Category Archives: World News

Raab: pace of Taliban takeover ‘caught everyone by surprise’ – video

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Britain will use all the means at its disposal, including sanctions and diplomacy, to hold the Taliban to account in Afghanistan, foreign secretary Dominic Raab said.

In his first public appearance since the crisis began, Raab said that 'everyone was caught by surprise by the pace and the scale of the Taliban takeover', in which Kabul fell to the Islamist group over the weekend. Britain, which had initially committed 600 members of the armed forces to evacuate British nationals and former British staff, will shortly have 900 troops in Kabul.

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Polish appeals court overturns ruling against Holocaust historians

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Case has raised questions about freedom to research Poland’s wartime past

A Polish appeals court has overturned a ruling against two leading Holocaust historians accused of defamation, in a closely watched case that raised questions about the freedom to research Poland’s second world war past.

The civil case was brought against Prof Barbara Engelking and Prof Jan Grabowski for a book they co-edited about the complicity of Catholic Poles in the genocide of Jews during Nazi Germany’s occupation of Poland.

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Cooling consumerism could save the climate | Letters

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Bill Kingdom says the battle against Covid provides lessons in how to cut consumption to ease global warming. Plus letters from Sue Dalley, David Hughes and Dave Hunter

In Adam Tooze’s article (By pushing for more oil production, the US is killing its climate pledges, 13 August), he surmised that economic activity and fossil fuel consumption are hardwired together. It may be more that economic activity and energy consumption are hardwired together – and thus the need to move to renewables or low-carbon energy sources. That must be part of the strategy, along with as yet unavailable technical solutions such as carbon capture.

However, we seem to tiptoe around the consumption part of any strategy. Lower consumption results in lower carbon emissions. The government has managed to exert strong influence over personal actions during the Covid pandemic using a myriad of three-word slogans. We need a similar push linked to consumption and climate change.
Bill Kingdom
Oxford

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Japan’s economy bounces back as Covid restrictions ease

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Economic output defies expectations to expand in Q2 – but analysts warn of contraction risk

Japan’s economy recovered strongly in the second quarter to join the turnaround seen across G7 countries as the easing of lockdown restrictions sent consumers rushing to the shops.

Beating the expectations of City analysts, the world’s third largest economy also capitalised on global trade’s return to health with a surge in exports.

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China, Pakistan and Russia set to increase Afghanistan influence

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Analysis: three countries have all signalled a readiness to engage with Taliban authorities to some degree

Regional powers will see their influence increase dramatically in Afghanistan as the US executes a hasty, haphazard withdrawal and the Taliban return to power after 20 years.

Russia, Pakistan and China have all signalled a readiness to transition smoothly into engaging with Taliban authorities with varying levels of enthusiasm.

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Who are the Taliban and how will they govern Afghanistan this time?

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After their lightning conquest, there is little to indicate the group will moderate their strict Islamic beliefs

The Taliban were born out of the mujahideen fighters who opposed the Russians during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which began in 1979. Founded by Mullah Mohammad Omar, a local imam in Kandahar, in 1994, they were initially formed of a small group of madrassa students who were angry at the depredations of the warlords in the civil war that followed the Soviet withdrawal in 1989. Their influence rapidly spread over the following two years.

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UK academic sues university after losing role in critical race theory row

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Aysha Khanom claims discrimination after Leeds Beckett accused her of using ‘racist language’ in tweets

An academic is suing Leeds Beckett University after she was dropped from her advisory role over tweets calling a mixed-race man a “house negro”, alleging the decision was discriminatory because of her belief in critical race theory and Black radicalism.

The university ended its association with the academic adviser Aysha Khanom after accusing her of “racist language” in relation to tweets using the terms “house negro” and “coconut” – the former in a question.

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Afghans climb on to plane during takeoff in attempt to flee Taliban – video

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Desperate Afghans clung to the side of a moving US military plane leaving Kabul airport on Monday, with at least three people apparently falling to their deaths from the undercarriage immediately after takeoff. Video footage shows hundreds of people running alongside the plane as it moves along the runway of Kabul international airport. A number of people hang on to the side of the C-17A aircraft, just below the wing. Others run alongside waving and shouting

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‘The world abandoned us’: desperate Afghans try to escape Taliban – video report

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Thousands of Afghans and foreign nationals have surged on to the tarmac at Kabul airport trying to get a place on a flight out of the country, amid chaotic scenes that unfolded as the Taliban took control of the city. Fearful that the Taliban may reimpose the brutal rule they enforced before 2001, Afghans are seeking ways out of the country, lining up at cash machines to withdraw their life savings

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Coronavirus live news: Japan set to extend state of emergency as Sydney records deadliest pandemic day

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Japan is reportedly set to extend it state of emergency in Tokyo and other regions while Sydney has reported seven deaths over the past 24 hours, its deadliest day of the pandemic so far

It’s Robyn Vinter here in the UK, taking over from Helen.

If you’re in lockdown and finding yourself increasingly grumpy and/or sluggish, Guardian Australia’s Alyx Gorman has investigated how you can best avoid “lockdown brain”:

Related: Forgetful, confused and a bit cranky? Here are some scientifically proven ways to lift your lockdown mood

That’s it from me, Helen Livingstone, I’m handing over to my UK colleague Robyn Vinter.

Here’s a brief rundown of what’s been happening so far:

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Kabul falls to the Taliban as thousands of Afghans try to flee – video report

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The Taliban has declared that Afghanistan is under their control after they took over the presidential palace just hours after president Ashraf Ghani fled the country. The Islamist militants encountered no resistance as they took back power two decades after they were overthrown by a US-led invasion. Chaotic scenes erupted at Hamid Karzai International Airport with thousands flooding the tarmac desperate the get a flight out of the country.

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‘Hidden pandemic’: Peruvian children in crisis as carers die

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With 93,000 children in Peru losing a parent to Covid, many face depression, anxiety and poverty

When Covid-19 began shutting down Nilda López’s vital organs, doctors decided that the best chance of saving her and her unborn baby was to put her into a coma.

Six months pregnant, López feared she would not wake up, or that if she did, her baby would not be there.

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New Zealand to deploy troops to aid citizens’ evacuation from Afghanistan

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Jacinda Ardern said New Zealand would also attempt to evacuate Afghan nationals who worked with the country

New Zealand is racing to get its remaining citizens out of Afghanistan, and will deploy troops to assist with their evacuation after the Taliban swept to power overnight.

Prime minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday that the country would also try to evacuate a number of Afghan nationals and their families who worked with the New Zealand deployments or in-country operations, many of whom are now in hiding and fear they will be targeted by the Taliban.

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The world is making billions of Covid vaccine doses, so why is Africa not getting them? | Gordon Brown

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While western governments get ready to administer booster shots, millions in Africa are still completely unprotected

In a shocking symbol of the west’s failure to honour its promise of equitable vaccine distribution, millions of Covid vaccines manufactured in Africa that should have saved the lives of Africans have been shipped to Europe in recent weeks. Indeed, this month and next, I have learned from African leaders that about 10m single-shot Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccines filled and finished at the Aspen factory in South Africa will be exported to Europe, at the very time that Africa is grappling with its deadliest wave of Covid-19 infections yet.

Compared with the swift development of the pathbreaking Covid vaccines, getting shots into all the world’s arms should be straightforward. But vaccine nationalism – and Europe’s neocolonial approach to global health – is dividing the world into rich and protected people, who live, and those who are poor, unprotected and at risk of dying.

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Gordon Brown hits out at EU’s ‘neocolonial approach’ to Covid vaccine supplies

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Former UK prime minister calls on western leaders to convene summit to address Africa’s vaccine deficit

Gordon Brown has accused the EU of adopting a “neocolonial approach” to the supply of Covid-19 vaccines and demanded rich western nations relinquish their stranglehold on pandemic treatments.

The former UK prime minister has called on Joe Biden, Boris Johnson and Mario Draghi to convene a special summit to coincide with next month’s UN general assembly in New York to address Africa’s vaccine deficit.

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Afghanistan: western leaders react to Taliban takeover of Kabul – video

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Leaders from the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada have reacted to the news that the Taliban has begun taking control of Kabul after a 20-year mission to Afghanistan led by western countries. UK prime minister Boris Johnsons said, ‘we don't want anybody bilaterally recognising the Taliban’, while New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern said conversations over how the new regime is treated will be for some time in the future. US secretary of state Antony Blinken blamed ‘the inability of Afghan security forces to defend their country’ for the quick takeover while Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said he was ‘heartbroken’ at the news. Australian prime minister Scott Morrison said that fighting for freedom is ‘always worth it whatever the outcome.’ 

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‘You follow the government’s agenda’: China’s climate activists walk a tightrope

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The IPCC’s alarming report has Chinese environmentalists wondering how to push a government that brooks no criticism into taking more action

In the wake of the IPCC’s alarming warning last week that human induced climate change is affecting every corner of the planet, China’s environmental activists were left wondering what they could do to push their government into taking more action.

Having prioritised rapid economic development for decades, China is responsible for a long list of environmental disasters and concerns, and produces around a third of the world’s carbon emissions. It has made ambitious pledges to hit peak emissions by 2030 and be carbon neutral by 2060, but still drawn warnings that it may not be possible under their current trajectory.

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Simon Bridges’ memoir reveals the candid, funny, vulnerable person behind the stiff exterior | Steve Braunias

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After being ousted as New Zealand opposition leader, Simon Bridges has returned to himself – a likeable maverick

He walked in the door at the same time as my cat, which heightened the impression that he looked like something the cat dragged in. It was the day after Simon Bridges had been rolled as leader of the National Party. I’d sent him a friendly text and he replied that he was in my neck of the woods the next day so maybe a cup of tea might be in order. I put on the jug. The occasion deserved a whiskey or something, but neither of us are social drinkers, or even very social.

Related: Resolutions but no revolution as National ends its annual conference as divided as ever

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Chaos at Kabul airport as Taliban seize control of Afghan capital – video

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Crowds have packed the tarmac at Kabul airport in a bid to flee the Afghan capital as Taliban insurgents began taking over the city. Insurgents took control of the presidential palace. Al Jazeera showed footage of what it said were Taliban commanders in the palace with dozens of armed fighters. President Ashraf Ghani left Afghanistan. Many Afghans attempted the flee via road or via the airport. 

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