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Two family members also suffering from acute viral infection endemic in parts of Africa but very rare in UKA patient in the UK who died last week from Lassa fever, an acute viral infection endemic in parts of Africa, was a newborn baby, according to reports.The child, who died at the Luton and Dunstable hospital last week, was one of three confirmed cases of the disease all within the same family, the BBC reported. Continue reading...

Courts sentenced 20 people in eastern Holguín province for sedition after last July’s anti-government protestsCuban courts have handed out sentences of up to 20 years in prison to a group of people accused of taking part in protests that swept across the island in July.The 20 defendants sentenced in the eastern province of Holguín were convicted after trials last month on charges of sedition. Hundreds of other people await verdicts following trials elsewhere. Continue reading...

Wales becomes first UK nation to confirm rollout of jab to younger cohort

Tehran is keen to see Britain do more to help with Afghan refugee crisisLiz Truss has said she hopes Britain will soon be in a position to pay the £400m debt overdue to Iran, according to an Iranian account of the phone call between the foreign secretary and her Tehran counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.UK government officials have been exploring legal ways to pay Britain’s historical debt, although international economic sanctions on Iran have made it difficult. Continue reading...

As a young opera singer, I was snobbish about the Three Tenors – but a legendary Pavarotti performance made me realise that the key wasn’t vocal pyrotechnics, but emotional connectionThe iconic tenor of my lifetime – and in terms of sheer voice, the very best – was Luciano Pavarotti. I only heard him once in the flesh, in a production of Verdi’s La Forza del Destino at London’s Royal Opera House. His interest in the stage action was limited, but his vocal resources were only marginally depleted after decades of shining high Cs, and I felt the magic.What had propelled Pavarotti into the stratosphere of international celebrity was a celebratory event at the 1990 World Cup in the Baths of Caracalla in Rome: the famous Three Tenors concert in which he sang Puccini’s aria from Turandot, Nessun Dorma, with its climactic high B on the word “vincero” – “I will win”. Continue reading...

Tensions in Europe have risen in recent weeks amid fears Russia is planning to invade Ukraine.So why has Russia amassed thousands of troops and weapons at its border with Ukraine? The Guardian's Moscow correspondent, Andrew Roth, looks at what Russian president, Vladimir Putin, may be hoping to achieve – and why now

Coalition funded at least 10 projects from $187m Safe Communities Fund after applicants were visited by Peter Dutton’s assistant minister

Turbine collapses outside village near Bridgend while motorists warned of further bad weatherA 300ft wind turbine has been blown over in a south Wales valley as the UK braces for more dangerous stormy weather and high winds later this week.Residents of the village of Gilfach Goch, near Bridgend, were woken at 6.50am on Monday when the £20m turbine – double the height of Nelson’s Column – snapped apart and crashed into the valley below. Continue reading...

Player’s mother, Mercedes Taffarel, tells jury her son ‘felt in the middle of the dispute’ over transfer to Cardiff CityThe footballer Emiliano Sala was put under pressure to complete his multimillion-pound transfer to the Premier League before he died in a plane crash as he headed to his new club, an inquest jury has been told.Sala’s mother, Mercedes Taffarel, said the weeks before the private plane he was in crashed into the Channel as he travelled from Nantes in France to Cardiff seemed “very intense”. Continue reading...

Nine endangered animals killed after injunction lifted on cull of 25 wolves living in conservation zoneNine endangered wolves were shot in one day in Norway after a court ruled that a controversial hunt could go ahead.Fifty-one wolves were originally due to be slaughtered – a significant proportion of the 80 animals thought to live in Norway. But last month, activists secured a stay of execution when they got an injunction halting the hunt until an appeal over its validity could go ahead. They claimed that allowing hunters to kill wolves in a conservation zone would be against EU nature protection laws. Continue reading...

Russia's defence ministry says some of its troops are returning to base after carrying out drills near the Ukraine border. Nato's secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, says the alliance has yet to see 'real de-escalation' from Russia, but will continue to monitor the situation

I have blood cancer and continue to isolate, living without touch, hugs, intimacy or love. It is heartbreakingBefore the pandemic, I was an artist, activist, teacher, director and producer – living fully, despite having had blood cancer for 10 years. Today, I am classified as “A3” (a person with comorbidities) in the Philippines. In the UK, I am classified as extremely clinically vulnerable.I don’t believe in labels, yet all of a sudden, I am one. Although I am fully vaccinated and boosted, there are no guarantees that the vaccines work in a body that has a suppressed immune system, like mine. Continue reading...

Economic reforms include allowing staff to earn three-day weekend by working longer hoursBelgians will have the right to work a four-day week without a loss of salary under a government overhaul of the country’s labour laws prompted by the Covid pandemic.The option for employees to work longer days in order to earn a three-day weekend was among a package of economic reforms agreed within the governing coalition on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Russian opposition leader in fresh trial at penal colony far from support base on charge of embezzlement

UK ‘laughing stock’ for failure to stem dirty money, says Lord Faulks QC, who was told to drop register by Theresa May’s No 10A former Conservative minister, once at the heart of efforts to clamp down on money laundering in London, has revealed that during Theresa May’s premiership, No 10 “leant on him” when he tabled amendments to introduce a public register of overseas property owners.Lord Faulks said he had first tried to put the register into the criminal finances bill in 2017 and then again into a government bill on money laundering in 2018. He had described the overseas ownership of dirty money in London as an obscenity. Continue reading...

When I was pregnant, I discovered that I had developed breast cancer – just like my mother before me. One day, the child I was carrying may face the same hard choicesWhen I was five, I would talk to my mother while she was in the bath. When she stood to get out, the water fell from her, her skin pink from the heat. Her body was miraculous to me. Women’s bodies are miraculous, with the things they can do, but I didn’t know any of that then. I just knew that she was soft and perfect, and mine.By the time my mother developed breast cancer, I was 30. She was double that age and there was an ocean between us: I was married and living in New York, so when the news came, I couldn’t hold her to me, or be a practical support. I sat on my bed and cried. The next time I saw her, it was all over. One breast removed and carefully reconstructed. The cancer gone. My husband asked me, as we approached my parents in the airport, whether it was OK to give my mum a hug. The surgery was recent; I wasn’t sure. But it was OK. She seemed the same. Continue reading...

From portraits of the Seri people to depictions of LA gangs, this major figure of Latin American photography has always looked for ‘surprise in the ordinary’ Continue reading...

The western leaders says Russia ‘can still step back from its threats’ as Germany’s Olaf Scholz heads to Moscow to meet Vladimir Putin

Morrison government ramps up pre-election bid to wedge Labor on national security issues as Kevin Rudd condemns ‘rancid lies’ on China

System promises to issue tickets automatically in attempt to address sound pollution in the cityParis has switched on its first noise radar as part of a plan to fine loud motorcycles and other vehicles in one of Europe’s noisiest cities.The machine placed high on a street lamp-post in the 20th district in eastern Paris is able to measure the noise level of moving vehicles and to identify their licence plate. Continue reading...

UK cases down 30% on the previous week, with weekly deaths down 27.2%; 500 French vehicles arrive in Brussels to protest against Covid measures

Emergencies Act gives government broad powers for 30 days, but prime minister is not expected to call in the militaryThe Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has invoked legislation that gives his government sweeping powers to fight a growing number of “illegal and dangerous” blockades across the country.The first prime minister to invoke the Emergencies Act, Trudeau said the measures would be time-limited and only apply to specific geographic regions. “We are not preventing the right of people to protest legally,” he said, adding that the military would not be deployed. “The act is to be used sparingly and as a last resort.” Continue reading...

Roger Ng pleads not guilty to helping launder millions of dollars looted from Malaysian sovereign wealth fundOn the first day of a trial over the multibillion-dollar looting of a Malaysian government fund, US prosecutors on Monday accused a former Goldman Sachs banker of taking $35m in kickbacks as his defense team slammed the prosecution’s star witness as a bigamist who used their client as a fall guy.Roger Ng, Goldman’s former head of investment banking in Malaysia, is charged with conspiring to launder money and violating anti-bribery law in his dealings with Malaysia’s 1MDB sovereign wealth fund. Continue reading...

Move suggests Putin could extend crisis for weeks as Johnson and Biden agree ‘crucial window for diplomacy’ still existsRussia is sending thousands more troops to its border with Ukraine in a sign that Vladimir Putin could extend the crisis for weeks, as Boris Johnson warned the situation had become “very, very dangerous”.British officials estimate that a further 14 Russian battalions are heading towards Ukraine, each numbering about 800 troops, on top of the 100 battalions massed on the borders – a force already believed capable of launching an invasion. Continue reading...

Tuesday: New Zealand and Australia to open borders by end of February. Plus: how to keep your hats cleanGood morning. Nurses in New South Wales are expected to strike today, calling for stricter nurse-to-patient ratios and a 2.5% pay increase, despite orders from the Industrial Relations Commission to call off the action. Budget estimates hearings will continue. And there are fears Russian-Ukraine tensions could spill over.New Zealanders and Australians separated from loved ones for years are now counting down the days until they can reunite after the two countries announced they will relax the border rules for vaccinated travellers later this month. Vaccinated citizens and visa holders travelling to New Zealand from Australia will be able to fly there from 27 February and do 10 days of home quarantine, and those in other countries can return on 13 March, despite record Covid cases in NZ. We spoke to four people who have been affected by the countries’ strict border restrictions about how it will feel to be reunited with family and friends. Continue reading...

Shares dipped and oil prices crept closer to the $100 mark due to fears of invasion and resulting economic sanctionsThe threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine has left financial markets jittery but not yet panicky. Unsurprisingly, shares took a tumble on the world’s bourses and there was a brief rise in oil prices to just over $96 a barrel.Investors were taking few chances and sought out traditional safe havens such as the US dollar, but there was little sense that world war three was about to break out. If anything, financial markets seem to be underestimating the risks. Continue reading...

Metropolitan Police Federation chair attacks London mayor and claims members have ‘no faith’ in himCressida Dick was ousted by London’s mayor to deflect from his own failings, the chair of the Metropolitan Police Federation has said.Ken Marsh, who leads the body representing rank-and-file officers in Britain’s largest force, claimed his members had “no faith” in Sadiq Khan, and needed to support any changes otherwise they would not work. He insisted the Metropolitan police commissioner had been reforming the force’s culture before she was pushed out. Continue reading...

Barriers and checkpoints set up around European quarter, and drivers directed to park and rest area

Frank Jackson says the Labour leader’s eulogy for Nato is a travesty of history, while Richard Ashwell wonders if he understands what being opposed to war means. Plus letters from Dr Alan Lafferty and Blaine StothardI hold no brief for Vladimir Putin, and I am not a member of the Stop the War coalition, but Keir Starmer’s attack on it and his eulogy for Nato is a travesty of history (Under my leadership, Labour’s commitment to Nato is unshakable, 10 February). When the UN was founded in 1945, the imperialist concept of spheres of influence should have become obsolete. But instead of developing common security policies, Nato was established – allegedly – as a defence against a threat from the Soviet Union to attack western Europe. In fact there was, and is, no evidence that there was a plan to overrun the west. When the Soviet Union collapsed and the Warsaw Pact was disbanded, Nato’s alleged raison d’etre disappeared and it too should have been closed down.The standoff with Ukraine must not lead to war. But an arms buildup on both sides makes war more likely. Only discussion and diplomacy can avoid this catastrophe. Constructive dialogue should be brokered by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which operates with a fraction of the budget of Nato, yet gets no publicity for its successes. Increased support for the OSCE would make a much greater contribution to peace in Ukraine and the rest of Europe than flooding the region with more arms.

Sadiq Khan blames second consecutive annual increase on government’s refusal to fund TfL properlyThe cost of travelling on London’s tube and bus network will rise by almost 5% from next month, the biggest increase in more than a decade, as the body responsible for running the capital’s transport network struggles to plug a funding shortfall.The average 4.8% rise, which matches the rate of inflation, means that most fares will increase by between 10p and 20p. However, some bus fares will rise by 6.5%. Continue reading...

This reimagining of the popular 90s sitcom is full of annoying caricatures, is monotonously intense and doesn’t seem to know what it is – or where it’s goingBel-Air is a reboot with its own remarkable origin story. In 2019, the independent film-maker Morgan Cooper had the audacity to make a trailer for an imaginary new version of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, reshaping the 1990s sitcom as a tough, Ryan Coogler-style drama. Cooper might have dreamed that the clip would go viral and that the show would actually be made, with him still on board directing episode one. That’s happened, but this is a fairytale with a sad ending. The new Bel-Air (Peacock/Sky/NOW) is confused and joyless, a remake without a reason to exist.Another kid called Will Smith moves hastily to LA to live with his rich aunt, uncle and cousins after an incident on a west Philadelphia basketball court. That run-in with the neighbourhood bad guys is much graver than the one the previous incarnation of Will experienced – involving guns and the threat of jail time – and when Will gets to Bel-Air, everyone there is a serious operator, too. Continue reading...

Coleen Rooney’s lawyers wanted Caroline Watt added to proceedings over alleged leaks to Sun newspaperColeen Rooney has suffered a serious setback in her legal battle with Rebekah Vardy, after a high court judge refused to grant permission to add Vardy’s former agent to the legal proceedings.Rooney’s lawyers had attempted to bring Caroline Watt into the “Wagatha Christie” case, alleging she misused Rooney’s private information and worked in cahoots with Vardy to leak stories to the Sun. Continue reading...

Snap election called by conservative People’s party backfires as it fails to secure absolute majoritySpain’s far-right Vox party is pushing for a place in the new regional government of Castilla y León following a snap election that has proved a tactical misstep for the ruling conservative People’s party (PP).The PP called Sunday’s vote in the hope of securing an absolute majority after spending three years governing the region in partnership with the centre-right Citizens party. Continue reading...

Prime minister cuts short UK tour to chair emergency meeting as fears of Russian invasion grow

Many women working in restaurants and bars say men routinely asked them to remove their masks in return for tips, putting their lives at riskAfter working as a bartender in Washington DC for many years, Ifeoma Ezumaki’s body reached its limit during the pandemic. For Ezumaki and millions of other restaurant employees, working during the pandemic – often, in the US, for a “sub-minimum” wage – became a source of immeasurable suffering. Tips went down because sales went down, while customer harassment and hostility went up. Ezumaki and her colleagues had to become public health marshals, in addition to cocktail servers; she was asked to enforce social distancing, mask wearing and even vaccination requirements.One evening, a customer at the bar asked her to pull down her mask so that he could see her face – a request that became so common from male customers during the pandemic that hospitality workers started referring to it as “maskual harassment”. When Ezumaki refused, he said: “Well, I guess you’re not going to eat tonight.” Continue reading...

Clarence House says Camilla is self-isolating after Prince Charles contracted Covid last weekThe Duchess of Cornwall has tested positive for coronavirus, Clarence House has announced.A spokesman said: “Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall has tested positive for Covid-19 and is self-isolating. We continue to follow government guidelines. Continue reading...

Our beliefs about difficult feelings may do more damage than the feelings themselvesIn the late 19th-century America, a somewhat bizarre form of abstinence emerged. The vice was not alcohol but anxiety. Citizens of New York began to attend regular “Don’t Worry Clubs” in which they encouraged each other to look on the bright side of life. Their founder, Theodore Seward, argued that Americans were “slaves to the worrying habit”, which was the “enemy which destroys happiness”. It needed to be “attacked” with “resolute and persevering effort”.By the early 20th century, the psychologist William James described how people had developed a kind of “religion of healthy-mindedness” with the aim of turning the mind away from all negative thoughts and feelings. Continue reading...

Jamie Butler, former Man City medic, died last year near spot where he proposed in 1994, inquest hearsA former team medic for Manchester City died falling 100 metres from a Lake District ridge where he proposed to his wife 27 years earlier.Dr Jamie Butler, from Altrincham in Greater Manchester, fell from the Striding Edge section of Helvellyn when hiking with his wife, Margaret, last year. They had returned to the mountain to find the exact spot where he had asked Margaret to marry him in 1994. Continue reading...

From Cyrano to The Last Duel, the world of medieval chivalry is big on screen – and its preoccupation with appearances isn’t so far from our ownAgainst our backdrop of revenge porn, dick pic-strewn online dating and embittered incel manifestos, the notion of courtly love couldn’t seem more remote. Cilla Black and Blind Date now seem like something from medieval times – so where does that leave an actual medieval sentimental convention? A goodly knight inspired to perform virtuous deeds and compose the sublimest verse in honour of an idealised lady-love – it’s enough to make a 21st-century onanist yawn and reach for their Fleshlight.But romance and chivalry aren’t quite dead yet. Cyrano de Bergerac is back in a new musical version this month, as Peter Dinklage lends his alexandrines to help a mate woo the beautiful Roxanne. Married off to no-nonsense bruiser Matt Damon in Ridley Scott’s 14th-century drama The Last Duel, Jodie Comer’s sequestered damsel becomes subject to the attentions of courtly smooth operator Adam Driver. And a silky-voiced consort, played by Alicia Vikander, gave Sir Dev of Patel’s mettle the stiffest of examinations in the penultimate trial of last year’s The Green Knight. Continue reading...

Keen to re-establish the album in the age of the playlist, artists are peppering their work with voice notes and sketches – to profound and annoying endsDe La Soul played a gameshow on 3 Feet High and Rising, kids discussed love on The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Eminem faced his irate manager on The Marshall Mathers LP, Outkast parodied themselves at a record store on Aquemini, Biggie Smalls actually received fellatio on Ready to Die, and Eazy-E probably didn’t actually receive fellatio on Just Don’t Bite It.There was once a time where skits like these, particularly in the age of tapes and CDs, were a staple of hip-hop. Interspersed between songs, these comedy sketches or spoken-word interludes aimed to bring you deeper into the album, with records such as the Fugees’ The Score showing how poignant this could be (a child being shot at the end of Cowboys) or how puerile (the Chinese restaurant at the end of The Beast). Such interludes were not solely the preserve of rap, though: Meat Loaf’s You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth opened with an attempted seduction on that hot summer night, Destiny’s Child recited lines from the Bible on the outro track to Survivor, and Britney had an ill-fated exchange with an earnest astronaut on Oops! … I Did It Again. Continue reading...

Carrie Lam says her government will work with Chinese officials to combat ‘worrying’ situation as cases soar

FTSE 100 down 2% and oil prices hit seven-year high on back of fears of Russian invasionMounting fears of an imminent Russian attack on Ukraine triggered a global share sell-off on Monday, and prompted oil prices to hit a seven-year high.European markets followed Asian shares sharply lower, with the UK’s FTSE 100 down 160 points, or 2%, at 7,501 in morning trading. Travel-related stocks were hardest hit, including the British Airways owner, IAG, which was the biggest faller on London’s blue-chip index, down 7%. The jet engine maker Rolls-Royce was down 4%, as only five companies on the FTSE 100 made it into positive territory. Continue reading...

Given enough time, even the most loving couple can get sick of each other. Roll back the years with this Valentine’s Day refresher

Five applicants deemed ‘ineligible’ under program’s guidelines received moneyGrants awarded under the Coalition’s $184m Safer Communities Fund were “not appropriately informed by departmental briefings”, with more than half delivered without a “clear basis for the decision”, an auditor general’s report into the program has found.The auditor general also found that a total of $1.12m in grant funding was paid out to five separate applicants despite them having projects deemed “ineligible” under the program’s guidelines. Continue reading...