by Written by Daniel Immerwahr, read by Chloe Massey on (#5WJVZ)
Despite the rise of headline-grabbing megafires, fewer fires are burning worldwide now than at any time since antiquity. But this isn’t good news – in banishing fire from sight, we have made its dangers stranger and less predictable. By Daniel Immerwahr Continue reading...
Netflix phenomenon and Apple’s deaf family drama make history at this year’s SAG awards ceremonyThe indie drama Coda has won big at this year’s Screen Actors Guild awards, picking up best ensemble in a movie and best supporting actor for Troy Kotsur, who is the first ever deaf actor to win an individual SAG award.The Apple drama about a deaf family was bought for $25m from last year’s Sundance film festival and has also been nominated for three Academy Awards, including best picture. Continue reading...
Eighth rocket launch this year looked to be fired from area near Pyongyang international airportNorth Korea says a test conducted on Sunday was for the development of a reconnaissance satellite system, state media reported a day after a missile launch was detected from the country.The report from state news agency KCNA did not elaborate on what type of rocket had been used in the test, but authorities in South Korea and Seoul said it appeared to be a ballistic missile fired from an area near Pyongyang where its international airport is located. Continue reading...
Rescuers still searching for four villagers believed to have been buried in mud after magnitude-6.2 quakeRescuers on Indonesia’s Sumatra island have retrieved more bodies after a strong earthquake two days ago, raising the death toll to 11 while another 400 were injured and thousands displaced.The body of the latest victim was recovered on Sunday from the rubble of homes toppled by the magnitude-6.2 earthquake that shook West Sumatra province on Friday morning, said National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari. Continue reading...
Brisbane and Queensland’s south-east are set to endure more wild weather as the state grapples with a flood crisis. With the death toll from floods in Queensland and New South Wales rising to seven, severe weather warnings remain in place across 900km of Australia’s eastern seaboard
More than 200 events to take place as city invests £12m in programme hoped to aid post-pandemic recoveryBirmingham will benefit from “the great gift of the mega-event”, said the creative officer of the Commonwealth Games at the launch of a concurrent six-month-long cultural festival.Birmingham 2022 festival will include more than 200 events from March to September across the West Midlands and will involve more than 100,000 participants, making it one of the largest cultural programmes to ever surround the games. Continue reading...
It’s war on three fronts, across two continents for the Birmingham gang leader. Without his beloved Aunt Polly, will he be able to take it?Man walks into a bar. Herringbone cap, baby face, topcoat flapping in silhouette, weaponry secreted in case things turn sour. Which they always do. “Glass of water, please,” he says. The French stereotypes at table four give him the evils. Nobody orders soft drinks in these parts if they know what’s good for them. You could cut the tension with a – well, a razor blade concealed in the brim of your cap would do the job.It’s 1933, in a remote outpost of la Francophonie called Miquelon Island, which, as you know, is just off the coast of Newfoundland, and, therefore, beyond Canadian and American jurisdictions. For years, these Gallic stereotypes have been ferrying bootleg whiskey to Boston. But, now, prohibition is ending and their business model is collapsing. Continue reading...
Volodymyr Zelenskiy says the Ukrainian and Russian delegations will meet without preconditions at Pripyat in Belarus. The Ukrainian president revealed that he was not confident that any progress would come from the meeting, but said he would do everything he could for the Ukrainian people
Trafalgar Square a sea of blue and yellow as demonstrators protest against brutal Russian invasionThousands of people gathered in cities across the UK for at times highly emotional rallies in support of Ukraine as the country defends itself against the brutal Russian invasion.In London, Trafalgar Square was a sea of blue and yellow as protesters voiced anguish and despair at Russian president Vladimir Putin’s bombardment of the eastern European country. Continue reading...
BP chief executive Bernard Looney quits Rosneft's board in ‘fundamental change’ in relations with MoscowBP is exiting its stake in Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft, days after coming under pressure from the UK government over its involvement with Russia.The London-headquartered oil giant announced on Sunday that it was quitting its 19.75% voting stake in Rosneft, after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine represented a “fundamental change” in relations with Moscow. Continue reading...
by Emma Graham-Harrison in Kyiv Oblast on (#5WJJB)
Mothers and babies take shelter in hospital bunkers as Russian invasion claims lives of up to 10 childrenWhen the air raid sirens wail, Natalya Tyshchuk feels relatively lucky. She only has to get herself and her daughter Mia – born three months premature in December but no longer in a cumbersome incubator – down to the basement that serves as a bomb shelter for the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in central Kyiv.Racing down the stairs beside them are nurses and families of premature babies in intensive care, who have to be rushed underground with their life support machines, oxygen canisters, and all the tubes and wires monitoring their fragile young lives. Continue reading...
Northern Ireland secretary says he wants to see marked increase in schools officially offering integrated educationMinisters are to launch a campaign of “nudging and cajoling” to combat religious segregation in education in Northern Ireland, after figures revealed just 7% of schools officially offered integrated education.The Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis, said he wanted to see an acceleration in the number of schools opting for integrated status, believing it was an important part of the post-conflict journey of healing. Continue reading...
They survived flash flooding a decade ago by climbing on to their roof. On Friday, Jean and Lloyd Warr found themselves huddled together on top of their uteLloyd and Jean Warr, who survived flash flooding in 2011, have narrowly escaped with their lives once again after being rescued from Helidon in Queensland’s Lockyer Valley.Terrifying memories of the disaster a decade ago were reawakened this week across the valley where 23 people died in 2011. Continue reading...
There is a wealth of exciting growers, collectives and designers whose posts aim to broaden know-how and help the would-be green-fingered to cultivate their passionsAlessandro Vitale has become an Instagram and TikTok guru for urban gardeners growing their own food. The Italian tattoo studio manager films his experiments in vertical farming and organic gardening for fun- and information-packed posts. If you’re wondering about the username, it’s a reference to his chilli obsession – he has seeds for more than 600 varieties.
Defence secretary says former minister Lord Barker should explain why he works with Oleg DeripaskaThe defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has urged the Conservative peer and former minister Greg Barker to quit his lucrative role on the board of Russian aluminium firm EN+ whose owners include the oligarch Oleg Deripaska.Lord Barker, an energy minister in David Cameron’s government, earned $4m last year as executive chair of the firm, and devised a plan to help the company respond to US government sanctions levelled against the company and Deripaska in 2018. Continue reading...
But much-criticised project linking Greenwich Peninsula to Royal Victoria Dock is expected to surviveWhen Boris Johnson chose to build a cable car linking two of the lesser frequented spots of east London dockland, eyebrows were raised. After the then mayor’s pet project opened in time for the 2012 Olympics, the controversial sale of naming rights to the new Emirates Air Line at least stemmed the losses.Now, though, that lucrative deal is about to run out – and no sponsor can be found to step in, even at a fraction of the price. Continue reading...
The Russian president has ordered his military to put the country’s nuclear deterrence forces on high alert in response to 'aggressive statements' by Nato countries
Hanya Yanagihara says executives wanted her harrowing bestseller about abuse and suicide given a ‘Sex and the City’ makeoverAs a global bestseller with rave reviews, set in New York, and with a cult following, A Little Life appears to have all the ingredients for a hit television show. But according to its author, Hanya Yanagihara, scripts for a screen adaptation of the hit novel have been rejected by numerous networks, streaming services and studios, with some network executives even requesting that she make the harrowing story “more like Sex and the City”.Yanagihara said she started working on scripts for a 12-part show with three other co-writers four years ago. They created four different scrips for the first four episodes of the series and detailed outlines for a further eight episodes. But after getting a commission from the streaming service Hulu, it was not picked up and, she told the Observer, “since then it’s been pretty much rejected by everyone”. Continue reading...
Broadcaster struggling to retain talent when big pay rises and faster career progression are on offerWhen asked why Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel had quit the BBC to host a new podcast for LBC owner Global Radio, one BBC employee who has worked with them responded: “How would you like more money and more freedom, all without the Daily Mail criticising you every day?”As the corporation prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary later this year, its position as the dominant broadcaster in British political news and debate programming is starting to look shaky. Although the total audience for its radio and television channels and website remains far ahead of the competition, it is being chipped away around the edges. Continue reading...
People are fleeing to Ukraine's borders with EU countries as they try to escape the invasion from Russia. The UN refugee agency is warning that as many as 5 million Ukrainians could leave
As former supermodel Linda Evangelista reveals her years of anguish after operations, history shows that nature usually winsI’m actually rather sorry for Linda Evangelista. Everybody wants to feel acceptable, after all, and she exists in a world where, despite all the modern declarations of diversity and body positivity, when the woman hits the catwalk she still has to be slim.In her 50s, and gobsmackingly pretty, Evangelista chose to get a treatment called cryolipolysis, where body fat is frozen till it dies, and you poop it out. It went wrong, and though she doesn’t look particularly unusual to me, she – much because of the world she’s always lived in – feels brutally disfigured. Continue reading...
The Indian journalist Rana Ayyub speaks about the campaign to silence her that has led to charges of sedition and ‘defaming Hindus’When I talked to the journalist Rana Ayyub in her Mumbai home last Wednesday she was calmer than she was when I had spoken to her three days earlier. But that is not saying much. Last Sunday her words were jumbled, her voice on edge. She said she had not slept. That she could not eat or keep food down. That she had had thoughts of self-harm.“I was on a plane yesterday and I said to my brother, ‘Can you feel me sitting next to me?’ And he said, ‘Have you completely lost it?’ And I said, ‘No, I’m just not sure I’m sitting next to you. I feel like I’m in a dream.’ And afterwards, I spoke to my psychiatrist and she said, ‘You’re dissociating. You’ve had a traumatic experience –that’s your brain shutting down.’” Continue reading...
Social media lit up with messages and videos decrying the war, ignoring the risk that comes with speaking against a Russian dictatorSocial media influencers are often maligned for their vapidity, but as the Russian army moves across Ukraine some of Russia’s biggest digital influencers have become beacons of resistance. Many are speaking out about their unease at the speed and brutality with which the Russian president is leading his country to war. Ukrainian influencers, meanwhile, are also braving the risks of attack from the advancing army to make sure to document the horror of war in mainland Europe.Some of Russia’s biggest names in the digital sphere have spoken out against war. The daughter of Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin’s press secretary, posted a message reading “No to war” on her Instagram story, before quickly deleting it. Max Galkin, the husband of Alla Pugacheva, and one of Russia’s biggest stars, posted a black square on Instagram and the message “Нет войне!” (“no to war!”) to his 9.4m followers. Fashion designer Svetlana Taccori took time out of Milan fashion week to post a photo holding a Ukrainian flag and the same message. Influencer Lova Olala painted the Russian and Ukrainian flag on each cheek and the caption “I have nothing to say”. The independent Russian journalist Ilya Varlamov has posted regular photos and videos highlighting Russian brutality, calling for a cessation of violence in Ukraine. Continue reading...
Even the worldwide smash Encanto failed to satisfy millions of cinemagoers who now demand homemade fareMatt William Knowles, a 36-year-old Hollywood actor, has been packing for a forthcoming trip to China in the past week. He’s looking forward to his first China visit since the pandemic. “The last time I was in China was late 2019 when I served as the honorary mayor for a village in southern China.”While his career in Hollywood continues to blossom, finding work in China hasn’t been easy these past few years for Knowles. The pandemic changed the film industry, and the deteriorating diplomatic relations between America and China sandwiched individuals like him who straddle both nations. For a period of time in 2019, amid a souring trade war between the two countries, Chinese studios put an informal ban on American actors. Continue reading...
We must keep cool heads and wise counsel as we face down Vladimir Putin on the frontline of democracyThe frightful noise of gunfire, bombing and children’s screams in the cities of Ukraine reverberates across Europe. The full-scale Russian invasion launched last week is an unprovoked, heinous crime perpetrated against Ukraine’s citizens, their sovereign democratic state and all the free peoples of the world. The 24th of February is a day that will live in infamy. It will not be forgiven. It will surely never be forgotten.Reports so far suggest Russia has failed to gain the swift victory it expected. Fierce street fighting in Kyiv and other cities speaks to the bravery of the country’s soldiers and ordinary Ukrainians determined to defend their land. In the east, the invaders are pinned down. But they are better equipped and armed. They have control in the air. If a thwarted Kremlin orders its forces to step up attacks, a bloodbath of Ukraine’s citizen fighters could ensue. Continue reading...
The loneliness that triggered this was not your fault, says Philippa Perry. Have self compassion and get professional helpThe question In the 1970s, I was anorexic and was in hospital for months as a teenager after being admitted as a medical emergency weighing just 5st. In those days, treatment was harsh, drug-based and punitive in tone.I recovered to live a fulfilling life. I was married for 30 years, raised two children, worked as a teacher and ended my career as head of a large comprehensive school. Continue reading...
by Photography by Darren Pateman of Australian Associ on (#5WJ2T)
The annual festival that celebrates a hairstyle that’s all business at the front and party at the back returned to Kurri Kurri over the weekend. Contestants of all ages flocked to the New South Wales town for the chance to show off their quintessential Aussie hairstyles and compete for the best ’do in categories including ‘grubby’, ‘ranga’, ‘vintage’ and ‘extreme’ Continue reading...
The US, Canada and key European countries, including Germany, have agreed to remove ‘selected Russian banks’ from the Swift international payments system. UK prime minister Boris Johnson welcomed the move, saying: 'More countries are joining the call of the UK to use Swift … to tighten the economic ligature around the Putin regime'. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said that cutting off some Russian banks will 'effectively block Russian exports and imports’. The move was welcomed by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy. ‘This is billions and billions of losses for Russia, a tangible price for this vile invasion of our country,’ he said
Two studies released by scientists but yet to be published in journals say virus did not emerge from Wuhan Institute of VirologyInternational scientists on Saturday released two major studies which one participant said made it “extraordinarily clear” a market in Wuhan, China was the source of the coronavirus which fueled the Covid-19 pandemic – and not a Chinese government laboratory, a theory championed in the US by rightwing campaigners, columnists and politicians.The question of where Covid-19 came from and how it spread has proved divisive. Continue reading...
A Ukrainian citizen confronted Russian soldiers after their armoured vehicle broke down on a country road in the Sumy region, close to the border with Russia.After spotting the hapless soldiers, the driver pulled alongside them, and asked: 'Can I tow you back to Russia?'Further along the road at another broken down vehicle, a Ukrainian told the Russians that the invading army were lost.Read more in Luke Harding's latest report from Ukraine.
Staffordshire police say man was driver of a stationary ‘highway vehicle’ in a cordoned-off area of roadworksA road worker has died after a car police were chasing crashed into his vehicle on the M6. Staffordshire police said the man who was killed was in his 40s and was the driver and sole occupant of what they described as a “highways vehicle”.It had been stationary and in a cordoned-off roadworks area of the carriageway when the crash happened on Saturday morning. Continue reading...
Private jets will become much less attractive benefits – but there is also bad news for companies and private schools• Russia-Ukraine crisis: live news• Russia sanctions – at a glanceFrom Vladimir Putin’s former son-in-law to the chairman of Russia’s second largest bank, more than 100 individuals and entities have been added to the UK sanctions list, in what Boris Johnson has billed as the “largest ever” set of financial measures against Moscow, designed to “squeeze Russia from the global economy”.The foreign secretary has promised that a further 570 names – elected politicians from the Duma and the Federation Council – will soon be added to the list. Continue reading...