UN Refugee Agency and IOM urge steps - including more legal pathways for migrants - to curb humanitarian crisisInternational bodies have called for urgent intervention in the Darien Gap to prevent a further escalation of a humanitarian crisis as new figures showed that record numbers of people are risking their lives to cross the lawless 100-mile stretch of rainforest between Panama and Colombia.The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) also called for the creation of more legal pathways to migrate to the US in order to help reduce irregular migration. Continue reading...
Staffing levels reduced as US says White House is committed to restoring president after last week's coupThe US and UK have ordered the evacuation of some staff from their embassies in Niger after last week's coup, as the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said the White House was committed to restoring the stricken country's government.Niger is a key western ally in the fight against Islamist insurgents in the region. Foreign powers have condemned the takeover, fearing it could allow the militants to gain ground. Continue reading...
Move by new CEO to hike prices for servicing jet engines pays off with 673m profit and surge in share priceRolls-Royce increased its profits fivefold in the first half of this year after its new chief executive, Tufan Erginbilgic, raised prices for servicing jet engines.The FTSE 100 engineering company made an underlying operating profit of 673m between January and June, up from 125m in the same period last year, it said in a statement to the stock market on Thursday. Continue reading...
by Martin Belam, Guardian staff and agencies on (#6DGFE)
Kyiv defended itself against eighth consecutive nightly drone attack; Ukrainians in Russian-occupied territory being forced to assume Russian citizenship, study finds
In today's newsletter: From overcrowding to fire safety concerns, the government's floating facility in Dorset has been plagued with problems, and now faces a delay. What's behind the Home Office's latest debacle? Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning.So it seems this will not, after all, be the week the first - reluctant - residents are transported to the Bibby Stockholm barge at Portland docks in Dorset.Niger | European countries continued with their evacuation of foreign nationals from Niger, as defence officials from west Africa's regional political and security bloc were poised to meet in Abuja to discuss last week's coup against the country's democratically elected president.Media | The influential documentary producer Jess Search, who co-founded the non-profit Doc Society organisation, has died of brain cancer at the age of 54. She was involved in hundreds of projects including the overfishing documentary The End of the Line, the gorilla protection film Virunga, and the Oscar-nominated Citizenfour, about the whistleblower Edward Snowden.Scotland | A rape suspect accused of faking his own death to avoid prosecution can be extradited from the UK to the US to face charges, a court has ruled. Nicholas Rossi, 35, is wanted by authorities in Utah for allegedly raping a woman in 2008. He also faces multiple complaints against him in Rhode Island for alleged domestic violence.Education | The head of the body that awards the Rhodes scholarship - the oldest and most prestigious international graduate award - has refused to back calls for the removal of controversial monuments to its original benefactor, Cecil Rhodes, despite insisting the organisation was in listening mode".Pollution | British triathletes preparing for next month's world championships have been forced to abandon open water swim training because of sewage in the sea off the coast of Lancashire. Continue reading...
Punishment for heroin trafficking comes just days after city executes first woman in nearly 20 yearsSingapore has executed a 39-year-old man who was convicted of trafficking heroin in the city-state's third hanging in just over a week, authorities say.Mohamed Shalleh Adul Latiff was sentenced to death for possessing about 55g of heroin for the purpose of trafficking" in 2019. Continue reading...
Tech firms permit ads for potentially harmful products including vaginal cleanse' balls and useless herbs for infertility, according to an investigationMeta, YouTube and Google are profiting from posts promoting harmful and useless health products to women in Kenya, according to an investigation.Researchers from the media collective Fumbua have accused big tech firms of amplifying content that promises unproven cures for infertility and herbs that can stave off cancers on their networks. Continue reading...
Ukrainians in occupied territories who refuse Russian passports face threats, intimidation and possible detention or deportation, Yale study saysUkrainians living in Russian-occupied territory are being forced to assume Russian citizenship or face retaliation, including possible deportation or detention, a new US report has said.Yale University researchers found that residents of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions were being targeted by a systematic effort to strip them of Ukrainian identity. Continue reading...
Independent MPs Monique Ryan and Sophie Scamps say the Labor bill to allow permits for storing carbon dioxide in international waters would encourage more gas projects
Court's sentence over posts denouncing country's ties with Israel is harsh and incomprehensible', says lawyerA Moroccan internet user has been sentenced to five years' jail for criticising the king on Facebook over the country's normalisation of ties with Israel, his lawyer has said.Said Boukioud, 48, was jailed on Monday for posts denouncing the normalisation in a way that could be interpreted as criticism of the king", lawyer El Hassan Essouni said on Wednesday, adding that he had appealed. Continue reading...
by Sally Weale Education correspondent on (#6DGFF)
More than 850,000 made repayments while their income was too low in 2021-22 , according to an investigationHundreds of thousands of UK graduates made unnecessary repayments on their student loans last year, worth more than 100m, while earning below the repayment threshold, according to an investigation.More than 850,000 graduates made payments they should not have done in 2021-22 because their income was too low, according to data obtained through a freedom of information request to the Student Loans Company (SLC). Continue reading...
A large chunk of audience appears to have followed veteran presenter to rival Greatest Hits Radio, figures showBBC Radio 2 lost more than a million listeners since Ken Bruce left the station for commercial rival Greatest Hits Radio, according to official audience data.Bruce spent three decades presenting the same mid-morning timeslot on Radio 2, where his mild-mannered style and Popmaster music quiz helped build the biggest audience in British radio. Continue reading...
Amy Rose Wilson died in collision on Saturday, with officers seeking to trace black Mercedes C-ClassA 27-year-old woman who died in a car crash in Falkirk on Saturday has been named, as police treat her death as suspected murder.Amy Rose Wilson, from the Bo'ness area, died in a two-car collision on New Carron Road. Police were called to the scene at about 6.10pm on Saturday, where Wilson was pronounced dead. Continue reading...
by Daniel Boffey in Kyiv and Julian Borger in Washing on (#6DFSY)
Russian drone attacks hit Ukrainian port, halting loading of ships for food exports and causing spike in grain pricesThe Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has accused Vladimir Putin of trying to trigger a global catastrophe" and the collapse of global food markets after Russian night strikes against a grain silo and loading facilities at an inland port on the Danube River.Drone attacks early on Wednesday hit Izmail, Ukraine's main inland port which is across the Danube from Romania, triggering a spike in global grain prices. Continue reading...
Fire Brigades Union questions large numbers kept on Bibby Stockholm and lack of exit pointsSuella Braverman is facing demands from firefighters for an urgent meeting over the safety of a giant barge meant for asylum seekers amid a deepening row over whether it is a deathtrap".The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has questioned a lack of exit points, the narrowness of corridors and increased occupancy on the Bibby Stockholm in a letter sent to the home secretary on Wednesday. Originally built with 222 cabins, the barge is now expected to contain more than 500 people in Portland, Devon. Continue reading...
Defence chiefs demand reinstatement of president after coup, which triggered exodus of foreign nationalsDefence heads from west Africa's regional political and security bloc have said a military intervention in junta-ruled Niger was the last resort", as European countries continued to evacuate foreign nationals after last week's coup against its democratically elected president.The 15-nation regional bloc Ecowas - the Economic Community of West African States - has threatened to use force to put down the coup in Niger after giving an ultimatum to those behind it to restore Mohamed Bazoum as president and reinstate the constitution and democratic institutions. Continue reading...
Save the Children and Oxfam urge government to restore aid budget back to 0.7% of national incomeUK aid cuts are a death sentence" for children in the world's most dangerous places, aid charities have warned after an internal government report revealed the impact of budget reductions on the most vulnerable.The government faced calls from NGOs including Save the Children and Oxfam to restore the aid budget back to 0.7% of national income, after the potential effects of cuts were outlined in grim detail by an assessment produced by civil servants. Continue reading...
Geza Tarjanyi barged into former health secretary on train while shouting conspiracy theoriesAn anti-vaccine protester who accused Matt Hancock of murdering people during the coronavirus pandemic has been found guilty of harassment.The former health secretary feared being pushed down an escalator by Geza Tarjanyi, 62, of Leyland, Lancashire, who shoulder-barged him and shouted ridiculous conspiracy theories" on two separate occasions on 19 and 24 January. Continue reading...
Robert Bowers perpetrated the deadliest attack on Jews in US history after killing 11 people at Tree of Life synagogue in 2018A jury imposed the death penalty on a man who spewed antisemitic hate before fatally shooting 11 worshippers at a synagogue in the heart of the Jewish community of Pittsburgh.Robert Bowers, a truck driver now 50 years old, perpetrated the deadliest attack on Jews in US history on 27 October 2018. Entering the Tree of Life synagogue, he opened fire with an AR-15 rifle, shooting everyone he could find in a mass murder clearly motivated by religious hatred. Continue reading...
Law firm requests supreme court redraw maps it says are gerrymandered to Democrats' detriment before 2024 electionsA day after Wisconsin supreme court justice Janet Protasiewicz took office, flipping control of the court to liberals, a coalition of legal groups in Wisconsin has filed suit to challenge the state's electoral maps. It alleges that the state's maps are gerrymandered and unconstitutional and aims to correct the partisan advantage Republican lawmakers have maintained in Wisconsin's electoral maps for more than a decade.The complaint alleges that Wisconsin's maps deny voters equal protection and free association" rights and violate Wisconsin's constitution, which calls for districts to consist of contiguous geographical territory. Continue reading...
Canadian PM's office says in statement that pair remain a close family' and have signed a legal agreementCanada's prime minister, Justin Trudeau, and his wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, are separating and have signed a legal agreement, his office said in a statement on Wednesday that appeared to mark the end of the couple's 18-year marriage.They have worked to ensure that all legal and ethical steps with regards to their decision to separate have been taken, and will continue to do so moving forward," it said. Continue reading...
by Libby Brooks Scotland correspondent on (#6DG3P)
Vote could signify Labour's revival north of the border, but it may need to show policy splits with UK party.As the Scottish National party and Scottish Labour launched their byelection campaigns a few streets apart on a blustery Wednesday morning, there's one thing both parties could agree on: this contest and its outcome will have significance that extends far beyond the constituency of Rutherglen and Hamilton West.Scotland's first ever recall byelection - triggered after voters removed Covid rule-breaker Margaret Ferrier from the seat she won in the nationalists' landslide of 2015 - will also be Humza Yousaf's first electoral test since he became SNP leader, and first minister, in the spring. Continue reading...
Human rights groups say Myanmar military's move to drop five of ousted leader's convictions is meaninglessEven with a partial pardon announced this week by Myanmar's military junta, Aung San Suu Kyi still faces the prospect of being kept in detention until she is more than 100 years old, if she lives that long.She has been held by the military since it seized power in a coup on 1 February 2021, and has been convicted of 19 offences - from sedition and illegal possession of walkie-talkies, to breaking pandemic rules and electoral fraud. Continue reading...
by Jessica Murray Midlands correspondent on (#6DFZN)
Craig Crouch also convicted of child cruelty while baby's mother, Gemma Barton, acquittedA man has been found guilty of murdering his 10-month-old stepson, Jacob Crouch, who was left with dozens of injuries, including at least 39 rib fractures, in the run-up to his death.Craig Crouch, 39, was convicted of murder and three counts of child cruelty towards his stepson, who died alone in his cot on 30 December 2020 at home in Linton, near Swadlincote in Derbyshire. Continue reading...
Prime minister criticised by NHS worker after blaming staff for long waiting listsThe UK should not take any lectures from anybody" about its record on green policies, Rishi Sunak has said.It was put to the prime minister on LBC Radio that the UN chief has called countries increasing the production of fossil fuels truly dangerous radicals".What I would say, not just to him but more generally, is let's look at the record. Which G7 country out of the large countries of America, Italy, France, Germany, us, Canada, Japan - which of those countries has decarbonised fastest over the past years or decades? Which one? It's the UK, right?So, we should not take any lectures from anybody about our record. Our record is fantastic.I 100% believe that what I'm doing is right.I think it's amazing we're blaming the increase in waiting lists on doctors going on strike.You're losing staff because we are undervalued and it's not just doctors, it's everyone, we're all leaving.That's what's causing the waiting lists to go up, I don't think that's right.I would say to them I'm very grateful and respectful of the incredible job you do but we all have a shared mission to bring the waiting lists down. Continue reading...
by Jessica Murray Midlands correspondent on (#6DFSZ)
West Midlands police say 30-year-old man in custody after woman found with serious injuries on Tuesday eveningA man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman was found dead in woodland in Birmingham.West Midlands police said they found a woman with serious injuries in woodland off Freeth Street in Ladywood at about 8.45pm on Tuesday evening, and she was pronounced dead at the scene. Continue reading...
Film industry's importance grows in state as record 109 productions filmed across New Mexico in 2022On a sweltering Wednesday morning last week, hundreds of protesters gathered outside of Netflix's studio in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in support of the American actors' union on strike.The strike - hundreds of miles from Hollywood - is a sign of the growing importance of the film industry for the south-western state. Although it was barely 9am, the temperature was already hovering around 90F (32C). Still, Sag-Aftra was far from alone on the picket line: members of the writers, directors, crew and background actors guilds had all turned out in support. Continue reading...
Hopes of a rapid breakthrough proved over-optimistic in the face of entrenched defences but Russian forces are suffering major damageThe first casualty of the Ukrainian counteroffensive was wishful thinking. Any hope that Russian troops would abandon their trenches and flee has now been left far behind on the battlefield.The occupying forces held firm and have mostly kept their discipline in the first seven weeks, absorbing one attack after another, often counterattacking to recover lost ground, and mounting offensives of their own in Luhansk and other spots on the frontline where they sensed weakness. Continue reading...
Dancer tells Kate Garraway he kept attack secret, as he recalls growing up with violent and alcoholic parentThe Strictly Come Dancing judge Anton Du Beke has revealed that he was once stabbed by his father and had to spend three days in hospital.Appearing on Kate Garraway's Life Stories on ITV, the 57-year-old dancer said that his father stabbed him in the leg and stomach on Boxing Day at their family home in Kent. Continue reading...
Thousands more women will be forced into unsafe abortions and die in pregnancy and childbirth, ministers toldHundreds of thousands more women will face unsafe abortions and thousands will die in pregnancy and childbirth as a result of UK aid cuts in 2023-24, Foreign Office ministers were warned in an internal assessment.The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) published its programme allocations for the next two years last month, showing that Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend is due to rise marginally in 2023-24 and then increase by 12% in 2024-25 to 8.3bn. Continue reading...
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