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- Show of military might as Emmanuel Macron is inaugurated as president
- Three tales of Mogadishu: violence, a booming economy … and now famine
- Trump relying on charisma to bridge old divides on first foreign trip
- Merkel's Christian Democrats set to beat rivals in German state election
- North Korea says missile tested over weekend can carry nuclear warhead
- James Clapper: democratic institutions are 'under assault' by Trump
- Austrian chancellor expects snap election this year
- Fighting fascism: Americans in the Spanish civil war have a lesson for today
- Protests in Moscow at plan to tear down Soviet-era housing in affluent areas
- Don't pay ransomware demands, cybersecurity experts say
- Cyber-attack set to escalate as working week begins, experts warn
- Where there’s a wall there’s a way: artists take aim at Sumatra’s palm oil industry
- Father of Damilola Taylor in Bafta plea to end London knife killings
- Nato stages summit to counter alleged Russian interference in elections
- Manus Island detention centre to close by 30 June, detainees told
- Australian Sara Connor's sentence over Bali police officer's death increased to five years
- Papua New Guinea mass jailbreak: suspects awaiting trial among 17 shot dead
- Lib Dems promise to scrap mass snooping powers if elected
- Monday briefing: Just when you thought it was safe to log back on ...
- The world must unite like a 'flock of geese', says China's Xi Jinping
- Forced into porn: Japan moves to stop women being coerced into sex films
- Business leaders want next government to build two more runways
- White nationalist Richard Spencer at rally over Confederate statue's removal
- Iranian film director Farhadi endorses Rouhani for president
- Putin plays piano as he awaits talks with Chinese president – video
- Brigitte Macron's daughter hits back over 'sexist and ageist' attacks
- Emmanuel Macron's inauguration speech: the world needs a strong France – video
- Joshua Wong, the student who risked the wrath of Beijing: ‘It’s about turning the impossible into the possible’
| Show of military might as Emmanuel Macron is inaugurated as president Posted: 14 May 2017 09:46 PM PDT France's new leader promises to rebuild nation's self-confidence and relaunch European Union as he takes power Emmanuel Macron, France's youngest postwar leader, promised to rebuild his nation's self-confidence and relaunch the flagging European Union as he took power on Sunday in a series of ceremonies that deliberately emphasised France's military power. "The world and Europe needs a strong France with a sense of its own destiny," the independent centrist, 39, said in his first speech as president at the Élysée Palace. "We need a Europe that is more efficient, more democratic and more political, because it's the instrument of our power and sovereignty," he added, saying he would "rejuvenate and relaunch" the EU. Continue reading... |
| Three tales of Mogadishu: violence, a booming economy … and now famine Posted: 14 May 2017 11:30 PM PDT Somalia's capital is buzzing: estate agents thrive and it recently hosted a TedX conference. But Mogadishu is facing a fresh challenge as drought forces half a million people to seek aid. Jason Burke visits a growing camp on the outskirts Friday afternoon and the light is low across the waves breaking on the long shore. Behind the pocked and pitted seafront promenade, hundreds of children play football among their shattered homes. This, the ruins of the old port area of Somalia's Mogadishu, is the war-torn city of the news stories, books and films. Less than a 10 minute drive away down a newly rebuilt double highway, the scene is very different: hundreds of young men and women stroll along the narrow band of sand left by the high tide; they paddle, swim and drink coffee or soft drinks in cafes. An ancient stretch limousine, hired out for weddings, noses through the traffic. Rickshaw drivers shout for fares. Continue reading... |
| Trump relying on charisma to bridge old divides on first foreign trip Posted: 15 May 2017 12:17 AM PDT The White House is seeking to recast the US president as a world statesman, but critics say his confidence in his own persuasive powers is simply delusional Donald Trump is embarking on a week of diplomacy and preparation for his first foreign trip as president, aimed at demonstrating that his personal charisma can override longstanding global divisions and conflicts of interest with old allies. Trump's personality-driven approach seeks to reassert US preeminence in the world through consolidating bonds with foreign leaders, most notably autocrats, as long as they are aligned with the administration's priorities of defeating the Islamic State and al-Qaida while containing Iranian influence. Continue reading... |
| Merkel's Christian Democrats set to beat rivals in German state election Posted: 14 May 2017 10:33 AM PDT North Rhine-Westphalia vote is blow to Social Democrats' Martin Schulz, Merkel's rival in upcoming national poll Angela Merkel's main challenger in the upcoming German election has conceded his party has suffered a "really stinging defeat" in North Rhine-Westphalia in what will be its third consecutive loss in a state vote. Martin Schulz said the poll in the state, Germany's most populous and regarded as a centre-left stronghold, represented "a difficult day for the Social Democrats (SPD), a difficult day for me personally as well. I come from the state in which we took a really stinging defeat today." Continue reading... |
| North Korea says missile tested over weekend can carry nuclear warhead Posted: 15 May 2017 12:37 AM PDT Kim Jong-un, who oversaw rocket launch on Sunday, warns Washington that US mainland is in 'sighting range for strike' North Korea claims the US mainland is now within range of its missiles after it successfully test-fired a new rocket it says is capable of carrying a "large-scale, heavy nuclear warhead". Related: North Korea test-fires what could be new kind of longer-range missile Continue reading... |
| James Clapper: democratic institutions are 'under assault' by Trump Posted: 14 May 2017 09:36 AM PDT Former national intelligence director hammers the president's actions, calling James Comey's firing 'another victory for Russia' Former director of national intelligence James Clapper has accused Donald Trump of placing American democratic institutions "under assault" following the sacking of James Comey and cautioned that the former FBI director's removal is "another victory" for Russia. The forceful criticism comes as the justice department began screening candidates for Comey's replacement and Democrats renewed calls for a special prosecutor to oversee an investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election. Continue reading... |
| Austrian chancellor expects snap election this year Posted: 14 May 2017 04:42 AM PDT Christian Kern says poll likely due to fracturing coalition, raising prospect of far-right Freedom party entering government Austria will hold a snap parliamentary election this year, the chancellor, Christian Kern, has said, as his foreign minister moved to take control of the main conservative party in the country's fractured coalition. An election would give the far-right Freedom party (FPO) a good chance of entering national government less than a year after its candidate lost a close-fought presidential runoff. Continue reading... |
| Fighting fascism: Americans in the Spanish civil war have a lesson for today Posted: 14 May 2017 07:54 AM PDT As Spanish civil war survivors age, a group historians is helping teachers whose students have grown fascinated and frightened by the news Eighty years after the first Americans went to war against Nazi-backed fascists, a small group of historians trying to preserve the volunteers' memory has found their services unexpectedly in demand. "Why are people puzzled over the meaning of that word, fascism?" asked Peter Carroll, a historian of the Spanish civil war at Stanford University. "Do I think Donald Trump is Adolf Hitler? No. But there are patterns of contempt for opposition by political leaders that are as unacceptable and intolerable as National Socialism." |
| Protests in Moscow at plan to tear down Soviet-era housing in affluent areas Posted: 14 May 2017 08:59 AM PDT Residents fear redevelopment plan will expel them from low-rise buildings in quiet neighbourhoods and force them to live in high-rise blocks Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Moscow on Sunday in a rally against a bill to tear down Soviet-era low-rise apartment buildings. People, mostly young and middle-aged couples, gathered on a central street to protest against arguably Russia's largest redevelopment project to pull down entire neighbourhoods of Soviet-era prefabricated buildings. City Hall has insisted the buildings are dilapidated and outdated, while many residents and activists see the plans as a ruse to make way for high-rises in some of Moscow's leafiest areas. Continue reading... |
| Don't pay ransomware demands, cybersecurity experts say Posted: 15 May 2017 01:40 AM PDT In wake of last week's WannaCry attack, technology specialists warn that 'paying money to a criminal is never a good idea' • Ransomware attacks: 29,000 infections in China – live updates Cybersecurity experts have warned businesses against meeting hackers' demands for money in the wake of the "unprecedented" attack on hundreds of thousands of computer systems around the world. Ransomware is a type of malicious software that blocks access to a computer or its data and demands money to release it. The worm used in Friday's attack, dubbed WannaCry, encrypted more than 200,000 computers in more than 150 countries for ransoms of $300 to $600 to restore access. Continue reading... |
| Cyber-attack set to escalate as working week begins, experts warn Posted: 14 May 2017 11:26 PM PDT Europol and NHS fear further disruption when workers switch on computers for first time since spread of ransomware Health and security chiefs have warned of possible fresh disruption from the global cyber-attack when workers switch on their computers for the first time at the start of the working week. Europol, the pan-EU crime-fighting agency, said the threat was escalating and predicted the number of "ransomware" victims was likely to grow across the private and public sectors. Continue reading... |
| Where there’s a wall there’s a way: artists take aim at Sumatra’s palm oil industry Posted: 14 May 2017 11:00 PM PDT When smoke from Indonesia's palm oil industry reached the studio of artist Ernest Zacharevic in Malaysia, a unique project was born. Intent on making the world reconsider the environment, Zacharevic sold one of his prints to raise funds for Splash and Burn, a public art campaign. The title is a play on the 'slash and burn' practices used by palm oil producers to clear land for farming On a swampy patch of degraded forest land on the Indonesian island of Sumatra stands a hooded black figure, face obscured by plumes of smoke. Something strange is afoot. Elsewhere, random limbs protrude eerily from unexpected places. A sun bear, piggybacking a startled child, traipses stoically across a foreign landscape. A miniature man settles into a hammock strung between two oil palm saplings. Continue reading... |
| Father of Damilola Taylor in Bafta plea to end London knife killings Posted: 14 May 2017 06:20 PM PDT After collecting an award for the drama about the death of his son, Richard Taylor says youngsters must 'spread the message' The father of schoolboy Damilola Taylor has begged young people to stop the string of killings on the streets of London as he collected a Bafta for a drama about the death of his 10-year-old son. Damilola, Our Loved Boy was awarded the prize for best single drama at the British Academy Television Awards on Sunday where Richard Taylor made an emotional speech hours after an 18-year-old man died in Enfield, north London, after suffering stab wounds. Continue reading... |
| Nato stages summit to counter alleged Russian interference in elections Posted: 14 May 2017 10:00 PM PDT Security specialists from 27 nations including Britain and the US will meet for five-day conference in Prague Security specialists from 27 countries including Britain and the US will meet in Prague in what is being billed as the most concerted attempt yet to counter alleged Kremlin destabilisation measures aimed at undermining western elections. The Czech interior ministry is hosting the five-day summit staged by Stratcom - Nato's strategic communications arm – in an effort to persuade governments and the European Union to strengthen electoral processes amid rising concern over suspected interference by the Russian government under Vladimir Putin. Continue reading... |
| Manus Island detention centre to close by 30 June, detainees told Posted: 15 May 2017 01:25 AM PDT Papua New Guinea immigration officials tell refugees they should 'consider their options' as camp shutdown begins The Manus Island immigration detention centre will close by 30 June, with demolition of the first compounds to begin this month, detainees on the island have been told. On Monday a man, purported to be a Papua New Guinean immigration official, told detainees to "consider your options" as migration and police officers had already commenced the shutdown process. Continue reading... |
| Australian Sara Connor's sentence over Bali police officer's death increased to five years Posted: 14 May 2017 11:56 PM PDT Appeal by prosecutors increased by a year the sentence for 46-year-old over fatal assault on Kuta beach 2016 The sentence of the Australian Sara Connor for the fatal assault of a Bali police officer has been increased to five years by Bali's high court. Two months after Connor, 46, was sentenced to four years over the death of Wayan Sudarsa on Kuta beach in August 2016, three high court judges in Denpasar added a year to her sentence following an appeal by prosecutors. Continue reading... |
| Papua New Guinea mass jailbreak: suspects awaiting trial among 17 shot dead Posted: 14 May 2017 11:33 PM PDT Killings take place in the Pacific nation's second largest city of Lae after 77 people break out of notorious Buimo jail Seventeen prisoners have been shot dead and dozens are still at large after a mass escape at Papua New Guinean jail. At least 77 male prisoners from the notoriously overcrowded prison in the city of Lae attempted a mass escape on Friday morning. Only three were apprehended, and 57 remain at large. PNG police said details were "still sketchy" but noted reports which said "authorities" shot the men. Continue reading... |
| Lib Dems promise to scrap mass snooping powers if elected Posted: 14 May 2017 10:30 PM PDT Manifesto commits to repeal of new law allowing bulk collection of mobile phone data and internet usage records The Liberal Democrats have promised that if elected they would scrap the "Orwellian nightmare" of mass snooping powers. The Investigatory Powers Act passed into law in November, giving British intelligence agencies and police the widest set of surveillance powers in the western world. Continue reading... |
| Monday briefing: Just when you thought it was safe to log back on ... Posted: 14 May 2017 09:54 PM PDT Ransomware crisis could 'escalate' when people return to work … Damilola Taylor's father pleads at Baftas for an end to knife killings … and beware banana waste Good morning. I'm Martin Farrer and these are the top stories this Monday morning. Continue reading... |
| The world must unite like a 'flock of geese', says China's Xi Jinping Posted: 14 May 2017 09:44 PM PDT President urges the world to cooperate, as Germany warns it could refuse to sign up to the Belt and Road initiative unless free tenders are guaranteed Chinese president Xi Jinping has made his latest bid for global leadership urging world leaders to reject protectionism, embrace globalisation and pull together like an airborne skein of long-necked geese. Speaking on the final day of a forum promoting the Belt and Road initiative - a potentially historic Chinese infrastructure campaign that could transform swathes of the developing world – Xi said cooperation was the only way to confront the "profound" changes sweeping the globe. |
| Forced into porn: Japan moves to stop women being coerced into sex films Posted: 14 May 2017 06:27 PM PDT Reports of women tricked into X-rated appearances has prompted authorities to confront the booming porn industry When Kurumin Aroma was approached on Tokyo street four years ago and asked if she was interested in "glamour modelling", she spied an opportunity to realise her dream of becoming a TV celebrity. "The talent scout had a proper business card and spoke very respectfully, so I thought he was someone I could trust," Aroma, who uses an assumed name in public, told the Guardian. Continue reading... |
| Business leaders want next government to build two more runways Posted: 14 May 2017 04:01 PM PDT 'Years of dawdling' on airport capacity have left us lagging behind rest of Europe, say Institute of Directors Business leaders have called for the next government to build two more runways, demanding that a follow-up Airports Commission be established only months after Heathrow's third runway was approved. Related: Government 'watering down' pollution limits to meet Heathrow pledge Continue reading... |
| White nationalist Richard Spencer at rally over Confederate statue's removal Posted: 14 May 2017 02:41 PM PDT Spencer said the torch-wielding protest in Charlottesville, Virginia – which evoked memories of the KKK – was a way to communicate with the dead A small group of torch-wielding protesters, including the white nationalist "alt-right" leader Richard Spencer, descended on Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday evening to protest the sale of a statue commemorating Confederate general Robert E Lee. Charlottesville's city council voted in April to remove the statue of Lee, who led the Confederate army of northern Virginia in the South's fight to secede from the union and retain slaves in the late 19th century. But a judge placed a six-month stay on the decision following an appeal from a collective of local history groups and Confederate advocates. Continue reading... |
| Iranian film director Farhadi endorses Rouhani for president Posted: 14 May 2017 08:05 AM PDT Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi throws his weight behind moderate incumbent before Friday's poll Iranian double Oscar-winning film director Asghar Farhadi has endorsed Hassan Rouhani for president, bolstering his campaign before Friday's vote. Farhadi, who won his second Oscar in February for The Salesman, threw his weight behind the moderate incumbent on Sunday, saying in a statement carried by the Isna news agency: "I will vote for Dr Rouhani and I hope that those who remain undecided would use their basic right and vote despite all the understandable reasons and conditions that they may have, for the fate of children in our homeland and future generations." Continue reading... |
| Putin plays piano as he awaits talks with Chinese president – video Posted: 14 May 2017 07:30 AM PDT Vladimir Putin plays the piano while awaiting Xi Jinping for bilateral talks in Beijing. According to Russian state television, the tunes were Soviet-era songs about Moscow and St Petersburg. It is not the first time the Russian president has shown off his musical skills. In 2010, Putin took to the piano at a charity event where he played the beginning of Fats Domino's Blueberry Hill Continue reading... |
| Brigitte Macron's daughter hits back over 'sexist and ageist' attacks Posted: 14 May 2017 06:52 AM PDT Tiphaine Auzière, her daughter from first marriage, defends France's first lady against 'jealousy' of political opponents The youngest daughter of France's new first lady has accused political opponents of "jealousy" for launching what she called misogynistic attacks on Brigitte Macron. Tiphaine Auzière, who is standing as a parliamentary candidate for Emmanuel Macron's La Republique En Marche, has defended her mother from what she believes are ageist and sexist insults. Continue reading... |
| Emmanuel Macron's inauguration speech: the world needs a strong France – video Posted: 14 May 2017 05:43 AM PDT In his speech at the Élysée Palace in Paris, the new president of France says he will do everything that is necessary to fight terrorism. The centrist also lists the global migration crisis and climate change among his challenges Continue reading... |
| Posted: 14 May 2017 05:00 AM PDT He was still a geeky teenager when he led Hong Kong's 2014 umbrella protests. Since then Beijing's grip has tightened, but he's not giving up the resistance Cometh the hour, cometh the boy. Very much a boy: 17 and looking even younger behind his black-rimmed spectacles, with baggy shorts accentuating his skinniness and shaggy hair in need of a trim. Bright, well-mannered and slightly geeky, everyone's son was about to become an international celebrity. In September 2014, an unprecedented wave of civil disobedience swept Hong Kong, with tens of thousands of people pouring on to the streets to call for democratic reforms. The shock wasn't just seeing riot police deployed in the heart of a city regarded as apolitical, money-focused and essentially conservative. It was the numbers and sheer youth of these peaceful demonstrators, umbrellas held aloft to ward off teargas and pepper spray, as they confronted – peacefully, tidily and very, very politely – the wrath of Beijing. Continue reading... |
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