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Thailand signals major shift in refugee policy after Rahaf Mohammed case
US to begin nuclear treaty pullout next month after Russia missile talks fail
New plant-focused diet would ‘transform’ planet’s future, say scientists
China accuses US of suppressing its high-tech companies
Malaysia revises school textbook which tells girls sex is shameful
Apple chief calls for laws to tackle 'shadow economy' of data firms
Populist leaders face mounting resistance, say global rights experts
Putin honours Serbian leader as he attacks west's Balkans role
Extreme heatwave: all-time temperature records fall across parts of Australia
Lorna Doom, bassist with cult Los Angeles punk band Germs, dies
'Time to start talking about consent': Thailand's nascent #MeToo moment
Mental health changes give care homes too much power, critics say
Brexit: MPs to debate and vote on Brexit 'plan B' options on Tuesday 29 January - Politics live
Ivory Coast: Laurent Gbagbo detained again after last-minute appeal
'A blemish in his sanctuary': the battle behind Mark Zuckerberg's Hawaii estate
Brazil environment chief accused of 'war on NGOs' as partnerships paused
Australia to introduce rules about sedating or restraining nursing home residents
Oxfam failed to address sexual misconduct and bullying, finds review
Egyptian universities reinstate students expelled for hugging
Sexual abuse of boys often overlooked by state laws, global study warns
Trump's economy is great for billionaires, not for working people | Bernie Sanders
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez lambasts US government shutdown in first House speech – video
What is happening in Zimbabwe? – video report
Zimbabwe: activist pastor arrested for 'inciting violence' – video

Thailand signals major shift in refugee policy after Rahaf Mohammed case

Posted: 16 Jan 2019 09:42 PM PST

Immigration chief says country 'will now follow international norms' yet is still considering extraditing refugee Hakeem al-Araibi

Thailand's immigration chief has pledged a reversal of the country's notoriously harsh treatment of refugees following the global furore around a young Saudi woman's attempt to seek asylum.

Speaking on Wednesday, the newly appointed head of immigration, Surachate Hakparn, said refugees would no longer be returned home "involuntarily".

US to begin nuclear treaty pullout next month after Russia missile talks fail

Posted: 16 Jan 2019 03:29 PM PST

Officials reject Russian offer to inspect new missile
US says it will suspend observance of INF treaty on 2 February

The US has rejected Moscow's offer to inspect a new Russian missile suspected of violating a key cold-war era nuclear-weapons treaty, and warned that it would suspend observance of the agreement on 2 February, giving six-month notice of a complete withdrawal.

New plant-focused diet would ‘transform’ planet’s future, say scientists

Posted: 16 Jan 2019 03:30 PM PST

'Planetary health diet' would prevent millions of deaths a year and avoid climate change

The first science-based diet that tackles both the poor food eaten by billions of people and averts global environmental catastrophe has been devised. It requires huge cuts in red meat-eating in western countries and radical changes across the world.

The "planetary health diet" was created by an international commission seeking to draw up guidelines that provide nutritious food to the world's fast-growing population. At the same time, the diet addresses the major role of farming – especially livestock – in driving climate change, the destruction of wildlife and the pollution of rivers and oceans.

China accuses US of suppressing its high-tech companies

Posted: 17 Jan 2019 02:35 AM PST

US said to be in 'advanced' stages of inquiry over alleged Huawei theft of trade secrets

China has accused the US of trying to suppress its high-tech companies, as US prosecutors reportedly investigate allegations that the company stole trade secrets from US businesses.

Adding to pressure on the Chinese telecom giant, US lawmakers have proposed a ban on selling US chips or components to the company.

Malaysia revises school textbook which tells girls sex is shameful

Posted: 17 Jan 2019 01:59 AM PST

'Victim-blaming' illustration instructs girls to cover up and not to visit quiet places alone

The Malaysian education ministry has ordered the removal of a page from a school textbook which warned young girls that having sex would bring shame on their families and urged them to "protect the modesty of their genitals".

An illustration in the textbook, issued to all eight and nine-year-olds in Malaysia, instructed girls to get changed behind closed doors, wear clothes that covered up their bodies and not to visit quiet places alone.

Apple chief calls for laws to tackle 'shadow economy' of data firms

Posted: 17 Jan 2019 02:00 AM PST

Tim Cook seeks competitive advantage over Google and Facebook with privacy push

Apple's chief executive has called for regulation to tackle the "shadow economy" of data brokers – middlemen who trade in the personal data of largely unsuspecting consumers – as the company continues its push to be seen as privacy-positive.

Tim Cook, in an op-ed for Time Magazine published on Thursday, said: "one of the biggest challenges in protecting privacy is that many of the violations are invisible. For example, you might have bought a product from an online retailer – something most of us have done.

Populist leaders face mounting resistance, say global rights experts

Posted: 17 Jan 2019 01:30 AM PST

Opposition to authoritarian rule reflects increased concern of voters and institutions, Human Rights Watch claims

From Europe to Yemen and Myanmar to the US, authoritarian and populist leaders face an increasingly powerful human rights pushback, according to an influential annual survey of global rights.

Despite mounting pessimism around rights abuses and attacks on democracy by populists on both the far left and far right, the "big news" of the past year was the growing trend to confront abuses by "headline-grabbing autocrats", said Human Rights Watch.

Putin honours Serbian leader as he attacks west's Balkans role

Posted: 17 Jan 2019 01:19 AM PST

Visiting president says Serbia being forced to make 'artificial choice' between EU and Russia

Vladimir Putin is due in Belgrade, where he will bestow a top state honour upon the Serbian leader, Aleksandar Vučić, hoping to shore up one of the few strong bilateral relationships Russia has in Europe, and reinforce Moscow's claims to maintaining influence in the Balkans.

Extreme heatwave: all-time temperature records fall across parts of Australia

Posted: 16 Jan 2019 05:36 PM PST

Australia had its warmest ever December on record and temperatures this week nudged 50C in some places

Coping with extreme heat: share your photos

Temperature records have been broken in towns across parts of Australia sweltering through a heatwave, which is currently in its fourth day.

Australia also recorded its hottest December on record the Bureau of Meteorology said on Thursday in a special climate statement on "the unusual extended period of heatwaves" across much of the country.

Lorna Doom, bassist with cult Los Angeles punk band Germs, dies

Posted: 17 Jan 2019 01:52 AM PST

Born Teresa Ryan, Doom was a key part of the band who helped shape the sound of hardcore punk

Lorna Doom, the bassist with cult Los Angeles punk band Germs, has died. Born Teresa Ryan, her age and cause of death is unknown, her death made public when the band's drummer Don Bolles posted on Facebook: "She left this mortal coil today [Wednesday] around 1."

Tributes have been paid by punk musician Laura Jane Grace, who tweeted: "I can still see the 'Germs burn' on my wrist from when I was 14 years old. Few bands had as big of an impact on me." Katy Goodman of indie-rock group Vivian Girls wrote: "RIP Lorna Doom. The germs burn on my wrist originated from you." The "germs burn" was a cigarette burn by which fans showed allegiance to the band.

'Time to start talking about consent': Thailand's nascent #MeToo moment

Posted: 16 Jan 2019 04:00 PM PST

A web project that let people share stories of sexual assault is growing into an influential force for change

In a small bookshop in Suan Phlu, a lively district of Bangkok, an unusual conversation is taking place. Men and women crammed into the nooks and crannies between the books listen intently as Wipaphan Wongsawang picks up a microphone and gestures around her. "Women in Thailand should not have to be silent about rape and assault any longer," she says. "It's time people started talking about consent."

Wongsawang is the founder of Thaiconsent, a project that began as a series of articles explaining the concept of sexual consent to her friends. In the past 12 months it has grown into an online platform containing hundreds of stories of rape and assault, and inspired an exhibition of artworks designed to challenge Thailand's culture of misunderstanding over sexual assault.

Mental health changes give care homes too much power, critics say

Posted: 17 Jan 2019 02:35 AM PST

Charities, lawyers and Labour warn against government rushing out legislation in England and Wales

Changes to mental health safeguards – intended to protect hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people – will hand care home managers and private hospitals far too much power, the government has been warned.

The Law Society, mental health charities and Labour have accused the Department of Health and Social Care (DoH) of rushing through legislation that would remove independent scrutiny of the monitoring process to ensure that residents were not subjected to excessive restrictions.

Brexit: MPs to debate and vote on Brexit 'plan B' options on Tuesday 29 January - Politics live

Posted: 17 Jan 2019 02:53 AM PST

Labour leader says he won't meet with prime minister until she takes no-deal Brexit off the table, after May narrowly win no-confidence vote in parliament

Full report: May survives vote but Britain remains in Brexit deadlock

10.53am GMT

Here is the Labour MP Mike Gapes criticising Jeremy Corbyn's decision to set conditions before he agrees to meet Theresa May to discuss Brexit. (Corbyn says May should rule out a no-deal Brexit first.)

Apparently Corbyn is prepared to hold talks with Hamas, Hezbollah, Assad and Iran without preconditions. But not with the UK Prime Minister. Why ? https://t.co/zcvxkptw7U

10.47am GMT

Nigel Evans is another Tory Brexiter who has had a meeting with the PM this morning to discuss Brexit. According to the Press Association, on his way in Evans said:

We are leaving the EU. That's number one.

The prime minister is listening to the 17.4m people and the red line that's most important is that we are leaving the EU. Some MPs need to accept that.

Ivory Coast: Laurent Gbagbo detained again after last-minute appeal

Posted: 16 Jan 2019 05:21 PM PST

Former president remains in ICC custody after acquittal on charges of crimes against humanity

The International Criminal Court has dashed Laurent Gbagbo's hopes of a swift release following the acquittal of the Ivory Coast's former president on charges of crimes against humanity.

Trial judges had earlier ordered Gbagbo and his right-hand man Charles Ble Goude to be immediately freed after clearing them of any role in a wave of post-electoral violence in 2010-2011 that killed 3,000 people.

'A blemish in his sanctuary': the battle behind Mark Zuckerberg's Hawaii estate

Posted: 17 Jan 2019 12:00 AM PST

The Facebook CEO's involvement in a family dispute over four small parcels of land worries many on an island where longtime residents have lost land to wealthy newcomers

On 22 December 2016, a retired professor of Hawaiian studies named Carlos Andrade sent a letter to dozens of his relatives informing them that he was about to sue them.

The relatives were among hundreds of partial owners of four small parcels of land on the island of Kauai, the legacy of a shared ancestor named Manuel Rapozo. A neighboring landowner, Northshore Kalo LLC, was willing to pay the legal fees to clear up the title on the property – enabling Andrade to take full ownership and compensate his fellow descendants for their shares.

Brazil environment chief accused of 'war on NGOs' as partnerships paused

Posted: 16 Jan 2019 11:30 PM PST

Civil society groups condemn move by minister, appointed by far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, as illegal attack on environment

Brazil's new environment minister, Ricardo Salles, has suspended all partnerships and agreements with non-governmental organizations for 90 days, in a move that was described as "a war against NGOs".

Announcing the move, Salles said the three-month suspension was to allow a re-evaluation of such partnerships, but civil society organizations described the move as a blatant and illegal attack on the environment and those working to protect it.

Australia to introduce rules about sedating or restraining nursing home residents

Posted: 16 Jan 2019 11:10 PM PST

Aged care minister says he was disturbed by footage of elderly men being chemically and physically restrained

On the eve of the royal commission into the aged care sector's first hearing, the Morrison government has flagged new regulations on the use of chemical and physical restraints in nursing homes.

There are no rules in Australia governing the use of restraints in aged care facilities, unlike the US, Britain and Europe.

Oxfam failed to address sexual misconduct and bullying, finds review

Posted: 16 Jan 2019 11:00 PM PST

Independent commission says charity lacked robust safeguarding policies and was inconsistent in dealing with complaints

A damning interim review has highlighted Oxfam's failure to tackle an environment at the charity that allowed sexual misconduct and bullying to go unchecked.

The report, produced by an independent commission, warned that no uniform system exists for dealing with complaints and said there are "drastic inconsistencies" in the way safeguarding issues are handled across the 90-plus countries in which Oxfam International operates.

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

Egyptian universities reinstate students expelled for hugging

Posted: 16 Jan 2019 08:03 AM PST

Mansoura and Al-Azhar universities backtrack after video of celebratory embrace goes viral

Two students expelled from university in Egypt for the "immoral act" of hugging in celebration of their engagement have been reinstated after a viral video of their embrace drew widespread public sympathy.

The universities of Al-Azhar and Mansoura initially told both students they would be thrown out after footage emerged showing the male student kneeling and proposing to the teenage woman before presenting her with a bouquet of flowers. The video, shot on the campus of Mansoura University, then showed the pair embracing, a moment greeted by cheers from their friends.

Sexual abuse of boys often overlooked by state laws, global study warns

Posted: 16 Jan 2019 05:24 AM PST

Stronger support urged for young men affected by abuse as researchers find existing measures tailored towards girls

Sexual abuse of boys is "barely addressed" by the laws in many countries, according to a global study that warns of a lack of support for young male survivors.

The study, which examined child rape laws in 40 countries, found that just under half of jurisdictions lacked legal protections for boys. In many cases, laws were specific to girls and did not recognise boys as victims.

Trump's economy is great for billionaires, not for working people | Bernie Sanders

Posted: 16 Jan 2019 02:00 AM PST

Instead of giving tax breaks to billionaires and large corporations, we must demand that they pay their fair share

Donald Trump tells us the US economy is "absolutely booming", the "strongest we've ever had" and "the greatest in the history of America".

Well, at his Mar-a-Lago country club where the price of admission has doubled to $200,000, he is right. The economy could not be better for the top 1% and corporate America.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez lambasts US government shutdown in first House speech – video

Posted: 16 Jan 2019 09:15 PM PST

'It's not normal to shutdown the government when we don't get what we want,' says Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez during her first speech on the house floor. 'The truth of this shutdown is that it's actually not about a wall. The truth is, this shutdown is about the erosion of American democracy and the subversion of our most basic governmental norms'

• Pelosi asks Trump to delay State of the Union address, or deliver it in writing

What is happening in Zimbabwe? – video report

Posted: 16 Jan 2019 10:23 AM PST

The centre of Harare, Zimbabwe's capital, is deserted after the third day of a nationwide strike. Demonstrators are frustrated by the huge rise in living costs that has resulted in food and fuel shortages across the impoverished country

Civilians beaten and abducted in major Zimbabwe crackdown

Zimbabwe: activist pastor arrested for 'inciting violence' – video

Posted: 16 Jan 2019 06:07 AM PST

Armed Zimbabwean police arrested Evan Mawarire at his home on Wednesday, his lawyer said, on the third day of protests against fuel price rises. Businesses and schools remained closed as the government imposed an internet 'shutdown'

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

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