New Zealand police have vowed to return to White Island as soon as possible to retrieve the bodies of eight tourists who died there, as the first Australian victims of the fatal volcanic eruption were named.
Wednesday dawned clear and calm in Whakat?ne, but still police efforts to reach the island were hampered after volcanic activity substantially increased, making it too dangerous for disaster victim identification officers to land.
Jubilation at result but region faces long process ahead before it can become world?€?s newest nation
The autonomous region of Bougainville has voted overwhelmingly in favour of becoming independent from Papua New Guinea, paving the way for the group of islands to become the world?€?s newest nation.
More than 180,000 people in Bougainville, a collection ofislands flung 700km off the coast of Papua New Guinea in the Solomon Sea, participated in a referendum over the last few weeks that has been nearly 20 years in the making.
Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn are to embark on a final frantic 24 hours of campaigning as both teams insist the election remains closely fought and that polls giving the Conservatives a lead could be wrong.
Both Labour and the Conservatives have branded Thursday?€?s vote the ?€?most important in a generation?€? as the two sides have vastly different plans for Brexit and spending on public services.
Company hails start of the ?€?electric aviation age?€? after 15-minute test flight in Vancouver
The world?€?s first fully electric commercial aircraft has taken its inaugural test flight, taking off from the Canadian city of Vancouver and flying for 15 minutes.
?€?This proves that commercial aviation in all-electric form can work,?€? said Roei Ganzarski, chief executive of Australian engineering firm magniX.
Democratic congressional leaders have unveiled articles of impeachment against Donald Trump, a historic move set in motion by a whistleblower complaint warning the president was using the power of his office to solicit foreign interference in a US election.
Panel recruited to ensure objectivity cite failure to agree formal process with police complaints commission
A panel of foreign experts overseeing an investigation into allegations of excessive force used by the Hong Kong police force has said it is stepping down, further calling into question the probe.
For months anti-government protesters have been demanding an independent investigation into allegations of police brutality in response to the demonstrations. The government has repeatedly said an independent inquiry is unnecessary and that the existing police watchdog, the Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC), should complete its review first.
White House said Trump warned Sergei Lavrov against Russian attempts to interfere in US elections, a claim Lavrov denied
Donald Trump held a closed-door meeting with the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, at the White House on Tuesday, but the two men gave diverging accounts of what was discussed, on a day articles of impeachment were announced against the US president.
The last time Lavrov visited the White House, in May 2017, Trump was reported to have disclosed highly classified information to him about US intelligence-sharing arrangements.
Scale and speed of loss much higher than predicted, threatening inundation for hundreds of millions of people
Greenland?€?s ice sheet is melting much faster than previously thought, threatening hundreds of millions of people with inundation and bringing some of the irreversible impacts of the climate emergency much closer.
Ice is being lost from Greenland seven times faster than it was in the 1990s, and the scale and speed of ice loss is much higher than was predicted in the comprehensive studies of global climate science by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, according to data.
Genaro García Luna, who ran Mexico?€?s federal police for six years, charged with accepting briefcases of cash to protect Sinaloa cartel
A former minister who was considered an architect of Mexico?€?s war on drugs has been arrested on charges that he allowed the Sinaloa cartel to operate with impunity in exchange for briefcases stuffed with cash.
Genaro García Luna, who oversaw the creation of Mexico?€?s federal police, was arrested in Texas on Monday.
The literature laureateship, presented to Handke and 2018 laureate Olga Tokarczuk on Tuesday afternoon, faces boycotts and widespread protest
As Turkey joins Albania and Kosovo in boycotting Tuesday?€?s Nobel prize ceremony for Peter Handke over his support for Slobodan Milosevic?€?s genocidal regime, war correspondents from Christiane Amanpour to Jeremy Bowen are protesting his win by sharing their harrowing stories from the conflict in the former Yugoslavia.
The Austrian writer, whose stance on the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s and attendance at Milosevic?€?s funeral have been widely criticised, is due to receive his Nobel medal in Stockholm, where a large protest demonstration is expected.
Marina Hyde, Rob Davies, Simon Hattenstone and Daniel Lavelle were all honoured
Four Guardian journalists have been honoured at this year?€?s British Journalism Awards for their work for the title, which was itself highly commended in the news provider of the year category.
At the ceremony at the Hilton Bankside hotel in central London on Tuesday night, Marina Hyde was described as ?€?clever, innovative and consistently on the ball?€? as she was handed the prize for Comment Journalism. She was recognised for her writing on subjects including Theresa May?€?s historic Brexit deal defeat, Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein and Boris Johnson.
The Union Carbide factory explosion remains the world?€?s worst industrial accident - but as its dreadful legacy becomes increasingly apparent, victims are still waiting for justice
The residents of JP Nagar have no way to escape their ghosts. This ramshackle neighbourhood, on the outskirts of the Indian city of Bhopal, stands just metres away from the chemical factory which exploded just after midnight on 2 December 1984 and seeped poison into their lives forever. The blackened ruins of the Union Carbide plant still loom untouched behind the factory walls.
Photographer Judah Passow has documented those were affected by the Bhopal disaster 35 years ago, which killed an estimated 25,000 people ad has left more than 150,000 suffering from chronic medical conditions
Judah Passow has waived his fee for this work. Contributions to the Bhopal Medical Appeal can be made at www.bhopal.org
Exclusive: With heatwaves predicted to worsen dramatically over the next 30 years, many big US cities are failing to fully plan to protect those most vulnerable to extreme heat
When heatwaves hammered US cities this summer, one of the hottest in recorded history, some city governments had plans in place to protecttheir most at-risk residents.
Philadelphia?€?s plan sent homeless outreach teams to distribute water and bring people to cooling centers. Austin?€?s plan suspended electricity shutoffs for low-income or fixed-income customers. Chicago?€?s plan dispatched building inspectors to monitor shelters and other buildings without air conditioning.
Musicians say Porto?€?s DIY studio complex Stop is a crucial arts space in a city dominated by tourism, but authorities say it?€?s unsafe and must close
A mile east of the Luís I Bridge in the middle of a residential neighbourhood in Porto, Portugal?€?s second city, sits a bleak and decaying building.
Initially a three-storey car park, then a thriving shopping centre, the building has more recently suffered from years of neglect. Its walls are sprayed with graffiti and plastered with stickers, and the windows are blacked out.
The mood may be one of despair, but this election is critical to the country?€?s future. The best hope lies with Labour, despite its flaws
Britain has not faced a more critical election in decades than the one it faces on Thursday. The country?€?s future direction, its place in the world and even its territorial integrity are all at stake, primarily because this is a decisive election for Brexit. The choice is stark. The next prime minister is going to be either Boris Johnson, who is focused on ?€?getting Brexit done?€? whatever the consequences, or Jeremy Corbyn, who with a Labour-led government will try to remodel society with a programme of nationalisation and public spending.
Private jet with four people onboard comes off runway on Wednesday morning
Liverpool airport has been closed after a plane came off the runway.
A spokesman for Liverpool John Lennon airport said no one was injured when the private jet, which had four people onboard, came off the runway after landing at about 6am on Wednesday.
The European Union considers itself as a leader on the environment and not without cause: policymaking in Brussels moved ahead of the international consensus in the 2000s.
But the soaring rhetoric has not always been matched by structural changes in the way European economies work and citizens live their lives.
On its debut the oil producer?€?s stock market valuation reached $1.88tn in early trading
Saudi Aramco has become the world?€?s largest listed company, as shares in the state-backed oil producer rose by 10% on its stock market debut in Riyadh.
The company?€?s market valuation reached $1.88tn in early trading, amid a push from the Saudi Arabian government to reach the $2tn market value coveted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MbS.
Repentance, reparation and remedy for the terrible damage done to the people of Bayelsa state in Nigeria is long overdue
- John Sentamu is the archbishop of York
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights begins: ?€?All human beings ?€? should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.?€? It is now widely acknowledged that human rights cannot be enjoyed without a safe, clean and healthy environment. The right to a healthy environment is enshrined in more than 100 constitutions all over the world because human and environmental rights are intertwined.
No indication that it?€?s terrorism-related, authorities say
Several officers shot in standoff as heavy gunfire rang out
Authorities say six people, including a police officer and three bystanders are dead after a furious gun battle that filled the streets of Jersey City, New Jersey, with the sound of heavy gunfire for about an hour on Tuesday.
The authorities added that there was no indication that it was a terrorism-related incident.
Campesinos storm museum to call for removal of image featuring revolutionary hero posing in pink sombrero
A new portrait of Emiliano Zapata has caused a firestorm of outrage for its portrayal of the Mexican revolutionary hero striking a seductive pose - clad only in a pink sombrero and high heels.
Furious campesinos stormed one of the country?€?s most renowned art museums on Thursday to demand the removal of the painting, part of a new exhibition titled Zapata after Zapata that seeks to present alternative views of the Mexican revolution.
Australian PM Scott Morrison unveils repatriation effort as identities released of seven Australian and two New Zealand victims
We are putting this blog on hold for the present. Your can read the latest wrap of today?€?s developments here, plus Eleanor Ainge Roy?€?s interview with the mayor of Whakat?ne here.
Humanitarian agencies say Rohingya people displaced by violence in Rakhine state are forced to live in squalid conditions
The UK has broken ranks with the UN and will keep funding ?€?closed?€? Rohingya camps inside Myanmar despite fears that doing so may entrench ?€?apartheid-like?€? conditions in the country, the Guardian has learned.
Internal briefing documents as well as interviews with UN and humanitarian agency officials in Myanmar showed the British government was maintaining a policy of providing aid and other support to displaced people living in camps in Myanmar?€?s Rakhine state that have been slated for closure since 2017.
Premier League leaders urged to join fight for better working conditions as they prepare for Fifa Club World Cup match
As Liverpool fans stream into Qatar to watch the Fifa Club World Cup next week, it will be easy to forget the thousands of workers from the poorest countries in the region who have toiled for years to construct its glittering buildings.
When they take their seats at the Khalifa International Stadium, where Liverpool will play their semi-final match, they may not realise that scores of workers who refurbished the stadium were housed in filthy, overcrowded accommodation with an ever-present stench of raw sewage.
The devastating disease can?€?t be stopped unless more protection is provided for patients and health workers
Entering the city of Goma as night fell, I saw the red lava glowing atop nearby Mount Nyiragongo - an ominous reminder of the insecurity hovering over the Democratic Republic of the Congo?€?s volatile east.
But a manmade - not natural - terror is keeping health workers in DRC awake tonight.
Rights groups condemn hanging of Mooketsi Kgosibodiba and call on president to bring country into line with the rest of Africa
The new president of Botswana is facing pressure to abolish the country?€?s death penalty after last week?€?s surprise execution of a 44-year-old man for murder.
Mooketsi Kgosibodiba, a bricklayer, had been on death row since 2017 after strangling his employer in a row over stolen cement. Last week the government made the unexpected announcement that he had been hanged in Gaborone central prison.
White Island?€?s eruption is a reminder that we are not nature?€?s master, but at its whim
At 2.11pm yesterday, as the Whakaari eruption was happening, I was out mowing my lawns. From my home at Te Kaha, a tiny settlement on the North Island?€?s east coast, you can make out the volcano?€?s sunken crater. The 300-metre dust cliffs frame the northern and southern edges, and in the centre is an east-facing pit where ancient birders and old sulphur miners once did their work.
On Monday the only workers and visitors on island were tour operators and tourists, several whom never made it back from yesterday?€?s destruction.
Five people have been confirmed dead, 31 remain in hospital with injuries and eight are still missing after sudden volcanic eruptions on Whakaari/White Island off the east coast of New Zealand.
The island is a tourist destination and 47 people were on it when it erupted on Monday afternoon. Three of those rescued have now been discharged from hospital.
The tranche of documents show that in trying to paint the best pictures, those involved delivered the worst
During the Vietnam war, the daily US military briefings were known to journalists as the Five O?€? Clock Follies, described by one of the AP reporters who attended them as ?€?the longest-playing tragicomedy in south-east Asia?€?s theatre of the absurd?€?.
The Pentagon Papers, the Department of Defense?€?s secret history of that war, leaked by Daniel Ellsberg in 1971, only underlined the level of that deception under subsequent US presidents.
Sarah Stuart-Black at New Zealand's civil defence ministry says recovering the bodies of those killed on Whakaari/White Island is 'an absolute imperative'. John Tims of New Zealand police says the resources are standing by to go back to the island 'as soon as we are confident there are no risks'. Conditions on New Zealand?€?s Whakaari/White Island have worsened, hampering the retrieval of those killed in Monday's volcanic explosion. Volcanologist Graham Leonard says volcanic activity has increased at the site and that there is a risk of another eruption like Monday?€?s. Leonard also says it would be challenging for rescuers to breath, see or walk on the island given the current activity.
House Democrats have introduced two articles of impeachment against Donald Trump for high crimes and misdemeanours. At a press conference announcing the move, the House judiciary committee chair Jerry Nadler accused the president of betraying public trust and endangering US national security to benefit himself
The families of those missing after the White Island eruption in New Zealand say they are 'standing together' as they wait for information about their loved ones. Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand's prime minister, said the scale of the disaster was 'devastating' and that reconnaissance flights had found no sign of life on the island. Police have launched an inquiry into the eruption after at least six people died and many more were injured
Houston's police chief Art Acevedo criticised politicians for not standing up to the National Rifle Association after the the fatal shooting of an officer. 'The NRA doesn't like the fact that we want to take firearms out of the hands of boyfriends that abuse their girlfriends. And who killed our sergeant? A boyfriend abusing his girlfriend,' Acevedo said
A protester, appearing on the side of President Donald Trump and against impeachment, shouted at committee chairman Jerry Nadler, a New York Democrat, that he and the Democrats are committing 'treason' in their inquiry
New Zealand?€?s Whakaari/White Island volcano erupted on Monday at 2.11pm as 50 people were visiting the country's most active volcano. At least five people were killed and authorities confirmed some people were still waiting to be rescued hours after the eruption on the island, as experts explained it was unsafe for emergency services to return
Footage shows island in the Bay of Plenty coated with ash after volcano blew debris 12,000m into the air. The film also shows a downed helicopter and tourists stranded on the island waiting to be rescued by boat.
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!
