Individual liability removed but duty requires police, councils and NHS to work together to tackle violenceA new legal duty on public health bodies in England to tackle serious violence, including knife crime, must be backed by cash if it is to be effective, organisations have warned.The public health duty, requiring bodies to share data, intelligence and knowledge, will be announced by the government this week, following the conclusion of an eight-week consultation. Continue reading...
The acquittal of this victim of mistaken identity is also a damning indictment of Italy’s and the UK’s misguided anti-trafficking policy in the Horn of Africa, writes Dr Lutz OetteThe acquittal of Medhanie Tesfamariam Berhe (Eritrean man accused of human trafficking cleared in case of mistaken identity, 13 July) is a much belated recognition of his innocence, after he was arrested in Sudan following a British tip-off and tried in Italy. It is also a damning indictment of Italy’s and the UK’s misguided anti-trafficking policy in the Horn of Africa. Both states have been at the forefront of the so-called Khartoum Process in which the EU and European states cooperated with regimes such as Omar al-Bashir’s Sudan. Critics of this process had warned all along about the risk of such partnerships. Mr Berhe’s case was therefore not an unfortunate, unforeseeable incident but entirely predictable. It is time for a thorough inquiry to establish the UK’s role in framing an innocent man and effectively delivering him into the hands of Sudanese forces who were known for torturing suspects, and duly did torture Mr Berhe, who is owed more than an apology by the UK.
by Rebecca Ratcliffe in Delhi, Arun Budhathoki in Kat on (#4K4FG)
Areas of India, Nepal and Bangladesh submerged by monsoon rain in recent daysDozens of people have died in Nepal and a million have been affected in north-east India following heavy rains that triggered landslides and flooding across parts of south Asia.More than 50 people have been confirmed dead and 30 more remain missing in Nepal, where rescue efforts have been hampered by continued bad weather, which has blocked key highways and destroyed phone lines. Continue reading...
by Ruth Maclean West Africa correspondent and Oumar Z on (#4K4RP)
Law defined ‘death sentence’ for media outlets criminalises demoralisation of armed forcesOne of Africa’s bastions of press freedom is attempting to enact harsh legislation that threatens journalists reporting on an unfolding security crisis, human rights organisations and press freedom advocates have warned.Burkina Faso, currently ranked the fifth best African country for media freedom, is attempting to criminalise the “demoralisation†of its defence forces by any means, and the dissemination of information that could “undermine†public order or security operations. Continue reading...
Police say incident is not terrorism-related and inquiry is under way to identify driverFive men have been arrested after a car was driven into a group of people in south-west London.Police arrested five men for affray after being called at 11.15pm on Saturday to reports of a fight following the incident in Lombard Road, Battersea, in which a man in his 20s sustained a broken leg. He was treated at the scene and then taken to hospital. Continue reading...
Hungary’s far-right leader using Christian message to justify his immigration policy“Europe can ignore or deny or struggle against its own identity and its Christian roots. But by doing so the society commits suicide,†said László Kiss-Rigó, the bishop of Szeged, as he drove into Budapest on a recent afternoon. “And the more migrants that come, the more Christian values will be watered down.â€Christian values, or a particular interpretation of them, have become the centrepiece of Hungarian government messaging under its far-right leader, Viktor Orbán, and Kiss-Rigó operates at the nexus of the prime minister’s interests. Continue reading...
Man’s leg broken and several other people hurt in Battersea incidentThree people were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a car was driven into a group of people in south-west London, police said.Police also arrested four people for affray after being called at 11.15pm on Saturday to reports of a fight following the incident at Lombard Road, Battersea, which saw a man suffer a broken leg. He was treated at the scene then taken to hospital. Continue reading...
Eleven-year-old in stable condition in hospital after suffering serious facial injuries during doberman attack in CairnleaAn unregistered dog who mauled the face of an 11-year-old boy in a Melbourne back yard has been put down.The child was bitten by the doberman in his Cairnlea back yard on Saturday afternoon. He was rushed to the Royal Children’s hospital with serious facial injuries and is now in a stable condition. Continue reading...
Lifestyle adviser, with a large YouTube following, was killed in collision in south LondonTributes have poured in for a TV presenter and YouTube star after she died in an electric scooter crash – the first fatal collision involving an e-scooter in Britain.Emily Hartridge died on Friday morning when her e-scooter collided with a lorry at a roundabout in Battersea, south-west London. Continue reading...
Detectives trying to trace car driven from the scene in Sparkhill late on Friday nightDetectives investigating the fatal stabbing of a man have issued a plea for dashcam footage which “could be key†in helping them catch his killer.West Midlands police said Malik Hussain, 35, was found with serious injuries in Baker Street in the Sparkhill area of Birmingham at about 11.20pm on Friday. Continue reading...
Police in Hong Kong used pepper spray to disperse the crowds and beat some of the protesters with truncheons after a peaceful march against cross-border trading in the out-of-town district of Sheung Shui.Protesters and police clash in Hong Kong after peaceful march Continue reading...
Simon Byrne warned worst-case scenario would see farms going bust and of breakdown of peace processThe chief constable of the police service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has warned that a hard Brexit will have an “absolutely detrimental†impact on the peace process.During a press conference in Belfast, Simon Byrne painted a stark picture of a potential worst-case scenario of farms and agricultural businesses going bust and animals being culled, leading to potential unrest within communities. Continue reading...
by John Vidal in Foros de Vale Figueira on (#4K2W4)
A farm in Portugal is showing how the ancient art of silvopasture – combining livestock with productive trees – may offer some real answers to the climate crisisThe land to the north of the village of Foros de Vale Figueira in southern Portugal has been owned and farmed through the centuries by Romans, Moors, Christians, capitalists, far rightists, even the military. It has been part of a private fiefdom, worked by slaves as well as communists.Now this 100-hectare (247-acre) patch of land just looks exhausted – a great empty grassland without trees, people or animals, wilting under a baking Iberian sun. Continue reading...
Government has set aside more than NZ$200m to remove military-style firearms from circulationDozens of Christchurch gun owners have handed over their weapons in exchange for cash in the first of more than 250 planned buyback events around New Zealand after the government outlawed many types of semi-automatics.Police said they paid more than $NZ200,000 in total to 68 gun owners in the first few hours of the event held on Saturday. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Home affairs department told minister approving orphaned Rohingyan boy’s settlement could undermine its stance on boat arrivalsPeter Dutton approved a plan to bring a refugee child to Australia after lobbying from Nauru, despite warnings from his department that it would be seen as a contradiction of the policy not to resettle people in Australia who came by boat.Dutton made the intervention on behalf of a stateless Rohingyan unaccompanied minor whose parents were murdered in front of him in Myanmar before he arrived at Christmas Island by boat in October 2013. Continue reading...
It’s not clear whether the prime minister will sink his personal capital into a positive outcome, or run from the fightLet’s start this weekend with Ken Wyatt. When Wyatt addressed the National Press Club on Wednesday, he recounted the moment when Scott Morrison offered him the job of minister for Indigenous Australians. The first Indigenous person to hold the ministry was out by the Hills Hoist, hanging up the sheets, when the call came.Wyatt described the feeling of being so overcome by emotion he couldn’t speak. He had expected to be offered his old spot in the ministry, aged care, not the Indigenous portfolio. Continue reading...
Far-right president told reporters he was considering Eduardo Bolsonaro for the position despite lack of diplomatic experienceBrazilian diplomats have reacted with scorn and dismay to reports that Jair Bolsonaro wants to make his son Eduardo the country’s ambassador to the US, despite his lack of diplomatic experience.“Most of my colleagues are perplexed and in shock,†said a source at Brazil’s foreign ministry, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Not less because it’s a case of nepotism … But also because he does not have the qualifications for the job.†Continue reading...
Rolling coverage of the BBC’s Andrew Neil interviewing Tory leadership candidates Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, with reaction and analysis7.04pm BSTQ: Why did you vote for May’s deal three times?Hunt replies:The reason I voted for it was because at every stage I voted for us to leave the European Union as quickly as possible. And I didn’t think it was perfect, but I would have preferred right today to be outside the European Union, to have left the EU, to have resolved that issue and then to tackle the imperfections in that deal, the main one of which was the backstop. And as I say, other leading Eurosceptics, people like Jacob Rees-Mogg, for exactly the same reasons, they also voted for that deal because they also wanted us to leave as quickly as possible.7.03pm BSTAndrew Neil starts with a zinger.Jeremy Hunt - like Theresa May you voted to Remain. LikeTheresaMay you’re a Tory technocrat. Like Theresa May you voted for her Brexit deal, three times. Why would the Tories want more of the same when it’s hardly been a golden age for them? Continue reading...
Britain is being drawn into the confrontation between Washington and Tehran“This is a dangerous game,†an Iranian foreign ministry official warned on Friday. He was urging the UK to release the Iranian tanker which the British navy helped authorities in Gibraltar to seize last week. But the context, as he made clear, is the intensifying struggle between Washington and Tehran, in which the main players appear overconfident they know the rules and understand the stakes, while minor players fret about outcomes they have limited power to change.Mohamed ElBaradei, who headed the UN nuclear watchdog in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, has offered one of the sharpest warnings of the potential consequences: “All that I hear basically [brings] to mind the days before the Iraq war,†he told the BBC. The Iranian regime’s record at home and in the region is a grim one. But this crisis was created by the US president’s determination to destroy an international nuclear deal – which Iran was abiding by – and throttle the economy. It cornered Tehran and empowered its hardliners, who seized on the proof that America could never be trusted. Continue reading...
Wildfires this year have been at an unusual intensity despite being common in the northern hemisphere between May and OctoberArctic wildfires, some the size of 100,000 football pitches, emitted as much carbon dioxide (CO) last month as the country of Sweden does in a whole year, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Friday.“Since the start of June we’ve seen unprecedented wildfires in the Arctic region,†a WMO spokeswoman, Clare Nullis, told a regular UN briefing in Geneva. Continue reading...
by Ruth Maclean West Africa correspondent on (#4K13G)
BBC investigation includes testimony from soldiers who attacked peaceful protestersThe massacre of peaceful protesters in Sudan last month was ordered by the country’s top military rulers, according to an investigation by BBC Africa Eye.The documentary Sudan’s Livestream Massacre, which analysed more than 300 videos shot on protesters’ mobiles on the morning of the attack, also included testimony from soldiers who admitted taking part in the break-up of the historic sit-in by thousands of Sudanese civilians. Continue reading...
German refuge tells tourists to microwave sleeping bags in effort to halt infestationRemote Alpine mountain refuges are battling an infestation of bed bugs transferred from hut to hut by hikers in their luggage and sleeping bags.
India and Bangladesh drive progress but study identifies vast inequalities between countries and among poorThe UN’s key global poverty index has identified that conditions for the world’s poorest 40% are improving more quickly than for those just above them.The positive trend has been identified in the latest assessment of world poverty collected by the UN Development Programme, which quantifies relative impoverishment across the globe by multiple factors. Continue reading...
Minister mischaracterises key Uluru statement demand for Indigenous consultationPeter Dutton says the Coalition’s policy is to achieve Indigenous recognition without enshrining a voice to parliament in the constitution, seemingly ruling out a key demand by the authors of the Uluru statement from the heart.The home affairs minister’s comments follow an anonymously sourced story in the Australian newspaper, which said Scott Morrison would “veto†any attempt to insert an Indigenous voice into the constitution. Continue reading...
Small Sicilian villages reflect the shifting demographics of economic migration and declining birth ratesThe birth of a baby in the small town of Acquaviva Platani, in inland Sicily, is such a rare event that the village bells toll to celebrate the arrival.With just 800 inhabitants Acquaviva is among thousands of Italian towns risking extinction in the coming decades, as the country faces an unprecedented crisis of population decline. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Doctor tasked with reviewing disgraced gynaecologist says other patients are at riskThe doctor in charge of obstetrics at a hospital where the disgraced gynaecologist Emil Shawky Gayed harmed hundreds of patients has warned the NSW health minister authorities have failed to take action to prevent other rogue doctors operating.In an open letter sent to the Department of Health and health minister, Brad Hazzard, Dr Nigel Roberts wrote: “There remains an urgent need to address these issues to prevent a recurrence of poor outcomes. I remain very concerned that these systems issues are not being adequately addressed.†Continue reading...
Kelly Mary Fauvrelle killed in attack while her son, delivered by caesarean, died four days laterPolice investigating the murders of a woman and her unborn child in south London have arrested a man, Scotland Yard has said.The 25-year-old man, whom officers have not named, was taken to a central London police station after being arrested on suspicion of murder on Thursday. Continue reading...
Friday: Attorney general says a religious freedom bill will not impinge on LGBT rights. Plus: England thrash Australia in semiGood morning, this is Helen Sullivan bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Friday 12 July. Continue reading...
The UK’s shipping looks vulnerable since it seized a tanker after a US requestA chain of events has been triggered that is increasingly exposing the UK diplomatically and militarily in the Gulf.The UK has put British shipping on maximum alert in the Gulf, just as the foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, is forced to admit that – due to successive defence cuts – the UK does not have the resources to defend British vessels. Continue reading...
With devolution still on hold, the decision by a huge majority of MPs to vote in favour of equal marriage and abortion should be welcomedThe law on abortion in Northern Ireland is an anomaly that should have been dealt with long ago. The near-total ban, dating back to 1861 and including abortion in cases of rape, incest and fatal foetal abnormality, is among the most restrictive in the world. It is also an affront to the rights of women – as both the UK supreme court and a United Nations committee ruled separately last year.Since abortion is a devolved issue, and the proper business of the Stormont assembly rather than the UK parliament, Tuesday’s House of Commons vote in favour of liberalisation was not the ideal way to resolve an appalling situation. Given the circumstances, with power-sharing at Stormont suspended in 2017 and human rights violations ongoing, it was a humane and constructive step. Labour’s Stella Creasy deserves credit for her tenacity in pushing for it. That Conor McGinn’s amendment to extend same-sex marriage to Northern Ireland also passed by a huge majority made the news all the sweeter. This was a day of celebration for many Northern Irish people, as Sara Canning, partner of the murdered journalist and LGBT rights campaigner Lyra McKee, explained in an article for the Guardian. Continue reading...
Phil Barlow on how Tanzania has recently banned all plastic bags with great success. Plus Helen Evans on learning from her own granddaughterRe your article about “Plastic City†on the outskirts of the Philippine capital of Manila (The villagers who are forced to live with the world’s waste, 9 September), we have just returned from Tabora town in Tanzania, having worked as volunteers for 10-week periods over the past 20 years. Our final trip revealed an amazing and extraordinary fact that Tanzania has recently banned all plastic bags, with not a black plastic bag to be seen in the streets, which hitherto was a common sight in the ditches, on the roads and in fact everywhere. These black bags were given to you in the market and from small roadside stalls selling fruit and veg, clothes and much more.In May this year Tanzania passed a law making the use of plastic bags an offence with a hefty fine or imprisonment. The law was implemented within a month, ie on 1 June, and the effect was immediate, with all stalls and shops using a new paper-based bag in varying sizes and colours. Continue reading...
by Nazia Parveen North of England correspondent on (#4JYS5)
Report criticises Greater Manchester force for serious deficiencies in its firearms unitA public inquiry into the shooting of an unarmed man has found that Greater Manchester police (GMP) was entirely to blame for his death due to serious failings in its firearms unit.Anthony Grainger, 36, was shot through the chest as he sat in a car in the village of Culcheth, Cheshire, by an armed police officer known as “Q9â€. Detectives believed he and two others were planning to hold up a supermarket and had access to firearms on the evening of 3 March 2012. However, no weapons were found in the red Audi. Continue reading...
by Jessica Elgot Chief political correspondent on (#4JYQW)
Jewish Labour Movement to submit detailed statements to equalities watchdogMore than 30 whistleblowers including current Labour members of staff will submit evidence to the equalities watchdog about antisemitism in the party, the Guardian understands.The revelation comes after eight former members of staff went public alleging consistent interference in the disputes process by senior Labour aides in a BBC Panorama programme. Continue reading...
For many Iranians, the oft-forgotten films are a souvenir of a lost past, painting a picture of life before the 1979 revolutionShortly after the 1979 Iranian revolution, the country’s national newspapers published a joint subpoena, unique in film history. All the key stars of “filmfarsi†– a form of popular cinema that embodied the aspirations and illusions of a modernising society – were summoned to the revolutionary court. The careers of hundreds of actors and directors ended overnight. Unlike the Hollywood blacklisting of the McCarthy era, there was not even the opportunity for a mock hearing. The cinema, seen as emblematic of corruption, “westoxification†and the decadence of the ousted Pahlavi regime, was consigned to oblivion.Related: Sex, violence and lots of dancing - the soundtrack to Iran pre 1979 Continue reading...
Marc Veyrat of Le Maison des Bois said he had been depressed for months after losing a coveted star following ‘amateur’ inspectionKnives are being sharpened in the elite world of French gastronomy after an acclaimed chef demanded that his restaurant, which recently lost one of its three stars, be withdrawn from the Michelin Guide – a request the publishers of the iconic red book have refused.In an extraordinary letter, revealed by Le Point, Marc Veyrat railed against his demotion in January, voicing his doubts that the guide’s inspectors had even visited his restaurant, La Maison des Bois, in the Haute Savoie. Continue reading...
Justice officials looking at whether bank broke foreign corruption or money-laundering laws, Wall Street Journal saysUS officials are investigating whether the crisis-hit Deutsche Bank violated foreign corruption or anti-money-laundering laws in its work for the Malaysian state fund 1MDB, according to reports.It follows the bank’s plans to scrap its global equities unit, cut some fixed-income operations and slash 18,000 jobs globally in a $8.34bn restructuring programme. Continue reading...
Men stranded off UAE for almost three years claim they were told they could face two-year sentence for leaving vessel unmannedSeafarers who abandoned their ship after being stranded at sea for almost three years say they were forced back to their boat after they were warned they faced jail.The four men, stranded 25 nautical miles off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, said they were told by coastguards that they faced two years in prison for leaving the vessel, the MV Tamim Aldar, and were advised to return. For abandoned seafarers, leaving a ship is alast resort, as the vessel represents their bargaining power for unpaid wages. Continue reading...
A teenage girl and her father were rescued, while her grandparents and another unidentified person did not surviveA teenage girl and her father were clutching onto an overturned catamaran while three other passengers including the girl’s grandparents drowned in rough seas off Newcastle.Authorities were alerted when an emergency beacon was activated from the capsized boat 13 nautical miles off Stockton Beach about 10.10am on Thursday. Continue reading...
Met Office issues thunderstorm warning for much of Scotland and the north of EnglandParts of the UK are facing being hit by almost a month’s worth of rain in the space of a couple of hours.The Met Office has issued a thunderstorm warning for much of Scotland and the north of England, in place from midday until 9pm on Thursday. Continue reading...
Health minister Greg Hunt says government supports Therapeutic Goods Administration’s proposed actionAn Australian ban on a range of textured breast implants has been recommended after a review of apparent links to rare forms of cancer.The Therapeutic Goods Administration’s proposed regulatory action – which could include cancelling, suspending or recalling implants – follows an extensive review of an apparent association between anaplastic large cell lymphoma and some implants. Continue reading...
NDIS minister Stuart Robert said the services ‘are not in line with community expectations of what are reasonable and necessary supports’The National Disability Insurance Agency is set to appeal a tribunal decision that found a woman with multiple sclerosis had the right to have her sexual therapy funded by the insurance scheme.In a setback for the agency, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal ruled the woman was entitled to the services of a sexual therapist specially trained in treating disabled people. The tribunal said she should receive $10,000 a year to fund the treatment. Continue reading...
Queen was in residence at time of 22-year-old suspected trespasser’s arrestA man has been arrested after climbing the front gates of Buckingham Palace.The 22-year-old was held on suspicion of trespass at about 2am on Wednesday by specialist royal police officers, the Metropolitan police said. Continue reading...
In the second annual Latin American Foto festival, on view at the Bronx Documentary Center in New York, a range of photographers from throughout the Caribbean and Latin America will exhibit their varied and vibrant work until 21 July Continue reading...
Gavin Watson was a hero of the struggle against apartheid. But this once-powerful businessman is now caught up in a sweeping inquiry that goes to the heart of how a nation is run. By Mark GevisserOn 17 January this year, South Africans watched, transfixed, as video from a hidden mobile phone camera was broadcast on TV. It showed a group of men, in corporate uniforms, walking into a vault – where one of them counts out bundles of banknotes: “One, two, three, four, five … bloody Monopoly money,†he laughs through heavy breaths, “must be a million.â€The man’s name is Gavin Watson, and the whistleblowers who put this video into the public domain claim it shows him counting out bribes to be paid to officials in the South African government. They have given accounts that implicate cabinet ministers, senior lawmakers and even the prosecutors tasked with investigating the corrupt practices of Watson’s logistics company, Bosasa. The video is the most dramatic evidence yet of corruption within the ruling African National Congress (ANC). Continue reading...
Hong Kongers have displayed a characteristically riotous embrace of political graffiti in the form of Post-it notes documenting their anger and hope, during their huge anti-government rallies. Walls adorned with messages targeting city leaders, clever wordplays and Cantonese cursing have sprung up all over town. Continue reading...
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