World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk |
- Israel warplanes target Gaza as army says rockets fired ‘non-stop’ over southern border
- Hostile UK border regime traumatises visitors from EU
- Liz Cheney: McCarthy should testify about Trump’s views on Capitol attack
- China lands unmanned spacecraft on Mars for first time
- China tornadoes kill 10, injure hundreds
- Biden makes progress on compromise effort to pass $2tn infrastructure bill
- Dingo fence to be built on Fraser Island after attacks on children
- Russia officially dubs US and Czech Republic ‘unfriendly’ states
- UK must reverse aid cuts ‘as soon as possible’ to help educate girls – Julia Gillard
- AOC says Marjorie Taylor Greene is ‘deeply unwell’ after 2019 video surfaces
- California woman may have washed $26m lottery fortune down the drain
- Coronavirus: England to continue lockdown easing despite India variant fears; Taiwan raises Covid alert; Australia runs first repatriation flight from India
- Australian government urged to have standby system in place for next repatriation flight from India
- Proud Boys leader received Covid-19 stimulus loans worth $15,500
- India variant could seriously disrupt lifting of lockdown, says Boris Johnson
- ‘He grabbed the lead and said: give me the dog’: can pet detectives stop the rise in animal theft?
- Relief, reluctance and confusion: New Yorkers react to mask-free guidance
- Heir of desperation as Japan wrestles with looming royal succession crisis
- UK rapper Enny: ‘Black women are beautiful. They don’t get told that enough’
- Blind date: ‘He said, “Do you want to get married”’
- ‘Have a little empathy’: Bali tires of badly behaved foreign influencers
- Cabinet Office blocks publication of Lord Mountbatten’s diaries
- Booking a holiday outside the UK? Here’s what you need to know
- ‘Sad and so unfair’: Palestinian Americans celebrate a painful Eid
- ‘Beavers are just being beavers’: friction grows between Canadians and animals
- Taiwan records 180 new cases in island’s worst Covid outbreak of pandemic
- Victorian treasurer takes swipe at ‘elitist’ men’s only clubs as budget lifts property taxes
- Iranian asylum seeker cleared of Channel smuggling charges
- Rights group fear for migrant activist ‘disappeared’ in Qatar
- India variant could lead to serious third wave of Covid in UK
- What is the current Israel-Gaza crisis about and where is it heading?
- Johnson: India Covid variant could jeopardise June reopening – video
- Gaza residents flee homes as Israeli attacks intensify – video report
- Wild boar corner Italian woman and steal her food shopping – video
- Israel-Gaza violence: Rashida Tlaib tearful as she addresses US Congress – video
| Israel warplanes target Gaza as army says rockets fired ‘non-stop’ over southern border Posted: 14 May 2021 09:34 PM PDT Twelve Palestinians killed as US envoy arrives in Israel as part of mediation efforts Israeli fighter jets have hit targets in central Gaza, the military said on Saturday, and Palestinian militants fired rockets in retaliation after a day of deadly violence rocked the West Bank and unrest persisted inside Israel. Israel's air force struck several sites, including a house in Gaza City where at least 12 Palestinians were killed. Health officials in Gaza said a woman and her three children were among the dead after their house was hit in a refugee camp, Reuters reported. Continue reading... |
| Hostile UK border regime traumatises visitors from EU Posted: 14 May 2021 07:22 AM PDT Italian woman visiting family was locked up in detention centre as they waited at the airport, Guardian told Britain's hostile regime for potential EU migrants is traumatising visitors caught in its web and provoking further worries for European families receiving visits from relatives, according to accounts provided to the Guardian. The slightest suspicion that someone may be entering Britain to work is often enough for them to be locked up, held at detention centres for up to a week and then expelled to wherever they have travelled from, some of those caught up by the policy have said. Complaints from relatives and host families in the UK have either gone unanswered or been ignored by the Home Office and some local MPs, they say. Continue reading... |
| Liz Cheney: McCarthy should testify about Trump’s views on Capitol attack Posted: 14 May 2021 03:31 PM PDT Lawmakers agree to create bipartisan commission to investigate breach but questions remain over GOP support The Republican House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, should testify before the commission to investigate the 6 January Capitol attack, the Wyoming representative Liz Cheney said on Friday, because he has "said publicly that he's got information about the president's state of mind that day". Related: 'It's hard to look at': Donald Trump makes National Portrait Gallery debut Continue reading... |
| China lands unmanned spacecraft on Mars for first time Posted: 14 May 2021 06:10 PM PDT State-run media says landing 'spectacularly conquered' a new milestone; it joins US Perseverance rover which landed in February An unmanned Chinese spacecraft has successfully landed on the surface of Mars, Chinese state news agency Xinhua has reported, making China the second space-faring nation after the US to land on the red planet. The official Xinhua news agency said the lander had touched down on Saturday, citing the China National Space Administration. Continue reading... |
| China tornadoes kill 10, injure hundreds Posted: 14 May 2021 10:27 PM PDT State media says at least six people died in the inland city of Wuhan, where Covid-19 first emerged in late 2019 Back-to-back tornadoes killed at least 10 people in central and eastern China and left more than 300 others injured, officials and state media have reported. Six people died in the inland city of Wuhan and four others in the town of Shengze, about 400km (250 miles) east, in Jiangsu province, local government statements said. Continue reading... |
| Biden makes progress on compromise effort to pass $2tn infrastructure bill Posted: 15 May 2021 02:00 AM PDT President has held one-on-one meetings with members of both parties – but will Republicans torpedo his proposals? Joe Biden has vowed to make every effort to work with Republicans until progress is impossible. Right now, he and conservative lawmakers see an infrastructure bill as still within the realm of possibility. If so, it would mark a significant step forwards for Biden in passing a large part of his legislative agenda aimed at sparking the recovery of the pandemic-hit US economy. Biden's team has consciously drawn comparisons to Franklin Delano Roosevelt's effort to lift America out of the Great Depression through government programs and big public works projects. Continue reading... |
| Dingo fence to be built on Fraser Island after attacks on children Posted: 14 May 2021 09:10 PM PDT The Queensland government will spend $2m on a fence around Orchid Beach to protect visitors from the native dingo population A new fence is to be built around a township on Queensland's Fraser Island after several dingo attacks on children. The state government will spend $2m on the fence around Orchid Beach on the north-east of Fraser Island, which is also known as K'gari. Continue reading... |
| Russia officially dubs US and Czech Republic ‘unfriendly’ states Posted: 14 May 2021 12:01 PM PDT Government says US missions can no longer hire local staff following law Putin signed last month The Russian government has officially deemed the United States and the Czech Republic "unfriendly" states, and announced that US diplomatic missions could no longer employ local staff while Czech missions could employ a maximum of 19. Moscow first announced the ban on the US hiring local staff last month as part of its retaliation for a slew of new US sanctions against Russia for interfering in the 2020 US presidential election and for involvement in the SolarWind hack of US federal agencies. Continue reading... |
| UK must reverse aid cuts ‘as soon as possible’ to help educate girls – Julia Gillard Posted: 14 May 2021 11:00 PM PDT Former Australian PM wants Boris Johnson to make 'ambitious pledge' to support girls at Kenyan summit The former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard has called for Britain to return its aid budget to pre-cuts levels "as soon as possible". Gillard, who now campaigns for education in lower-income countries as chair of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), said she wanted the British government to step up with an "ambitious pledge" for global education when it co-hosts the G7 summit next month. Continue reading... |
| AOC says Marjorie Taylor Greene is ‘deeply unwell’ after 2019 video surfaces Posted: 14 May 2021 12:47 PM PDT The progressive representative says the Republican extremist's behavior has 'raised concerns' among Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has said the Republican extremist Marjorie Taylor Greene has a "fixation" on progressive members of Congress, and warned that Greene's behavior has "raised concerns" among Democrats. Greene, a Trump loyalist and a promoter of the QAnon conspiracy theory, was elected to the House in 2020, and has spent her first months in office harassing Ocasio-Cortez and other progressive Democrats. Continue reading... |
| California woman may have washed $26m lottery fortune down the drain Posted: 14 May 2021 10:31 AM PDT
The winner of a $26m California lottery prize may have literally washed the chance of a fortune down the drain. Related: Shelter releases 1,000 feral cats on to Chicago streets to combat rat crisis Continue reading... |
| Posted: 15 May 2021 02:08 AM PDT China cancels spring Everest climbing season from Tibetan side while Portugal to reopen to UK tourists from Monday
Thailand has planned to allow restaurants to resume dine-in services in its capital, Bangkok, a senior official has said, but opening hours and the number of diners will be limited as the country faces a third wave of infections. Since April, Thailand has faced its deadliest coronavirus outbreak. Thailand reported 3,095 new coronavirus cases and 17 deaths today, bringing total cases to 99,145 and 565 deaths. Of the new cases, 1,163 were in Bangkok. Restaurants in dark red zones like Bangkok will be allowed to reopen for dine-in services but at a limited capacity of 25% and will have to close at 9pm (1400 GMT), said Taweesin Wisanuyothin, a coronavirus taskforce spokesman. Restaurants in dark red zones, which have the highest risk of infection and the strictest restrictions, could previously only open for delivery.
In the UK, government ministers are pushing ahead with a major easing of restrictions on Monday despite concerns over the so-called Indian variant of coronavirus, as they were criticised for allowing the strain's import. Boris Johnson was sticking with plans to allow mixing indoors and greater physical contact in England as scientists warned the strain could be 50% more transmissible than the variant first detected in Kent. Health minister Edward Argar said on Saturday that the government was acting "coolly" and "calmly" in carrying on with step three in the road map to ending lockdown restrictions. However, the British Medical Association (BMA) said the move is a "real worry" while many are still awaiting vaccination. Continue reading... |
| Australian government urged to have standby system in place for next repatriation flight from India Posted: 15 May 2021 01:01 AM PDT Indian community leaders call on officials to do more to avoid a repeat of the scores of empty seats on the first post-ban flight The Australian government needs to do more to avoid a repeat of the scores of seats left empty on the first post-ban repatriation flight from virus-ravaged India, one community leader has said. Eighty Australians touched down in Darwin on Saturday morning and were moved to the Howard Springs quarantine facility on the city's outskirts. Continue reading... |
| Proud Boys leader received Covid-19 stimulus loans worth $15,500 Posted: 14 May 2021 01:17 PM PDT Enrique Tarrio received two paycheck protection program loans intended for small businesses, for 'security systems services' Government records show that Enrique Tarrio, chairman of the far-right Proud Boys group, received two federal government-backed paycheck protection program (PPP) loans worth a total of $15,500, the Guardian can reveal. Tarrio, based in Miami, Florida, was approved for an initial loan of $7,750 on 30 March, and a succeeding loan for the same amount on 16 April. The loans were issued to Henry Tarrio, an anglicized form of his name which he has used on other occasions. Continue reading... |
| India variant could seriously disrupt lifting of lockdown, says Boris Johnson Posted: 14 May 2021 11:00 AM PDT PM announces acceleration of Covid vaccine programme, saying race could become a 'great deal tighter' The final stage of the lifting of coronavirus lockdown restrictions across England could face "serious disruption" due to the India variant, the prime minister has warned, as he announced plans to accelerate the vaccine programme to curb its spread. Boris Johnson said the gap between the first and second Covid jab would be cut from 12 weeks to eight for all over-50s and the clinically vulnerable, admitting: "The race between our vaccine programme and the virus may be about to become a great deal tighter." Continue reading... |
| ‘He grabbed the lead and said: give me the dog’: can pet detectives stop the rise in animal theft? Posted: 15 May 2021 12:00 AM PDT Dogs are more valuable than ever – which is why so many are being snatched. But some owners and pet detectives are fighting back The village of Partridge Green in West Sussex on a gorgeous spring morning. The early mist has burnt off; a wood pigeon coos; a flurry of pink snow falls from a showy cherry tree; outside the butcher's, an orderly, socially distanced queue has formed; a chap out for a morning spin motors along the high street in his vintage MG. It is, as my companion, Colin Butcher, says, a scene straight out of Midsomer Murders. There are no murders today in Partridge Green, but it is a crime scene, and the crime is one that appears to be sweeping the nation. Butcher – ex-police (you can tell), then private investigator, now company director and chief investigator of The UK Pet Detectives – is on the case. He steps from his Range Rover wearing a fleece with an official-looking badge and "UKPD" emblazoned across the back; a twist on NYPD, except PD stands for Pet Detective. "I know the impact of seeing that UKPD – it's such an international sign," he says later, putting the jacket on before knocking at an address linked to his main suspect. Continue reading... |
| Relief, reluctance and confusion: New Yorkers react to mask-free guidance Posted: 15 May 2021 02:00 AM PDT The CDC says people who have been vaccinated no longer have to wear face coverings in public – but not all are enthusiastic When the CDC announced this week that people fully vaccinated against Covid-19 mostly didn't have to wear masks indoors, many Americans saw this news as cause for celebration, feeling a sense of freedom after 15 months of itchy and cumbersome face coverings. But in New York City, which was the US's first coronavirus hotspot last spring, not everyone was rushing to rip off their masks, despite the official OK to do so. Continue reading... |
| Heir of desperation as Japan wrestles with looming royal succession crisis Posted: 14 May 2021 09:00 PM PDT Experts convened to consider changing male-only succession laws amid preponderance of women in the royal family A panel of experts has begun talks on addressing the shortage of heirs to the Japanese imperial throne, as a poll showed that four in five members of the public are comfortable with the idea of women becoming reigning empresses. Solving the succession crisis has taken on greater urgency due to a scarcity of males in the world's oldest monarchy and the abdication, for health reasons, of Emperor Akihito. Continue reading... |
| UK rapper Enny: ‘Black women are beautiful. They don’t get told that enough’ Posted: 15 May 2021 12:00 AM PDT Her track Peng Black Girls was a love letter to womanhood, and a huge lockdown hit. Now the rising south-London star is ready for her closeup. Photography by Suki Dhanda. Styling by Barbara Ayozie Fu Safira. In the depths of a bleak Covid winter, very few of us were feeling peng. With Zoom meetings and state-mandated daily walks our only form of socialising, there was little to dress up for, and few opportunities for us to feel beautiful. Related: The Guide: Staying In – sign up for our home entertainment tips Continue reading... |
| Blind date: ‘He said, “Do you want to get married”’ Posted: 14 May 2021 10:00 PM PDT Katie, 25, branding and innovation consultant, meets Jack, 30, actor What were you hoping for? |
| ‘Have a little empathy’: Bali tires of badly behaved foreign influencers Posted: 14 May 2021 01:00 PM PDT Tourists threaten the island's economic recovery by ignoring Covid protocols, including refusing to wear masks and even making a porn film A Russian Instagrammer who launched his motorbike off a dock, crashing into the sea. Two YouTube pranksters who fooled a supermarket guard with drawn-on face masks, violating the island's health rules. A couple allegedly filming porn on a sacred mountain. Bali has hosted a range of badly behaved influencers during the pandemic. And now it's had enough. Continue reading... |
| Cabinet Office blocks publication of Lord Mountbatten’s diaries Posted: 15 May 2021 12:49 AM PDT University of Southampton spends 'hundreds of thousands' on legal battle preventing access due to government veto When the diaries and letters of Lord and Lady Mountbatten were "saved for the nation" in 2010, it should have created an invaluable public resource. Instead, a writer has spent four years and £250,000 of his own money in an ongoing – but still frustrated – attempt to force Southampton University and the Cabinet Office to allow the public to view them. The university bought the Broadlands archive, named after the Mountbattens' Grade I-listed house, for £2.8m in 2010, attracting funding by stating it would "preserve the collection in its entirety for future generations to use and enjoy" and "ensure public access". Continue reading... |
| Booking a holiday outside the UK? Here’s what you need to know Posted: 14 May 2021 11:00 PM PDT British travellers face challenges this year not only from the Covid crisis, but also the effects of Brexit. Here's the lowdown Holidaymakers in England, Scotland and Wales have been given the green light for trips abroad. Travel is restricted to a small number of countries but the early signs are that they are proving popular with those desperate for a change of scene – this week Tui announced it would be putting on bigger planes to meet demand for trips to Portugal. Bookings for flights to the island of Madeira rose by 625% straight after the green list of countries was announced, according to the website Skyscanner, while demand for Gibraltar leapt by 335%. For most people, this will be the first trip abroad since the UK's post-Brexit transition period ended. Here's our guide to booking a trip in the time of Covid and after the time of the EU. Continue reading... |
| ‘Sad and so unfair’: Palestinian Americans celebrate a painful Eid Posted: 14 May 2021 11:00 PM PDT The violence in Gaza and Jerusalem has made the conclusion to the Muslim holy month a somber event for many The sound of the call to prayer resonated through Astoria Park in Queens, New York, on an Eid that saw sunny weather and an opportunity for human connection after a year spent apart during the pandemic. The conclusion to the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is usually marked with a celebratory breakfast, new clothes, and a chorus of "Eid Mubaraks" and "Alhamdulillahs." Continue reading... |
| ‘Beavers are just being beavers’: friction grows between Canadians and animals Posted: 14 May 2021 03:15 AM PDT Beavers cause internet outages, steal posts and even put 30 sq km of a town underwater – but experts say the animals have a profound effect on ecosystems At first, the theft of wooden fence posts seemed like a crime of opportunity – amid soaring lumber costs, stacks of wood have gone missing from construction sites across North America. But officers in the Canadian prairie community of Porcupine Plain, Saskatchewan, soon identified the culprit: local beavers had stolen the posts to build their dam. Continue reading... |
| Taiwan records 180 new cases in island’s worst Covid outbreak of pandemic Posted: 14 May 2021 11:07 PM PDT New restrictions, including a mandate on mask-wearing and limits on gatherings in the capital, Taipei, will stay in place for two weeks Taiwan has reported 180 new cases of Covid-19 as it rushes to contain the worst outbreak the island has seen since the pandemic began. Authorities have raised the alert level in Taipei and the neighbouring county of New Taipei, limiting family gatherings, and ordering numerous industries to close. Taiwan has been one of the world's pandemic success stories, and its case numbers remain low relative to outbreaks around the world. But Saturday's cases, which bring its total number so far to about 1,470 among a population of 24 million, mark the highest rates of community transmission since the pandemic began. Until now almost all of Taiwan's cases were detected in new arrivals held in hotel quarantine. Continue reading... |
| Victorian treasurer takes swipe at ‘elitist’ men’s only clubs as budget lifts property taxes Posted: 15 May 2021 01:35 AM PDT Tim Pallas announces plans to strip single-gender social clubs of land tax concessions traditionally afforded to charities The Victorian government has taken a swipe at exclusive men's only clubs, announcing plans to strip them of land tax concessions traditionally afforded to charities and social associations. Victoria's treasurer, Tim Pallas, is preparing to deliver the state's 2021 budget next Thursday, and staring down an eye-watering bill from the devastating Covid-19 second wave. In order to raise revenue Pallas has announced new land tax measures, expect to bring in an extra $2.7bn over the next four years. Continue reading... |
| Iranian asylum seeker cleared of Channel smuggling charges Posted: 14 May 2021 08:25 AM PDT Man who took turn steering boat 'because he didn't want to die' freed, with case opening way for others to appeal their sentences An asylum seeker jailed on smuggling charges for helping to steer a boat filled with migrants from France to England has had his conviction overturned at a retrial after spending 17 months in jail. Lawyers and campaigners say the verdict could lead to other migrants currently in jail on smuggling charges being freed, allowing the Home Office policy of prosecuting asylum seekers who play a role in piloting boats across the Channel to be challenged more widely. Continue reading... |
| Rights group fear for migrant activist ‘disappeared’ in Qatar Posted: 14 May 2021 05:54 AM PDT Malcolm Bidali, a Kenyan who blogged about migrant workers' plight, detained by Qatari security services A Kenyan security guard in Qatar who has written about the plight of migrant workers has been "forcibly disappeared", human rights group say. Malcolm Bidali was detained by the Qatari security services over a week ago and is being held in an undisclosed location, according to a coalition of rights groups, which include Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Continue reading... |
| India variant could lead to serious third wave of Covid in UK Posted: 14 May 2021 08:58 AM PDT Analysis: If B.1.617.2 proves highly transmissible, hospitalisations could peak again, models show It was all looking so good. After a brutal second wave in the winter, the lockdown combined with the swift rollout of vaccines forced infections, hospitalisations and deaths down to levels not seen since last summer. The vaccines performed better than expected, not only in preventing deaths, but in hampering the spread of the virus. Scientific advisers were confident about England's cautious roadmap back to a life more normal: the worst, it seemed, was over. Now, those same advisers are deeply worried that the new variant of concern from India, B.1.617.2, could undermine the hard-won achievement. The government strategy has been to ease restrictions as vaccines reach more people, aiming for a delicate balance that opens up society while preventing another wave that overwhelms the NHS. Continue reading... |
| What is the current Israel-Gaza crisis about and where is it heading? Posted: 14 May 2021 05:50 AM PDT Analysis: A series of combustible events coincided dangerously to trigger worst violence in years The current crisis between Israelis and Palestinians, like so many before, has complex roots in the foundation of Israel in 1948 and after the six-day war in 1967 when Israel captured then Arab-controlled parts of Jerusalem, including the Old City and its holy sites. Continue reading... |
| Johnson: India Covid variant could jeopardise June reopening – video Posted: 14 May 2021 10:25 AM PDT The Indian Covid variant could pose a threat to England's roadmap out of lockdown, Boris Johnson warned, as he announced that second vaccinations for the over-50s would be accelerated to combat its spread. 'The race between our vaccination programme and the virus may be about to become a great deal tighter,' the prime minister said. While he insisted the planned easing of restrictions on 17 May would go ahead as planned, Johnson said, 'This new variant could pose a serious disruption to our progress'
|
| Gaza residents flee homes as Israeli attacks intensify – video report Posted: 14 May 2021 08:14 AM PDT Israeli ground and air forces have attacked targets in Gaza, forcing residents to flee their homes, in a significant escalation during the worst bout of fighting for seven years. Red flames illuminated the skies above Gaza in the early hours of Friday as the deafening blasts from the outskirts of Gaza City, which lies about a mile from the frontier, jolted people awake
|
| Wild boar corner Italian woman and steal her food shopping – video Posted: 14 May 2021 04:15 AM PDT A group of wild boar surrounded a woman who had just come out of a supermarket near Rome and stole her shopping, rekindling a debate about the animal's presence in Italian towns and cities. A video posted on social media shows the boar pursuing the woman in a supermarket car park in the village of Le Rughe before raiding the shopping bag she is forced to drop. Italian farmers have protested in recent years about wild boar wreaking havoc on their land and causing fatal road accidents Continue reading... |
| Israel-Gaza violence: Rashida Tlaib tearful as she addresses US Congress – video Posted: 14 May 2021 04:02 AM PDT Members of the US Congress have responded as the deadly hostilities in Israel and Gaza entered a fifth day with no sign of abating. Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian-American congresswoman who has been critical of Israeli policy towards the Palestinians, questioned the US government's 'unconditional support' of Israel and, often tearing up as she spoke, accused Israel of being an 'apartheid state'. Earlier in the day Joe Biden said there had 'not been a significant overreaction' by Israel to the Hamas rocket attacks and Ted Deutch and Debbie Wasserman Schultz spoke in the House in support of Israel's 'right to defend her citizens'. Meanwhile Ilhan Omar said: 'Instead of condemning blatant crimes against humanity and human rights abuses, many members of Congress have instead fallen back on a blanket statement defending Israel's airstrikes against civilians under the guise of self-defence.' Continue reading... |
| You are subscribed to email updates from World news | The Guardian. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
Posting Komentar