World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk |
- Saudi king ousts nephew to name son as first in line to throne
- Travis Kalanick: Uber CEO resigns following months of chaos
- Soldiers shoot suspected terrorist dead at Brussels Central railway station
- Venezuela poised for new violence after security forces fatally shoot protester, 17
- Chelsea Manning leaks had no strategic impact on US war efforts, Pentagon finds
- French defence minister resigns over inquiry into misuse of funds
- Canada police investigate theft of mummified human toe served in drinks
- Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market to finally move home, says governor
- Chips are down for Belgian frites as EU acts on 'unsafe compound'
- Two more ministers quit Macron adminstration amid funding inquiry
- Belfast woman posed as model to lure men to help in police bomb plot
- Seoul proposes North Korea host some Winter Olympics skiing events
- Lucy Gichuhi makes her first speech in the Senate – as it happened
- Why is productivity so low since the crisis – particularly in the UK? | Howard Davies
- Summer solstice at Stonehenge – in pictures
- Britain in danger of losing vote in UN over fate of Chagos Islands
- Republicans narrowly beat Democrats in Georgia's special election – video
- Work starts to identify Argentinian Falklands war dead
- Greens seen as victims of school funding deal, but they could have been heroes | Katharine Murphy
- Otto Warmbier's family declines autopsy as Trump calls death a 'total disgrace'
- Borderline: the play finding the funny side of the Calais migrant camp
- 'Secret recordings' scandal hits New Zealand prime minister months before election
- Wednesday briefing: Queen delivers speech, DUP gives lecture
- How did Otto Warmbier die?
- Dubai residents stock public fridges for needy during Ramadan
- Brazil: police claim to have evidence President Michel Temer received bribes
- US south-west swelters under extreme heatwave – in pictures
- US rebukes Saudi Arabia over Qatar embargo in reversal after Trump comments
- Rightwing extremists involved in nearly a third of terror referrals
- Radicalisation of rightwing extremists via pages on Facebook and in the Daily Mail | Letters
- Portugal’s prime minister calls on emergency services to explain wildfire response
- Brazil's president announces plan to protect forest – after plea from Gisele
- Giordano Díaz Lombardero obituary
- Tour firm used by Otto Warmbier stops taking US citizens to North Korea
- Otto Warmbier's death highlights plight of foreigners jailed in North Korea
- Israel begins work on first settlement in 25 years as Jared Kushner flies in
- Britons detained in Finland after crossing into Russia to drink beer
- British requests for French citizenship more than triple in a year
- Canada releases world's first glow-in-the-dark coin to mark 150th anniversary
- Drive to get children back to school failing worldwide
- I want to stroll Tehran's streets at night, like men can: writer Fereshteh Ahmadi | Saeed Kamali Dehghan
- Trump's silence after the London mosque attack speaks volumes | Christian Christensen
- American healthcare is at a crossroads. Where is the Democrats' bold vision? | Ross Barkan
- Six bizarre moments we won’t let Sean Spicer forget – video report
| Saudi king ousts nephew to name son as first in line to throne Posted: 21 Jun 2017 12:22 AM PDT Mohammed bin Nayef replaced by Mohammed bin Salman, 31-year-old in charge of economy and war in Yemen King Salman of Saudi Arabia has ousted his nephew as crown prince and replaced him with his son, Mohammed bin Salman, confirming the 31-year-old as heir to the kingdom and consolidating its move to reassert its influence as a regional power. The move was announced by royal decree just after midnight, stunning the Saudi establishment, which has seen Bin Salman's profile soar over the past three years but regarded the role of the former crown prince, Mohammed bin Nayef, a veteran security tsar, as secure. Continue reading... |
| Travis Kalanick: Uber CEO resigns following months of chaos Posted: 21 Jun 2017 01:37 AM PDT Embattled founder of ride-hailing app stepped down in face of pressure from investors after tumultuous six months of scandals and stumbles Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick has resigned from his position as chief executive of the $68bn ride-hailing app following a tumultuous six months of scandal. Kalanick stepped down in the face of pressure from five of Uber's largest investors, according to the New York Times. Kalanick will, however, stay on the company's board. Continue reading... |
| Soldiers shoot suspected terrorist dead at Brussels Central railway station Posted: 21 Jun 2017 12:37 AM PDT Belgian police say situation at Brussels Central under control with no other casualties after apparent attempt to detonate explosive belt A suspected terrorist was shot dead by soldiers in one of Brussels' main railway stations on Tuesday night after what police described as a small explosion. Officers believe the man was wearing an explosive belt and a witness at Brussels Central station reportedly heard the man call out "Allahu Akbar" – "God is great" in Arabic – before the blast. |
| Venezuela poised for new violence after security forces fatally shoot protester, 17 Posted: 20 Jun 2017 12:15 PM PDT
Related: Venezuela's chief prosecutor becomes hate figure for Maduro supporters Venezuelans are bracing for a further escalation of violence after a 17-year-old protester was shot dead by the national guard, and the supreme court announced charges against the country's attorney general – one of the most senior officials to speak out against the government of Nicolás Maduro. Continue reading... |
| Chelsea Manning leaks had no strategic impact on US war efforts, Pentagon finds Posted: 20 Jun 2017 12:43 PM PDT Uploading of more than 700,000 files to WikiLeaks had no significant strategic effect, analysis finds, putting into context the severe punishment she received The publication of hundreds of thousands of secret US documents leaked by the Aarmy soldier Chelsea Manning in 2010 had no strategic impact on the American war efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq, a newly released Pentagon analysis concluded. The main finding of the Department of Defense report, written a year after the breach, was that Manning's uploading of more than 700,000 secret files to the open information organization WikiLeaks had no significant strategic effect on the US war efforts. Continue reading... |
| French defence minister resigns over inquiry into misuse of funds Posted: 20 Jun 2017 08:03 AM PDT Sylvie Goulard, who is second minister to go in 24 hours, steps down over allegations her MoDem party misused European funds France's newly appointed defence minister Sylvie Goulard has resigned from government after a magistrate launched a preliminary investigation into allegations her party misused European parliament funds. Goulard, who only took up her post in Emmanuel Macron's administration a month ago, stepped down on Tuesday. She is the second high-profile minister to go in less than 24 hours. Continue reading... |
| Canada police investigate theft of mummified human toe served in drinks Posted: 20 Jun 2017 12:43 PM PDT Yukon bar's 40-year-old signature drink, the sourtoe cocktail, featured the blackened toe inside – until a customer allegedly ran off with it Police in Canada have launched an investigation after a patron at a Yukon bar allegedly stole the famed ingredient of their signature drink: a mummified human toe. For more than 40 years the Downtown hotel in Dawson City has served up the sourtoe cocktail, a shot of whisky with a blackened toe – nail and all – bobbing inside. Those who manage to touch the gnarled, severed toe to their lips earn a certificate. Continue reading... |
| Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market to finally move home, says governor Posted: 20 Jun 2017 06:00 AM PDT After numerous delays, latest over pollution fears at new site, world's largest fish market to move to make way for 2020 Olympics Tokyo's famed Tsukiji fish market – the largest in the world - is to move from its central location to the site of a former gas plant after a series of delays over concerns about toxic contamination, the city's governor has confirmed. The decision by Yuriko Koike comes nearly a year after she halted the move owing to worries about high levels of cancer-causing chemicals in the soil at the newly built facility on a manmade island in Tokyo Bay. Continue reading... |
| Chips are down for Belgian frites as EU acts on 'unsafe compound' Posted: 20 Jun 2017 04:43 AM PDT Belgium says European commission's proposal to change cooking process for safety reasons will spoil chips' taste The European commission has been accused of a crime against the people of Belgium for what local politicians say amounts to an attempt to ban the national dish, the frite – or frieten, as they say in the Flemish-speaking north of the country. Whether eaten with mayonnaise or taken au naturel, the Belgian chip is up there with chocolate, beer and the national football team in the nation's psyche. No public square is complete without a frietkot, or chip stand, where sellers swear by double frying bintje potatoes in beef or horse fat to achieve the ideal combination of a succulent centre and crispy exterior. Continue reading... |
| Two more ministers quit Macron adminstration amid funding inquiry Posted: 21 Jun 2017 01:48 AM PDT François Bayrou, president of MoDem party, resigns as justice minister as government departures hit four in 48 hours France's president Emmanuel Macron appears to have ditched his centrist allies after two more high-profile government ministers resigned after a month in office. The ministers who quit were from the MoDem party, which rallied to Macron during his presidential campaign but is now at the centre of a parliamentary jobs investigation. Continue reading... |
| Belfast woman posed as model to lure men to help in police bomb plot Posted: 21 Jun 2017 01:47 AM PDT Christine Connor jailed for 16 years after carrying out two attacks on officers as part of solo republican terrorist campaign A Northern Ireland woman who used a Swedish model's pictures on social media to coax men into supporting her solo republican terrorist campaign against police is beginning a 16-year jail sentence. An investigation by police in Northern Ireland, West Mercia police and the FBI found that Christine Connor used a fake name and photographs of a Swedish model to solicit help through social media from an Englishman and an American, who both later took their own lives. Continue reading... |
| Seoul proposes North Korea host some Winter Olympics skiing events Posted: 21 Jun 2017 01:46 AM PDT South Korea also suggests forming inter-Korean women's ice hockey team in hope of easing tensions on peninsula South Korea has proposed that North Korea host some of the skiing events at next year's Winter Olympics, in a move it hopes will ease cross-border political tensions. The South Korean sports minister, Do Jong-hwan, has also suggested forming an inter-Korean women's ice hockey team to compete at the games, which open in February in the South Korean town of Pyeongchang. Continue reading... |
| Lucy Gichuhi makes her first speech in the Senate – as it happened Posted: 21 Jun 2017 01:46 AM PDT Greens say needs-based school funding won't happen if Catholics get special deal; Coalition appears to have numbers to pass Gonski 2.0 in Senate. Follow it live ...
That is it for the night.
Alia leaves the chamber. Continue reading... |
| Why is productivity so low since the crisis – particularly in the UK? | Howard Davies Posted: 21 Jun 2017 01:32 AM PDT Policymakers must act before the lack of productivity and real wage growth causes further political upheavals In all major economies, the so-called productivity puzzle continues to perplex economists and policymakers: output per hour is significantly lower than it would have been had the pre-2008 growth trend continued. The figures are stark, particularly so in the UK, but also across the OECD. And while it goes without saying that economists have many ingenious explanations to offer, none has yet proved persuasive enough to create a consensus. According to the UK's Office for National Statistics, output per hour in France was 14% lower in 2015 than it would have been had the previously normal trend growth rate been matched. Output was 9% lower in the US and 8% lower in Germany, which has remained the top performer among developed economies, albeit only in relative terms. If this new, lower growth rate persists, by 2021 average incomes in the US will be 16% lower than they would have been had the country maintained the roughly 2% annual productivity gain experienced since 1945. Continue reading... |
| Summer solstice at Stonehenge – in pictures Posted: 21 Jun 2017 01:53 AM PDT On the longest day of the northern hemisphere's year, hundreds of revellers gather at the ancient site in Wiltshire to watch the sun rise Continue reading... |
| Britain in danger of losing vote in UN over fate of Chagos Islands Posted: 20 Jun 2017 10:00 PM PDT Vote on Mauritian request to refer matter of sovereignty to international court of justice seen as test of UK's standing in Brexit world The UK is in danger of losing a vote at the UN on the fate of the Chagos Islands, an Indian Ocean archipelago that has been at the centre of a long-running dispute between Britain and Mauritius. The UN is voting on Thursday on a Mauritian resolution to refer the matter of the islands to the international court of justice (ICJ) in The Hague. Continue reading... |
| Republicans narrowly beat Democrats in Georgia's special election – video Posted: 21 Jun 2017 01:23 AM PDT Republican candidate Karen Handel has beaten the Democrats' Jon Ossoff in the race for Georgia's sixth congressional district. The special election was seen as a referendum on Donald Trump's presidency Continue reading... |
| Work starts to identify Argentinian Falklands war dead Posted: 21 Jun 2017 01:26 AM PDT The unidentified bodies of 123 Argentinian soldiers have been buried since the 1982 war in a cemetery on the remote islands Experts have started to try to identify Argentinian soldiers buried on the Falkland Islands who were killed fighting Britain over the territory, the Red Cross said on Thursday. The unidentified bodies of 123 Argentinian soldiers have been buried since the 1982 war in a cemetery on the remote South Atlantic islands, known in Spanish as Malvinas – governed by Britain but claimed by Argentina. Continue reading... |
| Greens seen as victims of school funding deal, but they could have been heroes | Katharine Murphy Posted: 21 Jun 2017 01:50 AM PDT No one comes out of this so-called debate looking good. But the Greens also flubbed a chance to live out their demand that parties put public interest first Conventionally, during tales of pernicious trade union influence, the tail wags the dog. Unions are the cunning puppeteers, manipulating passive Labor politicians. This week though, a twist. This time, the narrative from the Greens bunker had Labor as puppet masters, cynically deploying the Australian Education Union, against the Greens parliamentarians, to thwart a schools funding deal. Continue reading... |
| Otto Warmbier's family declines autopsy as Trump calls death a 'total disgrace' Posted: 21 Jun 2017 12:01 AM PDT Ohio coroner performs external examination instead of full autopsy on body of the student, who died after being sent home from North Korea in a coma An Ohio coroner, abiding by family wishes, has performed an external examination instead of a full autopsy on the body of the US student who was held prisoner in North Korea for 17 months and sent home in a coma. The Hamilton County coroner's office was conferring with doctors at a Cincinnati hospital who treated Otto Warmbier, 22, before reaching any conclusions about his death a day earlier, investigator Daryl Zornes said. Continue reading... |
| Borderline: the play finding the funny side of the Calais migrant camp Posted: 20 Jun 2017 11:00 PM PDT Sophie Besse's new play features a cast of former camp inhabitants who have found a new way to tell their story Sophie Besse remembers the moment she first saw the funny side of the Calais migrant camp. She was volunteering in the camp when a fashion show was organised. Refugees and asylum seekers paraded down a makeshift catwalk wearing some of the more ridiculous items that had been donated. "There was a wedding dress, swimming costumes, and I was like, oh my God. You want to laugh about that, the way you deal with horror is to just laugh," said Besse. Continue reading... |
| 'Secret recordings' scandal hits New Zealand prime minister months before election Posted: 20 Jun 2017 10:40 PM PDT Closely allied MP forced to step down after allegations he made illegal secret audio recordings of a disgruntled former staff member The prime minister of New Zealand, Bill English, has been hit by his first major political scandal just three months out from the general election, after a government MP resigned amid claims he made illegal tape recordings of a former staff member. Backbencher Todd Barclay was investigated by police in February 2016 for allegedly recording a staff member's private conversations in his electorate office without the staffer's knowledge. Continue reading... |
| Wednesday briefing: Queen delivers speech, DUP gives lecture Posted: 20 Jun 2017 10:28 PM PDT Unionists tell PM to 'show some respect' … bomber shot dead by soldiers in Brussels … and, will Ireland be stuck with a border it doesn't want? Good morning – it's Warren Murray with your skim-read of the news. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 20 Jun 2017 08:48 PM PDT US student who had been jailed in North Korea was returned to the US in a state of 'unresponsive wakefulness' – effectively braindead It is impossible to get reliable information about the welfare and treatment of foreigners detained in North Korea – Washington only learned of Otto Warmbier's condition in early June. The Ohio coroner's office said on Tuesday that it had not been able to determine the cause of Warmbier's death after carrying out an external examination. His parents have asked doctors not to conduct an autopsy. Continue reading... |
| Dubai residents stock public fridges for needy during Ramadan Posted: 20 Jun 2017 06:41 PM PDT Scheme launched by an Australian activist becomes city-wide phenomenon, with more than 170 fridges delivering 'a small act of kindness' during holy month Fridges stocked with free food for those in need have become a city-wide phenomenon in Dubai, serving thousands of people every day of the holy month of Ramadan. The Australian activist Sumayyah Sayed launched the nonprofit Ramadan Sharing Fridge initiative last year, stocking a single unit outside her house with food and drinks for the city's poor. Continue reading... |
| Brazil: police claim to have evidence President Michel Temer received bribes Posted: 20 Jun 2017 06:03 PM PDT Temer has been under investigation after testimony by businessman Joesley Batista linked the president and an aide to bribes Brazil's federal police has said that investigators have found evidence the president, Michel Temer, received bribes to help businesses, raising a new threat that the embattled leader could be suspended from office pending a corruption trial. Temer has been under investigation due to plea bargain testimony by the wealthy businessman Joesley Batista of the giant meatpacking company JBS that linked the president and an aide to bribes and the president to an alleged endorsement of hush money for jailed ex-House Speaker Eduardo Cunha. Continue reading... |
| US south-west swelters under extreme heatwave – in pictures Posted: 20 Jun 2017 03:53 PM PDT Dramatic temperatures of nearly 120F (nearly 49C) hit Arizona, Nevada and California amid one of the highest heatwaves recorded in the region. Temperatures are causing problems for workers, air transportation and power grids. Authorities have cautioned that the heat poses a life-threatening risk to the elderly, the sick, the homeless and migrants crossing the Sonoran desert into the US. New research shows climate change has escalated the risk of heatwaves around the world Continue reading... |
| US rebukes Saudi Arabia over Qatar embargo in reversal after Trump comments Posted: 20 Jun 2017 03:23 PM PDT State department says it is 'mystified' by lack of clarity from Gulf states in latest sign of gap between Trump's comments and foreign policy The US state department has issued a stinging rebuke to Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies saying they had failed to come up with a justification for the embargo they imposed on Qatar earlier this month. Related: How Trump's actions and tone affect US alliances and perception on global stage Continue reading... |
| Rightwing extremists involved in nearly a third of terror referrals Posted: 20 Jun 2017 11:27 AM PDT Figures suggest danger posed by the extreme right – whether individuals or more organised groups – is growing Almost one-third of all referrals to an anti-extremism programme are for people feared to have extreme rightwing views that could turn into violence, figures show. Tuesday's figures, published after a van attack on Monday outside a mosque in Finsbury Park, north London, echo claims by Muslims who say the danger posed by the extreme right – whether individuals inspired by propaganda or more organised groups – is growing. Continue reading... |
| Radicalisation of rightwing extremists via pages on Facebook and in the Daily Mail | Letters Posted: 20 Jun 2017 11:24 AM PDT A Guardian reader points the finger at social media, while others say rightwing newspapers should be held to account for their scapegoating of Muslims Your editorial is right (Terrorism will not divide us, 19 June). There has been far greater attention paid to the use of social media by Islamic terrorist groups than there has been by that of the far right. But it only takes two clicks on Facebook to gain an insight into the connections between, say, Britain First or the English Defence League, and a plethora of equally nasty groups across the world. Randomly clicking on their followers to find out more about them is revealing and worrying. Worse, this stuff is easily accessible by children, and impressionable adults. Mrs May talks about clamping down on social media, but this is an international problem so it requires an international solution. A body analogous to the World Health Organization is required to monitor internet traffic and sanction the social media corporations that fail to block this form of communication. By taking the job away from governments, there is also less chance of politically motivated censorship. As with the WHO, it would not be possible to kill off all infection, but the pooling of resources could make a great difference. In the meantime, if each of us spends a couple of minutes every day on the easy task of finding and reporting these bilious postings, with luck Facebook and others will be so overwhelmed in having to respond that they'll be forced to tighten up on what gets through. Needless to say, Trump and Brexit have emboldened the haters. • Printed hate speech has effortlessly drowned out free speech by others. Nesrine Malik writes about hate extremists operating "in a climate that has incited and normalised their hatred" (Opinion, 20 June), highlighting Katie Hopkins in the Mail Online. A year ago the MP Jo Cox was shot dead on the street by a rightwing extremist. The main organ of hate speech in Britain, as everyone knows, is the rightwing extremist Daily Mail, also the main author of Brexit. So why on earth is it not being held to account? If any actual person stood on the street shouting the sort of bile that paper produces daily, they could be prosecuted for hate speech. Surely it is time to launch a group action by victims, on behalf of all of us, against the Daily Mail for hate speech and general incitement to violence. They have promoted random social violence and hatred just as surely as if they had pulled the trigger. It is time their owners and editors felt the force of the law. |
| Portugal’s prime minister calls on emergency services to explain wildfire response Posted: 20 Jun 2017 10:52 AM PDT At least 64 people have been killed, 47 of whom died on one road as they fled flames in their cars Portugal's prime minister has called on the emergency services to explain their response to the country's worst wildfire as public anger mounts over the tragedy. At least 64 people have been killed and more than 150 injured. On Tuesday, António Costa asked the head of the National Republican Guard why officers had not closed off the road where many of the victims burned to death as they fled the flames in their cars. Continue reading... |
| Brazil's president announces plan to protect forest – after plea from Gisele Posted: 20 Jun 2017 09:58 AM PDT Michel Temer replies to message from Brazilian supermodel to announce he will veto plans to cut conservation in the Amazon The Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen appears to have succeeded where conservationists and scientists have failed: by persuading the president, Michel Temer, to veto legislation that would have slashed protected reserves in the Amazon. In a Twitter post last week, Bündchen urged Temer to block a bill that would have opened up 600,000 hectares (1.5m acres) of forest to development. The model – who has long been a supporter of WWF – tweeted: "It's our job to protect our Mother Earth." |
| Giordano Díaz Lombardero obituary Posted: 20 Jun 2017 09:57 AM PDT My uncle Giordano Díaz Lombardero, who was one of the "niños vascos" ("Basque children") evacuated to Britain during the Spanish civil war, has died aged 93. He was born near Bilbao, the younger son of Alberto Díaz Chapartegui and his wife, Josefa Lombardero Moreira. His mother died when he was three and he and his elder brother were brought up by their paternal grandparents while their father took a job in a steelworks. Continue reading... |
| Tour firm used by Otto Warmbier stops taking US citizens to North Korea Posted: 20 Jun 2017 07:47 AM PDT Young Pioneer Tours says risk is too high after 22-year-old student died on his return from imprisonment in the secretive state The travel agency that arranged Otto Warmbier's trip to North Korea has said it will no longer be taking US citizens to the secretive state after he was returned to the US in a coma and later died in hospital. Warmbier, a 22-year-old American student, was travelling with the China-based agent Young Pioneer Tours when he was arrested at Pyongyang airport in January 2016 and sentenced to 15 years hard labour after allegedly stealing a propaganda poster from his hotel. Continue reading... |
| Otto Warmbier's death highlights plight of foreigners jailed in North Korea Posted: 20 Jun 2017 06:45 AM PDT Calls grow to free three more Americans, six South Koreans, a Canadian and several Chinese nationals The death of Otto Warmbier has focused the world's attention on the plight of other foreign nationals North Korea has imprisoned to use as bargaining chips for aid and diplomatic concessions. In addition to three other Americans, the regime is known to be holding six South Koreans, a Canadian and a number of Chinese people. Continue reading... |
| Israel begins work on first settlement in 25 years as Jared Kushner flies in Posted: 20 Jun 2017 06:34 AM PDT Netanyahu announces ground-breaking at Amichai, which will house 300 hardline residents of illegal outpost of Amona Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has announced the beginning of building work on the first new Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank in 25 years, a day before a visit by Donald Trump's son-in-law and envoy, Jared Kushner, aimed at reinvigorating the stalled peace process. Related: Israel evicts Amona settlers as 3,000 new homes approved elsewhere Continue reading... |
| Britons detained in Finland after crossing into Russia to drink beer Posted: 20 Jun 2017 04:19 AM PDT Four men who celebrated end of orienteering event with 15-minutes crossing likely to be charged with border offences Four British tourists who were detained in Finland after illegally crossing the border into Russia to knock back a few beers are expected to face charges. The unidentified men, who had been competing in an orienteering event in south-east Finland, were driving back to the nearby town of Joensuu when they decided to take a 46-mile (75km) detour to the border, state broadcaster Yle reported. Continue reading... |
| British requests for French citizenship more than triple in a year Posted: 20 Jun 2017 03:33 AM PDT Figures show applications by those living in France rose from 385 to 1,363 in 2016, with surge expected to continue Applications for French nationality by British citizens living in France more than tripled last year compared with 2015, according to interior ministry figures. The figures, obtained by Le Monde newspaper, showed 1,363 Britons in France applied to become French citizens in 2016, compared with 385 the previous year – a 254% increase. Continue reading... |
| Canada releases world's first glow-in-the-dark coin to mark 150th anniversary Posted: 20 Jun 2017 03:00 AM PDT New two-dollar coin, or toonie, features two canoeists under the aurora borealis – and glows in the dark thanks to special ink that contains luminescent material Canadians may now have a slight advantage when it comes to digging for lost change in sofa cushions and car seats; the Royal Canadian Mint has unveiled what it described as the world's first glow-in-the-dark coin in circulation. The specially designed two-dollar coin, or toonie, as it's known in Canada, features two people paddling in a canoe as the northern lights – vivid in green and blue – dance high above them. When the coin is put in the dark, the aurora borealis glows softly, thanks to a new ink formulation that contains luminescent material. Continue reading... |
| Drive to get children back to school failing worldwide Posted: 20 Jun 2017 11:00 PM PDT As UN figures show out-of-school rates unchanged since 2012, researchers say goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030 is unlikely to be met for generations The effort to get more children into school is grinding to a halt as the numbers are stagnating, according to a new report that warns of grave consequences for world poverty. Unesco's figures, released this week, estimate that the global poverty rate could be more than halved if everyone completed secondary school. But the researchers said that it is unlikely this target will be met for generations as out-of-school rates remain stubbornly consistent. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 20 Jun 2017 05:44 AM PDT Under Hassan Rouhani's less repressive regime, female authors are starting to see their books in print, and daring to dream of greater independence Even the gentle references to sexuality in Fereshteh Ahmadi's short story Harry Is Always Lost meant it was hit by the censors. The female protagonist is late catching a flight. In a frantic taxi journey to the airport, she is with a man, but it is not clear if they are dating or are husband and wife. On the plane, she sits next to a strange man, who starts a conversation and ends up giving her a lift when they land in Tehran. This stranger drives so fast that the wind blows her scarf away, leaving her struggling to cover her head until they manage to buy a new one. Continue reading... |
| Trump's silence after the London mosque attack speaks volumes | Christian Christensen Posted: 20 Jun 2017 10:37 AM PDT The US president clearly thinks Muslims injured by a white Christian man are not worthy of attention because they do not serve his agenda When something terrible happens in the world, we turn to those we respect to hear sage words of advice. To give us level-headed analyses. To blow away the fog of bias and provide a sense of clarity. These individuals act as our moral, ethical and intellectual compasses. And, just as we have those in our lives who show us the right direction, we have the inverse: those who, without fail, manage to show us the wrong direction. The trick, of course, is to be able to find out who these people are, recognize their ineptitude and bigotry for what it is … and then do the opposite. Continue reading... |
| American healthcare is at a crossroads. Where is the Democrats' bold vision? | Ross Barkan Posted: 20 Jun 2017 08:57 AM PDT Republicans are promising to make healthcare worse for the people who need it most. Democrats are left with a mealy-mouthed defense of the status quo How close the Senate Republicans are to repealing the Affordable Care Act is anyone's guess. The same holds what for a replacement bill will truly look like. Negotiations, to the horror of anyone with a half-functioning conscience, are occurring in secret, and no Republican will reveal what sort of punishment is in store for the most vulnerable Americans. Democrats in the Senate, unlike the House, hold some leverage. Republicans can afford to only lose two votes and still pass a bill, and there are enough moderates from swing states to balk at any radical restructuring of American healthcare. The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, would like to hold a vote before the 4 July recess, doing Donald Trump's dirty work before vacation time. Continue reading... |
| Six bizarre moments we won’t let Sean Spicer forget – video report Posted: 20 Jun 2017 11:36 AM PDT Sean Spicer is said to be looking for another role in the Trump administration following an uneven tenure as press secretary. Since taking the position, Spicer has clashed with journalists over the Trump inauguration and even reportedly hidden in bushes outside the White House, leading to widespread ridicule ranging from Melissa McCarthy's SNL impression to garden decorations Continue reading... |
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