World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk |
- Donald Trump 'frustrated with lawyers' as he watches impeachment trial on TV
- Myanmar protesters return to streets in huge numbers amid police defections
- Coronavirus live news: WHO mission member says ‘don’t rely too much’ on US virus intelligence
- 'That's enough': France begins to confront decades of neglect of incest cases
- Family of girl, 12, forced to marry abductor condemn Pakistan authorities
- Hong Kong bars its dual nationals from foreign consular help
- Tokyo governor to boycott Olympics meeting over sexism row
- Chinese publisher who spoke up for dissident academic is jailed for three years
- Astronomers' hopes raised by glimpse of possible new planet
- Lukashenko plans 'people's assembly' but Belarus reform unlikely
- Texas lawyer, trapped by cat filter on Zoom call, informs judge he is not a cat
- WHO investigation into Covid-19 origins offers no quick answers
- Pharmacists in England considering strike action over Covid debts
- A series of knocks: Oxford/AstraZeneca's bumpy road to Covid vaccine confidence
- Europe’s oldest person survives Covid and set to celebrate 117th birthday
- It's a Sin: ''There is such a raw truth to it"
- ‘I was never meek’: Priyanka Chopra Jonas on Miss World, Modi and misogyny
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 review: four months with the folding tablet-phone
- Can Addis Ababa stop its architectural gems being hidden under high-rises?
- 'The film my 13-year-old self would want to see': Steelers, a timely study of LGBTQ+ sport
- 'I get better sleep': the people who quit social media
- Craig Small killing: police officers under investigation over sharing of CCTV film
- Lawyers protesting against police in Tunisia allegedly attacked by officers
- California law would ban NDAs in cases of harassment or discrimination
- Inuit hunters blockade iron mine in freezing temperatures over expansion
- Peter Dutton denies request to fast-track grant was influenced by LNP donation
- UK failing to protect human rights defenders abroad, says Amnesty
- Analysis: Democrats use Trump impeachment to show sometimes symbolism is the point
- 'Jim Crow relic': Senate filibuster stands in way of Democratic voting rights push
- Relics of the Cold war - at auction
- Democrats play montage of footage from Capitol siege during Trump impeachment hearing – video
- Congressman Raskin breaks down recounting Capitol breach – video
- Trump's impeachment trial starts with graphic Capitol assault footage – video
- WHO says theory that Covid spread from lab 'extremely unlikely' – video
- Māori MP ejected from New Zealand parliament in necktie row – video
- Europe’s 'baby bust': can paying for pregnancies save Greece? - video
| Donald Trump 'frustrated with lawyers' as he watches impeachment trial on TV Posted: 10 Feb 2021 12:00 AM PST Former president spent past three weeks at Mar-a-Lago resort and shunned golf course on Tuesday for trial coverage As the historic second impeachment trial of Donald Trump got under way on Tuesday afternoon, the subject at the center of the case was more than a thousand miles away, muzzled by a social media ban and reduced to watching events unfold on TV. Trump, who is charged with "incitement of insurrection" after his supporters stormed the US Capitol on 6 January, has spent the past three weeks holed up at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, with his schedule seemingly restricted to playing multiple rounds of golf. The one-term president has been at his resort, close to the golf club, since he left Washington DC at 8am on the day of Joe Biden's inauguration. Continue reading... |
| Myanmar protesters return to streets in huge numbers amid police defections Posted: 09 Feb 2021 07:08 PM PST Protests swell across country, with dozens of police officers choosing to join protesters in call for reversal of coup Protesters have turned out in huge numbers across Myanmar, a day after police instigated the most violent scenes yet in demonstrations against a military coup that removed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. An estimated 100,000 people gathered in the commercial capital Yangon on Wednesday, according to witnesses, with many more marching across the country. Continue reading... |
| Coronavirus live news: WHO mission member says ‘don’t rely too much’ on US virus intelligence Posted: 10 Feb 2021 03:00 AM PST Vaccine progress also boosts investor optimism; US vaccinates 1.6m people in 24 hours; Japan discards millions of doses after syringe mixup
Hello everyone, this is Yohannes Lowe. I'll be running the blog until the evening. Please do feel free to get in touch on Twitter if you have any story tips.
It is "certainly plausible" that countries will insist that people have received a Covid-19 vaccine before allowing them to travel, England's deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam said. He stressed that the British position had never been that there should be mandatory vaccinations. I have concerns that uptake in the minority ethnic groups is not going to be as rapid or as high as in the indigenous white population of the UK. And this really concerns me because the big message I have for for everyone listening is that this virus just doesn't care what ethnic background you're from. I'm not sure that really tells us about whether the vaccine is still going to be really important in terms of protection against severe disease and protection in an older age group, and they're the people who are most at risk. It would be a very, very big public health win indeed if all of the vaccines that we're deploying simply stop people going into hospital, even if they don't flatten the infection rate. That would be a major, major public health victory. It's not our major threat right now. The thing that is going to kill people in the next one to two months in the UK is the problem we have with our own circulating virus, which is the Kent variant as we now know it. And we have good data now that the vaccines are very effective against the Kent variant. If you are running a bath and you have got the hot water tap on and you add in a very small amount of cold water, so the cold tap is running as well but at really a very low volume, your bath water is basically going to remain hot. It's only if that cold tap was gushing much more than the hot tap, the cold water would take over. Continue reading... |
| 'That's enough': France begins to confront decades of neglect of incest cases Posted: 09 Feb 2021 09:00 PM PST Book alleging political scientist Olivier Duhamel sexually abused stepson has led to resignations and calls for changes to age of consent When Camille Kouchner – daughter of a former government minister and stepdaughter to a renowned constitutional expert – wrote a book about alleged child sexual abuse in her family it sparked another of France's periodic moral, social and political crises. Once again, the country turned itself out to explain why another of its great and good might have abused a child, and how their equally great and good friends might have turned a blind eye – but this time the impact went much further. Continue reading... |
| Family of girl, 12, forced to marry abductor condemn Pakistan authorities Posted: 09 Feb 2021 09:30 PM PST Criticism follows release of 29-year-old who kept girl chained in cattle pen, in latest case highlighting abuses of religious minorities The family of a 12-year-old girl in Pakistan who was chained up in a cattle pen for more than six months, after allegedly being kidnapped and forced to marry her abductor, have attacked the authorities for refusing to act. The case is among those now being examined by a government inquiry into the forced conversions of religious minority women and girls, after police released the man, saying they believed the girl had married him of her own free will. Continue reading... |
| Hong Kong bars its dual nationals from foreign consular help Posted: 09 Feb 2021 07:53 PM PST Adoption of mainland China policy sparks concern other countries will be unable to offer protection to passport holders Hongkongers with dual nationality are not entitled to foreign consular assistance, the city's leader has said, confirming warnings by western diplomats that authorities have begun strictly enforcing Chinese nationality regulations. On Tuesday the Hong Kong chief executive, Carrie Lam, confirmed that while residents could have multiple passports, dual nationality was not recognised in Hong Kong under China's nationality law. Continue reading... |
| Tokyo governor to boycott Olympics meeting over sexism row Posted: 10 Feb 2021 02:27 AM PST Yuriko Koike says attending meeting with under-fire Games chief would not send positive message The governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, has said she will not attend a key meeting of Olympic officials next week, as the row over sexist comments made by the head of the 2020 Games' organising committee intensifies. Koike, who became the city's first female governor in 2016, said she saw no merit in attending the meeting between the committee head, Yoshiro Mori, the president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, and Japan's Olympics minister, Seiko Hashimoto. Continue reading... |
| Chinese publisher who spoke up for dissident academic is jailed for three years Posted: 09 Feb 2021 08:46 PM PST Geng Xiaonan guilty of publishing illegal titles after she made comments backing Beijing critic Xu Zhangrun A Chinese publisher who spoke out in support of a dissident academic has been jailed for three years in Beijing after she pleaded guilty to illegal business operations. Geng Xiaonan, 46, and her husband Qin Zhen, were arrested in September on suspicion of publishing thousands of illegal titles. According to reports, Geng told the court she was guilty of the charges against her, that she was the primary decision maker, and asked it to show leniency to her husband and staff who were just following instructions. She also asked for leniency for herself, because she was sole carer to her ailing father. Continue reading... |
| Astronomers' hopes raised by glimpse of possible new planet Posted: 10 Feb 2021 02:00 AM PST Bright speck in space near Alpha Centauri A may be evidence of asteroids or dust – or a technical glitch Astronomers have glimpsed what may be a previously unknown planet circling one of the closest stars to Earth. Researchers spotted the bright dot near Alpha Centauri A, one of a pair of stars that swing around each other so tightly they appear as one in the southern constellation of Centaurus. The stars form what is called a binary system 4.37 light years away, a mere stone's throw in cosmic terms. Continue reading... |
| Lukashenko plans 'people's assembly' but Belarus reform unlikely Posted: 09 Feb 2021 09:00 PM PST President who won rigged election last August has backing of Putin and has resumed attacks on dissent Nearly six months after huge street protests over a rigged presidential election were met with a ruthless, violent crackdown by his riot police, the Belarusian autocrat Alexander Lukashenko is still clinging on to power, and appears more determined than ever to prevail in his standoff with much of the country's population. A set-piece gathering this week, at which Lukashenko had initially promised to make genuine concessions and maybe even negotiate a route out of power, is now expected to be a loyal assembly that will rubber-stamp the president's plan to stay on at the helm. The so-called All Belarusian People's Assembly, planned for Thursday, is unlikely to result in any real political change, say observers. Continue reading... |
| Texas lawyer, trapped by cat filter on Zoom call, informs judge he is not a cat Posted: 09 Feb 2021 01:09 PM PST
A Texas lawyer accidentally left a kitten filter on during a video conference call with a judge and was unable to change it, eventually responding to a judge's query about why he was being addressed by a digital feline by saying: "I'm here live. I am not a cat." The coronavirus has prompted many computer mishaps, as many of the world's workers adapt to working from home in the face of the pandemic. They have ranged from the inadvertently hilarious to the career-ending. Continue reading... |
| WHO investigation into Covid-19 origins offers no quick answers Posted: 09 Feb 2021 06:25 AM PST Analysis: start of long process by Wuhan team junks Trump allies' claim that coronavirus escaped from a laboratory The press conference given by the World Health Organization's investigative team in Wuhan is unlikely to silence the most conspiratorial of the conspiracy theorists who took their lead from the fever dreams of the former Trump administration. Indeed, the first and very partial findings in what was always going to be a long and drawn-out process have not told us much we did not already know about the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. Continue reading... |
| Pharmacists in England considering strike action over Covid debts Posted: 09 Feb 2021 10:00 PM PST Industry association says chancellor must intervene to waive repayment of £370m of government loans Pharmacists in England are considering strike action unless the Treasury writes off a £370m debt from a support package awarded during the pandemic, which saw many chemists help deliver vaccines. The chair of the National Pharmacy Association urged the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to intervene in the budget on 3 March, saying the industry did not want to stage walkouts but many members were facing closure due to unsustainable debts. Continue reading... |
| A series of knocks: Oxford/AstraZeneca's bumpy road to Covid vaccine confidence Posted: 09 Feb 2021 06:47 AM PST From doubts about safety in older people to questions about variants, scientists have faced a battle to convince the public and regulators The Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid has barely been out of the news from the moment the race to protect the world's population from the novel coronavirus began. But not always in a good way. Talented scientists at the Jenner Institute at Oxford University, led by Prof Sarah Gilbert, were incredibly quick off the mark in developing a potential vaccine, as soon as the virus in Wuhan had been sequenced and made globally available by Chinese scientists on 11 January. They were using an experimental but exciting approach they had tried in Mers (Middle East respiratory syndrome), caused by a similar coronavirus. Continue reading... |
| Europe’s oldest person survives Covid and set to celebrate 117th birthday Posted: 09 Feb 2021 10:18 AM PST French nun Sister Andrée tested positive in her retirement home in Toulon but had no symptoms A French nun who is Europe's oldest person has recovered from Covid-19 after it swept through a nursing home in the south of France, and will celebrate her 117th birthday this week. Sister Andrée, born Lucile Randon in 1904, tested positive for the coronavirus last month at the Sainte-Catherine Labouré home near Toulon where 81 of the 88 residents contracted the virus – 10 of whom died. Continue reading... |
| It's a Sin: ''There is such a raw truth to it" Posted: 09 Feb 2021 11:00 PM PST How well does the Russell T Davies drama capture the 1980s Aids crisis? Influential queer figures who lived through it and in its wake – including Owen Jones, Rev Richard Coles, Lisa Power and Marc Thompson – give their verdicts A joyful yet devastating series centred on a group of friends whose lives are changed irrevocably by the HIV/Aids epidemic, It's a Sin is not only the most talked-about TV show of 2021 so far, but also Channel 4's most watched drama series in its history. Russell T Davies's 80s-set series has started conversations around Britain about the realities, both political and personal, of living through the HIV/Aids crisis, led to an increase in people getting tested for HIV, and helped raise awareness about preventive medication (PrEP) and the effective treatment now available for people living with the virus. To discuss these topics, we convened a roundtable discussion with influential queer figures who lived through the crisis, and those who have grown up in its wake. Taking part in the conversation are Lisa Power, a co-founder of LGBT charity Stonewall who also volunteered for Switchboard during the Aids crisis; the Rev Richard Coles, the vicar of Finedon in Northamptonshire and former member of the pop group the Communards; Marc Thompson, an HIV activist, the director of the Love Tank CIC and the co-founder of PrEPster; Guardian columnist and author Owen Jones; Omari Douglas, who plays the character Roscoe in It's a Sin; and Jason Okundaye, a writer and the co-founder of Black & Gay, back in the day, a digital archive honouring and remembering black queer life in Britain. Continue reading... |
| ‘I was never meek’: Priyanka Chopra Jonas on Miss World, Modi and misogyny Posted: 09 Feb 2021 10:00 PM PST She has conquered Bollywood, broken Hollywood, married a pop superstar, gained millions of followers – and now she is publishing a memoir of life in the spotlight Priyanka Chopra Jonas looks flawless – perfect skin, gorgeous face, utterly serene and wearing the most immaculately steamed silk shirt I've ever seen. In the background, a fire roars invitingly; to her side, out of sight of Zoom, her mother, Madhu, lies on the floor exercising. This is life as an idyll. The former Miss World and Bollywood turned Hollywood star is talking about her memoir, Unfinished. And she is quick to point out that there is so much unfinished business. In many ways, she says, at 38 years old, she has barely started. Chopra Jonas has her fingers in so many pies. How would she describe herself? "I'm an entertainer, and that bifurcates into being an actor, producer, author, entrepreneur. And I dabble in tech. I would say I'm a multi-hyphenate, professionally." Continue reading... |
| Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 review: four months with the folding tablet-phone Posted: 09 Feb 2021 11:00 PM PST After 4,500 folds the screen is pristine, the device is useful and the wow factor hasn't worn off Are phones that unfold into tablets really the future of mobiles? And is flexible screen technology really ready for prime time? I spent four months with the £1,800 Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 to find out. The second iteration of Samsung's smartphone that unfolds into a tablet was impressive on first inspection, reinventing what it meant to be a premium, cutting-edge device. Continue reading... |
| Can Addis Ababa stop its architectural gems being hidden under high-rises? Posted: 10 Feb 2021 02:30 AM PST While Ethiopia's ancient sites are valued, urban heritage is an afterthought in a city forced to expand ever upwards Only rubble remains of the former home of Dejazmatch Asfaw Kebede, a member of Emperor Haile Selassie's government. Built in the early 1900s, and inspired by Indian as well as Ethiopian architecture, the building was demolished in early January without the knowledge of Addis Ababa's conservation agency, the Culture and Tourism Bureau. Demolition and reconstruction are now the most common sights along Addis Ababa's unrecognisably altered skeleton skyline. The collateral damage is the city's heritage. Continue reading... |
| 'The film my 13-year-old self would want to see': Steelers, a timely study of LGBTQ+ sport Posted: 10 Feb 2021 01:19 AM PST Despite setbacks, Eamonn Ashton-Atkinson's moving film about his gay rugby team could not be more relevant Eammon Ashton-Atkinson's film about the gay rugby team of which he is a member is not all it seems. The action nominally follows just three days of competition as London's Kings Cross Steelers – the world's first out squad, founded in 1995 – take part in the world's largest LGBTQ+ rugby competition, the Bingham Cup. But this is no normal sports movie. Rather, it's a gentle, funny and frequently moving exploration of gay identity today. Of how sporting personas are – and are not – affected by sexuality. Of the tensions that can emerge when a group bound by one commonality are driven apart by others. Of what happens to your toes if you spend half your time on the pitch and half – like star player and part-time drag queen Drewalicious – in wincingly tall stilettos. Continue reading... |
| 'I get better sleep': the people who quit social media Posted: 10 Feb 2021 12:00 AM PST Soo Youn is considering giving up the apps. She speaks to those who have already taken the plunge – with liberating results My memory and recall are alarmingly good – borderline photographic. But when I used Instagram, I found it would short-circuit my recall in an alarming way. I'd be describing something mid-sentence and I'd just stop speaking, unable to finish. So I rarely use it. |
| Craig Small killing: police officers under investigation over sharing of CCTV film Posted: 09 Feb 2021 10:00 PM PST Exclusive: Mother of murdered man says uploading of footage to internet has compounded her trauma Two Metropolitan police officers are under criminal investigation for allegedly filming and sharing CCTV evidence of the moment a man was murdered, the Guardian has learned. Carol Campbell said that the video of the murder of her son, Craig Small, being uploaded to social media has compounded her trauma. Continue reading... |
| Lawyers protesting against police in Tunisia allegedly attacked by officers Posted: 10 Feb 2021 12:45 AM PST The three men are said to be recovering from assaults after security forces are accused of targeting activists during unrest Three lawyers are said to be recovering after being assaulted by police in the wake of protests in the Tunisian capital on Saturday. According to the Tunisian Bar Association, Yassine Azaza and Rahhal Jallali were attacked by officers while they were making their way home after the demonstrations in Tunis. A third lawyer, Abdennaceur Aouini, was photographed surrounded by police officers in the city's main street. Continue reading... |
| California law would ban NDAs in cases of harassment or discrimination Posted: 10 Feb 2021 03:00 AM PST Non-disclosure agreements have faced criticism for shielding companies from public accusations of wrongdoing A new bill introduced in California will target gag rules that keep workers from speaking out about harassment and discrimination when leaving a job. Continue reading... |
| Inuit hunters blockade iron mine in freezing temperatures over expansion Posted: 09 Feb 2021 12:10 PM PST Standoff exposes tensions between large Inuit organizations with power to approve permits and residents of small communities A group of Inuit hunters have braved nearly a week of freezing temperatures to blockade a remote iron mine in northern Canada, in protest over an expansion plan they say will harm local wildlife. The blockade, which has prompted solidarity rallies in other Nunavut communities, has also exposed growing tensions between large Inuit organizations with the power to approve development permits – and residents of the small communities where the impact of such projects is felt. Continue reading... |
| Peter Dutton denies request to fast-track grant was influenced by LNP donation Posted: 10 Feb 2021 02:31 AM PST The National Retailers Association received a one-off $880,000 grant in 2018, which the home affairs minister asked to 'be considered sooner' Peter Dutton asked his department to fast-track a grant proposal from the National Retailers Association weeks after the industry body made a political donation to support the home affairs minister. Documents obtained by ABC's 7.30, published on Wednesday, reveal that after Dutton's intervention the NRA received a one-off $880,000 grant for a program to assist retailers responding to armed offender incidents. Continue reading... |
| UK failing to protect human rights defenders abroad, says Amnesty Posted: 09 Feb 2021 11:15 PM PST New report finds lawyers, journalists and health workers at risk during pandemic have struggled to get help from embassies The UK government has failed in its pledge to help those on the frontline of the global fight for human rights during the pandemic, according to a new report. Amnesty International said health workers, lawyers, journalists and rights activists from around the world who were living under constant threat during the Covid-19 pandemic struggled to get support or funding from British embassies. Continue reading... |
| Analysis: Democrats use Trump impeachment to show sometimes symbolism is the point Posted: 09 Feb 2021 12:45 PM PST Analysis: faith in the US has been shaken and the impeachment trial is a test of accountability before a global audience The Democratic congressman Jamie Raskin stood at the lectern, faced 100 senators and removed his black face mask to begin the historic second impeachment trial of former president Donald John Trump. Continue reading... |
| 'Jim Crow relic': Senate filibuster stands in way of Democratic voting rights push Posted: 09 Feb 2021 05:39 AM PST Analysis: calls to scrap the requirement for 60 senators to back legislation are growing as Congress weighs sweeping protections As states around the country advance a wave of measures that would make it harder to vote, Democrats in Washington are planning the most sweeping voting rights protections in decades. But to pass those protections, Democrats will have to overcome a huge barrier. Related: Fight to vote: civil rights are making a comeback at the DoJ – here's why Continue reading... |
| Relics of the Cold war - at auction Posted: 09 Feb 2021 11:00 PM PST Hundreds of historical artefacts from the Cold war era are offered for sale at Julien's Auctions. The lots will include a rare Soviet version of the Enigma encryption machine known as the Fialka, clandestine operative cameras, and radio transmitters and receivers Continue reading... |
| Democrats play montage of footage from Capitol siege during Trump impeachment hearing – video Posted: 09 Feb 2021 03:43 PM PST This is the full edited video montage from the Capitol insurrection that Democrats presented during Donald Trump's second impeachment trial on 9 February 2021, as part of their evidence alleging the former president incited the mob Continue reading... |
| Congressman Raskin breaks down recounting Capitol breach – video Posted: 09 Feb 2021 01:27 PM PST Jamie Raskin, the Democratic congressman, lead impeachment manager and constitutional law professor, fought back tears as he recounted his experience of the Capitol breach which happened the day after the death of his son. 'This cannot be our future': Raskin's 24-year-old daughter and his son-in-law were hiding in his office during the attack. Continue reading... |
| Trump's impeachment trial starts with graphic Capitol assault footage – video Posted: 09 Feb 2021 12:12 PM PST Donald Trump's second impeachment trial opened in the Senate with graphic video of the attack on the Capitol on 6 January and his comments that spurred a rally crowd to become a mob. The lead House prosecutor told senators the case would present 'cold, hard facts' against Trump, who is charged with inciting the siege of the Capitol to overturn the election he lost to Joe Biden Continue reading... |
| WHO says theory that Covid spread from lab 'extremely unlikely' – video Posted: 09 Feb 2021 05:53 AM PST The head of the World Health Organization-led team looking into how Covid-19 originated said on Tuesday its investigation had uncovered new information but had not dramatically changed the picture of the outbreak. Virus expert Peter Ben Embarek said the origin of the coronavirus pointed to a natural reservoir in bats. He said the hypothesis that it leaked from a lab in Wuhan was extremely unlikely and would not be part of any further study for his team Continue reading... |
| Māori MP ejected from New Zealand parliament in necktie row – video Posted: 09 Feb 2021 04:45 AM PST The Māori party co-leader Rawiri Waititi has defied an order to wear a tie in the New Zealand parliament's debating chamber – and was promptly ejected by the Speaker of the House. 'It's not about ties it's about cultural identity,' Waititi said as he left the chamber. Earlier, exchanges over the dress code between Waititi and the Speaker, Trevor Mallard, had grown heated, with Waititi saying he had chosen to wear cultural dress – 'Māori business attire' – to the chamber, with a pounamu, or greenstone necklace, in place of a necktie Continue reading... |
| Europe’s 'baby bust': can paying for pregnancies save Greece? - video Posted: 09 Feb 2021 02:32 AM PST Greece's population is falling fast, with low birth rates and economic instability hitting its island communities hardest. An unconventional new organisation, Hope Genesis, is attempting to inject life back into these remote areas through a programme of financially incentivised births. Leah Green and Ekaterina Ochagavia travel to Greece to see them in action, and to examine the ethical issues behind paying women to have babies
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