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- US-backed Syrian forces launch attack on final Isis stronghold
- Thai king ends princess’s bid to be prime minister
- ‘Maduro, our amigo’: loyalists in Venezuela cling to their man
- Brexit: sack Grayling over ferry fiasco, demand MPs
- Anti-opioid protesters target New York's Guggenheim over Sackler family link
- New Zealand wildfires set to worsen as thousands flee
- Mexico border towns overwhelmed as Trump policy leaves migrants in limbo
- China's treatment of Uighurs is 'embarrassment for humanity', says Turkey
- Australian man who went to Egypt on holiday jailed without charge for over a year
- Apple store opponents crowdfund to 'buy' Federation Square building set for demolition
- Artworks allegedly by Adolf Hitler fail to sell at Nuremberg auction
- David Cameron: derailed by noble intent or undone by his own hubris?
- Storm Erik lashes across UK and Ireland, bringing wind gusts of up to 70mph - video report
- A Labour budget will not need Brexit. It will need growth | William Keegan
- The Observer view on the premature celebrations on the defeat of Isis | Observer editorial
- Uganda only tolerates women’s bodies when there is money to be made
- Three things you may not know about Elizabeth Warren – video profile
- Government’s secret post-Brexit plan must rule out the Singapore model
- Coalition warned its energy 'big stick' could scare away genuine investors
- Organ trafficking in Egypt: ‘They locked me in and took my kidney’
- 'Rigged system': will Warren's rage against the rich win over 2020 voters?
- Brett Kavanaugh shows true colours in supreme court abortion dissent | Arwa Mahdawi
- Elizabeth Warren launches 2020 presidential campaign – in pictures
| US-backed Syrian forces launch attack on final Isis stronghold Posted: 09 Feb 2019 06:24 PM PST Offensive launched against scores of besieged Isis fighters after 20,000 civilians evacuated US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian forces have launched a final push to defeat the Islamic State group in the last tiny pocket the extremists hold in eastern Syria. The Syrian Democratic Forces spokesman Mustafa Bali tweeted the offensive began on Saturday after more than 20,000 civilians were evacuated from the Isis-held area in the eastern province of Deir ez-Zor. An SDF statement said the offensive was focused on the village of Baghuz. Continue reading... |
| Thai king ends princess’s bid to be prime minister Posted: 09 Feb 2019 03:40 PM PST Popular royal Ubolratana withdraws from election after her candidacy is denounced by her brother, the king Twenty-four hours of high drama in Thai politics ended abruptly on Saturday when a party that nominated a princess to run for prime minister ended her brief candidacy. The move came after her brother, Thailand's king, attacked the candidacy as unconstitutional. The Thai Raksa Chart (Save the Nation) party swore loyalty to King Maha Vajiralongkorn in a statement issued after his late-night intervention. It also expressed gratitude to Princess Ubolratana Mahidol for her kindness toward the party. Continue reading... |
| ‘Maduro, our amigo’: loyalists in Venezuela cling to their man Posted: 10 Feb 2019 01:00 AM PST Protests put Chavista movement in a dilemma – ditch their leader or go down with him In the final weeks of Hugo Chávez's life, shattered followers flocked to a palm-dotted square in downtown Caracas to pray for the recovery of "El Comandante". Six years on, with Chávez's leftist Bolivarian revolution seemingly in its death throes, some are returning to appeal for the survival of his successor, Nicolás Maduro. "There are millions of us," insisted Fernando Andrade, 69, a retired electrician and one of hundreds of mostly elderly Chavistas queuing to sign a pro-Maduro petition in Plaza Bolívar last week. A few hours later, Maduro appeared and was greeted with chants of: "Maduro, amigo! El pueblo está contigo!" "Maduro, our friend! The people are with you!" Continue reading... |
| Brexit: sack Grayling over ferry fiasco, demand MPs Posted: 10 Feb 2019 12:28 AM PST Cross-party calls for transport secretary's dismissal follow collapse of £13.8m contract to Seaborne Freight Theresa May faced cross-party calls to sack her transport secretary, Chris Grayling, last night, after the calamitous collapse of a no-deal Brexit ferry contract handed to a company with no ships. Senior Tories said the prime minister had turned "a blind eye" to Grayling's decision to award the £13.8m contract to Seaborne Freight to run ferries between Ramsgate and Ostend, despite widespread derision and accusations that it had been awarded illegally. Continue reading... |
| Anti-opioid protesters target New York's Guggenheim over Sackler family link Posted: 09 Feb 2019 09:49 PM PST Demonstrators call on museum to refuse donations from the owners of OxyContin US art photographer and activist Nan Goldin brought the Guggenheim Museum in New York to a standstill on Saturday night as thousands of fake prescriptions were dropped into the atrium to protest against the institution's acceptance of donations from the family who owns the maker of OxyContin – the prescription painkiller at the root of America's opioids crisis. Tourists and locals gawped in confusion as Goldin and fellow demonstrators began chanting criticism of the Sackler family, who owns Purdue Pharma. The activists handed out fake pill bottles as sheets of paper fluttered down inside the landmark building. Continue reading... |
| New Zealand wildfires set to worsen as thousands flee Posted: 09 Feb 2019 10:45 PM PST Week-long blaze engulfs 2,300ha on South Island, leading to largest aerial firefight in country's history Strong winds are expected to fan forest fires that have been burning for a week through New Zealand's South Island, forcing thousands of people from their homes. Early on Sunday, 155 firefighters were battling the blaze on the ground with air support from 23 helicopters and three fixed wing planes, making it the largest aerial firefight on record in New Zealand. Continue reading... |
| Mexico border towns overwhelmed as Trump policy leaves migrants in limbo Posted: 10 Feb 2019 12:00 AM PST Caravans receive rough welcomes at towns like Piedras Negras where locals are suspicious and officials struggle to house 1,700 newcomers Rows of federal police in riot gear faced the former factory in the Mexican borderlands, as soldiers watched on from the gun turrets on a pair of Humvees. But the armed men weren't preparing for an operation in the country's bloody drug wars: they were guarding a group of 1,700 Central American migrants who were hoping to reach the US. Continue reading... |
| China's treatment of Uighurs is 'embarrassment for humanity', says Turkey Posted: 09 Feb 2019 05:38 PM PST Ankara calls for UN to act on 'human tragedy' of re-education of the Turkic-speaking minority in Xinjiang province Turkey has condemned China's treatment of its Muslim ethnic Uighur people as "a great embarrassment for humanity", adding to rights groups' recent criticism over mass detentions of the Turkic-speaking minority. "The systematic assimilation policy of Chinese authorities towards Uighur Turks is a great embarrassment for humanity," Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a statement. Continue reading... |
| Australian man who went to Egypt on holiday jailed without charge for over a year Posted: 09 Feb 2019 06:31 PM PST Family fears for health of Hazem Hamouda who was accused of spreading false information When Brisbane man Hazem Hamouda landed in Egypt for a dream holiday with his Australian-born family, he never imagined it would land him in prison. The father of six was whisked away by Egyptian security minutes after touching down. Continue reading... |
| Apple store opponents crowdfund to 'buy' Federation Square building set for demolition Posted: 09 Feb 2019 06:43 PM PST Tech giant's flagship store would commercialise public square, campaigners say Opponents of a plan to build an Apple store in Melbourne's Federation Square have started a crowdfunding campaign to raise $40m to buy the Yarra Building to protect it from demolition. The fundraising stunt – which comes with a promise from organisers that they will never call in the pledges made by supporters – comes as Heritage Victoria is preparing to consider a development application by the Federation Square authority. Continue reading... |
| Artworks allegedly by Adolf Hitler fail to sell at Nuremberg auction Posted: 09 Feb 2019 09:18 PM PST High prices and questions over authenticity scare off buyers at sale of Nazi memorabilia Five paintings attributed to Adolf Hitler have failed to find buyers at an auction held amid anger at the sale of Nazi memorabilia. High starting prices of between €19,000 and €45,000 ($21,000 and $50,000), and lingering suspicions about the authenticity of the artworks were thought to have scared off potential buyers at Saturday's auction in Nuremberg. Continue reading... |
| David Cameron: derailed by noble intent or undone by his own hubris? Posted: 10 Feb 2019 12:00 AM PST With Brexit weeks away, many see the former PM as the man who wrecked Britain. Cameron's memoirs will reveal more but meanwhile, we ask his friends and former colleagues: where did it all go wrong and where does he go from here? In the icy depths of late January, just as Theresa May was absorbing the latest parliamentary defeat for her Brexit plan, David Cameron landed in the sunshine of southern India. He had been hired to deliver a lecture on geopolitics, plus a few amusing cricket anecdotes, in Chennai, in honour of the late Indian entrepreneur KS Narayanan. The businessman was known in his home country for quitting while he was ahead, retiring at the height of his powers. Cameron, however, is better known for doing the opposite. The official line is that the man who brought us Brexit, and then walked away whistling from his final farewell to the nation, has no regrets; that all will explained in the memoirs he is due to publish later this year, and that meanwhile he is enjoying an agreeable retirement on the international speaking circuit. In private, it's not that simple. He may be more sanguine about it than his old friend George Osborne, but Brexit has divided the Camerons' social circle just as it has divided the country, and they have not been spared the backlash. One society hostess entertaining the couple recently had to ring fellow guests in advance, checking that they would be able to keep things civil; not all the responses were positive. Even his wife Samantha's Instagram feed, devoted mainly to holiday snaps and puffs for her new fashion business, is occasionally invaded by passersby criticising her husband. Continue reading... |
| Storm Erik lashes across UK and Ireland, bringing wind gusts of up to 70mph - video report Posted: 10 Feb 2019 01:31 AM PST The Met Office issued two weather warnings on Friday: for strong winds across Northern Ireland and western Scotland until the evening, and for heavy rain in Scotland that will continue until Saturday afternoon. Gales of 70mph could affect exposed coasts of Northern Ireland on Friday morning, while heavy rain may lead to flooding in Scotland, the Met Office said. While a lull is expected in the fiercest winds on Friday evening, gusts will pick up again at about midnight, when a warning will cover Northern Ireland, southern Scotland and much of northern England. Winds are expected to ease off by Sunday.
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| A Labour budget will not need Brexit. It will need growth | William Keegan Posted: 09 Feb 2019 11:00 PM PST Corbyn's determination to free the UK from what he sees as the EU's shackles would actually be damaging to the party's cause The spectre of Brexit haunted last weekend's annual Venice seminar hosted by the Italian government, but we had to wait for the return home for comparisons with Dante's Inferno. The president of the European Council has received a lot of flak for his outburst – which, in case you missed it, was: "I have been wondering what that special place in hell looks like for those who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan to carry it out safely." Continue reading... |
| The Observer view on the premature celebrations on the defeat of Isis | Observer editorial Posted: 09 Feb 2019 09:59 PM PST Islamic State has lost its Syrian base, but its threat remains If he gets his way, Donald Trump will announce at some point in the coming week that the Islamic State terrorist group has been defeated and its hate-filled caliphate in Syria and Iraq destroyed. This will be the second time the US president has declared victory over the jihadists. When Trump first made the claim, in December, he was sharply contradicted by his own intelligence chiefs and by British ministers. Now he is being more cautious. But his eagerness to hog the credit for a limited success he had precious little to do with will probably get the better of him, sooner rather than later. Continue reading... |
| Uganda only tolerates women’s bodies when there is money to be made Posted: 10 Feb 2019 12:00 AM PST This tourism ministry's 'celebratory' Miss Curvy pageant jars with the way we are usually treated in our own country People who move to Uganda from the west say it's like enjoying an endless summer. The east African country, one of the biggest beer consumers in the world, always has an excuse to party and bars are open 24/7. In fact, there is a four-day dance festival that attracts people from all over the world. Overwhelmed by all the heat and partying? Take a trip to any of the 36 nature reserves, trek to see the chimpanzees, or just wander and marvel at the scenery. Uganda will do anything to keep its admirers interested. In 2017, the country, with support from World Bank, paid $1.5m to PR firms in Europe and America to bolster its tourism trade. In 2018, it spent a further $1.2m on similar initiatives in China, Japan and the Gulf states. And now the tourism minister, Godfrey Kiwanda, has announced a new way of selling the country abroad: a beauty pageant that will have Uganda's curvaceous women "showcase their beautiful curves and intellect". Continue reading... |
| Three things you may not know about Elizabeth Warren – video profile Posted: 10 Feb 2019 02:09 AM PST The Massachusetts senator wants to be the 46th US president. The Democrat, whose criticism of big banks and corporations has made her a progressive star, faced unwanted headlines after releasing the results of a DNA test. But what else do we know about her? Continue reading... |
| Government’s secret post-Brexit plan must rule out the Singapore model Posted: 09 Feb 2019 11:00 PM PST Whitehall should publish the findings of 'Project After' to clarify the direction of UK industrial strategy in the case of no-deal There are plans under discussion in Whitehall to cope with the long-term consequences of a no-deal Brexit. Dubbed Project After, these plans involve Whitehall officials poring over the government's entire portfolio of tax and spending commitments and how they might be adjusted once the UK tumbles out of the European Union's single market and tariff-free customs area. Civil servants operating under the watchful eye of cabinet secretary Mark Sedwill are also examining reforms to the regulatory landscape and, separately, how they might put a rocket under what currently passes for a policy to encourage businesses to locate in Britain's economic hinterlands. Continue reading... |
| Coalition warned its energy 'big stick' could scare away genuine investors Posted: 10 Feb 2019 02:00 AM PST 'Cool heads' not 'politicking' needed to bolster Australia's electricity network, Grattan Institute says "Cool-headed policy", not "panic and politicking" is the answer to Australia's future energy issues, a new report has found. But government underwriting of new power generation investment, a key Coalition energy policy, could hinder, not help the bid to bolster network reliability, the researchers warned, by scaring away "genuine potential investors". Continue reading... |
| Organ trafficking in Egypt: ‘They locked me in and took my kidney’ Posted: 09 Feb 2019 07:05 AM PST Desperate to reach Europe, migrants from Africa are travelling to Egypt and selling body parts to pay for their passage Wearing a baseball hat and smoking a shisha pipe in a cafe in Cairo, Dawitt tells me he is 19, but looks years younger. He explains that he escaped Eritrea aged 13 to avoid forced, indefinite conscription into military service. His family helped him pay smugglers to travel via Sudan to Egypt. Struggling with debt and desperate to make the sea crossing to Europe, he looked in vain for regular work. Then he met a Sudanese man who suggested a "safe and easy way" to raise the cash – selling a kidney. Continue reading... |
| 'Rigged system': will Warren's rage against the rich win over 2020 voters? Posted: 09 Feb 2019 12:49 PM PST While controversy around her heritage lingers, voters call the Democrat's fight against economic injustice 'inspiring' On a cold, blustery January day in 1912, immigrant women walked out of the Everett Mill in the Massachusetts factory town of Lawrence demanding higher wages and better working conditions. Mill owners and city government responded in a swift and heavy-handed manner; local militias and police forces were called to the streets. Protesters died. Many more were arrested. On a cold, blustery February day 117 years later, the Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren stood in front of Everett Mill to announce her candidacy for president of the United States, channeling the spirit of those women as she told her supporters that they were in a fight for their lives against a rigged system that favors the rich and powerful. Continue reading... |
| Brett Kavanaugh shows true colours in supreme court abortion dissent | Arwa Mahdawi Posted: 09 Feb 2019 06:00 AM PST The supreme court blocked a Louisiana Trap law but Trump's controversial pick showed Roe v Wade is not safe in his hands Sign up for the Week in Patriarchy, a newsletter on feminism and sexism sent every Saturday. Continue reading... |
| Elizabeth Warren launches 2020 presidential campaign – in pictures Posted: 09 Feb 2019 01:26 PM PST The Democrat officially announces campaign to be next American president at a rally in Massachusetts Continue reading... |
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