World

Former French President François Hollande said in a recent interview that President Donald Trump and his administration are “no longer” allies.
When asked to analyze Trump’s first few weeks back in the Oval Office, Hollande did not hold back on criticisms.
In a blunt interview with French news outlet Le Monde, Hollande, who left office in 2017, said, “Even if the American people remain our friends, the Trump administration itself is no longer our ally.” The former French leader also accused Trump of “making pacts with our adversaries.”
FRENCH PRESIDENT MACRON ASKS IF EUROPEANS ARE ‘READY TO DEFEND’ THEIR INTERESTS IN WAKE OF TRUMP ELECTION
Hollande asserts that Trump sees the U.S., Russia and China as the “only three powers that count,” and that for the U.S. president, “Europe no longer exists.” The former French leader also argued that Trump’s “real target” is Europe, not China, leading Hollande to believe that a U.S.-European “divorce” is on the horizon.
The former Frenc..

The U.S. Embassy in Bangkok is warning Americans of potential “violent retaliatory attacks” Friday after a group of 45 Uyghurs were deported by Thailand to China in a move Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned in the “strongest possible terms.”
Thai police and security officials said China had given assurances that the men — who had been in custody for more than a decade — wouldn’t face penalties or be harmed. They said at a news conference Thursday that all of them voluntarily returned after being shown a translation of a written Chinese agreement requesting their repatriation and declaring they would be allowed to live normally.
“Similar deportations have prompted violent retaliatory attacks in the past,” the U.S. Embassy warned though on Friday. “Most notably, in the wake of a 2015 deportation of Uyghurs from Thailand, improvised explosive devices detonated at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok killing 20 people and injuring 125 others as this shrine is heavily visited by tourists fr..

Dozens arrested worldwide over AI-generated child sexual abuse images

The main suspect, a Danish national, is thought to have run an online platform whereby users could pay for an account that would grant them access to AI-generated images and video of children being abused.

Doctors suggest Pope has overcome most critical stage of illness – after two weeks in hospital

For the second day in a row, doctors avoided saying the pontiff was in a critical condition, suggesting he had overcome the most acute phase of the pneumonia infection.
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A man prays next to the statue of late Pope John Paul II outside Gemelli Hospital. Pic: Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis

Pope Francis remains hospitalized in Rome after being diagnosed with double pneumonia two weeks ago, but is in a continued state of improvement, according to a statement from the Vatican late Thursday.
“As in previous days, the Pope had a peaceful night and is now resting,” the Vatican said, notably omitting the word “critical” from its update for the second day in a row.
The statement said the high-flow oxygen therapy he has been receiving now includes treatments with a ventimask.
Despite his improvement, the 88-year-old pontiff’s prognosis remains “guarded” and will not change until he is stable for “several more days,” the Vatican said.
POPE FRANCIS’ CONDITION CONTINUES TO IMPROVE AS HE RECEIVES OXYGEN THERAPY: VATICAN
The Pope was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital for respiratory issues on Valentine’s Day and was later diagnosed with double pneumonia. He was initially in critical condition under a “concerning set of circumstances,” but has started to slightly improve.
When writi..

Protesters hurl petrol bombs and police fire tear gas as demonstration in Greece turns violent

Protests are being held in towns and cities across Greece as part of a strike which has grounded flights and halted sea and train transport.
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Clashes broke out in Athens on Friday. Pic: Reuters

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Hooded protesters beat a riot policeman during the clashes. Pic: AP

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Police have fired tear gas at scores of protesters. Pic: Reuters

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A group of hooded youths hurled petrol bombs at police in Athens. Pic: Reuters

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Some protesters attempted to storm the barricades in front of parliament. Pic: Reuters

New Zealand volcano owners’ conviction over deadly eruption overturned

Most of the 47 people on the island during the eruption were US and Australian cruise ship passengers on a walking tour, along with their local guides.
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An aerial view of Whakaari, also known as White Island, after the explosion. Pic: Reuters

European leaders are wary of President Donald Trump’s push to secure a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, with the European Union’s top diplomat saying that Russian President Vladimir Putin “doesn’t really want peace.”
Trump on Thursday said his administration had been in “very good talks with Russia,” though he did not expand on whether any tangible progress in ending Russia’s war in Ukraine had begun.
Some NATO allies, as well as the U.S.’s decades-old partners, are increasingly frustrated with President Trump’s controversial comments about Ukraine in what has been perceived as a cost of Washington bettering ties with Moscow.
“[The] U.S. is talking to Russia, and you have to establish contacts,” EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas told Fox News Digital in a sit-down interview. “But right now, Russia doesn’t really want peace.
UKRAINE ENTERS FOURTH YEAR OF WAR WITH RUSSIA: ‘CLOSER TO THE BEGINNING THAN WE ARE TO THE END’
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday is set to meet with President Donald Trump for the first time since he re-entered the White House to sign what could be a key minerals deal to help end Russia’s war.
Though some details of the agreement have emerged since the meeting was announced this week, the exact terms remain unclear, and European leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, are waiting to see what could come out of this agreement, particularly when it comes to security demands.
Trump on Wednesday told reporters that Zelenskyy could “forget about” any ambitions to join NATO, but the Ukrainian president also said that day that he needs security guarantees, otherwise “we won’t have a ceasefire, nothing will work, nothing.”
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT US-UKRAINE MINERAL DEAL SO FAR
“I want to find a NATO path or something similar,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukrainian leadership has long sought NATO membership, and in 2008 at the Bucharest Summit the alliance agreed Ukraine woul..

At least 41 people trapped after avalanche in Indian Himalayas

Rescue workers are struggling to reach the area where dozens of road construction workers are trapped due to adverse weather conditions.
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Pic: X/@suryacommand

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Pic: X/@suryacommand