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Helen Macdonald calls process ‘a farce’ after postmortem tests suggest Geronimo might not have had bovine tuberculosisThe owner of Geronimo, the alpaca who was culled because officials believed he had bovine tuberculosis, has launched a fierce attack on the UK government after postmortem tests suggested he might have been clear of the disease after all.Helen Macdonald said she felt betrayed and continued to grieve deeply for Geronimo’s ‘“senseless” loss. “It’s a rollercoaster. No two minutes are the same. I feel grief, traumatic grief.” Continue reading...

Justices are allowing the law, the strictest such regulation in America to date, to remain in effectThe supreme court ruled on Friday that Texas abortion providers can sue over the state’s ban on most abortions, but the justices are allowing the law, the strictest such regulation in America to date, to remain in effect.The decision is a mixed result for reproductive health advocates at a time when social conservatives seem on the march in America and the supreme court is leaning towards restricting or outlawing abortion nationally in the future with its conservative supermajority, engineered by Donald Trump. Continue reading...

Move from Miloš Zeman threatens to further delay the inauguration of the new coalitionThe Czech president, Miloš Zeman, has set the stage for a constitutional tug of war after rejecting the nominee to be the country’s next foreign minister on the grounds of his allegedly poor degree thesis.In a move decried as legally baseless by many constitutional scholars, Zeman refused to accept the nomination of Jan Lipavský, citing “low qualifications” and adding that he had only completed a bachelor’s degree, which he said was a lower qualification than those held by all other proposed ministers in the incoming coalition government. Continue reading...

Members of Red Command drug faction accused of crime that caused outcry across BrazilNearly a year after three young boys vanished near their homes in Rio de Janeiro’s rundown northern sprawl, police have accused members of the city’s largest drug faction of murdering the children in reprisal for stealing an ornamental bird.The boys – aged nine, 11 and 12 – disappeared on the afternoon of 27 December 2020 after leaving their homes in the Morro do Castelar favela to play. They were last seen in eerie security footage showing them walking towards a local street market. Continue reading...

In Guardian Australia’s online culture podcast, Michael Sun and Alyx Gorman bring in YouTube Asia-Pacific’s culture and trends lead Ashley Chang to discuss the best and worst of last year – and what to expect from 2022 across fashion, gaming and the internet. Then, writer Cam Williams joins Michael and Alyx to talk about why mortifying teenage email IDs are actually anti-capitalist

Concerns over equipment shortages, bottlenecks and hesitancy on continent with 7.5% vaccine coverage

Council says Bailiff Bridge tree has grown too tall, meaning it is unsafe to decorate higher sectionsThe Christmas tree in Bailiff Bridge is shining a metaphorical light on the West Yorkshire village, having been described as “the worst in the north” after it was decorated only a third of the way up.Council bosses say the issue with sprucing up the spruce is that the natural tree has grown too tall, meaning it is unsafe to decorate the higher sections “as they can’t be reached by any maintenance vehicles”, according to Calderdale council’s cabinet member for public services and communities, Jenny Lynn. Continue reading...

At least 54 people dead and 105 left injured after vehicle rolled over on highway close to Guatemala borderAt least 54 people have died and 105 been injured after a horrific crash in southern Mexico involving a lorry that was reportedly smuggling mostly Central American migrants towards the US.The disaster – one of the worst to affect migrants in Mexico in recent memory – took place as the vehicle travelled north from Comitán, a town close to the Mexico-Guatemala border, with as many as 200 people crammed into its container. Continue reading...

Fears families will be forced to choose who sees older relatives as government considers further Covid curbs

Alleged dishonesty over Downing Street Christmas party and flat redecoration join list of infamous controversiesWith the Downing Street Christmas party and flat redecoration controversies reaching crisis level this week, Boris Johnson has once again found himself explicitly accused of lying. Here we look at some of the most egregious examples of the prime minister’s alleged dishonesty. Continue reading...

WikiLeaks co-founder’s lawyers say they will seek to appeal, as Amnesty International says decision is a ‘travesty of justice’Julian Assange can be extradited to the US, according to the high court, as it overturned a judgment earlier this year and sparked condemnation from press freedom advocates.The decision deals a major blow to the WikiLeaks co-founder’s efforts to prevent his extradition to the US to face espionage charges, although his lawyers announced they would seek to appeal. Continue reading...

Ambassador says British officials visited Tehran last week for talks on historical debt from 1970s arms saleUK government officials were in Tehran last week discussing legal ways to pay Britain’s historical £400m debt to Iran, the Iranian ambassador to London has said.Mohsen Baharvand added that he was in live discussions with the Foreign Office, and said the issues were not insurmountable. Continue reading...

Intelligence committee found out through the media about Robert Hannigan’s link to disgraced priestParliament’s intelligence watchdog has said it was misled by the government when it failed to reveal that a former GCHQ boss had been allowed to resign quietly after it emerged he had helped a paedophile priest to avoid jail.The intelligence and security committee (ISC) said it had been assured that Robert Hannigan had quit for “family reasons” in 2017, only to discover from a media report two years later that the truth had been covered up with the approval of the then prime minister, Theresa May. Continue reading...

As a female physicist wins an unfair dismissal claim, why some women are viewed as strident or difficult when men aren’tFor quite a loud woman, it’s amazing how hard Judith Howell had to work to get heard. Howell, 49, used to be a government lobbyist, and she noticed a well-known phenomenon: “It’s incredibly male-dominated, and I’d find that if I said something it would get picked up by someone else in the meeting as if they’d said it. So I’d have to push a bit harder, be a bit more strident, literally interrupt and – not shout, but raise my voice. And some people found that very annoying.”Howell cheerfully admits that she has a loud voice. “I grew up in a family of boys,” she boomed. “And I learned to sing at a young age, so I know how to project.” As a rowing coach, when she gives instructions to her crew from the riverbank, she can be heard from nearly a mile away. Continue reading...

Actor mulls over returning to dancing roots while promoting latest Marvel instalmentThe Spider-Man star, Tom Holland, has revealed he is considering quitting acting at the age of 25 as part of a premature “mid-life crisis”.Holland, who was promoting the latest instalment of the Marvel series, said he was considering giving up acting to return to his dancing roots, after he played Billy Elliott on the West End as a child.

Chileans go the polls on 19 December in a presidential run-off that threatens to turn the clock back decadesFor more than 70 years, 10 December has been celebrated around the world as Human Rights Day, a way of commemorating the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed on that date in 1948 by the United Nations. It has turned, in time, into an occasion for those who enjoy those rights to seek ways to amplify them and for those who suffer in lands where those rights are repressed to demand that they be respected.In Chile, my country, the date took on a special meaning after the 1973 coup by General Augusto Pinochet that overthrew the democratically elected government of socialist president Salvador Allende. During the 17 years of dictatorship that followed, 10 December was an occasion to publicly rally for those rights that were being egregiously violated, as the regime arrested, tortured, executed or exiled opponents, and abrogated free speech and the right to assemble peacefully.Ariel Dorfman’s most recent novels are Cautivos and The Compensation Bureau

Criticism on social media as administration attempts to tackle rubbish collection problemRome residents have been urged to curtail their use of Christmas wrapping paper as authorities in the Italian capital struggle with the perennial dilemma of waste collection.The city’s new leaders are under pressure to fulfil their promise to clean up the streets by Christmas and, alongside the wrapping paper appeal, are paying rubbish collectors a bonus to head off seasonal absenteeism. Continue reading...

City streets deserted during nationwide demonstration following massacre of villagers by soldiersThe streets of many towns and cities across Myanmar were deserted on Friday as the public held a “silent strike” to protest against the military government, days after a massacre of villagers that has provoked international condemnation.Reports of the killing of 11 villagers, including children, in Sagaing region on Tuesday, were described by the US as “credible and sickening”. A spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) warned of an “alarming escalation of grave human rights abuses in Myanmar”. Continue reading...

Man who worked on boat carrying UK missiles found dead in barracks at Faslane naval base near GlasgowPolice are investigating the unexplained death of a man who worked on the Trident nuclear submarines at Faslane naval base on the Clyde.Officers were called to HM Naval Base Clyde, 33 miles west of Glasgow, at about 12.30pm on Thursday. Continue reading...

We air both sides of a domestic disagreement – and ask you to deliver a verdict

Firefighters in Western Australia arebattling two bushfires near thetourist hotspot of Margaret River. Hot and windy conditionsand accessibility issues havehampered efforts to control the blazes. More than 3,200 hectaresof the Leeuwin-Naturalistenational park burned already with difficult conditions expected to continue Continue reading...

Central American country becomes latest to switch allegiances to Beijing, amid escalating tensionsNicaragua has switched diplomatic allegiance to China, leaving Taiwan with just 14 governments around the world which formally recognise it as a country.The announcement, made on Thursday by the Central American country’s foreign ministry, also recognised Beijing’s claim over Taiwan as a Chinese province, a dispute which is at the heart of escalating tensions in the region. Continue reading...

Paintings, archives and other items worth £52m allocated by Arts Council England to museums across UKSir Anthony van Dyck’s Portrait of a Woman, JMW Turner’s Walton Bridge and LS Lowry’s painting of David Lloyd George’s birthplace in Manchester are among the dozens of items of cultural importance saved for the nation this year.Thanks to Art Council England’s cultural gifts and acceptance in lieu schemes, the paintings, archives and other items worth £52m have been accepted for the nation and allocated to museums across the UK. Continue reading...

Lead contamination scare and global supply chain disruption add up to recipe for Christmas disappointment, with dried fruit also in short supplyA mass recall of brown sugar in New Zealand, prompted by fears of lead contamination, has left home bakers scrambling for alternatives in the lead up to the festive season, while global supply chain disruptions have caused gaps on the supermarket shelves.The country’s only sugar refinery, NZ Sugar Limited, was forced to make four recalls of its sugar products after low levels of lead were detected in some of its batches. Food Safety New Zealand is investigating the handling of the recall, after three incidents where recalled products ended up back on supermarket shelves. Continue reading...

How China’s export ban could force diesel trucks that need the AdBlue exhaust fluid off the road and lead to higher food prices

Concerns northern NSW may not have Covid testing capacity to meet demand as delays of up to four hours expected

Cautious optimism as Tehran revises its position after pressure from Russia and ChinaEfforts to revive the Iran nuclear deal have been hauled back from the brink of collapse as Tehran revised its stance after pressure from Russia and China and clear warnings that the EU and the US were preparing to walk away.The cautiously optimistic assessment came at the start of the seventh round of talks on the future of the nuclear deal in Vienna. It follows what was seen as a disastrous set of talks last week in which the US and the EU claimed Iran had walked back on compromises reached in previous rounds. Continue reading...

Watchdog urged to start inquiry after Electoral Commission report raises questions about whether PM misled his ethics adviserBoris Johnson could face sanctions involving suspension from the House of Commons as MPs piled pressure on the standards commissioner to investigate spending on his flat in the wake of a serious censure by the Electoral Commission.Questions have been raised over whether Johnson misled his ethics adviser after the Conservative party was fined £17,800 for serious donation reporting failures over the financing of the Downing Street flat redecoration. Continue reading...

The singer says noise and pyrotechnics made it impossible to see the crush developing in the crowdTravis Scott has said he didn’t notice concertgoers pleading for help, during his first interview since the devastating crowd crush at Astroworld that left 10 fans dead and hundreds injured. “It’s just been a lot of thoughts, a lot of feelings, a lot of grieving,” he said, “just trying to wrap my head around it.”Over the course of an hour-long interview with Charlamagne tha God, the host of the Breakfast Club radio show, Scott was serious and downcast. He said he wasn’t aware of anything amiss until a news conference was called after his set. “People pass out, things happen at concerts – but something like that?” he said, his voice trailing. Continue reading...

Thomas Schreiber, 35, says he did not want to kill landowner or his mother but ‘demonic’ thoughts took holdAn aspiring artist who killed one of Britain’s wealthiest landowners and repeatedly stabbed his own mother has told a jury he went “completely crazy” after a voice in his head shouted: “Attack, attack, attack,” following months of rising family tensions exacerbated by being “trapped” in Covid lockdowns.Thomas Schreiber, 35, insisted he had not wanted to kill the hotelier and landowner Sir Richard Sutton or his mother, Anne Schreiber, but “demonic” thoughts took hold and he could not stop stabbing them both. Continue reading...

Private healthcare provider says symptoms in country’s fourth wave are far milder than in previous waves

Sudan has had more military coups than any other country in Africa, having undergone three popular uprisings since its independence from British colonial rule. The most recent revolution in 2019 is still under way, with protesters calling for the military to hand over to a civilian government. On 25 October, the military responded to these calls with another crackdown. Internet access was shut down for more than three weeks and unarmed protesters were met with violence. Journalist Yousra Elbagir talks us through the timeline of events in Sudan's fight for democracy Continue reading...

Controversial former prime minister’s divisive personality could make it hard to muster broad supportUndeterred by health woes, sex scandals and advanced age, the former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is doggedly pursuing a promise he once made to his mother: that one day he would become president.Parliament will choose a new head of state early next year and the 85-year-old is the first to put himself forward for a race that could transform the Italian political landscape but has no official candidates. Continue reading...

Draft legislation would improve status of millions of workers, with likely knock-on effect on UK despite BrexitGig economy companies operating in the European Union, such as Uber and Deliveroo, must ensure workers get the minimum wage, access to sick pay, holidays and other employment rights under plans for new laws to crack down on fake self-employment.Publishing long-awaited draft legislation on Thursday, the European Commission said the burden of proof on employment status would shift to companies, rather than the individuals that work for them. Until now, gig economy workers have had to go to court to prove they are employees, or risk being denied basic rights. Continue reading...

Funded by a gas billionaire and sited in a former power station, the huge GES-2 gallery aims to elevate Moscow’s standing on the art world stage. And its headline act? Ragnar Kjartansson’s reshoot of the US soap that became a cult hit in RussiaFirst Vladimir Putin came to visit. Then, for the second day in a row, the artists were turfed out of GES-2, a prestigious new arts centre built in a disused power station, as police and men in suits swarmed in for what looked like another VIP guest.Instead of our planned walkthrough, I trudged through the snow to catch up with Ragnar Kjartansson, the star Icelandic artist headlining the art centre’s opening by re-filming the popular soap opera Santa Barbara as a “living sculpture”. He had taken a booth in the nearby Strelka Bar and was taking the disruption in his stride, despite it coming one day before the grand opening. Continue reading...

NSW police confirm health department requested assistance at Sydney venue

Omicron cases in NSW rise to 42 after eight infections reported; Queensland and Northern Territory pass 80% fully vaccinated mark; Queensland hospitals ‘stretched to breaking point’, AMA says; Victoria records 1,232 new Covid-19 cases and nine deaths; NSW records 420 cases, one death; four cases in ACT, three in NT and none in Qld; vaccine mandate for most Tasmanian public servants. This blog is now closed

Survey by Women Beyond Walls finds 70% of groups working with incarcerated women do not receive funds from women’s rights foundationsThe global feminist movement is failing to support organisations working with women in prison, as donors shy away from funding projects aimed at people with “complicated” narratives, says lawyer and activist Sabrina Mahtani.Mahtani, founder of Women Beyond Walls (WBW), said many NGOs around the world were doing vital work “supporting some of the most marginalised and overlooked women” in society, including providing essential legal services and reducing pretrial detention time. Continue reading...

Nina Gladitz dedicated her life to proving beyond doubt the Triumph of the Will director’s complicity with the horrors of Nazism. In the end, she did it – but at a costOn 20 November 1984, in the southern German city of Freiburg, two film-makers faced each other in court for the first day of a trial that was to last nearly two and a half years. The plaintiff, Leni Riefenstahl, had been Hitler’s favourite film-maker. Now 82, she showed up to court in a sheepskin coat over a beige suit, her blond hair set in a large neat perm framing a tanned face. The defendant was a striking, dark-haired 32-year-old documentary maker. Her name was Nina Gladitz, and the outcome of the trial would shape the rest of her life.During the Nazi era, Riefenstahl had been the regime’s most skilled propagandist, directing films that continue to be both reviled for their glorification of the Third Reich and considered landmarks of early cinema for their innovations and technical mastery. Once the second world war was over, Riefenstahl sought to distance herself from the regime she had served, portraying herself as an apolitical naif whose only motivation was making the most beautiful art possible. “I don’t know what I should apologise for,” she once said. “All my films won the top prize.” Continue reading...

A whistleblower has accused the British government of abject failures in its efforts to manage the evacuation of people from Afghanistan as the Taliban took control in August. Emma Graham-Harrison returns to the country to find it facing a humanitarian crisisWhen the Taliban entered Kabul in August and completed their takeover of Afghanistan, thousands of people scrambled for the last remaining flights out of the city’s airport. It was chaos that turned deadly: a bomb attack on the airport’s perimeter killed more than 70 people as they crowded the fences, desperate for a way out. Now testimony from a whistleblower who was working on the UK government’s response to the crisis paints a picture of a callous, complacent and incompetent Foreign Office.It’s a picture that rings true for the Guardian’s senior foreign reporter Emma Graham-Harrison, who tells Michael Safi that while some of the staff in the Foreign Office acted heroically, the system as a whole had huge failings. The government has rejected the account of the whistleblower. A spokesperson said: “Regrettably we were not able to evacuate all those we wanted to, but … since the end of the operation we have helped more than 3,000 individuals leave Afghanistan.” Continue reading...

Legislation will mean people currently aged 14 and under will never be able to legally purchase tobaccoNew Zealand has announced it will outlaw smoking for the next generation, so that those who are aged 14 and under today will never be legally able to buy tobacco.New legislation means the legal smoking age will increase every year, to create a smoke-free generation of New Zealanders, associate health minister Dr Ayesha Verrall said on Thursday. Continue reading...

Deputy prime minister is experiencing mild symptoms and will remain in isolation until further advice

In 2020, Nayib Bukele’s administration ‘provided financial incentives’ to MS-13 and the Barrio 18 street gangs, US treasury saysThe US has accused the government of El Salvador president Nayib Bukele of secretly negotiating a truce with leaders of the country’s feared MS-13 and Barrio 18 street gangs.The explosive accusation on Wednesday cuts to the heart of one of Bukele’s most highly touted successes in office: a plunge in the country’s murder rate. Continue reading...

The world is divided on how to say the name of the latest Covid-19 variant. But however you pronounce it, we can all agree: it’s not as annoying as someone asking for ‘expresso’Name: Omicron.Age: The new and potentially more virulent Covid-19 variant was first detected in South Africa at the end of November. Young, then. Continue reading...

Gen Bipin Rawat, who was leading changes to his country’s military, died along with his wife and other senior officersThe Indian defence chief, Gen Bipin Rawat, was among 13 people killed in a helicopter crash on Wednesday, raising questions over the future of military changes he was leading.Rawat was India’s first chief of defence staff, a position that the government established in 2019, and was seen as close to the prime minister, Narendra Modi. Continue reading...

Revelations appear at odds with far-right candidate’s own statements about his father’s military serviceThe German-born father of Chilean presidential frontrunner José Antonio Kast was a member of the Nazi party, according to a recently unearthed document – revelations that appear at odds with the far-right candidate’s own statements about his father’s military service during the second world war.German officials have confirmed that an ID card in the country’s federal archive shows that an 18-year-old named Michael Kast joined the National Socialist German Workers’ party, or NSDAP, in Sepember 1942, at the height of Hitler’s war on the Soviet Union. Continue reading...

Halt in trading comes amid concerns developer with huge offshore debts may not meet a $400m repayment deadlineTrading in shares of the embattled Chinese developer Kaisa Group Holdings have been suspended on the Hong Kong stock exchange, prompting fresh concerns about the financial stability of the country’s indebted property sector.The suspension on Wednesday comes after Kaisa was reportedly to be struggling to make a loan repayment of $400m (£301m) by the deadline of Tuesday night in the US, Reuters said, citing a source with direct knowledge of the matter. Continue reading...