World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk |
- Prince, superstar and pioneer of American music, dies aged 57
- Nigerian army killed 350 and secretly buried the bodies, Amnesty says
- Decriminalize all drugs, business and world leaders tell UN
- Deaths on collapsed Rio de Janeiro bike path deal safety blow to Olympic host
- 'Worth it': FBI admits it paid $1.3m to hack into San Bernardino iPhone
- Singer MIA faces criticism for comments on Beyoncé and Black Lives Matter
- Greek talks with lenders fraught as fears grow of default
- 'Dancing on graves': Russia hits out at Berlin festival near burial site
- 'It's a disaster': children bear brunt of southern Africa's devastating drought | Lucy Lamble
- Time 100: FGM campaigner Jaha Dukureh makes prestigious list
- Eduardo Cunha: Brazil president's chief accuser faces allegations of his own
- Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam charged over Brussels shootout
- Prince: autopsy to be held after death of singer at Paisley Park
- Angela Merkel faces balancing act on visit to Turkey
- Mitsubishi scandal deepens after US demands test data
- FBI paid $1.3m to hack into San Bernardino iPhone – video
- Barack Obama urges UK voters to 'stick together' with EU
- AB Yehoshua: ‘Instead of dealing with Palestine, the new generation do a play or write a story’
- Discount ticket on the bus to reform: Iran's runoff elections
- 'Honey, we’re better than the Supremes': Sudan's girl band going strong 45-years on
- Soviet squares: how public space is disappearing in post-communist cities
- Behold, Darth Workshy: Prince William’s busy day on the Star Wars set
- Obama says EU membership 'magnifies' UK's power - Politics live
- Former PNG politician wins temporary block on Australian documentary film
- Former Leighton Holdings executive alleges corruption over $15m payment
- A member's view: it's not feminism that's failing the 99%, it's the system
- Another 'toxic school' case leads to closure of Chinese chemical works
- Passover in Glasgow: gefilte fish, rising fear and fewer Jews
- Japanese cat cafe closed down over neglect fears
- Iran denying medical care to political prisoners, activists say
- Leak blamed as Mexico explosion death toll rises
- Transgender New Zealanders face 30-year wait for surgery after only specialist retires
- Australia to follow UK in creating public register of shell companies
- Police dog named Gazza shot dead at New Zealand gun siege
- Mexico's president proposes legalising medical marijuana
- Canadian PM Justin Trudeau dons the gloves at New York boxing gym – video
- Canadian high school basketball star may actually be 29-year-old refugee
- Minneapolis mourns its Prince – in pictures
- Daniel Andrews announces Australia's first pride centre for Melbourne
- Family claims Nazis stole famed Jewish manuscript from them
- Harper's government used 'shocking' tactics in senator scandal, judge says
- Bolivian president Evo Morales sees a lot to like in Bernie Sanders' candidacy
- Cuban university fires economist over allegedly sharing information with US
- Bolivian cholita climbers conquer highest peaks near La Paz – in pictures
- Kingfisher beer magnate believed to have fled to UK
- Bike lane collapses in Rio de Janeiro – video
- Foreign Office warns LGBT tourists of North Carolina and Mississippi travel
- Earthquake survivors in Ecuador struggle without food and basic aid
- Russian artillery deployed for Aleppo offensive as Syria talks falter
- Bolivia's cholita climbers scale highest mountain yet: 'I cried with emotion'
- 400-year-old dress found in shipwreck sheds light on plot to pawn crown jewels
- Cook in Mallorca accused of plotting terrorist attack
- Questions remain over Jerusalem bus attack after bomber named
- France to hold summit on Israeli-Palestinian peace process
- Story of cities #28: how postwar Warsaw was rebuilt using 18th century paintings
- Oakland's housing crisis: 'I’m the last one here. I don’t know if I can stay or go'
- Married at 14, abandoned by 15: the forgotten girls of Dhaka | Farhana Haider
- US and EU conservation funds failing to protect trees or people, claims report
- The hidden face of drug use: from Cambodia to Senegal – in pictures
- Students Speak: if you were head of the UN, what would you do?
- South Sudan peace deal in balance amid opposition leader’s continued absence
- Obama’s pro-Europe credentials are under more scrutiny than ever
- Trump: 'I'm gonna be so presidential that you people will be so bored' - video
- Trump: transgender people have right to choose bathroom – video
- How a Kent gang were caught smuggling UK’s largest haul of assault rifles – video
- 'There is immense hatred for America': how drones affect life in Pakistan – video
- What happens in a drone attack? 'Suddenly there were explosions' – video
| Prince, superstar and pioneer of American music, dies aged 57 Posted: 21 Apr 2016 10:21 AM PDT Purple Rain singer whose sprawling career spanned decades and genres dies at his Paisley Park recording studio in his home state of Minnesota The unique and endlessly creative artist Prince has died at his Paisley Park home, outside Minneapolis, aged 57, leaving behind him a gaping hole in musical genres as diverse as R&B, rock, funk and pop. The death was announced by his publicist Yvette Noel-Schure after police had been called to the premises which double as his music studio in the Minnesota city. No details were immediately given for the cause of death, though last week he was rushed to hospital apparently recovering from a bout of flu that had forced his private jet to make an emergency landing in Illinois. Continue reading... |
| Nigerian army killed 350 and secretly buried the bodies, Amnesty says Posted: 21 Apr 2016 04:01 PM PDT Amnesty International report says military shot and burned members of Islamic Movement in Nigeria last December and secretly buried the bodies The Nigerian military has been urged to "come clean" over the deaths of 350 civilians who are alleged to have been shot or burned alive and then dumped in a mass grave following a confrontation in the north of the country last December. A new report from Amnesty International, which includes witness testimony and satellite images of a possible mass grave, accuses the military of illegally attacking members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) and then trying to cover up the atrocities. Continue reading... |
| Decriminalize all drugs, business and world leaders tell UN Posted: 21 Apr 2016 01:31 PM PDT Leaders of Global Commission on Drug Policy including Richard Branson and three ex-presidents say special session on drug policy was 'fatally flawed' A British billionaire, three former presidents and a renowned Aids researcher have called for all drugs to be decriminalized at a press conference that was sharply critical of the United Nations' latest drug policy agreement, adopted this week. Leaders of the Global Commission on Drug Policy said the UN's first special session on drugs in 18 years had failed to improve international narcotics policy, instead choosing to tweak its prohibition-oriented approach to drug regulation. Continue reading... |
| Deaths on collapsed Rio de Janeiro bike path deal safety blow to Olympic host Posted: 21 Apr 2016 10:27 AM PDT At least two are dead after a new seaside bike path was hit by a wave and collapsed, damaging the city's credibility ahead of the summer Games A newly built elevated bike path has collapsed into the sea in Rio de Janeiro, killing at least two people and dealing another blow to the city's credibility as an Olympic host. A huge wave swept away a 50-metre stretch of the Tim Maia ciclovia, which opened four months ago at a cost of 44.7m reais ($12.6m) – and had been heralded as a major legacy project from the 2016 Games. Continue reading... |
| 'Worth it': FBI admits it paid $1.3m to hack into San Bernardino iPhone Posted: 21 Apr 2016 01:33 PM PDT The hefty price paid for the software that hacked Syed Farook's iPhone, which Apple refused to help the FBI break into, signals a growing 'exploit market' The FBI paid about $1.3m for software to hack into the iPhone of San Bernardino gunman Syed Farook, director James Comey told a London audience on Thursday. The staggering price illustrates the growth of the so-called "exploit market" for digital spy tools and cyber weapons as governments increasingly use hacker tricks for law enforcement and war. Prices for such software are rarely disclosed, although anything in the seven-figure range is extremely expensive. Continue reading... |
| Singer MIA faces criticism for comments on Beyoncé and Black Lives Matter Posted: 21 Apr 2016 10:26 AM PDT Maya Arulpragasam said Black Lives Matter is the only problem talked about in the US and called on Beyoncé to highlight plight of other groups, such as Syrians MIA has been criticised for her comments about Beyoncé, the Black Lives Matter movement and the lack of similar protest organisation aimed at addressing violence towards Muslims. In an interview in the Evening Standard, the singer (whose real name is Maya Arulpragasam) said that Black Lives Matter is the only problem that's talked about in the US and called on stars such as Beyoncé to highlight the plight of other groups, including Syrians. Continue reading... |
| Greek talks with lenders fraught as fears grow of default Posted: 21 Apr 2016 12:52 PM PDT Crisis returns to Greece as unemployment reaches 30% and debt repayment deadlines loom The Hilton hotel in Athens makes the perfect backdrop for high-intensity talks. Its ambience is subdued, its corridors hushed, its meeting rooms an oasis of tranquility. When Greece, in one of its many stand-offs with the international creditors keeping it afloat, finally won the right to conduct negotiations outside the confines of government offices, it seemed only natural that they should be held at the hotel. Continue reading... |
| 'Dancing on graves': Russia hits out at Berlin festival near burial site Posted: 21 Apr 2016 07:59 AM PDT Lollapolooza festival will be held in park containing memorial for Soviet soldiers killed during second world war The Russian government has hit out at authorities in Berlin for allowing a music festival to be staged near a burial site for Soviet soldiers. Berlin's Lollapolooza festival, headlined by Radiohead and Kings of Leon, is scheduled to take place on 10-11 September at Treptower Park, which also contains a large memorial site for Soviet soldiers who died during the second world war. Continue reading... |
| 'It's a disaster': children bear brunt of southern Africa's devastating drought | Lucy Lamble Posted: 21 Apr 2016 02:27 AM PDT In southern Malawi and Zimbabwe, drought is overwhelming communities, forcing families to rely on meals of leaves and watermelon soup Chidyamakondo high school, near Masvingo in southern Zimbabwe, has won the national girls' football championships three years in a row. But that cherished record – and far, far more – is now at risk. "Students are fainting, struggling to concentrate in lessons, dropping out of school … we're having to shorten our assemblies and cut back on sport," says headteacher Morrison Musorowegomo. Continue reading... |
| Time 100: FGM campaigner Jaha Dukureh makes prestigious list Posted: 21 Apr 2016 09:19 AM PDT US campaigner made Obama take action on female genital mutilation, and got practice banned in the Gambia Anti-FGM campaigner Jaha Dukureh has been named one of the world's most influential leaders by Time magazine alongside John Kerry, Angela Merkel, Aung San Suu Kyi, Bernie Sanders and Christine Lagarde. Dukureh, the lead campaigner in the Guardian's global media campaign to end female genital mutilation, was honoured in particular for her work in the US and the Gambia but is now campaigning to end the practice worldwide in a generation, using her experiences as a survivor to build public support. Continue reading... |
| Eduardo Cunha: Brazil president's chief accuser faces allegations of his own Posted: 21 Apr 2016 02:30 AM PDT Speaker of country's lower house faces investigations over alleged perjury, money laundering and bribes – but political tide appears to be moving in his favor After the impeachment vote against Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, attention is shifting to her accuser-in-chief, who is charged with greater crimes – but looks more likely to escape justice. The lower house speaker, Eduardo Cunha, an evangelical conservative and conspiratorial mastermind, started and steered the drive to remove the country's first female leader from power as a means of reducing the risks to himself from investigations by a congressional ethics committee and prosecutors for alleged perjury, money laundering and receipt of at least $5m in bribes. Continue reading... |
| Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam charged over Brussels shootout Posted: 21 Apr 2016 04:59 AM PDT Suspect in November Paris massacre charged over shootout that took place a week before twin suicide attacks in Belgian capital The Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam has been charged over a deadly shootout with police in Brussels a week before twin suicide bombings in the Belgian capital, his lawyer has said. "He has been charged with attempted murder either alone or jointly" over the gun battle at an apartment in the Forest district of Brussels on 15 March, said lawyer Sven Mary. Continue reading... |
| Prince: autopsy to be held after death of singer at Paisley Park Posted: 22 Apr 2016 01:21 AM PDT Star who sold 100m records during rich and unpredictable career found collapsed at Paisley Park home outside Minneapolis A postmortem examination will take place on Friday on the body of Prince, who died at his Paisley Park home aged 57, leaving behind him a gaping hole in musical genres as diverse as R&B, rock, funk and pop. Prince was found collapsed in a lift at the premises outside Minneapolis, which doubled as his music studio. According to a transcript of a 9.43am emergency call released on Friday, an unidentified male caller said he was dead and replied: "Yes, it's Prince" when asked if he was with the person. Prince was pronounced dead at the scene at 10.07am on Thursday. Continue reading... |
| Angela Merkel faces balancing act on visit to Turkey Posted: 22 Apr 2016 01:11 AM PDT German chancellor is under pressure to raise freedom of speech issues while also mending relations over visa deal Angela Merkel is facing dual pressure to both raise freedom of speech issues and patch up fraying diplomatic relations with Turkey during a visit to Gaziantep province on Saturday. The issue of visa-free travel, one of the key elements of the month-old deal between the European Union and Turkey, is expected to be at the top of the agenda as the German chancellor visits the country alongside the European Council president, Donald Tusk, and European commission vice-president Frans Timmermans. Continue reading... |
| Mitsubishi scandal deepens after US demands test data Posted: 22 Apr 2016 12:57 AM PDT Road safety watchdog asks for data on models sold within US as Japanese carmaker's share price dives 40% in a week The scandal engulfing Mitsubishi Motors has deepened, sending its shares to a new low after US authorities said they had requested information from the Japanese automotive group. Mitsubishi admitted this week that it manipulated test data to overstate the fuel efficiency of 625,000 cars and there are fears that more models may be involved. Government officials raided one of its offices on Thursday. Continue reading... |
| FBI paid $1.3m to hack into San Bernardino iPhone – video Posted: 22 Apr 2016 12:46 AM PDT During an interview with Financial Times companies editor Brooke Masters on Thursday, FBI director James Comey says his investigators paid more than what he will earn in the next seven years to buy the software that hacked the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone. The director's salary is $180,000 per year, so the total is at least $1.26m Continue reading... |
| Barack Obama urges UK voters to 'stick together' with EU Posted: 22 Apr 2016 12:10 AM PDT US president arrives in London and makes emotional plea for Britons to back remain campaign in 23 June referendum Barack Obama has made an emotional plea to the British public to "stick together" with the rest of the European Union, as he arrived in the UK to celebrate the Queen's 90th birthday. With the result of June's referendum looking too close to call, the US president eschewed careful diplomatic language to make a direct appeal to voters to back the remain campaign. Continue reading... |
| AB Yehoshua: ‘Instead of dealing with Palestine, the new generation do a play or write a story’ Posted: 22 Apr 2016 12:00 AM PDT The acclaimed Israeli novelist on the political role of the writer and why it is time to rethink the two-state solution They are, if not the holy trinity, then at least the hallowed trio. Amos Oz, David Grossman and AB Yehoshua – once hailed as "the three tenors" of Israeli literature, who have for decades served an exalted double role. Inside the country, they are the unofficial liberal conscience of the nation: delivering rousing speeches at demonstrations or firing off newspaper polemics that burn with righteous indignation, whether lamenting Israel's march rightward, denouncing its presence in the territories occupied since 1967 or making the deeply unfashionable case for peace with the Palestinians. Outside Israel, where literary prizes are heaped on them with unflagging regularity, they offer those same red-hot criticisms – but at the same time, and with no contradiction, also mount a defence of Israel itself: not its governments, but its right to be there and what they see as its enduring necessity. Of the three, Yehoshua might be the least well known beyond Israel. Perhaps that's because he does not have Oz or Grossman's unnerving ability to deploy the English language with a precision and eloquence few native speakers can muster. Yet Yehoshua, who in his 80th year is the oldest of the trio, is at least as celebrated. In 2005, he was the sole Israeli on the shortlist for the first International Man Booker prize. Continue reading... |
| Discount ticket on the bus to reform: Iran's runoff elections Posted: 21 Apr 2016 11:00 PM PDT The reformists used to give up when their candidates were disqualified or defeated in the first round - now they ask voters to go tactical. The remaining parliamentary seats are up for grab next week After the February surprise when Iran's reformers ingeniously outmanoeuvred the fundamentalists, Iran's 2016 elections have fallen off the global media's radar screen. However, a crucial second round of voting on 29 April is approaching for 64 parliamentary seats in districts all around the country. These are the places that were too close to call in February, when 226 out of 290 seats were decided. All seats for metropolitan Tehran are filled – although there will be polling in three of its satellite cities – and most of the run-offs are in small towns, scattered around 18 of Iran's 31 provinces. The races are lively, proving that Iran's provinces, even if rarely visited by Tehranis much less foreigners, are no longer mired in myopic local rivalries. Continue reading... |
| 'Honey, we’re better than the Supremes': Sudan's girl band going strong 45-years on Posted: 21 Apr 2016 05:05 AM PDT The country's favourite trio remember the 'vibrant' 70s and explain why they are finally ready for a world tour Stepping onto stage in Khartoum and launching into their first song, The Nightingales – Sudan's best-loved girl band – still raise cheers from adoring fans, 45-years after their debut. Sisters Amal, Hadia and Hayat Talsam were known in their 1970s heyday as the "Sudanese Supremes" with their stylish bobs, matching dresses and soulful ballads, which changed the image of female artists in Sudan forever. Continue reading... |
| Soviet squares: how public space is disappearing in post-communist cities Posted: 21 Apr 2016 02:42 AM PDT Privatisation is stripping cities in Russia and Eastern Europe of their public assets, leaving a chaotic mix of advertising, dilapidation and new development From 1917 to 1991 in the former Russian Empire, and from 1945 to 1989 in the countries it dominated after the war, there was no real private ownership. No landowners, no developers, no "placemakers" - in half of Europe. Did this mean public space was done differently, and are attitudes to it different in those countries? At first, it appears the result was huge boulevards for tanks, windswept squares looked down on by scowling statues, and scrubby open space between concrete slabs – alienating, inhumane, authoritarian. However, observed more closely, public space here is every bit as complex as it is elsewhere in Europe. Continue reading... |
| Behold, Darth Workshy: Prince William’s busy day on the Star Wars set Posted: 21 Apr 2016 11:05 PM PDT Big hand to the special effects team for pulling off this scene To Pinewood Studios, and a picture best captioned: "OH GOD JUST BRING BACK THE EFFING TRADE FEDERATION". The snap is datelined Tuesday, when Prince William was green-screened into the appearance of doing a day's work by the state-of-the-art special effects team on the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Behold, Darth Workshy and his mildly racist sidekick, sparring in a sequence likely to throw individuals from Jar Jar Binks to bratty Anakin Jr into somewhat sympathetic relief. Continue reading... |
| Obama says EU membership 'magnifies' UK's power - Politics live Posted: 22 Apr 2016 01:21 AM PDT Rolling coverage of all the day's political developments, including President Obama's visit to London and his press conference with David Cameron
Here is Air Force One arriving at Stansted last night carrying President Obama.
Earlier this week, when eight former US treasuries secretaries wrote a joint article saying why Britain should remain in the EU, they mostly focused on arguments about why they thought it was in Britain's economic interests for it to stay in. President Obama's Telegraph article is different. Mostly his argument is about why it is in America's interests for Britain to remain in the EU. The United Kingdom remains a friend and ally to the United States like no other. Our special relationship was forged as we spilt blood together on the battlefield. It was fortified as we built and sustained the architecture for advancing stability and prosperity in Europe, and our democratic values around the globe. From the ashes of war, those who came before us had the foresight to create the international institutions and initiatives to sustain a prosperous peace: the United Nations and Nato; Bretton Woods, the Marshall Plan, and the European Union. Their efforts provided a foundation for democracy, open markets, and the rule of law, while underwriting more than seven decades of relative peace and prosperity in Europe. Ultimately, the question of whether or not the UK remains a part of the EU is a matter for British voters to decide for yourselves. That said, when President Roosevelt toasted to our special relationship that night, he also remarked that we are friends who have no fear of each other. So I will say, with the candour of a friend, that the outcome of your decision is a matter of deep interest to the United States. The tens of thousands of Americans who rest in Europe's cemeteries are a silent testament to just how intertwined our prosperity and security truly are. And the path you choose now will echo in the prospects of today's generation of Americans as well. Continue reading... |
| Former PNG politician wins temporary block on Australian documentary film Posted: 22 Apr 2016 12:44 AM PDT Dame Carol Kidu objects to film about controversial plan to build five-star hotel and marina in Port Moresby Former Papua New Guinean politician Dame Carol Kidu has won an 11th-hour legal battle to block the premiere of an Australian documentary about a controversial plan to build a five-star hotel and marina on the Port Moresby foreshore. The 75-minute documentary, by film-maker Hollie Fifer, was due to screen at the Hot Docs international film festival in Canada next Thursday. Continue reading... |
| Former Leighton Holdings executive alleges corruption over $15m payment Posted: 21 Apr 2016 11:49 PM PDT Stephen Sasse also questions the ability of Australian federal police to investigate his claims of alleged foreign bribery A former senior executive of Leighton Holdings has given evidence about corruption inside the company he once worked for, saying he has been told by the corporate regulator that it plans to charge one of Leighton's former finance chiefs over a suspect $15m payment to a Dubai consultant in 2011. The former executive, Stephen Sasse, also questioned the ability of the Australian federal police investigating his claims of alleged foreign bribery, made in 2012, expressing his frustration that the investigation is ongoing – without anyone having been charged yet. Continue reading... |
| A member's view: it's not feminism that's failing the 99%, it's the system Posted: 22 Apr 2016 12:00 AM PDT Guardian panellists debated whether the successes of a few women represent the experiences of the majority. Here's what Roberta Hunter-Henderson made of it The Guardian event "Is Feminism Failing the 99%" aimed to challenge the idea that feminism's success can be measured by the number of women who reach the top of their careers. The panel considered the following question: do a handful of success stories say more about the privilege of a few than the experiences of the majority? I came in on the attack because the title of the event was very provocative. But it became clear that all the panellists agreed that the 99% aren't being failed by feminism, but the patriarchy – or the system. It was a fightback for human feminism, rather than the so-called corporate feminism that Sheryl Sandberg is responsible for. Continue reading... |
| Another 'toxic school' case leads to closure of Chinese chemical works Posted: 21 Apr 2016 11:54 PM PDT Industrial park told to cease production after 20 students fell ill in Hai'an, on the heels of poisoning scare involving 500 pupils in another part of same province Authorities have ordered the closure of a chemical industrial complex in eastern China after children at a local primary school came down with mysterious nosebleeds and skin complaints that their parents blamed on pollution. The case comes just days after hundreds of students in the same region were revealed to have fallen ill, some severely, after attending a school built on a toxic waste dump. Continue reading... |
| Passover in Glasgow: gefilte fish, rising fear and fewer Jews Posted: 21 Apr 2016 11:00 PM PDT Community's Scottish heartland changing amid reports of antisemitism and a decline in those declaring their faith Stocks of Doreen Cohen's legendary home-made gefilte fish were running low in Scotland's only kosher delicatessen this week, as customers filled baskets and trolleys with traditional Passover foods. Despite retiring five years ago as caterer to Glasgow's Jewish community, Cohen spent three days this week making 250kg of the delicacy ahead of the eight-day Jewish holiday which starts at sundown on Friday. |
| Japanese cat cafe closed down over neglect fears Posted: 21 Apr 2016 10:04 PM PDT One of Tokyo's famed cafes has been ordered to shut amid concerns that cramped conditions are spreading disease One of Japan's famed cat cafes has been closed down for violating animal cruelty laws in the first crackdown of its kind. Related: Cat cafés and doggy dining rooms Continue reading... |
| Iran denying medical care to political prisoners, activists say Posted: 21 Apr 2016 10:00 PM PDT International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran highlights cases of physicist with cancer and blogger on hunger strike Activists have raised concerns about the health of two prisoners held in Iran on political grounds – an award-winning physicist with cancer and a blogger who has been on hunger strike for nearly a month. In an episode that highlights Iranian authorities' denial of crucial medical care to prisoners of conscience, physicist Omid Kokabee, 34, had surgery on Wednesday to remove his right kidney, taken out after repeated warnings about his condition were ignored during five years of his imprisonment. Continue reading... |
| Leak blamed as Mexico explosion death toll rises Posted: 21 Apr 2016 09:32 PM PDT Soldiers on guard at Pemex petrochemical plant in Gulf port of Coatzacoalcos, with relatives waiting for news of missing workers A leak has been blamed by Mexican authorities for the petrochemical plant blast that killed at least 24 people in the Gulf port of Coatzacoalcos. The Mexican oil giant Pemex confirmed the deaths on Thursday and said 19 more remained in hospital, 13 with serious injuries, as it grappled with the latest in a series of fatal accidents to batter the company. |
| Transgender New Zealanders face 30-year wait for surgery after only specialist retires Posted: 21 Apr 2016 09:31 PM PDT Community 'desperate' after departure of country's sole specialist surgeon, forcing those wanting surgery to face lengthy wait or seek treatment overseas Transgender people awaiting sex reassignment surgery in New Zealand have been told they face a wait of more than 30 years for the procedure, since the country's only specialist surgeon has retired. "It's a wretched situation," says Lynda Whitehead, president of trans advocacy group Agender. "The last few years have been devastating for the trans community." Continue reading... |
| Australia to follow UK in creating public register of shell companies Posted: 21 Apr 2016 09:15 PM PDT Canberra commits to anti-tax avoidance measure ahead of an anti-corruption conference in London in mid-May convened by David Cameron Australia will follow the United Kingdom and become the second major economy to create a public register revealing the identities of the beneficial owners of shell companies in an effort to stamp out tax avoidance by multinational companies. The Canberra government has signalled it will make a public commitment to a register of beneficial ownership within weeks, ahead of an anti-corruption conference in London in mid-May convened by David Cameron. Continue reading... |
| Police dog named Gazza shot dead at New Zealand gun siege Posted: 21 Apr 2016 09:05 PM PDT Officers surround Wellington property after armed confrontation resulted in country's 24th death of a police dog in the line of duty New Zealand police surrounded a property in Wellington after an armed man shot and killed a police dog named Gazza in a dramatic encounter where one officer had to jump out of a second-storey window to safety. Related: New Zealand police shooting siege ends after 22 hours Continue reading... |
| Mexico's president proposes legalising medical marijuana Posted: 21 Apr 2016 07:48 PM PDT
Mexico's president Enrique Peña Nieto has announced plans to introduced laws to legalise medical marijuana and increase the quantity anyone can carry and consume for recreational purposes from five grams to 28 grams. His plan would also free some prisoners convicted of possessing small amounts of marijuana. The proposed laws, he said on Thursday, would stop "criminalising consumption" and also authorise the use of medicines made from a base of marijuana and or its active ingredients. Continue reading... |
| Canadian PM Justin Trudeau dons the gloves at New York boxing gym – video Posted: 21 Apr 2016 06:09 PM PDT The youthful leader Trudeau stepped into the ring and shared some of his best moves in the ring with a group of young athletes from the Give a Kid a Dream program, a non-profit that helps provide mentorship to disadvantaged youths through boxing. Trudeau is in New York for Friday's signing ceremony of the climate deal agreed in Paris last December. Continue reading... |
| Canadian high school basketball star may actually be 29-year-old refugee Posted: 21 Apr 2016 04:59 PM PDT Border officials arrested Jonathan Nicola on allegations that he misrepresented his date of birth on his application to study in Canada as a grade 11 student He stunned high school basketball fans with his prowess on the court, his 6ft 9in, 202lb frame towering over the other players. On Thursday, Canadian border services suggested Jonathan Nicola might have had a slight advantage over his peers – alleging that the teenage refugee from south Sudan may in fact be a 29-year-old man. Continue reading... |
| Minneapolis mourns its Prince – in pictures Posted: 21 Apr 2016 04:52 PM PDT Prince was born in Minneapolis and has been widely acclaimed to have pioneered the city's sound. A hybrid mixture of funk, rock, pop, synthpop and new wave, that led to hits including Little Red Corvette, Let's Go Crazy and When Doves Cry Continue reading... |
| Daniel Andrews announces Australia's first pride centre for Melbourne Posted: 21 Apr 2016 04:32 PM PDT Move announced before parliamentary apology to LGBTI Victorians convicted under state's anti-homosexuality laws A $15m commitment by the Victorian government to build Australia's first pride centre in Melbourne has been hailed as "amazing leadership" by Victoria's gender and sexuality commissioner, Rowena Allen, who said it was the first time the state had invested in infrastructure to support the needs of the LGBTI community. Related: Marriage equality: Telstra denies backflip after pressure from Catholic church Continue reading... |
| Family claims Nazis stole famed Jewish manuscript from them Posted: 21 Apr 2016 04:19 PM PDT Birds' Head Haggadah, currently on display at Jerusalem's Israel Museum, was allegedly stolen 70 years ago Grandchildren of one of the earliest Jewish victims of the Nazis are laying claim to a jewel of Israel's top museum: the world's oldest illustrated Passover manuscript. The family of a Jewish German lawmaker say the famed Birds' Head Haggadah, a 14th-century copy of the text read at Jewish dinner tables on Passover, was stolen from their family during the Nazi era and sold without their consent 70 years ago to the predecessor of Jerusalem's Israel Museum in what they call a "longstanding illegal and moral injustice". Continue reading... |
| Harper's government used 'shocking' tactics in senator scandal, judge says Posted: 21 Apr 2016 04:05 PM PDT Canadian senator Mike Duffy acquitted of fraud and bribery charges but judge delivers indictment of Conservative's 'covert' and 'mind-boggling' tactics A judge has acquitted a Canadian senator of charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust, in a decision that delivered a scathing critique of the "mind-boggling and shocking" tactics of the country's former Conservative government, led by Stephen Harper. Billed as one of Canada's most sensational political court cases in recent history, the trial of Senator Mike Duffy began more than a year ago. Throughout its 62 days of hearings, the trial laid bare the inner workings of the notoriously secretive former Conservative government and helped set the stage for its ousting in October's federal election. |
| Bolivian president Evo Morales sees a lot to like in Bernie Sanders' candidacy Posted: 21 Apr 2016 03:53 PM PDT Sanders has 'thirst for a different kind of democracy' says Morales, who met him at Vatican and was recently denied change to constitution to run for fourth term The Bolivian president, Evo Morales, has said that an unexpected meeting at the Vatican with US presidential contender Bernie Sanders had demonstrated a "thirst for a different kind of democracy" in the US. While Sanders' meeting with Pope Francis was his highest profile encounter with a foreign leader during his Vatican visit last week, the self-described Democratic socialist candidate also crossed paths with Morales at a conference there on social justice. Continue reading... |
| Cuban university fires economist over allegedly sharing information with US Posted: 21 Apr 2016 01:05 PM PDT Omar Everleny Pérez is one of the country's most well-known academics and made frequent trips to America with the University of Havana's approval One of Cuba's most renowned advocates of economic reform has been fired from his University of Havana thinktank for alleged violations including sharing information with Americans without authorization. The dismissal of Omar Everleny Pérez adds to a chillier mood that has settled over much of Cuba as the country's leaders try to quash the jubilation that greeted Barack Obama's historic trip to the island last month. Continue reading... |
| Bolivian cholita climbers conquer highest peaks near La Paz – in pictures Posted: 21 Apr 2016 12:54 PM PDT Eleven Aymara indigenous women, ages 42 to 50, who worked as porters and cooks for mountaineers, put on crampons – spikes fixed to a boot for climbing – under their wide traditional skirts and started to do their own climbing. These women have now scaled five peaks: Acotango, Parinacota, Pomarapi and Huayna Potosí as well as Illimani, the highest of all, in the Cordillera Real range. All are higher than 19,500ft (6,000 meters) above sea level Continue reading... |
| Kingfisher beer magnate believed to have fled to UK Posted: 21 Apr 2016 12:50 PM PDT Vijay Mallya is wanted by Indian authorities over debts of more than $1bn linked to defunct Kingfisher Airlines An Indian beer baron known as the "King of Good Times" is believed to have fled to Britain in an attempt to avoid arrest over alleged debts of $1bn (£700m). Vijay Mallya, the 60-year-old Kingfisher magnate, earned his title for his love of hosting yacht parties attended by Bollywood stars and Indian politicians. His fortune has made him famous in his home country, where he sits in parliament. But according to local officials, he fled on 2 March, allegedly leaving $1bn in debts linked to a failed airline. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), India's financial crimes agency, is seeking his deportation. "We have been given enough indication that he is indeed in the UK," a spokesman said. "We have written to the [Indian foreign] ministry for assistance in the deportation of Mr Mallya as the process would involve using diplomatic channels." Continue reading... |
| Bike lane collapses in Rio de Janeiro – video Posted: 21 Apr 2016 12:24 PM PDT Mobile phone footage shows the remnants of a collapsed bike lane in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Thursday. At least two people were killed when part of a new cycle lane collapsed under crashing ocean waves in the Olympic city of Rio de Janeiro, the city's fire department said Continue reading... |
| Foreign Office warns LGBT tourists of North Carolina and Mississippi travel Posted: 21 Apr 2016 11:54 AM PDT UK updates travel advice after states impose new laws condemned by campaigners as 'anti-gay' The UK Foreign Office has changed its travel advice for North Carolina and Mississippi to warn LGBT tourists of the dangers of visiting the two states after both introduced laws described by campaigners as "anti-gay". Posted on the official government website on Tuesday, the updated travel advice states: "The US is an extremely diverse society and attitudes towards LGBT people differ hugely across the country. Continue reading... |
| Earthquake survivors in Ecuador struggle without food and basic aid Posted: 21 Apr 2016 11:27 AM PDT Food, water and essential aid is failing to reach remote areas hit by Ecuador's worst earthquake in decades, which has left 570 dead and 7,000 injured Survivors of an earthquake that killed 570 people and shattered Ecuador's coast clamoured for food, water and medicine on Thursday as aid failed to reach some of the remotest parts of the quake zone. President Rafael Correa's socialist government, facing a mammoth rebuilding task at a time of slashed oil revenues in the Opec nation, said there was no lack of aid – just problems with distribution that should be quickly resolved. Continue reading... |
| Russian artillery deployed for Aleppo offensive as Syria talks falter Posted: 21 Apr 2016 11:24 AM PDT Opposition negotiators say they are leaving Geneva, overshadowing final day of Barack Obama's visit to Saudi Arabia Fears are mounting over the fate of a fragile truce in Syria following the deployment of Russian artillery in support of government forces preparing an offensive south of Aleppo, while UN-brokered peace talks appear close to collapse. Opposition units said artillery pieces were being flown in by helicopter, adding to a belief that Moscow, which helped broker the cessation of hostilities seven weeks ago, now intends to spearhead efforts to retake the city's rebel-held east. Continue reading... |
| Bolivia's cholita climbers scale highest mountain yet: 'I cried with emotion' Posted: 21 Apr 2016 11:01 AM PDT Two years ago, 11 Aymara indigenous women who worked for mountaineers decided to do their own climbing and have since tackled five peaks near La Paz For years, Lydia Huayllas, 48, has worked as a cook at base camps and mountain-climbing refuges on the steep, glacial slopes of Huayna Potosi, a 19,974ft (6,088-meter) Andean peak outside of the Bolivian administrative capital, La Paz. Continue reading... |
| 400-year-old dress found in shipwreck sheds light on plot to pawn crown jewels Posted: 21 Apr 2016 10:39 AM PDT Dress was lost when part of a royal fleet sank in bad weather crossing from Dover to the Netherlands in 1642 A 400-year-old silk dress discovered in a shipwreck off the Dutch coast has shed new light on a daring top-secret mission to pawn the crown jewels on the eve of the English civil war. The well-preserved garment was found by divers off the Dutch island of Texel two years ago, but its existence had been kept secret while researchers traced its origin. The dress, described as one of the most important maritime discoveries ever made in the Netherlands, belonged to Jean Kerr, Countess of Roxburghe and lady-in-waiting to Queen Henrietta Maria, the consort of Charles I. It was lost when part of a royal fleet of 12 ships sank in bad weather while crossing from Dover to Hellevoetsluis in the Netherlands in February 1642. Continue reading... |
| Cook in Mallorca accused of plotting terrorist attack Posted: 21 Apr 2016 10:37 AM PDT Judge orders Moroccan to be held, saying he had plans for attack that was not carried out for reasons beyond his control A Spanish judge has ordered a Moroccan man who lived on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca to be held without bail after concluding he was prepared to launch a terrorist attack. Judge Carmen Lamela Diaz said in court documents that the man's plans for an attack on an unspecified target in Spain had not been carried out for reasons beyond his control. She did not provide more details. Continue reading... |
| Questions remain over Jerusalem bus attack after bomber named Posted: 21 Apr 2016 10:29 AM PDT Hamas says 19-year-old Abd al-Hamid Abu Srour was one of its members but avoids claiming direct responsibility for attack Israeli police have said a bus bombing in Jerusalem on Monday that injured 20 people was carried out by a 19-year-old Palestinian, Abd al-Hamid Abu Srour. Hamas said Abu Srour was one of its members, although it avoided claiming direct responsibility for the attack. He died on Wednesday evening in an Israeli hospital from injuries sustained in the bombing. Continue reading... |
| France to hold summit on Israeli-Palestinian peace process Posted: 21 Apr 2016 10:13 AM PDT Meeting of key foreign ministers and organisations will set stage for larger peace conference in summer France will attempt to reanimate the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process by holding a meeting of foreign ministers in Paris at the end of May, to set the stage for a peace conference later in the summer. The intervention by France comes following months of deeply pessimistic noises from Washington – which has long been the key mediator in the peace process – and most recently from Joe Biden, the vice-president, who voiced concerns last week. It also follows six months of worsening violence between the two sides. Previously the White House had said it saw no prospect of advancing negotiations during the remainder of Barack Obama's term in office. Continue reading... |
| Story of cities #28: how postwar Warsaw was rebuilt using 18th century paintings Posted: 21 Apr 2016 11:30 PM PDT When Warsaw's Old Town was destroyed by Hitler's troops in the second world war, the nation mobilised to rebuild the city with the rubble of its own destruction – and the work of Italian painter Bernardo Bellotto It is August 1944 and the Polish resistance are in violent clashes with the Nazi forces that have occupied Warsaw. The resistance intend to liberate the city from what the Polish poet Czesław Miłosz has called the "dark, black and red world of Nazi occupation". During the Warsaw Uprising, the ill-equipped Polish resistance succeed in inflicting serious damage on their oppressors, with 20,000 Nazi troops left wounded or dead. But it is the civilian population that suffers the greatest losses, with 150,000 people killed in air strikes and in fighting across the city. Continue reading... |
| Oakland's housing crisis: 'I’m the last one here. I don’t know if I can stay or go' Posted: 21 Apr 2016 06:11 AM PDT Paula Beal is a housing advocate who has lived in Oakland for 45 years. She has seen her entire family forced out of the city by rising rents. Now, as the council imposes a moratorium on evictions, she too is desperately seeking a new home Paula Beal, a 45-year resident of Oakland, California, has watched the city's housing crisis unfold before her eyes. As housing values and rents rise throughout the Bay Area, she has seen her community gradually get pushed out of Oakland – including her own family. "I have seven children, 27 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren," she says. "They have all, over the past few years, been displaced from Oakland. All of them." And now she may be next. Continue reading... |
| Married at 14, abandoned by 15: the forgotten girls of Dhaka | Farhana Haider Posted: 21 Apr 2016 11:00 PM PDT More than half of girls in Bangladesh marry before they are 18, exposing them to abuse. But if their husbands abandon them, it can offer a route to freedom On the northern outskirts of Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital, sits Duaripara, a slum that is home to more than 40,000 people. For teenage girls, life here is tough. The country has one of the highest rates of child marriage, with more than half of Bangladeshi girls marrying before adulthood. For a documentary as part of the BBC Identity season, I met teenage brides who were married and abandoned before they were 16. Continue reading... |
| US and EU conservation funds failing to protect trees or people, claims report Posted: 21 Apr 2016 04:01 PM PDT Up to $500m spent by donors on protecting rainforest in the Congo basin has failed to prevent destructive developments, says the Rainforest Foundation Up to $500m (£346m) spent by the US, EU and other donors to protect the world's second largest swath of rainforest has failed – for the trees, the animals and the people who live among them – a major study has found. Analysis of five equatorial African countries in the Congo basin has found that destructive developments including illegal logging, oil and gas exploration, and palm oil plantations are taking place in 34 large protected areas, and that conservation has displaced villages and led to conflict and human rights abuses. Continue reading... |
| The hidden face of drug use: from Cambodia to Senegal – in pictures Posted: 21 Apr 2016 05:21 AM PDT In the week of the UN's special session on drug policy, photographer Nick Danziger reflects on the realities of addiction, with images and interviews of drug users and health workers around the world Continue reading... |
| Students Speak: if you were head of the UN, what would you do? Posted: 21 Apr 2016 04:21 AM PDT As the UN prepares to choose a new leader to replace Ban Ki-moon when he steps down this year, we want to know how you'd approach the top job As Ban Ki-moon prepares to step down as UN secretary general at the end of the year, his potential successors are making their ambitions known. The list of declared candidates so far includes the head of the UN Development Programme, Helen Clarke, the former UN high commissioner for refugees, António Guterres, and the head of Unesco, Irina Bokova. It is expected to be the most transparent leadership transition in the UN's 70-year history, with candidates stating their case at the general assembly for the first time. Previous appointments to the top job were shrouded in secrecy and made largely by the five permanent members of the security council: the UK, US, France, Russia and China. Continue reading... |
| South Sudan peace deal in balance amid opposition leader’s continued absence Posted: 21 Apr 2016 03:50 AM PDT Riek Machar's delayed return to Juba threatens to undermine fragile peace agreement as differences over arms and troops rumble on After days of suspense and confusion in Juba, opposition leader Riek Machar postponed his arrival in South Sudan's capital twice this week, drawing criticism from the international community and leaving the populace in doubt over the peace process. Machar was due to return to Juba on 18 April to be sworn in as vice-president alongside his rival, President Salva Kiir – a crucial step towards a unity government and the conclusion of a civil war that has killed tens of thousands and left 5.1 million people needing humanitarian assistance. Continue reading... |
| Obama’s pro-Europe credentials are under more scrutiny than ever Posted: 21 Apr 2016 03:30 AM PDT US president vowed fresh start with Europe after Bush years but has often seemed detached about EU Visiting Berlin in July 2008, Barack Obama received a rock star's welcome from tens of thousands of excited fans. Many in Germany and across Europe saw the Illinois senator – the November US presidential election was still some way off – as a political saviour after the divisive Sturm und Drang of the George W Bush years. Obama promised a fresh start. America was Europe's best friend, and as president he would pursue cooperation rather than the unilateralism that produced the Iraq war. "There is a feeling in Europe that America is part of what has gone wrong in our world," he said. And he would put that right. Continue reading... |
| Trump: 'I'm gonna be so presidential that you people will be so bored' - video Posted: 21 Apr 2016 10:57 PM PDT The Republican candidate told a crowd of supporters in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania that he doesn't want to act presidential 'quite yet'. But he added that at some point he will 'come back as a presidential person' and that people will say, 'boy he really looks presidential'. Continue reading... |
| Trump: transgender people have right to choose bathroom – video Posted: 21 Apr 2016 08:42 AM PDT The LGBT community received an unlikely endorsement on Thursday with Republican frontrunner Donald Trump telling NBC's Today show that transgender people should be allowed to choose the bathroom they use. Trump, who appeared live on the show, said North Carolina was wrong to pass the so-called 'bathroom bill' that discriminated against the LGBT community Continue reading... |
| How a Kent gang were caught smuggling UK’s largest haul of assault rifles – video Posted: 21 Apr 2016 05:03 AM PDT Armed police arrested several men in Rochester, Kent, on 11 August 2015 during an investigation into the UK's largest haul of assault rifles and submachine guns smuggled into the country by a gang in Kent. Harry Shilling, 25, and Michael Defraine, 30 were found guilty of the illegal importation. The weapons included 22 AK-47-type weapons, nine submachine guns, more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, two silencers and 58 magazines Continue reading... |
| 'There is immense hatred for America': how drones affect life in Pakistan – video Posted: 21 Apr 2016 04:30 AM PDT Kareem Khan discusses living in North Waziristan, Pakistan, with US drones overhead. A 2009 strike on his home killed three people, including Khan's nephew Continue reading... |
| What happens in a drone attack? 'Suddenly there were explosions' – video Posted: 21 Apr 2016 04:30 AM PDT Nabila Rehman, now 13, remembers the 2012 drone strike in North Waziristan, Pakistan that killed her grandmother and injured her Continue reading... |
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