by Tom Phillips and Ed Augustin in Havana on (#5M3WH)
Cuban officials blame the US for Sunday’s demonstrations as Biden calls on island’s leaders to hear citizens’ ‘clarion call for freedom’The Cuban president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, has attacked the “shameful delinquents” he claimed were trying to “fracture” his country’s communist revolution after the Caribbean island witnessed its largest anti-government protests in nearly three decades.As Cuban officials blamed the US for Sunday’s demonstrations, Joe Biden called on the island’s leaders to hear its citizens’ “clarion call for freedom”. Continue reading...
Dylan Kawende, Oliwia Charowska and Ria Kakkad on how they relate to the team and the playersAfter England’s defeat to Italy at the Euro 2020 final on Sunday, three members of generation Z reflect on what the team, and the tournament, has meant to them. Continue reading...
by Martin Chulov, Middle East correspondent on (#5M3DY)
Bassem Awadallah and Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, aides of Prince Hamzah, convicted of sedition after month-long trialTwo aides of a senior Jordanian royal accused of plotting against the country’s monarch, King Abdullah, have been sentenced to 15 years in prison by a state security court.The convictions follow a month-long trial, held mostly behind closed doors, in the capital, Amman. Bassem Awadallah, a Jordanian national who also holds Saudi and US citizenship, and Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, a member of the royal family, were found guilty of sedition after being accused of acting as proxies for the king’s half-brother, Prince Hamzah, who officials claim had conspired to unseat Abdullah. Continue reading...
Police recognise incident was traumatic for Adrian Burragubba, who was pressured to leave at the request of AdaniThe Queensland police service has made a “public statement of regret” to Wangan and Jagalingou man Adrian Burragubba, in relation to an incident where he was pressured by officers to leave traditional lands at the request of the coalminer Adani.The cultural leader brought a complaint to the Queensland human rights commission after police broke up a protest camp opposing Adani’s Carmichael coalmine in August last year. Continue reading...
British soldier falls through roof of California house, crashing into the kitchen in a burst of insulation and roofing materialA British paratrooper whose parachute failed to open correctly sustained only “minor injuries” after a 15,000ft fall took him through the roof of a house in California, crashing into the kitchen in a burst of insulation and roofing material.The soldier, who was not immediately named, jumped out of a plane during a High Altitude Low Opening (Halo) exercise, a technique used by special forces. He lost control as he approached the ground near Camp Roberts, in Atascadero. Continue reading...
by Ed Augustin and Daniel Montero in Havana on (#5M370)
US sanctions and coronavirus crisis lead to food shortages and high prices, sparking one of the biggest such demonstrations in memoryThe biggest mass demonstrations for three decades have rippled through Cuba, as thousands took to the streets in cities throughout the island, demonstrating against food shortages, high prices and communist rule.The protests began in the morning, in the town of San Antonio de los Baños in the west of the island, and in the city of Palma Soriano in the east. In both cases protesters numbered in the hundreds. Continue reading...
‘This will never be a hit, we told each other – we are literally singing about a car wash!’I was singing in a band called the Jewels and was spotted and recommended to Norman Whitfield. I had no idea he was a legendary Motown songwriter and producer. I went to meet him at his mansion in Beverly Hills and said: “Sir, why do you have all these gold and platinum records on your walls?” He dropped to the floor and laughed for 20 minutes. Later everyone went: “The Norman Whitfield? The Temptations? Marvin Gaye?” But I was this little girl from Biloxi in Mississippi. I never read the names on the back of albums. Continue reading...
by Rowena Mason Deputy political editor on (#5M3Q1)
PM and home secretary criticised despite condemning racism aimed at players after matchBoris Johnson and Priti Patel have been accused of hypocrisy over their stance on racism in football, after they condemned the abuse of three black England players but previously refused to criticise fans who booed the team for taking the knee.Both the prime minister and home secretary said they were appalled by social media abuse of Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho, who missed penalties in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley on Sunday night. Continue reading...
Big leap in malnutrition during Covid, with fifth of children now believed to be stunted, report warnsThe number of people who did not have enough food to eat rose steeply during the Covid-19 pandemic to include almost a third of the world, according to a new UN report published on Monday.Five UN agencies said the number of people without access to healthy diets grew by 320 million last year to nearly 2.37 billion people– more than the increases in the previous five years combined. Continue reading...
Ex-president’s supporters loot shops and block highways as South Africa’s highest court rules on whether to uphold sentenceSouth Africa’s army is to deploy to help police to quell rioting and looting that has cost seven lives and led to hundreds of arrests, military officials have announced.Authorities have been unable to stem sporadic outbreaks of violence across two provinces since the former president Jacob Zuma handed himself over to police to serve a 15-month prison sentence last week. Continue reading...
It’s been 16 months since the pandemic grounded the world. These images from Magnum’s July square print sale explore themes of being shut in – and getting away from it all
Family of 16 had hoped to claim asylum in Russia, as thousands flee Afghanistan after troops withdrawalSixteen members of an Afghan family who fled Taliban death threats have been trapped in Istanbul airport for the past two weeks, and thousands more refugees are making their way overland seeking safety in Turkey, as the security situation in Afghanistan rapidly deteriorates after the withdrawal of US and Nato forces.The family, from Herat city, decided to leave the country in June after a relative was shot and killed on the street by Taliban forces. Several of them work with international aid organisations on issues such as women’s rights, and have continued to face threats. Continue reading...
by Angela Giuffrida in Rome and Lorenzo Tondo in Pale on (#5M3K5)
Fireworks, flags, tooting car horns and Brexit taunts greet shootout victory against EnglandWithin moments of Gianluigi Donnarumma’s decisive save, the screams of tens of thousands of fans exploded across Italian towns and cities. The celebrations continued long into the night, with many Italians missing a night’s sleep amid the sound of fireworks, smoke bombs, chanting and tooting car horns.In Rome, euphoric fans gathered next to the Colosseum and other key monuments, waving the Italian flag, dancing and singing songs including Notti Magiche (Magic Nights) by Gianna Nannini and Edoardo Bennato. Continue reading...
Museum launches first crowdfunding campaign to repair structure of US artist’s 13-metre west highland terrierIt’s a crowdfunding campaign seeking to pull on heartstrings and save a puppy in bad shape, but this request by the Guggenheim in Bilbao is on a different scale. The museum is asking for €100,000 in donations to restore the American artist Jeff Koons’ 13-metre-tall Puppy.The flower-covered sculpture of a west highland terrier stands at the entrance to the museum. Its vibrant 38,000 plants, which include petunias, impatiens, marigolds and begonias, are replaced twice a year. Continue reading...
Items found at Christian Emmanuel Sanon’s house include bullets, gun parts and US drug agency hatPolice in Haiti say they have arrested a new suspect in the assassination of the country’s president, Jovenel Moïse – a Haitian living in Florida who arrived on a private plane in June allegedly to act as a middleman between the alleged hitmen and the plot’s unnamed masterminds.As Haiti descended ever deeper into a dangerous political chaos, with notorious gang leader Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier calling on Haitians to “mobilise”, the motive for the killing of Moïse remained clouded in mystery. Continue reading...
Sydney academic Dianne Jolley, who is accused of sending herself threatening letters, has admitted to writing one note at workA former dean of science at the University of Technology Sydney accused of sending threatening letters to herself and colleagues has been found not guilty of nine charges.In the NSW district court on Monday, judge Ian Bourke ordered the jury to find Dianne Jolley not guilty of three counts of sending a letter to induce a false belief it would cause danger. Continue reading...
Only a few things are known for sure about the killing of Jovenel Moïse, with many unanswered questionsThere are few things that can be said with absolute certainty about the assassination save for the fact that at some point during the night of Wednesday 7 July, the Haitian president, Jovenel Moïse, was shot and killed at his private residence in the hills above the capital, Port-au-Prince, during an attack in which his wife, Martine, was also severely injured. Although the official account of the attack places it at about 1am, even that timeline has been questioned. Continue reading...
Man faces eviction from emergency hotel accommodation because he refuses to return to his home countryA migrant rough sleeper is facing eviction from emergency hotel accommodation by a London council because he refuses to return to his home country.A letter from Westminster council to the individual states that following assessments by the homeless charity the Connection at St Martin’s, the council was unable “to identify a service offer that will resolve your rough sleeping in the UK”. Continue reading...
ScooTours is hoping negative perceptions will not put people off eco-friendly mode of travel“It’s just like riding a bike,” my guide assures me as I confess I’m nervous about e-scooters. Fastening my helmet, I remind myself that I can both cycle and drive, but on this cool summer’s day, the thought is making me sweat.Apparently it’s common in novice riders. “Many are nervous or scared at first, but 99% get it very quickly,” says tour guide Alex Derham, 28. “A lot of people who book our tours have seen e-scooters around and wanted to try them. It’s a good way to learn to use them in a fun and safe environment.” Continue reading...
Darragh, 46, and Susan, 44, met in an airport hotel thousands of miles from their homes in the US. They now live in Oregon with their daughter and two dogsIn the summer of 2008, Darragh was travelling home to New York via Heathrow after a holiday in the Balkans. “Everything was delayed,” he remembers. “I was offered a room in a hotel for the night as I couldn’t get back home that day.”He went down to the bar to drown his sorrows. “It was packed with people watching a European Championship quarter-final match. I overheard an American woman ordering a martini,” he says. When the bartender gave her a full glass of vermouth by accident, she went “ballistic”, he says, causing a huge scene. Continue reading...
Sausages are a fabulous ingredient in their own right, and should never just be served up with a pile of veg. Here’s how to use them with panacheIt is easy to be lazy with a sausage. They are already seasoned, so all you have to do is cook them, put them on a plate next to some other stuff and eat them. But to simply plonk a banger next to a pile of veg is to do it a grave disservice – far better to use the sausage as an ingredient in its own right. Here are 10 recipes that do exactly that. Continue reading...
Iryna Tsilyk sensitively captures a family caught up in the conflict with Russia who are trying to make a film of their ownThis sensitive and astute Sundance-winning documentary, in which Kyiv-based director and poet Iryna Tsilyk haunts the back alleys of the Russo-Ukrainian war, is the antidote to the warped propaganda-fest the conflict was depicted as in the 2018 film Donbass. It layers fact and fiction as delicately as an onion as it focuses on the Trofymchuk-Gladky family, who are attempting to shoot piecemeal their own fictional work, called 2014, based on their wartime experiences. But, here, artifice and cinema work entirely in the service of good. They are a source of self-expression and spiritual nourishment for Ukrainians beaten down by close to a decade of fighting.Tsilyk mentored budding film-maker Myroslava Trofymchuk at a workshop, and it is the teenager we see here calling the shots for her family as they act in scenes hunkering down in their cellar; echoes of the shock and trauma they are simultaneously living for real, inspecting bomb damage by smartphone light. The whole household – including single mother Anna and her other three children – is clearly deeply invested in the project, squabbling over shot choices at dinner. After jubilantly celebrating her daughter being accepted for a film scholarship in Kyiv, Anna packs her off, still in hyper-protective mode: “The only thing, I beg you, if you are being bullied, please call me.” Continue reading...
A US state department initiative was the unlikely catalyst for a creative explosion of Pakistani rhythm and western improvIn 1956, a new weapon was unveiled in the cold war: jazz. That year, the US introduced the Jazz Ambassadors Tour, a showcase that sent American musicians overseas to parts of the world that were perceived to be under threat of Soviet influence.While they initially intended to send ballet dancers and symphony orchestras, the State Department were persuaded that the jazz performers who were spearheading the civil rights movement would help generate a positive image of the US to newly independent nations (between 1945 and 1960, 40 countries gained their independence, representing a quarter of the world’s population). The department saw it as a way of silencing Soviet criticism that racial inequality was a stark issue in the US. The ethics were questionable, but the musicians saw this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to share their music directly with people in countries from Asia to Africa and beyond. Continue reading...
People taking selfies near 12th-century fort died as Rajasthan state hit by storms and monsoon rainsPolice say people taking selfies near a watchtower at the 12th-century Amber Fort in the Indian city of Jaipur were among 11 who died after being struck by lightning.Senior police officer Anand Srivastava said a further nine people were killed and nearly 20 others injured in separate lightning strikes as Rajasthan state was lashed with thunderstorms and monsoon rains. Continue reading...
Our Germany correspondent salutes the man who did his job 100 years ago, when it was far more perilous and unpredictableFrederick Augustus Voigt, who was the Manchester Guardian’s Berlin correspondent between 1920 and 1932, did not look like an intrepid reporter.A 1935 portrait by the Bauhaus photographer Lucia Moholy makes it appear as though he wants to back away from the camera, distrustful eyes barricaded behind thick, round glasses. His physical appearance was described in his 1957 obituary as “fragile-looking and nervous in manner, shortsighted, with a trick of smiling from the mouth downwards.” Continue reading...
Amnesty is calling for action to help those with no papers who are denied access to education, employment and healthcareAt 45, Philimon Mashava has never had a bank account or a phone in his name.He has never had a birth certificate and, without documents, Mashava’s stateless existence has meant him missing out on school and countless job opportunities, as employers want some form of identification. Continue reading...
Over the years, the traditional way of making charcoal in Cuba has been largely abandoned, but now the government is seeking to bring it back. Photographer Adalberto Roque reports from Matanzas province. Written by Katell AbivenIn a remote swamp in central Cuba, men hew wood and build large pyres that smoulder for days as they keep vigil.They are the coalmen of Ciénaga de Zapata, reviving an old tradition of making charcoal, not in industrial furnaces, but on open-air fires. Continue reading...
Catch and Kill: The Podcast Tapes provides visual, striking context to the book and podcast series by journalist Ronan Farrow on the work and legacy behind the Weinstein reportsIt is, by now, a familiar timeline: within five days of each other in early October 2017, the New York Times and the New Yorker published two separate, shocking exposés on film producer Harvey Weinstein’s predatory, abusive behavior. The horrific details of his violations, of his sprawling web of non-disclosure agreements, of his routine abuse over decades and the many, many people unable or unwilling to stop it, swelled into an outpouring of women’s experiences with sexual assault. Within days, the #MeToo movement was a full-scale cultural reckoning, though the hashtag was coined years earlier by activist Tarana Burke.Related: Zelda Perkins: ‘There will always be men like Weinstein. All I can do is try to change the system that enables them’ Continue reading...
Federal government now says true birthday of the ‘powerful design’ is 9 July, despite being celebrated for many decades on 12 JulyThe Aboriginal flag just turned 50, but it’s an anniversary that has so far passed without fanfare.A last-minute date change and an ongoing copyright dispute appear to have stifled any celebrations of the well-known symbol synonymous with Indigenous rights campaigns. Continue reading...
Italy’s sluggish legal process under the spotlight as devastated relatives fight for cases to go to trialClinging to his son’s coffin, Vincenzo Agostino solemnly swore that he would not cut his hair or beard until justice was served. It was 10 August 1989, five days after two mafia hitmen on a motorbike had killed Antonino Agostino, a police officer, and his wife, Ida, who was five months pregnant.The couple were shot dead in broad daylight on the seafront promenade in Villagrazia di Carini, a town about 20 miles from Palermo. Vincenzo witnessed his son’s agony as the killers fired a full magazine of bullets at him. He saw his daughter-in-law, who was shot in the heart, move closer to her husband in a vain attempt to console him. Continue reading...
Italy fans came to tournament with low expectations, but their team’s unity and focus have impressedCelebrations erupted across Italy as the national football team secured their win in the Euro 2020 final after a tense penalty shoot-out.“It’s a unique emotion,” said Vincenzo Francavilla. “There’s such a big love for Italy. Continue reading...
by Presented by Rachel Humphreys with Leyland Cecco; on (#5M31V)
Half a century ago, Barry Kennedy was taken from his family and forced into an abusive system that sought to obliterate his Indigenous heritage. Now, after the discovery of more than 1,000 bodies in unmarked graves at schools including his own, he reflects on the traditions that were erased, the friends he lost – and Canada’s new reckoning with that history.In recent months, headlines about the discovery of bodies in unmarked graves on the sites of residential schools have horrified the public in Canada, and around the world – but they capture only part of a multigenerational injustice that has been described as a “cultural genocide”. Continue reading...
Experts say the current system is bound to leak and might be unsustainable in the face of more transmissible strains such as DeltaBreaches of Australia’s quarantine system have substantially increased this year, with data showing there have been as many leaks recorded in the past three months as there were last year.There have been up to 30 breaches – where a community case of Covid has been traced back to an infection in quarantine – since the system was established in March last year for Australian citizens and permanent residents returning home. Twenty of those occurred this year. Continue reading...
Friends and fierce rivals line up in Stockholm in the first of a new series, as Guardian Australia looks back at our historic momentsThe 1912 Olympics were the first to include swimming events for women – the 100m freestyle and the 4x100m freestyle relay (it wasn’t until 1928 that women were permitted to compete in athletics events).
by Tom Phillips Latin America correspondent on (#5M2ZR)
Duberney Capador, killed after assassination of Jovenel Moïse, was hired by security firm to protect ‘important people’, says sisterThe sister of one of the alleged Colombian hitmen accused of assassinating Haiti’s president has insisted he is innocent and vowed to clear her dead brother’s name, as a potentially destabilising power struggle gripped the Caribbean country.Duberney Capador, a retired member of Colombia’s special forces, was one of two Colombians reportedly killed by Haitian security forces last week after the assassination of Jovenel Moïse in Port-au-Prince. More than a dozen citizens of the South American country have so far been arrested, as well as two Haitian Americans. Continue reading...
by Jamie Grierson Home affairs correspondent on (#5M2ZS)
Body of L/Cpl Bernard Mongan, who had complained of bullying, lay undiscovered for three weeksThe British army has identified serious failings in its handling of the death of a soldier whose body lay undiscovered at a base for three weeks, according to reports.L/Cpl Bernard Mongan, who had made bullying allegations and reportedly tried to kill himself in 2016, was discovered in his barracks in Catterick, North Yorkshire, on 23 January last year. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Political correspondent on (#5M2ZT)
Michelle O’Neill concerned about site of unionist bonfire, as tensions rise over post-Brexit trading rulesNorthern Ireland’s deputy first minister has urged people to celebrate peacefully before the start of the loyalist parade season, as tensions increase over post-Brexit trading arrangements.Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill – who is deputy to the new first minister, Paul Givan of the Democratic Unionist party (DUP), in the power-sharing administration – called particularly for calm over a bonfire set up in a contentious site in north Belfast. Continue reading...
Tamim Ian Habimana, who was found with a stab wound, died at scene in south-east London on MondayThree more teenagers have been charged with murder after a 15-year-old boy died in a stabbing in south-east London.Tamim Ian Habimana was found with a single stab wound when officers were called to reports of an attack in Woolwich shortly after 5.20pm on Monday. He was pronounced dead at the scene in Woolwich New Road at 6.08pm. Continue reading...
Call comes as outrage over Covid and corruption drags president’s ratings to lowest ever levelOne of Brazil’s leading conservative newspapers has demanded the removal of the country’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, as public outrage over his coronavirus response and corruption dragged the rightwing populist’s ratings to their lowest ever level.“Jair Bolsonaro is no longer in a position to remain in the presidency,” O Estado de S Paulo (the State of São Paulo, or Estadão) declared on Sunday as polls showed that for the first time a majority of citizens backed impeachment and considered their leader incapable of governing. Continue reading...
Government accused of ‘culpable passivity’ after dozens of journalists were attacked covering Pride protestA Georgian TV cameraman has died after being badly beaten by far-right assailants during a protest against an LGBTQ Pride march, his station said on Sunday, as pressure mounts on authorities over attacks on journalists.Alexander Lashkarava, a 37-year-old cameraman working for the independent station TV Pirveli, was found dead in his bed in the early hours on Sunday, the channel reported. Continue reading...