World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk

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World news and comment from the Guardian | guardian.co.uk


Millions of children to be vaccinated for polio in Africa after Malawi detects case

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 05:01 AM PDT

First case of wild polio detected in Malawi for 30 years prompts emergency rollout of vaccinations in five African countries

More than 23 million young children across southern Africa will be offered vaccinations against wild polio after an outbreak of the virus was detected in Malawi for the first time since 1992.

Children under five in Lilongwe, Malawi's capital, began to be immunised on Sunday as part of a mass drive against the disease.

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Better use of groundwater could transform Africa, research says

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 04:50 AM PDT

Studies 'debunk the myth that Africa is running out of water' but say resource needs to be better managed

Groundwater resources in sub-Saharan Africa are enough to transform agriculture in the region and provide people with adequate safe water for their drinking and hygiene needs, if the resource can be better managed, researchers have said.

Groundwater – found underground in aquifers, rocks and soils – makes up about 99% of all liquid freshwater on earth, and is abundant in much of Africa, but a lack of investment has left it untapped or poorly managed, two major studies have found. The reserves could be used for irrigation and to supply clean and safe water, but there is also a danger that if used unsustainably they could be rapidly depleted or polluted.

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Jamaican campaigners call for colonialism apology from royal family

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 05:13 AM PDT

Politicians and business leaders sign open letter as Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visit Caribbean

Jamaican campaigners have accused the Queen of perpetuating slavery in a letter urging the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to atone for colonialism during their Caribbean tour.

As the country celebrates 60 years of independence, a coalition of Jamaican politicians, business leaders, doctors and musicians have called in the open letter for the British monarchy to apologise for colonialism and pay slavery reparations.

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Chinese plane with 132 people onboard crashes in Guangxi province

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 07:16 AM PDT

State media reports that China Eastern 737 went down near city of Wuzhou, sparking mountainside fire

A passenger plane carrying 132 people has crashed in southern China, with no survivors announced so far, Chinese authorities have reported.

The China Eastern Airlines plane departed Kunming at 1pm, on route to Guangzhou. At about 2.20pm, according to data from Flightradar24, the plane, a Boeing 737, plummeted more than 20,000 feet in just over a minute. It then seems to have regained altitude momentarily, before dropping rapidly again. The plane crashed near the city of Wuzhou in Teng County, Guangxi province.

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Nine people feared dead after Indonesian fishing boat capsizes off Australian coast

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 04:05 AM PDT

Three crew members rescued by Singapore-flagged bulk carrier with one now in a critical condition in Broome hospital

Nine people are missing and feared dead after an Indonesian fishing boat capsized off the north-west coast of Western Australia.

Australian authorities say the boat was carrying 12 people when it capsized on Sunday evening about 180km west of Ashmore Reef.

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Hong Kong eases travel rules in apparent shift from zero-Covid policy

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 02:51 AM PDT

Ban on flights from nine countries lifted for fully vaccinated residents and quarantine reduced to seven days

Hong Kong will lift a ban on flights from nine countries and reduce hotel quarantine alongside a "roadmap" towards eased restrictions that suggest a departure from the territory's zero-Covid policy, its leader has announced.

From 1 April, fully vaccinated Hong Kong residents who have received a negative PCR test will be allowed to enter on flights from the UK, Australia, Canada, France, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines and the US. Arrivals have to undergo seven days' hotel quarantine, down from 14 previously.

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Four dead, one missing after New Zealand fishing boat sinks in bad weather

Posted: 20 Mar 2022 08:31 PM PDT

Rescue operation off North Island's North Cape hampered by thunderstorms, swells and torrential downpours

A fishing trip in New Zealand has ended in tragedy, with four people dead and one passenger still missing after their boat sank during wild weather.

The rescue operation began on Sunday evening after a charter fishing vessel activated an emergency beacon off the North Island's North Cape. A helicopter was first on scene at the remote location, arriving at about 11.40pm but by 2.30am the boat had sunk.

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China has fully militarized three islands in South China Sea, US admiral says

Posted: 20 Mar 2022 06:47 PM PDT

John C Aquilino says Beijing is flexing its military muscle by arming isles with fighter jets, anti-ship systems and other military facilities

China has fully militarized at least three of several islands it built in the disputed South China Sea, arming them with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, laser and jamming equipment and fighter jets in an increasingly aggressive move that threatens all nations operating nearby, a top US military commander said Sunday.

US Indo-Pacific commander Admiral John C Aquilino said the hostile actions were in stark contrast to the Chinese president Xi Jinping's past assurances that Beijing would not transform the artificial islands in contested waters into military bases. The efforts were part of China's flexing its military muscle, he said.

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Australia news live updates: 11 Covid deaths; Victorian Greens call for month of free public transport; regional NBN budget boost

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 04:39 PM PDT

Victorian Greens call for month of free public transport as cost of living rises; NSW records 20,960 new Covid cases and four deaths; Victoria records seven deaths and 9,594 new cases; budget boost for regional NBN network; free tickets to Shane Warne memorial service to be released today. Follow the latest updates live

Peter Malinauskas has promised to keep his shirt on from now on, after a photo of his muscled torso made quite a stir in the world of Australian politics.

ABC radio host Patricia Karvelas:

During the campaign, you were photographed shirtless in swimming shorts, and it caused a bit of a stir. I have to ask you ... the Australian's Greg Sheridan said jokingly on [ABC] Insiders that you're "far too good looking". Which I thought was quite a statement. What have you made of the reaction to that picture?

Do you have any idea how much grief I've copped around the place as a result of that?

Have they told you just to buff to be premier?

They've piled it on, let me tell you. I haven't stopped copping it, and I deserve every bit of it.

We were announcing a big investment at our major aquatics centre here in South Australia and a whole bunch of us jumped in for a swim in our boardies with our kids there. And, yeah, it got a bit more attention than I anticipated, fair to say.

So you're going to keep your shirt on from now on?

Damn straight!

I think we're about to see a federal election where a cost of living is a front and centre issue. And I think Australians get the price of petrol, but they can't control the price of groceries.

The way we address cost of living as a nation is to start having an incomes policy focus on how we improve working in small businesses to improve the productivity of their labour, so they can earn a higher income. And that's why education, training and skills is so important.

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Google excludes several independent candidates from Australian political ad tracker

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 04:30 PM PDT

Exclusive: Tech giant's transparency report, intended to 'support election integrity', did not include ad spending of certain candidates

Google has admitted it overlooked several independent candidates and failed to include their elections ads in its public data on paid political material, raising doubts about the tech giant's ability to track advertising during the looming federal campaign.

Google said it was working "intently" to fix the error after candidates Allegra Spender, Monique Ryan, Sophie Scamps and Penny Ackery raised their omission from the company's transparency report on political advertising in Australia.

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Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith steady Australia in third Test against Pakistan

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 03:26 PM PDT

  • Pair's 138-run stand takes hosts to 232-5 at stumps on day one
  • Smith (59) still waiting for first Test ton since January 2021

Usman Khawaja has said it is funny that people are talking about Steve Smith's Test century drought given the former skipper is still consistently producing big scores. Smith cut a frustrated figure after being dismissed for 59 on day one of the third Test against Pakistan in Lahore.

The 32-year-old combined with Khawaja (91) for a crucial 138-run stand to help settle the ship after Australia had crashed to 8-2.

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Ben Roberts-Smith defamation trial: woman who war veteran had affair with to give evidence

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 02:15 PM PDT

Person 17, who is at the centre of an allegation of domestic violence, which Ben Roberts-Smith denies, will enter the witness box

The woman with whom Ben Roberts-Smith was having an affair – and who is at the centre of an allegation of domestic violence against him – is expected to give evidence in his defamation trial on Tuesday afternoon.

The trial has spent weeks focused on Australian SAS missions in Afghanistan, with a series of former comrades giving evidence about actions on operation, but it will shift its focus to Australia as the woman, anonymised in court documents as Person 17, enters the witness box.

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Over a third of all Australians live in childcare ‘deserts’, research says

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 01:00 PM PDT

Report also shows women's participation in workforce lower in areas where children outnumber available places by 3:1 or more

When Nicole Greem decided to return to her job as a nurse after maternity leave, her biggest stumbling block wasn't whether she could find work, but whether she could access childcare.

Like many places in regional New South Wales, Bourke, where Greem and her family live, had been crying out for healthcare workers. But even those who lived there were struggling to take up the shifts they wanted.

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Labor government would present second 2022 budget to correct ‘decade of rorts and waste’, shadow treasurer says

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 09:30 AM PDT

Jim Chalmers says if elected, an Albanese government will deliver a 'proper' budget before the end of the year to amend 'damage of the last 10 years'

A Labor government would present a second "proper" budget in 2022 if elected to correct the "decade of rorts and waste" they expect to be bookended by treasurer Josh Frydenberg's budget next week.

The shadow treasurer, Jim Chalmers, will tell the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday an Albanese government would release its own budget by the time of the traditional mid-year fiscal update in December, if not sooner.

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Russia-Ukraine war: US sees ‘clear evidence of war crimes’ as Boris Johnson said to be ‘desperate’ to visit Ukraine – live

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 04:33 PM PDT

Two women dead after ‘serious violence’ at Malmö school

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 04:24 PM PDT

No reports of gunfire, police say, as man aged 18 arrested on suspicion of murder

Two women have died after "being subjected to serious violence at a secondary school in the southern Swedish town of Malmö.

It was not immediately known what had happened but police said there had been no reports of gunfire.

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More than 1,100 earthquakes shake Portugal’s Azores islands

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 02:35 PM PDT

Small tremors hit the mid-Atlantic group of islands causing officials to trigger emergency plans

About 1,100 small earthquakes have rattled one of Portugal's mid-Atlantic volcanic islands in under 48 hours, prompting authorities to activate an emergency plan as experts assess a "seismic crisis".

Rui Marques, head of the Azores archipelago's seismo-volcanic surveillance centre Civisa, said on Monday the earthquakes, with a magnitude ranging from 1.9 to 3.3, had been recorded on the island of São Jorge since Saturday afternoon.

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Russia threatens to cut ties with US after Biden labels Putin a ‘war criminal’

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 01:50 PM PDT

US ambassador in Moscow summoned for an official protest as EU ministers meet to discuss further sanctions

Russia has warned of a breach of its relations with Washington and summoned the US ambassador in Moscow for an official protest over Joe Biden's labelling of Vladimir Putin as a war criminal, as the US president held talks with European allies on efforts to stop the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Biden talked to the leaders of the UK, France, Germany and Italy on Monday as part of his effort to maintain a unified front to Moscow, amid signs of cracks within the EU on how far to go in imposing sanctions on Russian oil and gas.

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Video released showing Russian hoax call with UK defence secretary

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 01:24 PM PDT

'Russian state actors' blamed for prank call made to Ben Wallace

• Russia-Ukraine war: latest updates

A video of defence secretary Ben Wallace being duped into speaking by phone to an impostor posing as the Ukrainian prime minister was published on Monday – hours after Downing Street said it believed Russian state actors were responsible for the hoax.

In the short clip, Wallace replies with scepticism and apparent confusion when the caller asks him questions.

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Ukraine says it will never surrender its cities as Odesa reports airstrikes on flats

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 12:05 PM PDT

Russia accused of striking residential areas in what would be first attack on Black Sea port

Ukraine has said it will never bow to ultimatums to surrender its cities, including devastated Mariupol, as authorities in Odesa accused Russian forces of striking residential areas in their first attack on the vital Black Sea port.

After his government rejected out of hand a 5am Monday deadline to cease fighting for Mariupol, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said the country would no more give up the besieged southern city than it would Kyiv or Kharkiv.

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Australian man, 83, dies in Iranian prison after being denied healthcare

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 01:03 PM PDT

Amnesty says Australian-Iranian Shokrollah Jebeli was subjected to 'more than two years of torture'

An Australian-Iranian man in his eighties jailed over a financial dispute has died in prison in Iran, Amnesty International said, accusing Tehran of subjecting him to torture by denying urgent medical care.

Shokrollah Jebeli,83, who had been incarcerated in Tehran's Evin prison since January 2020, died on Sunday after being taken from prison to hospital the previous day, Amnesty said.

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Egypt fixes price of bread as Ukraine war hits wheat supply

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 08:23 AM PDT

Commercially sold bread set at 11.50 Egyptian pounds a kilo as Russian invasion sends wheat prices soaring

Egypt has fixed the price of unsubsidised bread amid a global surge in wheat prices since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The move comes after war shut off access to cheaper wheat from the Black Sea region, particularly affecting exports to the Middle East and north African region. Egypt is the world's biggest wheat importer, bringing in about 60% of its grain from overseas. Russia and Ukraine accounted for 80% of the country's imports last year.

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Germany agrees gas deal with Qatar to help end dependency on Russia

Posted: 20 Mar 2022 10:39 AM PDT

Long-term contract will not immediately stop flow of money to Russia, for which German ministers have been criticised

Germany has agreed a contract with Qatar for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) that will help the European country wean itself off its dependency on Russian energy.

But the contract is a long-term solution and will do little to slow the current flow of European money into Russian coffers, estimated to be worth $285m (£217m) a day for oil alone.

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‘No one will marry your children,’ Pakistan PM warns MPs ahead of no-confidence vote

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 12:44 PM PDT

Imran Khan cajoles and threatens his own and opposition lawmakers on eve of vote

With a vote of no-confidence looming over his government, Pakistan's prime minister, Imran Khan, warned those planning to vote against him that they risk social disgrace, and that "no one will marry your children".

The no-confidence vote is expected to be tabled on Friday 25 March, backed by a coalition of politicians who accuse Khan of bad governance and economic incompetence. In January inflation reached 13% and the cost of fuel and food rocketed.

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Boris Johnson did prioritise animal charity for Afghan evacuation, MPs told

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 12:08 PM PDT

Second whistleblower suggests to committee that top civil servants lied to cover up episode

A second whistleblower has gone public to say it was "widespread knowledge" in government that Boris Johnson ordered the prioritisation of an animal charity based in Afghanistan for evacuation during the Taliban takeover last summer.

Josie Stewart, who worked in the Foreign Office for seven years, including a stint in the Kabul embassy, suggested senior civil servants in the department had lied to cover up the embarrassing episode.

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US declares Myanmar army committed genocide against Rohingya

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 08:06 AM PDT

Designation could put global pressure on military-led government, which faces accusations at international court of justice

The US has declared Myanmar's mass killing of the Rohingya Muslim population to be a "genocide".

The secretary of state, Antony Blinken, made the announcement at the Holocaust Memorial Museum.

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Darjeeling unlimited: new party vows to end region’s strife

Posted: 20 Mar 2022 10:45 PM PDT

Hamro's leader promises new start for Indian hill station after years of strikes and insurgencies

India's romantic hill station Darjeeling has evoked images of beautiful tea-growing gardens but also, for those who follow its politics, of industrial strikes and violent insurgencies.

No more, says the leader of a new political party that swept to power in recent municipal polls, vowing to end years of agitation that have blighted the region's main sources of income: tea and tourism.

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Boris Johnson ‘desperate’ to visit Ukraine, says Tory party chair

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 02:37 PM PDT

Oliver Dowden says PM has a 'real emotional connection' with the Ukrainian people but No 10 sources say a trip is unlikely

Boris Johnson is "desperate" to go to Ukraine and has a "real emotional connection" with the Ukrainian people, the Tory party chair has claimed.

It was reported at the weekend that Johnson wanted to go to Kyiv but on Monday No 10 sources indicated this is unlikely to happen.

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Treasury considers ways to ease cost of living in spring statement

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 02:02 PM PDT

Reluctant to make big fiscal changes, chancellor Rishi Sunak considers tax adjustments and fuel duty cut

The Treasury has drawn up a range of options to help with the cost of living crisis – including a 1p cut to income tax, raising the national insurance threshold and a significant cut to fuel duty.

But government sources said Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, was still reluctant to make big fiscal changes.

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Rapist jailed for 17 years after attacking again while on bail

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 01:50 PM PDT

Charles Goodwin, 21, was under investigation when he raped and assaulted two women

A "cold, unempathetic, manipulative" student who raped and sexually attacked two women while he was on bail and being investigated for an earlier violent rape has been jailed for 17 years.

Charles Goodwin, 21, attacked his victims after getting them drunk, Liverpool crown court heard.

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Downing Street parties: Met police begin interviewing witnesses

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 01:16 PM PDT

News comes after questionnaires were sent to more than 100 people thought to be involved in lockdown gatherings

Boris Johnson is facing a possible police interview over lockdown breaches in Downing Street as the Metropolitan police said they intended to start questioning witnesses after sending out questionnaires to more than 100 people.

But the police statement – issued two months since inquiries began – suggests officers have not yet found breaches that meet the evidentiary threshold for fixed-penalty notices to be issued without further interviews. No FPNs have been issued so far, the force said.

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Johnson announces aim for UK to get 25% of electricity from nuclear power

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 12:25 PM PDT

PM meets industry bosses to discuss new power stations, with several reactors slated for closure as energy demand rises

Boris Johnson has told nuclear industry bosses that the government wants the UK to get 25% of its electricity from nuclear power, in a move that would signal a significant shift in the country's energy mix.

Johnson on Monday met executives from major nuclear utilities and technology companies including the UK's Rolls-Royce, France's EDF, and the US's Westinghouse and Bechtel to discuss ways of helping to speed up the development of new nuclear power stations.

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Replacements for P&O Ferries crew paid £1.80 an hour, unions say

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 12:05 PM PDT

RMT says agency rates for seafarers are 'gut-wrenching betrayal' of 800 sacked British staff

Seafarers from abroad brought in to replace the 800 sacked British P&O Ferries crew are being paid as little as £1.80 an hour, unions have claimed.

The news emerged as Labour accused the government of doing "absolutely nothing" when it learned of the planned sackings, as a memorandum with the "game plan" of P&O was circulated on Wednesday evening.

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Ketanji Brown Jackson speaks at her confirmation hearing – finally

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 03:06 PM PDT

Nominee talked of 'historic chance' to be the first Black woman on supreme court – but first she had to listen to a lot of white men

History was made Monday, as the first Black woman ever nominated to the US supreme court testified to the Senate judiciary committee. But before Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson could speak at her confirmation hearing, she first had to listen to a lot of white men.

The Senate confirmation hearings for Jackson started Monday, giving the judge and every member of the judiciary committee the opportunity to deliver remarks about her nomination.

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Supreme court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson tells Senate ‘I decide cases from a neutral posture’ – as it happened

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 01:58 PM PDT

With the clack of a gavel, Senate Judiciary Committee Dick Durbin opened the hearing. He began by noting Thomas's hospitalization and wishing him a speedy recovery. He then laid out the rules, asking the audience to remain respectful and vowing to remove any loud or unruly protesters.

He then moved into the meat of his argument, touching on the significance of her nomination.

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Ketanji Brown Jackson vows to defend US constitution in opening remarks

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 01:37 PM PDT

Ketanji Brown Jackson promised to defend the US constitution and what she called the "grand experiment of American democracy" in her opening remarks to the Senate confirmation hearings that could see her become the first Black woman to sit on the US supreme court since in its 233 years of existence.

Jackson, 51, addressed the Senate judiciary committee on Monday at the start of four days of potentially bruising partisan wrangling over her nomination. She struck a conciliatory tone, stressing her ideological neutrality.

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US watchdog plans to make companies reveal greenhouse-gas emissions

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 11:14 AM PDT

Climate action rules announced by SEC chair Gary Gensler expected to face opposition from Republicans and industry groups

The US's top financial watchdog proposed on Monday that publicly traded companies report information on their greenhouse-gas emissions and even those of their suppliers and consumers in one of the Biden administration's most sweeping environmental actions to date.

The new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules faces staunch opposition from some politicians and members of the business community and will be open to public comment for at least two months before final rules are released.

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Ted Cruz laments angry supreme court hearings a day after angry airport fracas

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 10:52 AM PDT

Texas senator filmed becoming confrontational with airport staff after missing check-in window for flight from Bozeman, Montana

In Washington on Monday, the Texas senator Ted Cruz complained that supreme court confirmation hearings have become increasingly angry and confrontational.

In Bozeman, Montana the previous day, however, the Republican was filmed becoming angry and confrontational with airport staff and an armed police officer.

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Texas wildfires: approaching storm could bring rain but also high winds

Posted: 21 Mar 2022 10:19 AM PDT

Fires have caused two deaths, including one in Oklahoma, as largest blaze is 30% contained after burning nearly 85 square miles

Wildfires continued to scorch parts of Texas on Monday while a storm system moving through could bring much-needed rain but also strong winds, forecasters said.

The Eastland Complex, which comprises several fires in one place, had burned nearly 85 square miles in an area about 120 miles west of Dallas and was 30% contained as of Monday morning.

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