Bolsonaro ally Marcelo Crivella accused of leading ‘well-structured and complex criminal organisation’
Rio de Janeiro’s outgoing mayor Marcelo Crivella, an ally of Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, has been arrested and charged with corruption.
Four carloads of police and prosecutors arrived at the mayor’s house in the affluent Barra da Tijuca neighbourhood before 6am.
Continue reading...Threatening messages led to monitoring of phone that unearthed evidence of cyber-attack against Qatar-based network
A series of abusive text messages sent to an Al Jazeera investigative programme were the first crumbs that eventually led to the discovery of an unprecedented hacking operation against dozens of staff from the Qatar-based media network, according to one of the journalists who was targeted.
Researchers at Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto claimed on Sunday that the UAE and Saudi Arabia used spyware sold by an Israeli private intelligence company to access the phones of at least 36 journalists, producers and executives from Al Jazeera, as well as that of a London-based reporter with the Al Araby network.
Continue reading...Our 20 favourite pieces of the year
What links an eccentric Oxford classics don, billionaire US evangelicals and a tiny, missing fragment of an ancient manuscript?
Continue reading...Off-duty rescue worker Mana Srivate was on a road trip in the Thai province of Chanthaburi when he was called into action to save the life of an unlikely road accident victim – a baby elephant. The calf had been struck by a motorbike as it attempted to cross a road with its herd. Srivate performed two-handed compressions until it was able to get back on its feet 10 minutes later. 'When the baby elephant started to move, I almost cried,' Srivate said. Neither elephant nor rider suffered serious injuries and the calf was later reunited with its mother.
Continue reading...Health impact is unknown but scientists say particles may cause long-term damage to foetuses
Microplastic particles have been revealed in the placentas of unborn babies for the first time, which the researchers said was “a matter of great concern”.
The health impact of microplastics in the body is as yet unknown. But the scientists said they could carry chemicals that could cause long-term damage or upset the foetus’s developing immune system. The particles are likely to have been consumed or breathed in by the mothers.
Continue reading...President Iván Duque says undocumented Venezuelans will be denied access in a move denounced as unethical and impractical
Colombia will refuse to administer coronavirus vaccines to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan refugees within its borders, President Iván Duque has announced, in a move which stunned public health experts and prompted condemnation from humanitarian groups.
Speaking to a local radio station on Monday, Duque that only Venezuelans with dual nationality or formal migratory status will have access to the vaccine when it is eventually distributed in the country.
Continue reading...France and Denmark thought to be most cautious about budging from current demands on fish caught in British waters
EU member states with the largest fishing fleets are being asked by Ursula von der Leyen’s senior team to rethink their “final offer” after Downing Street made a significant move to break the Brexit deadlock.
France and Denmark are understood to be the most cautious about making a counter-proposal, budging from their current demand that their vessels lose only 25% by value of the fish they catch in British waters.
Continue reading...European commission president said to be in constant contact with Boris Johnson as fishing remains key issue
Ursula von der Leyen took personal control of Brexit negotiations in an attempt to strike a deal before Christmas as talks went to the wire over tens of millions of pounds worth of fish.
The European commission president is understood to be in constant contact through a series of unscheduled phone calls with Boris Johnson and the EU capitals as she battles to find a compromise.
Continue reading...Purna Sen says survivors of sexual assault and discrimination struggle to be heard at global organisation
The former executive in charge of tackling sexual harassment at the UN has said she fears the issue has now been “put on the back burner”.
Purna Sen was appointed at UN Women in 2018 to address harassment, assault and discrimination at work, including within the organisation. But after being told the role would not be renewed, she left in August.
Continue reading...Mental health problems are spiralling among adults and children at ‘Moria 2:0’ camp as winter sets in and security tightens
Nadia hasn’t slept. The mother of five spent last night trying to soothe her seven-year-old son, Matin, who is autistic, while heavy rain fell on the family’s tent. He was crying and asking for the noise to stop. “I tried to explain to him that the rain is not in our control,” she says, “but in these moments, you can’t reach him any more.”
The family, originally from Parwan province in Afghanistan, are living in the new refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos that was built in three days, after the fire that razed to the ground parts of the infamous Moria camp.
Continue reading...Fewer coronavirus patients have died in the state of Kerala than anywhere else in India. No wonder Vogue India named its health minister ‘leader of the year’
By mid-May, the Indian state of Kerala had contained the first wave of Covid-19, earning praise for the quick thinking and joined-up response of its health minister, KK Shailaja, and her team. By July, however, there were suggestions that those plaudits had been premature, and that Kerala’s Covid-19 response had come unstuck. Had it?
Shailaja Teacher – as the 64-year-old minister is affectionately known – had been expecting a surge in infections once India’s lockdown was lifted later in May. Kerala, home to 35 million people, has the country’s most robust health systems, but it is one of India’s poorer states, with one of its oldest populations. About 17% of workers leave to find jobs in neighbouring states, and there were fears about what would happen when, inevitably, these migrants returned. The authorities knew they could not keep Kerala’s borders shut or, given that the state relies on imports, keep it isolated from its neighbours.
Continue reading...From the pandemic, to the death of George Floyd, to America’s presidential elections, 2020 has been a year of distress – with moments of hope and endurance. These were some of the images that stood out
Continue reading...Anthony Fauci ‘extremely confident’ in vaccine; BioNTech’s CEO says tests being run on mutant strain. This blog is now closed. Follow our new blog below
We are closing this live blog now, but you can stay up to date with the latest on our new global blog, which you can find below.
Related: Coronavirus live news: US cases increase 14% in one week, France to reopen UK border
Tesco has introduced buying limits on items including toilet roll, eggs, rice, soap and handwash. Customers at the supermarket are now limited to one item per person of toilet roll, and up to three products of eggs, rice, soap and handwash.
It is understood the extra limits are pre-emptive measures to help smooth demand in the coming weeks, rather than a reaction to shortages or a change in buying behaviour. They are on top of a three-item limit on essential items such as flour, dried pasta and anti-bacterial wipes which has been in place for several months.
Related: Tesco limits purchases of toilet roll, eggs, rice, soap and handwash
Continue reading...Professor and family face up to eight years in prison for their treatment of woman given to them as a child
A Brazilian woman enslaved as a maid from the age of eight for almost four decades and forced into marriage has been rescued in a rare crackdown on domestic slavery.
The 46-year-old was found living in a small room in an apartment in Patos de Minas, in the south eastern state of Minas Gerais. She had worked for the family for most of her life without pay or any time off, according to labour inspectors.
Continue reading...Biden thanks medical staff after taking first dose of Pfizer vaccine in front of cameras, in bid to show Americans vaccines are safe
Joe Biden received his first dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine on live US television on Monday afternoon, in keeping with public officials’ efforts to show Americans such vaccines are safe.
Shortly after 3.20pm, Biden appeared before cameras at a medical facility. He rolled up his sleeve and said: “I’m ready.” After the jab, Biden thanked scientists and medical workers, saying their efforts were “just amazing”.
Continue reading...Premier of Canadian province says restrictions will last for up to a month and should save thousands of lives
Canada’s most populous province is to enter a “hard lockdown” as Ontario experiences an alarming rate of new coronavirus cases before the Christmas holidays.
“Thousands of lives are at stake now,” said Ontario’s premier, Doug Ford, on Monday, as he announced a slate of new restrictions that go into effect on Boxing Day. “If we fail to take action now, the consequences could be catastrophic.
Continue reading...The last thing Carrot the deer probably wanted in 2020 was a hole in his head.
But the Canadian whitetail deer which made headlines last week for his shocking injury no longer has an arrow impaling his head.
Continue reading...The Kilauea volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island erupts late on Sunday, shooting a steam cloud into the atmosphere for about an hour. The eruption happened in Halema’uma’u crater, the US Geological Survey said. Kilauea is in the Hawaii Volcanoes national park
Continue reading...Russian opposition leader publishes transcript of call with FSB operative allegedly involved in attempt to kill him
On Monday Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny published a telephone call he had with FSB operative Konstantin Kudryavtsev, who was allegedly part of the FSB team, which in August poisoned Navalny when he travelled to Siberia.
Navalny survived after the plane he fell sick on was diverted to a nearby airport and he received quick medical attention. He rang Kudryavtsev from Germany last week, pretending to be an aide to a top FSB official.
Continue reading...In a last-ditch effort to stay alive, Dustin Higgs, a federal death row prisoner set to be put to death next month as part of the Trump administration’s flurry of executions in its final days in office, has petitioned the president for clemency.
Related: Trump administration has executed more Americans than all states combined, report finds
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