Police make two arrests in connection with explosion at Mohamed Nasheed’s family home in MaléThe former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed is conscious after life-saving surgery, his family said on Saturday, as police made two arrests in connection with an explosion they said was being treated as a terror attack.Nasheed, the president of the ruling Maldivian Democratic party and the current parliament speaker, was critically injured after a bomb exploded as he left his family home in the capital Malé on Thursday. Continue reading...
As police continue murder inquiry, locals in Aylesham describe fear and worry as they wait for case breakthroughTwo weeks ago, Kira and Sam Mandon-Jones walked their rescue dog, Mocha, through fields to Akholt Wood near their home in the Kent village of Aylesham. “And we said: ‘This is such a lovely route. We’ll do it every week.’ But not now,” said Kira, 29.Two days after their Sunday stroll, the body of Julia James, 53, was found with “significant head injuries” at 4pm on Tuesday 27 April on the edge of that same wood. The police community support officer was walking her jack russell, Toby, a few hundred yards from her home in the hamlet of Snowdown. Continue reading...
When we started training, I thought it was for her sake. So why do I dread the day my daughter hangs up her boots?One day you’ll understand that this was never about football. It could have been anything. I just wanted to be where you were, as much as possible, for as long as you let me.When you were five we had an argument in the car on the way to a training session. I don’t know exactly what it was about. As I mentioned, you were five, so it could have been anything: how I’d packed the wrong sort of corn crackers, or how after you’d bitten into one of them it had corners on it and you hated corners, or how I didn’t understand how much you hated corners because I obviously never cared about your feelings because I probably wouldn’t even care if you like died! If I really loved you, I would have bought the right corn crackers, the corner-less kind. It was one of those arguments. It ended as we stopped at a red light and you said something and I said something back, and you said something kind of mean and I lost my temper and said: “If you’re going to fight this much with me every time we go to train, I really don’t have to put this much time into being the coach!” Continue reading...
Confrontations at holy site leave 17 Israeli police officers wounded, with international calls for calmMore than 205 Palestinians and 17 Israeli police officers were wounded during a night of intense clashes at a sacred Jerusalem site that holds the Dome of the Rock, medics and police said, a serious escalation in a weeks-long rise in violence.Tensions in Jerusalem have soared recently, with Palestinians complaining of oppressive restrictions during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. An upcoming Israeli court ruling on whether authorities can evict dozens of Palestinians – and give their homes to Jewish settlers – has further inflamed the situation. Continue reading...
An alfresco duo that you can cook outdoors or in: baked potato with onion and harissa butter, and peas in the pod with wasabi dressingOne game I’m definitely playing in the next year or so is Spot the Park/Common/Outdoor Scene in every film or TV series I watch, because I’ve seen so many film crews at work outside over the past year. And, just as I predict a spate of outdoor film and TV action, I also predict that, this summer, there will be a whole lot of recipes for outdoor cooking and eating. So long as the weather allows, and our freedoms continue, such delicious predictability is a very nice problem to have, so, tongs at the ready, here are two from me. Continue reading...
by Simon Armitage, Hollie McNish, Roger McGough, Kae on (#5HKGJ)
Six of the UK’s best poets reveal exclusive new work and reflect on the last year, losing relatives, long-distance relationships and ‘artistic claustrophobia’ Continue reading...
From highlighting black history to tackling everyday racism, the powerful athlete is determined to use his platform for changeJust under a year ago, Maro Itoje popped into his local branch of Waitrose to do some shopping. Despite being one of this country’s finest and most recognisable rugby union players – a 6ft 5in second-row forward who has played in a World Cup final and won virtually every major prize in the club game with his team, Saracens – he still enjoys the luxury of being able to walk the streets of his quiet London neighbourhood largely undisturbed. This, however, would not be one of those occasions.“So basically, a member of staff mistook me for one of the workers,” he remembers. “This is not the first time this has happened. Normally it’s a member of the public asking me where they can find the milk. This was an actual member of staff; she asked me what time I was starting my shift. Which is ludicrous.” He speaks quietly and evenly. “But it highlights some of the biases people have. And I think this is an experience that’s shared by many people of colour. It shows you how deep-rooted some of these things are.” Continue reading...
Daughter of 59-year-old criticises consular officials’ response and says her mother has been abandoned by her own governmentAn Australian permanent resident has died of Covid-19 while stranded in India, days after the government’s strict ban on arrivals from the country began.The family of the 59-year-old claim their father was “disowned” by the Australian government before he died. Now, they are pleading for help so their mother, who is also stuck in India, can return to Australia so they can grieve together. Continue reading...
Beijing’s mission asks other members not to attend, with Human Rights Watch saying it continues pattern of ‘trying to bully governments into silence’China is trying to convince UN member states to boycott an event planned next week by Germany, the US and Britain on the repression of Uighur Muslims and other minorities in Xinjiang, according to a note seen by Reuters on Friday.China charged that the organisers, who include several other European states along with Australia and Canada, use “human rights issues as a political tool to interfere in China’s internal affairs like Xinjiang, to create division and turbulence and disrupt China’s development”. Continue reading...
Succession battle in South Africa takes latest turn after king and queen both died within less than two monthsPrince Misuzulu Zulu – the eldest son of South Africa’s late Zulu king Goodwill Zwelithini and his more recently deceased regent queen – has been designated heir to the monarchy amid a turbulent succession battle.Misuzulu Zulu, 46, whose name means “strengthening the Zulus”, was named heir in the last will of his deceased mother and queen, Shiyiwe Mantfombi Dlamini Zulu. The will was read out on television on Friday. Continue reading...
Up to 178 Palestinians and six officers injured in skirmishes at al-Aqsa mosque and around east JerusalemIsraeli police have fired rubber bullets and stun grenades towards rock-hurling Palestinian youth at Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque amid growing anger over the potential eviction of Palestinians from homes on land claimed by Jewish settlers.At least 178 Palestinians and six officers were injured in the night-time clashes at Islam’s third-holiest site and around east Jerusalem, Palestinian medics and Israeli police said, as thousands of Palestinians faced off with several hundred Israeli police in riot gear. Continue reading...
PM tried not to gloat at Jill Mortimer’s win, claiming no knowledge of Brexit party demise, vaccine bounce ... and even his new MPThe real surprise was that anyone was surprised. Over the last few days the polls had looked desperate for Labour and it would have been astonishing if the Conservatives hadn’t easily won the Hartlepool byelection.And sure enough those who had voted for the Brexit party in the 2019 general election moved en masse to the Tories and Hartlepool went blue for the first time since the constituency had been created back in the mid-1970s. So what with the end of the Brexit party and the vaccine bounce, the byelection had been an accident waiting to happen for Labour. Continue reading...
by Manoj Chaurasia in Bihar and Hannah Ellis-Petersen on (#5HJT5)
The pandemic overwhelming the big cities is reaching areas of Bihar where there is one doctor for 40,000 peopleIn the small rural village of Kathail, in the east of India’s poorest state, Bihar, access to healthcare has always been scarce. But when 34-year-old Umakant Singh fell sick with a cough and fever last week, his brother Mantu Singh did all he could to find help.For four days Mantu rushed around, collecting the limited medicines he could find for his younger brother and nursing him at home. But he knew what these symptoms meant: Covid-19 had reached their village. Continue reading...
by Robert Booth Social affairs correspondent on (#5HJA2)
Blaze tore through flats at New Providence Wharf in Tower Hamlets on Friday morningResidents of a high-rise block with Grenfell-style cladding in east London that caught fire causing multiple injuries have voiced anger at the government and the building’s developer that nothing was done to repair it sooner.The fire broke out before 9am on Friday on the eighth floor of the 19-storey apartment building in the New Providence Wharf development in Poplar, which is clad partly in combustible aluminium panels similar to those that fuelled the fire at Grenfell Tower. It has not been fixed amid a wrangle over who should pay. Continue reading...
Mr Go Pizza booth offers 24/7 pizzas, kneaded by a machine and served with cutleryMassimo Bucolo bravely dared to go where nobody else had gone before in order to take a slice of Italy’s competitive pizza market: a 24-hour vending machine that dishes out freshly baked pizza in three minutes.Located in a booth on Via Catania, close to Piazza Bologna in Rome, Mr Go Pizza offers up four varieties, including the classic margherita invented in Naples in 1889, each costing between €4.50 and €6. The vending machine kneads and tops the dough, a process that customers can watch through a small glass window. Continue reading...
An Iraqi series has just been pulled off the air after staging fake Isis ambushes. So who thinks it’s OK to abduct people or simulate a plane crash?There are prank shows, and then there is Tannab Raslan, an Iraqi prank show so extreme that it has just been yanked off the air. It has an unbelievably cruel premise: Iraqi celebrities are invited to a charity event, which is then ambushed by actors playing militants. In a recent episode, actor Nessma Tanneb gets blindfolded by terrorists and screams in mortal panic until she passes out.Prank shows exist on a spectrum. There are the “just for laughs” kind that offend nobody, and exist mainly to kill time on planes. On the other is the show I watched on holiday in Malta 15 years ago, which I definitely didn’t imagine, where a succession of terrified people witness a mock drive-by shooting. Continue reading...
Their families have been fishing here for decades but despite promises of frictionless trade, the market for their fish is disappearingSteph Noel, who has been fishing the waters off Jersey for almost four decades, could not see the point of chugging out to sea in his 8.5-metre boat, Belle Bird, this weekend.“There’s no value in it for me,” he said. “It’ll cost me in bait and diesel but even if I have a good day there’s no market there for what I bring back.” Continue reading...
Managers turned a blind eye to ‘gross and offensive’ comments, says former undercover police officerA former undercover police officer has told a public inquiry that his colleagues made “gross and offensive” jokes about the women they were deceiving into having sexual relationships.The officer, Graham Coates, said the jokes and banter were said in the presence of managers who knew about the relationships but deliberately turned a blind eye. Continue reading...
by Oliver Holmes in Jerusalem and Ben Butler in Melbo on (#5HJDV)
Australian tycoon was obsessed with Israel’s elite, once kissing feet of an ex-president, local media reportsJames Packer’s entanglement with Israel’s elite, including a close personal relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu and the now Mossad chief, was considered a “national risk”, according to an Israeli report, quoting testimony from witnesses in Netanyahu’s corruption trial.The Australian casino mogul, 53, developed an obsession with the Jewish state over the past few years, once kissing the feet of the former president Shimon Peres when he came for a dinner, according to “a person who was close” to Peres. He also considering converting to Judaism, Haaretz newspaper reported. Continue reading...
A jury found Hannah Quinn guilty of being an accessory after the fact for helping boyfriend Blake Davis after he killed a violent home invaderA woman who helped her samurai sword-wielding boyfriend after he killed a Sydney home invader has been spared jail time.Hannah Quinn “could never have anticipated at that time within minutes her life would change forever”, justice Natalie Adams said on Friday in the New South Wales supreme court. Continue reading...
Force says it firmly believes man has information related to the death of community support officerKent police have released an image of a man detectives believe could be key
Arrests follow two-year investigation into gang believed to be importing spice from Iran and selling it as prized Spanish varietyPolice and customs officers in Spain have arrested 17 people and seized half a tonne of saffron after breaking up a gang that allegedly imported the spice from Iran, bulked it out and sold it as a much-prized Spanish variety.The arrests came at the end of a two-year investigation that began when officers noticed that companies in and around Ciudad Real, 180km (112 miles) south of Madrid, were importing large quantities of Iranian saffron. Once in Spain, the spice was processed, dyed, packaged and branded as saffron from La Mancha, which has protected designation of origin status. Continue reading...
by Martin Chulov Middle East correspondent on (#5HJ7B)
Manufacture of Captagon is a growth industry so big it is starting to rival GDP of flatlining economyIn the summer of 2015 a businessman in the Syrian province of Latakia was approached by a powerful security chief, seeking a favour. The official wanted the merchant, an importer of medical supplies, to source large amounts of a drug called fenethylline from abroad. The regime, he said, would readily buy the lot.After an internet search, the merchant made a decision. He left his home that same week, first sending his wife and children to exile, then following after, scrounging what he could from his businesses for a new start. “I know what they were asking me to do,” he said from his new home in Paris. “They wanted the main ingredient for Captagon. And that drug is a dirty business.” Continue reading...
European Union’s top court dismisses appeal by Bayer against partial ban on use of substances on certain cropsThe European Union’s top court has upheld the EU’s partial ban on three insecticides linked to harming bees, preventing their use on certain crops.The European court of justice on Thursday dismissed an appeal by Bayer to overturn a lower EU court’s 2018 decision to uphold the ban. Continue reading...
Repatriation flights will resume once the travel ban lifts on 15 May, but the government has not set a deadline for rescuing vulnerable AustraliansMore than 170 unaccompanied children are among the Australians seeking to return from India as it struggles to contain a deadly second wave of Covid-19, officials in Canberra have revealed.With the Senate’s Covid-19 committee turning its attention to the government’s controversial temporary ban on travellers from India, officials reported there were now about 9,500 Australians who wished to return home from the country – including 950 classed as vulnerable. Continue reading...
Exclusive: BBC faces questions as further allegations made about Clarke – and co-star John Barrowman is accused of exposing himselfThe Noel Clarke sexual harassment controversy threatens to embroil the BBC after several sources came forward to allege they were sexually harassed or inappropriately touched by the actor on a flagship show, Doctor Who.Another Doctor Who actor, John Barrowman, has also been accused of repeatedly exposing himself to coworkers on two BBC productions, prompting questions about whether the corporation allowed a lax culture on its sets during the mid-2000s. Continue reading...
Pinpoint the date the story first appeared in the Guardian to be in with a chance of winning prizes including a ticket to a Masterclass of your choiceTo mark the Guardian’s bicentenary, we are running a competition for readers. We have selected six stories that have appeared over the past 200 years. There is a link between them, but just to make it a little spicier we will not be telling you what that link is.Each of these six stories will be published on the Guardian website on successive Fridays, with the next four following on 14, 21 and 28 May, and on 4 June. On 11 June, we will publish the final piece along with the other five, alongside a form for entries. You must guess the date that each of the stories appeared. The first 10 randomly chosen readers who correctly identify the dates (or got closest to them) will receive prizes, including a ticket to a Guardian Masterclass of your choice, a ticket to a Guardian Live event of your choice, and merchandise packs of commemorative gifts to mark the 200th anniversary. All entries will need to be received by 2 July. The results and a list of winners will appear on 16 July. If more than 10 people get all six right, the winning names will be drawn from a hat (possibly metaphorical). Continue reading...
Latest discussions between the west and Tehran could have profound implications for Middle EastHigh-stakes talks to salvage the Iran nuclear deal with potentially profound implications for the Middle East will resume on Friday, in what the French foreign minister has called a “moment of truth” for relations between the west and Tehran.The fourth round of talks have the capacity not just to reduce the risk of nuclear proliferation in Iran, but propel Saudi Arabia and Iran towards softening a rivalry that has darkened and destabilised the region’s politics for a decade. Continue reading...
Chris Rea to Len, Stereolab to Finley Quaye – to celebrate a decade of their classic summer album The English Riviera, Metronomy founder Joe Mount shares a sun-soaked playlist
by Elias Visontay (now) and Nino Bucci and Matilda Bo on (#5HHNX)
Scott Morrison says India travel ban will not be extended and flags six repatriation flights this month; part of ABC’s Christian Porter defamation defence to be suppressed for now. Follow latest updates
Two boutique workers allege they were slapped and hit on head in row over shopliftingPolice have questioned the wife of Belgium’s ambassador to South Korea over accusations she hit two boutique staff on the head in a row over shoplifting.The ambassador, Peter Lescouhier, previously said he “sincerely regrets the incident involving his wife”, adding that he “wants to apologise on her behalf”. Continue reading...
Painting has been acquired for nation and will be reinstalled at Strawberry Hill House in TwickenhamA monumental portrait of Catherine de’ Medici, one of the most powerful women in 16th-century Europe, will return to Strawberry Hill House in Twickenham after it was acquired for the nation in lieu of tax.The picture was originally installed in the gothic revival mansion built by Horace Walpole, who acquired it 247 years ago, and was part of an important collection amassed by the son of Sir Robert Walpole, Britain’s first prime minister and a pivotal figure in 18th-century society and the arts. Continue reading...
Photographer Leysis Quesada Vera describes life during the pandemic in Havana’s Los Sitios neighbourhood. Her work is supported and produced by the Magnum Foundation, with a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation. Magnum Foundation is a nonprofit organisation that expands creativity and diversity in documentary photography. Through grant making and mentorship, Magnum Foundation supports a global network of social justice and human rights-focused photographers and experiments with new models for storytelling
NSW, Victoria and Queensland have also offered to accept additional repatriation flights by the end of May, Scott Morrison saysNew South Wales, Victoria and Queensland are likely to accept additional flights of vulnerable Australians fleeing India, with the states stepping in to assist the federal government which plans three of its own repatriation flights this month.The prime minister, Scott Morrison, announced the three extra state flights on Friday after a national cabinet meeting with state and territory leaders. He also declared the controversial policy banning Australians stranded in India from returning home would remain in place until 15 May as scheduled. Continue reading...
The Drivers License singer reflects on turning her first big breakup into the year’s biggest hit – and how songwriting saved her from the anxieties of being a Disney star
7 May 1975: All sightings have been in error. One elderly lady was convinced he had joined the Metropolitan Police and was on point duty in WhitehallIt would be unfair on Scotland Yard to say that the police had given up the search for Lord Lucan but it would also be a gross distortion of the facts to pretend that a massive investigation is still being mounted to find him.Related: Who was Lord Lucan? Continue reading...
Investigation underway after what foreign minister describes as ‘cowardly attack’ on Mohamed NasheedMohamed Nasheed, who was the first democratically elected president of the Maldives and current parliamentary speaker, was recovering in hospital on Friday after an assassination attempt left him with shrapnel wounds.Nasheed was hurt when a device attached to a motorcycle was detonated as he got into a car on Thursday evening, an official said. “Nasheed escaped an assassination attempt,” a Maldivian government official told Agence France-Presse. “He is injured, but his condition is stable.” Continue reading...