News Atlas

GuardianOct 12Preview

Imran Khan’s party decries ‘coup’ after Pakistan suspends provincial government

Suspension of provincial government escalates standoff with Khan’s PTI party a week after his supporters began marching to demand his releasePakistan has declared a state of emergency in a province ⁠led by Imran Khan’s PTI party and suspended its government, a move a party spokesperson described as “more of a coup disguised as emergency”.President Asif Ali Zardari declared the emergency in the north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Sunday, after the federal government said authorities there had failed to tackle Islamist militancy in the province bordering Afghanistan. Continue reading...

ReutersPakistanImran Khan

GuardianOct 11Preview

Middle East crisis: Riyadh airport hit again as Houthis claim attacks, including strike that killed 12 – as it happened

This live blog is now closed. You can read our latest full report here:Riyadh airport hit again after deadly Houthi missile attack, Saudi authorities saySome more Gulf reaction to Houthi’s deadly airport attack and continued threats to target Saudi airspace. In a significant message, the United Arab Emirates has issued a statement in solidarity with Saudi Arabia – expressing support for “all measures aimed at safeguarding the kingdom’s security and stability”.The UAE message is improtant given the major rupture in relations this year between the two oil-rich kingdoms, first sparked by lingering divisions in Yemen, and made worse by the Iran War and arguments over oil prices which led to the UAE quitting OPEC (currently led by the Saudis) after six decades of membership.Saturday’s incident comes amid an escalation of missile strikes by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis ⁠on the kingdom. The air

Marina Dunbar (now) and Frances Mao (earlier)HouthisSaudi Arabia

GuardianOct 11Preview

The Guardian view on the US, Russia and the international criminal court: Trump’s assault on the rule of law intensifies | Editorial

A fuel deal with Vladimir Putin, and sanctions against the legal institution, ram home the president’s belief that might is rightOn Friday, Donald Trump drove home his belief that might is right and the rule of law is an obstacle rather than an essential foundation stone of international order. First came the escalated assault on the international criminal court (ICC), sanctioning the body itself. Then he announced a deal with Russia to buy diesel.The US has long chafed at the notion of being bound by the rule of law that it espoused publicly. That hypocrisy now appears as a lesser vice. The president has declared that “my own morality” is all that constrains him. His brazen flouting of the law, embrace of dictators and rhetorical attacks all undermine global standards.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words b

EditorialInternational criminal courtLaw

GuardianOct 11Preview

People smugglers are still profiting from small boats. Can the UK fix the crisis?

As ‘one in, one out’ scheme ends, refugees still want to cross the Channel despite French police aggression and hostile welcomesThe smuggler works quickly. Using a small shovel, he digs up a dinghy buried in a sand dune on a beach not far from Boulogne-sur-Mer, assembles it and affixes a motor in record time.“I never saw anyone work like this,” says Amad, from Iraq, one of a group of about 30 asylum seekers waiting to cross the Channel. “The UK government wants to stop the smugglers, but they are smart. They have plan A, plan B and plan C, so there is always a way for them to get people across this sea. For as long as asylum seekers will pay them, there is too much money involved for them to give up.” Continue reading...

Diane TaylorImmigration and asylumHome Office

GuardianOct 11Preview

‘The crime fiction I’m interested in is political’: Ian Rankin on his new novel about the super-rich

The bestselling writer talks about leaving Edinburgh for London in his latest mystery, and what the future holds for RebusSir Ian Rankin rarely watches television. Certainly, there’s no gleaming flatscreen in the corner of the apartment in Edinburgh where he writes, listens to music and constructs elaborate Lego models (all four Beatles, their Yellow Submarine and, once, a 6ft version of the Eiffel Tower). Did he not see the most recent incarnation of his most famous creation, Detective Inspector John Rebus, this time played by Richard Rankin (no relation), in the wake of previous performances by Ken Stott and John Hannah? “I did,” he concedes. “They gave me them on DVD, so I could play them on my computer.”Ah, his computer – it’s had its screen and hard drive replaced, and there are grooves in the keys. It sits on top of a plain, compact trestle-table desk he bought on London’s Charing

Alex ClarkIan RankinThrillers

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