Category Archives: World News

Dozens in Jordan targeted by authorities using NSO spyware, report finds

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Findings suggest Jordan is relying on cyberweapon to quash dissent and its use is ‘staggeringly widespread’

About three dozen journalists, lawyers and human rights workers in Jordan have been targeted by authorities using powerful spyware made by Israel’s NSO Group amid a broad crackdown on press freedoms and political participation, according to a report by the lobbying group Access Now.

The information suggests the Jordanian government has used the Israeli cyberweapon against members of civil society, including at least one American citizen living in Jordan, between 2019 and September 2023.

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Owner of UK national lottery operator still in business with Gazprom

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Czech tycoon promised Gambling Commission two years ago his
firm would sever Russia ties before taking over the lucrative contract

The Czech billionaire whose company takes over running the UK national lottery from Thursday is still in business with the Kremlin-owned gas company Gazprom, nearly two years after promising regulators he would sever ties with Russia.

The Gambling Commission awarded Allwyn the lucrative 10-year licence to run the lottery, estimated to be worth up to £100bn in sales, in March 2022.

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Elderly Uyghur women imprisoned in China for decades-old religious ‘crimes’, leaked files reveal

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Hundreds of women sentenced for practices such as studying the Qur’an, dating back as far back as 60s and 70s, analysis of Chinese police files shows

Hundreds of thousands of Uyghur female religious leaders are estimated to have been arrested and imprisoned in Xinjiang since 2014, with some elderly women detained for practices that took place decades ago, according to an analysis of leaked Chinese police files.

There is growing evidence of the abusive treatment of the Uyghur Muslim population of the north-west Chinese region of Xinjiang, with their traditions and religion seen as evidence of extremism and separatism.

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Fiji transfixed as reports of ministerial sex scandal threaten ruling coalition

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Leaked intimate images allegedly depicting affair between two ministers captivate nation and rattle prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka’s coalition

A sex scandal involving allegations of an extramarital affair between two ministers, leaked intimate images and suggestions of drug use during a ministerial trip has gripped Fiji, rattling the government and raising questions over whether the coalition can survive.

The conservative Pacific nation of about 1 million people has been transfixed by the saga which centres on an alleged affair between the minister for women, Lynda Tabuya, and former minister for education Aseri Radrodro, a married man. Radrodro also used to be son-in-law to the prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka. Discussion about the allegations has flooded social media in recent weeks, with some Fijians calling for their resignation, while others want accountability and an explanation from the coalition that has been in power for just over a year.

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EU leaders enter showdown with Viktor Orbán over €50bn Ukraine package

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Member states hope to persuade Hungary to remove its block on funding at Brussels emergency summit

EU leaders have returned to Brussels for a second showdown in two months with Hungary’s Viktor Orbán over his refusal to sanction a new €50bn assistance package for Ukraine.

A mixture of frustration and anger prevailed in the city as leaders arrived for dinner on Wednesday night on the eve of the emergency summit, with aides lamenting the failure of the Hungarian PM to shift position since December, when he first blocked the funds.

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Refugee files complaint to UN against Spain over 2014 border deaths

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Country accused of violating torture convention in hope of finding justice decade after incident in which at least 15 people died

A 25-year-old from Cameroon has filed a complaint to the UN against Spain, accusing the country of multiple violations of the convention against torture in hope of seeking justice after an incident in 2014 during which at least 15 people died while trying to enter Spanish territory from Morocco.

“A decade has passed and still not a single person has been held accountable for the death and injury of so many,” said the man, who asked to be identified by the pseudonym Ludovic.

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Machu Picchu train line reopens after protesters strike deal to readmit tourists

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Access to Incan site in Peruvian Andes restored after dispute over new electronic rail ticketing system

Peruvian authorities have reopened the train route to Machu Picchu, after an agreement was struck to end more than a week of protests that had blocked access to the famed Incan site and stranded tourists.

PeruRail said in a statement a partial service had restarted on Wednesday and that a regular service would return on Thursday from the city of Cusco to Aguas Calientes, a town near the archaeological site.

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FTX scraps plan to revive exchange and will repay billions to customers

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Cryptocurrency exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried ‘an irresponsible sham created by a convicted felon’, lawyer says

FTX has abandoned efforts to restart its crypto exchange, instead opting to liquidate all assets and return funds to customers, a company attorney said on Wednesday.

The exchange, founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, has been negotiating for months with potential bidders and investors, but none were willing to put in enough money to rebuild it, FTX attorney Andy Dietderich said at a bankruptcy court hearing in Delaware.

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Russia and Ukraine exchange PoWs after plane crash prevented last swap

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Both sides confirm exchange of about 200 prisoners each a week after Russian transport aircraft shot down near border

Russia and Ukraine have conducted a major prisoner-of-war exchange a week after a previous swap was prevented when a Russian Il-76 transport plane was shot down and exploded near the border between the two countries.

Both sides said about 200 prisoners each had been exchanged on Wednesday, although they disagreed about the exact figures.

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‘Hypocritical’ European politicians weaken climate policies amid farmer protests

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Under pressure from the far right in upcoming elections, environmental concessions being made across continent

Exhausted by an energy crisis, burdened by bureaucracy and angry at efforts to curb their pollution, Europe’s farmers say people are not listening to their plight.

“Over the last few years we’ve spoken out vigorously, but we haven’t been heard,” Europe’s biggest farming lobby, Copa Cogeca, said on Wednesday in an open letter to the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen. “The survival of European family farming as it is known today is in danger.”

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Fell off the back of an iceberg: stuffed 500lb polar bear stolen in Canada heist

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Thieves haul off taxidermy animal from resort hotel in northern Alberta that had previously lost two stuffed raccoons

As temperatures in western Canada recently plunged to -30C, most residents retreated indoors to wait out the blistering cold snap. But one group of thieves saw opportunity.

On one of the coldest nights of the winter, they gained access to a hotel north of Edmonton, where security patrols had been cancelled because of the weather.

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Yes, it is cricket: Italy gives go-ahead to insect flour for human use

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Nutrinsect defies Italian food purists with cricket flour that can be incorporated into range of foods

A company that produces flour made from crickets has become the first in Italy to be given the green light to sell food made from insects for human consumption, defying Italian food purists and even a government attempt to curb its use.

Josè Francesco Cianni, the chief executive of Nutrinsect, said: “a new page in the history of food has been opened” now that his nutrient-packed flour can be incorporated into an array of food items.

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Hamas mulls ceasefire proposal amid intense fighting across Gaza

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Leader of Hamas heads to Cairo talks, with many families of Israeli hostages pressing for a negotiated release

Heavy bombardment of Gaza continued on Wednesday as the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was expected to arrive in Cairo to discuss a ceasefire proposal in the Israel-Gaza war that would reportedly involve the staged release of Israeli hostages.

A Hamas official said Haniyeh would be in the Egyptian capital for talks on Wednesday or Thursday, as intense fighting was reported in the south of the territory in Khan Younis and in the north in Gaza City.

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Aircraft crashes on San Francisco Bay Area city street, killing pilot

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No one else on board single-engine plane that crashed at busy junction along golf course by Buchanan Field airport in Concord

The pilot of a single-engine plane was killed on Tuesday when the aircraft crashed on a city street near a small San Francisco Bay Area airport, authorities said.

The crash was reported at about 11am at a busy intersection along a golf course adjacent to Buchanan Field airport in Concord, officials said.

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Northern Ireland to get new Brexit trade rules in deal to restore power sharing

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‘UK internal market’ to be created to ease unionist fears over de facto border in the Irish Sea

• UK politics live – latest updates

New rules to smooth post-Brexit trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland have been unveiled by the government as part of a deal with the Democratic Unionist party that will restore the Stormont executive and install a Sinn Féin first minister.

A command paper titled Safeguarding the Union was published on Wednesday to allay DUP fears about Northern Ireland’s place in the UK and to end a two-year boycott of power sharing that has destabilised the country.

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Russia-Ukraine war live: Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war – as it happened

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Deal to swap around 200 PoWs from each side comes after contested claim that Kyiv downed plane carrying Ukrainian soldiers

Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has told military manufacturers to “stop fooling around” and further increase the production of self-propelled artillery systems.

Shoigu visited arms-producing factories in the Urals industrial city of Yekaterinburg on Tuesday and said Russia was increasing production of air defence missiles after a series of Ukrainian drone attacks that have targeted cities and energy infrastructure.

Listen, stop fooling around here, guys. We got busy with this in 2022. We should have had these machines operating at full capacity in 2023.

I’d like to receive within a week a specific proposal on how we’ll reach the indicators set by the president (Vladimir Putin) ... this must be done, because all these orders are connected with the performance of very specific work on the battlefield.

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EU to delay new green rule in bid to appease protesting farmers

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Delay to rules on setting aside land to encourage biodiversity offered as concession amid continuing protests

Farmers protesting across Europe have won their first concession from Brussels, with the EU announcing a delay in rules that would have forced them to set aside land to encourage biodiversity and soil health.

About 10,000 French farmers stepped up their protests on Wednesday, with at least 100 blockades on major roads across France, as 18 farmers were arrested for blocking traffic as they tried to reach the wholesale food market at Rungis, south-east of Paris and 79 others were detained after they managed to get inside.

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Israel says it continues to operate in central and northern Gaza – as it happened

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This blog is now closed

Overnight the US central command reported that Yemen’s Houthis fired one anti-ship cruise missile towards the Red Sea, which was shot down by USS Gravely.

The attack was at 11.30pm local time.

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California man who tried to blame twin brother for two rapes jailed for 140 years

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Kevin Konther, 58, convicted of rape of girl in 1995 and woman in 1998, confessed to crimes in secret recordings

A California man who attempted to blame his identical twin brother for rapes he committed in the 1990s has been sentenced to 140 years in prison.

Kevin Konther, 58, of Highland, California, was sentenced after being convicted of the rapes of a girl in 1995 and a woman in 1998, the Orange county district attorney’s office said in a statement.

Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html

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Myanmar hands over junta-backed warlords to China in telecoms scam case

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Ten people extradited on Tuesday accused of being key figures in fraud involving victims of trafficking

Myanmar has extradited 10 people, including notorious warlords, to China, where they are wanted for their alleged role in running abusive online and telephone fraud centres in which tens of thousands of foreign nationals are trapped and forced to run scams.

The centres – which target people in China as well as in other countries - have flourished since the Covid-19 pandemic and China says about 44,000 people have been involved, including victims of human trafficking.

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