Aydos Sadykoy has a large YouTube following and is a strong critic of President Tokayev of Kazakhstan
A Kazkah opposition figure and prominent blogger with more than 1 million subscribers on YouTube has been seriously wounded in an attempted killing in Kyiv.
Aydos Sadykov, who was granted asylum in Ukraine in 2014, was shot near his home.
Continue reading...Justice department charges 24 defendants and says long investigation reveals links between Mexico’s Sinaloa gang and China
The US justice department has accused Chinese “underground bankers” of helping Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel launder more than $50m in drug-trafficking proceeds.
An indictment unsealed in California charged 24 defendants with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine and money-laundering offenses.
Continue reading...At least 320 of the dead are from Egypt and Saudi officials report treating more than 2,000 people for heat stress
At least 550 pilgrims have died during the hajj, underscoring the gruelling nature of the pilgrimage which again unfolded in scorching temperatures this year.
At least 323 of those who died were Egyptians, most of them succumbing to heat-related illnesses, the two Arab diplomats coordinating their countries’ responses told AFP.
Continue reading...President touts ‘commonsense fix’ that would provide relief for more than half a million ‘mixed-status’ families
Joe Biden on Tuesday announced an expansive new plan to provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented spouses of US citizens, calling it a “commonsense fix” that would provide relief to more than half a million “mixed-status” families in the country.
The move comes as the Democratic president tries to strike a balance before the 5 November election: confronting rising public concern over the unprecedented levels of migration at the southern border, while appeasing progressive Democrats and Hispanic leaders furious over Biden’s aggressive asylum crackdown, which they likened to Trump-era policies.
Continue reading...Signoff on planning for a Lebanon offensive follows release of Hezbollah drone footage of Haifa in northern Israel
The Israeli foreign minister, Israel Katz, has said a decision on an all-out war with Hezbollah was coming soon, as Israel generals announced late on Tuesday that they had signed off planning for an offensive into Lebanon.
The escalating rhetoric came after the release of video footage from a Hezbollah surveillance drone’s overflight of the northern city of Haifa, which included images of sensitive sites and civilian neighbourhoods.
Continue reading...Russian president makes first visit to country in 24 years as anti-west relationship deepens
Vladimir Putin has arrived in North Korea for a summit with Kim Jong-un, amid US warnings against any agreement that could add to military pressure on Ukraine and raise tensions on the Korean peninsula.
Making his first visit to the reclusive country since 2000, the Russian president flew to Pyongyang early on Wednesday to be greeted by huge welcome banners and Russian flags. Russian state media said his plane touched down in Pyongyang at about 2.45am local time after a stopover in Russia’s far east.
Continue reading...Netherlands PM will replace Jens Stoltenberg after making promise not to deploy Hungarian forces in Ukraine
Mark Rutte, the outgoing Dutch prime minister, is expected to become the next head of Nato after winning over Hungary’s prime minister with a promise not to deploy Budapest’s forces or spend its money supporting Ukraine.
Viktor Orbán, the leader in Nato seen as closest to Russia, announced he had dropped his objections after discussions with Rutte, prompting the current secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, to declare that the selection process would end “very soon”.
Continue reading...Council of 50 random citizens decide how to use money given up by wealth-tax campaigner Marlene Engelhorn
An inherited fortune given away by an Austrian heiress who shunned her millions will go to dozens of non-profit organisations that work on issues including the environment, health and homelessness, a citizen group tasked to manage the fund has announced.
Marlene Engelhorn, a 32-year-old activist who has campaigned for a tax on extreme wealth, announced in January that she would give away the vast bulk – €25m(£21.1m) – of the money she inherited from her grandmother.
Continue reading...Jordan Bardella criticises footballer’s call for young people to vote against ‘extremes’ in upcoming elections
The French far-right leader Jordan Bardella has criticised the footballer Kylian Mbappé over his call for young people to vote against the “extremes” in parliamentary elections this month.
“I have a lot of respect for our footballers, whether Marcus Thuram or Kylian Mbappé, who are icons of football and icons for youth … But we must respect the French, we must respect everyone’s vote,” Bardella told CNews TV on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Border Forensics say dozens of deaths in 2022 at EU’s Melilla border was result of antagonistic security policy
Moroccan authorities took a series of fateful decisions that led to the deaths of dozens of asylum seekers attempting to scale the border fence into the Spanish north African territory of Melilla two years ago, survivors and an investigation by an NGO have claimed.
At least 27 migrants and asylum seekers died when up to 2,000 people tried to climb over the fence on 24 June 2022 – the deadliest day in recent memory along the EU land border with Africa – while 70 others are still missing and unaccounted for.
Continue reading...Airstrikes kill Palestinians in historic Nuseirat and Bureij camps as tanks advance into Rafah in south
A series of Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday have resulted in the deaths of at least 17 Palestinians in two of the Gaza Strip’s historic refugee camps, as tanks advanced further into the southern city of Rafah, according to reports from residents and medics.
Nuseirat and Bureij are home to families and descendants of people who fled to Gaza in the 1948 war around the creation of Israel.
Continue reading...Increasing use of fans, air coolers and air conditioners is placing ‘serious’ strain on grid in north of country
Engineers in India have warned of the possibility of prolonged power outages in the north, where a heatwave has brought misery for millions of people.
Demand for electricity has soared due to fans, air coolers and air conditioners being run constantly, placing a strain on the grid in Delhi and elsewhere in the north. Manufacturers of air conditioners and air coolers report sales rising by 40-50% compared with last summer.
Continue reading...The Russian president’s visit to Pyongyang signals a deepening relationship between two isolated countries
China accounts for more than 90% of North Korea’s trade and has been its most dependable aid donor and diplomatic ally. But as Vladimir Putin’s imminent visit to Pyongyang proves, the secluded state’s behaviour is being increasingly influenced by its security and economic ties with Russia.
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China has urged Nato to “stop shifting blame” over the war in Ukraine after the western military alliance’s chief accused Beijing of worsening the conflict through support of Russia.
Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, on Monday called for China to face consequences for what US officials have called a major export push to rebuild Russia’s defence industry.
There are reports Putin will be staying at the Kumsusan guesthouse in Pyongyang, which also housed Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a 2019 state visit to North Korea in 2019.
The mansion is located near the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where Kim Jong-un’s father Kim Jong Il, and grandfather Kim Il Sung, lie in state.
Continue reading...Country on track to become third in Asia – after Taiwan and Nepal – to legalise same-sex marriage
Thailand’s senate has passed the final reading of a historic marriage equality bill, paving the way for the country to become the first in south-east Asia to recognise same-sex marriage.
The bill gained the support of nearly all upper-house lawmakers and will be sent to the palace for the pro-forma endorsement by King Maha Vajiralongkorn. The law will come into force 120 days after it is published in the royal gazette.
Continue reading...In today’s newsletter: The war has devastated Sudan, destroying much of the country and leaving 18 million facing acute hunger
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Good morning.
The war in Sudan has caused destruction throughout much of the country. And with every passing week the conflict seems to get worse between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – a paramilitary group who say their main goal is to establish democracy, though the frequent human rights abuses they commit do not support this claim.
Conservatives | Jeremy Hunt said Liz Truss’s economic ambitions were a “good thing to aim for” and her disastrous mini-budget hadn’t left an impact on the economy, according to two leaked recordings obtained by the Guardian. The chancellor was recorded at a meeting of students when he said he was “trying to basically achieve some of the same things” as the former prime minister, but that he was doing it “more gradually”.
Israel | Benjamin Netanyahu has dissolved the Israeli war cabinet that had been overseeing the conflict in Gaza, rebuffing his far-right allies who had been seeking seats, and apparently moving to solidify his grasp on decision-making over the fighting with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah across the Lebanese border.
Italy | At least 10 people died and dozens were missing after two separate shipwrecks close to the Italian coast, rescuers said. Ten bodies were found on Monday in the lower deck of a wooden boat in the central Mediterranean by rescuers from Nadir, a ship operated by the German charity ResQship.
Germany | Eight alleged members of the German far-right Reichsbürger are to go on trial accused of a plot to violently overthrow the state, in the third in a row of similar court cases being held across the country. The defendants, including a GP, a celebrity chef and an astrologer, are accused of serving as the plot’s leadership council and, prosecutors say, were set to become a cabinet in waiting if the group’s plan overthrow the government had succeeded.
UK news | Officers who hit an escaped cow with a car “probably did the right thing at the time” even if it looks “horrendous”, a union leader and farmer has said. A video showing a police car hitting the calf on Friday night on a residential street in Staines-upon-Thames was met with widespread outrage, including from the RSCPA which criticised it as “disproportionate”.
Continue reading...Russian leader will have talks with Kim Jong-un with shared aim of expanding security and economic cooperation
Vladimir Putin has praised North Korea for supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine, as he travels to Pyongyang to seek continued military support from one of the world’s most isolated nations.
In his first visit to North Korea since 2000, Putin will meet Kim Jong-un for one-on-one talks in Pyongyang as the two leaders pledge to expand their security and economic cooperation in defiance of western sanctions against both countries.
Continue reading...GP, celebrity chef and astrologer among defendants in third trial linked to far-right Reichsbürger
Eight alleged members of the German far-right Reichsbürger have gone on trial accused of a plot to violently overthrow the state, in the third in a row of similar court cases being held across the country.
The defendants, including a GP, a celebrity chef and an astrologer, are accused of serving as the plot’s leadership council and, prosecutors say, were set to become a cabinet in waiting if the group’s plan to storm the parliament building and overthrow the government had succeeded.
Continue reading...Thaksin appears in court accused of lese-majeste relating to 2015 interview with South Korean media
The former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a powerful backer of the ruling government, has been formally indicted for allegedly insulting the monarchy almost two decades ago.
One of Thailand’s most influential political figures, Thaksin, 74, appeared at Bangkok’s Ratchada criminal court accused of lese-majeste. The case relates to an interview he gave to South Korean media in 2015. He was granted bail on Tuesday.
Thaksin was ousted by a military coup in 2006 and spent 15 years in self-imposed exile to avoid charges he said were politically motivated. He returned to Thailand last year, arriving back in the country on the same day his party Pheu Thai formed an unlikely coalition with his former enemies from the conservative military establishment – a deal that was in both sides’ interest because it kept a popular, youthful pro-reform party out of power.
Continue reading...Mango inspections also suspended ‘until further notice’ in state troubled by gang violence, but USDA says produce already in transit not affected
The US paused safety inspections for avocados and mangos from the Mexican state of Michoacán due to a security incident involving US department of agriculture (USDA) staff, a spokesperson for the agency said.
The spokesperson said avocados and mangos already in transit from Michoacán would not be affected but further inspections were suspended “until further notice”.
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