Mirjana Filipovic is still haunted by the land mine blast that killed her boyfriend and blew off her left leg while on a fishing trip nearly a decade ago. It happened in a field that was supposedly de-mined. Now, unlikely heroes
Ryanair pilots have been warned not to sign a letter to airline regulators expressing concern that the airline’s employment practices could jeopardise passenger safety. In a memo staff were told they would be guilty of “gross misconduct” and “liable for
The austerity programmes administered by western governments in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis were, of course, intended as a remedy, a tough but necessary course of treatment to relieve the symptoms of debts and deficits and to
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas – so it’s rather odd that we find ourselves in mid-May. Snow fell across parts of Britain last night while another area had a month’s rain in just 24 hours as winds
The eurozone has slumped into its longest recession ever, after economic activity across the region fell for the sixth quarter in a row. Economic output across the single currency area fell by 0.2% in the first three months of 2013, statistics
For much of the world, Bahrain is notable for unpalatable reasons related to its repression of democracy protests. For the Prince of Wales, the Gulf state is of more interest – it is claimed – as a business opportunity for
Support for Northern Ireland’s paramilitaries will persist until politicians tackle endemic poverty and youth unemployment, the country’s most senior policeman has warned, ahead of a huge security operation to protect next month’s meeting of G8 world leaders. Northern Ireland’s Chief
- Care provider Harmoni uses nurse practitioners to work eight-hour overnight shifts when they cannot recruit GPs to do the shifts. - Whistleblower, who works for Harmoni, claims situation is like a ‘loaded gun’. - Said locum doctors fly from
Britain is a worse place to be a mother than most of its European neighbours, including Germany, France and Ireland, claims a global survey of women’s health and political influence. This country’s levels of maternal and infant mortality are higher
On Wednesday, some 2,000 Turkish Kurd guerrillas will begin their withdrawal from Turkey to an inaccessible mountain stronghold in northern Iraq. Moving in small groups, the fighters will take one to two months to retreat, assuming the Turkish army sticks
The British military now has 500 drones and has been looking for ways to increase the amount of UK airspace in which to fly some of them, the Guardian can reveal. The expansion in the fleet of unmanned aerial systems (UAVs) is in line
One of the notable details of Monday’s landmark ruling to ban the use of some neonicotinoid pesticides across the European Union was Germany’s vote in favour. Germany hosts chemical giant Bayer, which makes the most widely used neonicotinoid, but switched
The European parliament is debating a draft biopiracy law requiring industry to compensate indigenous people if it makes commercial use of local knowledge such as plant-based medicines. Under the law – based on the international convention on access to biodiversity,
In 2001, a lonely computer technician living in the countryside in Northern Germany advertised online for a well-built man willing to participate in a mutually satisfying sexual act. Armin Meiwes’ notice was similar to many others on the Internet except
The scale of the government’s “sweetheart” tax deals – individual secret agreements drawn up between tax officials and corporations to settle disputes – can be revealed for the first time after previously unseen documents showed that just four settlements were
A new inquiry into a historic paedophile ring in North Wales care homes has uncovered “significant” fresh evidence of “systematic and serious sexual and physical abuse”. Detectives involved in Operation Pallial, which was launched last November, said they had identified
- Computer chips will take control of home appliances when energy is low. - Sensors will detect spikes in demand for power and when grid struggles to meet it, will temporarily shut off appliances. - Can shut down supply without
-Report says cramped conditions in UK are making people depressed and ill. -Developers squeeze flats into less space to make more money, RIBA says. -Average British home has shrunk from 85sq metres to 76sq metres in 30 yrs. -Homes in
Sacred Native American artifacts are set to be auctioned in France despite protests. A French judge has ruled that the sale of nearly 70 headdresses and masks, sacred to the Hopi Tribe, will be sold to the highest bidder. United
Unemployment jumped by 70,000 in the three months to the end of February and pay rises registered the lowest increase since 2001, adding to the mounting pressure on George Osborne to adopt a more aggressive growth strategy. The number of people
Police have vowed to review security around the London Marathon following the devastating bomb attack in Boston. Last night’s horror unfolded just six days before thousands of athletes and fundraisers will take to the streets of the capital for the
Campaigners reacted angrily last night after Scotland Yard suggested protesters should consider avoiding Baroness Thatcher’s cortège – because they face arrest under a controversial public order law. A Metropolitan Police spokesman told The Independent yesterday that demonstrators were more likely than usual
Hate mail from angry New Zealanders is landing on the desk of a Danish MP who ridiculed her Maori welcome. Right-wing politician Marie Krarup dubbed the powhiri an “uncivilised” ritual, and marae a “grotesque” mark of multicultural worship. Krarup, in
