Category Archives: World News

‘I considered him a decent person’: how Putin’s puppets help to dupe Russia’s voters

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As Russians prepare to give the president another six-year term this week, an ex-rival has gone from protest candidate to grotesque war hawk

Two election cycles ago, in 2012, Sergei Mironov was loudly playing the role of opposition to Russia’s ruling party, wearing the white ribbon of the protest movement in the State Duma and claiming his run against Vladimir Putin was “serious”.

If made president, he said, he would even appoint the now deceased opposition leader Alexei Navalny as the head of Russia’s accounts chamber as an anti-corruption measure.

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‘Waiting for the storm’: Israelis and Palestinians fear difficult week as Ramadan starts

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Key site is al-Aqsa mosque on what Jews call the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Peaceful access for Muslims could send a message of calm

Israelis and Palestinians are bracing themselves for a tense and ­potentially violent week, with no sign of a ­ceasefire likely in Gaza and calls from Hamas for protest marches around the Islamic world to mark the start of Ramadan on Monday.

Earlier this month, a halt to hostilities before the Muslim holy month looked possible, but hopes have dimmed since indirect talks in Cairo ended without progress last week.

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Portugal’s far-right Chega party eyes kingmaker role as country goes to polls

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Election triggered by resignation of prime minister António Costa could see scandal-hit Socialist party ousted by rightwing coalition

The Portuguese left and right are braced for a tight race as the country votes in its second snap general election in three years, a closely fought contest that is also expected to result in huge gains and a possible kingmaker role for the far-right Chega party.

Sunday’s election was triggered by the collapse of the socialist government of António Costa, who resigned as prime minister in November amid an investigation of alleged illegalities in his administration’s handling of large green investment projects.

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Haiti crisis: gangs attack police stations as Caribbean leaders call for emergency meeting

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National palace guards set up security ring after gangs attack at least three police stations in Port-au-Prince

Police and palace guards worked on Saturday to retake some streets in Haiti’s capital after gangs launched massive attacks on at least three police stations.

Guards from the National Palace accompanied by an armored truck tried to set up a security perimeter around one of the three downtown stations after police fought off an attack by gangs late Friday.

Sporadic gunfire continued to be reported on Saturday. The unrelenting gang attacks have paralysed the country for more than a week and left it with dwindling supplies of basic goods. Haitian officials extended a state of emergency and nightly curfew on Thursday as gangs continued to attack key state institutions.

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Eight children and an adult die in Zanzibar after eating sea turtle meat

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Another 78 people taken to hospital after consuming delicacy, which is known to cause food poisoning

Eight children and an adult have died after eating sea turtle meat on Pemba Island in the Zanzibar archipelago, and 78 other people have been taken to hospital, authorities said on Saturday.

Sea turtle meat is considered a delicacy in Zanzibar but it periodically results in deaths from chelonitoxism, a type of food poisoning.

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Boris Johnson ‘held unofficial talks with president of Venezuela in February’

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Former PM apparently met autocratic leader Nicolás Maduro over concerns he may supply weapons to Russia

Boris Johnson flew to Venezuela in February for unofficial talks with its autocratic leader, Nicolás Maduro, according to reports.

The former prime minister spoke to the Venezuelan president about the war in Ukraine, amid concerns that the socialist republic could supply weapons or military support to Russia, according to the Sunday Times.

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Indonesia opens inquiry after pilots fell asleep on flight carrying 153 people

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Pilot and co-pilot unresponsive for nearly 30 minutes, prompting review of country’s night flight operation

Two Indonesian pilots fell asleep for almost 30 minutes mid-flight, an investigation has revealed.

A pilot and co-pilot were simultaneously asleep for about 28 minutes. The Batik Air flight was travelling from South East Sulawesi to the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, on 25 January, a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) said.

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Gaza aid ship prepares to leave Cyprus as humanitarian concerns grow

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European Commission hopes maritime corridor will open by Sunday, while Israel strikes large residential tower in Rafah

A ship laden with humanitarian aid intended for Gaza is preparing to leave Cyprus, amid acute international concern as conditions in the territory continue to deteriorate.

A US charity said it was loading aid on to a boat in Cyprus, which will be the first shipment to Gaza along a maritime corridor the European Commission hopes will open by Sunday.

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Nigeria: gunmen kidnap 15 children in dawn raid on school

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Attackers force their way into school days after 300 children abducted in different Nigerian state

Gunmen kidnapped at least 15 pupils from a school in Nigeria in a dawn raid on Saturday, days after about 300 children were abducted in another armed raid.

The gunmen forced their way into the school premises in the Sokoto village of Gidan Bakuso, in the country’s north-west, and started firing shots sporadically, waking and causing panic among the pupils, said the school’s owner, Liman Abubakar Bakuso.

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Olive oil becomes most wanted item for shoplifters in Spain

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Gangs steal ‘liquid gold’ amid shortages and surging prices after extreme weather damages harvests

Olive oil has become the most stolen product in supermarkets across Spain, with organised criminal gangs targeting the “liquid gold” to resell on the hidden market, according to new figures.

Olive oil is now the most shoplifted product in regions that account for 70% of the country’s population, the Financial Times reports.

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Irish voters overwhelmingly reject proposed changes to constitution

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Taoiseach says government did not do enough to convince people over amending provisions on family and care

Ireland has overwhelmingly rejected proposed changes to references on family and women in its constitution, delivering a rebuke to a government that had urged voters not to take a “step backwards”.

Voters repudiated the family referendum with 67% voting “no”, and buried the care referendum in an even bigger landslide of 74%.

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‘Nothing redeemable in him’: Robert De Niro says he would never play Donald Trump

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The actor also implored voters in the US to choose Biden in the upcoming presidential election

He’s played mobsters, murderers, vigilantes and psychopaths. But the one person Robert De Niro said was too irredeemable to play? Donald Trump.

The outspoken Hollywood actor spoke about why he would not want Trump to become president again during an appearance on the Real Time With Bill Maher chatshow, in which he urged voters to vote for Joe Biden.

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Alicia Keys criticised for Women’s Day event in ‘misogynist’ Saudi Arabia

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The US singer has been called out by human rights activists for hosting a summit and performing on stage in the repressive state

Performer Alicia Keys projects a powerful position on women’s rights, hosting a regular Women to Women summit and posting inspirationally on Instagram on Friday for International Women’s Day. But the singer-songwriter’s message is undermined for some by the revelation that she is hosting the third edition of her summit this weekend in Saudi Arabia.

The American performer and her guests, including Pharrell Williams, best known for his worldwide hit Happy, are to discuss “how women are pushing the culture forward in Saudi Arabia and around the world”, she has announced, before the get-together in the coastal city of Jeddah.

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Tokyo offers toilet tours amid flush of excitement over Wim Wenders’s Oscar hopeful

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Shibuya district is offering tours of its architect-designed public facilities that feature in Perfect Days

Japan’s hi-tech toilets have long fascinated visitors who rave about their heated seats, bidet function, automatic flushing, and even background noises to mask the unwelcome sounds that can accompany the call of nature.

Now, international interest in the country’s public conveniences is surging thanks to the German director Wim Wenders, whose film Perfect Days – the story of Hirayama (Kōji Yakusho), a Tokyo toilet cleaner – is in the reckoning for best international feature at Sunday’s Academy Awards.

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Aid ship expected to leave Cyprus for Gaza faces logistical delays

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Open Arms vessel, loaded with humanitarian supplies, is waiting for approval from Israel before leaving

A Gaza-bound aid ship expected to make the maiden voyage along a new maritime corridor from Cyprus has yet to set sail because of logistical challenges.

Government officials confirmed on Saturday that while a vessel belonging to Open Arms, a Spanish search and rescue group, had been loaded with food, water and other supplies and was ready to depart the Mediterranean island, it was unlikely to leave before Sunday.

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Asif Ali Zardari elected Pakistan president for second time

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Zardari played a key role in talks to form a coalition government after February’s disputed parliamentary election

Pakistan’s lawmakers have elected Asif Ali Zardari as the country’s president for the second time.

Zardari is the widower of the assassinated former premier Benazir Bhutto and the father of the former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

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Biden criticises Trump’s Mar-a-Lago meeting with Orbán

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US president told supporters Hungary’s premier was looking for dictatorship

Joe Biden has criticised his election rival Donald Trump for meeting Viktor Orbán, saying the Hungarian premier was “looking for dictatorship”.

Orbán travelled to Florida on Friday to meet his “good friend” Trump. Orbán has frequently expressed hope for the Republican’s return to power.

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Houthi forces step up Red Sea attacks as US and Denmark shoot down drones

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Iran-backed group is attempting to strike ships it claims have links to Israel, in solidarity with Gaza

Houthi forces in Yemen claim to have launched one of their largest attacks on US shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, saying they sent 37 drones to hit US navy war ships and a commercial ship.

The US Central Command said it had stopped the attack, which it attributed to Iranian-backed Houthi forces. The US spoke of only shooting down 15, not 37, drones.

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France’s appetite for frogs’ legs is endangering species in Asia, say campaigners

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Scientists and vets are urging the president to afford the world’s most traded species better protections

France’s hunger for frogs’ legs is “destructive to nature” and endangering amphibians in Asia and south-east Europe, a group of scientists and vets have warned.

More than 500 experts from research, veterinary and conservation groups have called on Emmanuel Macron, the French president, to “end the overexploitation of frogs” and afford the most traded species better protections.

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Three men charged with murder in deaths of US couple who disappeared in Caribbean

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Ralph Hendry, 66, and Kathleen Brandel, 77, had been cruising the eastern Caribbean when their catamaran was hijacked

Three men who had escaped from prison have been charged with capital murder in connection with the deaths of an American couple who disappeared in the Caribbean in February after their catamaran was hijacked.

The Royal Grenada Police Force announced Friday that Trevon Robertson, 23; Atiba Stanislaus, 25; and Ron Mitchell, 30, were re-arrested on two counts of capital murder in the slayings of Ralph Hendry and Kathleen Brandel.

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