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- US troops start to arrive for Afghanistan evacuation as Taliban close in on Kabul
- Plymouth shooting: police reinstated gunman’s firearms licence last month
- Turkey flooding death toll reaches 38 as Erdoğan tours disaster zone
- Banksy confirms he is behind British seaside ‘spraycation’ artworks
- Bollywood’s Kareena Kapoor subject to online abuse over baby’s name
- UN ‘gravely concerned’ by reports of mass rape in DRC
- UK dog owners warned about thieves staking out parks and luring puppies
- Washington state confirms first live ‘murder hornet’ sighting of the year
- Former model Carré Sutton sues Gérald Marie over rape accusation
- Well-preserved 28,000-year-old lion cub found in Siberian permafrost
- Wisconsin says hunters can kill 300 wolves this fall against biologists’ advice
- Coronavirus live news: New South Wales goes into lockdown; cost of NHS Covid tests for UK arrivals reduced
- Republican leaders fiddle while Covid burns through their own supporters
- ‘This is a public health issue’: can Covid-era music festivals ever be safe?
- Drug firms poised to make billions of dollars from Covid booster jabs
- Modesty pouches and masturbation montages: the making of Sex Education
- ‘I can’t do it’: Portland residents battle grueling heat in unprecedented summer
- Summer in the city: Lauren Oyler on a bike accident in Berlin
- Take risks and tell the truth: how to write a great short story
- ‘We can’t go back to normal’: The US had deep inequalities before Covid. These women are fighting to make the recovery equitable
- Blind date: ‘I had to attack my oyster with a knife’
- Belarus repression and the Taliban advance: human rights this fortnight – in pictures
- NSW announces new measures as AMA says health system ‘can no longer manage’ – as it happened
- ‘Maestro of humanity’: Italian surgeon Gino Strada dies at 73
- ‘Nowhere to go’: divorced Afghan women in peril as the Taliban close in
- Drone footage shows aftermath of Evia wildfires in Greece – video
- Outraged fishers show oil spill 'like porridge' in Trinidad sea – video
| US troops start to arrive for Afghanistan evacuation as Taliban close in on Kabul Posted: 13 Aug 2021 10:03 PM PDT Thousands of western nationals and vulnerable Afghans to be airlifted out of Kabul as Taliban launch major assault on northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif US troops have begun arriving in Afghanistan to help evacuate thousands of people, including embassy staff, and Afghans and their families who worked for them as a sweeping Taliban offensive draws ever nearer to Kabul. Diplomats and nationals from a host of western countries are scrambling to leave the capital, with insurgent fighters now camped just 50km (30 miles) away after a campaign that has seen provincial capitals swiftly fall. Continue reading... |
| Plymouth shooting: police reinstated gunman’s firearms licence last month Posted: 13 Aug 2021 11:31 AM PDT Jake Davison had licence revoked in December but it was restored after he attended anger management course A gunman who killed his mother and four passersby, including a three-year-old girl, had his firearms licence revoked in December, but police reinstated it last month after he attended an anger management course. Police will face an investigation over their dealings with Jake Davison, 22, who expressed sympathy for the "incel" movement and a keen interest in mass shootings. One resident from Plymouth, where the killing spree took place, said Davison's family had sought treatment for his mental health issues. Continue reading... |
| Turkey flooding death toll reaches 38 as Erdoğan tours disaster zone Posted: 13 Aug 2021 07:04 PM PDT Rescuers sift through rubble for victims and survivors as country reels from floods and wildfires The death toll from Turkey's flash floods has risen to 38 as emergency crews searched for more victims and survivors in the devastated Black Sea region just as the country was gaining control over hundreds of wildfires. The health minister, Fahrettin Koca, announced on Twitter late on Friday that 32 people died in Kastamonu province, along the Black Sea, and six in the neighbouring area of Sinop. The toll was also reported by the government's disaster agency AFAD. Continue reading... |
| Banksy confirms he is behind British seaside ‘spraycation’ artworks Posted: 13 Aug 2021 06:00 PM PDT Anonymous artist posts Instagram video charting his coastal tour in an ageing camper van Banksy has confirmed that he is indeed the author of a number of works that have appeared recently in seaside towns on the UK east coast. An Instagram video clip, just over three minutes long called "A Great British Spraycation", shows the elusive artist taking a summer road trip in a beaten-up camper van with cans of spray paint stashed inside a cooler. Continue reading... |
| Bollywood’s Kareena Kapoor subject to online abuse over baby’s name Posted: 13 Aug 2021 11:01 PM PDT Supporters say attacks over choice of name similar to 17th-century Muslim Mughal emperor rooted in prejudice against inter-faith marriage Bollywood star Kareena Kapoor has received abuse online from extremists over her new baby's name. Kapoor has been attacked on social media for calling her second son Jehangir, the imperial name of the 17th-century Mughal emperor, which means "conqueror of the world". Kapoor, a Hindu, and her husband, Saif Ali Khan, a Muslim and also a Bollywood star, have faced abuse for their marriage. Continue reading... |
| UN ‘gravely concerned’ by reports of mass rape in DRC Posted: 13 Aug 2021 10:27 AM PDT Hundreds of sexual assaults reported in south-eastern Tanganyika province as armed groups fight over goldmines The UN has raised the alarm over widespread, systematic sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), saying there have been reports of armed groups carrying out mass rape. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN refugee agency, said its staff had heard horrific testimonies from forcibly displaced people in south-eastern Tanganyika province. Continue reading... |
| UK dog owners warned about thieves staking out parks and luring puppies Posted: 13 Aug 2021 11:00 PM PDT Blue Cross cautions about black market for popular breeds as government reportedly considers new offence of pet abduction Stalking parks in affluent areas and luring puppies out of gardens with treats are among the methods dog thieves are using, campaigners have said, amid suggestions the government is preparing to clamp down on pet abductions. Criminals mug dog-walkers for their pets and raid boarding kennels in an effort to steal in-demand breeds, whose price tags have soared during the pandemic. They are also on the look out for pets that have not been neutered or spayed and are capable of breeding. Continue reading... |
| Washington state confirms first live ‘murder hornet’ sighting of the year Posted: 13 Aug 2021 10:48 AM PDT Asian giant hornet spotted about two miles from where first US nest was found last year Washington state has confirmed its second "murder hornet" sighting of 2021 – the first glimpse of a live one, officials reported. A statement released by the Washington state department of agriculture (WSDA) confirms the first report of a live Asian giant hornet in the state this year. Continue reading... |
| Former model Carré Sutton sues Gérald Marie over rape accusation Posted: 13 Aug 2021 10:21 AM PDT Lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court, says Sutton was 'trafficked' by ex-Elite Model boss to 'wealthy men across Europe' Ex-model Carré Sutton has filed a lawsuit alleging that Gérald Marie, the French former modeling agency boss, repeatedly raped her at his Paris apartment when she was just 17 years old. The lawsuit, filed on Thursday in Manhattan federal court, also maintains that Sutton was "trafficked by Marie to other wealthy men around Europe". Continue reading... |
| Well-preserved 28,000-year-old lion cub found in Siberian permafrost Posted: 13 Aug 2021 12:08 PM PDT Female cave lion cub named Sparta in Russia's Yakutia region may even have traces of mother's milk in it Scientists have said that an astonishingly well-preserved cave lion cub found in Siberia's permafrost lived 28,000 years ago and may even have traces of its mother's milk in it. The female cub, named Sparta, was found at the Semyuelyakh River in Russia's Yakutia region in 2018 and a second lion cub called Boris was found the year before, according to a study published in the Quaternary journal. Continue reading... |
| Wisconsin says hunters can kill 300 wolves this fall against biologists’ advice Posted: 14 Aug 2021 12:00 AM PDT • Hunters killed double limit during February breeding season • State wildlife officials recommended a 130-kill limit Wisconsin wildlife officials have authorized the killing of 300 wolves for the 2021 fall hunting season, more than doubling biologists' recommendation of a 130-wolf kill limit. Scientists with the state department of natural resources (DNR) recommended the 130 limit after the four-day hunting season in February saw hunters kill almost twice as many wolves as allotted during the wolves' breeding season, raising concerns over potential long-term ramifications for the population. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 14 Aug 2021 01:52 AM PDT Latest updates: Australia forced into snap statewide lockdown after enduring worst day of pandemic so far; price of NHS tests cut by a fifth
Egypt received its third shipment of 1.7 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine donated through the Covax vaccine sharing initiative, its health ministry said late Friday. It has now received 4.3 million AstraZeneca doses through the scheme and has also taken shipments of several other vaccines to help in its push to vaccinate 40% of its population by the year's end.
Deaths in Russia reached a new record of 819 on Saturday and it recorded 22,144 new cases. Russia has now had 169,683 deaths from Covid-19. Continue reading... |
| Republican leaders fiddle while Covid burns through their own supporters Posted: 13 Aug 2021 11:00 PM PDT Governors of states such as Florida and Texas, where the Delta variant is surging, have made masks and vaccines a partisan issue, in a lethal mix of ignorance, irrationality and nihilism The crowd gathered under a tent at the water's edge, their tables decorated with the Stars and Stripes and checked tablecloths. In their midst in Austin county, Texas, last Saturday was the state's governor, Greg Abbott, laughing with delight and playing the fiddle. With the coronavirus roaring through the state and hospitals near breaking point, comparisons with Nero fiddling while Rome burned were irresistible, although journalist Alisha Grauso pointed out on Twitter: "Nero actually enacted sweeping relief efforts to try to quell the fire and also offer his people aid in the aftermath, particularly the lower class, so Abbott is somehow worse than a Roman emperor known today as being a psychotic tyrant." Continue reading... |
| ‘This is a public health issue’: can Covid-era music festivals ever be safe? Posted: 13 Aug 2021 10:18 PM PDT After backlash over the 100,000-plus crowd of mostly unmasked faces at Chicago's Lollapalooza, festival organisers reckon with a safe way forward It could have been an image from 2019 – a sea of mostly unmasked faces, shoulder to shoulder, singing to live music in Chicago's Grant Park. The mass gathering of about 100,000 people daily for Lollapalooza 2021, one of the country's most prominent music festivals, featuring Foo Fighters and Post Malone, on the last weekend of July was a welcome sight to music lovers – and a worrisome event for public health officials as cases of the Delta variant of Covid-19 surge in the US. The photos now appear like the last naive gasp of pandemic-free fantasy; in the two weeks since Lollapalooza, which required either proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test to attend, the rapid spread of the Delta variant has forced a slate of upcoming music festivals to reassess health and safety plans at a pivotal moment for handling of the pandemic in the US. Continue reading... |
| Drug firms poised to make billions of dollars from Covid booster jabs Posted: 13 Aug 2021 09:24 AM PDT Sales of BioNTech, Moderna and Pfizer drugs could rival $6bn-a-year market for flu vaccines, say analysts The drug companies Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna are poised to make billions of dollars from Covid-19 booster jabs this autumn, with analysts estimating that sales could rival the $6bn-a-year market for seasonal flu vaccines. The UK government is expected to announce details of its booster programme in the coming days, based on formal advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, but the health secretary, Sajid Javid, has suggested the over-50s could be offered a dose along with their winter flu jabs. Continue reading... |
| Modesty pouches and masturbation montages: the making of Sex Education Posted: 14 Aug 2021 12:00 AM PDT The rude, raucous and revolutionary comedy is back for another term. The stars and creators reveal how it became one of Netflix's biggest British hits Sex Education is back with a bang. Several, in fact. The Netflix hit's third series starts with an epic sex montage. There's sex in a car; in a living room; in a variety of teenage bedrooms. There are casual encounters, committed relationships, sex together, alone, virtually, playing the drums and with a sci-fi theme. It is a symphony of shags, an opera of orgasms, all set to the thumping beat of the Rubinoos' I Think We're Alone Now. As the old saying goes, there's nowt so queer as folk, and Sex Education is determined to prove it. The Netflix comedy-drama only began in 2019, but thanks to its cross-generational, multinational appeal, it already seems like part of the cultural landscape. The funny, frank, flamboyant show about teenage life, sex and identity is an awards magnet and has made stars of its young cast, who now front fashion campaigns and appear regularly on stage and cinema screens. Gillian Anderson and Asa Butterfield star as mother and son Jean and Otis Milburn, who live in an enviable, chalet-style house overlooking the gorgeous Wye valley. Continue reading... |
| ‘I can’t do it’: Portland residents battle grueling heat in unprecedented summer Posted: 14 Aug 2021 01:00 AM PDT Streets go quiet and shops close early as temperatures pass 100F in latest Pacific north-west heatwave "No, no, no," Linda Longoria cried as she heard the weather forecast for Portland, Oregon on Friday: 100F (38C). "I can't do it. Even in the shade it's so humid." Longoria, 65, and her son are homeless and stay in hotels when they can but sometimes are forced to sleep outdoors. A lifelong resident of the city, she shook her head: "A heatwave in Portland. It's not usually like this." Continue reading... |
| Summer in the city: Lauren Oyler on a bike accident in Berlin Posted: 14 Aug 2021 01:00 AM PDT The US author and critic recalls a summer of cycling in the German capital in 2018 • Read other authors on their memorable urban summers Every summer when I come to Berlin, someone says, "Wouldn't you rather be at the beach?" No. I want to drink beer from the Späti (corner shop) and marvel at the sudden appearance of disparate architectures. But increasingly, there are heatwaves. If pressed, even these I can romanticise: everyone is carefree and dirty (even more so than usual) and doesn't work (even more so than usual). I always end up crossing Alexanderplatz on a bike thinking, this is like a desert, but more than once I've run into someone I know in the bike lane, which renders the scene even more hallucinogenic. Still, I dread the heatwaves as if they are worse than they are. "They're going to have to get air-conditioning," I mutter with the rest of the Americans. The only real respite is, unfortunately, to go to the beach. Continue reading... |
| Take risks and tell the truth: how to write a great short story Posted: 14 Aug 2021 01:00 AM PDT Drawing on writers from Anton Chekhov to Kit de Waal, Donal Ryan explores the art of writing short fiction. Plus Chris Power on the best books for budding short story writers The first story I wrote outside of school was about Irish boxer Barry McGuigan. I was 10 and I loved Barry. He'd just lost his world featherweight title to the American Steve Cruz under the hellish Nevada sun and the only thing that could mend my broken heart was a restoration of my hero's belt. Months passed and there was no talk of a rematch, so I wrote a story about it. My imagined fight was in Ireland, and I was ringside. In my story I'd arranged the whole thing. I'd even given Barry some tips on countering Steve's vicious hook. It went the distance but Barry won easily on points. He hugged Steve. His dad sang "Danny Boy". I felt as I finished my story an intense relief. The world in that moment was restful and calm. I'd created a new reality for myself, and I was able to occupy it for a while, to feel a joy I'd created by moving a biro across paper. I think of that story now every single time I sit down to write. I strive for the feeling of rightness it gave me, that feeling of peace. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 13 Aug 2021 11:00 PM PDT The links between health access, income and race have never been so visible – these doctors, experts and activists see that as an opportunity for a revolution in care Dr Ana Caskin treats underserved populations in Washington DC, in parts of the city where life expectancy is 20 years lower than it is in places that are a 20-minute train ride away. The last thing she wants when the Covid-19 pandemic finally recedes is for things to go back to "normal". Because for the people she treats that would mean limited access to doctors and therapists, healthy food and affordable, safe housing – the type of things that are now proven to help protect people from Covid-19. Continue reading... |
| Blind date: ‘I had to attack my oyster with a knife’ Posted: 13 Aug 2021 10:00 PM PDT Hal, 28, cyber security manager, meets Izzy, 28, trainee clinical psychologist What were you hoping for? |
| Belarus repression and the Taliban advance: human rights this fortnight – in pictures Posted: 13 Aug 2021 11:30 PM PDT A round-up of the coverage of the struggle for human rights and freedoms, from Thailand to Mexico Continue reading... |
| NSW announces new measures as AMA says health system ‘can no longer manage’ – as it happened Posted: 14 Aug 2021 12:56 AM PDT Premier Gladys Berejiklian announces 466 cases, four deaths and 5km limit for greater Sydney. This blog is now closed
That's where I'll leave you for tonight. It's been a big day. Let's recap what we learned.
No public holidays for Parkes... While the new PHO isn't available, interesting to note that the Govt took no time at all to cancel the public holidays impacted by the lockdown… ♂️ pic.twitter.com/5uEtFIpKiE Continue reading... |
| ‘Maestro of humanity’: Italian surgeon Gino Strada dies at 73 Posted: 13 Aug 2021 10:10 AM PDT Tributes paid to doctor whose NGO set up world-class hospitals in war zones such as Iraq, Yemen and Sudan Tributes have been paid to Gino Strada, the Italian surgeon and "maestro of humanity" known for setting up world-class hospitals for the victims of war, who has died aged 73. The medic, who in 1994 co-founded the humanitarian organisation Emergency to provide free, quality healthcare for those injured in conflict, died on Friday in France, reports said. Continue reading... |
| ‘Nowhere to go’: divorced Afghan women in peril as the Taliban close in Posted: 13 Aug 2021 04:00 AM PDT As horror stories emerge from areas that have fallen to the Islamist militants, women living alone fear they have no route of escape There's an old saying in Afghanistan that encapsulates the country's views on divorce: "A woman only leaves her father's house in the white bridal clothes, and she can only return in the white shrouds." In this deeply conservative and patriarchal society, women who defy convention and seek divorce are often disowned by their families and shunned by Afghan society. Left alone, they have to fight for basic rights, such as renting an apartment, which require the involvement or guarantees of male relatives. Continue reading... |
| Drone footage shows aftermath of Evia wildfires in Greece – video Posted: 13 Aug 2021 09:34 AM PDT Greek and foreign firefighters continued to tackle flare-ups in northern Evia from a blaze which has already burned more than 50,000 hectares of forest. Drone footage shows kilometres of charred, blackened hillsides and damaged homes in a region known for agricultural production as well as tourism Continue reading... |
| Outraged fishers show oil spill 'like porridge' in Trinidad sea – video Posted: 13 Aug 2021 06:01 AM PDT A group of fishers were outraged when they came across a large oil spill with 'clumps as thick as porridge' covering the Gulf of Paria in Trinidad. Gary Aboud and Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) documented the spill and criticised the clean-up attempt by oil company Paria Fuel Trading Company Ltd, calling for the company to contain the oil and collect it instead of dispersing it with boats. In a statement released on Monday, Paria said: 'The spill is contained, and a residual clean-up is ongoing.' The company said that absorbent booms had been strategically placed to prevent further migration of oil into the sea, but FFOS said they had not seen evidence of this. Almost 500 oil spills have been reported in the region's land and at sea since the beginning of 2018 Continue reading... |
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