A rare tornado has hit the south-east of the Czech Republic, razing houses and causingdozens of injuries. Winds hitting 267-322km/hwere reported in the townssurrounding Hodonín. Villages were also hit by large hailstones, while the tornado caused widespread power outages
The gang are back for another bout of deafening and magnificently silly, gravity-defying action, leaving plot logic in the dust and driving their cars into spaceAfter nine films, the gigantic steroidal humungousness of the Fast and Furious franchise has finally rolled over me like a tank. This deafening fantasia of internal and external combustion delivers outrageous action spectacle magnificently divorced from the rules of narrative or gravity. There is one shot of a car driving up the far side of a rope bridge that has been cut and whose loose rope-fronds are collapsing behind the car into the abyss. I think we can include Isaac Newton among the people who are getting their asses kicked here.Related: Vroom or bust: is Fast & Furious the ultimate franchise of our times? Continue reading...
Moscow has been hit by a heatwave this week, with temperatures reaching a 120-year record high due to the effects of the climate emergency, Russia’s weather service has said Continue reading...
Jane Fonda gives a commanding performance in a film that avoids cliche and embraces a more nuanced view of sex workThere’s a version of Klute that sounds exactly like one of the generic sexy thrillers that popped up on video in the wake of Basic Instinct in the late 1990s. A high-priced call girl stalked by a killer. A private investigator drawn helplessly into her web. A whodunnit plot that ends with a violent climactic reveal. Shannon Tweed probably starred in that movie, and the “unrated” version would have flown off the shelves at suburban video stores.Related: Jane Fonda: ‘I'm very rarely afraid. Maybe emotional intimacy scares me’ Continue reading...
Artists from traditional communities and new wave performers to come together online for the country’s first drag conferenceTwo years ago, in early June 2019, a young man stepped on stage at a small cafe in the south Indian city of Hyderabad to sing Lady Gaga’s hit song Born This Way. He had chosen that song for the line “don’t be a drag, just be a queen” because this would be his first public performance as a drag artist. He had expected no more than a handful of people to turn up for this show with two other drag artists, but as the evening progressed, the cafe filled with more than 500 people. In a conservative city like Hyderabad, that was a huge surprise.It has been a long journey for Patruni Chidananda Sastry, who began to learn classical Indian dance at the age of five. Now 29 and working as a business analyst, he performs Tranimal – a postmodern drag concept born in Los Angeles in the mid-2000s – and more conventional drag using the avatar of SAS (Suffocated Art Specimen – how he describes himself). On 25 June he is organising the first drag conference in India, as part of Dragvanti , his online initiative to bring together drag artists from across the country. Continue reading...
She quit social media, embraced the feral and grieved for her beloved dog. Now rejuvenated, Lorde is back with a free-spirited new album – though there’s a sinister side to its sunniness
Military victories combined with new alliances and shifts in strategy reinforce militants’ position across much of continentIslamic State’s affiliates in Africa are set for major expansion after a series of significant victories, new alliances and shifts in strategy reinforced their position across much of the continent.Following recent gains in Nigeria, the Sahel, in Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Isis propaganda published by the group’s leadership in its heartland in the Middle East is increasingly stressing sub-Saharan Africa as a new front which may compensate the group for significant setbacks elsewhere. Continue reading...
Coalition facing growing pressure – including from own MPs – to join international efforts to curb modern slaveryA top union leader has called on the Morrison government to urgently introduce laws to prevent Australian businesses from “profiting by importing goods made by slavery”, as the push gains support from across the political spectrum.The president of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Michele O’Neil, told Guardian Australia it “should appall all Australians that there is no ban on the importation of goods produced by forced labour”. Continue reading...
by Sam Levin in Los Angeles and agencies on (#5KGFT)
In her first public statement, the star said her upbeat social media persona had given millions of fans the wrong impressionBritney Spears wrote to her fans on Instagram on Thursday saying she was sorry for “pretending like I’ve been OK the past two years”, her first public statement since her disturbing courtroom testimony on her “abusive” conservatorship.In her post Thursday afternoon, she said she had not spoken out sooner because “I was embarrassed to share what happened to me”. Continue reading...
Khan accused of being a ‘rape apologist’ after saying rise in attacks is down to women wearing ‘very few clothes’Pakistan’s prime minister, Imran Khan, is facing backlash after he blamed victims of rape for wearing “very few clothes”.The former cricket captain was questioned by the Axios journalist Jonathan Swan about the ongoing “rape epidemic” in Pakistan and responded by saying: “If a woman is wearing very few clothes it will have an impact on the man unless they are robots. It’s common sense.” Continue reading...
Commerce secretary says US is making good on G7 pledge to clean up global supply chainsThe Biden administration imposed trade bans on five Chinese entities over forced labor allegations in Xinjiang, the White House said on Thursday, citing the G7’s recent pledge to clean up the global supply chain.It banned US imports of a key solar panel material from Chinese-based Hoshine Silicon Industry Co and separately restricted exports of “commodities, software, and technology” to Hoshine, three other Chinese firms and the paramilitary Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), saying they were involved with the forced labor of Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups in the Chinese province. Continue reading...
As many as 751 unmarked graves, some of which are believed to be of First Nation children, were discovered in Canada’s Saskatchewan province just weeks after a similar discovery in British Columbia, prompting a fresh reckoning over the country’s colonial past.The graves were found on the site of the Roman Catholic Marieval Indian residential school, and Chief Cadmus Delorme of the Cowessess First Nation has asked for an apology from the pope and the church.From the 19th century, more than 150,000 First Nations children were forced to attend state-funded Christian schools as part of a programme to assimilate them into Canadian society, many were beaten and verbally abused, and thousands died from disease, neglect and suicide.
by Lisa O'Carroll Brexit correspondent on (#5KG8C)
Brexit minister says dispute over border checks in Northern Ireland main barrier to better relationshipThe deterioration in relations with the EU, partly driven by the Northern Ireland “sausage war”, has come as a surprise to those, who campaigned to leave the bloc five years ago, the government has admitted.The Brexit minister, David Frost, said they had dreamed of a sovereign Britain, which could set forth on a global mission while maintaining friendly relations with its neighbours. Continue reading...
• Biden: those who helped US ‘are not going to be left behind’• Operation expected to include up to 50,000 peopleJoe Biden has vowed that Afghans who helped the US military “are not going to be left behind” as his administration stepped up planning to evacuate thousands of Afghan interpreters while their applications for US entry are processed.Planning has accelerated in recent days to relocate the Afghans and their families to other countries before the US military completes its withdrawal from Afghanistan, according to officials. Continue reading...
Defence minister cites activist’s tweet labelling him ‘fucken scumbag’ and ‘rape apologist’Peter Dutton has accused refugee activist Shane Bazzi of showing malice, in the minister’s defamation suit, citing a tweet labelling him a “cunt” and a “fucken scumbag”.Dutton is suing Bazzi over a tweet labelling him a “rape apologist”, making good on his threats to pursue social media users for allegedly false and defamatory statements. Continue reading...
Worldpay apologises for error affecting debit card users on 18 April at seaside attraction in EnglandOne of England’s most popular tourist attractions has apologised after hundreds of visitors to Brighton Palace Pier were overcharged for fairground rides to the tune of thousands of pounds.The pier – which is largely cashless – blamed the fiasco on the processing company Worldpay, which it said had used the date of the transaction instead of the actual amount in each case. Continue reading...
Sixteen EU leaders sign open letter vowing to fight discrimination of LGBTQ+ people before summitEU leaders including Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel have signed a letter vowing to fight discrimination towards lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people, before an expected confrontation with Viktor Orbán over a Hungarian law widely condemned as an assault on LGBTQ+ rights.The letter published on Thursday does not mention Hungary explicitly, but the timing is no accident and the stage is set for a tense encounter between the Hungarian prime minister and many of his counterparts at an EU summit in Brussels where there is also a clash over a Franco-German plan to hold a meeting with Vladimir Putin. Continue reading...
At least 64 people dead after strike on Tuesday that left at least 180 injured, say local officialsAt least 64 people have been killed and 180 injured in an Ethiopian airstrike on a market in the war-torn Tigray region, according to local health officers, doctors, local residents and witnesses. .“The airstrike was in the market area, so many, many people were injured,” said Mulu Atsbaha, an adviser to the Tigray regional administration on maternal and child health on Thursday. Continue reading...
Justin Timberlake and Rose McGowan among those calling for end to singer’s conservatorshipThere was tentative anticipation surrounding Britney Spears’ address to an LA court during a hearing on Wednesday on the future of the conservatorship that has governed her life for 13 years.Would she affirm the theories of the #FreeBritney movement, which alleges she is being held against her will? Or would it be a disappointing procedural affair of little substance? Continue reading...
Ingeborg Beugel was detained for ‘facilitating the illegal stay of a foreigner’ and faces up to a year in jailA Dutch journalist based in Greece has been arrested on the Greek island of Hydra for hosting an Afghan asylum seeker in her home and could face up to a year in prison if charged and convicted.Ingeborg Beugel, 61, a freelance correspondent for Dutch media who has lived on Hydra for almost 40 years, was arrested on 13 June accused of “facilitating the illegal stay of a foreigner in Greece”. The charge carries a 12-month prison sentence and a fine of €5,000 (£4,300). Continue reading...
More than 130 people were killed in attack carried out by mostly by children as young as 12A massacre in north-east Burkina Faso in which more than 130 people were killed this month was carried out mostly by children between the ages of 12 and 14, the country’s government and the UN have said.Assailants raided the village of Solhan on the evening of 4 June, opened fire on residents and burned homes. It was the worst attack in years in an area plagued by jihadists linked to Islamic State and al-Qaida. Continue reading...
by Dan Sabbagh in London and Andrew Roth in Moscow on (#5KF9E)
Kremlin summons UK ambassador as Boris Johnson says HMS Defender’s deployment ‘wholly appropriate’British officials acknowledged they were taken by surprise by the speed of the Russian reaction to HMS Defender’s 36-minute passage through Crimean waters on Wednesday as the British ambassador to Moscow was summoned to the Kremlin.Although a Russian response to the Royal Navy warship’s passage within the 12-mile territorial limit was anticipated, the UK Ministry of Defence did not expect the Kremlin to speedily declare that warning shots had been fired. Continue reading...
Row over roosting birds making noise and mess in drive of bungalow results in tree surgeon jobA tree cleaved in half has become an attraction in a residential part of South Yorkshire after a dispute between neighbours.Bharat Mistry said he and his family were “gutted” when their nextdoor neighbours asked tree surgeons to cut down half the branches of a 5 metre fir tree that had stood in his garden in the Sheffield suburb of Waterthorpe for 25 years. Continue reading...
by Rebecca Ratcliffe, South-east Asia correspondent on (#5KF06)
Known as Noynoy, he followed his mother Corazon Aquino into office and ruled for six yearsBenigno Aquino, former president of the Philippines and the son of two of the country’s most revered pro-democracy figures, has died aged 61.Aquino, who had renal disease, died in his sleep on Thursday morning, his family told local media. He had been receiving treatment at a hospital in the capital Manila. Continue reading...
Fifteen questions on general knowledge and topical news trivia plus a few jokes every Thursday – how will you fare?Thursday lunchtime? Check. Fifteen questions? Check. General knowledge and topical news trivia with a few jokes and some weird facts along the way? Check. It must be the Thursday quiz! It’s just for fun and there are no prizes, but there are bonus points on offer if you can make the quizmaster laugh in the comments below. Let us know how you get on.The Thursday quiz, No 9 Continue reading...
Fans and speakers threaten to boycott the Australian pop culture expo as organisers take days to respond to questionsAustralian pop culture expo Supanova has apologised to fans after photos emerged of a vendor selling T-shirts at its Sydney expo with the swastika and other paraphernalia associated with far-right groups.Supanova is an expo that tours the country with stalls and shows covering comic books, films, board games, video games, movies and TV shows. Fans often turn up in cosplay outfits and celebrities give talks, pose for photos and give autographs to fans who have paid for the privilege. Continue reading...
China takes Australia to World Trade Organization over measures targeting imports of railway wheels, wind towers and stainless steel productsBeijing has launched a formal challenge against Australian tariffs on several Chinese products in the latest escalation of the dispute between the two countries.The Chinese government’s decision to take action through the World Trade Organization follows Australia’s own twin challenges against Beijing’s imposition of tariffs on Australian barley and wine. Continue reading...
The Poland-based Swede’s new film, inspired by a Snapchat fitness motivator, explores the contradictions and freedoms of a social media existenceMagnus von Horn makes a confession few film-makers would admit to: “Some of the things I saw on social media were more moving than what I saw in the cinema.” Cinema and social media are currently the best of enemies: competitors for our precious attention, at opposite ends of a spectrum of cultural prestige, perhaps, but more similar than they would like to admit. Like so many of us, Von Horn admits to spending too much time on his phone but, unlike most of us, he turned his screen addiction into art by turning cinema’s lens on to social media.Von Horn’s new film Sweat focuses on Sylwia, a driven young Polish “fitness motivator” (played by Magdalena Koleśnik) with some 600,000 followers online. We first find her leading a group workout in a shopping mall, bouncing around in pink Lycra, shouting words of encouragement through her headset: “We can do it!” “I’m diving into your beautiful energy!” “I’m super, super proud of you!” She loves her fans and they love her back. And through her regular online posts, she keeps them not only motivated to be as fit as she is, but abreast of all aspects of her life – making a shake in her kitchen (with her sponsor’s products), unboxing freebies; even carrying her shopping up the stairs is a broadcastable moment. Continue reading...
‘Tragic’ closure of Sabeen Mahmud’s community venue T2F in Karachi comes as PM Imran Khan accused of fostering censorship and intoleranceDanial Shah turned to Sabeen Mahmud, who founded PeaceNiche, which promotes free speech through culture, for help with his first photo exhibition when all other organisations refused to show his work. Shah’s photographs cover political and cultural issues, such as local elections and women’s rights. Some refused to work with him on political grounds, while others did not reply at all.After a meeting at Mahmud’s community space, T2F, in Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest city, she agreed to host his exhibition. But Mahmud, a 40-year-old human rights activist who oversaw a programme of progressive arts at T2F, did not get to see Shah’s first exhibition. She was murdered a few months after their meeting. Continue reading...
Singer directly addresses the court: ‘This conservatorship is doing me way more harm than good’Britney Spears has called for an end to the “abusive” conservatorship that has governed her life for 13 years, delivering an emotional speech to a Los Angeles court and saying: “I just want my life back.”Spears addressed the court during a hearing on the unusual legal arrangement that has stripped the singer of her independence since 2008. The conservatorship has given her father, Jamie Spears, control over her estate, career and other aspects of her personal life. Continue reading...
by Julian Borger in Washington and agencies on (#5KEYR)
After Joe Biden’s meeting with the Russian president, leaders think the bloc can reset relations and help contain its eastern rivalFrance and Germany have suggested inviting Vladimir Putin to a summit with the EU as part of a broader reset of the bloc’s relations with Russia.The proposal from Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel comes after Joe Biden’s Geneva summit with the Russian president, and supporters of the idea argue that European leaders can deliver the same direct messages about Russian behaviour while keeping the door open to compromise and cooperation. Continue reading...
The international media’s adulation of the New Zealand prime minister has complicated her challenges at homeJacinda Ardern rarely repeats her mistakes. When she rose to power in 2017 New Zealand’s newly elected prime minister became a subject of fascination for progressives around the world; they regarded her as a kind of avatar of anti-Trumpism; a symbol of resistance to rightwing populism. This fascination intensified when she announced her pregnancy in early 2018. It grew again in the wake of the 15 March terror attack in 2019. She was praised as a beacon of hope; her image projected on to the side of the Burj Khalifa. The flattering media profiles multiplied.Initially, Ardern leaned into this. New Zealand is small and remote – publishers of international maps forget we’re down here. So we’re often flattered when distance looks our way. Someone noticed we exist! Ardern’s international coverage was picked up by local media, delivering coverage the prime minister’s competitors couldn’t possibly match. Her global news presence was a deliberate strategy and a powerful weapon. Continue reading...
Crown estate’s profits fell by nearly £76m in year to March despite offshore wind auction windfallA historic offshore wind auction by the Queen’s property manager, the crown estate, helped to counter a sharp drop in the value of its retail portfolio, but could not prevent a 22% decline in annual profits to £269m.The crown estate, which manages the seabed around Britain as well as a vast land and property portfolio that includes Windsor Great Park and Regent Street and St James’s district in London, said its profit for the year to March fell by nearly £76m from the year before, mainly due to a drop in its rent take. Continue reading...
Thursday: Experts call for better prevention of airborne transmission amid NSW Covid outbreak. Plus: HK pro-democracy newspaper closesGood morning. Infectious disease specialists have called for greater focus on measures to prevent airborne transmission of coronavirus after the NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, announced that “scarily fleeting” encounters had driven the Sydney cluster involving the highly virulent Delta variant of Covid-19. Contacts of five to 10 seconds – instead of 15 minutes previously – are believed sufficient to spread the virus, prompting tens of thousands of people to abandon school holiday trips amid a raft of border closures and new restrictions.Nurses in Victoria have slammed the wastage of vital Pfizer doses due to problems with the vaccine booking system that have left staff “very frustrated”. The federal government has announced it will shelve the troubled AstraZeneca vaccine by October, announcing its replacement with Moderna and Pfizer shots as it races to meet its pledge that every Australian will have vaccine access before the end of 2021. Berejiklian also indicated a full lockdown could be in store for Sydney, telling parliament her government would “not hesitate to go further and harder”. Continue reading...
Priest undergoing disciplinary hearing in Athens is suspected of attack that put clerics in hospitalSeven bishops from the Greek Orthodox Church have been hurt in an acid attack by a priest undergoing a disciplinary hearing in Athens, police said.Three of the bishops were still in hospital following the attack late on Wednesday, while a police officer who was at the scene was also being treated, police added. Local media in Greece reported that those attacked had suffered burns, mostly on their faces. Continue reading...
Elderly man detained on suspicion of killing fellow resident in DestelbergenBelgian authorities have detained an elderly man, reportedly 99 or 100 years old, on suspicion of killing a fellow resident of the retirement home where he lived, the Belga press agency has said.No details of the fatal assault which took place on Monday were immediately available, but the Ghent prosecutor’s office confirmed in a statement that a resident of the home was in custody. Continue reading...
Released video from Buckingham Palace shows monarch referring to Matt Hancock as ‘poor man’The Queen has held her first in-person weekly audience with the prime minister in 15 months, and revealed that the woes of the beleaguered health secretary Matt Hancock might not have escaped her eye.In a short video clip of the meeting with Boris Johnson, the Queen informed him she had been speaking to “your secretary of state for health, poor man”. Continue reading...
Robert Pether’s wife says after being held for nearly 80 days with no charge, her husband will not engage in conversation about freedomAustralian engineer Robert Pether is losing hope he will be released from the crowded Iraqi jail where he has spent almost 80 days without charge, his wife says.Pether was arrested 77 days ago after he travelled to Baghdad to try to resolve a dispute between his firm and Iraqi authorities about the construction of the central bank’s new headquarters. Expecting to meet with officials from the Central Bank of Iraq, Pether and a colleague were instead arrested and initially held in isolation. Continue reading...
by Presented by Laura Murphy-Oates and reported by Jo on (#5KEED)
The Australian government is looking at whether it’s easy enough to repair things that we use everyday – also known as the right to repair. A draft report released this month says it’s not – especially when it comes to farming equipment, cars and smartphones – and has recommended a suite of changes to improve our right to repair and to reduce the amount of electronic waste created in Australia. Guardian reporter Josh Taylor explores why it’s so hard to get your gadgets fixed and asks how that could be changedYou can also read: Continue reading...
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