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- Coronavirus live news: New Zealand active cases rise to 69, Australia 'close to deal' on vaccine
- End of an era: has coronavirus killed the political convention for good?
- Island nations have the edge in keeping Covid away – or most do
- Workers cancel family trips home amid fears Poland is next on quarantine list
- Belarus prepares for biggest protest yet after week of anger
- Lebanon launches Beirut investigation as it awaits verdict over former PM killing
- How fake award for a tycoon left Oxford University open to Chinese influence
- Donald Trump vows 'snapback' over humiliating UN defeat on Iran arms embargo
- Robert Trump: brother of president Donald Trump dies aged 71
- Newsweek apologizes for op-ed that questioned Kamala Harris' citizenship
- Plan to fence off Nairobi national park angers Maasai and conservationists
- Female Afghan peace negotiator wounded in assassination bid
- Israel continues airstrikes on Gaza in retaliation for Hamas balloon bombs
- Literary world overwhelmed by 600 books to be published on one day
- Naomi Campbell: ‘It’s time to reset’
- Whitehall ‘power grab’ raises fears about who's really running London
- Making billions v making ends meet: how the pandemic has split the US economy in two
- New Zealand has 69 active Covid cases after 13 more diagnosed
- Victoria calls on federal help to contain Covid-19 outbreaks in residential disability care
- 'I have destroyed my life for my children': the families trying to cross the Channel
- The plastic we use unthinkingly every day is killing our planet – and slowly but surely killing us | Andrew Paris
- Victory over Japan Day 75th anniversary - in pictures
- Royal family marks VJ Day anniversary in the UK – video
| Coronavirus live news: New Zealand active cases rise to 69, Australia 'close to deal' on vaccine Posted: 16 Aug 2020 02:33 AM PDT Australian health minister 'genuinely optimistic' about vaccine in 2021 as country reports 304 new cases and 17 deaths, while New Zealand adds 13 to total
Guidance urging travellers to avoid using public transport in Wales except for essential journeys is being scrapped from Monday. The Welsh government is telling people to act responsibly and avoid travelling at busy times where possible, as the number of coronavirus cases continues to fall.
Meanwhile, in Russia, 4,969 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed, bringing the nationwide tally to 922,853 – the fourth highest caseload in the world. Russia's coronavirus crisis response centre said that 68 people had died over the past 24 hours, bringing its official death toll to 15,685. It added that 732,968 people have recovered. Continue reading... |
| End of an era: has coronavirus killed the political convention for good? Posted: 16 Aug 2020 12:00 AM PDT With Democrats and Republicans holding no in-person conventions this year, some have called to ditch them completely – but others say they're a vital political tool There won't be any huge balloon drops at the Democratic or Republican party conventions this year. Presidential candidates will not get the chance to accept their nominations in front of massive, cheering crowds. Political reporters and strategists will not descend on a carefully selected American city to kick off the final stretch of the 2020 presidential election. And some in Washington say those changes may be for the best. Continue reading... |
| Island nations have the edge in keeping Covid away – or most do Posted: 15 Aug 2020 11:44 PM PDT Nations from New Zealand to Cuba closed borders promptly with strict quarantine rules, but the UK won't admit its 'serious mistake' Island nations have an advantage when it comes to stopping travellers importing disease, be it Covid or other infections. Seas are usually harder to cross than land, and beaches are easier to police. There are no cross-border towns, and fewer ways to sneak over frontiers. Continue reading... |
| Workers cancel family trips home amid fears Poland is next on quarantine list Posted: 15 Aug 2020 11:22 PM PDT Key staff say they cannot afford to lose two weeks' work to self-isolate In many ways things are going very well for Agie & Katie, a traditional Polish restaurant in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent. It was named West Midlands restaurant of the year in 2019 and then a few months ago it won a Good Food award to go with its prestigious TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice rating. Things were going so well that in January the restaurant's eponymous founders considered buying a food truck to take their pierogi – traditional filled dumplings – to a wider customer base. But then came the virus and lockdown. Continue reading... |
| Belarus prepares for biggest protest yet after week of anger Posted: 16 Aug 2020 01:48 AM PDT Crisis-hit leader Lukashenko claims Putin has offered him 'comprehensive help' ahead of planned Minsk protest Belarusians are preparing for what could be the biggest protest in the country's history on Sunday afternoon, as an extraordinary week of rising protest sentiment comes to a close. Just seven days after authoritarian ruler, Alexander Lukashenko, claimed to have secured 80% of the vote in a presidential ballot, his legitimacy is in tatters and his regime is facing its biggest crisis since he first came to power 26 years ago. The protest mood was stoked further by egregious police violence against thousands of protesters early in the week. Continue reading... |
| Lebanon launches Beirut investigation as it awaits verdict over former PM killing Posted: 16 Aug 2020 01:01 AM PDT As quest for answers over massive port blast begins, a tribunal is expected announce findings on death of Rafik Hariri A military judge in Beirut will, on 17 August, start examining a report into the cataclysmic explosion that levelled parts of the city 12 days ago, and determine who might face charges. A day later, five thousand miles away in The Hague, an international tribunal is due to hand down a verdict into a blast that took place 15 years earlier, killing the country's former prime minister Rafik Hariri and unleashing a generation of havoc, from which it is yet to recover. The tales behind the two explosions are the most important events in the modern history of Lebanon. The 2005 assassination of a leader credited by many with leading a broken nation from the rubble of war had remained a searing wound, while the annihilation of much of Beirut on 4 August has left gaping new scars on the country's psyche. Continue reading... |
| How fake award for a tycoon left Oxford University open to Chinese influence Posted: 15 Aug 2020 11:09 PM PDT Meaningless certificate was handed to a Hong Kong businessman with links to Communist Party in hope of receiving cash donations An Oxford academic handed out a "meaningless" university qualification to a Hong Kong businessman with ties to the Chinese authorities at a high-profile ceremony in Shanghai last year, in the latest incident to raise concerns about Chinese influence on UK higher education. Alan Hudson awarded the title "Belt and Road Academician from Oxford University" to Chan King Wai, who is a member of an advisory body to China's rubber-stamp parliament, at a ceremony attended by an official from the British consulate and dozens of other people. Continue reading... |
| Donald Trump vows 'snapback' over humiliating UN defeat on Iran arms embargo Posted: 15 Aug 2020 06:19 PM PDT President says US will unilaterally reinstate sanctions a day after only two countries voted for prolonging embargo Donald Trump has vowed to use a contentious provision to unilaterally reinstate UN sanctions on Tehran, following what Iran's president said was a humiliating defeat for the US in its bid to extend an arms embargo on Tehran. A day after the UN security council overwhelmingly rejected a US resolution to extend the embargo, Trump said at a news conference at his New Jersey golf club: "We'll be doing a snapback. You'll be watching it next week." Continue reading... |
| Robert Trump: brother of president Donald Trump dies aged 71 Posted: 15 Aug 2020 08:10 PM PDT President confirms his younger brother has died after being taken to hospital in New York Donald Trump's younger brother, Robert Trump, died on Saturday night aged 71 after being hospitalised in New York, the president said in a statement. The president on Friday visited his brother in hospital after White House officials said Robert had become seriously ill. Officials did not immediately release a cause of death. Continue reading... |
| Newsweek apologizes for op-ed that questioned Kamala Harris' citizenship Posted: 15 Aug 2020 01:46 PM PDT Magazine's opinion editor and editor-in-chief ended note by saying op-ed would remain on the site Newsweek has apologized for an op-ed that questioned the California senator Kamala Harris' American citizenship and her eligibility to be Joe Biden's running mate, a false and racist conspiracy theory which Donald Trump has not dismissed. "This op-ed is being used by some as a tool to perpetuate racism and xenophobia. We apologize," read Newsweek's editor's note on Friday, which replaced the magazine's earlier detailed defense of the op-ed. Continue reading... |
| Plan to fence off Nairobi national park angers Maasai and conservationists Posted: 16 Aug 2020 12:30 AM PDT Ten-year management strategy aims to combat habitat loss and dwindling wildlife in Kenya's oldest national park Kenya's oldest national park, which is facing threats from habitat loss, a decline in wildlife species and government infrastructure developments, is at the centre of a fresh row over its future. Created through a colonial proclamation in December 1946, the 45-square mile Nairobi national park is the only sanctuary in the world where wild animals roam freely next to a bustling metropolis. Its ecological health is indicative of the country's efforts to preserve Africa's vanishing wildlife. Continue reading... |
| Female Afghan peace negotiator wounded in assassination bid Posted: 15 Aug 2020 08:51 PM PDT Women's rights activist Fawzia Koofi, a member of the team negotiating a deal with the Taliban, was shot in the arm A female member of Afghanistan's peace negotiating team has been slightly wounded in an assassination attempt, officials say. Fawzia Koofi, who is also a former parliamentarian, was attacked on Friday afternoon near the capital, Kabul, while returning from a visit to the northern province of Parwan. Continue reading... |
| Israel continues airstrikes on Gaza in retaliation for Hamas balloon bombs Posted: 15 Aug 2020 05:08 PM PDT Israeli forces say they bombed Hamas targets for a fifth consecutive night as clashes broke out along border Israeli aircraft have bombed sites belonging to the militant Hamas group in Gaza for a fifth night in a row, the Israel defence force says. The military said early on Sunday that the airstrikes were in response to arson balloons that Hamas-affiliated groups sent across the Gaza frontier into Israeli territory. Continue reading... |
| Literary world overwhelmed by 600 books to be published on one day Posted: 16 Aug 2020 12:29 AM PDT Hundreds of titles will flood the market because of Covid. It's bad news for minority authors, says former Booker prize judge Over the summer, novelist and screenwriter David Nicholls has been something of a hero. With a humorous nod to the less glamorous aspects of publishing life – hastily defrosted canapés and eked-out warm white wine – the author of One Day and adaptor of the Patrick Melrose novels has thrown a series of Twitter book launches, amplifying new releases from writers including (but far beyond) the big names who will automatically elicit review space and window displays. The responses from the authors, especially the debutants, to gaining the imprimatur of a much-loved and huge-selling colleague, and from readers to discovering books to connect with in a time of such immense disconnection, has been powerful and touching. It's a particularly nice example of someone paying it forward. Nicholls's virtual launches have been held every Thursday, the day new books are traditionally published in the UK, but this week's will be his last. Quite possibly, his publishers have reminded him that the paperback edition of his own book, Sweet Sorrow, needs some love, or perhaps he wants to get on with writing another. Continue reading... |
| Naomi Campbell: ‘It’s time to reset’ Posted: 16 Aug 2020 12:00 AM PDT The world's greatest supermodel has been a fearless champion of diversity in fashion for decades. Now she's relishing a moment of change An upside of our new Zoom-operated civilisation is supposed to be the abolishment of lateness. It's harder to justify when the commute is from your bed to the living room. Unless you're Naomi Campbell, of course. Twenty minutes into waiting for her to join our call, a message pops up from a representative apologising that she'd be a few minutes late. Another 20 minutes and I'm told she's "just working out how to sign in". I've been expecting the wait, comparatively tame compared to the tales of four-hour stake-outs I'd heard from other journalists. And then, suddenly, she enters, and the atmosphere changes even in a virtual room, international accent first and then the face that launched 1,000 covers; skin dewy and glowy, goddess-like; impossibly high cheekbones and honey-blonde highlights. "Hi," she says coyly. Polite but unapologetic. It's fascinating to witness in real time this acute awareness of her own mythology; an unspoken agreement with anyone she encounters that she will be operating according to her own time zone. Continue reading... |
| Whitehall ‘power grab’ raises fears about who's really running London Posted: 15 Aug 2020 11:39 PM PDT From TfL to planning laws, allies of Sadiq Khan say figures close to the prime minister are steadily eroding the mayor's influence When Sadiq Khan recently announced plans to move his team out of City Hall, the striking Thames-side building that has been headquarters for the London mayoralty for almost 20 years, close observers noted some worrying symbolism in the cost-cutting measure. The proposal would see the mayor move from this prime spot, across the river from the regal pomp of the Tower of London, to less-prominent digs five miles away in London's Royal Docks. Was this to be a diminished seat of power for a diminished office? For months now, allies of Khan have complained about an alleged power grab by the government. Across the mayor's key powers over transport, housing, policing and planning – as well as funding – they claim a series of clashes add up to an attack not just on him, but on the office itself. Continue reading... |
| Making billions v making ends meet: how the pandemic has split the US economy in two Posted: 16 Aug 2020 12:30 AM PDT US billionaires' wealth is soaring while millions remain unemployed, creating a country with two economies and increased inequality It's only a hundred miles from Manhattan to East Hampton but as the city swelters the Long Island town can seem a world away. Cool Atlantic breezes take the heat off long summer days spent on its miles of white, soft sand beaches. High-priced farm stands provide heirloom tomatoes, peaches and arugula to summer visitors and the mansions of the financial titans and the celebrities, including Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Julianne Moore and Robert Downey Jr, who summer there. Nor does the coronavirus pandemic seem to have dampened the 1%'s enthusiasm for the Hamptons. Continue reading... |
| New Zealand has 69 active Covid cases after 13 more diagnosed Posted: 15 Aug 2020 08:40 PM PDT Twelve spread in community while 13th emerged in a quarantined returning traveller, say authorities; PM Ardern due to decide on election New Zealand on Sunday reported 13 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus for the last 24 hours, as the country's first outbreak in months continued to grow. All but one of the new cases were from community transmission and appeared to be linked to a cluster in Auckland where the most recent outbreak started, said Ashley Bloomfield, the New Zealand director general of health. The 13th was a traveller who returned from abroad and was in managed quarantine. Continue reading... |
| Victoria calls on federal help to contain Covid-19 outbreaks in residential disability care Posted: 16 Aug 2020 01:35 AM PDT Daniel Andrews says a joint state-federal response unit is needed as 81 active coronavirus cases are linked to 53 disability facilities • Shorten lashes out at profit-driven aged care and Morrison government over Covid failings The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, has called on the federal government to take a greater role in the management of Covid-19 outbreaks with the disability sector, arguing for a response similar to the unit established for aged care. There are currently 81 active cases linked to more than 50 disability accomodation sites – the majority of which are regulated by federal authorities under the NDIS or are transitioning to commonwealth oversight – but experts and disability advocates say the crisis roiling the aged care sector shows the situation could quickly escalate. Continue reading... |
| 'I have destroyed my life for my children': the families trying to cross the Channel Posted: 14 Aug 2020 08:08 AM PDT More families arrive in Dunkirk each day and they would rather sleep in woods than seek asylum in France "They are kids, so they are always playing. Like children in the UK play mums and dads or doctors and nurses, our children will re-enact boat crossings, getting patted down by the police, going to food distributions, meeting smugglers. Because one of the way parents safeguard their children is to present attempted border crossings as an adventure." In a nature reserve near Dunkirk, Caia Fallowfield runs a play project for migrant children who live among the trees with no running water or toilets. These are the children who vanish overnight off the French coast and reappear on the front pages of British newspapers, being pulled out of dinghies in Dover, often cold, wet and frightened. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 15 Aug 2020 01:00 PM PDT As researchers, we have been shocked to find the most remote depths of the Pacific Ocean polluted by our plastic. And it will outlive us all. Another bottle. Yet another one. We are 200km from land, in the middle of the South Pacific, and this is the third bottle we've found already this morning. Everywhere is plastic. Continue reading... |
| Victory over Japan Day 75th anniversary - in pictures Posted: 15 Aug 2020 07:51 AM PDT VJ Day marks 75 years since Japan surrendered to the allied forces on 15 August 1945, ending hostilities in the second world war Continue reading... |
| Royal family marks VJ Day anniversary in the UK – video Posted: 15 Aug 2020 05:25 AM PDT The royal family leads the UK's commemorations on the 75th anniversary of VJ Day – the day the second world war ended with Japan's surrender. Prince Charles led a two-minute silence at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, as part of a service of remembrance. The prime minister also spoke at the event. Continue reading... |
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