World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk |
- Fingers crossed at France's brasseries and cafes as tourist quarantines loom
- What we are learning about Covid-19 and kids
- We can’t ease lockdown any more, expert warns as testing calls grow
- One in eight Australians drinking alcohol every day during coronavirus outbreak, survey finds
- Chain reaction: disaster hastens Lebanon’s moment of reckoning
- Saudi ex-spy suing crown prince faces fresh death threat in Canada – report
- Coronavirus live news: US nears 5m cases as Australia records deadliest day
- Belarus presidential election: opposition candidate goes into hiding on eve of vote
- Juan Carlos, Spain's disgraced former king, may be in Abu Dhabi, reports suggest
- Venezuela jails former US soldiers for 20 years over botched bid to overthrow Maduro
- Instagram ‘censorship’ of black model's photo reignites claims of race bias
- Thousands of bikers heading to South Dakota rally to be blocked at tribal land checkpoints
- Italy’s new liberal newspaper Domani promises ‘facts not chatter’
- Sideman: Radio 1Xtra presenter quits after BBC defends use of N-word in report
- Simon Cowell breaks back falling off electric bike in US
- Is this the end for ‘king coal’ in Britain?
- Winston Churchill waged war on paper over 'fake news' photo caption
- Time for a full clearout. Why we will not forgive the men who did this to Beirut | Lina Mounzer
- From the wreck of the pandemic we can salvage and resurrect an inner life | Nyadol Nyuon
- Big oil remembers 'friend' Trump with millions in campaign funds
- Jacinda Ardern pushes stability over change in New Zealand's 'Covid election'
- Beirut: shots, teargas and flames as anti-government protests grow – video report
- CCTV captures moment Beirut explosion strikes hospital – video
- Border agents discover 'most sophisticated tunnel in US history' in Arizona – video
- Beirut explosion: the volunteer clearing up the wreckage of her home city – video
- Trump says Democrats are holding coronavirus relief bill 'hostage' – video
| Fingers crossed at France's brasseries and cafes as tourist quarantines loom Posted: 08 Aug 2020 12:15 PM PDT Numbers of foreign visitors are already down – and the fresh surge of Covid cases could spell the end for the holiday season In a normal August, the much-loved miniature tourist train in the French port city of Sète would be full of tourists from Britain and elsewhere, enjoying the ride. Optimistically, the manager, Romiy Priore, took steps to make his attraction safe for Covid times. "With the virus, we decided to order disposable earphones for the start of the season on 23 June – 100 of them," he says, huddling behind a Perspex screen in a cool cabin on the quayside. "It's August, and I still have 70 left. That tells you how many foreign tourists we currently have." Continue reading... |
| What we are learning about Covid-19 and kids Posted: 08 Aug 2020 11:00 PM PDT As schools around the world prepare to reopen, new scientific evidence about children and coronavirus is coming to light Back in April, the French epidemiologist Arnaud Fontanet found himself leading an investigation in the town of Crépy-en-Valois, a small community of 15,000 inhabitants just to the north-east of Paris. In February, the town's middle and high schools had become the centre of a new outbreak of Covid-19. Fontanet and colleagues from the Pasteur Institute in Paris were tasked with conducting antibody testing across Crépy-en-Valois to understand the extent to which the virus had been circulating. As they surveyed the town, they noted an interesting pattern. While the virus had spread rampantly through the high school, with 38% of students being infected, along with 43% of teachers and 59% of non-teaching staff, the same was not true for the town's six primary schools. While three primary-age pupils had caught Covid-19 in early February, none of these infections had led to a secondary case. Overall, just 9% of primary age pupils, 7% of teachers and 4% of non-teaching staff had been infected with the virus. Continue reading...This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| We can’t ease lockdown any more, expert warns as testing calls grow Posted: 08 Aug 2020 11:47 PM PDT Contact tracing must improve to prevent resurgence in England, say care chief and top scientist One of the government's most influential scientific advisers is warning that the loosening of lockdown may have already gone too far and that an urgent increase in coronavirus testing and faster contact tracing is essential to prepare for a resurgence in cases. Writing in the Observer , Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust and a member of the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), warns against complacency in the wake of local outbreaks that have forced lockdown measures to be reintroduced in some areas, most recently in Preston. Continue reading... |
| One in eight Australians drinking alcohol every day during coronavirus outbreak, survey finds Posted: 09 Aug 2020 01:16 AM PDT Alcohol and Drug Foundation says one in 10 people report consuming more than 10 standard drinks per week
A new Alcohol and Drug Foundation survey has found one in eight Australians have been drinking every day since the coronavirus outbreak began. The foundation quizzed more than 1,000 people, with a concerning number reporting they were drinking more than usual. Continue reading... |
| Chain reaction: disaster hastens Lebanon’s moment of reckoning Posted: 08 Aug 2020 09:32 PM PDT A corruption-riddled government has presided over rising poverty for decades. Could the anger released after the catastrophe in Beirut's docks finally topple it? The first violent jolt seemed like a neighbourhood accident; a blown generator, or a car crash. Five seconds later, the thundering secondary blast arrived; a crushing surge of energy that instantly sucked the air out of the city, then plunged it back with devastating weight. Giant shards of debris blew through rooms, door frames collapsed and furniture became missiles – all in what seemed like a paralysing slow motion. A deathly still followed, and then came a cascade of shattered glass from what appeared to be every home, or tower block; hundreds of thousands of panes and pieces falling to earth at once. Many who survived the blast wave did not live beyond the seconds that followed. Days later, giant pools and trails of blood littered pavements and roads, each telling their own tale of life or death in Beirut's apocalypse. When the glass stopped falling, the screaming started. A yellow pall of dust, smoke and chemicals shrouded the eastern suburbs. Continue reading... |
| Saudi ex-spy suing crown prince faces fresh death threat in Canada – report Posted: 08 Aug 2020 06:56 PM PDT Canada reportedly increases security around Saad Aljabri, who is suing Prince Mohammed bin Salman over alleged 2018 assassination attempt A former senior Saudi intelligence official who has accused Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of trying to have him assassinated in 2018 has been placed under heightened security after a new threat on his life, a Canadian newspaper has reported. The Globe and Mail said Canadian security services had been informed of a new attempted attack on Saad Aljabri, who lives at an undisclosed location in the Toronto region. Continue reading... |
| Coronavirus live news: US nears 5m cases as Australia records deadliest day Posted: 09 Aug 2020 02:04 AM PDT US approaches horrific milestone; Australian border restrictions tighten as state of Victoria reports 17 dead; Brazil passes 100,000 deaths
Hong Kong has today reported 72 new coronavirus cases. Of these, 63 were locally transmitted. This is a slight increase from Saturday's figures of 69 new cases. More than 4,000 people have been infected in Hong Kong since January, 51 of whom have died.
Indonesia reported 1,893 new coronavirus infections on Sunday, taking the country's total number of cases to 125,396. The number of death rose 65 on Sunday, bringing the total number of deaths to 5,723. Continue reading... |
| Belarus presidential election: opposition candidate goes into hiding on eve of vote Posted: 08 Aug 2020 10:34 PM PDT Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who is challenging incumbent Alexander Lukashenko in Sunday's vote, fled her home after police detained staffers Belarus's opposition candidate for president went into hiding the night before challenging longtime leader Alexander Lukashenko on Sunday in the country's most unpredictable election in a generation. Candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya fled her apartment after police detained several senior staffers in what critics called an attempt to scare the opposition ahead of the crucial vote. Continue reading... |
| Juan Carlos, Spain's disgraced former king, may be in Abu Dhabi, reports suggest Posted: 08 Aug 2020 09:21 PM PDT A week after going into exile, the scandal-hit former monarch is said to be staying in a $12,000-a-night suite in the Emirates palace hotel At first it was Portugal, then the Dominican Republic, but now Abu Dhabi is firming as the most likely place of residence for Spain's scandal-hit former king Juan Carlos. On Saturday, Spain's NIUS media group published an image that showed a man with at least the likeness of Juan Carlos in a face mask, descending from a plane. Continue reading... |
| Venezuela jails former US soldiers for 20 years over botched bid to overthrow Maduro Posted: 08 Aug 2020 05:46 PM PDT Two ex-Green Berets hired to oust president were sentenced in a secretive hearing that their lawyers say breached their right to a defence A Venezuelan court has sentenced two former US special forces soldiers to 20 years in prison for their part in a blunder-filled beach attack aimed at overthrowing president Nicolás Maduro. Lawyers for the former Green Berets, Luke Denman and Airan Berry, said they were barred from the secretive jailhouse proceedings Friday night in what they consider a violation of their constitutional rights to a defence. Continue reading... |
| Instagram ‘censorship’ of black model's photo reignites claims of race bias Posted: 08 Aug 2020 11:13 PM PDT #IwanttoseeNyome outcry after social media platform repeatedly removes pictures of Nyome Nicholas-Williams Fifteen minutes into her shoot with model Nyome Nicholas-Williams, photographer Alexandra Cameron knew she had captured the perfect image: a dreamy split second with Nicholas-Williams bathed under natural light, her eyes closed and arms wrapped around her breasts. The response on Instagram was ecstatic: "stunning … beautiful … this should be in a gallery!". But within hours, Instagram had deleted the photo and Nicholas-Williams had been warned her account could be shut down. Continue reading... |
| Thousands of bikers heading to South Dakota rally to be blocked at tribal land checkpoints Posted: 08 Aug 2020 09:13 AM PDT Clampdown comes as fears mount that mask-free bikers headed to large gathering could spread coronavirus to tribal groups Thousands of bikers heading to South Dakota's 10-day Sturgis Motorcycle Rally will not be allowed through Cheyenne River Sioux checkpoints, a spokesman for the Native American group said on Saturday. The decision to prevent access across tribal lands to the annual rally, which could attract as many as 250,000 bikers amid fears it could lead to a massive, regional coronavirus outbreak, comes as part of larger Covid-19 prevention policy. The policy has pitted seven tribes that make up the Great Sioux Nation against federal and state authorities, which both claim the checkpoints are illegal. Continue reading... |
| Italy’s new liberal newspaper Domani promises ‘facts not chatter’ Posted: 08 Aug 2020 11:11 PM PDT One of the country's leading publishers says his latest venture will give a voice to those hit hardest by the economic slump Carlo De Benedetti, the former owner of La Repubblica, one of Italy's biggest daily newspapers, is no stranger to a challenge. Now, at the age of 85, the tycoon is about to embark on what might be his biggest one to date – launching a newspaper in the midst of a serious financial slump. De Benedetti wants the newspaper, due to launch online and in print in mid-September, to be a progressive, independent voice in a market weighed down by political and economic influence. And, as its name – Domani (Tomorrow) – suggests, the focus will be on coverage that looks to the future. Continue reading... |
| Sideman: Radio 1Xtra presenter quits after BBC defends use of N-word in report Posted: 09 Aug 2020 12:04 AM PDT Presenter says he can no longer work for broadcaster after 'slap in the face' A BBC radio presenter has quit his job after the corporation defended its decision to broadcast the N-word in a television news broadcast. Radio 1Xtra presenter Sideman said he no longer felt comfortable working for the national broadcaster after it stuck by the decision to broadcast the language in a report on a racially motivated hit-and-run attack. Continue reading... |
| Simon Cowell breaks back falling off electric bike in US Posted: 09 Aug 2020 01:49 AM PDT Music tycoon and entertainer having surgery but his spokeswoman says he is 'doing fine' Simon Cowell is having surgery after breaking his back while testing out an electric bike in California, it emerged on Sunday. The 60-year-old entertainer, who has a home in Malibu, was said by his spokeswoman to be "doing fine". Continue reading... |
| Is this the end for ‘king coal’ in Britain? Posted: 08 Aug 2020 10:31 PM PDT As the black stuff burnt in the UK plummets to a level not seen since the early steam age, we trace its long, deep history and the problems left in its wake Britain achieved an unlikely status as a power provider last year. Its annual consumption of coal plunged to the lowest level in 250 years. According to figures released last week, a mere 8 million tonnes were incinerated in UK factories and power plants. That is roughly the same amount that was burned nationally in 1769, when James Watt was patenting his modified steam engine. That invention helped to spark the Industrial Revolution and triggered a massive rise in annual coal use in Britain, which soared to well over 200 million tonnes by the mid-20th century. Now levels have plummeted back to their original pre-revolution state. King coal – once the undisputed ruler of British industry – has finally been dethroned. Continue reading... |
| Winston Churchill waged war on paper over 'fake news' photo caption Posted: 09 Aug 2020 01:05 AM PDT Depicted as a warmonger, the future PM had a very modern dislike of media criticism, reveals new book It is one of the earliest examples of a politician accusing the media of fake news. And it illustrates that, despite having been a journalist himself, Winston Churchill had an ambivalent relationship with the press, praising it on occasions, attacking it on others. Churchill had been incensed by a picture published on the back page of the Daily Herald on 4 June 1929, that showed him outside 11 Downing Street carrying a book with the title War clearly visible. The caption suggested that war was "one of his favourite subjects". Continue reading... |
| Time for a full clearout. Why we will not forgive the men who did this to Beirut | Lina Mounzer Posted: 09 Aug 2020 01:15 AM PDT The explosion that devastated the city was no accident and anger is boiling over My eyes fly open and the horror is already there. The full range of it: what happened, and how, and who is responsible. It's 4am. My heart is pounding so fast I think I might throw up. Terrible images flash through my mind. I've experienced debilitating grief before. It at least allows you short respite when you first open your eyes. Some seconds of oblivion just before you are slammed with the memory of how your life has been shattered. But there is no respite here. And it's not just my life that has been shattered. It's the whole world that sustains it, from loved ones to cityscape. I've barely slept. Just like the night before. Continue reading... |
| From the wreck of the pandemic we can salvage and resurrect an inner life | Nyadol Nyuon Posted: 08 Aug 2020 01:00 PM PDT Covid gives us an opportunity to weigh up what truly belongs and what can be left back in the life before the plague
In early March I flew to New Zealand through the busy Tullamarine airport. I returned to a country in lockdown. I had been to speak at the New Zealand festival of the arts held in Wellington. Life was normal. We moved freely: going out for drinks, eating at various restaurants, hugging friends and shaking hands. We even went to a club to dance. It was packed as sweaty, dancing bodies pumped into each other. We casually spoke about the spread of the coronavirus as it began to emerge as a potentially serious public health issue but the consequences and impact of the disease felt distant. It was still happening far away. It was not yet an issue to worry about or to change one's plans to accommodate. At that time, such a reaction would have appeared exaggerated. The events that followed over the next few days were unimaginable. At the festival, I had presented to a full room of a few hundred people; 24 hours later, that felt like a bygone era. By the time I landed in Melbourne, restrictions were in place and large gatherings had been banned. I went home and began my 14 days of isolation. It was difficult to keep up with the pace of change. In Victoria, events progressed to a state of emergency. Back in New Zealand, the country went into a nationwide lockdown. The world became a different place within weeks. Continue reading... |
| Big oil remembers 'friend' Trump with millions in campaign funds Posted: 09 Aug 2020 02:00 AM PDT Donations to support the president's re-election have flooded in from a fossil fuel industry that has enjoyed three years of energy deregulation and tax cuts In mid-June the oil pipeline billionaire Kelcy Warren hosted a fundraising bash at his palatial Dallas, Texas, home that drew the presence of Donald Trump and raised $10m for the US president's campaign coffers. Warren's fundraising gusher for Trump occurred after he and his wife had donated a hefty $1.7m since 2019 to Trump Victory, a fundraising vehicle for Trump's re-election and the Republican National Committee, according to the non-partisan Open Secrets group. Continue reading... |
| Jacinda Ardern pushes stability over change in New Zealand's 'Covid election' Posted: 09 Aug 2020 12:36 AM PDT The prime minister is pitching a mix of steady leadership and big-spending policies to voters after a world-leading coronavirus response On her first public outing since launching her party's election campaign the day before, New Zealand's prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, spent Sunday morning at a farmers' market in central Auckland where she walked among friends, posed for selfies and did her vegetable shopping. Ardern is riding high in the polls – as is the Labour party – on the back of her stewardship of the country's Covid-19 response. Her strong position has been aided by troubles within the opposition National party, which is heading into September's election with its third leader in as many months. Continue reading... |
| Beirut: shots, teargas and flames as anti-government protests grow – video report Posted: 08 Aug 2020 02:09 PM PDT Lebanese riot police fired teargas at demonstrators in Beirut on Saturday and shots were heard in growing protests over this week's devastating explosion. Scores of protesters have taken to the streets calling for the government to be punished for their negligence that protesters say led to Tuesday's gigantic explosion that killed 158 people and injured more than 6,000.
|
| CCTV captures moment Beirut explosion strikes hospital – video Posted: 08 Aug 2020 07:08 AM PDT Footage captured when the blast in the Lebanese capital's port hit the Lau Medical Center-Rizk hospital shows the shockwave shattering windows and ripping doors from their frames. More than 150 people in the city were killed, thousands were injured and hundreds of thousands of homes damaged or destroyed
|
| Border agents discover 'most sophisticated tunnel in US history' in Arizona – video Posted: 08 Aug 2020 06:39 AM PDT US border officials claim an incomplete tunnel found stretching from Mexico to Arizona could be the most sophisticated in US history. The tunnel runs from San Luis Río Colorado, Mexico, to San Luis, Arizona, where it stops short of reaching the surface. It is 3ft wide and 4ft high (1 x 1.3 metres). Smugglers have been using tunnels to move drugs and people across the border for decades Continue reading... |
| Beirut explosion: the volunteer clearing up the wreckage of her home city – video Posted: 08 Aug 2020 05:58 AM PDT In the days after the Beirut explosion, the Guardian followed yoga teacher Jana Saleh as she volunteered to help clear up. She finds chaos, disorder and a lack of support from Lebanese authorities: 'there is no government, no army … nothing'. In the immediate aftermath, she searches through wreckage, helps out older people and clears a hospital smashed beyond repair. More than 150 people died in the blast, around 5,000 were injured and at least 60 are still missing, according to the health ministry
|
| Trump says Democrats are holding coronavirus relief bill 'hostage' – video Posted: 08 Aug 2020 05:56 AM PDT Donald Trump says he will act unilaterally to suspend payroll taxes for all Americans until the end of 2020 and possibly longer and extend supplemental unemployment benefits and other coronavirus aid if no deal can be reached with Democrats on a new spending bill. 'If Democrats continue to hold this critical relief hostage I will act under my authority as president to get Americans the relief they need,' Trump says on Friday during a news conference at his resort in Bedminster, New Jersey. He added that an executive order could be signed by the end of the week, without specifying whether he meant this week or next week Continue reading... |
| You are subscribed to email updates from World news | The Guardian. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
Posting Komentar