World news | The Guardian

Spokesman says accident hit the Natanz electrical distribution grid, a day after Iran switched on new centrifugesA spokesman for Iran’s civilian nuclear programme said an “accident” struck the electrical distribution grid of the Natanz nuclear facility, a day after the government announced it was starting up new uranium enrichment centrifuges.Behrouz Kamalvandi announced the accident on Sunday, saying there were no injuries and no pollution. A mysterious explosion in July 2020 damaged Natanz’s advanced centrifuge facility, with Iran later calling the incident sabotage. Continue reading...

Your mother won’t have forgotten the incident, says Mariella Frostrup. She’s probably paralysed by her inability to process what you enduredThe dilemma When I was 11, I was sexually abused over the course of a year. It was the 1980s, we trusted adults and I had private lessons at my teacher’s home. I eventually told my mum and the lessons stopped, but we never discussed it.I blanked it out until something sparked my memory when I was 18 and I brought it up with her. It turned out she’d blanked it, too. She apologised for not remembering. Continue reading...

Online condolence messages to be forwarded to Buckingham Palace from people across the countryAustralian dignitaries have commemorated the life of Prince Philip at a church service in Sydney.The Duke of Edinburgh died in his sleep on Friday, two months before his 100th birthday and a short time after a month-long stay in hospital. Continue reading...

Trade minister Dan Tehan says he will travel to Europe to discuss Covid vaccine supply deals, as Labor accuses government of being too reliant on AstraZeneca jabThe Morrison government wants all Australians vaccinated by the end of the year, but is warning there remain “a lot of unknowns” that could further derail the troubled rollout.After announcing a major shift in the government’s vaccine program last week following updated health advice on the AstraZeneca vaccine, the government said its initial October target would not be realised. Continue reading...

Quake hit offshore near city of Malang with country already reeling from cyclone disasterAt least eight people were killed after a 6.0 magnitude quake struck off the coast of Indonesia’s main Java island on Saturday, as the country reels from a cyclone disaster.The afternoon quake hit offshore about 45 kilometres south-west of Malang city in East Java, damaging homes as well as schools, government offices and mosques across the region. It did not trigger a tsunami. Continue reading...

About 28% of Peruvians wouldn’t choose any of the candidates, poll shows ahead of Sunday’s voteAn ultra-conservative millionaire who admits to scourging himself daily to repress sexual desire is just one of an assortment of low-polling candidates who all have a shot at becoming Peru’s next president.Rafael López Aliaga is technically tied with five other contenders in an unpredictable contest to make a runoff vote in June, including a former goalkeeper, a Sorbonne-educated socialist and the daughter of the country’s jailed former leader Alberto Fujimori. Continue reading...

Shares and revenues at UK-based Audioboom are soaring despite stiff competition from the world’s digital giantsA year ago, podcast producer Audioboom was facing an uncertain future as management sought, ultimately unsuccessfully, to find a buyer to inject cash to expand the business. When the company gives its latest financial update this week, it will be telling a very different story: in the past 12 months its market value has more than tripled and a maiden profit is looming as Audioboom joins the ranks of the pandemic winners.Digital entertainment services from Netflix to Spotify have been supercharged by lockdown viewing and listening, and Audioboom has been no exception. It now draws 25 million listeners a month with content from partners ranging from Formula One to the former Bake Off presenter Sue Perkins. Continue reading...

India records 145,384 new Covid-19 cases and 794 deaths, the highest number of fatalities in more than five months; lockdown ordered in Iran

Australia’s bushfires were devastating for bee populations. But steady rain and community efforts are seeing the return of the pollinatorsYou could say that Adrian Iodice is something of a stickybeak neighbour. On Iodice’s once-lush bushland property, nestled within the Bega Valley of New South Wales, there stands a majestic rough-barked apple tree that the beekeeper used to, every now and then, jam his head into.In the hollow of the trunk lived a flourishing wild colony of European honeybees that Iodice had been keeping an eye on for years. “I’d have a chat with them,” he laughs. “Stick my head in and see how they’re getting on in life. They were very gentle bees; they never had a go at me.” Continue reading...

Service to be held at Windsor on 17 April and include Duke of Edinburgh’s request that his coffin be borne on a Land Rover

As daily inoculations hit record figures, warning comes of new delays

Gun salutes marking the death of the Duke of Edinburgh take place on Saturday in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, in Gibraltar and from Royal Navy warships at sea as people leave floral tributes outside royal residencies. Batteries of cannons fired 41 rounds at one-minute intervals from midday

Guardian cartoonist says Duke of Edinburgh said rival paper was ‘self-righteous rubbish’ during their meetingPrince Philip once raged at the “self-righteous rubbish” in that “bloody Murdoch rag” the Times, the cartoonist Martin Rowson has revealed.Rowson, whose cartoon for Saturday’s Guardian addresses Philip’s death, was one of many people to fondly recall their encounters with a man who rarely worried about voicing his true opinions. Continue reading...

Cargo-worshipping sect on Tanna in Vanuatu revered Duke of Edinburgh as the pale-skinned son of an ancient spiritOf the many honours and titles bestowed on the Duke of Edinburgh, the strangest was his status as a deity to a remote south-west Pacific people.The Prince Philip Movement, a sect followed by the Yaohnanen tribe on the southern island of Tanna in Vanuatu, believed him to be the pale-skinned son of an ancient mountain spirit. Continue reading...

The woodsman and TV presenter, 57, on trademarking his name, surviving a helicopter crash and planning for the worst

(Republic)

The rapper, who has died aged 50, parlayed his life’s difficulties into thrilling, combative, witheringly witty music

The coroner says she has received an application for a fresh inquest into the fire that killed six boys and a man in SydneyThe New South Wales coroner will consider a fresh inquest into a fatal fire at Sydney’s Luna Park in 1979 after allegations the blaze was linked to an underworld figure.Seven people including six boys were killed in the blaze while riding the theme park’s ghost train. Continue reading...

From Taylor to Motörhead, music’s biggest names are hawking custom wicks. Here’s what they smell like

Revealed: groups banned from other sites fundraising on GiveSendGo as data breach identifies high-dollar donorsA data breach from Christian crowdfunding site GiveSendGo has revealed that millions of dollars have been raised on the site for far-right causes and groups, many of whom are banned from raising funds on other platforms.Related: How the far-right group ‘Oath Enforcers’ plans to harass political enemies Continue reading...

The actor and rapper on social media, home-cooked curry and letting goBorn in London, Riz Ahmed, 38, studied politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford University. His films include Four Lions, Rogue One and Venom; he won an Emmy for his role in the miniseries The Night Of. He has been nominated for a best actor Oscar for his role in the film Sound Of Metal, available on Amazon Prime from 12 April. Last year he released a rap album, The Long Goodbye. He recently married the American novelist Fatima Farheen Mirza.When were you happiest?

The writer and podcaster talks about his private school days, and why a system that prides itself on creating leaders is selling Britain short

Protests in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and Alice Springs mark 30 years since the royal commission into deaths in custody

He made a film on Joe Exotic a decade before Tiger King, lulls interviewees into personal revelations – and can rock a leather suit. So why is he so anxious?“There’s no getting away from the fact that, even aged 50, I’m a slightly awkward person, a fearful person, worry-prone,” says Louis Theroux, wriggling in his seat. The film-maker picks up and puts down a coffee without drinking. He wears all blue: navy sweater, stock denim, one of those indestructible plastic Casio watches on his wrist. “I worry about what people think,” Theroux continues, “I worry about giving offence, being judged, not coming up to scratch, being thin-skinned.”We are in the corner of a photography studio in London, sheltering from rain on a Friday afternoon. The room has long emptied of people, but, even so, as Theroux chats, he snatches quick glances over his right shoulder, as if expecting to find somebody or something lurking there. “Everyone has things that preoccupy them, right?” he says. “I just tend to think, on a spectrum of people in general, I definitely skew, uh, anxious.” Continue reading...

The world has turned a blind eye to Denis Sassou Nguesso’s controversial re-election, which will extend his iron-fisted reign to more than 40 yearsThe result of last month’s presidential election in Congo-Brazzaville brought no surprises. After 36 years in power, Denis Sassou Nguesso, 77, clinched 88% of the vote with a turnout of more than 67%. Accusations of vote irregularities, including ballot box stuffing, were widespread. His closest rival, who had urged for a “vote for change” died of Covid on the day of the vote.Television showed a triumphant Sassou at home with his smiling henchmen, as the interior minister, Raymond Zéphirin Mboulou – instead of the head of the electoral commission – announced the win. The question now is whether or not the African Union, the US, the EU, the UK and former colonial power France will simply turn a blind eye to another disputed election result while Congolese are dying from extreme poverty? Continue reading...

I became obsessed as a boy and am still hooked. With the mental benefits of angling well documented, here are some of the best British spots to cast off your worries

After a week of unrest police and politicians voice fears that gangs are coercing children to take part in violenceAfter a turbulent week in Northern Ireland which raised questions about law and order and political stability, arguably the most disheartening sight was that of children as young as 12 and 13 being sucked into violence against the police.Naomi Long, the justice minister, said she felt “ill” watching footage showing adults “standing by cheering and goading and encouraging young people on as they wreaked havoc in their own community”. It was, she said, “nothing short of child abuse”. Continue reading...

Man in his 20s fell while climbing Mount Ngungun, the sixth-tallest peak in the Glass House MountainsA rock climber is feared dead after a 40-metre fall from a mountain in Queensland’s Sunshine Coast hinterland.The man, aged in his 20s, fell while climbing Mount Ngungun, the sixth-tallest peak in the Glass House Mountains, at about midday on Saturday. Continue reading...

In Kupang, Indonesia, residents wait for aid after torrential rain, destructive winds and flooding forced thousands into sheltersOn Sunday at midnight, Linda Tagie, 29, rested her three-year-old baby on the bed. Linda, who lives together with her husband, 79-year-old mother-in-law and only child in Sikumana, Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia, was shocked by a strong wind and heavy rain. The electricity suddenly went off.“I prayed and prayed in the dark,” she said. The wind eventually stopped on Monday morning. She walked out of the house and found the roof gone from the back part of the house. “Electricity cables, tin roofs, and trees lie on the street in front of our house,” she said. Continue reading...

When my first child was born, there were parties, flights, bus trips, visitors. My second son arrived into a very different worldMy son, 0, doesn’t know any different. One of around 600,000 babies born in Britain in the plague year of 2020, he has spent all eight months of his life (and most of his gestation) in a world defined by distance and disease.His circle is small. He doesn’t get out much. When he does, the faces that peer in at his pushchair are concealed by masks. A baby is usually a magnet for human touch; I’d guess around 300 people had held his older brother by the time he was eight months old. Perhaps 20 people have made physical contact with Aubrey. Continue reading...

Kate, 48, nutrition consultant, meets Stephen, 48, census administratorWhat were you hoping for?

The fox looks at me. ‘You have to go,’ I say. But it doesn’t moveThe dog is barking. I have no idea what time it is – I went to bed late and fell asleep abruptly – but, judging from the blackness on the other side of the window, I’m confident that if I were one of my neighbours, I’d be pissed off.I sit up in bed. The dog is still barking. My phone says it’s 3.30. I pick my trousers off the floor and pull them on, because there are no dangers or demons in this world I am prepared to meet trouserless. Continue reading...

Front-page coverage and pullouts across the world as Queen Elizabeth II’s husband is mournedNewspapers around the world have given Prince Philip a rousing send off, with the Queen’s husband remembered for his loyalty, sense of duty and his occasional politically incorrect comment.The British press has led the way with an assortment of banner front pages in the Saturday editions and no shortage of accompanying souvenir pullouts. Continue reading...

At least 474 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have died in custody since royal commission report handed down 30 years ago

Australian prime minister says he hopes Queen Elizabeth will ‘find great comfort in your faith and your family’The Australian prime minister and governor general have paid tribute to Prince Philip, who has died aged 99, saying he was “no stranger to Australia”, having visited the country more than 20 times.Scott Morrison said Australians sent their love and deepest condolences to Queen Elizabeth and the royal family. He stated Philip “embodied a generation that we will never see again”. Continue reading...

Loyalist umbrella group denies involvement, as missiles thrown at police and car set on fire in eighth night of unrestThe involvement of loyalist paramilitary groups in orchestrating the violence in Northern Ireland has been ruled out by police as the number of officers injured rose to 74.On Friday night, police were again attacked with missiles and a car was set on fire as small pockets of unrest flared. Continue reading...

An explosive eruption rocked La Soufrière volcano on the eastern Caribbean island of St Vincent on Friday following mandatory evacuation orders from the local government. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the burst that occurred just four days short of the 42nd anniversary of the last eruption.

Prince Philip has died at 99. Follow the latest updates as the royal family and people around the world react to his death

Joe Biden has paid tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, and sent condolences to Queen Elizabeth II. 'He was a heck of a guy,' the US president told reporters at a photo opportunity in the Oval Office, '99-years-old and he never slowed down at all - which I admire the devil out of.'

But judge rules that ex-premier does not have to face corruption charges

Call comes as insurance bill from recent floods nears $550m and state says buybacks have ‘very significant social and economic costs’

Exclusive: hundreds of conversations with clients were wiretapped in cases relating to migrant rescue boatsProsecutors in Italy have secretly recorded hundreds of conversations between human rights lawyers and their clients in cases related to allegations that NGOs operating rescue boats that saved thousands from drowning in the Mediterranean were complicit in people smuggling.In a joint investigation with the Italian public broadcaster Rai News and the newspaper Domani, the Guardian has seen documents from prosecutors in Trapani, Sicily, detailing private conversations between human rights lawyers and their clients, including a priest, and with journalists in which confidential information was discussed regarding ongoing trials, private sources and legal defence strategies in upcoming hearings. Continue reading...

Government says killing of Giorgos Karaivaz, reportedly by two men on a motorbike, has ‘shocked us all’A prominent Greek crime journalist has been shot dead in what was described as an “execution-style” murder near his home in Athens.Giorgos Karaivaz, who sought to illuminate Greece’s seamier underside with his coverage of law and order stories on the private Star TV channel, died of gunshot wounds outside his home in the south of the city. Continue reading...

Much has changed since Simone Biles’ coronation at the Rio Olympics, but one truth remains: her only competition is herselfSo much has changed in the five years since Simone Biles lit up the 2016 Olympics in Rio, affirming her presumptive status as the greatest gymnast ever with four gold medals in seven days.The 24-year-old from suburban Houston moved out of her parents’ house into her own digs, adopted two French Bulldog puppies (Lilo and Rambo) and went public with boyfriend Jonathan Owens, a safety for the NFL’s Houston Texans. She enlisted the husband-and-wife coaching team of Laurent Landi and Cecile Canqueteau-Landi following an amicable split with longtime personal coach Aimee Boorman. The sport she’s come to define was rocked by the worst sexual abuse scandal in American sports history. And her bid for a historic second straight Olympic all-around title was waylaid by a global pandemic that turned the sports world on its ear. Continue reading...

Government prepares rescue package as rare freezing temperatures damage crops and vinesWinemakers across France are counting the cost of several nights of frost this week that threaten to decimate grape harvests in some of the country’s best-known and prestigious wine-producing regions.The government is readying an emergency rescue package after rare freezing temperatures that could cause some of the worst damage in decades to crops and vines. Continue reading...

Multi-platinum rapper, celebrated for raw storytelling, was first artist to top US charts with first five albums

Queen will give personal approval to arrangements, with traditional horse-drawn procession unlikelyCarefully laid plans for the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral, revised over many years, have been abandoned owing to the coronavirus pandemic, with public elements unable to take place.The Queen and senior aides have now to fashion a fitting farewell to the longest-serving consort in British history given current restrictions. The plans will be set in motion once they have been personally approved by the Queen. Continue reading...

Rap star and actor who embodied the edgy and lawless life depicted in his workThe first rapper to have his first five albums go straight to the top of the US chart, DMX, who has died aged 50 following a heart attack, established himself as the premier exponent of hardcore rap in the aftermath of the violent deaths of the Notorious BIG and Tupac Shakur. He announced himself with his multi-platinum-selling debut album It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot (1998), a stormy survey of greed, violence, crime and betrayal, which also displayed his gift for blending light and heavy textures behind an intense, menacing presence at the microphone.Before the end of that year DMX had released his second blockbuster, Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood, another huge seller. He was suddenly the new king of Planet Rap, yet when the 1999 Grammy award nominations came around he was nowhere to be seen. This omission prompted the rap superstar Jay-Z (who would win the best rap album Grammy that year) to boycott the awards ceremony “because too many major rap artists continue to be overlooked”, as he put it. “Rappers deserve more attention from the Grammy committee and from the whole world.” Continue reading...

Intelligence reports show Russian tanks and short-range ballistic missiles just 150 miles from UkraineKremlin officials have said that its forces massing on the border with Ukraine could intervene if Kyiv launches an assault on Russian-backed separatists, as concerns grow about the largest military buildup since 2014.Open source intelligence reports have shown that tanks, rocket artillery, and short-range ballistic missiles have been transported to just 150 miles from Ukraine, where Russia has established a large new military staging area. Continue reading...