Category Archives: World News

Pakistan’s government curbs judiciary’s power after alleged harassment of MPs

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Coalition will now be able to hire and fire judges but faces accusations it bribed and abducted lawmakers to get its way

Pakistan’s government has passed a controversial amendment to the constitution that has been accused of weakening the power and independence of the judiciary, throwing the country’s democracy into further crisis.

The 26th constitutional amendment was passed in a clandestine, late-night parliamentary session that was clouded in secrecy and marred by allegations of abductions and intimidation of parliamentarians to force them to vote in favour of the bill.

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Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon hit branches of Hezbollah-linked bank

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Strikes targeted Al-Qard Al-Hassan buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs, south Lebanon and the Bekaa valley

Israel carried out a series of airstrikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut, south Lebanon and the Bekaa valley early on Monday morning, hitting buildings belonging to the Hezbollah-run banking institution Al-Qard Al-Hassan.

At least 10 airstrikes were carried out in the southern suburbs of the capital, with an entire building collapsing and a jet of fire streaming into the air in the Chiyah neighbourhood. A building close to Lebanon’s only commercial airport was also struck, video footage showing a smoke plume billowing while a nearby plane sat on the runway.

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Keir Starmer praises Charles after king was heckled in Australia

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UK PM says monarch is doing ‘a fantastic job’ after protest by senator in Australian parliament

King Charles is doing a “fantastic job”, particularly in the context of his “health challenges”, the prime minister has said after the royal was heckled by the Indigenous Australian senator Lidia Thorpe.

Charles had just finished addressing MPs and senators at Parliament House in Canberra, as part of his five-day tour of Australia with Camilla, when he was approached by Thorpe, who yelled: “This is not your country.”

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Moldovans back joining the EU by razor-thin majority

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Final result sees ‘yes’ vote scrape ahead by 13,000 votes, narrowly avoiding shock setback for pro-western president

Moldovans have voted by a razor-thin majority in favour of joining the EU after a pivotal referendum clouded by allegations of Russian interference.

On Sunday, Moldova held key votes in a presidential election and a referendum on EU membership, marking a critical moment in the continuing struggle between Russia and the west for control over the small, landlocked nation in eastern Europe, home to 2.5 million people.

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Network of Israeli citizens arrested after spying for Iran, police say

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Suspects are accused of photographing and collecting information about Israeli bases and facilities

Israeli police and the Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency say they have arrested a network of Israeli citizens spying for Iran who allegedly provided information on military bases and conducted surveillance of individuals.

The investigators claimed the network had been active for about two years. According to reports in the Israeli press, the suspects are accused of photographing and collecting information about Israeli bases and facilities, including the defence headquarters in Tel Aviv, known as the Kirya, and the Nevatim and Ramat David airbases.

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Meloni’s government passes new law to save Albania migration transfer policy

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Move by Italian PM overturns ruling by a Rome court that could have blocked deal to curb migrant arrivals

Italy’s far-right government has passed a new law to overcome a court ruling that risks blocking the country’s multimillion-dollar deal with Albania aimed at curbing migrant arrivals.

On Friday, a court in Rome ruled to transfer back to Italy the last 12 asylum seekers being held in the new Italian migration hub in Albania. The ruling has cast doubt on the feasibility and legality of plans by the EU to explore ways to establish migrant processing and detention centres outside the bloc as part of a new hardline approach to migration.

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Top female footballers urge Fifa to end deal with Saudi ‘nightmare sponsor’

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Letter to governing body accuses Saudis of using sports to ‘distract from the regime’s brutal human rights reputation’

More than 100 professional female footballers have signed a letter calling on Fifa to end its sponsorship deal with the state-owned Saudi Arabian oil company, Aramco, accusing Saudi authorities of “brutal human rights violations”.

A four-year deal signed in April will see Aramco, which is 98.5% state-owned, sponsor major tournaments including the men’s World Cup in 2026 and the Women’s World Cup in 2027.

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TfL could be forced to pay millions over Dutch lorry drivers’ low emission zone fines

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Hauliers’ group Transport in Nood BV launched judicial review earlier this year over fines issued in Ulez and Lez

Transport for London (TfL) could be forced to pay back millions of pounds in low emission zone fines issued to Dutch lorry drivers after agreeing they had been issued unlawfully.

The body said it had agreed to settle a claim regarding the Ulez fines after a company representing dozens of Dutch haulage companies launched a legal challenge into the ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) and low emission zone (Lez) fines earlier this year.

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South Korea summons Russian envoy over North Korean troop deployment

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Seoul demands immediate withdrawal of elite soldiers reportedly helping Russia in its war against Ukraine

South Korea has summoned the Russian ambassador to Seoul to protest “in the strongest terms” about the reported dispatch of thousands of North Korean troops to help Russia in its war against Ukraine.

The first vice-foreign minister, Kim Hong-kyun, told the Russian envoy, Georgy Zinoviev, that the participation of North Korean troops in the war violated UN resolutions and demanded their immediate withdrawal, South Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday.

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Despair in Chad camps as violence and hunger in Sudan drive 25,000 across border in a week

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Warning of ‘lost generation’ in Adré and Farchana camps as Sudan’s civil war drives huge numbers across border

Refugees and aid agencies have warned of deteriorating conditions in overcrowded and severely underfunded camps in Chad, as intensifying violence and a hunger crisis in Sudan drive huge numbers across the border.

About 25,000 people – the vast majority women and children – crossed into eastern Chad in the first week of October, a record number for a single week in 2024. Chad, one of the world’s poorest countries, hosts 681,944 Sudanese refugees – the highest number globally.

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India’s airline industry in chaos after 90 hoax bomb threats in a week

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Authorities yet to uncover source and motive of surge in fake bomb threats, as dozens of planes forced to reroute

A reported 90 hoax bomb threats have been made against Indian airlines in the past week, provoking international travel chaos as planes were grounded, diverted and flown to safety by fighter jet escorts.

The unprecedented surge in fake bomb threats against multiple Indian and international airlines has caused severe disruption to India’s aviation industry and created a growing sense of panic among air passengers.

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Palestinians describe being used as ‘human shields’ by Israeli troops in Gaza

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Detainees say they were sent into unexplored houses and tunnels before soldiers, in violation of Geneva conventions

After they burned down his family home in northern Gaza, Israeli troops separated Ramez al-Skafi from his family and detained him. They had a particular job in mind for him, he said.

For the next 11 days in early July, the 30-year-old Palestinian said he was sent into one house after another in his home district, Shuja’iya, watched by his Israeli military minders. According to the account he gave the Guardian, they turned him into a human shield against booby-traps and Hamas gunmen.

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France warns US buyer of Sanofi division of penalties for shifting production abroad

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Private equity firm CD&R revealed to be in exclusive talks to buy 50% stake in consumer healthcare arm Opella

The French government has warned a US private equity firm buying the consumer healthcare arm of the drugmaker Sanofi that it faces penalties of more than €100m if it does not keep production and jobs in France.

Sanofi is splitting off Opella, which makes the paracetamol brand Doliprane, the laxative Dulcolax and other over-the-counter medicines and vitamins. However, news of talks with the New York-based Clayton, Dubilier & Rice on 11 October prompted fears about French jobs and the loss of control to a foreign company.

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Funding cuts could mean death of Sámi languages, say Indigenous parliaments

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Sweden and Finland plan to withdraw funding to safeguard nine languages defined as threatened by Unesco

The Indigenous parliaments of Sweden, Finland and Norway have warned that some Sámi languages could disappear if Stockholm and Helsinki press ahead with plans to withdraw funding that could hit a critical preservation body.

Sámi Giellagáldu was created to safeguard, promote and strengthen the use of the nine Sámi languages across the Nordics, including North Sámi, which is spoken by an estimated 20,000 people across Norway, Sweden and Finland and classified by Unesco as endangered, and the much smaller Pite Sámi and Ute Sámi, which have less than 50 speakers each.

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Brazil president Lula cancels Brics trip to Russia after ‘small brain haemorrhage’ from fall

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Doctors say president sustained ‘great’ trauma to head and slight brain bleed, with long-haul travel cancelled as a precaution but is otherwise fit for duty

The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, on Sunday cancelled his trip to Russia for the Brics summit after a fall at home caused a minor brain haemorrhage.

In a statement, the presidential office said Lula, 78, would participate via videoconference after receiving medical advice to temporarily avoid long-haul flights. He was initially scheduled to depart at 5pm on Sunday.

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Moldova’s president speaks out as EU referendum hangs in balance

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Pro-western leader Maia Sandu condemns ‘assault’ on country’s freedom and democracy by ‘foreign forces’

Moldova’s pro-western president, Maia Sandu, blamed an “unprecedented assault on our country’s freedom and democracy” by “foreign forces” on Sunday night, as a pivotal referendum on EU membership remained too close to call with most votes counted.

Moldovans went to the polls earlier in the day to cast their vote in a presidential election and an EU referendum that marked a key moment in the tug-of-war between Russia and the west over the future of the small, landlocked south-east European country with a population of about 2.5 million people.

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Kamala Harris visits church on birthday as Trump repeats ‘enemy within’ rhetoric

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Vice-president marks birthday with call for compassion, while rival visits McDonald’s and attacks opponents

Kamala Harris celebrated her 60th birthday on the campaign trail on Sunday while Donald Trump visited a McDonald’s and doubled down on his dangerous rhetoric labeling Democrats as “enemies from within,” as both candidates tried to shore up support in key states ahead of the US presidential election.

Harris rallied Black voters in Georgia on Sunday with “souls to the polls” visits to two community churches.

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Trump visits battleground Pennsylvania as Harris campaign attacks rival as ‘unhinged and angry’ – as it happened

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Despite a revitalization, Donald Trump wrongfully claimed Charleroi, Pennsylvania, is “virtually bankrupt” with “massive crime”.

There is one thing about her community that makes Kristin Hopkins-Calcek prouder than anything: her city is now one of the few boroughs in Pennsylvania with a growing population.

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Missing US navy pilots declared dead after Washington state fighter-jet crash

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Navy confirms deaths after jet crashed east of Mount Rainier earlier this week during routine training flight

Two crew members who were missing following the crash of a fighter jet in mountainous terrain in Washington during a routine training flight have been declared dead, the US navy said on Sunday.

The EA-18G Growler jet from the Electronic Attack Squadron crashed east of Mount Rainier on Tuesday afternoon, according to navy officials. Search teams, including a US navy MH-60S helicopter, launched from the air station to try to find the crew and crash site.

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Israeli minister taking ‘legal measures’ against French arms fair ban

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Emmanuel Macron has banned Israeli companies from the Euronaval Salon defence fair in Paris next month

Israel’s foreign minister has announced he is taking “legal and diplomatic measures” against the decision by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, to ban Israeli companies from showing their wares at an arms fair in Paris next month.

Israel Katz described the “boycott” as an anti-democratic measure that was “not acceptable, especially between friendly nations”.

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