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

Japan braces as North Korea threatens hydrogen bomb test in Pacific
Entire towns in Mexico flattened as scale of earthquake damage emerges
Puerto Rico battered by Hurricane Maria: 'Devastation – it's everywhere'
Facebook to give Congress thousands of ads bought by Russians during election
New Zealand election: polls give Bill English reasons to be cheerful despite 'Jacinda effect'
The Village Voice prints its final edition – with Bob Dylan on the cover
Catalan leader accuses Spain of violating rights in referendum row
World's richest woman Liliane Bettencourt dies aged 94
Bankrupt Lehman Brothers profits from Formula One sale
Sean Spicer says he didn't 'knowingly' lie to American public
Two in five European Muslims have felt discriminated against – survey
Protests planned at Amsterdam urinals over lack of women's toilets
Irish border data underlines huge task facing Brexit negotiators
China's credit rating cut to A+ by S&P over rising debt fears
No laughing matter: Cameroon students face 10 years in jail for Boko Haram joke
Oberhausen in the spotlight: how the 'German Detroit' signals electoral shift
How Germany's Russian minority could boost far right
Hate crimes against Metropolitan police up 56% in two years
Theresa May to outline UK's Brexit future in vital Florence speech - live updates
US-made bomb killed civilians in Yemen residential building, says Amnesty
Sex Dust and vampire repellent: a stroll through Gwyneth Paltrow's new LA store
Mexico earthquake: military criticized over search and rescue missions – as it happened
Malcolm Roberts was dual British and Australian citizen when nominated, judge rules
'A rogue' and a 'dotard': Kim Jong-un's statement on Trump in full
The 2017 New Zealand general election will always belong to Jacinda Ardern
Friday briefing: You need to be creative, May will tell EU
'Shocking' short film targets young adults using phone while driving
Australian road safety film shows rampant mobile phone use – video
Frida Sofía, age 12: the Mexico City quake 'survivor' who was never there
How the Caribbean islands are coping after hurricanes Irma and Maria
Pet Shop Boys singer and crew member mugged in Rio de Janeiro
'We are not safe': aid workers fearful after Red Cross shooting in Afghanistan
No business, no boozing, no casual sex: when Togo turned off the internet | Mawuna Koutonin
Drone footage shows flooding in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria – video
Rescuers continue search for survivors of Mexico earthquake – video

Japan braces as North Korea threatens hydrogen bomb test in Pacific

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 11:31 PM PDT

Kim Jong-un warns 'deranged' Trump he will 'pay dearly' for North Korea threats
Kim says he is 'thinking hard' about response to Trump's warnings

Japan must brace itself for the possible launch of a nuclear-armed North Korean missile over its territory if the regime carries out a threat to test a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean, Japan's defence minister has warned.

Itsunori Onodera said such a test could involve a nuclear device mounted on a medium-range or intercontinental ballistic missile.

Entire towns in Mexico flattened as scale of earthquake damage emerges

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 11:17 AM PDT

Thousands of left homeless in towns and communities outside Mexico City as official rescue and relief efforts struggle to cope with the widespread destruction

Hopes that rescuers will find more survivors trapped beneath collapsed buildings in central Mexico were fading on Thursday, as the scale of the devastation wreaked by the country's deadliest earthquake for a generation started to become clear.

The death toll from Tuesday's 7.1 magnitude quake rose to 282, including at least 137 in the capital, and was almost certainly set to rise as rescue workers continue to search the precarious ruins amid the threat of aftershocks, collapsing rubble and gas leaks.

Puerto Rico battered by Hurricane Maria: 'Devastation – it's everywhere'

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 11:06 AM PDT

Worst storm to hit Puerto Rico in 80 years felled trees and smashed buildings
Governor's spokesman describes scene of 'total devastation'

After hours of hurricane-force winds and torrential rain, Puerto Ricans emerged from hurricane shelters on Thursday morning to find that their island was still under threat from landslides, flash floods and crippled water and electricity systems.

Facebook to give Congress thousands of ads bought by Russians during election

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 01:16 PM PDT

Mark Zuckerberg says providing ads will 'help government authorities complete the vitally important work of assessing what happened' in the election

Facebook will provide to Congress the contents of 3,000 advertisements purchased by Russians during the 2016 US presidential race, Mark Zuckerberg announced on Thursday following weeks of scrutiny surrounding the social network's potential role in influencing elections.

The CEO said in a Facebook live video that the company would provide the controversial ads to government officials to support ongoing investigations in the US and as part of the social media company's renewed efforts to protect the "integrity" of elections around the world.

New Zealand election: polls give Bill English reasons to be cheerful despite 'Jacinda effect'

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 11:00 AM PDT

Public opinion seems to be swinging back to the PM against Labour's charismatic but untested Jacinda Ardern before voting day on Saturday

Clothed in a khaki oilskin to protect him from a furious downpour, Bill English has turned up at the suburban Benedict's cafe in Maungaraki on the outskirts of Wellington for chitchat and a coffee.

There are hand-knitted jumpers for sale and smudgy prints on the wall, and the New Zealand prime minister orders a cappuccino before moving through the assembled supporters – children, mothers and the over-60s, mostly, this weekday morning.

The Village Voice prints its final edition – with Bob Dylan on the cover

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 03:51 PM PDT

By mid-morning on Thursday many of the Voice's famous red distribution boxes were empty, as New York's beloved weekly paper makes switch to online-only

In the way that some things come back stronger once before they go away for good, that sentinel of downtown New York bohemian life, the Village Voice, has published its last printed edition, with a heyday cover shot of Bob Dylan.

Catalan leader accuses Spain of violating rights in referendum row

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 09:51 AM PDT

Spanish government acting 'beyond the limits of a respectable democracy' but vote will go ahead, says Carles Puigdemont

Carles Puigdemont: Spain's attempt to block Catalonia's referendum is a violation of our basic rights

The regional president of Catalonia has accused the Spanish government of acting "beyond the limits of a respectable democracy" and violating fundamental rights as it strives to prevent an independence referendum from being held in 10 days' time.

World's richest woman Liliane Bettencourt dies aged 94

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 09:39 AM PDT

Daughter announces death of heir to French L'Oreal empire, who was world's 14th richest person

Liliane Bettencourt, heir to the French L'Oreal hairspray empire and the world's wealthiest woman, who was at the centre of a long-running French courtroom saga over alleged hangers-on who took advantage of her frailty to elicit money and gifts, has died aged 94.

Bettencourt, whose net worth was estimated at about €33bn (£29bn) this year, was the face of one of France's biggest cosmetics conglomerates and had once captured the public's imagination as the nation's poor little rich girl.

Bankrupt Lehman Brothers profits from Formula One sale

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 09:31 AM PDT

The collapsed bank will sell its stake in Nasdaq-listed auto racing empire, making a hefty $1.5bn from a $300m investment

Creditors of Lehman Brothers are on track for a turbocharged windfall after the collapsed bank announced it is selling its stake in Nasdaq-listed Formula One auto racing, giving it a payout of $1.5bn from a $300m investment.

The offering also brings the chequered flag down on former F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone's time as a shareholder. The billionaire business magnate is offloading his remaining stake for $20m. Ecclestone first took over the wheel of F1 40 years ago and transformed it from being an amateur hobby into a race series which had revenue of $1.8bn last year.

Sean Spicer says he didn't 'knowingly' lie to American public

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 09:06 AM PDT

Asked by Good Morning America if he'd ever lied from the podium, Trump's former press secretary said 'I don't think so' – but admitted he'd 'made mistakes'

Sean Spicer, who became notorious as Donald Trump's mouthpiece, insisted on Thursday that he did not "knowingly" lie to the American people from the White House podium.

The combative Spicer claimed that Trump's inauguration drew a record crowd, repeated the president's groundless claim that millions of people voted illegally, and offered an explanation for FBI director James Comey's dismissal that Trump quickly contradicted.

Two in five European Muslims have felt discriminated against – survey

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 08:20 AM PDT

Study for EU's fundamental rights agency finds 30% say they have been insulted and 2% physically assaulted in past 12 months

Discrimination against Europe's Muslims is increasing, with two in five (40%) saying they have faced unfair treatment when job- or house-hunting or accessing public services such as education or healthcare, according to the first report of its kind in a decade.

Nearly 30% of respondents in a survey said they had been insulted or called names and 2% had been physically assaulted in the previous 12 months.

Protests planned at Amsterdam urinals over lack of women's toilets

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 07:49 AM PDT

Case of woman caught urinating in public who was told by judge she should have used men's facilities sparks outrage

Protests are being planned at urinals across Amsterdam over the lack of female public toilet facilities after a judge criticised a woman for not using public male toilets after getting caught short on the streets of the city.

Geerte Piening, 23, was fined after she asked her friends to cover for her as she urinated off a street on a night out in Amsterdam's Leidseplein district.

Irish border data underlines huge task facing Brexit negotiators

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 07:53 AM PDT

Official analysis shows scale of potential disruption from hard border, finding there were more than 110m crossings last year

The scale of the difficulties facing Brexit negotiators in disentangling the border between Britain and Ireland has been highlighted by new data showing there were more than 110m border crossings between the two last year.

An official analysis by British and Irish statisticians found there were an estimated 375,900 Irish-born people living in the UK and 277,200 UK-born people living in Ireland.

China's credit rating cut to A+ by S&P over rising debt fears

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 11:25 AM PDT

Ratings agency cites concerns over financial and economic risk as country's total debt hits $28tn

China's credit rating has been downgraded by Standard & Poor's amid fears rising debts are adding to economic and financial risks.

The agency lowered China's sovereign rating by one notch to A+ from AA-, putting it in the same category as countries such as the US and Austria. This is the second downgrade from a major ratings agency for Beijing this year and comes at an awkward time before next month's Communist party congress.

No laughing matter: Cameroon students face 10 years in jail for Boko Haram joke

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 08:28 AM PDT

Rights groups demand release of three students whose jovial text message exchange turned sour when teacher confiscated phone and contacted police

Human rights groups are calling for the immediate release of three students given 10-year jail sentences in Cameroon for sharing a joke via text about Boko Haram.

An appeal hearing was due to begin on Thursday in the capital, Yaoundé, but has been postponed until 19 October. The students were found guilty of "non-denunciation of terrorism acts" by a military court on 2 November last year.

Oberhausen in the spotlight: how the 'German Detroit' signals electoral shift

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 11:30 PM PDT

This once-thriving industrial powerhouse is undergoing a political and cultural transformation as the country prepares for federal elections on 24 September

Days away from Germany's federal elections, one city in west Germany is undergoing something of a political transformation, threatening to shift allegiances in what is being seen as a key test of Angela Merkel's popularity.

On the face of it, the city is an unlikely political weather-vane. Nicknamed "Germany's Detroit", Oberhausen in the Ruhr Valley is a place at the tail-end of decades of industrial decline. These days, it is better known for being the former home of Paul the psychic football-loving octopus (of 2010 World Cup fame), Europe's largest shopping centre, and, rather incongruously, the world's most prestigious avant garde short film festival.

How Germany's Russian minority could boost far right

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 09:00 PM PDT

Alternative für Deutschland's courtship of Russian speakers could pay dividends when voters go to the polls this weekend

They are the "invisible" ethnic minority that could help the rightwing populist Alternative für Deutschland become the third biggest party at Germany's federal elections this weekend, yet has been largely ignored by the country's biggest political parties.

An estimated 1.4 million to 4 million native Russian-speakers live in Germany, many of them descendants of 19th-century German emigres who returned and were granted citizenship after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Hate crimes against Metropolitan police up 56% in two years

Posted: 22 Sep 2017 12:57 AM PDT

Figures show more than 700 officers and staff subjected to racist or religious hate crime

The number of police officers and staff in London subjected to racist or religious hate crime has risen by more than 50% in two years, official figures show.

Metropolitan police data shows more than 700 of its staff were the subject to such hate crimes in 2016-17. The offences recorded included harassment, racially or religiously aggravated grievous bodily harm, as well as non-violent offences.

Theresa May to outline UK's Brexit future in vital Florence speech - live updates

Posted: 22 Sep 2017 01:38 AM PDT

Rolling coverage of Theresa May's speech in Florence on Brexit, with reaction and analysis

9.33am BST

This is what the Press Association has filed about Santa Maria Novella, the church in Florence that is reportedly the venue for Theresa May's speech.

Theresa May's crunch speech on Brexit has been billed as Britain's bid to break open deadlocked exit talks which have so far frustrated both sides.

So the grand, Gothic, Santa Maria Novella church in central Florence appears a fitting venue to attempt to heal divides which appear to have deepened since the beginning of tough negotiations in summer.

9.13am BST

Theresa May has given two big speeches on Brexit since she became prime minister. The first, to the Conservative party conference in October last year, signalled that she was heading for a "hard" Brexit and crashed the pound. The second, at Lancaster House in January, outlined 12 Brexit negotiating objectives. It confirmed that May was considering a transition period (or "implementation" period, as she called it), but also said that the UK wanted to leave the single market and the customs union while keeping "tariff-free trade" with the EU that would be "as frictionless as possible". Critics claims that this still amounted to a Johnsonian desire to "have one's cake and eat it".

Since then the government has provided very little further clarity about what it wants, either in regard to the transition or to the UK's ultimate post-Brexit relationship with the EU. Ultimately the UK probably faces a choice between cleaving quite close to the EU, in regulatory terms, or striking out alone. Or "high access, low control" versus "low access, high control", in Brexit jargon. May has not opted decisively for one or the other.

I'm told negotiator EU Michel Barnier is likely to respond within 15 minutes of Theresa May making her big EU speech in Florence tomorrow

US-made bomb killed civilians in Yemen residential building, says Amnesty

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 09:00 PM PDT

Human rights group condemns flow of arms from US, UK and France to Saudi Arabia-led military coalition and used in Yemen

A bomb that destroyed a residential building in Yemen's capital last month, killing 16 civilians and injuring 17 more – including a five-year-old girl called Buthaina whose photograph went viral after the strike – was made in the US, Amnesty International has said.

The assessment was based on an examination of the remnants of the weapon used in the 25 August airstrike.

Sex Dust and vampire repellent: a stroll through Gwyneth Paltrow's new LA store

Posted: 22 Sep 2017 01:00 AM PDT

Visitors to Goop Lab, the first permanent brick-and-mortar store to feature the actor's lifestyle brand, found themselves in something akin to heaven

In the apothecary section, two young women were inspecting shelves with detox kits, Sex Dust, psychic vampire repellent and a shamanic pouch with healing stones that included "the goddess stone" chrysocolla.

In the kitchen area, a mother and her toddler daughter were leafing through coffee table books with titles like Foraged Flora, Sunday Suppers and Dinner Diaries: Reviving the Art of the Hostess.

Mexico earthquake: military criticized over search and rescue missions – as it happened

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 05:28 PM PDT

Armed forces sparked anger by razing collapsed buildings less than 72 hours after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake killed at least 250 people

1.21am BST

•A total of 273 people have died in the 7.1 magnitude earthquake, which struck Mexico on Tuesday. Officials said 1,900 people had been injured, while thousands have lost their homes. Hopes that more survivors would be found were fading on Thursday.

•Parts of Mexico City have been devastated, but the states of Morelos and Puebla were particularly badly hit. The death toll stood at 73 in Morelos, while authorities in Puebla declared a state of "extraordinary emergency" in 112 municipalities – equivalent to 51% of the region.

1.08am BST

The story captivated a country still reeling from catastrophe: rescue workers were labouring round the clock to free a 12-year-old girl who had miraculously survived Mexico's devastating earthquake, but remained trapped in the ruins of her school.

Television channels broadcast breathless updates describing how the rescuers were inching closer to the cavity where Frida Sofía was buried alive.

Malcolm Roberts was dual British and Australian citizen when nominated, judge rules

Posted: 22 Sep 2017 01:39 AM PDT

Justice Patrick Keane says One Nation senator was a UK citizen at the time of his nomination

The high court has ruled One Nation's Malcolm Roberts was a dual British and Australian citizen for six months after he was elected.

Justice Patrick Keane on Friday afternoon ruled Roberts, who believed he had renounced his British citizenship before last year's election, was a citizen of the UK at the time of his nomination.

'A rogue' and a 'dotard': Kim Jong-un's statement on Trump in full

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 11:13 PM PDT

The North Korean leader has upped his rhetoric against the US president, calling him 'mentally-deranged' and a 'gangster'

North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un has once again upped his rhetoric against US president Donald Trump. Here is his statement in full:

"The speech made by the US president in his maiden address on the UN arena in the prevailing serious circumstances, in which the situation on the Korean peninsula has been rendered tense as never before and is inching closer to a touch-and-go state, is arousing worldwide concern.

The 2017 New Zealand general election will always belong to Jacinda Ardern

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 10:54 PM PDT

Beyond the question of who forms the next government, New Zealanders will look back on this election campaign as a turning point

Six weeks ago, New Zealand's election campaign was limping toward a foregone conclusion. The centre-right National party looked a shoo-in for a fourth term (matching the legendary 1960-72 administration of Keith Holyoake), and prime minister Bill English was on track to find redemption (he was party leader when National suffered its worst-ever election defeat in 2002).

The most recent polls suggest that both of these things may well happen. But in every other respect New Zealand's domestic politics have been transformed.

Friday briefing: You need to be creative, May will tell EU

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 10:20 PM PDT

PM plans optimistic pitch to break Brexit deadlock … Kim Jong-un calls Trump a 'mentally deranged dotard' … Corbyn hails 'mainstream' Labour

Good morning everyone and welcome to the Guardian briefing. I'm Martin Farrer and these are the top stories this Friday morning.

'Shocking' short film targets young adults using phone while driving

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 07:50 PM PDT

Academy award winner Eva Orner's film follows five drivers for 10 days, recording every text, call and Snapchat selfie

Academy award winning film-maker Eva Orner has directed the centrepiece of Victoria's latest road safety campaign, targeting young adults who use their mobile phone while driving.

The 22-minute documentary, It's People Like Us, follows five young drivers who allowed Orner to place cameras in their cars for 10 days, recording every moment they looked down to check or send a text, took a call, or, in one case, sent a series of selfies on Snapchat.

Australian road safety film shows rampant mobile phone use – video

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 07:42 PM PDT

For the short film It's People Like Us, commissioned by Victoria's Transport Accident Commission, Academy Award-winning director Eva Orner put dashcams in the cars of five young drivers, which captured shocking footage of their texting, scrolling and calling habits

Frida Sofía, age 12: the Mexico City quake 'survivor' who was never there

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 04:44 PM PDT

The story of a child supposedly alive in the rubble of the Enrique Rebsámen school gripped the country – until it became clear she didn't exist

Television channels broadcast breathless updates describing how the rescuers were inching closer to the cavity where Frida Sofía was buried alive.

How the Caribbean islands are coping after hurricanes Irma and Maria

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 02:04 PM PDT

From Dominica to St Kitts & Nevis, here is the latest update on how each of the affected islands are dealing with cleanup and emergency operations

More than 15 people have died and 20 are missing on Dominica, the first island hit by Maria.

Pet Shop Boys singer and crew member mugged in Rio de Janeiro

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 01:39 PM PDT

Singer Neil Tennant and programmer Pete Gleadall both had mobile phones stolen in area of Brazilian city near Leme Beach

The lead singer of Pet Shop Boys, Neil Tennant, and a crew member have been mugged in Rio de Janeiro, a day after playing the Rock in Rio music festival.

A spokesman for the band, known for songs West End Girls and Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money), said Tennant and the group's long-time programmer, Pete Gleadall, both had their mobile phones stolen.

'We are not safe': aid workers fearful after Red Cross shooting in Afghanistan

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 11:00 PM PDT

Murder of Red Cross physiotherapist Lorena Enebral Perez by wheelchair-bound patient offers new focal point for concern among aid workers

On the morning of 11 September, Lorena Enebral Perez met with a 21-year-old polio patient at a clinic in northern Afghanistan with a simple, gracious task: to help the wheelchair-bound man to walk.

When she approached him, the patient pulled out a pistol and shot her in the chest.

No business, no boozing, no casual sex: when Togo turned off the internet | Mawuna Koutonin

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 06:26 AM PDT

When young people started mobilising online against Togo's president, the state switched off the internet. In the week that followed, people talked more, worked harder and had less sex – all of which proved bad news for the government

On 5 September, at about 10am, the government of Togo cut off the internet. The plan was to limit the threat from a growing number of young people around the country who were mobilising online and talking of toppling the government.

Drone footage shows flooding in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria – video

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 08:33 AM PDT

Video shows the extent of flooding caused by Hurricane Maria in Cataño, Puerto Rico. The third hurricane to pummel the Caribbean in as many weeks, Maria made landfall early on Wednesday morning as a category 4 storm with winds of 155mph

Hurricane Maria leaves Puerto Rico in total blackout as storm batters island

Rescuers continue search for survivors of Mexico earthquake – video

Posted: 21 Sep 2017 03:00 AM PDT

Rescue workers in Mexico City continue to search the precarious ruins of collapsed buildings on Thursday after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck central Mexico on Tuesday. At least 250 people have died and 1,900 have been injured

• Entire towns in Mexico flattened as scale of earthquake damage emerges

Aneka Info

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

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

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