World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk |
- Michael Temer takes reins as Brazil's president with pledge to rebuild country
- 'No injustice is more devastating': Dilma Rousseff condemns rivals' 'treachery'
- Facebook news selection is in hands of editors not algorithms, documents show
- Some US states fall short on tax transparency, says Cameron
- Walkout at Ugandan president's inauguration over ICC remarks
- Zika virus makes Rio Olympics a threat in Brazil and abroad, health expert says
- Red Cross aid convoy denied entry to Syrian city of Darayya
- Ex-Deutsche Bank executive given four-and-a-half years for insider trading
- Trump and Ryan: meeting was a 'very positive step' toward GOP unity – as it happened
- Egypt's activists turn to social media to call for satirists' release
- George Zimmerman's gun used to kill Trayvon Martin back up for auction
- Beer hall where Hitler spoke ordered to host anti-immigrant party event
- Indian doctors raise IVF concerns after woman in her 70s gives birth
- Secret area of Guantánamo could be opened to UN watchdog for first time
- Russia launches first rocket from new spaceport
- Italian court orders release of man held in Bari terror inquiry
- South African musicians hail end of 'cultural imperialism' on radio
- US and UK urge banks to do business with Iran
- Saudi officials were 'supporting' 9/11 hijackers, commission member says
- French financial prosecutors confirm investigation into Tokyo 2020 bid
- US poultry workers wear diapers on job over lack of bathroom breaks – report
- WHO recommends shorter drug regimen for multi-drug resistant TB
- North Korea releases unretouched photos of Kim Jong-un
- Eurovision: Ireland’s Nicky Byrne fails to make it to final
- Story of cities #42: Medellín escapes grip of drug lord to embrace radical urbanism
- Hong Kong glues bricks to pavements as top Beijing official makes visit
- We often know when drought or floods will strike. So let's act before they do | Neil Marsland
- Brexit could spell end for farming and car industry, says transport secretary
- Disputed 'foreign agent' law shot down by Kyrgyzstan's parliament
- Obama banana 'jokes' show Soviet-era racism remains alive in Russia
- Jozi Cats: South Africa's first gay and inclusive rugby club
- 'I came here with nothing': life in limbo for unwilling migrants on Haiti's border
- Police review revenge porn case against man let off with caution
- Marshall Marcus: The European Union Youth Orchestra cannot be strangled by European bureaucracy
- US navy strips officer of command over capture of 10 sailors by Iran
- Dilma Rousseff is on trial – and so is Brazil’s faltering democracy | Carolina Matos
- Leaders' debate: Turnbull and Shorten in first people's forum of election campaign – live
- US supreme court blocks Alabama execution amid dementia claim
- Gay former student says school discriminated against him over his outfit
- Mohammed bin Salman: the prince trying to wean Saudi Arabia off oil
- Nauru refugee and premature baby in critical condition after emergency caesarean
- Leading Hezbollah commander and key Israel target killed in Syria
- 'What mistake did we make?' Victims of Cultural Revolution seek answers, 50 years on
- Australian security guard killed in shooting at embassy in Baghdad
- Four suspected militants killed by their own bomb in Turkey
- Super-rich may quit London homes under new anti-corruption rules
- What’s at stake in the EU-US trade deal talks | Letters
- How history shaped Jewish identity | Letters
- Woman's high-heel petition receives 100,000-plus signatures
- Welcome, Lord Prime Minister: Cambodian media told to use leader's full royal title
- Children's services call for funds to deal with rise in child refugees
- Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni sworn in for fifth term
- Court rejects request by same-sex Indian couple to remain in UK
- 'Democracy is our oxygen': Brazilians speak out about Dilma Rousseff – video
- Pope Francis to consider ordaining women as deacons
- Anglican church wants to train new clergy with apprenticeship fund
- Nearly 400 LSE-listed companies based in tax havens linked to UK
- Story of cities #41: Soul City's failed bid to build a black-run suburbia for America
- Refugees urge Kenyan leaders to rethink closure of Dadaab camp
- Dentro de La Ciudad de las Mujeres en Colombia – podcast
- Uganda chooses Tanzania over Kenya for oil pipeline route
- Air pollution health timebomb poses a major threat to development
- 'The Central African Republic must be built from scratch'
- Angela Merkel is suddenly looking politically mortal
- What do migrants think about ONS immigration figures?
- Paul Ryan says Donald Trump is a ‘warm and genuine person’ – video
- George Zimmerman on gun auction: ‘I've decided not to cower' – video
- Car falls into sinkhole on London street – video
- Chelsea Manning wins free speech award: 'It's easy to feel invisible' – video
| Michael Temer takes reins as Brazil's president with pledge to rebuild country Posted: 13 May 2016 12:04 AM PDT Dilma Rousseff's suspension in impeachment vote hands power to ex-deputy who has promised unity while installing all-male, conspicuously white cabinet Brazil's interim president, Michel Temer, has unveiled an all-male, conspicuously white cabinet to run one of the world's most ethnically diverse nations as he promised to restore confidence in Latin America's biggest economy. Continue reading... |
| 'No injustice is more devastating': Dilma Rousseff condemns rivals' 'treachery' Posted: 12 May 2016 01:11 PM PDT Impeachment defeat not the end of suspended president's fight as she will go on trial for up to six months on charges of doctoring government accounts There were no tears – at least not from Dilma Rousseff – as she left the Planalto presidential palace after an impeachment defeat that curtails 13 years of Workers' party rule in Brazil and may well end the political career of the country's first female president. Related: A warrior to the end: Dilma Rousseff a sinner and saint in impeachment fight Continue reading... |
| Facebook news selection is in hands of editors not algorithms, documents show Posted: 12 May 2016 09:51 AM PDT Exclusive: Leaked internal guidelines show human intervention at almost every stage of its news operation, akin to a traditional media organization Leaked documents show how Facebook, now the biggest news distributor on the planet, relies on old-fashioned news values on top of its algorithms to determine what the hottest stories will be for the 1 billion people who visit the social network every day. The documents, given to the Guardian, come amid growing concerns over how Facebook decides what is news for its users. This week the company was accused of an editorial bias against conservative news organizations, prompting calls for a congressional inquiry from the US Senate commerce committee chair, John Thune. |
| Some US states fall short on tax transparency, says Cameron Posted: 12 May 2016 08:22 AM PDT Prime minister casts doubt on whether United States can be part of 'coalition of the committed' against corruption David Cameron has cast doubt on whether the United States could be truly considered part of a coalition committed to the fight against corruption, saying some US states fall far short on tax transparency and are less open than the UK's crown dependencies. The prime minister made his remarks at the close of a corruption summit in London that brought together more than 40 countries, including the US, in an attempt to fight corruption, restore stolen assets and toughen laws to fight evasion. Continue reading... |
| Walkout at Ugandan president's inauguration over ICC remarks Posted: 12 May 2016 03:19 PM PDT US, Canadian and European diplomats protest after Yoweri Museveni says international criminal court is 'a bunch of useless people' Delegates from North America and Europe who were attending the inauguration of the Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni, have walked out of the ceremony in protest against his comments about the international criminal court (ICC) in The Hague, and the presence of Sudan's leader, whom the court has indicted. Elizabeth Trudeau, a spokeswoman for the US state department, said the US ambassador to Uganda, Deborah Malac, and a visiting Washington-based official, along with several European and Canadian diplomats, abruptly left the inauguration on Thursday after Museveni made negative remarks about the ICC in his inaugural address. She said that the US also objected to the participation in the inauguration of the Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir. Bashir has been charged by the court for atrocities in Sudan's western region Darfur. Continue reading... |
| Zika virus makes Rio Olympics a threat in Brazil and abroad, health expert says Posted: 12 May 2016 01:54 PM PDT Amir Attaran calls for postponement or moving of Games and says biggest risk is spreading the virus to countries without adequate healthcare infrastructure As Brazil reels from a spiraling political crisis and its deepest recession in decades, a public health specialist in Canada has added to the country's woes with a high-profile call for the 2016 summer Olympics – slated to kick off in Rio de Janeiro in early August – to be postponed or moved due to the Zika outbreak. "But for the Games, would anyone recommend sending an extra half a million visitors into Brazil right now?" Canadian professor Amir Attaran, whose research areas include population health and global development policy, asked this week in a commentary published in the Harvard Public Health Review. Continue reading... |
| Red Cross aid convoy denied entry to Syrian city of Darayya Posted: 12 May 2016 01:10 PM PDT Five-truck convoy was not allowed to deliver nutrition items for children and vaccines to besieged city An aid convoy has been refused entry to the besieged Syrian city of Darayya , the Red Cross said, dashing hopes for the first such delivery since regime forces surrounded the rebel-held town in 2012. Meanwhile, a truce in Aleppo has expired with no new last-minute prolongation after it had been extended twice through last-minute intervention by Moscow and Washington. Continue reading... |
| Ex-Deutsche Bank executive given four-and-a-half years for insider trading Posted: 12 May 2016 08:03 AM PDT Martyn Dodgson and ex-finance director Andrew Hind jailed for making deals on stock markets using classified information A former Deutsche Bank managing director and an accountant have been sent to prison for "persistent, prolonged, deliberate, dishonest behaviour", drawing a line under the UK financial watchdog's eight-and-a-half year insider dealing inquiry. Martyn Dodgson, a 44-year-old financier who advised the government during the financial crisis, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years on Thursday for his part in an elaborate scam that prosecutors said made more than £6.9m between 2006 and 2010. It is the longest UK prison term handed down for the crime. Continue reading... |
| Trump and Ryan: meeting was a 'very positive step' toward GOP unity – as it happened Posted: 12 May 2016 07:25 PM PDT
Can't we all just get along?
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that he plans to "invit[e] leading conservatives and people from across the political spectrum" to talk with him about accusations of political bias at the social media company. Related: Zuckerberg invites top conservatives to talk and denies Facebook bias Continue reading... |
| Egypt's activists turn to social media to call for satirists' release Posted: 12 May 2016 11:03 AM PDT Clips uploaded to Facebook featured activists demanding the release of members of group Awlad el-Shawarea Egyptian activists are using social media to demand the release of five detained members of a satirical street performance group whose video clips mocked the president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi. The activists posted pictures on Facebook of themselves holding mobile phones in front of their faces with the caption: "Does a mobile phone camera rattle you?" Continue reading... |
| George Zimmerman's gun used to kill Trayvon Martin back up for auction Posted: 12 May 2016 02:04 PM PDT Handgun, which Zimmerman calls a 'piece of American history', reappears on firearms site after it was pulled from GunBroker.com amid widespread criticism An attempt by George Zimmerman to auction the gun he used to kill Trayvon Martin in 2012 appeared to be back on again Thursday following an extraordinary day in which the owner of the first website on which the weapon first appeared took down the listing, saying he wanted no part of the controversial sale. Billed as "your opportunity to own a piece of American history", Zimmerman's listing abruptly disappeared from GunBroker.com shortly after the auction's advertised 11am ET start time. The former neighbourhood watch volunteer, who was acquitted three years ago over the death of the unarmed black teenager in Sanford, Florida – a case that sparked protests and a national debate about race relations – was seeking at least $5,000 for the gun. Continue reading... |
| Beer hall where Hitler spoke ordered to host anti-immigrant party event Posted: 12 May 2016 10:58 AM PDT Owner of hall where Hitler is thought to have made his first political speech had cancelled event over security concerns A Munich court has ordered the owner of a beer hall where Adolf Hitler is thought to have made his first political speech to allow the anti-immigrant party Alternative for Germany (AfD) to hold an event there. Related: German far-right party calls for ban on minarets and burqa Continue reading... |
| Indian doctors raise IVF concerns after woman in her 70s gives birth Posted: 12 May 2016 09:29 AM PDT Doctors call for upper age limit for fertility treatment after Daljinder Kaur has first child after 46 years of marriage Doctors in India have raised concerns about IVF treatment in the country, after a couple in their 70s had their first child after 46 years of marriage. Daljinder Kaur, who does not have a birth certificate but is thought be in her 70s, gave birth to a boy last month after two years of fertility treatment using donor eggs at a clinic in the northern state of Haryana. Related: The foul reign of the biological clock | Moira Weigel Continue reading... |
| Secret area of Guantánamo could be opened to UN watchdog for first time Posted: 12 May 2016 11:39 AM PDT Exclusive: Attorneys for alleged 9/11 co-conspirator request UN access to Camp 7 to prevent evidence they say was coerced during torture being used against him The most secret corner of Guantánamo Bay could be opened up to the UN torture watchdog for the first time, if an audacious legal gambit succeeds. Attorneys for Ammar al-Baluchi, one of the accused 9/11 co-conspirators facing a military tribunal at Guantánamo Bay, will request on Thursday that the judge in the case order access to Guantánamo's Camp 7 – where he and other detainees formerly in brutal CIA custody reside practically incommunicado – for Juan Mendez, the UN's special rapporteur on torture. Continue reading... |
| Russia launches first rocket from new spaceport Posted: 12 May 2016 01:30 PM PDT Russia has launched the first rocket from its new spaceport. Although not yet finished, the Vostochny cosmodrome has cost £2bn and taken five years to build so far. When completed in the 2020s, it will launch cosmonauts and Russia's new Angara rocket, which could eventually take people to the moon. The spaceport became operational on 28 April when a Soyuz-2.1 rocket lifted off carrying three satellites into orbit. Vladimir Putin attended the launch and had words of both congratulation and warning. Continue reading... |
| Italian court orders release of man held in Bari terror inquiry Posted: 12 May 2016 10:38 AM PDT Lawyer for Hakim Nasiri says his client is innocent, while two other men arrested in connection with case remain in custody An Italian judge has ordered the release of a terror suspect who was alleged to have scoped targets in the UK and Italy and whose arrest was hailed as a sign of Italy's effective counter-terrorism programme. The decision to release Hakim Nasiri, a 23-year-old Afghan, was not formally explained by the presiding judge, Francesco Agnino. The court ruled that two other suspects who were arrested this week in connection with the same alleged terror ring on suspicion of aiding illegal immigration should remain in custody. Continue reading... |
| South African musicians hail end of 'cultural imperialism' on radio Posted: 12 May 2016 10:29 AM PDT National broadcaster SABC announces that 90% of music played on its 18 radio stations will be from local artists South African musicians have joyfully welcomed an announcement that their music will dominate the country's airwaves after years of "cultural imperialism". The national broadcaster, SABC, decided this week that 90% of the music played on its radio stations would be by local artists, a move that one of South Africa's hip-hop stars compared to Nelson Mandela's release from prison. Continue reading... |
| US and UK urge banks to do business with Iran Posted: 12 May 2016 10:38 AM PDT Iranian president Hassan Rouhani is under pressure from hardliners as lifting of sanctions fails to live up to expectations An attempt by the US and UK governments to persuade European banks to do more business in Iran in the wake of last year's nuclear deal, appears to have fallen on deaf ears. Senior representatives from nine major banks listened on Thursday to appeals from the US secretary of state, John Kerry, and the British foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, urging them to help finance expanded trade with Iran following the lifting of sanctions under the agreement sealed in Vienna last July. Continue reading... |
| Saudi officials were 'supporting' 9/11 hijackers, commission member says Posted: 12 May 2016 04:00 AM PDT First serious public split revealed among commissioners over the release of the secret '28 pages' that detail Saudi ties to 2001 terrorist attacks A former Republican member of the 9/11 commission, breaking dramatically with the commission's leaders, said Wednesday he believes there was clear evidence that Saudi government employees were part of a support network for the 9/11 hijackers and that the Obama administration should move quickly to declassify a long-secret congressional report on Saudi ties to the 2001 terrorist attack. The comments by John F Lehman, an investment banker in New York who was Navy secretary in the Reagan administration, signal the first serious public split among the 10 commissioners since they issued a 2004 final report that was largely read as an exoneration of Saudi Arabia, which was home to 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11. Continue reading... |
| French financial prosecutors confirm investigation into Tokyo 2020 bid Posted: 12 May 2016 06:04 AM PDT • Officials to look into payments made to Black Tidings account • Tokyo's Olympic organising committee denies wrongdoing French financial prosecutors have confirmed they are investigating allegations of "corruption and money laundering" involving more than $2m in suspicious payments apparently made by the Tokyo 2020 Olympic bid to a secret bank account linked to the son of disgraced former world athletics chief Lamine Diack. The Guardian revealed on Wednesday that payments totalling at least $1.5m had apparently been made to the Black Tidings company that was at the centre of other allegations of extortion and bribery linked to the International Association of Athletics Federations. Now, French prosecutors have confirmed they are investigating payments totalling 2.8m Singapore dollars that were made under the title "Tokyo 2020 Olympic Game bid" either side of Tokyo's successful bid to host the Games in September 2013. Continue reading... |
| US poultry workers wear diapers on job over lack of bathroom breaks – report Posted: 12 May 2016 12:03 PM PDT
A report from international advocacy group Oxfam says poultry workers in the United States labor in a "climate of fear", with some forced to wear diapers on the job. It says many workers are afraid to ask for permission to go to the bathroom. The report says a worker at a Simmons Foods plant in Arkansas told Oxfam that she and many others resorted to wearing diapers. A Tyson Foods worker says in the report that many workers at his North Carolina plant "have to urinate in their pants". Continue reading...This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| WHO recommends shorter drug regimen for multi-drug resistant TB Posted: 12 May 2016 03:58 AM PDT New diagnostic test and nine-month course of treatment may help save thousands of lives, health body says A new drug regime that shortens the treatment for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis from two years to nine months has been recommended for use by the World Health Organisation, raising hopes that hundreds of thousands of people will stay the course and be cured. About 480,000 people are estimated by the WHO to have this form of the infectious disease, which has been found in every country in the world and kills 190,000 every year. MDR-TB cannot be cured by the standard six-month regimen of antibiotics because the bacteria have become resistant to some or all of the drugs, meaning they no longer work. Continue reading... |
| North Korea releases unretouched photos of Kim Jong-un Posted: 12 May 2016 03:43 AM PDT High-resolution photos of top officials including country's leader are missing usual signs of manipulation North Korean state media have released high-resolution headshots of more than two dozen top officials in the secretive country, including its leader, Kim Jong-un. Nothing unusual about that. But one thing, according to Pyongyang observers, appears to be missing: signs of retouching. |
| Eurovision: Ireland’s Nicky Byrne fails to make it to final Posted: 12 May 2016 11:36 PM PDT Former Westlife singer knocked out in semi-final in Stockholm where he performed his song Sunlight Ireland's Nicky Byrne has failed to qualify for the Eurovision song contest's grand final. The former Westlife singer performed his song Sunlight at Thursday night's semi-final in Stockholm, Sweden, where he was one of 18 acts competing for the last 10 places in the final. Continue reading... |
| Story of cities #42: Medellín escapes grip of drug lord to embrace radical urbanism Posted: 12 May 2016 11:30 PM PDT Twenty-five years ago, Medellín was the most dangerous city on earth. Yet its most infamous criminal, Pablo Escobar, also helped create the conditions that sparked an extraordinary revival – by taking the city to the brink of collapse "I'd never been to that neighbourhood before. It was a new world to me." The architect Luis Miguel Velez Wiesner is recalling the first time he set foot in Santo Domingo, one of Colombia's most notorious favelas, when the Medellín cable car opened in 2004. "The first time, I felt like I was going to be kidnapped. Now it's quite different – there are lots of places to eat and shop. It feels safe now." For intrepid residents such as Wiesner, stepping off the cable car to enter the once out of bounds "other side" of Medellín, was a seminal moment in the history of their city. Continue reading... |
| Hong Kong glues bricks to pavements as top Beijing official makes visit Posted: 12 May 2016 11:00 PM PDT Thousands of police drafted in as authorities take extraordinary step in bid to prevent repeat of violent Chinese New Year protests Authorities in Hong Kong have been busy glueing hundreds of bricks to the pavements ahead of a visit by one of China's top political leaders. Related: BBC World Service staff say Hong Kong move risks editorial freedom Continue reading... |
| We often know when drought or floods will strike. So let's act before they do | Neil Marsland Posted: 12 May 2016 11:00 PM PDT Climate change and the current strong El Niño are creating costly humanitarian crises. But it's so much cheaper to avert disaster through building resilience The life of a farmer in Somalia is never easy and, right now, it's about as hard as it gets. The weather no longer seems to follow recognisable patterns and the El Niño phenomenon is exacerbating the crisis. At 47 years old, Maymuno Madobe Cali has seen it all: drought, floods, disease and conflict. She knows only too well how a precious but fragile livelihood can vanish. She lost 26 goats the last time floods and water-borne diseases came to Boodaale and she is praying the same will not happen to her remaining 11 animals. With seven people in her family, another spell of bad weather could push her to the brink. Continue reading... |
| Brexit could spell end for farming and car industry, says transport secretary Posted: 12 May 2016 11:00 PM PDT Financial jolt triggered by departure could lead to key industries suffering same fate as coal mining, says Patrick McLoughlin Farming and the car industry could disappear from Britain like coal mining in the 1980s because of the financial shock of leaving the EU, Patrick McLoughlin, the transport secretary, has warned. Related: Brexit could lead to recession, says Bank of England Continue reading... |
| Disputed 'foreign agent' law shot down by Kyrgyzstan's parliament Posted: 12 May 2016 08:31 AM PDT In a surprise result, MPs vote against bill to restrict charities who receive funding from abroad. Eurasianet.org reports Kyrgyzstan's parliament has voted against a contentious "foreign agent" bill which would have enforced harsh restrictions on groups who receive donations from abroad. In a surprise move, 65 of the 111 members of parliament present voted against the proposed legislation, which was undergoing its final reading. Continue reading... |
| Obama banana 'jokes' show Soviet-era racism remains alive in Russia Posted: 12 May 2016 06:45 AM PDT A chocolate bar named 'Little Obama' is the latest in a string of offensive images triggered by political tensions At the Slavitsa ice cream factory in Russia's Republic of Tatarstan a decision has been made to discontinue one of its chocolate brands. This ordinarily wouldn't be news, except that these ice cream bars were named after Barack Obama and their launch elicited allegations of racism and anti-Americanism from the international community. Continue reading... |
| Jozi Cats: South Africa's first gay and inclusive rugby club Posted: 12 May 2016 01:58 AM PDT Subverting stereotypes in new campaign, players tell the Daily Maverick they've been overwhelmed by the positive response Africa's first gay and inclusive rugby club has launched a provocative campaign featuring homophobic slurs in a bid undermine stereotypes. The new recruitment drive features posters of team members accompanied by words such as "queen", "fairy" and "pansy". Continue reading... |
| 'I came here with nothing': life in limbo for unwilling migrants on Haiti's border Posted: 12 May 2016 02:00 AM PDT Changes in the Dominican Republic's citizenship rules sparked an exodus of undocumented Haitian descendants. Months later their plight is still desperate Goats kick up white dust as they pass over the desiccated riverbed that marks the southern border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The goats' owners watch from the Haitian side as their animals pull grass from Dominican soil, while a guard with a machine gun blocks the pathway that links the two countries. Continue reading... |
| Police review revenge porn case against man let off with caution Posted: 13 May 2016 12:48 AM PDT Investigation follows criticism of Sussex police over failure to charge Oliver Whiting, despite evidence he targeted five women Detectives are considering whether to reinterview a man accused of revenge pornography after criticism over their failure to charge him. Sussex police let off Oliver Whiting, 36, from Eastbourne, with a caution after five women came forward complaining they were the victims of revenge porn and malicious communications. Continue reading... |
| Marshall Marcus: The European Union Youth Orchestra cannot be strangled by European bureaucracy Posted: 13 May 2016 12:16 AM PDT The EUYO has announced its closure. Chief Executive Marshall Marcus explains why a 40-year-old institution that represents the best of pan-European creativity has been silenced Amid the sagging plethora of Brexit conversations, real passion can often seem to be lacking among the EU's top brass. Except however, when they talk about one particular enterprise: "The European Union Youth Orchestra remains one of our most distinguished ambassadors … a potent symbol of our European Union." (Jean-Claude Juncker, EU Commission President). "I was moved not simply by the beauty of the music they produced, but also by what they stand for: the EUYO perfectly embodies the power of being united in diversity," (Juncker's colleague Martin Schulz, European Parliament President). Continue reading... |
| US navy strips officer of command over capture of 10 sailors by Iran Posted: 12 May 2016 11:08 PM PDT Group wandered into Iranian territorial waters in the Persian Gulf and were held for 15 hours before intervention by US secretary of state secured release A US navy officer has been stripped of his command over the capture by Iran of 10 American sailors who wandered into its territorial waters. In a statement on Thursday the navy said it had lost confidence in Commander Eric Rasch, who was the executive officer of the squadron that included the 10 sailors at the time of the January incident. He was responsible for the training and readiness of the more than 400 sailors in the unit. Continue reading... |
| Dilma Rousseff is on trial – and so is Brazil’s faltering democracy | Carolina Matos Posted: 13 May 2016 01:00 AM PDT The suspension of the president is the latest blow for a country that is still struggling to shake off its history of authoritarianism and social inequality The impeachment of Dilma Rousseff is a sad day for democracy and can be seen as a tragedy for Brazil's struggling path towards further democratisation. But it also signals a new beginning, a possibility for the renewal of hope. Brazil, like other Latin American countries such as Argentina and Chile, still has a long way to go before it can become an advanced stable democracy, where pluralism and diversity in the media and in the political public sphere is encouraged and celebrated, and not undermined. A place where the intellectual zeitgeist is one of equal opportunities, social inclusion and fair play. Rousseff has been a victim of her own mistakes in the economy, currently engulfed in a deep recession, and her inability to deal politically with allies and with a hostile, aggressive and conservative opposition. But she has also fallen foul of a process that is being seen as extremely controversial and hypocritical – for many a form of "soft coup" – led by politicians who themselves have been accused of corruption. Continue reading... |
| Leaders' debate: Turnbull and Shorten in first people's forum of election campaign – live Posted: 13 May 2016 01:00 AM PDT Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten face off in front of one hundred swinging voters during the Sky News people's forum in western Sydney.
Sky tells me that the Labor leader Bill Shorten has arrived at the Windsor RSL. Fair contingent of protestors out there now.
Local Labor members gathering outside #leadersdebate at Windsor RSL (raffle tickets go on sale at 5pm) #ausvotes pic.twitter.com/pYdiIreZww Continue reading... |
| US supreme court blocks Alabama execution amid dementia claim Posted: 12 May 2016 11:37 PM PDT Divided bench refuses to intervene after another court granted a stay to determine whether Vernon Madison, 65, can understand his death sentence A divided US supreme court blocked the execution of an Alabama inmate to let a lower court review claims that strokes and dementia had left him incompetent to understand his death sentence. Related: Freed Alabama death row inmate: 'I'm at peace with myself. Are they at peace?' Continue reading... |
| Gay former student says school discriminated against him over his outfit Posted: 12 May 2016 10:29 PM PDT Angus McCormack says Girton Grammar school in Bendigo asked him to leave a function because he did not conform to the 'dress code' Parents of students at a Bendigo high school have been urged to support a former pupil ejected from a school church service over his "inappropriate" outfit. The student, Angus McCormack, says Girton Grammar discriminated against him at the private Christian school's Foundation Day service last Friday. Continue reading... |
| Mohammed bin Salman: the prince trying to wean Saudi Arabia off oil Posted: 12 May 2016 10:00 PM PDT King Salman's favourite son is modernising the Arab world's largest economy but some fear his big plan could fail to materialise Hardly a week has gone by recently without dramatic headlines about Saudi Arabia planning far-reaching changes. And every report features the intriguing character of Mohammed bin Salman, the deputy crown prince and rising star of an increasingly unpredictable kingdom. Bin Salman, an imposing man of 30, oversees a team of advisers and ministers who are working on the grandiosely named Vision 2030 – designed to prepare pampered Saudis for a life after oil by diversifying, privatising and modernising the largest economy in the Arab world. Continue reading... |
| Nauru refugee and premature baby in critical condition after emergency caesarean Posted: 12 May 2016 09:00 PM PDT Baby unable to breathe without aid when flown off the island with Somali mother en route to Australia, immigration department says A 22-year-old Somali refugee and her newborn baby have been medically evacuated from Nauru after she underwent a caesarean section a month prematurely. The immigration department confirmed the woman and her baby had been transferred to Australia where they were receiving "appropriate medical treatment", but declined to comment further. Continue reading... |
| Leading Hezbollah commander and key Israel target killed in Syria Posted: 12 May 2016 08:00 PM PDT Mustafa Badreddine, dubbed the 'untraceable ghost', had fought against Israel for decades and was killed in an explosion in Damascus Hezbollah has confirmed its military commander, Mustafa Badreddine, was killed in Syria this week in what it described as a "major explosion" at Damascus airport. Media reports in Lebanon and Israel quickly suggested the blast had been caused by an Israeli airstrike, a suggestion to which Hezbollah gave weight, announcing it was investigating whether a "missile or artillery strike" had been responsible. |
| 'What mistake did we make?' Victims of Cultural Revolution seek answers, 50 years on Posted: 12 May 2016 06:45 PM PDT Families destroyed by Mao's political upheaval say they cannot forgive while China still refuses to face up to its past Chen Shuxiang shakes his head when asked if he can forgive the teenagers who chained his father to a radiator and used an iron bar to bludgeon him to death. It was the summer of 1966 when Chen Yanrong became one of the first victims of Chairman Mao's Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, a cataclysmic political upheaval that started 50 years ago this month. Continue reading... |
| Australian security guard killed in shooting at embassy in Baghdad Posted: 12 May 2016 06:15 PM PDT Department of Foreign Affairs recently dismissed claims diplomats at the embassy in the Iraqi capital had been put at risk by cuts to security An Australian security contractor has been shot dead at the country's embassy in Baghdad, the Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed. The 34-year-old man, who has not been named, was an employee of Unity Resources Group, which provides security to the embassy. Continue reading... |
| Four suspected militants killed by their own bomb in Turkey Posted: 12 May 2016 03:31 PM PDT The blast, which also wounded 17, occurred when the bombmakers were unloading the device, authorities said Four suspected bombmakers have been killed and 17 people wounded after an explosion ripped through a village in Turkey's mainly Kurdish south-east, security sources and the interior ministry said. The blast occurred on Thursday night in the Sarikamis district, about 25km (15 miles) from the city of Diyarbakir, as alleged Kurdistan Workers party (PKK) militants loaded explosives on to a small truck, according to the ministry. Electricity in Sarikamis was cut and homes near the blast site suffered damage, CNN Turk reported. Continue reading... |
| Super-rich may quit London homes under new anti-corruption rules Posted: 12 May 2016 11:46 AM PDT Estate agent predicts some billionaire clients will sell property if no longer able to keep identity secret via offshore firms Super-rich international investors in London property are likely to sell off some of their mansions and penthouses after the introduction of anti-corruption rules cracking down on offshore secrecy, a leading estate agent has said. Privacy-hungry oligarchs, media owners and tech billionaires from around the world could also abandon plans to buy homes in Britain because they would no longer be able to keep their identity secret by purchasing them through offshore companies, Trevor Abrahmsohn told the Guardian. Continue reading... |
| What’s at stake in the EU-US trade deal talks | Letters Posted: 12 May 2016 11:45 AM PDT It is true, as Owen Jones suggests (Protest never changes anything?, 5 May), that the credibility of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership EU-US trade deal has taken a battering because of concerted public pressure. But this is no time for complacency. Off the record, civil servants at the European commission will tell you they are relaxed about TTIP hitting the buffers because negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with Canada have been completed and await European parliament approval. In terms of transferring power from countries to corporations, the CETA is every bit as bad as TTIP and contains a version of the thoroughly discredited investor state dispute settlement mechanism that allows big companies to sue governments in parallel courts if their rent-seeking activities are curtailed by legislation protecting public services. Continue reading... |
| How history shaped Jewish identity | Letters Posted: 12 May 2016 11:41 AM PDT Your correspondents seeking to defend the Labour party from allegations of antisemitism disgrace themselves and their argument when they claim that "most Jews who perished in the Holocaust were indifferent to Zionism and many opposed it" (Letters, 11 May). They simply do not know what the 6 million victims of Nazi antisemitism thought of Zionism. They do not know how many Polish Jews who voted for non-Zionist parties before the war changed their views as they were forced into ghettos and camps, starved and worked to death, shot into pits and herded into gas chambers. They do not know how many Jews might have been saved had Israel existed in the 1930s, nor how many survivors were grateful for Zionism after the war when Israel was the only country that would take them in. Continue reading... |
| Woman's high-heel petition receives 100,000-plus signatures Posted: 12 May 2016 11:04 AM PDT Nicola Thorp, who was sent home for not wearing heels at PwC, says response shows importance of reforming dress codes A petition started by a woman who was sent home from work for not wearing high heels has been signed by almost 110,000 people in less than 48 hours. |
| Welcome, Lord Prime Minister: Cambodian media told to use leader's full royal title Posted: 12 May 2016 10:47 AM PDT Print, radio and TV organisations told to use Hun Sen's honorary six-word title in opening lines of all stories about him or face legal action For years, some Cambodian media have referred to the country's longtime leader as Prime Minister Hun Sen – but, as of Thursday, authorities have warned that this must stop. Starting in August, all media must use his full, honorary, six-word title – "Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen" – in the opening lines of print articles, radio and TV stories about him. |
| Children's services call for funds to deal with rise in child refugees Posted: 12 May 2016 10:06 AM PDT UK council leaders welcome government decision to take in more lone refugee children but say they need extra resources Council leaders, children's services and foster carer networks have called on the government to properly resource local authorities to cope with the expected rise in unaccompanied child asylum seekers entering Britain. They have warned that existing funding is inadequate to meet the needs of often traumatised children fleeing conflict zones and have voiced concerns over the government's failure so far to provide details of how children arriving alone will be assessed and transferred to different parts of the country. Continue reading... |
| Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni sworn in for fifth term Posted: 12 May 2016 09:40 AM PDT Representatives from Europe and North America walk out of ceremony in protest at presence of Sudanese leader Yoweri Museveni has been sworn in for his fifth term as Uganda's president but representatives from Europe and North America walked out of the ceremony over the attendance of the Sudanese president who is wanted on genocide charges. Museveni, 71, was inaugurated in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, in a ceremony attended by African dignitaries including the Zimbabwean president, Robert Mugabe, the president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, and Omar al-Bashir, the president of Sudan. Tribal dancers entertained the crowd and Ugandan military aircraft, including Russian-made fighter jets, performed an airshow. Continue reading... |
| Court rejects request by same-sex Indian couple to remain in UK Posted: 12 May 2016 09:06 AM PDT Women lose case despite fact their relationship will not be legally recognised in south Asian country A married lesbian couple from India who have lived legally in the UK for many years have had their request to continue living in Britain rejected despite the fact their relationship will not be legally recognised in the south Asian country. Judges at the court of appeal rejected their application to remain in the UK on Thursday. It is the first ruling in a case where a couple have attempted to rely on the status of their same-sex partnership to be granted permission to stay in Britain. Continue reading... |
| 'Democracy is our oxygen': Brazilians speak out about Dilma Rousseff – video Posted: 12 May 2016 08:55 AM PDT During Dilma Rousseff's last hours in office, supporters of her impeachment trial and pro-Rousseff campaigners gathered outside the Brazilian congress to await the senate vote. Rousseff was eventually stripped of her presidential duties after a marathon 20-hour debate that one politician described as the 'saddest day for Brazil's young democracy' Continue reading... |
| Pope Francis to consider ordaining women as deacons Posted: 12 May 2016 08:52 AM PDT Pontiff to create commission to study the issue, signalling an openness to letting women serve in a role reserved for men Pope Francis has opened the door to female deacons in what could be a major shift by the Catholic church, which maintains a prohibition on women serving as clergy. Related: Pope praises women and lays out vision to reinvigorate Catholic church Continue reading... |
| Anglican church wants to train new clergy with apprenticeship fund Posted: 12 May 2016 08:05 AM PDT Church of England seeking government's support to use central fund paid for by apprenticeship levy to replace 6,000 retiring ordinands The Church of England is hoping to use funds raised by the government's apprenticeship levy to help pay for the training of 6,000 new clergy to replace those approaching retirement. "The church would very much like to see the levy being used to train more ordinands," MP Caroline Spelman told colleagues in her capacity as second church estates commissioner, who coordinates between the church and parliament. |
| Nearly 400 LSE-listed companies based in tax havens linked to UK Posted: 12 May 2016 07:34 AM PDT Research finds 389 firms on London Stock Exchange with market capitalisation of £225bn are registered in offshore territories Almost 400 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), with a collective market capitalisation of £225bn, are based in offshore havens connected to the UK. Research shows that 389 companies trading their shares in London are registered in British overseas territories or crown protectorates. Continue reading... |
| Story of cities #41: Soul City's failed bid to build a black-run suburbia for America Posted: 12 May 2016 03:45 AM PDT Civil rights activist Floyd McKissick dreamed of a southern utopia where the racially integrated community would be planned and managed by African Americans. Although the city was never completed, some traces remain At first glance, this North Carolina town would have looked much like the thousands of others that were built across America's vast countryside in the decades following the second world war. It would have consisted of single family homes on curvilinear streets within walking distance of manmade lakes, shopping centres and industry. In short, a 1970s vision of suburbia. One key factor would have made this town different, however. The self-contained, racially integrated community would be planned, developed and managed by black people. Those black foundations would be celebrated in the town's name: Soul City. Continue reading... |
| Refugees urge Kenyan leaders to rethink closure of Dadaab camp Posted: 12 May 2016 10:00 PM PDT Residents in world's biggest refugee camp, some of whom have lived there for decades, tell of their sadness at decision Residents of the world's biggest refugee camp have called on the Kenyan government to reverse plans to close the settlement, saying proposals for forced returns of Somalis to their war-torn country would amount to a mass death sentence. Abdullahi Aden Hassan, a father of nine who was one of the first to arrive in the Dadaab camp fleeing the civil war in Somalia in 1992, told the Guardian refugees had received the news, confirmed this week, with shock. Continue reading... |
| Dentro de La Ciudad de las Mujeres en Colombia – podcast Posted: 12 May 2016 09:02 AM PDT Kary Stewart visita La Ciudad de las Mujeres en Turbaco, a las afueras de Cartagena, en el norte de Colombia Kary Stewart visita La Ciudad de las Mujeres en Turbaco, a las afueras de Cartagena, en el norte de Colombia. En 1999, la abogada Patricia Guerrero fundó La Liga de Mujeres Desplazadas para apoyar a las mujeres que sufrieron el desplazamiento forzado, la violencia sexual y el asesinato de sus seres queridos durante los largos años del conflicto en Colombia. Como parte de su trabajo con la liga, Guerrero se puso a recaudar fondos para una ciudad de casas construidas por y para mujeres desplazadas. En 2007, la Ciudad de las Mujeres se finalizó su construcción. Hoy día, el barrio aloja a casi 500 personas y cuenta con sus propias escuelas y algunas tiendas informales – todas construidas por las mujeres. Continue reading... |
| Uganda chooses Tanzania over Kenya for oil pipeline route Posted: 12 May 2016 04:50 AM PDT Kampala's decision a blow for Kenya's oil ambitions in eastern Africa, although presidents say they will continue to work together on oil projects Uganda is to route its oil exports through Tanzania after a report found the country was a cheaper and more secure option than its other east African neighbour Kenya. Uganda is to use Tanga, a seaport city about 200km north of Dar es Salaam, to export its crude oil, rather than Lamu in Kenya. Continue reading... |
| Air pollution health timebomb poses a major threat to development Posted: 12 May 2016 03:43 AM PDT A World Health Organisation report shows little escape from poisoned air in poorer countries, resulting in 3 million premature deaths worldwide a year Countries are finding that the urban economic development to which they aspire brings poisoned air, ill-health, massive costs, a low quality of life and, probably, an early death for a very great many people. That is the stark conclusion from a reading of the new database of outdoor air quality from the World Health Organisation (WHO), for 3,000 of the world's cities. While millions of people in rich countries suffer the cancers, heart and respiratory diseases that air pollution brings, the levels of air pollution in many Asian and African cities are said to be five or even 10 times worse. Continue reading... |
| 'The Central African Republic must be built from scratch' Posted: 12 May 2016 01:30 AM PDT As François Hollande heads to CAR this week, he will find a country divided by religion and where violence among its people is horrifyingly normal The Gbaya Ndombia maternity clinic in Bangui epitomises the ambiguity that characterises life in Central African Republic: this launchpad for new life doubles as a trauma centre for gunshot and grenade injuries. The midwives have learned to triage patients into black (dead), red/yellow (serious), and green. They have learned how to stabilise people who have been stabbed, or lost limbs because of explosions. And they have learned how to stay calm if there are angry people at the gate, sometimes firing guns in the air. Continue reading... |
| Angela Merkel is suddenly looking politically mortal Posted: 12 May 2016 04:29 AM PDT Will the German chancellor survive to serve another term? Should she? Europe's most important politician took a bit of a pasting from the Brexit camp this week for allegedly throwing her weight around in David Cameron's company. She has had a rough few months since the Syrian refugee crisis hit Germany and is suddenly looking politically mortal. But does Angela Merkel deserve it? Yes and mostly no. In these turbulent times we may miss her quietly steady hand when it's no longer there to hold. Continue reading... |
| What do migrants think about ONS immigration figures? Posted: 12 May 2016 04:05 AM PDT New figures from the UK's statistics agency have raised concerns that the government has underestimated the number of people entering the country Today, analysis from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) explores whether or not the UK's official migration statistics have underestimated the number of people entering the country. It finds a big gap between official figures (which suggest 257,000 migrants came to the UK between September 2014 and 2015) and the number of EU migrants registering for National Insurance numbers (630,000 over the same period). |
| Paul Ryan says Donald Trump is a ‘warm and genuine person’ – video Posted: 12 May 2016 10:05 AM PDT The US speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, said he was 'very encouraged' by discussions he had with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Thursday. Ryan, who is the top elected Republican in the United States, told reporters that he had found Trump to be a 'warm and genuine person' Continue reading... |
| George Zimmerman on gun auction: ‘I've decided not to cower' – video Posted: 12 May 2016 09:19 AM PDT George Zimmerman, who was acquitted of murdering Trayvon Martin in Florida in 2012, said he can 'do what [he'd] like with [his] own possessions' in response to intention to auction off gun used in the shooting. Zimmerman listed the gun for auction online on Thursday with accompanying text stating he would use the money raised to 'fight BLM [Black Lives Matter] violence' Continue reading... |
| Car falls into sinkhole on London street – video Posted: 12 May 2016 06:46 AM PDT A blue Vauxhall Zafira is in a hole outside St Thomas's church in Woodland Terrace, Charlton, south-east London, on Thursday. The car's owner, Ghazi Hassan, told the BBC: 'In life you have good days and bad days. This morning wasn't a good day. But I'm thankful me or my family wasn't in the car.' Police said no one was injured |
| Chelsea Manning wins free speech award: 'It's easy to feel invisible' – video Posted: 12 May 2016 04:13 AM PDT Chelsea Manning, currently in a maximum security prison in Kansas, is awarded the Blueprint for Free Speech prize, which recognises whistleblowers whose bravery and integrity have made a positive impact on the public interest. Manning's childhood friend Aaron Kirkhouse accepts the award and reads out her speech at the Thomson Reuters Foundation in Canary Wharf in London on Monday |
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