Cheng Lei: Australian journalist released after three years in Chinese detention

Anthony Albanese announces Cheng has been freed and is back in Australia after being detained in August 2020 over national security-related accusations

The Australian journalist Cheng Lei – jailed for three years in China on ill-defined allegations of sharing Chinese state secrets overseas – has been freed and reunited with her family in Australia.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese,said she had been returned to Australia on Wednesday afternoon.

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FGM ban in the Gambia under threat as calls grow to repeal law

Women’s rights campaigners denounce ‘hugely regressive’ proposals from political and religious leaders to decriminalise practice

Political and religious leaders in the Gambia are threatening to introduce a bill to decriminalise female genital mutilation, eight years after the practice was outlawed.

Members of the country’s national assembly have backed a proposal for the 2015 law to be scrapped while the Supreme Islamic Council has issued a fatwa condemning anyone who denounces the practice and calling for the government to reconsider the legislation.

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Governments scramble to evacuate citizens from Israel amid pleas for help

Countries including Canada, Germany and Australia organise evacuation flights while the US and UK insist commercial options still available as Israeli forces gather near Gaza

Countries around the world have been scrambling to evacuate their citizens from Israel after the deadly attack launched by Palestinian militants at the weekend, while some foreigners, faced with cancelled flights, have pleaded for help from their governments.

People from the US, Australia, Argentina, Cambodia, Canada, Nepal, Thailand, Russia, the UK, Ukraine and France and elsewhere are confirmed to be among those killed in the violence.

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Wednesday briefing: Is Britain about to get invaded by bedbugs?

In today’s newsletter: With Paris under siege by these tiny, blood-sucking terrors, many on the other side of the Channel are wondering if they’re next – and what can be done

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Good morning. Paris is being overrun by bedbugs, at a time when the country is hosting the Rugby World Cup and preparing to host the 2024 Olympics. The news has alarmed people living in France and those visiting: in a moment of particularly acute panic, the deputy mayor of the French capital declared that “no one is safe”, which certainly intensified the concern.

A bedbug epidemic on the other side of the Channel has unsurprisingly left many people worried that the hordes of insects are about to hop on a direct train to St Pancras International and invade the UK. London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, has said everything is being done to ensure that the problem does not get out of control, though he has acknowledged that it is a “real cause for concern”. Transport for London is disinfecting seats on buses and tubes every day and Khan is also in contact with Eurostar.

Gaza | A massive Israeli military buildup is continuing along Gaza’s border, as the country’s military confirmed the death toll from Saturday’s Hamas attack – the deadliest militant assault in its history – had passed 1,200 and wave after wave of airstrikes hit the territory.

Labour | Keir Starmer has made a direct appeal for “despairing” Conservative voters to back Labour at the next election, telling them he would repair a Britain broken by 13 years of Tory governments.

Bibby Stockholm | The Home Office plans to return asylum seekers to the Bibby Stockholm barge next week following a lengthy evacuation after legionella was found there.

Disinformation | The EU has issued a warning to Elon Musk over the alleged disinformation about the Hamas attack on Israel, including fake news and “repurposed old images”, on X, which was formerly known as Twitter.

Luton airport | A major incident has been declared at London Luton airport after a huge fire broke out at a car park in the terminal, with all flights being suspended.

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Record number of Poles abroad register to vote in election

Total expected to surpass 600,000 as polls suggest close-run race with PiS seeking third term in power

More than half a million people have registered abroad to vote in Poland’s election on Sunday, as the ruling Law & Justice party hopes for an unprecedented third consecutive term in power.

The Polish foreign minister, Zbigniew Rau, said on Tuesday he expected the number of overseas voters to surpass 600,000 before a midnight deadline, a record number in the country’s history.

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Revealed: thousands who bought ‘golden passports’ through Dominica’s $1bn scheme

Former Afghan spymaster, convicted millionaire and former Libyan colonel among those who became Dominican citizens

The Caribbean state of Dominica has sold citizenship to thousands of individuals including a former Afghan spymaster, a Turkish millionaire convicted of fraud and a former Libyan colonel under Muammar Gaddafi, the first detailed examination of the country’s controversial “golden passports” scheme has found.

The findings are from Dominica: Passports of the Caribbean, an investigation by the Guardian and 14 other international news organisations, in partnership with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

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Luxury rooms and a swim-up bar: hotel with funding from Dominica’s golden passport scheme

Former Afghan spy chief among those to gain citizenship though investment in Caribbean island

Nestled in a valley formed by an extinct volcano on the Caribbean island of Dominica, the InterContinental Cabrits resort has 101 luxurious rooms overlooking an emerald bay. Its website invites guests to “explore and unwind in paradise while discovering the pristine island”.

But waterfront views and a swim-up rum bar are not the hotel’s only attraction: for the wealthy investors who helped fund the project, it was also a route to another nationality.

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Jacinda Ardern throws support behind Labour days before New Zealand election

Former prime minister appealed to voters in Facebook video after being noticeably absent in lead up to 14 October election

Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s former prime-minister, has made an eleventh-hour appearance to throw her support behind the party she once led, just days out from the country’s general election.

Ardern, who was elected in 2017 on a wave of ‘Jacindamania’ and enjoyed extraordinary popularity for much of her leadership, led the governing party for nearly six years up until her shock resignation in January 2023. But the former leader has been noticeably absent in the lead up to the 14 October election.

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White House condemns car-ramming incident at Chinese consulate in San Francisco

Unnamed driver who crashed car into consulate building was shot by police and later died in hospital

The White House has denounced the violent incident at the Chinese consulate in San Francisco that began with a car crashing into the building and ended with police shooting the driver, who later died at a hospital.

“We condemn this incident and all violence perpetrated against foreign diplomatic staff working in the United States,” Adrienne Watson, White House National Security Council spokeswoman, to the Associated Press.

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Israel-Hamas war live: Israel reportedly identifies most hostages abducted by Hamas; Biden says US ‘has Israel’s back’

IDF officers have reportedly told 100 families about their loved ones in Gaza; Biden says Israel ‘has a duty to respond’ to attacks

The US senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, has criticised China’s response to the Israel-Hamas conflict while in China, calling on the government there to show more support for Israel.

Schumer spoke repeatedly about China’s response, including directly to China’s leader, Xi Jinping, on Monday, during a rare meeting on a multi-day trip to the country.

“I urge you and the Chinese people to stand with the Israeli people and condemn the cowardly and vicious attacks upon them,” he told Xi in Beijing.

Earlier he had accused China’s foreign minister Wang Yi of showing “no sympathy or support for Israel during these tough, troubled times.”

On Sunday, China’s foreign ministry released a statement calling on “relevant parties” to end to hostilities and protect civilians. It said “the fundamental way out of the conflict lies in implementing the two-state solution and establishing an independent State of Palestine”.

Speaking in Shanghai, Schumer said he was “very disappointed” with China’s initial statement. He also said he had asked for China to use its “influence” on Iran to “not allow the conflagration to spread”. On Monday, at the first daily press conference since a week-long holiday break in China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning responded to Schumer’s criticism by reiterating Beijing’s concern over the conflict and calling for peace.

Facing multiple questions on the topic, Mao said China was closely following the “recent escalation of tensions”.

“We are deeply saddened by the civilian casualties caused by the conflict and oppose and condemn acts that harm civilians. China opposes escalating the conflict and destabilising the region.”

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US prisoners who did not consent to ivermectin Covid treatment win payout

Prisoners in Arkansas settle lawsuit for $2,000 each after accusing Washington county detention center of ‘medical experimentation’

The four Arkansas prisoners who sued their jail over allegations they knowingly prescribed them ivermectin to treat Covid without consent have settled the dispute for $2,000 each.

The quartet previously said they were administered the drug as a form of “medical experimentation” without prior informed consent or knowledge of the drug’s contents and potential side effects. Instead, the doctor at the jail told them they received “vitamins, antibiotics, and/or steroids”.

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Israeli troops mass on Gaza border as death toll from Hamas attack passes 1,000

Hundreds of thousands of reservists head for units amid mounting expectation of large-scale ground invasion

A massive Israeli military buildup was continuing along Gaza’s border on Tuesday, as the country’s military confirmed the death toll from Saturday’s Hamas attack – the deadliest militant assault in its history – had passed 1,000 and wave after wave of airstrikes hit the militant-controlled territory.

Amid mounting expectations that Israel would launch a ground invasion of Gaza within days, Israeli soldiers were still collecting bodies of the dead four days after Hamas rampaged through southern Israeli towns in the deadliest terrorist attack in the country’s history.

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Canada: police open criminal inquiry into billion-dollar green belt scandal

Ontario premier Doug Ford’s office to ‘fully cooperate’ with investigation into scandal that has forced number of resignations

Canada’s federal police have opened a criminal investigation into a controversial plan to allow construction on greenbelt lands in Ontario, escalating a political scandal that has gripped the province and already forced a number of high-profile government resignations.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced on Tuesday that its sensitive and international investigations unit would investigate the C$8.3bn ($6.10bn) deal.

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Humza Yousaf calls for UK to push for Gaza humanitarian corridor

Scottish first minister says he has made contact with his wife’s parents who are trapped in besieged enclave after Hamas attack

Scotland’s first minister, Humza Yousaf, has called on the UK foreign secretary to push for the establishment of a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians from Gaza.

Yousaf revealed on Monday that his wife Nadia’s parents, who live in Dundee, are trapped in Gaza and struggling to find safe passage.

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Indigenous Amazonians urge Brazil to declare emergency over severe drought

Drought and heatwave has killed fish in rivers as Indigenous group Apiam says villagers have no water, food or medicine

Indigenous people in the Amazon are calling on the Brazilian government to declare a climate emergency as their villages have no drinking water, food or medicine due to a severe drought that is drying up rivers vital for travel in the rainforest.

The drought and heatwave has killed masses of fish in the rivers that Indigenous people live off and the water in the muddy streams and tributaries of the Amazon river has become undrinkable, the umbrella organization Apiam that represents 63 tribes in the Amazon said on Tuesday.

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EU aid to Palestinians will ‘not be cancelled’ as decision reversed

EU foreign ministers back continued support after European commissioner declared suspension of payments

EU foreign ministers have reversed the decision by the European Commission to suspend payments to the Palestinian Authority, after an emergency meeting in Oman.

Josep Borrell, the EU’s chief diplomat, said the “overwhelming majority” of EU states were in favour of continued support, adding the funds would “not be cancelled”.

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‘Emphasis is on damage, not accuracy’: ground offensive into Gaza seems imminent

Surrounded by evidence of heavy fighting and with air raid sirens still sounding, Road 232 is the new frontline between Israel and the enclave

Road 232, an Israeli highway, runs parallel to the blockaded Gaza Strip. It is surrounded by flat agricultural land in every direction, and from it the higher floors of the overcrowded enclave’s high rise buildings are clearly visible, about 3 miles (5km) away.

Now, the route appears to have become the new de facto boundary between territory controlled by Israel and Hamas, the Islamist movement that launched a devastating surprise sea, land and air offensive on 20 neighbouring kibbutzim and Israeli towns last weekend. They slaughtered more than 1,000 people, and abducted dozens more to be used as bargaining chips. More than 830 people in Gaza have been killed in retaliatory Israeli airstrikes.

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Four British men freed by Taliban after being held in Afghanistan

The men were all detained over allegedly breaking the country’s laws earlier this year

Four British nationals who were held in Taliban custody in Afghanistan have been released and are to return to the UK on Tuesday.

The Presidium Network, a British not-for-profit organisation that works in conflict zones and has assisted the men, named three of them as Kevin Cornwell, a charity medic; Miles Routledge and Ian Purchase. The other cannot be named for legal reasons.

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Undersea pipeline damage appears to be deliberate, says Finland

Media cites intelligence sources saying Russian sabotage suspected after unusual drop in pressure

Extensive damage to an undersea gas pipeline and communications cable connecting Finland and Estonia “could not have occurred by accident” and appears to be the result of a “deliberate … external act”, Finnish authorities have said.

“It is likely that the damage to both the gas pipeline and the communication cable is the result of external activity,” the Finnish president, Sauli Niinistö, said on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday, adding that the cause of the damage was not yet clear.

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Russia-Ukraine war: Moscow’s bid to return to UN’s top human rights body fails after vote – as it happened

Albania and Bulgaria receive more votes at general assembly, after Russia was suspended from body last year

The National Police of Ukraine has documented nearly 100,000 war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine, according to the head of the body.

Speaking to the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Ivan Vyhovsky said the evidence being gathered would form the basis of future attempts to prosecute the perpetrators.

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