Category Archives: World News

Khashoggi confidant Omar Abdulaziz: ‘I’m worried about the safety of the people of Saudi Arabia’

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The close associate of the journalist killed by the Saudi regime is determined to speak out in a new documentary, despite the arrest of family members

Not long before he was murdered, the journalist Jamal Khashoggi told his young friend Omar Abdulaziz two things that have subsequently never been far from his thoughts. The first was: “Never forget, your words matter.” And the second: “Be careful, this kind of work might get you killed.”

Omar Abdulaziz, 29, lives in exile in Montreal, Canada, where he has been, before and after Khashoggi’s death, among the most vocal critics of the Saudi regime that killed his friend. His words do matter – his tweets have been viewed nearly a billion times in the past year; he has an almost daily YouTube programme that has clocked up 45m views. And he is left in no doubt of their potential consequence: death threats are routine; both of his younger brothers and dozens of his friends have been arrested and imprisoned in Saudi Arabia in failed attempts to silence him.

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Trump ally Nunes sees CNN Ukraine lawsuit thrown out by New York judge

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  • California congressman sought $435m in damages
  • Story linked him to hunt for Biden dirt in Ukraine

A defamation lawsuit brought against CNN by the California Republican Devin Nunes, a leading ally of former president Donald Trump, was tossed out by a Manhattan judge on Friday.

Related: Icy blast of anti-Ted Cruz outrage shows little sign of abating

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Alexei Navalny loses appeal against Russian prison camp sentence

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Opposition figure appeals to Russians from court, saying ‘to live is to risk it all’

A Moscow court has rejected an appeal from Alexei Navalny that virtually guarantees the Russian opposition figure will be sent to a prison camp for two and a half years.

In a widely expected ruling, the judge upheld a decision to imprison Navalny by reversing a parole handed down in 2014 for embezzlement in a case Navalny said was politically motivated.

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‘If you wanted to design a virus dispersion hub, you could do worse’: the Cheltenham Festival, one year on

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It was one of the last major sporting events before Britain went into lockdown in March 2020. Racegoers recall a tense week and its aftermath

When the roar of 65,000 people greeted the first race of the third day, at 1.30pm on Thursday 12 March last year, Geoff Bodman was feeling just fine. The 56-year-old painter and decorator from Tremorfa in Cardiff, whose friends call him “Boddie”, had been going to the Cheltenham Festival every year for 25 years. He had paid £30 for a ticket to the affordable Best Mate enclosure, where he planned to have a punt on the horses and a day on the beer. The following morning he’d be back in Cardiff, getting on with a job painting the outside of a house.

The week before, Bodman and his wife Julie, who worked in a Cardiff care home, had cancelled their second wedding anniversary trip to Venice. They had been looking forward to it for months, but Italy had become a hot spot for the new coronavirus. “We didn’t want to take the risk. We lost money because easyJet wouldn’t repay us, but we played safe. We thought it wasn’t that bad in Britain.” According to government figures, there were 1,302 confirmed cases of Covid across the UK by 11 March; data from the Office for National Statistics later revealed that there had been 26 Covid deaths.

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New stars on the American flag? Fresh hope as Puerto Rico and DC push for statehood

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Five US territories float in constitutional limbo, but impetus is growing to put and end to a ‘fundamental democratic flaw’

One of the most powerful prosecutions of former US president Donald Trump last week came from Stacey Plaskett of the US Virgin Islands, the first delegate from an American territory to hold the position of impeachment manager.

Yet Plaskett’s status meant that she was unable to vote for Trump’s impeachment because she has no vote on the floor of the House of Representatives. The US Virgin Islands has no representation at all in the Senate. Its residents cannot even vote for president.

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US warns Beijing against using force in South China Sea

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State department concerned by new laws that authorise Chinese coastguard to use weapons against foreign ships

The United States has warned China against the use of force in disputed waters as it reaffirmed its view that Beijing’s assertive campaign in the South China Sea is illegal.

The state department voiced “concern” about new legislation enacted by China that authorises its coastguard to use weapons against foreign ships that Beijing considers to be unlawfully entering its waters.

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Texas storm: Biden to declare major disaster to secure federal aid – live

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Meanwhile, in New Mexico, a Democrat-led legislature has overturned a dormant 1969 ban on most abortion procedures.

History made. #SB10, affirming that decisions about abortion should remain with NM women, has passed both chambers of the #nmleg. Thank you to every New Mexican who has fought for this progress. #nmpol pic.twitter.com/OigA95YhMB

This November, you elected leaders to build a better future for all New Mexicans. Thank you to the voters, activists, and champions who fought for a New Mexico where abortion care is accessible for all. You made this win possible! #nmleg #SB10 #repealtheban pic.twitter.com/ltIrJ0ZFJv

Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia has already indicated that he would oppose Neera Tanden’s to be director of the Office of Management and Budget, in part because of combative statements she has made on Twitter.

New: Manchin is opposing Neera Tanden's nomination for OMB: "I believe her overtly partisan statements will have a toxic and detrimental impact on the important working relationship between members of Congress and the next director of the Office of Management and Budget."

OMB: Biden tells reporters he will not pull @neeratanden nomination, will find the votes for her

WH press secretary Jen Psaki: "Neera Tanden is an accomplished policy expert who would be an excellent Budget Director and we look forward to the committee votes next week and to continuing to work toward her confirmation through engagement with both parties."

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‘Something bit my butt’: Alaska woman using outhouse attacked by bear

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Shannon Stevens was treated with first aid kit after incident in which bear face was seen at at toilet seat level

An Alaska woman had the scare of a lifetime when using an outhouse in the backcountry and she was attacked by a bear, from below.

“I got out there and sat down on the toilet and immediately something bit my butt right as I sat down,” Shannon Stevens told the Associated Press. “I jumped up and I screamed when it happened.”

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Biden assures US allies he will reverse Trump’s policies and legacy

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President says US will have to work to earn back the trust of its allies in video remarks to the G7 and Munich Security Conference

Joe Biden has pledged “unshakable” US support for the transatlantic alliance in what he portrayed as an epoch-defining struggle to safeguard democracy.

Biden used his virtual debut on the world stage on Friday, in videoconference remarks first to the G7 and then the Munich Security Conference, to assure America’s allies of his determination to bury the legacy left by his predecessor.

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‘Marginalising our own brothers and sisters’: the disrespect Micronesia has been shown is a tragedy for the Pacific | Surangel Whipps Jr, President of Palau

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Micronesia had no choice to but to abandon the Pacific Islands Forum after being ‘thoroughly and publicly disregarded’, the President of Palau writes

What becomes of an organisation when it disregards one-third of its membership? What happens when “we” stops being inclusive?

As the eldest of four, I have always felt responsible for the safety, security, and well-being of my siblings. In my family, “I” has always been synonymous with “we”, the collective, being one inclusive family and ensuring no one is left out. This is what I understand to be the Palauan way; this is what I understand to be the Pacific Way.

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‘Joy and agony’: Christchurch earthquake survivors ten years on

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On 22 February, 2011, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit, killing 185 people. Those left behind have spent a decade coming to terms with the tragedy

Some likened it to a tornado, or an oncoming train; others remember registering not much more than a rumble before the roof caved in. At 12.51pm on Tuesday, 22 February 2011, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck the New Zealand city of Christchurch. In the devastation, 185 people died, and an entire city was scarred.

Ten years on, Christchurch remains forever changed. Though new layers to survivors’ trauma are still being revealed, in amongst them lies faith in other people, hope for the future – and astonishing resilience.

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United Nations asks UAE for proof that Princess Latifa is alive

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Request for information on Dubai ruler’s missing daughter follows release of secretly recorded messages

The UN has asked the United Arab Emirates for proof that the Dubai ruler’s daughter is still alive, after the release of secret messages she recorded this week claiming she was being held in captivity after the failure of a 2018 attempt to escape the emirate.

A spokesperson for Michelle Bachelet, the UN high commissioner for human rights, said on Friday that the UN had “expressed our concerns regarding the situation, in light of the disturbing videos which have surfaced this week. We have requested more information and clarification on the current situation.”

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‘We have no water’: Texans struggle after deadly winter storm – video report

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Millions of Texans are facing water shortages after a winter storm caused pipes to burst and treatment plants to back up. Officials ordered 7 million people – a quarter of the population of the nation’s second largest state – to boil tap water before drinking it. The storms have also left millions without power for days

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Sheikh Mohammed: disturbing glimpses beneath a refined public image

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Dubai ruler cultivates an image as a business visionary and poet, but haunting videos and court rulings offer a shadow biography

Three or four times each night, the child would rise from bed in sharp pain. Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the future ruler of Dubai, seemed to be the only one in the desert encampment so frequently awakened by scorpion bites.

He soon learned it was no coincidence. A tribal elder had been scattering the arachnids in the eight-year-old boy’s bed. It was both a lesson in desert survival – check your sleeping quarters for insects every night – and an inoculation. To this day, Sheikh Mohammed claims he is immune to scorpion venom.

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Covid: vaccinated Israelis to enjoy bars and hotels with ‘green pass’

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Mobile app inoculation certificate aims to help reopen economy, but privileges are untested and raise ethical questions

Israel is preparing itself to be split in half from next week, with the government creating a new privileged tier in society: the vaccinated.

Nearly 50% of the population who have chosen to be inoculated against Covid will be provided with a “green pass” a week after their second shot, as will those with presumed immunity after contracting the disease.

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Coronavirus live news: Ireland reports three cases of Brazilian variant; Italian police investigate fake vaccines

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New cases related to recent travel from Brazil; Italian official says he was offered 27m doses of vaccine

Argentina’s health minister has been asked to resign after a well-known local journalist said he had been given the vaccine preferentially after requesting one from the minister.

A government official said that the Argentinian president, Alberto Fernandez, “instructed his chief of staff to request the resignation of the health minister”.

The scandal erupted when journalist Horacio Verbitsky, whose stories and columns on a website and on the radio are seen as pro-government, said he called the minister to request a vaccination, and Gonzalez Garcia summoned him to the health ministry where he received a Sputnik V vaccine shot Thursday.

“I decided to get vaccinated. I started to find out where to do it. I called my old friend Gines Gonzalez Garcia, whom I have known long before he was a minister,” Verbitsky told a local radio station.

After demonstrations in Gabon’s two major cities, the president has said two people have died as the protest degenerated into a street standoff, Reuters reports.

Security forces fired teargas and stun grenades in neighbourhoods in Libreville and Port Gentil that had put up barricades, banged pots and burned tyres.

The new 6 pm measure is harsh and thoughtless,” law student Sarah Lewoubi said on Friday.

She added that most Gabonese workers and students, who don’t have cars, struggle to get home before the curfew hour.

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Digested week: the soundtrack of this pandemic is teeth grinding

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Bruxism is now so severe that some patients can grind down with a 100kg force

Virus numbers are down in New York, while the positivity rate remains high – hovering at 8% – bringing new safety guidelines from the Centres for Disease Control. If you can’t find an N95-grade mask, says the CDC, try double-masking: putting a cloth mask over a disposable medical one, with a wire pin to close the gap over your nose.

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Colombia tribunal reveals at least 6,402 people were killed by army to boost body count

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The killings, which took place between 2002 and 2008, were declared combat kills in order to boost statistics in war with rebel groups

A special peace tribunal in Colombia has found that at least 6,402 people were murdered by the country’s army and falsely declared combat kills in order to boost statistics in the civil war with leftist rebel groups. That number is nearly three times higher than the figure previously admitted by the attorney general’s office.

The killings, referred to in Colombia as the “false positives scandal”, took place between 2002 and 2008, when the government was waging war against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (or Farc), a leftist guerrilla insurgency, which ultimately made peace with the government in 2016. Soldiers were rewarded for the manipulated kill statistics with perks, including time off and promotions.

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