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The EU parliament awarded the bloc’s top rights Sakharov prize on Thursday to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and her ally, former presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia.They won the prestigious award for their fight for democracy under President Nicolas Maduro’s iron-fisted rule.Machado, 57, played a key role in Venezuela’s presidential election in July. Although …

Venezuelan opposition figures win EU’s top rights Sakharov prize Read More »

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Thursday more than 770 people have been killed in the north of the territory since Israel launched an assault aimed at preventing Hamas from regrouping there.With Israel under pressure to end its wars with Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, the United States said negotiators will meet in …

Gaza rescuers say 770 people killed in Israel assault on north Read More »

United Nations leader Antonio Guterres pleaded on Thursday for a “just peace” in Ukraine, calling in a speech in front of Russian President Vladimir Putin for an end to more than two years of fighting.Speaking at a BRICS summit hosted by Putin in Russia’s Kazan, Guterres also demanded an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, the release …

UN chief calls for ‘just peace’ in Ukraine at Putin-hosted summit Read More »

At least 1.1 million people on India’s eastern coast hunkered down in storm shelters ahead of a powerful cyclone set to hammer the low-lying region early Friday morning.Cyclone Dana is likely to hit the coasts of West Bengal and Odisha states — home to around 150 million people — as a “severe cyclonic storm”, India’s …

More than a million Indians flee as cyclone approaches Read More »

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday against “illusory” attempts to defeat Russia on the battlefield ahead of his first meeting with UN chief Antonio Guterres in more than two years for talks set to focus on the conflict in Ukraine.Putin was speaking in the Russian city of Kazan on the final day of the …

Putin warns against ‘illusory’ attempts to defeat Russia Read More »

The Israeli military said Thursday it hit Hezbollah weapons production facilities in the group’s south Beirut bastion, in some of the fiercest strikes on the area since the Lebanon war began.At least 17 raids levelled six buildings, according to Lebanon’s official National News Agency, with a huge ball of fire enveloped in a tower of …

Israeli army says hit Hezbollah arms facilities Read More »

A New Zealand airport has imposed a three-minute limit on farewell hugs, sparking a worldwide debate over how long to cling on for a cuddle.Bosses at the international airport in the southern city of Dunedin say they were surprised by the viral response to their new rule in the car drop-off zone.”To keep things moving …

New Zealand airport sets three-minute limit on hugs Read More »

Italian priest Davide Marcheselli has been fighting for years against Chinese companies illegally mining gold in the town of Kitutu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.He says mining has spoilt the town which lies in South Kivu province, polluting rivers and destroying fields.Hundreds of foreign companies, most of them Chinese-owned, mine gold in the mineral-rich province …

East DR Congo grapples with Chinese gold mining firms Read More »

After suffocating Covid-19 restrictions, many embraced the call of the wild and the joys of foraging, but tightening Swiss biodiversity protection measures are infuriating growing hordes of mushroom-picking enthusiasts.The pandemic times “made people return to the forest”, said Jean-Michel Froidevaux, chairman of the Swiss Association of Official Mushroom Control Bodies, which regularly organises training sessions …

Picky protection rules hamper Swiss mushrooming craze Read More »

Israel unleashed a wave of air strikes on Hezbollah’s southern Beirut stronghold on Wednesday night, Lebanese state media said, as the Israel-Hezbollah war reached its one-month mark.With six buildings levelled in at least 17 Israeli raids, the strikes mark one of the most brutal nights in the capital’s southern suburbs since the war erupted on …

Israel pounds Beirut, levels residential complex: state media Read More »