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- Afghanistan presidential elections live
- The forgotten Irish soldiers who fought for Britain in the first world war
- Jailed Venezuelan opposition leader charged with inciting violence
- Afghan hope prevails as presidential election day arrives
- Disenchanted WA voters go to the polls in senate election rerun
- Drone killings case thrown out in US
- Villawood protesters fail to disrupt transfer of asylum seekers
- Tony Abbott leads 'largest ever' mission to boost trade with Asia
- End in sight for election-weary voters of Western Australia
- Afghanistan on the eve of presidential elections
- MH370: Time running out in search for Malaysian Airlines plane's black box
- Native Americans protest Cleveland Indians 'Chief Wahoo' logo
- Fort Hood shootings: 'escalating argument' preceded attack
- Inspector may have overlooked nuclear forces' problems in positive review
- Vatican to investigate sexual allegations against Cardinal Keith O'Brien
- North Carolina judge denies secrecy motion in trial over coal ash spill
- Washington detainees on hunger strike released from confinement after lawsuit
- Missouri school suspends employees amid newest rape allegations
- Chicago officials fire train driver in O'Hare airport crash
- Venezuelans wary that food ID cards are thin end of rationing wedge
- Details of Fort Hood victims emerge but gunman's motive remains unclear
- Cuba's state media denounce 'secret Twitter' as proof of US cyber-war
- George Bush's paintings: this is the art of Forrest Gump
- Flight MH370 black boxes need to be found for lessons to be learned
- North Korea accuses US of being 'hell-bent on regime change'
| Afghanistan presidential elections live Posted: 05 Apr 2014 01:29 AM PDT About 12 million people are eligible to vote on Saturday in the first round of what it is hoped will be the country's first peaceful transfer of democratic power
Voting appears to be brisk, with large queues forming as people wait to cast their ballots... The Guardian's Afghanistan correspondent Emma Graham-Harrison says it has been an upliftingly peaceful start to the day. Last time round, attacks in the provinces began at 5am and today there have been no reports yet of violence.
Click through our interactive guide to the presidential election to see key facts, figures and profiles of the candidates.
The runup has been marred by violence, and the aftermath will no doubt be contested, but Saturday is the day Afghans get to vote for a new president, the third such poll since the fall of the Taliban. If the process ends as it should, it will be the first ever peaceful democratic transfer of power in the country. But that's a big if. Around 12 million people are eligible to vote, and almost 7,000 polling stations are open nationwide. Saturday's vote is just the first round. Eight candidates are vying to succeed President Hamid Karzai, who is barred under the constitution from seeking a third consecutive term. With three men former foreign ministers Abdullah Abdullah and Zalmai Rassoul, and former finance minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai considered frontrunners, it is unlikely that anyone will get the 50% needed for outright victory. So a runoff is widely expected later in the summer. Continue reading...      |
| The forgotten Irish soldiers who fought for Britain in the first world war Posted: 05 Apr 2014 12:00 AM PDT Ireland was on the cusp of the Easter Rising when thousands of Irish men joined up to serve with the British army in the first world war. They returned to an utterly changed country; they were officially forgotten. This is one man's story This is the story of my great-grandfather, of Ireland, and of the importance of remembering. Sylvester James Cummins was a carpenter, like his father. He was born in 1886 in the small market town of Bagenalstown in the beautiful Barrow Valley in County Carlow, an hour south of Dublin. The town is still known by its original Irish name, Muinebeag, which means small thicket, the term given for a dense stand of trees. The English name came from the landowner, Lord Walter Bagenal, who modelled the town on Versailles in France. The Bagenalstown courthouse is based on that in Versailles, where the peace treaty between Germany and the Allied powers that officially ended the first world war was signed. Continue reading...      |
| Jailed Venezuelan opposition leader charged with inciting violence Posted: 04 Apr 2014 10:20 PM PDT Leopoldo López is blamed for street fighting that has killed almost 40 people since anti-government rally seven weeks ago The jailed Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López has been formally charged with inciting violence at an anti-government protest that was followed by weeks of unrest across the country. The Harvard-educated López has become a cause celebre among opponents of President Nicolás Maduro during the month and a half he has spent in a military prison outside the capital.       |
| Afghan hope prevails as presidential election day arrives Posted: 04 Apr 2014 10:20 PM PDT Ordinary Afghans vow to defy fraud, violence and intimidation to turn out in large numbers to choose Hamid Karzai's successor There has been bloodshed and fraud on the campaign trail, and there will almost certainly be bombs and assassinations, voter intimidation, ballot-box stuffing and vote buying as Afghanistan goes to the polls on Saturday to choose a new president. But Afghans are vowing to defy the violence and the cheating to vote in large numbers, at least in areas where they can reach voting centres safely, after a campaign that even cautious observers are admitting has been more successful than almost anyone anticipated. Continue reading...      |
| Disenchanted WA voters go to the polls in senate election rerun Posted: 04 Apr 2014 09:20 PM PDT A lower voter turnout is expected as voters in Western Australia go to the polls for the third time in just over a year Id rather have gone camping, said Omar Kamperman, 42, after voting in the WA senate election replay on Saturday morning. It was a sentiment that may well have been playing out across the state. The whole thing is a little inconvenient. Maybe I will go on a trip next weekend. Continue reading...      |
| Drone killings case thrown out in US Posted: 04 Apr 2014 08:15 PM PDT Judge dismisses lawsuit over death of Anwar al-Awlaki and two others in Yemen, saying it is a matter for Congress A US federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against the government by the families of three American citizens killed by drones in Yemen, saying senior officials cannot be held personally responsible for money damages for the act of conducting war. The families of the three including Anwar al-Awlaki, a New Mexico-born militant Muslim cleric who had joined al-Qaida's Yemen affiliate, as well as his teenage son sued over their 2011 deaths in US drone strikes, arguing that the killings were illegal. Continue reading...      |
| Villawood protesters fail to disrupt transfer of asylum seekers Posted: 04 Apr 2014 07:51 PM PDT The detainees are being moved to Curtin in remote WA to isolate them from their legal advisers, protesters claim Tensions flared outside Sydney's Villawood asylum seeker detention centre on Saturday, where protesters were trying to stop 45 detainees from being sent to Western Australia. Protest spokeswoman Clo Schofield said transferring the asylum seekers to remote parts of the country was an intentional move by the Department of Immigration and Border Control to isolate the detainees from their legal advisers and to avoid public scrutiny of their conditions.       |
| Tony Abbott leads 'largest ever' mission to boost trade with Asia Posted: 04 Apr 2014 06:56 PM PDT The prime minister left on Saturday for a week-long trip that will take in Japan, Korea and China Tony Abbott is bound for Asia, leading what he says is Australia's largest ever offshore trade mission. The prime minister flew out of Canberra on Saturday for a week-long trip that will take in Japan, Korea and China.       |
| End in sight for election-weary voters of Western Australia Posted: 04 Apr 2014 06:07 PM PDT Third poll in a year will be an assessment of Tony Abbott's performance and determine how he will be able to govern West Australians are going to the polls for the state's Senate election rerun caused by the loss of 1,370 ballots at Septembers general election. After 210 days, a recount, an Australian Electoral Commission investigation, a court of disputed returns ruling and two resignations from the AEC, West Australians will try again to choose six senators in an election that will serve as an assessment of the performance of Tony Abbott, six months into his prime ministership, as well as having implications for how he is able to govern. Continue reading...      |
| Afghanistan on the eve of presidential elections Posted: 04 Apr 2014 05:33 PM PDT Scenes from around Afghanistan which is preparing to vote Saturday for a new president       |
| MH370: Time running out in search for Malaysian Airlines plane's black box Posted: 04 Apr 2014 03:56 PM PDT Sonic trawl of southern Indian Ocean underway as countdown begins to end of flight data recorder's signal transmissions Four weeks after the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, the underwater search for the wreckage has started: a sonic trawl of a stretch of the southern Indian Ocean more than 1,000 miles from the Australian coast. The overall search area has narrowed, but only to a vast expanse of 217,000 sq km. Members of the international operation have vowed to continue the hunt for the Boeing 777, yet the black box or flight data recorder is only expected to emit signals for a few more days, making the task ever more urgent. Continue reading...      |
| Native Americans protest Cleveland Indians 'Chief Wahoo' logo Posted: 04 Apr 2014 02:35 PM PDT Outside Ohio stadium, Native Americans decry baseball team's logo, saying the cartoon 'mocks us as a race' Native Americans and their supporters demonstrated outside the opening home game of the Cleveland Indians on Friday, demanding that the baseball team abolish its "Chief Wahoo" logo. The long-standing logo, which appears on some team caps and jerseys, depicts a grinning, red-faced cartoon with a feather headband. Continue reading...      |
| Fort Hood shootings: 'escalating argument' preceded attack Posted: 04 Apr 2014 02:23 PM PDT Officials identify three victims and say gunman Ivan Lopez's mental condition was not a 'direct precipitating factor' The senior officer at Fort Hood said Friday an escalating argument with fellow soldiers preceded a shooting rampage in which a soldier fatally shot three people and wounded 16 others before killing himself this week. Lt Gen Mark Milley said investigators believe Spc Ivan Lopezs mental condition was not a "direct precipitating factor" in the shooting, a day after officials said it appeared to be an underlying factor in the attack. Continue reading...      |
| Inspector may have overlooked nuclear forces' problems in positive review Posted: 04 Apr 2014 02:04 PM PDT Largely positive 2013 review of US nuclear forces does not mesh with reports of poor performance and exam cheating scandal A retired general chosen to explore flaws in US nuclear forces signed off one year ago on a study describing the nuclear air force as "thoroughly professional and disciplined" and performing effectively an assessment service leaders interpreted as an encouraging thumbs-up. The overall judgment conveyed in the April 2013 report by a Pentagon advisory group headed by retired general Larry Welch, a former air force chief of staff, appears to contradict the picture that has emerged since then of a nuclear missile corps suffering from breakdowns in discipline, morale, training and leadership. Continue reading...      |
| Vatican to investigate sexual allegations against Cardinal Keith O'Brien Posted: 04 Apr 2014 01:53 PM PDT Pope sends Holy See's sex crimes prosecutor Charles Scicluna to look into claims of sexual misconduct by Scottish prelate A Vatican-appointed bishop will fly into Scotland next week to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct surrounding Cardinal Keith O'Brien, it has emerged. O'Brien's successor as archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, Leo Cushley, announced the unusual step in letters sent to his clergy this week, according to the National Catholic Reporter (NCR). Continue reading...      |
| North Carolina judge denies secrecy motion in trial over coal ash spill Posted: 04 Apr 2014 01:41 PM PDT Judge rejects Duke Energy's request to shield records A North Carolina judge on Friday denied Duke Energy's motion seeking to shield records related to groundwater pollution leeching from 33 coal ash dumps in the state while a separate federal criminal investigation is ongoing. Superior court judge Paul Ridgeway's ruling came after Duke defense lawyer Jim Cooney scaled back the company's request to restrict access to documents in a civil case filed last year by state regulators over environmental violations. Continue reading...      |
| Washington detainees on hunger strike released from confinement after lawsuit Posted: 04 Apr 2014 01:20 PM PDT ACLU asks judge for injuction to halt US immigration agency's practice of placing detainees in solitary confinement Lawyers who sued the federal government on behalf of about 20 immigrant hunger strikers at a Washington state detention facility say their clients have been released from solitary confinement. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Washington and Columbia Legal Services sued on behalf of the men, and said they were returned to the general population by Friday morning after six days in solitary confinement. Continue reading...      |
| Missouri school suspends employees amid newest rape allegations Posted: 04 Apr 2014 12:49 PM PDT 'Autistic' girl tells police a boy raped her at Kansas City school where two boys allegedly attacked a 17-year-old last year Months after vowing to boost security at a Kansas City school where a student says she was dragged to a room and raped, district officials have suspended three employees amid new allegations from a 14-year-old girl who alleges a boy repeatedly raped her at school. The girl in the latest case, who the police report describes as autistic, told authorities the 14-year-old boy raped her "on numerous occasions" over the last month at Southwest Early College Campus while a 13-year-old girl stood in the hall as a lookout. Both the boy and alleged lookout were taken into custody Wednesday and turned over to family court. Continue reading...      |
| Chicago officials fire train driver in O'Hare airport crash Posted: 04 Apr 2014 12:18 PM PDT Operator in March derailment that injured more than 30 passengers had admitted she dozed off before the crash Chicago transit officials have fired a train operator who acknowledged dozing off before crashing a commuter train at the O'Hare international airport station. The 24 March crash injured more than 30 passengers and sent the eight-car train barreling over the platform and up an escalator leading into the airport. It caused millions of dollars' worth of damage. Continue reading...      |
| Venezuelans wary that food ID cards are thin end of rationing wedge Posted: 04 Apr 2014 11:54 AM PDT Electronic cards that restrict families to shopping once a week aim to prevent widespread food shortages across country Venezuelans queued on Friday to register for an electronic card system designed to end food shortages that have plagued the country but which some fear may be the thin end of the rationing wedge. The ID card, introduced this week, will limit Venezuelans to once-a-week shopping and will set off an alarm to halt any transaction if a purchaser breaks the rules. The government wants to prevent individual shoppers from "over-buying" in a country hit by acute shortages of basic items including milk, sugar and toilet paper. Critics say it is an admission of failure of economic policy in one of the world's big oil-producing nations. Continue reading...      |
| Details of Fort Hood victims emerge but gunman's motive remains unclear Posted: 04 Apr 2014 11:46 AM PDT Three victims in army base shooting reported to be Danny Ferguson, 39, Timothy Owens, 37, and Carlos Rodriguez, 38 Details emerged of the victims killed at Fort Hood on Wednesday as investigators continued to examine how and why a soldier brought a gun on to the Texas base and began a shooting spree that injured 16 others. Sergeant 1st Class Danny Ferguson was 39 and from the small Florida town of Mulberry, near Tampa. He had just returned from Afghanistan, WTSP News reported. Ferguson's fiancee, Kristen Haley, is also a soldier stationed at Fort Hood and was nearby when the incident started. She said that he used his body to keep a door closed so that Ivan Lopez could not enter. Continue reading...      |
| Cuba's state media denounce 'secret Twitter' as proof of US cyber-war Posted: 04 Apr 2014 11:40 AM PDT State news agency aligns covert ZunZuneo programme with other 'anti-Cuban' plots including failed Bay of Pigs invasion Revelations of a secret US government programme to set up a cellphone-based social network in Cuba are being trumpeted in the island's official media as proof of Havana's repeated allegations that Washington is waging a "cyber-war" to try to stir up unrest. "ZunZuneo joins an extensive list of secret anti-Cuban operations" including the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961 and plots to assassinate Fidel Castro, state news agency Prensa Latina said. Continue reading...      |
| George Bush's paintings: this is the art of Forrest Gump Posted: 04 Apr 2014 11:05 AM PDT The comedy of a naive self-portrait apparently helped humanise the man most responsible for the 2003 invasion of Iraq George W Bush has found that magic recipe for public redemption that eludes Tony Blair. Don't waste time on globetrotting missions and elder-statesman opinions that do nothing to appease people who see you as a liar and warmonger and think you should be arrested. Take up painting instead. That gentle, civilised art can wipe away a surprising quantity of blood. Continue reading...      |
| Flight MH370 black boxes need to be found for lessons to be learned Posted: 04 Apr 2014 10:55 AM PDT Airlines are already trying to improve satellite tracking, but issues relating to plane design and security need more information Inside the airline industry it is widely held that the lessons from flight MH370 can only be learned when the wreckage of the Boeing 777 is found assuming that the black boxes eventually reveal the cause of its disappearance. That means that so far the manufacture and design of the plane, pilot profiling and other security issues are not currently officially up for discussion. Continue reading...      |
| North Korea accuses US of being 'hell-bent on regime change' Posted: 04 Apr 2014 10:55 AM PDT Pyongyang's deputy UN ambassador warns US that moves viewed as crossing 'red line' will provoke countermeasures North Korea on Friday accused the US of being "hell-bent on regime change" and warned that any manoeuvres with that intention will be viewed as a "red line" that will result in countermeasures. Pyongyang's deputy United Nations ambassador, Ri Tong Il, also repeated that his government "made it very clear we will carry out a new form of nuclear test" but refused to elaborate, saying only: "I recommend you to wait and see what it is." Continue reading...      |
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