Category Archives: World News

Brazilian tribe sues New York Times for allegedly portraying members as porn addicts

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Defamation suit claims Marubo people were depicted as tech-addled and porn-obsessed after introduction of internet

An Indigenous tribe from the Brazilian Amazon has sued the New York Times, saying the newspaper’s reporting on the tribe’s first exposure to the internet led to its members being widely portrayed as technology-addled and addicted to pornography.

The Marubo tribe of the remote Javari valley, a community of about 2,000 people, filed the defamation lawsuit seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages this week in a court in Los Angeles.

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Shooting of Israeli embassy staffers underscores US ‘era of violent populism’

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This is the latest act of violence in a string of incidents that have affected Jewish, Arab and Muslim communities

The killing of two staff of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC comes as the war in Gaza has splintered the American body politic alongside the ongoing rise in political violence.

A shooter, identified as Elias Rodriguez, shot the two people, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, outside the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday after they left an event hosted by the American Jewish Committee. Rodriguez reportedly chanted “free, free Palestine” while being detained by security.

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Netanyahu accused of slander after criticising Macron, Carney and Starmer

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Israeli leader’s antisemitism claim labelled defamatory as he is warned against pursuing a war without end

Benjamin Netanyahu was accused of slander and pursuing a war without end after he claimed the leaders of France, Canada and the UK were stoking antisemitism and siding with Hamas by demanding he end the two-month blockade of food and aid into Gaza.

In what has become an extraordinary standoff with some of Israel’s closest allies, Netanyahu appeared to deliberately raise the stakes on Thursday night by accusing his western critics of abandoning Israel in a war for its very existence.

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Ukraine and Russia exchange 800 PoWs in largest prisoner swap of war so far

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Russian foreign minister continues to question Zelenskyy’s legitimacy as first phase of ‘1,000 for 1,000’ deal takes places

Ukraine and Russia have begun the largest prisoner exchange of the three-year war, with almost 800 captives returned on both sides in a process expected to last several days.

Confirming the first phase of the exchange had taken place, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Ukraine had returned 390 people to Russia and that the process would continue with further groups on Saturday and Sunday.

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Guyana president decries Venezuela’s plan to hold elections ‘in our territory’

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Irfaan Ali tells Guardian of ‘grave’ implications of move to elect officials in Essequibo, recognised as part of Guyana

Venezuela’s decision to elect officials to administer a swathe of Guyanese territory constitutes “a full-frontal assault on Guyana’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” that “undermines regional peace”, the country’s president, Irfaan Ali, has warned.

Venezuelans will head to the polls on Sunday to chose regional governors and lawmakers, including officials who would supposedly govern Essequibo, a territory which is internationally recognised as part of Guyana. The area is largely jungle but also rich in oil, gold, diamonds, timber and other natural resources.

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Loan scheme to rearm Europe could be ‘important breakthrough’ in Ukraine support

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EU defence commissioner says he expects a lot of loan requests from member states under €150bn programme

A €150bn (£126bn) loans programme to rearm Europe that was finalised this week could be “a very important breakthrough” in the EU’s military support for Ukraine, the bloc’s defence commissioner has said.

Andrius Kubilius, a former prime minister of Lithuania who is the EU’s first defence commissioner, said he expected a lot of member states to request EU-backed loans under the €150bn Security Action for Europe (SAFE) scheme, which was approved on Wednesday.

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World’s seven wealthiest countries agree to counter China’s trade practices

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G7 finance ministers and central bank governors pledge to address ‘economic imbalances’, without naming China

Top finance officials from the world’s seven wealthiest democracies have set aside stark differences on US tariffs and agreed to counter global “economic imbalances”, a swipe at China’s trade practices.

Ahead of the meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bank governors there had been doubt about whether there would be a final communique, given divisions over US tariffs and Washington’s reluctance to refer to Russia’s war on Ukraine as illegal.

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Brazil activists decry green rollbacks as senate passes ‘devastation bill’

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Legislation would dismantle regulations in farming, mining and energy, increasing risk of widespread destruction

Environmental activists in Brazil have decried a dramatic rollback of environmental safeguards after the senate approved a bill that would dismantle licensing processes and increase the risk of widespread destruction.

The upper house passed the so-called “devastation bill” with 54 votes to 13 late on Wednesday, paving the way for projects ranging from mining and infrastructure to energy and farming to receive regulatory approval with little to no environmental oversight.

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Iran would view US as ‘participant’ in any Israeli attack on its nuclear sites

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Warning issued after US intelligence reportedly understood Israel might attack if Iran-US talks broke down

Iran has said it will hold the US responsible for any Israeli attack on its nuclear sites in remarks that set a fraught backdrop for the fifth and probably most important round of talks between Iran and the US on the future of Iran’s nuclear program.

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, issued the warning on Thursday after reports appeared in the American media claiming US intelligence understood Israel was planning an attack on Iranian nuclear sites – with or without American support – if the talks broke down.

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Children and elderly are dying from starvation in Gaza, says health minister

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UN spokesperson says about 90 aid trucks have entered Gaza, but Palestinian Red Crescent says deliveries have not arrived

Twenty-nine children and elderly people have died from starvation in Gaza in the last two days, the Palestinian Authority health minister has said , as Israeli strikes killed at least 52 people since dawn amid a renewed military offensive across the territory.

The warning came as food aid is expected to start reaching Palestinians in Gaza this week after Israel began allowing limited goods through after nearly three months after global pressure to lift the blockade and halt a newly expanded offensive.

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‘It was so unreal’: Norwegian man wakes to cargo ship in his garden

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A 135-metre container vessel ran aground in Byneset, near Trondheim, narrowly missing a house

A Norwegian man has spoken of the “unreal” moment he woke up to discover that a 135-metre container ship had crashed into his front garden.

The cargo vessel, the NCL Salten, had run aground just before 5am on Thursday after entering the Trondheim fjord on its way to the western town of Orkanger.

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Case of mother who died during forced sterilisation in Peru to be heard in court

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Celia Ramos was one of thousands of women subjected to government’s brutal policy in the 1990s. A ruling by the inter-American court of human rights could open way for reparations

The case of a forced sterilisation carried out in Peru in the 1990s will be heard by an international court on Thursday, 28 years after the procedure – one of many thousands – resulted in a woman’s death.

Celia Ramos was 34 when she died in 1997, 19 days after surgery for a tubal ligation caused respiratory failure. The mother of three was “harassed” into accepting the procedure, which was part of a nationwide family planning programme.

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Five Valladolid fans given suspended prison sentences for Vinícius Júnior hate crime

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  • Insults were directed towards Brazilian in December 2022

  • La Liga hails judgment as ‘unprecedented milestone’

  • Luka Modric to leave Real Madrid after Club World Cup

Five Valladolid fans who abused the Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior have been given suspended prison sentences, in what La Liga described as a landmark ruling that condemned racist insults hurled in a football stadium as a hate crime.

The case goes back to Madrid’s 2-0 win in December 2022 at Real Valladolid’s José Zorrilla Stadium, during which several fans hurled racist abuse at the Brazilian. The individuals were later identified using images and videos published on social media.

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German troops start first permanent foreign deployment since second world war

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Heavy combat unit of 4,800 soldiers and 200 civilian staff inaugurated in Lithuania on Nato’s eastern flank

The German chancellor has visited Lithuania to mark Berlin’s first permanent foreign troop deployment since the second world war, as he called on allies to dramatically expand their efforts to bolster European defences against a hostile Russia.

As a crowd waved Lithuanian, German and Ukrainian flags, Friedrich Merz and his defence minister, Boris Pistorius, attended a ceremony launching the official formation of an armoured brigade aimed at protecting Nato’s eastern flank.

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UK to conclude Chagos Islands deal after court lifts last-minute injunction

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Government due to give green light to deal handing sovereignty of islands to Mauritius

The UK government is due to conclude its deal to cede sovereignty over the Chagos Islands after an eleventh-hour high court injunction was lifted.

Ministers are preparing to finalise the agreement to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after they were blocked from doing so for several hours by a court ruling in the early hours of Thursday.

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Israeli army issues evacuation warning for 14 areas in northern Gaza – Middle East crisis live

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AFP says army released statement in Arabic claiming it was ‘operating with intense force’ in a number of areas

Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar accused unnamed European officials on Thursday of “toxic antisemitic incitement” he blamed for a hostile climate in which the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staff members in Washington DC took place.

Israel has faced criticism from Europe as it has intensified its military campaign in Gaza, where humanitarian groups have warned that an 11-week Israeli blockade on aid supplies has left the Palestinian territory on the brink of famine.

There is a direct line connecting antisemitic and anti-Israel incitement to this murder.

This incitement is also done by leaders and officials of many countries and organisations, especially from Europe.

These libels about genocide, crimes against humanity and murdering babies pave the way exactly for such murders.

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Trump and AOC condemn antisemitism after Israeli embassy staff shooting

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Politicians took to social media to express shock and sorrow over killings of staffers outside Jewish museum in DC

Donald Trump, Republicans and Democrats have condemned antisemitism in the shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington DC on Wednesday night.

“These horrible D.C. killings, based obviously on antisemitism, must end, NOW!” Trump wrote on social media in response to the shooting. “Hatred and Radicalism have no place in the USA. Condolences to the families of the victims. So sad that such things as this can happen! God Bless You ALL!”

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UK government urged to introduce GCSE in Ukrainian for child refugees

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Children’s commissioner joins Kyiv in asking DfE to create new qualification to cope with ‘immense upheaval’ of fleeing war

The children’s commissioner has joined Kyiv in lobbying the UK government to introduce a new GCSE in Ukrainian to help child refugees cope with the “immense upheaval” of fleeing war in their country.

In December, the Guardian revealed that Ukraine was “deeply concerned” to discover many Ukrainian teenagers are being pressed into learning Russian in British schools because no GSCE in Ukrainian is available.

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Romania’s top court rejects far-right candidate’s attempt to annul election

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George Simion, a pro-Trump ultranationalist, had alleged foreign interference in rerun vote won by Nicușor Dan

Romania’s top court has unanimously rejected an application by the defeated far-right candidate in Sunday’s presidential election rerun, George Simion, to annul the vote on the grounds of foreign interference.

“Following deliberations, the constitutional court unanimously rejected the request … as unfounded,” the court said in statement on Thursday, adding that its decision was final and it would publish its full reasoning at a later date.

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Hong Kong authorities trying to disrupt independent press with ‘strange’ tax audits

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Inland revenue targets eight outlets, union, 20 journalists and their families with supposed ‘random’ checks

Hong Kong authorities have targeted journalists and media outlets with what are supposed to be “random” tax audits, in a move the industry union says adds pressure to waning press freedoms.

The head of the Hong Kong Journalists Association, Selina Cheng, detailed what she said were “strange” and “unreasonable” accusations by Hong Kong’s inland revenue department. Requests or audits were made against the association, at least eight independent media outlets, and at least 20 journalists and their family members, including Cheng and her parents, she said at a press conference on Wednesday.

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