World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk

Trump damns Cruz-Kasich pact as five more states head into primaries
House of Cadres: China gets 'Netflix' treatment with Communist mini-series
Fire guts Delhi's natural history museum
Papua New Guinea court rules detention of asylum seekers on Manus illegal
Editor of Bangladesh's first and only LGBT magazine killed
Pakistan: mother of paraplegic death row inmate Abdul Basit pleads for pardon
Saudi Arabia approves ambitious plan to move economy beyond oil
Chernobyl nuclear disaster: Ukraine marks 30th anniversary
Canadian hostage beheaded by Islamist militants in Philippines
Champs-Elysees bans cars once a month to cut Paris smog
US warships may join EU in patrolling waters off Libya
Cleveland agrees to pay Tamir Rice family $6m over police shooting
Austrian far-right party's triumph in presidential poll could spell turmoil
Charleston shooting: Dylann Roof friend to plead guilty to lying to authorities
Norovirus outbreak infects thousands in northern Spain
China tops US list of countries targeted in 'freedom of navigation' exercises
Jian Ghomeshi trial: prosecutors will not appeal acquittal in sexual assault case
Palestinian girl, 12, freed from Israeli jail
Man shot dead in Dublin pub in sixth suspected gangland murder
Donald Trump criticises newly-formed pact between rivals Cruz and Kasich – video
Bob Diamond's interest in Barclays Africa confirmed
Story of cities #30: Amsterdam invents bike sharing for the world – but not itself
Brexit campaigners make immigration their battleground
The tricky triangle of Iran, Russia and Israel
Hillsborough inquests to deliver verdict on Tuesday
Labour says 'fight will go on' after Tories vote down child refugee plan
Buenos Aires bans electronic music festivals after five deaths
Scott Morrison's 'leave pass' comment riles public service union
Thousands of corroboree frog eggs released in fight to save endangered species
Mosque opposed by far-right political groups likely to be blocked
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau calls beheading ‘cold-blooded murder’ – video
Joke blows: Hungarian weatherman fired after fart-filled forecast
Madrid dog owners who don't pick up poo will have to clean streets
Q&A's all-Christian panel told those who disagree 'neither wicked nor stupid'
Bill Cosby loses appeal as court rules criminal prosecution can proceed
Family of French motorway crash victims: we've been torn apart
Ale of an idea: Amsterdam unveils King's Day urine plan
Egypt police suppress protests against Sisi government
Italy's plan to combat Libyan migrant smugglers could mean chasing shadows
Government accused of 'shabby tactics' over child refugees amendment
Sinkhole opens at busy crossroads in east China – video
Cod almighty: the secret of Norway's monster fish bonanza
Berta Cáceres: an outspoken voice for the environment is silenced – video
Twenty-three die in Pakistan after eating contaminated sweets
Chinese rights lawyer Ni Yulan placed under house arrest
Eyewitness: Draginovo, Bulgaria
UN bases in South Sudan are 'a blessing and a curse'
With $1bn, blinding trachoma can be eliminated in four years – experts
Nigeria urged to focus on malaria as other countries edge towards elimination
'I don’t feel safe but life must go on': one year on from the Nepal earthquake
Stories of survival and hope after Nepal's earthquake – a photo essay
Malaria menace: when insecticide-resistant mosquitoes bite back | Clár Ní Chonghaile
Acts of kindness that helped the people of Nepal survive the earthquake – in pictures
Where is the riskiest place to live?
Earthquake survivors left stranded in Nepal as red tape stops aid flowing
Cruz: Trump will 'cry and whine' over Kasich alliance – video
Barack Obama calls for a unified Europe - video
Why the Virgin Islands could decide the US election – video
Brussels' Maelbeek metro station opens a month after bombing – video

Trump damns Cruz-Kasich pact as five more states head into primaries

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 11:49 PM PDT

Republican frontrunner attacks 'pathetic' John Kasich and Ted Cruz for lining up their campaigns to deny him votes in Indiana, Oregon and New Mexico

Donald Trump has decried "collusion" between his Republican rivals to deny him victory in upcoming primary contests as five more states prepared to vote for their preferred presidential candidate.

Trump fumed over the alliance between John Kasich and Ted Cruz to cede upcoming states to each other in the hope that they can stop the frontrunner winning enough delegates to clinch the Republican nomination outright.

House of Cadres: China gets 'Netflix' treatment with Communist mini-series

Posted: 26 Apr 2016 12:23 AM PDT

State-sanctioned TV drama will focus on the Communist Party's resolve to eradicate corruption

Xi Jinping's bid to root out corruption from the 88m-member Communist party is to get the Netflix treatment after Beijing commissioned a £12.7m television drama celebrating the Chinese president's campaign.

In the Name of the People - a 42-part series being bankrolled by China's top law enforcement agency - is scheduled for broadcast later this year and will reportedly be the first series in which one of the party's most senior leaders is portrayed as a villain.

Fire guts Delhi's natural history museum

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 10:59 PM PDT

Entire building destroyed by fire, which began on the top floor of the six-storey museum

A fire has gutted India's National Museum of Natural History in Delhi, one of the country's top museums.

Harinder Singh, a fire official, said 35 firefighters took more than four hours to douse the blaze, which started early on Tuesday on the top floor of the six-storey museum.

Papua New Guinea court rules detention of asylum seekers on Manus illegal

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 11:13 PM PDT

Supreme court orders PNG and Australian governments to immediately move people out of detention centre on Manus island

• Read the judgment

The detention of asylum seekers and refugees on Manus Island is illegal, the Papua New Guinea Supreme Court has ruled, finding it to be in breach of the country's constitution.

The full bench of the court ruled the incarceration of asylum seekers and refugees was in breach of their personal liberty, and ordered both the PNG and Australian governments to immediately begin making arrangements to move people out of detention.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Editor of Bangladesh's first and only LGBT magazine killed

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 10:34 AM PDT

Xulhaz Mannan hacked to death in country where several academics and bloggers have been brutally murdered

The editor of Bangladesh's only LGBT magazine has been killed in the latest of a series of horrific murders of bloggers and activists.

Xulhaz Mannan was one of two people hacked to death in an attack in the capital, Dhaka, police said, by a gang posing as couriers in order to gain access to his apartment in the Kalabagan area of the city.

Pakistan: mother of paraplegic death row inmate Abdul Basit pleads for pardon

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 07:50 PM PDT

Stay of execution expires for Basit, who uses a wheelchair after contracting meningitis in prison

The mother of a paraplegic inmate on death row in Pakistan has urged the country's president to pardon her son.

Nusrat Perveen said that president Mamnoon Hussain had ordered authorities to halt the execution of her son Abdul Basit in January, hours before he was to be hanged; that stay of execution order has now expired.

Saudi Arabia approves ambitious plan to move economy beyond oil

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 10:06 AM PDT

15-year plan includes diversification, privatisation of state assets, tax increases and creating a $2tn sovereign wealth fund

Saudi Arabia has approved an ambitious strategy to restructure the kingdom's oil-dependent economy, involving diversification, privatisation of massive state assets including the energy giant Aramco, tax increases and spending and subsidy cuts.

King Salman bin Abdulaziz announced cabinet backing for the Saudi Vision 2030 plan in a brief televised announcement on Monday in which he called on his subjects to work together to ensure success. Shares on the Riyadh stock market rose sharply.

Chernobyl nuclear disaster: Ukraine marks 30th anniversary

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 09:08 PM PDT

Series of events held to commemorate the tragedy, which remains the worst nuclear accident in history

Ukraine is marking the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which permanently poisoned swathes of eastern Europe and highlighted the shortcomings of the secretive Soviet system.

In the early hours of April 26, 1986, a botched test at the nuclear plant in then-Soviet Ukraine triggered a meltdown that spewed deadly clouds of atomic material into the atmosphere, forcing tens of thousands of people from their homes.

Canadian hostage beheaded by Islamist militants in Philippines

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 11:53 AM PDT

PM Justin Trudeau expresses outrage at 'cold-blooded murder' of former mining executive John Ridsdel by Abu Sayyaf

Canadian hostage John Ridsdel, a former mining executive, has been killed by Abu Sayyaf militants in the Philippines, a Canadian government official has confirmed.

The Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said on Monday he was outraged by the killing, calling it an act of "cold-blooded murder."

Champs-Elysees bans cars once a month to cut Paris smog

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 08:46 PM PDT

Mayor's office says iconic road to be off limits to vehicles on the first Sunday of the month

The most famous boulevard in Paris, the Champs-Elysees, will be off-limits to cars on the first Sunday of every month starting in May, Paris city hall has said.

The first pedestrian-only day will be 8 May instead of 1 May, a public holiday, when many of the council workers needed to run the scheme will be off work, mayor Anne Hidalgo's office said on Monday.

US warships may join EU in patrolling waters off Libya

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 09:04 AM PDT

Meeting of G5 proposes EU and Nato work together off Libyan coast to shut down networks smuggling refugees from Africa

American warships may join European Union vessels off the coast of Libya by the summer in a Nato-led attempt to slow the flow of refugees from Africa into Europe, it emerged at a meeting of the G5 world leaders in Hanover.

Cleveland agrees to pay Tamir Rice family $6m over police shooting

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 02:43 PM PDT

City settled case with family, averting federal civil rights lawsuit following 12-year-old's death in November 2014 shooting

The city of Cleveland, Ohio, has agreed to pay $6m to the family of Tamir Rice to settle a lawsuit over the 12-year-old's fatal shooting by a police officer.

The payment will avert a federal civil rights case brought against city authorities by Tamir's relatives over the death of "a young boy with his entire life ahead of him, full of potential and promise", their attorneys said on Monday.

Austrian far-right party's triumph in presidential poll could spell turmoil

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 08:12 AM PDT

Freedom party's Norbert Hofer, who won 36% of vote, has threatened to dissolve parliament before 2018 elections

Austria is braced for political turmoil with fears that the landslide victory for a rightwing populist and gun-carrying candidate in Sunday's first-round presidential vote could trigger snap elections.

Norbert Hofer, of the rightwing Freedom party (FPÖ), defied pollsters' predictions to beat the Green party's Alexander Van der Bellen into second place, gaining 36% of the vote. The two candidates will go head to head in a run-off ballot on 22 May.

Charleston shooting: Dylann Roof friend to plead guilty to lying to authorities

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 02:57 PM PDT

Joey Meek admits he failed to tell authorities all that he knew
He could face eight years in prison but agreement may shorten sentence

A friend of the white man accused of fatally shooting nine black parishioners in Charleston last year is set to plead guilty to two federal charges, according to an agreement signed by federal prosecutors and filed online Monday.

Joey Meek, 21, has agreed to plead guilty to lying to authorities and failure to report a crime, according to the agreement, and a hearing is set for 1pm on Friday in Charleston. He could face up to eight years in prison on those charges, although prosecutors note in the agreement they will argue he deserves less time if he's helpful in their ongoing case.

Norovirus outbreak infects thousands in northern Spain

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 05:05 PM PDT

The stomach bug that struck more than 4,000 people in Catalonia has been traced to office water-coolers

More than 4,000 people fell ill with norovirus in northeastern Spain after drinking bottled spring water contaminated with human faecal matter, local health officials said on Monday.

The health department of the regional government of Catalonia said 4,146 people were treated for symptoms including nausea, vomiting and fever in Barcelona and Tarragona after drinking the contaminated water from office water-coolers. Six needed hospital treatment.

China tops US list of countries targeted in 'freedom of navigation' exercises

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 05:01 PM PDT

Indonesia, India and Philippines among other countries where Pentagon sent planes or boats to challenge territorial claims

The US military carried out freedom of navigation operations against 13 countries in 2015, including several against China for what it views as excessive claims to maritime and airspace jurisdiction, the Pentagon has said.

Jian Ghomeshi trial: prosecutors will not appeal acquittal in sexual assault case

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 11:37 AM PDT

Canadian prosecutors said there is no 'legal basis' to appeal the acquittals
Ghomeshi acquitted on four counts of sexual assault and one of choking

Canadian prosecutors will not appeal Jian Ghomeshi's acquittal in the first trial to emerge from the barrage of allegations against the former radio star.

Monday marked 30 days since Ghomeshi was acquitted on four counts of sexual assault and one count of choking. As its window to file an appeal closed, Ontario's ministry of the attorney general said it would not challenge the decision.

Palestinian girl, 12, freed from Israeli jail

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 04:11 PM PDT

Dima al-Wawi had been convicted of attempted manslaughter by Israeli authorities after being caught with a concealed knife

A 12-year-old Palestinian girl, imprisoned by Israel after she confessed to planning a stabbing attack on Israelis in a West Bank settlement, returned home on Sunday when she was freed early after an appeal.

Dima al-Wawi was greeted by about 80 relatives at her family's house in Halhoul, a village near Hebron, a West Bank city that has been a focal point of violence. Relatives decorated the house with balloons and posters. Banners by the Islamic militant group Hamas and the Fatah party of Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas adorned the walls.

Man shot dead in Dublin pub in sixth suspected gangland murder

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 04:18 PM PDT

Secuity sources have linked the Sunset pub murder to the ongoing violent feud between associates of Christy Kinahan and Gerry 'the Monk' Hutch

A sixth person has been shot dead in the violent feud between Ireland's two most notorious criminals that erupted after an armed assault on a boxing weigh-in in February.

The man was shot dead in a bar in Dublin's inner city around 9.30pm on Monday night. A number of gunmen burst into the Sunset pub in north central Dublin and opened fire.

Donald Trump criticises newly-formed pact between rivals Cruz and Kasich – video

Posted: 26 Apr 2016 12:29 AM PDT

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump criticises the newly-formed pact between rivals John Kasich and Ted Cruz, saying everyone now sees that the Republican primary system is 'totally rigged and broken.' Speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania on Monday, Trump says Cruz and Kasich should drop out of the race and help unify the party in order to beat Hillary Clinton to the White House

Bob Diamond's interest in Barclays Africa confirmed

Posted: 26 Apr 2016 12:09 AM PDT

Stock exchange statement show Diamond's Africa-based bank part of consortium looking to buy Barclays' African assets

Former Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond is part of a consortium that is preparing to bid for the bank's African operations, it has been confirmed.

Diamond's involvement in the consortium, which is thought to include the private equity firm Carlyle, was revealed in a stock market announcement by the London-listed African based bank, Atlas Mara, which he formed after being forced out of Barclays in the wake of the Libor-rigging crisis in 2012.

Story of cities #30: Amsterdam invents bike sharing for the world – but not itself

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 11:30 PM PDT

In the 1960s, a Dutch engineer devised the 'white bike' plan to counter the rise of pollution and cars. His invention has since revolutionised public transport all over the world – so why has cycle-loving Amsterdam never embraced it?

Read more articles in the series here

Take an old bicycle. Paint it white. Leave it anywhere in the city. Tell people to use it. This was the first urban bike-sharing concept in history. Launched in Amsterdam in the 1960s, it was called the Witte Fietsenplan (the "white bicycle plan"). And it was not a great success.

In fact, the plan was just another wild initiative by which Provo, an infamous group of Dutch anarchist activists, wanted to provoke the establishment and change society. But eventually the idea would revolutionise public transport across the world. Nowadays, hundreds of cities have bike-sharing systems, and the phenomenon is still growing.

Brexit campaigners make immigration their battleground

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 11:00 PM PDT

After one apocalyptic warning after another about the potential economic impact of Brexit, those wanting out are highlighting the impact of free movement

Late November 2014 was not the busiest time for news.

The most striking images, in the BBC's week in pictures, included Lewis Hamilton clutching his girlfriend Nicole Sherzinger after winning his second F1 world championship and a Snoopy balloon floating down Sixth Avenue during a Thanksgiving parade.

The tricky triangle of Iran, Russia and Israel

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 05:47 AM PDT

On the complex regional chess board, Iran wants better relations with Moscow even as the Russians have extended their intelligence co-operation with Israel in Syria

Ali Larijani, Iran's parliamentary speaker, has long been an advocate of better relations with Russia and his recent interview with TASS, in which he spoke of Iran's "eastern orientation, first of all towards Russia…[as] the country's strategic choice", is no surprise.

But Iran's relationships with all international powers are becoming more nuanced as the result of changes in the region. Last July's nuclear agreement with world powers, including the 'Great Satan', has helped produce a diplomatic palate with many shades of grey. There are few steadfast allies or implacable enemies.

Hillsborough inquests to deliver verdict on Tuesday

Posted: 26 Apr 2016 12:12 AM PDT

Jury indicates majority decision made on whether 96 people were unlawfully killed by gross negligence manslaughter

The jury at the new inquests into the Hillsborough disaster is to deliver its verdict on Tuesday on how 96 people died at an FA Cup semi-final on 15 April 1989.

The jury of six women and three men will give their decisions from 11am, on what is expected to be a highly charged day for relatives of the 96, many of whom will be at court for the conclusion of the longest jury proceedings in British legal history.

Labour says 'fight will go on' after Tories vote down child refugee plan

Posted: 26 Apr 2016 12:38 AM PDT

Government defeats immigration bill amendment that would have let 3,000 unaccompanied Syrian minors enter UK

The shadow immigration minister, Keir Starmer, has promised that "the fight will go on" to force the UK to do more to help some of the thousands of unaccompanied child refugees stranded in mainland Europe.

In a vote in the House of Commons on Monday night, the government narrowly defeated a cross-party amendment to the immigration bill, tabled in the House of Lords, that would have seen the UK accept 3,000 child refugees.

Buenos Aires bans electronic music festivals after five deaths

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 10:50 PM PDT

Mayor of Argentinian capital announces step until new drug laws in place after Time Warp festival left five people dead from overdoses and more in hospital

The government of Argentina's capital has stopped issuing permits for major electronic music festivals in response to the death of five people who overdosed at a party.

Scott Morrison's 'leave pass' comment riles public service union

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 11:15 PM PDT

CPSU's national secretary says efficiency dividend means more 'irrational and arbitrary' job cuts

The Community and Public Sector Union has hit back at statements by the treasurer, Scott Morrison, that the public sector should not be given a "leave pass" on efficiency.

The union has warned the comments signal further cuts to services in the 3 May budget.

Thousands of corroboree frog eggs released in fight to save endangered species

Posted: 26 Apr 2016 12:17 AM PDT

Hopes species will recover as eggs bred in captivity at Taronga Zoo in Sydney and Zoos Victoria enter the wild

After 10 years of captive breeding, the critically endangered corroboree frog might be on its way back from the brink of extinction.

Fewer than 50 mature corroboree frogs live in the wild in alpine New South Wales and scientists have estimated that without a captive breeding program that began 10 years ago they would be a mere two years from extinction. In fact, most of the frogs currently in the wild are the result of previous captive releases.

Mosque opposed by far-right political groups likely to be blocked

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 09:43 PM PDT

Saarban Islamic Trust partly blames Islamophobia after report recommending rejection on planning grounds

A proposal to build a mosque in a suburb 40km south-east of Melbourne's CBD is likely to be rejected over concerns about the scale of the development and its impact on the environment.

A special meeting of the City of Casey council will be held on Tuesday night to discuss a council report that recommends councillors not approve the application from the Saarban Islamic Trust for a 470-person mosque on the vacant rural site in Narre Warren. The mosque has been the subject of vehement opposition from far-right political groups.

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau calls beheading ‘cold-blooded murder’ – video

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 07:53 PM PDT

Justin Trudeau expresses outraged at the killing of Canadian hostage John Ridsdel. The former mining executive was beheaded by Abu Sayyaf militants in the Philippines, a Canadian government official confirmed. The Philippine army said a severed head was found on a remote island on Monday, five hours after the expiry of a ransom deadline set by Islamist militants who had threatened to execute one of four captives.

Joke blows: Hungarian weatherman fired after fart-filled forecast

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 06:29 PM PDT

Szilard Horvath peppered his weather segment – on a windy day – with fart noises but his employers were not amused

A Hungarian TV weatherman has been fired after giving a windy forecast some extra oomph with a range of fart sound effects.

Szilard Horvath used the recorded noises to animate a windy outlook earlier this month, but his performance appears to have fallen flat with his employers.

Madrid dog owners who don't pick up poo will have to clean streets

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 05:07 PM PDT

Spanish capital announces 'shock plan' in attempt to inspire dog walkers to clean up after their pets

Dog owners in the Spanish capital who do not pick up their pet's poo could be made to work as street cleaners under a "shock plan" unveiled by Madrid city hall.

Municipal police will test the scheme in the two city districts where the biggest concentration of dog poo has been found, city hall said in a statement on Monday.

Q&A's all-Christian panel told those who disagree 'neither wicked nor stupid'

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 02:16 PM PDT

Catholic philosopher John Haldane calls for 'reasonable disagreement' – so divisive issues don't divide communities

People who disagree about controversial subjects – climate change, marriage equality or abortion – "are neither wicked nor stupid" and a greater level of civility is needed in public debate, Q&A's all-Christian panel heard on Monday night.

Bill Cosby loses appeal as court rules criminal prosecution can proceed

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 12:46 PM PDT

The comedian facing trial over a 2004 encounter at his home with a then Temple University employee who says she was drugged and sexually assaulted

A Pennsylvania appeals court has rejected Bill Cosby's attempt to throw out his criminal case because of what he called a decade-old deal not to prosecute him.

The mid-level state superior court ruled Monday that the criminal sex assault case against Cosby can proceed, prompting the district attorney to press for a preliminary hearing date.

Family of French motorway crash victims: we've been torn apart

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 10:45 AM PDT

Hartlepool residents pay tribute to John Crompton and two children who died in car accident near Dijon

The family of a man who died with his two young children in a car crash on a French motorway said their lives had been "torn apart" by the incident and "will never be the same again".

John Crompton, 31, and his son Morgan Lund, nine, and daughter Evie-Lily Crompton, four, were killed in a crash on the A39 near Beaurepaire-en-Bresse, which is between Lyon and Dijon, shortly after 7am on Sunday.

Ale of an idea: Amsterdam unveils King's Day urine plan

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 10:27 AM PDT

Water board aims to provide model of sustainability by collecting byproduct when orange-clad revellers take the pils

It is a process as natural as it is inevitable: the consumption of large quantities of beer leads to the production of large quantities of another amber liquid.

But when up 1.5 million ale-fuelled revellers take to the streets and canals of Amsterdam on Wednesday for the city's annual King's Day celebrations, the local water board does not intend to let it go to waste.

Egypt police suppress protests against Sisi government

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 09:54 AM PDT

Security forces reportedly use teargas to break up demonstrations over transfer of islands to Saudi Arabia

Security forces in Egypt have used teargas to disperse small protests against the president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, witnesses have said, deterring what opposition groups had expected to be a day of large demonstrations against his rule.

This month, thousands of Egyptians angered by Sisi's transfer of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia called for his government to fall in the largest demonstration since the former military general took office in 2014.

Italy's plan to combat Libyan migrant smugglers could mean chasing shadows

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 08:48 AM PDT

Fears of a refugee wave through north Africa are based on thin evidence and deploying naval vessels may have little effect on dinghies already at sea

Though migration levels from Libya are no higher than they were last year, European governments are terrified that the closure of the refugee route from Turkey to Greece will lead to a fresh surge through the north African country towards Italy.

Over the past few days, these fears prompted western leaders to discuss a two-pronged response. First, Rome proposed the deportation of Italy-bound migrants back to war-torn Libya. Then Barack Obama agreed at a meeting with European allies to add US ships to ongoing anti-smuggling operations in international waters off the Libyan coast.

Government accused of 'shabby tactics' over child refugees amendment

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 08:08 AM PDT

Critics say ministers are trying to derail efforts to get 3,000 children stranded in Europe accepted in the UK

History will judge MPs who vote against proposals to let 3,000 unaccompanied child refugees stranded in Europe come to the UK, Labour said on Monday night.

Keir Starmer, a shadow Home Office minister, called on Conservative MPs to join Labour, the SNP and Liberal Democrats to accept the plan to take in more lone children from war zones who have made their way to camps such as those at Calais and Dunkirk in France.

Sinkhole opens at busy crossroads in east China – video

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 07:34 AM PDT

CCTV footage shows the moment a sinkhole opens on a busy road in Hangzhou province, east China. The footage shows an officer noticing cracks forming in the middle of the road. He then decides to divert traffic around the cracks in the tarmac, and cordons off the area using cones. Reportedly, just minutes later, the road collapses

Cod almighty: the secret of Norway's monster fish bonanza

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 06:37 AM PDT

Climate change and human restraint appear to be behind the spectacular catches drawing anglers to the far north islands

Forty years ago, the wife of the editor at the local paper for the remote Lofoten islands in Norway's far north had an idea to boost its tiny circulation. The newspaper started to award a bag of coffee and a certificate to any angler who landed a cod over 30kg (66lb).

Now the paper's records, painstakingly compiled over the decades, bear witness to a remarkable outcome of climate change and far-sighted fisheries management.

Berta Cáceres: an outspoken voice for the environment is silenced – video

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 06:27 AM PDT

Berta Cáceres, the environmental campaigner from Honduras, was shot dead at her home by armed intruders last month. For years, she led protests against the building of dams, illegal logging and plantations. Despite repeated threats to her safety, Cáceres refused to be silenced. Photograph: Tim Russo/AP

'Time was running out': Honduran activist's last days marked by threats

Twenty-three die in Pakistan after eating contaminated sweets

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 05:40 AM PDT

Bakery managers arrested as police suspect confectionery bought to celebrate birth of grandson was tainted with pesticides

At least 23 people, many from the same family, have died and dozens of others fallen ill in Pakistan after eating sweets that police suspect were tainted with pesticides, according to officials.

Umar Hayat, a resident of the Karor Lal Esan area in Punjab province, bought the baked confectionery on 17 April to distribute among friends and family after the birth of his grandson. But their celebrations turned out to be short-lived when 10 people died on the same day.

Chinese rights lawyer Ni Yulan placed under house arrest

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 04:15 AM PDT

Foreign diplomats prevented from visiting Ni, who has campaigned for people evicted to make way for redevelopment

Chinese authorities have placed a disabled rights lawyer under house arrest and prevented a group of foreign diplomats from visiting her, she said, ratcheting up pressure weeks after the US state department gave her a bravery award.

Ni Yulan, who became known for defending people evicted from their homes to make way for development, had been held under house arrest for 12 days, she told Reuters.

Eyewitness: Draginovo, Bulgaria

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 02:45 AM PDT

Photographs from the Eyewitness series

UN bases in South Sudan are 'a blessing and a curse'

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 11:00 PM PDT

200,000 people shelter in six UN sites across South Sudan but, after the Malakal attack, the UN must try to rebuild trust in its ability to protect

It is difficult to piece together exactly how it started. The Dinka claim the Shilluk and the Nuer provoked it; the Shilluk and Nuer say it was all planned by the Dinka-led government.

But despite the contrasting testimonies offered by the area's main ethnic groups, they all agree on this: the UN mission in South Sudan (Unmiss) failed in its mandate to protect civilians inside its own base a few kilometres from the ruined city of Malakal.

With $1bn, blinding trachoma can be eliminated in four years – experts

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 08:23 PM PDT

Ending preventable blindness in poor countries and remote Indigenous Australians described as 'the best buy in terms of public health'

Eliminating blinding trachoma worldwide within four years is "highly doable" but it would cost US$1bn, the world's leading eye health experts estimate.

Nigeria urged to focus on malaria as other countries edge towards elimination

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 08:16 AM PDT

Fighting malaria has strengthened Nigeria's public health system but funds must not drop off, says local head of Malaria Consortium

Donors and governments must continue to fund the fight against malaria in Nigeria, where, despite impressive progress in reducing the number of deaths, about 100,000 people still die from the disease every year, says the head of the Malaria Consortium's Nigeria office.

Dr Kolawole Maxwell said the battle against the mosquito-borne disease had also helped strengthen the public health system in one of the countries worst hit by malaria, but a potential fall in funding constitutes a serious risk, particularly as lower oil prices hit government revenues.

'I don’t feel safe but life must go on': one year on from the Nepal earthquake

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 08:15 AM PDT

Over 8,000 people died in the worst natural disaster to hit the country in more than 80 years. Still rebuilding a year on readers share their memories

Straddling the faultline between the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates, Nepal is no stranger to earthquakes. But just before noon on 25 April 2015 the country was struck by a 7.8-magnitude quake injuring more than 21,000 and leaving millions homeless.

Avalanches and tremors in the days that followed meant many of those in the hillside villages at the epicentre in Gorkha found themselves unreachable and in need of aid. With roads blocked and people struggling with sanitation and hunger, the search led to some extraordinary stories, such as the 15-year-old boy who survived five days trapped beneath rubble.

Stories of survival and hope after Nepal's earthquake – a photo essay

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 05:59 AM PDT

'For six days we stayed on the side of the hill so that we could save ourselves': photojournalist Kieran Doherty meets people affected by the earthquakes that destroyed parts of Nepal in 2015. He talks to survivors and visits Oxfam projects that are reconstructing the country, including cash for work schemes to build water pipelines and trails to connect remote villages

Malaria menace: when insecticide-resistant mosquitoes bite back | Clár Ní Chonghaile

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 04:50 AM PDT

Malaria death rates have fallen 60% since 2000, but with some mosquitoes developing resistance to treated bednets, is it time to change strategy?

The underlying fact seems incontrovertible: mosquito resistance to the insecticides used to treat bednets is growing. The question is what can be done to combat this resistance and ringfence the dramatic drop in global malaria deaths over the past 15 years?

Since 2000, the numbers of people dying of malaria have dropped by 60% and cases of the disease have fallen by 37%, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Acts of kindness that helped the people of Nepal survive the earthquake – in pictures

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 04:29 AM PDT

A year on from the devastating earthquakes that claimed the lives of almost 9,000 people, a series of portraits from photographer Gideon Mendel and Christian Aid show how communities, cut off from the relief efforts by landslides, offered each other a lifeline in the days after the quake

Where is the riskiest place to live?

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 03:19 AM PDT

The world risk index reveals which countries are most at risk from rising sea levels and the increasing frequency of floods, droughts and storms

Vanuatu is the riskiest country to live in, with natural disasters on average affecting more than a third of the population each year, according to the World Risk Report 2015.

Countries are ranked using the world risk index, which takes into account not only the frequency of natural disasters in each country (known as exposure) but also how well equipped the country is to cope with and recover from the effects of a disaster.

Earthquake survivors left stranded in Nepal as red tape stops aid flowing

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 01:37 AM PDT

Political bickering and bureaucracy mean there is little reconstruction amid the rubble left by Nepal's 2015 earthquake, fuelling mistrust of aid agencies

Donors drummed up billions of dollars for Nepal after the devastating earthquake on 25 April 2015, but the trickle of money to the affected population has been excruciatingly slow.

Despite pledges of $3bn, few of the 3.5 million Nepalese needing assistance have received more than initial handouts that are not even enough to clear the rubble.

Cruz: Trump will 'cry and whine' over Kasich alliance – video

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 09:58 AM PDT

Ted Cruz and John Kasich defended their decision to team up against frontrunner Donald Trump in various upcoming primaries leading up to the Republican convention. Cruz will focus on Indiana's 3 May primary without competition from Kasich, while Cruz will stand aside in favor of Kasich in Oregon's 17 May primary and New Mexico's 7 June contest

Ted Cruz and John Kasich team up in deal to stop Donald Trump

Barack Obama calls for a unified Europe - video

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 08:25 AM PDT

US president Barack Obama says the world needs a democratic and peaceful Europe, urging the continent not to give in to 'fears over security and inequality'. Speaking on Monday in Germany, Obama says if Europe begins to doubt itself, much of the progress made will be lost. The president previously urged Britain to stay in the EU

Barack Obama says world needs a united Europe

Why the Virgin Islands could decide the US election – video

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 07:57 AM PDT

A vicious political battle is under way in the US Virgin Islands, complete with attack ads and legal proceedings. At stake: nine delegates (six of which are awarded electorally) for the Republican party. On a normal election year the tiny group of Caribbean Islands would barely register in the conversation, but this year, with candidates scrapping for every delegate, they do. Find out what's at stake and why a Republican strategist, who recently moved to the islands, could just swing the general election

Brussels' Maelbeek metro station opens a month after bombing – video

Posted: 25 Apr 2016 02:38 AM PDT

Maelbeek metro station in Brussels has reopened, one month after the bomb attacks in the city which left 32 people dead. Security remains high across the underground network, with armed soldiers and guards from the transport network patrolling the platforms. 'It's quite emotional, very emotional' said one commuter. Photograph: Thierry Roger/AFP/Getty Images

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World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk

World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk

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