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- Rush for results could lead to inferior Covid vaccine, say scientists
- Who in Europe is getting it right on Covid?
- Frustration is rising as clampdowns spread across UK: are we in grip of Covid fatigue?
- Coronavirus: Mike Pence continues campaign tour despite chief of staff's positive test
- Coronavirus live news: UK targets vaccine for NHS staff 'by Christmas'; Melbourne delays easing of restrictions
- France recalls ambassador to Turkey after Erdoğan questions Macron's mental state
- Many midwest Democrats stayed home in 2016. Will they turn out for Biden?
- Fighting tyranny with milk tea: the young rebels joining forces in Asia
- Australia demands answers after women taken from Qatar Airways flight and strip-searched
- Johnson will wait for US election result before no-deal Brexit decision
- Leopoldo López flees Venezuela vowing to continue fighting Maduro regime
- Treaty to ban nuclear weapons made official with 50th UN signatory
- Man in critical condition after shark attack on Great Barrier Reef north of Townsville
- Instagram row over plus-size model forces change to nudity policy
- Chilling find shows how Henry VIII planned every detail of Boleyn beheading
- Into the night: why walking in the dark is good for the soul
- Asylum seekers sue UK over unlawful detention
- Gunmen kill at least six children in attack on Cameroon school
- Whether Trump or Biden wins, US-China relations look set to worsen
- Why China's dramatic economic recovery might not add up
- Refugee advocates concerned for detainee held in Brisbane hotel for 16 months
- From climate to China, how Joe Biden is plotting America’s restoration
- Biden gains as suburban women and elderly voters look to dump Trump
- Now that nuclear weapons are illegal, the Pacific demands truth on decades of testing | Dimity Hawkins
- At 75, I've volunteered for a Covid vaccine trial. It could set people free
- Teargas deployed at anti-lockdown protest in Naples on day of new curfew – video report
- Poland: scuffles erupt as thousands protest against abortion ban – video report
| Rush for results could lead to inferior Covid vaccine, say scientists Posted: 24 Oct 2020 11:26 PM PDT Push to roll out injections may see elderly miss out on effective coronavirus inoculations Scientists have warned that early adoption of a Covid vaccine with only moderate effectiveness could disrupt efforts to test and create improved versions. Immunising against the disease is not going to be a simple business of turning off the virus once the first vaccine appears, they say. In fact, there could be considerable confusion as researchers struggle to pinpoint the best versions for different vulnerable groups, such as the elderly. "The vaccines coming through fastest are the most experimental. It is possible they won't be all that great and that others – created using more tried-and-tested but slower methods – might be better," said Professor Adam Finn of Bristol University. "But to prove that point will become very difficult if lots of individuals have already been given the first vaccine. It will need vast numbers of people to demonstrate which is best or if a different vaccine is more suitable for particular groups, like the elderly." Continue reading... |
| Who in Europe is getting it right on Covid? Posted: 25 Oct 2020 01:00 AM PDT Different approaches are having notably different outcomes A second coronavirus wave is sweeping continental Europe, with new infection records broken daily in many countries. There are wide variations, but almost no country has been left untouched – even those that fared well in the first wave. Across the 31 countries from which the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control collects national data, the average 14-day case incidence rate per 100,000 inhabitants has multiplied from just 13 in mid-July to almost 250 last week. Continue reading...This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Frustration is rising as clampdowns spread across UK: are we in grip of Covid fatigue? Posted: 24 Oct 2020 11:44 PM PDT A sense of unfairness has dented public confidence and compliance with fast-changing restrictions As the people of Sheffield prepared to join Greater Manchester and the Liverpool city region in the premier league of Covid-19 restrictions – tier 3 – there were widely differing views on whether the tough new rules about to be imposed from London were welcome, or would even work. On the streets and in the city's pubs last Thursday evening there was, however, one commonly held opinion – compliance would be some way short of total. "During the first part of lockdown I abided by the rules very strictly," said Phillip, a 47-year-old gas engineer, as he waited for a pork wrap outside the Greedy Greek Deli. "We still are doing that, but it's wearing thin. I think the economy and life still has to go on. But then it's a balancing act with the NHS and the beds." Continue reading... |
| Coronavirus: Mike Pence continues campaign tour despite chief of staff's positive test Posted: 24 Oct 2020 08:22 PM PDT Vice-president's most senior aide, Marc Short, has virus but Pence and wife test negative, while a close political adviser has also contracted Covid Marc Short, the chief of staff for Mike Pence, has tested positive for coronavirus, the vice-president's office has confirmed. One of Pence's closest political advisers, Marty Obst, was also reported to have contracted Covid. "Vice-president Pence and Mrs Pence both tested negative for Covid-19 today, and remain in good health," said Devin O'Malley, a Pence spokesman, on Saturday, adding that Donald Trump's running mate would maintain his schedule "in accordance with the CDC guidelines for essential personnel". Continue reading... |
| Posted: 25 Oct 2020 02:48 AM PDT France, Italy, Austria and Greece report record increases in Covid-19 cases; Melbourne cluster grows. Follow the latest updates live
Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the US, has given an interview to the BBC's Andrew Marr. He tempers Donald Trump's claims that there will be a vaccine by the end of the year, calling the statement correct but noting that a wide rollout will take "several months into 2021" and early use will focus on vulnerable populations and healthcare workers. He also says it's "very important" for politicians and public figures to follow the science. "You can positively or negatively influence behaviour," he says. "It would really be a shame if we have a safe and effective vaccine but a substantial portion of the people don't want to take the vaccine because they don't trust authority."
In Ireland, the Irish Independent reports that any move towards a third national lockdown would be heavily resisted by ministers with the government coalition. The newspaper reports that "senior Fine Gael ministers have insisted everything must be done to avoid the need to impose the highest level of Covid-19 restrictions for a third time". It quotes one minister as saying that Taoiseach Micheál Martin "needs to be careful with this rush for a third lockdown, the people might not buy it". Continue reading... |
| France recalls ambassador to Turkey after Erdoğan questions Macron's mental state Posted: 24 Oct 2020 07:19 PM PDT Macron's office says 'rudeness is not a method' after Turkish president calls for counterpart to have 'mental checks' France said it would recall its envoy to Turkey for consultations following "unacceptable" comments by the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, that suggested his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, needed a mental health check-up. In the highly unusual move, a French presidential official said the French ambassador to Turkey was being recalled from Ankara for consultations and would meet Macron to discuss the situation after Erdoğan's outburst. Continue reading... |
| Many midwest Democrats stayed home in 2016. Will they turn out for Biden? Posted: 24 Oct 2020 11:00 PM PDT Ohio could be decided by a few thousand voters in Cleveland, where less than half the population is registered to vote Jamal Collins took the trouble to vote four years ago even though, like a lot of people in Cleveland, he didn't imagine it would change very much. Eight years of deflated hopes for Barack Obama had left the African American teacher wondering if any president could really make that much difference to the lives and livelihoods Collins saw around him. He even thought there might be an upside to the election of Donald Trump. Continue reading... |
| Fighting tyranny with milk tea: the young rebels joining forces in Asia Posted: 25 Oct 2020 01:50 AM PDT Activists in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand have formed a novel international alliance to defy authoritarian rule The language, the demands and the backdrop were different, but the protests across central Bangkok last week would have looked familiar to anyone who followed the mass demonstrations that roiled Hong Kong for a year from June 2019. Crowds of young protesters, dressed in black and wearing hard hats, poured through the streets to locations announced at the last minute on social media. As the police closed in and the protesters prepared for confrontation, hand gestures and human chains ensured supplies including protective masks and water reached the front lines. Continue reading... |
| Australia demands answers after women taken from Qatar Airways flight and strip-searched Posted: 25 Oct 2020 02:10 AM PDT Thirteen Australians reportedly among women taken off flight at Doha and subjected to medical examination after newborn found abandoned in airport The Australian government has registered "serious concerns" with Qatari authorities after women on a flight from Doha to Sydney were ordered to disembark the plane and subjected to a strip search and a medical examination. Flight QR908 to Sydney was due to leave Hamad International airport at Doha at 8.30 on Friday 2 October, but was delayed for four hours, apparently after a newborn infant was found dead in the airport. Continue reading... |
| Johnson will wait for US election result before no-deal Brexit decision Posted: 24 Oct 2020 12:34 PM PDT Ivan Rogers, former UK ambassador to the EU, says prime minister will think 'history was going his way' if Donald Trump is re-elected Senior figures in European governments believe Boris Johnson is waiting for the result of the US presidential election before finally deciding whether to risk plunging the UK into a no-deal Brexit, according to a former British ambassador to the EU. Ivan Rogers, who was the UK's permanent representative in Brussels from 2013 to 2017, told the Observer that a view shared by ministers and officials he has talked to in recent weeks in several European capitals, is that Johnson is biding his time – and is much more likely to opt for no deal if his friend and Brexit supporter Donald Trump prevails over the Democratic challenger, Joe Biden. Continue reading... |
| Leopoldo López flees Venezuela vowing to continue fighting Maduro regime Posted: 24 Oct 2020 08:41 PM PDT Opposition figure had sheltered in Spanish ambassador's residence since a failed uprising against Nicolás Maduro in 2019 The prominent opposition activist Leopoldo López has abandoned the Spanish ambassador's residence in Caracas and left Venezuela after years of frustrated efforts to oust the nation's socialist president, his party has said. The 49-year-old former Caracas area mayor had been holed up at the ambassador's residence since a failed military uprising he led in April 2019 aimed at ousting President Nicolás Maduro. He has been jailed, under house arrest or in a foreign embassy refuge for nearly seven years. Continue reading... |
| Treaty to ban nuclear weapons made official with 50th UN signatory Posted: 24 Oct 2020 10:52 PM PDT Production, use and stockpiling of nuclear weapons illegal from January 2021 though nuclear-armed states have not signed up An international treaty banning nuclear weapons has been ratified by a 50th country, the UN has said, allowing the historic though essentially symbolic text to enter into force after 90 days. While nuclear powers have not signed up to the treaty, activists who have pushed for its enactment hold out hope that it will prove to be more than symbolic and have a gradual deterrent effect. Continue reading... |
| Man in critical condition after shark attack on Great Barrier Reef north of Townsville Posted: 24 Oct 2020 10:13 PM PDT Paramedics airlift man to hospital after being bitten on Britomart Reef, a popular spear-fishing location A man is in a critical condition after being attacked by a shark at the Great Barrier Reef. He was airlifted to Townsville University hospital after being bitten at Britomart Reef around 12.20pm on Sunday, Queensland Ambulance says. Continue reading... |
| Instagram row over plus-size model forces change to nudity policy Posted: 25 Oct 2020 01:30 AM PDT Facebook amends code after deletion of black users' photos sparks outrage As campaigning victories go, forcing Mark Zuckerberg's social media empire to admit a discriminatory flaw in its policy is no small feat. But following a campaign launched in this paper, the Observer can exclusively reveal that Instagram and its parent company Facebook will be updating its policy on nudity in order to help end discrimination of black women on its platforms and ensure all body types are treated fairly. Continue reading... |
| Chilling find shows how Henry VIII planned every detail of Boleyn beheading Posted: 25 Oct 2020 01:00 AM PDT Archives discovery shows the calculated nature of the execution and reinforces the image of the king as a 'pathological monster' It is a Tudor warrant book, one of many in the National Archives, filled with bureaucratic minutiae relating to 16th-century crimes. But this one has an extraordinary passage, overlooked until now, which bears instructions from Henry VIII explaining precisely how he wanted his second wife, Anne Boleyn, to be executed. In this document, the king stipulated that, although his queen had been "adjudged to death… by burning of fire… or decapitation", he had been "moved by pity" to spare her the more painful death of being "burned by fire". But he continued: "We, however, command that… the head of the same Anne shall be… cut off." Continue reading... |
| Into the night: why walking in the dark is good for the soul Posted: 24 Oct 2020 11:38 PM PDT Shorter days don't have to put a stop to walking trips, as our writer finds on a night-time ramble on the South Downs The lights from the cottagewindows recede, all too rapidly, as we walk along an unlit country lane and take a footpath through a field into open countryside. Thick cloud cover prevents the moonlight from illuminating the way ahead. Yet, as my eyes begin to get used to the darkness, the landscape around me reveals itself in a new light – albeit a shady one. The contours of Mount Caburn, an iron-age hill fort, are like shadows against the sky. On the horizon, a tree bent by the wind is silhouetted, and the rocky outcrop at the top of the field turns out to be a flock of sleeping sheep. A fox cries, a pheasant crows and the air is full of a heady earthy scent. Continue reading... |
| Asylum seekers sue UK over unlawful detention Posted: 25 Oct 2020 02:30 AM PDT Claimants include victims of torture arrested under guidance from the Home Office between 2014 and 2017 A group of asylum seekers, including victims of torture, who were illegally detained in the UK are suing the Home Office. More than 20 people have launched a claim for compensation, which lawyers believe could be owed to thousands held unlawfully between January 2014 and March 2017, a time when concerns about the government's "hostile environment" policy towards migrants were paramount. Continue reading... |
| Gunmen kill at least six children in attack on Cameroon school Posted: 24 Oct 2020 11:59 AM PDT Attackers fired indiscriminately at schoolchildren in area where separatist insurgents are active Gunmen stormed a school in Cameroon on Saturday and opened fire indiscriminately, killing at least six children and wounding about eight more in a region where separatist insurgents operate, officials and parents said. Arriving on motorbikes and in civilian clothes, the attackers hit the school around midday in the city of Kumba in the Southwest Region, according to the accounts, including from one parent outside the school at the time. Continue reading... |
| Whether Trump or Biden wins, US-China relations look set to worsen Posted: 25 Oct 2020 01:00 AM PDT Tensions will persist whoever is in the White House. The key difference, observers expect, will be in approach Ties between China and the US have reached their lowest point in decades ahead of the election in November, signalling what experts in both countries believe is the clear direction for one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world. Under the Trump administration, the US has put sanctions on Chinese officials over human rights issues in Xinjiang and Hong Kong while also increasing engagement with Taiwan, including arms sales. A trade deal to end a protracted tariff war has stalled and the US has placed more restrictions on Chinese state media. Continue reading... |
| Why China's dramatic economic recovery might not add up Posted: 25 Oct 2020 02:50 AM PDT The country seems to have rebounded, but some analysts believe that at the very least, there is sleight of hand at work Beijing prompted envy, admiration and not a little resentment when it released data last week confirming that it was the first major economy to start growing again after the devastation caused by Covid-19 in the first half of the year. China appeared to have achieved the V-shaped recovery being chased by finance ministers around the world, after pioneering mass lockdowns to contain the virus that had taken hold in Wuhan, then shutting its borders to stop it filtering back in from abroad. Continue reading... |
| Refugee advocates concerned for detainee held in Brisbane hotel for 16 months Posted: 24 Oct 2020 11:07 PM PDT Man transferred under Medevac to rejoin family has not been allowed to have them visit during pandemic and is now on suicide watch Refugee advocates have raised concerns about the welfare of a 37-year-old man who is under suicide watch at the Brisbane Immigration Transit Accommodation after attempting self harm. The man, from Somalia, had been detained in a hotel at Kangaroo Point in Brisbane since being transferred to Australia from Nauru under now-defunct Medevac laws in June last year. Continue reading... |
| From climate to China, how Joe Biden is plotting America’s restoration Posted: 24 Oct 2020 11:15 PM PDT The challenger aims to fix the foreign policy upheaval of the Trump years but such an agenda presents many challenges By any measure, Joe Biden is old in the ways of the world. As Barack Obama's vice-president, he met all the big international actors. As chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, he helped direct US foreign policy. After four years of Donald Trump's manic leadership, the Democrat offers a steady, dependable hand on the tiller. Biden's grand aim: a glorious American restoration, at home and abroad. Continue reading... |
| Biden gains as suburban women and elderly voters look to dump Trump Posted: 24 Oct 2020 11:00 PM PDT Nine days out from election day, polling shows the Democratic nominee with big leads in key demographics Joe Biden's hopes of reaching the White House could rest on two crucial demographic groups that appear to be deserting Donald Trump: elderly people and suburban women. Related: Trump assaulted American democracy – here's how Democrats can save it Continue reading... |
| Posted: 24 Oct 2020 06:00 PM PDT With a 50th nation ratifying it, the treaty outlawing nuclear weapons for all countries will come into force in 90 days Nuclear weapons will soon be illegal. Just over 75 years since their devastation was first unleashed on the world, the global community has rallied to bring into force a ban through the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Late on Saturday night in New York, the 50th country – the central American nation of Honduras – ratified the treaty. Continue reading... |
| At 75, I've volunteered for a Covid vaccine trial. It could set people free Posted: 23 Oct 2020 11:00 PM PDT Some of my friends think I'm mad but we need to know people my age can go out safely again There's a 50% chance that this week I was injected with a vaccine designed to protect me from Covid-19. If not, I got the saltwater placebo instead. I won't know until the study ends in 13 months, which is a shame. It would be nice to walk the streets without looking balefully around me at young people not wearing masks and thinking: I'm 75, this virus kills people my age. It killed my chum Mike Pentelow, who was having a lot of fun in his retirement, writing books with titles such as A Pub Crawl Through History, and Mike was a year younger than me. Perhaps he's the reason I volunteered to be a guinea pig for one of the companies working on a vaccine. Continue reading... |
| Teargas deployed at anti-lockdown protest in Naples on day of new curfew – video report Posted: 24 Oct 2020 08:29 AM PDT Angry over a newly imposed 11pm to 5am regional curfew, demonstrators in the southern Italian city of Naples threw stones and bottles at police on Friday evening. The authorities responded with teargas. The stricter measures are an attempt to curb the spread of coronavirus, which has killed more than 37,000 people in Italy since the start of the pandemic Continue reading... |
| Poland: scuffles erupt as thousands protest against abortion ban – video report Posted: 24 Oct 2020 05:11 AM PDT Police in Warsaw clashed with protesters during demonstrations against a constitutional tribunal ruling that imposes a near-total ban on abortion. Tens of thousands of people rallied across Poland on Friday, defying the country's tight coronavirus restrictions Continue reading... |
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