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Milei says Argentina will not be joining Brics bloc in policy reversal
Far-right president says not ‘opportune’ for Argentina – which had been set to become a member on 1 January – to be part of alliance
Argentina has formally announced that it will not join the Brics bloc of developing economies, the latest in a dramatic shift in foreign and economic policy by Argentina’s new far-right populist president, Javier Milei.
In a letter addressed to the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – all members of the alliance – Milei said the moment was not “opportune” for Argentina to join as a full member. The letter was dated a week ago, 22 December, but released by the Argentinian government on Friday, the last working day of 2023.
Continue reading...Poland reports airspace incursion as Russia launches huge strike on Ukraine
At least 30 civilians killed in Ukraine as Moscow mounts one of its biggest attacks since start of war
Russia has launched a huge wave of missile strikes on Ukrainian cities, including the capital, in one of the biggest attacks on the country since the start of the war.
Poland’s armed forces said an unknown airborne object, which they identified as a Russian missile, entered the country’s airspace from the direction of Ukraine for three minutes.
Continue reading...Mont Blanc avalanche kills British woman, 54, and son, 22, in French Alps
Two were part of group skiing off-piste with instructor when avalanche occurred
A British woman and her son are reported to have died in the French Alps after an avalanche in the Mont Blanc mountain range.
The two were part of a group reportedly skiing far outside the designated slopes with an instructor when the avalanche, measuring 400 metres wide, occurred at an altitude of 2,300 metres near the ski resort of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains in the Haute-Savoie on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Hamas leaders attend Egypt talks as Israeli attacks push deeper into Gaza
UN says about 100,000 people have arrived in Rafah after intense attacks on Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis
• Israel-Gaza war – live updates
A delegation of high-level Hamas leaders is visiting Egypt for talks aimed at bringing the devastating war in Gaza to an end, even as the Israeli military pushes deeper into the centre and south of the strip, displacing tens of thousands of people.
The UN’s humanitarian office said on Friday that over the past few days an estimated 100,000 people had arrived in Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost town on the border with Egypt, after an intense new ground and aerial offensive around the central town of Deir al-Balah and airstrikes on the southern town of Khan Younis.
Continue reading...Texas police release surveillance video after pregnant teen and boyfriend killed
Police release footage in investigation of deaths of Savannah Soto, 18, and Matthew Guerra, 22, whose bodies were found on Tuesday
Texas police have released surveillance footage they hope will lead to answers in the killings of an 18-year-old pregnant woman and her boyfriend. The couple were found shot in the head in a car and may have been dead for days.
Police on Friday had not named a possible motive or suspects as family and friends mourned the deaths of Savanah Soto, 18, and Matthew Guerra, 22. Soto went missing before Christmas just before she had been scheduled to have an induced labor.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war: Poland says ‘everything indicates’ a Russian missile briefly entered its airspace on Friday morning – as it happened
Poland’s defence chief says unidentified object entered airspace on Friday then disappeared from radar. This live blog is closed
The US ambassador to Ukraine has shared a picture of her phone screen showing a number of critical air raid alert messages.
Bridget Brink said in a post on X:
This is what Ukrainians see on their phones this morning: and as a result, millions of men, women, and children are in bomb shelters as Russia fires missiles across the country.
Continue reading...‘I already miss Hong Kong’: Democracy activist Tony Chung flees to the UK
The 22-year-old says his probation conditions meant he was under surveillance and could not work
One of the youngest people to be jailed under Hong Kong’s national security law has fled to the UK, where he claimed asylum in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Tony Chung, 22, was released from prison in June but was required to meet regularly with Hong Kong’s national security police and abide by certain conditions, which included not leaving the territory without authorisation before June 2024.
Continue reading...Academic paper based on Uyghur genetic data retracted over ethical concerns
Exclusive: Study published in 2019 used blood and saliva samples from 203 Uyghur and Kazakh people living in Xinjiang capital
Concerns have been raised that academic publishers may not be doing enough to vet the ethical standards of research they publish, after a paper based on genetic data from China’s Uyghur population was retracted and questions were raised about several others including one that is currently published by Oxford University Press.
In June, Elsevier, a Dutch academic publisher, retracted an article entitled “Analysis of Uyghur and Kazakh populations using the Precision ID Ancestry Panel” that had been published in 2019.
Continue reading...Top chef leaves French hotel after alleged naked ‘hazing’ of kitchen staff
Michelin-starred Aurélien Largeau, who ran restaurant at Hôtel du Palais in Biarritz, says reports of incident are ‘false and defamatory’
A Michelin-starred chef has left his job at a French luxury hotel after an alleged hazing ritual in which a member of kitchen staff was reportedly tied up naked and humiliated.
The public prosecutor has opened an investigation for sexual assault and violence into the incident earlier this month.
Continue reading...Iran says it executed four people it claims engaged in ‘sabotage’ for Israel
Three men and one woman hanged on charges of ‘moharebeh’ – or waging war against God
Iran has announced it has hanged four people it claims were engaged in “sabotage” on behalf of Israel.
They were executed in Iran’s north-west province of West Azerbaijan, the judiciary’s Mizan website reported.
Continue reading...China names former navy chief Dong Jun as new defence minister
Appointment comes two months after Li Shangfu was ousted from the role amid corruption allegations
China has announced the appointment of a new defence minister, two months after the previous office holder Li Shangfu was stripped from his position without explanation.
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress – China’s de facto legislature – announced on Friday that Dong Jun, 62, would be the new defence minister. Dong was most recently the chief of China’s navy.
Continue reading...Weather tracker: rain batters Argentina and DRC as fog shrouds India and Pakistan
Turkey also affected by fog, with 10 killed and 57 injured in serious road crash involving three buses
During the Christmas period, parts of South America experienced intense showers and thunderstorms, resulting in substantial rainfall in various regions. On Monday, more than 100mm of rain fell in the Catamarca province in Argentina, which led to flash floods. A sudden surge in river water levels then caused the collapse of a pedestrian bridge, which was the only link between the towns of Rincón and Pomán. While many other roads in the region were damaged and houses were flooded, no casualties were reported.
The unique topography of Catamarca aided the formation of a near-stationary convective shower over Pomán, unleashing several hours of torrential rain and causing catastrophic flooding.
Continue reading...Berlin’s plan for driverless magnetic trains derided by climate groups
Local government proposal to revive 1980s M-Bahn described as energy-hogging and vain fantasy project
Plans for a driverless magnetic train that would swoop through Berlin and carry passengers and goods are under way as part of the local government’s attempts to boost the German capital’s green credentials.
The project, put forward by the city’s new conservative-led government, is said to have sufficient political backing and, say its backers, would help Berlin achieve its goal to become net zero by 2045.
Continue reading...China cracks down on negativity over economy in bid to boost confidence
Record high youth unemployment and struggling property sector are among increasingly sensitive topics
China is cracking down on negative commentary about the financial market and other sectors as the authorities seek to boost public confidence despite challenging economic headwinds.
This month the Weibo account Weibo Finance, which has more than 1.5 million followers, issued an instruction against posting any comments “that bad-mouth the economy”. The post appears to have since been deleted. Bloomberg reported that several other finance influencers had been told by Weibo to “avoid crossing red lines” and to post less about the economy. Weibo did not reply to a request for comment.
Continue reading...‘It’s a golden age’: poetry flourishes in Ukraine – but at a terrible price
Conflict has changed Ukrainian poetry and boosted interest at home and abroad, but several poets have died or disappeared
A year ago, the poet Borys Humenyuk sent a final message. For 24 hours, he and two fellow Ukrainian soldiers had been under relentless Russian fire. Shells rained down on their trench outside the eastern city of Bakhmut. “We’re running out of ammo. Down to the last bullet,” Humenyuk said over a crackling radio. Those were his last words.
Humenyuk had volunteered to relieve a group of exhausted service personnel at “zero”, the hottest part of the frontline. Now, he explained, he was wounded in the shoulder and unable to drag his injured comrade to safety. “We are stuck,” he reported. By the time an evacuation team reached the trench in the village of Klishchiivka, Humenyuk had disappeared.
Continue reading...Liberia fuel tanker explosion kills at least 40
Witnesses say people climbed on to vehicle to gather petrol after tanker overturned on roadside
More than 40 people have been killed and dozens badly burned when a petrol tanker exploded in central Liberia, the country’s chief medical officer has said.
Witnesses said people clambered on to the lorry to try collect petrol leaking from its tank after it crashed and tipped into a ditch along a road in Totota, about 130 kilometres (80 miles) from the capital Monrovia on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Man survives flight from Algeria to Paris hidden in plane’s landing gear
Unidentified man in life-threatening condition after enduring temperatures of around -50C on Air Algerie flight from Oran
A man has been discovered hidden in the landing gear compartment of a commercial aircraft that flew into Paris from Algeria with severe hypothermia but alive, French authorities have said.
The man, believed to be in his 20s, was found during technical checks after the Air Algerie flight from Oran, Algeria, landed at Paris’s Orly airport in mid-morning, prosecutors told AFP.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 674
Bulk carrier hit by Russian mine in Black Sea; Zelenskiy thanks US for latest weapons package amid uncertainty over future aid
Continue reading...Moscow court hands long jail terms to two men for reciting poetry
Artyom Kamardin, 33, got seven years after attending anti-Ukraine war protest and Yegor Shtovba, 23, was given five and a half
A Moscow court on Thursday sentenced two men to years in prison for taking part in the recital of verses against the Ukraine campaign during an anti-mobilisation protest last year.
Artyom Kamardin, 33, received a seven-year sentence for reciting a poem, and Yegor Shtovba, 23, was sentenced to five and a half years for attending the protest. The two were seen behind a glass partition in a heavily guarded courtroom.
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