Plus: Birkenstocks are not art, German court rules ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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| Hello. We have the latest on the deepening rift between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky, with the US president reportedly "very frustrated" with his counterpart in Kyiv. From South Korea, my colleague Jean Mackenzie reports on a conspiracy theory gripping supporters of the impeached president. We also bring you the conclusion of the World Cup kiss trial, Amazon taking control of the James Bond film franchise, and why a German court has ruled that Birkenstocks are not art. | |
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TOP OF THE AGENDA | Trump 'very frustrated' with Zelensky as US-Ukraine rift deepens |
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| | Before he was elected president, Trump met Zelensky in New York. Credit: Reuters | The rift between Washington and Kyiv appears to be growing, with Donald Trump "very frustrated" with his Ukrainian counterpart, the US national security advisor has said. Mike Waltz told press that "insults" at Trump from Kyiv were unacceptable, and claimed Volodymyr Zelensky had not "come to the table" for negotiations. Waltz's comments came just hours after a separate news update involving Zelensky and the US's Ukraine envoy was cancelled by the Americans. Keith Kellogg arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday as a row erupted between Zelensky and Trump after Kyiv was excluded from talks between the US and Russia on ending the war in Ukraine. And in comments to a conservative conference in the US, Vice President JD Vance said that "everything is on the table" when it comes to negotiations with Russia. Take a look at what Trump and Zelensky have said about each other and how their relationship has unfolded. |
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| Spain's ex-football boss fined for World Cup kiss | In her testimony, Jenni Hermoso said she did not consent and the kiss had "stained one of the happiest days of my life". | Background to this story > |
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| Passengers on crashed plane offered $30,000 each | As it landed in Toronto, the plane skidded along the runway in flames before flipping over and coming to a halt upside down. | Read more > |
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| Buses explode in Israel in 'suspected terror attack' | Police say they are investigating reports of several bus explosions near Tel Aviv, and there have been no reported casualties. | What we know > |
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| James Bond producers give control to Amazon | Amazon will now decide who takes over as 007, but there is still no timescale for when the next film will be made. | More on this story > |
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| 'We will unite with Kim Jong Un': Conspiracies grip South Korea | | Shin Jeong-min was one of those rallying in support of Yoon Suk Yeol outside court. Credit: BBC/Hosu Lee | Two months on from his failed coup, an anti-communist frenzy is gripping supporters of impeached South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol. Even some who had never given North Korea or communism much thought are now convinced their dynamic democracy is on the brink of being turned into a leftist dictatorship – and that their leader had no choice but to remove people's democratic rights and declare martial law in order to protect them from both Pyongyang and Beijing. |
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| | Jean Mackenzie, Seoul correspondent |
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| | "If the president is impeached and the opposition leader is elected, our country will become one with North Korea and Kim Jong Un," Shin Jeong-min says at a rally in support of Yoon. The 22-year-old student is citing a theory popular among Yoon's most fanatical followers: that the left-leaning opposition party wants to unify with the North and turn South Korea into a communist country.
Not only has Yoon accused the opposition-led parliament of being riddled with Pyongyang sympathisers, but he has dangled the idea that North Korea, with help from China, rigged last year's parliamentary election.
Such ideas were previously pedalled by extreme conservative groups, a polling expert explains. "These groups were isolated. People didn't take much notice... But because Yoon is the president, his words carry weight, and many people have accepted what he said."
This was evident at one of the pro-Yoon rallies we attended. Far from being die-hard conspiracy theorists, nearly everyone we spoke to said Yoon had changed their thinking. |
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SOMETHING DIFFERENT | Dark-sky sanctuary | Canada's Jasper National Park offers a one-of-a-kind destination for stargazers. | |
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And finally... in Germany | Birkenstocks may be cool enough for Barbie but the sandals do not qualify as works of art, a German court has ruled. The company had claimed its footwear could be classified as art and so was protected by copyright laws in a case it put forward to stop rivals selling copycat versions of the cork-soled sandals. But a judge dismissed the claim, saying the shoes were practical design items - a decision Birkenstock called a "missed opportunity for the protection of intellectual property". | |
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