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- Calls grow for EU to add Switzerland to money-laundering blacklist
- Queen cancels virtual engagements due to Covid
- Canada extends emergency powers after trucker blockades ended
- Almost 15,000 ‘ghost flights’ have left UK since pandemic began
- Remains of ‘world’s largest Jurassic pterosaur’ recovered in Scotland
- Hong Kong to test entire population of 7.5m for Covid in March
- Lifting of Covid rules in England ‘will lead to rise in home schooling’
- ‘This is a bumpy long road’: the mood among Moscow residents
- ‘I feel free when I run’: the young women enjoying a sense of freedom in Iraq
- Midlake: ‘A big part of getting back together was just missing our friends’
- Ready, steady, glow: 10 reader tips to keep you warm at home
- Sasha Johnson shooting: case against four men collapses
- UK politics live: Boris Johnson under pressure from Tories and opposition MPs to go further on Russia sanctions
- ‘They fill me with emotion’ … Benin celebrates the return of its looted treasure
- Biden faces calls from Congress members to impose ‘significant’ sanctions on Russia – US politics live
- Kenya to use solar panels to boost crops by ‘harvesting the sun twice’
- Greta stands with Sami and Navalny on trial again: human rights this fortnight – in pictures
- Putin’s rambling Ukraine speech leaves western diplomats scrambling
- UK will ‘barrage' Russia with sanctions, warns Boris Johnson – video
- 'This is historic': pro-choice campaigners celebrate legal abortion in Colombia – video
| Calls grow for EU to add Switzerland to money-laundering blacklist Posted: 22 Feb 2022 07:09 AM PST Three biggest groups in European parliament support possible move to high-risk list for money laundering
All three of the largest groups in the European parliament are demanding that the EU assess whether Switzerland should be categorised as a high-risk country for money laundering and financial crime, as reaction to the Credit Suisse leak continues to reverberate about the world. Less than 48 hours after the Guardian and other media published an investigation into the leak as part of the Suisse secrets project, political groups representing the majority of MEPs in the European parliament support the possible blacklisting of Switzerland. Continue reading... |
| Queen cancels virtual engagements due to Covid Posted: 22 Feb 2022 03:17 AM PST Buckingham Palace says monarch suffering 'mild cold-like symptoms' The Queen has cancelled her planned virtual engagements for Tuesday as she continues to experience Covid symptoms. A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: "As Her Majesty is still experiencing mild cold-like symptoms she has decided not to undertake her planned virtual engagements today, but will continue with light duties.'' Continue reading... |
| Canada extends emergency powers after trucker blockades ended Posted: 22 Feb 2022 03:43 AM PST Prime minister Justin Trudeau says situation 'still fragile' after biggest police operation in nation's history Canadian lawmakers have voted to extend the emergency powers that police can invoke to quell any potential restart of blockades by those opposed to Covid-19 restrictions. Lawmakers in Canada's House of Commons voted 185 to 151 to affirm the powers. Continue reading... |
| Almost 15,000 ‘ghost flights’ have left UK since pandemic began Posted: 22 Feb 2022 03:00 AM PST Exclusive: Thousands of near-empty planes flown since March 2020, new figures reveal Almost 15,000 "ghost flights" have departed from the UK, according to newly revealed official figures. The ghost flights, defined as those with no passengers or less than 10% of passenger capacity, operated from all 32 airports listed in the data. Heathrow was top, with 4,910 ghost flights between March 2020 and September 2021. Manchester and Gatwick were the next highest. There were an average of 760 ghost flights a month over the period, although the data covered only international departure and not domestic flights. Continue reading... |
| Remains of ‘world’s largest Jurassic pterosaur’ recovered in Scotland Posted: 22 Feb 2022 02:00 AM PST Discovery shows pterosaurs with a 2.5-metre wingspan existed about 25m years earlier than previously thought It might be best known today for its otters and puffins but 170m years ago the Isle of Skye was home to an enormous flying reptile with a wingspan bigger than a kingsize bed, researchers have revealed. Fossil hunters in Scotland say they have recovered the remains of the world's largest Jurassic pterosaur, adding the creature – known informally as a pterodactyl – also boasted a mouthful of sharp teeth for spearing and trapping fish. Continue reading... |
| Hong Kong to test entire population of 7.5m for Covid in March Posted: 22 Feb 2022 04:32 AM PST Carrie Lam says population will be tested three times, as virus surge threatens to overwhelm healthcare system Hong Kong will test its entire population of 7.5 million people for Covid-19 in March, its leader said, as it grapples with its worst outbreak driven by the Omicron variant. The population would be tested three times in March, said Hong Kong's chief executive, Carrie Lam. She said testing capacity would be boosted to 1 million a day or more. "Since we have a population of some 7 million people, testing will take about seven days," she said. Continue reading... |
| Lifting of Covid rules in England ‘will lead to rise in home schooling’ Posted: 22 Feb 2022 02:43 AM PST Fears over 'forced exclusion' of vulnerable pupils whose families will be too scared to send them to school The lifting of Covid restrictions in England will lead to a further rise in home schooling and the "forced exclusion" of immunosuppressed pupils whose families will be too scared to send them to school, an academy trust leader has warned. Steve Chalke, the founder of the Oasis academy trust of 52 schools, said the scrapping of twice-weekly testing in school communities and the legal requirement to self-isolate after a positive test was "a huge gamble". Continue reading... |
| ‘This is a bumpy long road’: the mood among Moscow residents Posted: 22 Feb 2022 06:51 AM PST Many in Russia's capital are worried about the political and economic consequences of the Ukraine crisis Like many of her friends, Tatyana, a barista at the fashionable Moscow coffee-shop chain Skuratov, was glued to the screen of her mobile phone as Vladimir Putin addressed the nation. "Usually, I don't watch television, especially when our president speaks. But I felt like I had to tune in this time. I was witnessing history in the making," she said, smoking an e-cigarette. "But I am not sure yet if history is going in the right direction." Continue reading... |
| ‘I feel free when I run’: the young women enjoying a sense of freedom in Iraq Posted: 22 Feb 2022 07:00 AM PST Displaced Iraqi girls stuck in camps are getting a taste of independence by running, hiking and kickboxing, thanks to a programme teaching them about sport and confidence The mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan are edged with a tangerine glow as our minibus drives past them. We set off earlier from Erbil, the region's capital, and are driving to Shaqlawa, a historic city about 50 minutes away, to hike up the nearby Safeen mountain. Inside the minibus, a group of teenage girls are playing their favourite songs. The teenagers live with their families in one of Erbil's two main camps for internally displaced people (IDPs), Baharka and Harsham, having fled Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, and surrounding towns such as Tal Afar and Sinjar, when the area was captured by ISISsis in 2014. The hike has been organised by Free to Run, an NGO that supports and empowers women and girls in regions of conflict through sport, offering them life-skills training, and creating safe spaces for them to develop confidence and friends, and to reclaim public space in a country where women's rights are lacking. Continue reading... |
| Midlake: ‘A big part of getting back together was just missing our friends’ Posted: 22 Feb 2022 02:00 AM PST A ghostly vision in a dream prompted the Texan folk-rockers to return after a decade away. The result is their most daring album yet The next time you're in the city of Denton, Texas, you could do worse than swing by the speakeasy-style Paschall Bar, pull up a stool and order a Pulido Old Fashioned. "It's my signature cocktail," grins Midlake's frontman Eric Pulido from under a well-worn baseball cap. "I think they just started getting tired of me saying: 'Instead of the sugar can you do Bénédictine [a liqueur], and then can you also put in maple bitters … '" Pulido isn't simply a fussy customer, but alongside the rest of Midlake actually owns this dimly lit, book-lined boozer, which, like so many others, found itself on the brink of collapse during the early stages of the pandemic. "We experienced the up and down of 'We're good', 'We're not', 'Now we're OK!'" offers Pulido with a sigh. "It was definitely a trying time, but I feel like we're coming out of the woods now." Continue reading... |
| Ready, steady, glow: 10 reader tips to keep you warm at home Posted: 22 Feb 2022 03:08 AM PST Feeling the chill? Get knitting, or make some soup, or tackle the dirty dishes, or … Use natural materials to knit yourself a jumper – they are better for the planet and keep you warmer than artificial yarns. The beauty and benefits start almost as soon as you cast on, since the growing garment on your knees keeps you warm long before it's ready to wear. Win-win! Carol Brook, West Yorkshire Continue reading... |
| Sasha Johnson shooting: case against four men collapses Posted: 22 Feb 2022 07:34 AM PST Judge records not-guilty verdicts for those charged with targeting Black Lives Matter activist The case against four men charged over the shooting of black equal rights campaigner Sasha Johnson has collapsed. Johnson, a mother of two, was shot in the head at a 30th birthday party in south London, on Sunday 23 May last year. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 22 Feb 2022 07:45 AM PST Latest updates: PM unveils sanctions on five Russian banks and three individuals
According to a report by Lucy Fisher in the Telegraph, Russian oligarchs have been lobbying the Foreign Office in the hope of ensuring they avoid being hit by UK sanctions. Fisher says: The flurry of correspondence from individuals and companies to the UK government undermines claims that the Kremlin is unfazed by the prospect of economic measures. Earlier this month, Viktor Tatarintsev, Russia's ambassador to Sweden, claimed that Vladimir Putin "doesn't give a s---" about sanctions as he attempted to pour scorn on the West's key strategy. Continue reading... |
| ‘They fill me with emotion’ … Benin celebrates the return of its looted treasure Posted: 22 Feb 2022 07:35 AM PST Priceless treasures stolen by the French army over a century ago have finally been returned to the African nation. Our writer joins the emotional celebrations At first glance, it seems to be just another day in Cotonou, Benin's largest city. Motorbike-taxis are everywhere, filling the streets of the country's economic capital with dust and noise. But inside the swanky presidential palace, something seismic is talking place: over a century after they were looted by the French army, 26 treasures that once belonged to the nation have gone on display to the public. Art of Benin Yesterday and Today is more than just a stunning show of these ancient works, though. It segues from the looted 19th-century artefacts to work by 34 of the country's contemporary artists. "This is a form of regained dignity," says local art historian Didier Houénoudé, "and the culmination of a long fight started by African countries shortly before independence." Continue reading... |
| Posted: 22 Feb 2022 07:24 AM PST
Vladimir Putin's angry and rambling hour-long potted history of Ukraine's failings on Monday night, culminating in a commitment to recognise the self-proclaimed republics in Donetsk and Luhansk, left western diplomats scratching their heads and wondering whether they had been made redundant. The Russian president not only said he would recognise Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine, rendering eight years of negotiations over their future pointless, but he also signalled that Russia could not tolerate an independent Ukraine on its borders. Nato was hardly mentioned. His target at one point seemed to be the Bolsheviks, for relinquishing land to the nationalists. Continue reading... |
| Kenya to use solar panels to boost crops by ‘harvesting the sun twice’ Posted: 22 Feb 2022 01:51 AM PST Successful trials found growing crops beneath panels – known as agrivoltaics – reduced water loss and resulted in larger plants Solar panels are not a new way of providing cheap power across much of the African continent, where there is rarely a shortage of sunshine. But growing crops underneath the panels is, and the process has had such promising trials in Kenya that it will be deployed this week in open-field farms. Known as agrivoltaics, the technique harvests solar energy twice: where panels have traditionally been used to harness the sun's rays to generate energy, they are also utilised to provide shade for growing crops, helping to retain moisture in the soil and boosting growth. Continue reading... |
| Greta stands with Sami and Navalny on trial again: human rights this fortnight – in pictures Posted: 18 Feb 2022 11:30 PM PST A roundup of the coverage of the struggle for human rights and freedoms, from Myanmar to Mexico Continue reading... |
| Putin’s rambling Ukraine speech leaves western diplomats scrambling Posted: 22 Feb 2022 05:24 AM PST Analysis: Russian president is toying with matches but has not yet lit the fuse, hence the west's caution Vladimir Putin's angry and rambling hour-long potted history of Ukraine's failings on Monday night, culminating in a commitment to recognise the self-proclaimed republics in Donetsk and Luhansk, left western diplomats scratching their heads and wondering whether they had been made redundant. The Russian president not only said he would recognise Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine, rendering eight years of negotiations over their future pointless, but he also signalled that Russia could not tolerate an independent Ukraine on its borders. Nato was hardly mentioned. His target at one point seemed to be the Bolsheviks, for relinquishing land to the nationalists. Continue reading... |
| UK will ‘barrage' Russia with sanctions, warns Boris Johnson – video Posted: 22 Feb 2022 02:26 AM PST Boris Johnson has claimed Russia is bent on a 'full-scale invasion of Ukraine' and said the UK would immediately impose economic sanctions. Speaking after a 6.30am Cobra meeting, the prime minister said the UK was prepared to continue ratcheting up measures
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| 'This is historic': pro-choice campaigners celebrate legal abortion in Colombia – video Posted: 22 Feb 2022 02:19 AM PST Pro-choice supporters danced outside Colombia's constitutional court in downtown Bogotá, the capital, after it decriminalised abortion during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. Judges ruled five against four to decriminalise the procedure in the South American country after rulings in Mexico and Argentina also lowered barriers to abortion. Anti-abortion protesters demonstrated against the ruling Continue reading... |
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