Category Archives: World News

Bohra imam’s visit puts British girls at risk of mutilation, warn FGM campaigners

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Dawoodi Bohra leader Mufaddal Saifuddin, who is in the UK to preach, is an advocate of the abusive practice whose visa should be revoked, say activists

Campaigners have criticised the UK government for granting a visa to a religious leader who has advocated for female genital mutilation (FGM).

Mufaddal Saifuddin who is the syedna, or leader, of the Dawoodi Bohra community, a sect of Shia Islam with 1.2 million followers worldwide, will give sermons in front of tens of thousands of people at Northolt mosque in London between 29 July and 7 August.

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Fears that Egypt may use Cop27 to whitewash human rights abuses

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Naomi Klein and Caroline Lucas among signatories to letter voicing concerns over country’s hosting of climate summit

A hundred days before the Cop27 summit is due to start in Sharm el-Sheikh, a group of environmentalists and activists have expressed alarm over Egypt’s ability to host the event successfully because of its poor record on human rights, as thousands of prisoners of conscience remain behind bars.

“We are deeply concerned that [a successful conference] will not be possible due to the repressive actions of the Egyptian government,” they said. “Indeed, it seems more likely at this point that the conference will be used to whitewash human rights abuses in the country.”

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As more space junk falls to Earth, will China clean up its act?

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Parts of a 23-tonne piece of rocket will come crashing down – somewhere – in the next few days

In the next few days, a 23-tonne piece of rocket will plummet to Earth at about 15,000 miles an hour. Much of it may burn up on re-entry, but a significant amount will not.

It could land as one piece but more probably as many, scattered over an area up to several hundred miles across. Scientists have narrowed down the likely impact zone to within the latitudes of 41 degrees north and 41 degrees south, a region covering much of the US and South America, Africa, the Middle East, most of Asia, and all of Australia except the island of Tasmania.

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Wife of executed Myanmar activist says fight for democracy must go on

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Ma Nilar Thein says people must ‘eradicate this military regime’, as four prisoners executed after closed trials

The wife of Kyaw Min Yu, a prominent democracy activist whose execution by the Myanmar junta caused global outrage, has urged the country’s people not to stop their fight for democracy, but “to go forward with a victory spirit”.

Ma Nilar Thein, 50, told the Guardian that she was heartbroken by the killing of her husband but that the public “will hold our hands together in unity”.

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Nepal’s tiger numbers recover but attacks on people cause alarm

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Nepalese population of Bengal tigers has nearly tripled in 12 years and conflict with humans is increasing

Nepal’s tiger population has nearly tripled in 12 years, the country’s prime minister has announced. But concerns about the human cost of the big cat’s recovery are growing after a rise in fatal attacks.

From a low of 121 in 2010, the Nepalese population of Bengal tigers has risen to 355, according to the latest survey, revealed by the prime minister, Sher Bahadur Deuba, to mark International Tiger Day on Friday.

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Australian tourist in serious condition after falling into thermal sinkhole in New Zealand

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The 2m-wide hole opened up suddenly on a footpath at Whakarewarewa tourist village in Rotorua, in central North Island

An Australian woman has been seriously injured after she fell into a geothermal sinkhole that opened up in a popular tourist village in New Zealand.

The woman fell into the two-metre-wide fumarole when it opened suddenly on a footpath near the entrance of Whakarewarewa thermal village in Rotorua, in central North Island.

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New Zealand climbers survive avalanche and blizzard, thanks to snow cave and muesli bars

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The two men were at the end of a three-day trip in The Remarkables above Queenstown when they triggered an avalanche

Two climbers who were buried by an avalanche and then caught in a blizzard atop one of New Zealand’s most famous mountain ranges survived their ordeal by digging themselves out of the snow, building a cave and living off muesli bars.

The two men in their 20s were on a three-day ice climbing adventure in The Remarkables – a 2,300-metre high range above Queenstown – when they triggered an avalanche and were carried about 20 metres downhill.

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Biden hails ‘most significant legislation to tackle climate crisis’ after Manchin says yes – live

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Joe Biden “was not involved” in negotiations over the newly announced Inflation Reduction Act, Joe Manchin has said, claiming credit instead for himself and his own aides.

In a press call Thursday morning that shed a little more light, but not very much, on how the bill came to be, the Democratic West Virginia senator said:

It was me and my staff. And then we worked with [Senate majority leader Chuck] Schumer’s staff. My staff was driving it. We wrote the bill. Schumer’s staff would look at it and we would negotiate, and we worked that through them.

President Biden was not involved.

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Xi Jinping tells Joe Biden not to ‘play with fire’ over Taiwan in two-hour call

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US president reiterates opposition to undermining peace in Taiwan amid tension over potential Pelosi trip

The Chinese president has warned Joe Biden against “playing with fire” over Taiwan in a highly anticipated phone call that lasted more than two hours on Thursday, as tensions remain high over the House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s possible trip to the island next month.

“Those who play with fire will be perished by it. It is hoped that the US will be clear-eyed about this,” said Xi Jinping, according to a Chinese statement. He also urged the US to implement the three joint communiques that serve as the foundation for relations between the two countries “both in word and in deed”. Xi vowed “resolutely” to safeguard China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity and said this is “the firm will of more than 1.4 billion Chinese people”.

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Russia-Ukraine war: 75,000 Russians killed or injured so far, says US – as it happened

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This live blog has now closed, you can find our latest Ukraine war coverage here

Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian-imposed military-civilian administration in the occupied Kherson region of Ukraine has posted to Telegram this morning to say that “all stories about successful ‘Ukronazi’ counter-offensives in the Kherson region are sheer lies.”

He offered no evidence to support the claim.

Educational institutions and residential buildings were damaged by rocket attacks today. Russian terrorists are cynically shelling the civilian infrastructure of Mykolaiv.

Another city school was almost completely destroyed. Part of the building collapsed there. The security guard of the institution was injured. Windows and roofs were broken in nearby private houses.

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Rights groups hit out at Macron decision to host Mohammed bin Salman

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Saudi crown prince accused of complicity in murder of Jamal Khashoggi is welcomed in Paris

Human rights campaigners have hit out at Emmanuel Macron’s decision to host Mohammed bin Salman for talks in Paris during the Saudi crown prince’s first visit to Europe since the murder nearly four years ago of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

On Thursday evening, Macron welcomed Prince Mohammed to talks at the Elysée Palace with a long handshake before the pair were due to dine together.

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Iran may eventually get its way in protracted power struggle in Iraq

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Analysis: Kurdish officials are considering allying with Iranian interests to finally form a government in Baghdad

A parliament besieged by protesters, a country adrift nine months after an election, a feud between domestic blocs and Iranian proxies: for many Iraqis, the latest political crisis is nothing new.

But to many observers this standoff appears more complex and protracted than most over the more than two decades of efforts to root a democratic state in Iraq. From the Kurdish region in the north to Anbar province in the west and the Shia communities in the south, there appears to be little hope that a government pursuing a collective national interest can emerge from the power struggle.

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German cities impose cold showers and turn off lights amid Russian gas crisis

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Hanover is first large city to impose energy-saving measures and Berlin switches off monument spotlights

Cities in Germany are switching off spotlights on public monuments, turning off fountains, and imposing cold showers on municipal swimming pools and sports halls, as the country races to reduce its energy consumption in the face of a looming Russian gas crisis.

Hanover in north-west Germany on Wednesday became the first large city to announce energy-saving measures, including turning off hot water in the showers and bathrooms of city-run buildings and leisure centres.

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Shock in Cardiff after ‘poisoning’ of father and son in Bangladesh

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Rafiqul Islam, 51, and Mahiqul, 16, found dead with three unconscious relatives while on two-month visit

Police investigating the apparent poisoning of a British family of five on holiday in Bangladesh, which killed a father and son, are hoping the survivors could hold the key to what happened.

Rafiqul Islam, 51, a taxi driver from Cardiff, and his son, 16-year-old Mahiqul, along with three other members of their family, were discovered unconscious in a locked room by police officers on Tuesday.

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Sharp rise in US abortion clinic closures after Roe v Wade overturned

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Guttmacher study shows reduction in clinics offering care in 11 states that have implemented bans since supreme court ruling

The number of clinics offering abortion care in 11 US states that have implemented total or six-week bans in the month since the supreme court overturned abortion rights has dropped from 71 to 43, a new study shows.

In the study released on Thursday, the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit that studies sexual and reproductive health, said that among the the 11 states, as of 24 July seven no longer had a single clinic providing abortion care.

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Spanish Gypsy groups call for protection after families flee racist mob

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Killing of doorman in Andalucían town triggered rampage in which houses were burned and looted

Spanish Gypsy groups are calling for urgent action and protection after dozens of people were forced to abandon their homes in a small Andalucían town when a killing triggered a wave of racist violence.

In the early hours of Sunday 17 July, a 29-year-old pub doorman called Álvaro Soto was stabbed to death in Peal de Becerro after an argument with four members of the local Gypsy community. The alleged attackers were later arrested.

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Russian TV journalist fined for ‘discrediting army’ over Ukraine

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Marina Ovsyannikova, previously fined for bursting into state TV studio, found guilty over social media posts

The Russian former state TV journalist Marina Ovsyannikova has been fined 50,000 roubles (£681) after being found guilty of discrediting the country’s armed forces in social media posts condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

The ruling was passed on Thursday after a short hearing in a Moscow administrative court. Ovsyannikova rejected the proceedings against her as “absurd”.

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Calls for Ukrainians living on cruise ship in Scotland to be quickly rehoused

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MS Victoria is temporary solution to host refugees but there are concerns about small rooms and seasickness

Ukrainian refugees staying on a cruise ship docked in Edinburgh must be moved to more suitable accommodation within days, welfare groups have said, as those onboard already report concerns about small rooms and feeling seasick.

The first arrivals of mainly women and children displaced by the war in Ukraine boarded the MS Victoria passenger ship earlier this week. Chartered by the Scottish government, it is expected to host up to 1,700 people and is a temporary solution to a growing accommodation crisis, which earlier this month prompted the government to pause its Ukrainian refugee sponsorship scheme for three months.

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Bangladesh to hold talks with IMF after applying for bailout

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Dhaka is understood to be seeking $4.5bn rescue package after being hit by high import costs and falling exports

Bangladesh is to hold talks with the International Monetary Fund after applying for a bailout to prevent the country running out of cash.

The government in Dhaka – the third in south Asia to seek a financial rescue package from the IMF after Pakistan and Sri Lanka – is understood to want $4.5bn (£3.7bn) after it was hit hard by high import prices, especially for gas, and a fall in exports as the global economy slowed down.

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Pelosi’s Taiwan trip plan apparently confirmed by US lawmakers

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US-China tension rising as Michael McCaul and Anna Eshoo say they were invited to travel with House speaker

Nancy Pelosi has invited senior lawmakers to join her on a trip to Taiwan, according to a member of the House foreign affairs committee, providing the first apparent confirmation of the widely speculated visit.

The potential visit by the US House speaker to Taiwan is at the centre of spiralling tensions involving the island, China and the US, which analysts fear are at their most dangerous point in decades.

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