Category Archives: World News

Ukraine crisis: sanctions against Russia come at a cost to the west

Posted on by

Analysis: The west will adopt step-by-step approach, leaving toughest sanctions as last resort

After all the tough talk of the past month, the sanctions imposed on Russia by the west are unlikely to lose Vladimir Putin much sleep. The response to Boris Johnson’s announcement that five of the less important Russian banks and three individuals would be targeted was: is that it?

The most dramatic news was Germany’s decision to halt approval of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to western Europe. That will have an impact, but may end up affecting Germany more than it does Russia.

Continue reading...

Dr Paul Farmer, healthcare advocate for some of world’s poorest, dies aged 62

Posted on by

Farmer defied skeptics to create healthcare systems for the most vulnerable in places like Haiti, Rwanda and Peru.

Dr Paul Farmer, a physician, humanitarian and author renowned for providing healthcare to millions of impoverished people worldwide and who co-founded the global non-profit Partners in Health, has died. He was 62.

The Boston-based organization confirmed Farmer’s death on Monday, calling it “devastating” and noting he unexpectedly died in his sleep from an acute cardiac event while in Rwanda, where he had been teaching.

Continue reading...

Ukraine crisis poses dilemma for China but also opportunity

Posted on by

Analysis: While Xi and Putin have pledged closer cooperation, there are growing economic ties between Beijing and Kyiv

The unfolding crisis in Ukraine poses a diplomatic dilemma for China but also offers an opportunity for Beijing as Joe Biden’s administration is likely to continue to be distracted by Russia ahead of the US mid-term elections later this year.

China’s position in this round of Russia v the west is under particularly heavy scrutiny following Xi Jinping’s pledge with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on 4 February that there would be “no ‘forbidden’ areas of cooperation” in their bilateral relationship.

Continue reading...

Ukraine crisis live news: Blinken cancels Lavrov meeting as west’s sanctions target Russian economy

Posted on by

US and UK curbs on Russian banks and oligarchs are welcomed by Ukraine as strong ‘first move’; Zelenskiy rules out a general mobilisation

Ukraine’s defence minister says his country is “ready and able” to defend itself from Russia and says the world cannot be silent.

“Sanctions? Another brick in the wall? New Berlin Wall?” Oleksii Reznikov tweeted Tuesday morning local time.

Continue reading...

Black carbon pollution from tourism and research increasing Antarctic snowmelt, study says

Posted on by

Pollution generated by burning fossil fuels causes snow to darken, absorb more solar energy and melt faster

Black carbon pollution from tourism and research activities in Antarctica is likely increasing snowmelt on the continent by an estimated 83 tonnes for each visitor, according to new research.

Scientists have estimated that the black carbon produced by vessels, planes and diesel generators results in 23mm of additional snowmelt each summer in the most frequently visited areas of the ice-covered landmass.

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

Continue reading...

‘Speak plainly!’: Putin has tense exchange with his spy chief – video

Posted on by

The head of Russia's spy service has a tense exchange with Vladimir Putin during a security meeting about the Russian-controlled territories in east Ukraine. Sergei Naryshkin, chief of the foreign intelligence service, is interrupted repeatedly  by the president and told to 'speak plainly!' Putin on Monday ordered his military to enter south-east Ukraine for the 'implementation of peacekeeping' in the self-proclaimed republics of Luhansk and Donetsk, which Ukraine and most of the world view as Ukraine's sovereign territory

Continue reading...

‘They fill me with emotion’ … Benin celebrates the return of its looted treasure

Posted on by

Priceless treasures stolen by the French army over a century ago have finally been returned to the African nation. Our writer joins the emotional celebrations

At first glance, it seems to be just another day in Cotonou, Benin’s largest city. Motorbike-taxis are everywhere, filling the streets of the country’s economic capital with dust and noise. But inside the swanky presidential palace, something seismic is talking place: over a century after they were looted by the French army, 26 treasures that once belonged to the nation have gone on display to the public.

Art of Benin Yesterday and Today is more than just a stunning show of these ancient works, though. It segues from the looted 19th-century artefacts to work by 34 of the country’s contemporary artists. “This is a form of regained dignity,” says local art historian Didier Houénoudé, “and the culmination of a long fight started by African countries shortly before independence.”

Continue reading...

Credit Suisse leak: three largest parties call for EU to assess Switzerland risk

Posted on by

Three biggest groups in European parliament support possible move to high-risk list for money laundering

All three of the largest groups in the European parliament are demanding that the EU assess whether Switzerland should be categorised as a high-risk country for money laundering and financial crime, as reaction to the Credit Suisse leak continues to reverberate about the world.

Less than 48 hours after the Guardian and other media published an investigation into the leak as part of the Suisse secrets project, political groups representing the majority of MEPs in the European parliament support the possible blacklisting of Switzerland.

Continue reading...

‘This is a bumpy long road’: the mood among Moscow residents

Posted on by

Many in Russia’s capital are worried about the political and economic consequences of the Ukraine crisis

Like many of her friends, Tatyana, a barista at the fashionable Moscow coffee-shop chain Skuratov, was glued to the screen of her mobile phone as Vladimir Putin addressed the nation.

“Usually, I don’t watch television, especially when our president speaks. But I felt like I had to tune in this time. I was witnessing history in the making,” she said, smoking an e-cigarette. “But I am not sure yet if history is going in the right direction.”

Continue reading...

Putin’s rambling Ukraine speech leaves western diplomats scrambling

Posted on by

Analysis: Russian president is toying with matches but has not yet lit the fuse, hence the west’s caution

Vladimir Putin’s angry and rambling hour-long potted history of Ukraine’s failings on Monday night, culminating in a commitment to recognise the self-proclaimed republics in Donetsk and Luhansk, left western diplomats scratching their heads and wondering whether they had been made redundant.

The Russian president not only said he would recognise Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine, rendering eight years of negotiations over their future pointless, but he also signalled that Russia could not tolerate an independent Ukraine on its borders. Nato was hardly mentioned. His target at one point seemed to be the Bolsheviks, for relinquishing land to the nationalists.

Continue reading...

Hong Kong to test entire population of 7.5m for Covid in March

Posted on by

Carrie Lam announces mandatory mass testing as virus surge threatens to overwhelm healthcare system

The entire population of nearly 7.5 million people in Hong Kong will have to undergo mandatory Covid-19 testing in March, the city’s leader has announced, as the territory grapples with its worst outbreak, driven by the Omicron variant.

Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, said the population would be tested three times in March, and the territory’s testing capacity would be boosted to 1 million a day or more. “Since we have a population of some 7 million people, testing will take about seven days,” she said.

Continue reading...

Canada extends emergency powers after trucker blockades ended

Posted on by

Prime minister Justin Trudeau says situation ‘still fragile’ after biggest police operation in nation’s history

Canadian lawmakers have voted to extend the federal government’s emergency powers, granting the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, powerful tools to prevent new blockades by those opposed to Covid-19 restrictions.

Despite opposition from rival Conservatives and legal challenges to the decision from civil rights groups, experts expect the decision will have little lasting damage for Trudeau.

Continue reading...

UK will ‘barrage’ Russia with sanctions, warns Boris Johnson – video

Posted on by

Boris Johnson has claimed Russia is bent on a 'full-scale invasion of Ukraine' and said the UK would immediately impose economic sanctions.

Speaking after a 6.30am Cobra meeting, the prime minister said the UK was prepared to continue ratcheting up measures

Continue reading...

‘This is historic’: pro-choice campaigners celebrate legal abortion in Colombia – video

Posted on by

Pro-choice supporters danced outside Colombia's constitutional court in downtown Bogotá, the capital, after it decriminalised abortion during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Judges ruled five against four to decriminalise the procedure in the South American country after rulings in Mexico and Argentina also lowered barriers to abortion.

Anti-abortion protesters demonstrated against the ruling

Continue reading...

Kenya to use solar panels to boost crops by ‘harvesting the sun twice’

Posted on by

Successful trials found growing crops beneath panels – known as agrivoltaics – reduced water loss and resulted in larger plants

Solar panels are not a new way of providing cheap power across much of the African continent, where there is rarely a shortage of sunshine. But growing crops underneath the panels is, and the process has had such promising trials in Kenya that it will be deployed this week in open-field farms.

Known as agrivoltaics, the technique harvests solar energy twice: where panels have traditionally been used to harness the sun’s rays to generate energy, they are also utilised to provide shade for growing crops, helping to retain moisture in the soil and boosting growth.

Continue reading...

‘Shoot them’: Indian state police accused of murdering Muslims and Dalits

Posted on by

Ahead of key Uttar Pradesh elections, state police accused of being ‘mercenaries’ of hardline Hindu nationalist government

According to police in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, it was suicide. The young Muslim man they had brought into their custody had, out of despair, killed himself in the police station toilets. But, as photos of the scene emerged, so too did suspicions.

The 22-year-old man, Altaf, was 165cm (5ft 5in) tall and weighed 60kg (9.5 stone), but the toilet tap he had supposedly hanged himself from was just 76cm off the ground and made of flimsy plastic. And why, as the police later claimed in court, was the CCTV in the police station mysteriously not working that day?

Family and friends tell a very different story: that Altaf, a Muslim man living in the town of Kasganj, was in love with and planned to marry a Hindu girl. That powerful local Hindu vigilante groups opposed to interfaith unions found out and reported him to the police. And that on 9 November 2021, Altaf was arrested and tortured to death in police custody and his family pressured to keep quiet.

Continue reading...

Colombia legalises abortion in move celebrated as ‘historic victory’ by campaigners

Posted on by

Colombia has decriminalised abortion during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, following rulings in Mexico and Argentina that improve access to abortion

Colombia has decriminalised abortion during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy, adding to a recent string of legal victories for reproductive rights in Latin America.

The South American country’s constitutional court ruled five against four to decriminalise the procedure on Monday evening. The decision follows a series of rulings in Mexico and Argentina that lowered barriers to abortion.

Continue reading...

Putin orders troops into eastern Ukraine on ‘peacekeeping duties’

Posted on by

Russian deployment follows decision to recognise territories in south-east will be viewed in Ukraine and by other western allies as an occupation

Vladimir Putin has ordered his military to enter the Russian-controlled areas of southeast Ukraine following a decision to recognise the territories as independent states.

The decision to dispatch his troops to perform “peacekeeping duties” will be viewed in Ukraine and by other western allies as an occupation of the region and likely trigger tough sanctions and a Ukrainian military response.

Continue reading...

‘Dumb and lazy’: the flawed films of Ukrainian ‘attacks’ made by Russia’s ‘fake factory’

Posted on by

Bellingcat founder Elliot Higgins says Russia’s propaganda films have got worse but that Russian viewers, especially the older generation, tend to believe fake TV footage

The video shows a ghostly scene. A night-time battle is taking place in a forest. There are flashes and mysterious bangs. An unidentified figure cries out in pain. The wounded man is wearing a helmet. Otherwise there are few clues as to where the footage was shot, or what exactly is going on.

A TV report by Russia’s state-run channel one gave the answer. The man seen in eerie silhouette was a Ukrainian saboteur, it said. He was part of a diversionary team sent across enemy lines into pro-Russian separatist territory. His mission? To blow up a local chlorine plant in the rebel-held town of Horlivka, the channel said.

Continue reading...

Putin’s absurd, angry spectacle will be a turning point in his long reign

Posted on by

This was a supreme leader marshalling his minions for a decision that will change the security architecture in Europe and may well lead to horrific war

Sitting alone at a desk in a grand, columned Kremlin room, Vladimir Putin looked across an expanse of parquet floor at his security council and asked if anyone wished to express an alternative opinion.

He was met with silence.

Continue reading...