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

Eight arrested over murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia
'Doesn't make sense': incredulity as Trump lawyer seeks to take blame for Flynn tweet
Cathay Pacific flight crew say they saw North Korean missile test
Abbas warns world leaders over Trump's recognition of Jerusalem
Thousands protest in Honduras in chaos over contested presidential election
Pollution stops play at Delhi Test match as bowlers struggle to breathe
Donald Trump pulls US out of UN global compact on migration
McConnell: tax cuts will be popular when people see they are paying less
Explosive device found near German market 'targeted DHL'
Trump's Flynn tweets point to obstruction of justice, say opponents
Netanyahu tells backers to reword contentious police bill after protests
21st Century Fox 'restarts talks' for possible sale to Walt Disney
Financial markets could be over-heating, warns central bank body
A lonely Texas road, a dead border patrol officer. Trump cried murder – but was it?
CIA director sent warning to Iran over threatened US interests in Iraq
Theresa May heads to Brussels hoping to conclude phase one of Brexit talks - Politics live
Trump is elephant in the room at Kennedy Center Honors
The US is exporting obesity – and Trump is making the problem worse | Kenneth Rogoff
'Addis has run out of space': Ethiopia's radical redesign
Terrawatch: the reawakening of Öræfajökull
UK set for snow as mild weather gives way to winter freeze
Venezuela to launch cryptocurrency to combat US 'blockade', Maduro says
Turnbull government scrambles after losing vote on New Zealand refugee offer
How American women's growing power finally turned #metoo into a cultural moment
Spanish judge denies bail to deposed Catalan vice-president
Monday briefing: Brexit faces hold up on the Irish border
‘This is hell out here’: how Behrouz Boochani's diaries expose Australia’s refugee shame
Berlin exhibition questions CIA's influence on global art scene
US senator: military families should leave South Korea as threat of war grows
Egypt: former PM Ahmed Shafik denies he was 'kidnapped' after mystery disappearance
'Poverty porn': Ed Sheeran Comic Relief film criticised by aid watchdog
Sweet as honey: the African killer bees providing a living in Liberia | Lorraine Mallinder
The 'open secret' of sexual harassment in the media is staggering. There’s plenty yet to come | Sarah Hanson-Young
Police in Germany use water cannon at protest against far-right AfD party – video
Protesters chant 'shame' during anti-corruption rally in Tel Aviv – video
‘Not much time left’ to solve North Korea problem without conflict, says Trump adviser – video

Eight arrested over murder of Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia

Posted: 04 Dec 2017 01:54 AM PST

Malta's prime minister Joseph Muscat says all the suspects are Maltese nationals and most have a criminal record

Eight suspects have been arrested in Malta over the murder of the investigative journalist, Daphne Caruana Galizia, the Maltese prime minister has said.

Caruana Galizia, who was a relentless critic of corruption in the country, died in October in a powerful car bomb blast yards from her home.

'Doesn't make sense': incredulity as Trump lawyer seeks to take blame for Flynn tweet

Posted: 03 Dec 2017 11:08 PM PST

John Dowd claimed it was the first and last time he would craft a tweet for the president, but not everyone is buying his story

Legal experts have voiced their surprise and concern after an attorney for Donald Trump sought to take the blame for a tweet sent from the president's personal account that could signal he took part in the obstruction of justice.

The US president said in a tweet on Saturday that he fired Michael Flynn as national security adviser in February "because he lied to the vice-president and the FBI" about his discussions with Russia's ambassador to the US last December. Flynn pleaded guilty in court on Friday to lying to FBI agents.

Cathay Pacific flight crew say they saw North Korean missile test

Posted: 04 Dec 2017 12:39 AM PST

Staff on aircraft near Japan report seeing missile break up and fall into sea on 29 November

The crew of a Cathay Pacific flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong reported seeing a North Korean ballistic missile break up and fall out of the sky last week, the airline has said, highlighting an unforeseen danger of Pyongyang's weapons tests.

Flight trackers put the plane close to Japan around the time of Pyongyang's Hwasong-15 missile test on 29 November. The missile fell into the Sea of Japan.

Abbas warns world leaders over Trump's recognition of Jerusalem

Posted: 04 Dec 2017 12:35 AM PST

Palestinian president seeks to rally support amid growing speculation White House plans to move US embassy from Tel Aviv

The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, has sought to rally last-minute diplomatic support to persuadeDonald Trump not to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, amid persistent speculation that he might do so in a speech this week.

The suggestion that Trump might unilaterally recognise Jerusalem – parts of which Palestinians also claim for the capital of their own future state – has been circulating in recent days as the US president deliberates on whether to renew the six-monthly waiver to a law mandating the transfer of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Thousands protest in Honduras in chaos over contested presidential election

Posted: 03 Dec 2017 02:27 PM PST

Protesters demand a new president and end to a week-long election debacle which has plunged the country into its worst political crisis since 2009 coup

Tens of thousands took to the streets across Honduras on Sunday, demanding a new president and an end to a week-long election debacle which has plunged the volatile country into its worst political crisis since a coup in 2009.

Pollution stops play at Delhi Test match as bowlers struggle to breathe

Posted: 03 Dec 2017 07:47 AM PST

Sri Lanka say conditions in smog-hit Indian capital left players vomiting, and some of them took to field wearing face masks

A cricket Test match between India and Sri Lanka was repeatedly interrupted on Sunday with claims players were "continuously vomiting" due to hazardous pollution levels in the Indian capital.

Commentators said it was the first recorded instance of an international match being halted due to the toxic smog that afflicts much of north India year-round but worsens to hazardous levels during winter months.

Donald Trump pulls US out of UN global compact on migration

Posted: 03 Dec 2017 07:03 AM PST

On eve of international conference, US envoy says plan for more humane strategy is incompatible with US sovereignty

The Trump administration has pulled out of the United Nations' ambitious plans to create a more humane global strategy on migration, saying involvement in the process interferes with American sovereignty, and runs counter to US immigration policies.

The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, informed the UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, at the weekend that Donald Trump was not willing to continue with an American commitment to the UN global compact on migration.

McConnell: tax cuts will be popular when people see they are paying less

Posted: 03 Dec 2017 02:31 PM PST

Senate leader dismisses critics but Iowa's Grassley attracts ire by saying estate tax cut is not aimed at people who spend on 'booze or women or movies'

Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell said on Sunday he is optimistic the two houses of Congress will produce tax cut legislation that can be signed into law by Donald Trump.

Explosive device found near German market 'targeted DHL'

Posted: 03 Dec 2017 08:42 AM PST

Suspicious package that sparked evacuation was not terror-related and may have been part of blackmail attempt

A suspicious package that prompted the evacuation of a Christmas market near Berlin on Friday was not terror-related but part of an attempt to blackmail the German logistics firm DHL, police say.

The delivery of the parcel containing nails and an improvised explosive device to a pharmacy in the city of Potsdam triggered the temporary evacuation of the nearby Christmas market.

Trump's Flynn tweets point to obstruction of justice, say opponents

Posted: 03 Dec 2017 11:14 AM PST

Democrat Feinstein: 'We're beginning to see the putting together of a case'
Was Flynn asked to wear a wire in Mueller hunt for evidence on Russia?

Donald Trump is increasingly vulnerable to charges of obstructing justice and may have inadvertently confessed following the prosecution of his former senior aide Michael Flynn, according to legal experts and senior Democrats.

Netanyahu tells backers to reword contentious police bill after protests

Posted: 03 Dec 2017 09:06 AM PST

Israeli PM says he has asked for legislation on police investigations to be redrafted so it does not apply to his own case

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has ordered his backers to reword a contentious piece of legislation that could potentially stifle a police investigation against him, in what appeared to be an attempt to defuse rising public anger against the Israeli leader.

The so-called "recommendations bill" would end the police's current practice of recommending to prosecutors whether to indict suspects upon completing their investigations. It also aims to stem leaks from the investigations themselves, stating that no police recommendations be made public and penalising those found leaking to the media.

21st Century Fox 'restarts talks' for possible sale to Walt Disney

Posted: 03 Dec 2017 07:19 AM PST

Talks reportedly focus on film studio, cable channels, and networks such as India's Star network and Sky in the UK

The Rupert Murdoch-controlled 21st Century Fox has restarted talks to sell most of the company, including UK broadcaster Sky, to Walt Disney, it was reported on Sunday.

The negotiations centre on Fox's film studio, cable channels such as FX, and international businesses including India's Star network and Sky, the Financial Times reported, citing "multiple people with knowledge of the talks".

Financial markets could be over-heating, warns central bank body

Posted: 03 Dec 2017 09:15 AM PST

Bank for International Settlements' quarterly health check warns global economy resembles era just before financial crash

Investors are ignoring warning signs that financial markets could be overheating and consumer debts are rising to unsustainable levels, the global body for central banks has warned in its quarterly financial health check.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) said the situation in the global economy was similar to the pre-2008 crash era when investors, seeking high returns, borrowed heavily to invest in risky assets, despite moves by central banks to tighten access to credit.

A lonely Texas road, a dead border patrol officer. Trump cried murder – but was it?

Posted: 03 Dec 2017 02:00 AM PST

When Rogelio Martinez and a colleague were found with head injuries by the roadside politicians rushed to say it underlined the need for border security

Two weeks after two US border patrol agents were found with head injuries by a drainage channel next to a freeway in remote west Texas, how one of them died remains a mystery.

At least, the late-night incident in which 36-year-old Rogelio Martinez died is a puzzle to the FBI, which is investigating.

CIA director sent warning to Iran over threatened US interests in Iraq

Posted: 03 Dec 2017 07:03 AM PST

Mike Pompeo says he sent a letter to a top Iranian military official
Pompeo refuses to answer questions on reports he may replace Rex Tillerson

CIA director Mike Pompeo said on Saturday he sent a letter to a top Iranian military official warning him that the US would hold Tehran accountable for any attacks it conducted on US interests in Iraq.

Theresa May heads to Brussels hoping to conclude phase one of Brexit talks - Politics live

Posted: 04 Dec 2017 02:35 AM PST

Rolling coverage of the day's political developments as they happen, including Theresa May's meeting with Jean-Claude Juncker intended to conclude phase one of the Brexit talks and MPs debating the EU withdrawal bill

10.35am GMT

Yesterday Conservative Brexiters started issuing a new clutch of "red lines" for Theresa May ahead of today's talks. Leave Means Leave published an open letter to May with seven demands, and Iain Duncan Smith wrote an article for the Sunday Telegraph making similar arguments.

Does this amount to a series threat to the prime minister if she makes too many compromises? Or at the Brexiters just sounding belligerent in the hope of somehow boosting May's position in the talks? (The theory being that, by sounding off in the Telegraph, they enable her to to Brussels saying, 'You must give me what I want because otherwise my backbenchers will go beserk.')

No, no, no, no. What we're talking about is making it very clear to those with whom she will be meeting today for lunch and negotiating with next week that they have been dragging their feet on the issue of the end economic relationship.

The fact is we have incredibly close relations with the Republic of Ireland, this trade is generally small, as I have just said it's regular, and it can be handled with modern communication techniques, electronic invoicing etc.

.@simoncoveney says what Owen Patterson said on negligible trade between north and south "not correct". Says there is €2bn in trade, 5,000 SMEs trade across the border.

10.18am GMT

Here is David Davis, the Brexit secretary, leaving his office this morning for his trip to Brussels. He is accompanying the prime minister.

Trump is elephant in the room at Kennedy Center Honors

Posted: 04 Dec 2017 02:29 AM PST

In joyous celebration of US's cultural achievements – and ethnic diversity –president is never mentioned by name

Betsy DeVos nodded gently to a hip-hop beat. Wilbur Ross sat a few seats away from Star Wars director JJ Abrams. Steven Mnuchin clapped robotically from a balcony shared with Gloria Estefan and Lionel Richie.

The biggest night on Washington's cultural calendar delivered the usual mix of politicians and celebrities on Sunday but lacked the one person who is both: President Donald Trump.

The US is exporting obesity – and Trump is making the problem worse | Kenneth Rogoff

Posted: 04 Dec 2017 01:58 AM PST

Pushing processed foods and sedentary lifestyles on the world is jeopardising global health gains

As Donald Trump's administration throws sharp elbows in trade negotiations and systematically rescinds regulations introduced by Barack Obama, one casualty is likely to be efforts to fight the global obesity epidemic. Left unchecked, rapidly rising obesity rates could slow or even reverse the dramatic gains in health and life expectancy that much of the world has enjoyed over the past few decades. And by forcing its food culture on countries like Mexico and Canada, the United States is making the problem worse.

One of the paradoxes of modern global capitalism is that whereas more than 800 million people in the world do not have enough to eat, an estimated 700 million people (including 100 million children) are obese. Of course, the two are not necessarily directly related. A considerable proportion of world hunger occurs in countries suffering from domestic strife or severe government dysfunction.

'Addis has run out of space': Ethiopia's radical redesign

Posted: 03 Dec 2017 11:30 PM PST

As Addis Ababa creaks under the weight of a mushrooming populace, sub-Saharan Africa's largest housing project is under way. But who benefits?

Wrapped in a white shawl and sporting a wide-brimmed cowboy hat, Haile stares out at his cattle as they graze in a rocky patch of grass. "My family and I have been here since I was a child," he says, nodding at the small, rickety houses to his right. "But we will have to leave soon." In the distance loom hulking grey towers, casting long shadows over his pasture. This is Koye Feche, a vast construction site on the edge of Addis Ababa that may soon be sub-Saharan Africa's largest housing project.

Koye is the latest in a handful of miniature cities that are gobbling up land all around the Ethiopian capital. Since launching the integrated housing and development plan (IHDP) in 2006, the Ethiopian government has built condominium estates like these at a pace unrivalled anywhere in Africa. To date, more more than 250,000 subsidised flats have been transferred to their new owner-occupiers in Addis Ababa and smaller towns. Situated 25km south-east of the city centre and covering over 700 hectares of land, Koye will house more than 200,000 people in row upon row of muscular concrete high-rises.

Terrawatch: the reawakening of Öræfajökull

Posted: 03 Dec 2017 01:30 PM PST

While the world watches Agung, thousands of kilometres away another volcano is quaking and geologists are beginning to feel jittery

All eyes have been on Mount Agung for the past week, watching the mesmerising clouds of ash pouring out of this tempestuous Indonesian volcano. Right now, the question is whether it is building for a repeat of the devastating eruption in 1963, when lava and lahars (rivers of water and rock) flooded hectares of land in minutes, killing 1,100 people.

UK set for snow as mild weather gives way to winter freeze

Posted: 04 Dec 2017 12:22 AM PST

Forecaster says temperatures could drop lower than last week's cold snap, with hail, sleet and snow expected across country

More snow could be in store for parts of the UK this week as another cold snap arrives.

After several days of icy temperatures last week, Britain enjoyed a spell of milder weather over the weekend. But forecasters are predicting the mercury will plunge again later this week, with the chance of wintry showers for many places.

Venezuela to launch cryptocurrency to combat US 'blockade', Maduro says

Posted: 03 Dec 2017 07:27 PM PST

President claims digital currency called the 'petro' will be backed by Venezuelan reserves of gold, oil, gas, and diamonds

President Nicolas Maduro has said Venezuela would launch a cryptocurrency to combat a US-led financial "blockade," although he provided few clues about how the economically crippled Opec member would pull off the feat.

"Venezuela will create a cryptocurrency ... the 'petro,' to advance in issues of monetary sovereignty, to make financial transactions and overcome the financial blockade," leftist Maduro said during his weekly Sunday televised broadcast.

Turnbull government scrambles after losing vote on New Zealand refugee offer

Posted: 04 Dec 2017 12:04 AM PST

Greens motion passes 73 to 72 in an upset before two missing MPs return to chamber, allowing Coalition to force a rerun

The Turnbull government has briefly lost control of the lower house, losing a vote on the floor of the House of Representatives, with the chamber passing a motion calling for asylum seekers on Manus Island to be sent to New Zealand.

The Greens motion, calling on the government to accept New Zealand's offer to resettle 150 refugees and negotiate conditions similar to the US refugee resettlement agreement, initially passed the house 73 votes to 72 in an upset vote late on Monday afternoon.

How American women's growing power finally turned #metoo into a cultural moment

Posted: 04 Dec 2017 02:04 AM PST

Women are speaking about sexual assault in unparalleled numbers, and while anger at men's behavior has erupted before, this may be the dawn of a new era

The Harvey Weinstein scandal has prompted a flood of accusations and admissions – but, unlike previous sexual harassment flash points, it has also sparked a moment of national reckoning.

Women once silenced by fear are speaking out, and the names of perpetrators keep coming: in recent days, TV hosts Matt Lauer and Charlie Rose were fired, New York Times reporter Glenn Thrush was suspended, and the head of Pixar, John Lasseter, said he would take a six-month sabbatical.

Spanish judge denies bail to deposed Catalan vice-president

Posted: 04 Dec 2017 01:55 AM PST

Six politicians are released, but supreme court says it remains to be seen whether pledge by Oriol Junqueras is truthful

A Spanish judge has ordered the release of six Catalan politicians but upheld the jailing of two other prominent members of the regional government ousted after an independence bid.

The Supreme court magistrate Pablo Llarena ordered the deposed Catalan vice-president, Oriol Junqueras, the former regional interior minister Joaquim Forn and the leaders of two Catalan grassroots separatist groups to remain in jail without bail.

Monday briefing: Brexit faces hold up on the Irish border

Posted: 03 Dec 2017 10:23 PM PST

Sticking point for Brussels talks, and winemaker warns 'we'll all starve' … 700,000 fall into poverty in four years … A starry night for science

Good morning. A happy Monday to you. I'm Martin Farrer and this is the Guardian's morning briefing.

‘This is hell out here’: how Behrouz Boochani's diaries expose Australia’s refugee shame

Posted: 03 Dec 2017 09:30 PM PST

The journalist fled Iran for Australia in 2013, and was sent to a detention centre on Manus Island, where he has been held ever since. His dispatches for the Guardian reveal the true horror of conditions at the Papua New Guinea camp

In 2013, the journalist Behrouz Boochani, an ethnic Kurd, fled Iran after several of his colleagues were arrested. The decisions he took then have defined his life and in turn led to him becoming the essential witness to Australia's hardline refugee policy.

Boochani travelled through south-east Asia and then by boat to Christmas Island, an Australian territory closer to Indonesia. From there he was deported to Manus Island, a remote part of Papua New Guinea (PNG), where he has been held ever since.

Berlin exhibition questions CIA's influence on global art scene

Posted: 03 Dec 2017 09:00 PM PST

The Trump era has prompted Germany to review the historic effects of America's soft power, and debate Berlin's future relationship with Washington

In Europe's city of spies, it was a feat of cold war counter-propaganda: a modernist congress centre with an audaciously curved roof, gifted by America to West Berlin in direct response to the buildup of Soviet's Stalinallee boulevard on the other side of town.

Its initiator, Eleanor Dulles, a sister of the head of the CIA at the time, announced Berlin's House of the Cultures of the World in 1956 as "a bright beacon shining light into the east".

US senator: military families should leave South Korea as threat of war grows

Posted: 03 Dec 2017 08:14 PM PST

North Korean media has warned that nuclear war could break out 'at any moment' as the US and South Korea begin their biggest-ever joint air drills

The Republican senator Lindsey Graham has called on the Pentagon to move the families of US military personnel out of South Korea, as a senior Trump administration official warned that the potential for war with North Korea was growing by the day.

The South Carolina senator, who is a member of the Senate armed services committee, also opposed sending any more military dependents to South Korea, which hosts 28,500 US soldiers.

Egypt: former PM Ahmed Shafik denies he was 'kidnapped' after mystery disappearance

Posted: 03 Dec 2017 04:43 PM PST

Shafik's family say he was taken from their home in the Emirates and deported back to Egypt, but he has appeared on TV saying he was not abducted

Former Egyptian prime minister Ahmed Shafik, who returned home from the United Arab Emirates after announcing his bid for Egypt's presidency, appeared in Cairo on Sunday to say he was still considering his run in next year's election.

Shafik's comments on a private Cairo television station came a day after his family said he had been taken from their home in the Emirates and deported back to Egypt, where they said they had lost contact with him until late on Sunday.

'Poverty porn': Ed Sheeran Comic Relief film criticised by aid watchdog

Posted: 04 Dec 2017 02:08 AM PST

Campaigns fronted by Tom Hardy and Eddie Redmayne also called out for reinforcing white saviour stereotypes in the annual Radi-Aid awards

"Poverty porn" appeals fronted by celebrities Ed Sheeran, Tom Hardy and Eddie Redmayne are simply reinforcing white saviour stereotypes, according to an aid watchdog.

The three films, made for Comic Relief and the Disasters Emergencies Committee (DEC), which raises cash for 13 major UK aid groups including Save the Children, Oxfam and ActionAid in emergencies, were nominated for "most offensive" campaigns of 2017 by the Radi-Aid awards. The annual contest, organised by the student-run Norwegian Students and Academics International Assistance Fund (Saih), is aimed at challenging aid groups to shift away from stereotypes about people living in poverty.

Sweet as honey: the African killer bees providing a living in Liberia | Lorraine Mallinder

Posted: 03 Dec 2017 09:00 PM PST

A corps of master beekeepers is leading a drive to produce honey for the growing domestic market, offering subsistence farmers a new livelihood

Liberian beekeeper Cecil Wilson is holding up a honeycomb, crawling with hundreds of so-called killer bees. They are the most aggressive in Africa, but the honey is good, he says, as they start swarming around him.

African bees – or Apis mellifera scutellata, to be precise – are not to be messed with. Not for nothing did they feature in 1978 disaster horror flick The Swarm. But for an increasing number of Liberians, still struggling to get by in a shattered postwar economy, they are providing a much-needed livelihood.

The 'open secret' of sexual harassment in the media is staggering. There’s plenty yet to come | Sarah Hanson-Young

Posted: 03 Dec 2017 09:00 AM PST

The media industry may not be the worst offender but it needs to be the best responder to allegations of harassment

I believe women who make allegations of sexual harassment. I know what it's like to experience it, and I know how angry and ashamed it makes you feel.

These women are made to feel like they are putting at risk their personal and professional reputations to speak up and protect other women, and they do it anyway.

Police in Germany use water cannon at protest against far-right AfD party – video

Posted: 03 Dec 2017 09:08 AM PST

German police clashed with protesters in Hanover on Saturday as thousands of people gathered in an attempt to disrupt the far-right AfD party's conference. The protesters marched carrying placards reading 'Hanover against Nazis' and 'Stand up to racism'

German police and protesters clash as far-right AfD elects leader

Protesters chant 'shame' during anti-corruption rally in Tel Aviv – video

Posted: 03 Dec 2017 05:44 AM PST

Tens of thousands of people attended a rally in Tel Aviv on Saturday night protesting against alleged corruption in the Israeli government. The prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, known to many in the country as 'Bibi', is under investigation over allegations he accepted luxury gifts worth thousands of dollars from wealthy supporters

Tens of thousands join anti-corruption protest on streets of Tel Aviv

‘Not much time left’ to solve North Korea problem without conflict, says Trump adviser – video

Posted: 03 Dec 2017 03:46 AM PST

North Korea's attempts to develop long-range nuclear weapons pose the 'greatest immediate threat to the United States', White House national security adviser HR McMaster told the Reagan National Defense Forum on Saturday. While McMaster did say there are ways to solve the problem 'short of armed conflict', he added that 'there's not much time left'

Risk of war with North Korea grows every day, says Trump's security adviser

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

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

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