- Venezuela offers $100,000 reward for arrest of exiled opposition candidate BBC.com
- He says he won Venezuela’s presidential election. Now he’s returning to South America as his rival prepares for inauguration CNN
- Venezuelan opposition leader to travel to Uruguay, Panama in coming days Reuters Canada
- Venezuela's government offers $100K reward for whereabouts of opposition's presidential candidate The Associated Press
- Venezuela announces $100,000 reward for capture of opposition candidate The Guardian
‘A look into the future’: TV drama about Danish climate refugees divides opinion
Families Like Ours has become national talking point but some scientists say events depicted could not happen
Featuring scenes of huge crowds boarding ferries, protest and desperation as six million Danes become climate refugees and life as they know it rapidly collapses, the new TV series by the Oscar-winning director Thomas Vinterberg is a potential “look into the future”, he says.
Familier som vores (Families Like Ours) – a drama which depicts a flooded Denmark shut down and evacuated – has been viewed nearly 1m times and become a national talking point. At its premiere at the Venice international film festival, it evoked tears, shouts and a standing ovation, with one critic describing it as “grimly prophetic”.
Continue reading...Fisherman warned of ‘big angry’ shark in water before surfer attacked – Yahoo! Voices
- Fisherman warned of ‘big angry’ shark in water before surfer attacked Yahoo! Voices
- Missing surfer likely dead in Australia shark attack: 'There's just been no sign of him' USA TODAY
- Search for Missing Surfer: “Lance’s Body’s Inside the Shark” Surfer
- Missing surfer believed to have been killed in shark attack off coast of South Australia Sky News
Israel confirms it is holding Gaza hospital chief Abu Safiya – BBC.com
- Israel confirms it is holding Gaza hospital chief Abu Safiya BBC.com
- The Scramble to Find the Gaza Doctor in the White Coat The Intercept
- MIDDLE EAST CRISIS LIVE: Security Council holds emergency meeting on collapse of Gaza health system UN News
- Israeli government pressed to reveal location of detained Gaza hospital director CNN
- UN human rights chief: Investigate Israeli attacks on Gaza hospitals Al Jazeera English
Ukraine’s halt of Russian gas to Europe throws breakaway Moldovan region into crisis mode – CNBC
- Ukraine's halt of Russian gas to Europe throws breakaway Moldovan region into crisis mode CNBC
- Moscow-backed enclave in Moldova feels pain from lack of Russian gas Reuters
- China may have stopped Putin from using nuclear weapons, Blinken says. Kyiv Independent
- Pro-Russian Moldovan separatists refuse EU gas despite humanitarian crisis warnings POLITICO Europe
- Moldova Meets Electricity Demand Despite Russian Gas Halt OilPrice.com
German, French foreign ministers meet Syria’s new leaders – DW (English)
- German, French foreign ministers meet Syria's new leaders DW (English)
- French and German foreign ministers meet Syria’s new leaders in first high-level EU visit since Assad’s toppling CNN
- Europe will not fund creation of new Islamist structures, German FM says in Damascus The Jerusalem Post
- Kurds, women must be included in Syria's transition, European ministers say Reuters
- Germany's foreign minister in Syria after Assad overthrow DW (English)
‘Mystery volcano’ that erupted and cooled Earth in 1831 has finally been identified – CNN
- ‘Mystery volcano’ that erupted and cooled Earth in 1831 has finally been identified CNN
- Ice cores finger obscure Pacific volcano as cause of 19th century climate disaster Science
- Scientists Discover Mystery Volcano That Cooled The Globe in 1831 ScienceAlert
- Scientists finally solve mystery of giant volcano that almost wiped out the world The Independent
- Scottish researchers solve 200-year mystery volcano eruption SiliconRepublic.com
Massive cleanup under way in Ghana after fire destroys one of world’s biggest secondhand markets
Thousands of traders face ruin after blaze razes two-thirds of Accra’s Kantamanto, which receives an estimated 15m used clothes from global north each week
A huge cleanup operation is taking place after a fire devastated one of the world’s biggest secondhand clothes markets.
Thousands of traders’ stalls were destroyed in the blaze that started at about 10pm on 1 January and consumed large sections of Kantamanto market in Accra, Ghana’s capital.
Continue reading...Thai prime minister declares £324m in assets including 217 designer handbags
Paetongtarn Shinawatra made required wealth declaration to national anti-corruption commission
Thailand’s prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, has declared £324m in assets including a collection of 217 designer handbags and 75 luxury watches in submissions on her wealth to a government body.
Paetongtarn, daughter of the billionaire ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, took office in September, the fourth member of the powerful family to lead Thailand.
Continue reading...Musk is ‘misjudged and certainly misinformed’ over UK grooming attacks, says senior minister – The Associated Press
- Musk is 'misjudged and certainly misinformed' over UK grooming attacks, says senior minister The Associated Press
- Elon Musk Trolls Britain and Defends Tommy Robinson in Flurry of Social Media Posts The New York Times
- UK Right Warns Trump Allies That Musk’s Posts Have Gone Too Far Bloomberg
- Musk rocks U.K. politics with attacks on PM and support for far right Axios
- Elon Musk demands UK act on grooming gang scandal amid growing calls for probe: 'National inquiry now!' Fox News
New Orleans truck attack: investigations continue into suspect’s path to radicalization – latest updates
Authorities probing background of Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old Texas native and former US serviceman
A mix of law enforcement, street performers and football fans has filled New Orleans’ blocks as the city inches back to normality while mourning victims of the deadly New Year’s rampage in which a US army veteran plowed a truck into revelers, reports the Associated Press (AP).
The attack along Bourbon Street killed 14 people, along with the driver, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, who officials said was inspired by the Islamic State militant group. Jabbar was fatally shot in a firefight with police after steering his speeding truck around a barricade and plowing into the crowd. About 30 people were injured.
According to the AP, authorities finished processing the scene on Thursday morning, removing the last of the bodies. Bourbon Street – famous worldwide for music, open-air drinking and festive vibes – reopened for business by early afternoon.
On the same block where the attack took place, trombone player and lifelong New Orleanian Jonas Green told the AP that it was important for his band to be out there the day after the violence. “I know with this music, it heals, it transforms the feelings that we’re going through into something better,” Green said. “Got to keep on going.”
The Sugar Bowl college football game between Notre Dame and Georgia, which was postponed by a day in the interest of national security, was played on Thursday evening.
The Joan of Arc parade in the French Quarter is still scheduled to take place on Monday to kick off carnival season ahead of Mardi Gras, said Antoinette de Alteriis, one of the organisers. She told the news agency that they expect close to its typical crowd in the thousands.
On Bourbon Street, flowers and candles were arranged as memorials to the victims, while yellow posts were set up on the surrounding blocks.
Wes Streeting defends pace of plans for adult social care reform – UK politics live
Health secretary says initial reports from commission led by Louise Casey will come next year
As well as being asked about plans for adult social care and a new national care service, Wes Streeting was questioned this morning on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme about progress on assisted dying legislation in England and Wales.
As health secretary, Streeting intervened before November’s vote, suggesting that legalising assisted dying in the two countries would have resource implications for the NHS, and might lead to healthcare cuts.
The bill committee will work through those policy issues before the bill comes back to the Commons as a whole for further amendment, and then a final vote on a third reading before it goes to the Lords.
So whatever my misgivings, I’ve said all the way through this that I’ve respected parliament, that this isn’t the government’s responsibility, the government is neutral. That is for the Commons and the Lords to decide.
Continue reading...Barcelona to fine e-scooter users up to €500 for riding on pavements
Council to crack down on antisocial behaviour linked to rapid rise of e-scooter riders in city
Anyone riding an electric scooter on the pavement or without a helmet in Barcelona faces a fine of up to €500 (£415) from 1 February as part of a crackdown on antisocial behaviour linked to the rapid rise of e-scooter use in the Mediterranean city.
In an urban landscape that is mostly flat, with more than 250km (155 miles) of cycle lanes, 2,500 hours of sunshine and barely 55 rainy days a year, electric scooters are a perfect fit. According to the city council’s figures, the number of people using e-scooters since the pandemic has risen four times faster than those choosing to travel by bicycle.
Continue reading...South Korea Fails to Detain Impeached President in Standoff at His Home – The New York Times
- South Korea Fails to Detain Impeached President in Standoff at His Home The New York Times
- South Korean investigators suspend efforts to detain president after dramatic standoff CNN
- Why is it so hard to arrest South Korea's impeached president? BBC.com
- South Korea’s impeached president defies warrant after hourslong standoff The Associated Press
- South Korea’s Political Drama Plays Out in a Day of Dueling Protests The New York Times
Digested week: through the Christmas perineum and out the other side
Despite its awful name it’s my favourite time of year, an excuse to pause any activity – including new year celebrations
And so we find ourselves again at the Christmas perineum, the time between the end of the yuletide celebrations and before the new year shenanigans begin, and a phrase so awful I have felt compelled to use it as often as possible ever since the dark day I learned it about five years ago. Sorry.
Watch less Brooklyn Nine-Nine every evening;
Add a new meal to my culinary repertoire and take the total to nearly three;
Work harder, walk more, cull wardrobe, sort finances, declutter house, clean more, lose weight, see if this improves life or makes me wish I was dead. You’ve got to find out at some point, I reckon.
Continue reading...Israel confirms it is holding Gaza hospital chief Abu Safiya
The IDF had earlier told a local NGO it was unaware of his case, sparking concern.
Israel confirms it is holding Gaza hospital chief Abu Safiya
The IDF had earlier told a local NGO it was unaware of his case, sparking concern.
Antony Blinken: ‘China has been trying to have it both ways’ – Financial Times
Antony Blinken: ‘China has been trying to have it both ways’ Financial Times
Government must look at effects of toxic smoke on Grenfell firefighters, minister says
Union calls for regular health checks for 600 Grenfell firefighters after many developed long-term conditions
The government “needs to seriously look” at the effects of toxic smoke inhalation on firefighters who served at the Grenfell Tower fire, a minister has said.
The comments from Andrew Gwynne, the health minister, came after the Guardian disclosed that more than a quarter of firefighters who battled against the fire eight years ago have long-term health disorders.
Continue reading...Kenya investigates giant piece of space debris that crash landed in a village – Euronews
- Kenya investigates giant piece of space debris that crash landed in a village Euronews
- Over 1,000 pounds of space debris crash in south Kenyan village Fox Weather
- Kenya space junk: Experts investigate huge ring that crashed into village BBC.com
- A Half-Ton Piece of Space Junk Falls Onto a Village in Kenya The New York Times
- 500-kilogram metallic object falls from the sky in Kenya Al Jazeera English