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- Afghanistan: Taliban enter outskirts of Kabul but say they have no plans to take capital ‘by force’ – live updates
- At least 20 killed and 79 injured in fuel tank explosion in Lebanon
- Among ruins of bombed city towers, Gazans still reel from shock and pain
- Hong Kong group behind major pro-democracy protests disbands amid police pressure
- Japan floods: death toll grows as rain triggers fresh landslides
- British man accused of spying for Russia will not be extradited from Germany
- Expulsions lead BBC to fear for reporters in authoritarian regimes
- At least 304 dead as Haiti struck by 7.2-magnitude earthquake
- From hero of Hotel Rwanda to dissident facing life in prison
- Cybersleuths find men who allegedly attacked officer during US Capitol riot
- New Covid variants ‘would set us back a year’, experts warn UK government
- The Texas Covid crisis worsens – why is the governor resisting masks?
- Australia secures 1m Pfizer vaccine doses from Poland, with half earmarked for Sydney Covid hotspots
- Interoception: the hidden sense that shapes wellbeing
- It’s now or never: Scientists warn time of reckoning has come for the planet
- Afghan women’s defiance and despair: ‘I never thought I’d have to wear a burqa. My identity will be lost’
- Cashed out: a fond farewell to coins and notes
- Incel ideology: a new blurry form of extremism incubated online
- ‘Please cancel me!’: Michael Rapaport on public feuds, racism rows and hip-hop attitude
- Democrats’ divisions could still derail infrastructure bills
- Australia secures Pfizer doses from Poland as Victoria chases mystery cases – as it happened
- Rugby, racism and the battle for the soul of Aotearoa New Zealand | John Minto
- Numerous deaths as earthquake causes widespread damage in Haiti – video
- Heavy rain triggers floods and landslides in Japan – video
| Posted: 15 Aug 2021 02:30 AM PDT Taliban say they have no plans to take Kabul 'by force' as they enter outskirts of capital and US embassy begins evacuation
Reuters: Afghan's acting interior minister says the transition will take place peacefully with security forces remaining in place to "ensure Kabul's security". CNN report that the administration will "likely" contain senior Taliban figures along with some remnants of the Ghani administration.
A Taliban spokesman said earlier that militants are "awaiting a peaceful transfer of Kabul city" after they entered the capital's outskirts. Suhail Shaheen made the comment to Qatar's Al-Jazeera English satellite news channel after Afghan officials said the Taliban were in the districts of Kalakan, Qarabagh and Paghman in the capital. Continue reading... |
| At least 20 killed and 79 injured in fuel tank explosion in Lebanon Posted: 14 Aug 2021 11:48 PM PDT Hospitals were reportedly turning away burns victims after the blast at a storage tank that had been confiscated by the army At least 20 people were killed and 79 others injured when a fuel tank exploded in Lebanon's northern region of Akkar, the Red Cross said on Sunday. The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear. Continue reading... |
| Among ruins of bombed city towers, Gazans still reel from shock and pain Posted: 15 Aug 2021 12:00 AM PDT Three months on from the devastating conflict, little has been rebuilt of the bombed high-rises that were homes and offices Four years ago, Jehad Judah was pleased to be able to afford to buy his family a flat in al-Jalaa, a 14-storey building in downtown Gaza City. The upscale tower block was home to about 700 people as well as lawyers, computer software businesses and journalism bureaus belonging to the Associated Press of the US and Qatar's Al Jazeera. The 54-year-old bespectacled civil servant spent the first 30 years of his life living in the jumble of breeze-block housing of a nearby refugee camp. After he met his wife in 2001, the couple moved to Gaza to start a family. The Israeli and Egyptian blockade of the strip which came along a few years later made life in the city hard, but al-Jalaa still offered a decent standard of living, he said. Continue reading... |
| Hong Kong group behind major pro-democracy protests disbands amid police pressure Posted: 14 Aug 2021 11:01 PM PDT End of Civil Human Rights Front comes days after police suggested its past rallies may have violated national security law A major civil society group that was behind some of Hong Kong's biggest protests has disbanded under increasing pressure from police. The Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) announced its closure on Sunday, saying no members were willing to perform secretariat duties after its convenor, Figo Chan Ho-wun, was jailed for 18 months over a 2019 rally. Continue reading... |
| Japan floods: death toll grows as rain triggers fresh landslides Posted: 14 Aug 2021 09:55 PM PDT Three people were presumed dead after a mudslide swept away a house in Okaya City, as millions have been urged to evacuate Torrential rain triggered a mudslide and more floods across Japan on Sunday, leaving three people presumed dead and forcing the evacuation of dozens of residents. A mudslide early Sunday hit a house in Okaya City in the central Japanese prefecture of Nagano, burying eight residents. Three of the people were presumed dead when rescue workers found them, and two others were injured, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. The other three people were safely rescued. Continue reading... |
| British man accused of spying for Russia will not be extradited from Germany Posted: 15 Aug 2021 01:45 AM PDT Counter-espionage laws too weak to deal with spies acting against British interests The British national accused of selling secrets to Russia will not be extradited back home to face justice despite the seriousness of the claims. Britain's "archaic" counter-espionage laws have been exposed, say sources, by the arrest of David Smith, 57, a security guard contracted to the Berlin embassy. They say there is little point in bringing him home because the current legislation is too weak to deal with spies acting against British interests. Continue reading... |
| Expulsions lead BBC to fear for reporters in authoritarian regimes Posted: 15 Aug 2021 01:30 AM PDT Broadcaster says relations with China and Russia are fraught as its correspondent Sarah Rainsford is forced out of Moscow BBC news executives vowed on Saturday night to continue to report from Russia and China despite growing fears that both countries are becoming increasingly difficult to cover. After a surprise Russian move last week that will force correspondent Sarah Rainsford permanently out of Moscow at the end of the month, a senior figure in BBC news said that Russia's decision not to renew her visa marks a new low in relations. "Efforts are being made to keep communications open but the feeling is that Sarah is sadly right when she says she doesn't see Russia changing its mind," he said. Continue reading... |
| At least 304 dead as Haiti struck by 7.2-magnitude earthquake Posted: 14 Aug 2021 03:51 PM PDT Prime minister declares month-long state of emergency after earthquake felt across the Caribbean At least 304 people have died, with 1,800 injured and hundreds missing after Haiti was struck by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that reduced churches, hotels and homes to rubble, in the latest tragedy to hit a Caribbean nation already mired in profound humanitarian and political crises and still reeling from the recent assassination of its president. The earthquake on Saturday, which struck the country's south-west at 8.29am local time, was felt across the Caribbean and rekindled painful memories of the devastating 2010 quake that killed more than 200,000 people. The prime minister, Ariel Henry, has declared a month-long state of emergency. Continue reading... |
| From hero of Hotel Rwanda to dissident facing life in prison Posted: 14 Aug 2021 11:15 PM PDT Supporters of Paul Rusesabagina, a high-profile critic of Paul Kagame, say his only crime was to stand up to the president Before history began to be rewritten, the hotel manager and the rebel leader were hailed as heroes of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Paul Rusesabagina, whose story of sheltering Tutsis from machete-wielding Hutu militiamen was turned into the Hollywood film Hotel Rwanda, visited the White House to receive the US presidential medal of freedom from George W Bush. Continue reading... |
| Cybersleuths find men who allegedly attacked officer during US Capitol riot Posted: 14 Aug 2021 11:23 AM PDT David Walls-Kaufman and Taylor F Taranto appeared to target Jeffrey Smith because his eyes and face were vulnerable, suit says A group of cybersleuths have tracked down two men who allegedly attacked police officer Jeffrey Smith at the US Capitol during the 6 January insurrection, leaving him with injuries that have been linked to his death days later. In a new complaint, attorney David P Weber – who represents Smith's widow, Erin – wrote that David Walls-Kaufman and and Taylor F Taranto appeared to specifically target Smith because his eyes and face were vulnerable. Continue reading...This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| New Covid variants ‘would set us back a year’, experts warn UK government Posted: 14 Aug 2021 04:01 PM PDT Vaccine-beating variant is 'realistic possibility', say scientists, amid calls for contingency plans to be revealed Ministers are being pressed to reveal what contingency plans are in place to deal with a future Covid variant that evades current vaccines, amid warnings from scientific advisers that such an outcome could set the battle against the pandemic back a year or more. Recent papers produced by the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) have suggested that the arrival of a variant that evades vaccines is a "realistic possibility". Sage backed continued work on new vaccines that reduce infection and transmission more than current jabs, the creation of more vaccine-production facilities in the UK and lab-based studies to predict evolution of variants. Continue reading... |
| The Texas Covid crisis worsens – why is the governor resisting masks? Posted: 15 Aug 2021 01:00 AM PDT Greg Abbott is turning to out-of-state medics to help – but has expressly prohibited from requiring masks or vaccines On Tuesday afternoon, a steady stream of customers flowed into Austin's famed music store, Waterloo Records. Aisle after aisle, everyone wore masks. No mask, no vinyl. Related: Texas and Florida accounted for nearly 40% of US Covid hospitalizations last week Continue reading... |
| Australia secures 1m Pfizer vaccine doses from Poland, with half earmarked for Sydney Covid hotspots Posted: 14 Aug 2021 09:29 PM PDT 530,000 of the new doses to go to 20-to-39-year-olds living in the 12 hotspot LGAs as NSW struggles to contain outbreak
One million additional doses of the Pfizer vaccine are on the way to Australia, after the Polish government answered the Morrison government's international pleas for help and as New South Wales authorities struggle to contain the state's Covid outbreak. A total of 530,000 of the new doses, due to arrive in Australia late on Sunday, have been quarantined for use in NSW for 20-to-39-year-olds living in the 12 hotspot Sydney local government areas. Continue reading... |
| Interoception: the hidden sense that shapes wellbeing Posted: 15 Aug 2021 12:00 AM PDT There's growing evidence that signals sent from our internal organs to the brain play a major role in regulating emotions and fending off anxiety and depression If you're sitting in a safe and comfortable position, close your eyes and try to feel your heart beating in your chest. Can you, without moving your hands to take your pulse, feel each movement and count its rhythm? Or do you struggle to detect anything at all? This simple test is just one way to assess your "interoception" – your brain's perception of your body's state, transmitted from receptors on all your internal organs. Interoception may be less well known than the "outward facing" senses such as sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell, but it has enormous consequences for your wellbeing. Scientists have shown that our sensitivity to interoceptive signals can determine our capacity to regulate our emotions, and our subsequent susceptibility to mental health problems such as anxiety and depression. Continue reading... |
| It’s now or never: Scientists warn time of reckoning has come for the planet Posted: 15 Aug 2021 12:00 AM PDT The IPCC is unequivocal: we must take urgent action to curb global heating and prevent catastrophe. Will our policymakers and the Cop26 conference be up to the task? At the end of the 60s sci-fi classic, The Day the Earth Caught Fire, the camera pans across the Daily Express case room to a front page proof hanging on a wall. "Earth Saved", screams the headline. The camera pans. "Earth Doomed", announces the proof beside it. The head printer looks baffled. Which page will he be told to select? We never find out, for the film concludes without revealing the fate of our planet whose rotation has been sent spiralling out of control by simultaneous Soviet and US atom bomb tests. All we know is that Earth's fate hangs in the balance thanks to human stupidity. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 14 Aug 2021 11:00 PM PDT As city after city falls to the Taliban, women fear that the freedoms won since 2001 will be crushed In a market in Kabul, Aref is doing a booming trade. At first glance, the walls of his shop seem to be curtained in folds of blue fabric. On closer inspection, dozens and dozens of blue burqas hang like spectres from hooks on the wall. As the Taliban close in on Kabul, women inside the city are getting ready for what may be coming. "Before, most of our customers were from the provinces," says Aref. "Now it is city women who are buying them." Continue reading... |
| Cashed out: a fond farewell to coins and notes Posted: 15 Aug 2021 12:00 AM PDT If you're struggling to recall the last time you handled cash, you're not alone. As we click and tap our way to a digital world, Emma Beddington asks if we'll miss the pound in our pocket when it's gone What's in your wallet? Do you even know where it is? In March last year I stuck a bank card in my pocket; since then, I've pretty much given up on the card, too. For the purposes of this exercise, I found and checked my wallet: there's a £5 note I accidentally ripped in half years ago, folded up very small, plus 38p. "The £20 I've had since I was sent home from work on 27 March 2020," says one friend, fairly typically. "The same £10 I've had in my purse for over a year." "£10.70 – the last of the £50 I took out at the beginning of first lockdown." And when did you last use cash? For me, it was a cucumber plant (£1) two months ago. The plant guy is one of the few hold-outs among the off-grid types at the local "food circle" market – every kale-selling hippy has a sleek contactless terminal. We keep coins for supermarket trolleys, occasional parking, and some window cleaners are wedded to cash. These and tipping – many of us don't trust big companies to distribute digital tips fairly, with some justification – are the few remaining pockets of semi- consistent cash use among my friends and acquaintances. Continue reading... |
| Incel ideology: a new blurry form of extremism incubated online Posted: 14 Aug 2021 10:15 PM PDT Analysis: The Plymouth shootings heralded a new type of terrorist threat, but what hasn't changed is the socially isolated individuals behind it For several years, those whose job description includes making the nation safe from terrorism have been documenting something novel and quite chaotic. Thursday's murderous rampage on the streets of Plymouth merely confirmed the new terror threat has arrived. The traditional silos of far right and Islamist extremism are disappearing. Instead, the security services are monitoring individuals who have gone for a mixed approach to extremist ideologies, able to accommodate the views of Tommy Robinson alongside Osama bin Laden, often adding a layer of conspiracy theory and fantastical tropes for good measure. Individuals who jump casually between fascist dogma, Islamism or misogyny are increasingly cropping up on the radar of intelligence agencies. Continue reading... |
| ‘Please cancel me!’: Michael Rapaport on public feuds, racism rows and hip-hop attitude Posted: 15 Aug 2021 01:00 AM PDT He's the actor turned sports commentator whose remarks are never far from a controversy. Will he ever watch his words? Michael Rapaport does not want to lose his cool. And for most of our otherwise pleasant and meandering visit over Zoom in June, he doesn't. Until Kevin Durant's name comes up. Back in April, Rapaport tweeted screenshots of a private Instagram exchange with the Brooklyn Nets swingman that came after Rapaport criticised one of Durant's post-game interviews. In it, the 11-time NBA All-Star unleashes a fusillade of profane insults – leaning on homophobic and misogynistic language as hard as he does undersized defenders on the low block – before invoking Rapaport's wife and challenging him to a fight. Continue reading... |
| Democrats’ divisions could still derail infrastructure bills Posted: 15 Aug 2021 02:00 AM PDT Pelosi and Schumer pledging to follow two-track strategy to pass a $3.5tn reconciliation bill first Joe Biden's economic vision has taken a major step toward becoming reality after the US Senate passed two infrastructure measures, but widening political divisions within the Democratic party could yet derail the entire legislative package. The Senate last week advanced a sprawling $3.5tn budget blueprint for "soft" infrastructure projects to tackle climate change and health care, a day after approving a $1tr bipartisan infrastructure bill to rebuild the nation's crumbling roads and bridges. Continue reading... |
| Australia secures Pfizer doses from Poland as Victoria chases mystery cases – as it happened Posted: 15 Aug 2021 12:47 AM PDT 12 Sydney LGAs to get half of the one million extra Pfizer doses secured from Poland; rapid antigen testing to be trialled in some Sydney aged care homes. This blog is now closed
We'll leave it there for now. Here are today's main developments:
Police are cracking down on large gatherings in breach of Victoria's lockdown restrictions, reports AAP. In the inner city, dozens congregated for a takeaway drink pub crawl event on the streets of Richmond on Saturday, while in Northcote about 200 people gathered for a street party. Continue reading... |
| Rugby, racism and the battle for the soul of Aotearoa New Zealand | John Minto Posted: 14 Aug 2021 04:27 PM PDT The Springboks' tour and the protests that ensued 40 years ago helped set the fight for Māori rights on a stronger path The 1981 Springbok rugby tour of New Zealand will always have a special place in any narrative about the international fight against apartheid in South Africa. The protests against the Springboks reverberated around the world – delivering a savage psychological blow to South Africa's white regime while giving a resounding boost to the oppressed majority. Continue reading... |
| Numerous deaths as earthquake causes widespread damage in Haiti – video Posted: 14 Aug 2021 11:24 AM PDT Haiti's prime minister, Ariel Henry, has said numerous lives have been lost after the Caribbean country was struck by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that caused significant damage to buildings and infrastructure.
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| Heavy rain triggers floods and landslides in Japan – video Posted: 14 Aug 2021 06:51 AM PDT More than a million people have been urged to seek shelter as torrential rain triggered floods and landslides in western Japan, leaving at least one dead and two missing. Scientists say the climate crisis is intensifying the risk of heavy rain in Japan and elsewhere, because a warmer atmosphere holds more water Continue reading... |
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