Category Archives: World News

Idaho jurors mull death penalty for man convicted over ‘doomsday’ killings

Posted on by

Chad Daybell found guilty of murder of wife and girlfriend’s two children in 2019, linked to apparent extremist religious beliefs

Jurors in Idaho on Friday were deciding whether to deliver the death sentence to Chad Daybell, the 55-year-old man convicted of killing his wife and his then girlfriend’s two children over beliefs in the extremist religious concept of doomsday.

Deliberations began a day after jurors found Daybell guilty of murdering 49-year-old Tammy Daybell, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and seven-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow in 2019.

Continue reading...

Biden urges Hamas to accept Israeli plan for Gaza ceasefire: ‘Time for this war to end’

Posted on by

US president outlines deal that would offer permanent ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal for hostage release and rebuilding effort

Joe Biden has urged Hamas to accept a new peace deal he said Israel has put on the table, offering a permanent ceasefire and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in return for the release of all hostages and the long-term reconstruction of the shattered coastal strip.

“It’s time for this war to end … for the day after to begin,” Biden said, outlining the framework of a three-phase agreement, which he said had been put on the table by the Israeli government.

Continue reading...

British ambassador to Mexico sacked after pointing gun at embassy employee

Posted on by

Clip on social media showed Jon Benjamin aiming assault rifle at colleague in region rife with drug gangs

The British ambassador to Mexico was quietly removed from his post earlier this year after he pointed an assault rifle at a local embassy employee, it emerged when footage of the incident was posted on social media.

The Financial Times reported that Jon Benjamin was on an official trip to Durango and Sinaloa, two states with strong organised crime groups, when he looked down the gun’s sights at a colleague, who gestures uncomfortably in the five-second clip.

Continue reading...

New review by UK ministers again finds no reason to stop arms exports to Israel

Posted on by

Latest three-month period to 24 April includes Israeli strike that killed three workers for British World Central Kitchen

UK government ministers have reviewed a further three months of the IDF’s presence in Gaza and found no reason to suspend arms exports to Israel.

The latest review of evidence examined Israel Defense Forces’ behaviour until 24 April, the Foreign Office said in a statement late on Friday.

Continue reading...

Which parties could South Africa’s ANC go into coalition with?

Posted on by

Collapse in support means ANC may not reach 50% vote share needed to rule alone. Which parties are contenders for coalition?

South Africa is facing the uncertain possibility of a coalition government after a collapse in support for the ruling African National Congress party in Wednesday’s election meant it probably will not reach the 50% vote share needed for it to rule on its own. Here is a guide to the three main contenders for coalition partners:

Continue reading...

Thank you for the music: Abba members get Swedish knighthoods

Posted on by

Agnetha, Benny, Björn and Anni-Frid become first Swedes to be knighted by their monarch for almost 50 years

Abba have received one of the most prestigious Swedish knighthoods after being awarded an order of chivalry last handed out almost 50 years ago.

The pop legends were recognised by King Carl XVI Gustaf on Friday for their cultural impact, which has taken Swedish pop music to a huge global audience.

Continue reading...

Hong Kong rejects western criticism of democracy activists’ convictions

Posted on by

US says 14 protesters have been jailed for ‘peacefully participating in political activities’ that should have been allowed

The Hong Kong government has rejected western criticism of the conviction of 14 pro-democracy activists for subversion, calling it “untruthful, slandering and smearing”.

The US said on Friday it was “deeply concerned” about the guilty verdicts announced in the national security law trial of the activists in Hong Kong. The state department said the 14 activists had been subjected to “politically motivated prosecution and jailed simply for peacefully participating in political activities” that should have been protected under the basic law, which was supposed to guarantee a degree of autonomy for Hong Kong when it came under Beijing’s rule in 1997.

Continue reading...

Teenager arrested in France on suspicion of Olympics attack plot

Posted on by

Interior ministry says 18-year-old Chechen suspected of planning ‘Islamist-inspired’ attack in Saint-Étienne

French security services have arrested a Chechen teenager suspected of plotting an “Islamist-inspired” attack on a football game during this summer’s Olympics, the interior ministry has said.

The domestic intelligence agency DGSI arrested an 18-year-old of Chechen origin in Saint-Étienne, in south-east France, the ministry said on Friday, calling it the “first foiled attack against the Olympic Games”.

Continue reading...

South Africa: Zuma’s new party upends election as ANC reels from vote collapse

Posted on by

Ex-president’s uMkhonto we Sizwe party erodes vote share of African National Congress, which has been in power for three decades

South Africa is facing the uncertain possibility of a coalition government after the former president Jacob Zuma’s new party upended the country’s elections, contributing to the African National Congress party’s vote share collapsing well below half, with more than two-thirds of voting stations counted.

By late afternoon on Thursday, the ANC, which has governed South Africa with a large majority since Nelson Mandela led it to power 30 years ago after the end of apartheid, had 41.8% of the vote.

Continue reading...

German police shoot knifeman after attack on rightwing protest

Posted on by

Suspect wounded and officer injured after stabbing of far-right activist at rally in Mannheim

German police have shot and wounded a man who injured six people in a knife attack on a rightwing demonstration in the south-western city of Mannheim.

Footage showed a bearded man wearing glasses attacking people in the city’s central Marktplatz. One person appeared to be stabbed in the leg and a police officer who tried to intervene appeared to be cut in the neck. Another officer then shot the attacker.

Continue reading...

Ex-Mossad chief ‘disappointed’ over alleged threats against ICC prosecutor

Posted on by

Tamir Pardo says alleged campaign under his successor ‘sounds like Cosa Nostra-style blackmail’

A former head of the Mossad has described his disbelief and disappointment at allegations that his successor at the Israeli intelligence agency threatened a chief prosecutor of the international criminal court (ICC), likening the conduct to mafia-like tactics.

Tamir Pardo, who served as director of the Mossad between 2011 and 2016, was responding to a Guardian investigation published this week about an alleged operation by the Israeli spy service to put pressure on the former ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda to abandon a war crimes investigation.

Continue reading...

Moscow decries US move to allow its weapons to be used on targets in Russia

Posted on by

Senior officials say decision marks serious escalation and their threat to use tactical nuclear weapons is not a bluff

The Kremlin has said Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to use US-supplied weapons against targets in Russia demonstrates Washington’s deep involvement in the conflict, as some of Vladimir Putin’s allies increased their nuclear threats against the west.

The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told journalists on Friday that Moscow was already aware of attempts by Ukraine to strike targets on Russian territory with weapons provided by the US.

Continue reading...

Israel-Gaza war: IDF says its troops have ended operations in eastern Jabaliya – as it happened

Posted on by

This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our Israel-Gaza war coverage here

Here is an extract from a piece about a small group of Israelis stopping settlers obstructing aid trucks, by Lorenzo Tondo and Quique Kierszenbaum in Tarqumiya, with photographs by Alessio Mamo:

At approximately 10.30am on a scorching Monday, a group of five young Israeli settlers arrived at the Tarqumiya checkpoint, west of Hebron in the West Bank, where dozens of aid trucks bound for Gaza were expected.

Continue reading...

Houthis say at least 16 killed in UK and US strikes in Yemen

Posted on by

Rebel group says strikes, aimed at underground facilities and missile launchers, killed and wounded civilians

A joint US and UK air raid on Houthi missile launchers in Yemen has killed 16 people and injured more than 40, according to the Houthi health ministry.

There is no independent way of confirming the death toll, but if accurate it would represent the single largest loss of life since the US and UK started their campaign to degrade the Houthi military in January.

Continue reading...

Amlo promised to transform Mexico, but he leaves it much the same

Posted on by

Many voters are better off, but the Mexican president failed to solve bigger problems like violence and corruption

Six years ago, Andrés Manuel López Obrador broke Mexico’s traditional parties’ grip on power to become president, promising to reshape a country wracked by inequality, corruption and violence.

The self-described “Fourth Transformation” – which put López Obrador’s project on a level with the Mexican Revolution and the war of independence – has fallen short of its lofty goals. But López Obrador’s approval ratings remain rock solid, at about 65%, and his party, Morena, seems sure to retain the presidency.

Continue reading...

Trial results for new lung cancer drug are ‘off the charts’, say doctors

Posted on by

More than half of patients with advanced forms of disease who took lorlatinib were still alive after five years with no progression

Doctors are hailing “off the chart” trial results that show a new drug stopped lung cancer advancing for longer than any other treatment in medical history.

Lung cancer is the world’s leading cause of cancer death, accounting for about 1.8m deaths every year. Survival rates in those with advanced forms of the disease, where tumours have spread, are particularly poor.

Continue reading...

‘Solidarity over hatred’: the small band of Israelis stopping settlers obstructing aid trucks

Posted on by

Peace activists confronting settlers acknowledge they are ‘a minority within a minority’

At approximately 10.30am on a scorching Monday, a group of five young Israeli settlers arrived at the Tarqumiya checkpoint, west of Hebron in the West Bank, where dozens of aid trucks bound for Gaza were expected.

The settlers had received detailed information about the timing, location, and number of trucks that would pass through the checkpoint that morning. What they had not anticipated was that dozens of peace activists had also gathered in Tarqumiya with a specific mission: to prevent the settlers from blocking the vehicles and ensure that the aid continued its journey to Gaza.

Continue reading...

Papua New Guinea’s PM makes first visit to site of deadly landslide

Posted on by

James Marape apologises for not making journey sooner, as ongoing instability hampers recovery and poses risk to residents

Papua New Guinea’s prime minister, James Marape, has made his first visit to a remote village hit by a deadly landslide last week and thanked international aid donors for their support.

Authorities are still struggling to determine how many people are buried under parts of a mountain which collapsed on to the Yambali village in the remote Enga region on 24 May.

Continue reading...

‘Guilty on all counts’: how the world’s media reacted to the Trump trial’s historic verdict

Posted on by

The former president appears on front pages across the globe on Friday, as the world’s media takes in the unprecedented outcome of the hush-money trial

“Guilty on all counts,” is the headline on the Guardian’s front page on Friday, after Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in a historic criminal hush-money trial.

It took the jury less than 12 hours to reach a verdict in the unprecedented first criminal trial against a current or former US president.

Continue reading…