Category Archives: World News

Sudan: paramilitary forces blamed for assassination of West Darfur governor

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Khamis Abdallah Abbakar was murdered hours after criticising Rapid Support Forces on television

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been blamed for the assassination and mutilation of a senior government official, amid growing reports of mass killings in the restive Darfur region in the country’s devastating war.

Khamis Abdallah Abbakar, the governor of West Darfur, was murdered this week just hours after he gave an interview to a Saudi-owned TV station in which he criticised the RSF and described a “genocide”.


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‘Where are they?’ Hope fades among relatives of missing after Greek shipwreck

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As anguished family members arrive in Kalamata, search operation continues with negligible progress

Hope dies last and for Kassem Abo Zeed it was running out fast. Hope was the force that had led him to board a plane from Hamburg and fly to Greece after he heard that a boat carrying his wife had capsized off the country’s southern coast.

But by 2pm on Thursday, 36 hours after the blue fishing trawler packed with migrants and refugees had sunk in one of the worst maritime disasters in recent Greek history, hope was fading in a way he had prayed would never happen.

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Rammstein: sexual assault allegations against Till Lindemann to be investigated

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Berlin prosecutors say investigation against German singer is based on suspicion of abuse after concerts

Berlin state prosecutors have launched an investigation into sexual assault allegations against the lead singer of the German metal band Rammstein, Till Lindemann.

The prosecutors confirmed to German media that the investigation was based on the initial suspicion of sexual abuse as well as drug-related activity. The announcement follows allegations made by a number of women that they were picked out to have sex with Lindemann at concerts.

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US midwest braces for smoky skies as Canadian wildfires rage on

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Air quality alerts issued in Minnesota and Wisconsin with winds expected to blow airborne pollution from Ontario blazes south

The smoke-filled skies seen across US cities last week are set to make another appearance, as Canadian wildfires rage on and winds are bringing the airborne pollution south and again triggered fears over risks to health.

Air quality alerts were issued on Wednesday for the entire state of Minnesota and large parts of Wisconsin. This time, the culprit is a series of wildfires from the Canadian province of Ontario.

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Colombian police officer in hospital after swallowing extorted banknotes

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Grey-faced officer pleaded his innocence after anti-corruption police allegedly caught him in the act of extorting businessman

A Colombian police officer has been admitted to hospital after swallowing a wad of banknotes he extorted from a businessman.

The officer had demanded payments in return for not arresting his victim on trumped-up charges – but did not know that the businessman had already reported the shakedown to Colombia’s anti-kidnapping and extortion unit.

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Greek shipwreck highlights divided Libya’s inability to stem flow of refugees

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Absence of unified Libyan national government leaves Europe lacking effective allies to tackle people-smuggling trade

The mass drowning of refugees heading from Libya for Italy as their large boat capsized off the coast of Greece underlines Libya’s continuing power vacuum and the inability of its divided leaders to deliver on their promises to stem the profitable people-smuggling trade. It is striking that the ship sailed from the eastern port of Tobruk, a city where local leaders have mounted a campaign against illegal migration.

On 4 May, the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, granted Libya’s strongman in the east, Khalifa Haftar, a meeting in Rome at which she offered to invest in Libya’s east – the country has been divided into a rival east and west since 2015 – in return for action on the smugglers.

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Benjamin Netanyahu suffers rebellion in vote linked to Israeli judicial overhaul

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Political chaos weakens prime minister as he pursues controversial changes

A rebellion by members of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu’s, government in an important vote related to controversial judicial changes has dealt the longtime leader a political setback, bringing divisions in his coalition to the fore and scuppering compromise talks with the opposition.

The Knesset was expected on Wednesday to elect two political representatives to Israel’s nine-member judicial selection committee, one of the key issues in the six-month-old debate over the nature of Israeli democracy, and a vote widely viewed as a referendum on the future of the overhaul.

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‘The people don’t want us’: inside a camp for Iraqis returned from Syrian detention

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Exclusive: As Iraq steps up transfers from al-Hawl, speaking to returnees raises questions over a process mired in complexities

The Iraqi government plans to accelerate the repatriation of its nationals with confirmed or suspected ties to Islamic State (IS) from north-east Syria, in a politically charged process that has ignited a struggle for power and money while highlighting the challenges of reintegrating a partly radicalised population.

After months of deadlock, about 650 civilians, mostly women and children, were transferred last week from Syria’s notorious al-Hawl camp to a closed facility in northern Iraq called Jeddah-1, where they will spend several months before they are allowed to leave. Though they have not committed crimes, many have relatives who joined the terrorist group and have for years been exposed to extremist ideology.

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Glum Chinese graduates go viral with pictures of misery amid jobs anxiety

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Photos shared on social media show students draping themselves over park benches or stairs in poses of dejection

As millions of young people in China graduate from university this month, the traditional pictures of joyful students throwing their hats and gowns into the air have been replaced by photos of them lying on the ground or throwing their degree certificates into the bin.

Some photos show students draping themselves over bridges or park benches in poses of dejection. In others, students lie face down on stairs or in grassy fields.

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Indian wrestling federation chief charged with sexual harassment

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Charges follow months of complaints against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh by country’s top wrestlers

Police in India have filed charges of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation against the chief of the country’s wrestling federation, a member of parliament with Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), following complaints by female wrestlers.

The public prosecutor Atul Srivastav read out the charges against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh at a court hearing in Delhi. If convicted he faces up to three years in jail.

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Russia-Ukraine war: Ukrainian fighter pilots learning to fly F-16 jets as Kyiv claims progress in counteroffensive – as it happened

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Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg says Ukrainian personnel being trained so when planes are delivered, pilots are ready

Norway and Denmark have agreed to donate an additional 9,000 rounds of artillery to Ukraine.

Norway will send shells and Denmark fuses and propellant charges, the Norwegian government announced.

Ukraine has an urgent need for artillery ammunition. We have therefore decided to join forces with Denmark for a new donation, so that Ukraine receives the ammunition as quickly as possible.

It is important that we continue to stand together in demonstrating our support of Ukraine. Norway will continue to support Ukraine against the Russian invasion forces as long as it is needed.

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Greece shipwreck: up to 100 children were below deck, survivors say

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Women also said to have been in the hold, amid fears 78 so far confirmed dead could rise into the hundreds

Survivors from an overcrowded fishing boat that capsized and sank on Wednesday off the Greek coast in one of the worst disasters in the Mediterranean in recent years have told doctors and police that women and children were travelling in the hold of the vessel.

Seventy-eight people have been confirmed dead, but there are fears the number of victims could run into the hundreds.

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Fears of hottest year on record as global temperatures spike

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Early data shows June temperatures hitting record highs ahead of El Niño that experts say will have significant heating effect

Global temperatures have accelerated to record-setting levels this month, an ominous sign in the climate crisis ahead of a gathering El Niño that could potentially propel 2023 to become the hottest year ever recorded.

Preliminary global average temperatures taken so far in June are nearly 1C (1.8F) above levels previously recorded for the same month, going back to 1979. While the month is not yet complete and may not set a new June record, climate scientists say it follows a pattern of strengthening global heating that could see this year named the hottest ever recorded, topping 2016.

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Outrage in Guatemala as crusading journalist given six-year prison term

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José Rubén Zamora, 66, convicted and sentenced on money-laundering charges press freedom groups say were trumped up

A veteran journalist and founder of one of Guatemala’s oldest newspapers has been sentenced to six years in prison for money laundering, in a case widely condemned as politically motivated.

José Rubén Zamora, 66, was convicted on Wednesday by a three-judge panel in Guatemala City, who ruled that there was “no doubt” the outspoken critic of government corruption masterminded the laundering of almost $40,000 in 2022. The court absolved Zamora of blackmail and peddling influence charges.

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Nine killed as ethnic clashes continue in India’s Manipur state

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Gunmen stormed a village close to the capital of the remote north-eastern state on Tuesday

At least nine people have been shot dead in the remote north-eastern Indian state of Manipur in the latest incident in weeks of violence that has claimed more than 100 lives.

Clashes between members of the Kuki ethnic group, who mostly live in the hills, and Meiteis, the dominant community in the lowlands, erupted on 3 May, sparked by resentment over economic benefits and quotas in government jobs and education reserved for hill people.

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Israel’s Knesset vote to be delayed as judicial overhaul row continues

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Fresh protests expected against proposals as opposition members threaten to quit compromise talks

A key vote in Israel’s Knesset related to the government’s bitterly contested judicial overhaul is set to be delayed at the behest of the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in a move that could torpedo negotiations with the opposition and galvanise the anti-legislation protest movement.

Parliamentarians were due on Wednesday to elect two political representatives to the country’s nine-member judicial selection committee, the composition of which is one of the most important issues in the now six-month-old political crisis.

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Donald Trump indictment: Merrick Garland defends special prosecutor Jack Smith in first comments on charges – live

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US attorney general praises Smith’s independence and accountability; Republican senators step up threats over Trump charges

Joe Biden has refused to publicly comment on the federal charges leveled against his predecessor Donald Trump over allegedly hoarding government documents from his time in the White House, and Politico reports the president has also instructed Democratic party offices to do the same.

While many top Democratic lawmakers have condemned the allegations against Trump, neither Biden nor top officials at the White House or his re-election campaign have spoken out about the indictment and his arraignment in Miami yesterday. Politico reports that some Democrats – none of whom would allow their names to be used – believe the strategy is a missed opportunity to cast Trump as reckless and boost Biden’s re-election chances.

Biden has privately told aides that he is disgusted by Trump’s behavior but is adhering to his promise that the Department of Justice would have independence from the White House. The DNC, meanwhile, has advised members of Congress seeking guidance on what to say that they should not comment on the Trump probes if they are speaking publicly in their role as Biden campaign surrogates.

While Biden has framed his stance as in line with longstanding tradition, it is not uncommon for presidents to occasionally weigh in on ongoing criminal investigations. Biden has at times done so himself – including weighing in before the verdict was announced in the 2021 trial of the white Minneapolis police officer who killed George Floyd.

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Russia-Ukraine war: Ukraine taking significant casualties and making slow progress towards Russian defence, say western officials – as it happened

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Counteroffensive is still ‘going in the right direction’ says officials, in one of west’s first assessments of Ukrainian action launched on 4 June

Dmitry Medvedev, long-term ally of Vladimir Putin and currently deputy chair of the security council of Russia, has said on Telegram that Russia needs to put in a demilitarised zone as far west as Ukraine’s Lviv, which he referred to by its Russian name Lvov and German name Lemberg.

He went on to say that, as a result of the Nord Stream sabotage, for which he cited “western complicity”, that Russia should have “no restrictions left to refrain from destroying the cable communications of our enemies, laid along the ocean floor”.

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At least 78 people drown as refugee boat sinks off Greece

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Hundreds more feared missing from overcrowded fishing vessel that reportedly sailed from Libya for Italy

At least 78 people have died and hundreds more are feared missing in the deadliest refugee shipwreck off Greece this year.

The victims, nearly all of them men from Afghanistan and Pakistan, drowned when the large trawler they were travelling in capsized off the southern Peloponnese.

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