Elizabeth Banks’s new film, about the aftermath of a narcotics drop in a Georgia national park, may be less hilarious than it first soundsThere is a school of thought that Elizabeth Banks’s version of Charlie’s Angels flopped because it was too familiar; it was in effect a reboot of a reboot of an iconic television series that had long wrung itself dry. People knew exactly what to expect from it, so they stayed away. That’s unlikely to happen with her next film, though, because her next film is going to be called Cocaine Bear.And, I mean, you’re in, right? You’d watch a film called Cocaine Bear. Regardless of quality or budget or genre, you’d watch Cocaine Bear. You wouldn’t even buy your tickets online, because that would rob you of the opportunity to say out loud to a cinema employee: “I would like to spend my own money to watch a film called Cocaine Bear.” Continue reading...

Exclusive: hopes raised for vaccine safety, although children, some of whom have cystic fibrosis, were not part of a clinical trial

Censor says move is punishment for failure to remove ‘banned’ content relating to Navalny protestsRussia took action on Tuesday to slow down the speed of Twitter in a move that also appeared to have accidentally shut down the Kremlin’s own website, as well as other government agency sites.The state communications regulator, Roskomnadzor, said it was retaliating for Twitter’s alleged failure to remove banned content. It threatened a total block if the US platform did not comply with its deletion demands. Continue reading...

Increased family time during pandemic pushes firm to double-digit growth

Queen says ‘issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning’ but adds they will be dealt with privately

Hathloul was jailed in December for nearly six years under cybercrime and counter-terrorism lawsA Saudi court has upheld the original sentence of the women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul, who had championed women’s right to drive and for an end to Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship system.Hathloul was sentenced in December to nearly six years in prison under broad cybercrime and counter-terrorism laws after a lengthy trial that drew widespread international condemnation, but was released last month having served half of her custodial sentence. Continue reading...

Opening up of defence files from more than 50 years ago may also shed light on 1968 Air France crashEmmanuel Macron is to allow access to classified national defence documents from more than 50 years ago, covering France’s war in Algeria and other files previously deemed to contain state secrets.The Élysée said the move, a week after the admission that French troops tortured and killed the Algerian independence activist Ali Boumendjel in 1957, sought to balance “historical truth” with legitimate “national defence issues”. Continue reading...

Scientists say the GBSD project is outdated and the result of lobbying rather than a clear sense of what it will achieveThe US is building a new $100bn nuclear missile based on a set of flawed and outdated assumptions, a new report by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) will say.The report, due to be published next week, will argue the planned ground-based strategic deterrent (GBSD) is being driven by intense industry lobbying and politicians from states that will benefit most from it economically, rather than a clear assessment of the purpose of the new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Continue reading...

Former Labour peer went on trial in Sheffield accused of sexually abusing younger children in 1970sThe trial of a former Labour peer accused of sexually abusing younger children has collapsed due a “disgraceful” late disclosure of evidence by the prosecution, a judge has said.Nazir Ahmed was charged with two counts of attempting to rape a girl under 16, indecent assault of a boy under 14, and raping a boy under 16, all alleged to have occurred in the early 1970s. Continue reading...

Woman also arrested at same address in Kent on suspicion of assisting an offenderA serving Metropolitan police officer has been arrested in connection with the disappearance of Sarah Everard in south London.The 33-year-old marketing executive went missing after leaving a friend’s house in Clapham at about 9pm on Wednesday last week. Continue reading...

Footballer’s accuser clashes with defence barrister during video cross-examinationA woman has agreed she was told that Jarryd Hayne was “a sleaze like all footballers” but denied thinking it was likely they would have sexual contact during their first meeting.The Newcastle woman clashed with Hayne’s barrister who said despite advice the footballer would want sex and to “remember your worth” she agreed for him to come over. Continue reading...

Christian Porter won’t return before parliament resumes; Gladys Berejiklian receives the AstraZeneca jab; Qantas chief Alan Joyce warns tourists and students could abandon Australia. Follow latest updates

Ted Hui, who escaped to the UK while on bail before moving to Australia, says world must provide ‘lifeboat plans’ ahead of expected travel bansTime is running out to help Hongkongers before the expected introduction of powers banning people from leaving as China tightens its grip on the city, a pro-democracy politician has warned after fleeing to the UK and then Australia.Former legislator Ted Hui arrived in Australia on Tuesday, three months after he fled to the UK while on bail in Hong Kong. Speaking from quarantine, Hui told the Guardian he had decided to move in order to expand the pro-democracy movement-in-exile, and lobby Canberra for increased Hong Kong support, including formal “lifeboat” plans to help dissidents and civilians flee. Continue reading...

Photographer Katherine Anne Rose’s twins were six months old and her older son was three when the first lockdown began in March last year. Here she describes life during the pandemic at home in Glasgow with her young familyJoel takes a moment to relax with the boys in the babies’ room. A rare moment of calm as Reed sits on his father’s chest and Aven tries to take a toy from Francis’s hand. Continue reading...

Ten years ago one of the most powerful earthquakes on record triggered a devastating tsunami in Japan, killing more than 18,000 people and triggering catastrophic meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Then and now photographs show the extent of the destruction and the enormity of the reconstruction work

Sun, Times and WSJ owner shows no sign of slowing down – and has big decisions to make, not least what to do with FoxRupert Murdoch may be set to join the tiny ranks of nonagenarians running global empires when he celebrates his 90th birthday on Thursday, but according to associates who have met with the media mogul recently, he shows no sign of slowing down.“Honestly, it’s the fittest I’ve seen him in years,” said one person who held a meeting with Murdoch, just prior to the latest lockdown, at Holmwood House, the Georgian property near Henley-on-Thames he acquired for £11.25m two years ago with his former model wife Jerry Hall, and where he has spent most of his time during the pandemic. “I expected him to be, well, more tired. Instead he takes lots of meetings, when Covid restrictions have allowed, he is wanting to be engaged, talk about things, to keep on top of business.” Continue reading...

A plan for a few friends to gather outside Parliament House has snowballed, with 36 protests planned across the countryWhen Janine Hendry decided to stage a protest against sexism, misogyny and alleged sexual misconduct in Australia’s parliament she thought it would just be she and a few friends waving placards outside Parliament House.But that was a couple of weeks ago. Today her March4Justice movement has 27,000 followers on Facebook and close to 8,000 on Twitter. Continue reading...

Greece aim to reopen to holidaymakers from mid-May; Palestinian hospitals overfull with Covid patients, prime minister says

British-Australian academic also talks about impact of solitary confinement, saying it was like a ‘prolonged anxiety attack’Kylie Moore-Gilbert believes she never would have been sentenced to 10 years jail on spying charges in Iran if the Australian government had gone public with her case earlier to pressure Tehran.The British-Australian academic – who was released after a little more than two years in a complex prisoner swap involving four countries – said the Australian government’s strategy of “quiet diplomacy”, deliberately shielding her case from the media, while pursuing negotiations with Iran’s government, was flawed. Continue reading...

Coastguards were able to save 165 people before rescue called off due to bad weather and nightfallAt least 39 migrants have drowned off Tunisia when two boats capsized, the defence ministry has said, as numbers risking the dangerous crossing to Europe continued to rise.Rescuers pulled 165 survivors from the foundering boats to safety on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Media observers and TV viewers praise couple and interviewer as conversation continues 48 hours after airingOprah Winfrey’s Sunday primetime interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex following their step back from royal duties amassed over 17 million viewers on the night, and is still being dissected and debated by US media, and in households across the country, 48 hours after it first aired.The conversation is dominated by Meghan and Harry’s allegations of racism against the royal family, and – unlike in the UK, where the media pushback against those claims has been fierce in some quarters – has largely praised the pair for speaking out.

Country to welcome people who are vaccinated, have antibodies or negative Covid test, minister says

At Port Moresby’s general hospital, 40% of mothers admitted to the labour ward tested positive for Covid-19Papua New Guinea will not get its first Covid-19 vaccines until next month at the earliest, despite an uncontrolled coronavirus outbreak spiralling across the country, hospitals shutting their doors to patients, and an already vulnerable healthcare system on the verge of collapse.At Port Moresby’s general hospital, 40% of mothers admitted to the labour ward were reported to have tested positive for Covid-19, but could not be separated from other mothers because there is no isolation labour ward for them. Continue reading...

Dr Agnes Kalibata responds to a report on the 2021 summit that she is leading as a special envoy for the UN secretary generalAs you note in your article (Farmers and rights groups boycott food summit over big business links, 4 March), farmers have for too long been on the fringes of global discussions about hunger, poverty and climate change, despite being the frontline of our food systems and the custodians of our natural resources.The UN food systems summit marks a momentous opportunity for farmers, producers and many others who support them to be at the heart of the year-long consultative process that has been launched to improve our shared food system. Continue reading...

A day with a mobile surgery dedicated to helping one of the most vulnerable and hard to reach groups

Staffers sent letter to Condé Nast after racist tweets written by Alexi McCammond 10 years ago resurfacedEmployees at Teen Vogue have sent a letter to publisher Condé Nast, protesting against the hiring of Alexi McCammond as editor-in-chief of the influential magazine.It follows the resurfacing earlier this week of a series of racist tweets written by McCammond 10 years ago. Continue reading...

Angela Merkel’s party tries to distance itself from pandemic deals scandal as elections loomCorruption allegations and mounting frustration with Germany’s slow vaccination roll-out are threatening to damage Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in weather-vane state elections this Sunday, as the centre-right party is trying to distance itself from politicians whose companies are alleged to have made profits on the back of mask procurement deals.In the south-western states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate, voters will go to the polls this weekend while digesting the allegations that one lawmaker from the CDU and one from its Bavarian sister-party, the CSU, earned six-figure commissions for brokering deals to procure face masks during last year’s first wave of the pandemic. Continue reading...

As the new series of SBS’s film revitalisation project airs, Guardian Australia’s film critic considers the consequences of this trend in film-makingPaolo Cherchi Usai – the Italian curator and former head of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) – once put forward an elegant definition of moving image preservation, calling it “the science of gradual loss and the art of coming to terms with its consequences”. Those melancholic words present the dispossession of our celluloid and digital pasts as inevitable, and efforts to maintain them a will-o’-the-wisp exercise: impossible to achieve, like reaching the gold at the end of the rainbow.But loss is far from the first thing that comes to mind after watching the second season of SBS’s four-part documentary series Australia in Colour. Separated into different themes, the first episode is devoted to family, exploring issues such as changing gender roles, the stolen generations and the arrival of contraceptive pills; the second, about sport, investigates national heroes and drinking culture. Continue reading...

Largest such study finds domestic violence experienced by one-in-four teenage girls with worst levels faced by women in their 30sOne in four women and girls around the world have been physically or sexually assaulted by a husband or male partner, according to the largest study yet of the prevalence of violence against women.The report, conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN partners, found that domestic violence started young, with a quarter of 15- to 19-year-old girls and young women estimated to have been abused at least once in their lives. The highest rates were found to be among 30- to 39-year-olds. Continue reading...

Four adults from two households can meet outdoors from Friday – but four 12- to 17-year-olds from four different families can mix

Downing Street refuses to be drawn into judgment on Meghan’s claims of racism or state of mental healthDowning Street has refused to distance itself from a minister’s claim that Prince Harry is “blowing up his family” – but declined to comment after confirming the prime minister had watched the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s interview with Oprah Winfrey.Boris Johnson’s spokesman said he had watched the two-hour interview but said he had no further comment to make. Continue reading...

England’s chief medical officer has warned MPs that revising the government’s roadmap to emerge from lockdown sooner than planned would risk a more serious third wave of Covid infections.Whitty told MPs on the Commons science and technology committee: “All the modelling suggests there is going to be a further surge that will find people either that have not been vaccinated, or where the vaccine has not worked.”

James Ibori and his associates stole the money and a failed appeal cleared the way for asset seizure

From transgender sex workers living in a mass shelter whose health relies on back-street clinics, to community leaders who are making changes from the ground up despite a system that is stacked against them, This Is Gender 2021 is the world’s largest photography competition looking specifically at gender and health. The collection offers an insight into our gendered world during the time of pandemic.

Rocks and Nomadland top scorecard in first British Film Academy shortlist since radical changes made to improve inclusivityFour women and three foreign-language directors have been nominated for this year’s Bafta awards in a list whose reach and inclusivity come as a marked contrast to last year’s nominations.Related: Baftas 2021: the full list of nominations Continue reading...

Bad weather expected to hit north-west Scotland on Tuesday and move across England and WalesStrong winds accompanied by heavy and blustery showers are forecast in Scotland from Tuesday and across England and Wales from Wednesday evening.A yellow weather warning for wind has been issued by the Met Office, which expects the strong winds to cause travel delays and short-term power cuts across the UK. Continue reading...

Designer Virginie Viard combines late British model’s allure with après-ski wear and nightclub glamourIn a filmed catwalk show at Paris fashion week, Chanel has paid tribute to Stella Tennant, the British supermodel who was a muse and model of the house for several decades before her sudden death in December.A monochrome tweed kilt worn over woollen leggings, and bright Fair Isle-style knits teamed with Oxford bag trousers and flat shoes, were among several looks that took inspiration from the elegantly androgynous chic of Tennant, a catwalk star who was most at home in the Scottish countryside. Continue reading...

Chief medical officer tells MPs lifting rules more quickly would lead to more hospitalisations and deaths

A wide range of issues affecting women, from abortion rights to femicide, were highlighted at rallies and events for International Women’s Day on 8 March Continue reading...

Analysis: royal expert says issues of mental health and alleged racism and alleged bullying can’t be ignored

Sister Ann Rose Nu Tawng is photographed begging armed police officers not to shoot ‘the children’

Holidays may still feel a long way away but you can calm your itchy feet with these tips from adventurers, explorers and seasoned travellersIt is still more than a month until people can go on holiday in England, while foreign travel won’t be allowed until at least 17 May. So how can you get your travel fix without breaking lockdown rules? We asked some seasoned travellers how they are exploring the world from their own homes. Continue reading...

British Virgin Islands ranked ‘greatest enabler of corporate abuse’ by Tax Justice Network

Spain seeking extradition related to separatists’ role in organising 2017 independence referendum

Thinktank publishes first non-governmental legal examination of China’s actions in XinjiangThe Chinese government has breached every single article of the UN genocide convention in its treatment of Uighurs in Xinjiang, and bears responsibility for committing genocide, according to a landmark legal report.The 25,000-page report, published by a non-partisan US-based thinktank, is the first independent, non-government legal examination of China’s treatment of Uighurs under the 1948 genocide convention. Continue reading...

Father of Duchess of Sussex tells Good Morning Britain he did lie to her about working with the press

The music producer escaped Assad’s Syria and ended up in a Swedish refugee centre, where the space and minimalism of ambient allowed him to express his alienationThe 30-year-old Syrian producer Obay Alsharani’s debut album, Sandbox, is stunning. Its textural layers and floating fragments of melody easily match Burial or Boards of Canada’s abilities to deliver devastating emotion with a dreamy lightness of touch. But where many talk about ambient music and virtual worlds as providing sanctuary and succour, for Alsharani, the reality of that is deadly serious. Sandbox was conceived and written while trapped in limbo in a refugee centre, north of the Arctic circle and around 2,000 miles from home, struggling to come to terms with the terrors that had brought him there.Talking via video chat from Stockholm, Alsharani is as disarmingly gentle as his music, maintaining a friendly, matter-of-fact tone whether discussing his tastes, or the realities of Bashar al-Assad’s Syria. “From when I was eight,” he says, “my father worked in Saudi Arabia, he had a good job, and I got used to moving around, which is useful to me now.” The family lived in four different Saudi cities, returning to Damascus for the summer each year. Continue reading...

I have always been better with the written word than the spoken one. Chatting online allows me to be more of the person I aspire to beWorking from home, while very much a privilege, has been a mixed bag. I live alone and often realize, as the sun begins to set, that my mouth has not actually emitted a word all day. The lack of interaction can make it easy for minor anxieties and frustrations to spiral into existential crises.On the other hand, there are plenty of benefits; off the top of my head, I’d place rolling out of bed seconds before work begins, devoting milliseconds to choosing my outfit, and a minimal commute – from my bed to the platform above it – near the top of the list. Continue reading...

Social policies including punishing people who abandon pets catch Chinese people’s attention online“Romance and marriage lessons” in schools, using the social credit system to penalise people who abandon their pets, and ending compulsory English lessons are among the proposals made on the sidelines of China’s most important political conference.The proposals were made by delegates at the Chinese people’s political consultative conference (CPPCC), one of two major political meetings happening in Beijing this week under the banner of lianghui, or Two Sessions. While much of the focus is on high-level geopolitical and national announcements, the suggestions for social policies have caught Chinese people’s attention online. Continue reading...

Gambling reform advocates accuse industry of ‘crying poor’ over proposal to cut money-laundering and problem gamblingGambling reform advocates have rubbished modelling by ClubsNSW reportedly showing that a proposed mandatory gaming card in New South Wales would cost thousands of jobs and $1.8bn.The report into Crown casino, conducted by Patricia Bergin, recommended introducing a cashless gambling card that would work much like those used on public transport. Bergin suggested the card, which would require poker machine players to “pre-load” money, would help tackle money-laundering, but gambling reform advocates argue it would also help reduce problem gambling. Continue reading...