Category Archives: World News

Israeli government and military clash over proposed camp for Palestinians

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Military opposed to Gaza ‘humanitarian city’ plan, which a former Israeli PM has likened to a concentration camp

A feud has broken between the Israeli government and the military over the cost and impact of a planned camp for Palestinians in southern Gaza, as politicians criticised the former prime minister Ehud Olmert for warning that the project would create a “concentration camp” if it goes ahead.

The “humanitarian city” project has become a sticking point in ceasefire talks with Hamas. Israel wants to keep troops stationed across significant parts of Gaza, including the ruins of Rafah city in the south, where the defence minister, Israel Katz, says the camp will be built.

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Trump’s hazy Ukraine arms announcement marks a tonal U-turn

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EU will buy some US weapons for Kyiv as president credits Melania Trump for his disenchantment with Putin

For those looking for details, Donald Trump’s rambling half-hour press conference in the Oval Office with the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, offered only a handful of clues. The US will sell weapons to Ukraine, the president said, with other Nato countries paying the bill – but otherwise specifics were scant.

No sums of money were mentioned – making it hard to calibrate how much of a difference the proposed weapon supply would make to Kyiv. Details were light on what munitions would be supplied though Trump mentioned complete Patriot missile systems and Rutte added there would be “missiles and ammunition” too.

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Indian regulator orders airlines to check Boeing fuel switches after plane crash report

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Air India cautions investigation into Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash is in early stages as speculation about cause grows

India’s aviation regulator has ordered the country’s airlines to examine fuel switches on Boeing aircraft, after a preliminary report on the Air India flight 171 crash in June showed the fuel supply had been cut seconds after takeoff.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation said it had issued the order after several domestic and international airlines began making their own inspections of the locking mechanisms attached to the switches.

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Indian film board criticised for cutting ‘overly sensual’ Superman kisses

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Viewers complain that board allows violence and misogyny in Indian films but not a smooch in a Hollywood release

As Indian cinemagoers watched the latest Superman film, many noticed something was amiss. On two occasions as the superhero leaned in for a kiss with Lois Lane, the film suddenly jumped forward, cutting to the aftermath of an embrace.

India’s censor board had deemed the kissing scenes, including a 33-second smooch, to be “overly sensual” for Indian audiences and demanded they be cut from the film before its cinematic release.

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Weather tracker: Warm air engulfs parts of Argentina as winter temperatures soar

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Rosario in Sante Fe likely be to 10C above normal, as Japan braces for Tropical Storm Nari

An unseasonably mild start to the week is expected in northern and central parts of Argentina, where it is winter. A plume of warm air will sink southwards from neighbouring Paraguay on Monday, lingering through Tuesday, before giving way to a cold front on Wednesday.

The maximum daytime temperatures on Monday and Tuesday will be up to 5C (9F) higher than normal in these regions, while Buenos Aires is forecast to be about 7C above average on Tuesday.

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Bank of England governor says jobs slowdown could prompt rate cut; European markets fall after Trump tariff threat – business live

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Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as Andrew Bailey insists: “I think the path [for interest rates] is down”.

A Bank of England interest rate cut next month is looking more likely, according to the latest city pricing.

The money markets are indicating there’s now an 85% chance that the Bank cuts interest rates at its next meeting on 7 August, up from 76% at the end of last week.

Friday’s disappointing GDP figures, combined with these weak jobs figures boost the case for the Bank of England to cut interest rates in August. The central bank’s governor Andrew Bailey told The Times ‘slack’ was opening up in the labour market, and he believes ‘the path is downward’ for interest rates.

All eyes are on Wednesday’s inflation report with CPI expected to remain at remain around 3.4% in June, roughly unchanged for the third consecutive month.”

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Monday briefing: The ‘toxic cocktail’ of climate denial, federal cuts and the Texas floods

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In today’s newsletter: Amid at least 129 deaths and billions of dollars of damage, there has been little reckoning about the part global heating and cuts to public services may have played in the disaster

Good morning. The death toll from the catastrophic floods in Texas has climbed to 129, including at least 27 children and counsellors at Camp Mystic in Kerr County.

With more than 160 people still missing, authorities warn that the number of casualties is likely to rise. On Sunday morning, some search operations were cancelled as heavy rain and strong winds battered the state once again.

Israel-Gaza | An Israeli airstrike has killed at least 10 people, including six children, who were waiting to collect water in Gaza, Palestinian health officials have said. Dozens of others were killed in Gaza over the weekend in a separate strike near a food aid distribution site. Meanwhile, former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert has said that a proposed “humanitarian city” would be a concentration camp for Palestinians.

Health | Health officials have urged people to come forward for the measles vaccine if they are not up to date with their shots after a child at Alder Hey children’s hospital in Liverpool died from the disease.

UK news | Charlotte Church, veteran peace campaigners, Trade unionists, activists and politicians, are among hundreds who have signed a letter describing the move to ban the group Palestine Action as “a major assault on our freedoms”.

Spain | Several people were hurt in a second night of anti-migrant unrest in the town of Torre Pacheco in south-east Spain after a pensioner was beaten up, authorities said.

NHS | Health secretory Wes Streeting will meet representatives from the British Medical Association this week as he looks to avert five days of strikes by resident doctors.

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Former Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari dies aged 82 in London

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Leader who ousted Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 three decades after brief stint as military ruler dies after ‘prolonged illness’

Nigeria’s former president Muhammadu Buhari, who led Africa’s most populous country from 2015 to 2023 and was the first Nigerian president to oust an incumbent through the ballot box, died in London on Sunday, a presidential spokesperson has said.

President Bola Tinubu’s spokesperson said in a post on X: “President Buhari died today in London at about 4.30pm [1530 GMT], following a prolonged illness.”

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‘Humanitarian city’ would be concentration camp for Palestinians, says former Israeli PM

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Ehud Olmert says forcing people into camp would be ethnic cleansing, and anger at Israel over Gaza war is not all down to antisemitism

The “humanitarian city” Israel’s defence minister has proposed building on the ruins of Rafah would be a concentration camp, and forcing Palestinians inside would be ethnic cleansing, Israel’s former prime minister Ehud Olmert has told the Guardian.

Israel was already committing war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank, Olmert said, and construction of the camp would mark an escalation.

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Bishops call on UK government to take action over West Bank settler violence

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Senior Church of England clerics want ministers to intensify sanctions and be willing to suspend Israeli trade agreement

Four senior Church of England bishops have called on the UK government to intensify the use of sanctions and to be willing to suspend its trade agreement with Israel over settler violence in the occupied West Bank.

The situation there is “in freefall with increasing levels of settler violence and intimidation against Palestinians”, the bishops say in a letter to the Guardian. The settlers are acting with impunity, they add. “Settler violence is state violence by any other name.”

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Ukraine must get ready for future in which there is no ceasefire with Russia

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Recognising Putin is not serious about peace is first step towards ‘strategic neutralisation’ proposed by ex-minister

While Donald Trump – and other western leaders – are taking their time to catch up with reality, it is obvious that Vladimir Putin has no apparent desire to halt the war in Ukraine. A realistic future military and diplomatic strategy for Kyiv has to accept that fact – and formulate a new approach.

The past six months have been dominated by the erroneous assumption that it would be possible for Trump to negotiate a ceasefire, even an armistice. That would be followed by the arrival of an Anglo-French led stabilisation force to secure the future of Ukraine. But Putin has shown no desire to stop attacking.

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Trump’s latest tariffs ‘are real’ unless deals improve, economic adviser says

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Kevin Hassett says talks are ‘ongoing’ after US president announced 30% tariffs on goods from EU and Mexico

Donald Trump has seen some trade deal offers and thinks they need to be better, Kevin Hassett, the White House economic adviser, said on Sunday, adding that the president will proceed with threatened tariffs on Mexico, the European Union and other countries if they don’t improve.

“Well, these tariffs are real if the president doesn’t get a deal that he thinks is good enough,” Hassett told ABC’s This Week program. “But you know, conversations are ongoing, and we’ll see where the dust settles.“

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Macron calls on EU to ‘defend European interests resolutely’ from Trump tariffs

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French president says bloc should be ready for trade war after 30% tariff threat but other EU leaders call for calm

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has called on the EU to “defend European interests resolutely” after Donald Trump threatened to impose 30% tariffs on nearly all imports from the EU.

It came as the EU moved to de-escalate tensions after the blunt move by Trump on Saturday. The bloc declared a further pause on €21bn of retaliatory tariffs until 1 August, dovetailing with the US president’s new deal deadline.

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‘Now or never’ to save replica of American revolutionary war vessel, say French campaigners

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Fresh plea for funds to repair €26m copy of frigate that carried Louis XVI’s promise of aid in war of independence

French maritime enthusiasts are battling to save a replica of an 18th-century warship that became a symbol of the country’s historic relationship with America.

The copy of L’Hermione, a three-mast, 32-gun frigate that carried the Marquis de Lafayette across the Atlantic to announce France’s support for American independence from Great Britain in the revolutionary war, has been in dry dock at Anglet, near Bayonne, since its oak hull was found to be riddled with fungus four years ago.

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Rosie O’Donnell dismisses Trump’s threat to revoke her US citizenship

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Actor says she is latest in long list of artists, activists and celebrities to be threatened by US president

Rosie O’Donnell has shrugged off a threat from Donald Trump to revoke her US citizenship on the grounds that she is “a threat to humanity”.

The New York-born actor and comedian said on Sunday that she was the latest in a long list of artists, activists and celebrities to be threatened by the US president.

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Several people injured in second night of anti-migrant unrest in Spanish town

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Authorities say at least one person arrested after disorder broke out in Torre Pacheco over attack on pensioner

Several people were hurt in a second night of anti-migrant unrest in the town of Torre Pacheco in south-east Spain after a pensioner was beaten up, authorities said.

Despite a major police presence, groups armed with batons roamed the streets looking for people with foreign origins, the regional newspaper La Opinión de Murcia reported.

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Air India crash victims’ families not satisfied with ‘vague’ initial report

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Relatives call for ‘honesty, transparency and an unwavering commitment to uncovering the full truth’

Families of the Air India crash victims have said they are hoping for more answers from investigators after a report found the plane’s fuel switches were cut off, deepening the mystery of what happened.

The preliminary report from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, published on Friday, said both of the plane’s fuel switches moved to the cut-off position immediately after takeoff, stopping fuel supply to the engines.

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Macron not expected at UN summit on two-state solution for Palestine and Israel

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Absence of French president makes it less likely there will be announcement of recognition of a Palestinian state

A UN summit on a two-state solution for Palestine and Israel – postponed by the Israel-Iran war – has been rescheduled for 28 and 29 July, but it is not expected that the French president, Emmanuel Macron, will attend, making it less likely that it will trigger a series of high-profile announcements on recognition of a Palestinian state.

Macron, who last week told UK parliamentarians a two-state solution was “the only way to build peace and stability for all in the whole region”, has been trying to build momentum for recognition of a state of Palestine by a wide group of countries, but the lack of movement in ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel is making such decisions more complex.

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New Caledonia to be declared a state in ‘historic’ agreement – but will remain French

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Emmanuel Macron hails ‘new chapter’ for New Caledonia as politicians agree on statehood after 10 days of talks

France has announced a “historic” accord with New Caledonia in which the overseas territory, rocked by deadly separatist violence last year, would remain French but be declared a new state.

“A State of New Caledonia within the Republic: it’s a bet on trust,” the French president, Emmanuel Macron, posted on X on Saturday, hailing a “historic” agreement.

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Donald Trump announces 30% tariffs on goods from the EU and Mexico

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The president made the announcement on social media, even as the EU was hoping for a trade agreement

Donald Trump announced on Saturday that goods imported from both the European Union and Mexico will face a 30% US tariff rate starting 1 August, in letters posted on his social media platform, Truth Social.

The tariff assault on the EU came as a shock to European capitals as the European Commission and the US trade representative Jamieson Greer had spent months hammering out a deal they believed was acceptable to both sides.

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