World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk |
- Mosul families trapped on the frontline of the war against Isis: 'What can we do?'
- Mike Flynn indicates he would testify in Trump-Russia inquiry in exchange for immunity
- EU says no to free-trade talks until 'progress' on final Brexit terms
- 'Only donkeys don’t change': Serbian PM says he's ready to be president
- Jacob Zuma removes ANC opponents in midnight reshuffle
- Venezuela opposition allege coup as supreme court seizes power
- Syrian refugees: more than 5m in neighbouring countries now, says UN
- Climate change: global reshuffle of wildlife will have huge impacts on humanity
- Moscow's big move: is this the biggest urban demolition project ever?
- Death, devastation and diplomacy: battle for Mosul intensifies – in pictures
- Ousted South Korea president Park Geun-hye jailed over corruption allegations
- Amnesty International protests over El Chapo's 'harsh' US prison conditions
- Brazilian politician who orchestrated ousting of Rousseff sentenced to prison
- Donald Trump chases arms sales – whatever the human cost
- Sinixt First Nation wins recognition in Canada decades after 'extinction'
- 'Super potato' grown in Mars-like conditions may benefit Earth's arid areas
- Israeli guidelines point to unilateral policy on settlement building
- Palmer Luckey: Trump-supporting VR pioneer leaves Facebook
- British cyclist Mike Hall killed during race in Australia
- Caribbean resort project draws heat over threat to vulnerable species
- UK raids as Dutch prosecutors launch tax evasion investigation
- Aung San Suu Kyi: Myanmar's great hope fails to live up to expectations
- Striking drone footage shows Hinkley Point C under construction – video
- Michael Flynn in 2016: ‘When you’re given immunity, you’ve probably committed a crime’ – video
- Japan kills more than 300 whales in annual Antarctic hunt
- Company tax cuts: deal struck with Xenophon in return for pension boost
- Ex-cyclone Debbie: woman's body found as disaster zones declared in NSW
- Fatima paid a high price for fleeing her husband. Will Ireland take her in?
- Trump sets himself on collision course with China ahead of Xi meeting
- Friday briefing: Trump under pressure as Mike Flynn prepares to reveal all
- Japan racism survey reveals one in three foreigners experience discrimination
- New Zealand's #thatwanakatree becomes social media sensation
- Melbourne and western Sydney driving most of Australia's population growth
- From president to prisoner: Park Geun-Hye's new life behind bars
- Huracan force: Italian police get new Lamborghini to catch speeding drivers
- Police confirm five dead in Snowdonia helicopter crash – video
- Doctor who lied about Ebola nurse temperature suspended for one month
- 'Read my lips – no': Putin denies Russian meddling in US presidential election
- Ivan Poulton obituary
- South African president Jacob Zuma 'may step down early' in 2018
- Lithuania finds lost declaration of independence
- Kim Jong-nam's body to be released in deal with North Korea
- Mexican state's attorney general arrested in San Diego on drugs charges
- Bangladeshi fruit pickers shot at by Greek farmers win human rights case
- Arrests in Venice after police intercept talk of bombing Rialto bridge
- Snowdonia helicopter crash: five people from same family killed
- Tiny graves: Syrian refugees in Lebanon struggle for space to bury children
- India's high-rise Pakistan-baiting monument flagging due to heavy winds
- If you live outside the UK, tell us what you think about Brexit
- 'We're taking them home': saving Russia's brick slaves – video
- New rules for Indian mothers – so long as the government accepts they exist
- El Salvador makes history as first nation to impose blanket ban on metal mining
- 'Let the tweet speak for itself': Spicer on Trump's Freedom Caucus attack – video
- Transgender activists condemn North Carolina bill proposal – video
| Mosul families trapped on the frontline of the war against Isis: 'What can we do?' Posted: 31 Mar 2017 02:02 AM PDT Khaled Ahmed's Mosul flat is at the centre of a fight that is inching ever closer to where it all began for Islamic State Standing at his window as bullets flashed by, Khaled Ahmed pointed at the filthy alley below and spoke about the last time he saw Islamic State fighters, just over a week ago. "There were four of them, no more than 12 years old," he said, pulling back a tattered curtain in his central Mosul flat. "The rifles on their back scraped the ground when they walked. They were all scared." Continue reading... |
| Mike Flynn indicates he would testify in Trump-Russia inquiry in exchange for immunity Posted: 30 Mar 2017 05:33 PM PDT Ousted for misleading White House about discussions with Russian ambassador, ex-national security adviser may have offered to testify before FBI and Congress Donald Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, has all but confirmed that he offered to testify before the FBI and congressional committees about potential links between the Trump campaign and Russia in exchange for immunity. Related: Trump security adviser Flynn resigns after leaks suggest he tried to cover up Russia talks Continue reading... |
| EU says no to free-trade talks until 'progress' on final Brexit terms Posted: 31 Mar 2017 12:54 AM PDT Donald Tusk rules out parallel talks – a key aim of Theresa May's government – as he unveils draft EU negotiating guidelines EU leaders have said there will be no talks on Britain's future relationship with the bloc until the UK government makes enough "progress" on the Brexit divorce – including settling its bills and citizens' rights. Donald Tusk, the European council president, said: "Once, and only once we have achieved sufficient progress on the withdrawal, can we discuss the framework for our future relationship. Starting parallel talks will not happen." Continue reading... |
| 'Only donkeys don’t change': Serbian PM says he's ready to be president Posted: 30 Mar 2017 11:30 PM PDT Aleksandar Vučić, favourite to win Serbia's elections on Sunday, once enforced censorship for Slobodan Milošević, but is now, he says, a reformed character The man tipped to become Serbia's next president says he has undergone a transformation from the hardline nationalist who once enforced censorship for Slobodan Milošević, contradicting opposition accusations that he is a power-hungry autocrat with authoritarian tendencies. Aleksandar Vučić, the Serbian prime minister, said his personal conversion mirrored a change in the Balkan country, which he insisted no longer aspired to be a major actor on the global stage since its key role in the devastating 1990s conflicts that accompanied the violent breakup of Yugoslavia. Continue reading... |
| Jacob Zuma removes ANC opponents in midnight reshuffle Posted: 31 Mar 2017 12:14 AM PDT South Africa leader, accused of corruption, will now have a free hand over government finances after firing Pravin Gordhan South Africa's President Jacob Zuma sacked his respected finance minister and made 10 new cabinet appointments late on Thursday in a dramatic reshuffle that could split the ruling ANC party. The move was widely seen as an attempt to control the selection of his successor. Continue reading... |
| Venezuela opposition allege coup as supreme court seizes power Posted: 30 Mar 2017 03:16 PM PDT President Nicolás Maduro 'is now the national assembly', says assembly's leader after court rules it can assume congressional duties Venezuela has lurched further away from democracy – and closer to confrontation with its regional neighbours – after the pro-government supreme court assumed the legislative powers of the opposition-controlled congress. Related: Venezuelans warn of 'dictatorship' after officials block bid to recall Maduro Continue reading... |
| Syrian refugees: more than 5m in neighbouring countries now, says UN Posted: 30 Mar 2017 12:32 PM PDT UNHCR announces milestone after six years of war and urges Europe not to 'put humanity on a ballot' in elections this year The number of refugees who have fled Syria for neighbouring countries has topped five million people for the first time since the civil war began six years ago, according to the UN's refugee agency. Half of Syria's 22 million population has been uprooted by a conflict that has now lasted longer than the second world war, the figures released by the UNHCR show, with 6.3 million people who are still inside the country's borders forced from their homes. Continue reading... |
| Climate change: global reshuffle of wildlife will have huge impacts on humanity Posted: 30 Mar 2017 11:00 AM PDT Mass migration of species to cooler climes has profound implications for society, pushing disease-carrying insects, crop pests and crucial pollinators into new areas, says international team of scientists Global warming is reshuffling the ranges of animals and plants around the world with profound consequences for humanity, according to a major new analysis. Rising temperatures on land and sea are increasingly forcing species to migrate to cooler climes, pushing disease-carrying insects into new areas, moving the pests that attack crops and shifting the pollinators that fertilise many of them, an international team of scientists has said. Continue reading... |
| Moscow's big move: is this the biggest urban demolition project ever? Posted: 30 Mar 2017 11:30 PM PDT In the most extensive Russian resettlement project in half a century, a full 10% of Moscow's housing is set to be torn down and 1.6 million people moved as the city's 'Khrushchevka' flats are destroyed. But residents won't go easily In the 1970s, machinist Yevgeny Rudakov was living in a communal apartment with 30 people in north-central Moscow where "there was always a line for the toilet". He was also in line for his own flat, through the institute where he worked. Finally his turn came, and he and his wife were given a two-room flat at 16 Grimau Street. Built in 1957, the four-storey, 64-flat building is considered the first "Khrushchevka", a kind of prefabricated, low-rise flat block that was erected in the tens of thousands across the USSR and came to be called after then-Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev (The colloquial term has come to apply to almost any late Soviet five-storey residential building.) Continue reading... |
| Death, devastation and diplomacy: battle for Mosul intensifies – in pictures Posted: 30 Mar 2017 06:21 AM PDT As the UN secretary general, António Guterres, touches down in Iraq to witness the growing humanitarian crisis, he calls for the protection of civilians to be the 'absolute priority'. But even as diplomatic efforts intensify, those trapped inside Mosul face escalating destruction, with reports emerging of hundreds killed by US-Iraqi coalition forces. Continue reading... |
| Ousted South Korea president Park Geun-hye jailed over corruption allegations Posted: 30 Mar 2017 03:10 PM PDT Park Geun-hye can be detained up to 20 days during investigation into accusations of bribery and abuse of power that led to impeachment South Korea's disgraced former president Park Geun-hye has been arrested and jailed over high-profile corruption allegations that already ended her tumultuous four-year rule and prompted an election to find her successor. A convoy of vehicles, including a black sedan carrying Park, entered a detention facility near Seoul on Friday after the Seoul central district court granted prosecutors' request to arrest her. Many Park supporters waved national flags and shouted "president" as Park's car entered the facility. Continue reading... |
| Amnesty International protests over El Chapo's 'harsh' US prison conditions Posted: 30 Mar 2017 01:29 PM PDT The Mexican drug lord is being held in a New York prison cell 23 hours a day with the lights on at all times, according to letter from the human rights group Held without access to sunlight or his relatives, Mexican drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán is under more restrictive captivity than any other US prisoner, his court-appointed lawyers said on Thursday. Mexico extradited Guzmán, who is the head of Sinaloa cartel, to New York in January, a few hours before President Donald Trump took office. Guzmán, who escaped from two Mexican prisons and was a key figure in a bloody drug war, is seen as a flight risk by the US government. |
| Brazilian politician who orchestrated ousting of Rousseff sentenced to prison Posted: 30 Mar 2017 10:43 AM PDT Former lower house speaker Eduardo Cunha convicted over role in Car Wash corruption scandal and given 15 years in prison, which could be appealed Eduardo Cunha, the former head of Brazil's lower house of congress, has been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for his role in the vast Car Wash corruption scandal. Related: Brazilian politician who led Rousseff impeachment arrested on corruption charges Continue reading... |
| Donald Trump chases arms sales – whatever the human cost Posted: 30 Mar 2017 05:36 AM PDT More salesman than statesman, the president's peddling of weapons is upsetting the balance in already teetering regions The Trump administration's decision to press ahead with a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Bahrain will dismay Shia opposition groups and international human rights campaigners critical of the Sunni-led state's authoritarian regime. However, the sale of 19 advanced Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jets fits an emerging pattern since Donald Trump took office in January, indicating a new US willingness to pump hi-tech weaponry into global trouble spots and fuel lucrative but destabilising regional arms races. Continue reading... |
| Sinixt First Nation wins recognition in Canada decades after 'extinction' Posted: 30 Mar 2017 03:00 AM PDT Indigenous group, which continued to exist in US after being declared extinct in Canada, still retains rights on ancestral lands in British Columbia, court ruled When Annie Joseph died in the 1950s, she had been the last known member of the Sinixt First Nation in Canada for more than a decade – and with her death, the country's government declared the band extinct. But some 60 years later, the Sinixt have won an unprecedented court victory to have their existence recognized in Canada. Continue reading... |
| 'Super potato' grown in Mars-like conditions may benefit Earth's arid areas Posted: 30 Mar 2017 09:58 AM PDT Scientists in Peru conducted experiments reminiscent of the 2015 Matt Damon film the Martian, creating similar conditions on Earth Could potatoes one day support human life on Mars? Scientists in Peru have used a simulator that mimics the harsh conditions on the red planet to successfully grow a small potato plant. Continue reading... |
| Israeli guidelines point to unilateral policy on settlement building Posted: 31 Mar 2017 02:28 AM PDT Benjamin Netanyahu outlines plan to build settlements within boundaries of existing blocks or close to those developments Israel has indicated it will pursue a unilateral policy of largely unconstrained settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories, as it announced the first new settlement in two decades. While Israel's new settlement construction guidelines were presented as evidence of restraint and a "good-will gesture" to the administration of US President Donald Trump – who has asked Israel to slow construction – the details seem to indicate the opposite. Continue reading... |
| Palmer Luckey: Trump-supporting VR pioneer leaves Facebook Posted: 31 Mar 2017 02:25 AM PDT 'Palmer will be dearly missed,' company says in statement announcing departure of controversial figure Virtual reality pioneer Palmer Luckey has left Facebook, six months after it was revealed that he had secretly funded a pro-Trump campaign group dedicated to turning the tide of the US election through "meme magic" and "shitposting". Luckey, who founded virtual reality company Oculus in 2012 when he was 19, has been a Facebook employee since Mark Zuckerberg's social network bought his firm in 2014 for $2bn. In a statement, Facebook said "Palmer will be dearly missed. Palmer's legacy extends far beyond Oculus. His inventive spirit helped kickstart the modern VR revolution and helped build an industry. We're thankful for everything he did for Oculus and VR, and we wish him all the best." Continue reading... |
| British cyclist Mike Hall killed during race in Australia Posted: 31 Mar 2017 02:13 AM PDT Endurance cyclist died near Australian Canberra during Indian Pacific Wheel race after being hit by a car A renowned British endurance cyclist known for his astonishing feats of long distance riding has been killed after being struck by a car during a race in Australia. Mike Hall, 35, died near the Australian capital, Canberra, during the Indian Pacific Wheel race, from Perth to Sydney, on Friday. Continue reading... |
| Caribbean resort project draws heat over threat to vulnerable species Posted: 31 Mar 2017 02:10 AM PDT The $2.6bn project in St Lucia has promised sorely needed jobs, but critics say it threatens the natural environment and local culture Conservationists have warned that a planned $2.6bn resort development in St Lucia which aims to attract Chinese investors could threaten vulnerable species and change the character of the island. The project, known as Pearl of the Caribbean, will feature a resort, marina, casino, racecourse, shopping mall, apartments, villas and a free trade zone over about 800 acres at the southern tip of the island near the town of Vieux Fort and the international airport. Continue reading... |
| UK raids as Dutch prosecutors launch tax evasion investigation Posted: 31 Mar 2017 01:17 AM PDT Gold bar and paintings seized as swoops also take place in Germany, France and Australia after tip-off about Swiss bank Dutch investigators have seized paintings, a gold bar and jewellery and arrested two people as part of a international hunt for tax evaders, after receiving a tip-off about 55,000 suspect accounts at a Swiss bank. The country's office for financial crimes prosecution (FIOD) said the coordinated raids began on Thursday in the Netherlands, UK, Germany, France and Australia. Continue reading... |
| Aung San Suu Kyi: Myanmar's great hope fails to live up to expectations Posted: 30 Mar 2017 07:00 PM PDT A year after her party swept to power, the Nobel laureate faces questions over her leadership and silence on persecution It was never meant to be this way. The script called for the lead actor, a Nobel prize winner, to seize control of a country, bring peace where there was conflict and prosperity where there was poverty. A nation emerging from years of military dictatorship was to become a beacon of hope not only for its cowed population but also for much of a fractured and turbulent south-east Asia. Continue reading... |
| Striking drone footage shows Hinkley Point C under construction – video Posted: 31 Mar 2017 02:09 AM PDT Seen from a drone's eye view, the enormous earthmoving trucks, buses and tractors criss-crossing this corner of Somerset look like toy town models. The vehicles are dwarfed by their surroundings at Hinkley Point, where new footage has revealed the full scale of the site being prepared for Britain's first new nuclear power station in a generation. Continue reading... |
| Michael Flynn in 2016: ‘When you’re given immunity, you’ve probably committed a crime’ – video Posted: 30 Mar 2017 07:22 PM PDT Donald Trump's former national security adviser has suggested he will testify about potential links between the Trump campaign and Russia in exchange for immunity. But speaking to Meet the Press host Chuck Todd in September 2016, Michael Flynn criticised immunity deals offered during the investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails. 'Five people around her have been given immunity,' he said. 'When you are given immunity, that means that you probably committed a crime' • The downfall of Michael Flynn: a timeline – video Continue reading... |
| Japan kills more than 300 whales in annual Antarctic hunt Posted: 30 Mar 2017 11:09 PM PDT Whaling fleet returns to port after slaughtering hundreds of minke whales, in defiance of moratorium on hunting and global criticism A Japanese whaling fleet returned to port on Friday after an annual Antarctic hunt that killed more than 300 of the mammals, as Tokyo pursues the programme in defiance of global criticism. The fleet set sail for the Southern Ocean in November, with plans to slaughter 333 minke whales, flouting a worldwide moratorium and opposition led by Australia and New Zealand. Continue reading... |
| Company tax cuts: deal struck with Xenophon in return for pension boost Posted: 31 Mar 2017 01:55 AM PDT Companies with a turnover of up to $50m will see staggered cuts after intense talks on extra sitting day in Canberra Companies with a turnover of up to $50m will receive a tax cut taking the rate from 30% to 25% after the Turnbull government struck a deal with the Nick Xenophon Team in return for a promised $260m worth of one-off payments for pensioners. The pension promise amounts to $75 for a single person and $125 for a couple for those on the aged pension, the disability support pension and the parenting payment. The payment was negotiated to cover energy costs, but it is unclear how it will be funded. Continue reading... |
| Ex-cyclone Debbie: woman's body found as disaster zones declared in NSW Posted: 31 Mar 2017 02:14 AM PDT Five areas will receive special assistance in NSW as hundreds of thousands of Queensland homes remain without power Five natural disaster zones have been declared in New South Wales as police found a woman's body on a flood-affected property in the north of the state. The woman disappeared on Thursday night in floodwaters at a rural property at Upper Burringbar, 20km south of Murwillumbah, and her body was found by a family member at about 8am on Friday, police said in a statement. Continue reading... |
| Fatima paid a high price for fleeing her husband. Will Ireland take her in? Posted: 30 Mar 2017 11:25 PM PDT The 26-year-old Afghan and her children are stranded in rural Serbia after she lost her mother and both legs in a road accident In a hospital bed in rural Serbia, Fatima Bakhshi cannot bear to count the things she has lost. There was her Afghan home which she fled with her mother and children to escape a brutal father and a violent husband. Then her beloved mother too, killed in an accident in an overladen vehicle driven by people smugglers in the Balkans. Continue reading... |
| Trump sets himself on collision course with China ahead of Xi meeting Posted: 30 Mar 2017 10:37 PM PDT The US president used Twitter to attack trade relationship with Beijing and announce that his meeting with Xi Jingping would be 'very difficult' Donald Trump has set himself on a collision course with Chinese president Xi Jinping, saying the first meeting between the two leaders would be "very difficult". Xi will travel to the US next week and will have his first face to face meeting with Trump at Mar-a-lago, the US president's country club in Florida, from April 6 to 7. Continue reading... |
| Friday briefing: Trump under pressure as Mike Flynn prepares to reveal all Posted: 30 Mar 2017 10:29 PM PDT Deposed presidential adviser hints he wants immunity for his side of the story … patients face longer NHS waiting lists … and how T rex was a sexy beast Good morning. This is Martin Farrer with the top news of the day. Continue reading... |
| Japan racism survey reveals one in three foreigners experience discrimination Posted: 30 Mar 2017 10:28 PM PDT Justice ministry sent survey to thousands of foreign residents to gain an unprecedented glimpse into their experiences Nearly a third of foreigners living in Japan say they have experienced derogatory remarks because of their background, while about 40% have suffered housing discrimination, according to a landmark survey. Japan's justice ministry sent questions to thousands of foreign residents to gain an unprecedented glimpse into their experiences of racism in a country that has experienced a surge in overseas visitors. Continue reading... |
| New Zealand's #thatwanakatree becomes social media sensation Posted: 30 Mar 2017 09:01 PM PDT A crack willow tree, believed to have grown from an old fence post, is a magnet for photographers travelling to Lake Wanaka in the South Island A spindly, crooked tree that appears to have grown up out of a lake has become an unlikely internet star and the most photographed tree in New Zealand. The crack willow tree of Lake Wanaka, in New Zealand's South Island, has been photographed tens of thousands of times, with queues of photographers routinely forming on the lake's shore to capture its beauty. Continue reading... |
| Melbourne and western Sydney driving most of Australia's population growth Posted: 30 Mar 2017 08:10 PM PDT Much of fastest growth occurred in outer suburbs, while mining towns suffered population loss after end of resources boom Most of Australia's population growth is being driven by outer Melbourne and western Sydney, new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics has revealed. Statistics for 2015-16 show Melbourne has become Australia's fastest-growing city, while greater Sydney's total population pushed past five million as of June last year. Continue reading... |
| From president to prisoner: Park Geun-Hye's new life behind bars Posted: 30 Mar 2017 07:42 PM PDT After nearly two decades living in Seoul's presidential Blue House, the former leader will sleep on a foldable mattress on the floor and bath twice a week Daughter of a dictator and later head of state herself, South Korea's Park Geun-Hye has spent nearly two decades living in Seoul's sprawling presidential palace. Now she will be locked in a cell, eating $1.30 meals and doing her own washing up. A court on Friday ordered the ousted South Korean leader to be jailed as a criminal suspect in the vast corruption and influence-peddling scandal that brought millions of people into the streets, and culminated with her impeachment. Continue reading... |
| Huracan force: Italian police get new Lamborghini to catch speeding drivers Posted: 30 Mar 2017 05:31 PM PDT Traffic officers presented with the latest model of supercar which has a top speed of 300kph It might make speeding drivers think twice about trying to outrun Italy's traffic police: the force has been presented with a new Lamborghini Huracan. With a top speed of 300kmh (190mph) and the capacity to go from 0-100kmh in 3.2 seconds, the luxury sports car manufacturer's latest model will become the second Lamborghini to be put at the service of the country's guardians of road safety. Continue reading... |
| Police confirm five dead in Snowdonia helicopter crash – video Posted: 30 Mar 2017 12:39 PM PDT Five people have died in a helicopter crash in Snowdonia, North Wales police have confirmed. The bodies were found with the wreckage of a red Twin Squirrel helicopter following a massive air and land search on Wednesday afternoon Continue reading... |
| Doctor who lied about Ebola nurse temperature suspended for one month Posted: 30 Mar 2017 11:25 AM PDT Tribunal finds Hannah Ryan made 'grave mistake' when she lied to investigators about Pauline Cafferkey's temperature A volunteer doctor who lied to medical investigators about the dangerously high temperature of the nurse Pauline Cafferkey before she tested positive for Ebola has been suspended for one month. An independent medical practitioners' tribunal found Dr Hannah Ryan acted dishonestly and made a "grave mistake" when she decided to lie to investigators about Cafferkey's temperature in 2014. Continue reading... |
| 'Read my lips – no': Putin denies Russian meddling in US presidential election Posted: 30 Mar 2017 11:02 AM PDT Russia scandal continues as US intelligence agencies are convinced Russia mounted a campaign to help Donald Trump get elected Vladimir Putin has again denied Russian meddling in the US elections, blaming allegations that Moscow had sought to influence the vote on an internal political battle in the US. "Read my lips – no," the Russian president answered, when asked whether Russia had tried to influence the vote. He emphasised the denial by saying "no" in English. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 30 Mar 2017 09:52 AM PDT My friend Ivan Poulton, who has died aged 92, was the international transport manager for the Initiatives of Change movement, previously known as Moral Re-Armament (MRA). Ivan was born in Ealing, London, son of Edward Poulton, a commercial artist, and his wife, Mildred, and went to Latymer Upper school, Hammersmith. The family lived near the Piccadilly tube line, and as a boy Ivan used to lie in bed listening for the train to arrive at the station one stop before his. He knew he then had eight minutes to get up, get dressed and run to his tube stop in time to catch that train to school. Continue reading... |
| South African president Jacob Zuma 'may step down early' in 2018 Posted: 30 Mar 2017 09:51 AM PDT Zuma could go 12 months before his term expires under deal with ANC opponents involving exit of finance minister Pravin Gordhan Jacob Zuma is considering offering to step down next year, at least 12 months before his term as South African president ends, under a deal with opponents in his ruling party that would see finance minister Pravin Gordhan leave office now, two senior party sources said. Zuma is due to be replaced as leader of the African National Congress (ANC) at a party conference in December after serving his allocated two terms, but was expected to remain the country's president until elections in 2019. His spokesman did not respond to calls for comment. Continue reading... |
| Lithuania finds lost declaration of independence Posted: 30 Mar 2017 09:06 AM PDT Nation celebrates as landmark 1918 document is tracked down in a German archive months before centenary year A copy of Lithuania's lost declaration of independence, drawn up in 1918, has been discovered languishing in a German archive, and hailed by authorities as the discovery of the nation's "birth certificate". Liudas Mazylis, political science professor at Lithuania's Vytautas Magnus University, told Reuters that his find on Wednesday was the culmination of an eight-month search. Continue reading... |
| Kim Jong-nam's body to be released in deal with North Korea Posted: 30 Mar 2017 08:51 AM PDT Nine Malaysians blocked from leaving North Korea allowed to go as part of agreement with Pyongyang Malaysia has agreed to release the body of Kim Jong-nam to North Korea in exchange for the return of nine Malaysians held in Pyongyang. Related: Revealed: Kim Jong-nam was gripped by fear and paranoia, says friend Continue reading... |
| Mexican state's attorney general arrested in San Diego on drugs charges Posted: 30 Mar 2017 08:37 AM PDT Edgar Veytia, the top law enforcement officer in the state of Nayarit, faces a three-count US indictment over trafficking conspiracy allegations The attorney general of Mexico's Pacific coast state of Nayarit, hard hit by drug cartel violence in recent years, has been arrested in San Diego on US narcotics trafficking conspiracy charges. Edgar Veytia, 45, who has served as the top law enforcement officer of Nayarit since 2013, was charged in a seven-page, three-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury on Monday in the New York borough of Brooklyn and unsealed on Tuesday. Continue reading... |
| Bangladeshi fruit pickers shot at by Greek farmers win human rights case Posted: 30 Mar 2017 08:20 AM PDT European court of human rights rules in favour of Bangladeshi migrants over 2013 attack and orders Greece to pay damages The European court of human rights has issued a landmark judgment vindicating a group of migrant strawberry pickers who were shot at by employers for asking for their wages after months of unpaid labour. Ruling in favour of the 42 Bangladeshis, the court ordered the Greek state to pay damages of up to €16,000 (£13,750) each for having "failed in its obligations to prevent the situation of human trafficking". At €588,000 in total, the compensation award is among the largest ever made by the court. Continue reading... |
| Arrests in Venice after police intercept talk of bombing Rialto bridge Posted: 30 Mar 2017 07:20 AM PDT Three Kosovan men and a child detained by Italian police after allegedly discussing potential bombing and support for Isis Italian police have arrested four people in Venice after one of them was overheard in an intercepted phone conversation talking about the possibility of placing a bomb under city's Rialto bridge. "With all the non-believers there are in Venice, if you put a bomb under the Rialto bridge you'll immediately earn a place in heaven," one of the suspects said. It wasn't clear if the reference was bluster or indicated an imminent threat. Continue reading... |
| Snowdonia helicopter crash: five people from same family killed Posted: 30 Mar 2017 05:55 AM PDT Police say private helicopter carrying five family members from Milton Keynes area disappeared during flight to Dublin Five people from the same family have been killed in a helicopter crash in north Wales. Two of those thought to have been on board were named locally as construction businessman Kevin Burke, 57, and his wife, Ruth, from Hulcote, Milton Keynes. They were travelling with three other family members to Dublin where, it is understood, they were to attend a christening. |
| Tiny graves: Syrian refugees in Lebanon struggle for space to bury children Posted: 30 Mar 2017 05:47 AM PDT For Syrians in Lebanon, death brings a final indignity as the bodies of their loved ones are squeezed in along cemetery edges The graves of the children are easy to discern, little bumps on the ground squeezed in along the edges of the cemetery. A rectangle of four small concrete blocks is enough to encompass one child's entire body. No names are carved in marble, just overgrown, withered grass rustling in the breeze of the Bekaa Valley. In the cemetery named al-Rahma, meaning Mercy, only one Syrian refugee child's tombstone bears markings – an illegible name etched into the stone with a rough tool, the mark of a despairing parent. Continue reading... |
| India's high-rise Pakistan-baiting monument flagging due to heavy winds Posted: 30 Mar 2017 04:19 AM PDT Fears raised about cost of huge, 110-metre high flag at Kashmir border, which has needed to be replaced four times in a month It was supposed to be a symbol of national pride: the tallest flag in India posted provocatively close to the border with arch-rival Pakistan – so close that media reports boasted it could be seen from as far away as Lahore. But since the tricolour was hoisted to its 110-metre (360ft) position earlier this month, there has proved to be a major hitch: unexpectedly strong gusts have torn the flag so badly it has needed to be replaced four times already. Continue reading... |
| If you live outside the UK, tell us what you think about Brexit Posted: 30 Mar 2017 04:06 AM PDT Britain has formally begun negotiations to leave the EU. If you live outside the UK, we'd like you to tell us what you think about Brexit It's over. The UK has served its notice to the EU: we don't want to be with you anymore, we want to see other people. As break-ups go, this one is pretty monumental. European newspapers reported the serving of article 50, with a mixture of pain, puzzlement and predictions that the next two years of divorce negotiations could get nasty – especially, warn some papers, if the UK resorts to "blackmail" over security cooperation. Continue reading... |
| 'We're taking them home': saving Russia's brick slaves – video Posted: 30 Mar 2017 11:00 PM PDT Thousands of Russia's most vulnerable men and women go missing every year. They are plucked from cities and towns and driven hundreds of miles to the remote republic of Dagestan, where they are enslaved in rural brick factories and farms. Alexei and Zukiya, two anti-slavery activists working for Alternativa, an NGO, are often their only chance of escape Continue reading... |
| New rules for Indian mothers – so long as the government accepts they exist Posted: 30 Mar 2017 09:00 PM PDT Campaigners brand maternity bill elitist over failure to include women working in India's informal sector, who represent 95% of female workforce The Indian government's new maternity bill, which comes into force this week, has been branded an elitist policy that will do little or nothing to help the vast majority of the country's mothers. According to women's groups, the new rules – which raise maternity leave from 12 to 26 weeks, putting India ahead of France and the US – will apply only to a small fraction of the female workforce. Continue reading... |
| El Salvador makes history as first nation to impose blanket ban on metal mining Posted: 30 Mar 2017 04:49 AM PDT Campaigners celebrate victory for 'water over gold' after country unaninmously ushers through historic bill to end all forms of metal mining El Salvador has made history after becoming the first country in the world to ban metal mining. Lawmakers in the water-parched country passed the ban in a unanimous vote on Wednesday, declaring El Salvador a mining-free territory. Continue reading... |
| 'Let the tweet speak for itself': Spicer on Trump's Freedom Caucus attack – video Posted: 30 Mar 2017 12:44 PM PDT US president Donald Trump's tweets about the Freedom Caucus's lack of support in pushing through a healthcare reform bill should speak for themselves, according to White House press secretary Sean Spicer. On Thursday, Trump tweeted: 'The Freedom Caucus will hurt the entire Republican agenda if they don't get on the team, & fast. We must fight them, & Dems, in 2018!' Continue reading... |
| Transgender activists condemn North Carolina bill proposal – video Posted: 30 Mar 2017 11:03 AM PDT Transgender activists in North Carolina criticise an agreement made between Republican legislative leaders and the Democratic governor over a controversial 'bathroom bill'. Gay rights groups oppose the replacement measure for the March 2016 law known as House Bill 2 (HB2), saying it would still restrict LGBT protections from discrimination Continue reading... |
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