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- Hong Kong defendants taken away by ambulance during marathon bail hearing
- UK failed to inform EU countries about almost 200 killers and rapists
- Coronavirus live news: Germany plans to extend lockdown; WHO says Covid won't be over this year
- Criminal complaint filed against Mohammed bin Salman in German court
- Almost 300 schoolgirls kidnapped in Nigeria are free, says state governor
- Honduras: accused mastermind of Berta Cáceres murder to go on trial next month
- Myanmar police fire stun grenades at rally, critically injuring three protesters
- Benefits felt from microdosing LSD might be placebo effect, study finds
- Taylor Swift rebukes Netflix over 'deeply sexist' joke about her love life
- Libya's interim PM elected through bribery, UN inquiry says
- Taiwanese urged to eat ‘freedom pineapples’ after China import ban
- Coronavirus crisis unlikely to be over by the end of the year, WHO warns
- Data on long Covid in UK children is cause for concern, scientists say
- Government stops councils enforcing masks in English primary schools
- Experts warn Brazil facing darkest days of Covid crisis as deaths hit highest level
- 'I'd like to join Pixar one day': meet Afghanistan's first female animator
- 'Sexism stands at the door': 11 female film-makers written out of mainstream Hollywood history
- The rich v the very, very rich: the rebellion at Wentworth golf club
- Think like a cat or pick up marbles with your toes: how to maximise your incidental exercise
- Coming to America's Arsenio Hall: 'In the 90s I was black Twitter'
- Kings of Leon: 'There are no punches being thrown any more!'
- Forest of Dean: small businesses counting on further help from UK budget
- Weekend lockdown in Paris would be 'inhumane', says mayor
- We’ve cut aid to Yemen and children will starve – is this what global Britain means?
- FBI director Christopher Wray to testify over Capitol insurrection – live updates
- Jamaica is finally being held to account for the violence suffered by LGBTQ+ peoplee | Gareth Henry
- Myanmar: police fire stun grenades at protesters in Yangon – video
- Climate change could put insurance out of reach for many Australians
- 'It’s an arms race’: the tech teams trying to outpace paedophiles online
- Child abuse hotline reports rise in calls from men viewing illegal content
- 'Falling off a cliff': pandemic crippling world's most fragile states, finds report
- Why UK's hunt for Brazil variant Covid cases is so urgent
| Hong Kong defendants taken away by ambulance during marathon bail hearing Posted: 02 Mar 2021 01:30 AM PST At least four people charged with national security offences taken to hospital after long court delays A bail hearing for 47 campaigners, election candidates and activists charged with national security offences in Hong Kong has resumed after at least four defendants were taken away by ambulance during Monday's marathon session, which lasted until 3am. The group have been charged under Hong Kong's national security law with conspiracy to commit subversion in relation to an unofficial pan-democratic primary poll held last year before legislative elections that were later postponed. Continue reading... |
| UK failed to inform EU countries about almost 200 killers and rapists Posted: 02 Mar 2021 04:13 AM PST Exclusive: total of 112,490 criminal convictions not sent to relevant EU capitals over eight-year period The conviction of 109 killers, 81 rapists and a man found guilty of both crimes in UK courts was not passed on to the criminals' home EU countries due to a massive computer failure and subsequent cover-up, the Guardian can reveal. The most serious cases are among a total of 112,490 criminal convictions not sent to the relevant EU capitals over an eight-year period due to a catastrophic computer glitch, which some fear has put lives at risk. Continue reading... |
| Coronavirus live news: Germany plans to extend lockdown; WHO says Covid won't be over this year Posted: 02 Mar 2021 05:37 AM PST German lockdown set to last until 28 March but some restrictions to be lifted next week; WHO says unrealistic to think pandemic will be over this year
Sweden has registered 11,804 new coronavirus cases since Friday, the country's health agency statistics showed on Tuesday, compared with 10,933 cases during the same period last week. A further 56 deaths were also registered in the country of 10 million, a fall from 64 during the corresponding period last week. The deaths registered have occurred over several days and sometimes weeks, according to Reuters.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was vaccinated during a visit to the frontline in the eastern Donbass region on Tuesday, hoping to reassure sceptics that the vaccine is safe and effective in a country with a high degree of hesitancy. Ukraine has only just begun inoculating its 41 million people after its first batch of 500,000 Indian-made AstraZeneca shots landed in the country last month. Frontline health workers and the military are being prioritised in the rollout, Reuters reports. "Got vaccinated against COVID19. Did this on the frontline with our soldiers as Supreme C-in-C [Commander in Chief]," Zelenskiy tweeted. "The same Oxford/AstraZeneca (Covishield) from India, which was delivered 1st to UA (Ukraine) & received by millions of people in the world. Vaccine will let us live without restrictions again." Got vaccinated against #COVID19. Did this on the frontline with our soldiers as Supreme C-in-C. The same Oxford/AstraZeneca (Covishield) from India, which was delivered 1st to & received by millions of people in the world. Vaccine will let us live without restrictions again pic.twitter.com/1diLtuRmqK Continue reading... |
| Criminal complaint filed against Mohammed bin Salman in German court Posted: 02 Mar 2021 01:30 AM PST Reporters without Borders accuses Saudi heir of crimes against humanity over persecution of journalists Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and other high-ranking Saudi officials have been accused of committing crimes against humanity in a criminal complaint filed in Germany by Reporters without Borders (RSF), the press freedom group. The 500-page complaint, filed with the German public prosecutor in general in the federal court of justice in Karlsruhe, centres on the "widespread and systematic" persecution of journalists in Saudi Arabia, including the arbitrary detention of 34 journalists there and the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post columnist. Continue reading... |
| Almost 300 schoolgirls kidnapped in Nigeria are free, says state governor Posted: 01 Mar 2021 11:49 PM PST Government officials had been in talks with kidnappers after third school attack in less than three months All 279 Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped from their boarding school in the north-western state of Zamfara last week have been released and are on government premises, the governor of the state has said. Government officials had been in talks with the kidnappers, known as bandits, after Nigeria's third school attack in less than three months. Continue reading... |
| Honduras: accused mastermind of Berta Cáceres murder to go on trial next month Posted: 02 Mar 2021 02:30 AM PST David Roberto Castillo Mejía, ex-military officer and president of dam company Desa, charged over assassination of activist in 2016 Five years after the Honduran indigenous leader Berta Cáceres was shot dead by hired hitmen, the trial of the US-trained former military officer accused of masterminding the assassination has been scheduled for next month. Cáceres, a winner of the prestigious Goldman prize for environmental defenders, was attacked in her bedroom just before midnight on 2 March 2016 after a long campaign to stop construction of an internationally financed hydroelectric dam on the Gualcarque River, which the Lenca people consider sacred. Her friend Gustavo Castro, a Mexican environmentalist, was also shot but survived by playing dead. Continue reading... |
| Myanmar police fire stun grenades at rally, critically injuring three protesters Posted: 02 Mar 2021 03:30 AM PST Police clear demonstrators in parts of Yangon as ministers from Asean grouping seek end to violence Three people have been critically injured after security forces fired live rounds at anti-coup protesters in north-western Myanmar, medics said, as south-east Asian powers met to pressure the junta over its deadly crackdown. Police also fired stun grenades and rubber bullets on Tuesday to disperse protesters in the city of Yangon, according to witnesses, as demonstrations continued over the military's removal of Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government a month ago. Continue reading... |
| Benefits felt from microdosing LSD might be placebo effect, study finds Posted: 02 Mar 2021 04:55 AM PST Imperial College London researchers conducted largest placebo-controlled trial of psychedelics Improvements in wellbeing and life satisfaction that come with microdosing psychedelics might be nothing more than the placebo effect, according to the largest study into the practice. The trend for microdosing LSD or psilocybin emerged in Silicon Valley some years back and has spread around the world with advocates reporting greater wellbeing, creativity and all-round cognitive performance. Continue reading... |
| Taylor Swift rebukes Netflix over 'deeply sexist' joke about her love life Posted: 02 Mar 2021 02:40 AM PST The pop star accused sitcom Ginny & Georgia of 'degrading hardworking women' with outdated attempts at humour Taylor Swift has criticised the Netflix sitcom Ginny & Georgia for making a "deeply sexist" joke about her dating history. In a scene where the mother and daughter characters argue about relationship, Ginny tells her mother: "You go through men faster than Taylor Swift." Continue reading... |
| Libya's interim PM elected through bribery, UN inquiry says Posted: 01 Mar 2021 09:00 PM PST Abdul Hamid Dbeibah chosen at forum where delegates were reportedly offered up to $500,000 The legitimacy of Libya's new interim prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, has been thrown into doubt by a UN inquiry finding that he allegedly gained power after his supporters offered bribes as high as $200,000 to attract votes. His supporters allegedly offered the money in a hotel in Tunis where a UN-selected 75-strong political dialogue forum met to elect an interim prime minister to lead a new unified executive towards national elections in the country in December. Continue reading... |
| Taiwanese urged to eat ‘freedom pineapples’ after China import ban Posted: 02 Mar 2021 01:55 AM PST Government rejects Chinese claim that harmful pests had been detected in recent shipments Taiwanese pineapples have become the latest victim of deteriorating cross-strait relations, after Chinese authorities suddenly banned imports of the fruit. The ban, which begn on Monday and is indefinite, was announced by the Chinese customs office on Friday. The customs office said harmful pests had been detected in recent shipments. Continue reading... |
| Coronavirus crisis unlikely to be over by the end of the year, WHO warns Posted: 01 Mar 2021 05:43 PM PST Dr Michael Ryan says Covid-19 is 'very much in control' as global infections rise for first time in almost two months Despite the spread of Covid-19 being slowed in some countries due to lockdowns and vaccination programs, it is "premature" and "unrealistic" to the think the pandemic will be over by the end of the year, the World Health Organization's executive director of emergency services has said. Speaking at a press briefing Geneva, Dr Michael Ryan said while vaccinating the most vulnerable people, including healthcare workers, would help remove the "tragedy and fear" from the situation, and would help to ease pressure on hospitals, the "virus is very much in control". Continue reading... |
| Data on long Covid in UK children is cause for concern, scientists say Posted: 01 Mar 2021 10:00 PM PST With lack of vaccinations and schools in England set to reopen cases must not be ignored, experts warn Scientists have warned that emerging data on long Covid in children should not be ignored given the lack of a vaccine for this age group, but cautioned that the evidence describing these enduring symptoms in the young is so far uncertain. Recently published data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has caused worry. The data suggest that 13% of under 11s and about 15% of 12- to 16-year-olds reported at least one symptom five weeks after a confirmed Covid-19 infection. ONS samples households randomly, therefore positive cases do not depend on having had symptoms and being tested. Continue reading...This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Government stops councils enforcing masks in English primary schools Posted: 02 Mar 2021 05:18 AM PST Move comes after Redbridge said pupils in borough would have to wear them all day The government has intervened to stop councils requiring children in primary schools in England to wear face masks when they return to school next week. The move came after it emerged that Redbridge council in east London had advised headteachers that all primary school pupils in the borough should be encouraged to wear a face covering when indoors as part of Covid health and safety measures. Continue reading... |
| Experts warn Brazil facing darkest days of Covid crisis as deaths hit highest level Posted: 01 Mar 2021 11:28 AM PST Intensive care units in 17 of the country's 26 states were near capacity, while six states and the capital had run out of ICU beds Health experts and lawmakers have warned Brazil is steaming into the darkest days of its coronavirus catastrophe, as fatalities soared to new heights and one prominent politician compared the crisis to an atomic bomb. Politicians from across the spectrum voiced anger and exasperation at the deteriorating situation on Monday, after Brazil's weekly average of Covid deaths hit its highest level since the epidemic began last February and hospitals around the country reported being swamped. Continue reading... |
| 'I'd like to join Pixar one day': meet Afghanistan's first female animator Posted: 02 Mar 2021 01:30 AM PST Born under Taliban rule, Sara Barackzay studied abroad and now hopes to start her own school A woman in traditional dress breaks open the bars of a prison. A young child dances, oblivious to a backdrop of tanks and explosions. The drawings by Afghanistan's first professional female animation artist, Sara Barackzay, reflect the struggles of her young life. Barackzay, who lost her hearing as a child, left Afghanistan to study in Turkey, but has returned with the hope of starting a specialist school for animation arts. Continue reading... |
| 'Sexism stands at the door': 11 female film-makers written out of mainstream Hollywood history Posted: 02 Mar 2021 02:53 AM PST Maya Angelou and Jean Seberg were just some of the women who faced everything from racism and sexism to transphobia, yet produced some of cinema's most defining pictures Everything we're told about cinema is that it's shaped by men. If women feature at all in many Hollywood histories, it's to look gorgeous on screen and lead interesting personal lives off it. But this narrative has been warped, consciously and not, by the men who have dominated film-making for almost a century, ignoring the women who made films, challenged the studio system – and helped bring it down. Continue reading... |
| The rich v the very, very rich: the rebellion at Wentworth golf club Posted: 01 Mar 2021 10:00 PM PST When a Chinese billionaire bought one of Britain's most prestigious golf clubs in 2015, dentists and estate agents were confronted with the unsentimental force of globalised capital Like all exiles, Michael Fleming remembers when his separation from home soil began: 20 October 2015, a Tuesday. That year, Fleming was captain of Wentworth, an old, prestigious golf club in north-west Surrey. The club had recently been bought by a Chinese firm, Reignwood Consulting Ltd, and an annual general meeting was scheduled for the 20th. On that morning, having already drafted his speech, Fleming was in his dentistry clinic when he received the email. Brace for change, Wentworth wrote to Fleming and his colleagues, outlining its planned announcements at the AGM: a wild increase in membership fees and the number of members drained from about 4,000 to just a few hundred. A "barmy" decision, Michael Parkinson, the chatshow host and a longtime member, had told the Mail on Sunday, which had scooped the details two days earlier. Peter Alliss, the BBC golf commentator, complained that Reignwood was "bringing an Asian philosophy to Britain". Fleming, whose manner is so mild it's hard to ever imagine him yelling "Fore", was shocked. He began rewriting his speech. Continue reading... |
| Think like a cat or pick up marbles with your toes: how to maximise your incidental exercise Posted: 02 Mar 2021 04:30 AM PST Getting fit isn't all about Lycra and sweat, our everyday activities can also work wonders, with a bit of effort You don't have to be grunting in a gym or grinding out the laps of the park to get a sweat on. Incidental exercise can be just as beneficial, and much easier to incorporate into daily routines. "It's any activity that is part of daily living," says Prof Emmanuel Stamatakis, an expert in physical activity at the University of Sydney, "rather than something that is done for the purpose of fitness, health or entertainment." Stamatakis tells me that incidental exercise, which is termed "intermittent lifestyle physical activity" by academics, is under-researched. But a paper he co-authored in 2018 found that sudden bursts of high-intensity incidental exercise – bounding up a flight of stairs, for example – could be highly beneficial from a health point of view, undermining the long-held belief that physical activity has to last at least 10 minutes to be worthwhile. "All physical activity counts and has a health benefit," says Stamatakis. But how best to incorporate more incidental exercise to your life? The experts weigh in. Continue reading... |
| Coming to America's Arsenio Hall: 'In the 90s I was black Twitter' Posted: 02 Mar 2021 01:00 AM PST As late-night TV's first black host, Hall introduced MC Hammer and RuPaul to the world. Now, he's returning to the spotlight in the sequel to the hit Eddie Murphy comedy "So I'm watching this guy and I'm like: 'All he has is a glass of juice … and his braaaain,'" says Arsenio Hall, who is in the middle of a five-minute anecdote about a conversation he once had with a man called Hank. I didn't ask about Hank, but here we are, talking about his marvellous bonce. I'm speaking to Hall because he's back as Semmi, the supercilious man servant to Eddie Murphy's King Akeem in Coming 2 America, the long-awaited sequel to the 1988 comedy. But more on that in a minute – we need to get back to Hank. When he met Hank who, he enthusiastically recalls, was from Ypsilanti, Michigan ("These details you never forget when it changes your life!"), Hall was a young magician from Cleveland with a dove act, while Hank was a seasoned operator, who once managed to entertain a crowd of Al Green fans with his comedy chops and a glass of juice he used as a prop. Continue reading... |
| Kings of Leon: 'There are no punches being thrown any more!' Posted: 01 Mar 2021 10:00 PM PST The Nashville rockers drank and fought their way through two decades of stardom. But today, it's their daughters who do the fighting. They reveal how they accidentally recorded an album of Covid anthems Something remarkable happened during the making of the eighth Kings of Leon album. For the first time ever, the four Followills – brothers Caleb, Jared, Nathan and their cousin Matthew – got through the recording sessions without any fistfights. "Our bodies don't work like they used to," says singer and guitarist Caleb, speaking over Zoom from his home in Nashville. "So there's no punches being thrown." Drummer Nathan and guitarist Matthew are joining us from their respective houses a few miles away, with bassist Jared checking in from a holiday in Florida. "We have kids now," says Nathan, the eldest. "We leave the fighting to the duelling eight-year-old girl cousins." Continue reading... |
| Forest of Dean: small businesses counting on further help from UK budget Posted: 02 Mar 2021 05:27 AM PST Coleford traders pin hopes on post-lockdown recovery and extended assistance from chancellor For the moment, the narrow gauge locomotives of the Perrygrove Railway in the Forest of Dean are tucked away in their engine shed but over the next few weeks the team will bring them out, check they are in working order and from 12 April, the hope is that it will be full steam ahead for the visitor attraction again. "We're very excited," said Katherine Nelson-Brown, who runs the heritage railway on the edge of the market town of Coleford with her husband, David. "The lockdowns have been very hard. It's been a difficult year but we've survived." Continue reading... |
| Weekend lockdown in Paris would be 'inhumane', says mayor Posted: 02 Mar 2021 02:37 AM PST Anne Hidalgo condemns plans to shut city and suburbs to stem spread of coronavirus The mayor of Paris has described as "inhumane" plans to force the city into weekend lockdowns to combat the continuing spread of Covid-19. Anne Hidalgo has vehemently opposed government plans to shut down the city and its suburbs at the end of the week, saying its residents, most of whom live in apartments with no outside space, "need a horizon" and have to be able to escape to outside spaces such as parks, gardens and riverside areas. Continue reading... |
| We’ve cut aid to Yemen and children will starve – is this what global Britain means? Posted: 02 Mar 2021 05:03 AM PST Monday's announcement confirmed my worst fears – not even those in the most desperate crises are safe from aid cuts Three weeks ago, foreign office minister James Cleverly told me that in the face of drastic cuts to the UK's aid budget, Yemen would remain a UK priority country and the government would use the full force of its diplomatic efforts to bring about peace. On Monday, those words rang hollow when he announced the UK was slashing humanitarian aid to Yemen by more than 50% compared with last year. As a consequence, an already devastated country now faces the worst famine in decades and the prospect of lasting peace seems further away than ever. Continue reading... |
| FBI director Christopher Wray to testify over Capitol insurrection – live updates Posted: 02 Mar 2021 05:40 AM PST Senate judiciary committee will quiz FBI chief who previously warned of threat posed by domestic extremists
Now that he is no longer in the White House, Donald Trump is facing a number of legal probes into his policies, finances, and his attempts to overturn the presidential election result. CNN has rounded up five separate challenges facing the former president, reporting that: Five independently elected investigators have turned their attention to former president Donald Trump, a sign his legal woes are mounting as he no longer enjoys the protections once afforded to him by the Oval Office. Trump is now facing inquiries run by elected officials from Georgia to New York to Washington with only their constituents to answer to. Most are Democrats, but one key investigation was launched by a Georgia Republican who has faced heavy criticism from Trump since the election.
The Washington Post this morning is previewing the expectation of a historic collaboration between Merck & Co and Johnson & Johnson to increase supplies of the latter's one-shot Covid vaccine. Laurie McGinley and Christopher Rowland report: President Biden will announce that pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. will help make Johnson & Johnson's single-shot coronavirus vaccine — an unusual pact between fierce competitors that could sharply boost the supply of the newly authorized vaccine. Officials told the Washington Post they began scouring the country for additional manufacturing capacity after they realized in the first days of the administration that Johnson & Johnson had fallen behind in vaccine production. They soon sought to broker a deal with Merck, one of the world's largest vaccine makers, which had tried and failed to develop its own coronavirus vaccine. Continue reading... |
| Jamaica is finally being held to account for the violence suffered by LGBTQ+ peoplee | Gareth Henry Posted: 02 Mar 2021 04:15 AM PST I took my country to an international commission and won. Now it must scrap the homophobic laws that fuel hate Finally the Jamaican state has been held to account for its complicity in the violence and discrimination I have faced for being gay. An international tribunal has ruled that Jamaica should scrap its homophobic laws immediately. The hatred that LGBTQ+ people routinely face in Jamaica, and the colonial-hangover laws that criminalise gay relationships, are well documented. But, for the first time, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has determined that laws against the "abominable crime of buggery" and acts of "gross indecency" effectively led to state-sanctioned violence against LGBTQ+ Jamaicans. Continue reading... |
| Myanmar: police fire stun grenades at protesters in Yangon – video Posted: 02 Mar 2021 03:17 AM PST Clashes between police and protesters in Myanmar are continuing despite a crackdown by the authorities. Officers were filmed using stun grenades and water cannon on demonstrators in Yangon and Kale. Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are expected to hold a conference call with a Myanmar military official to ask them to resolve the demonstrations peacefully. The military overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government on 1 February. Since then, 21 people have been killed and more than 1,100 arrested |
| Climate change could put insurance out of reach for many Australians Posted: 02 Mar 2021 01:05 AM PST The financial industry regulator says insurers may be able to pay future claims, but fewer people will be able to secure coverage Millions of Australians could be left uninsured as the effects of climate change put increasing pressure on the financial system, the industry's regulatory body has warned. The Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (Apra) executive director Dr Sean Carmody told a Senate hearing on Tuesday the nation's insurers and banks were taking steps to prepare for worsening bushfire seasons and more extreme weather events. Continue reading... |
| 'It’s an arms race’: the tech teams trying to outpace paedophiles online Posted: 02 Mar 2021 03:00 AM PST As platforms pivot towards greater encryption, analysts are rushing to finesse child abuse prevention technology "Predators are often early adopters of technology," says Sarah Smith, chief technology officer at the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), a UK child abuse hotline. "It's an arms race, we have to be constantly horizon-scanning." Smith and her team, based in an unassuming office in Cambridge, are a key link in a chain of experts around the world developing and finessing technology that tracks down paedophiles and removes child abuse images found online. Continue reading... |
| Child abuse hotline reports rise in calls from men viewing illegal content Posted: 01 Mar 2021 11:00 PM PST Growing use of adult pornography in lockdown may lead to more people seeking out images of under-18s, experts say Child abuse experts have reported a rise in the number of men contacting a specialist helpline for people who are watching or considering watching online child sexual abuse material. The Stop It Now! helpline had its busiest year in 2020, handling more than 12,500 calls, emails and live chats – up from 10,700 in 2019. More than 3,500 individuals asked for help because they were worried about their own or someone else's online sexual behaviour towards children. Continue reading... |
| 'Falling off a cliff': pandemic crippling world's most fragile states, finds report Posted: 01 Mar 2021 04:29 AM PST The world's poorest are becoming poorer as the impact of Covid compounds existing crises, says Disaster Emergency Comittee Thousands could starve in the world's most fragile states as the pandemic comes on top of existing crises, warns a new report today which found aid workers are deeply pessimistic about the coming year. The survey of aid workers by the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) found that they believed humanitarian conditions were at their worst in a decade. Continue reading... |
| Why UK's hunt for Brazil variant Covid cases is so urgent Posted: 01 Mar 2021 04:36 AM PST Analysis: P1 strain believed to transmit more easily and may reduce vaccine effectiveness Public Health England is facing a needle-in-a-haystack hunt for a person who tested positive for the "concerning" Brazilian Covid variant but did not leave their name and address with their test. There are a few clues to go on. Public Health England thinks it knows when the test in question was taken and so is asking people who were tested on 12 or 13 February but have not received any test result to get in touch. Continue reading... |
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