Donald Trump signals wish to hold talks with Iran over nuclear deal

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US president’s remarks will spark divisions within Iran over country’s nuclear ambitions and sanctions

Donald Trump has said he wants a “verified nuclear peace agreement” with Iran and denied he wanted to blow Iran to smithereens, describing such reports as “greatly exaggerated”.

But he said it was essential that Iran did not have a nuclear weapon, adding “we should start working on it immediately”. His remarks on his social media site, Truth Social represent the clearest sign that Trump is willing to hold talks with Iran to try to replace the nuclear deal signed in 2015, but from which Trump pulled the US out in 2018.

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Trump’s Gaza plan could amount to war crime, say experts

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Academics fear US president’s lack of reference to international law could lead to global breakdown of peace and security

Donald Trump’s proposal to permanently move millions of Palestinians out of Gaza to allow its reconstruction under US “ownership” could amount to a war crime or crime against humanity, experts in international law have said.

The experts said the US president’s framing of his plan without any reference to international law set a dangerous precedent that would encourage other world leaders to do similarly and contribute to a global breakdown of peace and security.

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‘Waterfront property’: What are Trump’s real estate interests in Palestine?

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Many of US president’s allies support settler projects, and plans to effectively colonise Gaza are an expansion on ideas from first term

Planning to “clean out” Palestinians as a real estate money-making scheme is an idea that has long united the Israeli settler movement and some of Donald Trump’s circle of US property developers.

For decades, state-backed settlers have used concrete, steel and brick to build on occupied land in Palestine in a successful effort to use town-building as a means to claim territory and permanently force Palestinians from their homeland.

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Shooter at Örebro school had taken classes there, reports Swedish media

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Police say suspect, who is among the dead, acted alone as they continue the work of identifying victims

The gun rampage that left 11 people dead in the Swedish city of Örebro was “a one-man operation”, police have said, as local media identified the shooter as a former student of the adult education centre he attacked.

As Sweden reeled from the deadliest mass shooting in its history, investigators were working on Wednesday to identify the people who were killed and injured after the attack at Campus Risbergska just after 12.30pm on Tuesday.

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French PM François Bayrou survives first confidence vote

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National Rally and Socialists did not back no-confidence motion tabled by hard-left France Unbowed

The French prime minister, François Bayrou, has survived an initial confidence vote in parliament called for by the hard left, after the far-right National Rally (RN) and centre-left Socialists did not back the motion against him.

On Wednesday, 128 lawmakers voted in favour of the first motion of no confidence, well short of the 289 votes needed.

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Prince Rahim Al-Hussaini appointed as the new Aga Khan – BBC.com

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  1. Prince Rahim Al-Hussaini appointed as the new Aga Khan  BBC.com
  2. Ismaili Muslims Get a New Leader, the Fifth Aga Khan  The New York Times
  3. Aga Khan: Billionaire and jet-setter spiritual leader  The Times of India
  4. Aga Khan dies with mystery of Shergar kidnapping still unsolved  The Guardian
  5. Statement by the Prime Minister on the passing of His Highness the Aga Khan  Prime Minister of Canada
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US Postal Service briefly halts packages arriving from China and Hong Kong

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Normal service resumes after initial suspension, in latest episode of growing trade war between the US and China

The US Postal Service briefly suspended incoming parcels from China and Hong Kong on Tuesday before returning to normal service on Wednesday after accusations of “unreasonable suppression” from Beijing, in the latest episode of a growing trade war between the US and China.

The initial suspension came as Donald Trump said he was not in a hurry to speak to his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, despite expectations that they would hold talks after announcing tit-for-tat tariffs.

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A brief history of Gaza’s tortured role in the Middle East conflict – NPR

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  1. A brief history of Gaza's tortured role in the Middle East conflict  NPR
  2. Palestinians and Arab states reject Trump's Gaza takeover proposal  BBC.com
  3. Opinion | In Gaza, We Are Waking Up to a Terrible Reality  The New York Times
  4. The history of Gaza amid Trump's plan to rebuild enclave  Fox News
  5. The Gaza Strip has long been a powder keg. Here's a look at the history of the embattled region  The Associated Press
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