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- Afghanistan likened to fall of Saigon as officials confirm Taliban take Kandahar
- Plymouth shooting: gunman suspected of killing five is named
- Britney Spears’ father agrees to step down as conservator ‘when the time is right’
- Summer of fire: blazes burn across Mediterranean with more extreme weather forecast
- Torrential rain lashes central China, leaving 21 dead
- North Korea military threats ‘intended to deflect from economic crisis’
- ‘White hat’ hacker behind $610m crypto heist returns most of money
- ‘It’s outrageous’: Trinidadian fishers film ‘half-hearted’ oil spill clean-up
- Don’t call us traitors: Cortés’s local allies defend role in toppling Aztec empire
- Amazon moves production of Lord of the Rings TV series to UK
- Warning of Covid ‘disaster’ in Japan as cases explode
- Covid live news: Thailand predicts daily infections to double by next month; record daily deaths in Russia
- Fifth of UK adults had a relationship breakdown during Covid, study finds
- Firms selling UK travellers Covid tests not charging VAT - investigation
- Dan Stevens: ‘The bodice ripper never quite goes away, I don’t think it ever will’
- ‘Can we ever return?’ Tears and heartbreak as Hongkongers leave for a new life in the UK
- Aaliyah: ‘Her sound is the R&B blueprint’
- Experience: I went to the same nightclub for 1,000 nights
- Culture shock: how loss of animals’ shared knowledge threatens their survival
- A new start after 60: I became a busker at 79¾
- Plymouth shooting: city ‘in mourning’ as gunman named – latest updates
- Israel preparing to resume settlement building in West Bank
- Britain’s imperial history deserves better than petty culture wars | Saul Dubow
- Afghanistan likened to fall of Saigon amid advance by Taliban | First Thing
- Police officer charged with murder of Kumanjayi Walker allowed to argue he was acting in ‘good faith’
- ‘For as long as we can’: reporting as an Afghan woman as the Taliban advance
- Pakistan police drop blasphemy charges against eight-year-old
- Zambia’s democracy at ‘tipping point’ as army deployed on polling day
- Sticking to a Covid-19 elimination strategy keeps New Zealand’s options open | Michael Baker, Amanda Kvalsvig and Nick Wilson
- New Zealand’s biggest contribution to the climate struggle is its positive example | Philip McKibbin
- US deserves big share of blame for Afghanistan military disaster
- Crypto fashion, glacier collapse and turtles: Thursday’s best photos
- Drone footage shows devastation following floods in Turkey – video
- New Zealand borders to remain closed until new year – video
| Afghanistan likened to fall of Saigon as officials confirm Taliban take Kandahar Posted: 12 Aug 2021 10:25 PM PDT As Lashkar Gah is also captured, US senator Mitch McConnell says exit could be 'sequel' to Vietnam humiliation Mitch McConnell has warned that America's retreat from Afghanistan risks a replay of the nation's humiliating withdrawal from Saigon at the end of the Vietnam conflict in 1975. As thousands of American soldiers were ordered back to Kabul to evacuate embassy staff amid a rapid advance by the Taliban, US Senate minority leader McConnell said the US was "careening toward a massive, predictable, and preventable disaster". Continue reading... |
| Plymouth shooting: gunman suspected of killing five is named Posted: 13 Aug 2021 02:17 AM PDT Local sources identify Jake Davison, who also killed himself in atrocity being classed as domestic incident A man suspected of killing five people, including a child, before turning a gun on himself in Plymouth has been named as Jake Davison. Two females and two males died at the scene in the Keyham area of the city, along with another male who was believed to have been the offender, Devon and Cornwall police said. Continue reading... |
| Britney Spears’ father agrees to step down as conservator ‘when the time is right’ Posted: 12 Aug 2021 02:43 PM PDT Court filings reveal that Jamie Spears had 'already been working' on transitioning to a new conservator Jamie Spears has agreed to step down from his long time role as conservator of his daughter Britney Spears' estate "when the time is right," according to court filings. Jamie Spears' departure would mark a significant development in the singer's long fight to be freed from her father's control. The developments come nearly two months after the singer spoke in court and called for an end to the controversial arrangement that has controlled her life for 13 years, giving her father and others authority over her personal life and career. Continue reading... |
| Summer of fire: blazes burn across Mediterranean with more extreme weather forecast Posted: 12 Aug 2021 08:36 PM PDT Greece, Turkey and Italy have borne the brunt of wildfires, while parts of Spain and France are on alert for very high temperatures Hundreds of fires are burning across the Mediterranean, displacing thousands and causing irreparable damage as human-made climate change causes record-breaking summer heatwaves. With very high temperatures expected in parts of Spain and France on Friday and Saturday, the crisis threatens to spread with weeks of scorching summer weather still to come across the region. Continue reading... |
| Torrential rain lashes central China, leaving 21 dead Posted: 12 Aug 2021 10:55 PM PDT Hundreds of homes destroyed and almost 6,000 people evacuated amid power cuts and landslides in Hubei province At least 21 people died as heavy downpours struck central China's Hubei province, authorities said today, weeks after record floods wreaked havoc and killed hundreds in a neighbouring province. China has been battered by unprecedented rains in recent months, extreme weather that experts say is increasingly common due to global warming. Continue reading... |
| North Korea military threats ‘intended to deflect from economic crisis’ Posted: 13 Aug 2021 02:36 AM PDT Regime looking to shift focus from domestic problems with rhetoric around US-South Korea military drills, say analysts North Korea's threat to boost its military capacity to counter hostility from Washington before joint US-South Korea military drills is intended to divert attention from its economic crisis but could lead to a resumption of missile tests, according to analysts. While there is nothing unusual about North Korean opposition to the summer exercises involving American and South Korean forces, its warning this week that Seoul and Washington faced "greater security threats" comes from a position of weakness not seen since Kim Jong-un came to power a decade ago. Continue reading... |
| ‘White hat’ hacker behind $610m crypto heist returns most of money Posted: 12 Aug 2021 07:04 PM PDT About $33m in frozen coins yet to be returned as still-unidentified hacker claims attack was carried out 'for fun' to 'expose the vulnerability' of platform Hackers behind one of the biggest-ever digital coin heists have now returned nearly all of the $610m-plus they stole, the cryptocurrency platform targeted this week by the attack says. The Poly Network platform, which was little known before Tuesday's heist, on Thursday declared the hacker on Twitter to be a "white hat", referring to ethical hackers who generally aim to expose cyber vulnerabilities, upon the return of the funds. Continue reading... |
| ‘It’s outrageous’: Trinidadian fishers film ‘half-hearted’ oil spill clean-up Posted: 13 Aug 2021 12:39 AM PDT Hundreds of spills off Gulf of Paria having 'dire' impact on local fishing in one of the most biodiverse areas of Trinidad and Tobago Hands masked in thick black oil, the fisher drips toxic globules back into the sea as he pleads with the camera, urging viewers to "share this video". In the footage, filmed onboard a small boat, Gary Aboud documents an oil spill this week in the Gulf of Paria, off the Caribbean coast of Trinidad. It is just the latest of many spills that threaten to wreak havoc on the area's vulnerable marine life and fishing industry. Continue reading... |
| Don’t call us traitors: Cortés’s local allies defend role in toppling Aztec empire Posted: 13 Aug 2021 03:00 AM PDT On the 500th anniversary of the Spanish conquest, people from Mexico's smallest state Tlaxcala say their ancestors were liberators When people from the Mexican state of Tlaxcala travel to other parts of the country, they are sometimes insulted as traitors by their compatriots. Tlaxcala is Mexico's smallest state in size, but it played an outsized role in Mexico's early history, not least when indigenous Tlaxcalans allied with Hernán Cortés' tiny band of invaders to bring down the Aztec empire. Continue reading... |
| Amazon moves production of Lord of the Rings TV series to UK Posted: 12 Aug 2021 03:51 PM PDT Show has been shot in New Zealand so far but filming will move to UK from June 2022 Amazon has made the surprise decision to move production of its $1bn-plus Lord of the Rings series from New Zealand to the UK, rejecting tens of millions of dollars in incentives to shoot the TV show in the same location as the blockbuster films. Amazon, which four years ago paid $250m to secure the TV rights to JRR Tolkien's works after founder Jeff Bezos demanded a Game of Thrones-style hit for its streaming service, chose to film the first series in New Zealand after competitive bids from around the world. Continue reading... |
| Warning of Covid ‘disaster’ in Japan as cases explode Posted: 12 Aug 2021 09:13 PM PDT Local media report Paralympics will be held without spectators as infections rise to more than 18,000 a day in wake of Olympics Health experts in Japan have said the country is confronting a coronavirus "disaster" and urged the government to take immediate action to stem a surge in infections. The warning came as local media reported that spectators will be banned from almost all events at the Paralympics, which are due to open on 24 August. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 13 Aug 2021 03:13 AM PDT Thai officials believe daily cases could rise to 45,000 within weeks; people in England and Wales 'pinged' four times more likely to have Covid; Russia reports another day of record deaths after 815 die
That's it from me for today. Thanks for reading! Handing over now to my colleague Clea.
Thailand projects that coronavirus cases in the country could double by early next month to 45,000 a day – despite lockdown measures. The country, which recorded a record 23,418 new cases today and 184 new deaths (see 05:58), is struggling to contain its worst outbreak to date. Continue reading... |
| Fifth of UK adults had a relationship breakdown during Covid, study finds Posted: 12 Aug 2021 10:00 PM PDT Young people more likely to be affected, with job losses and finances playing a possible role, say experts More than one in five adults said they experienced a complete breakdown in a relationship at home or at work in the past year, the UK's largest study of social ties during the pandemic has revealed. Younger people were more likely to have their relationships affected, with experts saying it showed the disproportionate effect of the pandemic on this age group. They added that job losses and anxiety over finances could have played a role, as well as the inability to see people outside their household during the lockdown. Continue reading... |
| Firms selling UK travellers Covid tests not charging VAT - investigation Posted: 12 Aug 2021 10:00 PM PDT Exclusive: Guardian finds companies are not adding on tax on kits for holidaymakers Companies offering Covid tests to travellers may be skewing the market by not charging VAT sales tax, a Guardian investigation has found, adding to pressure on the government to intervene and regulate pricing. Guidance from the UK's tax authority, HMRC, states Covid tests are only exempt from VAT, which amounts to 20% on the sale price, if administered by a registered health professional or if the company selling them has sales of less than £85,000 a year. Continue reading... |
| Dan Stevens: ‘The bodice ripper never quite goes away, I don’t think it ever will’ Posted: 12 Aug 2021 10:00 PM PDT Ever since his days on Downton Abbey, the actor has segued seamlessly between British period drama and high-rolling US sci-fi. He talks about playing a robot – and why he has moved on from romance When I speak to Dan Stevens, he's in Los Angeles, shooting Gaslit, a forthcoming TV show that sounds like the definitive deep dive into the Watergate scandal. It's full of big hitters – Stevens and Betty Gilpin playing John and Mo Dean, Sean Penn and Julia Roberts as John and Martha Mitchell – and is based on the podcast Slow Burn, which is marvellous, if you get a minute and want a refresh on who these people are. Ever since his years on Downton Abbey, Stevens, 39, has been very much in that glossy league, moving seamlessly between British period drama and high-rolling US sci-fi – he is the lead in Legion, Noah Hawley's epic addition to the Marvel universe – with hybrid projects in between. Blithe Spirit, for example, a British reinvention of Noël Coward's classic, with a sort of American reverence for the past, and a partly US cast. It wasn't very well-reviewed, but that's beside the point; this is an actor who makes sense in many contexts, for whom there is very high demand. That – although like everyone he says he has had "chunks of months here and there" without work – has been the story of his career since his first professional job, cast as Orlando by Peter Hall in As You Like It. Hall had spotted him in a university production of Macbeth. Continue reading... |
| ‘Can we ever return?’ Tears and heartbreak as Hongkongers leave for a new life in the UK Posted: 12 Aug 2021 09:00 PM PDT Residents fearing China's tightening grip are departing in droves, not knowing if they will be back It was a heartbreaking scene. A family get-together on a Sunday morning, not for a leisurely lunch at a traditional Chinese restaurant, but for a tearful farewell at the airport. Amid the Covid pandemic, Hong Kong airport is quiet except for twice a day, when long queues form at airlines desks for London-bound flights. Friends and families turn out in droves to see them off – grandparents hand out "lucky money" in red envelopes to grandchildren, aunts and uncles joke with children to lighten the otherwise melancholic mood. With tearful eyes, many stop for a final hug and pose for one last photo with their loved ones before passing through the departure gates. The waving continues long after they have disappeared from view. Continue reading... |
| Aaliyah: ‘Her sound is the R&B blueprint’ Posted: 13 Aug 2021 02:00 AM PDT She died in a plane crash 20 years ago – but her records still sound like the future. As they finally hit streaming services, fans and acquaintances explore Aaliyah's enduring appeal Twenty years ago this month, the R&B superstar Aaliyah died at 22 after the badly overloaded plane she and her entourage were travelling in crashed taking off from the Bahamas, where she had been filming the video to her song Rock the Boat. From the almost shockingly sparse Are You That Somebody? to the addictive robo-funk of If Your Girl Only Knew, Aaliyah's relentlessly future-focused records were as radical as pop gets. As much as she was admired by critics and other musicians at the time – and everyone from George Michael to DMX Krew tipped the hat to her startling 2000 single Try Again – Aaliyah's slim three-album catalogue continues to insinuate its way through pop. Normani's recently released Wild Side takes production inspiration from Aaliyah's 1996 single One in a Million. Mahalia and Ella Mai paid homage to her tomboy style in their video for What You Did in 2019, and rising Detroit rapper Kash Doll has called Aaliyah her idol. Frank Ocean payed oblique homage by, like Aaliyah, covering the Isley Brothers' 1976 song (At Your Best) You Are Love. Ciara has cited her as an influence, while Tinashe has credited her with bringing a "chill vibe" to R&B. Continue reading... |
| Experience: I went to the same nightclub for 1,000 nights Posted: 13 Aug 2021 02:00 AM PDT I only drink tap water when I'm there, but I get a high from the music and dancing When I was seven, there was something on television about a gay politician. My mum, with great vitriol, said: "That's disgusting." I thought, I had better not tell her about my views on the matter because she might reject me. I was too frightened. I knew I was gay then, but I didn't come out until I was 30. While I kept my sexuality a secret, music meant a lot to me: it had an allure that I felt certain men also had – but in both cases I couldn't quite express it. Continue reading... |
| Culture shock: how loss of animals’ shared knowledge threatens their survival Posted: 12 Aug 2021 11:01 PM PDT From whales to monkeys, elephants and even fruit flies, researchers say they are starting to understand animal culture just 'as it disappears before our eyes' At the peak of the whaling industry, in the late 1800s, North Atlantic right whales were slaughtered in their thousands. With each carcass hauled on to the deck, whalers were taking more than just bones and flesh out of the ocean. The slaughtered whales had unique memories of feeding grounds, hunting techniques and communication styles; knowledge acquired over centuries, passed down through the generations, and shared between peers. The critically endangered whale clings on, but much of the species' cultural knowledge is now extinct. Whales are among the many animals known to be highly cultural, says Prof Hal Whitehead, a marine biologist at Dalhousie University. "Culture is what individuals learn from each other, so that a bunch of individuals behave in a similar way," he says. Continue reading... |
| A new start after 60: I became a busker at 79¾ Posted: 12 Aug 2021 10:00 PM PDT Laurie Horam always considered himself unmusical. But when his son gave him a harmonica, the retired civil servant discovered a natural talent – and a new way to express his emotions Laurie Horam never thought of himself as musical. At home, his dad never listened to music, while one of his boarding school teachers labelled him tone deaf. But last month he started to busk. And while he accompanies on harmonica his guitar-playing friend Alan Eaton – and people clap, dance and throw coins into Alan's guitar case for the local food bank – Horam catches himself thinking: "How, at the age of 79¾, do I come to be playing music to people on the streets of Bradford?" The question preoccupies him, because, some years ago at a family gathering, one of his children said: "'You know what, Dad? It can't be coincidental. We must have got our musical abilities from you.'" He has three sons, two daughters and a stepson from two marriages; between them, they cover a range of instruments and genres from techno to rock. Horam was floored. "I said: 'There can't be music in me, because I can't play!'" Continue reading... |
| Plymouth shooting: city ‘in mourning’ as gunman named – latest updates Posted: 13 Aug 2021 03:13 AM PDT Man suspected of killing five people, including a child, before turning a gun on himself named as Jake Davison
There is a deep sense of shock and sadness following the shootings, the Bishop of Plymouth, the Rt Rev Mark O'Toole, has said. I offer my support and prayers for all those who were killed, and for their loved ones at this tragic time. Let us pray in our churches this weekend for all those affected and for the people of Plymouth.
The leader of Plymouth city council has said nothing in his "living memory" compares with the shooting on Thursday night. Nick Kelly told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he will wait for police to give further details. But he added: What we do know though is, tragically, six people have lost their lives. Although we are a major city, we just don't have crime, and certainly nothing like this in my living memory has ever happened in our city. Anybody witnessing that, we want to give the relevant support now and in the near future because, as I say, this just does not happen, thankfully, in our country but certainly not in Plymouth, so we are deeply shocked, upset, and we are in a state of mourning in Plymouth. Continue reading... |
| Israel preparing to resume settlement building in West Bank Posted: 12 Aug 2021 07:15 AM PDT Minister says there are plans for 2,000 new housing units for Jewish settlers in Palestinian territories Israel is preparing to resume settlement building in the occupied West Bank after a hiatus of almost a year, the country's defence minister has said. A planning council committee is expected to meet next week to approve 2,000 new housing units for Jewish settlers in the Palestinian territories, Benny Gantz said on Wednesday, as well as about 1,000 units for Palestinians living in the West Bank's Area C, which is under Israeli military control. Continue reading... |
| Britain’s imperial history deserves better than petty culture wars | Saul Dubow Posted: 13 Aug 2021 03:00 AM PDT Newcastle council is re-examining Britain's colonial past by adding context to its Boer war memorial. It is right to do so Newcastle city council's decision to add two plaques to its memorial to the Boer war of 1899-1902 has triggered a feverish reaction. One plaque will contextualise the colonial history of the war; the other will reflect the views of local residents. No sooner was the change announced than the right's "whack-a-woke" culture warriors descended upon the city. But the council's engagement with the legacy of the Boer war – and Britain's blood-soaked role in it – should be welcomed by anyone who values serious and honest engagement with history. The monument in question lists the names of 370 fallen soldiers from the north-east, participants in a war in which more than 20,000 imperial combatants died and many more suffered. It is only one of many similar monuments that shape Britain's urban landscape. Some celebrate military heroes; others, such as the one in Newcastle, focus more on ordinary soldiers and volunteers. It features a figure symbolising Northumbria gesturing upwards towards a beneficent winged statue of Victory; to locals it is known as the "Mucky Angel" – as clear an indication as any that the meanings of public statues change over time, not least when they hide in plain sight. Continue reading... |
| Afghanistan likened to fall of Saigon amid advance by Taliban | First Thing Posted: 13 Aug 2021 03:16 AM PDT Thousands of American soldiers ordered back to Kabul to evacuate embassy staff. Plus Britney Spears's father agrees to step down as conservator Good morning. The situation in Afghanistan has been likened to the fall of Saigon, as officials confirmed on Friday that the Taliban had captured the country's second-biggest city, Kandahar, as well as Lashkar Gah in the south. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 13 Aug 2021 03:17 AM PDT A Northern Territory supreme court ruling will allow Zachary Rolfe to argue he is immune from criminal liability under a clause in NT law A jury could potentially find that a Northern Territory police officer accused of murdering a young Indigenous man during an outback arrest is immune from criminal liability, judges have ruled. Constable Zachary Rolfe, 29, shot Kumanjayi Walker, 19, in the remote community of Yuendumu in November 2019, according to assumed facts released by the NT supreme court. Continue reading... |
| ‘For as long as we can’: reporting as an Afghan woman as the Taliban advance Posted: 12 Aug 2021 06:25 AM PDT A collective of female journalists are battling to make women's voices heard as the Islamist militants tighten their grip on the country Despite years of development, investment and progress in the Afghan media industry, 28-year-old Zahra Joya often found she was the only woman in a newsroom. "It was a lonely space, dominated by men who made the decisions about which stories were important, and which were not," she says. Joya, who is from the persecuted Hazara community, felt she faced discrimination because of her ethnicity and sex. "There were so few women journalists in Kabul," she says. "There would hardly be women reporters covering political events or press conferences even though these stories affect us greatly." Continue reading... |
| Pakistan police drop blasphemy charges against eight-year-old Posted: 12 Aug 2021 05:17 AM PDT Hindu boy, accused of urinating in madrassa library, was youngest Pakistani to be charged for the crime Police in Pakistan have dropped blasphemy charges against an eight-year-old Hindu boy after media and government pressure over his arrest. The boy, the youngest Pakistani ever to be charged with the crime, was accused of intentionally urinating on a carpet in the library of a madrassa, where religious books were kept, in July. Continue reading... |
| Zambia’s democracy at ‘tipping point’ as army deployed on polling day Posted: 12 Aug 2021 05:04 AM PDT Fears grow that military presence and alleged restrictions on opposition campaign could tarnish reputation for fair elections As Zambia goes to the polls today, fears are growing that political meddling in the process could push its long-treasured democracy towards a "tipping point". Zambia has long been considered a model of democracy for its neighbours. But today's vote has been accompanied by a military deployment, while the run-up to the election has been marred by political violence and restrictions on opposition campaigning, analysts and human rights monitors have said. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 12 Aug 2021 09:14 PM PDT The approach buys the country time to get a better understanding of the virus' impact on people's long-term health and on children Aotearoa New Zealand's new national strategy for loosening border restrictions closely follows scientific advice from an expert panel that was specifically asked to advise on the future of New Zealand's elimination strategy and phased loosening of border controls. Covid-19 elimination has been the dominant strategy for a number of jurisdictions across the Asia-Pacific region, including New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Australia. This approach contrasts with the suppression and mitigation strategies of Europe and North America. Continue reading... |
| New Zealand’s biggest contribution to the climate struggle is its positive example | Philip McKibbin Posted: 12 Aug 2021 05:20 PM PDT Suggesting that cutting New Zealand's emissions won't make any difference on a global scale is an argument that misses the point Should New Zealand hold itself to its greenhouse gas emissions targets? "Of course!" you may be thinking – and you wouldn't be the only one. There is widespread support for climate action in Aotearoa. It led to record demonstrations in 2019, which saw 170,000 people striking, and the government is currently working on a plan in response to a recent report from the Climate Change Commission. Still, some New Zealanders seem to think otherwise, arguing that we are already doing enough. Continue reading... |
| US deserves big share of blame for Afghanistan military disaster Posted: 12 Aug 2021 12:37 PM PDT Analysis: White House accused of unfairly pointing finger at Afghan military after decades of mismanaging war effort As one provincial capital after another has fallen to the Taliban, the message from Washington to the Afghans facing the onslaught has been that their survival is in their own hands. "They've got to fight for themselves, fight for their nation," Joe Biden said. Jen Psaki, the White House spokeswoman, added: "They have what they need. What they need to determine is whether they have the political will to fight back." Continue reading... |
| Crypto fashion, glacier collapse and turtles: Thursday’s best photos Posted: 12 Aug 2021 04:48 AM PDT The Guardian's picture editors select photo highlights from around the world Continue reading... |
| Drone footage shows devastation following floods in Turkey – video Posted: 12 Aug 2021 04:01 AM PDT Heavy rains have triggered severe floods and mudslides in northern Turkey, killing at least one person and leaving others missing or injured. Turkey has been grappling with drought and a rapid succession of natural disasters that scientists believe are becoming more frequent and violent because of the climate crisis. The floods hit the Black Sea coastal provinces of Bartin, Kastamonu, Sinop and Samsun Continue reading... |
| New Zealand borders to remain closed until new year – video Posted: 11 Aug 2021 11:21 PM PDT New Zealand, which has stamped out coronavirus, plans to cautiously reopen its borders to international travellers early next year. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said the government planned to follow the advice of experts and maintain the elimination strategy. She said borders would not reopen until after New Zealand's vaccine rollout was completed at the end of the year. About 29% of New Zealanders have received one dose of the vaccine and 17% are fully vaccinated Continue reading... |
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