Category Archives: World News

Taiwan earthquake: shock and grief take hold in Hualien

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Residents of tourist city near epicentre of 7.2-magnitude Taiwan earthquake face destruction and despair

Lying in his bed, Liao Xiu Bo wondered if he was about to die. As a powerful earthquake rocked the ground beneath him, he tried to escape his house. “Am I going to be crushed?” he asked himself, before gathering the courage to run down the stairs, which swayed beneath his feet.

Outside, he could see that the wall surrounding his house had collapsed, its bricks littered across the road. “That’s when I realised how extreme the earthquake was.”

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No more monkey business: Thai city’s macaques to be put in enclosures

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Primates are symbol of Lopburi but residents have had enough as monkeys resort to violence to get food

Mischievous long-tailed macaques are, for many, a symbol of the Thai city of Lopburi. Tourists flock to the city’s ancient temple to feed the macaques fresh fruit and photograph them as they maraud the streets. But, increasingly, residents say they have had enough.

This week, after growing complaints from residents, wildlife officials announced a plan to round up 2,500 of the urban monkeys and place them in large enclosures. It follows an incident in March where a woman’s knee wasdislocated after she was kicked in the back by a monkey that wanted her food. Separately, a man lost control of his motorcycle after a monkey tried to grab a bag of food from him.

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UN body calls for Israel to be held accountable for possible war crimes

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Human rights council adopts resolution as Israel opens new routes into Gaza after Biden-Netanyahu phone call

The UN human rights council has adopted a resolution calling for Israel to be held accountable for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Gaza Strip.

The resolution came as Israel finally succumbed to unprecedented US pressure and opened new food corridors into Gaza.

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Fugitive former US city councillor enlists with Russia for war in Ukraine

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Wilmer Puello-Mota, wanted on child sexual abuse image charges, enlists after apparently volunteering for assault on Avdiivka

A former city councillor and member of the Massachusetts national guard who is wanted in the US on child sexual abuse image charges has fled the country and joined the Russian army fighting in Ukraine.

Wilmer Puello-Mota, 28, former city councillor of Holyoke, Massachusetts, went missing on 7 January, two days before he was scheduled to appear in court in Rhode Island in possession of child sexual abuse images and obstruction of justice charges.

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Slovakia: pro-western diplomat contests Russia-friendly politician for presidency

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Polls show Ivan Korčok and Peter Pellegrini, an ally of prime minister Robert Fico, neck-and-neck before Saturday’s runoff

A pro-western diplomat and a politician accused of promoting Russia-friendly talking points will face off in a nailbiting presidential runoff in Slovakia on Saturday, amid fears the country is sliding away from the west.

Ivan Korčok, a former foreign minister, and Peter Pellegrini, the speaker of parliament who is backed by Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, are neck-to-neck in the polls.

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Fears of violence grow as Somalia scraps power-sharing system

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Semi-autonomous state of Puntland refuses to recognise changes to the fragile country’s constitution and has withdrawn from the federal system

An overhaul of Somalia’s constitution, scrapping its power-sharing system and handing the president increased control, is threatening to destabilise the fragile country, as its wealthiest and most stable state refuses to recognise the changes.

The amendments risk worsening violence, the information minister from the semi-autonomous state of Puntland has warned. Mohamud Aidid Dirir told the Guardian that “almost a totally new constitution” had been introduced without input from the state’s leaders. He accused the Somali president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, of using parliament to “gather authority into his hands”.

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China will use AI to disrupt elections in the US, South Korea and India, Microsoft warns

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Beijing did a test run in Taiwan using AI-generated content to influence voters away from a pro-sovereignty candidate

China will attempt to disrupt elections in the US, South Korea and India this year with artificial intelligence-generated content after making a dry run with the presidential poll in Taiwan, Microsoft has warned.

The US tech firm said it expected Chinese state-backed cyber groups to target high-profile elections in 2024, with North Korea also involved, according to a report by the company’s threat intelligence team published on Friday.

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How Spain and Ireland became the EU’s sharpest critics of Israel

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Each time Madrid and Dublin speak out on the war in Gaza others are emboldened to join them, sources say

Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that the Israeli military’s killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza on Monday night was “a tragic incident” did precious little to allay the fears of Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez. Nor did his assertion that “this happens in wartime”.

Sánchez, who has been one of the most outspoken and persistent European critics of the way in which Israel has prosecuted its war in Gaza after the terrorist atrocities of 7 October, described the Israeli prime minister’s “supposed explanations” as “totally unacceptable and insufficient”. He added that Spain was waiting for a full and detailed account of the killings before deciding “what action we’ll take with regard to the government of Prime Minister Netanyahu”.

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Israel to reopen Erez crossing into Gaza after Biden sounds warning over protecting civilians

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Steps approved in Israel to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza include temporary reopening of crossing in the north

Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has said his security cabinet has approved a series of steps to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, including the temporary reopening of a key crossing that was destroyed in the 7 October Hamas attack.

The announcement was made hours after a warning from US president Joe Biden that future US support for Israel would depend on it taking concrete action to protect civilians and aid workers.

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Man who helped procure gun used in Strasbourg terror attack jailed for 30 years

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Audrey Mondjehi, 43, found guilty of terrorism-related charges relating to 2018 attack that killed five

A former security guard who helped procure the gun used to kill five people and injure 11 others in a terrorist attack on Strasbourg’s Christmas market in 2018 has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Audrey Mondjehi, 43, was found guilty of a series of terrorism-related charges, including abetting murder in relation to a terrorist plot and associating with terrorist elements, after he helped to find a weapon for Chérif Chekatt, who later opened fire with a 19th-century revolver at the market in the city’s historic centre.

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Joe Biden calls for ‘immediate ceasefire’ in Gaza and says Israel must protect civilians to keep US support

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US president also said Israel must implement a series of specific steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering and the safety of aid workers

Joe Biden has called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, telling Benjamin Netanyahu that future US support for Israel will depend on it taking concrete action to protect civilians and aid workers.

As the two leaders held their first phone call since Israeli airstrikes killed seven employees of the international food charity World Central Kitchen (WCK), Biden issued the strongest US rebuke toward Israel since the start of the conflict.

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Macron to say France and allies could have stopped Rwanda genocide in 1994

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French president marks 30th anniversary with video, airing Sunday, saying international community lacked will to stop the slaughter

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has said France and its western and African allies “could have stopped” Rwanda’s 1994 genocide but did not have the will to halt the slaughter of an estimated 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis.

In a video message to be published on Sunday to mark the 30th anniversary of the genocide, Macron will emphasise that “when the phase of total extermination against the Tutsis began, the international community had the means to know and act”, the presidency said on Thursday.

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Fourth former UK supreme court judge signs letter over Israeli actions in Gaza

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Number of signatories warning Sunak over breach of international law in arming Israel rises to more than 750

A fourth former supreme court justice has put his name to a letter warning Rishi Sunak that the UK is breaching international law by continuing to arm Israel, as the number of legal experts signing the letter rose to more than 750.

Lord Carnwath joins Lady Hale, who was president of the UK’s highest court, and lords Sumption and Wilson, in urging ministers to act to prevent the “plausible risk” of genocide in Gaza.

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Biden tells Netanyahu Gaza aid strikes ‘unacceptable’ and Israel must end civilian suffering to keep US support – as it happened

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This live blog is now closed. For more on the Biden-Netanyahu phone call, you can read our full report:

Jill Biden pleaded with her husband, Joe Biden, to “stop it, stop it now”, referring to the war in Gaza, the president told guests at the White House, according to a report.

At a meeting with Muslim community members on Tuesday, a guest told Biden that his wife had disapproved of him attending the event because of the president’s support for Israel in its war in Gaza, the New York Times reported yesterday. The report states:

Mr Biden replied that he understood. The first lady, he said, had been urging him to ‘Stop it, stop it now,’ according to an attendee who heard his remarks.

Just like the president, the first lady is heartbroken over the attacks on aid workers and the ongoing loss of innocent lives in Gaza. They both want Israel to do more to protect civilians.

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Macron supports Nakamura’s ‘rightful place’ at Olympic opening ceremony

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French president in favour of singer opening the Games amid racist backlash from far-right politicians

Emmanuel Macron has said the French pop superstar Aya Nakamura would be in her rightful place performing at an opening ceremony for the Olympic Games this summer, after suggestions that she could sing an Édith Piaf song sparked a racist backlash against the singer.

Asked about Nakamura, who is the most listened to French-speaking artist in the world, Macron said it would be a “good thing” if she performed at an opening or closing ceremony.

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Girl, 14, left in coma after attack by teenagers outside school in France

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Three minors have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after incident in Montpellier

The French government has launched an urgent investigation after a 14-year-old girl was severely wounded and left in a coma after being beaten outside her school by three other teenagers in the south of France.

The three alleged attackers, including a girl who was at the same school as the victim in the suburbs of the southern city of Montpellier, have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder of a minor.

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Top UN expert warns of deteriorating situation in Haiti: ‘It’s apocalyptic’

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Human rights expert voices alarm, saying country is fast moving towards becoming ‘like Somalia in the worst of its times’

The UN’s top expert on human rights in Haiti has warned the Caribbean country is rapidly moving towards becoming “like Somalia in the worst of its times” after a criminal uprising which has displaced tens of thousands of people and largely cut its capital city off from the world.

Just over a month after the gang rebellion began, William O’Neill – an American human rights lawyer who has been travelling to Haiti for more than 30 years – voiced alarm over the rapidly deteriorating situation in Port-au-Prince.

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Tories investigating Alan Duncan’s comments on party’s pro-Israel ‘extremists’

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Former MP has said Conservative minister Tom Tugendhat and peer Eric Pickles should be sacked

The Conservative former minister Alan Duncan is being investigated by the party after he said pro-Israel “extremists” within the party, including some ministers and peers, should be expelled because they refuse to support international law.

Duncan, who served as a foreign minister and an aid minister before stepping down as an MP in 2019, named Tom Tugendhat, the security minister, and the peer and former cabinet minister Eric Pickles among those who should be kicked out.

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Food charity demands independent inquiry into Israeli killing of aid staff

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World Central Kitchen asks countries of workers who died to join its call, as Biden and Netanyahu hold first phone call since attack

The international food charity World Central Kitchen has called for an independent investigation into the Israeli strikes that killed seven of its aid workers in Gaza on Monday, as Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu held their first phone call since the attack.

WCK asked Australia, Canada, Poland, the US and the UK, whose citizens were killed, to join it in demanding “an independent, third-party’’ inquiry into the strikes.

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Sadiq Khan says UK arms sales to Israel have ‘got to stop’

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London mayor’s comments come as other senior Labour figures call for government to take action after killing of aid workers

Sadiq Khan has become the most senior Labour politician to call for an immediate end of UK arms sales to Israel, with a number of other prominent party figures also saying the government should take action after the killing of seven aid workers in Gaza.

The London mayor said Rishi Sunak must halt arms sales, saying: “It’s got to stop.”

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