Friday, 28 February 2025

Ukraine ‘gambling with world war three’, Trump tells Zelenskyy in fiery meeting

Meeting between US president and Ukrainian leader degenerated into shouting match before being cut short

US military support for Ukraine hangs in the balance and talks over a minerals deal have collapsed following a disastrous White House summit in which Donald Trump warned Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he was “gambling with world war three” and told the Ukrainian president to come back “when he is ready for peace”.

Zelenskyy left the White House early and a press conference to announce the minerals deal was cancelled after Trump gave Zelenskyy a dressing-down that followed an ambush led by Vice-President JD Vance to shatter the fragile relationship between the two leaders.

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Three dead as 'brutal' cyclone sweeps through Reunion

The tropical cyclone left more than 180,000 homes without power and 170,000 without running water.

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Thursday, 27 February 2025

Katy Perry to head to space on Blue Origin all-women flight

The American singer will be joined by Lauren Sanchez, whose fiancee Jeff Bezos owns Blue Origin.

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Alarms raised over legitimacy of Fyre festival 2: ‘An event that does not exist’

After the announcement of a follow-up festival in Mexico, tourism and local officials have denied any knowledge of its existence

When tickets to the second Fyre festival went on sale this week, there was just one concrete detail: it would take place on Isla Mujeres, a tropical island off Cancún, Mexico.

But the festival seems to be repeating its own history as an improvised disaster after the local government in Isla Mujeres denied knowing anything about it.

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Israel's military publishes first report on 7 October 2023 failures

The report says the military "failed in its mission to protect Israeli civilians" during Hamas's attack.

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Australia news live: former ADF chief warns nuclear power plants could be war targets; Greens unveil arts policy

Ukraine war shows nuclear plants a priority target during conflict, experts say. Follow today’s news live

The Greens are today launching their policy package for the arts which includes a capital works fund, an artists in residence program, and investment in telling Australian stories.

Sarah Hanson-Young, Greens spokesperson for the arts, said the sector was “in turmoil” as a result of the Creative Australia and Venice Biennale saga, years of underfunding and broken promises, and festival and event cancellations.

The Greens plan will ensure more artists are paid, more venues stay open and more audiences enjoy world class work. Artists need funding for their work, freedom of artistic expression and protection from political interference.

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Wednesday, 26 February 2025

Trump says no significant security guarantees in Ukraine minerals deal

President says Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit White House to sign ‘very big agreement’, but details remain unclear

Donald Trump has announced that Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit the White House on Friday to sign a rare earth minerals deal, but the US will not provide significant security guarantees to Ukraine as part of the agreement.

The conclusion of a deal, which Trump has claimed would allow the US to recoup hundreds of billions of dollars it spent on military aid to Kyiv, followed days of intense negotiations in which Zelenskyy said he wanted the US to guarantee Ukraine’s security against the ongoing Russian invasion.

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What an AI-generated video of Gaza reveals about Trump tactics

US President Donald Trump sparked a social media frenzy when he posted a video of Gaza generated by artificial intelligence on his site Truth Social. Marianna Spring has been analysing the online tactics of Trump and his team.

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Tuesday, 25 February 2025

Dead body placed beside Australian couple on flight

Cabin crew placed the body of a passenger who died mid-flight in an empty seat beside the pair.

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AfD readmits two politicians excluded over Nazi-related remarks

After Sunday’s election the far-right party has decided to allow Maximilian Krah and Matthias Helferich to return to the parliamentary group

Two politicians for the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) who were sidelined over remarks they made relating to the Nazis have been welcomed back into its parliamentary group after the party’s historic performance in the German general election.

Maximilian Krah resigned from the AfD’s federal executive board before the European elections last June after telling an Italian newspaper that not all members of Adolf Hitler’s SS had been “automatically criminals”.

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BBC Verify: How much has the US spent on aid to Ukraine?

US President Donald Trump claims the US has outspent Europe on aid to Ukraine by over $200bn. BBC Verify's Nick Eardley fact-checks Trump's claims.

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Monday, 24 February 2025

Pope Francis sees ‘slight improvement’ but remains in critical condition

Prognosis for pontiff, 88, remains guarded as he is treated in hospital for pneumonia and kidney failure

Pope Francis, who is in hospital with pneumonia and “mild” kidney failure, remains in a critical condition although there was a “slight improvement” on Monday, the Vatican said.

The pontiff, 88, has not had any further asthma-style attacks and “some laboratory tests have improved”, the Vatican said in a statement on Monday evening.

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Taliban says it will try to release British couple as soon as possible

Peter and Barbie Reynolds, both in their 70s, were arrested by the Taliban in early February.

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Sunday, 23 February 2025

Trump ‘surrendering to the Russians’ on Ukraine, top Democrat says

Senator Jack Reed hits out at Trump’s verbal attacks on Ukrainian president and increased alignment with Russia

A senior Democratic lawmaker accused Donald Trump of “surrendering to the Russians” on Sunday, as Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff said talks between the US and Russia over Ukraine was “the only way to end the carnage”.

In an interview on ABC News’ This Week, Democratic senator Jack Reed, a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, hit out at Trump’s recent verbal attacks on Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and increased alignment with Russia.

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Pope's condition 'remains critical', Vatican says

The pontiff "continues to be alert and well oriented" and has not had any further respiratory crises, the Vatican said.

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Saturday, 22 February 2025

California asks US government for billions in fire relief funds

Governor Gavin Newsom said the requested funds will help in immediate and long-term recovery work.

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Friday, 21 February 2025

US envoy to Ukraine hails Zelenskyy as ‘embattled and courageous leader’

Keith Kellogg strikes different tone after Donald Trump called Ukrainian president a ‘dictator’

The US envoy to Ukraine, Gen Keith Kellogg, has praised Voldymyr Zelenskyy as “the embattled and courageous leader of a nation at war”, striking a dramatically different tone from Donald Trump, who has called Ukraine’s president a “dictator”.

Kellogg left Kyiv on Friday after a three-day visit. Posting on social media, he said he had engaged in “extensive and positive discussions” with Zelenskyy and his “talented national security team”. “A long and intense day with the senior leadership of Ukraine,” he said.

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Thursday, 20 February 2025

Israeli family mourns 'man of peace' as body returned from Gaza

Oded Lifschitz, whose body was returned from Gaza on Thursday, was a campaigner for peace and had many Palestinian friends.

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Watch: Tourists warned to stay away from Mount Etna lava

Italian authorities say people have been injured after venturing too close to the red-hot lava.

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Wednesday, 19 February 2025

'Help us': Hundreds deported from US held in Panama hotel

Indians, Afghans and Sri Lankans are among the undocumented migrants unable to leave the hotel after being deported.

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Tuesday, 18 February 2025

Security for Ukraine could be achieved with fewer troops, say UK sources

Defence figures suggest heavy use of long-range monitoring could reduce need for soldiers on the frontline with Russia

Britain believes that a European-led security guarantee to Ukraine could be provided with considerably fewer troops than the 100,000 to 150,000 called for by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week in the event of a peace agreement.

A European-led assurance force for Ukraine would not necessarily involve large numbers stationed on the frontline, defence sources indicated on Tuesday, and could therefore be in the region of a few tens of thousands strong – or even fewer.

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'Everyone must go': New Zealand's tourism drive draws ire

What was meant as a catchy tagline has been dubbed tone-deaf amid high emigration and unemployment.

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Monday, 17 February 2025

Can Europe and UK persuade Trump they're relevant to Ukraine's future?

Europe's hastily convened security summit in Paris is proof of leaders' anxiety about their role in defending Ukraine, the BBC's Katya Adler writes.

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Sunday, 16 February 2025

Artist Lindy Lee quits Creative Australia board after ‘heartbreaking’ decision to dump Biennale pick

Lee calls unanimous decision a ‘violation’ of principle of valuing an artist’s voice

The Creative Australia board meeting that led to Lebanese-Australian artist Khaled Sabsabi being dumped as the nation’s representative for the 2026 Venice Biennale was “fraught and heartbreaking”, the artist Lindy Lee has revealed.

On Monday the federal arts funding organisation announced an immediate, independent, external review of the selection process.

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Australia building half as many homes for every hour worked compared with 30 years ago, Productivity Commission finds

‘Decades of poor performance’ in dwelling construction is contributing to the housing affordability crisis, report says

The Australian housing construction sector is only building half as many homes relative to the number of hours worked compared with 30 years ago, according to a new Productivity Commission report that calls for faster planning approvals and fewer regulations.

The report, released on Monday, finds “decades of poor performance” and falling productivity in dwelling construction has contributed to the housing affordability crisis and the sector has fallen “well behind the broader economy”.

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Ukraine not invited to US-Russia peace talks, source tells BBC

A Ukrainian government source told the BBC Kyiv would not be present at the proposed peace talks.

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Saturday, 15 February 2025

Cover up or pay a fine, Portugal's Albufeira warns

Wearing bikinis and going shirtless may soon be banned in the city, as it fights against badly behaved tourists.

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Friday, 14 February 2025

Pope to be admitted to hospital for bronchitis

The Pope has had bronchitis symptoms for several days leading to other officials reading his speeches.

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Zelenskyy tells Vance Ukraine needs ‘security guarantees’ before any Putin talks

Ukrainian leader appears reassured after Munich bilateral, having feared he could be bounced into peace negotiations

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said during a meeting with the US vice-president, JD Vance, that his country wants “security guarantees” and a joint US-Ukrainian peace plan before he enters into any talks with Vladimir Putin to end the war in his country.

Both men agreed after an hour-long discussion on Friday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference that further talks were required to see if they could reach a common understanding.

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JD Vance attacks Europe over free speech and migration

The vice-president's speech at the Munich Security Conference was denounced by several European leaders.

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Thursday, 13 February 2025

€5m worth of cocaine seized in Kildare

Approximately 72 kilos of cocaine was discovered following a stop and search in the Allenwood area of Kildare

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Wednesday, 12 February 2025

Santorini fears for summer tourist season as earthquakes hit island

The Greek island's most important industry will bounce back, but staffing is a worry say hoteliers

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Tuesday, 11 February 2025

US schoolteacher held in Russia since 2021 released, White House says

Marc Fogel, 63, had been convicted of smuggling marijuana in to Russia and was sentenced to 14 years in prison

Marc Fogel, a Pennsylvania schoolteacher who has been held in Russia since 2021, has been released after a visit to Moscow by US special envoy Steve Witkoff, Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, said on Tuesday.

“Today, President Donald J. Trump and his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are able to announce that Mr. Witkoff is leaving Russian airspace with Marc Fogel, an American who was detained by Russia,” Waltz said in a statement.

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Elderly hostage in Gaza was killed in 7 October attack, Israel says

The 86-year-old is one of the hostages meant to be freed by Hamas within the next three weeks.

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Monday, 10 February 2025

Two women locked in cell with up to 20 people in ‘disgusting’ NT watch house

Alliance of key bodies representing Aboriginal people alleges ‘inhumane’ conditions are a violation of human rights

Two Aboriginal women say they have been locked in a hot, poorly ventilated cell with up to 20 people and a single tap above a toilet for drinking water in “disgusting” conditions within the Alice Springs watch house.

Police watch houses across the Northern Territory have been repurposed as long-term prison cells as record imprisonment numbers push the system to breaking point.

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Australia politics live: Businesses urge Albanese to emphasise military ties in Trump call on tariffs; Coalition senators back Hanson on trans inquiry

Prime minister to speak to US president amid growing tariff threat. Follow today’s news live

Businesses are concerned Australian jobs and living standards are under threat from tariffs threatened by Donald Trump, Australian Associated Press reports.

With prime minister, Anthony Albanese, already scheduled to speak to Trump later today Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Tania Constable said the proposed tariffs “set a concerning precedent”.

It may be that Trump is determined to impose this tariff on every country no matter what. And, you know, in which case, it won’t be possible to secure an exemption. All the Australian prime minister can do is use all of his advocacy skills, and play a straight bat, and defend the Australian national interest.

He [Trump] doesn’t believe in comparative advantage. He believes if a country has a deficit, a trade deficit, it’s a loser. If it has a trade surplus, it’s a winner. It’s economic nonsense obviously. And but he’s believed it and he’s believed it for decades.

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South Africa mourns pioneering female nuclear scientist

Senamile Masango, dubbed by some as the "queen of science", set out to inspire a younger generation.

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Sunday, 9 February 2025

Greens say Labor must slash NBN chief’s salary in exchange for support on anti-privatisation bill

Exclusive: Greens call for NBN CEO salary to be cut by estimated $2.5m alongside ‘cost-of-living’ relief for users

The Greens say Labor must drastically cut the pay of the national broadband network’s chief executive in exchange for their support on a bill to block any future privatisation of the publicly owned network.

The party’s amendments to Labor’s bill include a salary cap for senior executives, placing a legal obligation on NBN services to remain “affordable and accessible” to consumers, and providing cost-of-living relief for those who can’t afford essential communication services.

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Man arrested after three people injured in suspected knife attack in Dublin

Three men taken to hospital, two with serious injuries, after incident in Stoneybatter neighbourhood

A man has been arrested after three people were injured in a suspected knife attack that has left a Dublin neighbourhood in “a state of shock”.

Irish police said they were responding to a serious incident after about 3pm on Sunday.

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Kosovo PM's party leading but short of majority, exit poll shows

Alvin Kurti's party is on track to come first in Kosovo's parliamentary election but not be able to govern alone, an exit poll predicts

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Saturday, 8 February 2025

Millionaire accused over 2017 murder of Maltese journalist freed on bail

Family of Daphne Caruana Galizia condemn delays in bringing Yorgen Fenech to trial after arrest in 2019

A millionaire businessman charged with the 2017 murder of the Maltese anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has been released on bail with no date set for his trial.

Yorgen Fenech, the heir to a casino and hotels group, was arrested and charged with complicity to kill Caruana Galizia in November 2019. However, delays in bringing the case before a jury have allowed his lawyers to successfully argue for bail.

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Friday, 7 February 2025

Trump suspends tariffs on small packages from China

The order ending duty-free shipment of packages from China worth less than $800 had caused chaos.

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Thursday, 6 February 2025

Australia news live: ‘arrogance’ cost Coalition power in 2022, Howard says; $843m remote services funding for Indigenous communities

Anthony Albanese to make announcement in Alice Springs Friday morning. Follow the latest news live

As his latest successor as Liberal party leader plots his strategy to win power this year, the former prime minister, John Howard, has advised Peter Dutton and other centre-right politicians to make sure they can deliver on the key promise of less tax and less government.

Writing in the UK Daily Telegraph, Howard ruminates on the difficulty faced by parties to attract support from young people in the face of a challenge from the populist right, and the challenge of finding new members in an age where people have stopped “being joiners”.

It’s a huge mistake for a centre-Right party to assume that a disgruntled conservative has “nowhere else to go”. That arrogant attitude cost the Liberal party in Australia dear in the 2022 election. In the UK they now have Reform to go to.

These are the invariable default definitions trotted out. Yet the reality often falls short, and that creates a credibility deficit. The voting public will no longer accept the excuse that taxes would be higher under leftwing governments as a substitute for actual tax relief under conservative ones.

Central to the success of future centre-right governments will be their capacity to actually deliver on tax and smaller government – and not just talk.

Australians want to close the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. Australians believe in the fair go.

The task before us is to build a future in which all Australians have access to the same opportunities.

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Player was 'overwhelmed' after World Cup kiss, court hears

Teammates of Jenni Hermoso have testified in a trial over a kiss between her and former football chief Luis Rubiales.

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Humpback whale song and human language are more similar than you might think. Here’s why

Researchers have found a pattern indicating certain ‘words’ are used more often than others – but humans won’t be speaking whale any time soon

Humpback whale song is structured in a similar way to human language – with shorter sounds used far more often than more complex ones – a structure which helps infants quickly learn how to communicate from their elders in both species.

Across languages and whale song, some words, or word-like elements, are used frequently while others are infrequent. They follow a pattern known as “Zipfian distribution”, where the most used word in a language (like “the”) is used about twice as often as the second most common word, and three times as frequent as the third most common word and so on.

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Man launches fight against fine for loudspeaker call at French station

The outraged passenger hires a lawyer to dispute the fine over a public phone call in Nantes.

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Wednesday, 5 February 2025

Novo Nordisk confident despite Trump tariff risk as sales of weight-loss jab soar

Europe’s biggest firm, whose sales of Wegovy almost doubled, feels it can ‘meet demands’ of US administration

Europe’s biggest company, Novo Nordisk, has rebuffed fears of a hit to its business from Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs as sales of its weight-loss drug Wegovy almost doubled.

Since the US president took office, he has imposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada – since paused for a month – and China, and has said levies of imports from the EU will “definitely happen”.

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Analysis: Trump's real-estate instincts clash with his America First worldview

This isn't the first time he has seen a foreign policy problem as a business opportunity, writes Anthony Zurcher.

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Hunger-striking journalist challenges Georgia's government from jail

Mzia Amaglobeli is accused of slapping a police chief but her detention has made her a symbol of resistance.

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Tuesday, 4 February 2025

'Both sides suffer' - Shanghai residents on tensions over tariffs

Residents of China's largest city gave their thoughts on Trump's tariffs and their nation's response.

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Panama court is asked to cancel Hong Kong firm’s contract to run canal ports

Complaint by local lawyers to supreme court follows US demands to reduce China’s alleged influence on waterway

Two Panamanian lawyers have lodged a lawsuit with the country’s supreme court in an attempt to cancel a Hong Kong-based company’s concession to operate two ports at either end of the Panama canal.

Their complaint – filed a day after the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, told Panama’s president, José Raúl Mulino, to reduce China’s alleged influence on the canal – argues that the contract for the two ports is unconstitutional.

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Monday, 3 February 2025

Starmer’s EU dinner date a big moment in tricky tightrope act

Domestically and on the world stage, the PM faces a series of challenges as he seeks to reset post-Brexit relations

Whichever way you slice it, Keir Starmer’s invitation to dinner in Brussels is a big moment. For the first time since Brexit, the UK prime minister is sitting down for an informal summit with the 27 EU leaders.

Five years on from its departure from the bloc, the UK has a Labour government populated with politicians who are far more sympathetic to Europe than their Conservative predecessors. Starmer was a committed remainer who spent years steering his party towards endorsing a second referendum. Most of the cabinet privately think Brexit was an act of self-harm – and David Lammy, the foreign secretary, has reportedly been arguing that the UK should now rejoin the customs union.

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Sunday, 2 February 2025

Around 160,000 protest against far-right in Berlin

The protests came after some parties voted alongside the far-right party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), over a non-binding resolution on immigration last week.

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Rubio in Panama for talks as protesters rail against Trump’s canal demand

Secretary of state’s visit to Central American state greeted with protests at Trump’s demand to take back the waterway

The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has held talks in Panama with its president, José Raúl Mulino, as protesters marched in opposition to Donald Trump’s demand for ownership of the Panama canal to be returned to the US.

Since Trump began talking about “taking back” the Panama canal over a month ago, Panamanian officials have looked to Rubio to understand the nature of the president’s threats and the possible concessions they can make to firm up the relationship with the US.

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Victims of Philadelphia air ambulance crash named

Investigators have not been able to locate the aircraft's black box yet, which could provide clues into the cause of the crash.

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Saturday, 1 February 2025

Four dead in Russian strike on Kursk school, Ukraine says

The Ukrainian army said four people were killed and dozens injured in the Kursk region.

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Trump orders airstrikes targeting ‘senior IS attack planner’ in Somalia

The US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, indicated multiple operatives were killed and no civilians were harmed

The US military has conducted airstrikes against Islamic State (IS) operatives in Somalia, the first attacks in the African country during Donald Trump’s second term as president.

Trump said on Saturday that he ordered strikes on a senior IS attack planner and others from the organisation.

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Major anti-corruption protests in Serbia add to pressure on President Vučić

Tens of thousands rally against government and in memory of railway station roof collapse that killed 15

Serbia’s populist leader Aleksandar Vučić was facing his biggest challenge yet as student-led demonstrations intensified at the weekend in what was being called the Balkan country’s greatest protest movement ever.

Three months to the day after a concrete canopy collapsed at the entrance of Novi Sad’s railway station, tens of thousands of protesters converged on the northern city, blockading its three bridges in commemoration of the 15 people killed in the accident. The tragedy has been blamed squarely on government ineptitude and graft.

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Greenland faces ‘fateful choice’ says island’s PM as it prepares for election

Poll takes place against backdrop of threats by Donald Trump and growing calls for independence Greenland’s prime minister said voters face...