World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk |
- Raqqa: a journey into the destroyed heart of the Islamic State capital
- California wildfires: 10 killed in 'unprecedented' wine country blaze
- Global cost of obesity-related illness to hit $1.2tn a year from 2025
- Actor Romola Garai felt 'violated' after Harvey Weinstein encounter
- Catalonia's president to bring crisis to head in parliament
- Liberia goes to polls to find successor to Africa's first female president
- WPP companies lobbied for NRA – as ad firm claimed to oppose gun violence
- Melania Trump chides 'self-serving' Ivana over first lady claim
- Frankfurt steps up efforts to lure €1tn-a-day euro clearing from UK
- Scientists hope damage to Larsen C ice shelf will reveal ecosystems
- Colombia suspends police officers who fired into crowd, leaving six dead
- Waiver encouraging foreign supply ships to reach Puerto Rico has expired
- Russian operatives spent thousands of dollars on Google ads, source claims
- UN moves staff after mobs kill five in Malawi vampire scare
- Germany: Merkel agrees to 200,000 refugees cap in bid to build coalition
- BAE Systems to cut nearly 2,000 jobs
- Family film their escape from California wildfire: 'even the road is alight' – video
- 'Why would we invest in a disabled person?': fighting bigotry in Mozambique | Lucy Lamble
- Justin Trudeau to meet with Trump in fight for Nafta's future
- Farewell to the fairy palace: are Chinatowns obsolete?
- 'One false move and you're done': how US cities are changing for runaway kids
- Plans for new London concert hall move step closer after architects announced
- The science of spying: how the CIA secretly recruits academics
- Tony Abbott's climate change speech 'loopy', says Labor
- I am Catalan: 'Families are broken, people have fallen out' - video
- Fifty shades of Xi: scores of books praising president published in China
- Jimmy Carter offers to talk peace with North Korea's Kim, says academic
- Tuesday briefing: tackling the weight of the world
- Trump's targeting of the Revolutionary Guards is a step too far for Iran
- 'Some people believe disability is contagious': breaking down barriers in Mozambique – podcast
- Younger farmers and more tractors: Africa needs to scale up, says report
- The 'rape capital of the world'? We women in Congo don't see it that way | Justine Masika Bihamba
- Tensions flare as food rations to refugees slashed by half in Uganda
- Wildfires cause destruction and chaos in California – in pictures
- Rohingya crisis: drone footage shows scale of refugee camp in Bangladesh – video
| Raqqa: a journey into the destroyed heart of the Islamic State capital Posted: 09 Oct 2017 09:00 PM PDT After months of brutal fighting, the battle to retake Raqqa, the self-declared capital of the Islamic State caliphate, is almost over. Scroll down to follow photographer Achilleas Zavallis and reporter Martin Chulov as they journey from the Iraqi border to the wasteland of the frontline of the ancient Syrian city where the few remaining Isis fighters are making their last stand. Continue reading... |
| California wildfires: 10 killed in 'unprecedented' wine country blaze Posted: 09 Oct 2017 06:29 PM PDT Wildfires destroy 1,500 structures and large swaths of northern California wine country as powerful winds fuel 'an inferno like you've never seen before' Ten people have died in northern California after what officials are describing as an "unprecedented" wild fire that has already destroyed 1,500 structures and devastated large swaths of wine country. Amy Head, the fire captain spokesperson for Cal Fire, the state agency responsible for fire protection, confirmed the number of fatalities late on Monday. Continue reading... |
| Global cost of obesity-related illness to hit $1.2tn a year from 2025 Posted: 09 Oct 2017 04:01 PM PDT Health bill will be 'enormous burden' without more preventative measures to check worsening epidemic, say experts The cost of treating ill health caused by obesity around the world will top $1.2tn every year from 2025 unless more is done to check the rapidly worsening epidemic, according to new expert estimates. Obesity and smoking are the two main drivers behind the soaring numbers of cancers, heart attacks, strokes and diabetes worldwide, grouped together officially as non-communicable diseases. They are the biggest killers of the modern world. Continue reading... |
| Actor Romola Garai felt 'violated' after Harvey Weinstein encounter Posted: 09 Oct 2017 11:56 PM PDT Exclusive: British star adds to allegations against film mogul, describing encounter in which he wore only a dressing gown Harvey Weinstein auditioned an 18-year-old Romola Garai while wearing only a dressing gown in an encounter at the Savoy Hotel that the British actor described as humiliating and "an abuse of power". Related: Donna Karan defends Harvey Weinstein: 'Are women asking for it?' Continue reading... |
| Catalonia's president to bring crisis to head in parliament Posted: 10 Oct 2017 12:42 AM PDT Spain awaits Carles Puigdemont's first address to region's MPs since referendum, to see whether he declares independence Spain's worst political crisis in four decades is set to come to a head on Tuesday when the Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, reveals his plans for independence as he addresses the regional parliament for the first time since the referendum that provoked the standoff with the Spanish government. Although Puigdemont had originally promised to make a unilateral declaration of independence within 48 hours of a victory for the secessionist campaign, he has so far held off doing so, calling instead for mediated negotiations with the Madrid government. |
| Liberia goes to polls to find successor to Africa's first female president Posted: 10 Oct 2017 02:15 AM PDT Candidates to replace Ellen Johnson Sirleaf include Prince Johnson, a former rebel leader who ordered killing of ex-president At midnight on Sunday, as Liberia prepared to vote for the successor to Africa's first female president, a rebel warlord arrived at his Monrovia residence, where a pair of menacing cement lions greeted him. Prince Johnson, the former rebel leader who ordered the murder of President Samuel Doe in 1990 – and filmed himself drinking beer as he watched Doe's ear being chopped off – had just wrapped up his presidential campaign in his countryside strongholds in north-east Nimba. Continue reading... |
| WPP companies lobbied for NRA – as ad firm claimed to oppose gun violence Posted: 09 Oct 2017 07:35 AM PDT UK multinational has been one of US pro-gun group's key political advocates, its firms collecting $1.46m in fees since 2007 The British advertising and public relations company WPP has been one of the National Rifle Association's most important political advocates in the last decade, with companies it owns collecting $1.46m (£1.1m) in lobbying fees since 2007 to further the US pro-gun group's agenda. At the same time as companies owned by WPP helped the NRA block gun control legislation in Washington, WPP sought to portray itself as being opposed to gun violence. A sustainability report on its website points to a 2013 pro gun-control advert that one of its advertising companies produced pro bono as part of WPP's human rights work. Continue reading... |
| Melania Trump chides 'self-serving' Ivana over first lady claim Posted: 09 Oct 2017 01:35 PM PDT After Donald Trump's first wife jokingly called herself the first lady during a book tour, a Melania Trump spokeswoman accuses her of seeking attention Melania Trump has accused her husband's first wife, Ivana Trump, of "attention-seeking and self-serving noise" after the first Mrs Trump joked that she was first lady. Continue reading... |
| Frankfurt steps up efforts to lure €1tn-a-day euro clearing from UK Posted: 09 Oct 2017 08:32 AM PDT Deutsche Börse seeks to capitalise on fears over London's post-Brexit position by launching profit-sharing scheme London's dominance of the €1tn-a-day (£890bn) euro clearing market is facing a new threat after the Frankfurt stock exchange announced a plan designed to lure the lucrative business from the City as a result of the Brexit vote. Clearing is at the heart of the financial system and has become a key issue since the referendum as the majority of transactions denominated in euros are handled through London. Continue reading... |
| Scientists hope damage to Larsen C ice shelf will reveal ecosystems Posted: 09 Oct 2017 03:41 PM PDT British Antarctic Survey researchers will study area opened up by loss of iceberg A68, which has been hidden for up to 120,000 years A team of scientists is planning an expedition to examine the marine ecosystem revealed when an enormous iceberg broke off the Larsen C ice shelf earlier this year. In July, the iceberg known as A68 broke off the shelf, leaving the area at its lowest recorded extent. Researchers are now hoping the event may lead to novel revelations from their investigations of the area opened up, which had been hidden under ice for up to 120,000 years. Continue reading... |
| Colombia suspends police officers who fired into crowd, leaving six dead Posted: 09 Oct 2017 11:49 AM PDT
Colombia's police force has suspended four officers who fired into a crowd of protesters in a confused incident that left at least six farmers dead and 20 others wounded in the south-western region of Tumaco. The move comes a day after police in the area fired into the air and launched stun grenades against a humanitarian commission made up of human rights activists and local journalists as they attempted to reach the remote site of the killings. Continue reading... |
| Waiver encouraging foreign supply ships to reach Puerto Rico has expired Posted: 09 Oct 2017 01:40 PM PDT Trump's Jones Act waiver won't be renewed, Department of Homeland Security confirms, with tariffs once again driving up price of supplies A waiver enabling foreign ships to deliver supplies to storm-ravaged Puerto Rico has expired and will not be renewed, it was confirmed on Monday, dealing a fresh blow to the US territory as it struggles to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. In the wake of the hurricane, millions of Americans have been without access to clean water, electricity, fuel and medicines. Donald Trump, who initially came under fire for being slow in his response to the crisis in Puerto Rico, temporarily waived the Jones Act – a 1920 law stating that all goods sent between US ports be carried on ships built, owned and operated by the US – on 28 September. Continue reading... |
| Russian operatives spent thousands of dollars on Google ads, source claims Posted: 09 Oct 2017 10:00 AM PDT As congressional investigations deepen, an anonymous source at the company tells Reuters that ads were purchased in order to meddle in the 2016 election Google has discovered Russian operatives spent tens of thousands of dollars on ads on its YouTube, Gmail and Google Search products in an effort to meddle in the 2016 US presidential election, a person briefed on the company's investigation told Reuters on Monday. The ads do not appear to be from the same Kremlin-affiliated entity that bought ads on Facebook, but may indicate a broader Russian online disinformation effort, according to the source, who was not authorized to discuss details of Google's confidential investigation. Continue reading... |
| UN moves staff after mobs kill five in Malawi vampire scare Posted: 09 Oct 2017 11:17 AM PDT
The United Nations has pulled staff out of two districts in southern Malawi where a vampire scare has triggered mob violence in which at least five people have been killed. Belief in witchcraft is widespread in rural Malawi, one of the world's poorest countries, where many aid agencies and NGOs work. A spate of vigilante violence linked to vampire rumours also erupted in Malawi in 2002. Continue reading... |
| Germany: Merkel agrees to 200,000 refugees cap in bid to build coalition Posted: 09 Oct 2017 03:59 AM PDT Chancellor, who won fourth term in last month's elections, makes concession to CSU sister party to overcome first hurdle Angela Merkel has agreed to cap the number of refugees Germany accepts at 200,000 annually in a concession to her conservative Bavarian allies that has overcome the first hurdle to coalition talks with other parties. The Christian Social Union (CSU), sister party to the German chancellor's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has long pushed for a ceiling on the number of refugees but Merkel had resisted such a position. Continue reading... |
| BAE Systems to cut nearly 2,000 jobs Posted: 10 Oct 2017 02:23 AM PDT Defence contractor deals huge blow to UK manufacturing sector that follows lack of orders for its Eurofighter Typhoon jet Britain's biggest defence contractor, BAE Systems, is to cut nearly 2,000 jobs in a significant blow to the UK manufacturing sector. The company, which makes the Eurofighter Typhoon jet and Britain's nuclear submarines, said up to 1,400 jobs would go at its military, air and information business, along with a further 375 in maritime services and 150 at its applied intelligence business. Continue reading... |
| Family film their escape from California wildfire: 'even the road is alight' – video Posted: 10 Oct 2017 02:20 AM PDT A family from Kenwood, Sonoma County, film their escape from a wildfire, driving along a road surrounded by flames and burning embers. Wildfires raging in California's wine region have claimed 10 lives and destroyed 1,500 structures. A state of emergency has been declared in Sonoma and seven other counties Continue reading... |
| 'Why would we invest in a disabled person?': fighting bigotry in Mozambique | Lucy Lamble Posted: 10 Oct 2017 02:00 AM PDT In poorer countries, more than 80% of people with disabilities are unemployed and struggling to survive. A training scheme is helping break down barriers At 21, Mateus Mbazo from Sofala province in Mozambique faced a stark choice: starve or steal. Recently orphaned, with disabilities on his right side affecting his arm and leg, Mbazo had to feed himself and his two younger brothers. He had missed out on schooling, and getting a job to earn even a meagre sum was a difficult task so a life as a petty thief seemed the only option. At his church that he heard about an initiative that would change his life: a programme offering training for people with disabilities. Continue reading... |
| Justin Trudeau to meet with Trump in fight for Nafta's future Posted: 10 Oct 2017 02:00 AM PDT Amid fears that Nafta talks will collapse, Canada's prime minister is headed to Washington this week: 'He wants to sit down and look the president in the eye' When Justin Trudeau first met Donald Trump, many highlighted their differences; one had campaigned on protectionism while the other championed trade. And while Trump had blasted Mexicans throughout his campaign to become president, Trudeau had sought out closer relations with the country. Eight months later Canada's prime minister is again readying to meet Trump. This time, however, concerns that Trump will follow through on his promises – from building a wall along the country's southern border to slapping punitive duties on imports – seem like less of a distant possibility. |
| Farewell to the fairy palace: are Chinatowns obsolete? Posted: 09 Oct 2017 11:30 PM PDT As they migrated around the world, many Chinese people responded to prejudice by developing parallel civic societies. But in globalising and multicultural cities, does that strategy still make sense? When we were young, my sister and I were members of Vancouver Chinatown's traditional dance troupe. Dressed as peacocks and tea pickers complete with swirling ribbons or painted fans, we were joyful and colourful ornaments in a neighbourhood that, in the early 1980s, was impoverished but proudly vibrant. My family had arrived in Canada, via Hong Kong and Malaysia, in 1974. My parents worked multiple jobs and sent us to school on the edges of Chinatown. Daily Chinese classes failed to dent our English selves – we refused to speak Cantonese, except to order food when, briefly and miraculously, we became fluent. For my parents, the Chinatown enclave was both a magical kingdom and a refuge, perhaps the only place they could forget their worries for a while. Continue reading... |
| 'One false move and you're done': how US cities are changing for runaway kids Posted: 09 Oct 2017 03:59 AM PDT Runaway youth have always fled to cities – but they now find themselves adrift in much costlier cities, where even the fully employed are barely scraping by The first thing Zach Hicks did after he was run over in Roanoke, Virginia, was to write a Facebook post. He kept it simple: "I just got ran over by a truck." The first commenter was his mother, hundreds of miles away in the midwest, who also kept it simple: "WTF!?!?!?!?" He was retrieving a dog, Sobaka, that he'd been given by a band of Hell's Angels. The dog had bolted and was cowering beneath an 18-wheeler truck. Against his better judgment, Hicks crawled under to pull Sobaka out, and was hit. Continue reading... |
| Plans for new London concert hall move step closer after architects announced Posted: 10 Oct 2017 02:00 AM PDT New York firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro chosen from six-strong shortlist, and will work to submit a design for the building by December 2018 The dream of building a new City of London concert hall and home for Sir Simon Rattle's London Symphony Orchestra has taken an important step forward with the appointment of New York architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro. The practice, founded by Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio in 1979, has an impressive list of major cultural projects to its name including the High Line park in New York, the vast 10-year project to redesign the city's Lincoln Center and the Broad museum of contemporary art in Los Angeles. Continue reading... |
| The science of spying: how the CIA secretly recruits academics Posted: 09 Oct 2017 10:00 PM PDT In order to tempt nuclear scientists from countries such as Iran or North Korea to defect, US spy agencies routinely send agents to academic conferences – or even host their own fake ones. By Daniel Golden The CIA agent tapped softly on the hotel room door. After the keynote speeches, panel discussions and dinner, the conference attendees had retired for the night. Audio and visual surveillance of the room showed that the nuclear scientist's minders from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were sleeping, but he was still awake. Sure enough, he opened the door, alone. According to a person familiar with this encounter, which took place about a decade ago, the agency had been preparing it for months. Through a business front, it had funded and staged the conference at an unsuspecting foreign centre of scientific research, invited speakers and guests, and planted operatives among the kitchen workers and other staff, just so it could entice the nuclear expert out of Iran, separate him for a few minutes from his guards, and pitch him one-to-one. A last-minute snag had almost derailed the plans: the target switched hotels because the conference's preferred hotel cost $75 more than his superiors in Iran were willing to spend. Continue reading... |
| Tony Abbott's climate change speech 'loopy', says Labor Posted: 10 Oct 2017 01:52 AM PDT Tanya Plibersek says Abbott's speech to climate sceptics in London was 'actually just weird stuff' Tony Abbott has "left the realm of the merely destructive and entered the realm of the loopy", Labor says, after his provocative speech arguing climate change was "probably doing good". The deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek said on Tuesday Abbott's speech to a group of climate sceptics in London was "actually just weird stuff from the former prime minister" at a time when the government was trying to settle its energy policy. Continue reading... |
| I am Catalan: 'Families are broken, people have fallen out' - video Posted: 10 Oct 2017 12:00 AM PDT While the north-eastern Spanish region prepares for the potential declaration of independence, we went to Catalonia to hear from people worried that the mainstream media are not representing their voices. The second of our video series looks at the perspective of Barcelona-born filmmaker Isabel Coixet, who sees flags dividing the Catalonian people and families being broken apart because of the debate on independence. Follow the series here. Continue reading... |
| Fifty shades of Xi: scores of books praising president published in China Posted: 09 Oct 2017 10:59 PM PDT Blitz on bookshelves comes ahead of next week's political summit and includes tomes including Xi Jinping: Know More, Love More "This is the first book I've read on Xi," admits software engineer Wu Huifeng as he leafs through one of the latest tomes of China's prolific president. It need not be his last. |
| Jimmy Carter offers to talk peace with North Korea's Kim, says academic Posted: 09 Oct 2017 10:52 PM PDT In an intervention likely to irritate Donald Trump, former US president says he is willing to travel to Pyongyang to discuss a treaty Jimmy Carter has reportedly said he is willing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in a bid to defuse tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programmes, and bring "permanent peace" to the Korean peninsula. In an intervention that is likely to irritate Donald Trump, the 93-year-old former president told a South Korean academic that he was willing to travel to the North Korean capital if it meant preventing war. Continue reading... |
| Tuesday briefing: tackling the weight of the world Posted: 09 Oct 2017 10:34 PM PDT Fears global health systems will not cope … Donna Karan sparks outcry with Weinstein defence … Mail will deliver election victory, Thatcher told Good morning, Graham Russell here to give you today's headlines. Continue reading... |
| Trump's targeting of the Revolutionary Guards is a step too far for Iran Posted: 09 Oct 2017 10:00 PM PDT Tehran has promised crushing response if US president makes 'strategic mistake' of listing elite force as terrorist entity In the 11 months since Donald Trump's election, Tehran has been at pains to avoid kneejerk reactions. In a country of a thousand Friday prayer podiums, the measured responses to the US president's pronouncements on Iranian activities have revealed much effort behind the scenes to grapple with changed circumstances. But Tehran's response this week to reports that the US is working to designate the Revolutionary Guards a terrorist group is an indication that there is a limit to its patience. It is also ratcheting up tensions in an already tense week, which could lead to the undoing of the 2015 nuclear deal. |
| 'Some people believe disability is contagious': breaking down barriers in Mozambique – podcast Posted: 10 Oct 2017 02:00 AM PDT From school to the workplace, people with disabilities in Mozambique face stigma and discrimination. They are far less likely to be educated and can find it impossible to get into work. Lucy Lamble travels to Sofala province to see how a new initiative is opening up opportunities and transforming lives Subscribe and review: iTunes and Soundcloud, and join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter In Mozambique, as in many developing countries, people with disabilities face extra challenges from the start. At least half of the world's 65 million school-age children with disabilities are not in primary or lower secondary school; between 80–90% of disabled adults are unemployed. Continue reading... |
| Younger farmers and more tractors: Africa needs to scale up, says report Posted: 09 Oct 2017 11:00 PM PDT With Africa's population set to double by 2050, economists say the continent must ditch traditional farming methods in favour of modern technology African farming must modernise and replace its ageing workforce if the continent is going to be able to feed its rising population, a report by leading economists has warned. A transformation from small-scale subsistence farms to mechanised, more commercially viable farms is essential, said experts at the Ghana-based African Centre for Economic Transformation, who outlined a bold plan to revolutionise agriculture and fuel economic growth in a report launched Tuesday at an African finance ministers meeting at the World Bank and backed by former UN secretary general Kofi Annan. Continue reading... |
| The 'rape capital of the world'? We women in Congo don't see it that way | Justine Masika Bihamba Posted: 09 Oct 2017 07:16 AM PDT Congo is a nation of sisterhood and solidarity. We are changing our country from within, risking our lives to speak out and taking up the political fight against sexual violence – rather than just taking notes while men speak I grew up in Goma, near the eastern border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a country where sexual violence is notoriously widespread. But we do not see ourselves as the "rape capital of the world". Instead, I agree with Liberia's Nobel Prize laureate Leymah Gbowee, who called my nation "the world capital of sisterhood and solidarity". Congolese women have decided to take our future into our own hands. We have few resources but we have an enormous amount of know-how. |
| Tensions flare as food rations to refugees slashed by half in Uganda Posted: 09 Oct 2017 05:23 AM PDT World Food Programme forced to cut grain handouts as lack of funding and sheer number of people fleeing South Sudan's conflict leave agencies overwhelmed The flood of people fleeing South Sudan, coupled with delays and constraints on funding, has lead to food rations to refugees being slashed by half. According to agencies working on the ground in Uganda, where most of the refugees have been arriving from the conflict across the border, food supply lines are being shut down and distribution of aid becoming increasing irregular. Continue reading... |
| Wildfires cause destruction and chaos in California – in pictures Posted: 09 Oct 2017 04:29 PM PDT At least one person has been killed and two others seriously injured as multiple wind-driven fires continue to ravage northern California, burning structures and causing widespread evacuations Continue reading... |
| Rohingya crisis: drone footage shows scale of refugee camp in Bangladesh – video Posted: 09 Oct 2017 04:37 AM PDT Aerial video shows the sprawling spread of makeshift tents and shacks at the Balukhali refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Released by the Disasters Emergency Committee, the video was shot across several days in October. The arrival of more than half a million Rohingya Muslims from Buddhist-dominated Myanmar since 25 August has put an immense strain on camps in Bangladesh, where there are growing fears of a disease epidemic • Myanmar treatment of Rohingya looks like 'textbook ethnic cleansing', says UN Continue reading... |
| You are subscribed to email updates from World news | The Guardian. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
Posting Komentar