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

Priti Patel could face Home Office mutiny over Rwanda asylum plan
Boat capsizes off Libya, leaving 35 people dead or presumed dead
South Africa’s flood-ravaged east hit by more heavy rain
South Africa flooding death toll nears 400 as rescuers search for missing
‘I will die here, I can’t go back to Africa’: migrants respond to Rwanda removal
UN refugee agency condemns Boris Johnson’s Rwanda asylum plan
Wildflower believed to be extinct for 40 years spotted in Ecuador
‘A senseless tragedy’: woman dies after bid to climb US border wall
Canada ignored warnings of virus infecting farmed and wild salmon
Rio carnival groups fight for right to party ahead of official celebrations
Case of Iranian-born woman abducted by fake officers baffles Canadian police
Former Colombia great Freddy Rincón dies, aged 55, following car crash
China tightens controls as Shanghai reports record Covid cases
North Korea marks founder Kim Il-sung’s birthday with mass parade but no weapons
Will China’s zero-Covid policy bring the world’s factory grinding to a halt?
Shanghai residents forced from homes clash with police over Covid policy
Western Australian Liberal senator Ben Small resigns over dual citizenship
Tropical storm Megi: Philippines death toll rises to 123 as landslides bury villages
Western Australia plane crash: one dead and another injured after aircraft catches fire
Scott Morrison backs Warringah candidate amid Liberal revolt – as it happened
Scott Morrison faces Liberal mutiny over Warringah candidate Katherine Deves’ trans views
AEC warns Australian political parties over ‘misleading’ postal vote applications
Anthony Albanese says PM’s broken federal Icac promise ‘fails the laugh test’ as Chalmers defends Labor campaign
Australian Medical Association disappointed by major party funding inaction amid hospital crisis
Russia-Ukraine war: Moscow attacks UK’s ‘anti-Russian hysteria’; Zelenskiy and Johnson discuss Mariupol situation – live
Russia bans Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Ben Wallace from entering country
Kyiv arms plant hit by Russia may have made missiles that sank Moskva
Macron and Le Pen battle to win over ‘politically orphaned’ French voters
How Zelenskiy’s team of TV writers helps his victory message hit home
France braced for protests as Macron and Le Pen prepare for presidential runoff
Diesel tanker sinks off Tunisia risking environmental disaster
Israeli city’s Jewish residents form armed ‘self-defence’ group
More than 150 Palestinians injured in Jerusalem clash, say medics
Iraq’s ancient buildings are being destroyed by climate change
MPs call for British child and ill mother to be returned to UK from Syrian camp
Palestinian lawyer and teen killed as Israel raids West Bank amid escalating violence
Women with electric rickshaws combat Delhi’s toxic air – and its sexism
Deportation of Rohingya woman from India sparks fear of renewed crackdown
‘Gota go home’: desperate Sri Lankans call for President Rajapaksa to quit
Myanmar jailed more writers in 2021 than any other country, says rights group
Invictus Games: Harry and Meghan pay tribute to Ukrainians
Sunshine and packed beaches mark first Easter since lockdown
Senior Conservatives fear traditional voters will desert them after Partygate
Fire at industrial unit in Berkshire sends huge smoke cloud across motorway
Refusal of Sabina Nessa’s murderer to attend sentencing may prompt new law
Body found in River Severn at Shrewsbury in search for missing man
Public lands to reopen for oil and gas drilling in a first under Biden
Police arrest man accused of killing Georgia coroner’s parents and son
Calls for US to issue visa bans for UK lawyers enabling Russian oligarchs
Five people to share $50,000 reward for tips in New York subway shooting
What does Republicans’ break from the presidential debate commission mean?
Twitter adopts ‘poison pill’ plan to shield itself from Elon Musk takeover

Priti Patel could face Home Office mutiny over Rwanda asylum plan

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 07:56 AM PDT

Unions say civil servants could stage mass walkouts after home secretary overruled their concerns

Priti Patel could face a Home Office mutiny over plans to process migrants 5,000 miles away in Rwanda after overruling officials to push through the scheme.

The home secretary issued a rare ministerial direction to overrule concerns of civil servants about whether the scheme would deliver value for money.

Boat capsizes off Libya, leaving 35 people dead or presumed dead

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 07:36 AM PDT

Wooden vessel launched from Sabratha, a major departure point for Europe, says UN migration agency

A boat carrying 35 people has capsized off the Libyan coast, the UN migration agency has said.

The incident took place on Friday off the western Libyan city of Sabratha, a major launching point for the mainly African people making the dangerous voyage across the Mediterranean, said the International Organization for Migration.

South Africa’s flood-ravaged east hit by more heavy rain

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 06:04 AM PDT

Emergency services on high alert in KwaZulu-Natal as search for victims continues, with almost 400 dead

South Africa's flood-ravaged east has been hit by another downpour of rain, after the catastrophic storm killed nearly 400 people and left tens of thousands homeless.

Flood waters from the deadliest storm to hit the country in living memory engulfed parts of the coastal city of Durban earlier this week – tearing apart roads, sweeping away homes and those trapped inside them, and sinking heavy cargo containers.

South Africa flooding death toll nears 400 as rescuers search for missing

Posted: 15 Apr 2022 06:30 PM PDT

More weather warnings ahead as search continues for those hit by deadly storms in KwaZulu-Natal province

South African police, army and volunteer rescuers have widened the search for dozens still missing five days after the deadliest storm to strike the city of Durban in living memory as the death toll rose to nearly 400.

The floods, which affected nearly 41,000 people, left a trail of destruction and killed at least 395 people, said Sipho Hlomuka, the regional head of the disaster management ministry.

‘I will die here, I can’t go back to Africa’: migrants respond to Rwanda removal

Posted: 15 Apr 2022 01:07 PM PDT

Asylum seekers say there is no freedom in Rwanda and fear for their lives if sent to Africa

Small boat arrivals on the Kent coast have expressed fears that they will be removed from the UK and transferred to Rwanda, after hearing the government's announcement that asylum claims will be processed offshore.

"If they send me to Rwanda, I will not go. I will die here, I will take my life," Jemal, a new arrival from Eritrea, said. "Do you know how many thousands of miles I travelled to be here? How long I was in [the] desert …? To reach this point, to be here, we all had to make so many sacrifices. A lot of [people] lost their lives on the sea. I left my country now – I cannot go back to Africa."

In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 and the domestic abuse helpline is 0808 2000 247. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the US, the suicide prevention lifeline is 1-800-273-8255 and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org.

UN refugee agency condemns Boris Johnson’s Rwanda asylum plan

Posted: 15 Apr 2022 10:54 AM PDT

Gillian Triggs, assistant high commissioner at UNHCR, says plan is 'symbolic gesture' that will prove unworkable

The UN's refugee agency has condemned Boris Johnson's plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda as "a symbolic gesture" that will be unworkable in practice.

Speaking to the Guardian, Gillian Triggs, the assistant high commissioner at the UNHCR, said the proposed arrangement would only accommodate a few hundred people a year, making it extremely expensive as well as illegal and discriminatory.

Wildflower believed to be extinct for 40 years spotted in Ecuador

Posted: 15 Apr 2022 05:00 AM PDT

Gasteranthus extinctus had been presumed extinct after extensive deforestation

A South American wildflower long believed to be extinct has been rediscovered.

Gasteranthus extinctus was found by biologists in the foothills of the Andes mountains and in remnant patches of forest in the Centinela region of Ecuador, almost 40 years after its last sighting.

‘A senseless tragedy’: woman dies after bid to climb US border wall

Posted: 14 Apr 2022 04:18 PM PDT

Border patrol officials and the Cochise county sheriff's office investigating cause of death of the 32-year-old woman

A Mexican woman attempting to climb the US border wall in eastern Arizona died after her leg became trapped in a climbing harness and she was left hanging upside down, authorities said.

Border patrol officials and the Cochise county sheriff's office said they were investigating the cause of death of the 32-year-old on a section of the wall near Douglas, Arizona. The sheriff's office said her foot and leg became entangled as she tried to maneuver down the US side of the wall and that she hung upside down "a significant amount of time".

Canada ignored warnings of virus infecting farmed and wild salmon

Posted: 14 Apr 2022 12:25 PM PDT

Government was in possession of a newly-released report that linked large-scale farms and wild salmon to contagious virus

Canada was warned in 2012 by its own scientists that a virus was infecting both farmed and wild salmon, but successive governments ignored the expert advice, saying for years that risks to salmon were low.

Justin Trudeau's government has said it will phase out open-pen industrial fish farms off the coast of British Columbia by 2025. But both his government and the previous Conservative government were in possession of a newly released report that linked large-scale farms and wild salmon to the highly contagious Piscine orthoreovirus (PRV).

Rio carnival groups fight for right to party ahead of official celebrations

Posted: 14 Apr 2022 09:24 AM PDT

Samba schools will return to action but 'blocos' – street groups – are furious they have not yet received authorization to gather

Some of Rio's most cherished street carnival groups say they are fighting for the right to party ahead of the city's first official celebrations since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Rio's world-famous samba schools will return to action next week for their first parades at the Sambódromo stadium in more than two years. But the carnival enthusiasts behind hundreds of "blocos" – riotous musical troupes that roam the streets clutching brass instruments and booze – are furious they have not received authorization to gather.

Case of Iranian-born woman abducted by fake officers baffles Canadian police

Posted: 14 Apr 2022 03:10 AM PDT

Three months after Elnaz Hajtamiri was taken, investigators have not determined a motive and have not received ransom demands

On a cold winter night, three armed men disguised as police officers arrived at a suburban home in a small Canadian resort town and knocked on the door, claiming that they had an arrest warrant for a 37-year-old woman who was staying there.

After overpowering the homeowner, they seized the woman, Iranian-born Elnaz Hajtamiri, hauled her barefoot through the snow into a vehicle, and sped off into the dark.

Former Colombia great Freddy Rincón dies, aged 55, following car crash

Posted: 13 Apr 2022 11:21 PM PDT

Rincón had been driving car that collided with bus in Cali
Colombian Football Federation mourns 'great loss' for sport

Former Colombia captain Freddy Rincón has died aged 55 after sustaining severe head injuries in a car crash.

Rincón was hurt after the vehicle he was driving collided with a bus on Monday in Cali, Colombia.

China tightens controls as Shanghai reports record Covid cases

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 07:42 AM PDT

Japan urges local government to address business concerns as ongoing restrictions hit commerce

Shanghai reported a record number of symptomatic Covid-19 cases on Saturday and other areas across China tightened controls as the country kept up its "dynamic clearance" approach that aims to stamp out the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

The Zhengzhou airport economic zone, a central Chinese manufacturing area that includes Apple supplier Foxconn, announced a 14-day lockdown on Friday "to be adjusted according to the epidemic situation".

North Korea marks founder Kim Il-sung’s birthday with mass parade but no weapons

Posted: 15 Apr 2022 09:10 PM PDT

Kim Jong-un is expected to display advanced weapons at military parade later this month and escalate missile testing

Thousands of North Koreans marched in a choreographed display of loyalty to the ruling Kim family during a massive civilian parade celebrating the birthday of the country's founder attended by his grandson and current leader, Kim Jong-un.

State media images showed Kim waving from a balcony overlooking the vast square in Pyongyang named after his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, as huge columns of people carrying red plastic flowers and floats with political slogans marched below.

Will China’s zero-Covid policy bring the world’s factory grinding to a halt?

Posted: 15 Apr 2022 06:37 AM PDT

Huawei executive warns of 'massive losses' in tech sector as tensions rise over strict lockdowns

A top Huawei executive has broken ranks to warn that China's stringent zero-Covid policy may trigger "massive losses" for the tech industry, putting the country's economy as well as the global supply chain at greater risk.

"If Shanghai cannot resume production by May, all of the tech and industrial players who have supply chains in the area will come to a complete halt, especially the automotive industry," Richard Yu Chengdong, head of Huawei's consumer and auto division said in a WeChat post. "That will pose severe consequences and massive losses for the whole industry."

Shanghai residents forced from homes clash with police over Covid policy

Posted: 15 Apr 2022 12:31 AM PDT

Scuffles follow complaints of food shortages and over-zealous officials forcing people into quarantine

Video footage shared on social media have shown residents of Shanghai scuffling with hazmat-suited police who were forcing them to surrender their homes for coronavirus quarantine facilities, in a sign of rising discontent in the city.

Shanghai, a megacity with a population of 25 million and China's key financial hub, has been experiencing the country's biggest outbreak since Covid-19 was first reported in Wuhan over two years ago. The outbreak has prompted criticism of local authorities, and is proving a major test of Beijing's commitment to its stringent zero-Covid policy.

Western Australian Liberal senator Ben Small resigns over dual citizenship

Posted: 14 Apr 2022 09:17 PM PDT

Small breached section 44 of the Australian constitution by also holding New Zealand citizenship, but still plans to contest the upcoming election

Western Australian Liberal senator Ben Small has been forced to resign due to his New Zealand heritage, the latest victim of the section 44 constitutional requirements, but has pledged to stand again at the looming election.

Small released a statement on Friday saying he had written to the Senate president to advise him he was resigning as a senator for WA.

Tropical storm Megi: Philippines death toll rises to 123 as landslides bury villages

Posted: 14 Apr 2022 12:01 AM PDT

Focus now on retrieving bodies, says mayor, after strongest storm to hit archipelago this year devastates communities

The death toll from landslides and floods in the Philippines rose to 123 on Wednesday with scores missing and feared dead, officials said, as rescuers dug up more bodies with bare hands and backhoes in crushed villages.

Most of the deaths from tropical storm Megi – the strongest to hit the archipelago this year – were in the central province of Leyte, where a series of landslides devastated communities.

Western Australia plane crash: one dead and another injured after aircraft catches fire

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 12:25 AM PDT

Plane crashed as pilot tried to land at East Kimberley regional airport in Kununurra

Read Guardian Australia's full federal election coverage

A passenger has died and a pilot was seriously injured after a charter plane crashed in Western Australia's remote north.

WA police confirmed the male in his 50s lost consciousness during the rescue efforts and could not be revived.

Scott Morrison backs Warringah candidate amid Liberal revolt – as it happened

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 12:21 AM PDT

Prime minister under pressure as Liberals split over Katherine Deves' candidacy; Anthony Albanese promises federal Icac within months. This blog is now closed

Victoria has recorded eight additional Covid-19 deaths overnight, with 408 people in hospital, 21 in the ICU and eight ventilated.

There were 9,559 new cases recorded.

Scott Morrison faces Liberal mutiny over Warringah candidate Katherine Deves’ trans views

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 12:01 AM PDT

NSW treasurer Matt Kean and long-time Liberal activist Walter Villatora call for Deves to be disendorsed

Scott Morrison is facing a mutiny over the Liberal party's controversial candidate in Warringah, Katherine Deves, with intensifying calls for her to be dumped because of "hurtful and divisive" comments about transgender people.

Liberal moderates have been concerned for some time that Deves' candidacy would prove damaging to the Liberal party's standing with centre-right progressive voters in key metropolitan contests.

AEC warns Australian political parties over ‘misleading’ postal vote applications

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 12:01 AM PDT

Forms sent back via political parties can be used to harvest personal information about voters

Read Guardian Australia's full federal election coverage

The Australian Electoral Commission has written to political parties warning against distributing "potentially misleading" postal vote applications to residents.

Political parties have sent out forms to voters where they can register with the AEC to vote via mail. However, the forms are sent back via the political parties and can be used to harvest personal information about those voters to target later.

Anthony Albanese says PM’s broken federal Icac promise ‘fails the laugh test’ as Chalmers defends Labor campaign

Posted: 15 Apr 2022 11:31 PM PDT

Shadow treasurer says Labor 'match-fit' for campaign and denies first week was a 'shitshow'

Read Guardian Australia's full federal election coverage

Anthony Albanese has attacked Scott Morrison for blaming a lack of Labor support as the reason he couldn't legislate his proposed anti-corruption commission, saying the argument "fails the laugh test", as the federal opposition defended their rocky start to the election campaign.

On Saturday, as Labor unveiled a commitment to legislate a national anti-corruption commission by the end of 2022 if elected, both the prime minister and opposition leader faced questions over their ideal model for an integrity body, with Albanese suggesting Labor's version would be stronger than the Coalition's proposal that was widely panned and opposed by some government MPs.

Australian Medical Association disappointed by major party funding inaction amid hospital crisis

Posted: 15 Apr 2022 11:20 PM PDT

AMA chief to call on Anthony Albanese to 'stand for health', saying funding boost is urgent to alleviate pressure on medical system

The head of Australia's peak medical body will meet with the Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, to urge him to reconsider his "small target" strategy on health. Dr Omar Khorshid will warn that substantial funding is urgently needed to address the crisis in the country's hospitals.

The message from the Australian Medical Association president comes after Albanese called him on Thursday morning in response to the association criticising Labor's $135m urgent care clinic policy, announced this week, as "incoherent".

Russia-Ukraine war: Moscow attacks UK’s ‘anti-Russian hysteria’; Zelenskiy and Johnson discuss Mariupol situation – live

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 11:15 AM PDT

Russia says the ban on Boris Johnson and senior ministers from entering the country will soon be expanded to other politicians

Stay or go?

The question was a difficult one for Ukrainian officials in occupied areas, when deciding whether to follow President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's lead after he made the decision to remain in Kyiv as Russia invaded.

During occupation the main thing is to preserve life, and the people most in danger are the heads of the city. If the city is occupied, what should the mayor do, what should the team do? There was no single algorithm. Nobody gave us any orders. Everyone acted as they felt right."

The situation in Mariupol is difficult and hard. Fighting is happening right now. The Russian army is constantly calling on additional units to storm the city."

Russia bans Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Ben Wallace from entering country

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 06:12 AM PDT

Moscow announces move that will also bar 10 other UK government members and politicians

Russia-Ukraine war: latest updates

Russia's foreign ministry has banned Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Ben Wallace and 10 other British government members from entering the country.

The ministry said the decision was made "in view of the unprecedented hostile action by the UK government".

Kyiv arms plant hit by Russia may have made missiles that sank Moskva

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 05:46 AM PDT

After two weeks of relative calm, mayor of city warns residents who have left that it is not safe to return

Russia-Ukraine war: latest updates

An arms plant in Kyiv destroyed by Russian long-range air-launched rockets allegedly produced at least one of the missiles used to sink the Moskva warship.

The attack on Friday was widely regarded by both parties as the most significant revenge strike by the Kremlin after the sinking of Russia's flagship vessel in the Black Sea and a reminder that, despite being liberated from the occupants, the war in the Ukrainian capital is far from over.

Russia's foreign ministry has barred entry to the country for the prime minister, Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, Liz Truss, the defence secretary, Ben Wallace and 10 other British government politicians and members. The move was taken "in view of the unprecedented hostile action by the British government, in particular the imposition of sanctions against senior Russian officials", Reuters reports the ministry said in a statement.

The battle for Mariupol is continuing. If Moscow captures the city, home to 400,000 people before the invasion, it would be the first big city to fall.

Nine humanitarian corridors have been agreed for Saturday, the Ukrainian deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, announced. Five of the nine evacuation corridors are from the east, in Ukraine's Luhansk region, which local officials have said is under heavy shelling.

Macron and Le Pen battle to win over ‘politically orphaned’ French voters

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 05:45 AM PDT

In a Paris suburb, opinion is divided over who to vote for after the defeat of leftwing Jean-Luc Mélenchon

Emmanuel Macron is engaged in the battle of his career to persuade leftwing voters – many of whom have taken to the streets to oppose his government over the past five years – to turn out next Sunday and give him a second term in office.

Both Macron and Le Pen need to win over a chunk of the 7.7 million people who voted for the radical left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon, narrowly knocked out in the first-round ballot last week.

How Zelenskiy’s team of TV writers helps his victory message hit home

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 05:28 AM PDT

Influences from Churchill to Tolkien are woven in to the Ukrainian president's compelling video addresses

Russia-Ukraine war: latest updates

On day 50 of Russia's invasion, Volodymyr Zelenskiy made his nightly address to the Ukrainian people. Vladimir Putin had confidently expected to seize Ukraine in five days, Zelenskiy said, standing outside his neo-classical administration building in central Kyiv. Putin was now "making friends with reality", he added mordantly, hailing the bravery and staunchness of his citizens.

There was a reference to Russia's flagship Moskva, which Ukraine says it audaciously sank last Wednesday with two lethal Neptune missiles. The warship has become a meme and symbol of national defiance, ever since Ukrainian soldiers stationed on Snake Island in the Black Sea told it in the first days of the conflict to "go and fuck yourself".

France braced for protests as Macron and Le Pen prepare for presidential runoff

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 05:06 AM PDT

Rights groups call for united front against far-right candidate as polls predict a win for centrist Emmanuel Macron

Protests were expected around France on Saturday as opponents of the far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen seek to form a united front to prevent her from winning an election runoff against incumbent Emmanuel Macron on 24 April.

Police warned of possible incidents as demonstrators convened in 30 cities.

Diesel tanker sinks off Tunisia risking environmental disaster

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 04:54 AM PDT

Ship carrying 750 tonnes of fuel from Egypt to Malta ran into difficulty in bad weather on Friday evening

A tanker carrying 750 tonnes of diesel fuel from Egypt to Malta sank in the Gulf of Gabes off Tunisia's south-east coast, sparking a rush to avoid a spill.

The Equatorial Guinea-flagged Xelo was sailing from the Egyptian port of Damietta to Malta when it requested entry to Tunisian waters on Friday evening owing to bad weather.

Israeli city’s Jewish residents form armed ‘self-defence’ group

Posted: 15 Apr 2022 08:40 AM PDT

Formation of citizens' militia in Lod in central Israel follows spate of Palestinian attacks across country

Jewish residents in a central Israeli city have formed an armed group they say is for self-defence, after a string of Palestinian attacks across the country sparked fears of a new wave of internal violence.

The mixed city of Lod, near Tel Aviv, became the focal point of communal bloodshed that flared in Israel last year, with the government and police struggling to control clashes between Arabs and Jews.

More than 150 Palestinians injured in Jerusalem clash, say medics

Posted: 15 Apr 2022 07:10 AM PDT

Palestine Red Crescent says people injured by rubber bullets, Israeli police batons and stun grenades at al-Aqsa mosque

Medics say more than 150 Palestinians have been injured in clashes that erupted when Israeli riot police entered Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque compound, in the most significant violence at the holy site since similar scenes sparked a war last year.

Most of the Palestinian injuries on Friday were incurred by rubber bullets, stun grenades and beatings with police batons, the Palestine Red Crescent said.

Iraq’s ancient buildings are being destroyed by climate change

Posted: 15 Apr 2022 04:44 AM PDT

Water shortages leading to rising salt concentrations and sandstorms are eroding world's ancient sites

Some of the world's most ancient buildings are being destroyed by climate change, as rising concentrations of salt in Iraq eat away at mud brick and more frequent sandstorms erode ancient wonders.

Iraq is known as the cradle of civilisation. It was here that agriculture was born, some of the world's oldest cities were built, such as the Sumerian capital Ur, and one of the first writing systems was developed – cuneiform. The country has "tens of thousands of sites from the Palaeolithic through Islamic eras", explained Augusta McMahon, professor of Mesopotamian archaeology at the University of Cambridge.

MPs call for British child and ill mother to be returned to UK from Syrian camp

Posted: 14 Apr 2022 04:30 AM PDT

Mother is unlikely to survive without medical intervention, leaving her young son orphaned, say doctors

MPs and a human rights group have called on the UK government to repatriate a young British boy and his gravely ill mother from a detention camp in Syria, after doctors said she was at risk of dying and leaving the child orphaned.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it was reviewing the case of Zaid* and his mother, Maryam* – who was injured in an explosion in Syria in 2019 and left with shrapnel in her head – "as a matter of priority".

Palestinian lawyer and teen killed as Israel raids West Bank amid escalating violence

Posted: 13 Apr 2022 04:48 PM PDT

Israeli troops open fire as crowd pelts them with rocks and incendiary devices in Nablus after clashes near vandalised Jewish sacred site

A Palestinian lawyer and a teenager have been killed on the fifth day of Israeli raids in the West Bank following deadly attacks in the Jewish state, amid heightened tensions after a religious site was vandalised.

Israel has poured in additional forces and is reinforcing its wall and fence barrier with the occupied territory after four deadly attacks claimed 14 lives in Israel, most of them civilians, in the past three weeks.

Women with electric rickshaws combat Delhi’s toxic air – and its sexism

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 07:04 AM PDT

Break into male-dominated public-transport helps tackle city's pollution crisis and safety concerns

Monika Devi is thrilled to be driving her autorickshaw. The 35-year-old has two reasons to be particularly proud as she winds her way through New Delhi's insanely congested streets.

She is one of the first women to be driving one of the three-wheeled taxis that swarm the roads of the Indian capital. And she is driving one of Delhi's first e-rickshaws – part of the city's drive to tackle its notoriously filthy air.

Deportation of Rohingya woman from India sparks fear of renewed crackdown

Posted: 13 Apr 2022 10:30 PM PDT

Hasina Begum was separated from her family and forced to return to Myanmar despite her refugee status. Hundreds of others now face expulsion

The deportation of a Rohingya woman back to Myanmar has sparked fears that India is preparing to expel many more refugees from the country.

Hasina Begum, 37, was deported from Indian-administered Kashmir two weeks ago, despite holding a UN verification of her refugee status, intended to protect holders from arbitrary detention. Begum was among 170 refugees arrested and detained in Jammu in March last year. Her husband and three children, who also have UN refugee status, remain in Kashmir.

‘Gota go home’: desperate Sri Lankans call for President Rajapaksa to quit

Posted: 13 Apr 2022 07:00 PM PDT

Strongman Gotabaya Rajapaksa's position looks weak amid an economic crisis that threatens to turn into starvation

He was once known as "The Terminator", the most feared man in Sri Lankan politics. But today, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's name can hardly be spoken without a loud chorus of derision and calls of "thief", "madman", "criminal" or "traitor".

As Sri Lanka endures its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948, blame has fallen at the feet of one man. Rajapaksa, known to many simply as Gota, was elected in 2019 amid nationalistic fervour and a wave of support from the country's Sinhalese Buddhist majority. But over the past three years, under his watch – and what many are calling "criminal financial mismanagement" – the economy has gone into freefall. Now many people can barely afford three meals a day. "He has dragged this country down into the gutter and we are all suffering," said Dinesh Galgamuwa, 47, who was among the protesters in Colombo.

Myanmar jailed more writers in 2021 than any other country, says rights group

Posted: 13 Apr 2022 11:00 AM PDT

Exclusive: Junta detained at least 26 intellectuals last year as it sought to suppress opposition

Myanmar jailed more writers and public intellectuals in crackdowns last year than any other country, according to a freedom of expression advocacy group.

PEN America's annual census of detained writers, the Freedom to Write Index, found Myanmar's junta detained at least 26 writers in 2021 as it sought to suppress opposition after seizing power from the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Invictus Games: Harry and Meghan pay tribute to Ukrainians

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 11:35 AM PDT

Duke and Duchess of Sussex address spectators at The Hague at launch of event, accompanied by Netflix film crew

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex said everyone is "standing with" the Ukraine team at the Invictus Games during a speech at the opening ceremony in the Netherlands.

The couple addressed the crowd in The Hague, which included members of the Dutch royal family and the Netherlands prime minister Mark Rutte, and paid tribute to the Ukrainian competitors for attending the competition.

Sunshine and packed beaches mark first Easter since lockdown

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 11:15 AM PDT

Despite tailbacks on roads, passengers at airports report departing without delays

Holidaymakers savoured the sunshine at the country's beaches and parks on Saturday in the first Easter break without lockdown restrictions for two years.

Many headed for the coast, with most of the country enjoying the temperatures that reached 21.6C on Saturday, according to the Met Office. It was the hottest day of the year so far on Good Friday, when highs of 23.4C were recorded at St James's Park in London – warmer than Ibiza.

Senior Conservatives fear traditional voters will desert them after Partygate

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 10:59 AM PDT

Tory MPs say fines for Johnson and Sunak over lockdown gatherings have led usually loyal supporters to express concern

Senior Tories have warned that traditional supporters are abandoning them after Boris Johnson's Partygate fine, as another MP broke cover to say the prime minister should be removed over his conduct.

Conservative MPs across the country said yesterday they believed many people who had backed the party before were now raising concerns, with Downing Street braced for further fixed-penalty notices relating to parties in the coming days.

Fire at industrial unit in Berkshire sends huge smoke cloud across motorway

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 10:43 AM PDT

Firefighters say fireworks may be involved in blaze outside Newbury, causing M4 closure between junctions 13 and 14

Fire crews are attending a blaze at an industrial building in Westbrook, Newbury, after an fire sent a huge cloud of smoke across the M4.

A Royal Berkshire fire and rescue service spokesperson said: "At 1.41pm on Saturday, 16 April, we received reports of a fire at industrial building in Westbrook, Newbury. Royal Berkshire fire and rescue service crews from Newbury, Theale and two officers have currently been sent to the scene, with crews from Dorset and Wiltshire fire and rescue service.

Refusal of Sabina Nessa’s murderer to attend sentencing may prompt new law

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 09:51 AM PDT

Family was outraged that Koci Selamaj was able to refuse to go to Old Bailey to receive life sentence

Criminals could be forced to attend sentencing hearings if new rules reportedly being considered by the Ministry of Justice are brought in.

The regulations are apparently being considered after the killer of Sabina Nessa refused to hear his sentencing verdict at the Old Bailey on 7 April.

Body found in River Severn at Shrewsbury in search for missing man

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 09:30 AM PDT

Nathan Fleetwood, 21, was last seen on the night of 27 March in Shrewsbury town centre

A body has been recovered from a river during the search for a 21-year-old man who has been missing for 19 days.

Nathan Fleetwood went missing after a night out in Shrewsbury, Shropshire. On the night of his disappearance, 27 March, he was sighted in Shrewsbury town centre at about 2.30am. He was last seen on Kingsland Bridge.

Public lands to reopen for oil and gas drilling in a first under Biden

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 09:40 AM PDT

Interior department raises royalty rates by 50% as administration juggles high oil prices and climate impact

As federal officials weigh efforts to fight the climate crisis against pressure to bring down high gasoline prices, the interior department is moving forward with the first onshore sales of public oil and natural gas drilling leases under Joe Biden.

The move also calls for a sharp increase in royalty rates for companies, ostensibly to limit global emissions driving the climate crisis, though economists say the effect will be relatively small.

Police arrest man accused of killing Georgia coroner’s parents and son

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 07:22 AM PDT

Jacob Christian Muse, arrested Friday night, faces charges of malice murder for killing three people at a local gun range

Police in Georgia have arrested a man accused of killing a local coroner's parents and son during a robbery at the family's gun range earlier this month, according to officials.

Jacob Christian Muse, 21, faces three counts of malice murder in the 7 April shooting deaths of Luke Hawk, 19; Tommy Hawk, 75; and Evelyn Hawk, 75, which rattled their rural community about 50 miles south-west of Atlanta.

Calls for US to issue visa bans for UK lawyers enabling Russian oligarchs

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 07:03 AM PDT

Anti-corruption campaigner Bill Browder says 'whole class of British lawyers' making money out of lawsuits against journalists, dissidents and whistleblowers

The anti-corruption campaigner Bill Browder is calling on the US to issue visa bans against British lawyers who he has accused of "enabling" Russian oligarchs.

The US-born financier, an outspoken and longtime critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin, has said that installing such a ban would strike at the heart of what he described as a persistent problem of oligarchs using the UK legal system against journalists and whistleblowers, tying them up in expensive lawsuits.

Five people to share $50,000 reward for tips in New York subway shooting

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 06:23 AM PDT

Frank James, 62, arrested in Manhattan a day after attack on subway in Brooklyn in which more than 20 were wounded

Five people who provided "critical information" that helped lead to the arrest of the man charged with this week's mass shooting in a New York subway will share a $50,000 reward, police announced.

The suspect, wearing a gas mask, had filled a crowded subway car traveling through Brooklyn with thick black smoke from a canister and opened fire last Tuesday on morning rush-hour passengers, injuring more than 20, including 10 with gunshot wounds.

What does Republicans’ break from the presidential debate commission mean?

Posted: 16 Apr 2022 12:00 AM PDT

The US presidential debate has been thrown into doubt – and the move is proof of the RNC's eagerness to do Trump's bidding

One of the marquee moments of any US presidential election – the televised debate – has been thrown into doubt by the Republican party's decision on Thursday to withdraw from the Commission on Presidential Debates.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) grumbled that the group that has run the debates since 1988 is biased and refuses to enact reforms. It promised to "find newer, better debate platforms" in future.

Twitter adopts ‘poison pill’ plan to shield itself from Elon Musk takeover

Posted: 15 Apr 2022 02:46 PM PDT

The social media company adopted a shareholder rights plan to protect itself from the billionaire's bid

Twitter has announced a limited-duration shareholder rights plan that may thwart billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's attempts to take over the company.

Musk, the chief executive of Tesla and the world's richest person, had offered to buy the social media platform for $43.4bn, arguing he wanted to release its "extraordinary potential" to support free speech and democracy across the world.

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

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

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