A new book showcases self-taught photographer John Alinder’s extraordinary and compelling portraits, discovered in the 1980s, of his Swedish neighbours – revealing their humanity and his artistic brilliance Continue reading...
Hundreds of mostly Roma women were threatened, tricked or bribed into being sterilised until 2012Women sterilised without their consent are to be offered compensation in the Czech Republic after President Miloš Zeman signed a bill into law this week.The women, most of whom were Roma, will be awarded 300,000 Czech crowns (£10,000) from the government as compensation. Continue reading...
What is really going on with virtual sex and identity politics - and when did people stop caring about snooker? Four people born in 2000 offer their advice to people in their 50s, 60s and 70sWhen interaction between the generations is interrupted – and there doesn’t even have to be a pandemic; sometimes we just forget to call each other – it is easy for misunderstandings to flourish. Negative perceptions can build to such a pitch that, even if you had your grandchildren standing right in front of you, you possibly wouldn’t want to tackle them head-on. Or perhaps your perceptions aren’t negative – there are just pockets of puzzlement.Four zoomers – Patrick Baggaley, Freya Scott-Turner, Rachel Ayo Ogunleye and Aidan Nylander, all born in 2000 – are here to clear up everything. Baggaley is a chef based in London; Scott-Turner is studying journalism and living in Cambridge; Ayo Ogunleye is studying medicine and based in Beckenham, south London; and Nylander is between two degrees and lives in Newcastle. Continue reading...
China’s regulators are on the march again but moves to restrict children’s access may be welcomed by manyChina’s regulators are on the march again, pushing one of the country’s most valuable technology companies, Tencent, into announcing fresh curbs designed to limit the time children spend playing its computer games. The announcement may have led to a collapse in Tencent’s shares, but the measures will be eyed with mild jealousy by many western parents.Minors playing the company’s hit title Honor of Kings will now only be allowed to play for a single hour each day, and two hours on holidays. It will also block children under 12 from spending money in-game. Continue reading...
Lebanese capital remains a shell of a city as efforts to find who is to blame for tragedy have made little progressWhen his workplace blew to pieces, dockworker Yusuf Shehadi was waiting to hear back from colleagues who had scrambled to help firefighters extinguish a blaze in the port of Beirut. The fire was bad and getting worse, they told him in their last conversation before a giant explosion killed them, and 210 others, a year ago today.The catastrophic blast laid to ruin the place Shehadi had worked for a decade. And he immediately knew its cause. “I had taken the nitrate from the dock to the hangar six years earlier,” he said of the massive stockpile of military-grade fertiliser that he had helped move from a freighter to a nearby hangar in 2014. Continue reading...
Queensland deputy premier Steven Miles has announced there were 19 new cases of Covid-19 recorded, making it Qld's biggest outbreak since the first wave last year. Of the 19 new cases, 16 are linked to the western suburbs outbreak. In response to the outbreak, the Ekka public holiday 'will be rescheduled to some time later in the year. We have not yet determined when’, Miles said.
Polls this week suggest the glacial speed of the Covid vaccine rollout is starting to affect Labour’s support, even as PM remains personally popularAn unbeatable leader in times of crisis, New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern’s soaring popularity has teetered on the country’s slow road to vaccination.This week, polling in New Zealand indicated some of the gloss may be fading from the Ardern government’s second term, which has enjoyed soaringly high popularity over the past year. The poll, conducted by Newshub/Reid Research, put Labour at 43%, down 9.7 percentage points. The results followed a similar trend line polling by TVNZ from May. Continue reading...
London mayor Sadiq Khan among large crowd gathered at Fryent Country Park to remember the sistersLarge crowds lit candles and laid flowers at a vigil to remember murdered sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman on Tuesday evening on what would have been Nicole’s 29th birthday.Family, friends, campaigners, politicians and well wishers gathered at Fryent Country Park in Wembley, north-west London, to honour the sisters and all women lost to male violence. The proceedings kicked off with Brent North MP Barry Gardiner singing Amazing Grace. Continue reading...
What was delivered was a watered-down version of what we called for – it will do little to dismantle systemic racismWhen the Polynesian Panthers (PPP) activist group began calling for an apology for the dawn raids two years ago, we went into the process with eyes wide open. Government lobbyists seldom get everything they ask for, but our intent was honest and real and fuelled by our Panther legacy and love for the people.We believe that the apology was, and is, a necessary step towards the healing and restoration of trust and relationships between the Pacific peoples and families who were adversely affected by government actions during the dawn raids and the government. Continue reading...
The 19-year-old was shot on the street by a man hired by the owner of a car-wash business to kill a rivalSeven men have been found guilty of murdering a law student, Aya Hachem, in Blackburn last year after a longstanding feud between two tyre firm owners.The men were convicted of murder at Preston crown court and a woman, Judy Chapman, was convicted of manslaughter. Continue reading...
Wednesday: Operation Covid Shield could have 80% of Australians fully vaccinated by December. Plus: Australia’s men’s hockey team into gold medal matchGood morning. A new Covid vaccination timeline could be the light at the end of the tunnel for Australia’s pandemic battle but whether it rolls out as intended remains to be seen. In Olympic news, the US gymnast Simone Biles has returned to the stadium and Australia’s men’s hockey team are into the gold medal match, but Australia’s football players are in hot water over alleged bad behaviour on a flight home.Australia could fully vaccinate 80% of its adult population by December under a “vision” outlined by an updated Operation Covid Shield plan, released yesterday. The new timeline envisions a rapid increase in the delivery and distribution of vaccines, with drive-through vaccination clinics up and running by mid-October and workplace and retail hubs operating by the end of the year. Under the plan, Australians over 30 will be offered vaccines from September when 10m doses of AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna could be available, with those aged 16 and over included from October when the available supply jumps to 15m doses for the month, with increasing availability of Pfizer. Continue reading...
Bryan Nellist’s white gooseberry won the growers’ prize by a fraction of a gram at the tense Egton Bridge competitionAn 85-year-old awarded the trophy for heaviest gooseberry has expressed his pride, saying he thought his “winning days had come to an end”.Bryan Nellist’s victory, in the Yorkshire hamlet of Egton Bridge near Whitby on Tuesday, went to the wire, decided by a “berry-off” that came down to fractions of a gram between his white gooseberry – of a variety known as Belmarsh – and its rival. Continue reading...
In this extract from a new biography, Gregor Paul tells how the legendary coach prepared for the 2015 World Cup final against the WallabiesIf it were possible to measure confidence on a device with a scale, Hansen’s numbers would have been off the charts in the week of the final. He wasn’t complacent, or arrogant – he simply knew that his side had the measure of the Wallabies in every way.He respected them, knew the dangers they posed and was aware that Australia had emerged through the so-called pool of death and were in great form, battle hardened and a different team to the one they had been a few months earlier at Eden Park when the All Blacks thumped them. Still, they left none of the residual doubt in Hansen the way the semi-final fixture against the Springboks had. Since Hansen had been elevated to the top job, the All Blacks had beaten the Wallabies eight times, drawn twice and lost once. Continue reading...
Onlookers bring deckchairs and binoculars to see the 400m-long Ever Given arrive at FelixstoweThe container ship that caused global disruption after blocking the Suez canal earlier this year has finally docked in the UK – four months later than planned.The Ever Given finally arrived at the Port of Felixstowe on Tuesday after gaining notoriety for becoming stuck against a bank of the major shipping lane in Egypt for six days from 23 March. Continue reading...
Residents north of Greek capital evacuated, while 42C heat forces Acropolis to reduce opening hoursThousands of people have fled their homes north of Athens after a forest wildfire reached residential areas. The hurried evacuations took place just as Greece grappled with its worst heatwave in decades.The blaze sent a huge cloud of smoke over Athens and prompted multiple evacuations near Tatoi, 13 miles to the north. Residents left their homes in cars and on motorcycles, heading toward the capital in a blanket of smoke. Continue reading...
Sudesh Amman was automatically released from prison 10 days before knife rampage despite police concerns, inquest jury hearsA convicted terrorist who was shot dead by police after going on a stabbing rampage had signalled his intention before he was released from prison to “commit jihad” and “kill the Queen”, an inquest has heard.Sudesh Amman, 20, was killed by undercover police on Streatham High Road in south London on 2 February 2020 after stealing a knife and injuring members of the public at random in broad daylight. Continue reading...
Hundreds take to streets of Indian capital after latest case of sexual violenceThe alleged rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl from India’s lowest caste has sparked a third day of protests in the capital, in the latest case to spotlight the country’s high levels of sexual violence.Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets in Delhi on Tuesday holding banners reading “Give justice to the little girl” and demanding the death penalty for the four men accused of the crime. Continue reading...
by Akhtar Mohammad Makoii in Herat and Peter Beaumont on (#5MX9R)
Officials confirm all but one district of Lashkar Gah is under hardline Islamists’ control after fierce fightingTaliban fighters appeared to be on the brink of overrunning the key Afghan provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, as officials confirmed all but one district of the city was under the hardline Islamists’ control and residents were ordered to evacuate.Majid Akhund, the deputy chairman of the Helmand provincial council, said the Taliban had taken control of nine Lashkar Gah districts, as the Afghan government and US aircraft pounded their positions with strikes. Continue reading...
More than 50,000 hospitalized in US as of Monday, similar to rates seen last summerCovid-19 hospitalizations are surging across the US and stretched hospitals are warning that the overwhelming majority of coronavirus patients are unvaccinated and their serious sickness preventable.More than 50,000 people were hospitalized across the US as of Monday, according to the US health department. This is significantly fewer people than during the peak in cases, deaths and hospitalizations this January, but similar to the rates last summer when coronavirus vaccines were still in development. Continue reading...
President has stepped up crusade against Brazil’s electronic voting system – prompting counter-attack from superior electoral courtBrazil’s top electoral authority has launched a counter-offensive against Jair Bolsonaro’s Donald Trump-style campaign against the country’s voting system by announcing it will investigate his potentially criminal propagation of groundless vote-rigging claims.Related: Lula 2022? Brazil poised for sensational political comeback Continue reading...
French president’s TikTok session about Covid vaccine overshadowed by speculation over bird designWas it a bird, a subliminal message or a secret sign? Or was it just a logo of an owl on a T-shirt?Hours after Emmanuel Macron’s attempt to persuade French youngsters to get vaccinated on Monday, the buzz across the country was less of Covid shots and more of mysterious clothing symbols. Continue reading...
by Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor on (#5MXJB)
Angus Lapsley’s promotion not ruled out despite his mislaying secret documents in KentThe senior civil servant who misplaced 50 pages of classified Ministry of Defence documents, which were later found at a bus stop in Kent, was being lined up to be appointed the UK’s ambassador to Nato at the time of the incident, according to two government sources.The elevation of Angus Lapsley is now understood to be unlikely but not definitely ruled out in light of the unfortunate episode, in which the mislaid paperwork – some of which was marked secret – discussed sensitive deployments in Afghanistan and the Black Sea. Continue reading...
Barcelona city council opposes €1.7bn plan under which passenger numbers would reach 70 million a yearThe Spanish and Catalan governments have agreed a controversial plan to expand Barcelona airport that would increase passenger numbers from 55 million to 70 million a year.The €1.7bn plan, funded by Aena, the Spanish airports authority, is opposed by Barcelona city council. It will have to be approved by the European Commission, which has already condemned an earlier expansion carried out in the protected wetlands of the Llobregat delta. Continue reading...
PM gives full support to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and others’ efforts to bring down Lukashenko regimeThe UK is on the side of Belarusian opposition leaders trying to bring down the tyrannical regime led by Alexander Lukashenko, Boris Johnson has said.The prime minister gave his full support to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who is at the forefront of efforts to restore democracy in the face of a crackdown on civil society in the eastern European country. Continue reading...
by Libby Brooks Scotland correspondent on (#5MXC8)
Members of far-right group in Scotland displayed ‘white lives matter’ sign atop UK’s highest peakRacists have been warned to stay away from Ben Nevis after a far-right group unfurled a “white lives matter” banner at the top of Scotland’s highest mountain peak on Sunday.Politicians, anti-racism campaigners and mountain rescue experts united to condemn the action by Patriotic Alternative, a UK white-nationalist group founded by Mark Collett, the British National party’s former director of publicity. Continue reading...
Charities warn of a public health emergency after data shows 4,561 deaths in 2020 – up 3.8% on previous yearDeaths from drug poisoning in England and Wales have reached a record high, with a growing number of people dying after using cocaine and opiates, data shows.Charities said the figures showed there was a public health emergency, with the pandemic negatively affecting those with addiction problems. In 2020, 4,561 people died from drug poisoning – the equivalent of 79.5 deaths per million people. This is 3.8% higher than figures for 2019 and the highest number since records began in 1993. Continue reading...
Police open murder investigation after activist discovered in park after failing to return from a runThe head of a Kyiv-based non-profit organisation that helps Belarusians fleeing persecution has been found dead in a park in the Ukrainian capital, police have said, raising suspicion that he may have been murdered.Vitaly Shishov, the head of Belarusian House in Ukraine (BDU), was reported missing by his partner on Monday after he did not return from a run and could not be reached on his mobile phone. Continue reading...
Items smuggled out after 2003 invasion include 3,500-year-old Gilgamesh clay tabletThe United States is returning more than 17,000 ancient artefacts that were looted and smuggled out of Iraq after the 2003 US invasion, including a 3,500-year-old clay tablet that bears part of the Epic of Gilgamesh, Iraq has said.Tens of thousands of antiquities disappeared from Iraq after the invasion that toppled its leader, Saddam Hussein. Many more were smuggled out or destroyed by Islamic State (Isis), which held a third of Iraq between 2014 and 2017 before it was defeated by Iraqi and international forces. Continue reading...
Best known for their global No 1 in 1987, the Los Angeleno band first emerged through the phlegm of the punk movement and are now returning to their rootsLos Lobos reached pop’s pinnacle in 1987 when their cover of La Bamba, recorded for a film of the same name, reached No 1 around the world. On their way up, and indeed back down the other side, the Los Angeles roots-rockers have mastered multiple musical styles during nearly 50 years together – from traditional Mexican folk to jump blues and avant-rock – and have earned 11 Grammy nominations (with three wins), working or appearing with Paul Simon, the Clash, film-maker Robert Rodriguez and more along the way.Now, to move forward, Los Lobos decided to look back. Native Sons, their 17th studio album, is a wide-ranging celebration of the LA artists that inspired the band early on. With covers of well-known pop tunes by the Beach Boys (Sail on Sailor) and Buffalo Springfield (For What It’s Worth) sitting alongside rare cuts from 60s garage rockers Thee Midniters and Latin jazz legend Willie Bobo, it’s the perfect polyglot collection for this multi-faceted ensemble. “You wouldn’t run into [these artists] at the same party,” says guitarist Louie Pérez Jr. “But once they all got to the party, everyone in the band thought, ‘Hey, this is kind of fun.’” Continue reading...
by Nazia Parveen, community affairs correspondent on (#5MX4G)
Two clans brutally evicted to make way for tea plantations owned by white settlers are seeking reparations for rights violationsThe British government has been criticised by the UN for a lack of resolution over colonial-era crimes committed in Kenya.Six UN special rapporteurs have written to the government expressing concern over its failure to provide “effective remedies and reparations” to the Kipsigis and Talai peoples. Continue reading...
Labor opposition condemns decision to delay requests for papers as ‘completely unacceptable’After delaying sittings of state parliament for at least a month, the New South Wales government has cancelled another transparency process, citing Covid restrictions imposed on staff.Up to 10 “calls for papers” will not be processed because two of the three staff from the premier’s department responsible for sorting through the papers produced by departments are locked down in Covid-19 hotspot local government areas. Continue reading...
Yakei took top spot after roughing up Sanchu, the alpha male who had been leader of ‘troop B’ on the island of Kyushu for five yearsIn a rarely seen phenomenon in the simian world, a nine-year-old female known as Yakei has become the boss of a 677-strong troop of Japanese macaque monkeys at a nature reserve on the island of Kyushu in Japan.Yakei’s path to the top began in April when she beat up her own mother to become the alpha female of the troop at the Takasakiyama natural zoological garden in Oita city. While that would have been the pinnacle for most female monkeys, Yakei decided to throw her 10kg weight around among the males. Continue reading...
by Vikram Dodd Police and crime correspondent on (#5MWX3)
Scrutiny board headed by Abimbola Johnson among initiatives that show police accept they need to changePolice chiefs hoping to pull themselves out of a race crisis have appointed a new tsar who has previously said black people fear calling on officers for help.Barrister Abimbola Johnson will chair a new independent scrutiny and oversight board as part of a promised suite of changes to policing meant to boost confidence among minority ethnic groups. Continue reading...
International Olympic Committee is waiting for a report from Belarusian counterparts on the incident involving Krystsina TsimanouskayaThe International Olympic Committee (IOC) has launched an investigation into the case of sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who took refuge in the Polish embassy in Tokyo on Monday after refusing her team’s orders to board a flight home from the Olympic Games.A spokesperson for the IOC said on Tuesday it was waiting for a report later in the day from the Belarusian National Olympic Committee on the incident that has rocked the Games. Warsaw has offered Tsimanouskaya a humanitarian visa. Continue reading...
Broadcaster complains about caution shown by ‘communists at Sage’ over reopening societyIt is a long list that includes travellers, cyclists, animal rights activists, lorry drivers, George Michael and Liverpool. Now Jeremy Clarkson has opened himself up to more anger after he criticised “those communists at Sage” preventing opening up because, he argues, “if you die, you die.”In an interview with the Radio Times, Clarkson gives his views on the pandemic and what should happen next. Many will find his thoughts typically boorish and insensitive. Continue reading...
The rapper and producer is on bail after an incident at a residential address in StreathamDizzee Rascal, the award-winning rapper and producer whose real name is Dylan Mills, has been charged with assaulting a woman following a domestic argument.In a statement, the Metropolitan police said: “Dylan Mills, 36, of Sevenoaks, Kent, has been charged with assault after an incident at a residential address in Streatham on 8 June. Officers attended and a woman reported minor injuries. She did not require hospital treatment.” Continue reading...
Brits return from Tokyo with haul of four golds, having finished third in swimming medal tableBritish swimming Olympians have landed back in the UK from Tokyo after returning from their most successful Games.Team GB finished third in the swimming medal table behind the US and Australia. They won eight medals this past week. The squad returned with a haul of four golds, beating the UK’s previous best performance, at the 1908 Games in London. Continue reading...
by Vikram Dodd Police and crime correspondent on (#5MWFF)
Armed surveillance officers shot dead Sudesh Amman after he stabbed two people in south London street, inquest jury hearsA convicted terrorist who went on a knife rampage wearing a fake bomb belt within days of his release from jail was shot dead by officers following him, an inquest has heard.Police had tried to block the release of Sudesh Amman, 20, because of intelligence that he wanted to stage an attack. He was in prison for terrorism offences. Continue reading...
Ashraf Ghani comments come as government forces battle to prevent Lashkar Gah falling to the TalibanAfghanistan’s president, Ashraf Ghani, has blamed the speedy withdrawal of US-led troops for the worsening violence in his country, as government forces battled to prevent provincial cities from falling to the Taliban in a major escalation in fighting.Taliban fighters assaulted at least three provincial capitals overnight – Lashkar Gah, Kandahar and Herat – after a weekend of heavy fighting that resulted in thousands of civilians fleeing the advancing militants. Continue reading...
Tokyo Games wins in 100m and high jump in space of 11 minutes prompt outpouring of national prideStunned and ecstatic after claiming two gold medals in the space of 11 minutes, as Lamont Marcell Jacobs won the 100m final and Gianmarco Tamberi shared first place in the high jump, Italians have been celebrating a golden Sunday at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.“It is Italian sport’s most beautiful day,” said Giovanni Malagò, the president of the Italian Olympics Committee. “They have made history. Our grandchildren’s grandchildren will talk about it. This is better than the Eurocup,” he added, referring to Italy’s Euro 2020 football victory last month. Continue reading...
Australian shareholders will own about 18.5% of combined business under deal, which the two companies say will create an online payments powerhouseAustralian Stock Exchange-listed buy-now-pay-later company Afterpay will be bought out by US fintech giant Square for A$39bn.Digital transactions and point of sale business Square said on Monday it had agreed to purchase the company in an all-stock deal worth US$29bn. Afterpay shareholders will get 0.375 shares of Square class A stock for every share they own, or around a price of A$126.21 per share based on Square’s Friday close. Continue reading...
‘We will chop them up’: an Indonesian police chief implicated in alleged human rights abuses against a group of West Papuan activists was trained by Australian Federal PoliceCharles Sraun was chatting with five friends at a house in Merauke, the easternmost city of the disputed Indonesian territory of West Papua, when police stormed the building.The 39-year-old health worker says he and his friends, all members of a pro-independence organisation called the National Committee for West Papua, were beaten with batons, made to lie face down and some forced to undress, before being cable-tied and bundled into the back of a vehicle belonging to the Indonesian paramilitary police unit, Brimob. Continue reading...
Jury at Birmingham crown court convicts Carvel Bennett for crime in 1970s in what is thought to be first case of its kindA man has been convicted of raping a 13-year-old girl, after the daughter conceived during the attack pursued charges against him.Carvel Bennett, 74, was convicted by a jury at Birmingham crown court. Members of the jury deliberated for just over two hours before finding him guilty. Continue reading...