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- Germany floods: Merkel voices horror at ‘catastrophe’ as death toll passes 80
- WHO chief says push to discount Covid-19 lab leak theory was ‘premature’
- Western US and Canada brace for another heatwave amid more than 70 wildfires
- Restoration work wipes smile off the face of Dutch vegetable seller
- Biden and Merkel vow to defend against Russian aggression in White House meeting
- New Zealand farmers stage huge protest over environmental rules
- Marcus Rashford mural damage ‘not believed to be of racial nature’, say police
- World can’t tolerate ‘premature death’ of Brazil’s democracy, says Bolsonaro rival
- Former solicitor, 96, believed to be UK’s oldest new graduate
- Google Maps suggests ‘potentially fatal’ routes up Ben Nevis, say mountain charities
- Pregnant man and multiracial handshake emojis approved for launch
- Making coffins, giving shelter: volunteers step in as Covid overwhelms Indonesia
- Coronavirus live news: WHO chief calls on China ‘to be transparent, open and cooperate’; record cases in Thailand
- How do we keep each other safe when England’s ‘freedom day’ dawns?
- Summer chaos predicted as 1.6m in England told to isolate in a week
- ‘Gender is a performance’: Scotland’s first ‘drag school’ sells out
- The space race is back on – but who will win?
- Experience: I was stabbed while playing Hamlet
- Gaz Coombes: ‘It felt good that life was speeding up’
- From Zadie Smith to Donald Glover: the best storytellers in all of culture
- Dee Rees on her debut film Pariah: ‘My favourite scene is the dildo scene, honestly!’
- Actor Ruth Madeley says minicab driver took her wheelchair after row
- Fresh evidence of violence at Libyan detention centres as boats turned back
- Covid’s racial impact in US clouded by failure to collect race and ethnicity data
- State vaccination hubs should administer AstraZeneca and boost uptake on weekends, Scott Morrison says
- First Nation calls for release of school records to identify residential victims
- How public ‘apologies’ are used against domestic abuse victims in Chechnya
- Mixed messages mean a face mask muddle when law is lifted in England
- Merkel and Biden express sympathy for German flood victims – video
- Joyce Beatty arrested during voting rights protest at US Capitol – video
- Aerial footage shows flooding across Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands – video
- Oregon blaze threatens 2,000 homes as new wildfires erupt in western states – video
- Germany floods: stranded residents rescued by helicopter from rooftops – video
- 'It went so fast': villagers describe destruction as flooding hits western Germany – video
- France protests: Bastille Day clashes with police amid anger at tighter Covid rules – video
| Germany floods: Merkel voices horror at ‘catastrophe’ as death toll passes 80 Posted: 15 Jul 2021 10:53 PM PDT Angela Merkel says her 'heart goes out' to flood victims as search continues for dozens missing in disaster Devastating flooding in Germany has killed more than 80 people, with scores missing in one district alone, as chancellor Angela Merkel expressed deep sympathy for victims of a "catastrophe" whose extent will only be seen in the coming days. On Friday morning, German media reported at least 81 people had died in the two worst-hit states, Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, with 50 and at least 30 deaths respectively. Continue reading... |
| WHO chief says push to discount Covid-19 lab leak theory was ‘premature’ Posted: 16 Jul 2021 01:14 AM PDT Tedros says 'accidents happen' in labs and calls on China to be more transparent The head of the World Health Organization has acknowledged it was premature to rule out a potential link between the Covid-19 pandemic and a laboratory leak, and said he was asking China to be more transparent as scientists search for the origins of the coronavirus. In a rare departure from his usual deference to powerful member countries, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said getting access to raw data had been a challenge for the international team that travelled to China earlier this year to investigate the source of Covid-19. The first human cases were identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Continue reading... |
| Western US and Canada brace for another heatwave amid more than 70 wildfires Posted: 15 Jul 2021 06:41 PM PDT
The fourth searing heatwave in five weeks is set to strike the west of the United States and Canada this weekend, aggravating wildfires that are already ravaging an area larger than Rhode Island as drought and record-breaking temperatures tied to the climate crisis pummel the region. The impending heatwave comes as 12 states are already battling 71 active wildfires. The combined area of the blazes is about 1,553 sq miles (4,021 sq km), according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Continue reading... |
| Restoration work wipes smile off the face of Dutch vegetable seller Posted: 15 Jul 2021 10:00 PM PDT Painting reclaims former glory as English Heritage rights the wrongs of 19th-century additions At some point in the last 400 years a painting restorer probably decided the Dutch vegetable seller was far too glum and should be smiling. Now it has been put right and she is once again enigmatic. English Heritage revealed the results on Friday of a two-year conservation project to reveal the true glory of a mysterious, unsigned painting that has been in its stores for more than 60 years. Continue reading... |
| Biden and Merkel vow to defend against Russian aggression in White House meeting Posted: 15 Jul 2021 05:05 PM PDT The US president praises the German leader but reiterates his concerns about the pipeline that will run from Russia to Germany Joe Biden hosted Angela Merkel at the White House on Thursday for bilateral meetings as the outgoing German chancellor prepares to step down, in a visit that marked Biden's latest attempt to strengthen relationships with US allies. The two leaders met in the Oval Office and later held a joint press conference. Biden and Merkel vowed to work together to defend against Russian aggression and stand up to anti-democratic actions by China, and also spoke to the importance of the US-German alliance. Continue reading... |
| New Zealand farmers stage huge protest over environmental rules Posted: 15 Jul 2021 08:38 PM PDT Fears of growing urban/rural divide as workers take to tractors to protest against measures they say are unfair Thousands of farmers have descended on dozens of towns and cities across New Zealand in their tractors in a nationwide protest against a swathe of new environmental regulations. The Howl of a Protest event was tipped to be the largest of its kind for the rural sector, with motorcades expected in 51 towns and cities. Continue reading... |
| Marcus Rashford mural damage ‘not believed to be of racial nature’, say police Posted: 16 Jul 2021 02:19 AM PDT Officers investigating damage to Manchester artwork keeping open mind over motive The vandalism of a mural of England footballer Marcus Rashford was "not believed to be of a racial nature", police have said as they appealed for witnesses. The artwork was attacked hours after England's European Championship final defeat on Sunday as Rashford and fellow players Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka, suffered racist abuse on social media. Continue reading... |
| World can’t tolerate ‘premature death’ of Brazil’s democracy, says Bolsonaro rival Posted: 16 Jul 2021 02:00 AM PDT The centre-left politician Ciro Gomes tells the Guardian that Brazil is 'living through the worst government in its history' The international community must signal that it will not tolerate "the premature death of Brazilian democracy", one of Jair Bolsonaro's main rivals has said after Brazil's far-right president intensified his attacks on the South American country's electoral system. Related: Bolsonaro may have emergency surgery after hiccups persist for over 10 days Continue reading... |
| Former solicitor, 96, believed to be UK’s oldest new graduate Posted: 16 Jul 2021 01:19 AM PDT Archie White awarded fine arts degree from East Sussex College aged 96 years and 56 days A former solicitor from Hastings is believed to have become Britain's oldest new graduate after receiving a degree in fine art at the age of 96. Archie White, who retired at 92, said he was "not too bothered about being the oldest graduate or not" and had thoroughly enjoyed studying at East Sussex College. Continue reading... |
| Google Maps suggests ‘potentially fatal’ routes up Ben Nevis, say mountain charities Posted: 15 Jul 2021 04:28 PM PDT Organisations in Scotland say they have tried to contact Google about the dangers but received no reply Scottish mountaineering charities have criticised Google for suggesting routes up Ben Nevis and other mountains they say are "potentially fatal" and direct people over a cliff. The John Muir Trust, which looks after the upper reaches of the UK's highest mountain, said attempts to contact the company over the issue had been met with silence. Continue reading... |
| Pregnant man and multiracial handshake emojis approved for launch Posted: 16 Jul 2021 01:20 AM PDT Additional emojis will complete Unicode's drive to offer more variety and gender-neutral options A pregnant man, a multiracial handshake and a face that cannot bear to watch are some of the emojis that will hit devices over the next year, according to a draft list published by the Unicode Consortium, which approves icons for use. Continue reading... |
| Making coffins, giving shelter: volunteers step in as Covid overwhelms Indonesia Posted: 15 Jul 2021 11:12 PM PDT As the country becomes the epicentre of the pandemic, a growing number of volunteer groups have assembled to fill in gaps in the government response Every day, before 7am, volunteers gather in front of a house in Yogyakarta. Wearing masks and maintaining distance, they measure and cut panels of wood, smoothing the edges with sandpaper. For the past 11 days, the front yard has been turned into an emergency casket-making workshop. The coffins are painted white, and lined inside with plastic. The volunteers are lecturers, security guards, artists and police officers who set aside their time to help the community, which is being ravaged by Covid. They work until nightfall. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 16 Jul 2021 02:48 AM PDT WHO chief says 'accidents happen' in labs; Thailand cases near 10,000; first local Delta cases detected in Philippines
Indonesia reported on Friday a record increase of 1,025 deaths from Covid, bringing the country's total tally of fatalities to more than 71,000. Reuters report the Southeast Asian nation also reported 54,000 new coronavirus infections, taking the total number of cases to 2.78 million.
There's been a little bit of pushback from China, as you might expect, on the words of the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who yesterday acknowledged it was premature to rule out a potential link between the Covid-19 pandemic and a laboratory leak, and said he was asking China to be more transparent as scientists search for the origins of the coronavirus. Reuters report that at this morning's regular briefing in China, foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian, when asked about Tedros' comments, said that some data was unable to be copied or leave China as it involved personal information. Related: WHO chief says push to discount Covid-19 lab leak theory was 'premature' Continue reading... |
| How do we keep each other safe when England’s ‘freedom day’ dawns? Posted: 16 Jul 2021 02:42 AM PDT With the lifting of almost all remaining Covid restrictions confirmed for 19 July, a PHE study compares levels of risk across different activities and events It is the moment many of us have been anticipating for months, with excitement or dread: so-called 'freedom day'. The lifting of almost all remaining Covid restrictions in England from 19 July marks a turning point in our relationship with the virus, when "personal responsibility" becomes our primary means of avoiding infection. So, what should we prioritise to stay safe? A study by Public Health England (PHE) scientists provides some clues. It identifies a 30-fold difference in the likelihood of catching the virus during different activities and events. Visits to other people's houses and places that offer massages and haircuts are identified as the highest risk, while shops are the least risky. Continue reading... |
| Summer chaos predicted as 1.6m in England told to isolate in a week Posted: 15 Jul 2021 10:00 PM PDT Government says its Covid app is unlikely to be adjusted to make it less sensitive for weeks Up to 1.6 million people in England have been told to isolate in a single week, Guardian analysis has found as the government said the Covid app is unlikely to be changed for weeks. The number of new UK coronavirus cases climbed to 48,553 on Thursday – the highest since mid-January and the start of the third lockdown – with the upward curve showing no signs of abating, raising fears of a summer of chaos as businesses and households are hit by self-isolation. Sixty-three people were reported on Thursday to have died from the virus. Continue reading... |
| ‘Gender is a performance’: Scotland’s first ‘drag school’ sells out Posted: 15 Jul 2021 11:00 PM PDT Dumfries course teaches 11- to 18-year-olds how to create a persona, apply makeup and the history of drag "You can use drag to explore anything you want to," says Natalie Doidge, the organiser of what is thought to be Scotland's first "drag school" for teenagers, which opens its doors later this month after facing down controversy. "Drag isn't limited to men dressed as women … and this course opens it out to anyone who wants to try it. It's an exploration of [oneself] – especially for young people at the upper end of high school, when your life is just beginning and you're thinking about who want to be. Gender is a performance, after all." Continue reading... |
| The space race is back on – but who will win? Posted: 16 Jul 2021 02:39 AM PDT Alliances are shifting as states led by China and Russia compete with the US and tech entrepreneurs Liu Boming took in the dizzy view. Around him lay the inky vastness of space. Below was the Earth. "Wow," he said, laughing. "It's too beautiful out here." Over the next seven hours Liu and his colleague Tang Hongbo carried out China's second spacewalk, helped along by a giant robotic arm. Mission accomplished, the two taikonauts – China's astronauts – clambered back into their home for the next three months: Beijing's new space station. The core module of the station, named Tiangong, meaning "heavenly palace", was launched in April. "There will be more spacewalks. The station will keep growing," Liu said. Continue reading... |
| Experience: I was stabbed while playing Hamlet Posted: 16 Jul 2021 02:00 AM PDT The audience thought it was part of the play and gave us a round of applause. I remember thinking I was about to die When I was cast in a travelling production of Hamlet in 2011, I was very nervous – Hamlet has an awful lot of lines. But I was 24 at the time, and having a leading role was a big deal. We performed the show for six weeks without a hitch in a Dublin theatre. Then it transferred to Cork. Time was tight, which meant we didn't get to finish our technical rehearsal before opening night, which was going to be a full house: about 750 people. Continue reading... |
| Gaz Coombes: ‘It felt good that life was speeding up’ Posted: 16 Jul 2021 01:00 AM PDT As Supergrass return to festival stages, their frontman remembers his younger days, from the majesty of Spacemen 3 to love letters via mixtapes This was a big thing for me: lots of recording off the radio. I'd wait for the chart show, and I'd know that Madonna's Into the Groove was currently at No 3. I remember that pressured feeling of trying to hit record at the right time so you don't get too much of the DJ introducing the track, and I'd build up these compilations. I did my own best-ofs – the Cure: 79-82 – or call them things like Dark Trip. I'd draw stuff and then go down to my dad's office to use the photocopier and cut it all out, and print out homemade covers, getting the tracklisting really nice on the back. Continue reading... |
| From Zadie Smith to Donald Glover: the best storytellers in all of culture Posted: 16 Jul 2021 01:00 AM PDT Rappers, actors, authors – podcaster George the Poet picks his favourite spinners of yarns It was Atlanta that made me realise how great Donald Glover is. It was no longer Donald solo as a singer, rapper or comedian. He now had an ensemble to carry the story and communicate his perspective in a way that was elevating. It set the tone for the way I approached the podcast. Continue reading... |
| Dee Rees on her debut film Pariah: ‘My favourite scene is the dildo scene, honestly!’ Posted: 16 Jul 2021 12:00 AM PDT The film-maker's first movie, about a Black lesbian teenager, has made it to the Criterion Collection, a catalogue of canonical films. She discusses her characters and the pleasure of this success When Dee Rees was first approached by highbrow home entertainment company Criterion, it was Mudbound, her 2017 film, it wanted to discuss. Inclusion in the Criterion Collection on DVD and Blu-ray, with some titles streamed, is widely seen as confirmation of a film's classic status. Mudbound is Rees's most-watched film to date – approximately "20m hours of viewing", according to Netflix – and it was up for several big awards, including the Oscar for best adapted screenplay (making Rees the first Black women nominated in a that category) and best cinematography for Rachel Morrison (the first – and, to date, only – woman to be so honoured). Rees, though, had a different suggestion. "I was excited, but I was like: 'It'd be really great if Pariah were there," she says, via video call from her Harlem home. Thankfully, Criterion's curation team agreed. "It was my first film and it just was such an important film for me, y'know? And it felt, at that time in the world, culturally important … I guess there's nothing like your first." Continue reading... |
| Actor Ruth Madeley says minicab driver took her wheelchair after row Posted: 16 Jul 2021 02:30 AM PDT Bafta nominee says incident last month followed dispute outside Euston station in London Actor Ruth Madeley has told how a minicab driver took her wheelchair away after an argument outside a London train station. The Bafta nominee, who starred in the BBC One drama Years and Years, said the man refused to drop her outside Euston station's accessible entrance because heavy traffic made it "too difficult" and it would "take too long". Continue reading... |
| Fresh evidence of violence at Libyan detention centres as boats turned back Posted: 15 Jul 2021 04:07 AM PDT Amnesty International says sexual abuse and beatings rife at camps for those forcibly returned after trying to cross the Med New evidence of starvation and abuses inside migrant detention centres has been collected from migrants inside seven facilities across Libya. A report by Amnesty International comes less than a month after Médecins Sans Frontières announced it was suspending its operations at two centres in Libya because of increasing violence towards refugees and migrants. Continue reading... |
| Covid’s racial impact in US clouded by failure to collect race and ethnicity data Posted: 16 Jul 2021 02:00 AM PDT Glaring absences in US data despite disproportionate effect on Black, Latino and Native American communities The full picture of the racial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is clouded by systemic failures to collect race and ethnicity data, even in states that are leaders in promoting health equity. In California, for example, a key benchmark for reopening and allocating vaccines doesn't fully incorporate race and ethnicity data. Meanwhile, nationally there remain glaring absences in testing and hospitalization data by race and ethnicity a full year after it was shown Covid-19 had a disproportionate effect on Black, Latino and Native American communities. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 16 Jul 2021 02:46 AM PDT Prime minister said leaders discussed 'what is working' in the rollout at national cabinet, and praised Victoria for high vaccination rate Scott Morrison has encouraged states to administer AstraZeneca at mass vaccination centres and boost vaccination rates on weekends, in a sign that Australia is shifting away from its GP-led rollout model. National cabinet met on Friday as Delta strain outbreaks of Covid in greater Sydney and Melbourne placed 10 million Australians into lockdown. Continue reading... |
| First Nation calls for release of school records to identify residential victims Posted: 15 Jul 2021 11:55 AM PDT • Indigenous community seeks Canada state and church records • Report on finding of 215 unmarked graves calls for wider search The First Nations community that shocked Canada with the discovery of unmarked graves says school records will be critical in identifying victims – and that a much greater area needs to be searched to understand the true scale of the tragedy. Related: The Indigenous children who died at Canada's residential schools – podcast Continue reading... |
| How public ‘apologies’ are used against domestic abuse victims in Chechnya Posted: 15 Jul 2021 05:54 AM PDT Activists say Ramzan Kadyrov's regime uses televised confessions 'under duress' to hold back women's rights, despite changes in society Khalimat Taramova, the 22-year-old daughter of a prominent Chechen businessman, sits demurely on a velvet sofa ornately embellished in gold. She is wearing a modest dress and a headscarf. With her on the sofa are three men dressed in suits. They are appearing on Grozny TV, the state television channel of Russia's Chechen Republic. Only a couple of weeks before the programme was shown on 14 June, Taramova fled her home, where she said she was subjected to violence after going against her family's wishes. She sought help from a group of women's rights activists, the Marem project , who let her stay in a flat owned by one of its members in the neighbouring republic of Dagestan. In a video released on social media on 6 June, she pleaded for the Chechen authorities not to come looking for her. Continue reading... |
| Mixed messages mean a face mask muddle when law is lifted in England Posted: 15 Jul 2021 07:44 AM PDT No one knows for sure what will happen when the rules in England change on Monday, say scientists No wonder people are confused. When England takes the final step in the roadmap out of lockdown on Monday, wearing masks will cease to be compulsory. Yet Boris Johnson expects masks to be worn in crowded places. They will remain mandatory on London transport and some services around the country. Hospitals, GPs and other health providers can also still require patients and visitors to wear masks unless they are exempt. The muddle of rules and recommendations leaves the question open of what people will actually do. Will mask-wearing continue as caution prevails, or will people decide that dropping the law means there's no longer a need to do so? Continue reading... |
| Merkel and Biden express sympathy for German flood victims – video Posted: 16 Jul 2021 01:44 AM PDT At a meeting with Joe Biden at the White House, Angela Merkel talked of the devastating flooding in Germany that has killed more than 80 people, with scores still missing in one district alone. The German chancellor expressed her deep sympathy for victims of the 'catastrophe', the extent of which will only be seen in the coming days. On behalf of hmself and the American people, the US president also passed on his sincere condolences. On Friday morning, German media reported at least 81 people had died in the two worst-hit states, Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, with 50 and at least 30 deaths respectively. On Thursday night, authorities in the district of Ahrweiler said the death toll was expected to climb, and they were trying to trace about 1,300 missing people, although the high figure is thought to be a result of damaged mobile phone networks Continue reading... |
| Joyce Beatty arrested during voting rights protest at US Capitol – video Posted: 15 Jul 2021 07:33 PM PDT Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, a Democrat from Ohio and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, was one of nine people arrested during a voting rights protest at the US Capitol on Thursday. Beatty was participating in a protest calling for the Senate to pass a sweeping election reform bill. The bill passed the House in March but is being held up in the Senate because of a Republican filibuster. Beatty and others were arrested by Capitol police for 'demonstrating in a prohibited area on Capitol grounds', said police Continue reading... |
| Aerial footage shows flooding across Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands – video Posted: 15 Jul 2021 03:08 PM PDT Drone and helicopter footage shows the extent of flood damage in towns across Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands after heavy rainfall caused water levels to rise in large parts of western Europe. Footage from local Belgian TV station RTL shows cars submerged in water and flooded streets and shops in the small town of Esneux, on the River Ourthe, just south of Liege. In Germany 18 people died and dozens were missing around the wine-growing hub of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate state, police said, after the Ahr river that flows into the Rhine rose and brought down half a dozen houses Continue reading... |
| Oregon blaze threatens 2,000 homes as new wildfires erupt in western states – video Posted: 15 Jul 2021 01:56 PM PDT A swiftly spreading wildfire raged through drought-parched timber and brush in south-central Oregon for a ninth day on Wednesday, displacing hundreds of residents. The Bootleg fire - which has burned through more than 212,377 acres (85,945 hectares) of forest - has burned 21 homes and 54 other structures, according to state and federal authorities. Video obtained from the Oregon state fire marshal showed emergency crews up close to the fire as it burned around the Fremont-Winema National Forest, about 250 miles south of Portland Continue reading... |
| Germany floods: stranded residents rescued by helicopter from rooftops – video Posted: 15 Jul 2021 12:29 PM PDT At least 58 people have died and dozens more were missing in Germany on Thursday as swollen rivers caused by record rainfall across western Europe swept through towns and villages. Many of the victims died around the wine-growing region of Ahrweiler, in Rhineland-Palatinate state, police said, and dozens were still unaccounted for, after the Ahr river that flows into the Rhine broke its banks and brought down half a dozen houses Continue reading... |
| 'It went so fast': villagers describe destruction as flooding hits western Germany – video Posted: 15 Jul 2021 10:25 AM PDT Raging floods caused by heavy rain devastated parts of Germany and Belgium on Thursday, killing more than 40 people, destroying buildings and sweeping away vehicles. The full extent of the damage remains unclear because many villages were cut off by floodwaters and landslides Continue reading... |
| France protests: Bastille Day clashes with police amid anger at tighter Covid rules – video Posted: 15 Jul 2021 06:21 AM PDT Police have fired teargas to disperse demonstrators in Paris as thousands of people protested throughout France over new coronavirus restrictions. Protests began in the French capital on Wednesday morning as the annual military parade for Bastille Day was taking place along the Champs-Élysées, watched by Emmanuel Macron Continue reading... |
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