Category Archives: World News

Scott Morrison ditches parliament’s return to speak at Japan event not starting until Thursday

Posted on by

Former PM says he is ‘unable to attend’ first sitting week in Canberra as Labor calls for details about Tokyo engagement

Scott Morrison has skipped the first sitting week of parliament to speak at a conservative leaders’ summit in Tokyo that does not begin until Thursday afternoon.

The former Australian prime minister and member for Cook announced on Monday that “as a consequence” of having accepted the invitation he is “unable to attend the first three sitting days of the new parliament this week”, from Tuesday 26 July to Thursday 28 July.

Continue reading...

Pope Francis ‘begs forgiveness’ over abuse at church schools in Canada

Posted on by

Pontiff apologises on visit to country over ‘catastrophic’ historical mistreatment of Indigenous children

Pope Francis has apologised for the “disastrous error” and “evil” of Canada’s church-run residential schools, asking survivors of the system that abused tens of thousands of children for forgiveness as he toured the country on a “pilgrimage of penance”.

The pontiff’s widely anticipated apology came during a Monday morning visit to the community of Maskwacis, Alberta – the first formal event of his one-week tour after landing in the western province on Sunday.

Continue reading...

Typically mild Pacific north-west braces for another blazing heatwave

Posted on by

Officials urge residents to take precautions as forecasts point to temperatures far above historic averages

A searing heatwave is expected to bring dangerously high temperatures to US Pacific north-west – a region known for its mild, temperate summers.

As Oregon, Washington, parts of northern California and British Columbia brace for a week of temperatures well above historic averages, officials are warning residents in the region – many of whom lack air conditioning and are unaccustomed to heat – to take precautions.

Continue reading...

Attack in Vancouver suburb leaves two homeless people and gunman dead

Posted on by

Another victim remains in critical condition as Royal Canadian Mounted Police say suspect was shot dead by officers

Canadian police say two people have been killed in an early morning gun attack in a Vancouver suburb that left two others injured and appeared to target homeless residents. The suspect was shot dead by officers.

On Monday morning, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said most of the shootings were in downtown Langley in southwest British Columbia. There was also a reported shooting in the neighbouring Langley township.

Continue reading...

Czech police turn seized Ferrari into patrol car

Posted on by

The Ferrari 458 Italia is capable of chasing down joyriders at speeds of up to 200mph

Police in the Czech Republic have turned a high-powered Ferrari they seized from criminals into a patrol car capable of chasing down joyriders at speeds of up to 200mph.

The 2011 Ferrari 458 Italia was formerly coloured racing red, but the authorities painted it with yellow and blue reflective stripes and mounted a panel of lights on top. It will be used to chase stolen cars and to crack down on illegal road races, police said in a statement.

Continue reading...

Sunak ruse aims to outmanoeuvre Truss over China

Posted on by

Analysis: claims by ex-chancellor about Foreign Office weakness towards Beijing look like an attempt to head off a similar attack on him

Rishi Sunak’s pre-emptive strike attacking Liz Truss over alleged Foreign Office pusillanimity towards China looks to have been a daring attempt to fend off an imminent assault from his Tory leadership rival.

But it locks the contestants into a potentially uncontrollable dogfight as they seek to prove their credentials as the truer enemy of authoritarianism.

Continue reading...

Russia’s Gazprom to make drastic cut to Europe’s gas supply from Wednesday

Posted on by

State-controlled energy company says it is halting a turbine due to the ‘technical condition of the engine’

The Russian state-controlled energy company Gazprom has announced a drastic cut to gas deliveries through its main pipeline to Europe from Wednesday.

The Russian gas export monopoly said it was halting the operation of one of the last two operating turbines due to the “technical condition of the engine”, cutting daily gas deliveries via the Nord Stream pipeline to 33m cubic metres a day – about 20% of the pipeline’s capacity.

Continue reading...

Monkey attacks injure 42 people in Japanese city

Posted on by

Authorities in Yamaguchi to use tranquilliser guns after macaques – or possibly one aggressive individual – uncharacteristically target adults and children

Local authorities in a Japanese city are to use tranquilliser guns to confront marauding monkeys that have injured 42 people in recent weeks.

Japanese macaques are common across large parts of the country and are a pest in some areas, eating crops and sometimes entering homes. But a spate of monkey attacks in Yamaguchi in the west of the country has been unusual, with adults and children suffering wounds including scratches and bites.

Continue reading...

Ukraine grain exports set to start as Kyiv says US-supplied arms have slowed Russia

Posted on by

Grain exports to begin this week despite Russian attack on Odesa 12 hours after signing agreement

Ukraine has said it hopes to start exporting grain from its ports this week, despite Russia’s attack on Odesa 12 hours after Moscow agreed to allow Kyiv safe passage for the commodity.

The first ships may move from the country’s Black Sea ports within a few days, said deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq. Details of the procedures will soon be published by a joint coordination centre that is liaising with the shipping industry, said Haq.

Continue reading...

Lavrov’s African tour another front in struggle between west and Moscow

Posted on by

Analysis: Foreign minister seeks to win friends and influence people in countries where closeness can be traced back to USSR

Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, is arriving in Uganda on the latest stop of his tour of Africa, aimed at rallying support on the continent for Russia as the war in Ukraine goes into its sixth month.

Many African leaders have refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and have accused the US and Nato of starting or prolonging the conflict.

Continue reading...

Zelenskiy calls on Europe to respond to Russia’s ‘gas war’ – as it happened

Posted on by

This live blog is now closed, you can find our latest coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war here

One of the Russian-imposed officials in Ukraine’s occupied Zaporizhzhia region has told the RIA Novosti news agency that a referendum on the region joining the Russian Federation will most likely take place in September, alongside a similar one in occupied Kherson.

The agency quotes Vladimir Rogov saying: “Everything is moving towards the fact that the referendum will be in the first half of September. I will not name the exact date yet. Election commissions are being formed.”

The house of culture, where people were hiding in the basement, was actually destroyed by the occupiers. Rescuers have already freed three people from the rubble, but there were still people in the basement. In addition, residential buildings, an educational institution were damaged, and open areas were hit.

Continue reading...

UK to host Eurovision song contest in 2023 on behalf of Ukraine

Posted on by

BBC says programme will have ‘glorious Ukraine at its heart’, with cities invited to bid to host event

The Eurovision song contest will be hosted in the UK next year after Ukraine’s public broadcaster dropped its objections and agreed to work with the BBC on the event.

Ukraine won this year’s Eurovision with the song Stefania by Kalush Orchestra, earning the right to host the 2023 edition. However, organisers concluded this could not be done safely while the country was at war with Russia – angering the Ukrainian government, which said it had submitted a workable safety plan.

Continue reading...

Fears island of Ireland faces ‘new carve-up’ by mining companies

Posted on by

Campaigners warn of damage as concessions now cover over a quarter of land on both sides of border

Environmentalists on the island of Ireland say they fear a “new carve-up of the island” over coming decades, with mining concessions now covering more than a quarter of all land on both sides of the border.

More than 25% of the total land area of Northern Ireland is covered by mining concessions, according to government statistics, while the figure for the Irish republic has in the past couple of years been even higher at 27%. The prospecting licences covering these areas grant mining companies permission to survey and assess sites, as well as carry out exploratory work that includes digging tunnels, pits, taking rock samples and carrying out chemical analyses.

Continue reading...

Ghislaine Maxwell moved to low-security prison in Florida

Posted on by

Disgraced socialite serving 20-year sentence for procuring teenage girls to be abused by Jeffrey Epstein

Ghislaine Maxwell has been sent to a low-security prison to serve her 20-year prison sentence for procuring teenage girls to be abused by the financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The 60-year-old has been moved to FCI Tallahassee in Florida, according to the Bureau of Prisons. She will be eligible for release on 17 July 2037.

Continue reading...

France orders air-conditioned shops to save energy by shutting doors

Posted on by

Minister says open doors lead to 20% more consumption as restrictions on illuminated signs also announced

Air-conditioned shops throughout France will have to keep their doors shut or risk a fine of €750 (£635), a French minister has announced, after the mayors of several major cities unveiled a similar rule during the country’s heatwave last week.

Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the minister for ecological transition, said leaving doors open with air conditioning on led to “20% more energy consumption and … is absurd”. A decree confirming the decision will be issued in the coming days.

Continue reading...

Elon Musk denies reported affair with wife of Google co-founder

Posted on by

Tesla chief rejects Wall Street Journal claims he had affair with Nicole Shanahan

Elon Musk has denied a Wall Street Journal report claiming he had an affair with Nicole Shanahan, the wife of the Google co-founder Sergey Brin, accusing the outlet of running “hit pieces” on him and Tesla.

The chief executive of the electric carmaker tweeted on Monday rejecting the claim that he had an affair with Shanahan as “total BS”, adding that he and Brin were still friends.

Continue reading...

Beijing urges British politicians not to ‘hype the China threat’

Posted on by

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson asks for restraint after Rishi Sunak labels country UK’s ‘biggest long-term threat’

Beijing has urged British politicians to exercise restraint in their comments on China, saying “hyping the China threat” would not help solve the UK’s own problems.

Asked about Rishi Sunak’s comments, where he labelled China as Britain’s biggest long-term threat and pledged to close all UK-based Confucius Institutes, Zhao Lijian, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, declined to offer specific comments, saying the election of the next Tory leader is the UK’s internal affair.

Continue reading...

Evidence of Afghan witnesses against Ben Roberts-Smith ‘hardly neutral’, lawyer tells court

Posted on by

Lawyers for Ben Roberts-Smith urge court to disregard evidence of Afghan witnesses, saying the men were prejudiced against Australian soldiers

Lawyers for Ben Roberts-Smith have urged the court hearing a defamation trial to reject the testimony of three Afghan men who gave evidence against the Australian soldier in his defamation trial, saying they regarded foreign troops as “infidels” and gave “inconsistent and contradictory” evidence.

“To say they are credible is incredible,” Roberts-Smith’s barrister, Arthur Moses SC, told the federal court in closing submissions in the former soldier’s long-running defamation action.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Weather tracker: Europe to cool down as western US holds on to heat

Posted on by

Jet stream will push heat away to south of Europe, while Pacific Northwest will see temperatures climb

After weeks of intense heat and wildfires across Europe with temperatures into the high 30s Celsius each day in central and southern areas, and frequently reaching above 40C (104F), temperatures will gradually start to temper from the north-west through this week.

The jet stream will meander southwards, pushing the plume of heat away to the south and west and bringing conditions much closer to or below normal, with the exception of some parts of Spain, which may hang on to the heat without much relief.

Continue reading...