Category Archives: World News

US expected to ease Covid testing for arrivals from China

Posted on by

Improving situation in China prompts decision, say news reports quoting Biden administration officials

The US is preparing to relax Covid-19 testing restrictions for travellers from China as soon as Friday, according to two people familiar with the decision.

The people, who were not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the Biden administration had decided to roll back the testing requirements as cases, hospitalisations and deaths were declining in China and the US had gathered better information about the surge. The Washington Post was first to report on Tuesday about the easing of requirements.

Continue reading...

Chinese cities hit record high temperatures for early March

Posted on by

After months of extreme heat, Wuhan has registered spring temperatures of 26C, while Beijing and surrounding cities hit 25C

Temperatures in more than a dozen Chinese cities have hit record seasonal highs this week, with central China’s Wuhan and Zhengzhou more than 10C hotter than average for early March, official data showed.

Wuhan, located on the middle reaches of the Yangtze river, registered temperatures of 26C on Monday, 12 degrees higher than the long-term early March average, while Beijing and surrounding cities also saw temperatures reach 25C earlier this week.

Continue reading...

Police use water cannon in Georgia to disperse protests at ‘authoritarian’ law

Posted on by

Critics of ‘foreign agents’ law say it could dash Tbilisi’s hopes of joining the European Union

Police in the former Soviet state of Georgia have used water cannon and teargas in an attempt to disperse thousands of people who rallied on Tuesday night after parliament gave its initial backing to a draft law on “foreign agents” which critics say represents an authoritarian shift.

Some protesters threw petrol bombs and stones at police in the centre of the capital Tbilisi, as demonstrators warned that the draft law could hurt the south Caucasus country’s hopes of EU membership.

Continue reading...

Two Americans kidnapped in Mexico found dead, officials say

Posted on by

Two killed, third person injured and fourth unharmed after quartet traveling for cosmetic surgery were seized in Tamaulipas

Two of four Americans kidnapped in northern Mexico have been found dead, authorities said on Tuesday, while their two compatriots were found alive, bringing to an end the frantic search that had captivated media attention on both sides of the border.

The governor for Mexico’s northern Tamaulipas state, Américo Villarreal, confirmed the news at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, adding that one person who had been found watching over the victims was in custody.

Continue reading...

Four thousand civilians in Bakhmut, says Ukraine, as west says Russia has sustained up to 30,000 casualties there – as it happened

Posted on by

Ukraine deputy PM says around 38 children remain in besieged city as western officials estimate Russia has sustained heavy losses there

Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, reports on its Telegram channel for Sumy that Bilopillia, a city in the north-east of Ukraine, close to the border with Russia, has been hit by mortar fire this morning. No damage or casualties were reported. The claim has not been independently verified.

Russian forces carried out 50 airstrikes and five missile strikes overnight and Ukrainian forces repelled 37 attacks in the area around Bakhmut, according to the latest update by the General staff of the armed forces of Ukraine.

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

Continue reading...

At least six Palestinians killed in IDF raid on Jenin refugee camp

Posted on by

Israeli forces enter camp to find gunman suspected of killing two brothers in Huwara last week

At least six Palestinians have been killed and 10 wounded in an Israeli army raid on the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, according to Palestinian officials, the latest bloody incident in a new chapter of violence across Israel and the Palestinian territories.

A fierce gun battle erupted in the crowded refugee camp on Jenin’s western outskirts on Tuesday afternoon after the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) mounted an operation to find the Palestinian gunman suspected of killing two Israeli brothers as they drove through the West Bank town of Huwara last week.

Continue reading...

China to set up new financial watchdog as part of reforms

Posted on by

New body will replace banking and insurance regulators after concerns over creaking property market

China will set up a new financial watchdog to replace its banking and insurance regulators as part of an overhaul of state institutions after concern about exposure to its creaking property market.

The new body, which does not have an official name yet, would bring oversight of China’s financial system under direct control of the State Council, the top government body. There are also reports that the president, Xi Jinping, who will in all likelihood be granted a third presidential term on Friday, will revive the Central Financial Work Commission, an organisation that would supervise the financial system on behalf of the Chinese Communist party, although this has yet to be announced publicly.

Continue reading...

HelloFresh drops Thai coconut milk after Peta monkey labour campaign

Posted on by

Thai government rejects Peta’s claims, saying the practice of using monkeys to harvest is rarely used in industry

The meal kit provider HelloFresh has said it will no longer sell coconut milk sourced from Thailand, after campaigning by an animal rights group that accused coconut farms in the country of using monkey labour.

The company confirmed to Axios that it does not tolerate “any form of animal abuse in our supply chain” and “out of an abundance of caution” will not be placing orders for coconut milk from Thailand. HelloFresh has not yet responded to the Guardian’s request for comment.

Continue reading...

Beloved California mountain lion P-22 laid to rest in tribal burial

Posted on by

Mountain lion or cougar, who made his home in Los Angeles’s Griffith Park, was put down in December after illness and injury

Tribal leaders, scientists and conservation advocates buried southern California’s most famous mountain lion Saturday in the mountains where the big cat once roamed.

After making his home in the urban Griffith Park – home of the Hollywood sign – for the past decade, P-22 became a symbol for California’s endangered mountain lions and their decreasing genetic diversity. The mountain lion’s name comes from being the 22nd puma in a National Park Service study.

Continue reading...

Zelenskiy vows to ‘find the murderers’ of PoW allegedly shot dead by Russians

Posted on by

Ukrainian president’s comments come after video appears to show killing of unarmed combatant

Volodymyr Zelenskiy has vowed to “find the murderers” of an unarmed Ukrainian prisoner of war apparently shot dead by Russian troops as the Ukrainian military named the man it said was in the footage that spread rapidly across social media on Monday.

In the graphic 12-second clip that first circulated on Telegram and was widely shared on Twitter, a detained combatant, named by the Ukrainian military as Tymofiy Mykolayovych Shadura, is seen standing in a shallow trench smoking a cigarette. The soldier, in uniform with a Ukrainian flag insignia on his arm, says “Glory to Ukraine” and is then apparently shot with automatic weapons.

Continue reading...

Spain approves draft law for gender quotas in business and politics

Posted on by

Legislation aims to increase number of women in decision-making roles such as in company boardrooms

Spain’s government has approved a draft law that aims to bolster the presence of women in decision-making spheres by setting out quotas for women in politics, business and professional associations.

“This is useful policy that changes people’s lives,” the country’s finance minister, Nadia Calviño, said on Tuesday. “It’s clear that we’ve come a long way … but there is still a lot to do.”

Continue reading...

Poland’s ruling party under fire after suicide of opposition MP’s son

Posted on by

Mikolaj Filiks, 15, killed himself after state-run radio station helped identify him as victim of paedophile

Poland’s ruling Law & Justice party has come under fire over the death of an opposition MP’s 15-year-old son, who killed himself after a report by a state-run radio station led to his identification as the victim of a paedophile.

The Polish parliament, the Sejm, stood for a minute’s silence on Tuesday during the funeral of Mikolaj Filiks. His mother, Magdalena Filiks, an MP from Poland’s main opposition party, Civic Platform, said last week that he had died in February.

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org.e

Continue reading...

Ex-official in Clinton and Obama White Houses dies in air turbulence incident

Posted on by

Dana Hyde, 55, was flying from Maryland to New England and suffered blunt-force injuries from violent turbulence

A former official in the Bill Clinton and Barack Obama White Houses died last Friday after the private business jet that the prominent Washington attorney was on experienced stability issues and encountered severe turbulence mid-flight.

The National Transportation Safety Board has since started investigating “a reported trim issue that occurred prior to the in-flight upset” that affected the plane’s altitude control and may have caused the instability.

Continue reading...

Iran makes first arrests over suspected schoolgirl poisonings

Posted on by

No details given about suspects as regime cracks down on criticism of its response to alleged school attacks

Iran has announced the first arrests connected to a spate of suspected poisonings of schoolgirls that has gripped the country.

“Based on the intelligence and research measures of the intelligence agencies, a number of people have been arrested in five provinces and the relevant agencies are conducting a full investigation,” the deputy interior minister, Majid Mirahmadi, told state television. Mirahmadi did not provide details on the detained individuals.

Continue reading...

Journalists go on trial in Egypt for ‘offending MPs’

Posted on by

Mada Masr, Egypt’s only remaining independent news outlet, reported alleged corruption among supporters of President Sisi

Three journalists from Egypt’s last remaining independent news outlet have gone on trial in Cairo on charges of misusing social media and offending members of parliament.

Rana Mamdouh, Sara Seif Eddin and Beesan Kassab, who work for the Mada Masr news platform, face up to two years in prison and fines of 300,000 EGP (£8,100) if the court convicts them.

Continue reading...

Israeli military reservists refuse to train in protest at far-right government

Posted on by

Growing numbers including from elite air force squadron say they are unwilling to serve ‘dictatorial regime’

Growing numbers of Israel’s military reservists, including members of its most important air force squadron, are refusing to attend for service, an unprecedented step that comes as part of the protest movement against the country’s new far-right government.

In an announcement on Sunday, all but three of the 40 reservist pilots in Israel’s elite 69 Squadron said they would not take part in a training exercise later this week, and instead participate in widespread public protests, claiming they were not prepared to serve a “dictatorial regime”.

Continue reading...

Canada roiled by leaked intelligence reports of Chinese election ‘meddling’

Posted on by

Trudeau resists calls for public inquiry as leaks spark fierce debate and threaten to dent country’s reputation with allies

A flurry of leaked intelligence reports has reignited allegations that China interfered in Canada’s recent federal elections, kicking off a fierce debate over possible responses to Beijing’s meddling.

But the leaks also run the risk of harming Canada’s reputation among its allies, experts warn, as the country’s spy agency struggles to respond to mounting public concern.

Continue reading...

Biden administration urged to block extremist Israeli minister’s visit

Posted on by

Several groups and individuals are rallying against Bezalel Smotrich’s visit over his comments to ‘wipe out’ a Palestinian town

The Biden administration is under growing pressure to block a visit by Israel’s extremist finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, over his call to “wipe out” a Palestinian town that was the target of an attack by Jewish settlers.

Smotrich’s plan to speak at an investment conference in Washington DC next week has drawn unusually strong criticism, including accusations that he is promoting “Jewish supremacy”, from individuals and groups that are more usually ardent defenders of Israel.

Continue reading...

China foreign minister warns of potential for conflict with US and hails Russia ties

Posted on by

In a bellicose first press conference, Qin Gang rebuked Washington over its Taiwan policy and the balloon incident, while praising Beijing’s relationship with Russia

The US and China are heading towards inevitable conflict if Washington does not change its approach, China’s new foreign minister has said in a fiery press conference in which he defended his country’s strengthening relationship with Russia.

In his first media appearance as foreign minister, held on Tuesday on the sidelines of the “two sessions” political gathering, Qin Gang outlined China’s foreign policy agenda for the coming years, presenting China and its relationship with Russia as a beacon of strength and stability, and the US and its allies as a source of tension and conflict.

Continue reading...

UK among most liberal countries on divorce and abortion, survey reveals

Posted on by

Global study shows significant shift in UK attitudes on matters such as casual sex and assisted dying

The UK has overtaken Canada, Germany and Australia to become one of the world’s most socially liberal nations towards divorce and abortion, the latest wave of a global study has revealed.

Significant increases in the last five years in people saying the practices are justifiable is mirrored by sharply increasing acceptance of homosexuality, casual sex and prostitution over the same period, the World Values Survey found.

Continue reading...