Russian missile kills one on civilian vessel at Odesa, says Ukraine military; Ukraine intelligence confirms role in car bomb killing of Russia-backed official
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China has a history of being pro-Palestinian, but now faces diplomatic conundrum
Rivalry with US and current of antisemitism are running up against Beijing’s increasing closeness to Israel
China was an early proponent of a ceasefire in Gaza and has called for wider talks on resolving the Palestinian question. But analysts say the situation is complicated, and it’s not clear what Beijing expects to achieve, and how it can get there.
Beijing has been a supporter of the Palestinians since the Mao era and long called for a two-state solution, but it is increasingly close to Israel, and is presenting itself as a neutral party that holds steadfast to a noninterference principle.
Continue reading...Failure to save 27 lives in Channel exacerbated by confusion and lack of resources
Report identifies lack of aerial surveillance and personnel as contributing to deaths when small boat sank in 2021
Attempts to save 27 people who drowned in the deadliest Channel disaster for more than 40 years were compromised by confusion, lack of resources and poor communication between the UK and France, a report has found.
A failed operation to reach a stricken dinghy on 24 November 2021 identified the wrong boat, the report says. A Border Force cutter rescued 98 people in three other boats that night, but not those on the dinghy carrying the 27 who died.
Continue reading...Ukrainian PoWs being sent to fight their own army, Russian news claims
Unverified footage from state media shows captured soldiers swearing allegiance to Russia as part of new battalion
Russia is sending Ukrainian prisoners of war to the frontlines of their homeland to fight on Moscow’s side in the war, the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti has reported.
Video from RIA Novosti released on Tuesday showed the Ukrainians swearing allegiance to Russia, holding rifles and dressed in military fatigues to fight in a battalion named for medieval nobleman Bogdan Khmelnitsky, seen as a national hero in Russia for bringing parts of Ukraine under Moscow’s control in the 15th century.
Continue reading...Ivanka tells court she does not recall details of Trump Organization loans correspondence – live
Former US president’s eldest daughter echoes her brothers’s testimony, saying she does not recall much about loan correspondence
- Full report: ‘I’m not an accountant’ – Ivanka Trump testifies
- At a glance: what we’ve learned from testimony
Given that James’s case involves Trump’s alleged overvaluation of assets, the state is trying to undermine any claim that property valuations also included potential value – effectively, the position there wasn’t anything wrong with seemingly oversized sums because of what the real estate could amount to.
Donald Trump claimed on Monday in court, for example, that the valuation of his golf resort in Aberdeen, Scotland, was legitimate, because he could build hundreds of houses there “anytime I want”. He also said: “There’s nothing wrong with sitting on a property and waiting if you’re willing to play their game.”
Continue reading...Uyghur film-maker claims he was tortured by authorities in China
Ikram Nurmehmet, a director known for his Uyghur protagonists, is facing charges related to ‘separatism’ and ‘terrorism’
A Uyghur film-maker has alleged he was tortured and forced to give a false confession during detention in Xinjiang province.
Ikram Nurmehmet, 32, appeared on trial at Ürümqi people’s intermediary court on 27 October and is accused of organising “terrorist” activities and participating in an “East Turkestan separatist” group, sources close to him told the Guardian.
Continue reading...Economists warn electing far-right Milei would spell ‘devastation’ for Argentina
More than 100 economists including Thomas Piketty and Jayati Ghosh publish open letter ahead of country’s 19 November election
The election of the radical rightwing economist Javier Milei as president of Argentina would probably inflict further economic “devastation” and social chaos on the South American country, a group of more than 100 leading economists has warned.
In an open letter, published ahead of Argentina’s crunch 19 November election, the economists said they understood the “deep-seated desire for economic stability” among voters, given Argentina’s frequent financial crises and recurring bouts of very high inflation.
Continue reading...Israeli diplomat pressured US college to drop course on ‘apartheid’ debate
Consul Yuval Donio-Gideon objected to course at Bard College but president says institution ‘stood up for academic freedom’
An Israeli diplomat tried to persuade a leading New York college to cancel a course about the growing debate over whether the Jewish state practices a form of apartheid in the Palestine.
The Israeli consul for public diplomacy in New York, Yuval Donio-Gideon, took the highly unusual step of contacting Bard College earlier this year to object to the course, Apartheid in Israel-Palestine, on the grounds that it breached the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.
Continue reading...Moldova and Ukraine’s accelerated path to EU marks Russia’s waning influence
Invasion of Ukraine has fast-tracked timetable for the countries to join bloc after years of ‘economic warfare’
- European Commission backs talks on Ukraine and Moldova EU membership
- Europe live – latest updates
- Russia-Ukraine war – latest news updates
Long before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow had already been accused of launching an economic war against its neighbours. With bullying, cajoling and outright threats, the Kremlin’s campaign to warn its former Soviet subjects away from the EU involved telling them they would be blocked from the Russian market and its own customs union, and face cutoffs of crucial supplies of natural gas.
Wednesday’s recommendation by the European Commission to open EU accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova marks the latest casualty of the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine: its own war for economic domination, or at least competitiveness, in eastern Europe.
Continue reading...Industrial robot crushes man to death in South Korean distribution centre
Machine apparently identified man inspecting it as one of the boxes it was stacking
A robot crushed a man to death in South Korea after the machine apparently failed to differentiate him from the boxes of produce it was handling, the Yonhap news agency reported on Wednesday.
The man, a robotics company worker in his 40s, was inspecting the robot’s sensor operations at a distribution centre for agricultural produce in South Gyeongsang province.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war: current US funds for Ukraine are 96% depleted, says White House – as it happened
National security council spokesperson says US has used majority of funds it has allocated for Ukraine
The Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, hosted a top Chinese general and defence delegation in Moscow on Wednesday for talks to “deepen” military cooperation with Beijing as Russia’s troops fight on in Ukraine.
Shoigu welcomed Zhang Youxia, a high-ranking general and vice-chair of Beijing’s central military commission, in a red carpet ceremony in Moscow.
We, unlike some aggressive western countries, are not creating a military bloc. Relations between Russia and China are an example of strategic cooperation, based on trust and respect.
I am sure that today’s meeting will be another step to deepen the multi-profile links between our countries and military departments.
Patrushev is the secretary of the security council. He is part of the Kremlin. And his statements are statements from the Kremlin.
As for the Russian Federation, we have a doctrine where everything is clearly spelled out. There are no changes. This is confirmed by the president.
Continue reading...Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have killed dozens of Hamas commanders, says IDF
Troops have entered Gaza City and fighting is under way but analysts say there is no sign yet Hamas is significantly weaker
Israeli airstrikes in Gaza have killed dozens of Hamas commanders as troops advance deeper into the battered territory, with some fighting in “the heart of Gaza City”, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) officials and analysts have said.
However, there were doubts over the importance of the dead commanders within Hamas, and analysts said there was no obvious sign that the organisation had yet been significantly weakened.
Continue reading...Two with suspected Hezbollah links held in Brazil over alleged terror plot
Arrests made by police on Wednesday over reported plot to launch terror attacks against Jewish community in Brazil
Brazilian federal police have arrested two men with suspected links to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah who were reportedly plotting to launch terror attacks against the Jewish community in Brazil.
The arrests were made on Wednesday during what police called an operation to “interrupt preparations for acts of terrorism and obtain evidence about the possible recruitment of Brazilians to commit of extremist acts”.
Continue reading...European Commission backs talks on Ukraine and Moldova EU membership
Negotiations with Kyiv should formally be launched when it fulfils conditions in areas such as fighting corruption, report says
- Analysis: Moldova and Ukraine’s accelerated accession to EU marks Russia’s waning influence
- Europe live – latest updates
The European Commission has recommended that formal EU membership negotiations should begin with Ukraine and Moldova in a move its president, Ursula von der Leyen, described as a response to “the call of history”.
In a 1,200-page report on future enlargement of the 27-member bloc, the EU said talks should formally be launched once Kyiv satisfied remaining conditions related to stepping up the fight against corruption, adopting a law on lobbying in line with EU standards and strengthening national minority safeguards.
Continue reading...European enlargement in ‘common interest’, Von der Leyen tells EU parliament – as it happened
EU Commission president says there is ‘sense of urgency to unite European family’ as Ukraine and Moldova take first step towards joining
“The neighbourhood, our neighbourhood has to choose where they want to go,” the commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said in her press conference.
“And the western Balkans, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine chose very clearly where they want to go,” she added.
If you look into the report and you see the list of reforms, it shows determination, the steadfastness and the political will of the population the people.
I’m very confident that Moldova will move on because your track record is impressive under very difficult circumstances.
Continue reading...More than half of black people surveyed in Germany report racism
Other findings include nearly 20% of black people suffering repeated harassment, and targeting of Muslims and Asians
More than half of black people living in Germany have experienced racism, with nearly 20% saying they have been subjected to repeated threats or harassment, a first-time survey of more than 21,000 people across the country has revealed.
The findings, published this week by the German Centre for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM), also showed that about 13% of Muslims and 12% of Asians experienced threats or harassment at least several times a year.
Continue reading...Half of Australia left without internet or phone as Optus crashes
10 million people are cut off, train systems fall down and businesses cannot make sales in outage lasting hours
Nearly half the Australian population were left without internet or phone service on Wednesday, when the country’s second largest telecommunications provider crashed and cut off 10 million people from Sydney to Perth and all points in between.
Those affected woke up on Wednesday morning to find they could not log on or make a call, train systems fell down, and businesses could not complete sales because their tap and pay machines were offline.
Continue reading...Israel cannot reoccupy Gaza at end of conflict, says Antony Blinken
US secretary of state echoes White House line, while UK favours rule by ‘peace-loving Palestinian leadership’
Israel must not reoccupy Gaza, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has said, adding however that Israel might control the territory for a transition period.
The comments, made at the end of a G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Japan, echoed White House remarks on Tuesday suggesting opposition to a long-term occupation of Gaza.
Continue reading...‘We are living in absolute fear’: call to stop Indigenous evictions in Rift Valley
Human rights groups demand Kenyan government halt forced evictions of Ogiek community from Mau forest
Human rights groups are calling for the Kenyan government to halt forced evictions of the Indigenous Ogiek community from their ancestral land in the Rift Valley.
“We are calling for an immediate cessation of ongoing demolitions and the evictions,” said Cyrus Maweu, deputy director of Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).
Continue reading...South Korea launches campaign to squash bedbugs after outbreak takes hold
Bedbugs were almost eradicated via nationwide campaign in 1960s but thanks to lifting of travel restrictions after Covid-19 pandemic they’re back
South Korea’s government has declared war on bedbugs, amid reports that an infestation is causing panic in a country that had practically rid itself of the nocturnal bloodsuckers.
Starting next week, authorities will carry out inspections of “vulnerable” locations – including public bathhouses and lodging facilities – and immediately disinfect places where the bugs are found.
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