Ireland looking to send asylum seekers back to UK: Report
UK PM Rishi Sunak says it's evidence that his plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is acting as a deterrent.
Russia makes more gains around Avdiivka as Ukraine awaits US aid
Ukrainian officials say situation ‘very difficult’ but ‘not catastrophic’ amid loss of two villages and fighting in Ocheretyne
Russia has consolidated recent battlefield gains in the east of Ukraine, and is attempting to break through Ukrainian defensive lines before a long-awaited package of US military assistance arrives at the frontline.
On Sunday Russian troops advanced near the city of Avdiivka. They seized two villages and expanded a narrow corridor around the rural settlement of Ocheretyne, which the Russians entered a week ago. Ukrainian security officials described the situation in the Donbas region where Russia is attacking on multiple fronts as “very difficult”. It was “not critical or catastrophic”, they added.
Continue reading...Week in pictures: From student protests in US to Indonesia’s new president
A roundup of some of the week’s key events.
Antony Blinken to visit Saudi Arabia to try to restart Gaza ceasefire talks
US secretary of state to discuss avoiding regional conflict amid fears about Israeli ground invasion of Rafah
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, will travel to Saudi Arabia to try to restart fraught ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel and discuss efforts to prevent spiralling regional conflict, while other senior US officials claimed Israel was willing to listen to their fears about a ground invasion of Gaza’s southernmost city.
A delegation from Hamas, expected in Cairo in parallel to Blinken’s visit, said they would provide a response to an Israeli proposal focused on an initial hostage release.
Continue reading...‘Do not bow’: ex-Black Panther praises pro-Palestinian student protesters from prison
Mumia Abu-Jamal tells New York City students they’re on the right side of history by deciding ‘not to be silent and to speak out’
In a powerful and rousing live address to students at the City University of New York (CUNY) on Friday night, the incarcerated Black political activist Mumia Abu-Jamal praised the pro-Palestinian movement growing at US colleges as being on the right side of history.
“It is a wonderful thing that you have decided not to be silent and decided to speak out against the repression that you see with your own eyes,” Abu-Jamal, a former Black Panther, said while calling from Pennsylvania’s Mahanoy state prison. “You are part of something massive, and you are part of something that is on the right side of history.
Continue reading...Russian attacks are pushing us back, Ukraine’s army chief says
Oleksandr Syrskyi says Ukrainian forces have withdrawn from positions in eastern Donetsk.
BHP’s pursuit of Anglo American has a major obstacle: South Africa
The De Beers owner is a longstanding jewel in the African' state’s economic crown – it would be a ‘big blow’ to see it sold off
The world’s largest mining company has a problem. Australia’s BHP has set out its intention to snap up the rival miner Anglo American in a multibillion-pound deal that would reshape the global industry. Its proposed £31bn takeover plan has already been rebuffed as a lowball offer that undervalues the company. But Anglo’s deep roots in South Africa could be a far more sensitive issue to address.
Africa’s most advanced economy was built on mining. For more than 150 years since the first discovery of diamonds, gold and coal, the industry has remained South Africa’s economic lifeblood. Today it is the world’s fifth largest producer of coal and diamonds and the 10th largest producer of gold.
Continue reading...Two Russian journalists arrested over alleged work for Navalny group
Konstantin Gabov and Sergey Karelin deny 'extremism' charges related to group founded by late anti-Putin dissident.
‘They thought I was a child’: US airline repeatedly registers 101-year-old as baby
Airport staff surprised by arrival of centenarian instead of infant after American Airlines booking system errors
A 101-year-old woman has been regularly mistaken for an infant because an airline’s booking system was unable to compute her date of birth.
The woman, named only as Patricia, was born in 1922, but the American Airlines system apparently does not recognise that year, defaulting instead to 2022, the BBC reported.
Continue reading...Pope visits women’s prison in Venice and tours Vatican show at art Biennale
Pope Francis, 87, met inmates, staff and volunteers at Giudecca jail during first trip outside Rome for months
The pope has met female prisoners in Venice who are stars of the Vatican’s pavilion at the Biennale contemporary art show, and urged the women to rebuild their lives in the first ever papal visit to one of the world’s biggest art gatherings.
Pope Francis, 87, arrived by helicopter in the courtyard of the women’s prison on the island of Giudecca, amid concerns over his health. He has not travelled outside Rome since visiting the French city of Marseille in September.
Continue reading...US doctor describes witnessing starvation in northern Gaza
Dr Sam Attar from Chicago recently returned from Gaza, where the UN is warning of looming famine.
Middle East crisis: Israel has agreed to listen to US concerns before any Rafah invasion, says White House – as it happened
Israel has started to meet commitments it made to Joe Biden on allowing aid into the north of Gaza, says White House national security spokesperson
The Gaza health ministry on Sunday reported at least 66 Palestinians had been killed in the past 24 hours.
In central Gaza, Mohammed al-Hattab said he found his one-year-old baby in the rubble after an Israeli airstrike hit the Nuseirat refugee camp over the weekend.
Continue reading...Why the Guardian is investigating the deep failings in Australia’s school system
Australia says it is committed to inclusive education. But the reality for the one in four schoolchildren who now have a disability is far from that
- How the rise of autism and ADHD fractured Australia’s schools
- Revealed: Private school students reap thousands more than public students in disability funding
- Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast
Most Australian parents take for granted that their child will attend school and receive an education.
But for parents of children with a disability – whether it’s developmental, intellectual or physical – that is not a given.
Continue reading...Bulk-billed GP visits rise after introduction of incentives for doctors, data shows
Doctors’ groups say improved rate is ‘encouraging’ but more investment in health system is needed
- Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
- Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast
The federal government’s bulk-billing changes have helped more Australians see a GP, but peak doctors’ groups say the reforms are only a “down payment” on what they want to see in next month’s budget to help reduce healthcare costs.
New data from the health minister, Mark Butler, released overnight, shows 77.7% of all visits to general practitioners were bulk billed in March, a 2.1% rise since the Albanese government’s moves last November to triple incentives for doctors to take bulk-billed appointments.
Continue reading...Palestinian President Abbas says only US can halt Israel’s attack on Rafah
More than a million Palestinians are sheltering in the southern Gaza city after being displaced by Israeli attacks.
Hinglaj Yatra Hindu festival brings mountainous region in Pakistan to life
More than 100,000 Hindu pilgrims are expected to do the three-day pilgrimage at one of the faith's holiest sites.
‘Shame on you’: Protesters heckle White House correspondents’ dinner guests
Gaza only got one mention at an annual gathering of hundreds of reporters, after the deadliest year for journalists.
Pope visits Venice to speak to the artists and inmates behind the Biennale’s must-see prison show – The Associated Press
- Pope visits Venice to speak to the artists and inmates behind the Biennale's must-see prison show The Associated Press
- Pope makes landmark visit to Venice Biennale and proclaims that ‘the world needs artists’ CNN
- Pope makes first visit out of Rome for seven months after health scares Sky News
- Pope's Visit to Art Exhibition in Prison Is a First for Venice Biennale The New York Times
- Pope visits Venice to speak to the artists and inmates behind the Biennale's must-see prison show ABC News
Burkina Faso says HRW massacre accusations ‘baseless’
The HRW report on Thursday accused the military of killing residents in Nodin and Soro, including at least 56 children.
Human rights groups and diplomats condemn Iraq’s anti-LGBTQ+ law
US state department says law could drive away foreign investment and David Cameron calls it ‘dangerous and worrying’
Human rights groups and diplomats have criticised a law passed by the Iraqi parliament over the weekend that would impose heavy prison sentences on gay and transgender people.
The US state department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, said in a statement that the law passed on Saturday “threatens those most at risk in Iraqi society” and “can be used to hamper free speech and expression”. He warned the legislation could drive away foreign investment.
Continue reading...