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- Homeowners demand full payout in Ireland’s crumbling homes scandal
- Hong Kong plans megacourt to deal with protest arrests backlog
- Nord Stream 2 approval may cool gas prices in Europe, says Russia
- Unseen Van Gogh sketches that rework scorned masterpiece to go on display
- US judge temporarily blocks Texas’ near-total abortion ban in blow to contentious law
- Prince Andrew allowed to review settlement between Virginia Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein
- Cop26 activists fear influx of English officers endangers ‘friendly’ policing
- The Nobel prize in literature 2021 – live!
- Pakistan earthquake: at least 20 dead after powerful 5.7 magnitude tremor
- Twitter trials warnings about ‘intense’ conversations
- Coronavirus live: 1.1m in UK estimated to have long Covid; Finland to pause Moderna jab for men under 30
- ‘We were like family’: how Covid strained bonds between Nordic neighbours
- Covid ‘still running rampant’ worldwide, warns creator of Oxford vaccine
- Courage in a crisis: how everyday citizens coped with Covid across the world
- ‘Facebook can’t keep its head in the sand’: five experts debate the company’s future
- The indecent exposure epidemic: ‘How are they not taking this seriously after Sarah Everard?’
- Europe’s best walking cities: Seven wonders of the wandering world
- The message: why should hip-hop have to teach us anything?
- Huxley, Hitchcock, and Hitchhiker’s Guide – take the Thursday quiz
- Tom Daley on love, grief and health: ‘It was hammered into me that I needed to lose weight’
- Boris Johnson picks navy chief as head of British armed forces
- New UN envoy to Yemen urged to broaden talks to end civil war
- Facebook’s role in Myanmar and Ethiopia under new scrutiny
- Texas abortion ban temporarily blocked | First Thing
- Fast track to disaster? Brazil’s Grain Train plan raises fears for Amazon
- Indigenous man dies during ‘violent struggle’ with Queensland police
- WHO endorses use of world’s first malaria vaccine in Africa
- 'We'll abide by the Taiwan agreement' says Biden after Xi call – video
- Record rainfall in Italy as extreme weather lashes country – video
| Homeowners demand full payout in Ireland’s crumbling homes scandal Posted: 07 Oct 2021 12:00 AM PDT Thousands could be left homeless in rural Ireland because of devastating building defect Homeowners in Ireland hit by a devastating building defect that causes walls to "crumble like Weetabix" are set to reject a government compensation scheme unless it offers to cover 100% of their costs. Campaigners say the prospect of dream homes being demolished is causing people to kill themselves and families to break up, and that thousands of people could be left homeless in rural Ireland. Continue reading... |
| Hong Kong plans megacourt to deal with protest arrests backlog Posted: 07 Oct 2021 02:27 AM PDT City's leader announces initiative as thousands still await trial, and also reveals project for new metropolis Hong Kong will build a new megacourt to address a shortage of space as it works through a backlog of the thousands arrested during the 2019 mass protests, and the more than 150 arrested under the national security law. The city's leader, Carrie Lam, announced the initiative on Wednesday in a policy address, which also included plans for a new metropolis on the border with mainland China and further tightening of national security laws. Continue reading... |
| Nord Stream 2 approval may cool gas prices in Europe, says Russia Posted: 07 Oct 2021 12:57 AM PDT Deputy PM calls for rapid clearance from German regulator after prices reach an all-time high Russia's deputy prime minister has said certification of the Nord Stream 2 undersea gas pipeline, which is awaiting clearance from Germany's regulator, could cool soaring European gas prices. Prices have risen sharply in response to a recovery in demand, particularly from Asia, with storage levels low. Continue reading... |
| Unseen Van Gogh sketches that rework scorned masterpiece to go on display Posted: 07 Oct 2021 02:00 AM PDT Preparatory work for 'redoing' of The Potato Eaters – savaged in his lifetime – to feature in exhibition A collection of Vincent van Gogh's preparatory drawings sketched ahead of a planned "redoing" of The Potato Eaters, a masterpiece brutally slated by buyers, friends and family at the time of its painting, are being exhibited for what is believed to be first time. The Dutch artist considered his depiction of a peasant family from the village of Nuenen in Brabant eating a meal of potatoes as one of only four of his works that could be regarded as important, alongside The Bedroom, Sunflowers and Augustine Roulin (La berceuse). Continue reading... |
| US judge temporarily blocks Texas’ near-total abortion ban in blow to contentious law Posted: 06 Oct 2021 06:32 PM PDT Judge excoriates 'unprecedented scheme' to deny women abortion right as law faces uncertain future A US federal judge has temporarily blocked the near-total ban on abortion in Texas, dealing the first legal blow against the contentious law and throwing its future into uncertainty. The law, known as Senate Bill 8, banned most abortions in the nation's second-most populous state and, until now, had withstood a wave of early challenges. Continue reading... |
| Prince Andrew allowed to review settlement between Virginia Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein Posted: 06 Oct 2021 11:01 PM PDT A court in New York has granted the royal's lawyers permission to see the confidential agreeement between his accuser and the late financier Prince Andrew will have a chance to review a 2009 settlement agreement that he hopes will shield him from a civil lawsuit accusing him of sexually abusing a woman two decades ago, when she was underage. In an order made in New York on Wednesday, US district judge Loretta Preska granted permission for Andrew's lawyers to receive a copy of the confidential agreement between the late financier Jeffrey Epstein and Virginia Giuffre. Continue reading... |
| Cop26 activists fear influx of English officers endangers ‘friendly’ policing Posted: 07 Oct 2021 02:57 AM PDT Climate groups concerned about presence in Glasgow of officers from forces known for heavy-handed tactics Climate campaigners are worried an influx of officers from elsewhere in the UK will undermine Police Scotland's commitment to rights-based policing of protests at Cop26. Groups planning protests around the critical November conference have told the Guardian they are concerned about the presence of officers from forces known for their use of heavy-handed tactics and that it is unclear how they will be held to account for their behaviour. Continue reading... |
| The Nobel prize in literature 2021 – live! Posted: 07 Oct 2021 03:27 AM PDT Which author will become the 114th literature laureate? According to the bookies, who since the Swedish Academy clamped down on its alleged leaks have been less insightful in their tips, French novelist Annie Ernaux, Canadian poet Anne Carson and Norwegian author and dramatist Jon Fosse are also in with a chance. Surely it can't be another North American poet however, after American poet Louise Glück took the award last year for "her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal". Continue reading... |
| Pakistan earthquake: at least 20 dead after powerful 5.7 magnitude tremor Posted: 06 Oct 2021 06:14 PM PDT Homes collapsed after the quake struck 100km east of Quetta in Balochistan, and officials fear the death toll could rise A 5.7 magnitude earthquake hit southern Pakistan in the early hours of Thursday, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 200, government officials said. The quake struck Balochistan at 3am local time and at a depth of around 20km (12 miles), the US Geological Survey said. Continue reading... |
| Twitter trials warnings about ‘intense’ conversations Posted: 07 Oct 2021 02:21 AM PDT Users urged to 'look out for each other' and 'remember the human' as platform tries to limit abuse Twitter users poised to dive into a heated online debate will be warned they are about to enter an "intense" conversation, under a safety trial. The social media platform is testing a feature that drops a notice under a potentially contentious exchange, stating: "Heads up. Conversations like this can be intense." Another prompt, which appears to be aimed at people making a reply, goes to greater lengths to calm down users and urges the tweeter to "look out for each other", "remember the human" and note that "diverse perspectives have value". Continue reading... |
| Posted: 07 Oct 2021 03:23 AM PDT Official figures suggest 1.7% of the population have long-Covid symptoms, Finnish decision comes after similar moves in Sweden and Denmark
A quick snap from Reuters reports that Uzbekistan has started producing the Russian-developed Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine domestically in a joint project with Russia. The nation already manufactures the Chinese-developed ZF-UZ-VAC2001 vaccine on its territory. Just a little more from the UK's education secretary and former vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi here. As part of his media round this morning he told ITV's Good Morning Britain "My pledge to your viewers and the country, as the prime minister pledged, is children will catch up by the end of this Parliament. By next month, I'll have the first cut of the evaluation of the tutoring programme, but it already looks good." Continue reading... |
| ‘We were like family’: how Covid strained bonds between Nordic neighbours Posted: 07 Oct 2021 01:00 AM PDT After Norway reintroduced a hard border with Sweden, a new nationalism began to replace the easy alliance of centuries Thorild Tollefsbøl was born in Norway but has lived in Sweden, with the border in her back yard, for more than 70 years. She could hardly believe her ears when, while out for her daily walk in the woods near the small farm town of Lersjön one day last spring, she encountered a uniformed soldier from the Norwegian Home Guard who told her to turn around and walk back to the Swedish side. "We never really gave much thought to the fact that some houses were on the other side," Tollefsbøl said of pre-Covid times. Europe's longest land border is the one that divides Norway and Sweden. For the most part, it is marked by little more than a 10-metre clearing in the woods and the occasional roadside welcome sign, accompanied by mostly unmanned customs stations – reminders that when you drive into Norway you are leaving the EU. Continue reading... |
| Covid ‘still running rampant’ worldwide, warns creator of Oxford vaccine Posted: 06 Oct 2021 11:00 AM PDT Prof Sarah Gilbert says failure to provide jabs to poor countries risks more deaths and dangerous new variants of virus Coronavirus is "still running rampant" worldwide and the failure to ensure poorer countries can access vaccines risks more deaths and the emergence of potentially dangerous new variants, the creator of the Oxford jab has warned. Pleading for immediate action to enable wider distribution of jabs across the world, Prof Dame Sarah Gilbert said the "ever-evolving" virus "continues to circulate unchecked", and, as a result, every country in the world now faces the threat of "further Sars-CoV-2 variants" this winter. Continue reading... |
| Courage in a crisis: how everyday citizens coped with Covid across the world Posted: 06 Oct 2021 11:07 PM PDT In a new Netflix documentary, the stories of activists and volunteers who stepped up to help during an impossible time are celebrated The film-makers behind Convergence: Courage in a Crisis set out to make a documentary on the pandemic, not politics. But separating the pandemic from politics can be as difficult as convincing your anti-vaxxer aunt to log off Facebook. Director Orlando von Einsiedel, alongside an ensemble of co-directors spread across the globe, from the US to India, began collaborating on the kaleidoscopic film in early April last year. They were capturing the uncertainty and the chaos, the apocalyptic emptiness of lockdowns, and the people who stepped up to help their communities; not just medical staff in underfunded and overwhelmed healthcare systems in places like Lima and London, but also those who stepped up to alleviate their burden. Continue reading... |
| ‘Facebook can’t keep its head in the sand’: five experts debate the company’s future Posted: 07 Oct 2021 03:00 AM PDT Whistleblower Frances Haugen testified the company is harming children and putting profits over safety, but what lies ahead? The congressional testimony of Frances Haugen is being described as a potential watershed moment after the former Facebook employee turned whistleblower warned lawmakers must "act now" to rein in the social media company. But the impact of the hearing – in which Haugen used her time at Facebook and leaked internal research to build a case that it is harming children, destabilizing democracies, and putting profits over safety – is uncertain, as lawmakers, experts and regulators remain split over the path forward. Continue reading... |
| The indecent exposure epidemic: ‘How are they not taking this seriously after Sarah Everard?’ Posted: 07 Oct 2021 02:00 AM PDT Flashing is a sexual offence, victims say it can have a lifelong impact and experts say it can lead to escalating crimes against women. Why is the police response so often dismissive? Cathkin Braes country park, in south Glasgow, is beautiful. You can see the city and, behind it, the mountains. Clara (not her real name), a 35-year-old community worker from Glasgow, went there in March to enjoy the view from her campervan. As she relaxed, she looked over and saw a car parked beside her, with the passenger window rolled down. A man was staring at her, and masturbating. He clearly relished her visible fright. "That is what was turning him on," Clara said. "His head was nearly out of the passenger window, staring at me." Because she was in a campervan, it wasn't easy to get away quickly: Clara had to get out to fold away some seats. "I decided to jump out," she says, "and when I looked at him, he was wiping ejaculation off his dashboard and looking at me." She took a photograph of his car numberplate and drove away. But the man realised what she had done and gave chase. For 15 minutes, he tailed her through the streets of Glasgow. Frightened for her life, Clara drove to a police station, but the man turned off before she arrived. Continue reading... |
| Europe’s best walking cities: Seven wonders of the wandering world Posted: 06 Oct 2021 11:00 PM PDT From atmospheric Berlin to Joyce's Trieste, via Marseille's markets and a wellbeing walk in Copenhagen, city strolls reward the curious rambler The art of flâneur-ing might be French and its most famous practitioners Parisians, but other European cultures have walking traditions, from the Italian passeggiata and Spanish paseo – social promenades to take the air as dusk falls – to German wanderlust: hiking with desire. Nothing opens up a city like a long ramble on foot. It's the only way to make a place your own and unearth discoveries not listed in guidebooks or apps. Continue reading... |
| The message: why should hip-hop have to teach us anything? Posted: 06 Oct 2021 10:00 PM PDT Almost since it first emerged on the streets of the Bronx, audiences have expected hip-hop to express a revolutionary purpose. But perhaps this music shouldn't have to take a political stand Halfway through side one of A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, the 1991 debut album by the hip-hop duo Black Sheep, some protesters interrupt the music. "Yo, man," one guy says. "Why don't you be kicking some records about, y'know, the upliftment of the Blacks?" Another asks why Black Sheep is silent about "the eating of the dolphins". Someone else mentions "the hole in the ho zone", turning environmental degradation into a dirty joke – perhaps unwittingly. In response to all these demands for instruction, the guys from Black Sheep can only chuckle. Something about hip-hop makes listeners greedy for more words, better words. But Black Sheep made a brilliant album. What more could anyone want? Continue reading... |
| Huxley, Hitchcock, and Hitchhiker’s Guide – take the Thursday quiz Posted: 07 Oct 2021 03:00 AM PDT Fourteen questions on general knowledge and topical trivia plus a few jokes every Thursday. How will you fare? The quiz remains the same. Fourteen questions on general knowledge and some topical date-based trivia, featuring some infuriating anagrams, the sublime Kate Bush and a hidden Doctor Who reference for you to spot. Do let us know how you get on in the comments – but beware, points can be deducted for displays of extreme pedantry. The Thursday quiz, No 24 If you do think there has been an egregious error in one of the questions or answers, please feel free to email martin.belam@theguardian.com, but remember, the quiz master's word is always final, and there will be so many things still in his inbox from during his holiday that he is sure to ignore it. Continue reading... |
| Tom Daley on love, grief and health: ‘It was hammered into me that I needed to lose weight’ Posted: 06 Oct 2021 10:00 PM PDT Fresh from winning gold in Tokyo, the diver answers readers' questions on everything from gay role models to his passion for knitting and the secrets of his success Tom Daley, Britain's most decorated diver, grew up in the spotlight. He was 14 when he made a splash at his first Olympics, in 2008, and at 15 he became a world champion. This year in Tokyo, at his fourth Games, he finally won a longed-for gold, with his synchronised diving partner, Matty Lee. In 2013, Daley came out – a rarity among professional sportspeople – and he has become a campaigner for LGBTQ+ rights. Now 27, he is married to the screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, with whom he has a three-year-old son. In a new autobiography, he describes struggles with injury, debilitating anxiety and coping with the death of his father, his biggest champion. Here, one of Britain's best-loved athletes gamely answers questions from our writer and Guardian readers on all of the above, as well as his other great passion: knitting. Continue reading... |
| Boris Johnson picks navy chief as head of British armed forces Posted: 07 Oct 2021 03:10 AM PDT Adm Sir Tony Radakin is first chosen from navy in 20 years and reflects switch of focus to Indo-Pacific region Boris Johnson has selected the head of the navy for the first time in 20 years as the next chief of Britain's armed forces, a choice intended to reinforce the UK's post-Brexit switch in focus to the Indo-Pacific region. The prime minister picked Adm Sir Tony Radakin for the £270,000 a year position from a field of five to replace Gen Sir Nick Carter, who had been criticised over the messy retreat from Afghanistan. Continue reading... |
| New UN envoy to Yemen urged to broaden talks to end civil war Posted: 06 Oct 2021 10:30 PM PDT Hans Grundberg must recognise more than two factions involved in conflict, says pro-independence group The new UN special envoy to Yemen has been urged to broaden negotiations to end the country's seven-year civil war and include the pro-independence Southern Transitional Council and other factions. Speaking to the Guardian from Aden, the head of the STC foreign affairs directorate, Mohammed al-Ghaithi, said the UN must recognise that outdated security council resolutions were restricting their efforts. Continue reading... |
| Facebook’s role in Myanmar and Ethiopia under new scrutiny Posted: 06 Oct 2021 10:00 PM PDT Whistleblower Frances Haugen adds to long-held concerns that social media site is fuelling violence and instability Whistleblower Frances Haugen's testimony to US senators on Tuesday shone a light on violence and instability in Myanmar and Ethiopia in recent years and long-held concerns about links with activity on Facebook. "What we saw in Myanmar and are now seeing in Ethiopia are only the opening chapters of a story so terrifying, no one wants to read the end of it," Haugen said in her striking testimony. Haugen warned that Facebook was "literally fanning ethnic violence" in places such as Ethiopia because it was not policing its service adequately outside the US. Continue reading... |
| Texas abortion ban temporarily blocked | First Thing Posted: 07 Oct 2021 03:03 AM PDT US federal judge rules law violates right to abortion in first legal challenge to Senate Bill 8. Plus, Alaska hospitals ration care Good morning. Texas's near-total abortion ban has been temporarily blocked after a US federal judge ruled that it violated the constitutional right to abortion, in the first legal challenge to Senate Bill 8. Is Texas's law unique? In some ways, yes. While other states have passed similar laws, SB8 delegates enforcement to private citizens, not prosecutors. What has SB8's effect been? Planned Parenthood said the number of patients at its Texas clinics fell by nearly 80% in the two weeks after the law took effect. What did the federal judge say? "Women have been unlawfully prevented from exercising control over their lives in ways that are protected by the constitution," Robert Pitman wrote. How bad are conditions? The conflict has driven 400,000 people into famine-like conditions, while up to 7 million people need food assistance in regions such as Tigray, Amhara and Afar, according to the UN. Meanwhile, whistleblower Frances Haugen accused Facebook of "literally fanning ethnic violence" in countries including Ethiopia because it is not properly monitoring its service outside the US. Continue reading... |
| Fast track to disaster? Brazil’s Grain Train plan raises fears for Amazon Posted: 07 Oct 2021 03:00 AM PDT Bolsonaro's government plans to build a 1,00km railway to export soya beans despite warnings of a 'catastrophe' for indigenous people and the environment The Final Countdown blared from speakers and the crowd broke into applause as one of Jair Bolsonaro's top lieutenants strode into the Amazon auditorium with glad tidings of a railroad to the future. "The 'Grain Train' is going to happen," Brazil's infrastructure minister, Tarcísio de Freitas, told the hundreds of mostly male spectators who had flocked there in a caravan of high-end SUVs. Continue reading... |
| Indigenous man dies during ‘violent struggle’ with Queensland police Posted: 07 Oct 2021 02:31 AM PDT Two men are on the run after fleeing the scene in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, while two police officers have minor injuries An Indigenous Queensland man has died during a "violent struggle" with police that also left two officers with minor injuries. Two other men were on the run after fleeing the scene of the incident in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, after midday on Thursday. Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning Continue reading... |
| WHO endorses use of world’s first malaria vaccine in Africa Posted: 06 Oct 2021 10:17 AM PDT World Health Organization's director general hails 'historic day' in fight against parasitic disease The World Health Organization has recommended the widespread rollout of the first malaria vaccine, in a move experts hope could save tens of thousands of children's lives each year across Africa. Hailing "an historic day", the WHO's director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that after a successful pilot programme in three African countries the RTS,S vaccine should be made available more widely. Continue reading... |
| 'We'll abide by the Taiwan agreement' says Biden after Xi call – video Posted: 06 Oct 2021 04:17 AM PDT Joe Biden says he has spoken to the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, about Taiwan and they have agreed to abide by the Taiwan agreement. Beijing sent about 150 warplanes into Taiwan's air defence zone over four days beginning on Friday, the same day China marked a key patriotic holiday, in a record escalation of its grey-zone military activity directed towards the island Continue reading... |
| Record rainfall in Italy as extreme weather lashes country – video Posted: 06 Oct 2021 02:29 AM PDT Parts of Italy have been hit by extreme weather, with records broken for the amount of rainfall and St Mark's Square in Venice flooded. The commune of Rossiglione in Genoa, Liguria, received 74cm (29.2in) of rain in 12 hours, a European record, while Sicily was also battered by heavy rain and strong winds Continue reading... |
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