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- Coronavirus live news: Pfizer says jab 100% effective in 12- to 15-year-olds; Macron could announce lockdown tonight
- Biden promises 'historic' $2tn spending in infrastructure – but Capitol Hill fight awaits
- Urgent policies needed to steer countries to net zero, says IEA chief
- Facebook now lets users and pages turn off comments on their posts
- Italy expels two Russian officials over alleged purchase of secret files
- Teen who filmed killing tells court George Floyd was 'begging for his life'
- Higher testosterone levels in men linked to greater melanoma risk
- 'In the middle of a war zone': thousands flee as Venezuela troops and Colombia rebels clash
- Myanmar: Aung San Suu Kyi appears in good health in video meeting
- Joe Biden's dog bites second person in a month
- Coronavirus: how wealthy nations are creating a ‘vaccine apartheid’
- Palau to welcome first tourists in a year with presidential escort
- A year of Covid crisis: a glimmer of economic hope at the end of the tunnel
- Merkel, Macron and Putin in talks on using Sputnik V jab in Europe, says Kremlin
- ‘Similar to having a baby, the euphoria’: rediscovery of rare gecko delights experts
- Ruby Rose on gender, bullying and breaking free: ‘I had a problem with authority’
- Sticky and sweet: 17 delicious ways with maple syrup – from pecan pie to a whisky sour
- We sampled tap water across the US – and found arsenic, lead and toxic chemicals
- The return of the bonkbuster: how horny heroines are starting a new sexual revolution
- How nearly 3,000 cattle came to be stranded at sea for three months
- UK weather: Wednesday could be hottest March day on record
- Julian Lloyd Webber: The rich world of African classical music
- Police did not let bystanders help George Floyd, court hears | First Thing
- From the archives: The fall of Saigon: witnessing the end of the Vietnam war – podcast
- John Barilaro attacks Turnbull over 'war on Coalition' and says NSW 'firmly committed' to coal
- Coercive behaviour must be prioritised in domestic abuse cases, court of appeal says
- Death without answers: an agonising 24-hour hunt for medical help in Guinea-Bissau
- US bars rubber gloves from Malaysian firm due to 'evidence of forced labour'
- 'The heart of darkness': neighbors shun Brazil over Covid response
- Backlash to Labour's housing policy has exposed signs of internal party disarray | Claire Robinson
- Ever-changing Covid rules on protest set up conflict with the police
- Japan's cherry blossom bloom - in pictures
- WHO chief backs calls for pandemic treaty – video
- Refugees flee Myanmar for Thailand after airstrikes – video
| Posted: 31 Mar 2021 05:29 AM PDT Pfizer plans to seek emergency authorisation for that age group in US; French president to address nation tonight and lockdown is one option
The rate of diagnosed Covid-19 infections is rising in most Spanish regions, health minister Carolina Darias has said. She told a news conference: We are at a crucial moment. There is an increase, a slow one but still an increase of the incidence, and a prevalence of the Britain variant.
The White House has also welcomed Pfizer Inc's announcement. "This is good news," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in an interview with CNN. "I know for parents... it makes you feel even more confident about your kids, potentially be back in the classroom soon." Continue reading... |
| Biden promises 'historic' $2tn spending in infrastructure – but Capitol Hill fight awaits Posted: 31 Mar 2021 02:13 AM PDT President hopes to 'unify and mobilize the country' but his plan faces challenges from Democrats as well as Republicans Joe Biden will unveil an expansive $2tn proposal to rebuild the country's infrastructure, confront climate change and curb wealth inequality, part of a sweeping spending package that could define the president's economic legacy. Biden's plan, which he will lay out at a speech in Pittsburgh on Wednesday afternoon, includes "historic and galvanizing" investments in traditional infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges and highways, as well as hundreds of billions of dollars to fortify the electricity grid, expand high-speed broadband and rebuild water systems to ensure access to clean drinking water, an administration official said on Tuesday. It also seeks to expand access to community care facilities for seniors and people with disabilities and invest in research and development and workplace training. Continue reading... |
| Urgent policies needed to steer countries to net zero, says IEA chief Posted: 30 Mar 2021 11:00 PM PDT Economies are gearing up for return to fossil fuel use instead of forging green recovery, warns Fatih Birol New energy policies are urgently needed to put countries on the path to net zero greenhouse gas emissions, the world's leading energy economist has warned, as economies are rapidly gearing up for a return to fossil fuel use instead of forging a green recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. Most of the world's biggest economies now have long-term goals of reaching net zero by mid-century, but few have the policies required to meet those goals, said Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA). Continue reading... |
| Facebook now lets users and pages turn off comments on their posts Posted: 31 Mar 2021 03:00 AM PDT The new feature to limit comments comes after an Australian court ruling that found news outlets are liable for comments on their pages Facebook will allow every user including celebrities, politicians, brands and news outlets to determine who can and can't comment on their posts. The social media giant announced on Wednesday that when people post on Facebook, they will be able to control who comments on the post, ranging from everyone who can see the post, to only those who have been tagged by the profile or page in the post. It is similar to a change recently introduced by Twitter to limit who can reply to tweets. Continue reading... |
| Italy expels two Russian officials over alleged purchase of secret files Posted: 31 Mar 2021 05:02 AM PDT Italian navy captain arrested for allegedly handing over confidential documents for cash Italy has expelled two Russian officials after an Italian navy captain was arrested for allegedly passing confidential documents to one of the Russians. Police said they intervened "during a clandestine meeting" between the Italian and a Russian military official and "immediately after the transfer of a document by the Italian officer in exchange for a sum of money". Continue reading... |
| Teen who filmed killing tells court George Floyd was 'begging for his life' Posted: 30 Mar 2021 06:36 PM PDT Darnella Frazier said Derek Chauvin did not ease up as he pinned Floyd down and that she still loses sleep over the killing The woman who recorded the shocking video of George Floyd's death that prompted mass protests for racial justice around the world has told the Derek Chauvin murder trial of her feelings of guilt at being unable to intervene to save his life. Darnella Frazier, who at times sobbed as she gave evidence on the second day of Chauvin's trial in Minneapolis, said that she still loses sleep over the killing of the 46-year-old Black man. Continue reading... |
| Higher testosterone levels in men linked to greater melanoma risk Posted: 31 Mar 2021 03:00 AM PDT Study finds testosterone associated with risk of developing potentially deadly skin cancer, but causation not proved Men with high levels of testosterone have an increased risk of developing a potentially deadly skin cancer, researchers have found. According to Cancer Research UK, which funded the study, one in 36 UK males and one in 47 UK females will be diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer in their lifetime. It said 86% of melanoma cases were preventable, typically caused by use of sunbeds or staying out in the sun, but other factors played a role in who is most at risk, including age and genetics. Continue reading... |
| 'In the middle of a war zone': thousands flee as Venezuela troops and Colombia rebels clash Posted: 31 Mar 2021 02:00 AM PDT Nearly 5,000 refugees holed up in small Colombian town of Arauquita, having fled intense and continuing battles Lizeth Iturrieta, a journalist in the small town of La Victoria on Venezuela's western border with Colombia, was woken by the rumble of armoured vehicles rolling past her home. Hours later the sounds of gunfire and explosions shook the walls, and she and her husband dived for cover. "Out of nowhere we were in the middle of a war zone," Iturrieta said in a video call from a refugee camp on the Colombian side of the frontier. "After a day of hiding at home in absolute silence, we ran for our lives to the boat to Colombia. We almost fell into the river in the panic." Continue reading... |
| Myanmar: Aung San Suu Kyi appears in good health in video meeting Posted: 31 Mar 2021 05:27 AM PDT UN security council set for emergency meeting as death toll from military crackdown passes 520 Myanmar's deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi appears in good health following a video meeting with her lawyers, it has emerged. Details on the condition of the 75-year-old were disclosed as the US ordered non-essential embassy staff to leave the country after weeks of violence over a 1 February coup and fears mounted that the escalating violence was drawing in the country's minority groups. Continue reading... |
| Joe Biden's dog bites second person in a month Posted: 31 Mar 2021 02:41 AM PDT German shepherd Major 'nipped someone while on a walk', according to first's lady's press secretary Joe Biden's dog Major has been involved in its second biting incident in a month, the White House has said. The dog "nipped someone while on a walk" on Monday, according to Jill Biden's press secretary, Michael LaRosa. The animal "is still adjusting to his new surroundings", he said. The individual was seen by the White House medical unit "out of an abundance of caution" and returned to work without injury. Continue reading... |
| Coronavirus: how wealthy nations are creating a ‘vaccine apartheid’ Posted: 31 Mar 2021 12:39 AM PDT Activists have called for changes to intellectual property laws in an effort to speed the global vaccination project A chorus of activists are calling for changes to intellectual property laws in hopes of beginning to boost Covid-19 vaccine manufacturing globally, and addressing the gaping disparity between rich and poor nations' access to coronavirus vaccines. The US and a handful of other wealthy vaccine-producing nations are on track to deliver vaccines to all adults who want them in the coming months, while dozens of the world's poorest countries have not inoculated a single person. Continue reading... |
| Palau to welcome first tourists in a year with presidential escort Posted: 30 Mar 2021 04:45 PM PDT Palau is opening up to visitors from Taiwan under strict Covid-safe measures, but locals still have doubts On Thursday, 110 people from Taiwan will be able to enjoy the thing so many around the world have been dreaming of since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic: an international holiday to a tropical island paradise. The tiny Pacific country of Palau, in the north-west corner of the Pacific with a population of around 20,000 people, will this week begin welcoming tourists from Taiwan as part of a travel bubble. Continue reading... |
| A year of Covid crisis: a glimmer of economic hope at the end of the tunnel Posted: 30 Mar 2021 10:00 PM PDT Twelve months after the pandemic struck the Guardian's economic tracker reveals real risk of lasting damage
When Boris Johnson announced the first stay-at-home order, effectively shutting down whole sections of the economy, it was hoped the tide could be turned within 12 weeks. As many months later, lockdown measures are being relaxed for a third time and Britain still faces a lengthy road to recovery from the worst recession for 300 years. As restrictions ease, the chief economist at the Bank of England, Andy Haldane, warned that despite the reopening of the economy, the risk of a "jobs equivalent of long Covid" remains for workers across the country. Continue reading... |
| Merkel, Macron and Putin in talks on using Sputnik V jab in Europe, says Kremlin Posted: 30 Mar 2021 04:53 PM PDT Moscow says leaders discussed possibility of shipments and joint production amid shortage of doses inside Europe Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron discussed Russia's Sputnik V vaccine and its use in Europe on a conference call on Tuesday, the Kremlin said. Moscow's statement said that among other subjects the Russian, German and French leaders discussed prospects for the registration of the vaccine in the EU and the possibility of shipments and joint production in EU nations. It did not say who raised the topic. Continue reading... |
| ‘Similar to having a baby, the euphoria’: rediscovery of rare gecko delights experts Posted: 31 Mar 2021 12:43 AM PDT New Zealand lizard expert Ben Barr, who spent years looking under rocks for the elusive Cupola, has finally found what he was looking for After two years spent turning over thousands of rocks in search of the Cupola gecko, New Zealand lizard expert Ben Barr had been starting to wonder: "Am I ever going to find this thing?" But this month, in the Nelson Lakes national park at the top of the South Island, he lifted another rock – and there it was. "I was totally euphoric. I was over the moon. I couldn't believe it. I was screaming and yelling, it was incredible. I almost cried." Continue reading... |
| Ruby Rose on gender, bullying and breaking free: ‘I had a problem with authority’ Posted: 31 Mar 2021 02:02 AM PDT After coming out as a lesbian, aged 12, she suffered a horrendous attack at school. Now a successful actor, she is determined to help those wrestling with their identities Ruby Rose spent much of her childhood travelling around Australia with her mother, an aspiring artist, trying to make ends meet. They were poor, but they were unstoppable, says Rose. Her mother had sold their TV, so there were no dreams of becoming the Hollywood action star she is now, nor the model, presenter, DJ, VJ and campaigner she has been over the years. When Rose was a child, she just wanted to write. "I wanted to write a book for kids that were my age. I just wanted to have a way to communicate and speak to kids like me, who didn't have someone," she says, over Zoom. "I was just this kid who had no friends, who was super unpopular, got bullied and beaten up at school, and was like: 'I'm going to be a famous writer.'" Continue reading... |
| Sticky and sweet: 17 delicious ways with maple syrup – from pecan pie to a whisky sour Posted: 31 Mar 2021 04:01 AM PDT If you've been saving it to pour over pancakes, here are some brilliant new options, including bacon lollies, mouthwatering aubergines and some very grown up Rice Krispies I've often fancied getting into the maple syrup game – buying some Canadian woods, drilling some holes, hanging some buckets under some spigots. It seems like a low-stress pastime, and you get summers off. It turns out that they don't hang buckets under spigots much any more. These days, they run hundreds of feet of blue plastic piping between the trees, a giant sap collection network that feeds a big tank. Watching YouTube videos of men assembling these vast systems is also, it turns out, a pretty low-stress pastime. Continue reading... |
| We sampled tap water across the US – and found arsenic, lead and toxic chemicals Posted: 31 Mar 2021 03:00 AM PDT In a nine-month investigation by the Guardian and Consumer Reports we found forever chemicals, arsenic and lead in samples taken across the US In Connecticut, a condo had lead in its drinking water at levels more than double what the federal government deems acceptable. At a church in North Carolina, the water was contaminated with extremely high levels of potentially toxic PFAS chemicals ( a group of compounds found in hundreds of household products). The water flowing into a Texas home had both – and concerning amounts of arsenic too. All three were among locations that had water tested as part of a nine-month investigation by Consumer Reports (CR) and the Guardian into the US's drinking water. Continue reading... |
| The return of the bonkbuster: how horny heroines are starting a new sexual revolution Posted: 30 Mar 2021 10:00 PM PDT I longed for novels about female desire - women empowered by sex and their expressions of lust. So I sat down and wrote my own The idea for my novel Insatiable emerged from a simple question: where were all the horny women? I knew that we were secretly legion. In fact, I suspected that I was surrounded by women, sitting on buses, standing in queues, staring out of the window and simultaneously entertaining all kinds of filthy daydreams. After all, millions of us had bought and read Fifty Shades of Grey. Even if half the sold copies were bought by people who wanted to mock it, that left millions of genuinely horny women unaccounted for – and buying the sequels. I was not transported in the way I had hoped; I did not find Christian sexy, I did not relish the BDSM and, most of all, I struggled to connect with the beautiful, blank lead character, Anastasia. She seemed similar to every other sort-of-horny woman I had seen on screen, a sexual object before she was a sexual subject, a person who had to be perfect and prove herself desirable before she was allowed to pursue desires of her own. Continue reading... |
| How nearly 3,000 cattle came to be stranded at sea for three months Posted: 30 Mar 2021 11:00 PM PDT After being refused entry to several countries on health grounds, the surviving animals were ordered back to Spain for slaughter Read more: Stranded cattle ship ordered to dock in Spain after 'hellish' three months at sea
The Elbeik and a second livestock ship, the Karim Allah, had been refused entry to multiple countries on health grounds. We look back on the events that shaped this "hellish ride". Continue reading... |
| UK weather: Wednesday could be hottest March day on record Posted: 31 Mar 2021 04:48 AM PDT Spell of early spring warm weather continues after record 24.5C on Tuesday Forecasters say there is a small possibility the UK could see the hottest day on record on Wednesday, as the spell of early spring warm weather continues. It has been particularly welcomed in England, where temperatures have been the highest and people have just emerged blinking into the light as the nation begins to shake off a long national lockdown. Continue reading... |
| Julian Lloyd Webber: The rich world of African classical music Posted: 31 Mar 2021 03:13 AM PDT Musician Rebeca Omordia has spent years unearthing the classical music of a whole continent, culminating in the hugely successful African Concert Series While the Wigmore Hall has rightly garnered plaudits for keeping classical music alive during lockdown, another pioneering concert series has also beaten the odds with its series of online live events. The African Concert Series is the brainchild of my former duo partner, the pianist Rebeca Omordia. She has half-Romanian, half-Nigerian heritage. But while we would often discuss world-renowned Romanian classical musicians such as composer Georges Enescu, pianist Dinu Lipatti and conductor Sergiu Celibidache, when it came to Nigerian classical composers, we drew a blank. "There aren't any," said Rebeca. I told her there must be, and challenged her to find them. This was back in 2013, and her subsequent research has uncovered more than 200 composers of African art music, Nigerians among them. Continue reading... |
| Police did not let bystanders help George Floyd, court hears | First Thing Posted: 31 Mar 2021 03:38 AM PDT Derek Chauvin also resisted calls to remove his knee from Floyd's neck, witnesses said on the second day of the murder trial. Plus, the US orders non-essential diplomats to leave Myanmar Good morning. The teenager who recorded the video of George Floyd's death that prompted protests around the world has told a court said that Floyd was "begging for his life". Darnella Frazier, who was 17 at the time, sobbed as she gave evidence at the second day of the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who is accused of murdering Floyd. Continue reading... |
| From the archives: The fall of Saigon: witnessing the end of the Vietnam war – podcast Posted: 31 Mar 2021 04:00 AM PDT We are raiding the Audio Long Reads archives and bringing you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week: In a special tribute to Martin Woollacott, the Guardian's former foreign correspondent and foreign editor, who has died at the age of 81, Alan Rusbridger reflects on his fondest memories of Martin and how this 'giant of journalism' should be remembered. From 2015: North Vietnamese troops who marched into the capital on 30 April 1975. It marked the most crushing defeat in US military history. Four decades after he reported on these events for the Guardian, Martin Woollacott reflects upon what it meant for the future of both nations |
| John Barilaro attacks Turnbull over 'war on Coalition' and says NSW 'firmly committed' to coal Posted: 31 Mar 2021 01:57 AM PDT NSW deputy premier says 'there will be no moratorium on coal in the Upper Hunter or anywhere else in the state' The New South Wales deputy premier, John Barilaro, has rejected Malcolm Turnbull's call for a moratorium on new coalmines in the state and demanded the former prime minister "set aside his war on the Coalition". Turnbull said on Wednesday he believed coalmine proposals and approvals in the state's upper Hunter Valley were "out of control". Continue reading... |
| Coercive behaviour must be prioritised in domestic abuse cases, court of appeal says Posted: 31 Mar 2021 03:21 AM PDT New guidance for England and Wales welcomed but critics say it fails to address perpetuation of rape myths and 'contact at all costs' approach The family courts should prioritise the issue of coercive and controlling behaviour when considering disputes between parents in domestic abuse cases, court of appeal judges have advised. Three senior judges set out fresh guidance on how these sensitive cases should be approached as part of a 47-page judgment after hearing four linked appeals brought by mothers over child contact. Continue reading...This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Death without answers: an agonising 24-hour hunt for medical help in Guinea-Bissau Posted: 30 Mar 2021 11:15 PM PDT Bernardo Catchura spent a last desperate night seeking treatment in the healthcare system he had spent decades campaigning to improve. His wife is still unsure how he died In their 15 years together, Maimuna Catchura had not known her husband to be ill. But one night in late January, 39-year-old lawyer, activist and musician Bernardo Catchura could not sleep, and complained of severe stomach pain. The pain forced Catchura from his bed at his house in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau's capital. That night he would navigate the country's medical care maze, visiting pharmacies, clinics and hospitals. Before the night was through, he even considered crossing the border into Senegal to get help. Continue reading... |
| US bars rubber gloves from Malaysian firm due to 'evidence of forced labour' Posted: 30 Mar 2021 06:43 AM PDT Banned firm Top Glove also supplied NHS hospitals, prompting calls for guarantees on PPE sources Top Glove, the world's largest manufacturer of rubber gloves, has been banned from exporting its products from Malaysia to the United States after the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) made a finding that its products are made using forced and indentured labour. Rubber medical gloves from a Malaysian manufacturer will be seized if they enter the US due to "conclusive evidence" they are being made by workers under conditions of modern slavery, the CBP said. Continue reading... |
| 'The heart of darkness': neighbors shun Brazil over Covid response Posted: 30 Mar 2021 06:08 AM PDT Latin American countries scramble to protect themselves from a country where nearly 60,000 people are expected to die in March alone It has long been regarded as a soft power superpower, the sun-kissed, culturally blessed land of Bossa Nova, Capoeira and Pelé. But Brazil's shambolic response to coronavirus under far-right president Jair Bolsonaro has cast Latin America's largest country in an unfamiliar and unpleasant role: that of a Covid-riddled, science-shunning, politically-unstable outcast on whom many regional neighbors are now shutting the door. Continue reading... |
| Backlash to Labour's housing policy has exposed signs of internal party disarray | Claire Robinson Posted: 30 Mar 2021 11:00 AM PDT The government has broken its promises and handed them to the opposition on a golden platter As the first majority government in New Zealand's MMP history, with an extraordinarily popular prime minister, many have urged Labour to spend its "political capital." This is the buffer that enables popular governments to take bold actions that might lose them some voters, while retaining most of their solid support in a metaphorical bank. Last week Labour spent some of its political capital. In a surprise announcement it said it would extend the brightline test (taxing any financial gain made on the sale of an investment property) from five to ten years and remove mortgage interest as a rental property tax deduction, as part of a suite of housing policy and funding changes. Continue reading... |
| Ever-changing Covid rules on protest set up conflict with the police Posted: 30 Mar 2021 10:40 AM PDT Analysis: public disorder could have been avoided with more clarity about the legality of protests in the UK Ambiguous, confusing and a mess is how the current coronavirus regulations dealing with protest have been described by MPs and peers tasked with scrutinising the government's record on human rights. And it is the backdrop to the police versus protesters debate that should not be ignored. In fact, the Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR), a cross-party group, concluded that protest has never has been completely illegal during the pandemic, even under lockdown. Continue reading... |
| Japan's cherry blossom bloom - in pictures Posted: 31 Mar 2021 12:11 AM PDT Japan's famous cherry blossoms have reached their flowery peak in many places earlier this year than at any time since records began nearly 70 years ago, and experts say climate change is the probable cause Continue reading... |
| WHO chief backs calls for pandemic treaty – video Posted: 30 Mar 2021 06:23 AM PDT The director general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said a pandemic treaty would help to tackle gaps exposed by Covid-19, strengthen implementation of international health regulations and provide a framework for cooperation in areas such as pandemic prevention and response. He underlined the importance of taking action now, saying that 'the world cannot afford to wait until the pandemic is over to start planning for the next one'. Continue reading... |
| Refugees flee Myanmar for Thailand after airstrikes – video Posted: 30 Mar 2021 04:05 AM PDT Refugees fleeing Myanmar are attempting to reach Thailand by boat following airstrikes by Myanmar's military on parts of the country predominantly populated by ethnic Karen people. Thailand's prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, said 'we don't want to have an exodus and evacuations into our territory but we will observe human rights too'
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