World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk |
- Putin hardens Moscow's support of Syria regime before Tillerson visit
- Borussia Dortmund's team bus hit by three explosives, injuring player
- Hundreds of refugees missing after Dunkirk camp fire
- Sean Spicer apologizes for claim 'even Hitler didn't use chemical weapons'
- Tiny newspaper in US wins Pulitzer prize for taking on big business
- United Airlines CEO calls dragged passenger 'disruptive and belligerent'
- Developing nations' demands for better life must be met, says World Bank head
- Toshiba warns over its survival as it forecasts £7bn losses
- Scientists unravel mystery of the loose shoelace
- François Fillon's rightwing supporters rally behind embattled candidate
- Stockholm attack suspect Rakhmat Akilov admits terrorist crime
- MI5 file lays bare case of New Zealand diplomat named as KGB spy
- Obama's Berlin visit to coincide with Trump in Brussels
- Panama Papers investigation wins Pulitzer prize
- 'I'm a walking corpse' – India to help its acid attack victims
- Migrants from west Africa being ‘sold in Libyan slave markets’
- North Korea 'ready for war' after US redeploys navy strike team
- Blaze devastates Grand-Synthe migrant camp outside Dunkirk
- Amnesty criticises 'rogue state' China as global death penalty toll falls
- Berlusconi cuddles lambs in vegetarian Easter campaign
- Pope to show solidarity with Egypt's Coptic Christians in wake of church bombings
- Foreign states may have interfered in Brexit vote, report says
- US defense chiefs say they want to deter more chemical attacks, not oust Assad
- Recorded childhood cancers rise by 13% worldwide, study finds
- Asylum seekers and the poorest parts of the UK are being let down | Letters
- Antigua in the spotlight: hundreds of thousands descend for Semana Santa
- 'Don't worry, I won't kill you': the strange boom in homeless tourism
- Domestic violence and guns: the hidden American crisis ending women's lives
- Boris Johnson has PM's 'full support' despite failure to secure sanctions
- The Guardian view on Syria: Trump’s unpredictability demands European steadiness | Editorial
- Anti-war protests that helped transform opinion | Letters
- One-third of Australians are being underpaid superannuation
- Snubbing Russia and unpicking Assad | Letters
- UN security council built for 70 years ago | Letters
- Protest photos: the power of one woman against the world
- ‘Nice’ is more than a destination: what Ryanair can teach United Airlines
- Turkey says sarin gas was used in Syria chemical attack
- Putin: UN should probe chemical weapons attack – video
- Tillerson: Assad's reign in Syria is coming to an end – video
- 'We're the geeks, the prostitutes': Asian American actors on Hollywood's barriers
- French migrant camp outside Dunkirk destroyed by fire – video
- Pope opens free launderette for Rome's homeless people
- United Airlines passenger forcibly removed from overbooked flight – video
- White House warns of potential US 'red line' over Syria barrel bomb attacks
- Nurses grant dying man final wish – a cigarette and glass of wine
- Indonesia: gay men facing 100 lashes for having sex
- Russian embassy's Twitter account vents barbs against west
- Tuesday briefing: UK eyes 'window' to pressure Putin
- Philippine death squad whistleblower Arturo Lascanas flees to Singapore
- Mosul zoo's last survivors, Simba the lion and Lula the bear, flown to safety
- Liberal support for Trump’s Syria strikes | Letters
- Philippines committed to human rights | Letter from the Philippine ambassador to the UK
- Why Vladimir Putin may be in too deep in Syria to ditch Assad | Martin Chulov
- 'Worrying trend' as aid money stays in wealthiest countries
- Drought took their animals and land – now hunger is taking Somalia's children
- What's Trump's plan for Syria? Five different policies in two weeks
- Sean Spicer on Assad regime: ‘Even Hitler didn’t use chemical weapons’ – video
- San Bernardino school shooter was teacher's husband, officials say – video report
- Two dead in shooting at San Bernardino school – video report
- Trump praises Neil Gorsuch and himself at supreme court swearing-in – video
- Rex Tillerson blames Russian inaction for Syria gas attack – video
| Putin hardens Moscow's support of Syria regime before Tillerson visit Posted: 11 Apr 2017 10:43 AM PDT Russian president claims Assad's opponents intend to carry out false-flag chemical attacks to justify more US strikes Vladimir Putin has deepened his support of the Syrian regime, claiming its opponents planned false-flag chemical weapon attacks to justify further US missile strikes. The Russian president's predictions on Tuesday of an escalation in the Syrian war involving more use of chemical weapons came as US officials provided further details of what they insist was a sarin attack by Bashar al-Assad's forces against civilians on 4 April, and accused Moscow of a cover-up and possible complicity. Continue reading... |
| Borussia Dortmund's team bus hit by three explosives, injuring player Posted: 11 Apr 2017 03:35 PM PDT Police find letter containing claim of responsibility for attack prior to Champions League game with Monaco Three explosive devices went off by the side of the bus carrying the German football team Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night, injuring one player. The incident occurred at about 7.15pm local time in Dortmund's Höchstem district, approximately six miles (10km) from the club's stadium, where they were due to play a Champions League quarter-final against Monaco. Continue reading... |
| Hundreds of refugees missing after Dunkirk camp fire Posted: 11 Apr 2017 11:21 AM PDT About 900 people in temporary accommodation but 600 still unaccounted for, including unaccompanied children Hundreds of refugees and migrants are missing and facing a night in the open after a large fire ripped through the Dunkirk camp where they were living, destroying the wooden huts and leaving the site uninhabitable. Officials spent Tuesday trying to find new shelter for the estimated 1,500 people who had been displaced. It is feared that the destruction of the country's only official migrant camp will result in asylum seekers returning to sleeping rough along the coast near the Channel ports. Continue reading... |
| Sean Spicer apologizes for claim 'even Hitler didn't use chemical weapons' Posted: 11 Apr 2017 04:47 PM PDT In a comparison with Assad, Trump's press secretary said Nazi leader who gassed millions of Jews 'didn't sink' to using chemical weapons against his own people The White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, expressed contrition on national television Tuesday after he was widely condemned for claiming that Adolf Hitler, who gassed millions of Jews during the Holocaust, did not use chemical weapons. Comparing the Nazi leader with Syria's Bashar al-Assad, Spicer told journalists during his regular press briefing at the White House: "We didn't use chemical weapons in world war two. You had someone as despicable as Hitler who didn't even sink to using chemical weapons." Continue reading... |
| Tiny newspaper in US wins Pulitzer prize for taking on big business Posted: 11 Apr 2017 10:41 AM PDT Art Cullen of 3,000-circulation Storm Lake Times awarded global prize for editorials challenging powerful interests in Iowa A number of important local stories were leading the website of the Storm Lake Times, circulation 3,000, on Tuesday morning. Second-grader Alejandra Gonzales found a four-leaf clover in the field behind her school. A local woman had bought and renovated a building to house 25 elderly cats. And in a modest announcement of just a sentence, another notable local happening: on Monday, Art Cullen, the paper's owner and editor, was awarded a Pulitzer prize, the most prestigious award in global journalism, for his editorial writing. Fellow honorees for 2017 include the rather better read New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Miami Herald. Continue reading... |
| United Airlines CEO calls dragged passenger 'disruptive and belligerent' Posted: 11 Apr 2017 04:59 AM PDT Oscar Munoz defends staff in letter over man forcibly removed from overbooked plane saying they followed procedures The chief executive of United Airlines has described the passenger who was forcibly removed from an overbooked plane as "disruptive and belligerent", and told the airline's employees that they "followed established procedures". The airline has been vilified after aviation police officials violently removed a man from a plane at O'Hare international airport in Chicago on Sunday, in an incident captured on video by several passengers. Continue reading... |
| Developing nations' demands for better life must be met, says World Bank head Posted: 11 Apr 2017 10:54 AM PDT Jim Yong Kim says there is greater risk of war, terrorism and increased migration if aspirations of poorer countries are not met Failure to meet the internet-inspired aspirations of people in poor countries runs the risk of creating the conditions for war, terrorism and increased migration, the president of the World Bank has warned. Speaking in London ahead of the Bank's spring meeting next week, Jim Yong Kim said an urgent development push was needed in order to meet the demands for a better life by those in developing countries, increasingly aware through their smartphones of how rich people lived. Continue reading... |
| Toshiba warns over its survival as it forecasts £7bn losses Posted: 11 Apr 2017 08:36 AM PDT Crisis creates concern about future of UK's Moorside nuclear plant, in which subsidiary Westinghouse is a key player Toshiba, one of the biggest names in consumer electronics, has warned it is facing annual losses of more than £7bn and the future of the company is in doubt as a result of financial turmoil at its nuclear power plant construction business. The Japanese company finally released third quarter results, after twice delaying publication while auditors attempted to quantify the scale of the problems at Toshiba's US nuclear engineering subsidiary Westinghouse, which filed for bankruptcy last month. Continue reading... |
| Scientists unravel mystery of the loose shoelace Posted: 11 Apr 2017 04:15 PM PDT Researchers discover how laces come undone and offer alternative way to tie them that does knot involve your granny Things can start to unravel at any moment, but when failure occurs it is swift and catastrophic. This is the conclusion of a scientific investigation into what might be described as Sod's law of shoelaces. The study focused on the mysterious phenomenon by which a shoe is neatly and securely tied one moment, and the next a flapping lace is threatening to trip you up – possibly as you are running for the bus or striding with professional purpose across your open-plan office. Continue reading... |
| François Fillon's rightwing supporters rally behind embattled candidate Posted: 10 Apr 2017 11:00 PM PDT Grassroots rightwing support has enabled Les Républicains candidate to weather corruption allegations and stay in France's presidential election race By the crepe stand and flower-stalls on the edge of Angers market in western France, Benoît Triot, a manager at a furniture firm, stood handing out manifesto leaflets for the rightwing presidential candidate François Fillon. "Voters are coming back to him," he argued. "People want the French right in power again and many are starting to doubt whether what they hear about alleged scandals is true." Triot felt optimistic – in three hours handing out leaflets bearing Fillon's face only one person had shouted "Lock him up in prison!" Continue reading... |
| Stockholm attack suspect Rakhmat Akilov admits terrorist crime Posted: 11 Apr 2017 02:21 AM PDT Lawyer tells court his Uzbek client, wearing thick green hoodie and holding his head down, accepts he will be detained The main suspect in the truck attack in Stockholm that killed four and injured 15 has admitted committing a terrorist crime, his lawyer has said. Johan Eriksson, a lawyer for Rakhmat Akilov, 39, told a heavily guarded custody hearing at Stockholm district court: "His position is that he admits to a terrorist crime and accepts therefore that he will be detained." Continue reading... |
| MI5 file lays bare case of New Zealand diplomat named as KGB spy Posted: 11 Apr 2017 07:04 AM PDT UK security service went back and forth for decades over whether the communist Paddy Costello was a Soviet agent A controversy that has spanned more than seven decades over whether a New Zealand-born Cambridge-educated diplomat and academic was a top Soviet spy has been fuelled by the release of his MI5 file. Desmond Patrick Costello was named by the official MI5 historian, Christopher Andrew, in 1999 in the Mitrokhin Archives as one of the KGB's most important spies in the 1950s when he served as a leading New Zealand diplomat in Paris. Continue reading... |
| Obama's Berlin visit to coincide with Trump in Brussels Posted: 11 Apr 2017 08:21 AM PDT Former US president will be in Germany on 25 May when incumbent is on the same continent meeting with Nato leaders Barack Obama is to visit Berlin on his first trip to Europe since leaving office. The former president will be in Germany on 25 May, the same day his successor, Donald Trump, is due in Brussels for a meeting of Nato leaders, in what is expected to be the incumbent US president's first foreign trip since taking office. Obama will travel to Germany for the launch of a summer of celebratory events organised by the Protestant church to mark its 500th anniversary. Continue reading... |
| Panama Papers investigation wins Pulitzer prize Posted: 11 Apr 2017 03:39 AM PDT Guardian and other media organisations collaborated on series of stories exposing offshore secrets of rich and famous
The prize was given to the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), together with two US titles, McClatchy and the Miami Herald. Continue reading... |
| 'I'm a walking corpse' – India to help its acid attack victims Posted: 11 Apr 2017 06:46 AM PDT New law in India comes into force this week which will recognise survivors as being physically disabled. They will now be entitled to compensation and help to get jobs The Indian government will this week bring into force legislation designed to help tackle the pervasive crime of acid throwing by giving victims official recognition. From Friday, India's thousands of victims of acid attacks will be defined as disabled – giving them access to limited compensation and jobs. Continue reading... |
| Migrants from west Africa being ‘sold in Libyan slave markets’ Posted: 10 Apr 2017 11:43 AM PDT UN migration agency says selling of people is rife in African nation that has slid into violent chaos since overthrow of Gaddafi West African migrants are being bought and sold openly in modern-day slave markets in Libya, survivors have told a UN agency helping them return home. Trafficked people passing through Libya have previously reported violence, extortion and slave labour. But the new testimony from the International Organization for Migration suggests that the trade in human beings has become so normalised that people are being traded in public. Continue reading... |
| North Korea 'ready for war' after US redeploys navy strike team Posted: 10 Apr 2017 11:57 PM PDT Pyongyang cites 'reckless moves' by US as Donald Trump repeats threat of unilateral action if China does not put pressure on its neighbour North Korea has warned of "catastrophic consequences" in response to any further provocations by the US, days after a US navy battle group was sent to waters off the Korean peninsula, and was met by Donald Trump with a repeated threat of unspecified unilateral action. The US president said on Twitter that he would "solve the problem" of North Korea if China did not provide greater help in exerting pressure on its neighbour. |
| Blaze devastates Grand-Synthe migrant camp outside Dunkirk Posted: 11 Apr 2017 05:06 AM PDT At least 10 people injured as prefect of French region says fire has left 'nothing but a heap of ashes' Related: We're working to spread asylum seekers more evenly across UK, says No 10 A large fire has devastated the Grande-Synthe migrant camp outside the northern French city of Dunkirk, reducing it to "a heap of ashes", a regional official has said. |
| Amnesty criticises 'rogue state' China as global death penalty toll falls Posted: 10 Apr 2017 04:01 PM PDT Rights group calls on Beijing to publish figures to allow informed debate about use of capital punishment Amnesty International has sharply criticised China for continuing to conceal the number of people it sentences to death, as the human rights group reported a fall in executions globally last year. The number of executions around the world fell by more than a third to 1,032 across 23 countries in 2016, compared with 1,634 in 25 countries in 2015. Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Pakistan were the top executioners. Continue reading... |
| Berlusconi cuddles lambs in vegetarian Easter campaign Posted: 10 Apr 2017 08:56 AM PDT Film featuring Italian ex-PM circulated on social media as meat lobby calls on advertisers to boycott his TV channels Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has infuriated Italy's meat industry by joining a vegetarian campaign and "adopting" five lambs that would have been butchered for Easter. A video by the Italian League in Defence of Animals and the Environment, showing Berlusconi cuddling, kissing and feeding the lambs with a baby's bottle, was circulated widely on social media over the weekend. Continue reading... |
| Pope to show solidarity with Egypt's Coptic Christians in wake of church bombings Posted: 10 Apr 2017 07:51 AM PDT Coptic church head in UK welcomes Pope Francis's visit to Cairo amid concerns over Isis attacks and perceived security failings The twin bombings of Coptic churches in Egypt on Palm Sunday are expected to give fresh impetus to a two-day visit by Pope Francis later this month, partly aimed at showing solidarity with the country's beleaguered Christian minority. A three-month state of emergency began on Monday at 1pm following the attacks in Alexandria and Tanta, which killed at least 47 people and injured more than 100. The bombings were the latest in a string of attacks on Copts in recent years. |
| Foreign states may have interfered in Brexit vote, report says Posted: 11 Apr 2017 04:01 PM PDT MPs are concerned about allegations governments including Russia and China may have interfered with EU referendum website Foreign governments such as Russia and China may have been involved in the collapse of a voter registration website in the run-up to the EU referendum, a committee of MPs has claimed. A report by the Commons public administration and constitutional affairs committee (PACAC) said MPs were deeply concerned about the allegations of foreign interference in last year's Brexit vote. Continue reading... |
| US defense chiefs say they want to deter more chemical attacks, not oust Assad Posted: 11 Apr 2017 03:43 PM PDT Defense secretary brushed off talks of Syria regime change amid contradictory messages from Trump administration and Rex Tillerson's visit to Russia The US defense chiefs have said that Washington's objectives in Syria are limited to deterring additional chemical weapons attacks by Bashar al-Assad. After days of contradictory messages from the Trump administration, the US defense secretary, James Mattis, used his first Pentagon press conference on Tuesday to clarify that the US seeks no wider military involvement in a conflict he defined as extraordinarily complex. Continue reading... |
| Recorded childhood cancers rise by 13% worldwide, study finds Posted: 11 Apr 2017 03:31 PM PDT Survival rates improve across the globe, as increase in cases over 20 years attributed largely to better detection and recording Childhood cancers have risen across the globe by 13% over 20 years, according to data from the World Health Organization's cancer section. Cancer in children is comparatively rare; when it does occur it is more likely to have been triggered by something in the child's genetic makeup than by anything to do with lifestyle or the environment. Continue reading... |
| Asylum seekers and the poorest parts of the UK are being let down | Letters Posted: 11 Apr 2017 10:52 AM PDT "Most refugees sent to the poorest parts of the UK" (Front page headline, 10 April). Here are suggested headlines for the remainder of the week: "Lowest life expectancy in the poorest parts of the UK"; "Proportionately highest levels of indirect taxation…"; "Worst maintained private and public housing…"; "Highest levels of prescription drugs…"; "Highest attendance at A&E departments..."; "Least investment in schools…"; "Highest number incarcerated…"; and more. Condescending notions such as "responsibilisation" are used to deflect the political, economic, structural dynamics and suffering of poverty. Zero-hours contracts are recast as "flexible and adaptive working"; low-waged health support workers are declined travel time; part-time contracts without holiday pay or security underpin; essential services are cut to the bone. The list is endless. Continue reading... |
| Antigua in the spotlight: hundreds of thousands descend for Semana Santa Posted: 10 Apr 2017 04:23 AM PDT This small city in Guatemala hosts one of the world's most famous Holy Week parades – but the influx of visitors brings new challenges to its ancient streets In much of the Catholic world, especially Spanish-speaking countries, huge religious parades – procesiónes – are staged to mark the days leading up to Easter. Religious collectives, often grouped around brotherhoods or guilds, parade shrines of Christ or the Virgin Mary through the streets, often with burning incense, spine-chilling chants and a little light flagellation. The city of Antigua, in southern Guatemala, is no exception – in fact, it leads the pack, with spectacular procesiones that are among the world's most iconic. Antigua's parades are a voluptuous, baroque, often dramatic affair – and not a brief one. "A parade can easily come out at 3pm and finish at 2am," says Mary Bolaños, a local photographer. She says the marches are an experience "one should live at least once". Continue reading... |
| 'Don't worry, I won't kill you': the strange boom in homeless tourism Posted: 10 Apr 2017 02:02 AM PDT From Prague to Los Angeles, tours led by homeless guides are showing visitors the dark heart of familiar cities – but does it help, or is it just poverty porn? It is a Friday afternoon in late winter and I am standing outside Prague's central train station, near a bronze statue of Woodrow Wilson, stripping to my long underwear. A few minutes earlier I'd met Klára, from the tourism group Pragulic, who hauled carrier bags filled with the clothes I would wear over the next 24 hours as a homeless person. Along with my new outfit, she gave me two things: a late-model Nokia programmed with contacts for the police, fire department, Pragulic's staff and my guide, Robert, and an envelope containing my budget – 20 koruna (60p). "You can use it to change in the bathrooms in the station," she says, "or you can save it and change out here." Continue reading... |
| Domestic violence and guns: the hidden American crisis ending women's lives Posted: 11 Apr 2017 10:01 AM PDT The shooting death of a teacher in San Bernardino, California, by her estranged husband was hardly an outlier – an estimated 50 women a month are shot to death in the US by former or current partners In one mass shooting after another, some gun control advocates and journalists see a common thread: when domestic violence is not the immediate cause of a mass shooting, it was there as a warning sign in the history of the perpetrator. On Monday, a husband murdered his wife, an elementary school teacher, and an eight-year-old child, opening fire on them in a classroom in San Bernardino, California, before turning the gun on himself, officials said. A nine-year-old student was also injured in the attack. Continue reading... |
| Boris Johnson has PM's 'full support' despite failure to secure sanctions Posted: 11 Apr 2017 12:51 PM PDT UK foreign secretary's performance is closely monitored but Theresa May is reportedly content with G7 summit signalling Assad needs to be removed Downing Street has insisted that Boris Johnson has the full support of Theresa May, despite the foreign secretary failing to secure the backing of his fellow G7 foreign ministers for plans to penalise Russia and Syria over last week's chemical weapons attack. The 30-page communique from the two-day G7 summit failed to make any mention of Johnson's proposal of imposing sanctions on key military personnel. Continue reading... |
| The Guardian view on Syria: Trump’s unpredictability demands European steadiness | Editorial Posted: 11 Apr 2017 12:01 PM PDT The shifting and contradictory stances of the US administration are concerning – but all the more reason for other western nations to work together Rex Tillerson's plane touched down in Moscow on Tuesday amid a smoky haze caused by a fire at a nearby rubbish dump. More than one observer found the metaphor irresistible. The US approach to Syria – the term "policy" would dignify it with a coherence it does not deserve – is more opaque, contradictory and confusing than ever. Its stance on Russia, once so cosy but now confrontational in tone at least, is arguably even less clear. Its ability to work with other western nations to present a united front to Vladimir Putin and Bashar al-Assad is similarly foggy. The secretary of state had hoped to carry a unified and resonant message from the meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Italy. Those present in Lucca condemned the chemical attack at Khan Sheikhun that prompted last Friday's US missile strike on a Syrian airbase, and agreed that President Assad could not be part of Syria's future – as they have been saying for years. But they divided over what to do next and declined to back Boris Johnson's call for further sanctions against Syrian military leaders and Russia, reflecting doubts about their efficacy and a belief that culpability for the chemical attack must be fully proven. Continue reading... |
| Anti-war protests that helped transform opinion | Letters Posted: 10 Apr 2017 11:02 AM PDT Zoe Williams (Most protests do work…eventually, 10 April) should visit the Imperial War Museum's exhibition of British anti-war protest movements since 1900. It highlights all those that could be considered failures – the conscientious objectors of the two world wars, the inter-war peace movements, CND and its associates like Greenham Common and the anti-Iraq war movement. What is missing is reference to movements that were part of a successful change in the political climate of opinion. Nothing about Abyssinia or Spain, Suez or the Falklands, Mau Mau, Aden, or Cyprus. The Vietnam war protests are presented as a peripheral American phenomenon. But the Suez protest in '56 started the wind of change in colonial policy. The Grosvenor Square protest in '68 prevented the UK openly joining the US in fighting. Street politics don't claim to exercise the art of the possible. They are part of the art of making things possible. • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com Continue reading... |
| One-third of Australians are being underpaid superannuation Posted: 11 Apr 2017 03:02 PM PDT Data shows which electorates are the worst for workers – with the average underpayment more than $2,000 a year One-third of eligible workers in Australia are being underpaid superannuation by their employers, or not being paid super at all. The average underpayment is worth $2,025 a person each year, and more than 2.7 million workers are affected. |
| Snubbing Russia and unpicking Assad | Letters Posted: 11 Apr 2017 10:52 AM PDT For three years in the late 90s, Sergey Lavrov was my Russian counterpart when we represented our countries on the UN security council in New York. Despite some obvious policy differences, Lavrov never played the UK false; he was a serious and creative negotiator, with a good sense of humour and a passion for the English language and its literature. To decline Lavrov's invitation for our new foreign secretary to visit Moscow (Report, 10 April), just when new tensions show such contacts are most needed, seems ill-advised. Hard too to square with the windy rhetoric, since the Brexit referendum, that Britain will re-emerge as a world power rejuvenated. • Paul Mason's article (G2, 11 April) is characteristically thoughtful and intelligent but his premise is presumptuous. "I am convinced on the current evidence that Assad's planes dropped chemical weapons on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhun on 4 April," he writes, accepting immediately thereafter that "verifiable forensic evidence" is still awaited. Continue reading... |
| UN security council built for 70 years ago | Letters Posted: 11 Apr 2017 10:51 AM PDT Mark Seddon is right in suggesting reform of the UN is overdue (Opinion, 11 April), especially the permanent membership of the security council. The colonies of 70 years ago are almost all independent. Germany is no longer the war-ravaged and occupied country it was in the 1940s, but an economic powerhouse and a bastion of democracy. Russia no longer dominates much of central and eastern Europe. The world has changed radically since the late 1940s. We still live with a permanent membership of a UN security council that reflects the realities of decades ago. The UK leaving the European Union gives the UN opportunity to examine which nations should be permanent members of the security council. Giving the EU a place as a permanent member, and removing the UK's seat at this table, would reflect power in the world as it is today. • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com Continue reading... |
| Protest photos: the power of one woman against the world Posted: 11 Apr 2017 10:47 AM PDT The shot of Saffiyah Khan calmly staring down an EDL demonstrator in Birmingham became instantly famous. Why are images like these so transfixing? Shows of strength and defiance aren't in short supply at your average protest – demonstrating, by its nature, requires a level of commitment that weeds out the bystanders, the unimpressively apathetic. But what is it that makes the money shot? The protest photo that goes viral? Well, for one, women. Or, more accurately, one woman. Often a striking, beautiful-looking woman. But mostly, a woman who looks like a badass without seeming to do anything much that is dramatic at all. Continue reading... |
| ‘Nice’ is more than a destination: what Ryanair can teach United Airlines Posted: 11 Apr 2017 10:14 AM PDT The budget Irish carrier had a terrible reputation for customer service until its notorious boss had a change of heart. Then the profits took off … When I interviewed Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary six years ago, he denied his budget airline had an image problem. "Ryanair is responsible for the integration of Europe by bringing lots of different cultures to the beaches of Spain, Greece and Italy, where they couple and copulate in the interests of pan-European peace," he said. "There hasn't been a war in Europe for 50 years, because they're all too busy flying on Ryanair. I should get the Nobel peace prize – screw Bono." Continue reading... |
| Turkey says sarin gas was used in Syria chemical attack Posted: 11 Apr 2017 09:36 AM PDT Tests on victims find traces of substance sarin degrades into while Russia claims they come from leaked chemicals stored in nearby rebel warehouse Traces of sarin gas have been detected in blood and urine samples from victims wounded in the town of Khan Sheikhun in Syria, giving "concrete evidence" of its use in the attack, Turkey's health minister has said. Doctors and aid workers who had examined the wounded of last week's massacre, which provoked the first US military strikes against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, said they exhibited symptoms of exposure to a nerve agent similar to sarin, as well as a second chemical that may have been chlorine. Continue reading... |
| Putin: UN should probe chemical weapons attack – video Posted: 11 Apr 2017 09:03 AM PDT Russian president Vladimir Putin says Russia will appeal to the United Nations to investigate last week's chemical attack in Syria. Moscow has dismissed suggestions that the Syrian government, which it backs, could be behind the attack in Idlib province. Putin told reporters on Tuesday that Russia would appeal to a UN agency in the Hague, urging it to hold an official probe Continue reading... |
| Tillerson: Assad's reign in Syria is coming to an end – video Posted: 11 Apr 2017 07:41 AM PDT Rex Tillerson, the US secretary of state, speaks to journalists on Tuesday at the G7 summit in Lucca, Italy. Tillerson says Russia's relationship with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, Iran and Hezbollah will not serve its interests in the long term Continue reading... |
| 'We're the geeks, the prostitutes': Asian American actors on Hollywood's barriers Posted: 11 Apr 2017 02:00 AM PDT Films like Ghost in the Shell have fueled debate over whitewashing, while roles are few for Asian Americans – and when they are wanted, it's often to play offensive stereotypes Pun Bandhu's training at the prestigious Yale School of Drama didn't help much with the skill he needed for so many auditions after graduation – the "Asian accent". The Thai American actor – who has appeared in a wide range of TV shows and films over the last 15 years – said he was once told that an accent he used for a Thai character, modeled after his parents, was not working for an "American ear". Instead, the director went with a Chinese accent. Continue reading... |
| French migrant camp outside Dunkirk destroyed by fire – video Posted: 11 Apr 2017 01:38 AM PDT The Grande-Synthe migrant camp outside Dunkirk in northern France is ablaze on Monday evening. The camp was home to up to 1,500 migrants. The fire broke out after reports of scuffles earlier in the day between Afghans and Kurds, which resulted in at least six people wounded Continue reading... |
| Pope opens free launderette for Rome's homeless people Posted: 11 Apr 2017 01:29 AM PDT Pope Francis Laundry – which provides detergent, irons and tumble dryers – is latest papal initiative to help city's poor Pope Francis has opened a free launderette in Rome in the latest of a series of initiatives aimed at poor people that has included help with housing, showers, haircuts, meals and medical care. Six washing machines and dryers were donated to the facility in the city centre. Detergent, fabric softener and a number of irons have also been provided. |
| United Airlines passenger forcibly removed from overbooked flight – video Posted: 11 Apr 2017 01:13 AM PDT Amateur footage shows a man being dragged out of his seat by aviation police officials on a United Airlines passenger plane because the flight was overbooked. The man is later filmed back on the flight, running up and down the aisle saying he needed to go home. The flight was waiting to depart from Chicago's O'Hare airport. The company wanted four passengers to leave the overbooked flight in order to make room for airline employees Continue reading... |
| White House warns of potential US 'red line' over Syria barrel bomb attacks Posted: 11 Apr 2017 01:07 AM PDT Criteria would mark substantial expansion of rules of engagement, as Rex Tillerson says US would come to defense of civilians 'anywhere' amid G7 talks The Trump administration has signalled much broader grounds for future military intervention in Syria, suggesting it might retaliate against the Assad regime for barrel bomb attacks. On the eve of a critical visit to Moscow at a time of high US-Russian tensions over Syria, the US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, appeared to go even further, saying his country would come to the defence of innocent civilians "anywhere in the world". Continue reading... |
| Nurses grant dying man final wish – a cigarette and glass of wine Posted: 11 Apr 2017 12:49 AM PDT After deciding Carsten Flemming Hansen, 75, was too ill for surgery, Danish hospital broke protocol to grant his last request A man has been granted his dying wish of a cigarette and a glass of white wine by staff at a hospital in Denmark. According to a post on the hospital's Facebook page, Carsten Flemming Hansen, 75, was found to be terminally ill after he was admitted to hospital with an aortic aneurysm and internal bleeding. Continue reading... |
| Indonesia: gay men facing 100 lashes for having sex Posted: 10 Apr 2017 11:09 PM PDT Case could become the first time Aceh's sharia law has been enforced against homosexuality Two gay Indonesian men have been arrested and face 100 lashes in a case that is drawing international attention to the enforcement of controversial new Islamic bylaws in the semi-autonomous Aceh province. Mobile phone footage, showing vigilantes slapping one of the young men as he sits naked on the ground awaiting arrest by local sharia police, has been shared on social media in the world's largest Muslim-majority country. Continue reading... |
| Russian embassy's Twitter account vents barbs against west Posted: 10 Apr 2017 11:00 PM PDT Tirades against western leaders dovetail with wider Russian propaganda that some fear could influence the outcome of upcoming European elections On Sunday morning, the official Russian embassy to the UK Twitter account posted a photograph of flower petals in Sochi lit up in the sunshine. But it soon moved on to politics. "It is deplorable that @BorisJohnson found himself unfit to stand Western ground on Syria in bilateral talks with Sergey Lavrov," the embassy said, in reference to the foreign secretary cancelling a planned visit to Moscow while US secretary of state Rex Tillerson goes ahead with his. Continue reading... |
| Tuesday briefing: UK eyes 'window' to pressure Putin Posted: 10 Apr 2017 10:29 PM PDT Boris Johnson says G7 must consider tougher action … fire destroys large parts of a Dunkirk migrant camp ... and the 'Monkman' of Wolfson is finally defeated Good morning and welcome to the Guardian morning briefing. This is Martin Farrer with the top stories. Continue reading... |
| Philippine death squad whistleblower Arturo Lascanas flees to Singapore Posted: 10 Apr 2017 09:37 PM PDT Former officer has been in hiding since he revealed the workings of Davao death squads run by now-president Rodrigo Duterte After months of living in hiding, Arturo Lascanas – a former police officer who accused Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte of orchestrating a decades-long campaign of death squads and lawless murder – has fled to Singapore. The retired 56-year-old officer is a self-confessed member of the Davao Death Squad (DDS), a group he alleges was formed in the late 1980s by then mayor Rodrigo Duterte, to kill hardened criminals, drug dealers and political opponents. Continue reading... |
| Mosul zoo's last survivors, Simba the lion and Lula the bear, flown to safety Posted: 10 Apr 2017 08:47 PM PDT The animals were found covered in dirt and excrement and abandoned in their cages in February Simba the lion and Lula the bear, the last two residents of Mosul zoo, have been flown out of Iraq to receive emergency care from an animal welfare group. A group of veterinarians from the Four Paws International charity took the animals out of war-battered Mosul and after many administrative delays finally managed to fly them to Jordan from the Iraqi Kurdish capital of Arbil. Continue reading... |
| Liberal support for Trump’s Syria strikes | Letters Posted: 10 Apr 2017 11:05 AM PDT I don't think Owen Jones (I despair at the liberals now eating out of Trump's hand, 10 April) understands that not everything in politics has to be ultra-partisan. The "liberals" of whom he so dismissively speaks are not Donald Trump's "apologists" because they support the US missile strike on Assad's airfields. In reality it is possible to maintain one's opposition to Trump and acknowledge that attempting to deter a brutal dictator from using chemical weapons in the future is no bad thing. It should not be forgotten that President Obama wanted to take action against Assad in 2013 and Hillary Clinton also advocated taking out his airfields in Syria. But Owen Jones seems to think that by supporting one strike we are forgetting all of Trump's flaws and are now standing fully behind him. We have not forgotten about his appalling policies, including his ban on refugees and immigrants from Muslim-majority countries which contradicts his new position on Syria. How can you expect to help the fleeing civilians if you do not grant them asylum? Continue reading... |
| Philippines committed to human rights | Letter from the Philippine ambassador to the UK Posted: 10 Apr 2017 11:01 AM PDT In response to your article (Dismay over Liam Fox's claim of shared values with Duterte's brutal regime, 4 April), like the UK, the Philippines is a strong democracy with a very active and engaged civil society keen on participative and transparent governance. We are committed to upholding a rules-based international order. The strong commitment and adherence to human rights have made dialogue between the Philippines and the UK smooth, with no major irritants. President Duterte's relentless campaign against illegal drugs is being waged with firm adherence to the rule of law, due process, and human rights. It is anchored not only in law enforcement, but also in rehabilitation of drug addicts, and poverty alleviation programmes aimed to improve the lives of victims, especially young people. The Filipino people's support for the president's stance on peace and order is evident in his consistent high approval ratings. Continue reading... |
| Why Vladimir Putin may be in too deep in Syria to ditch Assad | Martin Chulov Posted: 10 Apr 2017 10:02 AM PDT Rather than moderate its stance on Syria, Russia has dug in, and there is no mood in Moscow to concede any ground to the US Five years of political capital, over a million tonnes of weapons, tens of billions of dollars, Russia's role as both dominant regional presence and rising global force – these are all at stake if Vladimir Putin abandons Syria's leader. This is the reckoning faced by the US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, as he travels to Moscow to try to prise the Russian president away from his support of Bashar al-Assad in the aftermath of last week's nerve agent attack on Khan Sheikhun. Continue reading... |
| 'Worrying trend' as aid money stays in wealthiest countries Posted: 11 Apr 2017 10:26 AM PDT Critics claim continued rise in global aid masks alarming trend as donor countries include cost of hosting refugees in their figures Global aid has reached a peak, according to figures released on Tuesday – but experts say "genuine" aid to the world's poorest places has not risen, with much of the extra cash staying in Europe and rich countries elsewhere to cover the costs of the refugee crisis. Development aid from 29 of the world's wealthiest countries hit $142.6bn (£114bn) in 2016, a 9% increase from 2015. According to statistics published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, almost 2% of this rise remained in donor countries, including EU states, to deal with the cost of hosting refugees, which has surged by 27.5% since 2015 to reach $15.4bn. Continue reading... |
| Drought took their animals and land – now hunger is taking Somalia's children Posted: 10 Apr 2017 09:15 AM PDT When the rains failed in Somalia, a war zone with few roads or hospitals, the consequences for people who live off the land were inevitable. But one year on, few expected the scale or the pain of the disaster now unfolding All photographs by Peter Caton for the Australian Red Cross Niman Adan Gabus is two years old. He was one of 363,000 Somali children suffering from acute malnutrition. Niman will now survive after he reached help at Hargeisa group hospital. Continue reading... |
| What's Trump's plan for Syria? Five different policies in two weeks Posted: 11 Apr 2017 03:00 AM PDT Until late last month, Donald Trump was fine with Bashar al-Assad remaining in power. Since then, his administration has struggled to articulate a clear plan Confused by Donald Trump's policy on Syria? That just means you've been listening to what his administration has been saying in the last few days. The US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, is to fly to Moscow on Tuesday, where the novice US diplomat is expected to discuss the fate of Bashar al-Assad. Meanwhile, the world is still trying to understand just what goal Trump's fledgling administration is pursuing in Syria. Continue reading... |
| Sean Spicer on Assad regime: ‘Even Hitler didn’t use chemical weapons’ – video Posted: 11 Apr 2017 12:43 PM PDT The White House press secretary told reporters that 'someone as despicable as Hitler didn't even sink to using chemical weapons' and said Russia must consider if Syria is a 'country and a regime you want to align yourself with' during the press briefing on Tuesday. When asked to clarify his remarks, Spicer explained by adding, 'He was not using the gas on his own people the same way that Assad is doing' and referred to concentration camps as 'Holocaust centers' Sean Spicer faces backlash after claiming Hitler did not use chemical weapons Continue reading... |
| San Bernardino school shooter was teacher's husband, officials say – video report Posted: 11 Apr 2017 11:24 AM PDT Officials say the special education teacher fatally shot in San Bernardino, California, on Monday was killed by her estranged husband, whom she had only recently married. Karen Elaine Smith was shot by her husband, Cedric Anderson, who also shot an eight-year-old boy and injured another student at North Park elementary school, according to authorities. The gunman, who police say had a criminal history that included weapons charges and domestic violence, then shot himself Continue reading... |
| Two dead in shooting at San Bernardino school – video report Posted: 10 Apr 2017 01:53 PM PDT A shooting at an elementary school classroom in San Bernardino, California, has left two adults dead and two students injured on Monday, according to law enforcement. Police officials said that a shooting at North Park elementary school – which may have been a "murder-suicide" – has affected at least four victims, including a teacher Continue reading... |
| Trump praises Neil Gorsuch and himself at supreme court swearing-in – video Posted: 10 Apr 2017 09:38 AM PDT Donald Trump praised Neil Gorsuch at a swearing-in ceremony at the White House on Monday while also complimenting himself on getting the supreme court vacancy filled in his first 100 days as president. Trump earned the biggest political victory of his presidency and fulfilled a major campaign promise when the Senate voted to confirm the conservative federal appeals court judge from Colorado to the lifetime job of supreme court justice Continue reading... |
| Rex Tillerson blames Russian inaction for Syria gas attack – video Posted: 10 Apr 2017 08:19 AM PDT The secretary of state on Sunday blamed Russia's inaction for helping fuel a deadly poison gas attack against Syrian civilians last week, saying Moscow failed to carry out a 2013 agreement to secure and destroy chemical weapons in Syria. Appearing on CBS's Face the Nation, Tillerson said: 'The Russians have played now for some time the role of playing cover for Bashar al-Assad's behavior' Continue reading... |
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