Category Archives: World News

Yemen: Saudi-led airstrike on rebel-run prison kills at least 60 and wounds 200

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Hospitals overwhelmed in Sa’ada after attack levels buildings in Houthi northern heartland

An airstrike on a prison in northern Yemen killed at least 60 people and wounded 200 more, while a separate attack shut down the country’s internet, as Saudi-led reprisals to a Houthi drone attack on the United Arab Emirates intensified.

The violence marked an especially deadly day in the seven-year war, leaving bystanders searching through rubble with their bare hands to rescue those trapped in two locations: a prison in the city of Sa’ada and a telecommunications centre in the port city of Hodeidah, where three children playing football nearby were reported to have been killed.

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Islamic State attacks prison in Syria and military base in Iraq

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‘Dozens of IS fighters’ were freed from the jail and the attacks raise fears of the terror group’s resurgence

Islamic State has attacked a Syrian prison housing its suspected members and a military base in Iraq in near-simultaneous deadly operations that have revived fears of the terror group’s resurgence.

IS has yet to comment on the attacks and there is no indication that these were coordinated, but according to analysts they strongly suggest IS is trying to boost its ranks and arsenal in an attempt to reorganise across both countries.

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Around the world in 155 days: the teenager who flew into record books

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Belgian-British Zara Rutherford braved acrid smoke and freezing Siberia on round-the-world journey in two-seater microlight

It should have been perfect flying weather when Zara Rutherford set off from Palo Alto in California for Seattle, a month into her attempt to become the youngest woman to fly solo round the world. But while the skies were clear, wildfires were raging on the ground.

She tried to avoid the towering plumes of acrid smoke by climbing to 12,000ft, but to no avail. “I couldn’t see in front of me,” she said. “It was all kind of a brownish, smoky, orange, dirty colour. I could smell the smoke as well, which was quite unpleasant.”

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‘Don’t write me off because I’m in a wheelchair’: Manchester Arena survivor takes on Kilimanjaro

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Martin Hibbert, who was 5 metres from the deadly explosion, is now tackling Africa’s highest mountain

It was a month after the Manchester Arena attack when Martin Hibbert learned the catastrophic toll of his injuries. He and his 14-year-old daughter, Eve, on a “daddy daughter day” to an Ariana Grande concert, were 5 metres from the explosion that killed 22 people and injured hundreds more in May 2017.

Hibbert, 45, from Chorley in Lancashire, was told he would never walk again. Eve would probably never see, hear, speak or move – if she made it out of hospital. They were the closest to the bomb to survive.

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‘I thought of God and my family’: Tongan survivor on spending 24 hours at sea – video

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Lisala Folau, a survivor of the Tonga tsunami, spoke on Friday of being swept to sea from the island of Atata. 'The scariest part of the ordeal for me was when the waves took me from land into the sea,' he told Sky News. The 57-year-old was swept away by a tsunami generated by a volcanic eruption on 15 January. 

Folau, a retired carpenter with a motion disability, managed to stay afloat for more than a day and make his way across the sea to the main island of Tongatapu. He said his faith in God and his family were the two things that occupied his thoughts while he was helpless at sea

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Dutch creator of The Voice accused of victim-blaming over abuse claims on show

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John De Mol said women could learn lessons from scandal that took The Voice of Holland off air

The creator of reality TV shows including The Voice and Big Brother has been accused of victim-blaming by his company’s female employees after accusations of widespread sexual abuse of contestants on the original Dutch version of The Voice.

In a full-page advert in the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, a group of employees at the production company Talpa Media castigated its founder, John De Mol, for suggesting that women as well as men had lessons to learn from a scandal that has gripped the country this week and prompted the broadcaster RTL to take Friday’s episode of The Voice of Holland off air.

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Vulnerable Malians could ‘pay the price’ of heavy sanctions, warn aid groups

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NGOs call for aid exemption to EU-backed sanctions imposed after election postponement and arrival of Russian paramilitary

More than a dozen aid organisations have called for humanitarian exemptions to heavy sanctions imposed on Mali after the military leadership postponed planned February elections.

The EU has announced support for the sanctions imposed earlier this month by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), which include closing borders and a trade embargo.

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Female leadership is good for the world. Just look at Barbados

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Mia Mottley is just one of a raft of strong women across the Caribbean and South America tackling society’s most pressing issues. The world could learn a lot from them

There is a common misconception that the developing world is full of archaic values and that women struggle to have their voices heard. The more countries I visit and the more female leaders I speak to, the more I am convinced the contrary is true.

In fact, those in positions of power worldwide could learn important lessons from these strong women when it comes to tackling some of society’s most pressing issues, including pandemics, the climate crisis, education and infrastructure.

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Mitch McConnell under fire after saying African Americans vote as much as ‘Americans’ – video

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Top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell has been criticised after saying that Black Americans vote 'in just as high a percentage as Americans'. The comment came after Senate Democrats failed to pass voting rights protections in the run-up to this November's midterm elections that will determine control of Congress in 2023. 

A reporter asked McConnell if he had a message for voters of color who were concerned that, without the John R Lewis Voting Rights Act, they were not going to be able to vote in the midterm. 'Well, the concern is misplaced because, if you look at the statistics, African American voters are voting in just as high a percentage as Americans,' McConnell said

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Love jihad: India’s lethal religious conspiracy theory – video

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The mutilated body of a 24-year-old Muslim, Arbaaz Aftab Mullah, was discovered on a railway track near his home. His family believe he was murdered because of his interfaith relationship with a Hindu woman and that he is one of the latest victims of the 'love jihad' conspiracy theory, which has swept across groups of Hindu nationalists in India. The theory claims that Muslim men are seducing Hindu women and luring them into marriage in order to convert them to Islam. The claims are baseless, yet the consequences are real

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Covid live: Ireland to lift almost all curbs from 6am on Saturday; France reports 400,851 new cases

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Ireland’s premier Micheál Martin says ‘we have weathered the Omicron storm’; France reports 400,851 daily cases and 233 Covid-linked hospital deaths

China has reported its lowest daily tally of local confirmed Covid-19 cases in nearly two months, after a national strategy to stamp out flare-ups and lock down affected cities.

China reported 23 domestically transmitted infections with confirmed symptoms for Thursday, official data showed, down from 43 a day earlier.

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New Hong Kong barristers’ chief warns profession to stay out of politics

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Victor Dawes says the group should build closer ties to mainland China amidst concerns about the rule of law

The newly elected leader of Hong Kong barristers says that his profession should avoid politics and build closer ties to mainland China, as concerns grow about rule of law in the financial hub.

The Hong Kong Bar Association has been a vocal defender of human rights and its previous leader had criticised a Beijing-imposed national security law, drawing fierce condemnation from Chinese officials.

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Biden warns Russia will ‘pay a heavy price’ if Putin launches Ukraine invasion – as it happened

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Here’s where the day stands so far:

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Deadly explosion in Ghana leaves huge crater after a mining truck accident – video

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A massive crater has been formed in the ground following an explosion in Ghana's rural west. The explosion happened when a truck carrying explosives to a gold mine collided with a motorcycle. Multiple people are believed to have been killed. Footage shows widespread damage to houses nearby

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‘Stuck in perilous moment’: Doomsday Clock holds at 100 seconds to midnight

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The clock has been set at that time third year in a row as science and security board says it ‘brings neither stability nor security’

The Doomsday Clock, established 75 years ago by scientists to illustrate the danger of human extinction, remains at 100 seconds to midnight according to a panel of experts.

It is the third year in a row that the clock has been set at that time, which is closer to midnight than at any period during the cold war, including the Cuban missile crisis.

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Blizzard claims four attempting to cross US-Canada border

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Authorities believe the deaths occurred from exposure to extremely low temperatures reaching up to -31F

Four people, including an infant, have been found dead near the Canada-United States border, after a failed crossing attempt during brutal blizzard conditions.

The grim discovery came as officials south of the border announced the arrest of a US man on human smuggling charges.

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At least 13 killed after immense explosion rocks western Ghana

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The blast, which flattened hundreds of buildings, followed a collision between a truck carrying mining explosives and a motorcycle

At least 13 people have been killed after a truck carrying mining explosives collided with a motorcycle in western Ghana, sparking an explosion that has left hundreds of buildings destroyed.

The accident happened around noon in Apiate, near the mining city of Bogoso, 300km (180 miles) west of the West African country’s capital, Accra.

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Taliban launch raids on homes of Afghan women’s rights activists

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Campaigners arrested by armed men days after anti-hijab protest in Kabul, with beatings reported

Taliban gunmen have raided the homes of women’s rights activists in Kabul, beating and arresting female campaigners in a string of actions apparently triggered by recent demonstrations.

Tamana Zaryabi Paryani and Parawana Ibrahimkhel, who participated in a series of protests held in Kabul over the last few months, were seized on Wednesday night by armed men claiming to be from the Taliban intelligence department.

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Biden warns Russia will ‘pay heavy price’ if it invades Ukraine – video

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Joe Biden sought to clarify US policy on a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine after his remarks about how the Nato alliance might respond to a 'minor incursion' triggered alarm in Kyiv. Biden told reporters at the White House: 'If any assembled Russian units move across the Ukrainian border, that is an invasion. Let there be no doubt if Putin makes this choice, Russia will pay a heavy price'

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Ivanka Trump asked to cooperate with Capitol attack committee

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Investigators seek testimony from former first daughter, with panel increasingly focused on Donald Trump’s inner circle

The House select committee investigating the Capitol attack is asking Ivanka Trump, the daughter of the former president, to appear for a voluntary deposition to answer questions about Donald Trump’s efforts to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory.

The move by the panel marks an aggressive new phase in its inquiry into the 6 January insurrection, as House investigators seek for the first time testimony from a member of the Trump family about potential criminality on the part of the former president.

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