World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk |
- Venezuela crisis threatens disease epidemic across continent - experts
- ‘Lives are hanging on the line’: Kenya halts landmark ruling on gay rights
- Ireland steps up effort to shelter economy from no-deal Brexit
- Japan’s Hayabusa 2 successfully touches down on Ryugu asteroid
- World's food supply under 'severe threat' from loss of biodiversity
- Millions of forest-dwelling indigenous people in India to be evicted
- Labour MP Ian Austin quits the party
- Greece races to move refugees from island branded a 'new Lesbos'
- US company to stop selling China equipment to build Uighur DNA database
- Winter storms bring rare snowfall to Las Vegas and Los Angeles
- The hair-raising hipsters of Baghdad – in pictures
- Why ‘Trump country’ isn’t as Republican as you think
- Shamima Begum: I am willing to change to keep British citizenship
- Ian Austin becomes ninth MP to quit Labour - politics live
- Mao and Chou put glow on Richard Nixon’s day - archive, 22 February 1972
- Colombian tribe calls for action on alleged effects of UK oil firm
- Weakened aid budget may be used to fund $2bn Pacific island infrastructure bank
- Joe Hockey says allegation he 'owes' Helloworld chief is 'absolute nonsense'
- Friday briefing: Motions in motion against May
- Amnesty International leaders offer to resign over bullying workplace culture
- Kenya to rule on gay rights as African neighbours look on
- Las Vegas gets first significant snow for years after rare winter storm – video
- Jussie Smollett 'took advantage of the pain and anger of racism', say Chicago police – video
- Tug-of-war with a lion? Dartmoor zoo offers 'cruel' challenge – video
- Obama on masculinity: 'You don't need eight women around you twerking' - video
| Venezuela crisis threatens disease epidemic across continent - experts Posted: 21 Feb 2019 03:30 PM PST Collapse of Venezuela's healthcare system could fuel spread of malaria and other diseases across region Experts have warned of an epidemic of diseases such as malaria and dengue on an unprecedented scale in Latin America following the collapse of the healthcare system in Venezuela. Continent-wide public health gains of the last 18 years could be undone if Venezuela does not accept help to control the spreading outbreaks of malaria, Zika, dengue and other illnesses that are afflicting its people, experts have warned in a report published in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases. Continue reading... |
| ‘Lives are hanging on the line’: Kenya halts landmark ruling on gay rights Posted: 22 Feb 2019 12:23 AM PST Decision prompts anger as high court asks for more time to consider evidence Judges in Kenya have postponed a long-awaited landmark ruling that could have led to sex between men or between women decriminalised. The attempt by LGBT campaigners to have colonial era legislation struck out has been closely watched by activists across Africa. Continue reading... |
| Ireland steps up effort to shelter economy from no-deal Brexit Posted: 21 Feb 2019 09:00 PM PST Bill readied amid concerns over impact on agriculture, food processing and transport Ireland is accelerating preparations for a no-deal Brexit amid growing alarm that parts of the Irish economy could face severe disruption and even collapse – and that the UK hopes to leverage that prospect to wring concessions from the European Union. Leo Varadkar's government is due on Friday to publish a mammoth omnibus bill incorporating 16 pieces of legislation to try to shelter Ireland from the doomsday scenario of the UK crashing out of the EU. Continue reading... |
| Japan’s Hayabusa 2 successfully touches down on Ryugu asteroid Posted: 21 Feb 2019 05:07 PM PST The probe was due to fire a pellet into the surface of the asteroid to try to capture dust A Japanese spacecraft has successfully touched down on a speeding asteroid 300 million kilometres from the Earth as it attempts an audacious manoeuvre to collect samples and bring them back for scientists to study. The Hayabusa 2 probe touched down on the asteroid Ryugu at around 11:30pm GMT on Thursday. Data from the probe showed changes in speed and direction, indicating it had reached the asteroid's surface, according to officials from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Continue reading... |
| World's food supply under 'severe threat' from loss of biodiversity Posted: 21 Feb 2019 03:05 PM PST Plants, insects and organisms crucial to food production in steep decline, says UN The world's capacity to produce food is being undermined by humanity's failure to protect biodiversity, according to the first UN study of the plants, animals and micro-organisms that help to put meals on our plates. The stark warning was issued by the Food and Agriculture Organisation after scientists found evidence the natural support systems that underpin the human diet are deteriorating around the world as farms, cities and factories gobble up land and pump out chemicals. Continue reading... |
| Millions of forest-dwelling indigenous people in India to be evicted Posted: 22 Feb 2019 01:46 AM PST Critics say 'disastrous' supreme court ruling is 'mass eviction in name of conservation' Millions will be evicted in India after the supreme court ruled that indigenous people illegally living on forest land should move. Campaigners for the rights of tribal and forest-dwelling people have called the court's decision on Wednesday "an unprecedented disaster," and "the biggest mass eviction in the name of conservation, ever". Continue reading... |
| Labour MP Ian Austin quits the party Posted: 22 Feb 2019 01:58 AM PST Ninth MP to leave the party this week says he has no plans to join the Independent Group Ian Austin has become the ninth MP to quit the Labour party this week, although he told his local newspaper he had no plans to join the Independent Group, which was founded earlier this week by some former colleagues and Tory defectors. The MP for Dudley North in the West Midlands has been disaffected with the party leadership for a couple of years and told the Express and Star newspaper there was a "culture of extremism, antisemitism and intolerance" in Labour. Continue reading... |
| Greece races to move refugees from island branded a 'new Lesbos' Posted: 21 Feb 2019 11:00 PM PST Migration minister warns camp on Samos where hundreds of children live in squalor is six times over capacity Greek authorities are scrambling to house almost 4,000 people crammed into an overflowing migrant camp in Samos, as aid groups warn of a "humanitarian disaster" on one of Europe's forgotten frontlines. Likening Samos to a "new Lesbos," the country's migration minister warned of a race against the clock to find suitable accommodation for the ever growing number of people trapped in a reception centre now six times over capacity. Continue reading... |
| US company to stop selling China equipment to build Uighur DNA database Posted: 21 Feb 2019 10:45 PM PST Thermo Fisher says it must recognise 'the importance' of how its surveillance technology is used An American biotechnology company has announced it will stop selling to China equipment used to create a DNA database of the country's Uighur minority. Thermo Fisher issued a statement on Thursday following a report in the New York Times which noted the "help of American expertise" in China's campaign of surveillance. Continue reading... |
| Winter storms bring rare snowfall to Las Vegas and Los Angeles Posted: 21 Feb 2019 05:10 PM PST Authorities closed portions of main routes from Las Vegas to Los Angeles and Phoenix because of snow, ice and limited visibility February storms have brought rare snowfall to the United States' south-west this week, covering the Las Vegas Strip and parts of Los Angeles with a thin layer of snow. In Nevada, the storm dusted casino marquees and prompted revelers to erect a snowman near the celebrated "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign. Some suburban foothill areas were pillowy white after getting several inches of snow. Continue reading... |
| The hair-raising hipsters of Baghdad – in pictures Posted: 21 Feb 2019 03:00 AM PST You see these gravity-defying quiffs everywhere in Iraq's capital: on reception staff in the secure hotels, on waiters in cafes and on the youths who gather in Zawra amusement park on Friday afternoons. Often teamed with drainpipe trousers and a fitted jacket, the flashy, ostentatious haircut requires care. It says something of the city's new confidence: a rejection of the long years of sanctions and war Continue reading... |
| Why ‘Trump country’ isn’t as Republican as you think Posted: 21 Feb 2019 10:00 PM PST Appalachia wasn't always conservative. In Virginia's coal country, a long history of grassroots organising is inspiring a new wave of activism. By Elizabeth Catte When my grandfather was a child, his stepfather would bring him along as he sold moonshine to poor working men in south-west Virginia coal country. The men adored my grandfather, who was not yet even school age, for his talent for mocking Democrats. He told me this story on a few occasions to explain, I think, the inevitability of his later affiliation with the Republican party. He was a Republican in much the same way that I am a Democrat – voting with little enthusiasm every few years and sometimes not at all. When I consider that story now, I find myself thinking less about my grandfather and more about the men who laughed at his jokes. What were their politics? Not all were the predecessors of today's Republicans, as we might imagine them to be. In Appalachia, so-called "mountain Republicans" comprised an old vanguard of anti-secessionists, who opposed slavery and the Confederacy. They saw themselves as heirs to the enlightened legacy of Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president. My grandfather belonged (or at least aspired to belong) to that tradition. His audience might have consisted of Democrats, who enjoyed hearing their abuses repeated in the mouth of a child. But it is more likely that they would describe themselves as without politics, just laughing at the powerful and self-important. For a long time, it did not occur to me there were other possibilities. Continue reading... |
| Shamima Begum: I am willing to change to keep British citizenship Posted: 22 Feb 2019 01:04 AM PST Nineteen-year-old who joined Isis asks UK to show 'a bit more mercy' in assessing her case Shamima Begum has said she is "willing to change", as she issued a plea to the UK government for "mercy" after the home secretary moved to strip her of her British nationality. The British-born 19-year-old, who travelled from east London to Syria to join Islamic State in 2015, wants to return from Syria because her newborn son is unwell, and she does not wish to allow him to return to the UK alone. Continue reading... |
| Ian Austin becomes ninth MP to quit Labour - politics live Posted: 22 Feb 2019 02:15 AM PST Follow the latest political developments as they happen, including the Dudley North MP leaving his party after saying it is 'broken'
Ian Austin told the Express & Star he had not spoken to the eight former Labour MPs and three former Tory MPs who make up the Independent Group. While he may share some of his ex-colleagues' views about the party - namely on its response to antisemitism in its ranks - he is far removed from them on Europe. His Dudley North constituency voted by 71.4% to leave in the EU referendum, one of the highest margins in the country. Writing for the Guardian in November, he suggested that Labour should back Theresa May's Brexit deal. Related: To the Labour MPs who want to reject May's Brexit deal – are you sure? | Ian Austin
Khalid Mahmood, Labour MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, said Ian Austin's decision to quit the party was "very sad". I have known Ian a long time, before we were MPs and he has been a good friend. It's regrettable that he's done this." Unfortunately there are those associated with the party who make comments. But the party is doing its best and will continue to have zero tolerance against antisemitism. On that basis, we should move forward, together. We are a family - I have very high regard for Ian, but this is very sad. Continue reading... |
| Mao and Chou put glow on Richard Nixon’s day - archive, 22 February 1972 Posted: 21 Feb 2019 09:30 PM PST 22 February 1972: Richard Nixon begins a seven-day visit to the People's Republic of China - the first visit to the country by a US president Peking, February 21 Related: From the archive, 21 February 1972: Anti-American slogans greet Nixon in Peking Continue reading... |
| Colombian tribe calls for action on alleged effects of UK oil firm Posted: 21 Feb 2019 11:00 PM PST In part two of our series, indigenous Siona people claim their health is being affected by apparent contamination of river María Isaura Cuaran, an indigenous Siona woman, is displaying a rash that has appeared at the base of her neck. It is barely visible, but there nonetheless. Pulling her turquoise top off her left shoulder and tugging down on her bead necklace, Cuaran talks about "the company" and how, she alleges, it has affected the local river. "Stomach problems, coughing, fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, welts, little spots, little blotches, general malaise …" Continue reading... |
| Weakened aid budget may be used to fund $2bn Pacific island infrastructure bank Posted: 21 Feb 2019 10:35 PM PST Aid groups fear money will be diverted from the aid budget, risking doors 'closing to us in Asia' Aid groups fear the federal government is on the verge of taking more money from the strained aid budget to fund a $2bn infrastructure bank for Pacific island nations. Prime minister Scott Morrison announced the Australian infrastructure financing facility last year as part of Australia's "Pacific step up", which is aimed at combatting rising Chinese influence in the region. Continue reading... |
| Joe Hockey says allegation he 'owes' Helloworld chief is 'absolute nonsense' Posted: 22 Feb 2019 01:25 AM PST Australia's ambassador to the US rejects allegation made in bombshell email revealed by Penny Wong in Senate estimates Joe Hockey has said a meeting he had with former Helloworld executive Russell Carstensen has been misrepresented and that the allegation he "owes" Helloworld chief executive Andrew Burnes is "absolute nonsense". In an email to the Senate on Thursday, Carstensen said Burnes told him he was able to quickly arrange a meeting with Hockey, Australia's ambassador in Washington, because "Hockey owes me". Burnes denies making the statement. Continue reading... |
| Friday briefing: Motions in motion against May Posted: 21 Feb 2019 10:29 PM PST Ministers poised to back article 50 extension … murder charge over UK death of jihadists' brother … and Mark Ronson on his album of 'sad bangers' Hello, it's Warren Murray with a briefing that will have to keep you going until Monday I'm afraid. Continue reading... |
| Amnesty International leaders offer to resign over bullying workplace culture Posted: 22 Feb 2019 02:22 AM PST Letter says 'mistakes were made' after colleagues were belittled and excluded Amnesty International's seven-member senior leadership team has offered to resign, following a damning report that warned of a "toxic" working environment and widespread bullying. A letter, signed jointly by the human rights group's leadership team, acknowledged mistakes had been made, adding that the seven senior leaders took shared responsibility for the "climate of tension and mistrust" across the organisation. Continue reading... |
| Kenya to rule on gay rights as African neighbours look on Posted: 21 Feb 2019 08:22 AM PST Decision has implications for rest of continent, where LGBT people face widespread discrimination Judges in Kenya's high court will decide on Friday whether to repeal laws criminalising homosexuality, in a potentially historic decision that has implications for the rest of Africa, where LGBT people face widespread discrimination. "Everyone all over Africa is paying attention. Whatever happens in Kenya will have a direct impact on us all," said Frank Mugisha, an activist based in neighbouring Uganda, where homosexuality is outlawed and authorities have attempted to impose harsher sentences on gay people in recent years. |
| Las Vegas gets first significant snow for years after rare winter storm – video Posted: 21 Feb 2019 02:07 PM PST A winter storm brought rare snowfall to the Las Vegas Strip this week, with some suburban foothill areas getting several inches of snow. The snow snarled flights at the airport and traffic on highways. The snow could reach 3in by Friday on western and southern outskirts of the city, but rain could reduce accumulation |
| Jussie Smollett 'took advantage of the pain and anger of racism', say Chicago police – video Posted: 21 Feb 2019 10:35 AM PST The actor, who handed himself in on Thursday morning, claimed he had been attacked and beaten by two masked men shouting racist and homophobic slurs because he was 'dissatisfied with his salary' on the TV show Empire, Chicago police said Continue reading... |
| Tug-of-war with a lion? Dartmoor zoo offers 'cruel' challenge – video Posted: 21 Feb 2019 02:50 AM PST Visitors to Dartmoor zoo are being offered the opportunity to take part in its 'human v beast' challenge, with groups of people playing tug-of-war against a lion as it tries to wrestle meat attached to a rope. The controversial attraction, which costs £15 per person, has sparked a backlash with more than 2,000 people signing a petition to stop the practice. The petition's author, Sue Dally, described it as, 'cruel and shows a total lack of respect for these beautiful majestic wild animals' Continue reading... |
| Obama on masculinity: 'You don't need eight women around you twerking' - video Posted: 21 Feb 2019 02:44 AM PST Barack Obama offered some advice on self-confidence to young men at an event hosted by his foundation in Oakland, California, on Tuesday. When asked by a member of the audience about his definition of being a man, and how it relates to the LGBT+ community, the former US president said being a man was 'first and foremost being a good human' before going on to say that 'if you are very confident about your sexuality, you don't have to have eight women around you twerking' Continue reading... |
| You are subscribed to email updates from World news | The Guardian. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
Posting Komentar