Category Archives: World News

Afghan earthquake death toll jumps to more than 2,200, say Taliban

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Aid agencies plead for funds as rough terrain hinders relief effort and 98% of buildings in one province are damaged

The death toll from a major earthquake in Afghanistan this week has jumped to more than 2,200, just as another magnitude 6.2 earthquake hit the southeastern region of the country on Thursday night.

On Thursday, Taliban spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat confirmed that the death toll from Sunday’s earthquake had risen to 2,205 – up from previous estimates of 1,400 – making it one of the deadliest natural disasters to hit the country in decades.

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New ‘golden triangle’ of fentanyl and guns spans US-Mexico border

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Report links Arizona-Sonora smuggling to rising homicide and overdose deaths in both countries

A new “golden triangle” of fentanyl and gun trafficking between Mexico and the US ties together the homicide and overdose crises of the two countries, according to a a new study.

The triangle spans Baja California, Sinaloa and Sonora – the three states where almost all fentanyl seizures in Mexico take place – and connects to Arizona through a quieter part of the US-Mexico border that has become a hotspot for trafficking in both directions.

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Taiwan accuses China of breaching international law over drilling

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Island’s government demands halt to Chinese oil and gas operations in its exclusive economic zone

Taiwan’s government has accused China of breaching international law by drilling for oil and gas inside Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and immediately demanded it halt the activity.

The statement from the office of Taiwan’s president, Lai Ching-te, came after revelations first reported by the Guardian that several Chinese oil rigs and associated vessels had been detected inside Taiwan’s EEZ, near the disputed Pratas Islands, which are under Taiwanese control.

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Trump asks US supreme court to overturn trade tariffs ruling

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Move follows federal appeals court decision that sweeping ‘liberation day’ levies on imports had overstepped presidential powers

Donald Trump has asked the US supreme court to overturn a lower court decision that most of his sweeping trade tariffs were illegal.

The US president filed a petition late on Wednesday to ask for a review of last week’s federal appeals court ruling in Washington DC, which centred on his “liberation day” border taxes introduced on 2 April, which imposed levies of between 10% and 50% on most US imports, sending shock waves through global trade and markets.

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Thursday briefing: China flexes its muscle in the tussle for global dominance

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In today’s newsletter: In hosting anti-western leaders at its largest ever military parade, Beijing sent a defiant message that will be heard loud and clear across the world

Good morning. All eyes have been on China this week as the second biggest global economy flexed its muscles.

Dozens of world leaders, including from the global south, authoritarian pariah states and the EU, attended China’s largest ever military parade on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war, which China calls the war of resistance against Japanese aggression.

UK news | Deputy PM Angela Rayner has admitted she underpaid stamp duty on her £800,000 seaside flat, after coming under intense pressure to be more transparent about her property arrangements.

Russia | Vladimir Putin has invited Kim Jong-un to visit Russia during a lengthy meeting in Beijing on the sidelines of China’s biggest military parade, as Kim promised to do “everything I can to assist” Moscow.

Police | The Metropolitan police have declined to drop their investigation into the comedy writer Graham Linehan for tweets about trans issues, and said that the law used by officers to detain him needs reviewing.

Israel | Israeli drones dropped four grenades near UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon, the agency’s force said on Wednesday, in what it described as “one of the most serious attacks” on its personnel since a November ceasefire.

Portugal | A day of national mourning has been declared in Portugal after at least 15 people were killed when Lisbon’s well-known Gloria funicular railway car derailed and crashed on Wednesday.

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Spain and Portugal wildfire weather made 40 times more likely by climate crisis, study finds

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Wildfires were 30% more intense than would have been expected without global heating, scientists say

The extreme weather that fuelled “astonishing” blazes across Spain and Portugal last month was made 40 times more likely by climate breakdown, early analysis suggests.

The deadly wildfires, which torched 500,000 hectares (1.2m acres) of the Iberian peninsula in a matter of weeks, were also 30% more intense than scientists would have expected in a world without climate change, according to researchers from the World Weather Attribution network.

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Portugal declares day of mourning for 15 people killed in Lisbon funicular railway crash

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Another 18 people injured when Gloria funicular railway car derails and apparently crashed into a building

A day of national mourning has been declared in Portugal after at least 15 people were killed when Lisbon’s well-known Gloria funicular railway car derailed and crashed on Wednesday.

An emergency services spokesperson said some foreign nationals were among the dead but would not identify the victims or disclose their nationalities. At least 18 people, including a child, were injured, five of them seriously.

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Maine shooting survivors sue US government, alleging army failed to stop deadly attack

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US army accused of ‘repeatedly violating its own policies’ over 2023 shooting by reservist that left 18 people dead

Survivors and family members of victims of the 2023 mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, are suing the US government, alleging that the US army could have stopped the attack carried out by an army reservist but failed to intervene.

The suit, filed on Wednesday in Maine district court, alleges that despite decades of knowledge about the risks posed by soldiers in crisis, the policies and procedures the army has developed around dealing with service members who are struggling with severe mental health challenges were not used to disarm the shooter, a sergeant with a 21-year history in the army reserve. Eighteen people were killed in the attack.

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Scotland bans arms companies that supply IDF from receiving financial aid

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Devolved government says contractors seeking support must prove products will not be used by Israeli military

The Scottish government has banned arms companies which supply the IDF from getting grants and investment support, and will freeze support for trade with Israel.

John Swinney, the first minister, said on Wednesday any defence contractors who wanted financial help in Scotland would have to prove their products would not be used by the Israel Defense Forces.

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Nuclear triad and ‘robot wolves’: parade shows off array of Chinese weapons

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On display in Beijing were nuclear weapons launched by air, sea and land, laser weapons and four-legged drones

It was hardly a subtle attempt to project power. China showed off air-, sea- and land-launched nuclear weapons in its parade on Wednesday, a triad intended to demonstrate that Beijing’s long-term aspiration is to match US military might.

Also on display were large underwater torpedo-like drones, intended to threaten western warships, as well as anti-drone lasers and four-legged “robot wolves”, all designed to be noticed, regardless of their actual military effectiveness.

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Kim Jong-un promises to do ‘everything to assist’ Moscow after Putin meeting

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North Korean leader invited to visit Russia as Zelenskyy says Putin is displaying ‘impunity’ with new Ukraine strikes

Vladimir Putin has invited Kim Jong-un to visit Russia during a lengthy meeting in Beijing on the sidelines of China’s biggest military parade, as Kim promised to do “everything I can to assist” Moscow.

North Korea has supported Russia in its war against Ukraine with weapons and troops, and the Russian president praised North Korean fighters for acting “courageously and heroically”.

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Only two more Republicans needed to force vote on Epstein files release, bill co-sponsor says – live

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Donald Trump calls clamor over Jeffrey Epstein files a ‘Democrat hoax that never ends’ as bipartisan group of lawmakers try to force vote on legislation

As part of the Trump administration’s campaign of mass deportations, the defense department will soon have hundreds of military judges work on immigration cases, the Associated Press reports:

The US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has approved sending up to 600 military lawyers to the federal justice department to serve as temporary immigration judges, according to a memo reviewed by the Associated Press.

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Top Obama-era Latin American expert warns of ‘disastrous’ US intervention in Venezuela

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US military buildup and attack on alleged narco boat spark fears of protracted guerrilla war in South America

The White House’s former top Latin America official has said he fears the US could stumble into a protracted guerrilla war in Venezuela after Donald Trump ordered a military strike on a boat in the Caribbean Sea, killing 11 alleged drug traffickers.

Tuesday’s controversial strike off the Venezuelan coast – which was reportedly carried out by an attack helicopter or Reaper drone – came after the US president ordered a major naval deployment to the region, ostensibly to combat South American drug traffickers.

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Budget compromise needed if PM ousted, says French finance minister

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Éric Lombard says he hopes François Bayrou will survive vote and dismisses talk of looming debt crisis

The French finance minister, Éric Lombard, has said the government would have to compromise on plans to cut the budget deficit if the prime minister, François Bayrou, is toppled in a confidence vote next week.

Lombard told the Financial Times that fresh negotiations would require the government to make concessions to the left to reduce the size of the fiscal package if the government falls.

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Manneken Pis gets new uniform to honour soldiers who liberated Brussels

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Gift comes 8o years after Welsh guards first left replica uniform for Belgian statue to commemorate end of Nazi occupation

When British forces commemorated the liberation of Brussels for the first time in 1945, they left a unique gift – a replica Welsh guards uniform for the Belgian city’s emblematic “peeing boy” statue, the Manneken Pis.

Now 81 years after the Welsh guards freed Brussels from Nazi occupation, the gift has been renewed: the Manneken Pis has a new regimental uniform, including scarlet jacket embroidered with gold lace, gleaming white belt and authentic bearskin hat.

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Democrats blast state department for lack of ‘basic oversight’ of controversial Gaza food organization

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Letter by senior Democrats asks state department to reveal details behind financing of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

Senior Democratic senators have called on the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and the US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, to reveal details behind the financing and oversight of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) amid concerns over rising death tolls near aid sites, the group’s apparent coordination with the Israeli army and its reported use of private military contractors linked to intelligence operations.

The letter, co-signed by senators Elizabeth Warren, Chris Van Hollen and Peter Welch, accuses the state department of an “inability to answer basic questions about GHF in a timely manner” and said that the department’s “overriding of internal protocol and staff warnings is particularly concerning given it is unlikely to be able to conduct basic oversight of the funds it provided to GHF”.

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People banished to Nauru by Australia face hostile reception as $2.5bn cost of deal revealed

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Home affairs department reveals just-signed transfer deal, worth $408m upfront to Nauru, forecast to cost Australia $2.5bn over 30 years

The group of noncitizens set to be banished by Australia to Nauru for 30 years face a potentially hostile reception because they have been described as “violent” and “appalling” by the Australian government.

The forcible transfer of the so-called NZYQ group – and potentially thousands more under legislation currently before parliament – to the tiny island is being quietly resented by Nauruans, sources on the island have told Guardian Australia.

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Trump’s aid cuts in east Africa led to unwanted abortion and babies being born with HIV – report

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Doctors, nurses, patients and other experts describe the loss of decades of progress in beating the virus in 100 days after Pepfar was disrupted

Aid cuts in east Africa have led to cases of babies being born with HIV because mothers could not get medication, a rise in life-threatening infections, and at least one woman having an unwanted abortion, according to interviews with medical staff, patients and experts.

A report by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) sets out dozens of examples of the impact of disruption to Pepfar – the president’s emergency plan for aids relief – in Tanzania and Uganda.

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Jamaicans head to polls for election as ruling party faces corruption concerns

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Polls point to ‘very close election’ between the Jamaica Labour party and the opposition People’s National party

Jamaicans head to the polls on Wednesday for a closely fought general election which has been overshadowed by an investigation into potential corruption in the ruling Jamaica Labour party (JLP) which is seeking a third term in office.

The latest local poll put the opposition People’s National party (PNP) 3.1% lead over the JLP, but political analyst Damion Gordon cautioned that the lead was barely larger than the margin of error.

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US appeals court reinstates FTC commissioner fired by Trump

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Win for Rebecca Slaughter as court rules commissioners may not be dismissed by a president without cause

A divided US appeals court on Tuesday allowed US Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, a Democrat, to resume her role at the agency, as Donald Trump tries to remove her from office.

In a 2-1 decision, the District of Columbia circuit court of appeals allowed a lower court decision in favor of Slaughter to take effect, rejecting the Trump administration’s request to delay the ruling during its appeal.

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