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

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


Iran at breaking point as it fights third wave of coronavirus

Posted: 13 Oct 2020 10:00 PM PDT

Trust in government of exhausted and impoverished country is diminishing as death toll continues to rise

Iran, the crucible of coronavirus in the Middle East, smashed two grim records this week, reporting its largest number of deaths in a single 24 hours since the outbreak started in March, and the largest number of new infections.

Iranian health officials openly admit Iran is deep into its third, and biggest, wave of the disease, and evidence suggests an exhausted and impoverished country is struggling to cope as trust in government diminishes, sanctions weaken the economy and hospitals report overcrowded intensive care units.

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England's lockdown areas demand more help amid calls for 'circuit breaker'

Posted: 14 Oct 2020 02:37 AM PDT

West Midlands mayor among those calling for targeted job support scheme as new Covid restrictions come into force

The Conservative mayor of the West Midlands has warned that restrictions imposed on his region of 2.8 million people will devastate businesses and cause an "avoidable domino-effect across local economies".

In a letter to the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, Andy Street demanded a targeted job support scheme, funding for local government to facilitate grants and extended tax relief for hospitality firms in his area.

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Cristiano Ronaldo tests positive for coronavirus, Portugal confirm

Posted: 13 Oct 2020 07:50 AM PDT

  • Juventus forward is 'without symptoms, and in isolation'
  • Remaining Portugal players all tested negative on Tuesday

The Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo has tested positive for coronavirus, the Portuguese Football Federation has confirmed.

The 35-year-old is said to be "doing well, without symptoms, and in isolation", with no further positive tests reported in the squad before Portugal's Nations League match against Sweden on Wednesday.

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Will a 'normal Christmas' be possible under Covid?

Posted: 13 Oct 2020 11:00 PM PDT

Religious events and Santa Claus may have to adapt to restrictions, but TV could be a unifying force

Whether the term evokes warm images of carol singers and roaring fires or alcohol-fuelled family rows, it was a "normal Christmas" that Boris Johnson said was at stake when announcing the latest measures to combat the coronavirus.

Reiterating the need for hand washing, social distancing and masks, the prime minister said: "All that basic stuff is essential if we're going to come out of this and allow people to have anything like a normal Christmas."

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Covid crisis shows Trump sees older voters as 'expendable', says Biden

Posted: 13 Oct 2020 10:25 PM PDT

Democratic rival tells battleground state of Florida that president dismissed the threat the virus posed to older generations

Joe Biden has said Donald Trump views older voters as "expendable" and "forgettable" as the Democratic presidential candidate sought to win fresh support in the battleground state of Florida.

Biden's visit on Tuesday came a day after the president's own trip to Florida – his first outside Washington since his Covid-19 diagnosis.

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Temperatures of deepest ocean rising quicker than previously thought

Posted: 14 Oct 2020 02:18 AM PDT

Warming ocean contributes to sea level rise and to more extreme weather such as hurricanes

Even the pitch black, nearly freezing waters at the bottom of the ocean – far from where humans live and burn fossil fuels – are slowly warming, according to a study of a decade of hourly measurements.

The temperatures are rising quicker than previously thought, as recorded at stations at four different depths in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Uruguay. Between 2009 and 2019, the water there at points between 1,360m (4,462ft) and 4,757m deep warmed by 0.02-0.04C.

The change may seem minuscule, but it is significant.

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Coronavirus live news: restrictions tighten in Europe; antibody treatment trial paused

Posted: 14 Oct 2020 03:04 AM PDT

Netherlands and Russia report record daily cases; Eli Lilly says safety issue has suspended trials of LY-CoV555 drug; Emmanuel Macron set to announce new lockdown measures in France

Poland has reported a record 6,526 new coronavirus infections and 116 deaths today, with doctors warning the healthcare system is becoming overloaded.

The country of 38 million has now recorded 141,804 confirmed coronavirus cases and 3,217 deaths.

The Czech Republic has imposed a three-week partial lockdown shutting schools, restaurants, bars and clubs. Public consumption of alcohol is also banned.

The country has the highest new infection rate per 100,000 people in Europe.

Related: Czech Republic goes from model Covid-19 response to brink of second lockdown

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Kamala Harris grilling prompts doubtful claim from Amy Coney Barrett

Posted: 13 Oct 2020 07:31 PM PDT

Democratic senator and vice-presidential nominee condemns Republican push to overturn healthcare law and abortion rights

Kamala Harris delivered a blistering rebuke of Republican efforts to tear down healthcare and abortion access as she grilled Amy Coney Barrett, prompting the supreme court nominee to make the unbelievable claim that she was not aware of Donald Trump's campaign promise to appoint justices who would dismantle Obamacare.

Speaking via teleconference during Barrett's Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, the Democratic senator and vice-presidential nominee began with a campaign speech about the importance of accessible healthcare amid the coronavirus – highlighting the number of Americans who would lose insurance if the 2010 Affordable Care Act were repealed in five states where Republican senators are struggling to win re-election.

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Nuclear arms talks spiral into confusion as Russia rejects US 'delusion'

Posted: 13 Oct 2020 04:46 PM PDT

Top US negotiator claimed there was 'an agreement in principle' between Trump and Putin

US-Russian nuclear arms control talks have sunk into confusion after the top American negotiator claimed there was "an agreement in principle" between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, a claim Moscow quickly rejected as a "delusion".

Marshall Billingslea, the US special envoy for arms control, said he had flown to Helsinki on Monday to meet the Russian deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, on the understanding that there could be an imminent breakthrough in discussions on whether to extend the 2010 New Start treaty, which limits the number of deployed strategic warheads on either side, and which expires in February.

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China insists Genghis Khan exhibit not use words 'Genghis Khan'

Posted: 13 Oct 2020 07:06 PM PDT

Museum in Nantes pulls show after intervention by Beijing, which comes as Communist party hardens discrimination against ethnic Mongols

A French museum has postponed an exhibit about the Mongol emperor Genghis Khan citing interference by the Chinese government, which it accuses of trying to rewrite history.

The Château des ducs de Bretagne history museum in the western city of Nantes said it was putting the show about the fearsome 13th century leader on hold for over three years.

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Great Barrier Reef corals have more than halved in past 25 years, study shows

Posted: 14 Oct 2020 12:52 AM PDT

Mass bleaching events triggered by record-breaking water temperatures have the most impact on coral depletion

Corals on the Great Barrier Reef have more than halved over the past 25 years, according to a study that prompted scientists to again warn the world-famous landmark will become unrecognisable without a sharp reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Researchers from the Townsville-based ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies assessed coral communities and size between 1995 and 2017 and found the number of small, medium and large corals had fallen more than 50%.

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Calls grow for radical reform of Chile's national police force

Posted: 13 Oct 2020 10:30 PM PDT

The Carabineros face 8,500 allegations of human rights abuses in the past year

Damning allegations of human rights abuses, cover-ups and impunity have prompted growing calls for a root-and-branch reform of Chile's national police force, known as the Carabineros.

The force has been accused of a string of abuses since the outbreak of widespread protests a year ago – most recently when an officer was caught on camera bundling a 16-year-old demonstrator over the railings of a bridge in Santiago.

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Apple unveils new 5G iPhone 12 line in multiple sizes

Posted: 13 Oct 2020 11:50 AM PDT

New designs and cameras revealed alongside smaller HomePod smart speaker

Apple has unveiled its delayed iPhone 12 line of smartphones in a range of sizes with new designs and 5G connectivity.

Unveiled as part of a online-only event, which was pushed back by more than a month due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the new iPhones mark some of the biggest changes to Apple's smartphones since the iPhone X in 2017.

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Yellow crazy ant infestation could spread to Queensland's wet tropics, conservationists warn

Posted: 13 Oct 2020 07:56 PM PDT

Calls for urgent funding from state and federal governments to deal with one of the world's worst invasive species

One of the world's worst invasive species could spread into Queensland's wet tropics world heritage area unless there is urgent intervention from the state and federal governments, conservationists have warned.

Yellow crazy ants, which spit formic acid and can form supercolonies that overwhelm native species, have long been an issue in the country's north, including in Cairns where they have encroached on the world heritage area.

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Tardigrades' latest superpower: a fluorescent protective shield

Posted: 13 Oct 2020 04:01 PM PDT

Scientists identify species that appears to absorb potentially lethal UV radiation and emit blue light

They might be tiny creatures with a comical appearance, but tardigrades are one of life's great survivors. Now scientists say they have found a new species boasting an unexpected piece of armour: a protective fluorescent shield.

Related: Tardigrades: Earth's unlikely beacon of life that can survive a cosmic cataclysm

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Judith Collins: New Zealand's 'anti-Ardern' whose hero is Thatcher

Posted: 13 Oct 2020 09:25 PM PDT

The New Zealand opposition leader has pulled no punches after being thrust into the role just a few months before the election

"I'm very aware that I'm not going to be able to come out and 'out-Jacinda' Jacinda Ardern," says New Zealand's opposition leader of her rival. "But I can be Judith Collins."

On Saturday, New Zealanders will be given the choice not only between parties but also between two very different women vying for the prime ministership.

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Coronavirus: Northern Ireland set to announce partial lockdown

Posted: 13 Oct 2020 11:15 PM PDT

Stormont thrashes out plan including closure of businesses and schools, as well as new limits on gatherings

Northern Ireland is to announce wide-ranging new Covid-19 restrictions to try to contain exploding rates of infection.

The measures are likely to include the closure of many businesses and schools and fresh curbs on gatherings over several weeks, amounting to a partial lockdown.

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#EndSars: why Nigerians are protesting against police brutality – video explainer

Posted: 13 Oct 2020 12:50 PM PDT

After days of fierce protests, Nigeria's government announced the dissolution of the infamous 'Special Anti-Robbery Squad', commonly called Sars, a police unit plagued with allegations of extrajudicial killings, theft and abuse - and in its place revealed plans to set up a Special Weapons and Tactics team called Swat to 'fill the gaps'. 

Amnesty International said on 14 October that at least 10 people have died in demonstrations against police brutality, as well as Sars itself and plans to create Swat. The Guardian's west Africa correspondent, Emmanuel Akinwotu, explains what sparked the #EndSars protests across the country, how the movement trended internationally on social media, and why demonstrators do not trust promises of reform

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Amy Coney Barrett Senate hearing continues as Trump calls for stimulus deal – US politics live

Posted: 14 Oct 2020 03:03 AM PDT

Good morning, and welcome to today's live coverage of US politics. Here's a quick catch up on where we are, and a little of what we might expect to see later today…

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On the ground with Penguin, the Thai protest leader risking jail – video

Posted: 13 Oct 2020 10:55 PM PDT

The Guardian follows Parit Chiwarak, known as Penguin, one of Thailand's prominent protest leaders as he helps organise one of the biggest anti-government rallies in years. He and many other young people are risking prison to demand a significant democratic overhaul: they want the power and wealth of the monarchy curbed. Parit said he already faced 18 charges, including sedition, for his involvement in previous demonstrations. More rallies are expected in Bangkok on Wednesday 

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Sydney university professor who teaches law of protest arrested at student protest

Posted: 14 Oct 2020 01:57 AM PDT

Professor Simon Rice, whose students are working on reforming protest laws, pushed to the ground by police and fined $1,000 as students protest against job losses

A University of Sydney law professor, who was observing a student protest on Wednesday as part of research into protest law, was thrown to the ground by police, then arrested and fined.

Prof Simon Rice said he was not participating in the protest and was trying to move past it when he was pushed to the ground by police with "disproportionate force".

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‘Not just a dog bite’: why India is struggling to keep rabies at bay

Posted: 13 Oct 2020 11:15 PM PDT

The government is being urged to dispel myths and ensure drugs are available – and take responsibility for the millions of stray dogs

By the time the patient, a young man, reached Dr Ramesh Masthi at a Bengaluru hospital, it was too late to save him. After being bitten by a pack of stray dogs as he went out to buy some milk, his family had applied a paste of green chillis, then lime juice and finally, when the wound looked gruesome, turmeric.

"He came about a week after he was bitten. The wound was serious, and we couldn't save him. There is so much ignorance about dog bites and myths. A rabies shot in time would have saved him," Masthi says.

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Ending world hunger by 2030 would cost $330bn, study finds

Posted: 13 Oct 2020 03:44 AM PDT

Research suggests that by targeting enhanced aid money more effectively and with greater innovation, a solution is possible

Ending hunger by 2030 would come with a price tag of $330bn (£253bn), according to a study backed by the German government.

Research groups compiled data from 23 countries and found international donors would need to add another $14bn a year to their spending on food security and nutrition over the next 10 years; more than twice their current contribution. Low and middle-income countries would also have to give another $19bn a year, potentially through taxation.

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Trump and Biden offer starkly different visions of US role in world

Posted: 14 Oct 2020 02:00 AM PDT

The world is anxiously watching the election, with the candidates far apart on issues such as the climate crisis and nuclear weapons

Foreign policy barely gets a mention in this US election, but for the rest of the world the outcome on 3 November will arguably be the most consequential in history.

All US elections have a global impact, but this time there are two issues of existential importance to the planet – the climate crisis and nuclear proliferation – on which the two presidential candidates could hardly be further apart.

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Senators stir ghosts of Scalia and Ginsburg for Amy Coney Barrett hearing

Posted: 13 Oct 2020 01:27 PM PDT

Amid talk of originalism, harking to a time when only white men with property could vote, Republican ears pricked up

Depending on your point of view, the woman seated before the Senate judiciary committee for her first day of questioning was either the female Scalia or the anti-RBG. Or maybe, of course, both.

Related: Amy Coney Barrett dodges abortion, healthcare and election law questions

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What has gone wrong with England's Covid test-and-trace system?

Posted: 13 Oct 2020 10:57 AM PDT

It was supposed to be 'world beating' but experts say it is having only a 'marginal impact'

When the NHS test-and-trace system was launched in late May, Boris Johnson promised it would help "move the country forward". We would be able to see our families, go to work and stop the economy crumbling.

In the absence of a vaccine, the prime minister's "world-beating" system would be worth every penny of the £10bn funding that Rishi Sunak announced in July. The chancellor said it would enable people to carry on normal lives.

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UK's test and trace 'having marginal impact': which countries got it right?

Posted: 13 Oct 2020 07:11 AM PDT

Scientists' verdict on £12bn system has refocused attention on what is working elsewhere in cutting Covid-19 transmission rates

The newly released assessment by the UK government's scientific advisers that the £12bn test and trace programme "is having a marginal impact" in reducing Covid-19 transmission has refocused attention on how other countries are faring with their regimes.

Since test-and-trace programmes were first mooted around the world at the outset of the pandemic – including monitoring via apps or hardware – they have been beset by issues of privacy and public support over both downloading and using apps and also with a wider willingness to abide by isolation measures.

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'To Donald Trump, you're expendable': Joe Biden appeals to seniors – video

Posted: 14 Oct 2020 12:46 AM PDT

Joe Biden says Donald Trump views older voters as 'expendable' and 'forgettable' as the Democratic presidential candidate sought to win fresh support in the battleground state of Florida.

Biden's visit on Tuesday came a day after the president's own trip to Florida – his first outside Washington since his Covid-19 diagnosis.

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WW2 bomb explodes underwater in Poland during attempt to defuse it – video

Posted: 13 Oct 2020 10:38 PM PDT

A British bomb left over from the second world war has been detonated in Poland. The 5,400kg Tallboy bomb was dropped by the RAF in 1945 during an attack on a German cruiser. It was rediscovered in September 2019 during works to deepen a waterway near the port of Szczecin. Navy divers from Poland had rigged a small explosion to disarm the bomb but instead it went off. There were no injuries.

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Kamala Harris pushes Amy Coney Barrett on Trump's plan to dismantle Obamacare – video

Posted: 13 Oct 2020 08:14 PM PDT

Supreme court nominee Amy Coney Barrett was questioned by Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris over the Affordable Care Act, known popularly as Obamacare, during day two of the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing. Barrett made the claim that she was not aware of Donald Trump's campaign promise to appoint justices who would dismantle Obamacare. Harris also tackled Barrett's views on abortion, making a carefully laid-out case that despite Barrett's equivocation and insistence that she is unbiased on the issue of reproductive rights, she is far from it. Republicans want to have Barrett confirmed before election day

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'How many people's hearts are broken?' Biden slams Trump over Covid-19 death toll – video

Posted: 13 Oct 2020 05:30 PM PDT

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has urged his supporters in the battleground state of Florida to vote out 'reckless' Donald Trump after taking aim at his response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Biden accused Trump of not taking the initial response to the coronavirus outbreak seriously, leading to the growing death toll across the United States. "How many empty chairs are around the dining room table tonight because of his negligence?" Biden asked. "How many people's hearts are broken?"

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The great thaw: global heating upends life on Arctic permafrost – photo essay

Posted: 13 Oct 2020 12:00 AM PDT

Arctic permafrost is melting at an increasing rate, impacting lives and jeopardizing the planet's future. Photographer Katie Orlinsky has documented this drastic shift in Siberia and Alaska

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