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- Covid live: Olympics could cause new variant, doctor warns; India simplifies vaccine approvals to speed up rollout
- Myanmar: fossil fuel giants cut payments to junta but gas still flows
- UK Covid live news: Matt Hancock denies Dominic Cummings’ claims he lied repeatedly
- Rapid heating of Indian Ocean worsening cyclones, say scientists
- Naomi Osaka will not speak to French Open press due to mental health impact
- Risk of further volcanic eruptions in DRC sparks exodus
- US and China hold first ‘candid’ trade talks under Biden tenure
- Kenya’s high court overturns president’s bid to amend constitution
- Macron visits Rwanda to ‘write new page’ in French relationship
- Eric Carle, The Very Hungry Caterpillar author and illustrator, dies at 91
- Monkeys adopt ‘accent’ of other species when in shared territory – study
- German scientists say they can help improve Covid vaccines to prevent blood clots
- Rapid pace of new outbreak sends Victoria into ‘circuit-breaker’ lockdown – as it happened
- Record pace of Melbourne Covid outbreak and delayed vaccine rollout blamed for Victoria lockdown
- AstraZeneca did ‘not even try’ to meet Covid vaccine contract, EU tells court
- ‘Boxing is a mess’: the darkness and damage of brain trauma in the ring
- From tribal politics to the world stage: New Zealand’s pioneering foreign minister
- After the inferno: Sierra Leone’s poorest struggle to recover from slum fire – in pictures
- ‘Accidental meat’: should carnivores embrace eating roadkill?
- Will rule of law succeed where Congress failed and hold Trump accountable?
- Tacita Dean on the pandemic: ‘We had all this free time – and I was useless!’
- Woman hit by branch when leaning out train window near Bath, inquest hears
- Miami’s chief heat officer calls for action on ‘silent killer’ in climate crisis
- Chile’s political establishment has been swept away – now there's hope for change | Kirsten Sehnbruch
- Morrison’s office consulted about staffer dismissal after Brittany Higgins made rape allegation
- German voters’ view of personal wealth causes problems for the left
- Belarus regime uses video confessions as a tool to silence dissent
- US announces plan to intensify efforts to study Covid’s origins – video
- Galápagos tortoise found alive revealed as species thought extinct 100 years ago – video
- Runner says she saw 'many with hypothermia' during deadly China ultramarathon – video
- 'Another scare story, like the swine flu': Boris Johnson refuses to deny Cummings accusation – video
- John Cena apologises for calling Taiwan a country amid Chinese backlash – video
- Belarus video confessions clearly coerced, say family – video report
- Chinese Communist party’s 100th anniversary preparations – in pictures
| Posted: 27 May 2021 02:46 AM PDT Head of Japanese doctors union warns of risk if Games go ahead; India scraps local trial requirement to boost number of jabs amid crisis
In a not entirely unexpected move, China has this morning pushed back against new moves to investigate the origins of the novel coronavirus in Wuhan. It accused the Biden administration in the US of playing politics and shirking its responsibility in calling for a renewed investigation. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a daily briefing that President Joe Biden's order showed the US "does not care about facts and truth, nor is it interested in serious scientific origin tracing."
Ireland's health minister has said it was unclear whether enough supplies of Covid-19 vaccines would arrive in the country by the end of June to meet the government's target of administering at least one dose to 82% of all adults. Half of Ireland's 3.8 million adult population will have received at least one dose by the end of this week, Stephen Donnelly told parliament. But he cautioned that there was continued uncertainty around the arrival of AstraZeneca and in particular Johnson & Johnson vaccines. |
| Myanmar: fossil fuel giants cut payments to junta but gas still flows Posted: 26 May 2021 11:51 PM PDT Total and Chevron halt some payments to military in wake of coup but advocacy groups say more needs to be done Advocacy groups have called on French fossil fuel giant Total and US company Chevron to further cut ties with Myanmar's military, after announcing they would suspend dividend payments to the junta from a large gas project in the wake of February's coup. "Total condemns the violence and human rights abuses occurring in Myanmar and reaffirms that it will comply with any decision that may be taken by the relevant international and national authorities, including applicable sanctions issued by the EU or the US authorities," the company said in a statement. Continue reading... |
| UK Covid live news: Matt Hancock denies Dominic Cummings’ claims he lied repeatedly Posted: 27 May 2021 02:49 AM PDT Latest updates: health secretary says 'unsubstantiated allegations around honesty are not true' after PM's former aide testifies about pandemic
Jeremy Hunt, the chair of the Commons health committee, says the allegations made by Dominic Cummings are serious, and as yet should be treated as "unproven". He asks if Prof Neil Fergusion was right to say the Indian variant is now dominant. (See 9.52am.)
Hancock is replying to Ashworth. He says "these unsubstantiated allegations around honesty are not true". Continue reading... |
| Rapid heating of Indian Ocean worsening cyclones, say scientists Posted: 27 May 2021 01:41 AM PDT Rising ocean temperatures caused by climate crisis increasing number of cyclones and intensity of storms, say experts India's cyclone season is being made more intense by the rapidly heating Indian Ocean, scientists have warned. Last week India was battered by Cyclone Tauktae, an unusually strong cyclone in the Arabian Sea, resulting in widespread disruption. This week, another severe storm, Cyclone Yaas, formed in the Bay of Bengal, leading to more than a million people being evacuated into safe shelters. Continue reading... |
| Naomi Osaka will not speak to French Open press due to mental health impact Posted: 26 May 2021 05:59 PM PDT
Naomi Osaka has said she will not take questions from the press at this year's French Open, saying the nature of news conferences puts an unfair burden on players' mental health. "I'm writing this to say I'm not going to do any press during Roland Garros," the four-times grand slam champion tweeted on Wednesday. "I've often felt that people have no regard for athletes' mental health and this rings true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one." Continue reading... |
| Risk of further volcanic eruptions in DRC sparks exodus Posted: 27 May 2021 01:14 AM PDT Tens of thousands of people flee Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as Nyiragongo threat rises The risk of further eruptions from the Nyiragongo volcano has led authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to order the evacuation of parts of Goma, causing an exodus of tens of thousands of people from the city. "Current data on seismicity and the deformation of the ground indicate the presence of magma under the urban area of Goma, with an extension under Lake Kivu," the local military governor, Gen Constant Ndima, said in a public address. Continue reading... |
| US and China hold first ‘candid’ trade talks under Biden tenure Posted: 27 May 2021 02:39 AM PDT Both sides emphasised importance of bilateral trade relations and agreed to further negotiations Top US and Chinese trade negotiators have held "candid" talks, their first under the Biden presidency, as Washington continues to raise concerns over Beijing's trade practices. In the long-awaited first official engagement between the US trade representative Katherine Tai and the Chinese vice-premier, Liu He, held virtually on Thursday morning Beijing time, the two sides emphasised the importance of the bilateral trade relations and agreed to further negotiations. Continue reading... |
| Kenya’s high court overturns president’s bid to amend constitution Posted: 26 May 2021 11:00 PM PDT Judges rule that Uhuru Kenyatta, who claimed BBI plan was to end country's cycle of post-election violence, overstepped his authority and can be sued The high court in Nairobi has overturned the president's three-year quest to amend Kenya's 11-year-old constitution. In a ruling heavily critical of President Uhuru Kenyatta, five judges said he had no authority to bring forward plans to create more executive positions and parliamentary constituencies. Continue reading... |
| Macron visits Rwanda to ‘write new page’ in French relationship Posted: 26 May 2021 11:42 PM PDT President to address France's role in 1994 genocide during visit aimed at normalising ties between countries The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has arrived in Rwanda to "write a new page" in the relationship between the two countries that was poisoned by France's role in the 1994 Tutsi genocide. The Élysée said the visit was important and symbolic, aimed at making "the final step" in the normalisation of Franco-Rwandan relations by finally addressing Paris's role in the slaughter. Continue reading... |
| Eric Carle, The Very Hungry Caterpillar author and illustrator, dies at 91 Posted: 27 May 2021 12:33 AM PDT Beloved children's author who inspired millions of children died at summer home in Massachusetts, say family Eric Carle, the children's author and illustrator whose classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar and other works gave millions of children some of their earliest literary memories, has died at age 91. Carle's family said he died on Sunday at his summer studio in Northampton, Massachusetts, with family members at his side. Continue reading... |
| Monkeys adopt ‘accent’ of other species when in shared territory – study Posted: 26 May 2021 10:01 PM PDT Brazilian Amazon primates found to adapt their calls to get along better with their neighbours Monkeys will use the "accent" of another species when they enter its territory to enhance communication, much like a British person living in the US might forgo their 'tomahto' for 'tomayto, researchers have found. Researchers investigated the behaviour of 15 groups of two roughly squirrel-sized primate species in the Brazilian Amazon: pied tamarins (Saguinus bicolor) and red-handed tamarins (Saguinus midas). Continue reading... |
| German scientists say they can help improve Covid vaccines to prevent blood clots Posted: 26 May 2021 02:37 PM PDT AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson jabs have caused rare blood clots but scientists say they can be redesigned to avoid problem A team of German scientists believe that they have worked out why some people given the AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines against Covid-19 develop blood clots – and claim they can tell the manufacturers how to improve the vaccine to avoid it. The key is in the adenovirus – the common cold virus that is used to deliver the spike protein of the coronavirus into the body, say Rolf Marschalek, a professor at Goethe university in Frankfurt, and colleagues. The mRNA vaccines developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna do not use this delivery system and there have been no blood clotting cases linked to them. Continue reading... |
| Rapid pace of new outbreak sends Victoria into ‘circuit-breaker’ lockdown – as it happened Posted: 27 May 2021 01:40 AM PDT Covid variant travelling at a 'super quick pace', acting premier James Merlino says, as Melbourne cases grow to 26. This blog is now closed
We're going to wind the blog down for the evening. Another big day, here are the main events:
Via AAP: Dozens of passengers have been booted off a train in outback South Australia after the Northern Territory closed its border to Melbourne and Bendigo. The Ghan train from Adelaide to Darwin was forced to make a pit stop at Marla, 970km north-west of the SA capital, on Thursday. Continue reading... |
| Record pace of Melbourne Covid outbreak and delayed vaccine rollout blamed for Victoria lockdown Posted: 26 May 2021 10:59 PM PDT Officials say a seven-day lockdown is needed because the coronavirus variant is spreading faster than contact tracers can keep up with
Victorian contact tracers are in danger of being overwhelmed by a Covid-19 outbreak "running faster than we have ever recorded", the acting Victorian premier James Merlino said as he announced a seven-day circuit-breaker lockdown. Merlino said on Thursday contact tracers were struggling to keep up despite quickly identifying more than 10,000 primary and secondary contacts and 150 potential exposure sites, as the number of positive cases linked to the cluster reached 26. Continue reading... |
| AstraZeneca did ‘not even try’ to meet Covid vaccine contract, EU tells court Posted: 26 May 2021 08:49 AM PDT Commission demands €10 per dose for each day of delay as compensation The European Commission has demanded an urgent court order requiring AstraZeneca to deliver millions more vaccines to the bloc or face a hefty fine, in a case that may reflect its anger more than its need for doses. "AstraZeneca did not even try to respect the contract," the EU's lawyer, Rafaël Jafferali, told a court in Brussels on Wednesday, saying the EU wanted €10 per dose for each day of delay as compensation for the company's alleged non-compliance. Continue reading... |
| ‘Boxing is a mess’: the darkness and damage of brain trauma in the ring Posted: 27 May 2021 12:00 AM PDT Boxing must address the damage done in the ring and a new book by Tris Dixon lays out what's left after the final bell rings The writer, the fighter, the doctor and the widow all look down into the darkness and damage of boxing. They understand the previously untold story of brain trauma in the ring and, as they talk to me, their moving testimony underpins a shared belief that change has to come. There is a measured urgency to their words for they love the fighters and they want to offer their knowledge to help make this brutal sport a little safer. Damage and death have always framed boxing. This harsh truth means that, despite the chaos outside the ring, boxing is shockingly real. It can maim and even kill but, in a strange paradox, boxing also makes most fighters feel more intensely alive than anything else. Continue reading... |
| From tribal politics to the world stage: New Zealand’s pioneering foreign minister Posted: 26 May 2021 10:07 PM PDT Nanaia Mahuta grew up surrounded by family fighting for Māori rights and has promised to bring her indigenous perspective to foreign affairs Nanaia Mahuta is sitting in her office, on the upper floors of New Zealand's parliament. It's a squally autumn day, but the sun is bright outside the window. The bookshelf behind her is filled with artefacts and mementoes, many of them gifts from around New Zealand and the Pacific. "Ask about any of them," she says. "There's a story behind each." On the lower shelf rests the carved walking stick that belonged to her late father, Sir Robert Mahuta. It was from him, and her mother, that Mahuta first learned the practice of politics. She says her earliest political memories are of her father battling the construction of the monolithic Huntly power station, when she was around eight years old. "I was grown and nurtured in an environment where tribal politics, and tribal aspirations, tribal development and opportunity through economic development was very much the norm," Mahuta says. "[It was] the discourse that we had within our household," she smiles, "and around the dinner table." Continue reading... |
| After the inferno: Sierra Leone’s poorest struggle to recover from slum fire – in pictures Posted: 27 May 2021 01:30 AM PDT A blaze ripped through the overcrowded settlement of Susan's Bay in Freetown in March, injuring hundreds. British photographer Henry Kamara, of Sierra Leone descent, documents the aftermath in this coastal community as people try to rebuild their lives Continue reading... |
| ‘Accidental meat’: should carnivores embrace eating roadkill? Posted: 27 May 2021 02:00 AM PDT My parents have been eating pheasants killed on the roads for years and encouraging me to try them. Is this the most ethical approach to meat-eating? Motorists shoot me funny looks as I sheepishly cross a scrubby verge, trying my best to conceal the dead pheasant under my arm. I am in a part of Saddleworth Moor called the Isle of Skye by locals, and have just collected a free meal from the middle of the road. Nobody can agree on how this area of moorland, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, earned its nickname. Some think it comes from a Victorian navvy, who exclaimed in a broad Irish brogue: "Look, there's an 'ole in the sky," as he considered a parting in the thick mist above him. Others think it was named after an inn of the same name. But either way, the area should be immediately renamed Pheasant Cemetery. Because, before I picked up my own bird, I counted 46 pheasant carcasses in various stages of decomposition, scattered and splattered on the road over several miles as I drove to Holmfirth for a day out. Continue reading... |
| Will rule of law succeed where Congress failed and hold Trump accountable? Posted: 26 May 2021 10:00 PM PDT If the grand jury goes against him, Trump would be the first former US president charged with a crime Standing in court, the former president pleaded not guilty to charges of financial crimes that he insists are part of a politically motivated witch hunt. Jacob Zuma, once the populist leader of South Africa, cut a humbled figure on Wednesday – and offered a potential glimpse of America's future. A similar fate for Donald Trump became significantly more likely with reports that New York prosecutors have convened a grand jury to decide whether to indict him on criminal charges. Continue reading... |
| Tacita Dean on the pandemic: ‘We had all this free time – and I was useless!’ Posted: 26 May 2021 10:00 PM PDT During lockdown, the artist made this dirty postcard and little else. Now back on track, she talks about her upcoming shows – and feeling baffled by this new 'we're all in it together' Britain "One is such a disappointment to oneself, workwise," says Tacita Dean, sadly. This seems faintly mad – Dean is one of Britain's most celebrated artists, her work dealing with the drift of time; the play of chance; the decaying of things. Three years ago, she filled three London institutions – the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery and the Royal Academy – with art, and topped it off with a show at the Fruitmarket, Edinburgh. My favourite work then was an allusive, elliptical film called Antigone, loosely based on the Theban plays of Sophocles, which excavated her own, Oedipus-like limping gait; the vaporous landscapes of Bodmin Moor and Yosemite; and a heartstopping total eclipse of the sun. Now she's back with a new installation for the Hepworth Wakefield, currently marking its 10th anniversary. So why on earth is she so disappointed in herself? Continue reading... |
| Woman hit by branch when leaning out train window near Bath, inquest hears Posted: 26 May 2021 08:39 AM PDT Bethan Roper, 28, of south Wales, was killed travelling home from Christmas shopping trip in 2018 A woman died after she was struck by an overhanging tree branch when she leant out of a train window as she travelled home after a Christmas shopping trip, an inquest has heard. Bethan Roper, 28, who worked for the Welsh Refugee Council, sustained fatal head injuries while a passenger on a Great Western Railway (GWR) train travelling at about 75mph. Continue reading... |
| Miami’s chief heat officer calls for action on ‘silent killer’ in climate crisis Posted: 27 May 2021 01:45 AM PDT Jane Gilbert urges greater federal and state response to lethal threat posed by rising temperatures Miami's new chief heat officer has called for greater federal and state action on the lethal threat posed by rising temperatures after becoming the first official in the US appointed to focus solely on heatwaves. Jane Gilbert, who has been tasked by Miami-Dade county with coordinating and accelerating efforts to protect lives from extreme heat, said that more focus was needed on what has been called the "silent killer" of the climate crisis. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 27 May 2021 01:00 AM PDT After recent elections, the country can shake off social and economic crisis, if it avoids the missteps of its neighbours In October last year, after 12 months of almost continuous protests, Chileans voted overwhelmingly in a national referendum in favour of establishing a new constitution. This result finally sounded the death knell of a constitution that was instituted by the authoritarian regime of Gen Augusto Pinochet 40 years ago. Now, Chileans have elected the members of the constituent assembly that will be charged with writing this new constitution in a democratic process, that can only be described as exemplary, held over two days last week – even though turnout was disappointingly low. Continue reading... |
| Morrison’s office consulted about staffer dismissal after Brittany Higgins made rape allegation Posted: 27 May 2021 02:11 AM PDT Meeting revealed in Senate hearing as Labor seeks answers on 10-day gap between 2019 sexual assault allegation and Liberal staffer's sacking Scott Morrison and then-special minister of state Alex Hawke were both represented at a meeting in April 2019 to discuss dismissing the Liberal staffer who Brittany Higgins has accused of sexual assault. At the 4 April 2019 meeting, revealed at a Senate estimates hearing on Thursday, finance department officials provided advice on the process to terminate the staffer's employment before the then-defence minister, Linda Reynolds, sacked him the following day. Continue reading... |
| German voters’ view of personal wealth causes problems for the left Posted: 26 May 2021 10:15 AM PDT Analysis: left-of-centre parties struggle to cut through as survey shows 'everyone thinks they are middle class' It is a country with levels of wealth inequality more similar to the US than France, and one where the richest 10% of the population already owned two-thirds of the national wealth before the pandemic further widened the gap. Yet the inequality of German society and how to fix it is likely to play a minor role in the race to September elections this year, with those parties expected to offer solutions – the centre-left Social Democratic party (SPD) and the leftwing Die Linke – struggling in the polls. Continue reading... |
| Belarus regime uses video confessions as a tool to silence dissent Posted: 26 May 2021 08:51 AM PDT Analysis: Raman Pratasevich and Sofia Sapega are just the latest to be forced into the widespread tactic The videos are formulaic: Raman Pratasevich and his girlfriend, Sofia Sapega, each sit alone in front of a camera in a police station and deliver their "confessions" as though a loaded gun is pointed at their heads. "I'm also the editor of the Telegram channel Black Book of Belarus that publishes personal information about employees of the interior ministry," said Sapega, quickly repeating a memorised statement in a video released late on Tuesday that could lead to years in jail. Continue reading... |
| US announces plan to intensify efforts to study Covid’s origins – video Posted: 27 May 2021 01:00 AM PDT Joe Biden has ordered the US intelligence community to 'redouble' its efforts studying the origins of coronavirus, adding that it will continue to press for China to participate in a full investigation. The deputy White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, confirmed the investigation would include any possibility the trail might lead to a Chinese lab. 'China wasn't transparent enough,' she said. 'We have been saying that for a very long time, that China needed to provide more access to the lab, cooperate more fully with the scientific investigators' Continue reading... |
| Galápagos tortoise found alive revealed as species thought extinct 100 years ago – video Posted: 26 May 2021 08:11 PM PDT A giant tortoise found in the Galápagos Islands has been confirmed as a species thought to be extinct a century ago. The tortoise was found in 2019 on Fernandina Island and identified as the Chelonoidis phantasticus species by scientists from Yale University. The Galápagos national park is preparing an expedition to search for more of the giant tortoises in an attempt to save the species Continue reading... |
| Runner says she saw 'many with hypothermia' during deadly China ultramarathon – video Posted: 26 May 2021 07:45 AM PDT Twenty-one runners died on Saturday when freezing temperatures, hail and high winds hit the racing route: a 62-mile (100km) stretch of mountainous trail about 3,000 metres above sea level in the Yellow River Stone Forest tourist site near Baiyin city, north-west China. Mountaineer Luo Jing comments on the conditions during the race. Family members and fellow competitors of those how died are seeking answers and accountability, as further accounts emerge of survivors' harrowing experiences Continue reading... |
| 'Another scare story, like the swine flu': Boris Johnson refuses to deny Cummings accusation – video Posted: 26 May 2021 07:38 AM PDT Boris Johnson has refused to deny that he initially dismissed coronavirus as 'another scare story' in a prime minister's questions dominated by claims made by his former chief adviser Dominic Cummings. The PMQs session took place immediately after the first two-and-a-half-hour session of testimony by Cummings to MPs, with Keir Starmer quizzing the prime minister repeatedly about the allegations
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| John Cena apologises for calling Taiwan a country amid Chinese backlash – video Posted: 26 May 2021 07:38 AM PDT The Fast & Furious star and wrestler John Cena has apologised for calling Taiwan 'a country' in an interview he gave to a Taiwanese broadcaster this month. 'I made a mistake. I love and respect Chinese people,' Cena said to his 600,000 fans on his Chinese Weibo account. The controversy began when he told the Taiwanese broadcaster TVBS in Mandarin 'Taiwan is the first country that can watch' his latest film, Fast & Furious 9. China sees Taiwan as a part of its own territory, and rejects any reference to the self-governed island as an independent state Continue reading... |
| Belarus video confessions clearly coerced, say family – video report Posted: 26 May 2021 06:15 AM PDT Belarusian authorities have released a video of Sofia Sapega, the girlfriend of the detained journalist Raman Pratasevich. The video appears to show Sapega confessing to being the editor of an anti-government channel on the social media site Telegram. Family members have said her and Pratasevich's confessions were clearly coerced. An earlier video showed Pratasevich saying police were treating him well and confessing to organising anti-government protests in Minsk Continue reading... |
| Chinese Communist party’s 100th anniversary preparations – in pictures Posted: 25 May 2021 11:00 PM PDT The Chinese Communist party is promoting a campaign to study its history before the 100th anniversary in July. 'Red' tourism to historically significant hotspots like Yan'an and Xibaipo has increased accordingly Continue reading... |
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