BBC News (World)

2024-06-03 18:01:58 China says MI6 recruited Chinese couple as spies

China has accused the UK’s intelligence agency of recruiting a couple as spies - the latest in a string of tit-for-tat allegations between Beijing and the West in recent months.

According to the Ministry of State Security, the two Chinese government employees were successfully recruited after MI6 operatives exploited the man’s “strong desire for money”.

The man, named as Wang, then convinced his partner, named only as Zhou, to join him as a British spy, the ministry said. read more Open / Comment

2024-06-01 13:03:33 Biden unveils Israeli proposal to end Gaza war

US President Joe Biden has urged Hamas to accept a new Israeli proposal to end the conflict in Gaza, saying that "it's time for this war to end".

The three-part proposal would begin with a six-week ceasefire in which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would withdraw from populated areas of Gaza.

There would also be a "surge" of humanitarian aid, as well as an exchange of some hostages for Palestinian prisoners. read more Open / Comment

2024-05-22 10:01:22 Singapore Airlines CEO apologises for 'traumatic experience'

- Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong has offered his "deepest apologies to everyone affected" on a London to Singapore flight that encountered severe turbulence
- The lone fatality has been identified as 73-year-old Geoff Kitchen, who died of a suspected heart attack
- Seventy-one wounded passengers are being treated at a hospital in Bangkok, where the plane made an emergency landing. Six are in critical condition
- From the Thai capital, 143 people who were uninjured were flown to Singapore overnight
- Singapore's new PM Lawrence Wong has promised a "thorough investigation" into the incident read more Open / Comment

2024-05-21 15:30:01 Seven Palestinians killed in Israeli West Bank raid

Seven Palestinians, including a doctor, have been killed by Israeli forces during an operation in Jenin in the north of the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry has said.

Dr Aseed Jabareen, a 50-year-old surgeon at Jenin Government Hospital, was shot dead on his way to work, according to the ministry.

Palestinian media also said a teenage boy was killed while riding a bicycle. read more Open / Comment

2024-05-20 16:01:26 'Stop threatening Taiwan', its new president William Lai tells China

Taiwan's newly inaugurated president William Lai has called on China to stop threatening the island and accept the existence of its democracy.

He urged Beijing to replace confrontation with dialogue, shortly after being sworn in on Monday.

He also said Taiwan would never back down in the face of intimidation from China, which has long claimed the island as its own.

China responded by saying, "Taiwan independence is a dead end". read more Open / Comment

2024-05-20 07:36:02 'No sign of life' at crash site of helicopter carrying Iran's president - state TV

- Iran state TV says there is "no sign of life" at the crash site of a helicopter that was carrying President Ebrahim Raisi and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian
- Reports say the helicopter - one of three travelling in a convoy - made a "hard landing" on Sunday after it got into difficulties in heavy fog in the north of the country
- Raisi was heading to the city of Tabriz, in the north west of Iran, after returning from an Iran-Azerbaijan border area, according to local media
- The incident sparked a massive search operation that was hampered by bad weather conditions
- Watch live BBC News coverage by pressing the play button at the top of this page

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2024-05-17 18:01:38 US confirms first aid trucks arrive via Gaza pier

The US military has confirmed that the first aid shipment via a temporary pier off Gaza has gone ashore.

US Central Command confirmed in a post on X that the aid trucks began moving ashore at about 09:00 local time (07:00 BST).

"This is an ongoing, multinational effort to deliver additional aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza via a maritime corridor that is entirely humanitarian in nature," the post read, adding that no US troops went ashore. read more Open / Comment

2024-05-17 10:07:51 French police kill man trying to 'burn synagogue'

French police have killed an armed man who wanted to set fire to a synagogue in the north-western city of Rouen, France's interior minister has said.

The man was armed with a knife and when he moved towards police they shot him, reports say.

Rouen Mayor Nicolas Mayer-Rossignaol said the attack on the synagogue did not just affect the Jewish community, but the entire city was "battered and in shock".

Police were called at around 06:45 (05:45 GMT) after smoke was seen rising from the synagogue, according to local reports. read more Open / Comment

2024-05-13 06:02:36 Vladimir Putin set to transfer Sergei Shoigu from Russian defence ministry

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to replace his long-standing ally Sergei Shoigu as defence minister, the Kremlin has announced.

The 68-year-old has been in the role since 2012 and is to be appointed the head of Russia's Security Council.

Papers published by the upper chamber of the Russian parliament said Mr Shoigu will be replaced by Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov.

Mr Shoigu has played a key role in Russia's war with Ukraine. read more Open / Comment

2024-05-11 13:01:48 US says Israel may have breached international law with American weapons in Gaza

The US says Israel may have used American-supplied weapons in breach of international humanitarian law in some instances during the war in Gaza.

It is "reasonable to assess" that those arms have been used in ways "inconsistent" with Israel's obligations, says the state department.

But it added that the US did not have complete information in its assessment and that shipments could continue.

The report was submitted to Congress on Friday after a delay. read more Open / Comment