Category Archives: World News

Barclays faces complaint over backing for power plant near world’s largest mangrove forest

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Bangladeshi complainants allege Rampal power station’s pollution and climate risks threaten the Sunderbans, a world heritage site

Barclays Bank is facing a formal complaint over its financial links to a coal-fired power station near the Sundarbans, the world’s largest mangrove forest and home to millions of people in Bangladesh and India.

Three complainants from the region have submitted a case to the UK government’s Office for Responsible Business Conduct, alleging that the British bank breached international guidelines by underwriting companies involved in the emission-heavy Maitree super thermal power project, also known as the Rampal power plant.

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New constitution in Guinea-Bissau will undermine democracy, opponents say

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Referendum result means fewer seats in parliament and new rules on candidates, ahead of December elections

Guinea-Bissau voters have approved a new constitution, which critics say will undermine democracy, that significantly expands presidential powers ahead of elections due in December.

According to provisional results, 70% of voters approved sweeping changes in the tiny west African state’s first constitutional amendment since revisions that ended the one-party socialist state more than three decades ago.

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UK must end all trade with Israel, says co-founder of BDS movement

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Exclusive: sanctions against ministers and settler groups are ‘smoke and mirrors cop-out’ says Omar Barghouti

Britain’s legal and ethical obligation to stop a genocide in Gaza requires it to take bigger steps than halting trade with illegal Israeli settlements or imposing further sanctions, Omar Barghouti, the co-founder of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement has said.

He described sanctions against individual settler groups or extremist ministers as a “smoke and mirrors cop-out and distraction” from the UK’s legal obligation under international law to end all support for Israel, including arms exports, trade deals and academic relations that “may directly or indirectly enable Israel’s illegal occupation” of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

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Global heating will hit at least 1.8C, UN warns, and there are ‘no good outcomes’

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But scientists say the world could get back to 1.5C through deep, rapid emissions cuts and removing carbon from the atmosphere

Global heating will reach at least 1.8C under even the most optimistic future, well beyond the Paris agreement goal of 1.5C, according to a UN report that warns every fraction of temperature rise intensifies destructive extreme weather, glacier melt, ecosystem loss, and island and coastal city submersion.

The report by the Nairobi-based UN Environment Programme confirmed overshooting the 1.5C goal inscribed in the landmark Paris agreement of 2015 was now “unavoidable” and, despite some progress in addressing the human-caused climate crisis driven by burning fossil fuels, likely in the next few years.

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Germany blames Russia for drone attack at Leipzig airport

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Government says ‘dangerous behaviour’ is part of effort by Moscow to cause damage with hybrid attacks

The German government has blamed Russia for the drone attack on Leipzig airport last month, calling it “dangerous behaviour” and part of a systematic and concerted effort by Moscow to “cause great damage” through a large number of hybrid attacks.

The interior minister, Alexander Dobrindt, and the foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, ended weeks of speculation and the government’s hesitancy to blame Russia, saying in a brisk 10-minute briefing in Berlin that all indications were the Russian state had provided the knowhow and equipment for the planned attack and “low-level agents” were recruited to carry it out.

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Russia targets Ukraine’s rail network as war enters deadly new phase

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Six employees killed on Tuesday after Moscow escalates attacks on infrastructure and Ukrainian capital

Russia has opened a deadly new phase in its war against Ukraine by deliberately targeting the country’s railway network, with six employees killed on Tuesday in the latest strikes on Kyiv.

Ukraine’s state-owned railway company, Ukrzaliznytsia, said its workers died when a ballistic missile plunged into a locomotive depot. The Russians hit other railway facilities, it added, during a massive bombardment of Kyiv and the Kyiv region. At least 12 people died, with a dozen wounded, including three children.

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Todd Haynes and Wallace Shawn among signatories of letter backing Mark Ruffalo amid antisemitism charge

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More than 170 Jewish artists, also including Joel Coen, Hannah Einbinder and Miranda July, have supported the actor after he criticized Paramount

A collective of more than 170 prominent Jewish artists – including Todd Haynes, Joel Coen, Miranda July, Hannah Einbinder, Wallace Shawn and Naomi Klein – have signed an open letter supporting Mark Ruffalo.

The actor had been accused of invoking antisemitic tropes after he criticized Paramount Skydance, the media company owned by David Ellison, a Donald Trump ally. Ruffalo had spoken out about the $111bn merger with Warner Bros Discovery (WBD).

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Russia kills at least 12 on sixth night of drone attacks on Kyiv

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Zelenskyy says Moscow is capitalising on shortage of US-made Patriot interceptors to lower morale in capital

At least 12 people have been killed in and around Kyiv overnight as Ukraine’s capital endured a sixth consecutive night of Russian drone and missile attacks aimed at shattering infrastructure and lowering the morale of the city.

Eight of the dead were reported killed in Kyiv, including seven at a railway depot on the city’s left bank, and four were killed in Boryspil, to the east of the city, in a wave of strikes at about 2.30am after hours of air alerts.

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Norway’s new king swears oath of allegiance with daughter at his side

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Haakon VIII promises to uphold 1814 constitution but his queen misses ceremony because of post-surgery ‘complications’

King Haakon VIII swore an oath of allegiance before Norway’s parliament on Tuesday in the first major stage in the passing of the crown since the death of his father after 35 years on the throne.

Wearing a ceremonial uniform, Haakon, who became king when Harald V died on Friday, promised to uphold Norway’s 1814 constitution with his 22-year-old daughter, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra, by his side.

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MapQuest app reaches No 1 on US Apple list after defying Trump’s Lake Ontario order

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Navigating app surpasses Google and Apple Maps on top-downloaded US chart after posting ‘we’re not changing it’

A pioneering online mapping app that defied Donald Trump by refusing to rename Lake Ontario has become the most in-demand navigation tool in the US.

MapQuest, which was openly dismissive of the president’s 27 August executive order directing federal agencies to refer to the smallest of the Great Lakes as “Lake America” amid a trade spat with Canada, leapfrogged rivals Google Maps and Apple Maps to top the most-downloaded list, as first reported by TechCrunch.

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Echoes of cold war as US accused of meddling in another Brazilian election

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Claims that Trump and Rubio are trying to influence result have parallels with CIA intervention 64 years ago

The year was 1962 and the Kennedy administration was desperate to swing Brazil’s congressional elections against its leftwing president, João Goulart, as a way of countering the supposed communist threat sweeping a region the US considered its back yard.

Historians say that in the lead-up to the vote, the CIA and the Department of State secretly channelled millions of dollars to opposition candidates and a group tasked with spreading rightwing propaganda and stirring up unrest.

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Trump suggests he is reviewing US support for UK over Falkland Islands

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Comments signal president prepared to use dispute to push UK to raise defence spending and Nato contributions

Donald Trump has suggested he is reconsidering US support for Britain’s sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, in a move likely to strain the “special relationship” between Washington and London.

“I always review every position – that’s just one of many,” the US president told reporters in the White House, in response to a question about whether he was reviewing the US’s position over the South Atlantic islands, an archipelago whose status has long been disputed by Argentina, which claims sovereignty.

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Canada’s ruling Liberals sweep special elections in boost to Mark Carney

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Three projected victories are a message to US that Carney has support of the Canadian people, says one lawmaker

Canada’s ruling Liberal party has swept three special elections, a result that showed voters backing the prime minister, Mark Carney, after his face-off with Donald Trump.

The Canadian Press, Canada’s national news agency, projected Liberal victories in Chicoutimi-Le Fjord in Quebec, Beaches-East York in Toronto and North Vancouver-Capilano in British Columbia.

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Shein shares slide on fast-fashion retailer’s stock market debut

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Hong Kong flotation at $26bn by firm once valued at $100bn follows failure to list in US and UK

Shares in the fast-fashion brand Shein slumped by as much as 10% as the China-founded company made its long-anticipated trading debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

The Singapore-headquartered company, once valued at almost $100bn (£74bn), went public on Tuesday pricing shares at HK$48.56, valuing the business at just over $26bn.

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Madrid residents brace for noise and disruption from new F1 circuit

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City council emphasises economic case for Madring amid local outrage over disruption and environmental impact

Opponents of Madrid’s newly constructed Formula One circuit have accused the regional authorities of putting profit before people’s wellbeing after tests for the inaugural Spanish Grand Prix at the track later this month yielded noise levels that were many times the legal decibel limit.

The regional government of Madrid and the city council are hoping that the 5.4km-long (3.3 miles) Madring circuit – which has been built in the north-east of the Spanish capital at a cost of €83m (£71m) – will attract visitors, boost the local economy and put the city firmly on the motor racing map. The Madring bills itself as “a perfectly connected circuit: just 20 minutes from the city centre”.

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Iceland’s close ties with EU mean no vote is not a Brexit-style rejection

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A yes to membership would have given Brussels a boost but Icelanders have not voted to isolate themselves

Iceland’s 52.8% to 47.2% vote against reopening EU accession talks is, undeniably, a blow for Brussels. But claiming it as a Brexit-style victory for “national sovereignty” or evidence of broad rejection of the EU misrepresents the reality of the island’s relationship with the bloc.

For the EU, Iceland was a dream candidate: small, stable, prosperous and strategically located in an increasingly contested Arctic. Eager as it is to wield more geopolitical clout and revive flagging momentum around enlargement, a vote in favour would have given Brussels a very welcome boost.

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US army secretary Dan Driscoll resigns over reported friction with Pete Hegseth

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Resignation comes after months of turmoil at Pentagon, from leaked investigation to ousting of senior officials

Army secretary Dan Driscoll has handed his resignation to Donald Trump, the White House said on Monday, becoming the latest high-profile figure to depart the defense department.

The army official, who is second in line to defense secretary Pete Hegseth, had reportedly been eyeing an exit from the Pentagon amid apparent friction with the secretary.

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How intense rains in the Grand Canyon turned into a deadly disaster

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Flash flooding in Arizona tourist destination was likely triggered by compounding climate factors, such as drought and warming in Pacific Ocean

A deadly flash flood in the Grand Canyon over the weekend was likely driven by a confluence of climate factors, including drought, wildfire scarring and warming temperatures in the Pacific Ocean that can supercharge storms.

At least two people have died and 15 remain missing or unaccounted for after a surge of water and debris swept through the immensely popular tourist destination on Saturday, fueled by torrents of rain that hit the national park’s Bright Angel Creek area.

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Turkish deep-sea search vessel joins efforts to retrieve 20 still missing after Cyprus ferry disaster

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TCG Isin expected to play vital role in locating Filo Jet’s voyage data recorder 514 metres below surface

A deep-sea search and rescue vessel is on its way to Cyprus as Turkey joins efforts to retrieve the 20 people still missing after a passenger ferry capsized off the island’s northern coast.

The TCG Isin will join the vast operation to find survivors after the high-speed ferry sank on Sunday barely four nautical miles outside the port town of Kyrenia.

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Trump threatens further action as US and Iran exchange fire in new flare-up

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Washington says it acted after observing Iran was planning to deploy fresh mines in strait of Hormuz

The US and Iran have exchanged fire for the first time in a month, with missiles and drones fired at Iranian rocket launchers on an island in the strait of Hormuz, and Iran targeting US military bases in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates in response.

The US president, Donald Trump, on Monday threatened further action. The US is to trying to prise open Tehran’s grip on shipping going through the strait, which before the war accounted for a fifth of the world’s seaborne energy supply. Washington claimed that Iranian control over the waterway had been loosened by repeated US attacks on Iranian missile launchers and radars.

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