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

Sudan woman faces death by stoning for adultery in first case for a decade
Climate adaptation bill for African countries to dwarf health spending
West must force private lenders to ease Africa’s crippling debt, say campaigners
Calls for crackdown on gangs in South Africa after spate of gun attacks
South Africa bar shootings: four killed in KwaZulu-Natal on same night as 15 die in Soweto
South Africa: 15 dead after gunmen open fire at bar in Soweto township
Ex-boyfriend charged over Elnaz Hajtamiri kidnapping in Ontario
John Bolton says he ‘helped plan coups d’etat’ in other countries
‘Extinct’ parrots make a flying comeback in Brazil
Canada exempts Russian gas turbine from sanctions amid Europe energy crisis
Australia news live: Albanese ‘very confident’ of no Chinese bases in Solomons; virus-hit cruise ship returns to Queensland as Covid cases rise
CSIRO joins deep-sea mining project in Pacific as islands call for industry halt
Fukushima nuclear disaster: ex-bosses of owner ordered to pay ¥13tn
‘We are family’: Anthony Albanese meets Solomon Islands PM amid tension over China deal
Bourbon dry: low spirits in New Zealand as bottle shops run out
Police remove two Chinese defence attaches from Pacific Islands Forum meeting
Brad Fittler hits out at ‘ridiculous’ Matt Burton sin-bin after State of Origin brawl
Labor backing fossil fuel projects could scupper Greens support for 43% target
NSW poker machine laws may increase risk of money laundering, says crime commission
End to Covid leave payment and RAT subsidy ‘disincentives’ for casuals to be tested
Linda Reynolds more than six months late in declaring series of share trades on register
Covid deaths in aged care reach almost 100 a week as active cases surge across Australia
Russia-Ukraine war: Turkey announces deal with Ukraine, Russia and UN aimed at resuming grain exports– live
Italy’s government on the brink as 5-Star threatens to boycott confidence vote
More than 130 grain ships stuck in Black Sea as talks start in Istanbul
Bakhmut bombarded in wake of Ukraine attack on Russian air defences
Halt use of biofuels to ease food crisis, says green group
Northern Italy drought threatens olive oil, risotto rice and passata supplies
Biden in Israel as poll shows support for re-election bid at new low – as it happened
Biden commits to Israel’s security as he embarks on Middle East tour
Joe Biden arrives in Middle East at time of rapid change
US looking at new international body to record rights abuses in Yemen
Shireen Abu Aqleh: family of killed journalist demand meeting with Biden
Jafar Panahi is third film-maker in a week to be arrested in Iran
How the Rajapaksa family fell after 15 years at the top in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: furious protesters breach PM’s offices after president flees
Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa flees the country
President of crisis-hit Sri Lanka confirms he will quit amid protests
Gang caught running fake Indian cricket league to dupe Russian gamblers
British tourists survive avalanche in Tian Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan
Hospital patients being treated in corridors and waiting areas, says RCN
Benefit cuts since 2010 increased UK child poverty in run-up to pandemic, says IFS
Record numbers of disadvantaged UK students apply for university
Boy, 13, arrested on suspicion of three sexual assaults in Berkshire
Liz Truss criticised for saying her Leeds school ‘let down’ children
Liz Truss under pressure as rivals steal march in Tory leadership race
FDA authorizes protein-based Novavax Covid vaccine for adults
Amazon gave Ring doorbell videos to US police 11 times without permission
Roman Polanski rape case testimony can be unsealed, LA prosecutor says
Jayland Walker funeral: hundreds gather to mourn victim of police shooting
Amber Heard loses bid to dismiss $10m Johnny Depp judgment
Trouble for Trump as committee makes case Capitol attack was premeditated

Sudan woman faces death by stoning for adultery in first case for a decade

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 03:23 AM PDT

Campaigners say sentence amounts to torture amid fears that country's new regime is rolling back women's rights

A woman in Sudan has been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, the first known case in the country for almost a decade.

Maryam Alsyed Tiyrab, 20, was arrested by police in Sudan's White Nile state last month.

Climate adaptation bill for African countries to dwarf health spending

Posted: 12 Jul 2022 10:00 PM PDT

Eleven nations least responsible for global heating must spend up to 22% of GDP on dealing with effects of it

African countries that are the least responsible for the climate crisis will have to spend up to five times more on adapting to global heating than they do on healthcare.

Analysis of 11 nations with a total population of more than 350 million lays bare the huge financial toll of taking action to avert the severe environmental consequences of global heating.

West must force private lenders to ease Africa’s crippling debt, say campaigners

Posted: 12 Jul 2022 03:42 AM PDT

Banks and traders have been 'let off the hook' by G7 despite being more to blame for the looming crisis than China

Western governments should "compel" private lenders to ease loan repayments from low-income countries to tackle a debt crisis, according to campaigners.

Debt Justice, formerly the Jubilee Debt Campaign, said African governments owe three times more debt to western banks, asset managers and oil traders than they do to China, and are charged double the interest. China has been "mistakenly" blamed by western leaders for the failure to make progress on debt restructuring.

Calls for crackdown on gangs in South Africa after spate of gun attacks

Posted: 11 Jul 2022 09:21 AM PDT

Attack on tavern near Johannesburg in which 15 were killed was one of several similar incidents over the weekend

Campaigners in South Africa have called for a crackdown on increasingly powerful organised criminals armed with military-grade weapons, blamed for a string of recent deadly attacks.

Police are looking for suspected gang members who killed 15 people in a tavern near Johannesburg, the country's commercial capital, using an assault rifle and 9mm pistols on Saturday night.

South Africa bar shootings: four killed in KwaZulu-Natal on same night as 15 die in Soweto

Posted: 10 Jul 2022 05:15 PM PDT

Police investigating if attacks linked, citing similarities as gunmen in both cases said to have fired at people 'randomly'

Four people have been killed and eight wounded in a bar in eastern South Africa after two men fired indiscriminately at customers, police said, on the same night as a bar shooting in Soweto left 15 dead.

Police were trying to verify if the attacks were linked, they said, noting their similarity.

South Africa: 15 dead after gunmen open fire at bar in Soweto township

Posted: 10 Jul 2022 05:12 AM PDT

South African police investigate reports group of men arrived in taxi and opened fire on patrons

Gunmen used automatic rifles and powerful handguns to kill 15 people and injure a further eight in a mass shooting at a tavern in Johannesburg's Soweto township in the early hours of Sunday.

The attack on the Orlando East bar in the Nomzamo informal settlement occurred shortly after midnight when a group of men arrived in a Toyota minibus and entered the bar, neighbours told the Guardian.

Ex-boyfriend charged over Elnaz Hajtamiri kidnapping in Ontario

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 08:54 AM PDT

Police arrest Mohamad Lilo after frustrating six-month investigation into abduction by 'fake officers'

Canadian police have arrested and charged a man in a kidnapping case that has baffled investigators for months and produced few leads.

Mohamad Lilo, an ex-boyfriend and former business partner of Elnaz Hajtamiri, was charged with her kidnapping, six months after she was abducted by men dressed as police officers.

John Bolton says he ‘helped plan coups d’etat’ in other countries

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 05:27 AM PDT

Former national security adviser to Donald Trump says US Capitol attack was not a coup because it was not carefully planned

John Bolton, a former national security adviser to Donald Trump and before that ambassador to the United Nations under George W Bush, said on Tuesday he helped plan coup attempts in other countries.

Speaking to CNN after the day's January 6 committee hearing, Bolton said it was wrong to describe Trump's attempt to stay in power after the 2020 election as a coup.

‘Extinct’ parrots make a flying comeback in Brazil

Posted: 10 Jul 2022 02:00 AM PDT

The Spix macaw, a bird that had once vanished in the wild, is now thriving in its South American homeland after a successful breeding programme

Twenty years ago, the future of the Spix's macaw could not have looked bleaker. The last member of this distinctive parrot species disappeared from the wild, leaving only a few dozen birds in collectors' cages across the globe. The prospects for Cyanopsitta spixii were grim, to say the least.

But thanks to a remarkable international rescue project, Spix's macaws – with their grey heads and vivid blue plumage – have made a stunning comeback. A flock now soars freely over its old homeland in Brazil after being released there a month ago. Later this year, conservationists plan to release more birds, and hope the parrots will start breeding in the wild next spring.

Canada exempts Russian gas turbine from sanctions amid Europe energy crisis

Posted: 09 Jul 2022 08:04 PM PDT

Ottawa defies Ukraine's objections to return of equipment for Nord Stream 1 pipeline, saying it needs to support Europe's access to 'reliable and affordable energy'

Read all our Ukraine war coverage

Canada will return a repaired Russian turbine to Germany that it needs for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, despite objections from Ukraine, as the sanctions regime came up against the energy crisis sparked by the war.

Canada's minister of natural resources, Jonathan Wilkinson, said in a statement on Saturday the government was issuing a "time-limited and revocable permit" to exempt the return of turbines from its Russian sanctions, to support "Europe's ability to access reliable and affordable energy as they continue to transition away from Russian oil and gas".

Australia news live: Albanese ‘very confident’ of no Chinese bases in Solomons; virus-hit cruise ship returns to Queensland as Covid cases rise

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 04:10 PM PDT

In a meeting with Solomon Islands leader Manasseh Sogavare, PM says he made it clear what Australia's interests are

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The International Monetary Fund could downgrade its expectations for global economic growth this month.

Its head Kristalina Georgieva has hinted as much, saying the war in Ukraine, higher than expected inflation and the Covid pandemic are to blame.

As G20 ministers and central bank governors gather in Bali this week, they face a global economic outlook that has darkened significantly.

Recent indicators imply a weak second quarter – and we will be projecting a further downgrade to global growth for both 2022 and 2023 in our World Economic Outlook Update later this month.

CSIRO joins deep-sea mining project in Pacific as islands call for industry halt

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 10:30 AM PDT

Agency to lead consortium in scheme targeting battery materials while conservationists say Australia on 'wrong side of debate'

Australia's national science agency, the CSIRO, has agreed to work with a controversial deep-sea mining project in the Pacific as a fourth island nation joins a call for a moratorium on the industry.

CSIRO will lead a consortium of scientists from Australia and New Zealand to help the Metals Company (TMC) develop an environmental management plan for its project, which is backed by the Nauru government.

Fukushima nuclear disaster: ex-bosses of owner ordered to pay ¥13tn

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 04:28 AM PDT

Firm's president at time of disaster among five defendants found liable for £80bn in damage by Tokyo court

A court in Japan has ordered former executives of Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) to pay ¥13tn (£80bn) in damages for failing to prevent a triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in 2011.

The ruling by Tokyo district court centred on whether senior Tepco management could have predicted a serious nuclear accident striking the facility after a powerful tsunami.

‘We are family’: Anthony Albanese meets Solomon Islands PM amid tension over China deal

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 12:50 AM PDT

Manasseh Sogavare says relationship with Australia is 'strong' despite his recent security pact with Beijing

Anthony Albanese has met with the Solomon Islands prime minister in Suva to discuss their common interests of climate change and regional security issues, despite recent tensions between the two nations over China.

It is the first time that Albanese has met Manasseh Sogavare. The relationship between the countries has become increasingly tense since the signing of the controversial security pact with China earlier this year, but ahead of the meeting Albanese reiterated the importance of the relationship and said it "will be even better after this afternoon".

Bourbon dry: low spirits in New Zealand as bottle shops run out

Posted: 12 Jul 2022 09:30 PM PDT

Shipping delays and bottlenecks, along with rising popularity of hard liquor, cause shortage, accompanied by dip in chicken nugget stocks

As supply chain pressures and shipping delays are felt around the world, New Zealand is being hit by a nationwide dearth of bourbon, with shortages also hitting the craft beer and chicken nugget markets.

"It's a pain all right," said Neil, a worker at the Bottle-O store in Mt Eden. "There's a shortage of bourbon at the moment. We can't get anything from out of America, apparently."

Police remove two Chinese defence attaches from Pacific Islands Forum meeting

Posted: 12 Jul 2022 07:04 PM PDT

Fijian police escort the men from media space where US vice-president Kamala Harris was making virtual address

Two Chinese defence attaches have been kicked out by Fijian police from a Pacific Islands Forum meeting at which the US vice-president, Kamala Harris, was giving a virtual address.

The men were sitting in on a session of the forum's fisheries agency at which Harris announced the step-up of US engagement in the region, believed to be in response to China's growing influence.

Brad Fittler hits out at ‘ridiculous’ Matt Burton sin-bin after State of Origin brawl

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 03:03 PM PDT

Burton and Dane Gagai trade punches in series decider
Both players binned at Suncorp Stadium but escape suspension

Coach Brad Fittler thinks Matt Burton's sin-binning in the State of Origin decider was a "tad ridiculous" as NSW lick their wounds after the Maroons' comeback win. Blues centre Burton and Queensland opposite Dane Gagai were both sin-binned as the Origin series decider descended into a throwback, fists flying in a second-half brawl.

The pair were given a spell by referee Ashley Klein in the 42nd minute after the Maroons made a snap break at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night. As Queensland burst upfield, Burton collided with Maroons fullback Kalyn Ponga after he had passed and was trying to catch up with the play.

Labor backing fossil fuel projects could scupper Greens support for 43% target

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 10:30 AM PDT

Adam Bandt vows to push Albanese government 'further and faster' on emissions reduction

The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, says the party's support for the government's climate legislation may hinge on whether it continues to back new fossil fuel projects, vowing to push Labor to go "further and faster" on its emission reduction goals.

Hitting back at the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, after he suggested the government would not negotiate with the Greens to pass the legislation through the Senate, Bandt accused Labor of being the "only obstacle" to greater climate ambition in the new parliament.

NSW poker machine laws may increase risk of money laundering, says crime commission

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 10:30 AM PDT

NSW Crime Commission issues paper also asks whether poker machine credit limits should be lowered

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The New South Wales Crime Commission has suggested some of the state's gambling laws have increased the risk of money laundering through poker machines, while raising the prospect of "significantly" reducing their credit limits in clubs.

This comes as anti-gambling advocates dismissed an "utterly cynical" proposal from lobby group Clubs NSW for a new "code of practice" that would allow family members of gambling addicts to request they be banned from venues.

End to Covid leave payment and RAT subsidy ‘disincentives’ for casuals to be tested

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 10:30 AM PDT

Australian Council of Social Services says end of supports amid new wave of virus leaves insecure workers more exposed

Lilly Hallett has become accustomed to regular lentil meals amid recent spiralling costs of living as a way to curb everyday expenses.

But the Melbourne-based casual call centre employee is also now trying to stash away part of her income in case she becomes reinfected with Covid, amid a surge in cases driven by the highly infectious Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants.

Linda Reynolds more than six months late in declaring series of share trades on register

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 10:30 AM PDT

Coalition senator blames 'administrative oversight' for delayed disclosure of shares including in Electro Optic Systems, which had previously been awarded millions in government contracts

Senator Linda Reynolds was more than six months late in declaring a series of share trades on her register of interests, including one involving a defence company which had previously been awarded millions in government contracts during her time as defence minister.

Reynolds, who was defence minister until March 2021 when she became government services minister, acquired shares in Falcon Metals, Electro Optic Systems Holdings and BrainChip Holdings in October and November 2021.

Covid deaths in aged care reach almost 100 a week as active cases surge across Australia

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 10:30 AM PDT

Rising case numbers and death rates prompt fears that two-thirds of providers could be grappling with outbreaks in next six weeks

Almost 100 aged care residents are dying from Covid each week with active cases linked to the more than 700 current outbreaks in facilities reaching near-record levels for 2022, data shows.

An analysis of government data on Covid in aged care shows a worrying surge in the weekly number of deaths, number of active outbreaks, and cases among residents.

Russia-Ukraine war: Turkey announces deal with Ukraine, Russia and UN aimed at resuming grain exports– live

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 04:03 PM PDT

Turkey to monitor grain exports and establish coordination centre; Zelenskiy says 'several hundred thousand children' taken to Russia against their will

Russia's RIA Novosti news agency is reporting that the Russian delegation has arrived in Turkey for talks over the export of grain from Ukraine. They cite a diplomatic source.

The source told them there was "high confidence" of progress in today's talks, at which military delegations from Turkey, Russia and Ukraine will meet with a UN delegation at a secret location.

Italy’s government on the brink as 5-Star threatens to boycott confidence vote

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 03:51 PM PDT

Populist party says it won't back cost of living package and could withdraw from fragile coalition

The Italian government is close to collapse after the 5-Star Movement said it would boycott a crucial confidence vote in parliament, prompting calls for early elections.

Giuseppe Conte, the former prime minister who leads the populist party, said the funds set aside for a cost of living support package were insufficient and that his senators could not support the bill on Thursday.

More than 130 grain ships stuck in Black Sea as talks start in Istanbul

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 09:41 AM PDT

Negotiators from Russia, Ukraine, the UN and Turkey seek deal to enable exports to pass on to the Danube

Russia-Ukraine war: latest updates

A traffic jam of more than 130 cargo ships loaded with Ukrainian grain is waiting in the Black Sea to pass into the Danube as negotiators from Moscow, Kyiv, the UN and Turkey hailed progress at talks in Istanbul on easing Ukrainian agricultural exports.

The ships are waiting to access exit routes through the Sulina and Bystre estuary canals to reach a series of ports and terminals in Romania from where the grain can be transported on around the world, amid mounting global concern about the Russian blockade on Ukrainian exports through the Black Sea.

Bakhmut bombarded in wake of Ukraine attack on Russian air defences

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 02:58 AM PDT

Heavy shelling thought to be reprisal for Ukraine attack or preamble to renewed offensive on Donetsk cities

Russia-Ukraine war: latest updates

Russian artillery and rockets pounded the Ukrainian town of Bakhmut overnight and into Wednesday morning in what some sources speculated was a reprisal for a Ukrainian attack using a US-supplied Himars missile system on a Russian air defence site in Luhansk.

Others suggested the shelling could signal a renewed Russian offensive aimed at cities in Donetsk province.

Halt use of biofuels to ease food crisis, says green group

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 02:00 AM PDT

RePlanet calls on EU to ditch organic targets and for governments to lift bans on genetically modified crops

Governments should put a moratorium on the use of biofuels and lift bans on genetic modification of crops, a green campaigning group has urged, in the face of a growing global food crisis that threatens to engulf developing nations.

Ending the EU's requirement for biofuels alone would free up about a fifth of the potential wheat exports from Ukraine, and even more of its maize exports, enough to make a noticeable difference to stretched food supplies, according to analysis by the campaign group RePlanet.

Northern Italy drought threatens olive oil, risotto rice and passata supplies

Posted: 12 Jul 2022 10:00 PM PDT

The region's worst drought in 70 years is expected to hit crop yields significantly, driving up prices by as much as 50%

Supplies of olive oil, risotto rice and passata are under threat as northern Italy suffers its worst drought in 70 years, stirring up the cost of living crisis further.

Specialist importers are preparing for price rises of as much as 50% or more for rice and tomatoes and are considering looking for new sources of supply, after growers in the Po valley, the home of arborio rice used in risotto, warned of a "significant reduction" in crop yields this year.

Biden in Israel as poll shows support for re-election bid at new low – as it happened

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 01:03 PM PDT

Prices rise again as US inflation hits 40-year high
John Bolton says he planned coups in other countries

Michigan's Democratic governor Gretchen Whitmer has signed an executive order preventing women who travel to Michigan for an abortion from being extradited to other states where seeking the procedure is illegal.

Here's how she described the order, which also protects abortion providers in the state from extradition:

I will stand up for all women, even if their local and statewide leaders refuse to. Michigan must remain a place where a person's basic rights are preserved. In this existential moment for fundamental rights, it is incumbent on every elected official who believes that health—not politics—should guide medical decisions to take bold action.

Biden commits to Israel’s security as he embarks on Middle East tour

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 09:36 AM PDT

After the visit a communique titled the 'Jerusalem Declaration' will reaffirm Israel's right to defend itself

Joe Biden has said that the US is committed to Israel's security on arriving in Tel Aviv for the first leg of a three-day visit to the Middle East, a trip focused on deepening the majority Jewish state's ties with the Arab world as the region faces a common foe in Iran.

The US leader was greeted by the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog and caretaker prime minister, Yair Lapid on Air Force One's arrival at Ben Gurion airport on Wednesday afternoon. He opted for fist-bumping rather than shaking hands with Israeli officials during the red carpet welcome, over what the White House said was concern over rising Covid cases.

Joe Biden arrives in Middle East at time of rapid change

Posted: 12 Jul 2022 09:00 PM PDT

Analysis: Israel has transformed itself from regional pariah to ally to many Arab states

Joe Biden has made clear that the Middle East is not a priority for his administration: Ukraine, China and the US midterm elections are all more pressing issues. Still, when Air Force One touches down in Tel Aviv for his first visit to the region as president on Wednesday afternoon, Biden will be faced with a rapidly changing – and still unstable – part of the world.

Biden's main goal is to convince Saudi Arabia of the need to increase global oil supplies to ease the energy crisis sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But the fact that he flies directly to Jeddah after two days in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories speaks to a significant shift: Israel's transformation from regional pariah to ally for many Arab states.

US looking at new international body to record rights abuses in Yemen

Posted: 12 Jul 2022 12:28 AM PDT

Rights activist say move is akin to asking Vladimir Putin to investigate Russian war crimes in Ukraine

The Biden administration is exploring the creation of a new international committee to document and report on human rights violations in Yemen, months after a Saudi lobbying campaign quashed an independent United Nations investigation into possible war crimes.

The revelation comes on the eve of a tour of the Middle East by Joe Biden that will include a visit to Israel and – controversially – Saudi Arabia, where the US president has said his aim is to strengthen the "strategic partnership" while also "holding true to fundamental American values".

Shireen Abu Aqleh: family of killed journalist demand meeting with Biden

Posted: 11 Jul 2022 11:00 PM PDT

Letter to president expresses 'sense of betrayal' for shielding Israel from accountability for her death ahead of his visit to Jerusalem

The family of Shireen Abu Aqleh, the renowned Palestinian-American journalist killed during an Israeli military raid in the West Bank, is demanding a meeting with President Biden during his visit to Jerusalem this week after accusing his administration of shielding Israel from accountability for her death.

Abu Aqleh's brother, Anton, wrote to Biden on Friday expressing his family's "grief, outrage and sense of betrayal" after the US state department concluded that Israeli forces were "likely responsible" for shooting the Al Jazeera reporter in the head in the West Bank city of Jenin in May but "found no reason to believe that this was intentional".

Jafar Panahi is third film-maker in a week to be arrested in Iran

Posted: 11 Jul 2022 10:19 AM PDT

Berlin winner in 2015 detained while querying arrest of another director after protests over building collapse

The award-winning director Jafar Panahi has become the third Iranian film-maker to be arrested in less than a week, the Mehr news agency has said, as he visited prosecutors over the detentions last week of Mohammad Rasoulof and Mostafa Aleahmad.

Panahi, 62, has won a slew of awards at international festivals for films that have critiqued modern Iran, including the top prize in Berlin for Taxi in 2015, and best screenplay at Cannes for 3 Faces in 2018.

How the Rajapaksa family fell after 15 years at the top in Sri Lanka

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 11:05 AM PDT

Analysis: Gotabaya Rajapaksa's authoritarianism and incompetence ended the family's political reign

For weeks protesters in Sri Lanka have chanted "Go home Gota." Now Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the president, appears to be looking for one. His first stop was the Maldives, reached last night. The United Arab Emirates may be the final destination.

The Rajapaksa family's fall has been spectacular. It has resonated across the region, and well beyond. The ruler of Sri Lanka has been a high-profile casualty of the global cost of living crisis, analysts have said. In distant South Africa, a talk show host asked if the soaring cost of living there could spell the end for the ruling party. Others are asking the same question.

Sri Lanka: furious protesters breach PM’s offices after president flees

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 09:13 AM PDT

State of emergency declared as protesters reject PM acting as president and demand he and Gotabaya Rajapaksa resign

Protests erupted in Sri Lanka on Wednesday after the president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, fled to the Maldives on a military jet – but neither he nor the prime minster officially resigned, throwing the country into political chaos.

After Gotabaya's clandestine departure, a Sri Lankan official said that the prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, had been appointed by Rajapaksa to be acting president. Wickremesinghe declared a state of emergency as protesters breached the prime minister's offices and took over the state television broadcaster.

Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa flees the country

Posted: 12 Jul 2022 02:49 PM PDT

Rajapaksa, 73, and his wife boarded a special air force flight bound for the Maldives, local officials said

Sri Lanka's embattled president Gotabaya Rajapaksa has flown out of the country, heading to the neighbouring Maldives, according to local officials.

The 73-year-old leader, his wife and a bodyguard were among four passengers on board an Antonov-32 Sri Lankan military aircraft which took off from Colombo's international airport on Tuesday, immigration officials told Agence France-Presse.

President of crisis-hit Sri Lanka confirms he will quit amid protests

Posted: 11 Jul 2022 09:11 PM PDT

Gotabaya Rajapaksa informs PM's office of resignation intention as brother Basil is turned away at airport and opposition leader signals plan to run for president

Sri Lanka's government has confirmed the president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, is to resign, paving the way for the appointment of a successor, amid reports that the beleaguered leader had attempted to flee the country on Monday.

A statement from the office of the prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, said "Rajapaksa has officially informed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe that he will be resigning", in the most formal confirmation yet that the president intends to step down later this week.

Gang caught running fake Indian cricket league to dupe Russian gamblers

Posted: 11 Jul 2022 06:22 AM PDT

Indian police say gang went to great lengths in betting scam reminiscent of the 1973 film The Sting

A gang set up a fake "Indian Premier League" tournament with farm labourers acting as players to dupe Russian punters in a betting scam reminiscent of the 1973 film The Sting.

The so-called "Indian Premier Cricket League" reached the quarter-final stage before the racket was busted by police in India.

British tourists survive avalanche in Tian Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan

Posted: 10 Jul 2022 06:07 PM PDT

The group of 10 people, including nine from UK, managed to take shelter when avalanche struck

Ten people, including nine Britons, are reported to have survived after a huge avalanche swept over them in the Tian Shan mountains in Kyrgyzstan.

Footage uploaded to Instagram by Harry Shimmin, one of the people on the trekking tour, showed snow starting to break down a mountain in the distance and sweeping towards them, forcing the group to take cover as the snow went over the top of them.

Hospital patients being treated in corridors and waiting areas, says RCN

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 04:01 PM PDT

Poll reveals more than a quarter of UK hospital nurses have seen patients cared for in 'inappropriate' settings

Patients are being treated in the wrong places in UK hospitals, such as corridors and waiting areas, leaving them at risk of poor care, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) warns today.

Hospitals are so overstretched and understaffed that patients are ending up being looked after in clinically "inappropriate" settings, where personnel may not have the right skills.

Benefit cuts since 2010 increased UK child poverty in run-up to pandemic, says IFS

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 04:01 PM PDT

Austerity-era policies meant poverty among larger families in poverty rose at significantly faster rate, says thinktank

Benefit cuts imposed by the Conservatives since 2010 pushed up child poverty before the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report warning that poorer families are also among the most exposed to the cost of living crisis.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies said relative child poverty rose to the highest level since 2007 immediately before Covid-19 hit, as the incomes of poorer families with children fell further behind due to austerity.

Record numbers of disadvantaged UK students apply for university

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 04:01 PM PDT

Ucas data also shows surge in applications from Nigeria, India and China but fall in nursing applications

Record numbers of disadvantaged students in the UK have applied to go to university this year, according to official figures that also show international recruitment has held up with a surge in applications from Nigeria, India and China.

According to data published by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas), overall applications for UK 18-year-olds have exceeded all previous records, raising concerns about competition for places on the most popular courses as some universities try to rein in numbers after over recruiting during the pandemic.

Boy, 13, arrested on suspicion of three sexual assaults in Berkshire

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 03:15 PM PDT

The attacks on two young women and one teenage girl occurred last week in a park in Bracknell

A 13-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of three sexual assaults that took place in Berkshire last week.

Thames Valley police said on Wednesday that the teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is currently being held in custody.

Liz Truss criticised for saying her Leeds school ‘let down’ children

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 02:30 PM PDT

Local MP and councillor angered by comments about Roundhay school, rated 'satisfactory' when foreign secretary attended

UK politics: live updates

Tory leadership candidate Liz Truss has been criticised for comments about the quality of education at her Leeds school, which she claims caused children to be "let down".

Speaking at the launch of her economic plan, the foreign secretary is expected to describe seeing "children who failed and were let down by low expectations" during her time at Roundhay school in the 1990s.

Liz Truss under pressure as rivals steal march in Tory leadership race

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 02:30 PM PDT

Foreign secretary forced to regroup after trailing behind Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt after first round ballot

Tory leadership: live updates

Liz Truss will seek to reinvigorate her campaign to be the next prime minister by promising an "aspiration nation" on Thursday, after she was unexpectedly beaten into third place by Penny Mordaunt in the first round of voting.

Long seen as one of the favourites to be the next Tory party leader, the foreign secretary has the backing of Boris Johnson super-loyalists Nadine Dorries and Jacob Rees-Mogg.

FDA authorizes protein-based Novavax Covid vaccine for adults

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 03:38 PM PDT

Approval of shot widens options against the virus as CDC will meet next week to decide whether to sign off on vaccine

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday authorized Novavax's Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use in people 18 years of age or older, widening vaccine options in the US against the virus as the fourth vaccine to get approval by the agency.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will meet next week to decide whether to sign off on the vaccine and determine who should get the shot before pharmacies and other healthcare providers can start administering them. Novavax is also expected to finish its quality testing "in the next few weeks" before the doses are provided.

Amazon gave Ring doorbell videos to US police 11 times without permission

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 12:11 PM PDT

The company has said it will not share customer information with law enforcement without consent, a warrant or in an emergency

Amazon has provided Ring doorbell footage to law enforcement 11 times this year without the user's permission, despite previously stating it would do so only with consent.

The disclosure came in a letter from the company that was made public Wednesday by Senator Edward Markey and is bound to raise more privacy and civil liberty concerns about its video-sharing agreements with police departments across the US.

Roman Polanski rape case testimony can be unsealed, LA prosecutor says

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 11:28 AM PDT

District attorney George Gascón says his office has asked to unseal transcripts in effort to re-examine case

The Los Angeles district attorney's office will no longer object to the release of documents in the 45-year-old rape case against the film director Roman Polanski, the office said on Tuesday.

George Gascón, the Los Angeles DA, said his office had reversed its position and asked to unseal the transcripts of the testimony of the former deputy district attorney Roger Gunson as part of an effort to re-examine the case against the 88-year-old film-maker.

Jayland Walker funeral: hundreds gather to mourn victim of police shooting

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 11:09 AM PDT

Wednesday declared day of mourning in Akron, Ohio, two weeks after Black man, 25, was killed by officers after chase

Hundreds of people filled a theater and passersby sounded horns in sympathy as family and friends shared their memories of Jayland Walker, the 25-year-old Black man killed in a hail of police gunfire in Akron, at his funeral on Wednesday.

Mourners passed his open casket during the viewing at the Akron Civic Theatre, some wearing T-shirts that said "Black Lives Matter" or "Zero Threat, Zero Violence, Justice for Jayland".

Amber Heard loses bid to dismiss $10m Johnny Depp judgment

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 11:00 AM PDT

US judge Penney Azcarate rejects Heard's claims after actor filed motion seeking to have defamation verdict against her set aside

A judge on Wednesday rejected a request from the actor Amber Heard to set aside the $10m defamation judgment awarded against her in favor of her ex-husband, Johnny Depp.

Depp won a suit against Heard last month in a high-profile civil trial. Heard won a $2m judgment on a counter-claim against Depp.

Trouble for Trump as committee makes case Capitol attack was premeditated

Posted: 13 Jul 2022 10:51 AM PDT

Criminal prosecution appears increasingly likely as January 6 committee strengthens case against former president

Donald Trump is facing growing legal peril as the House January 6 committee lays out a case that appears increasingly geared to making a criminal prosecution all but inevitable.

The panel's seventh hearing on Tuesday argued that Trump instigated an attack on the US Capitol that was premeditated rather than spontaneous and that he cannot hide behind a defence of being "willfully blind".

Aneka Info

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

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

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