World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk |
- St Petersburg bomb suspect is Kyrgyz-born Akbarzhon Jalilov, Kyrgyzstan says
- Syria: suspected chemical attack kills dozens in Idlib province
- French elections: all you need to know
- Jeff Sessions orders review of police reforms prompted by high-profile shootings
- Colombia landslide: search continues for missing after mud deluge kills hundreds
- EU at odds with Trump administration over Assad's role in Syria
- Rise of robotics will upend laws and lead to human job quotas, study says
- Global productivity slowdown risks creating instability, warns IMF
- Tunisian nightclub shut down over Muslim call to prayer remix
- Search resumes for woman and children feared dead in Tweed river
- Roman Polanski fails to secure no-jail guarantee in rape case
- Julian Assange taunts loser of Ecuador's election over tax haven allegations
- Dalai Lama's emotional reunion with guard who aided flight from Tibet
- Neil Gorsuch nomination vote in committee sets up Democratic filibuster
- Serbian PM elected president as EU warns over increased powers
- Fox News commentator is latest to accuse Roger Ailes of sexual harassment
- Harrison Ford won't be punished over piloting near-miss
- Why suspicion over St Petersburg metro attack is likely to fall on Islamist groups
- Nauru's president to discuss funding for new port during Australian visit
- Passengers scramble out of St Petersburg metro minutes after blast – video
- 28-day limit on police bail comes into force
- Khan promises 'world's first ultra low emission zone' to tackle London's 'lethal' air - Politics live
- Germany's other brutal history: should Berlin's 'African Quarter' be renamed?
- Donald Trump travel ban 'simplistic and wrongheaded', says former CIA chief
- The American expats breaking up indigenous communities on the Mexican 'Riviera'
- Labor faces internal wrangle over ‘Buffett rule’ to stop wealthy avoiding tax
- Ayaan Hirsi Ali says Australian opponents 'carrying water' for radical Islamists
- Deadly explosion on St Petersburg metro train - video report
- Austrian blacksmiths making armour for Vatican's Swiss Guard – in pictures
- Wiretaps, data dumps and zero days: is digital privacy no longer possible? – video
- China plans to build new city nearly three times the size of New York
- Tuesday briefing: Tory MPs reject their own Brexit report
- The ungrateful refugee: ‘We have no debt to repay’
- Saturday tapas and Sunday roast: Gibraltar's 'true Europeans'
- Chicken run: New Zealand Post will start delivering KFC to beat mail slump
- South Africa credit rating: junk status sends rand tumbling
- St Petersburg metro explosion leaves 11 dead and dozens wounded
- Ecuador elections: leftwing candidate celebrates victory amid fraud accusations– video report
- Gibraltar, the EU and the lessons of the Falkland | Letters
- Tourists can help protect St Lucia’s unique lizard | Letters
- Trump to Sisi: 'Egypt has a great friend and ally in the US' – video
- Darcus Howe obituary
- EU must demand a say in Syria negotiations | Letters
- Blast at St Petersburg metro station – in pictures
- A rock and a hard place: Gibraltar and Britain’s relationship explained - video
- Jean-Michel Jarre to play anti-Donald Trump Dead Sea concert
- 'We're the sacrificial lamb': Gibraltarians on Brexit sovereignty row
- Passengers move through smoke-filled metro station in St Petersburg – video
- Mangled metro doors after St Petersburg blast – video
- Trump administration halts money to UN population fund over abortion rules
- UK government under fire for failure to regulate aid contractors
- Uganda at breaking point as Bidi Bidi becomes world's largest refugee camp
- John W Dean contrasts Donald Trump with Richard Nixon – video
- Ex-CIA chief John Brennan says Trump travel ban is counterproductive – video
- Neil Gorsuch and the historic fight for his supreme court confirmation – video
| St Petersburg bomb suspect is Kyrgyz-born Akbarzhon Jalilov, Kyrgyzstan says Posted: 04 Apr 2017 01:49 AM PDT Intelligence agency says Kyrgyz-born Russian citizen could be behind attack that killed 14 on metro network The prime suspect in Monday's bomb attack on the St Petersburg metro is a Russian citizen born in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan, according to Kyrgyz intelligence. Russia's health minister raised the death toll from 11 to 14 on Tuesday and said 49 people were still in hospital. A second bomb left at a different station did not detonate and was defused. Continue reading... |
| Syria: suspected chemical attack kills dozens in Idlib province Posted: 04 Apr 2017 02:22 AM PDT War monitor says medical sources in town of Khan Sheikhun reported symptoms including fainting, vomiting and foaming at mouth At least 58 people have been killed in a suspected chemical attack on a rebel-held town in north-west Syria, a war monitor has said. Related: Syrian regime and Isis carried out chemical attacks, say UN investigators Continue reading... |
| French elections: all you need to know Posted: 03 Apr 2017 11:00 PM PDT As the candidates in the French presidential election prepare to meet on Tuesday evening for the second televised debate, we look at what they 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. Opinion polls have forecast for more than two years that the populist, nationalist, authoritarian Marine Le Pen could win the first round. Continue reading... |
| Jeff Sessions orders review of police reforms prompted by high-profile shootings Posted: 03 Apr 2017 08:55 PM PDT All reform agreements between justice department and local police forces – including Ferguson and Baltimore – to be reexamined, attorney general says The US attorney general on Monday ordered a nationwide review of all reform agreements with local police departments, placing a key part of Barack Obama's legacy on criminal justice in jeopardy. Jeff Sessions signalled in a memo filed to a federal court that "consent decrees" such as those struck in recent years with troubled departments in Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, Maryland, could be scrapped or scaled down. Continue reading... |
| Colombia landslide: search continues for missing after mud deluge kills hundreds Posted: 03 Apr 2017 12:18 PM PDT At least 43 children among those confirmed dead, as survivors in Mocoa are still being pulled from mud and wreckage left in wake of overwhelming floods José Albeiro Vargas last saw his grandson the night fierce rain unleashed havoc on this small city surrounded by rivers and mountains in southern Colombia. From what Vargas has been able to gather, the torrents of mud, water and debris unleashed on the city of Mocoa by the rain-swollen river swept away his daughter and her 18-month-old grandson, Jadir Estiven. Ever since, has been searching for them without success. Continue reading... |
| EU at odds with Trump administration over Assad's role in Syria Posted: 03 Apr 2017 10:31 AM PDT EU reasserts that Bashar al-Assad has no future in Syria, on the eve of a major aid conference in Brussels aimed in part at boosting peace talks The EU has reasserted that Bashar al-Assad has no future in Syria, just days after the Trump administration said his departure was no longer a priority for settling the conflict. Federica Mogherini, the EU foreign policy chief, said after six and a half years of war it was completely unrealistic to believe that the future of Syria would be exactly the same as its past. The EU wanted "a meaningful and inclusive transition in Syria" open to Syrians from all backgrounds, she said. "It is for the Syrians to decide, but for all Syrians." Continue reading... |
| Rise of robotics will upend laws and lead to human job quotas, study says Posted: 03 Apr 2017 05:00 PM PDT Report predicts rise in robotics will usher in 'industrial revolution 4.0' altering working practices and legal frameworks Innovation in artificial intelligence and robotics could force governments to legislate for quotas of human workers, upend traditional working practices and pose novel dilemmas for insuring driverless cars, according to a report by the International Bar Association. The survey, which suggests that a third of graduate level jobs around the world may eventually be replaced by machines or software, warns that legal frameworks regulating employment and safety are becoming rapidly outdated. Continue reading... |
| Global productivity slowdown risks creating instability, warns IMF Posted: 03 Apr 2017 12:00 PM PDT Christine Lagarde says governments must invest in education, cut red tape and encourage innovation to drive up growth The head of the International Monetary Fund has issued a stark warning that living standards will fall around the world unless governments take urgent action to increase productivity by investing in education, cutting red tape and incentivising research and development. Christine Lagarde used a speech in Washington to tell policymakers they could not simply wait for innovation to drive up productivity growth and help living standards recover from the legacy of the global financial crisis. Continue reading... |
| Tunisian nightclub shut down over Muslim call to prayer remix Posted: 03 Apr 2017 11:37 AM PDT Owner held and English DJ apologises after playing recording at Orbit festival in north-east of country Tunisian authorities have shut down a nightclub and begun an investigation after a DJ played a remix recording of the Muslim call to prayer, an official has said. A video, widely shared online since Sunday, shows clubbers dancing to music that includes the call to prayer at the club in the north-east town of Nabeul. Continue reading... |
| Search resumes for woman and children feared dead in Tweed river Posted: 03 Apr 2017 03:00 PM PDT Witnesses went into floodwaters at Tumbulgum after one child escaped from the sinking vehicle but were unable to reach three others The search for three people feared dead in a northern New South Wales river will resume on Tuesday morning, with police divers from Sydney heading to flood-hit Tumbulgum. It is feared a woman, her son and daughter died when their car was swept into the swollen Tweed river on Monday afternoon. An eight-year-old girl was able to escape as the vehicle was washed into the water. Continue reading... |
| Roman Polanski fails to secure no-jail guarantee in rape case Posted: 03 Apr 2017 05:16 PM PDT Judge shut down film-maker's request to return to US with immunity from jail, saying he should not receive special treatment as a 'wealthy celebrity' The Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski has failed in his bid to bring an end to his long-running rape case. Polanski pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977 and fled on the eve of sentencing. He said the judge reneged on a promise to sentence him to probation after he underwent a diagnostic study at a California prison. Continue reading... |
| Julian Assange taunts loser of Ecuador's election over tax haven allegations Posted: 03 Apr 2017 09:56 AM PDT Assange alludes to allegations that Guillermo Lasso, who said he would evict activist from Ecuador's London embassy, stashed millions abroad Julian Assange is celebrating the results of Ecuador's presidential runoff with a blast at the losing candidate, who had pledged to evict the WikiLeaks founder from the country's embassy in London. Assange has been holed up at the diplomatic mission since 2012, when Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, granted him asylum. Continue reading... |
| Dalai Lama's emotional reunion with guard who aided flight from Tibet Posted: 03 Apr 2017 05:05 AM PDT Buddhist leader meets Naren Chandra Das 58 years after he escorted him in India after his escape from Chinese authorities The first time they met, Indian paramilitary guard Naren Chandra Das was ordered not to talk to the bespectacled young soldier he was escorting near the Chinese border in a top-secret mission. Nearly 60 years later, Das was reunited with the Dalai Lama in an emotional ceremony that recalled the Buddhist leader's escape from Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese authorities. Continue reading... |
| Neil Gorsuch nomination vote in committee sets up Democratic filibuster Posted: 03 Apr 2017 11:22 AM PDT Senate Republicans prepare to invoke so-called nuclear option to force supreme court nomination as only four Democrats have announced support for Gorsuch The US Senate appeared on the verge of going "nuclear" on Monday after supreme court nominee Neil Gorsuch was approved in committee and Democrats secured enough support to filibuster the vote on his confirmation. This 41-vote threshold was reached just before the Senate judiciary committee approved Gorsuch's nomination by a party-line vote of 11-9. This sets the stage for a showdown on the Senate floor later in the week, which could involve the so-called nuclear option, a change to Senate rules that would prevent filibusters of nominees to the supreme court. Continue reading... |
| Serbian PM elected president as EU warns over increased powers Posted: 03 Apr 2017 04:09 AM PDT Aleksandar Vučić's landslide win tightens his rule in country where his Serbian Progressive party dominates parliament Serbia's prime minister, Aleksandar Vučić, has won by a landslide in the country's presidential election, further strengthening his rule in the Balkan country. The state election commission said after counting 91% of ballots that Vučić won 55% of votes, followed by the liberal candidate Saša Janković with 16%, and Luka Maksimović, a parody politician, with 9%. Continue reading... |
| Fox News commentator is latest to accuse Roger Ailes of sexual harassment Posted: 03 Apr 2017 11:28 AM PDT Julie Roginsky, a current Fox News contributor, has filed a lawsuit, joining more than 20 women who have complained against the network's former chairman A Fox News Channel commentator on Monday filed a lawsuit accusing the network's former chairman, Roger Ailes, of sexual harassment. The political commentator Julie Roginsky, who currently contributes to Fox News, said Ailes made sexual advances towards her and penalized her for rebuffing his advances, according to the lawsuit. Continue reading...This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Harrison Ford won't be punished over piloting near-miss Posted: 04 Apr 2017 02:03 AM PDT Federal Aviation Administration will not fine actor and he retains pilot's licence after incident in February Harrison Ford will not be fined or lose his licence over his latest aviation mishap, US federal authorities have said. Ford, 74, has been under investigation for the incident at John Wayne airport in Orange County, California, in February, which saw the actor mistakenly land his single-engine Aviat Husky plane on a taxiway rather than a runway, passing over an American Airlines jet that was waiting to take off. |
| Why suspicion over St Petersburg metro attack is likely to fall on Islamist groups Posted: 04 Apr 2017 01:37 AM PDT Russia's intervention in Chechnya and Syria has led to threats from Isis and others For many years in the 1990s and 2000s, terror attacks hit Russia with alarming frequency, as the Chechen independence movement, which morphed over time into an Islamist terror group, targeted trains, planes and subway stations. But outside Chechnya and the other restive republics of the North Caucasus region the number of attacks has decreased dramatically in recent years. Monday's bomb on the St Petersburg metro was the worst act of terror outside southern Russia since a 2011 suicide attack at Moscow's Domodedovo airport, which killed 37 people. Continue reading... |
| Nauru's president to discuss funding for new port during Australian visit Posted: 04 Apr 2017 01:36 AM PDT Baron Waqa will meet Asian Development Bank officials and visit the port of Brisbane during his trip starting on Wednesday The president of Nauru, Baron Waqa, will meet officials from the Asian Development Bank during his Australian visit, in an effort to raise finance to build a new port on the island. A spokeswoman for the Asian Development Bank declined to say why Nauru's president was meeting ADB officials in Australia this week – but Guardian Australia understands Waqa wants to pursue a new port project, and will visit the port of Brisbane as part of his official program. Continue reading... |
| Passengers scramble out of St Petersburg metro minutes after blast – video Posted: 04 Apr 2017 01:06 AM PDT Amateur video shows passengers jumping from the wreckage of a train carriage in St Petersburg after an explosion on the metro on Monday. A shrapnel-filled bomb, believed to have been hidden on board the train, blew a hole in the side of the carriage while the train was between two stations, Sennaya Ploshchad going to Teknologicheskiy Institut. Eleven people were killed in the bombing and dozens wounded Continue reading... |
| 28-day limit on police bail comes into force Posted: 04 Apr 2017 02:15 AM PDT English and Welsh police face curbs on their use of bail following severe criticism of people being left in legal limbo for months or years Police will face new curbs on their use of bail after coming under severe criticism for leaving people in legal limbo for months or even years. A 28-day limit on pre-charge bail came into effect in England and Wales on Monday, as part of a government shakeup aiming to end the "injustice" to individuals kept under a cloud of suspicion for excessive periods of time. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 04 Apr 2017 02:33 AM PDT Rolling coverage of the day's political developments as they happen
Ken Livingstone gave an interview to the BBC broadcast on the Today programme this morning ahead of the disciplinary hearing this afternoon that could result in him being expelled from Labour. As the Huffington Post reports, in the interview he claimed that the Jewish Chronicle, and the way it reported what he said, was to blame for the offence caused by his comments about Hitler and Zionism.
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has published a press notice with full details of his plans for an ultra low emission zone in London. He is already introducing a £10 T-charge (toxicity charge) for the most polluting cars that will come into force in October this year. Londoners suffering from asthma, and other health conditions, worsened by the dirty air, will be desperately disappointed by the mayor's sluggish timetable for clean air that backtracks on his manifesto promise. His original plans outlined a London-wide ULEZ for buses, coaches and lorries "as early as 2019" with an all-vehicle ULEZ to the north and south circular by 2020. Continue reading... |
| Germany's other brutal history: should Berlin's 'African Quarter' be renamed? Posted: 03 Apr 2017 11:47 PM PDT In a neighbourhood where street names recall colonies and those who ruled them, activists are calling for Germany to confront its violent imperial past The cool blue tunnel of Afrikanische Strasse U-Bahn station is embellished with enormous colour photographs: a grinning giraffe; a herd of zebras on the savannah; a pair of meerkats. The scene they set feels very far away: above ground, Afrikanisches Viertel (the "African Quarter") is just an ordinary Berlin neighbourhood of modernist housing estates, small businesses and a relatively low-income population. Only the names of the roads – Zanzibar Street, Congo Street, Cameroon Street – seem to be playing along. There is no zoo here, and Africans make up only 6% of the population. But beyond these contradictions, the African Quarter has become the epicentre of a passionate debate about historical memory and the city landscape. On one side are those who want the area to remain as it is; on the other, a growing number of activists and organisations calling for the neighbourhood (and some streets beyond it) to be renamed. Continue reading... |
| Donald Trump travel ban 'simplistic and wrongheaded', says former CIA chief Posted: 03 Apr 2017 11:38 PM PDT John Brennan told BBC Newsnight that president's insistence on using term 'radical Islamic terrorism' helped legitimise Isis The former CIA director John Brennan has described Donald Trump's travel ban on visitors from Muslim countries as "simplistic and misguided", predicting it would be counterproductive if implemented. Brennan, who was director of central intelligence from March 2013 until the last day of the Obama administration on 20 January this year, was highly critical of a range of Trump policies and actions in an interview with the BBC Newsnight programme aired on Monday night. Continue reading... |
| The American expats breaking up indigenous communities on the Mexican 'Riviera' Posted: 03 Apr 2017 11:30 PM PDT As property developers edge closer to the home town of 5,000 Cocas, the community has appealed to the government for help Machetes in hand, the indigenous Cocas are climbing the steep scrubby hills that overlook their territory. Young boys climb alongside elders while a trusty donkey carries their camping equipment. Other groups man outposts beside the entrances to Mezcala, the lakeside town their forefathers founded in the late 13th century, over 200 years before the Spanish arrived in Mexico. They're heading out on a unique voyage - bringing the community together to discuss their tactics against displacement. The men and boys will spend the night huddled around ceremonial bonfires, telling stories about their heritage, before descending upon the sacred Isle of Mezcala the next morning to discuss with a larger group how to defend their land and way of life. Based in the western state of Jalisco, the Cocas go back more than 700 years and have had to fight off waves of invaders over the centuries. Continue reading... |
| Labor faces internal wrangle over ‘Buffett rule’ to stop wealthy avoiding tax Posted: 04 Apr 2017 01:05 AM PDT Chris Bowen rules out a policy to make rich pay a minimum tax rate, but a senior union official says 'it's way too early to be ruling measures out' A senior union official and member of the ALP national executive says the debate about making wealthy individuals pay a minimum rate of tax is not over, despite the shadow treasurer Chris Bowen ruling out a "Buffett rule" as policy for the next election. In an interview with the Guardian's Australian Politics Live podcast, Bowen said a "Buffett rule" – which stipulates that high-wealth individuals pay a minimum rate of tax – "won't be part of the policy we take to the next election". |
| Ayaan Hirsi Ali says Australian opponents 'carrying water' for radical Islamists Posted: 04 Apr 2017 12:19 AM PDT Hirsi Ali hits back at group of Muslim women and tells Triple J's Hack program that Islamophobia is a 'manufactured' term Ayaan Hirsi Ali has hit back at a group of Australian Muslim women who accused her of being a "star" of Islamophobia and stirring up hatred. The women took to Facebook on Monday when Hirsi Ali was due to arrive in Australia for a speaking tour that she cancelled at the last minute, citing concerns about security and the organisation of her trip. Continue reading... |
| Deadly explosion on St Petersburg metro train - video report Posted: 04 Apr 2017 12:06 AM PDT 11 people have been killed after an explosive device detonated on a metro train in central St Petersburg. Dozens have been injured in Monday's blast, according to local officials. The explosion happened at the Sennaya Ploshchad station, at about 2.30pm (11.30am GMT), reportedly as the train was pulling out of the station Continue reading... |
| Austrian blacksmiths making armour for Vatican's Swiss Guard – in pictures Posted: 04 Apr 2017 12:00 AM PDT Blacksmiths who produce ceremonial suits of armour for the Vatican's Swiss Guard are close to the end of their current deal to do so, and say supplying the suits will not now be an issue for many years to come Continue reading... |
| Wiretaps, data dumps and zero days: is digital privacy no longer possible? – video Posted: 03 Apr 2017 11:00 PM PDT There have been allegations of Russian hacking of the US election, WikiLeaks revelations of CIA cyber weapons including targeted surveillance using consumer devices, and the call for a back door into encrypted communications apps. So to want extent is privacy and democracy under threat? The Guardian's defence and intelligence correspondent, Ewen MacCaskill, and technology reporter, Alex Hern, discuss the practice and implications of digital technology and surveillance and what it potentially means for all of us |
| China plans to build new city nearly three times the size of New York Posted: 03 Apr 2017 10:46 PM PDT Announcement of the Xiongan New Area leads to a frenzy of property speculation with investors clogging roads to get to site A hitherto anonymous region near China's smog-choked capital has been overrun by house buyers after Beijing unveiled "historic" plans to build a new city there in a bid to slash pollution and congestion. Plans for the Xiongan New Area, a special economic zone that authorities say will eventually cover an area nearly three times that of New York, were announced by the Communist party's top leaders on Saturday with a flurry of government propaganda. |
| Tuesday briefing: Tory MPs reject their own Brexit report Posted: 03 Apr 2017 10:38 PM PDT Committee report derided as 'skewed and partisan' … ex-CIA head criticises Trump travel ban … Google finds out it's really cool Good morning, Graham Russell here bringing you a digest of this morning's news. Continue reading... |
| The ungrateful refugee: ‘We have no debt to repay’ Posted: 03 Apr 2017 10:00 PM PDT Dina Nayeri was just a child when she fled Iran as an asylum seeker. But as she settled into life in the US and then Europe, she became suspicious of the idea that refugees should shed their old identities and be eternally thankful A few weeks ago I dusted off my expired Iranian passport photo, an unsmiling eight-year-old version of me – stunned, angry, wearing tight grey hijab and staring far beyond the camera. It's not the face of a child on the verge of rescue, though I would soon escape Iran. I have kept that old photograph hidden since the day I threw away my last headscarf, and now it's the bewildered face and parted lips, not the scarf, that capture my interest. No matter how hard I try, I can't reconcile this child with the frazzled American writer in my recent pictures. In 1985, when I was six years old, my family left our home in Isfahan for several months to live in London. The move was temporary, a half-hearted stab at emigration; nonetheless, I was enrolled in school. In Iran I had only attended nursery, never school, and I spoke only Farsi. Continue reading... |
| Saturday tapas and Sunday roast: Gibraltar's 'true Europeans' Posted: 03 Apr 2017 09:00 PM PDT While proud of their history, many Gibraltarians do not recognise territory's image as sliver of British yesteryear preserved in sunny amber As Michael Howard's flag-waving, sabre-rattling, Madrid-baiting intervention made clear, Gibraltar can occupy an oddly atavistic place in some corners of Britain's collective psyche. Three centuries in British possession, a police service very nearly as old as London's and red phone boxes that sit under azure skies have all conspired to give the territory a certain old-world cachet. Continue reading... |
| Chicken run: New Zealand Post will start delivering KFC to beat mail slump Posted: 03 Apr 2017 07:06 PM PDT Fast food home delivery is tried out as number of letters sent in New Zealand halves in a decade The New Zealand postal service has begun delivering Kentucky Fried Chicken in a bid to stem major revenue losses as the number of people using the postal service continue to plummet. NZ Post and the fast food company have joined forces in a pilot scheme in the North Island port city of Tauranga, with KFC contracting NZ Post to handle the logistics of its new home delivery service. Continue reading... |
| South Africa credit rating: junk status sends rand tumbling Posted: 03 Apr 2017 05:04 PM PDT Currency falls after Standard & Poor's downgrades outlook, blaming political risks arising from Jacob Zuma's actions South Africa's rand tumbled on Monday afternoon after credit rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded the country's the credit grade to junk status, saying a cabinet reshuffle by President Jacob Zuma last week had put fiscal and growth outcomes at risk. The agency said the downgrade reflected its view that the divisions in the African National Congress (ANC) government, especially the firing of respected finance minister Pravin Gordhan, who was replaced by an ally of Zuma last week, have put policy continuity at risk. Continue reading... |
| St Petersburg metro explosion leaves 11 dead and dozens wounded Posted: 03 Apr 2017 02:29 PM PDT Vladimir Putin holds meeting with security chiefs following blast on train between Sennaya Ploshchad and Tekhnologicheskii Institut metro stations The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, held a meeting with security chiefs late on Monday night as security officials investigated a bomb blast on a St Petersburg metro train that killed 11 people and wounded dozens more. A second explosive device was left at a different metro station but did not detonate. Police initially said the device had been left on the train by the attacker, and that a search was under way for two people suspected of organising and carrying out the attack. Later, however, the Interfax news agency claimed the blast had in fact been caused by a suicide bomber, citing a law enforcement source, but there was no immediate confirmation of this. Continue reading... |
| Ecuador elections: leftwing candidate celebrates victory amid fraud accusations– video report Posted: 03 Apr 2017 01:56 PM PDT Lenín Moreno, Ecuador's ruling party candidate, is celebrating his narrow presidential election victory as 99% of the votes are counted. However, the leftwing candidate is facing fraud allegations from opposition candidate Guillermo Lasso, whose supporters have been protesting in the streets Continue reading... |
| Gibraltar, the EU and the lessons of the Falkland | Letters Posted: 03 Apr 2017 11:46 AM PDT There is an interesting precedent for the eruption of Gibraltar into EU negotiations (Future of Gibraltar now at stake in Brexit talks, 1 April). In June 1987, as the EU transport council approached agreement on the first stage of air service liberalisation, Spain suddenly demanded that Gibraltar be excluded from the package because Madrid did not recognise British sovereignty over the land on which the airport was built. The dispute was immediately raised to the level of foreign ministers, but the Spaniards refused to give ground. There were two elements in the eventual compromise, which followed six months of intensive bilateral negotiations between Britain and Spain. Spain was granted permission to build a terminal for Spanish passengers on the northern side of the airport, and all EU aviation measures affecting Gibraltar were to be adopted without prejudice to the respective positions on sovereignty. Continue reading... |
| Tourists can help protect St Lucia’s unique lizard | Letters Posted: 03 Apr 2017 11:21 AM PDT The news of a plan to destroy the Maria Islands' unique species (Plan for £2bn St Lucia resort prompts fear for rare snake and lizard, 1 April) filled me with horror. Until now St Lucia has had an excellent record on wildlife conservation combined with tourist enjoyment of, and local pride in, its unique wildlife. In 1983 the St Lucia National Trust designated the Maria Islands a nature reserve and I was invited to make a study of the St Lucia whiptail lizard. The lizard lives only on the two Maria Islands and my advice was that its conservation required no special habitat management bar ensuring the islands remained free of the introduced mongoose and rats. I was also lucky to rediscover the St Lucia racer snake (assumed extinct at the time) now recognised as the world's rarest snake. Continue reading... |
| Trump to Sisi: 'Egypt has a great friend and ally in the US' – video Posted: 03 Apr 2017 11:03 AM PDT Donald Trump expressed his support for the Egyptian president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, during a meeting in the Oval Office on Monday, telling him: 'You have a great friend and an ally in the United States and in me.' Trump said he strongly backed Sisi's leadership and that they would work together to fight Islamic militants Continue reading... |
| Posted: 03 Apr 2017 10:41 AM PDT Writer and activist who was outspoken in promoting black self-determination The broadcaster and writer Darcus Howe, who has died aged 74, once described himself as having come from Trinidad on a "civilising mission", to teach Britons to live in a harmonious and diverse society. His aims were radical, and he brought them into the mainstream by articulating fundamental principles in a strikingly outspoken way. After his initial experience of racial tension in Britain at the start of the 1960s, Howe became active in the Black Power movement in the US and the Caribbean. In August 1970, having returned to London, he organised, with Althea Jones-Lecointe and the British Black Panthers, a campaign in defence of the Mangrove restaurant. Established and run by Frank Crichlow, the Mangrove was a small piece of decolonised territory in Notting Hill, west London. When police attempted to close it, Howe came to his friend's aid, organising a march. Entirely peaceful until the police intervened in overwhelming numbers, it led to a spontaneous melee, the melee to arrests, and the arrests to the biggest Black Power trial in British history. Continue reading... |
| EU must demand a say in Syria negotiations | Letters Posted: 03 Apr 2017 09:59 AM PDT In Syria, fighting continues between a wide variety of parties, and Syrian and Russian forces continue their relentless bombardments. Large parts of the population still lack essential food and medical supplies as a direct result of President Assad's refusal to allow in (EU-funded) international organisations and NGOs carrying essential humanitarian supplies. This week the EU hosts a conference on the future of Syria and the region. At the same time, Russia, Turkey and Iran are dictating the terms on the ground, and the US seems increasingly focused on a military victory over the so-called Islamic State. Continue reading... |
| Blast at St Petersburg metro station – in pictures Posted: 03 Apr 2017 08:15 AM PDT Ten people have died and many more are injured following explosion at the Sennaya Ploshchad station in Russia's second city Continue reading... |
| A rock and a hard place: Gibraltar and Britain’s relationship explained - video Posted: 03 Apr 2017 08:08 AM PDT A brief look at the history of this British territory as Gibraltar faces an uncertain future following the publication of EU guidelines that could give Spain a veto on any future trading relationship. With the shadow of Brexit lengthening, it's the latest row in a centuries-old dispute over the tiny enclave first captured by England in 1704 Continue reading... |
| Jean-Michel Jarre to play anti-Donald Trump Dead Sea concert Posted: 03 Apr 2017 08:03 AM PDT French musician to perform in front of ancient Masada fortress to draw attention to urgency of saving planet Earth Pioneering electronic musician Jean-Michel Jarre has said he wants to use an all-night concert at the Dead Sea to highlight what he sees as the anti-environmental policies of Donald Trump. The French musician, who shot to fame in the 1970s, will perform in front of the ancient Masada fortress in Israel on Thursday in a bid to draw attention to the "urgency of saving the Dead Sea", he told AFP. Continue reading... |
| 'We're the sacrificial lamb': Gibraltarians on Brexit sovereignty row Posted: 03 Apr 2017 07:22 AM PDT UK overseas territory could be included in trade deal with Spain's agreement, says EU. We asked people of the Rock how they feel The EU will not back down in its support for Spain's demands when it comes to Gibraltar in Brexit negotiations, senior European diplomats have said. The European council has said the British overseas territory could be included in a trade deal between London and Brussels only with Madrid's agreement. Senior EU diplomats, talking to the Guardian, have dismissed the suggestion that the EU will go soft on the issue of Gibraltar in the coming weeks and have said Spain has spent time and effort in cultivating support among the other 26 member statesfor its position. Continue reading... |
| Passengers move through smoke-filled metro station in St Petersburg – video Posted: 03 Apr 2017 06:47 AM PDT Amateur footage shows people moving through Sennaya Ploshchad station in Russia's second city on Monday after an explosion on the metro. Officials say a bomb exploded on a train between two stops, killing and injuring people onboard. It is not clear how many people have been died in the explosion
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| Mangled metro doors after St Petersburg blast – video Posted: 03 Apr 2017 06:12 AM PDT Amateur footage posted by Russian radio station Kommersant 93.6 FM appears to shows a metro train in St Petersburg with one set of doors blown out. At least 10 people are reported to have died, after a blast rocked Sennaya Ploshchad station in centre of the city Continue reading... |
| Trump administration halts money to UN population fund over abortion rules Posted: 03 Apr 2017 11:02 PM PDT International family planning agency, which will lose all future US funding, rejects state department claims it supports 'coercive abortion' in China The US state department said on Monday it was ending US funding for the United Nations population fund (UNFPA), the international body's agency focused on family planning as well as maternal and child health in more than 150 countries. Related: Trump funding cuts would imperil tens of thousands of women, activists warn Continue reading... |
| UK government under fire for failure to regulate aid contractors Posted: 03 Apr 2017 04:01 PM PDT MPs call for more control and transparency over aid spending amid concerns over tension between 'possible profit motives and programme objectives' British MPs are calling on the Department for International Development to review how it works with private contractors to ensure that companies comply with ethical standards. In a report published on Tuesday, MPs said the department showed a "worrying over-reliance" on self-regulation in its use of private contractors and needed to take a "more robust approach" to set and enforce rules. Continue reading... |
| Uganda at breaking point as Bidi Bidi becomes world's largest refugee camp Posted: 03 Apr 2017 05:33 AM PDT A compassionate refugee policy has led Uganda to welcome 800,000 people escaping conflict and famine in South Sudan. But the strain is starting to show The central reception area of the Imvepi refugee settlement, in northern Uganda, is packed to the brim. Thousands of people are crammed into a patch of land meant to hold just a fraction of the current load. They've been waiting for days, stuck in an administrative backlog the government of Uganda attributes to lack of funding and an unceasing stream of people from South Sudan. Famine, economic collapse and years of fighting have forced people out of South Sudan faster than from any other nation on the planet. The stream of arrivals, who averaged 2,800 each day in March, has begun to take a toll on the country's southern neighbour Uganda, host to roughly half of the 1.6 million people forced to flee their homes. Continue reading... |
| John W Dean contrasts Donald Trump with Richard Nixon – video Posted: 03 Apr 2017 07:23 PM PDT The former White House counsel to President Richard Nixon discusses the differences between Nixon and Donald Trump. While there are 'echoes' of Nixon in Trump's presidency, John W Dean says: 'President Nixon was well-schooled in the presidency before he arrived in it … His campaign transition was very quick. I find the Trump administration 180 degrees away from there.' Dean was speaking at the New York public library at A Dangerous Moment: Shades of Red and Blue, hosted by the Ethics Centre and supported by the Guardian • Immigration, fake news and terror: Rushdie and experts on a dangerous moment for the US Continue reading... |
| Ex-CIA chief John Brennan says Trump travel ban is counterproductive – video Posted: 03 Apr 2017 07:10 PM PDT The former CIA director told BBC Newsnight's Kirsty Wark that the US administration's attempts to block visitors from six Muslim-majority countries 'is wrongheaded and I don't think it would enhance the security of our country'. Continue reading... |
| Neil Gorsuch and the historic fight for his supreme court confirmation – video Posted: 03 Apr 2017 02:17 PM PDT Senate Democrats on Monday amassed enough support to block a confirmation vote on Donald Trump's supreme court nominee, Neil Gorsuch, but Republicans vowed to change Senate rules to ensure the conservative judge gets the lifetime job. Gorsuch is the second nominee to the seat vacated by Antonin Scalia's death in February 2016. In March of that year, Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland, a 63-year-old appellate widely considered to be moderate Continue reading... |
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