Category Archives: World News

Australian computer scientist is not bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, high court rules

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Judge says evidence for his conclusion that Craig Wright did not create bitcoin is ‘overwhelming’

Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of bitcoin, is not the Australian computer scientist Craig Wright, a high court judge has ruled, ending a fractious two-month trial in London.

In a highly unusual decision, the presiding judge, Mr Justice Mellor, issued the verdict within seconds of the case concluding, promising to issue a “fairly lengthy written judgment” in due course.

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Spanish congress passes amnesty law for Catalan separatists

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Passing of bill will come as relief for PM Pedro Sánchez, who has gambled his political future on the concession

Spain’s congress has approved the controversial and divisive Catalan amnesty bill that regional separatists demanded in return for helping the country’s Socialist-led coalition government back into office after last year’s inconclusive general election.

The passing of the bill, which was approved by 178 votes to 172 in Spain’s 350-seat parliament, will come as a relief for the prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, who has gambled his political future on the concession.

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Biden’s ‘bear-hugging’ of Netanyahu a strategic mistake, key Democrat says

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Ro Khanna, Biden campaign surrogate, believes US president should take tougher line with ‘insufferably arrogant’ Israeli PM

Joe Biden has committed a “strategic mistake” by “bear-hugging” the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, as he prosecutes war with Hamas, a leading congressional progressive Democrat and Biden campaign surrogate said.

“The bear-hugging of Netanyahu has been a strategic mistake,” Ro Khanna said, accusing the Israeli leader of conducting “a callous war” in Gaza, in defiance of the United States.

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Darfur rape survivors gather together after ethnically targeted campaign

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Group on outskirts of Geneina share stories from November when RSF and allied militias unleashed wave of sexual violence

Twice a week, a group of women gather together in a nondescript house in Ardamata, on the outskirts of Geneina in Sudan’s West Darfur state, to tell their stories to each other, cry, and drink coffee.

The women, who work or used to work in education, are all survivors of an ethnically targeted campaign of rape and sexual abuse carried out by fighters from Arab militias backed by the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group on 5 November, after the fall of the army garrison in Ardamata.

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Guns and weapons trafficked from US fueling Haiti gang violence

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Experts say most guns smuggled from states with lax firearms laws such as Florida, Arizona and Georgia

As Haiti has again plunged into violent chaos, images of gang members bearing high-powered rifles, pump-action shotguns or automatic weapons in the streets of Port-au-Prince have become ubiquitous.

But this weaponry is not made in Haiti, a country with no firearms or ammunition manufacturing capabilities.

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Revealed: How the global oil industry is fueling Israel’s war on Gaza

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Analysis shows how jets and tanks are being kept fueled despite interim ICJ ruling warning Israel to prevent genocidal acts

Israeli jets and tanks bombarding Palestinians are being fueled by some of the world’s most profitable fossil fuel companies – and US tax-payers, according to research.

Israel relies on crude oil and refined products from overseas to run its large fleet of fighter jets, tanks and other military vehicles.

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California sheriff releases bodycam video of killing of boy, 15, holding gardening tool

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Outrage over killing of Ryan Gainer, shot three times on Saturday, as sheriff denounced for defending deputies’ use of lethal force

The San Bernardino, California sheriff released new body-camera footage of the fatal police shooting of 15-year-old Ryan Gainer, who was holding a gardening tool.

The Saturday killing of Gainer, who was autistic and having a mental health crisis, sparked national outrage and escalating criticisms, prompting the head of the department, sheriff Shannon Dicus, to show reporters additional footage during a Wednesday press conference. The sheriff also revealed that it appeared two deputies on the scene had fired three rounds at Gainer.

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Don’t expect a ‘big cash splash’ in this year’s budget, Jim Chalmers tells taxpayers

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Treasurer says falling iron ore prices and a weaker labour market mean the large upgrades to revenue seen in the last two budgets will not be repeated

Australians should not expect a “big cash splash” from this year’s federal budget although the government will bank a smaller share of any increase in expected revenues, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, told a Sydney audience.

Chalmers said there would likely be “additional cost-of-living help in the budget but it won’t be anywhere near the magnitude of the tax cuts”.

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US rancher used tissue and testicles to breed ‘giant’ sheep to sell for hunting

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Arthur Schubarth, 80, pleads guilty to trafficking in ‘audacious’ and unlawful scheme to cross-breed sheep for lucrative sale

A Montana rancher illegally used tissue and testicles from wild sheep killed by hunters in central Asia and the US to breed “giant” hybrid sheep for sale to private hunting preserves in Texas, according to court documents and federal prosecutors.

Arthur “Jack” Schubarth, 80, of Vaughn, Montana, pleaded guilty to felony charges of wildlife trafficking and conspiracy to traffic wildlife during an appearance Tuesday before a federal judge in Great Falls.

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Biden pledges billions to rebuild cities ‘torn apart’ by highways decades ago

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President announces $3.3bn in infrastructure spending to ‘right historic wrongs’ as he takes 2024 campaign to vital swing states

Joe Biden hailed the beginning of $3.3bn in infrastructure spending on US projects on Wednesday “to right historic wrongs” with efforts to reconnect city neighborhoods riven by interstate highways that plowed with particular impunity through many Black, brown, Asian American and Hispanic communities decades ago.

The US president was in Milwaukee, where he traveled to announce new infrastructure investment and officially open his election campaign’s Wisconsin office in the vital swing state.

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Ship carrying aid nears Gaza as Cyprus puts second vessel on standby

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Where Spanish-flagged vessel Open Arms will dock, and how supplies will be distributed, is still unclear

A ship carrying aid is nearing Gaza about 48 hours after it left Cyprus, with further aid preparations being made aboard a second “much bigger” vessel. It came as the EU foreign policy chief said starvation was being used as a weapon of war.

After the 240-mile voyage, the ship will dock at a jetty being built by the World Central Kitchen (WCK), the organisation that will distribute the aid.

Guardian Newsroom: The unfolding crisis in the Middle East On Wednesday 20 March, 7-8.15pm GMT, join Devika Bhat, Peter Beaumont and Ghaith Abdul-Ahad as they discuss the fast developing crisis in the Middle East. Book tickets here or at theguardian.live

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Geert Wilders gives up hope of being Dutch PM due to lack of support

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Leader of far-right Freedom party, which came first in election last year, was unable to get all partners in a potential coalition onboard

Geert Wilders, whose far-right Freedom party (PVV) shocked the Netherlands by finishing first in elections late last year, has conceded that he will not be the next prime minister because his potential coalition partners do not back him.

“I can only become the prime minister if all the parties in the coalition support it. That was not the case,” Wilders said on X late on Wednesday. “Love for my country and voters is bigger and more important than my own position.”

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Israel broke international law with tank shelling that killed journalist, UN finds

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IDF fired two rounds at ‘clearly identifiable journalists’ in Lebanon last year when there was no exchange of fire in area

An Israeli tank that killed a Reuters journalist and wounded six others in Lebanon last year fired two 120mm rounds at a group of “clearly identifiable journalists” in violation of international law, a UN investigation has found.

The investigation by the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil), summarized in a report seen by Reuters, said its personnel did not record any exchange of fire across the border between Israel and Lebanon for more than 40 minutes before the tank opened fire, killing Issam Abdallah, a 37-year-old video journalist.

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Can Haiti avoid history repeating as burning streets meet vying elites?

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Plan for transitional council to rule after prime minister’s resignation brings strong sense of deja vu

Scenes of unrest in Haiti, as Ariel Henry announced his resignation as prime minister amid a violent gang uprising, have brought a strong sense of deja vu.

An international proposal for a transitional council to rule the country appeared to be crumbling on Wednesday. But those jostling for influence are familiar figures associated with political parties, coalitions, and the tiny oligarchic business elite that have been key players in the country’s long-running crisis of political legitimacy.

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European Commission accused of ‘bankrolling dictators’ by MEPs after Tunisia deal

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Members of justice committee say €150m in EU funding went straight to country’s president, Kais Saied

The European Commission has been accused of “bankrolling dictators” by senior MEPs who have claimed that the €150m it gave to Tunisia last year in a migration and development deal has ended up directly in the president’s hands.

A group of MEPs on the human rights, justice and foreign affairs committees at the European parliament launched a scathing attack on the executive in Brussels, expressing anxiety over reports that the commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, was about to seal a similar deal with Egypt.

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Rwanda opposition leader barred from election over past convictions

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Victoire Ingabire, who was pardoned for terrorism and genocide denial offences, denounces court’s ‘clearly politicised’ ruling

A Rwandan court has found the opposition leader and dissident Victoire Ingabire ineligible to run in the July presidential election because of previous convictions for terrorism and genocide denial.

A fierce critic of Rwanda’s long-ruling president, Paul Kagame, Ingabire spent eight years in prison before receiving a presidential pardon in 2018 that cut short her 15-year sentence.

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Canadian man says daughter, 27, lacks ability to fully consent to assisted death

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Father calls on judge to block medically assisted death in case that highlights limits on family members’ ability to intervene

A Canadian man has called on a judge to block his 27-year-old daughter’s medically assisted death, arguing she lacks the ability to fully consent to the procedure in a case that highlights the limits on family members’ ability to intervene when a person has decided to die.

The Alberta woman – known as MV due to a publication ban – was set to die on 1 February after receiving approval from two doctors. But her father, WV, successfully applied for an injunction, arguing that she has an undiagnosed mental illness that prevents her from fully consenting to the procedure.

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Russia-Ukraine war: conflict could spin out of control due to Nato actions, claims Russia – as it happened

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Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova says war could expand geographically. This live blog is closed

Leonid Volkov told Reuters hours before an assailant attacked him with a hammer and tear gas outside his home in Lithuania that he and other exiles feared for their lives.

Volkov, the top aide to Alexei Navalny, said leaders of the late Russian opposition leader’s organisation knew they were facing “high individual risks” in an interview filmed on Tuesday hours before an unidentified attacker assaulted him outside his home.

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A Separation director Asghar Farhadi cleared of plagiarism claims, says agent

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The double Oscar winner’s film A Hero won the grand prix at Cannes in 2021 but was the subject of an alleged copyright infringement brought by a former student

Iranian director Asghar Farhadi has been cleared of charges of plagiarism over his film A Hero brought by one of his students, the agency representing him said on Wednesday.

The film, about a prisoner in the Iranian city of Shiraz, won the grand prix at the Cannes film festival in 2021.

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Lithuania blames Putin for Vilnius hammer attack on Navalny aide

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Baltic country’s state security says assault on Leonid Volkov was probably to stop Russian opposition influencing election

Lithuania has blamed Moscow for the bloody hammer attack on a longtime aide to the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny outside his home in Vilnius.

Leonid Volkov, 43, was in hospital briefly after he was attacked with a hammer by an unknown assailant on Tuesday night in the Lithuanian capital.

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