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Police dismantle pro-Palestinian camp at Wayne State University in Detroit

Police dismantled a pro-Palestinian encampment Thursday at Wayne State University in Detroit, two days after the school suspended in-person classes and encouraged staff to work remotely to avoid any problems with the protesters' encampment.

Television footage showed campus police and Detroit police officers in riot gear tearing down fencing before they removed the protesters and started breaking down tents erected last week on green space near Wayne State's undergraduate library.

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Salam says Doha offer to build 3 power plants has been blocked

Lebanon's political class, fuel companies and private electricity providers blocked an offer by gas-rich Qatar to build three renewable energy power plants to ease the crisis-hit nation's decades-old electricity crisis, Lebanon's caretaker economy minister said Thursday.

Lebanon's electricity crisis worsened after the country's historic economic meltdown began in October 2019. Power cuts often last for much of the day, leaving many reliant on expensive private generators that work on diesel and raise pollution levels.

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China to impose controls on exports of aviation and aerospace equipment

China's Commerce Ministry said Thursday it will restrict exports of aviation and aerospace-related equipment and technology beginning July 1.

A notice seen Thursday on the ministry's website said the move was to safeguard national security and interests and fulfill international obligations such as non-proliferation. Exports of items designated under the new rules will require export licenses.

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Spain's Parliament gives final approval to amnesty law for Catalonia's separatists

More than six years since Catalonia's separatist movement took Spain to the brink of rupture, the nation's Parliament gave its final approval Thursday to a controversial amnesty for hundreds of secessionists in hopes of putting a definitive end to the traumatic episode.

The legislation was backed by Spain's left-wing coalition government, two Catalan separatist parties and other smaller parties. It passed by a vote of 177-172 in the lower house with the conservative Popular Party and far-right Vox opposing it.

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UN says divisions among world's powerful nations undermining UN efforts to end crises

Deep divisions especially among the world's most powerful nations have significantly undermined what the United Nations can do to help nations move from conflict to peace, the U.N. peacekeeping chief said.

Jean-Pierre Lacroix told The Associated Press in an interview that these divisions – most notably between the U.S. and the West on one side and Russia and often China on the other -- don't only affect peacekeeping but everything the United Nations does in trying to promote peace and security.

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Early results in South Africa's election put ruling ANC below 50% and short of a majority

Very early counts in South Africa's national election put the long-ruling African National Congress at just over 42% of the vote, raising the possibility that it might lose its majority for the first time since it swept to power under Nelson Mandela at the end of apartheid in 1994.

With only just over 16% of votes counted and declared, it was only a partial picture after Wednesday's election. The final results of a vote that could bring the biggest political shift in South Africa's young democracy were expected to take days, with the independent electoral commission saying they would be delivered by Sunday.

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Papua New Guinea landslide survivors slow to move to safer ground after hundreds buried

Traumatized survivors of the massive landslide estimated to have buried hundreds in Papua New Guinea have been slow to move to safer ground as the South Pacific island nation's authorities prepare to use heavy machinery to clear debris and risk triggering another landslide, officials said Thursday.

Government and army geotechnical experts on Thursday were examining the stability of the massive swath of rubble that crushed Yambali village when a mountainside collapsed last week, Enga provincial administrator Sandis Tsaka said. Australian and New Zealand experts were expected to arrive on Friday.

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Rafah battles intensify as Israel takes over Gaza-Egypt border strip

Israel's military said it has seized control of a strategic corridor along Gaza's border with Egypt to cut off smuggling tunnels as it tries to destroy the militant Hamas group in a war now in its eighth month.

The capture of the Philadelphi Corridor could complicate Israel's relations with Egypt, which has complained about Israel's advance toward its border. Israel says the corridor is awash in tunnels that have funneled weapons and other goods for Hamas — despite a yearslong blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt.

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NYC hospital fires nurse after referring to Gaza 'genocide' in award speech

A nurse was fired by a New York City hospital after she referred to Israel's war in Gaza as a "genocide" during a speech accepting an award.

Labor and delivery nurse Hesen Jabr, who is Palestinian American, was being honored by NYU Langone Health for her compassion in caring for mothers who had lost babies when she drew a link between her work and the suffering of mothers in Gaza.

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Iran opens registration period for presidential election after Raisi death

Iran opened a five-day registration period Thursday for hopefuls wanting to run in the June 28 presidential election to replace the late Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash earlier this month with seven others.

The election comes as Iran grapples with the aftermath of the May 19 crash, as well as heightened tensions between Tehran and the United States, and protests including those over the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini that have swept the country.

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