World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk |
- Civil activists fear new crackdown in Hungary after Trump election
- Trump names son-in-law Jared Kushner as senior adviser, testing nepotism law
- Case of 'fattened' Jorge Luis Borges story headed to court in Argentina
- Disappearances spark fears of crackdown on leftwing dissent in Pakistan
- Russia slates 'baseless, amateurish' US election hacking report
- Funerals held for Israeli soldiers killed in truck attack as police arrest nine
- Germany investigating unprecedented spread of fake news online
- Mexico protests: how gas prices lit the flame under a quietly smoldering rage
- Head of Spanish animal shelter jailed for killing healthy cats and dogs
- Ukip's EU funding at risk after M5S quits Nigel Farage's Brussels group
- US navy destroyer fires warning shots at speeding Iranian vessels
- 30-foot sinkhole in Philadelphia swallows car
- Trudeau's top aides have discussed Nafta with Trump's advisers, reports say
- Turkish parliament debates controversial new constitution
- Chad dictator Hissène Habré appeals against war crimes conviction
- Obama puts pressure on Trump to adhere to US climate change strategy
- Whitbread restaurant chain sorry over pork found in beef lasagne
- UK exported 500 cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia in 1980s, admits MoD
- Thousands of Iranians mourn wily political veteran Rafsanjani
- Once a trophy hunting concession, now a snow leopard sanctuary
- Romania's corruption fight is a smokescreen to weaken its democracy
- No bombshell: the intelligence report on Russia and the election was ineffective | David Klion
- Teenager arrested after death of seven-year-old child in York
- Corbyn proposes law to set a maximum limit for earnings - Politics live
- 'This is our future' – Kenya's croton tree touted as new biofuels crop
- What can this Peru slum teach the world about stopping the spread of TB?
- ‘Is this what the west is really like?’ How it felt to leave China for Britain | Xiaolu Guo
- Parliamentary expenses: government to clarify what ‘official business’ means
- Eyewitness: Manila, Philippines
- Body found on M1 in Northamptonshire, closing northbound motorway
- 65,000 Rohingya flee from Myanmar to Bangladesh following crackdown: UN
- Bittersweet harvest as Tunisian orange farmers swamped by record crop
- Liberty launches legal challenge to 'state spying' in snooper's charter
- No surprise at Israeli envoy’s political interference | Letters
- Miracle of the church that was open 24-7 | Letters
- Israeli diplomats cautioned against 'operating' British Jewish organisations
- RT editor disputes US hacking report's implication of Russian news channel
- Ebrahim Raisi: the Iranian cleric emerging as a frontrunner for supreme leader
- Has Beppe Grillo left Farage for a marriage of convenience?
- North Korea holds first national sports day of 2017 – video
- Bird flu outbreak hits Abbotsbury swannery in Dorset
- Eyewitness: Bangalore, India
- A divided empire: what the urban-rural split means for the future of America
- Medics in Yemen: as we fight to help the sick and injured, delays can cost lives | Giorgio Trombatore
- Brazil ordered to pay $5m to workers formerly enslaved on cattle ranch
- 'Villain hitting' in Hong Kong: the women using magic to punish politicians – video
| Civil activists fear new crackdown in Hungary after Trump election Posted: 09 Jan 2017 11:00 PM PST Activists believe rightwing PM buoyed by election of Trump will target NGOs funded by foreign backers such as George Soros Foreign-backed civil society groups in Hungary, including those funded by the billionaire liberal philanthropist George Soros, fear they could become the target of a new crackdown from a populist rightwing government emboldened by the election of Donald Trump. The Hungarian government is planning to force non-government organisation (NGO) leaders to declare their personal assets in the same way as MPs and public officials in what has been described as an "intimidation" of civil society. The proposal is scheduled to go before parliament in April, according to the newly published 2017 legislative agenda. Continue reading... |
| Trump names son-in-law Jared Kushner as senior adviser, testing nepotism law Posted: 10 Jan 2017 01:54 AM PST Kushner, who had Trump's ear in an informal role during the election, will need to argue a federal anti-nepotism law does not apply to him Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner was named senior adviser to the president on Monday, an appointment that would further entangle the incoming White House team in a web of potential conflicts of interest and accusations of nepotism. Related: Jeff Sessions confirmation hearing to shine light on history of racism claims Continue reading... |
| Case of 'fattened' Jorge Luis Borges story headed to court in Argentina Posted: 10 Jan 2017 01:00 AM PST Writer Pablo Katchadjian says The Fattened Aleph, a lengthened version of Borges's story The Aleph, is not plagiarism because it is 'open about its source' One of the best-known stories by the Argentinian author Jorge Luis Borges takes the form of a fake literary essay about a Frenchman who rewrites a section of Don Quixote word for word and is showered with praise for his daring. It is probably safe to say that Borges's 79-year-old widow, María Kodama – sole heir and literary custodian of his oeuvre – takes a dimmer view of such rewrites. Continue reading... |
| Disappearances spark fears of crackdown on leftwing dissent in Pakistan Posted: 10 Jan 2017 01:17 AM PST Four prominent online campaigners with anti-military views believed abducted since Friday Four social media activists with outspoken, secular and anti-military views have gone missing in Pakistan in recent days, sparking fears of a crackdown on leftwing dissenters. Pakistan's intelligence agencies have a history of illegal detentions and of not notifying relatives about where they are or why they are being held. However, such "forced disappearances" are usually directed against those suspected of involvement in terrorism or violent separatism. Continue reading... |
| Russia slates 'baseless, amateurish' US election hacking report Posted: 09 Jan 2017 06:52 AM PST Vladimir Putin's office says intelligence agencies' accusations are unfounded and amount to a political witch-hunt The Kremlin has hit back at a US intelligence report blaming Russia for interference in the presidential election, describing the claims as part of a political witch-hunt. "These are baseless allegations substantiated with nothing, done on a rather amateurish, emotional level," Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told journalists on Monday. "We still don't know what data is really being used by those who present such unfounded accusations." Continue reading... |
| Funerals held for Israeli soldiers killed in truck attack as police arrest nine Posted: 09 Jan 2017 07:06 AM PST Nine detained include relatives of Palestinian who drove his truck into group of soldiers in Jerusalem on Sunday Four Israeli soldiers killed in a truck ramming in Jerusalem by a Palestinian assailant have been buried as Israeli police said they had arrested nine people in connection with the attack. The victims of Sunday's attack have been named as Lt Yael Yekutiel, 20, of Givatayim, and cadets Shir Hajaj, 22, from the settlement of Maale Adumim, Shira Tzur, 20, from Haifa, and Erez Orbach, 20, who came from the West Bank settlement of Alon Shvut and was a US-Israeli citizen. Continue reading... |
| Germany investigating unprecedented spread of fake news online Posted: 09 Jan 2017 11:27 AM PST Government focus on false reporting comes amid claims that Russia is trying to influence German election later this year German government officials have said they are investigating an unprecedented proliferation of fake news items amid reports of Russian efforts to influence the country's election later this year. The BfV domestic intelligence agency confirmed that a cyber-attack last December against the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) used the same "attack infrastructure" as a 2015 hack of the German parliament attributed to Russian hacking group APT28. Continue reading... |
| Mexico protests: how gas prices lit the flame under a quietly smoldering rage Posted: 09 Jan 2017 12:44 PM PST Angry gasolinazo protests over the 20% hike in state-set fuel prices are the symptom of a tense dissatisfaction with politics, corruption and the economy Marching with a boisterous but peaceful crowd through central Mexico City, Héctor Pérez, a sales manager with an insurance company, rattled off a list of grievances to explain a wave of furious protests which erupted after a rise in the country's government-set petrol price. "It's not because we all have cars. When gasoline prices go up, everything else goes up: tortillas, public transportation, everything," said Pérez. |
| Head of Spanish animal shelter jailed for killing healthy cats and dogs Posted: 09 Jan 2017 09:12 AM PST Carmen Marín Aguilar and caretaker accomplice killed 2,183 animals between January 2009 and October 2010, court told A Spanish court has sentenced the head of an animal shelter to three years and nine months in jail for killing hundreds of healthy dogs and cats in a way that provoked "prolonged agony". The court in the southern city of Málaga also fined Carmen Marín Aguilar, 72, €19,800 (£17,200) after finding her guilty of animal cruelty and the falsification of documents. Continue reading... |
| Ukip's EU funding at risk after M5S quits Nigel Farage's Brussels group Posted: 09 Jan 2017 12:39 PM PST Italy's Five Star Movement votes to ditch Eurosceptics in European parliament, but fails to forge new alliance with liberal group Members of Italy's populist Five Star Movement (M5S) have voted overwhelmingly to sever ties with Nigel Farage and his MEPs in the European parliament, raising the prospect of a Ukip losing some of its EU funding. Almost 80% of M5S's 40,000 members voted to join the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), the liberal bloc led by the former Belgian prime minister and Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt. Only 16% voted to stay in the Farage-led Eurosceptic group, known as the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD). Continue reading... |
| US navy destroyer fires warning shots at speeding Iranian vessels Posted: 09 Jan 2017 10:35 AM PST USS Mahan fired three shots towards four Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps boats after they closed in at a high rate of speed in the Strait of Hormuz A US navy destroyer fired three warning shots at armed Iranian patrol boats as they sped toward the warship at the entrance to the Persian Gulf, marring a recent period of relatively quiet interactions between US and Iranian forces, the Pentagon said on Monday. Navy Capt Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said a group of four fast-attack boats of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps navy ignored multiple attempts by the crew of the USS Mahan to warn them away. Continue reading... |
| 30-foot sinkhole in Philadelphia swallows car Posted: 09 Jan 2017 03:25 PM PST 30ft by 10ft hole developed after water main broke, leaving 20 homes without water and six without gas A sinkhole has opened up on a street in Philadelphia and swallowed a car. The 30ft (9.1metres) by 10ft cavity developed after a six-inch water main broke on Sunday morning. The sinkhole in the Fishtown area of the city absorbed one car and left another teetering on the edge. Continue reading... |
| Trudeau's top aides have discussed Nafta with Trump's advisers, reports say Posted: 09 Jan 2017 10:40 AM PST Canadian officials have established 'decent' relationship with Jared Kushner and Steve Bannon as they argue against dismantling of free trade agreement Senior Canadian officials have met several times with advisers to US president-elect Donald Trump in Washington in an effort to avert a possible trade war once he takes office this month, the Globe and Mail newspaper said on Monday. Trump vowed during his election campaign to either scrap or renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) with Canada and Mexico, saying the two-decade old deal had been bad for American workers. This could have disastrous consequences for Canada, which sends 75% of its exports to the US. Continue reading... |
| Turkish parliament debates controversial new constitution Posted: 09 Jan 2017 11:23 AM PST Critics say proposals are power-grab by President Erdoğan but he argues changes bring country in line with political systems in France and US Turkey's parliament has begun debating a controversial new draft constitution aimed at expanding the powers of the presidency under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The new constitution, which is expected to be put to a referendum by the spring, would replace the basic law drawn up in 1982 after Turkey's military coup. It seeks to establish for the first time a presidential system for ruling the modern republic created from the ashes of the Ottoman empire. Continue reading... |
| Chad dictator Hissène Habré appeals against war crimes conviction Posted: 09 Jan 2017 06:58 AM PST Former president's lawyers claim trial last year contained irregularities and question credibility of some witnesses Lawyers for the former Chad president Hissène Habré have launched an appeal against his conviction last year for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Habré created a police state that terrorised civilians in the 1980s. A special court set up by the African Union and Senegal to try him convicted him last May of summary execution, torture and rape. Continue reading... |
| Obama puts pressure on Trump to adhere to US climate change strategy Posted: 09 Jan 2017 09:31 AM PST The US president has been writing for academic journals to pre-empt arguments Trump or Republicans are likely to use to roll back his key accomplishments Barack Obama called the adoption of clean energy in the US "irreversible" on Monday, putting pressure on his successor, Donald Trump, not to back away from a core strategy to fight climate change. Obama, penning an opinion article in the journal Science, sought to frame the argument in a way that might appeal to the president-elect: in economic terms. He said the fact that the cost and polluting power of energy had dropped at the same time proved that fighting climate change and spurring economic growth were not mutually exclusive. Continue reading... |
| Whitbread restaurant chain sorry over pork found in beef lasagne Posted: 10 Jan 2017 01:50 AM PST Group served almost 250,000 affected dishes despite staff saying they raised the issue three months ago The restaurant chain Whitbread has apologised after it was found to be serving "beef lasagne" in which more than a third of the meat content was actually pork. The Sun reported that almost 250,000 of the affected dishes were sold over three months at scores of the company's outlets including Brewers Fayre, Table Table and Whitbread Inn. Continue reading... |
| UK exported 500 cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia in 1980s, admits MoD Posted: 10 Jan 2017 01:48 AM PST Defence secretary's confirmation in letter to MP follows calls to suspend arms sales to Saudi Arabia over use of the weapons Britain exported hundreds of cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia in the late 1980s, official figures show. The defence secretary, Sir Michael Fallon, said 500 cluster munitions were delivered to Saudi Arabia from the UK between 1986 and 1989. Continue reading... |
| Thousands of Iranians mourn wily political veteran Rafsanjani Posted: 10 Jan 2017 01:08 AM PST Former Islamic Revolutionary who led war with Iraq but pushed for reconciliation with the west is buried in Tehran Hundreds of thousands of mourners have flooded the streets of Tehran for the funeral service of the late Iranian leader Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died at the weekend at the age of 82. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, held prayers by Rafsanjani's casket during the service at Tehran University on Tuesday, as other dignitaries knelt before the coffin. Continue reading... |
| Once a trophy hunting concession, now a snow leopard sanctuary Posted: 10 Jan 2017 01:07 AM PST Snow leopards are showing up on camera traps in places they'd never been seen before – thanks to an innovative programme in Kyrgyzstan. Sometimes wildlife champions come as high as heads of state. Since taking office in 2011 the current president of Kyrgyzstan, Almazbek Atambayev, has turned the former Soviet Republic into a centre point for snow leopard conservation and research. Perhaps the best symbol of Atambayev's commitment to snow leopards are recent camera trap photos showing the elusive, high-altitude predator roaming Shamshy Wildlife Reserve. Just two years ago, Shamshy was a concession for high-paying trophy hunters looking to bag an ibex. Today, it's protecting those prey animals that snow leopards depend on. "We are certain about the presence of at least one, perhaps two snow leopards," Koustubh Sharma, the Senior Regional Ecologist at the Snow Leopard Trust, said. "The second snow leopard we are not sure about given a slightly blurry image." Continue reading... |
| Romania's corruption fight is a smokescreen to weaken its democracy Posted: 10 Jan 2017 12:00 AM PST Turning a blind eye to this abuse of power risks encouraging other European nations to follow its example The recent rise of the populist right in Hungary and Poland has raised the alarm about the future of democracy in Europe, as constitutional safeguards, media pluralism and civil society come under sustained attack. But there is another threat hiding in plain sight: corruption in Romania, a country often lauded as an example of successful reform in central and eastern Europe. Continue reading... |
| No bombshell: the intelligence report on Russia and the election was ineffective | David Klion Posted: 09 Jan 2017 12:32 PM PST The report is too late – and too unsubstantiated – to fully persuade the American people of the danger we now find ourselves in On Friday, the director of national intelligence released a report accusing the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, of directly interfering in the US presidential election with the aim of undermining Hillary Clinton and helping Donald Trump. While most of the main conclusions had already been anonymously leaked to journalists either before or after the election, the report represents an open declaration by the CIA, FBI and NSA that a foreign power played a role in securing the president-elect's victory. The DNI report has come in for some criticism, and not only from Trump's defenders. Kevin Rothrock, an editor for the Moscow Times, has a good summary of its shortcomings, which include inaccurate statements about Russian politics and a bizarre overemphasis on the role of RT, the Kremlin-controlled media network. "America's case against the Kremlin suffers from some major flaws that should be acknowledged," he writes, "even by individuals who argue reasonably that the Russian government likely used hackers to attack and undermine democratic institutions in the US." Continue reading...This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Teenager arrested after death of seven-year-old child in York Posted: 10 Jan 2017 12:48 AM PST Girl, 15, held by police after child was found with life-threatening injuries at Woodthorpe address A teenager has been arrested after the death of a seven-year-old girl in York, police have said. Officers were questioning the 15-year-old girl after police were called to an address in Woodthorpe on Monday and found the victim with life-threatening injuries. Continue reading... |
| Corbyn proposes law to set a maximum limit for earnings - Politics live Posted: 10 Jan 2017 01:53 AM PST Rolling coverage of the day's political developments, including Jeremy Corbyn's speech on Brexit
In his Sky interview Jeremy Corbyn was asked about criticism directed at him by Paul Nuttall, the Ukip leader. Nuttall has issued a response to the extracts from the Corbyn speech briefed overnight and he is accusing Corbyn of trying to "fool" working class voters with "a load of flannel". In his statement Nuttall says: What Jeremy Corbyn is committing himself to today is not even worthy of the term 'sticking plaster'. For him to think stopping a few online job ads is going to have any real impact on the movement of people from the low wage economies of Eastern Europe is a joke. The British people - and working class communities in particular - want full control restored over our borders so the volume of immigration can be brought down sharply ...
The Labour party released some extracts from Jeremy Corbyn's Brexit speech overnight. Here are the key ones. On immigration and free movement Labour is not wedded to freedom of movement for EU citizens as a point of principle. But nor can we afford to lose full access to the European markets on which so many British businesses and jobs depend. Changes to the way migration rules operate from the EU will be part of the negotiations. Britain can be better off after Brexit ... People voted for Brexit to regain control over our economy, our democracy and people's lives. A Labour Brexit would take back control over our jobs market which has been seriously damaged by years of reckless deregulation. Labour will ensure all workers have equal rights at work from day one – and require collective bargaining agreements in key sectors, so that workers cannot be undercut. Labour will use the huge spending leverage of taxpayer-funded services massively to expand the number of proper apprenticeships. All firms with a government or council contract over £250,000 will be required to pay tax in the UK and train young people. No company will receive taxpayer-funded contracts if it, or its parent company, is headquartered in a tax haven. The Tory Brexiteers and their Ukip allies promised that Brexit would guarantee funding for the NHS, to the tune of £350m a week. The pledge has already been ditched. We will rebuild our NHS by ending the under-funding and privatisation of health care. Continue reading... |
| 'This is our future' – Kenya's croton tree touted as new biofuels crop Posted: 09 Jan 2017 09:00 PM PST Will the legacy of biofuel's failure in Kenya prevent croton oil from transforming the industry? Tall, spindly and grey, croton trees grow everywhere in Kenya. Although they tend to be used for little more than firewood or shade, their nuts turn out to be an excellent source of biofuel. This overlooked plant could be the answer to Africa's growing demand for cheap, low-carbon energy. At least that is what Eco Fuels Kenya hopes. Founded in 2012, this small company based in Nanyuki, in the foothills of Mount Kenya, is pioneering the use of croton oil as a replacement for diesel and hopes others will soon follow suit. The startup wants to use the tens of thousands of croton trees already growing wild across the nation to improve livelihoods and protect the environment. |
| What can this Peru slum teach the world about stopping the spread of TB? Posted: 09 Jan 2017 11:00 PM PST Peru, one of the hotspots for tuberculosis, has some of the highest global recovery rates thanks to a community-based method for fighting the disease For Jasmin Bueno, aged seven, and her brother Aaron, aged six, there is little that can make swallowing chemo-profilactic pills any less bitter. But the tablets they stoically gulp down daily during the next six months are the best protection they can get from contracting tuberculosis. Just a sheet draped over a washing line separates their sleeping area from that of their 20-year-old brother, Jose, a tuberculosis sufferer. The whole family, their mother and an older sister with an infant baby, live in shack on a hill overlooking the sprawling Carabayllo slum. It is a tuberculosis hotspot where the overcrowded, poorly-ventilated and often damp homes provide a breeding ground for one of the world's most ancient diseases, which recent research shows claims 1.8 million lives a year globally, not the 1.5 million it was previously thought. Continue reading... |
| ‘Is this what the west is really like?’ How it felt to leave China for Britain | Xiaolu Guo Posted: 09 Jan 2017 10:00 PM PST Desperate to find somewhere she could live and work as she wished, Xiaolu Guo moved from Beijing to London in 2002. But from the weather to the language and the people, nothing was as she expected By the time I reached my late 20s, I was desperately looking for a way out of Beijing. From 2001 onwards, the city was consumed by preparations for the 2008 Olympics. Every bus route had to be redirected. Every building was covered in scaffolding. Highways were springing up around Beijing like thick noodles oozing from the ground, with complicated U-turns and roundabouts. The city was surrounded by a moonscape of construction sites. Living there had become a visual and logistical torture. For me, as a writer and film-maker, it was also becoming impossible artistically, with increasing restraints placed on my work. The opportunity to leave came sooner than I could have hoped. I heard that the Chevening scholarship and the British Council were looking for talent in China. I had never heard of Chevening. Someone told me it was a large historical mansion in Kent. My mind was instantly filled with images from The Forsyte Saga – one of the most-watched English television programmes on the Chinese internet. The wealthy housewives of Beijing in particular loved the fancy houses and rich people dressed in elegant costumes riding about on white horses. So I applied as a film-maker. Continue reading... |
| Parliamentary expenses: government to clarify what ‘official business’ means Posted: 09 Jan 2017 11:56 PM PST Greens leader Richard Di Natale says scandals over many years show the need for a national anti-corruption watchdog The Turnbull government says it will reform the parliamentary expenses system to clarify what "official business" means after more revelations about Coalition members' use of parliamentary expenses emerged. The Coalition's expenses controversy deepened this week with revelations three ministers billed taxpayers to attend a New Year's function hosted by Malcolm Turnbull in 2015. |
| Eyewitness: Manila, Philippines Posted: 10 Jan 2017 01:44 AM PST Photographs from the Eyewitness series Continue reading... |
| Body found on M1 in Northamptonshire, closing northbound motorway Posted: 10 Jan 2017 01:23 AM PST Police warn motorists to avoid the area after closing a stretch between Northampton and Rugby Motorists travelling to the north of England faced serious difficulties after police closed a section of the M1 while they investigated the circumstances behind the discovery of a body on the motorway. Northamptonshire police said on Tuesday morning the northbound carriageway was closed from junctions 16 to 17, close to Watford Gap services, after the body was found just before 3am. They were treating the incident as a road traffic accident. Continue reading... |
| 65,000 Rohingya flee from Myanmar to Bangladesh following crackdown: UN Posted: 09 Jan 2017 07:12 PM PST Exodus began after Myanmar's army launched clearance operations while searching for insurgents behind deadly raids on police border posts At least 65,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar – a third of them over the past week – since the army launched a crackdown in the north of Rakhine state. The figure, released by the UN, marks a sharp escalation in the numbers fleeing a military campaign which rights groups say has been marred by abuses so severe they could amount to crimes against humanity. Continue reading... |
| Bittersweet harvest as Tunisian orange farmers swamped by record crop Posted: 09 Jan 2017 05:36 PM PST Huge haul of 550,000 tonnes due to dry weather and 'physiological conditions' helping more blossoms hold on to trees Tunisian farmers have warned that thousands of tonnes of oranges might have to be destroyed if more buyers cannot be found for the country's bumper harvest. According to Mohamed Ali Jandoubi, who heads the Groupement Interprofessionel des Fruits (GIF), an association of citrus fruit growers, farmers have harvested 550,000 tonnes of oranges so far this year. |
| Liberty launches legal challenge to 'state spying' in snooper's charter Posted: 09 Jan 2017 04:01 PM PST Human rights campaign group asks for crowdfunding for high court judicial review into mass surveillance powers in new Investigatory Powers Act Human rights campaign group Liberty has launched a crowdfunded legal challenge to the "sweeping state spying powers" in the newly enacted Investigatory Powers Act, which has been dubbed the snooper's charter. Liberty is seeking a high court judicial review into the new legislation's core powers, which include tracking everybody's web browsing history and hacking computers, phones and tablets "on an industrial scale". Continue reading... |
| No surprise at Israeli envoy’s political interference | Letters Posted: 09 Jan 2017 11:56 AM PST I doubt whether Alan Duncan or anyone else critical of Israel will be surprised to learn of Shai Masot's activities (Envoy plotted to set up pro-Israel political party groups, 9 January). One would have to be extremely naive not to recognise that so much of the negative reporting of any pro-Palestine stance is the result of a powerful Israeli propaganda effort. This has resulted in the deliberate misrepresentation of any criticism of Israel as antisemitism, even when it comes from Jewish individuals and organisations. It has also enabled the denigration, whether motivated by malice or ignorance, of any politician who dares to support organisations like the Palestine Solidarity Campaign or Jews For Justice. As a member of the Labour party, I support its call for an investigation "into improper interference in our democratic politics" and would also support the suspension of the Conservative and Labour Friends of Israel groups, whose independence and credibility appear to have been undermined by these latest revelations. |
| Miracle of the church that was open 24-7 | Letters Posted: 09 Jan 2017 11:55 AM PST Congratulations to my friend and colleague Giles Fraser for welcoming the man who broke into his church, lit all the candles and stayed to pray (Loose canon, 6 January). It might have been better still had the church never been locked. When I was vicar of a Wren period church on the Greenwich-Lewisham border, the church council decided never to lock the glass-plated door fronting on to the street. We believed that a church may be needed just as much by night as by day. It was on the path of a good many tramps crossing Blackheath on the way to London. The sanctuary was lit. It cost us only the electricity. Some came just to sit. Some to pray. A few to sleep. They caused no trouble. Albert stayed, on and off, for years and was a self-appointed guardian. A cup of tea was on offer from the vicarage opposite. Continue reading... |
| Israeli diplomats cautioned against 'operating' British Jewish organisations Posted: 09 Jan 2017 10:27 AM PST London-based diplomats said operations being run by Israel's strategic affairs ministry could be dangerous and counter-productive Israeli diplomats in London issued a warning that attempts to "operate" British Jewish organisations from Jerusalem could be unlawful several months before an embassy official was caught on film talking about "taking down" MPs and setting up political groups in the UK. In a cable to the Israeli foreign ministry, the diplomats also cautioned that operations being run by the country's strategic affairs ministry could be dangerous and counterproductive. Continue reading... |
| RT editor disputes US hacking report's implication of Russian news channel Posted: 09 Jan 2017 09:07 AM PST A US intelligence report claimed RT's 'negative' election coverage of Hillary Clinton was deliberate, which Margarita Simonyan called a 'sad commentary' The editor-in-chief of RT, the Russian government-backed 24-hour news network, has hit back at claims in a US intelligence report that the news organization engaged in a longstanding effort "aimed at undermining US viewers' trust in US democratic procedures". Related: Russia slates 'baseless, amateurish' US election hacking report Continue reading... |
| Ebrahim Raisi: the Iranian cleric emerging as a frontrunner for supreme leader Posted: 09 Jan 2017 06:20 AM PST Many believe the custodian of the Islamic Republic's holiest shrine is being groomed by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's inner circle A 56-year-old conservative cleric relatively unknown to the outside world is quietly emerging as a frontrunner to be Iran's next supreme leader. Related: Iran's former president Rafsanjani dies aged 82 Continue reading... |
| Has Beppe Grillo left Farage for a marriage of convenience? Posted: 09 Jan 2017 05:38 AM PST Five Star Movement's proposed alliance with pro-EU group viewed as attempt to appear less radical before Italian elections It may have appeared that Beppe Grillo, the Italian rabble-rouser and Eurosceptic who heads the Five Star Movement (M5S), had had an epiphany when he decided to dump Nigel Farage and Ukip and seek a European parliamentary alliance with Guy Verhofstadt, one of the most outspoken defenders of European unity. But in Rome, far from being seen as a radical ideological shift and sudden embrace of Europe, the surprise move by Grillo – whose supporters voted overwhelmingly in an online vote on Monday to join Verhofstadt's liberal democratic Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) group – was seen as an attempt at a marriage of convenience. Continue reading... |
| North Korea holds first national sports day of 2017 – video Posted: 09 Jan 2017 05:07 AM PST Officials in Pyongyang take part in North Korea's first dedicated sports day of the year on Sunday. The footage, provided by state news agency KCNA, shows officials from various state departments running and exercising in the nation's capital. According to the South Korean unification ministry, North Korea has held a national sports day every second Sunday since 1992 Continue reading... |
| Bird flu outbreak hits Abbotsbury swannery in Dorset Posted: 09 Jan 2017 03:43 AM PST Nine dead swans have tested positive for H5N8 strain of virus at site where about 80 birds have died so far this winter An outbreak of avian influenza has been detected at the historic Abbotsbury swannery in Dorset, where 80 birds have died. The H5N8 strain of bird flu has been confirmed in nine mute swans but testing stops once the presence of the disease has been established so it is not known how many have been struck by the disease. Usually 30-40 swans would be expected to die over a typical winter. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 09 Jan 2017 03:33 AM PST Photographs from the Eyewitness series Continue reading... |
| A divided empire: what the urban-rural split means for the future of America Posted: 09 Jan 2017 04:07 AM PST Cities have long been the backbone of the Democratic party, and rural regions the heartland of Republicanism – yet Donald Trump's election has exposed these divides like never before. Will US metropolises increasingly turn into city-states? Sitting in a downtown Cleveland coffee shop in early December, Julie Goulis is still in shock. "Some of the soul-searching I've been doing after the election has been about how I can understand people outside of my bubble," she tells me. "I was so ashamed Ohio went for Trump." Like many US cities, Cleveland is overwhelmingly progressive in its politics and traditionally elects Democrats at all levels of government, despite hosting the 2016 Republican National Convention. But partisan divisions in the United States increasingly correlate with geographic differences, leaving many cities like Cleveland as liberal bubbles distinct from the vast conservative American hinterland. The looming inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump has left many city dwellers grappling with just how distant much of their country seems. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 09 Jan 2017 11:00 PM PST The devastation wrought by the civil war slows our efforts to help those suffering in a country scarred by years of conflict For a country that carries the deep scars of years of vicious conflict, where events can develop by the minute, it is often easy to feel that nothing changes very fast. The celebration of Mouloud brings rare moments of joy, celebration and a vivid and vibrant green to the streets of Sana'a. Banners, flags and vehicles are daubed in the intense colour, marking the birthday of the prophet Muhammad and providing a tangible milestone for the passing of time. We nose our vehicle towards the first checkpoint on our journey south out of Sana'a on a road that will take us to Aden – a routine journey in order to monitor the work of International Medical Corps teams across the region. The state of the country makes such trips both tense and dangerous but also laborious and dogged by administrative hurdles – a bizarre combination, and one that makes travelling so very slow. |
| Brazil ordered to pay $5m to workers formerly enslaved on cattle ranch Posted: 09 Jan 2017 09:26 AM PST Inter-American Court of Human Rights rules Brazil failed to prevent modern slavery, over workers rescued in official raids between 1988 and 2000 The government of Brazil has been ordered by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to pay $5m (£4.1m) to 128 former farm workers who were enslaved on a Brazilian farm between 1988-2000. Brazil is the first country to be fined for failing to prevent slavery within its borders by the court, the legal arm of the Organisation of American States (OAS), a political and juridical forum comprising all 35 independent states of the Americas. Continue reading... |
| 'Villain hitting' in Hong Kong: the women using magic to punish politicians – video Posted: 08 Jan 2017 06:34 PM PST Roadside vendors offer curses, blessings and spells against the city's leaders using rituals from southern China that date back centuries. The services offered by the women, who set up their stalls under a flyover, have become increasingly popular as Hong Kong residents become more disillusioned with the political class. As his popularity plummeted, Hong Kong's leader, Leung Chun-ying, has been increasingly in the crosshairs of the roadside retribution vendors. Continue reading... |
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