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- Myanmar coup: military tightens grip amid calls for Aung San Suu Kyi to be freed
- Northern Ireland suspends Brexit checks amid safety fears for port staff
- Ursula von der Leyen accuses UK of compromising on vaccine safety
- Economics' failure over destruction of nature presents ‘extreme risks’
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she is a sexual assault survivor
- McConnell says Marjorie Taylor Greene's 'loony lies' are 'a cancer' on GOP
- Twitter suspends hundreds of Indian accounts after government demand
- Trump to outline impeachment defense as Biden seeks to undo border family separations – live
- K-pop star Sowon apologises for posing with 'Nazi mannequin'
- Wall Street billionaire backed Republicans who later tried to overturn election result
- US tariffs on Scotch whisky 'have cost £500m in lost exports'
- Coronavirus live: Austria lockdown to ease despite 'far from ideal scenario'; Japan vaccinations delayed by EU curbs
- Covid mortality down dramatically since start of pandemic
- Scientist calls for curbs on UK arrivals to halt South African Covid variant
- Black Americans make up only 5.4% of Covid-19 vaccine recipients, CDC finds
- Tokyo Olympics: definitely going ahead unless cancelled again?
- Penthouses and poor doors: how Europe's 'biggest regeneration project' fell flat
- The real thing: my battle to beat a 27-year Diet Coke addiction
- Economics of biodiversity review: what are the recommendations?
- Warm khachapuri flatbreads take me back to Georgia – here’s the recipe | Marcel Theroux
- Caroline Shaw: what next for the Pulitzer-winner who toured with Kanye? Opera – and Abba
- UK weather: snow may cut off rural areas in north of England, says Met Office
- A Bosnian winter: families bid to reach Europe's heart – in pictures
- Lagos traffic creating 'life or death' situations for women trying to reach hospital – report
- ‘It disgusts me’: how a wealthy couple lied to get a vaccine meant for Indigenous people
- Australia faces calls to cut military ties with Myanmar after coup
- Worker at H&M supply factory was killed after months of harassment, claims family
- Zoomed to fail? Cracks appear in Pacific Islands Forum as Covid pulls nations apart
- Threat of Myanmar coup was never far away
- The pandemic has illustrated New Zealand's hypocritical attitude to Māori health | Emma Espiner
- 'Blinding snow' storm batters New York City and US north-east– video
- Giant pandas play in the Washington DC snow – video
| Myanmar coup: military tightens grip amid calls for Aung San Suu Kyi to be freed Posted: 01 Feb 2021 11:49 PM PST Army appears in full control amid reports hundreds of MPs are being confined in government housing Myanmar's military appears to be in firm control of the country, one day after it launched a coup and detained Aung San Suu Kyi, whose whereabouts remain unclear. The military's actions provoked widespread international condemnation, with the US president, Joe Biden, threatening sanctions and calling for governments to press for the military to release detainees. The UN security council will meet on Tuesday to discuss the matter. Continue reading... |
| Northern Ireland suspends Brexit checks amid safety fears for port staff Posted: 01 Feb 2021 02:39 PM PST Decision came after council withdrew 12 staff at Larne following reports of 'menacing behaviour' Brexit checks on animal and food products arriving into Belfast and Larne ports have been suspended amid fears over the safety of staff, Northern Ireland's agriculture ministry has said. The decision came after Mid and East Antrim borough council agreed on Monday night to remove 12 of its staff at Larne port with immediate effect, following an "upsurge in sinister and menacing behaviour in recent weeks". |
| Ursula von der Leyen accuses UK of compromising on vaccine safety Posted: 02 Feb 2021 01:24 AM PST European commission chief defends record, saying EU's slower approval process was 'right decision' The vaccination programme in the UK has enjoyed a head start through compromising on "safety and efficacy" safeguards, the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has claimed. The former German defence minister, who took command of the EU's executive branch in 2019, said she had a responsibility to take time to ensure the success of the bloc's mass vaccination programme. Continue reading... |
| Economics' failure over destruction of nature presents ‘extreme risks’ Posted: 01 Feb 2021 10:00 PM PST New measures of success needed to avoid catastrophic breakdown, landmark review finds The world is being put at "extreme risk" by the failure of economics to take account of the rapid depletion of the natural world and needs to find new measures of success to avoid a catastrophic breakdown, a landmark review has concluded. Prosperity was coming at a "devastating cost" to the ecosystems that provide humanity with food, water and clean air, said Prof Sir Partha Dasgupta, the Cambridge University economist who conducted the review. Radical global changes to production, consumption, finance and education were urgently needed, he said. Continue reading... |
| Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she is a sexual assault survivor Posted: 01 Feb 2021 08:09 PM PST Democratic congresswoman reveals past trauma during candid account of Capitol attack The Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Monday spoke in an emotional video about the insurrection at the US Capitol, and how what she went through was affected by her experience as a survivor of sexual assault. In an account remarkably candid for an American lawmaker, Ocasio-Cortez recounted going into hiding as rioters scaled the Capitol on 6 January, hiding in a bathroom in her office while hearing banging on the walls and a man yelling: "Where is she? Where is she?" She had feared for her life, she told an Instagram Live audience of more than 150,000 people. Continue reading... |
| McConnell says Marjorie Taylor Greene's 'loony lies' are 'a cancer' on GOP Posted: 02 Feb 2021 01:11 AM PST Senate minority leader didn't name congresswoman, but the remarks were clearly directed at the QAnon supporter Mitch McConnell, the top Republican in the US Senate, has intensified pressure on the extremist Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, calling the "loony lies and conspiracy theories" that she endorses a "cancer for the Republican party". Continue reading... |
| Twitter suspends hundreds of Indian accounts after government demand Posted: 01 Feb 2021 06:33 PM PST Government claimed accounts of news sites, actors and activists sought to foment violence amid farmer protests Hundreds of Indian Twitter accounts including those belonging to news websites, activists and actors were suspended for more than 12 hours on Monday after the government said users were posting content inciting violence. The move came in the wake of weeks-long protests by Indian farmers against a new farm bill. The protests turned violent last week when riot police were sent in. One demonstrator was killed and hundreds of people were injured including police officers. Continue reading... |
| Trump to outline impeachment defense as Biden seeks to undo border family separations – live Posted: 02 Feb 2021 02:15 AM PST
Here's what we can expect from president Joe Biden today on immigration. He will order a major review of asylum processing at the US-Mexico border and the legal immigration system as he seeks to undo Donald Trump's hard-line policies. Biden will also create a task force to reunite migrant families who were separated at the southern US border by Trump's 2018 "zero tolerance" border strategy, officials said. Related: US to resume deporting asylum seekers after judge rejects Biden order
"It was a very good exchange of views. I wouldn't say we came together on a package tonight. No one expected that in a two-hour meeting. But what we did agree to do is follow up and talk further." Those were the words overnight of Maine's Republican Senator Susan Collins who lead a group of 10 Republican lawmakers to meet president Joe Biden. They were presenting their ideas for a stripped-down Covid support package that might command bipartisan support. The Washington Post reports: The path ahead is uncertain, given that Democratic leaders in Congress started the process Monday of advancing a budget bill that can unlock special Senate rules allowing Biden's package to pass with a simple majority vote in the Senate, instead of the 60 votes usually needed — meaning no Republican votes would be necessary. But for Biden, the meeting with the GOP senators posed a test for a new president who campaigned on his ability to make bipartisan deals — but also faces strong pressure from the left to deliver a big new relief package now that Democrats control both chambers of Congress and the White House. Continue reading... |
| K-pop star Sowon apologises for posing with 'Nazi mannequin' Posted: 01 Feb 2021 11:06 PM PST GFriend band member deletes photos taken on video shoot with figure dressed in German military uniform The K-pop artist Sowon has apologised after images appeared online of her posing with a mannequin that was dressed in a German military uniform from the days of Nazi rule. Sowon, a member of the female band GFriend, was shown cuddling the mannequin in now-deleted photos that were taken in late 2020 while the group were filming a video in the South Korean city of Paju. Continue reading... |
| Wall Street billionaire backed Republicans who later tried to overturn election result Posted: 01 Feb 2021 11:00 PM PST Blackstone founder Stephen Schwarzman faces scrutiny over donations to rightwing Republicans including Kelly Loeffler The Wall Street billionaire who has been heralded for giving Oxford University its largest donation "since the Renaissance" gave campaign contributions during the election cycle to seven of the Republican lawmakers who later voted to overturn the 2020 election results and backed candidates late last year even as they disputed Joe Biden's victory. Related: Biden official involved in removal of DoJ lawyer concerned by family separations Continue reading... |
| US tariffs on Scotch whisky 'have cost £500m in lost exports' Posted: 01 Feb 2021 04:01 PM PST Single malt sales to US have fallen more than third since retaliatory regime was imposed, says industry body Losses to Scotch whisky exports after tariffs were imposed by the US have reached £500m, according to an industry body. New figures suggest exports of single malt Scotch whisky have fallen by more than a third – amounting to more than £500m – since a 25% tariff was imposed in October 2019. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 02 Feb 2021 02:15 AM PST Austria to cautiously open up to ease psychological effects of lockdown; EU's vaccine export transparency mechanism affecting Japan's supply schedule
Human Rights Watch Tuesday urged support for aid groups to ensure "equitable" distribution of coronavirus vaccines across all of war-torn Syria, warning against any discriminatory approach by Damascus. "Those supplying vaccines for Syria should do everything in their power to ensure that... (they) reach those most vulnerable no matter where they are in the country," HRW researcher Sara Kayyali said.
More than 100 million Covid-19 vaccines have been given around the world, according to an AFP tally from official sources. But none of the world's 29 poorest countries has formally started mass vaccination drives, while the richest nations have given more than two-thirds of jabs administered. Continue reading... |
| Covid mortality down dramatically since start of pandemic Posted: 02 Feb 2021 01:32 AM PST New research shows global death rates among patients in intensive care have fallen from 60% to 36% Death rates among people who end up in intensive care with Covid-19 have improved dramatically since the start of the pandemic thanks to advances in treatment, new research has found. The proportion of those worst affected by the disease who die from it has fallen from 60% when it first appeared early last year to 36% by October, the study of global trends shows. Continue reading... |
| Scientist calls for curbs on UK arrivals to halt South African Covid variant Posted: 02 Feb 2021 02:08 AM PST Sage professor urges 'significant reduction' but says closing borders impractical One of the UK government's scientific advisers has said there must be a "significant reduction" in people coming into the country to combat the South African coronavirus variant, but closing borders completely was impractical. Prof Callum Semple, who sits on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), was speaking after Downing Street denied Boris Johnson had been told by Sage scientists two weeks ago to halt all travel or enforce mandatory hotel quarantines on arrivals from all countries to stop new variants. Continue reading... |
| Black Americans make up only 5.4% of Covid-19 vaccine recipients, CDC finds Posted: 01 Feb 2021 01:57 PM PST Figure is lower than proportion of black people who live in long-term care homes or work in healthcare, but CDC warns data is incomplete The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found only 5.4% of coronavirus vaccine recipients were black, in its first analysis of how vaccines were given out among different demographic groups in the first month of US distribution. Continue reading... |
| Tokyo Olympics: definitely going ahead unless cancelled again? Posted: 01 Feb 2021 08:26 PM PST Billed as a celebration of humankind's victory over coronavirus, Games could fall foul of pandemic for a second time The Olympic rings have been spruced up and are once again overlooking Tokyo Bay. Countdown clocks have been reset, telling passersby there are just 171 days to go until the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games begin. They are supposed to build excitement in the host city and among sports fans around the world. But Japan's Olympic dream is quickly turning sour in the face of the worst global health crisis for a century. Continue reading... |
| Penthouses and poor doors: how Europe's 'biggest regeneration project' fell flat Posted: 01 Feb 2021 10:00 PM PST Few places have seen such turbocharged luxury development as Nine Elms on the London riverside. So why are prices tumbling, investors melting away and promises turning to dust? Every morning, when Nadeem Iqbal wakes up and walks into his living room, he has a view of a miraculous world first. A crisp oblong of crystal clear water now hangs in the air between two apartment buildings opposite his balcony, a liquid blue block suspended against the sky with the gravity-defying quality of a Magritte painting. This is the Sky Pool, the latest addition to the luxury residential enclave of Embassy Gardens in Nine Elms, south-west London – one absurdist step beyond the private cinema, indoor pool, gym and rooftop lounge bar. It was dismissed as a "crackers" PR stunt when the plan was unveiled by Irish developer Ballymore in 2015, a fantastical aquarium of captive high net worth individuals for the rest of us to gawp at from far below. Surely it would never materialise. But last week the scaffolding was taken down to reveal a bright blue rectangle hovering against the leaden January skies, 10 storeys up in the air – just outside the 30-metre bomb blast seclusion zone around the new neighbouring US embassy. Continue reading... |
| The real thing: my battle to beat a 27-year Diet Coke addiction Posted: 01 Feb 2021 10:00 PM PST I have been obsessed with the sugar-free soda since I was four, spending £500 a year on up to seven cans a day. This is what happened when I tried to quit The greatest love story of my life has been with a carbonated beverage. I can't remember a time when I wasn't addicted to Diet Coke. Some memories: I am sitting at the kitchen table at my grandmother's house in northern Cyprus, screaming because my mother won't refill my yellow-and-green patterned glass. I am four or five years old. My grandmother looks on, disturbed, as I wail disconsolately. My mother does not give in. Continue reading... |
| Economics of biodiversity review: what are the recommendations? Posted: 01 Feb 2021 10:00 PM PST Landmark report says GDP should be ditched as measure of wealth and nature valued to protect wildlife and humans "Our economies, livelihoods and wellbeing all depend on our most precious asset: nature. We are part of nature, not separate from it." These are the opening lines of a newly published landmark review of the economics of biodiversity. Biodiversity is declining faster than at any time in human history and the review aims to create a new economic framework, grounded in ecology, that enables humanity to live on Earth sustainably. "Our demands far exceed nature's capacity to supply us with the goods and services we all rely on. We would require 1.6 Earths to maintain the world's current living standards," says Prof Sir Partha Dasgupta in the review, which was commissioned by the UK Treasury. Continue reading... |
| Warm khachapuri flatbreads take me back to Georgia – here’s the recipe | Marcel Theroux Posted: 01 Feb 2021 10:30 PM PST A plateful of this delicious cheese-filled bread – and a big glass of Georgian red wine – evoke memories of a joyous meal in the foothills of the Caucasus One of the most unforgettable meals I've eaten was with a Georgian wine-making family, the Vatsadzes, at their home in Racha, in the foothills of the Caucasus. It was a magical-feeling place of clear streams, mountains and meadows tinkling with the sound of cow bells. The family invited us, along with friends and neighbours, to a feast that included dishes of chicken in garlic, braised aubergines, stewed beans, a variety of homemade breads and a casserole of what they claimed was bear meat. Our host, Murad, served his own red and white wines in pitchers. I watched him drawing them beforehand from enormous clay vessels called qvevri buried in the floor of his cellar. Continue reading... |
| Caroline Shaw: what next for the Pulitzer-winner who toured with Kanye? Opera – and Abba Posted: 01 Feb 2021 10:00 PM PST She has scored films, played with rappers, starred in a TV comedy, and performed for the dying. As the classical sensation releases three new works, she talks about the shock of playing arenas – and making the leap into opera When Caroline Shaw became, at the age of 30, the youngest ever winner of the Pulitzer prize for music, she described herself as "a musician who wrote music" rather than as "a composer". Partita, her winning score, is a joyful rollercoaster of a work, encompassing song, speech and virtually every vocal technique you can imagine. It was written for Shaw's own group, Roomful of Teeth. Eight years on, she's still wary of defining herself too narrowly. "Composer, for some people, can mean something very particular," she says, "and I'm trying to make sure I don't get swallowed up into only one community." Not that Shaw's range shows any sign of narrowing: even a small sample of her work over the past few years throws up an array of names not often seen together: rappers Kanye West and Nas, soprano Renée Fleming, mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter, Arcade Fire's Richard Reed Parry, pianist Jonathan Biss. She has written film scores, sung on others, was the soloist in her own violin concerto, and even managed a cameo appearance as herself in Amazon Studio's comedy drama Mozart in the Jungle. A year ago, Orange, a recording of her string quartets, won the Attacca Quartet a Grammy. Continue reading... |
| UK weather: snow may cut off rural areas in north of England, says Met Office Posted: 02 Feb 2021 02:21 AM PST Coronavirus vaccine appointments in parts of North Yorkshire to be rescheduled after heavy snow Parts of northern England have had heavy snowfall overnight and the Met Office has warned rural communities are at risk of being cut off and widespread travel disruption is likely. Hundreds of schools, open to vulnerable children and those of key workers, have closed across Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Oldham, Greater Manchester. Heavy snow has forced coronavirus vaccine appointments in parts of North Yorkshire to be rescheduled. Continue reading... |
| A Bosnian winter: families bid to reach Europe's heart – in pictures Posted: 01 Feb 2021 11:15 PM PST Through mud and ice, parents and children from Afghanistan and elsewhere attempt the desperate crossing into Croatia. Few make it. Most are reportedly pushed back, time and again, often brutally. The Guardian followed some migrants on their exhausting journeys Continue reading... |
| Lagos traffic creating 'life or death' situations for women trying to reach hospital – report Posted: 02 Feb 2021 12:00 AM PST Study of pregnant women travelling to health facilities found journeys took up to four times longer than online maps suggested The heavy traffic and bad roads of Lagos have been baffling online mapping tools with potential "life and death implications" for people trying to reach the city's hospitals, research has found. Researchers looked at cases of pregnant women trying to reach hospital in the Nigerian capital, infamous for its roads, and found they faced a journey of up to four times longer than computers and satellites suggest, which mean the models for access to healthcare facilities are also out of kilter. Continue reading... |
| ‘It disgusts me’: how a wealthy couple lied to get a vaccine meant for Indigenous people Posted: 02 Feb 2021 02:00 AM PST Canadian casino executive and his wife sneaked into remote town to get injections meant for older population On a chilly morning in late January, three planes landed on the lone airstrip of a remote community in northern Canada. The first two carried members of a mobile team from the Yukon territory's health department who were there to give Covid-19 vaccines to the residents of Beaver Creek. The tiny settlement of about 100 inhabitants had been prioritised because of its older population, many of whom belong to the White River First Nation. Continue reading... |
| Australia faces calls to cut military ties with Myanmar after coup Posted: 02 Feb 2021 01:59 AM PST Canberra is understood to fear that isolating country risks driving junta into China's embrace Australia is facing growing calls to suspend military cooperation with Myanmar and impose targeted sanctions on top military generals after its army seized power in a coup and detained civilian leaders. Labor joined calls on Tuesday for the Morrison government to review Australia's military links and send a "clear signal to Myanmar's military leaders that their actions are a direct attack on Myanmar's democratic transition and stability". Continue reading... |
| Worker at H&M supply factory was killed after months of harassment, claims family Posted: 01 Feb 2021 08:21 AM PST Fashion brand to investigate the death of 20-year-old Jeyasre Kathiravel, reportedly killed by supervisor at Natchi Apparels The family of a young garment worker at an H&M supplier factory in Tamil Nadu who was allegedly murdered by her supervisor said she had suffered months of sexual harassment and intimidation on the factory floor in the months before her death, but felt powerless to prevent the abuse from continuing. H&M said it is launching an independent investigation into the killing of Jeyasre Kathiravel, a 20-year-old Dalit garment worker at an H&M supplier Natchi Apparels in Kaithian Kottai, Tamil Nadu, who was found dead on 5 January in farmland near her home. Continue reading... |
| Zoomed to fail? Cracks appear in Pacific Islands Forum as Covid pulls nations apart Posted: 01 Feb 2021 11:00 AM PST Pacific diplomacy hinges on in-person discussion but web-only meetings have fed a growing dispute over the forum's leadership and purpose In the Pacific, it is all about the talanoa: the conversation and the consensus. For the 50 years of the Pacific Islands Forum (beginning life as the South Pacific Forum), meetings have always happened in person, and it is the power of the leaders being together that has given the forum its rare ability to find common ground. Continue reading... |
| Threat of Myanmar coup was never far away Posted: 01 Feb 2021 09:30 AM PST Analysis: Despite her popularity Aung San Suu Kyi never had leverage to curb military's power Since her election as Myanmar's de facto leader in 2015, Aung San Suu Kyi's position has always been a precarious one. For all the international celebration of Myanmar's transition to democracy after half a century of military rule, in reality the power of the military barely diminished at all. The threat of a coup, the fallback position of the military for decades, had always lingered. For the past five years, Aung San Suu Kyi has governed Myanmar on the basis of a 2008 constitution drawn up by the military themselves. It enshrined military power, allowing them to appoint 25% of seats in parliament, and preserve their interests while curbing some of the crucial powers of the democratically elected leader of the government. Continue reading... |
| The pandemic has illustrated New Zealand's hypocritical attitude to Māori health | Emma Espiner Posted: 01 Feb 2021 09:00 AM PST Prioritising Māori for the vaccine would be a concrete sign the government is committed to improving our health A Māori doctor on the government's immunisation implementation advisory group, Dr Rawiri Jansen, said recently that Māori would be prioritised in the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out. A predictable outcry ensued, with familiar protestations about "race-based policy" and convenient ignorance displayed about the other priority groups being discussed – the elderly, those with known risk factors, front-line workers. New Zealand's first Covid-19 community case in months was confirmed two weeks out from Waitangi Day. The new case is awkwardly located in Northland – the site of the annual commemorations of the signing of the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi, an event attended by politicians, iwi leaders, whānau, lobbyists and tourists from all over the country. Continue reading... |
| 'Blinding snow' storm batters New York City and US north-east– video Posted: 01 Feb 2021 04:28 PM PST A powerful winter storm has engulfed the US north-east, blanketing much of the region in heavy snow. The storm is expected to bring nearly 2ft of snow to New York, Boston and several other cities. 'This is a dangerous, life-threatening situation,' New York's governor, Andrew Cuomo, said while declaring a state of emergency in 44 counties and New York City. Mayor Bill De Blasio also declared a local state of emergency - suspending in-person classes, restricting non-essential travel and putting coronavirus vaccination appointments on hold. 'You're going to see two to four inches of snow per hour. That is extremely intense snow. That's blinding snow' |
| Giant pandas play in the Washington DC snow – video Posted: 01 Feb 2021 09:20 AM PST Giant pandas at the Smithsonian's national zoo enjoyed the cold weather in the US capital by rolling and sliding around in the snow in their enclosure. In a clip shared by the zoo, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian took full advantage of the wintry conditions Continue reading... |
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