General news

• Canada expels Chinese diplomat for alleged intimidation of lawmaker

  08-05-2023 23:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Zhao Wei is accused of gathering information on Conservative MP Michael Chong in retaliation for criticism of China’s Uyghur policyCanada has expelled a Chinese diplomat after an intelligence report accused him of trying to intimidate a Canadian lawmaker critical of China’s treatment of its Uyghur Muslim minority.“Canada has decided to declare persona non grata Mr Zhao Wei,” the Canadian foreign minister, Mélanie Joly, said in a statement on Monday. “The deci
  
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• A TikTok ‘investigator’ faces fallout after claiming to crack a serial killer case

  08-05-2023 23:29 via nbcnews.com
  
  Ken Waks said he got “lost in the sauce” trying to connect numerous deaths across the country. Critics say it’s a lesson on the ethics of true crime.
  
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• Deaths raise fresh fears over cow vigilantism in India

  08-05-2023 23:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The deaths of three Muslim men within weeks brought calls for police to punish Hindu vigilantes.
  
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• Uvalde families get a win on gun control at Texas state Capitol

  08-05-2023 23:06 via abcnews.go.com
  
  The rotunda of the Texas state Capitol echoed Monday with pleadings from more activists who gathered in Austin to demand the legislature take action on gun reform.
  
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• McCarthy approaches Biden debt ceiling talks with the economy — and his job — at stake

  08-05-2023 23:03 via nbcnews.com
  
  Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces a defining challenge: Can he can strike a debt ceiling deal with President Joe Biden without endangering his job?
  
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• Grace Bumbry, 1st Black singer at Bayreuth, dies at 86

  08-05-2023 22:47 via abcnews.go.com
  
  Grace Bumbry, a pioneering mezzo-soprano who became the first Black singer to perform at Germany's Bayreuth Festival during a career of more than three decades on the world’s top stages, has died
  
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• DOJ charges 'Pink Beret' Jan. 6 rioter IDed after an ex spotted her in a viral FBI tweet

  08-05-2023 22:18 via nbcnews.com
  
  Justice Department charges Jennifer Inzunza Vargas Geller, alleging she stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 while wearing a pink beret.
  
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• E. Jean Carroll was 'exactly' Donald Trump's type, her lawyer says in closing arguments

  08-05-2023 22:15 via nbcnews.com
  
  Writer E. Jean Carroll was "exactly" Donald Trump's type, her attorney alleged in closing arguments in Carroll's lawsuit alleging he raped and later defamed her.
  
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• Driver who rammed SUV into migrants in Texas is charged with manslaughter

  08-05-2023 21:39 via nbcnews.com
  
  The man who rammed an SUV into a group of migrants at a bus stop in Brownsville, Texas, is charged with eight counts of manslaughter, police said Monday.
  
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• Censured Montana Rep. Zooey Zephyr proposes to girlfriend at queer prom

  08-05-2023 21:28 via nbcnews.com
  
  Rep. Zooey Zephyr, Montana's first trans legislator who was recently censured by House Republicans, got engaged to her girlfriend, trans activist Erin Reed.
  
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• North Dakota governor signs law protecting tribal adoptions

  08-05-2023 21:17 via abcnews.go.com
  
  North Dakota’s Republican Gov. Doug Burgum has signed a law that protects tribal cultures by codifying the federal Indian Child Welfare Act into state law
  
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• Jordan Neely's family lashes out at Marine who put him in deadly chokehold on subway

  08-05-2023 21:11 via nbcnews.com
  
  A U.S. Marine veteran expressed no remorse and felt "entitled" to kill Jordan Neely on a New York City subway train, the homeless man's family said Monday.
  
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• Allen, Texas mall shooting: How graphic videos spread on Twitter

  08-05-2023 20:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The footage went viral, often with no warnings. Experts say it's a disturbing failure by moderators.
  
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• King Charles and Queen Camilla pose in royal regalia for official portraits

  08-05-2023 20:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The official photographs marking the King and Queen's Coronation were taken after the lavish ceremony.
  
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• Virginia teen dies from sand hole collapse in North Carolina

  08-05-2023 20:02 via abcnews.go.com
  
  Authorities are investigating the death of a teenager who became trapped in a hole that was dug in the sand on North Carolina's Outer Banks
  
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• Suspect arrested for Dallas train shooting that killed 1, injured 2

  08-05-2023 19:59 via abcnews.go.com
  
  One person is dead and two are injured after a fight broke out between two people on a Dallas Area Rapid Transit train, a spokesperson said.
  
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• 'Outraged' letter carriers demand action to stop robberies

  08-05-2023 19:47 via abcnews.go.com
  
  Postal carriers have more worries than snow, rain or the gloom of night keeping them from their appointed rounds
  
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• Virginia boy, 17, dies after getting buried by several feet of sand in North Carolina

  08-05-2023 19:19 via nbcnews.com
  
  A 17-year-old Chesapeake, Virginia, boy died Saturday after he was found buried in several feet of sand at Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina, authorities said.
  
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• Exclusive: Bill Gates on the future of nuclear energy, AI

  08-05-2023 18:05 via abcnews.go.com
  
  TerraPower, founded by billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in 2008, is opening a new nuclear power plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming.
  
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• Sudan conflict: 'How I saved my red guitar from Khartoum war zone'

  08-05-2023 18:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Some 40,000 people have fled fighting in Sudan to go to South Sudan, one of the world's poorest countries.
  
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• Republicans and Democrats deadlocked as US debt ceiling deadline nears – live

  08-05-2023 17:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Negotiations continue over plan to increase debt limitSign up to receive First Thing – our daily briefing by emailTexas is also reeling from the deaths of eight people killed when a car plowed into them outside a shelter for migrants, the Guardian’s Christian von Preysing-Barry reports:Neighbors held a small vigil Sunday night on a dirt path along a busy road in Brownsville, at the eastern end of the US-Mexico border, where eight people were killed and 10 were injured at a bus stop t
  
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• US proposes rules requiring airlines to compensate passengers for flight delays

  08-05-2023 17:28 via theguardian.com
  
  Airlines would have to offer cash compensation and accommodation vouchers for cancellations and delaysAhead of what promises to be a busy summer for the travel industry, the US Department of Transportation is proposing new rules Monday that would require airlines to compensate passengers for cancellations and disruptions caused by the airlines.Airlines for now are required to issue refunds to passengers if flights are canceled or significantly delayed due to factors within an airline’s con
  
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• Texas grapples with two separate incidents of mass violence in one weekend – live

  08-05-2023 17:25 via theguardian.com
  
  Deadly crash driver shouted anti-migrant slurs, witness says‘Like living in a war zone’: in towns like Allen guns are deeply ingrainedVolunteer group helps grieving family identify body in Texas shootingQuestions remain after tragedy near shelter for migrants fleeing crisesHello, Guardian US live blog readers, there is much developing news out of Texas in the aftermath of two tragedies in the state over the weekend – a mass shooting near Dallas on Saturday and an incident on Su
  
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• Moscow launches new strikes across Ukraine; Kyiv claims Russia has lost 100,000 soldiers in Bakhmut – as it happened

  08-05-2023 17:12 via theguardian.com
  
  Drone attacks launched on Kyiv with explosions also reported in Odesa and Kherson; Ukrainian general says ‘meat assaults’ have led to high casualties. This live blog is closedMore from that ISW report I mentioned earlier: the analysis suggests that Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov was happy to help Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin “blackmail” the Russian defence ministry in order to reestablish his position within the circle of power in the Kremlin. The think tank writes:Kadyro
  
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• Horrific stories emerge as thousands flee ethnic violence in north-east India

  08-05-2023 17:08 via theguardian.com
  
  People fleeing unrest in Manipur tell of mobs attacking villages, setting fire to homes and lootingMamang Vaiphei hid in the jungle for three nights after a mob attacked his village in Manipur, the remote Indian state where ethnic violence has reportedly killed at least 54 people.About 23,000 people have fled the unrest that erupted last week in the hilly north-east state bordering Myanmar. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘Unique’ frogs in NSW rainforests feared locally extinct after black summer bushfires

  08-05-2023 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Pugh’s mountain frog, which has been ‘evolving since Australia was connected to Antarctica’ was worst affected of nine threatened species, researchers sayGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastSeveral frog species are feared to be locally extinct in parts of New South Wales after the black summer bushfires, a survey of amphibian populations has found.Scientists conducted a survey of 411 sites in north-east and south-east NSW, monitoring 35 frog
  
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• Texas: deadly crash driver shouted anti-migrant slurs, witness says

  08-05-2023 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Eight people dead and at least 10 injured after suspect drove SUV into migrant crowd outside bus stop in border city of BrownsvilleThe driver who plowed an SUV into a crowd of migrants outside a bus stop was allegedly shouting anti-immigrant obscenities before the crash happened, according to witnesses of the crash.A Venezuelan migrant who escaped the crash said the driver, who killed eight people and injured 10, was shouting that immigrants were invading the US, along with other offensive remar
  
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• Rockhampton mob ringleader was head of ‘patriots’ group that posted anti-Islam content

  08-05-2023 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Torin O’Brien led a far-right group that was deregistered as an incorporated association in 2015Follow our Australia news live blog for the latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastThe ringleader of a Rockhampton mob that surrounded the home of an Indigenous teenager on Sunday was previously the national leader of a far-right “patriots” group, which regularly published anti-Islam content online.Torin O’Brien, a former One Nati
  
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• National gathering of First Nations women aims to bring ‘gender justice’ to Indigenous issues

  08-05-2023 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Conference will help to design institute to ensure Indigenous women and girls have input into policies that govern their livesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastFirst Nations women have the right to move beyond “holding society together, healing, reducing harms and violence, and guaranteeing cohesion and healthy environments for everyone” and be free to imagine “gender justice”, the social justice commissioner June Oscar says.More tha
  
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• Commonwealth rent assistance has no effect on Australia’s housing affordability, Anglicare says

  08-05-2023 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Report finds that not only is CRA inadequate in alleviating rental stress, but that the way it’s calculated neglects those most in needGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastAn increase in commonwealth rent assistance has been mooted as a budget measure to ease the housing crisis for those on lower incomes, but Anglicare Australia has warned the payment is not “fit for purpose” and has no effect on affordability.As a result of the way the payme
  
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• Battery passports: how a meeting at Davos helped set a car industry standard

  08-05-2023 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Mining groups hope their joint project, ReSource, will have an influence on the global businessConcerns raised over mining companies’ role in battery passport scheme“It’s incredibly exciting,” said Benedikt Sobotka, the chief executive of mining company Eurasian Resources Group (ERG). Sitting in front of an audience in January at Davos, the ski resort that hosts an annual gathering of the world’s business elite, he waved a piece of paper with a QR code that he hopes
  
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• Australian airline passengers could soon receive compensation for delays and cancellations

  08-05-2023 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Advocates for a compensation scheme claim Australia lags behind the rest of the worldGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastAustralian airlines could soon be forced to pay cash compensation to passengers whose flights are delayed or cancelled as the government faces mounting calls to introduce laws to rein in carriers arbitrarily changing their schedules.The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, consumer advocate Choice and the Australian Lawyers Allia
  
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• Australia rethinks ‘quiet diplomacy’ tactic as Cheng Lei marks 1,000 days in Chinese detention

  08-05-2023 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Department of Foreign Affairs introduces new measures including asking former detainees to provide views on media tactics and support after their release Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastThe Australian government is rethinking how to help citizens embroiled in “hostage diplomacy” as it marks the 1,000th day of the journalist Cheng Lei’s detention in China.The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, called for Cheng to be reunited with her c
  
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• Questions remain after tragedy near Texas shelter for migrants fleeing crises

  08-05-2023 16:42 via theguardian.com
  
  Witnesses says a driver yelled slurs towards those outside the shelter after driving into a group of people, killing eightNeighbors held a small vigil Sunday night on a dirt path along a busy road in Brownsville, at the eastern end of the US-Mexico border, where eight people were killed and 10 were injured at a bus stop that morning.A small display of flowers and a row of candles grew as shaken people visited the dimly lit curb where the appalling crash occurred. Continue reading...
  
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• Boy, 17, stabbed to death in High Wycombe

  08-05-2023 16:42 via theguardian.com
  
  Police searching for four suspects after ‘targeted attack’ on Sunday in which another boy was also hurtA 17-year-old boy has been stabbed to death in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, in what police described as a “targeted attack”.Officers said they were searching for four suspects, all of whom had their faces covered during the attack, which took place between 7pm and 7.30pm on Sunday. No arrests have been made yet. Continue reading...
  
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• UK mortgage lender to offer first 100% loans since 2008 crisis

  08-05-2023 16:41 via theguardian.com
  
  Skipton building society aims product at renters who cannot save enough for a depositA leading lender plans to launch a 100% mortgage aimed at would-be first-time buyers who cannot save for a deposit, the first since the 2008 financial crisis.Standard home loans where the borrower does not have to put down a deposit used to be fairly commonplace but the last was axed in the wake of the financial crisis. Continue reading...
  
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• Second homes ‘destroying’ Welsh-speaking areas, say campaigners

  08-05-2023 16:17 via theguardian.com
  
  More than 1,000 people gather at Caernarfon Castle to demand new law to regulate market and protect communitiesMore than 1,000 people gathered outside Caernarfon Castle in north Wales for a rally protesting against second homes, which they say are “destroying” Welsh language strongholds.Members of Cymdeithas yr Iaith (the Welsh Language Society) are calling for a new Property Act to protect communities in language heartlands such as Gwynedd in the north and Pembrokeshire in the south
  
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• Chile: major blow to president as far right triumphs in key constitution vote

  08-05-2023 16:14 via theguardian.com
  
  ‘Earthquake in Chilean politics’ as ultra-conservative Republican party wins 22 of 50 seats on body to rewrite Pinochet-era documentChile’s far right has won an emphatic victory in a vote to select the committee that will rewrite its dictatorship-era constitution, after José Antonio Kast’s Republican party secured 22 of its 50 seats in a major blow to the progressive president Gabriel Boric.Boric beat Kast, an ultra-conservative lawyer often compared to Brazil&rsqu
  
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• Cornish farm launches project to triple UK’s temperate rainforest

  08-05-2023 15:54 via theguardian.com
  
  Former soldier is transforming his land on Bodmin Moor with tree planting and natural regenerationTripling Britain’s temperate rainforest is the goal of a new charity founded by a veteran of the war in Afghanistan who found solace in this unique and biodiverse habitat.The Thousand Year Trust is being launched this week by Merlin Hanbury-Tenison, who suffered post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after three tours of Afghanistan and is now transforming his 120-hectare (300 acre) hill farm o
  
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• Saint Kitts and Nevis PM says country is not free while King Charles is head of state

  08-05-2023 15:52 via theguardian.com
  
  Terrance Drew promises public consultation on Commonwealth realm nation becoming a republicThe prime minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean has claimed the country is “not totally free” while King Charles remains head of state.Terrance Drew told the BBC a public consultation on whether the Commonwealth realm nation should become a republic would start during his leadership. Continue reading...
  
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• ‘Like living in a war zone’: in towns like Allen, Texas guns are deeply ingrained

  08-05-2023 15:49 via theguardian.com
  
  In conservative towns like Allen, where a shooter killed eight people Saturday, guns are handed down from generation to generationFour years ago, the city council governing Allen, Texas, was asked to approve construction of a large gun range in the town. Only one member of the council, Lauren Doherty, voted against it.Doherty said that vote cost her seat on the municipal body when she ran for re-election two years later. Continue reading...
  
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• Labour urged to say whether it would scrap new anti-protest laws

  08-05-2023 15:37 via theguardian.com
  
  Lib Dems, SNP and Greens pile on pressure as two shadow ministers refuse to commit to repealing Public Order ActLabour is under pressure to say whether it would repeal new anti-protest laws, after calls from all the main Westminster opposition parties and concerns expressed privately by some Labour MPs.Restrictions on the right to protest are in the spotlight after much-criticised arrests by the Metropolitan police of republican campaigners before Saturday’s coronation of King Charles. Con
  
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• EU lawyers say plan to scan private messages for child abuse may be unlawful

  08-05-2023 14:50 via theguardian.com
  
  Under proposed ‘chat controls’ regulation, any encrypted service provider could be forced to screen for ‘identifiers’An EU plan under which all WhatsApp, iMessage and Snapchat accounts could be screened for child abuse content has hit a significant obstacle after internal legal advice said it would probably be annulled by the courts for breaching users’ rights.Under the proposed “chat controls” regulation, any encrypted service provider could be forced t
  
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• Ukraine cities hit as Russia evacuates civilians amid Victory Day security fears

  08-05-2023 14:34 via theguardian.com
  
  Kyiv and Odesa targeted overnight, with attacks coming as Moscow prepares to commemorate victory over Nazi GermanyRussia has launched a fresh wave of drone, missile and air strikes on cities across Ukraine, as Moscow stepped up attacks on the eve of its Victory Day parade commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany.Russia’s latest missile barrage came as both sides appeared to be preparing for a widely expected Ukrainian offensive Kyiv hopes will help recapture territory lost since the start
  
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• US man returns antiquities to Italy after reading Guardian report on looted relics

  08-05-2023 14:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Jay Stanley hands over 30 artefacts, including vases and figurines from 6th to 3rd centuries BC, found in late father’s homeAn American man has returned 30 antiquities to Italy after reading a Guardian report about a compatriot who sent 19 antiquities back to their countries of origin amid growing coverage of looted ancient artefacts.Jay Stanley, who lives in Ben Lomond, California, has handed over vases and figurines dating from the 6th to 3rd centuries BC. Continue reading...
  
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• Concerns raised over mining companies’ role in battery passport scheme

  08-05-2023 13:00 via theguardian.com
  
  ERG and Glencore are among founders of ReSource, a proposed joint venture that is also backed by TeslaHow a meeting at Davos helped set a car industry standardHuman rights groups have raised concerns that controversial mining companies, including one with a subsidiary under investigation by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office, are taking a key role in a new “battery passport” scheme that counts the electric carmaker Tesla among its key supporters.The mining companies Eurasian Resourc
  
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• Australia’s diplomatic network has ‘serious gaps’ and needs boost, review warns

  08-05-2023 13:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Foreign service is ‘stretched to the point of ineffectiveness’ as it tries to deal with a fragmenting world order, report saysGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastSome parts of Australia’s overseas diplomatic network are “stretched to the point of ineffectiveness” and need a staffing boost, a review has warned the government.The review, overseen in part by the influential foreign policy expert Allan Gyngell who died last week, has
  
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• China says it's imperative to stabilize U.S. relations

  08-05-2023 12:19 via nbcnews.com
  
  Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said Monday it is imperative to stabilize Sino-U.S.
  
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• Lone child refugees stranded in Sudan may ‘risk travelling to UK on small boats’

  08-05-2023 12:15 via theguardian.com
  
  Charities say British government not doing enough to facilitate family reunions through available safe and legal routeLone child refugees stranded in Sudan could be forced to travel to the UK in small boats because British ministers are not helping those entitled to family reunion to escape the fighting, charities have warned.Asylum seekers granted refugee status in the UK are able to apply to bring their spouse, children or younger siblings – one of the few safe and legal routes open to r
  
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• At least 22 dead as tourist boat capsizes in southern India

  08-05-2023 12:14 via nbcnews.com
  
  Over 22 people, including children, died when a double-decker boat capsized off a beach on Sunday night in southern India, according to officials.
  
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