World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk |
- ‘The situation is desperate’: murdered Maltese journalist’s final written words
- Man Booker prize goes to second American author in a row
- Kurdish forces abandon long-held lands to Iraqi army and Shia fighters
- Somalia bombing may have been revenge for botched US-led operation
- Hawaii judge blocks latest Trump travel ban with hours to spare
- Reese Witherspoon alleges sexual assault by director when she was 16
- Small fortune: Trump plummets 92 places in Forbes' American rich list
- Russian troll factory paid US activists to help fund protests during election
- Wave of Taliban suicide attacks on Afghan forces kills at least 74
- Trump: 'Ask General Kelly' if Obama called after son died in Afghanistan
- Bob Weinstein accused of inappropriate behavior by female TV producer
- Letter from ex-PM about jailed British-Iranian woman 'proves government links'
- Raqqa recaptured from Islamic State by US-backed forces
- Israel will not negotiate with Palestinian unity government if Hamas is involved
- Asp – or ash? Climate historians link Cleopatra's demise to volcanic eruption
- Files reveal US had detailed knowledge of Indonesia's anti-communist purge
- US civic groups urge Amazon tax pledge: 'We expect you to pay your fair share'
- Alphabet tests Project Wing drones by delivering burritos and medicine
- ‘Men qutida yashashni istamayman’: Odamlar Toshkent obod bo’lishi uchun o’z uyidan ko’chirilmoqda
- Tashkent City: is 'progress' worth the price being paid in Uzbekistan?
- 'Electrical hot chairs' and radon douches: Soviet-era sanatoriums of the Stans
- Liberation day: the artists fighting the power of the market – and the internet
- Company director 'faked his own death' to avoid disqualification
- George Soros gives $18bn to his charitable foundation
- Kenya election official flees country and claims presidential vote will not be free
- American hostage rescued with family from Afghanistan admitted to hospital
- China's 19th Communist party congress – in pictures
- Peter Dutton's citizenship bill fails after Senate ultimatum
- Back from the dead: China's internet goes wild over youthful Jiang Zemin
- Be in no doubt, Xi Jinping wants to make China great again
- Xi Jinping speech: five things you need to know
- Wednesday briefing: Children harmed by seeing parents drunk
- Australian governments warned they could be buying supplies made by slave labour
- Xi Jinping heralds 'new era' of Chinese power at Communist party congress
- Rohingya crisis: Amnesty accuses Myanmar of crimes against humanity
- French music magazine puts Bertrand Cantat, who murdered girlfriend, on cover
- Preatures singer Isabella Manfredi says she was harassed by music label head
- 'No deaths in childbirth, no violence against women': UN population chief takes fight to the boardroom | Liz Ford
- 'I lived in fear': the Nepalese official who was sold as a slave at 10 years old | Kate Hodal
- 'Fewer people will be freed': Brazil accused of easing anti-slavery rules
- True scale of UK slavery likely to involve ‘tens of thousands' of victims
- 'The president sleeps with one eye open': Mugabe reshuffles as power games begin
- A day in the life of Times Square in New York – in pictures
- Hillary Clinton says threats to North Korea 'dangerous, short-sighted' – video
- John McCain criticises 'spurious nationalism' in Liberty Medal speech – video
- My home, ruined in the Mexico earthquake – in pictures
- Drone footage shows Rohingya refugees entering Bangladesh – video
| ‘The situation is desperate’: murdered Maltese journalist’s final written words Posted: 17 Oct 2017 10:59 AM PDT It seems that Daphne Caruana Galizia's enemies finally decided that her courageous journalism needed to be silenced In her last blogpost, published the day she died, Daphne Caruana Galizia signed off with a sentence that seems particularly chilling now. "There are crooks everywhere you look. The situation is desperate." Continue reading... |
| Man Booker prize goes to second American author in a row Posted: 17 Oct 2017 01:48 PM PDT George Saunders' Lincoln in the Bardo described as 'unique' and 'extraordinary' by head of 2017 judging panel The American short story writer George Saunders has won the Man Booker prize for his first full-length novel, Lincoln in the Bardo. The book is based around a real event: the night in 1862 when Abraham Lincoln buried his 11-year-old son Willie in a Washington cemetery. Imagining the boy trapped in the Bardo – a Tibetan Buddhist term for a kind of limbo – Saunders' novel follows the fellow dead, also trapped in the graveyard and unwilling to accept death, who observe the boy as he desperately waits for his father to return. Continue reading... |
| Kurdish forces abandon long-held lands to Iraqi army and Shia fighters Posted: 17 Oct 2017 03:13 PM PDT Fall of Kirkuk a day before gave impetus to capitulation across northern Iraq, with Baghdad-backed forces facing no resistance Kurdish forces have abandoned lands they had controlled since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, allowing Iraqi troops to move into disputed areas that had been central to hopes for an independent Kurdistan with expanded borders. In a stunning collapse, peshmerga units loyal to the de facto Kurdish president, Massoud Barzani, pulled out of the towns of Bashiqa, Khanaqin and Sinjar less than a day after surrendering the city of Kirkuk to the Iraqi military and allied Shia forces. Continue reading... |
| Somalia bombing may have been revenge for botched US-led operation Posted: 17 Oct 2017 09:46 AM PDT Officials investigating attack that killed more than 300 people believe the bomber may have been motivated by desire for revenge for a raid in August The man who killed more than 300 people with a truck bomb in the centre of Mogadishu on Saturday was a former soldier in Somalia's army whose home town was raided by local troops and US special forces two months ago in a controversial operation in which 10 civilians were killed, officials in Somalia have said. The death toll from the bombing now stands at more than 300, making it one of the most devastating terrorist attacks anywhere in the world for many years. On Tuesday remains of victims were still being brought out of rubble spread over hundreds of square metres. Continue reading... |
| Hawaii judge blocks latest Trump travel ban with hours to spare Posted: 18 Oct 2017 12:40 AM PDT Derrick Watson grants state's request to temporarily prevent federal enforcement of the most recent batch of restrictions A judge in Hawaii has blocked the latest version of the Trump administration travel ban just hours before it was set to take effect, saying that it "suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor". Derrick Watson, a US district judge, on Tuesday granted Hawaii's request to temporarily block the federal government from enforcing the policy. It was supposed to take effect at midnight EDT Wednesday. Continue reading... |
| Reese Witherspoon alleges sexual assault by director when she was 16 Posted: 17 Oct 2017 06:15 AM PDT Actor says that agents and producers told her to remain silent about the incident, which she says was the first of many experiences of sexual assault and harassment throughout her career Reese Witherspoon has alleged that she was sexually assaulted by a director when she was 16, but was told to remain silent by agents and producers. The actor made the claims during a speech reflecting on the problems faced by women in the film industry at the Elle Women in Hollywood event on Monday, People reports. Witherspoon did not name the director in question but said that the incident was the first of many experiences of "harassment and sexual assault" throughout her career. Continue reading... |
| Small fortune: Trump plummets 92 places in Forbes' American rich list Posted: 17 Oct 2017 11:57 AM PDT
Donald Trump has dropped 92 places in the Forbes list of wealthiest Americans, with the magazine putting his wealth at $3.1bn, down from $3.7bn last year. Related: Trump tax plan for 'average Americans' would mainly help richest 1%, study finds Continue reading... |
| Russian troll factory paid US activists to help fund protests during election Posted: 17 Oct 2017 09:13 AM PDT
Russian trolls posing as Americans made payments to genuine activists in the US to help fund protest movements on socially divisive issues, according to a new investigation by a respected Russian media outlet. On Tuesday, the newspaper RBC published a major investigation into the work of a so-called Russian "troll factory" since 2015, including during the period of the US election campaign, disclosures that are likely to put further spotlight on alleged Russian meddling in the election. Continue reading... |
| Wave of Taliban suicide attacks on Afghan forces kills at least 74 Posted: 17 Oct 2017 08:49 AM PDT Police officers and civilians are killed as bombers and gunmen target government facilities in south, east and west of country At least 74 people have been killed in a wave of Taliban suicide attacks targeting police compounds and government facilities in the south, east and west of Afghanistan. Among those killed was a provincial police chief. Scores of people, including police officers and civilians, were also wounded. Continue reading... |
| Trump: 'Ask General Kelly' if Obama called after son died in Afghanistan Posted: 17 Oct 2017 02:15 PM PDT
Donald Trump on Tuesday doubled down on his claim that Barack Obama did not routinely call the families of servicemen and women killed in battle. He also warned John McCain, a decorated war hero with whom he has clashed before, that he might "fight back" after the senator said America's "leadership and ideals are absent". Related: Half-baked, spurious nationalism is unpatriotic | John McCain Continue reading... |
| Bob Weinstein accused of inappropriate behavior by female TV producer Posted: 17 Oct 2017 02:20 PM PDT Weinstein denies claim by Amanda Segel, a showrunner for Spike TV's The Mist, who says he made unwanted advances despite her multiple refusals Bob Weinstein on Tuesday denied an accusation that he made unwanted advances toward a female showrunner working for the Weinstein Company last year. The showrunner, Amanda Segel, is an executive producer on Spike TV's The Mist. Segel claims that beginning last summer, Weinstein repeatedly asked her to dine alone with him and made romantic overtures despite her multiple refusals, according to Variety. Continue reading... |
| Letter from ex-PM about jailed British-Iranian woman 'proves government links' Posted: 17 Oct 2017 11:13 AM PDT Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, Iran's prosecutor general, says letter from David Cameron asking for release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe shows links to UK government Tehran's prosecutor general has said that a letter from David Cameron pleading for the release of a British-Iranian woman serving a five-year jail term in Iran on charges relating to national security was "confirmation that she had links with the UK government". In his first explicit comments spelling out reasons for Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's arrest in April 2016, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said on Tuesday that her arrest was important to the British establishment. Continue reading... |
| Raqqa recaptured from Islamic State by US-backed forces Posted: 17 Oct 2017 09:44 AM PDT Syrian Democratic Forces say military operations have ended after gruelling four-month battle for de facto Isis capital The Syrian city of Raqqa, once de facto capital of the Islamic State's self-declared caliphate, has fallen to US-backed forces after a gruelling four-month battle. The recapture of Raqqa after three years of Isis rule is a symbolic loss to the terrorist group, which is under intense pressure in Syria and neighbouring Iraq, forced into a strip of the Euphrates valley and surrounding desert between the two countries. Continue reading... |
| Israel will not negotiate with Palestinian unity government if Hamas is involved Posted: 17 Oct 2017 11:01 AM PDT Benjamin Netanyahu to refuse diplomatic talks involving Hamas, complicating its efforts to end decade-long split with Fatah Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, will refuse any diplomatic talks with an emerging Palestinian unity government if the Hamas militant group plays any role within it. In a statement released on Tuesday evening, Netanyahu's security cabinet set out a series of conditions which appeared to complicate Egypt-sponsored efforts to end a decade-long split between Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement, which rules in the West Bank, and the Islamist group Hamas, which has been in control of Gaza. Continue reading... |
| Asp – or ash? Climate historians link Cleopatra's demise to volcanic eruption Posted: 17 Oct 2017 10:21 AM PDT Study of ice-core records and Ancient Egyptian documents suggests environmental forces helped seal the last Ptolemaic ruler's fate in 30BC The fall of Cleopatra's Egypt to Augustus, the first Roman emperor, is usually told as a melodramatic power struggle between elites on the world stage. Cleopatra famously forged a doomed political alliance with the Roman general Mark Antony, who was also her lover. But when their combined forces were defeated at the battle of Actium, the pair killed themselves and Egypt became a province of the newly formed Roman empire. Continue reading... |
| Files reveal US had detailed knowledge of Indonesia's anti-communist purge Posted: 17 Oct 2017 10:30 AM PDT
Declassified files have revealed new details of US government knowledge of and support for an Indonesian army extermination campaign that killed several hundred thousand civilians during anti-communist hysteria in the mid-1960s. The thousands of files from the US embassy in Jakarta covering 1963-66 were made public on Tuesday after a declassification review that began under the Obama administration. Continue reading... |
| US civic groups urge Amazon tax pledge: 'We expect you to pay your fair share' Posted: 17 Oct 2017 08:43 AM PDT
As US cities throw billions in tax breaks and build war rooms to strategize on how best to lure Amazon to their city, civic leaders on Tuesday called on the tech giant to pay its fair share. Related: If tech firms push the law to the limit, is that such a bad thing? | Alex Hern Continue reading... |
| Alphabet tests Project Wing drones by delivering burritos and medicine Posted: 17 Oct 2017 08:16 AM PDT Google's parent company drops takeaway food and also medication into back gardens in rural Australia as project enters new phase Google parent Alphabet has begun a new phase of testing its hybrid drones, dubbed Project Wing, by delivering burritos and medication to customers in rural Australia in a partnership with taqueria Guzman y Gomez and pharmacist Chemist Warehouse. In a blogpost, Project Wing's co-lead James Ryan Burgess wrote: "This fall we've been testing in a rural community on the border of the [Australian Capital Territory] and [New South Wales] and tackling an entirely different level of operational complexity: making deliveries directly to people's yards." Continue reading... |
| ‘Men qutida yashashni istamayman’: Odamlar Toshkent obod bo’lishi uchun o’z uyidan ko’chirilmoqda Posted: 17 Oct 2017 11:53 PM PDT Toshklent-Sitida hashamatli mehmonxonalar, xonadonlar va ofislar joylashadigan kumushrang osmono'par binolarni qurishdan maqsad O'zbekiston poytaxtini 'bizners uchun ochiq' deb e'lon qilishdir. Biroq taraqqiyot shaharning tarixiy mahallalarida yashovchi aholi uchun qimmatga tushadi Abdujalil Azimov stulda o'tirib olib, radiopriyomknigidan o'zbek estrada qo'shig'ini tinglamoqda, uning qo'ylari esa kunbotar payti O'zbekiston poytaxti Toshkent shahri markazidagi maysazorda bemalol o'tlab yuribdi. Old tarafda muhtasham yangi xonadonlardan iborat ko'zni qamashtiruvchi oq marmar uylar qad rostlagan. Azimovning ort tarafida Olmazor mahallasi, uning betartib qurib tashlangan paxsa uylari ko'zga tashlanadi. Bu uylar bir vaqtlar Buyuq ipak yo'li manzillaridan biri bo'lgan Markaziy Osiyo shahrining ko'hna tarixini gavdalantirardi. Continue reading... |
| Tashkent City: is 'progress' worth the price being paid in Uzbekistan? Posted: 17 Oct 2017 11:30 PM PDT The silver skyscrapers of Tashkent City are intended to declare Uzbekistan's capital 'open for business'. But for the residents of the historic mahalla districts, the cost is extreme Abdujalil Azimov sits on a stool listening to Uzbek pop on a transistor radio as his sheep graze contentedly in the evening sunshine on a strip of grass in the centre of Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. In front rises a line of gleaming white marble blocks containing opulent new flats. Behind him sprawls Olmazor, a centuries-old higgledy piggledy settlement of wattle-and-daub houses that harks back to the ancient history of this central Asian city that was once a pitstop on the Silk Road. Continue reading... |
| 'Electrical hot chairs' and radon douches: Soviet-era sanatoriums of the Stans Posted: 17 Oct 2017 11:00 PM PDT Visiting a Soviet-era sanatorium is like stepping back in time: fragments of decades-old wallpaper stubbornly cling to walls, colourful mosaics glorify workers, and food comes in more shades of beige than you ever thought possible
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| Liberation day: the artists fighting the power of the market – and the internet Posted: 17 Oct 2017 10:48 AM PDT Hito Steyerl is at war with the commodification of art and the corrupting power of the market. What's she fighting them with? Manure. Meet the new wave of artists asking us to reconsider everything from the web to war Why make art when buyers treat works as an alternative currency, hiding them away like bullion bars in storage facilities? Can anything be done about questionable corporations and oppressive regimes using contemporary art to generate a spot of positive PR for themselves? And what links can be made between fuzzy surveillance images and abstract art? Hito Steyerl's new book, Duty Free Art: Art in the Age of Planetary Civil War, poses uncomfortable questions about today's image culture and the art market. In it, the artist and film-maker builds up a picture of sickly interdependence, following a trail that stretches from battleground to bank vault to biennale and back again. Continue reading... |
| Company director 'faked his own death' to avoid disqualification Posted: 17 Oct 2017 03:13 PM PDT 'Friend' of Bradley Silver, disqualified from acting as director over sham company, tells Insolvency Service that he took his own life A director faked his own death in an effort to avoid disqualification from running companies, the Insolvency Service has said. Bradley Trevor Silver, also known as Bradley Silva, is still being sought by the government agency after its lawyers were told he had taken his own life. Continue reading... |
| George Soros gives $18bn to his charitable foundation Posted: 18 Oct 2017 02:16 AM PDT Hungary-born financier's donation makes his Open Society Foundations the third largest charitable foundation in the world The financier George Soros has transferred about $18bn (£13.7bn) to his human rights foundation, bringing his lifetime giving to $32bn and making the foundation one of the world's largest. The donation makes Soros's Open Society Foundations the third largest charitable foundation in the world, behind the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation and the Wellcome Trust. Continue reading... |
| Kenya election official flees country and claims presidential vote will not be free Posted: 18 Oct 2017 12:48 AM PDT Roselyn Akombe issues statement from New York saying election scheduled for 26 October cannot be free and fair A top Kenyan electoral official has resigned and fled the country, saying the presidential vote in eight days' time cannot be credible. Roselyn Akombe quit as a commissioner of Kenya's electoral board by issuing a statement from New York saying the rerun of the presidential election scheduled for 26 October cannot be free and fair. Continue reading... |
| American hostage rescued with family from Afghanistan admitted to hospital Posted: 17 Oct 2017 08:02 PM PDT Caitlan Coleman 'has been through hell', says her husband Joshua Boyle, without explaining why she needs treatment An American woman who was rescued with her family last week by Pakistani troops has been rushed to hospital, her husband said. Joshua Boyle told the Associated Press in an email that his wife, Caitlan Coleman, was admitted on Monday. His email did not specify why she was taken to the hospital. Continue reading... |
| China's 19th Communist party congress – in pictures Posted: 18 Oct 2017 02:08 AM PDT The Chinese Communist party congress has opened in Beijing. The conference is a key meeting held every five years where President Xi Jinping is expected to receive a second term as the ruling Communist party leader. Delegates travel from around China to attend and people tune in all across the country Continue reading... |
| Peter Dutton's citizenship bill fails after Senate ultimatum Posted: 18 Oct 2017 01:38 AM PDT Changes include quadrupling the time people must wait for citizenship, but will not now be debated in their current form Peter Dutton's controversial citizenship bill has failed to pass the Senate, leaving the package dead in its current form. The Turnbull government will now be forced to make significant amendments to the bill before restarting negotiations, after the immigration minister failed to meet a Senate-imposed deadline on Wednesday to bring the bill on for debate. Continue reading... |
| Back from the dead: China's internet goes wild over youthful Jiang Zemin Posted: 18 Oct 2017 12:43 AM PDT Reappearance of China's 91-year-old former president at Communist party congress follows months of rumours of his death As the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, delivered a signature policy speech in Beijing's cavernous Great Hall of the People, China's internet was far more interested in the 91-year-old bespectacled man seated next to him. During Xi's three-hour address, Chinese internet users marvelled at Jiang Zemin, the nonagenarian former president – with many expressing surprise to see him alive after months of rumours speculating on his demise. Continue reading... |
| Be in no doubt, Xi Jinping wants to make China great again Posted: 17 Oct 2017 11:51 PM PDT In his Communist party speech Xi's ambition and confidence were on display. He wants nothing less than for China to be the world's most important country It was long, very long. And, as with previous iterations, Xi Jinping's speech to the Chinese Communist Party's five yearly national congress was a mix of party slogans, Marxist jargon, subtle signalling and long to-do lists. Given the density and length of the speech it will repay careful scrutiny, particularly given its political function within the party-state. But on first impression a number of interesting developments were immediately evident. Continue reading... |
| Xi Jinping speech: five things you need to know Posted: 17 Oct 2017 11:07 PM PDT The Chinese president spoke for three hours and 23 minutes – here are the most interesting points Xi Jinping opened a historic Communist party meeting in Beijing with a three hour and 23 minute speech that heralded a "new era" in Chinese politics. A mostly monotone affair, Xi became emotional at several points, and the party faithful in the audience responded with applause at the appropriate pauses. Here are the most important points and what to watch during Xi's next five years as China's leader: Continue reading... |
| Wednesday briefing: Children harmed by seeing parents drunk Posted: 17 Oct 2017 10:37 PM PDT Experts warn of anxiety and emotional damage … Islamist terror threat at most extreme level yet, says MI5 head … and US author wins Booker prize Hello – it's Warren Murray letting you know what's occurring this morning. Continue reading... |
| Australian governments warned they could be buying supplies made by slave labour Posted: 17 Oct 2017 09:56 PM PDT Lack of scrutiny means there is 'considerable potential' agencies are using products linked to human trafficking Australian government departments are buying products that could be made using slave labour, a thinktank says. Anti-Slavery Australia, a law and public policy thinktank, says there is "considerable potential" that government agencies in Australia are buying products and services with links to human trafficking or exploitation because ethical procurement guidelines are not up to scratch. Continue reading... |
| Xi Jinping heralds 'new era' of Chinese power at Communist party congress Posted: 17 Oct 2017 09:54 PM PDT At start of week-long meeting, president uses long speech to tell delegates to 'strive with endless energy toward the great goal of national rejuvenation' Xi Jinping has heralded the dawn of a "new era" of Chinese politics and power at the start of a historic Communist party congress celebrating the end of his first term in office. Related: Xi Jinping speech: five things you need to know Continue reading... |
| Rohingya crisis: Amnesty accuses Myanmar of crimes against humanity Posted: 17 Oct 2017 09:25 PM PDT Evidence, including testimony from 120 Rohingya, reveals 'systematic, organised and ruthless campaign' Amnesty International has accused Myanmar's security forces of committing crimes against humanity as hundreds of thousands of Rohingya women, men, and children have fled the country. In a report released on Wednesday Amnesty cited testimony from more 120 Rohingya men and women who have fled to Bangladesh in recent weeks, part of a half-a-million-strong exodus of people escaping a bloody army campaign. Continue reading... |
| French music magazine puts Bertrand Cantat, who murdered girlfriend, on cover Posted: 17 Oct 2017 09:01 PM PDT Les Inrockuptibles apologises for 'suffering caused', after angry backlash to edition featuring singer who beat Marie Trintignant to death French music magazine Les Inrockuptibles has been criticised as "disgusting" for putting Bertrand Cantat, the singer convicted of murdering his girlfriend, on its front cover. Cantat was found guilty of murdering actor Marie Trintignant in 2003 and served four years of an eight-year jail sentence. The court was told he hit Trintignant repeatedly in the head and waited for several hours before calling emergency services. She died in hospital. Continue reading... |
| Preatures singer Isabella Manfredi says she was harassed by music label head Posted: 17 Oct 2017 08:53 PM PDT Frontwoman says 'sickness is not confined to the film industry', and she has been groped by executives and insulted after rebuffing sexual propositions Isabella Manfredi, the frontwoman of Sydney band the Preatures, has shared her experiences of sexual harassment in the music industry including being groped by executives and invited to bathe with the head of a music label in New York. The Sydney singer-songwriter felt compelled to share her experiences after the allegations of sexual assault made by many women in the film industry about Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 17 Oct 2017 11:00 PM PDT Natalia Kanem vows to appeal directly to businesses over the economic – as well as life-saving – benefits of protecting women's reproductive health The new head of the UN population fund has vowed to be more aggressive in promoting the agency's message to business that protecting women's reproductive health not only saves lives, but can boost earnings. On her first visit to London after taking up the post of executive director of the UNFPA on 3 October, Natalia Kanem said she would take the message of no deaths in childbirth, no unintended pregnancies and no violence against women and girls "into the boardroom, cafeteria, wherever it is, so people understand that life-threatening consequences multiply into societal and economic consequences". Continue reading... |
| 'I lived in fear': the Nepalese official who was sold as a slave at 10 years old | Kate Hodal Posted: 17 Oct 2017 09:00 PM PDT Sita Chhaudry spent her childhood as a domestic worker, starved and beaten. Now despite her lack of education, she has been elected to a local government post, determined to fight poverty and human rights abuses Sita Chhaudry became a slave for the first time just after her 10th birthday. Almost every year over the next decade, her parents would sell her again and again to wealthy landowner families, for the small annual fee of $50 (£38), to clean floors, cook meals and look after children. As a "kamlari" – domestic bonded labourer – Chhaudry was beaten, starved and forced to work 12-hour days for families across the country, many of whom had travelled long distances to "recruit" a young servant as cheaply as her poor, lower-caste parents would sell her. |
| 'Fewer people will be freed': Brazil accused of easing anti-slavery rules Posted: 17 Oct 2017 06:21 AM PDT Critics say move cosies up to agribusiness lobby in a bid to build support for President Michel Temer before a crucial vote over making him face trial The Brazilian government has been accused of reducing its ability to protect workers from slave-like labour conditions after abruptly changing the rules. Campaigners, commentators and prosecutors said the move was a "social regression" aimed at buying the support of a powerful agribusiness lobby ahead of a crucial vote in congress that could cost President Michel Temer his mandate. A government directive by the ministry of labour published on Monday redefined what the government defines as "slave-like work" – even though Brazil's efforts to stop abusive labour conditions were praised as recently as last year by the United Nations. Continue reading... |
| True scale of UK slavery likely to involve ‘tens of thousands' of victims Posted: 17 Oct 2017 04:31 AM PDT Anti-trafficking commissioner Kevin Hyland says slavery far more prevalent than previous government estimates suggest, and that victims are being failed The number of people living in slavery in the UK is likely to be considerably higher than the current estimate of 13,000, according to the independent anti-trafficking commissioner, Kevin Hyland, who has claimed that the "true number is in the tens of thousands". Speaking to the Guardian, Hyland said that a better understanding of the real scale of slavery in the UK must become an "absolute priority" for government, if there was a chance of reaching as many potential victims as possible. Continue reading... |
| 'The president sleeps with one eye open': Mugabe reshuffles as power games begin Posted: 17 Oct 2017 03:26 AM PDT Robert Mugabe is 93 and boasts he will live to be 100, but the jostling has begun to find a new leader for Zimbabwe when his tumultuous reign finally ends At the ripe old age of 93, Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's long-serving president, has offered himself as the candidate to lead his ruling Zanu-PF party in elections next year. In power since independence from Britain in 1980, Mugabe would be 99 should he win the 2018 election and complete a five-year term. He has boasted that he will live – and rule – until he is 100. Continue reading... |
| A day in the life of Times Square in New York – in pictures Posted: 17 Oct 2017 11:00 PM PDT Times Square is one of the world's busiest pedestrian areas, drawing an estimated 50 million visitors annually. But while most tourists pass through to take a selfie, do some shopping or see a show, the photographer Adam Gray spent a full day from sunrise to sunset in the area once called 'the crossroads of the world' Continue reading... |
| Hillary Clinton says threats to North Korea 'dangerous, short-sighted' – video Posted: 17 Oct 2017 10:41 PM PDT Former US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton says that 'cavalier' threats to start war on the Korean peninsula are 'dangerous and short-sighted', and urges the United States to get all parties to the negotiating table. 'Picking fights with Kim Jong-un just puts a smile on his face,' she says. |
| John McCain criticises 'spurious nationalism' in Liberty Medal speech – video Posted: 17 Oct 2017 05:36 AM PDT Senator John McCain takes aim at isolationist US policies in his speech accepting the National Constitution Center Liberty Medal in Philadelphia, saying 'half-baked, spurious nationalism' is unpatriotic Continue reading... |
| My home, ruined in the Mexico earthquake – in pictures Posted: 17 Oct 2017 02:58 AM PDT Photographer Edgard Garrido finds the victims of Mexico's earthquake are scared but determined to get on with their lives Continue reading... |
| Drone footage shows Rohingya refugees entering Bangladesh – video Posted: 17 Oct 2017 02:47 AM PDT The United Nations high commissioner for refugees released aerial footage on Monday showing thousands of Rohingya Muslims after they crossed the Naf river into Bangladesh. They join at least 536,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled Myanmar since August Continue reading... |
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