North Korea – a model for Grant Shapps’ bicycle licence plate proposal?

The secretive state demands each cycle display a registration number – although officially women are banned from bikes

UK cyclists could be made to have registration plates

If the British transport secretary, Grant Shapps, is looking for a “model” for his bicycle registration plates proposal he could turn to one of the world’s most illiberal countries: North Korea.

After decades of being frowned upon as a primitive means of transport for citizens of a modern, socialist paradise, cycling gained official acceptance in the secretive state in 1992 – although it is officially banned for women.

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Greece finally aids refugees stranded on scorpion and snake-infested islet

Five-year-old child reportedly died of scorpion sting after nearly 40 Syrians spent a month marooned between Greece and Turkey

A group of adults and children who spent a month stuck on a scorpion- and snake-infested spit of land between Greece and Turkey – and denied help by both nations – were finally taken to temporary accommodation by Greek police this week.

Among the group of nearly 40 Syrian refugees forced to seek refuge on the islet in the Evros river was a five-year-old girl, Maria, reported to have died from a scorpion sting. Her nine-year-old sister remains gravely ill.

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Pakistan floods kill 580 and bring misery to millions

Government accused of inaction as downpours leave schools destroyed, homes ruined, crops failing and cholera on the rise

More than 580 people have died and thousands have lost their homes across Pakistan as torrential rains batter the country.

An estimated 1 million have been affected by heavy rainfall, flash floods and landslides since July as Pakistan endured more than 60% of its normal total monsoon rainfall in three weeks.

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Spain wildfires: up to 20 injured after passengers break out of train engulfed by flames

Train driver was in process of reversing train out of danger when panicked passengers broke the windows to escape

As many as 20 passengers have suffered burns, three of them seriously, after they jumped from a train when it was engulfed by a forest fire near Castellón in north-east Spain.

The train, en route from Sagunto in the eastern province of Valencia, to Zaragoza, stopped while the driver, seeing that the fire meant it was too dangerous to proceed, was preparing to reverse the train.

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Saudi woman given 34-year prison sentence for using Twitter

Salma al-Shehab, a Leeds University student, was charged with following and retweeting dissidents and activists

A Saudi student at Leeds University who had returned home to the kingdom for a holiday has been sentenced to 34 years in prison for having a Twitter account and for following and retweeting dissidents and activists.

The sentencing by Saudi’s special terrorist court was handed down weeks after the US president Joe Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia, which human rights activists had warned could embolden the kingdom to escalate its crackdown on dissidents and other pro-democracy activists.

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Journalist found dead in northern Mexico in bloody year for media

Body of Juan Arjón López, 14th journalist to be killed in Mexico in 2022, identified by tattoos in border city of San Luis Río Colorado

An independent journalist has been found dead in northern Mexico, bringing to 14 the number of reporters and media workers killed so far this year, which has been one of the deadliest ever for the profession.

Prosecutors in the northern border state of Sonora said on Tuesday that tattoos on a body found in the border city of San Luis Río Colorado matched those of journalist Juan Arjón López.

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Lula says Bolsonaro ‘possessed by devil’ as he launches Brazil election campaign

Leftwing frontrunner counters far-right president’s efforts to demonize him with evangelical voters in bitterly divided country

Brazil’s former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has formally launched his campaign to reclaim the presidency with a ferocious broadside against his rival, Jair Bolsonaro, who he claimed was “possessed by the devil”.

Lula’s rebuke came on the first official day of campaigning before Brazil’s October election when 156.5 million citizens will choose the next leader of a bitterly divided nation.

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Chinese navy vessel arrives at Sri Lanka port to security concerns from India

Yuan Wang 5 is officially described as a ‘scientific research ship’ but India suspects it has military functions

A Chinese navy vessel has arrived at a southern Sri Lankan port that Beijing leases from the government, prompting renewed security fears from India.

On Tuesday morning, the Yuan Wang 5 sailed into the Hambantota port, which was built by Beijing, and was welcomed by senior Sri Lankan and Chinese officials in a traditional ceremony that involved red carpet and a massive banner that read: “Hello Sri Lanka, Long Live Sri Lanka-China Friendship.”

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US issues western water cuts as drought leaves Colorado River near ‘tipping point’

Arizona, Nevada and Mexico affected as federal government steps in after states failed to reach agreement

After western US states failed to reach agreements to reduce water use from the beleaguered Colorado River, the federal government stepped in on Tuesday, issuing cuts that will affect two states and Mexico.

Officials with the Bureau of Reclamation declared a “tier 2” shortage in the river basin as the drought continues to pummel the American west, pushing its largest reservoirs to new lows. The waning water levels, which have left dramatic bathtub rings in reservoirs and unearthed buried bodies and other artifacts, continue to threaten hydroelectric power production, drinking water, and agricultural production.

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Russia-Ukraine war latest: what we know on day 174 of the invasion

Explosions rock an ammunition depot in Crimea, as the Russian defence minister says the country has no need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine

Explosions erupted across Crimea on Tuesday, with reports of smoke and fire in at least three different areas where military bases or munitions depots are located. The first one, at an ammunitions depot near Dzhankoi in the north, severely disrupted railway services and wounded two people. Ukraine hinted at involvement but has not explicitly claimed responsibility. Mykhailo Podolyak, a key adviser to the president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, told the Guardian in an exclusive interview that there could be similar attacks in the “next two or three months”.

A record number of cars have crossed the Crimea Bridge that links Crimea to Russia – which suggests that a number of Russians who settled in the region after the annexation in 2014 are now fleeing. Russian state media are reporting that 38,297 cars crossed the bridge on 15 August.

The Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, has said Russia has no need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. During a speech at the Moscow international security conference, he alleged that Ukrainian military operations were being planned by the US and Britain, and that Nato had increased its troop deployment in eastern and central Europe “several times over”, Reuters reports. Shoigu added that the Aukus bloc of Australia, the UK and US had the potential to develop into “a political-military alliance”.

Ukraine has received six more M109 howitzers from Latvia, its minister of defence, Oleksii Reznikov, announced.

The UN secretary general, AntónioGuterres, announced on Tuesday that he will meet Zelenskiy and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Turkish president, in Lviv on Thursday. Guterres will go on to visit the Black Sea port of Odesa on Friday.

A Russian court fined the US-based streaming service Twitch for hosting a short video containing what the court called “fake” information about alleged war crimes in Bucha – a Ukrainian town out of which there have been numerous verified accounts of Russian soldiers torturing, killing and sexually assaulting civilians. Though the content of the video was not specified, Russia has repeatedly threatened to fine sites such as Google, Twitter and Wikipedia, accusing them of hosting “fake” content related to its military campaign in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian security service has identified eight additional Russian soldiers suspected of war crimes in Bucha. These eight servicemen, most of them of unit 6720 of the federal service of the national guard of the Russian federation, are accused of looting property and ransacking abandoned homes. Previously, Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Iryna Venediktova, identified at least 10 soldiers allegedly involved in human rights abuses in Bucha,

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Anger in Germany over Rhine firework display taking place despite drought

Opponents furious about fire risk and water waste as river risks becoming unnavigable

Organisers of the “Rhine in Flames” firework displays have come under heavy criticism for staging the event during this summer’s drought, as water levels in the river continue to drop.

The annual event has become a flashpoint, with climate campaigners and others furious about the fire risk and waste of precious water as the Rhine risks becoming unnavigable.

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Chinese ambassador warns UK not to cross ‘red lines’ over Taiwan

Zheng Zeguang says Britain would face serious consequences if it were to ‘follow in the footsteps of the US’

China’s ambassador to the UK has said Britain would face “serious consequences” if it crossed the “red lines” over Taiwan and warned against following in the footsteps of the US.

In a Guardian opinion piece that comes days after Liz Truss said China’s actions “threaten peace and stability in the region”, Zheng Zeguang wrote that Taiwan had become a “touchstone” for bilateral relations that he warned were “at an important juncture”.

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Cuban doctor among three shot dead at hospital in Mexico

Doctor killed along with a nurse and another woman at a hospital in the suburb of Ecatepec, on the outskirts of Mexico City

A Cuban doctor has been shot dead at a hospital in a rough neighborhood on the outskirts of Mexico City, prosecutors in the state of Mexico confirmed late on Monday.

The doctor, whose name was not provided, was killed on Friday along with a nurse and another woman at a hospital in the suburb of Ecatepec.

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Ukraine aiming to create chaos within Russian forces, Zelenskiy adviser says

Exclusive: Mykhailo Podolyak says Russian supply lines will be targeted and predicts similar attacks to last week’s explosion at Crimean airbase

Ukraine is engaged in a counteroffensive aimed at creating “chaos within Russian forces” by striking at the invaders’ supply lines deep into occupied territories, according to a key adviser to the president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Mykhailo Podolyak told the Guardian there could be more attacks in the “next two or three months” similar to Tuesday’s mysterious strikes on a railway junction and an airbase in Crimea, as well as last week’s hit on Russian warplanes at the peninsula’s Saky aerodrome.

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Russia warns Britain against planned spy plane overflight

Russia’s defence ministry says it considered the action a ‘deliberate provocation’

Russia’s defence ministry has warned Britain against a planned spy plane flight over Russian territory, saying its air force has been given orders to prevent an intrusion.

The ministry said on Tuesday that the UK had sent a notice informing about a planned flight of an RC-135 reconnaissance plane along a route that partly passes over Russian territory.

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Foreign Office official raised ‘stark’ criticisms of Rwanda plan, court hears

Guardian, BBC and Times seek release of documents about policy of sending asylum seekers abroad

A Foreign Office official raised concerns about plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, citing state surveillance, arbitrary detention, torture and killings by the country’s government, the high court has heard.

The court has been asked to consider an application by the foreign secretary to keep parts of certain government documents secret for fear the contents could damage international relations and threaten national security.

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Kenya opposition leader rejects election result as ‘null and void’

Raila Odinga’s comments on poll he was declared to have lost come after some officials disown final tally

The Kenyan opposition leader, Raila Odinga, has rejected as “null and void” the result of a presidential election that he was declared to have lost, and pledged to challenge the outcome with “all constitutional and legal options”.

Odinga said he would channel his complaints through “appropriate authorities”, in his first comments since William Ruto, the deputy president, was declared the winner with 50.49% of the vote by the electoral commission chair, Wafula Chebukati, on Monday.

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Delhi drinkers left dry after government’s alcohol policy U-turn

Aam Aadmi party’s decision to scrap plan to privatise sale of alcohol comes after pressure from rival BJP

All over the Indian capital, the sound of metal shutters being pulled down at off-licences has left drinkers high and dry.

The dry spell, expected to last until 1 September, is the result of Delhi’s government scrapping a new alcohol policy that would have allowed private companies to operate off-licences.

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Chinese woman ‘detained for wearing Japanese kimono’

Police allegedly questioned her for hours after accusations of ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble’

A Chinese woman said she was detained by police for hours and accused of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” for wearing a Japanese kimono and taking photos in a city street.

The woman was wearing the kimono and a wig while cosplaying as a popular character from the manga series Summer Time Rendering. She was taking photos in Suzhou when she and her photographer were approached by a police officer, according to video filmed and shared to social media.

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Brazil’s presidential campaign launches amid fears of violence and upheaval

Far-right president Jair Bolsonaro is trailing in the polls and has hinted he will not cede power if defeated

Campaigning in Brazil’s most important election for years formally gets under way this week amid fears of political violence on the campaign trail and possible turmoil before and after the October ballots.

Far-right president Jair Bolsonaro is trailing in the polls and has hinted he will not give up power if defeated by the leftist frontrunner and former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

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