Pope Francis responding well to treatment, Vatican says
The 88-year-old prayed on Saturday morning in the chapel of the papal suite at Rome's Gemelli Hospital, the Vatican said.
European leaders back ‘realistic’ Arab plan for Gaza
The foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy and Britain welcomed the plan, which calls for Gaza to be rebuilt over five years.
Israeli tourist one of two women gang-raped in India, police say
The two women were reportedly stargazing with three male tourists near a lake in Hampi, Karnataka, when they were attacked.
Three suspects at large after 12 injured in Toronto pub shooting
The three male suspects entered the pub and opened fire "indiscriminately" police say.
Global celebrations and protests mark International Women’s Day
From Istanbul and Warsaw to Athens and Madrid, activists demand equality and the end of gender-based violence
Women took to the streets of cities across Europe, Africa and elsewhere to mark International Women’s Day with demands for ending inequality and gender-based violence.
On the Asian side of Turkey’s biggest city Istanbul, a rally in Kadiköy saw members of dozens of women’s groups listen to speeches, dance and sing in the spring sunshine. The colorful protest was overseen by a large police presence, including officers in riot gear and a water cannon truck.
Continue reading...Dread haunts Gaza as airstrikes dent hopes of renewed ceasefire
The territory is mired in a ‘grey zone’ of uncertainty as the peace process has stalled and neither side seems willing to compromise
Fears of a return to war in Gaza are intensifying this weekend, with faltering diplomatic efforts and almost daily airstrikes by Israeli forces in the devastated territory.
There has been relative calm in Gaza since a ceasefire for prisoners deal between Hamas and Israel came into effect in January, pausing 15 months of conflict. However, the first phase of that agreement expired more than a week ago and a second phase has stalled, leaving Gaza plunged into a “grey zone” of uncertainty.
Continue reading...Revealed: second Kremlin spy ring targeting Russian dissidents discovered in UK
After the spying convictions of six Bulgarians, police have warned of further Russian operations against opponents
A second Kremlin spy operation has been discovered targeting Russian dissidents in Britain, it can be revealed.
Roman Dobrokhotov, a journalist in the sights of the six Bulgarians convicted of spying for Russia, said he had been informed of fresh attempts to surveil his family.
Continue reading...‘A very camp environment’: why Alan Turing fatefully told police he was gay
Ubiquity of then-illegal relations at King’s College, Cambridge, explains puzzling 1952 admission, says scholar
For decades, it has puzzled historians. Why, in the course of reporting a burglary to the police in 1952, did the maths genius Alan Turing volunteer that he was in an illegal homosexual relationship? The admission enabled the police to prosecute the Bletchley Park codebreaker for “gross indecency”, ending Turing’s groundbreaking work for GCHQ on early computers and artificial intelligence and compelling him to undergo a chemical castration that rendered him impotent. Two years later, he killed himself.
Now, research by a University of Cambridge academic has shed light on the reasons why Turing, a former undergraduate and lecturer at King’s College, Cambridge, did not hide his homosexuality from the police. “There was a whole community in King’s quite different from stories one knows about from gay history, usually involving casual pickups and a lot of despair, hiding and misery,” said Simon Goldhill, professor of classics at the college.
Continue reading...Russian strikes kill at least 25, Ukraine says
Russia has stepped up attacks in recent days as the US paused military and intelligence aid to Kyiv.
What is hantavirus, disease which killed Gene Hackman’s wife?
Betsy Arakawa died from a respiratory illness linked to a rare virus transmitted by infected rodents. Here's what to know about the deadly disease.
Trump policies could fuel illicit drug trade despite vow to curb fentanyl
‘Coercive’ tariffs and federal funding cuts could worsen flow of illicit drugs into US, ex-government officials warn
Donald Trump’s policies could leave the US more vulnerable to dangerous synthetic drug trafficking from abroad, even as the administration has vowed to stop fentanyl from entering the country, former government officials say.
This week, Trump imposed tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, ostensibly as a tactic to stem the flow of illicit drugs into the US.
Continue reading...Body found in floodwaters and troops injured in Australia storm
At least one man has died in floodwaters and military personnel have been injured in the wild weather.
Myanmar’s military government says it will hold elections in next year
Critics say the announcement is a sham designed to maintain the junta's power through proxy parties.
Two men arrested in India over alleged rape of Israeli and local woman
The two women were said to have been stargazing with three male travellers when the incident took place
Two men have been arrested in India in connection with the alleged rape of an Israeli and a local woman.
The Israeli woman and her homestay operator were said to be stargazing with three male travellers in Koppal town in southern Karnataka state on Thursday night.
Continue reading...Area around Big Ben closed as man with Palestinian flag climbs Elizabeth Tower
Pro-Palestine protesters also spray-painted clubhouse at Trump Turnberry golf course in Scotland overnight
Westminster Bridge remains closed to traffic after a six-hour standoff between emergency services and a protester who has scaled a building in the Houses of Parliament carrying the flag of Palestine.
A large crowd gathered in Parliament Square to show their support for the man who climbed the Elizabeth Tower, which houses Big Ben, on Saturday morning.
Continue reading...‘She is evil’: Amy Coney Barrett under attack by the right wing after supreme court USAid ruling
Conservative justice who frequently votes with the far-right side of the supreme court faces backlash for recent ruling
Amy Coney Barrett, the Donald Trump-appointed conservative supreme court justice, has been branded a “DEI judge” by furious rightwing figures, after she voted to reject Trump’s attempt to freeze nearly $2bn in foreign aid.
Coney Barrett, part of the court’s rightwing majority, split with her fellow conservative justices this week. She and John Roberts, the chief justice, voted to leave in place a ruling from a US district judge which ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze the nearly $2bn in aid for foreign aid work that had already been performed, and that had been approved by Congress.
Continue reading...Mormon church rocked by child sexual abuse allegations in California
Look-back window results in nearly 100 allegations against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) in the US has been rocked by a slew of sexual abuse allegations launched against it in California in the latest scandal to hit the organization that is better known as the Mormon church.
A three-year look-back legal window that allows adult survivors of sexual assault to file claims in California has produced almost 100 allegations of childhood sexual abuse by Mormon leaders.
Continue reading...One in 15 Americans has witnessed a mass shooting – study
Study found that 7% of Americans have been present at a scene of a mass shooting and 2% had been injured in one
One in 15 Americans has witnessed a mass shooting, a new study shows, revealing the depth and impact of the epidemic of gun violence that has washed over the US in recent decades.
The study found that about 7% of US adults have been present at the scene of a mass shooting in their lifetime, and more than 2% have been injured during one, according to new a report from the University of Colorado Boulder.
Continue reading...Russia launches devastating attack on Ukraine after Trump’s defence of Putin
Latest attacks came hours after Donald Trump said Vladimir Putin was ‘doing what anybody would do’
Russia launched a devastating attack on Ukraine on Saturday, killing at least 14 people and injuring dozens more, hours after Donald Trump defended Vladimir Putin and said the Kremlin leader was “doing what anybody would do”.
Two ballistic missiles hit the centre of Dobropillia in the eastern Donetsk region. Fire engulfed a five-storey apartment building. As emergency services arrived, Russia launched another strike on the same area. Eleven civilians were killed, with five children among the 30 injured.
Continue reading...US rise of cryptocurrency and fall of regulation pose ‘profound risks’ – report
Center for Political Accountability, which advocates for corporate disclosure, warns of fallout from Trump’s efforts
A new report warns of “profound risks” in American politics as cryptocurrency companies increase their political spending and Donald Trump oversees regulatory retreat while promising to create a “crypto strategic reserve”.
The situation “illustrate[s] the profound risks that unchecked corporate political spending presents, particularly within the volatile and often unpredictable cryptocurrency industry”, reads the report, from the Center for Political Accountability (CPA), a non-profit that advocates for corporate political disclosure.
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