Day: May 24, 2024

The TV debate between Attal and Bardella covered a wide range of topics from the economy to trade, agriculture, immigration and the war in Ukraine.

None of them are enthusiastic about Starmer or Sunak. And all are anxious about what comes next

At first glance, it seemed same old, same old. Britain’s print media backed their usual teams when Rishi Sunak announced an election this week. Yet, behind the scenes, much has changed, not least the fact that the party’s traditional supporters on the right are distracted by another battle: one for the soul of the Conservative party and also their own futures.

Britain’s newspapers face an unusual terrain of shifting ownerships and loyalties, making this election one of the most fascinating for years. The battle is no longer just about Labour versus Conservative, but different factions of the Conservative party itself. And it’s a fight that will be televised for the first time by GB News, the opinionated upstart TV channel facing regulatory sanctions over its lack of impartiality.

Jane Martinson is a Guardian columnist

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As the G7 ministers gathered, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree allowing the confiscation of assets inside Russia belonging to US companies or citizens.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the West froze approximately $300 billion in Russian financial assets, primarily from its central bank reserves.

MELBOURNE, Australia — More than 100 people are believed to have been killed Friday in a landslide that buried a village in a remote part of Papua New Guinea, Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

The landslide reportedly hit Kaokalam village in Enga province, about 600 kilometers (370 miles) northwest of the South Pacific island nation’s capital of Port Moresby, at roughly 3 a.m. local time (15:00 GMT), ABC reported.

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Residents say current estimates of the death toll are above 100, although authorities have not confirmed this figure. Villagers said the number of people killed could be much higher.

Videos on social media show locals pulling out bodies buried under rocks and trees.

The Papua New Guinea government and police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Read More: Papua New Guinea’s Leader Calls Joe Biden’s ‘Cannibals’ Claim an Unfair ‘Punchline’

Elizabeth Laruma, who runs a women’s business association in Porgera, a town in the same province near the Porgera Gold Mine, said village houses were flattened when the side of a mountain gave way.

“It has occurred when people were still asleep in the early hours, and the entire village has gone down,” Laruma told ABC. “From what I can presume, it’s about 100-plus people who are buried beneath the ground.”

The landslide blocked the road between Porgera and the village, she said, raising concerns about the town’s own supply of fuel and goods.

Village resident Ninga Role, who was away when the landslide struck, expects at least four of his relatives have died.

“There are some huge stones and plants, trees. The buildings collapsed,” Role said. “These things are making it hard to find the bodies fast.”

Papua New Guinea is a diverse, developing nation of mostly subsistence farmers with 800 languages. There are few roads outside the larger cites.

With 10 million people, it is also the most populous South Pacific nation after Australia, which is home to some 27 million.