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- Russia has enough troops ready to take Kyiv, says former Ukraine defence chief
- Death of Moroccan boy in well draws sympathy from around world
- ‘I have no more tears’: Beijing’s Winter Olympics hit by athlete complaints
- Prince Charles pays tribute to ‘darling wife’ and future queen Camilla
- Johnson allies insist ‘grownups’ in charge of new team at No 10
- Editor arrested in Kashmir as press crackdown escalates
- Trump’s election advisers were like ‘snake oil salesmen’, ex-Pence aide says
- Barely 15% of the world’s coastal regions remain ecologically intact, study says
- Levi Bellfield admits to murdering Lin and Megan Russell, say lawyers
- Playing with dolls helps children talk about how others feel, says study
- Vastly unequal US has world’s highest Covid death toll – it’s no coincidence
- Covid live: Chinese city of Baise ‘sealed off’ after Omicron outbreak; Papua New Guinea PM tests positive
- Bucket, spade and a pile of red tape: UK travellers warned about Covid rule traps
- Misinformation and distrust: behind Bolivia’s low Covid vaccination rates
- How Neighbours was shunted off air by All Creatures Great and Small
- How rock climbing gave me a new perspective on the world – and myself
- My award goes to... our film critics reveal their personal Oscars shortlists
- How Ernest Shackleton’s icy adventure was frozen in time
- ‘No light at the end of the tunnel’: Americans join Hong Kong’s business exodus
- Breaking the ice: one man’s epic journey from Togo to Greenland
- ‘To get out is an absolute struggle’: landmark study sheds light on Australians sleeping rough
- Woman takes legal action after Met officer who called her ‘hot’ keeps job
- US Navy identifies Seal candidate who died after ‘Hell Week’ training session
- Ten Cuban migrants in sinking vessel rescued off Florida coast
- Australia politics news live updates: Albanese says government ‘paralysed’ by texts row; Victoria and NSW record 21 Covid deaths
- Revolutionary roads: how the army tried to crush Yangon’s most anti-coup district
- Biden rattles his sabre at Putin … but it’s Xi he really wants to scare
- Jacinda Ardern delivers Waitangi Day address – video
- Rescuers fail to save Moroccan boy trapped in well – video
| Russia has enough troops ready to take Kyiv, says former Ukraine defence chief Posted: 06 Feb 2022 02:07 PM PST White House believes Moscow has amassed at least 70% of firepower needed for mid-February invasion Russia has enough troops in place to seize Kyiv or another Ukrainian city but not yet sufficient numbers for a full takeover and occupation of the country, Ukraine's former defence minister has said, as Washington warned that an invasion could take place at any time. Andriy Zagorodnyuk said in an interview with the Guardian that the situation looked "pretty dire". "Russia could now seize any city in Ukraine. But we still don't see the 200,000 troops needed for a full-scale invasion," he said. Continue reading... |
| Death of Moroccan boy in well draws sympathy from around world Posted: 06 Feb 2022 10:40 AM PST Rayan Oram, five, was found dead after four-day operation to rescue him from shaft 32 metres deep Tributes have been paid to Rayan Oram, the five-year-old Moroccan boy whose body was recovered from a well on Saturday, and whose plight had moved his country and the world. News of Rayan's death after a massive four-day rescue operation pitched Morocco into deep grief and prompted condolences and expressions of gratitude to the search teams. Continue reading... |
| ‘I have no more tears’: Beijing’s Winter Olympics hit by athlete complaints Posted: 06 Feb 2022 07:31 AM PST
On the eve of the Winter Olympics, China promised the world a "streamlined, safe and most splendid" Games. But just two days into the event organisers are facing a litany of complaints from athletes and countries on multiple fronts. The Swedes have suggested that the conditions in the mountains are perilously cold. A Polish skater says she was living in fear in a Beijing isolation ward and has "cried until I have no more tears". The Finns have claimed an ice hockey player is being kept in Covid quarantine for no reason. And the Germans? They are frustrated that there is no hot food at the downhill skiing. Continue reading... |
| Prince Charles pays tribute to ‘darling wife’ and future queen Camilla Posted: 06 Feb 2022 05:01 AM PST First in line to throne thanks Duchess of Cornwall for support as royal family paves way for her to take title of queen The Prince of Wales has paid tribute to his "darling wife" the Duchess of Cornwall for her "steadfast support" after the Queen announced that Camilla will be known as "Queen Consort" when Charles becomes king. In a statement released on Sunday, Charles heralded the Queen for the way her "devotion to the welfare of all her people inspires still greater admiration with each passing year". Continue reading... |
| Johnson allies insist ‘grownups’ in charge of new team at No 10 Posted: 06 Feb 2022 12:01 PM PST Prime minister may still face more letters of no confidence and revelations from Dominic Cummings Allies of Boris Johnson have insisted that "grownups" are now in charge of his operation as he heads into critical week for his beleaguered premiership that could see him face a confidence vote and the threat of further damaging revelations. Tory MPs said Johnson may have bought some time by bringing a new team into No 10. One major Conservative donor, Alexander Temerko, told the Guardian that the prime minister should now take the opportunity to "purge" the cabinet of disloyal leadership rivals. Continue reading... |
| Editor arrested in Kashmir as press crackdown escalates Posted: 06 Feb 2022 07:30 AM PST Journalist Fahad Shah detained on Friday under terrorism and sedition laws in disputed Indian region A prominent journalist has been arrested under terrorism and sedition laws, as a crackdown on the press in Indian-administered Kashmir continues to escalate. Fahad Shah, the founder and editor of the widely read local news website The Kashmir Walla, was arrested on Friday evening when he was summoned to a police station in the southern district of Pulwama. Continue reading... |
| Trump’s election advisers were like ‘snake oil salesmen’, ex-Pence aide says Posted: 06 Feb 2022 11:09 AM PST Former chief of staff Marc Short joins several senior Republicans to defend the former vice-president in escalating feud with Trump Mike Pence's former chief of staff Marc Short joined several senior Republicans in rallying to defend the former vice-president on Sunday in his escalating feud with Donald Trump over the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election. Some of Trump's advisers on the 2020 election were like "snake oil salesmen", Short said on Sunday. Continue reading... |
| Barely 15% of the world’s coastal regions remain ecologically intact, study says Posted: 06 Feb 2022 02:00 PM PST Researchers call for safeguards to protect undamaged regions and for urgent work to restore degraded areas Just 15.5% of the world's coastal regions remain ecologically intact, according to new research that calls for urgent conservation measures to protect what remains and restore sites that are degraded. The study, led by researchers at the University of Queensland, used satellite data to examine the extent to which human activities have encroached on coastlines around the globe. Continue reading... |
| Levi Bellfield admits to murdering Lin and Megan Russell, say lawyers Posted: 06 Feb 2022 09:22 AM PST Serial killer reportedly wrote letter detailing 1996 murders of mother and daughter in Kent The serial killer Levi Bellfield has reportedly penned a letter confessing to the murders of mother and daughter Lin and Megan Russell in 1996. The Sun revealed that lawyers acting for Michael Stone, who has twice been found guilty of the murders of Lin and Megan in Kent, have claimed to have received a statement written by Bellfield detailing the killings. Continue reading... |
| Playing with dolls helps children talk about how others feel, says study Posted: 06 Feb 2022 04:53 AM PST Research suggests playing imaginary games can aid development of social skills and empathy Playing with dolls encourages children to talk more about others' thoughts and emotions, a study has found. The research suggests that playing imaginary games with dolls could help children develop social skills, theory of mind and empathy. The neuroscientist who led the work said that the educational value of playing with Lego and construction toys was widely accepted, but the benefits of playing with dolls sometimes appeared to have been overlooked. Continue reading... |
| Vastly unequal US has world’s highest Covid death toll – it’s no coincidence Posted: 05 Feb 2022 11:00 PM PST As the US passes 900,000 Covid deaths, much of the blame has fallen on individuals despite vast income inequality and vaccine accessibility issues The US has suffered 900,000 deaths from Covid-19, the highest figure of any nation. The death toll would be equivalent to the 15th most populous city in the country, more than San Francisco, Washington DC or Boston – a city of ghosts with its population swelling each day. It's not just the total numbers. America also has the highest death rate of any wealthy country, with half of the deaths occurring after vaccines became available. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 06 Feb 2022 11:05 AM PST City in Guangxi, with population of 3.7 million, reportedly under lockdown; James Marape tests positive on arrival at Winter Olympics
Fascinating dispatch from Costa Rica by CNN's Latin American affairs editor, Rafael Romo, who reports of the fallout of the country's decision last November to became the first country in the world to mandate Covid-19 vaccines for minors, with all children five and older required to get vaccinated, barring medical exemptions. It started as a heated discussion between a father and his son's doctor. But it quickly escalated to a multi-person fist-fight that shocked the nation. Inside the St Vincent de Paul hospital in Costa Rica's Heredia province, not far from the capital San Jose, the argument – over the country's Covid-19 vaccine mandate – came to blows last week, leading to the arrests of seven people.But this fight proved more consequential than for just the people involved: The incident forced authorities to temporarily close the hospital's doors, marking a dark moment in the country's fight against the pandemic and highlighting the debate around its mandatory vaccination policy. In 2019, 16.1 per cent of private school pupils had their A-levels graded A*. In 2021 — when teachers decided what marks to award their pupils — the proportion jumped to 39.5 per cent. Research by The Sunday Times shows for the first time the extent of the grade inflation in individual schools. At North London Collegiate School, a girls' school in Edgware whose senior fees are more than £21,000 a year, the proportion of A* grades soared from 33.8 per cent in 2019 to 90.2 per cent last summer. The 56.4 percentage point increase is the highest recorded in the investigation. Continue reading... |
| Bucket, spade and a pile of red tape: UK travellers warned about Covid rule traps Posted: 06 Feb 2022 01:15 AM PST Tourists who had their jabs more than 270 days ago need a booster to enter France, Spain and Denmark Travellers have been warned to check their half-term holiday plans to make sure they meet Covid vaccination rules when travelling to EU destinations as a growing number of countries impose new restrictions. France joined Spain and Denmark last week in requiring anyone who completed their vaccination jabs more than 270 days ago to have a booster to enter the country – or be considered unvaccinated. Austria requires boosters after 180 days. Continue reading... |
| Misinformation and distrust: behind Bolivia’s low Covid vaccination rates Posted: 06 Feb 2022 02:10 AM PST About half the country's population is yet to receive a single dose of vaccine, despite availability In a vaccination centre in El Alto, Bolivia, the staff bagged up in protective gear far outnumbered the few people sitting in plastic chairs waiting for their injection. A young doctor reeled off a list of all the vaccines available: Sinopharm, Sputnik, Pfizer, Moderna. What's lacking is demand. They see 100 people on a good day. South America, once the region most afflicted by the pandemic, is now the most vaccinated in the world. But this turnaround doesn't extend to Bolivia, where roughly half the population is yet to receive a single dose – even though the state has had all the vaccines it needs since October. Continue reading... |
| How Neighbours was shunted off air by All Creatures Great and Small Posted: 06 Feb 2022 09:43 AM PST Longest-running drama in Australian television history loses out to homegrown British show The residents of Ramsay Street have survived almost four decades of affairs, disasters and terrible haircuts – but in the end it might be the popularity of a 1930s Yorkshire vet that finally kills off Neighbours. The long-running soap opera that launched the careers of Kylie Minogue, Guy Pearce and Margot Robbie faces the axe after Channel 5 confirmed it would stop airing the series this summer. The broadcaster no longer wants to spend millions of pounds a year on the show and is instead looking to use its programme budget to reach upmarket audiences with original British dramas – driven by the success of All Creatures Great And Small, its hit revival of the series about rural life in the Yorkshire Dales. Continue reading... |
| How rock climbing gave me a new perspective on the world – and myself Posted: 06 Feb 2022 05:00 AM PST Spending time high above the ground allowed me a unique view of the land and my relationship with it Climbing, I once thought, was a very manly activity. A pursuit for macho adventurers on a mission to conquer – conquer the mountain, conquer their fear, conquer themselves. That may be the story for some climbers, but as I found my way into this activity, I came to see that something quite different happens on the rock. Like wild swimming, rock climbing immerses you within the landscape. On the rock, I am fully present. Eyes pay close attention, scanning the details of the rock, trying to read the passage up the cliff. Ears are alert, tuned in to the sounds of the stone, my partner and the environment. Hands roam across the surface, feeling for features while the whole body works to stay within balance, coordinating itself around the various forms of the cliff. Unlike walking, where I could happily trundle absent-mindedly through the landscape, in climbing, attentive observation is essential. Continue reading... |
| My award goes to... our film critics reveal their personal Oscars shortlists Posted: 06 Feb 2022 04:00 AM PST Ahead of the official Academy nominations on Tuesday, Observer film critics pick their own favourites Amid the hype over her acclaimed performance as Diana, Princess of Wales in Spencer, Kristen Stewart briefly stopped awards pundits dead in their tracks when, upon being asked about her Oscar buzz, she drily admitted, "I don't give a shit." Sacrilege! Some of the best films and performances of all time haven't been considered by the Academy, she continued. "There's five spots. What the fuck are you going to do?" Nobody disagrees with Stewart on any of this: just ask our critics, whose ideal Oscar ballots below are knowingly far from the expected reality of next week's nominations. That the actor's comments made showbiz headlines anyway speaks to the strange aura the Oscars maintain as a gold standard of cinematic achievement: for several months a year, people fret and discuss and strategise about them, while companies expensively campaign for them, only to spend the rest of the year complaining that they don't mean anything anyway. Even Stewart's scepticism emerged while on the campaign trail, being interviewed on a Variety podcast named Awards Circuit. Should she win for Spencer, she'll doubtless turn up and give a humbly grateful speech anyway. That's the game. Nobody gives a shit about the Oscars, after all, except when everyone does. PETITE MAMAN Summer of Soul The Green Knight Titane Censor Continue reading... |
| How Ernest Shackleton’s icy adventure was frozen in time Posted: 06 Feb 2022 04:00 AM PST An exhibition of vivid photographs and a restored documentary give fresh insight into the Antarctic explorer, who died a century ago One hundred years ago, the leader of the last great expedition of the heroic age of polar exploration died from a heart attack as his ship, Quest, headed for Antarctica. The announcement of the death of Ernest Shackleton on 30 January 1922 was greeted with an outpouring of national grief. This was the man, after all, who had saved the entire crew of his ship Endurance – which had been crushed and sunk by ice in 1915 – by making a daring trip in a tiny open boat over 750 miles of polar sea to raise the alarm at a whaling station in South Georgia. Continue reading... |
| ‘No light at the end of the tunnel’: Americans join Hong Kong’s business exodus Posted: 06 Feb 2022 09:39 AM PST Worsening Sino-US ties, strict Covid rules and the crackdown on dissent have dented the territory's fabled allure as a business hub, say expats In July 2018, Tara Joseph, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, wrote an article in the best-known local English-language newspaper, the South China Morning Post, stressing to Americans the territory's unique position as an Asian business hub. "The US is forgetting the differences between Hong Kong and China. Let's remind them," she wrote. "Hong Kong continues to have a robust and hearty infrastructure of values, practices and institutions that could not contrast more starkly with those of the mainland system." Continue reading... |
| Breaking the ice: one man’s epic journey from Togo to Greenland Posted: 06 Feb 2022 03:00 AM PST In 1965, Teté-Michel Kpomassie left his African homeland for a new life in Greenland, swapping sunny beaches for icy fjords and spiced food for boiled seal. Now, at 80, he's planning to retire to his 'spiritual home' The warm living room of Tété-Michel Kpomassie's otherwise neat Parisian home has a coffee table in the middle of it piled high with keepsakes – a mountain of black and white pictures, letters and handwritten diaries. It's an archive of one remarkable man's intrepidly adventurous and unconventional life to date. Balanced on top of the overloaded files and folders sits a tattered book, its pages faded. On its cover is a portrait of an Inuit in a sealskin jacket, standing next to an icy shore. The title reads Les Esquimaux du Groenland à l'Alaska (The Eskimos from Greenland to Alaska). It's a 1947 work of nonfiction authored by French anthropologist Robert Gessain. Decades may have passed since the day Kpomassie first set his teenage eyes upon this image in his native Togo, but the 80-year-old remembers the precise moment as if it had happened just minutes before. How could he not? What he found inside has, since that day, consumed him entirely, shaping every chapter of his own story. He ran away from home at 16 to embark on an epic cross-continental mission that delivered him to Greenland, the world's northernmost country. He was the first African man to set foot there. The adventure resulted in a travelogue, return visits and countless speaking invitations, and, more recently, a rather acrimonious divorce. Now, his very own sealskin jacket hangs by the door to his home in pride of place. Continue reading... |
| ‘To get out is an absolute struggle’: landmark study sheds light on Australians sleeping rough Posted: 06 Feb 2022 08:30 AM PST Homelessness report reveals health and discrimination issues as authors call for new national strategy Leigh Jorey was pretty successful in his mid-30s. A panel beater by trade, he'd completed an apprenticeship, owned his own tow truck company, and worked at it hard. His success didn't stop him becoming homeless. In fact, it may have contributed to the problem. Under pressure, Jorey began to turn to less healthy ways of coping, which led him into a downward spiral. Continue reading... |
| Woman takes legal action after Met officer who called her ‘hot’ keeps job Posted: 06 Feb 2022 10:17 AM PST Kristina O'Connor says detective who was investigating after men tried to steal her phone asked her out A woman is taking legal action against the Metropolitan police after a detective who told her she was "amazingly hot" while investigating her attack kept his job. Kristina O'Connor, now 33, said she was sent inappropriate messages by DCI James Mason after he responded to her report of an attempted robbery in October 2011. Continue reading... |
| US Navy identifies Seal candidate who died after ‘Hell Week’ training session Posted: 06 Feb 2022 01:03 PM PST Kyle Mullen, 44 from New Jersey, died in a hospital on Friday in California, while second sailor is in a hospital in stable condition Navy officials on Sunday identified a Seal candidate who died after an intense training session known as Hell Week, and promised to investigate the episode that left a second sailor in hospital. Kyle Mullen, 24, of New Jersey, died in hospital in Coronado, California, on Friday night, the officials said, giving no cause of death. The other sailor is unidentified and remains in a naval hospital in San Diego in a stable condition. Continue reading... |
| Ten Cuban migrants in sinking vessel rescued off Florida coast Posted: 06 Feb 2022 10:43 AM PST Rescue comes after a boat believed to be used for human smuggling capsized with only one of 40 passengers surviving Ten Cuban migrants in a sinking vessel were rescued off the Florida coast, according to the US Coast Guard. A Coast Guard boat spotted the vessel on Thursday about 40 miles (about 64km) off Key Largo, the Coast Guard said in a tweet. Continue reading... |
| Posted: 06 Feb 2022 02:27 PM PST Defence minister denies claims he was behind messages that branded the prime minister a 'complete psycho' and Michael McCormack says Barnaby Joyce 'has some explaining to do' – while the Labor leader has labelled the saga a 'distraction'; NSW records 14 Covid deaths, 7,437 new cases; Victoria records seven deaths, 8,275 cases. Follow all the day's news live
The opposition leader Anthony Albanese has begun the week by saying the government is "paralysed" by the text message sagas. Albanese did not hold back when he appeared on Seven's Sunrise this morning: Well, those closest to (the prime minister) have made the assessment that he cannot be (trusted). If the deputy prime minister cannot trust the prime minister, why should Australians? We are giving the ABC secure and increased funding and with that come some increased obligations in terms of reporting. Continue reading... |
| Revolutionary roads: how the army tried to crush Yangon’s most anti-coup district Posted: 06 Feb 2022 01:30 AM PST Hlaing Thayar was at the centre of Myanmar's protests, but brutal crackdowns and the collapse of the local garment industry have taken their toll As Thitsar* walked through her neighbourhood one December morning, she was struck by its emptiness. The bamboo shacks that line the streets of Hlaing Tharyar, an industrial township on the outskirts of Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, lay in tatters, overgrown with weeds. The vendors who once weaved through traffic had vanished, as had many of the informal settlements where they lived and the roadside tea shops where they gathered. Streets that had once resounded with chants for democracy were now eerily silent. Continue reading... |
| Biden rattles his sabre at Putin … but it’s Xi he really wants to scare Posted: 06 Feb 2022 12:15 AM PST Tub-thumping talk of all-out war in Ukraine seems overblown but the White House knows the fledgling Sino-Russian axis is a real threat, in Taiwan and elsewhere If, as seems increasingly probable, Russia decides not to launch an all-out invasion of Ukraine, tub-thumping US and British politicians who have spent weeks scaring the public with loose talk of looming Armageddon will have some explaining to do. The military build-up directed by Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, is real enough. But suspicion grows that the actual as opposed to the hypothetical threat of a large-scale conventional attack is being mis-read, misinterpreted, over-estimated or deliberately exaggerated. Continue reading... |
| Jacinda Ardern delivers Waitangi Day address – video Posted: 05 Feb 2022 07:00 PM PST In a pre-recorded address, the New Zealand prime minister says while people cannot come together on the Treaty grounds this year due to Covid restrictions, 'the day remains of great importance to us as a nation'. Ardern acknowledges the government still has a way to go in turning around poverty, housing inequality and poor health outcomes for Māori. 'If we are to make progress as a nation, we have to be willing to question practices that have resulted over and over in the same or even worse outcomes', she says Continue reading... |
| Rescuers fail to save Moroccan boy trapped in well – video Posted: 05 Feb 2022 09:40 AM PST Five-year-old Rayan Oram's body was recovered from the well in northern Morocco late on Saturday. Workers with mechanical diggers had worked round the clock to try to rescue him after he fell into the well, which was 32 metres (100ft) deep, in the hills near Chefchaouen on Tuesday Continue reading... |
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