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Decision to open inquiry into both sides in conflict is result of nearly five years of work, says prosecutor

Anecdotal evidence suggests Muslims over-represented in ICUs, but Germany has no official data

French president admits army was behind 1957 death of Ali Boumendjel during Battle of AlgiersEmmanuel Macron has admitted French soldiers tortured and killed a well-known Algerian lawyer and activist during the country’s independence war.Ali Boumendjel, 37, died after falling from a sixth-floor window in 1957 during the Battle of Algiers. Until now, his death has been recorded as suicide. Continue reading...

Scotland’s first minister is appearing before MSPs, amid multiple allegations that she broke the ministerial code

First minister under pressure to answer claims she misled parliament over harassment inquiry

Juggling babies and a job is always difficult – what are the particular pressures for performers and how is the industry taking steps to improve?Followers of Royal Ballet principal Lauren Cuthbertson cheer ardently for her Juliet, Manon and Sugar Plum Fairy, but are in raptures about her latest role, as mum to baby Peggy, born in December and already the toast of Instagram. Cuthbertson is one of a flurry of dancers at the Royal who are about to give or have recently given birth, in a serendipitously timed lockdown baby boom.It’s a long way from the early days of the company, when founder Ninette de Valois set the tone. “‘You’re pregnant darling, goodbye!’ That’s how it was,” says Jeanetta Laurence, a dancer in its touring company in the 1960s and 70s. Even now, she says: “It’s hard to think of another industry where having a baby is so intrusive to the work. I’m in awe and wonder at how they manage it.” Continue reading...

The new HBO documentary in which Mia and Dylan Farrow revisit their 1992 allegation against Woody Allen claims to be an even-handed investigation. But its failure to present the facts makes it feel more like activism

The mock trial of a teacher puts history on the stand in Radu Jude’s peculiar revenge porn story – but what is it telling us?Radu Jude’s new film, with its rambling and self-consciously inelegant title, is an absurdist provocation, or an obsessive-compulsive disruption, like the photograph of the dadaist Benjamin Péret insulting a priest in the street.It’s about the anger and frustration of Romania, and maybe of all of us, at the Covid outbreak, and our creeping suspicion that standard-issue human unhappiness will survive even when, or if, the disease is eradicated. Most of all, this is about porn, and even when it is not about porn, it is somehow still about porn and the porn aesthetic of social media. There is a bleak humour here, but also a kind of redundancy: the film constitutes a huge comedy pratfall that isn’t perhaps every bit as funny and meaningful as it was supposed to be. Continue reading...

Speaking to colleagues before delivering budget, chancellor says borrowing has reached levels usually seen only in wartime

Rightwing party’s move comes after European People’s party changed its internal rules on excluding membersHungary’s ruling rightwing Fidesz party has said it will leave the main centre-right political grouping in the European parliament after the European People’s party (EPP) voted to change its internal laws on excluding members.The EPP’s 180 members, many of whom have campaigned for the expulsion of Fidesz, which they accuse of weakening Hungary’s democracy and curbing media and other freedoms, voted by 148 to 28 in favour of the new rules, with four abstentions. Continue reading...

The PM needs to decide whether to let the attorney general’s defence be the last word on the case or to represent all the interests involved, including the alleged victim’sIf Christian Porter was somehow unaware that survivors of sexual assault in the #MeToo era have had enough of being silenced, the Australian of the year, Grace Tame, appeared at the National Press Club on Wednesday to remind him.Only an hour or so before the attorney general confirmed the worst-kept secret on the internet – that he was the unnamed cabinet minister at the centre of a rape allegation from 1988 – Tame stood before reporters in Canberra and delivered a speech of piercing moral clarity. Continue reading...

The Rotherham electronic musician is using his skills to tackle dementia, teach children and collaborate across the globe – and dreams of a club where the dancers play the drum machinesLiving in lockdown while caring for someone with dementia “isn’t just like Groundhog Day”, chuckles Rian Treanor, “it’s like Groundhog Second.” The soft-spoken electronic music producer has spent a year indoors with three generations of his family – including his producer and sound-artist dad, Mark Fell, and his grandmother, Doreen, who is has late-stage Alzheimer’s. It’s certainly a change of scene for the producer of one of 2020’s most audacious and frenzied dance albums, File Under UK Metaplasm.Instead of the pointillist rave and singeli – a high-speed Tanzanian style – that influenced that record, the Treanor-Fell household playlist is geared towards Doreen’s favourites, particularly dub reggae and Hawaiian-style steel guitar. “When she listens to that she’s completely in the zone, she astrally projects into it,” marvels Treanor. Music has a powerful effect on brains damaged by dementia, unlocking memories and opening up non-verbal channels of communication, so they tried Doreen on a piano next, knowing that she’d grown up with one. When the keys proved too complicated, Fell designed a set of blocks for her to use, described by Treanor as “squares with little notches cut out that create different chord shapes”. Continue reading...

Ex-French president vows to take case to European court of human rights if appeal does not succeed

Duke University neuroscientist urges international community to challenge Brazilian government over its failure to containBrazil’s rampant coronavirus outbreak has become a global threat that risks spawning new and even more lethal variants, one of the South American country’s top scientists has warned as it suffered its deadliest day of the pandemic.Speaking to the Guardian, Miguel Nicolelis, a Duke University neuroscientist who is tracking the crisis, urged the international community to challenge the Brazilian government over its failure to contain an epidemic that has killed more than a quarter of a million Brazilians – about 10% of the global total. Continue reading...

Spanish dramas such as Money Heist have been taking the world by storm in recent years. But why are film-makers now flooding to the country’s north-west to make their shows?Rosa Vargas’s arrival in a small town in north-western Spain to investigate the disappearance of a young girl marked an unlikely milestone. Vargas is the fictional police detective in O sabor das margaridas (Bitter Daisies), which, in 2019 became the first series in Galician, a language spoken by fewer than 2.5 million people, to be broadcast by Netflix. The series became one of the top 10 most-watched non-English language shows in the UK and Ireland just a month after its international release.A decade after Nordic noir captured the attention of international TV audiences, a TV genre some are calling “Galician noir” is emerging from the rainy corner of Spain. HBO made its debut in the Galician language last year with a Spanish-Portuguese miniseries Auga seca (Dry Water), a murder mystery set in the port city of Vigo, and was soon followed by the Galician-produced police thriller La unidad (The Unit) on the Spanish subscription platform Movistar+. More recently, El desorden que dejas (The Mess You Leave Behind), based on a novel by the screenwriter Carlos Montero, premiered on Netflix in December. Continue reading...

The attorney general makes a statement in Perth saying he will not step down. This blog is now closed

Aide alleged in 2018 that Duchess of Sussex’s behaviour had driven out two personal assistants, say reports

Accidental publication adds to growing body of evidence of Beijing’s efforts to persecute minorityChinese labour programmes in Xinjiang are designed at least partly to reduce the population density of the Uighur ethnic minority group, according to a study accidentally published online.The Chinese report, by academics of Nankai University, was taken down in mid-2020, but a copy was archived by the academic Dr Adrian Zenz. It adds to the growing body of evidence of Beijing’s concerted efforts to persecute Uighurs in what human rights experts and some governments have labelled cultural genocide. Continue reading...

Phased distribution plans in some states do not name population as a priority while CDC recognizes it as high riskAs many as 18 states in the US have not specifically prioritized the homeless community in their plans for distributing Covid-19 vaccines, despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recognizing the population as particularly high risk when it comes to the virus, a study has found.Research conducted by the National Academy for State Health Policy, a non-partisan forum of policymakers, focused on people living in homeless shelters and found that the phased distribution plans in such states as Maryland, Illinois and Minnesota did not explicitly name that community as a priority population. Continue reading...

The number of civilians reported killed in explosions nearly halved in 2020 to the lowest level in a decadeThe number of civilian casualties in conflicts around the world plummeted during the Covid-19 pandemic, a new report shows.Last year, an average of 10 civilians a day were reported killed by explosive weapons, compared with 18 in 2019, according to analysis by Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), a London-based charity. Continue reading...

Australian of the year says prime minister has ‘clearly not’ lived up to his expressed hope that rape survivors feel they will be believedThe Australian of the year, Grace Tame, has rebuked the prime minister for his rhetoric and handling of sexual assault claims that have engulfed his government.Tame, a survivor of sexual assault who has been a fearless advocate for fellow survivors and the need to change how the nation and the law handles their cases, was asked to address Scott Morrison admitting he needed his wife to understand the allegations raised by Brittany Higgins. Continue reading...

Photographer Andy Hall has been photographing the Square Mile throughout the pandemic, and has seen the financial centre turn into a ghost town of empty buildings and lone security staff Continue reading...

Cerebral palsy made my body a country of error and pain. It took me years to accept the part of me that craves intimacy

Health minister Brad Hazzard says he was not told which aged care facilities in the state are being vaccinated or of plans to use the ADF for distribution

Orthodox church says entry ‘praises the fatalistic submission of humans to the devil’s authority’The Orthodox Church of Cyprus has called for the withdrawal of the country’s controversial entry into this year’s Eurovision song contest titled “El Diablo,” charging that the song makes an international mockery of country’s moral foundations by advocating “our surrender to the devil and promoting his worship”.The Holy Synod, the church’s highest decision-making body, said in a statement that the song “essentially praises the fatalistic submission of humans to the devil’s authority” and urged the state broadcaster to replace it with one that “expresses our history, culture, traditions and our claims.” Continue reading...

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MPs say Commons vote is needed as funding budget has dropped below 0.7% of UK gross national incomeAid agencies say they are being forced to prepare to suspend health clinics in Somalia serving as many as 2,000 women and children a month, after they have been warned they may face cuts as high as 40% in their UK funding.Action Against Hunger’s East Africa regional director, Hajir Maalim, said: “We have been told to make no financial commitments into the next financial year, only a month away, and this makes it very difficult to plan. We are facing the further threat of food shortages and the spread of Covid. Our scenario planning is for likely 40% cuts, and that will mean the closure of frontline health clinics in Mogadishu. If those cuts go ahead it will be like taking the bandages off the wounded. What we need as much as anything is certainty.” Continue reading...

My father, Mike Kewell, who has died aged 83, was a weather forecaster turned transport economist who worked for many years for British Rail, including on planning for the building of the Channel Tunnel.Mike was born in Danbury, Essex, to Margaret (nee Tonkin), a machinist, and Frederick Kewell, a roofing consultant. He attended King Edward VI grammar school in Chelmsford, then worked briefly for Barclays Bank before two years of national service with the RAF as a progress clerk, rising to corporal. In 1958 he spent nine months as a purser serving on the SS Nevasa and SS Dunera, troop ships that also carried civilian passengers. Continue reading...

Inquiry’s report is being seen by experts as a crucial opportunity to address a failing systemAustralia’s aged care sector is set for a “generational paradigm shift”, according to Scott Morrison, after the royal commission into the system laid bare deep-rooted “neglect and abuse” of older Australians and delivered recommendations for a path forward.The royal commission has made 148 recommendations to address structural issues in funding and governance, formulated after evidence from 641 experts, residents and families over almost 100 hearing days since the prime minister ordered the inquiry in October 2018. Continue reading...

Group of 67 high-profile figures say they are ‘deeply disturbed’ by recent closure of LGBTQ+ centre in AccraSome of the UK’s most prominent Ghanaians have joined together to condemn their former homeland for its stance on gay rights in what will be seen as an extraordinary show of diaspora power.The influential names in fashion, film and media, including Idris Elba and the Vogue editor-in-chief, Edward Enninful, have signed an open letter in support of Ghana’s LGBTQ+ community. Naomi Campbell, although, not of Ghanaian heritage, has also put her name to the letter. Continue reading...

Sarkozy found guilty of corruption and influence peddling but is unlikely to spend time in prisonA court has found Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of corruption and influence peddling and sentenced the former French president to three years in prison with two of them suspended.France’s president from 2007 to 2012 was accused of forging a “corruption pact” with his lawyer and a senior magistrate. Judges said there was “serious evidence” of collaboration between the three men to break the law. Continue reading...

A new police science unit in France is deploying groundbreaking forensics and believes DNA will soon allow it to put faces on suspectsImagine a crime scene. The body of a man in a red sweatshirt and jeans lies dead on the living room floor of an apartment, a revolver near his right hand. There is a blood stain on the blue patterned rug and a bullet hole in the ceiling. On a low table sit an almost empty bottle of whisky and two glasses. The television is off.If this were an episode of the French TV crime drama Engrenages (Spiral) which ran for eight seasons, or the more recent Netflix hit Lupin, the mystery would have been solved and the killer caught before the screen credits rolled. Continue reading...

The world’s poorest are becoming poorer as the impact of Covid compounds existing crises, says Disaster Emergency Comittee

Export delays have caused price of catch to drop, along with wages in historic Devon harbour

Hatice Cengiz calls on Joe Biden to serve justice after US finds Mohammed bin Salman approved journalist’s killingJamal Khashoggi’s fiancee has said Mohammed bin Salman must be “punished without delay” after the publication of a US intelligence assessment found the Saudi crown prince approved of the journalist’s killing.“The truth – that was already known – has been revealed one more time, and is now confirmed,” said Hatice Cengiz, a Turkish researcher who was engaged to marry Khashoggi, in a statement on Monday. “Yet this is not enough, since the truth can only be meaningful when it serves justice being achieved.” Continue reading...

Several European countries opted not to give the jab to older age groups due to lack of data

Following a recent similar Royal Mint slip-up, the Westminster Collection’s new 50p coins have sent Carroll experts down an internet rabbit hole to source false quotesAs Oscar Wilde famously never said, don’t trust Goodreads as a source for quotes. A month after the Royal Mint released a new £2 coin to celebrate HG Wells with an inaccurate quotation (and a tripod with four legs), Alice in Wonderland author Lewis Carroll is the latest to be immortalised in currency through words they never wrote.A collection of 50p coins celebrating 150 years since the conclusion of Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland tales has been released by the Westminster Collection, who described them as featuring the characters’ “best known quotes”. Unfortunately, eagle-eyed experts spotted that, though some of the lines feature on Goodreads and numerous inspirational posters, they were never penned by Carroll. Continue reading...

The assault happened hours before A Current Affair broadcast a segment on an Australian far-right groupThe leader of an Australian neo-Nazi group has been filmed assaulting a Channel Nine security guard just hours before the network’s A Current Affair broadcast a segment about the organisation.Thomas Sewell, one of the leaders of the neo-Nazi group National Socialist Network, was filmed assaulting the guard on Monday afternoon after he and another man came to the network’s offices in Melbourne before its tabloid current affairs program aired a segment about the group. Continue reading...

Jeremy Samuel says the incident ‘was a very, very heavy weight on her. I’m incredibly sad for her on so many levels’Jeremy Samuel says he met the woman who has alleged she was raped by a cabinet minister in January 1988 during that same year.“I was her friend,” Samuel told Guardian Australia on Monday. “I just want to say that my friend was an incredibly smart, witty, talented and capable person.” Continue reading...

The absence of I May Destroy You was the most memorable part of the small-screen awards, where voters had seemingly binged the biggest streaming hits – and little elseIt has always been hard to care about the Golden Globes, and God knows that it’s difficult to rouse the enthusiasm to care about anything one year into a pandemic. So, in truth, last night’s special pandemic edition of the Golden Globes – an entertainment awards show made in a year when most entertainment has either been cancelled or postponed – barely even deserves acknowledgment.In fact, if last night’s show will be remembered for anything at all – which in all honesty seems like a stretch – then it will be the swirl of controversy that engulfed its nominations. In summary: when its shortlists were announced, the best TV show of the year (I May Destroy You) was nowhere to be seen. But the worst TV show of the year (Emily in Paris) was. It’s also worth noting that many lavish treats were gifted to voters by the production a year ago. All that, plus it was just revealed that not a single black person participated in the voting process. Continue reading...

Prime minister pledges $450m for aged care after royal commission final report. This blog is now closed

PM will not stand down minister in question, admitting he was aware of ‘rumours’ of alleged assault earlier this yearScott Morrison says the cabinet minister at the centre of historical rape allegations has “vigorously rejected” the claims, while admitting he was aware of “rumours” of the alleged assault earlier this year.The prime minister has so far declined to launch an independent inquiry into the allegations, declaring he was “not a police force”. Continue reading...

As illegal, and often violent, pushbacks of asylum seekers continue – human rights groups also report growing hostility

‘There is a huge amount of damage you can’t see – the mental trauma’, says Syria Relief report author

Despite its empty promenade and quiet beaches, Blackpool charms our photographer Christopher Thomond once again Continue reading...

Mark Rutte enters final leg of race in dominant position despite ‘difficult phase’ of pandemic

Very bright meteor, known as a fireball, was captured on doorbell cameras across the countryA large meteor blazed across UK skies on Sunday night, delighting those lucky enough to spot it.The meteor was spotted shortly before 10pm and was visible for around seven seconds. It was captured on doorbell and security cameras in Manchester, Cardiff, Honiton, Bath, Midsomer Norton and Milton Keynes. Continue reading...

Priti Patel understood to be concerned that some offenders are only being given three-year termsPeople smugglers could be handed life sentences under plans to ramp up penalties in an effort to stop migrants crossing the Channel.At present, the maximum sentence for people smuggling is 14 years in prison. The Times reported that Priti Patel wants to lengthen jail terms because of her concerns that the average sentence received is three years. Continue reading...

Northern MPs tell chancellor his budget should protect high street and tax online retailers such as AmazonRishi Sunak is under increasing pressure from Conservative “red wall” MPs to go beyond existing support for the UK economy in Wednesday’s budget and cut taxes for thousands of retailers.MPs across the political spectrum are increasingly uneasy that he may introduce income tax rises for middle earners, and the chancellor is facing calls from 45 northern Tories to make “a bold move to reduce business rates”. Continue reading...

Police and troops crack down on rallies held across the country in defiance of juntaAt least 18 people have been killed, according to the UN, after security forces in Myanmar used lethal violence against anti-coup protesters in the most deadly crackdown since the military seized power at the start of February.Live bullets, stun grenades and teargas were fired at demonstrators in several towns and cities as police, backed by troops, attempted to stamp out countrywide rallies held in defiance of the junta. Continue reading...