by Lisa O'Carroll Brexit correspondent on (#5DM1A)
Decision came after council withdrew 12 staff at Larne following reports of ‘menacing behaviour’Brexit checks on animal and food products arriving into Belfast and Larne ports have been suspended amid fears over the safety of staff, Northern Ireland’s agriculture ministry has said.The decision came after Mid and East Antrim borough council agreed on Monday night to remove 12 of its staff at Larne port with immediate effect, following an “upsurge in sinister and menacing behaviour in recent weeks”.
An amber weather warning for snow is in force across much of South Yorkshire and parts of Derbyshire, West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester until 1pm on Wednesday. Between 3cm and 8cm of snow is likely, with 10cm to 15cm possible in areas above 200 metres
Activists are urging a traditional show of solidarity amid wary anger over the military’s coupIn Myanmar, if you want to drive evil from your home, you bang pots and pans. Yangon’s streets were filled with the din of clashing metal in 2007, when monks called for an end to military rule, and before that, in 1988 when the former president Sein Lwin, or the “butcher of Rangoon”, ordered troops to shoot pro-democracy protesters. Activists have called for pots and pans again.Evil has returned, they say; Gen Min Aung Hlaing has led a military coup against the democratically elected government and its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, whose immense popularity within the country helped her National League for Democracy (NLD) win a landslide victory in 2020. The military’s electoral proxy secured fewer than 7% of available seats, leading it, and the military, to claim widespread electoral “fraud” without evidence. Continue reading...
Coronavirus vaccine appointments in parts of North Yorkshire to be rescheduled after heavy snowParts of northern England have had heavy snowfall overnight and the Met Office has warned rural communities are at risk of being cut off and widespread travel disruption is likely.The warning came as the the Met Office said last month was the coldest January in the UK since 2010 with an average temperature of 2.2C. It was also been the coldest calendar month since March 2013, which also recorded an average temperature of 2.2C. The coldest January on record was 1963 with a mean temperature of minus 1.9C. Continue reading...
The physiological changes that take place around a woman’s period can affect her training. Experts assess when to take it easy – and when you should go hard
Amid lockdowns, their daily activities have been put on hold – and their owners fear they won’t recover from itThe daily life of a working guide dog is filled with dynamic combinations of people, smells, sights and sounds. Their job – to navigate this cacophony on behalf of their visually impaired handlers – is intense and important. When Covid-19 hit, these dogs couldn’t open up a laptop and continue working from home. Now, their owners are grappling with the pandemic’s long-term effects on their guides and guardians.“One of my very first thoughts when I heard that my city was shutting down was ‘OK, what am I going to do with my dog?’” says Marie Villaneda, 19, of Bloomington, Indiana. She got her guide, a five-year-old Bernese mountain dog and black lab mix named Milot, at 15. Pre-pandemic, the duo walked 10 miles a day, so “it became clear very, very quickly that Milot was bored”. For guide dogs, “guiding is like writing a doctorate dissertation. It takes a lot of the dog’s brain power and physical energy,” she says, “and there’s just nothing equivalent that I can simulate at home.” Continue reading...
Babis Makridis takes to the sky with an experimental and sometimes difficult to watch manifesto inspired by Aristophanes’s play The BirdsTwo-thirds of the way into this experimental Greek docu-fiction, one of the wandering souls featured – apparently watching footage from the film – loses his rag. “This is not about birds. It’s about us being crazy as loons. Come on Babis, I’m a customer here, too, I need to understand.” With director Babis Makridis showing all the confrontational strangeness of the Greek new wave here, the exasperation is understandable.What Makridis has cobbled together is a poetic and initially utopian manifesto for self-liberation inspired by Aristophanes’ play The Birds, in which a king transforms into a hoopoe. In nine chapters with titles such as “Find your voice” and “Take off, land”, Makridis quizzes the characters in poker-faced interview setups about their hopes of becoming birds, and observes these avian wannabes as they make strange fluttering calls on urban streets and roam stark landscapes in search of their inspiration, “Mr Hoopoe” – all intercut with performance excerpts from Aristophanes. The precise significance of all this remains up in the clouds with the aerobatic planes he marvels at; although the assemblage starts to drum up an almost shamanistic mania as people perfect their bespoke bird caws and incant against a lightning-blasted cityscape. Perhaps the lack of easy graspability is trying to jar us into a similar consciousness shift, to get modern society soaring above its current disillusionment. Continue reading...
Canadian casino executive and his wife sneaked into remote town to get injections meant for older populationOn a chilly morning in late January, three planes landed on the lone airstrip of a remote community in northern Canada.The first two carried members of a mobile team from the Yukon territory’s health department who were there to give Covid-19 vaccines to the residents of Beaver Creek. The tiny settlement of about 100 inhabitants had been prioritised because of its older population, many of whom belong to the White River First Nation. Continue reading...
Australia may not be a post-truth Covid hellscape – but the Coalition can no longer be a safe harbour for fringe viewsIf you’ve been imbibing Craig’s Kelly’s Covid monologues over the summer and wondering why Scott Morrison lets one of his own MPs regularly contradict the official public health advice without rebuke, let me try to answer your question.Given that this is politics, we can start with politics. Let me draw your attention to what I’ll call Project Representation. Continue reading...
Study of pregnant women travelling to health facilities found journeys took up to four times longer than online maps suggestedThe heavy traffic and bad roads of Lagos have been baffling online mapping tools with potential “life and death implications” for people trying to reach the city’s hospitals, research has found.Researchers looked at cases of pregnant women trying to reach hospital in the Nigerian capital, infamous for its roads, and found they faced a journey of up to four times longer than computers and satellites suggest, which mean the models for access to healthcare facilities are also out of kilter. Continue reading...
Labor and Greens call for caps to rein in influence of ‘big money’ on Australia’s parliamentFederal Labor and the Greens have renewed calls for an overhaul of political donation laws after the latest financial disclosures revealed that Clive Palmer donated $75,000 to the Nationals.Political parties received more than $168m in the past financial year, with Palmer’s contribution sparking fresh calls for change. Continue reading...
by Lorenzo Tondo, all photographs by Alessio Mamo for on (#5DMEG)
Through mud and ice, parents and children from Afghanistan and elsewhere attempt the desperate crossing into Croatia. Few make it. Most are reportedly pushed back, time and again, often brutally. The Guardian followed some migrants on their exhausting journeys
A plateful of this delicious cheese-filled bread – and a big glass of Georgian red wine – evoke memories of a joyous meal in the foothills of the CaucasusOne of the most unforgettable meals I’ve eaten was with a Georgian wine-making family, the Vatsadzes, at their home in Racha, in the foothills of the Caucasus. It was a magical-feeling place of clear streams, mountains and meadows tinkling with the sound of cow bells.The family invited us, along with friends and neighbours, to a feast that included dishes of chicken in garlic, braised aubergines, stewed beans, a variety of homemade breads and a casserole of what they claimed was bear meat. Our host, Murad, served his own red and white wines in pitchers. I watched him drawing them beforehand from enormous clay vessels called qvevri buried in the floor of his cellar. Continue reading...
I have been obsessed with the sugar-free soda since I was four, spending £500 a year on up to seven cans a day. This is what happened when I tried to quitThe greatest love story of my life has been with a carbonated beverage.I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t addicted to Diet Coke. Some memories: I am sitting at the kitchen table at my grandmother’s house in northern Cyprus, screaming because my mother won’t refill my yellow-and-green patterned glass. I am four or five years old. My grandmother looks on, disturbed, as I wail disconsolately. My mother does not give in. Continue reading...
Tory MP Caroline Nokes says Home Office is trying to make UK seem ‘as inhospitable as possible’The Conservative former immigration minister Caroline Nokes has accused the Home Office of using barracks accommodation for asylum seekers to make the country appear to them “as difficult and inhospitable as possible”.She said asylum seekers should not be “segregated into a ghetto” in barracks accommodation, but instead placed in supported accommodation where they have access to a range of facilities. Continue reading...
At least 30 homes have been destroyed in an out-of-control bushfire in the Perth Hills. On Tuesday hundreds of people, already in hard Covid lockdown, were told it was 'too late to leave'. The Department of Fire and Emergency Services has yet to release an official figure on the number structures that have been engulfed by flame, but City of Swan mayor Kevin Bailey said the losses were significant
Single malt sales to US have fallen more than third since retaliatory regime was imposed, says industry bodyLosses to Scotch whisky exports after tariffs were imposed by the US have reached £500m, according to an industry body.New figures suggest exports of single malt Scotch whisky have fallen by more than a third – amounting to more than £500m – since a 25% tariff was imposed in October 2019. Continue reading...
by Lucy Campbell (now); Clea Skopeliti, Archie Bland on (#5DJHD)
Portugal reports world’s highest seven-day average of new cases; First vaccine doses arrive in hard-hit South Africa; Austria guards against Brazilian variant
Figure is lower than proportion of black people who live in long-term care homes or work in healthcare, but CDC warns data is incompleteThe US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found only 5.4% of coronavirus vaccine recipients were black, in its first analysis of how vaccines were given out among different demographic groups in the first month of US distribution. Continue reading...
by Rebecca Ratcliffe and a Guardian correspondent in on (#5DKRY)
Civilian leader urges the public to protest against any return to a military dictatorshipMyanmar has been placed on knife edge, with activists fearing a further clampdown after the military detained Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian leaders in early morning raids and took direct control of the country in a coup.A statement attributed to Aung San Suu Kyi said the military – which directly ruled Myanmar for more than 50 years – was trying to reimpose a dictatorship. “I urge people not to accept this, to respond and wholeheartedly to protest against the coup by the military,” it said. Continue reading...
by Hannah Ellis-Petersen South Asia correspondent on (#5DKHW)
Analysis: Despite her popularity Aung San Suu Kyi never had leverage to curb military’s powerSince her election as Myanmar’s de facto leader in 2015, Aung San Suu Kyi’s position has always been a precarious one. For all the international celebration of Myanmar’s transition to democracy after half a century of military rule, in reality the power of the military barely diminished at all. The threat of a coup, the fallback position of the military for decades, had always lingered.For the past five years, Aung San Suu Kyi has governed Myanmar on the basis of a 2008 constitution drawn up by the military themselves. It enshrined military power, allowing them to appoint 25% of seats in parliament, and preserve their interests while curbing some of the crucial powers of the democratically elected leader of the government. Continue reading...
Manson has not commented on allegations on Instagram, that follow Wood’s testimonies in 2018 and 2019 against an unnamed abuserEvan Rachel Wood has accused her former partner Marilyn Manson of years of “horrific” abuse.In an Instagram post, the actor wrote: Continue reading...
Merseyside police continue to treat boy’s death as unexplained amid concern for mother’s welfareThe body of a baby boy discovered at a golf course in Wirral may have been there for several weeks, Merseyside police said.Police are continuing to treat the death as unexplained after an initial postmortem on Monday was inconclusive in determining the cause of death, according to DCS Lee Turner. Continue reading...
Diagnosis made in 2016 and revealed in new magazine article, as singer prepares new duets album with Lady GagaTony Bennett has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.The 94-year-old singer revealed his diagnosis, first made in 2016, in an article by John Colapinto for the US magazine AARP. He also wrote on Twitter: “Life is a gift – even with Alzheimer’s.” Continue reading...
Fashion brand to investigate the death of 20-year-old Jeyasre Kathiravel, reportedly killed by supervisor at Natchi ApparelsThe family of a young garment worker at an H&M supplier factory in Tamil Nadu who was allegedly murdered by her supervisor said she had suffered months of sexual harassment and intimidation on the factory floor in the months before her death, but felt powerless to prevent the abuse from continuing.H&M said it is launching an independent investigation into the killing of Jeyasre Kathiravel, a 20-year-old Dalit garment worker at an H&M supplier Natchi Apparels in Kaithian Kottai, Tamil Nadu, who was found dead on 5 January in farmland near her home. Continue reading...
Brothel windows in red light district to be closed and ‘erotic centre’ set up elsewhere insteadThe brothel windows of Amsterdam’s red light district will be closed and an “erotic centre” will be set up away from the city centre, councillors have agreed.A proposal from the city’s mayor, Femke Halsema, to shut down a significant number of the windows in the narrow alleys around the docks was backed by a broad group of political parties. Continue reading...
We would like to hear from those in Hong Kong who’re planning to take up the new visa and move to the UKOn Sunday, Britain launched its new scheme to offer millions of Hong Kong residents the chance to apply for a visa to move to the UK. The immigration scheme was introduced by the UK government in response to national security laws imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing, last year.The scheme allows anyone with a British national overseas (BNO) passport and their dependents to apply online for a visa allowing them to live and work in the UK. After five years they can then apply for citizenship. Continue reading...
A majority of 58% has confidence vaccinations will effectively stop the virus within Australia, the latest Essential poll suggestsVoters think the Morrison government will be able to manage the rollout of Covid vaccines safely and effectively despite the obvious downside risks, and a majority believes an early election would be an act of opportunism, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll.The data also suggests that Labor has been broadly competitive with the Coalition over the past quarter, despite some in the opposition fearing their leader, Anthony Albanese, can’t get a grip on Scott Morrison – a morale slump that has fuelled open speculation about whether Anthony Albanese will lead the ALP to the next election. Continue reading...
Party lawyer accuses re-elected president Yoweri Museveni of being an ‘agent of violence’The Ugandan opposition leader and presidential challenger Bobi Wine has filed a petition at the country’s highest court to challenge the re-election of Yoweri Museveni in last month’s polls.Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, wants the supreme court in the capital, Kampala, to nullify the victory of Museveni in the 14 January poll. Continue reading...
by Written by Dina Nayeri, read by Lara Sawalha and p on (#5DK2C)
Dina Nayeri was just a child when she fled Iran as an asylum seeker. But as she settled into life in the US and then Europe, she became suspicious of the idea that refugees should shed their old identities and be eternally thankful• Read the text version here
The popularity of classic shows in the past year is about more than nostalgia – what pulls us back in is their relevance to todayAt least Covid struck during the age of “peak TV”. After all, were this not a time when the shows being piped into our living rooms were better, smarter, starrier, more plentiful and more readily available than ever before, what would we have done to stay on an even keen through a year in lockdown?Pretty much what we did anyway, it turns out. Because the viewing trend of the past 12 months, which few saw coming, has been a clamour for the classics. At a time when there is more box-fresh prestige entertainment than you can shake a battered remote at, viewers on both sides of the Atlantic decided instead to reacquaint themselves with old friends: Rodney Trotter, Jerry Seinfeld and, overwhelmingly, Tony Soprano. Continue reading...
by Rebecca Ratcliffe South-east Asia correspondent, a on (#5DJG7)
Military has previously threatened to ‘take action’ over alleged fraud in a November electionMyanmar’s military has taken power in a coup and declared a state of emergency, hours after detaining Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior figures from the ruling party.Phone and mobile internet services in the city of Yangon were down on Monday morning and military trucks, one carrying barbed-wire barriers, were parked outside City Hall. State-run MRTV television said it had been unable to broadcast. Banks were closed across the nation. Continue reading...
by Mostafa Rachwani (now) and Amy Remeikis (earlier) on (#5DJE8)
Authorities warn of imminent threat to lives and homes in fire; Scott Morrison gives first major speech of 2021; much of Western Australia shut down. Follow the latest updates, live
In return for the guilty pleas, the prosecution will withdraw other charges against 27 individuals and their employersMedia companies have admitted breaching a suppression order when reporting on the verdicts of George Pell’s 2018 trial but other contempt charges have been dismissed along with all charges against individual reporters and editors.The Victorian supreme court heard on Monday that the director of public prosecutions would withdraw the vast majority of charges against 27 individuals and their employers. Continue reading...
The great literary love affair not only fed the visionary novel Orlando, but staked out new ground for women - and inspired the graphic novelist’s own hunt for the ideal relationship
He played a redemption-seeking redneck on TV, but lately the actor has found solace off-screen, travelling with his camera. He talks about slackers, the Mallrats sequel and breezing into one-horse townsJason Lee knew he was in trouble when he stepped on the set. The year was 1992, Sonic Youth were at their peak and he was starring as a doomed skateboarder in their latest video. As a music obsessed, pro skateboarder with acting aspirations, he felt he had a point to prove. To add more pressure, it was for the song 100% – the band’s classic ode to a murdered Black Flag roadie – and the video was being co-directed by one of his skateboarding friends (some guy called Spike Jonze).“I was really trying my hardest to focus,” says Lee. “I was like pretending to be Robert De Niro on the set, really trying to get into it and make it count and make it real and believable.” Continue reading...
3 February 1921 A singing thrush breaks the hoarse sound of the jackdaw, while far are the mating calls of blackbird and woodpeckerWith just enough of frost to crisp the pasture the heavy carts have been out and across the land, carrying their last loads for spreading; blue smoke has gone up into a morning mist from the heaps out of cleared hedges and lopped trees in the great park; farther off, the sun, strengthening, glistens on young corn; and now the cattle, in a long line, follow a labourer who bears a big fork full of hay into the field for a meal that will make a change for them from watery cold grass. Below the orchard spades are at work. This open weather helps the garden; you can trench well down and bring the under soil into light and air with so much of promise of full crops as can as yet be foreseen. Produce waits upon a spade.Related: Country diary 1917: warmth from the sun brings out winter wildlife Continue reading...
Hammond was known for works inspired by the natural world and critical of colonial destructionRenowned New Zealand artist Bill Hammond has died, prompting an outpouring of grief and aroha from Kiwis. He was 74.Hammond was born in Christchurch in 1947 and studied at the University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts. He later gained recognition for cityscapes incorporating elements of film noir, pop culture and comic book references. The Christchurch Art Gallery described his work at a 2007 exhibition as “awash with visual sampling, splicing and mixing”. Continue reading...