Category Archives: World News

Arrival of 1bn vaccine doses won’t solve Africa’s Covid crisis, experts say

Posted on by

Concerns over equipment shortages, bottlenecks and hesitancy on continent with 7.5% vaccine coverage

With 1bn doses of Covid vaccines expected to arrive in Africa in the coming months, concern has shifted to a global shortage of equipment required to deliver them, such as syringes, as well as insufficient planning in some countries that could create bottlenecks in the rollout.

After a troubled start to vaccination programmes on the continent, health officials are examining ways to encourage take-up as some countries have had to throw away doses.

Continue reading...

‘Nobody wants to be Putin’s slave’: on the Ukraine frontline as tensions rise

Posted on by

Soldiers and residents living in the shadow of Russia’s military buildup describe the toll of the long, unresolved conflict

For Misha Novitskyi, the question of whether Russia will invade Ukraine is not theoretical. The enemy is just 50 metres away behind a concrete slab. From time to time Russian voices float eerily across a wintry no man’s land of ragged trees and scrub.

“When they light their stoves you can see the smoke,” Novitskyi – a senior lieutenant in the Ukrainian army – said, speaking from what is in effect Europe’s eastern front with Russia. He added: “Every day they shoot at us.”

Continue reading...

Covid live: Israel extends travel ban over Omicron; German parliament debates healthcare vaccine mandate

Posted on by

Ten day extension to restrictions announced as Israel detects 21 cases; lawmakers debate first of two German vaccine mandate laws

Fury over the release of a video showing Downing Street staffers joking about alleged lockdown breaches in the UK are only the latest scandal to rock British prime minister Boris Johnson’s premiership.

For days, a succession of government ministers batted away questions about whether an illegal party had been held in Downing Street last December during Covid restrictions that banned gatherings of more than 30 people. But on Tuesday night that all changed: a video emerged of Downing Street staffers appearing to joke about a party alleged to have been held inside No 10 just days earlier.

Continue reading...

Mouse bite may have infected Taiwan lab worker with Covid

Posted on by

Employee at high-security facility tests positive in island’s first local infection in weeks

Health officials in Taiwan are investigating whether a mouse bite may have been responsible for a laboratory worker testing positive for Covid, the island’s first local infection in weeks.

The authorities are scrambling to work out how the employee at Academia Sinica, the country’s top research institute, contracted the virus last month.

Continue reading...

Scientists use ostrich cells to make glowing Covid detection masks

Posted on by

Japanese researchers use bird antibodies to detect virus under ultraviolet light

Japanese researchers have developed masks that use ostrich antibodies to detect Covid-19 by glowing under ultraviolet light.

The discovery, by Yasuhiro Tsukamoto and his team at Kyoto Prefectural University in western Japan, could provide for low-cost testing of the virus at home.

Continue reading...

Burning issue: how enzymes could end India’s problem with stubble

Posted on by

Bans failed to stop farmers torching fields each year but a new spray that turns stalks into fertiliser helps the soil and the air

Every autumn, Anil Kalyan, from Kutail village in India’s northern state of Haryana, would join tens of thousands of other paddy farmers to set fire to the leftover stalks after the rice harvest to clear the field for planting wheat.

But this year, Kalyan opted for change. He signed his land up for a trial being held in Haryana and neighbouring Punjab as an alternative to the environmentally hazardous stubble burning that is commonplace across India and a major cause of Delhi’s notorious smog.

Continue reading...

Freedom in the making: Bangladesh by Anne de Henning – in pictures

Posted on by

Anne de Henning travelled through Bangladesh between 1971 and 1972, during the war of independence, photographing freedom fighters, families, refugee trains, and women fleeing villages

To mark the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence, her images are on display at the National Art Gallery in Dhaka, 10–31 December

Continue reading...

Agency photographer of the year – 2021 shortlist

Posted on by

The Guardian’s team of picture editors highlights the work of some of the photographers whose pictures have stood out in 2021. An overall favourite will be announced towards the end of the year

It’s that time again, when the photo editors on the picture desk at the Guardian sift through the edits of the best of the millions of images that they see over the course of a year, supplied by the various press agencies from around the world, from staff and freelancers alike.

It is not possible to mention as many of the talented photographers who have supported our journalism visually, creating outstanding work and stories of their own, as we would like to but we have picked out a few.

Drug users detained during a Taliban raid walk in line on their way to the detoxification ward of the Avicenna Medical hospital for drug treatment in Kabul, Afghanistan, 2 October 2021.

Continue reading...

New Zealand isn’t naive about China – but it doesn’t accept the Aukus worldview | Robert G Patman

Posted on by

The Ardern government does not believe that the fate of the Indo-Pacific rests on US-China rivalry

After the Biden administration’s announcement concerning the “diplomatic ban” of China’s Winter Games, Jacinda Ardern’s government has distanced itself from western allies once again – but it would be wrong to assume that Wellington has any illusions about China.

The US government confirmed this week it would diplomatically boycott the Winter Olympic Games to protest against China’s persecution of the Uyghur people in the country’s Xinjiang province. Australia, UK and Canada subsequently indicated they would join the boycott.

Continue reading...

Top toddy: Sri Lanka’s tree tapping trade reaches new heights

Posted on by

‘Toddy tappers’ who collect sap used in everything from palm wine to ice-cream are enjoying a boost to business that has revived the traditional skill and improved their quality of life

The palmyra palm tree with its wide fan leaves is a distinctive and common sight across Jaffna, northern Sri Lanka, thriving in the arid conditions.

Kutty, who goes by only one name, is a “toddy tapper”. Climbing the palms with his clay pot, he collects sap from the flower heads at the top of the great trees, which can grow to more than 30 metres (90ft). The sap is fermented to make toddy, an alcoholic drink also known as palm wine.

Continue reading...

Nicaragua cuts ties with Taiwan and pivots to China

Posted on by

Central American country becomes latest to switch allegiances to Beijing, amid escalating tensions

Nicaragua has switched diplomatic allegiance to China, leaving Taiwan with just 14 governments around the world that formally recognise it as a country.

The announcement by the Central American country’s foreign ministry also recognised Beijing’s claim over Taiwan as a Chinese province, a dispute that is at the heart of escalating tensions in the region.

Continue reading...

‘I thought I was going to die’: otters attack British man in Singapore park

Posted on by

Graham George Spencer says he was bitten 26 times in 10 seconds while out for a morning walk

A man attacked by a pack of otters in a Singapore park has said that he thought he was going to die during the ordeal.

Graham George Spencer, a British citizen living in Singapore, said he was chased, pinned down and bitten “26 times in 10 seconds” by a family of otters while out for an early morning walk in the botanic gardens.

Continue reading...

Dozens die and thousands flee in West Darfur tribal fighting

Posted on by

Deadly clashes erupt in three separate areas with poor medical facilities as wider Darfur region slides into violence

Tribal fighting has killed dozens of people over the past three weeks in three separate areas of Sudan’s West Darfur region and thousands of people have fled the violence, local medics have said.

The West Darfur Doctors Committee said in statements on Wednesday and Thursday that attacks in the Kreinik area killed 88 and wounded 84, while renewed violence in the Jebel Moon area killed 25 and wounded four. Meanwhile, violence in the Sarba locality killed eight and wounded six.

Continue reading...

Court rules against Trump effort to shield documents from Capitol attack panel – live

Posted on by

House speaker Nancy Pelosi said she considered it to be a point of pride that Bob Dole started his career in the lower chamber before being elected to the Senate.

Praising the former Republican senator’s “legendary service” and “inspiring resilience,” Pelosi said it was hard to think of another American more worthy of having a flag draped over his casket.

Continue reading...

Iran nuclear deal pulled back from brink of collapse as talks resume in Vienna

Posted on by

Cautious optimism as Tehran revises its position after pressure from Russia and China

Efforts to revive the Iran nuclear deal have been hauled back from the brink of collapse as Tehran revised its stance after pressure from Russia and China and clear warnings that the EU and the US were preparing to walk away.

The cautiously optimistic assessment came at the start of the seventh round of talks on the future of the nuclear deal in Vienna. It follows what was seen as a disastrous set of talks last week in which the US and the EU claimed Iran had walked back on compromises reached in previous rounds.

Continue reading...

Macron accuses UK of not keeping its word on Brexit and fishing

Posted on by

France willing to re-engage on Channel crossings, but UK economy relies on illegal labour, says president

Relations between France and Britain are strained because the current UK government does not honour its word, president Emmanuel Macron has said.

Macron accused London of failing to keep its word on Brexit and fishing licences, but said France was willing to re-engage in good faith, and called for “British re-engagement” over the “humanitarian question” of dangerous Channel crossings, after at least 27 migrants drowned trying to reach the British coast.

Continue reading...

Tropical forests can regenerate in just 20 years without human interference

Posted on by

Study finds natural regrowth yields better results than human plantings and offers hope for climate recovery

Tropical forests can bounce back with surprising rapidity, a new study published today suggests.

An international group of researchers has found that tropical forests have the potential to almost fully regrow if they are left untouched by humans for about 20 years. This is due to a multidimensional mechanism whereby old forest flora and fauna help a new generation of forest grow – a natural process known as “secondary succession”.

Continue reading...

Germany’s foreign minister under pressure over Nord Stream 2 sanctions

Posted on by

Annalena Baerbock has sympathy with US demands, but there is considerable Social Democrat support for Russia’s pipeline

Germany’s new foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, has been caught a diplomatic vice days into the job, as US puts pressure on the coalition government in Berlin to vow to block the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the event of Russia invading Ukraine.

The controversial pipeline project, which runs from Ust-Luga in Russia to Lubmin in north-east Germany, is also likely to be the first test of the new German government’s unity of approach.

Continue reading...

Hillary Clinton’s victory speech – and others that were never heard

Posted on by

The defeated 2016 candidate has read aloud what she would have said in victory – joining a cast of thwarted speechmakers

It was one of the most significant branching points in recent history – and at least one artefact of the way things might have been still exists.

On Wednesday the Today show in the US released a video of Hillary Clinton reading the speech she would have given if she had beaten Donald Trump in the 2016 election. Clinton, who is giving a course in “the power of resilience” with the online education company Masterclass, teared up as she read aloud from her speech. She said reading it entailed “facing one of my most public defeats head-on”.

Continue reading...

South African Covid cases up 255% in a week as Omicron spreads

Posted on by

Private healthcare provider says symptoms in country’s fourth wave are far milder than in previous waves

Covid cases in South Africa have surged by 255% in the past seven days but there is mounting anecdotal evidence that infections with the Omicron variant are provoking milder symptoms than in previous waves.

According to a South African private healthcare provider, the recent rise in infections – which includes the Omicron and Delta variants – has been accompanied by a much smaller increase in admissions to intensive care beds, echoing an earlier report from the country’s National Institute for Communicable Disease (NICD).

Continue reading...