World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk |
- Tonga says volcanic eruption and tsunami an ‘unprecedented disaster’
- US Capitol attack committee subpoenas Rudy Giuliani and other Trump lawyers
- Tory MPs openly discuss Johnson challenge as mood ‘turns dramatically’
- Shock in Colombia over murder of 14-year-old indigenous activist
- Witness willing to testify she saw Prince Andrew with a ‘young girl’ at London nightclub
- Donald Trump’s former attorney general William Barr to publish his memoirs
- US and Russia to hold talks on Ukraine in potential sign ‘diplomacy is not dead’
- Hong Kong to kill thousands of hamsters after Covid found on 11
- Millionaires call on governments worldwide to ‘tax us now’
- Ashling Murphy: Irish police arrest man on suspicion of teacher’s murder
- Paris goes in search of its lost looks with ‘manifesto for beauty’
- New Zealand closes borders to new arrivals over ‘unprecedented’ Omicron risk
- Covid news live: England expected to ease Omicron restrictions; WHO chief says pandemic is ‘nowhere near over’
- ‘I put my arms around her’: doctor’s story captures anger at No 10 parties
- ‘A voice like Sinatra’: Berlusconi woos backers in bid for Italian presidency
- Memories of office life: I demanded a decent cup of tea – and sparked a workplace feud
- ‘Gunmen were looking for my mum’: daughter of Afghan ex-radio boss
- ‘This alert is her scream’: new system would help locate missing Indigenous women
- Microsoft’s Activision plan shows gaming will be at heart of metaverse
- ‘It’s mind-boggling’: the hidden cost of our obsession with fish oil pills
- Blackhaine: the bleak, brilliant Lancashire rapper-dancer hired by Kanye West
- Northern leaders to put culture at centre of region’s post-pandemic recovery
- France reports nearly half a million new cases, a record increase; Italy records 228,179 daily infections – as it happened
- Israeli citizens targeted by police using Pegasus spyware, report claims
- How an ancient rainmaker inspired a quest to nurture female writers in Malawi
- Oklahoma pastor faces criticism for rubbing spit on parishioner’s face
- The Guardian view on China’s baby bust: let people choose | Editorial
- Australia news live update: 42,000 Covid rapid tests stolen in NSW; Victoria reduces booster window to three months as case surge continues
- ‘We live and die by it’: climate crisis threatens Bangladesh’s Sundarbans
- Women behind the lens: ‘She was too beautiful not to be photographed’
- ‘She chopped her hair off’: Pakistani women’s struggle to play cricket
- Medics in Tigray plead with Ethiopia for insulin airlift as supplies run out
- Capitol attack panel grapples with moving inquiry forward: to subpoena or not?
- Rwanda’s history of receiving deportees raises concerns for potential UK scheme
- ‘Florida’s Trump’: DeSantis focusing on nonexistent issues as election looms, critics say
- Iran nuclear talks deadlock risks dangerous vacuum
- Tongans in Australia fear the worst amid a void in communications after tsunami – video
- 'I was brainwashed': Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik appears before parole hearing – video
- 'Do not celebrate. Legislate': Martin Luther King family on voting rights – video
- Tonga’s volcano eruption: in pictures
- Tonga volcano: smoke and lightning seen before eruption that caused tsunami – video
- Joe Biden says Texas synagogue siege was an 'act of terror' – video
- How does a cougar cross a freeway – in pictures
| Tonga says volcanic eruption and tsunami an ‘unprecedented disaster’ Posted: 18 Jan 2022 09:36 AM PST Government issues first official update since huge blast on Saturday, saying death toll could rise Tonga is facing an "unprecedented disaster" from a massive volcanic eruption that covered the nation in ash and 15-metre tsunami waves that destroyed almost all the homes on two small islands, the government has said. Hampered by a communications breakdown caused by the severing of a major undersea cable, authorities had not released an official update since the blast on Saturday, when the Pacific island nation was shaken by what may have been the largest volcanic event in three decades. Continue reading... |
| US Capitol attack committee subpoenas Rudy Giuliani and other Trump lawyers Posted: 18 Jan 2022 03:41 PM PST House special committee demands documents and testimony from 'war room' team involved in effort to overturn election result The US congressional committee investigating the Capitol attack has issued a blitz of subpoenas to some of Donald Trump's top lawyers – including Rudy Giuliani – as it examines whether the former president oversaw a criminal conspiracy on 6 January 2021. The House panel subpoenaed four of Trump's legal team on Tuesday: the former president's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and his associate Boris Epshteyn, as well as Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis, who all defended Trump's baseless voter fraud claims as he attempted to overturn the election result. Continue reading... |
| Tory MPs openly discuss Johnson challenge as mood ‘turns dramatically’ Posted: 18 Jan 2022 02:36 PM PST MPs from across party confident of enough letters to trigger leadership contest after Sue Gray's report The mood of Conservative MPs was hardening against Boris Johnson on Tuesday night, with open talk of how to oust the prime minister and who should succeed him as he gave a disastrous interview claiming not to have lied over Downing Street parties. A string of Tory MPs from various ranks and wings of the party said they believed there would be enough letters to trigger a leadership contest after the publication of the Sue Gray report into allegations of lockdown breaches, with some reports on Tuesday night that it could come sooner. Continue reading... |
| Shock in Colombia over murder of 14-year-old indigenous activist Posted: 18 Jan 2022 12:35 PM PST Breiner David Cucuñame was shot dead while on patrol with the unarmed group Indigenous Guard A 14-year old indigenous activist has been murdered in Colombia, prompting horror and shock at the latest in a spate of killings of environmentalists and social leaders in the South American country. Breiner David Cucuñame was shot dead on Friday while on patrol with the Indigenous Guard, an unarmed group which seeks to protect indigenous lands from incursions by the country's many armed groups. Continue reading... |
| Witness willing to testify she saw Prince Andrew with a ‘young girl’ at London nightclub Posted: 18 Jan 2022 06:45 AM PST Virginia Giuffre's lawyers seek her statement to counter the royal's insistence he has never met their client or visited the club A woman who may have seen Prince Andrew with Virginia Giuffre at a London nightclub 20 years ago is "willing" to provide testimony in Giuffre's civil lawsuit against the royal, whom she accuses of sexual abuse, the witness's lawyer said. "I am proud to represent Shukri Walker, who has bravely stepped forward as a witness and encourages others who may have information to do so as well," the lawyer Lisa Bloom said in an email. Continue reading... |
| Donald Trump’s former attorney general William Barr to publish his memoirs Posted: 18 Jan 2022 02:54 PM PST The book, to be published in March, will divulge details from his tenure as attorney general for George HW Bush and Trump William Barr, Donald Trump's second attorney general and perceived "hatchet man" until he split from the former president over his lies about election fraud, will publish his memoirs in March. HarperCollins, the publisher of One Damn Thing After Another: Memoirs of an Attorney General, promised a "vivid and forthright" read on Barr's long career in law and conservative politics, in which he was first attorney general under George HW Bush. Continue reading... |
| US and Russia to hold talks on Ukraine in potential sign ‘diplomacy is not dead’ Posted: 18 Jan 2022 04:43 PM PST US secretary of state Tony Blinken to meet with foreign minister Sergei Lavrov amid fears of Russian attack on Ukraine The US and Russian foreign ministers will hold talks in Geneva on Friday in a development that a US official said suggested that "perhaps diplomacy is not dead" in the efforts to fend off a new Russian attack on Ukraine. With the White House warning that such an attack could come "at any time", the US secretary of state, Tony Blinken, will fly to Kyiv on Wednesday and Berlin on Thursday to consult with the Ukrainian government and European allies before the meeting the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov. It comes as Nato also offered Russia a fresh round of talks. Continue reading... |
| Hong Kong to kill thousands of hamsters after Covid found on 11 Posted: 18 Jan 2022 02:27 AM PST Authorities call for animals to be surrendered for 'disposal' after traces of virus detected at pet shop Hong Kong has ordered thousands of hamsters be surrendered for "disposal" after traces of Covid-19 were found on 11 animals in a pet shop. The order includes pets that were bought days before Christmas be handed over, with a warning not to "kiss or abandon them on the street" as Hong Kong and mainland China attempt to sustain a zero Covid strategy, attempting to suppress all outbreaks internally while maintaining tight border controls with the outside world. Continue reading... |
| Millionaires call on governments worldwide to ‘tax us now’ Posted: 18 Jan 2022 04:01 PM PST Group of 102 wealthy people say tax would help tackle gulf between rich and poor More than 100 members of the global super-rich called on Wednesday for governments around the world to "tax us now" to help pay for the pandemic response and tackle the gulf between rich and poor. The group of 102 millionaires and billionaires, including Disney heiress Abigail Disney, said the current tax system is rigged in their favour and needs to be rewritten to make taxation fairer for hard-working people and restore trust in politics. Pay for the Health and Social Care Levy twice over every year – eliminating the need to raise national insurance on working people. Cover the salaries of an additional 50,000 new nurses. Pay for the permanent increase of universal credit. Build 35,000 affordable houses and retrofit the UK's draughtiest homes to reduce the cost of energy bills and help fight the climate crisis. Continue reading... |
| Ashling Murphy: Irish police arrest man on suspicion of teacher’s murder Posted: 18 Jan 2022 09:53 AM PST Suspect in his 30s was detained after being treated for unexplained injuries in a Dublin hospital Irish police investigating the death of Ashling Murphy have arrested a man in his 30s on suspicion of murder. Murphy, a primary school teacher, was strangled on a canal path near the town of Tullamore while out jogging last Wednesday afternoon. Her funeral was held on Tuesday. Continue reading... |
| Paris goes in search of its lost looks with ‘manifesto for beauty’ Posted: 18 Jan 2022 11:13 AM PST City leaders concede 'trashed Paris' campaign has a point and commit to beautification Paris city authorities have published a "manifesto for beauty" containing plans to spruce up the City of Lights, where an online campaign highlighting ugliness and filth has piled pressure on mayor Anne Hidalgo. Deputy mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said that several recent initiatives from the Socialist-Green alliance that runs the capital would be scrapped, including allowing Parisians to plant their own gardens on public space. Continue reading... |
| New Zealand closes borders to new arrivals over ‘unprecedented’ Omicron risk Posted: 18 Jan 2022 04:32 PM PST Citizens blocked from returning home after minister Chris Hipkins halts release of space in quarantine rooms, saying facilities are under 'extreme pressure' New Zealand has temporarily cut off the only pathway home for overseas citizens and visa holders, citing the risk of the Omicron variant. Officials announced on Tuesday evening that new spaces in the country's managed isolation and quarantine system (MIQ) would not be released. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 18 Jan 2022 05:25 PM PST British PM set to relax Plan B Covid measures, ending the use of vaccine certificates and work-from-home guidance; the narrative that Omicron is a mild disease is misleading, WHO says
The Covid pandemic is far from over, the World Health Organization chief has said, cautioning against a narrative that the Omicron variant is risk-free. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in a press conference from the WHO's headquarters in Geneva on Tuesday: This pandemic is nowhere near over. Omicron may be less severe, on average, but the narrative that it is a mild disease is misleading," he said. Continue reading... |
| ‘I put my arms around her’: doctor’s story captures anger at No 10 parties Posted: 18 Jan 2022 09:24 AM PST Prit Buttar, who tweeted about comforting grieving woman, says he wanted to show difference in experience between ordinary people and Downing Street When Dr Prit Buttar, a retired GP, decided to break social distancing rules and offer his embrace to a bereaved woman, it was a gesture of core humanity. "Everybody on the team would have done exactly the same, Covid or no Covid," he said from his study near Kirkcudbright. He did not envisage, a year on, that his recollection of that moment would inspire a cathartic outpouring of similar memories from people across the UK, or that he would become a reluctant – though passionate – advocate for the fury and dismay of ordinary people at the boozy rule-breaking in the seat of power. Continue reading... |
| ‘A voice like Sinatra’: Berlusconi woos backers in bid for Italian presidency Posted: 18 Jan 2022 06:08 AM PST Disgraced former PM and one-time ship's crooner resorts to joke phone invitations to 'bunga bunga' parties The one thing missing from the list of 22 personality traits and accomplishments flaunted in a full-page newspaper advert entitled "Who is Silvio Berlusconi?" was the former Italian prime minister's talent for singing. But the one-time cruise ship crooner, one of Italy's most controversial leaders, well known for his myriad legal woes, is hoping his pleasant voice will seduce dozens of parliamentarians into backing his bid to become Italy's next president. The secret ballot begins on 24 January and Berlusconi, 85, has broken from tradition by shamelessly campaigning for the job, a largely ceremonial role with powers to resolve political crises, even without officially throwing his hat into the ring. His charm offensive, which includes telephone canvassing of unaffiliated parliamentarians whose votes could secure his victory and jokingly inviting them to his "bunga bunga party"', is stoking tensions in Italy's ruling coalition, blocking meaningful debate on an impartial candidate who all parties can agree on – and igniting protests among Italians who find the prospect of the scandal-plagued Berlusconi becoming head of state abominable. Continue reading... |
| Memories of office life: I demanded a decent cup of tea – and sparked a workplace feud Posted: 18 Jan 2022 06:00 AM PST Now that I work from my boat, I miss the comfort of the office – and the long-running war I waged over my contraband kettle and illicit cider For the past five years, I've been "working from boat", sailing in a crystal Mediterranean sea, with turtles nibbling at my anchor. Sounds fun. It's not. I miss the office. There are problems with working in paradise. Imagine spending your tea breaks checking the anchor isn't dragging your workspace towards treacherous rocks, stupid jet skiers swerving by while you type. Imagine wondering if the sun has provided enough power to charge your laptop, or assessing whether a storm is likely to hit before deadline – should I sail 20 miles to shelter before I file? Continue reading... |
| ‘Gunmen were looking for my mum’: daughter of Afghan ex-radio boss Posted: 18 Jan 2022 06:00 AM PST Farkhunda's sister and two brothers have disabilities and left their wheelchairs behind when fleeing a Taliban raid Farkhunda's* mother has run a feminist radio station in her conservative province for the best part of 20 years, in defiance of Taliban threats. She has three children with disabilities who were forced to abandon their wheelchairs when gunmen attacked their home about two months after the Taliban takeover. They are in hiding in a city safe house, but don't know how they will survive longer term. When the fighting closed in on our city in August we were moving around – one night in one place, one night in another place – staying with different relatives because my mum had received a lot of threats in the past. Continue reading... |
| ‘This alert is her scream’: new system would help locate missing Indigenous women Posted: 18 Jan 2022 03:00 AM PST A program in Washington state is intended to trigger an effective search and raise awareness of the problem Four years ago, Debra Lekanoff was busy traveling across the nation in her role as governmental affairs director for the Swinomish Tribe when her daughter came to her, worried. The 14-year-old had just learned some of the troubling details of the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and was concerned that her mother, who is Alaska Native and tended to travel alone, might one day not make it home. Continue reading... |
| Microsoft’s Activision plan shows gaming will be at heart of metaverse Posted: 18 Jan 2022 10:35 AM PST Activision Blizzard deal would help Xbox compete against PlayStation – but will regulators play along? Microsoft's planned takeover of Activision Blizzard puts the tech company at the centre of two big issues facing the sector: the metaverse and Washington's determination to rein in big tech. The metaverse is where the physical and digital worlds come together, although it is very much at the concept stage. The idea is that you will put on a virtual reality headset and a digital representation of yourself – an avatar – will interact with others at work and play in a combination of virtual and augmented reality. Continue reading... |
| ‘It’s mind-boggling’: the hidden cost of our obsession with fish oil pills Posted: 17 Jan 2022 10:15 PM PST The market in this prized commodity is worth billions – but are the supposed benefits worth the cost to global ecosystems? • Revealed: many common omega-3 fish oil supplements are 'rancid' Scanning the shelves and internet for fish oil is a dizzying task. There are dozens of brands available and, although the typical consideration for the popular supplement is that quality matters most, it is not the only factor. These prized products travel a long way before being labelled as "pure" and "fresh" – starting with the industrial-scale grinding down of a tiny fish that is crucial for healthy ocean and food systems. Continue reading... |
| Blackhaine: the bleak, brilliant Lancashire rapper-dancer hired by Kanye West Posted: 18 Jan 2022 07:00 AM PST With references ranging from drug users to the Japanese avant garde, Tom Heyes has transcended a dull life in the north-west through explosive choreography and streams of consciousness First emerging as a surrealist reaction to the horrors of the second world war, the Japanese art of butoh incorporates violence, sacrifice and bodily mutilation: a captivatingly intense form of performance described by its founder Tatsumi Hijikata as the "dance of utter darkness". For a teenage Tom Heyes, growing up in dreary, small-town Lancashire, it was an escape from the abject mundanity of his life. "When I was first starting out I didn't really view it as performance art. It was just me being fucked up in my bedroom," he says, reflecting on his early interpretation of the craft which drew as much from donk (the north-west's spin on hardcore dance) as it did the Japanese avant garde. Often he would be left bruised and bloodied from these punishing dance routines, "but those ones back then were the most raw shit ever", he insists. Continue reading... |
| Northern leaders to put culture at centre of region’s post-pandemic recovery Posted: 18 Jan 2022 04:01 PM PST Report making case for culture as catalyst for levelling up wins cross-party backing Think of "the north" and images that come to mind include Antony Gormley's Angel of the North, the sculpture of Henry Moore and Manchester's music scene. But now a rare show of cross-party unity has called for all of the cultural icons of northern England to be a catalyst to rebuild the region and rebalance it with the rest of the UK. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 18 Jan 2022 04:51 PM PST France registers 464,769 new Covid-19 infections over the last 24 hours; Italy's cases jump from 83,403 a day earlier
China's postal service has ordered workers to disinfect international deliveries and urged the public to reduce orders from overseas after authorities claimed mail could be the source of recent coronavirus outbreaks, Agence France-Press reports. In recent days, Chinese officials have suggested that some people could have been infected by packages from abroad, including a woman in Beijing whom authorities said had no contact with other infected people but tested positive for a variant similar to those found in North America. Continue reading... |
| Israeli citizens targeted by police using Pegasus spyware, report claims Posted: 18 Jan 2022 06:54 AM PST Investigation alleges Israeli police carried out phone intercepts without court supervision or monitoring of how data was used The Israeli police allegedly conducted warrantless phone intercepts of Israeli citizens, including politicians and activists, using the NSO group's controversial Pegasus spyware, according to an investigation by the Israeli business media site Calcalist. Among those described as having been targets in the report were local mayors, leaders of political protests against the former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and former government employees. Continue reading... |
| How an ancient rainmaker inspired a quest to nurture female writers in Malawi Posted: 17 Jan 2022 11:30 PM PST I was struck by how few authors I could name who are women. With Makewana, the 'mother' responsible for rain, as our namesake, my group set out to end the literary drought I have often tried to imagine what Makewana, the original female rainmaker of ancient Malawi, must have looked like. There is a statue of her with long hair at Mua Mission in Dedza, since to cut her hair would have signified drought. Continue reading... |
| Oklahoma pastor faces criticism for rubbing spit on parishioner’s face Posted: 18 Jan 2022 04:45 PM PST Michael Todd spat into his hand twice, and audience gasped when he rubbed his hands on his brother's face A pastor from a megachurch in Tulsa, Oklahoma, faced a wave of criticism online over video of him rubbing spit on a worshipper's face. During a sermon on Sunday, Michael Todd, a 34-year-old lead pastor at Transformation church, spat into his hand twice. Continue reading... |
| The Guardian view on China’s baby bust: let people choose | Editorial Posted: 18 Jan 2022 10:53 AM PST Beijing faces a demographic timebomb, with population growth at its lowest for six decades "Of all things in the world, people are the most precious," Mao Zedong said soon after taking power, believing China needed more soldiers and workers. The advent of peace saw the population rocket from 540 million to 969 million over the next three decades. Authorities abruptly switched to curbing births and brutally implementing the "one-child" policy. These days, most Chinese couples are curtailing their families – or going without – by choice. The population now stands at 1.4 billion; a sixth of the global total. But last year's birthrate was the lowest since 1949, and the rate of population growth the lowest since the Great Famine six decades ago. The pandemic has seen dramatic drops in births in many places. But in China, the shift is part of a pronounced long-term trend. Several experts believe that last year marked the population peak. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 18 Jan 2022 05:24 PM PST More than 40,000 rapid antigen tests stolen in NSW; PM says 'don't pay attention' to George Christensen's vaccine views; Queensland to open to international travellers on Saturday; Victoria reduces booster wait time to three months as state reports 18 Covid deaths and 20,769 new cases as hospitals move to emergency measures; NSW records 32 deaths and 32,297 new cases; Queensland records 11 deaths and 19,932 new cases. Follow the days news
An FYI for any ACT readers of the blog this morning. As Victoria braces for Covid hospital admissions to skyrocket, a "code brown" emergency has been declared in all metropolitan hospitals and six in the regions, reports AAP. Continue reading... |
| ‘We live and die by it’: climate crisis threatens Bangladesh’s Sundarbans Posted: 17 Jan 2022 11:45 PM PST Villagers rely more on the forest's resources, threatening its ecosystem – and leaving them more vulnerable to cyclones As he steps out of the mosque on the banks of the Kholpetua River, Mohammed Sabud Ali looks out at a view he has seen several times a day for most of his life. But never before has the sprawling Sundarbans mangrove forest felt so important to him. The vast Sundarbans has always protected Bangladeshi coastal communities from the violent cyclones that regularly crash in from the Bay of Bengal, and they have always harvested its resources. But now, as the climate crisis encroaches, people are becoming even more dependent on the forest. Continue reading... |
| Women behind the lens: ‘She was too beautiful not to be photographed’ Posted: 16 Jan 2022 11:30 PM PST Etinosa Yvonne recalls a chance encounter with a Fulani woman in northern Nigeria I met this woman in Machina, in Yobe state, when I was on assignment in northern Nigeria 2020. It had taken us seven hours to get there – it's right on the border with Niger – and it was already late afternoon, early evening. We were waiting for people to come and collect water from a solar-powered water pump when I saw her: this extremely beautiful Fulani woman. I was particularly drawn to the marks on her face. I knew Fulani women always like to look good, but it was really beautiful to see up close. There was a bit of a language barrier as I don't speak Fula and she didn't speak English or Hausa, but she agreed to have her photo taken. Continue reading... |
| ‘She chopped her hair off’: Pakistani women’s struggle to play cricket Posted: 16 Jan 2022 10:15 PM PST In such a conservative country, young women often have to fight their own families first just to play the sport they love Bisma Amjad plays cricket. She aspires to play internationally and was picked for Pakistan's under-19 World Cup squad. But when the pandemic came, because she was a woman, there was nowhere for her to practise, so she dressed as a man to play alongside male cricketers at "gully cricket" – the street game. Continue reading... |
| Medics in Tigray plead with Ethiopia for insulin airlift as supplies run out Posted: 15 Jan 2022 09:00 AM PST Thousands of diabetics in region face 'agonising death' amid blockage on food, fuel and medicines in 14-month conflict Doctors at Tigray's main hospital are urging the Ethiopian government to allow supplies of insulin to be airlifted into the region, warning that their stocks will run out within a week and that patients with type 1 diabetes are "at serious risk of death". At the Ayder referral hospital in Mekelle, the largest in the region of 7 million people, staff have been told they only have 150 vials of insulin left and no oral diabetes medicines, according to a statement late on Friday. Continue reading... |
| Capitol attack panel grapples with moving inquiry forward: to subpoena or not? Posted: 17 Jan 2022 11:00 PM PST The committee is undecided on making the near-unprecedented step as the threat of Republican retaliation looms The House select committee investigating the Capitol attack is weighing whether to subpoena some of Donald Trump's top allies on Capitol Hill as it considers its options on how aggressively it should pursue testimony to move forward its inquiry into the January 6 insurrection. The Republican House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, and Republican members of Congress Jim Jordan and Scott Perry may have inside knowledge about Trump's plan to stop the certification of Joe Biden's election and whether it was coordinated with the Capitol attack. Continue reading... |
| Rwanda’s history of receiving deportees raises concerns for potential UK scheme Posted: 17 Jan 2022 07:26 AM PST Analysis: UK reportedly considering sending asylum seekers to Rwanda, which was involved in controversial scheme with Israel Rwanda – one of two African countries to which the UK government is reportedly considering sending asylum seekers for resettlement and processing – was previously embroiled in a highly controversial migrant deportation scheme involving Israel. Although few details have emerged after a report in the Times that migrants could be sent to Ghana and Rwanda, Rwanda's previous involvement in receiving African deportees from Israel raises serious concerns over whether – even with UK funding – it has the resources or even willingness to host deportations. Continue reading... |
| ‘Florida’s Trump’: DeSantis focusing on nonexistent issues as election looms, critics say Posted: 17 Jan 2022 02:00 AM PST Opponents say the governor leans on 'wokeness' and culture war issues that are irrelevant to the real needs of Floridians There are still almost 10 months until Florida's voters elect their next governor, but the campaign of the Republican incumbent, Ron DeSantis, appears well under way. In a red-meat-for-the-base address at the opening of Florida's legislature last week, themed around the concept of "freedom" but described by critics as a fanfare of authoritarianism, DeSantis gave a clear indication of the issues he believes are on voters' minds. They include fighting the White House over Covid-19, ballot box fraud, critical race theory in schools and defunding law enforcement. Continue reading... |
| Iran nuclear talks deadlock risks dangerous vacuum Posted: 16 Jan 2022 09:00 PM PST Analysis: As clock runs down on Vienna talks, key obstacles remain to be cleared by Tehran and the west The countdown to the end of the six-month-long talks in Vienna on the future of the Iran nuclear deal has begun. No deadline has been formally set, but if there is no progress in less than two weeks the process will come to an end leaving a dangerous vacuum. The White House has already been rolling the pitch preparing its political lines for a breakdown by saying the US withdrawal from the agreement by Donald Trump in 2018 has proved to be a disaster. If there is no agreement, the Biden team intend Trump will take the blame. Continue reading... |
| Tongans in Australia fear the worst amid a void in communications after tsunami – video Posted: 18 Jan 2022 04:07 PM PST Members of the Tongan diaspora feared never seeing their loved ones on the Pacific island again when communications were cut off following the volcanic eruption on Saturday. 'I'm aware that other islanders, other Pacific people, other Tongans, all feel exactly my feeling. That's how close we are.' said Tongan-Australian artist and activist Seini Taumoepeau. She said she hasn't had any contact with relatives and friends in Tonga days after a massive volcanic eruption and tsunami caused significant damage and cut off phone and internet lines for the archipelago.
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| 'I was brainwashed': Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik appears before parole hearing – video Posted: 18 Jan 2022 07:51 AM PST The Norwegian far-right killer behind the country's worst peacetime massacre has appeared in court asking to be released on parole after serving 10 years in prison in near-isolation for murdering 77 people in a bomb and gun attack in 2011. Breivik – who legally changed his name to Fjotolf Hansen in 2017 – attacked the country's government quarter in Oslo with a van bomb before heading to a youth camp being held by the country's Labour party on the island of Utøya where he killed 69 people, most of them teenagers, in a gun attack. Despite the gravity of his crimes, Breivik, 42, is entitled under Norwegian law to apply for parole after serving a decade in prison of his 21-year sentence, and can reapply each year for a parole hearing. The court that convicted him in 2012 found him criminally sane, rejecting the prosecution's view that he was psychotic. Breivik did not appeal against his sentence Continue reading... |
| 'Do not celebrate. Legislate': Martin Luther King family on voting rights – video Posted: 17 Jan 2022 11:31 PM PST The family of Martin Luther King Jr has called for the passage of a law to protect voters from racial discrimination, while the vice-president, Kamala Harris, said the right to vote in the US was 'under assault'. As part of the annual MLK Day peace walk, the King family and more than 100 national and local civil rights groups strode across the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge urging the Democrats to pass the bill in the US Senate Continue reading... |
| Tonga’s volcano eruption: in pictures Posted: 17 Jan 2022 10:43 PM PST The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai undersea volcano eruption is thought to be the largest volcanic event in 30 years. Here are a selection of images of what we have seen so far
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| Tonga volcano: smoke and lightning seen before eruption that caused tsunami – video Posted: 17 Jan 2022 02:43 AM PST Australia and New Zealand have sent surveillance flights to Tonga after the eruption of an underwater volcano that triggered a tsunami. In dramatic footage, the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano could be seen erupting a day before, sending thick plumes of ash and smoke into the sky Continue reading... |
| Joe Biden says Texas synagogue siege was an 'act of terror' – video Posted: 17 Jan 2022 12:57 AM PST The US president said the 10-hour hostage standoff in a Texas synagogue, which ended with an FBI Swat team rushing into the building and the captor's death, was 'an act of terror'. Authorities identified the hostage-taker as a 44-year-old British national, Malik Faisal Akram, who was killed on Saturday night after the last hostages ran out of Congregation Beth Israel at about 9pm. Late on Sunday, police in Manchester in the UK announced that two teenagers were in custody in connection with the standoff Continue reading... |
| How does a cougar cross a freeway – in pictures Posted: 16 Jan 2022 11:00 PM PST Tracking a wild cougar and swapping its collar battery is all in a day's work for the Olympic Cougar Project, a partnership between a coalition of Native American tribes, a renowned cougar expert and the Washington Department of Transportation Continue reading... |
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