BJP’s Kuldeep Singh Sengar sacked days after car crash left alleged victim critically injuredIndia’s ruling party has expelled an official accused of rape, days after a deadly car crash left his alleged victim in critical condition.Investigators are examining possible links between Kuldeep Singh Sengar, a Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) lawmaker, who was accused of raping a teenage girl, and the collision that occurred on Sunday. Continue reading...
Committee votes 9-0 to keep interest rates at 0.75% as uncertainty drags down the UK economyBritain has a one in three chance of plunging into recession as uncertainty over Brexit drags down the economy, the Bank of England has warned.Keeping interest rates on hold as the risks to the economy mount, the central bank said business investment was stalling, while heightened international trade tensions and a slowdown in the global economy was also having an impact on UK growth. Continue reading...
Israeli military said man was Hamas member but ‘not sent on an attack mission’Israeli forces killed a Palestinian Hamas member after he crossed the Gaza fence overnight and shot and wounded three soldiers, the Israeli military said.During the past two years, similar incidents along the frontier have often escalated into large-scale confrontations between Israel and the Hamas, which rules Gaza. Continue reading...
Joyce says his newborn son was a person with rights ‘long before he was born’. Meanwhile, Julie Bishop is named new chancellor of ANU. This blog has now closed
Defections across sensitive area dotted with landmines, fences and guard posts are rareThe South Korean military detained a North Korean soldier who crossed the heavily fortified demilitarised zone that separates the two countries, according to the South’s joint chiefs of staff (JSC).The soldier expressed his intention to defect to South Korea, the JSC said on Thursday. Continue reading...
Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and the Netherlands surpassed previous maximum highsOnly weeks since Europe last endured record-breaking heat, another plume of intense hot air pushed up from north Africa breaking yet more records. High pressure centred over north-east Europe and low pressure in the Atlantic allowed exceptionally hot conditions to develop across western Europe. On Thursday 25 July, Germany recorded its highest ever temperature of 42.6C in Lingen, exceeding the previous record by an astonishing 2.3C. A number of other countries also set national temperature records, with 41.8C recorded in Belgium and 40.8C in Luxembourg. A 75-year-old record was also smashed in the Netherlands, with 40.7C recorded at Gilze-Rijen in the south of the country.Meanwhile, Arctic wildfires have been raging across large parts of Siberia, northern Scandinavia and Greenland, with significant air quality problems reported in parts of Russia. Although wildfires are common in the summer months, the unusually hot and dry conditions have exacerbated the fires over recent weeks. Continue reading...
The troubled 50th anniversary event planned for August in Maryland has been officially called offThe troubled Woodstock 50th anniversary music festival planned for August was officially canceled on Wednesday, with organizers blaming a series of “unforeseen setbacksâ€.The three-day festival, meant to mark the 50th anniversary of the famed 1969 celebration of peace and music, was planned for 16-18 August. Continue reading...
by Hosted by Katharine Murphy and produced by Miles M on (#4MAYS)
Should Facebook stop fake news? Does Google store too much data from consumers? These are questions the ACCC has spent 18 months trying to answer in their digital platform inquiry report. Communications minister Paul Fletcher joins Katharine Murphy to discuss the dominance of these platforms, how they affect our lives and what kind of regulation the government should implement. Continue reading...
Russian president reacts as 3m hectares burn and state of emergency covers five regionsThe Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has called in the army to fight the forest fires that have been raging across vast expanses of Siberia for days, enveloping entire cities in black smoke.Environmentalists have warned that the scale of the blazes could accelerate global warming, aside from any immediate effects on the health of inhabitants. Continue reading...
The government is making a huge profit out of people seeking a place of safety, writes Barbara ForbesYour article about the iniquitous and exorbitant fees charged by the Home Office for renewal of leave to remain gives a clear account of the situation (Report, 31 July, theguardian.com). I am, however, disappointed that you did not mention that many people who have applied for asylum are also caught up in this, having had their asylum claim rejected and been granted discretionary leave to remain instead. So after suffering hardship, persecution and possibly torture in their own countries, having made the difficult decision to leave their homeland, and having struggled for years through the UK asylum system with the humiliations and frustrations that entails, they too are now caught in the DLR trap. As you mention, the fees are calculated per person, including for even the tiniest children. The government is making a huge profit out of people who have come to this country seeking a place of safety. Guardian readers might wish to join asylum and refugee support groups up and down the country who are campaigning on this issue.
World Health Organization confirms a second person has died of the disease in a major transit hub in Democratic Republic of CongoA second death linked to the Ebola virus has been confirmed in the densely populated city of Goma, located at the Democratic Republic of Congo’s porous border with Rwanda.The first case of Ebola in Goma – an evangelical preacher – contributed to the World Health Organization decision to declare the Ebola crisis in DRC an international public health emergency. Continue reading...
Fifa, Uefa and Premier League ask Saudi government to clamp down on beoutQThe world’s biggest football authorities, including those who run the Premier League, World Cup and Champions League, have called on Saudi Arabia to take action to stop a sophisticated, homegrown pirate TV and streaming service that is illegally broadcasting matches internationally.The strongly worded letter from the exasperated sports bodies – including Fifa, Uefa, Germany’s Bundesliga, Spain’s La Liga and Italy’s Serie A as well as the Asian Football Confederation – comes after almost 18 months fruitlessly attempting to mount a legal challenge in Saudi Arabia to block the service, called beoutQ. Continue reading...
A lonely man young facing jail time strikes up an unlikely connection in this absorbing but exasperating urban dramaAn oppressive sort of claustrophobic loneliness is what you’re left with at the end of this atmospherically photographed, fervently acted but ultimately unsatisfying movie set in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre. It enfolds you in its own world effectively enough but it listlessly problematises sex and leaves untied an important plot strand.Pedro (Shico Menegat) is a young gay guy awaiting a plea hearing for an assault charge after he hit back at a bully; he could get a suspended sentence or serious jail time, depending on the attitude he shows the judge. His only real friend is his sister, Luiza (Guega Peixoto), who is moving away from the city. So out of pure isolation, Pedro sets up a live webcam stream showing him dancing naked, smeared with fluorescent paint, for paying online customers. Then he discovers another dancer, Leo (Bruno Fernandes) is doing the same thing, having apparently ripped off Pedro’s act – and resolves to confront him. Continue reading...
Johnson-Trump plan could fall foul of Congress if Good Friday agreement is threatenedAny future US-UK trade deal would almost certainly be blocked by the US Congress if Brexit affects the Irish border and jeopardises peace in Northern Ireland, congressional leaders and diplomats have warned.Boris Johnson has presented a trade deal with the US as a way of offsetting the economic costs of leaving the EU, and Donald Trump promised the two countries could strike “a very substantial trade agreement†that would increase trade “four or five timesâ€. Continue reading...
Rising sea levels are destroying coastal towns in Honduras – and shrimp farms which export to the UK and US are making it worseEric Pineda runs a modest beachfront restaurant which serves up plates of fresh fish and rice – and faces imminent destruction.A recent tidal surge razed the nightclub next door, leaving a pastel pink ruin, and in the past two years, several other businesses between Pineda’s property and the Pacific Ocean have been destroyed by sudden waves. Continue reading...
Passengers, mainly women and children, were killed in attack officials blame on TalibanDozens of civilian passengers, mainly women and children, have been killed in Afghanistan when the bus they were travelling in ran over a roadside bomb, officials have said.“A passenger bus travelling on the Kandahar-Herat highway hit a Taliban roadside bomb. So far at least 28 killed, 10 wounded,†said Muhibullah Muhib, a spokesman for western Farah province, of the incident on Wednesday morning. All were civilians, mostly women and children, he said. Continue reading...
The trial of the former Asis spy and his lawyer undermines the already complicated relationship between two neighbours, writes Timor-Leste’s former presidentAs Timorese and Australians work round the clock preparing to celebrate two milestones in Timor-Leste’s recent history – the independence vote on 30 August and the arrival of peacekeeping troops on 20 September 1999, intimately connecting the two countries like an umbilical chord – two brave Australians are on trial for exposing a perfidy unworthy of a great country.Xanana Gusmão is presiding over the organising committee of the two anniversary events. I peeked and walked in uninvited as our charismatic leader and chief negotiator gave instructions to some 100 officials involved in the festivity preparations. Continue reading...
Party elder Kathryn Greiner says ‘transformative and conclusive change’ needs to start with Scott MorrisonThere are mounting calls for the prime minister, Scott Morrison, to address the Liberal party’s culture problem with women, amid claims two alleged sexual assault cases were swept under the carpet internally.Two young women who worked for senior Liberal politicians in federal and New South Wales politics have criticised the party’s handling of their complaints. Continue reading...
Projectiles were launched from same coastal area as a similar launch a week ago, according to joint chiefs of staff in SeoulNorth Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast less than a week after a similar test launch, the South Korean military’s joint chiefs of staff (JCS) said.The latest launches on Wednesday were from the Hodo peninsula on North Korea’s east coast, the same area from where last week’s were conducted, the JCS said in a statement. It said it was monitoring the situation in case of additional launches and maintaining a readiness posture. Continue reading...
Minister says women now have justice but Muslim groups accuse Hindu-led government of community interferenceIndia’s parliament has approved a bill outlawing the centuries-old right of a Muslim man to instantly divorce his wife, drawing accusations of government interference in a community matter.Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist administration has been pushing to criminalise “triple talaqâ€, under which a man can divorce by uttering the word “talaqâ€, meaning divorce in Arabic, three times in his wife’s presence. Continue reading...
Murder suspects Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky were pulled over and searched by First Nation safety officers checking for alcoholThe manhunt for accused killers Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky in northern Canada has taken another frustrating turn, with authorities confirming the duo was stopped at a checkpoint but then let go.The pair, who are suspected of shooting dead Australian tourist Lucas Fowler and his American girlfriend Chynna Deese along with Canadian botanist Leonard Dyck, have been on the run in northern Canada for two weeks. Continue reading...
Officer who told woman she was wasting police time was given a lesser charge by panelThe parents of a woman who was accused of wasting police time five months before she was killed by her ex-boyfriend have denounced disciplinary proceedings against the police officer involved as a sham after he was found not to have committed gross misconduct.A panel sitting in Lewes, East Sussex found Trevor Godfrey failed to adequately investigate Shana Grice’s allegations of harassment and stalking and failed to treat her as a victim – behaviour that amounted to a breach of police rules. But it said his actions amounted to the lesser disciplinary offence of misconduct for which Godfrey, now retired, would not have been sacked, were he still working. Continue reading...
Cost covers three-month period during which high court had halted enforced return policyThe Home Office has spent a quarter of a million pounds on charter flights to deport people in the last three months without a single plane leaving the runway in that period, it has been revealed.About 12,000 migrants are forcibly removed from the UK each year with another 20,000 removed through the voluntary returns route. Approximately 2,000 of those forcibly removed are put on planes privately chartered by the Home Office. Continue reading...
Kim Carr stirs caucus meeting over decision not to fight child sexual exploitation legislationA former Labor frontbencher, Kim Carr, has challenged his party’s repositioning post-election, asking why the ALP would decline to vote against government legislation that contravened the party’s national policy platform.Carr’s pointed intervention came during a caucus meeting where the Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, told colleagues the Coalition would get most of its legislation through the Senate in this parliament because there was an effective conservative majority post-election. Continue reading...
by Rowena Mason, Libby Brooks and Lisa O'Carroll on (#4M612)
Scotland’s first minister criticises Boris Johnson’s ‘hardline position’ on BrexitBoris Johnson has been accused by Nicola Sturgeon of intentionally pushing the UK towards a no-deal Brexit, despite his “bluff and bluster†about wanting an agreement with EU leaders.After meeting Johnson face-to-face in Edinburgh, the Scottish first minister said she believed he was pursuing a “dangerous†hardline strategy with EU leaders, with the likely outcome of no-deal Brexit. Continue reading...
Canadian authorities urge people to remain vigilant as search for Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky continuesCanadian authorities have suffered a frustrating blow in their search for two teenage suspects wanted over a series of killing in remote northern Canada.The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced late on Monday that a possible sighting of Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, at a garbage dump could not be substantiated after a “thorough and exhaustive searchâ€. Continue reading...
Lifelong anonymity for Blackburn teenager who plotted to murder Australian police officersThe identity of Britain’s youngest terrorist, who plotted to murder police officers in Australia, will remain a secret for the rest of his life following a high court ruling.The teenager, from Blackburn, Lancashire, who can be identified only as RXG, sent encrypted messages when he was 14 instructing an Australian jihadist to launch attacks during a 2015 Anzac Day parade. Now 18, he was jailed for life at Manchester crown court in October 2015 after he admitted inciting terrorism overseas. Continue reading...
To rebuild trust, the embattled fund manager should start by scrapping his management feesNeil Woodford once had a reputation as Britain’s answer to Warren Buffet, with the celebrity kudos to bring in more than £10bn of other people’s money to manage on their behalf.Stock watchers used to refer to the “Woodford effect†of investors picking a star manager, rather than a particular asset class or market. The situation could not be any more different today with his Equity Income Fund in crisis. Continue reading...
Tony Robinson, a minister in the late 2000s, accuses the Victorian regulator of failing to properly supervise the casinoA former Victorian gaming minister has demanded the state’s gambling regulator investigate allegations aired by Nine against the operator of Melbourne’s casino, Crown Resorts, that include accusations of links to organised crime in China.Tony Robinson, who was minister for gaming in the late 2000s under the Labor premier John Brumby, said the Melbourne casino had the potential to damage the state’s reputation, and the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation must allocate more resources to supervising it. Continue reading...
Joy and Richard Webb respond to recent negative coverage about the fair trade movementAs committed and hardworking supporters of fair trade for almost 30 years, we feel your correspondents (Letters, 27 July) missed the point of “The death of fair trade?†(The long read, 23 July) which showed how large corporations are trying to circumvent fair trade and undermine the highly successful Fairtrade mark with their own “fairly traded†and the like. Rest assured, the Fairtrade mark remains an absolutely trustworthy guarantee of internationally agreed standards.Tim Gossling blames the EU for “not allowing†the production of Divine chocolate in Ghana. This is not true. The EU is primarily a trading bloc, it imposes tariffs on products from outside that bloc. That’s what trading blocs do. It benefits UK manufacturers and farmers, too. No wonder the TUC, CBI and NFU are all appalled at the thought of similar tariffs being slapped on our products after Brexit. Continue reading...
Bosses of huge publicly funded project paid firm £59,000 over three years, documents showSenior managers at Crossrail, the huge publicly funded rail project in London, hired a corporate security company to monitor trade unionists who were campaigning against blacklisting across the construction industry, previously secret documents reveal.The managers paid £59,000 to the company, Control Risks, over three years. They said the monitoring of the trade unionists was part of work to protect the project from outside threats. Continue reading...
More than 400 hot air balloons attempt to break the simultaneous takeoff world record in the Grand Est Mondial Air Ballons festival at Chambley-Bussières airbase in eastern France Continue reading...
Paul Bussetti told police the incident was ‘one of those stupid moments’, court hearsA man who filmed an effigy of Grenfell Tower being burned on a bonfire told police it was a “stupid momentâ€, a court has heard.Paul Bussetti, who is accused of sending a grossly offensive video on WhatsApp and causing footage of a menacing nature to be uploaded to YouTube, said he did not know why he took the footage. Continue reading...
Woman rolled to safety but boy, eight, was struck by high-speed train, say police in FrankfurtAn eight-year-old boy has died after he and his mother were deliberately pushed on to train tracks at Frankfurt’s main railway station, German police have said.The boy was hit by a high-speed ICE train and killed instantly. His mother was able to roll into a safe gap between two platforms and escaped injury. Continue reading...
Family says car crash that left two relatives dead was attempt to silence alleged victimA teenager who alleged she had been raped by a ruling party official in India is critically injured in hospital after a car crash.Two female relatives were killed in the crash, which occurred on Sunday when a truck collided with their car in Uttar Pradesh. Her lawyer was also badly injured. Continue reading...
Rebecca Kanter is accused of abusing staff and damaging property at Washington DC embassyA fan of the rapper A$AP Rocky has been arrested in Washington DC after allegedly threatening to “blow up†the Swedish embassy there. The rapper is currently jailed in Sweden, awaiting trial for an assault charge after footage emerged of him and his entourage allegedly punching and kicking a pair of men on a Stockholm street.According to a written statement by a Secret Service officer, Rebecca Kanter is accused of screaming at embassy staff, accosting a group of students visiting the embassy and damaging property. She was arrested after refusing to leave the premises, and charged with wilfully injuring and damaging property of a foreign government, and refusing to depart a foreign embassy. The previous day she had allegedly thrown liquid from a Coca-Cola bottle at the embassy and shouted: “I’m going to blow this motherfucker up.†She wrote on social media that she had “defiled the House of Sweden … why aren’t I getting press for A$APâ€. She has been released on bail. Continue reading...
Man arrested as army bomb disposal team called to property in LowestoftTwo military grenades and “unidentified chemicals†have been found by police in Suffolk, leading to more than than 60 homes being evacuated.Officers from Suffolk constabulary made the discovery on Sunday afternoon while executing an arrest warrant at a property in Lowestoft. Continue reading...
Rona Mcseveny, a former patient of UCHL, is showcasing her photos of the continent at the hospital’s Street Gallery. The exhibition is a thank-you to the NHS for the treatment she received. Below, she details the spellbinding sights she captured on her trip
‘Multiple resources’ being sent to York Landing in Manitoba, 80km from remote town of Gillam where were confirmed sightings of the pairCanadian police are headed to the community of York Landing, Manitoba, in pursuit of fugitives Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, after the pair were spotted by members of an Indigenous patrol group.The fugitives were seen by members of the Bear Clan Patrol, who are based in the provincial capital of Winnipeg. The group has been assisting community members in the Fox Lake Cree Nation, which is next door to the remote community of Gillam, where the search has been focussed. Continue reading...
Monday: Newstart recipients regularly skip meals and other essentials to make ends meet. Plus: Boris Johnson goes for brokeGood morning, this is Helen Sullivan bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Monday 29 July. Continue reading...
Push to set up Senate inquiry takes a step forward, as Coalition faces questions on why energy prices keep risingLabor will continue to target the energy minister, Angus Taylor, as the government’s weak link, citing power price rises since 2015 and renewing its push to set up a Senate inquiry into his meetings with the environment department over endangered grasslands.On Sunday the mooted inquiry took a step forward with Rex Patrick reversing Centre Alliance’s position and pledging to support the move, although Labor and the Greens still need Cory Bernardi or One Nation’s votes to succeed. Continue reading...
Readers suggest a tale of a 19th-century small-town newspaper standing in the path of ‘despotic enemies’ may not be apocryphal after allA few columns ago I cited a story often told among journalists, for fun and to caution against self-importance, usually in vain. Variously attributed to small newspapers in remote locations at some time in the 19th century, an editorial discussing Russian foreign policy is said to have thundered: “We warn the Tsar!â€Related: The Last Czars: the historical drama that the whole of Russia is laughing at Continue reading...
Alexandra Macesanu, 15, told police “he’s coming, he’s coming†in final phone call but took 19 hours to find herA murder suspect in the southern Romanian town of Caracal has admitted to killing two teenage girls, his lawyer has said, in a case that sparked nationwide outrage over the way authorities handled it.Gheorghe Dinca, 65, a mechanic, has been detained pending an investigation into the deaths of Alexandra Macesanu, 15, who was last seen earlier this week, and Luiza Melencu, 18, who was reported missing in April. Continue reading...
Metropolitan police pay £2,500 to Oluwole Ilesanmi after snatching Bible from his handA Christian street preacher who had his Bible confiscated as he was handcuffed by police has been awarded £2,500 for wrongful arrest.A video of Oluwole Ilesanmi pleading with a police officer to “not take my Bible away†has been viewed millions of times since his arrest in February. Continue reading...
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