Iraqi special forces hunt Isis in lowlands south of Kirkuk, where the militants keep on the move, seeking to regain territorial controlA long convoy of humvees, trucks and troop carriers moved slowly through the countryside to the south of the city of Kirkuk, ferrying dozens of Iraqi special forces. Their target was a string of hideouts used by Islamic State militants in the rough terrain of hills and lowlands crisscrossed by canals and long-dried seasonal river gullies, or wadis as they are called in Arabic.In the lead vehicle sat the commanding officer, a young lieutenant-colonel, Ihab Jalil, with a clipped moustache and hazelnut-coloured eyes. He charted the routes of the convoy on his tablet. At the same time, switching between three radio sets, he talked to the pilots of two helicopters that circled over the convoy, scouting the road ahead. Continue reading...

A great teacher can change a child’s life. ​As this school year ends, we ask ​cultural figures including Charles Hazlewood and Kerry Hudson to remember a teacher who inspired themSo, it’s July. Finally. The UK is half-way through the summer of sport and, in schools up and down the country, teachers, classroom assistants, pupils, students and their parents are starting to believe the finishing line is in sight. No matter that there are still sports days to be negotiated, end of term assemblies and awards’ days, leavers’ proms or tea parties. For those whose children are staying on, the moment of learning if your child has got the form teacher that they (or you) wanted for next year, or if they’ll be in the same class as their best friends. From reception and infant school, primary to secondary, it’s a timetable that has altered little since the 1960s and 1970s when I was at school. Taking all the posters down from the walls, emptying lockers and desks, marks on the walls and dust. The slightly melancholy atmosphere of corridors suddenly empty, of another year over. I remember the texture of those last goodbyes, the making of a card for the teacher or a present. Nowadays, these leave-takings are commercialised – printed cards, special gifts, beautiful biscuits or baskets of flowers. Then, it was more homespun but, as the daughter of a teacher, the wife of a teacher, the daughter-in-law of a teacher I know how much those moments mean.This year, more than any year, teachers deserve our thanks. It’s too soon to know the true cost of the pandemic on students’ and teachers’ mental health, but it’s clear that the lack of clarity, the incompetence and mismanagement of examinations, the bias and the appalling lack of knowledge shown by government about the majority of children and young people’s experiences of education, have had a profound effect on attainment, on confidence, on a generation’s love for learning. And all the time, from those first uncertain days in March 2020 to this imminent end of term in July 2021, teachers have been on the front line – trying to support pupils, to teach students, to decipher the mixed messages coming from politicians and local authorities, withstanding unwarranted and ill-informed attacks from sections of the media. Because, in the end, teachers have done their best to keep things going for the students in their care, in spite of the obstacles put in their way. They have been frontline staff without the protection, they have kept a watching brief for vulnerable children to make sure they didn’t slip through the cracks. A year and a half of never quite knowing where they stand, what the rules are, what they are allowed and are not allowed to do. Many months of educational leaders not being listened to or being criticised by those who know nothing about what it means to stand up in front of a class of 30 boisterous 12-year-olds and bring history to life, maths to life, music to life. Continue reading...

Diaz’s latest opus lampoons a Duterte-esque president struggling with a rebel enclave while a deadly flu epidemic ragesAt four and three-quarter hours, the latest butt-numbing opus by Filipino auteur Lav Diaz is a veritable TikTok video by his standards. A needling and occasionally deranged assault on the Philippines’ most recent turn into authoritarianism, this monochrome sci-fi dystopia takes place in 2034 after a series of volcanic explosions has permanently darkened the skies, and the “Dark Killer” flu epidemic is tearing through the population (it was shot pre-Covid). President Nirvano Navarra (Joel Lamangan) – whose stocky physique and wild pronouncements make a fairly obvious match for real-life incumbent Rodrigo Duterte – decides to use the crisis to put a heavy lid on a simmering crockpot of dissidents.Meted out mostly in long and often patience-stretching static takes, and in humdrum locations despite sci-fi inflections such as omnipresent flying drones, Diaz follows both Navarra’s retinue and the opposition. The leader is mollycoddled by two buttoned-up aides, Martha Officio (Hazel Orencio) and Marissa Ventura (Mara Lopez) – who are having an affair, though the latter also moonlights with history teacher turned sex worker Haminilda (Shaina Magdayao). Meanwhile, soulful resistance fighter Hook Torollo (Piolo Pascual) swans in like something from a Wong Kar-wai film. He hangs moodily with the oppressed, but is forced into an assassination attempt after Navarra unleashes Operation Black Rain, a plot to poison rebel enclaves under cover of the epidemic. Continue reading...

The industry has a growing number of women earning plaudits at its renowned bodegas. But are they really better than men?“I think of my wines as barefoot children that need love and care,” says winemaker Marta Casas, holding her glass up to the light. Below her, the vineyards of Penedès roll away almost to the sea, but she could be virtually anywhere in Spain.Just as they fought their way into the male domain of haute cuisine, a growing number of Spanish women are seeking a career in winemaking, with three times as many taking courses in oenology compared with 10 years ago. This was given an added boost in 2018 when Almudena Alberca was made Spain’s first female master of wine, one of only 149 in the world. Continue reading...

‘Complacent reliance’ on overseas produce and computer ordering has put supply at riskBritain’s food supply is highly vulnerable to cyber-attacks, a leading food expert has warned, saying greater emphasis on domestic production would boost the UK’s food security.“If anyone wanted to really damage the British food system, they could just take out the satellites,” said Tim Lang, professor of food policy at City, University of London. “Our ‘just-in-time’ system is entirely dependent on computerised logistics. When you pay for your food at the checkout, the computer isn’t just adding up the bill, it’s reordering the stock.” Continue reading...

The prime minister seems intent on lifting England’s remaining Covid restrictions on 19 July. But many in the NHS fear it could be overwhelmed – and tourist hotspots are fearful too

Masks must be worn in all indoor construction sites across NSW and from 13 July in residential common areas as new restrictions placed on people entering greater Sydney. This blog is now closed

Skateboarding makes its debut at the Tokyo Olympics next month. We talk to the UK’s top skateboarders to find out why more women are taking up the sportIn 2003, the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Sunday Times selected 20 British under-21s who they believed would be multimillionaires by the year 2020. Some of the names on the “rich list” will be familiar: Keira Knightley or Wayne Rooney, who has earned considerably more than the projected £25m. Others were more of a punt, such as the 19-year-old skateboarder Lucy Adams from Horsham, west Sussex. Adams had won a competition called King of the Streets and there was burgeoning interest in skateboarding thanks to the American legend Tony Hawk’s hit video game Pro Skater. The list estimated that Adams would be worth £10m by 2020.Adams, who is 37 now and still “shredding” (riding hard) pretty much every day, snorts when I ask if that figure was on the optimistic side. “Yeah, I think you’d be right in saying that,” she sighs. “Definitely don’t even have a million.” Continue reading...

The home secretary has pinned her future on cutting the refugee influx. But critics say her tough measures could quickly unravelBlue skies appeared above Dover, and for the crew of the Valiant, moored off the harbour wall, it was a signal to start readying for action. Fine weather meant more migrants would soon be heading towards them. For those on board the Border Force cutter, it was a familiar routine. Already this year it has brought ashore hundreds of asylum seekers, another 65 last Sunday alone.So far, 6,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats during the first six months of the year. The figure for the whole of 2020 was 8,417, a total expected to be eclipsed during the next two months as clement weather makes the treacherous crossing more tempting. Continue reading...

The Renaissance thinker, despite his reputation, believed politicians should act decisively to benefit the state. The PM has not done soThe Queen has recognised the achievements of doctors, nurses and ancillary staff by awarding the National Health Service the George Cross. Honours do not come much higher than that. And the government of Prime Minister Johnson and Chancellor Sunak? It has rewarded NHS workers with a 2% wage cut.The figure of 2% is the real wage cut that results from the already miserly 1% pay award once the impact on it of an estimated 3% rise in prices is taken into account. Continue reading...

The cases for and against the final easing of rules on ‘freedom day’ of 19 July

The television presenter describes his perfect lazy days: reading the papers, watching soap operas, listening to jazzWhat time do you get up? I normally don’t on Sundays. I often lie in bed all day long. Sunday is my lazy day. If I move, it’s down to the cricket field to watch a match. I have a drop of beer or two, then put my feet up and watch television. I’m not very adventurous – I close down my brain and do nothing.What’s for breakfast? I make rather good porridge, so I’ll have that or boiled eggs, a cup of tea. Continue reading...

Instead of trying to control her, be curious about her experience, says Philippa PerryThe question My wife and I are both 51 and have been together 30 years. She is experiencing terrible perimenopausal symptoms and I am trying to support her as much as possible. I have always been sensitive to her needs – period pain, labour, postnatal depression and three years of anorexia –and I have researched all I can about the perimenopause. I adore my wife and find her sexy, but I know that intimacy is not something she wants at the moment and I respect that. Our sex life has never been regular during our marriage, but I still desire her and wish for some form of intimacy when she is ready. I do not want anyone else and my outlet is self-pleasure when needed, although the teenage guilt is still there! Is there still hope for us to continue a sexual relationship when the time is right? I just don’t want to accept our physical relationship could be over.Philippa’s answer There you are, living with your sexy wife and, oh dear, you don’t know if you are ever going to get a shag again. Not that you put it like that, that’s just how I read it. You are very measured in your email, showing me just how well you behave, almost as though you’re walking on egg-shells. Got me wondering whether you must walk around your wife on egg-shells, too. By being too tentative you may be losing authenticity. If you over-adapt to your partner, what happens to you? Is there anything left of you for her to have a relationship with? It is a difficult balancing act to be who you really are when you obliterate it by being who you think you should be. Be careful the real you doesn’t get lost with the supreme effort you put into doing what seems to be the right thing. Continue reading...

Australia’s biggest city remains in lockdown while South Korea records 1,324 more infectionsAustralia has reported its first death of 2021 from locally acquired coronavirus, while cases of Covid-19 have grown in China and continued to surge in South Korea.The Australian state of New South Wales is battling an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant, setting a 2021 record of 77 new cases of the virus on Sunday. Continue reading...

Organisation known for annual Tiananmen vigil lets go of all paid staff and halves its steering committeeOne of Hong Kong’s most established pro-democracy civic organisations has said it is letting go its paid staff and halving the size of its steering committee after Beijing stepped up its crackdown on opposition activity.The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China is best known for its annual rally and candlelight vigil remembering those killed in the bloody 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Continue reading...

Researchers warn of international public health risk and urge authorities to raise awarenessAntibiotic-resistant “superbugs” – which the World Health Organization calls one of the top global threats to public health – usually conjure images of hospital settings. But research may point to a less-obvious source: the family dog.Researchers warned of “an international public health risk” after finding antibiotic-resistant bacteria in a range of different types of raw dog food. Continue reading...

Albanese has been attacked for seeking to win by attrition, but could he just be Australia’s Joe Biden?Tony Windsor didn’t have much time for Anthony Albanese when he first arrived in Canberra. The former independent from regional New South Wales felt he had the measure of the current Labor leader. “A smart arse, a student politics type,” he says.But Windsor’s perception changed during the 43rd parliament, when he was a kingmaker in the House of Representatives, and Albanese wrangled the daily parliamentary business of the minority Gillard government. Continue reading...

The crucial fix is more housing supply, experts say, as well more money for Māori-led initiativesOnce a world leader in social housing, New Zealand now faces what the UN has called a “human rights crisis”. Although the government is pouring money in, the waitlist for social housing has ballooned to 23,000 – triple that of three years ago – and there are more than 4,000 children living in motels.The government has repeatedly said it is rectifying a problem it inherited from the former National government, which saw the sell-off of state housing and underinvestment in social housing. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, told local media in January the government would leave “no stone unturned” to fix the problem. Continue reading...

An increasingly public role for the Lt Gen as the face, and uniform, of the beleaguered program begs the question: why call in the military?

Poll shows 50% want rules to stay in place, as mayors urge masks on public transport

Second term for prime minister whose handling of Tigray conflict has drawn international criticismEthiopia’s ruling Prosperity party has been declared the winner of last month’s national election in a landslide, assuring a second term for the prime minister, Abiy Ahmed.The National Election Board of Ethiopia announced on Saturday night that the ruling party won 410 seats out of 436 in the federal parliament, which will see some seats remain vacant because no vote was held as a result of unrest or logistical reasons. Continue reading...

While Peter R de Vries fights for life in an Amsterdam hospital the nation reflects on how to end the grip of drug gangsFive gunshots blasted like fireworks on a sunny evening, just behind Amsterdam’s busy Leidseplein. To the horror of the Netherlands, a cold-blooded shooting has left prominent Dutch crime journalist Peter R de Vries fighting for his life in hospital.Everyone from European leaders to the Dutch king Willem-Alexander and Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema have expressed their shock at the ambush of “national hero” De Vries as he walked back to his car on Tuesday after recording a chatshow, on a busy street in broad daylight. Continue reading...

An archaeology student is on her way to Russia’s remote north-west when she has to share a compartment with a shaven-headed drunkDespite the bone-chilling cold of its location in Murmansk in Russia’s remote north-west, there’s a wonderful human warmth and humour in this offbeat romantic story of strangers on a train. It comes from Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen, whose 2016 film The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki was a lovely comedy about a real-life Finnish boxing champ in the 1960s.His new film is adapted from a novel of the same name by Finnish artist and author Rosa Liksom, and concerns a young Finnish student of archaeology, Natalia (Yuliya Aug) who is in Moscow sometime in the early 90s; she has begun an impulsive affair with her professor, Irina (Dirana Drukarova). Under Irina’s tutelage, with her encouragement, and perhaps because this older woman does not care to have Natalia hanging around much longer, Natalia has resolved to make the tough rail journey up to Murmansk where she wants to view the petroglyphs there - mysterious rock drawings, thousands of years old. Continue reading...

England-Italy match may be clouded by insects after Met Office radar detects start of ‘nuptial flights’Swarms of flying ants could swarm to Wembley and cloud the Euro 2020 final, after a radar detected millions of bugs over London and the south-east on Friday.As luck has it, the final between England and Italy is taking place on Sunday, which could fall into the mating period of ants, which go on a “nuptial flight” in huge numbers between June and September. Continue reading...

Police claims that Jovenel Moïse was killed by a mainly Colombian hit squad thrown into doubtQuestions have been raised over Haiti’s official narrative for the assassination of its president, Jovenel Moïse, who was gunned down at his mansion in Port-au-Prince last Wednesday.Haitian police and the politicians who stepped into the political vacuum created by Moïse’s killing have claimed he was shot at about 1am by members of a predominantly Colombian hit squad who had stormed the president’s hillside residence. “Foreigners came to our country to kill the president,” police chief Léon Charles alleged after the shooting. Continue reading...

The singer, 59, talks about music, family, relationships – and reveals she’s shorter than we thinkMusic was my life as a kid. My earliest memory is singing as we drove through Missouri in our powder-blue station wagon. Having swing-band-player parents meant the house was filled with dancing. Music was my identity; I never thought about any other future.I skipped school at 15 to enter a best-legs competition – and won. The contest was being run by a local radio station. I don’t remember who was judging – a bunch of dirty old men, I’m sure – but I proudly walked across that stage to victory. I may have been grounded and thrown in detention, but I kept hold of my $100 winnings. Continue reading...

Finance chiefs endorse landmark move to prevent profits being shifted to low-tax countriesFinance chiefs of the G20 economies have endorsed a landmark move to stop multinationals shifting profits to tax havens and will also warn that Covid variants threaten the global economic recovery.At talks on Saturday, they also acknowledged the need to ensure fair access to vaccines in poorer countries. But a draft communique to be rubber-stamped at the meeting in Venice did not contain specific proposals on how to achieve that. Continue reading...

Commission president says EU has delivered enough vaccine to inoculate 70% of adults in the bloc

At my lowest ebb, I found hope in wickedly funny Leah, who lit up the crisis centre where we met. But just months later, she was dead. Could I stop my grief pulling me back under?Over the years there have been only a few people I would have classed as best friends. People whom I counted on in my darkest moments. When I was at my lowest, and feeling more alone than ever, I met Leah. She was an incredible person who showed me how to find joy and belonging even in the worst possible circumstances. But within less than 12 months she was dead, and life was changed for ever.We first met at Scarborough Survivors, the mental health crisis cafe I started attending in December 2018. I was 21, homeless and sofa-surfing, and I didn’t want to be alive any more. The cafe – open until 1am every morning – was my last option. It was a Saturday night, just before Christmas. Leah came in wearing a bright pink Adidas tracksuit and one of her many pairs of Nike Airs. Her thick Welsh accent echoed around the place, and as soon as she started talking, the atmosphere changed. I could tell from the off that humour was one of her coping mechanisms. It was hard to tell how old she was; I sensed some immaturity, but also a deep wisdom. I later learned that she was only 28, and the wisdom came from experiencing unimaginable trauma. Continue reading...

Police chief says entrance was padlocked; separate inquiry looks into use of child labour at food plantBangladeshi police have arrested the owner of a factory where at least 52 people died in an inferno, as it emerged that children as young as 11 had been working there.Police said the owner of the food factory and four of his sons were among eight people detained over the fire that broke out on Thursday and raged for more than a day. The blaze began in the evening at the five-storey Hashem Foods factory in Rupganj, just outside Dhaka. Continue reading...

Al-Shabaab claims responsibility for suicide attack on convoy of senior police official in Somali capitalA suicide car bomb targeting a government convoy exploded at a busy junction in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, killing at least nine people and injuring eight others, a health official said.The convoy was carrying a senior police official, Farhan Mohamud, who survived the attack on Saturday, the government news agency reported. Continue reading...

Sebastian Eubank, also a boxer, found dead days before his 30th birthdayFormer middleweight champion Chris Eubank has led tributes to his son Sebastian Eubank, who has been found dead in Dubai days before his 30th birthday.In a statement, Chris Eubank said the third oldest of his five children had died on Friday. He leaves behind his wife, Salma, and son Raheem, who was born a month ago. Continue reading...

He’s the most successful driver Formula One has ever seen, and its only Black star. Now Lewis Hamilton has a new mission: to change the sport that made him.As Lewis Hamilton rose through the ranks of competitive go-karting, his father, Anthony, told him: “Always do your talking on the track.” Lewis had a lot to talk about. Bullying and racial taunts were a consistent feature of his childhood in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, a new town 30 miles north of London; his dad taught him the best response was to excel at his sport.The trouble was he didn’t have many people to talk to about what he was going through. Lewis is mixed-race, born to a white mother, Carmen Larbalestier, who raised him until he was 12, when he went to live with his Grenadian-British father, from whom she had separated. “My mum was wonderful,” he tells me. “She was so loving. But she didn’t fully understand the impact of the things I was experiencing at school. The bullying and being picked on. And my dad was quite tough, so I didn’t tell him too much about those experiences. As a kid I remember just staying quiet about it because I didn’t feel anyone really understood. I just kept it to myself.” Sport offered him an outlet. “I did boxing because I needed to channel the pain,” he says. “I did karate because I was being beaten up and I wanted to be able to defend myself.” Continue reading...

As Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s sitcom turns 20, top comics and people behind the scenes explain how it rewired British humourIt wasn’t the first painstakingly naturalistic sitcom on British TV (see: The Royle Family). It wasn’t the first comedy to revolve around the cringeworthy antics of a delusional, middle-aged “entertainer” (see: I’m Alan Partridge). It wasn’t even the first mockumentary about the banalities of work (see: People Like Us). Yet by marrying all those things together – and so much more – The Office managed to raze the comedy landscape, establishing a whole new language and style for the British sitcom. Twenty years after it debuted, the influence of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s series about the long-suffering employees at a regional paper merchants and their incredibly unprofessional boss, David Brent, is still everywhere; nothing since has had a comparable impact. How did a sitcom that prioritised footage of photocopiers over proper jokes remake comedy in its image?Related: The Guide: Staying In – sign up for our home entertainment tips Continue reading...

The authors of new book Hidden Beaches Spain pick five stunning spots offering safe bathing for kids and five with panoramic paths

Climate crisis researchers worry about the channel’s reach to perpetuate misinformation and advance political goalsFox News Media, the company that owns the reactionary, climate crisis-skeptical Fox News, is launching a weather channel this year – a development that has climate crisis experts worried.Fox Weather, a 24-hour channel devoted to all things meteorological, promises “cutting-edge display technology”, according to a press release, with “forecasting experts surrounding every major weather event”. Continue reading...

Social distancing is feeding an appetite for a new generation of US-style drive-through restaurantsDrive-through restaurants used to be a US-inspired novelty but a big increase in custom during the pandemic means money is pouring into new UK sites, with even upmarket names looking to serve food through car windows for the first time.New property research suggests that demand for drive-throughs has increased by 25% post-Covid with restaurant chains looking to open a total of 200 sites a year. The clamour comes as established names such as McDonald’s and Burger King face competition from North American brands such as Tim Hortons, famous for its coffee and doughnuts, and burger chain Wendy’s. Continue reading...

Actors Andie MacDowell, Helen Mirren and Jodie Foster hit the red carpet with ‘silver fox’ hairThe red carpet at Cannes film festival has long featured A-list stars in glamorous gowns and with perfect hair. This year, that hair might be grey.For the premiere of Annette on Tuesday, Andie MacDowell appeared on the red carpet with a mane of greying curls. Helen Mirren also attended, wearing her grey hair up in a chignon, and Jodie Foster, who received an honorary Palme d’Or at the festival, had her hair in a shoulder-length bob with grey streaks visible around her hairline. Continue reading...

PM expected to urge public to behave responsibly as polls show widespread concern over end of rules in England

Jay, 27, writer, meets Dinelka, 20, studentWhat were you hoping for?

As well as grabby headlines about Hitler, Michael Bender of the Wall Street Journal shows us how millions have been led astrayOn election night in 2016, Donald Trump paid homage to America’s “forgotten men and women”, vowing they would be “forgotten no longer”. Those who repeatedly appeared at his rallies knew of whom he spoke. Veterans, gun enthusiasts, bikers, shop clerks. Middle-aged and seniors. Life had treated some harshly. Others less so.Related: Trump told chief of staff Hitler ‘did a lot of good things’, book says Continue reading...

Another 1,378 cases on Friday as authorities warn new case numbers may nearly double by the end of JulySouth Korea posted its highest ever number of new daily Covid-19 infections within 24 hours, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency has said, in a third consecutive day of record high new infections.Starting on Monday, coronavirus curbs will be tightened to the strictest level possible in Seoul and neighbouring regions for the first time. Continue reading...

Wildlife officials in Montana stake out chicken coop visited by same grizzly that fatally mauled camperA grizzly bear that pulled a California woman from her tent and killed her has been fatally shot by wildlife officials, who used night-vision goggles to stake out a chicken coop it had also raided near the small Montana town of Ovando.They shot the bear shortly after midnight on Friday when it approached a trap set near the coop about two miles from Ovando where 65-year-old Leah Davis Lokan of Chico, California, was killed on Tuesday, said Greg Lemon with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Continue reading...

Theresa May’s former aide Robbie Gibb said to have warned broadcaster not to appoint ex-HuffPost editor Jess BrammarA BBC board member with close ties to Downing Street has been accused of attempting to block a senior editorial appointment on political grounds.Sources told the Financial Times that Sir Robbie Gibb issued a warning to the corporation after Jess Brammar, former editor of HuffPost UK and deputy editor of BBC Newsnight, became the leading candidate to oversee the BBC’s news channels. Continue reading...

• Elections minister calls for US help amid political instability• Previous foreign interventions have proved controversialHaiti’s government has requested that the United States send troops to protect key infrastructure after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse this week, the elections minister, Mathias Pierre, said on Friday.Related: Why were Colombian guns for hire allegedly key to Haiti assassination plot? Continue reading...

France recommends mandatory jabs for professionals coming into contact with vulnerable; WHO director says many countries have done ‘a good job’

A lovelorn woman lies in a Paris hospital as violent protests rage on the streets. It’s all very symbolic … but is it any good?The fracture of the title is, ostensibly, the nasty broken arm suffered by ditsy lead character Raf (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi), a comic-book artist in Paris who slips and falls over having had a traumatic and possibly metaphorical breakup with her partner Julie (Marina Foïs). But there is another metaphor level to come.Related: Stillwater review – fictionalised Amanda Knox drama is so bad it’s bad Continue reading...

Serving officer Wayne Couzens is suspected of committing indecent exposure three times before murderA major chance to identify PC Wayne Couzens as a sex offender while he served as a constable may have been missed by police six years before he abducted, raped and murdered Sarah Everard, the Guardian has learned.The revelation comes after Couzens on Friday pleaded guilty to abducting Everard from a London street into a car in March, before murdering her. Continue reading...

The hit squad that killed President Jovenel Moïse is alleged to be largely drawn from veterans of Colombia’s civil conflictsWhen Manuel Antonio Grosso Guarín jetted into Punta Cana’s tourist-clogged airport early last month on Avianca Flight 252, immigration officials are unlikely to have given the 41-year-old Colombian a second glance. Visitors from around the globe flock to this Dominican resort town each week in search of sun, sea and Caribbean sands.Grosso appears to have had rather different plans, though: to sneak over the border into neighbouring Haiti and help assassinate that country’s president. Continue reading...