Category Archives: World News

Shohei Ohtani: a Japanese baseball star so loved even Koreans flock to him

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The Japanese star is considered one of the most talented players in history. Now he finds himself in an unfamiliar role as a cultural ambassador

The sport is American, the venue South Korean. But when the LA Dodgers and San Diego Padres open the Major League Baseball season with two games in Seoul this week, all eyes will be on a Japanese superstar: Shohei Ohtani.

It says much about Ohtani’s singular appeal that South Korean baseball fans are as excited about his imminent presence in the batter’s box at Gocheok Sky Dome as his legions of admirers in Japan.

The Associated Press contributed reporting

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Documents reveal alleged pattern of Israeli harassment of Unrwa workers on West Bank

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Exclusive: UN documents seen by the Guardian list hundreds of incidents, including claims workers were blindfolded and beaten

UN staff working with Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have been subjected to a systematic campaign of obstruction and harassment by the Israeli military and authorities since the beginning of the conflict in Gaza five months ago, according to internal UN documents obtained by the Guardian.

The documents record hundreds of incidents ranging from the alleged blindfolding and beating of UN staff at checkpoints to the use of UN facilities by Israeli troops as firing positions during raids on refugee camps in which Palestinians were killed.

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Jared Kushner says Gaza’s ‘waterfront property could be very valuable’

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Donald Trump’s son-in-law also says Israel should bulldoze an area of the Negev desert and move Palestinians there

Jared Kushner has praised the “very valuable” potential of Gaza’s “waterfront property” and suggested Israel should remove civilians while it “cleans up” the strip.

The former property dealer, married to Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka, made the comments in an interview at Harvard University on 8 March.

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Brazil police indict Bolsonaro over alleged falsification of vaccination data

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Former president allegedly inserted false information into public health database to make it appear he received Covid vaccine

Brazil’s federal police have accused Jair Bolsonaro of criminal association and falsifying his own Covid-19 vaccination data, marking the first indictment for the embattled far-right leader with others potentially in store.

The supreme court on Tuesday released the police’s indictment which alleges Bolsonaro and 16 others inserted false information into the public health database to make it appear as though the former president, his 12-year-old daughter and several others in his circle had received the Covid-19 vaccine.

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Hong Kong lawmakers pass new measures to quash dissent

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Critics say national security law cracking down on offences such as insurrection will further erode civil liberties

Hong Kong’s parliament has passed a controversial national security law granting the government more power to quash dissent, widely seen as the latest step in a sweeping political crackdown triggered by pro-democracy protests in 2019.

Critics of the safeguarding national security law, also known as article 23, say it will further erode the city’s rights and freedoms and usher in a new era of authoritarianism.

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Russia-Ukraine war: 900 Russian bombs launched at Ukraine in March, Zelenskiy says – as it happened

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Russia attacking Ukraine with drones, guided bombs and missiles, says president; Kaja Kallas says spending should rise to over 3% GDP

The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has said he will propose that the EU uses 90% of the revenues from Russian assets frozen in Europe to buy arms for Ukraine via the European Peace Facility fund, Reuters reports.

Borrell told reporters in Brussels he would propose that the remaining 10% be transferred to the EU budget to be used to boost the capacity of the Ukrainian defence industry.

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US election 2024 primaries: intrigue in down-ballot races as Trump-Biden rematch set

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Ohio Republicans choose their nominee in key Senate race while California seeks to replace former speaker Kevin McCarthy

With a rematch set between Joe Biden and Donald Trump after both candidates crossed the delegate threshold needed to clinch their parties’ presidential nominations, suspense around the next wave of Tuesday primaries shifts to a handful of key down-ballot races.

Five states – Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas and Ohio – will hold their presidential nominating contests on Tuesday. Trump and Biden are expected to sail to victory, growing their delegate counts in a march toward this summer’s conventions, where they will officially secure their parties’ nomination.

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Trump ally Peter Navarro to begin prison term after contempt conviction

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Navarro, convicted for refusing to cooperate with House January 6 committee, to report to Miami facility with zoo next door

Peter Navarro, a former trade adviser to Donald Trump, was on Tuesday set to become the first former White House official ever jailed for contempt of Congress.

Sentenced to four months in prison for refusing to cooperate with the House January 6 committee, the 74-year-old economist appealed all the way to the US supreme court, claiming he could not testify as his work with Trump on attempts to overturn the 2020 election was covered by executive privilege.

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Slovakia’s opposition sounds alarm over Russia tilt as election looms

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Report alleges that candidate asked Hungary to help arrange visit to Moscow in 2020 – when prime minister – to boost popularity

Slovakia risks moving further away from the west, government critics have warned, as a report alleged that a presidential candidate aligned with the country’s populist prime minister, Robert Fico, had previously sought an invitation to Russia to boost his position at home.

Slovaks will vote in a presidential election on 23 March, in what many consider to be a test for the country’s democracy and future within Europe.

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Israeli delegation to visit Washington to discuss planned offensive on Rafah

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US says attack would be ‘mistake’ as Biden and Netanyahu talk by phone for first time in over a month

Israel will send a team of officials to Washington to discuss its planned offensive on Rafah, the White House has said, as the Biden administration insists that an attack would be a “mistake” and seeks to persuade Israel to allow in more aid in the face of an imminent famine in Gaza.

The US national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, announced the Israeli visit after a phone call on Monday between Joe Biden and the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, focusing on the planned Rafah assault that Netanyahu has vowed to launch.

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Killing of teenager in China sparks debate about ‘left behind’ children

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Death of 13-year-old boy has put spotlight on juvenile crime and the plight of children left behind by rural migrant workers

The killing of a 13-year-old boy in northern China last week, for which three boys are in police custody, has triggered a heated discussion in the media on juvenile crime and the plight of children left at home by migrant workers.

Police arrested three boys and took them into custody after they allegedly bullied and killed the junior high school student in the small city of Handan, in Hebei province, on 10 March, and then buried him in a shallow pit, state media reported. So far, no charges have been laid.

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Missing migrants’ families say they were asked to pay hundreds for information on relatives

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Families say they were promised details of relatives’ whereabouts after contacting people they thought were linked to NGO in Spain

Families of people who disappeared on the perilous journey from Africa to Europe have said they were asked to pay hundreds of euros in exchange for information about what had happened to their loved ones.

In interviews with the Guardian, three families recounted how, as part of their searches for missing relatives that had gone on for years, they had made contact with people they believed to be connected to an NGO in southern Spain who said they were able to help them.

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California: two men plead guilty to killing wild burros in Mojave desert

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John Feikema and Christopher Arnet, who prosecutors say used high-powered rifles to kill three wild burros, face prison sentences

Two men who used high-powered rifles to kill three wild burros in southern California’s Mojave desert more than two years ago pleaded guilty on Monday to federal charges related to the shootings, prosecutors said.

The men wore tactical gear including night vision goggles as they targeted the burros in a remote area north-east of Barstow on 6 November 2021, the US attorney’s office said in a statement.

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Michelin hails ‘cultural dynamism’ as 52 French restaurants earn their first stars

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One chef receives three stars at first attempt in 115th edition of the French foodies’ bible

A record 52 restaurants in France – including 23 that only opened in the past year – have been awarded one or more Michelin stars for the first time, which the French foodies’ bible said reflected the “cultural dynamism” of a new generation of innovative young chefs.

“This year’s is a generous vintage, and also true to our values,” said Gwendal Poullennec, the director of the Michelin Guide, at the launch of its 115th edition on Monday. Well over half of the new laureates were under the age of 40, he said.

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Cuba blames US for stoking protests amid power cuts and food shortages

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US embassy says ‘absurd’ to suggest Washington behind protests in Santiago de Cuba led by parents struggling to feed their children

The Cuban government has summoned the US ambassador, Benjamin Ziff, to its foreign ministry, accusing Washington of stoking a protest which saw hundreds of people take to the streets in the island’s second city of Santiago de Cuba.

The demonstration late on Sunday was a rare public show of disenchantment against Cuba’s communist government, and was apparently led by parents struggling to feed their children in the face of a worsening food crisis. The protesters reportedly chanted: “Without electricity and food, the people get hot.”

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Russia-Ukraine war: Putin says Crimea ‘returned home’ when it was annexed and declares Donbas part of ‘New Russia’ – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed. For more on Putin’s re-election, you can read our latest reporting:

The EU has said the Russian election took place in a highly restricted environment “exacerbated by Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine”.

The EU said it regretted the decision of Russian authorities not to invite international observers to its elections.

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False King Charles death story spread by Russian media outlets

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One site tweeted of monarch’s purported demise only to later concede: ‘Most likely, the information is fake’

The news broke in the Russian media on Monday afternoon. King Charles III was dead. He was not, but no one really had time to check the details. The saga of the royal family finally had its latest twist: a viral Russian disinformation angle.

The rumour went into overdrive when it was shared on a Telegram channel used by Vedomosti, once Russia’s most respected business newspaper. There was a photo of Charles in ceremonial military uniform and the curt caption: “British King Charles III has died.” It made it through Russian internet channels, including Readovka, a pro-Kremlin Telegram channel with more than 2.35 million subscribers.

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Move to overturn FGM ban in the Gambia postponed

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Committee will examine for at least three months a bill proposing repeal of ban on female genital mutilation

A decision on whether to overturn a ban on female genital mutilation (FGM) in the Gambia has been postponed for three months after MPs called for more consultation.

FGM was outlawed in the country eight years ago and is punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment.

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West condemns ‘undemocratic’ Russian election as results show Putin landslide

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UK, US and Germany denounce poll that was said to give president vote share of 87.28% amid crackdown on dissent

Western nations have widely condemned Russia’s presidential election, in which Vladimir Putin claimed a landslide victory that will keep him in power until at least 2030 amid a crackdown on dissent and opposition.

“These Russian elections starkly underline the depth of repression under President Putin’s regime, which seeks to silence any opposition to his illegal war,” said the British foreign secretary, David Cameron, as EU foreign ministers met to approve new sanctions against 30 individuals and organisations in response to the death of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

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Fierce clashes between IDF and Hamas after Israel takes control of key hospital

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Israel claims to have killed 20 militants at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City following early morning raid

Fierce fighting has continued around al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, as Israeli troops battled Hamas militants after seizing control of the strategically situated medical complex in an early morning raid.

Witnesses reported multiple airstrikes and ferocious firefights as fears rose for the safety of hundreds of civilians in the immediate vicinity of the hospital.

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