World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk

Trump vows to meet 'history's great test' by conquering extremism
Mount Everest's Hillary Step has collapsed, mountaineer confirms
Canada eases steps to open supervised drug injection sites amid opioid crisis
Sea lion grabs girl from dock and pulls her underwater
HR McMaster refuses to say if Trump pressed Russia on election interference
North Korea fires medium-range missile in latest test
German woman and Afghan guard killed by gunmen in Kabul
Tuscan archives yield up secrets of Leonardo’s mystery mother
Ohio supreme court judge calls for legalisation of marijuana
'Ultimate peace deal' is goal as Donald Trump visits Israel
'Greatest show on Earth': Ringling Bros circus bows out after 146 years
John Howard says Trump 'very foolish' for criticising intelligence agencies – as it happened
Sea lion drags girl into the water - video
Kashmir conflict shifts with top militant vowing fight is for an Islamic state
Taormina in the spotlight: Sicily's noble but risky plan to host the G7
Diamond ring bought for £10 at car boot sale may fetch £350,000
Outnumbering refugees two to one: how the world ignores war's greatest scandal
Chinese newspaper applauds reported 'anti-espionage' killing of CIA sources
Manus Island shooting left nine injured, immigration department admits
Indonesian police arrest more than 140 men at alleged gay sauna party
Monday briefing: Facebook's guiding rules are revealed
Vivid Sydney brings giant animal light sculptures to Taronga zoo – video
Taiwan's same-sex marriage ruling could cement its place as Asia's liberal beacon
Major airport delays in Australia and New Zealand as global passport system goes down
Venezuela: man set on fire during anti-government protests
Cassie Sainsbury says mystery man's death threats forced her to traffic cocaine
New Zealand navy paid $700,000 to firm mired in ‘Fat Leonard’ sex and bribery scandal
Australian climber dies while descending Mount Everest
Spanish Socialists re-elect Pedro Sánchez to lead party
Letter: The Rev Nicolas Stacey obituary
American climber dies and Indian man goes missing on Mount Everest
'Angry' Netanyahu orders ministers to attend Trump reception
Trump's tough talk on extremism weakened by backing for autocracies
Trump calls on Muslim leaders to ‘drive out’ extremism – video
Trump joins ceremonial sword dance in Saudi Arabia – video

Trump vows to meet 'history's great test' by conquering extremism

Posted: 21 May 2017 12:47 PM PDT

Addressing leaders of 40 Muslim nations in Saudi capital, US president moves away from anti-Islamic rhetoric of campaign

Donald Trump has attempted to stake a claim as a figure who can mobilise the Muslim world against extremism, using his much-anticipated speech on Islam as a rallying call for global cooperation rooted in reform, trade and faith.

Mount Everest's Hillary Step has collapsed, mountaineer confirms

Posted: 21 May 2017 08:17 AM PDT

Tim Mosedale says destruction of rocky outcrop, possibly in 2015 earthquake, may make climbing to summit more dangerous

A British mountaineer has confirmed that a famous rocky outcrop near the peak of Mount Everest has collapsed, potentially making the climb more dangerous.

The Hillary Step, named after Sir Edmund Hillary who, along with the sherpa Tenzing Norgay, was the first person to climb the mountain in 1953, may have been destroyed during the 2015 Nepal earthquake.

Canada eases steps to open supervised drug injection sites amid opioid crisis

Posted: 21 May 2017 04:30 AM PDT

New legislation streamlines the more than two dozen requirements previously needed to launch facilities, which offer supervision and sterile equipment

Canada's government has made it easier to open supervised drug injection sites across the country, offering communities a lifeline as they battle an opioid crisis that has claimed thousands of lives in recent years.

New legislation passed this week streamlines the more than two dozen requirements previously needed to launch these facilities, which offer a medically supervised space and sterile equipment for people who use drugs intravenously.

Sea lion grabs girl from dock and pulls her underwater

Posted: 21 May 2017 11:03 AM PDT

Girl shaken but physically unharmed after large sea lion grabs her dress and pulls her into the water near Vancouver, Canada

A young girl and her family were left shaken after a large sea lion grabbed her and pulled her underwater near Vancouver.

The girl was sitting on a dock in Richmond watching the animal in the water before it grabbed her dress and pulled her into the water.

HR McMaster refuses to say if Trump pressed Russia on election interference

Posted: 21 May 2017 09:27 AM PDT

National security adviser says controversial meeting at White House should have stayed confidential amid reports president disparaged former FBI director

Donald Trump's national security adviser refused to say on Sunday whether the president used his recent Oval Office meeting with Russian officials to confront them about interference in the 2016 election.

North Korea fires medium-range missile in latest test

Posted: 21 May 2017 08:36 AM PDT

US and South Korean officials say rocket flew about 310 miles before landing in sea east of the country

North Korea fired a medium-range missile on Sunday, according to US and South Korean officials, the latest ballistics test by a country speeding up its development of nuclear weapons and missiles.

South Korea's joint chiefs of staff said the rocket had been fired from an area near the North Korean county of Pukchang and had flown eastward for about 310 miles (500km). The US Pacific Command said it had tracked the missile before it landed in the sea.

German woman and Afghan guard killed by gunmen in Kabul

Posted: 21 May 2017 04:42 AM PDT

Finnish woman is kidnapped after attackers storm guesthouse belonging to Swedish charity in Afghan capital

Unknown gunmen killed two people, a German woman and an Afghan guard, and abducted a Finnish woman in Kabul on Saturday evening, according to officials.

On Saturday evening, the attackers entered a compound housing employees working for Operation Mercy, a Swedish charity, in a residential area off Darulaman Road in western Kabul.

Tuscan archives yield up secrets of Leonardo’s mystery mother

Posted: 20 May 2017 04:05 PM PDT

Art historian's book sheds new light on the Mona Lisa

The identity of Leonardo da Vinci's mother has always been a mystery. Art historians have struggled to find information about the woman whose illegitimate son became the artistic genius who painted Mona Lisa. With only a possible first name – Caterina – there has been speculation that she was a peasant or even a slave from north Africa. Beyond that, there is little to go on.

Now, almost six centuries later, one of the world's leading authorities on Leonardo has given a far fuller account of her story, piecing together her son's world using previously overlooked documents.

Ohio supreme court judge calls for legalisation of marijuana

Posted: 20 May 2017 09:30 PM PDT

Democrat William O'Neill, a possible contender for governor, wants to tax sales of the drug and release all non-violent marijuana offenders from prison

An Ohio supreme court justice who is considering a run for governor has said it is time for the state to decriminalise marijuana.

William O'Neill, the lone Democrat holding an Ohio statewide office, said making marijuana legal was working in Colorado and doing it in Ohio would bring hundreds of millions of dollars in sales taxes.

'Ultimate peace deal' is goal as Donald Trump visits Israel

Posted: 22 May 2017 01:12 AM PDT

US president will tour Tel Aviv and Jerusalem before talks with Benjamin Netanyahu as part of first foreign trip

Donald Trump is preparing to visit Jerusalem having said that brokering a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians could be easier than people have thought – though it is a goal that eluded his predecessors.

Trump's visit is part of his first trip abroad as US president and follows an initial stop in Saudi Arabia, where he urged Islamic leaders to take a stand against violence committed in the name of religion.

'Greatest show on Earth': Ringling Bros circus bows out after 146 years

Posted: 22 May 2017 12:22 AM PDT

Capping a legacy that stretches back to 19th-century showman PT Barnum, the circus staged its final show in New York

The clowns, animal acts and acrobats of the storied Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus took their final bow on Sunday, with a space-themed balancing act kicking off the farewell performance of the "greatest show on Earth" after 146 years.

Capping a legacy that stretches back to the 19th-century showman PT Barnum, the circus bade adieu with a series of shows at the weekend at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.

John Howard says Trump 'very foolish' for criticising intelligence agencies – as it happened

Posted: 22 May 2017 12:17 AM PDT

Former prime minister attacks president's 'random tweeting' after Labor pushes for banking royal commission. As it happened ...

8.12am BST

That is your lot for the night.

7.25am BST

John Howard is asked about Donald Trump.

Howard, who before the Trump presidency said he trembled at the thought, says there was a sense of electoral entitlement in the Hillary camp and much of the mainstream media.

Sure I was cautious ... I expressed concern ... I remain concerned. I think his criticism of the intelligence agencies was very foolish.

No genuinely conservative political leader will publicly attack his country's intelligence agencies.

Sea lion drags girl into the water - video

Posted: 22 May 2017 12:08 AM PDT

A young girl was dragged into the water by a sea lion at Steveston Fisherman's Wharf in Richmond, western Canada. The sea lion can be seen latching on to the girl's dress with its teeth before forcefully pulling her into the water. The child was rescued by a bystander and, although visibly shaken, neither sustained injuries.

California sea lion grabs girl from dock and pulls her underwater

Kashmir conflict shifts with top militant vowing fight is for an Islamic state

Posted: 21 May 2017 11:55 PM PDT

Zakir Musa, a highly influential commander, distances himself from 70-year-old separatist movement and aligns himself with ideals of al-Qaida

A serious rift has emerged within the decades-old insurgency against Indian rule in Kashmir, with a top militant commander vowing to establish a Islamic system in the disputed Himalayan region and repudiating the goal of an independent nation.

Zakir Musa, the commander of Kashmir's largest anti-India militia, has explicitly distanced himself from the 70-year-old independence movement in the valley as well as from elements who wish to merge with Pakistan, declaring his fight is "exclusively for Islam, so that Sharia [Islamic law] is established here".

Taormina in the spotlight: Sicily's noble but risky plan to host the G7

Posted: 21 May 2017 11:30 PM PDT

Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron and other G7 leaders meet in Taormina this week. How will this already tourist-choked town – famous for its beauty and ancient ruins – cope?

Tucked away on a natural terrace between rocks and water in Sicily's east coast, the historic town of Taormina is gaining international prestige as it prepares for an upcoming global event.

The small coastal town, which sits on a hill 206 metres above sea level overlooking Mount Etna, has always attracted visitors. It was once described by Ernest Hemingway as being so pretty "it hurts to look" at it. Celebrities such as Eva Gardner and celebrated writers like DH Lawrence were drawn to Taormina and its ancient ruins – the theatre overlooking the sea dates back to the third century BC. Now, it's such a mass-market tourist destination that the town has almost lost its original charm.

Diamond ring bought for £10 at car boot sale may fetch £350,000

Posted: 21 May 2017 04:01 PM PDT

Owner wore 26.27-carat jewel for decades without realising it was real

A large diamond ring is expected to fetch £350,000 at auction 30 years after its owner paid £10 for it at a car boot sale, thinking it was a costume jewel.

The "exceptionally sized" stone was presumed not to be real because 19th-century diamonds were not cut to show off their brilliance like today's gems. The owner, unaware of its value, wore it for decades, while doing everything from the shopping to the chores.

Outnumbering refugees two to one: how the world ignores war's greatest scandal

Posted: 21 May 2017 09:00 PM PDT

Norwegian Refugee Council report reveals extent of the hidden crisis that forced 31 million people – one every second – to flee within their countries last year

Conflict, violence and natural disasters forced more than 31 million people to leave home and settle elsewhere within their countries last year, the equivalent of one person every second.

But while the number of people uprooted by conflict outnumbers refugees by two to one, they have been largely ignored by the international community, according to a report by the Norwegian Refugee Council's Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.

Chinese newspaper applauds reported 'anti-espionage' killing of CIA sources

Posted: 21 May 2017 11:18 PM PDT

Global Times, controlled by the Communist Party, says reports of breaking of spy ring, if true, were a 'victory for China'

An influential state-run newspaper has applauded China's anti-espionage efforts after the New York Times said China had killed or imprisoned up to 20 CIA sources, hobbling US spying operations in a massive intelligence breach.

The Chinese killed at least a dozen people providing information to the US Central Intelligence Agency between 2010 and 2012, dismantling a network that was years in the making, the New York Times reported on Saturday.

Manus Island shooting left nine injured, immigration department admits

Posted: 22 May 2017 01:02 AM PDT

Department secretary says more than one weapon fired and an unknown number of rounds was fired into compound

Nine people were injured, including refugees and Australian staff, during the Good Friday shooting incident at the Manus Island detention centre, the immigration department has conceded.

Until a Senate estimates hearing on Monday, the department had maintained that "no one was injured" when Papua New Guinean military personnel discharged a weapon into the air during the incident.

Indonesian police arrest more than 140 men at alleged gay sauna party

Posted: 21 May 2017 10:28 PM PDT

LGBT groups say the gay community in Jakarta has been subject to an unprecedented wave of discrimination and attacks

Indonesian police have arrested more than 100 men in a weekend raid on a gay sauna in the capital Jakarta, a day before two men are to be publicly flogged for having same sex relations.

Authorities raided what they said was a sex party promoted as 'The Wild One,' held at a sauna and gym venue in Jakarta's north on Sunday evening.

Monday briefing: Facebook's guiding rules are revealed

Posted: 21 May 2017 10:23 PM PDT

Manuals on tackling terrorism, racism and abuse leaked … Trump fights extremism … 'costume jewel' could fetch £350,000

Good morning, Graham Russell here with the news to start the week.

Vivid Sydney brings giant animal light sculptures to Taronga zoo – video

Posted: 21 May 2017 08:01 PM PDT

Vivid Sydney comes to Taronga zoo with 15 giant animal light sculptures, including PJ the Port Jackson Shark and the 'Ray of Light' floating stingray, made from donated recycled milk bottles. The sculptures represent species the zoo is committed to preserving and studying in Australia and other countries

Taiwan's same-sex marriage ruling could cement its place as Asia's liberal beacon

Posted: 21 May 2017 07:23 PM PDT

Landmark court case this week is likely to determine the success or failure of draft laws currently before parliament

Chi Chia-wei will find out on Wednesday if his decades long fight to make Taiwan the first country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage has been a success.

Chi, 59, a pioneering Taiwanese gay rights activist, is the celebrated face behind one of the most controversial legal cases the island democracy has seen in recent years, where 14 judges must rule if the civil code, which states that marriage is between a man and a woman, is unconstitutional.

Major airport delays in Australia and New Zealand as global passport system goes down

Posted: 21 May 2017 06:29 PM PDT

Flights delayed for hours in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane after failure of global passport security system forces passengers to be checked in manually

A failure of the global passport security system has caused huge delays for passengers trying to fly overseas from Australian and New Zealand airports.

International passengers at Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane had to be checked in manually on Monday morning, causing flights to be delayed for hours.

Venezuela: man set on fire during anti-government protests

Posted: 21 May 2017 06:17 PM PDT

President Nicolás Maduro claims victim was a Chavista but witnesses say the man was attacked after being accused of being a thief

Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro has excoriated opposition protesters on Sunday for setting a man on fire during a demonstration, accusing them of targeting him for being pro-government.

"A person was set on fire, beaten up, stabbed ... They nearly lynched him, just because he shouted out that he was a 'Chavista'," Maduro said, referring to the ruling socialist movement set up by his predecessor Hugo Chavez.

Cassie Sainsbury says mystery man's death threats forced her to traffic cocaine

Posted: 21 May 2017 05:52 PM PDT

Alleged South Australian drug mule's lawyer says she was shown pictures of her family and fiance and told 'we will be ... killing your family or you'

The alleged Australian drug mule Cassie Sainsbury has claimed a mystery man threatened to kill her family before she was caught with 5.8kg of cocaine in a Colombian airport.

Her lawyer, Orlando Herran, told the Nine network program 60 Minutes that the 22-year-old was in financial trouble after problems with her fitness business when she answered a Craigslist ad offering a loan and trip to London.

New Zealand navy paid $700,000 to firm mired in ‘Fat Leonard’ sex and bribery scandal

Posted: 21 May 2017 05:22 PM PDT

Exclusive: Royal New Zealand Navy says no investigation opened following biggest ever US navy bribery case

The Royal New Zealand Navy paid hundreds of thousands of dollars over four years to a ship services company run by a man now imprisoned in the US for an enormous corruption and sex scandal, the Guardian has learned.

US prosecutors say Leonard Glenn Francis, known as Fat Leonard for his wide girth, had cheated its navy out of nearly US $34m — mostly through overcharging port services and providing gifts to personnel, including arranging sex parties.

Australian climber dies while descending Mount Everest

Posted: 21 May 2017 05:01 PM PDT

Queenslander Francesco Marchetti, 54, reportedly died at an altitude of 7,500m on the Tibetan side of the mountain

An Australian man has reportedly died while descending Mount Everest.

The 54-year-old, named as Queenslander Francesco Marchetti, was climbing down to some lower camps from the North Col route on Sunday morning, the Himalayan Times reported.

Spanish Socialists re-elect Pedro Sánchez to lead party

Posted: 21 May 2017 03:40 PM PDT

Hardliner's election comes seven months after he resigned following a party revolt over his stance to ending a nine-month parliamentary deadlock

Spain's Socialists have chosen former leader and hardliner Pedro Sánchez to head the party again, a vote likely to make it harder for the ruling conservatives to secure the opposition support it needs in parliament to push through legislation.

He has pledged to take a firm stand against the ruling minority People party's market-friendly, deficit-tackling policies.

Letter: The Rev Nicolas Stacey obituary

Posted: 21 May 2017 10:24 AM PDT

The Rev Nicolas Stacey may not have filled the parish church of St Mary Magdalene to the rafters with converts during his time as rector of Woolwich (he could not anyway, as he had had the galleries converted into a coffee bar and other facilities, as your obituary notes), but he was a bit unfair on himself in declaring that his ministry there was a "failure". He certainly did not fail to make an impact on a number of Woolwich adolescents of the early to mid-1960s, of which I was one.

The most irreverent of reverends – we took to the fact that he smoked and drank – he was often seen in the Queen Vic on the corner of Rectory Place, and was sometimes heard to swear. His team worked tirelessly in the community. If they did not exactly provide us with salvation – though many of us were drawn into church for a few years – they at least offered enjoyable and uplifting things for us to do: the coffee bar to hang out in, midnight rambles and pub outings to the Kent countryside, and fun and games mixed with serious group discussions on a Sunday evening (the Bogglers club).

American climber dies and Indian man goes missing on Mount Everest

Posted: 21 May 2017 07:18 AM PDT

Details of death of Roland Yearwood, 50, unknown, while Ravi Kamar fell sick on his way down from summit and did not make it to nearest camp

An American climber has died near the summit of Mount Everest and an Indian climber is missing after heading down from the mountain following a successful ascent, expedition organizers said on Sunday.

'Angry' Netanyahu orders ministers to attend Trump reception

Posted: 21 May 2017 05:48 AM PDT

Israeli media reports say prime minister was angered to learn a number of ministers had planned to skip US president's arrival

Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has reportedly been forced to order his ministers to attend the airport reception for Donald Trump on Monday, after discovering that a number had planned not to attend.

According to reports in the Israeli media, an angry Netanyahu was informed on Sunday that party heads and a number of ministers planned to skip the reception after the White House had asked for the meet and greet to be shortened to the two countries' anthems and handshakes only between Netanyahu and Trump.

Trump's tough talk on extremism weakened by backing for autocracies

Posted: 21 May 2017 11:01 AM PDT

President used Saudi speech to call on Gulf monarchs to do more to combat terror but did not make it a condition of US support

It was billed as a landmark speech on Islam, but Donald Trump's address in Riyadh boiled down to an offer of unstinting, unquestioning support for Arab autocracies in their regional rivalry with Iran.

Trump called on the Gulf monarchs to do more to combat terrorist groups and cut off their source of funding, and that was the ostensible central theme, but US support was not made conditional on that effort.

Trump calls on Muslim leaders to ‘drive out’ extremism – video

Posted: 21 May 2017 09:29 AM PDT

Donald Trump calls on leaders of Arab and Muslim-majority countries to take the lead in combating terrorists. Speaking in Riyadh on Sunday, the US president says the fight against extremism is not one between different faiths, but is 'a battle between good and evil'