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Kabul: more than 60 killed by massive car bomb in diplomatic quarter
What is covfefe? Trump baffles with late night Twitter post
Portland man accused of fatal train stabbing has outburst in court
Activists investigating Ivanka Trump's China shoe factory detained or missing
Turkey presses Afghanistan to hand over control of Gülenist schools
Belgian university tells female students to wear 'low-cut' tops to graduation ceremony
Quitting Paris climate deal would threaten US security, UN chief warns
Manuel Noriega: feared dictator was the man who knew too much | Simon Tisdall
Purple streaker Steve a mystery of the night sky
Russians parade in blackface ahead of Cameroon-Germany match
US missile defense reaches milestone with successful test against ICBM
Belgian PM suffers hearing loss after princess fires starting pistol
Man fined by Swiss court for 'liking' defamatory comments on Facebook
Russian suspected hacker moves step closer to US extradition
Olivia Newton-John puts tour on hold after breast cancer diagnosis
Goldman Sachs condemned for buoying Venezuela with $2.8bn bond purchase
EU targets lawyers and accountants in tax-avoidance clampdown
Central American refugees turn again to Belize – but find it far less welcoming
Tennis player Maxime Hamou attempts to forcibly kiss female reporter on live TV – video
One Nation will not block budget measures over ABC funding cuts – as it happened
Deadly car bomb attack hits Kabul diplomatic quarter – video
'A good friend in the White House': how Texas became Trump's frontline
Man arrested after three bodies found in John Lennon's former home
Absence of debate about Brexit has turned this election into a fraud – video
Melbourne schoolgirl Zynab Al Harbiya killed as Isis targets Baghdad ice-cream parlour
Visiting an Ethiopian HIV charity influenced my social work training | Tom Jones
'Legitimized in their hatred': a weekend of violence in Trump's America
Sage Sagittarius inquest: 'death ship' crewmen were victims of foul play, coroner finds
No external experts asked about Coalition's drug test policy, officials say
Wednesday briefing: Stars unite for Manchester as police reveal plot details
Theresa May under fire for changing her mind about gay rights
Julie Bishop confirms death of Australian schoolgirl in Baghdad attack – video
Nordic prime ministers troll Trump's viral orb photograph
Park self-driving cars – bikes are the future | Letters
Trump clashes with German leaders as transatlantic tensions boil over
Quotes were falsely attributed to the emir of Qatar and its foreign minister | Letter from Saif Ahmed Al Thani
How Manuel Noriega surrendered to the sanity-destroying power of mallrat music
Manuel Noriega obituary
India tightens meat industry laws amid fierce protests
Panama's former dictator Manuel Noriega – a life in pictures
The female journalists defying taboos and braving death threats in Afghanistan | Sune Engel Rasmussen
Kidnapped to be doctor to a warlord: the man now on a mission to catch Kony
Sean Spicer spars with White House reporters over 'fake news' – video

Kabul: more than 60 killed by massive car bomb in diplomatic quarter

Posted: 31 May 2017 01:43 AM PDT

Blast near the German embassy leaves more than 300 injured, Afghan interior ministry says

Scores of civilians have been killed after a massive explosion in a highly secure diplomatic area of Kabul left 64 people dead and wounded more than 300, the Afghan interior ministry has said.

The attack is the deadliest in the Afghan capital since an Isis suicide bomber killed nearly 100 people at a protest last summer.

What is covfefe? Trump baffles with late night Twitter post

Posted: 31 May 2017 01:25 AM PDT

Puzzling tweet by US president late at night leads, naturally, to madness on the internet

If you haven't looked it up already - don't bother.

Just after midnight in Washington, Donald Trump tweeted: "Despite the constant negative press covfefe." That was it. No more. Just that word "covfefe" left hanging there.

Portland man accused of fatal train stabbing has outburst in court

Posted: 30 May 2017 04:57 PM PDT

Jeremy Joseph Christian, accused of killing two men as they shielded a woman from his anti-Muslim tirade, shouted: 'You call it terrorism, I call it patriotism!'

The man accused of fatally stabbing two men in Portland, Oregon, when they tried to shield young women from his anti-Muslim tirade, made repeated outbursts in court on Tuesday, including shouting: "You call it terrorism, I call it patriotism!"

Jeremy Joseph Christian, 35, was in Multnomah County courtroom Tuesday afternoon for his first court appearance on two counts of felony aggravated murder and other charges for the Friday attack.

Activists investigating Ivanka Trump's China shoe factory detained or missing

Posted: 30 May 2017 09:58 PM PDT

Three men from New York-based rights group China Labor Watch were looking at conditions at plant where Trump shoes are assembled

A labour activist working undercover investigating abuses at a Chinese factory that makes Ivanka Trump shoes has been detained by police and two others are missing, raising concerns the company's ties to the US president's family may have led to harsher treatment.

Hua Haifeng was being held by police on suspicion of illegal surveillance, his wife Deng Guilian said. Hua had worked for labour rights organisations for more than a decade and was investigating a factory in southern Guangdong province for New York-based rights group China Labor Watch.

Turkey presses Afghanistan to hand over control of Gülenist schools

Posted: 30 May 2017 09:00 PM PDT

Western officials believe a deal has been struck allowing Afghan vice-president to seek exile in return for schools' closure

Afghan authorities have drafted a deal giving the Turkish government control of more than a dozen schools in Afghanistan affiliated with the exiled cleric Fethullah Gülen.

Western and Afghan officials believe the agreement is part of a bargain allowing Afghanistan's vice-president, Abdul Rashid Dostum, who has been accused of abducting and torturing a political rival, to seek exile in Turkey.

Belgian university tells female students to wear 'low-cut' tops to graduation ceremony

Posted: 30 May 2017 06:50 PM PDT

Email with suggested dress code from the Brussels Free University's medicine faculty condemned as sexist

A university in Belgium has apologised after students were sent an email suggesting that women wear low-cut tops to their graduation ceremony.

Quitting Paris climate deal would threaten US security, UN chief warns

Posted: 30 May 2017 04:06 PM PDT

António Guterres says exiting landmark accord would threaten US economy and society: 'If someone leaves a void, I guarantee someone will fill it'

The UN secretary general, António Guterres, warned on Tuesday that if the US exits the Paris climate agreement, there could be negative economic, security and societal consequences for the country.

Manuel Noriega: feared dictator was the man who knew too much | Simon Tisdall

Posted: 30 May 2017 05:03 AM PDT

Panamanian general was a CIA asset and go-between in Central America's dirty wars but became a monster the US could not control

The atmosphere outside Gen Manuel Noriega's battered, bullet-scarred comandancia, headquarters of the Panamanian Defence Forces, one early morning in October 1989, bordered on frenetic. Beyond the railings a woman sobbed with grief. Her husband, an officer involved in the previous night's failed coup attempt against Noriega, was missing. It later transpired he and dozens of co-conspirators had been shot out of hand.

The headquarters was guarded by heavily armed, paramilitary thugs from Noriega's feared Dignity Battalions. A crowd of supporters cheered and shouted insults about the US president, George HW Bush. Then, without warning, Noriega, Panama's feared dictator, spy chief and self-styled "maximum leader", appeared on the steps wearing combat fatigues, a red baseball cap and a broad smile.

Purple streaker Steve a mystery of the night sky

Posted: 30 May 2017 01:30 PM PDT

Given a 'down to earth' nickname for the time being, a newly found fast-moving gas ribbon is fascinating astronomers

A mysterious streak of purple light spotted by aurora watchers adds to a growing list of upper atmospheric phenomena. Previously spotted electrical effects have been called elves, sprites and gnomes; the newcomer has the less fairytale name of Steve.

The name was bestowed by the Alberta Aurora Chasers, an online skywatching group who first noticed the phenomenon. Initially it looked like a faint contrail, but longer exposures showed that it was luminous with a distinctive purple colour.

Russians parade in blackface ahead of Cameroon-Germany match

Posted: 30 May 2017 12:38 PM PDT

Other marchers at Carnaval Sochi Fest parade were seen carrying bananas as city prepares to host Confederations Cup, once more raising racism concerns

People in blackface and carrying bananas marched in an official parade in Sochi less than a month before the city hosts Cameroon for a Confederations Cup match, once again raising concerns about racism at football matches in Russia.

A photograph from state news agency Tass showed a man in a Cameroon jersey with his face and arms painted black beating a drum at the Carnaval Sochi Fest parade on Saturday. A second man in blackface is visible behind him, wearing an Afro wig and carrying a drum and bananas on a string.

US missile defense reaches milestone with successful test against ICBM

Posted: 30 May 2017 03:27 PM PDT

Military hails 'incredible accomplishment' after missile fired to intercept simulated projectile in program to defend against North Korea

The US military has successfully carried out its first-ever missile defense test involving a simulated attack by an intercontinental ballistic missile, in a major milestone for a program meant to defend against a mounting North Korean threat.

The US military fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)-type weapon from the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. It then fired a missile to intercept it from Vandenberg air force base in California.

Belgian PM suffers hearing loss after princess fires starting pistol

Posted: 30 May 2017 03:46 AM PDT

Charles Michel forced to clear schedule and seek medical treatment after he strayed too close to Princess Astrid at start of Brussels 20km run

After a tricky few days playing host to Donald Trump, the Belgian prime minister, Charles Michel, may have hoped for a trouble-free few days. It was not to be.

A seemingly innocuous appearance at a 20km run in Brussels has led to Michel seeking medical treatment for damage to his hearing after straying too close to a starting pistol wielded by Princess Astrid, the youngest sister of the Belgian king, Philippe.

Man fined by Swiss court for 'liking' defamatory comments on Facebook

Posted: 30 May 2017 09:09 AM PDT

Defendant had accused animal rights activist of racism and 'liked' inflammatory comments about him

A Swiss court has fined a man for "liking" defamatory comments on Facebook, in what is believed to be the first case of its kind.

According to a statement from the Zurich district court, the 45-year-old defendant accused an animal rights activist, Erwin Kessler, of racism and antisemitism and hit the "like" button under several comments from third parties about Kessler that were deemed inflammatory.

Russian suspected hacker moves step closer to US extradition

Posted: 30 May 2017 11:04 AM PDT

FBI accuses Yevgeniy Nikulin of hacking LinkedIn, Formspring and Dropbox, and Russia has also filed extradition request

A Russian suspected hacker has moved a step closer to being sent to the US as a Czech judge gave tentative approval for an extradition to go ahead, during a court hearing held inside a high-security prison in Prague.

Yevgeniy Nikulin, who was arrested at a restaurant in the Czech capital last October and is accused by the FBI of massive hacks of US companies, appeared at the hearing pale and emaciated after eight months in solitary confinement.

Olivia Newton-John puts tour on hold after breast cancer diagnosis

Posted: 30 May 2017 02:15 PM PDT

Singer postpones concerts in US and Canada after return of disease she was treated for 25 years ago

The singer and actor Olivia Newton-John has postponed tour dates as she revealed a second diagnosis of breast cancer.

The star of Grease was scheduled to perform across the US and Canada next month, after the release of her 2016 collaborative album, Liv On.

Goldman Sachs condemned for buoying Venezuela with $2.8bn bond purchase

Posted: 30 May 2017 08:36 AM PDT

Opposition attacks bank for backing Nicolás Maduro's 'dictatorial regime' as it makes 'a quick buck off the suffering of the Venezuelan people'

Goldman Sachs has confirmed it has bought $2.8bn worth of bonds from Venezuela's crisis-torn government in a move opposition leaders have decried for propping up the country's "dictatorial regime".

The Wall Street Journal first reported on Sunday that the bank had bought $2.8bn worth of bonds held by the country's central bank.

EU targets lawyers and accountants in tax-avoidance clampdown

Posted: 30 May 2017 11:24 AM PDT

Jean-Claude Juncker tells MEPs legislation will try to solve 'real problem' of experts helping clients exploit tax laws

Brussels is preparing to crack down on accountants and lawyers running tax-avoidance schemes in response to the Panama Papers scandal that showed how the rich and powerful hide their money.

Jean-Claude Juncker, the European commission president, told MEPs on Tuesday that he would table a draft law before the end of June that aims to shed light on experts who help clients exploit tax laws and shift money to offshore tax havens.

Central American refugees turn again to Belize – but find it far less welcoming

Posted: 31 May 2017 02:00 AM PDT

The country was once a haven for victims of outside violence – but the government has recently taken a hardline approach amid anti-Hispanic feeling

A pair of young farmhands wait for a ride at an idle junction under a coconut palm on a blistering day in south Belize. A short drive east is a fishing village of Garifunas – mixed-race descendants of African slaves and indigenous Arawaks – while along the highway to the west are clusters of Mayan thatched huts.

It's too hot to walk the few miles to Bella Vista, a dusty Spanish-speaking migrant community whose inhabitants mostly work in the surrounding banana plantations and shrimp farms – part of the steady flow of seasonal labourers from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, drawn here by higher wages and plentiful work.

Tennis player Maxime Hamou attempts to forcibly kiss female reporter on live TV – video

Posted: 30 May 2017 11:48 PM PDT

French tennis player Maxime Hamou tries repeatedly to forcibly kiss Eurosport journalist Maly Thomas on her head and neck during a live TV interview. Hamou has been banished from the French Open for the duration of the tournament

French Open bans Maxime Hamou for groping reporter on live TV

One Nation will not block budget measures over ABC funding cuts – as it happened

Posted: 30 May 2017 11:48 PM PDT

Pauline Hanson says despite the national broadcaster's 'bloated budget and regular displays of bias' it would not be in the nation's interest to block supply. As it happened ...

7.48am BST

Thanks to the brains trust, Gareth Hutchens, Paul Karp and Katharine Murphy. I'm sure you will agree Bowers had some lovely images today. Thanks for your company and we will see you in the same place tomorrow for the final day of the sitting week.

7.38am BST

Deadly car bomb attack hits Kabul diplomatic quarter – video

Posted: 30 May 2017 11:20 PM PDT

Afghan officials say a heavy explosion has caused casualties and damage near the German embassy in the city centre

'A good friend in the White House': how Texas became Trump's frontline

Posted: 30 May 2017 07:44 AM PDT

Hardline immigration and adoption laws have passed, a 'bathroom bill' could be next – the Lone Star state is now a laboratory for White House policy priorities

Like many other teenagers, Karla Perez eagerly awaited her 16th birthday and the chance to pass her driving test. The driving school told her to bring her social security card to class, so she asked her mother for it.

Man arrested after three bodies found in John Lennon's former home

Posted: 31 May 2017 01:36 AM PDT

Thirty-year-old man arrested after bodies of woman and two children found at flat in Toxteth, Liverpool

A 30-year-old man has been arrested in Liverpool on suspicion of murder after the bodies of a woman and two children were found in the former home of John Lennon.

Merseyside police opened an investigation after being called to a ground floor flat in Falkner Street, Toxteth, at about 7.30pm on Tuesday after concern for the safety of the occupants.

Absence of debate about Brexit has turned this election into a fraud – video

Posted: 30 May 2017 11:56 PM PDT

A week before the election, the public remain clueless about what Brexit would actually mean for the country, says the Guardian's Brexit policy editor, Dan Roberts. He describes this as a huge failing of politics and the media, with pre-election debate having done nothing to inform voters of what a country outside the EU might look like

• May and Corbyn to miss BBC debate – live

Melbourne schoolgirl Zynab Al Harbiya killed as Isis targets Baghdad ice-cream parlour

Posted: 30 May 2017 04:49 PM PDT

Twelve-year-old was in the Iraqi capital with family to visit her sick grandfather when a suicide car bomb exploded, killing 17 people

A 12-year-old Victorian girl was killed in a car bomb explosion in Baghdad on Tuesday as she lined up at a popular ice-cream parlour to break fast for Ramadan.

The girl, a year seven student from Thomastown in Melbourne, was in the Iraqi capital with her family to visit her sick grandfather.

Visiting an Ethiopian HIV charity influenced my social work training | Tom Jones

Posted: 31 May 2017 01:03 AM PDT

The foundation's ability to think creatively and enable practical, positive change is particularly relevant as the UK social care sector faces further cuts

Halfway through my social work MA, I decided to use part of my summer holiday to travel around Ethiopia, and so in July last year, I visited the Beza Association, a foundation supporting communities affected by HIV in Lalibela, a town in the north of the country. The experience was humbling and, to my surprise, affected my social work learning and development.

'Legitimized in their hatred': a weekend of violence in Trump's America

Posted: 31 May 2017 02:00 AM PDT

Has Donald Trump's presidency emboldened racial violence? A brutal double murder in Portland, a stabbing in California, and the hit-and-run death of a Native American man – all within a few days – are dark signs

Anthony Hammond was screaming racial slurs in the parking lot of a California apartment complex before he pulled out a machete and stabbed an African American man, according to police.

The horrific Saturday night attack – which led to hate crime, assault and mayhem charges against the 34-year-old white suspect – received very little attention in US media during the Memorial Day holiday. Also lost in weekend news was the case of a white man in a pickup truck who police say intentionally ran over and killed a 20-year-old Native American man.

Sage Sagittarius inquest: 'death ship' crewmen were victims of foul play, coroner finds

Posted: 30 May 2017 11:07 PM PDT

Cesar Llanto disappeared from 'death ship' in 2012 and Hector Collado was found dead on board two weeks later

A Filipino chef and an engineer who died in quick succession on a bulk freighter dubbed the "death ship" both met with foul play, a coroner has found.

The coroner also said the evidence "strongly suggests" the ship's captain, Venancio Salas Jr, either "caused or authorised" the disappearance of the chef or withheld information from the inquest. The coroner noted that she had come to this conclusion despite the fact Salas had cooperated with the inquest by giving evidence on three separate occasions.

No external experts asked about Coalition's drug test policy, officials say

Posted: 31 May 2017 01:44 AM PDT

Social services official tells Senate estimates she does not know if drugs council warning against testing those on welfare was considered

The Australian National Council on Drugs warned four years ago that there was "no evidence" that drug testing welfare recipients would have any positive effects, and found drug use was not, by itself, a significant barrier to employment.

The Department of Social Services faced questioning in Senate estimates on Wednesday over controversial plans to trial drug testing for about 5,000 welfare recipients.

Wednesday briefing: Stars unite for Manchester as police reveal plot details

Posted: 30 May 2017 09:53 PM PDT

Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber and Coldplay to star in fundraiser ... May gets personal with Corbyn ... and a university's 'low-cut top' advice to female students

Good morning. I'm Martin Farrer and this is the news you need on this Wednesday morning.

Theresa May under fire for changing her mind about gay rights

Posted: 30 May 2017 08:11 PM PDT

Lib Dem peer Brian Paddick disputes Tory claim that the PM was the 'unsung hero' of the same-sex marriage act

Theresa May's support for LGBT people was called into question at an election hustings in which parties laid out their policies regarding equality issues.

Justine Greening, secretary of state for education, was representing the Conservatives at the event organised by Stonewall, Pink News, and Pride in London on Tuesday evening.

Julie Bishop confirms death of Australian schoolgirl in Baghdad attack – video

Posted: 30 May 2017 05:51 PM PDT

Australia's foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, identifies 12-year-old Victorian Zynab Al Harbiya as one of 17 people killed in a suicide car bomb attack in Baghdad. Bishop says the government is providing consular support to the family

Nordic prime ministers troll Trump's viral orb photograph

Posted: 30 May 2017 04:59 PM PDT

The five leaders mock the notorious photo and post it on social media with the question 'Who rules the world?'

World leaders don't generally troll each other, but the prime ministers of the five Nordic countries are giving it a shot.

They just posted a photograph of themselves clasping a soccer ball - echoing a photo of US President Donald Trump, Saudi King Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi holding a glowing orb that went viral last week.

Park self-driving cars – bikes are the future | Letters

Posted: 30 May 2017 11:30 AM PDT

Public transport, not more car parking, is the way forward for cities, argues Tony Waterston

Tim Walker ('Britain is the worst place to park in the world', G2, 29 May) appears to live in a time when the car is the only form of transport. He writes of the complaints made by drivers of the lack of free parking, and the high cost of parking, but the word "cyclist" appears only once. And yet a reduction of city-centre parking, the provision of good public transport, park and ride schemes, car clubs, plenty of cycle parking and low-cost bike hire must be the way of the future. I felt some hope when he started his penultimate paragraph "The logical next step is…" and expected this to continue "a European-style bike infrastructure". But no, he finds that the answer is the self-driving car. Surely the answer is a sustainable transport system.
Tony Waterston
Newcastle upon Tyne

• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com

Trump clashes with German leaders as transatlantic tensions boil over

Posted: 30 May 2017 11:09 AM PDT

US president uses Twitter to point finger at Berlin amid rebukes from German officials, including Angela Merkel, preparing for election

Donald Trump has escalated a row between the US and Germany in an early morning tweet accusing Berlin of unfair trade relations and not paying its way in the Nato alliance.

Trump's tweet, declaring German policies "very bad" for the US and vowing to change the situation, came a few hours after the German foreign minister, Sigmar Gabriel, declared that the administration's "short-sighted policies" were weakening the west.

Quotes were falsely attributed to the emir of Qatar and its foreign minister | Letter from Saif Ahmed Al Thani

Posted: 30 May 2017 10:08 AM PDT

Our country was the victim of a hacking attack that led to 'fake news', says Saif Ahmed Al Thani, director of Qatar's Government Communications Office

Your article (Saudi Arabia and UAE block Qatari media over incendiary statements, 25 May) lends credence to the idea that fraudulent "quotes" – falsely attributed to the emir of Qatar and Qatar's foreign minister – placed by hackers on a Qatari website might actually be genuine. They are not.

Allow us set the record straight: the government of Qatar noticed the appearance of "hacked" material on the Qatar News Agency's website at 12.15am on Wednesday 24 May. Qatar's Government Communications Office released a statement at 1am alerting the news media that the quotes were not authentic. Most media outlets covered our statement and stopped publishing or broadcasting the fraudulent material.

How Manuel Noriega surrendered to the sanity-destroying power of mallrat music

Posted: 30 May 2017 06:25 AM PDT

US special forces know that bad music on loop can get the strongest opponent to surrender – from a Panamanian dictator to a Guantanamo detainee

It was a Christmas miracle. On 25 December 1989, Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, who has died this week, sought refuge in the Papal Nunciatura (the Vatican's embassy in Panama). Noriega was facing a US indictment for narco-trafficking, as well as claims of electoral fraud. To smoke him out, General "Mad Max" Thurman ordered construction of a "musical barrier" around the embassy – constant barrages of sound played from the speakers of encircling US army Humvees.

The first day was something of a truce – Christmas music. But thereafter, things rapidly descended towards classic rock. Noriega was an opera fan. Instead of Verdi, he got a psyops playlist that included Billy Idol's Flesh for Fantasy, Welcome to the Jungle by Guns N' Roses, God Bless the USA by Lee Greenwood, We're Not Going to Take It by Twisted Sister, several songs by the Doors: Strange Days, People Are Strange, The End War Pigs by Black Sabbath, Electric Spanking of War Babies by Funkadelic, and most worryingly of all: If I Had a Rocket Launcher by Bruce Cockburn. Faced with the sanity-destroying power of middle-American mallrat music, Noriega surrendered.

Manuel Noriega obituary

Posted: 30 May 2017 03:06 AM PDT

Military dictator of Panama with close links to the White House who was overthrown by a US invasion

Manuel Noriega, who has died aged 83, was the strongman military officer who was the de facto ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989. Throughout these years, he was closely involved with the CIA and the White House, allowing weapons to pass through Panama for use against the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua, and supplying information on Central American guerrilla movements. At the same time, he was linked to the Medellín drug cartel and the drug lord Pablo Escobar in Colombia, who used Panama as a staging post for trafficking to the US.

India tightens meat industry laws amid fierce protests

Posted: 30 May 2017 02:41 AM PDT

Regulations banning most livestock from being sold for slaughter at markets criticised as attack on 'the essence of India'

India's Hindu nationalist government has announced the tightest restrictions yet on the country's multibillion dollar meat industry, drawing fierce protests from some states amid warnings that millions of jobs could be lost.

"Beef festivals" were held in Kerala state at the weekend and a cow was slaughtered in public as a show of defiance against the regulations, which prohibit most livestock from being sold for slaughter at animal markets.

Panama's former dictator Manuel Noriega – a life in pictures

Posted: 30 May 2017 02:03 AM PDT

Noriega, a one-time US ally who was ousted by an American invasion in 1989, has died aged 83. Noriega ruled with an iron fist, ordering the deaths of those who opposed him and maintaining a murky relationship with the US. At the apex of his power he wielded great influence outside the country thanks to longstanding relationships with spy agencies around the world

The female journalists defying taboos and braving death threats in Afghanistan | Sune Engel Rasmussen

Posted: 30 May 2017 11:00 PM PDT

The country's first female-run radio station was looted and its staff persecuted, but despite the risks, women in the media are making their voices heard

When Radio Shaista goes silent, you know the Taliban are close. The female-run radio station was looted and wrecked when the group captured Kunduz, Afghanistan's embattled northern city, in 2015, sending journalists fleeing. Even after the Taliban were routed, female journalists have been on guard, if they ever returned, that is.

Zarghoona Hassan, Radio Shaista's director, fled after armed militants knocked on her door at home. They accused her of converting listeners to Christianity and announced a date for her execution.

Kidnapped to be doctor to a warlord: the man now on a mission to catch Kony

Posted: 30 May 2017 06:34 AM PDT

After being forced to spend more than a year at Joseph Kony's side, Aubin Kotto-Kpenze vows to get justice for fellow survivors of the Lord's Resistance Army

When Aubin Kotto-Kpenze walks into a restaurant in Central African Republic's capital, Bangui, it isn't clear whether the armed guard with him is there to protect him – or other diners. After all, Kotto-Kpenze, 47, spent two years at the side of one of the world's most wanted terrorists, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) leader Joseph Kony.

Abducted to become the Ugandan warlord's personal doctor, Kotto-Kpenze managed to escape in 2009. Today, he pursues an ambitious mission: to catch Kony.

Sean Spicer spars with White House reporters over 'fake news' – video

Posted: 30 May 2017 02:38 PM PDT

The White House press secretary got into a heated exchange with reporters over 'fake news' during a briefing in Washington. Spicer accused the BBC and the New York Times of spreading fake news over a tweet saying Donald Trump was rude to the Italian prime minister. Journalists in the room hit back, saying he was focusing too much on a 'mistake'

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

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