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- Taliban take strategic Ghazni city as Afghan army chief is replaced
- ‘Light at the end of the tunnel’: New Zealand welcomes border reopening plans
- Sex workers fighting for human rights among world’s most ‘at risk activists’
- Yayoi Kusama pumpkin sculpture washed into sea by Japan storm
- Slice of history: icing from Charles and Diana wedding cake sells for £1,850
- Turkey battles fresh disaster as floods hit country’s north
- Ex K-pop star Seungri ‘jailed over sex and gambling scandal’
- UK plan to replace fossil gas with blue hydrogen ‘may backfire’
- South Korean politicians seek to criminalise ‘semen terrorism’
- Hear be kiwis: New Zealand celebrates as distinctive cry of iconic bird returns
- Coronavirus live news: ‘mix and match’ jabs a good idea, says UK expert; New Zealand details plans to reopen border
- Google staff could see pay cut if they opt to work from home
- ACT to enter lockdown after Canberra records first locally acquired Covid case in more than a year
- ‘I’m scared of being killed’: sex worker activists speak out
- Meet Joe Biden’s secret weapon: the woman who wrangles with Congress
- Russell Tovey: ‘Queer people in my generation have section 28 in our blood’
- Prison term raises pressure on Canada and US in high-stakes China standoff
- World Elephant Day: inside Kenya’s indigenously run sanctuary for orphans
- ‘Old-style espionage’: Briton’s arrest feels like cold war throwback
- Bat on a non-slip roof: National Trust adapts manor for nocturnal residents
- Lead campaigner in People’s Vote group quits as director
- Algeria declares three days of mourning as wildfire death toll reaches 69
- Lesotho’s PM isolating with Covid as cases ‘go unrecorded’
- Josee, the Tiger and the Fish review – beautiful-looking anime takes a trip to the zoo
- Australia Covid live news updates: ACT enters lockdown as three more cases confirmed; NSW records 345 cases and two deaths
- ‘I worry my daughters will never know peace’: women flee the Taliban – again
- ‘Sometimes I have to pick up a gun’: the female Afghan governor resisting the Taliban
- Efforts to pardon Chileans imprisoned during mass protests gathers pace
- Covid-19 vaccines: the contracts, prices and profits
- Polish government’s media bill is latest move to silence its critics
- Kiwi watchers capture bird song in previously silent sites – video
- Turkey floods: Heavy rains sweep away cars and leave villages without power
- 'River Dave', 81, says he won't return to hermit lifestyle after cabin burns down – video
- Firefighters battle flames for 12 hours in worst night of southern Italy wildfires – video
| Taliban take strategic Ghazni city as Afghan army chief is replaced Posted: 12 Aug 2021 12:34 AM PDT Insurgents capture city 95 miles south of Kabul, the 10th provincial capital to fall in less than a week The Taliban have captured the strategic city of Ghazni, 95 miles (150km) south of Kabul, as they continued to tighten their grip on the Afghan capital and the country's president replaced his army chief. The insurgent group had control of the entire city on Thursday morning and had broken into a prison and released about 400 inmates, a senior local official confirmed to the Guardian. Continue reading... |
| ‘Light at the end of the tunnel’: New Zealand welcomes border reopening plans Posted: 11 Aug 2021 10:51 PM PDT Health experts warn that reopening hinges on Covid vaccine programme reaching vulnerable communities New Zealand's much-awaited, albeit cautious, roadmap for reopening its borders has given businesses and families a taste of hope for the future, though health experts warn that it is dependent on improving the country's vaccination strategy to reach vulnerable communities. The prime minister Jacinda Ardern laid out the reopening plans at a forum in Wellington on Thursday, 17 months after borders closed in March 2020. Continue reading... |
| Sex workers fighting for human rights among world’s most ‘at risk activists’ Posted: 11 Aug 2021 11:30 PM PDT Exclusive: Front Line Defenders report says rights defenders working in sex industry face 'targeted attacks' around the world Sex worker activists are among the most at risk defenders of human rights in the world, facing multiple threats and violent attacks, an extensive investigation has found. The research, published today by human rights organisation Front Line Defenders, found that their visibility as sex workers who are advocates for their communities' rights makes them more vulnerable to the violations routinely suffered by sex workers. In addition, they face unique, targeted abuse for their human rights work. Continue reading... |
| Yayoi Kusama pumpkin sculpture washed into sea by Japan storm Posted: 12 Aug 2021 01:13 AM PDT Experts consider possibility of rebuilding artist's work, which was swept off a pier near Naoshima Experts are determining whether it is possible to reconstruct one of Japan's most recognisable works of modern art after it was badly damaged during a recent tropical storm. The sculpture, a giant black and yellow polka-dotted pumpkin by the celebrated artist Yayoi Kusama, has stood at the end of a pier on the "art island" of Naoshima in the Seto inland sea since 1994. Continue reading... |
| Slice of history: icing from Charles and Diana wedding cake sells for £1,850 Posted: 11 Aug 2021 05:22 PM PDT Gerry Layton, a royal supporter from Leeds, bought the cake topping and marzipan base for his collection of memorabilia An ardent royalist has bought the topping from a slice of Prince Charles and Princess Diana's wedding cake for £1,850 ($2,565) at auction, more than 40 years after the couple married. The large piece of cake icing and marzipan base features a detailed, sugared design of the royal coat of arms in gold, red, blue and silver. It was given to Moya Smith, a member of the Queen Mother's staff, who preserved it with cling film and dated it 29 July 1981. Continue reading... |
| Turkey battles fresh disaster as floods hit country’s north Posted: 11 Aug 2021 06:32 PM PDT The floods caused by unusually heavy rains come after devastating wildfires ravaged the south of the country Heavy rains have triggered severe floods and mudslides in northern Turkey, killing at least one person and leaving others missing or injured, officials said. Helicopters scrambled to rescue people stranded on rooftops while cars were swept away in raging torrents on Wednesday. The floods hit the Black Sea coastal provinces of Bartin, Kastamonu, Sinop and Samsun. Continue reading... |
| Ex K-pop star Seungri ‘jailed over sex and gambling scandal’ Posted: 12 Aug 2021 02:05 AM PDT Former Big Bang singer reportedly convicted of arranging sex services for potential business investors A military court jailed the disgraced former K-pop star Seungri for three years on Thursday for arranging sex services and other charges stemming from a sex and gambling scandal, according to reports. The 30-year-old singer from the popular boyband Big Bang, who retired from showbusiness as the scandal mounted and later enlisted in the military, was found guilty on all nine counts against him, according to various media reports. Continue reading... |
| UK plan to replace fossil gas with blue hydrogen ‘may backfire’ Posted: 12 Aug 2021 12:13 AM PDT Academics warn 'fugitive' emissions from producing hydrogen could be 20% worse for climate than using gas The government's plan to replace fossil gas with "blue" hydrogen to help meet its climate targets could backfire after US academics found that it may lead to more emissions than using gas. In some cases blue hydrogen, which is made from fossil gas, could be up to 20% worse for the climate than using gas in homes and heavy industry, owing to the emissions that escape when gas is extracted from the ground and split to produce hydrogen. Continue reading... |
| South Korean politicians seek to criminalise ‘semen terrorism’ Posted: 11 Aug 2021 07:17 PM PDT Recent court rulings have punished men on charges of property damage rather than sexually criminal behaviour Politicians in South Korea are seeking to make amendments to existing laws in order to make "semen terrorism" a punishable sex crime. The move comes after a string of controversial court verdicts that have punished men who secretly ejaculated onto women's belongings for "property damage", and not for sexually criminal behaviour. Continue reading... |
| Hear be kiwis: New Zealand celebrates as distinctive cry of iconic bird returns Posted: 11 Aug 2021 06:17 PM PDT Kiwi watchers have recorded the sound of the bird's song at many sites that were silent just five years ago It's a frigid, early-winter night, and across the forests and farmlands of Northland, people are crouching in the dark. They've timed this night for the waning moon, so moonlight doesn't disturb any visitors. Scattered through the night, they sit, silently, and listen. The sound they're all hoping for is a high-pitched, piercing cry, or guttural croak – a sign that Aotearoa's threatened, iconic kiwi has returned to patches of forests that had fallen silent. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 12 Aug 2021 02:12 AM PDT UK adviser says he is in favour of mixing and matching for booster jabs; New Zealand to let in vaccinated travellers from low-risk countries next year
Less than a week after the Olympics came to a close, Tokyo has reported a sharp rise in coronavirus cases in the capital and a record number of severely ill patients. The city recorded 4,989 infections on Thursday - with most of those affected in their 20s - and the number with severe symptoms rose to a record high of 218, reports the Japan Times.
Russia has reported a record number of coronavirus deaths, with 808 people dying in the last 24 hours. Daily cases have declined gradually since their July peak. The country reported 21,932 new Covid cases, 2,294 of which were in Moscow. Continue reading... |
| Google staff could see pay cut if they opt to work from home Posted: 11 Aug 2021 06:49 PM PDT Pay calculator suggests workers who commute long-distance could see salary drop if they shun the office in wake of pandemic Google employees could see their pay cut if they switched to working from home permanently in the wake of the pandemic, according to a company pay calculator seen by Reuters. It is an experiment taking place across Silicon Valley, which often sets trends for other large employers. Facebook and Twitter cut pay for remote employees who moved to less expensive areas. However, Google's pay calculator tool – which allows staff to see the effects of a move – suggests remote employees, especially long-distance commuters, could experience pay cuts without moving. Continue reading... |
| ACT to enter lockdown after Canberra records first locally acquired Covid case in more than a year Posted: 11 Aug 2021 07:11 PM PDT Health authorities yet to identify the source of the new case, who spent several days in the community while infectious
The Australian Capital Territory will go into lockdown after recording a locally acquired Covid-19 case for the first time in more than a year. The chief minister, Andrew Barr, announced a seven-day lockdown from 5pm Thursday after a man in his 20s tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday morning. Continue reading... |
| ‘I’m scared of being killed’: sex worker activists speak out Posted: 11 Aug 2021 11:30 PM PDT Rights defenders describe threats and abuse while working to protect their communities A report has found that sex worker activists are among the most at risk human rights defenders in the world. Published on Thursday by Front Line Defenders following a four-year investigation, it found activists face multiple threats and violent attacks. Their visibility within their communities makes them more vulnerable to abuse, the report said. Here, sex worker activists from Tanzania, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar and El Salvador share their experiences. Continue reading... |
| Meet Joe Biden’s secret weapon: the woman who wrangles with Congress Posted: 12 Aug 2021 12:30 AM PDT Louisa Terrell, White House director of legislative, is the tip of the spear of Biden's team as she fulfils one of the most difficult jobs in a deeply divided political landscape In the early days of the Biden administration members of the new president's White House legislative affairs team had a meet-and-greet with Senate Republicans' chiefs-of-staff. At the head of this Democratic delegation was Louisa Terrell, Biden's White House director of legislative. Terrell, speaking to the audience of powerful Republican aides, laid out how she worked. She felt even in these politically polarized times compromise should be pursued. They wouldn't agree on everything, but there were deals to be had. At the same time Terrell said, according to four sources with knowledge of this meeting, her team had a job to do and planned to do it. Continue reading... |
| Russell Tovey: ‘Queer people in my generation have section 28 in our blood’ Posted: 11 Aug 2021 10:00 PM PDT As he hits the stage in Constellations, Tovey talks babies, what he'd say to the culture secretary and why he finally understands The History Boys Russell Tovey is trying to lick his elbow. It's a ritual every performer has to go through in the opening scene of Nick Payne's play Constellations – the response to a flirtily issued challenge from a stranger – but it seems particularly suited to someone whose physical presence combines goofiness and sex appeal in equal measure. The resulting ripple of laughter in a packed house feels mildly alarming after months of social distancing, but for Tovey it's a reassuring sign of a return to normal. "It hasn't felt as alien as I thought it was gonna be," he says, adding that gaps between seats could feel "like you're playing to a show that hasn't sold that well". Judging by the queues outside, there's little danger of that. We meet the next day at the bottom of a lightwell in the middle of a rehearsal studio in Covent Garden. It's technically outside, which is better for Covid, the PR assures us – a reminder that normal is, in fact, some way away. Tovey is dressed in grey chinos and a darker sweater that chime with his now more-salt-than-pepper hair. The erstwhile History Boy is turning 40 in November (he played sixth-former Rudge in the Alan Bennett hit at the age of 23), though he still somehow manages to look younger than his years. The run-up to this milestone obviously hasn't panned out as expected. In 2020 he was supposed to be on Broadway, performing in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? alongside Rupert Everett, and, as he told one interviewer, "putting the feelers out" on how to have a baby. Continue reading... |
| Prison term raises pressure on Canada and US in high-stakes China standoff Posted: 11 Aug 2021 02:44 PM PDT Jail term for Michael Spavor viewed by Canada as retaliation over Huawei finance chief's detention – is a bargain likely to be reached? Hours after a court in China sentenced Canadian Michael Spavor to 11 years in prison for espionage, Meng Wanzhou appeared in a Vancouver courtroom, as final arguments began in her fight against extradition to the United States. The two cases, while not officially linked, are at the heart a geopolitical feud between the United States and China, which has left Canada suffering collateral damage. Continue reading... |
| World Elephant Day: inside Kenya’s indigenously run sanctuary for orphans Posted: 11 Aug 2021 10:00 PM PDT Established in 2016, the Reteti sanctuary rescues and rehabilitates young elephants so that they can be reintroduced to the wild. It is the first to be owned and run by an indigenous community In the mountains of northern Kenya, a Samburu community has built a sanctuary for orphaned elephants. Reteti is the first indigenously owned and run sanctuary, which rescues and raises the orphaned elephants, and has the ultimate goal of reintroducing them to the wild. The sanctuary isn't just about saving elephants but about breaking down stereotypes and redefining wildlife management. It is the beginning of a transformation in the way the Samburu people relate to wild animals. This oasis where orphans grow up, learning to be wild so that one day they can rejoin their herds, is as much about the people as it is about the elephants. Continue reading... |
| ‘Old-style espionage’: Briton’s arrest feels like cold war throwback Posted: 11 Aug 2021 12:24 PM PDT Analysis: eastern bloc spy agencies historically would target western staff in junior roles The arrest of a British citizen in Berlin for allegedly spying for the Russians has a distinctly cold war flavour. In recent years the Kremlin has been accused of carrying out a number of spectacular cyber-operations. They include the hacking and dumping in 2016 of thousands of Democratic party emails. Moscow's audacious goal, according to Washington: to help elect Donald Trump as US president. Continue reading... |
| Bat on a non-slip roof: National Trust adapts manor for nocturnal residents Posted: 11 Aug 2021 10:00 PM PDT Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk gives tiles a special coating to stop bats slipping off as part of £6m roofing project Bats have probably been in the attics of Oxburgh Hall for centuries. But how can they return for a good day's sleep when the National Trust puts new and unfamiliar tiles on the roof? The trust on Thursday revealed the lengths to which it has gone to keep the bat residents of a historic manor house in Norfolk happy during a £6m reroofing project – including specially adapted tiles which they can happily scoot up. Continue reading... |
| Lead campaigner in People’s Vote group quits as director Posted: 11 Aug 2021 11:00 PM PDT Exclusive: Roland Rudd, pro-EU group's former chair, resigns along with director Richard Reed Roland Rudd, one of the leading campaigners in the fight to keep Britain tied closely to the EU, has stepped down as a director of the company behind the People's Vote group. In a move one insider said marked as a "sorry end" to the slow decline of the movement forged during the fierce battle over Brexit, Rudd and another director, Richard Reed, resigned and handed over the reins of PV Campaign Ltd to Mark Kieran. Continue reading... |
| Algeria declares three days of mourning as wildfire death toll reaches 69 Posted: 11 Aug 2021 01:47 PM PDT Scores of fires blaze across 17 provinces as calls made for aid convoys and Morocco and France offer help Algeria's president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, has declared three days of national mourning amid the death toll from raging wildfires in the north of the country rising to 69. The state-run news agency APS said the rash of more than 50 fires which broke out on Tuesday had claimed four more lives, bringing the total to 69, including 28 soldiers deployed to help the emergency services. Continue reading... |
| Lesotho’s PM isolating with Covid as cases ‘go unrecorded’ Posted: 12 Aug 2021 01:00 AM PDT Medics fear government is failing to gather data as 'social media conspiracies' slow vaccination take-up Lesotho's prime minister, Moeketsi Majoro, has said he is isolating after testing positive for Covid-19, as doctors warned that the true tally of cases in the country was going unrecorded. Majoro tweeted that he had taken a travel-related test that came back positive. Continue reading... |
| Josee, the Tiger and the Fish review – beautiful-looking anime takes a trip to the zoo Posted: 12 Aug 2021 01:14 AM PDT This romantic animation about a paraplegic woman's relationship with a marine biology student suffers for its sweetness This gorgeous-looking, swooningly romantic anime feels like it could win over YA audiences: it's heartfelt, unthreatening and rather lovely. Its representation of disability does feel a bit iffy in places, though: presenting a 24-year-old paraplegic woman, Josee, as fundamentally in need of fixing or rescue. Near the start she meets Tsuneo, a dreamily gorgeous diver and marine biology student, who saves her hurtling out of control down a hill in her wheelchair. She is a helpless victim – and not for the last time in the movie. When Tsuneo walks Josee back to her apartment, her grandmother hires him as a part-time carer. The job involves spending a couple of hours with Josee every day. The one rule is that he can't take her outside. At first, Tsuneo can't stand his petulant and demanding client, who calls him "my servant" and orders him around. But slowly he's smitten and develops something worryingly like a saviour complex. It turns out that Josee's overprotective grandmother has kept her confined at home to make sure she is safe. As a result, she is childish and emotionally immature, but a fiercely talented artist. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 12 Aug 2021 02:13 AM PDT ACT begins seven-day lockdown; more restrictions for NSW as state confirms 345 new local cases and two deaths; high court declines to hear Murugappan family case; Queensland reports 10 new cases; Victoria records 21 new cases. Follow all the day's news
We have sought comment from Giant Steps and NSW Health on this. In the meantime I have just spoken with Nicole Rogerson, the chief executive of Autism Awareness Australia, who says: My heart goes out to these families, I've spoken to some of them this afternoon. The worry is immense. Think of these students, they are confused, they don't necessarily understand what a pandemic is, much less why they're isolated. As much as there will be a lot of finger pointing in the coming days about how it got into this school community, the fact remains the federal government botched the vaccine roll out. This is the result. Some schools who deal with students with more severe disabilities, it's absolutely essential they remain open. State governments around Australia have understood that. It's too confusing for some students with severe disabilities to understand why they're having their routine changed, their structure taken away from them, and all of sudden being home for hours without the right supports in place. It was appropriate for the school to be open, but at some point someone is going to have ask, how did [the virus] get through the door?
Giant Steps, a school for children with autism in Gladesville, has reportedly closed after an outbreak. Giant Steps School in Sydney closed dealing with a COVID outbreak |
| ‘I worry my daughters will never know peace’: women flee the Taliban – again Posted: 11 Aug 2021 10:00 PM PDT Families fearful of what will happen to girls and young women as the Islamist militants gain ground are joining the tens of thousands of displaced Afghans It was an exceptionally hot summer morning, on 13 July, when people in Malistan district, in the southern Afghan province of Ghazni, woke up to find that the conflict that had swirled around them for weeks had reached their small town and Taliban fighters were closing in. By noon that day, 22-year-old Fatima, seven months pregnant, was seeking shelter from bullets raining down on her home in the village of Qol-e Adam, which was caught in the vicious crossfire between Taliban militants and government forces. Continue reading... |
| ‘Sometimes I have to pick up a gun’: the female Afghan governor resisting the Taliban Posted: 11 Aug 2021 06:00 AM PDT Salima Mazari, one of only three female district governors in Afghanistan, tells of her motivation to fight the militants It is early morning in Charkint, in the northern Balkh province of Afghanistan, but a meeting with the governor is already well under way to urgently assess the safety of the 30,000 people she represents. Salima Mazari has been in the job for just over three years, and for her, fighting the Taliban is nothing new, but since July she has been meeting with the commanders of her security forces every day as the Islamist militants' attacks across the country increase. As one of only three female district governors in Afghanistan, Mazari has attracted attention simply by being a woman in charge. What sets the 40-year-old apart, particularly amid the recent wave of Taliban violence, is her hands-on military leadership. "Sometimes I'm in the office in Charkint, and other times I have to pick up a gun and join the battle," she says. Continue reading... |
| Efforts to pardon Chileans imprisoned during mass protests gathers pace Posted: 11 Aug 2021 04:30 AM PDT Pardons bill gains significant support among Chileans who credit for 2019 protest for galvanising important reforms Maribel Gaete could not shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen to her son, 19-year-old Bastian Campos, when he went to a protest in Antofagasta, Chile, in November 2019. "Police were firing teargas; you couldn't breathe. As soon as he shut the door, I began to worry," recalled Gaete. Continue reading... |
| Covid-19 vaccines: the contracts, prices and profits Posted: 11 Aug 2021 09:58 AM PDT Raised charges and Covax deals on order books of Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca Two US companies, Pfizer and Moderna, have raised the prices of their Covid-19 vaccines after data from clinical trials showed their mRNA formula was more effective than cheaper vaccines from Britain's AstraZeneca and the American drugs maker Johnson & Johnson. AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson have pledged to provide their doses on a not-for-profit basis until the pandemic ends. Continue reading... |
| Polish government’s media bill is latest move to silence its critics Posted: 11 Aug 2021 07:57 AM PDT Analysis: legislation is likely to target US-owned broadcaster as press freedom continues to deteriorate In 2015, the year that the populist Law and Justice party (PiS) came to power in Poland, the country ranked 18th – its highest ever position – out of 164 countries on Reporters without Borders' (RSF) annual World Press Freedom Index. By this year it had fallen to its lowest ever position, 64th, continuing an annual slide that has left it just below Malawi and Armenia, in 62nd and 63rd, and just above Bhutan and Ivory Coast, with a classification from RSF of "problematic". Continue reading... |
| Kiwi watchers capture bird song in previously silent sites – video Posted: 11 Aug 2021 08:05 PM PDT The call of New Zealand's iconic kiwi has been captured in sites that were previously silent five years ago. The recordings come after the threatened bird has begun to return to patches of forest where the population had dropped. |
| Turkey floods: Heavy rains sweep away cars and leave villages without power Posted: 11 Aug 2021 07:08 PM PDT Floods caused by heavy rainfall hit Turkey's northern coast on Wednesday, sweeping away cars and leaving villages without power. State broadcaster TRT Haber reported one person died in the Bartin province. The flooding comes as areas in the country's south have battled wildfires for two weeks Continue reading... |
| 'River Dave', 81, says he won't return to hermit lifestyle after cabin burns down – video Posted: 11 Aug 2021 12:29 PM PDT David Lidstone, known locally as 'River Dave', lived an off-the-grid life for three decades until last week when his cabin burned down. On 15 July, Lidstone was jailed on a civil contempt sanction and was told he would be released if he agreed to leave the cabin, following a property dispute that started in 2016. The landowner, 86-year-old Leonard Giles, wanted Lidstone to leave the property. A fire destroyed Lidstone's cabin hours after he defended himself during a court hearing last Wednesday. Nevertheless, Lidstone says he is not grieving the loss of his life in isolation Continue reading... |
| Firefighters battle flames for 12 hours in worst night of southern Italy wildfires – video Posted: 11 Aug 2021 04:35 AM PDT Firefighters battled 300 different blazes across the southern regions of Italy, Calabria and Sicily in the night between Tuesday and Wednesday. Seven Canadair planes flew over the area, which has had 70% more wildfires than in the previous year, the majority breaking out in Sicily, Puglia, Calabria and Sardinia
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