World News

Israeli PM Netanyahu agrees to join Trump’s Board of Peace

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accepted an invitation to join US President Donald Trump's Board of Peace.A statement from his office said Netanyahu would become a member of the board "which is to be comprised of world leaders".The board was originally thought to be aimed at helping end the two-year war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and oversee reconstruction. But its proposed charter does not mention the Palestinian territory and appears to be designed to supplant…

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Japan restarts world’s largest nuclear power plant

Japan restarts world’s largest nuclear power plant

Getty ImagesThe Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant has the world's largest installed capacityJapan has restarted a reactor at the world's largest nuclear plant nearly 15 years after a disaster at the Fukushima power plant forced the country to shut all its nuclear reactors. Reactor no.6 at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant located northwest of Tokyo was restarted on Wednesday. It was delayed by one day because of an alarm malfunction and is expected to begin operating commercially next month.This is the…

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Could the US Congress stop Trump from taking Greenland?

Could the US Congress stop Trump from taking Greenland?

Daniel BushWashington correspondentWatch: BBC on the mood in Davos ahead of Trump's arrival to the economic forumPresident Donald Trump's push to acquire Greenland has sparked a backlash from Republicans in Congress, as lawmakers voice growing concern about US military interventions overseas.But it remains unclear if enough Republicans are willing to join Democrats to block a takeover of the island territory - and whether Trump would bow to pressure from Congress, or act alone as he's done several times…

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Ugandan opposition figure critically ill in hospital, party says

The health of detained veteran Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye has "reached a critical and deteriorating state," his party says, after he was taken overnight to a medical facility in the capital, Kampala.The 69-year-old politician was driven to a private medical facility under "heavy security," the People's Front for Freedom (PFF) party said, without specifying what he is suffering from.However, prison authorities denied that Besigye's health was dire, describing his overnight visit to a doctor as a "general…

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Leaked photos show hundreds killed in Iran’s brutal crackdown

Leaked photos show hundreds killed in Iran’s brutal crackdown

Merlyn Thomas,correspondent, BBC Verify,Shayan Sardarizadeh,senior journalist, BBC VerifyandGhoncheh Habibiazad,senior journalistBBCWarning: this story contains graphic content which some readers might find distressingHundreds of photos revealing the faces of those killed during Iran's violent crackdown on anti-government protests have been leaked to BBC Verify.The pictures, which are too graphic to show without blurring, reveal the bloodied, swollen and bruised faces of at least 326 victims - including 18 women. The images, displayed in a south Tehran mortuary, are one of…

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Man who killed Japan’s ex-PM Shinzo Abe gets life in prison

The man who killed Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe has been sentenced to life in prison, three and a half years after he fatally shot the ex-leader during a rally in the western city of Nara.Tetsuya Yamagami himself pleaded guilty to the crime at the trial's opening last year, but what punishment he deserves has divided public opinion in Japan. While many see the 45-year-old as a cold-blooded murderer, some sympathise with his troubled upbringing.Prosecutors said Yamagami…

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Trump doubles down on Greenland threats, saying there is ‘no going back’

Trump doubles down on Greenland threats, saying there is ‘no going back’

Watch: BBC asks if breakup of Nato is price Trump willing to pay for GreenlandUS president Donald Trump has doubled down on his threats to take control of Greenland, saying on social media that there is "no going back" and that "Greenland is imperative". During a news conference at the White House, Trump was asked how far he was willing to go to acquire Greenland and replied, "You'll find out". Meanwhile, French president Emmanuel Macron warned at a…

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Indian couple win $200,000 settlement over ‘food racism’ at US university

Indian couple win $200,000 settlement over ‘food racism’ at US university

Urmi BhattacheryyaUrmi Bhattacheryya and Aditya Prakash sued their university for alleged racial discriminationA dispute that began over heating a dish in a microwave has ended with two Indian students winning a $200,000 settlement from a US university.Aditya Prakash and his fiancee, Urmi Bhattacheryya, told the BBC they filed a civil rights lawsuit against the University of Colorado, Boulder, after they faced a series of "microaggressions and retaliatory actions" following the microwave incident.The harassment began, the lawsuit alleged, after…

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Survivors tell of Pakistan mall fire horror

Survivors tell of Pakistan mall fire horror

Riaz Sohail, Zubair Khan and Qaisar KamranBBC UrduAFP via Getty ImagesDozens of people are still missing after Gul Plaza caught fire on Saturday eveningMuhammed Amin is beside himself with grief and despair.His brother, Naveed Memon, was inside Gul Plaza when a massive fire ripped through the densely-packed shopping centre in Pakistan's commercial capital, Karachi.Like dozens of others, he still hasn't been found."What should I tell my mother when I go home? What should I tell my nieces?" asks…

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Voice of Hind Rajab director made film ‘to bear witness’ and ‘not feel helpless’

Voice of Hind Rajab director made film ‘to bear witness’ and ‘not feel helpless’

Paul GlynnCulture reporterWillaMotaz Malhees stars in the film which places the late Hind Rajab front and centre"They're shooting at me. Please come get me. I'm scared."When filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania first heard the emergency phone call recording of Hind Rajab, a frightened six-year-old Palestinian girl begging for help while under siege in Gaza City in 2024, on social media, she says she immediately knew what she had to do.Hitting pause on the movie she was about to make,…

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Air India crash plane had record of safety defects, campaigners claim

Aviation safety campaigners in the United States say they have evidence a plane that crashed in India last year had previously suffered a series of technical failures, including an in-flight fire.The Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed on 12 June, shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad en route to London, killing 260 people.The Foundation for Aviation Safety, a US campaign group, has sent a presentation to the US Senate outlining its findings, which it says are based on documents that…

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Trump greenlit tiny Kei cars but will Americans actually buy them?

Trump greenlit tiny Kei cars but will Americans actually buy them?

Osmond ChiaBusiness reporterJason GarciaNevi Bergeron and her Suzuki Cappuccino mini sports car America is known as the land of big cars and even bigger SUVs but Donald Trump has an idea that could change that.The president wants to bring to the US tiny vehicles, like those commonly seen on the streets of Japan, in the form of mini hatchbacks and vans half the size of a Ford F-150 pickup truck.So-called Kei cars - short for kei-jidōsha, literally "light…

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