Category Archives: World News

Again Once Again review – elegant meditation on the pains of motherhood

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This engaging, philosophical film unpicks the challenges faced by a young mother trying to reconnect with the life she had before her son’s birth

A woman leaves her boyfriend to visit her mum in Buenos Aires, taking their three-year-old son with her – not sure yet if it’s a holiday or a breakup. She hasn’t worked since her son was born and is having an emotional and intellectual crisis. She feels almost non-existent. “I don’t see myself. Who am I?”

This is an elegant, elusive debut from the Argentinian playwright Romina Paula, who picks away at the fantasy that motherhood leads to instant fulfilment. Her film is like an arthouse version of the sitcoms Motherland and Catastrophe, with fewer laughs and more philosophical introspection. It has the feel of a feminist essay that has been semi-dramatised for screen – with Paula starring as a fictional version of herself and her real-life mum and son Ramón playing themselves.

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Dutch city redraws its layout to prepare for global heating effects

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Measures include replacing 10% of Arnhem’s asphalt with grass to better cope with heat

The Dutch city of Arnhem is digging up asphalt roads and creating shady areas around busy shopping districts after concluding that the consequences of global heating are unavoidable.

Under a 10-year plan for the city unveiled on Wednesday, a new layout is proposed to better prepare residents for extreme weather conditions such as downpours, droughts and intense heatwaves.

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Measles vaccination disruptions due to coronavirus put 80 million children at risk

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The onset of Covid-19 has devastated immunisation programmes, leaving huge numbers of infants unprotected from deadly diseases

Tens of millions of children around the world have been denied life-saving vaccines against measles in both rich and poor countries due to Covid-19 disruptions, with fears of further outbreaks this year.

Since March, routine childhood immunisation services have been disrupted on a scale unseen since the 1970s, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Data collected by Unicef, the Gavi Alliance, WHO and Sabin Vaccine Institute found in May that immunisation programmes had been substantially hindered in at least 68 countries, leaving 80 million children under the age of one unprotected from diseases including measles, tetanus, polio and yellow fever.

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Outcry in New York after police force protester into unmarked van

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Video shows plain-clothes officers carrying the protester away while uniformed police stand guard, actions criticised as ‘abusive and indefensible’

Police officers in New York have been filmed arresting a female protester by forcing her into an unmarked minivan in east Manhattan.

Footage of Tuesday’s arrest drew sharp criticism from the American Civil Liberties Union, which called the arrest “dangerous, abusive, and indefensible,” in a post on Twitter.

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Five Eyes alliance could expand in scope to counteract China

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Plans mooted to pool strategic resources and lessen west’s dependency on China

The Five Eyes intelligence alliance could be expanded to include Japan and broadened into a strategic economic relationship that pools key strategic reserves such as critical minerals and medical supplies, according to centre-right MPs working internationally to decouple the west from China.

The coronavirus crisis has revealed the west’s key strategic dependencies on China, and plans will be announced shortly under Five Eyes auspices for a major increase in production of rare and semi-rare metals from Australia, Canada, and America in order to reduce dependency on Chinese stocks.

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‘One big wave’ – why the Covid-19 second wave may not exist

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With no evidence of seasonal variations, the WHO warns the initial coronavirus pandemic is continuing and accelerating

The Covid-19 pandemic is currently unfolding in “one big wave” with no evidence that it follows seasonal variations common to influenza and other coronaviruses, such as the common cold, the World Health Organization has warned.

Amid continued debates over what constitutes a second wave, a resurgence or seasonal return of the disease, Margaret Harris, a WHO spokesperson, insisted that these discussions are not a helpful way to understand the spread of the disease.

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Coronavirus live news: US deaths near 150,000 as Italy extends state of emergency

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Trump blames US case surge on protestors; WHO warns pandemic is “one big wave”, not seasonal; Air travel not expected to recover until 2024. Follow the latest updates

Florida reported another record one-day rise in coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, and cases in Texas passed the 400,000 mark, fueling fear that the United States is still not taking control of the outbreak and adding pressure on Congress to pass another massive economic aid package.

Public health experts are becoming concerned about the levels of infection in states such as Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee and Kentucky, while the surge in Florida along with Texas, Arizona and California this month has strained many hospitals.

Related: Covid-19: Florida reports record one-day deaths as concerns grow for other states

US officials say Russian intelligence services are using a trio of English-language websites to spread disinformation about the coronavirus pandemic, seeking to exploit a crisis that America is struggling to contain ahead of the presidential election in November.

Two Russians who have held senior roles in Moscow’s military intelligence service known as the GRU have been identified as responsible for a disinformation effort reaching American and western audiences, US government officials said on Tuesday. They spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Related: Russia used English-language sites to spread Covid-19 disinformation, US officials say

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Coronavirus live news: US deaths near 150,000 as Hong Kong warns hospitals could collapse

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Hong Kong outbreak ‘overwhelming’ medical system; pilgrims quarantined in Mecca as hajj begins; WHO warns pandemic is ‘one big wave’

The US attorney general William Barr will be tested for Covid-19, after coming in close contact with Texas Republican congressman Louie Gohmert on Tuesday when Barr testified before the House Judiciary Committee, a Justice Department spokeswoman confirmed to Reuters.

Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec added that Barr already faces routine testing for Covid-19 at the White House.

Berlin’s Tegel airport began large-scale coronavirus testing on Wednesday, as airports across Germany prepared for the advent of free, compulsory testing for many passengers from next week.

Two rooms were set aside for tests, but an airport spokeswoman said a larger space was being prepared, indicating that authorities are preparing for testing to remain a fixture for a long time to come.

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Record 212 land and environment activists killed last year

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Global Witness campaigners warn of risk of further killings during Covid-19 lockdowns

A record number of people were killed last year for defending their land and environment, according to research that highlights the routine murder of activists who oppose extractive industries driving the climate crisis and the destruction of nature.

More than four defenders were killed every week in 2019, according to an annual death toll compiled by the independent watchdog Global Witness, amid growing evidence of opportunistic killings during the Covid-19 lockdown in which activists were left as “sitting ducks” in their own homes.

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Covid-19: Florida reports record one-day deaths as concerns grow for other states

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  • 191 people died in Florida in 24 hours and Texas cases rise
  • Pressure on Congress to pass another huge stimulus package

Florida reported another record one-day rise in coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, and cases in Texas passed the 400,000 mark, fueling fear that the United States is still not taking control of the outbreak and adding pressure on Congress to pass another massive economic aid package.

Related: Coronavirus live news: Italy extends state of emergency as WHO warns of 'one big wave'

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‘Beyond the pale’: antics of Trump ambassadors highlight crisis in US diplomacy

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The president has given key diplomatic roles to big donors – who have stood out for their lack of qualifications or aptitude

The US ambassador to Iceland, a dermatologist and major Republican donor, reportedly became so paranoid about his security he asked to carry a gun and to be taken everywhere in an armoured car.

Related: Bill Clinton pushed 'appeasement' of Serbs after Srebrenica massacre

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Banksy altered sea view triptych sells for £2.2m at auction

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Romantic seascapes – with political message in washed up life jackets – raise funds for Bethlehem hospital

A Banksy triptych, which aims to make a powerful political statement on the global migrant crisis, sold for £2.2m at an auction in London that also featured works by Rembrandt, Picasso, and Bridget Riley.

The three paintings were offered by Banksy to raise money for a hospital in Bethlehem.

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Prominent Hong Kong professor and pro-democracy activist fired by university

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Decision to fire Benny Tai, a tenured law professor, goes against previous ruling by the university senate

A prominent Hong Kong professor and pro-democracy campaigner has been fired by his university, in a move that he and other critics described as a devastating blow to academic freedom in the city.

It came amid growing fears that city authorities may try to delay upcoming elections to Hong Kong’s legislative council, where pro-democracy candidates expect a strong showing. The vote could be postponed for up to a year, on grounds of a spike in coronavirus cases, local media reported.

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Top Mexican drug kingpin El Mencho reportedly builds own private hospital

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Secretive leader of Jalisco New Generation cartel, who seeks treatment for kidney disease, currently seen as ‘public enemy No 1’

One of Mexico’s most wanted drug lords, El Mencho, is reported to have built his own private hospital in the western state of Jalisco.

Related: 'The only two powerful cartels left': rivals clash in Mexico's murder capital

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Iran threatens US by targeting replica aircraft carrier in Strait of Hormuz

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Drill designed to threaten US amid increasing tensions between Tehran and Washington

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have fired a missile from a helicopter targeting a replica aircraft carrier in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, in an exercise aimed at threatening the US amid tensions between Tehran and Washington.

The drill, in a waterway through which 20% of all traded oil passes, underlines the lingering threat of military conflict between Iran and the US after last summer saw a series of incidents targeting oil tankers in the region. In January, a US drone strike killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad and Tehran responded by firing ballistic missiles targeting American forces in Iraq.

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US missionary accused over Uganda child deaths settles out of court

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No liability admitted over deaths of two children at NGO run by Renee Bach and her organisation Serving His Children

Lawyers for US missionary Renee Bach have reached an out of court settlement with two mothers whose children died after being treated at a centre she ran in Uganda.

Without admitting liability, Bach and the organisation she founded, Serving His Children (SHC), have agreed to pay Zubeda Gimbo and Annet Kakai 35,000,000 Ugandan Shillings each (£7,335), according to a judgment on Tuesday.

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Madeleine McCann: German police search garden in Hanover

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German officials had recently identified 43-year-old man as suspect in 2007 disappearance

German police are searching an allotment plot on the outskirts of the northern city of Hanover in connection with their investigation of a suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

A small excavator is being used to clear the plot and police officers are combing the ground with rakes and shovels, according to footage shown on German media.

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Coronavirus: fears of a potential second wave rise across Europe

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Rise of new cases in Germany comes as Madrid’s regional government imposes new restrictions to halt spread of virus

The head of Germany’s disease control agency has blamed negligence for a worrying rise in cases in the country, while the World Health Organization has counselled against treating Covid-19 as a seasonal phenomenon or talking about waves of the virus.

The warnings came as Madrid’s regional government imposed new restrictions to halt the spread of the virus in and around the Spanish capital, and the German foreign ministry advised people not to travel to the hard-hit Spanish regions of Aragon, Catalonia and Navarre.

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