For me, the TikTok app never added up. It made more sense to go back to where I’d first started watching TikToks – other people’s Instagram storiesDuring Melbourne’s first lockdown, Jeanette Nkrumah started spending a lot of time on TikTok.At first the videos she saw on her “For You” page – the personalised home screen that appears whenever a user opens the app – weren’t particularly compelling. But as she started spending more time there, the recommendations improved. Continue reading...
Chefs, waiters and hospitality professionals weigh in on the age-old conundrum: when is it OK to complain? And how can you do it nicely?Sometime before the last Sydney lockdown, I was in a local cafe, staring down a pretentious bowl of chickpea-centric vegetarian fare I’d had countless times before. But that day I took a bite and all I could taste was salt. This had never happened before. I had a few more mouthfuls, hoping the rest would be fine, but the whole meal was uncomfortably salty.I didn’t know what to do. I’m not one to complain about food unless it is genuinely inedible. On the other hand, I’m friendly with the owners of this cafe, and I thought maybe the kitchen should know, so it wouldn’t happen again. The whole thing got me thinking about the public dining social contract. When are paying customers justified in sending a meal back? How should they do it so nobody spits in their replacement meals? Continue reading...
by Lisa O'Carroll Brexit correspondent on (#5RPQ4)
Irish deputy PM says UK triggering article 16 would precipitate collapse in relations with EUIreland has begun making contingency plans for a possible trade war between the EU and the UK in the event that Boris Johnson walks away from the Northern Ireland Brexit protocol.Ireland’s deputy prime minister, Leo Varadkar, also confirmed that suspending the trade deal struck by Lord Frost last December was the EU’s likely response should the UK trigger article 16 of the protocol. Continue reading...
Reports that British soldier confessed to Kenyan woman’s murder in 2012 have deeply affected relatives in NanyukiA vibrant sisal plant in a public cemetery on the outskirts of Nanyuki in Kenya marks the grave of Agnes Wanjiru, the woman allegedly murdered by a British soldier in March 2012.It is easy to miss the grave due to heavy undergrowth in the unkempt cemetery. Continue reading...
Former president criticizes China and Russia for emissions failures, plus the optimal time for bed for heart healthGood morning.Barack Obama has called on world leaders to “step up and step up now” to avert climate breakdown, singling out China and Russia for being foremost among countries that are failing to cut planet-heating emissions quickly enough.What else did he say? He said that “there are times where I feel discouraged, there are times where the future seems somewhat bleak”, adding that “images of dystopia start creeping into my dreams”.What did Obama say to young activists and indigenous people who are disappointed by the promises made at Cop26? He said “imperfect compromises” will be required to address the climate emergency. “Gird yourself for a marathon, not a sprint.”Who has been subpoenaed? The legal scholar John Eastman, Trump’s campaign manager Bill Stepien, Trump’s adviser Jason Miller, the former national security adviser Michael Flynn, Trump’s campaign aide Angela McCallum, and the former New York police department commissioner Bernard Kerik. Continue reading...
Steve Thomas says injured man who spent two days trapped underground is ‘doing well … he’ll be good’One of the rescuers who extricated an injured man from a cavern deep beneath the Brecon Beacons has argued that sitting on a sofa watching television is more dangerous than caving.The injured man, who is in his 40s, is said to be doing well after being rescued from the cave, where he was trapped for more than two days at least 300 metres beneath the surface. Continue reading...
by Cait Kelly (now) and Matilda Boseley (earlier) on (#5RNPF)
NSW hit 90.12% double vaccinated against Covid on Monday; Prime Minister says EV strategy will be driven by technology and competition, not mandates; Pfizer approval for young children as soon as end of this year; Covid restrictions to ease in the ACT on Friday; Victoria records 1,069 new cases and 10 deaths; NSW records 224 cases and four deaths; masks to come off in Queensland this week – follow all the day’s news
It is known as the resource curse: assets that should bring wealth and stability but instead lead to corruption and poverty. And for Nigeria, oil is the culpritIn Nigeria, oil has been more of a curse than a blessing. Weak institutions of state and poor governance in managing the vast revenues have led the country to fail to realise its full potential in a textbook example of what academics know as the “resource curse”.First coined by Prof Richard Auty in 1994, the term refers to the inability of nations to use their windfall wealth to improve their population’s lot and bolster their economies. The rich natural resources bring corruption and poverty to a nation, rather than positive economic development and, counterintuitively, these countries end up with lower growth and development than those without natural resources. Continue reading...
From reclining, topless men to survivors of the war in Azerbaijan, here are the best images from the Taylor Wessing photographic portrait prize 2021 Continue reading...
From extreme weather obliterating homes to rising sea levels ruining crops, climate breakdown is a terrifying daily reality for manyThroughout the 2021 United Nations climate change conference, the Guardian will be publishing the stories of the people whose lives have been upended – sometimes devastated – by the climate breakdown. Continue reading...
Deputy ambassador to UN draws comparison to 2017 genocide, as UN aid chief says more than 3 million people need life-saving aidBritain’s deputy UN ambassador has voiced concerns a military build-up in Myanmar’s north-west bears similarities to the Rohingya genocide of 2017.James Kariuki told reporters before heading into a closed-doors meeting with the UN security council on Monday: “We are concerned that this rather mirrors the activity we saw four years ago ahead of the atrocities that were committed in Rakhine against the Rohingya [Muslim minority]” Continue reading...
The Turner winning artist takes a break from his live tour to answer readers’ questions on everything from class and gender identity to whether he can still make controversial artGrayson Perry hasn’t, he reports apologetically, dressed up specifically for our Zoom call, but for an event he will be attending afterwards. “I wanted to look like a lady who lunched,” says Perry, who is wearing mauve silk, bright red lipstick, giant specs and Thatcherite hair. Since winning the Turner prize in 2003, Perry – with his alter ego Claire – has become one of the UK’s most recognisable and admired artists. He is known primarily for his ceramics, but his other work includes tapestries and a house in Essex. He is also a curator, writer and broadcaster – and his Channel 4 show Grayson’s Art Club, presented with his wife, the writer and psychotherapist Philippa Perry, was a lockdown highlight. Currently on tour with A Show for Normal People, Perry takes a break to answer Guardian readers’ questions on art, life and cats.How do you classify “normal” people? (Amy, London)
The bird has failed to complete the non-stop, 12,200km journey three times in the past yearA plucky migrating godwit that captured New Zealand’s attention after it was forced to make a dramatic U-turn back to Alaska after 33 hours of non-stop flight has finally touched down in the country.Every year, the Eastern bar-tailed godwits, or kuaka in Māori, make one of the longest avian migration flights in the world, travelling from their breeding ground in the Arctic, across the Pacific, to New Zealand. Continue reading...
Actor urges extra safety measure amid increased scrutiny of an often overlooked corner of the film industryAlec Baldwin has urged film and TV productions to hire police officers to monitor weapons and ensure guns used in filming are safe in the wake of the fatal shooting during filming of the western movie Rust.Baldwin accidentally shot and killed the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on 21 October after being told the gun he was rehearsing with on the film set in New Mexico was “cold”, or safe to use, according to the Santa Fe county sheriff’s office. Continue reading...
When it was built in 1972, it was the capital’s only example of the metabolism architectural movement – but time has caught up with the structureIt is an architectural curiosity that attracts admirers from around the world, an asymmetric stack of identical concrete boxes in a neighbourhood dominated by the gleaming glass edifices of corporate Japan.But after occupying a corner of Tokyo’s Ginza district for almost half a century, the Nakagin Capsule Tower faces an uncertain future.Stacks of asymmetric concrete cubes make up the Nakagin Capsule Tower exterior in Tokyo, Japan. Continue reading...
Jacinda Ardern says protests are ‘not representative’ of New Zealand as photographer harassed during Wellington protestNew Zealand’s parliament is on high alert after thousands of anti-vaccination mandate protesters, some threatening violence, gathered in Wellington and across the country.As of early Tuesday, about 2,000 people had gathered in central Wellington, and almost all the gates and entrance ways to parliament had been shut off. According to Stuff,the Speaker of the house, Trevor Mallard, said it was the biggest increase in parliamentary security he had seen since his election in 1984. Continue reading...
If ever a show needed a fresh start, it was Dexter. Thankfully, our antihero is back on thrilling form – despite making two of the stupidest choices a murderer couldWell, the good news is that he’s shaved. When we last saw Dexter Morgan, it was 2013 and he was busy suffering through the very worst major television finale in living memory. Having killed his sister in an act of mercy, he had survived an apparently unsurvivable hurricane and made it to Oregon, living under an assumed identity, with what appeared to be three clumps of orangutan pubic clippings taped to his face.But no more. The long awaited – if not exactly anticipated – reboot Dexter: New Blood (Sky Atlantic) is finally here, and our serial-killing antihero has a smooth face again. Better still, it has also given us a reason to look back on the Dexter finale with something approaching gratitude. If nothing else, it had the foresight to remove Dexter from the candy-coloured caricatures of Miami and hurl him somewhere new. This guaranteed any reboot a fresh start. And if ever any show needed a fresh start, it was Dexter. Continue reading...
Police confirm child killed at scene in Pentwyn, Penyrheol, south Wales, as dog destroyed by firearms officersA 10-year-old boy has died following reports of a dog attack near Caerphilly in south Wales.Gwent police said they were called to an address in Pentwyn, Penyrheol, at about 3.55pm on Monday and confirmed the child had died at the scene. Continue reading...
Four-week truce could be extended, opening the possibility of a fuller peace accord to help end years of bloodshedPakistani authorities and local Taliban militants have agreed a one-month ceasefire which may be extended if both sides agree, opening the possibility of a fuller peace accord to help end years of bloodshed.The Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), is a separate movement from the Afghan Taliban that has fought for years to overthrow the government in Islamabad and rule the South Asian nation of 220 million with their own brand of Islamic sharia law. Continue reading...
Journalists on publication release statement saying that all employees were ‘immediately’ firedUkraine’s oldest English-language newspaper the Kyiv Post has suspended publication after 26 years as its journalists accused the owner, a powerful oligarch, of “attacking” them.Adnan Kivan, a construction tycoon who bought the Kyiv Post three years ago, said in a statement that the newspaper will close immediately “for a short time”. Continue reading...
Tuesday: Barack Obama singles out China and Russia for failing to cut emissions quickly enough. Plus: environmental photographer of the yearGood morning. Poorer countries are demanding richer nations do more to cut emissions. Voter approval of the prime minister is at its lowest since before the pandemic began. And bushfire survivors fear they have been abandoned.Barack Obama has called on world leaders at Cop26 to “step up and step up now” to avert climate breakdown, singling out China and Russia for being foremost among countries that are failing to cut planet-heating emissions quickly enough, and saying “most nations have failed to be as ambitious as they need to be”. Chinese officials say they are sceptical of claims that Cop26 commitments will keep global heating below 2C, and want other countries to focus on concrete actions rather than distant targets in the final week of the talks. Meanwhile, poor countries say that nations that have failed to come up with national plans on cutting greenhouse gas emissions in line with limiting temperature rises to 1.5C must be forced back to the negotiating table every year from now on. Continue reading...
by Robert Booth Social affairs correspondent on (#5RNKQ)
Advice that left many leaseholders unable to sell their homes to be retracted by ChristmasSafety advice that has left thousands of households unable to sell their homes after the Grenfell Tower fire will be withdrawn by Christmas, Michael Gove has announced.The secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities told MPs the government would revoke advice that has stood since January 2020 and has led to hundreds of low-rise buildings being deemed unsafe, meaning mortgage companies refused to lend against them. Continue reading...
by Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor on (#5RNHM)
Ben Wallace said to be ‘exasperated’ following bullying and harassment scandals and Kenyan woman killing allegationsThe defence secretary, Ben Wallace, summoned senior generals to a rare special meeting of the army’s management board in London on Monday morning amid growing unhappiness about the service’s response to a series of scandals.Allies of the minister said he had become exasperated after a series of bullying and harassment scandals, as well as allegations that a Kenyan woman was killed in 2012 by a British soldier whose identity is known to several colleagues. Continue reading...
GFG’s French operations facing inquiry over alleged misuse of corporate assets and money launderingSanjeev Gupta’s business empire is being investigated by prosecutors in Paris in another blow to the steel tycoon.GFG Alliance, an informal group of metals and energy companies including Liberty Steel, has faced a litany of challenges since the collapse in March of its key lender, Greensill Capital. Continue reading...
Steve Barclay seeks to heal rift between No 10 and furious Tory backbenches and senior ministersA cabinet minister has expressed regret and admitted it was a mistake to try to spare a Tory MP from suspension by ripping up the standards system in a move that sparked a huge backlash from colleagues and the public.Steve Barclay, the chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, avoided directly apologising, but sought to heal the huge rift between Downing Street and both backbench Conservatives and senior ministers, who are still furious at the government’s actions last week. Continue reading...
Father, who was German, had recently picked up son from British mother, from whom he was separatedPortuguese police are investigating a suspected murder-suicide after the remains of a three-year-old British-German boy were found in a burned-out car close to the body of his father, who is thought to have shot himself.According to local media, the bodies were discovered on Sunday afternoon in mountains near the village of Santa Margarida da Serra, 100km (60 miles) south-east of Lisbon, in the Grândola municipality.In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 and the domestic abuse helpline is 0808 2000 247. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the US, the suicide prevention lifeline is 1-800-273-8255 and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org Continue reading...
Military planes were allegedly used to smuggle diamonds, drugs and gold out of Central African RepublicPolice investigating allegations that Portuguese troops stationed with a UN peacekeeping force in Central African Republic used military planes to smuggle diamonds, drugs and gold back into Europe have executed 100 search warrants and raided scores of addresses across Portugal.Monday’s operation, which involved 320 officers from the country’s judicial police, came almost two years after a commander was tipped off about the alleged smuggling network. The military has also stepped up checks and inspections of military flights from CAR.Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters contributed to this report Continue reading...
Sajid Javid reveals police have so far confirmed Fuller abused 100 corpses in Kent hospitals over 12 yearsMinisters have bowed to pressure to hold an independent inquiry into how hospital worker David Fuller serially abused female corpses in mortuaries for over 12 years.Announcing the review, the health secretary, Sajid Javid, said: “We have a responsibility to everyone affected by these shocking crimes to do right by those we’ve lost, and those still left behind in their shock and their grief.” Continue reading...
From washing in the shower to frequent rotation, experts share tips for making underwear lastIt was Jane Birkin’s mother who suggested: “When you’ve got nothing left, all you can do is get into silk underwear and start reading Proust.”It’s a sentiment that rings true after 18 months of stay-at-home orders, though I’m sure I’m not the only one who could replace silk underwear with soft-waisted pants and Proust with, well, news headlines. Continue reading...
With adrenaline-pumping action, Nicholas Tse’s vengeful villain cuts an almost tragic figureThe final film from Hong Kong maverick Benny Chan (Big Bullet, New Police Story, Who Am I?), who sadly died during post-production, this has all the genre pleasures of an old school bad cop v good cop flick. Honest, stoic cop Bong (Donnie Yen) is about to capture a longtime criminal nemesis when, to his horror, a masked gang annihilate his foe along with a dozen other colleagues. Even more shocking, Bong soon discovers that the leader of this savage ambush – spectacularly shot at an abandoned shopping mall – is none other than Ngo (Nicholas Tse), a former comrade-in-arms whom he sent to jail for misconduct.Straight out of prison and thirsty for blood, Ngo and his band of cops-turned-criminals are itching to settle the score, which leads to some adrenaline-pumping action pieces. The ageless Yen is as mesmerising as ever in these sequences, one of which involves him infiltrating a housing project and jumping through one window to another, all while being outnumbered by ruthless goons. Still, Tse steals the show here, in part because his villain has more depth than Yen’s angel of justice. Sporting long black locks and a broody gaze, Ngo makes for an almost tragic figure; he is only evil because of misplaced loyalty to a system that does not hesitate to spit him out. Continue reading...
The world’s first streaming service for pooches promises to stimulate and educate, but Lyra soon got bored and started licking her bits – and it almost sent her owner to sleepAfter an hour of trying to cajole my dog Lyra into watching DOGTV – which launched in the UK and Europe this morning – I had some pressing questions: “What am I doing with my life?” and “why is this starting to feel like that scene in A Clockwork Orange?”DOGTV has a number of short videos explaining why it exists and how you – the human being with a dog – are supposed to use it. One blurb, a cartoon narrated by a man pretending to speak from the perspective of a pet, explains that it has been created “by scientists and dog experts” and is “based on more than 60 scientific studies”. The idea is that it offers soothing content, presented in colours and sounds that are most palatable to dogs’ perceptions, with “healing sound frequencies and positive affirmations”. It should stimulate them, calm them, and even educate them, by slowly getting them used to new or triggering sounds. Continue reading...
by Aubrey Allegretti Political correspondent on (#5RN6M)
How damaging are the claims against Boris Johnson’s government, and how could the rows be resolved?Sleaze allegations against Boris Johnson’s government have bubbled away for some time, but been thrust into the spotlight again after the prime minister tried to overhaul standards rules to spare a Tory MP from suspension.These are the scandals facing Downing Street, how damaging they would be for the government rated out of 10 if wrongdoing is proven, and suggested solutions to uncover the truth: Continue reading...
by Mark Brown North of England correspondent on (#5RN3P)
Steve Goldman’s first rule is ‘it has to make me laugh’, and he is sharing the fun with public in HuddersfieldThere’s the album cover with the band as rabbits, or the one with a harmony duo walking out of water dressed only in their underwear and ties, but surely the most baffling is the concert guitarist pictured in dinner jacket and no trousers.Why? “I’ve no idea, sorry,” says Steve Goldman, who owns about 300 records that can lay claim to having some of the world’s worst cover art. Continue reading...
Sighting renews concerns over Beijing’s capability and intentions as tensions rise over South China SeaSatellite images show China has built mock-ups of a US navy aircraft carrier and destroyer in its north-western desert, possibly for practice for a future clash.China has massively upgraded its military in recent years, and its capability and intentions are increasingly concerning to the US as tensions rise over the South China Sea, Taiwan and military supremacy in the Indo-Pacific. Continue reading...
Congolese workers describe a system of abuse, precarious employment and paltry wages – all to power the green vehicle revolutionThe names Tesla, Renault and Volvo mean nothing to Pierre*. He has never heard of an electric car. But as he heads out to work each morning in the bustling, dusty town of Fungurume, in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s southern mining belt, he is the first link in a supply chain that is fuelling the electric vehicle revolution and its promise of a decarbonised future.Pierre is mining for cobalt, one of the world’s most sought-after minerals, and a key ingredient in the batteries that power most electric vehicles (EVs). Continue reading...
Sudan’s first Oscar entry, about a boy destined to die young, is warmed by compassion and gorgeous, dreamy imagery‘You will die at 20.” That’s the death sentence handed down to a newborn baby at the start of this gentle, affecting Sudanese drama, the feature debut of director Amjad Abu Alala (and was Sudan’s first ever Oscar entry). The scene has a kind of intense, dreamy realism. A couple bring their baby son to a Sufi naming ceremony in the desert, and while a sheikh performs the blessing, a dervish in a green jalabiya sways in a trance. The crowd chants numbers, one for every year of the baby’s life. “One … two … three …” At the count of 20, the dervish falls into a faint. The sheikh confirms everyone’s gasps: the baby will die at 20. “God’s command is inevitable.”The film is a parable about the dangers of blind faith in religion and authority, but it’s also warmly compassionate and accepting of human nature. After the ceremony, the baby’s father Alnoor (Talal Afifi) can’t cope; he leaves the village to work abroad, telling his wife, Sakina (Islam Mubarak), that she’s stronger, she’ll manage. And she does, dressed in black as if her son Muzamil is already dead; understandably, she becomes overprotective. Finally, when he’s a boy of six or seven with a soulful expressive face (played beautifully by Moatasem Rashed) she lets him go to school where he’s bullied and nicknamed “son of death” by the other boys. Continue reading...
More than 40 people have been found dead so far in disaster that has caused outrage in NigeriaSeveral people still missing after the collapse of a partly constructed luxury apartment building in Lagos a week ago are now thought by officials clearing the debris to be dead – to the anguish of families at the site still searching for answers.Only 15 people have survived, with 42 people found dead as of Sunday morning, in yet another deadly building collapse that has caused outrage in Nigeria and calls for recriminations against government and regulatory authorities. Continue reading...
As politicians argue over paternity leave, even four paid weeks off would have made a huge difference for workers like meNine months ago I was not yet a bleary-eyed dad juggling work and two baby boys, but I did know a second baby was imminent. What should’ve been a happy milestone was quickly blunted by a boomeranging lament – that there would be no taking any paid parental leave for me, a gig worker.When my first was born, just before the pandemic, I was a freelance writer in the throes of an MFA program. My wife decided it was more cost-effective to stay home with our son than return to work; soon after Covid forced everyone inside, local daycare options vanished. Continue reading...
by Rebecca Ratcliffe, South-east Asia correspondent on (#5RMNK)
Rights groups condemned decision to execute Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, who has learning disabilitiesSingapore’s high court has stayed the execution of a man convicted of smuggling heroin, following outrage among rights groups who said he had learning disabilities and the sentence was a violation of international law.Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, a Malaysian national, was arrested in April 2009, when he was 21, for attempting to smuggle 43 grams of heroin into Singapore. The drugs had been strapped to his thigh. He was sentenced to death the following year and, having spent more than 12 years on death row, was told he would face execution on 10 November. Continue reading...
Special rapporteur Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng argues in brief filed in a US court that overturning abortion rights would violate international human rights treaties ratified by the USThe United Nations special rapporteur on the right to health has called on the US supreme court to uphold the right to abortion in America or risk undermining international human rights law and threatening that right elsewhere in the world.The special rapporteur, Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, is one of just a handful of global observers whose mandate is to travel the world defending human rights. Continue reading...