International

Ukraine begins electricity exports to EU: Zelensky

  KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Ukraine has started exporting electricity to the European Union, via Romania, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, as Russia reduces gas supplies to the bloc which is supporting Kyiv in resisting Moscow’s invasion. Several European countries, including Italy and Germany, are highly reliant upon Russian gas for their energy needs but have been forced to look for alternatives as Moscow slashes deliveries. Speaking Thursday, Zelensky said Ukraine had “launched a significant export […]

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Erdogan warns Turkey may still block Nordic NATO drive

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday told Sweden and Finland that he could still block their drives to join NATO if they fail to implement a new accession deal with Ankara. Erdogan issued his blunt warning at the end of a NATO summit at which the US-led alliance formally invited the Nordic countries to join the 30-nation bloc. The two nations dropped their history of military non-alignment and announced plans […]

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Russia quits Snake Island, weakening blockade of Ukraine ports

by Dmytro Gorshkov with Sebastian Smith in Madrid Agence France-Presse KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — Russian troops have abandoned their positions on a captured Ukrainian island, a major setback to their invasion effort that weakens their blockade of Ukraine’s ports, defense officials said on Thursday. The news from the Black Sea came as NATO leaders wrapped up their summit in Madrid, with US President Joe Biden announcing $800 million in new weapons to help Ukraine fight […]

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Eight anti-coup protesters killed in Sudan mass rallies

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AFP) — At least eight Sudanese demonstrators were killed Thursday as security forces sought to quash mass rallies of protesters demanding an end to military rule, pro-democracy medics said. In one of the most violent days this year in an ongoing crackdown on the anti-coup movement, AFP correspondents reported security forces firing tear gas and stun grenades to disperse tens of thousands of protesters. “Even if we die, the military will not rule […]

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Mexico president’s Hitler jibe irks Jewish community

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) — Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has upset the country’s Jewish community by accusing one of its members — a critic of the government — of thinking like Adolf Hitler. Lopez Obrador hit out Wednesday at newspaper columnist Carlos Alazraki, equating his “Hitlerian” ideas with those of the Nazi dictator. The Central Committee of the Jewish Community of Mexico issued a statement in response saying it was “unacceptable” to compare […]

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China’s Xi to preside over muted Hong Kong handover anniversary

by Xinqi Su Agence France-Presse  HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping was set to preside Friday over tightly choreographed celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover from Britain, with once annual demonstrations silenced and a massive security presence in force. Xi’s two-day visit, which will also see him inaugurate Hong Kong’s new government on Friday, is a chance for the Chinese Communist Party to showcase its power over the city […]

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Israel parliament dissolves itself, sets November 1 election

  by Yasmin Zaher and Ben Simon Agence France Presse JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israeli lawmakers dissolved parliament on Thursday, forcing the country’s fifth election in less than four years, with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid set to take over as caretaker prime minister at midnight. After the unanimous 92-0 vote, the centrist Lapid embraced outgoing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, whose year in charge of an unwieldy, eight-party coalition was ultimately undone by its ideological divisions. Lapid, […]

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First grain ship since offensive leaves Russia-occupied Ukraine port

  MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — A ship carrying 7,000 tonnes of grain has sailed from Ukraine’s occupied port of Berdyansk, the region’s Moscow-appointed official said on Thursday, marking the first grain shipment since the start of hostilities. “After numerous months of delay, the first merchant ship has left the Berdyansk commercial port, 7,000 tonnes of grain are heading toward friendly countries,” Evgeny Balitsky, the head of the pro-Russia administration, said on Telegram. Russia’s Black Sea […]

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No problem’ for Russia if Finland, Sweden join NATO: Putin

  ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (AFP) — Russia has “no problem” if Finland and Sweden join NATO, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday. “We don’t have problems with Sweden and Finland like we do with Ukraine,” Putin told a news conference in the Turkmenistan capital of Ashgabat. “We don’t have territorial differences,” the Russian leader continued. “There is nothing that could bother us about Sweden and Finland joining NATO. If Finland and Sweden wish to, they can […]

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Trump lunged at driver to try to join Capitol riot: aide

  by Frankie TAGGART Agence France WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Former US president Donald Trump angrily lunged at his Secret Service driver and grabbed at the steering wheel of his limousine in a bid to join the crowd as it marched on the Capitol on the day of the deadly insurrection, an aide testified Tuesday. In some of the most explosive testimony so far to the House committee probing the violence, Cassidy Hutchinson, an […]

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Hong Kong economy faces uncertain future 25 years after handover

by Holmes CHAN Agence France Presse HONG KONG, China (AFP) — When Hong Kong transitioned from British to Chinese rule, Edmond Hui was a floor trader at the bustling stock exchange, witnessing the roaring growth of a city at the crossroads of the West and Asia. Under a deal signed with Britain ahead of the 1997 handover, China promised Hong Kong could keep its capitalist system for 50 years, an arrangement that helped the city […]

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