Category Archives: World News

Muslim woman raped by Hindu mob shocked by release of 11 jailed men

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Gujarat frees men serving life sentences for rape, and for murder of three-year-old daughter and other relatives

A Muslim woman who was gang-raped by a Hindu mob, which also murdered her three-year-old daughter and 13 other members of her family, has spoken of her incredulity at the release of the 11 men jailed for the crimes.

The men were released on Monday by the Gujarat government after serving 14 years of their life sentences. Under Indian law, after 14 years some prisoners can be released on remission provided they fulfil certain criteria relating to their age and conduct.

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Mexico’s citizens caught in crossfire as cartels launch attacks across the country

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Brazen strikes by organised crime leaders have left bystanders killed as many question the president’s security policies

For Carlos Holguín it was supposed to be just another day of toil.

After leaving the factory where he works morning shifts in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juárez, the 24-year-old began his nightly routine last Thursday as a food app delivery driver.

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Russia-Ukraine war: Ukrainian military intelligence believes Russia planning ‘provocation’ at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant – as it happened

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Defence intelligence of Ukraine issues warning over what they say is an unexpected ‘day off’ for employees at the plant. This blog is now closed

There has been another reported attack on Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv early this morning.

According to local media outlets, at least one person has been killed and 18 others were injured in the attack.

It is highly likely that many Russian tank crews lack the training to maintain ERA, leading to either poor fitting of the explosive elements, or it being left off entirely.

These deficiencies probably contribute to the widespread incidents of turret ejection, which are well documented in eye-witness videos from Ukraine.”

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Kilimanjaro gets high-speed internet so climbers can tweet or Instagram ascent

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Tanzanian minister hails move and says connectivity will also improve safety of porters and visitors

Tanzania has installed high-speed internet services on the slopes of Kilimanjaro, allowing anyone with a smartphone to tweet, Instagram or WhatsApp their ascent up Africa’s highest mountain.

The state-owned Tanzania Telecommunications Corporation set up the broadband network on Tuesday at an altitude of 3,720 metres (12,200ft), with the country’s information minister, Nape Nnauye, calling the event historic.

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‘Colour of the skin’: WHO chief hits out over Tigray crisis indifference

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Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says world ignoring disaster being inflicted on 6 million people by Ethiopian government

The head of the World Health Organization has returned to his suggestion that racism may be driving the lack of international interest in the ongoing war in Ethiopia.

Civil war broke out in November 2020 and has pitted Tigrayan forces against federal Ethiopian forces, also drawing in Eritrean troops, in fighting that has triggered a serious humanitarian crisis.

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China to send troops to Russia for joint week-long military drills

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Beijing says its participation in Vostok exercises ‘unrelated’ to current events and part of ongoing cooperation with Moscow

Chinese troops will travel to Russia for large military exercises amid heightened tensions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The joint exercises in Russia’s far east, which will include India, Belarus, Mongolia, Tajikistan and other countries, are held every four years. But the week-long manoeuvres will be presented by Russia as a symbol of international support despite sanctions and other efforts to isolate the country due to its war with Ukraine.

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At least 10 dead after huge bomb rips through Kabul mosque

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Police report multiple casualties after powerful explosion during evening prayers

A huge bomb attack at a mosque in Kabul during evening prayers has killed at least 10 people, including a prominent cleric, and wounded at least 27 others.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack on Wednesday, the latest to strike Afghanistan in the year since the Taliban seized power.

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Saudi snitching app appears to have been used against jailed Leeds student

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‘Terrifying tool’ under scrutiny as Salma al-Shehab’s tweets suggest widely available phone app was used to report her

The Saudi woman who was sentenced to 34 years in prison for a tweet appears to have been denounced to Saudi authorities through a crime-reporting app that users in the kingdom can download to Apple and Android phones.

A review of Leeds PhD student Salma al-Shehab’s tweets and interactions shows she was messaged by a person using a Saudi account on 15 November, 2020 after she posted a mildly critical tweet in response to a Saudi government post about a new public transportation contract.

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Khaby Lame, TikTok’s most followed star, granted Italian citizenship

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Top TikTok user was born in Senegal but has been in Italy since age one and says he ‘always felt Italian’

Khaby Lame, the Senegalese-born comedian who is the most followed TikTok user in the world, has been granted Italian citizenship.

Lame, 22, has lived in Italy since he was one and has said he “always felt Italian”. He received his citizenship during a ceremony in Chivasso, his home town, close to Turin in the northern Piedmont region, on Wednesday.

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Japan tax office launches campaign to help encourage drinking

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Contest asks young adults for ideas to revitalise popularity of alcoholic drinks after big fall in tax revenues

The Japanese government has launched a nationwide competition calling for ideas to encourage people to drink more alcohol after a change in attitudes among the young resulted in a slide in tax revenues.

The Sake Viva! campaign, which is being run by the National Tax Agency (NTA), asks 20- to 39-year-olds to come up with proposals to help revitalise the popularity of alcoholic drinks, which have fallen out of favour because of lifestyle changes during the coronavirus pandemic and among young people.

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Traffic builds up along Rhine after vessel’s engine failure

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German authorities say buildup on river not caused by water levels despite record lows caused by drought

About 20 ships were stuck in traffic along Germany’s Rhine River after a vessel’s engine failure temporarily closed part of the waterway.

A ship with a 1,660-ton load was forced to drop anchor due to an engine failure, closing traffic between Sankt Goar and Oberwesel, river police said.

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Syria denies holding missing US journalist Austin Tice

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Damascus says it is not holding any American citizens after Biden claim that US knows ‘with certainty’ Tice is government captive

Syria has denied it is holding the missing US journalist Austin Tice or other Americans after Joe Biden accused the Syrian government of detaining him.

The Syrian foreign ministry said in a statement that Damascus “denies it had kidnapped or is holding any American citizen on its territories”.

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Russia-Ukraine war: at least 12 Russians killed in strike on Nova Kakhovka base, says Ukraine – as it happened

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Footage on Telegram showed numerous burnt out trucks, collapsed buildings, and debris. This blog is now closed

A recreation centre has been destroyed and three people injured after Russian shelling in Odesa, a top official has said.

Sergey Bratchuk, a representative of the Odessa military administration, said a fire broke out and nearby buildings were damaged after the attack.

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Airbnb to use ‘anti-party technology’ to crack down on rowdy guests

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Bookings to be judged by factors such as reviews and length of trips, after Australia pilot

Airbnb says it will deploy “anti-party technology” in an effort to crack down on guests who trash houses they have booked with massive bashes.

The technology, which has been trialled in Australia, will look at “factors like history of positive reviews (or lack of positive reviews), length of time the guest has been on Airbnb, length of the trip, distance to the listing, weekend vs weekday, among many others” to determine whether a particular booking was likely to be intended for hosting a party, the company said. It will initially be used in the US and Canada, and will continue to operate in Australia.

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Russians are realising Crimea is ‘not a place for them’, says Zelenskiy

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Ukrainian president’s comments come as thousands of Russians flee Crimea after strikes on peninsula

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said that panicking Russians have realised that Crimea is “not a place for them” after three mysterious and devastating strikes on the peninsula over the past week, thought to have been carried out by Ukrainian operatives.

In his latest video address Zelenskiy said long queues of cars streaming across the Crimea Bridge leading to the Russian mainland proved that the “absolute majority” of Russian citizens had got the message. At least 38,000 cars crossed on Tuesday – a record.

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Venice mayor hunts for ‘idiots’ filmed surfing along Grand Canal

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Luigi Brugnaro offers dinner to anyone who can locate duo who ‘make a mockery of this city’

The mayor of Venice has said he is on the hunt for the “two overbearing idiots” who were filmed gliding along the Grand Canal on motorised foil surfboards.

The young men were spotted dodging gondolas and waterbuses as they navigated Venice’s main thoroughfare on Thursday morning. The scene was recorded by several astonished onlookers.

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Turkey vows to back Palestinians despite restoring Israel ties

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Comments by foreign minister come moments after Israeli PM announces full resumption of diplomatic ties

Turkey has said its decision to restore diplomatic relations with Israel after a decade of tensions does not mean it will abandon its support for Palestinians.

The comments by the foreign minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, came moments after the Israeli prime minister, Yair Lapid, announced the resumption of full diplomatic relations, including the reappointment of ambassadors.

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Power station owner Uniper posts £10bn loss as gas shortages bite

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German energy firm, which operates many UK power stations, has been bailed out by federal government

The owner of the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottinghamshire has posted a €12bn (£10bn) loss weeks after agreeing a bailout package with the German government, in a set of results that signal the deepening energy crisis across Europe.

Uniper received a €15bn lifeline from the German state in return for a 30% equity stake in a deal agreed in July.

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Uproar after Mahmoud Abbas in Berlin accuses Israel of ’50 Holocausts’

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German chancellor condemns remarks morning after joint press conference with Palestinian leader

The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, has accused Israel of committing “50 Holocausts”, at a joint press conference with Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, in Berlin, drawing condemnation from Germany and Israel.

At the end of his state visit to Germany’s chancellory on Tuesday night, Abbas was asked by a German journalist whether he planned to apologise for the deadly attack by Palestinian militants on Israeli citizens at the 1972 Munich Olympics, the 50th anniversary of which is on 5 September.

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Liz Cheney loses Wyoming Republican primary to Trump-endorsed rival

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The vice-chair of the House January 6 panel faced retribution from state voters for going against the former president

Liz Cheney has paid the price for her staunch opposition to Donald Trump’s assault on American democracy by losing her seat in Congress to a challenger backed by the former president.

The vice-chair of the January 6 committee was beaten by a conservative lawyer, Harriet Hageman – who has echoed Trump’s false claims of widespread voter fraud – in a Republican primary election to decide Wyoming’s lone member in the House of Representatives.

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