Ex-Catalonia leader Carles Puigdemont, who fled after his 2017 illegal independence ballot, returns to Spain
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Ex-Catalonia leader Carles Puigdemont, who fled after his 2017 illegal independence ballot, returns to Spain.
Latest stories
ReutersHezbollah devices explode again in Lebanon, raising fears of wider Israel conflict
BEIRUT (Reuters) -Hand-held radios used by armed group Hezbollah detonated on Wednesday across Lebanon's south in the country's deadliest day since cross-border fighting erupted between the militants and Israel nearly a year ago, stoking tensions after similar explosions of the group's pagers the day before. Lebanon's health ministry said 20 people were killed and more than 450 injured on Wednesday in Beirut's suburbs and the Bekaa Valley, while the death toll from Tuesday's explosions rose to 12, including two children, with nearly 3,000 injured. Israeli officials have not commented on the blasts, but security sources said Israel's spy agency Mossad was responsible.
- The Independent
Scientific American makes presidential endorsement for only the second time in its 179-year history
‘The US faces two futures,’ according to editors at top science magazine
- The Telegraph
They gathered to mourn pager attack victims – then a blast tore through the crowd
They had gathered in their thousands to defy Israel and lay to rest four of their comrades, victims of the pagers that had exploded in their hands or their pockets the previous day. Then it happened again.
- BBC
'Please save me': The Indians duped into fighting for Russia
Dozens of Indian men have been discharged from the Russian army and are making their way home.
- Reuters
China hits 9 US firms with property freeze over weapons sales to Taiwan
China announced steps against nine U.S. military-linked firms on Wednesday over U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan, freezing their property within China, in the latest move to put added pressure on the United States to halt its arms sales to the island. China has repeatedly called on the White House, an important international backer and arms supplier for democratically-governed Taiwan, to refrain from formal dealings with the island's leadership.
- HuffPost
George Clooney Makes Donald Trump An Offer In Taunting Clapback: ‘I Will If He Does’
“That’s a trade-off I’d do,” the actor responded to the former president’s months-old demand.
- The Independent
Can Kamala Harris beat Donald Trump? Latest poll updates
Here’s what the latest polls say about the 2024 presidential election, from The Independent’s data correspondent
- Reuters
Gold Apollo says Budapest-based BAC produces model of pagers used in Lebanon blasts
NEW TAIPEI, Taiwan (Reuters) -The model of pagers used in detonations in Lebanon were made by Budapest-based BAC Consulting, Taiwanese pager firm Gold Apollo said on Wednesday, adding it had only licensed out its brand to the company and was not involved in the production of the devices. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon on Tuesday. Images of destroyed pagers analysed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo.
- Rolling Stone
Judge Who Tossed Trump’s Docs Case Repeatedly Violated Disclosure Rule: Report
Florida Judge Aileen Cannon failed to disclose lavish trips hosted by influential conservative law school
- The Independent
Hezbollah vows to respond after multiple dead and thousands wounded in mass pager explosions
A Hezbollah official said the explosions were the biggest security breach the group had experienced in nearly a year
- South China Morning Post
Is Beijing about to 'play the Ryukyu card' over Tokyo's stand on Taiwan?
Chinese academics are calling for new emphasis on Ryukyu, linking the ancient kingdom that is now Japan's southernmost prefecture of Okinawa with China's national security. Observers say the push could be part of Beijing's efforts to challenge Tokyo's position on Taiwan. But they believe Beijing is unlikely to dispute Tokyo's sovereignty over Okinawa. Ryukyu was a Chinese tributary state in the East China Sea for more than 500 years until it was annexed by Japan in 1879. Do you have questions ab
- HuffPost
'Daily Show' Uses Trump's Own Words To Nail His Biggest New Hypocrisy
Ronny Chieng has some receipts for the former president.
- The Telegraph
Ukrainian prisoner executed with sword inscribed with words ‘for Kursk’
A Ukrainian prisoner of war was executed with a sword inscribed with the words “for Kursk”, according to officials in Kyiv.
- BuzzFeed
Ex-Trump Voters, Tell Us The Moment That Made You Go "Enough Is Enough"
"I'll never forget that moment because that was the moment I think I literally within myself said, 'I think I've made a mistake.'"
- France 24
Israel planted 5,000 pager explosives months before deadly blasts, Lebanese security sources say
Israel’s spy service injected explosive materials activated by coded messages into thousands of pagers during production, months before they were imported by the Lebanese group Hezbollah, a senior Lebanese security source said. Hezbollah fighters were using the low-tech devices, produced by the Taiwan-based company Gold Apollo, in an attempt to evade Israeli location-tracking, sources said. Gold Apollo said on Wednesday that the devices used in the blasts were manufactured by another company bas
- People
Far-Right Conspiracy Theorist Laura Loomer Denies Rumors of Affair with Donald Trump
Loomer, an extremist commentator known for making racist remarks and promoting baseless conspiracy theories, has been spending time with Trump on the campaign trail recently
- The Independent
Brittany Mahomes now questioning her Donald Trump support after bestie Taylor Swift backed Kamala Harris
Sources said that Trump’s recent attacks on pop megastar – who last week officially backed Kamala Harris for president – has shaken Mahomes ‘to her core’
- AFP News
Saudi crown prince says no Israel ties without Palestinian state
Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler said Wednesday that the kingdom will not establish ties with Israel until a Palestinian state has been created, in a blow to US efforts to seal a normalisation deal."The kingdom will not cease its tireless efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital, and we affirm that the kingdom will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without one," he added.
- Reuters
Finland's president wants end of single state veto at UN Security Council
Finland's President Alexander Stubb has called for expansion of the U.N. Security Council, abolition of its single state veto power, and suspension of any member engaging in an "illegal war" such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Stubb, who leads the Nordic nation's foreign policy, said he would add his voice to reform calls at next week's U.N. General Assembly in New York which is to discuss composition of the global body's Security Council. Consisting of five permanent and 10 rotating member states, the council's brief is to keep global peace, but geopolitical rivalries have deadlocked it on issues from Ukraine to Gaza.
- INSIDER
The US sent Taiwan waterlogged shipments of moldy body armor and machine guns tossed in a cardboard box, DoD watchdog says
The ruined shipments sat for months at an air base because the Army didn't call flights to deliver them, the OIG said in a new report.