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

Banker Rurik Jutting indicates he may plead not guilty to Hong Kong murders
Nepal earthquake: UN says it has only received fraction of necessary aid
Bollywood star Salman Khan’s jail term suspended, say reports
Tajikistan debates ban on Arabic names as part of crackdown on Islam
Australia PM's adviser: climate change is UN hoax to create new world order
We Shall Overcome: Guy Carawan, who popularised rights anthem, dies at 87
North Korea threatens strikes on South's navy in sea dispute
Andrew Chan's self-written eulogy read at funeral – video
Liberia set to be declared Ebola-free
VE Day: our memories of the second world war and the day it ended
VE Day remembrance service kicks off 70th anniversary celebrations
Pound hits two-month high after Tories are set win overall majority
From the archive, 8 May 1945: VE Day - two German cruisers await surrender
Pro-Putin bikers get state funds to stage anti-western children's shows – report
Russia's failed Progress spacecraft plunges into the Pacific Ocean
Pfizer to compensate Parkinson’s sufferers over gambling, sex addictions
David Byrne joins SoundExchange to 'fight for fairness’ on music streaming
Reserve Bank of Australia statement leaves door open for more rate cuts
Andrew Chan funeral celebrates 'short but fruitful' life of executed Bali Nine member
Venezuela bikers reportedly being killed for scarce motorcycle parts

Banker Rurik Jutting indicates he may plead not guilty to Hong Kong murders

Posted: 08 May 2015 01:46 AM PDT

British trader did not officially lodge a plea at magistrate's court hearing over the deaths of two Indonesian women found mutilated at his apartment

Nepal earthquake: UN says it has only received fraction of necessary aid

Posted: 08 May 2015 01:23 AM PDT

UN says aid contributions must be 'dramatically ramped up' because it has received only $22m of the requested $415m

The United Nations says it has received just $22m (£14m) of the $415m it has appealed for in Nepal following the recent earthquake, and has called for aid contributions to be "dramatically ramped up".

Jamie McGoldrick, UN resident coordinator for Nepal, warned of a race against time to deliver relief supplies to remote areas – some of which are accessible only on foot – before heavy monsoon rains, which are expected to arrive next month.

Bollywood star Salman Khan’s jail term suspended, say reports

Posted: 08 May 2015 01:21 AM PDT

Actor found guilty of culpable homicide and other charges for driving his vehicle into group of homeless men in Mumbai in 2002

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan's five-year prison sentence for killing a homeless man with his SUV after a night out drinking 13 years ago has been suspended pending an appeal, according to reports.

The actor was found guilty on Wednesday of culpable homicide and other charges for driving his vehicle into a group of homeless men sleeping rough in suburban Mumbai in 2002.

Tajikistan debates ban on Arabic names as part of crackdown on Islam

Posted: 08 May 2015 01:00 AM PDT

Authorities prepare list of acceptable alternatives for parents amid warning that 'unsuitable' names will not be registered. Eurasianet.org reports

Australia PM's adviser: climate change is UN hoax to create new world order

Posted: 08 May 2015 12:19 AM PDT

Maurice Newman, chairman of Tony Abbott's business advisory council, says UN is using debunked climate change science to impose authoritarian rule

The Australian prime minister'schief business adviser has accused the United Nations of using debunked climate change science to lead a new world order – provocative claims made to coincide with a visit from the top UN climate negotiator.

We Shall Overcome: Guy Carawan, who popularised rights anthem, dies at 87

Posted: 08 May 2015 12:01 AM PDT

Folk singer's performances turned church hymn from the 1800s into resistance cry of civil rights movements from Selma to Tiananmen Square and Berlin

North Korea threatens strikes on South's navy in sea dispute

Posted: 07 May 2015 11:41 PM PDT

Military command says South Korean ships have been violating North's territorial waters off west coast in dispute that has previously resulted in deadly clashes

North Korea's military has warned of "unannounced targeted strikes" against South Korea's navy – accusing the South of violating its territorial waters off the peninsula's west coast, the scene of deadly naval clashes in the past.

Pyongyang's warning comes during the annual crab fishing season, which runs until June in the waters off the west coast of the Korean peninsula. Naval forces from the two Koreas clashed during the same month in 1999 and 2002, with scores of sailors killed on both sides.

Andrew Chan's self-written eulogy read at funeral – video

Posted: 07 May 2015 11:32 PM PDT

Mourners at the funeral of Australian drug-smuggler and Bali Nine member Andrew Chan have been read his self-written eulogy. People gathered in Sydney to remember Chan, executed by Indonesian authorities last week for his role in a plan to import heroin into Australia. Friend Mark Soper read out Chan's eulogy, which spoke of what he had learned from his friends and loved ones Continue reading...

Liberia set to be declared Ebola-free

Posted: 07 May 2015 11:00 PM PDT

World Health Organisation to declare country free of virus 42 days after last case was reported, but state of high alert remains

Liberia is a day away from being declared Ebola-free but the country remains on high alert, with neighbouring Sierra Leone and Guinea still reporting cases of the infectious disease.

If there are no new infections, the World Health Organisation (WHO) will declare Liberia Ebola-free on Saturday, 42 days – or twice the incubation period of the virus – after the last case was reported on 27 March.

VE Day: our memories of the second world war and the day it ended

Posted: 07 May 2015 10:00 PM PDT

Six people share their recollections of the six-year conflict and the hours after hostilities ceased in Europe 70 years ago

VE Day remembrance service kicks off 70th anniversary celebrations

Posted: 07 May 2015 10:00 PM PDT

Tributes at the Cenotaph mark start of three-day national commemorations, which include concerts, street parties and events across Britain

Pound hits two-month high after Tories are set win overall majority

Posted: 07 May 2015 09:43 PM PDT

FTSE 100 also set to rise, say traders, after 6am prediction that David Cameron will be able to command 325 Conservative MPs with Labour on 232

From the archive, 8 May 1945: VE Day - two German cruisers await surrender

Posted: 07 May 2015 09:30 PM PDT

The naval commander of the German warships finds no one to surrender to in Copenhagen, as the world celebrates victory in Europe

Pro-Putin bikers get state funds to stage anti-western children's shows – report

Posted: 07 May 2015 09:00 PM PDT

Night Wolves motorcycle gang put on subsidised holiday concerts depicting evil westerners trying – but failing – to destroy Russia. The Moscow Times reports

Russia's failed Progress spacecraft plunges into the Pacific Ocean

Posted: 07 May 2015 08:53 PM PDT

Stricken capsule loaded with more than three tonnes of food, fuel and supplies for the International Space Station falls out of orbit at 2.04am GMT

An unmanned Russian spaceship drifting in orbit after a failed cargo run to the International Space Station plunged into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, Russia's space agency reported.

The capsule, loaded with more than three tonnes of food, fuel and supplies for the station crew, fell from orbit at 2.04am GMT, space agency Roscosmos said.

Pfizer to compensate Parkinson’s sufferers over gambling, sex addictions

Posted: 07 May 2015 08:50 PM PDT

Victorian court approves payout deal with company after patients developed gambling, sex and eating addictions after taking Cabaser and Dostinex

Parkinson's disease sufferers who developed gambling, eating and sexual addictions after taking Pfizer medications could share in millions of dollars in compensation, after a Victorian court approved a deal with the company.

Patients who used Cabaser, to treat tremors associated with Parkinson's disease, or Dostinex, for increased prolactin levels, claimed to have gambled away entire life savings after taking the drug despite not having pre-existing gambling problems.

David Byrne joins SoundExchange to 'fight for fairness’ on music streaming

Posted: 07 May 2015 08:06 PM PDT

Former Talking Heads frontman says he will use new position on music royalty board to work towards securing the long-term value of music

Reserve Bank of Australia statement leaves door open for more rate cuts

Posted: 07 May 2015 08:05 PM PDT

The outlook for the Australian economy remains gloomy, the RBA says in its quarterly update, and a further cut in interest rates is still on the table

Andrew Chan funeral celebrates 'short but fruitful' life of executed Bali Nine member

Posted: 07 May 2015 07:58 PM PDT

Brother pays tribute to Chan at Sydney service, saying his rehabilitation while on death row in Indonesia shows that 'people deserve second chances in life'

Venezuela bikers reportedly being killed for scarce motorcycle parts

Posted: 07 May 2015 07:48 PM PDT

Shortages of spare parts in recession-hit Venezuela are so acute that bike riders are being killed for their motorcycles, the leader of a local association says