World news | The Guardian

London fire chief told Kensington and Chelsea leader works could compromise safety but warning was not passed on to right peopleThe London fire brigade warned the leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea that refurbishments could compromise fire safety and cause deaths, but he did not pass it on to housing officials in charge of works at Grenfell Tower.The deputy commissioner of the London fire brigade, Rita Dexter, told Nicholas Paget-Brown, then council leader, in 2015 of “a serious risk to the safety of residents” caused by refurbishment and urged the council to devise a “strategy for assessing that risk and taking appropriate remedial action”, the inquiry into the disaster heard on Wednesday. Continue reading...

The Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent Oliver Holmes examines the series of combustible events that coincided to trigger the worst violence in Israel and Gaza since 2014

Interior minister Gérard Darmanin sparks controversy by announcing he will attend to show his supportThousands of police officers have gathered outside the French parliament on Wednesday in protest at attacks on colleagues and growing fears for their own safety.The officers, who have been criticised for their own aggressive actions during demonstrations, are demanding tougher sentences for people convicted of targeting police, following the killing of several officers in recent months. Continue reading...

Widely read Tut.by news site taken offline in latest attack on media freedom, say human rights groupsA leading news site in Belarus has been taken offline and its journalists interrogated by government officials in what human rights campaigners are calling a “full-scale assault” on the right to freedom of expression in the country.Tut.by, a news site read by more than 40% of Belarusian internet users, has been blocked and its editors questioned after their offices and houses were raided by authorities. Continue reading...

Jennifer Johnson lied at 1987 trail of Russell Bishop, who killed two children in Sussex parkJennifer Johnson, an ex-girlfriend of the Brighton “babes in the wood” murderer Russell Bishop, has been jailed for six years, more than three decades after telling “wicked lies” at his trial.The 55-year-old said she had acted under duress from the violent Bishop at the time, but a jury found her guilty of perjury and perverting the course of justice at a hearing earlier this week. Continue reading...

Northern Ireland protocol should be replaced, chair of Loyalist Communities Council tells MPsThe head of a loyalist group in Northern Ireland with links to former paramilitaries has warned of the prospect of more violence in the region, describing tensions over Brexit as “probably the most dangerous for many years”.David Campbell, the chair of the Loyalist Communities Council, called for the Northern Ireland protocol to be replaced, echoing the words of new leader of the Democratic Unionist party, Edwin Poots, who said on Tuesday that it should be “dismantled”. Continue reading...

Police search forest in Limburg for soldier ‘Jurgen C’ who has links to extreme right and went missing from his barracks

Thuzar Wint Lwin, in dress of besieged Chin minority, highlights brutal repression since coup in MyanmarIn the months leading up to the Miss Universe pageant, most contestants were busy making promotional films and rehearsing for their moment in the limelight. Thuzar Wint Lwin of Myanmar was on the streets of Yangon, protesting against the country’s brutal army.As the military used increasingly deadly force to crush rallies opposing its February coup, she visited the relatives of those who had been killed, donating her savings. Online, she raised awareness of military violence, despite the risk of retaliation. Continue reading...

Musicians to play outdoor concerts this summer, providing ‘musical and cultural voice for north of England’

Mystical realism conveys real-life stories of brutal cartel violence in Fernanda Valadez’s chilling directorial debut

Asic said it would make ‘initial inquiries’ into Premier’s jobkeeper disclosure but had ‘not yet decided what action if any we will take’The corporate watchdog is making inquiries into the failure by Premier Investments, the retailer controlled by billionaire Solomon Lew, to tell the market how much jobkeeper it has received.After intense political pressure Premier earlier this month said it would return what it called the “net benefit” it received from the wage subsidy, of $15.6m. However, it did not disclose the total amount it received – estimates of which vary from between $75m to $100m. Continue reading...

A Texas resident has sued the company after burning the candle for three hours before it became ‘engulfed in high flames’Another day, another close call for Gwyneth Paltrow’s vagina-scented candle. Texas resident Colby Watson is seeking a jury trial and damages of $5m (£3.5m) after an incident in which he claims one of Goop’s This Smells Like My Vagina candles exploded on his bedside table.Watson alleges he burned it for around three hours before the candle “exploded” and became “engulfed in high flames”, according to court documents. The table was left with a “black burn ring”, and the candle jar was “charred and black”. Continue reading...

Prof Neil Ferguson says early data suggests vaccines may be less effective at curbing India variant

Critics are asking why, if the EU’s mission is to promote peace, it wants to use public money to fund the supply of weapons to foreign armiesThe EU was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 2012 in recognition of “six decades of promoting peace and reconciliation” in Europe. In his acceptance speech in Oslo, the then president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, said the world could “count on our efforts to fight for lasting peace, freedom and justice”.Yet less than a decade on, the EU is taking two big steps to bolster its defence capacity and engage in military conflicts through training and equipping governments outside the bloc. In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic these developments have slipped under the radar, but they represent a significant expansion in security policy with wide-ranging consequences. Continue reading...

Poor and indigenous protesters have been met with deadly force by armed civilians and police representing interests of the wealthyA convoy of brightly painted buses descended from Colombia’s westernmost mountain range, heading for the city of Cali, where tens of thousands had taken to the streets demanding a shake-up of the country’s deeply unequal status quo.Along the way, well-wishers cheered on the caravan and drivers honked in approval. But as the procession approached Cali’s prosperous southern reaches, it reached a roadblock set up by men in civilian clothing, believed to be from wealthy neighbourhoods nearby. Then the shooting started. Continue reading...

Amid the German ukuleles, anti-colonial Dutch anthems and Ukrainian folk-techno, can the UK’s James Newman reverse a long run of disappointment?Future scholars of camp will pen entire counterfactuals about the great cancelled Eurovision of 2020 and what might have been: while the majority of last year’s contestants are back for 2021, they must all perform different songs. It feels especially cruel to Daði Freyr, the Icelandic act who would surely have won with viral hit Think About Things, a charming study in nerdish twee full of homemade keytars and school-play dance moves. But led by Freyr himself – imagine fey Scandi singers such as Jens Lekman or Erlend Øye crossed with Napoleon Dynamite – the group are back and pretending that last year never happened, with more of the same disco-pop, if lacking maybe 10% of 2020’s magic. Continue reading...

UK government is divided over negotiations on one of its first post-Brexit trade deals as local farmers raise concerns about Australian imports

Exclusive: Message to Boris Johnson comes after citizens with UK job interviews say they were locked upEU leaders will call on Boris Johnson to respect the rights of their citizens in the wake of scandals over their treatment in the UK, including their detention in removal centres, according to a leaked draft statement seen by the Guardian.The message to the British prime minister will follow a first discussion of EU-UK relations between the 27 heads of state and government since the ratification of the trade and cooperation agreement struck last Christmas Eve. Continue reading...

From car parks to the canals beneath Birmingham’s Spaghetti Junction, some truly unlovely locations sparked the imagination and provided solace in lockdownWhat was your lockdown special place? I think most of us had one: somewhere away from home, where we could exhale, enjoy a change of scene and appreciate the peace and beauty of our surroundings. A park perhaps, a riverside or a wood? For Jess Rickenback and Rachel Hein, that place was the path beside the Seafield sewage works in Edinburgh. “Unloved, litter and dog poo strewn, and often very stinky,” says Hein, a photographer, who often took the path in lockdown with her husband, son and labrador, Finn.“It frequently stinks. Really stinks,” agrees Rickenback, a PhD student in atmospheric and environmental science. “It’s conventionally very unattractive.” Her picture confirms their shared verdict: under a leaden sky, a chain-link and barbed wire fence on which trapped plastic bag remnants flap in the wind like grim bunting surrounds weather-beaten grey cylinders, rectangles, and a sphere – child’s building blocks made by a brutalist for a giant. On the other side of the fence, a scrubby grass verge is littered with takeaway cartons and cans. Yet both feel affection for the sewage works path. “It’s a surprisingly tranquil spot,” says Rickenback, who enjoys its “apocalyptically sci-fi” aesthetic. For Hein, it’s a “portal” to the beach beyond. Continue reading...

Coalition backs $600m gas plant as IEA warns against new fossil fuel use; concerns over speed of vaccine rollout continue with Melbourne hubs below capacity. This blog is now closed

The co-author of World Travel: An Irreverent Guide reveals the places and dishes at the top of the late chef and food presenter’s listFrom kebabs and sausages devoured after a night of boozing to ease the blow of tomorrow morning’s hangover, to spicy noodles, grilled birds and fish. From complex braises and soups and stews whose particular flavour profiles tell their own stories, to the classics of French cuisine ancienne – Anthony Bourdain ate it all, and made it his mission to share it with the world.Whether you’ve been to every place he explored or never even owned a passport, it remains a joy to see the world through his hysterical and sometimes profane lens. What he left behind, and what you’ll find in World Travel, was a 20-year history and road map of how to be a happy, mindful, curious and well-fed traveller. Continue reading...

News that online system is open to abuse overshadows efforts by Tokyo to speed up slow rollout

BAT and Imperial will on Wednesday ask the high court in London to dismiss watershed proceedings

Anti-Asian racism and crimes against the Asian community have amplified with Covid. The photographer Wendy Huynh, whose parents are Chinese immigrants from Vietnam who moved to France to flee communism, has experienced racism in Paris and London. She created a series of portraits celebrating Asian women in London from the creative industry to tackle the issue, and the Guardian talked to some of them to about their experiencesFor Bonnie Kwok it was a subtle difference. Whenever she used public transport there was always a space left next to her. At first she dismissed it, but when it started to happen regularly she began to question why other passengers were reluctant to take the free seat.Kwok, 43, who was born in Hong Kong but moved to the UK when she was 16, also started to notice children at the Hackney Chinese community school, where she is a headteacher, were increasingly coming in upset. They were, she says, being subjected to racist abuse on their way to school – something that started to happen with concerning regularity during the onset of the pandemic. Continue reading...

When she was told she had stage four breast cancer in 2009, Hallenga didn’t even know it could be a danger at her age. Then she started a campaign to save thousands of livesEight months before Kris Hallenga was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer that spread to her spine, she went to her GP about a lump. It was 2009, she was 23 years old and, she says, “actually very miserable”, having just come out of a crummy relationship. Living in Beijing, she was working for a travel company, and teaching on the side, but had come back home to the Midlands to visit her mum and get some teaching qualifications. “The doctor said: ‘It’s hormonal changes, something to do with the pill.’ I was on the mini-pill at the time. ‘Take some evening primrose oil to help with the pain.’” Hallenga wasn’t about to argue: she was due back in China, and the last thing she wanted was to wait around for more tests.In Beijing, the lump got more painful, and blood started leaking from her breast. She had bouts of feeling unwell, which she couldn’t explain. She came back to the UK, saw a different GP, but was told again that she was probably undergoing hormonal changes and that she didn’t even need to be examined because she had been seen six months before. To this day she is terribly, if ruefully, understanding about what happened. “The chances of a GP seeing a young patient with breast cancer are so slim. What she should have said is: ‘I’m not worried about this right now because if you’re not checking your boobs anyway, you don’t know if this is normal for you.’ I wasn’t touching my boobs at all. I didn’t know anything about them.” Continue reading...

Industry that accounts for 14% of county’s GDP hopes to bounce back as Covid travel restrictions are relaxed

A man digging a hole for a new septic system found the second world war ordnance, which are part of a deadly legacy of the war in the PacificOne hundred and one unexploded second world war bombs have been discovered in a backyard of a home in Honiara, the capital of Solomon Islands in the south Pacific.The unexploded ordnances (UXO) were found by a man who was digging a hole for a new septic system at his property in a residential area. Continue reading...

Owners of izakayas in the Shimbashi district of Japan’s capital are facing an existential threat

Palestinian man killed and more than 70 wounded as hundreds hurl stones at Israeli checkpointSerious clashes erupted in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank on Tuesday as Palestinians took part in a day of protests and strikes over Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.A Palestinian man was killed and more than 70 wounded, including 16 by live fire, in clashes with Israeli troops on the outskirts of Ramallah, according to the Palestinian Authority health ministry. Two Israeli soldiers were injured. Continue reading...

Report highlights data failings, workforce shortages and disconnect between health and social careCoronavirus has exposed decades-long weaknesses in government and divisions in wider society, an official parliamentary watchdog has said, including neglect of social care and chronic underfunding in local government.Amid renewed questions over the reopening timetable, the National Audit Office (NAO) warned that from the very start of the pandemic a lack of planning had left ministers without a “playbook” on how to respond. Continue reading...

South Australian police will conduct forensic testing on the body discovered on Somerton beach in 1948, in an attempt to solve enduring cold caseAustralian police are to exhume the remains of the so-called Somerton man in a bid to finally determine his identity, more than 70 years after his death.On 1 December, 1948, the man’s body was found on Somerton beach in the South Australian city of Adelaide, with the circumstances of his death remaining an open police investigation. Continue reading...

The home side moved above Leicester into third after a crucial and richly deserved victory in front of 8,000 fans at Stamford Bridge10.20pm BSTJacob Steinberg has filed his report from the Bridge, so I’ll leave you with that. Thanks for your company, emails and abuse - night!Related: Chelsea gain quick revenge over Leicester and boost top-four hopes10.16pm BSTChelsea now have two shots at a Champions League place next year - one against Aston Villa on Sunday, the other against Manchester City in Porto. Leicester need a favour from Villa or Liverpool’s remaining opponents, Burnley and Crystal Palace. And they have to beat Spurs at home. Continue reading...

Wednesday: Victorian nurse furious over slow rollout and complacency. Plus: PM under pressure to dump fossil fuels as new $600m gas plant announcedGood morning! What is it going to take to get Australians to roll up their sleeves and get a Covid jab? A firm date for reopening international borders might do the trick, as there finally appears to be plenty of the vaccinations in some areas, just a short supply of patients.A nurse who administered just one vaccine in an eight-hour shift at one of Victoria’s mass vaccination hubs says she is “furious” at the “snail’s pace” of the rollout. The nurse said there were plenty of shots but people were not showing up to get them. “It’s slow, it’s frustrating for the nurses, and it’s concerning that Australia seems to take this attitude of ‘let’s just shut the borders for as long as possible’ while there is vaccine just sitting there.” Scott Morrison is facing mounting pressure to put a date on reopening the international borders and to accept that the health system will need to cope with new variants of the virus. The head of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Omar Khorshid, said a set date might encourage people to get the jab. Continue reading...

One of China’s tallest skyscrapers was evacuated on Tuesday after it began to shake, sending panicked shoppers running to safety. The nearly 300-metre (980ft) SEG Plaza in Shenzhen, southern China, inexplicably began to shake at about 1pm, prompting an evacuation of people inside while pedestrians looked on open-mouthed. The building was closed by 2.40pm, according to local media reports

Independent panel set up to investigate killing of Daniel Morgan ‘furious’ at home secretary’s moveThe home secretary has ordered that an independent report on claims murderers were shielded by police corruption and claims of corruption in Rupert Murdoch’s media empire must be vetted by her department before its publication.The move triggered fury and follows eight years of work by a special panel to investigate the murder of private detective Daniel Morgan in 1987, who was found dead in a south London car park with an axe embedded in his head. Continue reading...

A report, which included testimonials, found that 52% of Black shoppers would stop frequenting a store after being profiledIn a new survey, more than 90% of African American shoppers said they had experienced racial profiling while buying or browsing – a phenomenon sometimes known as “shopping while Black”.The State of Racial Profiling in American Retail report, carried out by DealAid, surveyed 1,020 consumers who identified as Black or African American. Continue reading...

High court judge says Crowne Plaza near Heathrow airport is not suitable for trafficked asylum seekerA judge in the high court has ordered the Home Office to move a torture and trafficking victim out of a “prison-like” hotel surrounded by an 8ft wall.Judge Coe QC heard an application for urgent action known as interim relief against the Home Office after officials failed to move the man, known as AA, from the Crowne Plaza hotel near Heathrow airport to more suitable accommodation. Continue reading...

Record arrivals deepen diplomatic standoff with Morocco, which recalls ambassador for consultationSpain’s prime minister arrived in the north African enclave of Ceuta vowing to “restore order” after an unprecedented 8,000 migrants crossed into the territory over 36 hours, deepening the tense diplomatic standoff between Madrid and Rabat.After a day of veiled recriminations, Morocco on Tuesday recalled its ambassador from Spain for consultation. Relations with Spain need a moment of “contemplation”, a diplomatic source told Reuters. Continue reading...

Rozina Islam’s family claim reporter was assaulted and subject to ‘mental torture’ by officialsOne of Bangladesh’s most prominent investigative journalists, known for her anti-corruption reporting and criticism of the government’s response to Covid-19, has been arrested and charged under the country’s Official Secrets Act.Rozina Islam, 42, a senior investigative journalist at the Bengali daily Prothom Alo appeared before a Dhaka court on Tuesday morning charged with stealing official health ministry documents . The court turned down the police’s appeal that she be remanded in their custody to be interrogated. Continue reading...

Robert Pether’s lawyer alleges he is being held as leverage in a dispute with Central Bank of Iraq in ordeal his son says is hitting the family hardThe teenage son of an Australian man imprisoned without charge in Iraq has labelled his father’s treatment as “downright inhumane” and “criminal”, saying the prolonged ordeal is hitting his family hard.Flynn Pether, 17, is likely to mark his 18th birthday in two weeks still despairing about his father, Robert Pether, who has now spent 41 days behind bars in Baghdad. Continue reading...

Raise the Age campaign says scores of submissions by legal, health and youth experts have been concealed and ignoredFederal and state governments have been accused of suppressing large volumes of expert evidence that supports raising the age of criminal responsibility, and sitting on a crucial report because they “lack the political will to act”.In 2018, the council of attorneys general (Cag) began investigating potential reforms to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14, and received roughly 93 submissions from youth, medical and legal organisations – most of which are thought to have been supportive of reform. Continue reading...

Nurse ‘furious’ over slow pace of Australia’s rollout says supply of doses is not the problem – people are not showing up to get themA nurse who administered just one vaccine in the course of an eight-hour shift at one of Victoria’s mass vaccination hubs says she is “furious” at the “snail’s pace” of the vaccine rollout.The nurse said working in Australia was a drastically different experience to places such as the UK and US, where people were streaming through vaccination centre doors. Continue reading...

SEG Plaza in Shenzhen, one of country’s tallest buildings, evacuated after it inexplicably starts shakingOne of China’s tallest skyscrapers was evacuated on Tuesday after it began to shake, sending panicked shoppers scampering to safety.The near 300 metre (980ft) high SEG Plaza in Shenzhen, southern China, inexplicably began to shake at around 1pm, prompting an evacuation of people inside while pedestrians looked on open-mouthed. Continue reading...

Supermodel releases images of herself on social media cradling the feet of her ‘beautiful little blessing’Supermodel Naomi Campbell has announced that she has become a mother.Campbell, 50, shared a photograph of her hand cradling a pair of tiny feet on Twitter and Instagram on Tuesday afternoon, with the caption: “A beautiful little blessing has chosen me to be her mother.” Continue reading...

Rock Feilding-Mellen says he regrets not asking questions about fire safety when cladding was chosenThe Tory politician in charge of Grenfell Tower has given an emotional apology to the bereaved and “all those who had their lives shattered on that night” during his testimony to the public inquiry into the disaster.Rock Feilding-Mellen, the then deputy leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, said he would probably be haunted by the question of what he could have done differently for the rest of his life, but he said: “Based on the information I had and given what I considered my roles to be, I really don’t know what I could have done differently.” Continue reading...

The books world was growing worryingly well-mannered, but Ozick’s response – in verse – to a bad review by Shriver has revived the fine art of feuding

The makers of 1998’s Oscar-winning film, along with one of its subjects, discuss why a remastered version landing on Netflix still has much to teach usThe last time June Beallor saw the Auschwitz survivor Irene Zisblatt, they watched Sex and the City together. That was 20 years ago.Beallor is one of the producers behind The Last Days, the Oscar-winning 1998 documentary executive produced by Steven Spielberg about the Hungarian Jewish experience during the Holocaust, that has now been remastered and re-released on Netflix. Zisblatt, who escaped from Auschwitz as a teen, is one of the film’s subjects. The 91-year-old is also a big fan of Sex and the City. Her favourite character is Carrie Bradshaw, the fashion columnist played by Sarah Jessica Parker, because “she was always looking for the next thing”. Continue reading...

IGN says post mistakenly left impression network is aligned with one sideGaming network IGN is facing a staff revolt after senior management stepped in to delete, and apologise for, a post linking readers to charities and organisations in Palestine.In an open letter signed by more than 70 of the publication’s journalists, staff have condemned the “blatant disregard for the most basic standards of journalistic integrity and editorial independence,” and called for the site’s owners, the US media conglomerate Ziff Davis, to explain who made the decision to remove the charity appeal. Continue reading...

Rescuers found 33 survivors from Bangladesh clinging to oil platform in Mediterranean, says defence ministryMore than 50 people are feared to have drowned after their boat heading from Libya to Europe sank, Tunisia’s defence ministry has said.Mohamed Zikri, a defence ministry spokesperson, said 33 survivors of the shipwreck were picked up after clinging to an oil platform off the southern coast of Tunisia. Continue reading...