After breakdancing debuted at the games in China, members of the Thai national team say they needed support for hair treatment

A member of Thailand’s national breakdancing team has spoken about one of the lesser known challenges of the sport – hair loss.

At the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, where breaking – known in the media as breakdancing – debuted this year, Thailand’s national team was asked about the kinds of support performers need. They said there was a lack of facilities for training in Thailand, meaning people have to practise in parks or shopping malls.

Monarch’s recognition will come as country prepares to celebrate 60 years of independence from Britain

King Charles will acknowledge the “painful aspects” of Britain’s past actions in Kenya during a state visit later this month.

The visit follows an invitation from the country’s president, William Ruto, whose country will celebrate the 60th anniversary of its independence from Britain on 12 December. The two countries have enjoyed a close relationship in recent years despite the violent colonial legacy of an uprising in the early 1950s, which led to a period known as “the emergency”, which ran from 1952 until 1960.

One wild-born owl remains in British Columbia, where logging concerns have destroyed the species’s old-growth forest home

• Related: ‘All I see are ghosts’: fear and fury as the last spotted owl in Canada fights for survival

Canadian cabinet ministers have rejected a plea by the country’s environment minister to save an endangered owl, casting doubt on the species’ survival in the coming years.

The Wilderness Committee environmental advocacy group announced on Wednesday that federal ministers had rejected a request for an emergency order to protect the northern spotted owl – a request submitted by environment minister Steven Guilbeault.

Brazil president calls for humanitarian aid to protect Israeli and Palestinian citizens, while Latin Americans also taken hostage

The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has called for an end to “the insanity of war” as it emerged that more than a dozen Latin Americans were killed during Hamas’s assault, with citizens of Brazil and Argentina taken captive in the Gaza Strip.

By Wednesday morning, Latin American government and media reports had confirmed the deaths of seven Argentinians, two Brazilians, two Peruvians, one Colombian and one Paraguayan. At least 15 Argentinians, three Peruvians, two Mexicans and one Brazilian remain missing.

‘Remain in Mexico’ policy, which forces people seeking asylum to wait in Mexico while US claims are processed, set to be revived

The Mexican supreme court is poised to give new life to a controversial US-Mexico border policy at a time when both countries are looking for ways to slow the flow of migrants heading north.

The “Remain in Mexico” policy, officially called the Migrant Protection Protocols, is a Trump-era policy that forced people seeking asylum in the US to wait out their legal proceedings in Mexico for months or even years. The government of Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador accepted the arrangement and allowed thousands of asylum seekers to be sent back to the country from the US.

People are ahead of governments, says David Cooper, who blames backtracking on parties seeking ‘wedge issues’ for electoral gain

Government backtracking on environmental promises is being driven by politicians and vested interests, not the public, the acting UN biodiversity chief has said, as he called for greater support for those experiencing short-term costs from green policies.

David Cooper, acting executive secretary for the UN convention on biological diversity (CBD), told the Guardian he believed the public mood was not moving against greater environmental protections, and that vested interests opposed to action on the climate crisis and nature loss were trying to frustrate progress.

Women’s rights campaigners denounce ‘hugely regressive’ proposals from political and religious leaders to decriminalise practice

Political and religious leaders in the Gambia are threatening to introduce a bill to decriminalise female genital mutilation, eight years after the practice was outlawed.

Members of the country’s national assembly have backed a proposal for the 2015 law to be scrapped while the Supreme Islamic Council has issued a fatwa condemning anyone who denounces the practice and calling for the government to reconsider the legislation.

Kyoto to sell its obsolete manhole covers in a bid to cash in on the public’s fascination with the decorated pieces

They are heavy disks of cast iron that separate us from our subterranean sewage, but in Japan, they are also highly coveted works of art, symbols of regional pride, and now, sources of revenue.

Local authorities are cashing in on the public’s fascination with the country’s decorated manhole covers, with Kyoto now joining a list of locations that are putting obsolete lids up for sale.

• Former Afghan spymaster, convicted millionaire and former Libyan colonel among those who became Dominican citizens
• Sales of passports soared after the Caribbean state was granted visa-free travel to the EU in 2015
• Luxury rooms and a swim-up bar: hotel with funding from Dominica’s golden passport scheme

The Caribbean state of Dominica has sold citizenship to thousands of individuals including a former Afghan spymaster, a Turkish millionaire convicted of fraud and a former Libyan colonel under Muammar Gaddafi, the first detailed examination of the country’s controversial “golden passports” scheme has found.

The findings are from Dominica: Passports of the Caribbean, an investigation by the Guardian and 14 other international news organisations, in partnership with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

Former prime minister appealed to voters in Facebook video after being noticeably absent in lead up to 14 October election

• Read all our coverage of the New Zealand 2023 election

Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s former prime-minister, has made an eleventh-hour appearance to throw her support behind the party she once led, just days out from the country’s general election.

Ardern, who was elected in 2017 on a wave of ‘Jacindamania’ and enjoyed extraordinary popularity for much of her leadership, led the governing party for nearly six years up until her shock resignation in January 2023. But the former leader has been noticeably absent in the lead up to the 14 October election.

In today’s newsletter: A complicated legal battle over whether the UK government plan to send thousands of migrants to Rwanda could cause a fundamental shift in how asylum seekers are treated

• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First Edition

Good morning. Five supreme court judges are this week deciding whether the UK government plan to deport tens of thousands of asylum seekers to Rwanda should go ahead.

The decision of the UK’s highest court will be life-changing for more than 24,000 asylum seekers issued with letters warning them that they are being considered for forcible removal. It will also either make home secretary Suella Braverman’s “dream” come true or poleaxe a key part of Rishi Sunak’s pledge to “stop the boats”.

Israel | The leaders of the UK, US, France, Germany and Italy have released a joint statement expressing “steadfast and united support” for the state of Israel and “unequivocal condemnation” of Hamas. Earlier, Israel declared a “complete siege” of Gaza, cutting off water, food and power supplies.

Environment | The damage caused by the climate crisis through extreme weather has cost $16m (£13m) an hour for the past 20 years, according to a new estimate.

Transport | A list of transport projects to be funded using HS2 money, which included schemes that had already been built or were swiftly deleted, was intended only to be “illustrative”, the prime minister has said.

Labour | A new Labour government would give all towns and cities in England new powers and funding to boost local economies, Keir Starmer will announce, in the biggest expansion of devolution since Labour was last in power.

Scotland | A hoard of coins linked to a Highland chief – which may have been stashed away as he tried in vain to escape the Glen Coe massacre– has been discovered underneath a fireplace.

European Commission Press release Brussels, 14 Apr 2022 Today, at the Our Ocean Conference (OOC) in Palau, the EU has renewed its pledges towards international Ocean governance.

Wednesday 13 April 2022 19:06

This public procurement procedure is for “Application Development, Maintenance and Support”:

Main documents related to this procedure are downloadable and visible following the TED eTendering link published in the contract notice; some documents will be shared based on submission of...

The Council today adopted a decision extending the EU advisory mission in support of security sector reform in Iraq (EUAM Iraq) until 30 April 2024.

Overview of the main subjects to be discussed at meetings of the Council of the EU over the next two weeks and upcoming media events.

The Council today adopted a decision amending the mandate of the EU advisory mission for civilian security sector reform in Ukraine (EUAM Ukraine).

ESAs see recovery stalling amid existing and new risks

Wednesday 13 April 2022 14:29

In view of the humanitarian crisis resulting from the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the Council decided to introduce exceptions to restrictive measures for exclusively humanitarian purposes in Ukraine.

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The three European Supervisory Authorities (EBA, EIOPA and ESMA - ESAs) issued today their first joint risk assessment report for 2022. The report highlights the increasing vulnerabilities across the financial sector as well as the rise of environmental and cyber risks. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine... </div>

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The Council adopted two decisions increasing to €1.5 billion the reference amount under the European Peace Facility's assistance measures that currently allow the EU to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

EU permanent representatives today greenlighted the Council's position on a proposal to create European Green Bonds.

Every Ukrainian who escaped Russia’s war will soon be able to exchange their Ukrainian banknotes into local currency in all EU countries.

Wednesday 13 April 2022 11:33