Global News

The 26-year-old is accused of shooting dead healthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel.

Archived version: https://archive.is/20250402001645/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c30qlr528elo

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Former ambassadors and Defence officials warned on Monday that Australia should shift to a stronger form of self-defence in case the US retreated from the ANZUS alliance.

Archived version: https://archive.is/20250331185428/https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/worse-than-russia-voters-fear-trump-s-america-20250331-p5lnzn.html

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Jerusalem (AFP) – Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced Wednesday a major expansion of a military operation in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, saying the army would seize "large areas" of the Palestinian territory.

The defence chief said in a statement that Israel would expand its presence in Gaza to "destroy and clear the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure".

The expanded operation would "seize large areas that will be incorporated into Israeli security zones", he said, without saying how much territory Israel would take.

The announcement comes after he warned last week the Israeli military would soon "operate with full force" in additional parts of Hamas-run Gaza.

Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) (AFP) – A garbage collector in Rio de Janeiro got the surprise of his life on Tuesday when he found a newborn baby, that he first took for a discarded doll, abandoned next to a dumpster.

A video of Samuel da Silva dos Santos holding the baby girl found in a box on a street strewn with trash went viral on social media, sparking a mixture of joy and indignation in the Brazilian seaside city.

The infant, whose bare legs are seen sticking out of a too-small pink blanket, makes no sound in the video but her mouth can be seen twitching.

"It's very emotional because she is a warrior, isn't she? She was born again," Silva told AFP later through tears.

Although she did not react at first to being picked up, when Silva "took her in his arms, I think she felt more cuddled and a bit warmer. It was then that she began to open her eyes (...) it's surreal," Silva's garbage truck partner Anderson Mendes Nunes added.

The pair found the baby in a box next to a dumpster in the north of the city, as they were nearing the end of their route in the middle of the night.

Rio police are trying to identify the child and to discover who abandoned her, local media reported.

The pair handed the little girl over to Rio's health services, which later declared her to be in "stable" condition.

Silva said they were lucky they spotted the baby.

"We usually work quickly with shovels, tossing it (the garbage into the truck). It could have been worse," he said.

A father of three, he says he wants to adopt the little girl.

"She needs someone who will give her love, who will give her care," he said emotionally.

He said the incident brought back memories of a tragic find 18 years ago, when he discovered the body of a baby in the garbage.

Social media users were torn between sympathy for the situation of the absent mother and anger.

"I can't imagine the desperation that led to this decision," one person wrote on X.

"How can someone do that to their own daughter?" another wondered.

President Donald Trump's administration has acknowledged mistakenly deporting a Maryland man with protected legal status to a notorious El Salvador prison.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://apnews.com/article/el-salvador-deportation-maryland-man-trump-error-818a0fa1218de714448edcb5be1f7347

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Niamey (Niger) (AFP) – Niger's junta said Tuesday it had freed around 50 people, including ministers from the government it toppled in July 2023, in line with recommendations of a "national conference" in February.

Those freed include former ministers, a diplomat, a journalist and soldiers accused of a coup bid in 2010. However ousted former president Mohamed Bazoum is still in detention despite international calls for his release.

"These individuals are being released in accordance with the recommendations of the National Forum for Reconstruction," the government's general secretariat said in a statement read on public television.

Those released include former oil minister Mahamane Sani Issoufou, the son of ex-president Mahamadou Issoufou who was in power for a decade from 2011, ex-defence minister Kalla Moutari, former finance minister Ahmat Jidoud, and former energy minister Ibrahim Yacoubou.

The president of the PNDS former ruling party, Foumakoye Gado, and journalist Ousmane Toudou are also among those freed along with Alat Mogaskia, former ambassador to Nigeria.

They were arrested after the coup that brought to power General Abdourahamane Tiani, former head of the presidential guard, and were being held in various prisons, notably for "conspiracy to undermine the security and authority of the state".

Similar charges are pending against former president Bazoum, whose immunity was lifted without a trial date being set.

Soldiers previously convicted of coup bids or "endangering state security" were also released, including general Salou Souleymane, former chief of staff, and three other officers sentenced in 2018 to up to 15 years in prison for trying to overthrow president Issoufou in 2015.

Óscar Arias, 84, who won Nobel peace prize in 1987, said US president was behaving like ‘a Roman emperor’

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/01/costa-rica-oscar-arias-visa-trump

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Finland's defence spending will be increased to three percent of GDP by 2029 and much of that money will go towards upgrading Finnish Army equipment.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://yle.fi/a/74-20153181

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Exclusive: UK willing to placate Trump with lower digital services tax rate also encompassing non-US companies

Archived version: https://archive.is/20250401234319/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/01/starmer-offered-big-us-tech-firms-tax-cuts-in-return-for-lower-trump-tariffs

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Algeria says it has shot down a military drone near the country’s border with Mali

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/algeria-mali-sahara-morocco-sahel-b2725695.html

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Taipei (AFP) – China on Tuesday sent its army, navy, air and rocket forces to surround Taiwan for drills Beijing said were aimed at practising a blockade of the self-ruled island.

Taiwan dispatched its own aircraft and ships, and deployed land-based missile systems, in response to the drills and accused Beijing of being the world's "biggest troublemaker".

China had deployed 19 warships around the island in the 24-hours to 6:00 am (2200 GMT on Monday), including the Shandong aircraft carrier group, Taiwan's defence ministry said.

Tensions between China and Taiwan -- which are separated by the 180-kilometre (112-mile) Taiwan Strait -- have escalated since Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te took office in May 2024.

Chinese leaders loathe Lai, who has been more outspoken than his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen in defending Taiwan's sovereignty.

Lai last month called China a "foreign hostile force" and proposed measures to combat Chinese espionage and infiltration.

Tuesday's exercises were aimed at sending a "stern warning and forceful deterrence" to alleged separatists in Taiwan, Beijing said.

They involved "sea-air combat-readiness patrols, joint seizure of comprehensive superiority, assault on maritime and ground targets, and blockade on key areas and sea lanes", said Senior Colonel Shi Yi, spokesman of the Chinese military's Eastern Theater Command.

Beijing's armed forces "close in on Taiwan Island from multiple directions", he said.

The Chinese military's Eastern Theater Command -- which oversees operations along the Taiwan Strait -- shared a graphic with the title "closing in".

Another graphic shared by the military depicted Lai as an insect being roasted over an open fire.

And a video shared by the military on X-like Weibo showed footage of weapons interspersed with animations of Sun Wukong, the legendary Monkey King from the classic Chinese novel "Journey to the West".

The video climaxes with Chinese forces appearing to use satellites to mark targets across Taiwan, before ending with a flurry of rocket explosions while multiple Monkey Kings attack a giant frog monster.

China's coast guard said it also conducted "law enforcement patrols" around the island.

"Pursuing 'Taiwan independence' means pushing the people of Taiwan into a dangerous situation of war," Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office, said in a statement.

Taiwan's Presidential Office "strongly condemned" China's actions, and Premier Cho Jung-tai said "resorting to displays of military force is not what modern, progressive societies should pursue".

In interview Trump said he wasn’t joking when he alluded to a purported loophole for a third term as president

Archived version: https://archive.is/20250330195803/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/30/trump-third-term-president

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Iran complained to the United Nations Security Council on Monday about "reckless and belligerent" remarks by US President Donald Trump, who threatened Iran on Sunday with bombing and more tariffs if Tehran did not come to an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program. An adviser to the supreme leader warned that Iran would have to acquire a nuclear weapon if attacked by the US or its allies.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20250401-iran-will-have-no-choice-but-to-get-nukes-if-attacked-khamenei-adviser-usa-trump-nuclear-weapons-deal-bombing-threats

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A U.S. team has yet to arrive in Myanmar after last week’s 7.7-magnitude earthquake, while China has already rescued six people and committed $14 million in humanitarian aid.

Archived version: https://archive.is/20250331122113/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/myanmar-earthquake-rescue-trump-usaid-china-rcna198818

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Europe is open to negotiate looming trade tariffs with the US Trump administration but is willing to retaliate with countermeasures if required, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-01/eu-ready-to-retaliate-to-trump-trade-tariffs/105124630

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Le Pen handed immediate five-year ban from political office, excluding her from running in the French presidential elections in 2027

Archived version: https://archive.is/20250331123144/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/marine-le-pen-guilty-trial-france-president-ban-b2718886.html

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President Donald Trump did not rule out military force to acquire Greenland in an interview as the Danish territory continued to rebuff his advances.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/29/trump-greenland-military-force-denmark/82722287007/

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Bangkok (AFP) – A Chinese construction company is facing questions over the deadly collapse of a Bangkok skyscraper -- the only major building in the capital to fall in a catastrophic earthquake that has killed more than 2,000 people in Thailand and neighbouring Myanmar.

The 30-storey tower, still under construction, was to house government offices, but the shaking reduced the structure to a pile of rubble in seconds, killing at least 13 people and injuring nine.

It was the deadliest single incident in Thailand after Friday's 7.7-magnitude quake, with the majority of the kingdom's 20 fatalities thought to be workers on the building site and hopes fading for around 70 still trapped.

Sprawling Bangkok bristles with countless high-rise blocks, but none have reported major damage, prompting many to ask why the block under construction gave way.

"We have to investigate where the mistake happened," said Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who has ordered a probe into the materials and safety standards at the construction site.

"What happened from the beginning since it was designed? How was this design approved? This was not the first building in the country," she told reporters on Saturday.

The development near Bangkok's popular Chatuchak market was a joint project involving China Railway No. 10 Engineering Group (Thailand) -- an offshoot of China Railway Group (CREC), one of the world's largest construction and engineering contractors.

Testing of steel rebars -- struts used to reinforce concrete -- from the site has found that some of the metal used was substandard, Thai safety officials said on Monday.

Industry Minister Akanat Promphan announced that a committee would be set up to investigate, saying one supplier of the steel had failed safety tests in December and may have its licence withdrawn. He did not name the supplier.

Professor of Civil Engineering at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang Suchatwee Sunaswat said there were questions to be answered.

"We have to look at the design. At the beginning, how they calculate, how they design. And in the rescue mission, how they collect evidence at the same time," he told reporters on Saturday.

The local partner in the project, Italian-Thai Development (ITD) offered condolences on Monday to quake victims but said it was "confident" the incident would not impact its other projects.

Beijing-owned building conglomerate CREC is one of the world's largest construction and engineering contractors, with projects in more than 90 countries and regions, according to its website.

The Bangkok construction collapse is not the first time CREC and its subsidiaries have come under fire after deadly incidents.

A tide of anger was unleashed at authorities in Serbia following the deaths of 14 people when a roof collapsed in November last year at a train station built by CREC subsidiaries -- largely focused on reports of alleged shortcuts made with building projects.

Roisai Wongsuban of the Migrant Working Group advocacy organisation said there have been a large number of complaints from migrant workers employed by Chinese companies in Thailand about lax safety standards and poor labour rights.

"For Chinese companies we can't see the human rights due diligence, to see if labour standards are being met," she told AFP.

"There is always a power imbalance between employer and employee."

Bangkok's construction boom is powered by an army of labourers, a large proportion of them migrant workers from Myanmar, toiling on hot building sites for low pay.

The Migrant Working Group has called on Thailand's labour ministry to hold the employers involved in the construction project criminally liable if they have failed to meet health and safety laws.

AFP has asked China Rail No. 10 Engineering Thailand and CREC for comment but has not had a response.

An announcement celebrating the completion of the main structure at the Chatuchak construction site posed on China Rail No. 10's official WeChat channel was deleted soon after Friday's quake.

AFP archived the post shortly after the tremors hit but before the page was removed.

Local media said that four Chinese nationals were apprehended on Saturday for attempting to retrieve documents from the collapse site.

But China is the largest source of foreign direct investment in Thailand, injecting $2 billion into the kingdom in 2024, according to Open Development Thailand, and the government typically handles anything linked to Beijing with kid gloves.

Paetongtarn said an investigation into the collapse launched on Monday would not be "specific to one country".

"We do not want one particular country to think we are only keeping eyes on (it)," she said on Tuesday.

At a small shelter near the site on Monday, 45-year-old Naruemol Thonglek waited for news of her boyfriend, electrician Kyi Than, who was missing under the enormous mound of concrete and twisted metal being lifted by mechanical diggers.

"I'm devastated," she told AFP. "I've never seen anything like this in my entire life."

Survey shows between 56% and 79% across seven countries in favour if Trump introduces ‘Liberation Day’ levies

Archived version: https://archive.is/20250401054837/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/01/large-majority-of-europeans-support-retaliatory-tariffs-against-us-poll-finds

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/31953249

The death of a crew member on a Chinese-owned trawler in the Indian Ocean illustrates the lack of accountability in the seafood industry, say advocates.

[...] Tens of thousands of Indonesian fishers [...] leave home – sometimes for years at a time – to work on foreign boats. Vast numbers are subjected to abuse, with vessels owned by companies from either China or Taiwan the worst offenders, according to a report published in 2023.

Deaths [...] are not uncommon, with more than 100,000 fishing-related deaths every year, according to estimates by the Pew Charitable Trusts, which says many are avoidable and most not officially recorded.

[...]

Achmad Mudzakir, chair of the Indonesian Seafarers Gathering Forum advocacy group in Tawian, says: “These boats mattered more to the owners than our lives and safety.”

Taiwanese authorities have made some changes in recent years to improve protections for migrant fishers and sailors, including increasing the minimum wage to $550 a month and ordering direct payments that bypass recruitment agencies. There were also pledges to add CCTV and subsidise wifi on vessels, but there is no legal basis to compel shipowners to install it. Every fisher who spoke to the Guardian described wifi as a potential gamechanger for their working lives – allowing contact with home and an ability to report any mistreatment or other issues.

While Taiwan and South Korea have made some progress, “China is absolutely the same, if not worse”, says Steve Trent, the founder of EJF [Environmental Justice Foundation]. After recent allegations that its offshore fleets were illegally using forced labour of North Korean workers, Beijing said that all its fishing complies with international law.

[...]

Berlin formally activates brigade in Lithuania, signaling a major shift in defense posture.

Archived version: https://archive.is/20250401093906/https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-launch-permanent-troop-deployment-lithuania-nato-eastern-flank-russia-ukraine/

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/31952507

• China's military says drills are a warning against Taiwan independence
• China's military video calls Taiwan president a 'parasite'
• Lai depiction 'not conducive to peace', says Taiwan
• Taiwan dispatches military aircraft, ships in response
• De facto US embassy in Taipei pledges support for Taiwan

China staged military drills off Taiwan's north, south and east coasts on Tuesday as a "stern warning" against separatism and called Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te a "parasite," as Taiwan sent warships to respond to China's navy approaching its shores.

The exercises, which China has not formally named unlike war games last year, are happening after a rise in Chinese rhetoric against Lai and follow on the heels of U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth's Asia visit, during which he repeatedly criticised Beijing.

[...]

The convicted war criminal, Thomas Lubanga, based in Uganda, has declared the formation of a new rebel movement - the Convention for the Popular Revolution - aimed at overthrowing the government in Ituri province, eastern Congo, posing yet another security threat in the conflict-ravaged region.

The province is just north of North Kivu, where Congo's army is already facing the unprecedented advance by Rwandan-backed M23 rebels.

Lubanga told Reuters that the CPR had both political and military elements, including armed men in three areas of Ituri.

He said that bringing peace to the area "requires an immediate change in governance and government," though he added that the group has not launched military operations.

It is unclear how many combatants Lubanga might control. UN experts last year accused him of mobilising fighters to support a local militia and M23.

Congo's presidency has not responded to requests for comment yet.

Lubanga was charged in 2012 by The International Criminal Court (ICC) for recruiting child soldiers, and sentenced to 14 years in prison.

He was then released in 2020 when President Felix Tshisekedi appointed him to a task force to bring peace to Ituri. But in 2022 he was taken hostage for two months by a rebel group, something which he blamed on the government.

Ituri has been rocked by violence by various armed groups for decades, and Ugandan troops are present there to help the government fight another rebel group, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), affiliated with the Islamic State. They have staged brutal attacks on villages.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) last week described "a renewed spike in atrocities" in Ituri that had killed more than 200 civilians and displaced around 100,000 people since the beginning of the year.

The announcement of the formation of this new group comes as Qatari mediators are trying to end the conflict between M23 and the Congolese forces.

They hosted a second round of talks on Friday between RDC and Rwanda, and separately met representatives of the Rwandan-backed rebellion.

The group continues its offensive after the capture of the strategic towns of Goma, Bukavu and more recently Walikale.

Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame met last week in Doha for their first talks since M23 rebels stepped up an offensive there in January.

The talks provided a glimmer of hope for a de-escalation of eastern Congo's biggest conflict in decades, but M23 dismissed those calls for a truce, asking for direct talks with Kinshasa.

(with Reuters)

Soon after Hamas announced it had accepted a ceasefire proposal, Israel responded by heavily bombing Gaza, killing children dressed for the Eid holiday, and preparing further ground invasions.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/netanyahu-trump-final-stage-gaza-genocide

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Russian leader Vladimir Putin has signed a decree on the spring conscription of Russians for military service.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/03/31/7505368/

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