Category Archives: World News

Fears over building works at Afghan Buddhas of Bamiyan site

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Unesco says it has not been consulted on project and local experts are alarmed at Taliban plans

The Taliban have launched construction work on a tourism complex just metres from the cliff that held the Bamiyan Buddha statues, which archeologists and experts warn could cause permanent damage to the sensitive world heritage site.

The project aims to “rebuild” a historic bazaar, which was destroyed in the civil war of the 1990s. Under the Taliban blueprint, the area will become a tourism centre with restaurants, guesthouses, parking, public toilets and handicraft and grocery shops.

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Kentucky death toll rises to 35 from devastating flooding as hundreds still missing

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More heavy rains pummel mountain communities, as Kamala Harris announces $1bn to deal with disasters from climate crisis

Heavy rain has pummeled Kentucky once again, raising fears of further devastating flooding that has already killed 35 people, with hundreds more still missing.

Another round of rainstorms hit inundated mountain communities on Monday as more bodies emerged from the sodden landscape, and the state’s governor warned that high winds could bring falling trees and utility poles.

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Ayman al-Zawahiri: al-Qaida leader killed in US drone strike in Afghanistan, Joe Biden says

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President ordered strike on Kabul safe house last month during a high-level meeting, administration says

A US drone strike in Afghanistan has killed the top al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, Joe Biden announced on Monday.

The US president described the death of Zawahiri, who was Osama bin Laden’s deputy and successor, as a major blow to the terrorist network behind the September 11 2001 attacks.

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Two bodies found in burned vehicle in path of raging California wildfire

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Bodies discovered in north-west near Oregon border as McKinney fire, which exploded in size over the weekend, turns deadly

Two people were found dead in the path of the a wildfire raging across northern California, as firefighters raced to contain the blaze amid searing temperatures and impending thunderstorms.

The McKinney fire in northern California, which has grown into California’s largest this year, is one of several large fires burning across the US west and one of several concurrent extreme weather events battering the region.

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US says Beijing has no reason to turn Pelosi’s expected Taiwan visit into a ‘crisis’

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National security council says speaker has ‘right to visit’ after China warns its military would ‘not sit idly by’

The US national security council (NSC) has insisted that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “has the right to visit Taiwan”, amid reports that she will be landing on the island on Tuesday – a move that China has vowed to respond to forcefully.

Speaking at a press conference in Washington on Monday, NSC spokesman John Kirby said Pelosi has visited Taiwan before “without any incident”.

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Sexual assault case against director Paul Haggis dropped in Italy

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Judge in Lecce rules no grounds to pursue investigation against Canadian director, 69, who spent 16 days under house arrest

Oscar-winning director Paul Haggis has had a sexual assault charge dropped by an Italian court six weeks after he was accused by a 28-year-old British woman of forcing her to have “non-consensual” sex with him.

A judge in the southern Italian city of Lecce ruled on Friday that there were no grounds to further pursue an investigation.

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Democrats prepare for showdown over key spending and climate bill – as it happened

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Antony Blinken, secretary of state, said at global nonproliferation discussions at the United Nations today that a return to the 2015 nuclear deal remains the best outcome for the United States, Iran and the world.

Reuters is reporting that Blinken made a point to repeat a warning from the US that North Korea is preparing to conduct its seventh nuclear test.

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Shia factions mass in Baghdad raising fears of more unrest

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Rallies in support of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr follow occupation of Iraqi parliament amid a political vacuum

Protesters from rival Shia blocs have taken to the streets of several Iraqi cities in a show of force that sparked fears of a descent into violence amid a 10-month political standoff about naming a new government.

The rallies followed a weekend occupation of the Iraqi parliament by supporters of the powerful Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who has called for the post-2003 political system in Iraq to be overthrown through popular revolt in perhaps the most serious challenge Iraq has faced since the Islamic State terror group overran Mosul and nearly stormed Baghdad in June 2014.

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Gazprom daily gas output in July lowest since 2008, analysis suggests

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Output last month of Russian firm was down 14% on June, sharpening fears Moscow could provoke energy crisis in Europe

The daily gas production of Russia’s Gazprom dropped in July to its lowest level since 2008, figures suggest, amid continued fears that Moscow could cause an energy crisis in Europe by shutting off the supply.

The state-owned energy firm pumped 774 million cubic metres a day last month – 14% less than in June – according to analysis by Bloomberg of data released on Monday.

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African nations expected to make case for big rise in fossil fuel output

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Exclusive: leaders expected to say at Cop27 they need accesss to their oil and gas reserves despite effect on global heating

Leaders of African countries are likely to use the next UN climate summit in November to push for massive new investment in fossil fuels in Africa, according to documents seen by the Guardian.

New exploration for gas, and the exploitation of Africa’s vast reserves of oil, would make it close to impossible for the world to limit global heating to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

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Grain ship leaves Ukraine port for first time since Russia blockade

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Attack on Odesa port had cast doubt on deal negotiated by Turkey and UN to avoid widespread famine

A ship carrying Ukrainian grain has left the port of Odesa for the first time since the start of the Russian invasion under an internationally brokered deal to unblock Ukraine’s agricultural exports and ease a growing global food crisis.

The Sierra Leone-flagged ship Razoni, carrying 26,000 tonnes of corn, finally set sail for Lebanon on Monday morning, according to Ukraine’s infrastructure ministry, following weeks of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, led by Turkey and the United Nations.

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Germany puts coal power plant back on network after gas supply cut

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Mothballed facility in Lower Saxony gets emergency permission to run until April

A coal-fired power plant that had been mothballed has become the first of its kind to be put back on to the network in Germany, as debate rages over how Europe’s largest economy will cope without Russian gas.

The facility in Lower Saxony, which is owned by the Czech energy company EGH, has received emergency permission to run until April in an attempt to boost energy production.

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British MPs plan visit to Taiwan as tension with China simmers

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Exclusive: Tom Tugendhat likely to lead trip later this year as London’s relationship with Beijing deteriorates

Britain’s House of Commons foreign affairs committee is planning a visit to Taiwan later this year – probably in November or early December – despite rising tensions in the region, the Guardian has learned.

Sources say the trip – which was originally scheduled for early this year but was postponed due to one member of the delegation testing positive for Covid – was intended to show Britain’s support for the democratically run island, which China considers its own.

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Arms dealer ‘100% sure’ Russian agents behind blast at Bulgarian depot

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Emilian Gebrev says explosion on Sunday is latest of repeated attacks against him by GRU operatives

A Bulgarian arms dealer who survived an apparent novichok poisoning in 2015 said he was “100% sure” that Russian operatives were behind an explosion and subsequent fire at one of his depots in the country on Sunday.

“There is no way this could be an accident, there was nothing in the building that could have detonated without outside interference,” Emilian Gebrev said in a telephone interview.

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Portrait of tyrant Thomas Picton moved to side room in Welsh museum

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Exhibition includes two specially commissioned works reframing story of former Trinidad governor

For more than a century, the portrait of Thomas Picton hung in a prominent position at the National Museum Cardiff, the image’s description hailing him as a military hero rather than a tyrant and a torturer, before it was removed from view in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests.

From Monday the two-metre-tall portrait of Lt Gen Picton is back on display in the Welsh capital – but in a very different context.

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Taiwan’s Rainbow Village defaced after operators told to move out

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Employees of contractor questioned over alleged vandalism after colourful murals painted over

A popular cultural attraction and one of Taiwan’s most “Instagrammable” sites has allegedly been defaced by the operators contracted to run it, after they were told to move out for six months while restoration work was conducted.

It was discovered on Friday that many of the walls of the Rainbow Village had been covered with paint overnight. Police detained 14 employees of the Rainbow Creative Co for questioning over the alleged vandalism, including the company’s head, Wei Pi-Jen, who defended their actions as a protest rather than “malicious destruction”. They were released on Sunday.

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Weather tracker: monsoon rains sweep India and Pakistan

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Further heavy rainfall forecast after deadly lightning strikes and flooding last week

The monsoon season in India and Pakistan is well under way, with further heavy rain events expected in parts of south-west India over the next week or so. The states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala in particular could experience rainfall totals above 200mm widely over the next couple of days.

Towards the weekend, this risk could transfer further north and east across India, with 200mm potentially affecting central states. This follows a week when dozens were killed by lightning strikes in India, while hundreds died in severe flooding in neighbouring Pakistan.

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Attack on Mykolaiv hospital described as ‘cynical terrorism’; Moscow bans 39 Britons including Keir Starmer – as it happened

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City’s mayor condemns attack on medical facilities; former UK PM David Cameron also among those now blacklisted

Oleh Synyehubov, the governor of Kharkiv, has posted to Telegram to say that two men were injured by shelling at 7am today in the Saltivka region of Kharkiv. One of the men, aged 72, subsequently died in hospital. The claim has not been independently verified.

About 300 people are now considered missing during the hostilities in the Kyiv region. The 216 bodies found have not yet been identified. An appropriate DNA selection procedure was carried out. I hope that thanks to cooperation with relatives, we will be able to identify these persons.

It is not only that some citizens are now in captivity. While documenting war crimes in the Kyiv region, we found out that many people are currently being held on the territory of Belarus.

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Taliban policies risk de facto university ban for Afghan women, say officials

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Secret schools formed as girls banned from classes languish with no accredited route to university

The Taliban’s ban on girls studying at high schools will become a de facto ban on university degrees for women if it stays in place, a Taliban spokesperson and university officials have said.

Girls will not have the documents needed to enrol in higher education, or the academic capacity to start university courses after nearly a year out of school.

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New Zealand borders fully reopened as last Covid restrictions lifted

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Cruise ships, international students and visitors from China and India among those who will be able to once again travel to New Zealand

New Zealand’s borders are fully open for the first time since they abruptly snapped shut to keep Covid-19 out in March 2020.

The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said the nation was “open for business” after the final stage of the phased reopening, which began in April, was completed on Sunday night.

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