State-owned SAIC, parent of the British brand MG, was responsible for biggest jump in sales in June
Chinese carmakers secured a record 11% of the European electric vehicle market in June, as buyers raced to beat EU tariffs on imported EVs that came into force this month.
The figures, which include the UK, show that about 23,000 battery electric vehicles were registered in June, up 72% on the previous month as consumers raced to beat the price hike in the EU.
Continue reading...Chiapas, once a haven for Guatemalans fleeing genocide, sees citizens crossing border to escape tyranny of cartels
The Mexican state of Chiapas was once a haven for Guatemalans fleeing genocide at home, but this historical relationship has recently flipped, with hundreds of Mexicans crossing the border to escape the violent tyranny of organised crime groups.
Entire communities emptied out last week as more than 500 men, women, children and the elderly fled with what they could carry and walked across the border, citing food shortages and the conflicts between criminal groups pressing in ever closer on their homes.
Continue reading...Fundamental rights body warns of flawed approach to credible accounts of ill-treatment and loss of life
Authorities in EU member states are not doing enough to investigate credible reports of violations of human rights, including deaths, on their borders, an EU human rights body has said.
The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) said human rights agencies and NGOs were reporting “serious, recurrent and widespread rights violations against migrants and refugees during border management” but despite “credible” reports many were not investigated.
Continue reading...Protests seen around country after results appear to dash opposition hopes of ending quarter century of chavista rule
Nicolás Maduro’s claim of victory in Venezuela’s presidential election has brought the South American country to a hazardous standoff, with his thwarted opponents accusing him of rigging the election to remain in power, and many leaders in the region and beyond questioning the veracity and transparency of the vote.
Late on Monday, street protests were reported across the capital and all around the country, including in the states of Falcón, where demonstrators were filmed tearing down a statue of Hugo Chávez, and Portuguesa, where footage showed a group vandalizing a propaganda billboard featuring a photograph of Maduro and a slogan promising “More Changes and Transformation”.
Continue reading...Malian rebels ‘received necessary information’ to kill fighters from Russian military group last week, GUR says
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency has claimed it was involved in an ambush that killed fighters from Russia’s Wagner group in the west African nation of Mali, thousands of miles away from the frontline in Ukraine.
A Telegram channel linked to the Wagner leadership on Monday admitted the group had suffered heavy losses during fighting in Mali last week.
Continue reading...Arrest of IDF reservists suspected of abuse prompts confrontation at notorious detention base and outcry from MPs
An investigation by the Israeli military into the alleged abuse of a Palestinian detainee at a notorious military detention camp for prisoners captured in Gaza has sparked protests from members of Israel’s far right.
The Israeli military said on Monday the office of its advocate general ordered an inquiry “following suspected substantial abuse of a detainee” at the Sde Teiman facility, which holds Palestinian detainees, including alleged members of Hamas’s elite Nukhba forces involved in the 7 October attack.
Continue reading...Andrés Manuel López Obrador makes unusual public appeal after arrest of top leaders of Sinaloa cartel
Mexico’s president has taken the unusual step of issuing a public appeal to drug cartels not to fight each other following last week’s detention of the top Mexican drug lord Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said at his daily press briefing that he trusted that drug traffickers knew they would only suffer if they stepped up the internal wars that already plague the Sinaloa cartel.
Continue reading...Campaigners say overseas territory will be complicit in breach of international law if US vessel stops there
There is an overwhelming case for the UK to intervene to stop a US oil tanker carrying 300,000 barrels of jet fuel for use by Israel in Gaza from docking in Gibraltar, according to a letter from a cross-party group of MPs addressed to David Lammy, the UK foreign secretary.
Protests in Spain led by trade unionists and political activists have already resulted in the owners of the Overseas Santorini abandoning plans to dock in the Spanish port of Algeciras. According to Marine Traffic, the ship is now destined to reach Gibraltar at 3pm UK time on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Crowds converge on Suleja over economic hardship and record inflation amid warnings against mass action
Hundreds of protesters have gathered in central Nigeria days before planned national demonstrations over economic hardship and record inflation.
The protesters, many of them young people, converged in the town of Suleja, 3o miles outside the federal capital, Abuja, with placards criticising the government’s policies. Week-long nationwide protests had been due to begin on Wednesday.
Continue reading...Jacob Zuma backed MK party, which African National Congress said cost it its parliamentary majority
South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma has been expelled by the African National Congress after he backed a rival political party that helped cost the ANC its parliamentary majority in recent national elections.
“Former president Jacob Zuma has actively impugned the integrity of the ANC and campaigned to dislodge the ANC from power, while claiming that he had not severed his membership,” the party said in a statement on Monday.
Continue reading...Doctored campaign video featuring US vice-president reposted by Tesla chief executive watched 128m times
Kamala Harris’s election campaign has accused Elon Musk of spreading “manipulated lies” after the Tesla chief executive posted a doctored video featuring the vice-president on his X account.
Musk reposted a manipulated Harris campaign video on Friday evening in which a fake Harris voiceover says: “I was selected because I am the ultimate diversity hire,” and that anyone who criticises her is “both sexist and racist”.
Continue reading...Mayor of Norwegian capital, Anne Lindboe, says drugs worth up to £570m have entered through the port
The mayor of Oslo has warned that drug smugglers are increasingly targeting the Norwegian capital as a gateway to Europe as authorities tighten controls on major ports such as Antwerp.
Oslo’s mayor, Anne Lindboe, said drugs worth up to £570m have been smuggled through Norway’s largest port, which receives 50-70 ships and 243,000 containers every week.
Continue reading...Washington says it has ‘serious concerns’ about result, while president of Uruguay says it is open secret Maduro would win ‘whatever real results were’
Among the many international figures weighing in on the situation in Venezuela was the US vice president, Kamala Harris.
“The will of the Venezuelan people must be respected. Despite the many challenges, we will continue to work toward a more democratic, prosperous, and secure future for the people of Venezuela,” she said.
More than a thousand international observers have taken part in the Venezuelan election. The people have spoken and their will should be respected. The right only goes along with democracy when it wins and that is unacceptable.
Continue reading...Dutch artist’s 17th-century work said to have inspired tableau that has offended Christian and conservative critics
A controversial tableau in the Olympics opening ceremony denounced by Christian and conservative critics as an offensive parody of The Last Supper was in fact inspired by a 17th-century Dutch painting of the Greek Olympian gods, art historians have said.
“Does this painting remind you of something?” the Magnin Museum in the French city of Dijon asked (with a wink) on X, inviting people to “come and admire” The Feast of the Gods, painted by the artist Jan van Bijlert between 1635 and 1640.
Continue reading...Two reported dead as Israeli officials weigh up response to rocket strike blamed on Hezbollah that killed 12 children
Israeli drones struck a remote road in southern Lebanon, underscoring tensions as the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, promised a “harsh” response to the rocket strike on the occupied Golan Heights that killed 12 children.
“The state of Israel will not and cannot let this pass. Our response will come, and it will be harsh,” he said during a visit to the remote town of Majdal Shams, a majority Druze village in a region annexed by Israel from Syria in 1981.
Continue reading...Russian defence ministry says troops continue to make gains in Donetsk province, as Ukrainian president visits frontline in Kharkiv
Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he had arrived in the area of Vovchansk in the north-eastern Kharkiv region, where Russian forces have been trying to advance since May.
“Today, I had the honour to be there to congratulate our special forces warriors on their professional day and to present them with state awards,” the Ukrainian president wrote on X.
Continue reading...Nicolás Maduro faces calls to publish transparent breakdown of vote but allies hail his apparent victory
Nicolás Maduro’s apparent re-election as Venezuela’s president has been met with scepticism, suspicion and calls for a transparent and detailed breakdown of the vote in Sunday’s controversial poll.
Although the results, released by the government-controlled electoral authority, were immediately hailed by Maduro’s allies in Latin America, they drew a guarded and often accusatory response from others in the region and farther afield.
Continue reading...Gérald Darmanin says activists may have been encouraged to carry out arson attacks that caused disruption
France’s interior minister has suggested that far-left activists were behind the attacks on the high-speed rail system on the eve of the Olympics opening ceremony, as a fresh wave of vandalism targeted internet cables.
Four days after the attacks, Gérald Darmanin said the investigation into the arson attacks had “identified a certain number of profiles who could have committed it”.
Continue reading...Police voice alarm at high numbers as 14-year-old boy on e-scooter and two motorcyclists among latest killed
Ireland’s police force has said it is seriously concerned about the number of deaths on the country’s roads after five fatalities over the weekend.
Those who lost their lives included motorcyclists and a 14-year-old boy on an e-scooter.
Continue reading...Temperatures expected to soar to 35C, making some competitions more challenging for athletes
The Paris Olympics had a soggy start but conditions improved over the weekend. Meteorologists now expect temperatures to soar early this week, prompting several warnings.
The weather in the French capital has been forecast to climb to 35C (95F) on Tuesday, about 8C above average for the time of year, making some competitions more challenging for the athletes. Southern parts of France are likely to experience the hottest weather, reaching the high 30s celsius, nearly 10C above average.
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