Category Archives: World News

Cheering support and instant condemnation: US lawmakers respond to attack on Iran

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Ro Khanna and Bernie Sanders denounced the decision to launch attack, while most Republicans praised the action

American politicians reacted to the news of the US bombing of nuclear targets in Iran with a mix of cheering support and instant condemnation, reflecting deep divisions in the country that cross party lines as Washington grapples with yet another military intervention overseas.

Donald Trump announced on Saturday night that the US had completed strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran, directly joining Israel’s effort this month to destroy the country’s nuclear program.

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New Texas law requires Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms

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Governor Greg Abott signs bill into law but challenge expected from critics who consider it unconstitutional

Texas will require all public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments under a new law that will make the state the nation’s largest to attempt to impose such a mandate.

The bill, which was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott, is expected to draw a legal challenge from critics who consider it an unconstitutional violation of the separation of church and state.

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Three people killed in North Dakota after tornado hits upper midwest

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Officials say two men and a woman killed around town of Enderlin as region experiences powerful winds and hail

Powerful winds – including a tornado – that swept across parts of the upper midwest left three people dead and a regional airport heavily damaged, while nearly 150 million Americans were under a heat advisory or warning as the weekend warmed up in much of the US.

A complex storm system wreaked havoc in parts of North Dakota, northern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin, with reported tornadic activity, large hail and strong wind gusts, according to Brian Hurley, meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center.

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British man arrested for alleged terrorism offence and spying on RAF base in Cyprus

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Man allegedly surveilled RAF Akrotiri and was planning imminent terrorist attack, according to reports

A British man has been arrested on suspicion of espionage and terrorism offences in Cyprus.

He allegedly surveilled the RAF Akrotiri base on the island and is suspected of having links with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, local media reported.

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US reportedly moving B-2 bombers to Guam as Trump considers Iran strikes

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Officials tell Reuters bombers moving to Pacific Island but unclear whether deployment tied to Middle East tensions

The United States is moving B-2 bombers to the Pacific island of Guam, two US officials told Reuters on Saturday, as Donald Trump weighs whether the United States should take part in Israel’s strikes against Iran.

It was unclear whether the bomber deployment is tied to Middle East tensions.

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Los Angeles Dodgers donate $1m to families affected by Ice raids

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Team, which said it stopped Ice agents entering parking lot on Thursday, makes donation to immigrant families

The Los Angeles Dodgers have donated $1m to assist families affected by two weeks of immigration raids in southern California.

The World Series champions also said they intend to form partnerships with the California Community Foundation, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and other organizations to continue providing aid to immigrant families.

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Brazil hot-air balloon crash kills at least eight people amid ‘desperate’ scenes

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Witnesses say some of those onboard hurled themselves out to escape flames as reports say fire started from torch in balloon’s basket

At least eight people have died after a hot-air balloon carrying more than 20 people caught fire and plunged through the sky in Brazil’s deep south.

Footage posted on social media showed the moment the multi-coloured aircraft fell to earth, engulfed in flames, in the state of Santa Catarina on Saturday morning. At least two of the balloon’s occupants can be seen plummeting to the ground as the fire spreads. “My God!” one witness can be heard gasping as the basket hurtles towards the ground.

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Salvagers fully raise Mike Lynch’s superyacht Bayesian from sea off Sicily

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Vessel to be transported to port where investigators will try to find cause of fatal sinking during storm

Salvage teams in Sicily say they have lifted Mike Lynch’s superyacht “fully and finally out of the water” for the first time since it sank last year during a storm, killing seven people including the tech tycoon and his teenage daughter.

The rusting hulk of the Bayesian, which ran into trouble off the coast of the Italian island in August last year, has been slowly raised from the seabed over the last three days. Covered with algae and mud, it was visible clear of the sea in the holding area of a yellow floating crane barge, a witness told the Associated Press.

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‘My husband is free!’ Belarus opposition leader freed after nearly five years in jail

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Syarhei Tsikhanouski arrested shortly after announcing candidacy in rigged 2020 election won by Lukashenko

One of the leaders of Belarus’s opposition movement, Syarhei Tsikhanouski, has been released from jail after being pardoned after almost five years behind bars.

His wife, the exiled politician Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya, who took over the opposition cause after his jailing, on Saturday shared a video of him smiling and embracing her after his release.

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Pakistan to nominate Donald Trump for Nobel peace prize

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Islamabad says US president helped resolve India conflict but critic says ‘Israel’s sugar daddy in Gaza’ not candidate for any prize

Pakistan has said it will recommend Donald Trump for the Nobel peace prize for his work in helping to resolve the recent conflict between India and Pakistan.

The move, announced on Saturday, came as the US president mulls joining Israel in striking Iran’s nuclear facilities.

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Outcome of Israel’s war with Iran is uncertain even if US joins conflict

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American involvement is not guaranteed to secure Israel’s objectives – and may lead to unintended consequences

Israel’s assault on Iran, including its nuclear and ballistic weapons programme, is unlikely to secure its long-term strategic objectives, even if Benjamin Netanyahu manages to persuade the Trump administration into joining the conflict in the coming days and weeks, experts have said.

According to diplomats, military specialists and security analysts, Israel – and its prime minister – is likely to face mounting headwinds in the campaign, amid warnings that it risks dangerously destabilising the region.

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Banned from home for 40 years: deportations are Russia’s latest move to ‘cleanse’ Ukraine

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A deal freezing frontlines would be unacceptable for Serhiy Serdiuk, who was taken to Georgia in handcuffs with his family after refusing to teach the Russian curriculum

Earlier this year, Serhiy Serdiuk was deported from Russia, along with his wife and daughter. He was given a 40-year ban from re-entering the country.

Serdiuk’s home town of Komysh-Zoria, in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, was part of the territory occupied in the first weeks of Russia’s full-scale invasion in spring 2022. According to Moscow, it is now part of Russia. And because Serdiuk, the headteacher of a local school, refused to work for the new authorities, they decided he had no place living there.

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Pornhub and other adult sites back online in France after three-week protest

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Adult websites back online after court suspended decision requiring platforms based in the EU to verify users’ ages

Major adult websites Pornhub, YouPorn and RedTube were back online in France Friday after a court suspended a decision requiring pornographic platforms based in the European Union to verify users’ ages.

The three platforms’ owner, Aylo, based in Cyprus, had made its websites unavailable in France in early June as a protest against the French decree. Failure to comply could have lead to sanctions including fines or the blocking of the websites.

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Iran says diplomacy with US only possible if Israeli aggression stops

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Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi says he supports more talks with European counterparts despite lack of progress

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has said that his country is ready for more diplomacy with the US only if Israel’s war on his country is brought to an end “and the aggressor is held accountable for the crimes he committed”.

After several hours of talks with European foreign ministers in Geneva on Friday, there was no sign of a diplomatic breakthrough – or a resumption of negotiations with the US.

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CDC vaccine panel to review ingredient RFK Jr has targeted for removal

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ACIP panel to discuss influenza vaccines that contain thimerosal, which Kennedy called ‘dangerous’ in 2014 book

A key vaccine advisory panel reconstituted by health secretary and vaccine skeptic Robert F Kennedy Jr is slated to discuss thimerosal-containing influenza vaccines in its first meeting – an ingredient which has been a fixation of anti-vaccine activists for decades.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will hold two separate votes later this month: one on “influenza vaccines” and one on influenza vaccines that contain thimerosal.

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EU cites ‘indications’ Israel is breaching human rights obligations over conduct in Gaza

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Leaked document marks significant moment in relations with ally but stops short of calling for immediate sanctions

The EU has said “there are indications” that Israel is in breach of human rights obligations over its conduct in Gaza, but stopped short of calling for immediate sanctions.

“There are indications that Israel would be in breach of its human rights obligations under article 2 of the EU-Israel association agreement,” states a leaked document from the EU’s foreign policy service, seen by the Guardian.

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Two hikers killed by major rockfall on popular trail in Canada

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‘Basically a whole shelf of a mountain came loose’ said one person who fled the scene in Banff National Park

Two people have been killed and another three injured when a major rockfall crashed onto a group of hikers on a popular Rocky Mountain trail in western Canada.

The accident happened on Thursday near the Bow Glacier Falls in Banff National Park, about 225km (140 miles) north-west of Calgary, Alberta. The area is known for its natural beauty and is particularly busy in summer.

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Macron lays out broad European offer for Iran to end war with Israel

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Proposal would cover uranium enrichment and ballistic missile programmes and aim to end terrorist funding

Europe is to make Iran a comprehensive offer to end its war with Israel that would include an Iranian move to zero uranium enrichment, restrictions on its ballistic missile programme and an end to Tehran’s funding of terrorist groups, Emmanuel Macron has said.

The proposals are surprisingly broad, spanning a range of complex issues beyond Iran’s disputed nuclear programme, and are likely to complicate any solution unless an interim agreement can be agreed.

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Campaign for statue of British suffragette hero is hit by funding crisis

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Organisers seek an extra £40,000 for a memorial to Mary Clarke, the first suffragette to die for women’s rights

The campaign to commemorate the first suffragette to die for women’s rights is facing a funding crisis.

Mary Clarke, who was the sister of Emmeline Pankhurst, helped found the Women’s Social and Political Union and was imprisoned three times.

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Canada poised to pass infrastructure bill despite pushback from Indigenous people

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Bill prioritizes ‘nation-building’ pipelines and mines, causing concern that sped-up approvals will override constitutional rights

Canada’s Liberal government is poised to pass controversial legislation on Friday that aims to kick-start “nation building” infrastructure projects but has received widespread pushback from Indigenous communities over fears it tramples on their constitutional rights.

On its final day of sitting before breaking for summer, parliament is expected to vote on Bill C-5. The legislation promised by Mark Carney, the prime minister, during the federal election, is meant to strengthen Canada’s economy amid a trade war launched by Donald Trump.

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