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Coastguard reports rescue of 39 survivors from boat that set out from Libya, but hopes fade for other passengersA mammoth rescue operation was launched in Greece on Saturday to locate dozens of migrants reported missing after their boat capsized en route from Libya to Crete.Nearly 12 hours after combat Aegean Hawk naval helicopters were first dispatched to the site of the shipwreck, 12.5 nautical...

Former California lawmaker accused the FBI of conspiring against Trump during Russian election interference inquiryDonald Trump on Saturday named ally Devin Nunes, a former US lawmaker who now runs Trump’s Truth Social social media platform, to serve as chair of the president’s intelligence advisory board.Nunes, a longtime Trump defender who led the US House of Representatives intelligence committee during part of Trump’s first White...

Both occurred in farmworkers with exposure to infected animals, and are amid 34 confirmed cases across stateTwo cases of bird flu have been reported in California’s San Joaquin county, according to local health officials.According to a press release issued on Friday and reported by the Sacramento Bee, health officials from San Joaquin county public health services said that both cases occurred in farmworkers who...

Dominic Grieve, the former attorney general, tells the Observer he advised Tories to criminalise foreign agents in 2019Prince Andrew may have been a victim of Chairman Mao’s ‘magic weapon’Ministers failed to act on advice to tighten security laws that could have prevented an alleged Chinese spy from targeting Prince Andrew, a ­former attorney general has said.Dominic Grieve, a former Tory MP who chaired the...

In a New York Times essay, Andrew Witty also says slain healthcare CEO Brian Thompson cared about customersThe leader of the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, whose chief executive officer was shot to death outside a New York City hotel on 4 December, conceded that the US’s patchwork health system “does not work as well as it should”.But in a guest essay published by the...

The United Front Work Department aims to befriend, bribe and seduce ‘useful idiots’. Was Andrew caught up in its net?Advice ignored by ministers could have blocked Prince Andrew ‘spy’The late Chairman Mao, China’s former supreme leader, once called the United Front Work Department (UFWD) one of the three “magic weapons” of the Chinese Communist party (CCP). That the other two were the People’s Liberation...

Billionaire slipped and fell from a 150-metre cliff while hiking with relatives near Barcelona, according to reportsIsak Andic, the founder of high street fashion chain Mango, has died after a hiking accident in Spain on Saturday, the company said.The 71-year-old billionaire slipped and fell from a 150-metre cliff while hiking with relatives in the Montserrat caves near Barcelona, according to local media reports. Continue...

Yoon Suk Yeol’s party offered him the chance of a dignified exit but he chose to double down on his martial law gambitSouth Korean parliament votes to impeach presidentWhat happens next after vote to impeach South Korea’s president?For Yoon Suk Yeol, last week’s short-lived martial law declaration wasn’t just a catastrophic miscalculation – it was the culmination of a presidency that had been troubled...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereVoting is now beginning. The process has been explained to lawmakers. We’ll bring you the result as soon as we get it.Tens of thousands of people have braved the bitter cold and poured onto the streets of the capital, Seoul, every night for the past two weeks, calling for Yoon’s ouster...

Success of Ghanaian president’s call to members of diaspora to visit country adding to inflation, say localsSince September, Effia Afful and her friends have been calling Accra establishments to reserve tables for the Christmas season, trying to beat other fun-seekers to it.“You have to reserve your tables now because by the time you are ready, there will be no table left,” said the 30-year-old...

This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our Middle East coverage hereThe head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization Mohammad Eslami says they won’t impede the UN nuclear watchdog’s access and inspection of its sites.“We have not created and will not create any obstacles for the agency’s inspections and access,”says Eslami, as quoted by the Times of Israel. Continue reading...

Constitutional crisis deepens as opposition says election of former footballer Mikheil Kavelashvili is ‘illegitimate’Georgian lawmakers have elected Mikheil Kavelashvili, a pro-Russia, hardline critic of the west, as the country’s new president.Kavelashvili, a former professional football player, has strong anti-western views. In public speeches this year, he has repeatedly alleged that western intelligence agencies are seeking to drive Georgia into war with Russia. Continue reading...

Uncompleted or abandoned buildings are a regular feature of the landscape. Now calls for restorations are increasingBeneath mango trees in the lush garden of the Palais de Lomé, an oceanside estate in the Togolese capital, dozens of students from the African School of Architecture and Urban Planning (EAMAU) were taking sessions on archiving.Established in 1905, the palace housed German, French and British colonial governors...

As part of plea deal, Alexander Smirnov will admit he made up story at center of Republican impeachment inquiryA former FBI informant accused of falsely claiming that Joe Biden and the president’s son Hunter had accepted bribes has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges, according to court papers.As part of the plea deal with the justice department special counsel, David Weiss, Alexander Smirnov...

Some angry that politician with Italian roots easily obtained citizenship while on trip to meet PM Giorgia MeloniItaly’s government has granted citizenship to Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, on account of his Italian family roots, prompting outrage among opposition politicians who contrasted his treatment with that of the children born in Italy of migrant parents.Milei is in Rome to meet the Italian prime minister, Giorgia...

This live blog is now closed. For the latest on Syria, read our full report: Damascus streets erupt in celebration as Syrians mark end of Assad dynastyThe first Friday prayers since the change of regime are underway, here are a few photos from the wires:Days after the Assad regime was toppled, it remains to be seen how the change in power will impact Syria’s...

Doug Ford’s threat to use the province’s liquor control board would entail ordering it to halt buying American productsThe leader of Canada’s most populous province is looking at fresh ways to ward off US tariffs, including wielding the power of Ontario’s liquor control board – the largest purchaser of alcohol in the world.Earlier this week, Ontario’s premier, Doug Ford, said he could halt electricity...

Former US House speaker is receiving treatment and continuing to work, spokesperson saysNancy Pelosi, the former speaker of the US House of Representatives, suffered an injury on a trip to Luxembourg and has been admitted to a hospital for evaluation, her office said in a statement on Friday.Pelosi, 84, is the first woman to serve as speaker of the House and had also been...

Exclusive: Abu Hassan al-Hamwi’s HTS group coordinated rebels to create a unified war effort that included a specialist drone unitSyrian rebels began planning the military assault that toppled the Assad regime a year ago, in a highly disciplined operation in which a new drone unit was deployed and where there was close coordination between opposition groups around the country, the top military commander of...

Like other colonies, the Caribbean nation retained the British monarch as head of state after independence in 1962The Jamaican government has taken its first step toward removing King Charles as head of state, presenting a bill in parliament to abolish the constitutional monarchy and transition the country to a republic.Like many former British colonies, Jamaica retained the British monarch as its head of state...