World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk |
- Italy to bail out Monte dei Paschi di Siena bank with €20bn rescue fund
- 'Brutal, amoral, ruthless, cheating': how Trump's new trade tsar sees China
- Negotiations to repeal North Carolina 'bathroom bill' fall apart
- Stolen masterpiece paintings returned to Italy from Ukraine
- Uber cancels self-driving car trial in San Francisco after state forces it off road
- Swipe right? 'Toilet paper' for smartphones trialled in Japanese airport bathrooms
- Philippines journalist killed after criticising officials over illegal drug lab
- Rahul Gandhi calls for bribery inquiry into India prime minister Narendra Modi
- Stop holding sleepovers in our stores, Ikea warns pranksters
- Pressure mounts on Kabila amid crackdown on DRC opposition
- Brazilian companies linked to Petrobras scandal plead guilty in US court
- EU gives Poland two months to scrap changes to its highest court
- Arctic 360: take a tour without doing damage
- Russia holds memorial service for ambassador shot dead in Turkey
- Turkish author Aslı Erdoğan's detention 'breaches convention on human rights'
- India plans nearly 60% of electricity capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2027
- Europe's lack of strong leadership leaves it vulnerable to terrorism
- Appeal launched over boys who vanished 20 years ago in Solihull
- Fake plastic rice seized in Nigeria amid rocketing food prices
- Robber freed 90 years early by mistake says he reformed while free
- Welcome to Chilecon Valley: a startup hub with its own special charm
- Former Queensland union boss faces corruption charges
- YouTube star allegedly kicked off Delta flight 'for speaking Arabic' is known for pranks
- Japan boosts coast guard fleet to defend disputed East China Sea islands
- The Earth is flat, Trump is a Democrat … and other great conspiracy theories of 2016
- Berlin attack suspect Anis Amri had been on watchlist since January
- Common ground on Syria unites Russia and Turkey against the west
- Germany issue arrest warrant for suspect in Berlin attack – video
- Germany to expand CCTV network in wake of Berlin attack
- Berlin Christmas market attack: a graphical guide to what we know so far
- Berlin truck attack: 12 still in hospital as details of victims emerge
- After Turkey’s failed coup, a sense of fatalism has set in
- Berlin attack: Germany issues European arrest warrant for new suspect – as it happened
- Home Office criticised for opaque child refugee transfer process
- 'I'm incredibly proud of you': praise after pope pops out for new shoes
- 'Everything was destroyed': Mexico reels after fireworks market explosion
- Aleppo tweeter Bana al-Abed, seven, meets Turkish president
- The victims of the Berlin Christmas market attack
- Vladimir Putin orders clampdown on 'surrogate' alcohol as deaths rise
- The world news quiz of 2016
- Aleppo tweeter Bana al-Abed meets Turkish president Erdogan – video
- EU ruling means UK snooper's charter may be open to challenge
- Women bear the brunt as finances and families are undone by India's cash crisis
- UN says more children and men falling prey to traffickers amid migration crisis
- Zika, drought, conflict: what 2016 meant for the world's poorest – podcast
- Nigeria’s farmers return home to rebuild lives shattered by Boko Haram
- Moving US embassy to Jerusalem could provoke violent 'chaos', experts warn
| Italy to bail out Monte dei Paschi di Siena bank with €20bn rescue fund Posted: 21 Dec 2016 05:04 PM PST Parliament steps in with emergency plan as a private effort to raise €5bn for the world's oldest bank seems likely to fail A €20bn (£17bn) rescue fund for Italy's banking sector has been approved by the country's parliament, heralding a bailout of the world's oldest bank, Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS). The bank said late on Wednesday that it had failed to secure an anchor investor – the Qatar sovereign wealth fund – for a €5bn offer of new shares. Continue reading... |
| 'Brutal, amoral, ruthless, cheating': how Trump's new trade tsar sees China Posted: 21 Dec 2016 09:09 PM PST Peter Navarro has been picked by to lead US trade and industrial policy – a move which may upset Beijing The Chinese government is a despicable, parasitic, brutal, brass-knuckled, crass, callous, amoral, ruthless and totally totalitarian imperialist power that reigns over the world's leading cancer factory, its most prolific propaganda mill and the biggest police state and prison on the face of the earth. That is the view of Peter Navarro, the man chosen by Donald Trump to lead a new presidential office for US trade and industrial policy, a move likely to add to Beijing's anxieties over the billionaire's plans for US-China relations. Continue reading... |
| Negotiations to repeal North Carolina 'bathroom bill' fall apart Posted: 21 Dec 2016 06:15 PM PST A special session adjourned Wednesday without voting on a proposal to undo the controversial law, which restricts use of bathrooms for transgender people Plans to repeal the controversial North Carolina law limiting LGBT protections fell apart late Wednesday, after hours of closed-door wrangling. Lawmakers held a special session to repeal House Bill 2 (HB2), which had spurred extensive economic boycotts and protests in the state. But the legislative body adjourned for the night without having voted on a proposal. Continue reading... |
| Stolen masterpiece paintings returned to Italy from Ukraine Posted: 21 Dec 2016 01:53 PM PST Italian culture minister travels to Kiev to retrieve works by Rubens, Tintoretto and Mantegna taken from Verona art museum Seventeen masterpieces valued at €17m (£14.3m) have been returned to Italy from Ukraine after being stolen by armed robbers from a Verona art museum last year. Italian culture minister Dario Franceschini, who travelled to Kiev to retrieve the paintings – which included works by Rubens, Tintoretto and Mantegna – said the possibility of ever recovering them once seem remote. Still, the paintings returned with little more than scratches after their long ordeal, according to an art expert. Continue reading... |
| Uber cancels self-driving car trial in San Francisco after state forces it off road Posted: 21 Dec 2016 05:52 PM PST California DMV announced it had revoked the registration of 16 autonomous Uber cars, which were caught on numerous occasions running red lights California has forced Uber to remove its self-driving vehicles from the road, canceling the company's controversial pilot program in San Francisco after a week of embarrassing reports of traffic violations and repeated legal threats from state officials. The department of motor vehicles (DMV) announced late Wednesday that it had revoked the registration of 16 autonomous Uber cars, which the corporation deployed without proper permits last week and which were caught on numerous occasions running red lights. Continue reading... |
| Swipe right? 'Toilet paper' for smartphones trialled in Japanese airport bathrooms Posted: 21 Dec 2016 09:39 PM PST Sheets bear the message 'welcome to Japan' and contain information on Wi-Fi spots and other travel information Japan has taken its reputation for hygiene up another notch with the introduction of "toilet paper" for smartphones inside toilets at Narita international airport. In a new take on the meaning of public convenience, users are invited to pull off a piece of paper from a dispenser next to the regular toilet roll and give their phone screens a germ-busting polish. Continue reading... |
| Philippines journalist killed after criticising officials over illegal drug lab Posted: 21 Dec 2016 06:30 PM PST Provincial newspaper publisher shot dead after writing a column alleging official negligence, sparking calls for investigation A Philippine provincial newspaper publisher has been shot dead after writing a column alleging official negligence over a recently discovered methamphetamine laboratory, in the first killing of a journalist during the country's war on drugs. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) condemned Monday's murder of Larry Que, publisher of a news site on the island of Catanduanes, and said it "challenged" President Rodrigo Duterte to find the perpetrators and utilise a special task force he set up to protect media. Continue reading... |
| Rahul Gandhi calls for bribery inquiry into India prime minister Narendra Modi Posted: 21 Dec 2016 05:51 PM PST Bharatiya Janata party dismisses claims that two Indian conglomerates paid millions of rupees to Modi when head of Gujarat Rahul Gandhi has demanded an investigation into allegations that two Indian conglomerates paid millions of rupees in bribes to the prime minister Narendra Modi when he was chief minister of Gujarat. Gandhi, the opposition Congress party vice-president and scion of India's Nehru-Gandhi family, said the allegations dating between 2013-14 were found in diary notes and computer records of the Sahara Group and the Birla Group and were in the possession of income tax authorities. Continue reading... |
| Stop holding sleepovers in our stores, Ikea warns pranksters Posted: 21 Dec 2016 12:16 PM PST 'We do not see what it is fun about it,' says Swedish shop firm after at least 10 incidents this year in various countries Ikea has warned people not to try to sleep over in its stores when they close, saying they would be considered trespassers and would only end up getting into trouble with the law. On Wednesday, the Swedish firm's spokeswoman Johanna Iritz said the firm takes the matter seriously, adding: "we can't guarantee safety". Continue reading... |
| Pressure mounts on Kabila amid crackdown on DRC opposition Posted: 21 Dec 2016 10:21 AM PST Security forces round up demonstrators despite international calls for authorities to respect human rights Security forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have ignored intensifying international pressure to halt a wave of repression aimed at preventing any further protests against the government of President Joseph Kabila. Police, paramilitaries and soldiers rounded up demonstrators and opposition activists across the vast central African country on Wednesday despite calls from the US, Britain, the European Union and the United Nations for authorities and security forces to respect human rights. Continue reading... |
| Brazilian companies linked to Petrobras scandal plead guilty in US court Posted: 21 Dec 2016 09:40 AM PST Odebrecht and Braskem admitted to violating American foreign bribery laws and agreed to pay more than $3bn in settlement deal for role in political kickbacks Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht SA and affiliated petrochemical company Braskem SA have pleaded guilty in a US court to violating American foreign bribery laws as part of a more than $3bn deal resolving a sweeping corruption probe of Brazil's state oil company. The companies entered their pleas in federal court in Brooklyn in the major corruption case stemming from a wide-ranging probe into their role in a scheme involving political kickbacks at Brazil's Petrobras. Continue reading... |
| EU gives Poland two months to scrap changes to its highest court Posted: 21 Dec 2016 05:53 AM PST Poland told to rewrite amendments to its constitutional tribunal that critics say would put it on road to autocracy The EU executive has issued a stark warning to Poland to scrap changes to its highest court which critics say trample over the rule of law, but stopped short of calling for sanctions on the member state. Frans Timmermans, vice-president of the European commission, gave the Polish government two months to rewrite proposed amendments to the country's constitutional tribunal that some say will put Poland on the road to autocracy. |
| Arctic 360: take a tour without doing damage Posted: 22 Dec 2016 02:00 AM PST After years of record temperatures, the Arctic is melting. The Northwest passage had an ice-free summer in 2016, allowing cruise ships into one of the world's most remote places. Join our environmentally friendly Arctic tour, and witness the consequences of human behaviour Continue reading... |
| Russia holds memorial service for ambassador shot dead in Turkey Posted: 22 Dec 2016 01:53 AM PST Dozens attend open-casket ceremony for Andrei Karlov, killed in Ankara by man shouting 'Don't forget Aleppo' Russia has staged a sombre memorial ceremony for Andrei Karlov, the ambassador to Turkey shot dead in Ankara by a man shouting "Don't forget Aleppo" and "Allahu Akbar". Related: Common ground on Syria unites Russia and Turkey against the west Continue reading... |
| Turkish author Aslı Erdoğan's detention 'breaches convention on human rights' Posted: 22 Dec 2016 12:00 AM PST The novelist's pre-trial imprisonment on terror charges has been condemned by lawyers and academics, who say there are no grounds for this extreme measure The imprisonment of celebrated novelist Aslı Erdoğan breaches both Turkey's constitution and the European convention on human rights, according to prominent lawyers and human rights activists. The 18 experts, who include judges and academics, said the pre-trial detention of the writer was an extreme measure, seemingly imposed with the intent of reducing political opposition to, and criticism of, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's regime. Continue reading... |
| India plans nearly 60% of electricity capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2027 Posted: 21 Dec 2016 11:01 PM PST Expansion of solar and wind power will help exceed Paris targets by almost half and negate need for new coal-fired power stations The Indian government has forecast that it will exceed the renewable energy targets set in Paris last year by nearly half and three years ahead of schedule. A draft 10-year energy blueprint published this week predicts that 57% of India's total electricity capacity will come from non-fossil fuel sources by 2027. The Paris climate accord target was 40% by 2030. Continue reading... |
| Europe's lack of strong leadership leaves it vulnerable to terrorism Posted: 21 Dec 2016 03:47 PM PST Terrorist groups know that well-timed attacks cause political upheaval and exploit people's fears, but liberal democracy is often strongest when wounded Europe is in bad shape to repel a terrorist threat that has moved from its Middle East doorstep into its living room. Political divisions, public disenchantment, economic weakness, lack of leadership and acute international instability are combining to make this a uniquely vulnerable moment for the western democracies. Related: For Europe's sake, Angela Merkel must hold the centre ground | Timothy Garton Ash Continue reading... |
| Appeal launched over boys who vanished 20 years ago in Solihull Posted: 22 Dec 2016 01:55 AM PST Patrick Warren, 11, and David Spencer, 13, were last spotted at a petrol station after midnight on 27 December 1996 Police have launched a fresh appeal for information surrounding the disappearance of two boys 20 years ago. Patrick Warren, 11, and David Spencer, 13, were last spotted at a petrol station close to their homes in Chelmsley Wood, Solihull, just after midnight on 27 December 1996. Continue reading... |
| Fake plastic rice seized in Nigeria amid rocketing food prices Posted: 21 Dec 2016 05:46 PM PST Authorities warn about dangers of cooking the rice suspected of being smuggled into the country from China Nigeria has seized over 100 bags of plastic rice smuggled into the country, where prices of the staple food are rocketing ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays. A suspect has been arrested over the haul of 102 bags of the fake rice, which officials warned Wednesday was dangerous for human consumption. Continue reading... |
| Robber freed 90 years early by mistake says he reformed while free Posted: 21 Dec 2016 08:39 PM PST Rene Lima-Marin got married, had a child and held a steady job for years before authorities discovered the mistake and sent him back to prison A robber sent back to prison after being mistakenly released eight years into his 98-year sentence asked a judge on Wednesday to set him free again, arguing he had started a family, got a steady job and reformed himself. Rene Lima-Marin, 38, from Colorado was convicted in 2000 on multiple counts of robbery, kidnapping and burglary after he and another man robbed two suburban Denver video stores at gunpoint. A judge issued him back-to-back sentences for a total of 98 years. Continue reading... |
| Welcome to Chilecon Valley: a startup hub with its own special charm Posted: 21 Dec 2016 11:15 PM PST While it lags behind its US counterpart, the pioneering initiative has gained global recognition. We meet the entrepreneurs developing their business in Chile Overshadowed by the snow-capped Andes mountains, surrounded by miles of luscious vineyards, Chile's capital city has generally been more of a destination for wine lovers or a stop-off point for travellers reaching other parts of the region. But much to the surprise of Chileans and global techies alike, Santiago has become an unlikely entrepreneurial hub. Seed accelerator Start-Up Chile launched there in 2010 and has worked with more than 1,300 small businesses. The publicly-funded programme, created by the government, has since been replicated in more than 50 countries around the world. "Start-Up Chile often pops up in conversations, there's this international appreciation of its pioneering effort," says Christian Busch, associate director of the Innovation Co-creation Lab at the London School of Economics. Continue reading... |
| Former Queensland union boss faces corruption charges Posted: 21 Dec 2016 11:52 PM PST David Hanna is accused receiving free renovations on his home as part of a deal for CFMEU cooperation with builder Mirvac A former Queensland union boss and state Labor powerbroker has been hit with corruption charges after allegedly receiving more than $400,000 of work to his home in return for industrial harmony with a construction giant. David Hanna, 52, was charged on Thursday with soliciting and receiving secret commissions from an agent, after being referred to a joint Queensland and federal police taskforce by the royal commission into trade union governance and corruption. Continue reading... |
| YouTube star allegedly kicked off Delta flight 'for speaking Arabic' is known for pranks Posted: 21 Dec 2016 07:03 PM PST Adam Saleh, whose videos have drawn millions of followers, recorded himself being escorted from plane after 'people felt uncomfortable', he told the Guardian A YouTube star known for filming elaborate hoaxes was escorted off a Delta flight on Wednesday morning after he claimed that other passengers complained when they heard him speaking in Arabic. Adam Saleh, a 23-year-old YouTube star from New York, posted multiple videos to Twitter and Periscope on Tuesday, showing himself being escorted from a plane by Delta flight attendants. Continue reading... |
| Japan boosts coast guard fleet to defend disputed East China Sea islands Posted: 21 Dec 2016 05:08 PM PST Five large surveillance ships and three research vessels will be added, along with 200 extra security officials Japan's government has announced it will bolster its coast guard capabilities to defend East China Sea islands that China also claims and regularly patrols. The government said Japan's 2017 coast guard budget will reach a record 210bn yen ($1.8bn) to add eight new ships and more than 200 law enforcement officials. The 14-ship fleet will add five large surveillance ships and three research vessels. Continue reading... |
| The Earth is flat, Trump is a Democrat … and other great conspiracy theories of 2016 Posted: 21 Dec 2016 12:40 PM PST If you believe Taylor Swift is a satanist, Ted Cruz is the Zodiac killer and Hillary Clinton died in September, this was your year If 2016 was the year facts didn't matter, when Oxford Dictionaries declared we went "post-truth", it makes sense that conspiracy theories flourished. These are some of the most outlandish (and, we feel fairly confident in saying, all untrue). Continue reading... |
| Berlin attack suspect Anis Amri had been on watchlist since January Posted: 21 Dec 2016 12:00 PM PST Reports say Tunisian suspect's name had last been raised among police and security agencies as recently as last month Anis Amri, the main suspect in the Berlin Christmas market attack, had been under the watch of Germany's Centre for Terror Defence (GTAZ) since January as someone deemed a threat to public safety because of his links to the Islamic radical scene and his apparent readiness to carry out an attack, security sources have told the German media. Sources involved in the investigation into Monday's crash say Amri's telecommunications had been monitored by German security agencies. It is understood that he was arrested once this summer in Berlin but there was not enough evidence to hold him. Continue reading... |
| Common ground on Syria unites Russia and Turkey against the west Posted: 21 Dec 2016 11:20 AM PST Despite the killing of Moscow's ambassador to Ankara, the two nations stand together in their joint peace plan for Syria One year ago, the killing of the Russian ambassador to Ankara by a former Turkish policeman would have provoked a rupture in Turkish-Russian relations on the scale that followed the shooting down of a Russian plane by the Turkish jets in November 2015. But ahead of Andrei's Karlov's funeral on Thursday, there has been no Russian démarche. Instead the two countries appear drawn closer towards a new embrace, taking Turkey ever further away from the west. Continue reading... |
| Germany issue arrest warrant for suspect in Berlin attack – video Posted: 21 Dec 2016 10:50 AM PST German authorities have issued a European arrest warrant on Wednesday for the main suspect in the Berlin Christmas market attack that killed 12 people on Monday. Police have admitted they caught the wrong person on Monday night, after a member of the public chased a Pakistani man down in the Tiergarden. The registered driver of the vehicle, Łukasz Urban, a polish national, was shot and stabbed to death and still in the cab during the collision Continue reading... |
| Germany to expand CCTV network in wake of Berlin attack Posted: 21 Dec 2016 10:39 AM PST Government approves new laws after truck horror but initiative follows earlier incidents in Munich and Ansbach Germany's coalition government has approved regulation to allow an expansion of the country's video surveillance network, as police officials called on Berlin to rethink its suspicion of CCTV cameras in the wake of Monday's Christmas Market attack. Laws in Germany around the use of surveillance cameras are more restrictive than in many other countries and, even though Monday's attack took place on one of the busiest squares in the city, no footage of the incident has yet been made public. Continue reading... |
| Berlin Christmas market attack: a graphical guide to what we know so far Posted: 21 Dec 2016 10:32 AM PST A truck drove into crowds at the Breitscheidplatz Christmas market on Monday evening, leaving at least 12 dead. Here is what we know so far Continue reading... |
| Berlin truck attack: 12 still in hospital as details of victims emerge Posted: 21 Dec 2016 10:23 AM PST President visits clinic treating survivors, and specialist PTSD unit extends its hours to cope with demand Several of the victims of Monday's truck attack in Berlin have yet to be formally identified, German officials have said, and 12 survivors remain in hospital with "very serious" injuries. Twelve people were killed including the truck's registered driver, Łukasz Urban, who was found dead inside the truck's cabin. The 37-year-old Polish national had been shot and stabbed, and German investigators suggested he may have struggled with the hijacker until the very last moment. Continue reading... |
| After Turkey’s failed coup, a sense of fatalism has set in Posted: 21 Dec 2016 09:15 AM PST President Erdoğan managed to hold on to power in July, but a crackdown on liberals and secularists has turned survival into a game of chance Last week, President Recep Erdoğan of Turkey declared a national mobilisation. The last time a similar announcement was made was during the second world war. Turkey is already in a state of emergency following the bloody coup attempt in July that left more than 200 dead. That coup by a cabal in the army loyal to reclusive religious leader Fethullah Gülen was shocking, and it no doubt made everything worse. Turkey has gone through three military takeovers – each with a worse record of human rights violations than the last. Thus the country's liberals and democrats were among the first to oppose the putschists this summer; it is one of Turkey's endless ironies that the same liberals and democrats would also be the first to be silenced in the ensuing purge by the government. Continue reading... |
| Berlin attack: Germany issues European arrest warrant for new suspect – as it happened Posted: 21 Dec 2016 09:10 AM PST
The state prosecutor has issued a wanted poster of Amri, with - unlike earlier pictures - images that have not been blurred. Germany's state prosecutor issues official wanted poster for Anis Amri, with new (not blurred-out) pictures https://t.co/9pABs4cz6P Continue reading... |
| Home Office criticised for opaque child refugee transfer process Posted: 21 Dec 2016 09:03 AM PST Human Rights Watch says 'non-transparent and arbitrary' methods of bringing minors to the UK are harming their mental health Human Rights Watch has condemned the Home Office for its "non-transparent and arbitrary" process for transferring unaccompanied child refugees to the UK. In a scathing attack, the campaign group said the process was so ill-considered that the government had ended up separating siblings, in breach of the Dubs amendment to immigration laws, which pledged to give some unaccompanied children refuge in Britain. Continue reading... |
| 'I'm incredibly proud of you': praise after pope pops out for new shoes Posted: 21 Dec 2016 09:00 AM PST Francis poses for pictures and blesses shopworker's crucifix during visit to pharmacy near the Holy See Pope Francis was the toast of social media after successfully completing his latest groundbreaking mission: popping out of the Vatican to buy himself some new footwear. The 80-year-old pontiff visited a pharmacy near the Holy See on Tuesday to pick up a pair of the orthopaedic shoes he wears to reduce the pain caused by chronic sciatica. Continue reading... |
| 'Everything was destroyed': Mexico reels after fireworks market explosion Posted: 21 Dec 2016 08:23 AM PST About 47 people, including 10 children, remain hospitalized, while a dozen people are still missing after the blast in Tultepec Forensic investigators are scouring the charred remains of a fireworks market outside Mexico City after a powerful chain-reaction explosion ripped through its stalls, killing at least 31 people and leaving dozens more badly burned. Related: Mexico fireworks market explosion leaves at least 31 dead Continue reading... |
| Aleppo tweeter Bana al-Abed, seven, meets Turkish president Posted: 21 Dec 2016 08:09 AM PST Erdoğan hosts family of girl whose tweets gained global attention, as mother says she hopes Bana can live normal life after fleeing The mother of a seven-year-old girl whose tweets from inside besieged east Aleppo offered the world a glimpse of the suffering of its civilians has said she hopes her daughter will finally be able to live a normal life, as the family met with the Turkish president. Bana al-Abed was evacuated from the devastated Syrian city this week and on Wednesday images and video from her family's meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his wife, Emine, at the presidential complex were published by the Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu. Continue reading... |
| The victims of the Berlin Christmas market attack Posted: 21 Dec 2016 07:40 AM PST Information about 11 victims of the attack is yet to be released, with Polish lorry driver Lukasz Urban the only one named officially The 37-year-old Polish national, who was found dead in the truck that was used to kill visitors to the market in Berlin's Breitscheidplatz, was described by Poland's prime minister, Beata Szydło, as "the first victim of this heinous act of violence". Continue reading... |
| Vladimir Putin orders clampdown on 'surrogate' alcohol as deaths rise Posted: 21 Dec 2016 07:35 AM PST Over 60 people have died after drinking fake batch of bath tincture in Siberian city of Irkutsk Russia's president Vladimir Putin has ordered the government to crack down on so-called surrogate alcohol, as the death toll from consumption of a fake batch of bath tincture exceeded 60. Putin on Wednesday demanded new regulations be put in place to tighten controls over the production and sale of liquids including perfume, cleaning fluids, medicines and cosmetics that contain more than 25% alcohol. He also told the government to look at increasing the legal consequences for violations in the production and sale of these items. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 21 Dec 2016 07:30 AM PST From hapless hijackers to vengeful Eurocrats, how closely have you been paying attention to global affairs in the past 12 months?
Police recaptured Mexican drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán in January. It then emerged that the actor Sean Penn had recently farted in his presence. Describing the incident, Penn said the fart had: A subtle brume. An odorous whiff. A pungent reek. In February, Russian MPs accused Ukraine of trying to insult Russia with its choice of: Miss World contestant. Eurovision entry. Male synchronised diving team at Rio 2016. Seif Eldin Mustafa, an Egyptian forger, hijacked a Cairo-bound plane in March because he wanted to: Crash the plane into the pyramids. See whether it would land on water. Visit his ex-wife in Cyprus. In April, the head of the Chilean branch of Transparency International, a corruption watchdog, resigned because: He had set up the meeting between El Chapo and Sean Penn. He had bribed a traffic warden to let him park on a double-yellow. He was implicated in the Panama Papers corruption scandal. In May, outspoken South African opposition leader Julius Malema described the South African president, Jacob Zuma, as "umakhandakhanda". This means: Ignoramus. One who walks like a chicken. Big head. In June, British and Italian police claimed they had caught the most-wanted people-smuggler in north Africa. But doubts were soon raised when the smuggler: Looked nothing like the man in custody. Said on Facebook that he wasn't the man in custody. Both of the above. During the failed attempt to oust him in July, the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, appeared on television via which means of communication? WhatsApp voice call. FaceTime. Viber. The president of the European commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, revealed in August that he keeps a record of his enemies in a notebook he affectionately calls: Big Maurice. Little Maurice. Little Malcolm. For most of 2016, about 50,000 refugees have been stranded in roughly 50 refugee camps in Greece. The EU set aside €62m to make those camps ready for winter. By the time snow fell in September, how many had been properly "winterised"? All of them. 22. Eight. In October, the Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, responded to criticism from his wife, Aisha, by saying that she belonged in: His kitchen, his living room and "the other room". Just the kitchen. Just the "other room", whatever that is. About 100 people gathered in Adelaide in November to discuss alleged sightings of the thylacine, which is: A rare form of plasticine, made from the thyroid gland, that is only available on eBay. A Tasmanian tiger that was declared extinct in 1986. A small sub-species of kangaroo that lives in the cellars at the Australian parliament. Adama Barrow, who was elected president of Gambia in December, previously worked in London as: A security guard at Argos. A waiter at Nando's. A cook at the Dorchester. 12 and above. Stupendous. 11 and above. Impressive. 10 and above. Nice. 9 and above. Good job. 8 and above. Not bad. 7 and above. Decent. 6 and above. OK. 5 and above. Middling. 4 and above. Not great. 3 and above. Poor. 2 and above. Bad. 0 and above. Oh. 1 and above. Terrible. Continue reading... |
| Aleppo tweeter Bana al-Abed meets Turkish president Erdogan – video Posted: 21 Dec 2016 06:54 AM PST Bana al-Abed, the Syrian girl whose Tweets from eastern Aleppo captured the world's attention, meets with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and first lady Emine Erdogan at his palace in Ankara on Wednesday. Seven-year-old Bana and her mother were evacuated to safety on Monday, part of an evacuation deal that saw the remaining residents of Aleppo head to other parts of the country. Bana thanked the president for supporting the children of Aleppo. Photograph: Kayhan Ozer/Getty Images Continue reading... |
| EU ruling means UK snooper's charter may be open to challenge Posted: 21 Dec 2016 04:58 AM PST Ministers can no longer be certain that Investigatory Powers Act can survive privacy actions in UK courts after landmark surveillance decision The European court of justice (ECJ) ruling that blanket state surveillance without proper privacy safeguards is unlawful is packed with post-Brexit irony – not least in that it involves Britain losing a case in Europe initially brought by its Brexit minister, David Davis. But it is important because it means the battle over digital rights in Britain is not yet over. Theresa May's new turbo-charged state surveillance law – the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, with its extensive powers to track the entire population's web browsing history for two years and allowing industrial scale state hacking of phones and computers – will come into effect from the end of this month. Continue reading... |
| Women bear the brunt as finances and families are undone by India's cash crisis Posted: 21 Dec 2016 09:00 PM PST Bank accounts are rare among Indian women, leaving them unable to deposit savings that many have preferred to keep secret from their spouses By midday, Soni Mishra* has taken off her dupatta (scarf), wiped the makeup off her sweaty face, and phoned her husband twice to make sure he can collect their son from school. Mishra, along with at least a dozen other women, has been queuing for two hours in baking heat at a Dena Bank branch in Mumbai, hoping to deposit a bundle of cash she has brought with her. For the past 15 years, Mishra, a housewife, has been saving for a rainy day. "Every month, my husband gives me some money for the household expenses. I spend most of it, but I save a few rupees in case of an emergency. I save for my son's education, for his future. My husband also saves, of course, but I save so I have my own money in case there's a problem in my life." Continue reading... |
| UN says more children and men falling prey to traffickers amid migration crisis Posted: 21 Dec 2016 08:31 AM PST Study by UN Office on Drugs and Crime finds that global movement of refugees and migrants has left men and boys more vulnerable to exploitation The number of children and men who fall prey to traffickers is rising, a UN study has found, with the global movement of refugees and migrants a major contributory factor. Although women and girls account for more than 70% of human trafficking victims, the largest increase in the number of refugees and migrants since the aftermath of the second world war has left children and men more vulnerable to exploitation, according to the report. Continue reading... |
| Zika, drought, conflict: what 2016 meant for the world's poorest – podcast Posted: 21 Dec 2016 03:21 AM PST The Global development team looks back at some of the issues that affected millions of people in developing countries in the past year, and considers the challenges for 2017 With the population of seven southern African countries on the brink of starvation, warnings of potential genocide in South Sudan, and emerging health crises such as Zika taking a heavy toll, 2016 has been a devastating year for some of the world's poorest countries. Lucy Lamble hears from John Vidal about the Paris climate agreement and the impact of El Niño around the world. Sarah Boseley talks about global health issues, including progress in the fight against HIV and Aids. Liz Ford looks at progress on family planning, and the issue of violence against defenders of women's rights, and Ben Quinn reports on events in Haiti and South Sudan. There's also a look ahead to 2017, at the shifting aid agenda in the UK, and what the election of Trump might mean for the developing world. Continue reading... |
| Nigeria’s farmers return home to rebuild lives shattered by Boko Haram Posted: 21 Dec 2016 02:46 AM PST As the power of the insurgency slowly fades in north-east Nigeria, many people are going back to their ruined villages, intent on rebuilding "They shot at everything," says Isaak Amos*, pointing to the walls of his home in Dabna, a small village in north-east Nigeria. "We had a sense that Boko Haram was going to do something, but there was nothing we could do to prepare for it." In attacks on the village two years ago, the militants killed and kidnapped more than 20 people. The local school, medical centre and church were all destroyed, forcing hundreds of people to flee from Dabna and neighbouring villages. Across north-eastern Nigeria, millions of people have been displaced. Continue reading... |
| Moving US embassy to Jerusalem could provoke violent 'chaos', experts warn Posted: 21 Dec 2016 08:36 AM PST Donald Trump's oft-stated desire to relocate the embassy from Tel Aviv has been seen by many as a grave threat to the Israel-Palestine peace process Donald Trump's plan to move the Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would be a "game changer", according to diplomats, as senior Palestinian officials warn that the move could provoke regional violence. Criticised by international legal experts, analysts and former senior US officials, the proposal has heightened concern over what the president-elect's policies would mean for an already moribund Israel-Palestine peace process and the future of a two-state solution. Continue reading... |
| You are subscribed to email updates from World news | The Guardian. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
Posting Komentar