Global News

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Surveillance against the state.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://gizmodo.com/mexican-drug-cartel-hacker-used-surveillance-tech-to-target-fbi-informants-for-execution-2000622199


Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.

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The deadly aid site protocol is called “Operation Salted Fish,” the Israeli name for the children’s game.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://truthout.org/articles/israeli-forces-liken-gaza-aid-site-shootings-to-game-of-red-light-green-light/


Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.

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Tokyo (AFP) – A Nobel Prize-winning anti-nuclear group launched an online memorial Tuesday for the 38,000 children who died in the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ahead of the 80th anniversary next month.

It features more than 400 profiles with details of the children's lives, "their agonising deaths and the grief of surviving family members," said the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) in a statement.

"By sharing their heart-wrenching stories, we hope to honour their memories and spur action for the total abolition of nuclear weapons -- an increasingly urgent task given rising global tensions," it said.

The United States dropped an atomic bomb on each Japanese city on August 6 and 9, 1945 -- the only times nuclear weapons have been used in warfare. Japan surrendered days later.

Around 140,000 people died in Hiroshima and around 74,000 others in Nagasaki including many who survived the explosions but died later from radiation exposure.

Out of around 210,000 victims, around 38,000 were children, said the ICAN, citing Hiroshima and Nagasaki officials.

Washington has never apologised for the bombings.

Clicking a crane icon, visitors to the online platform can read the children's profiles, with photos of 132 children out of 426, ranging in age from infants to teenagers.

Among them is Tadako Tameno, who died in agony aged 13 in the arms of her mother two days after the Hiroshima atomic bombing.

Six children in the Mizumachi family were killed in the Nagasaki atomic bombing. Only one girl, Sachiko, 14, survived.

The initiative comes after US President Donald Trump last week likened Washington's strike on Iran's nuclear facilities to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs.

"Actually, if you look at Hiroshima, if you look at Nagasaki, you know that ended a war too," Trump said in The Hague.

This prompted anger from survivors and a small demonstration in Hiroshima. The city's assembly passed a motion condemning remarks that justify the use of atomic bombs.

Israel's ambassador to Japan, Gilad Cohen, will attend this year's ceremony in Nagasaki, local media reported.

Cohen, together with the envoys of several Western nations including the United States, boycotted last year's event after comments by the city's mayor about Gaza.

Russia's ambassador will attend the Nagasaki ceremony, the first time its representative has been invited since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, NHK reported.

However, Nikolay Nozdrev will not attend the 80th anniversary event three days earlier on August 6, the broadcaster said, citing the Russian embassy.

ICAN won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017. Last year, it was awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots movement of Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors.

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Seoul (AFP) – State media images showed leader Kim Jong Un honouring the flag-draped coffins of North Korean soldiers killed helping Russia fight Ukraine, as Seoul's defence ministry said Tuesday it saw no signs of further troop deployments yet.

The nuclear-armed North has become one of Russia's main allies during its more than three-year-long Ukraine offensive, sending thousands of troops and container loads of weapons to help the Kremlin oust Ukrainian forces from Kursk.

Around 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded fighting for Russia, according to South Korean lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun, citing information from Seoul's spy agency.

The images of a visibly emotional Kim mourning the fallen soldiers were broadcast by the official Korean Central Television, released as part of an event in Pyongyang on Sunday attended by Russian Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova.

It marked the one-year anniversary of a military pact signed by the two countries, which includes a mutual defence clause.

Kim was shown placing a North Korean flag over a coffin during a ceremony for the return of the remains of North Korean soldiers who were deployed and killed in Moscow's war against Kyiv.

The footage also showed images of North Korean soldiers in the battlefield, accompanied by captions that said: "Oh, our heroes, shining stars of my homeland" and "those who gave their lives without hesitation to defend honour shine like radiant stars."

North Korean and Russian attendees were shown bursting into tears as they watched the tribute.

A photograph of a document, purportedly penned by Kim, was also featured, with a caption saying he had "approved operational plans for the liberation of Kursk and issued attack orders to special operations units" in the final months of 2024.

The North Korean leader attended the performance with his teenage daughter Ju Ae -- widely seen by many analysts as his likely successor.

North Korea only confirmed it had deployed troops to support Russia's war in Ukraine in April, and admitted that its soldiers had been killed in combat.

South Korean lawmaker Lee said last week that the North will send more troops to Russia to assist in its war against Ukraine, possibly as early as this month, citing Seoul's spy agency.

But Seoul's defence ministry said Tuesday it currently sees "no signs" that North Korea is preparing to deploy troops to Russia, noting that the country is in its summer training period, with some frontline units also participating in mid-year drills.

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Across Africa, cancer medications have been found to be substandard or counterfeit. That means people are being given medicine that may not work, or that could even cause them harm.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.dw.com/en/nearly-20-of-cancer-drugs-defective-in-4-african-nations/a-73062221


Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.

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"Every word I once wrote has come back to haunt me," posted a writer who says she was arrested for "obscene" work.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c056nle2drno


Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.

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Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 51 people on Monday, including 24 at a seafront rest area, as fresh calls grew for a ceasefire in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

US President Donald Trump has recently urged Israel to "make the deal in Gaza", while key mediator Qatar said Monday that "momentum" had been created by the truce with Iran last week.

But on the ground, Israel has continued to pursue its offensive across the Palestinian territory in a bid to destroy the militant group Hamas.

Gaza's civil defence agency said 51 people had been killed by Israeli forces on Monday, including 24 in a strike on a rest area on Gaza City's seafront.

"The place is always crowded with people because the rest area offers drinks, family seating and internet access," eyewitness Ahmed Al-Nayrab, 26, told AFP, recalling a "huge explosion that shook the area".

"I saw body parts flying everywhere, and bodies cut and burned... It was a scene that made your skin crawl."

Another eyewitness, Bilal Awkal, 35, said "blood covered the ground and screams filled the air".

"Women and children were everywhere, like a scene from a movie about the end of the world."

Approached for comment by AFP, the Israeli army said it was "looking into" the reports.

The Hamas government media office reported that photojournalist Ismail Abu Hatab was among those killed in the strike.

Israeli restrictions on media in Gaza and difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers and authorities in the territory.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that 27 others were killed by Israeli strikes or fire across Gaza, including 11 near aid points in the centre and south.

Eyewitnesses and local authorities have reported repeated killings of Palestinians near distribution centres in recent weeks, after Israel began allowing in a trickle of aid at the end of May.

Samir Abu Jarbou, 28, told AFP by phone that he had gone with relatives to pick up food in an area of central Gaza around midnight.

"Suddenly the (Israeli) army opened fire, and drones started shooting. We ran away and got nothing," he said.

In the southern city of Khan Yunis, the dead and wounded were rushed to a hospital in an open-top trailer after aid seekers said they were fired on by Israeli forces in Rafah.

"The targeting was deliberate, aimed at people as they were leaving," eyewitness Aboud al-Adwi told AFP.

"There was no one among us who was wanted or posed any threat. We were all civilians, simply trying to get food for our children," he added.

AFP footage from Nasser Hospital showed the wounded being treated on a blood-stained floor.

The Israeli military did not immediately provide comment when asked by AFP about the civil defence reports.

Netanyahu had said on Sunday that Israel's "victory" over Iran had created "opportunities", including for freeing hostages.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid, meanwhile, called for an end to the fighting in the territory on Monday, saying there was "no longer any benefit" to the war.

"We now face the completion of the campaign in Gaza, to achieve its objectives -- foremost among them, the release of all hostages and the defeat of Hamas," Defence Minister Israel Katz said during a meeting with Netanyahu and the army's general staff.

Trump had said on Friday that he was hoping for a new ceasefire in Gaza "within the next week". Israel's Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer is in Washington this week for talks with US officials.

Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari told journalists on Monday that "momentum" had been created by the Iran-Israel ceasefire on June 24, but that "we won't hold our breath for this to happen today and tomorrow".

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Culiacán (Mexico) (AFP) – The bodies of 20 people, several of them decapitated, were found on a highway bridge in a part of Mexico where factions of the Sinaloa drug cartel are fighting each other, authorities said Monday.

Four headless corpses were by the roadside while 16 bodies were discovered inside an abandoned vehicle, the Sinaloa state prosecutor's office said.

Five human heads were found inside a bag at the scene.

All of the bodies showed signs of gunshot wounds, prosecutors said.

Local media reported that four decapitated bodies were left hanging from the bridge by their legs -- a common tactic by criminal gangs -- but there was no official confirmation.

Violence has soared in the northwestern state since the capture of cartel co-founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada almost a year ago.

The veteran drug trafficker claimed he was kidnapped in Mexico by a son of notorious druglord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

Zambada said he was then flown against his will in a private plane to the United States, where El Chapo himself is serving a life sentence.

The conflict, which has left more than 1,200 people dead according to official figures, pits gang members loyal to El Chapo and his sons against others aligned with Zambada.

The cartel is one of six Mexican drug trafficking groups designated terrorist organizations by the United States.

Criminal violence, most of it linked to drug trafficking, has claimed around 480,000 lives in Mexico since 2006 and left more than 120,000 people missing.

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Washington (AFP) – President Donald Trump said Sunday a group of buyers had been found for TikTok, which faces a looming ban in the United States due to its China ties, adding he could name the purchasers in two weeks.

"We have a buyer for TikTok, by the way," Trump said in an interview on Fox's Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.

"Very wealthy people. It's a group of wealthy people," the president said, without revealing more except to say he would make their identities known "in about two weeks."

The president also said he would likely need "China approval" for the sale, "and I think President Xi (Jinping) will probably do it."

TikTok is owned by China-based internet company ByteDance.

A federal law requiring TikTok's sale or ban on national security grounds was due to take effect the day before Trump's inauguration on January 20. But the Republican, whose 2024 election campaign relied heavily on social media and who has said he is fond of TikTok, put the ban on pause.

In mid-June Trump extended a deadline for the popular video-sharing app by another 90 days to find a non-Chinese buyer or be banned in the United States.

Tech experts quickly described the TikTok kerfuffle as a symbol of the heated US-China tech rivalry.

While Trump had long supported a ban or divestment, he reversed his position and vowed to defend the platform -- which boasts almost two billion global users -- after coming to believe it helped him win young voters' support in the November election.

"I have a little warm spot in my heart for TikTok," Trump told NBC News in early May. "If it needs an extension, I would be willing to give it an extension."

Now after two extensions pushed the deadline to June 19, Trump has extended it for a third time.

He said in May that a group of purchasers was ready to pay ByteDance "a lot of money" for TikTok's US operations.

The previous month he said China would have agreed to a deal on the sale of TikTok if it were not for a dispute over Trump's tariffs on Beijing.

ByteDance has confirmed talks with the US government, saying key matters needed to be resolved and that any deal would be "subject to approval under Chinese law."

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The BBC refused to provide a live stream of Kneecap’s performance at Glastonbury yesterday, after a member of the Irish hip hop trio was charged with a terror offence for allegedly waving a Hezbollah flag at a concert last year. It was therefore unfortunate that the preceding act, Bob Vylan, decided to lead chants of “death to the IDF” to crowds saturated with Palestinians flags. Even more embarrassingly for the BBC, the screen behind the two members of Bob Vylan bore the caption: “Free Palestine. The United Nations have called it a genocide. The BBC calls it a ‘conflict’.” Kneecap themselves conducted chants of “fuck Keir Starmer” as a clapback to the Prime Minister saying that their appearance on the Glastonbury stage would not be “appropriate”.

Archived version: https://archive.is/20250629072242/https://unherd.com/newsroom/glastonburys-kneecap-censorship-has-backfired/


Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.

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Johannesburg (AFP) – Four former executives at South Africa's failing transport company were arrested and charged Monday over allegations of corruption worth millions of dollars in a high-profile case linked to the plunder of state resources.

The ports and freight rail company Transnet was among the state-owned firms caught in a widespread graft scandal that rocked ex-president Jacob Zuma's government between 2010 and 2018.

The web of corruption that hollowed out the companies is commonly referred to as "state capture" in South Africa.

The accused who appeared in court Monday are former group chief executives Brian Molefe and Siyabonga Gana, as well as former heads of finance and procurement.

"They are facing 18 charges that include the contravention of the Public Finance Management Act, fraud, corruption and the contravention of the Companies Act," the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said.

Their case relates to tenders issued during a plan to expand and modernise the country's rail infrastructure, the logistical backbone of the continent's most advanced economy.

In one instance, the officials are accused of bypassing due process and awarding a tender to an unqualified Chinese firm for the supply of 95 trains, with the contract allegedly inflated by $13 million, NPA said.

Molefe and Gama are currently serving as members of parliament under Zuma's uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party.

None of the accused has entered a plea. They were each granted a $2,800 bail, with the matter due back in court in October.

"The arrest of the accused highlights how persons in positions of trust and power allowed themselves to be part of a corrupt relationship that sought self-enrichment as opposed to the enrichment of the country and its infrastructure," NPA said.

Transnet, which owns all South Africa's rail, ports and pipelines, is hobbled by a mountain of debt, theft and maintenance issues.

A report into state graft under Zuma published in 2022 described Transnet as a "primary site" of state corruption.

The investigation led by former Chief Justice Raymond Zondo found contracts worth billions of f rand had been "irregularly awarded for the benefit of entities linked to the Gupta family," a business family of Indian migrants with close ties to Zuma.

The four-year graft probe concluded that Transnet became a cash cow for the Guptas who moved to South Africa in 1993.

Molefe and Gama denied wrongdoing when they testified before the commission.

They are facing a separate graft case linked to the procurement of more than 1,000 trains.

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The Israeli court’s decision to cancel this week’s hearing in the long-running trial came after Donald Trump said the case should be thrown out

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/30/benjamin-netanyahu-corruption-trial-delayed-ntwnfb


Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.

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Army says the officer involved acted according to procedures and open-fire rules, after he was caught in a riot in which rocks were thrown at his vehicle. Thinking they were Palestinian, the officer said he fired three shots into the air

Archived version: https://archive.is/20250629235036/https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2025-06-30/ty-article/.premium/source-settlers-attempt-to-break-into-army-base-after-14-year-old-possibly-shot-by-idf/00000197-bd87-de01-a39f-ffbf7ca10000


Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/37702524

Distressed Tibetan children as young as four sent to Chinese state-run boarding schools for indoctrination have been beaten for praying and wearing Buddhist blessing cords, forced to sleep on sheepskins and taught only in Mandarin, a new report has found.

Researchers and activists say the boarding schools have been used by authorities to suppress the local culture and language of people in China's Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) and Tibetan areas in nearby provinces.

Details of the violence and coercive indoctrination have emerged in a new report from the US-based Tibet Action Institute (TAI) titled When They Came To Take Our Children.

Two Tibetans interviewed told the TAI that children were reprimanded for practising their religion.

"Students are restricted from wearing any sungdue [Buddhist blessing cords] around their necks and wrists and chanting Tibetan prayers," the report quotes them saying.

"If the students are found chanting prayers and wearing any blessing cords, they are beaten by the teacher."

A former student, who has left Tibet, told the TAI if school authorities inspected dormitories and "found that we had not kept it clean, we were beaten as a punishment".

Along with the allegations of beatings, the report says Tibetan children are indoctrinated to praise the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and taught only in Mandarin.

"It's an effort to move Tibetan children away from family and community … expanding its control over what they're learning and thinking," Freya Putt, the author of the report and TAI's Director of Strategy, says.

[...]

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London (AFP) – The High Court in London rejected a legal challenge on Monday brought by a Palestinian rights group seeking to block the UK from supplying components for Israeli F-35 fighter jets.

Israel has used the jets to devastating effect in its bombardment of Gaza.

The UK government suspended some export licences for military equipment after concluding there was a risk Israel could be breaching international humanitarian law but made an exemption for some parts for Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth jets.

In its claim to the High Court, rights group Al-Haq called for a judicial review, saying the "carve out" was unlawful and alleging the government had misunderstood the applicable rules of international law.

It was supported by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam and others in its case.

Judges Stephen Males and Karen Steyn said they "reject all" of the grounds for challenging the government's decision.

The case was not about "whether the UK should supply arms or other military equipment to Israel", said the judges.

Rather, the case was concerned with "whether it is open to the court to rule that the UK must withdraw from a specific multilateral defence collaboration" because of the prospect that some UK manufactured components may be used by Israel in the Gaza war in actions that could break international humanitarian law.

"Under our constitution that acutely sensitive and political issue is a matter for the executive, which is democratically accountable to parliament, and ultimately to the electorate, not for the courts," said the judges.

"Once the true nature of the issue is identified, it is clear that the claim must fail. Accordingly, permission to bring a judicial review claim is refused," they added.

Shawan Jabarin, General Director of Al-Haq said in a statement issued to AFP: "By exposing serious government failings in facilitating international crimes against Palestinians through its arms exports, civil society and human rights organisations have achieved a crucial breakthrough.

"We will continue to persevere in the UK and beyond until governments are held accountable. Israel's impunity is challenged and justice for the Palestinian people is realised," he added.

The UK contributes components to an international defence programme that produces and maintains the F-35s.

Defence Secretary John Healey argued a suspension would impact the "whole F-35 programme" and have a "profound impact on international peace and security".

Lawyers for Al-Haq said the government had known there was a "clear risk" Israel would use the jet parts to commit violations of international law.

But government lawyer James Eadie said the court was not placed to rule on the legality of Israel's actions, and that attempting to do so could have a "potentially deleterious" effect on "foreign relations with a friendly state, namely Israel".

In September 2024, the new Labour government announced it was suspending around 30 of 350 export licences following a review of Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law.

But the partial ban did not cover British-made F-35 parts, which include refuelling probes, laser targeting systems, tyres and ejector seats, according to Oxfam.

Healey has previously said suspending F-35 licences would "undermine US confidence in the UK and NATO" but lawyers for Al-Haq have described the exemption as a "loophole".

UK-based NGO Campaign Against Arms Trade has said that licencing figures showed the government had made a "shocking increase in military exports to Israel" in the months after its September 2024 announcement of partial suspensions.

It said the figures showed the UK approved £127.6 million ($170 million) in military equipment to Israel in single-issue licences from October to December 2024, saying this was more than for the period from 2020 to 2023 combined.

Most of the licences were for military radars, components and software, as well as targeting equipment, according to the NGO, which was involved in the case against the government.

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In many parts of eastern Germany, showing Nazi symbols is no longer seen as a provocation. Authorities are warning that more and more young people are becoming radicalized. DW explored the reasons in the city of Dessau.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.dw.com/en/in-eastern-germany-youths-embrace-nationalism-extremism/a-73062295


Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.

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Istanbul (AFP) – Militants from the PKK will begin laying down their weapons at a disarmament ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan in early July, the Kurdish media outlet Rudaw reported on Monday.

The move comes just six weeks after the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) announced it was ending more than four decades of guerrilla warfare in a conflict that claimed over 40,000 lives.

Turkey's Kurdish minority is hoping the PKK's decision will pave the way for a political settlement with Ankara that will herald a new openness to the Kurds, who make up about 20 percent of Turkey's population of 85 million

Citing two sources in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Rudaw said the move would be both a "trust-building step" and a "goodwill gesture" to advance the reconciliation process with Turkey.

According to the sources, the ceremony would take place in Sulaimaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan's second-biggest city.

Most of the PKK's fighters have spent the past decade in the mountains of northern Iraq, where Turkey also maintains military bases and has carried out frequent operations against Kurdish fighters.

"Between July 3 and 10, a group of PKK members, probably numbering between 20 and 30, will lay down their weapons in a ceremony to be held in Sulaimaniyah," Rudaw said.

The sources said jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan was expected to issue a new message regarding the resolution process "in the next few days".

"After that, the disarmament process will officially begin," they said.

The PKK decision was in response to a call in February by Ocalan, who has been serving life on a prison island off Istanbul since 1999.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he would, in the coming days, meet a delegation from the pro-Kurdish DEM party, which has played a key role in shuttling messages between Ocalan and Ankara.

Quoting one of the sources, Rudaw said that after laying down their weapons, the militants would "then return to their bases, unarmed", denying reports they would be held in certain cities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

"The guerrillas will return to their bases after disarming. It is out of the question for them to go to any city," the source said.

Until now, there has been little detail about how the dissolution mechanism would work but the Turkish government has said it would carefully monitor the process to ensure full implementation.

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cross-posted from: https://hexbear.net/post/5407534

Disabled people’s lives will be increasingly in danger because of MPs’ failure to understand the risks posed by the assisted dying bill, devastated activists warned on Friday after the legislation was approved by the House of Commons.

Disabled activists had started gathering outside parliament at 6.30am last Friday in preparation for a crucial debate on the terminally ill adults (end of life) bill before a vote that determined whether it passed to the Lords.

Before the vote, supporters of Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) and Not Dead Yet UK (NDY UK) held up traffic in front of the House of Commons with a last-minute direct action (pictured), accompanied by chants of “we are not… dead yet”.

Among those disabled people outside the Commons was musician and activist John Kelly, who said after the vote was announced: “The truth is, our voices haven’t been listened to.

“What this does is open the door for injustice.

“To rely on a panel to decide my life of social workers, and psychiatrists, have you not read how many injustices and mistakes those people have made, how much abuse and how many rights have been denied disabled people?

“And what they have done is open the door to allow in yet more scandals, yet more abuse.”

Disabled activist Anna Landre told Disability News Service (DNS): “A lot of us are scared about the prospect of enshrining a state-funded ability to die when we don’t have properly-funded state services to live with dignity, let alone to thrive, let alone to get disabled people into work, like this government claims it wants to do.”

Full Article

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Paris (AFP) – Anyone who lights up on a beach or in a public park in France will be breaking the law from Sunday under new rules aimed at protecting children from the dangers of passive smoking.

Bus shelters and areas in the immediate vicinity of libraries, swimming pools and schools will also be affected by the ban, which is coming into force one day after its publication in the official government gazette on Saturday.

The rule is being imposed one week before the beginning of the school holidays in France in a clear bid to immediately protect children from smoke on the beach.

However, to the disappointment of some anti-tobacco activists, the ban does not cover the terraces of bars and restaurants where many French still happily light up.

They are also unhappy that the ban does not apply to electronic cigarettes.

The rules had initially been expected to come into force on Tuesday after a previous announcement by the health ministry but the publication in the official gazette means this has now been brought forward to Sunday.

People should also not smoke within a 10 metres radius of schools, swimming pools, libraries and other places that hurt minors.

The health ministry said it would announce the minimum distance for smoking in these areas in the coming days as well as reveal the sign used to designate such areas.

Violators of the ban could face a fine of 135 euros ($160) up to a maximum of 700 euros. However the health ministry is expecting an initial grace period as the new rules are explained.

"Tobacco must disappear from places where there are children. A park, a beach, a school -- these are places to play, learn, and breathe. Not for smoking," Health and Family Minister Catherine Vautrin said.

This is another step "towards a tobacco-free generation", she added, which France is targeting from 2032.

The ban "is a step in the right direction, but remains insufficient," said Yves Martinet, president of the National Committee Against Smoking (CNCT), criticising the continued permission to smoke on cafe terraces.

"The minister points to the protection of children," but children "also go to the terraces," Martinet, a pulmonologist, said.

He lamented the absence of e-cigarettes from the text, saying flavours are used to "hook young people".

"For a measure to be effective, it must be clear -- no consumption of products containing tobacco or nicotine in public," Martinet said.

But Frank Delvau, president of the Union of Hotel Trades and Industries (UMIH) for the Paris region, said a ban on smoking on cafe terraces "would only shift the problem because people on terraces would go smoke next to these establishments".

"Smokers and non-smokers can coexist" on terraces, the "last places of conviviality and freedom," said Franck Trouet, of hospitality association Hotels and Restaurants of France (GHR).

France, passive exposure to tobacco smoke causes 3,000 to 5,000 deaths per year, according to official figures.

Smoking is steadily declining in France with "the lowest prevalence ever recorded since 2000", according to France addiction agency the OFDT.

Less than a quarter of adults aged 18 to 75 reported smoking daily in 2023, according to the agency. Smoking causes 75,000 deaths per year in France and, again according to the OFDT, costs society 156 billion euros annually, counting factors including lost lives, quality of life, productivity, prevention, law enforcement, and healthcare.

According to a recent opinion survey, 62 percent of French people favour a smoking ban in public places.

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The Israeli army said Sunday that it seized several individuals during raids in southern Syria and took them inside Israel for interrogation, Anadolu reports.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250629-israel-abducts-several-people-from-southern-syria-for-interrogation/


Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.

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President dismisses leaked assessment suggesting strikes only temporarily disrupted Iran’s nuclear development

Archived version: https://archive.is/20250629173010/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/29/trump-iran-military-strike-report


Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.

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submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by BrikoX@lemmy.zip to c/globalnews@lemmy.zip
 
 

An Israeli air strike on a prison in the Iranian capital Tehran last week killed 71 people and injured many others, Iran said on Sunday.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250629-israeli-attack-on-iranian-prison-killed-71-people-spokesman/


Disclaimer: The article linked is from a single source with a single perspective. Make sure to cross-check information against multiple sources to get a comprehensive view on the situation.

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Dhaka (AFP) – Bangladesh's biggest port resumed operations on Monday after customs officials called off a strike that had disrupted the export and import of goods for around 48 hours.

Sehela Siddiqa, Joint Tax Commissioner and secretary of the NBR Reform Unity Council -- a platform of protesting workers -- confirmed the resumption of activities at Chittagong and all other ports.

"The ports are now fully functional and operating across the country," Siddiqa told AFP. "All employees have returned to work."

A section of employees at the National Board of Revenue (NBR), the country's tax collection authority, has been protesting for over a month against a move by the interim government to reform the agency.

The government's proposal includes abolishing the NBR and establishing two separate bodies to handle tax policy formulation and tax collection.

Over the weekend, some NBR staff launched what they called a "complete shutdown", stopping work in a range of departments, including customs.

The workers resumed duties after the government threatened tough action.

The deadlock ended late Sunday night after hours of intensive negotiations between NBR staff and the Ministry of Finance, mediated by business groups.

Senior NBR official Hasan Muhammad Tarek Rikabdar said they called off the strike after positive pledges from the government.

"We welcome the government's decision to form an advisory committee for reforms in revenue management, and we hope to contribute to the process by actively participating in it," he told reporters on Sunday night.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has launched a probe against six NBR officials, including Rikabdar, for allegedly amassing illicit wealth.

They were accused of facilitating tax evaders in exchange for bribes.

"Based on verified allegations, the ACC initiated the investigation," ACC Director General Md Akhter Hossain said.

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