Editor Brian Harrod Provides Comprehensive up-to-date news coverage, with aggregated news from sources all over the world from the Roundup Newswires Network
International Civil Aviation Organization to hold ‘exceptional session’ as governments rush to deter copycat incidents
A speedy investigation into the “hijacking” by Belarus of Ryanair flight FR4978 is expected to be launched following an emergency meeting of the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization on Thursday, as governments rush to deter copycat incidents.
The 36-member council of the ICAO, based in Montreal, will hold an “exceptional session” to “share and review the latest information available, and discuss” the forced grounding of the aircraft in Minsk, a spokesperson said.
EU citizens stopped by Border Force officers tell of being fingerprinted, detained and treated ‘like criminals’
EU tourists coming to the UK have told of being fingerprinted, detained and treated like liars by border officials before trying to travel through the Channel tunnel or by ferry at Calais.
Sergio D’Alberti, a 51-year-old Italian hotel manager currently out of work due to the Covid pandemic, told the Guardian he was held for seven hours at the French port after UK Border Force officials concluded he would be a potential drain on the benefits system.
French president says his country bears a responsibility for hundreds of thousands of deaths, but was not complicit
France bears a “terrible responsibility” for the deaths of hundreds of thousands in the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, President Emmanuel Macron has said, in a long-anticipated speech in Kigali, the capital of the east African country.
Speaking at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, where 250,000 victims of the massacres are buried, Macron said that France had not been complicit in the tragedy but had made errors of judgment that had appalling consequences.
Supermarket says it will investigate report on forced labour in Tamil Nadu garment chain and ensure improvements are made
Tesco said it has found labour abuses in its garment supply chain in southern India after receiving evidence of widespread forced labour involving migrant women in cotton spinning-mills across Tamil Nadu.
The supermarket said that one of its supply chains is linked to a spinning mill included in a new report by NGOs Somo and Arisa that found evidence across the region of multiple labour abuses including deception, intimidation and threats towards vulnerable female workers, abusive working and living conditions and excessive overtime.
UN chief says Israel attacks on Gaza could constitute war crimes and accuses Hamas of firing indiscriminate rockets
The UN’s main human rights body is to meet to discuss launching an investigation into “systematic discrimination and repression” in Israel and Palestine, with the aim of identifying what it said were the root causes of recent Gaza bloodshed.
A draft proposal that calls for unprecedented levels of scrutiny of alleged abuses, called at the request of Muslim states, will be put before the 47-member UN human rights council on Thursday.
US trade representative announced plans to sue as Canadian officials face growing tensions with US
After a tumultuous four years living next door to Donald Trump, many Canadians had hoped that relations with their closest neighbour would mend under Joe Biden. The former president had slapped tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, threatened levies on the automotive sector, and called the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, “two-faced”.
But in recent weeks, Canadian officials have faced growing tensions with the US under Biden as leaders on both sides confront domestic political challenges.
A blaze ripped through the overcrowded settlement of Susan’s Bay in Freetown in March, injuring hundreds. British photographer Henry Kamara, of Sierra Leone descent, documents the aftermath in this coastal community as people try to rebuild their lives
Joe Biden has ordered the US intelligence community to 'redouble' its efforts studying the origins of coronavirus, adding that it will continue to press for China to participate in a full investigation. The deputy White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, confirmed the investigation would include any possibility the trail might lead to a Chinese lab. 'China wasn't transparent enough,' she said. 'We have been saying that for a very long time, that China needed to provide more access to the lab, cooperate more fully with the scientific investigators'
In a ruling heavily critical of President Uhuru Kenyatta, five judges said he had no authority to bring forward plans to create more executive positions and parliamentary constituencies.
France’s average daily number of new Covid-19 cases fell to its lowest level since mid-September while the number of people being treated for the virus in hospital continued to decline, official data showed on Wednesday.
The daily figure, averaged out over seven days, fell below 10,000, down from a 2021 high of over 42,000 in mid-April.
Good evening from London. I’m Lucy Campbell, I’ll be bringing you all the latest global developments on the coronavirus pandemic for the next few hours. Please feel free to get in touch with me as I work if you have a story or tips to share! Your thoughts are always welcome.
President received analysis of origins and asked for follow-up in 90 days
Senate Republicans want to lower cost of $1.7tn infrastructure proposal
Deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about the White House’s response to the shooting this morning at a railyard in San Jose, California.
“Our hearts go out to the victims and their families,” Jean-Pierre said. “There is an ongoing investigation, as we all know. We will continue to stay in close contact with them and offer any assistance as needed.”
BREAKING: At least eight people are confirmed dead after the mass shooting at a San Jose rail yard, in addition to the suspected shooter, police say https://t.co/BuWF2htFwfpic.twitter.com/ksGRW3gXSx
One reporter asked Karine Jean-Pierre to reflect on her history-making appearance at the White House briefing room podium today.
“It’s a real honor to just be standing here today. I appreciate the historic nature” of this moment, the deputy White House press secretary said.
Karine Jean-Pierre — the second Black woman to ever lead a White House press briefing — speaks about making history in her role: "It is a real honor to be standing here today. I appreciate the historic nature...Clearly, the president believes representation matters." pic.twitter.com/ErdayRW4VR
For nearly two months, the Polynesian island nation of Samoa has been in the grips of a political crisis after one of the most dramatic elections in the country’s history. After a supreme court intervention, a parliamentary lockout and a swearing-in ceremony unlike any other, two groups continue to claim they are the legitimate government of Samoa. Reporter Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson explains what led to this crisis, and the dire implications of this for the people of Samoa
Police say ‘multiple injuries and multiple fatalities’ and say suspect among dead after shooting at railyard in California city
Police reported multiple fatalities and injuries after gunfire erupted early on Wednesday morning at a light rail maintenance yard in San Jose, California.
A Santa Clara county sheriff’s spokesman, Deputy Russell Davis, said he could not specify the number of fatalities and injuries, but said that the suspect was confirmed to be among the dead.
Analysis: left-of-centre parties struggle to cut through as survey shows ‘everyone thinks they are middle class’
It is a country with levels of wealth inequality more similar to the United States than France, and one where the richest 10% of the population already owned two thirds of the national wealth before the pandemic further widened the gap.
Yet the inequality of German society and how to fix it is likely to play a minor role in the race to September elections this year, with those parties expected to offer solutions – the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the leftwing Die Linke – struggling in the polls.
European countries begin to block flights from Minsk, with flight to Barcelona turned around at Polish border
Alexander Lukashenko has made his first public remarks defending his grounding of a Ryanair flight last week, accusing the west of launching a “hybrid modern war” against Minsk and calling the backlash over the incident a “planned provocation”.
Addressing a session of parliament, Lukashenko also appeared to suggest the plane could have been shot down because it was flying over a nuclear power plant when it was diverted by the Belarusian government, which appeared to have concocted a bomb threat and scrambled a Mig-29 to ensure the plane landed.
Investigators examining letter from group claiming to be behind fire at Grünheide ‘Gigafactory’ site
German police are investigating whether a fire that broke out overnight at the construction site of Tesla’s first European Gigafactory had a political motive, after far-left activists claimed responsibility.
The fire at the site in Grünheide in the eastern state of Brandenburg early on Wednesday morning damaged several power cables, said a spokesperson for the LKA state criminal investigation office.
Aide of the vice-president who led last year’s coup claims both leaders have stood down while in detention
Mali’s interim president and prime minister have reportedly “resigned”, two days after they were arrested by the military in a widely condemned coup, according to an aide to the military-appointed interim vice-president.
Both civilian leaders, the president, Bah Ndaw, and the prime minister, Moctar Ouane, remained under military arrest on Wednesday in the Kati army base, outside the Malian capital Bamako, amid widespread international condemnation and promises of sanctions.
Analysis: Raman Pratasevich and Sofia Sapega are just the latest to be forced into the widespread tactic
The videos are formulaic: Raman Pratasevich and his girlfriend, Sofia Sapega, each sit alone in front of a camera in a police station and deliver their “confessions” as though a loaded gun is pointed at their heads.
“I’m also the editor of the Telegram channel Black Book of Belarus that publishes personal information about employees of the interior ministry,” said Sapega, quickly repeating a memorised statement in a video released late on Tuesday that could lead to years in jail.