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

Trump impeachment trial set to begin the week of 8 February, Schumer says
Italy blocks TikTok for certain users after death of girl allegedly playing 'choking' game
Hong Kong orders thousands to stay home in city's first Covid lockdown
Icelandic man receives world's first double-arm-and-shoulder transplant
Biden and Trudeau agree to cooperate on Covid and climate change
Rolling Stone seeks 'thought leaders' willing to pay $2,000 to write for them
Boeing says it will make planes able to fly on 100% biofuel by 2030
Cheshire cheesemaker says business left with £250,000 'Brexit hole'
‘Gondor has no king’: pro-Trump lawsuit cites Lord of the Rings
Coronavirus live news: Hong Kong orders partial lockdown; Covid fragments found in Sydney sewage
Summer holidays cancelled? UK faces big decision on border
As Covid cases spike, Dubai works to keep its economy open
World's poor need action, not Covid 'vaccine nationalism', say experts
'It's a big deal': why former protester turned Davos mayor wants WEF back
‘I only know one god – and that’s me’: non-believers on the meaning of life
Joe Biden's inner circle: meet the new president's close-knit team
Rose Matafeo: ‘Having a kid is the death of a certain kind of life’
Yotam Ottolenghi's comfort food recipes
Blind date: ‘I realised my questions were getting a bit intense’
Prince Harry says social media misinformation is threat to democracies
How creating wildlife crossings can help reindeer, bears – and even crabs
Israeli minerals magnate Beny Steinmetz convicted of corruption
Western Australian government seizes control of Fremantle's tent city
Courtrooms and creditors likely to loom large in Trump's post-presidency life
Oranga Tamariki: Gráinne Moss's exit does not mean the Māori child welfare crisis is resolved
Reasons why Covid variant could kill more people are uncertain
Data on Covid infections in England suggests cautious approach best
UK Covid variant could be more deadly, says Boris Johnson – video
Chuck Schumer: Donald Trump impeachment trial will be full and fair – video
Jill Biden encourages teachers in opening address as first lady – video
Israel's ibex make the most of lockdown – in pictures
Alexei Navalny releases investigation into Vladimir Putin’s wealth – video
Insurrection and inauguration: Joe Biden's new political era - video

Trump impeachment trial set to begin the week of 8 February, Schumer says

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 04:16 PM PST

The House will transmit the article against the former president on Monday, giving his legal team time to prepare their case

US politics – live updates

Opening arguments in the Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump are set to begin the week of 8 February, with the former president facing charges of inciting an insurrection at the US Capitol.

The Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, announced the schedule late Friday after reaching an agreement with Republicans.

Italy blocks TikTok for certain users after death of girl allegedly playing 'choking' game

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 05:47 PM PST

Probe launched after girl's sister reportedly told parents she had been 'playing the blackout game' before her death

Italian prosecutors have opened an investigation into the accidental death of a 10-year-old girl who allegedly took part in a "blackout challenge" on the video-sharing network TikTok.

The probe came as Italy announced it had temporarily blocked access to TikTok for users whose age could not be proved definitively.

Hong Kong orders thousands to stay home in city's first Covid lockdown

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 10:33 PM PST

Officials plan to test everyone inside a designated zone of Kowloon Peninsula's Jordan neighbourhood during two-day lockdown

Thousands of people in Hong Kong have been ordered to stay in their homes in the city's first coronavirus lockdown, as authorities battle an outbreak in one of its poorest and most densely packed districts.

The order bans about 10,000 people living inside multiple housing blocks within the neighbourhood of Jordan, on the Kowloon Peninsula, from leaving their apartments unless they can show a negative test.

Icelandic man receives world's first double-arm-and-shoulder transplant

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 06:44 PM PST

Patient lost both arms in work accident 23 years ago and it took years to find suitable donors for the complex operation

An Icelandic man who got the world's first double-shoulder-and-arm transplant is recovering well after the operation, two decades after the accident that cost him both limbs, doctors have said.

They said it was still uncertain how much mobility Felix Gretarsson, 48, will recover following the operation earlier this month in the southeastern French city of Lyon.

Biden and Trudeau agree to cooperate on Covid and climate change

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 10:24 PM PST

In phone call, US and Canadian leaders discuss collaboration on vaccines and plan to meet next month

Canada's Justin Trudeau and President Joe Biden plan to meet next month, the prime minister's office said, following a call between the two leaders in which they agreed to join forces to combat coronavirus in North America.

The White House said in a statement that the two leaders highlighted the "strategic importance of the US-Canada relationship" and discussed cooperation on a wide-ranging agenda including combating the Covid-19 pandemic and addressing the climate crisis.

Rolling Stone seeks 'thought leaders' willing to pay $2,000 to write for them

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 11:00 PM PST

Emails from 'best-known entertainment media outlet' invite 'Culture Council' to pay for chance to publish on website

Rolling Stone magazine is offering "thought leaders" the chance to write for its website if they are willing to pay $2,000 to "shape the future of culture".

The storied magazine, which has published journalism by writers including Hunter S Thompson, Patti Smith and Tom Wolfe, approached would-be members of its new "Culture Council" by email, telling them that they had the chance to join "an invitation-only community for innovators, influencers and tastemakers".

Boeing says it will make planes able to fly on 100% biofuel by 2030

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 07:15 PM PST

Aviation giant already staged the world's first commercial flight using 100% biofuel in 2018

Boeing says it will begin delivering commercial airplanes capable of flying on 100% biofuel by the end of the decade, calling reducing environmental damage from fossil fuels the "challenge of our lifetime."

Boeing's goal – which requires advances to jet systems, raising fuel-blending requirements, and safety certification by global regulators – is central to a broader industry target of slashing carbon emissions in half by 2050, the US planemaker said.

Cheshire cheesemaker says business left with £250,000 'Brexit hole'

Posted: 23 Jan 2021 12:28 AM PST

Simon Spurrell says his firm lost 20% of sales and will switch £1m investment to France

A commercial cheesemaker in Cheshire has been left with a £250,000 Brexit hole in his business as a direct result of the UK's departure from the EU on 1 January.

Simon Spurrell said he has lost 20% of his sales overnight after discovering he needed to provide a £180 health certificate on retail orders to consumers in the EU, including those buying personal gift packs of his award-winning wax-wrapped cheese worth £25 or £30.

‘Gondor has no king’: pro-Trump lawsuit cites Lord of the Rings

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 11:00 PM PST

Texas case offers baseless mix of allegations of electoral fraud but cites the imaginary kingdom of Gondor as evidence

Donald Trump's diehard supporters are often accused of living in fantasyland, but one court case recently launched to try to reinstall him as president has surprised even the most hardened observers of Trumpian strangeness by citing as evidence a mythological realm from The Lord of the Rings.

Coronavirus live news: Hong Kong orders partial lockdown; Covid fragments found in Sydney sewage

Posted: 23 Jan 2021 02:00 AM PST

Thousands in Kowloon district put under new restrictions; New UK Covid variant may be 30% more deadly, says Johnson; Germany's Covid death toll exceeds 50,000

10.00am GMT

Russian sovereign wealth fund RDIF said on Saturday it had signed an agreement with Turkey on the production of its Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19, the Interfax news agency reported.

RDIF added that it had begun transferring the production technology to Turkey. RDIF has also signed deals to produce Sputnik V with manufacturers in South Korea, China, India, Brazil, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

9.30am GMT

Schools throughout Jordan have been closed for nearly a year now, and the economic fallout from the novel coronavirus pandemic has eaten into breadwinners' ability to feed their families.

"As school is shut, I help my family financially," said 14-year-old Omar, who one of many minors experts say have been forced prematurely into the labour market. He works repairing and cleaning kerosene heaters and collapses into bed after working 12-hour days.

Summer holidays cancelled? UK faces big decision on border

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 10:00 PM PST

Stricter controls appear likely, with government's approach in stark contrast to that during first Covid wave

Slumped on the sofa after another day of home schooling, many families will have longingly eyed adverts for getaways: sun, sandy beaches and glittering pools, a much-needed reward after a year in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic.

But ministers are becoming increasingly concerned they may have to ask the British public to sacrifice their hopes of a break abroad this summer. On Thursday, Priti Patel became the latest cabinet minister to say it was too soon to book an overseas break; Matt Hancock has already announced he is going to Cornwall.

As Covid cases spike, Dubai works to keep its economy open

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 08:01 AM PST

For an emirate dependent on trade, transport and tourism, vaccination, not lockdown, is key to keeping its economy going

As if the Boohoo online fashion company had not generated enough controversy in recent months, its bosses once again found themselves in the headlines last week for hosting a four-day meeting with suppliers in the luxurious surroundings of a Dubai hotel.

The company's top executives had taken a private jet to the emirate for the get-together with the businessmen and women who supply their fabrics and manufacture their fashions, despite Foreign Office guidance that advises against all but essential travel.

World's poor need action, not Covid 'vaccine nationalism', say experts

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 09:20 AM PST

Nations outbidding each other creates an 'immoral race towards the abyss'

Pharmaceutical companies should do more to transfer vaccine technology to prevent the poorest countries falling behind in the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, according to an expert.

The warning came from Dag-Inge Ulstein, the co-chair of the global council trying to speed up access to Covid vaccines for the world's poor, known as the Act (Access to Covid-19 Tools) Accelerator. Ulstein, Norway's international development minister, oversees the drive to ensure vaccines reach the poor – the Covax programme.

'It's a big deal': why former protester turned Davos mayor wants WEF back

Posted: 23 Jan 2021 12:00 AM PST

Philipp Wilhelm knows local people rely on forum's revenue – but still thinks world must change

In his youth, Philipp Wilhelm was at the forefront of protests against the World Economic Forum's annual "extreme capitalism" gathering of the business and political elite in Davos, the Swiss mountain resort where he grew up.

Now, however, Wilhelm is the mayor of the town and his central mission is to ensure the return of the WEF jamboree, which had been scheduled to start next week but was cancelled this year due to the pandemic.

‘I only know one god – and that’s me’: non-believers on the meaning of life

Posted: 23 Jan 2021 02:00 AM PST

Around the world, growing numbers of people are rejecting traditional faiths and choosing their own spiritual path. Eight atheists and agnostics open up

Religion may once have been the opium of the people, but in large swaths of the world the masses have kicked the habit. In countries once dominated by churches characterised by patriarchy, ritual and hierarchy, the pews have emptied and people have found other sources of solace, spirituality and morality.

In the US, those who say they are atheist, agnostic or "nothing in particular" is up from 17% in 2009 to 26% last year. In Britain, according to the most recent data, more than half the population proclaimed no faith in 2018, a figure that rose from 43% to 52% in a decade.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Joe Biden's inner circle: meet the new president's close-knit team

Posted: 23 Jan 2021 02:00 AM PST

Many of Biden's new team have worked together before, and get on well – in sharp contrast to Trump's 'team of rivals'

At the core of the administration Joe Biden is building is a trusted circle of officials, who are bound together by many years of working together in a close-knit team in the Obama administration, by a shared faith, or, in some cases, by a tie with Biden's late son, Beau.

It is the very opposite approach to the one taken by Donald Trump, who assembled a sharp-elbowed "team of rivals" – powerful men from different walks of life, who he had never met but thought looked the part. Biden treasures familiarity and nice-guy collegiality, and warned new appointees on Wednesday that if they don't treat each other with respect, "I will fire you on the spot."

Rose Matafeo: ‘Having a kid is the death of a certain kind of life’

Posted: 23 Jan 2021 12:00 AM PST

The New Zealand comic opens up about millennial anxieties over parenthood, nerdy interests and the perils of dating comedians

Wear a prosthetic bump, fake a bloody water birth and share your plans for motherhood with a parade of strangers: this seems like a devious form of torture for an anxiety-prone millennial, ambivalent about having children but conscious of her biological clock. Yet it was an act of sadism that New Zealand comedian and 2018 Edinburgh comedy award winner Rose Matafeo willingly went through when starring in Baby Done, a sweet if acerbic romcom about bracing for parenthood at a time in life when other paths seem possible – even preferable.

Yotam Ottolenghi's comfort food recipes

Posted: 23 Jan 2021 01:30 AM PST

Comfort food is all about memory and context, and for me that means spicy lamb macaroni, hummus with aubergine and boiled eggs, and a bowl of sweet tapioca

Comfort food is mostly about two things: memories and context. So much of what we think of as comforting food are the meals we ate as kids – those warm bowls or plates that appeared, repeatedly and reassuringly, in front of us. As we get older, however, it's more about context: about eating the right thing in the right place at the right time. And, for me, comfort food hits the sweet spot where memory and context collide. Although today's recipes are my own particular sweet spot – the dishes that take me straight back to the sunny home of my youth, and that also work so well in these chilly, short-day months – I hope very much that they bring you some comfort, too.

Blind date: ‘I realised my questions were getting a bit intense’

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 10:00 PM PST

Matt, 32, hydraulic engineer, and Steph, 29, trainee clinical psychologist

What were you hoping for?
To meet someone interesting and enjoy a slice of normality in the sea of crazy that is the world at the moment.

Prince Harry says social media misinformation is threat to democracies

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 11:39 AM PST

Duke of Sussex calls for more accountability and accuses platforms of shunning responsibility

Prince Harry has said that "time is running out" for social media companies to address misinformation which he believes is a threat to democracies.

He has called for more accountability for platforms, accusing them of shunning responsibility, and highlighted both the role that they played in the US Capitol riots earlier this month and the treatment of the Rohingya population in Myanmar.

How creating wildlife crossings can help reindeer, bears – and even crabs

Posted: 23 Jan 2021 12:30 AM PST

Sweden's announcement this week that it is to build a series of animal bridges is the latest in global efforts to help wildlife navigate busy roads

Every April, Sweden's main highway comes to a periodic standstill. Hundreds of reindeer overseen by indigenous Sami herders shuffle across the asphalt on the E4 as they begin their journey west to the mountains after a winter gorging on the lichen near the city of Umeå. As Sweden's main arterial road has become busier, the crossings have become increasingly fractious, especially if authorities do not arrive in time to close the road. Sometimes drivers try to overtake the reindeer as they cross – spooking the animals and causing long traffic jams as their Sami owners battle to regain control.

"During difficult climate conditions, these lichen lands can be extra important for the reindeer," says Per Sandström, a landscape ecologist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences who works as an intermediary between the Sami and authorities to improve the crossings.

Israeli minerals magnate Beny Steinmetz convicted of corruption

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 12:45 PM PST

Tycoon sentenced to five years in prison for bribing officials and forging documents to gain mining rights in Guinea

The Israeli diamond and minerals magnate Beny Steinmetz has been convicted of corrupting foreign agents and forging documents by a Geneva court, in a trial over an attempt to reap lavish iron ore resources in Guinea.

Steinmetz, considered by some to be Israel's richest man, was sentenced to five years in prison but had faced a maximum of 10 years in the case.

Western Australian government seizes control of Fremantle's tent city

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 07:01 PM PST

Mark McGowan's government accuses Fremantle council of failing to withdraw consent for occupancy of Pioneer Park in reasonable timeframe

Western Australia's government has formally seized control of Fremantle's tent city, ramping up the blame game over the troubled homeless camp.

The treasurer and lands minister, Ben Wyatt, has signed a revocation order under the Lands Administration Act removing the City of Fremantle as the management body for Pioneer Park.

Courtrooms and creditors likely to loom large in Trump's post-presidency life

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 11:30 PM PST

Carter campaigned for human rights, Bush painted … but Trump faces several criminal investigations and a mountain of debt

Each US president has charted a unique course after leaving the White House, taking up vocations from philanthropy to human rights to oil painting.

Donald Trump's post-presidency appears likely to be taken up by meetings with lawyers and creditors, possible sworn depositions about tax practices or sexual assault allegations and, in some long-tail scenarios, fines, criminal charges, bankruptcy or other legal sanction.

Oranga Tamariki: Gráinne Moss's exit does not mean the Māori child welfare crisis is resolved

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 09:46 PM PST

While the departure of the child welfare boss is welcome, social justice for Māori children in the state care system is a long way off

The resignation of Oranga Tamariki boss Gráinne Moss signals the end of a protracted ideological dispute over child protection policy. But as is often the case with social work in liberal capitalist states, this represents the end of a specific battle rather than the resolution of a long-running war.

Reasons why Covid variant could kill more people are uncertain

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 10:36 AM PST

Whatever the answer, everyone has to try even harder not to catch it in the first place

Those who may have been comforted in recent weeks by the evolutionary theory of virus mutation – that the more transmissible they become, the less lethal they are – may now be pondering the news that the variant that originated in Kent not only spreads more easily but may kill more people too.

Britain's chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, at the Downing Street press briefing, said it could be that in people over 60 with Covid, 13 or 14 might die in every 1000, instead of 10 as has been the case. The reasons still seem to be uncertain.

Data on Covid infections in England suggests cautious approach best

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 09:22 AM PST

Some survey results show that the overall picture might not be as rosy as implied by others

A quick glance at the government's coronavirus dashboard might be fuel for optimism. But new data suggests the picture may not be so rosy.

According to the dashboard, the number of people testing positive for Covid is falling: 37,892 positive tests were reported on Thursday, compared with 62,322 on 6 January. Cases by specimen date show similar trends.

UK Covid variant could be more deadly, says Boris Johnson – video

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 10:12 AM PST

Boris Johnson said there was 'some evidence' that the new variant of the coronavirus first discovered in the south-east of England could be more lethal than the original. Patrick Vallance, the government's chief scientific adviser, said the data was 'not yet strong,' but that the variant could be up to 30% more deadly than other strains.

UK Covid live

Chuck Schumer: Donald Trump impeachment trial will be full and fair – video

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 09:18 AM PST

The US Senate majority leader said the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, would transmit the article of impeachment on Monday. 'Make no mistake, there will be a trial, Schumer said. 'And when that trial ends, senators will have to decide whether they believe Donald John Trump incited the insurrection'

US politics – live updates

Jill Biden encourages teachers in opening address as first lady – video

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 06:24 AM PST

In her first solo address as first lady, Jill Biden hosted her first solo event by praising the work of teachers and promising them support during the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden hailed their 'heroic commitment' and explained that she was teaching a class on the morning of the inauguration of her husband, Joe Biden

Joe Biden to focus on economic recovery – US politics live

Israel's ibex make the most of lockdown – in pictures

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 04:59 AM PST

Nubian ibex have been roaming the empty streets of Mitzpe Ramon as Israel's coronavirus lockdown extends to the end of the month

Alexei Navalny releases investigation into Vladimir Putin’s wealth – video

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 04:11 AM PST

Alexei Navalny's team has released a mammoth investigation into Vladimir Putin's wealth, including a £1bn palace on the Black Sea allegedly built for the Russian president that the opposition leader called 'the biggest bribe in history'.

Navalny's allies plan to hold demonstrations on Saturday in about 65 cities across the country in support of the Kremlin critic, who was arrested and jailed on his return to Russia last weekend. Navalny, 44, returned to Russia on Sunday from Germany, where he had been recovering from a near-fatal poisoning with the novichok nerve agent in an attack he blamed on Russian security services and Putin.

The Kremlin has denied the luxury complex belongs to Putin and urged Russians not to send their money to 'crooks'. They have also warned social media platforms against spreading online calls to stage weekend protests

Russia detains Navalny aides and warns against Saturday protests

Insurrection and inauguration: Joe Biden's new political era - video

Posted: 22 Jan 2021 04:00 AM PST

Following the US Capitol riot, Oliver Laughland and Tom Silverstone travel to Washington DC for the week of Joe Biden's inauguration to find a downtown area under what is essentially military occupation and a city coming to terms with the trauma of Donald Trump's final days in office.

They speak to lifelong residents in the outer suburbs as well the US congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who tells of her harrowing experience of the 6 January riot. Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton rails against criticisms of the Republican administration's handling of the domestic terrorism threat

'I didn't know if I would make it out that day': Ilhan Omar on the terror of the Capitol attack

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

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

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