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- 'Never seen anything like it': locals watch helplessly as floodwaters rise across NSW
- ‘People are exhausted’: Germans grow weary of endless lockdown
- Hong Kong’s arts scene shudders as Beijing draws cultural red line
- Atlanta spa shootings: Georgia hate crimes law could see first big test
- Uncertainty hangs over Israel PM's bid to break political impasse
- Unmasked: man behind cult set to replace QAnon
- Philippine troops rescue Indonesian hostages and kill top Abu Sayyaf militant
- Thailand protests: scores injured as police clash with pro-democracy activists
- Nine in 10 councils in England see rise in people using food banks
- 'As bad as Brexit': Turkey faces currency crisis after Erdoğan sacks bank chief
- Coronavirus live news: pressure on Boris Johnson not to extend UK curbs; Miami curfew after crowds turn violent
- Vaccine tensions loom in Asia as China and India trade free shots for influence
- After Covid, will we ever shake hands again?
- ‘Why would you not?’: alarm as Republican men say they won’t get Covid vaccine
- Lockdown one year on: Hiran Abeysekera on how Covid nixed his West End debut
- Madhur Jaffrey’s Indian Cookery was a guide to another world
- Inside Vogue, where women have the top jobs but men still rule
- 'A similar challenge': how Joe Biden echoes Kennedys on US foreign policy
- The wannabe food influencer who's wanted by the FBI
- 'A new chapter in an old story': what the Atlanta shootings reveal about the US
- Clapham vigil policing investigator is suing Home Office for sex and race bias
- Vaccine wars: the week that rocked the UK’s Covid jab rollout
- Specialist Covid infection control scientist faces threat of deportation from UK
- How Democrats can use Biden's $1.9tn Covid relief to win the midterms
- Canadian Conservative party votes not to recognize climate crisis as real
- Flood evacuation orders issued as federal government announces disaster relief payments – as it happened
- Kamala Harris sidesteps question of her role to take Biden's message on the road
- Iceland volcano: eruption under way on mountain near Reykjavik – video report
- Surveillance footage shows Atlanta shootings suspect leaving massage parlour – video
- Joe Biden and Kamala Harris condemn attacks on Asian Americans – video
- Iceland: aerial footage shows volcanic eruption near Reykjavik – video
| 'Never seen anything like it': locals watch helplessly as floodwaters rise across NSW Posted: 20 Mar 2021 09:02 PM PDT With the mid north coast of Australia facing a once-in-a-century flood, residents are bracing for the worst as the rain keeps falling As floodwaters inundate the New South Wales mid north coast, residents are scrambling to take stock of the damage and prepare for the rising tide. Horses and livestock were seen floating along rivers and washing up on beaches on Sunday, as the region faced a once in a lifetime deluge. Continue reading... |
| ‘People are exhausted’: Germans grow weary of endless lockdown Posted: 21 Mar 2021 12:45 AM PDT Berliners are impatient for vaccines and the country is poised to tighten restrictions as the third wave hits Winters in Berlin are notoriously tough but this year has been like no other. "I'm really tired of it," Ina Eggers, a teacher in the city, says. "Winter is always hard but now [with lockdown] we don't have anything to do, so it's been awful. " Germany is in the midst of a third wave of the pandemic, with case numbers increasing rapidly. On Saturday, the Robert Koch Institute reported 16,033 new Covid-19 infections within one day – 3,359 more than a week ago. In light of this, doctors are calling for an urgent tightening of lockdown rules to prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed for the third time. Continue reading... |
| Hong Kong’s arts scene shudders as Beijing draws cultural red line Posted: 20 Mar 2021 10:19 PM PDT Pro-Beijing politicians accuse newly built M+ Museum of breaching the sweeping national security law After successfully muzzling Hong Kong's democracy protests and opposition, Beijing's loyalists have warned art institutions about their collections as they seek to impose mainland-style orthodoxy on culture and purge the city of dissent. Newly built on Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour, M+ Museum aims to rival western contemporary heavyweights like London's Tate Modern and New York's MoMA. Continue reading... |
| Atlanta spa shootings: Georgia hate crimes law could see first big test Posted: 20 Mar 2021 02:08 PM PDT
A hate crimes law passed in Georgia amid outrage over the killing of Ahmaud Arbery could get its first major test as part of the murder case against a white man charged with shooting and killing six women of Asian descent at Atlanta-area massage businesses this week. Related: 'It's time for people to hear us': Georgia's Asian Americans vow to stand up against hate Continue reading... |
| Uncertainty hangs over Israel PM's bid to break political impasse Posted: 21 Mar 2021 01:15 AM PDT Hardline former allies hold key in new effort by Benjamin Netanyahu to end the country's two-year stalemate Israel is due to hold its fourth round of elections on Tuesday, although the result could simply extend a two-year-long political stalemate and possibly lead to a dreaded fifth vote. Multiple failed attempts to form stable governments after largely inconclusive previous elections have left the country in a protracted crisis. Once the results come in on Wednesday morning, Israel is expected to enter days or weeks of intense political negotiations. Continue reading... |
| Unmasked: man behind cult set to replace QAnon Posted: 20 Mar 2021 11:00 AM PDT The creator of the rapidly growing 'Sabmyk Network' is said to be a Berlin art dealer with a record of media manipulation The mysterious individual behind a new and rapidly growing online disinformation network targeting followers of QAnon, the far-right cult, can be revealed as a Berlin-based artist with a history of social media manipulation, a prominent anti-racism group claims. Since Donald Trump left the White House, QAnon's vast online community has been in a state of flux as it comes to terms with the reality that its conspiracy theories – such as the former US president being destined to defeat a cabal of Satan-worshipping paedophiles – amount to nothing. Continue reading... |
| Philippine troops rescue Indonesian hostages and kill top Abu Sayyaf militant Posted: 21 Mar 2021 12:54 AM PDT Military says Majan Sahidjuan, a mastermind in several kidnappings by Abu Sayyaf, died after a gun battle Philippine troops have killed a leader of the Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom group and rescued four Indonesian hostages held since last year, the military said on Sunday. Majan Sahidjuan, alias Apo Mike, was severely wounded in a gunbattle with the marines on Saturday night in Languyan town in southern Tawi-Tawi province, and later died, said lieutenant general Corleto Vinluan Jr. Continue reading... |
| Thailand protests: scores injured as police clash with pro-democracy activists Posted: 20 Mar 2021 11:35 PM PDT Watrer cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets used on protesters who gathered outside Bangkok's grand palace Scores of people have been injured and arrested in the Thai capital after police used water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets to break up a rally by pro-democracy protesters calling for the release of detained activists, constitutional changes and reform of the nation's monarchy. The rally outside Bangkok's grand palace was a continuation of student-led protests that began last year and have rattled Thailand's traditional establishment, which is fiercely opposed to change, especially with regard to the monarchy. Continue reading... |
| Nine in 10 councils in England see rise in people using food banks Posted: 20 Mar 2021 11:00 PM PDT Local authorities reveal devastating toll of coronavirus on households who have struggled to keep a roof over their heads A rise in the use of food banks and an increase in family disputes requiring mediation has been seen across most of England, according to new research that uncovers the pressures on families during the Covid crisis. Most local councils in England have also reported increased numbers of people needing help for homelessness, with warnings that many poorer households will face "disaster" unless emergency support is extended well beyond the pandemic. Continue reading... |
| 'As bad as Brexit': Turkey faces currency crisis after Erdoğan sacks bank chief Posted: 20 Mar 2021 10:39 PM PDT Lira could plunge 15%, analysts warn, after Turkey's president risks destabilises fragile economy with removal of governor The Turkish lira could plunge up to 15% in an "ugly reaction" when financial markets reopen on Monday, analysts have warned, after president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sacked the country's central bank chief days after a sharp rise in interest rates. With one expert calling the decision "as bad as Brexit", Erdoğan shocked global investors by removing the bank chief after only five months and replacing him with a party loyalist. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 21 Mar 2021 02:49 AM PDT Boris Johnson facing growing threat of Tory revolt over UK's emergency Covid measures; curfew imposed in Miami
Wallace was also asked about the EU threat on the BBC's Marr programme. He said: What should happen is that both the European Commission and the United Kingdom should live up to their obligations. The European Union stands for the rule of law but you heard what they say about observing and rule of law and that means we should all abide by our contracts we are legally you're obliged, both the supplier and the purchaser. I think European Commission also recognises that the world's watching, if you're a country around the world and you see this type of language being deployed by the Commission, it will be counterproductive.
PA has more of Ben Wallace's comments about the threat of an EU vaccine blockade: He told Sky: If contracts and undertakings get broken that is a very damaging thing to happen for a trading bloc which prides itself on the rule of law. It would be counterproductive because the one thing we know about vaccine production and manufacturing is that it is collaborative. 'The commission knows the world is watching.' |
| Vaccine tensions loom in Asia as China and India trade free shots for influence Posted: 21 Mar 2021 02:30 AM PDT India and China have given away vaccine for diplomatic reasons. Now there's pressure to save supply for their own people While western Europe's "vaccine war" has been a struggle to prevent doses from being exported, in another part of the world, the battle is to give vaccines away. Last week, a Bahraini prince and his retinue arrived in Nepal to climb Mount Everest. They brought climbing gear, provisions and – in an apparent surprise to regulators in Kathmandu – enough Covid-19 vaccines to inoculate 1,000 people. Continue reading... |
| After Covid, will we ever shake hands again? Posted: 21 Mar 2021 01:00 AM PDT The handshake will be back, says Ella Al-Shamahi – we've been doing it for 7m years and it's part of our DNA The handshake has a serious PR problem. For a long time the go-to, multipurpose, international greeting, it was abruptly banished in March 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic swept the world. But has it gone for ever? Is it consigned to history? Have we been shocked into seeing what we should have realised all along: that it is sheer recklessness to indiscriminately touch other people's dirty paws? The White House Covid-19 taskforce member and immunologist-turned-American hero Dr Anthony Fauci certainly thought so last year when he proclaimed, "I don't think we should ever shake hands ever again, to be honest with you." If the handshake is indeed undergoing an extinction event, then who better than a palaeoanthropologist, someone who studies human evolution, to speak at the wake? Except that, as a palaeoanthropologist, I'm refusing to write its obituary. Drawing on multiple lines of evidence, I have come to the conclusion that the handshake is, in fact, the owner of a rich, fascinating story, hiding in plain sight. I think the handshake isn't just cultural: it's biological, it's programmed into our DNA. Continue reading... |
| ‘Why would you not?’: alarm as Republican men say they won’t get Covid vaccine Posted: 21 Mar 2021 02:00 AM PDT A recent poll reported 49% of Republican men saying they won't get the shot as mixed messaging persists among conservatives Nothing will change Ron Holloway's mind when it comes to the Covid-19 vaccine: he's not going to get it. Related: Covid vaccine side-effects: what to know and why you shouldn't worry Continue reading... |
| Lockdown one year on: Hiran Abeysekera on how Covid nixed his West End debut Posted: 21 Mar 2021 12:00 AM PDT The Sri Lankan actor, who had wowed audiences in Sheffield in Life of Pi, was poised for West End fame when theatres shut up shop. He reflects on a career interrupted "I was scared that I might not be able to do Pi again," says Hiran Abeysekera, who was preparing to transfer his rapturously received 2019 performance in Life of Pi to the West End when the pandemic hit. "We were joking that when theatres finally reopened, I'd have grey hair and a walking stick. People would go: 'Hiran, do you still want to do Pi?' And I'd be like: 'I can't do it any more, man, I'm too old!'" Abeysekera, who is a very youthful and ebullient 35, graduated from Rada in 2011. His credits include The Taming of the Shrew at the RSC and Peter Pan at Regent's Park, and he played Puck in a spirited BBC adaptation, by Russell T Davies, of A Midsummer Night's Dream in 2016. But Life of Pi in the West End was an obvious breakthrough moment. Lolita Chakrabarti's stage adaptation of the Booker prize-winning novel by Yann Martel received five-star reviews when it opened at the Sheffield Crucible, and Abeysekera's performance as Piscine "Pi" Patel – shipwrecked with various zoo animals, including a ravenous tiger – was hailed as star-making. The Guardian called it "superb", noting that "the actor has the charm, wit and seriousness to make him a compelling narrator of his own magical-realist tale". Our own reviewer described Abeysekera's performance as "unbelievably credible". Continue reading... |
| Madhur Jaffrey’s Indian Cookery was a guide to another world Posted: 20 Mar 2021 11:00 PM PDT The actor-turned-cookery writer saved us from terrible British versions of curry and taught us how to roast and grind spices In 1982 the food writer and novelist Sue Lawrence was in the depths of early motherhood. "But on Monday nights at 7pm the baby could cry all it wanted," she says. "I had an appointment with the TV. Everybody stopped for it." The programme which brought a slab of Britain to the sofa was Indian Cookery, presented by the actor turned food writer Madhur Jaffrey. "The show was a revelation," Lawrence says. "She just demystified everything. We all rushed out to buy the accompanying book." Continue reading... |
| Inside Vogue, where women have the top jobs but men still rule Posted: 21 Mar 2021 02:00 AM PDT A new account of life at the fashion bible claims that female staff have been undermined and humiliated for decades. The author reveals why she wrote it As a fashion-obsessed teenager, I dreamed of working for Vogue. What girl didn't? This was in the 2000s, and smartphones weren't everywhere yet, so we'd leaf through the latest copy hungrily at the back of the class. I loved the pictures, the clothes, even the adverts. But most of all I loved the masthead and the index. Who were these glamorous humans with lovely-sounding names and exotic job titles? Mostly, of course, they were women. That's the thing about a place like Vogue. It's a huge global corporation with a lot of soft power, yet unlike most such companies, it has always had women at the top. But not right at the top. Continue reading... |
| 'A similar challenge': how Joe Biden echoes Kennedys on US foreign policy Posted: 20 Mar 2021 11:00 PM PDT The president does not just share Irish roots with John, Robert and Ted Kennedy – he also wants to lead America in the world It was a popular Washington sport: find the past president who best explained Donald Trump. There was a touch of Andrew Jackson's populism, a dash of Richard Nixon's skulduggery, a sprinkling of Ronald Reagan's myth-making. But now all that is over, who are the closest matches to Joe Biden? Related: Lucky review: how Biden beat Trump – and doubters like Obama and Hillary Continue reading... |
| The wannabe food influencer who's wanted by the FBI Posted: 21 Mar 2021 01:00 AM PDT When a man calling himself Gavin Ambani tried to make his mark on the London food scene, the story of a fraud hunt stretching from Hollywood to Indonesia followed in his wake When a man calling himself Gavin Ambani contacted Pål Hansen out of the blue one day in 2018, the highly regarded portrait photographer wasn't sure what to make of him. Hansen has built his reputation on photographing the likes of Nicole Kidman, Tilda Swinton and Sir Lewis Hamilton, as well as some of the world's best known chefs for Observer Food Monthly. But Ambani, a loquacious character with a high-pitched voice, wanted him to do some work for his Instagram account. "I said it doesn't sound like something I'm interested in," recalls Hansen. Continue reading... |
| 'A new chapter in an old story': what the Atlanta shootings reveal about the US Posted: 20 Mar 2021 11:00 PM PDT After killings that followed a year of escalating hatred, Asian Americans ask why no one heeded the warnings At 4.54pm on Tuesday, a Hyundai SUV pulled up outside Young's Asian Massage parlor in the Atlanta suburb of Acworth. Earlier that day the driver, a white man, had popped into Big Woods Goods, a gun store that prides itself on being "fast and friendly". Service in the shop was so fast, in fact, that with the benefit of Georgia's loose gun laws the man was able to buy a 9mm firearm on the spot. Continue reading... |
| Clapham vigil policing investigator is suing Home Office for sex and race bias Posted: 21 Mar 2021 02:45 AM PDT HM Inspector of Constabulary Matthew Parr claims that he faced discrimination for being a white man The investigator helping coordinate the official inquiry into the Metropolitan police's handling of the Sarah Everard vigil and concerns over women's safety is suing the Home Office for sex discrimination over claims that he has been penalised for being a "white man", the Observer can reveal. Matthew Parr, one of five HM Inspectors of Constabulary who oversee UK police forces, is involved in shaping the inquiry into why officers manhandled women at the vigil where hundreds had gathered to call for safer streets and an end to "misogynistic" policing. However, Parr is also currently suing the government for sex and race discrimination after learning a black female colleague was being paid more. Continue reading... |
| Vaccine wars: the week that rocked the UK’s Covid jab rollout Posted: 21 Mar 2021 02:30 AM PDT After a week of bans, U-turns and warnings of supply shortfalls, public confidence in vaccination has been dented. Can Britain get back on the fast track out of lockdown? For Stacey Harris, the hardest part of organising vaccinations over the last couple of months has been fending off patients. "They'd be ringing up, coming into the surgery saying 'I want my vaccine,'" she told the Observer. But last week that popularity evaporated. On Thursday, Harris – a healthcare assistant receptionist at the Faversham Medical Practice in Kent – found she could no longer find enough people willing to come in for their jabs. Continue reading... |
| Specialist Covid infection control scientist faces threat of deportation from UK Posted: 20 Mar 2021 05:47 AM PDT Charles Oti should be in his NHS job fighting the virus. Instead, the Home Office wants to send him to Nigeria An infection control specialist who has been offered a job as a senior NHS biomedical scientist to help tackle the pandemic is facing deportation by the Home Office, prompting fresh calls for a more "humane" approach to skilled migrants. The government has refused Charles Oti, 46, from Nigeria the right to remain in the UK even though the job he was offered is among the government's most sought-after skilled positions. Continue reading... |
| How Democrats can use Biden's $1.9tn Covid relief to win the midterms Posted: 21 Mar 2021 02:00 AM PDT The bill's passage may be the party's best chances of avoiding a historical trend and keeping control of both chambers of Congress after next year's elections Just days after signing the $1.9tn coronavirus relief package into law, Joe Biden was on the road selling the benefits of the bill to the American people – and also to his own party's political prospects. The president kicked off his "Help is Here" tour last Tuesday, visiting a Black-owned flooring business in Chester, Pennsylvania. "We're in a position where it's going to bring immediate relief – $1,400 – to 85% of the American public," Biden said as he toured Smith Flooring. "And I think you should be aware: more help is on the way, for real." Continue reading... |
| Canadian Conservative party votes not to recognize climate crisis as real Posted: 20 Mar 2021 11:19 AM PDT
Canada's main opposition Conservative Party members have voted down a proposal to recognize the climate crisis as real, in a blow to their new leader's efforts to embrace environmentally friendly policies before a likely federal election this year. Related: 'Climate facts are back': EPA brings science back to website after Trump purge Continue reading... |
| Posted: 21 Mar 2021 12:57 AM PDT Penrith floods could be worst in 60 years, as Queensland and SA send emergency crews to help. This blog is now closed NSW flooding: people flee their homes overnight as extreme rain wreaks havoc
And so we shall leave it there for today, and for the week. Here's what went down today:
The NSW Government has announced an extension of the disaster recovery assistance, adding 18 LGA's to the initial 16 LGAs announced yesterday. In a statement, NSW MP David Elliott said the storms had already done extensive damage, and that with the weather not scheduled to ease until Wednesday, the full extent of the damage is still not known. Severe winds, relentless rainfall and widespread flooding has damaged roads and properties, businesses and public assets right across New South Wales Through the DRFA, a range of practical assistance measures are now available to help people get back on their feet and support councils with the clean-up and repairs to infrastructure. Continue reading... |
| Kamala Harris sidesteps question of her role to take Biden's message on the road Posted: 21 Mar 2021 02:00 AM PDT Aides and allies say it is too early to define the vice-president's portfolio but she is unlikely to be confined to just one subject area White House aides and allies stress it's still too early to define the type of portfolio Kamala Harris will have as vice-president. They bristle at the suggestion that Harris would be confined to one project or focus on just one subject area, as some previous vice-presidents were pegged to do. But over the last week, the former California senator has once again taken on an increasingly familiar mantle: top surrogate for promoting the Biden administration's agenda. Continue reading... |
| Iceland volcano: eruption under way on mountain near Reykjavik – video report Posted: 20 Mar 2021 10:50 AM PDT A volcanic eruption began in south-west Iceland near the capital, Reykjavik, on Friday. More than 40,000 earthquakes have occurred on the peninsula in the past four weeks, a huge jump from the 1,000-3,000 registered each year since 2014. Unlike the eruption in 2010 of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, which halted approximately 900,000 flights and forced hundreds of Icelanders from their homes, this eruption is not expected to spew much ash or smoke into the atmosphere Continue reading... |
| Surveillance footage shows Atlanta shootings suspect leaving massage parlour – video Posted: 20 Mar 2021 08:55 AM PDT Surveillance video has emerged showing the shooting suspect Robert Aaron Long leaving Young's massage parlour in Acworth, Georgia, which was attacked on Wednesday. Long has been charged with allegedly killing eight people at three Atlanta-area massage businesses in an attack that sent terror through the Asian American community. He told police the attack was not racially motivated, claiming to have a 'sex addiction'
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| Joe Biden and Kamala Harris condemn attacks on Asian Americans – video Posted: 20 Mar 2021 04:14 AM PDT Joe Biden and Kamala Harris offered solace to Asian Americans and a reeling nation on Friday as they visited Atlanta just days after a white gunman killed eight people, most of them Asian American women. The visit, during a nationwide spike of anti-Asian violence, has added resonance with the presence of Harris, the first person of South Asian descent to hold national office Continue reading... |
| Iceland: aerial footage shows volcanic eruption near Reykjavik – video Posted: 20 Mar 2021 03:10 AM PDT A long-dormant volcano in Fagradalsfjall, near Reykjavik in south-west Iceland, flared to life on Friday night, spilling lava down two sides in the area's first volcanic eruption in nearly 800 years. Initial aerial footage posted on social media by the Icelandic Meteorological Office showed a relatively small eruption so far, with two streams of lava running in opposite directions Continue reading... |
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