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- Syria chemical attack: US and Russia fail to reach UN agreement as tensions rise
- Merkel tells Putin not to exclude Ukraine from gas pipeline route
- Sudan's president orders release of all political prisoners
- Blow to Colombian peace deal as former Farc rebel chief arrested on drug charges
- Video emerges of cheering as Israeli sniper shoots Palestinian
- Yemeni group launches lawsuit against Saudi crown prince in Paris
- Mexico adds fifth name to presidential ballot despite fake signatures
- Essential to avoid disaster of hard Irish border, says Tony Blair
- What could the US target in Syria and how is Russia likely to react?
- Berlin tops the world as city with the fastest rising property prices
- Orbán: election victory gives us mandate to pass 'Stop Soros' laws
- Stadium wars: the comedy of errors behind Sydney's shiny new plans
- The Gold Coast: the sun-drenched sin city that wants to shine
- Holden on: can Adelaide shift gears after the loss of its car industry?
- Too many cars, too few supermarkets: how Australia's cities really stack up
- Supporters of rugby stars acquitted of rape take out newspaper ad
- European stock markets open lower as IMF head warns on trade wars – business live
- Traditional antisemitism is back, global study finds
- Upwardly mobile in Mali – in pictures
- Australian union officials who ran fake Black Lives Matter Facebook page fired
- Xi strikes conciliatory tone on trade but offers few concessions
- Josh Frydenberg makes peace offering to ACT before D-day for energy deal
- Report reveals only 1% of aid for early child development goes on education
- Conflict displaces almost 700,000 Syrians in deadly first months of 2018
- Good news at last: the world isn’t as horrific as you think | Hans Rosling
- Baseless rumours: why talk of a Chinese military installation in Vanuatu misses the point
- Destroying Syria’s air force is one option for Trump
- No Douma resolution as UN rejects three separate drafts – video
- Zuckerberg says Facebook is cooperating with 2016 US elections investigation – video
- Zuckerberg: Facebook believed Cambridge Analytica deleted private data - video
- Zuckerberg tells Congress: 'It was my mistake, and I’m sorry' for data misuse – video
| Syria chemical attack: US and Russia fail to reach UN agreement as tensions rise Posted: 10 Apr 2018 03:56 PM PDT
An attempt to stave off a military confrontation in Syria failed in the UN security council on Tuesday evening, with Russia and western allies unable to compromise on a concerted international response to the use of chemical weapons. Each side voted against the other's proposals for setting up a body dedicated to investigating repeated poison gas use in Syria. The US delegation said it had done "everything possible" to accommodate Russian views and that the abortive council session marked a "decisive moment". Russia said the issue was being used by the US and its allies as a "pretext" to attack Syria. Continue reading... |
| Merkel tells Putin not to exclude Ukraine from gas pipeline route Posted: 10 Apr 2018 09:40 AM PDT German chancellor says Nord Stream 2 project is not possible without clarity on Ukraine's role Angela Merkel has intervened in a row over a gas pipeline due to run from Russia to Germany, telling Vladimir Putin he cannot exclude Ukraine from the transit route. The German chancellor has set herself up for a confrontation with the Russian president over the Nord Stream 2 project amid concerns Putin is attempting to increase western Europe's dependency on Russian gas at the same time as eroding Ukraine's importance in the project. Continue reading... |
| Sudan's president orders release of all political prisoners Posted: 10 Apr 2018 10:06 AM PDT Omar al-Bashir reported to be freeing those detained after unrest but details are unclear Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, has ordered the release of "all political detainees" held in the country, state media said, weeks after mass arrests in a crackdown on anti-government protests. Hundreds of opposition activists, leaders and protesters were arrested in January by security agents to curb demonstrations that erupted on the back of rising food prices, including bread. Continue reading... |
| Blow to Colombian peace deal as former Farc rebel chief arrested on drug charges Posted: 10 Apr 2018 12:03 PM PDT Prosecutors accuse Seauxis Hernández, AKA Jesus Santrich, of conspiring to ship 10,000kg of cocaine to the US but supporters cry setup A former Colombian rebel commander has been arrested on US drug-trafficking charges, in a shocking development that heaped more pressure on the stumbling peace process with the demobilized Farc guerrillas. Seuxis Hernández – a blind former peace negotiator better known by his alias Jesus Santrich – was detained early on Monday and awaits probable extradition to the United States, where prosecutors in New York accused him of conspiring to ship 10,000kg of cocaine. Continue reading... |
| Video emerges of cheering as Israeli sniper shoots Palestinian Posted: 10 Apr 2018 07:24 AM PDT Israel's military says incident in Gaza Strip will be 'thoroughly investigated' Footage has emerged of an Israeli sniper shooting a seemingly unarmed and motionless Palestinian man in the Gaza Strip, followed by exuberant whooping from an onlooker. Israel's military said an initial inquiry found the shooting had taken place on 22 December, when one of its soldiers injured the man in his leg during what it called violent riots. Continue reading... |
| Yemeni group launches lawsuit against Saudi crown prince in Paris Posted: 10 Apr 2018 11:17 AM PDT Campaigners accuse Mohammed bin Salman of 'complicity in torture' of civilians A Yemeni human rights group has filed a lawsuit in a Paris court against the visiting Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, accusing him of complicity in torture in their country, in what may prove an embarrassment for the French government as it welcomes its powerful guest. A French lawyer representing the Legal Center for Rights and Development filed the suit against the crown prince, currently in France on an official visit, for his leading role in the Saudi-led coalition's airstrikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. |
| Mexico adds fifth name to presidential ballot despite fake signatures Posted: 10 Apr 2018 01:20 PM PDT Court finds in favor of cowboy turned state governor El Bronco, even though 58% of signatures supporting nomination were ruled invalid Mexico's electoral tribunal has included a colourful independent candidate on the ballot for this July's presidential election, despite the fact 58% of the signatures supporting his nomination were invalidated. In a midnight ruling on Monday, the tribunal found in favour of Jaime Rodríguez, a cowboy turned state governor better known as "El Bronco", allowing him to become the fifth candidate in the election. Continue reading... |
| Essential to avoid disaster of hard Irish border, says Tony Blair Posted: 10 Apr 2018 10:58 AM PDT Former PM, speaking after 20 years of Good Friday agreement, says Brexit must be managed Tony Blair has accepted that Britain and Ireland will have to work around rather than reverse Brexit in order to prevent a hard border on the island and preserve the Good Friday agreement. While stressing he was still "passionately opposed" to Brexit and regarded the UK leaving the EU as a "profound mistake", the former prime minister said that the two countries would have to "overcome the challenge" posed by the British departure from Europe. |
| What could the US target in Syria and how is Russia likely to react? Posted: 10 Apr 2018 04:23 AM PDT The response to a 2017 chemical attack was largely symbolic; this time it could be more comprehensive After the 2017 Khan Sheikhoun attack, Donald Trump ordered a strike on the airfield that launched the Syrian jets involved. The 59 cruise missiles launched from US warships in the Mediterranean damaged runways and hangars at Shayrat but they were quickly repaired. That attack was largely symbolic. Continue reading... |
| Berlin tops the world as city with the fastest rising property prices Posted: 10 Apr 2018 09:44 AM PDT Average prices leapt 20.5% last year, prompting warnings of a property bubble waiting to burst Berlin has emerged as the frothiest property market in the world, with the city engulfed by expensive highrise developments and speculative buying that threatens its traditionally low rents and hip arts scene. Prices in Berlin jumped by 20.5% in 2017, according to the property consultancy Knight Frank, with other German cities also displacing cities in China in terms of rising prices. |
| Orbán: election victory gives us mandate to pass 'Stop Soros' laws Posted: 10 Apr 2018 09:49 AM PDT Hungarian leader says package of bills targeting civil society will be pushed through parliament Hungary's prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has promised to push through a controversial piece of legislation targeting civil society, claiming his victory in parliamentary elections had provided him with what could be the strongest political mandate in recent Hungarian history. The announcement on Tuesday – combined with news that one of the last remaining newspapers critical of the Orbán government would be closing with immediate effect – led his critics to fear the worst as Orbán begins another four years in power. Continue reading... |
| Stadium wars: the comedy of errors behind Sydney's shiny new plans Posted: 11 Apr 2018 01:00 AM PDT With four stadium policies announced in three years, the NSW government seems determined to rebuild Sydney's two football venues – at a cost of $1.5bn. Why? At the heart of the comedy of errors that has become known as the Sydney "stadium wars" lurks a deep and particular insecurity. Sydney hosts 14 professional men's football teams, which is a lot in anybody's books. Its main football venues, however, are a problem: two vast, creaking stadiums nobody really likes. For most games – of rugby league, rugby union and soccer – the 83,500-seat Stadium Australia and 45,500-seat Sydney Football Stadium (SFS) don't even fill up halfway. Continue reading... |
| The Gold Coast: the sun-drenched sin city that wants to shine Posted: 11 Apr 2018 12:00 AM PDT Famed for parties, brawls and bikini-clad meter maids, Australia's Vegas is more dynamic than its mythology suggests – and it's on the up Pristine beaches stretching for 70km, enviable weather, world heritage-listed Gondwana rainforests, and enough big city infrastructure to keep punters interested – Australia's Gold Coast is a pleasure centre. But for many it has a pervasive dark side: a city once branded as a sunny place for shady people. One of Australia's most revered writers once told me he comes here to have his breakdowns. On a visit in 1997, Prince Charles was reported to have said its gaudy skyscrapers contributed to the "uglification" of one of the world's top holiday spots. In 1984, the prominent Sydney architect Neville Gruzman suggested the city should be bulldozed into the surf. Continue reading... |
| Holden on: can Adelaide shift gears after the loss of its car industry? Posted: 10 Apr 2018 11:00 PM PDT Six months after Australia's last car plant shut its doors, the Adelaide 500 race is a bittersweet affair, as poverty bites in the suburb of Elizabeth Tegan Gromball squints uncertainly at the muscle cars roaring around the bend. It used to be that when the gleaming crimson and white Holden VF Commodore blasted over the finish line, she felt like she had played some small part in its victory. Continue reading... |
| Too many cars, too few supermarkets: how Australia's cities really stack up Posted: 10 Apr 2018 03:00 AM PDT Magazines may gush about the 'liveability' of Australian cities, but new data shows big disparities in transport, rents and health With five cities in the top 20 of the Economist Intelligence Unit's annual global liveability survey, Australia boasts some of the most attractive urban environments in the world. In the most recent edition, Melbourne was declared the world's most liveable city for the seventh year running, with Adelaide fifth, Perth seventh, Sydney 11th and Brisbane 16th. Related: The radical plan to split Sydney into three Continue reading... |
| Supporters of rugby stars acquitted of rape take out newspaper ad Posted: 11 Apr 2018 01:11 AM PDT Full-page ad calls for Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding's rugby suspensions to be lifted Supporters of two Irish rugby internationals acquitted of rape have taken out a full-page newspaper advertisement demanding their playing suspensions be lifted. The British and Irish Lion Paddy Jackson and his Ulster clubmate Stuart Olding were cleared last month in a high profile trial in Belfast. Their two friends, Blane McIlroy and Rory Harrison, were found not guilty of indecent exposure and perverting the course of justice. Continue reading... |
| European stock markets open lower as IMF head warns on trade wars – business live Posted: 11 Apr 2018 01:19 AM PDT Christine Lagarde warns the system for world trade is in 'danger of being torn apart'
Turning to oil, Saudi Arabia's energy minister said today that he was happy with the current state of the oil market. The oil cartel Opec, Russia and several other non-Opec countries began cutting supply in January 2017 in an effort to eliminate the global glut of crude that had built up in previous years. The pact has been extended until the end of this year. I think a lot of the glut has been cleared.
Germany's VDMA engineering association has called on the West to lift some sanctions against Moscow. Its president, Carl Martin Welcker, has told Reuters that the association is hoping for a sustained recovery in demand from the Russian market. German engineering exports to Russia rose 22.5% to €5.3bn last year, but that was still far below a peak of almost €8bn peak in 2012. Russia has developed very positively over the past year, after all the disappointing years before. Economic sanctions have little political impact in this respect, we want them to be critically scrutinised. The things that work should be upheld and others should be loosened if possible. Continue reading... |
| Traditional antisemitism is back, global study finds Posted: 11 Apr 2018 01:00 AM PDT Insecurity among Jewish people worsened by rise of racist right and anti-Israeli left Feelings of insecurity are widespread among European Jews as a result of the resurgence of the extreme right, a heated anti-Zionist discourse on the left and radical Islam, according to a global study of antisemitism. Last year the number of recorded violent antisemitic incidents fell by about 9% compared to 2016 – and by almost 50% compared with the 2006-14 average – but there was a notable increase in harassment and abuse, according to a survey published by the Kantor Center. |
| Upwardly mobile in Mali – in pictures Posted: 10 Apr 2018 11:00 PM PDT Seydou Keïta's studio portraits reveal the aspirations of Malian citizens in the 1950s, contrasting expressive traditional African textile designs with sleek western consumer goods Continue reading... |
| Australian union officials who ran fake Black Lives Matter Facebook page fired Posted: 10 Apr 2018 09:52 PM PDT National Union of Workers 'deeply distressed and appalled' about sham site, which had twice as many followers as official page An Australian union has sacked two employees linked to a fake Black Lives Matter Facebook page. On Wednesday the National Union of Workers confirmed it had terminated the employment of two organisers from its Western Australia branch over the page. Continue reading... |
| Xi strikes conciliatory tone on trade but offers few concessions Posted: 11 Apr 2018 01:04 AM PDT Chinese president's comments may be enough to tamp down escalating rhetoric Xi Jinping filled his speech at an annual business summit on Tuesday with aphorisms about hard work and openness. "Heaven rewards the diligent," the Chinese president said, applauding his country's achievements. The march of history towards economic liberalisation was irreversible, he said at another point, pledging China's commitment to free trade. Then he slipped in a Chinese proverb: "Heaven has its own law and those who embrace it will prosper." The saying, meant to celebrate China's unique blend of socialism with a market-driven economy, contained another message: that China would continue to play by its own rules. Continue reading... |
| Josh Frydenberg makes peace offering to ACT before D-day for energy deal Posted: 11 Apr 2018 12:42 AM PDT Energy minister bows to territory's call for emissions reduction in national energy guarantee to be reported nationally Josh Frydenberg says he is happy for emissions reduction in the national energy guarantee to be reported nationally, not regionally, which is a significant early peace offering to the Australian Capital Territory, which has the power to scuttle the proposal. In an interview with Guardian Australia, the energy minister said he wasn't interested in pursuing any side deals with state and territory governments to try and bed down the national energy guarantee, but was open to adjusting parameters that created significant problems for individual jurisdictions. Continue reading... |
| Report reveals only 1% of aid for early child development goes on education Posted: 10 Apr 2018 11:00 PM PDT Calls for urgent action as study shows nutrition and health initiatives take bulk of global funding for children under six Just 1% of international aid dedicated to young children's development is being targeted on pre-school education, according to a report that warns spending is imbalanced and short-sighted. While global funding for early childhood development has grown in recent years, almost all of this investment – 95% – has been channelled towards health and nutrition initiatives. Donors are deterred from spending on pre-school education, the report says, because the benefits of doing so are less immediate and visible. Continue reading... |
| Conflict displaces almost 700,000 Syrians in deadly first months of 2018 Posted: 10 Apr 2018 09:28 AM PDT Crisis has deepened for civilians caught up in attacks on hospitals, schools and homes, and cut off from humanitarian aid, says UN Almost three-quarters of a million Syrians have been forced out of their homes by fighting in the first months of 2018, according to the senior UN official coordinating the crisis response. With growing anticipation that retaliatory US strikes may be launched imminently in response to the latest suspected use of chemical weapons in Douma, Panos Moumtzis, regional humanitarian coordinator for the country's crisis, issued a bleak picture of continuing large-scale displacement. Continue reading... |
| Good news at last: the world isn’t as horrific as you think | Hans Rosling Posted: 10 Apr 2018 10:00 PM PDT Training yourself how to put the news into perspective – practising 'factfulness' – will change your outlook for the better Things are bad, and it feels like they are getting worse, right? War, violence, natural disasters, corruption. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer; and we will soon run out of resources unless something drastic is done. That's the picture most people in the west see in the media and carry around in their heads. I call it the overdramatic worldview. It's stressful and misleading. In fact, the vast majority of the world's population live somewhere in the middle of the income scale. Perhaps they are not what we think of as middle class, but they are not living in extreme poverty. Their girls go to school, their children get vaccinated. Perhaps not on every single measure, or every single year, but step by step, year by year, the world is improving. In the past two centuries, life expectancy has more than doubled. Although the world faces huge challenges, we have made tremendous progress. Continue reading... |
| Baseless rumours: why talk of a Chinese military installation in Vanuatu misses the point Posted: 10 Apr 2018 05:31 PM PDT For more than a decade, this tiny island nation has leveraged regional rivalries to drive infrastructure development Reports this week that Vanuatu was to be the site of a Chinese military base caught most in Vanuatu by surprise. Officials with detailed knowledge of relevant matters swore hand on heart they'd never even heard hints of such talk. The minister for foreign affairs, Ralph Regenvanu, questioned the report's sourcing, telling the Radio Australia's Pacific Beat radio program: "I'm not very happy about the standard of reporting in the Australia media." Chinese embassy officials in Vanuatu declined an interview request, saying: "The report is groundless and not worth any comment at all." Continue reading... |
| Destroying Syria’s air force is one option for Trump Posted: 10 Apr 2018 11:55 AM PDT Trying to wipe out Assad's air power would come with risks, not least the potential fallout from any Russian deaths Donald Trump ordered an attack on Syria a year ago in response to a chemical attack, resulting in 59 US Tomahawk cruise missiles hitting the Shayrat airbase. Given that it failed to deter the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, and regime forces from using chemical weapons again, the US president must now decide whether to launch a more punitive strike in the wake of the suspected gas attack in Douma on Saturday. Continue reading... |
| No Douma resolution as UN rejects three separate drafts – video Posted: 10 Apr 2018 10:30 PM PDT Rival US and Russian resolutions to determine responsibility for chemical weapons attacks in Syria were defeated at the United Nations on Tuesday. The Security Council also rejected another Russian-drafted resolution that would have welcomed an investigation by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons of allegations of a weekend chemical attack in the suburbs of Syria's capital. |
| Zuckerberg says Facebook is cooperating with 2016 US elections investigation – video Posted: 10 Apr 2018 02:56 PM PDT Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says his company is 'working with' special counsel Robert Mueller in his probe into Russian interference, as he faced 44 senators as part of a rare joint committee hearing to address how his company handles user privacy and other issues. Continue reading... |
| Zuckerberg: Facebook believed Cambridge Analytica deleted private data - video Posted: 10 Apr 2018 01:52 PM PDT Facebook's chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, testified in the first session of privacy-focused hearings on Capitol Hill. When asked why Facebook had not informed US FTC about Cambridge Analytica data harvesting, Zuckerberg said Cambridge Analytica had told them that 'they weren't using the data and deleted it – we considered it a closed case'. He also said that Cambridge Analytica wasn't banned from Facebook at the time because, 'as of the time we learnt about their activity in 2015, they weren't an advertiser, so we actually had nothing to ban'. Continue reading... |
| Zuckerberg tells Congress: 'It was my mistake, and I’m sorry' for data misuse – video Posted: 10 Apr 2018 01:32 PM PDT Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress in response to the privacy scandal engulfing his social network. The 33-year-old faced questions from a joint hearing of the US Senate's commerce and judiciary committees. In his opening statement, he apologised, saying: 'We didn't take a broad enough view of our responsibility, and that was a big mistake. It was my mistake, and I'm sorry. I started Facebook, I run it, and I'm responsible for what happens here' Continue reading... |
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