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- Florida Keys facing potential 'humanitarian crisis' in Irma aftermath
- Hillary Clinton's new memoir compares Trump's 'war on truth' to Orwell's 1984
- North Korea sanctions: UN security council unanimously agrees new measures
- Nuclear tensions cast chill over South Korea's Winter Olympic buildup
- Smugglers make test runs with migrants across even more deadly Black Sea route
- Norway's rightwing coalition claims victory in general election
- North Korea sanctions: US drops oil embargo and naval blockade proposals
- Steve Bannon fires back at Republican establishment for not supporting Trump
- Moving every half hour could help limit effects of sedentary lifestyle, says study
- UK diesel car values dive by up to a quarter amid pollution crackdown
- One million Catalans march for independence on region's national day
- Venezuela crisis: UN calls for investigation into possible crimes against humanity
- Mexico withdraws Harvey aid offer as it focuses on earthquake recovery
- Poppies of Iraq review – the ruins of a lost childhood
- Staffordshire village holds Britain's 'oldest folk dance' – in pictures
- Monkey selfie: warring parties reach settlement over court case
- What's the mood in Germany ahead of the election?
- In pictures: the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Florida
- 300 tonnes of diseased pig carcasses – the latest example of China's pollution crisis
- Forget the Parthenon: how austerity is laying waste to Athens' modern heritage
- Could Germany make a new 'pizza connection' if Merkel signs up Greens?
- Two British soldiers among three charged with terror offences
- America’s secret role in the Rwandan genocide
- Vilification or intimidation during same-sex marriage survey could carry $12,600 fine
- Why men fight – and how modern masculinity adds a twist to it
- Emmanuel Macron's presidency faces first major street protests
- Tuesday briefing: Immediate calls for May to rewrite Brexit bill
- Traffic in the blackout: the peril of crossing the road - archive, 12 September 1939
- Unicef appeals for international help for Caribbean islands devastated by Hurricane Irma
- UN security council steps up sanctions against North Korea – video
- Child soldier recruits double in one year in Middle East and North Africa
- Why isn't Theresa May visiting UK territories stricken by Hurricane Irma? | Kate Osamor
- How has North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme progressed this year?
- Key West: aerial footage shows Irma's damage – video
- Donald Trump sends nation's prayers to victims of Irma and Harvey – video
- An ancient horn dance and Catalan fireworks: Monday's best photographs
| Florida Keys facing potential 'humanitarian crisis' in Irma aftermath Posted: 11 Sep 2017 03:40 PM PDT Military crews were on standby with body bags for possible fatalities in the Keys while millions remain without power across Florida The horrific scale of Hurricane Irma's trail of devastation across Florida has becoming evident as the remnants of the most powerful storm in Atlantic history limped north into Georgia, turned towards Alabama, and was downgraded to a tropical depression. Related: Floridians battered by Irma maintain climate change is no 'big deal' Continue reading... |
| Hillary Clinton's new memoir compares Trump's 'war on truth' to Orwell's 1984 Posted: 11 Sep 2017 09:28 PM PDT The former presidential candidate's new book, What Happened, tries to come to terms with her election defeat and likens Trump to the dystopian classic Hillary Clinton uses her new memoir to draw parallels between Donald Trump's "war on truth" and the Soviet Union and George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. "Attempting to define reality is a core feature of authoritarianism," the defeated presidential candidate writes in What Happened, published on Tuesday. "This is what the Soviets did when they erased political dissidents from historical photos. This is what happens in George Orwell's classic novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, when a torturer holds up four fingers and delivers electric shocks until his prisoner sees five fingers as ordered." Continue reading... |
| North Korea sanctions: UN security council unanimously agrees new measures Posted: 11 Sep 2017 03:48 PM PDT Ban on the country's textile exports and capping imports of crude oil comes after US watered down initial tougher version to avoid veto by China The UN security council has unanimously ratcheted up sanctions on North Korea, imposing a ban on the country's textile exports and a ceiling on the country's imports of crude oil. The vote for the sanctions, the ninth package of measures imposed by the UN Security Council on Pyongyang since 2006 for its nuclear and missile tests, came as a relief to US diplomats who had feared a Chinese abstention, which would have considerably blunted the impact of the new sanctions. Continue reading... |
| Nuclear tensions cast chill over South Korea's Winter Olympic buildup Posted: 11 Sep 2017 09:30 PM PDT Ticket sales are low, while North Korea's nuclear weapons testing and missile launches have dented hopes the neighbours would field joint teams Nuclear tensions and public apathy are hitting ticket sales for 2018's Winter Olympics in the South Korean town of Pyeongchang, casting a shadow over what had been billed as the "peace games". Organisers hope to attract more than a million spectators to the Games in five months' time. Events will be held 80km (50 miles) from the South's heavily armed border with North Korea. Continue reading... |
| Smugglers make test runs with migrants across even more deadly Black Sea route Posted: 11 Sep 2017 11:00 PM PDT Rise in boats intercepted by Romanian coastguard fuels fears that smugglers are trying to reactivate dangerous transit passage to Europe A dangerous new route for refugees trying to reach Europe is thought to have opened up in the Black Sea, which coastguards in Romania are warning could prove more deadly than the current Mediterranean crossings. As neighbouring countries struggle with the refugee crisis that has seen millions flee conflicts in the Middle East, Romania has largely been bypassed. However the past few days suggest its waters are being eyed by smugglers keen to avoid crackdowns elsewhere. Continue reading... |
| Norway's rightwing coalition claims victory in general election Posted: 11 Sep 2017 02:14 PM PDT Prime minister Erna Solberg says voters had given her 'a mandate for four more years' after estimations based on 95% of votes cast show narrow win Norway's conservative prime minister, Erna Solberg, and her rightwing coalition government are set to hold on to power after defeating the centre-left opposition by the narrowest of margins, according to official projections. Estimates based on a partial count of about 95% of votes cast in Monday's general election gave 89 seats in the Storting – Norway's 169-seat parliament – to Solberg's Conservatives, their populist, anti-immigration Progress party coalition partners and two smaller centre-right parliamentary allies. Continue reading... |
| North Korea sanctions: US drops oil embargo and naval blockade proposals Posted: 11 Sep 2017 11:19 AM PDT In effort to avoid veto from China, US nixes proposal to freeze Kim Jong-un's assets in revised draft proposal circulated to UN The US has significantly diluted a package of new proposed sanctions against North Korea, dropping an oil embargo and enforceable naval blockade in the hope of avoiding a Chinese veto at the UN security council. A revised draft seen by the Guardian and circulated by the US mission to the UN on Monday will impose a ban on imports of North Korean textiles and put a cap on Pyongyang's imports of crude oil and refined petroleum products. Continue reading... |
| Steve Bannon fires back at Republican establishment for not supporting Trump Posted: 11 Sep 2017 12:55 PM PDT In his first TV interview, the former White House chief strategist criticized Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan for not wanting to implement Trump's agenda Steve Bannon, the former White House chief strategist, has accused the Republican establishment of trying to "nullify" last year's presidential election, driving another wedge between Donald Trump and his own party. Notorious for fanning Trump's nationalist and populist instincts, Bannon last month left the White House and returned to the conservative Breitbart News as executive chairman, but is reportedly in regular phone contact with the president. Continue reading... |
| Moving every half hour could help limit effects of sedentary lifestyle, says study Posted: 11 Sep 2017 02:00 PM PDT Exercise is not enough to ward off the risks of sitting still for long periods of time, regular movement is needed, research shows Moving your body at least every half an hour could help to limit the harmful effects of desk jobs and other sedentary lifestyles, research has revealed. The study found that both greater overall time spent inactive in a day, and longer periods of inactivity were linked to an increased risk of death. Continue reading... |
| UK diesel car values dive by up to a quarter amid pollution crackdown Posted: 11 Sep 2017 10:22 AM PDT Second-hand Vauxhall, Audi and BMW diesels have fallen most in price, according to research The value of some used diesel cars has dropped by as much as 26% since the start of this year amid a crackdown on older vehicles. Second-hand Vauxhall, Audi and BMW diesels have fallen most in price, according to research by the car-buying website Motorway.co.uk. The average used Vauxhall Corsa with a diesel engine has slumped in price from £2,160 to just £1,592 since the start of 2017, a drop of 26%. Continue reading... |
| One million Catalans march for independence on region's national day Posted: 11 Sep 2017 10:47 AM PDT Streets of Barcelona became a sea of estelada flags as pro-independence supporters turned out en masse ahead of referendum on 1 October Up to a million Catalans have gathered in Barcelona to call for independence less than three weeks before the region is due to hold a vote on whether to break away from Spain. For the sixth successive year, Catalonia's national day – La Diada de Catalunya – was used as a political rally by the pro-independence movement. Organisers said 450,000 people had registered for the event, and Barcelona police later tweeted that 1 million turned up. Continue reading... |
| Venezuela crisis: UN calls for investigation into possible crimes against humanity Posted: 11 Sep 2017 10:09 AM PDT The UN's Human Rights Council accused the Venezuelan government of 'crushing democratic institutions and critical voices' The UN rights chief has warned of possible "crimes against humanity" in Venezuela, prompting the crisis-hit country to accuse his office of wielding human rights as "a political weapon". Venezuela's crisis has caused food and medicine shortages, deadly unrest and calls for President Nicolas Maduro to quit. Continue reading... |
| Mexico withdraws Harvey aid offer as it focuses on earthquake recovery Posted: 11 Sep 2017 12:08 PM PDT About 2.5 million Mexicans are in need of aid after last week's massive quake, leading the foreign ministry to withdraw its offer to US hurricane victims Mexico has withdrawn its offer to help victims of Hurricane Harvey in Texas, saying it needed to redirect resources to its own southern states which are still reeling from last week's massive earthquake. As torrential rains lashed Houston in late August, Mexico offered to send food, generators, medical staff and mobile kitchens to help hurricane victims, but on Monday, the foreign ministry said that the aid was needed at home after Friday's quake. Continue reading... |
| Poppies of Iraq review – the ruins of a lost childhood Posted: 12 Sep 2017 01:00 AM PDT Brigitte Findakly's moving memoir, drawn by Lewis Trondheim, captures a more innocent time both for herself and the home country she had to give up Brigitte Findakly begins her wise, touching and wonderfully vivid graphic memoir, Poppies of Iraq, in the archaeological ruins of Nimrud, which lie outside Mosul where she grew up. Founded by the Assyrians more than 3,000 years ago, Nimrud holds a special place in her memory, for as a girl it was often to its dusty remains that her parents – her Iraqi dentist father and his French-born wife – would drive their family on Fridays, a picnic stowed in the back of their car. There she would climb on the ancient stones, and sometimes her father would photograph her by the huge man-headed winged lions that guarded what had once been the city's palace gates. This was a long time ago: Findakly was born shortly after the 1958 coup in which King Faisal II was executed, and almost a decade before Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party came to power. Things have changed in the years since. In the 60s, the Iraqi government was so keen to preserve the site that those leaving it, and the ancient city of Hatra a little further away, were subject to searches so soldiers could check they had not removed some precious artefact. Continue reading... |
| Staffordshire village holds Britain's 'oldest folk dance' – in pictures Posted: 12 Sep 2017 01:00 AM PDT The Abbots Bromley horn dance is an English folk dance whose origins date back to the middle ages and is performed annually on Wakes Monday – which is the first Monday after 4 September. The tradition, which takes place in the Staffordshire village, is believed to be the oldest folk dance in Britain and some of the antlers have been carbon dated to be more than 1,000 years old Continue reading... |
| Monkey selfie: warring parties reach settlement over court case Posted: 12 Sep 2017 12:44 AM PDT Peta sued on behalf of the macaque monkey in 2015, seeking financial control of the photographs for the animal's benefit A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit over who owns the copyright of selfie photographs taken by a monkey. Under the deal, the photographer whose camera was used agreed to donate 25% of any future revenue from the images to charities dedicated to protecting crested macaques in Indonesia, lawyers for an animal rights group said. Continue reading... |
| What's the mood in Germany ahead of the election? Posted: 12 Sep 2017 12:33 AM PDT If you live in Germany, we want your views ahead of the federal election later this month, in which Angela Merkel seeks re-election as chancellor Germany heads to the polls on 24 September for federal elections. Chancellor Angela Merkel is seeking a fourth term, with her center-right Christian Democratic Union expected to lead a new coalition. Related: Could Germany make a new 'pizza connection' if Merkel signs up Greens? Continue reading... |
| In pictures: the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Florida Posted: 12 Sep 2017 12:21 AM PDT The scale of Hurricane Irma's trail of devastation across Florida is becoming evident as the remnants of the most powerful storm in Atlantic history limps north into Georgia. Daylight has exposed the extent of the damage in the hardest-hit areas of the Florida Keys and the south-west coast, whipped by Irma's 130mph winds and deadly seawater surge during the storm's double landfall Continue reading... |
| 300 tonnes of diseased pig carcasses – the latest example of China's pollution crisis Posted: 12 Sep 2017 12:20 AM PDT Villagers near illegal burial site in Zhejiang had complained for years of a terrible stench around their homes Stomach-churning symbols of the environmental calamity facing China have never been in short supply: exploding watermelons, toxic running tracks, rivers that flow the colour of blood. Now, the world's number one polluter brings you: porcine mass graves. |
| Forget the Parthenon: how austerity is laying waste to Athens' modern heritage Posted: 11 Sep 2017 11:30 PM PDT A full 80% of 19th and early 20th-century buildings in the Greek capital have already been destroyed, and time is running out for what's left Not that long ago I received a questionnaire through my door. How had the 1930s Bauhaus building in which I live survived the rigours of time? Who had designed it? Who was its first owner? And, the form went on, what were my memories of it? Circulated far and wide across Athens, the questionnaire and its findings are part of a vast inventory of 19th- and early 20th-century buildings that now stand at the heart of a burgeoning cultural heritage crisis in Greece. Continue reading... |
| Could Germany make a new 'pizza connection' if Merkel signs up Greens? Posted: 11 Sep 2017 04:51 AM PDT More than 20 years ago unlikely conservative-conservationist meetings were held in a Bonn Italian restaurant, now a ruling coalition seems possible On the evening of 1 June 1995 an unlikely group gathered for an informal dinner at an Italian restaurant in Bonn, then the seat of the German parliament. On one side of the table at Sassella were delegates of the Green party, on the other side the establishment they had gone into politics to oppose: suited and gelled young members of the Christian Democratic Union, the party led by the staunchly pro-nuclear Helmut Kohl. In German political circles, the informal gathering at Sassella became synonymous with supping with the devil: one Green participant likened the brick-walled basement where the party's anti-nuclear activists, LGBT campaigners and pacifists debated the common ground between conservatism and conservationism to an "enchanted cellar". Continue reading... |
| Two British soldiers among three charged with terror offences Posted: 12 Sep 2017 01:48 AM PDT Trio are accused of being part of the proscribed organisation National Action Three men, including two British soldiers, who are accused of being part of banned neo-Nazi group are to appear in court charged with terror offences. Mikko Vehvilainen, Mark Barrett and Alexander Deakin are accused of being part of the proscribed organisation National Action. Continue reading... |
| America’s secret role in the Rwandan genocide Posted: 11 Sep 2017 10:00 PM PDT The violence that shocked the world in 1994 did not come from nowhere. While the CIA looked on, its allies in the Ugandan government helped to spread terror and fuel ethnic hatred Between April and July 1994, hundreds of thousands of Rwandans were murdered in the most rapid genocide ever recorded. The killers used simple tools – machetes, clubs and other blunt objects, or herded people into buildings and set them aflame with kerosene. Most of the victims were of minority Tutsi ethnicity; most of the killers belonged to the majority Hutus. The Rwanda genocide has been compared to the Nazi Holocaust in its surreal brutality. But there is a fundamental difference between these two atrocities. No Jewish army posed a threat to Germany. Hitler targeted the Jews and other weak groups solely because of his own demented beliefs and the prevailing prejudices of the time. The Rwandan Hutu génocidaires, as the people who killed during the genocide were known, were also motivated by irrational beliefs and prejudices, but the powder keg contained another important ingredient: terror. Three and a half years before the genocide, a rebel army of mainly Rwandan Tutsi exiles known as the Rwandan Patriotic Front, or RPF, had invaded Rwanda and set up camps in the northern mountains. They had been armed and trained by neighbouring Uganda, which continued to supply them throughout the ensuing civil war, in violation of the UN charter, Organisation of African Unity rules, various Rwandan ceasefire and peace agreements, and the repeated promises of the Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni. Continue reading... |
| Vilification or intimidation during same-sex marriage survey could carry $12,600 fine Posted: 12 Sep 2017 02:03 AM PDT Proposed law would penalise those who intimidate or threaten based on sex, sexuality, gender identity, intersex status, religious convictions or views they hold about the survey Penalties of up to $12,600 and court-ordered injunctions will be available if people are vilified, intimidated or threatened for participation in the same-sex marriage postal survey under a new proposed law. Although the vilification provision would extend to both sides of the debate, Labor has warned a new bill will only provide limited protections and hurtful material will not be stopped. Continue reading... |
| Why men fight – and how modern masculinity adds a twist to it Posted: 12 Sep 2017 12:00 AM PDT I suspect there are plenty of men out there who feel what I do, writes Scott Atkinson – the intellectual notion that fighting is dumb, and the instinctive desire to still do it About a year ago, I was merging lanes on the highway during an hour-long trek to a job interview when, in my rearview mirror, I saw a middle finger waving furiously at me. Cutting the other driver off had been my fault, and so when he changed lanes to zoom up beside me I turned in my seat to wave and mouth an exaggerated and lip-readable "I'm sorry". I could read his lips, too. Continue reading... |
| Emmanuel Macron's presidency faces first major street protests Posted: 11 Sep 2017 11:57 PM PDT France's second biggest union says more than 180 demos planned nationwide against contentious labour law reforms The French president, Emmanuel Macron, will face the first major street protests of his leadership on Tuesday as one of the country's biggest trade unions demonstrates against his overhaul of labour laws. The leftwing CGT, France's second biggest trade union, is leading scores of protests across France, with public sector workers, train staff and energy sector workers expected to join. Continue reading... |
| Tuesday briefing: Immediate calls for May to rewrite Brexit bill Posted: 11 Sep 2017 10:26 PM PDT Key legislation for exiting EU progresses in Commons … wind power comes in at lower price than nuclear … and druids rejoice as Stonehenge tunnel diverted Hello – it's Warren Murray bringing you today's briefing. Continue reading... |
| Traffic in the blackout: the peril of crossing the road - archive, 12 September 1939 Posted: 11 Sep 2017 09:30 PM PDT 12 September 1939 Unless special safety steps are taken Manchester is likely to have a death rate of two per blackout, with a much higher tally of injuries suffered A week's experience of the "black-out" in Manchester has been greatly disturbing. The record of traffic accidents during the dark hours in the city and surrounding districts suggests that unless special safety steps are taken we are likely to have a death-rate of two per "black-out," with a much higher tally of injuries suffered. We are all in the process of acquiring a new discipline and adjusting ourselves to emergency conditions. For many people who remember the last war this is no novelty. In the years 1915 to 1918 most people learnt to walk the streets after sundown by faith rather than by sight. Continue reading... |
| Unicef appeals for international help for Caribbean islands devastated by Hurricane Irma Posted: 11 Sep 2017 08:30 PM PDT International community shouldn't rely on Britain, France and the Netherlands alone to respond to disaster, organisation warns Unicef has called for the international community to offer more assistance to the devastated Caribbean islands following Hurricane Irma, saying governments around the world seemed to be relying on Britain, France and the Netherlands to respond to the disaster. The powerful hurricane tore through the Caribbean islands last week, killing at least 34 people and flattening entire communities before wreaking destruction on the US state of Florida on Sunday. Continue reading... |
| UN security council steps up sanctions against North Korea – video Posted: 11 Sep 2017 08:03 PM PDT The United Nations security council unanimously stepped up sanctions against North Korea on Monday over the country's sixth and most powerful nuclear test on 3 September, imposing a ban on the country's textile exports and capping imports of crude oil Continue reading... |
| Child soldier recruits double in one year in Middle East and North Africa Posted: 11 Sep 2017 10:11 AM PDT Report claims 28 million children living in countries at war are now in need of humanitarian help as families struggle to cope amid the chaos and violence The number of children recruited to fight in conflicts across the Middle East and North Africa has more than doubled in a year, UN analysis has found. The huge increase in child soldiers in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and other countries follows years of ongoing violence, displacement and a lack of basic services, which has reduced the coping mechanisms of families, according to Unicef. Almost one in five children across the region – 28 million in all – now need immediate humanitarian assistance. More than 90% of these children live in countries affected by conflict, and in some cases families are sending their children to fight. Continue reading... |
| Why isn't Theresa May visiting UK territories stricken by Hurricane Irma? | Kate Osamor Posted: 11 Sep 2017 07:02 AM PDT The shadow secretary for international development says the Caribbean disaster exposes the government as slow to respond and lacking in empathy As Hurricane Irma has wreaked its toll over the past week, the damage to people's lives has been unimaginable. Like the devastating mudslides in Sierra Leone this summer or the unprecedented floods across Bangladesh, India and Nepal that have affected more than 40 million people, Irma is the latest in a worsening pattern of extreme weather events borne out of climate change. We can be sure that the world will face more of the same. Related: 'The situation is overwhelming': aid workers on responding to Hurricane Irma Continue reading... |
| How has North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme progressed this year? Posted: 11 Sep 2017 04:47 AM PDT Following North Korea's most powerful nuclear test to date, we chart the country's progress in developing a nuclear weapon that can credibly threaten the US North Korea's efforts to develop a nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the US mainland have accelerated during the first year of Donald Trump's presidency. The country's leader, Kim Jong-un, has presided over a series of successful missile tests, including North Korea's first launch of an ICBM on 4 July, a development he promised in a televised new year's address. Like all tests, the missile came down in the sea but its trajectory was thought to place Alaska in range of a live strike. Continue reading... |
| Key West: aerial footage shows Irma's damage – video Posted: 11 Sep 2017 11:21 AM PDT A helicopter camera records the destruction of homes in Key West, Florida, after the storm made landfall on Sunday, about 20 miles outside the island city. Some homes remained intact, but many were badly damaged due to high winds Continue reading... |
| Donald Trump sends nation's prayers to victims of Irma and Harvey – video Posted: 11 Sep 2017 08:14 AM PDT Speaking at the 9/11 memorial service at the Pentagon on Monday, the president discussed the storms that hit the southern states of the US, describing them as 'of catastrophic severity' and saying: 'When Americans are in need, Americans pull together' Continue reading... |
| An ancient horn dance and Catalan fireworks: Monday's best photographs Posted: 11 Sep 2017 04:29 AM PDT A selection of images from around the world including leaping cheerleaders, a tennis champion and Tony Abbott marrying himself Continue reading... |
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