Category Archives: World News

‘Water warriors’: the US women banding together to fight for water justice

Posted on by

Women have been deeply embedded in the movement for clean water and sanitation for decades, which has become even more pressing amid the pandemic

Deanna Miller Berry first learned of the scores of complaints about Denmark, South Carolina’s water supply, during her 2017 mayoral campaign.

For at least a decade, residents of the rural, predominantly Black and lower-income town “knew something was happening” and tried to sound the alarm, said Berry. “A lot of folks [were] complaining that they were starting to get sick, hair loss and skin issues.”

Continue reading...

Oppression of journalists in China ‘may have been factor in Covid pandemic’

Posted on by

China placed 177th in Press Freedom Index, with warning that persecution of reporters can have international impact

Persecution of journalists in China may have contributed to the global coronavirus outbreak by stopping whistleblowers coming forward in the early days of the pandemic, according to the press freedom group Reporters Without Borders.

China ranks 177th out of 180 countries on the organisation’s annual Press Freedom Index, with the organisation warning that persecution of journalists in totalitarian regimes affects citizens in western democracies.

Continue reading...

Iranian activists at increasing risk in former haven Turkey

Posted on by

Five Iranians are in Turkish detention, the latest in an apparent wave of arrests and deportation orders

Iranian dissidents in Turkey are unsure whether the country is still a refuge after what appears to be a new wave of arrests and deportation orders targeting asylum seekers from the Islamic Republic.

Afshin Sohrabzadeh, 31, a Kurdish political activist, faced torture and solitary confinement during seven years in prison in Iran before he managed to escape during a hospital visit and flee across the border to Turkey in 2016, followed by his wife the following year.

Continue reading...

National MPs should stop their intrigues, changing the leadership won’t help right now | Liam Hehir

Posted on by

Judith Collins may trail badly in the polls, but MPs should only think about replacing her if a natural alternative leader emerges

Followers of baseball in the US have a saying: winning fixes everything. A team can suffer player scandals and be beset by dysfunctional management. If they’re hitting enough home runs, however, things don’t tend to fall apart.

The corollary of this would be that losing breaks everything. And while it’s a bit trite to compare sports to politics, New Zealand’s opposition National party resembles nothing if not a losing baseball team. Thumped in last year’s general election, conceding a rare absolute parliamentary majority to Jacinda Ardern’s Labour , nothing seems to have gone right for the party that was once called the natural party of government in New Zealand.

Continue reading...

Montana guide mauled to death in grizzly bear attack outside Yellowstone

Posted on by

Charles Mock, 40, died of scalp and facial wounds after managing to call 911 for help

A Montana backcountry guide has died after he was mauled by a large grizzly bear that was probably defending a nearby moose carcass just outside Yellowstone national park, officials said Monday.

Charles “Carl” Mock, 40, who lived in the park gateway community of West Yellowstone, died Saturday, two days after he was attacked while fishing alone in a forested area along the Madison River several miles north of West Yellowstone, said a Gallatin county sheriff’s office spokesperson, Christine Koosman.

Continue reading...

Armin Laschet to run as CDU/CSU candidate in German election

Posted on by

Rival Markus Söder concedes in race to succeed Angela Merkel but vote reveals deep rift in conservative alliance

Armin Laschet will run as the conservative candidate to succeed chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany’s elections in September, after the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) won the support of senior party figures and his rival Markus Söder dropped out of the race.

Related: Armin Laschet: is the conservative alliance pick ‘too nice’ to be Germany’s next chancellor?

Continue reading...

Greta Thunberg condemns vaccine inequality between rich and poor countries

Posted on by

Climate activist calls for governments and Covid vaccine developers to ‘step up their game’ to address vaccine nationalism

Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg has urged governments, vaccine developers and the world to “step up their game” to fight vaccine inequity after the richest countries bought up most Covid-19 vaccine doses and those in poorer nations have gone without.

Her comments on Monday came as the World Health Organization announced 5.2 million new confirmed virus cases over the latest week, the largest weekly count yet, according to the UN health agency.

Continue reading...

Derek Chauvin jury begins deliberations as America braces for verdict

Posted on by

The Derek Chauvin murder trial heard closing arguments on Monday before the jury began considering a verdict over the death of George Floyd that is anxiously awaited by millions of Americans.

Related: Daunte Wright and George Floyd: another chapter in America’s recurring tragedy

Continue reading...

Canada stimulus budget pledges funding for childcare and Covid-19 relief

Posted on by
  • Finance minister Chrystia Freeland seeks to slash deficit by 2025
  • ‘This budget is about finishing the fight against Covid’

Canada’s federal government has put childcare and Covid-19 relief at the heart of the country’s first pandemic budget, as the governing Liberals announced massive spending plans in an attempt to address growing inequality – and avert a snap election.

Delivering her government’s first budget in more than two years, the finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, on Monday framed the ambitious spending programme as both necessary to combat the disastrous “economic wounds” of the coronavirus pandemic and an opportunity to build a more equitable society.

Continue reading...

Morrissey hits back at The Simpsons over ‘hurtful and racist’ parody episode

Posted on by

Manager posts critical statement on singer’s behalf after Panic on the Streets of Springfield airs

The Simpsons has earned the wrath of Morrissey after it parodied the former Smiths frontman in an episode of the show.

The singer was satirised during the episode Panic on the Streets of Springfield, which aired in the US on Sunday night. In the episode, Lisa Simpson becomes obsessed with a fictional band called the Snuffs and befriends its frontman, Quilloughby.

Continue reading...

Judge orders two Proud Boys leaders held in custody over Capitol attack

Posted on by

Ethan Nordean and Joseph Biggs charged with conspiring to stop 2020 election certification and leading Proud Boys to Capitol

A federal judge has ordered two leaders of the far-right Proud Boys group to be detained in jail pending trial for their involvement in the 6 January attack on the Capitol in Washington DC.

Both were indicted in one of many Proud Boys conspiracy cases to stem from the investigation into the assault on the building that followed a pro-Donald Trump rally.

Continue reading...

France ‘did nothing to stop’ Rwanda genocide, report claims

Posted on by

Report by US law firm commissioned by Kigali says France bears ‘significant responsibility’ for deaths

France “bears significant responsibility” for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in the Rwandan genocide of 1994 because it remained “unwavering in its support” of its allies even though officials knew the slaughter was being prepared, a report commissioned by Kigali claims.

The accusation is the latest in the continuing dispute between Paris and the small east-African country over the role played there by France before and during the mass killings.

Continue reading...

Indian expansion of Covid vaccine drive may further strain supplies

Posted on by

All adults to be eligible from 1 May, making jab available to at least 400 million more people

India has announced it will soon open its vaccination programme to every adult in response to soaring Covid-19 infections – a measure that could further strain supplies in parts of the world reliant on Indian-made vaccines for their own campaigns.

From 1 May, Indian states will be free to administer doses to anyone aged older than 18, the central government announced on Monday as part of a package of policies to tackle a second wave that has overwhelmed hospitals and led to oxygen shortages across the country.

Continue reading...

Ontario shifts strategy as it scrambles to combat worsening Covid outbreak

Posted on by

Province announces plans to make coronavirus vaccines more accessible in response to public pressure

Canada’s most populous province has announced plans to make coronavirus vaccines more accessible and the federal government pledged emergency aid as authorities scramble to combat a worsening outbreak in Ontario.

The shift in strategy comes after the premier, Doug Ford, was forced into a U-turn over deeply unpopular new restrictions announced on Friday.

Continue reading...

Maxine Waters criticised by Republicans for Minneapolis remarks – video

Posted on by

The Democratic representative Maxine Waters has come under criticism from the Republican house minority leader, after she expressed support for protesters against police brutality at a rally on Saturday in Brooklyn Center, the Minneapolis suburb where Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, was shot and killed by police last week.

Waters said she would 'continue to fight in every way that I can for justice', prompting the Republican minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, to accuse Waters of 'inciting violence in Minneapolis'

Continue reading...

Thailand and Cambodia rush to halt waves of Covid cases

Posted on by

Two south-east Asian neighbours face a challenge after keeping infection numbers low last year

After managing to control the coronavirus for much of 2020, Thailand is battling a fresh outbreak of Covid-19, with officials setting up thousands of beds in field hospitals and warning the public to stay at home.

A cluster of Covid cases emerged in Bangkok’s nightlife venues last month, just before the Songkran new year holiday, when many Thais travel across the country to celebrate with their families. Following record daily increases last week, tighter measures were introduced from Sunday, including the closure of schools for two weeks. Bars have been shut, restaurants banned from serving alcohol and the opening hours of shopping malls have been reduced in areas such as Bangkok.

Continue reading...

Germany’s Greens name Annalena Baerbock as chancellor candidate

Posted on by

Robert Habeck tells party co-chair ‘the stage is all yours’ as CDU/CSU rivals squabble over candidate choice

Germany’s Green party has named its co-chair Annalena Baerbock as candidate for chancellor in autumn’s federal election, as the party rides high in the polls and the ruling conservative bloc squabbles over its own choice to succeed Angela Merkel.

Baerbock, 40, viewed as a tenacious, down-to earth centrist with an eye for detail, and an expert on climate change and how to tackle it, told a small party gathering she aimed to “make politics for society at large”. She described her candidacy as “an offer, an invitation to lead our diverse, prosperous, strong country into a good future”.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus live news: EU may not renew AstraZeneca contract; US widens vaccine rollout to over-15s

Posted on by

Commissioner says AstraZeneca only delivered 30m doses of 120m ordered; US expands vaccine eligibility to everyone aged 16 years and above

India will let all citizens aged over 18 get coronavirus vaccinations from May 1, the government said on Monday, as cases there surge to record highs.

Vaccine manufacturers will need to supply 50% of doses to the federal government and the rest to the state and the open market at a pre-declared price, the government said.

It come as new coronavirus cases in India reached more than 273,000 on Monday, a doubling of the peak of new infections during the country’s first wave in September last year, while Boris Johnson was forced to cancel his India trip due to the coronavirus situation.

You can read more on that story below:

Related: Boris Johnson cancels India trip due to Covid situation

Hi there, this is Rhi Storer taking over from Clea Skopeliti for the next hour. Please send your contributions to rhi.storer@guardian.co.uk, or alternatively, you can message me on Twitter.

Continue reading...

Derek Chauvin trial: defense and prosecution to make closing arguments – live

Posted on by

Court has just reconvened this morning in the case against Derek Chauvin. Closing arguments are expected to begin soon.

Jurors will begin deliberating when closings end. The judge in Chauvin’s case, Peter Cahill, is now giving jurors instructions on the law for when they start deliberating, such as how they are to weigh evidence.

Welcome back to our live coverage of the Derek Chauvin trial. Closing arguments in the murder case against the former Minneapolis police officer are scheduled to begin at 9am local time in Minneapolis.

Chauvin, a white former Minneapolis police department officer, faces charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the 25 May 2020 death of George Floyd. During an arrest, Chauvin pressed his knee against the neck of Floyd, who was Black, for nine minutes and 29 seconds.

Continue reading...

Environment protest being criminalised around world, say experts

Posted on by

More than 400 climate scientists sign letter that says activists are being targeted at pivotal time in fight against global heating

Peaceful environmental protesters are being threatened, silenced and criminalised in countries around the world including the UK and the US, according to some of the world’s leading climate scientists and academics.

More than 400 leading experts – including 14 authors from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – say that non-violent civil disobedience from groups like the school strikers, Extinction Rebellion and the Sunrise Movement have transformed the debate around the climate crisis in recent years.

Continue reading...