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- Chinese human rights activist jailed for eight years for subversion
- Trump, Putin and Xi: a year of tough-guy leaders and foolish brinkmanship
- Archbishop of Canterbury criticises 'populist' world leaders
- Horse racing suspended at Palermo racetrack over mafia links
- Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny barred from running for president
- Three climbers die in avalanches in Swiss Alps
- Turkey's waning fertility threatens Erdoğan's vision of strength
- Rebel groups reject talks on Syrian conflict hosted by Russia
- Vitaly Mutko quits football role before 2018 World Cup to fight doping ban
- Typhoon Tembin heads for Vietnam after battering Philippines
- Russian ships escorted through North Sea by British naval vessels
- Crocodile in Melbourne front yard surprises couple on Christmas Day
- Sound of Music actor Heather Menzies-Urich dies aged 68
- Detained Briton's trial postponed after translation confusion
- How reader funding is helping save independent media across the world
- Westminster failings fuelling Cornish 'crisis of democracy’
- Warnings of post-Brexit price rises unless UK can copy EU trade deals
- Khaled Ali: Egypt's unlikeliest challenger to strongman president
- The giant rats that love avocado – and can diagnose deadly TB | Kate Lyons
- US lawmakers put aside politics in sharing Christmas messages
- Mexico maelstrom: how the drug violence got so bad
- China's Shanghai sets population at 25 million to avoid ‘big city disease’
- Remains found after search for swimmer missing off Phillip Island
- The year's top development stories: 2017 in review
| Chinese human rights activist jailed for eight years for subversion Posted: 25 Dec 2017 08:37 PM PST Wu Gan found guilty after being detained for two years, while fellow activist Xie Yang escaped jail after pleading guilty A prominent Chinese human rights activist has been jailed eight years in jail for subversion on Tuesday, the harshest sentence to be passed so far in a government crackdown on activism that began more than two years ago. Wu Gan, a blogger better known by his online name of Super Vulgar Butcher, regularly championed sensitive cases of government abuses of power, both online and in street protests. He was sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of "subverting state power" at the Tianjin no 2 people's court. He has been in pretrial detention for more than two years after staging a protest outside a court. Continue reading... |
| Trump, Putin and Xi: a year of tough-guy leaders and foolish brinkmanship Posted: 25 Dec 2017 01:00 PM PST A look back at 12 months of spreading authoritarianism and huge egos the world over, with Beijing and Moscow making the most of weak and volatile US leadership It was the year of the hard man – the tough-guy leader with a ruthless streak and a big ego. In Moscow, Vladimir Putin, a role model for the genre, strengthened his harsh grip on domestic politics while intensifying Russia's cyber-digital "war of influence" with the west. In Beijing, China's president, Xi Jinping, attained a kind of immortality when his unoriginal thoughts were enshrined in the Communist party constitution. In Washington, Donald Trump enacted a charlatan parody of the US presidency, blending power and ignorance to an alarming degree. The heavy mob attracted a cohort of emulators and imitators – "little big men" such as Kim Jong-un, the inexperienced, nuclear-armed North Korean dictator and Rodrigo Duterte, the homicidal president of the Philippines. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey's choleric president, worked assiduously to dismantle his country's secular democratic tradition, using a failed 2016 coup as a pretext. Saudi Arabia's uncrowned leader and ostensible reformer, the youthful Prince Mohammad bin Salman, made a series of clumsy regional power plays. Continue reading... |
| Archbishop of Canterbury criticises 'populist' world leaders Posted: 25 Dec 2017 09:43 AM PST Justin Welby joins Pope Francis in using traditional Christmas Day message to make oblique criticism of Donald Trump over Jerusalem decision The archbishop of Canterbury has spoken out against "tyrannical and populist" world leaders in a Christmas message likely to be seen partly as a rebuke against US president Donald Trump. Justin Welby was preaching at Canterbury cathedral at the same time as Pope Francis made oblique criticism of Trump in his traditional Christmas address in St Peter's Square in Vatican City. Continue reading... |
| Horse racing suspended at Palermo racetrack over mafia links Posted: 25 Dec 2017 06:16 AM PST Police uncover evidence that Cosa Nostra bosses were rigging races at Ippodromo La Favorita in Sicilian city Horse racing has been suspended at the Palermo racetrack after Italian police investigating mafia activity discovered illegal gambling and evidence that Cosa Nostra bosses were rigging races. The order, from the head of the Palermo prefecture, Antonella De Miro, followed the arrests earlier in December of 25 people linked to the clans of Resuttana-San Lorenzo that revealed the extent of mafia involvement in horse racing. Continue reading... |
| Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny barred from running for president Posted: 25 Dec 2017 07:50 AM PST Alexei Navalny calls for boycott of next year's vote after election commission's decision Russian election officials on Monday formally barred Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny from running for president, prompting calls from him for a boycott of next year's vote. The central election commission decided unanimously that the anti-corruption crusader is not eligible to run. Continue reading... |
| Three climbers die in avalanches in Swiss Alps Posted: 25 Dec 2017 04:27 PM PST Two Swiss died in the Valais region while a Frenchman was killed attempting the 2,376m Glattwang in the country's east Three mountain climbers from Switzerland and France have been killed in avalanches in the Swiss Alps in the past three days. The latest incident involved a group of five climbers in the Valais region close to the Hofathorn peak at 2,844m (9,330 feet) when a local man was swept away by an avalanche on Monday, police said. Continue reading... |
| Turkey's waning fertility threatens Erdoğan's vision of strength Posted: 25 Dec 2017 06:32 AM PST The president has been urging women to have three babies each, as his divided country faces a very European problem Didem Sen was living in Nişantaşı, a wealthy Istanbul neighbourhood mostly inhabited by members of the secular elite, when she was trying to conceive her first child at the age of 40. She had felt the need to wait until she was married and her career was developed before trying to have a child, but fertility treatments did not work and she soon gave up. Continue reading... |
| Rebel groups reject talks on Syrian conflict hosted by Russia Posted: 25 Dec 2017 03:33 PM PST Rebels refuse to head to Sochi conference, claiming that Moscow has not contributed 'one step' to ease the suffering of Syrian civilians Syrian rebel groups on Monday rejected Russia's planned Sochi conference on Syria, saying Moscow was seeking to bypass a United Nations-based Geneva peace process and blaming Russia for committing war crimes in the country. In a statement by around 40 rebel groups who include some of the military factions who participated in earlier rounds of Geneva peace talks, they said Moscow had not put pressure on the Syrian government to reach a political settlement. Continue reading... |
| Vitaly Mutko quits football role before 2018 World Cup to fight doping ban Posted: 25 Dec 2017 05:10 PM PST Russian deputy prime minister also considering resigning as local World Cup organiser as he appeals against Olympic life ban Vitaly Mutko, a Russian deputy prime minister who was banned for life from the Olympics this month, has said he is temporarily stepping down from his role as head of the country's football union. Mutko is to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Tuesday against the decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban him from the Games over allegations of state-sponsored doping. Continue reading... |
| Typhoon Tembin heads for Vietnam after battering Philippines Posted: 25 Dec 2017 03:18 AM PST Authorities prepare to move more than 1 million people, with 74,000 already relocated from vulnerable areas Authorities in Vietnam have prepared to move a million people from low-lying areas along the south coast as a typhoon approached after it battered the Philippines with floods and landslides that killed more than 230 people. Typhoon Tembin is expected to slam into Vietnam late on Monday after hitting the Philippines just before Christmas. Continue reading... |
| Russian ships escorted through North Sea by British naval vessels Posted: 25 Dec 2017 04:27 PM PST Russian naval activity near Britain increases in the holiday period, only a few days after foreign secretary Boris Johnson's trip to Moscow A British ship escorted a Russian vessel as it passed near UK territorial waters over Christmas, Britain's defence ministry said on Tuesday, adding that Russian naval activity near Britain had increased in the holiday period. The frigate HMS St Albans departed on 23 December to track the new Russian warship Admiral Gorshkov as it moved through the North Sea. The Royal Navy vessel monitored the Russian ship over Christmas and will return to dock in Portsmouth later on Tuesday. Continue reading... |
| Crocodile in Melbourne front yard surprises couple on Christmas Day Posted: 25 Dec 2017 03:41 PM PST Police are looking for clues to the origin of a saltwater crocodile that had to be corralled by a snake catcher in Heidelberg Heights A couple of Melbourne walkers got a Christmas Day croc shock when they found a one-metre-long saltwater crocodile in a Heidelberg Heights front yard about 8.30pm on Monday. Police were sceptical, and thought they would find a large lizard instead, but there was indeed a crocodile on the loose in suburban Melbourne. Continue reading... |
| Sound of Music actor Heather Menzies-Urich dies aged 68 Posted: 25 Dec 2017 12:42 PM PST Actor who played Louisa von Trapp had no acting experience before starring in 1964 film alongside Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer Sound of Music actor Heather Menzies-Urich, who became famous after playing Louisa von Trapp, has died aged 68. The Canadian-born actor's death was announced by the estate of the musical's creators, Rodgers and Hammerstein. Continue reading... |
| Detained Briton's trial postponed after translation confusion Posted: 25 Dec 2017 08:33 AM PST Laura Plummer is accused of trafficking after bringing 290 tablets of the opioid painkiller Tramadol into Egypt The trial of British citizen Laura Plummer has been postponed to Boxing Day after confusion in the courtroom caused her to unintentionally plead guilty to charges of drug trafficking. Plummer is accused of trafficking after bringing 290 tablets of the opioid painkiller Tramadol into Egypt. She and her family have maintained that she did not bring the tablets into Egypt for resale, but rather to give to her partner to help his back pain. Continue reading... |
| How reader funding is helping save independent media across the world Posted: 25 Dec 2017 01:15 PM PST As the number of Guardian supporters continues to grow, we look at independent publications with their own take on membership models After the Guardian wrote three weeks ago about the collapse of independent media all around the world, it quickly became apparent that was only half the story. Press freedom is at its lowest ebb this century. Authoritarian rulers and an economic rout have combined to drive hundreds of titles out of business. |
| Westminster failings fuelling Cornish 'crisis of democracy’ Posted: 25 Dec 2017 11:00 PM PST Local political leader Dick Cole warns Cornwall will lose out financially due to Brexit, and accuses London of overlooking social problems in the county Cornwall is facing a political crisis because of reforms to local democracy, the failure of Westminster to understand the needs of the far south-west of Britain and Brexit, one of the UK's longest-serving party leaders is warning. Dick Cole, who is celebrating 20 years as the leader of the Cornish party Mebyon Kernow (MK), said he feared Cornwall would lose out financially under Brexit and argued that central government was not responding to the social problems the county suffers. Continue reading... |
| Warnings of post-Brexit price rises unless UK can copy EU trade deals Posted: 26 Dec 2017 01:29 AM PST British Retail Consortium says everyday products such as food and clothing could rise when UK leaves the bloc Consumers face rising prices after Brexit unless Britain can replicate trade deals negotiated by the EU with dozens of other countries, the British Retail Consortium has warned. The BRC's chief executive, Helen Dickinson, said the cost of everyday products from food to clothing were set to go up if the UK loses the preferential arrangements it enjoys as a member of the EU. Continue reading... |
| Khaled Ali: Egypt's unlikeliest challenger to strongman president Posted: 25 Dec 2017 10:00 PM PST Ali is one of four candidates to declare intention to run against Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and the figurehead for Egypt's left Khaled Ali is an unassuming sort of revolutionary. Dressed in a tweed jacket, his formidable eyebrows arching over thick-rimmed glasses, he could be mistaken for a substitute teacher rather than a firebrand lawyer and hopeful presidential candidate in Egypt's forthcoming election. "I'm seen as a traitor funded from abroad," he said, shrugging off the criticisms levelled at him by Egyptian media and pro-government figures. Continue reading... |
| The giant rats that love avocado – and can diagnose deadly TB | Kate Lyons Posted: 25 Dec 2017 11:00 PM PST A team in Tanzania have trained African pouched rats to make life-saving discoveries, sniffing out cases of tuberculosis missed by health clinics After scampering about a sleek glass and aluminium cage, a rat named Riziwan has made a crucial discovery. In just minutes, Riziwan has positively identified 13 people who may have tuberculosis. The discovery is potentially life-saving news for those whose sputum samples were marked as clear by their local health clinics. But it's all in a day's – or rather 15 minutes' – work for Riziwan and the other giant African pouched rats that work at Belgian organisation Apopo's TB centre in Morogoro, Tanzania. Continue reading... |
| US lawmakers put aside politics in sharing Christmas messages Posted: 25 Dec 2017 12:40 PM PST Even Trump's most vocal opponents stuck to festive messages, having used the days before Christmas to deliver more pointed political messages at the president US politicians sent messages of peace, joy and hope on Christmas as a tumultuous year in US politics nears to a close. Related: Christmas after a hurricane: 'We still must celebrate the holidays' Continue reading... |
| Mexico maelstrom: how the drug violence got so bad Posted: 26 Dec 2017 12:00 AM PST The militarised crackdown on the cartels has seen 200,000 dead in 11 years, with 2017 the deadliest year yet – now many Mexicans just want the killing to stop Related: 'Why must I live in fear?' Mexico shaken after yet another journalist murdered Sofía, a medical assistant in Reynosa, a scruffy border city in northern Mexico, has a regular morning routine. Continue reading... |
| China's Shanghai sets population at 25 million to avoid ‘big city disease’ Posted: 25 Dec 2017 10:23 PM PST Financial hub and port city will also limit land available for construction in bid to tackle pollution and shortage of services China's financial hub of Shanghai will limit its population to 25 million people by 2035 as part of a quest to manage "big city disease", authorities have said. The State Council said on its website late on Monday the goal to control the size of the city was part of Shanghai's masterplan for 2017-2035, which the government body had approved. Continue reading... |
| Remains found after search for swimmer missing off Phillip Island Posted: 26 Dec 2017 12:07 AM PST Authorities issue surf warning after drowning off Cape Woolamai in Victoria and Christmas Day tragedy on NSW north coast Human remains have been found during the search for a swimmer missing off Cape Woolamai at Phillip Island. A 28-year-old man was spotted by surfers in trouble about 5.30pm on Christmas Day, but quickly disappeared from sight. Continue reading... |
| The year's top development stories: 2017 in review Posted: 25 Dec 2017 03:00 AM PST As Donald Trump cut funding for family planning and people from east Africa to Yemen went hungry, peace finally gained a foothold in Colombia The year began with the inauguration of Donald Trump and the reinstatement of the "global gag rule", or Mexico City policy, which banned US federal funding for NGOs in countries that provide abortion services or advocacy. |
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