Category Archives: World News

Xi Jinping suggests China will send new pandas to US as ‘envoys of friendship’

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Chinese president signalled that the pandas would be sent after his first face-to-face meeting with Joe Biden in 12 months

Chinese president Xi Jinping signalled on Wednesday evening that China will send new pandas to the United States, calling them “envoys of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples”.

“We are ready to continue our cooperation with the United States on panda conservation, and do our best to meet the wishes of the Californians so as to deepen the friendly ties between our two peoples,” Xi said during a dinner speech with business leaders.

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Joe Biden hails progress after Xi Jinping talks but Taiwan still the sticking point

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Account of the summit from China’s foreign ministry was mixed, portraying Xi as having taken a tough line, telling Biden to stop arming Taiwan

Joe Biden has claimed that his summit meeting with Xi Jinping has brought substantial progress, including agreements on limiting narcotics trafficking, restoring militaries lines of communication, and to start talking about the global risks posed by artificial intelligence.

However, it was clear that after more than four hours of talks in a mansion outside San Francisco, the meeting had not brought the US and China any closer on the fate of Taiwan, which Xi reportedly told Biden was “the biggest, most potentially dangerous issue in US-China relations”.

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‘Planet Earth is big enough for two’: Biden and Xi meet for first time in a year

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US and Chinese presidents meet in San Francisco to discuss the economy, climate, military relations and Taiwan

Joe Biden and Xi Jinping met in California on Wednesday, exchanging handshakes and smiles as they embarked on face-to-face dialogues that both sides hope will stabilise US-China relations.

The US president opened his remarks by saying that tensions between the two countries should “not veer into conflict”.

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UN security council backs resolution calling for humanitarian pause in Gaza

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Resolution calls for release of hostages held by Hamas and for humanitarian corridors across the Gaza Strip

Six weeks after the start of the war in Gaza, the UN security council has come together to back a resolution calling for “urgent extended humanitarian pauses for [a] sufficient number of days to allow aid access” to the embattled territory.

The vote late on Wednesday overcame an impasse which saw four unsuccessful attempts to adopt a resolution.

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Marjorie Taylor Greene claims Democrats failed to defend House from Capitol rioters

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Extremist Republican says in book ‘not one Democrat was willing to stay to defend the chamber’ but claim rejected as ‘patently false’

In a new book, the extremist Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene claims no Democrats stayed in the House chamber on January 6 to help defend it against rioters sent by Donald Trump to block the certification of Joe Biden’s election win – a claim one Democrat who did stay labeled “patently false”.

Greene’s book, MTG, will be published next week. The Guardian obtained a copy.

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French art expert faces trial for allegedly forging 18th-century furniture

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Bill Pallot is charged with building pieces to sell at high prices to buyers including Palace of Versailles

A leading French art expert is to face trial on charges of forgery for building furniture that he falsely claimed to be from the 18th century and that was sold at high prices to buyers who included the Palace of Versailles.

Bill Pallot, an expert on 18th-century French furniture, is charged with implementing the scam between 2008 and 2015, in one of the biggest forgery scandals to rock the art world in recent years.

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Ukraine says ‘foothold’ on Dnipro River’s east bank will open up route to Crimea

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Russian officials acknowledge presence of Ukrainian troops, reported to be engaged in heavy fighting

Ukrainian troops have established a foothold on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, officials from Russia and Ukraine have acknowledged, in an operation that Kyiv says will open new avenues of attack toward Crimea.

Estimates of the number of Ukrainian troops involved range from dozens to several hundred and they are reported to be engaged in heavy fighting with Russian forces on the far side of the river.

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Israel-Hamas war: Israel launches strikes on Hezbollah-linked sites in Lebanon – as it happened

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This blog has closed. You can read all our coverage of the Israel-Hamas war here and our latest full report here

Here is the Israeli announcement from early on Wednesday morning announcing that it was carrying out an operation inside al-Shifa hospital.

The IDF said on its english-language account on X:

Operational Update: IDF forces are carrying out a precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area in the Shifa Hospital, based on intelligence information and an operational necessity. The IDF is conducting a ground operation in Gaza to defeat Hamas and rescue our hostages. Israel is at war with Hamas, not with the civilians in Gaza.

The IDF forces include medical teams and Arabic speakers, who have undergone specified training to prepare for this complex and sensitive environment, with the intent that no harm is caused to the civilians being used by Hamas as human shields.

In recent weeks, the IDF has publicly warned time and again that Hamas’ continued military use of the Shifa hospital jeopardizes its protected status under international law, and enabled ample time to stop this unlawful abuse of the hospital.

Yesterday, the IDF conveyed to the relevant authorities in Gaza once again that all military activities within the hospital must cease within 12 hours. Unfortunately, they did not.

The IDF has also facilitated wide-scale evacuations of the hospital and maintained regular dialogue with hospital authorities. We call upon all Hamas terrorists present in the hospital to surrender.

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Biden: China and US military to resume ‘open, clear communications on a direct basis’ – as it happened

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This blog is now closed. Read our full story at the link below:

Despite the US and China’s joint climate plan being welcomed by experts, the plan lacks specific emission reductions or a commitment to phase out fossil fuels.

The Guardian’s Oliver Milman reports:

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Turkey’s Erdoğan calls Israel ‘terror state’ as he condemns Gaza hospital raid

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International pressure grows for proof of Hamas HQ at al-Shifa as military operation continues

Turkey has led international diplomatic condemnation of Israel after its troops entered the Shifa hospital complex in Gaza, as the UN and aid agencies expressed concern about the impact of the Israeli operation on staff and patients.

Speaking in parliament, Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, described Israel as a “terror state” that was committing war crimes and violating international law in Gaza, and he repeated his view that Hamas was not a terrorist organisation.

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Cyprus police investigate how Russian tycoon moved £1bn on day he was put under sanctions

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Cypriot government and EU respond to revelations over apparent role of local companies in helping oligarchs shield wealth

The Cyprus police force is investigating how an oligarch attempted to transfer a £1bn stake in a public company on the day he was placed under EU sanctions, government insiders have told the Guardian.

News of the involvement of the financial crime squad came as the Cypriot government and the European Union responded to revelations that local service providers appear to have played a key role in enabling Russian oligarchs to shield assets from EU sanctions within days of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

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Sunak pins hopes on a new Rwanda asylum pact after supreme court defeat

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Whitehall sources say it could take more than a year for any treaty to be passed, with next election looming

Rishi Sunak is attempting to finalise a new pact with Rwanda after a central plank of the British government’s immigration plans was ripped up by the supreme court.

A treaty, which would have to be ratified by the UK parliament, was being drawn up with the government in Kigali, the prime minister said.

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Concerns as China welcomes David Cameron’s return as foreign secretary

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Critics raise concerns that PM during ‘golden era’ of UK-China relations has maintained ties with Beijing

Chinese state media have welcomed the appointment of the former prime minister David Cameron as the UK’s foreign secretary, as opponents of Beijing raised concerns about the return of a figure closely associated with the “golden era” of UK-China relations.

In an editorial published on Tuesday, the Chinese state tabloid the Global Times said Cameron “could potentially play a constructive role, both in mending the UK’s relations with China and in rebuilding and advancing the UK’s post-Brexit diplomatic landscape”.

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Most Americans think Israel should call ceasefire to war against Hamas, poll shows

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Some 32% of respondents said ‘US should support Israel’, down from 41% who said the US should back Israel in an October poll

US public support for Israel’s war against Hamas militants in Gaza is eroding and most Americans think Israel should call a ceasefire to a conflict that has ballooned into a humanitarian crisis, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Some 32% of respondents in the two-day opinion poll, which closed on Tuesday, said “the US should support Israel” when asked what role the United States should take in the fighting. That was down from 41% who said the US should back Israel in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted on 12-13 October.

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Israeli soldiers raid al-Shifa hospital in escalation of Gaza offensive

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Head of the World Health Organization calls decision to send troops into hospital ‘totally unacceptable’

Israeli soldiers were inside Gaza’s largest hospital on Wednesday after an early morning raid that drew fierce condemnation from the head of the World Health Organization, who called it “totally unacceptable”.

The decision to send troops into al-Shifa hospital marked an escalation of Israel’s offensive in Gaza, amid increased calls for a ceasefire. Witnesses reported seeing tanks and masked soldiers in the grounds of the hospital around 3am as patients and civilians remained trapped inside.

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Slovakian prime minister sparks alarm with threat to restrict media

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Robert Fico describes leading broadcasters and newspapers as hostile and says they are ‘unwelcome guests at government office’

Slovakian journalists and international watchdogs have expressed alarm after the new prime minister, Robert Fico, described leading media outlets as hostile and threatened to restrict their access.

Fico, who took over as Slovakia’s leader in October as part of a coalition government led by his populist Smer party, said this week that some of the country’s biggest outlets were not welcome in his office.

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German publisher halts sale of top author’s books after leak reveals he received €600,000 from Putin ally

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Broadcaster NDR launches investigation after Hubert Seipel admits receiving support for work on two books on Russian leader

A German publisher has announced a stop to the sale of books authored by a leading journalist and Russia expert after an investigation showed he had received at least €600,000 (£522,000) in undisclosed offshore payments from companies linked to an oligarch close to Vladimir Putin.

Hubert Seipel, an award-winning film-maker and author, admitted receiving support for his work on two books charting the Russian leader’s rise to power and offering portrayals described as sympathetic to him.

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Bangladesh garment workers fighting for pay face brutal violence and threats

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Workers describe hands and arms being targeted in ‘merciless’ beatings as protests over low wages turn increasingly violent in Dhaka

When Masuma Akhtar arrived at the garment factory where she works on the outskirts of Dhaka on 31 October, she was expecting a normal shift. Instead, she was met with brute violence. “The moment I walked through the factory gates, a group of armed men began beating me with wooden sticks,” says Akhtar. “I fell down on to the ground. Even then they wouldn’t stop beating me.”

Akhtar, 22, is a seamstress at Dekko Knitwears in Mirpur, where she spends long days churning out clothes for western fashion brands, including Marks & Spencer, C&A and PVH Corp, which owns Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein.

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Cargo plane forced to return to New York after horse escapes from crate

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Boeing 747 cargo plane turns back after horse becomes untethered in flight and pilot says ‘We cannot get the horse back secured’

A cargo plane heading for Belgium was forced to return to New York City after a horse escaped from its crate on board.

The horse became loose on the Boeing 747 cargo plane within 30 minutes of the plane’s initial takeoff, according to the audio clips from air traffic control that were reconstructed on YouTube, ABC News reported.

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Putin ally wired £3.7m into UK via Cyprus after Ukraine invasion, documents suggest

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Petr Aven, a UK-based billionaire who owns a Surrey mansion, is under UK and EU sanctions

He is a billionaire Russian oligarch who has been closely linked to Vladimir Putin for three decades.

And for years Petr Aven also enjoyed the trappings of London high society, as a trustee and donor of the Royal Academy of Arts, as well as owning three multimillion-pound UK properties, including one in the ultra-wealthy Surrey enclave of Virginia Water.

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