Two children and two women rescued from blaze in Bexleyheath but all four died at the sceneNeighbours have told how they heard screaming and saw a “distraught” man collapsed outside, as a house in south-east London was engulfed by flames, killing two women and two children.The London fire brigade (LFB) said six fire engines and about 40 firefighters were called to the blaze on Hamilton Road in Bexleyheath shortly before 8.30pm on Thursday. Continue reading...
Exclusive: the Hollywood actor, who lawyers have listed as a key witness, describes scenes of desperation on the Open Arms vesselThe Hollywood actor Richard Gere has revealed for the first time the full story behind his mercy mission to the NGO rescue boat Open Arms as he prepares to testify as a witness against Italy’s former interior minister and far-right leader, Matteo Salvini, who is on trial for attempting to block the 147 people onboard from landing in Italy.In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Gere, 72, who lawyers have listed as a key witness to the situation aboard the NGO rescue boat Open Arms, described the scenes of desperation he saw when he arrived on the vessel being held off the Italian island of Lampedusa in the summer of 2019 with conditions rapidly deteriorating. Continue reading...
Camp outside Delhi cheers after PM announced revoking of farm laws following a year of protestsThe scent of victory was in the air. As tractors rolled through the protest camp on the outskirts of Delhi set up by farmers almost exactly a year ago, rousing cries of “long live the revolution” and “we defeated Modi” rang out. Old men with trailing silver beards and rainbow turbans danced on tractor roofs and flag-waving children were held up high.“For one year we have been at war,” said Ranjeet Singh, 32. “We have suffered, people have died. But today farmers won the war.” Continue reading...
Only a UN tribunal, sponsored by the US president, can end the culture of impunity fuelling violence and poverty in the DRCThe numbers are difficult to absorb. According to a new IPC report, a record 27 million Congolese – roughly a quarter of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC’s) population – are facing hunger, with 860,000 children under five acutely malnourished. The DRC is home to more starving people than any other country in the world. This could have been prevented.Without faith that their own president Félix Tshisekedi will act, people are turning to the US president, hoping that lobbying using the hashtag #CongoIsStarving on Twitter will urge Joe Biden to back the creation of an international criminal tribunal for the DRC to end the impunity fuelling violence and famine risk. Shockingly, it could be that simple to bring an end to this suffering; we are asking for solidarity, not charity, to save lives and end this nightmarish crisis. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Prof Thomas Lüscher assesses the heart healthiness of some of our favourite treatsDark chocolate is a “joy” when it comes to keeping your heart healthy, coffee is likely protective, but wine is at best “neutral”, according to one of the world’s leading cardiologists.As editor of the European Heart Journal for more than a decade, Prof Thomas Lüscher led a team that sifted through 3,200 manuscripts from scientists and doctors every year. Only a fraction – those deemed “truly novel” and backed up with “solid data” – would be selected for publication. Continue reading...
China’s costliest film ever is a sporadically thrilling, historically dubious account of a Korean war standoff, with all the subtlety of a rocket launcherChina’s most expensive film to date and its second highest ever box-office grosser, The Battle at Lake Changjin possesses worryingly belligerent overtones. An account of a pivotal battle in November 1950 during the Korean war in which Chinese forces, who had infiltrated the country, pushed US marines back over the 38th parallel, this government-ordained project wastes no opportunity – current geopolitical tensions notwithstanding – to assert the moral superiority of the Chinese soldier. Not only is he unfazed by superior opposition numbers and equipment or impossibly harsh climate conditions, even the enemy catering doesn’t get him down. We see Uncle Sam chowing down on a bounty of turkey legs and bacon while the People’s Volunteer Army break their teeth on stony potatoes.The film also applies its collectivist we-all-suffer-together message, standard for recent Chinese blockbusters, to its own making; it shares directorial credit between “fifth generation” leading light Chen Kaige of Farewell My Concubine renown, and Hong Kong veterans Tsui Hark and Dante Lam. At least the involvement of the latter two means The Battle at Lake Changjin is an update on stodgy recent communist party cinema epics and presumably the reason for its box-office success. There is accomplished action film-making on show here, from a turkey shoot by US scout planes across a scree field in which the camera careens between the stricken Chinese troops (Lam’s, if I had to guess); to a rowdy hand-to-hand battle inside an American encampment that, with everybody trying to shoot and stab each other, comes over like a homicidal game of Twister (probably Tsui’s). Continue reading...
by Jessica Murray Midlands correspondent on (#5S3R2)
The creator of Car Parks of Britain and the Wonderful World of Jack Grealish’s Calves explains the secrets of his successWhen most people choose a calendar to pin on their wall their decision is usually along the lines of famous footballer, film or pop star or animals. So Kevin Beresford was surprised when his calendar, celebrating the benches of his hometown, Redditch, became a runaway success.The unique dullness of his subject matter has struck a chord with the British public, and he’s now grappling with hundreds of orders while his flat has turned into a full-time calendar factory. Continue reading...
From overtime to having to cut back its next day delivery service, Tasneem Alonzo’s ingredients business has been hit hard by a lack of warehouse workers and driversIt has been, says Tasneem Alonzo with a sigh, “really stressful”. She is the joint managing director of her family’s food business, EHL Ingredients, which imports and blends spices and seasonings for food manufacturers and wholesalers, along with nuts, fruit and dried legumes. As with much of the UK’s food production industry, workers from EU countries played a vital role in her company. In her warehouse, Alonzo employed a number of Polish, Romanian and Bulgarian people. “We lost quite a few, who went back home, and trying to replace good staff has been really difficult,” she says. “It puts more pressure on the existing staff. We have to do overtime and you just have to divide the work.”The business has managed to replace some staff, but there are still vacancies and it remains hard to fill them. She is keen to emphasise that it is not about EU workers being better than British ones – “we have some amazing British workers” – but even though she’s had to increase wages to attract people, she’s still struggling to get the right staff. Working in a spice warehouse is not an easy job, she says – staff have to understand allergens, blending spices can be messy and the smell can be strong. Continue reading...
Authorities and emergency crews in Canada are trying to reach 18,000 people stranded by major floods and landslides. The province ofBritish Columbia declareda state of emergency with concerns over further falls in coming days. Some grocery store shelvesin affected areas havealso been stripped bare while floods and mudslides destroyedroads, houses and bridges,hampering rescue efforts
Increase comes despite Jair Bolsonaro’s efforts to show his government is taking environmental preservation seriouslyDeforestation in Brazil‘s Amazon rainforest soared 22% in the past year to the highest level since 2006, the government’s annual report has shown, undercutting president Jair Bolsonaro’s assurances that the country is curbing illegal logging.Brazil‘s space research agency, INPE, recorded 13,235sq km (5,110 square miles) of deforestation in the world’s largest rainforest in satellite data, the report showed on Thursday, an area nearly 17 times the size of New York City. The official deforestation data covers a period from August 2020 through to July 2021. Continue reading...
Alarm grows about climate change in British Columbia after summer wildfires wiped out vegetation that could have slowed floodingEmergency crews in western Canada were still trying to reach some 18,000 people stranded by landslides and struggling to find food among bare grocery store shelves after devastating flooding.With communities in the region braced for more torrential rain in already inundated areas next week , the premier of British Columbia province declared an emergency and gave an emotional address in a press conference on Thursday. Continue reading...
Authorities accuse the five of having ties with the extremist group blamed for bomb blasts in the capital KampalaUgandan authorities have killed at least five people, including a Muslim cleric, accused of having ties to the extremist group responsible for Tuesday’s suicide bombings in the capital.Four men were killed in a shootout in a frontier town near the western border with Congo as they tried to cross back into Uganda, police said on Thursday. A fifth man, a cleric named Muhammad Kirevu, was killed in “a violent confrontation” when security forces raided his home outside Kampala, police spokesperson Fred Enanga said. Continue reading...
by Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor on (#5S320)
Defence secretary confirms plans being worked up to strengthen the fence breached by migrantsBritish military engineers are to provide practical support to help Poland tighten up its eastern border with Belarus, where thousands of migrants had been attempting to cross in often freezing temperatures.The plan was confirmed by the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, on a visit to Warsaw, in which he said Belarus was making a “conscious attempt” to destabilise both Poland and all of Europe by encouraging migrants to the border. Continue reading...
Duchess of Sussex to discuss ‘growing up and returning to California’ on US chatshow – follow liveMeghan discusses how she and Harry have tried to further certain causes, and says they will continue to push for paid family leave.The US, Meghan notes, is “the only country in the entire world that does not have a paid federal family leave program”. Continue reading...
Performances involving wild animals will be prohibited in two years, in legislation hailed by campaignersThe French parliament has voted to end the use of wild animals in live circus shows and outlawed mink farming, in new animal rights legislation hailed as a step forward by campaigners.Performances of wild animals such as lions, tigers or bears will be prohibited in two years, and owning them outlawed in seven years, under the wide-ranging law passed on Thursday. Continue reading...
Andrew Fahie accuses former governor Gus Jaspert of making untrue claims about islands at UK inquiryThe premier of the British Virgin Islands has praised Sir Geoffrey Cox, after claiming that there is no evidence of corruption on the islands at a UK commission of inquiry (CoI).Andrew Fahie, the elected prime minister of the islands, also accused the British government’s former appointed governor Gus Jaspert of making irresponsible claims that only damage the reputation of the islands. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#5S1ZY)
Government vows faster train journeys to be delivered ahead of expected decision to axe key projectsNo 10 has said its downgraded rail plan will bring faster connections a decade earlier, amid fury in northern England and the Midlands over the scrapping of both the eastern leg of the high-speed HS2 and a promised new fast line from Manchester to Leeds.The long-delayed integrated rail plan (IRP), being published later on Thursday, is expected to confirm the axing of key schemes to save billions of pounds, after repeated pledges from Boris Johnson and others to “level up” by building new high-speed lines between northern cities. Continue reading...
Natural Resources Wales says it cannot be sure trail hunting will not be used as smokescreen for illegal activityOne of the biggest landowners in Wales has banned trail hunting after a court ruled that a leading huntsman had encouraged the practice as a smokescreen for illegal foxhunting.Natural Resources Wales (NRW), a government-sponsored body, said it could not be sure that trail hunting was not still being used as a “cover” for illegal activity so had decided to ban it completely. Continue reading...
Jamie Shackell used to place 500 young people with British families every year. She hasn’t matched any since December – and some working parents are being forced to cut their hoursBefore Brexit, Jamie Shackell placed about 500 au pairs from mainland Europe with British host families every year. She hasn’t placed a single one since December. She says her agency, Busy Bee Au Pairs , is now essentially “nonexistent”. Shackell – who is also the chair of the British Au Pair Agencies Association (Bapaa ) – says it is the same for other similar agencies. At one point, there were about 30 members . “ Now, there’s only a handful of us left,” she says. “A lot have shut up shop.”Occasionally, someone from the EU with pre-settled status, will look for a placement. “Then we’ve got the agencies that are left scrabbling after her or him, as well as families that are looking independently,” says Shackell. Continue reading...
YouGov/Guardian poll finds ‘clear pattern of decreasing support for populism’ in European countriesSupport for populist sentiment in Europe has fallen sharply over the past three years, according to a major YouGov survey, with markedly fewer people agreeing with key statements designed to measure it.The YouGov-Cambridge Globalism Project’s annual populism tracker, produced with the Guardian, found populist beliefs in broadly sustained decline in 10 European countries, prompting its authors to suggest the wider electoral appeal of some may have peaked. Continue reading...
by Haroon Siddique Legal affairs correspondent on (#5S296)
Total referrals to counter-terrorism scheme down 22% in 2020-21, possibly due to school closuresThe number of referrals to the government’s Prevent counter-terrorism programme relating to far-right extremism has exceeded those for Islamist radicalisation for the first time.There were 1,229 referrals due to concerns related to extreme rightwing radicalisation in the year ending 31 March, and 1,064 because of suspected Islamist radicalisation, according to official figures published on Thursday. The total number of referrals was down by 22% on the previous 12 months, to 4,915 referrals, a fall the Home Office suggested was down to school and university closures during the coronavirus pandemic. Continue reading...
Emmanuel Macron and the far-right hopeful Marine Le Pen look set to be joined by numerous other candidates in the French presidential election. We look at the latest polling, and introduce some of the most likely candidatesFrance will vote to elect a new president in April, and the jostling for position among potential candidates is well under way. The current president, Emmanuel Macron, has yet to declare his candidacy but is expected to run again. His second-round opponent from 2017, the far-right populist Marine Le Pen, has already launched her campaign. Alongside them on the ballot will be Anne Hidalgo, the Socialist candidate, Yannick Jadot, representing the Green movement, and a candidate from the centre-right, to be chosen by Les Républicains, on 4 December. The far-right TV pundit Éric Zemmour, who has no political party, could declare an outsider bid. Continue reading...
Letter challenges Ofsted on why it recently rated Army Foundation College in Harrogate as ‘outstanding’The parents of three teenagers who complained of mistreatment at the army’s foundation college have called for it to be shut down, listing a catalogue of alleged abuse and claiming their children were prevented from leaving the military.They include the mother of a teen who died last year while serving in the army, whose alleged abuse is to be examined as part of an inquiry into his death. Continue reading...
Gabriel Boric wants to overhaul Pinochet’s economic model – but his far-right opponent holds a narrow polling leadDuring the long, grey winter of 2011, thousands of Chilean university students occupied their campuses for months to demand free, high-quality education for all.Now, a decade after they brought their demands to the top of the national agenda, that same generation is heading into the most divisive presidential election in years. Continue reading...
by Chris Watson, Finbarr Sheehy and Pete Guest on (#5S19B)
Flooding and landslides have devastated the western seaboard of Canada and the US, months after the region suffered a record-breaking heatwaveA huge storm dumped record rainfall across swathes of British Columbia in Canada and Washington State in the US between Saturday and Monday. Continue reading...
The details of the integrated rail plan, which has sparked anger in the north of England and MidlandsMinisters insist the £96bn integrated rail plan, due to be published on Thursday, will deliver improvements quicker than original plans for the HS2 eastern leg and Northern Powerhouse Rail. But critics in the north and Midlands say it is a “rail betrayal” and a watered down version of what was promised.These are the expected changes, to be confirmed: Continue reading...
With a year to go, the new stadiums, hotels and roads are finished and locals are excited, but the low-paid workers who built them are ambivalentWhen asked if he’s looking forward to the World Cup, Mohamed, an Indian salesman, grins as he casts his fishing line off the promenade in the heart of Qatar’s capital, Doha. “Very much,” he says. “I love cricket!”With a year to go to until the football World Cup kicks off, Mohamed’s response may have the event’s organisers worried. After all, about 70% of Qatar’s population are from the cricket-loving subcontinent. Continue reading...
Total US deaths from Covid may reach 1 million by spring as vaccination rates remain lower than 60%A steep rise in Covid-19 cases in Europe should serve as a warning that the US could also see significant increases in coronavirus cases this winter, particularly in the nation’s colder regions, scientists say.However, there is more cause for optimism as America enters its second pandemic winter, even in the face of likely rises in cases. Continue reading...
MSF rescue 99 survivors who spent 13 hours on vessel trying to reach Europe as authorities accused of ignoring distress callTen people were found dead in the lower deck of a severely overcrowded wooden boat off the coast of Libya, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has reported.According to survivors, those who died on Tuesday suffocated after 13 hours on the cramped lower deck, where there had been a strong smell of fuel. Continue reading...
The Belarusian leader may have won phone talks with Angela Merkel but Europe remains united against himAs migrants camped out in the woods prepared for another night of sub-zero temperatures, the Estonian foreign minister, Eva-Maria Liimets, on Tuesday revealed to an evening news programme the gist of what Alexander Lukashenko demanded of Angela Merkel in the first call between a European leader and Belarus’s dictator in more than a year.“He wants the sanctions to be halted, [and] to be recognised as head of state so he can continue,” she said he told Merkel. Continue reading...
US deputy secretary of state was left to answer questions alone amid simmering tensions over Takeshima/Dokdo islandsA long-running territorial dispute between Japan and South Korea has burst on to the global stage after their vice foreign ministers failed to attend a press conference in Washington with their US counterpart.South Korean’s first vice-foreign minister, Choi Jong-kun, and Japan’s vice foreign minister, Takeo Mori, had been due to appear alongside the US deputy secretary of state, Wendy Sherman, on Wednesday after the three countries discussed regional tensions, including Chinese military activity in the South China Sea and North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme. Continue reading...
Aerial footage shows the extent of catastrophic floods in mountain areas of Canada's British Columbia province. A powerful storm dumped a month’s worthof rain in two days across parts of the Pacificnorth-west in Canada and the US. Concerns are rising over remote mountain areas that have been hit with freezing temperatures
The high-profile interview – due out on Thursday – comes eight months after the Duchess of Sussex’s bombshell chat with Oprah WinfreyMeghan Markle has given a new TV interview – this time to talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.The show’s Ellentube.com website said: “The activist and co-founder of Archewell will chat with Ellen about growing up and returning to California, as well as her New York Times bestselling children’s book The Bench.” Continue reading...
Stargazers will be able to see longest partial eclipse visible from New Zealand since 1212New Zealanders looking to the sky on Friday night will be treated to an incredibly rare lunar spectacle, not seen in their sky in more than 800 years.The longest partial lunar eclipse visible in New Zealand since the year 1212 is set to start at 8.20pm NZT, when the shadow of the Earth will begin to move across the moon’s face. It will be 97% covered with shadow by 10pm. At that moment, the lunar surface will briefly turn red. The near-total eclipse will finish its three-and-a-half-hour journey just prior to midnight. Continue reading...
Family of Yousef Makki disappointed by verdict on stabbing by Joshua Molnar in Cheshire in 2019A coroner has ruled she could not be sure of the exact circumstances in which a teenager died after being knifed in the heart by his friend but ruled out unlawful killing.Former private schoolboy Joshua Molnar stabbed Yousef Makki with a flick knife after the two, both then aged 17, had a row in Hale Barns, Cheshire, on the evening of 2 March 2019. Continue reading...
Hundreds wounded in Khartoum as protesters demonstrate against rule of Abdel Fattah al-BurhanSudanese security forces have shot dead at least 14 anti-coup protesters and wounded dozens more, in the bloodiest day since the military seized power on 25 October.The fatalities in Khartoum on Wednesday raised to 38 the death toll from unrest since the military seized power, a pro-democracy doctors’ union said. Hundreds more have been wounded. Continue reading...
by Kim Willsher in Paris and Rajeev Syal on (#5S1EM)
French Embassy in London contested claim in ‘joint statement’Tensions between the UK and France over migrant boats making it across the Channel rose on Wednesday after French officials rejected British claims they had agreed to prevent “100% of crossings”.The new episode in the long-running row erupted 48 hours after the UK home secretary, Priti Patel, met her counterpart Gérald Darmanin in Paris to discuss the issue, which is poisoning relations between the two countries. Prior to Monday evening’s meeting, Darmanin had issued a tough statement accusing the UK of using France as a “punching bag” for domestic political squabbles. Continue reading...
Thursday: Coalition seeks assurances over faith-based schools. Plus: Victoria’s controversial pandemic laws derailedGood morning. The federal government faces seeks assurances over its revised religious discrimination laws. Storms and flooding wreak havoc across North America and regional NSW. And Australian apartment dwellers face hurdles as they embrace sustainable living.The federal government continues to face internal divisions over its revamped religious discrimination legislation, despite the attorney general, Michaelia Cash, requesting “detailed drafting” from the Australian Law Reform Commission to ensure children are not discriminated against in faith-based schools on the basis of “sexuality or gender identity”. Two Coalition senators have vowed to withhold support for the bill and, with a resistant crossbench, the bill could require Labor’s support to pass. Cash said the government recognised faith-based schools’ right to “maintain conduct and teaching in accordance with their faith” but not in ways that were discriminatory to individual children. Continue reading...
by Vikram Dodd , Rajeev Syal, Harriet Sherwood on (#5S0MV)
Comment comes after home secretary claimed Liverpool attack suspect was able to exploit UK’s asylum systemThe country’s most senior counter-terrorism officer has said the vast majority of those plotting terrorist atrocities are British born or raised and not asylum seekers.The remarks from the Met police assistant commissioner Matt Jukes, the head of Counter Terrorism Policing, come after Priti Patel claimed the suspect in the Liverpool bomb attack was able to exploit Britain’s “dysfunctional” asylum system to remain in the country. Continue reading...
Kyriakos Mitsotakis undeterred in Athens’ quest for classical sculptures after Johnson refuses to negotiateAthens has vowed to use “every means” in its quest to persuade London to relinquish the Parthenon sculptures, with a campaign that will focus on winning over the hearts and minds of Britons.Far from being discouraged by Boris Johnson’s refusal on Tuesday to engage in intergovernmental talks over the demand for the return of the 5thcentury BC artwork, the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, appeared to be buoyed by his visit to the UK. Continue reading...
by Vikram Dodd and Maya Wolfe-Robinson on (#5S0RS)
Vicar’s wife who knew Emad al-Swealmeen describes him as ‘kind’ and ‘gentle’Police investigating the Liverpool hospital explosion say the suspected bomber began his plot at least seven months ago as a vicar’s wife who knew the dead man described him as “kind” and “gentle”.Emad al-Swealmeen, 32, died after a homemade bomb police believe he had built and was carrying, exploded in a taxi outside Liverpool Women’s hospital. Police believe it is most likely he acted alone. Continue reading...
Arrest relates to alleged membership of Kurdistan Workers’ party, which is proscribed by Turkey and the westThe Syrian musician Omar Souleyman, who has performed at festivals around the world, has been arrested in Turkey on terrorism charges related to alleged membership of the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK).The singer and DJ was taken into custody by officers who searched his home in the south-eastern province of Şanlıurfa, his son Muhammad told a Syrian news outlet on Wednesday. An official in the Şanlıurfa governor’s office confirmed the arrest to the Guardian. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Danish minister says proposal to ban bottom trawling in Dogger Bank ‘a very big problem’Denmark has accused the UK of breaching the post-Brexit fisheries deal over plans to ban destructive bottom trawling in a North Sea conservation zone.The UK announced in February that it wanted to ban bottom trawling at the Dogger Bank conservation zone in the North Sea, a move hailed by environmentalists hopeful of seeing a resurgence of halibut, sharks and skate in the once marine life rich sandbank. Continue reading...
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