World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk |
- Spain to trigger direct rule over Catalonia as deadline passes
- EU leaders aim to let Theresa May down gently over trade talks
- Jacinda Ardern is next prime minister of New Zealand, Winston Peters confirms – live
- 'It's able to create knowledge itself': Google unveils AI that learns on its own
- Warning of 'ecological Armageddon' after dramatic plunge in insect numbers
- Quebec passes law banning facial coverings in public
- Relatives of freed Afghanistan hostage say he and family deeply traumatised
- Jeff Sessions shifts ground on Russia contacts under Senate questioning
- Putin mentor's daughter Ksenia Sobchak to run for president
- Trump digs in over call to soldier's widow: 'I didn't say what the congresswoman said'
- Four British missionaries kidnapped in Nigeria
- Eric Holder calls Trump administration's crime policies dangerous and dispiriting
- Trump's claim of Irish corporate tax cut is 'fake news', says prime minister
- Thousands march in Somalia after attack that killed more than 300
- Lena Headey claims she was sexually harassed by Harvey Weinstein
- Astana's plan to stay warm in the winter? Build a ring of one million trees
- Too rude for Paris? 'Copulating' sculpture causes stir in French capital
- Argentina halts election campaign after body, thought to be missing activist, found
- Saudi scholars to vet teaching of prophet Muhammad to curb extremism
- Maryland police search for gunman after three killed in office park shooting
- Demolishing Dushanbe: how the former city of Stalinabad is erasing its Soviet past
- Будущее статусного города? Может ли Алматы отбросить систему контроля
- 'I was very comforted': gold star families recall receiving condolences from Obama
- Northern Ireland police chief faces misconduct inquiry
- Escape from Raqqa: how my three-year ordeal in the Isis stronghold ended | Tim Ramadan
- Wealth before health? Why intellectual property laws are facing a counterattack
- Travel ban: Chad added because it ran out of passport paper, US officials say
- Frydenberg appeals to states on energy but gives them 24-hour deadline
- Justin Trudeau pays tearful tribute to Tragically Hip's Gord Downie – video
- Jacinda Ardern to be New Zealand's next prime minister after Labour coalition deal
- Who is New Zealand's new prime minister? A profile of Jacinda Ardern
- Thursday briefing: plight of Calais child refugees revealed
- World's deepest lake crippled by putrid algae, poaching and pollution
- Revealed: rescued refugee children facing limbo – and worse – in UK
- Daphne Caruana Galizia: We knew establishment was out to get her – family
- 'A huge deal' for China as the era of Xi Jinping Thought begins
- Civil engineering firm Canstruct to take over operating Nauru detention centre
- Portugal: interior minister resigns after wildfires kill 100
- 'Absolutely unacceptable': UK accused of failing to protect domestic workers
- 'Unconscionable': 7,000 babies die daily despite record low for child mortality
- For the price of a few warships, we could end slavery once and for all
- 'He keeps zigging and zagging': the perils of doing a healthcare deal with Trump
- Catalonia: what next for the independence movement?
- Xi Jinping tests eyelids – and bladders – with three-and-a-half hour speech
- NFL Commissioner Goodell says players 'should stand' for anthem – video
- Trump: 'I didn't say what the congresswoman said' – video
- Somali police fire live bullets at anti al-Shabaab protesters in Mogadishu – video
- Explicit sculpture finds new home at Pompidou Centre – video
| Spain to trigger direct rule over Catalonia as deadline passes Posted: 19 Oct 2017 01:42 AM PDT Madrid says it will press ahead with suspending Catalan autonomy on Saturday after region's president refuses to abandon secession plans The Spanish government is to suspend Catalonia's autonomy and impose direct rule after the region's president refused to abandon the push for independence that has pitched Spain into its worst political crisis for 40 years. The announcement of the unprecedented measure came after the Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, threatened a unilateral declaration of independence if the Spanish government did not agree to talks on the issue. Continue reading... |
| EU leaders aim to let Theresa May down gently over trade talks Posted: 19 Oct 2017 12:16 AM PDT PM's counterparts at summit will refuse to widen Brexit negotiations but talk up her efforts for fear of weakening her further European Union leaders at a crunch summit dinner are set to rebuff Theresa May's appeal for trade talks while they seek to publicly talk up her efforts in the Brexit negotiations because they fear that the prime minister's domestic weakness will leave her unable to make vital concessions on Britain's divorce bill. The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, will lead European leaders in Brussels on Thursday in seeking to put the best gloss on their refusal to widen the talks, according to diplomatic sources. "There are ways to say it kindly and encouragingly or less kindly and less encouraging," said one senior EU diplomat. Continue reading... |
| Jacinda Ardern is next prime minister of New Zealand, Winston Peters confirms – live Posted: 19 Oct 2017 01:42 AM PDT NZ First leader announces he has reached coalition deal to form government with Labour, which says it also has backing of Green party
The Australian prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has had a conversation with Ardern: Congratulations @jacindaardern good to talk with you tonight. Look fwd to seeing you soon & building on our two nations' great partnership. Continue reading... |
| 'It's able to create knowledge itself': Google unveils AI that learns on its own Posted: 18 Oct 2017 10:00 AM PDT In a major breakthrough for artificial intelligence, AlphaGo Zero took just three days to master the ancient Chinese board game of Go ... with no human help Google's artificial intelligence group, DeepMind, has unveiled the latest incarnation of its Go-playing program, AlphaGo – an AI so powerful that it derived thousands of years of human knowledge of the game before inventing better moves of its own, all in the space of three days. Named AlphaGo Zero, the AI program has been hailed as a major advance because it mastered the ancient Chinese board game from scratch, and with no human help beyond being told the rules. In games against the 2015 version, which famously beat Lee Sedol, the South Korean grandmaster, AlphaGo Zero won 100 to 0. Continue reading... |
| Warning of 'ecological Armageddon' after dramatic plunge in insect numbers Posted: 18 Oct 2017 11:00 AM PDT Three-quarters of flying insects in nature reserves across Germany have vanished in 25 years, with serious implications for all life on Earth, scientists say The abundance of flying insects has plunged by three-quarters over the past 25 years, according to a new study that has shocked scientists. Insects are an integral part of life on Earth as both pollinators and prey for other wildlife and it was known that some species such as butterflies were declining. But the newly revealed scale of the losses to all insects has prompted warnings that the world is "on course for ecological Armageddon", with profound impacts on human society. Continue reading... |
| Quebec passes law banning facial coverings in public Posted: 18 Oct 2017 12:12 PM PDT The Canadian province is barring public workers from wearing the niqab or burqa and obliging citizens to unveil while using public transit or government services The Canadian province of Quebec has passed a sweeping ban on face coverings – barring public workers from wearing the niqab or burqa and obliging citizens to unveil when riding public transit or receiving government services – ushering in a law believed to be the first of its kind in North America. The legislation was adopted on Wednesday, capping off two years of work by the province's Liberal government to address the issue of state neutrality. The resulting law has been condemned by critics who say it deliberately targets Muslim women and will fuel the province's simmering debate on identity, religion and tolerance. Continue reading... |
| Relatives of freed Afghanistan hostage say he and family deeply traumatised Posted: 18 Oct 2017 05:29 PM PDT Canadian relatives say Joshua Boyle, freed with his family after five years, suffered torture in captivity and requires intensive medical care The family of the Canadian man freed with his wife and three children five years after they were kidnapped in Afghanistan have implored media to consider the trauma suffered by the family, noting that Joshua Boyle – the only member of the family to speak in public since their rescue – has yet to receive medical or psychological clearance. On Wednesday, the family of the 34-year-old said it was a blessing to have the family at home and safe. But they said that the family's ordeal was far from over as the years of captivity had taken a great toll on each of them. Continue reading... |
| Jeff Sessions shifts ground on Russia contacts under Senate questioning Posted: 18 Oct 2017 11:54 AM PDT The attorney general concedes for the first time it was possible he had discussed Donald Trump's policy positions with Russian ambassador The US attorney general, Jeff Sessions, has given a new account of his contacts with the Russian ambassador during the 2016 election, conceding it was possible that they had discussed Donald Trump's policy positions. Related: Jeff Sessions calls accusations of Russia collusion an 'appalling lie' Continue reading... |
| Putin mentor's daughter Ksenia Sobchak to run for president Posted: 18 Oct 2017 10:49 AM PDT Socialite says she is standing as a protest candidate but analysts suspect it is a Kremlin-backed move to split opposition Ksenia Sobchak, the daughter of Vladimir Putin's political mentor, has said she will stand in Russia's presidential election next March, which Putin is expected to win. Sobchak, a socialite and liberal journalist who has taken part in opposition protests, said she was standing as an "against all" protest candidate. Continue reading... |
| Trump digs in over call to soldier's widow: 'I didn't say what the congresswoman said' Posted: 18 Oct 2017 10:17 AM PDT
Donald Trump dug in on Wednesday as his comments about fallen soldiers spiralled into the second major dispute of his political career with a bereaved military family. Speaking to reporters in the White House, Trump contradicted the accounts of Sgt La David Johnson's mother and a Florida congresswoman, who were in the car with the soldier's widow, Myeshia Johnson, when Trump called her. They listened to the conversation on speakerphone. Continue reading... |
| Four British missionaries kidnapped in Nigeria Posted: 18 Oct 2017 08:18 AM PDT Britons snatched by unidentified gunman in Nigeria's southern Delta state on 13 October, say police
The authorities are attempting to rescue the four people, who were taken by unidentified gunmen on 13 October, said Andrew Aniamaka, a spokesman for Delta state police. Continue reading... |
| Eric Holder calls Trump administration's crime policies dangerous and dispiriting Posted: 18 Oct 2017 11:12 AM PDT
Donald Trump is pursuing "dangerous" policies on crime that ignore a growing bipartisan consensus on criminal justice reform, former attorney general Eric Holder said on Wednesday at a summit in Washington. Related: Jeff Sessions admits crime is near historic lows despite his past warnings Continue reading... |
| Trump's claim of Irish corporate tax cut is 'fake news', says prime minister Posted: 18 Oct 2017 10:24 AM PDT
The Irish prime minister has accused Donald Trump of peddling "fake news" after the US president wrongly claimed that Ireland plans to further reduce its much-criticised 12.5% corporation tax. Trump angered Irish officials with his comments at a White House briefing on Monday, in which he alleged that Ireland was going to cut the tax on corporations such as Apple, Google and Facebook to 8%. |
| Thousands march in Somalia after attack that killed more than 300 Posted: 18 Oct 2017 07:27 AM PDT Demonstrators defy police to protest against people responsible for devastating truck bomb in Mogadishu Thousands of Somalis have demonstrated against those behind the bombing that killed more than 300 people at the weekend, defying police who opened fire to keep them away from the site of the attack. Wearing red headbands, the crowd of mostly young men and women marched through Mogadishu amid tight security. They answered a call to unity by the mayor, Thabit Abdi, who said: "We must liberate this city, which is awash with graves." Continue reading... |
| Lena Headey claims she was sexually harassed by Harvey Weinstein Posted: 18 Oct 2017 04:19 AM PDT Game of Thrones actor recounts producer marching her to his hotel room and reacting furiously to a rejection before warning her not to tell anyone The Game of Thrones actor Lena Headey has spoken of how she felt "powerless" during an encounter with Harvey Weinstein, adding her voice to the growing number of women who have accused the producer of sexual misconduct. In a series of posts on Twitter, Headey said that Weinstein had spoken to her inappropriately at the Venice film festival and reacted with anger when she resisted his advances in a Los Angeles hotel. Continue reading... |
| Astana's plan to stay warm in the winter? Build a ring of one million trees Posted: 18 Oct 2017 09:00 AM PDT In 1997 the Kazakh president launched a plan to protect his new capital from the icy winds of the featureless steppes with a ring of trees. Twenty years on, his scientists are still struggling to grow forests in a spot where no trees stood "Do you know why women in Astana don't get expensive haircuts?" asked television presenter Dinara Tursunova. "Because no sooner do you leave the beauty salon, the wind blows away your hairdo, and with it all the money you spent." Looking good in the capital city of Kazakhstan is hard work. When Tursunova moved to Astana three years ago for a job with a local broadcaster, what first struck her was the cold and the wind. "In winter I go around the city in skiing outfits and fur-lined sneakers. It probably wouldn't hurt to put spikes on my shoes. When the wind starts whipping up, you will see people on the ice literally flying away," she says. Continue reading... |
| Too rude for Paris? 'Copulating' sculpture causes stir in French capital Posted: 18 Oct 2017 08:26 AM PDT Dutch artist says it is not sexual, but Louvre decided giant sculpture of human appearing to copulate with an animal was too rude to be displayed From a vandalised butt-plug to a desecrated "queen's vagina", Paris has often been at the centre of rows over whether some public art is supposedly too rude to go on show. But the latest spat over a giant metal sculpture of a box-like figure appearing to copulate with a geometric being on all fours is proof that the label "too rude" can, for some Paris museums, be seen as a badge of pride. Continue reading... |
| Argentina halts election campaign after body, thought to be missing activist, found Posted: 18 Oct 2017 09:32 AM PDT
Major parties running in Argentina's midterm congressional election on Sunday have suspended their campaigns after a body, thought to be that of a young protester who went missing more than two months ago, was found in a river. A government spokeswoman said President Mauricio Macri's Cambiemos (Let's Change) coalition would halt campaigning for the rest of the day after investigators on Tuesday discovered the body in the Chubut river in the country's southern Patagonia region. Continue reading... |
| Saudi scholars to vet teaching of prophet Muhammad to curb extremism Posted: 18 Oct 2017 07:38 AM PDT Royal order decrees King Salman Complex be set up in holy city of Medina to root out 'fake and extremist texts' Saudi authorities have taken an "unprecedented" step to tackle Islamic extremism by setting up a council of scholars to vet religious teachings around the world. A royal order issued this week by King Salman established a global body of elite scholars based in the holy city of Medina to root out and "eliminate fake and extremist texts". Continue reading... |
| Maryland police search for gunman after three killed in office park shooting Posted: 18 Oct 2017 09:54 AM PDT Harford County sheriff says 37-year-old Radee Labeeb Prince opened fire with a handgun at an office park, killing three people and wounding two A gunman opened fire at a Maryland office park on Wednesday morning, killing three co-workers and wounding two others, authorities and the business owner said. A manhunt was underway for 37-year-old Radee Labeeb Prince, who was considered armed and dangerous. Continue reading... |
| Demolishing Dushanbe: how the former city of Stalinabad is erasing its Soviet past Posted: 18 Oct 2017 11:30 PM PDT The Tajik capital's Soviet-era buildings are being systematically razed and replaced by multistorey apartments and malls. Most residents seem pleased "Once this shop was one of the most beautiful buildings in the city," says Nematullo Mirsaidov as he gazes up at an old department store now dwarfed by new towers. He has been struck by how much Dushanbe has changed since he started visiting from the northern city of Khujand more than a decade ago, but sees change as a positive. "Dushanbe's architecture has changed significantly," he adds. "Its residents should be proud." Dushanbe was a village of only a few thousand people when it was made capital in 1924 but it has grown rapidly since then and continues to do so at speed. The city's territory is expected to triple in size and its population to grow from around 800,000 to more than 1.2 million by 2030 according to the new strategic urban development plan recently adopted by the Tajik authorities. Continue reading... |
| Будущее статусного города? Может ли Алматы отбросить систему контроля Posted: 18 Oct 2017 07:04 AM PDT В городах пяти бывших Советских республик, "Станы", доминировали личности их авторитарных правителей, но старинная столица Казахстана - Алматы - пытается развиваться, базируясь на нуждах своих горожан, хотя делает это упорядоченно Из окна своего офиса на 20ом этаже одной башни в Алматы, Руслан Ассаубаев делится видением города нового типа. Новые пешеходные улицы, сеть велосипедных дорожек и автобусных полос, современный общественный транспорт - это часть пятилетнего плана, разработанного в сотрудничестве с западными консультантами и реализуемого Алматинским центром развития, правительственной организацией, заместителем главы которой является Ассаубаев. Казахстанский город Алматы - финансовый центр Средней Азии, регион, состоящий из пяти «Станов» - бывших советских республик, которые получили независимость в 1991 году. Регион находится вне поля зрения большинства жителей Запада, которые не участвуют в нефтяной отрасли, и в последние годы либо игнорируется, либо высмеивается. Continue reading... |
| 'I was very comforted': gold star families recall receiving condolences from Obama Posted: 18 Oct 2017 04:50 AM PDT After Donald Trump criticised Barack Obama for not calling fallen service members' loved ones, bereaved military families paint a contrasting picture Stephanie Fisher got the letter about a week later, delivered by an army casualty assistance officer: the president of the United States wished to express his condolences over the death of her son. Staff Sgt Thomas Kent Fogarty, a 30-year-old father of two, was killed in Afghanistan in May 2012 by an improvised explosive device. Continue reading... |
| Northern Ireland police chief faces misconduct inquiry Posted: 19 Oct 2017 01:48 AM PDT George Hamilton is among a number of senior Police Service of Northern Ireland officers under investigation Northern Ireland's police chief is facing an investigation into alleged misconduct in public office. George Hamilton and a number of other senior Police Service of Northern Ireland officers are subject to the inquiry by the region's Police Ombudsman. Continue reading... |
| Escape from Raqqa: how my three-year ordeal in the Isis stronghold ended | Tim Ramadan Posted: 19 Oct 2017 01:06 AM PDT I had vowed not to leave the Syrian city until the hated black flags came down. Then a chance encounter set me on an unintended path fraught with danger We had gathered as usual in one of the Raqqa houses for a dinner that consisted of a pot of bulgur cooked on firewood, olives and old bread. The older people shared a can of halva to maintain their level of blood sugar. The flames of the candles flickered with the breeze that came in through a hole created by shell damage to the house, and making out the details on the faces around me was difficult. There wasn't enough food for everyone owing to the sudden late arrival of some families driven out of their homes by Islamic State because the battles with the Syrian Democratic Forces had drawn closer to their street. Continue reading... |
| Wealth before health? Why intellectual property laws are facing a counterattack Posted: 19 Oct 2017 12:42 AM PDT The current regime is unsustainable. Emerging economies are right to lead the pushback against patenting standards When the South African government attempted to amend its laws in 1997 to avail itself of affordable generic medicines for the treatment of HIV/Aids, the full legal might of the global pharmaceutical industry bore down on the country, delaying implementation and extracting a high human cost. South Africa eventually won its case, but the government learned its lesson: it did not try again to put its citizens' health and wellbeing into its own hands by challenging the conventional global intellectual property (IP) regime. Until now. The South African cabinet is preparing to finalise an IP policy that promises to expand access to medicines substantially. South Africa will now undoubtedly face all manner of bilateral and multilateral pressure from wealthy countries. But the government is right, and other developing and emerging economies should follow in its footsteps. |
| Travel ban: Chad added because it ran out of passport paper, US officials say Posted: 18 Oct 2017 03:54 PM PDT The Trump administration's decision to add Chad to the list of affected countries was puzzling due to its cooperation with the US on counter-terrorism US officials say an office supply issue was a major reason the African country of Chad was hit with travel restrictions by the United States. Donald Trump's administration added Chad in an order last month that a judge put on hold this week. Chad's inclusion was perplexing because the country cooperates closely with the U.S. on counterterrorism. Continue reading... |
| Frydenberg appeals to states on energy but gives them 24-hour deadline Posted: 19 Oct 2017 01:23 AM PDT States have only 24 hours to provide input before Coalition sends instructions to the Energy Security Board The federal energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, has attempted to extend an olive branch to his furious state counterparts, inviting their input into modelling energy regulators will carry out about the impact of the government's proposed national energy guarantee. Frydenberg emailed his state counterparts on Thursday inviting their comments on instructions the government has drafted for a detailed modelling exercise on the new policy. Continue reading... |
| Justin Trudeau pays tearful tribute to Tragically Hip's Gord Downie – video Posted: 19 Oct 2017 12:41 AM PDT Prime minister says Canada is 'less as a country' after death of frontman from brain cancer aged 53. Trudeau struggles to hold back tears as he describes Downie, whom he embraced before the Tragically Hip's final gig in August 2016, as his and everyone's friend Continue reading... |
| Jacinda Ardern to be New Zealand's next prime minister after Labour coalition deal Posted: 18 Oct 2017 11:25 PM PDT Kingmaker Winston Peters has announced his New Zealand First Party will throw its support behind the Labour party Jacinda Ardern is set to become New Zealand's next prime minister 26 days after the country's electorate cast their votes. Kingmaker Winston Peters announced at an eagerly awaited press conference on Thursday that his New Zealand First Party will throw its support behind Ardern's Labour party. Continue reading... |
| Who is New Zealand's new prime minister? A profile of Jacinda Ardern Posted: 18 Oct 2017 11:16 PM PDT The former Mormon and Helen Clark staffer is the youngest woman in history to lead New Zealand Full name: Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern. Position: Prime minister of New Zealand. Continue reading... |
| Thursday briefing: plight of Calais child refugees revealed Posted: 18 Oct 2017 10:32 PM PDT Chaos and distress for unaccompanied minors brought to UK ... calls for heads to roll at FA ... dog race gets first drug scandal Hello and good morning, Graham Russell here bringing you the news of the day. Continue reading... |
| World's deepest lake crippled by putrid algae, poaching and pollution Posted: 18 Oct 2017 10:24 PM PDT Lake Baikal in Siberia holds one fifth of the world's unfrozen fresh water, but its precious fish stocks are disappearing Lake Baikal is undergoing its gravest crisis in recent history, experts say, as the government bans the catching of a signature fish that has lived in the world's deepest lake for centuries but is now under threat. Holding one-fifth of the world's unfrozen fresh water, Baikal in Russia's Siberia is a natural wonder of "exceptional value to evolutionary science" meriting its listing as a world heritage site by Unesco. Continue reading... |
| Revealed: rescued refugee children facing limbo – and worse – in UK Posted: 18 Oct 2017 10:00 PM PDT Exclusive: a year after Britain took in hundreds of 'Dubs' children, charities say delays are causing distress and at least one young person has been left sleeping rough Lone children brought to the UK from Calais following a campaign last year are facing bureaucratic limbo and precarious living conditions, which has led in at least one case to a young person sleeping on the street. A year after the arrival of the first children under the so-called Dubs scheme, which brought unaccompanied asylum-seeking children from Calais to the UK, the Guardian found that many are still waiting to hear if they will be allowed to stay in the country. Continue reading... |
| Daphne Caruana Galizia: We knew establishment was out to get her – family Posted: 18 Oct 2017 09:00 PM PDT Murdered investigative journalist's sons tell of attempts on their mother's life, and why they blame a 'takedown of the rule of law' in Malta for her death Looking back, they had known – perhaps for a long time – that it might end like this. With hindsight, says Matthew Caruana Galizia , red-eyed from emotion and lack of sleep, it seems obvious. "This wasn't an aberration," he says. "It was a culmination." The air in the family home in the hamlet of Bidnija, half an hour's drive from the Maltese capital, Valletta, is thick with grief and quiet anger. Police guard the entrance to the gravel driveway and the cast-iron gates in front of the house. Continue reading... |
| 'A huge deal' for China as the era of Xi Jinping Thought begins Posted: 18 Oct 2017 08:22 PM PDT Decision to grant Xi his own eponymous school of thought represents a momentous occasion in Chinese politics and history China's communist leader, Xi Jinping, looks to have further strengthened his rule over the world's second largest economy with the confirmation that a new body of political theory bearing his name will be written into the party's constitution. On day two of a week-long political summit in Beijing marking the end of Xi's first term, state media announced the creation of what it called Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. Continue reading... |
| Civil engineering firm Canstruct to take over operating Nauru detention centre Posted: 18 Oct 2017 07:13 PM PDT Refugee advocates warn Australian company 'will face a mighty campaign' for 'doing business in abuse' An Australian civil engineering firm will take over operations of the Nauru immigration detention centre from Broadspectrum. Human rights groups have accused the firm of taking up a "poisoned chalice" by involving itself with Australia's internationally criticised offshore processing regime. Continue reading... |
| Portugal: interior minister resigns after wildfires kill 100 Posted: 18 Oct 2017 05:57 PM PDT Constanca Urbano de Sousa bows to increasing political pressure as the death toll from series of blazes mounts Portugal's interior minister has been replaced amid criticism over the government's handling of a series of deadly forest fires that have killed more than 100 people in four months. Constanca Urbano de Sousa handed her resignation to socialist prime minister Antonio Costa Wednesday, bowing to increasing political pressure as the death toll mounted. Continue reading... |
| 'Absolutely unacceptable': UK accused of failing to protect domestic workers Posted: 18 Oct 2017 11:00 PM PDT Campaigners warn foreign workers continue to suffer abuse and exploitation in UK households after failure of safeguards designed to protect them Campaigners have warned that thousands of foreign domestic workers remain enslaved behind the closed doors of some of Britain's wealthiest neighbourhoods after the government failed to implement safeguards designed to protect them from abusive and exploitative employers. In the past year, the Home Office has issued 18,950 visas under its domestic workers in private households scheme, which allows foreign families to bring domestic staff with them when staying in the UK. Continue reading...This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 'Unconscionable': 7,000 babies die daily despite record low for child mortality Posted: 18 Oct 2017 04:24 PM PDT Research shows that, despite 'remarkable progress' on child mortality, many of the 5.6 million deaths last year among children aged under five were preventable The number of children who die before reaching their fifth birthday has fallen to an all-time low, yet children around the world continue to die at an alarming rate, with 5.6 million deaths recorded last year. In its annual report on child mortality, the UN said many of the deaths – which averaged 15,000 a day in 2016 – were from preventable diseases. Continue reading... |
| For the price of a few warships, we could end slavery once and for all Posted: 18 Oct 2017 05:29 AM PDT With fewer slaves in the world today than there have ever been, it would cost just £650 a head to usher it into extinction – so why hasn't that happened? How much will it cost to end slavery? About £26.7bn, the cost of five and a half aircraft carriers or the current market value of Snapchat. That works out to about £650 for every enslaved person. In poor countries, where most slaves live, the cost of liberation and reintegration can be lower than this; in rich countries, it can be much higher. Unfortunately, in 2014 the world's governments were spending about £95m a year on anti-slavery. That is likely to be higher today, but still far below what is needed to achieve change. If we are serious about slavery we will need to bring three key tools to the job: money, people, and knowledge. Continue reading... |
| 'He keeps zigging and zagging': the perils of doing a healthcare deal with Trump Posted: 18 Oct 2017 02:56 PM PDT This week, senators moved to salvage the Obamacare subsidies Trump cut – but Washington remains confused over which way the president is swinging Chuck Schumer was at the gym when his phone rang, just over a week after the latest version of the Republican effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act foundered. It was Donald Trump calling the most senior Democrat in the Senate with an idea. Related: Senators reach bipartisan deal to salvage Obamacare subsidies Trump eliminated Continue reading... |
| Catalonia: what next for the independence movement? Posted: 18 Oct 2017 07:03 AM PDT Spain's government has given Catalonia's leader until Thursday to end his secession campaign or risk losing regional autonomy A little more than two weeks after the Catalan independence referendum, which plunged Spain into its worst political crisis in 40 years, the Madrid government is preparing to take the unprecedented step of suspending Catalonia's regional autonomy and imposing direct rule. Why? Continue reading... |
| Xi Jinping tests eyelids – and bladders – with three-and-a-half hour speech Posted: 18 Oct 2017 03:59 AM PDT Chinese president channelled Hugo Chávez with marathon 65-page sermon setting out vision for Communist party Some call Xi Jinping a Chinese Putin. Others a 21st-century Mao. On Wednesday morning he was China's Hugo Chávez, testing his comrades' eyelids – and their bladders – with a three-and-a-half hour, 65-page sermon in which he outlined his brave new vision for the Communist party, and the world. Continue reading... |
| NFL Commissioner Goodell says players 'should stand' for anthem – video Posted: 18 Oct 2017 01:15 PM PDT Roger Goodell says all NFL players should stand for the national anthem pre-games. Speaking on Wednesday, Goodell said the league will encourage players to stand for the anthem but declines to weigh-in on situations where owners decide to punish players for not standing Continue reading... |
| Trump: 'I didn't say what the congresswoman said' – video Posted: 18 Oct 2017 10:39 AM PDT Donald Trump insists he didn't tell a fallen soldier's widow that he 'knew what he was signing up for' before he was killed in Niger. Trump came under criticism after Congresswoman Frederica Wilson accused him of making the comments via phone to Myeshia Johnson, widow of Sgt La David Johnson. Trump denied having made the comments after announcing his tax plans for the US on Wednesday Trump digs in over call to soldier's widow: 'I didn't say what the congresswoman said' |
| Somali police fire live bullets at anti al-Shabaab protesters in Mogadishu – video Posted: 18 Oct 2017 10:12 AM PDT As thousands of people took to the streets of Somalia's capital on Wednesday in a show of defiance after the country's deadliest attack, officials shared a detailed account of how Saturday's truck bombing that killed more than 300 was carried out. Wearing red headbands, the crowd of mostly young men and women marched through Mogadishu amid tight security. They answered a call to unity by Mayor Thabit Abdi, who said 'we must liberate this city which is awash with graves' Continue reading... |
| Explicit sculpture finds new home at Pompidou Centre – video Posted: 18 Oct 2017 08:20 AM PDT A huge abstract sculpture, rejected by the Louvre Museum because it was deemed obscene, has found a new home at Paris's edgier Pompidou Centre. The sculpture, titled Domestikator, was unveiled on Tuesday in front of the modern art museum. Dutch artist Joep Van Lieshout said he was very happy with the Pompidou's offer to display the sculpture, which is about domestication Continue reading... |
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