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Latest World news news, comment and analysis from the Guardian, the world's leading liberal voice



Sat, 22 Feb 2025 15:00:11 GMT
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Archaeologist believes his ‘find of the century’ – of Pharaoh Thutmose II – could be surpassed by ongoing excavation

To uncover the location of one long-lost pharaoh’s tomb is a career-defining moment for an archaeologist. But to find a second is the stuff of dreams.

Last week British archaeologist Piers Litherland announced the find of the century – the first discovery of a rock-cut pharaoh’s tomb in Egypt since Tutankhamun’s in 1922.

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Thu, 20 Feb 2025 14:39:48 GMT
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Sale of the miner, which is now valued at $4bn, may be delayed following ‘really, really difficult’ market

The world’s biggest diamond miner, De Beers, cost its parent company almost $3bn last year as the growth in lab-grown stones continues to take the shine off the industry.

Anglo American was forced to write down the value of the renowned gem producer for a second consecutive year as its chief executive admitted the diamond markets had proved “really, really difficult for the company”.

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Thu, 20 Feb 2025 10:00:36 GMT
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As administration cuts off resources from African countries to contain outbreak, workers say ‘everybody’s lost’

As the Trump administration dismantles the US Agency for International Development (USAid) and retreats from funding global public health efforts, mpox – formerly known as monkeypox – is at greater risk of becoming a wider global emergency, according to aid workers and global health experts.

“It’s a real mistake not to be doing everything we can to control this while we’re still able to,” said Stephen Morse, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University focusing on risk assessment of infectious diseases. “Taking huge steps backwards is only going to make everything worse.”

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Wed, 19 Feb 2025 23:40:21 GMT
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Uncovering rock-cut tomb of Thutmose II hailed as most significant discovery since Tutankhamun in 1922

It was when British archaeologist Piers Litherland saw that the ceiling of the burial chamber was painted blue with yellow stars that he realised he had just discovered the first rock-cut tomb of an Egyptian pharaoh to be found in more than a century.

Litherland had been exploring the western wadis near the Valley of the Kings in Egypt for more than a decade when he discovered a staircase that led to the tomb, now known to have belonged to Thutmose II, who reigned from 1493 to 1479BC.

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Wed, 19 Feb 2025 16:19:52 GMT
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Authorities blame crypto exchange, already facing four counts of tax evasion in the country, for currency woes

Nigeria has filed a lawsuit seeking to compel Binance to pay $79.5bn for economic losses the country’s government says were caused by the cryptocurrency exchange’s operations there and $2bn in back taxes, court documents showed on Wednesday.

Authorities blame Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, for Nigeria’s currency woes and detained two of its executives in 2024 after crypto websites emerged as platforms of choice for trading the local naira currency.

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Wed, 19 Feb 2025 13:30:32 GMT
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The Bidi Bidi performing arts venue offers more than 250,000 refugees the chance to sing, play, dance – and dream of a peaceful future

The sound of a flute floats towards five young men in the 1,000-seat Bidi Bidi Performing Arts Centre theatre in Uganda – the country that hosts the highest number of refugees in Africa. The music carries past them to the shrubs that surround the circular majestic building and the neighbours going about their lives, the more than 250,000 refugees who live in the 250 sq km Bidi Bidi refugee settlement, the largest refugee camp in Africa.

The young men – gathered for a chance to play a musical instrument or record music – welcome visitors with the awkward smile of youth. They are seated under the oldest fig tree, where the dream of building a place for the creative young people of Bidi Bidi to commune and nurture their talents was born.

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:51:47 GMT
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FBI says Aurora Phelps met men online for dating then drugged them and stole cars and money

A woman used online dating apps to lure at least four older men to meet her in person, drugged them with sedatives and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in a “sinister” romance scheme, FBI officials in Las Vegas said on Friday.

Three of the men died, authorities said, and she has been charged in one of their deaths.

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:05 GMT
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Democrat Jasmine Crockett calls it ‘really wild’ that it is foreign leaders who are speaking truth to power

The congresswoman Jasmine Crockett has revealed she is “rooting” for Canada and Mexico over Donald Trump in their attempts to stand up to him, saying it is “really wild” to find herself in that position given he is the president of the US.

“They are really the ones that are speaking truth to power right now,” the Democratic representative from Texas said on Friday on the popular Breakfast Club podcast, alluding to the political feuds Trump has engaged in with the US’s two North American neighbors during the first month of his second presidency. “They can see what it is and they were like, ‘We are not messing with this crazy regime.’”

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Fri, 21 Feb 2025 22:08:56 GMT
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In Buriticupu, about 1,200 people risk losing their homes, and residents have seen the problem escalate in 30 years

Authorities in a city in the Brazilian Amazon have declared a state of emergency after huge sinkholes opened up, threatening hundreds of homes.

Several buildings in Buriticupu, in Maranhão state, have already been destroyed, and about 1,200 people of a population of 55,000 risk losing their homes into a widening abyss.

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Fri, 21 Feb 2025 09:00:33 GMT
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Countries meeting at Caricom summit not seeking ‘handout’ but ‘appropriate apology’ and compensation

Caribbean leaders have defended the region’s pursuit of slavery reparations, describing the compensation for centuries of enslavement and oppression as a matter of simple justice.

Speaking to the Guardian at the Caribbean Community (Caricom) heads of government meeting in Barbados, the Antigua and Barbuda prime minister, Gaston Browne, said Caribbean states were not seeking “a handout”.

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Thu, 20 Feb 2025 23:25:52 GMT
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Move apparently empties military facility on Cuban base of migrant detainees and comes in wake of ACLU lawsuit

The US government has flown 177 deportees from Guantánamo Bay to Honduras, from where they are set to be transferred on to Venezuela, apparently emptying the military facility of migrant detainees.

The move on Thursday came days after human rights lawyers filed a lawsuit seeking access to dozens of people who had been held at the US naval base.

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Thu, 20 Feb 2025 21:42:10 GMT
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Charges of criminal negligence dropped against three key defendants over death of British singer in October

A court in Argentina has dropped charges of criminal negligence against three of the five people indicted in connection with the death of Liam Payne, the former One Direction singer who fell from a third-floor hotel balcony in Buenos Aires last October.

In a decision issued Wednesday, the Argentine federal appeals court ordered the other two defendants in the case to remain in custody. They are facing prosecution on charges they supplied the famed British boy band star with narcotics.

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 20:44:11 GMT
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Accident happened in Siem Reap province that saw heavy fighting in 1980s between government soldiers and Khmer Rouge

A grenade believed to be more than 25 years old killed two toddlers when it blew up near their homes in rural Cambodia, officials said.

The accident happened on Saturday in Siem Reap province’s Svay Leu district, where there had been heavy fighting in the 1980s and 90s between Cambodian government soldiers and rebel guerrillas from the communist Khmer Rouge. The group had been ousted from power in 1979.

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 09:13:51 GMT
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Report from New Zealand navy personnel comes a day after similar drill forced multiple airlines to change flight paths between Australia and New Zealand

China’s navy has reportedly conducted a second live-fire exercise in international waters, a day after a similar drill forced multiple airlines to change flight paths between Australia and New Zealand.

New Zealand navy personnel advised live rounds were fired from a Chinese warship in international waters near the island nation on Saturday.

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Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:32 GMT
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Democratic party chair Lo Kin-hei would not comment on whether Beijing put pressure on members

Hong Kong’s oldest pro-democracy party, which became an influential voice of opposition before Beijing cracked down on dissent, will start preparations to shut down, its leader has said.

Lo Kin-hei, the chair of Hong Kong’s Democratic party, said on Thursday: “We are going to proceed and study on the process and procedure that is needed for the disbanding.”

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Fri, 21 Feb 2025 07:07:39 GMT
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Three Chinese vessels currently in international waters notified Australia’s defence department before the drill

Chinese warships have undertaken an apparent live-fire drill in the seas between Australia and New Zealand, diverting commercial flights in the skies above.

The Chinese navy notified the Australian defence department shortly before the drill on Friday.

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Fri, 21 Feb 2025 04:58:10 GMT
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Head of anti-trafficking agency says dozens of Chinese criminal gangs were running the centres

Tens of thousands of people could be living inside illegal scam compounds in Myanmar that have proliferated near Thailand’s border, according to the head of Thailand’s anti-trafficking agency, who warned it could take months before all foreign nationals are repatriated.

Thailand has launched a major crackdown on scam compounds over recent weeks, cutting off cross-border electricity and fuel supplies.

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Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:01:15 GMT
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Velvet worms have rows of pudgy legs, skin speckled like a galaxy and dissolve their prey with sticky goo

An ancient gummy-looking worm-like creature with a vicious hunting method that involves projecting sticky goo from its head has been crowned New Zealand’s bug of the year.

The Peripatoides novaezealandiae is from the family of velvet worms, or Ngāokeoke in the Māori language. The invertebrates have rows of pudgy legs and skin speckled like a galaxy, and are considered “living fossils”, having remained virtually unchanged for 500m years.

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Sun, 23 Feb 2025 05:07:51 GMT
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This blog is now closed

Greens want Labor’s new Medicare plan implemented before election

The federal Greens have welcomed the Albanese government’s plan to significantly boost bulk-billing rates, as part of an $8.5bn policy, but claimed its campaigning influenced the decision.

Greens pressure works. In a wealthy country like ours everyone should be able to see a GP, psychologist, dentist or nurse with their Medicare card.

It’s good Labor has adopted part of our plan to help people see the GP for free. Now let’s make it law before the election.

Trade and tariffs will be part of the conversation, but not the whole conversation. That is an ongoing discussion that we’re having with our American counterparts. I don’t expect he will conclude those discussions on steel and aluminium while I’m in DC.

I am not going to pre-empt the outcome of those conversations, nor do I expect those discussions will necessarily be concluded this week, to be upfront with you.

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Sun, 23 Feb 2025 03:01:44 GMT
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Victim is in a stable condition at a Brisbane hospital with abdominal and leg injuries, authorities say

A man is recovering in a Brisbane hospital after being bitten by a shark and airlifted for treatment from a Moreton Bay island.

The man, who is reported to be 29, was mauled in the waters off the bay side of Moreton Island near the Wrecks Walking Track shortly after 3pm on Saturday.

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Sun, 23 Feb 2025 02:42:35 GMT
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Super Members Council says summit may sway US president on tariffs on Australian industry after seeing scale of investment in US

Australia’s $2.8tn superannuation industry will bolster the Albanese government’s bid to secure an exemption from the Trump administration’s 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium imports this week.

A delegation of Australia’s largest funds will meet with US government officials from Monday, as part of a four-day summit designed to improve awareness of the industry’s long-term contributions to the US economy and its plans to more than double investment.

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Sun, 23 Feb 2025 02:31:44 GMT
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Less than half of Australians were always bulk billed when they saw a GP in 2023-24, government data says

The Coalition says it will match “dollar for dollar” Labor’s landmark $8.5bn proposal to dramatically increase Medicare bulk-billing rates for GP visits, pledging to meet Anthony Albanese’s commitment to make nearly all doctors’ appointments free.

Doctor’s groups have welcomed Labor’s pledge to fund 18m extra bulk-billed GP visits annually, but have warned some patients will still miss out because government rebates are sometimes still too low to cover the cost of all appointments. The health minister, Mark Butler, says nine out of 10 GP visits will be covered by 2030 under Labor’s plan, and has accused the Coalition of “cooking the books” on bulk-billing statistics during their time in office.

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Sun, 23 Feb 2025 00:52:25 GMT
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‘Horrendous’ eight-year long project has ended with final fact check, leaving a legacy ‘nobody can argue’ with, says researcher

The final findings of the “horrendous” eight-year long “massacre map”, tracing the violent history of the Australian colonial frontier have been released.

The Colonial Frontier Massacres Digital Map Project, spearheaded by the late emerita professor of history at the University of Newcastle, Dr Lyndall Ryan, officially concluded in 2022.

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At least 10,657 people were killed in at least 438 colonial frontier massacres.

10,374 of them were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people killed by colonists.

Only 160 of those killed were non-Indigenous colonists.

There were 13 massacres of colonists by Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people.

The most intense period of massacres was from the late 1830s into 1840s, with a pivotal point being the Myall Creek massacre in 1838 – the first time any perpetrators had been punished.

After the Myall Creek convictions, the government could no longer involve the military and new “police” forces were created, which set a pattern for the rest of the conflict.

About half of all massacres of Aboriginal people were carried out by police and other government agents. Many others were perpetrated by settlers acting with tacit approval of the state.

Some perpetrators were involved in many massacres.

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 21:48:51 GMT
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Open letter from some of the country’s most distinguished artists ‘strongly protests’ at the removal of Sabsabi and curator Michael Dagostino

Living artists who have represented Australia at the Venice Biennale over the past five decades – and the estates of a number of now deceased artists who have done the same – have signed an open letter to the board and chief executive of Creative Australia to reinstate sacked artist Khaled Sabsabi and his curator Michael Dagostino.

Some of Australia’s most distinguished living artists, including Imants Tillers, Mike Parr, Susan Norrie, Fiona Hall, Judy Watson, Patricia Piccinini and Tracey Moffat have signed the petition, as has the estate of Howard Arkley who represented Australia in Venice more than a quarter of a century ago.

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Sun, 23 Feb 2025 05:00:26 GMT
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Europe holds its breath as world’s third largest economic power and most populous EU country faces crossroads

German voters go to the polls today but it is a different world from when the campaign began only a few weeks ago.

Nearly 60 million ­people are choosing a government that will have to grapple with the breakdown of the transatlantic alliance under Donald Trump and new threats to European security just as the country’s vaunted economic model is hitting the skids.

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Sun, 23 Feb 2025 05:00:26 GMT
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Numbers of animals once hunted as vermin are rising across the continent. But scientists worry about how we are going to get along with these predators

Europe’s carnivores have had a remarkable change in fortune. After tens of thousands of years of persecution that wiped out sabretooth tigers, hyenas and cave lions, there has been a recent rebound in the continent’s surviving predators.

Across mainland Europe, bear, wolf, lynx and wolverine numbers have risen dramatically as conservation measures introduced several decades ago have begun to make an impact. There are now about 20,500 brown bears in Europe, a rise of 17% since 2016, while there are 9,400 Eurasian lynx, a 12% increase.

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 19:28:40 GMT
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Kyiv ‘must be at the heart of negotiations’ says PM as foreign secretary announces new Russia sanctions

Keir Starmer has raised the stakes before a crucial meeting in Washington with the US president, Donald Trump this week, by insisting that Ukraine must be “at the heart of any negotiations” on a peace deal with Russia.

The prime minister made the remarks – which run directly contrary to comments by the US president last week – in a phone call on Saturdaywith Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in which he also said that “safeguarding Ukraine’s sovereignty was essential to deter future aggression from Russia”.

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 19:27:12 GMT
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Macron says knife attack is ‘without any doubt an act of Islamist terrorism’

A 69-year-old man who intervened when a suspected terrorist attacked police officers with a knife shouting “Allahu Akbar” has died in eastern France.

Two police officers were also seriously injured in the suspected Islamist terrorist act, which took place in the city of Mulhouse during a demonstration in support of the Congo on Saturday afternoon. Three other police officers were lightly wounded.

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 18:53:16 GMT
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Pontiff in hospital for complex lung infection and has received high flows of oxygen and blood transfusions

Pope Francis was in critical condition on Saturday after he suffered a prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis while being treated for pneumonia and a complex lung infection, the Vatican said.

The 88-year-old pope, who remains conscious, received “high flows” of oxygen to help him breathe. He also received blood transfusions after tests showed low counts of platelets, which are needed for clotting, the Vatican said in a late update.

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 17:00:12 GMT
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As the Austrian capital honours the legacy of its dance king, the race is on to attract the most punters

The music of Johann Strauss streams through Vienna like the stately Danube. Even the syllables of the composer’s name beat out the rhythm of a waltz, as all Austrian dance teachers know. In their lessons, the words “Jo-hann Strauss” are often swapped in to replace the conventional “one, two, three” step count.

Viennese children learn to waltz just like they learn to ride a bike, so the muscle-memory never leaves them. Just as well, because the city is still famous as the home of a 19th-century dance craze that shaped its international image. In this 200th anniversary year of the birth of the “waltz king”, there are rival bids jostling to become the focus of the swirling celebrations.

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 21:19:56 GMT
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Eliya Cohen spent more than 500 days in captivity fearing Ziv Abud had died in Hamas attacks in 2023

An Israeli hostage only discovered his fiancee had survived the 7 October attacks after his release on Saturday, Israeli media has reported.

Eliya Cohen had spent more than 500 days in captivity fearing his bride-to-be, Ziv Abud, was dead. The last time they had seen each other, they were hiding in a shelter with relatives and friends after attending the Nova festival.

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 21:05:08 GMT
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Hamas released Israeli hostages Hisham al-Sayed, Tal Shoham, Avera Mengistu, Eliya Cohen, Omer Shem Tov and Omer Wenkert

A masked militant has sat down at a table on the stage with a Red Cross representative and they appear to be signing documents.

Live images from Rafah are showing masked Hamas militants taking to the makeshift stage, with one speaking into a microphone.

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 15:33:36 GMT
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Ceasefire in jeopardy as Israel says it will wait ‘until release of next hostages is guaranteed’ and Hamas scraps ‘degrading’ handover ceremonies

Hamas released six Israeli hostages on Saturday, but Israel suspended the handover of more than 600 Palestinians it was due to free from its prisons in exchange, putting the five-week-old ceasefire agreement once more in jeopardy.

In a statement on Sunday, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said: “In light of Hamas’ repeated violations – including the disgraceful ceremonies that dishonour our hostages and the cynical use of hostages for propaganda – it has been decided to delay the release of terrorists that was planned for yesterday [Saturday] until the release of the next hostages is ensured, without the humiliating ceremonies.”

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:16:16 GMT
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Home Office moved to cancel Menatalla Elwan’s leave to remain over posts on Hamas’s 7 October attack

An Egyptian NHS doctor who “glorified terrorist violence” by mocking Israeli civilians fleeing the Hamas attacks in October 2023 has won a legal challenge against deportation.

In one of three social media posts hours after the attacks began, Dr Menatalla Elwan, 34, who worked at an NHS trust in Liverpool, reposted footage of music festivalgoers running from Hamas terrorists and wrote “if it was your home, you would stay and fight”, accompanied by a smiling face emoji.

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 06:00:01 GMT
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Gaza ceasefire deal still on track amid uproar over fate of two Israeli boys and initial false return of their mother’s body

The body of the Israeli hostage Shiri Bibas has been identified, Israel’s army radio reported early on Saturday, adding that Bibas was likely killed in captivity with her children.

The confirmation came as Israelis and Palestinians braced for another tense exchange of hostages, prisoners and detainees on Saturday after uproar in Israel over allegations that two child hostages were “brutally murdered” by Hamas, and the group’s initial failure to deliver the body of their mother, instead returning the corpse of an unidentified woman.

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 05:00:05 GMT
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Surgeons who worked in Gaza fear disease, malnutrition and eradication of healthcare will reverberate for decades

British doctors who worked in Gaza during the war have issued dire predictions over the long-term health of Palestinian civillians, warning that large numbers will continue to die.

The prevalence of infectious disease and multiple health problems linked to malnutrition, alongside the destruction of hospitals and killing of medical experts, meant mortality rates among Palestinians in Gaza would remain high after the cessation of Israeli shelling.

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Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:58:52 GMT
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Data shows aircraft parts from more than 100 western companies reached Russian aviation industry via India

British firms are among more than 100 western companies, including the aerospace giant Boeing, which have exported aircraft parts to India that reached Russia, according to customs data.

Analysis suggests products worth more than $50m have passed through intermediaries in India to Russian airlines and other entities over a 21-month period up to September 2024.

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Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:16:48 GMT
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Man was trekking with another Briton in Dhauladhar range on trail from Dharamkot to Triund in northern India

A British tourist has died after seriously injuring himself while trekking in the Himalayas.

The man, who had gone on a short hike to the foot of the Dhauladhar mountain range in northern India with another British tourist, fell during his descent on Sunday evening and was taken down the mountain on a stretcher.

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Wed, 19 Feb 2025 06:00:26 GMT
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As one of the last female-run stations in the country is silenced, a former broadcaster gives an inside view of the crackdown on women working in the media

When the Taliban began marching towards cities across Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, Alia*, a 22-year-old Afghan journalist, found herself doing some of the most important work of her short life and career.

In the weeks leading up to the Taliban takeover in August, Alia’s voice on the radio became familiar to many in northern Afghanistan. She reported on the withdrawal of foreign troops, the siege of government offices and on the detention of former officials in her province.

Above all, Alia reported on the situation for women and their fears and concerns – emotions she was experiencing herself. As the Taliban gradually began imposing restrictions on them, Alia was documenting history repeating itself.

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Tue, 18 Feb 2025 18:42:04 GMT
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Civil servant Josie Stewart found to have been unlawfully dismissed in 2022 after she told BBC about failures

A civil servant who blew the whistle about the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and Boris Johnson’s involvement in a decision to evacuate a pet charity from Kabul has won her case for unfair dismissal against the government in a legal first.

An employment panel of three judges unanimously found the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) unfairly dismissed Josie Stewart in 2021 after she leaked information in the public interest.

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Sun, 16 Feb 2025 09:00:05 GMT
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Some 400 million devotees will attend this year’s Kumbh Mela festival. Pilgrims and politicians explain why it’s bigger than ever

They sat quietly together on the banks of the Ganges river, heads bowed in sombre prayer. Some men were naked, their bodies smeared grey with ash. Others had a simple saffron cloth tied around their waist. Nearby, barbers balanced on their haunches, shaving the head of each man clean with a flick of their knives, save for a small strand at the back.

This sacred ceremony, committing to a renunciation of earthly pleasures , has been taking place at the Kumbh Mela festival for centuries. The meditation, followed by immersion in the river, is a mandatory initiation ritual for sadhus – Hindu holy men who live an austere life of strict spiritual discipline. Among the most sacred events in the Hindu calendar, the festival occurs every 12 years across four sacred locations in India where it is believed the Hindu god Vishnu once spilled drops of the nectar of immortality.

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Sun, 16 Feb 2025 05:11:44 GMT
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Rush broke out as travellers scrambled to board trains in India’s capital to go to world’s largest religious gathering

At least 18 people have died in a crush at a railway station in India’s capital when surging crowds scrambled to catch trains to the world’s largest religious gathering, officials have said.

The Kumbh Mela attracts tens of millions of Hindu faithful every 12 years to the northern city of Prayagraj, and has a history of crowd-related disasters – including one last month, when at least 30 people died in another crush at the holy confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers.

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 23:13:31 GMT
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Drivers had told Avon and Somerset officers that there was something on the road between junctions 20 and 21

Police have discovered human remains on a motorway carriageway near Bristol and have shut parts of two motorways in both directions.

A number of drivers called the police and reported seeing something on the road between junctions 20 and 21 of the M4 at 6.40pm on Saturday.

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 17:11:04 GMT
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Prosecutors in England and Wales are failing to obtain orders requiring the deletion of intimate content shared without consent, analysis reveals

Perpetrators of “revenge porn” offences are being allowed to keep explicit images of their victims on their devices, after a failure by prosecutors to obtain orders requiring their deletion.

An Observer analysis of court records in intimate image abuse cases has found that orders for the offenders to give up their devices and delete photos and videos are rarely being made. Of 98 cases concluded in the magistrates courts in England and Wales in the past six months, just three resulted in a deprivation order.

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:56:34 GMT
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A probe to be launched this week aims to pinpoint sites of lunar water, which could help plan to colonise the Earth’s satellite

Space engineers are set to launch an unusual mission this week when they send a probe built by UK and US researchers to the moon to map water on its surface. Lunar Trailblazer’s two year mission is scheduled to begin on Thursday when the probe is blasted into space from Florida on a Space X Falcon rocket.

Its goal – to seek out water on the lunar surface – may seem odd given that the moon has traditionally been viewed as an arid, desiccated world. However, scientists have recently uncovered strong hints that it possesses significant quantities of water. It will be the task of Lunar Trailblazer to reveal just how much water there is near the lunar surface and pinpoint its main locations.

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:40:16 GMT
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An independent standards authority says the industry must learn from recent scandals and create safer working environments

New guidelines will be issued this week for the UK’s creative industries after a series of scandals including reports of inappropriate behaviour by Gregg Wallace and Gino d’Acampo, and bullying allegations on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.

The Creative Industries Indep­endent Standards Authority (CIISA) will set new standards with the aim of stamping out bullying, harassment and discrimination, and address “power imbalances”.

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:07:54 GMT
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Two men and a woman arrested in connection with 2002 disappearance of Robert Scott Clive in North Shields

Three people have been arrested on suspicion of murder more than 20 years after a man went missing in north-east England.

Robert Scott Clive, 30, originally from Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway, was living in North Shields when he disappeared on 10 October 2002.

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 15:32:37 GMT
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Greater Manchester police say girl died from her injuries after incident on Mosley Street involving tram and van

A three-year-old girl has been killed in a collision between a tram and a van in Manchester.

Greater Manchester police officers attended the scene on Mosley Street, near to St Peter’s Square, after the collision on Saturday morning.

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 23:42:30 GMT
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Ex-leader of far-right Proud Boys trails group through lobby of Washington hotel, engaging officer Michael Fanone

Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the far-right Proud Boys group who was convicted and then pardoned for his role in the January 6 insurrection, confronted a group of police officers who defended the Capitol during the attack, accusing one of them of being a “coward”.

A video shared by Tarrio on social media on Saturday showed him following the officers, Michael Fanone, Harry Dunn and Aquilino Gonell, through the lobby of a Washington hotel that was hosting the Principles First summit, a conference where one of the officers received a “profile in courage” award.

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 23:42:18 GMT
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US president’s 75-minute tirade of repeated false claims ranges from voter fraud and stolen-election lies to foreign wars. This blog is now closed.

Donald Trump launched into his speech by assailing “the fraudsters, liars … globalists and deep-state bureaucrats” that he said “are being sent back”.

“We’re draining the swamp and restoring government by the people for the people,” he said before going on to his oft-repeated claims of Washington DC being controlled by a “sinister group of radical-left Marxist warmongers”.

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 22:48:04 GMT
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US president hits familiar notes about election victories, ending the war in Ukraine and border militarization

In a campaign-style performance, Donald Trump delivered the more-than-hour-long finale at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday, hitting familiar notes about his election victories, ending the war in Ukraine, US border militarization and what he characterized as the liberation of Washington from “deep-state bureaucrats”.

Speaking to an auditorium filled to the brim at National Harbor in Maryland, Trump went all-in on his deployment of active-duty troops to the southern border, which he characterized as responding to an “invasion”. He also boasted that his administration had terminated temporary protected status for Haitian immigrants and attempted to ban birthright citizenship for children of non-legal permanent residents.

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 17:29:21 GMT
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Epicenter of latest outbreak had one of state’s highest immunization exemption rates for 2023-24 school year

The measles outbreak in Texas has grown to at least 90 cases, reaching historic levels, according to officials.

Since late January, 90 cases of measles have been identified in the South Plains region, the state’s department of state health services (DSHS) reported Friday. At least 16 patients have been hospitalized as a result.

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 15:53:07 GMT
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Database, first proposed by Trump in 2020 and created by Biden administration in 2023, is now offline

Donald Trump’s second presidential administration shut down a national database that tracked misconduct by federal police, a resource that policing reform advocates hailed as essential to prevent officers with misconduct records from being able to move undetected between agencies.

The National Law Enforcement Accountability Database (NLEAD), which stored police records documenting misconduct, is now unavailable, the Washington Post first reported.

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Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:00:07 GMT
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Experts say current US outbreak is unlikely to end without intervention with further mutation of virus likely

A newer variant of H5N1 bird flu has spilled over into dairy cows separately in Nevada and Arizona, prompting new theories about how the virus is spread and leading to questions about containing the ongoing outbreaks.

The news comes amid a purge of experts at federal agencies, including employees who were responding to the highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Department of Agriculture.

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