World news | The Guardian

Prime minister James Marape to set up investigation into AU$200,000 contract for Caring Ltd to provide catering services

First the Rose family’s former mansion hit the real estate lists – now it’s the 10-room motel they called homeThe motel home of the Rose family in the Emmy-sweeping Canadian TV series Schitt’s Creek is up for sale for C$2m.The Hockley Motel in the Canadian town of Mono, Ontario, was a key filming location throughout the six seasons of the hit CBC sitcom. Continue reading...

More than 360 vessels have been stranded since giant container ship MV Ever Given became wedged diagonally across the SuezA vast range of goods from Ikea furnishings to tens of thousands of livestock is stuck in a maritime traffic jam caused by the Suez canal blockage.More than 360 vessels have been stranded in the Mediterranean to the north of the canal and in the Red Sea to the south since the giant container ship MV Ever Given became wedged diagonally across the vital waterway on 23 March. Continue reading...

Mission to check out treatment of Uighur minority is backed by Beijing, says secretary-general António GuterresThe UN has begun negotiations with Beijing for a visit “without restrictions” to Xinjiang to see how the Uighur minority is being treated, secretary-general António Guterres said in an interview broadcast.At least one million Uighurs and people from other mostly Muslim groups have been held in camps in the north-western region, according to US and Australian rights groups, which accuse Chinese authorities of forcibly sterilising women and imposing forced labor. Continue reading...

About 57% of UK adults have had jab; Macron expects France to catch up with UK within weeks

Made with the full cooperation of its 81-year-old subject, this one-off about the astonishing life of Tina Turner is not a gritty documentary, but rather a loving swan songSky Documentaries’ two-hour film Tina, a retrospective on the now 81-year-old Tina Turner’s career is stuffed full of footage of her performances over the years. Black and white film of Anna Mae Bullock (as she was then) in the late 50s singing with Ike Turner’s Kings of Rhythm. Then on into the 60s, after he had realised what an asset he had on his hands and married the singer thus known as Tina Turner. Then flowering in the late 60s and early 70s, as the duo rose to greater and greater fame thanks to the Grammy-winning Proud Mary and the multimillion-selling hits River Deep – Mountain High and Nutbush City Limits.Then come the 80s, when she made an astonishing comeback and dominated every stage she set foot on as a solo performer. And on into the 90s and the new millennium – including performing at the Grammys with Beyoncé and a 50th anniversary tour in 2008 – until she chose to step back. Apart, that is, from a second memoir, a Grammy lifetime achievement award, a musical about her life and a remix of What’s Love Got to Do With It that made her the first artist to have a top 40 hit in seven consecutive decades in the UK Continue reading...

Outdoor group socialising allowed from Monday but ad campaign stresses Covid risks of indoor meeting

Five women taken to hospital as a result of car hitting a lamppost in Streatham, south London, and four arrestedA teenage girl is in a critical condition after a car being chased by police crashed into a lamppost.The Met has launched an investigation into the collision, which happened in the early hours of Sunday morning in south London and left five women in hospital. Continue reading...

Former coronavirus taskforce coordinator tells CNN deaths could have been prevented if Trump administration acted soonerThe “vast majority” of the almost 550,000 coronavirus deaths in the US could have been prevented if Donald Trump’s administration had acted earlier and with greater conviction, according to one of the public health experts charged with leading the pandemic response at the time.Related: CDC ‘deeply concerned’ about rising Covid cases as vaccinations accelerate Continue reading...

Bloody crackdowns and massacres initiate anger and stronger desire for a future without the TatmadawFrom soldiers randomly shooting passersby in the street to imminent economic collapse, anxieties have been plentiful in Myanmar since its military seized power on 1 February.But unease was surging ahead of Armed Forces Day on Saturday when the military was expected to meet protesters with a brutal crackdown. Continue reading...

Freedom of information data will increase calls for country to be granted debt amnestyWhen Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, was in Sudan in January he offered £40m in aid to help its poorest people, who are facing unprecedented food scarcity in a debt-laden country where austerity is deepening.Sudan, ruled by an unelected military-led transitional government after longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir was deposed in 2019, owes the UK almost £900m. But the Observer can reveal that almost 80% of that was accrued from interest, leading to calls for an unconditional debt amnesty. Continue reading...

As many countries faced restrictions and lockdowns to battle the coronavirus pandemic, communities adapted in surprising ways, with some of the most uplifting moments being filmed and shared across the world.From concerts for plants, to animal roaming empty streets, here are some of the most memorable videos from 12 months of fight against Covid-19

Nearly half the population has received at least one vaccine dose but residents of the capital and other regions faces strict new curbsDespite mounting the world’s fastest per-capita Covid-19 vaccination campaign, Chile has been forced to announce strict new lockdowns as it plunges deeper into a severe second wave of cases which is stretching intensive care capacity.

The artist on fostering hope, why he doesn’t want a retrospective, and making work inspired by Picasso’s African art collection

Ex-Observer journalist tells of role in trap to expose disinformation tactics of defenders of the Assad regimeA more sceptical academic than Paul McKeigue might perhaps have wondered if the emails flooding into his inbox from “Ivan”, a purported Russian spy, were too good to be true.Ivan appeared to share many of McKeigue’s own personal obsessions, particularly his desire to discredit investigators who compile evidence of war crimes committed in Syria. And he claimed access to both ready cash and secret intelligence. Continue reading...

Angela Merkel’s apology for cancelling the Easter lockdown was the latest example of the EU elite making a critical misstepAngela Merkel likes to say there is no alternative to her policies; and when she does make U-turns, she tends not to admit to them. So it was highly unusual when last week, amid growing anger about her government’s response to the pandemic, the chancellor apologised to the German people. The government had planned to put the country in a tight lockdown for five days over Easter in an attempt to curb the sharp rise in infections, but abandoned the idea after it was widely criticised.In the early phase of the pandemic, Germany seemed to stand out as one of the few western democracies that had handled it relatively successfully. A chorus of commentators attributed this to Merkel herself and in particular to her technocratic approach, based on her background as a scientist. By contrast, they saw other countries such as the UK and the US, where “populist” leaders were in power, as mishandling the crisis. Continue reading...

Group online tests of food and drink have given participants’ spirits a welcome liftPatrick Fogarty, who runs Dr Ink’s Curiosities, an award-winning cocktail bar in Exeter, estimates that 10,000 people have taken his virtual masterclasses since they started last March. “Everybody is looking for something to do. We have never been busier,” he said.Desperate to relieve lockdown boredom, many people in the UK and across the world have turned to virtual tastings, which have soared in popularity over the past 12 months. Continue reading...

New government report includes excess deaths and shows fatalities may exceed those of Brazil, the world’s second worst-affected country

Campaigners claim Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock acted unlawfullyClaims that Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock acted unlawfully by appointing their “chums” to three top jobs in the fight against Covid-19 – without opening the processes to competition – are to be the subject of an official legal challenge in the high court.Campaigners won an initial victory in the case last Thursday, when Mr Justice Swift granted their applications for a judicial review. In court, they will argue that the prime minister and the health secretary broke the rules and acted in a discriminatory way, running a “chumocracy” at the top of government. Continue reading...

Politicians facing Beijing ban for views on Uighurs are welcomed to Rose GardenBoris Johnson has made an orchestrated gesture of defiance to Beijing, and of support for its critics, by on Saturday meeting a cross-party group of MPs and peers sanctioned by China for their stance on human rights abuses in Xinjiang.Barely a month ago, the prime minister declared himself “fervently Sinophile”, determined to pursue trade and investment deals with Beijing “whatever the occasional political difficulties”. Continue reading...

The glorious sense of indulgence is matched by a life-saving sense of humourA still-warm yorkshire pudding is placed in a bowl. It’s darker than I might like, but then my oven sometimes runs hotter than intended. I refuse to be judged for it. On top goes a dollop of thick, fridge-cold cream, bright white against the burnished brown. I lift the spoon from the tin to my side and hold it over the bowl to allow a slow, shimmering stream of golden syrup to join its pals. I pass each serving around the table to my family. There’s a gentle chorus of sighs as they go in and, from my wife, a breathless “Oh God”. Thank you, Nigella. You’ve gifted me my family’s admiration. I can ask for no more.It is hard to describe this dessert as a recipe, although, of course, the yorkshire pudding demands one. It’s more of an idea and a bloody good one at that: normally you eat yorkshire puddings that way but you could, you know, try it this way. That gets to the heart of How To Eat, by Nigella Lawson. It was first published in 1998 and announced less a cookery writer than a beguiling sensibility. It does, of course, contain many recipes. A lot of them are original to Nigella – excuse the first name familiarity; to do otherwise would be like referring to Madonna as Ms Ciccone – but many come from other people, because she thinks they’re great. It’s a cookbook with a bibliography. Here are nods to Arabella Boxer and Darina Allen, to Jane Grigson, Marcella Hazan and Alastair Little. Continue reading...

Everyone is looking for distractions in lockdown, says Mariella Frostrup. Find your own and see how the land lies when things return to normalThe dilemma Since lockdown my partner has found a wonderful group, who all work in the same field as him. It’s a great support network and they regularly meet throughout the week on Zoom. He says it’s like going to the pub with mates and in that way it is great. However, it’s now becoming a bit of an issue. The calls take place multiple times a week and in between they all have one big WhatsApp group so sometimes it feels like he is plugged in constantly. A few times I have thought he wanted to spend time alone because, well, lockdown, so have headed to bed to give him space, only to find the next minute he’s logged on to Zoom and chatting with them again. On the nights when it’s just us, he falls asleep early and seems a little down. I can see what a wonderful group this is for him but it’s becoming a 24-hour thing. I don’t want to be unsupportive but I also want him to understand that multiple calls a week and at weekends cuts into quality time we could be spending together.Mariella replies Careful what you wish for! For many, the past 12 months have provided over-exposure to our significant others that we’ll be glad to call a halt to as soon as we’re given dispensation. There’s no question that successive lockdowns have been a rough ride for almost everybody. With the impact of restrictions and the absence of friends, many have experienced the impulse to bolt the confines of our own homes. Continue reading...

New claims emerge of sexual atrocities and massacres by troopsPressure is mounting on Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, as the scale of horrors from his war against the northern Tigray region gradually emerge, revealing massacres, mass sexual violence and fears of ethnic cleansing.Ethiopia has for months insisted that its army’s operations, which began in October last year, have officially ended and solely targeted the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) leadership and forces, which ruled Ethiopia for almost three decades before Abiy came to power. Continue reading...

Syria oil ministry restricts supply as canal chief says ‘technical or human errors’ may have been behind stranding of the Ever GivenSyrian authorities say they have begun rationing fuel as the blockage of the Suez canal stretched into a sixth day, delaying vital shipments and worsening the country’s oil shortages.Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011 and faces a severe economic crisis. It had already announced a more than 50% rise in the price of petrol in mid-March. Continue reading...

Seven townships around Hawkesbury River remain evacuated as SES warns flood water can contain sewage, debris and dead animals

Washington says Beijing’s tit-for-tat sanctions will only focus attention on its ‘genocide’ against UighursThe US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has warned that China’s tit-for-tat sanctions against two Americans in the growing dispute over Beijing’s treatment of Uighurs were “baseless” and would only shine a harsh spotlight on the “genocide” in Xinjiang.“Beijing’s attempts to intimidate and silence those speaking out for human rights and fundamental freedoms only contribute to the growing international scrutiny of the ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang,” Blinken said in a statement on Saturday. Continue reading...

The team whose quarantine serenade went viral are playing the long game to the NRL promised landBefore the Kaiviti Silktails rugby league team finished their Covid-19 quarantine they had become worldwide heroes. Individually singing from 35 Juliet balconies in the Sydney Sofitel Hotel, they serenaded the world with three gospel hymns, going viral with more than million hits and delivering a Fiji-style thank you to the staff and guards who had nursed them to the promised land.Their joyous gratitude was a refreshing contrast with the complaints and social media moping of other quarantined athletes, and announced the arrival of something unique. Continue reading...

Radio presenter shouted multiple expletives and appeared to be ad-libbing bulletin before being taken off airAn ABC radio presenter shouted an expletive twice during a late-night news broadcast in Adelaide before being abruptly taken off the air.The national broadcaster has said it is investigating the incident and making sure the staff member is OK. Continue reading...

William Fernandez was in Wormwood Scrubs, west London, on charges also including indecent exposurePolice are searching for a man who was mistakenly released from prison.William Fernandez, 24, was being held on remand at HMP Wormwood Scrubs in west London while awaiting trial. The Metropolitan police said he was arrested and charged with sexual assault, indecent exposure and possession of a class B drug in April 2020. Continue reading...

This year’s event focuses on the link between harming the natural world and disease outbreaks like Covid-19Cities around the world were turning off their lights on Saturday for Earth Hour, with this year’s event highlighting the link between the destruction of nature and increasing outbreaks of diseases like Covid-19.In London, the Houses of Parliament, London Eye, Shard skyscraper and neon signs of Piccadilly Circus were among the landmarks flicking the switches. Continue reading...

Queensland police contradict earlier reports from health authorities that man hosted a party for 25 guests after being told to self-isolate

Eighteen arrested after some demonstrators sit on Metrolink line creating ‘significant disruption’Related: Police under fire for 'assault' of journalist at Bristol protestEighteen people have been arrested after protesters blocked tram lines in Manchester, police said. The “kill the bill” protest – held on Saturday to demonstrate against the government’s new police, crime, sentencing and courts bill – was described as “largely peaceful” by Greater Manchester police. Continue reading...

The popularity of betting on the web surged among Australians during last year’s coronavirus lockdownsOnline casinos that appear to be targeting Australian gamblers, without an Australian licence, have not been shut down despite the communications regulator making a crackdown on illegal operators an enforcement priority.Ten apparently unlicensed online casinos marketed to Australians remain accessible two months after the Australian Communications and Media Authority told Guardian Australia that it was aware of the sites and they “all fall within our compliance priority activities”. Continue reading...

At least one foreign worker among those killed after assault on Palma, near a huge gas projectIslamist militants seized control of a town in northern Mozambique, killing several people including at least one foreign worker, near a huge gas project involving France’s Total and other energy companies, security sources said on Saturday.Militants raided the town of Palma in the northern province of Cabo Delgado on Wednesday, forcing nearly 200 people including foreign gas workers to be evacuated from a hotel where they had sought refuge. Continue reading...

Beacon hospital chief is believed to have sent his children to St Gerard’s school, where staff received jabs

British summer time officially starts at 1am on Sunday 28 March, when we all lose an hour of sleep but gain sunlightIt is time once again to try to work out which of your electronic gadgets automatically adjust for clock changes, and which do not. British summer time (BST) officially starts at 1am on Sunday 28 March, when the clocks go forward an hour to 2am. The clocks on ovens and cars can generally just be ignored – they will be correct again in six months’ time.It does mean we lose an hour’s sleep, although if you are in a house with small children and/or animals, you will know that your waking hours are governed much more by when they need attention rather than what it says on your clock. Continue reading...

The singer’s brutally frank documentary about the perils of addiction is an exhortation to those under stress to seek helpWhen the pop star Demi Lovato explains that she wants “to set the record straight about what it was that happened”, in her new documentary Dancing with the Devil, she is not messing around. The first two parts of the film, which were released on YouTube last week, tell the story of Lovato’s relapse into drug use and her near-fatal overdose in 2018. This is the era of selfies, of course, with everything documented and preserved, but a selfie captioned “Demi on crack for the first time” shocked me. This is a brutally frank account of her troubles, with seemingly nothing left out. If anyone remains in doubt that fame is a grim pact for most, and particularly for young women, then this puts the case to the jury, again and again.Dancing with the Devil was the third documentary I had seen in the last month about a famous woman under unimaginable pressure, in unimaginable pain. I watched Framing Britney Spears and saw a charismatic pop star churned up by the spotlight, hounded wherever she went, cracking under the weight of it all. With heavy heart, I watched the difficult, moving Channel 4 film about Caroline Flack, made with the participation of her brave family. It was announced recently that Brittany Murphy, the Clueless star who died at the age of 32 in 2009, will be the subject of a new two-part documentary that promises to “cut through the tabloid noise” and “[craft] a grounded account of Brittany Murphy’s life struggles”. Continue reading...

Key hurdles are size and weight of container vessel, which is as tall as a 20-storey block of flatDredge and pull, dredge and pull. Dislodging a vessel that has become lodged in sand is simple, in theory. If the vessel is as long as New York’s Empire State building is tall, then the process gets more complicated.Dredgers, tugboats and excavators, guided by world-leading consultants in salvaging ships, have been working for days to free the 220,000 tons, 400 metre-long Ever Given that became stuck in the Suez canal last Tuesday. Continue reading...

From electric train sets to Arnold Schwarzenegger action heroes, a new book from Taschen brings together American toy adverts of the 20th century. “Whenever you ask someone, ‘What was your favourite toy?’, there’s an immediate response – everybody had one,” says co-author Jim Heimann. Print adverts for toys are rare now, but these images preserve a snapshot of the society that produced them. At the start of the book, which is chronological, boys are advertised guns and adventures, while girls are sold dolls and kitchenware; gradually, attitudes (and adverts) start to shift. “I wanted to show how toys reflected what was happening at the time,” says Heimann. “It definitely does tell a story.”

A triumphant performance as musical moves from Broadway and the West End to AustraliaIf the world is looking to Australia to lead its primary theatre markets into the future, then it need look no further than Hamilton, which has opened to rapturous applause and an extended standing ovation from a masked, Covid-safe audience at the Sydney Lyric.Hamilton in Australia might not seem like a natural success. The show’s often too-earnest reverence of its colonial founding mythology is at odds with our long-standing refusal to deify our politicians. We certainly don’t study these figureheads and their adventures and misadventures in our schools (it’s a rightful gap – our unwillingness to look beyond our own colonisers and educate our children on Australian Indigenous history, languages and cultures less so). Plus, the local musical theatre sector has a troubling habit of prioritising whiteness when programming and casting shows. Continue reading...

The sumptous interior of a journalist and women’s activist’s home reflects her own life and workNever judge a book by its cover, as the adage goes, but can you judge a writer by her bookshelf? In Cristina Sivieri Tagliabue’s case, it would be a safe bet. On her floating floor-to-ceiling shelves, among the tomes on empowerment and feminism, can be found some of the Italian journalist and activist’s own.Her study on the desire in young Italian women to have plastic surgery, her collected stories on gender equality and her political biography of Emma Bonino all sit proudly on the 11-shelf structure. Continue reading...

The same thoroughness that made Angela Merkel’s government a pandemic role model is now holding it back

Actor who plays Ken Barlow in Coronation Street says he is looking forward to returning as soon as possible

75% of respondents to a survey conducted by Dating.com said that they preferred the body shape to a more toned oneThe “dad-bod” is making a return, according to a new survey, signaling a forward step for body diversity.Some 75% of respondents to a survey conducted by Dating.com said that they preferred the soft and round male body type to a more toned one. Continue reading...

Gig by Spanish band Love of Lesbian has special permission of the country’s health authorities

The singer, 53, on finding fame, taking good care of herself and what she’s missed most during the pandemicI got picked on a lot at school. I was awkward – tall, thin, with a lot of hair I didn’t know what to do with. I had these growth spurts, so I’d go to school and my clothes would be too small. I wanted to fit in but I never really got there. I think that’s what made me want to be somebody.I’m not a people person. It’s not my gift. People disappoint you, and I’m over being disappointed by people. The only thing I’ve ever really been afraid of is people. Continue reading...

Bristol’s third ‘kill the bill’ demonstration ended in chaos as violence erupted when police moved in to clear out protesters. Dogs, horses, vans and a helicopter were used to drive crowds back into the city centre in an operation that lasted until 1am. Ten arrests were made for offences including violent disorder and assaulting an emergency worker.

More than 90 people – including boy as young as five – reportedly killed on one of the bloodiest days since coupMore than 90 people across Myanmar have been killed by security forces in one of the bloodiest days of protests since a military coup last month, news reports and witnesses said.The lethal crackdown came on Armed Forces Day. Sen Gen Min Aung Hlaing, the junta leader, said during a parade in the capital, Naypyidaw, to mark the event that the military would protect the people and strive for democracy. Continue reading...

The Booker-nominated writer on how growing up between England and Zimbabwe inspired her first novel - and why she started over after reading Germaine Greer’s The Female EunuchNervous Conditions is a novel about yearning and wanting, about black girls – in this case Zimbabwean girls – desiring better for themselves and their loved ones. I wrote it as a fugitive. A fugitive from my first memories and of what my life had become.Related: Tsitsi Dangarembga: 'I am afraid. There have been abductions' Continue reading...

Galasy ZMesta song sparks backlash from opposition figures, who have faced a violent crackdown during demonstrations