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Rwandan-backed M23 rebels enter Bukavu in eastern DRC

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 21:01:34 GMT

Rebels make rapid advance into capital of South Kivu province, less than a month after taking Goma

Rebels from the Rwandan-backed M23 group have entered Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, after a rapid advance south in recent days.

M23 fighters entered the city’s Kazingu and Bagira zone and late on Friday were advancing towards the centre of the city of about 1 million people. Gunfire rang out but the rebel forces encountered little resistance. Shops and businesses had long closed, and frightened civilians fled.

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Revealed: fugitive Dutch drug lord has been in Sierra Leone for at least two years

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 11:30:30 GMT

Sources place Johannes Leijdekkers in west African country since at least December 2022

One of Europe’s most-wanted drug lords has been living in Sierra Leone for at least two years, spending time at nightclubs and house parties, sources have told the Guardian.

Johannes Leijdekkers, a Dutch national, has been sentenced in absentia to decades in prison for offences including cocaine trafficking on a vast scale and ordering a murder. In September Dutch police said he remained missing and offered a €200,000 (£170,000) reward for any information leading to his arrest.

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Sudan says plan for first Russian naval base in Africa will go ahead

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 14:49:33 GMT

Two countries’ foreign ministers meet in Moscow and agree there are no obstacles to long-delayed plan

A plan for Russia to establish its first naval base in Africa will go ahead, Sudan’s foreign minister has confirmed, after years of delays over the Red Sea military port.

If the agreement is implemented, Russia would join the US and China in the region; they have bases to the south in Djibouti.

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Climate crisis contributing to chocolate market meltdown, research finds

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 13:47:30 GMT

Scientists say more-frequent hotter temperatures in west African region are part of reason for reduced harvests and price rises

The climate crisis drove weeks of high temperatures in the west African region responsible for about 70% of global cacao production, hitting harvests and probably causing further record chocolate prices, researchers have said.

Farmers in the region have struggled with heat, disease and unusual rainfall in recent years, which have contributed to falling production.

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What Trump’s assault on USAid means for the world – podcast

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 03:00:44 GMT

What will the world look like without US foreign assistance? Nesrine Malik reports

“My community, living here in the refugee camp, is already vulnerable,” Sahat Zia tells Lucy Hough. “I’m very concerned, especially for the children and the women.”

Sahat is a Rohingya activist and photographer based in Kutupalong refugee camp, Bangladesh. Hearing Donald Trump’s decision to cut USAid came as a shock to Sahat. US foreign assistance is a lifeline for the many thousands of people in the camp, providing access to food, education and healthcare.

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Campaigner for migrants in Libya targeted in spyware attack

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 08:00:14 GMT

Exclusive: Italy-based David Yambio, a critic of Meloni government, was told of attempt to compromise his phone

An Italy-based human rights activist whose work supports the international criminal court in providing evidence about cases of abuse suffered by migrants and refugees held in Libyan detention camps and prisons has revealed that Apple informed him his phone was targeted in a spyware attack

David Yambio, the president and co-founder of Refugees in Libya, has been a critic of the Italian government’s migrant pact with the north African country and its recent controversial decision to release Osama Najim, a Libyan police chief wanted by the international criminal court (ICC) for suspected war crimes, including torture, murder, enslavement and rape. Yambio, 27, was an alleged victim of Najim’s abuses during his detention at the notorious Mitiga prison near Tripoli.

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Mexico threatens to escalate US gunmakers lawsuit with terror charges

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 18:06:34 GMT

Claudia Scheinbaum warns of reciprocal action if Washington designates country’s cartels as terrorist groups

Mexico’s president has warned US gunmakers they could face fresh legal action as accomplices of organized crime if Washington designates the country’s cartels as terrorist groups.

The Latin American country, which is under mounting pressure from Donald Trump to curb illegal drug smuggling, wants its neighbor to crack down on firearms trafficking in the other direction.

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US deports 119 immigrants of varying nationalities to Panama

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 16:09:25 GMT

People from Afghanistan, Iran, China and other countries flown out as Trump’s deportation effort intensifies

The US has sent undocumented immigrants from several Asian countries whose governments have refused to accept them to Panama, in a move signalling an intensification of the Trump administration’s deportation effort.

A military plane carrying 119 immigrants from countries including Afghanistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, China, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Pakistan flew from California to Panama City on Wednesday in what was expected to be the first of three migrants flights to the country.

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Oh, Canada! Can Trump just take it? – podcast

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 05:00:08 GMT

On the first day of his second term in office, Donald Trump suggested he wanted the US to ‘expand’ its territory. Few thought he could actually mean taking Canada and making it the 51st state. But could he actually do that?

Jonathan Freedland speaks to the reporter Leyland Cecco in Toronto about the possibility of the two North American allies merging, what Canadians think about it, and why this existential threat has had an impact on Canadian national politics

Send your questions and feedback to [email protected]

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Mexican president blasts US for harboring drug cartels

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 21:59:41 GMT

Claudia Sheinbaum gives riposte to Trump’s accusation of ‘intolerable alliance’ between Mexican government and gangs

Mexico’s president has accused the US of harboring drug cartels and American citizens of working with organized crime groups in Mexico, in a riposte to Donald Trump’s allegation of an “intolerable alliance” between traffickers and her government.

“There is also organized crime in the United States and there are American people who come to Mexico with these illegal activities,” Claudia Sheinbaum said during her morning press conference on Thursday. “Otherwise who would distribute fentanyl in the cities of the United States?”

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Just a fluke: whale spits out kayaker in incident captured on camera

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 18:33:44 GMT

‘I thought I was dead,’ said the kayaker, who was let go by humpback off the Chilean coast after a few seconds

A humpback whale briefly scooped a kayaker into its mouth off the Chilean Patagonia before quickly releasing him unharmed in an incident caught on camera.

Last Saturday, Adrián Simancas was kayaking with his father, Dell, in Bahía El Águila near the San Isidro lighthouse in the Strait of Magellan when a humpback whale surfaced, engulfing Adrián and his yellow kayak for a few seconds before letting him go.

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UK shipping firm used enslaved workers in Caribbean after abolition, study finds

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 12:46:30 GMT

Postal Museum says research featured in new exhibition shows how global postal service was ‘tool of empire’

A British shipping company that became the largest in the world at the height of empire continued to use the labour of enslaved people after the abolition of slavery, research has found.

The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company (RMSPC), which received a royal charter from Queen Victoria in 1839, used enslaved workers on the tiny island of St Thomas, which was a Danish colony at the time and is now part of the US Virgin Islands.

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Japan releases 200,000 tonnes of emergency rice stockpile as prices soar

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 06:30:17 GMT

Agriculture minister says rising prices have ‘had a significant impact on people’s lives’ amid record heat, surges in demand and distribution problems

Japan is to flood the market with almost a quarter of a million tonnes of stockpiled rice in an unprecedented attempt to arrest soaring prices caused by record summer heat, panic buying and distribution problems.

The government will release up to 210,000 tonnes of rice, the agriculture minister, Taku Eto, said on Friday, as consumers battled a surge in prices of more than 50% in recent months.

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Sweet romance: Japanese boys start buying into gift giving on Valentine’s Day

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 03:12:05 GMT

Women are traditionally expected to buy chocolates for male colleagues on Valentine’s Day but teenage boys are shunning the one-sided custom

It has been several years since Japanese women first signalled their contempt for the long tradition of showering male colleagues with chocolates on Valentine’s Day. Now the country’s young people are slaying another sacred cow associated with Friday’s orgy of commercialised romance: one-sided gift giving.

Traditionally, women are expected to buy gift-wrapped chocolates for the men in their working lives, usually senior colleagues and others to whom they feel indebted – a tradition called giri choco, literally “obligation chocolates”.

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Australia condemns ‘unsafe’ airspace encounter and rejects Chinese allegations RAAF plane ‘deliberately intruded’

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 23:21:49 GMT

Australian defence department says it is monitoring three Chinese ships in the Coral Sea

Australia has rejected Chinese allegations an Australian airforce plane “deliberately intruded into China’s airspace” and undermined its national security, saying the actions of a Chinese navy fighter pilot who released flares near the Australian aircraft were “wrong … and very very dangerous”.

Australia’s defence department accused the Chinese navy of an “unsafe and unprofessional” incident by allegedly dropping flares dangerously close to an Australian patrol flight on what it described as routine operations in the South China Sea on Tuesday.

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Nissan and Honda end $60bn merger talks

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 08:08:36 GMT

Both Japanese carmakers say they will continue to cooperate on electric vehicle technology

Japan’s Nissan and Honda have said that their boards have voted to end talks over a merger that would have created a $60bn (£48bn) auto group, but added that both companies would continue to cooperate in electric vehicles.

A merger would have spawned the world’s fourth-biggest carmaker by vehicle sales after Toyota, Volkswagen and Hyundai.

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Philippines storm survivors join climate protest outside Shell HQ in London

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:49:15 GMT

Greenpeace protest draws attention to worsening typhoons and demands accountability from major polluters

For two days and two nights, Ronalyn Carbonel and her four children clung to the roof of their home as a huge storm raged around them. With the wind battering her village of Rizal, about 10 miles east of Manila in the Philippines, and water swirling through the rooms below them, they had no choice but to wait, hoping that someone would come to rescue them and hundreds of their neighbours.

“We did not have shelter, we did not have food … we just had to wait for the government for two days,” Carbonel said. “It is not easy, no electricity, no light, we just wait for the sun to rise. The children were scared, we had never experienced anything like this.”

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China tops list of countries trying to silence exiled dissidents over past decade, study shows

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 05:00:18 GMT

Russia, Turkey and Egypt also among worst perpetrators of transnational repression around the globe

A quarter of the world’s countries have engaged in transnational repression – targeting political exiles abroad to silence dissent – in the past decade, new research reveals.

The Washington DC-based non-profit organisation Freedom House has documented 1,219 incidents carried out by 48 governments across 103 countries, from 2014 to 2024.

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Cyclone Zelia leaves properties damaged amid widespread flooding after hitting Western Australia

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 23:49:45 GMT

Storm quickly weakened after making landfall east of Port Hedland with strongest parts hitting remote areas

Properties have been damaged and large trees uprooted by an ex-tropical cyclone still wreaking havoc in Western Australia, with record rainfall triggering significant flooding.

Tropical Cyclone Zelia made landfall in the north-west of Western Australia on Friday and was quickly weakened as it crossed the coast east of Port Hedland.

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Education minister accused of ‘political interference’ over review of funding for prominent pro-Palestinian academic

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 23:00:20 GMT

Jason Clare has asked Australian Research Council board to investigate $870,000 grant to Randa Abdel-Fattah, who has faced criticism for controversial comments

Academics have accused the education minister of “arbitrary political interference” in the Australian Research Council after requesting the body’s board investigate the fellowship of a prominent academic and Palestinian advocate.

Randa Abdel-Fattah, the recipient of an ARC Future Fellowship and an academic at Macquarie University, has faced sustained criticism from the Coalition, some Jewish bodies and media outlets for a series of controversial comments, including alleging Zionists had “no claim or right to cultural safety”, and posting “May 2025 be the end of Israel” in the new year and changing her profile picture to a picture of a Palestinian paratrooper after the 7 October attacks.

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Police raid home of Sydney nurse taken to hospital after allegedly threatening Israeli patients on video

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 22:59:10 GMT

Israeli influencer Max Veifer posts video on Instagram stating: ‘The police are asking me for the unedited version. I have nothing to hide. Here it is’

A Sydney nurse at the centre of a video chat showing two hospital workers allegedly making anti-Israel threats to an Israeli influencer has had their home raided after being taken to hospital due to “welfare concerns”, police say.

New South Wales police confirmed officers from Strike Force Pearl executed a search warrant at a home on Friday night, as part of an ongoing investigation.

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Tasmania fires destroy huge swath of wilderness and could ‘burn for weeks’

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 14:00:13 GMT

Around 90,000 hectares of remote country in the state’s north-west have been razed after fires sparked by lightning strikes

Fires that have razed 90,000 hectares of Tasmanian wilderness, including parts of the famous Overland walking track, could burn for weeks as firefighters battle to contain blazes in remote terrain.

By late on Friday, more than 20 fires – which were sparked by dry lightning strikes on 3 February – had a combined perimeter of about 1,200km in the state’s north-west.

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Fears Australia’s GST could be next target in Trump’s reciprocal tariff threat

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 14:00:12 GMT

Economist argues GST is not protectionist and should not attract any new levy from the US but concern remains for steel industry

US president Donald Trump has threatened “reciprocal tariffs” on US trade partners in retaliation for some domestic taxes, such as value-added taxes, sparking concerns Australia could be targeted.

Trump on Thursday directed federal agencies to look at trade barriers, including VATs among a list of “unfair” taxes on US goods.

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Premature speculation keeps parliament hot under the collar but Albanese quiet on election date

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 14:00:10 GMT

Spectre of unconfirmed date looms over past fortnight as PM’s political theatre only fuels anticipation

Was that really the last week of parliament before the election? Every person in Canberra, from senior cabinet ministers to junior staffers, has a different theory.

MPs are acting as if they’re about to hit the election trail, with some giving farewell speeches. “See you in a few months if I don’t lose my seat”, one MP told me on Thursday night.

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Trump and Vance are courting Europe’s far right to spread their political gospel

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 23:14:34 GMT

US vice-president’s speech and meeting with Germany’s AfD chief signal administration’s wider plans for continent

The Trump administration is making a big bet on Europe’s hard right.

Speaking at a conference of Europe’s leaders in Munich on Friday, the US vice-president JD Vance stunned the room by delivering what amounted to a campaign speech against Germany’s sitting government just one week before an election in which the anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim AfD is set to take second place.

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Zelenskyy demands ‘real security guarantees’ before peace talks; Vance accused of ‘trying to pick a fight’ with EU – as it happened

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 19:31:41 GMT

This live blog is now closed. You can read our latest reporting here:

Pope Francis has been hospitalised for treatment of his ongoing bronchitis, the Vatican has said in a brief press statement.

He will be tested and treated at the Agostino Gemelli University Policlinic in Rome, it said.

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Zelenskyy tells Vance Ukraine needs ‘security guarantees’ before any Putin talks

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 19:08:57 GMT

Ukrainian leader appears reassured after Munich bilateral, having feared he could be bounced into peace negotiations

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said during a meeting with the US vice-president, JD Vance, that his country wants “security guarantees” and a joint US-Ukrainian peace plan before he enters into any talks with Vladimir Putin to end the war in his country.

Both men agreed after an hour-long discussion on Friday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference that further talks were required to see if they could reach a common understanding.

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Ukraine on ‘irreversible path’ to Nato membership, Starmer tells Zelenskyy

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 18:01:31 GMT

Prime minister uses call with Ukraine president to restate UK support in face of Trump interventions

Europe live – latest updates

Ukraine remains on “an irreversible path” towards Nato membership, Keir Starmer has told Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a phone call that underlined the divide between Europe and the US over the future of the country.

According to a Downing Street readout of the call with the Ukrainian president, Starmer stressed “the UK’s concrete support for Ukraine, for as long as it’s needed”.

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Pope Francis cancels events after being admitted to hospital

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 17:56:48 GMT

Pontiff to receive treatment for bronchitis after having difficulty breathing during meeting

Pope Francis has cancelled his scheduled events over the next few days after being hospitalised, the Vatican said.

The pontiff, who has been suffering from bronchitis, was admitted to Gemelli hospital in Rome on Friday after reportedly having breathing difficulties during one of his meetings.

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Italian ‘mystic’ may face trial after DNA match with blood on Virgin Mary statue

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 14:30:31 GMT

Allegations of fraud against Gisella Cardia, who drew pilgrims by claiming statue wept tears of blood

A self-styled mystic who drew hundreds of pilgrims to a town near Rome by claiming that a statue of the Virgin Mary wept tears of blood could face trial after a DNA test indicated the blood was hers.

Gisella Cardia, who also claimed that the statue was transmitting messages to her, was last year declared a fraud by the Roman Catholic church, which subsequently tightened its rules on supernatural phenomena.

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Middle East crisis: Hamas announces further details of Israelis it will free this weekend – as it happened

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 18:02:48 GMT

Israel warned Thursday that Hamas must release three living hostages this weekend or face a resumption of the war in Gaza

The Israeli government has signalled it intends to stick to the hostage release schedule agreed in the ceasefire deal with Hamas, but warned that if the anticipated three surviving hostages were not released on Saturday, it would go back to war in Gaza.

The statement from the prime minister’s office ends nearly three days of confusion after Donald Trump’s declaration that Israel should demand Hamas release all the remaining hostages, more than 70 people, by Saturday or failing that, end the ceasefire.

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Latest Israeli hostages to be freed named amid uncertainty over truce

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 17:17:04 GMT

Iair Horn, Sasha Troufanov and Sagui Dekel-Chen due to be exchanged for 369 Palestinian prisoners

Palestinian militant groups have named the three hostages they plan to free on Saturday in return for the release of 369 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, raising hopes that the January ceasefire agreement will survive its latest crisis.

However, the longer-term prospects of the truce remain in doubt and the uncertainty has been deepened by the US president, Donald Trump, who made surprise territorial claims over Gaza.

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‘Time is running out’: frailty of freed hostages raises pressure on Netanyahu

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 17:13:49 GMT

Relatives and supporters anxious for return of remaining hostages urge Israeli PM to maintain ceasefire deal

Still frail less than a week after his release from Hamas captivity, and processing the news that his wife, Eynav, was killed during the militants’ attack on 7 October 2023, Or Levy told a crowd in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square that he had insisted his family and doctors allow him to come.

Israelis had been shocked and angered by the gaunt appearances of Levy, 34, Eli Sharabi, 52, and Ohad Ben Ami, 56, last Saturday as they were trooped on to a stage in Gaza City and forced to read out statements before being handed to the Red Cross. After nearly 500 days in captivity, all three appeared to struggle to see in the daylight, and were so weak that armed fighters had to help them walk.

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Trump’s Gaza plan unites jihadist and far-right circles, experts warn

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 12:00:11 GMT

Trump’s threat to take over Gaza is galvanizing two of the most dangerous and organized extremist movements

As Donald Trump continues to threaten to take control over the Gaza Strip, an unlikely consensus has emerged across hardcore jihadist and far-right circles: both strongly oppose any new US military actions in the territory.

Now experts are warning that Trump’s plan is galvanizing two of the most dangerous and organized extremist movements with track records of domestic terrorist attacks.

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Palestinian booksellers decry detention by Israeli police over ‘public disorder’

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 05:00:04 GMT

Mahmoud and Ahmed Muna remain under house arrest until Sunday, despite lack of evidence against them

Two Jerusalem booksellers detained this week on charges their books were causing “public disorder” have said the experience reflected an intensifying campaign by the Israeli government against Palestinian culture and free speech.

Mahmoud Muna and his nephew Ahmed, whose family has owned the Educational Bookshop for more than 40 years, spent two days in detention and will remain under house arrest until Sunday, despite the absence of evidence to support the vague accusations against them.

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Hamas ‘must release three live hostages on Saturday’, says Israel, or war will resume – as it happened

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 17:55:41 GMT

Statement from Netanyahu’s office follows Hamas declaration that it would stick to the ceasefire terms

Hamas has confirmed its commitment to continue implementing the Gaza ceasefire deal according to an agreed timeframe, Reuters is reporting in a breaking news line.

More details soon …

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Tycoon profited after India relaxed border security rules for energy park

Wed, 12 Feb 2025 05:00:18 GMT

Exclusive: Military experts raise concerns over change to protocols on Pakistan border to allow project that was handed to billionaire Gautam Adani

The Indian government relaxed national security protocols along the Pakistan border to make way for a renewable energy park, a project ultimately handed to one of India’s richest men, Gautam Adani, official documents reveal.

The Adani Group is constructing the Khavda plant, the largest renewable project in the world, in the state of Gujarat. The conglomerate is controlled by Adani, whose close relationship with the prime minister, Narendra Modi, has recently been under intense scrutiny.

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Trump’s aid cuts will lead to a surge in propaganda and misinformation, say press freedom groups

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 05:00:09 GMT

From Ukraine to Afghanistan, independent media organisations across the world are being forced to lay off staff or shut down after losing USAid funding

Donald Trump’s foreign aid freeze will lead to a decline in the number of independent media outlets across the world, causing a surge in misinformation and playing into the hands of state propagandists, media organisations have warned.

The US president has suspended billions of dollars in projects supported by USAid, including more than $268m (£216m) allocated to support “independent media and the free flow of information”.

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Police in India stop Ed Sheeran busking on street before concert

Mon, 10 Feb 2025 13:03:00 GMT

Local channels show police officer walking up to star as he sings Shape of You and unplugging microphone

Ed Sheeran has been stopped by police from busking in India after he was told he lacked permissions.

The songwriter was seen singing the hit single Shape of You on a pavement in the southern city of Bengaluru before his concert on Sunday night.

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‘Total chaos’: Monkey blamed for nationwide power cut in Sri Lanka

Mon, 10 Feb 2025 09:47:39 GMT

Energy minister says monkey ‘came into contact with grid transformer’, causing hours-long outage in sweltering heat

A countrywide power outage in Sri Lanka has been blamed on a monkey that clambered into a power station south of Colombo.

The blackout, which began around midday on Sunday, left many people sweltering in temperatures exceeding 30C (86F).

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More than 1,100 dead sea turtles washed up along southern India’s coastline

Mon, 10 Feb 2025 05:00:09 GMT

The mass death of once-endangered olive ridley turtles in January has prompted an increase in wildlife patrols and a crackdown on fishing boats

More than 1,100 dead olive ridley sea turtles have washed ashore on the beaches of Tamil Nadu state in southern India this January.

“I never heard [of] such large numbers of turtles stranded at any beaches of Tamil Nadu at least in the last three decades,” Kuppusamy Sivakumar, an ecology professor at Pondicherry University said.

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Azerbaijan escalates rare standoff with Russia over downing of passenger plane

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 10:00:53 GMT

Baku reportedly preparing to appeal to ‘an international court’ unless Moscow takes responsibility for crash

Azerbaijan is escalating its rare standoff with the Kremlin as the fallout from the downing of an Azerbaijani passenger jet continues, highlighting Russia’s diminishing influence across the former Soviet Union.

Thirty-eight people were killed when an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed on 25 December near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan after rerouting across the Caspian Sea from southern Russia.

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Luxury London hotel Chiltern Firehouse evacuated after fire breaks out

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 23:08:02 GMT

Firefighters from across the capital sent to popular venue

The popular celebrity venue Chiltern Firehouse in London will remain closed until further notice after a fire forced about 100 people to evacuate on Friday lunchtime.

The London fire brigade (LFB) said 125 firefighters and 20 fire engines attended the blaze at the restaurant and luxury hotel on Chiltern Street in Marylebone after a 999 call was made at 2.52pm.

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Trump agrees to ‘friendly meeting’ with Keir Starmer after making surprise call

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 21:18:18 GMT

President phoned while PM was with Mark Burnett, the Apprentice producer appointed as ‘special envoy’ to UK

Donald Trump has spoken to Keir Starmer again after what appears to have been a spur-of-the-moment phone call from the US president that was not expected by the British prime minister and his team.

News of the call, which took place on Thursday evening, emerged in a Downing Street statement about Starmer’s meeting with Mark Burnett, the British TV producer whom Trump has appointed as special envoy to the UK.

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WHO calls for cigarette-style cancer warnings on alcohol packaging

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 18:39:11 GMT

Cancer charities back call for prominent warning labels while industry body says move ‘not proportionate’

Cans and bottles of alcohol should carry cigarette-style labels warning that drinking increases the risk of cancer, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The UN agency said governments should insist “prominent” warning labels become standard to alert consumers to the link between alcohol and cancer and tackle the harm caused by heavy drinking.

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Ex-soldier denies he tried to manipulate junior colleague found dead at barracks

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 18:33:20 GMT

Inquest is read message sent by Jaysley Beck, 19, to her line manager, Ryan Mason, saying she felt ‘trapped’

A former soldier accused of harassing a junior ranking and younger colleague who was found dead in her room at an army camp has told an inquest his “aim was not to manipulate”.

Royal Artillery Gnr Jaysley Beck, 19, was found dead at Larkhill camp in Wiltshire on 15 December 2021, the inquest into her death in Salisbury has heard.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email [email protected] or [email protected]. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.

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Rachel Reeves says ‘no one raised concerns’ about her expenses at HBOS

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 18:16:42 GMT

Science secretary calls BBC’s reporting ‘totally inaccurate’ after claim chancellor was investigated by former employer

Rachel Reeves has defended herself and said it would be up to the public to judge her on her record as chancellor, after a BBC investigation raised questions about her job history and expenses.

In her first comments since claims emerged that she was the subject of an investigation into her expenses while working at Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS), the chancellor said no one ever raised any concerns with her.

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Taylor Swift surpasses Madonna as female artist with most UK No 1 albums

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 18:00:14 GMT

Singer scores 13th chart-topper with Valentine’s Day edition of her live album Lover (Live from Paris)

Taylor Swift has broken Madonna’s record as the female artist with the most No 1 albums in the UK, as her new live album Lover (Live From Paris) becomes her 13th chart-topper.

It means she draws level with Elvis Presley as the international artist with the most No 1s. Still outpacing her are the Rolling Stones with 14, then Robbie Williams and the Beatles, joint top with 15.

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Trump to cut off funding for schools and universities with Covid vaccine mandates – US politics live

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 23:59:09 GMT

President signs executive order to fulfill campaign promise as administration sparks outcry with continued gutting of federal workforce

The Trump administration is pressing on with its plans to dramatically downsize the government’s workforce, by targeting employees in their probationary periods at a variety of agencies. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will reportedly lose 10% of their staff, while the department of housing and urban development is set for a 50% reduction in headcount. The largest federal workers union decried the layoffs as “politically driven”, while an advocacy group warned the dramatic workforce reductions could harm the ability of agencies to perform their jobs in the future. Across the pond, JD Vance took European countries to task in a speech sure to further rattle allies already concerned about the Trump administration’s shift in policy on Ukraine.

Here’s what else has happened today so far:

The treasury inspector general will investigate the security of payment systems accessed by Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency”, though the report won’t be out until August.

The effects of the federal worker layoffs are still being understood, but among the areas set to be disrupted is cancer research.

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to restore funding to USAid, and prove its compliance within five days.

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OpenAI rejects $97.4bn Musk bid and says company is not for sale

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 22:42:52 GMT

Maker of ChatGPT rebuffs consortium led by Tesla owner and rejects ‘latest attempt to disrupt his competition’

OpenAI on Friday rejected a $97.4bn bid from a consortium led by billionaire Elon Musk for the ChatGPT maker, saying the startup is not for sale.

The unsolicited approach is Musk’s latest attempt to block the startup he co-founded with CEO Sam Altman – but later left – from becoming a for-profit firm, as it looks to secure more capital and stay ahead in the AI race.

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Kansas City man pleads guilty to assault charge in shooting of Ralph Yarl

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 21:55:55 GMT

Andrew Lester pleaded guilty to lesser charge in shooting of Black honor student who mistakenly rang his doorbell

An 86-year-old Kansas City man has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in the 2023 shooting of Ralph Yarl, a Black honor student who was then 16 and rang the man’s doorbell by mistake.

Andrew Lester’s plea on Friday came days before he was supposed to stand trial on charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting of the teenaged student. Lester pleaded guilty to second-degree assault as part of a deal with prosecutors that averted the trial.

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White House bans AP journalists from Oval Office amid continued Gulf dispute

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 21:33:34 GMT

News agency, which has declined to use ‘Gulf of America’ name in stories, also barred from Air Force One

The White House has announced that it is indefinitely blocking Associated Press journalists from accessing the Oval Office and Air Force One amid a growing standoff between Donald Trump’s administration and the news agency over the Gulf of Mexico’s name.

The White House deputy chief of staff, Taylor Budowich, made the announcement on X, saying: “The Associated Press continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America. This decision is not just divisive, but it also exposes the Associated Press’s commitment to misinformation.”

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JD Vance breaks taboo by meeting with leader of Germany’s far-right party

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 21:14:33 GMT

US vice-president meets with AfD leader Alice Weidel as Trump administration courts European populist parties

JD Vance has met with the leader of Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland party, breaking a taboo in German politics as the Trump administration continues to court and promote far-right populist parties across Europe.

At the meeting in Munich on Friday, the US vice-president and AfD leader, Alice Weidel, reportedly discussed the war in Ukraine, German domestic politics and the so-called brandmauer, or “firewall against the right”, that prevents ultra-nationalist parties like AfD from joining ruling coalitions in Germany.

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US watchdog to investigate Musk ‘Doge’ team’s access to payment systems

Fri, 14 Feb 2025 21:03:15 GMT

Treasury inspector general to launch audit as judge mulls whether access to sensitive data was unconstitutional

A government watchdog is to launch an inquiry into security over the US treasury’s payments system as a judge on Friday considered whether access by Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge) to the highly sensitive data base was unconstitutional.

Amid mounting court cases concerning Doge’s activities, the treasury department’s inspector general said it would launch an audit after Democrats complained about the access gained to a 25-year-old Musk associate, Marko Elez, who was briefly granted edit access within the system, meaning he had the potential to change entries. The access was later rescinded by an interim court ruling.

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