Magawa, a giant African pouched rat, was awarded a gold medal for heroism for clearing ordnance from 42 football pitches’ worth of landA landmine-hunting rat that was awarded a gold medal for heroism for clearing ordnance from the Cambodian countryside has died.Magawa, a giant African pouched rat originally from Tanzania, helped clear mines from about 225,000 square metres of land – the equivalent of 42 football pitches – over the course of his career. Continue reading...
In our pursuit of improvement, we’re often told consistency is key. But obsessing over productivity means ignoring how our days vary – and how we vary within themIn our culture that places productivity on a pedestal, an optimised routine has been sold as the salve to all kinds of dilemmas. Lost your job? Stick to your routine. Experiencing anxiety, depression, or grief? Find a routine. Living through a pandemic? Get a new routine.Sometimes we do need the support of a schedule. Routines are beneficial – they appear solid, they promise order, they seem reliable. They can be comforting, providing a sense of certainty and control in a world that offers neither. For some, a routine is crucial to reduce decision fatigue and simply get through the day, but for others the constant vigilance is exhausting. Continue reading...
The tax comes amid a new wave of coronavirus in the province and would be for those who refuse the jab for non-medical reasonsQuebec has announced plans to impose a “health tax” on residents who refuse to get the Covid-19 vaccination for non-medical reasons, as a new wave of the coronavirus pandemic overwhelms the province.Premier François Legault announced the new “contribution” for the unvaccinated on Tuesday, as the province reported 62 new deaths, bringing the total number of people killed by Covid-19 in the province to 12,028 – the most in Canada. Continue reading...
Queen Sibongile Dlamini, the late king’s first wife of six in total, is contesting Misuzulu Zulu’s right to the throneOne of the six widows of South Africa’s Zulu king launched a legal succession bid on Tuesday, arguing that she is the monarch’s only legitimate widow as they had a civil marriage, while he wed his five other wives only according to traditional rites.King Goodwill Zwelithini died in March last year at age 72 after 50 years on the throne, leaving behind his six wives and at least 28 children. Continue reading...
Moscow’s chief negotiator played down chances of a breakthrough as Russian troops conduct live-fire exercise near UkraineThe Kremlin has said it sees “no significant reason for optimism” about diplomatic solutions for the Ukraine crisis, ahead of a meeting in Brussels between Russia and Nato’s 30 member states.As Moscow was playing down the chances for success at the negotiating table after initial US-Russian talks in Switzerland on Monday, Russian forces deployed near Ukraine conducted a live-fire military exercise involving 3,000 troops and tanks, in a clear rejection of US demands for a de-escalation in the region. Continue reading...
15 men and three boys are suspected of involvement in the attacks on nine women in Piazza del DuomoItalian police have raided the homes of 15 young men and three boys who are suspected of involvement in a series of sexual assaults during New Year’s Eve celebrations in Milan.Nine women have so far reported that they were assaulted during celebrations in front of Milan’s Cathedral on Piazza del Duomo. Continue reading...
by Shaun Walker Central and eastern Europe correspond on (#5TWFX)
Withdrawal to start in two days, says Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, as new PM appointed and detentions rise to nearly 10,000Kazakhstan’s president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has said troops from a Russian-led military bloc will begin their withdrawal from the country within two days.Tokayev asked for assistance from the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) last week to help him regain control, after unrest that left at least 164 people dead. Continue reading...
Tributes paid to senior EU figure who died early on Tuesday at a hospital in ItalyDavid Sassoli, the president of the European parliament whose final political intervention had been to oppose the building of walls on the EU’s borders, has been praised for his kindness following his death at the age of 65.The former journalist, whose three-year term as speaker of the chamber was due to end next week, had been admitted to hospital in Aviano, in his native Italy, on Boxing Day following a “dysfunction of his immune system”. He died at 1.15am on Tuesday. Continue reading...
Camilla Nielsson’s thrilling documentary takes a behind-the-scenes look at the 2018 election that followed the ousting of Robert Mugabe“A free, fair and credible election.” These words of promise echo throughout Camilla Nielsson’s riveting documentary, capturing the fervour of the 2018 presidential vote in Zimbabwe, the country’s first without Robert Mugabe since its independence.While opening with the rip-roaring rallies for Nelson Chamisa, who is running for the presidency against the incumbent Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mugabe’s former aide, President is more than an intimate portrait of a charismatic opposition leader. Considering the fraudulent electoral practices that existed under Mugabe’s 30-year reign, this election concretises a collective cry for democracy to triumph over decades of corruption and lies. Such a desire, alas, comes with blood, sweat and tears. Continue reading...
He has found critical and commercial success, while behind the scenes the frontman has battled with his self-confidence and severe stage fright. He explains why he still loves being in the bandDan Smith doesn’t know how to switch off. In the decade or so that he has been the creative heart, and frontman, of the band Bastille, he has thought about music constantly. There was a two-week period over Christmas and new year where he thought he had managed not to. Then he went to a double bill at the cinema.“I got the whole way through the first film and three-quarters of the way through the second film before I had to leave, sing into my phone in the corridor awkwardly, and then come back in,” he says. “If I have a song idea that pops into my head, I have to get it down. It will eat away at me if I forget it, or it’s just on loop in my head.” Continue reading...
David Sassoli, the president of the European parliament, has died at the age of 65, his spokesperson has said, after a serious illness for which he was hospitalised for more than two weeks. In December, Sassoli posted what would be his last video message, in which he expressed hope for women's rights and solidarity
Airport says passengers abandoned plans because of Omicron variant and uncertainty on restrictionsHeathrow airport has said at least 600,000 passengers cancelled their travel plans from the airport in December because of Omicron, warning aviation would take years to recover from the pandemic.Only 19.4 million passengers passed through the airport in 2021 – less than a quarter of 2019 levels and below even 2020, the year when the Covid-19 pandemic started in March. Continue reading...
by Nino Bucci (now) and Mostafa Rachwani and Caitlin on (#5TW12)
‘Serious failings’ in children’s vaccine rollout, GPs warn; 2,186 Covid cases in NSW hospitals, 816 in Victoria, 502 in Qld and 211 in SA; NSW reports 25,870 new Covid cases and 11 deaths, Victoria 37,944 cases and 13 deaths, Qld 20,566 cases after testing glitch fixed, SA 2,921 cases, ACT 1,508 cases and one death, Tasmania 1,379 cases, NT 594. This blog is now closed
Second launch in less than a week designed to put pressure on US and follows condemnation at UNNorth Korea has test-fired a suspected ballistic missile that may be an improved version of a “hypersonic missile” it launched only last week, in a move designed to increase pressure on the US amid stalled nuclear talks and mounting economic problems for the regime.Tuesday’s launch was detected at 7.27am on Tuesday from an inland area of North Korea toward the ocean off its east coast, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement. Continue reading...
Djokovic declared he had not travelled for 14 days before entering Australia, a claim apparently contradicted by social media posts. His visa was cancelled, then reinstated on Monday
Inspired by the hit US show, a Nairobi group is using catwalk events to combat stigma and abuseAn audience wearing face masks sits around the edges of a nondescript room in an unassuming building in the centre of Nairobi. Sparsely furnished and decorated with a few posters advertising PrEP, a drug that reduces chances of contracting HIV, there is a low hum of excited chatter.Then the speakers crackle into action, playing Sweet Dreams by Beyoncé, and in struts Toyo, a 23-year-old transgender woman, wearing a figure-hugging sparkly blue dress accessorised with bright red painted nails and the ubiqitious face mask, in black. She walks to the end of the room, strikes a pose and struts back out. Toyo is followed by Miss K – or Kelvin, when not in drag – 24, who is wearing a red strappy dress, long black wig, fake Louboutin heels, and plenty of makeup. Continue reading...
The pace of global heating is forcing insect populations to move and adapt – and some aggressive species are thrivingThe climate crisis is set to profoundly alter the world around us. Humans will not be the only species to suffer from the calamity. Huge waves of die-offs will be triggered across the animal kingdom as coral reefs turn ghostly white and tropical rainforests collapse. For a period, some researchers suspected that insects may be less affected, or at least more adaptable, than mammals, birds and other groups of creatures. With their large, elastic populations and their defiance of previous mass extinction events, surely insects will do better than most in the teeth of the climate emergency?Sadly not. At 3.2C of warming, which many scientists still fear the world will get close to by the end of this century (although a flurry of promises at Cop26 have brought the expected temperature increase down to 2.4C), half of all insect species will lose more than half of their current habitable range. This is about double the proportion of vertebrates and higher even than for plants, which lack wings or legs to quickly relocate themselves. This huge contraction in livable space is being heaped on to the existing woes faced by insects from habitat loss and pesticide use. “The insects that are still hanging in there are going to get hit by climate change as well,” says Rachel Warren, a biologist at the University of East Anglia, who in 2018 published research into what combinations of temperature, rainfall and other climatic conditions each species can tolerate. Continue reading...
Guardian Australia’s summertime round-up of written interest and joy selected by Alyx GormanHappy Tuesday, happy morning tea, and welcome to Five Great Reads: a lucky dip of interest and insight, slow cooked by me, Alyx Gorman, Guardian Australia’s lifestyle editor – I’ve even thrown in a recipe for you this time.If you’re keen to read today’s news as it breaks, you have come to the wrong place. The right place is our live blog. Continue reading...
by Leyland Cecco in Toronto and agencies on (#5TW11)
Agency elevates recommendation to ‘level four: very high’ and says Americans should avoid travel to northern neighbourThe US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned against travel to Canada as Covid-19 cases surge across the country and rampant infections threaten to once again overwhelm fragile healthcare systems.The CDC on Monday elevated its travel recommendation to “level four: very high” for Canada, telling Americans they should avoid travel to its northern neighbour. The CDC currently lists about 80 destinations worldwide at level four. Continue reading...
Jack Merritt and Saskia Jones were killed by convicted terrorist at event at Fishmonger’s HallCambridge University has scrapped a programme that taught prisoners alongside students after the deadly 2019 Fishmonger’s Hall terrorist attack was carried out at one of its events.Jack Merritt, 25, who was employed by the Learning Together programme at the time, and Saskia Jones, 23, who was one of its volunteers, were killed by the convicted terrorist Usman Khan at an event to mark the fifth anniversary of the scheme. Continue reading...
While some of us are both, many of us are neither. The urge to separate us out is used to marginalise people around the worldIt took me a long time to embrace my Māori identity.On my mother’s side, I whakapapa (relate, through ancestry) to Kāi Tahu, the largest iwi (tribe) of Te Waipounamu (the South Island of New Zealand), but I grew up believing I was only Pākehā (NZ European). I spent most of my childhood living with my Pākehā father. Even though my Māori ancestry was mentioned occasionally, I resisted the suggestion that I was Māori. I didn’t grow up on a marae (Māori village), or speak te reo – and I didn’t look like the Māori kids I knew. Continue reading...
by Robert Booth, Rupert Neate and Peter Walker on (#5TV8Z)
Michael Gove says new statutory protection will cover all works required to make buildings safe – not just claddingNew legislation will protect leaseholders from the costs of all post-Grenfell building safety defects, not just combustible cladding, the government has said.The secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, Michael Gove, told parliament the government would give leaseholders statutory protection that extends to all works required to make buildings safe. The move followed anger at reports that officials were only planning to force developers and materials manufacturers to pay to replace combustible cladding on buildings taller than 11 metres. Continue reading...
PC David Carrick to appear at Westminster magistrates court as new charges bring total to 29 alleged crimes against eight womenA Metropolitan police officer accused of a string of sexual offences is facing charges linked to another four alleged victims including six counts of rape, prosecutors have said.PC David Carrick, 47, will be charged with nine more offences, the Crown Prosecution Service announced on Monday, meaning he is accused of 29 crimes against eight women in total between 2009 and 2020. Continue reading...
Residents in Ukraine’s capital defiant, with many ready to fight – but they also have other concernsAt weekends Yevgeny Tereshchenko goes to the woods outside Kyiv and practises his shooting. “We need to be ready, morally and physically,” Tereshchenko explained, showing off a video in which he springs athletically into action and fires a rifle several times.A Ukrainian army officer until two years ago, Tereshchenko is preparing for a possible Russian attack. If Moscow does launch a further military operation against Ukraine, assuming diplomatic talks fail this week, he and his friends are ready to fight, he said. “There are a lot of us. It’s our house, our country,” he pointed out. Continue reading...
‘The idea of wearing checked shirts came from Bruce Springsteen – plus you could buy them cheap at Millets!’I knew [singer/guitarist] Stuart Adamson when he was in Skids and I was in the Delinquents and all the bands in Dunfermline used to rehearse in stables next to each other. When Skids were doing their third album he said to me: “Wouldn’t it be great to do a twin guitar thing?” I thought he was just being nice. Then after Skids split he knocked on my door and said: “Remember that conversation? Do you still want to do it?” Continue reading...
Prof Faizullah Jalal, an outspoken critic of Afghanistan’s ruling group, was arrested for alleged remarks on social mediaSupporters of a prominent university professor, and one of Afghanistan’s most vocal critics of the Taliban, are calling for his release after he was arrested on Saturday.Faizullah Jalal, a professor at Kabul University, was detained by the Taliban after the group claimed he was responsible for a series of messages on social media attacking them. Continue reading...
The benefits of exercise for those with osteoporosis are great, and many exercises may be safe – so long as you avoid the risk of fallingAgeing brings with it inevitable physical declines, including loss in bone density which can lead to osteoporosis. This condition affects 3.8% of Australians, although many people don’t know they have it until they have a bone fracture. Importantly, it can be prevented and managed through lifestyle factors including exercise.“Physical activity is one of the most effective tools to counter age-related health conditions,” including osteoporosis and osteoarthritis (which impacts the joints), says accredited exercise physiologist Richelle Street. Continue reading...
Secretary of state Antony Blinken says week of talks is moment of truth for Vladimir PutinFormal talks are under way between US and Russian officials in Geneva over the fate of Ukraine, amid low expectations and high tensions driven by fears that the Kremlin will order an invasion.The Russian deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, and his delegation arrived under Swiss police escort at the US diplomatic mission in Geneva for face-to-face talks with Wendy Sherman, the US deputy secretary of state, and her team. The talks adjourned for lunch and then began an afternoon session. Continue reading...
Kay Rufai hopes to reduce youth violence and racial stereotyping in his project for Coventry city of cultureStories of the disintegrating relationship between the police and young black people are endless, but an artist behind an unlikely new project hopes he can help break down barriers.Kay Rufai was enlisted by West Midlands police last year to be their artist in residence – thought to be a first for a police force. He has spent several months taking photographs and film of officers and young, mostly black people who have had dealings with the police. The images were then presented to police in order to spark a conversation and “challenge their preconceptions”. Continue reading...
by Tom Phillips Latin America correspondent on (#5TVHR)
Regime suffers symbolic blow as little-known Sergio Garrido secures victory in Barinas governorship electionVenezuela’s opposition has claimed a rare and highly symbolic victory over Nicolás Maduro’s regime after defeating the government candidate for the governorship of Hugo Chávez’s home state of Barinas.Maduro had hoped his former foreign minister Jorge Arreaza would win control of the region, which is considered the cradle of Chávez’s “Bolivarian revolution”, in Sunday’s election. Continue reading...
People who fled Taliban are starting to arrive in northern France in hope of reaching UKAfghans who fled the Taliban risk dying in freezing temperatures in Calais, NGOs have warned.People who left Afghanistan after the US withdrawal this summer have started to arrive in northern France in the hope of reaching the UK by crossing the Channel in dinghies. But charities have raised the alarm that conditions are deteriorating sharply, putting thousands of lives at risk. Continue reading...
Adult educationist whose anthology Two Centuries of African English helped transform approaches to literature in the continentLalage Bown, who has died aged 94, was appointed to her first teaching post in the new University of the Gold Coast (Ghana) in 1949. Although only 22, she immediately questioned the department’s British literature-oriented curriculum, believing that poems such as Wordsworth’s Daffodils (I wandered lonely as a cloud) had little meaning for African students, and that it was important for them to encounter writing by and about African people.Challenged by the department’s senior members, who doubted that such texts existed, she bet them a bottle of beer that she could produce numerous passages written in English by African authors over the previous 200 years. Within two weeks she won her beer, and mimeographed copies of the relevant works were distributed to students and teachers. Continue reading...
Via hand-painted sex dolls and Maga hats, Jessica Kingdon slyly tracks China’s shift from global factory to consumer societyIn a street market in China, factory recruiters with loudspeakers compete for the attention of job seekers, yelling like they’re selling vegetables: “Seating working available!” “Air conditioning!” Others list restrictions: “No tattoos. No hair dye.” One advertises a salary: $2.99 (£2.21) an hour. Outside the market, inspirational slogans are plastered across billboards extolling the Chinese dream. “Work hard and all your dreams will come true.” When you’re paid $2.99, that’s a lot of hard work.So begins this brilliant documentary by Chinese-American director Jessica Kingdon, which slyly observes China’s transition from the world’s factory to a massive consumer society. It’s a film in the tradition of Koyaanisqatsi or Nikolaus Geyrhalter’s Our Daily Bread. Shot in more than 50 locations in China, it splits more or less into three sections: factory workers, China’s growing middle class and the filthy-rich elite. There’s no voiceover or obvious narrative, just a stream of vignettes – at times an almost surreal compilation of images strung together. Continue reading...
Peng Jingtang was chief of staff of Armed Police Corps, part of China’s paramilitary police forceA general who led China’s anti-terrorism special forces in Xinjiang has been named as the new chief of the People’s Liberation Army’s garrison in Hong Kong, state media have reported.The appointment comes as China toughens its rule in the international business hub, which underwent huge and sometimes violent street protests in 2019. Beijing imposed a controversial national security law in Hong Kong in 2020. Continue reading...
We would like to hear your suggestions for what the Queen’s platinum pudding should be this yearAs part of the celebrations for the Queen’s platinum jubilee, Fortnum & Mason is launching a competition for pudding recipes that celebrate the Queen’s 70 years on the throne.We would like to hear your suggestions for what the Queen’s platinum pudding should be. Continue reading...
Carlos Santana, Jefferson Airplane, the Flying Burrito Brothers and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young also appear in 26 minutes of home video at event that marked end of hippy dreamTwenty-six minutes of unseen footage of the vast and notoriously violent Altamont music festival held in northern California in 1969 have been unexpectedly uncovered.The home-movie footage – which is vividly shot on 8mm film, but frustratingly silent – has been published by the Library of Congress on its website. Continue reading...
Critics say series of charges over Covid rules and walkie-talkie possession designed to remove her as political threatAung San Suu Kyi has been handed a four-year jail sentence by a military court in Myanmar over various offences, including illegal possession of walkie-talkies, the latest judgment in a series of cases that could lead to her spending the rest of her life in detention.She has been held by the military since 1 February, when it ousted her democratically elected government, plunging the country into chaos. The 76-year-old has since been targeted with a slew of charges that her lawyer has previously described as absurd. Continue reading...
Campaigners argue that tracking journeys does nothing to tackle male violence and may be open to abuseWomen’s safety campaigners have called the Home Office’s backing of an app that allows users to track their friends’ journeys home “insulting to women and girls”, arguing that it does nothing to tackle the issue of men’s violence against women.The new app provides anyone walking home at night with a monitored route on their phone. If the walker moves more than 40 metres from the route or stops for more than three minutes, the app asks if they are OK. If there is no reply, nominated “guardians” – normally friends and family – receive a notification on their phones to say there has been a deviation. They can then check on the person in question and alert the police if they are unable to do so. Continue reading...
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