Hooligans are up to all sorts of impish mayhem in this rote action flick apparently modelled on The RaidRussia’s hooligan set will have a new Friday-night post-pub favourite with this martial arts film, modelled on Gareth Evans’s The Raid. In a literal hostile takeover, former Spetsnaz sniper Nikita (Ivan Kotik) leads a squad of tracksuited casuals into a vodka factory/mafia front on behalf of a shady businessmen (Ilya Antonenko) looking to seize it – but he also has a personal beef with the owner.For reasons half-explained, the squad are forbidden from carrying guns, and the chief heavy (played by real-life MMA fighter Vladimir Mineev) chafes against Nikita’s command from the off. They work their way up through the factory’s security to the C-suite, with much fisticuffs, mostly in the fashionable MMA style – with heavy emphasis on grappling and backhanded slaps that look prissy but probably aren’t. The standout is a corridor-hemmed brawl against three juggernauts wielding a host of medieval weaponry, with director Denis Kryuchkov often keeping us locked in with the combatants with swaying, reeling Steadicam. Continue reading...

Asian American leaders dismayed that discrimination and harassment continues to be downplayed by federal and local policeFederal and local law enforcement agencies are under pressure to increase efforts to combat the rising tide of hate crimes against Asian Americans in the wake of the Atlanta, Georgia spa shootings that left eight people dead, six of them women of Asian descent.Related: Atlanta spa shootings: what we know so far Continue reading...

Lauren Gambino, political correspondent for Guardian US, discusses the $1.9tn Covid relief package, which was passed by Congress last week. It was seen as a major legislative victory for Joe BidenLauren Gambino, political correspondent for Guardian US, talks to Anushka Asthana about the landmark $1.9tn coronavirus relief bill that was passed last week delivering the first major legislative victory of Joe Biden’s presidency and a sweeping promise to raise millions of Americans out of poverty.The sweeping legislation was the culmination of an aggressive push by Biden and Democrats to fulfil their campaign promise to control the virus and deliver swift economic relief as a first act after securing narrow control of both chambers of Congress and the White House. But the partisan result foreshadows the unforgiving political landscape Biden will face as he attempts to move the rest of his agenda through Congress in the coming months. Despite promising unity and bipartisanship, he was unable to persuade a single Republican to vote for the measure, which they said was filled with liberal policies and ignored signs of economic recovery. Continue reading...

Capt Jay Baker also reportedly posted images on Facebook of T-shirts with racist slogan on China and coronavirusA Georgia sheriff’s captain has faced widespread criticism for appearing to characterise the actions of Robert Aaron Long, the 21-year-old charged with killing eight people in Atlanta, six of them women of Asian descent, as “having a really bad day”.Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, Capt Jay Baker of the Cherokee county sheriff’s office said investigators had interviewed Long that morning. Continue reading...

Joe Biden has condemned Vladimir Putin, saying he thinks the Russian leader is a killer and that he told him he did not have a soul. Biden’s remarks were made on ABC News in an interview with George Stephanopoulos. The interview coincided with the release of a declassified US intelligence report that bolstered allegations Putin was behind Moscow’s interference in the 2020 election. When pressed on the allegations against Russia, Biden said Putin ‘will pay a price’ for the attempts to swing the vote in Donald Trump’s favor

Eight people, the majority women of Asian descent, were killed in three attacks. A 21-year-old man is in custody

Veteran government trade lawyer is also the first woman of color to serve in role responsible for enforcing US trade dealsThe US Senate on Wednesday voted unanimously to confirm the veteran government trade lawyer Katherine Tai as the first woman of color and first Asian American to serve as the US trade representative, putting her to work enforcing trade deals, confronting China’s trade practices and patching up ties with US allies. Continue reading...

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

Locals mourn eight victims killed on Tuesday at spas in area that has long functioned as red-light district of sorts

If at least 1.5m of those signatures are validated, the state will hold an election to recall Gavin Newsom this yearGavin Newsom is gearing up for a recall challenge, with the California governor’s fiercest critics saying they have filed the signatures needed to call an election to remove him from office.The Wednesday deadline to submit at least 1.5m valid voter signatures to trigger a gubernatorial recall has come two days before the anniversary of California’s first statewide shelter-in-place order. Counties now have until the end of April to verify petition signatures. Continue reading...

Jurors dismissed after judge concerned they been tainted by city’s settlement with Floyd’s familyA judge on Wednesday dismissed two jurors who had been seated for the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer accused in George Floyd’s death over concerns they had been tainted by the city’s announcement of a $27m settlement with Floyd’s family.Hennepin county judge Peter Cahill recalled seven jurors who were seated before the settlement announcement last week, and questioned each about what they knew of the settlement and whether it would affect their ability to serve. Former officer Derek Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, had requested the recall. Continue reading...

Polls taking place months apart simply highlight the two-tier system that denies Palestinians any real voice or freedomFor the first time in decades, the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel will hold legislative elections a few months apart. Many in the international community and media will see this as a joint exercise in democracy but it is, in fact, a window into the reality of a two-tiered system that denies Palestinians the basic freedom and rights that many across the world take for granted.Drive across the winding roads of the West Bank this spring and you will see election posters interrupting the beautiful landscape of olive and almond trees. Upon further inspection, you may soon realise that the candidate advertised is not an eager Palestinian campaigning for a parliamentary seat. It is likely to be an Israeli candidate running for the Israeli parliament. Continue reading...

5,125 incidents of racist, antisemitic and other hateful messages reported by Anti-Defamation League versus 2,724 in 2019Distribution of white supremacist propaganda nearly doubled across America in 2020, with 5,125 incidents of racist, antisemitic and other hateful messages being reported by an advocacy group.The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said Wednesday that 2020 had the “highest level” of cases of such propaganda since it started monitoring the phenomenon – an average of about 14 cases daily. There were 2,724 instances reported in 2019, ADL said. Continue reading...

The superstar has long been known as a destroyer of Boston’s NBA team. But he could help the city’s baseball franchise rediscover its fortunesA few years ago, it would have sounded like a joke without a punchline but it’s true: Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is now a partial owner of the Boston Red Sox. On Tuesday, news spread that James and business partner Maverick Carter would be, pending MLB approval, partners in Fenway Sports Group, the company which owns Liverpool FC, the sports network NESN and the Red Sox. While the idea of James helping to guide the future of the historic franchise will require a period of adjustment for fans and media alike, it’s difficult to imagine how this won’t be a positive development for both the team and baseball itself.Now, it’s not surprising at all that James would invest money in a sports franchise. James – whose estimated net worth lies somewhere in the $500m range – has been very clear that his ultimate goal is to one day own an NBA franchise. He already owned a 2% share in Liverpool, so this is just another step towards his retirement goal. Continue reading...

Bored in lockdown, I seek out answers to questions I’ve long pondered, such as the difference between onions and shallotsOne day when I was little, some time in the late 1970s, I suppose, I was sitting with my nan and grandad in their front room. My auntie was there, too. My brother and I were watching the television; Grandad was reading the paper. At one point he abruptly dropped his newspaper and asked: “Is Hamlet about a small English village?” My auntie told him no, it was about a Danish prince. “Oh,” he said, before raising his newspaper again. Bar the chuntering of the television, silence fell. And that was that.For some reason this exchange has stayed with me for more than 40 years. I think it was his tone of voice, which suggested the question had been vaguely niggling away at him for most of the 20th century. I feel a bit sorry for him; if only he’d had the internet at his disposal and the confidence to use it, he would have had his answer. There is no need to idly wonder about things like that any more, and there’s certainly no need to ask it out loud and risk looking a bit of a chump. Not that he ever looked a chump in my eyes; he was my hero. Continue reading...

In an interview scheduled to air Wednesday, president says allegations against New York governor should be ‘taken seriously’Joe Biden has said that Andrew Cuomo should resign if the state attorney general’s investigation confirms the sexual harassment allegations against him.The president made the remarks in an interview with ABC News that is scheduled to air on Wednesday morning. When asked by the anchor George Stephanopoulos if the investigation confirms the claims of the women, should Cuomo resign, Biden said “yes”, adding, “I think he’d probably end up being prosecuted, too. Continue reading...

Man taken into custody after shootings at three locations, amid rising number of attacks on Asian Americans in the US

At least eight people were killed in a spate of shootings at Atlanta massage parlours. Plus, Russia used Trump allies to spread misinformation about Biden during the election, intelligence finds

Nothing, it seems, can be allowed to tarnish the national myth – as I found when hosting a Cambridge debate about his murkier sideA baleful silence attends one of the most talked-about figures in British history. You may enthuse endlessly about Winston Churchill “single-handedly” defeating Hitler. But mention his views on race or his colonial policies, and you’ll be instantly drowned in ferocious and orchestrated vitriol.In a sea of fawningly reverential Churchill biographies, hardly any books seriously examine his documented racism. Nothing, it seems, can be allowed to complicate, let alone tarnish, the national myth of a flawless hero: an idol who “saved our civilisation”, as Boris Johnson claims, or “humanity as a whole”, as David Cameron did. Make an uncomfortable observation about his views on white supremacy and the likes of Piers Morgan will ask: “Why do you live in this country?” Continue reading...

Punitive truancy policies mean US families may face fines, or even prosecution. A health crisis, recession and bad internet can make remote learning impossible

Groups say companies’ support would help kill measures which aim to cut early voting, require voter ID and limit ballot drop boxesCivil rights groups are escalating pressure on major Georgia companies including Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines to forcefully oppose sweeping new restrictions that would make it harder to vote in the state. Continue reading...

Congressman is a top contender for the role, but immigrant groups and criminal justice advocates say his record should disqualify him

Athletes helps their schools raise billions of dollars in revenue and never see a single cent. It is an issue at the forefront of many of their mindsOn 30 January, Rutgers basketball player Geo Baker wrote on Instagram in response to a post by US college sports’ governing body, the NCAA: “I have to sign a paper that says my name and likeness belongs to the school. Modern day slavery. u realize we are playing in a pandemic being told to stay away from everyone we love just for y’all entertainment but i can’t sell my own jersey with my last name on it to help my future financially. That makes sense to u?” In invoking “slavery” and linking it to both the denial of economic rights for US college athletes – or, to call them what they really are, campus athletic workers – and the ongoing requirement of play during a pandemic, Baker highlights one of the ugliest dimensions of the college sport industrial complex: the disproportionately racialized nature of its exploitative dynamics.This week marks the start of the biggest event on the college sports calendar, the NCAA Basketball Tournament. And for those unfamiliar with the absurdist world of US college sports, it is big business. Like, really big business, particularly in the elite Power Five conferences. How big? In the 2018-2019 academic year, the 65 Power Five universities generated $8.3bn through athletics. Yet, aside from scholarships, players don’t see any of that money directly. If players did receive a share, economist David Berri has calculated that men’s basketball players at an elite Power Five school like Duke would receive between $145,000 and $4.13m per year. And, here’s the thing: an extremely high proportion of the players being systematically denied the revenue they are responsible for generating are Black. Continue reading...

At least eight people have been killed in a series of shootings at three Atlanta area massage parlors. Authorities described a number of victims as women of Asian descent. A 21-year-old man, Robert Aaron Long, has been taken into custody. The first shooting occurred at Young’s Asian Massage near Acworth in Cherokee county, just north-west of Atlanta. Police officers responded to a reported robbery at Gold Spa in the city’s north-east and were then alerted to another shooting across the street at the Aromatherapy Spa

Brandon Boulware urged Missouri lawmakers to reject bill that would designate school athletic teams based on ‘biological sex’The father of a transgender girl has attracted millions of views with his moving plea to Missouri lawmakers to reject a bill that would ban her from playing on girls’ sports teams.Speaking at a hearing of the bill in the Missouri House of Representatives earlier this month, Brandon Boulware told how for years, against the advice of teachers and therapists, he and his wife forced their child to “wear boy clothes, get short haircuts and play on boys’ sports teams”. Continue reading...

Eight people have died after three shootings at massage parlors in and around the city of Atlanta in Georgia

Two commuters in southern Idaho are lucky to be alive after their pickup truck plunged off a bridge - saved only by the quick work of emergency crews, and a set of 'safety chains' attaching the Ford F50 to the 30ft camper trailer it was carrying, which miraculously held firm.

Safety chains attaching pickup truck to camper trailer prevented it from fallingAuthorities say a set of camper trailer safety chains and quick, careful work by emergency crews saved two people after their pickup truck plunged off a bridge, leaving them dangling above a deep gorge in southern Idaho.Idaho state police responded to the accident at about 2.45pm on Monday, said Lynn Hightower, a police spokesperson. A trooper found a man and a woman inside the pickup truck that was dangling, nose-down, off the side of the bridge spanning the Malad Gorge. Continue reading...

President visits unionized, Black-owned company to highlight how $1.9tn package will lift small businessesJoe Biden stopped by a unionized, Black-owned flooring company in the battleground state of Pennsylvania on Tuesday to highlight how the provisions of his $1.9tn coronavirus relief package will help lift small businesses hurt by the pandemic, part of a cross-country campaign to promote the first major legislative achievement of his presidency. Continue reading...

The state party does not want Murkowski to identify as a GOP candidate in next year’s electionThe Alaska Republican party has censured Senator Lisa Murkowski for voting to convict Donald Trump at his impeachment trial and now doesn’t want her to identify as a GOP candidate in next year’s election, a member of the party’s state central committee said on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Intelligence report underscored allegations that Trump allies played into Moscow’s hands by amplifying claims against Biden

Former first lady’s comments seen as encouragement for royal family ‘to act’ after Oprah Winfrey interview with Harry and Meghan

Homeland security secretary urges people to wait before approaching the border to give the US ‘time to rebuild the system’

Kamala Harris spoke about democracy and its connection with women’s equality in her debut address to the UN as US vice-president. ‘This year, in considering the status of women, especially the participation of women in decision making, we must also consider the status of democracy,’ Harris told the 65th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. ‘It is a means to establish peace and shared prosperity. It should ensure every citizen, regardless of gender, has an equal voice’

Two lawmakers present bill to establish requirement but it is unclear whether it will passTwo Republican Wisconsin lawmakers want to require prisoners to use Covid-19 stimulus payments to fund restitution for their crimes, rather than be given outright access to such funds.The legislators have presented a bill to establish the requirement, the Washington Post reported, but it is not clear that it will pass. Continue reading...

The mishandling of the pandemic has only strengthened the former president’s standing – and now he’s free to run againOn Wednesday 10 March, Brazil’s former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva gave a rousing comeback speech at the metalworkers’ union headquarters in São Bernardo do Campo, an industrial centre in the São Paulo metropolitan region from where Lula first emerged as a national figure in the 1970s. The day before, in a shocking turnaround that surprised even those convinced of his innocence, a justice on the supreme court annulled the criminal convictions against Lula, rendering him eligible to run for a third term next year.The ruling in Lula’s favour would have been a major story even if his popularity had faded since leaving office in 2011. But recent polls show that he remains strikingly electable, ahead of the far-right incumbent, Jair Bolsonaro, who won the 2018 election. Other polls suggest a closer race, which is still notable given that Lula has not even started campaigning. Lula also led in the polls three years ago but was barred from running by an infamous judge who went on to join the Bolsonaro administration. For his part, Bolsonaro, a retired army captain who served without distinction in congress for 27 years, has presided over an unmitigated catastrophe. If Latin America’s largest nation was once held up as a model for how to balance economic growth with dramatic poverty reduction, its current leadership seems perfectly content with being a global pariah (the foreign minister literally said as much last October). Continue reading...

Best known for his roles as Parker in Alien, Mr Big in Live and Let Die and Lt Al Giardello in Homicide: Life on the Street, Yaphet Kotto has died at the age of 81. Here we look back at the career of the pioneering actor Continue reading...