Category Archives: World News

Bolivia’s ex-president who oversaw bloody crackdown on protesters freed from prison

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Release follows supreme court ruling that overturned Jeanine Áñez’s conviction for allegedly staging coup to seize power

The former interim president who oversaw a bloody crackdown on protesters in Bolivia has been freed from prison after almost five years, following a supreme court ruling that overturned her conviction for allegedly staging a coup to seize power.

Jeanine Áñez, 58, left the Miraflores women’s orientation centre in La Paz on Thursday, saying that “the monster had to go” for her to walk free – a reference to the end of nearly two decades of rule by the leftwing Movimiento al Socialismo (Mas) party.

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Europeans recognize Zohran Mamdani’s supposedly radical policies as ‘normal’

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Critics of New York City’s mayor-elect have said his pledges of free bus service and universal childcare are unrealistic, but in Europe it’s a given

After New York City’s race for mayor catapulted Zohran Mamdani from state assembly member into one of the world’s most prominent progressive voices, intense debate swirled over the ideas at the heart of his campaign.

His critics and opponents painted pledges such as free bus service, universal childcare and rent freezes as unworkable, unrealistic and exorbitantly expensive.

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Malaysian rapper Namewee arrested over alleged murder of Taiwanese influencer

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Namewee detained after Hsieh Yu-hsin found dead in a Kuala Lumpur hotel room on 22 October

A well-known Malaysian rapper and film-maker, Namewee, has been arrested in relation to the alleged murder of a Taiwanese woman in Kuala Lumpur.

Hsieh Yu-hsin, 31, a former nurse turned internet celebrity who posted under the name Nurse Goddess, was found dead in a hotel room on 22 October. Police this week reclassified her death as murder, after unspecified new evidence emerged.

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Louvre heist a ‘deafening wake-up call’, says auditor

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Report says Paris museum prioritised ‘visible and attractive’ projects over security in run-up to robbery

The spectacular theft of an estimated €88m (£77m) of crown jewels from the Louvre last month was “a deafening wake-up call” for the “wholly inadequate pace” of security upgrades at the Paris museum, the head of France’s state auditor has said.

Presenting the report, which was completed before the dramatic heist at the world’s most-visited museum, Pierre Moscovici said the Louvre had sufficient funds for the improvements and “must now implement them without fail”.

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US ends deportation protection for South Sudanese nationals

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South Sudanese people with temporary protected status now have 60 days to leave

The US is ending temporary deportation protection for South Sudanese nationals, which for more than a decade allowed people from the east African country to stay in the US after escaping conflict.

In a notice published on Wednesday, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said conditions in South Sudan no longer met the statutory requirements for temporary protected status. The agency said South Sudanese nationals with status through the programme had 60 days to leave the US or face deportation.

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Ukraine faces ‘forever war’ unless Europe steps up pressure on Russia, says ex-Nato chief

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Anders Fogh Rasmussen calls for air shield on Nato territory and deployment of European protection force for Ukraine

Ukraine is facing a “forever war” and a slow erosion of territory unless Europe dramatically increases pressure on Russia, including by deploying troops and establishing a missile and drone shield on Nato territory to protect Ukraine from Russian attacks on its infrastructure, a former Nato secretary general has said.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who held the Nato post from 2009 to 2014 and was the prime minister of Denmark from 2001 to 2009, said in an interview with the Guardian that if countries such as Poland agreed to host such air defences, Russia would understand that an attack on them would be an attack on the whole of the Nato alliance.

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Climate crisis means super-strength Hurricane Melissa is ‘dangerous new reality’

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Winds of Melissa’s strength are now five times more frequent due to the climate crisis, research says

Every aspect of Hurricane Melissa, the most powerful storm ever to hit Jamaica, was worsened by the climate crisis, a team of scientists has found.

Melissa caused widespread devastation when it crunched into Jamaica as a category 5 hurricane on October 28, with winds up up to 185mph (298km/h).

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Danes are Europe’s keenest nudists in principle and practice, survey suggests

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YouGov study of six countries finds those in Denmark most likely to approve of nudism and have been naked in public

Germans may have a hard-won reputation for being Europe’s most enthusiastic nudists, but a survey suggests Danes are not only more accepting of stripping off in public, but more likely to have actually done so.

The YouGov survey of six western European countries – the UK, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy and Spain – found that Danes were the most likely to say it was perfectly OK to bare all in public places – and to have followed through.

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Ugandans view Mamdani’s NYC win as a ‘beacon of hope’ amid democratic struggle

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Ugandans react with joy after Kampala-born Mamdani’s victory during a trying time for democracy in east Africa

Ugandans reacted with joy and hope to the news that Kampala-born Zohran Mamdani had been elected mayor of New York City, amid a stormy democratic and rights environment in east Africa.

Mamdani, who was born in Uganda 34 years ago to a family of Indian origin, on Tuesday defeated former governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa to become the city’s first Muslim mayor and the first of south Asian heritage.

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China-critical UK academics describe ‘extremely heavy’ pressure from Beijing

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Reliance on overseas students’ tuition fees under scrutiny as scholars describe chilling effect of being targeted

UK academics whose research is critical of China say they have been targeted and their universities subjected to “extremely heavy” pressure from Beijing, prompting calls for a fresh look at the sector’s dependence on tuition fee income from Chinese students.

The academics spoke out after the Guardian revealed this week that Sheffield Hallam University had complied with a demand from Beijing to halt research about human rights abuses in China, which had led to a big project being dropped.

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Belgium to hold security meeting after drone sightings at airports and military bases

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Source says Russia ‘very probably’ responsible amid surge in incursions into European airspace since mid-September

Belgium’s national security council will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday after drone sightings at airports caused chaos for travellers and raised security concerns.

Arrivals and departures were halted for several hours on Tuesday evening at Belgium’s busiest airport, Brussels, leading to the cancellation of dozens of flights. The skies were also closed over Liège airport, an important hub for freight transport, leading to further cancellations, delays and diversions.

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Armed US immigration agents drive off with toddler after arrest of father

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‘Devastated’ family demands answers after two-year-old driven by armed agents from LA Home Depot parking lot

Masked, heavily armed federal immigration agents arrested a US citizen in the parking lot of a Los Angeles Home Depot store, then entered his car and drove away with his toddler, who is also a US citizen, in the backseat.

The child’s grandmother said the incident had left the whole family shaken. “I am devastated by what has happened to my son and demand an explanation,” she said at a press conference on Wednesday.

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Trump’s gold sign outside Oval Office prompts backlash

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Lawmakers outraged that president gilding White House as Snap food stamps in jeopardy amid longest US shutdown

A new sign was spotted adorning the White House this week, prompting backlash from lawmakers who have noted that Donald Trump is quite literally gilding the White House during a government shutdown.

Trump has been remaking the White House in his own image with the recent dramatic demolition of the East Wing and active construction of a new ballroom, doing so with plenty of gold. Written in cursive gold script, a sign identifying the Oval Office is now affixed beside the office’s door.

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Third Michigan man arrested over alleged Halloween terror plot

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Ayob Nasser, 19, accused of participating in planning of potential attack on LGBTQ+ bars in suburban Detroit

Investigators say a third Michigan man is now facing charges in a plot to stage a terror attack on Halloween. He traveled to an amusement park in the midwest to scout the location, they said.

Ayob Nasser, 19, was arrested on Wednesday. He is accused of participating in the planning of a possible attack on LGBTQ+ bars in suburban Detroit that was inspired by the Islamic State, federal authorities have said.

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British military announces first delivery of Ajax armoured vehicles – eight years late

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First 50 vehicles, costing nearly £10m each, finally ready to deploy to Nato’s eastern flank, where drones now dominate

Britain’s military has announced the first delivery of Ajax armoured vehicles, eight years behind schedule and amid questions about their relevance as cheap drones dominate the battlefields of Ukraine.

The junior defence minister Luke Pollard said the first 50 vehicles, costing nearly £10m each, were ready to deploy on Nato’s eastern flank, though he acknowledged the problems of the past when delivery deadlines of 2017, 2020 and 2021 were all missed.

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Disgraced former king of Spain’s memoir details ‘enormous respect’ for Franco

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Memoir chronicles Juan Carlos’s anointment as heir to dictator and death of younger brother when playing with pistols

A memoir by Spain’s disgraced former king chronicles his anointment as heir to the dictator Francisco Franco, his role in saving democracy from a coup attempt in 1981, and his grief at the death of his younger brother when the two were “playing” with a pistol as teenagers.

The book, published 11 years after Juan Carlos’s abdication and exile, is titled Reconciliation but appears to do anything but, instead detailing how he feels abandoned and misunderstood by his son and heir, King Felipe VI, and by other close family members.

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Louvre heist suspect is social media star and former museum guard, reports say

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Man, identified as Abdoulaye N, is one of four accused over theft of historic jewels worth tens of millions of pounds

One of the men arrested on suspicion of stealing €88m (£77m) of crown jewels from the Louvre museum is a minor social media star with a passion for motorbikes who has worked as a security guard at the Pompidou centre, French media have reported.

Identified by justice officials as Abdoulaye N, the 39-year-old man was arrested at his home in Aubervilliers, the suburb north of Paris where he was born, six days after the 19 October heist. He faces charges of organised theft and criminal conspiracy.

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Libyan general accused of crimes against humanity arrested in Tripoli

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Osama Almasri Najim was arrested in Italy in January on an ICC warrant, only to be released and flown back to Libya

A Libyan general wanted by the international criminal court (ICC) for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity has been arrested in Tripoli.

Osama Almasri Najim, the former chief of Libya’s judicial police, was arrested over allegations of torturing prisoners, leading to the death of one, at Tripoli’s main prison, Libya’s prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday.

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Russian forces appear to tighten grip on strategic city of Pokrovsk

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Military analysts say situation in Pokrovsk has deteriorated, while Kremlin says it plans to explore resumption of nuclear testing

Moscow’s forces appear to be tightening their grip on Pokrovsk, with street fighting raging across the ruined city in eastern Ukraine, as the Kremlin announced plans to explore the resumption of nuclear testing.

Ukraine’s general staff on Wednesday denied Russian claims that its troops had been encircled, saying efforts were under way to reinforce the flanks around Pokrovsk and the nearby town of Myrnohrad.

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Man gropes Mexican president as she speaks to citizens on the streets

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Man tries to kiss and embrace Claudia Sheinbaum, highlighting security risk and harassment women face in Mexico

The Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has been groped by a man as she mingled with citizens on the streets of Mexico City, raising questions about the lack of presidential security and the level of sexual harassment the country’s women face.

A video of the incident on Tuesday shows a visibly drunk man trying to kiss the president on the neck and embrace her from behind, as she removes his hands and turns to face him, before a government official steps in and places himself between them.

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