World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk |
- US intelligence report: Vladimir Putin 'ordered' operation to get Trump elected
- Fort Lauderdale shooting: five killed and suspect identified as war veteran
- More than 'mom-in-chief': Michelle Obama bows out as dynamic first lady
- Mutinous Ivory Coast soldiers seize control of three cities
- Israel to cut $6m from UN dues in protest over settlements resolution
- Coachella owner denies donating to anti-LGBT groups amid outrage
- US is paying for border wall because Mexico will pay 'later', Trump says
- Tilikum, SeaWorld killer whale shown in Blackfish documentary, dies after illness
- Top Senate Republican says Iran deal should be strictly enforced, not torn up
- Marine Le Pen criticises 'facade' of Cameron's EU referendum decision
- At least 30 inmates killed and mutilated in Brazil prison
- Giant iceberg poised to break off from Antarctic shelf
- 'Bathroom bills' planned in eight states despite furor in North Carolina
- French authorities gas thousands of ducks after bird flu outbreaks
- Fort Lauderale, Antartica and Istanbul – the 20 photographs of the week
- 'Just the beginning': Trump may disrupt 20-year boom for Mexico auto industry
- Auto industry's Trump fear: 'Everyone dreads being subject of a tweet'
- German police quash Breitbart story of mob setting fire to Dortmund church
- Germany's chess village hopes heritage listing proves 'leap of joy' move
- 'Elephants are not the only victims': the lament of China's ivory lovers
- Southern rail, London Underground and BA staff to go ahead with strikes
- Donor vows to stop funding Tories if May takes UK out of single market
- Alone, China's ban on ivory could make life worse for elephants
- Taiwan president heads though US as Beijing keeps watch for any Trump contact
- Summernats revellers banned from riding in back of utes after death at car festival
- ‘It was the end of my dreams and my life. But I never considered saying no’
- 'Fear and threats': Mexico hits back after Trump pressures automakers
- Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas Day in Manchester – in pictures
- Islamic State is the real aggressor in Syria | Letters
- 'Larsen C' iceberg about to break off Antarctic shelf – video
- Iranian-Americans join tug-of-war for Trump's ear over nuclear deal
- Young Russian denies she aided election hackers: ‘I never work with douchebags’
- Artisanal charcoal: Cuba's first legal export to US in more than 50 years
- Guy Verhofstadt to run for president of European parliament
- British black power: from shrug to school syllabus in six short years
- Eyewitness: Gujarat, India
- The new year brings challenges – but here's to a hopeful 2017
- Radical Brownies: berets, badges and social justice – video
- John Kerry: Britain hindered US intervention in Syria – video
- Want to be part of the next wave of activism? Move to rural America
- Chroniclers of a continent: capturing the lives and vibes of southern Africa | Jacqueline Kubania
- 'Tree man' Abul Bajandar regains use of his hands after groundbreaking surgery
- Shooting at Florida's Fort Lauderdale airport – video
- Michelle Obama makes emotional farewell speech – video
- A farewell to Michelle Obama – video
| US intelligence report: Vladimir Putin 'ordered' operation to get Trump elected Posted: 06 Jan 2017 01:34 PM PST Declassified assessment says Russia 'had clear preference' for Trump, who met with US intelligence chiefs on Friday but refused to endorse their findings Russian president Vladimir Putin interfered in the US presidential election to aid Donald Trump, according to a declassified assessment by the NSA, CIA and FBI. "We assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election. Russia's goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary [Hillary] Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump," the agencies found in a long-awaited report that stands to hang over the head of the incoming Trump administration. Continue reading... |
| Fort Lauderdale shooting: five killed and suspect identified as war veteran Posted: 07 Jan 2017 01:09 AM PST Esteban Santiago, 26 – who had previously alerted the FBI to his disturbing thoughts – unpacked gun in baggage claim area and started firing, say police The suspected gunman who shot and killed five people at a Florida airport with a weapon collected from his checked baggage was reportedly an Iraq war veteran known to the US authorities. Eight more people were injured in the mass shooting, after which a suspect identified in reports as Esteban Santiago, 26, was taken into custody without any further shots being fired. Continue reading... |
| More than 'mom-in-chief': Michelle Obama bows out as dynamic first lady Posted: 06 Jan 2017 10:01 AM PST Obama's commitment to children's health and education remained steadfast in the past eight years as she transformed into an impassioned political figure With tears in her eyes and her voice cracking with emotion, the self-declared "mom-in-chief" stepped off the public stage on Friday with her final speech as first lady, urging young Americans to believe in the "power of hope". Michelle Obama, who began her White House years pursuing the typically soft subjects that have often limited the wives of presidents, ended with a clarion call for diversity and vowing to make it her life's work to help disadvantaged children get to college, a personal mission that has its roots in her own Chicago childhood. |
| Mutinous Ivory Coast soldiers seize control of three cities Posted: 06 Jan 2017 09:40 AM PST Experts say uprising is about pay grievances rather than the beginning of a coup d'etat Mutinous soldiers demanding pay and perks have seized control of three cities in Ivory Coast, raising fears of new instability in the west African state. The rebellion in Bouaké, a city of half a million inhabitants 220 miles (350km) north of the capital Abidjan, broke out overnight as soldiers attacked armouries and ammunition stores. Gunfire was heard into Friday morning as troops reportedly attacked police stations and a state broadcasting studio. Streets in the city were largely empty and shops, schools, offices and businesses closed. Local people said armed soldiers were patrolling streets. Continue reading... |
| Israel to cut $6m from UN dues in protest over settlements resolution Posted: 06 Jan 2017 11:57 AM PST Country's UN mission says figure represents portion of its contribution that goes 'to anti-Israel bodies', including agency for Palestinian refugees Israel has announced it is cutting approximately $6m in its annual dues to the United Nations this year to protest last month's security council resolution condemning Israeli settlements as "a flagrant violation under international law". Israel's UN mission said the amount represented the portion of Israel's contribution to the UN's regular budget totalling more than $40m allocated "to anti-Israel bodies". Continue reading... |
| Coachella owner denies donating to anti-LGBT groups amid outrage Posted: 06 Jan 2017 03:06 PM PST Billionaire Philip Anschutz said reports of his Anschutz Foundation giving almost $200,000 to anti-gay conservative activists were 'fake news' and 'garbage' Billionaire Philip Anschutz, the businessman whose company organizes Coachella, has denied donating funds to anti-LGBT groups after reports resurfaced linking his charitable foundation to the organizations. Related: Coachella 2017: Beyoncé, Radiohead and Kendrick Lamar to headline festival Continue reading... |
| US is paying for border wall because Mexico will pay 'later', Trump says Posted: 06 Jan 2017 07:58 AM PST Trump forced to say that Mexico would be reimbursing US taxpayers after Republican officials indicated Congress would pay upfront costs Donald Trump was forced to say that Mexico would pay for his planned border wall "later" after Republican officials indicated Congress and US taxpayers would first foot the bill. The president-elect responded after reports citing Republican officials said Congress might make funds available for the wall, saying this would just be for the "sake of speed". He added in a tweet that the "dishonest media" had failed to report that "any money spent on building the Great Wall" would be reimbursed. Continue reading... |
| Tilikum, SeaWorld killer whale shown in Blackfish documentary, dies after illness Posted: 06 Jan 2017 08:40 AM PST The killer whale who was featured in the documentary film was thought to be about 36 years old, and had been experiencing declining health Tilikum, the killer whale featured in the documentary Blackfish that made the case against keeping orcas in captivity, has died, SeaWorld officials said on Friday. Related: SeaWorld fights to restore its image as shares sink in the wake of Blackfish Continue reading... |
| Top Senate Republican says Iran deal should be strictly enforced, not torn up Posted: 06 Jan 2017 10:17 AM PST Comments from Bob Corker, chair of the foreign relations committee, run counter to Donald Trump's repeated attacks on the nuclear accord The Republican chair of the Senate foreign relations committee said on Friday that the incoming Trump administration should not and would not "tear up" the 2015 Iranian nuclear agreement, but rather focus on enforcing the deal more strictly. "In spite of the all the flaws in the agreement, nothing bad is going to happen relative to nuclear development in Iran in the next few years. It's just not," Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee told journalists on Friday morning. Continue reading... |
| Marine Le Pen criticises 'facade' of Cameron's EU referendum decision Posted: 06 Jan 2017 10:04 AM PST Front National leader says her referendum would be driven by 'interests of the people' rather than for electoral reasons Marine Le Pen, the leader of France's far-right Front National, has said David Cameron's decision to call the UK's referendum on European Union membership was a "facade" undertaken for purely electoral reasons, while her own referendum on France leaving the bloc would be driven not by petty party politics but "the interests of the people". Le Pen, who, according to current polls, could make it to the final runoff in May's French presidential election but is considered unlikely to win, said on Friday she would immediately begin renegotiating France's position in the EU if she took power. Continue reading... |
| At least 30 inmates killed and mutilated in Brazil prison Posted: 06 Jan 2017 11:02 AM PST Images emerge of a pile of corpses, some missing limbs and heads, after fight between drug gangs At least 30 prisoners have been murdered in a jail in the far north of Brazil, marking a worsening security situation in Brazil as rival drug gangs fight for control of the lucrative drug trade. Media in Roraima state carried shocking images of a pile of mutilated corpses, some missing limbs and heads, and even a heart, on a bloodstained corridor floor of the prison in Boa Vista, the state capital. Mutilations and decapitations are common in Brazil's medieval and overcrowded prison system, where drug gangs rule. Continue reading... |
| Giant iceberg poised to break off from Antarctic shelf Posted: 06 Jan 2017 04:38 AM PST Predicted to be one of the largest break-offs ever recorded, separation of iceberg could trigger breakup of most northern major ice shelf, Larsen C A giant iceberg, with an area equivalent to Trinidad and Tobago, is poised to break off from the Antarctic shelf. Related: British Antarctic research station to be moved due to deep crack in the ice Continue reading... |
| 'Bathroom bills' planned in eight states despite furor in North Carolina Posted: 06 Jan 2017 03:00 AM PST The stage is set for showdowns across the country as others seek to echo North Carolina's law that sparked an outcry over transgender rights Boosted by a failed effort in North Carolina to topple an anti-transgender "bathroom bill", conservative lawmakers in other states are redoubling their efforts to make restrooms and locker rooms the next political and cultural battleground. In Texas on Thursday, legislators introduced a bill similar to North Carolina's notorious law and said they were steeling themselves for the challenge of getting it passed amid fears of the possible economic consequences. Continue reading... |
| French authorities gas thousands of ducks after bird flu outbreaks Posted: 06 Jan 2017 06:49 AM PST Workers continue planned cull of 800,000 birds in south-west France to prevent spread of H5N8 virus Workers wearing masks and protective clothes have gassed thousands of ducks in south-west France, in a massive cull that was ordered in an attempt to prevent a spread of the H5N8 bird flu virus. At one farm in the village of Latrille, in the heartland of duck and geese rearing country, 8,000 ducks were taken by hand and put in coloured metal containers where carbon dioxide was piped in to kill them, normally within seconds. Continue reading... |
| Fort Lauderale, Antartica and Istanbul – the 20 photographs of the week Posted: 07 Jan 2017 02:09 AM PST The aftermath from the nightclub attack in Istanbul, a massive rift at an ice shelf in Antarctica, the fragile ceasefire in Syria – the news of the week captured by the world's best photojournalists Continue reading... |
| 'Just the beginning': Trump may disrupt 20-year boom for Mexico auto industry Posted: 07 Jan 2017 12:00 AM PST Future suddenly uncertain for many Mexican auto workers after week in which sector was thrown into disarray and thousands of jobs were threatened Marisol Galarza floundered after finishing high school, but she eventually found her way to a job on an assembly line at a General Motors plant in the central Mexican state of San Luís Potosí. Determined to get ahead, she started studying industrial engineering on Saturdays through a company-sponsored program and currently works in that department. |
| Auto industry's Trump fear: 'Everyone dreads being subject of a tweet' Posted: 07 Jan 2017 12:00 AM PST Auto executives and analysts are fretting about how Trump will use the bully pulpit of his office – and his Twitter account – to try and force a radical change "I like the car I'm in now. It's a Chevrolet Suburban. Made in the USA," Donald Trump told The Detroit News last year when the then presidential hopeful was asked to name his favorite car from his 100-plus vehicle fleet that includes a scissor-door Lamborghini Diablo and a 1956 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. For General Motors, Chevy's owner, it was nice PR, the latest in a series of endorsements from the Trumps that reach back like a stretch limo to the Cadillac Trump's landlord father Fred used to pick up his rent checks. In the 1980s Donald Trump even worked on building a Trump-branded Cadillac, complete with VCR and paper shredder. The Trumps may be fans of the US's largest car manufacturer but GM, and the car industry in general, should have been paying more attention to the final sentence of his pre-election endorsement: "Made in the USA." Continue reading... |
| German police quash Breitbart story of mob setting fire to Dortmund church Posted: 06 Jan 2017 11:00 PM PST Country's politicians warn against fake news after Breitbart website said group chanting 'Allahu Akbar' vandalised church on New Year's Eve German media and politicians have warned against an election-year spike in fake news after the rightwing website Breitbart claimed a mob chanting "Allahu Akbar" had set fire to a church in the city of Dortmund on New Year's Eve. After the report by the US site was widely shared on social media, the city's police clarified that no "extraordinary or spectacular" incidents had marred the festivities. Continue reading... |
| Germany's chess village hopes heritage listing proves 'leap of joy' move Posted: 06 Jan 2017 11:00 PM PST Residents feared population decline might put end to quirky version of game that has been at heart of Ströbeck life for centuries The chess players of Ströbeck have a habit of frustrating their opponents. Throughout the ages, strangers visiting the village in the foot of the Harz mountains in central Germany have been confronted with a community that has not only been steeped in the "royal game" from an unusually early age, but has also developed its own idiosyncratic rules, including special moves, additional pieces and cryptic commands. "That's the accusation this place has always had to live with," said Kathrin Baltzer, who manages the chess museum overlooking Ströbeck's village square. "Little wonder we always win, when no one else understands how we play the game." Continue reading... |
| 'Elephants are not the only victims': the lament of China's ivory lovers Posted: 06 Jan 2017 01:00 PM PST For years China's ivory carvers and collectors have been blamed for elephant poaching. Now their government is banning the ivory trade. How do they see their future? In a tiny workshop at his home in the Tai Po district of Hong Kong, 84-year-old Au Yue-Shung shows me an ivory carving he has been working on for months. Measuring just 5x10 inches, Nine Sages in Mount Xiang depicts the 9th-century poet Bai Juyi and eight of his peers in full creative flow in Henan province, far from the imperial court that Bai once served. The point of the story is that the sages tried to maintain their integrity by staying close to nature and art, and away from the ugly politics of the time. This is a piece that Au created for himself rather than a client. It is his statement about life after going through many ups and downs. Born during the Japanese occupation of China in the 1930s, Au joined Guangzhou's Daxin ivory carving factory at the age of 13 as an apprentice. With only one year's formal education and with no one caring to teach him, he taught himself drawing and carving in his spare time. Unable to afford drawing paper, he drew on toilet paper. His gift was soon recognised and by the late 1960s he had become a key carving artist at Daxin. Later, at the height of the Cultural Revolution, he decided that he had had enough of the political and artistic repression. Continue reading... |
| Southern rail, London Underground and BA staff to go ahead with strikes Posted: 06 Jan 2017 03:17 PM PST Closures planned for zone 1 tube stations as well as cancellation of Southern rail services and some British Airways flights A wave of strikes affecting travel by rail and air are set to hit passengers next week as workers on Southern rail, London Underground and British Airways prepare for industrial action. The biggest disruption could come in London on Monday, when tube station staff are preparing to strike. From Tuesday, drivers for Southern's rail network start three days of strikes, stopping all its trains from running. Continue reading... |
| Donor vows to stop funding Tories if May takes UK out of single market Posted: 07 Jan 2017 01:03 AM PST Engineering firm chairman Sir Andrew Cook, who has given £1.2m to party, says UK will 'sleepwalk to disaster' if it leaves single market A major Tory donor has warned he will stop funding the party if Theresa May's Brexit plans mean taking the UK out of the single market. Engineering firm chairman Sir Andrew Cook said jobs and exports were at risk if leaving the European Union meant membership of the single market was sacrificed in order to curb immigration. Continue reading... |
| Alone, China's ban on ivory could make life worse for elephants Posted: 06 Jan 2017 01:00 PM PST China has ordered all its legal ivory carvers and traders to get of the business by the end of the year. But it will have to do more if it really wants to stop poaching China's ban on ivory trading and processing has been hailed as a monumental step on the path to saving elephants from extinction. But if China does not simultaneously tackle its much larger illegal trade in ivory, the ban could perversely make it more lucrative for the poaching gangs who massacre Africa's elephants and ship their tusks to Asia. The number of legal businesses being shut down is relatively small. The plan, announced on 30 December by China's central government, will close "a portion" (the Guardian understands it will be roughly half) of its 34 licensed carving factories and 130 retailers before the end of March 2017. The rest will be forced shut by the end of the year. Continue reading... |
| Taiwan president heads though US as Beijing keeps watch for any Trump contact Posted: 06 Jan 2017 10:07 PM PST Tsai Ing-wen is en route to Central America but US stopovers will be scrutinised following fury at her congratulatory call to Donald Trump Taiwan's president, Tsai Ing-wen, left for the United States on Saturday on her way to Central America, a trip that will be scrutinised by China, incensed by her congratulatory call to Donald Trump. While the focus of the nine-day trip is to bolster relations with Taiwan's Central American allies, Tsai's US stopovers will be closely watched amid speculation she may make contact with the president-elect and his team. Continue reading... |
| Summernats revellers banned from riding in back of utes after death at car festival Posted: 06 Jan 2017 05:57 PM PST The organisers initially stopped people from riding in flatbed trays, but have now extended it to all utes Revellers at Summernats have been banned from riding in the back of utes after a man died at the street car festival in Canberra. A 30-year-old from Queensland sustained fatal injuries when he fell from a car along the cruise route at Exhibition Park on Thursday afternoon. Continue reading... |
| ‘It was the end of my dreams and my life. But I never considered saying no’ Posted: 07 Jan 2017 12:00 AM PST Sister Agatha, a former upper-class debutante, was presented to the king before being called to serve God more than 60 years ago It's more than six decades since Shirley Leach swapped her debutante's dresses for a nun's habit and changed her name to Sister Agatha. But the "wild fury" she felt as a 21-year-old on the threshold of life at what she saw as God's command to enter a convent is easily recalled. "It was the end of all my dreams, they were taken away in a single moment," she said. Now, at the age of 85, Sister Agatha has no regrets about the course of her life. "To have been asked by God to be in that particular relationship with him is the most amazing thing. I never doubted where I was meant to be." |
| 'Fear and threats': Mexico hits back after Trump pressures automakers Posted: 06 Jan 2017 08:32 PM PST Mexican government 'categorically rejects' attempts to scare off investors but effects seem clear as future Ford plant – and job hopes – are left an empty shell Mexico has hit back in the verbal trade war with Donald Trump, hitting out at the use of "fear or threats" to deter companies from investing in the country. The US president-elect has threatened to slap import tariffs on US automaker General Motors for importing cars it makes in Mexico and Japan's Toyota for planning a new factory there. |
| Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas Day in Manchester – in pictures Posted: 06 Jan 2017 02:37 PM PST Photographer Christopher Thomond joins Orthodox Christians at Manchester's Holy Trinity Armenian Church as they celebrate Christmas in January, in accordance with the Julian calendar, which much of the world ditched for the Gregorian calendar 500 years ago Continue reading... |
| Islamic State is the real aggressor in Syria | Letters Posted: 06 Jan 2017 11:09 AM PST Owen Jones (Americans can spot meddling, 5 January) refers to Russian interference in Syria to support the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad against his own people. In fact, Vladimir Putin is supporting Syria against the brutal invasion of Islamic State, which has been armed and financed, by proxy, through the US client states Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey in order to destabilise Syria (as related by US journalist Seymour Hersh, among others). Islamists have been used repeatedly by western and regional powers in recent history against progressive Arab socialism and nationalism. Saudi Arabia's former intelligence chief, Prince Bandar, advised using radical Islamists to destroy the Syrian regime at a high-profile meeting with the CIA. This intervention is not designed to promote democracy or human rights (hence the pivotal alliance with the brutal Saudi regime), fitting into a catalogue of US foreign policy interventions against "rogue" states deemed to be inimical to its interests, to guarantee geopolitical hegemony. |
| 'Larsen C' iceberg about to break off Antarctic shelf – video Posted: 06 Jan 2017 11:05 AM PST Scientists predict that a giant iceberg is about to break off from the Antarctic shelf after the sudden expansion of a rift which has been growing steadily for a decade. Several ice shelves have cracked up around northern parts of Antarctica in recent years, including the Larsen B that disintegrated in 2002 Continue reading... |
| Iranian-Americans join tug-of-war for Trump's ear over nuclear deal Posted: 06 Jan 2017 10:36 AM PST Prominent figures sign open letter urging US president-elect to retain the deal after dissidents' call for him to play tough A group of prominent Iranian-Americans has reached out to Donald Trump, urging him to keep Iran's landmark nuclear agreement once he is sworn in as US president. The signatories, who include artists, scientists, business leaders and pro-democracy activists, said millions of Iranians disagreed with their government on many political issues, but still backed the nuclear accord. The deal was struck between Tehran and the world's six major powers – known as the P5+1 – in Vienna in July 2015 after nearly two years of talks. |
| Young Russian denies she aided election hackers: ‘I never work with douchebags’ Posted: 06 Jan 2017 09:40 AM PST White House claims Alisa Shevchenko was involved in hacking the US election but in an interview she says authorities misinterpreted facts or were fooled Alisa Shevchenko is a talented young Russian hacker, known for working with companies to find vulnerabilities in their systems. She spends her winters in Asia, meditating and training in Thai kickboxing. Related: US officially accuses Russia of hacking DNC and interfering with election Continue reading... |
| Artisanal charcoal: Cuba's first legal export to US in more than 50 years Posted: 06 Jan 2017 08:38 AM PST Alan Gross's former lawyer makes deal with Cuban government to buy 40 tons of charcoal from cooperative farms, allowed after Obama eased trade embargo Artisanal charcoal will become the first legal Cuban export to the United States in decades under a deal between Cuba's government and the former lawyer for imprisoned US government contractor Alan Gross. Attorney Scott Gilbert, who has sought to build economic ties between the two countries since Gross's release, said a company that he founded will buy 40 tons of charcoal made from the invasive woody plant marabu. The charcoal is produced by hundreds of worker-owned cooperatives across Cuba and has become an increasingly profitable export, valued for its clean-burning properties and often used in pizza and bread ovens. Continue reading... |
| Guy Verhofstadt to run for president of European parliament Posted: 06 Jan 2017 06:51 AM PST Former Belgian PM, currently parliament's lead Brexit negotiator, enters running to take over top job from Martin Schulz The former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt has announced that he will run for the presidency of the European parliament in a race given added significance by the key role the 751-seat assembly could play in Britain's departure from the EU. "In these insecure, turbulent times, when Europe is threatened by nationalists and populists of all kinds, we need visionaries, bridge-builders and compromise-seekers alike," Verhofstadt said in a video on his Facebook page. "I want to be one of them." Continue reading... |
| British black power: from shrug to school syllabus in six short years Posted: 06 Jan 2017 05:50 AM PST With a TV series, film and first university course in 2017, the authors of a history of the UK movement reflect on its turnabout When Robin Bunce and Paul Field began their research into the British black power movement about six years ago the repeated response was: "What British black power movement? Do you mean America?" Now, with two major TV series expected, a film in the planning, inclusion on the school syllabus and the first university course in black studies, it is a question heard less and less. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 06 Jan 2017 05:06 AM PST Photographs from the Eyewitness series Continue reading... |
| The new year brings challenges – but here's to a hopeful 2017 Posted: 06 Jan 2017 04:01 AM PST It's easy to despair at the thought of Trump, Le Pen and the state of the environment, but out of these crises come opportunities Heaven help us – it's 2017. Donald Trump will take office, the British government will lay down the terms of an impossible-looking Brexit, Marine Le Pen will contest the French presidency with a moderate chance of winning and, most importantly, we will see how a number of critical climate feedback loops, including the astonishing temperature anomalies in the Arctic, play out through the world's weather systems. Cheery prospects all round. Every week, I'm asked why I don't despair. But sometimes I do. Crises of the kind that I've warned of for 30 years are materialising everywhere. The frustration of witnessing the incompetence, short-termism and self-interest of our governments, as they periodically look our long-running problems in the eye only to turn away and shrug their shoulders, is sometimes overwhelming. Playing Cassandra is no fun at all. Continue reading... |
| Radical Brownies: berets, badges and social justice – video Posted: 06 Jan 2017 04:00 AM PST The Radical Monarchs is an alternative to the Girl Scout movement for young girls carrying the torch of radical black youth activism in Oakland, California. Its members earn badges not for sewing or selling cookies, but for completing challenges on social justice including Black Lives Matter, 'radical beauty', being 'an LGBTQ ally' and the environment Continue reading... |
| John Kerry: Britain hindered US intervention in Syria – video Posted: 06 Jan 2017 03:39 AM PST US secretary of state John Kerry says Barack Obama's plan for military intervention in Syria was derailed by David Cameron and British MPs. At a press conference in Washington on Thursday, Kerry says the British parliament's vote against airstrikes in 2013 meant Obama could not enforce his 'red line' against President Bashar al-Assad
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| Want to be part of the next wave of activism? Move to rural America Posted: 06 Jan 2017 03:00 AM PST Traumatized by Occupy's dissipation, the founder of the movement realized that street protests have become outdated. Now he's focusing on hyper-local activism It took a few years before Micah White, the co-founder of Occupy Wall Street, could speak of the movement as a failure. When White released the call for Occupy on 13 July 2011, the year was filled with optimism from the Arab Spring and an untested faith in the power of social media. At the time, White worked as an editor at activist magazine AdBusters. Together with its founder, Kalle Lasn, he sent out the call to 90,000 email addresses that led to the viral movement that spread to more than 750 locations worldwide. Continue reading... |
| Chroniclers of a continent: capturing the lives and vibes of southern Africa | Jacqueline Kubania Posted: 06 Jan 2017 04:45 AM PST Four Kenyans about to embark on a road trip from Nairobi to Zimbabwe plan to overturn hackneyed perceptions of Africa by documenting 13 major cities Everybody likes a good road trip and Mutua Matheka is planning one that will take him on a whirlwind tour of Africa in an ambitious project to explore urban life across southern Africa. Eschewing the traditional safari route with which the continent has become synonymous, Matheka and three of his friends will travel and document the lives and vibes of people in 13 cities in 10 southern African countries. Continue reading... |
| 'Tree man' Abul Bajandar regains use of his hands after groundbreaking surgery Posted: 06 Jan 2017 03:04 AM PST After 16 operations to remove rare and debilitating epidermodysplasia verruciformis warts, Bajandar, from Bangladesh, can hold his young daughter A Bangladeshi father dubbed the "tree man" because of the bark-like warts that once covered his body will soon be able to leave hospital after groundbreaking treatment for one of the world's rarest diseases. Abul Bajandar has undergone at least 16 operations to remove 5kg (11 pounds) of growths from his hands and feet since his condition came to doctors' attention a year ago. Continue reading... |
| Shooting at Florida's Fort Lauderdale airport – video Posted: 06 Jan 2017 12:04 PM PST At least five people were killed and others injured during a shooting incident at Fort Lauderdale airport on Friday. Broward County sheriff Scott Israel tells reporters that the suspect is in custody and unharmed Continue reading... |
| Michelle Obama makes emotional farewell speech – video Posted: 06 Jan 2017 10:52 AM PST Michelle Obama makes her final speech as US first lady on Wednesday, during an education event at the White House. Fighting back tears, she tells young people to empower themselves then 'build a country worthy of your boundless promise' Continue reading... |
| A farewell to Michelle Obama – video Posted: 06 Jan 2017 05:13 AM PST Michelle Obama brought style and a charming informality to the role of first lady, but she will be best remembered as an inspirational role model for girls, African American children and the young and disadvantaged everywhere |
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