Category Archives: World News

China missile drills around Taiwan a threat to regional security, says Japan PM

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Fumio Kishida welcomes Nancy Pelosi in Tokyo and urges Beijing to halt planned four days of military exercises sparked by US House speaker’s visit

Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has condemned Chinese military drills near Taiwan as a “grave problem” and a threat to regional peace and security, after five ballistic missiles landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Speaking after a meeting with the US House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, in Tokyo on Friday, Kishida said China’s live-fire exercises near the self-governed island must “stop immediately”. Beijing announced four days of drills that are expected to finish on Sunday.

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Al-Qaida chief’s killing comes as group gains ground in African conflict zones

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UN says terror organisation, whose affiliate recently attacked Mali’s most important military base, ‘is once again the leader of global jihad’

It was one of Ayman al-Zawahiri’s last victories. Just over a week before the al-Qaida leader was killed in Kabul by missiles fired from a US drone, militants from the organisation’s biggest affiliate in sub-Saharan Africa attacked the most important military base in Mali.

The tactics of the attack were familiar – suicide bombers blowing a gap in defences to allow gunmen to reached stunned defenders – but the operation marked a major escalation.

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Border wall that threatened historic US-Mexico Friendship park halted

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The Biden administration agreed to pause plans that would have destroyed a 51-year-old oceanfront park

The Biden administration has agreed to pause plans for a double border wall that critics say would effectively destroy a 51-year-old oceanfront park that symbolizes friendship between the United States and Mexico.

Chris Magnus, the US Customs and Border Protection commissioner, said he wanted to hear community concerns before settling on a wall design for Friendship Park, which then-first lady Pat Nixon inaugurated in 1971.

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Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones ordered to pay $4.1m over false Sandy Hook claims

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Far-right Infowars owner faced defamation trial for repeatedly saying the school shooting was a hoax

The jury in Alex Jones’s defamation trial on Thursday ordered the far-right conspiracy theorist to pay $4.1m in damages over his repeated claims that the deadly Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax.

Jurors in Austin, Texas, gave their verdict after deliberating about one hour Wednesday and seven hours Thursday at the end of a nine-days-long trial. The verdict levied against Jones was far below the $150m or more the plaintiffs had requested that jurors award them.

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Four people found dead in two burning homes in north-east Nebraska town

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Suspect remains on the loose after a man was seen driving away from city of Laurel, authorities say

Four people were found dead on Thursday in two burning homes in a small town in rural north-eastern Nebraska and a suspect remains on the loose, authorities said.

Col John Bolduc of the Nebraska state patrol said at a news conference that a man was seen driving away from the city of Laurel before the bodies were discovered and that investigators would like to speak to him.

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Hungary’s far-right PM Viktor Orbán speaks at CPAC summit – as it happened

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Griner has been sentenced to nine years in prison, Bloomberg reports:

A court in Russia has found Brittney Griner, an Americans women’s basketball star, guilty of drug smuggling, Reuters reports.

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‘The pain gets worse’: Lebanese mark second anniversary of Beirut port explosion

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Further collapse of city’s grain silos, almost to the minute of blast, seen as symbol of failure to bring anyone to justice

For two years, Beirut’s crumbing grain silos had teetered over the ruins of the nearby port, a battered backdrop to a broken city that has barely stayed on its feet.

Almost to the minute of the second anniversary of the Beirut port explosion that destroyed them and pulverised nearby neighbours, a huge slither of the silos collapsed, showcasing yet again the dysfunction of Lebanon and the failed quest to bring those responsible to justice.

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Ukraine ‘endangers civilians’ with army bases in residential areas, says Amnesty

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Ukraine government and international law experts argue report ignores wartime realities

Amnesty International has said the Ukrainian army is endangering the life of civilians by basing themselves in residential areas, in a report rejected by Ukrainian government representatives as placing blame on it for Russia’s invasion.

The human rights group’s researchers found that Ukrainian forces were using some schools and hospitals as bases, firing near houses and sometimes living in residential flats. The report concluded that this meant in some instances Russian forces would respond to an attack or target residential areas – putting civilians at risk and damaging civilian infrastructure.

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Joe Biden condemns Griner sentence and calls for ‘immediate release’

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President calls star’s detention ‘unacceptable’ as Tony Blinken reiterates commitment to bringing Griner home from Russia

The nine-and-a half-year sentence handed down by a Russian court to WBNA player and US Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner after she was found guilty of drug possession was greeted in America with outrage and condemnation.

Joe Biden released a statement following Griner’s sentencing, calling her detention “unacceptable”.

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Massive queues in Moscow as shoppers take last chance to shop at H&M

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Retailer halted operations in Russia after invasion of Ukraine but has reopened for limited time to sell remaining stock

Long lines of Russian shoppers formed outside H&M stores in Moscow shopping centres this week when the Swedish fashion retailer reopened its doors to sell off stock before pulling out of Russia for good.

Along with a series of other western brands including Ikea, Nike, and the Zara owner, Inditex, H&M halted operations in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine on 24 February but opened its doors one last time this week to clear out remaining goods.

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Asia on edge as China launches air and sea military drills around Taiwan

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Taipei accuses Beijing of imitating North Korea after firing missiles across part of island and disrupting flights and shipping

China raised tensions across Asia on Thursday after launching huge military exercises in the air and seas around Taiwan, including firing ballistic missiles close to the island some of which landed in Japanese waters. The brazen show of force disrupted one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and diverted hundreds of flights.

The exercises, which included rockets, attack helicopters and gunships, were arranged in reaction to a defiant visit to the island by the US House speaker, Nancy Pelosi. Beijing claims Taiwan as its own and has threatened to take it by force.

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Taliban claim they did not know Ayman al-Zawahiri was living in central Kabul

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Denial contradicts US officials who say al-Qaida leader was staying at home of Taliban leader’s aide

The Taliban leadership has said they did not know that al-Qaida boss Ayman al-Zawahiri had moved to the Afghan capital, Kabul, where the US president, Joe Biden, said he was killed by a drone strike at the weekend.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has no information about Ayman al-Zawahiri’s arrival and stay in Kabul,” the militants said in a statement, that used their chosen name for their unrecognised regime.

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Commonwealth Games must do more for LGBT rights, says former swimmer

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Michael Gunning calls for event to push for change after a ‘petrifying’ visit to his home country, Jamaica

The former Team GB swimmer Michael Gunning has called on the Commonwealth Games to do more to help improve LGBTQ+ rights in member countries as he talked of his “petrifying” experience visiting his home country, Jamaica, for the first time since he came out as gay.

Gunning, who retired from swimming earlier this year to help promote equality in sport, said the event could do more on the global stage to push the issue.

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Hey, that’s my house: US aid worker realises Zawahiri villa is his old home

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The Kabul property hit by a US drone was familiar. It turned out Dan Smock had something in common with al-Qaida’s leader

The balcony in Kabul where the head of al-Qaida was killed was a spot Dan Smock knew well. It used to be his – when he worked in Afghanistan on a US government aid project – and the views were spectacular.

Smock enjoyed starting the day looking out at the Afghan capital, as did the world’s most wanted terrorist, from the villa they both called home, several years apart.

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Yemen’s warring parties agree to extend ceasefire by a further two months

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The truce will bring some relief to a country exhausted by war and famine, but critics say the Houthis will use the peace to regroup

The UN has announced that the warring sides in Yemen have agreed to extend the current ceasefire for a further two months.

Late on Tuesday the government and the Houthi rebels committed to intensify efforts on negotiations, said Hans Grundberg, special envoy for the country.

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US watching Chinese military drills ‘very closely’ as ballistic missiles fired into Taiwan strait – live

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The president of Paraguay has offered solidarity to Taiwan. The South American nation is one of just 14 nations formally recognising Taiwan as a country.

“Paraguay expresses its solidarity with the Republic of China (Taiwan) in the context of the threats it has been subjected to,” Mario Abdo Benítez said on Twitter.

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Russia-Ukraine war: Kyiv calls Amnesty report that says Ukrainian forces are putting civilians at risk a ‘perversion’ – as it happened

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Kyiv hits back after charity says Russia’s attacks ‘unjustifiable’ but Ukraine’s tactics are endangering civilians. This live blog is closed.

The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog has again appealed for access to a Ukrainian nuclear power plant now controlled by Russian forces to determine whether it was a source of danger.

Contact with the Europe’s largest nuclear plant, which is at Zaporizhzhia and is being operated by Ukrainian technicians under occupation, was “fragile” and communications did not function every day, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Rafael Grossi told Swiss paper Tages-Anzeiger.

During the day, pyrotechnic units of the state emergency service were involved 117 times, 691 explosive objects were detected, removed and neutralised. The territory with an area of 92 hectares was surveyed.

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Julian Assange’s family urge Australian PM Anthony Albanese to intervene before US extradition

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John and Gabriel Shipton say they’re frustrated at Australian PM for lack of progress in WikiLeaks founder’s case since Labor was elected

Julian Assange’s family have said the Albanese government needs to intervene in the case before he is extradited to the US, saying it would effectively be a “death sentence” for the WikiLeaks founder if there was no intervention.

The plight of Assange, who is being held in UK’s Belmarsh prison pending an appeal against his extradition to the US, has been raised with the new US ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy, by Assange’s Australian solicitor, Stephen Kenny.

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Russia to open duty-free shops selling western imports to foreign diplomats

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Goods must be paid for in foreign currency, a practice reminiscent of Soviet-era beryozka stores

Russia will introduce duty-free shops selling western imports to diplomats for foreign currency in a practice that will remind many Russians of the infamous beryozka stores that epitomised official privilege during the Soviet era.

The shops, which could open as soon as the autumn, will sell imported goods that may become hard to find in ordinary Russian shops as foreign brands flee the country over the war in Ukraine.

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China to begin series of unprecedented live-fire drills off Taiwan coast

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Island accuses Beijing of planning to breach sovereign territory in wake of controversial visit by Nancy Pelosi

China is to begin a series of unprecedented live-fire drills that would effectively blockade the island of Taiwan, just hours after the departure of US House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, whose controversial visit this week has sparked fears of a crisis in the Taiwan strait.

Taiwan has characterised the drills, which will last until Sunday afternoon – and will include missile tests and other “military operations” as close as nine miles to Taiwan’s coastline – as a violation of international law.

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