World News

Summary

EU leaders, excluding Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, pledged to impose further sanctions on Russia after summit talks in Brussels.

Orbán blocked a declaration supporting Ukraine, raising concerns about unity. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy urged maintaining pressure on Russia until withdrawal and compensation.

NATO’s Jens Stoltenberg called for stronger European contributions amid US uncertainty. EU defense plans face challenges as larger states reject a €40bn military aid package.

Discussions on a €800bn rearmament plan expose regional divides. Spain and Italy advocate broader security measures, including cybersecurity and anti-terrorism.

The short video is shot from a public beach in China’s Guangdong province, the unidentified filmer standing quietly by some fishing boats and a few tourists out for a walk.

Just to their right, a line of strange looking ships loom in the mist. The enormous ships are unmoving, raised above the waves by thick pylons. Drop-down bridges connect them to each other, the front one extending down to the sand.

The original video reportedly disappeared from WeChat shortly after it was uploaded, but copies circulated widely among watchers of China-Taiwan hostilities. The 19-second clip was their first clear look at what many believe are China’s newest tool for its Taiwan invasion plans.

The barge-like Shuqiao ships were first seen during the construction phase in January, and reported by Naval News. The Zhanjiang beach test showed how together they can create a loading dock from almost a kilometre out to sea – exactly what China needs to overcome one of the key challenges of any land invasion of Taiwan.

Raised in Saskatchewan, Joshua Haldeman was a tech-utopian, politician and apartheid fan

Joshua Haldeman was just one of thousands of Saskatchewan farmers who lost their land in the drought of the Dirty Thirties.

While that trauma shaped the lives of everyone who went through it, the crisis affected Haldeman in an exceptional way — he never stopped raging at what he perceived were the causes of the Great Depression.

. . .

Over his lifetime, Haldeman would lead two Canadian political parties (one of which he founded), campaign against Canadian prime ministers William Lyon Mackenzie King and John Diefenbaker, write a book defending South Africa’s system of apartheid and spend years flying and driving across the African wilderness with his family — hunting for the Lost City of the Kalahari.

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Exiled Russian journalists are being left “high and dry” and at risk of being stranded overseas without any legal status after the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw funding from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).

The Guardian understands that some Russian journalists working for RFE/RL, which was founded during the cold war and broadcasts to countries including Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, will face imminent problems over their legal status should the broadcaster shut down.

Many of RFE/RL’s Russian journalists operate from Prague, Riga and Vilnius, with their work visas often tied to their employment. Terminating the broadcaster’s funding would trigger visa expirations, leaving them without legal status within months.

Deportation to Russia for any of them would expose them to criminal prosecution.

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Tens of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets to call for a new ceasefire in Gaza and to protest against what they say is an attack on the country’s democracy by the rightwing governing coalition of Benjamin Netanyahu.

Key highways have been blocked and police have made at least 12 arrests amid heated scenes in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. More protests were expected in the coming days as the campaign “gathers momentum and energy”, campaigners said.

The immediate trigger for the anger was Netanyahu’s attempt to dismiss Ronen Bar, the head of the internal security agency, but the prime minister’s decision to shatter a two-month-old truce in Gaza with waves of lethal airstrikes has fuelled the demonstrations.

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Police said they carried out 14 search and seizure warrants in Rio de Janeiro but did not specify how many individuals were targeted. One man was arrested after shooting at an officer when police attempted to enter his home for the search, they said.

Courts also froze 50 million Brazilian reais ($8.8 million) in assets belonging to the group under investigation.

Thursday’s operation stemmed from the 2017 seizure of 60 pieces of firearms at Rio de Janeiro’s international airport. Police said the investigation identified the group’s leader. Suspects could face charges such as international gun trafficking, belonging to a criminal organization, money laundering, currency evasion and corruption.

Cabinet ministers agreed to terms and conditions for a “no-find, no-fee” contract with Texas-based Ocean Infinity to resume the seabed search operation at a new 15,000-square-kilometer (5,800-square-mile) site in the ocean, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said in a statement Wednesday. Ocean Infinity will be paid $70 million only if wreckage is discovered.

The Boeing 777 plane vanished from radar shortly after taking off on March 8, 2014, carrying 239 people, mostly Chinese nationals, on a flight from Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, to Beijing. Satellite data showed the plane turned from its flight path and headed south to the far-southern Indian Ocean, where it is believed to have crashed.

Ocean Infinity CEO Oliver Punkett earlier this year reportedly said the company had improved its technology since 2018. He has said the firm is working with many experts to analyze data and had narrowed the search area to the most likely site.

Summary

Welsh tourist Becky Burke was detained for 19 days in a US immigration facility and transported in chains like "Hannibal Lecter" after alleged visa violations.

Burke had been backpacking and staying with host families in exchange for help around the house, which authorities suspected breached her tourist visa conditions.

Deported on March 18, she described the ordeal as traumatizing. Her parents criticized the harsh treatment and are considering addressing the issue politically.

Summary

Russia and Ukraine exchanged drone strikes despite a US-brokered partial ceasefire agreement.

Russia launched nearly 200 drones, wounding 10 people, while Ukraine attacked a key airbase in Engels, damaging an airfield.

Confusion surrounds the ceasefire terms after differing statements from Trump, Putin, and Zelenskyy.

Trump claimed the ceasefire covers energy and civilian infrastructure, but Russia and the US clarified it applies only to energy. Talks are set for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to address safe Black Sea shipping, but the date remains uncertain.

https://archive.ph/D8FGt

Summary

Germany updated its travel advice for the US after three German nationals were detained despite holding valid visas or entry waivers.

The Foreign Office clarified that holding a US visa or ESTA approval does not guarantee entry, as border authorities have the final say.

Recent detentions include a green card holder held at Boston airport and two others detained at the US-Mexico border.

Germany investigates whether these cases reflect a broader policy shift under Trump’s tighter immigration policies.

Summary

U.S. and European intelligence assessments contradict claims by both Trump and Putin that Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region are encircled.

Intelligence shared with the White House indicates Ukrainian troops face pressure but are not surrounded.

Despite this, Trump reiterated the encirclement claim in public statements and conversations with Putin.

Ukrainian President Zelenskiy denied the claim, calling it misinformation. Analysts say Putin’s false narrative aims to pressure Ukraine into negotiations.

The amendment to the 2004 Law on the Indonesian Armed Forces introduces several changes that aim to broaden the military’s role beyond defense.

Once in force, the new law will allow active officers to take civilian positions without having to retire or resign from service in four more bodies, including the Attorney General’s Office, the Supreme Court and the Coordinating Ministry for Political and Security Affairs.

Summary

Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison Holdings faces backlash from Beijing over selling Panama Canal port assets to a consortium including BlackRock, valued at $23 billion.

Beijing critics view the deal as unpatriotic, questioning Li's loyalty. The controversy highlights tensions between Hong Kong business interests and Chinese nationalism.

Ports’ strategic value adds to the sensitivity, and Beijing may pressure Li to reconsider.

The Trump administration, which favors the deal, could impose sanctions if it’s reversed.

Turkish authorities identified 261 social media accounts, including 62 based abroad, for "provocative posts" following the detention of Imamoglu and 105 others, and were continuing efforts to track down the remaining suspects, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on X.