World News

France seizes suspected Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker in the Mediterranean

France says it has seized an oil tanker in the Mediterranean suspected of being part of Russia's sanction-busting "shadow fleet".French President Emmanuel Macron said the tanker, named the Grinch, was "subject to international sanctions and suspected of flying a false flag".The French navy, with the assistance of allies including the UK, boarded the vessel on Thursday morning between Spain and Morocco. French maritime authorities said that a search of the vessel had "confirmed the doubts as to the…

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German nurse jailed for murder may face inquiry into 100 more deaths

An ex-nurse convicted of murdering 10 patients in western Germany may be linked to more than 100 additional deaths, an official has said.The chief public prosecutor in Aachen, Katja Schlenkermann-Pitts, told the BBC that there was "a correspondingly high number of suspicious cases" under review.She cautioned that the cases represented preliminary suspicions and that some could be dismissed following forensic examination.In November last year, a regional court in Aachen convicted the former palliative care nurse, who has not…

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Eight surprise takeaways from the nominations

Eight surprise takeaways from the nominations

Steven McIntoshEntertainment reporterWatch: Who got nominated and who got snubbed?Awards pundits were taken by surprise from the first two words spoken at the Oscar nominations on Thursday."Elle Fanning, for Sentimental Value," said hosts Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman, as they kicked off the nominations with the best supporting actress category.Fanning's appearance got things off to a spicy start from the earliest possible moment - she had received praise for her performance in the Norwegian family drama but few…

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ICE detains 5-year-old Liam Ramos during Minnesota operation

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers detained a 5-year-old boy on Tuesday during an enforcement operation, Minnesota school officials have said, as part of an immigration crackdown in the state.Pre-schooler Liam Ramos was with his father - named by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias - when Conejo Arias was approached by agents on his driveway. In a statement posted on X, the DHS said "ICE did NOT target a child", but…

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Vampire film Sinners breaks record

Vampire film Sinners breaks record

Ian YoungsCulture reporterWarner BrosSinners stars Miles Caton (left) and Michael B Jordan, twiceVampire horror film Sinners has broken the record for the most Oscar nominations received by a single film, after being nominated for 16 of Hollywood's most coveted honours.The film beat the previous record of 14 nominations, and emerged ahead of its nearest rival this year, Leonardo DiCaprio's thriller One Battle After Another, which is up for 13 awards.Sinners' contenders include its star Michael B Jordan and…

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Ugandan MP and Bobi Wine ally arrested over election violence

Ugandan police have detained a lawmaker, and close ally of opposition leader Bobi Wine, for his alleged role in election-related violence last week.Muwanga Kivumbi, a deputy leader of Wine's National Unity Platform (NUP), is accused of organising attacks on a police station and a vote-tallying centre after their electoral loss, which the party denies.The police have said that seven people were killed in the incident, but the politician has given a different account, saying that 10 people were…

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Ubisoft cancels six games including Prince of Persia and closes studios

Ubisoft has cancelled six video games - including its long-awaited Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake - as part of a "major reset" of its operations.The French developer and publisher, known for popular games such as Assassin's Creed, Far Cry and Just Dance, has closed two studios and delayed seven titles as part of its changes.Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot said the move would "create the conditions for a return to sustainable growth".The firm's shares plunged by…

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Rapid rollback of Kurdish-led forces reshapes Sharaa’s Syria

Rapid rollback of Kurdish-led forces reshapes Sharaa’s Syria

Hugo BachegaMiddle East correspondent, BeirutAFPSyrian government forces advanced rapidly into north-eastern Syria in recent daysPresident Ahmed al-Sharaa has made significant advances in his efforts to unify a deeply fractured Syria, reclaiming large swathes of territory in the north-east that had been under the control of a Kurdish-led militia alliance for more than a decade. What happens next will be a test for a government that has tried to assert its authority over the whole country.The gains by government…

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What we know about Trump’s ‘framework of a future deal’ over Greenland

What we know about Trump’s ‘framework of a future deal’ over Greenland

EPAUS President Donald Trump has announced that there is a "framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland".The statement came as a surprise after days of mounting tensions, culminating with a threat to impose economic sanctions on eight close US allies which have opposed his plans to seize the semi-autonomous territory of Denmark.So what could this deal entail and will it be acceptable to Denmark and Greenland - both of which have made it clear they will…

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Son-in-law of Venezuelan opposition candidate freed from jail, wife says

Rafael Tudares, the son-in-law of Venezuelan opposition candidate Edmundo González, has been released from prison, his wife has said, more than a year after he was detained as part of a crackdown on Maduro government critics and their relatives.Mariana González said her husband had returned home after "380 days of unjust and arbitrary detention".Tudares is one of more than 150 detainees who have been released since the US military seized Venezuelan leader, Nicolás Maduro, in a nighttime raid…

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Trump to meet Zelensky as US envoy says ending Russia war down to one issue

Trump to meet Zelensky as US envoy says ending Russia war down to one issue

Paul KirbyEurope digital editorAleksandr Gusev/SOPA ImagesUkraine's Volodymr Zelensky arrived in Davos on Thursday ahead of his talks with President Donald Trump (file pic)US President Donald Trump will meet Volodymyr Zelensky at Davos on Thursday, after his envoy Steve Witkoff expressed optimism about finalising a deal to end the war in Ukraine."I think we've got it down to one issue and we have discussed iterations of that issue, and that means it's solvable," Witkoff said ahead of his trip…

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UK holds off joining Trump’s peace board over Putin concerns

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has said the UK will not yet be signing up to US President Donald Trump's proposed Board of Peace over concerns about Russian leader Vladimir Putin's possible participation.Cooper told the BBC the UK had been invited to join the board but "won't be one of the signatories today" at a planned ceremony at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The foreign secretary described the board as a "legal treaty that raises much broader issues"…

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