🇺🇸US arrests second pro-Palestinian Columbia University protester
US immigration authorities have announced the arrest of a second activist who participated in pro-Palestinian protests last spring at Columbia University in New York City.
Leqaa Kordia, who is a Palestinian and from the West Bank, was arrested in New Jersey, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement on Friday.
The statement said another student, Ranjani Srinivasani, who has Indian citizenship, chose to "self-deport" by leaving the US earlier this week.
This follows the arrest of Columbia campus activist Mahmoud Khalil, who was detained on Saturday in New York before being flown to a jail in Louisiana.
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🇨🇦Watch: Mark Carney's first hours as Canada's new prime minister
Mark Carney has been sworn in as Canada's new prime minister, succeeding Justin Trudeau.
The former governor of the Canadian central bank and Bank of England took time during his first news conference to comment on the current political climate with the US.
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🇵🇭Duterte's first night in a jail cell is a pivotal moment for the ICC
Outside the International Criminal Court's (ICC) detention centre, where former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte was taken on Wednesday, his supporters gathered, waving national flags and shouting, "Bring him back!" as he was driven through the imposing iron gates at speed.
Shortly before he landed in the Netherlands, the 79-year-old unapologetically defended his bloody "war on drugs" for which the ICC says there are "reasonable grounds" to charge him with murder as a crime against humanity.
Small-time drug dealers, users and others were killed without trial on his watch as mayor and, later, as president.
The official toll stands at 6,000, though activists believe the real figure could run into the tens of thousands.
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🇮🇷Iran rejects nuclear talks as UAE delivers Trump's letter
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has rejected the idea of negotiations with the US over its nuclear programme, as Tehran confirmed receiving a letter from President Donald Trump.
Last week, Trump said the letter proposed talks on a deal that would prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons and avert possible military action.
Although Khamenei said he had not seen the letter, which was delivered by an official from the United Arab Emirates, he dismissed it as a "deception of public opinion".
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🇬🇱Greenland's opposition wins election dominated by independence and Trump
Greenland's centre-right opposition has won a surprise general election victory - in a vote dominated by independence and US President Donald Trump's pledge to take over the semi-autonomous territory.
The centre-right Demokraatit party - which favours a gradual approach to independence from Denmark - achieved around 30% of the vote, near-complete results show.
"Greenland needs us to stand together in a time of great interest from outside," party leader Jens Frederik Nielsen told local media. "There is a need for unity, so we will enter into negotiations with everyone."
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🇨🇦Ontario says it will slap a 25% surcharge on US-bound electricity
Canada's most populous province Ontario is slapping a retaliatory 25% surcharge on electricity it sends to US states in response to President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canadian goods.
Ontario leader Doug Ford confirmed the move in a news conference on Monday morning, saying it will increase costs about $10 (£7.75) per megawatt-hour for US customers.
Roughly 1.5 million American homes in the northern border states of New York, Michigan and Minnesota will be impacted.
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🇵🇭Philippines ex-leader Duterte arrested on ICC warrant over drug killings
Philippine police have arrested former President Rodrigo Duterte after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant accusing him of crimes against humanity over his deadly "war on drugs".
The 79-year-old was taken into police custody shortly after his arrival at Manila airport from Hong Kong.
He has offered no apologies for his brutal anti-drugs crackdown, which saw thousands of people killed when he was president of the South East Asian nation from 2016 to 2022, and mayor of Davao city before that.
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🇮🇱Israel cuts off electricity supply to Gaza, minister says
Israel ordered all of Gaza's electricity supply to be cut off on Sunday in an effort to pressure Hamas into releasing the remaining Israeli hostages held in the territory.
Energy minister Eli Cohen's announcement came a week after Israel cut off all aid supplies to the territory, which has a population of more than two million people.
In a video statement on Sunday, Cohen said: "We will use all the tools at our disposal to bring back the hostages and ensure that Hamas is no longer in Gaza the day after [the war]."
The decision to cut electricity is expected to primarily affect the operation of desalination plants, which are crucial for providing clean drinking water.
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🇨🇦Canada's next PM Mark Carney vows to win trade war with Trump
Mark Carney has won the race to succeed Justin Trudeau as Canada's prime minister, vowing to win the trade war against US President Donald Trump as he takes charge of the country at a time of deep instability.
The former governor of the Canadian central bank and Bank of England beat three rivals in the Liberal Party's leadership contest in a landslide.
In much of his victory speech, Carney, 59, attacked Trump, who has imposed tariffs on Canada and said he wants to make the country the 51st US state. "Americans should make no mistake," he said. "In trade, as in hockey, Canada will win."
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🇰🇷South Korea's impeached president Yoon released from detention
South Korea's impeached president has been released from detention after a court in Seoul overturned his arrest on technical grounds.
Yoon Suk Yeol walked free on Saturday to cheers from his supporters - but still faces trial on insurrection charges after his failed attempt to impose martial law in December.
He was arrested in January in a dawn raid at the presidential palace after a tense fortnight where he had resisted being taken in and there were clashes between his security detail and police.
But he walked free on Saturday after 52 days in custody. "I bow my head in gratitude to the people of this nation," he said in a statement distributed by his lawyers following his release.
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🇺🇸Trump team hits pause on tariffs - but still sees them as vital tool
It may have been drowned out this week as US President Donald Trump walked back tariffs on his closest neighbours - and biggest trading partners - almost as soon as they were in place.
But despite the dizzying back-and-forth with Canada and Mexico, the White House made clear that it is serious about its economic vision. And it is willing to pay the price of some short-term economic harm to pursue it.
"There'll be a little disturbance," Trump warned in his address to Congress on Tuesday. "But we're okay with that."
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🇸🇸Several dead after UN helicopter shot at in South Sudan
Several people have died in South Sudan after an attempt by the UN to evacuate members of the national army came under fire, the UN has said.
One crew member died when a UN helicopter was shot at, a statement from its mission in South Sudan, Unmiss, said. It added that an injured South Sudanese general and several other troops were also killed during the evacuation attempt in Upper Nile state.
The UN said the attack on its helicopter "may constitute a war crime".
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🇩🇰Denmark postal service to stop delivering letters
Denmark's state-run postal service, PostNord, is to end all letter deliveries at the end of 2025, citing a 90% decline in letter volumes since the start of the century.
The decision brings to an end 400 years of the company's letter service. Denmark's 1,500 post boxes will start to disappear from the start of June.
Transport Minister Thomas Danielsen sought to reassure Danes, saying letters would still be sent and received as "there is a free market for both letters and parcels".
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🇰🇷Fifteen hurt after SK fighter jets drop bombs by accident
Fifteen people in South Korea were injured, two of them seriously, after a pair of fighter jets accidentally dropped eight bombs in a civilian district on Thursday during a live-fire military exercise, local media reported.
The incident involving the Air Force KF-16 aircraft, in the city of Pocheon near North Korea, was part of routine drills held by the South to maintain combat readiness against potential attacks from the North.
South Korea's Air Force said that it was investigating the incident and apologised for the damage, adding it would provide compensation to those affected.
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🇨🇳China targets 5% growth as it reels from Trump tariffs
China has set an economic growth target for this year of "around 5%" and pledged to pump billions of dollars into its ailing economy, which is now facing a trade war with the US.
Its leaders unveiled the plan as thousands of delegates attend the National People's Congress, a rubber-stamp parliament, which passes decisions already made behind closed doors.
But the week-long gathering is closely watched for clues on Beijing's policy changes - and this year is more significant than most.
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🇿🇦South African ambassador 'no longer welcome' in US, Rubio says
The US is expelling South Africa's ambassador to Washington, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying he is "no longer welcome in our great country".
In a post on X, Rubio accused Ebrahim Rasool of hating America and President Donald Trump and described him as a "race-baiting politician".
The office for South Africa's president on Saturday called the decision "regrettable", adding that the country remained committed to building a mutually beneficial relationship with America.
The rare move by the US marks the latest development in rising tensions between the two countries.
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🇬🇱Greenland's politicians unite against Trump
Greenland's leading political parties have issued a joint statement to condemn Donald Trump's "unacceptable behaviour", after the US president seemed to escalate his campaign to take over the island.
The show of unity saw all leaders of parties in the Inatsisartut - the parliament - release a joint message saying they "cannot accept the repeated statements about annexation and control of Greenland".
It follows a meeting between Trump and Nato's secretary general Mark Rutte on Thursday, where the president seemed to double down on his annexation plan.
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🇩🇪US tariffs could deepen Germany's recession, says bank
Tariffs on goods being imported into the US could tip Europe's largest economy into another recession, according to the president of Germany's central bank.
Germany's economy has contracted for the past two years and with tariffs, the country "could expect a recession for this year" too, Joachim Nagel, the head of the Deutsche Bundesbank, told the BBC World Service in an exclusive interview.
Without tariffs, the bank forecasts the German economy will stagnate but still grow, by about 0.2%, he added.
He said "there are only losers" when imposing tariffs, and supported the EU's retaliatory measures against US President Donald Trump's 25% tariff on all steel imports from overseas.
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🇮🇳India's Jio and Airtel ink deals to bring in Musk's Starlink
India's largest telecoms company Reliance Jio and its rival Bharti Airtel have signed separate deals with Elon Musk's SpaceX to bring the Starlink internet service to the country.
The move has caught most analysts by surprise, as Musk has publicly clashed with both companies recently.
It comes as Indian and US officials discuss a trade deal. US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose retaliatory tariffs on 2 April.
The agreements, touted to expand satellite internet coverage across India, are still conditional upon SpaceX obtaining the Indian government's approval to begin operations.
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🇺🇸Trade war escalates as Trump metal tariffs take effect
Tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on imports of steel and aluminium have taken effect in a move that will likely escalate tensions with some of America's largest trading partners.
It sparked an immediate response from the European Union which said it will impose counter tariffs on billions of euros of US goods.
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🇺🇸Stocks fall in US and Asia over Trump tariffs concerns
Stocks markets fell sharply in the US on Monday over concerns about the negative economic impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs. In Asia, losses seen early in Tuesday's trading eased by the afternoon.
It followed the president saying in a TV interview that the world's biggest economy was in a "period of transition", when asked about suggestions of a potential recession.
Since those remarks were broadcast on Sunday, top Trump officials and advisers have sought to calm investor fears.
"The previous notion of Trump being a stock market president is being re-evaluated," Charu Chanana, an investment strategist at investment bank Saxo, told the BBC.
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🇸🇾Kurdish-led SDF agrees to integrate with Syrian government forces
A Kurdish-led militia alliance which controls north-eastern Syria has agreed a deal to integrate all military and civilian institutions into the Syrian state, the country's presidency says.
The agreement says the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will cease hostilities and hand over control of the region's border posts, airport, and vital oil and gas fields.
It also recognises the Kurdish minority as "an integral part of the Syrian state" and guarantees "the rights of all Syrians to representation and participation in the political process".
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🇰🇵North Korean hackers cash out hundreds of millions from $1.5bn ByBit hack
Hackers thought to be working for the North Korean regime have successfully cashed out at least $300m (£232m) of their record-breaking $1.5bn crypto heist.
The criminals, known as Lazarus Group, swiped the huge haul of digital tokens in a hack on crypto exchange ByBit two weeks ago.
Since then, it's been a cat-and-mouse game to track and block the hackers from successfully converting the crypto into usable cash.
Experts say the infamous hacking team is working nearly 24 hours a day - potentially funnelling the money into the regime's military development.
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🇷🇴Romanian far-right presidential hopeful barred from poll rerun
Romanian far-right populist Calin Georgescu has been barred from participating in May's presidential election rerun by the country's Central Electoral Bureau (BEC), triggering clashes between his supporters and police.
Last year, Romania's constitutional court annulled November's first round of the vote - in which he came first - after intelligence revealed Russia had been involved in 800 TikTok accounts backing him.
The BEC rejected his candidacy on Sunday, saying it "doesn't meet the conditions of legality", as he "violated the very obligation to defend democracy".
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🇲🇲Myanmar's military government says it will hold elections in next year
The head of Myanmar's military government has said the country will hold a national election in December 2025 or January 2026.
General Min Aung Hlaing said the elections would be "free and fair" - adding that 53 political parties had already submitted their lists to participate.
It would be the first vote since his military junta seized power in a 2021 coup, arresting and imprisoning democratically elected leader Aung San Sung Kyi and making unsubstantiated claims of fraud in the previous year's elections.
Since then, the country has been in turmoil, with a protest movement against the junta turning into an armed rebellion across the country.
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🇺🇸Trump pulls $400m from Columbia University, saying it failed to protect Jewish students
The Trump administration is immediately pulling $400m (£310m) of federal funding from Columbia University, saying it failed to fight antisemitism on campus.
A statement by four federal agencies said the funding cut was due to "continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students".
The New York college was the epicentre of pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses last year against war in Gaza and US support for Israel.
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🇮🇪Irish economy grew at 'a solid pace' in 2024
The Republic of Ireland's domestic economy grew by 2.7% in 2024, official figures suggest.
Irish domestic output is estimated using a measurement called modified domestic demand (MDD).
The economic performance of most countries is measured using gross domestic product (GDP), but Irish GDP is heavily distorted by the activities of multinational companies.
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🇰🇵North Korea halts tourism just weeks after reopening
North Korea has stopped tourists from visiting, just weeks after the first Western tourists entered the country for the first time in five years.
North Korea sealed itself off at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, and started to scale back restrictions in the middle of 2023.
It opened up to Russian visitors in 2024, but it was only last month that Western tourists were allowed into the remote, eastern city Rason.
However several tour companies now say that trips to the reclusive country have been cancelled until further notice. Pyongyang has not given a reason for the sudden halt.
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🇭🇰Hong Kong billionaire to sell Panama Canal ports to US firm
A Hong Kong-based company has agreed to sell most of its stake in two key ports on the Panama Canal to a group led by US investment firm BlackRock.
The sale comes after weeks of complaining by President Donald Trump that the canal is under Chinese control and that the US should take control of the major shipping route.
Through a subsidiary, CK Hutchison Holding operates ports at the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean entrances to the canal.
It said Tuesday that it would sell its interests as part of a deal worth $22.8bn (£17.8bn).
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🇨🇦Ontario's Doug Ford says he could cut electricity to US over tariffs
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says he's willing to cut off power supply to the US if President Donald Trump continues with tariffs against Canada.
Ford announced his retaliatory plans shortly after Trump implemented a 25% tariff against Canadian imported goods and a 10% tariff on Canadian energy.
He said he would implement his own 25% surcharge on Canadian electricity exports to three US states: Michigan, New York and Minnesota.
If the US tariffs are escalated, he said, he would consider completely cutting those states off from Canadian power.
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