Category Archives: World News

Botched Spanish church makeover leaves cherubim looking startled

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Professional restorers want explanation for changes in Soria, which have been likened to ‘Monkey Christ’ work

Professional restorers in Spain are demanding explanations after a historic church in the north-eastern city of Soria was given a bold makeover that has left the building’s cherubim looking startled and local heritage lovers up in arms.

The attentions lavished on the Ermita de Nuestra Señora del Mirón, which was built in 1725 on the ruins of a romanesque and gothic church, have drawn comparisons to the infamous “Ecce Homo/Monkey Christ” restoration that made headlines around the world 12 years ago.

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St Andrews rector dismissed from governing body over Israel genocide accusation

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Stella Maris criticises decision to remove her from two roles after she accused Israel of genocide and apartheid

The rector of St Andrews University has been dismissed from the institution’s governing body and her position as a trustee after she accused Israel of genocide and apartheid.

Stella Maris criticised the decision to remove her from the two roles, which came after the university commissioned an investigation into an email she sent in November to all St Andrews students calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

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Russia prisoner swap involving US journalist Evan Gershkovich under way

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Gershkovich and ex-marine Paul Whelan have been freed and are en route to a destination outside Russia, say reports

A major prisoner exchange between Russia and the west is under way involving the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been freed from a Russian prison, Bloomberg has reported, citing people familiar with the situation.

Sources with knowledge of the planned exchange confirmed to the Guardian that a major swap would take place on Thursday in a location outside Russia. They declined to make further details public until after the swap had taken place owing to sensitivity of the matter.

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World Bank warns 108 countries risk being stuck in ‘middle-income trap’

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Too many nations, including China and India, are relying on outmoded strategies to become advanced economies, says report

More than 100 countries – including China, India, Brazil and South Africa – risk becoming stuck in a “middle-income trap” unless they adopt radical growth strategies for their economies, the World Bank has said.

The Washington-based development organisation said emerging market nations would struggle to close the gap on US living standards unless they relied less heavily on investment to increase growth.

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Anger mounts over environmental cost of Google datacentre in Uruguay

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Protesters say recently approved tax-free datacentre will ‘provide nothing except toxic waste and greenhouse gases’

Google’s plans to build a datacentre in Uruguay have angered environmentalists, who say the project will release thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide and hazardous waste.

Uruguay’s environmental authorities recently approved the datacentre, which will use air conditioning to cool its servers. The company initially proposed using millions of litres of fresh water to cool its infrastructure, but this caused an outcry in a country that suffered its worst drought since 1950 last year, causing its capital city to run short of drinking water.

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Australian government ‘deeply disappointed’ by Japan’s decision to expand commercial whaling target list

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Japanese government confirms it will allow whalers to catch and kill up to 59 fin whales, a species conservationists consider vulnerable

The Australian government is “deeply disappointed” by Japan’s decision to add the world’s second-largest whale species to the list of species its commercial whale hunters will target.

Tanya Plibersek, the environment minister, attacked Japan’s decision to hunt fin whales – the world’s second-longest whale and considered vulnerable.

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Trump says running mates have ‘virtually no impact’ in apparent JD Vance snub

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Trump says ‘you’re voting for the president … you’re voting for me’ when asked about vice-presidential pick

Donald Trump has said that vice presidential picks have “virtually no impact” on elections when asked about JD Vance’s fitness for office, in an apparent attempt to downplay his running mate’s role on the Republican ticket.

Trump made the comments during a combative interview at the annual convention of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) in Chicago. Asked by the Fox News journalist Harris Faulkner whether Vance would be ready to take over “on day one, if he has to be”, Trump avoided answering directly and instead downplayed the significance of the Vance’s role.

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Incredulous laughter, audible gasps: Trump’s performance at Black journalists’ panel left him exposed

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The former president snapped and snarled through his interview – and looked for all the world like an old crank

After keeping an audience of interrogators waiting, Donald Trump finally arrived on stage for his Wednesday appearance at the convention for the National Association of Black Journalists over an hour late. He blamed the delay not on the furious behind-the-scenes between the NABJ and his campaign about whether he could be factchecked in real time, but on what he described as organizers’ inability to calibrate the audio equipment in time for his highly controversial panel discussion. “It’s a disgrace,” he snarled.

When ABC’s Rachel Scott opened the proceedings by asking the former president his impetus for addressing the Black journalists, women and Chicagoans in the crowd who have been regularly subject to his hostility, Trump dismissed the question as “horrible” and called Scott “nasty” before turning his bluster meter up to 11.

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Two Al-Jazeera reporters killed as Israeli airstrike hits car in northern Gaza

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Correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul, 27, cameraman Rami al-Rifi and a child died in blast, says satellite news network

Two Al-Jazeera reporters have been killed in an Israeli strike in northern Gaza, the satellite news network said – the latest Palestinian journalists working with the Qatari network to be killed in the war-torn enclave.

A 27-year-old correspondent, Ismail al-Ghoul; a cameraman, Rami al-Rifi; and a child who was not identified were killed in a blast that struck the car in which the three were travelling in Gaza City, according to the network and the emergency and ambulance service, which helps recover and transport casualties to hospitals across Gaza.

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Fears of escalation mount after Israeli killings of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders

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Iran vows revenge after airstrikes kill Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on same day as commander killed in Beirut

Iran has vowed revenge after airstrikes killed the Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut in the space of 12 hours, as the dual Israeli assassinations crushed hopes for an imminent Gaza ceasefire and fuelled fears of a “dangerous escalation” in the region.

Israel did not directly claim the attack on Haniyeh, but there was little doubt among the country’s enemies, and its own politicians and analysts, about who was responsible.

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Colombian guerrillas withdraw threat to disrupt UN biodiversity summit

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Central General Staff militant group previously said Cop16 event scheduled for October in Cali ‘would fail’

A dissident rebel group has backed down from its threat to disrupt the UN biodiversity summit in Colombia later this year.

The Central General Staff (EMC), a guerrilla faction that rejected the country’s 2016 peace agreement, said on Wednesday it would order its militants not to target the Cop16 negotiations that are due to begin in Cali in October.

Find more age of extinction coverage here, and follow the biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield on X for all the latest news and features.

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Guinea court finds former dictator guilty in stadium massacre trial

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Moussa Dadis Camara convicted of crimes against humanity after ordering 2009 crackdown on unarmed protesters

A court in Guinea has found the former dictator Moussa Dadis Camara and seven other military commanders guilty of crimes against humanity in a long-awaited verdict relating to a notorious massacre and mass rape that took place in 2009.

In a ruling in the capital, Conakry, the initial charges, including murder, rape and kidnapping, were recategorised as crimes against humanity. Afterward, Camara and his former police chief Moussa Tiegboro Camara were given 20-year prison sentences for ordering a crackdown on thousands of unarmed protesters, who were aggrieved that he had decided to stand in the presidential election the following year.

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Who are the Hamas and Hezbollah leaders killed since 7 October attack?

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Israel has launched series of targeted strikes after vowing to kill all operatives who planned last year’s assault

The airstrikes on the Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran early on Wednesday morning, and on the Hezbollah commander, Fuad Shukr, in Beirut late on Tuesday were the latest in a series of targeted assassinations across the region.

Israel, which has not claimed responsibility for both attacks, has vowed to kill all Hamas leaders responsible for the 7 October 2023 attack and go after senior commanders from Iran and its militant allies.

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Russian spies sentenced in Slovenia after pleading guilty

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Pair’s conviction could pave way for inclusion in any future prisoner exchange between Russia and west

Two Russian deep-cover spies arrested in Slovenia have pleaded guilty in a swift court case that potentially paves the way for them to be included in a prisoner exchange between Russia and the west.

The pair, whose real names are thought to be Artem Dultsev and Anna Dultseva, were arrested in late 2022, and are believed to be “illegals” – deep-cover Russian spies trained to impersonate foreigners, who spend years living abroad in their cover identities. They posed as Ludwig Gisch and Maria Mayer, an Argentinian couple, and spoke to their two children in Spanish. She ran an online art gallery and he had an IT business, but all the while they secretly worked for Russian intelligence.

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Humiliation of Haniyeh’s killing creates early crisis for Iran’s new president

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Masoud Pezeshkian hoped to improve relations with the west, but calls for armed response will be hard to ignore

Avenging the assassination of the Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, is now Tehran’s duty as his killing occurred while he was a “dear guest” on Iranian soil, the country’s supreme leader has warned in his first reaction to the killing.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described Haniyeh’s killing, which Tehran views as a provocation designed to escalate the conflict in the Middle East, as a “bitter and difficult incident that happened in the territory of the Islamic republic”.

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Death toll from landslides in India’s Kerala state rises to 166

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Almost 200 people still missing after heavy rains and access problems hamper second day of rescue operation

The death toll from a series of landslides in Kerala has risen to 166 and almost 200 people are still missing as the southern Indian state reels from one of its worst disasters in years.

Hundreds of homes were swept away and crushed by two huge consecutive landslides in the hilly district of Wayanad in the middle of the night on Tuesday.

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Nigerian singer, actor and activist Onyeka Onwenu dies aged 72

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Nicknamed the ‘Elegant Stallion’, the revered star died after performing at a private party in Lagos

Onyeka Onwenu, the singer, actor, broadcaster and activist whose love ballads and songs about women’s rights were a soothing balm during Nigeria’s rocky 1980s and earned her the nickname “Elegant Stallion”, has died at 72.

She had just finished a performance at a private party on Tuesday night in Lagos when the singer became ill. Hours later, she died at a nearby hospital, having suffered a heart attack, according to local reports.

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Venice cuts size of tourist parties to 25 to reduce impact on city

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Tourists face fines of €25-500 if they fail to comply with measures, which also ban the use of loudspeakers

Venice will limit the size of tourist parties to 25 people from Thursday in the latest attempt to reduce the impact of crowds on the lagoon city.

Local authorities will also ban the use of loudspeakers by tourist guides in measures aimed at “protecting the peace of residents” and ensuring pedestrians can move around more freely.

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Two US airlines suspend flights to Tel Aviv – as it happened

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This blog has now closed. You can read our full report on the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukur here

The death of Haniyeh is damaging to Hamas, but he was not involved in the military operations on the ground in Gaza, and the group has survived past assassinations of its leadership.

In 2004, Israel killed both Hamas leader Ahmed Yassin and co-founder Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi in attacks in Gaza.

This assassination by the Israeli occupation of Brother Haniyeh is a grave escalation that aims to break the will of Hamas and the will of our people and achieve fake goals. We confirm that this escalation will fail to achieve its objectives.

Hamas is a concept and an institution and not persons. Hamas will continue on this path regardless of the sacrifices and we are confident of victory.

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Wednesday briefing: Where France’s €1.6bn plan to clean up the Seine for the Olympics went wrong

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In today’s newsletter: The government has spent €1.6bn improving the river, but an ancient sewage system and the climate are muddying the waters

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Good morning.

An ambitious project to clean up the River Seine has left French officials up to their eyes in it.

Israel-Gaza war | Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, has been targeted and killed in Tehran, the group said in a statement early on Wednesday morning. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard confirmed the assassination, which was reported on Iranian state TV early on Wednesday morning, with analysts also claiming Israel killed Haniyeh, the Associated Press said.

UK news | Keir Starmer has said those who rioted in Southport on Tuesday night will “feel the full force of the law” after police vehicles were set alight and missiles hurled at officers. It came after far-right protesters pelted police with glass bottles and bricks and attacked a mosque following a knife attack that killed three children and left five other children and two adults in critical condition.

Conservatives | Kemi Badenoch, the frontrunner to be the next Conservative party leader, has been accused of creating an intimidating atmosphere in the government department she used to run, with some colleagues describing it as toxic, the Guardian can reveal.

US election 2024 | Donald Trump has repeated his weekend remarks to Christian summit attendees that they would never need to vote again if he returns to the presidency in November.

Health | The hidden cost of rising workplace sickness in the UK has increased to more than £100bn a year, largely caused by a loss of productivity amid “staggering” levels of presenteeism, a report warns.

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