World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk |
- Afghanistan live news: warnings of ‘imminent’ terror attack as evacuations enter final phase
- China’s trade halt with Lithuania over Taiwan ties sends warning to Europe
- New Zealand could be split into North and South Island bubbles, Covid modeller suggests
- Tokyo Paralympics day two: GB gold rush, wheelchair rugby and more – live!
- UK to overhaul privacy rules in post-Brexit departure from GDPR
- Hong Kong police investigate organisers of Tiananmen Square vigil
- Fukushima operators to build undersea tunnel to dump contaminated water
- Adult film star Ron Jeremy indicted on more than 30 counts of sexual assault
- ‘Psychological violence’: Alexei Navalny says he is forced to watch eight hours of state TV a day
- ‘Mini-Neptunes’ beyond solar system may soon yield signs of life
- Milk crate challenge has doctors warning it’s ‘worse than falling from a ladder’
- Coronavirus live news: Russia reports 820 deaths in a day; Sydney hospitals struggle to cope
- NHS planning Covid vaccines for children from age 12, reports say
- NSW Covid update: rules relaxed for vaccinated despite record 1,029 cases
- New Zealand Covid update: Ardern rejects criticism of elimination strategy after 68 new cases
- ‘I’m a one in a billion’ – how Diane Warren penned windswept power ballads for Cher, Gaga and Dion
- A stunning second act! Meet the people who changed course in midlife – and loved it
- Unacknowledged rape: the sexual assault survivors who hide their trauma – even from themselves
- How can I approach my best friend’s wedding when I am so worried about her future happiness? | Leading questions
- Pathway to freedom: hostile journey awaits Afghans fleeing the Taliban
- ‘Is this justice?’: why Sudan is facing a multibillion-dollar bill for 9/11
- Man held on suspicion of contaminating food in west London shops
- Greece will not be ‘gateway’ to Europe for Afghans fleeing Taliban, say officials
- Souad review – shrewd and poignant study of social media identities
- ‘They just forgot about us’: a US motel of climate refugees with nowhere to go – photo essay
- Haiti earthquake 10 days on: survivors still 'hungry and thirsty' – video report
- Australia Covid live news update: NSW records 1,029 cases, three deaths with relaxed rules for vaccinated; 80 coronavirus cases in Victoria, 14 in ACT
- ‘Use your £11bn climate fund to pay for family planning,’ UK told
- ‘I’m one of them’: the FGM survivor providing a lifeline in Leeds
- Evacuating Afghanistan: a visual guide to flights in and out of Kabul
- Does Covid immunity wane and will vaccine booster jabs be needed?
- Mass brawl breaks out in Armenian parliament – video
- 'It's terrible': NSW Covid-19 patients share stories from hospital in Sydney, Australia – video
- Lake Tahoe shrouded in smoke from surging Caldor fire – in pictures
- 'We were not aware of this visit': Pentagon on US congressmen in Kabul during evacuation – video
| Afghanistan live news: warnings of ‘imminent’ terror attack as evacuations enter final phase Posted: 26 Aug 2021 02:18 AM PDT UK minister warns of credible reports of an attack threat as Danish minister says it's no longer safe to fly; France says evacuations will end Friday
Poland has completed its Afghanistan evacuation mission after transporting more than 1,300 people from Kabul, officials said today. The evacuees were mainly Afghan staff of the Polish military contingent, but also included employees of the European Union and International Monetary Fund, AFP reports.
Interesting: |
| China’s trade halt with Lithuania over Taiwan ties sends warning to Europe Posted: 25 Aug 2021 05:00 PM PDT Tough response to Baltic nation's decision to exchange diplomatic offices with Taiwan puts under EU under pressure China's use of trade as a weapon in diplomatic disputes appears to be now targeted at Lithuania, home to fewer than 3 million people, after the Baltic nation agreed to exchange diplomatic offices with Taiwan. But Beijing's unofficial halt to its already limited trade with Lithuania is more about sending a warning to the rest of Europe, analysts have said. Continue reading... |
| New Zealand could be split into North and South Island bubbles, Covid modeller suggests Posted: 25 Aug 2021 05:08 PM PDT A divide between the two islands could see tough restrictions eased for some amid a worsening Covid outbreak A Covid-19 modeller has suggested New Zealand's North and South islands could become separate bubbles as the country grapples with a coronavirus outbreak, although South islanders with hopes of being fully released from lockdown should not hold their breath just yet. New Zealand is battling to contain an outbreak of the Delta variant that swiftly led to a nationwide, level four lockdown – the highest setting – which has been extended until at least the end of the week. There are now 210 cases in the community. Continue reading... |
| Tokyo Paralympics day two: GB gold rush, wheelchair rugby and more – live! Posted: 26 Aug 2021 02:31 AM PDT
Wheelchair basketball: The USA women have swept aside Spain 68-34 in their pool match.
Wheelchair fencing: A bronze for Great Britain after a 15-11 win by Dimitri Coutya. Unfortunately there is no television coverage of the fencing, so we don't get to bring you any description. A close match though right up until Coutya hit double figures and pulled away. Andrei Pranevich was his opponent, from Belarus. |
| UK to overhaul privacy rules in post-Brexit departure from GDPR Posted: 26 Aug 2021 02:19 AM PDT Culture secretary says move could lead to an end to irritating cookie popups and consent requests online Britain will attempt to move away from European data protection regulations as it overhauls its privacy rules after Brexit, the government has announced. The freedom to chart its own course could lead to an end to irritating cookie popups and consent requests online, said the culture secretary, Oliver Dowden, as he called for rules based on "common sense, not box-ticking". Continue reading... |
| Hong Kong police investigate organisers of Tiananmen Square vigil Posted: 26 Aug 2021 12:48 AM PDT Longstanding group accused of being 'agent of foreign forces' and is asked for information about its membership Hong Kong's national security police are investigating the organisers of a vigil commemorating the Tiananmen Square massacre for alleged foreign collusion offences. Chow Hang-tung, the vice-chair of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, said authorities had written to core members of the longstanding group demanding information related to their foreign links within 14 days. Continue reading... |
| Fukushima operators to build undersea tunnel to dump contaminated water Posted: 25 Aug 2021 10:18 PM PDT Japanese government claims water from nuclear plant released through 1km tunnel will be safe as all radioactive elements will have been removed Operators of Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear plant have unveiled plans to construct an undersea tunnel to release more than a million tonnes of treated water from the site into the ocean. Plans for the 1km tunnel were announced on Wednesday after the Japanese government decided in April to release the accumulated water in two years' time. Continue reading... |
| Adult film star Ron Jeremy indicted on more than 30 counts of sexual assault Posted: 25 Aug 2021 06:04 PM PDT
A grand jury has indicted adult film actor Ron Jeremy on more than 30 counts of sexual assault involving 21 women and girls across more than two decades, authorities said. Jeremy, 68, whose legal name is Ronald Jeremy Hyatt, pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles superior court on Wednesday to all of the charges, which include 12 counts of rape. Continue reading... |
| ‘Psychological violence’: Alexei Navalny says he is forced to watch eight hours of state TV a day Posted: 25 Aug 2021 05:59 PM PDT Russian opposition leader tells of brainwashing and propaganda in jail but remains optimistic Putin regime will end 'sooner or later' • Alexei Navalny: Only action against corruption can solve the world's biggest problems Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has compared Russian prison to a Chinese labour camp and says he is forced to watch eight hours of state television a day. Navalny, who built his political career on exposing corruption in Russia, is being held in a maximum security prison colony in Pokrov, 100km east of Moscow. Continue reading... |
| ‘Mini-Neptunes’ beyond solar system may soon yield signs of life Posted: 25 Aug 2021 04:01 PM PDT Cambridge astronomers identify new hycean class of habitable exoplanets, which could accelerate search for life Signs of life beyond our solar system may be detectable within two to three years, experts have said after rethinking the kinds of planets that may be habitable. Researchers have mostly looked for planets of a similar size, mass, temperature and atmospheric composition to Earth. But University of Cambridge astronomers believe there may be more promising possibilities after recent work suggested that a "mini-Neptune" more than twice the radius of Earth and more than eight times as massive may also be habitable. Continue reading... |
| Milk crate challenge has doctors warning it’s ‘worse than falling from a ladder’ Posted: 25 Aug 2021 07:54 AM PDT Experts say dangerous injuries can occur as videos of people falling off precariously stacked crates go viral on social media The latest challenge to take the internet by storm involves milk crates, balance and some painful falls. In the milk crate challenge, which recently started on TikTok, participants take on a set of milk crates precariously stacked in the shape of a pyramid, attempt to climb to the top and then back down again without toppling over. Continue reading... |
| Coronavirus live news: Russia reports 820 deaths in a day; Sydney hospitals struggle to cope Posted: 26 Aug 2021 02:40 AM PDT Russia also reports 19.630 new infections in 24 hours; Sydney's health system struggles as the city reports record case numbers
An Aboriginal woman with Covid and breathing difficulties was allegedly turned away from a local hospital in the town of Wilcannia in New South Wales in Australia, as local health officials admit the town does not have a ventilator despite having the highest rate of Covid transmission in the state. Wilcannia has a higher Covid transmission rate than the worst hotspots in Sydney, sparking fresh calls for a coordinated state and federal effort to help the tiny, majority-Aboriginal town manage increasing illness, as well as securing essential supplies and safe places for people to self-isolate. Related: Aboriginal woman 'turned away' from hospital as data reveals Wilcannia worst hit by Covid
Inmates at a prison in Arkansas in the United States have been prescribed a medicine used to deworm livestock to combat Covid, despite warnings from health officials that the antiparasitic drug should not be used to treat the coronavirus. Washington County's sheriff confirmed that the jail's health provider had been prescribing the drug but didn't say how many inmates at the 710-bed facility had been given ivermectin, AP reports. Continue reading... |
| NHS planning Covid vaccines for children from age 12, reports say Posted: 26 Aug 2021 01:04 AM PDT UK health officials say no decision has been made yet as new school year in England looms NHS England has been told to prepare to administer Covid vaccinations to all children aged 12 and above, as vaccine advisers continue to consider whether to extend the programme, according to reports. The planned extension to the vaccination programme would coincide with the start of the new school year. Continue reading... |
| NSW Covid update: rules relaxed for vaccinated despite record 1,029 cases Posted: 25 Aug 2021 10:02 PM PDT Up to five people will be allowed to gather outdoors for recreation outside hotspot LGAs from mid-September
Despite surging case numbers and a new daily record of 1,029 cases, the New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, has made good on her promise of relaxing some of the rules on outdoor gatherings. Small groups of fully vaccinated people will now be allowed to meet outdoors, but the so-called "picnic rules" are more limited for the 12 local government areas of concern than the rest of the state, and do not come into effect until 13 September. Continue reading... |
| New Zealand Covid update: Ardern rejects criticism of elimination strategy after 68 new cases Posted: 25 Aug 2021 07:56 PM PDT Prime minister says she is achieving her goals of saving lives and jobs, and giving people as much normalcy as possible New Zealand's prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has dismissed criticism of her ambitious elimination strategy to stamp out Covid, as the country's outbreak grows, saying the approach has saved lives and will continue to do so. On Thursday, the coronavirus outbreak grew by 68 cases, taking the total number of cases to 277. One previously reported case has been reclassified after being confirmed as a false positive. Continue reading... |
| ‘I’m a one in a billion’ – how Diane Warren penned windswept power ballads for Cher, Gaga and Dion Posted: 25 Aug 2021 10:00 PM PDT She's the queen of the power ballad mega hit – and has even written songs for Biden, Harris and Ringo Starr. Now the world's most successful female songwriter is finally releasing her own album At the end of the 1990s, when Diane Warren was the unrivalled queen of the power ballad, her music publisher presented her with a quartet of gold discs and a plaque hailing her as "the career saviour of the 90s". The discs celebrated the windswept mega-hits Warren had written for Toni Braxton (Un-Break My Heart), LeAnn Rimes (How Do I Live), Celine Dion (Because You Loved Me) and Aerosmith (I Don't Want to Miss a Thing), the first two of which are still among the bestselling US singles ever. To be imperial in one pop era is usually to be defined by it for evermore, but Warren has been writing hits for almost four decades, notching up nine US No 1s and 32 Top 10 hits. In 2015, Til It Happens to You, her potent Lady Gaga collaboration for a documentary about campus rape, made her once again the pop equivalent of the striker you turn to when you absolutely have to score a penalty. Continue reading... |
| A stunning second act! Meet the people who changed course in midlife – and loved it Posted: 25 Aug 2021 10:00 PM PDT It can feel as if our options narrow with every passing year. But taking a big risk could mean the second half of your life is much more exciting and fulfilling than the first Alison Webster was once showing prospective students around the university where she was studying medicine when a sixth former said: "You're so old – why are you even doing this?" Webster laughs at the memory, home after the end of a shift as an A&E doctor. "I said, 'When you go home, ask your mum if she likes her life. I bet there's something your mum's always wanted to do that she's not had the opportunity to do because of you. Ask what her dreams were, and see if she has fulfilled them.'" Webster's childhood dream was to be a doctor, but she didn't do well in her A-levels, "so that got put to one side. But it was always in there." She ran a music distribution company, but as she approached her 40s, the business was struggling and she had started to wonder what to do with the rest of her life. Was a career in medicine really out of reach? Continue reading... |
| Unacknowledged rape: the sexual assault survivors who hide their trauma – even from themselves Posted: 26 Aug 2021 12:00 AM PDT Surveys suggest a large proportion of women have experienced sexual assaults that they labelled as a misunderstanding. This has serious psychological repercussions and increases the chance of being victimised again The morning after it happened, I said a cheery: "Good morning," to my university roommate, as if nothing was wrong. "How was last night?" she asked. "So fun," I lied. The truth was that the night before I had feared for my life. I didn't articulate it, but deep down I knew that what had happened had felt violating, degrading and not what I signed up for. Yet it took me a whole decade to realise what had really happened: I had been sexually assaulted. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 25 Aug 2021 05:40 PM PDT It's worth having a real conversation with your friend about this, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith, because bullies rely on others' silence My best friend is getting married in a few months and I am so sad. We have known each other since childhood, and while it is true that I probably hold too high standards for my loved ones, her fiance seems like a poor choice of life partner. He is combative, argumentative, immature and possessive, and puts her down regularly, often in front of other people. She deals with his unpleasant traits with good humour but admits they argue a lot. They have been together only a couple of years and have had a very short engagement. I worry she is rushing things and making a huge mistake. Continue reading... |
| Pathway to freedom: hostile journey awaits Afghans fleeing the Taliban Posted: 25 Aug 2021 09:00 PM PDT Refugees hoping to reach Europe must navigate treacherous route favoured by people smugglers and drug traffickers It is a treacherous journey of thousands of miles that crosses arid deserts, steep mountains, rivers, armed checkpoints, barbed wire and metres-high concrete walls. But for the Afghans fleeing the Taliban, this inhospitable route – traversing Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and into the Balkans – is the pathway, they believe, to freedom. After the fall of Kabul to the Taliban this month, following weeks of rapid successive victories across the country, the instinct of many Afghans has been to escape by any means possible. Continue reading... |
| ‘Is this justice?’: why Sudan is facing a multibillion-dollar bill for 9/11 Posted: 25 Aug 2021 10:00 PM PDT The families of some 9/11 victims are still pursuing compensation from those complicit in the attacks – but is Sudan, already ravaged by years of US sanctions, really the right target? Five months after the terrorist strikes by al-Qaida on 11 September 2001, a lawyer named Ron Motley received a phone call from Deena Burnett, whose husband had been killed in the attack. Thomas Burnett, she explained, had been on one of the hijacked planes. She wanted to ask whether he would help her to find a way to sue those responsible for the attack that claimed her husband. Two weeks after the call, on 2 March 2002, Motley and a team of lawyers with his firm, Motley Rice, spent a day with the Burnett family at their home in California. They described how, upon realising the plane had been taken over for a suicide mission, Thomas Burnett had led the charge on the cockpit on flight 93. He and his fellow passengers managed to divert the plane from its target – the White House. The cockpit flight recorder captured his now-famous last words before they stormed the hijackers: "We're going in!" Shortly after, the plane crashed, killing all 44 people on board. Burnett was 38 years old. Continue reading... |
| Man held on suspicion of contaminating food in west London shops Posted: 26 Aug 2021 12:25 AM PDT Police say man allegedly injected food products using needles in three supermarkets on Fulham Palace Road A man has been arrested on suspicion of contaminating food using a syringe at three supermarkets in west London, a council has said. Hammersmith and Fulham council said officers were called just before 8pm after a man was reported to be shouting abuse at people in the street. Continue reading... |
| Greece will not be ‘gateway’ to Europe for Afghans fleeing Taliban, say officials Posted: 25 Aug 2021 11:00 PM PDT Athens calls for a united response, as refugees already in Lesbos hope their asylum claims will now be reconsidered Greek officials have said that Greece will not become a "gateway" to Europe for Afghan asylum seekers and have called for a united response to predictions of an increase in refugee arrivals to the country. Greece's prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotaki, has spoken to Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, about the developing situation in Afghanistan this week. Greek migration minister Notis Mitarachi last week said: "We cannot have millions of people leaving Afghanistan and coming to the European Union … and certainly not through Greece." The country has just completed a 25-mile (40km) wall along its land border with Turkey and installed an automated surveillance system with cameras, radars and drones. Continue reading... |
| Souad review – shrewd and poignant study of social media identities Posted: 26 Aug 2021 01:33 AM PDT The lives of three young Egyptians become tragically entangled in Ayten Amin's sharp, subtle coming-of-age drama As well as being subtle, tender and sad, this feature from Egyptian director Ayten Amin is one of those rare films which really engages with online existence and social media – yet without needing to flash up tweets and texts as onscreen graphics in the way most movies do. Souad meditates on the mysterious discrepancy between the image we project on social media and the reality behind it, and also how this discrepancy itself can be corrosive. And it also reflects on the eerie afterlife of a dead person's Facebook page – like Jean Cocteau's remark about a writer's work carrying on like a ticking wristwatch on a dead soldier. Related: Sexting, lies and unveiled selfies: the Egyptian film exploring the hidden lives of teenage girls Continue reading... |
| ‘They just forgot about us’: a US motel of climate refugees with nowhere to go – photo essay Posted: 26 Aug 2021 02:00 AM PDT Nearly a year ago, a fire upended their lives. Now the Oregon residents find themselves stuck in limbo If you were to drive through Medford, a small city in southern Oregon, you'd pass by an unremarkable motel. You'd see guests sitting out on their balconies, smoking cigarettes, walking their dogs across the small patch of lawn, and watching the kids laugh and play in the pool. But these people aren't typical hotel guests. They are 159 fire refugees, displaced after losing their homes during one of the worst fire seasons the west coast has ever experienced. As the climate crisis causes higher-than-normal temperatures, dry conditions and strong winds, Oregon and California are facing more intense blazes than ever before. This new breed of fires is destroying entire communities – the 8 September 2020 conflagration known as the Almeda fire, for instance, decimated two towns in southern Oregon, torched 2,700 houses and displaced 3,000 people. Continue reading... |
| Haiti earthquake 10 days on: survivors still 'hungry and thirsty' – video report Posted: 25 Aug 2021 06:39 AM PDT The death toll is still rising 10 days after a catastrophic earthquake struck southern Haiti on the morning of 14 August. More than 2,200 deaths have been recorded so far, while at least 30,000 families have had to abandon their homes. Many were sleeping on the streets when Tropical Storm Grace struck two days later, bringing high winds and pelting rain. But despite the hardship, many Haitians are wary of the massive international aid response that is under way Continue reading... |
| Posted: 26 Aug 2021 02:29 AM PDT NSW to introduce additional freedoms for vaccinated people from 13 September; Victoria asks ADF to help with Shepparton outbreak; ACT records 14 new cases and New Zealand 68; Follow latest updates live
With that, we will close the blog for the day. Here's a quick run through of the day's biggest events:
Service NSW's permit system for authorised workers in the 12 LGAs of concern has finally gone live, just over 24 hours from when it is due to be implemented. However, the current application process has a section where applicants will need to list the addresses they intend to visit, which is not very helpful for delivery drivers, Uber drivers and the like, who may not know what area they will be visiting. Continue reading... |
| ‘Use your £11bn climate fund to pay for family planning,’ UK told Posted: 25 Aug 2021 10:30 PM PDT More than 60 NGOs call for spending rule change, saying people on frontline of climate crisis want greater access to reproductive healthcare The UK government has been urged to open up its £11bn pot of climate funding to contraception, as research from low-income countries shows a link between poor access to reproductive health services and environmental damage. In a letter to Alok Sharma, president of the UN Cop26 climate conference, an alliance of more than 60 NGOs has called for the funding eligibility rules to be changed to allow projects concerned with removing barriers to reproductive healthcare and girls' education to access climate funds. Continue reading... |
| ‘I’m one of them’: the FGM survivor providing a lifeline in Leeds Posted: 25 Aug 2021 04:00 AM PDT Stigma can stop women seeking help but Hawa Bah, who was cut at eight, reaches those suffering in silence to get them the care they need
Bah made her way through a maze of streets to the meeting point where a car was waiting with two strangers inside. When they took her to the airport, Bah felt her heart beating through her chest. She had not realised until then that she would be leaving her country. Aged 17, she had no belongings and no idea where she was going. Continue reading... |
| Evacuating Afghanistan: a visual guide to flights in and out of Kabul Posted: 25 Aug 2021 07:12 AM PDT Flights stopped as the Taliban seized control, but numbers are back up and the vast majority of aircraft are now military Kabul airport's air traffic now seems to be at a stable level due to an increase in military aircraft evacuating people, new Guardian analysis has revealed. Fewer than 15 aircraft arrived or departed each day between 16 and 19 August, according to data from Flightradar24. Continue reading... |
| Does Covid immunity wane and will vaccine booster jabs be needed? Posted: 25 Aug 2021 04:36 AM PDT Multiple studies seem to suggest immunity declines over time, though what this means is unclear With plans for the UK's Covid vaccine booster programme this autumn soon to be revealed, we take a look at what we do – and don't – know about waning immunity after vaccination. Continue reading... |
| Mass brawl breaks out in Armenian parliament – video Posted: 25 Aug 2021 07:12 PM PDT Armenia's parliament descended into a mass brawl as the country remains split following last year's defeat in the war with Azerbaijan for control of Nagorno-Karabakh. Security officers could be seen pouring onto the floor of the house to quell the disturbance. Continue reading... |
| 'It's terrible': NSW Covid-19 patients share stories from hospital in Sydney, Australia – video Posted: 25 Aug 2021 05:27 PM PDT Covid-19 patients from Sydney's Concord hospital have shared their experience of the Delta variant's symptoms and pleaded for Sydneysiders to get vaccinated. Lung specialist Lucy Morgan shared the stories of 50-year-old construction worker Fawaz, 30-year-old pharmacy worker Ramona and 35-year-old tradie Osama in a video from Sydney Local Health District. Fawaz and Osama infected family members who have also been hospitalised, while single mother Ramona says she has been unable to see her children for weeks ► Subscribe to Guardian Australia on YouTube |
| Lake Tahoe shrouded in smoke from surging Caldor fire – in pictures Posted: 25 Aug 2021 01:03 PM PDT The pristine setting of Lake Tahoe, on the California-Nevada border, was obscured by thick plumes of smoke as thousands of firefighters worked to contain the nearby Caldor fire, which has burned more than 120,000 acres. Tourists wore masks outdoors and ducked into cafes and casinos to escape the haze and the smell Continue reading... |
| 'We were not aware of this visit': Pentagon on US congressmen in Kabul during evacuation – video Posted: 25 Aug 2021 12:30 PM PDT The Pentagon has responded to the unexpected arrival of two US Congress members in Kabul airport, in what the congressmen claimed was a fact-finding mission but critics have dismissed as grandstanding. "They certainly took time away from what we had planned to do that day," said John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary. Seth Moulton, a Democratic representative from Massachusetts, and Peter Meijer, a Republican representative from Michigan, astonished state department and military officials in the Afghan capital when they flew in on Tuesday. Continue reading... |
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