The Ukrainian president joked that Russians have hacked his headset after translations stopped working during a discussion at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday. Speaking to Christaine Amanpour, Volodymyr Zelenskiy can be seen fiddling with his headset before he jokingly says: ‘I think, cyber-attack.’Zelenskiy travelled to Munich to deliver a rallying call to the west, despite US warnings that Russia might exploit his absence to topple him before he returns to Kyiv.
The staff look more like bartenders than the butchers of my childhood. One day, I’ll pluck up the courage…First, the whole foods store shrank to half its previous size, then, in the premises it had vacated, the renovation work began. At first, I thought we were about to get a physiotherapist or a chiropractor: the space seemed somewhat medical, and in the window hung two neons that looked, unlit, like they might be a couple of human spines. But when they were finally switched on a few weeks later, all became clear. In fact, the neons are stylised meat carcasses. It seems there’s now a groovy new butcher at the end of our street.Naturally, I was triumphant about this at first, a feeling that only grew when I Googled to find out more. Stella’s is, apparently, the younger sister of Hill & Szrok in Broadway Market in Hackney, a shop I’ve never visited – I left that part of London in 2004, before its swankification was complete – but which is, according to one source, London’s best butcher by day and a restaurant by night. Stella’s, too, may one day expand to include a “tartare bar”, but for now it is a purveyor of meat from small herds (tick) and a supporter of sustainable farming (tick, tick). Continue reading...
Seoul furious at Japanese bid for Unesco listing for Sado gold mine complex, which used slave labour in 1940sJapan has set itself on a diplomatic collision course with South Korea by applying for Unesco world heritage status for gold and silver mines on an island off its west coast which used forced labour from Korea.The row over the mines – on Sado island in the Sea of Japan – is expected to further sour relations between the countries just as the US is pressing them to present a united front against North Korea’s nuclear programme. Continue reading...
The singer, 48, on always knowing that her voice was different, speaking out about abusive relationships and singing for PrinceI was given a special instrument at birth. Mum, Dad and my siblings all sang, but I understood my voice was different. By the age of eight I’d decided I’d do it professionally. But I had no idea how Beverley from Wolverhampton went from watching Top of the Pops to being on it.My parents were dedicated Christian folk. We were always at services and meetings, and music was a constant presence. It was only when I stole the radio from my parents’ bedroom I discovered a whole new world of sounds. Continue reading...
The author’s hand-picked panel share their ideas on music, mushrooms, zombies and moreWhat do you get when you bring together some of the most revered thinkers, most progressive-minded activists and one of the most celebrated novelists writing today to discuss the immense challenges we face? A debate about the Spice Girls, of course! For the Guardian’s Saturday magazine, Margaret Atwood wanted to gather some of her favourite experts from around the globe, to ask how they see the world we live in – and what they believe is key to creating the future they want to see.The lineup included bestselling author Raj Patel, dubbed the “rock star of social justice writing”; Senator Yvonne Boyer, the first Indigenous person appointed to the Canadian senate from Ontario; Akala, a writer, musician and poet; the excellently named Merlin Sheldrake, an expert on fungi; Kate Fletcher, whose speciality is sustainable fashion; Jessie Housty, a young Indigenous activist with a focus on decolonisation and community; and Yasmeen Hassan of Equality Now, which works to combat gender discrimination. The panel, hand-picked by Atwood, reflects the many disparate subjects the author is passionate about, and she was as keen to hear from them as they were to understand her vision and ideas. Continue reading...
by Introduction Margaret Atwood Interviews Candice Pi on (#5WA9F)
With reproductive rights being increasingly restricted in Europe, people are relying on a network of volunteers to help themWhen The Handmaid’s Tale first came out in 1985, the initial response was broadly that people thought such threats to women’s bodies and reproductive rights “couldn’t happen here”. By the time it aired as a TV series in 2017, just after Donald Trump was inaugurated in the US, people were no longer so sure. With every headline about gains in reproductive rights – Ireland repealing the eighth amendment in 2018, which had effectively banned abortions – there are others that underscore how fragile these rights are, wherever you live.Recent changes to abortion law in Texas, which have prohibited abortions after six weeks – one of the most restrictive rules in the nation – and Poland’s near total ban on the procedure last year make it clear just how slippery the slope still is. We have to ask: what kind of country do we want to live in? A democratic one in which every individual is free to make decisions concerning their health and body, or one in which half the population is free and the state corrals the bodies of the other half? Continue reading...
From drinking coffee on an empty stomach to the merits of fasting, have we been getting breakfast all wrong?“I think everyone should consider skipping breakfast as an experiment,” says Professor Tim Spector, author of the recently reissued Spoon-Fed: Why Almost Everything We’ve Been Told About Food Is Wrong. The question of whether breakfast is or isn’t good for us has been around for years – with the waters thoroughly muddied by research funded by breakfast cereal brands like Kellogg’s and Quakers. (You can guess what they concluded.) Continue reading...
Mayor says public fear of subways is driving riders from the system and announces more mental health support to homelessNew York leaders on Friday released a plan to strictly enforce rules on the New York City subway as part of an aggressive effort to remove homeless people from the city’s sprawling transit system.“No more just doing whatever you want,” said the New York City mayor, Eric Adams, at a press conference announcing the plan on Friday in a subway station in lower Manhattan. “Those days are over. Swipe your MetroCard, ride the system and get off at your destination. That’s what this administration is saying.” Continue reading...
French fashion house to open factories in Louviers, Sormonne and Riom as bags become must-havesHermès, the French luxury goods maker, is opening three new factories as it struggles to keep up with demand for its £5,000-plus Birkin and Kelly handbags.The company said on Friday it planned to open new leather goods factories in the French towns of Louviers, Sormonne and Riom before 2024 in order to increase and speed up its production of the expensive bags. Continue reading...
Teenager admits possessing knife but pleads not guilty in fatal stabbing of schoolgirl in city centreA teenager has denied the murder of 12-year-old Ava White but admitted possessing a knife.The schoolgirl was fatally stabbed in the neck after a Christmas lights switch-on in Liverpool city centre on 25 November. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Firms with UK-traded shares paid the Russian government £39bn in taxes in 2020, so any sanctions would hurtWith Vladimir Putin’s troops massed on the Ukrainian border, governments in the US and Europe have vowed to retaliate by imposing harsh economic restrictions. The British foreign secretary, Liz Truss, has warned of “the toughest sanctions regime against Russia we have ever had”.Of all the countries threatening economic retaliation, the UK has an outsized ability to inflict damage. There is thought to be more Russian gold in London than in any other city in the world. Not only in the Chelsea mansions that house the families of oligarchs, but on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Continue reading...
The star of Matt Reeves’ upcoming film says he spent two weeks experimenting with vocal delivery. It did not go wellRobert Pattinson says he originally tried doing a different voice when playing Batman, but was told to stop because it was “absolutely atrocious”.Speaking to American talkshow host Jimmy Kimmel, Pattinson – who stars in the new Batman film directed by Matt Reeves – said there was something about putting the suit on that meant “you have to speak in a certain way”.Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading...
Friday: Restrictions introduced to curb the spread of Omicron, including bans on singing and dancing, will be eased over the next week in NSW and Victoria. Plus: how we can repel threats to Australian democracyGood morning. The US president, Joe Biden, has warned the threat of a Russian invasion into Ukraine is imminent. Covid restrictions in New South Wales and Victoria begin easing from today, and marine scientists call for calm after a fatal shark attack in Sydney.Restrictions introduced to curb the spread of Omicron across Australia’s two most populous states will be eased over the next week as cases continue to drop in NSW and Victoria. The changes, similar across both states, will begin to take effect from Friday. However, the lifting of the indoor mask mandate remains another week away. In Victoria, from 6pm on Friday, density limits at hospitality and entertainment venues will be removed, dancefloors can reopen and QR code check-ins will no longer be required in retail settings, schools and many workplaces. In NSW, from 12.01am Friday, density limits will be scrapped, QR codes will remain only for nightclubs and music festivals with more than 1,000 attenders, and singing and dancing can resume at venues other than at festivals. Continue reading...
Most residents agree the Eden’s Projects creator’s comments were unfair, but others say there was a ‘grain of truth’He saw it as a relaxed chat for a local podcast about social issues in the place he has worked and lived in for more than three decades and so, by his own admission, was a little unguarded.But Sir Tim Smit, the co-founder of Cornwall’s Eden Project, has become embroiled in a furore in his adopted homeland after suggesting that the Cornish could be “a bit more fucking articulate” and were too fond of looking backwards to “good old days [that] never were the good old days”. Continue reading...
Suzanne Fletcher says allowing asylum seekers to work and housing them in communities rather than detention centres would save billions of pounds and even livesNot only is the government going to spend £2.7bn on implementing the dreadful nationality and borders bill (Refugee group warns of ‘astonishing’ cost of new Home Office policies, 14 February), but it is already spending more than it needs on existing policies.There are billions that could be saved if it stopped detaining people in immigration detention centres and housed them in the community instead. If it allowed asylum seekers the right to work. If it stopped refusing so many applications, only to have to spend money on defending those decisions and losing over half the cases. If it was more efficient and made faster, fairer decisions to save housing and support seekers of sanctuary for what can be 10 years or more. If only. Continue reading...
The UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, has said that an attack on a kindergarten in Ukraine was a 'false-flag operation' by Russia designed to discredit the Ukrainians.'The picture is continuing to be very grim,' Johnson told reporters during a visit to RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, when asked about the latest intelligence on Ukraine.'A kindergarten was shelled in what we are taking to be, what we know was, a false-flag operation designed to discredit the Ukrainians, designed to create a pretext, a spurious provocation for Russian action.'We fear very much that that is a thing we will see more of over the next few days,' Johnson addedUkraine crisis: live blog Continue reading...
Isabel Díaz Ayuso says Pablo Casado has tried to destroy her reputation amid reports he hired private investigatorsThe regional president of Madrid has accused the leadership of her own conservative People’s party (PP) of waging a “cruel and unfair” campaign to destroy her with false corruption allegations amid reports the party tried to hire private detectives to investigate her family.Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who is often touted as a future PP leader, spoke out after media reports suggested that, during the first wave of the Covid pandemic, her administration gave a €1.5m contract for face masks to a company linked to her brother – for which he received a commission. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#5W834)
All trains cancelled in Wales and several major road bridges closed as UK braces for winds of up to 90mphRail firms are warning passengers to avoid travel on Friday, when the worst storm in three decades is forecast to hit the UK.Journeys across Britain will be affected by speed restrictions and delays on Friday, the rail industry said, as Storm Eunice is expected to cause major disruption. Continue reading...
The UK foreign secretary, Liz Truss, has said there are no signs that Russia's military buildup on the Ukraine border is slowing down.Speaking in Kyiv, Truss said the UK stood 'shoulder to shoulder' with Ukraine in the face of the threatUkraine crisis: live blog
Uncertainty over number of people still trapped in mud in Petrópolis after homes and cars swept awayRio de Janeiro state government has confirmed 105 deaths from the floods and mudslides that swept away homes and cars in the city of Petrópolis, with the number of people still trapped in the mud unclear.Rubens Bomtempo, mayor of the city, was not able to offer an estimate for how many people were missing, as recovery efforts continued. “We don’t yet know the full scale of this,” Bomtempo said. “It was a hard day, a difficult day.” Continue reading...
by Mark Brown North of England correspondent on (#5W88E)
Fire services, breakdown services and animal welfare charity suggest how to get ready for power cuts and other disruptionObviously it’s a cliche, but “be prepared” is the best advice ahead of Storm Eunice, which could bring gusts of up to 90mph as well as heavy snow and blizzards.Power cuts caused by fallen trees are highly likely and there are a few straightforward things which people can do in preparation, Northumberland fire and rescue service said. Continue reading...
If you have suffered travel disruption or been left without power because of the weather, we want to hear from youThousands have been left without power as Storm Dudley brought chaos to roads and rail services across Scotland and northern England. The worst-affected areas include the North East of England, Cumbria, Lancashire as well as Edinburgh and Glasgow.The Met Office has also issued weather warnings for Friday covering much of the country, with Storm Eunice expected to bring winds of up to 100mph in parts. Continue reading...
Yes, we need to do something about obesity. But this new legislation seems unlikely to helpEverything I am, I owe to calories, as Sophia Loren never quite said. I have built myself, one edible unit of energy at a time. In truth I have more than built myself. I am over-engineered, in the way Mussolini’s Milan railway station is over-engineered, or Jason Momoa is over-engineered. See how deftly I compare myself to Momoa? We are exactly the same, him and me. Save that every calorie he consumes turns into a plank of rippling muscle, while mine turn into the greatest muffin top this side of the Greggs cake counter. But it’s all flesh, right?Ah, calories. Mostly I try to ignore them; to regard them as I do the isobars on a meteorologist’s map which in no way describe the experience of standing outside in a howling gale. I know that not all calories are equal; that calories from carbs impact the body differently to those obtained from protein, for example. I also know that we all process foods differently. I have a metabolism that suggests I may at some point have been gene-spliced with a sloth, and hence spend hours in the gym brutalising myself. I also like my dinner very much. I regard the diet book industry as a massive scam. If a single diet book worked there would be no need to publish another one ever again. But still they come. Continue reading...
Serre Chevalier near Briançon is defying the sceptics with its solar, wind and hydro-powered shift towards building the ski resort of the future“Studies predict that with climate change, skiing will be able to take place here in its current form until 2050…” These profound words came not from an environmentalist, but from the lips of Patrick Arnaud, the manager of Serre Chevalier ski area in the French Alps. As I sat there, looking up at the snow-capped peaks behind him, with my 16-month-old son on my lap, all I could think was how close that date suddenly felt.Ask people if taking a ski trip is good for the environment and they’ll likely come back with a resounding no. First there’s the way people often access it – via short-haul, carbon-emitting flights. Then there’s the type of work that has to be done on the mountain to make it suitable for skiers – from deforestation and grooming pistes (using diesel-powered vehicles), to running chairlifts to get people back up the slopes (yet more greenhouse gas emissions). And then there’s the catch-22 in the form of snow production – with temperatures rising, more snow needs to be made artificially to keep the traditional areas open, but this emits more carbon into the atmosphere, exacerbating the problem. Continue reading...
Authorities regularly detain environmentalists, rights campaigners and dissidents to prevent them travelling or attending events, says Human Rights WatchThe Vietnamese government is routinely placing activists under arbitrary house arrest, employing tactics including stationing guards outside their homes, setting up roadblocks nearby and using superglue and padlocks to jam their doors shut, according to a report.The study by Human Rights Watch (HRW) documented cases involving 170 rights activists, bloggers, dissidents and their family members who were prevented from domestic and international travel between 2004 and 2021. The real number of those affected is likely to be higher, the report warned.
Public safety minister speaks after arrest of extremists accused of plotting to kill police officers in Canada border town of CouttsCanada’s public safety minister has warned of ties between protesters occupying the country’s capital and a group of far-right extremists who were charged earlier this week in the border town of Coutts, Alberta, over an alleged plot to kill police officers.“Several of the individuals at Coutts have strong ties to a far-right extreme organization with leaders who are in Ottawa,” the minister, Marco Medicino, told reporters on Wednesday. Continue reading...
A breakthrough in the 2015 nuclear deal talks could be just days away, but key differences remainIran has reached a moment of truth and must decide in days, not weeks, whether to accept the text of a nuclear deal accepted by China, Russia, European powers and the US, the French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, has said.His claim that the text was now agreed, not just between western powers, but also Russia and China, is designed to put maximum pressure on Iran to accept the attempt to revive its landmark nuclear deal, by which it agreed to limit nuclear activity in return for the lifting of some sanctions. Continue reading...
The Netflix series on ‘Soho grifter’ Anna Delvey is at once overlong and underwhelmingThere’s a recurring impulse throughout Inventing Anna, the nine-part Netflix limited series on the so-called “Soho Grifter”, to apply the scam logic of Anna Delvey – a broke twentysomething Russian émigré who posed as a wealthy German heiress in mid-2010s New York – to society at large. Capitalism is a scam. So is meritocracy. Rich people can skate by on the assumption of their wealth; men fake it till they make it all the time. There’s a point to this, however blunt and flattening it’s made in connection to Anna Delvey. Part of our evergreen fascination with scams – an amorphous zeitgeist that includes everything from Fyre festival to the Tinder Swindler to upcoming series on Elizabeth Holmes and WeWork’s implosion – derives from recognition. They’re extreme versions of dynamics with which we’re all familiar: exploitation, manipulation of trust, seductive performance, inflation of the self.Based-on-a-true-story television, like a scam, requires sustained disbelief; if done well, it’s a potent cocktail of truth and dramatic embellishment. There’s an implicit contract with the audience that some details will be juiced up, some facts changed. Inventing Anna, the first Netflix series created by Shonda Rhimes under her blockbuster deal with Netflix (2020 hit Bridgerton, produced by her company Shondaland, was created by Rhimes protege Chris Van Dusen), invokes this connection at the beginning of each episode with a cheeky reminder: “This whole story is completely true, except for all the parts that are totally made up.” Continue reading...
Scotland Yard looking into allegations that the Prince’s Foundation charity offered help in securing a knighthoodThe Prince of Wales is facing the prospect of being interviewed by police as a witness after Scotland Yard launched an investigation into an alleged cash-for-honours scandal.The Prince’s Foundation, Charles’s charitable body, is at the heart of a criminal inquiry into allegations that a Saudi donor was offered help in securing a knighthood. Continue reading...
Thursday: Secretary general of military alliance contradicts Vladimir Putin’s claim of a partial withdrawal of troops from Ukraine’s border. Plus: sadness as Bob Hawke’s watering hole set to closeGood morning. The Ukraine crisis is developing as Nato contradicts Putin’s claim of a troop drawdown, Australian economists warn of vastly unequal tax outcomes and Sydney’s first fatal shark attack in nearly 60 years has left the city’s beaches closed.Tax cuts planned to take effect in 2024-25 would pay male beneficiaries twice as much as women, separate analyses by the Australia Institute, the Greens and the Australian Council of Social Service have found. “Men in the top 10% of taxpayers [would] get almost 40% of the tax cut,” the Australia Institute said, with a parliamentary budget office report also suggesting the top 1% of earners would receive $11.8bn back, compared with $12.7bn for the lowest 60% of earners. The treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s office released “unpublished” data this month that said 5.2 million women had benefited from $14.4bn in tax relief across the past two and a half years. Continue reading...
by Emmanuel Akinwotu West Africa correspondent on (#5W794)
After months of diplomatic crisis the departure will mark an end to a fraught nine-year missionFrance is expected to formally announce within days a phased withdrawal of its military forces in Mali after almost a decade, after months of diplomatic crisis between the two countries.The departure will mark an end to a fraught nine-year mission in Mali that French governments have argued is integral to regional security as well as prevent jihadist threats in Europe. Continue reading...
The French language guardian warns an explosion in the use of anglicisms by organisations risks social divisionThe centuries-old language watchdog, the Académie Française, has warned that growing use of English by public and private bodies risks poor communication and could even undermine social cohesion.A report by six members of the body, published online this week, warns that “today’s communication is characterised by a degradation that must not be seen as inevitable”. Continue reading...
The Galicia-based trawler sank off Newfoundland with just three known survivors from the crew of 24Spain was in mourning for its worst fishing tragedy in almost 40 years, as rescuers warned on Wednesday that it was unlikely they would find any more survivors from a ship that sank in rough seas off Newfoundland.Search teams have so far confirmed 10 dead and rescued three survivors from a life raft, and the search continues for 11 others who remain unaccounted for. Continue reading...
by Vikram Dodd Police and crime correspondent on (#5W6YV)
Confidence in force fell sharply during past five years, with 68% saying Met did a good job in 2017Public confidence in the Metropolitan police has fallen sharply in the five years Cressida Dick has been leading Britain’s biggest force, figures published on Wednesday show.Only 51% of those in London said they believed the Met did a good job in their local area, down 17 points compared with the last survey before Dick became Met commissioner in April 2017. Continue reading...
Nato secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, has said he sees no signs of de-escalation on the ground from Russia's military, while urging Russia to 'step back from the brink of war'. He also reiterated that Nato action was defensive and 'not a threat to Russia'.Nato defence ministers are in Brussels for two days to discuss Russia military build-up on the Ukrainian border
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