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- Theresa May faces anger over Syria raids as Trump declares ‘mission accomplished’
- Thousands rally against Viktor Orbán's election victory in Budapest
- Basque bar fight trial tests 10 years of fragile peace in the region
- Comey's book swipes at Trump – but Mueller's inquiry is the real threat
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest director Miloš Forman dies aged 86
- Huge crowds turn out for Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's funeral
- Ethiopians urge Britain to return bones of ‘stolen’ prince after 150 years
- UK rows back on plans to promote gay rights at Commonwealth summit
- Avoid Gulf stream disruption at all costs, scientists warn
- Sting operations and war on migration help Orbán to victory
- Murder inquiry launched after man shot dead in Birmingham
- Facebook says its ‘voter button’ is good for turnout. But should the tech giant be nudging us at all?
- Syria: Trump may bluster but James Mattis is calling the shots
- David Buckel, prominent New York LGBT lawyer, dies after setting himself on fire
- Amnesty chief calls Latin America's abortion laws violence against women
- On the streets with the desperate refugees who dream of being detained
- Sydney bushfire: 'ferocious' blaze threatens homes as RFS confirms damage
- Despite Trump's bluster, it's unclear what Syria strikes accomplished
- The White House is a circus – but at least we have Janelle Monáe
- What you need to know about the Syria strikes – video report
- The funeral of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela - in pictures
- Syrian state TV appears to show aftermath of airstrikes – video
| Theresa May faces anger over Syria raids as Trump declares ‘mission accomplished’ Posted: 14 Apr 2018 12:57 PM PDT UK opposition leaders insist that parliament should have been consulted before airstrikes Theresa May is facing a furious backlash from MPs after she ordered UK forces to join the US and France in targeted airstrikes on Syrian chemical weapons facilities – without having gained the consent of parliament. Hours after four RAF Tornado GR4 fighter jets launched Storm Shadow missiles at a military facility 15 miles west of Homs at 2am on Saturday, where the Assad regime is believed to stockpile the lethal weapons, the prime minister issued a passionate defence of the action, which she said had been taken for humanitarian reasons. Continue reading... |
| Thousands rally against Viktor Orbán's election victory in Budapest Posted: 14 Apr 2018 10:47 AM PDT Disgruntled youth protest an 'unfair' electoral system and the left's failure to unite in opposition Thousands of Hungarians protested in Budapest on Saturday against what organisers said was an unfair election system that gave prime minister Viktor Orbán another landslide victory at the polls after a "hate campaign" against immigrants. Orbán won a third term in power after his anti-immigration campaign message secured a strong majority for his ruling Fidesz party in parliament, granting him two-thirds of seats based on preliminary results. Continue reading... |
| Basque bar fight trial tests 10 years of fragile peace in the region Posted: 14 Apr 2018 01:30 PM PDT Spanish high court to rule on whether pub punch-up with off-duty police was drunken scuffle or terror attack Bar brawls in Spain are typically intemperate moments regretted the next day. But one fight that took place in Navarre, close to the Basque country, is proving different. For eight young people implicated in the punch-up, the hangover has endured for nearly 18 months and their case has become a regional controversy. A special division of the Spanish high court in Madrid will decide in a trial starting on Monday if their offences deserve to be charged under terrorism laws, which could see them collectively face up to 375 years in prison. The decision to transfer the case to the high court was made by Carmen Lamela – the same judge who jailed Catalonia's separatist leaders for sedition and rebellion last year. One former supreme court judge, José Antonio Martín Pallín, has called the move "radically absurd". Continue reading... |
| Comey's book swipes at Trump – but Mueller's inquiry is the real threat Posted: 13 Apr 2018 11:00 PM PDT As the fired FBI director makes headlines, the bureau's raid on the offices of Trump's lawyer signals peril for his presidency The first big interview with the fired FBI director James Comey is blazing toward a broadcast on Sunday night, but for the Donald Trump presidency, multiple meteors have already hit. Continue reading... |
| One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest director Miloš Forman dies aged 86 Posted: 14 Apr 2018 02:21 AM PDT Film-maker became key figure of the Czech new wave before emigrating and establishing a successful career in the US • Peter Bradshaw: Miloš Forman brought the spirit of anti-Soviet rebellion to Hollywood Miloš Forman, the Czech-born director of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus, has died at the age of 86. Czech news agency CTK reported that Forman died on Friday in the United States after a short illness. His wife, Martina, told CTK: "His departure was calm and he was surrounded the whole time by his family and his closest friends." Related: Michael Douglas: how we made One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Continue reading... |
| Huge crowds turn out for Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's funeral Posted: 14 Apr 2018 05:00 AM PDT Tens of thousands attend emotional service for veteran anti-apartheid activist Tens of thousands of South Africans have filled a stadium in Soweto for the funeral service of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, a heroine of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa but also one of its most controversial figures. Shouts of "Long live Comrade Winnie", "the struggle continues" and "power to the people" rang out around the stadium on Saturday throughout a powerful and emotional service to the activist, politician and former wife of Nelson Mandela. Continue reading... |
| Ethiopians urge Britain to return bones of ‘stolen’ prince after 150 years Posted: 14 Apr 2018 04:05 PM PDT Poet Lemn Sissay adds voice to campaign for repatriation of the boy's remains with other loot taken after the Battle of Maqdala For 150 years, Ethiopians have been asking when Prince Alemayehu will come home. The orphan prince, a descendant of Solomon, was taken to England – some say "stolen" – after British soldiers looted his father's imperial citadel following the Battle of Maqdala in 1868. He died at the age of 18, after an unhappy childhood, and was buried at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle at the request of Queen Victoria. Now, as discussions take place with the Victoria &Albert Museum about the return of royal treasures taken by British forces during the battle, the Ethiopian government told the Observer it is "redoubling" its efforts to finally bring back the prince's remains. Last week there were celebrations in Addis Ababa to commemorate the life of the prince's father, Tewodros II, on the 150th anniversary of his death in the battle. A selection of the objects in the V&A's possession went on display last week. Continue reading... |
| UK rows back on plans to promote gay rights at Commonwealth summit Posted: 13 Apr 2018 10:00 PM PDT Critics accuse government of 'appeasing homophobes' with vague promise over LGBT guide Britain has been accused of "caving in" to pressure from the governments of Commonwealth states which criminalise homosexuality after doubts emerged over a planned UK effort to promote gay rights at the bloc's upcoming summit in London. Related: The Commonwealth is working to undo the British empire's homophobic legacy Continue reading... |
| Avoid Gulf stream disruption at all costs, scientists warn Posted: 13 Apr 2018 06:49 AM PDT How close the world is to a catastrophic collapse of giant ocean currents is unknown, making halting global warming more critical than ever, scientists say Serious disruption to the Gulf Stream ocean currents that are crucial in controlling global climate must be avoided "at all costs", senior scientists have warned. The alert follows the revelation this week that the system is at its weakest ever recorded. Past collapses of the giant network have seen some of the most extreme impacts in climate history, with western Europe particularly vulnerable to a descent into freezing winters. A significantly weakened system is also likely to cause more severe storms in Europe, faster sea level rise on the east coast of the US and increasing drought in the Sahel in Africa. Continue reading... |
| Sting operations and war on migration help Orbán to victory Posted: 14 Apr 2018 01:00 PM PDT Was there a hidden strategy in play behind Hungarian PM's election victory? One day in mid-January, Balázs Dénes, the Hungarian executive director of a Berlin-based NGO, travelled to Amsterdam to meet Ali Mahmoud Alrabie, from a Bahraini company called Orion Ventures Capital. Alrabie's fund was interested in supporting projects that helped refugees, he said, and paid for Dénes to fly to Amsterdam to discuss potential collaboration. Alrabie was a friendly, jovial interlocutor and was keen to hear all about Dénes's NGO, Civil Liberties Union for Europe. Dénes tried to follow up the meeting with requests for more information. But Alrabie did not respond. Soon after, the website of Orion Ventures Capital, which described the fund as a "leading boutique investment firm based in Bahrain", stopped working. The company, apparently, does not exist, and Alrabie is almost certainly an invented persona. Continue reading... |
| Murder inquiry launched after man shot dead in Birmingham Posted: 15 Apr 2018 12:52 AM PDT Twenty-year-old man dies in Bordesley area of city A 20-year-old man has died after being shot in Birmingham in the early hours of Sunday. Officers West Midlands police were called to Garrison Lane in the Bordesley area of the city shortly after midnight. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 15 Apr 2018 12:00 AM PDT What do we really know about the influence of the 'voter button'? One Icelandic media lawyer decided to find out On the morning of 28 October last year, the day of Iceland's parliamentary elections, Heiðdís Lilja Magnúsdóttir, a lawyer living in a small town in the north of the country, opened Facebook on her laptop. At the top of her newsfeed, where friends' recent posts would usually appear, was a box highlighted in light blue. On the left of the box was a button, similar in style to the familiar thumb of the "like" button, but here it was a hand putting a ballot in a slot. "Today is Election Day!" was the accompanying exclamation, in English. And underneath: "Find out where to vote, and share that you voted." Under that was smaller print saying that 61 people had already voted. Heiðdís took a screenshot and posted it on her own Facebook profile feed, asking: "I'm a little curious! Did everyone get this message in their newsfeed this morning?" In Reykjavik, 120 miles south, Elfa Ýr Gylfadóttir glanced at her phone and saw Heiðdís's post. Elfa is director of the Icelandic Media Commission, and Heiðdís's boss. The Media Commission regulates, for example, age ratings for movies and video games, and is a part of Iceland's Ministry of Education. Elfa wondered why she hadn't received the same voting message. She asked her husband to check his feed, and there was the button. Elfa was alarmed. Why wasn't it being shown to everyone? Might it have something to do with different users' political attitudes? Was everything right and proper with this election? Continue reading... |
| Syria: Trump may bluster but James Mattis is calling the shots Posted: 15 Apr 2018 01:21 AM PDT The US defence secretary has remained focused on targeting chemical weapons It was Jim Mattis who saved the day. The US defence secretary, Pentagon chief and retired Marine general has a reputation for toughness. His former nickname was "Mad Dog". When push came to shove over Syria last week, it was Mattis – not the state department or Congress – who stood up to a Donald Trump baying for blood. Mattis told Trump, in effect, that the third world war was not going to start on his watch. Continue reading... |
| David Buckel, prominent New York LGBT lawyer, dies after setting himself on fire Posted: 14 Apr 2018 08:28 PM PDT Buckel, known for case about murdered transgender man portrayed in Boys Don't Cry, alluded to fossil fuel protest to New York Times A prominent gay rights lawyer and environmental advocate has burned himself to death in New York on Saturday, reportedly using fossil fuel in a protest against ecological destruction. The charred remains of 60-year-old David Buckel were found by passers-by in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. Police said he was pronounced dead at about 6.30am. Continue reading... |
| Amnesty chief calls Latin America's abortion laws violence against women Posted: 15 Apr 2018 01:30 AM PDT Salil Shetty, Amnesty International's secretary general, urges Argentina and others to reform draconian legislation and says human rights have deteriorated across region Latin America's draconian abortion policies have resulted in the needless deaths of thousands of women, said Amnesty International's secretary general, Salil Shetty, as he called for a decisive push for legalization of the procedure across the region. "The criminalization of abortion is an extreme form of violence against women. It doesn't reduce abortions – it just makes them unsafe," Shetty told the Guardian in Buenos Aires after a meeting with Argentina's President Mauricio Macri. Continue reading... |
| On the streets with the desperate refugees who dream of being detained Posted: 14 Apr 2018 06:02 PM PDT Out of money and out of options, the families camped outside Indonesia's Kalideres detention centre are feeling the pressure It has been 58 days. That's how long Farid Attaie has been sleeping on the footpath outside an immigration detention centre in Kalideres, West Jakarta, with his parents, five siblings, and another Hazara family of three. Continue reading... |
| Sydney bushfire: 'ferocious' blaze threatens homes as RFS confirms damage Posted: 15 Apr 2018 12:59 AM PDT Strong winds push flames towards suburban streets as firefighting and reconnaissance aircraft join operation A "ferocious" bushfire that led to evacuations in parts of Sydney's southwest has affected properties, according to the Rural Fire Service. On Sunday afternoon an RFS spokesman confirmed that firefighters on the ground had reported some property damage in the western parts of Menai and Barden Ridge. Continue reading... |
| Despite Trump's bluster, it's unclear what Syria strikes accomplished Posted: 14 Apr 2018 09:00 PM PDT Questions over what impact the mission will have on the wider war remain unanswered The US, British and French jets that took off from the British base in Akrotiri in Cyprus, France, the Mediterranean and perhaps other bases in the Middle East never came close to the Russian or Syrian air defence systems. The cruise missiles fired by the US B1-B Lancer heavy bombers, French Rafales and UK Tornados GR4s – as well as from frigates in the Mediterranean – were among the world's most modern. They had ranges of hundreds of kilometres, designed to be fired from a distance to avoid the risk of aircraft being targeted by Syria's largely Soviet-era anti-aircraft missile systems. Continue reading... |
| The White House is a circus – but at least we have Janelle Monáe Posted: 14 Apr 2018 06:00 AM PDT This week our clown of a president has put on another wild show. So I'm basking in the absurdity, and enjoying the vagina anthem we've all been waiting for Well, no one could say this week has been boring. I could list all of the news items that have come out (and continue to come out as I write this) over the last few days. I could talk about how all of it is overwhelming and numbing. Instead, though, I'm just going to bask in the absurdity of it all. Continue reading... |
| What you need to know about the Syria strikes – video report Posted: 14 Apr 2018 06:34 AM PDT The US, UK and France launched a joint military strike against Syrian chemical weapons facilities following the poison gas attack in Douma last week, which killed at least 42 people. Theresa May described the strikes as the 'right and legal' option, which has been challenged by Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn Continue reading... |
| The funeral of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela - in pictures Posted: 14 Apr 2018 04:32 AM PDT An emotional and colourful service for the 'mother of the nation' was attended by thousands in Soweto Continue reading... |
| Syrian state TV appears to show aftermath of airstrikes – video Posted: 14 Apr 2018 03:32 AM PDT Syrian state TV channels show what purports to be the remains of a scientific research centre near the capital, Damascus, and people walking around a hole in the ground in a suburb of Homs, said to be caused by the missile strikes carried out in Syria by the US, UK and France |
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