World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk

0 komentar

World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk


Jovenel Moïse: alleged hit squad members had been in Haiti for three months

Posted: 09 Jul 2021 05:06 AM PDT

Alleged assassins gathered weapons, money, phones and rental cars before killing president, authorities say

Key members of the hit squad allegedly behind the assassination of Haiti's president Jovenel Moïse had been in the country for about three months, apparently preparing their attack, with others joining from the Dominican Republic last month, according to Haitian judicial authorities investigating the assassination.

As new details emerged about the murder of Moïse, 53, in his private residence in Pétion-Ville in the hills above the capital, Port-au-Prince, it emerged the alleged assassins – including two joint US-Haitian nationals resident in Florida, and about two dozen Colombians – had assembled a cache of weapons, money, mobile phones and other equipment, including rental cars.

Continue reading...

‘It will be a catastrophe’: fate of Syria’s last aid channel rests in Russia’s hands

Posted: 09 Jul 2021 12:00 AM PDT

Possible veto of Bab al-Hawa UN aid crossing could halt the flow of vital food and health supplies to 3.4 million people

Just over half a mile away from the Bab al-Hawa border crossing connecting Syria and Turkey a 6th-century triumphal arch still stands, the remains of a Roman road stretching straight as an arrow on either side. For millennia this part of the world has been a crossroads of trade, culture and history. Today, it's more important than ever.

Bab al-Hawa is Syria's last lifeline, through which vital UN aid supplies for 3.4 million people living in the war-torn north-west of the country arrive. But before 10 July, the security council must vote in New York on whether to keep the aid flowing. What might seem like an obvious decision to outsiders is actually far from certain: Russia may use its veto power as a permanent member of the council to close the UN's last access point, as it has managed to do with the other three aid crossings.

Continue reading...

Iran and Russia move to fill diplomatic vacuum in Afghanistan

Posted: 08 Jul 2021 09:00 PM PDT

Iranian foreign minister meets Taliban negotiators in Tehran, while Turkey offers troops to protect Kabul airport

Iran, Turkey, Pakistan and Russia have moved to fill the military and diplomatic vacuum opening up in Afghanistan as a result of the departure of US forces and military advances by the Taliban.

In Tehran the Iranian foreign minister, Javad Zarif, met Taliban negotiators to discuss their intentions towards the country, and secured a joint statement saying the Taliban do not support attacks on civilians, schools, mosques and hospitals and want a negotiated settlement on Afghanistan's future.

Continue reading...

Football’s coming to Rome? Italy fans look to Wembley showdown

Posted: 08 Jul 2021 10:53 AM PDT

Italians are excited for the Euro 2020 final against England: 'If we play with the heart, we will win'

Tens of thousands of English football fans at Wembley tried to send a message to Italy on Wednesday night: Sunday's Euro 2020 final will be hell for the Azzurri. Italians heard the deafening cheers of the home support loud and clear, but that chant, "It's coming home", screamed at the top of English lungs does not seem to have affected them greatly. They are far from intimidated.

"It's coming home? Maybe the English fans meant 'it's coming to Rome'," said Giovanni Mapelli, 14, from Monticello Brianza, near Milan, who plays for a local football team. Since England won a place in the final, he and his brother have been mocking his England-born-and-raised mother.

Continue reading...

Giant pandas no longer endangered in the wild, China announces

Posted: 09 Jul 2021 04:41 AM PDT

Authorities reclassify animal as vulnerable with a population outside captivity of 1,800

Giant pandas are no longer endangered in the wild, but they are still vulnerable with a population outside captivity of 1,800, Chinese officials have said after years of conservation efforts.

The head of the environment ministry's department of nature and ecology conservation, Cui Shuhong, said the reclassification was the result of "improved living conditions and China's efforts in keeping their habitats integrated".

Continue reading...

Biafra separatist leader abducted by Nigeria from Kenya, say family

Posted: 08 Jul 2021 10:00 PM PDT

Relatives of British-Nigerian citizen Nnamdi Kanu accuse Nigeria of extraordinary rendition, aided by Kenyan authorities

A Biafra separatist leader and UK national was arrested by Nigerian authorities in Kenya and taken to Nigeria in an act of extraordinary rendition, his family and lawyers have claimed.

Nnamdi Kanu, a British-Nigerian citizen, fled Nigeria in 2017 while on bail facing charges of terrorism and incitement. He was arrested last week and brought to Nigeria's capital, Abuja.

Continue reading...

EU votes for diplomats to boycott China Winter Olympics over rights abuses

Posted: 09 Jul 2021 12:21 AM PDT

Non-binding resolution also calls for governments to impose further sanctions on China as tensions rise

The European parliament has overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling on diplomatic officials to boycott the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in response to continuing human rights abuses by the Chinese government.

In escalating tensions between the EU and China, the non-binding resolution also called for governments to impose further sanctions, provide emergency visas to Hong Kong journalists and further support Hongkongers to move to Europe.

Continue reading...

Plane carrying skydivers crashes in Sweden, killing nine

Posted: 08 Jul 2021 06:37 PM PDT

Plane went down near runway shortly after takeoff from Örebro and caught fire on impact

Nine people have been found dead after a skydiving plane crashed outside Örebro in Sweden.

"It's a very severe accident," Swedish police said on their website. "Everyone on board the crashed plane has died."

Police said the plane, a DHC-2 Turbo Beaver, was carrying eight skydivers and one pilot. It crashed on Thursday close to the runway at Örebro airport shortly after takeoff and caught fire at impact.

Related: Stefan Löfven back as Swedish PM weeks after no-confidence vote

Continue reading...

Joint CO2 targets must not diminish German industry, CDU leader warns EU

Posted: 09 Jul 2021 04:00 AM PDT

Armin Laschet, frontrunner for next chancellor, says Germany will focus on innovation and market incentives

The frontrunner to succeed Angela Merkel as German chancellor has warned the EU that joint greenhouse gas targets must not come at the cost of diminishing the prowess of German industry, signalling a reluctance to join carbon reduction schemes planned in other European countries.

"Europe has to be modernised: we have to implement the Green Deal together but still remain successful with our industries," Armin Laschet, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader, told the Guardian in an interview.

Continue reading...

Top fashion brands face legal challenge over garment workers’ rights in Asia

Posted: 09 Jul 2021 03:21 AM PDT

Pan-Asian labour rights group launches groundbreaking attempt to hold global labels accountable for alleged rights violations during pandemic

Legal complaints are being filed against some of the world's largest fashion brands in major garment-producing countries across Asia in a groundbreaking attempt to hold the global fashion industry legally accountable for human rights violations in the countries where their clothing is made.

The Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA), a pan-Asian labour rights group, says it is using legal challenges to argue that global clothing brands should be considered joint employers, along with their suppliers, under national laws and be held accountable for alleged wage violations during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Continue reading...

No jabs, no job: Fiji threatens unvaccinated workers with sack

Posted: 09 Jul 2021 04:30 AM PDT

Prime minister says country 'cannot afford to waste time getting back the lives we know and love'

Fiji's government has announced it will make Covid-19 vaccinations a mandatory condition of work for civil servants and staff in the private sector, with some people liable to lose their jobs if they do not comply.

The prime minister, Frank Bainimarama, said in a televised address on Thursday night that employers and employees in the private sector should receive at least one dose of vaccine by 1 August.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus live news: Evidence ‘limited’ on usefulness of booster vaccines, say WHO

Posted: 09 Jul 2021 05:07 AM PDT

Additional data needed to see if booster doses would be beneficial, says WHO; Australian government rolls out vaccination campaign

Almost 1.5m doses of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine arrived today in Afghanistan, bringing the total donated by the US through Covax, the global dose-sharing scheme, to 3.3m doses.

The Unicef representative in Afghanistan, Hervé Ludovic De Lys, said:

These vaccines arrive at a critical time for Afghanistan as the country faces a difficult surge in Covid-19 infections. As many countries face vaccine supply challenges, the dose-sharing mechanism is a rapid way to close the immediate supply gap and ensure the most vulnerable, including healthcare workers, teachers, the elderly, and those in hard-to-reach areas, are protected against Covid-19.

Unicef welcomes this shipment which is an important step in the continued fight against Covid-19 in Afghanistan. However, much more needs to be done. I hope that other governments will step up and share their doses, supplies and therapeutics to protect those most in need."

Fiji's government has announced it will make Covid-19 vaccinations a mandatory condition of work for civil servants and staff in the private sector, with some people liable to lose their jobs if they do not comply.

Fiji recorded 860 new cases of Covid and three related deaths in the 24 hours up to 8am local time today. It has recorded a total of 51 deaths due to Covid, 49 of these during the outbreak that started in April this year. Of the 49, 41 were unvaccinated and eight had received one dose of vaccine.

Related: No jabs, no job: Fiji threatens unvaccinated workers with sack

Continue reading...

French posters of kissing couples promote ‘desirable’ side of Covid jab

Posted: 09 Jul 2021 03:40 AM PDT

Health authority creates adverts to send positive message about social effects of vaccination

A romantically suggestive French advertising campaign to persuade young people to have the Covid-19 vaccine has pointed out the "desirable" effects of getting jabbed.

The posters, produced by health authorities in the south of France, aim to show how getting inoculated can considerably improve people's social lives, countering public concerns over "undesirable" or adverse side-effects of coronavirus vaccines.

Continue reading...

Pfizer says no change to Australian Covid vaccine doses, contradicting reports of ‘game-changing’ deal

Posted: 08 Jul 2021 07:14 PM PDT

Prime minister Scott Morrison says pace of vaccination rollout accelerating

The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer says there is no change in the number of doses the company has contracted to deliver to Australia over 2021 – contradicting reports asserting the Morrison government had secured a "game-changing deal" to triple its access to the jabs.

The prime minister – who has been under significant political pressure because of the slow pace of the vaccination rollout, pressure that has ramped up during the lockdown of greater Sydney – embarked on a media blitz on Friday to argue the pace of the vaccination rollout was accelerating.

Continue reading...

First year of pandemic claimed lives of 25 young people in England

Posted: 08 Jul 2021 10:00 PM PDT

Analysis, showing 4% of 5,830 children hospitalised in 12 months to February entered ICU wards, could inform vaccine policy

During the first year of the pandemic 25 children and teenagers died as a direct result of Covid-19 in England and about 6,000 were admitted to hospital, according to the most complete analysis of national data on the age group to date.

Children seen to be at greatest risk of severe illness and death from coronavirus were in ethnic minority groups, and those with pre-existing medical conditions or severe disabilities.

Continue reading...

My summer of love: ‘I’m in search of the perfect fleeting encounter’

Posted: 09 Jul 2021 02:30 AM PDT

Who needs for ever? I want a summer of beautiful vignettes. As a friend told me, the length of a relationship needn't reflect its significance

A friend of mine told me about this guy she met in the queue at Tesco Metro. They both lunged for the same meatball wrap, and he said: "This is like the part in the film where we fall in love," which didn't happen but they did go to the pub and then to a nightclub, where they stood so close to the speakers they could feel the sound in the air as if it were wind. When the lights came on, they headed back to his flat and had great sex, watched by a Simon Cowell cutout he had left over from a party. After climbing out of a window on to the roof of his flat, she stayed until the sky turned from flamingo pink to lilac, to dark blue, and it was time for her to go home and get some sleep.

"I was going to ask for his number but it was so perfect, I told him, 'If it's meant to be, I'll see you out again.'"

Continue reading...

Vanessa Kirby and Katherine Waterston’s frontier romance: ‘She let me be more full-bodied’

Posted: 08 Jul 2021 10:00 PM PDT

The north-eastern US is not the only uncharted territory explored in the pair's 19th-century period drama. They discuss becoming friends, learning how to act and sexism in showbiz

After the release this year of Ammonite, with Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan as 19th-century fossil hunters who fall in love in inclement weather, Saturday Night Live ran a trailer featuring Carey Mulligan in a spoof version. A sombre voice heralded "two straight actresses who dare not to wear makeup" along with "Academy award-winning glance choreography … the world's saddest flirting … and best supporting actress nominee the wind." After promising that the stars would "round all the bases, like grazing fingers, washing carrots", the voiceover announced: "Lesbian Period Drama. You get one a year. Make the most of it."

Not this year you don't. The World to Come depicts a same-sex relationship flowering in the harsh conditions of the US frontier in 1846, where timid Abigail (Katherine Waterston) and brash, flame-haired Tallie (Vanessa Kirby) drift away from their husbands (Casey Affleck and Christopher Abbott) and into each other's arms. The glancing is plentiful, the flirting desperately sad, the wind howling as if vocalising the women's anguish. There is finger-grazing, but no carrot-washing, although the sweethearts do get to pluck a chicken together.

Continue reading...

CDU leader Armin Laschet: ‘Even in the coldest of cold wars there was dialogue’

Posted: 09 Jul 2021 04:00 AM PDT

Cheerful Rhinelander poised to succeed Angela Merkel aims to reach out to likes of Russia and Hungary

Over her 16 years as German chancellor, Angela Merkel has gained a reputation as the world's go-to consensus-builder, a relentless forger of compromises between political opponents. The man most likely to step into her shoes this September presents himself as someone with the ambition to outdo her.

Armin Laschet, the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and conservative candidate for the top job at federal elections on 26 September, says he is a passionate European, a committed transatlanticist and a reliable ally of Israel.

Continue reading...

‘We live in a desert. We have to act like it’: Las Vegas faces reality of drought

Posted: 09 Jul 2021 04:00 AM PDT

Water investigators track down wasteful homeowners and public turf torn up to conserve scarce water supplies

Investigator Perry Kaye jammed the brakes of his government-issued vehicle to survey the offense. "Uh oh this doesn't look too good. Let's take a peek," he said, exiting the car to handle what has become one of the most existential violations in drought-stricken Las Vegas – a faulty sprinkler.

Kaye is one of nearly 50 water waste investigators deployed by the local water authority to crack down on even the smallest misuse of a liquid perilously scarce in the US west, desiccated by two decades of drought. The situation in Las Vegas, which went a record 240 consecutive days without rain last year, is increasingly severe.

Continue reading...

Sing when you’re winning – take our Euro 2020 football anthems quiz

Posted: 09 Jul 2021 03:00 AM PDT

Do you know your Ant from your Dec and your Three Lions from your Atomic Kitten? Find out with our tricky and slightly silly quiz

They are the soundtrack to our summers of joy and despair. The songs that accompany the moments when our hearts soar as goals go in, and break as crucial penalties are missed. But how much do you know about the football tournament anthems that fans sing with such glee? Find out with our football anthems quiz – getting full marks is going to be harder than getting a ticket for Wembley on Sunday. But remember, it is just for fun, and unlike the forthcoming Italy v England Euro 2020 final, there are no prizes.

The Guardian Euro 2020 football anthems quiz

Continue reading...

How a white mob lynched a Black man, destroyed a city – and got away with it

Posted: 09 Jul 2021 03:00 AM PDT

In 1919, white rioters stormed into an Omaha courthouse and dragged a Black jailed man who said he was innocent out to his death

Human skin melts at 162F (72C). Fifty degrees more and the blood boils.

Continue reading...

Digested week: I’m gearing up for Freedom to Catch Covid Day | Lucy Mangan

Posted: 09 Jul 2021 03:23 AM PDT

As the government continued to fail at governing, at least England had an easy win in exposing Laurence Fox's hypocrisy

Data, not dates! Except, after all – dates. The government (are we still using that word? It feels like such a misnomer at this stage. The gafferment? The gufferment, farting into its empty hands) announces that the country will lay aside virtually all Covid-19 restrictions on 19 July – "Covid Freedom Day" as our genuinely pathetic prime minister terms it – as planned.

Continue reading...

UK financier loses latest round in fight over future of NSO Group

Posted: 09 Jul 2021 05:00 AM PDT

British investor Stephen Peel in ongoing dispute with partners over Luxembourg company linked to spyware firm

A British financier's voting rights at a Luxembourg company linked to Novalpina Capital, whose fund owns a majority stake in the spyware firm NSO Group, will remain suspended, a Luxembourg court has ruled.

Though this may not be permanent, the decision appears to mark a setback for the financier, Stephen Peel, a former Olympic rower, in a bitter legal dispute that has erupted between him and his two longtime business partners, Stefan Kowski and Bastian Lueken.

Continue reading...

Experience: I lived in an airport for seven months

Posted: 09 Jul 2021 02:00 AM PDT

I slept under the escalator, surrounded by plastic barriers – the PA announcements would jerk me awake

I was working as the marketing manager for an insurance company in Abu Dhabi when civil war broke out in Syria, the country of my birth. I'd left five years earlier, aged 25, but military service in Syria is mandatory, and the outbreak of war meant I would be expected to return. But I didn't want any role in the killing machine.

When I refused to join the army, the Syrian embassy wouldn't renew my passport. Without it, I couldn't extend my work visa, so I was out of a job. For the next few years, I was forced to live under the radar – remaining in the United Arab Emirates illegally. I sold my belongings and worked off-grid when I could, sleeping in public gardens or stairwells. At the end of 2016, I was finally taken in by the police. After two months in an immigration detention jail, I was deported to Malaysia.

Continue reading...

‘Any time, anything could go wrong’: the women hoping to heal South Sudan

Posted: 09 Jul 2021 12:53 AM PDT

The country's first 10 years has been marred by civil war, sexual violence and poverty. But women are working to gain justice for victims and hope for change

When Gloria Soma left university in Tanzania in 2013, she decided to head for the homeland she had never really known. Her parents had left southern Sudan in the early 1990s and she had grown up in refugee camps overseas, first in Uganda during the "hard times" of the Lord's Resistance Army, and then in Kenya. While she was immersed in her studies, the Republic of South Sudan was born, the 193rd country to join the UN. And she wanted to go.

"It was quite exciting for me because I thought that … I would go back and there were going to be many opportunities and it would be a peaceful place for everyone to live in," says Soma. "There was already some sense of belonging. Because, as much as I had stayed most of my life in the east African region, there'd always been [the question of] 'where do you belong?' There was that bit of me [that felt] 'finally, we are going to belong somewhere'. But it didn't happen."

Continue reading...

Hail, tornadoes and flooded New York subways as stormy weather hits east coast

Posted: 09 Jul 2021 05:03 AM PDT

Rainstorms drenched New York while Tropical Storm Elsa sparked tornadoes in North Carolina and Virginia

The US east coast was battered by extreme weather on Thursday as heavy thunderstorms brought flooding and travel disruption to the New York City area, while Tropical Storm Elsa dumped heavy rainfall and even sparked tornadoes in North Carolina and Georgia.

Some subway system ya got there. This is the 157th St. 1 line right now. @NYCMayor @BilldeBlasio pic.twitter.com/xyfTAUPPNu

Continue reading...

Didi the latest casualty as China tackles tech’s ‘barbaric growth’

Posted: 09 Jul 2021 04:57 AM PDT

Analysis: multiple state agencies have been drafting rules to regulate China's booming, anarchic tech sector

China's biggest ride-hailing company, Didi, is the latest casualty of Beijing's effort to rein in upstart tech companies that had been left to their own devices in the absence of proper regulation.

The Cyberspace Administration of China's ban on Didi listing its app on mobile app stores in China, only days after the company floated on the New York stock exchange, prompted a sharp selloff of Didi's shares. The debacle has angered investors after it was reported that Chinese authorities had for months cautioned Didi against rushing into a US listing owing to data security concerns.

Continue reading...

‘The world is laughing at you’: Australian brothers fined for destroying mother’s home in will dispute

Posted: 09 Jul 2021 03:52 AM PDT

The pair filmed themselves wrecking the house in Murtoa, Victoria, after their sister was named executor of their mother's estate

The world is laughing at the stupidity of two brothers who destroyed their late mother's home in regional Victoria after their sister was named executor of her estate, a Victorian judge has said.

Malcolm and Garry Taylor missed out on their inheritance and have now received major fines following their dramatic response to their sister being named executor.

Continue reading...

Gladys Berejiklian faces instability within as a Covid storm brews outside

Posted: 09 Jul 2021 12:45 AM PDT

Disgruntled cabinet colleagues touting a plan B are making NSW premier's job of imposing a lockdown on the public even harder

The New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, emerged from her crisis briefing at the Department of Health on Friday looking more stressed – with good reason.

All the signs are that NSW is losing control of this outbreak of the Delta strain of Covid-19, despite the increasingly stringent lockdown rules.

Continue reading...

Conservative justices make it clear: they won’t stop anti-democratic voting laws | Fight to vote

Posted: 08 Jul 2021 07:00 AM PDT

The court's majority opinion unequivocally narrows the law and gives politicians ammunition to pass more restrictive voting laws

Happy Thursday,

In a hugely consequential ruling last week, the US supreme court upheld two Arizona voting restrictions and, in the process, significantly curtailed one of the most powerful provisions that remain of the Voting Rights Act.

Continue reading...

New York City hit by extreme weather, flooding subways and streets – video

Posted: 08 Jul 2021 11:13 PM PDT

The US east coast was hit by extreme weather on Thursday as heavy thunderstorms brought flooding and travel disruption to New York City. The city witnessed dramatic scenes as subway stations were inundated by water due to heavy rainstorms ahead of the arrival of Tropical Storm Elsa

Continue reading...

Final moment of Scripps National Spelling Bee: Zaila Avant-garde is first African American winner

Posted: 08 Jul 2021 10:01 PM PDT

Zaila Avant-garde, a 14-year-old from Harvey, Louisiana, has taken out the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee, becoming the first African American winner in the tournament's 96-year history. Avant-garde correctly spelled "murraya", a genus of tropical Asiatic and Australian trees, to take out the title ahead of Chaitra Thummala, a 12-year-old from Frisco, Texas.

Continue reading...

'NSW facing greatest threat since pandemic started', premier Gladys Berejiklian warns – video

Posted: 08 Jul 2021 09:36 PM PDT

The New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, has announced stricter lockdown measures following 44 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases, saying low vaccination rates are a significant concern. 'We cannot live with this variant,' she says. 'No place on Earth has unless they have their vaccination rates much, much higher than what we do. Because otherwise it subjects the population to thousands and thousands of hospitalisations, thousands of deaths.'

 ► Subscribe to Guardian Australia on YouTube

Continue reading...

Biden says no ‘mission accomplished moment’ as US troops withdraw from Afghanistan – video

Posted: 08 Jul 2021 01:30 PM PDT

Joe Biden has said the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan after 20 years of war will conclude on 31 August and added there will be no 'mission accomplished' moment to celebrate. 'We did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build,' the US president said. 'It is the right and the responsibility of the Afghan people alone to decide their future and how they want to run their country.'

His remarks come as the Taliban makes advances in the country, which some senior Afghan officials have blamed on the abrupt departure of US troops

Continue reading...

Haiti: police kill suspects in gun battle after assassination of president – video report

Posted: 08 Jul 2021 10:20 AM PDT

An already struggling and chaotic Haiti is reeling from the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, followed by a reported gun battle in which authorities said police killed four of the murder suspects. Officials have pledged to find all those responsible for the raid on Moïse's house before dawn on Wednesday. The government has declared a two-week state of emergency to help it hunt the assassins.

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson announces end to UK military mission in Afghanistan – video

Posted: 08 Jul 2021 07:16 AM PDT

Boris Johnson has announced the end of Britain's military mission in Afghanistan, following a hasty and secretive exit of the last remaining troops 20 years after the post-9/11 invasion that started the 'war on terror'. Speaking in the Commons, the prime minister confirmed to MPs that the intervention, which claimed the lives of 457 British soldiers, would end even as the insurgent Taliban have been rapidly gaining territory in rural areas as UK and other forces withdraw

Continue reading...


Posting Komentar