Category Archives: World News

Russia accuses Ukraine of using UK-supplied missiles to strike bridge to Crimea

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Chonhar Bridge is one of a handful of infrastructures linking Crimea with the mainland

Russian-backed officials in southern Ukraine have accused Kyiv of using British-supplied long-range missiles to strike a bridge connecting Kherson province with the Crimean peninsula.

The strike on the Chonhar Bridge, one of the few links between mainland Ukraine and Crimea, came two days after Moscow threatened to attack Kyiv’s “decision-making centres” if western-supplied missiles were used against Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.

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Draft EU plans to allow spying on journalists are dangerous, warn critics

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Move to allow spyware to be placed on reporters’ phones would have a ‘chilling effect’, say media experts

Draft legislation published by EU leaders that would allow national security agencies to spy on journalists has been condemned by media and civic society groups as dangerous and described by a leading MEP as “incomprehensible”.

On Wednesday, the European Council – which represents the governments of EU member states – published a draft of the European Media Freedom Act that would allow spyware to be placed on journalists’ phones if a national government thought it necessary.

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More than 160 people rescued from boats near Canary Islands

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Rescues come as refugee charities say more than 30 people may have died after dinghy sank on same route this week

Emergency services say 168 people have been rescued near Spain’s Canary Islands, one day after refugee charities said they feared more than 30 people had died after their inflatable dinghy sank on the same route.

The Canary Islands, off the coast of west Africa, have become the main destination for refugees and migrants trying to reach Spain, with a much smaller number also seeking to cross the Mediterranean Sea to the Spanish mainland. Summer is the busiest period for all attempted crossings.

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Titan submersible: missing man, 19, is a student at university in Glasgow

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Suleman Dawood, who joined voyage with his billionaire father Shahzada, had just finished his first year

Suleman Dawood, one of the five men missing on the submersible dive to visit the Titanic, is a student at a university in Glasgow.

The University of Strathclyde confirmed that Dawood, 19, was one of its students with Strathclyde business school, and had just completed his first year.

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India secretly works to preserve reputation after ‘flawed democracy’ rating

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Exclusive: Democracy Index downgrades country amid backsliding under nationalist rule of Narendra Modi

The Indian government has been secretly working to keep its reputation as the “world’s largest democracy” alive after being called out by researchers for serious democratic backsliding under the nationalist rule of Narendra Modi, according to internal reports seen by the Guardian.

Despite publicly dismissing several global rankings that suggest the country is on a dangerous downward trajectory, officials from government ministries have been quietly assigned to monitor India’s performance, minutes from meetings show.

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Special hearing to examine decisions made after Ohio trail derailment

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NTSB to hold rare field hearing in East Palestine, Ohio and focus on crucial decision to release and burn toxic vinyl chloride

Some of the key decisions made in the aftermath of February’s fiery derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in eastern Ohio will be examined at a hearing on Thursday.

The National Transportation Safety Board is holding a rare field hearing in East Palestine, Ohio, over the next two days. Thursday’s hearing will focus on the emergency response to the derailment and the crucial decision officials made days later to release the toxic vinyl chloride in five tank cars and burn it to keep those cars from exploding.

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Dozens injured as apple-sized hailstones hit Colorado concertgoers

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Onslaught at Louis Tomlinson concert at Red Rocks amphitheater near Denver described as ‘straight out of a horror movie’

Dozens of people were injured by hailstones the size of apples that pelted concertgoers in Colorado on Wednesday night, with at least seven needing hospital treatment following the powerful storm.

Witnesses described the onslaught, at a concert by former One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson at the Red Rocks amphitheater in Morrison, west of Denver, as “straight out of a horror movie”.

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Trump critic Will Hurd announces Republican run for president

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Former CIA officer and Texas congressman pitches himself as moderate alternative to current crop of primary contenders

Former Texas congressman Will Hurd, a onetime CIA officer and fierce critic of Donald Trump, announced on Thursday that he’s running for president, hoping to build momentum as a more moderate alternative to the Republican primary field’s early front-runner.

Hurd, who made the announcement on CBS Mornings, served three terms in the House through January 2021, becoming the chamber’s only Black Republican during his final two years in office. He said in a video launching his White House bid that the “soul of our country is under attack,” reminiscent of Democrat Joe Biden’s slogan about the 2020 race being a “battle for the soul of the nation.”

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Guest spends 603 nights at five-star Indian hotel ‘without paying’

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Ankush Dutta was meant to check out after one night but reportedly stayed for nearly two years

Indian police are investigating a suspected fraudster who spent nearly two years in a five-star hotel without paying, local media have said.

Ankush Dutta booked a room at Roseate House hotel in Delhi on 30 May 2019 and was supposed to check out the next day. But he extended his stay for 603 nights until 22 January 2021, leaving behind unpaid bills of $70,000 (£55,000).

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Moscow court rules US reporter accused of spying must remain in detention

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US ambassador says she is ‘extremely disappointed’ at decision not to release WSJ journalist Evan Gershkovich

A Moscow court has ruled that the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich must remain in pre-trial detention on espionage charges until at least late August, rejecting the American journalist’s appeal to be released.

Gershkovich appeared slightly pale and with longer hair after almost three months’ detention in Lefortovo prison in Moscow, which is reserved for targets of FSB investigations. He was smiling in some photos.

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Titanic sub: rescuers intensify search as fears grow over Titan’s remaining oxygen supply

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Equipment including deep sea vehicles heading to site as theoretical limit of oxygen supply inside Titan submersible nears

The search for a submersible that went missing during a dive to the wreck of Titanic has entered its fourth day, amid concerns the oxygen supply sustaining its five passengers is running dangerously low.

Equipment from the US, Canada, UK and France is heading to the scene of the search, about 400 miles (640km) south of St John’s, Newfoundland, joining an international coalition of rescue teams that is sweeping a vast expanse of the north Atlantic for the Titan after it went missing on Sunday, nearly two hours into its dive.

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Indian minister invites opposition for talks over ‘dire’ Manipur situation

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Ethnic violence in north-eastern state has led to more than 100 deaths since breaking out in early May

India’s home affairs minister, Amit Shah, has called opposition parties for talks on Saturday to discuss an outbreak of ethnic violence in Manipur state in the north-east, in a sign that the government has acknowledged the situation has spun out of its control.

More than 100 people have died and 50,000 have been displaced since clashes broke out in early May between members of the Kuki ethnic group, who mostly live in the hills, and the Meitei people, the dominant community in the lowlands. Churches, temples, shops and businesses have been destroyed.

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Australian politicians bought Nazi artefacts, auction house director claims

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Gold Coast auction house sold huge collection including photo album of concentration camps and signed pictures of Hitler ahead of federal ban on display and sale of Nazi symbols

An Australian auction house that sold an extensive collection of Nazi artefacts online has defended the sale by stating politicians were among the buyers.

Jewish groups are outraged at the sale of the “blood-stained items” that included signed pictures of Hitler, Himmler and Rommel, a striped concentration camp cap, a “Jewish winter overcoat” with yellow star attached, picture albums of dead soldiers and PoWs and personal photo albums of SS officers.

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Temple visits rise in China as jobless young people seek spiritual assistance

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Number of visitors up 367% at start of year with about half born after 1990, according to travel websites

In the search for a job in a gloomy economy, many young people in China are hoping for divine intervention.

According to data released by the Chinese travel platform Qunar, the number of visitors to temple scenic spots increased by 367% in the first quarter of this year, compared with the same period in 2022.

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Anger in Japan as report reveals children were forcibly sterilised

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Between 1948 and 1996, about 16,500 people were operated on without their consent under a eugenics law, triggering long campaign for redress

Campaigners in Japan have reacted angrily to a government report revealing that children as young as nine were among thousands of people who were forcibly sterilised under a eugenics law that was not repealed until the 1990s.

The 1,400-page report, submitted to parliament this week, details how, between 1948 and 1996, about 16,500 people were operated on without their consent under the law, which aimed to “prevent the birth of poor-quality descendants … and to protect the life and health of the mother”. Most of the victims were women.

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Kenya to launch biggest school meals programme in Africa

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Starting in Nairobi, the initiative aims to provide daily lunches for 4 million primary school children and to ‘eliminate the shame of hunger’

The largest school meals programme in Africa is to begin in Nairobi this August, in a drive to “eliminate the shame of hunger in [Kenya]”.

Ten new kitchens, now under construction, will provide 400,000 daily lunches for children in 225 primary schools and Early Childhood Development centres in the Kenyan capital. The programme will start on 28 August, the first day of the autumn term, and the kitchens will employ 3,500 people.

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China barbecue restaurant explosion kills 31 after gas leak

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Seven people are receiving medical care after the blast in Yinchuan which took place on the eve of a popular local festival

At least 31 people have been killed when an explosion ripped through a restaurant in the north-western Chinese city of Yinchuan on the eve of a popular local holiday, according to state media.

“A leak of liquefied petroleum gas … caused an explosion during the operation of a barbecue restaurant,” state news agency Xinhua said of the Wednesday evening blast, citing the regional Communist party committee.

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‘It’s not going to happen’: Ben Wallace expects hopes of top Nato job to be dashed

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UK defence secretary had earlier shown interest in the role, but the US is believed to want Jens Stoltenberg to stay in post

The defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has said he does not expect to be the next head of Nato, amid claims that the US wants the current leader to stay.

In an interview with the Economist, the Conservative MP said “it’s not going to happen”, adding that he thinks the United States wants the current secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, to remain in post for another year.

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At least 35 people feared dead after dinghy sinks en route to Canary Islands

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Child among the dead and 24 people rescued in Moroccan-led operation, say Spanish maritime sources

At least 35 people are feared to have drowned after an inflatable boat carrying up to 60 migrants and refugees sank while en route to the Canary Islands early on Wednesday morning.

The Spanish migration NGO Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) said 60 people were on the boat, of whom 39 were missing. Another migration NGO, Alarm Phone, put the number of people onboard at 59 and said 35 were missing.

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Titanic sub: ‘We have to remain hopeful’, says US Coast Guard, as vessel thought to have less than 20 hours of oxygen left – live

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Rescue team says every noise being tracked and analysed; ‘every possible effort’ being made to bring missing crew home, says Polar Prince co-owner

An oceanographer has told the BBC the underwater noises give hope that those on board are still alive.

“There are plenty of sound sources in the ocean, but it does give hope,” Simon Boxall, a senior lecturer in oceanography at the University of Southampton, told the World Service.

A Canadian military surveillance aircraft detected underwater noises as a massive search continued on Wednesday in a remote part of the North Atlantic for a submersible that vanished while taking five people down to the wreck of the Titanic.

A statement from the US Coast Guard did not elaborate on what rescuers believed the noises could be, though it offered a glimmer of hope for those lost abroad the Titan as estimates suggest as little as a day’s worth of oxygen could be left if the vessel is still functioning.

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