Sabtu, 18 September 2021

World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk

World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk


Grief runs deep in Musa Qala as Taliban victory brings weary relief

Posted: 17 Sep 2021 09:00 PM PDT

Everyone here has tales of lost loved ones, but many want foreigners back – with aid not weapons

A parade of white Taliban flags lines Musa Qala bazaar right up to the central monument where two kidnappers were hanged in a public execution earlier this year. The flags flutter from almost every shop in celebration, some rough and handmade, others printed and lined with tinsel.

The dusty town, an opium trading centre reached most of the year by driving up the gravel bed of a seasonal river, was the Taliban's southern capital from 2015 until the militant group took over the national capital. Before that it was the site of intense fighting by British and US forces for more than a decade, including a bitter 2006 British siege in which 88 men were holed up for two months, leading to the first – albeit hyperlocal – international ceasefire negotiations with the Taliban.

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US admits Kabul strike killed 10 civilians and not Islamic State militants

Posted: 17 Sep 2021 02:09 PM PDT

Gen Kenneth McKenzie says 'it was a mistake' and that it was unlikely those who died posed a direct threat to US forces

A US drone strike in Afghanistan last month killed 10 civilians – including seven children – and not an Islamic State extremist as first claimed, the Pentagon has admitted.

In a briefing on Friday, the commander of US Central Command, Gen Kenneth McKenzie, said he now believes it was unlikely that those who died were Islamic State militants or posed a direct threat to US forces at Kabul's airport.

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France recalls ambassadors to US and Australia after Aukus pact

Posted: 17 Sep 2021 02:11 PM PDT

First time France has recalled a US ambassador in alliance dating back to American revolution

France has recalled its ambassadors to the US and Australia for consultations sparked by the "exceptional seriousness" of Canberra's surprise decision to cancel an order for French-built submarines and its security pact with Washington and London.

The French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, said the order to bring the ambassadors back to Paris "immediately" was made at the request of the French president, Emmanuel Macron.

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Pelé recovering having re-entered intensive care unit in São Paulo

Posted: 18 Sep 2021 01:45 AM PDT

  • Former player posts: 'I am still recovering very well'
  • Reports say Brazil legend readmitted due to acid reflux

Pelé has said he is "recovering very well" following reports he had re-entered an intensive care unit at São Paulo's Albert Einstein Hospital in an apparent deterioration of the three-time World Cup winner's health, after he left the unit earlier this week.

ESPN Brasil reported on Friday that Pelé was readmitted to the ICU due to acid reflux. The 80-year-old had a colon tumour removed this month and stayed in the hospital for further monitoring.

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Texas anti-abortion law shows ‘terrifying’ fragility of women’s rights, say activists

Posted: 18 Sep 2021 12:00 AM PDT

Campaigners fear ban emboldens anti-choice governments as more aggressive opposition, better organised and funded, spreads from US

The new anti-abortion law in Texas is a "terrifying" reminder of the fragility of hard-won rights, pro-choice activists have said, as they warn of a "more aggressive, much better organised [and] better funded" global opposition movement.

Pro-choice campaigners have seen several victories in recent years, including in Ireland, Argentina and, most recently, Mexico, where the supreme court ruled last week that criminalising abortion was unconstitutional. Another is hoped for later this month when the tiny enclave of San Marino, landlocked within Italy, holds a highly charged referendum.

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Real estate heir Robert Durst found guilty of murdering his friend Susan Berman

Posted: 17 Sep 2021 04:05 PM PDT

Prosecutors said multimillionaire killed friend because she planned to tell police what she knew about his wife's death

The multimillionaire New York real estate heir Robert Durst has been convicted of murdering his best friend Susan Berman more than 20 years ago, in a case that took on new life following the documentary The Jinx.

Related: Cockroaches, staged wrestling and more lies: the peculiar murder trial of Robert Durst

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‘Don’t pass Catholic churches’: protests as Glasgow braces for Orange walks

Posted: 17 Sep 2021 10:00 PM PDT

Campaigners call for parades to be re-routed as up to 13,000 people expected to converge in city centre

Campaigners against anti-Catholic bigotry and anti-Irish discrimination will gather in protest around vulnerable churches on Saturday, as Glasgow braces itself for the largest gathering of Orange marchers since the pandemic.

More than 30 of the controversial Protestant parades will converge in the city centre to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the first Battle of the Boyne parade, with potential turnout estimated from 5,000 to 13,000. Hundreds of police officers are expected to be deployed on the day, with 32 streets closed until mid-afternoon to facilitate the marchers.

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Abdelaziz Bouteflika, ousted Algerian president, dies aged 84

Posted: 17 Sep 2021 09:06 PM PDT

Bouteflika, an independence war veteran, was ousted during pro-democracy protests in 2019

Algeria's longest-serving president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who was ousted in 2019 amid pro-democracy protests after two decades in power, has died aged 84.

The state television announcement on Friday, citing a statement from the office of the current president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, did not provide the cause of death.

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Washington DC police preparing for rally in support of 6 January rioters

Posted: 17 Sep 2021 11:00 PM PDT

Some leading Republicans in Congress are distancing themselves from the event and Proud Boys are avoiding it as well

Washington DC has prepared for Saturday's rally in support of those arrested for storming the Capitol on 6 January by mounting the kind of security operation it failed to put in place before the attempted coup.

Related: Peril review: Bob Woodward Trump trilogy ends on note of dire warning

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Mother charged with murdering her three daughters appears in New Zealand court

Posted: 17 Sep 2021 10:26 PM PDT

Lauren Anne Dickason is charged with killing two-year-old twins and their six-year-old sister soon after arriving from South Africa

A woman has appeared in court charged with murdering her three young daughters just weeks after the family arrived in New Zealand from South Africa.

Lauren Anne Dickason appeared in court on Saturday morning in the port city of Timaru, and a judge remanded her to a hospital for a mental health evaluation, a court spokesperson said.

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Trudeau lambasted over exclusion from US-led military alliance as election nears

Posted: 17 Sep 2021 10:44 AM PDT

Canada already shares intelligence with Australia, the UK, the US and New Zealand but was not included in Aukus pact

Justin Trudeau is facing harsh criticism from political rivals after Canada was excluded from a new international defence pact, days before the country votes in a federal election.

Australia, the United Kingdom and the United State on Wednesday announced a new intelligence sharing agreement meant to counter Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

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Coronavirus live news: holiday bookings expected to surge after England travel rules change; clashes at Melbourne protests

Posted: 18 Sep 2021 01:46 AM PDT

Thomas Cook chief executive predicts this weekend will be biggest of the year so far; about 1,000 protesters gather in Melbourne as state records 535 cases

Russia has reported 799 deaths from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours.

There were 20,329 new Coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours compared with 19,905 cases on the previous day, Reuters reports.

The night-time economy in Wales needs "clarity" and "simplicity" when it comes to the implementation of Covid vaccine passes, an industry chief has warned, PA reports.

David Chapman, UKHospitality's executive director for Wales, said there are unanswered questions about how the scheme will work.

I think it's about timing, about definition, about capability, about people being able to be in position to do all of those checks to make it work.

Will they be effective in the long run, compared to the commercial viability impacts that they have? I don't know. Is it possible that people could take other people's passports and use them? How efficient is this?

This industry has just got to take it on the chin. The problem is, it's got two black eyes, a broken nose and it's on the canvas already.

We've got staff shortages, we've got great difficulties within businesses about trying to get our heads not above water, but we're already under water, and to make it happen.

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Covid antibody drug Ronapreve to be given to vulnerable NHS patients

Posted: 18 Sep 2021 12:55 AM PDT

Ronapreve, which was used to treat Donald Trump, will be 'saving lives as early as next week', says Sajid Javid

A drug given to the former US president Donald Trump when he had coronavirus last year is to be used to treat vulnerable NHS hospital patients.

Last month, the health secretary, Sajid Javid, heralded Ronapreve as the first treatment designed specifically for Covid-19 to receive regulatory approval in the UK.

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FDA advisers vote not to recommend Pfizer booster shots for most Americans

Posted: 17 Sep 2021 01:54 PM PDT

  • Vote may be significant blow to Biden administration
  • Panel does back boosters for those older than 65

Scientific advisers to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have voted not to recommend a third shot of the Pfizer vaccine for most Americans, a potentially significant blow to the Biden administration after it announced a plan to "boost" adults before advisory committees had a chance to review scientific evidence in public.

Related: 'Fascist and tyrannical': US vaccine mandates induce rightwing hysteria

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People with chronic conditions among most at risk from Covid even after jabs

Posted: 17 Sep 2021 10:00 PM PDT

Research finds those with Down's syndrome, Parkinson's and other conditions may benefit from booster dose

People living with chronic conditions such as Down's syndrome and dementia remain among the most vulnerable to Covid-19 even after vaccination, research has found.

The study, based on data from more than 6.9 million vaccinated adults, 5.2 million of whom had received both doses, found that being vaccinated offers powerful protection against hospitalisation for almost all groups. However, a risk calculator based on the data shows that some groups remain at particular risk and may benefit from booster vaccine doses and treatments such as monoclonal antibodies.

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Couscous cake and Middle Eastern mac’n’cheese: eight show-stopping new recipes from Team Ottolenghi

Posted: 18 Sep 2021 12:00 AM PDT

It takes a band of global talents to create Yotam Ottolenghi's distinctive dishes. In an exclusive extract from his latest book, he introduces some of their finest new creations


Originally located under a railway arch in north London, built from equal parts brick and tahini, walls coated in olive oil and floors stained with spice, the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen started off simply as the place where I play with my food; my low-tech lab where ideas turn into dishes, which turn into recipes. Gradually, though, like a sourdough starter, it began to absorb outside "contaminators", gathering fizz and bubbles and a load of funk, until finally it became rich, deep and splendidly distinct.

The OTK crew are the equivalent of a good loaf's life-affirming natural yeasts. Through them, my food, rooted in Jerusalem and the Middle East, has become our food, having been on all kinds of journeys, borrowing harissa from north Africa and chaat masala from India, using newly discovered chilli pastes from south-east Asia or Mexico, and adopting some cheffy techniques from our London restaurants.

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New hustle: Pulitzer winner Colson Whitehead on his heist novel

Posted: 18 Sep 2021 01:00 AM PDT

The author talks about his book set among small time crooks in 1960s Harlem, the joy of switching it up - and why he looks up to Stanley Kubrick

Something strange happened the morning after Colson Whitehead finished his forthcoming novel. "I put the book to bed, and then I got up the next morning and Minneapolis was on fire," he says. It was 26 May 2020, the first of three days of riots last year after the murder of George Floyd. Whitehead had chosen to conclude his latest novel, Harlem Shuffle, against the backdrop of the Harlem riot of 1964, which erupted after a 15-year-old black boy, James Powell, was shot dead by police lieutenant Thomas Gilligan. What were the odds that the day after he wrapped up a fictional contemplation of "how we pull ourselves together" in the aftermath of such an incident, there would be another one? As Whitehead himself observes, the coincidence was proof of a point he's always making: "If you write about fucked up racial shit, wait five minutes and something else will happen."

Long before our conversation, I'd resolved that I wouldn't let the topic of race dominate it. For a start, it's the subject (often the only one) that black writers are always asked to offer opinions about – an architecture of expectation that builds itself up around us. But also, it has never dominated Whitehead's work, which has ranged in nine previous books over areas as diverse as elevator inspection, the World Series of poker and the zombie apocalypse. And there's plenty else to talk about. Music: "I've done homework, college papers on Ice Cube's first record and I'm still listening to it now. I'm brought back to other moments in my life when I've been writing really hard and Radiohead's been there, Public Enemy's been there." Lockdowns: "I guess the cliche is that writers' lives didn't change that much, I'm pretty much sitting right here all day." Whether he regrets chickening out of accepting Toni Morrison's invitation to coffee several years ago: "When I've had the opportunity to meet some of my idols at conferences, I'm very reserved."

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Behind the scenes of Andrew Neil’s departure from GB News

Posted: 18 Sep 2021 12:00 AM PDT

Sources say presenter was in legal battle with rightwing channel's bosses over his £700,000-a-year contract

When Andrew Neil took a leave of absence from GB News a fortnight after its 13 June launch, the rightwing news channel and its star presenter spent weeks insisting he was taking a long break to "recharge [his] batteries".

The reality, sources have told the Guardian, is that rather than merely being on holiday Neil was locked in an increasingly fierce legal battle with the channel's bosses from mid-July, with the station in turmoil as their lead presenter attempted to renegotiate and then exit a four-year contract believed to worth about £700,000 a year.

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Blind date: ‘We both managed to choke on our wine’

Posted: 17 Sep 2021 10:00 PM PDT

Tom, 34, TV editor, meets Katharyn, 32, recruitment operations manager

What were you hoping for?
Ideally, to meet the person I could move to the country and adopt huskies with. But generally, just to have nice chats with someone fun.

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Crufts, clubbers and Ed Sheeran: Modern Toss pick their favourite cartoons

Posted: 18 Sep 2021 12:00 AM PDT

For 17 years in the Guide, cartoonists Jon Link and Mick Bunnage have poked and prodded at pop culture. They handpick 15 strips from the archives ...

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Teenage girls, body image and Instagram’s ‘perfect storm’

Posted: 17 Sep 2021 11:00 PM PDT

The suffering of the photo-sharing app's users came into focus this week with the leak of Facebook's internal research

Emily started using Instagram when she was in her mid-teens and found it helpful at first. She used the photo-sharing app to follow fitness influencers, but what began as a constructive relationship with the platform spiralled into a crisis centred on body image. At 19 she was diagnosed with an eating disorder.

"I felt like my body wasn't good enough, because even though I did go to the gym a lot, my body still never looked like the bodies of these influencers," says Emily, now a 20-year-old a student who is in recovery.

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Asylum seeker given £100,000 hospital bill after suffering stroke

Posted: 18 Sep 2021 12:00 AM PDT

Simba Mujakachi says government's 'hostile environment' policies deterred him from taking medication

Simba Mujakachi, a personal trainer, was just 29 years old in June 2019 when he suffered a catastrophic stroke that left him comatose. When he awoke, he was paralysed on his left side and unable to talk or eat.

His stroke could have been prevented by relatively inexpensive medication for a blood clotting condition that, as an asylum seeker, he was not entitled to on the NHS.

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‘A feeling of deja vu’: author Sergio Ramírez on ex-comrade Ortega and Nicaraguan history repeating

Posted: 18 Sep 2021 02:00 AM PDT

The country's greatest living writer feels 'surprised, bewildered and assaulted' after the president issued a warrant for his arrest and seized copies of his new novel about the 2018 uprising

Sergio Ramírez, Nicaragua's best-known living writer, hero of the Sandinista revolution, and former vice-president of the volcanic Central American nation, has lived through both tougher times and duller publicity tours.

Even so, the past few days have been – as he puts it, with a degree of understatement – "an odd experience".

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Melbourne and Sydney anti-lockdown protests: violent clashes as police arrest demonstrators

Posted: 18 Sep 2021 01:43 AM PDT

Police deploy pepper spray and dodge projectiles as protests held in Melbourne, Sydney, Byron Bay and Brisbane

Victoria police arrested 235 protesters and three officers remained in hospital on Saturday evening following violent anti-lockdown demonstrations in Melbourne's inner city.

As the state recorded 535 new cases and one death, around 1,000 protesters gathered in the north-eastern suburbs of Richmond and Hawthorn, forced to make a last-minute change of location after 2,000 police officers formed a "ring of steel" around the Melbourne CBD.

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Child abuse: Apple urged to roll out image-scanning tool swiftly

Posted: 17 Sep 2021 07:00 AM PDT

Exclusive: privacy concerns 'must not delay use of neuralMatch algorithm to protect victims of abuse'

Child protection experts from across the world have called on Apple to implement new scanning technologies urgently to detect images of child abuse.

In August, Apple announced plans to use a tool called neuralMatch to scan photos being uploaded to iCloud online storage and compare them to a database of known images of child abuse.

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‘A forgotten disaster’: earthquake-hit Haitians left to fend for themselves

Posted: 17 Sep 2021 06:00 AM PDT

With rural areas of the country left to suffer, aid workers fear funds are drying up as global compassion fatigue sets in

David Nazaire, a 45-year-old coffee farmer from Beaumont, a small village in rural southern Haiti, was getting ready to harvest when an earthquake struck his home and livelihood. Much of the farming infrastructure – as well as nearby homes, schools and churches – was damaged or completely destroyed. A month later, he and thousands of rural Haitians – those most severely affected by the tremor – are still waiting for relief, and are not expecting it to arrive soon.

"The earthquake didn't destroy our crops, but it did take everything else," Nazaire says, outside a neighbour's house, now a pile of rubble beneath plastic roof tiles supported by the remnants of concrete walls. "We were just getting ready to harvest, but that's lost now."

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What are the changes to Covid rules for international travel?

Posted: 17 Sep 2021 11:32 AM PDT

Overhaul in England aims to simplify travel by scrapping traffic light system and changing testing requirements

An overhaul of England's Covid-19 rules governing international travel has been announced by the Department for Transport, scrapping the traffic light system and signalling changes to requirements to undergo PCR testing on arrival.

The aim, according to the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, is to simplify rules and decrease the burden on people travelling by replacing the system with a single red list and one for the rest of the world.

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'Tragic mistake': Pentagon admits Kabul strike killed 10 civilians – video

Posted: 17 Sep 2021 02:16 PM PDT

A US drone strike in Kabul last month killed as many as 10 civilians, including up to seven children, Gen Frank McKenzie, the head of Central Command, told reporters on Friday. Senior officers had said the 29 August strike which took place as foreign forces completed the last stages of their withdrawal from Afghanistan targeted an Islamic States suicide bomber who posed an imminent threat. 'At the time of the strike, I was confident that the strike had averted an imminent threat to our forces at the airport,' McKenzie said. 'Our investigation now concludes that the strike was a tragic mistake.'

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Nancy Pelosi says US Capitol attack like 9/11 but an assault from within – video

Posted: 17 Sep 2021 07:53 AM PDT

Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker of the US Congress, has likened the 6 January attack to 9/11, saying one had been an assault on US democracy from within and the other from the outside. Speaking at a Chatham House seminar in London on Friday, she also claimed the Republicans had been hijacked by a cult that believed neither in science nor government, making it hard for the US to be governed

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