World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk |
- French elections: Alain Juppé concedes defeat to François Fillon in rightwing primary – as it happened
- Donald Trump says he won popular vote if 'millions who voted illegally' discounted
- Syrian rebels' resistance 'waning' as thousands of people flee Aleppo
- Moroccan state TV shows women how to hide signs of domestic violence
- New Orleans shooting kills man and injures nine others, police say
- HIV vaccine test hopes for breakthrough in combat against the virus
- 'Holocaust on ice' dance by wife of Putin official causes uproar
- Dakota Access pipeline: sheriff will not 'allow people to become unlawful'
- K-pop video director charged in South Korean corruption scandal
- Danish supermarket selling expired food opens second branch
- Hundreds of churches offer sanctuary to undocumented migrants after election
- Turkey detains BBC journalist reporting on mine disaster
- China risks wasting $490bn on new coal plants, say campaigners
- Passengers get free ride after San Francisco Muni hit by ransomeware attack
- Mugabe launches new currency in 'last gamble' for Zimbabwe
- Polish PM angers human rights campaigners with plans to shake up NGOs
- Protectionism and trade disputes threaten world growth, says OECD
- Fidel Castro: he was no hero, says the UK's national press
- Lost England – photographs from 1870 to 1930
- Syrian rebel forces in Aleppo suffer 'biggest defeat since 2012'
- Hamid Kehazaei inquest: asylum seeker needed urgent transfer, medical staff agreed
- The far right in Britain – video explainer
- Britain's most experienced sniper tells of his frustration in Iraq
- South Africa: President Jacob Zuma reportedly faces no-confidence vote
- Dead fish frozen into skating rink causes uproar in Japan – video
- Cash for queues: people paid to stand in line amid India's bank note crisis
- Anger as Japanese skating rink freezes thousands of fish into ice as gimmick
- Elián González praises Fidel Castro 17 years after infamous custody battle
- Pope's possible deal with China would 'betray Christ', says Hong Kong cardinal
- Trump aides threaten hard line as Cuba steps into the unknown
- UK commander in Iraq calls for patience over retaking Mosul from Isis
- May aims to woo Polish PM with senior minister summit
- François Fillon wins race to be France's centre-right presidential candidate – video
- 'Today, we don’t talk about baseball': Cubans react to Castro's death
- Hurricanes become more costly
- François Fillon wins French primary to be candidate for the right
- François Fillon's victory creates strategy problem for Marine Le Pen
- White nationalist Richard B Spencer denounced by his Dallas prep school
- The Guardian view on Fidel Castro: man of history | Editorial
- Justin Trudeau defends initial remarks about 'polarizing' Fidel Castro
- Dictator or liberator? Castro’s Cuba reflects his mixed legacy | Letters
- ‘Glory and my place in history do not worry me’: my interview with Fidel Castro
- Without a sea wall, Jakarta will lose priceless land | Letters
- Castro's legacy and the envy of many nations: social care in Cuba
- Fidel Castro's dark legacy: abuses, draconian rule and 'ruthless suppression'
- Why is one man trying to travel on 200 London bus routes in 24 hours?
- Fidel Castro in the US: cars, cigars and a meeting with Malcolm X
- Car-free Belgium: why can't Brussels match Ghent's pedestrianised vision?
- Whitewashing the abuse of women – in pictures
- Trump and a Muslim registry: does he want one – and is it even possible?
| Posted: 27 Nov 2016 01:30 PM PST Defeated candidate offers support in next year's presidential election campaign while winner vows to defeat left and far right
From the very first set of official results released at around 7.30pm GMT, François Fillon held a commanding lead in the rightwing primary - and he never showed the slightest sign of relinquishing it. About half an hour after those first results came out, Alain Juppé conceded, congratulating his rival on his victory. With more than 95% of the polling stations having returned their results, Fillon holds 66.6% of the vote.
François Fillon, the socially conservative former prime minister who plans to shrink the French state, has won the primary race to become the French right's presidential candidate next spring. Fillon, 62, gained support in the final days of the primary race after writing a book on the dangers of "Islamic totalitarianism" in the wake of recent terrorist attacks in France and defending a tough line on French national identity. He beat the more moderate centrist, Alain Juppé, the 71-year-old mayor of Bordeaux. Continue reading... |
| Donald Trump says he won popular vote if 'millions who voted illegally' discounted Posted: 28 Nov 2016 12:36 AM PST
Donald Trump has continued his criticism of Hillary Clinton's support for election recounts in three states, claiming he won the popular vote "if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally". The president-elect, who offered no evidence for his claims, earlier called the recount effort a "scam", while senior adviser Kellyanne Conway called Green party candidate Jill Stein and Clinton "a bunch of crybabies and sore losers". Continue reading... |
| Syrian rebels' resistance 'waning' as thousands of people flee Aleppo Posted: 27 Nov 2016 09:23 AM PST Rebel fighters retreated on Sunday as advancing Syrian troops threatened to split them in two Signs that the dogged resistance to the Syrian Army and Russian airforce in eastern Aleppo may be crumbling have started to appear as thousands of people fled to areas under government control, either due to starvation, the continued air assault or the advance of Syrian troops. The rebel troops retreated on Sunday, faced by the risk of being split into two due to Syrian army advances. Continue reading... |
| Moroccan state TV shows women how to hide signs of domestic violence Posted: 27 Nov 2016 06:51 AM PST State broadcaster Channel 2M demonstrates how to cover up bruises with makeup and 'carry on with your daily life' Women in Morocco have reacted in horror after a programme on state television demonstrated how they could use makeup to cover up evidence of domestic violence. The segment in the daily programme Sabahiyat, on Channel 2M, showed a smiling makeup artist demonstrating how to mask marks of beating, on a woman with her face made up to appear swollen and covered with fake black and blue bruises. Continue reading... |
| New Orleans shooting kills man and injures nine others, police say Posted: 27 Nov 2016 08:29 AM PST Two men arrested on firearms charges after Bourbon Street-area attack, which occurred despite increased police presence for college football game One man was killed, nine people were injured and witnesses said others ran in panic during a shooting early on Sunday in New Orleans' French Quarter, a bustling tourist destination packed with bright lights, bars and live music. Police superintendent Michael Harrison said officers responded at about 1.30am to the shooting, at the intersection of Iberville and Bourbon streets. Continue reading... |
| HIV vaccine test hopes for breakthrough in combat against the virus Posted: 27 Nov 2016 03:46 AM PST New vaccine trial in South Africa builds on previous RV144 study to bring in more effective prevention of infection The first new trial of a potential vaccine against HIV in seven years has begun in South Africa, raising hopes that it will help bring about the end of the epidemic. Although fewer people are now dying from Aids because 18.2 million are on drug treatment for life to suppress the virus, efforts to prevent people from becoming infected have not been very successful. The infection rate has continued to rise and experts do not believe the epidemic will be ended without a vaccine. Continue reading... |
| 'Holocaust on ice' dance by wife of Putin official causes uproar Posted: 27 Nov 2016 11:16 PM PST Tatiana Navka wears striped uniform with yellow six-pointed star for dance routine on Russian TV show Ice Age The wife of Vladimir Putin's spokesman has caused controversy by dressing in a concentration camp uniform for a televised ice dance routine that some have called the "Holocaust on ice". Tatiana Navka, a former Olympic ice dancer and the wife of presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, and her dancing partner, actor Andrei Burkovsky, appeared in striped uniforms bearing yellow six-pointed stars on the popular celebrity skating TV show Ice Age. Continue reading... |
| Dakota Access pipeline: sheriff will not 'allow people to become unlawful' Posted: 27 Nov 2016 09:09 AM PST Kyle Kirchmeier rejects condemnation of action against protesters as Standing Rock Sioux chairman says pair disagree over use of 'aggressive force' The North Dakota sheriff leading the response to the Dakota Access oil pipeline protests has rejected criticism of action taken against demonstrators who he believes have become increasingly aggressive. Related: US army orders eviction of Dakota pipeline protesters' camp, tribe says Continue reading... |
| K-pop video director charged in South Korean corruption scandal Posted: 27 Nov 2016 05:05 AM PST Prosecutors say Cha Eun-taek used ties to secret confidante of embattled President Park Geun-hye to win lucrative contracts A prominent K-pop music video director has been charged as part of a corruption scandal rocking South Korea and engulfing the country's president, Park Geun-hye. Prosecutors claim Cha Eun-taek, who has worked with Gangnam Style star Psy and the boy band Big Bang, used his ties to a secret confidante of Park to win lucrative projects from state agencies and private firms. Continue reading... |
| Danish supermarket selling expired food opens second branch Posted: 27 Nov 2016 04:42 AM PST Wefood in Copenhagen has proved a huge success as food waste becomes hot topic worldwide It may be past its sell-by date, but for many Danes it's a tasty proposition: surplus food being sold in a Copenhagen supermarket has proved so popular that a second store has been opened. After launching in the district of Amager earlier this year, the Wefood project attracted a long queue as it opened a second branch in the trendy neighbourhood of Nørrebro, this month. Continue reading... |
| Hundreds of churches offer sanctuary to undocumented migrants after election Posted: 27 Nov 2016 04:00 AM PST Growing number of synagogues as well as two dozen cities offer protection amid threat of deportation under Trump administration Hundreds of churches in the US have said they are willing to provide sanctuary for undocumented migrants threatened with deportation following the election of Donald Trump as president. About 300 churches nationally have come forward in the past two weeks, according to the Philadelphia-based New Sanctuary Movement. It has also seen the number of people in the city registering as volunteers for its "sanctuary in the streets" programme rise from 65 to more than 1,000 since the election. |
| Turkey detains BBC journalist reporting on mine disaster Posted: 27 Nov 2016 03:19 PM PST Hatice Kamer, a journalist working for the BBC's Turkish-language service, freed after being held in south-east of country Turkish authorities have freed a reporter for the BBC's Turkish-language service after holding her for a day without explanation, the broadcaster said. Hatice Kamer was detained on Saturday while reporting on a copper mine disaster in the Kurdish-dominated Siirt region of the south-east that left 11 miners dead and five missing, BBC Türkçe said in a statement on its website. Kamer had been trying to talk to relatives of the miners. Continue reading... |
| China risks wasting $490bn on new coal plants, say campaigners Posted: 28 Nov 2016 02:19 AM PST Carbon Tracker says many plants running at overcapacity but China reluctant to wean itself off coal, fearing unemployment and unrest China could waste as much as half a trillion dollars on unnecessary new coal-fired power stations, a climate campaign group has said, arguing that the world's top carbon polluter already has more than enough such facilities. China's rise to become the world's second largest economy was largely powered by cheap, dirty coal. But as growth slows, the country has had a difficult time weaning itself off the fuel, even as the pollution it causes wreaks havoc on the environment and public health. Continue reading... |
| Passengers get free ride after San Francisco Muni hit by ransomeware attack Posted: 28 Nov 2016 02:19 AM PST San Francisco Municipal Transport Agency attacked by hackers who locked up computers and data with 100 bitcoin demand Hackers have managed to infect and take over more than 2,000 computers used to operate San Francisco's public transport system, forcing the Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) to open the gates and allow passengers to ride for nothing. The attackers used a variant of the HDDCryptor malware to infect 2,112 computers on Friday, encrypting their data and preventing them from operating normally – holding them to ransom for 100 bitcoin (£58,514, $73,086), according to the Register,. Continue reading... |
| Mugabe launches new currency in 'last gamble' for Zimbabwe Posted: 28 Nov 2016 02:15 AM PST Many fear 'bond notes' will cause hyperinflation as protests grow against autocratic 92-year-old's rule Zimbabwe has launched a controversial new currency in a last ditch bid to inject desperately needed cash into its failing economy. Many ordinary people fear the new "bond notes", issued on Monday by the central bank in Zimbabwe, will trigger economic chaos, wiping out savings and causing massive hardship for millions. Continue reading... |
| Polish PM angers human rights campaigners with plans to shake up NGOs Posted: 28 Nov 2016 02:09 AM PST Beata Szydło's proposals for new civil society department could let ministers put pressure on NGOs critical of government The Polish prime minister, Beata Szydło, has angered human rights campaigners with the announcement of plans for a new department of civil society to centralise state funding and "bring order to the whole sphere of NGOs". Too many non-governmental organisations were still "subordinate to the policies of the previous ruling system," Szydlo, who along with other senior Polish ministers from the rightwing Law and Justice party is due in London on Monday for talks with the British government, told reporters last week. Continue reading... |
| Protectionism and trade disputes threaten world growth, says OECD Posted: 28 Nov 2016 02:00 AM PST In its first forecasts since Donald Trump's election, thinktank says jobs will suffer if politicians row back on globalisation A new wave of protectionism and trade tensions risks denting global growth, stoking inflation and harming living standards, the west's leading economic thinktank has warned in its first in-depth forecasts since Donald Trump won the US election on an anti-globalisation platform. The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said it was optimistic that expected spending measures and tax cuts under the new US administration would boost growth there and in other countries. But it said global trade growth was already "exceptionally weak" and jobs would suffer if politicians rolled back the clock on trade liberalisation. Continue reading... |
| Fidel Castro: he was no hero, says the UK's national press Posted: 28 Nov 2016 01:46 AM PST Newspaper leader writers and columnists point to the lack of press freedom in Cuba, and other human rights abuses, during the revolutionary leader's regime The Sunday Times's front page headline about the death of Fidel Castro said "World divides over revolutionary icon who became murderous tyrant." That view was repeated by the i on its Monday front page, and in the headline over the Times's main story. The Guardian's leading article made the same point: Continue reading... |
| Lost England – photographs from 1870 to 1930 Posted: 28 Nov 2016 01:00 AM PST Images of 19th- and 20th-century England show reality of rotting houses and poverty as well as grand old buildings. Philip Davies, an architectural historian, spent seven years trawling through the photographs, compiling the best 1,500 into a 558-page book entitled Lost England. Photos of historical England 'challenge Downton Abbey myth' Continue reading... |
| Syrian rebel forces in Aleppo suffer 'biggest defeat since 2012' Posted: 28 Nov 2016 12:30 AM PST Government advance drives wedge through rebel-held areas as activists claim opposition has lost third of its territory Rebel forces in Aleppo have lost control of a key district that threatens to split the remaining opposition-held area in two, according to activists. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government forces seized the strategic Sakhour district in a wider advance that in recent days has driven rebels from a third of the areas they held. Continue reading... |
| Hamid Kehazaei inquest: asylum seeker needed urgent transfer, medical staff agreed Posted: 28 Nov 2016 12:52 AM PST Paramedic testifies that medical staff on Manus Island tried to get a transfer for Kehazaei, who 'needed to be treated quite urgently at a higher level' Within 36 hours of Hamid Kehazaei presenting to the Manus Island detention centre medical clinic with an unrelenting fever, there was "general consensus" among medical staff that he was "very very sick", suffering from sepsis and "needed to be treated quite urgently at a higher level". "We were trying to get him out," Rafael Cruz, the paramedic who was treating Kehzaei, told a coronial inquiry into the asylum seeker's death. "He was not improving, he was actually deteriorating. He was only getting worse." Continue reading... |
| The far right in Britain – video explainer Posted: 28 Nov 2016 01:30 AM PST From Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts in the 1930s through to the National Front, the British National party and the English Defence League, the far right in Britain has been part of the political landscape for decades. Now anti-immigration sentiment is moving closer to the mainstream and far right extremism is a growing cause for concern Continue reading... |
| Britain's most experienced sniper tells of his frustration in Iraq Posted: 27 Nov 2016 11:00 PM PST Soldier training Iraqi army in remote base says he would love to help fight against Isis in Mosul but has not been allowed out One of the most experienced snipers in the British army, who is currently based in Iraq, says he has not been allowed beyond the perimeter fence of Camp al-Asad, a remote, highly fortified base in the desert of Anbar province. The soldier, one of a few hundred British special forces in the country, told reporters that he "would love to go out". "I would go to Mosul tomorrow," he said, but added that he had been told to help train Iraqi soldiers instead. Continue reading... |
| South Africa: President Jacob Zuma reportedly faces no-confidence vote Posted: 27 Nov 2016 10:34 PM PST Tourism minister Derek Hanekom proposed motion of no-confidence in scandal-plagued Zuma, Afrikaans newspaper says South Africa's scandal-plagued President Jacob Zuma is facing a vote of no confidence by the ruling party's executive committee, media reported on Monday. The ANC's national executive committee (NEC) extended its scheduled meeting into a third day on Monday, after Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom proposed the motion of no-confidence on Saturday, said Beeld, an Afrikaans-language daily. Continue reading... |
| Dead fish frozen into skating rink causes uproar in Japan – video Posted: 27 Nov 2016 10:13 PM PST The rink features about 5,000 dead sprats, mackerel and other fish that had been bought from a local market embedded in the ice, some with their mouths still open in apparent suspended animation. The amusement park in Japan has been forced to close the skating rink after a torrent of online criticism Anger as Japanese skating rink freezes thousands of fish under the ice Continue reading... |
| Cash for queues: people paid to stand in line amid India's bank note crisis Posted: 27 Nov 2016 08:46 PM PST As demonetisation continues, and websites offer 'helpers' who will hold your place in a bank queue, what are the ethics of India's new national pastime? Outside the Churchgate branch of the Bank of India in south Mumbai, some of those queueing for cash have become familiar faces. Ever since the prime minister, Narendra Modi, unexpectedly withdrew high-value 500- and 1,000-rupee banknotes from circulation, wiping out 86% of India's currency overnight, queueing for cash has become a national sport. But for some, such as Santosh Garg, who comes here every day on behalf of his bosses at an insurance company, lining up has become a part of his job description. Continue reading... |
| Anger as Japanese skating rink freezes thousands of fish into ice as gimmick Posted: 27 Nov 2016 07:47 PM PST The feature at Space World in Kitakyushu is forced to close after anger at 'disrespect for life' and 'lack of morality' An amusement park in Japan has been forced to close its skating rink after a torrent of online criticism over its centrepiece: thousands of fish frozen into the ice. Space World in the city of Kitakyushu, south-west Japan, bowed to pressure to close the facility on Sunday after an online campaign denouncing the piscine graveyard as "cruel", "immoral" and "weird". Continue reading... |
| Elián González praises Fidel Castro 17 years after infamous custody battle Posted: 27 Nov 2016 07:13 PM PST Man who was centre of custody battle with US waged by Castro in 1999 says leader's legacy will long outlive him Elián González, who was at the centre of an international custody battle waged by Fidel Castro nearly two decades ago, returned to the public eye on Sunday to praise the leader who fought to return him to Cuba. Echoing the round-the-clock adulation on state media, González said on government-run television that the Cuban leader's legacy would long outlive him. It's "not right to talk about Fidel in the past tense ... but rather that Fidel will be," González said. "Today more than ever, make him omnipresent." |
| Pope's possible deal with China would 'betray Christ', says Hong Kong cardinal Posted: 27 Nov 2016 05:07 PM PST Senior Catholic Joseph Zen says the pontiff 'may not know the Communist persecutors who have killed hundreds of thousands' The most senior Chinese Catholic has slammed a potential rapprochement between the Vatican and Beijing, saying it would be "betraying Jesus Christ", amid a thaw in more than six decades of bitter relations. Talk of a deal between the two sides has been building for months, with some saying the diplomatic coup for Pope Francis would be resolving the highly controversial issue of allowing China's Communist government to have a hand in selecting bishops. Continue reading... |
| Trump aides threaten hard line as Cuba steps into the unknown Posted: 27 Nov 2016 04:01 PM PST After president-elect campaigned for embargos to return, warmer US-Cuba relations of Obama era threatened The Cuban government must give greater freedom to its people and "something in return" to the US if it wants to keep the new era of warmer relations with Washington alive, top aides to Donald Trump warned on Sunday, as the death of Fidel Castro three weeks after the US election thrust Cuba into uncharted territory. Reince Priebus, Trump's incoming chief of staff, said the president-elect would "absolutely" reverse Barack Obama's stance on Cuba unless there was "some movement" from Havana. Continue reading... |
| UK commander in Iraq calls for patience over retaking Mosul from Isis Posted: 27 Nov 2016 04:01 PM PST Maj-Gen Rupert Jones's remarks contrast with Donald Trump's apparent ideas for US strategy against Islamic State Britain's most senior commander in Iraq and Syria told politicians and diplomats to show patience in the battle to remove Islamic State from Mosul, despite Donald Trump's pre-election demand that bombing against the terror group should be intensified. Maj-Gen Rupert Jones said daily attacks on Isis had led to "an extraordinary amount of progress" in the last year, but warned that the jihadi group was defending the city vigorously and that it was necessary for the Iraqi security forces (ISF) to demonstrate restraint. Continue reading... |
| May aims to woo Polish PM with senior minister summit Posted: 27 Nov 2016 04:01 PM PST Beata Szydło and six cabinet members will meet UK counterparts to discuss security and the future of Polish citizens after Brexit Theresa May will host an unprecedented summit for the Polish government in London on Monday in a diplomatic charm offensive, following concerns about a wave of xenophobia against eastern Europeans since the Brexit vote. Beata Szydło, the Polish prime minister, is visiting May with six of her most senior ministers for talks on issues around Brexit and military cooperation between the two nations. |
| François Fillon wins race to be France's centre-right presidential candidate – video Posted: 27 Nov 2016 03:39 PM PST The socially conservative former prime minister saw off the challenge of Alain Juppé to become the Republicans party candidate and frontrunner to succeed François Hollande in the Élysée Palace Continue reading... |
| 'Today, we don’t talk about baseball': Cubans react to Castro's death Posted: 27 Nov 2016 01:58 PM PST In Havana there is a rare mood of quiet and reflection as locals adjust to the loss of a man who had once seemed indestructible Even before the official decree, the sombre mood had begun. Within half an hour of the news that Fidel Castro was no more, the Fabrica de Arte nightclub had closed its doors. "It happened very quickly," said one of those present who would only give her first name, Daniella. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 27 Nov 2016 01:30 PM PST As the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season draws to a close, the eye-watering cost is becoming ever more apparent In a couple of days the Atlantic hurricane season officially comes to a close. 2016 has been very active, with 15 named storms, seven of which became hurricanes. It started nearly five months early with Alex in mid-January, and ended unusually late with Otto, just a few days ago. Three storms – Gaston, Matthew and Nicole – developed into major hurricanes, and Matthew's long passage over land made it particularly deadly, taking 1,655 lives. In total the storms have unleashed over 60% more energy than an average hurricane season, and it's also been the costliest since 2012, causing over $11.5bn (£9.2bn) of damage thus far. Continue reading... |
| François Fillon wins French primary to be candidate for the right Posted: 27 Nov 2016 01:03 PM PST Former prime minister – a fan of Margaret Thatcher – beats Bordeaux mayor Alain Juppé after tapping into 'rightwing mood' François Fillon, the socially conservative former prime minister who plans to shrink the French state, has won the primary race to become the French right's presidential candidate next spring. Fillon, 62, gained support in the final days of the primary race after writing a book on the dangers of "Islamic totalitarianism" in the wake of recent terrorist attacks in France and defending a tough line on French national identity. He beat the more moderate centrist, Alain Juppé, the 71-year-old mayor of Bordeaux. Continue reading... |
| François Fillon's victory creates strategy problem for Marine Le Pen Posted: 27 Nov 2016 12:32 PM PST The Front National leader has reason to fear the Republican candidate, whose views overlap with some of her key ideas One of the first questions for the French right's presidential candidate, François Fillon, is whether he can act as a rampart against the far-right Front National. Polls currently suggest the French presidential election final round in May will be a battle between the newly chosen Republican party candidate and the Front National leader, Marine Le Pen. Continue reading... |
| White nationalist Richard B Spencer denounced by his Dallas prep school Posted: 27 Nov 2016 12:14 PM PST
The exclusive Dallas boys' prep school that the white nationalist leader Richard B Spencer attended is denouncing his activities and ideas. Related: Donald Trump's 'alt-right' supporters express dismay at disavowal Continue reading... |
| The Guardian view on Fidel Castro: man of history | Editorial Posted: 27 Nov 2016 11:23 AM PST Situate the Cuban leader in the political and intellectual setting of 20th-century Latin American anti-colonialism rather than seeing him through the eyes of the 21st century Recovering the figure of Fidel Castro from the legacy of the failures of communism, his own chequered reputation, the hours-long flights of rhetorical bombast and hipster beard is no easy task. One should situate him in the political and intellectual setting of 20th-century Latin American anti-colonialism rather than seeing him through the eyes of the 21st century. Castro's passing sees the departure of one of the giants of the cold war era and a revolutionary guerilla leader. He must be judged by the conditions that made him possible, but not indulged by them. He emerged victorious in a battle against a brutal and corrupt US-friendly regime at a time when democracy had yet to reach most of the Caribbean or indeed what we now know of as the developing world. Although his brother Raul assumed presidential powers in 2006 before getting the official title in 2008, modern-day Cuba was built by Fidel Castro. The early years saw him embrace faraway Soviet Union and reject the United States next door, expropriating American assets in the name of his revolution. Castro's alliance with Moscow brought the world to the brink of nuclear war in 1962. Yet he survived – and thrived on – the brinkmanship, even if the world very nearly did not. From there came a series of human rights abuses and restrictive policies that can never be excused or simply explained away as "a product of their time" or a "strategic necessity". Sham trials saw hundreds of summary executions of political opponents. Despite studying law, the Cuban leader defended such actions claiming "revolutionary justice is not based on legal precepts, but on moral conviction". Power flowed from the gun and a repressive state pointed weapons inward. Perceived cultural subversion was punished. Even in the 1970s Cuba was imprisoning homosexuals and long-haired hippies. But there also emerged a remarkable system of health care and education, producing life expectancies and literacy rates only found in far richer nations. Castro's international reputation was built partly on a foreign policy of supporting other third world struggles that, while not perfect, has certainly been far more impressive than most of the west. In 2010 Havana sent 1,200 medics to fight cholera in Haiti after an earthquake when everyone else had left. As Ebola ravaged west Africa, Cuba led aid efforts while the west fretted. Cuba gave shelter to those wanted by Washington. He visited Vietnam in 1973 – two years before the north drove out the US army. Castro never lost his touch for the dramatic: sending an expeditionary force across the Atlantic in 1975 to help save the communist regime of newly independent Angola from a South African invasion. None of this was forgotten. In Africa Castro's fight against apartheid cast him as a liberation icon. In dealing with US criticism of his relations with Cuba, Nelson Mandela noted the counsel came from "people who supported the apartheid regime these last 40 years. No honourable man or woman could ever accept advice from people who never cared for us at the most difficult times." Continue reading... |
| Justin Trudeau defends initial remarks about 'polarizing' Fidel Castro Posted: 27 Nov 2016 11:01 AM PST
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, who was widely criticized for fondly remembering Fidel Castro without mention of his human rights record, has defended his comments but said the late Cuban leader was a dictator. Related: Fidel Castro: Justin Trudeau ridiculed over praise of 'remarkable leader' Continue reading... |
| Dictator or liberator? Castro’s Cuba reflects his mixed legacy | Letters Posted: 27 Nov 2016 10:59 AM PST Rory Carroll and Jonathan Watts have offered a rather sour assessment of Fidel Castro's legacy (Castro's legacy: how the revolutionary inspired and appalled the world, 26 November) which mostly ignores Cuba's enormous contribution as an inspiring model of development. Yes, Cuba is materially poor, but it is socially rich and has shared that wealth internally and internationally. Under his leadership, illiteracy and tuberculosis in Cuba were quickly eradicated and unprecedented models of healthcare and education created that are the envy of the world. A small island nation of 11 million people, blockaded by the world's last superpower, has punched well above its weight in terms of humanitarianism. The Cuban Henry Reeve contingent has intervened in disasters and emergencies around the world to save 80,000 lives in 20 countries where 7,000 Cuban health specialists have offered their services. Cuba helped break the back of apartheid South Africa. More recently, Cuba has helped broker the peace agreement in Colombia, thus ending one of the longest-running conflicts in the hemisphere. Fidel taught the world an important lesson: that the real wealth of any country is its people and material resources are best applied to addressing social need. In the so-called "developed world" still grappling with recession and austerity post-2008, we could perhaps follow Cuba's lead and prioritise social justice and compassion over profit and greed. |
| ‘Glory and my place in history do not worry me’: my interview with Fidel Castro Posted: 27 Nov 2016 10:58 AM PST Cuban revolutionary sympathised with Bill Clinton and conceded he may have been guilty of 'excessive paternalism' Sometime after midnight on 4 January 1994, I sat down with Fidel Castro for an interview for Vanity Fair magazine. This was my second meeting with Cuba's ruler-for-life at the headquarters of the Communist party in the centre of Havana, a city reeling from the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba's patron for three decades. The lights were out in much of the country, garbage stank in piles along the streets and people looked thin and hungry. But to describe his country's unprecedented freefall, Castro coined a phrase, "el período especial" ("the special period"), a euphemism that suggested a party rather than an economic collapse. Continue reading... |
| Without a sea wall, Jakarta will lose priceless land | Letters Posted: 27 Nov 2016 10:55 AM PST I have noted with interest your series on Jakarta, in particular the significant subsidence in the north of the city (Report, 24 November), for which a detailed study has been carried out by Dutch engineering experts. Obviously with most of Holland protected by the North Sea dykes, they have considerable experience to present to the Indonesian government for the proposed absolutely necessary wall across Jakarta Bay. Without it, very many hectares of priceless land and real estate, valued in the trillions of dollars, including the city's heritage, will be lost. While the project has officially started, the magnitude and related cost and other north coast interests have caused obfuscation in proceeding with development. As the wall is built it will then be necessary to construct freshwater lakes as a means of supplying developments in the sinking north. This subsidence is caused by many years of underground water abstraction, which currently and also certainly in the forthcoming years cannot be replaced by piped water supply from the south. There is no other alternative to the construction of the Great Garuda. • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com Continue reading... |
| Castro's legacy and the envy of many nations: social care in Cuba Posted: 27 Nov 2016 10:15 AM PST Cuba's literacy rate is at 100% and life expectancy parallels first world nations, despite limited funding and supplies Related: Fidel Castro obituary: revolutionary icon finally defeated by infirmity of old age To his critics, the late Fidel Castro was a totalitarian despot, an opponent of free speech and a man determined to preserve his hard-won revolution whatever the cost. Continue reading... |
| Fidel Castro's dark legacy: abuses, draconian rule and 'ruthless suppression' Posted: 27 Nov 2016 09:36 AM PST Castro hounded critics, scorned elections and ran a police state – facts which impressive statistics about literacy and life expectancy cannot erase Fidel Castro's death has sparked eulogies for a 20th-century giant but also lamentations about the Cuban revolution's dark side: executions, political prisoners, surveillance, censorship. The dictator's security apparatus controlled and cowed his people even while dispensing free healthcare and education, a profoundly mixed legacy which has polarised opinion about Castro in death as in life. Continue reading... |
| Why is one man trying to travel on 200 London bus routes in 24 hours? Posted: 27 Nov 2016 08:00 AM PST Urban transit racer Adham Fisher has visited cities around the world and spent more than £15,000 on his hobby. Now, he hopes to make transport history on the capital's buses It will start on Oxford Street, possibly on the 139 bus, at around 10.30am on Monday. It will end at the same time a day later somewhere, it is imagined, in zone 3. In the intervening 24 hours, Adham Fisher is hoping to make a very niche bit of transport history: he wants to become the first person to travel on 200 of London's bus routes in a single day. What? Why? Continue reading... |
| Fidel Castro in the US: cars, cigars and a meeting with Malcolm X Posted: 27 Nov 2016 06:43 AM PST The Cuban leader visited New York City five times, speaking at the United Nations, sparring with Giuliani and spending time with 'real people' in Harlem He might have been an enemy of the state, but from a lengthy honeymoon to a midnight meeting with Malcolm X to the adulation of cheering crowds, Fidel Castro found plenty to savour on American soil. The Cuban communist – who was repeatedly targeted for assassination by the CIA – visited New York five times during his five decades in power. As the city's Daily News put it on Saturday, he had a "love-hate relationship" with the centre of global capitalism. Continue reading... |
| Car-free Belgium: why can't Brussels match Ghent's pedestrianised vision? Posted: 27 Nov 2016 11:38 PM PST In Belgium, cars are cherished possessions and driving is a staple of everyday life. But two of its major cities are making forcible efforts to cut down the traffic on their streets – with wildly different results One morning in 1997, Frank Beke, the mayor of Ghent, woke up to find he'd been sent a bullet in the post. For the next few weeks Beke wore a bulletproof jacket, while police stood guard outside his house and accompanied him everywhere he went. "I was very anxious for my family," he says. "I was protected by police but my wife and my children weren't." The culprit was eventually found and arrested – a man who owned a shoe shop in the Belgian city's medieval centre. His motive? Beke's plans to pedestrianise the area around his shop. |
| Whitewashing the abuse of women – in pictures Posted: 27 Nov 2016 11:00 PM PST Photographer Bhargavi Joshi's series of images represent the violence and injustices that confront women worldwide, regardless of their age, race, culture, education and socio-economic background. The women are painted white to shift the focus from their physical traits, race or culture to their gender, says Joshi Photographs by Bhargavi Joshi Productions Continue reading... |
| Trump and a Muslim registry: does he want one – and is it even possible? Posted: 27 Nov 2016 05:00 AM PST The president-elect has signalled support for tracking Muslims in the US – an idea that has a precedent of sorts but which is probably unconstitutional Throughout his presidential campaign, Donald Trump made clear his intent to pursue aggressive tactics against Muslims as part of his approach to national security. The most prominent was his proposal to ban all Muslim immigration to the US, which remains on Trump's website even today. But this week, a key question before Trump's pending administration was whether it would implement a Muslim registry. |
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