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HAMAS has threatened to release a video showing the “final message” of the six Israeli hostages who were brutally murdered inside Gaza.

The video reportedly shows the hostages confirming their identities before they go on to say their tragic final words.

In a telegram channel, al-Qassam Brigades – the military wing of Hamas – posted the clip that ended with a sick threat to release their final messages on the internet.

Israel has vowed to make Hamas “pay the price” after it executed six hostages kidnapped on October 7 and kept in Gaza for almost a year.

Their deaths sparked mass protests across Israel as people raged against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his handling of the war in Gaza and the lack of a ceasefire-hostage release deal.

The six Israelis were shot multiple times from close range, an autopsy revealed, only hours before the IDF discovered them in a Hamas tunnel in Gaza on Saturday.

Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on X today: “Israel will respond with full force to this heinous crime. Hamas is responsible and will pay the full price.”

On Sunday some half a million people took to the streets across the country, setting fires, carrying placards of a blood-soaked Netanyahu, waving ‘Bring Them Home’ posters and blocking roads.

The marches, organised by Israel’s Hostages and Missing Families Forum, are demanding a ceasefire deal that would see the remaining hostages returned safely home.

Out of some 250 kidnapped during the October 7 massacre last year, around 101 remain in the Strip with officials estimating a third are already dead.

During the brief and only ceasefire agreement so far in the war – in November last year – 105 civilian hostages were released.

Since then, Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have only successfully rescued eight.

Protesters are pushing for Netanyahu to secure another deal that could free the remaining hostages.

He has been repeatedly accused of putting victory for the IDF in Gaza – complete destruction of Hamas – above their safe return.

One of the major sticking points for failed negotiations in recent months has been the Philadelphia Corridor – a border between Gaza and Egypt.

Netanyahu refuses to remove IDF troops from the stretch of land – something Hamas has also refused to compromise on.

Einav Zangauker, mum of a hostage still in Gaza, spoke at a rally during the protests on Sunday and said: “Nadav is alive. My son is still alive. But every day is a Russian roulette.”

She said the PM would play “until they’re all dead, [but] we won’t let him” and said he had “put the hostages to the guillotine”.

The heartbroken mum also said the six murdered hostages died “on the altar of Philadelphi [Corridor] spin”.

The bodies of Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Ori Danino were brought home to Israel by the IDF after the tragic discovery this weekend.

The bodies of Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexnder Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, and Ori Danino were brought home to Israel by the IDF after the tragic discovery.

Israel’s Health Ministry announced that an autopsy carried out by the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute found all of them were shot several times from close range.

Security officials fear Hamas executed the six over fears another hostage rescued from a nearby tunnel last week would reveal information about their whereabouts, Channel 12 reports.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum blamed Netanyahu for the deaths of the hostages, claiming they were a “direct result of failing to sign a deal”.

“Over the past few months, eight hostages were rescued alive through military operations, compared to 105 hostages released in a deal last November,” they said in a statement.

In a statement, the PM said that Israel was committed to achieving a deal to release the hostages and that “Hamas refuses to conduct real negotiations.”

“Whoever murders hostages – does not want a deal,” he added.

Hordes of angry and grieving citizens marched with puppets of Netanyahu dressed as the Grim Reaper as police were dispatched to the scenes in Israel yesterday.

Protesters in the capital Jerusalem filled the streets and focused marches outside Netanyahu’s residence.

Major city Tel Aviv was another focal point as people blocked its main motorway and set fires across the city.

In the smaller city of Rehovot, central Israel, people blocked traffic and shouted, “We want them back living, not in coffins!”

Riot police were pictured spraying marchers with a water cannon as they sat cross-legged in the middle of a road in Tel Aviv.

In Jerusalem, cops unleashed skunk water, a harmful control weapon, at the crowds.

Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/12349563/israel-hamas-war-hostages-russian-roulette-netanyahu/

The Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro has recorded thousands of cases of monkeypox in recent years, as global health leaders call for a co-ordinated response to a surge of cases

Thousands of cases of monkeypox have been recorded in one city in South America.

Local reports say 1,266 people have had the disease in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro since 2022, according to the Municipal Health Department. A total of 3,800 reports of transmission have been made with seven new confirmed cases in August this year.

Monkeypox can cause sore rashes which can begin on the face or genitals and then spread to other parts of the body. Before healing the rashes can scab over and be painful, while a person suffering from the virus can feel ill with a fever, chills, body aches and tiredness.

They may also experience horrible bleeding from the rectum, as well as swollen lymph nodes.

Despite over 1,200 cases, Rio is still second to Sao Paolo in terms of confirmed cases.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation declared the ongoing surge of cases in Africa a global emergency. It followed scientists detecting a new version of the disease in Congo that they think could be spreading more easily in May.

On August 30, WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the surge in cases can end in the next six months if the governments of different countries work together on the issue.

He spoke about the rise in cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the epicentre of the virus outbreak where 629 deaths among 18,000 cases have been reported this year alone.

“With the governments’ leadership and close cooperation between partners, we believe we can stop these outbreaks in the next six months,” he said at a press briefing.

He said that while mpox infections have been rising quickly in the last few weeks, there have been relatively few deaths. Tedros also noted there were 258 cases of the newest version of mpox, with patients identified in Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Sweden and Thailand.

Source: https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/monkeypox-pandemic-fears-thousands-infected-33577429

Protests were sparked after the Israel Defence Forces said the bodies of six Israeli hostages were found and recovered from a tunnel in southern Gaza on Saturday. More demonstrations are set for Monday.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets to demand a ceasefire after six hostages were found ‘murdered’ in Gaza.

An estimated 500,000 people attended planned demonstrations in multiple cities across Israel, according to Hostage Families Forum, which organised protests.

It is believed to be the largest demonstration since the start of the war 11 months ago.

More than 300,000 people were in Tel Aviv, where protesters marched with coffins to symbolise the hostages who had been killed and others set fires in the middle of one of the city’s main motorways, bringing it to a standstill.

Protests were sparked after the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said the bodies of Carmel Gat, 40, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, Alexander Lobanov, 33, Almog Sarusi, 27, and Ori Danino, 25, were found and recovered from a tunnel in southern Gaza on Saturday.

The Israeli Health Ministry said post mortem examinations had determined the hostages had been shot at close range and died on Thursday or Friday.

IDF Lt Col Nadav Shoshani said the bodies were discovered several dozen meters underground while “ongoing combat” was taking place, but that there was no firefight in the tunnel itself.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of killing all six hostages in “cold blood” and said Israel would hold the group accountable.

He also accused the group of scuttling ongoing ceasefire efforts, adding: “Whoever murders hostages doesn’t want a deal.”

Meanwhile, Izzat al-Rishq, a senior Hamas official, blamed the hostages’ deaths on Israel and the US, saying they would still be alive if Israel had accepted a ceasefire proposal that Hamas said it had agreed to back in July.

He did not mention the hostages by name.

All six were abducted by Hamas on 7 October, Ms Gat from the farming community of Be’eri and the others from a nearby music festival.

Critics in Israel, including some protesters, have accused Mr Netanyahu of prioritising politics above the hostages and putting conditions into potential ceasefire deals that Hamas will never agree to.

The leader of the country’s biggest trade union also announced a one-day general strike from today as a way to put pressure on Mr Netanyahu’s government.

Arnon Bar-David, head of the Histadrut union, said the country’s main Ben Gurion Airport would close at 8am local time, with universities, manufacturers and entrepreneurs in the high-tech sector expected to join hundreds of thousands of workers in the walkout.

Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said the general strike had no legal basis as he called on the attorney general to submit an urgent request to the court to block the industrial action.

In a letter to Gali Baharav-Miara, he said the strike would have significant and unnecessary consequences on the economy during a time of war.

Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant, who has clashed frequently with Mr Netanyahu, was one of those who called for a ceasefire agreement, and opposition leader and former prime minister Yair Lapid urged people to join a demonstration in Tel Aviv.

Speaking from Tel Aviv, Sky News’ Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall said protesters had turned from pleading for the government to agree to a hostage deal to expressing anger.

Israeli police said about 24 people have been arrested nationwide after demonstrations, according to the Reuters news agency.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/israelis-set-to-strike-as-around-500000-protest-after-hostages-found-dead-13208236

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has issued an emergency tender to secure mpox vaccines for crisis-hit countries in collaboration with the Gavi vaccine alliance, Africa CDC and the World Health Organization, the organizations said in a joint statement on Saturday.
Depending on the production capacity of manufacturers, agreements for up to 12 million doses through 2025 can be made, according to the statement.

China and the Philippines accused each other of causing a collision between their two vessels Saturday in the latest flareup of tensions over disputed waters and maritime features in the South China Sea.

In a statement posted on social media, Chinese coast guard spokesperson Liu Dejun was quoted as saying that a Philippine ship maneuvered and “deliberately collided” with a Chinese coast guard ship “in an unprofessional and dangerous manner.”

Philippine officials in Manila said it was their coast guard ship, the BRP Teresa Magbanua, that was rammed thrice by the Chinese coast guard without any provocation, causing damage to the Philippine vessel.

It was the second confrontation in days near Sabina Shoal, about 140 kilometers (85 miles) west of the Philippine province of Palawan, in the internationally recognized exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.

The Philippine ship, the Magbanua, has been anchored in Sabina since mid-April after Manila suspected that China may construct a structure to seize the uninhabited atoll. China harbored the same suspicions and recently filed a diplomatic protest against the Philippines due to the ship’s prolonged presence at the shoal.

China is rapidly expanding its military and has become increasingly assertive in pursuing its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea, which is crucial to international trade. The tensions have led to more frequent confrontations, primarily with the Philippines, and could drag in with the United States, which is bound by a treaty to defend the Philippines. The longtime territorial disputes also involve other claimants including Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.

China has rejected a ruling by a U.N.-backed arbitration panel that negated almost all of its historically based claims in the South China Sea.

Commodore Jay Tarriela of the Philippine coast guard said in a news briefing in Manila that the Magbanua had dropped its anchor again and would not withdraw from Sabina Shoal “despite the harassment, bullying activities and escalatory action of the Chinese coast guard.”

Video released by the Philippine coast guard appeared to show the Magbanua being rammed by a Chinese coast guard ship.

The United States condemned “the multiple dangerous violations of international law by the PRC (People’s Republic of China), including today’s intentional ramming of the BRP Teresa Magbanua while it was conducting lawful operations within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone.”

“We stand with the Philippines in upholding international law,” U.S. Ambassador to Manila MaryKay Carlson said in a statement she posted on X.

The United States has repeatedly warned that it’s obligated to defend the Philippines if Filipino forces come under an armed attack in the South China Sea.

On Tuesday, Adm. Samuel Paparo, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said the U.S. military is open to consultations about escorting Philippine ships in the disputed waters.

China’s coast guard, navy and accompanying ships regularly clash with Philippine vessels during attempts to resupply Filipino sailors stationed in parts of the South China Sea claimed by both countries. As the confrontations become increasingly hostile, resulting in injuries to Filipino sailors and damage to their ships, the Philippine government has faced questions about invoking the treaty alliance with Washington.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/china-philippines-us-sea-clash-d08f4532c2a66047c6fa2833b76d7773

While Kyiv says it has taken more territory in its Kursk incursion, Russian state media is reporting that Moscow’s ongoing operations in eastern Ukraine are continuing towards key strategic settlements.

Ukraine’s air force commander has been dismissed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after an F-16 crash earlier this week, that an MP claimed was “friendly fire”.

Lieutenant Colonel Oleksiy Mes was killed while defending Ukraine’s skies from a huge Russian aerial attack at the start of the week.

Ukrainian MP Mariana Bezuhla claimed the jet was hit in an act of friendly fire by a US Patriot missile.

In response, air force commander Mykola Oleschuk said her words were a “tool to discredit the top military leadership”.

But the air force did not directly deny that the F-16 was hit by a Patriot missile.

Now, Mr Zelenskyy has dismissed Lt. Gen. Oleshchuk and US experts are aiding the investigation into the crash.

The order was published on the presidential website.

“We need to protect people. Protect personnel. Take care of all our soldiers,” Mr Zelenskyy said in an address minutes after the order was published.

He added that Ukraine needs to strengthen its army on the command level.

Lt. Gen. Anatolii Kryvonozhko was appointed acting air force commander, the army’s general staff said.

Elsewhere in the war in Ukraine:

• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has renewed calls to Western allies to allow long-range attacks on Russia
• In the Kursk incursion, Ukraine’s top commander claimed his forces advanced 2km in the past 24 hours
• Russian forces have taken control of more settlements in eastern Ukraine, according to state media
• European Union defence ministers agreed to boost their training programme for Ukrainian troops
• A Russian newspaper publisher was sentenced to eight years after reporting on Moscow’s attacks on Ukraine, according to rights activists
• And the Kremlin insists it has “no worries” as President Vladimir Putin visits Mongolia, a country that is a member of the International Criminal Court, which last year issued a warrant for his arrest

Girl, 14, among the dead in Kharkiv attack

A 14-year-old girl was killed in a Russian attack on Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials have said.

At least six people were killed in all, as a 12-storey building was hit alongside a playground, in the industrial district.

The Russian-guided bomb attack in the northeastern city also left 55 people injured.

About 20 of the injured were in severe condition, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

“Rescue operations are currently under way in Kharkiv where Russian bombs hit. Unfortunately, there are dead people. Among them is a child, a girl, Sofia. She would have turned 15 this fall,” Mr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address.

He also renewed his calls to Western allies to allow him to use their weapons in long-range attacks on Russia.

“We need decisions that can be made by our partners, by those countries on whom it depends whether we have the ability to destroy Russian military aircraft – exactly where they are based, exactly where the elimination of these terrorists and their aircraft can be the most effective,” he added.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/girl-14-among-six-killed-by-russian-attack-on-kharkiv-as-55-more-injured-ukrainian-officials-say-13206148

Israel’s military and Palestinian militant group Hamas have agreed to three separate, zoned three-day pauses in fighting in Gaza to allow for the first round of vaccination of 640,000 children against polio, a senior WHO official said on Thursday.
The vaccination campaign is due to start on Sunday, with the pauses scheduled to take place between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. (0300-1200 GMT), said Rik Peeperkorn, the World Health Organization’s senior official for the Palestinian territories.

He said the campaign would start in central Gaza with three consecutive daily pauses in fighting, then move to southern Gaza, where there would be another three-day pause, followed by northern Gaza. Peeperkorn added there was an agreement to extend the pause in each zone to a fourth day if needed.
“From our experience, we know an additional day or two is very often needed to achieve sufficient coverage,” Mike Ryan, WHO emergencies director, told the U.N. Security Council on Thursday during a meeting on the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

A second round of vaccination would be required four weeks after the first round, said Peeperkorn.
“At least 90% of coverage is needed during each round of the campaign in order to stop the outbreak and prevent international spread of polio,” Ryan said.
The WHO confirmed on Aug. 23 that one baby has been paralyzed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in Gaza in 25 years.
“We are ready to cooperate with international organizations to secure this campaign, serving and protecting more than 650,000 Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip,” Hamas official Basem Naim told Reuters.

The Israeli military’s humanitarian unit (COGAT) said on Wednesday that the vaccination campaign would be conducted in coordination with the Israeli military “as part of the routine humanitarian pauses that will allow the population to reach the medical centers where the vaccinations will be administered.”

EVACUATION ORDERS
Israel was continuing a “focused and intensive effort” to deliver aid to Gaza and coordinate the polio vaccination campaign with WHO and U.N. children’s agency UNICEF, Oren Marmorstein, spokesperson for Israel’s foreign affairs ministry, posted on X.
Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Robert Wood said it was important that Israel facilitate access and “ensure periods of calm and refrain from military operations during vaccination campaign periods.” He added that the United States urged “Israel to avoid further evacuation orders during this period.”
The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on Oct. 7 when Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s subsequent assault on the Hamas-governed enclave has since killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry, while also displacing nearly the entire population of 2.3 million, causing a hunger crisis and leading to genocide allegations at the World Court that Israel denies.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/who-has-preliminary-commitment-some-gaza-pauses-polio-vaccinations-2024-08-29/

Telegram described the allegations as “absurd” while Russian officials labelled Mr Durov’s arrest as politically motivated.

Pavel Durov, the chief executive of Telegram, is to face further investigation over allegations he allowed criminal activity on the messaging app.

French judges have barred Mr Durov from leaving France pending further investigation, but he has avoided being held in custody with a €5m bail.

The billionaire founder of the encrypted messaging and social media app was arrested in France on Saturday after his private jet landed at Le Bourget airport outside Paris.

The Russian-born entrepreneur – who became a French citizen in 2021 – is accused of operating a platform which is being used for child sexual abuse material and by organised crime gangs, for drug trafficking and fraud.

It is also claimed that Telegram refused to share information or documents with investigators.

Mr Durov faces preliminary charges which, under French law, mean magistrates have strong reason to believe a crime was committed but allow more time for further investigation.

But it might not necessarily lead to a trial.

Telegram has insisted it abides by EU laws and its moderation is “within industry standards and constantly improving”.

Its statement added: “It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner is responsible for abuse of that platform.”

Mr Durov’s arrest in France, and four days of questioning, has caused outrage in Russia.

Paper planes – representing Telegram’s logo – being placed in Moscow in support of the billionaire.

Some government officials claim his detention was politically motivated and proof of the West’s double standard on freedom of speech.

However, Kremlin critics have pointed out that, in 2018, Russian authorities tried to block the Telegram app but failed, withdrawing the ban in 2020.

Meanwhile in Iran, where Telegram is officially banned, but still widely used, the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised France for being “strict” against those who “violate your governance” of the internet.

It has also prompted controversial influencer Andrew Tate to compare himself to Telegram’s CEO as he fights allegations of human trafficking in Romania, among other offences, which he denies.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/telegram-founder-pavel-durov-due-in-french-court-over-alleged-illegal-content-on-platform-13204827

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday said SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket has been grounded after failing an attempt to land back on Earth during a routine Starlink mission, forcing the company’s second grounding this year.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 successfully launched a batch of Starlink internet satellites into orbit early on Wednesday morning from Florida. The rocket’s reusable first stage booster returned to Earth and attempted to land on a sea-faring barge as usual, but toppled into the ocean after a fiery touchdown, a SpaceX live stream showed.

Though no satellites or people were endangered during Wednesday’s flight, the landing failure indicated something in the rocket went wrong that the FAA tends to believe could pose a greater risk in future missions if not thoroughly investigated.
The rocket’s grounding could delay the launch of SpaceX’s high-profile Polaris Dawn mission with four private astronauts who are poised to attempt the first private spacewalk. The Polaris mission had been expected to launch this week but was delayed by a launchpad hitch, and then again over bad weather.

After the July grounding, SpaceX returned Falcon 9 to flight 15 days later, after the FAA granted the company’s request for an expedited return to flight.

Falcon 9 is also due to launch two NASA astronauts in late September on a Crew Dragon spacecraft that will bring home next year the two astronauts who have been stuck on the International Space Station after riding Boeing’s troubled Starliner spacecraft.
NASA regulates Falcon 9 for its own missions. It was not immediately clear how the rocket’s latest grounding will affect that NASA mission. The U.S. space agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
SpaceX has built a sizable fleet of reusable Falcon boosters since the rocket’s first launch in 2010 that has allowed the company to vastly outpace its rivals in launch frequency. The individual booster that failed on Wednesday was on its 23rd flight, SpaceX wrote on X.
“After a successful ascent, Falcon 9’s first stage booster tipped over following touchdown on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship,” SpaceX said, referring to the large ship the booster was supposed to land on.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/spacexs-falcon-9-grounded-after-failing-landing-attempt-2024-08-28/

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that the war with Russia would eventually end in dialogue, but that Kyiv had to be in a strong position and that he would present a plan to U.S. President Joe Biden and his two potential successors.
The Ukrainian leader, addressing a news conference, said Kyiv’s three-week-old incursion into Russia’s Kursk region was part of that plan, but that it also comprised other steps on the economic and diplomatic fronts.

“The main point of this plan is to force Russia to end the war. And I want that very much – (that it would be) fair for Ukraine,” he told reporters in Kyiv of the war launched by Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
He did not elaborate further on the next steps, but said he would also discuss the plan with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and probably also with Republican Donald Trump, the two nominees for the U.S. presidential election

Zelenskiy said he hoped to go to the United States in September to attend the U.N. General Assembly in New York and that he was preparing to meet Biden.
His remarks indicated that he sees the main potential forum for talks as a follow-up international summit on peace, at which Ukraine has said it wants Russia to have representatives.
The first summit to advance Kyiv’s vision of peace, held in Switzerland in June, pointedly excluded Russia, while attracting scores of delegations, but not from China, the world’s second largest economy, despite Kyiv’s push to win over the global south.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Aug. 19 that talks were out of the question after Ukraine launched a major cross-border incursion into Russia’s Kursk region on Aug. 6.

‘NO COMPROMISES WITH PUTIN’

Canada, following the lead of the United States and European Union, said on Monday it will impose a 100% tariff on imports of Chinese electric vehicles and announced a 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminum from China.
The duties apply to all EVs shipped from China, which would include those made by Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab, a Canadian government official said.
Shares of the most valuable global automaker closed down 3.2%.

Elon Musk came out on Sunday in strong support of Telegram founder Pavel Durov after the Russian-born billionaire was detained in France. The arrest sparked global outrage on social media and was criticised as an attack on free speech.

The founder and owner of the popular encrypted messaging app Telegram was arrested at a French airport on Saturday over numerous charges related to his platform and faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Since the news of Pavel’s arrest broke, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO has posted several times on his social media platform to protest the arrest. Musk went so far as to attack Mark Zuckerberg, suggesting he should instead be arrested for the “massive child exploitation” problem on his Meta-owned Instagram.

Pavel Durov, the Russian-French billionaire founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app, was arrested at Bourget airport outside Paris on Saturday evening, TF1 TV and BFM TV said, citing unidentified sources.
Durov was travelling aboard his private jet, TF1 said on its website, adding he had been targeted by an arrest warrant in France as part of a preliminary police investigation.
TF1 and BFM both said the investigation was focused on a lack of moderators on Telegram, and that police considered that this situation allowed criminal activity to go on undeterred on the messaging app.

Durov faces possible indictment on Sunday, according to French media.
The encrypted Telegram, with close to one billion users, is particularly influential in Russia, Ukraine and the republics of the former Soviet Union. It is ranked as one of the major social media platforms after Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok and Wechat.
Telegram did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The French Interior Ministry and police had no comment.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. abandoned his campaign on Friday and endorsed Republican Donald Trump, ending a run that he began as a Democrat trading on one of the most famous names in American politics.
Hours after announcing the endorsement in a press conference, Kennedy joined Trump at a campaign event in Arizona, where the crowd cheered the independent loudly.
“His candidacy has inspired millions and millions of Americans, raised critical issues that have been too long ignored in this country,” Trump said of Kennedy.

Strategists said it was unclear whether Kennedy’s endorsement would help Trump, who is in a tight contest with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
Kennedy, 70, told a news conference earlier that he met with Trump and his aides several times and learned they agreed on issues like border security, free speech and ending wars.
“There are still many issues and approaches on which we continue to have very serious differences. But we are aligned on other key issues,” he told reporters.

Robert Kennedy, known by his initials RFK Jr., said he would remove his name from ballots in 10 battleground states likely to determine the outcome of the election and remain as a candidate in other states.
An environmental lawyer, anti-vaccine activist and son and nephew of two titans of Democratic politics who were assassinated during the turbulent 1960s, Kennedy entered the race in April 2023 as a challenger to President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination.
With some voters at the time turned off by both the aging Biden and the legally embattled Trump, interest in Kennedy soared. He later decided to run as an independent, and a November 2023 Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Kennedy with 20% support in a three-way race with Biden and Trump.
He ran a high-profile advertisement during the February 2024 Super Bowl that invoked his father, U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and uncle, President Kennedy, and drew outrage from much of his high-profile family.

His sister Kerry Kennedy said on Friday that his decision to endorse Trump betrayed the family’s values. “It is a sad ending to a sad story,” she said on social media.
For a time, both the Biden and Trump campaigns showed signs they were worried that Kennedy could draw enough support to change the election outcome.
But as the race changed quickly in the last two months — with Trump surviving an assassination attempt and the 81-year-old Biden bowing to pressure from his own party and passing the campaign torch to Harris — voter interest in Kennedy waned.
An Ipsos poll this month showed his national support had fallen to 4%, a tiny number but one that could still be meaningful in a tight race such as the current Trump-Harris matchup.
Democrats shrugged off Friday’s announcement.
“Donald Trump isn’t earning an endorsement that’s going to help build support, he’s inheriting the baggage of a failed fringe candidate. Good riddance,” Democratic National Committee senior adviser Mary Beth Cahill said in a statement.
Drexel University political science professor William Rosenberg said the move was unlikely to have an impact on the race, given Kennedy’s low poll numbers.
Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio argued that more of Kennedy’s supporters would back Trump than Harris in battleground states. “This is good news for President Trump and his campaign,” he wrote in a memo.
In exchange for endorsing Trump, Kennedy was hoping for a job in a potential Trump administration, a super PAC supporting Kennedy told Reuters on Wednesday.
Kennedy painted himself as a political outsider. He told Reuters in an interview in March that if elected president he would repeal many provisions of Biden’s signature Inflation Reduction Act and would seek to close down the southern border to immigrants entering the U.S. illegally. He also offered staunch support for Israel.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/rfk-jr-suspends-us-presidential-campaign-endorses-trump-2024-08-23/

Houthi fighters in Yemen have claimed responsibility for the attack. Britain’s ambassador to the country warned it risked an “environmental catastrophe”.

A tanker carrying 150,000 tonnes of oil has been damaged in the biggest attack on Red Sea shipping in weeks.

The Greek-flagged MV Sounion was reportedly hit by at least four projectiles as men in several small boats opened fire on the vessel about 90 miles off the coast of the Yemeni port city of Hodeida.

Officials said drones or missiles may have been used in the assault.

The attack on Wednesday caused a fire on board the tanker, which also lost power.

Its crew of 25 men were forced to abandon ship and were rescued by a French military vessel.

The MV Sounion then floated adrift, although officials confirmed on Thursday it had since been anchored.

A spokesperson for the EU’s Aspides military operation in the Red Sea warned on Thursday that the tanker posed an “environmental hazard” due to the amount of oil on board.

They added that its crews had also destroyed an unmanned drone boat in the area.

Houthi officials in Yemen confirmed its forces targeted the Sounion, along with Panama-flagged ship the SW North Wind I, which suffered minor damage in a separate attack.

The group, which controls large areas of the country, has been targeting shipping in the region since last autumn in solidarity with the Palestinian people and to put pressure on Israel to end its assault in Gaza.

Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said on Thursday: “From this week’s operations targeting ships violating blockade on vessels heading to Israel, a ship was adrift… after it malfunctioned because of strikes”.

The Greek shipping ministry said the vessel had been sailing from Iraq to Agioi Theodoroi in Greece with a crew of two Russians and 23 Filipinos.

Four private security personnel were also said to be on board.

Greek Shipping Minister Christos Stylianidis described the attack as “a flagrant violation of international law and a serious threat to the safety of international shipping”.

Britain’s ambassador to Yemen Abda Sharif said: “Another Houthi attack threatens Yemen’s coastline, fishing industry and environmental catastrophe.”

Delta Tankers, which owns the Sounion, said it was working on plans to move the ship to a safer destination for further checks and repairs.

Elon Musk ‘cut down 500,000 trees’ to make way for vast German Tesla gigafactory, satellite images reveal – risking fresh row with eco-activists he branded ‘dumb’

* Around half a million trees were cleared for the Berlin Gigafactory
* Analysis revealed that this was the equivalent to 13,000 tonnes of CO2
* The Gigafactory is already a controversial site in Germany

Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company Tesla felled an estimated half a million trees while developing a gigafactory near Berlin, new satellite analysis has revealed.

Analysis from environmental intelligence firm Kayrros suggests that 329 hectares (813 acres) of dense woodland from the site southeast of Berlin were felled between March 2020 and May 2023. This is the equivalent to around 500,000 trees.

The amount of CO2 that trees absorb varies from species to species, but a mature tree will, on average, absorb around 48lbs (22kg) of carbon every year, meaning the lost trees were equivalent to 13,000 tonnes of CO2, according to Kayrros chief analyst Antoine Halff.

Halff said: ‘The Tesla factory in Germany has led to quite a bit of cutting down of trees. Of course, it has to be put in perspective, against the benefit of replacing internal combustion engine cars with electric vehicles.’

Tesla boasts of its green credentials on its website, claiming that all the electricity used at the Berlin Gigafactory, which opened in 2022 after starting work in 2020, was ‘matched with renewables in 2023.’

Source:https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13769233/Elon-Musk-cut-500-000-trees-make-way-vast-German-Tesla-gigafactory-satellite-images-reveal-risking-fresh-row-eco-activists-branded-dumb.html

Officers allege that the suspect was behind the X page Channel3 Now, which spread misinformation about the identity of the suspect of the Southport stabbings.

A man in Pakistan has been arrested over his alleged role in spreading misinformation that led to riots across the UK.

The suspect, a freelance web developer, was arrested in the eastern city of Lahore on suspicion of cyberterrorism, according to Imran Kishwar, the city’s deputy inspector general of investigations.

The arrest is in connection to the Channel3 Now account on the X social media platform, which was one of the first outlets to publish the false information that the suspect in the Southport knife attack was an asylum seeker who had recently arrived in the UK.

Channel3 Now purports to be a news channel. A Facebook account for the channel said it is managed by people in Pakistan and the US.

After the misinformation led to a violent mob in Southport the next day, police clarified that the suspect in the stabbing attack was from the UK.

Channel3 Now’s editor-in-chief posted an apology on 31 July for “the misleading information published in a recent article on our website, Channel3 Now”. They added: “We deeply regret any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused.”

But the misinformation fuelled more than a week of rioting in cities and towns across the UK, which resulted in more than 1,000 arrests.

Authorities in the UK blamed far-right agitators for stoking the unrest by continuing to spread misinformation and promoting the violent demonstrations online.

Officials in Lahore said the suspect reposted the misinformation but was not the source of it.

Mr Kishwar told Sky News the suspect was “in search of a wider audience, a good audience and the best [is] in Europe, USA and specifically in the UK”.

He added: “A majority of the earning was coming through UK, so when this incident took place in Southport, he grabbed this as an opportunity, to grab a wider audience that he was searching for because he earns money through monetisation on things like social media platforms. That was [the] only incentive.”

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/police-arrest-man-in-pakistan-accused-of-spreading-misinformation-before-uk-riots-13200859

The first night of the Democratic National Convention averaged 20 million viewers across 13 networks, surpassing the audience for the initial day of the Republican National Convention, according to Nielsen.

The numbers are for the 10 p.m. ET to 12:30 a.m ET time frame, as the proceedings went way overtime, finishing with the address by President Joe Biden.

The first night of the Republican National Convention drew an estimated 18.13 million in the 10 p.m. ET hour across 12 networks. That was up slightly from the 17 million who watched in 2020.

The DNC audience was greater than the first night of the party’s convention in 2020, when it drew 19.75 million viewers. But it was down significantly from 2016, when the DNC drew 25.95 million.

The first night of the DNC on Monday drew 15.32 million 55 and over, 3.51 million in the 35-54 demo and 851,000 aged 18-34, per Nielsen.

Source: https://deadline.com/2024/08/democratic-national-convention-draws-20-million-on-first-night-surpassing-ratings-for-rnc-1236045366/

Israel retrieved the bodies of six hostages from the Khan Younis area in southern Gaza overnight, according to statements from the military and the prime minister’s office on Tuesday.
The families of Yagev Buchshtab, Alexander Dancyg, Avraham Munder, Yoram Metzger, Nadav Popplewell, and Chaim Perry have been informed, the statements added.
The Hostages Families Forum, an organisation that represents most hostage families, welcomed the news but renewed its call on the government to conclude a hostage release deal with the Gaza-based Palestinian militant group Hamas.

“The immediate return of the remaining 109 hostages can only be achieved through a negotiated deal. The Israeli government, with the assistance of mediators, must do everything in its power to finalise the deal currently on the table,” it said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in the Middle East this week trying to secure a ceasefire and hostage return agreement between Israel and Hamas.
The current war in Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas gunmen stormed into Israeli communities, killing around 1,200 people and abducting about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel’s military has since levelled swathes of the Palestinian enclave, driving nearly all of its 2.3 million people from their homes, giving rise to deadly hunger and disease and killing at least 40,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israeli-military-retrieves-bodies-six-hostages-held-gaza-2024-08-20/

Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of the divisive former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, became Thailand’s prime minister after receiving a royal letter of endorsement Sunday, two days after she was chosen by Parliament following a court order that removed her predecessor.

She replaces another leader from the same Pheu Thai Party, at the head of a coalition that includes military parties associated with the coup that deposed the party’s last government.

Paetongtarn is the third Shinawatra to hold the job, after her billionaire father and her aunt Yingluck Shinawatra. Both were removed from office and forced into exile in coups, although Thaksin returned to Thailand last year as Pheu Thai formed a government.

She received the letter of appointment in a ceremony at the party’s headquarters in Bangkok, attended by senior members of parties in the governing coalition and her father, who has no formal role but is widely seen de facto leader of Pheu Thai.

The father and daughter held hands as they walked in with beaming smiles. Both wore white civil servants’ uniforms, which are used for royal and state ceremonies.

Paetongtarn thanked the king, the Thai people and lawmakers, saying she will perform her duties “with an open mind,” and will “make every square inch of Thailand a space that allows Thai people to dare to dream, dare to create and dare to dictate their own future.”

Paetongtarn became Prime Minister days after the Constitutional Court removed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, after less than a year in office. The court found him guilty of a serious ethical breach for appointing a Cabinet minister who had been jailed for contempt of court after an alleged attempt to bribe a judge.

Paetongtarn is also Thailand’s second female prime minister after her aunt, and the country’s youngest leader at 37.

Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, Paetongtarn said she is determined to push forward key policies such as economic stimulus, improvement for universal healthcare and promoting cultural “soft power” on the global stage.

She did not initially mention Srettha’s signature proposal for a digital cash handout of 10,000 baht (about $275) to 50 million citizens to spend at local businesses in order to boost the economy.

The project has been criticized as an ineffective way to contribute to sustainable economic growth, and has faced several hurdles that include its sources of funding.

When pressed by reporters, Paetongtarn said she still has an intention to push forward a major economic stimulus for Thailand, but she will need to “continue to listen to opinions.”

She also said she will ask for her father for advice when she needs, but insisted that she would make her own decisions. “I am my own person. I have my own things and my own goals that I have to achieve in the future, but of course all the comments from him (have) value to me,” she said.

Pheu Thai is the latest in a string of populist parties affiliated with Thaksin, who was ousted in a 2006 military coup, which triggered nearly two decades of deep political divisions that pitted a mostly poor, rural majority in the north that supported Thaksin against royalists, the military and their urban backers.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/thailand-paetongtarn-thaksin-prime-minister-royal-assent-78e8d41b40c1bd6a77c0885158da5794

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday the daring military incursion into Russia’s Kursk region aims to create a buffer zone to prevent further attacks by Moscow across the border.

It was the first time Zelenskyy clearly stated the aim of the operation, which was launched on Aug. 6. Previously, he had said the operation aimed to protect communities in the bordering Sumy region from constant shelling.

Zelenskyy said “it is now our primary task in defensive operations overall: to destroy as much Russian war potential as possible and conduct maximum counteroffensive actions. This includes creating a buffer zone on the aggressor’s territory -– our operation in the Kursk region,” he said in his nightly address.

This weekend, Ukraine destroyed a key bridge in the region and struck a second one nearby, disrupting supply lines as it pressed a stunning cross-border incursion that began Aug. 6, officials said.

Pro-Kremlin military bloggers acknowledged the destruction of the first bridge on the Seim River near the town of Glushkovo will impede deliveries of supplies to Russian forces repelling Ukraine’s incursion, although Moscow could still use pontoons and smaller bridges. Ukraine’s air force chief, Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleshchuk, on Friday released a video of an airstrike that cut the bridge in two.

Less than two days later, Ukrainian troops hit a second bridge in Russia, according to Oleshchuk and Russian regional Gov. Alexei Smirnov.

As of Sunday morning, there were no officials giving the exact location of the second bridge attack. But Russian Telegram channels claimed that a second bridge over the Seim, in the village of Zvannoe, had been struck.

According to Russia’s Mash news site, the attacks left only one intact bridge in the area. The Associated Press could not immediately verify these claims. If confirmed, the Ukrainian strikes would further complicate Moscow’s attempts to replenish its forces and evacuate civilians.

Glushkovo is about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) north of the Ukrainian border, and approximately 16 kilometers (10 miles) northwest of the main battle zone in Kursk. Zvannoe is located another 8 kilometers (5 miles) to the northwest.

Kyiv previously has said little about the goals of its push into Russia with tanks and other armored vehicles, the largest attack on the country since World War II, which took the Kremlin by surprise and saw scores of villages and hundreds of prisoners fall into Ukrainian hands.

The Ukrainians drove deep into the region in several directions, facing little resistance and sowing chaos and panic as tens of thousands of civilians fled. Ukraine’s Commander in Chief, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, claimed last week that his forces had advanced across 1,000 square kilometers (390 square miles) of the region, although it was not possible to independently verify what Ukrainian forces effectively control.

Buffer zones sought by both sides
In his remarks on creating a buffer zone, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces “achieved good and much-needed results.”

Analysts say that although Ukraine could try to consolidate its gains inside Russia, it would be risky, given Kyiv’s limited resources, because its own supply lines extending deep into Kursk would be vulnerable.

The incursion has proven Ukraine’s ability to seize the initiative and has boosted its morale, which was sapped by a failed counteroffensive last summer and months of grinding Russian gains in the eastern Donbas region.

For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin said while visiting China in May that Moscow’s offensive that month in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region was aimed at creating a buffer zone there.

That offensive opened a new front and displaced thousands of Ukrainians. The attacks were a response to Ukrainian shelling of Russia’s Belgorod region, Putin said.

“I have said publicly that if it continues, we will be forced to create a security zone, a sanitary zone,” he said. “That’s what we are doing.”

Ukraine’s move into Kursk resembled its lightning operation from September 2022, led by Syrskyi, in which its forces reclaimed control of the northeastern Kharkiv region after taking advantage of Russian manpower shortages and a lack of field fortifications.

Zelenskyy seeks permission to strike deeper into Russia
On Saturday, Zelenskyy urged Kyiv’s allies to lift remaining restrictions on using Western weapons to attack targets deeper in Russia, including in Kursk, saying his troops could deprive Moscow “of any ability to advance and cause destruction” if granted sufficient long-range capabilities.

“It is crucial that our partners remove barriers that hinder us from weakening Russian positions in the way this war demands. … The bravery of our soldiers and the resilience of our combat brigades compensate for the lack of essential decisions from our partners,” Zelenskyy said on the social platform X.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry and pro-Kremlin bloggers alleged U.S.-made HIMARS launchers have been used to destroy bridges on the Seim. These claims could not be independently verified.

Ukraine’s leaders have repeatedly sought authorization for long-range strikes on Russian air bases and other infrastructure used to pummel Ukraine’s energy facilities and other civilian targets, including with retrofitted Soviet-era “glide bombs” attacking Ukraine’s industrial east in recent months.

Moscow also appears to have increased attacks on Kyiv, targeting it Sunday with ballistic missiles for a third time this month, according to the head of the municipal military administration. Serhii Popko said in a Telegram post the “almost identical” August strikes on the capital “most likely used” North Korean-supplied KN-23 missiles.

Another attempt to target Kyiv followed at about 7 a.m. Popko said, this time with Iskander cruise missiles. Ukrainian air defenses struck down all the missiles fired in both attacks on the city, he said.

Fears mount for Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
Elsewhere, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said Saturday the safety situation at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is deteriorating.

International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi urged “maximum restraint from all sides” after an IAEA team at the plant reported an explosive carried by a drone detonated just outside its protected area.

According to Grossi, the impact was “close to the essential water sprinkle ponds” and about 100 meters (100 yards) from the only power line supplying the plant. The IAEA team at the plant has reported intense military activity in the surrounding area in the past week, it said.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-kursk-incursion-bridge-invasion-43d6579c82c24ffc5cfabd99d07c66db

Vice President Kamala Harris has replaced President Joe Biden atop the presidential ticket, but his “finish the job” campaign mantra can still largely apply to her top policy goals. She’s promising to continue a lot of what Biden was doing during the past four years if she’s elected to four of her own.

Former President Donald Trump, for his part, is itching to get back to the White House and accomplish what he didn’t during his first term.

Since Biden stepped down last month, the vice president has announced few major policy proposals beyond a new push to prevent price gouging by food producers and grocers and plans to cut taxes for families, attempt to bring down homebuying and rental prices and reduce medical debt. Harris also used a recent rally in Las Vegas, where the economy runs on the hospitality industry, to call for ending taxes on tips paid to restaurant, hotel and other service employees. That came more than a month after Trump used his own Las Vegas rally to promise the same on tips.

Despite her lack of specifics on policy, the vice president has committed generally to some major policy positions on various matters, promising to sign sweeping legislation that’s unlikely to clear Congress.

Those include measures codifying the federal right to an abortion, increasing the federal minimum wage, imposing an assault weapons ban, requiring universal background checks for firearm purchases and advancing several long-stalled voting rights measures.

While details are still rather vague, there’s no doubt that whoever prevails in November will seek to shape the landscape of American life in ways wholly distinct from their opponent.

On nearly every issue, the choices — if the winner gets his or her way — are sharply defined.

The onward march of regulation and incentives to restrain climate change, or a slow walk if not an about-face. Higher taxes on the super rich, or cuts to benefit high-wage earners. Abortion rights reaffirmed, or left to states to restrict or allow as each decides. Another attempt to legislate border security and orderly entry into the country, or massive deportations. A commitment to stand with Ukraine or let go.

Here’s where each candidate stands on 10 top issues:

Abortion
HARRIS: The vice president has called on Congress to pass legislation guaranteeing in federal law abortion access, a right that stood for nearly 50 years before being overturned by the Supreme Court. Like Biden, Harris has criticized bans on abortion in Republican-controlled states and promised as president to block any potential nationwide ban should one clear a future GOP-run Congress. Harris was the Democrats’ most visible champion of abortion rights even while Biden was still in the race. She has promoted the administration’s efforts short of federal law — including steps to protect women who travel to obtain abortions and limit how law enforcement collects medical records.

TRUMP: The former president often brags about appointing the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to an abortion. After dodging questions about when in pregnancy he believes the procedure should be restricted, Trump announced last spring that decisions on access and cutoffs should be left to the states. He said he would not sign a national abortion ban into law. But he’s declined to say whether he would try to limit access to the abortion pill mifepristone. He told Time magazine that it should also be left up to states to determine whether to prosecute women for abortions or to monitor their pregnancies.

Climate/Energy
HARRIS: As a senator from California, the vice president was an early sponsor of the Green New Deal, a sweeping series of proposals meant to swiftly move the U.S. to fully green energy that is championed by the Democratic Party’s most progressive wing. Harris also said during her short-lived 2020 presidential campaign that she opposed offshore drilling for oil and hydraulic fracturing. But during her three and a half years as vice president, Harris has adopted more moderate positions, focusing instead on implementing the climate provisions of the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. That provided nearly $375 billion for things like financial incentives for electric cars and clean energy projects. The Biden administration has also enlisted more than 20,000 young people in a national “Climate Corps,” a Peace Corps-like program to promote conservation through tasks such as weatherizing homes and repairing wetlands. Despite that, it’s unlikely that the U.S. will be on track to meet Biden’s goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 — a benchmark that Harris hasn’t talked about in the early part of her own White House bid.

TRUMP: His mantra for one of his top policy priorities: “DRILL, BABY, DRILL.” Trump, who in the past cast climate change as a “hoax” and harbors a particular disdain for wind power, says it’s his goal for the U.S. to have the cheapest energy and electricity in the world. He’d increase oil drilling on public lands, offer tax breaks to oil, gas and coal producers, speed the approval of natural gas pipelines and roll back the Biden administration’s aggressive efforts to get people to switch to electric cars, which he argues have a place but shouldn’t be forced on consumers. He has also pledged to re-exit the Paris Climate Accords, end wind subsidies and eliminate regulations imposed and proposed by the Biden administration targeting energy-inefficient kinds of lightbulbs, stoves, dishwashers and shower heads.

Democracy/Rule of Law
HARRIS: Like Biden, Harris has decried Trump as a threat to the nation’s democracy. But, in attacking her opponent, the vice president has leaned more heavily into her personal background as a prosecutor and contrasted that with Trump being found guilty of 34 felony counts in a New York hush money case and in being found liable for fraudulent business practices and sexual abuse in civil court. The vice president has also talked less frequently than Biden did about Trump’s denial that he lost the 2020 presidential election and his spurring on the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol. When she’s interrupted during rallies with supporters’ “lock him up” chants directed at Trump, Harris responds that the courts can “handle that” and “our job is to beat him in November.”

TRUMP: After refusing to accept his loss to Biden in 2020, Trump hasn’t committed to accepting the results this time. He’s repeatedly promised to pardon the Jan. 6 defendants jailed for assaulting police officers and other crimes during the attack on the Capitol. He vows to overhaul the Justice Department and FBI “from the ground up,” aggrieved by the criminal charges the department has brought against him. He also promises to deploy the National Guard to cities such as Chicago that are struggling with violent crime, and in response to protests, and has also vowed to appoint a special prosecutor to go after Biden.

Federal government
HARRIS: Like Biden, Harris has campaigned hard against “Project 2025,” a plan authored by leading conservatives to move as swiftly as possible to dramatically remake the federal government and push it to the right if Trump wins back the White House. She is also part of an administration that is already taking steps to make it harder for any mass firings of civil servants to occur. In April, the Office of Personnel Management issued a new rule that would ban federal workers from being reclassified as political appointees or other at-will employees, thus making them easier to dismiss. That was in response to Schedule F, a 2020 executive order from Trump that reclassified tens of thousands of federal workers to make firing them easier.

TRUMP: The former president has sought to distance himself from “Project 2025,” despite his close ties to many of its key architects. He has nonetheless vowed an overhaul of the federal bureaucracy, which he has long blamed for blocking his first term agenda, saying: “I will totally obliterate the deep state.” The former president plans to reissue the Schedule F order stripping civil service protections. He says he’d then move to fire “rogue bureaucrats,” including those who ”weaponized our justice system,” and the “warmongers and America-Last globalists in the Deep State, the Pentagon, the State Department, and the national security industrial complex.” Trump has also pledged to terminate the Education Department and wants to curtail the independence of regulatory agencies like the Federal Communications Commission.

Immigration
HARRIS: Attempting to defuse a GOP line of political attack, the vice president has talked up her experience as California attorney general, saying she walked drug smuggler tunnels and successfully prosecuted gangs that moved narcotics and people across the border. Early in his term, Biden made Harris his administration’s point person on the root causes of migration. Trump and top Republicans now blame Harris for a situation at the U.S.-Mexico border that they say is out of control due to policies that were too lenient. Harris has attempted to counter that by arguing that a bipartisan Senate compromise that would have included tougher asylum standards and hiring more border agents, immigration judges and asylum officers was poised to clear Congress before Trump came out in opposition to it. Harris now says that Trump “talks the talk, but doesn’t walk the walk” on immigration. The vice president has endorsed comprehensive immigration reform, seeking pathways to citizenship for immigrants in the U.S. without legal status, with a faster track for young immigrants living in the country illegally who arrived as children.

TRUMP: The former president promises to mount the largest domestic deportation in U.S. history — an operation that could involve detention camps and the National Guard. He’d bring back policies he put in place during his first term, like the Remain in Mexico program and Title 42, which placed curbs on migrants on public health grounds. And he’d revive and expand the travel ban that originally targeted citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries. After the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, he pledged new “ideological screening” for immigrants to bar “dangerous lunatics, haters, bigots, and maniacs.” He’d also try to deport people who are in the U.S. legally but harbor “jihadist sympathies.” He’d seek to end birthright citizenship for people born in the U.S. whose parents are both in the country illegally.

Israel/Gaza
HARRIS: Harris says Israel has a right to defend itself, and she’s repeatedly decried Hamas as a terrorist organization. But the vice president might also have helped defuse some backlash from progressives by being more vocal about the need to better protect civilians during fighting in Gaza, where the civilian death toll has now exceeded 40,000. Like Biden, Harris supports a proposed hostage for extended cease-fire deal that aims to bring all remaining hostages and Israeli dead home. Biden and Harris say the deal could lead to a permanent end to the grinding nine-month war and they have endorsed a two-state solution, which would have Israel existing alongside an independent Palestinian state.

TRUMP: The former president has expressed support for Israel’s efforts to “destroy” Hamas, but he’s also been critical of some of Israel’s tactics. He says the country must finish the job quickly and get back to peace. He has called for more aggressive responses to pro-Palestinian protests at college campuses and applauded police efforts to clear encampments. Trump also proposes to revoke the student visas of those who espouse antisemitic or anti-American views.

Source: https://apnews.com/article/trump-harris-issue-positions-worlds-apart-3f80a342c790da64e3de92a4f5760991

123 countries joined Voice of Global South summit; China, Pakistan not invited

New Delhi, China and Pakistan were not among the invitees to the third Voice of Global South Summit hosted by India on Saturday on the virtual format that was joined by 123 nations across the globe.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar confirmed this at a media briefing after conclusion of the summit that focused on unitedly dealing with challenges facing the Global South or the developing countries.

Jaishankar said 123 countries participated at the summit.

Twenty-one countries were represented at the level of head of state and government while 34 foreign ministers joined it, according to the external affairs minister.

Apart from the foreign ministers, 118 ministers also joined the summit that comprised 10 ministerial sessions.

In the last few years, India has been positioning itself as a leading voice, flagging concerns, challenges and aspirations of the Global South or the developing nations, especially the African continent.

As the G20 president last year, India focused on issues like inclusive growth, digital innovation, climate resilience, and equitable global health access with an aim to benefit the Global South.

The earthquake struck off the east coast of Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula on Saturday evening at a depth of 51km (32 miles).

A 7.2-magnitude earthquake has struck off the east coast of Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula – with a tsunami warning issued.

The quake was recorded at a depth of around 51km (32 miles), the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre said.

It struck at 8.10pm UK time, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), around 50 miles from the coastal city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, which is said to have a population of more than 150,000 people.

The US National Tsunami Warning Centre said there was a tsunami threat from the quake.

The tsunami warning said waves up to a metre above tide level were possible for some coastal areas in Russia but added that impacts were likely to be limited.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/72-magnitude-earthquake-strikes-off-russian-coast-tsunami-warning-issued-13197584

Vladimir Putin has stoked World War Three fears following the deployment of four nuclear-capable fighter planes over NATO-adjacent seas.

The Russian Army has confirmed that it deployed two Tu-95MS strategic bombers the Barents and Norwegian Seas, both of which border multiple countries within the western military pact. The massive four-engine Cold-War era bombers were originally designed to drop nuclear munitions, and one was once responsible for dropping the Tsar Bomba, the most powerful nuclear device ever detonated.

A further two Tu-22M3 long-range bombers – also with nuclear capabilities – dispatched over the Baltic Sea in a move that could be seen as risky, given the large number of nearby NATO members. The Baltic Sea has recently been dubbed “NATO lake” thanks to the recent accession of Finland and Sweden, both of which border the massive body of water.

Russia’s military representatives have stressed that the flights over both seas were for training purposes, with the Tu-95MS units participating in exercises and the Tu-22’s escorting. Moscow has insisted the four-hour operation strictly adhered with international airspace regulations.

But the insistence didn’t mean it wasn’t a surprise to some western military officials, with Russian officials reporting encounters with “foreign fighter aircraft” during the exercise. Representatives would not go into further specifics about the reported incursions.

Germany’s air force, the Luftwaffe, provided an explanation with a post on X, formerly Twitter, stating it had deployed Eurofighter Typhoons from Latvia to intercept the Russian planes. The social media post confirmed that the Russian planes were “handed over” to on-duty Swedish squadrons. The post read: “The Eurofighter VAPB in Germany were alerted today by the NATO CAOC Uedem to identify a group of aircraft consisting of two TU-22 BACKFIRE and several SU FLANKER. The armed aircraft were then ‘handed over’ to the alert squadron.”

Source: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/russian-nuke-bombers-rush-nato-33481466

The doctors are alleged to have charged the Friends actor $2,000 for a vial of ketamine they bought for $12. Perry’s live-in assistant has admitted repeatedly injecting the star with the drug.

One of the doctors accused over the ketamine-related death of troubled Friends star Matthew Perry wrote in a text: “I wonder how much this moron will pay,” prosecutors have alleged.

The text was written by Salvador Plasencia, a medical doctor known as “Dr. P”, who is one of five defendants charged in relation to the actor’s death, according to prosecutors.

Others charged include Jasveen Sangha, known as the “Ketamine Queen”, Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry’s live-in personal assistant, Erik Fleming, an acquaintance of the TV star, and another doctor, Mark Chavez.

Iwamasa and Fleming have already pleaded guilty to charges relating to Perry’s death, while Chavez, a San Diego physician, has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine.

On Thursday afternoon, Plasencia pleaded not guilty to the charge against him, and his trial is scheduled to start on 8 October.

The judge agreed to a $100,000 (£77,796) bail bond with some additional conditions.

Plasencia was also granted permission to keep running his medical practice “not related to controlled substances” while on bail as long as he posted a notice explaining his circumstances and that each patient signed a form stating they knew about the charges against him.

Sangha pleaded not guilty but was not released on bail, as she had already been on bail after being arrested in March for a previous drug charge.

That bail bond was rescinded on Thursday due to the concern of flight risk and the fact that she had asked a co-conspirator to delete text messages.

Her trial is scheduled for 15 October.

It comes after Perry was found dead in a swimming pool at his California home in October 2023.

A grand jury indictment, filed in California, alleges Plasencia sold ketamine and paraphernalia such as syringes to Perry’s assistant – and taught him how to inject the drug – after the actor developed an addiction while seeking mental health treatment.

Ketamine has in recent years seen a huge surge in use, as a treatment for depression, anxiety and pain.

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) administrator Anne Milgram said: “Matthew Perry sought treatment for depression and anxiety and went to a local clinic where he became addicted to intravenous ketamine.

“When clinic doctors refused to increase his dosage, he turned to unscrupulous doctors who saw Perry as a way to make quick money.”

Prosecutors allege Chavez funnelled ketamine to Plasencia, securing some of the drug from a wholesale distributor through a fraudulent prescription.

In one instance, prosecutors allege that Plasencia “charged Perry $2,000 (£1,500) a vial that cost Dr Chavez approximately $12 (£9)”.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/matthew-perry-five-charged-including-two-doctors-over-ketamine-death-of-friends-star-13197495

Columbia University President Minouche Shafik has resigned from her position amid a free speech debate over campus protests of the war in Gaza.
Ms Shafik’s resignation comes only a year after she took the position at the private Ivy League university in New York City, and just a few weeks before the autumn semester is due to begin.
Ms Shafik is now the third president of an Ivy League university to resign over her handling of Gaza war protests.
In April, Ms Shafik authorised New York Police Department officers to swarm the campus, a controversial decision that led to the arrests of about 100 students who were occupying a university building.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he will step down in September, ending a three-year term marred by political scandals and paving the way for a new premier to address the impact of rising prices.
“Politics cannot function without public trust,” Kishida said in a press conference on Wednesday to announce his decision not to seek re-election as the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leader.
“I will now focus on supporting the newly elected LDP leader as a rank-and-file member of the party,” he said.

His decision to quit triggers a contest to replace him as president of the party, and by extension as the leader of the world’s fourth-biggest economy.
Kishida’s public support has been sliding amid revelations about the LDP’s ties to the controversial Unification Church and political donations made at party fundraising events that went unrecorded.
But he also faced public discontent over the failure of wages to keep track with the rising cost of living as the country finally shook off years of deflationary pressure.

The prime minister tells President Masoud Pezeshkian he is “deeply concerned” amid growing fears Iran will retaliate against Israel over the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Sir Keir Starmer has spoken with Iran’s president as part of international efforts to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East.

The 30-minute phone conversation with Masoud Pezeshkian followed a joint statement issued by the UK, US, France, and Germany, which called on Iran and its allies to “stand down its ongoing threats of a military attack against Israel”.

There are growing fears Iran will retaliate against Israel over the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in the country, prompting the US to order the deployment of a guided missile submarine to the Middle East.

During his call with Mr Pezeshkian, Sir Keir said he was “deeply concerned by the situation” and called on all parties to “de-escalate and avoid further regional confrontation”, according to a readout of the conversation from Downing Street.

The prime minister also said there was a “serious risk of miscalculation and now was the time for calm and careful consideration”, calling on Iran to “refrain from attacking Israel” and saying that “war was not in anyone’s interests”.

The readout continued: “The prime minister underlined his commitment to an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages and increasing humanitarian aid to Gaza.

“He added the focus should be on diplomatic negotiations, to achieve those outcomes.”

Sir Keir also raised the cases of foreign detainees in Iran, and the two leaders agreed that “constructive dialogue…was in both countries’ interests”.

“The prime minister added that could only be furthered if Iran ceased its destabilising actions including threats against individuals in the UK and did not further aid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine”, Downing Street said.

Call ‘very rare occurrence’

Sky’s Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall said it was a “very rare occurrence” for a British prime minister to speak to an Iranian leader and it “shows the value” of having a British embassy in Tehran – not something many countries, including the US, have.

In the call, Sir Keir was able to push the message Western leaders are using “as the carrot… to bring Iran down from the edge”, Bunkall said.

That is to say “look, if we can try and push forward with a ceasefire deal and ceasefire talks are due to take place on Thursday, then anything that you do in between that, or even after that, runs the risk of collapsing those talks”, he added.

In the earlier joint statement, which also included Italy, the world leaders said there was “no further time to lose” in reaching a ceasefire and securing the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza.

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/pm-has-spoken-to-iran-president-to-de-escalate-tensions-in-middle-east-13196154

The elusive artist Banksy has confirmed he painted swimming piranhas on to a City of London Police sentry box, which was first spotted on Sunday morning.
The glass-fronted box on Ludgate Hill – near The Old Bailey and St Paul’s Cathedral – has been transformed to look like an aquarium.
This is his seventh new artwork to be revealed in the capital in as many days, following a goat, monkeys, elephants, a wolf, pelicans and a cat.
Crowds gathered to take photos throughout the day until barriers were installed, preventing people from going inside.

This work differs from the previous works by Banksy unveiled this week in that it is a detailed painting that appears to have been created with translucent spray paint.
The City of London Police said it was aware of “criminal damage” to the police box and were liaising with City of London Corporation which owns it.
A corporation worker was earlier seen barricading it off and asking spectators not to stand in the road near it.
A spokesperson said: “We are currently working through options to preserve the artwork.”
The sentry box is among many installed in the 1990s used by police officers monitoring traffic to prevent IRA attacks.

‘Really uplifting’
A local resident who came to take pictures of the fish artwork said she thought it was “rather beautiful in the sun.”
“I like it, it’s got a charm to it somehow. It’s not in your face, it’s quite subtle.
Artist Daniel Lloyd-Morgan, who has painted most of Banksy’s new pieces of art this week said: “It’s really uplifting for people in London at the moment.
“There’s a buzz around his work. It’s nice to capture that as I do the people as well.
“It’s not just about the artwork, it’s about the whole environment he’s creating, it becomes a sort of work of art itself – what happens to it, people steal it or take it away.”
Mr Lloyd-Morgan added that he was due to go on holiday on Monday but has postponed it in case Banksy’s art revelations continue next week.

Banksy’s translucent fish swimming around a 1990s police sentry box form the seventh piece in a surprise animal-themed art series.
On Monday, a goat appeared on the side of a building near Kew Bridge, followed by a sweet image of two elephants touching trunks on the side of a house in Chelsea on Tuesday.
Three monkeys hanging from a bridge in Brick Lane then drew crowds on Wednesday.
On Thursday, a howling wolf on a satellite dish – which looked like the wolf was howling at the moon – was installed onto a garage roof in Peckham.
On Friday, locals in Walthamstow woke up to find two pelicans fishing above a fish shop.
And on Saturday, a stencil of a cat having a stretch appeared on an empty billboard in Cricklewood.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9358vpz8zwo

Days after Ukraine began a surprise military incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has broken the government’s silence on it by indirectly acknowledging the ongoing military actions to “push the war out into the aggressor’s territory.”

Zelenskyy’s comment came in his nightly address late Saturday.

Ukraine’s incursion into Russia continued for a sixth day Sunday. It’s the largest such attack since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022 and is unprecedented for its use of Ukrainian military units on Russian soil. Ukraine’s raid into Russia caught Moscow unaware and was an embarrassment to Russian military leaders who have scrambled to contain the breach.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that its forces engaged Ukrainian troops in Tolpino, Zhuravli and Obshchy Kolodez, the official Tass news agency reported. Tolpino is 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

Evacuation of civilians living in Russia’s border areas with Ukraine continued Sunday. Russian state television aired footage of evacuees at a tent camp in the city of Kursk. According to the report by RTR, more than 20 temporary accommodation centers have been set up in the region.

Brazilian emergency crews on Saturday recovered the remains of the 62 victims aboard an airliner that plunged to the ground in the town of Vinhedo, near Sao Paulo the day before, killing all on board.
The bodies of most of the victims – 34 males and 28 females – had already been moved to Sao Paulo’s police morgue for identification. The bodies of the pilot and co-pilot were identified earlier in the day, said Dario Pacheco, mayor of Vinhedo.

Authorities are using seat assignments, physical characteristics, documents and belongings such as cell phones to identify the victims, firefighter Maycon Cristo said at the crash site earlier on Saturday as the bodies were being pulled from the wreckage.

Authorities are using seat assignments, physical characteristics, documents and belongings such as cell phones to identify the victims, firefighter Maycon Cristo said at the crash site earlier on Saturday as the bodies were being pulled from the wreckage.

Relatives of the victims were brought to Sao Paulo to provide DNA samples to aid in identification of the remains, said state civil defense coordinator Henguel Pereira.

The plane’s so-called “black box” containing voice recordings and flight data was undergoing analysis, said Marcelo Moreno, the head of Brazilian aviation accident investigation center Cenipa, at a press conference in Vinhedo.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/removal-bodies-begins-brazil-plane-crash-that-killed-62-2024-08-10/

Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, while addressing the weekly briefing said that the two spoke about the developments in Bangladesh and West Asia.

Amid reports of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s plans to seek asylum in the UK, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday, received a call from UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

EAM Jaishankar and his UK counterpart discussed the situation in Bangladesh and West Asia.

“Received a call from UK Foreign Secretary @DavidLammy today. Discussed the situation in Bangladesh and West Asia,” EAM Jaishankar said in a post on X.

Over the past week, watched by the world’s media, the top leaders of Hamas descended on Qatar to choose a new political leader for their group.
Delegates flooded in from across the Middle East after almost a year of fighting between Hamas and Israel in Gaza.
Some arrived shaken, having woken just days before to the news that the group’s previous political leader – Ismail Haniyeh – had been killed in a blast in Tehran, allegedly by Israel.
Haniyeh, who had overseen his group’s negotiators in talks with Israel, played a crucial role in Hamas, balancing the militant wing’s desire to take the fight to Israel with calls from some to reach a settlement and end the conflict.

Hamas attacked southern Israel on 7 October last year, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back into Gaza. Since then, Israel’s military retaliation has killed more than 39,600 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, and wounded tens of thousands more. More than half the buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed and almost the entire population has been displaced. Dissent against Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, has been growing. The group itself has taken severe losses.
On top of this, the killing of Ismail Haniyeh on 31 July in Tehran – a place he had always felt to be a safe haven – was a real shock for the organisation.
Hamas is convinced that Haniyeh was killed by an anti-personnel missile while he was browsing on his phone. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have said a projectile with a 7kg warhead was used. Some Western media reports say he was killed by a bomb planted in the room beforehand.
Back at Haniyeh’s mourning ceremony in Doha, one man in his mid-60s with white hair and a short beard stood in a corner away from the spotlight.
“Pay close attention to him,” a Hamas media officer told me. Who was he? “He is the shadowy man, Abu Omar Hassan,” he said.
Abu Omar Hassan, or Mohamed Hassan Darwish, is the head of the Supreme Shura Council, the top consultative body in Hamas. According to Hamas’s constitution, he was in prime position to be the organisation’s interim head until elections which had been scheduled for next March.
“He is the man of the big missions,” I was told.
As the mourning ceremony ended, these leaders’ real work began. For two days, the movement’s veteran faces and shadowy figures held meetings in Doha, which has hosted Hamas’s political bureau since 2012, to elect a new leader.

They chose Yahya Sinwar, already the group’s leader inside Gaza since 2017. The choice may come as a surprise to many, but anyone following his career since Israel released him in the 2011 exchange deal for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit knew he was always likely to lead Hamas one day.

No political leader in Hamas has ever been closer to the group’s armed wing. His brother Mohammed leads the largest Hamas military battalion, while Mohammed Deif – the elusive Hamas veteran who led its armed wing for two decades until Israel said it killed him last month – was his neighbour, friend, and classmate. The pair grew up together in Gaza’s sprawling Khan Younis refugee camp.

Despite all this, many may see appointing him to the most important position in Hamas as madness. Israel’s security agencies believe Sinwar planned and executed the attack on southern Israel, and he is top of their wanted list.

“Not all of the people inside Hamas leadership were in favour of the decision,” a senior Hamas official told me. “Some leaders raised their concerns, others pushed for a more moderate person. But in the end he got the majority of the votes.”

Another Hamas official who attended the meetings said the movement felt unable to choose the powerful shadow operator Abu Omar Hassan because he had little public profile and was unknown outside the movement, whereas the 7 October attack had given Yahya Sinwar global notoriety.

“Sinwar has become a trademark after 7 October and he has great popularity in the Arab and Islamic worlds,” the official said. “He enjoys close relations with the axis of resistance supported by Iran, and his appointment in the midst of the war sends a message of defiance to Israel.”

The “axis of resistance” is a network of armed groups backed by Iran. Other members such as Lebanon-based Hezbollah also present threats to Israel.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyl3yg7wzzo

The government has decided to withdraw the Waqf Properties (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants), Bill, 2014 which was introduced in Rajya Sabha in February 2014, when the Congress-led UPA government was in power.

The BJP-led government is slated to introduce the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 in the Lok Sabha on Thursday to amend the Waqf Act, 1995. The bill seeks to “effectively address issues” related to the powers of the State Waqf Boards, registration and survey of waqf properties and removal of encroachments.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 is listed for introduction by Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju in Lok Sabha on Thursday.

Samajwadi Party will oppose the Waqf Bill in Parliament, according to the party sources.

The government has decided to withdraw the Waqf Properties (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants), Bill, 2014 which was introduced in Rajya Sabha in February 2014, when the Congress-led UPA government was in power.

The Waqf Properties (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants), Bill, 2014 is listed for withdrawal from Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

Thousands of anti-racism protesters have rallied in cities and towns across England after a week of anti-immigrant rioting and disorder.
Gatherings in locations where anti-immigration protests had been expected – including north London, Bristol and Newcastle – were largely peaceful, with counter-protesters chanting “refugees are welcome here” forming the bulk of the crowds.
Police had been braced for further violence, with thousands of officers deployed and more than 100 events anticipated.
Rioting was sparked by misinformation online that the suspect in the fatal stabbing of three little girls in Southport on 29 July was a Muslim asylum seeker.

Bangladesh’s incoming interim leader Muhammad Yunus appealed for calm Wednesday and urged all parties to help the country rebuild after weeks of violence that killed hundreds and prompted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee to India.

Yunus, a Nobel peace laureate, was in Paris for the Olympics when he was named interim leader following talks among military officials, civic leaders and the student activists who led the uprising against a prime minister seen as increasingly autocratic. Yunus made his first public comments in the French capital Wednesday before boarding a plane to return home.

He congratulated the student protesters, saying they had made “our second Victory Day possible,” and appealed to them and other stakeholders to remain peaceful, while condemning any violence since Hasina’s resignation Monday.

“Violence is our enemy. Please don’t create more enemies. Be calm and get ready to build the country,” Yunus said.

Bangladesh’s military chief, Gen. Waker-Uz-Zaman said in a televised address that Yunus would be sworn in Thursday night and that he expected him to usher in a “beautiful democratic” process. The military leader said that those responsible for violence since Hasina’s resignation would be brought to justice.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus was named chief adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government on Tuesday, a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country following a violent crackdown on a student-led uprising.
Yunus was appointed to the post by Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin after he held meetings with student leaders and chiefs of the three military services, local media reported late on Tuesday, citing a statement and officials from the president’s office.

Yunus, 84, and his Grameen Bank, a microcredit organization, won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for work to lift millions out of poverty by granting small loans of under $100 to the rural poor of Bangladesh.
The student leaders had said they wanted Yunus as the chief adviser to the interim government and a spokesperson for Yunus said he agreed. Yunus is in Paris for a medical procedure and is expected to return to Dhaka soon.

Student protesters had threatened more demonstrations if parliament was not dissolved.

Shahabuddin had said earlier that an interim government would hold elections soon after it takes over. Nahid Islam, a key organiser of the campaign against Hasina, said in a video message: “Any government other than the one we recommended would not be accepted.”

The movement that toppled Hasina rose out of demonstrations against public sector job quotas for families of veterans of Bangladesh’s 1971 independence war, seen by critics as a means to reserve jobs for allies of the ruling party.

About 300 people were killed and thousands injured in violence that had ripped through the country since July.

After demonstrators stormed and looted the prime minister’s lavish residence on Monday, the streets of the capital Dhaka were again peaceful on Tuesday, with traffic lighter than usual and many schools and businesses that shut during the unrest still closed.

Garment factories, which supply apparel to some of the world’s top brands and are a mainstay of the economy, will reopen on Wednesday after being shut due to the disruptions, the main garment manufacturers’ association said.

Hasina’s flight ended her 15-year second stint in power in the country of 170 million people, which she had ruled for 20 of the last 30 years at the helm of a political movement inherited from her father, state founder Mujibur Rahman, after he was assassinated in 1975.

Since the early 1990s Hasina had feuded and alternated power with her rival Zia, who inherited her own political movement from her husband Ziaur Rahman, a ruler himself assassinated in 1981.

‘SECOND LIBERATION DAY’
Yunus, who was indicted by a court in June on charges of embezzlement that he denied, told Indian broadcaster Times Now that Monday marked the “second liberation day” for Bangladesh after its 1971 war of independence from Pakistan.
But he said Bangladeshis were angry with neighbour India for allowing Hasina to land there after fleeing Dhaka.
“India is our best friend … people are angry at India because you are supporting the person who destroyed our lives,” Yunus said.
Protests against Hasina were fueled in part by poverty. After years of strong economic growth as the garment industry expanded, the $450 billion economy struggled with costly imports and inflation, and the government had sought a bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
Hasina was accused of becoming increasingly authoritarian, with many of her political foes jailed. Her resignation was greeted by jubilant crowds, who stormed unopposed into the opulent grounds of her residence and carried away furniture and TVs after she fled on Monday.
Hasina flew to India and is staying at a safe house outside Delhi. Indian media reported that Hasina may travel to Britain, where she has family including a niece who is a government minister.
Reuters could not confirm her plans. Britain’s Home Office declined to comment.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/bangladesh-awaits-interim-government-army-chief-meet-protesters-2024-08-06/

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her newly selected vice presidential running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, campaigned for the first time together on Tuesday in Philadelphia, kicking off a multi-day tour of battleground states aimed at introducing Walz to the national stage.
In his remarks to a raucous crowd of more than 10,000 at Temple University, Walz described his upbringing in a small Nebraska town, his 24 years serving in the Army National Guard and his prior career as a high school social studies teacher and football coach.

Ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visa has been revoked by the United States, according to insider sources close to the opposition in Bangladesh. This development comes amid reports that Western nations, including the US, sought her ousting from power.

Hasina, who resigned and fled to India following violent protests in Bangladesh, is currently at Hindon Airbase in Ghaziabad. While she is exploring options for asylum in European countries, reports indicate that the UK is not prepared to grant her refuge. Sources suggest that her sister, Rehana, who holds UK citizenship, may leave for the UK shortly.

On Monday, the military arranged Sheikh Hasina’s departure from Dhaka after weeks of mounting pressure due to anti-government protests against her reservation policies. The protests escalated into violent unrest, resulting in over 440 deaths in recent weeks. Hours after her resignation, Hasina’s residence was stormed by protesters, leading to widespread vandalism.

A U.S. judge ruled on Monday that Google violated antitrust law, spending billions of dollars to create an illegal monopoly and become the world’s default search engine, the first big win for federal authorities taking on Big Tech’s market dominance.
The ruling paves the way for a second trial to determine potential fixes, possibly including a breakup of Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab, which would change the landscape of the online advertising world that Google has dominated for years.

It is also a green light to aggressive U.S. antitrust enforcers prosecuting Big Tech, a sector that has been under fire from across the political spectrum.
“The court reaches the following conclusion: Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, Washington, D.C., wrote. Google controls about 90% of the online search market and 95% on smartphones.

The “remedy” phase could be lengthy, followed by potential appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. The legal wrangling could play out into next year, or even 2026.
Shares of Alphabet fell 4.5% on Monday amid a broad decline in tech shares as the wider stock market cratered on recession fears. Google advertising was 77% of Alphabet’s total sales in 2023.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled the country on Monday after hundreds of people were killed in a crackdown on demonstrations that began as protests against job quotas and swelled into a movement demanding her ouster.
Jubilant crowds stormed unopposed into the opulent grounds of the presidential residence, carrying out looted furniture and TVs. One man balanced a red velvet, gilt-edged chair on his head. Another held an armful of vases.Elsewhere in Dhaka, protesters climbed atop a statue of Hasina’s father, state founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and began chiselling away at the head with an axe.
The flight into exile ended a 15-year second stint in power for Hasina, who has ruled for 20 of the last 30 years as leader of the political movement inherited from her father, assassinated with most of his family in a 1975 coup.
Hasina had left the country for her own safety at the insistence of her family, her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy told the BBC World Service.

Hasina was “so disappointed that after all her hard work, for a minority to rise up against her”, Joy said. She would not attempt to mount a political comeback, he said.
Earlier, army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman announced Hasina’s resignation in a televised address to the nation and said an interim government would be formed.
He said he had held talks with leaders of major political parties – excluding Hasina’s long-ruling Awami League – and would soon meet President Mohammed Shahabuddin to discuss the way ahead.

“The country is going through a revolutionary period,” said Zaman, 58, who had taken over as army chief only on June 23.
“I promise you all, we will bring justice to all the murders and injustice. We request you to have faith in the army of the country,” he said. “Please don’t go back to the path of violence and please return to non-violent and peaceful ways.”
The military spokesperson’s office said that a curfew would be in force from midnight on Monday until 6 a.m. on Tuesday, after which all schools, factories, colleges and universities would be open.
Hasina’s government had imposed an indefinite curfew from Sunday evening and a three-day general holiday from Monday.
ARRIVES IN INDIA
Hasina, 76, landed at a military airfield Hindon near Delhi, two Indian government officials told Reuters, adding that India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval met her there. They did not elaborate on her stay or plans.
There was also no official comment from India, which has strong cultural and trade links with Bangladesh, on the events in Dhaka.
Hasina would leave Hindon for London at 1930 GMT, Indian broadcaster Times Now reported citing sources. Reuters could not immediately verify the information.
Bangladesh has been engulfed by violence since student protests last month against the quotas, which reserve some government jobs for families of veterans of the country’s 1971 war of independence from Pakistan, seen as favouring allies of Hasina’s party.
The protests escalated into a campaign demanding the overthrow of Hasina, and were met by a violent crackdown in which about 250 people have been killed and thousands injured.
The country, once one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, has been plagued lately by slow economic growth, inflation and unemployment.

Hasina’s son Joy defended her record: “She has turned Bangladesh around. When she took over power it was considered a failing state. It was a poor country. Until today it was considered one of the rising tigers of Asia.”
She had won a fourth straight term only in January this year in an election boycotted by the main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of her nemesis Begum Khaleda Zia.
Zia, 78, who has twice been prime minister, has been in jail since she was convicted in a graft case in February 2018. Her health has been deteriorating and she was moved to a hospital in 2019.
President Shahabuddin had ordered the release of Zia, French news agency AFP reported. But a BNP spokesman told Reuters she was in hospital for treatment and “will clear all charges legally and come out soon”.
U.S. STRESSES INCLUSIVE INTERIM GOVT
Hasina had ruled since winning a decades-long power struggle with Zia in 2009. The two women each inherited political movements from slain rulers – in Hasina’s case, from her father Mujib; in Zia’s case, from her husband Ziaur Rahman, who took power after Mujib’s death and was himself assassinated in 1981.
“Hasina’s resignation proves the power of the people,” said Tarique Rahman, the exiled eldest son of the two Zias who now serves as acting chairman of the opposition party.
“Together, let’s rebuild Bangladesh into a democratic and developed nation, where the rights and freedoms of all people are protected,” he posted on X.
The United States urged the interim government formation process to be democratic and inclusive and encouraged all parties to refrain from further violence and restore peace as quickly as possible.
Sabrina Karim, associate professor of government at Cornell University who specialises in the study of political violence, said the interim government should ensure there is rule of law during the democratic transition, no revenge killing and destruction.
“There is perhaps some optimism for a democratic transition even if the military is involved in the process,” Karim said, adding that Dhaka was one of the top troop contributors to UN peacekeeping operations and could not risk its reputation.
Student activists had called for a march to the capital Dhaka on Monday in defiance of a nationwide curfew to press Hasina to resign after clashes across the country on Sunday killed nearly 100 people.
On Monday, at least 56 people were killed in violence across the country, AFP reported. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
Sunday’s death toll, which included at least 13 policemen, was the highest for a single day from any protests in Bangladesh’s recent history, surpassing the 67 deaths reported on July 19 when students took to the streets against the quotas.
Last month, at least 150 people were killed and thousands injured in violence touched off by student groups protesting against the job quotas.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/bangladesh-protesters-call-march-dhaka-defiance-curfew-2024-08-05/

The clashes between student protesters, police, and ruling party activists in Bangladesh led to 91 deaths and hundreds of injuries. 14 police officers have also been killed in Sirajganj, Bangladesh government sources said.

Bangladesh Protests:

• The clashes broke out Sunday morning when protesters attending the non-cooperation programme under the banner of the Students Against Discrimination with the one-point demand of the government’s resignation over a job quota system faced opposition from the supporters of the Awami League, Chhatra League, and Jubo League activists.
• At least 91 people have been killed in clashes, shootings and counter-chases across the country surrounding the non-cooperation program. The government imposed an indefinite nationwide curfew at 6 pm on Sunday, marking the first such step since the protests began last month. Indian officials in Bangladesh have advised citizens to “remain alert” due to the unstable situation.
• 14 police officers were killed in Sirajganj and the total death toll now has now reached 91, Bangladesh government sources said.
•  The internet has been snapped and Facebook and WhatsApp have been blocked, sources said. The nationwide ban on social media platforms was imposed by the Bangladesh government on August 2.
•  According to the sources, 14 policemen have been killed across the country. Of them, 13 were killed in Sirajganj’s Enayetpur police station. One person was killed in Comilla’s Elliotganj, the paper said. More than 300 policemen were injured.
•  “All Indian nationals including students living in the jurisdiction of the Assistant High Commission of India, Sylhet are requested to be in touch with this office and are advised to remain alert. In case of emergencies, please contact +88-01313076402,” the Assistant High Commission said in a post on X.

Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/india/91-dead-including-14-policemen-over-200-injured-in-fresh-bangladesh-clashes-between-protesters-and-ruling-party-10-points-article-112268822 

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the country should honor President Biden by adding him to Mount Rushmore.

The 81-year-old commander in chief is “such a consequential president of the United States, a Mount Rushmore kind of president,” Rep. Pelosi (D-Calif.), 84, claimed in a clip aired on “CBS Sunday Morning Show.”

“You have Teddy Roosevelt up there. And he’s wonderful. I don’t say take him down. But you can add Biden,” she insisted when pressed about whether the incumbent president is really worthy of the honor of getting his massive mug engraved in rock at the iconic South Dakota national monument alongside former Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Roosevelt.

Biden was born in 1942 — about a year after Mount Rushmore was completed.

Pelosi’s extolling of Biden came as she defended her machinations during the recent Democratic mutiny against the president, who she claimed “was in a good place to make whatever decision – the top of his game” — at the time.

Biden was forced to abandon his reelection bid last month after months of debate over his mental and physical ability to govern — a crisis that was rapidly speeded up by his disastrous debate performance against GOP foe Donald Trump in June.

Former President Trump, 78, has previously suggested he deserves to be on Mount Rushmore, quipping, “Sounds like a good idea to me” when asked about the possibility.

But he denied a report that his administration once reached out to Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to try to make it happen.

Trump has also likened himself to Lincoln and other iconic presidents as well.

Pelosi’s acclaim of Biden comes even as rumors have swirled that she pulled strings from behind the scenes to help orchestrate his downfall and withdrawal from the 2024 race.

Pelosi, who has a reputation for being a slick political operative, initially backed up Biden after his debate performance but then began to publicly declare he needed to make a decision about reelection — even after he initially made one, saying he was still in.

Two days after Biden even penned a letter to Democratic lawmakers in early July re-affirming that he was “firmly committed” to the race, Pelosi told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” “It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run.”

Some of her close allies in Congress, such as Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), also joined the chorus of calls for Biden to pass the baton.

There had been a report from CNN that Pelosi firmly told Biden that polls indicated he couldn’t win the Nov. 5 election — and when he suggested polls indicated he could pull it off, she had him put his longtime adviser Mike Donilon on the phone.

But Pelosi on Sunday denied fomenting the revolt against Biden.

“No, I wasn’t the leader of any pressure [campaign],” she said. “Let me say things that I didn’t do: I didn’t call one person. I did not call one person. I could always say to him, ‘I never called anybody.’ ”

When asked about whether she felt Biden needed to step aside, Pelosi insisted she didn’t.

“No. My whole point was whatever he decides, but we have to have a more aggressive campaign,” she said.

“What I’m saying is I had confidence the president would make the proper choice of a country, whatever that would be — and I said that — whatever that is, we’ll go with,” Pelosi claimed.

Biden is rumored to be “furious” with Pelosi over her purported role from behind the scenes during the Democratic revolt against him.

Pelosi, asked Sunday about Biden’s mood toward her, said, “He knows that I love him very much.”

Source: https://nypost.com/2024/08/04/us-news/nancy-pelosi-says-us-should-add-biden-to-mount-rushmore/

Berkshire Hathaway’s cash pile swelled to a record $276.9 billion last quarter as Warren Buffett sold big chunks in stock holdings including Apple.

The Omaha-based conglomerate’s cash hoard jumped significantly higher from the previous record of $189 billion, set in the first quarter of 2024. The increase came after the Oracle of Omaha sold nearly half of his stake in Tim Cook-led tech giant in the second quarter.

Berkshire has been a seller of stocks for seven quarters straight, but that selling accelerated in the last period with Buffett shedding more than $75 billion in equities in the second quarter. That brings the total of stocks sold in the first half of 2024 to more than $90 billion. The selling by Buffett has continued in the third quarter in some areas with Berkshire trimming its second biggest stake, Bank of America, for 12 consecutive days, filing this week showed.

For the second quarter, Berkshire’s operating earnings, which encompass profits from the conglomerate’s fully-owned businesses, enjoyed a jump thanks to the strength in auto insurer Geico. Operating earnings totaled $11.6 billion in the second quarter, up about 15% from $10 billion a year prior.

Buffett, who turns 94 at the end of the month, confessed at Berkshire’s annual meeting in May that he is willing to deploy capital, but high prices give him pause.

“We’d love to spend it, but we won’t spend it unless we think [a business is] doing something that has very little risk and can make us a lot of money,” the investment icon said at the time. “It isn’t like I’ve got a hunger strike or something like that going on. It’s just that … things aren’t attractive.”

The conglomerate bought back just $345 million worth of its own stock in the second quarter, significantly lower than the $2 billion repurchased in each of the prior two quarters.

The S&P 500 has surged the last two years to record levels as investors bet the Federal Reserve would lower inflation with higher interest rates, while avoiding an economic recession. So far, that has played out with the S&P 500 up 12% in 2024. However, concerns about a slowing economy have been awakened recently by some weak data, including Friday’s disappointing July jobs report. The Dow Jones Industrial average lost 600 points on Friday. Investors have also recently grown concerned about the valuations in the technology sector, which has led the bull market because of optimism surrounding artificial intelligence innovation.

Geico boosts earnings
Geico, the company Buffett once called his “favorite child,” registered nearly $1.8 billion in underwriting earnings before taxes in the second quarter, more than tripling the level of $514 million from a year ago.

Profit from BNSF Railway came in at $1.6 billion, in line with last year’s number. Berkshire Hathaway Energy utility business saw earnings fall to $326 million, nearly half of the $624 million from the same quarter a year ago. BHE continues to face pressure for possible wildfire liability.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/03/berkshire-hathaway-earnings-2024-q2.html

Democrats have unified with remarkable speed behind Vice President Kamala Harris as she has taken over the top of the party’s ticket heading into the November presidential election.

It may be another story when it comes to a running mate.

As Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly have emerged as among the possible finalists, both have faced criticism from some organizations and activists who might otherwise be supportive of Democratic causes, potentially undermining the party’s newfound unity barely two weeks after Harris entered the race.

The vice president’s team says she is interviewing six possible choices over the weekend before an announcement expected Monday. The next day, she and her running mate will appear together at a rally in Philadelphia, then visit six more swing states.

In addition to Shapiro and Kelly, Harris is said to be considering Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Walz changed his weekend travel plans, but his office didn’t answer a question Saturday about whether it was for an interview with Harris. “The governor’s schedule has changed, and he is no longer traveling to New Hampshire this weekend,” Walz spokesman Teddy Tschann said.

The US embassy in Lebanon urged its citizens Saturday to leave Lebanon on “any ticket available”, amid fears of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah and a broader regional conflict.

Despite flight suspensions and cancellations, “commercial transportation options to leave Lebanon remain available”, the embassy statement said. “We encourage those who wish to depart Lebanon to book any ticket available to them, even if that flight does not depart immediately or does not follow their first-choice route.”

The UK government on Saturday urged its citizens in Lebanon to leave the country immediately, amid fears of all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah and a broader regional conflict.

“Tensions are high, and the situation could deteriorate rapidly,” Foreign Minister David Lammy said in a statement. “While we are working round the clock to strengthen our consular presence in Lebanon, my message to British nationals there is clear –- leave now.”

Sweden was the first to shut down its embassy in Beirut fearing an escalation of hostilities. It urged its citizens to leave Lebanon on Saturday. It also relocated its embassy to Cyprus temporarily.

“The foreign ministry has instructed its staff to leave Beirut and travel to Cyprus, and the foreign ministry is planning a temporary relocation of its embassy,” Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom told Swedish Radio.

Tensions remain high in the region following the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh who Iran and the Palestinian militant group allege was killed by Israel. Israel has neither denied nor taken responsibility for Haniyeh’s death.

Source: https://www.news18.com/world/leave-using-any-ticket-available-us-embassy-uk-urges-citizens-to-leave-lebanon-immediately-8989362.html

Ilya Yashin, a Russian opposition activist freed from jail in Thursday’s prisoner swap, pledged to carry on his political fight against President Vladimir Putin from abroad, but expressed fury at having been deported against his will.
The prisoner swap, the largest since the Cold War, saw eight Russians, including a convicted murderer, exchanged for 16 prisoners in Russian and Belarusian jails, many of them dissidents. It was hailed as a win by Western leaders who feared for the dissidents’ lives after the death in jail last year of politician Alexei Navalny.

But Yashin, imprisoned in 2022 for criticising Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, said he had not given his consent to deportation and that others in more urgent need of medical care should have gone instead of him.
“From my first day behind bars I said I was not willing to be a part of any exchanges,” he said in an emotional news conference in Bonn on Friday during which he occasionally removed his glasses to blink back tears.

Angela Carini said she “preferred to stop for my health” after receiving a heavy blow to the face from a competitor who was banned from last year’s world championships.

An Italian boxer has said she “never felt a punch like this” after her fight against an opponent who previously failed a gender eligibility test was abandoned early in the first round.

Angela Carini quit the 66kg category bout against Imane Khelif and ended her Olympics dream after signalling she was unable to carry on due to pain in her nose.

The clash lasted just 46 seconds, and the match build-up was marred by controversy following the inclusion of Khelif.

The Algerian was one of two athletes cleared to compete in the women’s boxing in Paris despite being disqualified from last year’s world championships due to failing to meet gender eligibility criteria.

Khelif landed a few shots in Thursday’s fight, including a huge punch to Carini’s face, before the Italian fighter went to her corner and then pulled out of the bout.

Carini did not shake hands with Khelif and was pictured in floods of tears afterwards.

The Italian later said she quit because her nose “hurt so much” and insisted she was not making a political statement and refusing to fight Khelif.

She added: “I am not here to judge or pass judgement. If an athlete is this way, and in that sense it’s not right or it is right, it’s not up to me to decide.”

Carini also said after the fight: “I am heartbroken. I went to the ring to honour my father.

“I was told a lot of times that I was a warrior, but I preferred to stop for my health. I have never felt a punch like this.

“After the second blow, and after years of experience in the ring and a lifetime of fighting, I felt extreme pain in my nose.

“I said ‘enough’ because I didn’t want to… I couldn’t carry on in the match. I thought maybe it was better that I brought an end to the match.”

She added: “I went to my corner and raised my hand and said I’d had enough because my nose hurt so much.”

Khelif’s victory means she progresses to the quarter-finals.

The Algerian boxer was disqualified from the world championships in Delhi last year alongside Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting after the International Boxing Association (IBA) said a test found “both athletes did not meet the required necessary eligibility criteria”.

The IBA said the fighters “did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognised test, whereby the specifics remain confidential”.

It comes after the IBA was stripped of its status as the global governing body for boxing by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in June last year because it failed to complete reforms on governance, finance and ethical issues.

The IBA, which is not involved in the organisation of the Olympics, has questioned why Khelif and Lin have been allowed to compete in Paris.

IOC spokesperson Mark Adams had defended the decision earlier this week, saying: “I would just say that everyone competing in the women’s category is complying with the competition eligibility rules.

“They are women in their passports and it is stated that is the case.”

He added: “They have competed and they continue to compete in the women’s competition. They have lost and they have won against other women over the years.”

However, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Carini’s bout against Khelif was not a fight among equals.

“I think that athletes who have male genetic characteristics should not be admitted to women’s competitions,” Ms Meloni said.

“And not because you want to discriminate against someone, but to protect the right of female athletes to be able to compete on equal terms.”

Source: https://news.sky.com/story/paris-2024-boxer-who-failed-gender-eligibility-test-at-world-championships-wins-olympic-bout-in-46-seconds-after-opponent-quits-13188674

In the biggest such exchange since the Cold War, a number of high-profile individuals have been freed including dual UK-Russian citizen Vladimir Kara-Murza and US reporter Evan Gershkovich.

The family of a teacher not included in a landmark prisoner swap between Russia and the West have demanded “immediate action” from US President Joe Biden.

Some two dozen people from countries including Russia, the US, Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway and Belarus were involved in the biggest exchange between the West and Moscow since the Cold War.

British citizen Vladimir Kara-Murza and US reporter Evan Gershkovich were among those freed from Russia under the deal, hailed by Mr Biden as a “feat of diplomacy”.

Not included in the agreement was Marc Fogel, an American teacher serving a 14-year jail sentence in Russia for possession of 17 grams of medical cannabis.

The drug had been prescribed to him in the US, but was illegal in Russia. He was jailed in August 2021.

Mr Fogel’s family said it was “incomprehensible” he was not included in the prisoner swap and suggested he was forgotten by the Biden administration because he is “not rich, a celebrity, or connected to powerful patrons”.

They said it was a “glaring injustice” that US and Western partners managed to win the release of prisoners detained after Mr Fogel, calling it “wrong, unfair, and not the America we know and love”.

“All [Mark] has is his family, led by his 95-year-old mother, Malphine, who is fighting for her son’s rights,” they said.

“We refuse to remain silent and will continue to fight for Marc. We demand immediate action to secure Marc’s release.”

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran early on Wednesday morning, an attack that drew threats of revenge on Israel and fuelled further concern that the conflict in Gaza was turning into a wider Middle East war.
The Palestinian Islamist militant group and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed Haniyeh’s death. The Guards said it took place hours after he attended a swearing-in ceremony for Iran’s new president.

Haniyeh, normally based in Qatar, had been the face of Hamas’ international diplomacy as the war set off by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7 has raged in Gaza. He had been taking part in internationally brokered indirect talks on reaching a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave.
Netanyahu made no mention of Haniyeh’s killing in a televised statement on Wednesday evening but said Israel had delivered crushing blows to Iran’s proxies of late, including Hamas and Hezbollah, and would respond forcefully to any attack.

“We are prepared for any scenario and we will stand united and determined against any threat. Israel will exact a heavy price for any aggression against us from any arena,” he said.
The latest events appear to set back chances of any imminent ceasefire agreement in the nearly 10-month-old war in Gaza between Israel and the Iran-backed Hamas.
Hamas’ armed wing said in a statement Haniyeh’s killing would “take the battle to new dimensions and have major repercussions”. Vowing to retaliate, Iran declared three days of national mourning and said the U.S. bore responsibility because of its support for Israel.
In Turkey, thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched through the streets of central Istanbul late on Wednesday to protest Haniyeh’s killing.
Protesters in Istanbul’s Fatih district held posters with Haniyeh’s photo, chanted “murderer Israel, get out of Palestine” and waved Turkish and Palestinian flags.
Washington expressed concern about the potential for escalation. But White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. did not see that as imminent or inevitable and was working to prevent it from happening.
The risks “are certainly up right now. They don’t make the task of de-escalation, deterrence and dissuasion – which is the goal – any less complicated,” he told reporters.
The U.S. advised citizens not to travel to Lebanon, and two U.S. airlines, United and Delta, paused flights to Tel Aviv.

The assassination occurred less than 24 hours after Israel said it had killed Hezbollah’s most senior military commander in retaliation for a deadly rocket strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Hezbollah confirmed that senior military commander Fuad Shukr was killed by an Israeli airstrike in a Beirut suburb.

Seven people were killed and 78 wounded in the Beirut strike, Lebanese network Tele Liban reported on Wednesday, citing the civil defence authority. Iranian state media said an Iranian military adviser was among the dead.

ISRAEL INVITES ‘HARSH PUNISHMENT’, KHAMENEI SAYS

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel had provided the grounds for “harsh punishment for itself” and it was Tehran’s duty to avenge Haniyeh’s death. Iranian forces have already made strikes directly on Israel earlier in the Gaza war.

Haniyeh’s most likely successor is Khaled Meshaal, his deputy-in-exile who lives in Qatar, analysts and Hamas officials said.

Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer told journalists that Israel was committed to Gaza ceasefire negotiations and securing the release of Israeli hostages held by Palestinian militants in Gaza.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Singapore, sidestepped a question on Haniyeh’s killing, saying a ceasefire deal in Gaza was key to avoiding wider regional escalation. He told Channel News Asia that the U.S. had neither been aware of nor involved in the killing.

Qatar, which along with Egypt has been brokering talks aimed at halting the fighting in Gaza, condemned Haniyeh’s killing.

“How can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on other side?” Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on X.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hamas-chief-ismail-haniyeh-killed-iran-hamas-says-statement-2024-07-31/

In early April, some residents of Kharkiv received a series of chilling text messages from government officials telling them to flee the city before Russian forces surrounded it.
“Due to the threat of enemy encirclement, we urge the civilian population of Kharkiv leave the city by April 22,” said one alert, which bore the logo of the State Emergencies Service of Ukraine and mapped out safe escape routes on a slick infographic.