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- UN experts condemn Texas abortion law as sex discrimination ‘at its worst’
- NGOs condemn trial in Austria of ‘Ibizagate’ whistleblower
- Bolsonaro supporters clash with police before major rally in Brasília
- 20 meat and dairy firms emit more greenhouse gas than Germany, Britain or France
- Hong Kong: international companies reconsider future in wake of security law
- Pelé recovering in hospital after operation to remove tumour
- Nadhim Zahawi ‘not comfortable’ with breaking manifesto promises
- Muppets creator Jim Henson’s London home gets blue plaque
- Third person dies in Japan after taking contaminated Moderna coronavirus vaccine
- ‘You bloody fool’: Australian talking duck proves birds can imitate speech
- Coronavirus live news: Italy to start offering third doses to clinically vulnerable people; Vietnam jails man who breached quarantine
- Jacinda Ardern finalising deals for extra Pfizer doses as Covid cases steady
- ‘No one may be compelled’: Zimbabwe unions go to court over Covid jabs
- ‘Our children are hungry’: economic crisis pushes Afghans to desperation
- The disastrous voyage of Satoshi, the world’s first cryptocurrency cruise ship
- ‘There is so much bad behaviour everywhere’: how to raise a good child in a terrible world
- The 15 greatest games of the 2010s – ranked!
- The children of 9/11: haunted by their fathers’ last hours, some dread the anniversary
- Licence to krill: the destructive demand for a ‘better’ fish oil
- Police Scotland admits failings contributing to car crash death
- From the Vine review – laugh-free comedy of midlife Italian escape
- Charles has ‘no knowledge’ of alleged offer of honours, says
- Joe Biden to referee Democrats in brewing battle over $3.5tn budget bill
- Alibaba sexual assault case dropped as China police say ‘forcible indecency’ not a crime
- NSW reports 1,220 cases and eight deaths; Victoria premier attacks ‘secret’ vaccine allocations to Sydney – As it happened
- The Taliban are showing us the dangers of personal data falling into the wrong hands
- Taliban claim victory over last resistance stronghold of Panjshir province – video
- Israel: one-year-old conjoined twin girls see each other for the first time after surgery – video
- Six Palestinian militants escape high-security Israeli prison – video
| UN experts condemn Texas abortion law as sex discrimination ‘at its worst’ Posted: 06 Sep 2021 11:00 PM PDT Exclusive: human rights lawyer criticizes the supreme court and says new law will 'make abortion unsafe and deadly' United Nations human rights monitors have strongly condemned the state of Texas for its new anti-abortion law, which they say violates international law by denying women control over their own bodies and endangering their lives. In damning remarks to the Guardian, Melissa Upreti, the chair of the UN's working group on discrimination against women and girls, slammed the new Texas law, SB 8, as "structural sex and gender-based discrimination at its worst". Continue reading... |
| NGOs condemn trial in Austria of ‘Ibizagate’ whistleblower Posted: 06 Sep 2021 09:00 PM PDT Prosecution of Julian Hessenthaler will deter whistleblowing and risks infringing press freedoms, says group The "excessive" criminal prosecution of a security consultant whose "Ibizagate" video brought down Austria's government will deter whistleblowers and risks infringing fundamental press and information freedoms, rights groups have said. In an open letter, 15 Austrian and international organisations said the trial of Julian Hessenthaler, which is due to start on Wednesday, was based on "partially constructed accusations used to discredit and apprehend" him. Continue reading... |
| Bolsonaro supporters clash with police before major rally in Brasília Posted: 07 Sep 2021 01:56 AM PDT Violence erupts as rightwing activists attempt to break through blockade and force their way to congress Pre-dawn skirmishes have erupted between police and supporters of Brazil's president, Jair Bolsonaro, as rightwing activists tried to force their way towards congress before major pro-government rallies that have put Latin America's biggest democracy on edge. Footage published by the Brasilia-based news website Metrópoles showed military police using pepper spray to repel a crowd of cheering Bolsonaristas in the early hours of Tuesday. Continue reading... |
| 20 meat and dairy firms emit more greenhouse gas than Germany, Britain or France Posted: 07 Sep 2021 01:00 AM PDT Livestock companies with large emissions receive billions of dollars in funding, campaigners say Twenty livestock companies are responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than either Germany, Britain or France – and are receiving billions of dollars in financial backing to do so, according to a new report by environmental campaigners. Raising livestock contributes significantly to carbon emissions, with animal agriculture accounting for 14.5% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. Scientific reports have found that rich countries need huge reductions in meat and dairy consumption to tackle the climate emergency. Continue reading... |
| Hong Kong: international companies reconsider future in wake of security law Posted: 06 Sep 2021 05:00 PM PDT Businesses reassess presence in territory amid curbs on movement and doubts about legal system's reliability, with many building up offices in Singapore International companies are being forced to reconsider their future in Hong Kong as China's crackdown on civil liberties and the freedom of media and tech companies continues to gather pace, according to leading business figures in the region. With businesses already facing restrictions because of the pandemic, the introduction of the national security law last year and the government shutdown of the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper have sparked its biggest-ever exodus of people and rocked confidence in a city once synonymous with vibrant economic activity. Continue reading... |
| Pelé recovering in hospital after operation to remove tumour Posted: 06 Sep 2021 04:12 PM PDT
Brazil football great Pelé said on Monday that he was recovering in hospital from surgery to remove a tumour from his colon. Pelé, the only player to win three World Cups, did not say whether the tumour was malignant but the 80-year-old former Santos and New York Cosmos player said he was feeling good. Continue reading... |
| Nadhim Zahawi ‘not comfortable’ with breaking manifesto promises Posted: 07 Sep 2021 12:24 AM PDT Minister's comments come as PM prepares to announce rise in NI contributions to fund social care A UK government minister has said he is "not comfortable with breaking any manifesto promises" as the prime minister prepares to announce an increase in national insurance contributions to fund health and social care and limit a rise in the state pension. Nadhim Zahawi, the vaccine deployment minister, was defending plans to fund an overhaul of social care and tackle the NHS backlog, which have attracted criticism from Conservative frontbenchers, former chancellors and the party's so-called "red wall" MPs. Continue reading... |
| Muppets creator Jim Henson’s London home gets blue plaque Posted: 06 Sep 2021 11:50 PM PDT US puppeteer behind Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock honoured with plaque at former Hampstead home Jim Henson, the creator of the Muppets, has been honoured with a blue plaque at his former London home. The US puppeteer, acclaimed for his work on Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock and as director of The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, lived at 50 Downshire Hill in Hampstead from 1979. Continue reading... |
| Third person dies in Japan after taking contaminated Moderna coronavirus vaccine Posted: 06 Sep 2021 09:20 PM PDT A 49-year-old man died the day after taking his second shot of the vaccine, though authorities said a causal link has not been identified A third man has died in Japan after receiving an injection from one of three batches of Moderna vaccines since identified as contaminated, though authorities say no causal link has yet been found. The 49-year-old man had his second shot on 11 August and died the following day. His only known health issue was an allergy to buckwheat, the health ministry said on Monday. As with the previous two deaths, the ministry said it had yet to establish if the latest fatality was linked to the vaccine. Continue reading... |
| ‘You bloody fool’: Australian talking duck proves birds can imitate speech Posted: 06 Sep 2021 07:46 PM PDT The first documented instance of ducks being able to mimic sounds has researchers reviewing the evolution of vocal language learning in birds Australian musk ducks can imitate sounds including human speech, with one bird recorded repeatedly saying "you bloody fool", according to a new study. The recording of the talking duck appears to be the first comprehensively documented instance of the species being able to mimic sounds they hear, joining other birds including songbirds, parrots and hummingbirds. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 07 Sep 2021 02:39 AM PDT People such as oncology and transplant patients to be offered third jabs this month; Vietnam sentences man who passed Covid to at least eight people
A coalition of environmental groups have called for this year's climate summit to be postponed, arguing that too little has been done to ensure the safety of participants amid the continuing threat from Covid-19. AP report that the Climate Action Network, which includes more than 1,500 organizations in 130 countries, said there is a risk that many government delegates, civil society campaigners and journalists from developing countries may be unable to attend because of travel restrictions. The UN climate conference, known as Cop26, is scheduled for early November in Scotland.
The rate of registered suicides in England has returned to pre-pandemic levels following disruption to coroners' inquests, provisional figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) suggest. There were 10.4 registered suicides per 100,000 people in the first half of 2021. The suicide rate in the second quarter of 2021 was statistically significantly higher than the rate in the second quarter of 2020, when there were 7.0 registered suicides per 100,000. Continue reading... |
| Jacinda Ardern finalising deals for extra Pfizer doses as Covid cases steady Posted: 06 Sep 2021 09:55 PM PDT New Zealand reported 21 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, as everywhere except Auckland prepares to come out of lockdown New Zealand's Covid cases continue to plateau, with 21 new cases announced on Tuesday. The country has reported 20 cases a day for the past three days in a row. All of the new cases are in Auckland, the city which remains in a level four lockdown. The rest of the country will come out of lockdown tonight, although some restrictions remain on gathering size and using masks in some public places. Continue reading... |
| ‘No one may be compelled’: Zimbabwe unions go to court over Covid jabs Posted: 06 Sep 2021 11:00 PM PDT Firms accused of 'rounding up workers like animals' for compulsory vaccination as country acts to stop spread of virus Thousands of workers in Zimbabwe have been told they will face the sack if they refuse to be vaccinated with one of the Covid-19 jabs, according to the country's biggest worker's union. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), an amalgamation of 35 labour unions representing 189,000 people, has accused employers of infringing workers' rights, saying there is no law providing for compulsory vaccinations. It has taken the government and six companies to court for ordering employees to have the vaccine, arguing that the companies are "taking the law into their own hands" by forcing the issue. Continue reading... |
| ‘Our children are hungry’: economic crisis pushes Afghans to desperation Posted: 06 Sep 2021 09:00 PM PDT Afghans forced to sell possessions on streets of Mazar-e-Sharif as fragile economy buckles under instability Yasemeen sits in the back of an open trailer with a bundle of her family's old clothes wrapped in scarves and some used notebooks already full of a child's handwriting. The vehicle pulls over in a busy roundabout in central Mazar-e-Sharif, a city that until the Taliban takeover last month was known as the economic powerhouse of northern Afghanistan. Now, it is a scene of desperation as Afghanistan's economic crisis sends ordinary people like Yasemeen on to the street to sell their last possessions. Continue reading... |
| The disastrous voyage of Satoshi, the world’s first cryptocurrency cruise ship Posted: 06 Sep 2021 10:00 PM PDT Last year, three cryptocurrency enthusiasts bought a cruise ship. They named it the Satoshi, and dreamed of starting a floating libertarian utopia. It didn't work out On the evening of 7 December 2010, in a hushed San Francisco auditorium, former Google engineer Patri Friedman sketched out the future of humanity. The event was hosted by the Thiel Foundation, established four years earlier by the arch-libertarian PayPal founder Peter Thiel to "defend and promote freedom in all its dimensions". From behind a large lectern, Friedman – grandson of Milton Friedman, one of the most influential free-market economists of the last century – laid out his plan. He wanted to transform how and where we live, to abandon life on land and all our decrepit assumptions about the nature of society. He wanted, quite simply, to start a new city in the middle of the ocean. Friedman called it seasteading: "Homesteading the high seas," a phrase borrowed from Wayne Gramlich, a software engineer with whom he'd founded the Seasteading Institute in 2008, helped by a $500,000 donation from Thiel. In a four-minute vision-dump, Friedman explained his rationale. Why, he asked, in one of the most advanced countries in the world, were they still using systems of government from 1787? ("If you drove a car from 1787, it would be a horse," he pointed out.) Government, he believed, needed an upgrade, like a software update for a phone. "Let's think of government as an industry, where countries are firms and citizens are customers!" he declared. Continue reading... |
| ‘There is so much bad behaviour everywhere’: how to raise a good child in a terrible world Posted: 07 Sep 2021 02:00 AM PDT Amid Trump, #MeToo and rising hate crime, science writer Melinda Wenner Moyer decided it was time to learn how to stop her kids becoming 'assholes'. Her research became an unusual, much-needed parenting book When Melinda Wenner Moyer looked around in the autumn of 2018, she saw everywhere what she would describe as "assholes". In the US and the UK, hate crime was – and is – rising. Across the world, #MeToo allegations continued to come. Donald Trump was in the White House and "I just felt like there was so much bad behaviour everywhere," says Moyer. "I started thinking about my kids and worrying about 'Who were they going to become?' and 'What were they learning from this behaviour?' if they were seeing it on TV or hearing about it from their friends." Moyer realised: "What I wanted more than anything else was for my kids to not grow up to be assholes." Moyer, a science journalist and parenting columnist, decided to go through the research and ended up writing a book with the pleasing title How to Raise Kids Who Aren't Assholes. In the vast realm of parenting advice, there was plenty on diet, sleep and how to turn your child into a superhuman genius, but not a great deal on how to create a kind, compassionate person. Continue reading... |
| The 15 greatest games of the 2010s – ranked! Posted: 07 Sep 2021 02:04 AM PDT The 2010s birthed games that changed the world, from Grand Theft Auto V to Pokémon Go. In a decade with so many exceptional games to pick from, which will win out? (Niantic, 2016) Continue reading... |
| The children of 9/11: haunted by their fathers’ last hours, some dread the anniversary Posted: 06 Sep 2021 10:00 PM PDT Children who lost a parent that day share a burden of grief, prying questions and ubiquitous footage of the disaster that killed their parents Robyn Higley has always hated September. It's the month when everything bad happens, when her spirits, generally so bright and bubbly the rest of the year, grow bleak and deflated. She feels sad in September. Though she doesn't fully understand why. Continue reading... |
| Licence to krill: the destructive demand for a ‘better’ fish oil Posted: 06 Sep 2021 10:01 PM PDT Industrial fishing of the tiny crustacea in a dietary supplements gold rush is threatening the very base of the food chain • This article was produced with the Environmental Reporting Collective, whose full report is part of the Oceans Inc collaborative investigative series on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing It's a costly expedition, through some of the roughest seas in the world, to reach the Antarctic peninsula. A journey through Drake Passage to Subarea 48.1 faces treacherous weather, where waves can reach 12 metres (40ft) high. And yet it is a risk that 14 vessels considered worth taking last year alone, as countries increasingly venture into the Antarctic to catch a species with great value to the billion-dollar health supplement industry: krill. Continue reading... |
| Police Scotland admits failings contributing to car crash death Posted: 07 Sep 2021 02:13 AM PDT Force pleads guilty to failings over death of woman who lay undiscovered for three days after crash reported Police Scotland has admitted its failings "materially contributed" to the death of a woman who lay undiscovered in a crashed car with her partner for three days after the incident was reported to police. The force on Tuesday pleaded guilty to health and safety failings, following the deaths of John Yuill, 28, and Lamara Bell, 25, who died after their car crashed off the M9 near Stirling in July 2015. Continue reading... |
| From the Vine review – laugh-free comedy of midlife Italian escape Posted: 07 Sep 2021 02:00 AM PDT Joe Pantoliano stars as a disaffected executive setting out to revive his grandfather's vineyard in this tiresomely whimsical tale An Italian-American man in late middle age rejects the rat race and embarks on a voyage of self-discovery and winemaking in this lifelessly unfunny comedy. It's Eat Pray Love for wealthy male boomers: embarrassingly sincere and iffily patronising to its Italian characters. The star is veteran character actor Joe Pantoliano, who played toupeed scumbag Ralph Cifaretto in The Sopranos – he looks deeply uncomfortable here as Marco Gentile, a nice-guy car industry CEO. For most of the movie Pantoliano keeps his mouth fixed in what is meant to be, I think, a warm, welcoming smile. But maybe it's the Sopranos baggage: his grin looks to have a slight edge of hostility, like a shark flashing its teeth. At the beginning of the movie Marco impulsively quits his job, taking the moral high ground on an ethical issue with his Canadian company's board. He books a ticket to Italy, where he left aged six for a better life in the US – though, of course, the lesson coming his way is that what a better life actually entails is the simple pleasure of sitting under a tree peeling an orange with a penknife while wearing a handkerchief as a makeshift hat. Continue reading... |
| Charles has ‘no knowledge’ of alleged offer of honours, says Posted: 06 Sep 2021 11:08 AM PDT Clarence House says Prince of Wales supports investigation after he and trusted aide reported to police The Prince of Wales has "no knowledge" of the alleged honours and citizenship controversy, Clarence House has said, after Charles and his most trusted aide were reported to the police over the claims. At least two complaints have been made to the Metropolitan police over allegations that a wealthy Saudi businessman was offered help to secure an honour and British citizenship after donating to Charles's charities. Continue reading... |
| Joe Biden to referee Democrats in brewing battle over $3.5tn budget bill Posted: 07 Sep 2021 02:00 AM PDT Centrists are concerned about the price tag, while progressives say they will oppose attempt to cut funding in the proposal Congress will return from its summer recess later this month, and some Democrats are already gearing up for a political fight – with each other. Democratic lawmakers are looking to pass their $3.5tn spending package, after the House and the Senate approved the blueprint for the budget bill last month. The ambitious legislation encompasses much of Joe Biden's economic agenda, including proposals to expand access to affordable childcare, invest in climate-related initiatives and broaden Medicare coverage. Continue reading... |
| Alibaba sexual assault case dropped as China police say ‘forcible indecency’ not a crime Posted: 06 Sep 2021 11:00 PM PDT Manager accused of rape released after 15 days, the maximum punishment for someone who molests another Prosecutors in China have dropped a case against an Alibaba manager accused of sexually assaulting an employee, saying he committed "forcible indecency" but that it did not constitute a crime. In August a female employee of the e-commerce giant posted a lengthy statement accusing a manager of raping her during a business trip, and claiming that management at the company did not take her complaint seriously. Alibaba pledged to cooperate with a police investigation, fired the manager, and suspended other employees. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 07 Sep 2021 02:40 AM PDT Eight deaths mourned in NSW; at least 90 of Victoria's new cases linked to known outbreaks; Queensland leaders criticise federal government over vaccine supply as state records another Covid-free day This blog is now closed
That's where I will leave you for today. Here's a wrap of what we learned:
Need an explainer on the criss-crossing discourse on vaccine allocations to states? Look no further, Sarah Martin has you covered: Related: Explainer: Is each state in Australia getting its fair share of Covid vaccine doses? Continue reading... |
| The Taliban are showing us the dangers of personal data falling into the wrong hands Posted: 06 Sep 2021 11:30 PM PDT Digital ID systems are a powerful development tool, providing a legal identity to millions, but their misuse can be deadly The Taliban have openly talked about using US-made digital identity technology to hunt down Afghans who have worked with the international coalition – posing a huge threat to everyone recorded in the system. In addition, the extremists now also have access to – and control over – the digital identification systems and technologies built through international aid support. These include the e-Tazkira, a biometric identity card used by Afghanistan's National Statistics and Information Authority, which includes fingerprints, iris scans and a photograph, as well as voter registration databases. It also includes the Afghan personnel and pay system, used by the interior and defence ministries to pay the army and police. Continue reading... |
| Taliban claim victory over last resistance stronghold of Panjshir province – video Posted: 06 Sep 2021 05:33 PM PDT Video released by the Taliban shows the militants raising their flag outside the governor's office in the capital of Panjshir province, the last major holdout since Kabul fell in August. The Taliban say they've captured the mountain valley where anti-Taliban militia and remnants of the regular Afghan army and special forces have been holding out. But an official from the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan has said the fight continues.
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| Israel: one-year-old conjoined twin girls see each other for the first time after surgery – video Posted: 06 Sep 2021 10:13 AM PDT One-year-old twin girls have looked at each other for the first time after a complex surgery to separate them at Soroka medical centre in Beersheba, Israel. Dozens of experts from Israel and abroad were involved in the preparation and 12-hour procedure. The team used 3D- and virtual-reality models to map the complex operation. This enabled simulations and practice to be undertaken before the actual procedure. Soroka's chief paediatric neurosurgeon, Mickey Gideon, said: 'We have done the reconstruction of the brain membrane, a reconstruction of the skull and now the plastic surgeons continue the surgery for the sealing of the skin' Continue reading... |
| Six Palestinian militants escape high-security Israeli prison – video Posted: 06 Sep 2021 05:33 AM PDT Six Palestinian militants have broken out of a high-security Israeli prison in what the prime minister, Naftali Bennett, called a grave incident. Israeli police and the military started a search after the escape from Gilboa prison in northern Israel on Monday. Continue reading... |
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