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- Myanmar: tens of thousands join second day of protest against coup despite internet blackout
- Fury at Gove as exports to EU slashed by 68% since Brexit
- The crucial differences in Trump’s second impeachment trial
- Poet, pioneer... can family finally honour legacy of Franco victim?
- ‘Church aided the pile-on’ of curate’s Captain Tom tweet
- Grandfather becomes oldest person to row 3,000 miles solo across Atlantic
- Oxford Covid jab less effective against South African variant, study finds
- Farmers block roads across India in protest over agriculture law
- Leon Spinks, former world heavyweight champion who upset Ali, dies aged 67
- 'A door has opened': Pope Francis appoints first woman to senior synod post
- Canadian museum's ancient carving is one I made earlier, says local artist
- Coronavirus live: UK not considering vaccine passports, says minister; no new cases recorded in Australia
- 'Another wave is possible': Paris braces for UK Covid variant
- NHS community vaccinator: ‘We feel like we‘re injecting hope‘
- AstraZeneca set to weather Covid in better health than rivals
- Face off: the extraordinary power struggle between Vladimir Putin and Alexei Navalny
- American Kompromat review: Trump, Russia, Epstein … and a lot we just don't know
- ‘My new husband keeps quizzing me about past lovers’
- Tensions rise as rival Mars probes approach their final destination
- Skywhalepapa enthrals Canberra crowd – even as winds keep him grounded
- 'Lucky for him he could write': Ken Burns takes on Ernest Hemingway
- Outrage over French girl's rape case sparks demand for law to protect minors
- The Observer view on Joe Biden's first foreign policy speech
- Somalia leaders fail to reach deal on elections
- How Donald Trump's hand-holding led to panicky call home by Theresa May
- Fran Lebowitz: 'I am really not a contrarian'
- MPs urge British Olympians to boycott 2022 Beijing Winter Games
- Western Australia seeks federal disaster relief after floods follow devastating fires
- More deaths, worse care? Inquiry opens into NHS maternity 'systemic racism'
- When will Britain's Covid lockdown be lifted? Three scenarios
- Never Trumpers' Republican revolt failed but they could still play key role
- New Zealand men are still stuck in roles that risk harm to themselves and others | John Daniell and Glenn McConnell
- Family's lockdown adaptation of Total Eclipse of the Heart goes viral – video
- Thousands march in protest against Myanmar military coup – video
| Myanmar: tens of thousands join second day of protest against coup despite internet blackout Posted: 06 Feb 2021 08:02 PM PST Demonstrators gather for second straight day amid demands for release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Myanmar for a second consecutive day to protest against the country's military seizing power, despite a nationwide internet blackout imposed to stifle dissent. In the main city Yangon, large crowds gathered on both Saturday and Sunday in support of ousted leaders Aung San Suu Kyi and Win Myint, whose National League for Democracy party won a landslide election in November. The military detained both in raids early on Monday morning and they have not been seen in public since. Continue reading... |
| Fury at Gove as exports to EU slashed by 68% since Brexit Posted: 06 Feb 2021 01:00 PM PST Hauliers say Cabinet Office minister ignored warnings, amid fears that worse is to come with introduction of import checks in July The volume of exports going through British ports to the EU fell by a staggering 68% last month compared with January last year, mostly as a result of problems caused by Brexit, the Observer can reveal. The dramatic drop in the volume of traffic carried on ferries and through the Channel tunnel has been reported to Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove by the Road Haulage Association after a survey of its international members. In a letter to Gove dated 1 February, the RHA's chief executive, Richard Burnett, also told the minister he and his officials had repeatedly warned over several months of problems and called for measures to lessen difficulties – but had been largely ignored. Continue reading... |
| The crucial differences in Trump’s second impeachment trial Posted: 06 Feb 2021 11:00 PM PST In some ways the trial will be a replay of last year's – but Trump is the first to be tried by the Senate after leaving office, and it will likely be 'dramatic' It might be tempting to call it the trial of the century but it is just as likely to invoke a sense of deja vu. This week Donald Trump faces an impeachment trial in the US Senate. Yes, another one. Trump stands accused of inciting an insurrection when he urged supporters to "fight" his election defeat before they stormed the US Capitol in Washington on 6 January, clashed with police and left five people dead. Continue reading... |
| Poet, pioneer... can family finally honour legacy of Franco victim? Posted: 07 Feb 2021 02:00 AM PST DNA tests will confirm if exhumed body is Republican heroine, María Domínguez Remón, who overcame poverty to become the first female martyr The hair that the clips and comb once held in place, probably in a bun, is long gone, as are the feet that filled the sandals, and the clothes to which the two buttons belong. All that survives of the middle-aged woman who was murdered in 1936 and exhumed from the cemetery of the small Aragonese town of Fuendejalón last weekend is her skeleton, its split skull punched through by a bullet. Continue reading... |
| ‘Church aided the pile-on’ of curate’s Captain Tom tweet Posted: 06 Feb 2021 11:23 PM PST Senior clergy call on church to act after Jarel Robinson-Brown subjected to racist abuse and death threats A prominent clergyman has accused the Church of England of aiding a backlash against a trainee priest who tweeted there was a "cult of white British nationalism" surrounding Captain Sir Tom Moore, who died last week. Andrew Foreshew-Cain, chaplain of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, told the Observer: "What Jarel [Robinson-Brown] tweeted was actually very respectful of Captain Tom, but he raised questions about some of those lionising him. There has been a pile-on in response, and the church has aided that." Continue reading... |
| Grandfather becomes oldest person to row 3,000 miles solo across Atlantic Posted: 06 Feb 2021 04:12 PM PST Frank Rothwell, 70, raised more than £640,000 for Alzheimer's Research UK in tribute to his brother-in-law Roger A grandfather has become the oldest person to row 3,000 miles solo across the Atlantic Ocean, raising more than £640,000 for dementia research. Frank Rothwell, 70, from Oldham, set off from La Gomera in the Canary Islands on 12 December and crossed the finish line in Antigua in the Caribbean on Saturday – reuniting with Judith, his wife of 50 years, in good time for Valentine's Day. Continue reading... |
| Oxford Covid jab less effective against South African variant, study finds Posted: 06 Feb 2021 03:59 PM PST University of the Witwatersrand and Oxford University research shows vaccine has reduced efficacy against mutation British drugmaker AstraZeneca said on Saturday that its vaccine developed with the University of Oxford appeared to offer only limited protection against mild disease caused by the South African variant of Covid-19, based on early data from a trial. The study from South Africa's University of the Witwatersrand and Oxford University showed the vaccine had significantly reduced efficacy against the South African variant, according to a Financial Times report published earlier in the day. Continue reading... |
| Farmers block roads across India in protest over agriculture law Posted: 06 Feb 2021 09:43 AM PST Protesters use tractors, lorries and boulders to create blockades and press for repeal of legislation Thousands of farmers blockaded main roads across India for several hours on Saturday to press their demand for the repeal of new agricultural laws that have led to months of major protests. The protesters used tractors, lorries and boulders to blockade the roads. They carried banners and flags denouncing the laws, which they say will leave them poorer and at the mercy of corporations. Continue reading... |
| Leon Spinks, former world heavyweight champion who upset Ali, dies aged 67 Posted: 06 Feb 2021 07:36 PM PST
Leon Spinks, who won Olympic gold and then shocked the boxing world by beating Muhammad Ali to win the heavyweight title in only his eighth pro fight, has died. He was 67. Spinks, who lived his later years in Las Vegas, died Friday night, according to a release from a public relations firm. He had been battling prostate and other cancers. Continue reading... |
| 'A door has opened': Pope Francis appoints first woman to senior synod post Posted: 06 Feb 2021 05:40 PM PST France's Nathalie Becquart, undersecretary of synod of bishops, is first woman to hold the rank which gives voting rights Breaking with tradition, Pope Francis has appointed Frenchwoman Nathalie Becquart as an undersecretary of the synod of bishops, the first woman to hold the post and have voting rights. The 52-year-old is one of the two new undersecretaries named to the synod, the body of bishops that studies major questions of doctrine and where she has been a consultant since 2019. Continue reading... |
| Canadian museum's ancient carving is one I made earlier, says local artist Posted: 06 Feb 2021 03:00 AM PST A stone figure found on a beach was probably by a Lekwungen people artefact, the Royal British Columbia Museum said, but Ray Boudreau begged to differ Early one morning last summer, walkers on a beach in western Canada spotted an oblong stone figure resting on the sand. Weighing nearly 100kg, it bore a face with exaggerated features – a bulging eye, contorted nose and lips – and was covered in a thin layer of seaweed and algae. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 07 Feb 2021 02:21 AM PST Nadhim Zahawi says vaccine passports could be discriminatory; Australia sees third consecutive day of no new locally acquired cases
AP reports on how the pandemic has disrupted carnival plans in Rio de Janeiro, with the city's Sambadrome instead being used for immunizations: In a normal year, Rio de Janeiro's Sambadrome would be preparing for its great moment of the year: the world's most famous Carnival parade.
Turning now to Malaysia, health authorities reported 3,731 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, raising the total number of infections so far to 242,452. Reuters said there were also 15 new deaths reported, taking the cumulative fatalities to 872. Continue reading... |
| 'Another wave is possible': Paris braces for UK Covid variant Posted: 06 Feb 2021 11:00 PM PST Infections accounted for by so-called UK variant is increasing by 50% a week in France At 8.30am on Tuesday 26 January the waiting room of the emergency department at the Lariboisière hospital in Paris was still empty, festooned with signs reading "emergency department on strike" that predate the pandemic but have been left pointedly in place. There were no shrieking sirens, nobody dressed in PPE. It was and continues to be calm, but the calm may not last. Continue reading... |
| NHS community vaccinator: ‘We feel like we‘re injecting hope‘ Posted: 07 Feb 2021 01:14 AM PST A community worker talks anonymously about the challenges and rewards of delivering the Covid jab At the end of November, when the hospital I was working at was becoming overwhelmed with Covid patients, I started hearing talk about people being needed to join the vaccine effort. I usually work elsewhere in the NHS, but my work had been stopped temporarily. I now work as a vaccinator in the community going to care homes and assisted-living settings, and doing home visits for older and vulnerable people. Related: Free provision of vaccines is preventing criminals from infiltrating rollout, say police Continue reading... |
| AstraZeneca set to weather Covid in better health than rivals Posted: 06 Feb 2021 04:05 PM PST The Anglo-Swedish firm already had a strong lineup of cancer drugs when vaccine success gave it a further boost Before the pandemic, AstraZeneca was highly regarded in the business and pharmaceutical world – seen as one of the UK's best companies. Now, thanks to Britain's successful vaccine programme, it is a household name. The Anglo-Swedish firm, which publishes annual results on Thursday, has sprung to prominence as maker of one of the world's first Covid-19 vaccines, approved for use in the UK, EU and India. Inevitably, headlines have followed. AstraZeneca has been the focal point of the vaccine supply wars between the UK and the EU and has, as part of that row, faced questions over the effectiveness of the jab in the over-65s. Continue reading... |
| Face off: the extraordinary power struggle between Vladimir Putin and Alexei Navalny Posted: 06 Feb 2021 01:45 PM PST He's been poisoned and jailed... but not silenced. Now Navalny poses the greatest threat to the president's 21-year rule Alexei Navalny was in defiant mood last Tuesday, as he waited for his inevitable sentence. He made a heart gesture for his wife, Yulia, who was sitting at the back of Moscow's city courtroom. Navalny smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "Don't be sad! Everything is going to be all right," he yelled at her. She waved back. Meanwhile, a state prosecutor droned on. Last week's sham trial was the latest episode in an epic stand-off between two men for a nation's future. One is the man in the dock, Russia's foremost opposition leader, and now a global figure, likened by some to Nelson Mandela. The other is the country's president of two decades, a former KGB colonel who appears determined to stay in power and to smash a popular revolt against him. Continue reading... |
| American Kompromat review: Trump, Russia, Epstein … and a lot we just don't know Posted: 06 Feb 2021 11:00 PM PST A new book on the old president is titillating but scattershot, a compendium of wild stories and salacious accusations Craig Unger's new book has already made headlines, in this newspaper and elsewhere, because of a charge from an ex-KGB colonel, Yuri Shvets, that Donald Trump has been a KGB asset for 40 years. Related: 'The perfect target': Russia cultivated Trump as asset for 40 years – ex-KGB spy Continue reading... |
| ‘My new husband keeps quizzing me about past lovers’ Posted: 06 Feb 2021 10:00 PM PST You should never feel shame for your sexual history, says Mariella Frostrup, and your husband has no business being overly inquisitive The dilemma I have recently married and we have a loving, supportive relationship. Lately, however, my husband has become overly inquisitive about my sexual history. We have discussed this before, and he has admitted he has had 11 sexual partners. I told him I had three prior to him – two of them were very casual and one was a brief relationship after a breakup with a man where there had been no physical contact. I was not feeling desirable and, because of how I was feeling at the time of these encounters, I have tried to push these moments out of my memory and I have dealt with some shame around these experiences. My husband and I had a conversation about my encounters and he insists I have not been honest with him about my past. I have tried to tell him that I feel embarrassment about that period in my life. I feel like I'm being forced into talking about this when I really don't want to. Advice? Continue reading... |
| Tensions rise as rival Mars probes approach their final destination Posted: 06 Feb 2021 10:15 PM PST Anxious moment for scientists in US, China and UAE as spacecrafts enter crucial stages of long journey to red planet The skies above Mars will witness some startling aeronautical displays in the next few days when three rival space robot probes reach the red planet after journeying for millions of miles across space. Related: US billionaires vie to make space the next business frontier Continue reading... |
| Skywhalepapa enthrals Canberra crowd – even as winds keep him grounded Posted: 06 Feb 2021 09:18 PM PST Thousands gather before dawn for the official launch of beloved Skywhale's new companion Many cities have patron saints. In Palermo in southern Italy there is a story that a vision of Saint Rosalia, a young hermit, saved the city from a plague. In Berlin, you can see a black bear everywhere you look: on the city's coat of arms, on street signs, as statues like teddy bears telling visitors they are welcome. Around the world, part of living in a city is to believe in mythical creatures or visions that bring you salvation or protection. In Rome, perhaps most famously, there are Romulus and Remus, who were rescued by a she-wolf. One of the local football clubs, AS Roma, plays with a she-wolf on their badge, her teats clearly visible, just over the player's hearts. Continue reading... |
| 'Lucky for him he could write': Ken Burns takes on Ernest Hemingway Posted: 06 Feb 2021 11:00 PM PST Too white, too male, too privileged – and according to some critics, that's just one of the co-directors. A new PBS documentary on an American giant sails in stormy waters Speaking at a press event for the new PBS documentary about Ernest Hemingway, the actor Jeff Daniels said of the man whose words he reads: "Lucky for him he could write." Over six hours, the co-directors Lynn Novick and Ken Burns subject a giant of American literature to an unsparing psychiatric exam. Continue reading... |
| Outrage over French girl's rape case sparks demand for law to protect minors Posted: 07 Feb 2021 02:30 AM PST Campaigners call for the introduction of an age of consent as 20 firefighters face charges Protests will take place across France on Sunday in support of a woman allegedly raped by 20 firefighters when she was between 13 and 15 years old. Her case is being examined in the country's highest court this week and campaigners hope it will lead to an age of sexual consent being enshrined in law as it is in the rest of the European Union. Julie* says she was raped by Parisian firefighters over a period of two years, having been groomed by Pierre, a firefighter who had assisted her during a severe anxiety seizure when she was 13 in early 2008. Three of the accused have admitted they had sex with her but say it was consensual. In a journal written shortly afterwards Julie says she was "terrified and paralysed with fear" at the time. Continue reading... |
| The Observer view on Joe Biden's first foreign policy speech Posted: 06 Feb 2021 10:15 PM PST The US reversal over Yemen marks the country's welcome re-entry into world affairs His intentions had been repeatedly trailed in advance. Yet Joe Biden's first foreign policy speech as president, delivered appropriately at the state department, the home base of American diplomacy, was still a breath of fresh air. The main headlines were an end to US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen and a brisk warning to Russia that its easy ride under Donald Trump was over. But the speech also marked a broader policy shift. Gone were Trump's trademark "America First" slogans and the ugly isolationism, protectionism and xenophobia that frequently underpinned them. Biden said he was sending "a clear message to the world that America is back". By this, he meant recommitment to multilateralism, to alliances such as Nato, to UN agencies such as the World Health Organization and to international agreements such as the Paris climate agreement and Iran nuclear deal. |
| Somalia leaders fail to reach deal on elections Posted: 06 Feb 2021 08:41 AM PST Deadline to choose new president likely to be missed after negotiations collapse Somalia's leaders have failed to break a deadlock over the country's elections, with no clear path to a vote just days before the government's mandate expires. The fragile country is likely to miss the 8 February deadline for choosing a new president after days of negotiations between the central government and federal states collapsed on Friday. Continue reading... |
| How Donald Trump's hand-holding led to panicky call home by Theresa May Posted: 07 Feb 2021 01:30 AM PST A remarkable BBC documentary reveals the startling reality of meeting the president For the former prime minister Theresa May, one of the most pressing matters she confronted during her encounter with Donald Trump a few days after his inauguration went beyond mere diplomacy. May had travelled to Washington in 2017 with the intention of persuading the new US president to make a supportive statement about Nato. Little did she expect that she would be calling her husband, Philip, to warn him that images of the US president of holding her hand as they walked through the White House would soon be flashing around the world. Continue reading... |
| Fran Lebowitz: 'I am really not a contrarian' Posted: 06 Feb 2021 10:49 PM PST The writer and raconteur embodied the hip, downtown Manhattan of the 70s. Now she is winning new fans in her friend Martin Scorsese's documentary series Pretend It's a City Almost from the moment she set foot in New York more than 50 years ago, Fran Lebowitz has been part of the city's social firmament. Like it, she has moved inexorably upmarket since she first made her name as a humorist in the 70s with a column in Andy Warhol's Interview magazine. Back then, she hung out with the likes of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and the New York Dolls as well as jazz legends such as Charles Mingus and Duke Ellington. These days, she rubs shoulders with fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg and former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, while the late Nobel laureate Toni Morrison was a close friend and confidante. One person who has remained a constant in her life, though, is the film director Martin Scorsese, who, like her, came of age in a time when the city was tougher, scuzzier and seedier. Until the pandemic put paid to her socialising, Lebowitz would spend every New Year's Eve with Scorsese and a select few others, watching a classic Hollywood film in his private screening room. Continue reading... |
| MPs urge British Olympians to boycott 2022 Beijing Winter Games Posted: 06 Feb 2021 11:00 AM PST Lib Dem leader Ed Davey and Labour MP Chris Bryant urge officials and athletes to protest against oppression of Uighur communities Senior political figures have called for British athletes to boycott next year's Winter Olympics in Beijing in response to widespread human rights abuses in China. Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, and Labour MP Chris Bryant, a member of the foreign affairs select committee and a former junior foreign minister, said the government and the British Olympic Association should act. Continue reading... |
| Western Australia seeks federal disaster relief after floods follow devastating fires Posted: 06 Feb 2021 10:11 PM PST Wind gusts of up to 100km/h recorded and rainfall up to 100mm possible after bushfires destroyed 86 homes in Perth hills The Western Australian government will seek federal disaster relief to help fast-track road repairs after floods in the state's north-west. With a flood warning in place for the midwest Gascoyne region on Sunday, roads remain closed and residents were urged to watch for fast-flowing and rising waters. Continue reading... |
| More deaths, worse care? Inquiry opens into NHS maternity 'systemic racism' Posted: 07 Feb 2021 02:30 AM PST Childbirth rights group supports examination into disproportionate health outcomes An urgent inquiry to investigate how alleged systemic racism in the NHS manifests itself in maternity care will be launched on Tuesday with support from the UK charity Birthrights. The inquiry will apply a human- rights lens to examine how claimed racial injustice – from explicit racism to bias – is leading to poorer health outcomes in maternity care for ethnic minority groups. Continue reading... |
| When will Britain's Covid lockdown be lifted? Three scenarios Posted: 07 Feb 2021 12:30 AM PST At best, vaccines and lockdown could make life more normal by May. But at worst, a new mutation could undo any progress Hopes are rising that Britain may soon put the worst of Covid-19 behind it. After a year in which the disease has paralysed the nation, killed more than 100,000 people, closed schools and universities, and brought the NHS to its knees, there are now signs of hope emerging. Most optimism stems from Britain's vaccination programme, which has resulted in the inoculation of more than 10 million people in the past two months alone, and which aims to have vaccinated the entire adult population later this year. Continue reading... |
| Never Trumpers' Republican revolt failed but they could still play key role Posted: 06 Feb 2021 10:54 PM PST The attempt to pry the party away from Trump's influence fizzled but support in Congress is greater than it may appear The Republican rebellion failed: Donald Trump won. "I was disappointed over the last few weeks to see what seemed like the Republican party waking up," the Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger observed on NBC's Meet the Press last week, "and then kind of falling asleep again". Continue reading... |
| Posted: 06 Feb 2021 09:00 AM PST 'Don't be a dick' was one useful motto we came across in our podcast examination of how to be a modern man In a Wellington cafe, one of New Zealand's most respected academics talked about the disconnect between his feelings and the way he knew he was supposed to be: "I could not understand why anyone would see putting your head between two other men's buttocks as being the high point of New Zealand culture. I was staggered by it. But I never said that, of course – I just buried those thoughts." Jock Phillips would go on to become the national historian, but as a boy growing up in the 1960s he knew the wisdom of keeping his cranium down in a land where rugby was next to a religion. Continue reading... |
| Family's lockdown adaptation of Total Eclipse of the Heart goes viral – video Posted: 06 Feb 2021 07:46 AM PST A family from Kent who shared a video of their living room performance of a third lockdown-themed Totally Fixed Where We Are has gone viral. Ben and Danielle Marsh and their four children first found fame with their version of a Les Misérables song, when they changed the lyrics of One Day More to reflect common complaints during the Covid-19 lockdown. The full rendition is available on the family's YouTube channel Continue reading... |
| Thousands march in protest against Myanmar military coup – video Posted: 06 Feb 2021 02:54 AM PST Thousands of people took to the streets of Yangon on Saturday to denounce this week's military coup and demand the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the country's ousted leader. Myanmar's junta has tried to silence dissent by temporarily blocking Facebook and extended the social media crackdown to Twitter and Instagram on Saturday in the face of the growing protest movement Continue reading... |
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