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- Myanmar army takes power in coup as Aung San Suu Kyi detained
- Estonia’s first female prime minister vows to tackle climate crisis
- Coronavirus live news: UK variant behind 'half of new Dutch cases'; concern at Italy reopening
- Biden urged to push back against Republicans' scaled-down Covid relief proposal – live
- Harry says Mail on Sunday underplayed gravity of false claim as libel case settled
- Hong Kong migration agents report rush of inquiries for UK visas
- Silver price hits eight-year high – business live
- Lincoln Project condemns co-founder accused of making overtures to young men
- Blue whales threatened by ship collisions in busy Patagonia waters
- Jared Kushner nominated for Nobel peace prize
- Dante's descendant seeks to overturn poet's 1302 corruption conviction
- Germany considering Russian and Chinese vaccines to boost Covid inoculation drive
- UK Covid live: Labour says community spread of South African variant means tougher border policy needed
- French minister criticises UK's 'risky' Covid vaccine strategy
- Taiwan waives Covid quarantine fine for man who was kidnapped
- 'I document America's strange beauty': the photography of My Name Is Earl's Jason Lee
- Grubs up! Mealworms are on the menu – but are we ready for them?
- Ten years after the Arab spring, Yemen has little hope left
- Jacinda Ardern faces Waitangi Day reckoning with Māori as progress stalls
- From The Sopranos to Twin Peaks: the best TV isn’t timely – it’s prescient
- ‘I feel so good I may never drink again!’ Readers on their success – or failure – during dry January
- The ungrateful refugee: ‘We have no debt to repay’ – podcast
- Uganda opposition leader Bobi Wine calls on court to nullify election result
- World needs to kick its coal habit to start green recovery, says IEA head
- More than two-thirds of voters think Covid vaccines will be rolled out efficiently and safely – poll
- ‘Police searched my baby's nappy': migrant families on the perilous Balkan route
- The free Hong Kong that made me an overnight popstar? That city has vanished
- ‘This path is untenable’: can the Republican party split with Trumpism?
- New Zealand climate commission proposals will need a revolution in policy | Robert McLachlan
- I'm an NHS consultant anaesthetist. I see the terror in my Covid patients' eyes
- Finding their own place: Palestinian students in Tel Aviv – in pictures
- Russian police arrest protesters demanding Navalny's release – video
- Liz Truss: we will vaccinate people in UK before helping other countries – video
| Myanmar army takes power in coup as Aung San Suu Kyi detained Posted: 01 Feb 2021 02:07 AM PST Military has previously threatened to 'take action' over alleged fraud in a November election Myanmar's military has taken power in a coup and declared a state of emergency, hours after detaining Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior figures from the ruling party. Phone and mobile internet services in the city of Yangon were down on Monday morning and military trucks, one carrying barbed-wire barriers, were parked outside City Hall. The state-run MRTV network said it had been unable to broadcast. Banks were closed across the nation. Continue reading... |
| Estonia’s first female prime minister vows to tackle climate crisis Posted: 31 Jan 2021 09:30 PM PST Kaja Kallas, 43, took power on Tuesday after the previous coalition collapsed due to a corruption scandal Estonia's first female prime minister has promised to implement changes in both style and substance in the governance of the Baltic nation, as she takes charge after two years in which a far-right party was in the ruling coalition. Kaja Kallas, a 43-year-old lawyer and head of Estonia's Reform party, was sworn into office on Tuesday. Continue reading... |
| Coronavirus live news: UK variant behind 'half of new Dutch cases'; concern at Italy reopening Posted: 01 Feb 2021 07:14 AM PST Dutch minister's comments come as country says primary schools still to reopen next week; experts say easing could cause spike in cases
Elderly people in Poland will not be given the AstraZeneca Covid-19 jab, the vaccination minister said on Monday, adding that the final call will be made following advice from medical experts. Europe's medicines regulator approved AstraZeneca/Oxford University's jab for over-18s on Friday, according to Reuters, but said there were not yet enough results for people over 55 to determine how effective the vaccine will be. "If we are talking about the decision of the medical council, we expect it in the coming days or possibly hours, but it is clear that elderly people will not be vaccinated with this shot," Michal Dworczyk, the prime minister's top aide, who has been put in charge of vaccinations, told a news conference. "We are waiting for a clear recommendation from the medical council and then … we will take a decision," he added.
South Africa's first batch of lifesaving #COVID19 #Vaccine doses have officially touched ground! #IChooseVaccination #VaccineRolloutSA #WeChooseVaccination pic.twitter.com/V8ztEmdSKo Continue reading... |
| Biden urged to push back against Republicans' scaled-down Covid relief proposal – live Posted: 01 Feb 2021 07:13 AM PST
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell has released a new statement condemning the military coup in Myanmar. "I call on Burma's military to immediately release the civilian political leaders of the country and turn back from this abyss," the Republican leader said. "We need to support the people of Burma in their journey toward democracy and impose costs on those who stand in their way." I call on Burma's military to immediately release the civilian political leaders of the country and turn back from this abyss. We need to support the people of Burma in their journey toward democracy and impose costs on those who stand in their way. My full statement: pic.twitter.com/C2uOjnIVQx The military coup and suspension of democracy in Myanmar has been condemned by the US, and noted by China, as the world divided on largely predictable lines over the importance it attached to the young democracy. Tony Blinken, the US secretary of state, facing his first major crisis since assuming office last week, expressed the US's 'grave concern and alarm'. He called on Myanmar's military leaders to release all civilian government officials, including the state counsellor, Aung San Suu Kyi, and to respect the will of the people as expressed in democratic elections on 8 November. Related: Myanmar coup: US and China divided in response to army takeover
The group of Senate Republicans who will meet with Joe Biden today have proposed their own $600 billion coronavirus relief package. A package of that size would be about one-third as large as the relief legislation that Biden has proposed. Continue reading... |
| Harry says Mail on Sunday underplayed gravity of false claim as libel case settled Posted: 01 Feb 2021 06:44 AM PST Duke settles libel case with paper and Mail Online over stories about his relationship with armed forces The Duke of Sussex has accused the Mail on Sunday and Mail Online of underplaying the seriousness of an error in a story about his relationship to the British armed forces as the two sides formally settled a high court libel claim. Harry had sued Associated Newspapers over two articles published in October, which claimed he had snubbed the Royal Marines and "not been in touch … since his last appearance as an honorary marine in March", citing "informed sources". Continue reading... |
| Hong Kong migration agents report rush of inquiries for UK visas Posted: 01 Feb 2021 02:25 AM PST High level of interest in scheme launched on Sunday comes despite fears applications will be monitored Migration agents in Hong Kong say they have had a rush of inquiries from people seeking to access the new visa scheme launched by the UK government on Sunday, despite fears their applications will be monitored. Britain's Home Office is expecting about 300,000 people to exercise a newly offered right to move to Britain and eventually seek citizenship in the next five years. The scheme was announced in July in response to the worsening security situation in Hong Kong, as the Chinese government tightens its control over the city with a draconian national security law. Continue reading... |
| Silver price hits eight-year high – business live Posted: 01 Feb 2021 07:13 AM PST Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news
The US stock market has opened higher, as shares recover from last week's sharp falls. The Dow Jones industrial average is up 58 points, or 0.2%, at 30,041 points.
Bloomberg also points out that a short squeeze in silver is hard to pull off. That's partly due to the size of the market, and also because many investors have long positions (unlike GameStop, where hedge funds had shorted around 140% of the outstanding stock - creating the conditions for last week's historic squeeze). For all the talk of a short squeeze -- money managers have been net-long on silver since mid-2019, according to CFTC datahttps://t.co/8bUXOponWb via @markets pic.twitter.com/dfGKsFT9Gg For one, the scope for a short squeeze in silver is far less obvious: money managers have had a net-long position on the metal since mid-2019, futures and options data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission show. The market for silver is also by some measures much deeper than those for smaller stocks like GameStop. The bricks-and-mortar video game retailer had a market capitalization of about $1.4 billion in mid-January, before the Reddit frenzy sent the company's value soaring more than 16-fold. Continue reading... |
| Lincoln Project condemns co-founder accused of making overtures to young men Posted: 01 Feb 2021 07:14 AM PST John Weaver 'led a secret life that was built on a foundation of deception at every level. He is a predator, a liar, and an abuser' The Lincoln Project has condemned John Weaver, a co-founder of the anti-Trump Republican group who is alleged to have made unsolicited sexual overtures to men as young as 14. Weaver, 61, is a Republican consultant who worked with presidential candidates John McCain and John Kasich. His alleged online comments to young men were reported in mid-January by The American Conservative and Scott Stedman, an independent reporter who said he received messages from Weaver, data analyst Garrett Herrin and Axios. Continue reading... |
| Blue whales threatened by ship collisions in busy Patagonia waters Posted: 01 Feb 2021 04:05 AM PST Endangered giants face potentially fatal encounters with the 1,000 daily fishing vessels moving through main feeding area off Chile, scientists warn The largest mammal ever to live on the Earth, the blue whale, is under threat from boat collisions as one of its main feeding grounds in Chilean Patagonia is overrun with vessels, a new study has revealed. The endangered whales must contend with up to 1,000 boats moving daily through an important feeding area in the eastern South Pacific, according to research published in the scientific journal Nature. Continue reading... |
| Jared Kushner nominated for Nobel peace prize Posted: 31 Jan 2021 08:00 PM PST Kushner and his deputy Avi Berkowitz join Greta Thunberg and Alexei Navalny on the nominations list Former White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and his deputy, Avi Berkowitz, have been nominated for the Nobel peace prize for their role in negotiating four normalisation deals between Israel and Arab nations known as the "Abraham Accords". Kushner, who is Trump's son-in-law, and Berkowitz, who was the Middle East envoy, were key figures in negotiating deals between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. Continue reading... |
| Dante's descendant seeks to overturn poet's 1302 corruption conviction Posted: 01 Feb 2021 05:16 AM PST Seven centuries after the poet was found guilty in Florence, Sperello di Serego Alighieri has begun a campaign to clear his ancestor's name The reputation of Dante Alighieri needs little burnishing: his Divine Comedy, tracing the poet's journey through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise, is widely regarded as one of the greatest works ever written. But more than 700 years after Dante was accused of corruption and condemned to be burned to death, his descendant is looking to clear his name. Sperello di Serego Alighieri, an astrophysicist, and the law professor Alessandro Traversi are working to see if Dante's 1302 sentencing for corruption in political office can be reversed. Continue reading... |
| Germany considering Russian and Chinese vaccines to boost Covid inoculation drive Posted: 01 Feb 2021 06:31 AM PST Health minister's comments come before summit on country's sluggish programme Germany should use the Russian and Chinese coronavirus vaccines if they win EU approval, the health minister has said, as the French president said Europe must step up its vaccine roll-out and several European countries began easing restrictions. Speaking ahead of an emergency summit with vaccine manufacturers to tackle the country's sluggish rollout, Jens Spahn said that if a vaccine "can be considered safe and effective, regardless of what country it has been produced in, then it could help". Continue reading... |
| Posted: 01 Feb 2021 07:15 AM PST Latest updates: mass testing after two people with no history of travel catch variant; some care home staff yet to receive first jab
Boris Johnson gave a TV interview on a visit to a vaccination centre in Batley, west Yorkshire, and I covered the highlights at 12.59pm. In further interviews on the visit, he covered more ground. Here are the key lines, taken from PA media. It may be that a national approach, going down the tiers in a national way, might be better this time round, given that the disease is behaving much more nationally. If you look at the way the new variant has taken off across the country, it's a pretty national phenomenon. We're now seeing a big increase in uptake in care home staff and that's a great thing to see, and I've seen in the last few weeks a big increase in the receptivity of care home staff to the vaccinations. I'm seeing a very impressive take-up rate among the Muslim community here, the Indian Muslim community, and that is fantastic to see and I thank them for the work that they're doing to dispel some of the nonsense about vaccines. I think it's about spreading a sense of positivity about the vaccine, I think that's what we want to see and I think that's working.
Here are some of the main points from the Downing Street lobby briefing. Continue reading... |
| French minister criticises UK's 'risky' Covid vaccine strategy Posted: 01 Feb 2021 05:45 AM PST Clément Beaune says French would not accept such risks, as he defends EU's slower progress Britain has taken "a lot of risks" in its Covid vaccination programme that would be intolerable to the French public, France's Europe minister, Clément Beaune, has said in defence of the EU's record on vaccines. With 14% of the UK adult population having received a first jab, compared with 3% of people across the 27 EU member states, there is growing discontent in the bloc. Continue reading... |
| Taiwan waives Covid quarantine fine for man who was kidnapped Posted: 01 Feb 2021 03:20 AM PST Authorities revoke £2,600 penalty after it emerges debt collectors had abducted him from self-isolation A Taiwanese man penalised for breaching Covid quarantine regulations has had his fine revoked after it emerged he had been kidnapped by debt collectors. The man, whose surname is Chen, returned from Hong Kong in late October and began his 14 days of mandatory home quarantine at a friend's home in Nantou county. The next day, however, men identified as debt collectors arrived at the house and mistook Chen for his friend, who owed them money. Continue reading... |
| 'I document America's strange beauty': the photography of My Name Is Earl's Jason Lee Posted: 31 Jan 2021 10:00 PM PST He played a redemption-seeking redneck on TV, but lately the actor has found solace off-screen, travelling with his camera. He talks about slackers, the Mallrats sequel and breezing into one-horse towns Jason Lee knew he was in trouble when he stepped on the set. The year was 1992, Sonic Youth were at their peak and he was starring as a doomed skateboarder in their latest video. As a music obsessed, pro skateboarder with acting aspirations, he felt he had a point to prove. To add more pressure, it was for the song 100% – the band's classic ode to a murdered Black Flag roadie – and the video was being co-directed by one of his skateboarding friends (some guy called Spike Jonze). "I was really trying my hardest to focus," says Lee. "I was like pretending to be Robert De Niro on the set, really trying to get into it and make it count and make it real and believable." Continue reading... |
| Grubs up! Mealworms are on the menu – but are we ready for them? Posted: 01 Feb 2021 03:00 AM PST The mealworm market is expected to boom after the EU ruled them safe to eat. Insects are a popular food in most countries, so can Europeans get over the yuck factor? It's a bit … well, mealy. Dry (because it's been dried), a little crunchy, not strongly flavoured, neither pleasant nor unpleasant. Salt would probably help, or chilli, lime – something, anything, to spice it up a bit. And definitely a beer, if I was going to consume much more, to help wash it down. I'm eating mealworms. Dried yellow mealworms, the larvae of the beetle Tenebrio molitor. Why? Because they are nutritious, made up mainly of protein, fat and fibre. Because there are potentially environmental and economic benefits, as they require less feed and produce less waste and carbon dioxide than other sources of animal protein. And because Efsa, the EU food safety agency, has just declared them safe to eat. Continue reading... |
| Ten years after the Arab spring, Yemen has little hope left Posted: 31 Jan 2021 09:00 PM PST Racked by war, cholera and now coronavirus, the country faces the world's worst famine in decades Ten years after the rage and hope of the Arab spring filled the public spaces of Sana'a, Yemen's capital has become a curiously quiet place. Traders and customers alike shuffle through the streets of the old city, ground down by the repression of the Houthi rebel occupation and the economic hardship caused by the Saudi- and Emirati-led coalition blockade. Continue reading... |
| Jacinda Ardern faces Waitangi Day reckoning with Māori as progress stalls Posted: 31 Jan 2021 04:34 PM PST Three years after the prime minister asked Māori to hold her to account, many are disillusioned with her government In an oft-repeated story New Zealand's prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has recalled how growing up in the small, largely Māori town of Murupara, she would see children going to school hungry, and with no shoes on their feet. It was these scenes of entrenched inequality and poverty, often along racial lines, that drove a teenage Ardern into the Labour party, where she has dedicated herself to combating child poverty. Continue reading... |
| From The Sopranos to Twin Peaks: the best TV isn’t timely – it’s prescient Posted: 01 Feb 2021 03:28 AM PST The popularity of classic shows in the past year is about more than nostalgia – what pulls us back in is their relevance to today At least Covid struck during the age of "peak TV". After all, were this not a time when the shows being piped into our living rooms were better, smarter, starrier, more plentiful and more readily available than ever before, what would we have done to stay on an even keel through a year in lockdown? Pretty much what we did anyway, it turns out. Because the viewing trend of the past 12 months, which few saw coming, has been a clamour for the classics. At a time when there is more box-fresh prestige entertainment than you can shake a battered remote at, viewers on both sides of the Atlantic decided instead to reacquaint themselves with old friends: Rodney Trotter, Jerry Seinfeld and, overwhelmingly, Tony Soprano. Continue reading... |
| ‘I feel so good I may never drink again!’ Readers on their success – or failure – during dry January Posted: 01 Feb 2021 03:40 AM PST Readers explain whether they looked, felt and slept better – or if they turned back to alcohol to cheer up a miserable month I don't drink every day, but I do drink every weekend and I usually drink a fair amount. I did dry January (and February) two years ago when my wife was eight months pregnant with our son, but I'm finding it much easier this year because I don't have the opportunity to go out and socialise. The thing I miss most about drinking is visiting the pub with some friends – without that it's certainly easier. Duncan Ward, operational resilience manager, West Sussex Continue reading... |
| The ungrateful refugee: ‘We have no debt to repay’ – podcast Posted: 01 Feb 2021 04:00 AM PST Dina Nayeri was just a child when she fled Iran as an asylum seeker. But as she settled into life in the US and then Europe, she became suspicious of the idea that refugees should shed their old identities and be eternally thankful • Read the text version here |
| Uganda opposition leader Bobi Wine calls on court to nullify election result Posted: 01 Feb 2021 04:44 AM PST Party lawyer accuses re-elected president Yoweri Museveni of being an 'agent of violence' The Ugandan opposition leader and presidential challenger Bobi Wine has filed a petition at the country's highest court to challenge the re-election of Yoweri Museveni in last month's polls. Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, wants the supreme court in the capital, Kampala, to nullify the victory of Museveni in the 14 January poll. Continue reading... |
| World needs to kick its coal habit to start green recovery, says IEA head Posted: 01 Feb 2021 06:52 AM PST Energy watchdog's Fatih Birol says shift away from coal in key regions needs to be made a global priority Dependency on coal in key parts of the world is preventing a global green recovery from taking off, and the shift away from coal needs to be made a global priority, the head of the world's energy watchdog has said Coal still forms a key part of China's energy system, and plans are in train for further coal-fired power plants in the country. India is also heavily dependent on coal, and despite increasing its renewable energy generation has shown little sign of reducing its use of the fossil fuel. Continue reading... |
| More than two-thirds of voters think Covid vaccines will be rolled out efficiently and safely – poll Posted: 01 Feb 2021 05:03 AM PST A majority of 58% has confidence vaccinations will effectively stop the virus within Australia, the latest Essential poll suggests Voters think the Morrison government will be able to manage the rollout of Covid vaccines safely and effectively despite the obvious downside risks, and a majority believes an early election would be an act of opportunism, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll. The data also suggests that Labor has been broadly competitive with the Coalition over the past quarter, despite some in the opposition fearing their leader, Anthony Albanese, can't get a grip on Scott Morrison – a morale slump that has fuelled open speculation about whether Anthony Albanese will lead the ALP to the next election. Continue reading... |
| ‘Police searched my baby's nappy': migrant families on the perilous Balkan route Posted: 31 Jan 2021 11:15 PM PST 'The game' of crossing the Croatian-Bosnian border with children often results in degrading treatment and violent pushbacks, refugees say An Afghan girl pulls her baby sister along in a pram through the mud and snow. Saman is six and baby Darya is 10 months old. They and their family have been pushed back into Bosnia 11 times by the Croatian police, who stripped Darya bare to check if the parents had hidden mobile phones or money in her nappy. "They searched her as though she were an adult. I could not believe my eyes," says Darya's mother, Maryam, 40, limping through the mud and clinging to a stick. Continue reading... |
| The free Hong Kong that made me an overnight popstar? That city has vanished Posted: 01 Feb 2021 01:30 AM PST It's hard to believe just how quickly the vibrant city has changed since I first arrived in 2013 to perform a song at a protest. A blanket of fear covers it now My first experience of Hong Kong was, I must admit, unusual. It was 2013, I was 30 years old, and I'd just flown 6,000 miles to perform a song at a huge protest. I'd written the song six years earlier. It was called This Is My Dream, and it was a defiant song about not giving up. At the time, I was a struggling singer-songwriter living in the small English retirement town of Worthing; I posted the song on a website for unsigned musicians, and then mostly forgot about it. Continue reading... |
| ‘This path is untenable’: can the Republican party split with Trumpism? Posted: 01 Feb 2021 12:00 AM PST A path forward for the GOP is unclear when the former president still holds power over many of its lawmakers Donald Trump may have left the White House, but his shadow still looms large in Washington and the Republican party as the Senate prepares for his second impeachment trial. Continue reading... |
| New Zealand climate commission proposals will need a revolution in policy | Robert McLachlan Posted: 31 Jan 2021 04:41 PM PST Changes called for will require rapid and sweeping regulation in all areas of society from transport to forestry The New Zealand Climate Change Commission has released their first package of advice for public consultation. The advice covers the first three carbon budgets (out to 2035) and provides a detailed plan on how to achieve them. As many aspects of the country's climate policies have been criticised as weak – from the "split gas" approach in which not all gases need to reach net zero emissions by 2050, to an over-reliance on commercial forestry, to a past failure to cut emissions and future projections that miss targets – the commission's first major report has been keenly anticipated on all sides. Continue reading... |
| I'm an NHS consultant anaesthetist. I see the terror in my Covid patients' eyes Posted: 31 Jan 2021 02:30 AM PST As a hospital consultant working in intensive care, the reality of coronavirus and patients' fear is brought home to me every day I'm not ready," the patient implores me through her CPAP [continuous positive airway pressure] hood. She's breathing at more than triple her normal rate and I've been asked to intubate her as she's deteriorating, despite three days in intensive care. She is 42 years old. There's terror in her eyes. A tear runs down her cheek. She's looking at the patient opposite who is in an induced coma, intubated and ventilated, and isn't doing well. Continue reading... |
| Finding their own place: Palestinian students in Tel Aviv – in pictures Posted: 31 Jan 2021 11:00 PM PST Between 2014 and 2020, Tel Aviv-based photographer and artist Iris Hassid followed the daily life of four young Palestinian women, citizens of Israel, who are part of a recent surge of young Arab women attending Tel Aviv University |
| Russian police arrest protesters demanding Navalny's release – video Posted: 31 Jan 2021 12:23 PM PST More than 4,000 people, including Alexei Navalny's wife, Yulia Navalnaya, were detained at rallies across Russia as supporters of the Kremlin critic took to the streets to protest against his imprisonment. Security measures, riot police and national guards troops shut down metro stations in Moscow and blocked off streets to prevent a repeat of last week's record protests, some of the largest since 2012 |
| Liz Truss: we will vaccinate people in UK before helping other countries – video Posted: 31 Jan 2021 03:20 AM PST The UK can help EU nations with coronavirus vaccine supplies, the international trade secretary, Liz Truss, has said, but only if it does not affect the government's timetable for vaccinating its own population. She told Sky News's Sophy Ridge: 'We first need to make sure that our population is vaccinated ... It's a bit too early to say how we would deploy vaccines but we certainly want to work with friends and neighbours, we want to work with developing countries'
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