Swiss village almost entirely destroyed after collapse of glacier buries it in mud
A huge section of a glacier in the Swiss Alps has broken off, causing a deluge of ice, mud and rock to bury most of a village evacuated earlier this month due to the risk of a rockslide. Drone footage broadcast by Swiss national broadcaster SRF showed a vast plain of mud and soil completely covering part of the village of Blatten, the river running through it and the wooded sides of the surrounding valley. View image in fullscreen A landslide above Blatten on 18 May had prompted the evacuation order. “We’ve lost our village,” Matthias Bellwald, the mayor of Blatten told a press conference after the slide. SRF said houses were destroyed in the village nestled in the Lötschental valley in southern Switzerland.
Source:The Guardian
May 29, 2025 15:59 UTC
Four people killed after starving Palestinians burst into UN food warehouse in Gaza – video report
Large crowds of Palestinians burst into a UN warehouse in Deir al-Balah on 28 May after aid trickled into the Palestinian territory, which is on the brink of famine. The 11-week siege and a continuing tight Israeli blockade mean most people in Gaza are desperately hungry. Medics and aid workers have said for months that malnutrition is spreading. Bakeries operated by the UN World Food Programme have closed owing to a lack of cooking gas, and prices are soaring for the limited food available in shops and markets
Source:The Guardian
May 29, 2025 15:58 UTC
Glacier collapses, burying evacuated Swiss village in mud and rocks – video
A huge section of a glacier in the Swiss Alps has broken off, causing a deluge of ice, mud and rock to bury most of a village evacuated earlier this month due to the risk of a rockslide. Footage showed a vast plain of mud and soil covering the village after the Birch Glacier partially collapsed. A river that runs through the village was also inundated, along with the wooded sides of the surrounding valley
Source:The Guardian
May 29, 2025 15:28 UTC
Palestinians return to Rafah food centre where Israeli troops opened fire – video
People in Gaza have returned to the US- and Israel-backed aid distribution centre in Rafah where one person was reportedly killed and 47 were injured on Tuesday after the Israel Defense Forces opened fire. The UN and aid groups have voiced concern over the distribution scheme – run by US organisation Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which was approved by Israel – saying it could not respect the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality
Source:The Guardian
May 29, 2025 07:25 UTC
Fukushima soil headed to Japan PM’s flower beds to allay nuclear safety fears
Slightly radioactive soil from near the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant will be transported to Tokyo and used in flower beds in the prime minister’s garden, in an attempt to prove to a skeptical public that the material is safe. The decision comes 14 years after the plant suffered a triple meltdown in the world’s worst nuclear accident since Chornobyl. It would be used as foundation material and covered with topsoil thick enough to keep radiation at negligible levels. The Fukushima Daiichi plant released large quantities of radiation into the atmosphere after it was struck by a powerful earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011. Last month, local opposition forced the environment ministry to abandon a pilot project to use some of the Fukushima soil as landfill for flower beds and lawns at public parks in and around Tokyo.
Source:The Guardian
May 28, 2025 14:27 UTC
Gunfire heard as thousands rush to receive aid at Gaza distribution centre – video
The first US-backed distribution centre opened in Rafah after a blockade of nearly three months on humanitarian aid entering Gaza imposed by Israel. The scheme was quickly overwhelmed as thousands of people tried to get their hands on food parcels. Israeli troops opened fire near thousands of Palestinians as a logistics group chosen by Israel to ship food into Gaza lost control of its distribution centre on its second day of operations. Israel said the newly built distribution centre would prevent Hamas from stealing aid from Palestinians; however, aid groups and the UN have said the scheme violates humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence
Source:The Guardian
May 28, 2025 06:53 UTC
Former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert says his country is committing war crimes
The former prime minister of Israel Ehud Olmert has said Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza, and that “thousands of innocent Palestinians are being killed, as well as many Israeli soldiers”. “What we are doing in Gaza now is a war of devastation: indiscriminate, limitless, cruel and criminal killing of civilians. It’s the result of government policy – knowingly, evilly, maliciously, irresponsibly dictated.”“Yes, Israel is committing war crimes,” he concluded. The education minister, Yoav Kisch, said that Olmert and Golan had joined a “radical leftist chorus defaming Israel in the international arena”. The social equality minister, May Golan, accused Olmert of “spitting in the face” of Israeli soldiers.
Source:The Guardian
May 28, 2025 00:18 UTC
Poorest 75 nations face ‘tidal wave’ of debt repayments to China in 2025, study warns
The most vulnerable nations on Earth are facing a “tidal wave” of debt repayments as a Chinese lending boom starts to be called in, a new report has warned. The analysis, published on Tuesday by Australian foreign policy thinktank the Lowy Institute, said that in 2025 the poorest 75 countries were on the hook for record high debt repayments US$22bn to China. The 75 nations’ debt formed the bulk of the total $35bn calculated by Lowy for 2025. “Now, and for the rest of this decade, China will be more debt collector than banker to the developing world,” the report said. China publishes little data on its BRI scheme, and the Lowy Institute said its estimates – based on World Bank data – likely underestimated the full scale of China’s lending.
Source:The Guardian
May 28, 2025 00:12 UTC
Footage shows dust storm hitting parts of South Australia – video
Footage from Orroroo and just outside of Loxton shows the severity of the dust storm that hit South Australia on Monday. The Bureau of Meteorology said dry conditions and strong winds caused the large dust clouds to form, leading to poor visibility and bad driving conditions, which prompted some road closures► Subscribe to Guardian Australia on YouTube
Source:The Guardian
May 27, 2025 22:08 UTC
Thousands of Israelis join violent, racist march through Jerusalem’s Muslim quarter
Thousands of Israelis have joined a state-funded march through the Muslim quarter of the Old City in Jerusalem, where large groups chanted racist slogans including “Gaza is ours”, “death to the Arabs” and “may their villages burn”. The annual march, paid for and promoted by the Jerusalem city government, celebrates Israel’s capture and occupation of East Jerusalem and its holy sites in the war of 1967. View image in fullscreen The Israeli far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, was among the crowds in the Old City of Jerusalem. The far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was among the crowds arriving at the Old City around sunset. “The ridge to the south of the ramparts of the Old City, literally in the shadow of the Old City, is indeed the location of biblical Jerusalem.
Source:The Guardian
May 26, 2025 22:24 UTC
Five skiers found dead in mountains near Swiss luxury resort
The bodies of five skiers have been found in the mountains near Switzerland’s luxury resort of Zermatt, police said. A helicopter was sent to survey the area around the Rimpfischhorn after climbers alerted authorities to abandoned skis near the summit on Saturday. The Rimpfischhorn is a 4,199-metre (13,776-foot) mountain that lies east of Zermatt, near the Italian border, and is popular with backcountry skiers. Air Zermatt said it had undertaken another challenging rescue mission nearby shortly before the five bodies were discovered. The “extremely difficult” conditions led to a first rescue mission being aborted, the company said, with a successful attempt made six hours later.
Source:The Guardian
May 25, 2025 22:34 UTC
US men’s hockey team make world championship final in best result since 1950
The United States beat Sweden 6-2 to advance to the final of the ice hockey world championship on Saturday. The Swiss blanked Denmark 7-0 to reach the gold medal game for the second straight year. By reaching the final, the US achieved its best result since the 1950 silver medal. Samuel Ersson replaced Markstrom in the Swedish net at the start of the final period. Switzerland goalie Leonardo Genoni made 17 saves for a second straight shutout.
Source:The Guardian
May 24, 2025 22:09 UTC
Indian troops shoot dead Pakistani man crossing frontier, officials say
Indian border troops shot dead a Pakistani man who they said had crossed the international frontier and did not stop when challenged, the force has said. “The intruder was neutralised on the spot.”A photograph released by the force showed a dead man with greying hair. After the ceasefire, the Indian government said any future terrorist attacks on its territory would be considered an act of war. It has become more vocal in blaming India for a rising wave of militant attacks that have struck Pakistan, particularly in the regions of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistan has repeatedly accused India of using proxy militant groups to carry out terrorist attacks in order to destabilise the country, which India has denied.
Source:The Guardian
May 24, 2025 10:37 UTC
Trump announces Nippon Steel and US Steel partnership – as it happened
“I said that’s okay to go to India, but not going to sell into here without tariffs,” Trump said. Trump also announced a partnership between US Steel and Nippon Steel, saying that US Steel will still be based in Pittsburgh, after Joe Biden blocked a merger between the two companies in early January. Share1h ago 20.53 BST Trump announces Nippon Steel and US Steel partnership After a $14.9bn merger between Japanese steel company Nippon and Pittsburgh-based US Steel was blocked by the Biden administration earlier this year, Donald Trump announced on social media Friday that the two companies will form a “partnership”. Share2h ago 20.35 BST What happened between the Apple CEO Tim Cook and Donald Trump? “I said that’s okay to go to India, but not going to sell into here without tariffs,” Trump said.
Source:The Guardian
May 23, 2025 21:58 UTC
Sea level rise will cause ‘catastrophic inland migration’, scientists warn
Sea level rise will become unmanageable at just 1.5C of global heating and lead to “catastrophic inland migration”, the scientists behind a new study have warned. The melting of those ice sheets would lead to a “really dire” 12 metres of sea level rise. Today, about 230 million people live within 1 metre above current sea level, and 1 billion live within 10 metres above sea level. Sea level rise of at least 1-2 metres was now inevitable, the scientists said. In the UK, just 1 metre of sea level rise would see large parts of the Fens and Humberside below sea level.
Source:The Guardian
May 20, 2025 21:10 UTC