizens and indifference to the growing number of victims dying from American weaponry.” Mr Kirby confirmed that since 11 October Russia lost “at least 125 units of armoured vehicles around Avdiivka and more than a battalion’s worth of military equipment”. White House also said that the Russian troops in Avdivvka are struggling with “low morale”. Mr Kirby warned that Russia will likely continue to attack around Avdiivka and “may be able to achieve some tactical gains” in the coming months. However, he added that this will come at the cost of “thousands of casualties” as the Russian soldiers are thrown into battle without proper training and with “poor morale”. Mr Kirby said threats to execute the soldiers were barbaric, according to Reuters. “I think it’s a symptom of ... how poorly Russia’s military leaders know they’re doing and how bad they have handled this from a military perspective.” Additional reporting with agencies Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary As the Turkish Republic turns 100, here's a look at its achievements and challenges ahead White House says Russia is executing its own soldiers for not following orders Russia recruits prisoners for Ukraine war as Putin replicates Wagner

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Rockstar Games have announced an early Christmas present for all gamers: the first trailer for the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6. In a surprise statement, the founder of Rockstar Games said: "Next month marks the 25th anniversary of Rockstar Games… In 1998, Rockstar Games was founded on the idea that video games could come to be as essential to culture as any other form of entertainment, and we hope that we have created games you love in our efforts to be part of that evolution. "We are very excited to let you know that in early December, we will release the first trailer for the next Grand Theft Auto. We look forward to many more years of sharing these experiences with all of you." Not only does the trailer coincide with the anniversary of the company it has also been just over 10 years since Grand Theft Auto V was released in September 2013. Behind Minecraft, GTA V is the best-selling game of all-time. Fans of the highly popular series have been left waiting for an announcement of the next installment for quite some time but did get an indication of what the game might look like in September 2022, when the title was subject to a massive leak. More than 90 videos, which were confirmed as legitimate, were leaked online which showed features such as new shooting mechanics and the series' first-ever female protagonist. Although the name of the new game is yet to be announced, speculation already suggests that it will hit shelves in December 2024 but Dexerto reports that an insider has suggested that it could be pushed back as far as 2026. With nothing being made official about the game yet its hard to know what it will look like or how it will play however fans can expect one of the biggest maps in gaming history. Gaming industry expert, Michael Pachter went on the record in March 2022 stating: "My understanding is that it is a mashup of Vice City, San Andreas, Liberty City, and Europe. London for sure.” He also added that there will be "400-500 hours" of gameplay. All the anticipation has prompted a deluge of memes on X/Twitter about the announcement. With no official date for the trailer or when the actual game will come out, we'll just have to watch this space for any further announcements. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.