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Wang Yi tells Antony Blinken ‘disruptions’ could arise amid threat of sanctions over China’s support for Russia’s defence industryChina’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, has warned the US that the recent improvements in the two countries’ relations were being jeopardised by “disruptions” that could take them back to a “downward spiral” leading to rivalry, confrontation and even conflict.Wang was speaking at the start of a...

Rain in Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi has damaged farmland and infrastructureEastern Africa has experienced heavy rain in recent weeks, with Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi experiencing flooding. About 100,000 people have been displaced or otherwise affected in each country, with reported deaths reaching 32 in Kenya and 58 in Tanzania, alongside damage to farmland and infrastructure.There are also fears that large areas of standing water...

Mykola Solskyi accused of illegally seizing land worth more than $7m when he was head of major farming firm and an MPUkraine’s agriculture minister, Mykola Solskyi, has been detained after being named as a formal suspect in a multimillion-dollar corruption inquiry.Blighted by corruption scandals since the fall of the Soviet Union, Kyiv has pledged to bolster its anti-graft efforts as part of its bid...

Open letter calls for green policies that empower farmers, after months of protests jeopardise future of flagship biodiversity dealThe EU’s nature restoration law will only work if it is enacted in partnership with farmers, a group of leading scientists has said, after months of protests have pushed the proposals to the brink of collapse.In an open letter, leading biodiversity researchers from across the world...

Arrests as Chinese authorities working with UK police and international trademark agencies seize millions of parcels bound for customers worldwideChinese authorities have targeted a major online sales platform accused of supplying counterfeit goods, raiding warehouses holding millions of packages destined for overseas buyers.Earlier this month police raided the Hangzhou office and several warehouses of Pandabuy after reported legal action by 16 brands over copyright...

First payments to be made during an ongoing conflict is ‘important step towards restoring justice’, says first lady, Olena Zelenska The first reparation payments are to be made in the next few weeks to survivors of wartime rape by Russian soldiers during the invasion of Ukraine, in a move that Ukraine’s first lady, Olena Zelenska, called “an important step towards restoring justice”.Up to 500...

Police have arrested dozens of students across US universities this week after a crackdown on pro-Palestine protests on campuses. Erum Salam and Margaret Sullivan report from New YorkAs the Israel-Gaza war grinds on amid a worsening humanitarian crisis, the world’s attention this week was captured by a battle on the campuses of elite US universities. Pro-Palestine student protesters were arrested en masse by New...

Mogul’s lawyers say decision in New York will strengthen appeal in Los Angeles but victims confident guilty verdict will be upheldHarvey Weinstein was already expected to spend the remainder of his life in prison for crimes in New York when a Los Angeles jury found him guilty of rape and sexual assault in 2022 and he was sentenced to an additional 16 years.But on...

Director of Palme d’Or-winning film Entre les Murs (The Class) was much praised for humanism in projectsLaurent Cantet, the award-winning film-maker whose creations tackled some of the most complex issues of modern French society, including meritocracy, the education system, diversity and class struggle, has died aged 63 after an illness.Cantet was best known outside France for his film Entre les Murs (The Class), which...

European parliament term ends with warnings about dangers of disinformation and authoritarian forcesThe starting gun has been fired on the next European parliamentary elections with more than 600 MEPs departing Strasbourg urged to use their “strength and patience” to fight the far right and disinformation and return a vote across the bloc for democracy.There were flowers, tears and cheers on Thursday as Roberta Metsola,...

‘Transitional council’ takes oath of office after prime minister formally resigns as gang violence continues to rock capitalHaiti’s prime minister, Ariel Henry, has formally resigned and a new provisional government has been sworn in during a secret ceremony at the presidential palace, nearly two months after a criminal insurrection plunged the capital into chaos.The nine-person “transitional council” was officially established on Thursday during an...

Ukrainian president meets Jeremy Hunt and calls for sanctions against Russia to be tightenedBelarusian president Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday that the risk of military incidents along his country’s border with Ukraine was quite high, reports Reuters citing Russia’s state-run RIA news agency.RIA also cited him as saying that neighbouring Poland should not expect aggressive actions from Belarus. Continue reading...

Defence minister Richard Marles welcomes confirmation of congressional funding that ensures US can produce Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines for AustraliaFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastA United States funding package authorising more military aid for Ukraine and Israel passed by Congress on Tuesday includes a A$5bn boost for the US domestic...

Blades of famous cabaret venue fall from roof overnightThe blades of the Moulin Rouge windmill, one of the most famous landmarks in Paris, have collapsed, firefighters have said, just months before the French capital hosts the Olympics.There was no risk of further collapse, Paris firefighters said after the incident overnight. Continue reading...

Animals ran through rush-hour streets, colliding with vehicles and leaving four people in hospitalTwo of the military horses that broke loose during a morning exercise and bolted through central London on Wednesday are in “serious condition”, a minister has said.The runaway horses, including one white horse drenched in blood, ran through the rush-hour streets of the capital, colliding with vehicles and resulting in four...

Pedro Sánchez halts public duties, hitting out at opponents after court launches inquiry into alleged corruption by Begoña GómezSpain’s socialist prime minister has cancelled his public duties for the rest of the week and said he is considering resigning, blaming a “harassment and bullying operation” by his political and media opponents for a court’s decision to launch an investigation into his wife for alleged...

Former National Enquirer publisher says he helped Trump to suppress negative stories that threatened 2016 election campaignThe former tabloid publisher David Pecker will continue testimony at Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial on Thursday, following his testimony earlier in the week.Pecker, the former chief executive of American Media, which publishes the National Enquirer, testified that he used his position to help Trump kill negative...

Dissidents and broadcasters feeling unsafe after stabbing of Pouria Zeraati in London call for ‘deterrent signal’A former BBC journalist has said the UK government will “pay a heavy price” for its lack of action against the Iranian regime, which could lead to more “threats” and “operations” in Britain, after the stabbing of an Iranian journalist in London.Sima Sabet, a former journalist at the BBC...

Congressman Adam Smith says ‘totalitarian’ protesters are ‘trying to silence anyone who dares to disagree with them’Protesters calling for Israel to cease fire in its war with Hamas who have disrupted US public events and infrastructure are practicing “leftwing fascism” or “leftwing totalitarianism”, a senior US House Democrat said, adding that such protesters are “challenging representative democracy” and should be arrested.“Intimidation is the tactic,”...

Few economic and social benefits will come to Africans if processing is all done overseas, says Wanjira MathaiAfrica must take greater control in the industries it supplies with raw materials to lift its people from poverty and seize its own destiny in a low-carbon world, one of the continent’s leading environmentalists has urged.Wanjira Mathai, the managing director for Africa and global partnerships at the...

Exclusive: Hungary’s PM and EU’s most isolated leader says he is pursuing ‘friendship with everybody’ – particularly the former US presidentEurope’s most isolated leader was beaming.Standing in a hallway in Brussels, Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian prime minister, spoke excitedly about the politician he hopes will change his political fortunes – Donald Trump. Continue reading...

Day-trippers will have to pay €5 to visit Italian city under scheme designed to protect it from excess tourismAuthorities in Venice have been accused of transforming the famous lagoon city into a “theme park” as a long-mooted entrance fee for day trippers comes into force.Venice is the first major city in the world to enact such a scheme. The €5 (£4.30) charge, which comes...

Human Rights Watch demands investigation into killings in two villages just weeks after Russian troops fly in, amid intensifying conflictBurkina Faso’s military summarily executed 223 civilians, including at least 56 children, in a single day in late February, according to an investigation into one of the worst abuses by the country’s armed forces for years.The mass killings have been linked to a widening military...

More than 60 people, including a journalist, arrested at University of Southern California and University of Texas at Austin. This blog is now closed.Campus protests: full storyMike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, will visit Columbia University today to speak to Jewish students and hold a press conference “regarding the troubling rise of virulent antisemitism on America’s college campuses”, his office has said.New York House...