Category Archives: World News

North Korea preparing to send more troops to Ukraine war, says South Korea

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Pyongyang said to be planning to increase support despite high casualties among estimated 11,000 already sent

North Korea is preparing to send more soldiers to fight in the Ukraine war, military officials in South Korea have said, despite reports of heavy casualties among troops from the communist state who have already been sent to the battlefield.

The claim that Pyongyang could be planning to increase its support for the Kremlin came as Donald Trump suggested he would attempt to rekindle his relationship with Kim Jong-un, describing the North Korean leader as a “smart guy” in an interview with Fox News.

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Europe overhauls funding to Tunisia after Guardian exposes migrant abuse

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Allegations of rape, beatings and collusion by EU-funded security forces prompt shift in migration arrangements

The European Commission is fundamentally overhauling how it makes payments to Tunisia after a Guardian investigation exposed myriad abuses by EU-funded security forces, including widespread sexual violence against migrants.

Officials are drawing up “concrete” conditions to ensure that future European payments to Tunis can go ahead only if human rights have not been violated.

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Canada’s top court to hear challenge to controversial Quebec secularism law

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Federal government appeals against law critics say disproportionately affects hijab-wearing Muslim women

Canada’s top court has agreed to hear a challenge to Quebec’s controversial secularism law, paving the way for a fierce debate over provincial powers and the fundamental rights of ethnic and religious minorities.

The supreme court signaled on Thursday that it would grant leave to appeal against the 2019 law which prohibits certain public workers in positions of authority – including judges, police officers, prison guards and teachers – from wearing religious symbols while at work. Other public workers such as bus drivers, doctors and social workers must only keep their faces uncovered.

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US judge blocks Trump’s order to end birthright citizenship

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Judge rules in favor of states who sued over president’s executive order, which was set to take effect on 19 February

A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked Donald Trump’s executive order ending the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship regardless of the parents’ immigration status.

US district judge John C Coughenour ruled in the case brought by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon, which argue the 14th amendment and supreme court case law have cemented birthright citizenship.

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Micheál Martin vows to protect Ireland ‘at moment of real threat’

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Fianna Fáil leader officially elected PM a day after chaotic scenes in Dáil, as thoughts turn to future and Trump

Ireland’s newly appointed prime minister, Micheál Martin, has vowed to protect the country “at a moment of real threat” just days after Donald Trump threatened to wipe out its tax advantage and repatriate American jobs.

He was speaking moments as he was officially appointed as prime minister, but 24 hours after chaotic scenes in the Dáil caused the cancellation of his formal appointment.

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Visiting leaky, crowded Louvre is ‘physical ordeal’, museum’s boss says

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In leaked memo to culture minister, Laurence des Cars sounds alarm over state of Paris art gallery

Visiting the Louvre has become a “physical ordeal” as the throngs of tourists, leaks and substandard catering take a toll on the world’s most-visited museum, its director has said in a leaked memo.

The document, written by Laurence des Cars for the French culture minister, Rachida Dati, but leaked to the media on Thursday, sounded the alarm over the state of the Paris museum.

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German opposition leader ramps up immigration rhetoric after knife attack

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Friedrich Merz says he will boost border controls if he wins power in next month’s elections

Germany’s opposition leader has pledged to strengthen border controls and step up deportations if he becomes chancellor after elections next month, a day after an Afghan man was arrested over a knife attack in which two people died.

Friedrich Merz, whose conservative CDU/CSU alliance is leading in polls, said he would not allow attacks like the one in the Bavarian city of Aschaffenburg on Wednesday to become a “normal affair”.

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UK family awarded thousands over stale croissants and ‘mouldy’ hotel in France

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Family complained food was ‘uneatable’ and room was dirty and smelly at four-star Club Med hotel in Provence

A British family who claimed they “went home miserable” from a luxury French hotel after they were given stale croissants and a smelly room have won thousands of pounds in damages.

Damen Bennion, 52, told his children “Daddy would get things sorted” when they arrived at their holiday in Provence and found the four-star hotel did not meet their expectations.

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Family of jailed dissident urge Lammy to prioritise case as he visits Egypt

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‘Moment of truth’ for UK foreign secretary over Alaa Abd El Fattah, who is still being held in a Cairo prison

The family of the jailed British-Egyptian writer Alaa Abd El Fattah have urged the UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, to prioritise the dissident’s release above trade deals during his visit to Egypt.

Fattah remains in a Cairo jail even though his sentence for dissent has been served. His mother is on a hunger strike in London with her health now deteriorating.

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Thursday briefing: With a new wave of violence, the West Bank is on edge

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In today’s newsletter: As Israeli security forces launch an operation in the city of Jenin and violence by settlers escalates, Emma Graham-Harrison explains what happens next

Good morning.

A few days after a ceasefire brought at least temporary relief to Gaza, violence erupted in the occupied West Bank. On Tuesday, the Israeli military launched what was described as an extensive raid in the city of Jenin, a day after Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians, setting vehicles and property ablaze in a violent rampage. Two Israeli were arrested even though dozens of armed settlers were involved in the rioting. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, condemned the attacks, but it is evident that extremist settlers feel emboldened by government policies and ministers who back their agenda.

Media | The Duke of Sussex has settled his high court legal action against the publisher of the Sun, News Group Newspapers. NGN offered “a full and unequivocal apology” to Prince Harry “for the phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators instructed by them” at the News of the World. It will also pay “substantial damages”.

US politics | Donald Trump has threatened Russia with taxes, tariffs and sanctions if a deal to end the war in Ukraine is not struck soon, as the new US president tries to increase pressure on Moscow to start negotiations with Kyiv.

Social media | TikTok’s power to deliver “exhilaration” and the UK’s relationship with China are shaping the UK government’s acceptance of the short video app despite “genuine concerns” about how the data of millions of Britons may be used, the technology secretary has said.

Politics | Campaigners will be blocked from “excessive” legal challenges to planning decisions for major infrastructure projects including airports, railways and nuclear power stations as part of the government’s drive for economic growth.

UK news | A former soldier has pleaded guilty to murdering three women with a crossbow at their home in Hertfordshire last year. Kyle Clifford admitted killing Carol Hunt and her daughters Hannah and Louise in Bushey on 9 July.

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Trump threatens Putin with taxes, tariffs and sanctions over Ukraine war

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US president tells his Russian counterpart to ‘settle now and stop this ridiculous war’ or face repercussions

Donald Trump has threatened Russia with taxes, tariffs and sanctions if a deal to end the war in Ukraine is not struck soon, as the new US president tries to increase pressure on Moscow to start negotiations with Kyiv.

Writing in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, Trump said Russia’s economy was failing and urged Vladimir Putin to “settle now and stop this ridiculous war”.

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One of France’s most wanted alleged drug lords extradited from Morocco

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Félix ‘the Cat’ Bingui due to appear in Marseille court on multiple charges including money laundering

One of France’s most wanted suspected drug traffickers was due in court in Marseille after his extradition from Morocco.

Félix Bingui, known as “the Cat” and reportedly head of the notorious Yoda clan, was arrested in Casablanca last March.

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Micheál Martin furious at ‘subversion of Irish constitution’ amid chaos in Dáil

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Martin’s formal appointment as taoiseach blocked after day of ‘utter disgrace’ in Irish parliament

Ireland’s incoming prime minister, Micheál Martin, has accused opponents of a “subversion of the Irish constitution” after formal election to the role was cancelled amid chaotic scenes in the Irish parliament.

The outgoing taoiseach, Martin’s coalition partner, Simon Harris, called Wednesday’s events in Dáil an “utter disgrace [with] so many pressing issues” facing the country, as a spiralling row over the speaking rights of independent TDs torpedoed the first day of Martin’s new term in office.

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Afghan man arrested after deadly knife attack in German park

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Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemns ‘act of terror’ in Aschaffenburg that killed two people including toddler

A 28-year-old Afghan man has been arrested after a knife attack in a park in the German city of Aschaffenburg that killed two people, including a toddler, in what the country’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, condemned as an “act of terror”.

With a month left in a campaign for snap elections dominated by debate on immigration and asylum policy, Scholz demanded authorities “explain immediately why the assailant was even still in Germany”.

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Meloni faces questions after Italy frees Libyan general accused of war crimes

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Case of Osama Najim puts spotlight on controversial migration pact between Italy and Libya

Giorgia Meloni’s government is under pressure to clarify why a Rome court refused to approve the arrest of a Libyan general accused of war crimes, allowing him to return home to a hero’s welcome on an Italian secret services flight in what critics believe was a tactic to shield alleged abuses committed in the north African country as a result of a migrant pact with Italy.

Osama Najim, also known as Almasri, was detained in Turin on Sunday on a warrant issued by the international criminal court (ICC) before being freed on Tuesday owing to a procedural technicality.

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Top Iranian politician appeals to Trump to restart nuclear deal negotiations

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Mohammad Javad Zarif says he hopes new Trump administration will be more serious, focused and realistic

A senior Iranian politician has appealed to Donald Trump to begin new negotiations with Tehran over its civil nuclear programme, saying: “I hope that this time around, [Trump 2.0] will be more serious, more focused, more realistic.”

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s vice-president for strategic affairs, pointed out that the returning US president had not reappointed figures from his first term such as the former secretary of state Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton, who persuaded him in 2018 to quit the nuclear deal on the basis that withdrawal would lead to the regime’s collapse.

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Trump threatens 10% tariff on China and considers EU levy

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Yuan and Chinese stocks fall despite suggestion of lower tariff than president mentioned during campaign

Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 10% tariff on Chinese-made goods arriving in the US from as early as 1 February, adding that he was also considering levies on imports from the EU.

Ordering an investigation into US-China trade on his second day in office, Trump said any penalties on Chinese goods would be “based on the fact that they’re sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada”.

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Colombia scrambles to cope as refugees flee deadly battles between rebel groups

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Officials describe ‘tsunami of people’ in city of Cúcuta escaping one of worst outbreaks of violence in recent years

Authorities in the Colombian border city of Cúcuta are scrambling to cope with an influx of internal refugees, as thousands of civilians flee an outbreak of fighting between rival rebel factions.

Buses, trailers and dump trucks packed with disoriented mothers and children have been streaming into the border city since Friday when the bloody conflict began engulfing north-eastern Colombia.

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US homeowners in disaster-prone states face soaring insurance costs

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Climate crisis is making it harder for insurance companies to operate, with many pausing or withdrawing policies

Homeowners in the United States are facing an enormous financial crunch due to the climate crisis, with many struggling to find insurance or even dropping premiums that are soaring due to a mounting toll of wildfires, hurricanes and other disasters, new federal government data shows.

The figures, the most comprehensive numbers ever released by the US treasury department on the issue, show insurance premiums are increasing quickly across the country, with people living amid the greatest climate-driven risks experiencing the steepest rises of all. In the four years to 2022, people living in the top 20% riskiest places for such perils paid, on average, 82% more than those in the 20% lowest climate risk zip codes.

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‘When I’m not Trump, I’m just Mike’: UK impersonator enjoys re-election boom

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Mike Osman, aka ‘Donald Trumped’, from Southampton, says he is expecting busiest year of career

A British Donald Trump impersonator is looking forward to an “unstoppable” four years, thanking the American president for providing him with a pension pot for his retirement.

Southampton-based Mike Osman, a 65-year-old comedian, said his income had increased by between 30 and 40% since Trump was re-elected and he was expecting to have the busiest year of his career.

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