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- Coronavirus: China purges regional leaders hours after spike in deaths and new cases
- Marie Yovanovitch: former ambassador warns of ‘amoral’ US foreign policy
- Cabinet reshuffle: McVey, Leadsom, Villiers and Smith among those sacked – live news
- In wake of Brexit, EU to put Cayman Islands on tax haven blacklist
- US touts partial ceasefire with Taliban in push for election-year troop reduction
- Wartime bomb damage and asbestos inflates Big Ben repair bill to £80m
- Derry man to appear in court charged with Lyra McKee murder
- Scientists find evidence of 'ghost population' of ancient humans
- Global oil demand set for first decline in 10 years as coronavirus hits growth - business live
- Jeff Bezos buys lavish Beverly Hills estate for record $165m – report
- Car ‘splatometer’ tests reveal huge decline in number of insects
- Living in the climate emergency: Australia's new fire zone
- Brexit: Macron pushes for tougher EU negotiating position
- Healing hands: the Italian surgeon treating Libya torture camp survivors
- Controversy rages over Trump interference in Roger Stone case – live updates
- Fifth Sun by Camilla Townsend review – a revolutionary history of the Aztecs
- How the coronavirus spread across China and the world – visual explainer
- Coalition grants spreadsheets only shared with PM's office, auditor general says – as it happened
- African countries braced for 'inevitable' arrival of coronavirus
- What China’s empty new coronavirus hospitals say about its secretive system
- Does electing a leader with Jewish roots prove Jobbik has changed?
- Coronavirus outbreak 'could still go in any direction', says WHO director – video
- Passenger describes life on cruise ship refused port due to coronavirus fears – video
| Coronavirus: China purges regional leaders hours after spike in deaths and new cases Posted: 12 Feb 2020 09:50 PM PST Political fallout from outbreak continues, with three more leaders sacked, as change in criteria leads to surge of cases The number of deaths and infections caused by the coronavirus in China has risen dramatically after authorities changed the way they calculate the figures amid an ongoing purge of party officials in the stricken province of Hubei and in Hong Kong. Figures released on Thursday morning showed deaths in Hubei, the epicentre of the deadly outbreak, had increased by 254 and new confirmed cases rose by over 15,000 – a jump of about a third on the total so far. Continue reading... |
| Marie Yovanovitch: former ambassador warns of ‘amoral’ US foreign policy Posted: 12 Feb 2020 05:56 PM PST She cited a need for the country to be 'principled, consistent and trustworthy' while accepting an award for diplomacy The former US ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch, has warned that the US had adopted an "amoral" foreign policy that "substitutes threats, fear and confusion for trust". In her first public remarks since leaving the US foreign service two weeks ago, Yovanovitch said that the Trump administration's handling of foreign policy risked alienating allies and driving them into the arms of other partners they find more reliable. Continue reading... |
| Cabinet reshuffle: McVey, Leadsom, Villiers and Smith among those sacked – live news Posted: 13 Feb 2020 02:42 AM PST Boris Johnson has begun a much-anticipated post election reshuffle to his cabinet
Geoffrey Cox has posted his resignation letter on Twitter. "Leaving the government at the PM's request" is a polite way of confirming that he has been sacked. I have been truly privileged to have served as Attorney General during the recent turbulent political times. I am now leaving the Government at the PM's request. I shall continue to represent and stand up strongly for the interests of Torridge and West Devon. pic.twitter.com/Fo9SHLIe5i
As Gavin Freeguard points out at the Institute for Government's reshuffle live blog (a bit like this, but with fewer jokes, and more graphs), Esther McVey's sacking means that we will now be onto our 10th housing minister since 2010. Continue reading... |
| In wake of Brexit, EU to put Cayman Islands on tax haven blacklist Posted: 13 Feb 2020 02:19 AM PST Decision on British overseas territory comes less than two weeks after UK left bloc The Cayman Islands, a British overseas territory, is to be put on an EU blacklist of tax havens, less than two weeks after the UK's withdrawal from the bloc. In a clear indication of the country's loss of influence on the EU's decision-making, the bloc's 27 finance ministers are expected to sign off on the decision next week. Continue reading... |
| US touts partial ceasefire with Taliban in push for election-year troop reduction Posted: 12 Feb 2020 03:28 PM PST Taliban officials have reportedly offered a seven-day 'reduction of violence' but Afghanistan experts question long-term significance The US and Taliban are close to agreeing to a partial week-long ceasefire in Afghanistan intended to be a precursor to broader peace talks and withdrawal of at least some US troops. Negotiators from both sides have been discussing the deal in Qatar and have said that an agreement is close. The Associated Press quoted two Taliban officials as saying they would walk away from the negotiating table if the offer of a seven-day "reduction of violence" was not accepted. Continue reading... |
| Wartime bomb damage and asbestos inflates Big Ben repair bill to £80m Posted: 12 Feb 2020 06:19 PM PST Conservation work on Elizabeth Tower is 'more complex than anticipated' The repair bill to fix parliament's Elizabeth Tower that houses Big Ben has increased by £18.6m to nearly £80m following the discovery of asbestos, second world war bomb damage and pollution problems. Conservation work on the 177-year-old structure, which is supposed to be completed at the end of next year, led to the discovery by the project team after intrusive surveys, parliamentary officials have disclosed. Continue reading... |
| Derry man to appear in court charged with Lyra McKee murder Posted: 13 Feb 2020 02:37 AM PST Prominent local republican Paul McIntyre arrested in Northern Ireland on Tuesday A Derry man charged with the murder of the journalist Lyra McKee in the city last year is expected to appear in court later. Prominent local republican Paul McIntyre is due to appear before Derry magistrates court on Thursday morning. Continue reading... |
| Scientists find evidence of 'ghost population' of ancient humans Posted: 12 Feb 2020 11:00 AM PST Traces of unknown ancestor emerged when researchers analysed genomes from west African populations Scientists have found evidence for a mysterious "ghost population" of ancient humans that lived in Africa about half a million years ago and whose genes live on in people today. Traces of the unknown ancestor emerged when researchers analysed genomes from west African populations and found that up to a fifth of their DNA appeared to have come from the missing relatives. Continue reading... |
| Global oil demand set for first decline in 10 years as coronavirus hits growth - business live Posted: 13 Feb 2020 02:40 AM PST Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, as the International Energy Authority predicts first drop in oil demand in a decade
Here's some reaction to the IEA's prediction that oil demand will fall sharply this quarter: BREAKING Oil demand will fall in 1Q due to coronavirus impact, the first quarterly contraction since the 2008-09 global financial crisis, the @IEA says. Also, IEA cuts global demand growth for 2020 to a paltry 825,000 b/d, the lowest annual since 2011 | #OOTT pic.twitter.com/Y1PEK0sLjT Global oil demand in the first quarter this year will be just 100,000 b/d more than it was in the same quarter *two years* ago, according to the IEA. #oott #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/Js4J178byZ
Germany, France and Italy -- the EU's three biggest countries -- are expected to grow the slowest this year, the EC adds. Growth forecast for 2020 (%): |
| Jeff Bezos buys lavish Beverly Hills estate for record $165m – report Posted: 12 Feb 2020 05:14 PM PST Amazon founder purchases nine-acre estate once owned by Warner Bros president, Wall Street Journal says Jeff Bezos has set a new property price record in Los Angeles with the purchase of a $165m Beverly Hills estate, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Amazon founder's purchase of the home from the media mogul David Geffen is the largest amount paid for a single-family Los Angeles-area home. The nine-acre estate originally belonged to Jack Warner, the late former president of Warner Bros Studios. Warner built up the estate's 13,600-sq-ft Georgian-style mansion in the 1930s, reportedly with the wood floor that Napoleon was standing on when he proposed to Josephine. Continue reading... |
| Car ‘splatometer’ tests reveal huge decline in number of insects Posted: 12 Feb 2020 12:00 PM PST Research shows abundance at sites in Europe has plunged by up to 80% in two decades Two scientific studies of the number of insects splattered by cars have revealed a huge decline in abundance at European sites in two decades. The research adds to growing evidence of what some scientists have called an "insect apocalypse", which is threatening a collapse in the natural world that sustains humans and all life on Earth. A third study shows plummeting numbers of aquatic insects in streams. Continue reading... |
| Living in the climate emergency: Australia's new fire zone Posted: 12 Feb 2020 11:00 AM PST Areas of Australia have burnt during the recent bushfire season that used to be too wet to burn. In this first episode of The Frontline, a new series that shows how everyday Australians are already experiencing the climate crisis, we go inside the new fire zone Continue reading... |
| Brexit: Macron pushes for tougher EU negotiating position Posted: 13 Feb 2020 02:34 AM PST French government wants stronger UK commitments on 'level playing field' with EU Emmanuel Macron is making a last-ditch push for a tougher EU negotiating position with Britain over the post-Brexit relationship despite concerns among other member states that they risk blowing up the talks before they have begun. The conclusion of an internal decision on Brussels's so-called level playing field demands has been delayed as the French government continues to push for stronger commitments on regulatory alignment to be asked of the British in return for maintaining free trade. Continue reading... |
| Healing hands: the Italian surgeon treating Libya torture camp survivors Posted: 13 Feb 2020 01:00 AM PST Prof Massimo Del Bene aids African migrants whose captors inflicted horrific injuries to extort ransom payments The first patient was a young Ghanaian man who had been tortured every day for more than a year in Libya by traffickers trying to extort a ransom for his release, says Prof Massimo Del Bene, head of reconstructive surgery at the San Gerardo hospital in Monza, north of Milan. Since then, the surgeon renowned for performing the first double hand transplant in Italy, has adapted his expertise to what he calls "torture surgery", helping African migrants who have survived Libyan detention camps, where traffickers and criminal gangs are documented to have tortured captives to extort ransom money. Continue reading... |
| Controversy rages over Trump interference in Roger Stone case – live updates Posted: 13 Feb 2020 02:28 AM PST
Good morning. Controversy continues to rage over Donald Trump's intervention in the sentencing of his friend and unofficial adviser Roger Stone – which Democrat Chuck Schumer has called "a crisis in the rule of law in America". Related: Barr agrees to testify to Congress amid growing outrage over Roger Stone case Related: Roger Stone sentencing explained: the controversy over Trump's intervention Related: Roger Stone furore shows 'crisis of credibility' in US justice system, experts warn Related: Iowa Democratic party chair resigns after caucus chaos Related: Marie Yovanovitch: former ambassador warns of 'amoral' US foreign policy Related: After a disappointing start, where does Elizabeth Warren go from here? Continue reading... |
| Fifth Sun by Camilla Townsend review – a revolutionary history of the Aztecs Posted: 12 Feb 2020 11:30 PM PST A famous narrative turned on its head – how the Spanish conquistadors, not the Aztecs, were driven by bloodlust In the summer of 1520, the artist Albrecht Dürer viewed a sampling of the treasures the conquistador Hernán Cortés had recently shipped to Europe from the land that would later be called Mexico. In his diary, Dürer enthused about a golden sun "a whole fathom broad, and a moon all of silver of the same size", plus "all kinds of wonderful objects". "All the days of my life," he wrote, "I have seen nothing that rejoiced my heart so much as these things." The awe with which Europeans at first beheld the civilisation of the people who would be known as the Aztecs – they called themselves the Mexica – would not last long. They would later be remembered mainly through images of hearts torn from living bodies with obsidian blades and corpses tumbling down bloody-stepped pyramids, as a people ruled by ritualised bloodlust, trapped in a rigid fatalism, easily conquered by more agile newcomers from across the sea. Moctezuma, the story goes, mistook Cortés for a god whose return had long been prophesied, and surrendered his empire without a fight. Continue reading... |
| How the coronavirus spread across China and the world – visual explainer Posted: 13 Feb 2020 02:50 AM PST Confirmed cases of flu-like virus span 29 countries, with 1,300 deaths, all but two in mainland China The coronavirus epidemic began in Wuhan, a city of more than 11 million people and the capital of the Hubei province in China. The latest data from Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering shows that the number of deaths from the virus has exceeded 1,300, all in mainland China with the exception of one person in Hong Kong and another in the Philippines. Continue reading... |
| Coalition grants spreadsheets only shared with PM's office, auditor general says – as it happened Posted: 13 Feb 2020 12:15 AM PST Parliament sits for the final time this week, with threats to the government's promised surplus back in the spotlight. This blog is now closed
That's where we are going to end the blog today. It's been a DAY.
The committee ends the sports grants hearing for the night. The main takeaways: Continue reading... |
| African countries braced for 'inevitable' arrival of coronavirus Posted: 12 Feb 2020 10:26 AM PST Health centres step up preparations as World Health Organization raises fears about ability to cope with major outbreak African health authorities are stepping up preparedness for coronavirus after the head of the World Health Organzation described the outbreak as a "very grave threat for the rest of the world". Although the number of cases in China appeared to have stabilised and started to decline, "this outbreak could still go in any direction," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Wednesday. Continue reading... |
| What China’s empty new coronavirus hospitals say about its secretive system Posted: 12 Feb 2020 08:50 AM PST Even after declaring a crisis, government seemed focused on managing its image as well as the outbreak China's two new hospitals built in as many weeks were the official face of its fight against the coronavirus in Wuhan. As the city was locked down, authorities promised that thousands of doctors would be on hand to treat 2,600 patients on the facilities' wards. Timelapse videos tracked the almost incomprehensibly fast construction of the hospitals, and state media celebrated their opening in early February. The only thing missing a week later? Patients. Continue reading... |
| Does electing a leader with Jewish roots prove Jobbik has changed? Posted: 11 Feb 2020 09:00 PM PST Hungarian political party says it is no longer far right, but its shift should not be exaggerated Hungary's Jobbik was one of the farthest right parties in Europe. One of its MPs suggested drawing up a list of Hungary's Jews, others had a history of racial hate speech, and the party was affiliated with the Hungarian Guard, a uniformed movement that on occasion terrorised Hungary's Roma communities. Recently, though, the party has a new message to voters: we're not far right any more. Continue reading... |
| Coronavirus outbreak 'could still go in any direction', says WHO director – video Posted: 12 Feb 2020 11:41 AM PST The World Health Organization director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said at a briefing on Wednesday that although the number of newly confirmed cases of coronavirus reported from China had stabilised over the past week, the outbreak 'could still go in any direction'. He also confirmed that Cambodia has agreed to accept the Westerdam cruise ship, which has been stranded at sea for several days over virus fears |
| Passenger describes life on cruise ship refused port due to coronavirus fears – video Posted: 12 Feb 2020 03:04 AM PST Thailand has become the fifth country to deny the MS Westerdam permission to dock over fears that some of its more than 2,000 passengers and crew may be infected with the new coronavirus. A passenger describes life onboard, with no cases of the virus yet found Continue reading... |
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