Liu was awarded Nobel peace prize in 2010 while serving 11-year sentence for inciting subversion of state power
China?€?s best-known political prisoner, the civil rights campaigner and Nobel peace prize winner Liu Xiaobo, has been released on medical parole after he was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer.
Liu, 61, is in the late stages of the disease, said Mo Shaoping, his lawyer, who has been in contact with Liu?€?s family. Liu is being treated at a hospital in the north-eastern city of Shenyang, near where he was being held. Another of Liu?€?s lawyers, Shang Baojun, said he was diagnosed in May.
Breeder John Hume to take advantage of court ruling lift ban on domestic trade to sell horns trimmed from the 1,500 rhinos on his ranch
A rhino breeder in South Africa is planning an online auction of rhino horns to capitalise on a court ruling that opened the way to domestic trade despite an international ban imposed to curb poaching.
The sale of rhino horns by breeder John Hume, to be held in August, will be used to ?€?further fund the breeding and protection of rhinos?€?, according to an auction website.
Edi Rama?€?s Socialist party appears on course to win over 45% of vote after campaign focussed on closer ties with west
Albania?€?s prime minister, the artist turned politician Edi Rama, is poised to be returned to power following parliamentary elections seen as key to the country?€?s future prospects of EU membership.
As ballots continued to be counted on Monday, an exit poll showed Rama and his Socialist party on course to win between 45% and 49% of the vote.
Decision to abandon landmark deal described as a ?€?slap in the face?€? and prompts charity to cancel gala event with Israeli PM
A high-profile body that liaises between Israel and the Jewish diaspora has reacted with fury at a decision by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to in effect abandon a plan to allow men and women to pray together at the Western Wall.
The Jewish Agency has cancelled a gala dinner with Netanyahu in Jerusalem and is to discuss the ramifications of the decision at a meeting this week.
Once the family breadwinner, Hossein Panahi was among 150 people who died when a bomb ripped through the Afghan capital in May. Now his kin are destitute, adding to the toll of lives wrecked by the country?€?s violence
As an only son, Hossein Panahi was his family?€?s sole provider. He supplied his sisters with clothes, his ailing parents with food and medicine, and built them all a house to live in.
His salary meant his two older sisters did not have to marry young for dowry, but could wait for men they loved. He also put his third sister through law school.
Turkey?€?s president condemns request as a ?€?very ugly approach?€? and dismisses other demands made of Qatar by Gulf states
Turkey?€?s president has described as disrespectful a demand by Saudi Arabia and its allies that it withdraw its troops from Qatar as a step towards ending a deepening dispute with the besieged Gulf state.
A flotilla of boats and the air force went to the aid of vessel that sank with about 150 people on board in Guatapé-El Peñol reservoir
At least six people have died and 15 people are missing after a tourist boat carrying about 150 people sank in a reservoir in north-west Colombia, near the city of Medellín.
In the absence of a passenger list, authorities have been relying on family members and survivors to report their whereabouts. Overnight they reduced to 15 the tally of people missing, down from an earlier count of twice that number.
Police thwart LGBT activists?€? attempted parade planned in defiance of an official ban from local authorities
Turkish police have thwarted an attempt by gay pride activists to hold a parade in Istanbul in defiance of an official ban from the local authorities.
Police fired rubber bullets at a group of around 40 activists in the country?€?s largest city, an AFP journalist reported, a day after the city governor?€?s office banned the march citing safety and public order concerns.
Families affected by huge slip that buried Xinmo village say they are concerned by a lack of information and the fate of orphaned children
Frustration grew on Monday among family members of victims of a landslide that buried a mountain village in southwestern China, with some complaining about a lack of information and asking why they had not been moved from an area prone to land slips.
At least 93 people remain missing, along with 10 confirmed dead, after a landslide crashed down on the village of Xinmo, in mountainous Sichuan province, as dawn broke on Saturday.
Clinton, Bush and Obama presidencies all had receptions to mark end of Muslim holy month
Donald Trump has not hosted an iftar dinner during Ramadan, breaking a nearly 20-year tradition.
Despite events held by previous administrations from across the political divide, this year?€?s Ramadan - which began on 26 May - passed nearly unobserved by the White House. It was marked only by a statement published late on Saturday afternoon, coinciding with the end of the holy month.
The Tokyo-based car parts giant is facing lawsuits and huge costs over an airbag defect linked to at least 16 deaths globally
Japan?€?s crisis-hit car parts maker Takata has filed for bankruptcy protection, after deadly faults in its airbags triggered the industry?€?s biggest ever safety recall.
The Tokyo-based car parts giant is facing lawsuits and huge costs over an airbag defect linked to at least 16 deaths globally. News reports have said its liabilities would exceed 1tn yen ($9bn). Immediate confirmation was not available.
Gusty winds in Gulmarg uproot a huge pine tree that hits the cable of the coach, bringing it down to the ground
Four Indian tourists and three local residents died when a cable car came crashing down from a height of at least 30 meters (100ft) in a tourist town in the Indian portion of Kashmir.
Emergency services fight to contain major blaze in Huelva, Andalucía, which has been on high alert due to heat wave
A major forest fire in southern Spain has forced the evacuation of more than 1,500 people from homes, campsites and hotels, according to a government official.
Like much of Spain, the area in Huelva is on high alert for forest fires because of a heatwave. Last week, 64 people died in a forest fire in neighbouring Portugal.
Seyran Ate??€?s Ibn Rushd-Goethe mosque allows men and women to pray together and rejects burqa and niqab
The founder of a new liberal mosque in Berlin that allows men and women to pray side by side has vowed to press on with her project even though the institution has been issued with a fatwa from Egypt and attacked by religious authorities in Turkey within a week of its opening.
?€?The pushback I am getting makes me feel that I am doing the right thing,?€? said Seyran Ate?, a Turkish-born lawyer and women?€?s rights campaigner, who does not wear a hijab. ?€?God is loving and merciful - otherwise he wouldn?€?t have turned me into the person I am.?€?
People described as rushing to highway to try to gather leaking fuel from crashed vehicle and being caught in blast
An overturned oil tanker exploded in a huge fireball in Pakistan on Sunday killing more than 150 people, including many women and children, who had rushed to the site to collect fuel spilling from the crashed vehicle.
Witnesses described terrifying scenes at the site in the city of Ahmad Pur Sharqia, Punjab province.
Shark was first spotted close to beaches at Cala Major and Can Pastilla, then discovered to have serious head wound
A blue shark whose presence in shallow waters off the coast of Mallorca caused panic over the weekend and led to the evacuation of beaches on the Balearic island, has been captured.
The animal was first spotted on Saturday as it swam close to the beaches at Cala Major and Can Pastilla, near the Mallorcan capital of Palma. Pictures showed the shark gliding through the water a few metres from bathers, who dashed to the safety of the shore.
Veneto Banca and Banca Popolare di Vicenza, blighted by bad loans and a mis-selling scandal, will open as usual on Monday, says finance minister
The Italian government is stepping in to wind up two failing lenders and prevent a bank run, at a total cost of up to ?17bn (£15bn).
After an emergency cabinet meeting on Sunday, ministers agreed to a decree splitting Veneto Banca and Banca Popolare di Vicenza into ?€?good?€? and ?€?bad?€? banks, keeping branches open.
Trollpikken, a popular tourist attraction, is broken, bearing cracks and holes that suggest it has been vandalised, say experts
Activists are collecting money to repair a penis-shaped rock formation in southern Norway after the popular tourist attraction was found badly damaged.
Joggers on Saturday discovered that the Trollpikken rock formation appeared to have been cut off, and noted drilling holes in the rock - which experts said strongly suggested the rock had been vandalised.
Sportswear brands review spate of incidents in factories where employees on short-term contracts work 10-hour days in soaring temperatures
Women working in Cambodian factories supplying some of the world?€?s best-known sportswear brands are suffering from repeated mass faintings linked to conditions.
Over the past year more than 500 workers in four factories supplying to Nike, Puma, Asics and VF Corporation were hospitalised. The most serious episode, recorded over three days in November, saw 360 workers collapse. The brands confirmed the incidents, part of a pattern of faintings that has dogged the 600,000-strong mostly female garment workforce for years.
Congressman likens Trump complaint on White House inaction to ?€?knowingly receiving stolen property [and] blaming police for not stopping the theft?€?
The Obama adminstration ?€?should have done a lot more?€? to combat Russian interference in the 2016 US election before the result was known, a top congressional Democrat said on Sunday.
The hard-left leader is prepared to fight in parliament, or on the streets. And tackling the new president on workers?€? rights is first on the agenda
Entering the French lower house of parliament as an MP for the first time last week, Jean-Luc Mélenchon pointed to the European flag planted next to the French tricolor, turned to the camera tracking him and said: ?€?Do we have to put up with that??€?
Earlier he stood on the steps of the Assemblée Nationale, alongside the other 16 newly elected MPs from his hard-left party La France Insoumise (France Unbowed), raised a clenched fist and shouted ?€?Resistance?€?.
Zeid Ra?€?ad al-Hussein criticises British culture of denigrating ?€?bodies of international law that are now endangered?€?
The UN human rights chief has criticised Theresa May for comments made in the wake of recent terror attacks, accusing her of offering a ?€?gift?€? to every despot who ?€?shamelessly violates human rights under the pretext of fighting terrorism?€?.
Human rights groups and fellow dissidents react after Liu Xiaobo is transferred to hospital with late-stage liver cancer
China?€?s dissident community has expressed anger, shock and sadness that the country?€?s best-known political prisoner - the democracy activist and Nobel peace prize winner Liu Xiaobo - has been transferred to hospital after being diagnosed with terminal liver cancer.
Liu, 61, had been serving an 11-year prison sentence for inciting subversion of state power. His lawyer, Mo Shaoping, who has been in contact with Liu?€?s family, said he was now in the late stages of disease. Another of Liu?€?s lawyers, Shang Baojun, said he had been diagnosed on 23 May.
Labour leader says May should have made guarantees immediately after Brexit vote rather than waiting for negotiations
Theresa May?€?s proposals to preserve the rights of 3 million EU citizens living in the UK have been condemned by Jeremy Corbyn and other opposition MPs as ?€?too little, too late?€?. The Labour leader said guarantees should have been made directly after the vote to leave the European Union last year rather than waiting until ?€?complex and delicate?€? trade negotiations began.
All 3 million EU citizens resident in Britain will have to apply to be on a ?€?settled status?€? identity register after Brexit, under Home Office proposals about their future rights released today. A 15-page policy paper proposes a new ?€?light-touch?€? online system to process applications that will give applicants the same ?€?indefinite leave to remain?€? status as many non-European nationals who have also lived in Britain for five years.
Survey asked what kind of asylum system is fair, with 72% saying countries should receive applications according to capacity rather than current system
The majority of Europeans support proportional allocation of asylum seekers, a system that takes into account each country?€?s capacity, research has revealed.
But the study also shows that support for the system is dramatically affected by the number of asylum seekers expected for each country if the policy were implemented.
Treatment of dying Nobel peace prize winner is emblematic of China?€?s iron rule. Tania Branigan on the remarkable man she nearly met - the day he was arrested
There was no sign of Liu Xiaobo in the Beijing coffee shop - a confusion over the place or time we had arranged to meet, I assumed. But he wasn?€?t answering his mobile phone and a call to his home brought worrying news: 10 police had arrived late the night before and taken him away.
Even then, the writer?€?s disappearance did not seem overly concerning. Chinese dissidents and activists were used to pressure from the authorities and brief detentions for questioning, or worse. But Liu enjoyed a relative degree of tolerance because of his high profile, though he?€?d been jailed over 1989?€?s Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests when he helped broker a peaceful exit from the square for the remaining demonstrators amid the bloody crackdown - and again in the 90s.
With hundreds of thousands of visitors descending on the capital for the 150th Canada Day, this humble and unassuming city is flashing a bit of skin
Ottawa is not a grand capital city. It lacks the stunning boulevards of Paris, or economic oomph of London. But it is a fitting capital for Canada all the same - or, at least, for the vision of the country many Canadians like to project: humble, unassuming, getting the job done in the shadow of more grandiose neighbours (in Ottawa?€?s case, Montreal and Toronto).
The city?€?s Parliament Hill overlooks the Ottawa river valley which divides Ontario and Quebec, and where the lines between the nation?€?s two solitudes most obviously and frequently blur as a reminder of Canada?€?s unity.
When the 13-storey tower block toppled it exposed problems at the heart of the construction industry in a country where 400 residential buildings collapse each year
Pensioner Madiha Abdel Alim was heading home to her flat in Alexandria when she looked up and noticed something strange: the 13-storey block in which she lived was suddenly tilting precariously over the narrow road.
Concerned, she immediately contacted the local authorities. ?€?They did nothing,?€? says Alim. ?€?They said, ?€?oh, that?€?s normal. It?€?s a very tall building?€?.?€? Three days later, the tower toppled and crashed into the building across the road.
From ?€?manspreading?€? to a public grooming ban, tell us about the dos and don?€?t of your daily commute
Commuting through a city is stressful enough without other people breaking the unwritten codes of public travel and getting in your way. But the rules aren?€?t the same everywhere, and trying to figure out where to stand or when to give up your seat can take some guessing if you?€?re new to a city.
In Toronto, the city authorities are clamping down on rule-breakers in a new social media campaign encouraging travellers to document transgressions by their fellow travellers, like riding the train without shoes...
?€?OMG!,?€? tweeted Lamont Dex in April 2017. ?€?Why is there always that one person who thinks it?€?s okay to block the door on the train?! #Move #TTC?€?
At the time, his complaint got little attention. Roughly a month later, it was plastered on advertisements across Toronto?€?s transit system - part of a new etiquette campaign called ?€?You Said It?€?, showing what your fellow riders have tweeted and complained about.
Once known as the City of Lakes, urban sprawl has destroyed 85% of Bangalore?€?s fresh water and pollution has ruined much of the rest. Can Lakshmi and her mother find clean water today?
This film is a collaboration with UBC?€?s International Reporting Program series Surviving the City. More stories in this series:
Evangelina Chamorro became a symbol of hope after she survived being swept two miles in a mudslide - but her story reveals the city?€?s shaky foundations
The extraordinary video of a Peruvian woman coated in mud emerging from a brown sea of pallets and wooden poles was viewed around the world. Evangelina Chamorro, who had been feeding her pigs when she was swept for two miles downhill in a huge mudslide, became the poster girl for resilience during the country?€?s worst floods in living memory.
Remarkably, the 32-year-old was treated for minor injuries and left hospital just a week after the incident in March. The psychological scars, however, are taking longer to heal.
Ahead of World Refugee Day, life is deteriorating in the Libyan desert city that used to be a ?€?melting pot?€? but has since become a hub for human trafficking
Deep in the Libyan desert at the confluence of several migration routes from sub-Saharan Africa, this oasis city of 130,000 hit the headlines earlier this year. The United Nations migration agency reported that some new arrivals at this staging post to Tripoli and the Mediterranean coast, 400 miles north, were being ?€?sold?€? at modern day slave auctions.
It?€?s a worrying development for Sabha - always liable to become involved in the modern refugee crisis by its position - and World Refugee Day 20 June serves as a reminder of how vulnerable migrants are in places like this semi-lawless enclave, caught between tribal and political factions in post-revolution Libya.
It?€?s no secret Donald Trump benefited from rural voters. But Democrat or Republican, they usually tell Katherine Cramer - who has spent a decade visiting residents of small-town Wisconsin - the same thing: it?€?s the cities that get all the breaks, and then have the gall to look down on them, too
Joe?€?s voice takes on a mocking tone.
?€?You gotta quit driving!?€? he says. ?€?Don?€?t drive as much.?€? He rolls his eyes and looks around at his pals, a handful of them perched on moulded plastic lawn chairs in a tiny town in central Wisconsin. He?€?s talking about the way city people look down on rural folks like himself. In his normal voice he adds: ?€?You gotta drive 20 miles to work? You can?€?t cut that in half.?€?
Smart traffic lights, bike paths in high-rises and paying people to cycle are among the trends that stood out at the recent Velo-City 2017 conference
Bike-sharing has come a long way in the last few years, and we are moving fast into the so-called fifth generation of these systems. Soon we?€?ll probably see a worldwide explosion of the ?€?dockless?€? bike-shares that have already taken over in Chinese cities such as Shanghai and Guangzhou. The idea is that you don?€?t have to return the bike to a set place, but can leave it anywhere - and the city is saturated enough with these bikes that they?€?re always easy to find. Everything is controlled through GPS sensors in the bikes and an app in the rider?€?s phone. Cities from Portland to Krakow are introducing these on a small scale, but it?€?s the arrival of the Chinese giants that will likely change the game. Mobike launched with 1,000 bikes in Manchester on Monday, and Ofo has started a small trial with 20 bikes in Cambridge.
?€?Bicycle madness?€? once saw US bike sales outstrip cars, and spawned ambitious plans for 100,000 miles of cycle paths. Then the music stopped
?€?The bicycle?€?s biggest wave of popularity in its 154-year history,?€? gushed Time magazine in 1970 at the start of America?€?s five-year love affair with the bike. ?€?Some 64 million fellow travellers are taking regularly to bikes these days, more than ever before,?€? the report continued, ?€?and more than ever [they are] convinced that two wheels are better than four.?€?
US bicycle sales, which had been rolling along at 6 million a year, shot up to 9 million in 1971, 14 million in 1972 and 15.3 million the following year, according to a Bank of America report. While most pre-boom bikes had been sold for children, suddenly 60% were destined for adults.
Protests in east London about death of Edir Frederico Da Costa during traffic stop turned violent, leading to arrest of five men
Fourteen police officers have been injured, including four taken to hospital, during clashes that followed a protest in London over the death of a man after a traffic stop.
Five people have been arrested for offences including violent disorder, arson and criminal damage in connection with the incident, which began on Sunday evening and went on into the night.
The network gave young people the chance to express themselves freely. No wonder Saudi Arabia and its allies now demand it is closed down
Many states at different times have tried to contain al-Jazeera or force it to tone down its coverage. But with last week?€?s call to shut the network down, the Saudis and Emiratis have surpassed themselves.
The Senate is currently set to vote Thursday on a Republican-drafted healthcare bill that is projected to gut funding for Medicaid, Planned Parenthood and coverage options for the middle and workingclass while leaving millions uninsured.
The bill, which is facing major resistance from Democrats and some Republicans, has been called ?€?the most anti-working class legislation in the modern history of the US?€? by Senator Bernie Sanders, and even Donald Trump himself said a version of the bill was ?€?mean?€?.
Capt Megan Couto has become the first female officer to command the Queen?€?s Guard at Buckingham Palace. Captain Couto is Canadian and her unit, the Second Battalion of Princess Patricia?€?s Canadian Light Infantry (2PPCLI), has been invited to the UK to help celebrate Canada?€?s 150th anniversary
Refugee who lives in the immigration detention centre suffered serious injuries when he was allegedly robbed by locals, advocates say
- WARNING: Graphic images below
A man who was allegedly attacked with knives during a robbery on Manus Island last week needs to be brought to Australia for medical treatment, advocates have said.
The man, a refugee living at the Australian-run immigration detention centre, suffered serious injuries on Wednesday morning when he was allegedly robbed by some locals, according to the Kurdish-Iranian journalist Behrouz Boochani.
Lawyer who helped Nelson Mandela escape the death penalty
As the instructing solicitor for Nelson Mandela?€?s defence team at the Rivonia trial of 1963-64, Joel Joffe, later Lord Joffe, who has died aged 85, played a key role in helping the future South African president and others avoid the death penalty. That was the severest sentence that could have resulted from being convicted of sabotage, and Mandela described Joffe as ?€?the general behind the scenes in our defence?€?.
Officials from the most isolated nation on Earth have just completed a tour of Spain?€?s Costa Blanca, with an eye towards creating their own Mediterranean-style resort. What could possibly go wrong?
Name: Benidorm.
Age: Its first charter was awarded in 1325, but the area has been settled since 3000BC.
Legislation requiring doctor?€?s appointment is latest attack on women?€?s rights in Poland and violates shared EU values, says MEP
The Polish government has been accused of launching a ?€?sexual counter-revolution?€? that is an affront to European values after passing legislation reducing women?€?s access to the morning-after pill.
A law signed off by the Polish president, Andrzej Duda, in defiance of human rights groups and European medicines agency guidelines turns emergency contraception into a prescription drug.
Former archbishop of Canterbury steps down as honorary assistant bishop following report critical of church?€?s ?€?collusion?€? with abuser Peter Ball
George Carey, the former archbishop of Canterbury, has resigned as honorary assistant bishop in the diocese of Oxford following a damning independent report criticising the Church of England?€?s handling of a high-profile sex abuse case.
Carey, 81, quit after Justin Welby, the current archbishop of Canterbury, made the unprecedented decision to ask him to ?€?carefully consider his position?€?. The report concluded the church had ?€?colluded [with the abuser] rather than seeking to help those he had harmed?€?.
Timothy Morton wants humanity to give up some of its core beliefs, from the fantasy that we can control the planet to the notion that we are ?€?above?€? other beings. His ideas might sound weird, but they?€?re catching on
Iraqi forces supported by a US-led coalition have been fighting to take back Iraq?€?s second city from Islamic State since 16 October 2016
In June 2014, when the leader of Isis, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, declared a global caliphate, he did it from Mosul, Iraq?€?s second city. Isis rapidly expanded its territory in Iraq and Syria throughout that year, but has since been gradually pushed back, partly due to US-led airstrikes. Losing Mosul now could spell the end of the jihadi group?€?s ability to control large swaths of Iraq.
PM Shinzo Abe concerned about impact on Japanese firms with UK operations if Britain leaves the single market
Japan wants to hold early free trade talks with Britain, in a sign of growing concern among the country?€?s businesses over post-Brexit access to the European market.
Japan?€?s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, is hoping to soften the blow that Britain?€?s expected withdrawal from the single market could inflict on Japanese companies by starting informal talks on free trade before Britain leaves the EU, the Nikkei business newspaper said, citing unnamed sources.
Data reveals there are 150 to 180 animals in Finland, where government awards licences to hunt them
Conservation groups have raised concerns over Finland?€?s wild wolf population after a new census found numbers far below those regarded as naturally sustainable.
German chancellor plans to make climate change, free trade and mass migration key themes in Hamburg, putting her on collision course with US
A clash between Angela Merkel and Donald Trump appears unavoidable after Germany signalled that it will make climate change, free trade and the management of forced mass global migration the key themes of the G20 summit in Hamburg next week.
The G20 summit brings together the world?€?s biggest economies, representing 85% of global gross domestic product (GDP), and Merkel?€?s chosen agenda looks likely to maximise American isolation while attempting to minimise disunity amongst others.
A number of people have died and more than 30 remain missing after a ferry sank in Guatape, Colombia on Sunday. Footage of the sinking shows tourist boats rushing to the aid of passengers on the vessel as it disappears below the water line
Parade participants and protesters against Trump, guns and other issues mingle in cities across US, while Minneapolis event is disrupted by ?€?die in?€?
Anti-police protesters disrupted the Twin Cities Pride parade on Sunday, over the police shooting of Philando Castile.
Blaze follows days of excessive heat, while torrential rain brings floods to New Zealand, trapping people in their homes
The area of Pedrógão Grande in central Portugal experienced the worst forest fire the country has ever experienced last week, killing at least 64 people and injuring many more. The blazes broke out on the afternoon of Saturday 17 June and spread rapidly, trapping people in their cars.
Some 350 soldiers and 1,600 firefighters battled the blaze, which is thought to have started from a dry thunderstorm triggered by the very hot, humid conditions of the days leading up to it as temperatures exceeded 40°C.
Communities secretary Sajid Javid has raised concerns that organisers of event at the South Bank support proscribed groups
One of the biggest Palestinian events in Europe scheduled to start in less than a fortnight is in doubt after intervention by the British government.
Palestinian Expo, which includes political discussions, concerts, comedy acts, workshops, a food court and other events, is scheduled to run at the QE2 centre in London on the weekend of 8 and 9 July. The organisers are expecting the event to attract about 10,000 people.
The Guardian?€?s picture editors bring you a selection of highlights from around the world, including the Saint Joan festival in Menorca, Eid, and Jeremy Corbyn at Glastonbury
The Labour leader, a frequent critic of media censorship and human rights abuses, has become an unlikely source of inspiration for Mexican activists
When Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn outperformed expectations in the UK?€?s recent general election, he upended the country?€?s political culture and energised a generation of young supporters.
But his achievement also sparked a wave of optimism among activists in Mexico, who are starting to hope that they might soon have a friend in 10 Downing Street.
You won?€?t get very far as a poor woman without believing you are equal to men - and if someone embodies this thought, it is Dolly Parton, writes Sarah Smarsh
In late 2014, Billboard magazine asked Dolly Parton about feminism.
?€?Are you familiar with Sheryl Sandberg?€?s book Lean In??€? the interviewer inquired.
China is setting up agricultural centres across Africa, but in Zambia - where the majority of farmers are female smallholders - few women get the chance to learn
On the highway heading towards Chongwe, 15km south-east of Lusaka, the red Chinese lettering, high flagpoles and gleaming modern architecture of the Zambia Chinese Agricultural Technology Demonstration Centre (ZATDC) stand out amid the vast fields of maize.
It is one of 25 such centres built across the continent as part of a grand plan to bring agricultural training to local people, helping them produce better crops with higher yields, so that food security is improved for everyone.
Tesco is to join Sainsbury?€?s in changing the branding of some ?€?fairly traded?€? products
When four Sainsbury?€?s executives met farmers from some of Africa?€?s biggest tea-growing co-operatives in a hotel in Nairobi last month it should have been a mutual celebration of Fairtrade, the gold standard of ethical trading and the world?€?s most trusted and best-known food certification scheme.
But instead of backslapping at the Pride hotel, the world?€?s largest retailer of Fairtrade products precipitated the greatest crisis in the scheme?€?s 25-year history by telling the 13 major tea groups and their 228,000 co-operative members that it intended to drop the globally known Fairtrade mark for their produce, and replace it with the phrase ?€?fairly traded?€?.
Facts are the science world?€?s stock-in-trade, but in an era of fake news it is ever more important to build public trust by avoiding exaggerated claims and jargon
One of my most cherished possessions is a handmade cherrywood salad bowl that?€?s never held a leaf of lettuce. It is 25 years old and gets more beautiful every year. The bowl was a gift, carved by a widower who was left to raise his daughter alone when his wife died under my care as an oncologist. My patient, who I?€?ll call Erica, had the most challenging form of breast cancer and I didn?€?t have the tools to save her life. I?€?ve always felt undeserving of the gift, despite doing everything I could.
Five years later, I participated in the development of a medicine for Erica?€?s type of cancer, Herceptin. While regretting that it had not come fast enough for Erica, I am deeply grateful for the scientific advances that mean better care for patients like her today.
There is enough food in the world to go around, yet hundreds of millions of people go to bed each night on an empty stomach. World leaders have promised to end hunger by 2030. But what causes it and how do we prevent it? Actor Dougray Scott explains
When Mary Cholil sought food and shelter after her village was torched, her three-year-old daughter died. In a country ravaged by hunger and conflict, such tragedies have become all too familiar
The news spreads fast during the day. The raiders are coming. Two columns of fighters, each thousands strong, armed with assault rifles.
?€?We will fight them. We will take our guns and defend ourselves,?€? says Simon Logocho, a stall holder in a scruffy market in Pibor, a remote town in eastern South Sudan.
?€?Unethical and dangerous practices?€? condemned as study claims charities keep staff at a safe remove from conflict while relying on local groups to carry out work
Aid agencies often rely on local people to carry out work in the world?€?s war zones while their own staff remain holed up in bunkers, a report based on interviews with 2,000 humanitarian workers has found.
Highlighting alarming practices in countries including Syria, Yemen and Iraq, the authors of the independent study said aid groups are spending too little time on the ground in conflict zones and are over-reliant on subcontractors.
Somali families repatriated from neighbouring Kenya feel let down by Nairobi and the UN refugee agency, and fear for their safety and survival
Families repatriated to Somalia from Dadaab refugee complex in Kenya say they feel abandoned and let down by the UN after officials used small cash payments to encourage them to return home, where a hunger and security crisis awaited.
Many travelled back to Somalia only to find themselves in a far worse position than they had been in the refugee camp, with no access to food, shelter or medicines. Having lost their legal refugee status by crossing the border, they were no longer entitled to any help.
The national media failed to cover large swathes of the US pre-election, while rural voices have been quieted by the decimation of local news. Our On The Ground project aims to remedy these issues
Sarah Smarsh is a journalist, but she?€?s not typical, at least not by national media standards. For starters, she?€?s a fifth-generation Kansan who grew up below the poverty line, feeding livestock and helping grow wheat on a small farm. She got her first taste for investigation and justice by following her grandmother, a probation officer, at the county courthouse in Wichita.
Growing up, she rarely read about people she knew - farmers, carpenters, factory and restaurant workers - in the mainstream media. After more than 15 years covering Kansas politics and culture on the ground, she?€?s more committed than ever to her home, and to people often stereotyped or misunderstood in national coverage.
The Guardian interviewed people from across the country who have relied on the coverage for life-saving assistance and what could happen if they lose it
On Thursday, Senate Republicans unveiled legislation that would satisfy a long-held campaign promise: the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The plan would also achieve another GOP priority: deep cuts to Medicaid, a program that covers the healthcare needs of nearly one in five Americans.
Using government data, doctors and academics have tested whether a lack of healthcare coverage increases the probability of death. Most conclude it does
The Republican healthcare bill announced on Thursday would cause thousands of Americans to die each year, according to physicians who study government data.
Using national health surveys, doctors and academics have tested whether a lack of health insurance increases the probability of death. Most have concluded that it does.
Senate Republicans proved they could be just as heartless as their House counterparts, targeting the most vulnerable among us with their healthcare bill
To say this has been a tough week is the understatement of the century. A new study showed that guns are the third leading cause of death for children in the US; Ice agents in New York are targeting trafficking victims; and a black pregnant woman was shot and killed by police in front of her children. And then there?€?s the healthcare bill. Senate Republicans released their draft and, as expected, it is a disaster for the most vulnerable among us. When you have six-year-olds lobbying politicians so that their life-saving care doesn?€?t end, when people are being pulled out of their wheelchairs to be arrested for protesting - you know things are bad.
US student who had been jailed in North Korea was returned to the US in a state of ?€?unresponsive wakefulness?€? - effectively braindead
It is impossible to get reliable information about the welfare and treatment of foreigners detained in North Korea - Washington only learned of Otto Warmbier?€?s condition in early June.
The Ohio coroner?€?s office said that it had not been able to determine the cause of Warmbier?€?s death after carrying out an external examination. His parents have asked doctors not to conduct an autopsy.
The big city ?€?elites?€? drink almond milk, eat organic food - and they?€?re emblematic of a deep cultural divide experienced by the voters who feel left behind
Outclassed: The Secret Life of Inequality is our new column about class. Read all articles here
Last week, Donald Trump Jrwent on another tear against New York City elites. He retweeted rightwing pundit Harlan Z Hill: ?€?Events like today are exactly why we took issue with NY elites glorifying the assassination of our president.?€?
The reason for this recent outburst was the Public Theater?€?s production of Julius Caesar in Central Park, featuring the assassination of a Trump-like Caesar. The resulting melee prompted an exodus of Public Theater benefactors - Delta and Bank of America pulled their funding. A far-right protester called the audience ?€?Nazis?€? and another rushed the stage.
Last week?€?s bailout is only a short-term compromise - the two creditors must work together on a proper solution
The International Monetary Fund has resurrected an old technique - commonly used in the 1980s during the Latin American debt crisis - that would allow Greece to avoid a payment default next month on debt owed to European creditors. The reprieve also gives the IMF and its European partners time to sort out their technical differences on the struggling country?€?s growth and budget outlook. But the fund?€?s elegant compromise still leaves Greece under the shadow of an enormous debt overhang; reducing it requires that Europe find a way to set aside national politics and act on the basis of economic logic and necessity.
Europe and the IMF have been unable to reconcile two views of Greece?€?s debt sustainability, with the two sides?€? differences spilling over into the public domain. Guided mainly by a cash-flow analysis, European authorities argue that low interest rates and long maturities have made the nation?€?s debt sustainable. But the fund notes that, at almost 200% of GDP, Greece?€?s stock of debt deters investment and capital inflows. For the IMF, meaningful debt reduction is critical for generating the confidence and credibility needed to break Greece out of a prolonged period of impoverishment.
Theresa May emphasises the importance of British values. But Britain?€?s limpness over Hong Kong demonstrates how easily they are compromised
I am too young to remember the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997 and its promise for the new world I would live in. But I have lived to see that promise trampled.
The Sino-British Joint Declaration, signed to pave the way for the handover, was supposed to protect the people of Hong Kong from Chinese interference in their society and markets until 2047. Yet as the handover?€?s 20th anniversary approaches, China muscles in where it promised to tread lightly while Britain avoids eye contact.
A teenager fell about seven metres from a stopped gondola ride at an upstate New York amusement park on Saturday night, tumbling into a crowd of park guests and employees gathered below to catch her before she hit the ground. The girl dangled for several minutes, while park customers looked on in horror, before she lost her grip and fell onto the group below her. The ride has been closed while a safety review is completed.
Savannah, a 13-year-old Mormon girl from Utah, is cut off while speaking to her church congregation about being gay. Video of the incident, which happened on 7 May, shows the girl giving her testimony until the microphone is turned off and she is asked to sit down
A landslide has engulfed most of a village in Sichuan province, south-west China, leaving more than 140 people feared buried. Hundreds of rescue workers began moving tonnes of rock and shale in the village of Xinmo in the hope of finding survivors. One family of three managed to escape as the landslide hit their home
Qatar-funded broadcaster al-Jazeera denounces the demand for its closure from Saudi Arabia and several other countries. They accuse the network of being a propaganda tool for Islamists intent on undermining other governments. Acting managing director Giles Trendle says the network will continue its ?€?editorial mission?€?. The demand is part of a 13-point list that Qatar must agree to if it wants a diplomatic and trade embargo lifted
Zola the gorilla can barely contain his excitement while splashing in a pool at Dallas zoo. The activity is part of the zoo?€?s enrichment program, which provides stimulation in order to encourage more natural behaviors. The 14-year-old western lowland gorilla originally became a viral hit while ?€?break-dancing?€? at Calgary zoo in 2011
I wrote this tool some months ago while developing on the xPresso publishing system (NO), and has done some rewriting this week to implement further functionality.
The Codificator now provides: - automatic code wrapping in DC board format - conversion of regular HTML-formatted text to DC board formatted text - link extraction from HTML to DC board format - auto fetch of webpages, with on-select conversion of content to DC board format.
It won't boil your coffee or knit you a warm sweater for the winter, but it may help you to be more efficient when you're online discussing politics.
**** Bug fix, new release **** Bug in bbsFunctions.php, xAuth.php and some language fixed. For fix of existing installation, download the package, then extract progs/bbsFunctions.php and progs/xAuth.php to replace your current versions. **** Bug fix, new release ****
AnoBBS is a opensource 3DES-encrypted Bulletin Board where users encrypt their messages before submit with a common known phrase, using javascript. The server does not know the key, so this is end-to-end encryption where the key is never submitted. The technology used is Ajax and PHP, the forum files are stored as XML. Below is a list of the basic functionality: - user authentication - topic list and topic view - three userlevels; admin, moderator and user - post threads - post and edit replies - print or save threads - edit, delete and lock threads (mod) - edit forumdata and users (admin) - save BBS (admin) - delete BBS (admin)
The BBS is very simple to install and even simpler to use. It requires only a standard php distro on the server and a javascript enable browser to function.
**** Bug fix, new release **** Bug in cFunctions.php fixed. For fix of existing installation, download the package, then extract progs/cFunctions.php to replace your current versions. **** Bug fix, new release ****
AnoChat is an opensource 3DES-encrypted chat where users encrypt their messages before submit with a common known phrase, using javascript. The server does not know the key, so this is end-to-end encryption where the key is never submitted. The technology used is JX, similar to Ajax. The chat is very simple to install and even simpler to use. It requires only a standard php distro on the server and a javascript enabled browser to function.
Large number of US citizens demonstrated against the war in Iraq (and the possible war in Iran) during this October weekend. Massive turnout in Boston and San Fransisco, and also in Chicago, LA and DC people took to the streets. The message was: NO more war in Iraq! NO to a war with Iran!
