Taiwan and China will surely be reunified, says Xi in New Year's Eve address

BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping, in his annual New Year's Eve address, reiterated his claim that Taiwan would "surely be reunified" with China.His message comes ahead of Taiwan's

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Russia hits back after Kyiv attack on border city

KYIV — Ukraine has come under attack by Russian air strikes again, officials say, after two days of major aerial assaults by both sides.Most attacks were concentrated on Kharkiv in the east, but explosions

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Venice to ban large tourist groups and loudspeakers

ROME — Venice is to ban loudspeakers and tourist groups of more than 25 people, in a bid to ease the impact of mass tourism on the Italian city.The new rules will come into effect from June, the city

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Special counsel Jack Smith pushes back on Trump’s immunity claim

WASHINGTON — US Special counsel Jack Smith pushed back on former President Donald Trump’s claim that he should be cloaked with absolute immunity from criminal prosecution, arguing in a new filing Saturday

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North Korea says it will no longer seek reunification with South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea will no longer seek reconciliation and reunification with South Korea, Kim Jong Un has declared, as his nation vowed to put three new military spy satellites into orbit

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South Korea’s military has a new enemy: Population math

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea, with the world’s lowest birth rate, may soon find itself without enough troops to keep its military fully staffed as it deals with new threats in an increasingly tense

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Moscow unleashes biggest-ever aerial barrage on Ukraine

MOSCOW — Russia launched 122 missiles and 36 drones against Ukrainian targets on Friday, according to officials.At least 18 civilians were killed across the country in what a Ukrainian airforce official

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Three Hong Kong activists jailed for bomb plot

HONG KONG — Three Hong Kong activists have been jailed for up to six years for their involvement in a foiled plot to bomb public buildings.The trio were initially all charged with "conspiracy to

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Israeli minister warns Hezbollah over border fighting

BEIRUT — Israel's military will act to remove Hezbollah from the border with Lebanon if its attacks continue, an Israeli minister has warned.Benny Gantz said the Israel Defense Forces would intervene

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Israel-Gaza war will continue for months, IDF chief warns

GAZA — Israel's war with Hamas militants in Gaza will continue for "many more months", Israel's army chief has said."There are no magic solutions," Herzi Halevi told reporters.

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India joins the ranks of stock market superpowers

NEW DELHI — Fund manager Abhay Agarwal was surprised by the number of calls he took this month from international investors showing more than a passing curiosity about India.“These are from family

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UN says no let-up in Israeli air strikes in Gaza

LONDON — There is no let-up in Israeli air strikes in Gaza, a UN official has said after visiting a hospital struggling to treat the injured.Gemma Connell of the UN humanitarian agency Ocha told the

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King Charles's Christmas message focuses on shared values in time of conflict

LONDON — King Charles's Christmas message has emphasized the importance of "universal" values shared between major religions, at a time of "increasingly tragic conflict around the

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Hamas says 70 killed in Israeli air strike on camp

GAZA — The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says an Israeli air strike killed at least 70 people in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the centre of the strip.A spokesman said the death toll was likely

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Israel vows to continue ‘difficult’ military operation in Gaza

GAZA STRIP — The Israeli military has vowed to continue its operation in Gaza, but admitted it is “protracted” and “difficult”.A spokesman said over the weekend it was expanding its “ground

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Tanker hit off India coast by drone from Iran, says US

LONDON — A chemical tanker in the Indian Ocean was hit by a drone launched from Iran on Saturday, the US military says.A fire on board the Chem Pluto was extinguished. There were no casualties.Iran has

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Awni Eldous: The Palestinian boy who found YouTube fame after death

JERUSALEM — In a video posted in August 2022, he holds a microphone and smiles as he declares his ambitions for his YouTube gaming channel.“So now folks, let me introduce myself: I am a Palestinian

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Nation observes minute’s silence to mark Prague University mass shooting

PRAGUE — The Czech Republic observed a minute’s silence at midday (11:00 GMT) to commemorate those killed in Thursday’s mass shooting at a Prague university.Flags on official buildings were flown

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Israel dropped hundreds of 2,000-pound bombs on Gaza, analysis shows

GAZA — In the first month of its war in Gaza, Israel dropped hundreds of massive bombs, many of them capable of killing or wounding people more than 1,000 feet away, analysis by CNN and artificial intelligence

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Scientists successfully replicate historic nuclear fusion breakthrough three times

WASHINGTON — Scientists in California shooting nearly 200 lasers at a cylinder holding a fuel capsule the size of a peppercorn have taken another step in the quest for fusion energy, which, if mastered,

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Polish state TVP Info channel off air as Tusk reforms kick in

WARSAW — Polish state TV channel TVP Info has been taken off air after Prime Minister Donald Tusk's new government moved to depoliticize public media.Parliament in Warsaw backed a resolution on Tuesday

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Controversial French immigration law passes parliament

PARIS — The French parliament has passed legislation toughening France's immigration policy after months of political wrangling.The amended bill was backed by both President Emmanuel Macron's

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Colorado Supreme Court kicks Trump off ballot, citing 'insurrection'

NEW YORK — Colorado's Supreme Court has ruled that Donald Trump cannot run for president next year in the state, citing a constitutional insurrection clause.The court ruled 4-3 that Trump was not

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US announces security operation after Houthi attacks on commercial shipping

TEL AVIV — US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Monday announced a new US-led operation focusing on the “security challenges in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden” following recent attacks

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Rescuers battle sub-zero temperatures as more than 100 killed in powerful China quake

HONG KONG — At least 116 people were killed and hundreds more injured after an earthquake hit northwest China, state media reported Tuesday, as rescue teams scrambled to reach survivors in sub-zero temperatures.The

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Trump’s rhetoric in final campaign sprint goes to new dark extremes

DURHAM — Former US President Donald Trump’s rhetoric dropped to a spine-tingling new low this weekend with less than a month before the Iowa caucuses.The GOP primary front-runner said migrants are

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Serbia's ruling populists claim sweeping victory in parliamentary election

BELGRADE — Serbia’s ruling populists claimed sweeping victory on Sunday in the country's parliamentary election, which has been marred by reports of major irregularities both during a tense campaign

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Hostages shot by IDF put out ‘SOS’ sign written with leftover food

GAZA —The men had been staying at the building next to where they were shot “for some period of time”, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).Officials have admitted that killing the men who

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Security Council condemns deadly terror attack on Iran police station

NEW YORK —The members of the Security Council have condemned Friday’s assault on a police station in southern Iran, in which 11 Iranian police officers were killed, and eight critically wounded.The

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More than 60 people drown in migrant shipwreck off Libya, UN says

TRIPOLI — Around 61 migrants, including women and children, have drowned following a “tragic shipwreck” off the coast of Libya, said the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM).Citing

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UN workers delivering aid to Gaza hospital describe ‘bloodbath’ in overflowing emergency department

GAZA — UN workers delivering medical supplies to the Al-Shifa Hospital in north Gaza on 16 December have described the emergency department as a “bloodbath”, with hundreds of injured people inside,

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Late Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Nawaf laid to rest

Saudi Gazette reportKUWAIT CITY — Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the late Emir of Kuwait, was laid to rest on Sunday with the current Emir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah leading the

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Late Sheikh Nawaf Al-Sabah — A legacy of leadership and compassion

Saudi Gazette reportKUWAIT CITY — Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the late Emir of Kuwait, left an indelible mark on his nation and the broader Arab world through his exemplary leadership and

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Kuwait mourns passing of Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah

KUWAIT CITY — The Amiri Diwan of Kuwait announced on Saturday the passing of Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The news was confirmed in an official statement distributed by the Kuwait News

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Germany arrests foil alleged Hamas anti-Jewish plot

BERLIN — German authorities say they have made four arrests of suspected Hamas members linked to an alleged plot to attack Jewish sites.Prosecutors said the suspects intended to store weapons in Berlin

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‘Desperate, hungry, terrified’: Gazans stopping aid trucks in search of food

GAZA — Some Gazans are so desperate for food that they are now stopping aid trucks and immediately eating what they find, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees warned on Thursday.Briefing

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Israel cancels Mossad chief’s Qatar trip to restart hostage talks

TEL AVIV — Israel has canceled a planned trip to Qatar by the head of its foreign intelligence service to restart talks on a possible second hostage release deal, a source familiar with the negotiations

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US intelligence: Nearly half of Israeli munitions dropped on Gaza are ‘dumb bombs’

WASHINGTON — Nearly half of the air-to-ground munitions that Israel has used in Gaza in its war with Hamas since October 7 have been unguided, otherwise known as “dumb bombs,” according to a new

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Nine of Netanyahu's soldiers killed in Gaza City ambush

TEL AVIV — Israeli troops are still locked in heavy combat with Hamas fighters in and around Gaza City, more than six weeks after invading the territory's north.Palestinian militants carried out

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Pope Francis takes on unprecedented attacks from American opponents

NEW YORK — In one corner: Pope Francis, who insists on a merciful Catholic Church open to everyone, a “field hospital” ready to bind up the wounds of a suffering humanity. In the other corner: a

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Biden says Israel losing support over 'indiscriminate bombing' of Gaza

WASHINGTON — US President Joe Biden on Tuesday warned that Israel was losing international support because of its “indiscriminate bombing" of Gaza, speaking out in unusually strong language as

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Scientists uncover surprising phenomenon in Himalayas that might be slowing effects of climate change

KATHMANDU — A new report using data collected from the Pyramid International Laboratory/Observatory climate station on Mount Everest has found that warming temperatures are triggering what are called

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FBI chief in India following explosive US assassination plot indictment

NEW DELHI — FBI director Christopher Wray is in India this week for a trip aimed at strengthening security cooperation and deepening a partnership. But it comes in the wake of a major law enforcement

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Special counsel goes directly to Supreme Court to resolve whether Trump has immunity from prosecution

WASHINGTON — Special counsel Jack Smith on Monday asked the Supreme Court to decide whether Donald Trump has any immunity from criminal prosecution for alleged crimes he committed while in office —

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Tusk elected as Polish prime minister

WARSAW — The Polish parliament has backed Donald Tusk to become prime minister after current leader Mateusz Morawiecki lost a key vote in the country’s parliament on Monday.Morawiecki’s populist

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Egyptians vote for president, with el-Sissi almost certain to win

CAIRO — Egyptians have begun voting in a presidential election in which President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi faces no serious challenger and is almost certain to win another term, keeping him in power until

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Pliosaur discovery: Huge sea monster emerges from Dorset cliffs

DORSET — The skull of a colossal sea monster has been extracted from the cliffs of Dorset’s Jurassic Coast.It belongs to a pliosaur, a ferocious marine reptile that terrorized the oceans about 150

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Six French teenagers convicted in connection with 2020 beheading of teacher Paty

PARIS — A French court on Friday convicted six teenagers in connection with the 2020 beheading of history teacher Samuel Paty, whose murder shocked the country.The teacher had shown his pupils caricatures

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Appeals court maintains most of Trump gag order in federal election subversion case

NEW YORK — An appeals court has largely upheld the gag order against former President Donald Trump in the federal election subversion case, saying he can be barred from talking about witnesses as well

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Fighting engulfs over two-thirds of Myanmar, fueling humanitarian needs

GENEVA — Over half a million people have been displaced in Myanmar amid a surge in fighting between the military and armed groups that started in late October and has spread to over two-thirds of the

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Mob of Greek volleyball fans severely injure riot police

ATHENS — A Greek policeman was severely injured late on Thursday when a mob of volleyball fans set upon riot police outside an arena in Athens.State television ERT said rioters shot a flare at a 30-year-old

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Hunter Biden faces second federal indictment, this time on tax evasion

WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors have filed tax charges against Hunter Biden, a second criminal case against the US president's son.The nine-count indictment says he schemed to evade at least $1.4m

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Images from Gaza show Israeli soldiers detaining dozens of men stripped to underwear

JERUSALEM — Images from Gaza circulating on social media Thursday showed a mass detention by the Israeli military of men who were made to strip to their underwear, kneel on the street, wear blindfolds,

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Venezuela’s president orders creation of new state and map including land from Guyana

CARACAS — Venezuela’s president ordered the creation of a new state called “Guayana Esequiba” on Tuesday, following a controversial Sunday referendum which saw Venezuelan voters approving the annexation

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Guterres urges Security Council to act over Israel-Palestine crisis

NEW YORK — Invoking a rarely used article of the UN Charter, Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday called on the Security Council to “press to avert a humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza

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Zelensky speaks out as US stand-off imperils war effort

KYIV — Ukraine is facing some of its most difficult days since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.The much-anticipated counter-offensive appears to have stalled, and the US and EU are struggling

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Zelensky abruptly cancels US Senate briefing amid funding row

KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called off a high-profile briefing with US lawmakers amid an impasse over future US funding for the country.Virtual appearances in the Senate and House

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Couples 'devastated' by UK migration visa rule changes

LONDON — Couples planning a new life in the UK have been left heartbroken by changes restricting who can apply to live in the country.From April 2024, British citizens or people already settled in the

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At least 85 civilians dead in northwest Nigeria after 'mistaken' army attack

ABUJA — Emergency response officials said at least 85 people have been confirmed dead after a "mistaken" army drone attack on a religious gathering in northwest Nigeria.The victims were killed

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Israel probes claims share traders knew of Hamas attack in advance

TEL AVIV — Israel says it is investigating claims that some investors may have known of Hamas's attack on Israel before it took place on Oct. 7.An academic study suggests investors betting against

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US infant killed by wolf-dog hybrid in Alabama

BIRMINGHAM — A three-month old infant was killed by its family's pet hybrid wolf-dog in the US state of Alabama, police have said.The child died on Thursday in Chelsea, about 20 miles (32km) south-west

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Small plane makes emergency landing in Paris suburb

PARIS — A small twin-engine plane has been forced to make an emergency landing in a southern Paris suburb.The three people on board were taken to hospital requiring urgent attention, but their injuries

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Israel orders evacuations from city in south Gaza as offensive widens

KHAN YOUNIS — Israel's military has ordered the evacuation of a fifth of the main city in southern Gaza, as it expands its ground offensive against Hamas.A map showed six northern and central areas

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11 hikers killed, 12 missing as Mount Marapi volcano erupts in Indonesia

JAKARTA — Eleven hikers have been found dead near the crater of Indonesia's Mount Marapi volcano after it erupted over the weekend, rescuers say.Twelve others are missing and the search was suspended

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Hong Kong pro-democracy protest leader Agnes Chow jumps bail

HONG KONG — Hong Kong's pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow says she is jumping bail and will not be returning home from her studies in Canada.Ms Chow was jailed in 2020 for taking part in the anti-government

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Venezuelans vote in favor of claiming disputed oil region from Guyana

CARACAS — Venezuelans have voted overwhelmingly in favor of claiming a disputed oil-rich territory long controlled by neighboring Guyana.More than 95% approved establishing a new state in Essequibo,

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Mount Marapi: Eleven hikers killed as volcano erupts in Indonesia

JAKARTA — Eleven hikers have been found dead near the crater of Indonesia's Marapi volcano after it erupted over the weekend, rescuers say.Three people were rescued on Monday. The search for 12 others

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USS Carney shoots down drones, responds to ballistic missile attack on commercial vessel

ADEN — The USS Carney shot down two Houthi drones headed in the ship’s direction in the southern Red Sea on Sunday and responded to a distress call from a civilian commercial vessel that was fired

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How scientists are fighting climate-fueled disease

LONDON — “They can smell us,” said Dr. Clare Strode.She is carefully carrying a mesh cage of mosquitoes across her lab in Lancashire, north-west England. To be more precise, these are Aedes aegypti,

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Philippines earthquake: Pregnant woman killed by Mindanao quake

MANILA — A pregnant woman has died, four people injured, and nine are missing after a powerful earthquake hit the Philippines’ second-largest island of Mindanao.Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said

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Race is already on for Santos’ New York seat

WASHINGTON — George Santos is gone from Congress, but his disastrous tenure will not be forgotten by party leaders as they prepare for what is expected to be a fiercely contested and expensive special

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