Category Archives: World News

Pete Hegseth: five things to know about the new US secretary of defense

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Hegseth has been accused of sexual assault and excessive drinking, and has endorsed extremist Christian doctrine

The Senate has confirmed Fox News host and army veteran Pete Hegseth to be the US secretary of defense, placing him in charge of the federal government’s largest agency after a tie-breaking vote had to be cast by JD Vance.

Three Republican senators – Mitch McConnell, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins – and every Democratic senator voted against his confirmation, leaving him with 51 votes, enough to become Donald Trump’s third cabinet member to secure Senate confirmation.

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Trump signs order to reinstate ‘global gag rule’ on abortion aid

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Federal rule also known as ‘Mexico City policy’ halts US funds to overseas groups that provide abortion services

Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order reinstating a federal rule known as the “Mexico City policy” which halts US aid from flowing to groups that provide abortion services, counsel people about the procedure or advocate for abortion rights overseas.

The policy, which was first instituted by Ronald Reagan in 1984, is typically implemented whenever a Republican president wins the White House and rescinded whenever a Democrat wins. But this whiplash has major implications for abortion and reproductive healthcare around the world.

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Woman charged after death of US patrol agent in gunfight near Canadian border

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Teresa Youngblut, 21, charged with weapons crimes over highway shootout in which German man also died

A Washington state woman has been charged in the fatal shooting of a US border patrol agent during a Vermont traffic stop that happened days after authorities began watching her and a German companion, who also died in the highway shootout, the FBI said on Friday.

Teresa Youngblut, 21, faces two weapons charges in connection with the death of the border patrol agent David Maland, 44, who died on Monday during the shootout in Coventry, a small town about 20 miles from the Canadian border.

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Scientists of potato blight pathogen?

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Researchers say study may help global efforts in controlling disease that still destroys crops today

It was a disaster that killed about 1 million people, devastating 19th century Ireland, but while the potato disease linked to the Irish famine is well known, a battle has raged over where it originated.

Scientists have long been divided over whether the fungus-like pathogen Phtytophthora infestans cropped up in the Andes or originated in Mexico.

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Storm Éowyn: man killed and 725,000 properties without power in Ireland

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Record gusts of 113mph recorded, with ‘unprecedented’ power cuts, fallen trees and 130,000 homes without water

A man has been killed and more than 725,000 homes and businesses have been left without power in Ireland after Storm Éowyn battered the country, leaving a trail of destruction.

More than 500,000 homes were at risk of disruption to water supplies, and boil-water notices were issued in several counties. Authorities said it would take more than a week to restore power to all premises.

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Ontario premier Doug Ford to call snap election to fight Trump tariff threat

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Progressive Conservative leader of Canada’s most populous province seeks ‘strong mandate’ to counter 25% tariff plan

The Ontario premier, Doug Ford, has said an early election is needed in the Canadian province in order to fend off an income “attack” from Donald Trump as a trade war looms between the close allies.

But opposition parties criticized the move, calling it a “distraction” from an ongoing criminal investigation into the government’s handling of a controversial multibillion-dollar land swap.

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Military chief killed as M23 rebels close in on Goma in eastern DRC

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Maj Gen Peter Cirimwami Nkuba shot near frontline as advance causes panic among civilian population

The military governor of North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has died from injuries sustained during the army’s fight against the M23 rebel group as it advances towards the city of Goma.

Maj Gen Peter Cirimwami Nkuba, who led the province since 2023, died after being shot near the frontline on Thursday, government and UN sources told various news agencies.

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Putin ‘ready for negotiations’ with Trump on Ukraine war

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Russian president strikes noticeably favourable tone, downplaying Trump’s economic threats

Vladimir Putin has said he is ready to discuss the war in Ukraine with Donald Trump and suggested it would be a good idea for them to meet.

In his first comments since Trump issued threats to inflict economic damage on Russia if it failed to end the war in Ukraine, Putin struck a favourable tone towards the US president.

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Relatives plead with Thailand not to deport 48 Uyghur men to China

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Detainees fear their return could be imminent despite UN experts urging Bangkok to halt possible transfer

Relatives of Uyghurs detained in Thailand for more than a decade have begged the Thai authorities not to deport the 48 men back to China, after the detainees suggested their return appeared imminent.

A UN panel of experts this week urged Thailand to “immediately halt the possible transfer”, saying the men were at “real risk of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment if they are returned”.

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Portuguese politician accused of stealing suitcases at airports

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Miguel Arruda charged with theft after allegedly removing baggage from carousel and taking it home, reports say

A far-right politician in Portugal has been accused of stealing suitcases at several airports and kicked out of his political party as a result, the party has said.

According to several news outlets, police questioned Miguel Arruda on Tuesday at Lisbon airport and charged him with luggage theft after some of the missing suitcases were allegedly found at his home.

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How the world has responded to Trump’s Paris climate agreement withdrawal

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From Europe to Africa and South America, countries reaffirm commitment to tackle crisis

World leaders, senior ministers and key figures in climate diplomacy have, one by one, reaffirmed their commitment to the Paris agreement this week, in response to the order by Donald Trump to withdraw the US from the pact.

The prospect of the world keeping temperatures to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, as the treaty calls for, was damaged by the incoming US president’s move. Hopes of meeting the target were already fast receding, and last year was the first to consistently breach the 1.5C limit, but the goal will be measured over years or even decades and stringent cuts to emissions now could still make a difference.

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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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