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- Chechens tell of prison beatings and electric shocks in anti-gay purge: ‘They called us animals’
- 36 Isis militants killed in US 'mother of all bombs' attack, says Afghan ministry
- Assad says Syria chemical attack that killed dozens is 'fabrication'
- Canada introduces long-awaited legislation to fully legalise marijuana
- Man arrested after Borussia Dortmund attack 'led Isis unit in Iraq'
- British spies were first to spot Trump team's links with Russia
- Bana Alabed, seven-year-old Syrian peace campaigner, to publish memoir
- Russia pulls out of Eurovision after singer barred from Ukraine
- Russia could have done more to prevent Beslan school siege, court finds
- Mentally ill man set to die in Arkansas 'conveyor belt' executions
- Thailand bans online contact with three critics of regime
- Interpol issues red notice for Scottish teacher wanted for Myanmar murder
- Harare's park bench grandmas: 'I speak to them and feel a load is lifted off my heart'
- Lal Kach festival in Bangladesh - in pictures
- Toshiba's US nuclear problems could provide cautionary tale for UK
- North Korea’s vice foreign minister blames US for tensions – video
- The Blood Miracles by Lisa McInerney review – an addictive read
- Westminster attack: Masood did act alone, police conclude
- Besieged Syria towns evacuated as regime and rebels begin huge people swap
- Former Trump adviser Carter Page left firm in 1998 amid alleged concern over 'pro-Kremlin' views
- North Korea blames Trump's 'aggression' amid nuclear test crisis
- MiVote aims to shake up democratic process with a click and a tap
- Is France finally ready to choose Marine Le Pen as president?
- Authors protest against Hungary's plans to close Central European University
- Spiritual festival on India's Yamuna river caused £5m damage
- 'Mother of all bombs': test footage shows destructive force of GBU-43/B – video
- Drugmakers don't want their medicines used in spate of Arkansas executions
- BME teachers often given stereotypical roles in schools, survey finds
- Sean Spicer details use of largest non-nuclear bomb on Isis in Afghanistan – video
- Aldermaston marches and the Cuban missile crisis | Letters
- Allow me to be Irish, Protestant and proud | Letters
- ‘Lawsuit? Yeah probably’, says attorney of passenger dragged off United Airlines plane – video
- Bernard Gosschalk obituary
- United Airlines passenger claims scorpion stung him on flight to Canada
- French elections: all you need to know
- Faith still a potent presence in UK politics, says author
- United passenger dragged off plane likely to sue airline, attorney says
- Assad says chemical weapons attack was 'fabricated' – video
- 'Look at me when I'm speaking': Russian UN envoy chides UK ambassador – video
- Therapy on a bench: the grandmas beating mental illness in Harare – video
- India takes flawed first step towards ending HIV and Aids prejudice
- Eritreans in the Netherlands complain of pressure to support youth congress
- Is business starting to get spooked about Donald Trump? | Larry Elliott
- Sacramento police accused of excessive force on jaywalker – video
- Trailblazing judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam found dead – video report
| Chechens tell of prison beatings and electric shocks in anti-gay purge: ‘They called us animals’ Posted: 13 Apr 2017 09:30 AM PDT Up to several hundred gay men are feared to have been rounded up and some killed in ultra-conservative Russian republic At least once a day, Adam's captors attached metal clamps to his fingers and toes. One of the men then cranked a handle on a machine to which the clamps were linked with wires, and sent powerful electric shocks through his body. If he managed not to scream, others would join in, beating him with wooden sticks or metal rods. As they tortured him, the men shouted verbal abuse at him for being gay, and demanded to know the names of other gay men he knew in Chechnya. "Sometimes they were trying to get information from me; other times they were just amusing themselves," he said, speaking about the ordeal he underwent just a month ago with some difficulty. Continue reading... |
| 36 Isis militants killed in US 'mother of all bombs' attack, says Afghan ministry Posted: 13 Apr 2017 11:27 PM PDT GBU-43/B device targeted Isis 'tunnel complex' and is the largest non-nuclear bomb US has used in combat
Up to 36 suspected Islamic State militants were killed in Afghanistan when the US dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb ever used in combat, the Afghan defence ministry said on Friday. Continue reading... |
| Assad says Syria chemical attack that killed dozens is 'fabrication' Posted: 13 Apr 2017 08:13 AM PDT President dismisses evidence from weapons experts who found traces of nerve agent in samples from Khan Sheikhun The Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, has described a chemical attack that killed dozens of people and prompted Donald Trump to launch missile strikes on his country as "a fabrication". Related: 'The dead were wherever you looked': inside Syrian town after chemical attack Continue reading... |
| Canada introduces long-awaited legislation to fully legalise marijuana Posted: 13 Apr 2017 03:13 PM PDT Two bills, which plan to legalise recreational marijuana by July 2018, divvy up regulation, distribution and sale between federal and provincial governments The Canadian government has introduced highly anticipated legislation aimed at regulating recreational marijuana use by July 2018, paving the way for the country to become the first in the G7 to fully legalise the drug. On Thursday, the Liberal government tabled two bills designed to end more than 90 years of prohibition. "Despite decades of criminal prohibition, Canadians – including 21% of our youth and 30% of young adults – continue to use cannabis at among the highest rates in the world," said Bill Blair, the MP and former Toronto police chief tapped to lead the government's plans for legalisation. "The proposed legislation, which is introduced today, seeks to legalise, strictly regulate and restrict access to cannabis." Continue reading... |
| Man arrested after Borussia Dortmund attack 'led Isis unit in Iraq' Posted: 13 Apr 2017 06:44 AM PDT But prosecutor's office says there is no evidence so far that Islamic State member played part in attack on football team's bus German prosecutors have said a man arrested after a bomb attack on a bus carrying the Borussia Dortmund football team is a member of Islamic State but there is so far no evidence he was involved in the incident. The man, a 26-year-old Iraqi identified only as Abdul Beset al-O, arrived in Germany last year via Turkey, according to a statement from the prosecutor's office. Continue reading... |
| British spies were first to spot Trump team's links with Russia Posted: 13 Apr 2017 06:39 AM PDT Exclusive: GCHQ is said to have alerted US agencies after becoming aware of contacts in 2015 Britain's spy agencies played a crucial role in alerting their counterparts in Washington to contacts between members of Donald Trump's campaign team and Russian intelligence operatives, the Guardian has been told. GCHQ first became aware in late 2015 of suspicious "interactions" between figures connected to Trump and known or suspected Russian agents, a source close to UK intelligence said. This intelligence was passed to the US as part of a routine exchange of information, they added. Continue reading... |
| Bana Alabed, seven-year-old Syrian peace campaigner, to publish memoir Posted: 13 Apr 2017 06:53 AM PDT Dear World, which will recount the young Twitter activist's experience of war and flight from her war-torn home, is scheduled for autumn release A seven-year-old Syrian refugee whose tweets from war-torn Aleppo won her a global following is set to write a book. Bana Alabed's Dear World will recount her experiences in Syria and how she and her family rebuilt their lives as refugees. Simon & Schuster plans to publish it in the US this autumn. The self-declared peace activist took to the social media network that made her name to announce the news. "I am happy to announce my book will be published by Simon & Schuster. The world must end all the wars now in every part of the world," she tweeted to her 368,000 followers. Continue reading... |
| Russia pulls out of Eurovision after singer barred from Ukraine Posted: 13 Apr 2017 12:55 PM PDT Julia Samoylova had been banned by hosts after touring disputed Crimea The Russian television station Channel One has announced that it will not take part in next month's Eurovision song contest or broadcast the competition because its contestant has been barred from the host country, Ukraine. The statement came in Thursday's evening news bulletin after a dispute over whether Russia's entrant, Julia Samoylova, would be allowed to attend the event in Kiev because she had toured in Crimea in 2015 after it was annexed by Russia. Continue reading... |
| Russia could have done more to prevent Beslan school siege, court finds Posted: 13 Apr 2017 02:32 AM PDT European court of human rights says security at school was not increased despite prior warning of attack Russian authorities failed to take sufficient steps to stop the 2004 Beslan school siege in North Ossetia in which more than 330 people were killed, the European court of human rights has ruled. The court said Russian authorities had received information that a terror attack was being planned and security at the school was not increased sufficiently. Continue reading... |
| Mentally ill man set to die in Arkansas 'conveyor belt' executions Posted: 13 Apr 2017 03:00 AM PDT The case of Bruce Ward, diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, is glaringly at risk of flouting constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment At some time after 7pm on Monday night, Bruce Ward will be escorted into the death chamber in the Cummins Unit in Arkansas, strapped to a gurney, and have IV lines inserted into his veins. The lines will run through a hole in the wall to a "chemical room" separated from the main chamber by a one-way mirror, and behind that glass two executioners will sit who, when the word is given, will plunge syringes containing three deadly drugs into him. If the procedure goes according to plan, Ward will sink into a deep sedation caused by the first drug, have his muscles paralysed by the second, and then the third will stop his heart. If it doesn't, he can look forward to a death that is prolonged, agonizing and grotesque for those unfortunate enough to witness it. Continue reading... |
| Thailand bans online contact with three critics of regime Posted: 13 Apr 2017 02:15 AM PDT Two academics and a journalist have large followings for their commentary about failings of junta and monarchy The military-run government of Thailand has announced a ban on all online interaction with three of its most prominent overseas critics. A letter from the digital economy and society ministry warned citizens that engaging on the internet with the Thai academics Somsak Jeamteerasakul and Pavin Chachavalpongpun as well as the journalist Andrew MacGregor Marshall could violate the law. Continue reading... |
| Interpol issues red notice for Scottish teacher wanted for Myanmar murder Posted: 14 Apr 2017 01:38 AM PDT Harris Binotti from Dumfries is charged with killing Gary Ferguson, who was found dead in Yangon last November Interpol has issued a red notice for a Scottish teacher wanted by police over the suspected murder of a colleague in Myanmar. Harris Binotti, 26, fled the south-east Asian country in November last year, hours before Gary Ferguson was found dead. Continue reading... |
| Harare's park bench grandmas: 'I speak to them and feel a load is lifted off my heart' Posted: 14 Apr 2017 01:00 AM PDT One in four Zimbabweans suffers from mental illness, but untrained female health workers are setting a new benchmark for the treatment of patients The therapy room is a patch of waste ground, and the therapist's couch a wooden bench under a tree. The therapist is an elderly Zimbabwean woman, in a long brown dress and headscarf. Her patients call her "Grandmother" when they come along to sit on her bench and discuss their feelings, their depression or other mental health issues. |
| Lal Kach festival in Bangladesh - in pictures Posted: 14 Apr 2017 12:38 AM PDT During the Hindu Lal Kach festival in Dhaka, men and boys cover themselves in body paint and take part in processions through their local neighbourhoods wielding swords to ward off evil and welcome the Bengali new year 1424 Continue reading... |
| Toshiba's US nuclear problems could provide cautionary tale for UK Posted: 14 Apr 2017 12:00 AM PDT Experts say construction delays and cost problems at two plants are due to lack of experience and absence of supply chains The roots of Toshiba's admission this week that it has serious doubts over its "ability to continue as a going concern" can be found near two small US towns. It is the four reactors being built for nuclear power stations outside Waynesboro, in Georgia, and Jenkinsville, South Carolina, by the company's US subsidiary Westinghouse that have left the Japanese corporation facing an annual loss of £7.37bn. Continue reading...This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| North Korea’s vice foreign minister blames US for tensions – video Posted: 13 Apr 2017 11:58 PM PDT North Korea's vice foreign minister blames the US for causing problems on the Korean Peninsula on Friday. In an interview with the Associated Press in Pyongyang, Vice Minister Han Song Ryol also said Washington was becoming "more vicious and more aggressive" since President Donald Trump took power. Tensions are deepening as the US has sent an aircraft carrier to waters off the peninsula and is conducting its biggest-ever joint military exercises with South Korea Continue reading... |
| The Blood Miracles by Lisa McInerney review – an addictive read Posted: 13 Apr 2017 11:29 PM PDT A gripping story of drugs and descent into Cork's criminal underworld develops a plot line from McInerney's debut Self-described "sweary lady" Lisa McInerney was the voice of alternative Ireland before she abandoned her blog The Arse End of Ireland and joined the mainstream literary world. For several years, she'd documented the highs and lows of life on a Galway council estate with joyful cynicism. She then deleted the blog and drew on the material to create her first novel, The Glorious Heresies, which won last year's Baileys women's prize for fiction. That novel moved between the heads of a young rebel, a prostitute and a grandmother-turned-murderer in energetic, casually inventive prose. It was the troubled adolescent, Ryan, who was the focus for writerly and readerly sympathy, and it's his story that takes centre stage in The Blood Miracles, a novel related entirely from his point of view. Continue reading... |
| Westminster attack: Masood did act alone, police conclude Posted: 13 Apr 2017 12:09 PM PDT Counter-terrorism officials are seeking no one else but are rethinking how to stop unsophisticated attacks like Khalid Masood's atrocity Investigators now believe that the man responsible for the Westminster attack in March acted wholly alone in the planning and preparation for the first mass casualty terrorist atrocity to hit Britain in more than 10 years. Initially investigators believed it was possible that the attacker, 52-year-old Khalid Masood, had encouragement, support or help in the planning, from someone else. Continue reading... |
| Besieged Syria towns evacuated as regime and rebels begin huge people swap Posted: 13 Apr 2017 11:07 PM PDT Dozens of buses arrive early on Friday in operation that will move tens of thousands of people out of four towns The evacuation of four towns besieged by rebels and government forces began on Friday under a deal brokered by opposition backer Qatar and regime ally Iran. The initial phase of the operation, which involves a coordinated population swap of tens of thousands of people, involved at least 80 buses, an AFP correspondent in rebel-held Rashidin, west of Aleppo city, said. Continue reading... |
| Former Trump adviser Carter Page left firm in 1998 amid alleged concern over 'pro-Kremlin' views Posted: 13 Apr 2017 11:00 PM PDT Page left the consulting firm Eurasia Group in 1998, suggesting his Russian sympathies were known for nearly two decades before he joined Trump campaign A former adviser to Donald Trump who is at the centre of an FBI investigation was exhibiting "strongly pro-Kremlin" ideology almost two decades ago, his former employer has told the Guardian. Carter Page, who was reportedly being monitored by the FBI last summer because of suspicions about his ties to Russia, was hired in 1998 by the Eurasia Group, a major US consulting firm that advises banks and multinational corporations, but left the firm shortly thereafter. Continue reading... |
| North Korea blames Trump's 'aggression' amid nuclear test crisis Posted: 14 Apr 2017 12:09 AM PDT Vice-foreign minister says Pyongyang will conduct nuclear test when it sees fit as China appeals to US to avoid pre-emptive strike North Korea has accused Donald Trump of raising tensions in the region and warned that the regime would conduct a nuclear test when it sees fit, as China issued a plea to Washington not to use pre-emptive military action. In an interview with the Associated Press in Pyongyang, North Korea's vice-foreign minister, Han Song-ryol said Trump's "aggressive" tweets aimed at the regime were "causing trouble", adding that the mounting crisis on the peninsula was now locked in a "vicious cycle". Continue reading... |
| MiVote aims to shake up democratic process with a click and a tap Posted: 13 Apr 2017 09:40 PM PDT It's about more choices, says start-up, which wants to harness the internet and mobile devices to let voters set Australia's direction Disruption of the democratic process is within arm's reach, according to MiVote, the democracy start-up that plans to use the internet and mobile devices for voters to set the direction of their country. Its founder, Adam Jacoby, believes that offering a platform to educate voters and help them choose from a range of policy options will help break undemocratic binary options and deadlocks on issues as broad as refugee policy and the energy mix. Continue reading... |
| Is France finally ready to choose Marine Le Pen as president? Posted: 14 Apr 2017 01:12 AM PDT Having sanitised the Front National's racist image, can the party's leader now clean up in a presidential election too close to call? Backstage at a rally in southern France in the early days of the presidential race, Marine Le Pen took a puff on the electronic cigarette that has replaced her two-packets-a-day tobacco habit. "I'm going to run a joyful campaign," she smiled. Le Pen wanted to soften her harsh image and "soothe" voters – she had posed for pictures hugging horses and pet kittens – but also to offer a hardline programme she believed would "reassure" a French population despairing of decades of mass unemployment and a persistent terrorist threat. Continue reading... |
| Authors protest against Hungary's plans to close Central European University Posted: 13 Apr 2017 11:00 PM PDT Poet George Szirtes and novelist Colm Tóibín lead open letter against new law by Hungarian government that could close Central European University More than 400 international authors, artists and academics, led by award-winning poet George Szirtes and novelist Colm Tóibín, have criticised the Hungarian government over a law that could close a university founded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros. Related: Hungary investigated by EU over law threatening top university Continue reading... |
| Spiritual festival on India's Yamuna river caused £5m damage Posted: 13 Apr 2017 08:00 PM PDT Report says it will take 10 years to fix problems caused by the event, which 'completely destroyed' the riverbed A spiritual festival held along an Indian river last year, despite warnings by the country's environmental watchdog, caused more than £5m of damage that could take 10 years to fix, according to a report. One of India's most celebrated gurus, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, headlined the World Culture festival along Delhi's Yamuna river in March last year, drawing more than 3 million visitors including the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi. Continue reading... |
| 'Mother of all bombs': test footage shows destructive force of GBU-43/B – video Posted: 13 Apr 2017 06:43 PM PDT Footage from 2003 shows the GBU-43/B bomb being tested at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. Nicknamed the "mother of all bombs", the GBU-43/B was used for the first time by the US military on Thursday to target a 'tunnel complex' used by the Islamic State's Afghanistan affiliate. It is the largest non-nuclear bomb the US has ever used in combat. Designed for destroying underground targets but not itself a deep-earth penetrator weapon, the GBU-43/B has the explosive yield of more than 11 tons of TNT. Continue reading... |
| Drugmakers don't want their medicines used in spate of Arkansas executions Posted: 13 Apr 2017 05:08 PM PDT Manufacturers of drugs often used for lethal injections have asked a judge to stop them from being used in state's plan to execute seven men in 11 days Two drugmakers have asked a judge to stop the use of their medicines for executions in Arkansas, which plans to kill seven men over 11 days before the state's supply of a lethal injection drug expires. Fresenius Kabi USA and West-Ward Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturers of two drug compounds often used for executions in the US, filed amicus briefs in district court in Arkansas on Thursday. "When the medicines could be used to protect life, they are instead being used to end it," attorneys for the companies wrote in court documents. Continue reading... |
| BME teachers often given stereotypical roles in schools, survey finds Posted: 13 Apr 2017 04:01 PM PDT Research revealed fears of being tagged a troublemaker and lack of support from senior staff in handling racism incidents Black and Asian teachers in the UK say they are often saddled with stereotypical roles in schools and want more support from senior staff in handling incidents of racism, according to a survey. The Runnymede Trust's poll of more than 1,000 black and minority ethnic teachers found that they were most likely to be told to organise school events such as Black History Month, or tasked with behaviour responsibilities rather than being given more challenging teaching or leadership roles. Continue reading... |
| Sean Spicer details use of largest non-nuclear bomb on Isis in Afghanistan – video Posted: 13 Apr 2017 11:48 AM PDT US military drops its largest non-nuclear bomb on Isis tunnels in Afghanistan according to the White House press secretary. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Spicer said the military had used a GBU-43/B weapon to target a system of tunnels and caves used by Isis fighters Continue reading... |
| Aldermaston marches and the Cuban missile crisis | Letters Posted: 13 Apr 2017 10:58 AM PDT Zoe Williams is absolutely right (10 April) about the progressive role of public protest in political life. But one of the most iconic of modern marches – Aldermaston – has still not had noticeable policy effects after 60 years, even though its goal is still a no-brainer. The UK is not at the current, non-proliferation talks – and for almost six decades it has refused to become a nuclear-free zone. I was London CND organiser from 1961 to 1963 and the person mainly responsible for the largest London contingents, perhaps over 100,000 marchers on three of the largest four-day Aldermaston marches – 1960 was huge too by any standards. The prudent cause was not simply renunciation of the British bomb, but an end to testing, manufacture and the insane threat to use UK-based weapons of mass destruction. What could be more sane then and now, than to put a partial brake on nuclear proliferation? Continue reading... |
| Allow me to be Irish, Protestant and proud | Letters Posted: 13 Apr 2017 10:58 AM PDT I must take great exception to the letter from Chris Hughes (8 April). The notion that only Catholics can be considered Irish is something that has plagued the island of Ireland for generations and continues to this day in the north of the island. The very first president of the Irish Republic, Douglas Hyde, was a Protestant as were a number of leading nationalists, Wolfe Tone, Charles Parnell and Robert Childers to name but three. Are these not to be considered Irish? My own ancestry can be traced directly back to the early 18th century in Limerick. My great, great grandfather was a clerk in Dingle, Co Kerry and my grandfather a draper's assistant in Dublin. Church of Ireland (Protestant) one and all. I am now a very happy atheist born in Dublin, living in England, and proudly Irish. • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com Continue reading... |
| ‘Lawsuit? Yeah probably’, says attorney of passenger dragged off United Airlines plane – video Posted: 13 Apr 2017 10:46 AM PDT The attorney of David Dao, the passenger forcibly removed from a United Airlines plane, says Dao will likely sue the company over the incident. Attorney Thomas Demetrio told reporters on Thursday that United has a culture of bullying its passengers, before detailing the list of injuries sustained by passenger Dao during the incident Continue reading... |
| Posted: 13 Apr 2017 09:54 AM PDT My father, Bernard Gosschalk, who has died aged 91, was one of the small group of white activists who, courageously and at considerable personal cost, resisted the apartheid government of South Africa in the 1950s and 60s. Nelson Mandela recognised the important contribution made by this group to the multiracial society he presided over, and held a reception in July 1994 in their honour. Bernard was secretary of the Congress of Democrats in Cape Town from 1955 until 1960. He was imprisoned without charge twice in the 1960s and held in solitary confinement. On the second occasion, he was released only because his wife, Ruth (nee Fine), took the government to court and, astonishingly, won. This legal precedent resulted in 500 Africans being subsequently released. The authorities made it clear that, next time around, he would stay in prison for a very long time, and so, reluctantly, the family became political refugees, moving from Bernard's beloved Cape Town to Manchester in 1966. Ruth was also banned for political activities in Cape Town in the 1960s. Continue reading... |
| United Airlines passenger claims scorpion stung him on flight to Canada Posted: 13 Apr 2017 09:52 AM PDT Richard Bell seeks compensation after arachnid fell on him from overhead bin, adding to airline's negative publicity after man injured while dragged from plane A Canadian man is seeking compensation from United Airlines over claims that a scorpion dropped on his head – and later stung him – just as he was tucking into his lunch on a business-class flight. Related: United passenger dragged off plane likely to sue airline, attorney says Continue reading... |
| French elections: all you need to know Posted: 13 Apr 2017 09:48 AM PDT As the final week of the most unpredictable campaign for years approaches, we look at what the leading candidates stand for and which one is most likely to win France elects a new president in two rounds of voting on 23 April and 7 May. Polls have forecast for more than two years that the populist, nationalist, authoritarian Marine Le Pen will advance to the run-off. Continue reading... |
| Faith still a potent presence in UK politics, says author Posted: 13 Apr 2017 08:58 AM PDT Idea that secularisation would purge politics of religious commitment appears misguided, Nick Spencer's book argues Faith remains a potent presence at the highest level of UK politics despite a growing proportion of the country's population defining themselves as non-religious, according to the author of a new book examining the faith of prominent politicians. Nick Spencer, research director of the Theos thinktank and the lead author of The Mighty and the Almighty: How Political Leaders Do God, uses the example that all but one of Britain's six prime ministers in the past four decades have been practising Christians to make his point. Continue reading... |
| United passenger dragged off plane likely to sue airline, attorney says Posted: 13 Apr 2017 08:55 AM PDT Public outrage over David Dao being forcibly removed from flight strengthens potential lawsuit on personal injury or contract claims, legal representatives say The passenger dragged from a United Airlines plane in Chicago, in an incident that sparked international outrage and turned into a public relations nightmare for the carrier, will probably sue the company, his attorney said on Thursday. "For a long time, airlines, United in particular, have bullied us," lawyer Thomas Demetrio told reporters at a press conference in Chicago. "Will there be a lawsuit? Yeah, probably." Continue reading... |
| Assad says chemical weapons attack was 'fabricated' – video Posted: 13 Apr 2017 08:43 AM PDT The Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, says the chemical attack that killed dozens of people in the town of Khan Sheikhun was 'fabricated', as a pretext for Donald Trump's missile strikes. In an interview with AFP on Wednesday, Assad also claimed that videos from the aftermath of the chemical attack could not be verified, questioning whether child victims were 'really dead' Continue reading... |
| 'Look at me when I'm speaking': Russian UN envoy chides UK ambassador – video Posted: 13 Apr 2017 03:40 AM PDT At a meeting in New York of the UN security council, Vladimir Safronkov, Russia's deputy ambassador to the UN, speaks sharply to the UK's ambassador Matthew Rycroft. The exchange came after Rycroft accused Russia of siding with a 'barbaric criminal' in Syrian president Bashar al-Assad |
| Therapy on a bench: the grandmas beating mental illness in Harare – video Posted: 13 Apr 2017 11:00 PM PDT One in four people in Zimbabwe experiences mental health problems but there are only 13 psychiatrists in the country. To help plug the gap, Dixon Chibanda has developed a scheme to train an army of grandmothers, who offer a listening ear on park benches. The scheme challenges the stigma surrounding mental health and provides the women with company Continue reading... |
| India takes flawed first step towards ending HIV and Aids prejudice Posted: 13 Apr 2017 08:17 AM PDT Landmark law banning discrimination against people with HIV criticised for failing to guarantee treatment and potentially flawed enforcement measures A landmark law banning discrimination against people living with HIV in India has sparked criticism, with one lawyer claiming the legislation could turn back the clock on tackling the virus to the mid-1990s. India is the first state in south Asia to pass legislation prohibiting discrimination against the country's 2.1 million HIV-positive people, with jobs, housing, education and hospitals particular areas of focus. Continue reading... |
| Eritreans in the Netherlands complain of pressure to support youth congress Posted: 13 Apr 2017 07:01 AM PDT Claims of 'systemic intimidation' as top Eritrean official Yemane Gebreab arrives on Dutch soil to address youth wing of African country's ruling party Eritreans living in the Netherlands say they are under pressure to support a rally organised by the youth wing of the African country's ruling party. The gathering will be addressed by Yemane Gebreab, adviser to Isaias Afwerki, the Eritrean president, the visit of whom has caused concern within the Dutch government. No assistance will be given to Gebreab, whose arrival has been described by the cabinet as "awkward", and he will not be officially received. Continue reading... |
| Is business starting to get spooked about Donald Trump? | Larry Elliott Posted: 13 Apr 2017 05:36 AM PDT After his U-turns at home and Dr Strangelove-style antics abroad, markets and investors are supposing that the president is making it up as he goes along Financial markets are starting to have doubts about Donald Trump. The euphoria that sent share prices on Wall Street to record levels has quickly dissipated amid fears that the new president is dangerously unpredictable. Evidence that Trump does not really have a clue about what he is doing is mounting by the day. The failure to get Congress to agree to a repeal of Obamacare was the first sign of trouble, since it raised questions about whether the White House would be able to pass an economic stimulus package. Continue reading... |
| Sacramento police accused of excessive force on jaywalker – video Posted: 13 Apr 2017 08:34 AM PDT An investigation is underway into whether Sacramento police used excessive force against an unarmed black man accused of jaywalking. Nandi Cain Jr, 24, says he was making his way home when police accosted him. Dashcam footage of the incident shows Cain walking across the road and refusing a police officer's call to stop. Moments later he is seen pinned down on the pavement as an officer punches him repeatedly Continue reading... |
| Trailblazing judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam found dead – video report Posted: 13 Apr 2017 04:46 AM PDT Pioneering judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam was found dead in New York's Hudson river on Wednesday. Abdus-Salaam, 65, was America's first female Muslim judge and the first African American woman to be appointed to New York state's highest court Continue reading... |
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