Party will seek support from opposition unless government scraps or amends plans within 48 hoursSweden’s Left party has said it will seek support from the main opposition to oust the prime minister, Stefan Löfven, if the government does not drop or change plans within 48 hours for the abolition of rent controls on new-build properties.The Left party is not part of the government, but the minority coalition of the Social Democrats and Greens needs its backing to stay in power if the rest of the opposition is united. Continue reading...
Dorset police investigating death of woman thought to be trying to take a shortcut at popular beachA woman has died after falling from a cliff at a coastal beauty spot apparently after trying to take a shortcut.Witnesses said the woman, who has not been named, shouted out: “I’m coming down” before she lost her footing on loose rocks and fell around 30 metres. Continue reading...
Researchers find signs of PFAS in over half of 231 samples of products including lipstick, mascara and foundationToxic PFAS “forever chemicals” are widely used in cosmetics produced by major brands in the US and Canada, a new study that tested for the chemicals in hundreds of products found.The peer-reviewed study, published in Environmental Science & Technology, detected what the study’s authors characterized as “high” levels of organic fluorine, an indicator of PFAS, in over half of 231 makeup and personal care samples. That includes lipstick, eyeliner, mascara, foundation, concealer, lip balm, blush, nail polish and more. Continue reading...
Independent investigation of purchase of contaminated site for Parramatta light rail put on hold to allow separate Icac probe to run its courseA deeply flawed and potentially corrupt land purchase by the New South Wales government has prompted an investigation of 20 similar property acquisitions, an inquiry has heard.A NSW parliamentary inquiry is currently probing the state government’s purchase of a contaminated block of land in the Sydney suburb of Camellia for $53.5m, just months after it was purchased at a fraction of the cost by property developer Billbergia. Continue reading...
Former president of France is accused of spending almost twice the legal amount during 2012 election campaignNicolas Sarkozy will appear before a judge on Tuesday accused of illegal campaign funding for his unsuccessful 2012 presidential re-election bid.The former French leader is in the dock with 13 other associates and colleagues in what is known as the “Bygmalion” case. Continue reading...
Activists decry discrimination as court finds men guilty of indecency and hands down a six-month suspended sentenceA South Korean military court has been accused of discriminating against sexual minorities after it found two male soldiers guilty of indecency for engaging in consensual oral sex.The ruling, which took place in March but emerged last week, found the soldiers’ actions “bordered on rape” and handed them a six-month suspended prison sentence by applying the controversial article 92-6 of the Military Criminal Act. This punishes “anal sex and other indecent acts” between military personnel with up to two years in prison. Continue reading...
A recent survey suggested a shockingly high proportion of women have been sexually assaulted by a partner as they slept. Now more and more are speaking outNiamh Ní Dhomhnaill had been with her partner for almost a year when she discovered that he’d been raping her while she slept. At the time, she was 25, and a language teacher in a Dublin secondary school. Her partner, Magnus Meyer Hustveit, was Norwegian. The couple had moved in together within a few months of meeting, but things were tense. It wasn’t a happy relationship.On that particular night, Ní Dhomhnaill had been out with Hustveit and other friends, but left early, alone, because she felt unwell. “I’d only drunk water but I’d gone to bed and was out for the count,” she says. “I didn’t hear Magnus come back, which is unusual because I’d always been a light sleeper.” Continue reading...
Beijing’s EU mission issues forceful response to Nato communique, saying it shows ‘cold war mentality’China’s mission to the EU has accused Nato of slander and of “hyping up the so-called ‘China threat’” after leaders of the western alliance warned that the country presents “systemic challenges” to international order and security.On Monday, at a summit in Brussels, leaders from the transatlantic security alliance, with Joe Biden in attendance for the first time, took a forceful stance towards Beijing. Continue reading...
Call to extend 30 June deadline over fears Britons will lose access to healthcare and pensionsCampaigners have warned that tens of thousands of British nationals living in France and three other countries risk losing local healthcare, employment and other rights if they do not apply to remain resident in the next 14 days.British in Europe, a group set up to protect the post-Brexit rights of about 1.2 million UK nationals living on the continent, have called on France, Latvia, Luxembourg and Malta to extend their 30 June deadline as the Netherlands has done, to 30 October. Continue reading...
Like fans after a gig, people are broadcasting being vaccinated with branded merchandise, while vintage ‘pharma-merch’ is going for high prices on eBayThis summer’s trend is not a dish or a dress, but a clean bill of health posted on social media. There’s even a word for it: a “vaxinista” – a combination of “fashionista” and “vaccine” – is someone who has not only had both jabs, but wants to broadcast it via vaccine selfies, cards and even merchandise.This interest in pharmaceutical merch has now reached a strange new frontier: used pharma memorabilia. On eBay, old mementoes branded with Pfizer and AstraZeneca logos are selling for tens and hundreds of pounds. AstraZeneca paperweights and ballpoint pens are going for £150 and £50 respectively. Bids for a Pfizer lab coat begin at £106, a “pre-loved” Pfizer denim shirt at £100 and a Disneyland Pfizer conference T-shirt at £144. Meanwhile, newspapers from the day the vaccine was announced are selling for more than £40. Continue reading...
New Zealand prime minister says she agreed to interviews on basis that it was about a group of female leaders and ‘not specific to me’Jacinda Ardern has distanced herself from a recently released biography documenting her leadership style, less than a week after joining widespread criticism of a film that focuses on her role leading New Zealand during the Christchurch terror attacks.The new book – Jacinda Ardern: Leading with Empathy – was written by activist and journalist Supriya Vani, and writer Carl A. Harte, based on “Vani’s exclusive interviews with Ardern”, according to its seller, Simon & Schuster. Continue reading...
The ‘blood man’ of conflict-racked Kashmir has donated 174 pints of blood since 1980 but feels ‘crushed’ by his povertyShabir Hussain Khan was taking an afternoon nap when he heard a commotion outside his house. A friend had been injured in a football match and had lost a lot of blood. Khan, who did not have any transport, rushed to the hospital by foot to donate some. It was 4 July 1980. Yesterday the man known locally as the “blood man of Kashmir” donated his 174th pint of his blood to strangers at the public hospital close to his Srinagar home.“Blood is not something you can buy in the market,” says Khan, who has an O-negative blood group. “In those days blood donation was not common, nor were blood banks. The way blood is available readily now, it was not like that before. Also there was no connectivity at that time. We only had radios and two or three landline phones in the entire locality.” Continue reading...
Meeting of leaders at G7 reportedly cancelled over Seoul’s decision to stage exercises around Dokdo islands, which are also claimed by TokyoSouth Korea has begun annual military drills near a pair of remote islands that are also claimed by Japan, as the long-running territorial dispute threatened to sour preparations for the Tokyo Olympics.The exercises near the Dokdo islands – referred to as Takeshima in Japan – began days after a meeting between the countries’ leaders on the sidelines of the Cornwall G7 summit was reportedly cancelled due to Japanese objections to the exercises. Continue reading...
Warm air from Spain usually means thundery days will follow – but changing weather patterns are making this less likelyToday is the day when Benjamin Franklin supposedly flew a kite in a thunderstorm, to prove that lightning was electricity. We have learned a lot about thunderstorms since 1752, but our fascination with them has not diminished: who can resist the energy in that crackling drum roll, the angry purple clouds and those brilliant fleeting flashes of light?For nearly 200 years aficionados in Oxford have been measuring thunderstorms. Analysis of this uniquely long record has been published in the journal Weather, and reveals a marked drop in the number of thunderstorms in the Oxford area during the last decade. Curiously the 1920s and 30s were peak thunder years, with an annual average of 20 days of thunder heard. By contrast, the most recent decade averaged just 8.1 days of thunder a year. Continue reading...
After a year of loungewear and dressing from the waist up, these tailored but informal trousers have won over everyone from Kendall Jenner to the Duchess of Cambridge
They used to look like quagmires, ice rinks or dustbowls, depending on the time of year. But as big money entered football, pristine pitches became crucial to the sport’s image – and groundskeepers became starsIt was a big moment for English football talent when Real Madrid poached Paul Burgess from Arsenal in 2009. After starting his career at Blackpool FC, Burgess had arrived at the north London club in 1999, rising to prominence at the age of just 21. He excelled on the European stage during Arsenal’s Champions League campaigns in the early 2000s, and shone at Euro 2004 in Portugal. Four years later, he put in another commanding performance at the European Championships. Not long after that, Real Madrid, the most prestigious club in world football, made their sensational transfer swoop.If you don’t remember any of this, it’s not because Burgess was a flop at Madrid. It’s because he was Arsenal’s head groundsman. Burgess’s transfer was the beginning of a Europe-wide spending spree on British turf talent. Real’s rivals Atlético snapped up Dan Gonzalez, who had impressed with his work for Bournemouth FC. Tony Stones, who got his start looking after bowling greens in Barnsley before eventually becoming head groundsman at Wembley, was signed to oversee the French national stadium, the Stade de France. Fifa, meanwhile, signed Alan Ferguson, a Scot who had won seven Groundsman of the Year awards during 12 seasons at Ipswich Town, as their first in-house senior pitch manager. Continue reading...
The chapter of the international movement said it was a ‘racist, white-dominated space’A large part of New Zealand’s School Strike 4 Climate movement has formally disbanded, saying it had been racist and insufficiently responsive to activists of colour.In a Facebook post, the movement’s chapter in Auckland said it had “avoided, ignored and tokenised BIPOC [Black, Indigenous and people of colour] voices and demands” and that it had been “a racist, white-dominated space”. Continue reading...
Analysts say event will be ‘boring’ as both sides attempt a reboot following catastrophic meeting between Trump and Putin in 2017On the 24-hour Russian state news channel, Thursday began as any other might: with a segment about the ageing president of the United States battling back cicadas and then giving a “confused” speech about his upcoming summit in Geneva with Vladimir Putin.“I’ll let [Putin] know what I want him to know,’” said Biden after a cutaway shot of him swatting his neck before boarding Air Force One this week. Continue reading...
Woman murdered Mathew Dunbar, who was found dead in his bed in 2017, by sedating and gassing himA New South Wales woman who denied sedating and gassing her sheep farmer partner has been found guilty of murder.Natasha Beth Darcy pleaded not guilty to murdering Mathew Dunbar, who was found dead in his bed on his Pandora property in the NSW northern tablelands town of Walcha on 2 August 2017. Continue reading...
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A demonstration against tax rises has morphed into a mass movement against the government, says Joe Parkin Daniels in BogotáAn attempt by the Colombian government to introduce sweeping tax changes in response to the coronavirus crisis was met earlier this year by angry protests. Thousands of people flooded on to the streets throughout the country for four consecutive days. It was enough to prompt President Iván Duque to withdraw his tax plans, but by then it was too late to stop the protests.Ever since, more and more Colombians have been coming out to protest. Joe Parkin Daniels, who has been reporting on the demonstrations for the Guardian for weeks, tells Rachel Humphreys that they now encompass people from all sections of Colombian society, with a multitude of causes. One thing ever present is a fury at the growing inequality that has been exacerbated by the Covid crisis. As police have cracked down hard on the protesters, more than 50 people have died, with no end to the protests in sight. Continue reading...
Michael and Peter Taylor tell Tokyo court of their part in spiriting away executive in musical instrument caseTwo Americans charged with helping former Nissan chair Carlos Ghosn flee Japan while he was facing accusations of financial misconduct have told a court that they took part in a scheme for him to escape the country.Statements by Michael Taylor and his son, Peter, on the opening day of their trial in Tokyo suggested the pair don’t plan to fight charges of assisting a criminal, which carry a possible penalty of up to three years in prison. Continue reading...
Bug picked up occupants of car in which Baker was shot saying they did not have a real gun, inquiry toldA public inquiry into the death of an unarmed man shot by a Metropolitan police marksman during a foiled prison break has heard that a bug in the getaway car picked up the occupants saying they did not have a real gun.The opening day of the hearing on Monday also heard that Jermaine Baker may have been asleep shortly before armed police descended on the car and he was shot. Continue reading...
In US TV interview, Russian leader deflects allegations over cyber-attacks and human rightsVladimir Putin has refused to give any guarantee that the opposition leader Alexei Navalny will get out of prison alive, saying his continued detention was not his decision and noting the poor state of medical care in Russian jails.In an extended and testy interview with NBC News before Putin’s Geneva summit with Joe Biden, the Russian president deflected a string of allegations about his government’s role in cyber-attacks on the west. He also fended off questions about his government’s human rights record by making counter-allegations against the US. Continue reading...
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From drill’s high watermark to Tuareg rock, Colombian pop and London jazz, here are our music editors’ picks of the best LPs from the first half of the year Continue reading...
The Royal Shakespeare Company is letting the public watch the usually secret processes towards performance – from clapping games to verse sessionsThe creative process normally takes place behind closed doors. But the RSC has boldly upended that idea by streaming its Open Rehearsal Project for Henry VI Part One. What this means, in practice, is that cameras are admitted for three sessions each day. At 10am we watch a half-hour company warm-up. From noon, for 90 minutes, we get to see either a class (movement, combat, verse-speaking) or the rehearsal of a scene. Then at 6pm we eavesdrop on a green-room chat, in which company members mull over progress so far. After dipping in and out for the first fortnight – and there’s still more than a week to go before a streamed performance on 23 June – I’m intrigued by how much I’ve learned.But are open rehearsals a good idea? There was a pivotal moment when Gregory Doran – who shares direction of the project with Owen Horsley – quoted a letter he’d received from an actor who said “the rehearsal room is sacrosanct – actors must not be exposed like this”. I spoke to a veteran actor who said she too was horrified by the idea of the public witnessing the trial and error that takes place in a rehearsal room. Continue reading...
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Mohammad Shtayyeh condemns Naftali Bennett’s announcements in support of Israeli settlementsBenjamin Netanyahu’s ousting closes one of the “worst periods” of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but the new government headed by a settler advocate, Naftali Bennett, is just as bad as the last, the Palestinian prime minister has said.“We do not see this new government as any less bad than the previous one, and we condemn the announcements of the new prime minister Naftali Bennett in support of Israeli settlements,” Mohammad Shtayyeh said, referring to hundreds of thousands of Jewish Israelis who have taken land in the occupied West Bank. Continue reading...
If patches, hypnosis and self-help books don’t work, maybe it’s time to think laterally. Readers reveal the unlikely methods that encouraged them to kick the habitI smoked 10 to 20 a day, but finally quit 11 years ago. I found getting a glass of water when the cravings hit worked really well. By the time I went to the kitchen, poured it and drank it, the peak of the craving had usually passed. It also helped me to realise that you can ride out a craving. The first three weeks were the hardest. Michael, artist and educator, Scotland Continue reading...
The events can be gruelling and even dangerous, yet more and more people are signing upJohn Stocker hadn’t slept in three-and-a-half days when he finally crossed the finish line after running more than 337 miles in an ultramarathon event in Suffolk, stopping only at brief intervals for food and rest.Of the 123 people who started the race in Knettishall Heath on 5 June, he was the last person still running 81 hours later on Tuesday evening, and had to summon all of his physical and mental strength to get around the last lap. Continue reading...
Anti-corruption watchdog demands overhaul in wake of David Cameron Greensill scandalMinisters could be banned from lobbying for up to five years after leaving office and also face possible penalties if they break the rules, the anti-corruption watchdog has said.Lord Evans, the chairman of the committee on standards in public life, made the proposal in an emergency review published on Monday in the wake of the Greensill scandal. Continue reading...
With unemployment among the world’s worst and those under 35 hit hardest, young Nigerians see their prospects rapidly diminishFavour Obi graduated in 2016 with a first class degree in biomedical sciences and what felt like reasonable hopes for a career in medical research.Before a recent shift waiting tables at a fast food restaurant in Lagos, the 27-year-old explained how gradually she let those hopes drift away. “I knew it would be hard to find a job but at the same time I was so determined, I was staying hopeful,” she said. Continue reading...
China recently eased Covid travel restrictions for foreign visitors to Tibet in an effort to boost tourism. Beijing is aiming for 61 million visitors a year by 2025, more than 15 times the number of Tibet’s inhabitants. Foreign journalists, normally not permitted to travel to the autonomous region, were also taken on a visit organised by the government Continue reading...
How do you get 90 hoofers to frug in a pool? Christopher Scott, the choreographer behind Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical extravaganza, reveals allChristopher Scott is baffled. “I hear time and again: ‘Musicals are not really my thing.’ And I’m like, ‘I don’t even know what that means. You don’t like music? You don’t like dancing?’”Many people who “don’t like musicals” will like the one Scott has just choreographed. In the Heights was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda in 2005, before his mega-success with Hamilton, and it’s set in the largely Dominican neighbourhood of Washington Heights, just south of where Miranda grew up in Manhattan. Now turned into a film, starring Hamilton alumnus Anthony Ramos and LA Law’s Jimmy Smits, it’s a feelgood story of identity, belonging and a secret lottery win, full of heart, rich with character and bursting with music. Continue reading...
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12-year hold on power has ended as parliament voted on a new government of improbable allies. The schism was evident at a raucous session of the legislature ahead of the vote. Netanyahu loyalists, shouting ‘shame’ and ‘liar’, frequently interrupted the man set to replace him, nationalist Naftali Bennett, as he spelled out the new coalition’s policies. During his last speech as prime minister, a combative Netanyahu vowed to return: ‘We will be back, soon’ he said multiple times
Monday: Investigation launched into alleged bullying of Australian army officer cadets in Sydney. Plus: Tony Abbott’s former chief of staff appointed an Officer of the Order of AustraliaGood morning! Netanyahu has been ousted, the G7 has concluded and Australian authorities are investigating alleged bullying in the army. It’s also been a busy weekend for sport, with an on-field cardiac arrest and a new swimming world record.The Australian army is investigating allegations of bullying and harassment of officer cadets at the Sydney University regiment. The allegations include claims of verbal abuse and inappropriate comments by superiors; men conducting searches of women’s rooms, including their underwear drawers; and a nearly three-month period in which cadets were forced to work seven days a week with no days off. Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie said the allegations were sufficiently serious that they should be investigated by the joint military police unit to ensure the exercise was seen as independent. Continue reading...
Disability advocates say findings point to urgent need for improved preventative healthcarePotentially avoidable hospitalisations occur at a rate up to eight times higher for people with intellectual disability than the general population, according to new research.Advocates say the findings point to an urgent need for improved preventative healthcare in people with intellectual disability. Continue reading...
Samantha Crompvoets says she is struggling after being targeted by members of a veterans’ Facebook group and articles in the Daily TelegraphThe military sociologist whose work triggered the explosive Brereton war crimes inquiry says a campaign of vitriol against her in recent weeks has been “awful” and is taking a toll on her personally.Dr Samantha Crompvoets has faced a torrent of abuse and criticism, including appalling comments made by members of a veterans’ Facebook group and articles in the Daily Telegraph suggesting she was “cashing in” and reaping “personal gain” by publishing a book about the issue. Continue reading...
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