UK has second highest maternal death rate in eight-country European study

Women in UK three times more likely to die around the time of pregnancy than those in Norway

Mothers in the UK are three times more likely to die around the time of pregnancy compared with those in Norway, according to an international analysis of data.

Although maternal mortality is at historic lows in high-income countries, it remains an important indicator of quality of care, health system performance and, more specifically, maternal care. The comparison of maternal mortality rates in eight European countries was published in the BMJ.

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Arrest of mafia drug-trafficker on Europol’s most wanted list shrouded in mystery

Bruno Carbone, right-hand man of mafia boss Raffaele Imperiale, was arrested at Rome airport amid claims he was extradited from Syria

The arrest of an Italian drug trafficker who was on Europol’s most wanted list is shrouded in mystery amid reports that he was captured and extradited from Syria.

Bruno Carbone, who had been on the run since 2003, was the right-hand man of Raffaele Imperiale, a drug broker for the Naples’ Camorra mafia who was arrested in Dubai in August 2021.

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Missile that hit Poland likely came from Ukraine defences, say Warsaw and Nato

Poland says no evidence to suggest missile was launched by Russia – but Kyiv insists ‘it was not our rocket’

Ukraine’s air defence was probably responsible for a blast that killed two people in south-eastern Poland, the Polish president has said, while Nato said Russia was ultimately to blame as Moscow had started the war and launched the attack that triggered Kyiv’s defences.

While fears eased of a dangerous escalation in the war, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, insisted on Wednesday he had “no doubt” the missile concerned was not Ukrainian.

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‘China can play mediating role’: Macron to visit Xi Jinping over war in Ukraine

French president believes China can help push Russia to de-escalate Ukraine war

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has said he intends to visit Beijing in the new year and believes his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, can play a mediating role that prevents a resumption of large-scale land fighting in Ukraine in February.

Speaking at the close of the G20 in Bali, a summit dominated by the Russian attack on Ukraine and its implications for the world economy, he said he believed China could take a mediating role in the conflict.

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US and Israel blame Iran after drone strikes oil tanker off Oman

Pacific Zircon, linked to Israeli billionaire, said to have been ‘hit by projectile’ but suffered only minor damage

The US and Israel have pointed the finger at Iran after an oil tanker associated with an Israeli billionaire was struck by a bomb-carrying drone off the coast of Oman.

The drone attack on the Liberian-flagged oil tanker Pacific Zircon happened on Tuesday night off the coast of Oman, a Middle East-based defence official told the Associated Press.

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Alleged Russian ‘torture room’ uncovered in liberated Kherson

Ukrainian investigators claim Russian forces took over juvenile detention centre, beating and killing people inside

Ukrainian investigators have uncovered a claimed “torture room“ in Kherson city where dozens of men were allegedly detained, electrocuted, beaten and some of them killed.

Police said Russian soldiers took over the juvenile detention centre
in around mid-March and turned it into a prison for men who refused to collaborate with them or who were accused of partisan activity.

Three neighbours and two local shopkeepers said they started hearing screams about six weeks after they saw Russian soldiers take over the building. The witnesses said they started seeing people being taken in with bags on their heads, and some bodies being removed.

Mykola Ivanovych, whose balcony overlooks the back yard of the
detention centre, said he saw two bodies thrown into the garages behind the centre. The Guardian was with press and prosecutors when they first entered the site, and the bodies had been removed.

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Russia-Ukraine war: Zelenskiy dismisses Nato’s suggestion missile that hit Poland was Ukrainian – as it happened

This live blog has now closed, you can read more on this story here

Nato and G7 leaders have condemned Russia’s “barbaric missile attacks” on Ukraine in a statement following the emergency meeting held earlier with members in Bali.

The leaders of Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States met on the margins of the G20 Summit and released the following statement:

We condemn the barbaric missile attacks that Russia perpetrated on Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure on Tuesday.

We discussed the explosion that took place in the eastern part of Poland near the border with Ukraine. We offer our full support for and assistance with Poland’s ongoing investigation. We agree to remain in close touch to determine appropriate next steps as the investigation proceeds.

We reaffirm our steadfast support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in the face of ongoing Russian aggression, as well as our continued readiness to hold Russia accountable for its brazen attacks on Ukrainian communities.”

The secretary-general is very concerned by the reports of a missile exploding on Polish territory. It is absolutely essential to avoid escalating the war in Ukraine.

He sends his condolences to the families of the victims. He hopes that a thorough investigation will be conducted.”

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Hungary: portrait of pro-fascist wartime judge rehung in supreme court

Return of Jenő Szemák’s portrait seen as ‘strong symbolic message regarding the current political climate in Hungary’

A portrait of a far-right judge who served Hungary’s fascist wartime government has quietly been returned to the walls of the country’s highest court.

One senior judge told the Guardian he was appalled by the decision to hang a portrait of fascist sympathiser Jenő Szemák in the supreme court, saying that it sent “a strong symbolic message regarding the current political climate in Hungary”.

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Poland missile ‘unlikely’ to have been fired from Russia, Biden says

US president says trajectory of missile suggests it was not launched by Russian forces waging war in Ukraine but will await results of investigation

Joe Biden has said the missile that landed in Poland, killing two people, was unlikely to have been fired from Russia due to its trajectory.

The US president was speaking at the G20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia, after convening an emergency meeting of western leaders to discuss the explosion on Nato territory that has the potential to take the war in Ukraine into a new even more dangerous dimension.

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Poland considers calling meeting of Nato ministers after missile strike

Two farmers killed near border with Ukraine by what Poland has claimed were Russian-made weapons

Poland’s president Andrzej Duda said he expected his country would call for an emergency meeting of Nato members on Wednesday after “Russian-made” missiles strayed over into the country killing two people.

The incident is the first time that the territory of a Nato country has been struck during the near nine month Ukraine war, and follows an intense 100-missile attack by Russia on Ukraine, which saw millions lose power and supply in neighbouring Moldova also disrupted.

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Poland explosion unlikely to spark escalation – but risks of Nato-Russia clash are real

Incident in which two people died probably falls short of threshold needed to prompt collective Nato action against Russia

Russia-Ukraine war – latest news updates

If it was a Russian missile that struck a Polish village on Tuesday, killing two people, it would be the first time a Russian weapon has ever come down on Nato territory.

The Soviet Union and the US managed to get through the whole cold war without making such a mistake, because Washington and Moscow were well aware of the risks of going to war by accident or miscalculation.

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PM Mateusz Morawiecki calls for calm after explosion – as it happened

Poland’s PM convenes urgent national security meeting after stray missiles feared to have crossed into Nato member country

The Ukrainian presidential adviser, Anton Gerashchenko, has published a photo purportedly from the recently liberated city of Kherson to illustrate the lack of power in the region.

“Kherson. Six days without electricity. People charge their phones on the main square from a generator brought by a volunteer,” he tweeted.

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Climate activists throw black liquid at Gustav Klimt painting in Vienna

Pair attack Death and Life painting in Leopold Museum in protest against fossil fuel ‘death sentence’

Climate activists in Austria have attacked a painting by Gustav Klimt, with one throwing a black, oily liquid at it and another gluing himself to the glass covering the painting.

Members of Letzte Generation Österreich (Last Generation Austria) tweeted that they had targeted the 1915 painting Death and Life at the Leopold Museum in Vienna to protest against their government’s use of fossil fuels.

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Germans turning 18 to be offered €200 culture pass ‘birthday present’

Voucher aims to rekindle interest in live arts and boost industry after pandemic

Young Germans are to join other Europeans in being offered a voucher to spend on their choice of cultural offerings under a scheme launched by the government.

The €200 Kulturpass, which will be made available to all 18-year-olds, has twin aims: to encourage young adults to experience live culture and drop stay-at-home pandemic habits; and give a financial boost to the arts scene, which has yet to recover from repeated lockdowns.

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Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games mascots likened to ‘clitoris in trainers’

Pair of red triangular Phryges meant to represent floppy conical hats linked to French Revolution

France’s mascots for the 2024 Olympic Games have been likened to a giant “clitoris in trainers”, with the French newspaper Libération hailing it as a revolutionary departure from the traditional phallic symbol of the Eiffel Tower.

When the two triangular red mascots, the Phryges, were unveiled for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, they were presented as the shape of Phrygian caps, the floppy, conical hats associated with the French Revolution.

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G20’s dysfunctional family show little sign of working together in a crisis

Communique unlikely to stretch beyond usual platitudes despite the need for a global plan for recovery

The Cambodian prime minister, Hun Sen, was struck down by Covid, the Argentinian prime minister, Alberto Fernández, had gastroenteritis and the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, either did or did not have chest pains that sent him to hospital. Given that Indonesia’s G20 slogan plastered all around Bali says: “Recover Together, Recover Stronger”, it was not an auspicious performance by the world’s leaders.

Unfortunately, there is precious little sign of recovery at the G20, either at a political or economic level.

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Russia strives to avoid G20 isolation as China and India distance themselves

Traditional allies voice concern over Ukraine war as draft communique highlights damage to world economy

Russia has been battling to prevent diplomatic isolation at the G20 summit in Bali as its traditional allies – China and India – started to distance themselves from the war in Ukraine, which a draft communique said had caused untold economic damage to the world.

Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister, and Xi Jinping, the president of China, both voiced concern about the war without breaking from their previous defence of Moscow.

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G20 summit 2022 live: Volodymyr Zelenskiy lays out ‘Ukrainian formula for peace’ – as it happened

World leaders meet in Bali with a packed agenda of events, but Russia’s invasion of Ukraine threatens to overshadow the summit

Britain has announced it will spend $4.9bn on five new Navy ships to bolster security “in the face of increased Russian threats”.

The announcement came with prime minister Rishi Sunak set to begin his first full day of official events at the G20 summit in Bali.

Russia’s actions put all of us at risk. As we give the Ukrainian people the support they need, we are also harnessing the breadth and depth of UK expertise to protect ourselves and our allies. This includes building the next generation of British warships.

This week’s travel has brought together the broadest possible coalition of partners to confront this moment of great global challenges — from global inflation, to the climate crisis, to Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine.

At the G20 meetings, we’ll speak on the very issues that matter to people’s lives, not only at home but around the world. This forum is crucial for the world’s largest economies to work together for the good of people everywhere, and I’m looking forward to convening.”

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MPs, unions and refugee groups condemn Braverman’s small boats deal with France

Critics claim latest effort to reduce Channel crossings is ‘throwing good money after bad’

Conservative MPs have joined unions and refugee groups in condemning a £63m deal signed by Suella Braverman with her French counterpart to reduce the number of people attempting to cross the Channel in small boats.

Natalie Elphicke, the member for Dover, and Tim Loughton, a senior home affairs select committee member, questioned whether the bilateral agreement will do enough to address a surge of new arrivals after it failed to establish joint patrols or guarantee that people smugglers are detained.

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CIA director meets Russian counterpart as US denies secret peace talks

Bill Burns says US is not ‘discussing settlement of war’ in Ukraine as Zelenskiy visits Kherson

The CIA director, Bill Burns, met his Russian counterpart in Ankara on Monday in a rare high-level meeting, but the US insists it is not engaged in secret peace talks with Moscow without Ukrainian officials being present.

The meeting in the Turkish capital with the head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service, Sergei Naryshkin, followed speculation that some senior US figures would like Ukraine to enter negotiations with the Kremlin to end the war.

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