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Sweden has formally asked Beijing to help clarify what happened when two data cables were damaged in the Baltic Sea where a China-flagged vessel had been sighted.Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said the request has been made as one of the cables, which connects Sweden and Lithuania, came back online after its operator Arelion said it had been repaired. The second cable runs from Finland to Germany and is expected to be working again in the next couple of days following repair work by its Finnish owner Cinia.Both cables were damaged in Swedish waters in less than 24 hours between 17 and 18 November. The China-flagged bulk carrier Yi Peng 3, which is currently moored in international waters between Sweden and Denmark, was seen in the area at the time the cables were damaged.Meanwhile,...

Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek has said being given a one-month doping ban from the sport was the "worst experience of my life".The Polish player was ranked world number one when she provided a sample containing the angina medication trimetazidine in an out-of-competition test on 12 August. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted the result was caused by contamination of the regulated non-prescription medication melatonin, manufactured and sold in Poland, which Swiatek took for jet lag and sleep issues.Her level of fault was therefore considered to be at the lowest end of the range for "No Significant Fault or Negligence".Swiatek was provisionally suspended from 22 September until 4 October but the suspension was not made public. Instead, the three tournaments ...

Two female Russian spies in a love triangle were to be used as "honeytraps" in a surveillance operation on targets across Europe, run from the UK, a court has been told.Katrin Ivanova, 33, a lab assistant, and Vanya Gaberova, 30, a beautician, were intended to be "in direct contact" with targets "as sexual bait to capture more information", the Old Bailey heard. They were allegedly assisted by Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, a painter and decorator from Enfield who had previously been in a relationship with Gaberova.Bizer Dzhambazov, 43, a medical courier who has pleaded guilty to the spying conspiracy, lived with Ivanova in Harrow, northwest London, but was also having a relationship with Gaberova, who had a flat in Euston. Image: Bizer Dzhambazov. Pic...

At least 15 people have died and more than 100 are missing after landslides buried homes in several villages in eastern Uganda.Some 15 people have been rescued and taken to hospital, police said. At least 40 households were completely buried, the Uganda Red Cross Society said. It added that 13 bodies had been recovered.Police said 113 people were missing. Image: Pic: Reuters The missing are from eight villages, according to a spokesperson for the Ugandan prime minister's office, which oversees disaster response work. "We are shocked that it was this devastating," Charles Odongtho said. All bridges in the area had been washed away and the roads were inundated with water, he added.Authorities expect the number killed might ri...