World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk |
- China chases billionaire who threatens 'explosive' allegations against elite
- Deaths and injuries reported amid 'mother of all marches' in Venezuela
- Children discovered on brink of starvation in Belarusian orphanages
- François Fillon moves back into contention in French presidential race
- Iran nuclear deal: Rex Tillerson accuses Tehran of 'alarming provocations'
- Fresh claims of Azerbaijan vote-rigging at European human rights body
- 'Hereat wherewithin': convoluted Indian court ruling has lawyers baffled
- Italy experiencing measles epidemic after fall-off in vaccinations
- Turkish election board rejects calls to annul referendum result
- Bill O'Reilly out at Fox News after sexual harassment claims and ad boycott
- Russian thinktank gameplanned undermining of US election, sources say
- Cold snap: massive iceberg just off coast draws Canadians eager for close-up
- Qatari jet sits on tarmac in Baghdad as royal hostages await release
- Brexit’s unpredictable outcome poses risk to global stability, says IMF
- Proust's complaint about neighbours' loud sex among treasures in French sale
- New contender in hunt for alien life discovered by astronomers
- Man, 97, dies just days after mother was declared world's oldest person
- Umbilical cord blood could slow brain's ageing, study suggests
- Serena Williams confirms pregnancy and expects her first child 'this fall'
- He's hired: Belgian lands 'dream job' as hermit for Austrian cliffside retreat
- Siren cull: India bans red beacon lights from top of VIP cars
- Euro hits three-week high as French election looms – business live
- NFL player Rob Gronkowski interrupts Sean Spicer's press briefing – video
- A tale of two droughts: one killed 260,000 people, the other none. Why?
- Jakarta governor likely to be spared jail if found guilty of insulting Islam
- The fight for independents: should cities ban chain stores?
- Silent Siófok: Hungary's 'summer capital' without the crowds – in pictures
- How Marine Le Pen played the media
- Armed police to be trained to shoot through windscreens to stop vehicle attacks
- NT royal commission: Dylan Voller questioned over 'extreme' behaviour
- Thursday briefing: Expect a knock on the door …
- Socialist Venezuela chipped in $500,000 to Trump's inauguration
- China to question Apple about use of app streaming to beat censors
- Violence after anti-government march in Caracas – in pictures
- Canadian woman transporting asylum seekers charged with human smuggling
- Caracas: thousands of Venezuelans take part in ‘mother of all marches’ – video
- Out in the country – rural hotspots found as gay population mapped
- Donald Trump raised a record-smashing $107m for his inaugural festivities
- Muslim candidate beats Christian in divisive Jakarta governor vote
- Ukraine president says sanctions keep Russian tanks out of central Europe
- Indian ruling party officials to be tried over 1992 Babri mosque demolition
- The Second World War in Colour – in pictures
- France steps up security around election as terror attack fears rise
- These Americans moved to Canada for political reasons. They don't regret it
- Why should Somalia’s children starve to pay for a debt crisis they didn't create? | Kevin Watkins
- UN condemns 'grotesque rape chants' of Burundi youth militia
- World Health Organization hails major progress on tackling tropical diseases
- Georgia special election: runoff will be expensive, ugly and close
| China chases billionaire who threatens 'explosive' allegations against elite Posted: 19 Apr 2017 10:20 PM PDT Guo Wengui says he is victim of a witch hunt after he vows to lift the lid on alleged corruption at senior levels of the Communist party A flamboyant Chinese billionaire known for his love of supercars and social media has claimed he is the victim of a political witch hunt after he threatened to lift the lid on "explosive information" about corruption at the top of Chinese politics. On Wednesday China's foreign ministry confirmed that, at Beijing's request, Interpol had issued a red notice for the arrest of Guo Wengui, a 50-year-old tycoon who had in recent months taken the highly unusual step of speaking out about alleged cases of corruption involving the relatives of senior leaders. Continue reading... |
| Deaths and injuries reported amid 'mother of all marches' in Venezuela Posted: 19 Apr 2017 05:24 PM PDT 17-year-old boy fatally shot along with woman and National Guardsman as the opposition calls for another mass protest on Thursday At least three people have been killed and dozens injured in Venezuela as street battles erupted alongside a mass anti-government demonstration that the opposition billed as "the mother of all marches". A 17-year-old boy was fatally shot in the head in a neighbourhood of Caracas, while several hours later a woman was killed in gunfire during a rally in the Andean state of Tachira near the Colombian border. Continue reading... |
| Children discovered on brink of starvation in Belarusian orphanages Posted: 19 Apr 2017 11:00 PM PDT Teenagers weighing less than 3st are among those found in homes in scandal recalling Romanian orphanages of 1990s Almost 100 children and young people have been found on the brink of starvation in orphanages in Belarus, prompting widespread public revulsion and a criminal investigation. Prosecutors, doctors and officials from children's homes have revealed that clusters of severely malnourished youngsters have languished at the homes for years. Some teenagers weighed as little as 15kg (2st 5lb). Continue reading... |
| François Fillon moves back into contention in French presidential race Posted: 19 Apr 2017 10:00 PM PDT Polls suggest rightwing voters previously tempted by Macron and Le Pen may be returning to scandal-hit former PM Against all expectations except perhaps his own, François Fillon, the scandal-hit rightwing candidate for the French presidency, is back in the race. Setting aside an earlier focus on economic shock therapy, Fillon appeared alongside his former rival Alain Juppé on Wednesday, four days before the first round of voting, in an awkward show of centre-right unity. Continue reading... |
| Iran nuclear deal: Rex Tillerson accuses Tehran of 'alarming provocations' Posted: 19 Apr 2017 07:06 PM PDT Secretary of state talks tough to launch a review of the 2015 agreement that Trump called the 'worst ever' The US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, has accused Iran of "alarming ongoing provocations' to destabilise countries in the Middle East as the Trump administration launched a review of its policy towards Tehran. Tillerson said the review would not only look at Tehran's compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal but also its behaviour in the region which he said undermined US interests in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon. Continue reading... |
| Fresh claims of Azerbaijan vote-rigging at European human rights body Posted: 19 Apr 2017 11:00 PM PDT Guardian hears claims that oil-rich country tried to bribe members of human rights body to secure votes against reports criticising its president One of Europe's oldest human rights bodies is being urged to set up a far-reaching anti-corruption investigation next week, amid fresh allegations of vote rigging that have put its credibility on the line. Two people with high-level experience of the Council of Europe's parliamentary assembly (Pace) have told the Guardian they believe its members have been offered bribes for votes by Azerbaijan. The 324-member body is made up of delegates from national parliaments who meet four times a year in Strasbourg. |
| 'Hereat wherewithin': convoluted Indian court ruling has lawyers baffled Posted: 19 Apr 2017 11:05 PM PDT Incomprehensible judgment leaves parties none the wiser in case that has already lasted 20 years Legal judgments rarely make for riveting reads, but the purple prose of one Indian judge has been declared so incomprehensible that even the country's supreme court confessed, "one cannot understand this". India's top court set aside a decision from the Himachal Pradesh high court this week because the text of the judgment was too convoluted, eluding even the lawyers involved in the case. Continue reading... |
| Italy experiencing measles epidemic after fall-off in vaccinations Posted: 19 Apr 2017 01:20 PM PDT Italian health ministry said there had been almost 1,500 registered cases of measles this year as US issued a warning to visitors about the outbreak Italy has announced that it is experiencing a measles epidemic following a fall-off in vaccinations, as the United States issued a warning to visitors about the outbreak of the potentially fatal disease. Related: Italy's Five Star Movement blamed for surge in measles cases Continue reading... |
| Turkish election board rejects calls to annul referendum result Posted: 19 Apr 2017 11:07 AM PDT High election board members vote against appeals from parties opposed to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's sweeping new powers Turkey's high election board has rejected formal calls by the country's main opposition parties to annul the result of a referendum that will grant Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sweeping new powers as president. Voters narrowly approved a set of constitutional reforms that will transform the country from a parliamentary democracy into a presidential republic, concentrating power in the hands of Erdoğan, who will be able to run for two more terms and potentially govern until 2029. Continue reading... |
| Bill O'Reilly out at Fox News after sexual harassment claims and ad boycott Posted: 19 Apr 2017 11:48 AM PDT O'Reilly issues defiant statement calling allegations 'completely unfounded' as Fox board says company and anchor agreed he would not return to network Fox News star Bill O'Reilly's 21-year career at the news network ended on Wednesday amid allegations of sexual harassment and an advertising boycott. "After a thorough and careful review of the allegations, the company and Bill O'Reilly have agreed that Bill O'Reilly will not be returning to the Fox News Channel," a spokesman for 21st Century Fox, Fox News's parent company, said in a statement. Continue reading... |
| Russian thinktank gameplanned undermining of US election, sources say Posted: 19 Apr 2017 03:27 PM PDT Former US officials describe confidential documents from thinktank, controlled by Vladimir Putin, that allegedly provide framework for interference A Russian government thinktank controlled by Vladimir Putin developed a plan to swing the 2016 US presidential election to Donald Trump and undermine voters' faith in the American electoral system, three current and four former US officials have told Reuters. They described two confidential documents from the thinktank as providing the framework and rationale for what US intelligence agencies have concluded was an intensive effort by Russia to interfere with the 8 November election. US intelligence officials acquired the documents, which were prepared by the Moscow-based Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, after the election. Continue reading... |
| Cold snap: massive iceberg just off coast draws Canadians eager for close-up Posted: 19 Apr 2017 09:29 AM PDT 150ft iceberg, which dwarfs nearby town of Ferryland, becomes tourist attraction as number of icebergs moving into North Atlantic shipping lanes spikes A towering iceberg is causing traffic jams in a remote town on Canada's east coast, as tourists jostle for a glimpse of the mass of ice sitting in shallow water just off Newfoundland. The iceberg, which has dwarfed the nearby small town of Ferryland, is estimated to measure some 46 metres (150ft) at its highest point. "It's the biggest one I ever seen around here," mayor Adrian Kavanagh told the Canadian Press. "It's a huge iceberg and it's in so close that people can get a good photograph of it." Continue reading... |
| Qatari jet sits on tarmac in Baghdad as royal hostages await release Posted: 19 Apr 2017 10:11 AM PDT Deal involving Iran, Qatar and four of the region's main militias delayed by a suicide bombing targeting evacuees in Syria A Qatari plane sent to collect 26 kidnapped members of Doha's ruling family has remained in Baghdad for a fourth day, as a regional deal that ties their release to the evacuation of four besieged Syrian towns resumed earlier this week. The jet, which Iraqi officials suspect was carrying millions of dollars, arrived on Saturday ahead of the group's expected release, which was later stalled by the bombing the same day of a convoy carrying residents of two Shia towns in northern Syria, Fua and Kefraya, whose fate had been central to the plan. |
| Brexit’s unpredictable outcome poses risk to global stability, says IMF Posted: 19 Apr 2017 05:56 AM PDT Organisation also says financial stability is threatened by US corporate debt, China's credit bubble and weak EU banks The International Monetary Fund has warned that Brexit's unpredictable outcome poses a risk to global financial stability at a time when it is already challenged by heavily-indebted US corporations, China's credit bubble and weak European banks. Warning that banks were likely to be the sector of the City hardest hit by Britain's departure from the European Union, the IMF said the costs of doing business would rise and regulation would become more complex. Continue reading... |
| Proust's complaint about neighbours' loud sex among treasures in French sale Posted: 19 Apr 2017 10:04 AM PDT Letter from 'jealous' author, as well as another by Gustave Flaubert defending Madame Bovary will be sold from collection worth an estimated €3m A treasure trove of letters and diaries revealing the secrets of some of France's greatest literary figures is about to go on sale in Paris. Correspondence and journals by Gustave Flaubert, Victor Hugo and Marcel Proust are among 230 lots to be sold alongside a rare first edition of Galileo's Discorsi on 26 April. Amassed by Geneva-based Jean Bonna, who has been described as the greatest collector of French literature in the world, the collection is a fraction of material acquired over the past 50 years. Bonna said he was streamlining his collection to concentrate on French literature. Admitting he felt "a little bit sad" to sell the Galileo, which is expected to make in excess of €700,000 (£585,000), he added: "It is a wonderful book, and the best copy I have ever seen, but it does not belong in my collection because it is a scientific book and not French literature." Continue reading... |
| New contender in hunt for alien life discovered by astronomers Posted: 19 Apr 2017 10:00 AM PDT Exoplanet LHS 1140b is believed to be about 40% larger than Earth and lies 39 light years away in the constellation of Cetus, orbiting a red dwarf star A rocky planet that orbits a red dwarf star has been revealed as the latest contender for the best place to hunt for life beyond the solar system. The newfound world was spotted as it crossed the face of its parent star and cast an almost imperceptible shadow that was detected by the MEarth-South observatory in the Chilean desert. |
| Man, 97, dies just days after mother was declared world's oldest person Posted: 19 Apr 2017 11:10 AM PDT Harold Fairweather died on Wednesday in the Jamaican community of Duanvale, two days after his mother Violet Brown was declared world's oldest person The son of a woman believed to be the oldest person in the world has died at their home in Jamaica at the ripe old age of 97. Related: Jamaican woman, 117, is oldest person on Earth Continue reading... |
| Umbilical cord blood could slow brain's ageing, study suggests Posted: 19 Apr 2017 10:02 AM PDT Scientists hope protein infusion which rejuvenated brains of aged mice could combat mental decline in older people Scientists have reversed memory and learning problems in aged mice with infusions of a protein found in human umbilical cord blood. The striking results have raised hopes for a treatment that staves off mental decline in old age, but researchers stressed that more studies, including human trials, are needed before the therapy can be considered for clinical use. |
| Serena Williams confirms pregnancy and expects her first child 'this fall' Posted: 19 Apr 2017 03:52 PM PDT
Serena Williams is pregnant with her first child, her spokesperson has confirmed. The tennis star hinted at the good news when she posted a photo of herself on Snapchat wearing a swimsuit and revealing what appeared to be a large baby bump with the caption "20 weeks" on Wednesday. The snap was deleted less than a half hour later. Continue reading... |
| He's hired: Belgian lands 'dream job' as hermit for Austrian cliffside retreat Posted: 19 Apr 2017 04:39 AM PDT Stan Vanuytrecht chosen from 50 applicants for post, which comes with no heating, running water, internet or pay A Belgian man has won a competition to live as a hermit in a cliffside cell above an Austrian town. Stan Vanuytrecht, 58, a former artillery officer who drives an East German Trabant, beat 49 other candidates to secure the position as one of Europe's last hermits. Continue reading... |
| Siren cull: India bans red beacon lights from top of VIP cars Posted: 19 Apr 2017 08:42 AM PDT From May only emergency vehicles will be allowed to use the sirens that had sparked accusations of elitism to cut through traffic Indians idling in the country's notoriously congested traffic have long resented the sight of red flashing lights on the roof of cars zooming up behind them: the sign a public official is approaching and needs other drivers to let them pass. Soon, officials including government ministers and judges will need to battle the traffic like everybody else. Continue reading... |
| Euro hits three-week high as French election looms – business live Posted: 20 Apr 2017 01:44 AM PDT All the day's economic and financial news, as political events continue to dominate the markets
Retail news: Marks & Spencer is shutting six UK stores, but promising staff that they'll be offered new positions elsewhere. M&S is to close 6 stores: Monks Cross, Portsmouth, Slough, Warrington, Wokingham and Worksop promises 380 staff 'guaranteed' redeployment On the upside M&S also says 36 new stores to open over next six months creating 1,400 new jobs
European stock markets will probably fall sharply if the French election delivers a shock result. Marketwatch's Sara Sjölin explains: And here are the two-way risks: A win for either Le Pen or Melenchon would spark a selloff in risk assets and drive French and European equities down 5%-10% by the end of June, Citi said. However, if Macron or Fillon secures the presidency, stocks in Europe could see a 10%-20% rally before the end of the year, they said. "Investors (and French voters) are getting worried about a 'nightmare' scenario" - French election is this Sundayhttps://t.co/DJFYKMNP29 pic.twitter.com/KPV1XOSOT7 Continue reading... |
| NFL player Rob Gronkowski interrupts Sean Spicer's press briefing – video Posted: 20 Apr 2017 01:32 AM PDT New England Patriots player Rob Gronkowski offers to help Sean Spicer with his press briefing on Wednesday. The NFL tight end put his head around the door during a visit to the White House commemorating the Patriots' Super Bowl win Continue reading... |
| A tale of two droughts: one killed 260,000 people, the other none. Why? Posted: 20 Apr 2017 01:00 AM PDT Disaster insurance offers a new model for economic self-sufficiency. In African countries, every $1 invested saves $4.40 in the aftermath of an emergency Drought is a slow and predictable natural disaster. We know it will happen again, and we know much of its effects are preventable if money is invested at the right time. So why do we wait for people to die from hunger induced by droughts before we start calling for emergency relief money? The UN recently launched a $864m appeal to help 5 million Somalis in dire need of food assistance because of drought. But what if the Somali government could have taken out an insurance policy against such a disaster? They could have responded to their own crisis before a famine claimed lives and far less money would be needed. They would not now in a situation similar to six years ago, when a drought-induced famine killed 260,000 Somalis. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Jakarta governor likely to be spared jail if found guilty of insulting Islam Posted: 20 Apr 2017 12:39 AM PDT Indonesian prosecutors call for two years' probation for Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, instead of maximum five-year prison term Jakarta's outgoing Christian governor could be spared jail after Indonesian prosecutors called for him to face two years' probation for allegedly insulting Islam. Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, better known by his nickname Ahok, faces charges under Indonesia's blasphemy laws. But on Thursday, prosecutors held off from seeking a maximum five-year prison term, although he could be jailed for a year if he breaches probation terms. Continue reading... |
| The fight for independents: should cities ban chain stores? Posted: 19 Apr 2017 11:30 PM PDT Regulating chain stores is a controversial way for cities to try to preserve small business and retain neighbourhood character, but momentum for it is growing Dylan first heard Levon and the Hawks – the band who would become The Band – in 1965, at a club on Yonge Street in Toronto called Friar's Tavern. Yonge Street in those days was hip. An offshoot of the Yorkville neighbourhood – whose many music clubs helped give rise to Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and the Toronto Sound – Yonge was replete with bars, clothing stores, venues and vice. It was, as Robbie Robertson put it, "the centre of Toronto's nightlife and entertainment". According to Richard Pritchard, co-owner of the clothing boutique Cat's Cradle, which has overlooked the street since 1972, Yonge Street was more or less ground zero for Toronto's cultural scene. "Whether you lived nearby or not, you would come to this area and spend a day," he says. Continue reading... |
| Silent Siófok: Hungary's 'summer capital' without the crowds – in pictures Posted: 19 Apr 2017 04:11 AM PDT Famous for its beaches and nightlife, Hungary's favourite holiday destination empties out in the colder months, leaving it a bleak ghost town. Former resident Marietta Varga captures a surreal urban landscape devoid of people Born in 1992, Marietta Varga (@mattivarga) grew up in the Hungarian city of Siófok by the beaches of Lake Balaton. After a decade living abroad, she recently returned to capture a nostalgic portrait of her hometown. "Siófok is often called Hungary's summer capital as so many people flock there in the warm months," she says, "so for most people the city is only known as their holiday destination. But those who grow up here can see the town in an entirely different way." Continue reading... |
| How Marine Le Pen played the media Posted: 19 Apr 2017 09:30 PM PDT For years, she has accused French journalists of bias against her family and her party. Yet Marine Le Pen has managed to lead the far-right Front National into the political mainstream – and she couldn't have done it without the press Like most serious political reporters, Olivier Faye, of Le Monde, professes little desire to please the people he writes about, and even less expectation that he will. This equanimity has been of particular use in his current assignment covering the Front National, the clannish party of the French far-right, which has been warring with the news media for four decades. Faye and the other reporters assigned to the FN make light of the hostility aimed their way by the party and its supporters, and have adopted some of the cleverest insults as their own. They call one another journalopes, for instance – a mashup of journaliste and salope (whore) – or members of the merdia. The Front National has fashioned itself as the "patriotic" victim of a bankrupt political establishment and the corps of bourgeois journalists allegedly beholden to it. Marine Le Pen, the FN's vituperative leader, often refers to her opponents as "the media-political system" or, more succinctly, la caste. This tactic of populist martyrdom is a sort of trap, one that lures the media into the stance of an adversary, called to defend both themselves and a frequently indefensible political class. For years the French press plunged into it with what, in hindsight, appears a heedless and self-righteous sense of mission. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, there were media boycotts of various sorts against the party; yet it only rose in the polls, citing the media's hostility as evidence of both the conspiracy against it and the potency of the truth it was preaching. Continue reading... |
| Armed police to be trained to shoot through windscreens to stop vehicle attacks Posted: 19 Apr 2017 10:49 AM PDT Simon Chesterman, NPCC head of armed policing, says new policy, along with recruitment drive for armed officers, aims to stop Westminster-style attacks Armed police are being given new instructions to shoot through the windscreens of moving vehicles to stop Westminster-style attacks involving cars and lorries. Simon Chesterman, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead on armed policing, said it was a change from a former policy that advised officers not to shoot drivers in motion and risk sending the vehicles out of control. Continue reading... |
| NT royal commission: Dylan Voller questioned over 'extreme' behaviour Posted: 20 Apr 2017 12:54 AM PDT Former Northern Territory juvenile detainee challenged on numerous allegations against staff The former Northern Territory juvenile detainee Dylan Voller has been challenged on his numerous allegations against staff, and questioned on his long history of misbehaviour, at the royal commission in the protection and detention of children. While he conceded many of the well-documented allegations of misbehaviour and abuse of staff, including threats to harm their families, Voller told the commission he had never lied. Continue reading... |
| Thursday briefing: Expect a knock on the door … Posted: 19 Apr 2017 10:14 PM PDT Snap election campaign gets under way … why AI is sexist and racist … and could Bill O'Reilly's downfall help Murdochs get hands on entire Sky? Hello – it's Warren Murray digesting the news for you this morning. Continue reading... |
| Socialist Venezuela chipped in $500,000 to Trump's inauguration Posted: 19 Apr 2017 08:51 PM PDT
A Venezuelan state-owned oil company, heavily indebted to the Russian oil giant Rosneft, made a $500,000 donation to Donald Trump's inauguration festivities, it has emerged. Foreign donations are banned under US law, but the Venezuelan company, PdVSA, made the donation through a US affiliate, Citgo Petrol, soon after offering a nearly 50% stake in Citgo to Rosneft as collateral for a $1.5bn loan. Continue reading... |
| China to question Apple about use of app streaming to beat censors Posted: 19 Apr 2017 08:00 PM PDT Three government agencies lead crackdown on popular software which can be used to violate internet regulation Chinese authorities will question Apple over live-streaming video software available on the company's app store, amid an increasingly hostile business environment for foreign firms in the world's second largest economy. Police, cyberspace administration and cultural law enforcement team will jointly summon Apple, state news agency Xinhua reported, as part of a wider crackdown on live-streaming video services. Continue reading... |
| Violence after anti-government march in Caracas – in pictures Posted: 19 Apr 2017 03:24 PM PDT
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| Canadian woman transporting asylum seekers charged with human smuggling Posted: 19 Apr 2017 02:59 PM PDT Michelle Omoruyi, a Canadian resident, arrested as part of investigation into smugglers allegedly facilitating illegal crossings of foreign nationals from US Police in Canada have charged a woman with human smuggling after intercepting nine asylum seekers from west Africa who crossed irregularly into the country from the US. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said on Wednesday that a 43-year-old woman had been arrested days earlier after she was found driving nine people in an isolated area north of the Canada-US border. Continue reading... |
| Caracas: thousands of Venezuelans take part in ‘mother of all marches’ – video Posted: 19 Apr 2017 01:39 PM PDT Tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators took to the streets of Caracas in what they are calling the "mother of all marches" against the embattled socialist leader Nicolás Maduro on Wednesday. Venezuelan police launched tear gas in an effort to disperse demonstrators, leading to some violent clashes that left one man dead Continue reading... |
| Out in the country – rural hotspots found as gay population mapped Posted: 19 Apr 2017 10:48 AM PDT ONS finds that, along with inner London boroughs, some bucolic counties are home to concentrations of LGBT people The UK's gay population has been mapped by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for the first time, revealing concentrations of lesbian, gay and bisexual people from central London to rural Devon. The ONS – the government's statistics body – has mapped how many people told researchers they were gay, lesbian or bisexual, broken down by county and by local authority, for an experimental dataset covering 2013 to 2015. Continue reading... |
| Donald Trump raised a record-smashing $107m for his inaugural festivities Posted: 19 Apr 2017 10:42 AM PDT
Billionaires, corporations and NFL owners opened their wallets in a big way to help Donald Trump raise a record-shattering $107m for his inaugural festivities, records released by the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday show. The amount about doubled the record set by Barack Obama eight years ago. After giving $5m, the Las Vegas gaming billionaire Sheldon Adelson and his wife had prime seats for Trump's swearing-in ceremony on 20 January and gained access to a private lunch with the new president and lawmakers at the Capitol. Phil Ruffin, another casino mogul and close friend of Trump, gave $1m. Continue reading... |
| Muslim candidate beats Christian in divisive Jakarta governor vote Posted: 19 Apr 2017 05:02 AM PDT Basuki Tjahaja Purnama concedes defeat to Anies Baswedan after campaign in which religious and ethnic tensions were key Jakarta's governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, better known by his nickname Ahok, has conceded defeat to rival candidate Anies Baswedan in a runoff election after a polarising and fraught campaign that exposed religious and ethnic divisions in Indonesia's capital. "Congratulations Anies and Sandi and their entire team and supporters," Ahok said, referring to Baswedan's running mate, the businessman Sandiaga Uno. "We all want a better Jakarta, we want Jakarta to be our home together." Continue reading... |
| Ukraine president says sanctions keep Russian tanks out of central Europe Posted: 19 Apr 2017 04:48 AM PDT Petro Poroshenko makes appeal to Trump administration, saying policy is only way to keep Russia at negotiating table Ukraine's president, Petro Poroshenko, has appealed for the Trump administration to maintain sanctions against Russia, saying it is the only way to keep Vladimir Putin at the negotiating table and Russian tanks away from central Europe. He said continued support for Ukraine was a test of whether the west was in decline, as Moscow has asserted, or had the will to fight for its values. Continue reading... |
| Indian ruling party officials to be tried over 1992 Babri mosque demolition Posted: 19 Apr 2017 04:14 AM PDT Court rules 13 senior BJP figures, including water minister and a state governor, must face criminal conspiracy charges Senior members of India's ruling party, including a government minister, will be tried for their alleged involvement in the demolition of a 16th-century mosque 25 years ago, a flashpoint in modern Indian history that triggered religious riots in which nearly 2,000 people died. The supreme court announced that 13 members of the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), among them the serving governor of Rajasthan, would face criminal conspiracy charges over the 1992 demolition of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya, in Uttar Pradesh. Continue reading... |
| The Second World War in Colour – in pictures Posted: 19 Apr 2017 04:04 AM PDT An extraordinary collection of rare colour images by official photographers, news agencies, freelancers and air crews, feature in a new book, The Second World War in Colour, by the Imperial War Museum . Many are being published for the first time and shed fresh light behind the scenes of the conflict Continue reading... |
| France steps up security around election as terror attack fears rise Posted: 19 Apr 2017 03:18 AM PDT Presidential contenders vow to continue campaigning following arrest of two men suspected of plotting imminent attack Security has been stepped up around political rallies and meetings in France amid heightened fears of a terror attack with just four days of campaigning until the first round of the fiercely contested presidential election. The five main candidates have vowed to continue campaigning as it emerged that France's police and intelligence agencies spent several weeks tracking the two men arrested on Tuesday and suspected of plotting an "imminent and violent attack" in the run-up to Sunday's vote. Continue reading... |
| These Americans moved to Canada for political reasons. They don't regret it Posted: 19 Apr 2017 03:00 AM PDT Starting over in a new country is never easy, but for these Americans it was the only choice that made sense – and they haven't looked back since It was late into the night of the 2016 presidential election. Or was it technically the early hours of the morning after? Mark Nykanen was up watching what had not yet been made official, but was certain: Donald Trump would become the 45th president of the United States. The next morning, he and his wife Lucinda Taylor woke up and knew it was time. Within a couple of hours, they made the decision. Within a couple of weeks, their house in The Dalles, Oregon, an hour and a half east of Portland, was on the market. Continue reading... |
| Why should Somalia’s children starve to pay for a debt crisis they didn't create? | Kevin Watkins Posted: 19 Apr 2017 11:00 PM PDT Arcane rules mean that debt accrued decades ago is denying Somalia access to funding that might stave off famine. Officials should simply write off the arrears Abdulrahman Mahamud is one of the lucky ones. I met the four-year-old two weeks ago at an emergency clinic in the town of Shada, in Puntland region – an area at the epicentre of Somalia's devastating drought. Diagnosed with severe malnutrition and pneumonia, Abdulrahman was brought to the clinic after his mother walked 90 miles in search of food and medical help. He survived – just. For every good news story, however, there are a growing number of tragedies. A million Somali children need treatment for malnutrition, and more than 350,000 are at imminent risk of starvation. Epidemics of acute diarrhoea and cholera have already claimed hundreds of lives. These are lives that could – and should – have been saved. In the absence of a more effective international response to the drought, more deaths will follow. Continue reading... |
| UN condemns 'grotesque rape chants' of Burundi youth militia Posted: 19 Apr 2017 06:42 AM PDT UN human rights chief says video of the youth wing of Burundi's ruling party urging rape and murder of opposition members represents 'tip of the iceberg' The UN human rights chief has condemned a "campaign of terror" by government-backed militia in Burundi who are calling for the rape and murder of members of the opposition. A video circulated on social media shows more than 100 members of the Imbonerakure, the government's youth wing, voicing rape chants and threats to kill, the UN rights office has confirmed. Continue reading... |
| World Health Organization hails major progress on tackling tropical diseases Posted: 19 Apr 2017 04:19 AM PDT WHO director general says significant strides have been made in fight against sleeping sickness, elephantiasis and other neglected tropical diseases In the past 10 years, record-breaking progress has been made in tackling tropical diseases that affect one in six people globally, according to the World Health Organization. Data released by the WHO on Wednesday showed that in 2015 more than 60% of the 1.6 billion people suffering from neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), including sleeping sickness and elephantiasis, received treatment. Continue reading... |
| Georgia special election: runoff will be expensive, ugly and close Posted: 19 Apr 2017 01:44 PM PDT Democrat Jon Ossoff won an impressive but insufficient 48% of the vote in the sixth congressional district. What are the implications for American politics? For those seeking definitive answers about American politics in the Trump era, the result in Georgia's sixth congressional district was both illuminating yet somehow uniquely unsatisfying. Related: Georgia special election: Ossoff eyes runoff after narrowly missing outright win Continue reading... |
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