The Guardian

2022-07-25 19:01:42 Myanmar junta executes democracy activists in first such killings in decades

Myanmar’s junta has executed four prisoners including a former politician and a veteran activist, drawing shock and revulsion at the country’s first use of capital punishment in decades.

Junta-controlled media reported on Monday that four men, including Phyo Zeya Thaw, a rapper and former lawmaker from Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, and the prominent democracy activist Kyaw Min Yu, known as Jimmy, had been executed. They were accused of conspiring to commit terror acts and were sentenced to death in January in closed trials.

The UN special rapporteur Thomas Andrews said he was “outraged and devastated” by the news. “My heart goes out to their families, friends and loved ones and indeed all the people in Myanmar who are victims of the junta’s escalating atrocities. read more Open / Comment

2022-07-25 09:01:09 Russia rallies support in Africa as doubt cast on Ukraine grain deal

Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has reassured Egypt over Russian grain supplies at the start of a four-country tour of Africa, amid uncertainty over the future of a deal to resume Ukrainian exports via the Black Sea.

Egypt, one of the world’s top wheat importers, bought 80% of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine last year, and has been torn between ties to Moscow and its close relationship to the west.

“We confirmed the commitment of Russian exporters of cereal products to meet their orders in full,” Lavrov said in Cairo after talks with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry. “We discussed … cooperation in this area, agreed on further contacts, and have a common understanding of the causes of the grain crisis.” read more Open / Comment

2022-07-24 15:00:06 Texas lawmakers test how far their threats against abortions can reach

The Texas Freedom Caucus, a conservative faction of Republicans in the state legislature, sent a letter on 7 July to a law firm that offered to cover employees’ expenses if they travelled for abortion. It threatened Sidley LLP with felony charges, claiming Texas can criminalize anyone who “furnishes the means” for an abortion, regardless of where the abortion occurs. The letter cites a 1925 law which was not formally repealed after the supreme court codified the right to abortion in Roe v Wade in 1973; last week, the Texas supreme court confirmed the 1925 law can be applied. read more Open / Comment

2022-07-23 19:01:10 Russian missiles strike Odesa port hours after grain export deal agreed

Barely twelve hours after Moscow signed a deal with the Ukraine to allow monitored grain exports from Ukraine’s southern ports, Russia targeted Ukraine’s main port of Odesa – through which grain shipments would take place – with cruise missile strikes.

The enemy attacked the Odesa sea trade port with Kalibr cruise missiles,” the Operational Command South wrote on Telegram app, raising new doubts about the viabiltiy of the deal which was intended to release some 20 million tonnes of grain to ward of famine in large parts of the developing world. read more Open / Comment

2022-07-23 11:00:18 Steve Bannon convicted of contempt of Congress for defying Capitol attack subpoena

Steve Bannon, the former top strategist to Donald Trump, was convicted on Friday in his contempt of Congress trial - a victory for the House January 6 select committee that referred him for prosecution as it continues to investigate the former president’s role in the Capitol attack.

The jury in federal court took less than three hours to return its verdict and found Bannon guilty on two contempt charges stemming from his refusal to comply last year with a subpoena in the congressional investigation seeking documents and testimony. read more Open / Comment

2022-07-22 19:01:03 House panel says Trump ‘chose not to act’ during attack on US Capitol

Donald Trump refused for hours to call off the deadly attack perpetrated by a group of his supporters at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021, the House select committee investigating the insurrection declared in its primetime hearing on Thursday.

The committee shared testimony from former White House aides indicating that Trump repeatedly rejected pleas from his senior advisers and even his own family members – including his eldest daughter and adviser, Ivanka Trump – to immediately issue a statement calling off the mob swarming the Capitol. read more Open / Comment

2022-07-22 09:00:51 Japan sees increasing threat to Taiwan amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Japan’s defence ministry has said it is alarmed at fresh threats from Russia and has growing worries about Taiwan, in an annual report that comes as Tokyo considers significantly increasing military spending.

The document includes a chapter on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which it says risks sending the message “that an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force is acceptable”.

The paper, released on Friday, surveys the global security landscape and specific threats to Japan, and says there was concern Russia could “further enhance and deepen relationships with China”. read more Open / Comment

2022-07-21 19:01:39 Russia resumes gas supply to Europe via Nord Stream 1 at lower capacity

Gas has started to flow at reduced levels from Russia to Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline after fears a scheduled shutdown for maintenance work would be used as a pretext to permanently close off the supply.

However, the resumption at an estimated 40% of supplies is insufficient to keep an energy crisis at bay in Europe this winter, experts said. read more Open / Comment

2022-07-21 09:01:28 Sri Lanka braced for more unrest as new president vows crackdown on ‘fascist’ protests

Sri Lanka was braced for more unrest after newly appointed president, Ranil Wickremesinghe, vowed to crack down on the protests that toppled his predecessor, condemning them as “against the law”.

Speaking after being MPs picked him as successor to Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Wickremesinghe made it clear he would not tolerate those he perceived to be stirring up violence.

“If you try to topple the government, occupy the president’s office and the prime minister’s office, that is not democracy; it is against the law,” he said. read more Open / Comment

2022-07-20 19:01:34 EU urges member states to slash gas use by 15%

The European Union’s executive body has urged member states to slash their gas consumption by 15%, as it warned that a complete shutdown of Russian supplies was “likely”.

The EU has been scrambling to wean itself off Russian gas since the invasion of Ukraine, but is alarmed about a potential energy crisis this winter.

In response to EU support for Kyiv, the Kremlin has already stopped or reduced gas supplies to a dozen EU member states and is expected to send lower volumes of gas to Germany when the Nord Stream 1 pipeline reopens on Thursday after scheduled maintenance works. read more Open / Comment