Category Archives: World News

Huge oil discovery off Guyana raises the stakes in election fraud case

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If discredited president refuses to accept imminent ruling over March vote, investors likely to be scared off

Allegations of mass vote fiddling in the former British colony of Guyana may lead to the country’s discredited government being ostracised unless a court hearing next week can resolve a bitter dispute over election results.

The political stakes in Guyana have risen massively since May 2015 when Exxon Mobil discovered oil reserves potentially worth more than $100bn (£80bn) 200km (124 miles) off the coast – a find big enough to transform a Latin American country of fewer than 1 million people with a GDP of $3bn largely based on sugar, timber, molasses and bauxite. Its current income of $5,250 per head is projected to rise to above $10,000 next year alone.

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Poles set to vote in postponed presidential election

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Incumbent Andrzej Duda expected to face run-off against liberal mayor of Warsaw

Poles will vote on Sunday in a postponed presidential election that will determine whether the ruling rightwing populist party continues to have full control over the country’s political system.

Andrzej Duda, an ally of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, is standing for re-election in a crowded field of candidates, with the closest challenger expected to be Rafał Trzaskowski, the liberal mayor of Warsaw.

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US restricts visas for Chinese officials over Hong Kong freedoms

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Secretary of state Mike Pompeo says visa restrictions apply to ‘current and former’ communist party officials, but does not name them

The US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has said Washington will impose visa restrictions on Chinese officials responsible for restricting freedoms in Hong Kong, but he did not name any of those targeted.

The move on Friday comes ahead of a three-day meeting of China’s parliament from Sunday, which is expected to enact new national security legislation for Hong Kong that has alarmed foreign governments and democracy activists.

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EU to restrict most US residents from visiting amid pandemic, reports say

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Officials draw up ‘safe list’ of countries whose residents can visit, with Russia and Brazil also excluded

The European Union is set to restrict most US residents from visiting the region when travel restarts due to concerns about the coronavirus, according to multiple reports.

EU officials are in the process of settling on a final “safe list” of countries whose residents could travel to the bloc in July, but the US, Brazil and Russia are set to be excluded, Reuters reported. With coronavirus continuing to spread in the US at alarming rates, the possibility of allowing American tourists into the EU is not even part of the ongoing discussion, six diplomats familiar with the talks told the Washington Post.

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Britons to be allowed to holiday abroad from July via ‘air bridges’

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Ministers also expected to end policy of quarantining arrivals to the UK for 14 days

Overseas holidays will be given the green light from early next month, with the government expected to suspend the 14-day quarantine period for a series of countries and also to set up so-called air bridge arrangements for overseas destinations.

While the full list of countries involved is still being confirmed, the initial phase of travel opening up is expected to involve European nations including France, Greece, Spain and possibly Portugal, with other potentially more distant locations to follow.

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Pence claims ‘remarkable progress’ as Covid-19 cases hit new record in US

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US reports 40,000 new coronavirus cases in previous 24 hours, the highest daily total of the pandemic

Mike Pence on Friday hailed “truly remarkable progress” in America’s battle with the coronavirus pandemic, despite the US reporting a record 40,000 new cases in the previous 24 hours, the highest daily total of the outbreak.

With new cases rising in a majority of states in the last few days after swift moves to reopen for business, especially across the south and west, the vice-president sought to deliver encouraging news as the head of the White House coronavirus taskforce as the body offered its first public briefing in two months.

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European Union reportedly set to ban US travelers over Covid-19 concerns – as it happened

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We’re ending our live coverage for the day, thanks for following along. A summary of some key events:

California’s governor has granted clemency to 21 prisoners as Covid-19 outbreaks have continued to infect thousands behind bars in an escalating public health crisis.

Gavin Newsom, who has faced mounting pressure to release people en masse from state prisons, announced Friday that he is granting commutations to 21 people, a move that reduces their sentences and creates a potential path for their release. He also announced pardon grants for 13 people, a step that restores some rights for those who have already served sentences.

There's growing pressure on @GavinNewsom to grant clemency to elderly + vulnerable women who are domestic violence survivors and at high risk of death in prison.

I spoke directly with some of them. LISTEN to their own words ⬇️ (thread):https://t.co/btI8Ns7wMw #SixNineteen

Patricia Wright has terminal liver cancer, is currently in chemotherapy and likely has months to live. She told me she just wants to see her children and grandchildren before she dies: pic.twitter.com/0ydwwgCem1

Related: California governor grants clemency to 21 prisoners as thousands infected with Covid-19

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More young people infected with Covid-19 as cases surge globally

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Greater social contact among under-40s suggested as cause of increase, but others say it is a sign of better testing

The age profile of new infections in the coronavirus pandemic appears to be younger following resurgences in countries such as the United States, Israel and Portugal linked to greater social contact among under 40s following the loosening of restrictions.

The trend has been most marked in the US and noted by scientists at the World Health Organization, who have also seen infections of younger people in the developing world contributing to the shifting demographics.

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‘We’ve bought the wrong satellites’: UK tech gamble baffles experts

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Bid for 20% of OneWeb to replace Galileo after Brexit ‘looks like nationalism trumping industrial policy’

The UK government’s plan to invest hundreds of millions of pounds in a satellite broadband company has been described as “nonsensical” by experts, who say the company doesn’t even make the right type of satellite the country needs after Brexit.

The investment in OneWeb, first reported on Thursday night, is intended to mitigate against the UK losing access to the EU’s Galileo satellite navigation system.

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Indonesian villagers defy Covid-19 warnings to rescue Rohingya refugees

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Governments across south-east Asia are turning away boats but in Aceh locals took matters into their own hands

On Thursday afternoon, residents of Aceh, Indonesia, waded back and forth in water helping Rohingya refugees clamber to safety. Exhausted children were passed between rescuers.

On Lancok beach, where survivors gathered, a man knelt with his head on the sand, thankful to be alive. Another embraced a member of the rescue team tightly.

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Clashes near Naples as cluster of Covid-19 cases puts five buildings in lockdown – video

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Residents have clashed in a coastal town near Naples after five large blocks of flats were put under a strict 15-day lockdown. More than 40 people living there had tested positive for Covid-19. The Italian army was deployed to the area in the small town of Mondragone after some people broke the lockdown to go to work. Residents also protested against the lack of information, and racism towards a Roma community involved in seasonal fruit-picking 

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Three die in attempted murder of Mexico City police chief

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Two bodyguards and passerby shot dead by assassins disguised as road workers

At least three people have been killed after assassins disguised as road workers launched an early morning attack on Mexico City’s police chief on the capital’s most famous street.

Omar García Harfuch was reportedly driving to work through the tree-lined Lomas de Chapultepec neighbourhood, home to several foreign embassies, when he was ambushed by heavily armed gunmen shortly after 6.30am.

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Angela Merkel: UK must live with consequences of weaker ties to EU

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German leader signals trade compromise less likely as she hardens tone on no-deal Brexit

The UK will have to “live with the consequences” of Boris Johnson ditching Theresa May’s plan to maintain close economic ties with the EU after Brexit, Angela Merkel has said, hardening her tone over the prospect of a no-deal scenario at the end of the year.

After more than three years in which the German chancellor repeatedly emphasised her openness to a deal that would maintain the UK’s current flows of trade with the bloc, she suggested the door leading to such a compromise had now closed.

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Fury in Colombia as soldiers admit rape of 13-year-old indigenous girl

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Seven soldiers confessed to raping child from the Emberà tribe

Outrage has been sparked in Colombia after a 13-year-old girl was gang-raped by seven soldiers from the country’s army last weekend.

On Thursday, seven soldiers confessed to raping the child from the indigenous Emberá tribe, who went missing from her rural reserve in northern Colombia on Sunday. She was found the next day at a nearby school. News of the horrific crime shocked much of the South American nation, which has long reckoned with violence against indigenous women and girls.

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MoJ failed to investigate potential Covid-19 cluster among cleaners

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Cleaner was sacked while isolating with coronavirus symptoms as others fell ill

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and cleaning firm OCS have been accused of ignoring pleas to investigate a potential coronavirus outbreak among workers at the department after at four cleaners say they fell sick with suspected symptoms.

The MoJ cleaning team, employed by cleaning firm OCS and sub-contractor PRS, were told at the start of lockdown that they were essential workers and were to continue to commute into central London.

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How ‘white fragility’ reinforces racism – video explainer

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Robin DiAngelo’s bestselling book White Fragility has provoked an uncomfortable but vital conversation about what it means to be white. As protests organised by the Black Lives Matter movement continue around the world, she explains why white people should stop avoiding conversations about race because of their own discomfort, and how 'white fragility' plays a key role in upholding systemic racism

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‘It looks like a gameshow’: Russia’s pseudo-vote on Putin’s term limits

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Get-out-the-vote effort includes prize giveaways while campaign avoids focus on president

The people of Moscow received text messages this week telling them they had been registered to win “millions of prizes”.

The catch? They have to vote on constitutional amendments that include allowing Vladimir Putin to remain in the Kremlin potentially until 2036.

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Afghan government backtracks over rule forcing media to reveal sources

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Amendments to country’s media law revoked after outcry from press

An outcry by the Afghan press over amendments to the country’s media law has seen the government call off initially approved changes.

The newly revoked amendments included a rule that would force media to reveal sources to the government without a court order.

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Iran: large explosion near military base outside Tehran – video

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Iranian authorities are investigating a large explosion east of the capital, Tehran, near a military base which is thought to have played a role in past nuclear testing activities. 

Footage circulating on social media appeared to show a bright light illuminating the sky over the city early on Friday, followed by a large plume of smoke

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