Blue part of flags flying around Élysée Palace was made darker in July last year but change went largely unnoticedEmmanuel Macron’s office has darkened the blue in the French flags flying around the Élysée Palace to bring the tricolore in line with how it looked after the French revolution.Presidential aides said the change happened in July last year, but nobody appears to have noticed until now. Continue reading...
The Organization of American States is no longer credible. We need a new body if we are to protect democracyOn 20 October, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, traveled to Ecuador to set out a vision for democracy in the Americas. Over the past five years, the hemisphere has suffered an assault on its democratic institutions, as political leaders from Donald Trump to Jair Bolsonaro have adopted a new authoritarian playbook: lies, violence, repression, and more lies. Two-thirds of US citizens now believe that democracy is under threat, while a majority of Brazilians fear a military dictatorship will return to the country. “We find ourselves in a moment of democratic reckoning,” announced Blinken.But the Biden administration continues to put the US on the wrong side of this reckoning. Consider Blinken’s recent trip. In Quito, he lavished praise on President Guillermo Lasso in the same week that Lasso declared a nationwide state of emergency to intimidate critics of his government and distract from an investigation into alleged tax fraud following his appearance in the Pandora Papers leak. In Bogotá hours later, Blinken applauded the democratic credentials of the Colombian president, Iván Duque – “We have no better ally on the full range of issues that our democracies face in this hemisphere,” Blinken said – while his government stands accused of targeting protesters and allowing an unprecedented number of assassinations of Indigenous, Black, and peasant leaders to take place under Duque’s watch. Continue reading...
Rights groups and politicians say Interpol risks being used as a vehicle for China’s repressive policiesA senior official at China’s ministry of public security is seeking election to Interpol’s executive committee, prompting concerns from human rights activists and international politicians that China could misuse the global criminal police organisation’s capabilities to track down overseas dissidents.Hu Binchen, the deputy director-general of the ministry’s international cooperation department, is one of three candidates vying for two seats as Asia delegates on the committee. Continue reading...
Peng Shuai has not been publicly heard from since she made accusation online on 2 NovemberA growing movement including Chinese feminist groups and international tennis stars is raising concern over the whereabouts of the former Chinese doubles pro Peng Shuai after she accused a senior government figure of sexual assault.Peng, one of China’s biggest sporting stars, has not been publicly heard from since a Weibo post on 2 November, in which she alleged the former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli coerced her into sex and that they had an intermittent affair. The post was taken down by China’s censors but still went viral. Subsequent posts and reactions, even keywords such as “tennis”, also appeared to be blocked, and numerous references to Peng were scrubbed from China’s internet. Continue reading...
One in five of us struggle to cope with everyday smells, sounds and images. Rather than a weakness, this extreme sensitivity could be a strength in everything from the pandemic to the climate crisis“I feel I’m too sensitive for this world,” says Lena, who can’t cope with crowds or bright lights. Melissa gets her husband to watch films before her to see if she will be able to handle any violence, gore or scariness. When their grownup children bring the grandchildren round, she has to retreat to another room because their “loud laughter, the talking over each other, their swearing and their smells overwhelm me”. Lucia says she can feel “each and every fibre of her clothes” and it feels very ticklish or uncomfortable at times. Sometimes, she has to stop during sex with her partner because it becomes “too ticklish”.Lena, Melissa and Lucia would all describe themselves as highly sensitive, a label that could be applied to up to 20% of us, according to the US-based psychologist Elaine Aron, who started studying high sensitivity in the early 90s, and published her influential book The Highly Sensitive Person in 1996. Continue reading...
Rising temperatures are already killing people in Sierra Leone’s Freetown, says Eugenia Kargbo, who is planning how best to protect the hundreds of thousands living in informal settlementsWhen she was growing up, Eugenia Kargbo could have a leisurely stroll, jog or cycle around the streets of Freetown. But that easy life no longer exists in Sierra Leone’s capital for her two children. The city is so swelteringly hot that children run the constant risk of sunburn or heat rashes if they are outdoors for very long.“Over the past 10 years, there has been a dramatic change,” says Kargbo, 34, who has been appointed as Freetown’s chief heat officer – the first such post in Africa and only the third globally, after Athens and Miami. Continue reading...
Men detained under Terrorism Act after incident outside hospital that also injured taxi driverThree men have been arrested under terror legislation after a taxi explosion outside Liverpool Women’s hospital that killed the passenger.The men – aged 29, 26 and 21 – were detained in the Kensington area of the city and arrested under the Terrorism Act, police said. Continue reading...
The Ally McBeal and 30 Rock star on her love of Ed Sheeran, singing Lady Marmalade and knowing all the words from GreaseLady Marmalade. “Back in the day”, quote unquote, I would just sing it as it was done by Labelle. Now I quite enjoy doing all three parts of the Moulin Rouge version, and the tricky bits, and adding in the rap by Lil’ Kim. Continue reading...
As well as floods, sewage and crocodiles, those living in Banjul’s slums face the effects of a climate crisis they did little to causeYedel Bah would move home if she could, but she can’t. With no income of her own, four children to feed and a husband who just about manages, her family lives from day to day, and from flood to flood, on the banks of a litter-strewn, stagnant canal.Every rainy season, the neighbourhood of Tobacco Road in the Gambian capital, Banjul, braces for downpours of such intensity that the canal overflows, spilling its murky, pungent depths into the slum-like homes that run alongside it. Continue reading...
The star of Catastrophe and Home Sweet Home Alone answers your questions on everything from family tragedy to the value of comedyRob Delaney – comedian, actor, writer, tweeter, activist – co-wrote and co-starred in the Channel 4 sitcom Catastrophe with Sharon Horgan. Now he has a starring role in the film Home Sweet Home Alone. He has also written and spoken movingly about the death of his two-year-old son, Henry. Here, he answers questions from readers about all of this, as well as being an American in London – and how he keeps his hair looking so great.When you were offered the role in Home Sweet Home Alone, did you hesitate and think that maybe another remake of a successful movie would be pointless? Bernard Hautecler, Brussels, Belgium Continue reading...
As sales of licensed goods soars, battles loom over the use of works by long-dead artistsThis summer, the Uffizi gallery threatened to sue Pornhub for using its masterpieces in a “classic nudes” video. “Some people think of museums as boring, stuffy or dull,” posed the adult streaming site. “But what if we told you they housed a collection of priceless porn?” The video re-enacted erotic scenes from art history using artworks including Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, housed in the Uffizi in Florence.Pornhub swiftly took down the unauthorised nudes, prompting debate about who controls the copying of cultural artefacts that are long out of copyright and in the public domain. Continue reading...
More than 50 ministers under Johnson and May took posts with firms in sectors they covered in governmentHalf of all ministers who have left office in the Boris Johnson or Theresa May governments later took up posts with companies relevant to their former government jobs, the Guardian has found.An analysis of those who left departmental ministerial roles up until the most recent reshuffle found more than 50 took up employment as advisers in industries where they had government expertise or as more general political consultants. Continue reading...
The landmark children’s television program introduces Ji-Young, its first Korean American puppet, inspired by a desire to counteract race hateWhat’s in a name? For Ji-Young, the newest muppet resident of Sesame Street, her name is a sign that she was meant to live there.“So, in Korean traditionally the two syllables they each mean something different and Ji means, like, smart or wise. And Young means, like, brave or courageous and strong,” Ji-Young explained during a recent interview. “But we were looking it up and guess what? Ji also means sesame.” Continue reading...
Counter-terrorism police arrested three men after a taxi exploded outside a hospital in Liverpool on Sunday, killing one person and wounding another, police said. A male passenger was declared dead at the scene, while the male driver suffered minor injuries. Counter-terrorism officers said they were investigating the case with local police and that they were keeping an open mind as to what had happened.
by Jason Burke and Samuel Okiror in Kampala on (#5RXNH)
Victims describe systematic physical abuse, denial of basic legal rights and appalling conditionsUgandan security services held children for months in prisons after successive crackdowns against opposition activists earlier this year, witnesses and victims have said.Adults and children described systematic physical abuse, denial of basic legal rights and appalling conditions as they waited for trial on charges they claim were fabricated. Continue reading...
Women on 10 Qatar Airways flights, including 13 Australians, were subjected to compulsory intimate searches in October 2020A group of women subjected to invasive gynaecological searches at Doha airport will sue Qatari authorities, seeking redress for an ordeal that sparked global condemnation, their lawyer said on Monday.Women on 10 Qatar Airways flights from Doha, including 13 Australians, were subjected to the examinations late last year as authorities searched for the mother of a newborn found abandoned in an airport bathroom. Continue reading...
Representatives particularly disappointed by softened language on coal and a lack of funding to pay for loss and damagesPacific representatives and negotiators have condemned the outcome of the Cop26 meeting as “watered down” and a “monumental failure” that puts Pacific nations in severe existential danger, with one saying that Australia’s refusal to support funding for loss and damage suffered by Pacific countries was “a deep betrayal” of the region.Some Pacific leaders expressed qualified optimism about the result of the critical climate summit, such as the Fijian prime minister, Frank Bainimarama, who tweeted: “The 1.5-degree target leaves Glasgow battered, bruised, but alive.” Continue reading...
Three men – aged 29, 26 and 21 – have been arrested and detained under the Terrorism Act after a taxi exploded in flames outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital
Police say the animal, thought to be either an escaped pet or a juvenile, kept charging at the woman when she left her houseA possum has been released without charge after it held a woman “hostage” at her home, New Zealand police say.Officers received a call late on Sunday night from a distressed woman who said “a possum was holding her hostage” at her home in the South Island city of Dunedin. Continue reading...
Mako Komuro arrives with husband in US, leaving behind her royal status after months of public outcry and frenzied media attentionJapanese former princess Mako Komuro has arrived in the United States with her husband, Kei Komuro, swapping ancient imperial rites for the bright lights of New York after leaving the royal family and relinquishing her royal title.The pair tied the knot in Tokyo last month in muted fashion, following years of public attention over a minor financial scandal involving Kei Komuro’s mother, which Mako Komuro said caused her “sadness and pain”. Continue reading...
Report calls for programme to be moved out of Home Office due to lack of independence and delaysThere are “concerning weaknesses” in the Windrush compensation scheme, according to a legal charity that has called for the programme to be taken out of the Home Office.A report by the charity Justice, titled Reforming the Windrush compensation scheme, makes 27 recommendations after the working group found the scheme suffers from a lack of independence, delays and inconsistencies in decision-making and lack of experience and cultural understanding among caseworkers. Continue reading...
Toll from Saturday’s demonstrations rises to seven with death of 13-year-old girl as news outlet calls for journalist’s releaseSudanese security forces have raided the home of Al Jazeera’s Khartoum bureau chief and arrested him, the news outlet has said, a day after street protests across Sudan against a military takeover.The Qatar-based media organisation said it held Sudan’s military authorities responsible for the safety of all its employees after bureau chief El Musalmi El Kabbashi was arrested on Sunday. Continue reading...
London-born singer interviewed in same spot as Harry and Meghan in run-up to release of new albumThe thundering juggernaut that is Adele’s marketing campaign for her new album, 30, pulled in at the Oprah Winfrey Show on Monday, where the record-breaking artist opened up to the Queen of America about the struggles of divorce, becoming a “single parent” and juggling her career.Under the arches of Oprah’s rose garden, Adele discussed the meaning of new songs on her eagerly awaited album, which is set for release on Friday, in a two-hour special that featured a performance from the London-born singer. Continue reading...
Now in its 31st series, the motoring show continues to let men burn rubber and hail the patriarchy – though a tribute to Eddie Kidd shows there’s a heart somewhere under the bonnet“To find out what it’s capable of,” growls Chris Harris, as he accelerates a £280,000 McLaren 645LT towards its top speed of 200mph, “you’d better bring your A game. And possibly a spare of boxer shorts.” What he doesn’t say – but is possibly thinking – is “and your mum to do the washing”.Top Gear (BBC One) is back for its 31st series. It remains a space where men can be boys: perving over curves, pulling on their proverbial gear sticks and otherwise sublimating their erotic drives. Perhaps there are women behind the cameras – and, yes, there are a few in the studio audience – but by and large this is the BBC’s answer to the Garrick Club. Continue reading...
EU to impose new sanctions against Lukashenko regime as dozens of asylum seekers reportedly break through from BelarusThe Polish prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, has called for Nato to take “concrete steps” to solve the migrant crisis on Europe’s border as dozens of asylum seekers reportedly broke through Poland’s border defences with Belarus.Morawiecki said that Poland, Lithuania and Latvia may ask for consultations under article 4 of the Nato charter, indicating they believe their territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened. Continue reading...
National park chief wants to bring in more sustainable transport to stop worsening congestionFor most of the years he explored his beloved Lakeland fells, Alfred Wainwright arrived by bus, carefully timing his descents so he never missed the last service back to Kendal.Thirty years after his death, more than 90% of the Lake District’s 19 million annual visitors arrive by car, seeking – perhaps ironically – the unspoiled views, clean air and stunning scenery Wainwright extolled in his Pictorial Guides. Continue reading...
Gen Sir Nick Carter says alleged murder of Agnes Wanjiru by British soldier was ‘truly shocking’The head of the British armed forces has said the military will be working with Kenyan authorities to bring those accused of killing a young woman in the east African country to trial.The body of Agnes Wanjiru, 21, was found in 2012 after she reportedly went out partying with British soldiers at the Lions Court hotel in the central town of Nanyuki, where the UK army has a permanent garrison. Continue reading...
Saif al-Islam Gaddafi has spent past decade out of sight after his father was killed in 2011 uprisingSaif al-Islam Gaddafi, one of the sons of the former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, has confirmed that he is to run for the presidency of Libya in elections due to start on 24 December.He registered his nomination in the southern city of Sebha, the High National Electoral Commission has confirmed. Continue reading...
Bestselling author of adventure novels with African settings such as When the Lion Feeds and The SunbirdAt the age of eight, Wilbur Smith was given his grandfather’s Remington rifle, which had 122 notches on the butt. He shot his first lion when he was 14. Such a boy seemed destined to become a hunter, but it was on paper that Smith realised his dreams of adventure – and millions shared them through his 49 novels over half a century.In recent years Smith, who has died aged 88, would say proudly: “I don’t write literature, I write stories,” and added that he always saw himself as the hero in his books and always fell in love with his female characters. His African settings and blood-and-thunder approach to plotting proved a winning formula. Each of his thrillers, translated into 30 languages, sold in their millions, with his total sales more than 140m. Continue reading...
by Mark Townsend, Toby Helm & Vanessa Thorpe on (#5RWK8)
• I’ll be your throttle, he told Arcuri as mayor• Diaries could reopen misconduct inquiryExtraordinary details of how Boris Johnson allegedly overruled the advice of staff to promote the business interests of his former lover Jennifer Arcuri and win her affections are revealed in previously unpublished diary extracts by the US businesswoman.According to one entry, the then London mayor even offered to be her “throttle” in an attempt to accelerate her business career, claims that may reopen the possibility of Johnson facing a potential criminal investigation into misconduct allegations. Continue reading...
Across the county, homelessness is on the rise as landlords cash in on the letting boom. We meet anxious families – and the people helping themLike many other seaside towns across the country at this time of year, the streets of Newquay in November are a pretty drab affair. Ice-cream kiosks are locked up for the winter, and the town’s famous beaches – where, in summer, holidaymakers jostle for space – are now empty.It was one of the busiest summers on record for Cornwall, as Covid restrictions to overseas destinations made it a holiday hotspot. But now that the tourists have left, the impact of the staycation boom on the county is becoming abundantly clear as it faces up to a homelessness crisis out of all proportion to anything it has witnessed before. Continue reading...
The Communist party has anointed him the most powerful leader since Mao, but how will he deal with drying deserts and an ageing society?Last week, Xi Jinping gave himself full Marx. The Chinese Communist party’s sixth plenum, a gathering of top political cadres, passed a resolution on “Certain Questions in the Party’s History”, in which Xi’s system of thought was defined as “Marxism for the 21st century”. Not only that, but that it also served as “the essence of the Chinese culture and China’s spirit”.These are not terms that sound natural in English, but their significance is immense, because only two previous resolutions of this sort have ever been passed – in 1945 and 1981. The resolutions on party history are meant to provide a definitive statement on the CCP’s record in governing China. The 1945 resolution sealed Mao Zedong’s status as the definitive party leader, ahead of his victory in the civil war against Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists four years later. The 1981 resolution was more intriguing, because it was a very rare admission of fault by the party itself; its language was tortuous but it consisted of a grudging apology to the nation for the horrors of the Cultural Revolution. Continue reading...
Starmer’s party is 1 point ahead in new poll, following Tory sleaze and second-job rowsLabour has recorded its first poll lead over the Conservatives for almost a year in the wake of the row over Tory sleaze and second jobs, according to the latest Opinium poll for the Observer.Keir Starmer’s party recorded 37% support, a single point ahead of the Tories. It is the first Labour lead with Opinium since January, when the UK was in the grips of a covid peak and the government had imposed emergency restrictions over Christmas. The Lib Dems are on 9%, Greens 7% and SNP 5%. Continue reading...
Spiros Vasilakis’s mother, Maria, died in the Melbourne aged care home outbreak. He is among 64 witnesses to give evidence at a coronial inquest starting Monday
by Hosted by Jane Lee. Recommended by Alyx Gorman. Wr on (#5RWGJ)
It might be difficult to choose literature for a sheep. Lifestyle editor, Alyx Gorman, recommends this hopeful story about the rehabilitative effects of a reading program at an animal shelter
From Fresh Prince to King Richard, personal upsets have so far failed to derail his childhood goal to be the world’s biggest film starThere’s a seemingly offhand quality which is central to the appeal of Will Smith: an innate magnetism and loose-limbed, casual coolness. But the career path from teenage rap artist to TV actor to superstar status was anything but effortless; it was the result of a self-described “psychotic” work ethic and meticulous, perhaps even obsessive, planning.For a while, at least, he was one of the most bankable film actors on the planet – a planet that he saved on a regular basis in summer blockbusters. But while that kind of success rate is hard to sustain, Smith has shown himself to be extremely adaptable compared to his contemporaries. From film actor/musician, he has evolved into a multimedia phenomenon. He has adopted a very marketable openness and accessibility, and embraced personal failures as teachable moments. Continue reading...
President Lukashenko is using a humanitarian crisis to further his own ends – but his success depends on which path Putin followsGunshots echo through the forest as Belarusian soldiers fire warning shots to drive back terrified asylum-seekers from Iraq and Syria seeking aid. Along the border, Polish and Belarusian troops eye each other warily through razor wire fence. At night, Polish guards say they’ve been blinded by Belarusians wielding strobe lights and lasers as migrants sneak across.Asylum seekers have described hellish conditions in the forests and at improvised campsites, where they chop branches for firewood and ration water to survive. The body of a young Syrian man was found in the forest in Poland on Friday, at least the ninth person to have died this year. Others have been beaten by attackers and thieves waiting in the forest. Continue reading...
by Jon Henley, Europe correspondent and Philip Olterm on (#5RW8G)
The continent is now the centre of the global epidemic – again. As countries from the Baltic to the Med brace for harsher winter measures, we look at what’s driving the fourth waveIt was almost as if the pandemic had never happened. In Cologne, thousands of revellers in fancy-dress jostled side by side in a tightly packed throng as they counted down to the start of the annual carnival season at 11am on 11 November.In Paris, the bars and clubs were open late and filled to bursting on Wednesday, with Armistice Day a national holiday. In Amsterdam, it was business as usual in the overflowing cafes and coffee shops around the Leidseplein. Continue reading...
The author, aged 88, on her first job working with Keith Waterhouse, giving advice to Sean Connery and her 56-year marriageI was a serious little girl growing up in Leeds and had supportive parents who were instrumental in my success. My mother sold my first story to a children’s magazine when I was 10. My father, an engineer, funded my addiction to taxis when I started working on Fleet Street.At 16, I started my first job in the typing pool at the Yorkshire Evening Post and became a reporter after secretly slipping stories on to the subs’ desk. I was the only woman in the newsroom. My mother told me: “Keep your head down and don’t flirt at work. Your attitude towards men will dictate their attitude towards you.” The best advice I ever had. Continue reading...
Sara Duterte will stand alongside son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 2022 elections in move that has alarmed rights activistsThe Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter has registered her candidacy for vice-president in next year’s elections and was chosen as the running mate of Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the son of the late Filipino dictator, in an alliance that has alarmed human rights activists.Sara Duterte backed out this week from her reelection bid as mayor of Davao City in the south, then took the place of a largely unknown vice-presidential candidate of her political party, Lakas CMD, in a move that allowed her to seek the second-highest post even after a deadline lapsed for candidates in the 9 May elections. Continue reading...