Category Archives: World News

Iran accuses Europe of stepping aside and letting Trump dictate nuclear deal terms

Posted on by

Foreign ministry official says US will be dictating what happens once UN-wide sanctions are reimposed

Europe is on the verge of abandoning its role as a mediator between the US and Iran and instead handing the Iran nuclear file over to Donald Trump’s veto, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson has said in an interview with the Guardian in Tehran.

Esmail Baghaei said that as soon as UN-wide sanctions were reimposed at Europe’s demand in less than 30 days’ time, the US would regain its security council veto over what happens next, including the continuance of sanctions.

Continue reading...

Israel committing genocide in Gaza, world’s top scholars on the crime say

Posted on by

International Association of Genocide Scholars resolution backed by 86% of members who voted

An overwhelming majority of members of the world’s leading genocide scholars’ association have backed a resolution stating that Israel’s actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of the crime.

Eighty-six per cent of those who voted in the 500-member International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) supported the motion. The resolution states that “Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide in article II of the United Nations convention for the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide (1948).”

Continue reading...

Weinstein accuser Kaja Sokola: ‘It is very important for people to speak out’

Posted on by

Woman who testified at producer’s trial says despite mixed verdict she is proud to have stood up and told her story

Victims of sexual crimes and #MeToo harassment have, on multiple fronts, seen setbacks in the US in recent months.

The movie mogul Harvey Weinstein is now looking at a third trial on sexual assault charges after previous cases delivered mixed results for his victims. A high-profile case of federal racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking against the rapper Sean Combs returned a verdict only on lesser charges.

Continue reading...

‘We’re winning a battle’: Mexico’s jaguar numbers up 30% in conservation drive

Posted on by

Conservationists hope that in 15 years species will no longer be at risk of extinction in Mexico – but challenges remain

In 2010, Gerardo Ceballos and a group of other researchers set out to answer a burning question: how many jaguars were there in Mexico? They knew there weren’t many. Hunting, loss of habitat, conflict with cattle ranchers and other issues had pushed the population to the brink of extinction.

Ceballos and his team from the National Alliance for Jaguar Conservation (ANCJ) thought there were maybe 1,000 jaguars across the country. They decided to carry out the country’s first census of the animal to find out exactly how many there were. They found 4,100.

Continue reading...

Afghanistan earthquake: at least nine dead after 6.0 magnitude quake near Jalalabad

Posted on by

At least 25 people were injured in the quake that hit at a depth of just 8km near the Pakistan border

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake shook eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border leaving nine people dead and many more injured.

The quake struck at 11:47pm on Sunday and was centred 27km northeast of the city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, the US Geological Survey said. It was just 8km deep. Shallower quakes tend to cause more damage.

Continue reading...

US reportedly suspends visa approvals for nearly all Palestinian passport holders

Posted on by

Restrictions to prevent travel for healthcare and college and come after denying visas to Palestinian Authority leaders

The United States has suspended visa approvals for nearly everyone who holds a Palestinian passport, the New York Times reported on Sunday.

The restrictions go beyond those Donald Trump’s administration had previously announced on visitors from Gaza. They would prevent Palestinians from traveling to the United States for medical treatment, attending college and business travel, the newspaper reported, citing unidentified officials.

Continue reading...

Houthis detain at least 11 UN workers in raids on two agencies in Sana’a

Posted on by

UN condemns ‘arbitrary detentions’ by Iran-backed group at World Food Programme and Unicef offices in Yemen

The Iranian-backed Houthis raided offices of the UN’s food, health and children’s agencies in Yemen’s capital, detaining at least 11 employees, as the rebels tightened security across Sana’a after the Israeli killing of their prime minister and several cabinet members.

The UN envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said on Sunday evening: “I strongly condemn the new wave of arbitrary detentions of UN personnel today in Sana’a and Hodeidah … as well as the forced entry into UN premises and seizure of UN property. At least 11 UN personnel were detained.”

Continue reading...

Israeli airstrikes and gunfire have killed 30 around Gaza City, local officials say

Posted on by

Toll includes 13 people trying to get food near distribution point, as Israeli cabinet to discuss next stages of offensive

Israeli airstrikes and gunfire killed at least 30 people in and around Gaza City, local health authorities said, as a 20-boat humanitarian aid flotilla carrying activists including Greta Thunberg set sail from Barcelona for the stricken territory.

Authorities said the toll from Israeli tank and gunfire included 13 people who died trying to get food near a distribution site in the Gaza Strip, two in a house in Gaza City and 15, including five children, in a strike on a residential building on Saturday.

With Reuters and Agence France-Presse

Continue reading...

Putin, Modi and Erdoğan among leaders in China for talks with Xi

Posted on by

Chinese president hosts bilateral meetings on sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin

Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin have met on the sidelines of a showpiece summit in China that seeks to challenge US-led, western-dominated blocs and is being attended by the leaders of more than two dozen nations.

The Chinese and Russian leaders, who are closely allied under what they have termed a “limitless” partnership, discussed Putin’s recent meeting with Donald Trump, according to a Kremlin official, who gave no further details.

Continue reading...

Lyon mayor condemns ‘Free Gaza’ defacement of Holocaust memorial

Posted on by

Mayor says city stands firm against antisemitism after message scratched into black marble memorial

A Holocaust memorial unveiled only eight months ago in the French city of Lyon has been inscribed with the words “Free Gaza”, local officials said, amid growing concern about antisemitic incidents in France.

The words were scratched into the black marble memorial late on Saturday, the city’s mayor, Grégory Doucet, said. Yonathan Arfi, of the Council of French Jewish Institutions (CRIF), posted a photo on social media and called the incident “despicable”.

Continue reading...

‘I’m holding his political wake’: the trumpeter waiting to mark Bolsonaro’s judgment day

Posted on by

Brazil’s ex-president is expected to be convicted over failed coup – and Fabiano Leitão, who has provoked him for years, is ready

When Jair Bolsonaro was Brazil’s far-right president, the guerrilla trumpeter Fabiano Leitão would stalk him around the capital, Brasília, to taunt him with renditions of the anti-fascist anthem Bella Ciao.

In March, when Bolsonaro was charged with plotting a coup, Leitão changed his tune and began provoking the ex-president by serenading him with Chopin’s Funeral March. “It symbolises his political demise, which is what we want to see,” said the 46-year-old musician.

Continue reading...

Vladimir Putin arrives in China for security summit – Ukraine war live

Posted on by

Russian president and Indian prime minister among more than 20 world leaders attending Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Tianjin

At an emergency meeting of the UN security council on Friday, the US warned Russia to move toward some sort of peace settlement and meet with Ukraine or face possible sanctions.

The meeting was called after a major Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine overnight from Wednesday to Thursday that killed more than 20 people.

Continue reading...

Israeli airstrike kills Houthi prime minister in Yemen, rebels say

Posted on by

Ahmed al-Rahawi killed alongside several ministers gathered for prerecorded speech by rebel group’s leader

An Israeli airstrike killed the prime minister of the Houthi rebel-controlled government in Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, the Houthis have said.

Ahmed al-Rahawi was killed in a strike in Sana’a on Thursday along with a number of ministers, the rebels said in a statement on Saturday. Other ministers and officials were wounded, the statement added without providing further details.

Continue reading...

Investigation launched into ‘horrific murder’ of Ukrainian politician in Lviv

Posted on by

Former parliamentary speaker Andriy Parubiy shot dead as EU ministers meet to discuss measures to force Moscow to the negotiating table

A Ukrainian former parliamentary speaker was shot dead in Lviv on Saturday, authorities said, as European foreign ministers met to discuss increasing pressure on Moscow to end its war against Ukraine.

Andriy Parubiy, a member of parliament who served as parliamentary speaker from 2016 to 2019 and a key figure in Ukraine’s 2013 pro-European Maidan revolution, was shot dead, prosecutors said. A murder investigation has been launched and the president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, condemned the killing as a “horrific murder”.

Continue reading...

Seven Israeli soldiers wounded in explosion in Gaza City, IDF says

Posted on by

Armoured vehicle hit in Zeitoun neighbourhood as Arab media reports intense clashes in the area

Seven Israeli soldiers were wounded in an explosion targeting an armoured vehicle in Gaza City on Friday night, the Israel Defense Forces have said.

The soldiers were wounded while operating in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, which has been the site of intense Israeli military activity in recent weeks.

Continue reading...

Fire kills three people in Indonesia after protesters torch council buildings

Posted on by

Cities in Indonesia rocked by protests after motorcycle taxi driver run over by police tactical vehicle

Protesters have torched parliamentary buildings in three further Indonesian provinces, a day after at least three people were killed by a fire started by demonstrators at a council building in the city of Makassar.

Protests erupted across Indonesia after footage spread showing a motorcycle taxi driver being run over and killed by a police vehicle on Thursday night during earlier demonstrations over low wages for workers and perks for lawmakers.

Continue reading...

Car rams into crowd outside bar in northern France, killing one

Posted on by

Police launch investigation into escalation of dispute in bar in Évreux, Normandy, after five others injured

A man has driven a car into a crowd outside a bar in northern France after a dispute in which one person was killed and five others injured, according to prosecutors.

The incident took place in the town of Évreux, Normandy, at about 4am on Saturday.

Continue reading...

Alarm as US far-right extremists eye drones for use in domestic attacks

Posted on by

Experts say extremists openly talking of how home-built drones will be critical tool in so-called second civil war

Taking their cues from modern warfare, the far-right American terrorist movement sees off-the-shelf or home-built first-person viewer (FPV) drones as a critical weapon in their own future war against the US government, which has American authorities on edge.

And there’s ample reasons for those fears: in the open and closed online spaces where far-right extremists congregate, talk is commonplace of how these cheap drones are revolutionizing current wars and will be the critical tools of a so-called second civil war.

Continue reading...

Proposals for commercial planes to operate with one pilot shelved after critical EU report

Posted on by

Regulator Easa concludes there is not enough evidence it is as safe as flying with two pilots as currently required

Proposals for commercial aeroplanes to operate with just one pilot in the cockpit have been put on ice after a report for the European regulator suggested it would make flying more dangerous.

A three-year research project into “extended minimum crew operations” commissioned by the EU Aviation Safety Agency (Easa) found that despite advances in technology there was not sufficient evidence that flying with a single pilot could be as safe as with the two currently required.

Continue reading...

Putin embarks on China visit with Ukraine war top of agenda

Posted on by

Analysts say Putin and Xi will aim to align positions during Russian leader’s unusually long stay

Vladimir Putin will travel to China this weekend for what the Kremlin has called a “truly unprecedented” visit to his most important ally, which comes at a crunch moment in talks over Ukraine.

During the trip, which is expected to stretch to close to a week – unusually long for the Russian leader – he will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, hold talks with Xi Jinping, and take in Beijing’s Victory Day military parade marking 80 years since Japan’s defeat in the second world war, where Putin is due to be the star guest alongside North Korea’s Kim Jong-un and leaders of Iran and Cuba.

Continue reading...