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Donald Trump pleads not guilty in arraignment over classified documents

Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to historic charges of mishandling sensitive files at a federal court in Miami, Florida.

Mr Trump is the first US president - current or former - to be hit with a federal criminal indictment.

Arms crossed, in a dark suit and red tie, he sat in stone-faced silence for his second court appearance this year.

The Republican later travelled to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he addressed supporters.

Against a backdrop of American flags, Mr Trump, who is the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, told the assembled crowd he had "every right" to hold the classified documents, but "hadn't had a chance to go through all the boxes". read more
Greece boat disaster leaves at least 79 dead and hundreds missing

At least 79 people have died and more than 100 have been rescued after their fishing vessel capsized off the coast of southern Greece.

But survivors and Greek officials say that hundreds more migrants were on board.

The government says this is one of Greece's biggest migrant tragedies, and has declared three days of mourning.

The boat went down about 80 km (50 miles) south-west of Pylos after the coastguard said it had refused help.

The coastguard said the boat had been spotted in international waters late on Tuesday by an aircraft belonging to EU border agency Frontex. No-one on board was wearing life jackets, it added. read more
iPhone maker Foxconn to switch to cars as US-China ties sour

iPhone maker Foxconn is betting big on electric cars and redrawing some of its supply chains as it navigates a new era of icy Washington-Beijing relations.

In an exclusive interview, chairman and boss Young Liu told the BBC what the future may hold for the Taiwanese firm.

He said even as Foxconn shifts some supply chains away from China, electric vehicles (EVs) are what will drive its growth in the coming decades.

As US-China tensions soar, Mr Liu said, Foxconn must prepare for the worst.

"We hope peace and stability will be something the leaders of these two countries will keep in mind," 67-year-old Mr Liu told us, in his offices in Taipei, Taiwan's capital. read more
Finns Party: Far-right set for key role in new Finnish coalition

Finland's far-right Finns Party has agreed to enter a coalition government with the centre-right National Coalition Party and two other groups.

The Party, which secured second place in April's election, had sought drastic cuts to immigration during talks.

The minority-language Swedish People's Party and the Christian Democrats will be the other two parties in government.

The new coalition sees outgoing Prime Minister Sanna Marin and her centre-left party ousted from government. read more
Ukraine war: Putin confirms first nuclear weapons moved to Belarus

Russia has already stationed a first batch of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, Vladimir Putin says.

Russia's president told a forum they would only be used if Russia's territory or state was threatened.

The US government says there is no indication the Kremlin plans to use nuclear weapons to attack Ukraine.

"We don't see any indications that Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said after Mr Putin's comments.

Belarus is a key Russian ally and served as a launchpad for Mr Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year.

Mr Putin said transferring the tactical nuclear warheads would be completed by the end of the summer. read more
Ukraine war must end, South African President Ramaphosa tells Putin

The war in Ukraine must end, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has told Russia's leader Vladimir Putin.

Mr Ramaphosa's remarks came as he met Mr Putin in St Petersburg on Saturday as part of a peace mission with six other African countries.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the delegation on Friday that he would not enter talks with Russia while they occupied Ukrainian land.

Mr Putin told the African leaders Ukraine had always refused talks.

At the meeting in St Petersburg, Mr Ramaphosa also called for both parties to return their prisoners of war, and said children removed by Russia should be returned home. read more
Antony Blinken begins talks in Beijing during high-stakes visit to China

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Beijing at the start of two days of talks with Chinese officials.

The visit is the first by an American diplomat to China in almost five years.

US officials say the main goal of the talks is to stabilise a relationship that has become extremely tense.

It comes nearly five months after an earlier Blinken visit was postponed, following the flight of a suspected Chinese spy balloon in US airspace.

Mr Qin greeted Mr Blinken on Sunday at the Diaoyutai State Guest House, a lavish estate that typically hosts visiting dignitaries. read more
Switzerland referendum: Voters back carbon cuts as glaciers melt

Voters in Switzerland have backed a new climate bill designed to cut fossil fuel use and reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The government says the country needs to protect its energy security and the environment, as glaciers melt rapidly in the Swiss Alps.

The law will require a move away from dependence on imported oil and gas towards the use of renewable sources.

In Sunday's referendum 59.1% of voters backed the green energy proposals.

Opponents had argued the measures would push up energy prices. read more
Iraq: displays 2,800-year-old stone tablet returned by Italy

A 2,800-year-old stone tablet has gone on display in Iraq after being returned by Italy following nearly four decades.

The artefact is inscribed with complete cuneiform text - a system of writing on clay in an ancient Babylonian alphabet.

Italian authorities handed it over to Iraq's President Abdul Latif Rashid in the city of Bologna last week.

It is not clear how the tablet was found - or how it made its way to Italy where it was seized by police in the 1980s.

Iraqi Culture Minister Ahmed Badrani said that it might have been found during archaeological excavations of the Mosul Dam, which was built around that time.

Iraq, often described as the "cradle of civilisation", is known, among others, for the world's first writing. read more
Titanic tourist submersible: Rescuers scan ocean as clock ticks

US and Canadian search teams are racing against time to find a tourist submarine that went missing during a dive to the Titanic's wreck on Sunday.

Five people were onboard when contact with the small sub was lost about an hour and 45 minutes into its dive.

The rescue operation is continuing overnight in the mid-Atlantic but there has been no sign so far of the vessel.

Government agencies, both countries' navies and commercial deep-sea firms are all helping the rescue operation.

As of Monday afternoon, it was thought the crew members had roughly four days-worth of oxygen left. Among them is the British billionaire businessman and explorer Hamish Harding. read more
US-China tensions: Biden calls Xi a dictator day after Beijing talks

US President Joe Biden has called Chinese President Xi Jinping a dictator at a fundraiser in California.

His remarks come a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Mr Xi for talks in Beijing, which were aimed at easing tensions between the two superpowers.

Mr Xi said some progress had been made in Beijing, while Mr Blinken indicated both sides were open to more talks.

China is yet to respond to Mr Biden's comments.

President Biden, at the fundraiser on Tuesday night local time, also said Mr Xi was embarrassed over the recent tensions around a Chinese spy balloon that had been blown off course over the US. read more
Titan sub: What happens next after sounds detected in search

News that noises have been picked up in the hunt for a missing submersible has offered a glimmer of hope that the five men on board are alive.

The sounds were recorded by sonar buoys in a massive rescue operation, which is racing against time to find the Titan in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It was lost on a deep-sea voyage to the Titanic wreck three days ago.

Underwater operations have been relocated to investigate the noises, the US Coast Guard has said, but so far they haven't found anything.

And with oxygen supplies expected to run out at around 11:00 GMT on Thursday, the next few hours are critical.

US authorities say the noises were heard at half hour intervals for about four hours on Tuesday, according to reports by several outlets. read more
Islamic State: Woman jailed in Germany for keeping Yazidi woman as slave

A German woman who joined the Islamic State (IS) group has been jailed for nine years for crimes including keeping a Yazidi woman as a slave.

The defendant was also found guilty of crimes against humanity and membership of a foreign terrorist organisation.

A court in the western city of Koblenz said the 37-year-old had abused the young Yazidi woman for three years while they lived in Syria and Iraq.

It also found she had encouraged her husband to rape and beat the woman.

"All of this served the declared purpose of IS, to wipe out the Yazidi faith," said prosecutors at the start of the trial in January.

In 2014, IS fighters stormed into the ancestral heartland of the Yazidi people in northern Iraq. read more
Families mourn passengers killed in sub implosion

- Tributes are flowing for the five men killed on board the Titan sub in what US officials say was a "catastrophic implosion"
- The victims were Hamish Harding, 58, Shahzada Dawood, 48, and his son Suleman Dawood, 19, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, 77, and Stockton Rush, 61
- Their families have expressed "profound grief" and paid tribute to their exploration endeavours
- A robotic diving vehicle found major fragments of the sub on the seafloor about 1,600ft (480m) from the Titanic shipwreck on Thursday
- It's emerged the US Navy originally detected “an acoustic anomaly consistent with an implosion” shortly after the Titan lost contact on Sunday
- Banging sounds reported earlier this week are now thought to have come from other ships in the area
- The sombre find ends a multinational five-day search which spanned more than 20,000 sq km of ocean

read more
Russia tightens security as Wagner chief accused of mutiny

- Security in Russia has been tightened following a dramatic escalation of infighting
- The head of the Wagner mercenary group is being investigated by security services for inciting mutiny
- Yevgeny Prigozhin claims his forces have crossed the border into Russia from Ukraine, but no evidence of this has emerged so far
- Earlier, he accused the Russian military of launching a deadly missile strike on his troops on Friday
- He said the "evil" in the military leadership must be stopped and vowed to "march for justice", but claimed he was not attempting a military coup
- The Kremlin has denied the missile strike and demanded Prigozhin halt "illegal actions"
- Vladimir Putin is aware of the situation and is receiving "constant" updates, the Kremlin says
- Senior Russian generals have called on Wagner fighters to stand down, saying they are playing "into the enemy's hands"

read more
What will Putin do next? And other key questions

In a startling 24 hours, Vladimir Putin faced the greatest challenge to his authority since coming to power more than two decades ago. While the immediate risk seems contained, Russia experts say Putin does not emerge looking strong, but rather badly bruised.

Mr Putin's widely-noted loathing of betrayal appeared reflected in his stern national TV address on Saturday morning, where he accused Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin of a "stab in the back" and treason.

Russia's president has not been seen in public since, and no new presidential address was being planned in the near future. In a pre-recorded interview on state TV on Sunday - which appeared to have been conducted before the rebellion - Mr Putin said he was confident in the progress of the war in Ukraine.

Anti-terror security measures are still in place in Moscow, but it is unclear whether President Putin is even in the Russian capital at the moment. read more
Russia: Instability ratchets up pressure on Vladimir Putin

After a weekend of mayhem, I'm beginning to understand why Russia's national symbol is the double-headed eagle: two heads staring in opposite directions.

First, Yevgeny Prigozhin declares he's ready to "go all the way" in his mutiny against the Russian military. Then he makes a sudden U-turn and orders his Wagner fighters back to base.

In a TV address, President Vladimir Putin declares the rebellion "a criminal adventure… a grievous crime… treason… blackmail and terrorism." Yet just a few hours later, as part of an agreement with Prigozhin, it's revealed that all criminal charges against the Wagner leader are being dropped.

So much for "grievous crime".

The Kremlin leader's mixed messages have been raising eyebrows here and changing perceptions of President Putin. read more
Vladimir Putin says Wagner mutiny leaders will be 'brought to justice'

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the leaders of last weekend's Wagner mutiny of wanting "to see Russia choked in bloody strife".

In a short speech full of vitriol, Mr Putin vowed to bring the organisers of the revolt "to justice".

But he called regular Wagner troops "patriots" who would be allowed to join the army, go to Belarus or return home.

He did not directly name Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, who earlier denied trying to overthrow Mr Putin's regime.

Wagner is a private army of mercenaries that has been fighting alongside the regular Russian army in Ukraine. read more
West Bank: US 'troubled' by Israeli settlement expansion plans

The Israeli government has advanced plans for some 5,700 new homes in the occupied West Bank.

The announcement comes despite US pressure to stop settlement expansion, which it sees as an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians.

A US spokesperson said Washington was "deeply troubled" by the development.

Four Israeli settlers were shot dead by Palestinians last week, prompting days of settler violence.

Violence between Palestinians and Israelis has flared since Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was re-elected last year.

His nationalist-religious coalition has vowed to extend its presence in the West Bank. read more
Spanish swimming pools in Catalonia told not to ban topless bathing

Activists in Catalonia are celebrating after the government of the Spanish region informed its town and city halls that they must allow women to go topless in public swimming pools.

Going topless is enshrined under a 2020 Catalan equality law.

However, some municipal swimming pools have prevented the practice since the legislation was introduced, drawing dozens of complaints each summer.

Local authorities have now been told to bar any form of discrimination.

Preventing women from going topless "excludes part of the population and violates the free choice of each person with regard to their body", the Catalan government's department of equality and feminism informed them in a letter. read more
Kramatorsk: Russian missile strike hits restaurants in Ukrainian city

Russian missiles have hit the centre of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine, killing four people and injuring many more, Ukrainian officials say.

A restaurant and shopping area were hit in Tuesday's strike on the city, which is under Ukrainian control but close to Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.

People may be trapped under the rubble and a rescue operation is under way.

An eyewitness told the BBC he saw "dead people, people screaming, people crying, huge chaos".

A 17-year-old girl is reported to be among those who were killed in the attack, which happened at around 19:30 local time (16:30 GMT). read more