World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk |
- Shadow of terror attacks hangs over France as polls prepare to open
- As US prioritises Julian Assange arrest, UK hints Sweden comes first
- Qatari royals released from captivity as part of Syria population swap deal
- More than 50 Afghan soldiers killed by Taliban suicide attackers at army base
- François Fillon rebuked for sexist remarks about maternity leave
- The sinister rush to blame Islamists for Dortmund bombing
- At least 12 people dead after night of looting and violence in Venezuela
- Arkansas executions bring Sister Helen Prejean’s death penalty fight to the fore
- Court overturns Austrian's conviction for belching near police officer
- Electric flying car that takes off vertically could be future of transport
- Donald Trump remarks raise fears of US disengagement in Libya
- Syrians babies called 'Putin' in honour of Russian president
- Prince's posthumous Deliverance EP blocked by estate
- Tesla recalls 53,000 Model S and Model X electric cars over brake issue
- Refugees stranded for 30 hours before rescue in Mediterranean
- Torn apart: the American families hit by Trump's immigration crackdown
- The ice stupas of Ladakh: solving water crisis in the high desert of Himalaya
- 'She will be stronger': How Serena Williams can make the mother of comebacks
- Moonlight's Ashton Sanders: ‘America isn’t made for the black man’
- In macho Chechnya, being gay is an act of intolerable rebellion
- Dutch arms trafficker to Liberia given war crimes conviction
- 'I'm transgender': India grapples with prejudices left over from British rule
- Decline of the diner: New York's last retro eateries – in pictures
- Give me general election stress over life as a hermit anytime
- Isis leader behind Turkey nightclub attack is killed by US forces in secretive raid
- Rare parchment manuscript of US Declaration of Independence found in England
- Tiangong-2: China's first cargo spacecraft docks with orbiting space lab
- Human rights groups demand closure of Manus and Nauru after scathing Senate report
- France’s identity crisis: ‘People just don’t know what to think any more’
- ‘Urgent’ to reach agreement on loan for Greece, says IMF
- Man charged with making several threatening calls to Jewish centers in US
- Valon Behrami on how football helped him start a new life – video
- Is the world more dangerous now than during the cold war?
- Letter: The rewards of activism
- Xavier Jugelé: policeman killed in Paris was gay rights activist
- Mortal sorrows of refugees touch hearts | Letters
- The pressing need for nuclear disarmament | Letters
- Ancient Greeks had formula for happiness | Brief letters
- How are you voting in the French presidential elections?
- French presidential candidates react to Paris attack – video
- Flying car's test flight is a success, says German company – video
- Large Commons majority will strengthen May's hand in Brexit talks, says Irish PM
- Was the Paris attack an Isis attempt to influence the French election?
- French elections: all you need to know
- 'The real misery is in the countryside': support for Le Pen surges in rural France
- Teenager ‘brainwashed’ by man when she helped transfer $18,000 to Isis, court hears
- Canada judge who wore Trump hat to court faces disciplinary hearing
- Campaigners refuse to throw in the towel over India's 'tax on blood'
- Former archbishop of Canterbury defends Britain's aid budget
| Shadow of terror attacks hangs over France as polls prepare to open Posted: 21 Apr 2017 10:37 AM PDT With first round of the presidential vote taking place on Sunday, Emmanuel Macron accuses rivals of exploiting attacks France goes to the polls on Sunday with terrorist violence casting a long shadow over its fraught presidential election, after the shooting of a policeman on the Champs Élysées deepened already bitter political divisions. Candidates with radically opposing visions for the country's future clashed openly over the response to the killing, claimed by Islamic State less than 72 hours before polling stations open. Continue reading... |
| As US prioritises Julian Assange arrest, UK hints Sweden comes first Posted: 21 Apr 2017 11:21 AM PDT If WikiLeaks founder were to leave Ecuadorian embassy, two countries would have competing extradition claims Sweden's existing warrant to extradite Julian Assange over a sexual assault allegation would be the first consideration for the British government if the Australian were to leave the Ecuadorean embassy, Home Office sources have indicated. Related: Arresting Julian Assange is a priority, says US attorney general Jeff Sessions Continue reading... |
| Qatari royals released from captivity as part of Syria population swap deal Posted: 21 Apr 2017 03:16 PM PDT Extraordinary pact brokered by Iran and Qatar sees release of 26 members of royal hunting party and evacuations from four Syrian towns A group of 26 Qatari royals held hostage in Iraq by an Iranian-backed militia have been released after nearly 18 months in captivity as part of an extraordinary regional pact centred on four besieged Syrian towns. The royals, many of them cousins of Qatar's emir, were handed over to the Iraqi interior minister on Friday by the powerful Keta'eb Hezbollah group, which seized the royals during a December 2015 hunting trip in the deserts of southern Iraq. Continue reading... |
| More than 50 Afghan soldiers killed by Taliban suicide attackers at army base Posted: 21 Apr 2017 10:20 AM PDT Men disguised themselves as army personnel and passed first security gate before one blew himself up at second gate and another attacked dining facility More than 50 Afghan soldiers have been killed after Taliban suicide attackers disguised as army personnel targeted a national army base in northern Afghanistan. It's the deadliest attack in the country since July 2016, when two Isis suicide bombers killed 80 Hazara protesters. According to Abdul Qahar Aram, spokesman for the Afghan army's 209th corps, a group of suicide attackers manning at least two Afghan national army vehicles managed to pass the first security gate on Friday afternoon. Continue reading... |
| François Fillon rebuked for sexist remarks about maternity leave Posted: 21 Apr 2017 07:20 AM PDT French presidential candidate responds to journalist's question by suggesting her absence meant she was unsure of her brief The French presidential candidate François Fillon, already beset by scandal, has been accused of making sexist remarks after suggesting a leading French journalist was unsure of her brief because she had been on maternity leave. During the candidates' last major television appearance before the first-round vote on Sunday, the respected France 2 journalist Léa Salamé pressed Fillon for details on his plans to revolutionise France's social security system. Continue reading... |
| The sinister rush to blame Islamists for Dortmund bombing Posted: 21 Apr 2017 04:14 PM PDT Rightwingers including Nigel Farage were quick to point the finger in the wrong direction after the attack on football club bus Early on in their investigation into the bomb attack on the Borussia Dortmund football team, German police said they were working on the assumption they were dealing with terrorism. Related: Borussia Dortmund team bus hit by three explosive devices, injuring player Continue reading... |
| At least 12 people dead after night of looting and violence in Venezuela Posted: 21 Apr 2017 12:50 PM PDT Two days of massive protests on the streets of Caracas against the government of Nicolás Maduro spilled into a violent night in several parts of the city At least 12 people were killed overnight following looting and violence in Venezuela's capital amid a spiraling political crisis, authorities in Caracas said Friday. Related: 'We are like a bomb': food riots show Venezuela crisis has gone beyond politics Continue reading... |
| Arkansas executions bring Sister Helen Prejean’s death penalty fight to the fore Posted: 21 Apr 2017 09:11 AM PDT Prejean's work opposing capital punishment was captured in her book and film Dead Man Walking, and now she's speaking out against a spate of planned killings Sister Helen Prejean, the Louisiana nun who through the movie of her book, Dead Man Walking, became the face of the American anti-death penalty movement, has a message for Asa Hutchinson, the Republican governor of Arkansas who this month attempted to carry out an unprecedented killing spree of eight executions in 11 days. Related: Arkansas executions: first prisoner killed after legal challenge fails Continue reading... |
| Court overturns Austrian's conviction for belching near police officer Posted: 21 Apr 2017 09:16 AM PDT
A man who was fined €70 ($75) after unleashing a sonorous post-kebab belch near an Austrian policeman has won his legal fight to have the sanction overturned. Related: Vienna police fine man €70 for 'loud belch' Continue reading... |
| Electric flying car that takes off vertically could be future of transport Posted: 21 Apr 2017 06:55 AM PDT German company Lilium beats Google and Uber to successfully test a VTOL jet that could be used as a city taxi The once fanciful concept of flying cars appears to be a step closer to reality, after a German company completed successful test flights of a "flying taxi". Munich-based Lilium, backed by investors who include Skype co-founder Niklas Zennström, said the planned five-seater jet, which will be capable of vertical take-off and landing, could be used for urban air-taxi and ride-sharing services. Continue reading... |
| Donald Trump remarks raise fears of US disengagement in Libya Posted: 21 Apr 2017 07:39 AM PDT President says US has no role in embattled country as Italian diplomats watch Russia's involvement with concern Donald Trump's declaration that the US had "no role" in Libya has raised doubts about whether a political compromise can still be reached with the help of Americans in the embattled oil-rich country, possibly opening the door to greater Russian involvement in the region. Speaking at a joint press conference on Thursday, the US president rejected a plea from the Italian prime minister, Paolo Gentiloni, for the US to maintain its "very critical" role in the country and help build political consensus around the struggling UN-backed government in Tripoli, which Italy has said represents the best long-term hope for stability. Continue reading... |
| Syrians babies called 'Putin' in honour of Russian president Posted: 21 Apr 2017 06:56 AM PDT Many families adopting name following Vladimir Putin's support for Bashar al-Assad during war Syrian families are naming their children Putin as a mark of gratitude for the Russian president's support for his Syrian counterpart in the six-year war, a government official has said. The Syrian ambassador in Moscow, Riyad Haddad, said Bashar al-Assad had also made Russian the second language in Syria, and had donated land near Damascus for a Russian school to be built. Continue reading... |
| Prince's posthumous Deliverance EP blocked by estate Posted: 21 Apr 2017 07:17 AM PDT Release of previously unheard material is delayed after reports of lawsuit against sound engineer alleging violation of confidentiality Fans expecting to hear an EP of previously unheard Prince material today will have to wait. Just days after announcing the release of Deliverance, iTunes have removed the collection of songs from its holding page. Shortly after news of the six-track compilation was reported, the Soundcloud featuring its taster track was taken down. While this song is now back on sale, it looks as if the EP, recorded between 2006 and 2008, will be delayed. Continue reading... |
| Tesla recalls 53,000 Model S and Model X electric cars over brake issue Posted: 21 Apr 2017 04:52 AM PDT Fault within parking brake gearing could affect battery-driven vehicles made between February and October 2016 Tesla is voluntarily recalling 53,000 of its Model S and Model X electric cars after a fault was found with one of the braking systems used in both vehicles. The recall affects cars sold worldwide, built from February and October 2016. The fault can cause the parking brake to lock up and prevent the vehicles from moving. Tesla says while it wants to inspect them all, less than 5% of the recalled cars may be affected. Continue reading... |
| Refugees stranded for 30 hours before rescue in Mediterranean Posted: 21 Apr 2017 05:22 AM PDT Maritime log passed to the Guardian reveals rising panic of 100 people during agonising wait on dinghy A hundred refugees and migrants crammed into a small dinghy that started taking in water in the Mediterranean endured an agonising 30-hour wait before they were rescued, a maritime log passed to the Guardian has revealed. Continue reading... |
| Torn apart: the American families hit by Trump's immigration crackdown Posted: 21 Apr 2017 02:00 AM PDT The president promised to target 'bad hombres' such as drug traffickers and killers for deportation but many affected have little to no criminal record 'Bad hombres." Those are the people Donald Trump says he is targeting for deportation under his immigration policy – the people he calls "illegal aliens", the gangbangers, violent criminals and drug dealers who threaten public safety and undermine national security. But a very different pattern is emerging on the ground. In communities from Maryland to California and Oregon, immigration lawyers are reporting that individuals are being picked up with minimal or no criminal records who pose no risk at all to anyone. Continue reading... |
| The ice stupas of Ladakh: solving water crisis in the high desert of Himalaya Posted: 22 Apr 2017 01:30 AM PDT An ingenious idea to build artificial glaciers at lower altitudes using pipes, gravity and night temperatures could transform an arid landscape into an oasis The idea crystallised in his mind one morning as Sonam Wangchuk was crossing a bridge in the Indian Himalayas. The engineer from Ladakh, in the Jammu region of north India, was already a famous problem solver: a Bollywood film loosely based on his life had grossed a billion rupees in its first four days. Continue reading... |
| 'She will be stronger': How Serena Williams can make the mother of comebacks Posted: 22 Apr 2017 01:00 AM PDT The world's best female tennis player, who revealed this week she is four months pregnant, would not be first top athlete to return to full power after giving birth Earlier this month, Serena Williams spent a week visiting her trainer Mackie Shilstone in New Orleans. She went to his home, rode a bicycle around the city and worked in his gym. Never did she reveal she was four months pregnant. Shilstone learned that secret on Wednesday, just like everyone else, when a photo of Williams with a baby bump appeared on Snapchat with the words: "20 weeks." Related: Serena Williams's pregnant victory reminds us how amazing women's bodies are | Natasha Henry Continue reading... |
| Moonlight's Ashton Sanders: ‘America isn’t made for the black man’ Posted: 22 Apr 2017 12:00 AM PDT The actor was just 21 when the Oscar-winning film made him a star. He talks about dealing with bullies and racism, and why he'll never become too Hollywood "Talk about an emotional rollercoaster, man." Ashton Sanders is taking a well-deserved break during a year that has transformed him from an unknown 21-year-old to the star of an Oscar-winning movie. He's perched on a sofa in a studio on the west side of Chicago, where he is filming his next project, kitted out in an all-black ensemble complete with leather jacket and movie-star shades that he keeps on throughout our interview. His words are interspersed with coughing, symptomatic of an exhausting schedule. He has barely had time to register the effect of his powerful performance in Barry Jenkins' much-lauded best picture winner Moonlight, a soulful triptych tale that examines three key periods in the life of Chiron, a black gay man in Miami struggling with his sexuality, played by three actors of varying ages. In the middle section, Sanders portrays Chiron's teenage years with understated power, winning him the sorts of plaudits for which most established actors wait years. In the New Yorker, Hilton Als wrote that his performance was "like seeing Montgomery Clift act for the first time". Continue reading... |
| In macho Chechnya, being gay is an act of intolerable rebellion Posted: 22 Apr 2017 12:00 AM PDT Strict social codes and taboos leave victims of anti-gay repression in an impossible situation, with nowhere to turn When Novaya Gazeta published shocking material on anti-gay repression in Chechnya, it was initially disregarded as an April fool by some. However, as the harrowing testimonies of the victims began to surface, the severity of the situation became obvious. Chechnya is a deeply conservative, patriarchal republic with a strict social code that contains many intricate rules. Women, for instance, are not allowed to discuss pregnancy in front of men – it is indecent. Public displays of intimacy are strictly prohibited, even something as innocent as holding hands. Continue reading... |
| Dutch arms trafficker to Liberia given war crimes conviction Posted: 21 Apr 2017 11:00 PM PDT Guus Kouwenhoven convicted of selling weapons to ex-president Charles Taylor during wars that involved mass atrocities An international timber trader who used his business as cover for smuggling weapons into West Africa in defiance of a UN arms embargo has been sentenced to 19 years in prison. Guus Kouwenhoven, 74, was convicted by the Dutch appeal court of being an accessory to war crimes and arms trafficking for selling weapons to Liberia's then president Charles Taylor during civil wars that involved mass atrocities, the use of child soldiers and sexual slavery. He had denied the charges. |
| 'I'm transgender': India grapples with prejudices left over from British rule Posted: 21 Apr 2017 11:00 PM PDT Progress will involve not just drawing on country's pre-colonial past but challenging it too, say backers of anti-discrimination bill It was a prized job in urban India: manning a phone at a corporate call centre. Getting hired took three interviews, and then there was 10 days' training. At each stage, Tona Chettri Chauhan would discreetly approach the interviewers or the trainers with a message. "I'm transgender," she would say. "If that's a problem, I can leave right now." |
| Decline of the diner: New York's last retro eateries – in pictures Posted: 21 Apr 2017 09:05 AM PDT Home to iconic movie scenes and late-night cheap feasts, New York's diners have been dramatically declining as a result of rising rents. Photographer Riley Arthur set out to document those remaining New York-based freelance photographer Riley Arthur has an obsession with diners in the Big Apple. In fact, she has photographed more than 135 of them in all five boroughs (@dinersofnyc). "I see it as both a living archive as well as a historic one," she says. "I'm rushing to document as many as possible." New York City was once home to thousands of diner establishments; now roughly 215 are left, according to the city's public records. Even in the 18 months since Arthur began her project, eight diners she had photographed have closed. Some of these – Hector's, Pearl Diner, Square Diner – count among the five last standalone diners in the city. Continue reading... |
| Give me general election stress over life as a hermit anytime Posted: 21 Apr 2017 10:59 AM PDT Dashing around the country and being wrongfooted by the PM beats being stuck in the middle of nowhere in my book Monday Prince Harry has managed to do more to raise awareness of mental health issues in one newspaper interview than many psychiatrists achieve in a lifetime. But the prince's disclosure that he needed therapy to help him come to terms with his mother's death also revealed how much more there is to be done. For anyone who has suffered mental health problems, it would have been self-evident that a vulnerable 12-year-old boy who was born into the royal family, whose parents had a very public and spectacularly unpleasant separation and whose mother was killed in a car crash with her new boyfriend while being chased by the paparazzi would be in desperate need of help. It's great that Harry finally managed to get help, but it doesn't reflect well on those close to him that no one either noticed he was in trouble or took steps to get him some therapy. |
| Isis leader behind Turkey nightclub attack is killed by US forces in secretive raid Posted: 21 Apr 2017 08:44 PM PDT Abdurakhmon Uzbeki, believed to be from Uzbekistan, was killed during ground assault near Mayadin, Syria, on 6 April, says US central command The United States has announced that a secret military ground operation killed an Islamic State operative seen as a close associate of leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and linked to an attack on a Turkish nightclub that left 39 people dead. Abdurakhmon Uzbeki, who was believed to be from Uzbekistan, was killed during the ground assault near Mayadin, Syria, on 6 April, said Colonel John Thomas, a spokesman for the US military's central command. Continue reading... |
| Rare parchment manuscript of US Declaration of Independence found in England Posted: 21 Apr 2017 10:06 PM PDT Two Harvard researchers have found only the second known parchment manuscript of America's formative text in a West Sussex archive When in the course of human events it becomes necessary to visit a tiny records office in southern England because it claims to have a copy of the Declaration of Independence, a decent respect for history requires investigation. On Friday two Harvard University researchers announced they had found a parchment copy of the declaration, only the second parchment manuscript copy known to exist besides the one kept in the National Archives in Washington DC. Professor Danielle Allen and researcher Emily Sneff presented their findings on the document, known as "The Sussex Declaration", at a conference at Yale on Friday, and published initial research online. |
| Tiangong-2: China's first cargo spacecraft docks with orbiting space lab Posted: 21 Apr 2017 10:57 PM PDT President Xi Jinping has prioritised advancing China's space programme to strengthen national security China's first cargo spacecraft docked successfully with the Tiangong-2 space lab on Saturday, the official Xinhua news agency reported, marking a major step towards Beijing's goal of establishing a permanently manned space station by 2022. President Xi Jinping has prioritised advancing China's space programme to strengthen national security. Continue reading... |
| Human rights groups demand closure of Manus and Nauru after scathing Senate report Posted: 21 Apr 2017 08:38 PM PDT Asylum Seeker Resource Centre calls for end to 'dangerous failure' of offshore detention after report finds government responsible for centres Human rights and legal groups say a scathing Senate report on offshore processing and conditions inside detention highlights the government's "wilful inaction" and bolsters their calls for the closure of the Manus Island and Nauru centres. On Friday the government released a report by the Senate committee on legal and constitutional affairs, which followed a seven-month inquiry into allegations of abuse on Manus and Nauru sparked by the Guardian's publication of the Nauru files. |
| France’s identity crisis: ‘People just don’t know what to think any more’ Posted: 21 Apr 2017 11:00 PM PDT France goes to the polls on Sunday in a presidential election shaped by economic insecurity, cultural paranoia and terrorism. Natalie Nougayrède travels to the south-west and tries to make sense of the most important vote of her lifetime The quiet, lovely medieval towns and soft, rolling hills covered with orchards and vineyards of south-west France are an unlikely setting for a citizens' uprising. Yet just days before the presidential election, conversations with the inhabitants of this once leftwing region, stretching from the city of Toulouse to the rural settings of the Tarn-et-Garonne, offer a glimpse into France's mood of rage and confusion. Popular resentment, fears and frustrations set the stage for a major political upheaval, almost 60 years after De Gaulle founded the country's Fifth Republic. France is a republican quasi-monarchy. Its institutions are centred on the president. But what is at stake in this vote isn't just the choice of a personality, nor only an economic or political programme. The very essence of France's democracy hangs in the balance, as well as the survival of the 60-year-old European project. Much of what is at work resembles the trends that produced Brexit in Britain and Trump in the US – not least the disgruntlement of those who feel they have lost out to globalisation. But there are also specific, distinct elements of a collective French identity crisis. Continue reading... |
| ‘Urgent’ to reach agreement on loan for Greece, says IMF Posted: 21 Apr 2017 07:06 PM PDT Talks with IMF and eurozone have dragged on for months, but fresh funds needed so Greece can pay debt due in July It is "urgent" to reach an agreement on a loan program for Greece but a commitment is still required from Athens on reforms and from Europe on debt relief, a senior IMF official said on Friday. "It is urgent that we agree on a program and that we conclude these discussions because it's taking a toll on the Greek economy," Poul Thomsen, head of the IMF's European department, said. "There is no doubt about that, it's serious." Continue reading... |
| Man charged with making several threatening calls to Jewish centers in US Posted: 21 Apr 2017 02:36 PM PDT Michael Ron David Kadar, who has US and Israeli citizenship, faces 31 charges of making threatening calls and conveying false information to police An 18-year-old man with Israeli and US citizenship has been formally charged with making threatening phone calls to Jewish community centers in the United States. Related: Jewish community centers in US receive nearly 50 bomb threats in 2017 so far Continue reading... |
| Valon Behrami on how football helped him start a new life – video Posted: 21 Apr 2017 02:30 PM PDT Watford midfielder Valon Behrami talks about how he and his family fled escalating violence in Kosovo when he was just four years old in search of safety and a better life in Switzerland. Behrami, formerly of West Ham and Napoli, also describes how football helped him adjust to living in a new country and how he came to represent Switzerland at international level Continue reading... |
| Is the world more dangerous now than during the cold war? Posted: 21 Apr 2017 12:30 PM PDT With the rise of Trump, and unstable relations between the US, Russia and China – plus a dash of nuclear bellicosity from North Korea – are we all going to die? During the cold war, there was a clear narrative: an ideological opposition between the US and the Soviet Union. Moments of great tension were understood as episodes within that narrative. The closest we came to nuclear confrontation was the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, when the two countries seemed on the edge of war. But the crisis itself was finished inside a fortnight, and there was a wider framework to fall back on. The 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty calmed the waters. Continue reading... |
| Letter: The rewards of activism Posted: 21 Apr 2017 09:49 AM PDT The upheavals that Betty Tebbs and her second husband, Len, went through included, in the years around 1950, leaving the Labour party for the Communist party and going back again. In an interview with Sarah Irving, Betty said of her activism: "It's not all grind. What you get back from it are lifelong friendships and understanding ... I've often said I don't know what I'd do if peace broke out, but it'd be lovely, wouldn't it?" Continue reading... |
| Xavier Jugelé: policeman killed in Paris was gay rights activist Posted: 21 Apr 2017 09:32 AM PDT Tributes paid to policeman who attended 2015 attack on Bataclan concert hall and worked in Greece helping migrants When the Bataclan concert hall reopened 2016, a year after the terrorist attack in Paris which left 130 people dead, police officer Xavier Jugelé described his happiness at seeing the venue once again open its doors. Related: Fears Paris shooting will affect presidental election as first round looms Continue reading... |
| Mortal sorrows of refugees touch hearts | Letters Posted: 21 Apr 2017 09:13 AM PDT Sincere thanks to Ben Mauk for his long read about Germany's great refugee experiment (19 April). It was a superbly written, carefully measured and well-balanced account of the way in which one tiny German village, Sumte in Lower Saxony, had received an influx of 800 refugees. By doing so, its inhabitants had kept the promise of Angela Merkel and thus fulfilled a key article in the German constitution that "human dignity shall be inviolable". Those involved, both locals and immigrants, deserve full credit and boundless respect, since living up to such high aspirations sadly seems to be a rarity in this world. I am left feeling immensely humbled by what was achieved, especially when compared with the widespread intransigence, not to say antipathy, within my own country over the same issue. • Your editorial (The stiff upper lip is an anomaly in a tear-stained history, 19 April) alludes to Virgil and his lacrimae rerum. It might have mentioned, in support of its general argument, the moral dimension Virgil gives to tears: Aeneas is reassured by the compassionate paintings he sees on arriving in Carthage that this must be a civilised country, because mentem mortalia tangunt – mortal sorrows touch the heart. So what does this say of our country in its policy towards asylum seekers? |
| The pressing need for nuclear disarmament | Letters Posted: 21 Apr 2017 09:12 AM PDT Paul Mason writes (G2, 17 April) that the generation waking up to recent headlines "may need reminding what a nuclear weapon does". Given the dramatic escalation of nuclear rhetoric in recent months, we could all use a reminder of the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of such weapons. Mr Mason correctly notes that in the UK – as elsewhere – the numbers of people in need of emergency medical help after an attack would outstrip hospital beds. But it is worth remembering that in many nuclear scenarios, these hospital beds and other essential health infrastructure would no longer exist. Neither would the doctors and nurses who operate them. Nuclear weapons are unique in their destructive power, in the unspeakable human suffering they cause, and in the impossibility of controlling their effects in space and time. They threaten irreversible harm to the environment and to future generations. Prohibiting and eliminating them is a humanitarian imperative. Continue reading... |
| Ancient Greeks had formula for happiness | Brief letters Posted: 21 Apr 2017 09:11 AM PDT Happiness | Arseholery | Leftovers | Spoiler alerts Sharon Cooke (Letters, 19 April) writes that Gaby Hinsliff's formula for happiness is not a new one and quotes Salford's first MP who said "My riches consist not in the extent of my possessions, but in the fewness of my wants". He might have been quoting Epicurus, who 2,200 years earlier wrote, "If you wish to make Pythocles rich, do not give him more money, but diminish his desires" and also "Nothing satisfies him for whom enough is too little." • The achievements of Kathrine Switzer are remarkable (Marathon struggle of runner who changed athletics, 19 April). But it should be remembered that the "woman who jumped out of the bushes" in 1967 was Bobbi Gibb, who finished the race 50 minutes quicker than Kathrine Switzer and is the officially credited winner not just that year, but in 1966 and 1968 too; and can equally be described by your headline. |
| How are you voting in the French presidential elections? Posted: 21 Apr 2017 08:45 AM PDT If you're voting in the French presidential elections, we'd like you to share your thoughts and hopes for the future of the country As the first round of the French presidential election nears, with candidates ranging from far right to hard left vying to reach the second round, we'd like you to tell us who you're voting for and why. Related: French elections: all you need to know Continue reading... |
| French presidential candidates react to Paris attack – video Posted: 21 Apr 2017 08:14 AM PDT The three frontrunners in the French presidential election give their reactions to Thursday's gun attack on police officers in Paris. Front National leader Marine Le Pen calls for tighter control on the borders; centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron says the attackers were trying to derail the election; and conservative François Fillon says the 'war' against extremism will not end soon Continue reading... |
| Flying car's test flight is a success, says German company – video Posted: 21 Apr 2017 07:27 AM PDT A successful test flight has been carried out on a prototype 'flying car' created by a company in Germany. The two-seater prototype, created by Munich-based firm Lilium, is capable of vertical take-off and landing and transitions to conventional wing-borne flight. Lilium hopes the vehicle could be used for urban air taxi services |
| Large Commons majority will strengthen May's hand in Brexit talks, says Irish PM Posted: 21 Apr 2017 05:47 AM PDT Enda Kenny attends mini summit with Danish and Dutch leaders to discuss how UK's withdrawal from EU will affect trade Theresa May will be strengthened in negotiations with the EU if she wins a large Commons majority, the Irish prime minister has said, after a mini summit on Brexit with the leaders of Denmark and the Netherlands. Asked about the consequence of May's decision to call a general election, Enda Kenny said he could understand "as a politician" the British prime minister's motives. Continue reading... |
| Was the Paris attack an Isis attempt to influence the French election? Posted: 21 Apr 2017 04:32 AM PDT It would be a significant shift for the terrorist group if the attack was intended to influence voters Was the terrorist attack in Paris on Thursday night executed by Islamic State in a deliberate attempt to influence the presidential election in France, which starts on Sunday? The suggestion may seem far-fetched, and it would be a significant shift for a group known more for nihilistic ultra-violence than efforts to manipulate western political process, but it is not impossible. Continue reading... |
| French elections: all you need to know Posted: 21 Apr 2017 03:53 AM PDT As polling day nears in the most unpredictable campaign for years, 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... |
| 'The real misery is in the countryside': support for Le Pen surges in rural France Posted: 21 Apr 2017 03:19 AM PDT Rift between ailing rural areas and faraway big cities is where the Front National leader looks set to make her biggest voter gains Sitting at his kitchen table in a remote farmhouse in the Morvan hills of Burgundy, with a calculator, bills and debts piled up in front of him, Jean-Marc, a 50-year-old Charolais cattle farmer, had decided to vote for the far-right Front National leader, Marine Le Pen, for the first time this weekend. "A whole French way of life is under threat," he said, looking at an old photograph of his father working the land with a horse-drawn plough. "I work 70 hours a week and I can't make a profit from my animals. It's misery. I'll be in debt until I die. And if we replace the French with immigrants, this country's whole identity will change. We've got to protect the French." |
| Teenager ‘brainwashed’ by man when she helped transfer $18,000 to Isis, court hears Posted: 21 Apr 2017 03:02 AM PDT 17-year-old wanted to impress an older man she wanted to marry when she helped arrange cash transfers A Sydney teenager had been brainwashed by a man she intended to marry when she helped transfer almost $18,000 to Islamic State fighters, a court has heard. The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, wanted to impress the older man when she helped arrange several Western Union cash transfers in 2015 and 2016, her lawyer, Zemarai Khatiz, told the Parramatta children's court on Friday. Continue reading... |
| Canada judge who wore Trump hat to court faces disciplinary hearing Posted: 21 Apr 2017 01:30 AM PDT Ontario court justice Bernd Zabel, who wore a 'Make America Great Again' cap following the US election, could be removed from bench after flood of complaints A Canadian judge who wore a Donald Trump campaign hat into court after the US election is facing a disciplinary hearing and possible removal from the bench after his actions triggered an unprecedented number of formal complaints. In November, the Ontario court justice Bernd Zabel entered his courtroom in Hamilton, Ontario, clad in black robes and a red "Make America Great Again" baseball cap. He reportedly told those in court that the hat was meant to mark an "unprecedented" night in the United States and singled himself out as the lone Trump supporter among his colleagues. Continue reading... |
| Campaigners refuse to throw in the towel over India's 'tax on blood' Posted: 21 Apr 2017 05:30 AM PDT Petition urging MPs to scrap levy on sanitary towels spirals into viral Twitter campaign as Bollywood stars throw their weight behind calls for change In India, it is a subject usually spoken about in whispers or behind closed doors. But after a social media campaign by a local politician, Bollywood stars, comedians and writers have joined thousands of people in tweeting videos of themselves urging finance minister Arun Jaitley to scrap sales taxes on sanitary towels. Related: Banished for menstruating: the Indian women isolated while they bleed | Gagandeep Kaur Continue reading... |
| Former archbishop of Canterbury defends Britain's aid budget Posted: 21 Apr 2017 04:35 AM PDT Rowan Williams says UK's commitment to world's poorest people is 'something to be proud of, not a political football' Rowan Williams, the former archbishop of Canterbury, has made a powerful defence of Britain's aid budget, which he describes as a "badge of honour", in an rare intervention during a general election campaign. As chair of Christian Aid, Williams issued a statement on Friday amid speculation that the Conservatives will drop an existing commitment, enshrined in law, to spend 0.7% of Britain's gross national income on aid in the party's election manifesto. |
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