During a state visit to Beijing, the Russian president said he was "grateful" for Chinese efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.
The US House of Representatives on Saturday with broad bipartisan support passed a $95 billion legislative package providing security assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, over bitter objections from Republican hardliners. The legislation now proceeds to the Democratic-majority Senate, which passed a similar measure more than two months ago.
Two people were killed and six wounded in a Russian strike on Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, early on April 30, regional head Oleh Synyehubov said on Telegram as an air-raid alert was announced for most of Ukraine.
The US State Department accused Russia of having used a chemical weapon against Ukrainian forces in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, while also announcing fresh sanctions against Moscow.
Two Ukrainian security officials are held over a Russian plot to assassinate the president, Ukraine says.
Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in France on Sunday for a state visit and talks with French President Emmanuel Macron. The latter is expected to focus talks on trade and the Ukraine war. European leaders are hoping to see Xi pushing Russian President Vladimir Putin to accept some compromise and negotiate an end to the war.
Ukraine will get most of the weapons as it struggles to combat Russia's overwhelming firepower. The bill also includes more arms for Israel, and humanitarian help for Gaza.
Ukraine dismissed the report as evidence of Moscow's "desperation".
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said there were "heavy battles" along the entire front line and vowed to quash a new major Russian ground assault.
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
A decision by the Ukrainian government to suspend consular services for military-aged men living abroad has left some men uncertain about their futures.
French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed he did not rule out sending troops to Ukraine, saying the issue would "legitimately" arise if Russia broke through Ukrainian front lines and Kyiv made such a request, in an interview with the Economist published Thursday.
Russian missiles have pounded power facilities in central and western Ukraine, increasing pressure on the ailing energy system as the country faces a shortage of air defences despite a breakthrough in US military aid.
EU ambassadors have agreed in principle to use the profits from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine.
Speaking with DW, Ukrainian civilians share their experiences of leaving Russian-occupied territories via the only open border crossing between the two countries.
The leaders of Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland met to discuss their common security threats and how to further support Ukraine in the face of Russia's full-scale invasion.
The attempt came during an attack on a town in the northeastern Kharkiv region, says the military.
The assembly voted by a wide margin to grant new "rights and privileges" to Palestine and called on the Security Council to reconsider the Palestinians' request to become a U.N. member.
What started a week ago at Columbia University has led to hundreds of arrests at multiple college campuses.
Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 40 Palestinians, with more than half of the dead in the southern Gaza city of Rafah where bombs hit three houses, medics said, as Hamas leaders arrived in Cairo for a new round of truce talks.
Residents who fled said they had seen tanks advancing towards Jabalia's refugee camp, which has come under heavy bombardment since Saturday.
Hamas says it has approved an Egyptian-Qatari truce proposal to halt its war with Israel. Here's what we know.
Two million meals a day could be delivered via sea to feed people in Gaza, the US says
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under mounting pressure from his own War Cabinet and his country's closest ally over postwar plans for Gaza, even as the war with Hamas shows no sign of ending.
Hamas said it was sending negotiators to talks in a "positive spirit" after studying the latest proposal.
The United Nations said Tuesday the Israeli authorities have denied the UN access to the now-closed Rafah crossing -- the key entry point for humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. More information with France 24 correspondent in Jerusalem, Irris Makler.
Palestinian officials say more than 300 bodies have been found at Nasser and al-Shifa hospitals.
US troops have begun construction of a maritime pier off the coast of Gaza that aims to speed the flow of humanitarian aid into the enclave when it becomes operational in May, the Pentagon has said.
The hostages are shown in undated footage released by the armed wing of Hamas.
CAIRO — Hamas said Saturday it was reviewing a new Israeli proposal for a cease-fire in Gaza, as Egypt intensified efforts to broker a deal to end the monthslong war and stave off a planned Israeli ground offensive into the southern city of Rafah. Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya gave no details of Israel's offer, but said it was in response to a Hamas proposal made two weeks ago. Negotiations earlier this month centered on a six-week cease-fire proposal and the release of 40 civilian and sick hostages in exchange for freeing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. A [...]
Israeli tanks pushed deeper into eastern Rafah on Tuesday, reaching some residential districts
Officials say the measures will be in place until Israel allows an "uninterrupted and sufficient flow" of aid.
Hundreds of police officers in riot gear have cleared a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Monday informed mediators Qatar and Egypt that the Palestinian group had accepted their proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza. Israel was “examining” the deal, which it said was “far” from its demands. Meanwhile Israel’s war cabinet on Monday night voted unanimously to approve a military operation in Rafah. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
Palestinian authorities are calling for the UN to investigate what they call "war crimes", after reporting hundreds of bodies found in mass graves around hospitals in Gaza after Israeli raids. Some bodies were reported to have their hands tied or be stripped naked – although Israel calls the claims "baseless", saying it "examined" bodies buried by Palestinians in a bid to locate its hostages. Vedika Bahl explains what we know so far in this edition of Truth or Fake.
The UN says it is now relying on figures from the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.
The proposal includes a 40-day truce in return for the release of hostages and the prospect of displaced families being allowed back to northern Gaza.
Students at several US universities have staged large protests in response to Israel's military operations in Gaza. Student arrests have sparked outrage, but demonstrators have also been accused of antisemitism.
Pro-Palestinian students at Uppsala University have have set up an encampment on campus.
They are demanding that the university end research collaborations with Israeli universities, a student exchange program, and take a stand in the Israel-Hamas conflict, which the University says it will not do.
Naima, a researcher at the university tells Radio Sweden that she wants it to take a clear stand to support the Palestinians, but Vice Chancellor Anders Hagfeldt says they won't be taking sides in the conflict.
NEW YORK — Some social media users are calling out celebrities for what they say is inaction in the face of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza — and they've taken to a "blockout" to pressure the stars to take a stand. For the blockout, users put a block on seeing any and all content from the accounts of certain celebrities on social media platforms including X, TikTok and Instagram. Some have posted about the celebrities they've blocked, using a hashtag such as #blockout, #blockout2024, or #celebrityblockout, while others have shared posts from users lambasting attendees of high-glamour events like the [...]
There are growing signs of divisions within Israel's war cabinet over who should govern Gaza after the war.
It says forces have been operating since last night in a specific area of eastern Rafah, from which it says most people and some international organisations have evacuated.
The United Nations says 7,500 metric tons of unexploded ordnance litter the Gaza Strip. The U.N. says it could take 14 years to dispose of these dangers.
An independent review group on the UN agency for Palestinians found "neutrality-related issues" but noted Israel had provided no evidence to support allegations that a significant number of its staff were members of terrorist organisations. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) remains "irreplaceable and indispensable to Palestinians' human and economic development," added the report, which was headed by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna. Read our liveblog to follow today's developments in the Middle East.
Hamas will respond to an Israeli truce proposal for Gaza "within a very short period", an official with the Palestinian militant group said Wednesday, stressing that any ceasefire needs to be permanent. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken renewed calls for Hamas to accept the ceasefire deal as he began a new round of talks with Israel's leadership in Jerusalem. Read our blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
The Israeli military on Monday ordered tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians in Rafah to evacuate, a move indicating Israel's offensive on Gaza's southmost area could be imminent.
HOUSTON — Fast-moving thunderstorms pummeled southeastern Texas on Thursday for the second time this month, killing at least four people, blowing out windows in high-rise buildings, downing trees and knocking out power to more than 900,000 homes and businesses in the Houston area. Officials urged residents to keep off roads, as many were impassable and traffic lights were expected to be out for much of the night. "Stay at home tonight. Do not go to work tomorrow, unless you're an essential worker. Stay home, take care of your children," Houston Mayor John Whitmire said in an evening briefing. "Our first [...]
The defence team questioned the credibility of Trump's former lawyer, who said he lied for the ex-President.
President Biden put a hold on a shipment of bombs for Israel. We look at the implications for the war in Gaza — and politics at home.
A New York appeals court has ordered a new trial in the landmark case that drove the #MeToo movement. The majority opinion argued that the judge committed serious errors and swayed jurors by admitting invalid testimony.
TikTok said the measure was an "extraordinary intrusion on free speech rights".
"I am happy to debate him," the president said. "I am, somewhere. I don't know when."
The top court will hear arguments on Thursday in a case that could redefine presidential power.
President Biden warns he will stop supplying some weapons if Israel launches a ground operation.
WASHINGTON — In a bid to revive domestic manufacturing, President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that he is imposing a drastic tariff increase on Chinese electric vehicles and new levies on computer chips, solar cells and lithium-ion batteries. "We're not going to let China flood our market making it impossible for American auto – auto manufacturers to compete fairly," Biden said. "I will do it by following international trade laws." Tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, also known as EVs, will be quadrupled to a 100% rate. Solar cell and semiconductor imports from China will be subject to a 50% tariff, double [...]
The BBC's Nada Tawfik looks at why the former president was ordered to pay a fine for being in contempt of court.
WASHINGTON — The federal judge in Florida presiding over the classified documents prosecution of former President Donald Trump has canceled the May 20 trial date, postponing it indefinitely. The order from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon had been expected in light of still-unresolved issues in the case and because Trump is on trial in a separate case in Manhattan charging him in connection with hush money payments during the 2016 presidential election. The New York case involves several of the same lawyers representing him in the federal case in Florida. In a five-page order, Cannon said on Tuesday that it [...]
MEXICO CITY — Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor's office said Saturday. While there has not yet been confirmation based on forensic examination, physical characteristics — including hair — means there is a high likelihood that the bodies are those of the three tourists, local TV network Milenio reported, citing chief state prosecutor Maria Elena Andrade Ramirez. "It is presumed that (the bodies) are the ones being investigated," an employee of [...]
Legislators have been scrambling to repeal the law, which predates Arizona's statehood, since a 2022 Supreme Court ruling paved the way for its return. The vote was 16-14 and the state's governor will likely sign off.
Joe Biden has confirmed the US will halt the supply of some weapons to Israel if it does invade Rafah.
The Biden administration is reportedly looking into reclassifying marijuana from the nation's most dangerous drug to a lower-risk drug, in a historic shift that could have ripple effects across the country.
The Department of Justice is considering whether to prosecute the firm over two fatal 737 Max crashes.
Donald Trump's sought to catch inconsistencies in porn star Stormy Daniels' various tellings of an alleged 2006 sexual encounter
Former Trump advisers Rudy Giuliani and Mark Meadows are among those charged, court documents show.
The new law came into effect on Wednesday, ending Florida's place as a hub for the procedure in the US south.
At least three law enforcement officers were killed during a shootout in a neighborhood in the southeastern US state of North Carolina, police said. One of the officers struck by gunfire was in critical condition.
Antony Blinken arrived in China for his second visit in a year to discuss a range of issues amid rising tensions between the two countries.
The bill gives TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, nine months to sell its stake or the app will be blocked in the US.
MOSUL, Iraq — At least five rockets were launched from Iraq's town of Zummar toward a U.S. military base in northeastern Syria Sunday, two Iraqi security sources and a U.S. official told Reuters. The attack against U.S. forces is the first since early February when Iranian-backed groups in Iraq stopped their attacks against U.S. troops. It comes a day after Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani returned from a visit to the United States, where he met with President Joe Biden at the White House. A post on a Telegram group affiliated with Kataib Hezbollah said armed factions in Iraq [...]
At least four people died and scores were injured in Oklahoma after dozens of twisters swept the US Southern Plains, while weather alerts put more than 7 million Americans under tornado warnings.
The ICJ ruling has come under intense scrutiny, centring on the word "plausible". What did the court mean?
The UN's humanitarian coordinator for Sudan said residents of the country were at risk of famine as the rainy season approaches. The violence between the army and paramilitary forces has made it hard to deliver aid.
Russia on April 24 vetoed a UN resolution sponsored by the United States and Japan calling on all nations to prevent a dangerous nuclear arms race in outer space.
Asia was the world's most disaster-hit region from climate and weather hazards in 2023, the United Nations said Tuesday, with floods and storms the chief cause of casualties and economic losses.
Global temperatures hit record highs last year, and the UN's weather and climate agency said Asia was warming at a particularly rapid pace.
The World Meteorological Organization said the impact of heatwaves in Asia was becoming more severe, with melting glaciers threatening the region's future water security.
The WMO said Asia was warming faster than the global average, with temperatures last year [...]
State news agency IRNA said Raisi was flying in a US-made Bell 212 helicopter.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was declared dead on Monday (May 20) after rescue teams found his crashed helicopter in a fog-shrouded western mountain, near the Azerbaijan border.
Musician Toomaj Salehi had backed anti-government nationwide protests in 2022.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has been shot a number of times in what officials are calling an assassination attempt, the BBC reports. He is in a life-threatening condition, according to an update on his official social media account. His alleged assailant has been detained by the police. Fico was wounded as he left a …
The suspect in the shooting of Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico was charged with attempted murder with premeditation, Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said Thursday. Tuesday’s shooting attack was “politically motivated”, Sutaj Estok added.
Slovak politics was already deeply polarised before Wednesday's attempted assassination of the country's Prime Minister Robert Fico.
Five people were killed and 33 others injured in a strong tornado that hit Guangzhou, the capital city of south China's Guangdong Province, at the weekend, local authorities said.
WASHINGTON — In a bid to revive domestic manufacturing, President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that he is imposing a drastic tariff increase on Chinese electric vehicles and new levies on computer chips, solar cells and lithium-ion batteries. "We're not going to let China flood our market making it impossible for American auto – auto manufacturers to compete fairly," Biden said. "I will do it by following international trade laws." Tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, also known as EVs, will be quadrupled to a 100% rate. Solar cell and semiconductor imports from China will be subject to a 50% tariff, double [...]
China on Friday launched an uncrewed spacecraft on a nearly two-month mission to retrieve rocks and soil from the far side of the moon, the first country to make such an ambitious attempt.
Three people suspected of spying for China and arranging to transfer information on technology with potential military uses were arrested in Germany on Monday.
Voting got under way in the Maldives Sunday in a parliamentary election likely to test President Mohamed Muizzu's tilt towards China and away from India, the luxury tourism hotspot's traditional benefactor.
Among the first to vote was Muizzu, 45, who cast his ballot at the Tajuddin school in the capital Male.
Election chief Fuad Thaufeeq urged the 284,663 eligible voters to cast their ballots early. Polling stations across the archipelago will be open for nine and a half hours.
Primarily known as one of the most expensive holiday destinations in South Asia, with [...]
Serbia has been deepening its relationship with China while continuing talks to join the EU.
China's president has returned to Europe for the first time in five years, with stops in France, Serbia and Hungary. Senior journalists Finbarr Bermingham and Eric Olander discuss the media coverage of Xi Jinping's visit and what European leaders and Beijing sought from the high-stakes meetings.
The southern province of Guangdong has been reeling from days of wild weather before the incident.
New Taiwan President Lai Ching-te urges China to stop threats
Taiwan's Defense Ministry said on Friday that a number of Chinese military planes crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait.
Antony Blinken arrived in China for his second visit in a year to discuss a range of issues amid rising tensions between the two countries.
Vladimir Putin visits Beijing this week, as it faces accusations of supporting Moscow's war in Ukraine.
The European Union on Wednesday announced a probe into China's public procurement of medical devices, prompting an immediate accusation from Beijing that the bloc was engaging in "protectionism".
Two people were killed and 10 others injured after a knife attack at a primary school in Guixi City, east China’s Jiangxi Province on Monday noon, said local authorities, Xinhua reports. The injured have received medical treatment, among which six were slightly injured while trying to dodge the attack, according to the local public security …
Massive river flooding expected in China's Guangdong, threatening millions.
France's Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said police fatally shot a man who was trying to set fire to a synagogue in the city of Rouen in Normandy. Authorities say he approached officers with a knife and a crowbar.
At least two French prison guards were shot dead and three others seriously injured today after heavily armed men ambushed a prison van to free an inmate, French police said, triggering a major manhunt.
French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that Europe faces an existential threat from Russian aggression, calling on the continent to adopt a "credible" defence strategy less dependent on the United States.
The blades of the Moulin Rouge windmill, one of the most famous landmarks in Paris, have collapsed during the night without causing any injuries, firefighters have said.
French forces launched a "major operation" on Sunday to regain control of a road linking New Caledonia's capital Noumea to the main international airport, after a sixth night of violent unrest.
Victorian-era publishers used arsenic to colour book bindings.
A ship bearing the flame has docked in the southern port of Marseille. Athletes, public figures and ordinary citizens will now carry the symbol of Olympic tradition to Paris in a relay across the country.
The Paris Oympics flame was formally handed to French organizers on Friday in the all-marble stadium where the first modern Games were held in Athens in 1896.
France has declared a state of emergency in its overseas territory of New Caledonia after a second night of rioting in which two people were killed and hundreds injured, as anger over constitutional reforms from Paris boiled over.
President Biden put a hold on a shipment of bombs for Israel. We look at the implications for the war in Gaza — and politics at home.
In Gaza's southernmost city, where more than a million Palestinians have sought shelter and where aid groups have centralized operations, worries have grown over a possible Israeli military operation.
President Biden warns he will stop supplying some weapons if Israel launches a ground operation.
Israeli authorities have raided a Jerusalem hotel room used by Al Jazeera as its office after the Government decided to shut down the Qatari-owned TV station's local operations, an Israeli official and an Al Jazeera source told Reuters.
Israel's military said that Aharon Haliva had asked to end his service "following his leadership responsibility" for Hamas' 7 October attack that triggered the Gaza war.
The ICJ ruling has come under intense scrutiny, centring on the word "plausible". What did the court mean?
Joe Biden has confirmed the US will halt the supply of some weapons to Israel if it does invade Rafah.
Protesters are demanding Israel be disqualified from Eurovision 2024. But how did the Middle Eastern nation come to be included in Europe’s biggest annual song contest in the first place?
The Israeli prime minister says the invasion will proceed "with or without" a truce with Hamas.
Israeli forces say the bodies of three people killed on 7 October were found in a Hamas tunnel.
Israel's military is poised to evacuate Palestinian civilians from Rafah and assault Hamas holdouts in the southern Gaza Strip city, a senior Israeli defence official said yesterday
Nearly seven months after the start of the Israel-Hamas war, pressure is mounting on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that his war cabinet approved continuing an operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah in order to pressure Hamas to release Israeli hostages and achieve the country's other war goals.
A two-minute-long siren sounded across the country, and life briefly came to a halt.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has moved to replace defence minister Sergei Shoigu in a major shake-up to Russia's military leadership more than two years into its Ukraine offensive.
Russia on Thursday wrapped itself in patriotic pageantry for Victory Day, as President Vladimir Putin celebrated the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II by hailing his forces fighting in Ukraine and blasting the West for fueling conflicts around the world. Story by Eliza Herbert.
Vladimir Putin was sworn in as President of Russia for a fifth on Tuesday, setting the stage for another six years. He took the oath in a ceremony led by Constitutional Court head Valery Zorkin. In a short speech after being sworn in, Putin repeated calls for national unity amid war in Ukraine. “We’re a …
Russia on April 24 vetoed a UN resolution sponsored by the United States and Japan calling on all nations to prevent a dangerous nuclear arms race in outer space.
Estonia and Lithuania have accused Russia of interfering with air traffic navigation in the region. Experts see it as part of Moscow's hybrid war against NATO. Will the security alliance respond?
Vladimir Putin visits Beijing this week, as it faces accusations of supporting Moscow's war in Ukraine.
Brazil will be the first South American country to hold the tournament.
At least 85 people have died in Rio Grande do Sul state and 150,000 have had to flee their homes.
More than 100 people are injured, according to officials, as torrents of water sweep through entire villages.
Heavy rains battering Kenya has risen to 228, the interior ministry said on Sunday.
Nearly 100 tourists are among people marooned after a river overflowed in Kenya's famed Maasai Mara wildlife reserve following a heavy downpour, a local administrator said Wednesday.
Torrential rains, amplified by the El Nino weather pattern, have lashed much of the East African country and destroyed roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
"Approximately 100 or more tourists" were stranded in more than a dozen lodges and camps, Narok West sub-county administrator Stephen Nakola told AFP.
"That is the preliminary number as of now because some of the camps are unaccessible," he said.
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Mai Mahiu, Kenya — Kenyan President William Ruto on Tuesday deployed the military to evacuate everyone living in flood-prone areas in a nation where 171 people have been killed since March by torrential rains. Seasonal rains, amplified by the El Nino weather pattern, have devastated the East African nation, with floodwaters engulfing villages and threatening to unleash even more damage in the weeks to come. In the worst incident, which killed nearly 50 villagers, a makeshift dam burst in the Rift Valley before dawn Monday, sending a torrent of water and mud gushing down a hill and swallowing everything in [...]
TikTok said the measure was an "extraordinary intrusion on free speech rights".
TikTok announced Wednesday that it had suspended a feature that rewarded users for watching and liking videos on its new Lite app, available in France and Spain, after the EU launched an investigation Monday over child-safety concerns.
The bill gives TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, nine months to sell its stake or the app will be blocked in the US.
Seven of the 33 people who were rescued so far were declared dead.
The ICJ ruling has come under intense scrutiny, centring on the word "plausible". What did the court mean?
Johannesburg — South Africa's top court says graft-tainted former president Jacob Zuma is not eligible to run for parliament in the country's May 29 general election. Zuma left office in 2018, dogged by corruption allegations, and was briefly jailed for contempt. He has since founded a party to challenge his successor Cyril Ramaphosa's African National Congress (ANC). The ANC has won every South African election since the country became a democracy in 1994, and Zuma served as the party's fourth president between 2009 and 2018. But his era has become synonymous with the corruption allegations haunting the former anti-apartheid movement, [...]
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised on Monday to start sending asylum seekers to Rwanda within 10 to 12 weeks as the upper house of Parliament finally passed required legislation, delayed for weeks by attempts to alter the plan.
The asylum seeker went to the east Africa country under a scheme separate to the forced returns scheme.
A 14-year-old boy has been killed and four people injured in a stabbing in London involving a man with a sword.
Khan's victory, his third in a row, was widely expected.
Riderless horses from the royal Household Cavalry were galloping through central London Wednesday morning. They kept going for several miles.
At least five migrants, including a child, died overnight during an attempt to cross the Channel from France to Britain, a French police source said on Tuesday.
Tbilisi, Georgia — Thousands of Georgians marched through the capital, Tbilisi, on Sunday, as protests built against a bill on "foreign agents" that the country's opposition and Western countries have said is authoritarian and Russian-inspired. Georgia's parliament said it would hold the bill's second reading on Tuesday, with opposition parties and civil society groups calling for mass protests against its expected passage. If passed, the draft law would require organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as "foreign agents" or face fines. Protester Nika Shurgaia said he feared many non-government organizations would be shuttered because [...]
Huge throngs of protesters blocked streets in the capital of Georgia and milled angrily outside the parliament building after lawmakers on Tuesday approved a “foreign influence” bill that critics call a Russian-style threat to free speech and the country’s aspirations to join the European Union. Story by Laurent Berstecher.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised on Monday to start sending asylum seekers to Rwanda within 10 to 12 weeks as the upper house of Parliament finally passed required legislation, delayed for weeks by attempts to alter the plan.
The asylum seeker went to the east Africa country under a scheme separate to the forced returns scheme.
MALMO, Sweden — Switzerland won the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 on Saturday in the Swedish host city Malmo, beating runner-up Croatia. Billed as a feel-good celebration of European diversity, this year's contest was thrust into the political spotlight with calls for Israel to be excluded because of its military campaign in Gaza, triggered by Hamas' deadly attack on October 7 in Israel. Swiss rapper and singer Nemo, 24, won the contest with "The Code," a drum-and-bass, opera, rap and rock song about Nemo's journey of self-discovery as a non-binary person. "I hope this contest can live up to its promise [...]
Alice Munro, the Nobel Prize-winning author known as "Canada's Chekhov" for her mastery of the short story, has died at 92, her editor has said.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead last June, sparking a diplomatic row between India and Canada.
MEXICO CITY — Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor's office said Saturday. While there has not yet been confirmation based on forensic examination, physical characteristics — including hair — means there is a high likelihood that the bodies are those of the three tourists, local TV network Milenio reported, citing chief state prosecutor Maria Elena Andrade Ramirez. "It is presumed that (the bodies) are the ones being investigated," an employee of [...]
Police say there were signs the boy was radicalised online.
Australian police say despite uncovering a network of people with a violent extremist ideology, there's no threat to Anzac Day commemorations.
SYDNEY — The leaders of Australia’s state, territory and federal governments met Wednesday to combat gender-based abuse. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described violence against women in Australia as an “epidemic," and campaigners say gender-based violence in Australia must be declared a national emergency. The Canberra government has said statistically, a woman has been killed in Australia every four days this year. Officials at the Wendesday's meeting in Canberra said they want to find immediate, effective and practical ways to address family violence and the abuse of women. Various measures have been agreed, including a five-year $650 million plan to [...]
Police allege that those arrested adhere to a "religiously motivated, violent, extremist ideology".
sydney — Australia’s attempts to ban a graphic video of a stabbing in a church has turned into a global battle between the Canberra government and Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of the social media platform X. A service at an Assyrian Orthodox Church in Sydney was being live-streamed on April 15 when a bishop was repeatedly attacked at the altar. Four people were stabbed, and a teenager arrested. A 16-year-old boy was later charged with a terrorism offense. Soon after the attack, videos of the stabbing began circulating on social media. The Australian eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant, the [...]
Soldiers accused residents of aiding Islamist fighters before shooting at them, an investigation shows.
Human Rights Watch had accused Burkina Faso's military of civilian mass killings, including scores of children, in the West African country's fight against Islamist militant groups.
Ariel Henry resigned Thursday as prime minister of Haiti, leaving the way clear for a new government to be formed in the Caribbean country, which has been wracked by gang violence that killed or injured more than 2,500 people from January to March.
TikTok announced Wednesday that it had suspended a feature that rewarded users for watching and liking videos on its new Lite app, available in France and Spain, after the EU launched an investigation Monday over child-safety concerns.
The European Union on Wednesday announced a probe into China's public procurement of medical devices, prompting an immediate accusation from Beijing that the bloc was engaging in "protectionism".
The announcement comes after Sanchez had canceled appointments last week amid corruption allegations against his wife. He has vowed to end "toxic" politics.
Three Spanish tourists and an Afghan national were killed in a shooting in the popular tourism destination of Bamiyan in central Afghanistan, local and Spanish authorities said.
Catalonia's separatist parties are in danger of losing their hold on power in the northeastern region after the pro-union Socialist Party scored a historic result in Sunday's election.
An influx of holidaymakers is driving up housing costs and depleting resources, residents say.
North Korea fired "several" short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea off its east coast, South Korea's military says, drawing a swift condemnation from Seoul.
North Korea's former propaganda chief, credited with masterminding the personality cult surrounding the ruling Kim dynasty, has died, state media said Wednesday, with leader Kim Jong Un photographed bowing at his funeral bier. Story by Oliver Farry
Scotland's first minister Humza Yousef has stepped down after a series of political missteps, dealing the latest blow to his party's independence ambitions.
Benin has blocked exports of oil from Niger via its port, President Patrice Talon said on Wednesday
With India in the midst of weekslong elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been criticized for his rousing speeches that critics view as a divisive attempt to get more votes.
Voting got under way in the Maldives Sunday in a parliamentary election likely to test President Mohamed Muizzu's tilt towards China and away from India, the luxury tourism hotspot's traditional benefactor.
Among the first to vote was Muizzu, 45, who cast his ballot at the Tajuddin school in the capital Male.
Election chief Fuad Thaufeeq urged the 284,663 eligible voters to cast their ballots early. Polling stations across the archipelago will be open for nine and a half hours.
Primarily known as one of the most expensive holiday destinations in South Asia, with [...]
At a weekend rally, Prime Minister Modi claimed the opposition wanted to take Hindus' money and give it to "infiltrators." The opposition Congress Party said he meant Muslims, and lodged an official election complaint.
At least 14 people were killed and 75 others were injured after a billboard bigger than an Olympic swimming pool fell on them during a thunderstorm in India's financial capital Mumbai, authorities said.
An appeals court has granted a Hong Kong government request to ban a popular protest song. The ruling deepens concerns about the ebbing away of freedom in the semi-autonomous territory.
LONDON — Britain's King Charles III will return to public duties next week for the first time since being diagnosed with cancer as he makes good progress following treatment and a period of recuperation, Buckingham Palace said on Friday. In February, the palace revealed that the 75-year-old king had been diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer detected in tests after a corrective procedure for an enlarged prostate. Although Charles continued with official state business, the diagnosis led him to postpone public engagements to begin treatment and rest. "His majesty’s treatment program will continue, but doctors are sufficiently pleased with [...]
Indonesia's Ruang volcano spewed "explosive" flows of incandescent lava into the night sky.
French actor Gerard Depardieu will be tried in October for the sexual assault of two women, the Paris prosecutor's office has said.
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" and went down with the ship as the captain in “Titanic,” has died.
At least two French prison guards were shot dead and three others seriously injured today after heavily armed men ambushed a prison van to free an inmate, French police said, triggering a major manhunt.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is seeking cooperation in Turkey's fight against Kurdish militants, last visited in 2011. Iraq secured an agreement for a greater share of water from the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.
Three people suspected of spying for China and arranging to transfer information on technology with potential military uses were arrested in Germany on Monday.
The weekend attack on a center-left politician in eastern Germany has been widely condemned. But insults, threats and attempts at intimidation have long been a part of campaigning.
Tokyo — Two Japanese navy helicopters carrying eight crew members crashed in the Pacific Ocean south of Tokyo during a nighttime training flight after possibly colliding with each other, the country's defense minister said Sunday. One crew member who had been recovered from the waters was later pronounced dead, while rescuers searched for seven others who were still missing. The two SH-60K choppers from the Maritime Self-Defense Force were carrying four crew each and lost contact late Saturday near Torishima island about 600 kilometers south of Tokyo, Defense Minister Minoru Kihara told reporters. The cause of the crash was not [...]
Riot police in Georgia fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse crowds protesting against a bill seen by the opposition as targeting media freedoms. Pro-EU protesters clashed with police outside parliament, denouncing the law. Dozens of people were arrested and an opposition party leader was hurt. Georgian MPs have given their initial backing to …
The Democratic Republic Congo army said they have stopped an attempted coup involving Congolese and foreign soldiers.
Dutch contestant Joost Klein has been expelled from Saturday's Eurovision Song Contest final after a complaint by a member of the production crew, organisers said, adding to the headaches for host Sweden as it also grapples with anti-Israel protests.
New Taiwan President Lai Ching-te urges China to stop threats
Taiwan's Defense Ministry said on Friday that a number of Chinese military planes crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait.
The Greek capital was covered in a haze of dust which has blown from the Sahara desert.
The Paris Oympics flame was formally handed to French organizers on Friday in the all-marble stadium where the first modern Games were held in Athens in 1896.
According to media reports, the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker had previously admitted in court documents that the vaccine causes side-effects such as blood clots and low blood platelet counts.
Madonna performed songs such as "Like a Prayer", "Vogue" and "Express Yourself" for over two hours.
A Boeing passenger plane came off the runway during takeoff in Senegal early Thursday, injuring 11 people and shutting the international airport near the capital Dakar for almost 12 hours, management said.
Togo's ruling party has won 108 out of 113 seats in Parliament.
One of the aircraft clipped the other's rotor before the two crashed to the ground, footage shows.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is seeking cooperation in Turkey's fight against Kurdish militants, last visited in 2011. Iraq secured an agreement for a greater share of water from the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.
MOSUL, Iraq — At least five rockets were launched from Iraq's town of Zummar toward a U.S. military base in northeastern Syria Sunday, two Iraqi security sources and a U.S. official told Reuters. The attack against U.S. forces is the first since early February when Iranian-backed groups in Iraq stopped their attacks against U.S. troops. It comes a day after Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani returned from a visit to the United States, where he met with President Joe Biden at the White House. A post on a Telegram group affiliated with Kataib Hezbollah said armed factions in Iraq [...]
US air safety authorities are investigating whether Boeing completed required plane inspections on the 787 and whether employees falsified aircraft records, officials said Monday.
His father ruled Chad for a generation and now Mahamat Deby Itno has consolidated the family dynasty with victory in the presidential election.
Hundreds of lawyers, activists and others demonstrated in Tunis on Thursday over the arrest of two lawyers in police raids on the national bar association, AFP journalists said.
The 71-year-old died in hospital while awaiting a verdict in his money-laundering trial.
21 migrants died and another 23 are missing after a boat carrying 77 people capsized off Djibouti
Netiporn "Bung" Sanesangkhom, 28, had been accused of insulting Thailand's monarchy.