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Chinese Olympic gold medallist condemns 'malicious' online abuse

An Olympic and world champion short track speed skater said he was "very angry" and "deeply hurt" after suffering online abuse following a collision with a Chinese team-mate during a race.

Lin Xiaojun and Liu Shaoang were leading when they collided during a World Cup men's 500m final in Beijing at the weekend.

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Biden warns Netanyahu risks losing support for Hamas war

US President Joe Biden warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday that the country risked losing global support for its war against Hamas because of its "indiscriminate" bombing of Gaza.

In his most blunt remarks since the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, which provoked the current conflict, Biden told donors that Netanyahu needed to "change" his stance on a two-state solution for the Palestinians.

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Zelensky had to smack down debunked conspiracy theories at Capitol Hill meeting: Senator

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) told reporters that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky faced off against conspiracy theories while meeting members of Congress Tuesday — including one that he used aid from the United States to buy a $75 million yacht.

The Associated Press reported in September that a conspiracy theory broke out on social media when someone posted a YouTube video claiming "Ukrainian President Zelensky uses proxies to hide ownership of two yachts worth $75,000,000."

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Argentine government to unveil measures to avoid 'hyperinflation'

President Javier Milei's new government will on Tuesday unveil a set of emergency measures to avoid "hyperinflation" that are expected to deliver a shock to the country's ailing economy.

The 53-year-old libertarian and self-described "anarcho-capitalist" took office on Sunday vowing to slash public spending, warning the situation was likely to get a lot worse before it gets better.

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UAE to try again for climate deal after fury on fossil fuels

The United Arab Emirates promised Tuesday to try again to strike a deal as the Dubai climate summit passed their deadline, with at-risk nations and Western powers rejecting a proposal that stopped short of phasing out fossil fuels.

The 13-day COP28 summit in the glitzy metropolis built on petrodollars has debated a historic first-ever global exit from oil, gas and coal, the main culprits in a planetary crisis of warming.

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Chinese laud 'great' Gao Yaojie, dissident doctor and AIDS whistleblower

A dissident doctor who became China's most outspoken AIDS campaigner was praised in her home country on Tuesday, days after she died in self-exile in the United States at age 95.

Gao Yaojie moved to New York in 2009 after years of harassment by Chinese officials believed to be nursing grudges after she exposed a cover-up of the true extent of the AIDS epidemic in central Henan province.

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Zelensky makes plea for U.S. aid to Ukraine

Washington (AFP) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky goes to Congress and the White House on Tuesday to press for more US military aid in battling the Russian invasion, but the Republican Party shows little sign of listening to his increasingly desperate pleas. For much of the nearly two years that Ukraine has resisted President Vladimir Putin's onslaught, the United States has led a Western coalition sending billions of dollars in weaponry and ammunition. But Republicans are ever-more openly rejecting the need to fund Ukraine, saying that President Joe Biden needs to devote more attentio...

How is the Great Wall of China still standing? A ‘living skin’ is helping: study

Snaking hundreds of miles across mountains and plains, the Great Wall of China is an iconic and unparalleled historic site. Construction on the vast network of walls, fortresses and other fortifications began in the seventh century B.C. and continued until the 17th century A.D. The monumental structure has stood the test of time — in part because of a “living skin,” scientists recently found. Researchers wanted to figure out the best way to help protect the Great Wall of China from wind and erosion, according to a study published Dec. 8 in the journal Science Advances. They noticed that the st...

U.S. House passes bill banning uranium imports from Russia

By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House on Monday passed a ban on imports of Russian uranium as lawmakers seek to add pressure on Moscow for its war on Ukraine, though the measure has waivers in case of supply concerns for domestic reactors. The bill must pass the Senate and be signed by President Joe Biden before becoming law. It is uncertain whether there will be enough time in the Senate schedule for it to be voted on this year. The bill passed by voice vote in the House after the chamber suspended usual voting rules on the measure. "The risks of continuing this dependence ...

French parliament rejects Macron's immigration bill in surprise vote

French lawmakers sent the government’s immigration bill back to the drawing board on Monday, in a surprise move that cut short debates at the lower house and dealt a blow to President Emmanuel Macron’s attempts to pass laws without a majority.

Lawmakers from Marine Le Pen’s far right party as well as many conservatives joined forces to reject the bill on its first day in the National Assembly, adopting a motion proposed by the Greens, which passed by just two votes.

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Paris's Ritz hotel finds missing €750,000 ring in vacuum cleaner bag

Diamonds in the dust – a ring worth 750,000 euros ($807,000), which went missing at the luxury Ritz hotel in Paris, has been found in a vacuum cleaner.

The ring went missing on Friday and its owner suspected hotel staff of theft.

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Children of Nobel winner Mohammadi 'worried' about her health

The children of imprisoned Iranian human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi said Monday they were "extremely worried" about her health after she undertook a hunger strike in a Tehran prison.

Mohammadi, who has campaigned against the compulsory wearing of the hijab and the death penalty in Iran, stopped eating on Sunday in parallel with Sunday's Nobel prize ceremony in Oslo, where she was represented by her 17-year-old twins, Ali and Kiana.

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Fears for children of same-sex couples in hard-right Italy

The risk she could lose her children is driving Chiara and her family into self-imposed exile, away from Italy and a hard-right government hostile to same-sex parents.

The 46-year-old is fleeing to Spain after realising her legal rights as one of two mothers of three-year-old Arturo are no longer safe under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

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