Category Archives: World News

Joe Biden says US, Japan and South Korea ‘doubling down’ on joint defense against security threats – as it happened

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US president, Yoon Suk Yeol and Fumio Kishida meet as they agree to take trilateral defence cooperation to ‘unprecedented levels’

A standalone summit bringing together the leaders of Japan and South Korea would have been almost unthinkable just over a year ago, when the north-east Asian neighbours were embroiled in disputes over their bitter wartime legacy.

Bilateral ties were at a low point before the South Korean president, Yoon Suk Yeol, took office in May 2022, due to compensation claims by Koreans over Japan’s use of forced labour during its 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean peninsula, and the longstanding controversy over Korean women who were coerced into working in Japanese military brothels.

It is a historic event, and it sets the conditions for a more peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific, and a stronger and more secure United States of America.

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US ‘concerned’ over reports of Russia-North Korea nuclear cooperation

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National security adviser Jake Sullivan makes comments as US, Japan and South Korea agree to new security pledge

The United States is “concerned” about the national security implications of North Korea and Russia reportedly cooperating on nuclear missile technology, the Biden administration said, as the US welcomed the leaders of Japan and South Korea to Camp David on Friday for an unprecedented trilateral summit.

The US, Japan and South Korea agreed to a new security pledge committing the three countries to consult with each other in the event of a security crisis or threat in the Pacific, according to the Biden administration.

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As Hurricane Hilary prepares to land, California and Mexico brace for impact

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Southern California gets first tropical storm warning as conditions could potentially affect Baja California peninsula late Friday

Hurricane Hilary, which quickly grew to category 4 strength off Mexico’s Pacific coast, whipping up 145mph winds, could become the first tropical storm to hit southern California in 84 years.

As the hurricane barrels northward, officials have issued the first ever tropical storm watch for the US west coast. Hurricane watches and tropical storm warnings have also been issued for parts of Baja California and mainland Mexico, where fierce winds and rain could cause flooding and landslides.

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Russia bans dozens of UK journalists, media figures and politicians

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List of 54 Britons includes Guardian reporters and executives, a defence minister and the culture secretary

Russia has banned dozens of British journalists, media representatives and senior UK politicians from entering the country, including five Guardian journalists and executives, the foreign ministry said on Friday.

In a statement published on the foreign ministry’s website, Moscow said the sweeping action was a response to UK sanctions and the “spreading of false information about Russia”, as well as “London’s unrelenting military support for the Kyiv neo-Nazi regime”.

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Alabama priest ‘groomed young girls’ before fleeing to Italy with 18-year-old

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Alex Crow was previously accused of acting inappropriately with students and remains under orders by archdiocese to return home

A Roman Catholic priest in Alabama who fled to Europe with a recent high school graduate whom he met through his work has drawn scrutiny from law enforcement and been told to stop presenting himself in public as a cleric.

Alex Crow, an expert in the theological study of demons and exorcism, is suspected of having “groomed [multiple] young girls” before going to Italy with an 18-year-old, according to an interview that local sheriff Paul Burch recently gave to Fox Nation’s Nancy Grace. The teen’s family has been trying to convince her to return home.

In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453 or visit their website for more resources and to report child abuse or DM for help. For adult survivors of child abuse, help is available at ascasupport.org. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800; adult survivors can seek help at Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International.

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US government seeks 33 years for ex-Proud Boys leader over Capitol attack

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Request for Enrique Tarrio sentence comes as another convicted member of far-right group goes missing days before court date

The US justice department is seeking 33 years in prison for Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys leader convicted of seditious conspiracy in one of the most serious cases to emerge from the attack on the US Capitol, according to court documents.

The harsh sentence request came as it emerged that Christopher Worrell, another member of the extremist group, has disappeared, days before he was due to be sentenced on Friday

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RTÉ’s axing of Ryan Tubridy divides public opinion in Ireland

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Sacking of star presenter over pay scandal stirs debate about his treatment by Irish broadcaster

Ireland’s national broadcaster faces an uncertain future after axing its star presenter, Ryan Tubridy, in a scandal over under-declared payments.

RTÉ surprised the public and divided opinion by announcing Tubridy would not return to the airwaves, capping two months of turmoil over accounting and governance practices that has cast doubt on the organisation’s future funding.

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Battlefield deaths in Ukraine have risen sharply this year, say US officials

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US estimates almost 500,000 Russian and Ukrainian military casualties in fighting in the conflict so far

The number of battlefield casualties in Ukraine is approaching nearly 500,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers, US officials have told the New York Times, marking a significant rise in the death toll this year following intense fighting in the east of the country.

Russia’s military casualties are approaching 300,000, the officials claimed, with as many as 120,000 killed in action.

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Canada fire crews battle to stop wildfire from engulfing city of Yellowknife

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Firefighters work around clock to spread retardant and dig fire breaks as thousands evacuate capital of Northwest Territories

Fire crews are working around the clock to dig fuel breaks, spread fire retardant and drop water from the air in emergency efforts to stop a vast wildfire from destroying the capital city of Canada’s Northwest Territories (NWT).

Teams used backhoes and bulldozers to carve out huge 100m x 15,000m fuel breaks in the surrounding forests, removing trees and brush in hopes of stopping the 1,670 sq km (644 sq mile) blaze from reaching Yellowknife.

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Three-Michelin-star Danish restaurant to relocate to London for one day

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Collaborative ‘series of bites’ to be served up as Noma looks to a future without its celebrated Copenhagen restaurant

Noma, the three-Michelin-star Danish restaurant that shocked foodies by announcing it would close at the end of 2024, is coming to London – for one day only – as it rolls out a series of spin-off ventures including its own seaweed farm on a remote fjord.

The Copenhagen restaurant, which charges 3,950 Danish kroner (£453) a person for a tasting menu of mostly foraged vegetables, will next month collaborate with a Mexican restaurant in Marylebone and a cocktail bar in Sea Containers House on the South Bank.

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Haiti: 97% of households in some areas suffering from severe hunger

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Of 2,664 households interviewed in Croix-des-Bouquets and Delmas, 2,596 were usually getting one meal a day, survey found

Haiti’s hunger crisis is now so acute that 97% of households in some areas around the capital are suffering from severe hunger, according to a new survey by the humanitarian organization Mercy Corps.

Of 2,664 households interviewed in the neighbourhoods of Croix-des-Bouquets and Delmas, 2,596 were suffering from severe hunger and usually getting no more than one meal a day.

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Barbenheimer-style gatherings blamed for Covid rise in Germany

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Events such as filmgoing craze partly blamed as epidemiologists warn country could have a summer wave

German epidemiologists are warning of a summer wave of coronavirus infections, blaming in part mass gatherings such as the Barbenheimer double feature craze.

The government’s disease control agency, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), says that while infections remain low compared with at the height of the pandemic, they have been on the rise for the past month.

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Ecuador election: assassination looms large as voters prepare to go to polls

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Winner of Sunday’s vote will face huge public demand to tackle violence after killing of candidate Fernando Villavicencio

The brazen assassination of a presidential candidate will hang heavy over Ecuadorian voters as they choose a new president this weekend, following the latest eruption of drug cartel violence in the once-peaceful nation.

The winner of Sunday’s vote will face an overwhelming public demand for security – but may not have the budget or the political capital to overhaul failed crime-fighting policies and fund new ones.

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At least 500 Bahraini prisoners on hunger strike over conditions

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Detainees at Jau prison that mainly houses prisoners of conscience began refusing food on 7 August

At least 500 prisoners are on hunger strike inside a Bahraini prison primarily used to detain prisoners of conscience, refusing food in protest at their detention conditions.

Detainees began refusing food on 7 August, and increasing numbers have joined since.

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Colombia’s leftwing president rocked by spiralling narco cash allegations

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Drug money claims involving Gustavo Petro’s son Nicolás could hamper progressive agenda

The lawyer representing a businessman accused of financing killings by paramilitary death squads has admitted that his client donated money to the campaign of Colombia’s first ever leftwing president, Gustavo Petro.

Alfonso Hilsaca knowingly gave 400m pesos ($95,000) to Gustavo Petro’s eldest son as a donation to his father’s electoral campaign, his lawyer said this week – though he said Hilsaca had not expected Nicolás Petro to steal the money for himself.

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Russia-Ukraine war live: almost 500,000 troops killed or injured so far, US officials say

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This live blog has now closed, you can read more on this story here

One civilian was injured and private houses, farm buildings and gas pipelines were damaged in the Russian shelling of the Kherson oblast in the early hours of Friday, Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office said.

The villages of Bilozerka and Dniprovske were the main targets of Russian troops.

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Weather tracker: Nasa confirms world’s hottest July despite UK downpours

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Global temperature was warmest on record last month as Britain faced cloudy and wet conditions

At the start of this week Nasa announced that July 2023 had the highest global temperature recorded for that month since 1880. It was also the warmest month on record.

Readers in the UK may find this hard to believe, given the wet and generally miserable conditions in the country that month. Britain received 19% less sunshine and 170% more rain compared with the 1991-2020 average.

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Australian police rejected Fifa requests for Gianni Infantino to be escorted during World Cup travel

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Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria police turned down request for escort for Fifa president, which is normally reserved for foreign heads of state

Fifa asked Australian police in multiple jurisdictions to provide escorts for president Gianni Infantino during his travel for the Women’s World Cup, but was turned down.

Infantino asked Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales police to provide him with escorts, the Guardian has confirmed.

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Ukrainian drone shot down over central Moscow, say Russian officials

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No casualties reported after air defences destroyed drone, which fell on building in Expo Center complex, say officials

A Ukrainian drone has smashed into a building in central Moscow after Russian air defences shot it down, disrupting air traffic at all the civilian airports of the Russian capital, Russian officials have said.

A Reuters witness who was in the area in the early hours of Friday described hearing “a powerful explosion”. Reuters images showed workers and emergency workers inspecting a damaged roof of a non-residential building.

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Jordan’s secret police accused of targeting LGBTQ+ community

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Jordanian security services are abducting, harassing and ‘outing’ LGBTQ+ people, activists say, despite repeal of anti-gay laws

Jordanian secret police have been accused of intimidating gay people by “outing” them to their families and of forcing the closure of two LGBTQ+ organisations.

Human rights groups say activists have been abducted, harassed and monitored, as well as having their sexuality revealed to religiously conservative families.

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