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There is “no doubt” the Falkland Islands are British, Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson has said, after Argentina’s new president vowed to “get them back”.

Javier Milei, who was elected in Argentina’s presidential election on Sunday, has said Buenos Aires had “non-negotiable” sovereignty over the Falklands, known as Islas Malvinas by Argentines.

He said his government would “make every effort” to take the islands back “through diplomatic channels”.

But the prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “The UK has no doubt about the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands.”

The Falkland Islands were the subject of a bloody conflict in 1982 after Argentine forces invaded and briefly occupied the territory.

The war claimed the lives of 255 British servicemen, three islanders and 649 Argentine personnel.

Mr Sunak’s spokesperson said: “The UK government will continue to proactively defend the Falkland islanders’ right to self-determination.”

British ministers regularly cite the results of a 2013 referendum that saw close to 100% of voters on the islands, which has a population of about 3,500 people, opt to remain a UK Overseas Territory.

The No 10 official said Falklands rule was an “issue that was settled decisively some time ago”.

Read more:
A pope critic and Al Capone fan – meet Argentina’s new president
Falklands War: Remembering the friends who never made it to breakfast

New president pledges to recover islands ‘through diplomatic channels’

Mr Milei had reportedly said during a TV election debate: “What do I propose? Argentina’s sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands is non-negotiable. The Malvinas are Argentine.

“Now we have to see how we are going to get them back. It is clear that the war option is not a solution.

“We had a war – that we lost – and now we have to make every effort to recover the islands through diplomatic channels.”

In an interview with daily newspaper La Nacion, Mr Milei proposed the UK hand over the Falklands to his South American country in a similar way to how Hong Kong was given over to Chinese rule in 1997.

The populist politician, a self-described anarcho-capitalist who has been compared to former US president Donald Trump, conceded that the views of those living on the islands “cannot be ignored”.

‘Undeniable’ Falkland Islands are British

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said it is “non-negotiable and undeniable” the Falkland Islands are British.

He tweeted: “99.8% of islanders voted to remain British and we will always defend their right to self-determination and the UK’s sovereignty.”

Rejecting any negotiation on the future of the Falklands, Mr Shapps highlighted how Royal Navy ship HMS Forth had been sent back to “protect the islands” in the southern hemisphere. It follows a nine-month stint by HMS Medway to patrol the remote location.

It comes after Mr Sunak criticised the EU for its “regrettable choice of words” in July after it appeared to have endorsed the name Argentina prefers.

ChatGPT maker OpenAI says it has agreed a deal for Sam Altman to return as chief executive after he was ousted by its board.

The agreement “in principle” involves a new board being installed, the company said.

In a post on X, OpenAI said: “We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo.

“We are collaborating to figure out the details. Thank you so much for your patience through this.”

It followed a threatened mutiny by OpenAI staff.

The vast majority of them said they would quit and work for Microsoft if the board did not resign and if Mr Altman and his ally and company president Greg Brockman, who left in solidarity with Mr Altman, were not reinstated.

The pair had been hired to work at Microsoft, OpenAI’s biggest investor, on a new artificial intelligence (AI) research project.

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For the president, it was personal.

That was certainly the tone struck in a late night statement on the hostage deal from the White House.

“Jill and I have been keeping all those held hostage and their loved ones close to our hearts these many weeks, and I am extraordinarily gratified that some of these brave souls, who have endured weeks of captivity and an unspeakable ordeal, will be reunited with their families once this deal is fully implemented.”

He had felt it.

Follow latest: Deal agreed but Israel says war will continue to ‘complete the elimination of Hamas’

US officials describe what they call a “gut-wrenching” zoom call between President Biden and relatives of hostages in the week after they were taken. Thereafter, he took a central role in the delicate process towards securing their release.

After the Qataris approached the United States and Israel to work towards hostage release, a “cell” was set up to work towards contacting and dealing with Hamas. According to a senior US administration official, Joe Biden was “directly and personally” engaged in the process.

In the wake of the hostage deal, assuming all goes according to plan, he shares credit for a significant breakthrough – one that has delivered a pause in hostilities, a substantial increase in humanitarian aid and freedom for 50 hostages.

They may not be the last.

Read more: Vote a major step in right direction, but it remains a fragile situation

US officials talk about getting all the hostages out, beyond the initial number, saying that a deal that offers extra days of pause in exchange for more hostages is a deal structured to “incentivise the release of everybody”.

“Today’s deal should bring home additional American hostages,” Biden said in his statement. “And I will not stop until they are all released.”

Read more:
Premature babies evacuated from Gaza arrive in Egypt
Gaza on verge of major disease outbreak, WHO warns

The US president’s stewardship throughout this war has been called into question and those questions won’t necessarily disappear. He has been criticised for America’s position more sharply as this conflict has continued through unrelenting horror.

As his administration stood with Israel, so the divergence between the two embarrassed the US president.
Requests he made – on military restraint, humanitarian aid and pauses in hostilities – weren’t honoured as he wished. So, for all his input with a view to shaping the course of conflict, events have exposed limitations in his influence.

But securing the freedom of hostages is unquestionably a success. Events that could, and should, unfold in the coming days go some way to endorsing the way he’s played his hand.

Former prime minister was indicted for allegedly revealing official secrets after his 2022 ouster from office.

The trial in jail of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan has been declared illegal by a court, his lawyer has said.

On Tuesday, lawyer Naeem Panjutha posted on social media that a court in Islamabad ruled against an in-jail trial for Khan, indicted last month on charges of revealing state secrets after he was ousted from office in 2022.

“Islamabad High Court has declared illegal the notification for jail trial,” Panjutha said in a post on X.

The impact of that declaration regarding Khan’s trial is not yet clear, but is expected to be clarified by a court order.

The trial against Khan, accused of publicising a classified diplomatic cable, has become a flashpoint in Pakistani politics, where the former leader remains popular and has characterised the charges against him as an effort by powerful interests to keep him out of office.

The 70-year-old former cricket star was expelled from office by a no-confidence vote in parliament in April 2022, an effort Khan accused of being pushed along by the United States.

Relations between Washington and Khan had become strained by issues such as the war in Ukraine, but the US has denied any involvement in his removal from office.

In October, Khan was indicted on security charges that accused him of leaking a diplomatic cable between Washington and Islamabad that Khan says offers proof of collusion against him.

Since his ouster last year, Khan has faced a slew of legal challenges, with the charges against him ranging from contempt of court to “terrorism” and blasphemy.

The probe puts more legal pressure on Alpha Conde, already facing allegations of corruption, assassination and torture.

Guinean Justice Minister Alphonse Charles Wright has announced an investigation into its ex-President Alpha Conde for treason, two years after he was removed from power in a military coup.

Conde, Guinea’s first democratically elected leader, was removed from office in September 2021 by an elite army unit led by Colonel Mamady Doumbouya. The coup came after he sought to extend his decade-long tenure with a third term in office and violently suppressed protests against the election bid.

Guinea’s military leaders have since launched a litany of judicial probes into Conde, including for alleged corruption, assassination, torture, kidnapping and rape.

The latest probe, ordered on Monday, will look into “alleged acts of treason, criminal conspiracy and complicity in the illicit possession of arms and ammunition”, according to a letter from Wright to the public prosecutor in Guinea’s capital of Conakry.

The letter alleges Conde, who now lives in exile in Turkey, had acquired weapons and ammunition, without providing details.

Guinea is one of several West and Central African states to have undergone a coup in recent years. Gabon, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger have all seen at least one coup each since 2020.

Guinea’s military leaders have vowed to transition the country back to civilian rule by 2026.

Another ex-president charged

Earlier this month, a drama played out for another Guinean ex-president in legal turmoil, Moussa Dadis Camara, as he was briefly freed from prison in a jailbreak.

Camara was recaptured on November 4, hours after being busted out of the Central House prison in Conakry by an armed commando, according to his lawyer. His lawyer, Pepe Antoine Lamah, said the jailed ex-president had not willingly participated in the breakout and instead was kidnapped by armed men.

However, a judicial source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the masked and armed soldiers who arrived at the prison declared they “had come to free Captain Dadis Camara”. It was unclear whether Camara had escaped of his own free will.

Camara – a former army officer who himself came to power in a coup, leading the country from December 2008 to January 2010 – has been detained since September 2022 on charges of murder, sexual violence, torture, abduction and kidnapping.

They stem from a 2009 attack carried out by security forces loyal to the then-military government leader.

The killing of 156 people and the rape of at least 109 women started at a political rally in a Conakry stadium on September 28, 2009, and continued in the days that followed, according to a UN-mandated inquiry. Camara and ten other co-defendants face life imprisonment if convicted.