World news | The Guardian

The Belgian city was a centre for the trade in lace, as well as wool, writes Joanna HashagenI was very interested in your editorial on Antwerp (17 August). I have had the opportunity to visit that fine city several times over the last 20 years, collaborating with curators there. It is an underrated city today and, as you state, English traders sold wool there in the past; we also bought their lace in the 17th and 18th centuries.This week The Bowes Museum sent a crate of some of the finest 17th- and 18th-century Flemish lace to a large, prestigious exhibition in Antwerp that highlights the important role the city played in the production and trade of lace. P.LACE.S – Looking through Antwerp Lace, opens on 25 September. A city trail connects five exhibition locations in the city.

Sharon Graham will become union’s first female general secretary after surprise victoryThe Unite union is expected to develop a calmer but more distant relationship with the Labour party after the election of the leftwinger Sharon Graham as its first female general secretary on Wednesday.Graham, who was the surprise winner in the three-way contest with 37.7% of the vote, was elected on a manifesto that said “we have tried our political project within Labour – it has failed”, and she has said that she intends to prioritise workplace organising in her new role. Continue reading...

Woman, 44, nine-year-old girl and boy, five, die in collision with HGV on A64 near York, police sayA woman and two children have died in a crash involving a motorhome and a lorry.North Yorkshire police said the 44-year-old woman, a nine-year-old girl and a five-year-old boy were passengers in the grey motorhome which collided with a white HGV on the A64 near York on Tuesday night. Continue reading...

Educators say they fear reversal of hard-won progress as aid workers call for Taliban’s desire for international legitimacy to be used as leverageAfghanistan’s only boarding school for girls has temporarily relocated to Rwanda, its co-founder has said, just days after a video of her burning class records to avoid Taliban recriminations was widely shared on social media.Shabana Basij-Rasikh, who escaped Kabul with 250 students and staff, urged the world to “not avert your eyes” from the millions of girls left behind. Continue reading...

New record for NSW with 919 new Covid cases, two deaths; Queensland to pause hotel quarantine from noon; ACT reports nine new cases; Victoria reports 17 of new cases in quarantine for entire infectious period. Follow all today’s news

As the pandemic drives calls for a radical overhaul of the food system, can the president take on the meat giants?Both the planet and US politics have heated up in tandem over recent decades, but few sectors have stewed in controversy quite like America’s beef industry. Four super-powered meatpackers control more than 80% of the US beef market, an extraordinary concentration of market power that the Biden administration is not happy about.

Amid resistance within the Coalition, PM says vaccination pass has ‘nothing to do with ideology’ and helps protect workers and clients

Stress of pandemic could be behind increase in people aged 18-34, but number who quit habit also roseThe number of young adults who smoke in England rose by about a quarter in the first lockdown, research has suggested.Nevertheless, the number of people who stopped smoking altogether increased, with the number across all age groups almost doubling during the first national lockdown when compared with the period immediately prior, researchers from University College London (UCL) and the University of Sheffield said. Continue reading...

Takeaway company says it will invest £100m in north-east as it brings staff in-houseThe takeaway company Just Eat is planning to open a customer service site in north-east England, which will employ 1,500 people as it brings jobs back from India and Bulgaria.The business said that it would invest £100m in the region over the next five years, with staff working partly from home and partly from its new Sunderland-based office. Continue reading...

Which? finds substances that can cause heart problems being sold on eBay, Wish and AliExpress“Dangerous” weight loss products containing substances that can induce a stroke or heart attack are being sold on websites such as eBay without any health warnings, an investigation has found.The consumer group Which? found dozens of products on sale online containing plant extracts that can make users agitated or aggressive and increase their heart rate and blood pressure. Continue reading...

Wednesday: Australia offered hundreds of Afghans an evacuation flight, but when they got to the airport they were turned away. Plus: music legend Charlie Watts dead aged 80Good morning. There is growing despair in Kabul, as many trying to flee the Taliban regime before the 31 August deadline are blocked from its airport. In Australia, Covid continues to dominate headlines. And the world has lost a rock’n’roll legend with the death of Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts.Hundreds of aged care homes are lagging behind in their efforts to vaccinate workers against Covid. Some centres have vaccinated fewer than 10% of their staff with a single dose, three weeks before a vaccine mandate for the sector is in force. Just one in five of aged care homes have vaccinated more than 90% of their workers with at least one dose, according to federal health department data. At the other end of the age spectrum, parents of children eligible for the vaccine say it has been almost impossible to make an appointment. The mother of a 14-year-old with Down’s syndrome was forced to turn to Twitter to find a vaccine appointment for her daughter. In a new Guardian Australia series, people in a range of circumstances tell us what life in the pandemic is like for them. Today, we hear from a healthcare worker and a school leader. Continue reading...

Unruffled amid excess, personality clashes and musical disputes, the Rolling Stones’ exceptional drummer used technique to deepen the meaning and power of their songs

Other venues, such as museums, will allow visitors who have not had the jab if they provide a negative Covid test

Officials weighing up educational needs with risks of young children spreading Covid, sources saySchool students from kindergarten to year 2 as well as year 11 are expected to be prioritised under the New South Wales government’s roadmap to return some children to classrooms in term four, but progress could depend on vaccination levels.The NSW education department and health officials are in detailed negotiations regarding a return to face-to-face learning with the crisis cabinet expected to consider the potential schooling plan on Wednesday afternoon. Continue reading...

But NIH director Francis Collins warns ‘we’re in a world of trouble’ until Delta variant can be controlledThe US could have the Covid pandemic under control and achieve a return to “normality” by next spring, Dr Anthony Fauci said, if the “overwhelming majority” of the population is vaccinated.Related: Biden hails announcement as FDA gives full approval to Pfizer’s Covid vaccine Continue reading...

Nicola Sturgeon confirms judge-led, human rights-based inquiry to begin by end of year

The musician sports a 128.54-carat stone in a new ad campaign – the jewelry company’s latest attempt to rebrand itselfBeyoncé has become the first black woman to wear the famous yellow Tiffany diamond, in the jewelry company’s latest attempt to rebrand itself for a younger, more diverse audience.The musician sports the “priceless” 128.54-carat stone alongside husband Jay-Z in a new ad campaign for Tiffany & Co. Beyoncé is the fourth woman, and first Black woman, to wear the diamond in more than a century. Continue reading...

The best images from the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games in Tokyo Continue reading...

There have been 40 attacks in Stanley Park in the last nine months, four times the total over past 30 yearsCoyotes are stalking and biting visitors in a popular Vancouver park in record numbers, in a mysterious surge of attacks that is baffling experts and dividing the city.In the roughly nine months since December 2020, 40 coyote attacks in Stanley Park have been reported, including one last week where a 69-year-old man was bitten on the leg while walking on a trail. None have so far been fatal. Continue reading...

Hundreds of thousands of trees have died after costly real estate projects thwarted attempts to halt desertificationIt all began so beautifully, with the ruler of Dubai photographed planting the first tree of his ambitious environmental initiative, as smiling officials applauded around him.In 2010, the One Million Trees initiative was announced by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai. The aim of the launch was to increase green areas in Dubai through afforestation, while contributing to overall beautification of the city. Continue reading...

Researchers say bloggers and members of secular leftwing political group among the victimsThe mobile phones of nine Bahraini activists, including two who were granted asylum protection and are now living in London, were hacked between June 2020 and February 2021 using NSO Group spyware, according to new findings by researchers at Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto.A report due to be released on Tuesday will reveal that the hacked activists, some of whose phones were being monitored by Citizen Lab researchers at the time they were hacked, include three members of Waad, a secular leftwing political group that was suspended in 2017 amid a crackdown on peaceful dissent in Bahrain. Continue reading...

Magistrate finds allegation he slapped fellow MP Connie Bonaros on the bottom not proven beyond a reasonable doubtThe South Australian MP Sam Duluk “behaved like a drunken pest” but has been acquitted of assault after allegedly slapping a fellow MP on the bottom at a parliament house Christmas party.The accusation stemmed from Duluk’s conduct towards the SA-BEST upper house MP Connie Bonaros at the celebrations in December 2019. Continue reading...

NSW reaches 6m vaccinations as 753 new Covid cases are recorded; 40 of Victoria’s new local cases linked, with state to extend Pfizer eligibility to 16-19-year-olds; 30 new cases in ACT, two in Queensland. Follow updates live

Patrik and Zsolt are activists and YouTubers representing LGBTQ+ people in Hungary, where a new 'anti-paedophile' law means it is illegal to educate about or to promote LGBTQ+ issues to under-18s. This law follows earlier restrictions by Viktor Orbán's government on trans rights and adoption by gay parents. Patrik and Zsolt think gay people are the latest scapegoats for the governing Fidesz party, but Budapest's Pride parade is an opportunity to protest against the new laws and to rally support. Continue reading...

Group of world leaders expected to discuss fraught evacuation deadline, sanctions and human rights

A host of fish species arriving via the Suez canal look set to stay – with perilous consequences for ecosystemsPasquale Tuccio docks his small, blue and white wooden boat at the old pier on Linosa, one of Italy’s tiny Pelagie islands in the strait of Sicily. Inspecting his gillnet, he finds a slipper lobster, some sea bream, a bunch of parrotfish – and about six rabbitfish. Unlike his fellow fishers, who toss rabbitfish back, Tuccio will take them home for his cat. The fish have venomous spines, however, and he still remembers his first encounter with them. “I got stung only once,” Tuccio says. “I hope it won’t happen again. It was so painful.”Rabbitfish Siganus luridus – also known as dusky spinefoot – is a tropical species, native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans. After the Suez canal opened in 1869, the rabbitfish entered the eastern Mediterranean, making its way into Greek waters by 1964. It has since moved into the western Mediterranean, where it has found an abundance of its favourite food: seagrass. In more recent years, the rabbitfish has been multiplying in the waters around Linosa, where it devours the forests of algae. Researchers have found it as far west as France. Continue reading...

Trans children and their families still often face suspicion and suppression, but attitudes are changing‘My preconceptions about trans people came from the media, and I certainly hadn’t heard of trans children. So it just flummoxed me having an assigned male child who didn’t have especially ‘feminine’ interests and yet was saying consistently, ‘I’m a girl.’”Kate was telling me about her eldest daughter, Alex. (Names of all trans young people, and of their parents, have been changed for their privacy.) It was a warm July evening, and we were sitting in the kitchen of their family home, in a comfortable British suburb populated by middle-class couples with young families. Alex, still at primary school, is trans. A few years ago, her mum assumed she was a boy who was clumsily trying to ask for typically feminine things. “I remember I used to have conversations with her at a very young age in the car because she’d get really upset. I’d say: ‘But I don’t understand what would be different if you were a girl? What can’t you do that you could do if you were a girl?’ I’d ask: ‘Do you want a doll?’ She’d just reply: ‘I don’t like dolls!’” Continue reading...

Anticipating the seasonality of coronavirus is a key factor in fighting its spread, say scientists

With images of people jetting off to see loved ones overseas, the ad offers a glimpse of what many have been missingQantas has released a new ad that promotes getting a Covid-19 vaccine, and it tugs at the heartstrings of Australians longing to travel again.The ad appeals to those who have been separated from loved ones overseas, with scenes of what the future might offer when vaccination rates are high enough. Continue reading...

Two drivers arrested after incident on Essex section of motorway, which also caused major injuries to fourth personThree people have died and two drivers have been arrested after a serious collision involving a lorry, a minibus and a car on the M25 in Essex.A fourth person is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after the crash, which occurred near Waltham Abbey around 6.15pm on Monday and caused lengthy traffic delays. Continue reading...

Woman says Kelly abused her while she was a 17-year-old aspiring singerAnother accuser took the witness stand on Monday at R Kelly’s sex-trafficking trial, testifying that the R&B superstar had sexually abused her on his tour bus and in hotel rooms when she was still a high school student and an aspiring singer.The woman, identified only as “Jane Doe”, said Kelly had once beaten her with a shoe and wept when she also claimed that she had contracted herpes after having sex with him. She said he hadn’t disclosed he had a sexually transmitted disease. Continue reading...

A Seychelles giant tortoise, a species previously thought to be a strict herbivore, has been filmed chasing and eating a baby bird. Researchers say it was the first documented example of deliberate hunting in the wild by the species.The video, taken on Fregate Island in July 2020, shows a female giant tortoise slowly stalking a lesser noddy tern chick, snapping at it unsuccessfully before delivering a lethal blow by clamping its jaws directly around its head.

Abbas Nazari was one of 433 refugees rescued by the Norwegian cargo ship in 2001 after leaving Indonesia in an unseaworthy boat with his Afghan family. Twenty years on, he recalls the fear and uncertainty on the TampaWe had been aboard the Tampa for a whole week. With no possessions, we had been wearing the same clothes all this time. On top of the foul stench and the unbearable heat, we were bored to death, sitting cross-legged on the deck for much of the day with absolutely nothing to do, under the constant gaze of the soldiers.After our breakfast of biscuits and juice, the major who had led the Australian SAS unit that boarded the ship came down for his usual update. Expecting the same old story, few of us were ready when he delivered some actual news. Continue reading...

The Transport Workers Union has taken the case to the Fair Work Commission, arguing the driver qualifies as an employee, not a contractor

Anti-vaccine protesters occupied the headquarters of ITV News and Channel 4 News in London on Monday afternoon, in the latest of a series of actions targeting the media.After marching from King’s Cross station to ITN’s headquarters on Gray's Inn Road, protesters were met by two uniformed police officers guarding the building’s revolving doors. However, they were immediately let in through an emergency exit, apparently by a supporter who was already inside the building

The illness can still have a big effect on health and daily life, say three people in their 20s, 40s and 50s, who were double-jabbed

People in the Vietnamese city not even allowed to leave house to buy food; UK also reports 40 further deaths

Plan to deliver faster services and extra seats by May 2022 hits problems, including cracked trainsFaster trains and extra seats that had been promised for the London-Edinburgh East Coast line in a flagship £1.2bn upgrade will be delayed for at least a year.About 40 more train services and 20,000 extra seats a day were due to be added next May after the biggest engineering programme on the existing railway, which has closed King’s Cross and parts of the mainline at weekends over the last few years. Continue reading...

Vaccine supplies close to exhausted in many areas as country gripped by fifth wave and daily death toll rises

Research warns there could be 10 times the number of deaths referenced in the Doherty Institute report which underpins four-phase reopening plan

Delta may be gripping the city and dominating headlines but global warming is still the number one issue for manyVoters in three Liberal-held federal seats in metropolitan Sydney remain worried about climate change despite the pressing frustrations and uncertainties associated with the Delta outbreak, according to new electorate-level polling commissioned by an activist group.New seat polls commissioned by Climate 200, an organisation supporting independent political candidates committed to achieving a science-based response to climate change, suggest global heating is the number one issue of concern for voters in the electorates of Wentworth and North Sydney. Continue reading...

From accidentally over ordering, to products that bear no resemblance to their description or photographs, buying everything online has its downsidesWhen Sam Bowker and his partner moved into their new rental, they planned to buy a couch the same way they usually did – with a trip down to the local op-shop.But Covid-19 scuppered this. The Salvation Army was no longer offering delivery services, so after a couple of drinks one evening, Bowker turned to eBay. There he found a “sleek looking black three seater lounge – it was a flatpack you build yourself, with free shipping”. Continue reading...

Seven-day average now highest since March as children in Scotland return to the classroom

Staying beyond the agreed deadline of 31 August would be 'extending occupation', Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen said on Monday, and this would 'provoke a reaction'.The comments were made after a firefight between unidentified gunmen and US, German and Afghan guards at the airport left one Afghan guard dead and three wounded. Thousands of soldiers have returned to the country to manage the airlifting of foreigners and Afghans who worked with western nations out of the Taliban-controlled country

Decision is likely to trigger a wave of formal vaccine requirements from government departments, businesses and schoolsThe US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given full approval to the Pfizer vaccine for Covid-19. The vaccine and others have been in use for months under emergency use authorisation.Related: ‘You are not a horse’: FDA tells Americans stop taking dewormer for Covid Continue reading...

Tough measures were deployed after the recent Delta variant outbreak

Jonathan Mattingly is seeking a new publisher for his account of the shooting after Simon & Schuster refused to distribute it for Post Hill PressOne of the police officers involved in the shooting of Breonna Taylor has pulled out of his book deal with a conservative press four months after Simon & Schuster refused to distribute the title.Jonathan Mattingly is one of the Louisville, Kentucky officers who shot Taylor in the raid in her home in March 2020, and was shot in the leg by Taylor’s boyfriend Kenneth Walker. A grand jury brought no charges against Louisville police last September for the killing. Continue reading...

The Guardian’s picture editors select photo highlights from around the world Continue reading...

While the two are often inextricably entwined, there can only be one winner when it comes to a song’s vital ingredientIn the Guide’s weekly Solved! column, we look into a crucial pop-culture question you’ve been burning to know the answer to – and settle itEveryone has a favourite misheard lyric they can tell you. I had a schoolfriend who assumed that TLC’s Waterfalls was a song of encouragement for someone called Jason Waterfall (“Go, go Jason Waterfall!”). It’s a misinterpretation that helps to answer the question: what’s more important: lyrics or melody? The fact that Waterfall is a really weird surname didn’t matter, because a great melody pulls you along and sweeps you up. You don’t know any misheard melodies because of their wonderful lyrics, do you? Continue reading...

Campaigner for human rights in Indonesia from soon after independence and for freedom in regions it controlledCarmel Budiardjo, who has died aged 96, campaigned for human rights and justice in Indonesia, and contributed significantly to the cause of freedom and self-determination in regions it controlled – East Timor (now Timor-Leste), Aceh and West Papua.In the 1950s Carmel, a Londoner, and her Indonesian husband, Suwondo Budiardjo (known as Bud), began working in Indonesia, helping to build a new independent nation after the long period of Dutch colonial rule. Carmel was an economics researcher for the foreign ministry and Bud was deputy minister at the sea communications department. Continue reading...