Category Archives: World News

Revealed: Saudi Arabia’s $6bn spend on ‘sportswashing’

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Exclusive: Billions deployed since early 2021 in a move critics say is an attempt to distract from human rights record

Saudi Arabia has spent at least $6.3bn (£4.9bn) in sports deals since early 2021, more than quadruple the previous amount spent over a six-year period, in what critics have labelled an effort to distract from its human rights record.

Saudi Arabia has deployed billions from its Public Investment Fund over the last two-and-a-half years according to analysis by the Guardian, spending on sports at a scale that has completely changed professional golf and transformed the international transfer market for football.

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Michael K Williams: drug dealer in overdose death of Wire actor sentenced to 30 months in prison

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Williams’ nephew and The Wire creator David Simon spoke on behalf of Carlos Macci, 72, who pleaded guilty to conspiring to possessing and distributing narcotics

A 72-year-old man linked to a crew of drug dealers blamed in the fentanyl-laced heroin death of The Wire actor Michael K Williams has been sentenced to more than two years in prison at a proceeding in which the actor’s nephew recommended compassion for the defendant.

Carlos Macci was sentenced to 30 months in prison by US district judge Ronnie Abrams, who told Macci that selling heroin and fentanyl “not only cost Mr Williams his life, but it’s costing your freedom” – in part because he did not stop selling drugs after Williams died.

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Spot the difference: why drongos are likely to clock African cuckoo eggs 94% of the time

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Zambia study finds egg variability and random nest selection by cuckoos helps fork-tailed drongos rumble impostors

Cuckoos might be the ultimate avian con artists, laying lookalike eggs in the nests of other birds to avoid raising their own young, but researchers say at least one potential victim is remarkably good at rumbling the fraud.

Scientists studying the African cuckoo have revealed that while the birds are able to produce almost identical-looking eggs to those of the fork-tailed drongo, the latter is likely to reject an impostor egg about 94% of the time.

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UK inaction let Wagner group flourish and grow, say MPs

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Foreign affairs select committee condemns government’s ‘dismal lack of understanding’ about group’s hold in Africa

A decade-long failure by the British government has allowed the Wagner network to grow, spread its tentacles deep into Africa and exploit vulnerable countries, according to a highly critical report from the UK’s foreign affairs select committee.

It called on the government to proscribe the Wagner group in the UK and to make a far more concerted effort to stop it using the City of London as a financial centre.

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Public health experts excoriate Canada Covid response and call for inquiry

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Country failed to collect and share data, masking issues and inequalities, according to editorial in British Medical Journal

Prominent public health experts have called on Canada to launch an inquiry into its Covid response, arguing that the country’s failure to collect and share data masked issues and inequalities that – if properly addressed early on – could have saved lives.

The call to action came alongside a scathing editorial in the British Medical Journal, titled “The world expected more of Canada”, which argues that Canada’s “overall impression of adequacy” conceals important inequalities.

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Six men guilty of murder over Brussels terrorist attacks in 2016

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Islamic State bombers killed 32 and injured more than 300 in attacks at subway station and airport

Six men have been found guilty of murder and attempted murder for their part in the 2016 Brussels terrorist attacks that killed 32 people and injured more than 300.

They include Salah Abdeslam, who is already serving a life sentence in France for his role in the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks which targeted the Bataclan theatre and France’s national stadium, killing 130 people and injuring 350. He was arrested four days before the Brussels attack.

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Ecuador declares prison emergency as inmates killed and 100 guards taken hostage

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President Lasso imposes 60-day order and authorizes armed forces to retake control of country’s violence-plagued prisons

Ecuador’s president, Guillermo Lasso, has declared a 60-day state of emergency throughout the country’s prisons and authorized the armed forces to retake control of jails, following violence in the country’s most notorious prison that left 18 dead and a string of protests in which inmates took nearly 100 guards hostage.

The measure – the second state of emergency that Lasso has ordered in less than 24 hours – will be in effect for 60 days and orders the immediate mobilization of the military and police in an effort to regain control of the prisons.

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Mexican security forces were complicit in kidnapping of 43 student teachers, report reveals

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Report finds army, navy, police and intelligence agencies knew, minute by minute, where the student teachers were

Mexican security forces at local, state and federal level were complicit in the 2014 abduction of 43 student teachers and concealed documents which showed where some of them were taken, a report prepared by an independent investigatory panel has concluded.

The Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) tasked with investigating the case said in their findings that the Army, Navy, police and intelligence agencies knew, minute by minute, where the students were.

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‘Like Squid Game’: British tourists in Rhodes on their holidays from hell

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Holidaymakers booked into luxury hotels but sleeping in a sports hall feel let down by tour operators but are touched by the kindness of locals

“Have you ever watched Squid Game? This is how it feels.” The words of one British tourist, among the last remaining of 700 holidaymakers put up in an evacuation centre in Rhodes after fleeing the raging wildfires, summed up the chaos and panic that many had experienced as dream holidays had gone up in smoke.

Susan Johnson, 64, from Salisbury, had arrived in Rhodes on Saturday night for a luxurious stay in a five-star hotel, but after landing she had been bussed to Venetokleio sports hall, where she had spent the following four days. She was growing increasingly tired and frustrated and was in pain. “We’re still not sleeping at night,” she said on Tuesday morning. “You don’t sleep properly.”

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Fight for Israel’s future in balance after a win for Netanyahu coalition

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A constitutional crisis is brewing, more protests are expected and PM looks weak despite victory

One of the most extraordinary moments of Monday, a fateful day in Israeli history, came just before the first part of the governing coalition’s contentious judicial overhaul was voted into law. Benjamin Netanyahu was sitting in the plenum of the Knesset building in Jerusalem sandwiched between his justice minister, Yariv Levin, the architect of the wide-ranging legislation, and his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, its most vocal critic on the government’s benches.

The two fellow Likud members argued bitterly over Netanyahu’s head as the longtime prime minister, never usually one to shy away from a fight, sat quietly between them. He may as well have not been there.

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At least 18 die in attack in Sudanese city of Omdurman

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Dozens also injured as army shells three neighbourhoods in city close to capital, Khartoum

At least 18 people have been killed in the Sudanese city of Omdurman as the war between the national army chief and his former deputy continues.

Dozens of people were also injured when the army shelled three neighbourhoods in the city, which lies next to the capital, Khartoum, residents said.

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Russian fighter jet fires flares at US drone in Syria

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Latest aggressive intercept by Russia in region sees drone damaged, a week after jet flew dangerously close to US aircraft

A Russian fighter jet flew within a few meters of a US drone over Syria and fired flares at it, striking the American aircraft and damaging it, the latest in a string of aggressive intercepts by Russia in the region.

A senior air force commander said the Russians attempted on Sunday to knock the MQ-9 Reaper drone out of the sky. It came just a week after a Russian fighter jet flew dangerously close to a US surveillance aircraft carrying a crew in the region, jeopardizing the lives of the four Americans on board.

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Still no sign of Qin Gang as China says foreign minister has been replaced

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Beijing announces former US ambassador has been removed from office after speculation about his whereabouts

China’s foreign minister, Qin Gang, who has not been seen in public for almost a month amid a mysterious absence, has been removed from office and replaced by his predecessor, Wang Yi, China’s top legislative body has announced.

The sudden calling of a special meeting Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC) with one day’s notice, had fuelled speculation there may be answers about the disappearance of Qin, who was last seen in public almost a month ago.

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Russia-Ukraine war: ex-US Marine freed in prisoner swap injured fighting in Ukraine; UN rejects Moscow claim on prison massacre – as it happened

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Trevor Reed has been taken to Germany for treatment; UN human rights chief rejects claims a US-supplied HIMARS missile from Ukraine was responsible

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The UK Ministry of Defence has issued its daily intelligence briefing on how it sees the war progressing, and today the focus is on Odesa. The ministry writes that since 18 July 2023, Russia has conducted greater numbers of long-range strikes against Odesa, and puts this down to the end of the Black Sea grain deal.

It says:

Between August 2022 and June 2023, when the Black Sea Grain Initiative was still in force, Russia generally refrained from striking civil infrastructure in the southern ports.

Since Russia failed to renew the deal, the Kremlin likely feels less politically constrained, and is attempting to strike targets in Odesa because it believes Ukraine is storing military assets in these areas.

This is Martin Belam taking over the live blog in London. You can contact me at martin.belam@theguardian.com.

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Storms and wildfires kill seven in Italy as extreme weather continues

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Three people killed in Sicily fires and four in northern storms as hundreds forced to flee homes

Seven people have died in the past 24 hours as two extreme weather events split Italy between wildfires in the south and violent storms in the north.

Fires in Sicily caused the temporary closure of Palermo airport after temperatures in the city climbed to 47C on Monday.

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Venice film festival picks starry films despite actors’ strike

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Hollywood films vying for Golden Lion include Bradley Cooper’s Maestro and Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things, with non-competition films by Wes Anderson and Richard Linklater

The Venice film festival appears to have largely shrugged off issues caused by non-attendance of Hollywood actors due to the Sag-Aftra strike as it unveiled its lineup for its 2023 edition.

Venice has traditionally functioned partly as a platform for major American releases looking for strong positioning in the autumn awards season, and it has already seen its originally announced opening film Challengers, a tennis drama starring Zendaya, drop out after it was forced to delay its release date.

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Final straw? Choc-mint drink becomes symbol of political betrayal in Thailand

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Cafes refuse to sell Pheu Thai party candidate’s favourite beverage amid fears of plot to ice-out coalition partners

For some in Thailand, the thought of a chocolate-mint ice drink suddenly leaves a bad taste.

Several cafes have suspended their sales. One shop described it as a “betray-your-friend” drink in a graphic posted on their Facebook page. Another said it was a drink to “kick your friend into the boat”, a phrase that means to push a friend away.

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Rhodes wildfires are climate wake-up call, says UK minister

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Patrick Courtown sounds warning as evacuation flights head to Greek island to rescue stranded Britons

Wildfires in Rhodes are a “wake-up call” on the effects of the climate crisis, a UK government minister has said, as empty planes were sent to the Greek island to help bring home stranded Britons.

After a mass evacuation from parts of Rhodes, members of the House of Lords were told the situation was “stabilising” and there was no immediate need for the government to advise people to stop travelling there.

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Why is South Carolina still building roads on top of Black communities?

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Residents in Sandridge, South Carolina, are up in arms about a proposed highway that would destroy their homes

For decades, Bobbie Anne Hemingway Jordan lived on the same property, in the house where she was born. Her backyard was often filled with the sound of her two dozen grandkids as they ran to and from the park next door. For generations, Hemingway Jordan’s family lived and farmed on the land, and the 82-year-old believed it would be passed down to future generations as well. “I thought it would be left to my children, and they could leave it to their children,” she said.

Then, in 2021, appraisers offered to buy the land and her house. The sum she received for her three-bedroom, two-bath house was just enough money to purchase a one-bedroom apartment in a nearby community.

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