World — 2026-05-22

Papua New Guinea warns against fishing in New Ireland after mystery deaths of marine life

Initial testing found evidence of metals in water samples, months after province’s residents began reporting unusual numbers of dead fish washing ashorePapua New Guinea’s government has warned communities not to fish from parts of the New Ireland coastline as preliminary tests show evidence of metals in some water samples, after months of residents reporting dead marine life in the area.On 7 May the fisheries minister, Jelta Wong, said initial testing conducted by an independent company detected various metals in water samples taken from affected areas around Kafkaf village and Larairu lagoon in New Ireland, an island in eastern PNG.

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Weather tracker: Heavy rain triggers flooding and landslides in parts of China

Twelve dead as southern and central areas also suffer travel disruption, electricity outages and evacuationsHeavy, prolonged rainfall in southern and central China has resulted in weather warnings for flash flooding, landslides and waterlogging.

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Guzman y Gomez exits US after succumbing to ‘graveyard’ for Australian fast food chains

Company founder Steven Marks says US stores will close as it can no longer justify cost of trying to break into crowded marketFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGuzman y Gomez is closing its US business after failing to establish itself in a market already rich with Mexican food, confirming the American country’s reputation as a “graveyard” for Australian fast food companies.The Mexican-themed chain told shareholders on Friday that the performance of its US stores had not been acceptable, despite its well-publicised plans to “become the best and biggest restaurant company in the world”.

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US arms sales to Taiwan on ‘pause’ due to Iran war, says acting navy chief

Hung Cao’s comments are latest blow to Taipei after Donald Trump recently cast doubt over US’s enduring supportUS arms sales to Taiwan have been “paused” to ensure the US military has enough munitions for its Iran operations, according to Washington’s acting navy secretary, in the latest blow to Taipei after a series of comments by Donald Trump.When asked at a congressional hearing on Thursday about a $14bn (£10.4bn) weapons package awaiting Trump’s signoff for months, Hung Cao said: “Right now we’re doing a pause in order to make sure we have the munitions we need for Epic Fury [the Iran war] – which we have plenty.” Continue reading...

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UN’s climate crisis vote shows political momentum is growing, say experts

Resolution backed by 141 states hailed as ‘new chapter’ that could improve climate diplomacy and litigation effortsWhen the UN general assembly voted overwhelmingly in favour of a landmark climate crisis ruling on Wednesday, the Pacific island of Vanuatu’s prime minister hailed the result as the start of “a new chapter” in climate action.“The task before all of us now is to translate legal clarity into meaningful action, stronger cooperation, and greater protection for present and future generations,” said Jotham Napat.

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US indicts former Cuban president Raúl Castro as it seeks to oust regime

Charges filed in Miami against 94-year-old for allegedly shooting down exiles’ planes in 1996The United States issued a federal criminal indictment against Raúl Castro, Cuba’s former president, and five others on Wednesday in a significant escalation of the Trump administration’s campaign to oust the country’s six-decades-old communist regime.The 94-year-old political figurehead was charged in Miami, Florida, with conspiracy to kill US nationals, four counts of murder and two counts of destruction of aircraft.

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Labor MPs expect eventual concessions for startups after backlash to CGT changes

Several MPs tell Guardian Australia they are keen to see tweaks, and some are engaging directly with treasurer’s officeFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastLabor MPs expect the government will agree to capital gains tax concessions for startup businesses after a meme-fuelled backlash to the budget, with some wary that scare campaigns could “get out of hand” without clearer explanation of the changes from Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers.Guardian Australia spoke to a number of Labor MPs nationwide.

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Colombia’s climate crossroads: Trumpism casts shadow over presidential battle

Colombia is a global leader in climate activism.

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‘It’s broken English’: MP’s attempt to speak Jamaican in parliament sparks language row

Parliamentary rule that only English is allowed has reignited debate about language, legitimacy and postcolonial identityWhen the Jamaican MP Nekeisha Burchell stood up to give her maiden speech, she was keenly aware of how much her country’s parliament mirrored the Westminster version thousands of miles away in London.As in the UK, the session on 12 May had started with the arrival of the ceremonial mace – a 1.7-metre ornamented silver staff representing the British monarch’s authority over parliament – which now rested on a table between the government and the opposition.

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Cubans outraged at US charges against Raúl Castro as fears of military strikes grow

It’s a nerve-racking time for Havana neighbours of top Cuban officials as fears of US attack mountA new question in being asked in Havana as people digest the news that the US has brought criminal charges against Cuba’s 94-year-old former president, Raúl Castro: who’s your neighbour?If you happen to live near a senior figure in Cuba’s government or armed forces, others suck their teeth in an expression of concerned sympathy.

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Rubio doubtful of diplomacy with Cuba as Trump renews threat of military action

US secretary of state says president would like a negotiated agreement with Havana but likelihood ‘is not high’The US president, Donald Trump, and the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, on Thursday again raised the spectre of military intervention in Cuba, a renewed threat that takes on greater weight a day after the administration announced criminal charges against Raúl Castro, the island’s former leader.“Other presidents have looked at this for 50, 60 years, doing something,” Trump told reporters when asked about Cuba during an event in the Oval Office.

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Last Australian women and children linked to IS leave Syrian camp before expected return home – report

Federal minister Tanya Plibersek says the group will face same repercussions on arrival in Australia as previous returneesFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe last remaining Australian women and children left stranded in the al-Roj detention camp have reportedly left north-east Syria for Damascus, ahead of an expected return to Australia.Vision obtained by an ABC news crew in Syria showed a minivan leaving the camp, which it reported was transporting all the remaining seven women and 14 children from the camp, though this has not been officially confirmed.

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US doctor who contracted Ebola in DRC flown to Germany for treatment

Dr Peter Stafford’s wife and four children are also being monitored for symptoms amid Ebola outbreak in CongoAn American doctor who contracted Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been flown to Germany for treatment, along with his wife and four children, as the World Health Organization warned of the “scale and speed” of the outbreak.Authorities have reported at least 134 suspected deaths and more than 500 cases of the hemorrhagic Bundibugyo virus, which has no approved treatments or vaccines.

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US is ‘simply choosing not to stop’ Ebola outbreak after massive public health cuts, experts say

Hundreds of cases reported in the DRC after USAID has been dismantled and key scientific research canceledA previously undetected outbreak of Ebola is coursing through parts of central Africa, and the US appears to be doing little to help stop it, after massive cuts to global and domestic public health efforts.There is no cure and no vaccine for the rare Bundibugyo variant of Ebola, which has caused two outbreaks in recent decades.

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Macron says France must address issue of reparations for its role in slave trade

French president’s use of term comes as demand grows for formal discussion on addressing legacies of enslavementEmmanuel Macron has said reparations for France’s role in hundreds of years of enslavement of African people is an issue that should be addressed, but he stopped short of making clear proposals.“How to repair … is a question that must not be refused,” the French president said in a speech on the legacies of slavery at the Élysée Palace.

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Ebola: US ban on travellers from DRC, Uganda or South Sudan ‘not the solution’

Africa CDC says restrictions could increase public health risks and highlight ‘deeper structural injustice’ in global healthA US travel ban for people coming from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in response to the Ebola outbreak could make the situation worse, critics have said.The outbreak was declared a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday and continues to spread, with a new case reported in the DRC’s South Kivu province, an area under the control of armed rebel groups.

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Tony Abbott to become new Liberal party president in former PM’s return to political frontlines

Unopposed nomination comes seven years after Abbott lost his Sydney seat of Warringah at the 2019 electionGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTony Abbott will become the new federal Liberal party president in a return to the political frontlines for the conservative former prime minister.Abbott was the only nominee for the presidency after the other contender – former foreign minister Alexander Downer – chose to instead run for one of the vice-president’s positions.

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Are Xi and Putin still ‘best friends’? – The Latest

Xi Jinping welcomed Vladimir Putin to Beijing with pomp and pageantry, just days after hosting Donald Trump.

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Record number of complaints to police watchdog after Herzog protest – as it happened

This blog is now closedGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGuzman y Gomez, the Mexican-themed fast food chain, is pulling out of the United States in a spectacular turnaround on its American market ambitions, AAP reports.The decision was made because the financial performance of the US business was not acceptable or meeting targets.

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Guardiola says 'nothing is eternal' as Man City confirm exit after 10 years

Manchester City confirm that Pep Guardiola will leave at the end of the season after a decade of unparalleled success.

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Friday, May 22, 2026

Papua New Guinea warns against fishing in New Ireland after mystery deaths of marine life

Weather tracker: Heavy rain triggers flooding and landslides in parts of China

Guzman y Gomez exits US after succumbing to ‘graveyard’ for Australian fast food chains

US arms sales to Taiwan on ‘pause’ due to Iran war, says acting navy chief

UN’s climate crisis vote shows political momentum is growing, say experts

US indicts former Cuban president Raúl Castro as it seeks to oust regime

Labor MPs expect eventual concessions for startups after backlash to CGT changes

Colombia’s climate crossroads: Trumpism casts shadow over presidential battle

‘It’s broken English’: MP’s attempt to speak Jamaican in parliament sparks language row

Cubans outraged at US charges against Raúl Castro as fears of military strikes grow

Rubio doubtful of diplomacy with Cuba as Trump renews threat of military action

Last Australian women and children linked to IS leave Syrian camp before expected return home – report

US doctor who contracted Ebola in DRC flown to Germany for treatment

US is ‘simply choosing not to stop’ Ebola outbreak after massive public health cuts, experts say

Macron says France must address issue of reparations for its role in slave trade

Ebola: US ban on travellers from DRC, Uganda or South Sudan ‘not the solution’

Tony Abbott to become new Liberal party president in former PM’s return to political frontlines

Are Xi and Putin still ‘best friends’? – The Latest

Record number of complaints to police watchdog after Herzog protest – as it happened

Guardiola says 'nothing is eternal' as Man City confirm exit after 10 years

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