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Japan’s Tokara islands hit by 900 earthquakes in two weeks

No major damage has been reported in the Tokara island chain, Japan’s meteorological agency says

More than 900 earthquakes have shaken a remote island chain in southern Japan in the past two weeks, according to the country’s weather agency, leaving residents unable to sleep and fearful of what might come next.

Although no major damage has been reported, the Japan Meteorological Agency has acknowledged that it does not know when the quakes would end.

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© Photograph: Ray_go

© Photograph: Ray_go

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Kilmar Ábrego García was tortured in Salvadorian prison, court filing alleges

New court documents allege physical and psychological torture at Cecot in one of first looks at conditions in prison

Kilmar Ábrego García, the Maryland man who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador and detained in one of that country’s most notorious prisons, was physically and psychologically tortured during the three months he spent in Salvadorian custody, according to new court documents filed Wednesday.

While being held at the so-called Terrorism Confinement Center (Cecot) in El Salvador, Ábrego García and 20 other men “were forced to kneel from approximately 9:00 PM to 6:00 AM”, according to the court papers filed by his lawyers in the federal district court in Maryland.

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© Photograph: George Walker IV/AP

© Photograph: George Walker IV/AP

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The leaked phone call that could ring the changes for one of Thailand’s most powerful dynasties

A conversation between the prime minister and Cambodia’s former leader has sparked chaos and coup concerns and possibly the end of the Shinawatra family’s political fortunes

It was a call to someone she considered an old family friend. When Thai prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra picked up the phone to Hun Sen, the powerful former leader of neighbouring Cambodia, she was trying, she says, to ease tensions that had erupted over a border dispute.

Instead their conversation, curiously leaked in full by Hun Sen himself, has sparked a fresh political crisis in Thailand that could signal the end of her premiership and significantly dent the position of her family, the powerful Shinawatras. It is also likely to usher in a new chapter of political uncertainty in a country prone to military coups and judicial warfare.

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© Photograph: Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images

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Ukraine war briefing: Washington downplays halt of some weapons shipments as Kyiv calls in US ambassador

Ukraine warns that any cut-off will ‘only encourage the aggressor’ while Pentagon spokesperson says Donald Trump still has ‘robust options’ for military aid to Ukraine. What we know on day 1,226

A decision by Washington to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine prompted warnings by Kyiv on Wednesday that the move would weaken its ability to defend against intensifying airstrikes and battlefield advances. Ukraine said it had called in the acting US envoy to Kyiv to underline the importance of military aid from Washington continuing, and cautioned that any cut-off would embolden Russia in its war in Ukraine. The Pentagon’s decision – tied to concerns that US military stockpiles are too low – began in recent days and includes 30 Patriot air defence missiles, which Ukraine relies on to destroy fast-moving ballistic missiles, four people familiar with the decision told Reuters on Wednesday. It also includes nearly 8,500 155mm artillery shells, more than 250 precision GMLRS (mobile rocket artillery) missiles and 142 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles, they said. “The Ukrainian side emphasised that any delay or procrastination in supporting Ukraine’s defence capabilities will only encourage the aggressor to continue the war and terror, rather than seek peace,” Ukraine’s foreign ministry said. The defence ministry said it had not been officially notified of any halt in US shipments and was seeking clarity from its American counterparts. A Ukrainian source familiar with the situation said the decision was a “total shock.”

US officials downplayed the White House announcement, saying President Donald Trump still had “robust” options for military assistance to Kyiv. “The department of defence continues to provide the president with robust options regarding military aid to Ukraine, consistent with his goal of bringing this tragic war to an end,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told journalists. “The department is rigorously examining and adapting its approach towards achieving this objective while also preserving US military readiness and defence priorities,” he said. State department spokesperson Tammy Bruce meanwhile told reporters that “this is not a cessation of us assisting Ukraine or of providing weapons. This is one event, and one situation, and we’ll discuss what else comes up in the future.”

An arson attack on a restaurant and supermarket in Estonia last year were ordered by Russian intelligence, an Estonian court said Wednesday. The attack was one in a series across Europe tracked by The Associated Press and linked to Russia by western officials. The goal, they asserted, was to sow division in western societies and undermine support for Ukraine. The Harju county court in Estonia said the perpetrators were two Moldovan men who are cousins, both named Ivan Chihaial.

Russia has made incursions near two towns key to army supply routes in eastern Ukraine, a Ukrainian military official said on Wednesday, as Moscow seeks a breakthrough in its summer offensive. In recent weeks, Russia has amassed forces and despite heavy losses has advanced in rural areas either side of Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka, which both sit on crossroads running to the frontline from larger cities in Ukrainian-controlled territory.

Four companies of the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ) will receive 2.4bn złotys ($665m) in financing from the state assets ministry for a project to build three ammunition factories, the ministry said on Wednesday. Poland is leading a European push to boost its defence readiness to deter any possible attack from Russia and to be less dependent for security on the United States.

Russia is using the online media outlet Red to sow discontent in German society as part of a disinformation campaign waged alongside its war in Ukraine, the foreign ministry in Berlin said on Wednesday. “Red presents itself as a revolutionary platform for independent journalists. However, it has close links with the Russian state media outlet RT,” a spokesperson for the foreign ministry told reporters in Berlin. “Today we can confirm that Red is being used by Russia specifically to manipulate information,” the spokesperson added. Red is run by Turkish media company AFA Medya, which together with its founder Huseyin Dogru is already the subject of EU sanctions targeting Russia and is accused of “undermining the democratic political process” in Germany. After they were sanctioned, Red announced on 16 May that it was closing down. Dogro has denied any links with the Kremlin or that the site is funded by Russia, according to media reports.

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© Photograph: Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images

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Inside Trump’s Charm Offensive as He Woos Holdout Republicans

President Trump worked the phones and welcomed Republicans to the White House to cajole them into supporting his megabill. They left with signed merchandise and photos of the Oval Office.

© Kent Nishimura for The New York Times

President Trump can be vindictive, but he also knows how to turn on the charm and make lowly lawmakers feel special.
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Chicago Suburb Will Buy Pope Leo XIV’s Boyhood Home

Officials in Dolton, Ill., called the purchase a rare opportunity. But some residents questioned whether the village, grappling with a deficit and potholes, could afford it.

© Jamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times

The Chicago suburb where Pope Leo XIV grew up voted on Tuesday to buy his boyhood home.
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Abrego Garcia Was Beaten and Tortured in El Salvador Prison, Lawyers Say

Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia was made to kneel overnight, denied bathroom access and confined in an overcrowded cell with bright lights and no windows, his lawyers say.

© Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times

A poster showing Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia during a news conference with his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, outside the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, Md., in April.
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Pentagon Again Shifts Assessment of Damage to Iran’s Nuclear Program

The appraisal that Iran’s nuclear hopes had been set back 1 to 2 years by U.S. and Israeli bombings was the latest in a shifting series of pronouncements.

© Arash Khamooshi for The New York Times

A billboard showing a variety of missiles in Tehran last year. The Pentagon’s chief spokesman said on Thursday that Iran’s nuclear program had likely been degraded by one to two years by U.S. and Israeli bombing.
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Columbia’s Acting President Apologizes for Texts Disparaging Trustee

Claire Shipman said she was “wrong” to have sent messages in 2023 and 2024 criticizing a trustee who was outspoken about the treatment of Jewish students.

© Amanda Andrade-Rhoades for The New York Times

Claire Shipman, the acting president of Columbia University, said critical remarks about a trustee were made “in a moment of frustration and stress were wrong.”
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Illegal Border Crossings Plunge to Lowest Level in Decades

Border Patrol agents made just over 6,000 arrests in June, according to government figures, a sign that President Trump’s hard-line immigration policies are working to keep people out.

© Christian Torres/Anadolu, via Getty Images

An armored Stryker combat vehicle patrolling the border between Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, and El Paso in June.
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