More than half of women in South Africa projected to have condition, with no country expected to meet WHO target of halting rise, according to World Obesity Atlas figuresMore than a billion people around the world will be obese by 2030 – double the number there was in 2010, according to new global estimates.No country is on track to meet the World Health Organization’s (WHO) target to halt obesity by 2025, with one in five women and one in seven men predicted to have the condition by 2030. Continue reading...
by Stefanie Glinski in Kabul, Afghanistan on (#5WR59)
The photojournalist Stefanie Glinski reports on a country traumatised and tired, with an uncertain future as unemployment and poverty spread and memories of freedoms fadeAugust’s adrenaline may have worn off but the harrowing memories have not faded. It’s been six months since the Taliban took Kabul, the country’s then president and his cabinet fled and thousands of people flooded the airport in panic, so desperate for a way out that several men tried to hold on to a departing plane and fell to their deaths.Food distribution in the northern Jowzjan province. Due to the economic crisis, many people cannot afford food, even though it’s widely available in the market. Continue reading...
As they reboot the classic Buffalo Stance, the friends talk sisterhood, being Swedish and fighting the systemAs two of pop’s most innovative stars convene on Zoom – Neneh Cherry in bed in London, Robyn at home in Stockholm – it’s telling that they spend most of their conversation celebrating their collaborators and creative communities.Thirty-three years since Cherry emerged from the punk underground into the pop mainstream with Buffalo Stance, Robyn (alongside the producer Dev Hynes and the Swedish rapper Mapei) has covered that timelessly bolshie hit for a new covers collection celebrating Cherry’s first three albums. What may appear to be a pop year zero, says Cherry, was simply a threshold in an ongoing continuity that started in her native Sweden’s collectivist spirit, grew through New York City’s burgeoning rap scene and London punk and street style, and, ultimately, swept a preteen Robyn into its orbit. Continue reading...
Woman says officer suggested she and husband talk to alleged attacker ‘to set record straight’Greater Manchester police (GMP) have paid out £8,000 to a woman who reported being drugged and raped, only to be pressed into dropping the case without a proper investigation “because nothing will come of it”.The 31-year-old woman, who is married with three children, reported the rape on 14 July 2019, a few hours after waking up disoriented at the alleged perpetrator’s house in Wigan, Greater Manchester. Continue reading...
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has accused Russia of nuclear terrorism after a fire burned for several hours at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. The shelling of the nuclear plant, the largest of its kind in Europe, prompted widespread concern about the safety of Ukraine’s atomic infrastructure. 'We are warning everybody – not a single state apart from Russia has ever shelled nuclear reactors,' Zelenskiy said. 'It is the first time in our history, in the history of humankind, that the terrorist state turned to nuclear terrorism'
by Rebecca Ratcliffe and Navaon Siradapuvadol in Bang on (#5WR1X)
Big brewers maintain monopoly as smaller operations incur huge fines for even sharing photos of their beerNaamcial’s craft beers often have distinctly Thai flavours, as he experiments with the country’s native produce, boiling the pulp of jackfruit and mango to mix into different creations. Yet his homemade products are forbidden in the kingdom.Talking to the Guardian under a pseudonym, Naamcial says he would like to operate a legal brewery, but Thailand’s laws around alcohol production make this ambition almost impossible for newcomers. Current laws restrict brewing licences to manufacturers that have capital of 10 million baht (£230,000), while brewpubs must produce at least 100,000 litres a year and only serve their beer on their premises. The legislation effectively blocks new, small breweries from opening, and tips the market firmly in favour of two powerful companies – Thai Beverage, which produces Chang beer, and Boon Rawd Brewery, which produces Singha and Leo. Continue reading...
Disagreement is a sign of healthy democratic debate not of dysfunction – and hard-core conspiracists remain marginalThe occupation of New Zealand’s parliament was fractured from the outset: fascists vied for control with controversial pastors, conspiracy theorists and more moderate anti-mandate protesters. And even as the occupation violently collapsed with rioters lobbing cobblestones at police, the divisions remained. Some shouted “burn it down”, while others tried to restrain them.As New Zealand reacts to some of its darkest days in recent memory, these internal rivalries are, obscurely, a hopeful sign – a reminder there was far more division inside the protest than between the protesters and the wider nation. Continue reading...
Members of the Ukrainian parliament sang the country's national anthem as they gathered in the capital of Kyiv amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine.This footage, posted to Twitter by Ukrainian MP Sasha Ustinova, shows people in the meeting singing the anthem while some held their hands to their chest. About 300 MPs attended the meeting, which approved a bill to allow the seizure of assets or property in Ukraine owned by Russia or Russian citizens amid the Russian invasion
The case was filed by Abu Zubaydah, a Guantánamo prisoner arrested and held without charge since 2002, in PolandTwo psychologists who devised the CIA’s post-9/11 system of US “enhanced interrogation”, which has been widely denounced as torture, cannot be called to testify in a case in Poland brought by a terrorism suspect subjected to the abuses, the supreme court has ruled.In a 6-3 ruling on Thursday, the court allowed the US government to block the psychologists from giving evidence in a case brought by Abu Zubaydah, a Guantánamo prisoner who was arrested in 2002 and has been held without charge ever since. The majority of the justices granted the government the privilege of “state secrets” – a power that prevents the public disclosure of information deemed harmful to national security. Continue reading...
Thursday: Vladimir Putin tells Emmanuel Macron he will continue to pursue his war. Plus: are the catastrophic floods really a one-in-1,000 year event?Good morning. Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called for direct talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin as “the only way to stop this war”. The US and UK have announced additional sanctions on Russia. And more rain threatens the floods crisis in NSW.Concern is mounting over the movements of a huge column of Russian military vehicles outside Kyiv, amid a lack of fresh information about its position and the threat it poses. Vladimir Putin has told Emmanuel Macron that Kyiv’s “refusal to accept Russia’s conditions” means he will continue to pursue his war, the Élysée palace has said, adding: “We expect the worst is yet to come.” As the number of refugees fleeing the conflict passed a million and Russian forces, backed by heavy shelling, advanced on cities and key ports in the south and east, Russia’s president said in a 90-minute call to his French counterpart he was “prepared to go all the way”. Meanwhile, members of the public are paying for Airbnb rentals in Ukraine to help get money to residents. The world’s leading energy adviser said Europeans should turn down their thermostats by a degree to save on gas and reduce dependency on Russian imports. Macron has also warned that Europe must become more independent. Ikea has temporarily closed all stores and factories across Russia in a move affecting 15,000 workers, becoming the latest in a swathe of western firms to halt operations in the country. These efforts come as some countries scramble to speed up imposing sanction. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Political correspondent on (#5WQFJ)
MP presided over exams debacle after being sacked as defence secretary for alleged leakBoris Johnson has awarded a knighthood to Gavin Williamson, who was sacked as defence secretary for allegedly leaking secure information before presiding over a series of exams debacles as education secretary.The announcement was made by No 10 in a brief statement, which also said that Susan Williams, a Home Office minister in the Lords, has been made a member of the Privy Council. Continue reading...
A missile appeared to hit a residential building in central Chernihiv, northern Ukraine, in footage captured on dashcam. The state emergency service of Ukraine said an oil depot in Chernihiv was on fire on the same day after being hit by a shell
Top brands from M&S to Apple, Jaguar Land Rover, Expedia and Coca-Cola are suspending operationsIkea has temporarily closed all stores and factories across Russia in a move affecting 15,000 workers, becoming the latest in a swathe of western firms to halt operations in the country since it invaded Ukraine.The Swedish flatpack furniture company has mothballed its 17 outlets across Russia but said it would keep its Mega shopping centres open to allow access to essential retailers, such as food shops and pharmacies. Continue reading...
by Presented by Gabrielle Jackson with Lenore Taylor on (#5WQDE)
Catastrophic flooding has left at least 14 dead and thousands of homes destroyed in Queensland and NSW. In the middle of this crisis the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report was released, outlining how human actions are closing an ever-narrowing window to a liveable future. Gabrielle Jackson speaks to editor in chief Lenore Taylor and Queensland correspondent Ben Smee about how we report on severe weather events in a climate emergency.Read more: Continue reading...
From a failed attempt to dress as Hermione Granger to a Hungry Caterpillar who truly committed to the role, parents and former students on the mad dash to put together a literary outfitA few years ago my son’s school organised a World Book Day in which pupils were asked to turn up in costume. Two kids turned up wearing full Viking outfits, complete with plastic axes and horned helmets. They looked brilliant. Only trouble was their parents had got the day wrong: they turned up in costume the day before the actual event, and as they had been dropped off by taxi, they had to spend the first part of the day in costume while their fellow pupils were in normal school uniform.
The Australian soap has kept me hooked since 1986, becoming a major part of my daily existence – even when I didn’t have a TV signal. Ramsay Street, you will be missed• Beloved soap Neighbours to end after 37 years on airFrom the upbeat opening bars of its theme tune and the declaration that “Everybody needs good neighbours”, Neighbours was like a blast of fresh air blowing across British TV screens in 1986. Here was a show that was on BBC One twice a day; lunchtime and a repeat in the late afternoon. This was when Netflix was but a twinkle in Reed Hastings’s eye and a “streaming service” was probably a water-feature option offered by landscape gardeners. You watched Neighbours or you missed it.Centred on Ramsay Street, the Lassiters hotel complex, and the lives of the Ramsays and the Robinsons (think Jim Robinson and mother-in-law Helen Daniels), it was soon a must-watch for students in the UK because – despite being watched “ironically”, however one does that – it had young people at its heart. This is the show that brought us Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Guy Pearce and Panda from The Masked Singer, Natalie Imbruglia. Talk about a hit factory. But, wandering the banks of Lassiters lake, we were also in the company of Harold and Madge, Dr Karl and Susan Kennedy, “Toadfish” Rebecchi and more. But now, the curtain falls. After almost 9,000 episodes, Neighbours is to come to an end. Continue reading...
Renaissance works transported for first time since the artist installed them in churches 600 years agoA collection of bronzes sculpted by Renaissance master Donatello has been moved for the first time from the Italian churches where he installed them 600 years ago so that they can be displayed at a ground-breaking exhibition in FlorenceThree of the four pieces, a relief, a statue and two bronze doors, from Siena Cathedral and San Lorenzo baptistery in Florence, are also being restored to their former glory using techniques ranging from chiselling with porcupine needles to thermographing to discover structural weaknesses. Continue reading...
Michael and Maria Spressler’s surprise could be worth $10,000. That’s a cut above the mice, frogs and condoms that diners have discovered elsewhereName: Food surprises.Age: Well, there was a 34th anniversary the other day. Continue reading...
The basement of a Kyiv hospital is now the maternity ward, where expecting and new mothers bring new life into a world violently upended by a Russian military invasion.Alina Shinkar is 32 weeks pregnant with her first child. She was admitted to one of Kyiv’s maternity hospitals two weeks ago because of pregnancy complications. 'I woke up on the 24th of February, at 5 o’clock in the morning from the hit, that I heard. The explosion. And then I heard women started to cry and scream. The war started.'
A series of explosions were reported in Kyiv in the early hours of Thursday following Russian airstrikes.At least four explosions were reported in Ukraine’s capital around 3am, not long after Ukraine’s state special communications service had issued an alert saying: “Air alarm, Kyiv!” CBS reporter Charlie D'Agata had justfinished a cross when a bright flash andlarge boom happened behind him
by Eva Corlett in Wellington and Tess McClure in Auck on (#5WPKK)
Occupation a confronting shift in tone from first two years of pandemic, which were characterised by high support for government“We will not be defined by this,” prime minister Jacinda Ardern said, as New Zealand’s parliament grounds descended into chaos, fire and violence in a shocking end to the anti-mandate protests that have occupied the capital city’s centre.An undercurrent of violence had simmered throughout the weeks-long Ottawa-inspired occupation, which was blighted by abusive behaviour, conspiracy theories, and death threats. On Wednesday, riot police moved in with pepper spray and rubber bullets, and the powder keg exploded. Protesters set their tents alight, and lit a bonfire beneath the parliamentary children’s playground. People could be heard whooping and yelling, “burn it down, burn it down.” As fires burned across the lawns, some protesters worked to spread them and set more tents alight, while a woman screamed “What are you doing? People will get hurt”. Gas bottles exploded as they were consumed by the blaze. At a bonfire next to the cenotaph war memorial, protesters threw tents, trash and wooden pallets on the flames. Others hurled anything within reach at lines of riot police: chairs, fireworks, rubbish bins, and paving stones ripped from the parliamentary paths. Continue reading...
Yelena Osipova, a 77-year-old activist and a survivor of the infamous wartime siege of Leningrad, was marched away by a group of police while she protested against the war in Ukraine in the city, which was renamed St Petersburg in 1991. Thousands of people have been defying police threats and staging protests across Russia. Authorities have a low tolerance for demonstrations and marches, and attending them can have serious consequences including fines, arrests and even imprisonment
Complaint filed in Los Angeles accuses Wood and partner Illma Gore of ‘malicious falsehood’ that has derailed Manson’s careerMarilyn Manson has filed a lawsuit against Evan Rachel Wood for defamation over the actor’s sexual abuse allegations against him.Manson, the American “shock rocker” born Brian Warner, filed the complaint in Los Angeles superior court on Wednesday. The complaint accuses Wood and her “on-again, off-again” partner Ashley “Illma” Gore, of depicting him as “a rapist and abuser – a malicious falsehood that has derailed Warner’s successful music, TV, and film career.” Continue reading...
Action taken upon Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven by holding company that owns Holland & Barrett after EU imposed sanctionsThe UK-based Russian billionaire oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven have had their shares in the $22bn (£17bn) conglomerate LetterOne, which owns Holland & Barrett, “frozen”, days after they were hit with EU sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.LetterOne, which is just under 50% owned by Fridman and Aven, announced on Wednesday night that the men had “ceased to have any involvement with the company” and that it had frozen their shares. Continue reading...
Thursday: The UN general assembly approves resolution demanding that Russia stop the war in Ukraine and withdraw all troops. Plus: Darren Hanlon on losing faith and moving homeGood morning. Russia’s bombardment of Ukraine’s cities has intensified. In Australia, the floods crisis continues with major warnings in place and evacuation orders in some parts of NSW. And Scott Morrison has drawn criticism from Christian groups over Australia’s refugee intake.Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said Russia is trying “to erase our history, erase our country, erase us all” after Russian forces intensified missile attacks on residential precincts of multiple major cities. Russia claims to have secured the key southern city of Kherson after another day of relentless shelling, but this has been disputed by the city’s mayor. Both Kyiv and Kharkiv remain under attack, with Russian airborne troops landing in the country’s second-most populous city and engaging in heavy fighting with Ukrainian forces. In New York, the United Nations voted overwhelmingly for a resolution deploring Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, highlighting Russia’s increasing international isolation with 141 of the 193 member states supporting the resolution, 35 abstaining, and five voting against. Only Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea and Syria voted in support of the Kremlin, with historical allies Cuba, Venezuela and China abstaining. Continue reading...
Filming was in progress when about 20 people broke on to set of Netflix heist dramaA gang of masked thieves have stolen €300,000 (£250,000) worth of equipment from the set of the Netflix heist drama Lupin in France, according to reports.About 20 people broke on to the set after throwing mortar fireworks while the actor Omar Sy, who plays the protagonist, was performing in a scene, according to AFP. Continue reading...
Divorcees Clive Warrington and Valerie Warrington found dead with stab wounds at separate locationsPolice have arrested a man as part of a double murder investigation after a divorced couple were found dead at separate locations in Gloucestershire.Emergency services discovered the body of Clive Warrington, 67, after being called to reports of a serious assault in Sherborne Place, Cheltenham, at 6.25am on Wednesday. Continue reading...
Hundreds of thousands are fleeing the vicious assault upon their country’s independence. They need helpUkrainians do not want to flee. They do not want to pack their lives into a suitcase. They do not want to crowd aboard packed trains that carry them away from their homes, or trudge for days with their children. They do not want to leave behind husbands and sons and parents. They do not want to begin again in a foreign country where they have nothing, far from those they love.They go because they are under attack. They go because missiles are falling. They go because their sisters call to say that Russian soldiers have entered their towns. They go because they see what Vladimir Putin’s war machine is already doing in Ukraine, and because they know what it has done before. They go because if they do not go now, tomorrow may be too late. They go because they must. Continue reading...
The streamer has halted work on four original series as a result of the ongoing invasion of UkraineNetflix has paused all future Russian projects and acquisitions as a result of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.According to Variety, the streamer is “assessing the impact of current events”, which has led to four Russian original series being indefinitely paused. Zato, a crime series set after the fall of the Soviet Union, directed by the Belarus-born director Darya Zhuk, was already in production but has now been put on hold. Continue reading...
Analysis: Criticism of invasion has been muted and officials yet to condemn Moscow for attack on Holocaust memorialA week ago the sight was unthinkable: a memorial at the site of one of the worst massacres of the Holocaust, engulfed in smoke and flame from an airstrike.Yet on Tuesday a Russian attack near the Babyn Yar memorial complex in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, achieved exactly that. Five people died in the strike targeting the television broadcast tower next door, while firefighters battled to extinguish a fire caused by the explosion in a building inside the Jewish cemetery. Continue reading...
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