Normal view

There are new articles available, click to refresh the page.
Yesterday — 17 June 2024Main stream

The British judges ruling on the law in authoritarian Hong Kong - podcast

Since 1997 Hong Kong’s highest court has included British judges. But with China changing the laws in the city, they are being urged to resign. Amy Hawkins reports

Since 1997, British and Commonwealth judges have sat in the highest court in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong legal system is derived from English common law and foreign judges, including those from the UK, have been said to add expertise and prestige to its court system.

But in 2020 Beijing imposed a strict national security law to clamp down on pro-democracy protests. Since then the number of foreign judges has fallen as fears grow that the judges are lending credibility to a system where basic rights and freedoms are not being respected.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images

💾

© Photograph: Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images

EU leaders move closer towards giving second term to Ursula von der Leyen

European Commission president appears likely to keep her job as meetings continue to decide who gets top EU roles

EU leaders are converging on a second term for Ursula von der Leyen as head of the European Commission but have failed to reach a quick agreement.

Meeting for the first time since elections shifted the European parliament to the right, with big gains for nationalist and far-right parties in France and Germany, EU leaders discussed how to fill the bloc’s top jobs on Monday.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Olivier Hoslet/EPA

💾

© Photograph: Olivier Hoslet/EPA

Dua Lipa says criticism of Israeli war in Gaza was for ‘greater good’

17 June 2024 at 19:01

Singer due to headline Glastonbury embraces risk of backlash over ‘Israeli genocide’ post on Instagram

The pop star and soon-to-be Glastonbury headliner Dua Lipa has said she is willing to risk a backlash over political statements after she recently described military operations in Gaza as “Israeli genocide”.

In an interview with the Radio Times, the 28-year-old said she repeatedly checked herself before making a statement, but did so if she felt it was for the “greater good” and worth the risk.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Stéphane Cardinale/Corbis/Getty Images

💾

© Photograph: Stéphane Cardinale/Corbis/Getty Images

Megachurch pastor and ex-Trump adviser admits child sexual abuse

17 June 2024 at 15:43

Robert Morris, of Greenway church in Dallas, accused of sexual abuse of girl in 1980s, beginning when she was 12

A Texas evangelical pastor and former spiritual adviser to Donald Trump has confessed to sexually assaulting a young girl in his past.

Robert Morris, a founding pastor of the Dallas-based Gateway megachurch, was accused by an Oklahoma woman of sexual abuse in the 1980s, beginning when she was 12 and continuing until the age of 16.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

💾

© Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Row as Nato chief hints at talks to increase availability of nuclear weapons

Jens Stoltenberg accused of ‘escalation of tension’ as he warns of growing threat from Russia and China

The Nato secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has indicated that the military alliance is considering whether to increase the number of available nuclear weapons, triggering warnings from experts about the possibility of a new arms race.

Stoltenberg said Nato could, for the first time, face a significant nuclear threat from two fronts – Russia and China – and that it may be necessary to increase the number of deployable warheads as a deterrent.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Omar Havana/Getty Images

💾

© Photograph: Omar Havana/Getty Images

German prosecutors announce country’s biggest ever seizure of cocaine

17 June 2024 at 14:05

Tip-off from Colombian authorities led to haul of 35.5 tonnes worth £2.2bn hidden among fruit and vegatables

German prosecutors have announced the seizure of cocaine worth €2.6bn (£2.2bn) from several container ships and the arrest of seven people in what they called the biggest ever cocaine find in the country.

Prosecutors in the western city of Düsseldorf said on Monday that they confiscated the 35.5 tonnes of cocaine last year after a tipoff from Colombian authorities. They found 25 tonnes of cocaine at the port in the northern city of Hamburg, another 8 tonnes in the Dutch port of Rotterdam and almost 3 tonnes in Colombia. The drugs were hidden among vegetables and fruit.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Roland Weihrauch/AP

💾

© Photograph: Roland Weihrauch/AP

Don’t vote for the far right, French sports stars urge public

17 June 2024 at 13:05

Kylian Mbappé and Marion Bartoli among athletes criticised by rightwing politicians for intervening

More than 200 French athletes and sporting personalities have signed an open letter calling on voters to reject the far right in the snap parliamentary election called by Emmanuel Macron, describing it as “not only … a civic duty, but also an act of love for our country”.

As the official election campaign kicked off with just two weeks to go before the first round of voting, the appeal called for “a more inclusive and democratic society” and accused rightwing politicians of exploiting differences and diversity and “manipulating our fears to divide us”.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Frederic Scheidemann/UEFA/Getty Images

💾

© Photograph: Frederic Scheidemann/UEFA/Getty Images

The normalisation of dehumanisation in the Israel-Palestine conflict | Letters

17 June 2024 at 12:53

William Bell of Christian Aid on a decades-old cycle of violence and the UN commission of inquiry’s report that said Israel and Hamas have both committed war crimes since 7 October

The UN commission of inquiry’s report should shock us all to our very core (Israel and Hamas have both committed war crimes since 7 October, says UN body, 12 June). It describes in graphic detail the contempt with which Israeli and Palestinian military forces treat innocent civilians.

Sexual violence, collective punishment, starvation, humiliation, extermination and more are highlighted in a catalogue of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Of course, words of denial and accusations of bias are issued in protest. But the truth is that civilians have routinely been targeted in this decades-old cycle of violence.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Bashar Taleb/AFP/Getty Images

💾

© Photograph: Bashar Taleb/AFP/Getty Images

Vladimir Putin to visit North Korea as he seeks further military support

Russian leader will have talks with Kim Jong-un with shared aim of expanding security and economic cooperation

Vladimir Putin will travel to North Korea as he seeks continued military support for the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine from one of the world’s most isolated nations.

In his first visit to North Korea since 2000, Putin will meet Kim Jong-un for one-on-one talks in Pyongyang as the two leaders pledge to expand their security and economic cooperation in defiance of western sanctions against both countries.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Vladimir Smirnov/AP

💾

© Photograph: Vladimir Smirnov/AP

EU heads gather to discuss new leadership in wake of far-right election successes – Europe live

17 June 2024 at 12:48

The 27 heads of state and government meet for the first time since European elections and Macron’s decision to call snap vote in France

Donald Tusk said he is “very satisfied with the current cooperation with the president of the European Commission, as she fully understands the fundamental issues for Poland.”

Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, has endorsed Kaja Kallas, who is a contender to become the bloc’s next high representative for foreign affairs.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Virginia Mayo/AP

💾

© Photograph: Virginia Mayo/AP

Netanyahu’s ‘war cabinet’ had little power – but its demise does him real damage | Alon Pinkas

17 June 2024 at 12:39

It represented a forum he could conveniently castigate when things went wrong. Now the blame can only go in one direction

There is very little drama in Netanyahu’s decision, or rather bland and laconic statement that he is dissolving the “war cabinet” that he himself formed on 11 October 2023. Constitutionally and in terms of affecting policy, the decision is a Seinfeld decision: it’s about nothing. The constitutionally authoritative body – the one with real power – is the security cabinet. The war cabinet was a convenient and circumstantial political invention. But Netanyahu rival Benny Gantz’s recent withdrawal from the government made the forum redundant in terms of policymaking, and politically explosive, since the extreme rightwing ministers now demanded to join.

The dissolution of the war cabinet looks like an important development. It isn’t. Had Winston Churchill dissolved his war cabinet in January 1941, eight months after he assembled it in May 1940, that would have been significant. This is not the same. Churchill’s war cabinet, as Neville Chamberlain’s before him in 1939, or even David Lloyd George’s war cabinet during the first world war in 1917, then called the war policy committee, had clearly defined constitutional and statutory powers and authority. The war cabinet that Netanyahu formed in the panic, disarray and disorientation that ensued in the days after 7 October patently lacked those constitutional powers.

Alon Pinkas served as Israel’s consul general in New York from 2000 to 2004. He is now a columnist for Haaretz

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Amos Ben Gershom/Israel Gpo/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

💾

© Photograph: Amos Ben Gershom/Israel Gpo/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

‘And today’s news is … I’m cancelled’: Hugh Bonneville, Alex Kingston and Steven Moffat on their cancel comedy

17 June 2024 at 11:23

As Douglas Is Cancelled prepares to air, Moffat talks about career implosions, Bonneville relives past nude scenes – and Kingston recalls the ‘wandering hands’ warnings she used to be given

When Douglas, a nationally trusted news host, suffers a social media pile-on about a private comment revealed online, he consults his agent, who warns him – with a vagueness that may have pleased ITV’s lawyers – that he risks the fate of fellow broadcasters “whatsisname and the other one”. Many viewers will substitute the names Phillip Schofield and Huw Edwards, whose careers were cancelled after controversies about their conduct.

“They may well do,” admits Steven Moffat, writer of ITV’s four-part Douglas Is Cancelled. “But I wrote the first version of this – as a stage play that didn’t get put on – five years ago, long before the cases you mention. It doesn’t matter which period you put this story in: there will be somebody who fell from grace in TV.”

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Sally Mais/ITV

💾

© Photograph: Sally Mais/ITV

Greek coastguard’s treatment of migrants ‘clearly illegal’, says ex-officer

BBC records former special operations chief saying abandoning people at sea was an ‘international crime’

A former Greek coastguard officer has described as “clearly illegal” the actions of colleagues who abandoned nine migrants at sea in one of 15 alleged pushbacks from Greek islands or territorial waters that reportedly killed dozens of people.

In an interview with the BBC, Dimitris Baltakos, the Greek coastguard’s former head of special operations, refused to speculate about footage the broadcaster showed him, after earlier denying the coastguard would ever be told to do anything illegal.

The investigation forms the basis for a BBC2 documentary, Dead Calm: Killing in the Med?

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Ben Steele/BBC

💾

© Photograph: Ben Steele/BBC

Greek island searches for missing tourists intensify amid hiking deaths

17 June 2024 at 10:52

Six holidaymakers reported dead or missing in nine days as ‘abnormally hot’ weather hits Mediterranean

Search operations to find three missing tourists on two Greek islands have intensified after police announced that two holidaymakers had been found dead on other islands over the weekend.

Rescue teams supported by sniffer dogs, helicopters and drones have been scouring the Cycladic islands of Sikinos and Amorgos for two French women and an American man who went missing last week.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Freeartist/Getty Images/iStockphoto

💾

© Photograph: Freeartist/Getty Images/iStockphoto

At least 11 dead and dozens missing in two Mediterranean shipwrecks

17 June 2024 at 10:36

Rescuers near Italy report 10 bodies found on wooden boat and 66 missing in a separate incident off Calabria

At least 11 people have died and dozens are missing and feared dead after two separate shipwrecks close to the Italian coast, rescuers said.

Ten bodies were found on Monday in the lower deck of a wooden boat in the central Mediterranean by rescuers from Nadir, a ship operated by the German charity ResQship. The charity said it saved 51 people who were onboard the sinking vessel, which is believed to have departed from Tunisia.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Antonello Lupis/EPA

💾

© Photograph: Antonello Lupis/EPA

Governor installs crowd control gate on Mount Fuji to limit tourists

17 June 2024 at 10:23

Yamanashi prefecture brings in modest hiking fee to stop ‘bullet climbing’ and address safety concerns

A crowd-control gate has been installed halfway up Mount Fuji before the start of this year’s climbing season on 1 July, but the governor of Yamanashi, one of the two prefectures that are home to the mountain, said additional measures were needed to control overcrowding on its lower slopes.

The gate was completed on Monday as part of a set of measures being introduced this year to address growing safety, environmental and overcrowding problems on Japan’s highest and best-known mountain.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: 高野陽子/AP

💾

© Photograph: 高野陽子/AP

Boss of US firm given £4bn in UK Covid contracts accused of squandering millions on jets and properties

17 June 2024 at 08:00

Exclusive: Rishi Sunak’s team helped fast-track deal with firm founded by Charles Huang, who says contracts generated $2bn profit

In California, state of sunshine and palm trees, a small group of men are locked in a big legal fight over the money made by a US company selling Covid tests to the British government. The founder of Innova Medical Group says his business collected $2bn (£1.6bn) in profits, one of the largest fortunes banked by any medical supplier during the scramble for lifesaving equipment in the early months of the pandemic.

In a storm of claims and counter-claims, Innova’s boss, Charles Huang, is accused by former associates of “squandering” or moving $1bn of those profits, spending lavishly on luxury aircraft, an $18m house in Los Angeles and “homes for his mistresses”.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Asian Inspiration

💾

© Photograph: Asian Inspiration

Russia-Ukraine war live: Moscow trying to ‘maximise depletion of our troops’ before aid arrives, Ukraine army chief says

Ukraine says Russia is intensifying attacks and trying to gain more territory before military aid, including F-16 jets, arrive

We have more comments from the daily briefing with journalists attended by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

He was asked about the Ukraine peace summit, held in Switzerland over the weekend, during which western powers and their allies denounced Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine but failed to persuade major non-aligned states to join their final statement.

No, it won’t spoil them. We will, of course, take into account the position that these countries have taken, this is important to us and we will continue to explain our reasoning to them.

Many of them, and this was a common point of view on this event, confirmed their understanding of the absence of prospects for any serious, substantive discussions without the presence of our country … If we talk about the overall effectiveness of this meeting, it is close to zero.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

💾

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

Weather tracker: Mexico and southern Texas brace for torrential rain

17 June 2024 at 07:42

Disturbance in south-west Gulf of Mexico has 60% chance of developing into a hurricane over next seven days

A weather system is set to move over southern Texas and Mexico through this week, bringing vast quantities of rain. The National Hurricane Center noted a tropical disturbance in the south-west Gulf of Mexico that has a 60% chance of developing into a tropical depression during the next seven days. This potential tropical depression, essentially an area of low pressure, may be in a spot where the environmental conditions are good for its gradual development, and could end up moving towards hurricane status.

But even if it does not turn into a hurricane, heavy rain is expected to affect southern Texas and Mexico. Southern Texas may experience up to 100mm (3.9in) of rainfall on Wednesday through to Friday, and some Mexican states bordering the gulf may have up to 150mm. Rainfall totals of this magnitude, especially within such a small time frame, can cause catastrophic, life-threatening flooding.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Brett Coomer/AP

💾

© Photograph: Brett Coomer/AP

‘It can feel like a detective story’: birders asked to help find 126 ‘lost’ bird species

17 June 2024 at 07:30

The birds have not been seen for at least a decade – some for more than 100 years – but the authors of a new list of missing species have not given up hope

The coppery thorntail and New Caledonian lorikeet are among the 126 birds “lost” to science, having not been seen for a decade or more, according to the most comprehensive list of missing species composed to date.

The new tally is based on millions of records collected by enthusiastic birders and amateur scientists documenting wildlife in some of the planet’s most remote locations. To be part of the dataset, the bird must not have a recorded sighting in at least a decade, and not be assessed as extinct or extinct in the wild by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Image courtesy of BHL

💾

© Photograph: Image courtesy of BHL

EU passes law to restore 20% of bloc’s land and sea by end of decade

17 June 2024 at 11:09

Narrow vote causes fury in Vienna where climate minister is threatened with legal action by coalition partners

The EU has passed a landmark law to protect nature after a knife-edge vote, ending a months-long deadlock among member states spooked by fierce protests from farmers.

But a last-minute change of heart by Austria’s Green climate minister, whose vote is credited with saving the proposal, led to fury in Vienna, with the party of the chancellor, Karl Nehammer, announcing it would seek criminal charges against her for alleged abuse of power.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: @lgewessler/X.com

💾

© Photograph: @lgewessler/X.com

‘I am their voice now’: the Tanzanian rapper with a mission to spread pride in his own colour

17 June 2024 at 07:00

K-Zungu, an up and coming singeli artist with albinism, says he was lucky to have a protective family because so many with the condition in Africa have not been so fortunate

  • Words and photographs by Diego Menjíbar Reynés in Dar es Salaam

Every day during school break, Ramadhani Idrisa Muhando and his friends would turn on their radio to listen to 20 Percent or Jose Chameleone, stars of bongo flava, a Tanzanian music genre influenced by hip-hop and R&B.

So his love of music, he says, “has its roots in that schoolyard” in Tanga, on Tanzania’s east coast, but it was singeli, a style developed 125 miles away in Dar es Salaam, that changed the course of his life.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Diego Menjíbar Reynés

💾

© Photograph: Diego Menjíbar Reynés

Benjamin Netanyahu dissolves Israeli war cabinet

17 June 2024 at 10:26

Move is apparent rebuff to far right and attempt to tighten grip on decision-making over Hamas and Hezbollah

Benjamin Netanyahu has dissolved the Israeli war cabinet that had been overseeing the conflict in Gaza, rebuffing his far-right allies who had been seeking seats, and apparently moving to solidify his grasp on decision-making over the fighting with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah across the Lebanese border.

The prime minister announced the move to ministers, saying the war cabinet had been established as part of an agreement in which the moderate politician Benny Gantz and his National Unity party joined an emergency coalition last year.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Joshua Roberts/Reuters

💾

© Photograph: Joshua Roberts/Reuters

England fan and seven Serbs facing charges after clashes at Euro 2024

  • England fans trying to enter restaurant sparked dispute
  • Police say behaviour of England fans otherwise ‘great’

One England fan and seven Serbs are facing criminal charges and tournament bans after the brawl involving 150 people before Sunday’s game between the two countries.

The violence in central Gelsenkirchen, in western Germany, erupted after England fans had sought to enter a steakhouse full of Serbia supporters, German police have said.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images

💾

© Photograph: Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images

Indian suspect in plot to kill Sikh separatist extradited to US

Nikhil Gupta accused of plotting to kill US resident who advocated for sovereign Sikh state in northern India

An Indian man suspected by the US of involvement in an unsuccessful plot to kill a Sikh separatist on American soil has been extradited to the US from the Czech Republic, the Czech justice minister said.

Nikhil Gupta has been accused by US federal prosecutors of plotting with an Indian government official to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US resident who has advocated for a sovereign Sikh state in northern India.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Ted Shaffrey/AP

💾

© Photograph: Ted Shaffrey/AP

Jailed US reporter Evan Gershkovich to be tried behind closed doors, says Russian court

17 June 2024 at 04:11

First hearing of journalist, who denies charges of spying for the US, scheduled for 26 June in Yekaterinburg

Russia will hold the espionage trial of the detained American reporter Evan Gershkovich, who denies charges of collecting secrets for the CIA, behind closed doors later in June, a court in the city of Yekaterinburg has said.

Gershkovich, 32, was detained by the Federal Security Service (FSB) on 29 March 2023 in a steak house in Yekaterinburg on charges of espionage that carry up to 20 years in prison.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Tatyana Makeyeva/Reuters

💾

© Photograph: Tatyana Makeyeva/Reuters

Consensus or division? How Modi will manage Indian coalition government

Being beholden to partners could be a necessary restraint on Indian PM – or he could double down on oppressive policies

As Narendra Modi traversed the country during recent months, campaigning for a third term in power, he repeated the same refrain. The past decade “was just a trailer”, the prime minister told crowds, adding: “There is plenty more to come.”

The expectation, among his Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) and most analysts and pollsters, was that India’s election would easily return him to power with the same – if not stronger – supermajority that he has enjoyed over the past decade.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images

💾

© Photograph: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images

Middle East crisis live: Biden adviser flies in amid warnings Israel-Hezbollah clashes could escalate

17 June 2024 at 02:50

US adviser Amos Hochstein heading to Israel to help defuse tensions along ‘Blue Line’ between Israel and Lebanon, says White House official

Palestinian news agency Wafa reports that “two people were killed and at least 13 others were injured, including women and children” as a result of an Israeli attack on a house in the north of the Gaza Strip.

It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify casualty figures being issued during the conflict.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Bashar Taleb/AFP/Getty Images

💾

© Photograph: Bashar Taleb/AFP/Getty Images

Pongo Calling review – Roma lorry driver turns viral activist after political persecution

By: Phuong Le
17 June 2024 at 02:00

Film-maker Tomáš Kratochvíl follows the story of Czech-Mancunian trucker turned activist Štefan Pongo

Centring on an ordinary man with extraordinary determination, Tomáš Kratochvíl’s documentary shows how one simple video can ignite a revolutionary movement. After emigrating to the UK nearly 15 years ago, Czech Roma lorry driver Štefan Pongo built a new life for himself and his family in Manchester. At the same time, the persecution faced by his community never strayed far from Pongo’s mind. After hearing a speech in which Miloš Zeman, then the president of the Czech Republic, claimed that 90% of the Roma people were “socially unadaptable” and resistant to work, Pongo started a viral appeal online where he and countless other Roma compatriots posted selfies of themselves at their workplaces.

The appeal was straightforward, yet hugely impactful. Its aim was to battle harmful stereotypes thrust upon Roma people, which Pongo himself had experienced first-hand from a young age. In one particularly painful anecdote, he mentioned his primary school teacher rubbing his arms in front of the whole class to demonstrate how “dirty” the Roma are. As Pongo took a leadership role in the fight for Romani rights, his activism also translated into real-world actions, organising protest rallies in Brussels, and travelling to rural Slovenia to deliver aid to the most vulnerable in the community.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Film PR handout undefined

💾

© Photograph: Film PR handout undefined

Photoespaña: the exhibition where the staging is as impressive as the art

By: Guy Lane
17 June 2024 at 02:00

Madrid’s yearly photography festival has shone light on new photographers, established industry names, and artists whose work has gone unrecognised for decades

By the end of September, PhotoEspaña, Madrid’s yearly photography festival, will have hosted more than 80 exhibitions featuring the work of nearly 300 photographers and visual artists. Shows by established figures such as Elliott Erwitt, Paloma Navares, David Goldblatt and Erwin Olaf lead a roster that also includes less familiar names, Lúa Ribeira, the Widline Cadet and Consuelo Kanaga among them.

Above: Erwin Olaf’s Narratives of emancipation, desire and intimacy at Fernan Gomez cultural centre. Photograph: La Fabrica. Right: Boris Savelev’s Viewfinder – A way of looking, at the Serrería Belga. Photograph: Oak Taylor Smith

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Gonzalo Juanes

💾

© Photograph: Gonzalo Juanes

Kenya’s first nuclear plant: why plans face fierce opposition in country’s coastal paradise

17 June 2024 at 01:00

Unease and anger are rising over proposals to build country’s first facility on Kilifi coast, home to white sand beaches, coral reefs and mangrove swamps

Kilifi County’s white sandy beaches have made it one of Kenya’s most popular tourist destinations. Hotels and beach bars line the 165 mile-long (265km) coast; fishers supply the district’s restaurants with fresh seafood; and visitors spend their days boating, snorkelling around coral reefs or bird watching in dense mangrove forests.

Soon, this idyllic coastline will host Kenya’s first nuclear plant, as the country, like its east African neighbour Uganda, pushes forward with atomic energy plans.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: John Mawer/Alamy

💾

© Photograph: John Mawer/Alamy

Global spending on nuclear weapons up 13% in record rise

States are on course to spend $100bn a year, driven by a sharp increase in US defence budgets

Global spending on nuclear weapons is estimated to have increased by 13% to a record $91.4bn during 2023, according to calculations from the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (Ican) pressure group.

The new total, which is up $10.7bn from the previous year, is driven largely by sharply increased defence budgets in the US, at a time of wider geopolitical uncertainty caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Russian Defence Ministry Press S Handout/EPA

💾

© Photograph: Russian Defence Ministry Press S Handout/EPA

‘We need the world to wake up’: Sudan facing world’s deadliest famine in 40 years

17 June 2024 at 00:00

Millions face disaster as Sudanese army and RSF accused of using food access as a weapon in on-going war

Sudan is facing a famine that could become worse than any the world has seen since Ethiopia 40 years ago, US officials have warned, as aid deliveries continue to be blocked by the warring armies but arms supplies to both sides continue to flow in.

With much of the world’s attention focused on Gaza, the scene of another human-made famine, Sudan is already the worst humanitarian crisis in the world and is slipping towards a humanitarian disaster of historic proportions, with far less media coverage and global concern. A UN humanitarian appeal for the country has received only 16% of the funds it needs.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: El Tayeb Siddig/Reuters

💾

© Photograph: El Tayeb Siddig/Reuters

Ursula von der Leyen on track to keep job after EU elections boost

17 June 2024 at 00:00

Macron’s move to call snap elections also seen as helping commission president’s bid for second term

Ursula von der Leyen is on track to remain for a second term as president of the European Commission, as EU leaders meet on Monday for a first discussion on divvying up the bloc’s top jobs.

The EU’s 27 heads of state and government will gather for dinner in Brussels in their first group meeting since European elections last week boosted nationalist and far-right parties and triggered Emmanuel Macron to call snap elections in France.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Alessandro Della Valle/EPA

💾

© Photograph: Alessandro Della Valle/EPA

Before yesterdayMain stream

First Pride march since Russian invasion takes place in Kyiv

16 June 2024 at 09:08

Crowd dispersed by police after only 10 minutes and redirected to the subway due to threats from anti-LGBTQ+ groups, say organisers

The first Kyiv Pride march since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine was stopped by police after travelling only a few metres due to safety fears.

In a display of resilience amid the conflict, several hundred people gathered in the rain at 10am local time in central Kyiv under umbrellas, waving rainbow flags and carrying banners with messages of unity and peace.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Emre Çaylak

💾

© Photograph: Emre Çaylak

‘Youth is the future’: gen Z should be celebrated, says Prada

16 June 2024 at 12:57

The house’s menswear show drew on youthful spirit, while Fendi got ready to mark 100 years with a new crest

They have been been ridiculed as snowflakes and “too woke” by some, but Prada’s co-creative designers think gen Z are a generation to be celebrated.

Speaking backstage after their latest menswear show, which took place on Sunday afternoon at the Prada Foundation in Milan, Miuccia Prada said: “Youth is the future. It is hope. We wanted to do something that would express youthful optimism because the times are so bad.”

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Rossella Papetti/EPA

💾

© Photograph: Rossella Papetti/EPA

Key global powers fail to sign up to Ukraine peace summit communique

16 June 2024 at 12:51

Brazil, India and Saudi Arabia among countries not to endorse text supporting Ukraine’s territorial integrity

Key regional powers including Brazil, India, South Africa and Saudi Arabia have failed to sign up to a joint communique issued at the end of a Ukraine peace conference in which more than 80 countries and international organisations endorsed its territorial integrity in the face of Russia’s invasion.

Speaking at the end of the two-day summit in Switzerland, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, welcomed the “first steps toward peace” but acknowledged that not all attenders had come onboard. “Unfortunately there are people who are still balancing,” he said, adding that Russia was trying to divide the world.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Alessandro Della Valle/Reuters

💾

© Photograph: Alessandro Della Valle/Reuters

US braces for ‘dangerous’ conditions as heatwave to hit midwest and north-east

16 June 2024 at 10:39

Meteorologists warn that heat will spread east through the week, with ‘heat dome’ expected to trap high temperatures

Millions of Americans are facing “dangerously hot conditions”, the National Weather Service said, with a heatwave set to hit the midwest and north-east US from Monday.

Michigan, Ohio and western Pennsylvania were all under heat warnings starting Monday, with alerts in place until Friday evening. Meteorologists warned that the heat will spread east through the week, with a “heat dome” expected to trap high temperatures across New York, Washington DC and Boston.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

💾

© Photograph: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Macron calling snap elections could leave France in chaos, Sarkozy warns

16 June 2024 at 10:25

Ex-president says decision to hold vote after upheaval of European parliamentary ballot is ‘major risk’ for country

Emmanuel Macron has been warned by a former French president that his decision to call snap elections could plunge France into chaos, as his centrist party languishes third in opinion polls, far behind the far-right National Rally.

Nicolas Sarkozy said dissolving the national assembly was “a major risk” for France, “because it could plunge it into chaos, from which it will have the greatest difficulty emerging”.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images

💾

© Photograph: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images

Ecuador’s president won’t give up on oil drilling in the Amazon. We plan to stop him – again | Nemonte Nenquimo

16 June 2024 at 09:06

This forest is our home, our existence and our children’s future. Politicians who can’t resist selling it for oil cash will feel the strength of the Waorani people

In 2019 I helped lead a movement that defeated the Ecuadorian government’s plans to auction half a million acres of Waorani territory in the Amazon to oil companies. We showed in court that the government had violated its legal obligation to obtain free, prior and informed consent from Indigenous communities. We won a moral and legal victory on behalf of our ancestral home in that moment – or so we thought. Now, however, Ecuador’s president plans to plough through that legal judgment and recommence oil drilling on nearby Indigenous lands. He obviously hasn’t reckoned with the strength and tenacity of the Waorani people.

In winning that landmark legal case, we protected pristine rainforest lands, Indigenous autonomy and our planet’s climate from further deforestation. We protected our homes, our children’s future and the forests where I grew up playing with my siblings and pet monkeys, learning to garden and make fresh chicha, and where my people still live today. No more destroying our lives, homes and forests to pump the blood of our ancestors from beneath the soil.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Amazon Frontlines

💾

© Photograph: Amazon Frontlines

Electrical brain stimulation can ease heartbreak, study finds

16 June 2024 at 08:28

Researchers say transcranial direct-current stimulation can reduce ‘love trauma syndrome’

Breaking up, as the Neil Sedaka hit goes, is hard to do. The emotional pain of a romantic split can be so severe it has its own clinical name – love trauma syndrome, or LTS.

But help could be at hand for those seeking to mend a broken heart. Research shows wearing a £400 headset for just a few minutes a day may ease the misery, negativity and depression that can accompany a failed relationship.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Tetra Images, LLC/Alamy

💾

© Photograph: Tetra Images, LLC/Alamy

Russian soldier says army suffering heavy losses in Kharkiv offensive

16 June 2024 at 08:10

Anton Andreev says only 12 out of 100 soldiers remained alive after unit came under Ukrainian fire and drones in Vovchansk

Anton Andreev, a Russian soldier from the fifth company of the 1009th regiment, painted a bleak picture of Russia’s offensive in the Ukrainian northern region of Kharkiv.

His unit had been decimated, he said, with only 12 out of 100 soldiers still alive as they came under constant Ukrainian fire and drones in Vovchansk, a prime target of Russia’s advances.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

💾

© Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

Recovery and interest rate cuts won’t be enough to win Sunak the election

16 June 2024 at 07:23

Across the EU and US, strong anti-incumbency sentiment shows voters in west are unhappy with direction of travel

As the weeks roll by, Rishi Sunak’s decision to call the election before he needed to appears ever more curious. Unemployment is up and growth has stalled. NHS waiting lists have increased. There will be better news from this week’s annual inflation figures but it won’t make a difference to voting intentions.

The case for holding on until the autumn was that it would give time for the Bank of England to start cutting interest rates and for recovery to become more firmly embedded. That case now looks all the stronger. Threadneedle Street is not going to deliver a pre-election cut in interest rates this week and by the time it does start to reduce the cost of borrowing, the Conservatives will be long gone.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/AFP/Getty Images

💾

© Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/AFP/Getty Images

Chinese firm sought to use UK university links to access AI for possible military use

Exclusive: Revelation of emails to Imperial College scientists comes amid growing concerns about security risk posed by academic tie-ups with China

A Chinese state-owned company sought to use a partnership with a leading British university in order to access AI technology for potential use in “smart military bases”, the Guardian has learned.

Emails show that China’s Jiangsu Automation Research Institute (Jari) discussed deploying software developed by scientists at Imperial College London for military use.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Alicia Canter/The Guardian

💾

© Photograph: Alicia Canter/The Guardian

‘The brain is very vulnerable’: Dutch cyclists urged to wear helmets as road deaths rise

16 June 2024 at 06:47

Helmet-wearing is rare in this nation of bike riders but authorities are pushing people to think again

When 42-year-old Myrthe Boss gets on her bike to go shopping in the Dutch town of Ede, she pops on a helmet. This act, considered essential in many countries, marks Boss out as something of a radical in the Netherlands, where helmet-wearing is rare.

Now, however, faced with rising number of traffic deaths linked in particular to older riders and e-bikes, the Dutch government and provinces – not to mention neurologists like Boss – are pushing for cyclists to think again.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Alphotographic/Getty Images

💾

© Photograph: Alphotographic/Getty Images

Russia-Ukraine war: peace summit enters second day as west looks to put pressure on Russia

16 June 2024 at 06:44

Western countries and powers gather in Switzerland to pursue consensus on condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy has thanked leaders and officials for attending this weekend’s peace summit as today’s talks get under way.

“A united world is a world of peace, a world that knows how to do the right thing. I thank everyone who worked for this day – every leader, all the teams and advisors of the leaders, all the countries. Our unity here proves that the very idea of international law remains alive and effective,” Zelenskiy said in a tweet.

Continue reading...

💾

© Photograph: Alessandro Della Valle/AFP/Getty Images

💾

© Photograph: Alessandro Della Valle/AFP/Getty Images

❌
❌