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

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


Donald Trump Jr was told of Russian efforts to help campaign – report

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 11:13 PM PDT

Donald Trump Jr was informed in an email ahead of a meeting with a Russian lawyer that damaging information about Hillary Clinton to be handed over was part of an effort by the Russian government to help the Trump campaign, the New York Times has reported.

Related: Rob Goldstone: who is the man who set up Trump Jr's meeting with a Russian lawyer?

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Earth's sixth mass extinction event under way, scientists warn

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 12:00 PM PDT

Researchers talk of 'biological annihilation' as study reveals billions of populations of animals have been lost in recent decades

A "biological annihilation" of wildlife in recent decades means a sixth mass extinction in Earth's history is under way and is more severe than previously feared, according to research.

Scientists analysed both common and rare species and found billions of regional or local populations have been lost. They blame human overpopulation and overconsumption for the crisis and warn that it threatens the survival of human civilisation, with just a short window of time in which to act.

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'We lost our houses, our cars, our men': call to protect Mosul civilians

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 05:02 PM PDT

Human rights organisations call for Iraqi government to protect innocent people and investigate civilian deaths

Related: Good news from Mosul does not signal the end of Islamic State

Mosul's civilians remain at grave risk and have endured a catastrophic ordeal, human rights organisations have said as they urge the Iraqi government to take steps to protect innocent people and investigate large-scale civilian deaths in the city.

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Liu Xiaobo: Angela Merkel calls on China to show humanity to ailing activist

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 09:09 PM PDT

German chancellor joins chorus of international condemnation, saying she finds Beijing's refusal to let dying Nobel laureate leave country 'depressing'

Angela Merkel has urged China's leaders to show some "humanity" as international condemnation intensifies of their refusal to allow the critically ill Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo to be moved from the country for treatment.

After examining China's most famous political prisoner on Saturday, doctors from Germany and the United States said he was well enough to be taken overseas and had expressed a desire to go. A US lawyer representing the 61-year-old said a group of medical professionals and medical evacuation team was standing by and ready to transport Liu and his family out of China "as soon as permission is given to let them leave".

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China moves to block internet VPNs from 2018

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 09:33 PM PDT

Millions of people use the technology to circumvent China's censorship system, known as the Great Firewall

China will completely block access to much of the global internet as part of a sweeping crackdown aimed at suppressing dissent and maintaining the Communist party's grip on power.

The government has ordered China's three telecommunications companies to completely block access to virtual private networks, or VPNs, by February 2018, Bloomberg News reported, citing anonymous sources. The three internet providers, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, are all state-owned.

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Iranian women spark debate by defying hijab rule in cars

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 10:00 PM PDT

Judiciary and police insist a car interior is public space but more women are defying authorities by driving with 'bad hijab'

A growing number of women in Iran are refusing to wear a hijab while driving, sparking a nationwide debate about whether a car is a private space where they can dress more freely.

Obligatory wearing of the hijab has been an integral policy of the Islamic republic since the 1979 revolution but it is one the establishment has had a great deal of difficulty enforcing. Many Iranian women are already pushing the boundaries, and observers in Tehran say women who drive with their headscarves resting on their shoulders are becoming a familiar sight.

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Mystery of the missing president fuels political intrigue in Nigeria

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 10:00 PM PDT

High hopes for Muhammadu Buhari's four-year term have diminished at the midpoint after months spent on medical leave

Nigeria's ailing president has not been seen in two months and has spent over a third of the year so far abroad, with no known plans to return.

More than a month since the two-year midpoint of his presidency, Muhammadu Buhari is still in London receiving treatment for a mystery illness that many believe to be cancer.

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Coffee cuts risk of dying from stroke and heart disease, study suggests

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 02:00 PM PDT

Coffee a day keeps the doctor away? Perhaps, but benefits may be down to lifestyles rather than the brew itself, researchers say

People who drink coffee have a lower risk of dying from a host of causes, including heart disease, stroke and liver disease, research suggests – but experts say it's unclear whether the health boost is down to the brew itself.

The connection, revealed in two large studies, was found to hold regardless of whether the coffee was caffeinated or not, with the effect higher among those who drank more cups of coffee a day.

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Attack by militants kills at least seven Hindu pilgrims in Kashmir

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 11:45 AM PDT

Tourist bus hit by bullets during firefight with police in deadliest attack against Hindu pilgrims in region since 2000

Seven Hindu pilgrims have died in a firefight between militants and police in Kashmir during a highly sensitive religious procession.

Six women and one man were killed in Monday evening's attack in the southern district of Anantnag. It was the deadliest assault on Hindu pilgrims in the majority-Muslim region since 2000, and comes amid heightened religious tensions across northern India and another summer of violence in Kashmir.

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Poor quality sleep could increase Alzheimer's risk, research suggests

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 11:01 AM PDT

Findings raise possibility repeated disruption of slow wave sleep could lead to a buildup of proteins linked to disease

Prolonged periods of poor sleep increase levels of proteins involved in Alzheimer's disease, research suggests, although quality, not quantity, of sleep is at the root of the issue.

While previous research has revealed that bad sleep can increase levels of these proteins, known as beta-amyloid and tau, it was unclear which aspect of shut-eye was behind the uptick.

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British PR firm Bell Pottinger apologizes for South Africa campaign

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 12:42 PM PDT

Public relations firm's chief executive issues rare apology for role in designing controversial social media campaign

The British public relations firm Bell Pottinger is having to salvage its own reputation over its work for a South African company owned by a family of controversial businessmen.

Leaked emails reportedly show that the firm suggested its client, a company owned by the wealthy Gupta family, doctored its Wikipedia page to present itself in a better light.

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G20 violence prompts calls for new curbs on anti-capitalist militants

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 07:40 AM PDT

German politicians call for Europe-wide extremism database as minister says events highlight 'leftwing scene's readiness to use violence'

Allies of the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, have called for new curbs on leftwing extremists, including a Europe-wide register, after her decision to hold the G20 world leaders' summit in Hamburg ended in violent clashes and injuries to nearly 500 police officers.

The cost of the damage has not yet been established but is expected to run into millions of euros. Merkel, who faces a parliamentary election on 24 September, has said that Hamburg residents who suffered damage will be properly compensated.

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Mexico spying targeted international experts in student kidnapping case

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 10:29 AM PDT

Investigation finds spyware targeted international group of experts who took issue with Mexico's inquiry into the disappearance of 43 students

Investigators have revealed that targets of high-tech spying in Mexico included an international group of experts backed by the Organization of American States who had criticized the government's investigation into the disappearance of 43 students.

Related: Mexican spy scandal escalates as study shows software targeted opposition

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Trump follows Fox News in accusing James Comey of leaking classified memo

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 10:43 AM PDT

President retweets Fox and Friends clip about report that several memos written by FBI director on Trump conversations were classified, and calls leaks 'so illegal'

Donald Trump has accused James Comey, the former director of the FBI, of leaking classified material by passing a memo of their private conversations to the press.

"James Comey leaked CLASSIFIED INFORMATION to the media," the president tweeted at 6.40am on Monday. "That is so illegal!"

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Russian minister may have intervened over postponed Bolshoi ballet

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 10:14 AM PDT

Source says culture minister Vladimir Medinsky had concerns show about Rudolf Nureyev's life may have violated law on 'homosexual propaganda'

Russia's culture minister may have intervened to prompt the Bolshoi theatre to postpone a much-awaited ballet premiere about the life of dancer Rudolf Nureyev, a Russian news agency has reported.

The TASS agency cited a source close to the culture ministry saying the minister, Vladimir Medinsky, had concerns that the production violated a controversial Russian law that bans "the propaganda of homosexuality to minors".

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Croatian holiday island Hvar to fine lewd, rude and drunk tourists

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 10:29 AM PDT

Fed-up mayor of destination popular with young British fun-seekers tries to stop debauchery with penalties of up to €700

The mayor of Croatia's popular party resort island of Hvar has pledged to put an end to debauchery by mostly British tourists by slapping them with huge fines.

Signs reading "Save Your Money and Enjoy Hvar" were put up at the weekend at the entrances to the town's centre, graphically detailing offences and the corresponding penalties, local media reported.

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Just 100 companies responsible for 71% of global emissions, study says

Posted: 09 Jul 2017 10:26 PM PDT

A relatively small number of fossil fuel producers and their investors could hold the key to tackling climate change

Just 100 companies have been the source of more than 70% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions since 1988, according to a new report.

The Carbon Majors Report (pdf) "pinpoints how a relatively small set of fossil fuel producers may hold the key to systemic change on carbon emissions," says Pedro Faria, technical director at environmental non-profit CDP, which published the report in collaboration with the Climate Accountability Institute.

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Deforestation soars in Colombia after Farc rebels' demobilization

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 02:00 AM PDT

Area of deforestation climbed 44% in 2016 compared with year before, as criminal groups have swooped in promote illegal logging and mining

Colombia has seen an alarming surge in deforestation after the leftwing rebels relinquished control over vast areas of the country as a part of a historic peace deal.

The area of deforestation jumped 44% in 2016 to 178,597 hectares (690 square miles) compared with the year before, according to official figures released this month – and most of the destruction was in remote rainforest areas once controlled by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, Farc.

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Donald Trump to make state visit to Britain next year

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 01:53 AM PDT

UK government concedes no official visit by US president until 2018 following months of doubt, the Guardian can reveal

Donald Trump's controversial state visit to the UK will now take place next year.

After months of doubt about the state visit, amid speculation the US president could have made a surprise stopover after last week's G20 summit, the government has conceded that the official visit will not take place until 2018, the Guardian understands.

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Melinda Gates 'deeply troubled' by Trump cuts to family planning funds

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 01:52 AM PDT

Announcing a major increase in cash for family planning by the foundation she heads with husband Bill Gates, she said she hoped the US democratic system would be enough to stop Trump penalising women with aid cuts

Melinda Gates said she is "deeply troubled" by Donald Trump's decision to cut funding for family planning, a move that threatens to reverse progress made on expanding services to women in some of the poorest parts of the world. .

At the opening plenary of the global family planning summit in London on Tuesday, Gates said: "This is a difficult political climate for family planning. I'm deeply troubled, as I'm sure you are, by the Trump administration's proposed budget cuts.

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May orders Anne Marie Morris MP to be suspended after using N-word

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 01:40 AM PDT

The MP for Newton Abbot was recorded casually using racist term at East India Club in London

Theresa May has ordered the Conservative party's chief whip to suspend an MP who used the N-word at an event during a discussion about Brexit.

Anne Marie Morris, the MP for Newton Abbot in Devon, said sorry for causing offence with her use of the word, after a string of opposition politicians accused her of racism.

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Mississippi: at least 16 dead in military plane crash

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 01:23 AM PDT

Debris from the plane was scattered in an 8km radius and bodies were found on a nearby highway

A US military plane crashed into a field in rural Mississippi on Monday, killing at least 16 people aboard and spreading debris for miles, officials said.

Leflore county emergency management agency director Frank Randle told reporters at a late briefing that 16 bodies had been recovered after the KC-130 spiralled into the ground about 135km (85 miles) north of Jackson in the Mississippi Delta.

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‘Guardian of the forest’ routinely culled in Madeira

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 12:49 AM PDT

The Trocaz pigeon is a vital seed-disperser in one of the world's rarest forest ecosystems, but its taste for cabbage has put it in direct competition with humans. Guess who wins?

As we hike through the cool, low-canopied forest along a levada – a centuries-old water canal carved out of the mountainside – our guide talks effusively of a pigeon.

It's the "guardian of the forest" the guide with MB Tours tells me and the other hikers. Known as the Trocaz pigeon, or alternatively the laurel pigeon or the long-toed pigeon, it's only found here: on the Portuguese island of Madeira. We halt under an ancient laurel tree and the guide explains that the endemic pigeon is vital to Madeira because it disperses many of the plants found in this unique forest ecosystem: the laurisilva.

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'He died sitting on our front porch': the fight to stop Chicago's gang killings – video

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 04:00 AM PDT

Over the Fourth of July weekend, over 100 people were shot in Chicago – a worrying increase after the city's murder rate had fallen to its lowest level in 40 years. Adam Gabbatt visits the city's south side to understand why gang violence remains such a problem – and how grassroots groups are working to prevent it

Drone shots courtesy of 312UAV

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Man charged with GBH after east London acid attack

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 04:57 PM PDT

John Tomlin, 24, will face two counts of grievous bodily harm with intent after handing himself in to an east London police station on Sunday

A man has been charged with grievous bodily harm following an acid attack that left victims with life-changing injuries.

John Tomlin, 24, will appear before Thames magistrates court on Tuesday to face two counts of grievous bodily harm with intent, police have said.

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Brolly bad show: Chinese sharing startup loses 300,000 umbrellas

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 10:12 PM PDT

Despite Sharing E Umbrella's initial setback, the company's founder still plans to roll out 30 million umbrellas across China by the end of the year

In China the sharing economy seems to have met its match after a startup that rented umbrellas in 30-minute blocks lost nearly all of its stock in just three months.

The company Sharing E Umbrella required a deposit of £2.20 per umbrella and charged about 6p for every half an hour of use, deducted from a minimum top-up of £1. Each GPS-enabled umbrella cost the company about £6.85.

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Push for new coal-fired power station in Queensland 'nonsense' – state minister

Posted: 11 Jul 2017 12:14 AM PDT

Idea championed by federal Nationals 'one of the most irresponsible policy propositions I've heard', Mark Bailey says

Queensland's energy minister, Mark Bailey, says the state does not need a new coal-fired power station, branding the idea championed by federal Nationals "one of the most irresponsible policy propositions I've heard".

Before new talks on Friday between energy ministers in the wake of the Finkel review of the national electricity market, Bailey also criticised the federal energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, for delaying consideration of a new clean energy target.

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Tuesday briefing: How the Russians lured Donald Trump Jr

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 10:29 PM PDT

President's son 'was told Moscow wanted to help campaign' … promise of greater rights for 'gig economy' workers … and the health benefits of coffee

Good morning – it's Warren Murray bringing you today's Briefing.

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Jacques Berque, a fighter for Arab culture – 11 July archive, 1995

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 09:30 PM PDT

11 July 1995: A very untypical pied-noir and a great theoretician of the Arab-Muslim world

Obituary
The settlement of accounts between colonisers and colonised has not yet taken place. When it does, Jacques Berque, who has died aged 85, will be a key witness. The decolonisation of Algeria and Morocco was his life as well as his expertise.

Born of French parents in provincial Algeria, he was a pied-noir, though hardly a typical one. His father, Augustin Berque, was a scholar and Arabist of distinction, one of the few to take an interest in Muslim culture of the Maghreb during that dark night which followed Louis Napoleon's flirtation with an Arab Kingdom under his own patronage, and the emergence of modern nationalism in this century.

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Camel runs away from the circus, giving Darwin drivers the hump

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 05:56 PM PDT

Animal leads police in a chase across one of the city's busiest roads and into a golf course at the air force base

A rogue camel escaped from a circus on Monday, leading police on a chase across one of Darwin's busiest roads and into the golf course of the Royal Australian Air Force base.

Northern Territory police said the camel had taken off from the Circus Royale and ran down Bagot Road – a major arterial and one of the city's busiest thoroughfares.

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Saudi demands for restoring relations with Qatar not viable, says US

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 11:36 AM PDT

Pre-conditions to settle dispute between Qatar and its neighbours could be met individually if not as a package, says Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

Saudi Arabia's pre-conditions for restoring diplomatic and economic relations with Qatar are not realistic, even if some elements could form the basis for an eventual deal, the senior adviser to US secretary of state Rex Tillerson has said.

In his first foray into shuttle diplomacy since his appointment, Tillerson is planning to spend most of the week in the Gulf in a bid to mediate in a month-long dispute between Qatar and four neighbouring countries: Saudia Arabia; Bahrain; Egypt; and the United Arab Emirates.

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Libyan spies intercepted MI6 chief's secret phone calls in 2003, court told

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 11:32 AM PDT

Document submitted to high court as part of case over secret justice reveals depth of relationship between British and Libyan spymasters

Confidential phone calls made from a post office by MI6's counter-terrorism chief, Sir Mark Allen, to London in 2003 were intercepted by Libyan spies, according documents submitted to the high court.

On another occasion claims by a well-placed informant that the former British prime minister, Tony Blair, would be assassinated on a visit to the north African state were discussed by both countries' intelligence agencies, the court has been told.

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There is no such thing as a full English | Letters

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 10:38 AM PDT

Unusual names | Treatment of refugees | Eye tests | The full English breakfast | Bees

My great uncle came so late in his parents marriage that he was only one year older than his nephew (and my uncle) John. His parents were determined that he was to be their final child so they named him Omega George (Brief letters, 10 July). For understandable reasons he always referred to himself as just plain George.
Francis Blake
London

• Research by Refugee Action (Asylum seekers are left destitute by Home Office, 10 July) resonates with our European Research Council-funded study of families and food poverty. In the UK we found that parents and children in families who had no recourse to public funds because of their immigration status were going hungry. Families who lacked access to benefits and employment were almost entirely reliant on charity, while their children were not entitled to free school meals and reported hunger and social isolation.
Dr Rebecca O'Connell, Dr Abigail Knight and Professor Julia Brannen
Thomas Coram Research Unit, UCL Institute of Education

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Pamplona bull run at San Fermín festival – in pictures

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 10:21 AM PDT

Spain's San Fermín festival is held annually from 6 to 14 July in commemoration of the Pamplona's patron saint. Hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world attend the fiesta. Many of them participate in the main event – the running of the bulls, or encierro – where they attempt to outrun the bulls along a route through the narrow streets of the old city

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Clergy to ditch their robes in further sign of dress-down Britain

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 06:34 AM PDT

Church of England approves relaxation of canon law to allow its clergy to conduct services without traditional vestments

First it was ties in parliament, now it is surplices at communion.

Following Speaker John Bercow's decision last month to relax the convention requiring male MPs to wear jackets and ties in parliament, the Church of England is to allow clergy to conduct services in civvies.

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Saudi Arabia's standing is damaged despite ruling on arms exports

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 05:42 AM PDT

High court has concluded that Britain acted lawfully over weapons sales, but judgment will do little to help end war in Yemen

The high court ruling that the UK acted lawfully in granting export licences to UK firms selling arms to Saudi Arabia for use in the Yemen conflict may be a relief to the government, but does little to clean up Britain's relationship with Riyadh, let alone bring an end to the desperate civil war in Yemen.

The judgment is a reflection on the way in which the government came to its decision rather than its wisdom. The ruling said the Saudi bombing campaign probably breached international humanitarian law, but that was for the UK government and not the court to assess.

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Robert Mugabe ruling Zimbabwe from hospital bed, says opposition

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 05:08 AM PDT

Claim follows reports that 93-year-old president is undergoing medical treatment in Singapore for third time this year

Robert Mugabe's third trip to Singapore this year for medical treatment has prompted accusations that the 93-year old president is ruling Zimbabwe from a hospital bed.

Mugabe is reported to have flown to the city state on Friday, prompting the ruling Zanu-PF party to cancel a youth rally that he had been scheduled to attend, suggesting that his latest trip was unplanned. A minister told the Standard newspaper that it was a private visit.

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Chinese labour activist says he was arrested due to factory's Trump links

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 04:56 AM PDT

Hua Haifeng spent weeks in detention after undercover investigation revealed abuse of workers at Ganzhou factory that makes shoes for Ivanka Trump's brand

A Chinese activist who was arrested after investigating working conditions at a factory making Ivanka Trump-branded shoes has said he believes the connection to the US president's daughter led to his detention.

Speaking for the first time since his detention, Hua Haifeng told the Guardian how he was interrogated in marathon sessions every other day for a month, during which police repeatedly asked him for details of his investigation.

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Building collapses in Tibet after torrential rain – video

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 04:14 AM PDT

A deluge of rain across Asia has forced 1.6 million people to evacuate their homes in central China alone. In Tibet, dramatic video caught the moment rain washed away the foundations of a building, causing it to collapse

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UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia can continue, high court rules

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 03:12 AM PDT

Campaign Against the Arms Trade loses fight to stop sales to Gulf state over claims weapons may have been used to kill civilians in Yemen

Campaigners have lost a high-profile case calling for UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia to be stopped over humanitarian concerns, as the high court ruled exports could continue.

Related: Saudi Arabia's standing is damaged despite ruling on arms exports

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How bitter herbs and botched abortions kill three women a day in the Philippines

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 02:38 AM PDT

In a country where more than 65% of women don't use contraceptives and terminating pregnancy is illegal, 'torturous' practices are often the only option

Outside the gates of Manila's Quiapo church, deals are being done. Bitter herbs and abortion medication are traded illegally.

Next to an imposing statue depicting a foetus clasped in the hands of Christ, stalls offer an array of rosary beads, amulets, mangoes and songbirds. Here, the abortion pill misoprostol is on sale for just $5 (£3.90), as well as the herb pamparegla, which can induce menstruation and end pregnancy. All this goes on in the shadows of the largest Catholic church in Manila.

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Being Donald Trump: the life of an impersonator – podcast

Posted: 10 Jul 2017 04:39 AM PDT

John Di Domenico has been playing Donald Trump longer than anyone else – except Trump himself

Read the text version here

Subscribe via Audioboom, iTunes, Soundcloud, Mixcloud, Acast & Sticher and join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter

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