China demands that the US cut official ties to Taiwan
China is reacting strongly after a delegation from the US Congress visited Taiwan on Thursday, AP reports. In a statement from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Beijing demands that all US official contact with Taiwan cease.
"China opposes all forms of official interaction between the US and Taiwan authorities and rejects US interference in Taiwan's affairs," the statement said.
The US visit to Taiwan coincided with a US announcement that Washington will sell arms to Taipei for $75 million.
The atmosphere between Taiwan and China has been tense for the past week after the Taiwanese coast guard followed a Chinese boat that capsized. Two people on board the boat died after falling into the water.
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The Israel-Hamas warThe reactions
Brazil: Broad support for two-state solution within G20
Support for a two-state solution in the Middle East is strong among the world's 20 largest economies, according to Brazil, which is hosting the G20 summit that ends on Thursday.
The country's foreign minister, Mauro Vieira, says that there is, in principle, a unanimous view of the two-state solution as the only solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The reason why he did not unreservedly announce unanimity was, according to a source to AFP, that not all countries' foreign ministers raised the issue during their speeches.
Several important names were present during the meeting, including the USA's Antony Blinken, the EU's Josep Borrell and Russia's Sergey Lavrov.
The broad support among the G20 countries comes a day after Israel's parliament opposed a "unilateral" recognition of a Palestinian state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a "powerful message to the international community."
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The nuclear power debate
South Korea wants to build Sweden's new reactors: "Ready"
The South Korean company KHNP is "ready to meet Sweden's demand for nuclear power" and can build it both the fastest and most cost-effectively. That's what Seungyeol Lim, deputy business development manager, says in an interview with SvD.
- If the contract is signed in 2025, we can start the first reactor in 2035, says Lim through an interpreter.
The government has decided that it wants nuclear power equivalent to two large-scale reactors by 2035 and ten large-scale reactors by 2045.
The company thinks that Sweden's timetable is "fairly reasonable" but that there is a risk of certain mistakes or missteps.
SvD highlights, among other things, that the parent company Kepco is struggling with rampant debt, but KHNP claims that it has a credit rating in line with the South Korean government.
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Reactions to Navalny's death
Hundreds of new sanctions – US response to Navalny's death and Russia's invasion
The US will impose "hundreds and hundreds" of sanctions against Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine and the death of Alexei Navalny. This is according to Reuters, the top US diplomat Victoria Nuland.
Most of the sanctions will target "Putin's war machine", but some of them will also hit those responsible for the death of the Russian opposition leader.
US President Joe Biden also announces that sanctions are being prepared against Putin, as a direct consequence of the events surrounding Navalny.
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America's drug crisis
Four out of ten Americans know someone who has died of an overdose
More than four in ten Americans personally know someone who has died of an overdose, according to a study conducted by the think tank Rand Corporation. Of those who know someone, about a third state that their life was significantly affected by what they experienced.
The proportion of respondents who say they know someone whose death was caused by an overdose is highest in the New England region, in the northeastern United States, and in parts of the South, with states such as Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee.
"Our findings highlight the need for research into the prevalence and impact of losses from overdoses, particularly among groups that experience disproportionately high levels of losses," says Alison Athey, who led the study.
More than 100,000 people die from drug overdoses in the United States each year.
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The flight to Europe
19 arrested in major crackdown on people smugglers
At least 19 people have been arrested after German police raided a network of people smugglers on the English Channel, AFP reports. The raid was carried out in collaboration with authorities in France and Belgium.
Europol writes in a statement that the investigation has targeted an "Iraqi-Kurdish network suspected of smuggling people from the Middle East and East Africa from France to the UK".
According to Europol, the migrants were taken across the English Channel in inflatable rubber boats.
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