Category Archives: World News

Canada stabbings: police say suspects remain at large after overnight search

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‘Relentless’ hunt fails to track down two men believed to have attacked residents of Indigenous community in Saskatchewan

Police in western Canada have said the two men believed to have killed 10 in a stabbing rampage have evaded search teams and remain at large despite a “relentless” overnight search.

The country is still reeling from one of the deadliest attacks in its history as the police forces from multiple provinces ramp up their search.

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Russian journalist Ivan Safronov sentenced to 22 years in prison

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Reporter handed a record sentence for trumped-up treason charges that shocked supporters inside the court

A Russian court has sentenced the journalist Ivan Safronov to 22 years in prison on trumped-up treason charges, a record sentence that has shocked friends and supporters who gathered in court on Monday to protest against his imprisonment.

Safronov, a former defence reporter for the Kommersant and Vedomosti dailies, was tried on secret evidence. But case files revealed by Proekt showed that much of the case against him came from public data in his articles and alleged ties to foreigners that were not backed up by evidence.

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Instagram owner Meta fined €405m over handling of teens’ data

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Penalty follows investigation into Instagram setting that allowed teenagers to set up accounts that displayed contact details

Instagram owner Meta has been fined €405m (£349m) by the Irish data watchdog for letting teenagers set up accounts that publicly displayed their phone numbers and email addresses.

The Data Protection Commission confirmed the penalty after a two-year investigation into potential breaches of the European Union’s general data protection regulation (GDPR).

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Germany to delay phase-out of nuclear plants to shore up energy security

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Last two working plants were due to be mothballed, but will be used as emergency reserve into 2023 after Russia cuts off gas

Germany is to temporarily halt the phasing-out of two nuclear power plants in an effort to shore up energy security after Russia cut supplies of gas to Europe’s largest economy.

The economy minister, Robert Habeck, announced on Monday that the power plants, Neckarwestheim in Baden Württemberg and Isar 2 in Bavaria, are to be kept running longer than planned in order to be used as an emergency reserve until the middle of next year.

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Pakistan’s biggest lake may burst banks after draining attempts fail

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Lake Manchar on verge of causing more flooding, says local official, as third of country already underwater

Pakistan’s biggest lake is on the verge of bursting its banks after attempts by authorities to drain it in a controlled way failed, a senior local official has warned.

In a last-ditch effort to avoid a catastrophe, officials breached Lake Manchar on Sunday, a move they acknowledged could displace up to 100,000 people from their homes but would also save densely populated areas from floods.

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Russia-Ukraine war: Ukraine says it has pushed Russian forces back near Kramatorsk; last Zaporizhzhia reactor disconnected after Russian shelling – as it happened

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Operator Energoatom says last transmission line cut because of a fire caused by shelling; EU and Ukraine sign aid deal

European gas prices rocketed as much as 30% on Monday after Russia said one of its main gas supply pipelines to Europe would stay shut indefinitely, stoking renewed fears about shortages and gas rationing in the EU this winter.

Reuters reports:

The benchmark gas price surged as high as 272 euros per megawatt hour (MWh) when the market opened after Russia said on Friday that a leak in Nord Stream 1 pipeline equipment meant it would stay shut beyond last week’s three-day maintenance halt.

The Dutch TTF October gas contract had eased to 256 euros, up 23% on the day by 0723 GMT but almost 400% higher than a year ago. This year’s price surge has squeezed struggling already consumers and forced some industries to halt production.

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‘The world is so quick to pull the trigger of judgment’: Colin Farrell praises ‘discourse’ over cancel culture

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Actor speaks ahead of Venice premiere of the Banshees of Inisherin, which reunites him with Martin McDonagh and Brendan Gleeson for first time since In Bruges

Discourse and the exchange of ideas are a “gorgeous thing” in a world that’s “quick to pull the trigger of judgment” and cancel people, actor Colin Farrell has said.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the premiere of Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin in Venice, the actor spoke passionately about how the film could act as a counter to today’s “information age” that “takes us away from the intimacy that’s required and interests that are needed to exist”.

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China puts 65m people into semi-lockdown ahead of party summit

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Offices, schools and shops to close before congress at which Xi expected to get third presidential term

China has intensified its efforts to rein in outbreaks of Covid-19 ahead of a major political meeting by placing about 65 million people under semi-lockdown, according to local media reports.

The Chinese Communist party will begin its 20th congress on 16 October, with party chief Xi Jinping widely expected to be reinstated as president for a third term.

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Israel says soldier probably killed Shireen Abu Aqleh by accident

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Army official says no one will be punished after investigation into fatal shooting of Al Jazeera journalist

The Israeli army has said there is a “high possibility” a soldier killed an Al Jazeera journalist in May but that the shooting was accidental and no one will be punished.

Shireen Abu Aqleh was shot dead while covering Israeli military raids in the occupied West Bank.

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Eight go on trial in France over Bastille Day truck attack in Nice

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Seven men and one woman accused of helping gunman who drove a vehicle into crowds, killing 86 people

Seven men and one woman have gone on trial over the 2016 Bastille day attack in Nice, when a gunman drove a heavy truck at high speed into a crowd gathered to watch fireworks on the Riviera seafront, killing 86 people and injuring more than 400.

The attack – the second most deadly massacre in peacetime France – happened eight months after the Paris attacks on bars, restaurants, the national stadium and Bataclan concert hall, which killed 130 people and were claimed by Islamic State.

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Over-consumption and drought reduce lake in vital Spanish wetland to puddle

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Experts and environmentalists say aquifer feeding Doñana national park, a Unesco heritage site, has been overexploited for tourism and to water fruit farms

The largest permanent lake in Spain’s Doñana national park, one of Europe’s biggest and most important wetlands, has shrivelled to a small puddle as years of drought and overexploitation take their toll on the aquifer that feeds the area and sustains millions of migrating birds.

On Monday, experts from Spain’s National Research Council (CSIC) said the Santa Olalla lake, which sits in a Unesco world heritage site, had dried up for the third time in 50 years.

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Russia will not resume gas supplies to Europe until sanctions lifted, says Moscow

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Kremlin blames western sanctions for failure to deliver gas through Nord Stream 1 pipeline

Russia will not resume in full its gas supplies to Europe until the west lifts its sanctions against Moscow, the Kremlin said, as concerns over Russian gas supplies continued to drive up energy prices.

Speaking to journalists on Monday, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, blamed sanctions “introduced against our country by western countries including Germany and the UK” for Russia’s failure to deliver gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.

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Large parts of Amazon may never recover, major study says

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Swathes of rainforest have reached tipping point, research by scientists and Indigenous organisations concludes

Environmental destruction in parts of the Amazon is so complete that swathes of the rainforest have reached tipping point and might never be able to recover, a major study carried out by scientists and Indigenous organisations has found.

“The tipping point is not a future scenario but rather a stage already present in some areas of the region,” the report concludes. “Brazil and Bolivia concentrate 90% of all combined deforestation and degradation. As a result, savannization is already taking place in both countries.”

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China earthquake kills dozens as tremors shake locked-down Chengdu

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Deadly quake in Sichuan leaves at least 46 dead, and was also felt in provincial capital where millions are confined to their homes

At least 46 people have been killed in a strong earthquake that struck south-western China and was felt by millions of people confined to their homes under a strict Covid lockdown in Chengdu.

The 6.6-magnitude quake hit about 26 miles (43km) south-east of the city of Kangding at a depth of about six miles, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.

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Kenya’s supreme court upholds William Ruto’s win in presidential election

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Court dismisses opposition’s challenge against August’s vote that alleged fraud and voter suppression

Kenya’s supreme court has confirmed William Ruto as winner of the country’s disputed national vote, ending weeks of political uncertainty after the opposition – and election officials – questioned the count.

Ruto was announced winner on 15 August amid a divide within the electoral commission over the declared outcome, which showed that the vice-president had gained 50.5% of the vote, beating the longtime opposition leader, Raila Odinga, and narrowly avoiding a runoff.

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Drought likely to push parts of Somalia into famine by end of year, warns UN

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World is ‘in last minute of the 11th hour to save lives’, says aid chief, amid fears that crisis is worse than 2010 famine, when 250,000 died

Two areas of Somalia are likely to enter a state of famine later this year as the country battles an unrelenting drought and flare-ups of conflict, the UN humanitarian chief has warned.

Martin Griffiths said the latest UN food insecurity analysis had found “concrete indications” that famine would occur in the Baidoa and Burhakaba districts of south-central Somalia between October and December unless aid efforts were significantly stepped up.

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UK ministers ignored evidence Rwanda violated human rights, court told

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African country went back on list of destinations for ‘migration partnership’ after civil servants had ruled it out, judges hear

The UK’s plan to deport people seeking asylum to Rwanda has been challenged in the high court, with claims that ministers deliberately ignored evidence that the east African country had violated human rights, including the right to live free from torture.

Rwanda was put back on to a list of potential destinations for a “migration partnership” after previously being ruled out by civil servants, the court was told.

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Two Russians among those killed in suicide attack near Kabul embassy

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Moscow says two embassy staff killed and several people injured, as Afghan official says attacker was shot dead

A suicide bomber struck near the Russian embassy in Kabul, killing two staff from the diplomatic mission and wounding several other people, the foreign ministry in Moscow has said.

In the first attack targeting a foreign mission since the Taliban seized power in August last year, the bomber struck on Monday near the entrance of the embassy’s consular section.

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Cost of living crisis: what governments around the world are doing to help

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From cancelling student loan debt to raising minimum wage, different strategies aim to reduce effects of soaring prices

The Covid pandemic, soaring food and fuel prices, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have dealt a triple blow to people around the world. Here is a look at what governments are doing to try to help citizens and companies weather the cost of living crisis.

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Nirvana win lawsuit over Nevermind baby album cover

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A US judge has dismissed Spencer Elden’s claim that an image of him as a naked baby on the 1991 album constituted child sexual abuse

Spencer Elden, who appeared on the cover of Nirvana’s 1991 album Nevermind as a baby, has lost his lawsuit claiming that the image constituted child sexual abuse.

In the suit Elden claimed that the album cover, which depicts him at four months old and was taken by a family friend, had caused him “permanent harm” and a “lifelong loss of income-earning capacity”.

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