Four men on trial in absentia in the Netherlands over downing of flight with 298 onboard over UkraineMultiple witnesses saw an anti-aircraft missile launcher that had secretly crossed into eastern Ukraine from Russia in the hours before it shot down the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, a trial in the Netherlands has heard.The Buk system crossed the border in darkness in the early hours of 17 July 2014. It was then loaded on to a trailer and taken to the rebel-held city of Donetsk, the court heard on Wednesday, before it headed east towards the town of Snizhne. Continue reading...
It’s not just plastic clogs that are being elevated right now – flip-flops, trainers and hiking boots all have heels right now. And just when we were all yearning for comfortName: Balenciaga Crocs.Age: Super new. Not even out yet. Continue reading...
Victorian Covid-19 restrictions are easing in as the Melbourne coronavirus outbreak comes under control. Can you leave home? Is mask-wearing compulsory? Are schools closed? Is travelling permitted? What is the 25km radius for? Here are the new rules
Queensland’s crisis accommodation model is leaving women with ‘impossible choice’ of secondary homelessness or returning to unsafe homes, refuge operators sayWomen and children fleeing domestic violence in Queensland have spent years “trapped” in refuges and other crisis accommodation due to a chronic shortage of secure long-term housing.Community organisations that run domestic and family violence refuges say the situation creates a bottleneck in crisis accommodation – leaving vulnerable women with an “impossible choice” of living for extended periods in secondary homelessness or choosing to return to unsafe or violent relationships. Continue reading...
Guardian analysis shows more than 10% rise in monthly exemptions after state push to tighten approvalsAlmost 12,000 Australians received permission to travel overseas in May, a higher rate than the preceding three months, despite the federal government promising to look at tightening exemptions.According to a Guardian Australia analysis of Australian Border Force (ABF) statistics, some 11,879 citizens and residents were granted exemptions in May, a jump of more than 10% on the average of 10,353 a month between February and April. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Experts say staffing records obtained under freedom of information show the government’s lack of preparationThe branch responsible for the federal government’s aged care Covid-19 response was left with just three staff members at times in the pandemic’s early stages, internal documents show.The Coalition has faced persistent criticism for failing to prepare for Covid-19 in aged care, including from the aged care royal commission, which found its actions were “insufficient to ensure preparedness” in the sector. Continue reading...
Gallery staff exploring ways of deterring pests from damaging priceless 16th-century tapestriesThe exquisite set of Raphael tapestries currently on display in the grand gallery of Madrid’s royal palace has survived five tumultuous centuries of wars, rebellions, bombs, bullets and fire – only to find itself menaced by the more quotidian threat of opportunistic pigeons and their droppings.The nine tapestries, which depict scenes from the Acts of the Apostles, were created in Brussels in the mid-16th century using the original sketches drawn by the Italian master whom Pope Leo X commissioned to design a set of lifesize hangings to adorn the Sistine Chapel in 1514. Continue reading...
Commissioner made the remark when speaking more widely about violence against women and girlsBritain’s most senior police officer has admitted that there is the occasional “bad ’un” within the ranks of the Metropolitan police service.Her comments came on the day that one of her officers pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and rape of Sarah Everard, who went missing in March while walking home in south London. Continue reading...
A member of the public slaps the French president during a visit in southern France. Footage shows Macron walking up to a group of people in Tain-l'Hermitage, outside the city of Valence. As he begins to interact with the crowd, a man slaps him, reportedly shouting, 'Down with Macronia,' before security staff intervene Continue reading...
Two arrested after man shouted ‘down with Macronism’ before assaulting French presidentEmmanuel Macron was slapped in the face by a man during a walkabout in southern France.The president’s security detail immediately pulled the man to the ground and moved Macron away from the crowd, though the president appeared unhurt and determined to continue meeting the public. Continue reading...
Analysis: Armin Laschet’s campaign to succeed Angela Merkel is copying her strategy of skirting around hard political choicesAngela Merkel’s method of winning elections has earned its own phrase among German political scientists: “asymmetric demobilisation”, the art of running a campaign that skirts around hot-button issues in order to present voters with a choice between personalities rather than policies.Three and a half months before Germany goes to the polls, Merkel’s aspiring successor Armin Laschet seems to have taken her strategy to heart. With a campaign that has so far failed to tackle the country’s hard choices on carbon emissions, digitisation, eurozone integration and military spending, the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its candidate for chancellor may get away with it too. Continue reading...
Twin sister punched crocodile in head after it attacked in a lagoon where they had been swimmingA British woman is in a medically induced coma in Mexico after she was attacked by a crocodile in a lagoon where she and her twin sister had been taken by a tour guide.Melissa and Georgia Laurie, 28, from Berkshire, had been swimming in the lagoon, about 10 miles from Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, on the south-east coast of the country, when Melissa was attacked. Continue reading...
Metals bourse, founded in 1877, reopens in September after member resistance to all-electronic tradingThe London Metal Exchange, the last remaining in-person trading floor in Europe, is to reopen on 6 September after its management decided not to permanently close the trading ring, which has been operating since 1877.The LME’s proposal at the start of 2021 to move to all-electronic trading following the pandemic was opposed by some traders. Continue reading...
Twelve of the 24 film-makers featured in Directors’ Fortnight sidebar are women, compared to four of the 24 in main competitionThe Cannes film festival has completed its lineup with the announcement of the selections for the Directors’ Fortnight, the separate strand that runs alongside the official festival and the Critics’ Week.Highlights of the Directors’ Fortnight include new films from British directors Joanna Hogg and Clio Barnard, an Italian documentary which includes Happy as Lazzaro’s Alice Rohrwacher among its three directors, and a new musical co-directed by musician-actor Saul Williams and Rwandan film-maker Anisia Uzeyman. Continue reading...
by Vikram Dodd Police and crime correspondent on (#5JSPF)
Body of 33-year-old woman found in woodland in Kent in March a week after she went missingPolice constable Wayne Couzens has pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and rape of Sarah Everard, who went missing in March while walking home in south London.The serving Metropolitan police officer appeared in court on Tuesday accused over the disappearance and death of the 33-year-old marketing executive. Continue reading...
Sleep can go a long way in improving mental and physical health, but teens aren’t getting enough of it – and research suggests the pandemic made things worseWhen parents tell Denise Pope, an adolescent well-being expert, they’re worried for their children’s mental health, she responds with a question.“How many hours are they sleeping?” Continue reading...
Timing of vote seen as providing long-serving prime minister with more time to torpedo coalition plansIsraeli politicians will hold a confidence vote on an opposition-led government on Sunday, a move that, if successful, will unseat the country’s longest-serving leader, Benjamin Netanyahu.“The debate and vote on the new government will take place Sunday, June 13, 2021 during a special session of parliament,” the speaker of the Knesset, Yariv Levin, announced in a statement. If the vote passes, it is expected to lead to a swearing-in the same day. Continue reading...
Three-year-old and her family held in immigration facility for years as government fights to deport themThe plight of a three-year old girl who has spent nearly her entire life in Australian immigration detention facilities has galvanised opposition to the country’s offshore detention system.Tharnicaa Murugappan was evacuated to a children’s hospital on Monday where she was diagnosed with a blood infection and pneumonia, which she contracted on a remote island detention centre. Continue reading...
A council resident living metres away from construction work on part of the high-speed rail project in central London has said people in the area have been subjected to ‘a living hell’ by HS2 and have urged the rail company to rehouse them. The £106bn rail project has generated environmental campaign protests and is expected to have a major impact on urban areas. An HS2 spokesperson said they were working with partners to identify new ways to remedy the disruption experienced by residents in Euston Continue reading...
One of nine drones tracking a herd of elephants crossing through China’s south-western Yunnan province has filmed them taking a rest. All but one baby elephant can be seen lying flat out on the ground asleep. Last week, images of the herd of 15 Asian elephants walking through a residential area appeared on social media and sparked intense media interest. Chinese authorities dispatched a taskforce to track them. State TV has spent days following their every footstep
Two women, a man and a girl were killed on Sunday when Nathaniel Veltman drove a pickup truck into pedestrians, police sayA 20-year-old Canadian man has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one of attempted murder after driving his pickup truck into a Muslim family in what police described as “a premeditated attack”.Two women, aged 74 and 44, a 46-year-old man and a 15-year-old girl – a grandmother, mother, father and their teenage daughter – were killed on Sunday night when Nathaniel Veltman ploughed his black pickup truck into a group of pedestrians in the city of London, Ontario, police said. Continue reading...
When the Bad Seeds singer found a solitary child’s glove hanging over a road sign he felt a ‘jolt of grief’ which led him on a photographic journey. He talks us through it Continue reading...
Chronic stress at work can lead to listlessness, fatigue – and a much higher risk of stroke and heart disease. But there are ways to save yourself before it’s too lateSpencer Carter had been signed off work for three months with stress. Before that time was up, his employers “encouraged” him back early, then doubled the size of the team he managed – and his responsibility. “In the last couple of years, everything got worse,” he says, with a degree of understatement. In fact, his GP warned him the stress was going to kill him, thanks to his astronomically high blood pressure. He took, he says, “voluntary redundancy to save my life”.Although he had tried counselling in the run-up to his redundancy, it hadn’t helped with his overly demanding working environment as a business operations manager for a global company – endless data and spreadsheets, running teams across different time zones, and being responsible for huge budgets in a highly competitive culture. Continue reading...
Dumba has spent her life performing in circuses around Europe, but in recent years animal rights activists have been campaigning to rescue her. When it looked like they might succeed, Dumba and her owners disappeared
Rupert Everett, who had lived in the UK for 50 years, died in 2019 without an apology for Home Office’s repeated errorsThe Home Office made repeated errors that caused a man who had lived in the UK for more than 50 years to be classified as an illegal immigrant and threatened with arrest, prison and forcible removal, the parliamentary ombudsman has found.The latest critical official report on the department’s handling of the Windrush scandal detailed how former HGV driver Rupert Everett died in 2019, aged 74, without having received an apology or compensation from the government. Continue reading...
Police station attacked and dozens of buses, public buildings, banks and personal vehicles damaged in Manaus after police shoot dead drug suspectA city in Brazil ordered schools closed and suspended public transport after the police shooting of an alleged leader of a drug trafficking ring sparked retribution attacks from gangs, government officials said.Dozens of buses, public buildings, banks and personal vehicles in Manaus – the capital and biggest city in the state of Amazonas – were targeted by a drug trafficking organisation in revenge for the killing, the state’s government said. Twenty-one vehicles were burned, and Governor Wilson Lima on Sunday requested deployment of the national guard. Continue reading...
Cocos (Keeling) Islands suffix is one of the most commonly used top-level domains for hosting child abuse material, researchers sayThe .cc internet domain for the Cocos (Keeling) Islands should be claimed by the Australian government to stop it being abused by scammers and people hosting child abuse websites, Australian National University researchers have said.Under the system that governs domain names on the internet, the .cc suffix was set up in the 1990s for the Cocos (Keeling) Islands territory, far off the coast of Western Australia. Continue reading...
But president’s Morena party keeps its majority in the lower house of congressMexican voters have denied President Andrés Manuel López Obrador a mega-majority in midterm elections, though his Morena party kept its majority in the lower house of congress with the support of a controversial ally.Voters also showed little enthusiasm for Mexico’s rightwing opposition, which remains reviled after its decisive 2018 defeat by López Obrador, who swept to power promising to curb corruption and put the poor first. Continue reading...
Alina Joseph says death of son, Christopher Kapessa, 13, would have been treated more seriously if he had not been blackThe mother of a 13-year-old boy who died after allegedly being pushed into a river has vowed to launch a private prosecution if the authorities continue to refuse to take action against the teenage suspect.Alina Joseph, the mother of Christopher Kapessa, said she was certain that if her son had not been black, the police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) would have taken the case more seriously. Continue reading...
Move comes after social media firm deleted president’s tweet for violating its rulesNigeria has directed all TV and radio stations to “suspend the patronage of Twitter immediately” and described its use as unpatriotic, the country’s National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has said.The government of Africa’s most populous country said it was suspending the platform on Friday, two days after the social media company deleted a tweet from the president’s account for violating its rules. Continue reading...
His portraits of his Paris neighbourhood summed up its residents’ anger. Now his subversive installations straddle borders, float on boats and envelop favelas. We speak to the elusive artist“I didn’t spend enough time in school for any of the teachers to remember me. The only role models I had were the guys in the neighbourhood doing graffiti,” reflects JR, on his journey from street-smart tagger to world-famous conceptual artist. “I guess what’s nice is now, at 38, I can tell my mother I am not a vandal but an artist.”The career trajectory of the first-generation Frenchman, who refuses to publicly reveal his real name, has been fascinating to observe. With a mother from eastern Europe and a father from Tunisia, JR grew up on the wrong side of the Périphérique, a ring-road that acts as a barrier between the middle-class districts of central Paris and the concrete jungle of project buildings on the city’s outskirts that are home to a largely immigrant population. “It was tough, but there was always such a great sense of community,” he says from a plush art studio that’s only a few minutes away from the Parisian grave of Jim Morrison. “Doing graffiti meant that I had to have eyes in the back of my head. Even today, I am always naturally looking around [for the police].” Continue reading...
Protesters who want statue of slave trader restored to plinth book up tickets for M Shed museumCampaigners who want the statue of the slave trader Edward Colston restored to its plinth in Bristol are urging supporters to block-book tickets to the museum where it is on display daubed with graffiti, so that that no one can see it there.As the 19th-century bronze memorial went on display in Bristol, the Save Our Statues campaign group, which calls for the preservation of Britain’s “precious cultural furniture”, mobilised supporters to book tickets to the M Shed museum. Continue reading...
The most dramatic murder alleged to have been committed by the Australian soldier has been outright denied by his legal teamThe most dramatic murder alleged to have been committed by Australian soldier Ben Roberts-Smith – that he kicked an unarmed, handcuffed Afghan civilian off a cliff before ordering him shot – has been outright denied by his legal team, who say the allegation is “ludicrous” and the man’s killing was justified.The Victoria Cross recipient’s high-profile defamation trial over war crimes allegations began in Sydney on Monday, with his barrister Bruce McClintock SC opening his case in combative fashion, saying those accusing Roberts-Smith were “fabulists” without credibility, or “failures as soldiers” motivated by jealousy. Continue reading...
Isis ordered death of Abubakar Shekau over concerns about indiscriminate targeting of ‘believers’The death of the leader of the Nigerian militant Islamist group Boko Haram has been confirmed by a rival extremist faction that said it carried out the killing on the direct orders of Islamic State’s leadership thousands of miles away in the Middle East.Abubakar Shekau, one of the most infamous leaders of Islamic militant groups anywhere in the world, died last month after detonating an explosive device while being pursued by fighters from the Islamic State West African Province (Iswap). The Iswap fighters had stormed the Sambisa forest, a swath of strategically important dense forest in Nigeria’s north-east, which was Shekau’s base. Continue reading...
Liam Curtin says lack of maintenance has left Blackpool High Tide Organ in a poor conditionAn artist is calling on council officials to take down his most famous work after claiming that a lack of maintenance has left it in a poor state and a threat to public safety.Liam Curtin’s Blackpool High Tide Organ was constructed along the town’s new promenade in 2002. Commissioned by Blackpool council and designed by Curtin and John Gooding, the structure is primarily made of Corten steel – the same material used for the Angel of the North sculpture. Continue reading...
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