Opposition party says minister ‘either lied or has no clue how it works’ when he said band were ‘ineligible’ to enter
Canada’s opposition party has asked the government to clarify whether the Belfast rap trio Kneecap have been barred from the country, after doubts emerged over their status.
The Liberal MP Vince Gasparro, the parliamentary secretary for combating crime, posted a video on social media on 19 September in which he said Kneecap were “ineligible” to enter Canada.
Continue reading...Protesting young people reject dissolution of government as insufficient and demand list of reforms
Young protesters in Madagascar have said they will continue their fight for the resignation of the president, Andry Rajoelina, and rejected his dissolution of the government on Monday as insufficient.
Twenty-two people were killed and 100 injured at the demonstrations, according to the UN. The unrest broke out on 25 September when local councillors were arrested for protesting against water and electricity outages in the capital, Antananarivo. The youth-led protests quickly spread to other towns and cities, fuelled by social media and other “Gen Z protests in Indonesia and Nepal, where the government was toppled.
Continue reading...Greta Thunberg arrested and taken into custody after six of the flotilla’s boats were boarded
A number of boats from a pro-Palestinian flotilla have been boarded by Israeli forces roughly 75 miles off the coast of Gaza, as the vessels attempted to breach the maritime blockade of the war-torn territory and bring aid.
The raid began with the flotilla’s leading vessel, Alma, whose crew were detained by Israeli soldiers on Wednesday. A video from the Israeli foreign ministry showed the most prominent of the flotilla’s passengers, Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, sitting on a deck surrounded by soldiers.
Continue reading...Text appears meant to assure the Qataris following Israel’s surprise attack on the country targeting Hamas leaders
Donald Trump has signed an executive order vowing to use all measures including US military action to defend the energy-rich nation of Qatar – though it remains unclear just what weight the pledge will carry.
The text of the order, available Wednesday on the White House’s website but dated Monday, appears to be another measure by Trump to assure the Qataris following Israel’s surprise attack on the country targeting Hamas leaders as they weighed accepting a ceasefire with Israel over the war in the Gaza Strip.
Continue reading...Brendan Carr, who appeared to pressure broadcasters to take show off air, set to go before commerce committee
Brendan Carr, the pro-Trump chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has agreed to testify before the Senate commerce committee following Disney’s decision to take talkshow host Jimmy Kimmel off air temporarily, according to multiple reports.
Carr agreed to testify after speaking to committee chair Ted Cruz, Reuters reported, citing a source familiar with the matter on Wednesday, adding the date of the hearing has not been set but was expected after November. Semafor was the first to report on the hearing.
Continue reading...US-born Leo Garcia Venegas says ‘I just want to work in peace’ after agents in Alabama said his ID card was fake
An Alabama construction worker and US citizen who says he was detained twice by immigration agents within just a few weeks has filed a lawsuit in federal court demanding an end to Trump administration workplace raids targeting industries with large immigrant workforces.
The class-action lawsuit, filed on Tuesday by Leo Garcia Venegas, a concrete worker, demands an end to what the firm calls “unconstitutional and illegal immigration enforcement tactics”.
Continue reading...Satellite images of damaged area show no sign of shelling that Moscow says prevents repair
Russia has been accused of deliberately sabotaging the last remaining power line into the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, after satellite imagery of the damaged area showed no sign of Ukrainian shelling that Moscow says is preventing a repair.
Outside power, normally used for cooling, has now been down for a record eight days, forcing the Russian operators of the plant in occupied Ukraine to rely on back-up diesel generators to avoid a meltdown of its six reactor cores.
Continue reading...Tanker, named on list of ‘shadow fleet’ vessels, may have been launchpad for drones that closed Denmark airports
French military personnel have boarded an oil tanker named on a list of Russia’s “shadow fleet” vessels and suspected of being a launchpad for mystery drone flights that forced the closure of airports in Denmark last week.
Stéphane Kellenberger, the public prosector in Brest, told Agence France-Presse that two crew members – who presented themselves as the ship’s captain and his first mate – had been taken into custody.
Continue reading...Defence minister issues warning, while Hamas reportedly considers seeking amendments to Trump plan
The Israeli military has issued what it said was its final warning for Gaza City residents to flee as it intensified its bombardment and offensive on Wednesday, while Hamas was reportedly considering requesting amendments to Donald Trump’s ceasefire ultimatum.
Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, said the warning was the last opportunity for people to move to southern Gaza as the military encircled the city. Gaza’s civil defence agency said on Wednesday that Israeli forces had killed at least 46 people, including 36 in Gaza City.
Continue reading...Activist Jagtar Singh Johal has been held in Indian prison for nearly eight years without full trial
The sisters of the British-Egyptian human rights campaigner Alaa Abd el-Fattah have intervened for the first time since his release from prison in Egypt to call on Keir Starmer to push Narendra Modi to free a British Sikh activist when he meets the Indian prime minister next week.
Jagtar Singh Johal, from Dumbarton, has been held in an Indian jail for nearly eight years without facing full trial in what his supporters say is an arbitrary and egregious denial of justice by a British ally.
Continue reading...Israeli offensive intensifies amid reports Hamas will seek amendments to Trump’s Gaza plan
Here are some images coming in via the newswires today:
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said that the “intensification of military operations in Gaza City” has forced the humanitarian organisation to temporarily suspend operations at its Gaza City office and relocate its staff to ICRC offices in southern Gaza “to ensure staff safety and operational continuity”.
The ICRC will continue to strive to provide support to civilians in Gaza City, whenever circumstances allow, from our offices in Deir al-Balah and Rafah, which remain fully operational. This includes providing medical donations to the few remaining health facilities in Gaza City and doing the utmost to facilitate the movements of first responders. In Rafah, the Red Cross Field hospital will continue to be a lifeline for the many wounded patients pouring in.
The ICRC has been in Gaza City for decades. Following the latest intensification of hostilities, ICRC teams stayed as long as they possibly could to protect and support the most vulnerable people. The ICRC remains committed to returning as soon as conditions allow.
The rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian assistance must be allowed and facilitated across the Gaza Strip.
Continue reading...Liu Jianchao, previously tipped to be next foreign minister, has not been seen publicly in months
China’s ruling Communist party (CCP) has replaced the head of its powerful international department two months after he disappeared from public life.
Liu Jianchao, an influential official who had been widely tipped to be the next foreign minister, was reportedly detained while returning from an overseas trip in late July. He has not been seen publicly since.
Continue reading...Account of ‘intimidatory operation’ comes as Italy and Greece repeat call for Israel to guarantee safety of flotilla
A pro-Palestinian flotilla heading to Gaza has said it has been approached and harassed by Israeli naval boats that jammed one of its lead vessels’ communication systems as Italy and Greece reiterated calls for Israel to guarantee the safety of those onboard.
The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), carrying about 500 people including the climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and former Barcelona mayor Ada Colau, said it had an encounter with Israeli navy vessels that circled the fleet’s “lead boat for around six minutes” while remotely disabling its communication systems.
Continue reading...First shutdown in nearly seven years as Republicans accused of ‘risking America’s healthcare’ in spending bill
The US government shut down on Wednesday, after congressional Democrats refused to support a Republican plan to extend funding for federal departments unless they won a series of concessions centered on healthcare.
The GOP, which controls the Senate and the House of Representatives, repudiated their demands, setting off a legislative scramble that lasted into the hours before funding lapsed at midnight, when the Senate failed to advance both parties’ bills to keep funding going.
Continue reading...Musicians and staff at the theatre say Beatrice Venezi is not experienced enough for the role and should be replaced
Venice’s prestigious La Fenice opera house is embroiled in controversy over the hiring of a conductor with close ties to Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government.
The theatre’s orchestra musicians and staff are calling for Beatrice Venezi’s appointment as music director to be revoked, claiming she does not have enough experience for the high-profile role and was picked only because of her government connections.
Continue reading...Amendment to constitution stipulates that male and female are the only recognised sexes and makes adoption nearly impossible for same-sex couples
Recent changes to Slovakia’s constitution mark a “dark day” for the country, LGBTQ+ campaigners have warned, describing measures such as the recognition of only two sexes as part of a wider rollback of human rights and rule of law in the central European country.
On Friday, Slovakia’s parliament passed an amendment that included measures targeting LGBTQ+ rights in the country, from stipulating that male and female are the only recognised sexes to making it nearly impossible for same-sex couples to adopt children.
Continue reading...Island imported $1.3bn of crude oil product in first half of 2025 despite joining sanctions against Moscow, report finds
Taiwan has become the world’s biggest importer of Russian naphtha, a petroleum derivative used to make chemicals needed for the semiconductor industry, despite the fact that it has joined other sanctions against Russia and considers itself an ally of Ukraine.
In the first half of 2025, Taiwan imported $1.3bn worth of Russian naphtha, and average monthly imports reached a level nearly six times higher than the 2022 average, according to a report published on Wednesday. Compared to the first half of 2024, Taiwan’s naphtha imports this year increased by 44%.
Continue reading...More than 700 aftershocks recorded while rescuers search for casualties in coastal city of Bogo
Rescuers in the Philippines combed through rubble and mud after the deadliest earthquake in more than a decade killed at least 69 people, with patients overwhelming hospitals on the island of Cebu.
Outside the Cebu provincial hospital, injured children cried and adults screamed on Wednesday as they were treated on beds beneath blue tents. They had been wheeled outside as a precaution against waves of aftershocks.
Continue reading...Desperate search for more than 90 missing after building collapses while students held prayers at school in Sidoarjo
Parents and rescuers in Indonesia were desperately searching for dozens of teenage boys believed to be trapped, a day after the collapse of an Islamic boarding school which has already left three dead, authorities said.
Authorities said 91 people were listed as missing after the Al Khoziny school building collapsed while pupils held late afternoon prayers in a mosque housed on a lower floor of a building whose upper floors were under construction.
Continue reading...Unit will have up to 5,500 soldiers and police officers who will tackle the violence that has overwhelmed the country
The United Nations has adopted a resolution to transform a security mission in gang-dominated Haiti into a larger, fully fledged force with military troops.
The new unit can now have a maximum of 5,500 uniformed personnel, including police officers and soldiers, unlike the current mission, which is just law enforcement. The US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, said the vote by 12 security council members to “transform the multinational security support (MSS) mission to the new gang suppression force, a mission five times the size of its predecessor” showed the “international community was sharing the burden”.
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