Lukashenko warns Belarus will join Russia in war if attacked
Few people know Vladimir Putin quite as well as Alexander Lukashenko does.
The authoritarian leader of Belarus is a firm Kremlin ally and backer of what Mr Putin refers to as the "special military operation" - what most of the world calls Russia's war in Ukraine.
Since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine a year ago, Mr Putin hasn't sat down with Western journalists.
But today in Minsk, Mr Lukashenko took questions from a small group of foreign media, including the BBC.
"Last year you allowed your country to be used as a staging ground for Russia's invasion," I reminded Mr Lukashenko. "Are you prepared to do so again?"
Israel votes to strip citizenship from Arabs convicted of terrorism
New law is aimed at Israeli citizens who have received financial aid from the Palestinian Authority
Bethan McKernan in Jerusalem
Israel has passed legislation allowing the state to strip Arabs convicted of terror offences of citizenship or residency and deport them to the West Bank or Gaza Strip if they have accepted financial aid from the Palestinian Authority.
The new law, which the Knesset voted for on Wednesday, is designed to discourage what Israel calls “pay for slay” stipends, which Palestinians view as assistance for the families of those imprisoned. Israel says the longstanding practice serves as an incentive to violence.
“It is inconceivable that Israeli citizens and residents who have not only betrayed the state and Israeli society but have also agreed to receive payment from the PA as wages for committing the act of terrorism, and continue to benefit from it, will continue to hold Israeli citizenship or residency status,” an explanatory note to the bill says.
China sanctions Lockheed Martin, Raytheon over Taiwan sales
China has sanctioned two major US weapons manufacturers, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, for providing weapons to Taiwan. The companies will be banned from importing goods into China and investing in China.
China imposed trade and investment sanctions on Lockheed Martin and a unit of Raytheon on Thursday, saying the step was because of them supplying weapons to Taiwan.
Beijing has been stepping up efforts to isolate the island democracy that it claims as part of Chinese territory.
China's bilateral ties with the US have also been strained of late amid the shooting down of several balloons which the US says are conducting espionage operations.
Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Missiles and Defense, part of the broader Raytheon Technologies Corp., were added to the "unreliable entry" list of companies whose activities are restricted because they might endanger national sovereignty, security or development interests.
Israeli firm sought to discredit the Red Cross in Burkina Faso, report reveals
An Israeli firm in 2020 smeared the International Committee of the Red Cross in Burkina Faso, presumably at the request of the Burkinabe government, investigative journalists said Thursday
The report -- by a consortium of journalists led by French non-profit Forbidden Stories -- appears to add to a growing body of evidence that shadowy private firms worldwide are using hacking and social media to manipulate public opinion.
Journalists posing as potential clients met one of the two heads of Israeli influence company Percepto International, Royi Burstien, who cited Burkina Faso as a successful disinformation campaign by his company.
‘Life is over’: A newspaper’s death near Turkey quake epicentre
In a city with more than 450 deaths, a newspaper’s last edition bears testimony to life before it was forever upended.
Suat Yenipınar was in his fifth-floor apartment with his grandson, when last week’s earthquake woke him up.
“When the earthquake happened I grabbed him and tried to flee the building, but we hit the walls and fell over, so I just covered him with my body to protect him if the building collapsed,” the 60-year-old local journalist recalled. ” After the quake was over, we got out straight away – pieces were falling off the building.”
Yenipınar is living in a tent now next to a Red Crescent mobile kitchen, in this town, close to epicentre of the earthquake.
Amnesty accuses Peruvian authorities of ‘marked racist bias’ in protest crackdown
Amnesty International has accused Peruvian authorities of acting with “a marked racist bias” in its crackdown on protests that have roiled the country since December, saying “populations that have historically been discriminated against” are being targeted, according to a report released on Thursday.
Drawing on data from the Peruvian Ombudsman’s Office, Amnesty says it “found that the number of possible arbitrary deaths due to state repression” were “disproportionately concentrated in regions with largely Indigenous populations.”
Amnesty also says that areas with majority indigenous populations have accounted for the majority of deaths since the protests began. “While the regions with majority Indigenous populations represent only 13% of Peru’s total population, they account for 80% of the total deaths registered since the crisis began,” Amnesty wrote.
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