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- Delhi hospitals issue SOS alerts over oxygen supplies as India’s Covid crisis mounts
- Oxford Malaria vaccine proves highly effective in Burkina Faso trial
- David Cameron kept pushing Bank and Treasury to risk £20bn to help Greensill
- Malta still selling golden passports to rich stay-away ‘residents’
- Bones of Black children killed in police bombing used in Ivy League anthropology course
- Asteroid’s 22m-year journey from source to Earth mapped in historic first
- More than 100 asylum seekers feared dead after shipwreck off Libya
- Missing Indonesian submarine: rescuers find unidentified object as oxygen runs low
- Former subpostmasters expected to have names cleared after court appeal
- Rape victims in south Asia still face vaginal tests, report finds
- Kid, I blew up the honey: fallout from nuclear bomb tests detected in US pots
- Everest Covid cases shine harsh light on Nepalese decision to open mountain
- Oxygen runs low during India’s Covid crisis – photo essay
- UK scientists find evidence of human-to-cat Covid transmission
- Perth to enter snap three-day lockdown after Covid spreads from hotel quarantine into community
- ‘Damn! This is a Caravaggio!’: the inside story of an old master found in Spain
- And the winner should be … Peter Bradshaw’s predictions for the 2021 Oscars
- New Zealand’s stance on China has deep implications for the Five Eyes alliance
- Mona Eltahawy: ‘Feminism is not a T-shirt or a 9 to 5 job. It’s my existence’
- ‘It reeked of hope and ambition’: 30 years of riot grrrl label Kill Rock Stars
- UK aid cut seen as unforced error in ‘year of British leadership’
- Welsh first minister accused of using lockdown easing to influence poll
- Cielo review – love letter to the desert’s starry skies
- Japan to declare targeted state of emergency as Covid cases surge
- Covid Australia live updates: three more blood clot cases linked to AstraZeneca vaccine including 80-year-old
- Home Office sued by asylum seeker over baby’s death
- ‘No country immune’ from UK’s aid cuts, says Raab
- Protests across Malawi as mobile phone charges soar
- The typhoon that hit my island didn’t make the news. This is what the climate crisis looks like
- 'He was like a comedian': Andrew Brown's aunt pays tribute after fatal shooting by police – video
- 'My son should be burying me': Calls for police reform at Daunte Wright's funeral – video
- 'Existential crisis of our time': Joe Biden pledges to halve US emissions by 2030 – video
- North Carolina: protests after police shooting of Andrew Brown – video
- George Floyd: a landmark moment for justice in America? – video
| Delhi hospitals issue SOS alerts over oxygen supplies as India’s Covid crisis mounts Posted: 22 Apr 2021 10:44 PM PDT Staff posted emergency messages on social media as several hospitals in the capital exhausted oxygen supplies on Thursday night Hospitals in Delhi issued SOS alerts on Friday morning, warning they had just a few hours supply of oxygen left, as another unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases overwhelmed health systems in major Indian cities. Hospital staff posted emergency messages on social media throughout Thursday and Friday, saying they were unable to cope with demand and pleading for assistance from government. Continue reading... |
| Oxford Malaria vaccine proves highly effective in Burkina Faso trial Posted: 22 Apr 2021 09:01 PM PDT Vaccine developed by scientists at Jenner Institute, Oxford, shows up to 77% efficacy in trial over 12 months A vaccine against malaria has been shown to be highly effective in trials in Africa, holding out the real possibility of slashing the death toll of a disease that kills 400,000 mostly small children every year. The vaccine, developed by scientists at the Jenner Institute of Oxford University, showed up to 77% efficacy in a trial of 450 children in Burkina Faso over 12 months. Continue reading... |
| David Cameron kept pushing Bank and Treasury to risk £20bn to help Greensill Posted: 22 Apr 2021 01:02 PM PDT Former prime minister sent string of emails to Bank officials and argued firm should be a priority for Treasury funding David Cameron repeatedly pushed the Bank of England and the Treasury to risk up to £20bn in taxpayer cash to help Greensill Capital, just as the lender started to face "significant" financial pressure at the start of the pandemic. The UK's central bank was urged to provide support to Greensill, including by setting up a fund that would buy loans made by the financial services company and its competitors, in a string of emails to senior officials. Continue reading... |
| Malta still selling golden passports to rich stay-away ‘residents’ Posted: 23 Apr 2021 02:00 AM PDT Undercover investigation finds evidence that cash-for-passport practices revealed in Henley & Partners leak continue The Maltese government continues to sell citizenship to multimillionaires who have minimal genuine links to the country, a Guardian undercover investigation has revealed. Rich applicants are signing €1m deals in return for Maltese passports after a 12-month qualifying period, secret filming suggests, in news that will further alarm Brussels after this week's leak of documents from one of the world's largest passport brokerage firms. Continue reading... |
| Bones of Black children killed in police bombing used in Ivy League anthropology course Posted: 22 Apr 2021 11:00 PM PDT Remains of those killed in 1985 Move bombing in Philadelphia serve as 'case study' in Princeton-backed course The bones of Black children who died in 1985 after their home was bombed by Philadelphia police in a confrontation with the Black liberation group which was raising them are being used as a "case study" in an online forensic anthropology course presented by an Ivy League professor. It has emerged that the physical remains of one, or possibly two, of the children who were killed in the aerial bombing of the Move organization in May 1985 have been guarded over the past 36 years in the anthropological collections of the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton. Continue reading... |
| Asteroid’s 22m-year journey from source to Earth mapped in historic first Posted: 22 Apr 2021 04:16 PM PDT Flight path of Kalahari's six-tonne asteroid is first tracing of meteorite shedding rock to solar system origin Astronomers have reconstructed the 22m-year-long voyage of an asteroid that hurtled through the solar system and exploded over Botswana, showering meteorites across the Kalahari desert. It is the first time scientists have traced showering space rock to its source – in this case Vesta, one of largest bodies in the asteroid belt that circles the sun between Jupiter and Mars. Continue reading... |
| More than 100 asylum seekers feared dead after shipwreck off Libya Posted: 22 Apr 2021 03:49 PM PDT Dozens of bodies have been spotted near a capsized vessel which had about 130 people on board At least 120 asylum seekers are feared dead after their rubber boat capsized in stormy seas off the coast of Libya while they were attempting to reach Europe, charities and the UN migration agency say. Dozens of bodies were spotted near a capsized vessel on Thursday, which had about 130 people on board, a rescue charity said. Continue reading... |
| Missing Indonesian submarine: rescuers find unidentified object as oxygen runs low Posted: 22 Apr 2021 05:11 PM PDT Race to find missing navy vessel as authorities warn oxygen in KRI Nanggala-402 will run out within 24 hours Indonesia's president has ordered an all-out effort to find a missing submarine in a race against time to save the 53 crew, whose oxygen supply was only expected to last another 24 hours. As the US military said on Thursday that it was joining the search, the Indonesian navy said its ships had found an unidentified object at a depth of 50-100 metres (165-330ft). Continue reading... |
| Former subpostmasters expected to have names cleared after court appeal Posted: 22 Apr 2021 10:31 PM PDT Dozens appeal against convictions for theft, fraud and false accounting they claim were due to Horizon computing errors Dozens of former subpostmasters who were convicted of theft, fraud and false accounting because of the Post Office's defective Horizon accounting system are expected to finally have their names cleared. Subpostmasters' lives were "irreparably ruined", as they lost their jobs, homes and marriages after they were prosecuted by the Post Office – which knew the Fujitsu-developed IT system had "faults and bugs from the earliest days of its operation", the court of appeal heard last month. Continue reading... |
| Rape victims in south Asia still face vaginal tests, report finds Posted: 22 Apr 2021 10:00 PM PDT Unscientific 'morality' examination linked to low conviction rates and violates women's rights, says Equality Now Physical vaginal tests are still used to determine whether women and girls have been raped in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, according to a new report. The practice remains widespread in all three countries and some courts refer to the test in judgments, despite it having no scientific basis and being banned in India. Continue reading... |
| Kid, I blew up the honey: fallout from nuclear bomb tests detected in US pots Posted: 23 Apr 2021 03:00 AM PDT
Honey from several regions of the US shows traces of a radioactive element from nuclear testing that took place in the 1950s and 60s, according to a new study. The study, published in Nature Communications, reported that 68 of 122 honey samples from Maine to Florida show varying amounts of cesium-137, a relic of bomb tests conducted during the cold war. The bombs were detonated by the US and the Soviet Union on American soil from Nevada and New Mexico, the Marshall Islands and the Russian Arctic archipelago Novaya Zemlya. Continue reading... |
| Everest Covid cases shine harsh light on Nepalese decision to open mountain Posted: 23 Apr 2021 02:04 AM PDT Norwegian climber airlifted from mountain while Sherpa reported to have also tested positive The first cases of Covid-19 have been identified at Everest base camp, renewing the controversy over the decision by Nepal to open the world's highest mountain to climbers. With access from the Chinese side of Everest closed to outside climbers, and some expedition operators on the Nepalese side increasing prices, the Nepalese decision in the midst of a global pandemic has come under scrutiny. Continue reading... |
| Oxygen runs low during India’s Covid crisis – photo essay Posted: 22 Apr 2021 11:00 PM PDT As a global record for new Covid cases is set in India, hospitals are running out of vital supplies Hospitals in parts of India are using social media to beg for help finding oxygen and key equipment as the country's second Covid-19 wave continues to build, breaking global records for the most infections detected in a single day. Only two months ago, some in the vast country of more than 1.3billion people were celebrating what they thought was the end of Covid-19 after six successive months of falling caseloads. Most of the remaining restrictions on social life were removed and people again flocked to markets, cricket stadiums and religious festivals. Continue reading... |
| UK scientists find evidence of human-to-cat Covid transmission Posted: 23 Apr 2021 02:45 AM PDT Researchers in Glasgow find two cases where cats were infected by owners with coronavirus symptoms Two cases of human-to-cat transmission of Covid-19 have been identified by researchers. Scientists from the University of Glasgow found the cases of Sars-CoV-2 transmission as part of a screening programme of the feline population in the UK. The cats, of different breeds, were living in separate households and displayed mild to severe respiratory signs. Researchers believe both pets were infected by their owners, who had Covid-19 symptoms before the cats became unwell. Continue reading... |
| Perth to enter snap three-day lockdown after Covid spreads from hotel quarantine into community Posted: 23 Apr 2021 01:13 AM PDT WA premier Mark McGowan announces restrictions after Victorian man, who contracted coronavirus at the Mercure in Perth, infected a friend
Perth and Peel will enter a snap three-day lockdown from midnight Friday after a Victorian man, who tested positive to Covid-19, spent five days in the community while infectious after leaving hotel quarantine. The Western Australian premier, Mark McGowan, announced the lockdown – which will remain in place until midnight Monday – after a close contact of the Victorian man also tested positive. Continue reading... |
| ‘Damn! This is a Caravaggio!’: the inside story of an old master found in Spain Posted: 22 Apr 2021 10:00 PM PDT Art dealer Giancarlo Ciaroni attempted to buy painting listed at €1,500 for €500,000 – but discovered bewildered owners already had two offers of €3m It took all of six minutes for Massimo Pulini to realise that the small oil painting due to go under the hammer in Madrid earlier this month with a guide price of €1,500 (£1,300) could be worth millions. At 9.48pm on 24 March, Pulini, a 63-year-old professor at the Bologna Fine Arts Academy, received an email request for an evaluation. Sent by an antiques dealer and friend of Pulini's, it included a photo of a luminous oil painting of the scourged Christ. Continue reading... |
| And the winner should be … Peter Bradshaw’s predictions for the 2021 Oscars Posted: 23 Apr 2021 02:00 AM PDT Will Nomadland clean up this year? Will Anthony Hopkins get best actor? Our film critic gives the low down on the contenders for the Academy Awards Will win: Nomadland |
| New Zealand’s stance on China has deep implications for the Five Eyes alliance Posted: 22 Apr 2021 05:00 PM PDT Analysis: Country has confirmed itself the weak link in the intelligence chain it joined with the US, UK, Canada and Australia Jacinda Ardern, the New Zealand prime minister from the centre-left Labour party, has offended devotees of the Anglosphere by indicating she is not prepared to take her country into the kind of trade war with China that Australia has found itself facing. Asserting her country's sovereignty has potentially deep implications for the "Five Eyes" alliance, the intelligence sharing partnership that emerged after the second world war and blossomed in the cold war. Indeed some say New Zealand has confirmed itself as the weak link in the intelligence chain that it joined with the US, the UK, Canada, and Australia. Continue reading... |
| Mona Eltahawy: ‘Feminism is not a T-shirt or a 9 to 5 job. It’s my existence’ Posted: 23 Apr 2021 02:23 AM PDT One of the fiercest voices of Middle Eastern feminism, the author of The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls explains her mission to 'destroy patriarchy' Every morning, Mona Eltahawy carefully lines her eyes in thick kohl. "It's a ritual I gift to myself every morning," explains the 53-year-old Egyptian author, journalist and feminist activist. "Holding that brush is like being a calligrapher, and I consider lining my eyes as a way of writing a love letter to myself. It's a form of adornment, but it also connects me to my Egyptian heritage, because in ancient Egypt, men and women of all social classes wore eyeliner. It has become a kind of self-care for me since the pandemic began." We are speaking via Zoom, with Eltahawy in Montreal, where she lives with her partner. Behind her is a framed portrait of the Egyptian blogger and women's rights activist Aliaa Mahdy, by the Canadian artist Nadine Faraj. Eltahawy speaks fast, beaded earrings swinging from her ears, often pausing to run her hand through her close-cropped hair; she shaved her long red hair in May. "Red was my power before," she says, "but to signal power now, I wanted to shave it all off, to say, 'This is the pandemic me that is emerging.'" Eltahawy is not one for the unexamined life. She is likable, earnest and sincere. Continue reading... |
| ‘It reeked of hope and ambition’: 30 years of riot grrrl label Kill Rock Stars Posted: 23 Apr 2021 01:00 AM PDT Born in the Pacific north-west scene that produced grunge – but often in opposition to it – Kill Rock Stars pushed women to the front of the stage, and also gave Elliott Smith a platform In 1991, something was brewing under the constant clouds of Olympia, Washington. Young people flocked there, DIY bands formed, fanzines were scrawled with fervour, and feminist politics galvanised young women. And a record label was founded to house it all. "Everyone was in a band, usually three," remembers Tinuviel Sampson, who helped launch Kill Rock Stars (KRS) with Matthew "Slim" Moon. Forged in this underground crucible alongside grunge in nearby Seattle, the label is celebrating its 30th birthday with the covers compilation Stars Rock Kill (Rock Stars), having launched artists such as Elliott Smith, Sleater-Kinney and the Decemberists, plus the riot grrrl scene of feminist punk into the US mainstream. In many ways, the scene still feels sharply relevant: the rallying cries and on-stage monologues the riot grrrl groups voiced are issues still being fought today, including abortion rights, body autonomy and women's basic safety. Continue reading... |
| UK aid cut seen as unforced error in ‘year of British leadership’ Posted: 22 Apr 2021 09:00 PM PDT With UK hosting G7 and Cop26 this year, decision threatens Britain's status as a 'soft power' superpower Boris Johnson is said to be having "queasy second thoughts" about a long-term cut to the UK aid programme, faced both by the surprising unpopularity of the measure with his own backbenchers and the fact that most other G7 countries will come to the British-hosted summit in June increasing theirs – in the process endangering the UK status as a soft power superpower. The official government line remains not to look at the falls in aid spending but the size of the budget as a proportion of gross national income, which is still in excess of most G7 countries. The reduced £10bn budget still puts the UK third in the aid spending league table and if anyone has doubts about the UK's soft power status, the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, likes to cite an Ipsos Mori poll finding for the British Council in 2020 that found the UK was the most attractive country in the G20. Continue reading... |
| Welsh first minister accused of using lockdown easing to influence poll Posted: 23 Apr 2021 02:41 AM PDT Opponents say Mark Drakeford is 'playing politics' with timing of announcements The first minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, has insisted he is not using positive announcements about the easing of lockdown restrictions to try to win votes at next month's Welsh parliament elections. At a press conference on Friday lunchtime, Drakeford will spell out the changes, which will mean a range of indoor activities for adults and children is to be allowed earlier than expected. He will also talk about a date for when pubs, bars, cafes and restaurant could serve indoors. Continue reading... |
| Cielo review – love letter to the desert’s starry skies Posted: 22 Apr 2021 03:12 PM PDT Alison McAlpine's documentary draws out tales from locals and astronomers to evoke the magic and mystery of Chile's stargazing hotspot Cielo means "sky" in Spanish, and "heaven", too. And it's with a sense of humbled wonder at the immense mystery of it all that the Canadian film-maker Alison McAlpine casts her camera upwards in this beautiful documentary about the night sky. It's filmed at the stargazing hotspot of Chile's Atacama desert, where there is virtually no light pollution; the heavens appear to be within touching distance – as if a seam in the sky has been unpicked and the stars tumble out like diamonds. For those of us who live in urban areas, we look up from noisy streets and bright city lights to the vast emptiness of the sky. In Atacama, it's the reverse; the sky seems more alive than the earth – a bare, Martian landscape of rock and sand. With her cinematographer, Benjamín Echazarreta, McAlpine shoots some astonishing time-lapse photography, which features alongside interviews with astronomers at the European observatories in the desert and locals who eke out a living somehow. One man is a UFO photographer; he thinks that humans are more evil than the aliens and, knowing this, the aliens don't bother to land. Continue reading... |
| Japan to declare targeted state of emergency as Covid cases surge Posted: 22 Apr 2021 11:34 PM PDT Yoshihide Suga under pressure to act after sharp rise in infections in Tokyo, only months before Olympics Japan is hoping that a short blast of tough coronavirus measures will halt a recent surge in coronavirus cases, with the prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, poised to announce a targeted state of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka and two other prefectures, just three months before the Tokyo Olympics. Suga has come under pressure to take action after a sharp rise in infections in the capital, and evidence that new variants of the virus are driving serious outbreaks in Osaka and the two neighbouring prefectures of Hyogo and Kyoto. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 23 Apr 2021 03:09 AM PDT Western Australian premier Mark McGowan announces a snap three-day lockdown for Perth and Peel after coronavirus spreads from hotel quarantine. Follow the latest
As Perth and the Peel region prepares to enter lockdown for the Anzac Day long weekend, I wish you all good luck and to stay safe. We are wrapping up the blog for this evening, but here's what made the news today:
Despite one case being an 80-year-old man, the TGA says the three new cases are consistent with data from Australia and internationally that the majority of cases are observed in people under 50, and the risk of blood clots appears to be lower in older adults: While there have been some cases have been seen in this group, this also reflects that many countries are currently only using the AstraZeneca vaccine in older age groups. Although Australia has seen more cases of Covid-19 in the under-50s, hospitalisation and deaths data clearly demonstrate that the risk of serious harm from infection with Covid-19 remains much higher in over-50s, and the benefits of Covid-19 vaccination outweigh the risks. Continue reading... |
| Home Office sued by asylum seeker over baby’s death Posted: 22 Apr 2021 11:30 PM PDT Woman claims asylum housing staff ignored pleas for help when she was in pain while 35 weeks pregnant A woman whose baby died is suing the Home Office for negligence over claims that staff at her asylum accommodation refused to call an ambulance when she was pregnant and bleeding. The woman, who has asked to be named Adna, sought asylum in the UK in January 2020 after fleeing Angola. She was seven months pregnant when she was brought by police to Brigstock House asylum-support accommodation in Croydon. Continue reading... |
| ‘No country immune’ from UK’s aid cuts, says Raab Posted: 22 Apr 2021 09:26 AM PDT Foreign secretary denies that aid organisations are scared to speak out or people are going hungry The UK foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, has told MPs that "no country is immune" from the impending aid cuts, but failed to clarify when specific plans would be made public. Speaking after the release of the first details of the £4bn cuts to international aid, which have been widely criticised as "draconian" and opaque, the minister confirmed "no stand-alone" impact assessment had been carried out in individual countries but that "we identify risks we see across the board". Continue reading... |
| Protests across Malawi as mobile phone charges soar Posted: 22 Apr 2021 05:57 AM PDT Mobiles are now a luxury in world's fifth most costly place for data as cooking oil tax adds to rising prices Hundreds of people have taken to Malawi's streets to protest against rising mobile call and data charges. There were demonstrations in Lilongwe, the capital, in the city of Blantyre, and in the southern district of Mulanje on Wednesday. Continue reading... |
| The typhoon that hit my island didn’t make the news. This is what the climate crisis looks like Posted: 22 Apr 2021 07:10 PM PDT Palau was hit by Typhoon Surigae last week, but even the typhoons that don't claim lives or flatten cities are devastating for those who live through them My adopted home country of Palau, in the northern Pacific, was hit by a typhoon last week. Thankfully no one died here, though it did lead to deaths in the Philippines. The impact on Palau of Typhoon Surigae didn't make headlines overseas and this might be the first you will have heard of it. Compared to other natural disasters and other cyclones or typhoons in the Pacific, it was a relatively "good" one. But it left me shaken, exhausted and our community rattled. Continue reading... |
| 'He was like a comedian': Andrew Brown's aunt pays tribute after fatal shooting by police – video Posted: 23 Apr 2021 01:55 AM PDT Glenda Brown Thomas has paid tribute to her nephew, Andrew Brown, a day after the 42-year-old was shot dead by police in North Carolina. "He had a good laugh, a nice smile. And he had good dimples ... He did not finish school, but he did encourage his children to get a good education," she said. Brown, from Elizabeth City, was shot and killed on Wednesday by a deputy sheriff trying to serve a search warrant. An witness said Brown tried to drive away, but was shot dead in his car
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| 'My son should be burying me': Calls for police reform at Daunte Wright's funeral – video Posted: 22 Apr 2021 09:24 PM PDT Hundreds of mourners filled a Minneapolis church for the funeral of Daunte Wright after the 20-year-old was killed two weeks ago by a police officer who said she mistook her gun for a Taser. The funeral came two days after the city's streets were filed by people celebrating the conviction of a former police officer for murdering George Floyd. Civil rights leader Al Sharpton was among those who delivered a eulogy and called for police reform. 'The time has come for police to understand they're not above the law, they're to enforce the law,' he said Continue reading... |
| 'Existential crisis of our time': Joe Biden pledges to halve US emissions by 2030 – video Posted: 22 Apr 2021 10:50 AM PDT The Biden administration on Thursday pledged to slash US greenhouse gas emissions by 50%-52% from 2005 levels by 2030, a new target it hopes will spur other big emitter countries to raise their ambition to combat climate change. The goal, unveiled at the start of a two-day climate summit hosted by President Joe Biden, comes as the United States seeks to reclaim global leadership in the fight against global warming after former president Donald Trump withdrew the country from international efforts to cut emissions.
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| North Carolina: protests after police shooting of Andrew Brown – video Posted: 22 Apr 2021 05:24 AM PDT A sheriff's deputy in North Carolina shot and killed a black man while serving a search warrant, authorities have said, raising tensions over policing after the Derek Chauvin trial and Ma'Khia Bryant killing. The deputy in Elizabeth City was placed on leave pending a review by the state bureau of investigation. A witness said Brown was shot while trying to drive away Continue reading... |
| George Floyd: a landmark moment for justice in America? – video Posted: 22 Apr 2021 04:28 AM PDT The murder trial of Derek Chauvin drew the attention of the world to Minneapolis, the focal point of the Black Lives Matter movement after the murder of George Floyd. In some parts of the city people have reclaimed the streets, while others are under military occupation. With the area reeling from yet another recent police killing, Oliver Laughland and Tom Silverstone spent time with activists, lawyers, witnesses and members of the Floyd family to see how this landmark moment in American racial justice is shaping the city Continue reading... |
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