Category: Uncategorized
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Swatch apologises for ‘slanted eyes’ ad after uproar in China
Koh Ewe BBC News, Singapore Reuters Swiss watchmaker Swatch has apologised and pulled an ad featuring a model pulling the corners of his eyes, after the image prompted uproar among Chinese social media users. Critics said the pose resembled the racist “slanted eye” historically used to mock Asians. Calls for a boycott of Swatch products…
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Qantas hit with record fine for illegal layoffs during pandemic
An Australian court has fined airline giant Qantas a record A$90m (£43m; $59m) for illegally sacking more than 1,800 ground workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Australia’s Transport Workers’ Union said it welcomed the penalty, which is the largest imposed by a court for violations of industrial relations laws in the country’s history. Federal Court Justice…
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Man saw kaleidoscopic light before going blind
Oli Constable, Katie Roberts and George Sandeman BBC News When Calum Macdonald arrived at the Vietnamese border, he couldn’t read the administrative forms in front of him. All he could see was a “kaleidoscopic blinding light”. He had just stepped off an overnight bus with his friends from the popular tourist destination of Vang Vieng…
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Key takeaways from Ukraine talks in Washington
Bernd Debusmann Jr Reporting from the White House Watch: Key moments from Zelensky-Trump White House talks Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky returned to the White House on Monday to meet US President Donald Trump for fresh talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. Several European leaders also upended their plans to attend the meeting, days…
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War-torn Myanmar to hold first general election since 2021 coup
Myanmar will begin its general elections on 28 December, its military government announced, in a phased poll widely condemned as a sham that will be used to entrench the junta’s power. This will be the first vote since the junta seized power in a bloody coup in 2021, and imprisoned democratically elected leader Aung San…
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BBC witnesses Israeli settlers’ attack on Palestinian farm in West Bank
Lucy Williamson BBC News, Der Abu Falah, in the occupied West Bank The BBC’s Lucy Williamson witnessed an attack by masked settlers From among the broken remains of Brahim Hamaiel’s olive trees, in the occupied West Bank, we saw the masked men approach. A dozen settlers, charging down from the illegal outpost above his farm…
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European leaders rush to US to help Ukraine avoid ‘capitulation’
Reuters Starmer and Macron – pictured with Zelensky in May – are among the European leaders in Washington European leaders may have rushed to Washington ostensibly to throw a protective arm around President Zelensky and head off any repeat of February’s Oval Office bust-up. But their real aim is to stop US President Donald Trump…
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5,000 aid trucks await clearance at Rafah border
The Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa and Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty have made their first visit to Egypt’s border crossing with Gaza. It’s the only entry point Gaza shares with a state other than Israel, but access into Gaza from there is now shut, and under Israeli military control. Long queues of trucks loaded…
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Hamas agrees to new Gaza ceasefire proposal, source in group says
Hamas has agreed to the latest proposal from regional mediators for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal with Israel, a source in the Palestinian armed group has told the BBC. According to a Palestinian official familiar with the talks, the proposal from Egypt and Qatar is a comprehensive two-stage plan based on a framework…
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BBC witnesses West Bank attack by masked Israeli settlers
The BBC’s Lucy Williamson was reporting on allegations Israeli settlers had destroyed a Palestinian man’s olive groves when she witnessed masked settlers launch an attack near Nablus, in the occupied West Bank. She described the incident, which quickly escalated, as “completely unprovoked”. The local settlers’ council said elements on both sides were “seeking provocation”, which…