Category Archives: World News

Greek police arrest Dutch journalist for helping Afghan asylum seeker

Posted on by

Ingeborg Beugel was detained for ‘facilitating the illegal stay of a foreigner’ and faces up to a year in jail

A Dutch journalist based in Greece has been arrested on the Greek island of Hydra for hosting an Afghan asylum seeker in her home and could face up to a year in prison if charged and convicted.

Ingeborg Beugel, 61, a freelance correspondent for Dutch media who has lived on Hydra for almost 40 years, was arrested on 13 June accused of “facilitating the illegal stay of a foreigner in Greece”. The charge carries a 12-month prison sentence and a fine of €5,000 (£4,300).

Continue reading...

Burkina Faso says most of attackers in village massacre were children

Posted on by

More than 130 people were killed in attack carried out by mostly by children as young as 12

A massacre in north-east Burkina Faso in which more than 130 people were killed this month was carried out mostly by children between the ages of 12 and 14, the country’s government and the UN have said.

Assailants raided the village of Solhan on the evening of 4 June, opened fire on residents and burned homes. It was the worst attack in years in an area plagued by jihadists linked to Islamic State and al-Qaida.

Continue reading...

Britain acknowledges surprise at speed of Russian reaction to warship

Posted on by

Kremlin summons UK ambassador as Boris Johnson says HMS Defender’s deployment ‘wholly appropriate’

British officials acknowledged they were taken by surprise by the speed of the Russian reaction to HMS Defender’s 36-minute passage through Crimean waters on Wednesday as the British ambassador to Moscow was summoned to the Kremlin.

Although a Russian response to the Royal Navy warship’s passage within the 12-mile territorial limit was anticipated, the UK Ministry of Defence did not expect the Kremlin to speedily declare that warning shots had been fired.

Continue reading...

Rich countries ‘deliberately’ keeping Covid vaccines from Africa, says envoy

Posted on by

Questions raised over failure of Covax scheme to provide promised doses to the continent

African Union special envoy Strive Masiyiwa has accused the world’s richest nations of deliberately failing to provide enough Covid-19 vaccines to the continent.

Masiyiwa, the union’s special envoy to the African vaccine acquisition task team, said the Covax scheme had failed to keep its promise to secure production of 700 million doses of vaccines in time for delivery by December 2021.

Continue reading...

Japan’s emperor voices concern about Covid spread during Olympics

Posted on by

Naruhito said to be ‘extremely worried’ and shares widespread public unease over the Games

Japan’s emperor has voiced concern over the possible spread of coronavirus during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, in an unexpected intervention in the debate over holding the Games in the middle of a pandemic.

Naruhito, who ascended the Chrysanthemum throne in 2019 after his father, Akihito, abdicated, said he shared widespread public concern about the Games, which open in a month’s time.

Continue reading...

Violence towards refugees at Libyan detention centres forces MSF to pull out

Posted on by

Medical charity says abuse and attacks have escalated as more migrants are intercepted at sea and camps become increasingly overcrowded

Increasing violence towards refugees and migrants held in Libyan detention centres has forced Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to suspend its operations at two facilities, the medical charity said.

MSF said its teams witnessed guards beating detainees, including those seeking treatment from MSF doctors, during a visit to the Mabani detention centre in Tripoli last week.

Continue reading...

Water of death: how arsenic is poisoning rural communities in India

Posted on by

‘A crisis is brewing’, experts warn, with contaminated water exposing villagers to increased risk of cancer and affecting children’s brain development

Nine members of Pankaj Rai’s family have died from cancer over the past 20 years. But the 25-year-old farmer from Bihar only found out their deaths were likely a result of arsenic poisoning when his father got sick.

In 2017, Pankaj took his father, Ganesh Rai, to the Mahavir Cancer Institute & Research Centre in Patna. Ganesh had stage 4 kidney cancer. But Dr Arun Kumar, a scientist at the institute, identified the severe skin lesions on his body as signs of arsenic poisoning.

Continue reading...

Magic Johnson: the NBA superstar who smashed HIV stigma – then built a huge fortune

Posted on by

He stunned basketball fans and transformed HIV awareness by announcing his diagnosis in 1991. Thirty years on, he discusses his relationship with Anthony Fauci, the meaning of money and why he’s still optimistic

On 7 November 1991, a press conference in Inglewood, California, brought America to a standstill. Against a black-draped backdrop, dressed in a black suit, white shirt and multicoloured tie, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, spoke calmly into a single microphone and told the world that he had been diagnosed with HIV.

Cameras flashed and reporters clamoured to ask questions, but Johnson, National Basketball Association (NBA) superstar and one of the world’s most revered athletes, appeared unfazed as he announced his immediate retirement. Had he grappled with his own mortality? When had he found out? How had he acquired the virus? What would he do next?

Continue reading...

‘A haven for free-thinkers’: Pakistan creatives mourn loss of progressive arts space

Posted on by

‘Tragic’ closure of Sabeen Mahmud’s community venue T2F in Karachi comes as PM Imran Khan accused of fostering censorship and intolerance

Danial Shah turned to Sabeen Mahmud, for help with his first photo exhibition when all other organisations refused to show his work. Shah’s photographs cover political and cultural issues, such as local elections and women’s rights. Some refused to work with him on political grounds, while others did not reply at all.

After a meeting at Mahmud’s community space, T2F, in Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest city, she agreed to host his exhibition. But Mahmud, a 40-year-old human rights activist who oversaw a programme of progressive arts at T2F, did not get to see Shah’s first exhibition. She was murdered a few months after their meeting.

Continue reading...

Jacinda Ardern’s global news presence was a powerful weapon – until it wasn’t | Danyl Mclauchlan

Posted on by

The international media’s adulation of the New Zealand prime minister has complicated her challenges at home

Jacinda Ardern rarely repeats her mistakes. When she rose to power in 2017 New Zealand’s newly elected prime minister became a subject of fascination for progressives around the world; they regarded her as a kind of avatar of anti-Trumpism; a symbol of resistance to rightwing populism. This fascination intensified when she announced her pregnancy in early 2018. It grew again in the wake of the 15 March terror attack in 2019. She was praised as a beacon of hope; her image projected on to the side of the Burj Khalifa. The flattering media profiles multiplied.

Initially, Ardern leaned into this. New Zealand is small and remote – publishers of international maps forget we’re down here. So we’re often flattered when distance looks our way. Someone noticed we exist! Ardern’s international coverage was picked up by local media, delivering coverage the prime minister’s competitors couldn’t possibly match. Her global news presence was a deliberate strategy and a powerful weapon.

Continue reading...

UK-Russian naval dispute: both sides will claim victory

Posted on by

Analysis: Royal Navy ship sailing near Crimea may also be test of Beijing reaction to territorial reach

British ministers will have been under no illusions that the decision to sail HMS Defender into disputed waters off the coast of Russian-annexed Crimea would provoke a reaction from the Kremlin.

A dispute about whether warning shots were fired or not is beside the point – although if they were, they were miles out of range. Because even if the west considers Crimea, annexed by Moscow in 2014, to be still part of Ukraine, the Russians do not and will act accordingly.

Continue reading...

Kamala Harris to visit US-Mexico border for first time as vice-president – live

Posted on by

Rising homicide rates and gun violence has become a major issue in local political races, including in the New York mayoral primary elections.

For Joe Biden, rising concern about crime has proved to be a politically convenient opportunity for him to boost gun control reforms he touted as a candidate. But the president’s wide-ranging policy proposals are sure to divide Democrats.

We can't let legitimate concerns about shootings and homicides undermine momentum to overhaul law enforcement. We can't repeat the mistakes of the past and think that we can arrest our way out of rising gun violence. https://t.co/0ifVpEJCFE

Biden is speaking at the White House to explain his administration’s plans to address crime and gun trafficking.

My colleague David Smith is covering the event live:

Joe Biden: “Crime historically rises during the summer.” As we open after the pandemic; the summer spike might be higher than usual. pic.twitter.com/XfWoQ0JGQd

Continue reading...

Seven Greek Orthodox bishops hurt in acid attack by priest

Posted on by

Priest undergoing disciplinary hearing in Athens is suspected of attack that put clerics in hospital

Seven bishops from the Greek Orthodox Church have been hurt in an acid attack by a priest undergoing a disciplinary hearing in Athens, police said.

Three of the bishops were still in hospital following the attack late on Wednesday, while a police officer who was at the scene was also being treated, police added. Local media in Greece reported that those attacked had suffered burns, mostly on their faces.

Continue reading...

Belgian police hold man ‘99 or 100 years old’ over retirement home death

Posted on by

Elderly man detained on suspicion of killing fellow resident in Destelbergen

Belgian authorities have detained an elderly man, reportedly 99 or 100 years old, on suspicion of killing a fellow resident of the retirement home where he lived, the Belga press agency has said.

No details of the fatal assault which took place on Monday were immediately available, but the Ghent prosecutor’s office confirmed in a statement that a resident of the home was in custody.

Continue reading...

Royal Navy ship off Crimea sparks diplomatic row between Russia and UK

Posted on by

MoD and Moscow disagree over whether shots were fired at destroyer near disputed territory

Britain was unexpectedly embroiled in a diplomatic and military dispute with Russia on Wednesday after Royal Navy destroyer HMS Defender briefly sailed through territorial waters off the coast of the disputed territory of Crimea.

The warship sailed for about an hour in the morning within the 12-mile limit off Cape Fiolent on a direct route between the Ukrainian port of Odesa and Georgia, prompting Russian complaints and a disagreement about whether warning shots were fired.

Continue reading...

French state sued for ‘failing to protect’ woman who killed rapist husband

Posted on by

Lawyers say Valérie Bacot, on trial for murder, is victim of authorities’ gross negligence

Lawyers representing a woman who killed her stepfather turned husband after 24 years of violence that started when he raped her at 12 are taking legal action against the French state for “gross negligence” after claims the authorities failed to act on reports she was being abused.

Valérie Bacot’s defence team said a summons for liability had been filed with the Paris tribunal. Her lawyers point out that her children twice went to the police to report their father – who was Bacot’s stepfather – for abusing her but no action was taken.

Continue reading...

Brazil police use teargas and rubber bullets against indigenous protesters

Posted on by

• Three protesters injured and three police hit by arrows

• Congress mulls diluting protection for indigenous territories

Riot police have fired teargas and rubber bullets at indigenous activists protesting outside Brazil’s congress against new legislation that would undermine legal protections for indigenous territories, and open them up to commercial agriculture and mining.

Thick clouds of teargas enveloped the demonstrators, including children and the elderly, as police attempted to clear the camp in Brasília on Tuesday where they have been protesting for the past two weeks.

Continue reading...

Libya talks set December date for national elections

Posted on by

Conference in Berlin also calls for phased withdrawal of all foreign forces from the country

Foreign powers and Libya’s new interim government of national unity have called for nationwide elections on 24 December and the phased withdrawal of all foreign forces, starting with some mercenaries in a matter of days.

There are thought to be as many as 20,000 foreign fighters in the country on both sides of its civil war, including Syrians under Turkish control, Turkish government forces, Russians in the Wagner Group and Sudanese forces.

Continue reading...

Riot police use teargas on indigenous protesters for land rights in Brazil – video

Posted on by

Riot police used teargas and rubber bullets to disperse a group of indigenous people protesting on Tuesday outside Brazil's Congress against a bill that lawmakers were about to debate that would undermine the recognition of protected reservation lands. The bill, known as PL 490 and backed by Brazil's powerful farm caucus in Congress, seeks to open up protected indigenous lands to commercial agriculture and mining

Continue reading...

Freed Catalan leader calls on Spain to ‘think about future generations’

Posted on by

Jordi Cuixart and eight others have left prison after being pardoned for their roles in the failed independence bid in 2017

The head of one of Catalonia’s biggest pro-independence groups has urged the Spanish government to think about “future generations and not just parliamentary stability” as he and eight other separatist leaders were released from prison after being pardoned for their roles in the failed bid to secede almost four years ago.

Jordi Cuixart, the president of the influential grassroots association Òmnium Cultural, said he was pleased to be free after serving more than three and a half years of a nine-year sentence for sedition.

Continue reading...