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- Tensions high as Burundi votes in referendum on presidential powers
- Trump faces North Korea dilemma after Bolton infuriates Pyongyang
- Police raid home of ex-Malaysian PM over corruption scandal
- Venezuela political prison seized by inmates ahead of presidential election
- New Zealand 'people's' budget sees Ardern put billions more into health and education
- Germany moves slowly on returning museum exhibits to ex-colonies
- Trump discloses he reimbursed Michael Cohen for up to $250,000 in 2017
- Ecuador's former president defends spy operation to protect Julian Assange
- Spanish police call for reinforcements to curb drug violence
- Özil and Gündoğan's Erdoğan picture causes anger in Germany
- UN human rights body to hold special session on violence in Gaza
- Rex Tillerson warns of 'integrity and ethics crisis' – but doesn't name Trump
- Syria: chlorine probably used in attack on Saraqeb – OPCW
- Daniel Ortega called a 'killer' as talks open with protesters on Nicaragua crisis
- Yangon's two-week landfill fire raises burning questions for authorities
- Welcome to cycle heaven: why we moved our family to the Netherlands
- Everyone is welcome: the only gay hangout in the Arab world
- Grenfell review condemns 'race to the bottom' in building safety practices
- Theresa May denies customs union climbdown
- 'For me it's like a murder': the surge in sexual attacks on children in Somalia | Moulid Hujale
- Vape pen explosion kills Florida man
- Corrupt Guatemalan officials find help from an unlikely source: Marco Rubio
- Former Queensland electoral commissioner 'drunk and caught in sex act at work'
- Football’s broken dreams: the African teenagers sold a Premier League lie | Pete Pattison
- Superfans, boiled sweets and Pamela Anderson: six years spying on Julian Assange – video explainer
| Tensions high as Burundi votes in referendum on presidential powers Posted: 17 May 2018 01:08 AM PDT Opponents say proposals including extending term limit are an attempt to steal power Opposition politicians in Burundi have urged voters to peacefully resist an effort by authorities to "steal power" in a referendum that some fear could spark widespread violence. Burundians are being asked to vote yes or no to a proposal to extend the presidential term from five years to seven, which would allow the incumbent, Pierre Nkurunziza, to rule for up to 14 more years after his current term expires in 2020. Continue reading... |
| Trump faces North Korea dilemma after Bolton infuriates Pyongyang Posted: 17 May 2018 12:54 AM PDT Trump is keen to keep his appointment in Singapore but the row involving his national security adviser presents a serious hurdle North Korea's denunciation of John Bolton has forced Donald Trump to decide whether to stick with his national security adviser and his hardline tactics, or push ahead with a summit with Kim Jong-un that will provide historic spectacle but an uncertain outcome. Related: Trump: 'We'll see' if North Korea summit is on after Kim's threat to cancel Continue reading... |
| Police raid home of ex-Malaysian PM over corruption scandal Posted: 16 May 2018 11:46 AM PDT Five locations searched for evidence relating to 1MDB affair, which saw $3.2bn in funds go missing Police have raided the home of former Malaysian prime minister, Najib Razak, reportedly in order to search for documents connected to the $3.2bn 1MDB scandal. More than a dozen police cars turned up at Najib's Kuala Lumpur residence late on Wednesday, shortly after he had returned from evening prayers at a local mosque. Four other locations were raided, including other condominiums in his name, and his prime ministerial office. Commercial crime director, Amar Singh Ishar Singh, told local media that police were searching for evidence in an ongoing investigation. Continue reading... |
| Venezuela political prison seized by inmates ahead of presidential election Posted: 16 May 2018 05:09 PM PDT Riot after alleged torture casts shadow over campaign of Nicolás Maduro before Sunday's vote Activists say inmates have taken control of Venezuela's most notorious political prison – the El Helicoide facility in Caracas – on the eve of a highly controversial presidential election that opponents have denounced as a fraud. With Sunday's vote – which the US, EU and Latin American nations including Brazil, Colombia and Mexico have branded "illegitimate" – just days away, President Nicolás Maduro on Wednesday vowed to bring a "historic economic revolution" to his crisis-stricken nation if handed a second term. |
| New Zealand 'people's' budget sees Ardern put billions more into health and education Posted: 16 May 2018 09:42 PM PDT Prime minister says she wants her child to look back and judge efforts favourably rather than want to change their name The first Labour government in close to a decade has pledged to make New Zealand a kind and equitable nation where children thrive, and success is measured not only by the nation's GDP but by better lives lived by its people. Finance minister Grant Robertson said the Labour coalition government didn't want to "manage" issues such as child poverty and homelessness – it wanted to end them. Continue reading... |
| Germany moves slowly on returning museum exhibits to ex-colonies Posted: 16 May 2018 09:00 PM PDT Angela Merkel should heed Emmanuel Macron's call for restitution to Africa, say critics Berlin's longest-standing African is 13 metres tall and carries in his bones the wisdom of 150m years. The skeleton of the Brachiosaurus brancai, the star of the city's natural history museum, was dug up by a German paleontologist between 1909 and 1913 in Tanzania, then part of the German empire's largest colony. When the French president, Emmanuel Macron, announced last November that he wanted to use his presidency to lay the ground for "the temporary or permanent restitution of African patrimony to Africa", many thought the time had come for the dinosaur to head back home. Continue reading... |
| Trump discloses he reimbursed Michael Cohen for up to $250,000 in 2017 Posted: 16 May 2018 01:11 PM PDT Footnote buried in financial records confirms Trump paid Cohen for 'expenses', worth between $100,000 and $250,000
The exact reason for the payment is not given, beyond being stated as covering "expenses", but came in the aftermath of Cohen paying $130,000 to Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about an alleged affair with Trump a decade before he became president. Continue reading... |
| Ecuador's former president defends spy operation to protect Julian Assange Posted: 16 May 2018 03:47 PM PDT Rafael Correa criticized the Guardian's story, which has prompted debate about Ecuador's spending on the WikiLeaks founder The former president of Ecuador Rafael Correa has defended a multi-million dollar spy operation to protect Julian Assange in the country's London embassy after an investigation by the Guardian revealed that his government had employed an international security company and undercover agents during much of the Australian's six-year stay. Related: Revealed: Ecuador spent millions on spy operation for Julian Assange Continue reading... |
| Spanish police call for reinforcements to curb drug violence Posted: 16 May 2018 06:47 AM PDT More Guardia Civil officers and money-laundering experts are required in south, says union Spanish police have renewed their calls for reinforcements to tackle the escalating violence on the country's southern coast after a nine-year-old boy was killed by a boat driven by a convicted drug smuggler and a group of Guardia Civil officers was attacked by a crowd armed with baseballs bats and broken bottles. The boy died by a beach near the port of Algeciras on Monday afternoon after the boat he was in was hit by the other vessel. Police are treating the death as an accident. Witnesses have claimed the launch was being driven dangerously. |
| Özil and Gündoğan's Erdoğan picture causes anger in Germany Posted: 16 May 2018 09:42 AM PDT Premier League footballers met Turkish president during his UK state visit Two German footballers of Turkish heritage posing for photographs with the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, have reignited a debate over dual citizenship and national identity in Germany, as the country embarks on a bid to defend its World Cup title. Midfielders Mesut Özil and Ilkay Gündoğan, who currently play for Arsenal and Manchester City in the Premier League and are both set to represent their birth country at the tournament in Russia this summer, were criticised by politicians including the chancellor, Angela Merkel, for meeting with Erdoğan during his visit to the UK. Continue reading... |
| UN human rights body to hold special session on violence in Gaza Posted: 16 May 2018 08:46 AM PDT Israeli military spokesman admits killings handed PR victory to Hamas The UN's top human rights body will hold a special session to discuss "the deteriorating situation in the occupied Palestinian territories" after the killing of 60 Palestinians by Israeli troops at mass border protests on Monday. The meeting came as the office of the prosecutor of the world's permanent war crimes court on Wednesday expressed "grave concern" about escalating violence in Gaza, and said alleged crimes could be investigated. Continue reading... |
| Rex Tillerson warns of 'integrity and ethics crisis' – but doesn't name Trump Posted: 16 May 2018 01:27 PM PDT Former secretary of state speaks at Virginia Military Institute and urges graduates to resist 'leaders [who] seek to conceal the truth' Rex Tillerson, the former secretary of state, warned on Wednesday that America had plunged into a "crisis of ethics and integrity in our society and among our leaders" that could set the country down "a pathway to relinquishing our freedom". Tillerson, who was dismissed in March by Donald Trump, did not name the president. But his remarks, before a graduating class at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington were largely seen as directed at the Trump administration. Continue reading... |
| Syria: chlorine probably used in attack on Saraqeb – OPCW Posted: 16 May 2018 05:37 AM PDT Watchdog to report soon on whether chemical weapons were used in larger-scale attack in Douma An investigation by the chemical weapons watchdog has found that chlorine is likely to have been used in an attack on a Syrian town in February. In what is likely to be seen as a dry run for a more controversial report later this month, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons found that the February attack on the neighbourhood of Saraqeb was caused by the dropping of two cylinders that had contained chlorine on to a field in the town. Continue reading... |
| Daniel Ortega called a 'killer' as talks open with protesters on Nicaragua crisis Posted: 16 May 2018 12:58 PM PDT Dialogue between president and protesters follows a month of public unrest sparked by social security reforms in which at least 65 people have died Protesters berated Nicaragua's president, Daniel Ortega, on Wednesday and demanded his removal at the start of "peace" talks designed to defuse weeks of unrest and deadly repression in which scores have been killed. Critics chanted "Asesino!" or "Killer!" as Ortega and his vice-president and first lady, Rosario Murillo, arrived at a seminary in the capital, Managua, for the talks, which come nearly a month after public rage over social security reforms erupted into the biggest political challenge to the former Marxist revolutionary since his return to power in 2007. Continue reading... |
| Yangon's two-week landfill fire raises burning questions for authorities Posted: 16 May 2018 11:00 PM PDT Attempts to put out a huge blaze in Htein Bin rubbish dump have left experts asking why basic safeguards and control measures were not employed A pale haze still lingers over Yangon's Hlaingthaya Township, where the sprawling Htein Bin landfill burned for 14 days. For many residents of the township – one of Myanmar's poorest and most populous – life continues as usual: mothers feed their babies in small huts on the fringes of the dump; packs of dogs roam the plastic wasteland, searching for something edible among the soft-drink bottles. Hlaingthaya residents say the dump catches fire most years, but the blazes have never been this big or lasted so long. More than two dozen people were hospitalised for smoke inhalation and injuries linked to the fire between 20 April, when it broke out, and 3 May, when authorities finally declared the situation under control. Continue reading... |
| Welcome to cycle heaven: why we moved our family to the Netherlands Posted: 16 May 2018 03:00 AM PDT When Kylie van Dam went in search of a cycle-friendly city she found the almost car-free suburb of Houten. It's a model more cities could copy, she writes Continue reading... |
| Everyone is welcome: the only gay hangout in the Arab world Posted: 16 May 2018 10:00 PM PDT From giving refuge to offering makeup sessions, Helem is an umbrella for some of Lebanon's most marginalised people Tucked away in a quiet neighbourhood of Beirut, Helem, the first community centre for LGBTQI+ people in the Arab world, opens its doors every day from midday to evening. Everyone is welcome. Inside, in a study bathed by the afternoon sunshine, Wael Hussein, a 24-year-old gay man, is chatting with Naya, a transgender woman, ahead of International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOTB) on Thursday. Behind the two is a bookcase filled with donated titles, including Les Amantes by French lesbian writer Jocelyne François. Continue reading... |
| Grenfell review condemns 'race to the bottom' in building safety practices Posted: 17 May 2018 01:59 AM PDT Dame Judith Hackitt proposes new regulator as she blames 'indifference and ignorance' for poor building standards A government review into the Grenfell Tower fire has concluded that indifference and ignorance led to a "race to the bottom" in building safety practices with cost prioritised over safety. The government's reviewer of building regulations has proposed a new standards regulator in the wake of the fire but does not want ministers to ban combustible materials such as those which spread the fire last June which claimed 72 lives. |
| Theresa May denies customs union climbdown Posted: 17 May 2018 01:28 AM PDT PM speaks following reports she was preparing for UK to remain in customs union after 2021 as row over Irish border continues Theresa May has denied climbing down over membership of the customs union after Britain leaves the European Union. Related: Lords inflict 15th defeat on government over EU withdrawal bill Continue reading... |
| 'For me it's like a murder': the surge in sexual attacks on children in Somalia | Moulid Hujale Posted: 16 May 2018 11:00 PM PDT In a land where sexual predators are emboldened by a weak legal system and the stigma that reporting assaults brings, justice is elusive for young victims When Anab's madrasa teacher in Mogadishu told her to stay behind after classes, everyone but her two younger brothers left. He ordered the boys to face the wall, then assaulted their six-year-old sister. Anab's father, Yusuf, says he clearly saw the "shock and horror in the face" of his daughter later that day. |
| Vape pen explosion kills Florida man Posted: 17 May 2018 01:51 AM PDT Autopsy finds Tallmadge D'Elia died from projectile wound to head, in first such case in US A Florida man died when a vape pen exploded, sending fragments into his head and starting a fire that burned most of his body, an autopsy report has said. The case is the first in the US where a vape pen has been held responsible. The report said Tallmadge D'Elia, 38, of St Petersburg, was killed on 5 May by a "projectile wound of the head" after the explosion sent two pieces of the vape pen into his cranium. Continue reading... |
| Corrupt Guatemalan officials find help from an unlikely source: Marco Rubio Posted: 17 May 2018 01:00 AM PDT The Florida senator has suspended US funding for a United Nations commission that has had dramatic success in tackling corruption in the Central American country It is a crime-fighting force which has toppled presidents accused of corruption, dismantled criminal networks commanded by former army officers, and detained security chiefs who operated death squads. The International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (Cicig) has dented the immunity long enjoyed by the country's criminal rich and powerful, using 21st-century law enforcement techniques such as witness protection, wiretapping and covert operations to expose criminal networks. Continue reading... |
| Former Queensland electoral commissioner 'drunk and caught in sex act at work' Posted: 16 May 2018 11:53 PM PDT Investigation also finds Walter van der Merwe bullied staff and used drugs in the workplace • Sign up to receive the top stories in Australia every day at noon Queensland's former electoral commissioner was drunk and using drugs at work, bullied staff and was caught in a sexual act with a temporary employee, an investigation has found. Walter van der Merwe, 56, resigned from his senior public service role in February after being suspended over seven allegations levelled against him. Continue reading... |
| Football’s broken dreams: the African teenagers sold a Premier League lie | Pete Pattison Posted: 16 May 2018 04:54 AM PDT He went to Nepal hoping it would be a stepping stone to playing for Chelsea. Instead, Aboubacar Sidibé became another victim of unscrupulous 'agents' who promise young men a shot at the big time only to swindle them Like thousands of football-mad teenagers in Mali, Aboubacar Sidibé dreamed of one day playing for Chelsea. So when a football manager approached him with the promise of a contract with a club in India – a launchpad, he was told, to the European clubs – he jumped at the chance. It didn't matter that he was just 17. Or that he would have to pay the manager more than £2,700. It seemed a price worth paying to kickstart his football career. Continue reading... |
| Superfans, boiled sweets and Pamela Anderson: six years spying on Julian Assange – video explainer Posted: 16 May 2018 10:04 AM PDT Ecuador has housed the WikiLeaks founder at its embassy in central London since 2012. Leaked documents reveal the Ecuadorian government spent millions of dollars monitoring his every move. Here is what we know about 'Operation Hotel' |
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