Analysis: plan to reduce abortions as birthrates plunge draws comparisons to The Handmaid’s TaleFar-reaching proposals from Beijing on “women’s development” have sparked concern over a pledge to reduce abortions, with feminists and academics pointing to the government’s history of control over women’s reproductive rights.On Monday China’s state council published its latest 10-year outline for women’s development. The lengthy document contained guidelines for China’s gender-based policy, but it was a short phrase that caught particular attention: a pledge to “reduce abortions conducted for non-medical reasons”. Continue reading...
Élysée says future talks must have substance after Canberra’s decision to cancel submarine contractFrance has said any future talks between Emmanuel Macron and the Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, over the fallout from Canberra’s decision to tear up a €56bn (£48bn) submarine deal will have to be “seriously prepared” and have “substance”.The Élysée Palace has denied it is refusing to take Morrison’s calls, saying the president is “always available to talk on the phone”, but has admitted it is not in any hurry to resume contact with Canberra. Continue reading...
Temporary staff at meat plants in the Netherlands share none of the success of the booming industry as agencies withhold pay and threaten evictionRead more: ‘The whole system is rotten’: life inside Europe’s meat industryIn October last year, Lucian Roșu found himself unemployed and homeless in Boxtel, a town in the southern Netherlands. “I went to the railway station and slept there in the cold and the rain,” he says.A few hundred metres away, on the other side of the train tracks, was the headquarters of one of Europe’s biggest meat companies, where he had worked a few days before on the production line. Continue reading...
Kindergarten, year 1 and year 12 students will return on 18 October, the government is expected to announce on ThursdaySchool students in NSW will head back to class earlier than expected with the government bringing forward start dates by one week.The new timetable, agreed to by the state’s crisis cabinet on Wednesday, means kindergarten, year 1 and year 12 students will return on 18 October. Continue reading...
by Caitlin Cassidy (now) and Donna Lu, Nino Bucci and on (#5Q3Q6)
9.43am BSTWith that, we will wrap up for the night. Thanks for being with us. Here are the headlines for today:9.26am BSTThis is our WA COVID-19 update for Wednesday, 29 September 2021.
With travel restrictions in place, campervans provide a way of travelling with the family and are currently very popular in Hidaka of Saitama prefecture, a suburb to the west of Tokyo Continue reading...
This simmering 70s-set domestic drama is warm, expansive and funny – a pure pleasure to readThe times are a-changing in solid, respectable New Prospect, Illinois, where Christmas 1971 arrives in a whirl of sex, drugs and folk music, while the Vietnam war grinds on off stage. Inside the First Reformed church, the worshippers are attempting to ride out the storm, casting about for something rock solid and true. This might be God or family or a fresh myth to believe in, a 20th-century pursuit-of-happiness tale, self-authored if need be.New Prospect is in a state of flux but Jonathan Franzen remains reliably, defiantly Franzen-esque, tending to his faltering flock in fair weather or foul, and whatever the ructions in the country at large. Crossroads, his splendid sixth novel, comes billed as the first part of a proposed trilogy, A Key to All Mythologies, named after Edward Casaubon’s absurd, unfinished tract in Middlemarch. But, in the best possible way, it feels less like a beginning than like the latest yield of a familiar crop, or a newly discovered branch of a big midwestern family. Continue reading...
Seven years after fleeing army clashes with militants, 100 families eking out an existence on a hillside near the Afghan border are unable to return home“Don’t talk to me about the government. They don’t help.”Ninety-year-old Shah Mast is angry. He has been living in the cave he calls home for seven years, ever since an offensive by the Pakistan army against the Islamist militant group Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) destroyed his home. Continue reading...
by Hosted by Jane Lee. Written by Paul Daley. Recomme on (#5Q3DX)
He has the most evoked name in Australia thanks to the Covid-19 modelling that bears it. Features editor Lucy Clark recommends Paul Daley’s profile on Peter Doherty, which ranges from politics, books, misinformation and that tweetYou can read the original article here: Covid, Twitter, and Dan Murphy’s opening hours: Peter Doherty on his not-so-restful retirement
Members of the Extinction Rebellion splinter group have targeted the M25 and Port of DoverMore than 50 people arrested in connection with an ongoing series of environmental protests targeting the M25 and Port of Dover have been released under investigation.Police officers made 53 arrests after the Insulate Britain demonstration at junction 14, near Heathrow, on Monday. Continue reading...
Inquiry commissioned by WHO details sexual abuse, including rape allegations, during DRC outbreakThe World Health Organization has described itself as “heartbroken” after an independent inquiry it commissioned said scores of women and girls were sexually abused by aid workers during the devastating 2018-2020 Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.The findings were described as “harrowing reading” by the WHO’s director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, while its regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, said she was “humbled, horrified and heartbroken”. Continue reading...
Fund says ‘hundreds of hours a year’ are required to process requests that would be shielded under proposed Coalition legislation• Get our free news app; get our morning email briefingThe $250bn Future Fund says receiving 10 to 20 freedom of information requests a year is “administratively burdensome” and has confirmed proposed changes by the Morrison government would have shielded it from the kind of request that exposed investments in a company linked to the Myanmar military.Last month, the Coalition introduced a bill granting wide-ranging exemptions to the Future Fund from freedom of information law, prompting criticism that it was a “calculated response” to an FoI that revealed its $3.2m investment in an Adani company criticised by the United Nations for an arrangement that gave financial support to the Myanmar military. Continue reading...
Thousands of outsourced workers on inferior pay and conditions to fulfil demand for cheap meat, Guardian investigation showsRead more: ‘The whole system is rotten’: life inside Europe’s meat industryMeat companies across Europe have been hiring thousands of workers through subcontractors, agencies and bogus co-operatives on inferior pay and conditions, a Guardian investigation has found.Workers, officials and labour experts have described how Europe’s £190bn meat industry has become a global hotspot for outsourced labour, with a floating cohort of workers, many of whom are migrants, with some earning 40% to 50% less than directly employed staff in the same factories.
Airport workers occasionally remove stray cats and racoon dogs from the runway but turtle sightings are rareTurtles on a Runway probably will never rival Snakes on a Plane for dramatic effect, but one reptile has made headlines after an innocent amble along the tarmac at Japan’s second-busiest airport, delaying five planes.The turtle, which weighs just over 2kg, was seen moving slowly along the tarmac at Narita international airport near Tokyo on Friday morning, prompting a pilot preparing for takeoff to contact air traffic control. Continue reading...
Cynthia and Victor Liu’s release follows the US ending a legal case against Huawei executive Meng WanzhouTwo American siblings prevented from leaving China since 2018 have returned to the United States, their release coming shortly after the United States ended a legal case against a top Huawei executive.Cynthia and Victor Liu returned to America over the weekend, according to a US official, after more than three years during which they were not allowed to leave China under an “exit ban” despite not facing criminal allegations. Their father, former bank official and fugitive Liu Changming, is wanted in China to face fraud charges. Continue reading...
by Ashley Townshend and Thomas Lonergan on (#5Q2F2)
Joining Aukus sends a clear message but the submarines are years away – in the meantime Canberra must creatively push back against BeijingCanberra’s momentous decision to acquire nuclear-powered submarines through the new Aukus arrangement with London and Washington is an unmistakable sign of Australia’s commitment to balance China’s military power in the Indo-Pacific region.But it’s far from enough. Assuming all goes to plan with the design, negotiations, building, budget, training and testing, Australia’s first submarine won’t enter operational service until the late-2030s at the earliest. Continue reading...
Queensland has recorded four local Covid-19 cases. The premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said there is 'no need to panic' but some of the new cases are concerning. Mask rules will be tightened for indoor areas in the Brisbane and Moreton Bay areas. Restrictions will also be imposed at aged care centres, prisons and in disability settings. Palaszczuk also announced the state would make Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory for all truck drivers using the freight paths. Truck drivers will be required to have their first dose by 15 October and their second dose or a booking by 15 November
Factories were closed to avoid exceeding limits on energy use imposed by Beijing to promote efficiencyWidening power shortages in China’s north-east have left homes without power and halted production at numerous factories, while some shops operated by candlelight as the economic toll of the squeeze mounted.Residents in the north-east, where autumn temperatures are falling, reported power cuts and appealed on social media for the government to restore supplies. Continue reading...
by Rowena Mason, Aubrey Allegretti, Dan Sabbagh, and on (#5Q270)
Keir Starmer and industry leaders call on PM to do more as ministers decide against immediate deployment of troopsBoris Johnson has ordered the army to remain on standby to help fuel reach petrol stations hit by panic buying, as Keir Starmer and businesses called on him to get a grip on the shortages rippling across the economy.No 10 said army drivers would be ready to help deliver petrol and diesel on a short-term basis, but stopped short of an immediate deployment, even though some essential workers have not been able to carry out their jobs without fuel. Continue reading...
Arrivals in 2021 stand at 17,085, despite vows from government to make such journeys ‘unviable’The number of people who have made the dangerous journey across the Channel in small boats this year is double the total for all of 2020 – with more than three months left of 2021.Related: Home Office planned speedy removal of Vietnamese trafficking victims Continue reading...
by Daniel Boffey, Rowena Mason and Heather Stewart on (#5Q1VK)
Olaf Scholz, poised to become next chancellor, wades into row over HGV driver shortageThe centre-left politician in pole position to replace Angela Merkel as German chancellor has pinpointed the decision to end freedom of movement with Europe after Brexit as the reason for Britain’s petrol crisis.Olaf Scholz, who is seeking to form a coalition government after the SPD emerged as the biggest party in Germany’s federal elections, said he hoped Boris Johnson would be able to deal with the consequences of the UK’s exit from the EU. Continue reading...
by Vikram Dodd Police and crime correspondent on (#5Q22K)
Koci Selamaj, 36, was arrested on Sunday over death of Nessa, 28, whose body was found in KidbrookeA man has been charged with the murder of Sabina Nessa, the teacher who was found dead in a park close to her south London home.Koci Selamaj, aged 36, was arrested by police early on Sunday morning in East Sussex, just over a week after the body of the 28-year-old teacher was found. Continue reading...
Trial of the singer had theme of Kelly using his fame and power to subject his victims to sexual and physical abuseR Kelly’s conviction on racketeering and sex trafficking charges came after a trial that shocked the US and opened the eyes of a nation to claims of shocking, decades-long abuse that predominantly targeted young Black girls.Jurors in a New York federal court heard from multiple witnesses over the weeks-long trial of behavior by the singer, with a common theme of Kelly using his fame and power to subject his victims to sexual and physical abuse. Continue reading...
A carer, a GP and a social worker speak about the impact its having on them and their workWith people in places across the UK still unable to fill up their tanks while petrol stations have run dry and British fuel prices have hit an eight-year high, three key workers – a carer, a GP and a social worker – spoke about the impact the situation was having on them and their work. Continue reading...
Sculpture based on the poem The Gleaner of Sapri was unveiled by former PM Giuseppe Conte on SaturdayA statue depicting a scantily dressed woman from a 19th-century poem has sparked a sexism row in Italy.The bronze statue, which portrays the woman in a transparent dress, was unveiled on Saturday during a ceremony attended by the former prime minister Giuseppe Conte in Sapri, in the southern Campania region. Continue reading...
The 25m-year-old fossil reveals ancient eagle had features unlike any seen among modern hawks and eaglesA 25m-year-old eagle fossil discovered on a remote outback cattle station in South Australia has been identified as one of the oldest raptor species in the world.Palaeontologists discovered the eagle fossil on the shore of a dry lake known as Lake Pinpa in 2016, and have since identified it as a new species, Archaehierax sylvestris, in a study published in the journal Historical Biology. Continue reading...
by Adam Morton Climate and environment editor on (#5Q1X9)
Could the calamity unfolding in Britain happen in Australia? Is a net zero target to blame, as the deputy PM claims? Adam Morton looks behind the Nationals leader’s claims
Party that entered German parliament in 2017 drops about 2% nationally despite performing strongly in eastThe far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), which made a whirlwind entry into the German parliament in 2017, is set to lose its status as the main opposition force following Sunday’s election but has at the same time emerged as the strongest party in parts of eastern Germany.The party, which rose to prominence on an anti-immigrant ticket after the arrival of around 1m refugees in 2015 but has more recently focused its attention on attacking the government’s pandemic management, dropped just over 2% nationally to secure 10.3% of the vote. Continue reading...
Policy uses women as tool for economic goals and could endanger their lives, says rights groupChina’s pledge to limit abortions puts women’s bodies under the state’s control just as the one-child policy did and could endanger the lives of women seeking abortions, rights groups have said.The Chinese government announced on Monday that it would seek to reduce abortions for “non-medical reasons” – a move seen as being in line with its attempts to accelerate birthrates. Continue reading...
Claudia Webbe, who has had the Labour whip withdrawn, denies harassment chargesAn MP has been accused of threatening to use acid against a woman she believed to be in a relationship with her partner, a court has heard.Claudia Webbe, 56, allegedly became “obsessed” with Michelle Merritt due to her friendship with the Leicester East MP’s partner, Lester Thomas. Continue reading...
Christopher Johns talks about what conditions are like for drivers in the UK and whether any solutions might be forthcomingChristopher Johns, 37, from Burwash, Sussex, has been an HGV driver for more than 10 years, and drives long distance in UK and Europe. Here he speaks about what conditions are like for HGV drivers in the UK, and why he feels there may be no quick solution to the current truck driver crisis.“I’m always staggered by how much truck drivers have been taken for granted in the UK. We work so hard for very little money. Our wages have desperately needed improving for such a long time. A friend’s starting salary at Lidl is the same as that of many trucker friends. I could earn more if I did temp work, like many others do, but I have a wife and three kids, I need job security. I only earn enough now because I do a lot of overseas work, where you get bigger expenses allowances. Continue reading...
Actor helped deliver food to people onboard NGO vessel that was refused entry to Italian port by then ministerRichard Gere has agreed to testify against Italy’s far-right former interior minister Matteo Salvini, who is standing trial for refusing to let a Spanish migrant rescue ship dock in an Italian port in 2019.Prosecutors in Sicily have accused Salvini of dereliction of duty and kidnapping for blocking the NGO vessel Open Arms from docking in August 2019 as part of his closed-ports policy. Onboard were 147 people rescued in the Mediterranean. During the standoff, as the ship was anchored off the island of Lampedusa, some people threw themselves overboard in desperation. Continue reading...
‘Spotters’ were seen scoping out movements of Mark Rutte, who cycles to work in The HagueThe Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, who cycles to work in The Hague, has reportedly been given extra personal security in response to raised fears of a kidnapping or attack by organised crime.The decision was made after “spotters” were seen scoping out Rutte’s movements, raising concerns about a possible move by one of the country’s drug gangs. Continue reading...
A leading epidemiologist says if people are admitted to hospital in time ‘it could be in fact a life-saving presentation’A leading epidemiologist has expressed concern at the number of Covid-positive people dying at home in Australia without having a test for the virus.Associate Prof Sanjaya Senanayake from the Australian National University said there had been multiple deaths from Covid due to people developing severe symptoms at home without being tested and receiving medical assistance. Continue reading...
Frances, 70, and Rien, 68, met on a European exchange visit in 1972. Having brought up their family in England, they now live in the Dordogne, FranceWhen Frances finished school, she took a college course in cartography, the study of maps. By May 1972, she had found a job as a cartographer with the civil service. As part of her work, she went to Delft in the Netherlands to visit the Dutch equivalent of Ordnance Survey. At the time, Kingston upon Thames (where she had studied) was twinned with Delft, a city in South Holland, and residents of the two regions were encouraged to do exchange visits, where they would stay with local families to get to know the area. Frances agreed to go, even thought she was terrified. “I was 20 and it was my first time out of the country. I didn’t speak a word of Dutch,” she says.Frances soon discovered she would be staying with Rien, who lived with his parents and siblings. When she arrived at the town hall, he was there to pick her up. They were introduced by the mayor of Kingston and the burgemeester of Delft. “My instant reaction was that she was beautiful and I needed to get to know her. It was love at first sight for me,” he says. She was grateful that he was able to speak English and over the course of the next week a friendship blossomed. “He was friendly and handsome, but it was just friendship for me at first,” she says. “I’m more pragmatic than romantic.” Continue reading...
Documents seen by Guardian refer to fast-track system not intended to be used in trafficking casesThe Home Office detained more than 100 Vietnamese nationals who arrived on small boats in May but planned to speedily remove them from the UK despite them being potential victims of trafficking, the Guardian has learned.In an exercise codenamed Operation Ammonite, the Home Office chartered two deportation flights to Vietnam, one in April of this year and one in July. The flights carried 27 and 21 deportees respectively. However the Home Office plan was to fill the second plane with many more Vietnamese nationals. Continue reading...
Dr Nader Alemi, who opened the country’s first private psychiatric hospital, had received death threats before being taken on his way home from work last weekOne of Afghanistan’s most prominent psychiatrists has been abducted on his way home from work by a group of armed men.Dr Nader Alemi, 66, who opened the country’s first private psychiatric hospital in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, was stopped by seven men in a white car last week, said his family. Continue reading...
Confident microbudget feature zones in on one woman’s unhappiness, and how skydiving provides an unlikely but dramatic releaseDeragh Campbell is an award-winning Canadian actor and film-maker whose recent movie MS Slavic 7 I have to confess to finding weirdly inert and indulgent. She has a starring role in this movie, which is a confident, intimate microbudget feature shot almost entirely in searching closeup, directed by Campbell’s longtime collaborator Kazik Radwanski. It is a more approachable piece of work and Campbell’s performance is unsettlingly real.She plays Anne, an unhappy young woman with a job in a children’s daycare centre and an undiagnosed anxiety disorder, whose life is turned upside down when she tastes the ecstatic thrill of skydiving. Anne gets on pretty badly with her grumpy, humourless colleagues – who may nevertheless have a point about her unprofessional, casual and derisive attitude – and argues with her mother. She meets a nice guy called Matt (Matt Johnson) at a co-worker’s wedding, though she may well be about to alienate him too. But all this is against the background of skydiving, which she took part in as part of the bachelorette party: the bride and all the maids-of-honour did it once, but Anne wants this amazing and passionate experience again and again. Could it be a miraculous therapy for her? Or is skydiving simply enlarging and intensifying her already troublesome and anarchic personality? Continue reading...
Restrictions amount to ‘sexual assault’ on women by Japanese state, say rights campaignersWomen’s health campaigners have urged Japan’s government to amend a law that forces married women to seek consent from their husbands before they can have an abortion.Japan is one of only 11 countries that require third-party consent for abortions, despite calls to end the practice by the World Health Organization and other groups. Continue reading...
Harrison McLean was one of hundreds of people arrested after Victoria police and protesters clashed in rallies across the cityOne of the organisers of Australia’s anti-lockdown movement has been charged with incitement.Harrison McLean was one of hundreds of people arrested by Victorian police after a week of protests across Melbourne saw violent clashes between officers and demonstrators. Continue reading...
Lack of jobs and Covid lockdowns fuel boom in cheap but lethal hooch made in backyard stillsIt is 7pm and inside the shebeen, or unlicensed bar, in Harare, men and women clutch small bottles of “whisky” and talk animatedly as they dance to loud music.One man staggers and falls over, to the amusement of other drinkers. He mumbles inaudible words as he drifts into sleep. Nearby, two other men doze after spending hours in the bar on a sweltering September day. Continue reading...