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From Caravaggio’s come-ons to Bacon’s boozing, art is steeped in sex, drugs and drink. But is it just an excuse for bad behaviour?

Son says Nowab Miah, who was run over with own car, was his mentor and role modelTributes have been paid to a delivery driver who died after he was hit by his own car during a robbery in Stockport.Haji Mohammed Heydayatul Islam, known as Nowab Miah, from Hyde, Tameside, was delivering a meal last Friday in the Romiley area when, according to witnesses, he was run over as he tried to stop his car from being taken. Continue reading...

Proposals would allow only Dutch residents to enter city’s 166 marijuana-selling coffee shopsForeigners face being banned from Amsterdam’s cannabis coffee shops as part of wide-ranging plans to discourage organised crime and cut back on drugs tourism that have drawn mixed reactions from residents and business owners.Backed by police and prosecutors, the city’s mayor, Femke Halsema, has tabled proposals allowing only Dutch residents to enter its 166 marijuana-selling coffee shops, with the measure likely to come into force sometime next year. Continue reading...

This is usually the season for atoning for festive excess. If you have decided (heroically) to stick to dry January, these recipes will help

Christos Pappas, Golden Dawn’s de facto number two, is missing, while MEP Ioannis Lagos has refused to return homeKostis Papaioannou is by his own admission, a far right junkie. Documenting the twists and turns of Golden Dawn, the Greek neo-fascist party whose rise and fall took Europe by storm, gets him “fired up”.Yet little prepared Papioannou, who has written several books about the extremists, for his latest endeavour: charting the days when two of the now defunct political force’s convicted leaders would remain at large. “It’s incredible,” said the prominent human rights activist. “Rather than ticking off the days they spend behind bars I’m now calculating their time spent savouring freedom.” Continue reading...

The world’s oldest Olympic champion survived the Holocaust and the Soviet clampdown on Hungary – and fizzes with energyIf a Hollywood scriptwriter had come up with the extraordinary story of Agnes Keleti – the world’s oldest Olympic champion, who celebrated her 100th birthday on Saturday – as a piece of fiction, they surely would have been told to rein it in. Fleeing the Nazis, surviving the Holocaust with a false ID, and later escaping the Soviet clampdown on Hungary? Competing in a first Olympic Games aged 31 before going on to win more medals than anyone else in Melbourne four years later? And then, just for good measure, passing her century bursting with a rare energy and unquenchable zest for life? It sounds like magical realism. Yet it was all true.“These 100 years felt to me like 60,” Keleti said, as she celebrated with a cake with fireworks fizzing from it and a smile so wide it could have lit up Budapest. It served as an instant pick-me-up, especially in these grim and monochrome times. Continue reading...

The Years & Years frontman is starring in Russell T Davies’ new drama about the Aids crisis. He talks about bulimia, his ‘dark’ clubbing days – and how he learned to enjoy filming sex scenesOlly Alexander was so certain he was destined for success that he saw a therapist to help him prepare for his future fame. It was 2014 and his band Years & Years had just signed to Polydor when he visited the shrink.“I said: ‘The album’s coming out and I really want it to be successful,’ and he said: ‘What happens if it isn’t?’ I said: ‘Well, that’s not an option because I have planned it in my diary since I was a teenager.’” Continue reading...

Chatham House director general says UK must not seek to be rival to EU on foreign policyBritain will fail if it seeks to reincarnate itself after Brexit as a mini-great power, and should focus instead on being a global broker for solutions to specific challenges such as climate change, cybersecurity, global health and human rights, a major report has proposed.The report by Robin Niblett, the director general of Britain’s leading foreign policy thinktank Chatham House, coincides with the 75th anniversary of the first meeting of the UN general assembly in London. Continue reading...

Bank gave no indication of whether another government or a criminal organisation might be behind attackNew Zealand’s central bank says that one of its data systems has been breached by an unidentified hacker who potentially accessed commercially and personally sensitive information.A third-party file sharing service used by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand to share and store sensitive information was illegally accessed, the Wellington-based bank said in a statement. Continue reading...

Politicians who were sheltering in building on Wednesday urged to get tested; UK also registers another 563 deaths reported today

Boy, 14, arrested on suspicion of robbery after officers called to report of traffic collision

Monday: Calls grow among Republican ranks for US president to resign after US Capitol attack. Plus, does talking to plants make them grow?Good morning, and welcome back for your first morning mail of 2021. This is Imogen Dewey bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Monday 11 January. Continue reading...

Companies could face fines amid demands UK government do more to challenge ChinaDominic Raab is to address concerns over UK complicity in the use of forced labour in China’s Xinjiang province with more requirements on companies that buy goods there and possible sanctions on Chinese officials believed to be instrumental in the abuse.Proposals released by the foreign secretary this week could include fines if companies fail to meet commitments to show due diligence in their supply chains. A proposal for a total ban on cotton from the province is thought not to be feasible. Continue reading...

Lawyer and human rights advocate Nyadol Nyuon on how the pandemic brought back memories of her childhood in a refugee camp in Kenya and why empathy must be at the heart of our decision-makingThis interview with Nyadol Nyuon is based on an essay she has written for the Fire, Flood and Plague anthology series. You can read it here or buy it in an anthology published by Penguin Random House. Continue reading...

Mayor Anne Hidalgo gives green light to £225m-scheme to transform French capital’s most famous avenueThe mayor of Paris has said a €250m (£225m) makeover of the Champs-Élysées will go ahead, though the ambitious transformation will not happen before the French capital hosts the 2024 Summer Olympics.Anne Hidalgo said the work, unveiled in 2019 by local community leaders and businesses, would turn the 1.9-km (1.2-mile) stretch of central Paris into “an extraordinary garden”. Continue reading...

Anonymous source claims British government lied about failure to reach agreement over issue

Five years on from David Bowie’s death, bandmate Mike Garson leads an epic lineup, from Billy Corgan to Adam Lambert, in three hours of livestreamed sound and vision“He’ll be remembered like Beethoven, in a hundred years’ time,” longtime producer Tony Visconti said of David Bowie recently, and, five years on from the artist’s death, his colossal influence still resonates across all manner of art forms. The latest incarnations range from the new Harry Styles single to a children’s relaxation app that features “Ziggy’s hunky dory sleepy story”.The weekend that would have marked the singer’s 74th birthday brought a flurry of activity, not least this epic livestreamed tribute. Pianist Mike Garson, Bowie’s longest-serving musician, curated a lineup of singers and six-decades worth of Bowie alumni – almost 100 musicians – for three hours of sound and vision. The 40 songs ranged from obvious classics to lesser-known gems such as Strangers When We Meet and Conversation Piece. Despite a hiccup (blaming technical issues and Covid) meaning a 24-hour postponement, the event finally got off to a strong start with Duran Duran’s homage to Five Years, Bowie’s enormous shadow looming fondly over their coiffured hair and tailored suits. Continue reading...

Celebration at site where Jesus is believed to have been baptised held after over 1,000 landmines clearedMass was celebrated on Sunday at the site where Jesus is believed to have been baptised on the banks of the River Jordan for the first time in more than half a century after more than 1,000 landmines were cleared.The service took place on Baptism of Christ Sunday, the day on which Christians commemorate Jesus’s baptism. Continue reading...

With roads blocked and trains cancelled healthcare staff decide to make the trip to work on footHealthcare workers in Madrid have gone to extreme lengths – some walking for hours – to relieve their exhausted colleagues as Spain grapples with the double whammy of a deadly storm and the coronavirus pandemic.Storm Filomena hit Spain on Friday, blanketing large parts of the country in snow and bringing Madrid to a standstill as the city saw its heaviest snowfall in 50 years. Across the country the storm claimed at least four lives, affected around 20,000km of roads and left thousands trapped in their cars for as many as 12 hours without food and water. Continue reading...

The health secretary promised vaccines would be offered to every adult in the UK ‘by the autumn’. Speaking on the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show, Hancock said it was ‘very, very important’ that as many people as possible get a vaccine. More than 200,000 people are now being vaccinated each day, he added

Sriwijaya Air flight carrying 62 people crashed after taking off from Jakarta on SaturdayIndonesian authorities have located the black boxes of the Sriwijaya Air jet that crashed into the sea soon after taking off from the capital Jakarta, as human body parts and suspected pieces of the plane were retrieved.The Boeing 737-500 with 62 passengers and crew was heading to Pontianak in West Kalimantan on Saturday when it disappeared from radar screens four minutes after takeoff. Continue reading...

53-year-old sentenced to life for 1994 murder of Robert Magill but hopes to shed more light on his caseA man serving a life sentence for a controversial hitman murder committed nearly 30 years ago has taken the unusual step of publishing a book from inside prison with fresh evidence which he hopes will lead to his conviction being overturned.With his book titled Fitted Up and Fighting Back, Kevin Lane believes he can finally prove his innocence of the contract shooting of Robert Magill in Hertfordshire in 1994. Continue reading...

Exclusive: government accused of failing to ensure access more than a year after terminations legalisedNorthern Ireland’s human rights commission (NIHRC) has launched a landmark legal action against the UK government for its failure to commission safe and accessible abortion services more than a year after abortion was made legal in the country, the Guardian can reveal.The Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis, is accused of unlawfully denying the rights of women in the country, who experts warn are being forced to use unregulated services and to travel to high-risk areas during the pandemic. The NIHRC is also taking action against the Northern Ireland Executive and the country’s Department of Health. Continue reading...

Three writers who blogged about life in the city where Covid began still face constant threats and monitoring

The movement best known for its schools is firmly entrenched within the German health sectorIn a pandemic where global leaders have peddled quack treatments and miracle cures, Germany has often stood out as a shining beacon for science.It is the country that developed the first diagnostic test to detect the coronavirus, and the first vaccine approved in the west to shield people against the disease. It is a country whose physicist chancellor told parliament she passionately believes “there are scientific findings that are real and should be followed.” Continue reading...

Twenty-eight-year-old detained and taken to hospital after incident on Sunday morning in IlfordA 28-year-old woman has been arrested after two men died at a house in east London, police said.The men were found seriously injured at the property in Tavistock Gardens, Ilford, on Sunday morning and died at the scene, said the Metropolitan police. Continue reading...

Anonymous activist says he’s no ‘moral watchdog’ but vows to continue effort in hope of persuading revellers to stay homeFuelled by black coffee, yellow-tipped cigarettes and white, incandescent rage, the faceless sleuth lurks on social media poised to unmask his next target.“It’s outrageous, bizarre, it’s horrifying – a collective genocide,” fumed the twentysomething activist who burns the midnight oil scouring the internet for footage of parties being thrown despite a rapidly deteriorating Covid crisis that has killed more than 200,000 Brazilians. Continue reading...

In the intimidating and macho world of big-wave surfing, Brazilian Maya Gabeira is breaking male and female records – and challenging the sport’s testosterone-fuelled identityThe thing that struck Maya Gabeira was the sound. “I had never heard anything similar: it was the first affirmation that that was the biggest wave I had ever ridden,” she says. “It was just ‘phwoooaaaarrrrrrr.’” She mimics a bomb exploding in her hands. There was also a continuous “Brrrrrrrrrrrrr,” she says, like a deep engine humming – the sound of tonnes of water falling, falling, falling from a great height. “It almost vibrates inside your body.”The Brazilian big-wave surfer is reflecting on the events of 11 February 2020, when she rode a monstrous 22.4m (73.5ft) wave at Nazaré in Portugal. It set the world record for the biggest wave ever surfed by a woman. It was also the biggest wave surfed by anyone, male or female – the first time this feat has been achieved by a woman. Continue reading...

Covid fatigue, super-spreader events and a virulent local variant of the virus put economy and healthcare in crisis

Pair said to have become disillusioned by ‘hate’ they encountered onlineThe Duke and Duchess of Sussex have reportedly abandoned social media as they focus on their new roles in the US.Harry and Meghan, who amassed more than 10 million followers on their official royal Instagram account, are said to have become disillusioned by the “hate” they encountered online. Continue reading...

The former Observer writer and now GP talks about his new book, 34 Patients, and the challenges he has faced during the pandemic

Burgeoning hopes for a normal sporting and cultural calendar are now in question again as infections increase

What are the restrictions in Brisbane since a worker tested positive to the UK strain of Covid-19? Do I have to wear a mask and how do Victoria’s border closures with NSW and Queensland work? Untangle Australia’s Covid-19 laws and guidelines with our guide

Hundreds of criminal cases could be halted following landmark change in legislationArgentina has announced it will drop criminal charges against women accused of having abortions following the government’s historic decision to legalise the procedure.The announcement offers hope to the mostly poor and marginalised women facing criminal sanctions. But lingering problems such as obstetric violence and sexism in the justice system show the struggle for reproductive justice is not over, according to campaigners. Continue reading...

In 2020, in response to Covid, gyms closed and moved online – with massive success. But can we really get fit at home?If Britney can get through 2007, you can get up this hill!” My quads are burning. Sweat soaks into the handlebars. But deep down? I know that Cody Rigsby, my Peloton instructor, a Hercules in Lycra, is correct. I can get up this hill. Furthermore, I can’t let Cody down. You don’t want to disappoint someone who calls you “boo” on a regular basis. “Get your life together, boo!” says Cody.I dig deeper. I push those pedals. I climb the hill. I attempt to get my life together. “Proud of you Peloton!” says Cody. It might be the Britney soundtrack, it might be the endorphins coursing through my system, but for a moment, at least, I believe him. Even though Cody is in his studio in New York and I am in my garage in Bristol. Even though there is no hill, just a £1,750 stationary bicycle with a dial I turn to increase resistance. Even though the Britney Spears 30-Minute Class I just completed wasn’t even live. I am not even a number on Cody’s screen. Continue reading...

The scene-stealing star of the French comedy series - a word-of-mouth Netflix hit - on her journey from a prank show in Paris to co-stardom with Matt Damon“I bought a few sheep during lockdown. Nobody told me they’d eat all my plants. How Parisian is that?” I’m discussing the pandemic with actor Camille Cottin, who during the first Covid lockdown last year decamped from her apartment in the French capital to do up an old farmhouse in Normandy. Now, she’s back in Paris, preparing for what will be a huge year. Already a star in her native France, Cottin is making the leap to major Hollywood roles. Tom McCarthy’s Stillwater, in which she co-stars with Matt Damon, is due for release in the autumn. She is currently polishing her English for her role in Ridley Scott’s Gucci biopic, which starts shooting in a few months and features Adam Driver as Maurizio Gucci and Lady Gaga his ex-wife. And she has just signed up for a huge project that she’s not yet allowed to talk about.Before all that comes the fourth and final season on Netflix later this month of Call My Agent!, the word-of-mouth hit drama that has found new fans looking to binge during lockdown. As Andréa – tough, ruthless, gay, and agent to some of France’s biggest movie stars – Cottin’s is the standout role in a show that has brought her international attention, including a role in series three of Killing Eve. Continue reading...

Gerard Coyne hopes to replace the union’s current leader, Len McCluskey, when he steps down next yearA supporter of Keir Starmer’s leadership is to launch a new attempt to lead Labour’s most generous union backer, the Observer can reveal.Gerard Coyne, who was narrowly defeated by current leader Len McCluskey in a bitter battle for the Unite leadership in 2017, has announced that he will aim to become its new general secretary when a contest begins later this year. Continue reading...

Journalist behind scoop reveals how he tricked whistleblower to get copies of explosive Vietnam war reportsIt is to many the greatest journalistic scoop in a generation – the publication of a 7,000-page government report that laid bare how successive US administrations had escalated the Vietnam war while concealing doubts that the action could ever be successful.That report – the Pentagon Papers – was made public in 1971 by the New York Times over legal objections by the Nixon administration. But the manner in which the documents had been obtained by Times reporter Neil Sheehan has always been a mystery. Continue reading...

Premier Mark McGowan said the man, who jumped off the ship, was an ‘unusual case’ and did not pose a risk to the communityA crew member of a bulk carrier ship has been arrested and charged after allegedly swimming ashore at a Western Australian port with the premier, Mark McGowan, labelling the incident “unusual”.Authorities allege the 37-year-old Vietnamese national jumped into the water on Saturday two days after the bulk carrier berthed at the Albany port. Continue reading...

Presenter helps dun-coloured pants also worn by President-elect Biden roar back into geek chic fashionSteve Kornacki, the MSNBC pundit who broke the internet in November with his khaki trousers, returned to TV screens for the Georgia Senate runoffs this week.Related: 'You can’t lose a single vote': can Biden navigate the 50-50 Senate? Continue reading...

These are difficult times for the young but chasing down life partners always pushes them away, says Mariella FrostrupThe dilemma I have a daughter at university who, since she was 17, has gone from one bad relationship to another, making her feel depressed and worthless, and impacting on her work. It’s a recurring cycle. She becomes deeply committed to a relationship only to be slowly cast aside or dumped, further denting her already low self-esteem. When she is on form (and single) she is fun-loving and outgoing, always kind. She is smart and attractive. I am not clear what is going wrong or how to advise her.Her last boyfriend spent several months chasing her; eventually she agreed but, after a few happy months, he slowly “reeled her out”, saying that he could not commit. Now in lonely lockdown she feels ever more abandoned and is wondering what is wrong with her or what she is doing wrong. On our long phone conversations I advise her to focus on her degree and get immersed in the work as a cure. I reassure her that things will work out in the end and that these things are normal and nothing to do with her personally. I am worried that this will affect her degree. I know life is a learning process, but I would like her to learn some strategies. Continue reading...

A 50-year-old man managed to escape and was taken to hospital suffering smoke inhalationA woman and three children have been found dead after a fierce fire ripped through a home in Melbourne’s south-east overnight.A man believed to be related to the family was also injured in the fire and is in hospital. Continue reading...

Joint statement by four foreign ministers expresses ‘serious concern’ about national security law which saw dozens of activists arrested last weekThe foreign ministers of Australia, the United States, Britain and Canada have issued a joint statement expressing “serious concern” about the arrest of 55 democracy activists and supporters in Hong Kong last week.The arrests were by far the largest such action taken under a national security law (NSL) that China imposed on the semi-autonomous territory a little more than six months ago. Continue reading...

Post claimed women in Xinjiang had been ‘emancipated’ as a result of China’s claimed efforts to eradicate extremismTwitter has removed a post by China’s US embassy claiming that Uighur women have been “emancipated” from extremism and were no longer “baby-making machines”. The post linked to an article denying allegations of forced sterilisation in Xinjiang.Twitter said the post had “violated the Twitter rules” but did not provide further details. Continue reading...

Shops hoping business will soon be back to normal as NSW premier praises community’s ’sacrifice’Residents on Sydney’s northern beaches have welcomed the end of a tough three-week lockdown and praised the “amazing” community solidarity that helped avert a disastrous outbreak.The past three weeks proved an immense challenge for the northern beaches, particularly the northernmost zone. The lockdown ruined Christmas holiday plans and robbed local businesses of revenue during their busiest trading period. Continue reading...

Hopes high that three-day snap lockdown in Queensland can be lifted on Monday night

Pro-independence party calls for Boris Johnson to pay for mounting costs and disruption of leaving EUThe Scottish National Party (SNP) has demanded that Boris Johnson pay billions of pounds in compensation to Scotland for the mounting costs and disruption of Brexit.Brexit has strained the bonds that tie together the United Kingdom: England and Wales voted to leave but Northern Ireland and Scotland voted to stay. Continue reading...

Christine Aschbacher leaves cabinet post after allegations that some of her university work was fraudulentAustrian minister Christine Aschbacher resigned from her cabinet post in charge of labour, families and youth on Saturday following allegations that some of her university work was plagiarised.A Conservative from chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s OeVP party, Aschbacher said she had stepped down to “protect my family”, complaining of “hostility, political agitation and attacks … with unbearable force”. Continue reading...

Former MP accused of inappropriate physical contact in 2017 and suspended from partyA former Labour MP has left the party before an inquiry into sexual harassment allegation against him were able to be concluded, the party has confirmed.Kelvin Hopkins was accused in 2017 of inappropriate physical contact and was suspended by the Labour party pending an investigation. Continue reading...