Category Archives: World News

Israeli military says its troops shot and killed three hostages by mistake

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IDF identifies hostages killed as Yotam Haim, Alon Shamriz and Samer El-Talalqa, saying they were mistakenly believed to be a threat

The Israeli military has said that its troops shot and killed three hostages being held by Hamas after mistakenly identifying them as a threat during fighting in a battle-torn neighbourhood of Gaza City.

The announcement on Friday came amid heavy fighting across the embattled territory that led to an influx of dead and wounded into hospitals in Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah.

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Orbán must not hold EU hostage over Ukraine, Macron says

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French president accuses Hungarian PM of being dishonest to the public about his reasons for vetoing aid

Viktor Orbán must not be allowed to take the EU “hostage”, Emmanuel Macron has said, after the Hungarian prime minister blocked a €50bn EU aid package for Ukraine in the early hours of Friday.

As leaders of the European Union start working on the details of Plan B to raise the money through cash and loans, the French president said Orbán was being dishonest to the public about his reasons for vetoing the financial package and would ultimately come around.

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Bernie Sanders demands answers on Israel’s ‘indiscriminate’ Gaza bombing

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Senator introduces resolution to investigate ‘humanitarian cataclysm … being done with American bombs and money’

The US’s support for Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza is facing new scrutiny in Washington following a resolution by the independent senator Bernie Sanders that could ultimately be used to curtail military assistance.

It is far from clear whether Sanders has the support to pass the resolution, but its introduction in the Senate this week – by an important progressive ally of the US president Joe Biden – highlights mounting human rights and political concerns by Democrats on Capitol Hill.

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Lufthansa to resume flights to Tel Aviv in January – as it happened

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This blog is now closed. See all our Israel-Gaza war coverage here

The Israeli heritage minister, Amichai Eliyahu, of Otzma Yehudit, the far-right party led by Itamar Ben-Gvir, said in a radio interview that the Gaza Strip must be “fully” occupied.

In comments reported by Haaretz, Eliyahu said: “Anyone who sells an illusion that [Hamas] will return to manage things does not want to remember what happened on Simhat Torah.”

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Satanic Temple condemns vandalism of its statue by Christian military veteran

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Michael Cassidy arrested over tearing down of satanic altar – symbol of humanism and anti-authoritarianism – at Iowa capitol

The leader of an organization whose satanic altar at Iowa’s state capitol was torn down by a Christian military veteran Thursday has dismissed the vandalism as “a real act of cowardice”.

“There’s a certain point at which we need some adults in the room to tell people what … liberal, democratic values are; what they’re value is; why we uphold them; what they’re good for; and they need to stand up for these values or we are going to further degenerate in our polarism towards autocracy,” the co-founder of the Satanic Temple, Lucien Greaves, told CNN’s NewsNight on Thursday.

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UK terror threat level under close review after foiled alleged attack plot in Europe

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Arrests in Germany and the Netherlands increase fears that Jewish institutions in the UK could be targeted by Hamas

Britain’s terror threat level is being kept under “very close” review amid concerns that extremist groups could target Jewish institutions in the UK, a day after German prosecutors said they had foiled a Hamas attack plot by making four arrests.

MI5 and counter-terror police indicated they were focused on whether the war in the Middle East could galvanise extremists into taking violent action, as Israel’s intense bombing of Gaza extends to its third month.

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Alex Batty fled across Pyrenees after mother planned Finland move, French police say

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British teen allegedly kidnapped in 2017 told passing driver ‘I need a future’ after he was found in remote corner of France

A British teenager allegedly kidnapped by his mother six years ago fled across the Pyrenees after she announced plans to take him to Finland, French police have said.

Alex Batty, 17, told a passing driver “I need a future” after he was found in a remote corner of south-west France in the early hours of Wednesday, carrying only a skateboard and €100 in cash.

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Macron confident Orbán can be persuaded to support funding for Kyiv: EU summit – as it happened

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French president says Hungarian leader told him he would not block aid to Ukraine ‘if rules are met’. This live blog is closed

Albin Kurti, Kosovo’s prime minister, called the EU’s decision to open accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova a “historic moment” – but also used the opportunity to underscore that enlargement to the western Balkans “is the best way to bolster peace & security across the continent”.

As one of the most democratic & pro-EU states in the region, Kosovo should be granted candidate status w/o delay.

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Ukraine confident it will secure €50bn in EU aid despite Orbán veto

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Kyiv hopeful ‘all necessary legal procedures’ will be completed at EU summit in January

Ukraine has expressed confidence it will receive a €50bn aid package from the EU, despite Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, vetoing the funding at a crucial summit in Brussels.

In a statement, the foreign ministry in Kyiv shrugged off Orbán’s blocking tactics. It said it expected “all necessary legal procedures” to be completed at an EU summit in January, with the aid delivered “as soon as possible”.

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Israeli forces recover body of French-Israeli hostage in Gaza

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Elya Toledano was among estimated 240 hostages taken during Hamas attacks on 7 October

The Israeli army has recovered the body of the French-Israeli hostage Elya Toledano, who was kidnapped and taken to Gaza by militants during the 7 October attacks.

Toledano, who turned 28 in captivity, was among an estimated 240 people taken hostage during the Hamas attacks in southern Israel. A resident of Tel Aviv, he was at the Nova music festival along with his friend and fellow French-Israeli Mia Schem, who was released under a truce agreement at the end of November.

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Israel says it will open new aid crossing into Gaza Strip

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Announcement follows pressure from allies in US to alleviate humanitarian crisis in besieged territory

Israel has said it will open a new aid crossing into the Gaza Strip in the face of pressure from allies in Washington to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the besieged territory and wind down its wide-scale bombings and armoured ground operations against Hamas.

The Kerem Shalom crossing between Gaza and Israel, previously used for goods and aid deliveries, would reopen to process humanitarian supplies, the office of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Friday.

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Police officer stoned to death after rescuing FGM survivors in Kenya

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Activists see the killing as a setback in the efforts to eliminate the practice, despite it being illegal in the east African country

Efforts to eradicate female genital mutilation in Kenya have suffered a setback after a police officer was killed in a confrontation with a gang of youths.

Activists and local leaders condemned the murder, calling it a backward step in the fight to eradicate the practice in the country. Police in Elgeyo Marakwet county, in the Rift Valley region, had taken a group of girls who had been forced to undergo the illegal procedure to hospital when a mob of young men stormed a police station and stoned Cpl Mushote Boma to death.

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The Crown promised riches to First Nations in Canada – over 150 years on, they could finally get billions

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In northern Ontario, a dozen First Nations have been left struggling. A court’s attempt at compensation could see them getting up to C$126bn

Only 25 miles of road lie between the northern Ontario town of Terrace Bay and Pays Plat First Nation. But when Raymond Goodchild was growing up, that distance spanned entire worlds.

Terrace Bay in the 1960s was often smothered by a thick smoke billowing from pulp mills. As in much of postwar Canada, industry thrived and jobs were plentiful. Roads and sidewalks were paved, and homes glowed at night with electric lighting.

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Weather tracker: first snow of winter in Beijing causes widespread disruption

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Transport hit in Chinese capital as cold spell expected to continue across north of country through weekend

Heavy snowfall affected China last weekend in regions north of the Yangtze River, with Beijing experiencing its first snow of the season.

As a consequence of the snow and ice, more than 180 bus routes were suspended across the city on Monday, with several trains and flights delayed or cancelled. Henan province, south of Beijing, had big falls over the weekend, with many areas recording depths of 100mm and even, in some places, up to 150mm.

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Beijing rush-hour metro collision leaves more than 100 people with fractures

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The rear-end collision happened in the Chinese capital, which has been hit by snow storms in recent days

An evening rush-hour accident on the Beijing metro left 102 people with fractures after a rear-end collision on an above-ground section of tracks, state media said.

The Chinese capital – where such incidents are rare – has been hit by snowstorms in recent days, affecting operating conditions and resulting in transport delays across the city.

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Cop28 president says his firm will keep investing in oil

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Exclusive: Sultan Al Jaber says Adnoc has to meet demand for fossil fuels, and hails ‘unprecedented’ Cop deal

The president of the Cop28 climate summit will continue with his oil company’s record investment in oil and gas production, despite coordinating a global deal to “transition away” from fossil fuels.

Sultan Al Jaber, who is also the chief executive of the United Arab Emirates’ national oil and gas company, Adnoc, told the Guardian the company had to satisfy demand for fossil fuels.

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Biden in a bind as Netanhayu ready to flout any US attempt to rein in Israel

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Israel PM has defied US calls for restraint in Gaza and told domestic audience he will not compromise

US efforts to show it retains significant influence over the Israeli government were dealt a double blow on Thursday when the Israeli defence minister said it would take months to complete the task of rooting out Hamas, and a leaked US intelligence assessment revealed up to 45% of the 29,000 air-to-ground munitions that Israel has dropped on Gaza since 7 October have been unguided “dumb bombs”.

The predictions of a months-long campaign were delivered on camera by Yoav Gallant to a stony-faced Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, who had arrived in Israel to convey a message that its campaign needed to change – and preferably be wrapped up in weeks. They were later reinforced by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Neyanyahu, who said Israel would not stop until complete victory.

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Guyana and Venezuela promise not to use force in bitter dispute over oil rich region

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Joint commission composed of foreign ministers of both countries will address the problem, with a report expected within three months

The leaders of Guyana and Venezuela promised in a tense meeting that neither side would use threats or force against the other, but failed to reach agreement on how to address a bitter dispute over a vast border region rich with oil and minerals that has concerned many in the region.

Instead, a joint commission composed of the foreign ministers of both countries and other officials will address the problem, with a report expected within three months.

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British boy missing since 2017 Spanish holiday found in France

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Alex Batty was 11 when allegedly abducted by mother and grandfather to give him ‘alternative lifestyle’

A British boy who has not been seen by his legal guardian since he went missing on a family holiday to Spain in 2017 has been found in France.

Alex Batty, from Oldham, was 11 and under the guardianship of his grandmother Susan Caruana when he was allegedly abducted by his mother, Melanie Batty, and grandfather, David Batty.

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Israel tells US it needs ‘months’ to defeat Hamas

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Defence minister addresses US national security adviser as Biden administration presses for end to war

Israel will fight on until “absolute victory against Hamas”, the country’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told a senior official from the Biden administration, as another minister said the war could last “more than several months”.

Netanyahu’s comments were made to Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden’s national security adviser, during a visit to Israel hours after its defence minister, Yoav Gallant, told Sullivan that many more months were needed to defeat Hamas in Gaza.

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