General news

• Five skiers killed in French Alps after avalanches hit off-piste areas

  29-01-2025 23:21 via theguardian.com
  
  Four Norwegians and one Swiss person died in the Savoie and Haute-Savoie regionsAn avalanche in the French Alps has killed four Norwegian skiers who were swept away by an off-piste torrent of snow and ice in the southeastern Savoie region.Also on Wednesday, a separate avalanche near Chamonix, in the Haute-Savoie region, killed a Swiss skier, according to the public prosecutor’s office in Bonneville. Continue reading...
  
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• Fact or fiction? Trump repeats false claim that US sends condoms to Gaza

  29-01-2025 23:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Claim was first made in press conference, prompting Fox host to say condoms were also being used to bomb IsraelSpeaking at the White House on Wednesday, Donald Trump boasted that his administration had “stopped $50m being sent to Gaza to buy condoms for Hamas”, doubling down on a claim first made by his press secretary which appears to be contradicted by the facts.As the Guardian reported on Tuesday, a comprehensive report issued in September by the US Agency for International Develo
  
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• Three arrested after ancient Romanian artefacts stolen from Dutch museum

  29-01-2025 21:59 via theguardian.com
  
  2,500-year-old Helmet of Cotofenesti among objects taken after thieves used explosives to enter buildingDutch police have arrested three men in connection with the robbery of ancient Romanian artefacts from a museum in the north-east of the Netherlands, after an intensive four-day hunt.The break-in on Saturday, during which the men used explosives to get into the Drents Museum in Assen, has angered Romania and prompted Dutch police to scramble to track down the culprits. Continue reading...
  
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• Passenger plane catches fire at South Korean airport; all 176 people on board are evacuated

  29-01-2025 21:19 via foxnews.com
  
  A passenger plane caught fire before takeoff at an airport in South Korea late Tuesday, but all 176 people on board were safely evacuated, authorities said.The Airbus plane operated by South Korean airline Air Busan was preparing to leave for Hong Kong when its rear parts caught fire at Gimhae International Airport in the southeast, the Transport Ministry said in a statement.AIRLINER'S FINAL 4 MINUTES OF RECORDINGS ARE MISSING AFTER CRASH THAT KILLED 179: INVESTIGATORSThe plane's 169 passengers,
  
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• Rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa made transitional president of Syria

  29-01-2025 20:40 via theguardian.com
  
  Appointment of former leader of group that led operation to topple Assad comes amid other political changesThe former leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist rebel group which led the military operation to topple the former president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, last month, has been appointed president of Syria for a “transitional period”.The appointment of Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has been acting as the de-facto leader of the country since early December, came after a meeting o
  
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• Olaf Scholz attacks rival’s ‘unforgivable mistake’ as AfD backs migration plan

  29-01-2025 20:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Opposition leader Friedrich Merz accused of breaking longstanding political firewall against far-right populistsThe leader of Germany’s conservative opposition has been backed in his controversial plans to restrict migration by the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party, in what Olaf Scholz branded “an unforgivable mistake.”Friedrich Merz was accused by Scholz’s minority government of breaking a longstanding political firewall against the far-right populists. He
  
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• Canada and Mexico can avoid tariffs before Saturday’s deadline, says Trump’s commerce pick

  29-01-2025 20:16 via theguardian.com
  
  Howard Lutnick testified at his US Senate confirmation hearing for his nomination to head commerce departmentUS politics live – latest updatesDonald Trump’s nominee to run the commerce department, Howard Lutnick, said on Wednesday that Canada and Mexico can avoid looming US tariffs if they act swiftly to close their borders to fentanyl, while vowing to slow China’s advancement in artificial intelligence.Lutnick, a billionaire Wall Street CEO, at his US Senate confirmation heari
  
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• Ukraine reels from ‘worst-case scenario’ suspension of US foreign aid

  29-01-2025 20:06 via theguardian.com
  
  USAid pause affects projects such as veteran rehabilitation, independent media and humanitarian assistanceUkraine is reeling from the shock decision by the Trump administration to pause all US foreign aid programmes immediately, as a variety of projects in the country – from military veteran rehabilitation programmes to independent media and anti-corruption initiatives – have effectively been stopped overnight.It was seen as inevitable that the incoming administration would overhaul
  
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• Lammy tells Rwanda it is putting $1bn in aid ‘under threat’ in DRC invasion

  29-01-2025 20:04 via theguardian.com
  
  UK foreign secretary issues direct warning during phone call with Rwandan president after escalation of conflictRwanda has put $1bn of global aid under threat by taking part in the invasion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, has said.He made the direct warning in a phone call to the Rwandan president, Paul Kagame, on Sunday after also speaking to the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, about the crisis. Continue reading...
  
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• Backlash may shatter President Macron's plans to leave mark on Notre Dame windows

  29-01-2025 19:38 via foxnews.com
  
  French President Emmanuel Macron’s desire to be immortalized in the windows of the restored Notre Dame Cathedral may be shattered as his plans for contemporary designs face furious opposition.Macron’s plan involves replacing the large windows of six side-chapels in the south aisle of Notre Dame’s nave with contemporary designs in yellow, pink and green stained-glass, the Wall Street Journal reported.The president’s aides have said the redesign is to remind future generati
  
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• DeepSeek blocked from some app stores in Italy amid questions on data use

  29-01-2025 19:20 via theguardian.com
  
  Italian and Irish regulators want answers on how data harvested by chatbot could be used by Chinese governmentThe Chinese AI platform DeepSeek has become unavailable for download from some app stores in Italy as regulators in Rome and in Ireland demanded answers from the company about its handling of citizens’ data.Amid growing concern on Wednesday about how data harvested by the new chatbot could be used by the Chinese government, the app disappeared from the Apple and Google app stores i
  
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• Middle East crisis: Israel names three hostages set to be released on Thursday – as it happened

  29-01-2025 18:23 via theguardian.com
  
  This blog is now closed, you can read more of our Middle East coverage hereIn a statement given on Tuesday at the United Nations general assembly, in New York, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) president, Mirjana Spoljaric, said she had seen “so much devastation” on recent visits to Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank.Spoljaric warned that “respect for international humanitarian law (IHL) is in crisis” and “threatening the very humanity
  
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• Unrwa closure imminent as last-bid attempts to stop Israeli ban fail

  29-01-2025 18:21 via theguardian.com
  
  Palestinians in war-devastated Gaza and occupied West Bank expected to be hardest hit by ban on refugee agencyThe main UN agency serving Palestinians in the occupied territories, including Gaza, looks likely to be shut down on Thursday as Israel defied widespread international support for the agency in a move Unrwa predicted would “sabotage Gaza’s recovery and political transition”.Unrwa’s banning looks certain, as Israel’s high court of justice refused a last-minut
  
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• Mexico to question Google over Gulf name change after Trump order

  29-01-2025 18:10 via theguardian.com
  
  Claudia Sheinbaum says US government does not have right to change name of Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of AmericaMexico will send a letter to Google to question its decision to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico for users of Google Maps in the US.In a press conference on Wednesday, Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, said the US government did not have the right to rename the entirety of the Gulf of Mexico, much of which is in international waters. Continue reading...
  
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• Former Hamas hostage details horrors of captivity, credits kidnapped IDF soldier with saving her life

  29-01-2025 17:10 via foxnews.com
  
  Former Hamas hostage Amit Soussana is sharing more details about her time in captivity, and she says there was another hostage who was instrumental in her survival. Liri Albag, one of the IDF soldiers who was kidnapped on Oct. 7, "saved" Soussana.In an exclusive interview with Israeli Channel 12's investigative show "Uvda," Soussana recalled her captors tying her up and beating her, demanding that she admit to being in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Soussana says her hands and feet were bound,
  
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• Dozens killed in crowd crushes at Kumbh Mela in India

  29-01-2025 16:36 via theguardian.com
  
  Witnesses describe people being trampled amid surging crowds on the banks of the Ganges during Hindu festivalAt least 30 people have been killed and scores injured in crowd crushes at the Kumbh Mela festival, Indian police have confirmed, as vast numbers of people went to bathe at one of the holiest sites of the Hindu gathering.Tens of millions of people flocked to the northern state of Uttar Pradesh to immerse themselves at the sacred confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers on one of the mos
  
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• At least 30 dead in stampede at the massive Maha Kumbh festival in India, police say

  29-01-2025 16:13 via foxnews.com
  
  At least 30 people were killed and many more injured in a stampede at the world’s largest religious gathering early Wednesday, police said, as millions of pilgrims rushed to dip in sacred waters during the Maha Kumbh festival in northern India.Police officer Vaibhav Krishna in Prayagraj city said another 60 injured were rushed to hospitals.Wednesday was a sacred day in the six-week Hindu festival, and authorities expected a record 100 million devotees to engage in a ritual bath at the conf
  
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• India's Modi speaks with 'dear friend' President Trump amid hopes of furthering ties

  29-01-2025 15:53 via foxnews.com
  
  President Donald Trump’s return to the White House has sent ripples across the globe, but India remains largely optimistic about his second term. Just over a week into Trump's presidency, India is signaling its readiness to adapt to his transactional style of diplomacy.Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a "productive call" on Monday, focused on "expanding and deepening cooperation." According to a White House readout, the leaders discussed geopolitical issues and bilate
  
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• Police in India confirm at least 30 killed and 60 more people injured in crush – as it happened

  29-01-2025 15:04 via theguardian.com
  
  India’s prime minister Narendra Modi confirmed there had been fatalities at the world’s largest religious gatheringDozens feared dead in India at Kumbh Mela religious festivalWednesday is when the sadhus (holy people), all 13 sects of them, take their holy baths in the Ganges.The holy bathing time is at 4am and that is around the time that the crowd crushes are thought to have started. It appears three separate crushes took place, as people surged forward, into groups of people who w
  
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• Milei government plans to remove femicide from Argentina penal code

  29-01-2025 11:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Government plans to remove legal recognition of gender-based killings in latest attack on women’s rightsFemicide will be struck from Argentina’s penal code, according to a vow from the administration of Javier Milei, the president. It is his administration’s latest attack on women’s rights.Mariano Cúneo Libarona, the justice minister, said the government will “eliminate the figure of femicide from the Argentine penal code” adding that feminism was a &ld
  
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• Incoming UK ambassador walks back comments on ‘danger’ of Trump: ‘Ill-judged and wrong’

  29-01-2025 10:00 via foxnews.com
  
  EXCLUSIVE – Newly appointed U.K. ambassador to the U.S., Lord Peter Mandelson, is readying himself to take up the top job of preserving the "special relationship" long championed by London and Washington, but first he’s looking to set the record straight. In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Mandelson, when asked about previous comments he made regarding the recently re-elected president, including in 2019 when he said President Donald Trump was "a danger to the worl
  
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• Denmark to increase military spending in North Atlantic by $2 billion amid row with Trump over Greenland

  29-01-2025 06:29 via foxnews.com
  
  The government of Denmark says it will increase military spending in the North Atlantic amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s bid to have Greenland sold or ceded to the United States. Late Monday, the Danish government announced an agreement of 14.6 billion-kroner – or nearly $2 billion – with parties including the governments of Greenland and the Faroe Islands to "improve capabilities for surveillance and maintaining sovereignty in the region."The Defense Ministry in Copenha
  
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• Picture prefect: Japanese city deploys guards to control unruly tourists seeking perfect shot

  29-01-2025 06:28 via theguardian.com
  
  Overseas tourists are blocking roads or walking onto railway tracks in Otaru to capture its views, stoking local resentment and complaints of overtourismAuthorities in Japan are stepping up measures to deter crowds of overseas visitors from taking risks in their quest for the perfect photo, in another attempt to address the negative impact of a record surge in inbound tourism.Tourism officials in Otaru, a small city in the northernmost main island of Hokkaido, deployed security guards this week
  
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• Across Asia, hundreds of millions gather to mark lunar new year

  29-01-2025 03:58 via theguardian.com
  
  From China to Indonesia, the year of the snake symbolises wisdom and vitality and is marked by family gatherings and festive red banners across many parts of East and Southeast AsiaHundreds of millions of people across Asia will celebrate the lunar new year with their families on Wednesday, as they bid farewell to the year of the dragon and usher in the year of the snake.In China, people will enjoy eight days of consecutive public holidays for the 2025 Spring festival, an opportunity to share me
  
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• ‘Mona Lisa’ will get its own room under a major renovation of the Louvre

  29-01-2025 02:59 via foxnews.com
  
  French President Emmanuel Macron announced Tuesday that the "Mona Lisa" will get its own dedicated room inside the Louvre museum under a major renovation and expansion of the Paris landmark that will take up to a decade.The renovation project, branded "Louvre New Renaissance," will include a wide new entrance near the Seine River, to be opened by 2031, Macron said in a speech from the room where Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece is displayed.PURPORTED EARLIER VERSION OF DA VINCI'S 'MONA LISA' WOWS
  
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• Mogwai's 'upbeat' return after difficult years

  29-01-2025 02:25 via bbc.com
  
  The Scottish rock band explain how music helped them through a tough period in their personal lives.
  
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• 'We don't just teach - we clothe the kids, feed them and brush their teeth'

  29-01-2025 02:23 via bbc.com
  
  A survey of teachers in England suggests lots of schools are having to provide extra help for families.
  
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• US judge temporarily blocks Trump's freeze on federal grants and loans

  29-01-2025 02:16 via bbc.com
  
  The order is in response to a lawsuit that says the freezing of billions of dollars in already approved funding violates the law.
  
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• Mysterious drones were 'not the enemy', White House says

  29-01-2025 01:52 via bbc.com
  
  Mysterious drone sightings had lit up the skies and the internet on the US east coast last year.
  
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• The Papers: 'Europe's Silicon Valley' and Strictly Wynne's apology

  29-01-2025 01:12 via bbc.com
  
  The chancellor's plans for growth and the Strictly live tour axing Wynne Evans feature in the papers.
  
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• 'I was diagnosed with dementia in my 40s'

  29-01-2025 01:07 via bbc.com
  
  A group of people with dementia have made a film called Hear Our Voice to tackle common stereotypes.
  
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• Reeves set to welcome Heathrow expansion as growth plans outlined

  29-01-2025 00:46 via bbc.com
  
  The chancellor's speech will also focus on development between Oxford and Cambridge to create a "Silicon Valley of Europe".
  
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• Fighting between DRC army and M23 rebels rages in eastern city of Goma

  29-01-2025 00:25 via theguardian.com
  
  At least 100 people killed and 1,000 wounded in three days of heavy fighting in North Kivu Who are the M23 rebels and why is there fighting in DRC?Dead bodies lay on the streets and explosions and gunfire echoed across the largest city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Tuesday, as fighting continued to rage between the army and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.Residents reported continuing gun and mortar fire in Goma, the capital of North Kivu province and a regional humanitarian hub
  
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