World News

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/47975546

A gang of masked men broke into the home of a woman who took a civil case against mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor accusing him of raping her, it can now be revealed.

The incident was referred to at the start of the court case in Dublin but could not be reported until now as it emerged during legal discussion while the jury were not present.

The court heard that unknown masked men had broken into her home, smashed the windows and stabbed her boyfriend on 14 June.

Hand’s counsel, John Gordon, told Judge Owens that he was not suggesting the fighter was behind the attack but that it went some way to explain her anxiety and why she relocated from her home.

Summary

Holly Bowles, a 19-year-old Australian, has become the sixth foreign tourist to die from suspected methanol poisoning in Laos.

She and her friend Bianca Jones fell ill in Vang Vieng, a popular backpacking town, after reportedly consuming tainted alcohol, which can be lethal even in small amounts.

Other victims include a British lawyer, an American man, and two Danish women. Methanol, often found in bootleg or home-distilled alcohol, is believed to be the cause.

Authorities are investigating, with the manager of the hostel where free shots were served detained for questioning.

But while Garriga and other Catalans have been suffering water shortages in recent years, there’s one group of people that appears to be immune, and even profits from them: the multinational companies extracting millions of litres of water from the very same land. This isn’t just a Spanish issue – across the world, from Uruguay to Mexico, Canada to the UK, many have begun to question whether private corporations should be allowed to siphon off a vital public resource, then sell it back to citizens as bottled water.

The tragedy in Spain makes the country one of the canaries in the coalmine when it comes to understanding the global threat to water security. Can the growing number of angry citizens surrounded by private water plants but left without safe water in their homes force a rethink of how this resource is managed? And as weather patterns change, should private companies continue to have easy access to vital reserves of underground water?

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/48076971

Summary

Amid record global heat and worsening climate disasters, 2024’s elections worldwide have highlighted declining political commitment to addressing the climate crisis.

Right-wing victories, including Trump’s U.S. win and climate-skeptic gains in Europe, have sidelined climate action, prioritizing inflation and energy costs instead.

The troubled Cop29 summit in Azerbaijan, marked by stalled emissions cuts and defiant pro-fossil fuel rhetoric, reflects this shift.

While some countries, like the UK, advanced climate agendas, overall momentum is fading, leaving activists and scientists alarmed as time to prevent catastrophic warming runs out.

Summary

Dawson City in Canada is facing a crisis as the new mayor and councillors won’t take the required oath of allegiance to King Charles.

They refused in support of an Indigenous councillor who opposes the oath due to the Crown’s history with Indigenous people.

Without the oath, their election could be canceled, and they can’t make official decisions.

The council has asked for a different oath, but Yukon law requires the pledge. Authorities are now looking into the situation.

Summary

Iran criticized the reported beating of Iranian students by police at Kazan Federal University in Russia during a visa renewal dispute.

Two students were detained and later released after Iran’s consulate intervened.

Iranian officials demanded accountability and announced an investigation.

The incident strains ties between Iran and Russia, which have grown closer through defense and trade cooperation, including Iran’s supply of drones for Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Summary

Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte publicly threatened to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., his wife, and the House Speaker assassinated if she were killed, escalating tensions between the two leaders.

Duterte accused Marcos and his allies of corruption, incompetence, and persecuting her staff, sparking the tirade.

The Presidential Security Command deemed the threat a national security issue and boosted Marcos’ protection.

This marks a severe fallout in their alliance after their 2022 election victory, amid broader political divisions and Duterte’s growing criticism of the administration.

Summary

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola expressed concern over the potential impact of Germany’s February 2025 elections, where far-right AfD and left-wing BSW are projected to achieve historic gains.

Metsola warned that rising populism fueled by anger over inflation, migration, and housing could reshape both Germany and the EU, urging pro-European and pro-Ukraine parties to unite.

She supports Germany delivering Taurus missiles to Ukraine, a divisive issue within Germany’s government.

European allies in the Baltic region are investigating how two fiber-optic data cables were severed earlier this week, with suspicion falling on a Chinese vessel in the area. Germany has said the incident was clearly sabotage.

Summary

An Irish civil jury ordered MMA fighter Conor McGregor to pay €250,000 in damages to Nikita Hand, who accused him of raping and assaulting her in a Dublin hotel in 2018.

Hand alleged McGregor choked and brutally assaulted her during the incident, leaving her with severe injuries and PTSD.

McGregor denied the allegations, claiming the encounter was consensual.

The jury reached its decision after six hours of deliberation.

Hand, who received widespread support, encouraged other victims to come forward, stating, “Speak up, no matter how afraid you might be.”

Summary

A Saudi Arabian delegate has been accused of directly making changes to an official Cop29 negotiating text, it can be revealed.

Cop presidencies usually circulate negotiating texts as non-editable PDF documents to all countries simultaneously, and they are then discussed. Giving one party editing access “risks placing this entire Cop in jeopardy”, one expert said.

Earlier on Saturday, a document was circulated by the Azerbaijani presidency with updates to the negotiating text on the just transition work program (JTWP). This aims to help countries move to a cleaner and more resilient future, while reducing inequalities.

The document was sent with “tracked changes” from the previously circulated version. In two cases, the document showed edits were made directly by Basel Alsubaity, who is from the Saudi ministry of energy and the lead on the JTWP. It was not sent to other countries to edit, the Guardian was told.

Summary

Israel conducted an airstrike in Syria, killing senior Hezbollah commander Ali Mussa Daqduq, who orchestrated the 2007 Karbala raid that killed five U.S. soldiers.

Militants, disguised as U.S. forces, breached a U.S.-Iraqi base, capturing and later killing four soldiers.

U.S. forces captured Daqduq in 2007, linking the attack to Iran’s Quds Force, but he was released by Iraq in 2012, sparking U.S. outrage.

After his release, Daqduq resumed leadership within Hezbollah.

Summary

Pat King, a key figure in Canada’s 2022 “Freedom Convoy” protests, was found guilty on five charges, including mischief and counseling others to obstruct police, and faces up to 10 years in prison.

The protests, which blocked downtown Ottawa and key US-Canada border crossings for weeks, opposed COVID-19 mandates imposed by Prime Minister Trudeau’s government.

King was accused of inciting the blockade, coordinating disruptive actions like constant honking, and defying court orders.

He is the first protest leader convicted, while trials for other organizers are ongoing.

Summary

The US has imposed sanctions on Gazprombank, Russia’s last major bank not previously blacklisted, and its six international subsidiaries, effectively cutting it off from global finance.

Previously spared to maintain European gas flows, the bank is now targeted due to its alleged role in financing Russia’s military and supporting the Ukraine war.

Over 50 other Russian banks and 15 officials were also sanctioned, with warnings issued against institutions using Russia’s alternative financial messaging system.

In a dramatic sign of a widening rift between the two most powerful political families in the Southeast Asian nation, Duterte told an early morning press conference that she had spoken to an assassin and instructed him to kill Marcos, his wife and the speaker of the Philippine House if she were to be killed.

"I have talked to a person. I said, if I get killed, go kill BBM (Marcos), (first lady) Liza Araneta, and (Speaker) Martin Romualdez. No joke. No joke," Duterte said in the profanity-laden briefing. "I said, do not stop until you kill them, and then he said yes."

She was responding to an online commenter urging her to stay safe, saying she was in enemy territory as she was at the lower chamber of Congress overnight with her chief of staff. Duterte did not cite any alleged threat against herself.

Summary

Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro and 36 others have been charged by federal police with conspiracy and attempting to overthrow the country’s democracy through a right-wing coup.

The accused include top allies, such as former defense ministers and intelligence officials.

The charges follow an investigation into efforts to dismantle the constitutional state, backed by evidence from financial records and plea deals.

This comes days after arrests in a separate plot to assassinate President Lula da Silva and other officials.

Bolsonaro denies involvement in the 2022 election conspiracy.

A tourist in Tasmania has had his leg amputated in the middle of a raging river after getting trapped between rocks during a kayaking trip with friends.

The visitor in his 60s was partially submerged in water throughout the ordeal, and rescuers said it was clear that "had he remained in the location where he was, and trapped in the rock crevice he would not have survived".

Multiple attempts to move him prior to the amputation were unsuccessful, police in the Australian island state said.