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Thu, 23 Jul 2026 14:24:01 GMT |
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The men were convicted over alleged plan to stage coup and organise deadly demonstrations over fuel prices last year Two Russian men have been found guilty by an Angolan court of terrorism and spying after being accused of planning a coup and helping to organise deadly demonstrations in the southern African country last year. Lev Lakshtanov and Igor Ratchin were sentenced to eight and 11 years in jail respectively. They had denied the charges, claiming they were in Angola for cultural and business activities. Continue reading...
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Thu, 23 Jul 2026 14:06:01 GMT |
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September exercise called off after Kenya raises concerns over funding and jurisdiction for criminal offences The British army has been forced to cancel training for its troops in Kenya after the Kenyan government refused to ratify a bilateral defence agreement. While the UK government wanted to renew the existing agreement, Kenyan lawmakers had sought changes to give local authorities greater powers to hold British soldiers accountable for any offences committed in the country. Continue reading...
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Tue, 21 Jul 2026 22:39:00 GMT |
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UK resident was evacuated from Democratic Republic of the Congo where there is an outbreak of the disease A humanitarian worker is being monitored at a specialist hospital in London after potential exposure to the Ebola virus. The UK resident was medically evacuated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where the worker had been treating patients with the disease, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said. Continue reading...
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Tue, 21 Jul 2026 10:00:42 GMT |
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Global hunger declined for the third year in a row in 2025 but experts call for action to bring down costs of fruit, vegetables and dairy as report shows 2.69bn people can’t afford to eat well One in three people cannot afford to eat a healthy diet, a new report has found, prompting calls for urgent action on food affordability. There are 2.69 billion people unable to afford a diverse diet that meets their energy and nutrient needs, and it will take “immense” amounts of work to achieve the global target of zero hunger by 2030, the annual report from five UN agencies warned. Continue reading...
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Sun, 19 Jul 2026 04:00:16 GMT |
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Incumbent Carlos Vila Nova hopes to defeat his former party and secure second term as independent Voters in São Tomé and Príncipe go to the polls for a presidential election on Sunday as one of Africa’s least populous countries seeks to burnish its democratic credentials. According to the National Election Commission, about 142,000 people are registered to vote in the tiny African state’s elections, approximately 15% of whom live in the diaspora. Continue reading...
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Fri, 24 Jul 2026 17:58:00 GMT |
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At least 90 active blazes in British Columbia in what PM says is one of the country’s most intense seasons on record Fresh wildfires have broken out in western Canada and forests continued to burn in Ontario as the country battled what the prime minister, Mark Carney, called one of the most intense wildfire seasons on record. Nearly 34,000 lightning strikes over the past week led to a series of fires and evacuation orders in southern British Columbia. There were 25 evacuation orders and 90 active wildfires in the province as of Friday morning, and authorities said warming and drying conditions could cause them to grow. Continue reading...
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Fri, 24 Jul 2026 15:28:37 GMT |
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Of the estimated 179 people aboard, 76 were rescued as efforts continue to salvage the ship and recover all bodies The confirmed death toll from the recent capsizing of a state ferry off Guyana’s coast has risen to 72, with more bodies recovered as a multinational team struggle to salvage the partially submerged vessel. Of the estimated 179 people aboard, 76 people were rescued. The government has estimated that 100 may have died in the accident, which would make it the worst marine tragedy on record for the South American nation. Continue reading...
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Fri, 24 Jul 2026 13:53:34 GMT |
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US agency is to pay Canadian media company US$125m for use of investigative database to detect ‘immigration fraud’ A Canadian federal opposition party leader has called on Mark Carney’s government to block the latest data-sharing deal between US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Canadian media company Thomson Reuters. Avi Lewis, the federal leader of the New Democratic party (NDP), demanded on Tuesday that Ottawa address the contract and further restrict Canadian corporations from doing business with ICE, after Canada’s National Observer news website reported on the deal. Continue reading...
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Fri, 24 Jul 2026 11:49:19 GMT |
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Delegation sent to Brasília after gunmen from organised crime group enter homes in western Amazon Indigenous leaders on the Brazilian-Peruvian border have said their communities are being “taken hostage” by organised crime groups who are running rampant across the region, destroying rainforest, building roads and trafficking drugs. Earlier this month, masked men armed with semi-automatic weapons entered homes in Apiwtxa, a village in the Kampa do Rio Amônia Indigenous territory, intimidating people and searching for targets. Continue reading...
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Fri, 24 Jul 2026 08:11:31 GMT |
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Fires remain out of control in Northwest Territories and Ontario, while Argentina endures record night-time heat Recent hot, dry weather in Canada has triggered hundreds of wildfires across the country. As of Wednesday, more than 900 were burning, scorching about 3m hectares of land. While fires have broken out in several provinces, the greatest concern is in the Northwest Territories and Ontario, where several remain out of control. Poor air quality has been reported across affected regions, with wildfire smoke carried by winds into the US and even across the Atlantic to northern Europe. The risk of further blazes remains high as North America enters the peak of fire season. Continue reading...
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Thu, 23 Jul 2026 04:59:08 GMT |
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Dunedin will be the focal point, having last experienced such an eclipse in 1163 – before any humans reached New Zealand Hotels are booking out two years in advance in the New Zealand city of Dunedin as it prepares for the region’s first total solar eclipse in more than 850 years. At 4.17pm on 22 July 2028, the moon will pass in front of the sun, casting a roughly 100km-wide shadowy band across parts of southern New Zealand. Everywhere within that band – from tourist hotspot Queenstown in the west to Dunedin city in the east – will be plunged into daytime darkness for 2 minutes and 51 seconds. Continue reading...
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Wed, 22 Jul 2026 12:28:15 GMT |
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Isabel Rose, 26, sentenced to six years for blackmail and perverting course of public justice over her allegations against British man A British woman who reported being raped to police in Hong Kong has been sentenced to six years in prison for blackmail and perverting the course of public justice. Isabel Rose, 26, from south-east London, travelled to Hong Kong in early 2024 to visit a British banker she had met while travelling in south-east Asia. Continue reading...
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Wed, 22 Jul 2026 11:40:08 GMT |
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Foreign minister Penny Wong will deliver speech criticising China’s recent launch of a nuclear-capable submarine-launched missile Penny Wong will warn China that Australia and other neighbouring nations will not be bullied by its “provocative” actions, after its involvement in another “destabilising and dangerous” incident this week. The foreign affairs minister – who will deliver the address on Thursday in the Philippines, where the 59th Asean foreign minister’s meeting is being held – will also caution world leaders against placing a toll on the strait of Hormuz after both Iran and the US threatened to do amid the protracted conflict. Continue reading...
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Wed, 22 Jul 2026 09:26:09 GMT |
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Prosecutors seek a one-year sentence and heavy fine after chef garnished dish with insects not approved for consumption Prosecutors in South Korea have asked a court to sentence the owner of a Michelin-starred restaurant to one year in prison for serving a dessert topped with ants, an insect not approved for consumption under local food safety law. The request, made on Monday, also sought a 20m won (£10,108) fine for the company that runs the restaurant, Yonhap news agency reported. Continue reading...
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Wed, 22 Jul 2026 03:48:04 GMT |
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In April Japan coined new term kokushobi for days above 40C as country advises workers to wear shorts to the office to cope with stifling heat Japan logged its first official kokushobi or “cruelly hot day” on Tuesday since the new term for when temperatures top 40 degrees Celsius was introduced in April. The Japan Meteorological Agency coined the new designation to warn the public of the heat dangers of days that were once freak weather events but have now become more common. The central Japan cities of Gujo and Tajimi in Gifu prefecture, along with Toyota in Aichi prefecture, all hit 40C. Gujo’s 40C and Toyota’s 40.1C were all-time highs recorded at their respective weather stations. Continue reading...
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Sat, 25 Jul 2026 04:59:49 GMT |
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Fri, 24 Jul 2026 15:00:19 GMT |
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Economists’ warning comes as escalating Middle East crisis pushes global crude oil back above $US100 a barrel Australian households face the prospect of a Reserve Bank interest rate hike and petrol prices above $2 a litre over the coming weeks, economists warn, as the escalating Middle East crisis pushes global crude back above $US100 a barrel. Financial markets now see an even chance the RBA board will deliver a fourth cash rate increase at the next meeting on 11 August. Continue reading...
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Fri, 24 Jul 2026 15:00:16 GMT |
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The One Nation leader has allied herself with men’s rights activists for years, consistently suggesting women routinely make false allegations of violence For a decade, Pauline Hanson has been beating the same drum. Her comments this week – suggesting domestic violence was a “two-way street” and questioning why women did not simply leave abusive relationships – have caused significant concern and been labelled “dangerous” by experts and other commentators. Continue reading...
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Fri, 24 Jul 2026 08:30:18 GMT |
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Inquiry’s focus this week is on security for the Jewish community, with the MP telling the commissioner his son is afraid to attend synagogues and events The shadow education minister, Julian Leeser, has called for universities to undertake an audit of any classes that teach about the Jewish community, Israel or Palestine. Appearing before the royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion on Friday, Leeser said he had been “very concerned” about antisemitism on university campuses and was not satisfied with how vice-chancellors had addressed the issue after the 7 October 2023 Hamas terrorist attack. Continue reading...
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Fri, 24 Jul 2026 08:23:43 GMT |
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This blog is now closed Australian exports sent to the US will be hit with a 12.5% tariff as the US president imposes levies on more than 80 nations. The Trump administration unveiled the latest tranche of tariffs for countries over their “failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labour”. This, in our view, makes no sense. Forced labour is definitely something which needs to be combated around the world, so we support that objective. We absolutely need to see the strait of Hormuz be open and for freedom of navigation to happen there, for commercial shipping to be allowed through, and we very much call on Iran to allow that to be the case. We need to see a restoration to the normal global fuel supply chain because it’s having a significant impact around the world. Continue reading...
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Sat, 25 Jul 2026 13:42:06 GMT |
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Meanwhile, in the UK, a blaze in the Cairngorms national park has been described as ‘very serious’ by Scotland’s first minister The French prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, has requested the armed forces to deploy an Airbus A400M military transport aircraft earlier than originally planned to help tackle the major wildfires in Gironde, according to Le Monde. The French newspaper reported the aircraft’s use was not originally expected until the end of the month due to the technical preparations and tests required beforehand. While the fires raging across forests in France are a dramatic reminder of three successive heatwaves in as many months, the state of the country’s rivers provides another, no less worrying insight into the impact of extreme heat supercharged by the climate crisis. The Loire, France’s longest river, is at a historical low, with the flow of some branches, including through the city of Orléans, reduced to a trickle between sandbanks. Two weeks ago, 16% of French rivers were reported to have dried up. A quarter of small streams were stagnant or had disappeared altogether, according to the national low water observatory. There has been little rain since. Continue reading...
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Sat, 25 Jul 2026 10:00:40 GMT |
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After a Kyiv visit, rightwing firebrand now supports Ukraine – but perhaps it’s just because Trump favors a winner Laura Loomer, the online Maga provocateur, has never worked in the White House or anywhere else in the government, but her sudden conversion to the Ukrainian cause this week is significant because her social media posts often have real policy implications in the second Trump administration. The rightwing commentator has spent the last few days in Kyiv, where she announced a newfound sympathy for Ukraine in its long war with Russia, and admitted that she had previously fallen for Russian propaganda. Continue reading...
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Sat, 25 Jul 2026 04:00:32 GMT |
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Officials have long lobbied for peak that rises 2,918 metres above sea level to be given coveted designation More than four decades have elapsed since Evangelos Geroliolios made his first ascent to the home of the ancient gods. At the top of Mount Olympus, on the rocky peak of Greece’s highest mountain, he felt unalloyed awe. “I’ve never forgotten that unique moment, that unique feeling up there on the throne of Zeus,” recalled Geroliolios, who as mayor of Dion-Olympus now spends a great deal of his time administering the area around the site. Continue reading...
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Fri, 24 Jul 2026 22:18:51 GMT |
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‘Highly unpredictable’ blaze forces evacuation of Cap Ferret on French coast and Spain declares national emergency More than 200,000 people have fled or been ordered to lock down as huge wildfires swept Spain and France on Friday, prompting Madrid to declare a national emergency and the French authorities to order the total evacuation, by land and sea, of one of the country’s best-known holiday spots. Authorities in south-west France ordered the Cap Ferret peninsula on the Atlantic coast to be evacuated “village by village” in the face of an “intense, highly unpredictable” wildfire that has burned through more than 19,000 hectares (47,000 acres) of forest. Continue reading...
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Fri, 24 Jul 2026 22:18:49 GMT |
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Isobella Perrie Sullivan, 25, remanded in custody after intelligence-led operation against dissident republicans A 25-year-old law student has been charged in relation to an “extremely significant” bomb intercepted near the UK-Irish border. Isobella Perrie Sullivan, from Clane, County Kildare, was charged with possession of explosives at a special sitting of Trim district court on Friday evening. Continue reading...
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Sat, 25 Jul 2026 11:00:40 GMT |
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Jewellery made from BC Iran worn at Odyssey photocall throws spotlight on the trade of rare archeological finds The Odyssey has stormed cinemas, but while its take on the Homeric epic has created ripples among western classicists, it is an actor’s earrings that have made waves further afield. Zendaya, who portrays the goddess Athena in the movie, provoked outrage when she appeared at a London photocall wearing earrings that were allegedly made from Iranian artefacts dating back to the 1st millennium BC. Continue reading...
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Sat, 25 Jul 2026 05:00:36 GMT |
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In sea pools built with sandbags and rubble, Amjed Tantesh gives traumatised children brief respite from their daily lives Swimming classes have started again in Gaza after three years of war, with hundreds of children learning to float, doggy paddle and take their first strokes in five makeshift sea pools built from sandbags and rubble. The lessons allow a few hundred girls and boys to reclaim their childhood for a few hours in a place where there are no playgrounds, no formal education and children live in fear of continuing Israeli attacks. A UN survey in March found that 96% of children felt death was imminent. Activity on the Gaza seafront Continue reading...
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Fri, 24 Jul 2026 21:50:56 GMT |
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President flew to Ankara onboard Qatari-gifted jet, without advanced defenses, and flew home on old Air Force One Donald Trump switched aircraft before departing Turkey earlier this month after US officials determined there was a credible threat from Iranian proxy forces targeting him and Air Force One, according to a new report from the New York Times. The threat surfaced while the US president was attending the Nato summit. He had arrived in Ankara onboard the new Qatari-donated Boeing 747-8, an aircraft that Trump acknowledged does not have the same advanced defensive systems as the older Air Force One. Continue reading...
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Fri, 24 Jul 2026 17:58:22 GMT |
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No end to fighting in sight as Revolutionary Guards launch drones at targets in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait The US has struck targets across Iran, reaching as far as the Caspian Sea, as Donald Trump threatened “major military punishment” for Tehran and its Houthi allies in Yemen for extending the war to a second shipping chokepoint at the entrance to the Red Sea. As Iran retaliated on Friday with missile and drone fire against US bases and allies across the region, the New York Times reported that Tehran had rejected a US ceasefire proposal delivered by the Iraq prime minister, Ali al-Zaidi. This despite the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, claiming a day earlier that Iran was begging for a ceasefire. Iraq later disputed the report. Continue reading...
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Fri, 24 Jul 2026 17:20:09 GMT |
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Latest attacks come after Trump vowed ‘major military punishment’ for Tehran and its Houthi allies As we reported earlier, Iran’s military said on Friday that it carried out attacks targeting US military assets in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait in retaliation for Washington’s latest strikes on the Islamic republic. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corp, meanwhile, said they had targeted a data centre in Bahrain belonging to Amazon, according to state media, though neither the US tech giant nor Bahrain have commented on the claim. Continue reading...
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Sat, 25 Jul 2026 13:54:33 GMT |
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Dharmendra Pradhan steps down after demonstrations over exam leak scandal, prompting celebrations among thousands of protesters India’s education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, has resigned after a week of mass demonstrations, handing a major victory to a new youth movement that has posed an unprecedented challenge to Narendra Modi’s government. In a statement on Saturday afternoon, Pradhan said he had submitted his letter of resignation to the prime minister after student pressure. Continue reading...
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Sat, 25 Jul 2026 13:00:43 GMT |
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Bollywood stars accused of ‘cowardice’ as hundreds of thousands of young Indians take to the streets to challenge government Bollywood stars and other Indian celebrities have faced fierce criticism for staying silent in the face of some of the biggest protests India has seen in years. Hundreds of thousands of young Indians took to the streets this week as part of a new youth movement that calls itself the Cockroach Janata party (CJP), demanding accountability over exam paper leaks in an unprecedented challenge to prime minister Narendra Modi’s government. Many vented their anger against what they saw as “cowardice” from India’s biggest celebrities. Continue reading...
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Sat, 25 Jul 2026 09:00:38 GMT |
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‘I can’t tolerate this life,’ said the 24-year-old in his last voice message to his relatives. Attacked by the military, a rebel army and criminal gangs, Siraz Ullah risked all for a better future The fear was audible as he spoke, recording a message to his family, asking for their prayers. After pressing send, 24-year-old Siraz Ullah boarded a boat he hoped could deliver him from the violence and persecution surrounding him at home in Myanmar. Instead, Siraz is among 500 Rohingya refugees who have vanished at sea after setting sail for Malaysia in late June. Continue reading...
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Fri, 24 Jul 2026 14:14:22 GMT |
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Sonam Wangchuk secures ‘hard bargain’ with Delhi but talks between government and movement leaders stall The Cockroach activist Sonam Wangchuk has ended a 26-day hunger strike, as youth-led protests continued to erupt across India and leaders of the movement said there was no breakthrough in talks with the government. Wangchuk had been fasting since June in solidarity with the Cockroach Janata party (CJP), a new youth-led movement that has been holding mass protests calling for government accountability and the resignation of the education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, over exam paper leaks. The leaks affected 2 million students in May and have been linked to more than a dozen suicides. Continue reading...
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Fri, 24 Jul 2026 02:00:00 GMT |
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South Asia correspondent Hannah Ellis-Petersen on the Cockroach movement – and the students driving India’s biggest protests in years ‘I’ve never seen this many young people out on the streets,’ says Hannah Ellis-Petersen. For days, tens of thousands of Indians have been marching under the banner of the Cockroach Janta party. Continue reading...
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Sat, 25 Jul 2026 10:18:20 GMT |
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Comment follows news Axel Rudakubana was transferred from prison to psychiatric hospital The lawyer for the families of Axel Rudakubana’s victims has said the Southport killer is “trying to retraumatise the families from his cell” after it emerged he had been transferred from prison to a psychiatric hospital. Rudakubana, now 19, was given a life sentence for the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and the attempted murder of eight other children and two adults. Continue reading...
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Sat, 25 Jul 2026 10:00:40 GMT |
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Eighteen months after her daughter’s death in Texas, Jane Coates hopes new PM can persuade US authorities to reopen case Lucy Harrison felt that 2024 was her best year yet. The 23-year-old had graduated from university with first class honours, landed her dream job and bought her first house with her boyfriend. She was a “big girl adult” now, Lucy would say. She shed tears of joy seeing her idol, Taylor Swift, at Wembley on the Eras tour that summer. Life could hardly get any better. “All the hard work, all the tears, everything was coming to fruition,” said her mother, Jane Coates, from Warrington in north-west England. That Christmas, Lucy and her boyfriend, Sam Littler, flew to Texas to spend time with her father, Kris Harrison, who had left the family home when she was two. The pair had a complex relationship – Harrison was a recovering alcoholic – and Littler, 24, did not want them to go. But Lucy enjoyed seeing her two younger half-sisters at their home in Prosper, an affluent suburb 30 miles north of Dallas. Continue reading...
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Sat, 25 Jul 2026 09:45:38 GMT |
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Major incident declared over blaze that has intensified amid strengthening winds A major incident has been declared over a wildfire that has been raging in the Cairngorms national park for more than a week, police have said, with a whole village having been evacuated. Officers from Police Scotland said there had been a significant change in weather conditions, with strengthening winds making a fire that has been burning out of control for 11 days yet more difficult to contain. Continue reading...
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Sat, 25 Jul 2026 09:25:48 GMT |
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Officials not satisfied Therese Abdallah is a ‘genuine visitor’ and believe she would not leave after visit to son in London A Palestinian Jerusalemite who lives in London has been left devastated after a planned trip by his parents had to be cancelled when the Home Office ruled his mother was not a “genuine visitor” but granted his father a visa. Karim Abdallah, who has lived in the UK since 2019, was looking forward to hosting his parents, Therese Abdallah, 69, a retired English teacher, and his father, Ghassan Abdallah, a psychologist, for a few weeks. Continue reading...
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Sat, 25 Jul 2026 07:00:37 GMT |
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Campaigners urge government to introduce right of access to water, particularly as heatwaves become more common Almost three-quarters of riverbanks in England have no public access, according to data released by the Right to Roam campaign. Across the country, the public cannot use riverbanks or gain access to the rivers themselves in most of the river catchments from the west of Cornwall up to the Tweed, which flows through northern England and Scotland. Continue reading...
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Sat, 25 Jul 2026 13:22:13 GMT |
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Keller, who co-founded the celebrated band in 1986, had been battling cancer of the esophagus Lou Koller, the singer and co-founder of New York hardcore band Sick of It All, has died after a battle with cancer, his bandmates announced. Koller was 59. In a social media post on the band’s Instagram page, a statement paid tribute to Koller and his work and said: “The level of loss that we feel at this time is overwhelming.” Continue reading...
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Sat, 25 Jul 2026 12:00:43 GMT |
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Jackson, set to replace Graham Platner, is prominent workers’ rights advocate and a leading progressive voice As cinemagoers flock to The Odyssey, Democrats in Maine are hoping that their long and perilous quest for a political hero ends in Troy. They are set to nominate lumberjack Troy Jackson this weekend as their candidate to challenge Susan Collins, a veteran Republican in the US Senate, after the implosion of the party’s original candidate left them scrambling for a replacement less than four months before the midterm elections. Continue reading...
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Sat, 25 Jul 2026 12:00:42 GMT |
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Robot from company that acquired sex doll maker to be introduced in school with large Native American population A humanoid robot is being introduced as part of a pilot program, along with an AI teaching assistant, at Salamanca high school in Salamanca, New York, located on the Allegany territory of the Seneca nation. Teachers have criticized the program, deeming it “inappropriate” and claiming it dehumanizes the profession with the introduction of human-like robots. Some local Native American residents have also criticized the pilot program, citing its implementation as “culturally tone deaf”. Continue reading...
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Sat, 25 Jul 2026 11:00:41 GMT |
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Initiatives including cutting permits just to serve ice-cream amount to a sweeping program of deregulation Red Scare? The democratic socialist mayor of New York City spent this week talking about red tape. On Tuesday, Zohran Mamdani – the politician at the center of a revived rightwing panic about socialists and purported communists winning elections across America - posted a video on X of himself putting a sheet of paper with the phrase “RED TAPE” into a paper shredder. Other pieces of paper, with phrases like “cumbersome fees and fines” and “a permit you need just to serve ice-cream”, were shredded too. The video, set to Wu Tang Clan’s If Time Is Money, shows Mamdani joining a handful of city officials and small business owners throwing the resulting paper shreds into the air like confetti. Continue reading...
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Sat, 25 Jul 2026 10:00:41 GMT |
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No press briefing has been held for months, as the defence department belatedly or inaccurately releases figures The Pentagon is taking a “shameful approach” to releasing information about US casualties in the Iran war, Leon Panetta, a former defence secretary and CIA director, has told the Guardian. The defence department has not held a press briefing for two-and-a-half months. Officials have faced accusations that they are engaged in a cover-up designed to hide the true cost of Donald Trump’s war of choice in Iran, fearing a public backlash before November’s midterm elections. Continue reading...
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