Opposition leaders leave airport bolthole as they step up pressure over contested presidency of Mohamed Abdullahi MohamedAfter months living at an upmarket inn close to Mogadishu’s airport, Somalia’s opposition leaders, including two former presidents and their armed teams, have decamped, spreading across the capital in what is seen as a strategic move.The sitting president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed “Farmaajo”, has meanwhile flown to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where he reportedly hopes to win support for an extension of his presidential term from the African Union. Continue reading...
Analysis: Mindful of ‘red wall’ voters, Johnson protested, but the question remains whether he can give the game long-term helpThe spectacle of Boris Johnson, acme of an old Etonian rugby man, weighing in on the side of football fans against the breakaway European Super League, is a collision of political and sporting cultures that has been brewing for 30 years.The abortive participation in the venture of England’s “big six” clubs, all owned by investors from overseas, is the culmination of a financial carve-up that began with English football’s own breakaway, the 1992 formation of the Premier League. The then big First Division clubs were determined not to share the new pay-TV riches with the clubs in the Football League’s other three divisions. As their fortunes subsequently boomed, British owners made multimillions by selling their shares. Continue reading...
Len McCluskey, the general secretary of Unite, on the union’s construction project in BirminghamEndemic sleaze is indeed engulfing this government and degrading our public realm, but Jonathan Freedland does his case against Boris Johnson no good by including a cheap swipe at Unite (This is Tory sleaze. Don’t let Boris Johnson convince you otherwise, 16 April). Our Birmingham conference facility was authorised by our elected executive council. An employment protocol ensured that the workers were directly employed, with union members earning the professional rate for the job – no small miracle given the cowboy culture that bedevils the construction sector.Despite Mr Freedland’s insinuations, I had no dealings with the awarding of contracts for the centre; nor did I need to, because our protocol, agreed by our executive council, dictated strict value for money and employment standards, overseen by independent property experts. Continue reading...
Decade-long feud continues over popular selfie spot linked to Shakespeare’s Romeo and JulietPlans to curtail the number of tourists who flock to Verona for a selfie beneath the balcony where Romeo is said to have wooed Juliet have been blocked amid a feud over the site that has lasted more than a decade.Tourists can enter the tiny courtyard – free-of-charge – simply to take a photo of the balcony or to rub their hand on the right breast of a bronze statue of Juliet as part of a ritual that is said to bring luck in love. Continue reading...
A father’s legacy is in dispute when wayward son RJ Mitte decides to spar with the barman who guards the man’s ashesSeveral men walk into several bars in this interlocking suite of tales, and the repeating permutations of barman and barfly, blue collar and white collar, father and son, raconteur and listener pile up pleasingly into a kind of oppressive, Coenesque cosmic joke. RJ Mitte, Breaking Bad’s Walter White Jr, plays college boy Steve, who turns up in a snowstorm at a bar owned by the irascible Paul (Peter Outerbridge). He owes the latter money – and without it, Paul won’t give up the ashes of Steve’s recently deceased dad, Gord, whose funeral the youth failed to attend. And then this arrogant sadsack – whose very presence aggravates Paul – offers to pay him with a story.Steve’s yarn is a slack spin on his own: a freezing wayfarer walks into The Oak Room, a pub in a neighbouring town, and puts a set of demands to an irked barman. Unimpressed, Paul tells him that he must learn to “goose the truth” to hold an audience, and then sucker-punches him with a story about Gord, with another story inside. Or he thinks it’s a sucker-punch – Steve reveals that he had only told the ending of his, and the start will transform everything. Continue reading...
Hollywood Foreign Press Association apologises after Phil Berk emails article to members that calls Black Lives Matter a ‘racist hate group’Already under fire for its failings over membership diversity, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the organisation behind the Golden Globes, has been forced to apologise after its former long-term president emailed a copy of an article to members that called Black Lives Matter a “racist hate movement”.According to the LA Times, Phil Berk, who served eight terms as the HPFA president, ending in 2011, shared a copy of an article from rightwing website Frontpagemag.com, which described Black Lives Matter as a “racist … hate group” and claimed that the movement is carrying out the “race war” that Charles Manson aspired to start. Continue reading...
Clashes have sparked political assassinations and the forced displacement of thousands ahead of crunch 6 June pollsViolent clashes between rival Mexican criminal groups – and their alleged allies in the security forces – are escalating ahead of mid-term elections in June, triggering a string of political assassinations and the forced displacement of thousands.State and federal security forces have actively colluded with – and even fought alongside – the warring factions, according to local civilians, civil society activists and gunmen from various factions. Continue reading...
In a new documentary, the singer and actor proves an unlikely saviour of an elephant in need of a new homeThere seems to be a never-ending glut of conservation documentaries, where a group of fearless men and women work tirelessly to get sad animals rehomed in the wild. However, chances are you haven’t seen any of them, because you made a deal with yourself as a child to only watch conservation documentaries that contain scenes where traumatised animals are serenaded at close proximity by the popular singer and actor Cher.Related: Cher at 74: 'There are 20-year-old girls who can’t do what I do’ Continue reading...
He came to the UK from the Philippines to create a good life for his family, but his job was demanding and relentless. Should he and other migrant workers have been better protected?For most of his life, all Joven Flores did was work. Back-to-back shifts as a chef, working weekends, overtime. Uncomplainingly, Joven tossed, marinated, sliced, kneaded, ordered produce, wiped down worktops and stacked plastic food boxes. On his occasional days off, Joven would prepare meals so that his family wouldn’t have to cook during the week. Then he’d collapse on the sofa. Then TV, sleep, an early morning drive through deserted streets and more work.Joven was born in the village of Patimbao, in the province of Laguna in the Philippines. Growing up, he lived in a simple house, made of wood and concrete. Joven’s father died when he was young. His mother, Mely, worked as a housekeeper for a middle-class family, and also sold fruit and vegetables in the market to support Joven and his three sisters. Money was tight. Sometimes, Mely would have to beg for credit at the shop to buy a sack of rice. In adulthood, if one of his children spilled food on the floor, Joven would get upset, and tell them: “When I was young, my mother didn’t have enough money to buy us rice.” Continue reading...
Reports suggest a final agreement has been reached to buy back Liverpool Plains mine licence as government says a lease remains under assessmentNew South Wales Labor has called on the Berejiklian government to “come clean” on whether it has reached a deal to buy out the exploration licence for the proposed Shenhua Watermark coalmine in the Liverpool Plains.The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Tuesday that an agreement had been reached that would see the government pay the Chinese mining company to walk away from the project, which has been fiercely opposed by farmers in the region for more than a decade. Continue reading...
Tuesday: US-led climate summit will put increased pressure on Australia’s laggard policies. Plus: becoming a hiker in your 50sGood morning. The climate crisis is a hot topic today as the world gears up for virtual summit of 40 world leaders, where new commitments from the biggest carbon emitters are expected to meet the Paris agreement’s ambitions.Australia will not be able to “fly under the radar” over climate crisis policies. International pressure on the government is expected to increase as other countries make new pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions over the next 10 years. In the US Joe Biden has promised to unveil his plan to cut emissions by 2030 before he hosts a virtual summit of 40 national leaders on Thursday. Climate diplomacy experts say they expect the focus on Australia’s position to intensify if the government sticks to its target of a 26% to 28% cut by 2030 and net zero emissions “preferably by 2050”. Scott Morrison said his government would not “sacrifice our traditional industries” in regional areas by taxing emissions to reach the goal. Continue reading...
Report by US law firm commissioned by Kigali says France bears ‘significant responsibility’ for deathsFrance “bears significant responsibility” for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in the Rwandan genocide of 1994 because it remained “unwavering in its support” of its allies even though officials knew the slaughter was being prepared, a report commissioned by Kigali claims.The accusation is the latest in the continuing dispute between Paris and the small east-African country over the role played there by France before and during the mass killings. Continue reading...
Minister says easier access to services can reduce suicide risk, but criticism highlights lack of timeline or fundingMany people who kill themselves or who experience suicidal thoughts are not reaching out for help, including from the mental health system, the federal assistant minister for suicide prevention, David Coleman, has said.“There are many reasons for this,” Coleman told the online national suicide prevention symposium on Monday. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#5GRVQ)
East Kent hospitals trust admits failing to provide safe care for Harry Richford and his motherA hospital trust has pleaded guilty to a criminal charge brought by the NHS regulator over failings in care that led to the death of a newborn boy at just seven days old.In the first prosecution of its kind East Kent hospitals university trust admitted that it failed to provide safe care and treatment for Harry Richford and his mother, Sarah, during his birth in November 2017 at the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother hospital in Margate, Kent. Continue reading...
Readers respond to Afua Hirsch’s article about British people’s complex attitudes to the royal familyAfua Hirsch (We can mourn Prince Philip, but not the monarchy, Journal, 15 April) captures precisely the ambivalence so many of us feel about the symbols of patriotism. How do we show a love and appreciation of our country and many of its values while distancing ourselves from the pernicious jingoistic narratives that so often accompany these? As a white English male, I can learn a lot from the contortions that Hirsch describes as having to go through herself, to prevent an apology escaping her lips for questioning the excuses made about Prince Philip’s racism that we might have guffawed at, but can recognise in our own internalised racism.
‘Filming was banned at the station we shot at. So the cinematographer sat in a wheelchair, concealed the camera on his lap, and I pushed him around, following Natja cruising’The director Uli Edel and his team came to my school. I was sitting there eating an apple. Uli’s assistant came up and said: “We’re looking for girls for a film. Do you want to try out?” I said: “OK, since you’ve asked me, I’ll come.” Continue reading...
Robert Habeck tells party co-chair ‘the stage is all yours’ as CDU/CSU rivals squabble over candidate choiceGermany’s Green party has named its co-chair Annalena Baerbock as candidate for chancellor in autumn’s federal election, as the party rides high in the polls and the ruling conservative bloc squabbles over its own choice to succeed Angela Merkel.Baerbock, 40, viewed as a tenacious, down-to earth centrist with an eye for detail, and an expert on climate change and how to tackle it, told a small party gathering she aimed to “make politics for society at large”. She described her candidacy as “an offer, an invitation to lead our diverse, prosperous, strong country into a good future”. Continue reading...
by Aamna Mohdin Community affairs correspondent on (#5GRZG)
Human rights specialists urge government to reject race commission’s controversial findingsA controversial report into racial disparities in the UK attempts to “normalise white supremacy” and the government should reject its findings, UN human rights experts have warned.The report by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, published at the end of March, concluded that while racism and racial injustice still existed, geography, family influence, socioeconomic background, culture and religion all had a greater impact on life chances. The report said it did not find evidence of institutional racism in the areas it examined, such as policing and health. Continue reading...
Adult humour in cartoons was once virtually unheard of – now, animated TV is saturated with grown-up jokesIn the Guide’s weekly Solved! column, we look into a crucial pop-culture question you’ve been burning to know the answer to – and settle it, once and for allThe phrase “The Simpsons did it first” gets thrown around a lot. But Matt Groening’s sitcom about a volatile nuclear family – now 700 episodes in and recently renewed until at least 2023 – was a genuine trailblazer. In 1990, its second season premiere received more than 30 million US viewers, proving a brightly coloured animated TV series with whip-smart writing could attract mature eyeballs in primetime. If their children liked it too, all the better. Continue reading...
A doctor who later saw Alex Braes said the 18-year-old was ‘the sickest patient he’d ever seen at Broken Hill’ hospitalA teenager dying of a severe infection and blood poisoning went to a New South Wales country hospital four times in 32 hours before his blood pressure and other basic readings were recorded, a coroner has heard.Alex Braes, 18, died at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred hospital in the early hours of 22 September 2017 after arriving by plane from his hometown of Broken Hill. Continue reading...
Wildfires on Table Mountain spread to historic university library and force evacuation of studentsPolice in Cape Town have arrested a man on suspicion of starting one of the wildfires raging on the slopes of Table Mountain.Over the weekend one fire spread to the University of Cape Town (UCT), burning the historic campus library and forcing the evacuation of 4,000 students. Other fires broke out around Devil’s Peak, a spur of the mountain. Continue reading...
A semi-trailer carrying chicken guts has crashed south of Brisbane with its load of offal ending up covering the highwayA truck carrying chicken guts has lost its load, temporarily transforming a Queensland highway into a pink, slippery and foul-smelling quagmire.The innards were left festooned on the back of the truck involved in the collision as other drivers eased their cars through the slop – leaving tire tracks behind. Continue reading...
Czechs expelled 18 Russians over Skripal suspects’ alleged role in deadly warehouse blast in 2014Moscow has expelled 20 Czech diplomats in a tit-for-tat response after Prague accused Russian military intelligence of setting off a deadly blast at an ammunition warehouse in 2014.Video from Moscow showed the Czech ambassador being summoned to the foreign affairs ministry where he was informed that four-fifths of his diplomatic envoys would be given 24 hours to depart the country. Continue reading...
Campaigners hope more accurate picture of country’s makeup will challenge government narrative of near-universal CatholicismActivists in Poland are asking people to consider if they are truly Roman Catholic when filling out a national census, hoping a more accurate picture of the country’s makeup will challenge a government narrative of near-universal Catholicism.In the previous census, completed a decade ago, 96% of respondents claimed they were Roman Catholic. This has been used by the rightwing Law and Justice (PiS) party to justify a series of controversial hardline changes it supports, including stopping public funding of IVF treatments and a near-total ban on abortion. Continue reading...
A deflating pattern is emerging in rural, conservative and vaccine-hesitant states as authorities worry that stakes could not be higher in those same communitiesTeton county, Wyoming, is at the vanguard of America’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign – but it isn’t celebrating.The county has vaccinated far more people proportionally than in most of America – 39% – compared to less than a quarter nationally. Local authorities are concerned they may have hit a saturation point. Vast, rural and conservative Wyoming is one of the most vaccine hesitant places in the nation, and fewer people are signing up for vaccine clinics. Similar patterns are emerging across the US. Continue reading...