Suspects admit using excavator to smash hole in Ming-era section in Shanxi province, state media say
Two people have been detained after using an excavator to dig a hole in the Great Wall of China, said the state broadcaster CCTV.
Police in Shanxi province followed tracks made by machinery used to dig a shortcut through a segment of the wall – remains of the immense structure built by China’s emperors to deter foreign invaders.
Continue reading...Traders close shops, electricity bills are set alight and utility firm staff are attacked as anger rises over living costs and political strife
Protests against rising electricity and petrol prices have rocked Pakistan over the past week, with thousands taking to city streets and setting their electricity bills alight.
The cost of electricity has doubled in the last three months to about 50 rupees (12p) a kilowatt. Petrol prices have shot up from 262 rupees a litre in June to 305 rupees this month.
Continue reading...Court in Karlsruhe decides against extradition of Albanian man ‘in view of the state of the British prison system’
A German court has refused to extradite to the UK a man accused of drug trafficking because of concerns about prison conditions in Britain, in what is thought to be the first case of its kind.
The decision has been described as a “severe rebuke” and “an embarrassment for the UK” by a member of the Law Society.
Continue reading...North Korean and Russian leaders expected to discuss military cooperation in Vladivostok
Kim Jong-un will reportedly travel to Russia this month to meet Vladimir Putin and discuss the possibility of supplying weapons to the Kremlin for the war in Ukraine.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said details of the expected meeting were still unclear, but added that it was likely to take place in the Russian port city of Vladivostok, given its proximity to North Korea.
Continue reading...Terms like ‘steak’, ‘grill’ and ‘spare ribs’ must be expunged from plant-based products, says agriculture ministry, amid simmering dispute
The French government has said it is preparing a new decree against meaty terms like “steak”, “grill” and “spare ribs” being used to describe plant-based products.
Its latest decree is “an issue of transparency and honesty responding to the legitimate expectations of consumers and producers”, agriculture minister Marc Fesneau said in a statement on Monday.
Continue reading...Alleged victim says she was sexually assaulted by a group of Israeli men while on holiday in Ayia Napa
A group of young Israeli men have been detained in Cyprus after local police said they needed time to investigate accusations of gang-rape from a British woman on holiday in Ayia Napa.
The five men, all aged 19 or 20, were remanded on order of a district court magistrate in Famagusta for a further eight days after their arrest late on Sunday. The Briton, who is 20 and cannot legally be identified, told police she had been sexually assaulted by the Israelis after being “taken by force” from the pool area of her hotel to her room.
Continue reading...Gen Brice Oligui Nguema pledges to restore civilian rule but does not give timeframe after ousting of Ali Bongo
Brice Oligui Nguema, the general who led a coup last week that toppled Gabon’s 55-year-old ruling dynasty, has taken the oath of office as interim president and promised “free, transparent and credible elections” to restore civilian rule, though without giving a timeframe.
He also pledged to grant amnesty to political prisoners and insisted the coup had saved Gabon from bloodshed after elections that were “obviously loaded”.
Continue reading...Opposition politicians claim that voters faced widespread intimidation in election won by Zimbabwe’s president
Emmerson Mnangagwa has promised to give Zimbabweans a better life after he was sworn in as the country’s president for a second term following a vote that the opposition has claimed was stolen.
“The lives of our people should be improved, nothing less,” Mnangagwa told thousands of supporters at the National Sports stadium in Harare, and called for peace and tolerance from political opponents.
Continue reading...Anthony Albanese is expected to announce the new economic blueprint during his trip to the Indonesian capital Jakarta
Anthony Albanese will fly to Jakarta this week to launch a major new strategy to deepen Australia’s trade and investment ties with south-east Asia and hedge against top trading partner China.
Despite China recently reopening the door to key Australian exports that it shunned at the height of diplomatic tensions in 2020, the Albanese government wants to diversify economic ties to reduce exposure to further political tumult.
Continue reading...Chinese-owned MG’s MG4 is Britain’s bestselling EV after Tesla’s Model Y in first seven months of year
China’s share of the European electric car market has more than doubled in less than two years as the world’s second largest economy tries to take the lead in the transition away from petrol and diesel cars.
The UK is the largest market in Europe for Chinese electric car brands, accounting for almost a third of sales in 2023 so far, according to data from Schmidt Automotive Research on the 18 largest European car markets. About 5% of all new car sales in the UK were from Chinese brands in the first seven months of 2023, a market share second only to Sweden.
Continue reading...Oil-producing African nations argue they should be able to use fossil fuel resources for economic growth
African leaders and campaigners are at odds over the way forward for the continent as a critical climate summit begins in Nairobi.
Some countries, such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa, have been expanding their renewable energy access and leading transition efforts on the continent, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.
Continue reading...Oleksii Reznikov, whose ministry has been hit by corruption scandals, confirms in letter he is stepping down
Ukraine’s defence minister has submitted his resignation letter after Volodymyr Zelenskiy removed him from his post on Sunday night, in the biggest reshuffle by the president of his government team since Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion.
Oleksii Reznikov, whose ministry has been hit by corruption scandals, said he had written to the chair of Ukraine’s parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, confirming he was stepping down.
Continue reading...Russian president says the Black Sea grain deal will not be restored until restrictions on the export of Russian agricultural products are lifted
The abduction of Ukrainian children and their subsequent transportation to Russia is being investigated as potential genocide by an independent international commission of inquiry on Ukraine.
Chairman Erik Møse told a press conference on Monday that the commission is trying to establish what has happened to the children once they enter occupied territory or Russia itself.
In order to find that there is such a genocidal act with respect to the transfer of children, you would have to know exactly what is happening further on in the Russian Federation.
We have limited access to this and the information we are receiving is not always the same.
We receive some information from persons who have been able to reach from Ukrainian parents who have been able to go either into the occupied territories or even into Russia to retrieve their children or grandchildren and that gives an indication.
We will pursue these investigations and see whether, as a whole, there is an intent to destroy a group and these are the strict qualifications under the genocide convention. As of now, we have no such conclusion and our work continues.
I have submitted my letter of resignation to Ruslan Stefanchuk, Chairman of the Parliament of Ukraine.
It was an honor to serve the Ukrainian people and work for the #UAarmy for the last 22 months, the toughest period of Ukraine’s modern history.
Continue reading...Lawsuit says network discloses user data at request of Saudi authorities at much higher rate than for US, UK and Canada
The social media company formerly known as Twitter has been accused in a revised civil US lawsuit of helping Saudi Arabia commit grave human rights abuses against its users, including by disclosing confidential user data at the request of Saudi authorities at a much higher rate than it has for the US, UK, or Canada.
The lawsuit was brought last May against X, as Twitter is now known, by Areej al-Sadhan, the sister of a Saudi aid worker who was forcibly disappeared and then later sentenced to 20 years in jail.
Continue reading...Director attacks ‘extremes’ of movement while promoting Coup de Chance, his 50th film, at Venice film festival, as well as addressing persistent interest in historic allegations against him
Woody Allen has voiced his support for the #MeToo movement while promoting his new film, adding that he sometimes finds cancel culture “silly”.
The director’s career has lately been mired by a recent refocusing in social media on an allegation made against him in 1993, when his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow, said he had sexually assaulted her in an attic at the time of the custody battle between Allen and Dylan’s adoptive mother, Mia Farrow.
Continue reading...Turkish and Russian leaders hold talks as Moscow continues to attack Ukrainian grain-exporting ports
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has concluded face-to-face talks with Vladimir Putin by claiming a deal to export Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea could be revived.
But there was no evidence of a breakthrough as the Russian leader again accused the west of reneging on promises.
Continue reading...This year’s heatwaves have been a huge challenge – and scientists predict 2024 will likely break records again
It’s been a record-breaking summer of heatwaves across large parts of the US and the world, and trying to stay cool and safe has been an unprecedented challenge.
There has been a rise in heat-related fatalities; companies and organizations have been under greater pressures to protect workers; and officials from small towns to the White House have been scrambling to respond.
Continue reading...Rat tourism become latest must-experience trend in city besieged by infestations that affect residents’ quality of life
The Empire State Building. The Statue of Liberty. Central Park. Times Square. A horde of rats sprinting between an underground nest and a restaurant, squeaking and squealing as a group of tourists cheer them on.
New York has never lacked for attractions, but that last one on the list is one of its most unexpected.
Continue reading...The National Labor Relations Board has reinstated 28 of the more than 200 pro-union workers fired since late 2021
Alicia Flores had worked at Starbucks in Portland, Oregon, for seven years until June, when she received a voicemail from a manager – filling in for her usual boss, who was taking a leave of absence – who informed her she was being fired.
Flores is far from alone.
Continue reading...The season was a mixed bag in Britain, but Japan has had its hottest summer on record
Entering September brings the arrival of meteorological autumn in the northern hemisphere, officially drawing the summer of 2023 to a close.
In the UK, the summer was a mixed bag. We started with a fairly pleasant June before entering into a wet and windy July caused by multiple consecutive weekend low pressure synoptic situations. A relatively unusual August followed in which we had two named storms, Antoni and Betty, before a pleasant warm spell.
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