World news | The Guardian

UKMTO advises mariners to exercise extreme caution in the area following the incident in the Red SeaThe Royal Navy’s maritime information service has received reports of an attack on a vessel near Yemen’s port of Ras Isa and an investigation was being conducted.In an advisory issued at 2150 GMT on Sunday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) – part of Britain’s Royal Navy – advised mariners to exercise extreme caution in the area. Continue reading...

Until 1984, the prison on the island of Gorgona off Colombia’s Pacific coast was a place where political prisoners and dangerous criminals served their sentences. Now it is a national natural park of coral reefs, dense jungle and exuberant fauna Continue reading...

After two disastrous winter seasons for the £30m Scottish ski industry, the country’s five resorts are opening up again. We take to the powder at GlensheeArriving alone in early-morning darkness at Glenshee ski centre in Ballater, Aberdeenshire, I am greeted by friendly voices in the tiny ticket queue and eagerly join the small posse. The forecast is good and the centre has brought forward limited opening of the facility in response to a fresh dream topping of snow suddenly coating the glen down as far as the car park. We plan to make the most of it.But today’s enthusiasm has to be set against harder realities. The pandemic has significantly restricted the past two winter seasons. The coming months are pivotal to the recovery and future of the industry after its long forced hibernation.The ghost resort of Glenshee, locked down and half-buried in snow in February 2021. Continue reading...

From building up a nest egg by earning interest on small change, to using an app for budgetingThere is no point trying to save if you are burdened by costly debts. Continue reading...

The singer loves a bit of disco on the dancefloor and Prince in the bedroom, but when it comes to karaoke, she keeps faith with George MichaelThe first single that I ever bought

Attacks such as the one in which two Save the Children staff died are a harsh fact of life under the junta, say humanitarian workers“The events of last week are just par for the army’s inhumanity and immorality.”So says Michael Isherwood, chair of the Burma Humanitarian Mission and program director of Backpack Medics, after Myanmar’s junta massacred more than 35 people, including two Save the Children workers, on Christmas Eve. At the time, the attack garnered international headlines, with the children’s charity calling it “absolutely horrifying”, and the UN urging an investigation. Continue reading...

Officials plan workshop to persuade more women to stand – but some say ‘it doesn’t look like a safe space’An appeal has been issued for women to stand as councillors in the Western Isles in 2022 in an effort to end the Hebridean islands’ unwelcome status as the only Scottish authority with an all-male council.Islanders and equality campaigners were stunned in 2017 when none of the seven women who stood were elected for the Western Isles. Only one, an incumbent, came close to winning a seat in the 31-member authority. Continue reading...

Kane Tanaka has set her sights on becoming 120 next year, as figures show the number of young adults in Japan in steep declineThe world’s oldest person has celebrated her 119th birthday in Japan, saying she is determined to extend the record by another year.Kane Tanaka, who has a weakness for fizzy drinks and chocolate, marked the milestone on Sunday with staff at the nursing home where she lives in Fukuoka prefecture, south-west Japan, according to media reports. Continue reading...

Urgent routine treatment is being cancelled, with capacity closer to limit than officials admit, medics say

Independent online news portal to cease operations amid ‘worsening environment for media’ in cityThe Hong Kong independent news outlet Citizen News has said it will cease operations from Tuesday in the face of what it described as a deteriorating media environment in the Chinese-ruled city and to ensure the safety of its staff.“Regrettably, the rapid changes in society and worsening environment for media make us unable to achieve our goal fearlessly. Amid this crisis, we have to first make sure everyone on the boat is safe,” Citizen News, which was established in 2017, said in a statement. Continue reading...

Twenty years after being elected, leftwinger Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is gearing up for an electrifying bid to regain powerFormer Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is set to make a globe-trotting start to 2022 as he ramps up his campaign to defeat Brazil’s far-right leader, Jair Bolsonaro, with a series of international trips to the US, China, Russia and Mexico.Twenty years after being elected Brazil’s first working-class president, in 2002, the veteran leftwinger is gearing up for an electrifying bid to reclaim power in next October’s presidential election. Continue reading...

State reports 4,249 new Covid cases as concerns mount about rising infections in remote Indigenous communities

Robert Etheridge, aka DJ Dimension, apologises for ‘my misunderstandings’ in breaking isolation rules and visiting Auckland venues before testing Covid-positive

Union says it is ‘common sense’ that Britain’s 1,100 steel businesses should be ‘paramount’ in procurementThe Unite union is demanding the government sets clear targets for the use of UK-produced steel in the HS2 rail project, after it emerged that the Department for Transport currently has none in place.Responding to two written questions in parliament posted by Labour MPs in December, the transport minister Andrew Stephenson admitted there is “no formal target” for the use of UK steel in its construction. Continue reading...

Abdalla Hamdok quits on same day at least two protesters killed by security forces during unrest in Khartoum and other citiesSudan’s prime minister has announced his resignation amid political deadlock and widespread pro-democracy protests following a military coup that derailed the country’s fragile transition to democratic rule.Abdalla Hamdok, a former UN official seen as the civilian face of Sudan’s transitional government, had been reinstated as prime minister in November as part of an agreement with the military following the October coup. In that time he had failed to name a cabinet and his resignation on Sunday throws Sudan into political uncertainty. Continue reading...

Rider in Tameside died on scene after colliding with two parked cars on New Year’s DayA 74-year-old man has died after his electric scooter collided with two parked cars on New Year’s Day.Greater Manchester police (GMP) said officers were called to reports of the crash on Springfield Road in Tameside, just east of Manchester, at about 1.40pm on Saturday. Continue reading...

As my family were neither middle class nor white European I didn’t venture into the bush until I was an adult – I’ll never forget my first time

Prince Andrew’s lawyers believe 2009 agreement could shield him from Giuffre’s civil sexual assault lawsuitA crunch week in Prince Andrew’s fight to avoid a public trial over claims he sexually assaulted a 17-year-old trafficked by the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein begins on Monday, when a New York court unseals a confidential 2009 deal between Epstein and the alleged victim.Lawyers for the Duke of York, who “unequivocally denies” the claims made by Virginia Giuffre, believe her agreement with Epstein could shield him from her civil lawsuit accusing him of sexual abuse in 2001. Continue reading...

Historian Laurence Westgaph responds to a letter suggesting that there was a purpose-built ‘slave pen’ in the cityLiverpool is undoubtedly the most fitting place for a permanent national memorial to the victims of slavery, as a city shaped by the slave trade more than any other in the country. However, I have not seen any evidence to suggest that there were any purpose-built “slave pens” in the town (Letters, 13 December).An advert for the sale of “One Negro Man and Two Boys” in Liverpool that took place in 1767 refers to the individuals being “brought up to the place of sale to be viewed”, possibly indicating that they were being kept in a cellar, but currently we can only speculate as to how these people were confined while waiting to be sold as human chattel. Continue reading...

As more people turn to faecal transplants for their health benefits, researchers in Adelaide are harnessing the power of high-quality poo in new treatments that can simply be swallowedGood poo donors are so hard to find they’re sometimes called “unicorns”. These elusive, healthy creatures service a market for faecal transplants that is growing rapidly as evidence of its benefits mounts.Emerging science shows that a human’s microbiome – their constellation of gut microbes – has a far greater effect on health than anyone previously imagined. This enormous ecosystem we host in our bodies includes bacteria, fungi, viruses and more. Continue reading...

Boy, 15, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and is being held at a south London police stationA second teenager has been arrested on suspicion of murdering 15-year-old Zaian Aimable-Lina, who was stabbed to death in a park in south London on Thursday.A 15-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of murder late on Saturday and is being held at a south London police station, the Metropolitan police said. Continue reading...

Yellow weather warning in place, with potential for flooding, power cuts and transport disruptionAfter the UK’s warmest New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day on record, the Met Office has issued a warning for heavy storms in parts of southern England and Wales.Forecasters said the fast-moving thunderstorms could result in sudden flooding, lightning strikes and disruption. Road closures, power cuts and damage to trees and buildings are possible. Continue reading...

Firefighters still battling to contain blaze that broke out in the historic buildingA major fire in the South African parliament in Cape Town is continuing to burn after more than six hours, causing the roof of the old National Assembly building to collapse and with authorities fearing significant damage.Images broadcast on television showed flames leaping from the roof of one large building, while several others in the parliament precinct including the National Assembly were enveloped in a thick cloud of black smoke. Continue reading...

Government has banned Mother Teresa charity and many other NGOs from receiving donations from abroadOxfam India has said its work in the country will be imperilled by the government’s refusal to renew a licence that permits it to receive funds from abroad.Oxfam is on a list of thousands of NGOs, according to local media reports, whose licence has not been renewed. Without the licence, these organisations can only use donations and contributions from within India. Continue reading...

Official in the French presidency says removal of flag was in line with planned scheduleFrench authorities have removed the EU flag from the Arc de Triomphe after rightwing opponents of the country’s president, Emmanuel Macron, accused him of erasing French identity.The giant flag was raised in place of the French tricolour on New Year’s Eve to mark France’s turn at the rotating EU presidency, which it will hold for the next six months. Continue reading...

A bullying teacher almost made our classical music critic give up playing as a child but when she switched lessons for making music with friends she discovered true delightI had an uncle who, intermittently and not necessarily simultaneously, wore a kilt and played the violin. Each to me was exotic – twin roads to freedom from the dullness of a prosaic, southern English childhood. For a short time I took up highland dancing, with real swords and modest skill. I was seven when I begged to be allowed to join the new string class at school. Above all, I wanted the “equipment”: an eighth-sized violin and silk scarf to wrap it in, bow, spare strings, heavy wooden case with green felt lining (just as I’d wanted the kilt, jacket, sporran, jabot and special laced shoes for dancing).The other children soon dropped out, bored by playing long, slow notes on open strings. It was deadly indeed and sounded awful. There’s no quick path to becoming even a modestly accomplished violinist. Left on my own, things progressed. The nice teacher complimented me on my “good ear” as I sawed through Will Ye No Come Back Again. I won a place at the junior department of a London conservatoire, going by myself, aged 11 until I left school, every Saturday morning: negotiating public transport, having breakfast in cafes and spending the afternoon wandering up and down Charing Cross Road, wondering at the mysterious rubber “health” objects (health meaning sex) hidden at the back of seedier secondhand bookshops. It was an education. It was, too, a wonder I escaped unscathed. A few creepy flashers aside, I was left alone. Continue reading...

After a lifetime of loving exercise, Martin Love lost his motivation. But where had it gone? And could he get it back? Plus, five experts on how to maintain your mojoOn my parents’ mantelpiece, among the pictures of smiling grandchildren, lopsided graduation hats, old sports cars and a young soldier in smart uniform, is a picture of heroic athletic endeavour. In a little silver frame is a small blond boy in a white vest straining every sinew as he belts around the corner of a grassy athletic field, the parallel lines of the track marked out in white chalk stretching into the distance. He seems to be so far ahead of the pack that he’s almost on his own. He’s a champion in the making! Is the podium ready? Is that the music from Chariots of Fire you can hear?The sad truth is that the little boy is me and I was so far off the pace everyone else that my dad was able to step out on the track to take the picture. “You were miles behind. It was almost as if you were running in slow motion,” he says now, with a laugh. Continue reading...

As we greet a third calendar year of pandemic life, experts who helped us make sense of the past two years discuss lessons learned, and wisdom to carry forwardIf 2020 was a year of fear and isolation, 2021 marked one of return – a road toward something like “normal”, despite so many hairpin turns. The mass distribution of Covid-19 vaccines did not restore the norms of pre-pandemic life, as many had hoped, but it did change the rules of engagement. Time and again, people adapted.As we greet a third calendar year of pandemic life, the Guardian turned to experts across disciplines who have helped the rest of us make sense of the past two years for lessons learned, and wisdom to carry forward.Jessica Richards is the founder of the trend forecasting firm JMR Trend + Creative.Sydney Mintle is the founder of fashion marketing and public relations firm Gossip & Glamour.Thomas Plante is a professor of psychology at Santa Clara University.Kelly Hills is a bioethicist and co-founder of the bioethics consulting firm Rogue Bioethics.Barbara J Sahakian is a professor of psychiatry at the University of Cambridge.Saskia Popescu is an infectious disease epidemiologist and assistant professor at the George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government. Continue reading...

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution has had ‘significant’ increase in annual donations after it went to the aid of asylum seekersThe Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is on course for the highest annual fundraising total in its near 200-year history. Donations swelled after the charity attracted huge public support following rightwing attacks for helping save the lives of asylum seekers at risk of drowning in the Channel.The RNLI said it has received a significant increase in support, with online donations rising by 50% this year. Continue reading...

Mark Bowden and Matthew Teague have produced an indispensable and alarming ground-level record of how Donald Trump’s attempt to steal the 2020 election played out in precincts and ballot-counting centers in key statesIn their terrific new book, the veteran reporters Mark Bowden and Matthew Teague argue that the mob that invaded the Capitol in Washington almost exactly a year ago “had no more chance of overthrowing the US government than hippies in 1967 had trying to levitate the Pentagon”.The “real insurrection” was the one “led by Trump and his coterie of sycophants” in Georgia, Wisconsin, Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Arizona. It “was only slightly better organized than the mob but considerably more calculated and dangerous”. Continue reading...

Pressure grows on duke to settle alleged victim’s claim before key hearing this weekTwo of Prince Andrew’s efforts to prevent or stall the progression of Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s sex assault lawsuit against him were blocked on Saturday when a US federal judge ordered the prince’s lawyers to turn over key legal documents, increasing pressure to settle claims before a crucial court hearing this week.Judge Lewis A Kaplan, in a written order, told the prince’s lawyers they must turn over documents on the schedule that has been set in the lawsuit brought by Guiffre who claims she was abused – aged 17 – by the prince on multiple occasions in 2001 while she was being sexually abused by financier Jeffrey Epstein. Continue reading...

Met Office says 16.3C reached in central London on Saturday ‘likely to be confirmed’ as record temperatureThe warmest New Year’s Eve on record has been followed by the hottest New Year’s Day, early figures show. Thanks to warm subtropical air flowing from the Azores, temperatures topped 16C at a time of the year when they usually reach about 7C.The Met Office said that 16.3C had been reached in St James’s Park, central London, meaning it is “likely to be confirmed” as a record maximum temperature for any New Year’s Day. Continue reading...

Scuffles broke out between anti-hunting protesters and supporters at the Avon Vale Hunt on 27 DecemberPolice have released images of three men wanted in connection with violent clashes at an annual hunt in Wiltshire.Scuffles broke out between anti-hunting protesters and supporters at the Boxing Day meet of the Avon Vale Hunt in the village of Lacock, which this year was held on 27 December. Continue reading...

Offer could be on table in upcoming trade talks in Delhi in bid to access to country’s growing economyMinisters are keen to ease immigration restrictions in a bid to make it easier for thousands of Indian citizens to live and work in the UK as part of forthcoming trade talks.The potential offer will be under discussion when the international trade secretary, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, travels to Delhi this month, reports the Times. Relaxing immigration rules for Indian citizens is a key demand from Delhi. Continue reading...

In the charity’s storeroom sit the cremated remains of seven former visitors – unclaimed, contested or forgotten. Lifestyle editor Alyx Gorman introduces an intimate story about three of themYou can read the original article here: The unclaimed: the ashes left waiting in Sydney’s Wayside Chapel. Continue reading...

Police say body spotted along seafront at Corton, near Lowestoft, on Saturday at about 10.30amA man’s body has been found in the sea off Suffolk. Police said the body was spotted along the seafront at Corton, near Lowestoft, on Saturday at about 10.30am.Emergency services were called but no further details are available. Continue reading...

As Beijing pursues its solitary path, observers are asking whether the policy is about protecting public health – or social order

Along the eastern shore, seaside attractions are being demolished and millions of homes are at risk as rising sea levels speed erosionFrom a distance, the beach at Winterton-on-sea in Norfolk looks like the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan, with hundreds of grey bodies lying motionless across the sand. On closer inspection, it becomes clear they are not fallen soldiers but a huge colony of seals taken to the land for pupping season.It’s an amazing annual sight that draws tourists and nature-lovers from across the country, but another process is taking place that is pushing people back – the growing threat of coastal erosion. Just along from where the armies of grey seals lay with their white pups, there used to stand the Dunes Cafe, a much-loved beach facility with a large and loyal clientele. Continue reading...

Three former refuseniks reveal their misgivings about having the vaccination and what finally convinced them to take the plungeThe UK’s vaccine rollout has largely been a success: more than 90% of the population aged 12 and over has now had at least one dose, with just over half having had a second dose and the booster.However, there are thousands of people who still haven’t had a jab, despite estimates suggesting that 90% of the most severely ill Covid patients in hospital at the moment are unvaccinated. Continue reading...

Several more injured in separate incidents despite Germany introducing ban this year on sale of fireworks for personal useExploding fireworks killed two men on New Year’s Eve, one in Germany and the other in Austria, according to local media.A 37-year-old man died in Hennef, near Germany’s western city of Bonn. A 39-year-old was severely injured in the same incident and taken to hospital. Continue reading...

Artefacts from hideout of family sent to Auschwitz death camp with Anne Frank and her family are put on display in NetherlandsA clock that is the sole surviving object from a second world war Jewish hideout will go on display at Amsterdam’s Dutch Resistance Museum this year.The round mantelpiece clock may have been one of the last things people saw as they were seized by the Nazis and sent to death camps. Continue reading...

Three years after it ended, scandal surrounds the show, but its familiarity and formula provided a comfort blanket. I really hope they bring it backIt sounds troublingly shallow, but when I saw the tweet that said “Holy shit, ANTM [America’s Next Top Model] is on Amazon Prime” my heart soared. I am not one who can pretend the pandemic isn’t still raging but, in that fleeting moment, I felt a spiritual lightness I hadn’t experienced since 2019.I dropped everything to binge the episodes, then fell deep into a rabbit hole of detective work: where are the contestants now? Are they on Instagram? I found a whole subsection of TikTok dedicated to calling out where the show was problematic, and YouTuber Oliver Twixt has a highly viewed series of interviews with ANTM contestants levelling accusations of maltreatment at the show’s producers. Whatever the reason, ANTM is back in the cultural sphere. Continue reading...

St James’s Park in central London has provisionally beaten record with a temperature of 16.2CBritain has enjoyed the warmest new year on record as temperatures rose above 16C.St James’s Park in central London has provisionally beaten the record with a temperature of 16.2C, the Met Office said. Continue reading...

Mina Smallman says she ‘can’t wait’ to meet Deniz Jaffer, one of the officers who shared pictures of Nicole Smallman and Bibaa HenryThe mother of two sisters murdered in a London park said she wants to meet one of the police officers who took selfies at the scene and shared the images.The Ven Mina Smallman, the first black woman to become an archdeacon in the Church of England, who was guest editing BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, also spoke of the pain of losing her daughters Nicole Smallman, 27, and Bibaa Henry, 46, in June 2020. Continue reading...

A lifetime of hating my body has got me nowhere. If I can’t love it, can I at least respect it?Every January, the same old battle cry: this will be the year that I get thin. Last January, I did a week-long juice cleanse, and the year before that, I fasted for three days. It wasn’t quite nil by mouth, but almost. At the time, I told myself the science interested me (the fervour with which fasting evangelists assure you that a few days without food can reset your microbiome or stave off cellular ageing is compelling enough to make you ignore the health warnings). Really, though, what I wanted was rapid weight loss, minimum one dress size.I made it to 81 hours. Practically levitating with hunger, I ignored the advice to reintroduce food slowly (soups and juices before solids) by bingeing on a cheese sandwich, which I promptly threw up. Happy new year to me. Continue reading...

Whether it’s taking fruit to work (and to the bedroom!), being polite to rude strangers or taking up skinny-dipping, here’s a century of ways to make life better, with little effort involved …1 Exercise on a Monday night (nothing fun happens on a Monday night).2 On the fence about a purchase? Wait 72 hours before you buy it. Continue reading...

From hiking the Highlands to vintage train journeys, our travel writers pick the breaks on their wishlistsDisconnect on the impeccably green island of Eigg Continue reading...

While women remain under-represented at the very top, the Business desk casts its eye over the biggest hittersLuck plays a big part in politics and the shadow chancellor took full advantage of her good fortune when Keir Starmer tested positive for Covid just before the October 2021 budget. According to parliamentary tradition, the leader of the opposition responds to the chancellor’s budget speech, but Starmer’s absence meant Reeves stepped in and, by general consent, delivered a polished reply to Rishi Sunak. Continue reading...

Each week, our critics choose the best music, film, theatre, art and games – so who better to ask to help us through a whole month?Film

Five Paris museums to display fashion designer’s creations with artwork that inspired themSimultaneous exhibitions to mark the 60th anniversary of Yves Saint Laurent’s first collection are to be held by six leading Paris museums in an unprecedented tribute from the art world to the late French fashion designer.The events at museums, among them the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay, will reveal how the celebrated couturier was inspired by some of the 20th century’s greatest artists including Picasso, Matisse and Mondrian. Continue reading...