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- Syria attack: nerve agent experts race to smuggle bodies out of Douma
- 'It's not my war': the Syrian man who has spent a month living in Kuala Lumpur airport
- Kevin Spacey being investigated in LA over sexual assault claims
- Zuckerberg put on back foot as House grills Facebook CEO over user tracking
- 'My hair turned white': report lifts lid on China's forced confessions
- New Zealand bans all new offshore oil exploration as part of 'carbon-neutral future'
- Mueller protests: 300,000 vow to march if Trump fires special counsel
- Libyan military chief Khalifa Haftar severely ill after stroke – reports
- Pope Francis admits 'grave error' in discrediting Chilean church sexual abuse victims
- Bill Cosby defense asks judge to allow witness's criminal record in evidence
- Sweden charges Tibetan resident with spying on fellow exiles for China
- People smuggler who Italians claim to have jailed is living freely in Uganda
- UK-Russia tensions rise over Syria attack and Salisbury poisoning – live updates
- Oil soars to three-year high on growing Middle East tensions - business live
- Hobart's 'museum of sex and death' to help design Australia's first dementia village
- Could allowing dogs on trains help ease Sydney's car crisis?
- Suburbia gone sour: the melancholia of Melbourne's milk bars – in pictures
- The Brazilian villagers turning plastic pollution into profit
- GCHQ chief condemns ‘reckless’ Russian attack in Salisbury
- Otobong Nkanga explores Africa's relationship with the west – in pictures
- Canada failing to grasp scale of social media 'bot' use in politics, report finds
- States threaten to call off energy deal if renewables undermined
- 'Litmus test' looms for Hague-Jolie plan to end sexual violence in war
- Food waste a recipe for disaster in global hunger fight, shoppers warned
- The woman who braves bullets and bombs to uphold her father's legacy in Somalia – podcast
- Spend more aid on early years education for a life of opportunity | Sarah Brown
- Trump's Russia tweets show how misinformation can lead to global crisis
- Turkey's ever-closer ties with Russia leave US lacking key ally on Syria
- Avalanche sends rescue workers fleeing in Tignes, France – video
- White House struggles to explain Trump's Russia missile tweet – video
- Military plane crash kills more than 250 in Algeria – video report
- Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's memorial service – in pictures
- Military plane crashes in Algeria – video
- US accuses Russia of protecting a monster as UN fails to adopt Douma resolution – video
| Syria attack: nerve agent experts race to smuggle bodies out of Douma Posted: 11 Apr 2018 11:44 PM PDT Corpses could provide vital clues for US technicians trying to establish which chemicals were used in the deadly bombing Foaming at the mouth and struggling to breathe, their eyes burning, the patients overwhelmed medics in the Syrian town of Douma in the hours after 7:30pm last Saturday. By the following day, an estimated 500 people had gone to Syrian health facilities with "signs and symptoms consistent with exposure to toxic chemicals", according to reports passed to the World Health Organisation from its partners in the country. Even in an area numbed by months of relentless attacks, this was an unusual event. Doctors were soon treating symptoms they had not seen before. Some patients were convulsing, several had pinpoint pupils, and others had slow heartbeats that were barely keeping them alive. Continue reading... |
| 'It's not my war': the Syrian man who has spent a month living in Kuala Lumpur airport Posted: 11 Apr 2018 06:25 PM PDT Hassan al-Kontar fears arrest for refusing a military call-up and now survives on airline meals of rice and chicken A Syrian man has spent more than a month living in a corner of a Malaysian airport – sleeping under stairwells and showering in toilets – after being left stranded by airlines and immigration officials. Hassan al-Kontar, 36, fears being arrested in his home country for refusing a call-up for military service, and has been forced to make the transit section of Kuala Lumpur airport his new home for the past 37 days. Continue reading... |
| Kevin Spacey being investigated in LA over sexual assault claims Posted: 11 Apr 2018 11:49 PM PDT California investigation adds to three already active against the Oscar-winning actor in London Prosecutors in Los Angeles are reviewing sexual assault allegations against the actor Kevin Spacey, it has emerged. The police investigation in California adds to three already active in London against the two-time Oscar-winner. Continue reading... |
| Zuckerberg put on back foot as House grills Facebook CEO over user tracking Posted: 11 Apr 2018 12:42 PM PDT In his second day on Capitol Hill, Zuckerberg says his own data was handed to Cambridge Analytica The Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, was given a rougher ride on his second day of congressional testimony on Wednesday as he faced sharp questions about the tech giant's ability to track its users' movements, shopping habits and browsing histories and was at one stage compared to J Edgar Hoover. During five hours of testimony, the billionaire entrepreneur revealed that his own personal information was among that handed over to the political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, which harvested the data of up to 87 million Facebook users without their permission. Continue reading... |
| 'My hair turned white': report lifts lid on China's forced confessions Posted: 11 Apr 2018 09:00 PM PDT Those coerced into confessing are dressed by police, handed a script and given directions on how to deliver lines China must stop airing forced confessions from human rights activists, a campaign group has said in a report that details how detainees are coerced into delivering scripted remarks. There have been at least 45 forced televised confessions in China since 2013, according to the report from Safeguard Defenders, a human rights NGO in Asia. The group called on the international community to put pressure on the Chinese government to end the practice and recommended imposing sanctions on executives at China's state broadcaster, including asset freezes and travel bans. Continue reading... |
| New Zealand bans all new offshore oil exploration as part of 'carbon-neutral future' Posted: 11 Apr 2018 06:17 PM PDT Prime minister Jacinda Ardern says move 'will essentially take effect in 30 or more years' time' The New Zealand government will grant no new offshore oil exploration permits in a move that is being hailed by conservation and environmental groups as a historic victory in the battle against climate change. Related: Jacinda Ardern on life as a leader, Trump and selfies in the lingerie department Continue reading... |
| Mueller protests: 300,000 vow to march if Trump fires special counsel Posted: 11 Apr 2018 10:00 PM PDT
More than 300,000 people have pledged to attend "rapid response" protests across the US, should Donald Trump fire special counsel Robert Mueller. Continue reading... |
| Libyan military chief Khalifa Haftar severely ill after stroke – reports Posted: 11 Apr 2018 01:12 PM PDT But presidential hopeful's Libyan National Army dismisses claims as fake news put out by worried opponents Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the Libyan military strongman seen as a potential winner of presidential elections in Libya this year, has reportedly been taken to hospital in Paris following a severe stroke. Khalifa al-Obeidi, a spokesman for Haftar's Libyan National Army, denied the claim as fake news generated by Haftar's opponents, and his aides pointed to undated photographs of Haftar inspecting troops inside Libya. Continue reading... |
| Pope Francis admits 'grave error' in discrediting Chilean church sexual abuse victims Posted: 11 Apr 2018 02:07 PM PDT The pope blamed a lack of 'truthful and balanced information' in his missteps in judging the case that has tarnished his reputation Pope Francis has admitted he made "grave errors" in judgment in a clerical sexual abuse scandal in Chile and invited the abuse victims he had discredited to Rome to beg their forgiveness. In an extraordinary letter published on Wednesday, Francis also summoned all of Chile's bishops to the Vatican for an emergency summit in the coming weeks to discuss the scandal, which has badly tarnished his reputation and that of the Chilean church. Continue reading... |
| Bill Cosby defense asks judge to allow witness's criminal record in evidence Posted: 11 Apr 2018 09:34 AM PDT
Prosecutors are rallying from a blistering defense attack on Bill Cosby's chief accuser with a parade of women who say the comedian drugged and attacked them long before he met Andrea Constand. Prosecutors are lining up the additional accusers to make the case that Cosby, once revered as "America's Dad", was a big Hollywood predator who is only now facing a reckoning after allegedly violating Constand at his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. Continue reading... |
| Sweden charges Tibetan resident with spying on fellow exiles for China Posted: 11 Apr 2018 11:03 PM PDT Charge escalates row between the two countries following China's detention of Swedish bookseller Gui Minhai Sweden has charged a 49-year-old Tibetan man living in the country for spying on his fellow exiles for the Chinese government, according to Swedish media. State prosecutors said the man, who is Tibetan and was working for the newspaper Voice of Tibet, is suspected of supplying the Chinese government with information about the families, housing situations and travel plans of "certain people of importance to the Chinese regime". Continue reading... |
| People smuggler who Italians claim to have jailed is living freely in Uganda Posted: 10 Apr 2018 09:00 PM PDT Documentary reveals Medhanie Yehdego Mered, known as 'the General', has never been arrested One of the world's most wanted people smugglers, who Italian prosecutors claim to have in jail in Sicily, is living freely in Uganda and spending his substantial earnings in nightclubs, according to multiple witnesses. Prosecutors in Palermo announced the capture of Medhanie Yehdego Mered in Sudan in June 2016, describing it as "the arrest of the year". The suspect was extradited to Italy with the help of the British Foreign Office and the UK's National Crime Agency, which had participated in the operation. Continue reading... |
| UK-Russia tensions rise over Syria attack and Salisbury poisoning – live updates Posted: 12 Apr 2018 02:29 AM PDT Follow latest developments as the OPCW is due to report on the Skripals' poisoning in Salisbury and cabinet meets to discuss military action after Syria chemical attack
The Kremlin says a "de-confliction" telephone line for Syria between Russia and the US is active and is being used by both sides. Asked #Kremlin spokesman if the deconfliction line was being used between Russian & US military in #Syria to avoid Rsn casualties in event of a strike. Peskov: 'The line exists & it is active. I'm talking in general. The line is being used by both sides.' (interpet as you will)
Tory MP John Redwood, who abstained in the vote to attack the Assad government in 2013, says he remains cautious about intervention. No action is likely to have a good outcome, he tweeted. How should the West respond to Syria? I trust the UK will be a sane voice wanting us to act effectively where we can, rather than demanding action to reveal our anger even if there is no action that is likely to have a good outcome. Continue reading... |
| Oil soars to three-year high on growing Middle East tensions - business live Posted: 12 Apr 2018 02:28 AM PDT Global stocks on edge as Donald Trump says 'missiles will be coming' in Syria; Theresa May says chemical attack 'cannot go unchallenged' before recalling UK ministers for special cabinet meeting
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading firm IG, sums up the action so far on financial markets. 'Steady but cautious' is the best way to describe stock markets in Europe and the UK this morning. The British cabinet meets later to decide on military action, and the world is awaiting news of possible US strikes on Syria. As a result, it is hard to muster up the courage to keep chasing equities at present. Oil prices seem happy to consolidate around recent highs, awaiting further developments in the Syria situation. Fundamental news is going to have to do all the heavy lifting if the price is to rally further however – the size and rapidity of the move from last summer's lows means that positioning is now all on the long side, with little sign of fresh money flowing in to drive the price higher. Ahead of the open, we expect the Dow to start at 24,205, 16 points higher from yesterday's close.
Theresa May has recalled ministers from their Easter break for a special cabinet meeting on how to respond to what she has described as a barbaric poison gas attack by Syrian government forces on civilians in Douma, east of the capital Damascus. Ministers will discuss whether to join the US and France in a possible military attack on Syria that would bring western and Russian forces into direct conflict for the first time in the seven-year-old civil war. They are the guarantors of law and order in the region. Continue reading... |
| Hobart's 'museum of sex and death' to help design Australia's first dementia village Posted: 12 Apr 2018 12:00 AM PDT Tasmania's experimental Mona gallery is collaborating on the design of Korongee: a care village with dementia-friendly homes and businesses David Walsh, founder of the Museum of Old and New Art (Mona), has rejected praise for giving back to his Tasmanian hometown by choosing to set up Australia's most experimental and popular gallery there. "People keep saying, 'It's so great that you did this in the place where you were born'," he said in 2016. "But I couldn't give a fuck about where I was born." That assertion seems ever more unlikely given the latest surprising move by the so-called "museum of sex and death": Mona is in talks with Glenview, a provider of aged care homes and services. Continue reading... |
| Could allowing dogs on trains help ease Sydney's car crisis? Posted: 11 Apr 2018 11:00 PM PDT As the city struggles to reduce traffic, a strict no-dog public transport policy forces owners into cars, causing 2.4m journeys a week. Time for a rethink? Sydney loves to boast of its cafe culture, but only Leichhardt's Cafe Bones makes it accessible to those on four legs. Situated in the middle of Hawthorne Canal Reserve, a large park in the city's affluent inner west, its menu extends beyond flat whites and friands to lactose-free "puppaccinos" and "dogaccinos" – the low-fat alternative "for the health-conscious pup". Now in its 18th year, Cafe Bones bills itself as the world's first dog-friendly cafe. Its regulars – a large, freewheeling tornado of dogs and their close-knit community of owners – lend it a happily chaotic atmosphere that is all the more distinctive for its rarity. As an unabashedly dog-friendly environment, it is a haven in a city whose government is far more hostile to pet ownership than its residents are. Continue reading... |
| Suburbia gone sour: the melancholia of Melbourne's milk bars – in pictures Posted: 11 Apr 2018 04:00 AM PDT Milk bars – or corner shops – were once an icon of Australian suburbia. Many were established by immigrants half a century ago, but recent gentrification has seen them replaced by restaurants and chain stores. Designer Jimi Connor has documented their decline Continue reading... |
| The Brazilian villagers turning plastic pollution into profit Posted: 11 Apr 2018 10:00 PM PDT After plastic waste contributed to deadly floods in Recife, one neighbourhood took action. Now people can earn a living by cleaning up the river in a scheme being imitated around the world Maria das Gracas started collecting her plastic bottles after she saw the body of her neighbour floating past her house, carried along with the pollution that helped cause the deadly floods. She stores them by the front door of her one-story home, which sits on the litter-strewn banks of the Tejipió river in north-east Brazil. Continue reading... |
| GCHQ chief condemns ‘reckless’ Russian attack in Salisbury Posted: 12 Apr 2018 02:16 AM PDT Jeremy Fleming hints at retaliatory action in first public appearance since taking helm of UK spy agency The director of the UK surveillance agency GCHQ, Jeremy Fleming, has accused Russia of being "reckless" in mounting a nerve agent attack in Salisbury. "It demonstrates how reckless Russia is prepared to be, how little the Kremlin cares of the rules-based order, how comfortable they are at putting ordinary lives at risk," he said. Continue reading... |
| Otobong Nkanga explores Africa's relationship with the west – in pictures Posted: 11 Apr 2018 11:00 PM PDT The Nigerian-born, Belgium-based artist's first North American exhibition looks at the relationship between Africa and the western world, focusing on the mining of natural resources. To Dig a Hole That Collapses Again draws from a range of media, from photography to illustration to tapestry, to show how raw materials have been turned into consumer objects. The exhibition is at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago from 31 March to 2 September 2018 Continue reading... |
| Canada failing to grasp scale of social media 'bot' use in politics, report finds Posted: 12 Apr 2018 02:00 AM PDT
Canada has failed to meaningfully consider the extent that social media "bots" are shaping the country's political discourse, according to two professors whose research suggests that the software has been used in Canada as far back as 2012. "We need to have more critical awareness of the fact that social media isn't a mirror of reality – it's a distorted mirror," said Fenwick McKelvey, an assistant professor at Montreal's Concordia University. "And we need to be able to learn how to make sense of these distortions." Continue reading... |
| States threaten to call off energy deal if renewables undermined Posted: 12 Apr 2018 01:19 AM PDT Queensland and Victoria hedge bets about national energy guarantee, saying they won't compromise on keeping strong renewables targets The Queensland and Victorian governments are hedging their bets about the Turnbull government's national energy guarantee ahead of the circulation of key design details expected during the next 48 hours. Queensland's energy minister, Anthony Lynham, said on Thursday the state was still reviewing the stakeholder submissions to the Energy Security Board and "those submissions highlight that a lot of critical issues still need to be resolved". Continue reading... |
| 'Litmus test' looms for Hague-Jolie plan to end sexual violence in war Posted: 12 Apr 2018 01:00 AM PDT Alarm over cuts to scheme launched by William Hague and Angelina Jolie as scrutiny falls on British response to rape of Rohingya women The Foreign Office has been accused of neglecting its pledge to tackle sexual violence in conflict zones, after the number of experts on a flagship team designed to improve protection for women was halved. The preventing sexual violence initiative, founded by the former British foreign secretary William Hague alongside Hollywood star Angelina Jolie, promised to increase support for victims and help to end the culture of impunity that has allowed transgressors to go unpunished. Continue reading... |
| Food waste a recipe for disaster in global hunger fight, shoppers warned Posted: 11 Apr 2018 11:00 PM PDT World Food Programme teams up with creative agency to encourage public to create meals from food that would otherwise go to waste Consumers are being urged to use their imagination and create recipes from food that would otherwise go to waste, as part of a campaign to raise money to tackle global hunger. The World Food Programme has launched a social media movement, #RecipeforDisaster, with the aim of making the public more conscious of the food waste they generate. It is hoped the initiative, which is being launched in Britain first before being rolled out globally, will encourage people to share recipes online and make a donation. Continue reading... |
| The woman who braves bullets and bombs to uphold her father's legacy in Somalia – podcast Posted: 11 Apr 2018 04:52 AM PDT Elman Ali Ahmed dedicated his life to disarming child soldiers and trying to end conflict in Somalia – now his daughter, Ilwad, is following in his footsteps Acast, Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Mixcloud, Audioboom. Join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter and email us at podcasts@theguardian.com Warmly remembered as the Somali father of peace, Elman Ali Ahmed had a celebrated slogan – 'Drop the gun, pick up the pen' – that still adorns the war-ravaged walls of Mogadishu. In 1996, his mission to disarm child soldiers and end conflict in the country he loved cost him his life when he was assassinated. Now his daughter, Ilwad, inspired by the legacy of a man she describes as 'an incredible force' – and roused by the similarly indomitable spirit of her mother – is continuing his work. She talks to Lucy Lamble about her reasons for following in the footsteps of her parents and the challenges of working for peace in a country where women are expected to stay at home and raise families rather than fight for social justice Continue reading... |
| Spend more aid on early years education for a life of opportunity | Sarah Brown Posted: 11 Apr 2018 02:30 AM PDT Why is education for young children still overlooked even though the huge benefits of this investment are obvious to all? A child's most important steps happen before they set foot in a primary school. By their fifth birthday, their brain will already be 90% developed and the foundations for success at school and in later life will be in place. However, despite all the evidence that pre-primary education is vital, millions of children continue to miss out on the chance of a great start in life. Access to pre-primary education continues to be a lottery, dependent on where a child is born. Continue reading... |
| Trump's Russia tweets show how misinformation can lead to global crisis Posted: 11 Apr 2018 11:45 AM PDT Trump's threat is unlike anything from a US president in modern history – triggered, most likely, by edited or mistranslated remarks Donald Trump's Wednesday's morning Twitter storm warning Russia to "get ready" for US missiles fired at Syria was a frighteningly clear illustration of how wars can start by miscalculation. While the trigger points in the president's mind are unknowable, it seems likely from past experience that he had seen something on the morning news – most probably a version of remarks by a Russian diplomat in Lebanon that may have been edited or mistranslated to make them sound worse than they were. Continue reading... |
| Turkey's ever-closer ties with Russia leave US lacking key ally on Syria Posted: 11 Apr 2018 05:02 AM PDT Limiting US influence in the Middle East is not the only shared interest of Russia and Turkey's autocratic leaders As the prospect grows of military confrontation with Russia in the skies over Syria, the US is counting on support from European partners such as France and the UK. But help from a key regional ally – Turkey – is less certain, despite its position on Syria's northern border and opposition to Bashar al-Assad's regime. There are echoes of 2003, when Turkey refused to back the US-led invasion of Iraq. Whose side Turkey is on is a question increasingly exercising Washington policymakers as Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey's president, builds closer ties with Russia. Continue reading... |
| Avalanche sends rescue workers fleeing in Tignes, France – video Posted: 11 Apr 2018 10:50 PM PDT People scramble to get out of the way as an avalanche hits a road in Tignes, a ski resort town near the Italian border. It crashes over mountain tunnels and onwards down the valley but no casualties were reported. Passers-by filmed the slide as tons of snow cascaded down. Continue reading... |
| White House struggles to explain Trump's Russia missile tweet – video Posted: 11 Apr 2018 06:39 PM PDT White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders is grilled by the US media on just what Donald Trump means by his tweet on the Syria crisis telling Russia that the missiles 'will be coming'. She opens by saying it means 'we have a number of options and all those options are still on the table. Final decisions haven't been made yet.' When asked how this can mean anything but an impending airstrike, she replies: 'That's certainly one option but that doesn't mean it's the only option.' She insisted there was 'a lot there that you can read from' the tweet. |
| Military plane crash kills more than 250 in Algeria – video report Posted: 11 Apr 2018 11:33 AM PDT More than 250 people have died after a military plane crashed shortly after takeoff from a military base in northern Algeria. The aircraft was carrying soldiers and their families. An investigation is under way to identify the cause of the crash Continue reading... |
| Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's memorial service – in pictures Posted: 11 Apr 2018 05:25 AM PDT Crowds gathered in Orlando stadium, Soweto, on Wednesday to honour Winnie Madikizela-Mandela at a memorial service. The anti-apartheid activist and ex-wife of the former South African president Nelson Mandela died on 2 April Continue reading... |
| Military plane crashes in Algeria – video Posted: 11 Apr 2018 03:03 AM PDT Algeria's Ennahar TV has posted footage of a military plane that has crashed near Boufarik military airport, killing at least 100 people Continue reading... |
| US accuses Russia of protecting a monster as UN fails to adopt Douma resolution – video Posted: 11 Apr 2018 02:16 AM PDT The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, says the people of Douma will hold Russia responsible for not taking appropriate action. A UN security council meeting on Tuesday failed to reach a compromise on a concerted international response to the use of chemical weapons in Syria Continue reading... |
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