General news

• Japan wants to make it easier to shoot bears as attacks rise

  10-07-2024 23:54 via bbc.com
  
  In the year to April, there were a record 219 bear attacks in the country - six of them fatal.
  
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• PM pledges to beef up standards watchdog rules

  10-07-2024 23:37 via bbc.com
  
  Keir Starmer says his ethics adviser should be able to launch inquiries without the nod from No 10.
  
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• Braverman in spat with Badenoch over 'breakdown' jibe

  10-07-2024 21:45 via bbc.com
  
  A public row flares up between two potential Conservative leadership contenders.
  
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• Widow of Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi given death sentence by Iraqi court

  10-07-2024 21:42
  
  Judgement deems one of Baghdadi’s widows complicit in crimes against Yazidi womenAn Iraqi court has issued a death sentence against one of the widows of the late Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, alleging that she was complicit in crimes committed against Yazidi women captured by the militant group.The ruling comes weeks before the 10-year mark since IS launched a series of attacks against the Yazidi religious minority in the northern Iraqi region of Sinjar in early August 2014, k
  
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• Lord Prescott removed from House of Lords

  10-07-2024 20:13 via bbc.com
  
  It marks the end of a parliamentary career stretching back more than half a century.
  
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• Armed men jump onboard small boat during rescue near Libya

  10-07-2024 16:06
  
  Group of masked men approached wooden vessel in dinghies, prompting panic during rescue by charity shipA group of masked and armed men have threatened a wooden boat in distress in the central Mediterranean, provoking the frightened passengers to throw themselves into the sea.The incident happened early on Tuesday morning as crew from Ocean Viking, a rescue ship operated by the charity SOS Méditerranée, were evacuating 93 people who had been crammed on to the blue wooden vessel in d
  
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• Alec Baldwin involuntary manslaughter trial in 'Rust' movie shooting

  10-07-2024 15:35
  Watch live coverage as actor Alec Baldwin will stand trial for involuntary manslaughter in the 'Rust' movie shooting. Baldwin faces 18 months in jail if he is convicted of wrongdoing in the 2021 accidental killing of the film's cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins.
  
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• Police urge on-the-run suspect Kyle Clifford to contact them after three women killed in Bushey – latest updates

  10-07-2024 13:44
  Three women – aged 25, 28 and 61 – have died after suspected crossbow attack, say policeA resident living near the scene of the triple murder has told Sky News that suddenly last night there was a large number of police cars in the street, and that some of the officers were armed. He said that at first he thought it must have been a terrorism incident. Derek Turner told viewersIt was like an explosion in the street of police cars and ambulances. I would say in just this little bit he
  
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• Syrian asylum seeker in UK says he ‘lost everything’ after Rwanda roundup

  10-07-2024 13:39
  
  People held before planned removal from UK under Sunak government face disruption and relocation after releaseUK politics live – latest updatesA Syrian asylum seeker who was one of 220 people arrested and detained in preparation for forced removal to Rwanda says he has lost everything after his release.Critics described the high-profile mass roundups before the local elections in May as a “stunt” that needlessly disrupted the lives of many. Continue reading...
  
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• Nato summit live: Ukraine on the agenda as leaders gather in Washington

  10-07-2024 13:38
  UK prime minister Keir Starmer is urging fellow members to increase their defence spending as war in Europe continuesHere’s the schedule for today’s talks in Washington (all in local time).8:15am: Nato secretary general’s doorstep Continue reading...
  
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• Cleverly warns Tories against ‘infighting and finger pointing’ as leadership race escalates – UK politics live

  10-07-2024 13:37
  
  Shadow home secretary James Cleverly has urged the party to avoid descending into ‘bitter’ internal disputesUkraine must decide for itself whether it uses Britain’s storm shadow missiles to strike military targets inside Russia, Keir Starmer has said.The prime minister said the long range missiles should be used for defensive purposes but that Kyiv would make its own decisions on targeting.We’re obviously providing military aid, that is obviously to be used in accordance
  
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• Almost half of Tory members wants party to merge with Reform, poll reveals

  10-07-2024 13:37
  
  Kemi Badenoch emerges as leadership favourite among grassroots Tories, with 31% support among those surveyedUK politics live – latest updatesAlmost half of Conservative grassroots members are in favour of a merger with Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, according to a new poll, with Kemi Badenoch favourite to be the next party leader.Data gathered by YouGov since the general election shows the former business secretary, who is said to have been a significant critic of Rishi Sunak’s deci
  
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• Police search for man after three women killed in Bushey

  10-07-2024 13:25
  
  Officers say Kyle Clifford, 26, could be armed with crossbow and on run in Hertfordshire or north LondonPolice search after three women killed in Bushey – live updatesDetectives believe a triple-murder suspect may have gone on the run armed with a crossbow, after the bodies of three women were found in Bushey in Hertfordshire.Police have launched a search for Kyle Clifford, 26, and warned he may have a weapon. Continue reading...
  
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• UK tech startup raises £5m to prevent dangerous mould in social housing

  10-07-2024 13:24
  Switchee aims to protect health and cut bills by installing its technology in 1m homesA British startup which uses technology to prevent renters from living in cold, damp homes has raised fresh funds to expand as landlords belatedly try to tackle outbreaks of mould in crumbling social housing.Switchee has secured £5m, split equally between an existing investor, Axa IM Alts, and Octopus Ventures, part of the group which includes household gas and electricity supplier Octopus Energy. Continu
  
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• Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels will cost up to £4 at peak times, says TfL

  10-07-2024 13:19
  
  Fares for road tunnels under Thames could be halved for low-income local residents, as pricing consultation opensDrivers will be charged up to £4 at peak times for a one-way trip through either the Blackwall tunnel or the new Silvertown tunnel after the latter opens in 2025, Transport for London has announced.However, TfL is proposing to halve these charges for low-income local residents in east London to use either of the road tunnels under the Thames, as well as exempting buses, black ta
  
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• US House to vote on bill that will require proof of citizenship for casting ballot

  10-07-2024 13:00
  Republicans to push Safeguard American Voter Eligibility bill in effort to quell unproved fraud of non-citizens votingCongressional Republicans will vote this week on a bill to require people to show proof of citizenship to register to vote, a move that comes as they lay the groundwork for undermining election results in November.The House will vote on the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility bill, or Save bill, which would make states require, in person, documents that prove a person is a US ci
  
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• Move to reduce Lords retirement age to 80 is not about Joe Biden, says Keir Starmer

  10-07-2024 13:00
  Ahead of UK-US bilateral talks, PM says primary driver for cutting peers’ retirement age is size of Lords chamberUK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer has denied that his decision to bring in a retirement age of 80 for the House of Lords means he believes Joe Biden should stand down as US president.Ahead of his first bilateral talks with Biden at the White House, the UK prime minister said the “primary driver” for bringing in a retirement age for peers was the siz
  
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• First Thing: Democrats torn over Biden amid concern deepens over whether he can win

  10-07-2024 12:21
  
  Seven House Democrats have so far called for president to quit. Plus, Israeli strike on Khan Younis shelter kills at least 25Don’t already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up hereGood morning.After a day of private meetings on Capitol Hill, congressional Democrats appeared torn over whether Joe Biden should remain the party’s nominee, as concerns deepen over the 81-year-old president’s age, mental acuity and ability to win the White House for a second term.Who has affirmed t
  
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• Israeli strike on Khan Younis shelter kills at least 31 amid surge in Gaza fighting

  10-07-2024 12:18
  
  IDF reviewing airstrike after confirming an attack using ‘precision munitions’, which Gaza officials say killed eight childrenSee all our Israel-Gaza war coverageAn Israeli airstrike on the entrance of a school-turned-shelter in southern Gaza has killed at least 31 people as a stepped-up military offensive in the territory sent thousands fleeing in search of refuge.The airstrike on Tuesday afternoon hit the tents of displaced families outside a school in the town of Abassan, east of
  
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• Labour will not boost military spend without economic growth, says minister

  10-07-2024 12:17
  
  Comments come as PM begins two-day US visit to urge Nato member countries to increase defence spendingUK politics live – latest updatesNato summit – live updatesThe Labour government will not increase spending on the military unless it is also able to grow the economy, the armed forces minister has said, as Keir Starmer comes under pressure to say when Britain’s defence spending will hit 2.5% of GDP.Luke Pollard said on Wednesday the government wanted to hit the target promised
  
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• Urban heat island effect making temperatures 8F hotter in 65 US cities – study

  10-07-2024 12:00
  
  Nearly 34 million people in those cities, or 15% of the US population, experiencing temperatures higher than in surrounding areasAlmost 34 million people in 65 major US cities, or 15% of the country’s population, are experiencing temperatures that are 8F higher than their surrounding areas, according to a new analysis from Climate Central, a non-profit research group.That is largely due to built environments like parking lots and asphalt sidewalks, and a lack of trees, that contribute to w
  
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• Russia-Ukraine war: Kremlin hits out at UK’s ‘irresponsible’ comments on Storm Shadow missiles – as it happened

  10-07-2024 11:50
  
  This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our Ukraine war coverage hereKatarína Mathernová, the European Union’s ambassador to Kyiv, has posted pictures of a group of ambassadors visiting the site of the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in central Kyiv.She described the attack on the building earlier this week as the “latest Russian terror and destruction” and described it as “gut-wrenching”. Continue reading...
  
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• Rio’s ‘narco-pentecostal’ gangsters accused of ordering Catholic churches to close

  10-07-2024 11:00
  
  Bible-bashing drug boss accused of targeting Afro-Brazilian religions and Catholic congregations Reports that a powerful Rio drug lord known for his extremist religious beliefs ordered Catholic churches near his stronghold to close have spooked worshipers and security experts and exposed the advent of a “narco-pentecostal” movement made up of heavily armed evangelical drug traffickers.Claims emerged in the Brazilian press over the weekend that Álvaro Malaquias Santa Rosa &ndas
  
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• Rio’s ‘narco-pentecostal’ gangs accused of ordering Catholic churches to close

  10-07-2024 11:00
  
  Bible-bashing drug boss accused of targeting Afro-Brazilian religions and Catholic congregations Reports that a powerful Rio drug lord known for his extremist religious beliefs ordered Catholic churches near his stronghold to close have spooked worshipers and security experts and exposed the advent of a “narco-pentecostal” movement made up of heavily armed evangelical drug traffickers.Claims emerged in the Brazilian press over the weekend that Álvaro Malaquias Santa Rosa &ndas
  
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• Germany’s first black African-born MP to stand down after racist abuse

  10-07-2024 11:00
  
  Karamba Diaby’s announcement he wants to spend time with family comes after bullet and arson attacks on his officeThe first black African-born MP to enter the German parliament has announced he will not be standing in next year’s federal election, weeks after he revealed the hate mail, including racist slurs and death threats, he and his staff had received.Karamba Diaby, 62, who entered the Bundestag in 2013 in a moment hailed as historic by equality campaigners, said he wanted to sp
  
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• Booktopia will not fill orders and may not issue refunds, say administrators

  10-07-2024 10:57
  
  Customers left out of pocket who placed orders have now become, in effect, unsecured creditorsGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastThe administrators handling the collapse of Booktopia have announced that orders placed with Australia’s largest online bookseller will not be filled – and there may be no refunds either.It means out of pocket customers who placed orders prior to the company entering voluntary administration have now become, in effect,
  
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• US election: Biden’s fight to stay in the race

  10-07-2024 10:50 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The president defies Democrats who want him to go
  
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• Religious group accused of killing Elizabeth Struhs believed ‘God would heal’ her, Queensland court hears

  10-07-2024 10:34
  
  Members of Toowoomba religious group the ‘Saints’ face judge-only trial on murder and manslaughter chargesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastA religious group accused of killing an eight-year-old girl believed “God would heal” her diabetes after they withheld life-saving insulin, a judge has heard.The group of six men and eight women, including the girl’s parents, refused to enter pleas to either murder or manslaughter in the Br
  
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• AI datacentres to strain Australia’s energy supply, spike prices without change, expert says

  10-07-2024 10:29
  
  UBS analyst says tech firms must ensure datacentres have ability to power up and down like aluminium smeltersGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastSoaring electricity demand from datacentres could strain supplies and contribute to much higher prices unless tech firms agree to act like aluminium smelters that can power up or down to support the grid, an energy analyst says.The demand, fuelled in part by the growth of energy-hungry artificial intelligence service
  
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• Greens and academics criticise appointment of antisemitism envoy – as it happened

  10-07-2024 09:46
  
  This blog is now closed.Former defence chief’s report into Zomi Frankcom killing handed to Albanese governmentDerrimut factory fire: blaze brought under control as thousands told to stay inside due to toxic smokeGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastFlights have been cancelled or delayed out of Brisbane airport this morning as thick smoke blankets the city.According to the Brisbane airport website, nine domestic flights and two international flights have
  
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• Former defence chief’s report into Zomi Frankcom killing handed to Albanese government

  10-07-2024 09:41
  
  Humanitarian worker was among seven killed in drone strikes carried out by the Israeli Defense Force in Gaza on 1 AprilFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastThe Australian government has received a highly anticipated report from former defence force chief Mark Binskin on the killing of Australian humanitarian worker Zomi Frankcom and her colleagues in Israeli military drone strikes in Gaza.Guardian Australia
  
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• Man in China caught smuggling 100 live snakes in his trousers

  10-07-2024 09:40
  
  Traveller stopped by customs as he sought to slip out of Hong Kong into the border city of ShenzhenA man has been caught trying to smuggle more than 100 live snakes into mainland China by cramming them into his trousers, according to the country’s customs authority.The unnamed traveller was stopped by customs officers as he sought to slip out of semi-autonomous Hong Kong and into the border city of Shenzhen, China Customs said in a statement on Tuesday. Continue reading...
  
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• Samsung Electronics workers to extend strike indefinitely

  10-07-2024 09:38
  
  Campaign for better pay and benefits stepped up, says union representing about 30,000 staff in South KoreaThousands of workers in South Korea have pledged to extend indefinitely the first strike at Samsung Electronics, ramping up a campaign for better pay and benefits at one of the world’s largest smartphone and AI chip makers.A union representing about 30,000 staff – about a quarter of its employees in South Korea – said members were extending industrial action that was origin
  
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• NSW premier hosing down greyhound racing ban before inquiry a ‘mockery’, Animal Justice MP says

  10-07-2024 09:33
  
  Emma Hurst blasts ‘absurd turn of events’ and calls for public reassurance after damning allegations dog deaths are higher than thoughtFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastThe greyhound racing industry in New South Wales will face a government inquiry but not a ban after the resignation of the industry body’s chief executive and the release of a scathing report alleging welfare issues for
  
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• Hip-hop band Cypress Hill makes 1996 Simpsons joke come true

  10-07-2024 09:14
  
  London Symphony Orchestra to play Black Sunday album at Royal Albert Hall decades after featuring on TV showThey might be more used to Rachmaninov and Brahms, but on Wednesday night the London Symphony Orchestra’s musicians will be showcasing their perfect crescendos while playing Cypress Hill’s Insane in the Brain.The orchestra is making a Simpsons joke from 1996 finally a reality, by playing the US hip-hop trio Cypress Hill’s acclaimed Black Sunday album at the Royal Albert H
  
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• Wednesday briefing: How Kyiv is handling the aftermath of a strike on a children’s hospital

  10-07-2024 07:45
  
  In today’s newsletter: At least 30 have died after a missile hit the Okhmadyt facility in Ukraine’s capital – this is how the city continues to life under bombardment• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning.At least 38 civilians were killed and nearly 200 injured after Russian missiles struck cities across Ukraine in the early hours of Monday morning. In Kyiv powerful missiles hit Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital which is also its
  
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• WATCH: Tornado touches down in Indiana as remnants of Beryl move toward Midwest

  10-07-2024 07:45
  
  A destructive tornado touched down in Mount Vernon, Indiana, on Tuesday as the remnants of Hurricane Beryl moved across parts of the Midwest.
  
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• Japan adds ‘most severe’ category to its heatstroke index amid deadly summer

  10-07-2024 06:42
  
  Hospitals are stretched to their limits during unseasonably early heatwave, as medical authorities liken public health risk to a ‘natural disaster’Medical experts in Japan are to add a “most severe” category to the current heatstroke index, amid warnings that the extreme heat is straining medical services and causing damage to public health comparable to that in a “natural disaster”.The Japanese Association for Acute Medicine said it would add a fourth categor
  
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• European leaders use Nato summit to sell military alliance to US voters

  10-07-2024 06:00
  
  Issue of burden-sharing threatens to become major stumbling block should second Trump administration come into powerNato summit live: latest updatesEuropean leaders at the Nato summit in Washington are focused on explaining to ordinary American taxpayers that the military alliance is worth the money, as the issue of burden-sharing has become a political football for both parties in the US – and threatens to become a serious stumbling block for the alliance should a second Trump administrat
  
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• Armed suspect shot outside SCOTUS justice’s home

  10-07-2024 04:33
  
  A deputy U.S. Marshal allegedly shot a man who attempted to carjack him outside of a Supreme Court justice's home, according to records.
  
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• Biden launches NATO summit by pledging new air defense support for Ukraine

  10-07-2024 04:30
  
  The high-profile meeting may also has implications for Biden's campaign.
  
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• Man fatally shot by park rangers at national park allegedly threatened mass shooting

  10-07-2024 04:28
  
  A 28-year-old man who worked for a business in Yellowstone National Park was identified by officials as the suspect killed in a shootout with rangers on July 4.
  
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• Trump airs list of false grievances at Florida rally: ‘We don’t eat bacon any more’

  10-07-2024 04:01
  
  Ex-president returns to campaign trail in Doral and makes baseless accusations but doesn’t name running mateDonald Trump returned to the campaign trail in Florida on Tuesday night, hurling insults at Joe Biden and airing a litany of familiar grievances, but declining to name a running mate for November’s general election.The former president and presumptive Republican nominee was speaking to a crowd of several hundred supporters at his golf club in Doral, a western suburb of Miami, k
  
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• Record number of journalists killed in Pakistan already this year

  10-07-2024 04:00
  
  Seventh and most recent victim was ambushed while driving, as most cases thought likely to be work-relatedSeven reporters have been killed in Pakistan in the first six months of 2024, a record annual number with half a year still to go.The most recent victim was Khalil Jibran, a former president of a local press club in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan. He died in June when the car he was driving was ambushed by two men who dragged him out and shot him multiple times. Conti
  
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• Yellowstone gunman told woman held at gunpoint he planned mass shooting, park officials say

  10-07-2024 02:31
  Rangers fatally shot Samson Lucas Bariah Fussner, 28, when he fired at a dining facility with nearly 200 people insideA gunman killed by Yellowstone national park rangers, as he fired a semiautomatic rifle at the entrance of a dining facility with about 200 people inside, had told a woman he had held at gunpoint earlier that he planned to carry out a mass shooting, park officials said on Tuesday.Park rangers shot and killed the man during the attack on Thursday morning. Yellowstone officials ide
  
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• WATCH: Massive blue whale seen off the coast of Massachusetts in rare back-to-back sightings

  10-07-2024 02:17
  
  Blue whales are the largest animals on Earth, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
  
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• Can we change how our brains age? These scientists think it’s possible

  10-07-2024 02:16 via bbc.com
  
  Lara Lewington searches for the tech secrets that researchers hope will unlock eternal youth.
  
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• Jim Inhofe, former US senator from Oklahoma, dies at 89

  10-07-2024 01:39
  
  Inhofe died after a recent stroke, his family said.
  
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• US Gaza aid pier to be permanently dismantled after operating for just 20 days – reports

  10-07-2024 01:33
  
  Pier, which has delivered the equivalent of a single day’s pre-war land aid deliveries in two months, will reportedly be removed in a few days’ timeA US military pier, built two months ago as a way to bring sea-borne humanitarian aid into Gaza, is to be permanently dismantled within a few days, according to a new report.The Associated Press (AP) reported that the pier, which has had to be moved repeatedly to avoid bad weather, would be reconnected to the Gaza coastline on Wednesday b
  
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• Alec Baldwin's manslaughter trial gets underway with jury selection

  10-07-2024 00:55
  
  The jury has been selected in Alec Baldwin's trial over the 2021 fatal "Rust" shooting.
  
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