Category Archives: World News

Gaddafi’s prophecy comes true as foreign powers battle for Libya’s oil

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A showdown looms in the fight for control of the country – with Africa’s largest oilfields as the prize

In August 2011, as Libya’s rebels and Nato jets began an assault on Tripoli, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi delivered a speech calling on his supporters to defend the country from foreign invaders.

“There is a conspiracy to control Libyan oil and to control Libyan land, to colonise Libya once again. This is impossible, impossible. We will fight until the last man and last woman to defend Libya from east to west, north to south,” he said in a message broadcast by a pro-regime television station. Two months later, the dictator was dragged bleeding and confused from a storm drain in his hometown of Sirte, before being killed.

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Is this the beginning of the end for ‘Europe’s last dictator’?

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Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus faces threats from all sides as the country decides whether to give him a fifth term as president

Alexander Lukashenko is under pressure like never before. The past week has brought astonishing scenes in Belarus: an opposition rally hailed as the largest since the fall of the Soviet Union; the arrest of 33 Russian mercenaries allegedly sent to destabilise the country; and an admission from Lukashenko that after months of minimising the coronavirus epidemic, he had tested positive for the virus.

It is likely that the president, who has held power for 25 years, will claim victory in the 9 August elections and remain the country’s leader. But he is on the defensive, facing an energised opposition amid bitter spats with Russia over economic integration, and with the west over human rights. It is the most precarious moment of his career.

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‘Masks make us slaves’: thousands march in Berlin anti-lockdown protest – video

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Up to 17,000 people, including libertarians and anti-vaccination activists, have marched in Berlin to protest against Germany's coronavirus regulations. Many flouted guidance on wearing masks and physical distancing as they accused the government of 'stealing our freedom'.

While Germany had initial success in containing the virus, infections are rising and its R number has risen above one.

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Congress remains divided as expanded unemployment payments end – live

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Amid all the noise of an election involving Donald Trump – all the inflammatory tweets and shadowy Facebook posts – one set of ads has somehow managed to break through.

There’s the one of the US president shuffling down a ramp that declares that the president “is not well”. There’s the whispering one about Trump’s “loyalty problem” inside his White House, campaign and family.

Related: Could this anti-Trump Republican group take down the president?

Coronavirus cases remain high in Florida, one of the US hotspots for the virus. On Saturday, the state’s health department reported 9,591 new cases of the disease and 179 new deaths. It is the fifth day in a row the state has reported more than 9,000 new cases, although it is down from the recent period when more than 10,000 new daily cases were regularly reported.

Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration says 7,942 people are currently in hospital with the virus, down from the just over 8,000 people last weekend. Florida’s department of health says 7,022 people have now died from Covid-19 in the state.

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Coronavirus live news: cases continue to rise in France and Poland

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Vietnamese tourist hotspot of Da Nang to test entire city; Boris Johnson warns of second UK lockdown. Follow all the developments live

The airline and travel industry’s hopes of a recovery are crushed by new quarantine rules and travel restrictions amid a fresh wave of coronavirus infections in several countries, my colleague Rob Davies reports, as fed-up sun seekers are increasingly choosing to defer holiday decisions indefinitely rather than rebook for a later date.

Full report here:

Related: Holiday firms can’t get a break as quarantines crush faint recovery

Hello, I’m taking over from my colleague Aamna for the next few hours. Please feel free to message me with relevant updates or tips, you can get me on Twitter @JedySays or via email.

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Cubans bid farewell to Eusebio Leal Spengler, the saviour of Havana

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Much-loved citizen was born poor but went on to mastermind restoration of the island’s splendid capital

The old town of Havana has sheltered many famous faces over its 500 years, Alexander von Humboldt and Ernest Hemingway among them, but few more loved than Eusebio Leal Spengler, who died on Friday.

The city historian could be seen most days walking through the cobbled streets, past the fruit hawkers and musicians, passing under balconies strung with drying sheets. He would stop to talk to residents who knew him by sight, despite his understated manner and the grey guayabera shirt of the Cuban bureaucrat he favoured.

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Steve Bannon hails Dominic Cummings and predicts lurch to right for No 10

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Architect of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign reveals admiration for Boris Johnson’s aide in interview on dark politics

Steve Bannon, who has previously backed a range of notorious far-right political figures, has publicly endorsed Dominic Cummings for the first time, calling him a “brilliant guy”.

Donald Trump’s former chief strategist also said that Boris Johnson will become an increasingly populist prime minister after jettisoning his political positioning as a “globalist” to “opportunistically jump on Brexit”.

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Libyans fear regional war as rival powers vie for control, says envoy

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UN representative has two months to secure ceasefire but warns that risks are rising

The Libyan people are increasingly scared that their future is being taken out of their hands by external actors, and that the risk of a regional war is rising, Stephanie Williams, the acting UN special envoy for Libya, said on Saturday.

Williams said on a visit to London: “The Libyan people are exhausted and scared in equal measure. They are tired of war, and want peace, but they fear this is not in their hands now. They want a solution and a ceasefire. The alternative to a ceasefire and an inclusive political solution is essentially the destruction of their country.

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Sowing doubt: people around world receive mystery seed parcels

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Packages marked as ‘earrings’ spark biosecurity concerns and global investigations into origins

There is not much that Jan Goward does not grow in her small Eastbourne garden. “I grow everything,” she says. “I’ve got the exotics: the aubergines, the chillies …”

But some mystery seeds she received in the post this week – ostensibly from Singapore, and marked as stud earrings – will not be joining them.

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Kenyan tea workers file UN complaint against Unilever over 2007 ethnic violence

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Attacks following election at centre of ‘most serious known case of human rights abuse suffered by Unilever workers’

A group of 218 Kenyan tea plantation workers have filed a complaint with the UN against Unilever, alleging that the multinational violated international human rights standards by not adequately assisting its employees, who were attacked when ethnic violence broke out following a disputed election in 2007.

The workers say that Unilever, known in the UK for its PG Tips brand, breached its obligation to remediate any human rights abuses to which it has contributed, which is central to the UN’s guiding principles on business and human rights, and which the company has endorsed. They request the UN’s working group on business and human rights to make a declaration to this effect, and to call on the company to provide redress.

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China uses Hong Kong security law against US and UK-based activists

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  • Arrest warrant issued for campaigner and US citizen Samuel Chu
  • Britons also among those wanted for ‘incitement to secession’

Hong Kong police have issued arrest warrants for six pro-democracy activists living in exile, the first time the city’s authorities have used a sweeping new law to target campaigners living outside Hong Kong.

They include Samuel Chu, an American citizen who lives in the US, Nathan Law, a prominent campaigner who recently relocated to the UK after fleeing Hong Kong, and Simon Cheng, a former British consular staffer who was granted asylum in the UK after alleging he was tortured in China.

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Twitter hack: US and UK teens arrested over breach of celebrity accounts

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Three men charged in hack that saw accounts of Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Elon Musk compromised in bitcoin scam

Authorities have charged three men in a major Twitter breach this month that hacked the accounts of prominent politicians, celebrities and technology moguls to scam people around the globe out of more than $100,000 in bitcoin.

The suspects include a 19-year-old British man from Bognor Regis, a 22-year-old man from Orlando, Florida, and a teenager from Tampa, Florida.

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Hurricane Isaias drenches Bahamas as Florida braces for storm

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Storm expected to produce 4-8in of rain in Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands and remain hurricane for few days

Forecasters declared a hurricane watch for parts of the Florida coastline on Friday, as Hurricane Isaias drenched areas of the Bahamas devastated by Dorian last year, on track for the US east coast.

Isaias had maximum sustained winds of 75mph and was expected to remain a hurricane for a few days, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami.

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Free but restless, Behrouz Boochani takes tentative first steps into new life

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Kurdish Iranian journalist is adapting to quietness and isolation of New Zealand after six years of struggle

It’s the middle of the day in a sleepy, affluent suburb of Christchurch and Kurdish Iranian refugee Behrouz Boochani is burning lunch.

It has been seven months since he arrived in New Zealand and the subtleties of cooking elude his grasp – and interest. His large house down the road from the University of Canterbury has a bachelor-pad vibe. Books are stacked untidily on every surface, and two broken heaters sit on the floor beside a heat pump turned to max.

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Mexican president Amlo says he will wear mask ‘when there is no corruption’

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Andrés Manuel López Obrador has consistently avoided wearing a face mask to prevent the spread of coronavirus

Mexico’s president has said he will only wear a mask when the country eradicates corruption – a pledge made the day after Mexico surpassed the United Kingdom in total Covid-19 deaths.

Speaking to reporters on Friday morning, Andrés Manuel López Obrador said: “You know when I’m going to put on a mask? When there is no corruption. Then I’ll put on a mask and I’ll stop talking.”

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Fauci ‘cautiously optimistic’ US could have vaccine by end of the year

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  • Expert doubtful of fast-track efforts in Russia and China
  • Hearing sees testy exchanges between Fauci and Republicans

Dr Anthony Fauci, America’s top infectious disease expert, has told the US Congress he is “cautiously optimistic” that a “safe and effective” coronavirus vaccine will be available to the public by the end of 2020 during a hearing in Washington marked by testy exchanges between Fauci and senior Republicans loyal to Donald Trump.

Related: House hearing finds US no closer to plan as coronavirus is 'raging out of control' – live

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Pandemic and protests spur Americans to buy guns at record pace

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  • Sales picked up in June following initial spike in March
  • ‘All Americans should be concerned’ – gun control group

Fears over the Covid-19 pandemic, a perception of rising crime and worries over civil unrest and political instability in the wake of anti-racism protests have sparked Americans to buy firearms at a record pace – with about 40% being first-time buyers, according to one leading gun rights group.

Related: Coronavirus US: Fauci appears at house hearing on virus 'raging out of control' – live

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Underage girl forced to have sex with Prince Andrew, US court document claims

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Papers part of 2015 civil court case by Virginia Roberts Giuffre against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell

The sex offender Jeffrey Epstein allegedly tried to gather incriminating material against Prince Andrew by forcing an underage girl to have sex with him, according to newly released court documents.

The papers released by a court in New York say the alleged encounter took place on the late US financier’s private island in the US Virgin Islands. A document claims Epstein instructed the girl, referred to as Jane Doe #3, but known to be Virginia Roberts Giuffre, to “give the prince whatever he demanded and report back to him on the details of the sexual abuse”.

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‘Hardest decision’: Carrie Lam uses emergency powers to postpone Hong Kong election – video

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The Hong Kong chief executive, Carrie Lam, announced on Friday that she had invoked colonial-era emergency regulations to delay the upcoming elections for one year, citing the growing coronavirus outbreak in the region. Lam said the decision had the full backing of the Chinese central government, but the news has prompted immediate accusations that the pandemic is being used as a pretext to suppress democracy

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Challenge accepted: Turkish feminists spell out real meaning of hashtag

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Popular with celebrities, the Instagram trend was intended to draw attention to violence against women in Turkey

Feminists in Turkey have called on the rest of the world not to forget the original context of Instagram’s #challengeaccepted trend, which was supposed to draw attention to skyrocketing rates of gender-based violence in the country before it was co-opted by western celebrities.

Femicide, violence against women and so-called “honour” killings are deeply rooted issues in Turkey. Last week, the country was rocked by the brutal killing of Pınar Gültekin, a 27-year-old student, who was allegedly killed by an ex-boyfriend.

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