Category Archives: World News

Trump-Zelenskyy feud escalates as Republicans demand envoy’s removal

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Zelenskyy’s visit to Pennsylvania weapons factory upsets speaker as Trump continues attacks on Ukrainian president

The US House speaker, Mike Johnson, has demanded that Ukraine fire its ambassador to Washington as the feud between Donald Trump and Volodymr Zelenskyy escalated and Republicans accused the Ukrainian leader of election interference.

In a public letter, Johnson demanded that Zelenskyy fire the Ukrainian ambassador, Oksana Markarova, over a visit to a munitions factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania, last week where the Ukrainian president thanked workers for providing desperately needed shells to his outgunned forces.

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Jared Kushner’s private equity firm faces inquiry as it fails to return profits

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Trump son-in-law’s Affinity Partners fuels Senate suspicions of foreign influence-buying before US election

A private equity firm owned by Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, has been paid $157m in fees since 2021 without returning any profit to investors, according to a US Senate inquiry.

The finding from the Senate finance committee has fuelled suspicions that the Miami-based company, Affinity Partners, may be a foreign influence-buying operation established in anticipation of the former president returning to the White House.

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Justin Trudeau survives confidence vote but other problems still loom

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Main political rival of Canada’s prime minister fails to gather enough support to end nine years of Liberal rule

Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, has easily survived a vote of confidence after his main political rival failed to muster enough support to end nine years of Liberal party rule.

Legislators in the House of Commons voted 211-120 to defeat a motion by the official opposition Conservative party declaring a lack of confidence in Trudeau’s minority Liberal government.

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US announces $424m in Sudan aid amid pleas to stop ‘senseless’ war

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American envoy to UN urges humanitarian pause and says international community ‘cannot simply look away’

The United States has announced $424m in new aid for displaced and starving Sudanese, with the US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, saying all options for civilian protection must now be considered by the international community.

Describing the war in Sudan as horrific and shaming for the whole world, she said it was now necessary “to compel, insist and demand that the warring parties agree a humanitarian pause to allow aid to flow and for citizens to flee”.

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Israel preparing for possible ground offensive in Lebanon, military chief says

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Strikes designed to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure before possible incursion by troops, says Israel’s top general

Israel’s top general has said the country is preparing for a possible ground operation into Lebanon amid growing international pressure for a negotiated ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel.

As an intense bombing campaign inside Lebanon stretched into a third day, Israel’s chief of staff, Maj Gen Herzi Halevi, said the airstrikes aimed to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure and prepare for the possibility of Israeli troops crossing the border.

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Vladimir Putin warns west he will consider using nuclear weapons

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Comments are strongest yet against allowing Ukraine to launch long-range missiles into Russian territory

Vladimir Putin has escalated his nuclear rhetoric, telling a group of senior officials that Russia would consider using nuclear weapons if it was attacked by any state with conventional weapons.

His remarks on Wednesday came during a meeting with Russia’s powerful security council where he also announced changes to the country’s nuclear doctrine.

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Eswatini opposition leader poisoned in South Africa, party says

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Alleged poisoning follows last year’s killing of human rights lawyer and 2021’s pro-democracy protests

Eswatini’s main opposition party has alleged that its leader was poisoned in an assassination attempt, putting renewed scrutiny on the southern African country that is one of the last remaining absolute monarchies, where authorities have for years moved to quash pro-democracy movements.

The People’s United Democratic Movement party (Pudemo) said its president, Mlungisi Makhanya, was hospitalised after being poisoned in neighbouring South Africa on Tuesday. It said he was under security protection but gave no detail on his condition or the circumstances of the alleged poisoning. Makhanya had recently said there would be new pro-democracy protests in Eswatini next month. The Eswatini government spokesperson Alpheous Nxumalo denied any involvement.

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Zelenskyy is pitching his ‘victory plan’ on adverse terrain

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Ukraine president made forceful call for ‘just peace’ at UN, but winning more US support and fending off Russia are both uphill battles

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has come to the US with a mission: to sell his vision for a Ukrainian victory despite the growing odds against Kyiv in its war with Russia.

The Ukrainan president spoke out forcefully on Tuesday and Wednesday in the security council and then at the general assembly of the United Nations, calling on other countries to back Ukraine’s proposal for a “just peace” and refrain from holding alternative talks with Vladimir Putin.

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Can Israel avoid same pitfalls of past ground offensive in Lebanon?

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A land incursion would be a far more complex undertaking than the intelligence-led strikes pursued so far

No two wars are alike, even those fought between the same two combatants on the same terrain. But many of the challenges remain the same.

Israel’s most senior military commander has told troops that airstrikes will continue inside Lebanon as the Israeli military prepares for a possible ground operation. If its forces do cross the northern border they are likely to face obstacles they have seen before.

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Israel has ‘legitimate problem’ with Hezbollah on border, says Blinken

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US secretary of state emphasises he wants diplomatic solution, but remarks unlikely to be seen as warning against Israeli ground offensive

Israel has a legitimate interest in seeking to remove Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group, from the borders of northern Israel, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said as he rebuffed calls to take a tougher line over the Israeli bombardment.

Speaking before an emergency meeting of the security council in New York, Blinken emphasised that he would prefer a diplomatic solution to the crisis, but his tone is unlikely to be seen as a warning to Israel to stop, or to reconsider its plan for a ground offensive.

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Three men charged in Germany over Michael Schumacher blackmail plot

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Chief suspect threatened to release private photos and demanded €15m from F1 star’s family, prosecutors say

German prosecutors are bringing charges against three men arrested this year over an alleged blackmail plot targeting the family of Formula One legend Michael Schumacher.

They said the chief suspect, a 53-year-old man from the western city of Wuppertal, had threatened to release private photos and videos and demanded €15m (£12.5m) from Schumacher’s family.

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Taliban to be taken to international court over gender discrimination

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Afghanistan would have six months to provide response before ICJ would hold hearing

The Taliban are to be taken to the international court of justice for gender discrimination by Canada, Australia, Germany and the Netherlands in a groundbreaking move.

The move announced at the UN general assembly is the first time the ICJ, based in The Hague, has been used by one country to take another to court over gender discrimination.

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China test launches intercontinental ballistic missile for first time in decades

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The ICBM, carrying a dummy warhead, was launched into ‘high seas’ of the Pacific Ocean

China has announced the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile into the “high seas” of the Pacific Ocean, flying over the northern point of the Philippines in what is believed to be the first such test since the early 1980s.

The launch of the missile, which the defence ministry said was carrying a dummy warhead, comes at a time of growing international scrutiny of the country’s nuclear arsenal, and prompted statements of concern from several nations.

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South Sudan medics trial AI app to identify snakes and improve bite treatment

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Software with database of 380,000 pictures aims to aid quick and accurate identification and ensure correct use of antivenoms

The race to treat snakebite patients in time to save them could be eased by the development of software powered by artificial intelligence.

The medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is trialling AI snake detection in South Sudan using a database of 380,000 pictures of snakes to identify venomous species.

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UK economy to grow faster than Japan, Italy and Germany this year, says OECD

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Forecast upgrades UK to joint second after US but it is still expected to have highest inflation among G7 countries

The global economy is “turning a corner”, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, which has upgraded the UK’s growth forecast for this year to faster than that of Japan, Italy and Germany.

The OECD’s latest outlook ranked Britain joint second among the G7 developed countries in its latest outlook for the world economy. However, the UK is still expected to have the highest inflation in the group.

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Rightmove rejects third bid from Rupert Murdoch’s REA Group

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Australian company says it is frustrated that UK property website has refused to engage over £6.1bn offer

Rightmove has rejected a third bid from Rupert Murdoch’s REA Group and said the offer was “unattractive” and undervalues the UK’s largest online property portal.

On Wednesday Rightmove confirmed that its board had “unanimously rejected” the non-binding cash-and-shares offer put forward on Monday, which valued the company at £6.1bn.

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Starmer avoids backing anti-Trump comment before potential meeting

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PM hopes to meet both candidates on US trip but attempt to see Trump undermined by Home Office minister saying he had emboldened racists in UK

Keir Starmer has said he wants to meet Kamala Harris and Donald Trump before the US election, as he declined to back one of his ministers who said the Republican candidate had contributed to racist rhetoric in the UK.

The prime minister said he was hoping to find time with both candidates as he travelled to New York for the United Nations general assembly – his third trip to the US since taking office.

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Healthier rice variety could counter rise in diabetes, Philippine scientists say

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Researchers develop grain with lower glycaemic index and more protein that ‘could have big impact in Asia and Africa’

Scientists in the Philippines have created a new variety of rice that could help reduce the growing burden of diabetes.

More than 537 million adults worldwide are living with the chronic disease – a number that is expected to grow to 783 million by 2045. Being overweight, genetics and a lack of exercise contribute to type 2 diabetes, which is the most common form. Type 2 occurs when the pancreas fails to produce enough of the insulin hormone, leaving too much glucose in the blood, and cells develop a resistance to insulin.

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Top Chinese economist disappears after criticising Xi Jinping in private chat – report

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Zhu Hengpeng, who worked for an influential government thinktank, has reportedly not been seen in public since making disparaging remarks on WeChat

A leading Chinese economist at a government thinktank has reportedly disappeared after being disciplined for criticising Xi Jinping in a private chat group.

Zhu Hengpeng, 55, is believed to have made disparaging remarks about China’s economy, and potentially about the Chinese leader specifically, in a private WeChat group. Zhu was subsequently detained in April and put under investigation, according to the Wall Street Journal which cited anonymous sources.

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Global heating ‘doubled’ chance of extreme rain in Europe in September

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Researchers find climate crisis aggravated the four days of heavy rainfall and deadly floods

Planet-heating pollution doubled the chance of the extreme levels of rain that hammered central Europe in September, a study has found.

Researchers found global heating aggravated the four days of heavy rainfall that led to deadly floods in countries from Austria to Romania.

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