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- Influx of refugees leaves Belgrade at risk of becoming 'new Calais'
- US troops welcomed in Poland – in pictures
- Scores feared dead after migrant ship capsizes in Mediterranean
- Silk Road route back in business as China train rolls into London
- Germany confronts its forgotten Namibian death camps | David Olusoga
- Donald Trump suggests he may drop Russia sanctions if Moscow 'is helpful'
- Women's March on Washington set to be one of America's biggest protests
- Airstrike thought to target Isis kills up to 30 civilians in Mosul
- Nearly 70,000 birds killed in New York in attempt to clear safer path for planes
- Omar Saif Ghobash: ‘These rock star clerics on Twitter need to reach out’
- Xiaolu Guo: ‘There was no private or personal space in China’
- India: Ganges boat accident leaves two dozen dead
- If the City vs Brussels is like a game of Jenga, it’s possible both sides could lose
- From Marilynne Robinson to Richard Ford, six writers in search of Trump's America
- China warns Trump that Taiwan policy is 'non-negotiable'
- Surviving the Holocaust: ‘I didn’t allow any hatred to grow. But I don’t blame those who did'
- Antisemite, Holocaust denier … yet David Irving claims fresh support
- Hammond suggests UK without single market could become tax haven
- Call of the wild: can America’s national parks survive? | Lucy Rock
- Doctors lobby group would welcome Arthur Sinodinos as health minister
- Vladimir Putin: behold, the other man of the moment | Observer profile
- Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln are tough acts to follow
- Iran moderates hope Rafsanjani’s death can soften attitudes
- In Nicosia, the world’s last divided capital, a spirit of reconciliation is stirring across the fence
- Pompidou Centre gets a £90m facelift 40 years on
- Epic Antarctic voyage maps seafloor to predict ocean rise as glacier the size of California melts
- Michigan sinkhole the size of a football field lands county with $78m bill
- Senior British politicians ‘targeted by Kremlin’ for smear campaigns
- Jennifer Holliday cancels inauguration appearance: 'I had a lapse of judgement'
- Cyprus reunification talks: rivals reject proposed new borders
- Inauguration protests: your guide to where you can make your voice heard
- Eyewitness: Sagar Island, India
- Attempts to hold Trump to account only seem to make him stronger and stranger
- Obama dedicates his final weekly address to the American people – video
| Influx of refugees leaves Belgrade at risk of becoming 'new Calais' Posted: 14 Jan 2017 11:43 AM PST Up to 2,000 people stranded in Serbia in -16C temperatures with no water or sanitation, warn Médecins Sans Frontières A freezing and squalid Belgrade railway depot where up to 2,000 people are seeking shelter from the bitter Serbian winter risks becoming a "new Calais" for refugees and migrants abandoned by European authorities, the humanitarian group Médecins Sans Frontières has warned. Children as young as eight are struggling to survive temperatures that have plunged to -16C this week, with no running water or sanitation. Continue reading... |
| US troops welcomed in Poland – in pictures Posted: 14 Jan 2017 01:03 PM PST Photographer Lech Muszynski captured scenes from a welcome event for 4,000 US troops, who have just arrived to take up positions in the country. The troop movement is intended to bolster US ties with its Nato allies Continue reading... |
| Scores feared dead after migrant ship capsizes in Mediterranean Posted: 14 Jan 2017 03:05 PM PST Aid workers say only four survivors recovered so far after vessel containing about 110 people overturned near Libya A migrant ship carrying around 100 people capsized in the frigid waters off Libya on Saturday and only four survivors had been rescued after hours of searching, aid groups have said. Eight bodies were recovered, but poor conditions hampered the search, which was conducted 30 miles (50km) off Libya's coast, Italy's ANSA news agency reported. Continue reading... |
| Silk Road route back in business as China train rolls into London Posted: 14 Jan 2017 12:45 PM PST After 16 days and 7,456 miles, the locomotive's arrival heralds the dawn of a new commercial era When the East Wind locomotive rumbles into east London this week, it will be at the head of 34 carriages full of socks, bags and wallets for London's tourist souvenir shops, as well as the dust and grime accumulated through eight countries and 7,456 miles. The train will be the first to make the 16-day journey from Yiwu in west China to Britain, reviving the ancient trading Silk Road route and shunting in a new era of UK-China relations. Continue reading... |
| Germany confronts its forgotten Namibian death camps | David Olusoga Posted: 14 Jan 2017 04:05 PM PST Decades before the Nazis, thousands of men, women and children were exterminated on the direct orders of the leadership in Berlin One morning last summer, I was ushered into a little office in the Botswana National Archives. I'd asked the archivists to dig out a document that I had wanted to see for 20 years. After a couple of phone calls, the file was brought in. Near the top of a stack of yellowing papers was a signed, original copy of the Vernichtungsbefehl – the extermination order. Drafted in 1904, it is an explicit command for the extermination of an entire people. It bore the signature of its author, the German general Lothar von Trotha, and was addressed to the Herero people of Namibia, Botswana's neighbour to the west, and formerly the German colony of South West Africa. The final sentences translate as: "The Herero nation must now leave the country. If it refuses, I shall compel it to do so with the 'long tube' (cannon). Any Herero found inside the German frontier, with or without a gun or cattle, will be executed. I shall spare neither women nor children. I shall give the order to drive them away and fire on them." Continue reading... |
| Donald Trump suggests he may drop Russia sanctions if Moscow 'is helpful' Posted: 14 Jan 2017 02:37 AM PST President-elect also hints that Beijing will need to show good faith on trade practices for him to commit to 'One China' policy Donald Trump has suggested he might drop sanctions against Russia and that the communist party rulers in Beijing needed to show good faith on currency and trade practices before he committed to a "One China" policy on Taiwan. In fresh signs that the US president-elect is prepared to reshape longstanding Washington foreign policy, he told the Wall Street Journal that he would keep sanctions against Russia in place "at least for a period of time". Continue reading... |
| Women's March on Washington set to be one of America's biggest protests Posted: 14 Jan 2017 07:00 AM PST Pink hats will be much in evidence as an extraordinarily wide range of groups come together to repudiate President Trump the day after his inauguration It began as a spontaneous feminist rallying cry via social media. It has morphed into what is expected to be one of the largest demonstrations in American history – a boisterous march about a smorgasbord of progressive issues, and an extraordinary display of dissent on a president's first day in office peppered with knit pink hats. Related: Inauguration protests: your guide to where you can make your voice heard Continue reading... |
| Airstrike thought to target Isis kills up to 30 civilians in Mosul Posted: 14 Jan 2017 07:17 AM PST At least three missiles hit western Mosul al-Jadida area of Iraq, witnesses say, but it was unclear if the attack was carried out by US-led coalition or by Iraqi forces Residents of the Iraqi city of Mosul have said up to 30 civilians were killed in an airstrike on a district held by Islamic State this week. The witnesses said it was not immediately clear if the attack was carried out by the US-led coalition fighting Isis, or by Iraqi forces that have been making advances in the city. Continue reading... |
| Nearly 70,000 birds killed in New York in attempt to clear safer path for planes Posted: 14 Jan 2017 06:38 AM PST Bird-killing programs at airports ramped up in response to 2009 accident when jetliner was forced to land in Hudson river after birds were sucked into engine Nearly 70,000 gulls, starling, geese and other birds have been slaughtered in the New York City area, mostly by shooting and trapping, since the 2009 accident in which a jetliner was forced to land in the Hudson river after birds were sucked into its engine. Related: Chesley Sullenberger: an old-fashioned kind of hero Continue reading... |
| Omar Saif Ghobash: ‘These rock star clerics on Twitter need to reach out’ Posted: 15 Jan 2017 01:30 AM PST With Letters to a Young Muslim, written with his own sons in mind, the UAE ambassador to Russia suggests a new way to view Islam Omar Saif Ghobash is the United Arab Emirates ambassador to Russia. He studied law at Oxford University. In 1977, when he was six, his father, Saif Ghobash, the UAE's first foreign minister, was shot dead at Abu Dhabi international airport by a young terrorist whose target was a Syrian minister with whom Ghobash was travelling. In his father's memory Omar has established a prize for Arabic literary translation, and is a sponsor of the Arab Booker prize. He is on the advisory body of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence at King's College London. His book Letters to a Young Muslim, published this month, confronts the broader education of children in Islam, and proposes a more open and free-thinking model. He wrote the book with his own sons, Saif, aged 16, and Abdullah, 12, in mind. What do your boys make of the book? |
| Xiaolu Guo: ‘There was no private or personal space in China’ Posted: 15 Jan 2017 12:00 AM PST The writer and film-maker on the hardships of growing up in communist China and the shock of discovering artistic freedom Xiaolu Guo is a Chinese writer and film-maker based in London. She was named one of Granta's best young British novelists in 2013, and has been shortlisted for the Orange prize. Her memoir, Once Upon a Time in the East, is published this month. Your memoir begins with you, as a newborn baby, being given away by your parents to a destitute peasant couple. Do you understand now why they did that? |
| India: Ganges boat accident leaves two dozen dead Posted: 14 Jan 2017 11:08 PM PST Overloaded boat returning from kite festival in eastern state of Bihar capsizes near city of Patna The death toll from a boat accident in eastern India rose 26 on Sunday, a senior official said, warning of more casualties with rescue workers still scouring the waters. The non-motorised wooden boat, packed beyond capacity with revellers returning from a kite festival, capsized on Saturday in the Ganges river near Patna, the capital of Bihar state. Continue reading... |
| If the City vs Brussels is like a game of Jenga, it’s possible both sides could lose Posted: 14 Jan 2017 11:00 PM PST Reports suggest the EU's chief Brexit negotiator wants to agree a special deal for UK banking. The risks to both Britain and Europe of failing to do so are obvious What should Theresa May, when she speaks on Tuesday about her plans for the UK's exit from the European Union – say about the City and financial services? As an opening pitch, she should take her cue from the governor of the Bank of England and remind the EU 27 that the UK – if only in this single commercial field – holds a strong negotiating hand. Mark Carney first made his point about the UK being "the investment banker for Europe" in November and last week's reiteration put hard facts on the table for a second time: "If you rely on a jurisdiction [ie the UK] for three-quarters of your hedging activities, three-quarters of your foreign exchange activity, half your lending and half your securities transactions you should think very carefully about the transition from where you are today to where the new equilibrium will be." Continue reading... |
| From Marilynne Robinson to Richard Ford, six writers in search of Trump's America Posted: 14 Jan 2017 11:00 PM PST Giants of American literature reveal how they are responding to a transformed society On the night of 8 November 2016, the United States, a mature republic of 241 summers, experienced a dreadful upset and fell into a condition that hovered between catatonia and hysteria. On college campuses, young women were throwing up. Others were setting fire to things, or phoning their families in tears. Among distraught middle-class Democrats, there was a dramatic spike in psychotherapeutic appointments. Across New York City, a spontaneous graffito, "Not My President", summarised the metropolitan mood. Continue reading... |
| China warns Trump that Taiwan policy is 'non-negotiable' Posted: 14 Jan 2017 09:13 PM PST Beijing says accord which regards Taiwan as part of China is the political basis for all Sino-US relations and of 'high sensitivity' China has warned Donald Trump that he has no chance of striking a deal with Beijing involving Taiwan's political status following the US president-elect's latest controversial intervention on the subject. The Chinese foreign ministry told Trump that the US's longstanding "One China" policy, by which it does not challenge Beijing's claim over the self-ruled island, was the political basis for all Sino-US relations. Continue reading... |
| Surviving the Holocaust: ‘I didn’t allow any hatred to grow. But I don’t blame those who did' Posted: 14 Jan 2017 02:00 AM PST On the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day, six survivors tell their stories Among the horrors that Primo Levi quietly and even matter-of-factly documents in If This Is A Man – that greatest of all accounts of incarceration in a Nazi death camp – is a dream of invisibility. Not invisibility in the here-and-now of camp life, which might have been welcomed, but invisibility in the longed-for future, back home "among friendly people". It is an as-though invisibility, not an actual one. Yes, they see him, but they cannot hear him. When he speaks of where he's been, his listeners don't follow. Don't or won't? This distinction is not made and perhaps cannot be made. Quite simply, his words don't reach them. "They are completely indifferent; they speak confusedly of other things among themselves, as if I was not there. My sister looks at me, gets up and goes away without a word." On waking from this dream, Primo Levi experiences a "desolating grief". But he is not the only prisoner to have dreamed this; others anticipate the same anguish of the "unlistened-to story". Perhaps because they can barely trust the witness of their own eyes, they know how hard it will be for others to believe – to allow themselves to believe – the stories they have to tell. Better not to know. Continue reading... |
| Antisemite, Holocaust denier … yet David Irving claims fresh support Posted: 14 Jan 2017 04:05 PM PST In advance of a film about the trial that bankrupted him, the historian is boasting that his views have found a new generation of admirers Sixteen years after an English court discredited his work and the judge called him "antisemitic and racist", the historian David Irving claims he is inspiring a new generation of "Holocaust sceptics". On the eve of a major new Bafta-nominated film about the trial, Irving, who has dismissed what happened at Auschwitz concentration camp during the second world war as "Disneyland", says that a whole new generation of young people have discovered his work via the internet and social media. Continue reading... |
| Hammond suggests UK without single market could become tax haven Posted: 15 Jan 2017 12:57 AM PST Chancellor tells German newspaper if UK was closed off from markets it might abandon European-style social model The chancellor, Philip Hammond, has said Britain could transform its economic model into that of a corporate tax haven if the EU fails to provide it with an agreement on market access after Brexit. In an interview with the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, Hammond commented that if Britain was left closed off from European markets after leaving the EU, it would consider leaving behind a European-style social model, with "European-style taxation systems, European-style regulation systems" and "become something different". Continue reading... |
| Call of the wild: can America’s national parks survive? | Lucy Rock Posted: 14 Jan 2017 04:05 PM PST America's national parks are facing multiple threats, despite being central to the frontier nation's sense of itself Autumn in the North Cascades National Park and soggy clouds cling to the peaks of the mountains that inspired the musings of Beat poets such as Jack Kerouac and Alan Ginsberg 60 years ago. Sitting on a carpet of pine needles in the forest below, protected from the rain by a canopy of vine maple leaves, is a group of 10-year-olds listening to a naturalist hoping to spark a similar love of the outdoors in a new generation. This is one of 59 national parks which range across the United States, from the depths of the Grand Canyon in Arizona to the turrets of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. All – plus hundreds of monuments and historic sites – are run by the National Park Service (NPS), which celebrated its centenary last year. The parks were created so that America's natural wonders would be accessible to everyone, rather than sold off to the highest bidder. Writer Wallace Stegner called them America's best idea: "Absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst." Continue reading... |
| Doctors lobby group would welcome Arthur Sinodinos as health minister Posted: 14 Jan 2017 10:23 PM PST Australian Medical Association says it's 'not playing favourites' amid speculation Sinodinos will replace Sussan Ley The president of the Australian Medical Association, Michael Gannon, has welcomed the possible appointment of Arthur Sinodinos as health minister, though he insists he is "not playing favourites". "We've heard the rumours Sinodinos might be appointed permanently … He fits the bill: he's a very capable man and a senior minister," Gannon said on Sunday. Continue reading... |
| Vladimir Putin: behold, the other man of the moment | Observer profile Posted: 14 Jan 2017 04:05 PM PST At home, social and economic disarray reign, but internationally, he has been setting the agenda – outflanking the west over Syria, causing mayhem in America and generally fulfilling his mission to reassert Russian influence During the 2012 US presidential campaign, Republican challenger Mitt Romney referred to Russia as America's most significant geopolitical foe and Barack Obama pounced on it as a gaffe. "My opponent and his running mate are new to foreign policy," he quipped at the Democratic national convention, with an ironic pause before the word "new". "You don't call Russia our number one enemy – not al-Qaida, Russia – unless you're still stuck in a cold war mind warp." He spoke with that trademark clipped delivery that manages to make every statement sound both funny and reasonable, and his listeners loved it, howling with laughter at the risible Republicans' exaggerated estimation of Vladimir Putin's potency. Even Obama wouldn't dare to make that joke now. Continue reading... |
| Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln are tough acts to follow Posted: 14 Jan 2017 04:05 PM PST Ahead of this week's inauguration, we recall the inspirational heights former presidents have reached in key speeches Ever since Thomas Jefferson hit the ball out of the park with "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness", America's political leaders have been in competition to hit another rhetorical home run. Inauguration Day is the obvious platform on which to launch their zingers. Both FDR ("the only thing we have to fear is fear itself"), and JFK, borrowing from Kahlil Gibran ("ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country"), used their inaugural speeches to make their pitch. The president is also required to rise to the occasion at moments of national tragedy. Ronald Reagan was the master of this. Yes, he had great speechwriters like Peggy Noonan, but there was no one to touch him for delivery of great lines. Continue reading... |
| Iran moderates hope Rafsanjani’s death can soften attitudes Posted: 14 Jan 2017 04:05 PM PST Signs that campaign for reform may be revived after former president's funeral sparks protest The turnout was huge and for those who still hope that Iran's hardline theocratic regime can be reformed, it was full of pathos. As Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the Islamic republic's former president, was laid to rest on Tuesday in south Tehran, hundreds of thousands of Iranians gathered in and around Tehran University. For many of those present, the scene was reminiscent of the heady days of protest during the stillborn "green revolution" of 2009. Mourners turned the funeral into a rare display of public dissent, in the biggest gathering of its kind for seven years. The volume of state loudspeakers was turned up to drown out the chants in support of the two main opposition leaders under house arrest, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, as well as former reformist president Mohammad Khatami, who has also faced growing harassment. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 14 Jan 2017 04:05 PM PST A new generation of Cypriots is hoping that Greeks and Turks can come together Divided territories usually create their own ugly landmarks. In Nicosia, now holder of the unenviable distinction of being the world's last divided capital, the scars of past conflict are brutally evident. They come in the form of a UN-patrolled buffer zone, a wound that runs east to west across the city, and in the dereliction that surrounds it. Roads end at barrels and barbed wire; buildings stand bullet-pocked and empty, gun ports, sandbags and sentry posts slowly decay. Continue reading... |
| Pompidou Centre gets a £90m facelift 40 years on Posted: 14 Jan 2017 04:03 PM PST The love-it-or-hate-it Paris museum will have a makeover for its anniversary – but the inside-out look will stay It became the butt of jokes and insults even before it opened in 1977, and they have continued to this day, but the Pompidou Centre is still striking an irreverent pose in the historic heart of Paris. This year, to the enduring frustration of its critics, the building hits the venerable age of 40. The anniversary is to be celebrated with preparations for a two-year facelift expected to cost at least €100m. But architectural traditionalists hoping for a more sober, conventional look will be disappointed. According to plans disclosed to the Observer, the refurbished building, once described as resembling an oil refinery, will look just as inside-out as ever. Continue reading... |
| Epic Antarctic voyage maps seafloor to predict ocean rise as glacier the size of California melts Posted: 14 Jan 2017 02:25 PM PST Global research group will trace Totten glacier's history back to last ice age, in hope of predicting future melting patterns In East Antarctica, 3,000km south of the West Australian town of Albany, an ice shelf the size of California is melting from below. The concerning trend was confirmed by Australian scientists in December, who reported that warming ocean temperatures were causing the rapid melt of the end of the Totten glacier, which is holding back enough ice to create a global sea rise of between 3.5 metres and six metres. Continue reading... |
| Michigan sinkhole the size of a football field lands county with $78m bill Posted: 14 Jan 2017 02:19 PM PST Homeowners heard noises on Christmas Eve and then their houses started sinking, leaving Macomb County with a repair bill that could even top $100m The cost to fix a broken sewer line that caused a football field-sized sinkhole north of Detroit is estimated at more than $78m, Macomb County's new public works chief says. The project's cost could rise above $100m if more work is done to improve the rest of the sewer line, public works chief Candice Miller told Macomb County commissioners on Friday. The repairs could take about a year to complete. Continue reading... |
| Senior British politicians ‘targeted by Kremlin’ for smear campaigns Posted: 14 Jan 2017 02:00 PM PST Former minister Chris Bryant claims Russian agents compile 'blackmail' dossiers on all high-profile ministers A former Foreign Office minister has claimed that senior British politicians are being targeted by the Kremlin for potentially compromising details about their private lives that might be used to discredit them. The Labour MP, Chris Bryant, a former minister for Europe and ex-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for Russia, said he had been a victim of such tactics himself, and was "absolutely certain" that high-profile government figures such as the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, and the international trade secretary, Liam Fox, will have been investigated by individuals linked to Russia or employed directly by Moscow. Continue reading... |
| Jennifer Holliday cancels inauguration appearance: 'I had a lapse of judgement' Posted: 14 Jan 2017 11:00 AM PST Award-winning singer will no longer perform at an official Donald Trump inauguration concert and apologized to the LGBT community in open letter Singer Jennifer Holliday on Saturday cancelled her appearance at Donald Trump's inauguration, one day after his team announced she would be one of the few celebrities to perform at the event. Related: Toby Keith ends Trump's struggle to find inauguration headliner Continue reading... |
| Cyprus reunification talks: rivals reject proposed new borders Posted: 14 Jan 2017 09:52 AM PST Delegations from Greek and Turkish sides fail to agree on new map for divided island state, saying proposals are 'unacceptable' Rival Cypriot delegations have failed to agree on maps for new borders on the divided island state, each slamming the other's proposals as "unacceptable", Turkey's foreign minister said on Saturday after peace talks stalled. Related: Cyprus talks: Turkish troops will remain on island, vows Erdoğan Continue reading... |
| Inauguration protests: your guide to where you can make your voice heard Posted: 14 Jan 2017 07:00 AM PST A host of events – from marches to queer dance parties to lawyers' conferences – will cluster around Donald Trump's swearing-in as president on Friday Donald Trump's inauguration will be dominated by protests, with dozens of demonstrations planned in DC and across the country. Related: Women's March on Washington set to be one of America's biggest protests Continue reading... |
| Eyewitness: Sagar Island, India Posted: 14 Jan 2017 03:48 AM PST Photographs from the Eyewitness series Continue reading... |
| Attempts to hold Trump to account only seem to make him stronger and stranger Posted: 14 Jan 2017 03:30 AM PST In a week in which the world of the president-elect grew ever more bizarre, he remained his own unpredictable, infuriating, charismatic, deeply flawed self "Don't be rude! Don't be rude!" barked the president-elect with the authority of a school principal reprimanding a two-year-old. Not for the first time in the course of 18 months of Donald Trump's wild ride to the White House – and surely not for the last – the world's media found itself gathered at his feet, dutifully soaking up his scorn like naughty children. "Don't be rude! No, I'm not going to give you a question!" repeated the man destined in seven days' time to become the 45th president of the United States as he shut down CNN's senior White House correspondent. The reporter's misdeed? Having the temerity to try to ask a question. Continue reading... |
| Obama dedicates his final weekly address to the American people – video Posted: 14 Jan 2017 08:48 AM PST Barack Obama makes his last weekly web and radio address to the American people by saying, "You made me a better man." The 44th American president leaves the Oval office after eight years next Friday when president-elect Donald Trump moves into the White House Continue reading... |
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