Sex with my partner was great – until I stopped feeling anything during penetration

Trump officials to receive immediate clearances and easier FBI vetting

Exclusive: president-elect’s team planning for background checks to occur only after administration takes over bureauDonald Trump’s transition team is planning for all cabinet picks to receive sweeping security clearances from the president-elect and only face FBI background checks after the incoming administration takes over the bureau and its own officials are installed in key positions, according to people familiar with the matter.The move appears to mean that Trump’s team will continue to skirt FBI vetting and may not receive classified briefings until Trump is sworn in on 20 January and unilaterally grant sweeping security clearances across the administration. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 10:00:10

Russia-Ukraine war live: Russia expels British diplomat after accusations of espionage

Report cites Russia’s FSB security service and follows news that more UK missiles have been sent to UkraineCălin Georgescu, a Moscow-friendly independent candidate with a nationalist background, has taken a surprise lead in the first round of Romania’s presidential election.As my colleague Jon Henley notes in this report, with 99.98% of votes counted, Georgescu, who has praised Vladimir Putin as “a man who loves his country”, was on 22.9%, with the reformist Elena Lasconi, of the Save Romania Union (USR), second on 19.17%. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 13:21:20

Israel issues another 20 forced evacuation notices to residents in areas of Beirut – Middle East crisis live

Military spokesperson issues series of notices in Lebanon as Israeli cabinet prepares to decide on ceasefire deal with LebanonIsraeli cabinet to decide on ceasefire deal with LebanonIsrael’s military has issued another set of evacuation orders to citizens in neighbouring Lebanon, ordering residents in the southern suburbs of Beirut to flee their homes due to impending strikes.Lebanon’s National News Agency reports an Israeli airstrike on Arnoun, in the south-east of the country. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 13:22:28

UK government seeks meeting with Trump team over Chagos Islands agreement

National security adviser will travel to Washington in attempt to persuade US president-elect not to rip up dealUK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer’s national security adviser is to travel to Washington as the UK government tries to persuade Donald Trump not to rip up the Chagos Islands agreement, the Guardian has learned.Jonathan Powell, who negotiated the Chagos deal earlier this autumn, is drawing up plans to visit the US capital in the coming days, four government sources said. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 12:55:24

Four bodies recovered from capsized tourist boat in Red Sea with nine missing

Sea Story was carrying 30 tourists and 14 crew when it sent a distress signal on Monday morningFour bodies have been recovered from a capsized tourist boat that sank off Egypt’s Red Sea coast and nine people are still missing, the local governor has said.The Red Sea governor, Amr Hanafi, said that the yacht, called Sea Story, had been struck by high waves on Monday and sank in less than seven minutes. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 13:01:03

Hong Kong top court upholds rulings protecting inheritance, housing rights for same-sex couples

Hong Kong recognises same-sex marriage only in certain circumstances, but court rulings protect access to subsidised housing and inheritanceHong Kong’s top court upheld earlier rulings that favoured subsidised housing benefits and equal inheritance rights for same-sex married couples, in a landmark victory for the city’s LGBTQ+ community.The unanimous decisions are expected to have a far-reaching impact on the lives of same-sex couples, who have traditionally had fewer rights compared to their heterosexual counterparts in the global financial hub. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 05:49:08

Third Australian fell ill after suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos

Exclusive: Dual national understood to be in stable condition after tragedy which has claimed six livesFull Story podcast: The suspected methanol poisonings in LaosGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA third Australian also fell ill after a suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos that has claimed six lives, Guardian Australia has confirmed.Melburnians Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both 19, died in hospital in Thailand after the tragedy, which also claimed the lives of people from Denmark, the UK and the US.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 07:41:51

Activists slam Biden for pardoning turkeys, not those on federal death row

Advocates against death penalty note president has spared no one from death row but it’s not too late to ‘cement legacy’Advocates against the death penalty took aim with blistering irony at Joe Biden for pardoning two more Thanksgiving turkeys on Monday – reaching a total of eight fowl reprieved during his presidency – while he has failed to use his powers to grant clemency to anyone on federal death row awaiting execution.“Biden’s days left in office are limited, but it’s not too late for him to spare everyone from federal death row (and cement his legacy for the better),” the Prison Policy Initiative, a group campaigning to end mass incarceration, said in a post on Instagram. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 11:00:14

Female astronaut goes to space but can’t escape online sexism by ‘small men’

Video posted by Emily Calandrelli about awesome view of Earth was flooded with hateful, objectifying commentsThere isn’t a galaxy far, far away enough where women can escape sexist online trolls.Emily Calandrelli became the 100th woman to go to space when she joined a group of six space tourists in a launch led by Blue Origin, the aerospace company owned by the billionaire Jeff Bezos. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 20:12:51

Drake claims UMG and Spotify ‘artificially inflated’ Kendrick Lamar’s diss track Not Like Us

Feud escalates as rapper’s lawyers file petition alleging Universal Music Group and streaming giant conspired to make rival’s hit more successfulDrake has launched legal action against Universal Music Group and Spotify, alleging they conspired to artificially inflate interest in Kendrick Lamar’s diss track about him, Not Like Us, while suppressing his own music.In a petition filed to the New York supreme court on Monday, attorneys for Drake’s company Frozen Moments LLC accused UMG and the streaming service of having “launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves”, using various tactics to make Lamar’s song more popular. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 01:36:12

Trump’s talk of tariffs raises fears of hit to economies worldwide

Tariffs on Mexican, Canadian and Chinese goods threaten not just those nations but global economic growthTrump vows tariffs on Mexico and Canada and deeper tariffs on ChinaBusiness live – latest updatesEuropean companies were wondering whether they had dodged a harmful blow to their US sales after Donald Trump promised to slap trade tariffs on Mexican, Canadian and Chinese goods in social media posts late on Monday.They could congratulate themselves for avoiding the incoming president’s gaze - so far - and watch as he turned his anger on Beijing and Washington’s nearest trading partners. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 11:58:36

Netflix series tells story of Brazil’s notorious police massacre of street children

In 1993 police killed eight young people sleeping outside a church in what became known as the Candelária massacreFor some inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro, the most significant cross of the city’s most famous church, Nossa Senhora da Candelária, does not sit on the altar or atop the grand baroque church built in 1775, but outside.In front of the Candelária church, a wooden cross about 2m (6.5ft) tall bears eight plaques with names. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 11:30:28

How the far right is weaponising AI-generated content in Europe

Experts say fake images raising fears around issues such as immigration have proliferated since EU electionsFrom fake images designed to cause fears of an immigrant “invasion” to other demonisation campaigns targeted at leaders such as Emmanuel Macron, far-right parties and activists across western Europe are at the forefront of the political weaponisation of generative artificial intelligence technology.This year’s European parliamentary elections were the launchpad for a rollout of AI-generated campaigning by the European far right, experts say, which has continued to proliferate since. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 05:00:03

Selfies and surf simulators: the young cruisers driving boom in sea holidays

A new generation is taking to the ocean in growing numbers – and fears over the environmental impact of cruise ships appear not to be denting their popularityRead more in this seriesThis summer was the first time 31-year-old Daisie Morrison had been on a cruise when she set sail on a two-week holiday with two friends, also in their early 30s.“One of my friends suggested it,” she says. “She had seen different influencers on Instagram going on cruises. You go to so many places that we wanted to visit, so we were all quite keen.” Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 07:00:05

Massacre in the jungle: how an Indigenous man was made the public face of an atrocity

In 2004, 29 people were killed by members of the Cinta Larga tribe in Brazil’s Amazon basin. The story shocked the country – but the truth of what happened is still being fought overAt the federal courthouse of Vilhena, in the southern reaches of the Amazon basin, Nacoça Pio Cinta Larga limped to his seat, using one hand to steady himself on a table. In the air-conditioned chill and fluorescent glare, his crown of black and brown feathers shuddered with each step, a lonely reminder of the rainforest beyond the white-painted walls. A Brazilian flag hung limply in one corner, the national motto, “Order and progress”, concealed in its folds. “The prosecution says that, on 7 April 2004, around 11am in the Gully of Tranquility, you, sir, together with other members of your tribe, took the lives of several prospectors,” Judge Rafael Slomp began.Pale even for a white man, Slomp wore a pink button-up shirt beneath his robes. His goatee was immaculately trimmed, his tone bland, emotionless, entirely mismatched to the crimes he was describing. He listed 29 victims, 12 never identified: “A massacre.” He said that, hands tied, they had been unable to defend themselves, an aggravating factor. “The prosecution also alleges a base motive,” he went on. “That the Indigenous people who committed these acts wanted to keep anyone else from mining diamonds on their lands.” Greed, in other words. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 05:00:01

‘You’ve got the grass; you put a cow in it, and Bob’s your uncle’: the ranchers trying to halt the devastation caused by Bolivia’s cattle farms

This year, wildfires driven by ranching burned an area of Bolivian forest larger than Portugal – yet beef is booming. Two sets of pioneers aim to make the industry more sustainableWords and photographs by Thomas Graham in Concepción, BoliviaAt Alta Vista, a ranch in Concepción, Bolivia, a herd of cattle grazes under a smoky sky. Workers had been fending off fires for weeks, says Hermes Justiniano, the ranch’s general coordinator, as he rustles dry foliage with his boot. “It has been months since there was good rain.”That was in September, midway through Bolivia’s worst fire season on record, for which ranching and industrial agriculture are the main culprits. Alta Vista is one of a few ranches in Bolivia on a mission to make the business more sustainable. It faces an uphill task in a country where public policy and the law incentivise the most destructive form of agribusiness. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 12:00:01

Regrets, feminism, and Trump’s ‘fascination’ with Putin: key takeways from Merkel’s memoir

The former German chancellor’s book Freedom gives insights on Brexit and her East German upbringingAngela Merkel was notoriously discreet and privacy-conscious as Germany’s chancellor, rarely veering off message during her 16 years in office.In her eagerly anticipated political autobiography Freedom: Memoirs 1954-2021, she has hardly turned into a gossipmonger overnight. But across 721 pages – published on Tuesday in German and English thanks to nine different translators working on chunks of the book simultaneously – there are glimpses of a Merkel previously unseen. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 05:00:02

‘We need a cultural revolution’: femicide victim’s family seek change in Italy

After Giulia Cecchettin was killed by her ex-boyfriend, her sister shook the national conscience when she challenged a ‘society steeped in rape culture’. She is still speaking outJust a day after being told that her sister Giulia was dead, Elena Cecchettin was interviewed on live TV outside the family home in Vigonovo, a small town close to Venice. Floral tributes were tied to the railings behind her, and a torchlight procession attended by thousands of well wishers was under way. But Elena was not looking for sympathy. “Don’t hold a minute of silence for Giulia – burn everything,” she said. “We need a cultural revolution to ensure that Giulia’s case is the last.”On 18 November 2023, Giulia Cecchettin, 22, became Italy’s 105th victim of femicide that year. Her body, with more than 70 stab wounds, was found wrapped in black plastic bags in a ditch close to a lake north of Venice. Filippo Turetta, her ex-boyfriend, confessed to killing the biomedical engineering student, who was just days away from graduating. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 05:00:04

Sex with my partner was great – until I stopped feeling anything during penetration

I suddenly became unable to orgasm with a lover I previously had no problem climaxing with. It has been 11 months – what should we do?My ability to orgasm from penetrative sex seems to come and go. With some partners, I never climaxed; with others, I was able to climax at the beginning of the relationship and then became unable to; and then there are those with whom I had no issues climaxing. Now, I have suddenly become unable to orgasm from penetration with a partner that I previously had no problem climaxing with. I know people chalk it up to being a mental thing, or stress, but the relationship was great, the sex was great and out of nowhere I just became unable to feel anything during penetrative sex. We have been trying to solve this for 11 months.Is achieving orgasm through penetrative sex really so important to you? Many people see this as an ideal and even (erroneously) consider that there is something wrong with a woman who cannot climax during vaginal intercourse. For most women, though, the main physiological pleasure centre is the clitoris, which is located outside the vagina. So, in order for a woman to have an orgasm during penetration, areas related to the clitoris have to be stimulated; very often, direct clitoral stimulation has to be employed. So, in worrying about the elusiveness of one type of orgasm, you are expecting a great deal of yourself and of your physical sexual response. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 11:56:54

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is accused of sexual abuse. Why are his music streams rising?

Combs is the latest problematic artist to see his work break more ground on platforms such as Spotify and YouTubeIn the past few years, powerful men within the music industry – the singer R Kelly, the Def Jam founder Russell Simmons, and the Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose – have faced public outcry after sexual violence allegations against them surfaced. But in many cases, streams of these artists’ music have remained largely unaffected, sometimes even ballooning in popularity.The disgraced music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs is the latest artist to see his music streams sharply increase following public accusations of sexual assault by numerous people, including minors. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 12:00:02

Why the US wants to force Google to sell Chrome

The Department of Justice suggested it should ‘divest Chrome’ and divest or submit to oversight of Android – seismic challenges for the tech giant• Don’t get TechScape delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereGoogle is in trouble. As my colleague Dan Milmo reported, the US Department of Justice “has proposed a far-reaching overhaul of Google’s structure and business practices, including the sale of its Chrome browser, in a bid to end its monopoly on internet search”. The move follows a major court ruling last August in which a federal judge determined that Google had violated antitrust laws and held an illegal monopoly over search services. The justice department’s suggestion is blunt: “Google must divest Chrome.” As for Android, the DoJ proposes two potential remedies: divest or submit to government oversight.Both demands present seismic challenges to Google’s multiform, money-printing advertising business and would be a worst-case scenario for the company.The best iPhones in 2024: Apple smartphones tested, reviewed and rankedApple Watch Series 10: thinner, lighter and basically the same | ★★★★★ Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 12:30:25

Please don’t sing along to Wicked in the cinema – it is deeply embarrassing | Patrick Lenton

Hey, frustrated theatre kids: no one is going to musicals to hear you sing. And don’t listen to the Rock – some of us actually want to hear the film we’ve paid to seeIn shocking news for grumpy people who like to stay home, fans are going to public screenings of the movie-musical Wicked and choosing to sing along loudly with the songs. It’s happened so frequently that cinemas in the US have put up PSAs asking audience members to keep quiet.It’s not a new story – theatres, concerts and cinemas have always been battlegrounds of etiquette. During a midday screening of Call Me By Your Name that I once attended, two middle-aged women pulled out an entire roast chicken and began eating it with their bare hands, interrupting a tender scene of queer romance in the Italian countryside with cracks, rips and slurps. Our issues today – people singing in movies, kids filming entire concerts on their phones, people throwing hard objects at singers – are just modern-day versions of conundrums like, I don’t know, when is it polite to throw rotten tomatoes and jeer during a public hanging? Put more than two people together and someone will be annoying – it’s true of audiences, communes, and also why I don’t truck with polyamory. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 04:40:23

The ICC arrest warrants for top Israeli officials are a step toward justice | Kenneth Roth

The warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant are also a reminder to governments arming Israel as it commits war crimes in GazaThe international criminal court’s issuance of arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and former defense minister Yoav Gallant is an important step toward justice for the Palestinian people, who too often have known only injustice. The court allows charges to move forward for war crimes and crimes against humanity focused mainly on the Israeli strategy of starving the civilians of Gaza and depriving them of medical and other necessities. The arrest warrants will make the world much smaller for these senior Israeli officials.The Israeli government had advanced two principal arguments in the hope of avoiding the warrants, both of which the court rejected. First, Israel contended in essence that Palestine was not enough of a state to join the court and confer jurisdiction for crimes committed on its territory. The court reaffirmed a prior ruling finding that Palestine’s status as a non-member observer state of the United Nations general assembly enabled it to ratify treaties such as the ICC’s Rome statute.Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch from 1993 to 2022, is a visiting professor at Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 11:00:14

I have campaigned for assisted dying all my life. This once-in-a-generation chance mustn’t be wasted | Polly Toynbee

This Labour government must be brave enough to stand up for the bill and ensure a legacy of empathy and personal freedomThe time has come for a defining moment early in a Labour era that has so far lacked definition. This is the week a Labour parliament can make its mark in the long campaign for personal freedoms over birth, sex, life and death. If not, if MPs prove pusillanimous in the face of loud but thinly supported objections backed by organised religion, they will ignore the opinion of a public that is strongly in favour: the British social attitudes survey’s first polling in 1983 found 77% of people in favour of assisted dying, and that figure has hardly varied since then. After campaigning all my life on this, I feel: if not now, then probably not in my lifetime.Every Labour government leaves new freedoms and laws of human empathy in its wake, things traditionally blocked by Conservative majorities. The Blair government’s civil partnerships were a jubilant breakthrough, along with equalising the age of consent. The Wilson government abolished cruelties and repressions by decriminalising abortion and homosexuality, ending capital and corporal punishment, bringing freedom to divorce and more. Millions of lives were changed for ever in profound ways.Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 06:00:02

In Wales, we’re one more flood away from another disaster like Aberfan | Aaron Thierry

It is only a matter of time before a mountainside is brought down. We need climate adaptation help – and we need it nowAaron Thierry is an Earth-system scientist and environmental campaignerIt’s “raining old ladies and sticks” is the Welsh equivalent of cats and dogs, and boy did those old ladies mean business when Storm Bert poured out nearly a month’s worth of rain on the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) over Saturday night. By Sunday, the deluge was surging into the River Taff and through the Welsh valleys, forcing the Taff to burst its banks, bringing misery to communities along its length – including mine in Taff’s Well.Neighbours, who had been devastated by Storm Dennis in February 2020, were shocked to find that everything they had done to rebuild was undone. Replastered front rooms were submerged yet again. New cars were bobbing once more in the streets. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 12:00:03

The Democrats’ next campaign should appeal to their base, not swing voters | Steve Phillips

Democratic strategists want to ‘persuade’ over voters. But the real problem is Democratic voters not showing up to pollsMany people are drawing the wrong conclusions about what happened in the 2024 election. The conventional wisdom is that large swaths of population groups shifted their political allegiances to Donald Trump, propelling him to victory over Kamala Harris.A more careful reading of the data, however, shows that those conclusions are inaccurate, and the biggest problem for Democrats was a failure to turn out Democratic voters. Coming to terms with the unfounded faith in voter persuasion – at the extent of tried and true voter turnout programs – will have profound implications for the future of the Democratic party and the country.Steve Phillips is the founder of Democracy in Color, and author of Brown Is the New White: How the Demographic Revolution Has Created a New American Majority and How We Win the Civil War: Securing a Multiracial Democracy and Ending White Supremacy for Good Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 11:00:15

Trump’s cabinet isn’t as anti-Wall Street as voters might want to believe | Robert Reich

The man Trump has tapped as US treasury secretary was only recently derided by Elon Musk as the ‘business-as-usual choice’Will anything stop Trump?He’s got control over both chambers of Congress, a tractable supreme court, a political base of fiercely loyal Magas, a media ecosystem that amplifies his lies (now including Musk’s horrific X as well as Rupert Murdoch’s reliably mendacious Fox News) and a thin majority of voters in the 2024 election. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 11:00:14

David Squires on … Manchester City and a visit from exorcist Ian Holloway

Our cartoonist on how the Premier League champions may need a hand from Swindon’s paranormal investigatorBuy a copy of a cartoon from our Print ShopDavid’s new book, Chaos in the Box: order it now Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 11:19:09

The Breakdown | Modern Test margins can be wafer thin but winners and losers are clear

The Springboks are head and shoulders above the chasing pack and the Autumn Nations Series has raised the stakesFirst among equals There is still the small matter of Ireland v Australia on Saturday but that is not going to alter this autumn’s unavoidable fact: South Africa remain the best team in the world. Or, to boil it down to its essence, the hardest to beat. They can bash teams up, slice them open out wide, kick them to death or simply outlast them: in short, they have every angle covered. The outstanding Pieter-Steph Du Toit was a deserving winner of this year’s men’s World Player of the Year award in Monaco on Sunday but, in truth, it could have been any one of several Springboks. Eben Etzebeth and Ox Nché were right on Du Toit’s tail and Cheslin Kolbe and Siya Kolisi, among others, finished the year in splendid form. France were the other unbeaten autumn side, beating the All Blacks, Argentina and Japan, but Ireland’s sub-par home defeat by New Zealand raised some uneasy questions with Andy Farrell about to switch his focus to the 2025 British & Irish Lions.Winners and losers Modern Test margins can be wafer thin, as England can testify. But the two sides who have made unquestionable strides since the summer have been Scotland and Australia. The Scots have been building a decent squad for a while, without nailing down all the results they would have wanted. Sunday’s convincing victory over the Wallabies showcased the growing depth and composure of Gregor Townsend’s side; had it not been for a couple of belated Wallaby tries it could have been an even more emphatic statement. Australia, though, were good value for their thrilling win against England and, in the nick of time, have raised hopes of a highly competitive Lions series next year. The biggest losers? Look no further than Wales who have just completed their first winless calendar year since 1937. There is no shame in losing to a team as strong as South Africa but Saturday’s 45-12 home defeat in Cardiff starkly illustrated the issues now facing the Welsh game.This is an extract taken from our weekly rugby union email, the Breakdown. To sign up, just visit this page and follow the instructions. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 11:20:29

Jacob Bethell, ‘cool cat’ and England rookie thrust into Test spotlight

Debutant has impressed everyone from a young age but can he carry off batting No 3 against New Zealand?Moments after the applause in the England huddle at Hagley Oval that signposted Jacob Bethell’s impending Test debut at No 3, the sound system they use to keep training sessions upbeat began blaring out The Gambler by Kenny Rogers. Even for a leadership group that likes a punt, this feels their biggest yet.Bowlers can burst through with little by way of their back catalogue; bolters elevated on the basis of raw ingredients. England have had a few in their recent past, like Shoaib Bashir – first-class bowling average of 67 when called up – or Rehan Ahmed, a five-fer on Test debut aged 18. Pat Cummins is one Australian example, with nine Shield wickets at 46 when he first pulled on his Baggy Green in 2011. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 13:00:25

The two Lukes headline new darts era that is both deeply trivial and deathly serious

Luke Littler and world champion Luke Humphries are the stars of an ever-expanding cultural phenomenonThere are plant burgers and arancini on sleek dark plates. There is a beer mat with the face of Brendan Dolan on it. In one corner of the room Michael van Gerwen is being interviewed by Troy Deeney live on TalkSport. In another an influencer called JaackMaate is filming a video for his YouTube channel.Dave Allen, the press chief at the Professional Darts Corporation, remembers the first time they held a media launch before the world championship. It was 2008, Phil Taylor and Raymond van Barneveld and Sid Waddell dressed as Santa Claus, holding a huge novelty dartboard. A handful of people turned up, a few photos were taken, and then everyone packed up and went home. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 08:00:06

Migrant workers face ‘cycle of abuse’ in Saudi Arabia before World Cup, UN told

ITUC-Africa raises ‘severe concerns’ over labour practicesOrganisation calls on Caf to press Fifa on human rightsA trade union organisation that represents 18 million African workers has submitted a complaint to the United Nations against labour practices in Saudi Arabia, calling for “immediate and decisive action” with the country poised to be granted World Cup hosting rights next month.In an account that collates claims of malpractice and abuse alongside testimonies from migrant workers, the African Regional Organisation of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-Africa) argues that “the relentless cycle of abuse and exploitation mark the daily existence of African migrant workers in Saudi Arabia. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 11:13:55

Liverpool’s contract dance with Salah was always going to be complicated | Andy Hunter

Revamp after Jürgen Klopp’s exit didn’t help and now time is short for club to make their talisman feel wanted againMohamed Salah’s admission that he is “more out than in” at Liverpool creates a tremor in an otherwise serene debut season for Arne Slot. The Liverpool head coach can take comfort in the fact there is zero evidence to support Salah’s claim on the pitch and, while he and sporting director Richard Hughes are new to the club, contract posturing by the Anfield superstar is not.Salah rarely stops to give post-match interviews but what happened at Southampton on Sunday was not unusual in many respects. There was the removal of the shirt following a match‑winning goal that invited a yellow card but also revealed a chiselled physique. Just in case anyone is still wondering what condition he is in at 32. Another decisive job done, with Liverpool sitting eight points clear at the top of the Premier League after his 11th and 12th goals of the season, and Salah seized his next opportunity, telling waiting reporters he was disappointed not to have received a formal contract offer and a resolution is “not in my hands”. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 17:32:04

Jannik Sinner’s biggest opponent is off the court after astounding rise to the top | Tumaini Carayol

Italian has enjoyed a sublime 2024 on tour but Wada’s appeal after he was cleared over two positive doping tests looms aheadAt the end of the 2023 tennis season, as Jannik Sinner had elevated his game to new heights and his Italy team to their first Davis Cup title in 46 years, there was one comparison to note. Thirteen years earlier, Novak Djokovic had found his way after a difficult period by winning the Davis Cup, a victory that provided a platform for one of the greatest tennis seasons in 2011 and the start of his decade-plus reign.Sinner’s first triumph for Italy at the Davis Cup has similarly preceded a staggering breakout season and, one year on, he ends 2024 as by far the best and most consistent tennis player in the world. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 08:00:06

The NBA is more international than ever. So why doesn’t Mexico have a star?

Players born outside the US are becoming more dominant in the league. But the pipeline from a close neighbor is still not flowing freelyIt may be time for the National Basketball Association to consider changing its name to the International Basketball Association.For six consecutive seasons, foreign-born basketball stars have dominated the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award. Serbia’s Nikola Jokic has taken the award three times, Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo twice and Joel Embiid, who is a naturalized US citizen but grew up in Cameroon, has claimed it once. And going further back to 2013, more than half of the No 1 overall draft picks were born outside the US. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 10:00:09

Backroom deals and betrayal: how Cop29’s late $300bn deal left nobody happy

While an agreement on climate finance was eventually reached in Baku, many poorer countries were outragedThe Lamborghini showroom and a Tiffany branch sit at either end of Baku’s long boulevards beside the Caspian Sea. Adorned with grand 19th-century mansions, all plaster nymphs and columned facades, that were built by the first oil millionaires, they are a testament to the enduring power of fossil fuels. Oil has been very good to Azerbaijan.It flows out of the ground here, and gas has seeped out, ignited and burned naturally in the area for so long that the country’s symbol is a flame and its nickname is the Land of Fire. Baku was the world’s first oil town, with wells exploited as early as the 1840s. Ilham Aliyev, the autocratic president, calls oil and gas “the gift of God” to his people. They represent 90% of Azerbaijan’s exports. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 06:00:02

Cop29 deal fails to consider inflation so is not tripling of target, economists say

Experts say financial movements mean poor nations will in effect get billions less in value from £300bn pledgeA failure to factor in inflation means the $300bn (£240bn) climate finance deal agreed at Cop29 is not the tripling of pledges that has been claimed, economists have said.The international talks in Baku were pulled back from the brink of collapse early on Sunday morning when negotiators struck an agreement in which rich countries promised to raise $300bn a year by 2035. On paper, this is a tripling of the previous climate finance target of $100bn a year by 2020, and has been trumpeted as such by the UN and others. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 17:22:19

UK will seek global coalition for climate action, says Ed Miliband as Cop29 ends

UK energy secretary played key role in $300bn deal for developing countries, branded a ‘betrayal’ by criticsMukhtar Babayev: I’m glad we got a deal at Cop29The UK will seek a global coalition to push for climate action after a fractious end to UN climate talks in Azerbaijan, the UK energy secretary, Ed Miliband, has pledged.The Cop29 conference ended on Sunday with a deal promising $300bn in finance for developing countries by 2035, which critics called a “failure” and “betrayal”. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 19:28:04

I'm glad we got a deal at Cop29 – but western nations stood in the way of a much better one | Mukhtar Babayev

My negotiating team tried in vain to push up support for the global south. Lessons must be learned before the next summit in BrazilMukhtar Babayev is president of the Cop29 UN climate change conferenceChina was willing to offer more in climate finance, says Cop29 presidentNine years after the Paris agreement, and after 11 months of multilateral diplomacy and two weeks of the most intense negotiations at Cop29 in Baku, we have a deal. Under the terms of the Baku breakthrough, the world’s industrialised nations will provide $300bn (£240bn), which, combined with resources from multilateral lending institutions and the private sector will reach $1.3tn in climate financing. Cop29 also finalised, after years of failed attempts, a global framework for international carbon markets trading, a critical mechanism for less polluting and less wealthy nations to raise climate finance. A fund for responding to loss and damage – another new financial resource for less developed nations – was brought in shortly before the summit, and funds are already being paid into it.This deal may be imperfect. It does not keep everyone happy. But it is a major step forward from the $100bn pledged in Paris back in 2015.Mukhtar Babayev is president of the Cop29 UN climate change conference Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 14:00:47

Blaming people for poor mental health not part of Labour’s jobs plan, says minister – UK politics live

Alison McGovern says UK was unusual in not seeing employment rise after the pandemicThe Federation of Small Businesses applauds the ambition in the government’s Get Britain Working, but says that overcoming the “pervasive poverty of ambition” about employment in the public sector won’t be easy. This is from Tina McKenzie, the FSB’s policy chair.This is a start – but only a start – in fixing the pervasive poverty of ambition in the Jobcentre, health and other state systems when it comes to getting people back into work. Increasing employment is ultimately the most sure-fire way to drive up living standards and economic growth. Ministers have a huge job to persuade public institutions that work is good for health and that everyone who needs work should be helped to get a job or start-up in self-employment – not least getting rid of the idea that the only good work is in graduate jobs, the public sector or volunteering. The ambition behind the 80 per cent employment target is both clear and important ..To deliver on this policy agenda, government and small businesses must work in partnership to drive real change through the whole employment system and make sure the country is helping those who most need work.It is right to ensure that young people who are seeking work are helped to find a job or training. Positive early experiences in the jobs market are vital for young people’s future life chances. They must be supported to take part, not faced with self-defeating sanctions.Success will also depend on ministers making the investment that’s needed in health services and quality training. Jobcentre staff must have a central role in redesigning their services, and devolution must never come at the cost of staff terms and conditions. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 12:53:57

Eight Laos hostel staff held over suspected methanol poisoning deaths

Manager and seven staff at Nana backpacker hostel detained after death of six touristsPolice in Laos have detained the manager and seven staff of a backpacker hostel in Vang Vieng following the deaths of six tourists from suspected methanol poisoning, state media reported on Tuesday.Two Danish citizens, an American, a Briton and two Australians died after what media said was a night out in the town on 12 November. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 10:51:14

Assisted dying could have major impact on courts, says ex-chief justice

Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd says details of the legal process have not been worked outUK politics live – latest updatesA former lord chief justice has warned that assisted dying could have a major impact on the court system, saying “no one has grappled with the detail” of the impact of the legislation on family courts.Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, who held the role between 2013 and 2017, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the process of the assisted dying requests coming before the courts needed “working out precisely.” Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 12:25:58

Donald Trump’s trade tariffs could cost US consumers $2,400 a year – business live

Rolling coverage of the latest ecoonomic and financial newsTrump vows tariffs on Mexico and Canada and deeper tariffs on ChinaThe US president-elect’s social media post announcing 25% import tariffs on products from Mexico and Canada, and 10% from China, when he takes power in January has sent global stockmarkets into a spin.Research by ING has estimated that if the costs of the new tariffs are fully passed on to consumers, then Americans will face having to pay $2,400 more per capita annually for goods.“President-elect Donald Trump has promised to implement sweeping new tariffs aimed at protecting American industries, promoting domestic manufacturing, and reducing reliance on foreign imports.“However, tariffs imposed during the first Trump term – and continued and extended under Biden – did not achieve all of the promised outcomes. Furthermore, our research shows that if the new tariffs are fully passed on, they could increase inflation and cost American consumers up to $2,400 per capita annually. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 12:17:02

Seven killed and dozens hurt as Imran Khan supporters clash with security forces in Pakistan

Up to 100,000 people broke through barriers in locked-down Islamabad to demand Khan’s release from prisonAt least seven people have been killed and dozens injured in Pakistan as thousands of supporters of the jailed former prime minister Imran Khan forced their way through security barriers and entered the capital Islamabad on Tuesday morning.Authorities have enforced a security lockdown in the capital for the last three days after Khan called for supporters of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to march on parliament for a sit-in demonstration to demand his release. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 12:05:51

Thirty-five million Africans driven from homes by war and climate disasters – report

Data shows a threefold increase in internal displacement across the African continent since 2009, with flooding and drought posing a growing threatWars and climate disasters have driven a threefold increase in the number of internally displaced people in Africa over the past 15 years, according to new data.There are now 35 million people internally displaced on the continent, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), compared with 11.6 million in 2009, when African governments signed a landmark deal legally binding them to tackle the causes of displacement. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 12:47:47

Germany draws up list of bunkers amid Russia tensions

App planned for public to find emergency shelter in places including underground train stations and car parksGermany is drawing up a list of bunkers that could provide emergency shelter for civilians, the interior ministry has said, at a time of rising tensions with Russia.The list would include underground train stations and car parks as well as state buildings and private properties, a ministry spokesperson said. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 15:46:45

Uncontacted hunter-gatherers facing threat of genocide because of minerals mining, claims report

Survival International says Hongana Manyawa in Indonesia are at risk but mining company says the people in ‘voluntary’ contact with workersUncontacted hunter-gatherers in Indonesia “are facing a severe and immediate threat of genocide” because of mining for minerals on their lands for use in electric vehicles, a report claims.In their own language, the Indigenous Hongana Manyawa people, of Halmahera island, call themselves “the people of the forest”. But their forest home is being destroyed in a rush for nickel, a crucial component in rechargeable batteries, campaigners say. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 05:00:02

Prosecutors demand 20-year jail term for Dominique Pelicot

Pelicot has admitted drugging and raping his wife, Gisèle, and inviting at least 70 strangers to rape and abuse herFrench prosecutors have demanded that Dominique Pelicot be jailed for 20 years, the maximum available sentence, for having drugged and raped his wife, Gisèle, and invited at least 70 strangers to rape and abuse her over a decade.The demand came as the French government unveiled new measures to combat violence against women, including raising awareness about the use of drugs to commit sexual abuse. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 15:12:36

Ex-official exits running for Trump team over Sebastian Gorka appointment

Michael Anton, national security official in first Trump term, reportedly removed name from contention over feudA frontrunner to be deputy national security adviser in Donald Trump’s administration reportedly withdrew from the running after learning that he would have to work with Sebastian Gorka, the president-elect’s choice as counter-terrorism adviser.Michael Anton, a conservative speech writer and national security official in Trump’s first presidency, removed his name from contention over Gorka’s appointment against a backdrop of acrimonious past relations between the pair, the Washington Post reported. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 22:19:31

‘Everyone was happy, but it became annoying’: Ethiopians look back on Band Aid

London cafe owner Yared Markos, 48, saw ‘aeroplanes, biscuits, sweets and cake all over Addis Ababa’ after song’s releaseForty years on, Yared Markos’s memories of famine in rural Ethiopia are vivid.His father was a geotechnical engineer, and as a boy he travelled with him from the city to his east African homeland’s countryside. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 10:00:08

Kendrick Lamar: GNX review – stunning surprise from a rapper determined to be the greatest

(PGLang/Interscope) After his beef with Drake, Lamar expands his list of targets with enthralling rhymes and adventurous arrangements. At this point, he’s deferring only to GodBy nature, hip-hop feuds are divisive, but the beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar was polarising in a way that had nothing to do with whose side you took. There were people who thought it was the greatest rap battle in history, outstripping Jay-Z and Nas, Ice Cube and his former bandmates in NWA, even Biggie and Tupac. Equally, there were others who questioned if it even counted as a rap battle at all: noting that both participants were already superstars, rather than a “young, hungry MC using this as a vehicle to get to the next place”, veteran critic Nelson George described it as “rich Black men attacking other rich Black men on their social media, from the comfort of their own homes”. But whatever stance you took, it was obvious who the winner was. Lamar’s Not Like Us not only landed a knockout blow, it achieved things no diss track has done before: it went to No 1, affected the campaign messaging of US election, became an American sports anthem, inspired a video game, was nominated for five Grammys – including record and song of the year – and got Lamar tapped as the headliner of the 2025 Super Bowl half-time show.It is a victory that seems to power GNX, a surprise release that couldn’t be more different in tone from Lamar’s last album Mr Morale and the Big Steppers, which spent 75 minutes thrashing about, filled with self-criticism and doubt, contemplating the inevitable end of his moment in the spotlight and reassuring himself that “you can’t please everyone” on a track called Crown. No such issues on GNX, an album that covers a lot of different topics – from romance on two duets with SZA, to the dissolution of Lamar’s Black Hippy collective – but on which the overall message seems to be: who else wants some? “It used to be ‘fuck that nigga’, but now it’s plural,” he offers on the opening Wacced Out Murals. So it seems. Although Drake gets it in the neck again, what’s striking is how his targets have now expanded to include Snoop Dogg (who posted a link to Drake’s diss track Taylor Made on social media), Lil Wayne (who was apparently aggrieved about Lamar’s Super Bowl slot), those with “old-ass flows”, people who offer “backhanded compliments”, sundry unnamed figures accused of trying to “hate on me” in Peekaboo and, potentially, Lamar’s own grandma, whom he threatens to cut off “if she don’t see it like I see it” during TV Off. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 16:14:33

That Librarian by Amanda Jones review – one woman’s brave fight against book banning

A small-town US librarian’s lively account of her battle with a group of far-right censors reveals the toll it took on her healthAmanda Jones’s story is awful – and important. A school librarian for 23 years in her home town of Watson, southern Louisiana, she has watched with concern in recent years as a movement of book-banning swept across the US. According to the American Library Association, “book challenges” in public libraries almost doubled from 729 in 2021 to 1,269 in 2022.In July 2022, when Jones heard about a public meeting that would discuss “book content” in local libraries, she went along. A board member said she was “concerned” about some “inappropriate” material in the local library’s children and young adult sections. In response, Jones gave a measured speech, explaining her belief that “while book challenges are often done with the best intentions, and in the name of age appropriateness, they often target marginalised communities” and “books on sexual health and reproduction”. She went on to detail the “First Amendment right to borrow, read, view, and listen to library resources”. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 11:00:12

Rod Stewart to play Glastonbury 2025 legends slot: ‘I’m more than able to pleasure and titillate’

The 79-year-old pop veteran, fresh from UK No 1 album this year, will follow in the footsteps of Dolly Parton and Lionel Richie in much-loved Sunday teatime slotGlastonbury festival has announced its first act for 2025, with Rod Stewart booked to perform on the Pyramid stage in the Sunday teatime “legends” slot.Stewart said he was “proud and ready” to play at the festival, adding that – at the age of 79 – he was “more than able to pleasure and titillate” the crowd. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 08:00:05

‘Strictly terrified me!’ Chris McCausland on self-belief, shame and becoming the star of the show

After weeks of astonishing performances and easy wit, the comic is the bookies’ favourite to win. He talks about the privilege of being the first blind person to appear – and how his daughter changed his outlook on lifeFor quite a while, Chris McCausland kept turning down the offer to appear on Strictly Come Dancing. He wasn’t going to do it this year either. “It terrified me,” he says. “I don’t mind stretching myself, but I have to know something’s possible.” And Strictly seemed impossible. Blind since his early 20s, McCausland spent his teenage years listening to 90s grunge and throwing himself around mosh pits rather than paying any attention to ballroom dancing. So he had no idea what an American smooth or a paso doble even looked like. For some, Strictly has been unavoidable for the last 20 years, but McCausland, 47, a comedian whose natural TV home is shows such as Would I Lie to You?, says the first time he ever heard the theme tune was when he was standing in the studio on launch night.Why did he decide to embrace the sequins now? “As well as being a comedian, I am – whether I like it or not – representative of another group of people, people who are blind, people with a disability and people who are underrepresented.” He was so nervous before the first show that he couldn’t even eat. But it felt like an opportunity and a privilege, he says. “When you weigh that up, and you stop thinking about yourself so much, and the fact that you’re shitting your pants, there becomes more benefit than risk.” Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 05:00:03

Rebel Musix, Scribe on a Vibe by Vivien Goldman review – hanging with the punks and the Rastas

From Bob Marley embracing the Clash to Brian Eno hurling his phone against a wall, this wide-ranging collection of music writing evokes an era in which journalists and musicians existed side by sideVivien Goldman, the “punk professor” from London who teaches at New York University, has been involved in music from the 1970s onwards – whether writing about it, publicising it, directing pop videos, making it herself (the 1981 single Launderette) or commemorating its heroes in screenplays and musicals.She’s best known for her punk and reggae connections: she hung out with the Sex Pistols and was Bob Marley’s PR and preferred journalist. At one point in this wide-ranging collection of her music writing, she plays Marley the Clash’s cover of Police & Thieves and, a week later, writes that she’s in a listening room at Basing Street Studios “and Bob’s voice is rolling in magical command out of the huge speakers: ‘It’s a punky reggae party…’” A movement is started, though Marley comments to Goldman that he likes “them safety pins and t’ing”, just not enough to wear them himself. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 09:00:05

Nigel Slater’s recipe for apple and blueberry demerara crumble

A quick, comforting pudding to liven up the weekHeat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Peel 700g of cooking apples, then remove their cores and seeds and cut the apple into small pieces. Add 250g of blueberries to the apple and 2 tbsp of sugar and toss well to coat the apples with the sugar.Tip into an ovenproof dish roughly 24cm in diameter. Cut 95g of butter into small pieces and add to 150g of plain flour. Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until it resembles coarse crumbs, then stir in 35g of caster sugar and 35g of demerara. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 12:00:03

José Pizarro’s recipe for spiced roast squash soup with chorizo migas

A rich soup with everything – texture, comfort, flavour – all rounded off with the satisfying, savoury crunch of toasted breadcrumbs and chorizoThis smooth, comforting soup is a great winter warmer. Roasting intensifies the natural sweetness of both the squash and the garlic, the cumin and smoked pimentón add a lovely, smoky, aromatic depth, while the fresh oregano keeps everything vibrant and earthy. But the best part, as any self-respecting Spaniard will tell you, is the crisp chorizo migas, which is a classic touch that brings with it crunch and a burst of rich, meaty flavour. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 08:00:05

20 of the UK’s best hotels and pubs for the great outdoors – as chosen by the Good Hotel Guide

From pubs with rooms and seaside getaways to hotels for walkers and dog owners, all these picks put you in the middle of beautiful countryside Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 07:00:05

Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for spiced roasted cauliflower with chickpeas, halloumi and lemony bulgur

A weeknight traybake that’s full of lemony, spicy vimAn easy weeknight dinner, with enough for a lunchbox the next day, too. Chickpeas, halloumi and pomegranate are always a winning combination and were a constant on my summer table, but you’ll add plant points and an autumnal touch with the lovely, baharat-spiced cauliflower and hearty, lemon-spiked bulgur wheat base. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 13:00:40

The nut of the future! 17 delicious ways with pistachios, from cakes to salads to cocktails

Pistachio farmers are having a bumper year – and looking forward to many more. These recipes will help you make the most of the glutPistachios are booming. In California, which has overtaken Iran as the top exporter in recent decades, growers are expected to harvest 1bn lb (about 450m kg) of them this year, a figure that is projected to double by 2031.At a time when all forms of agriculture face stark choices because of climate breakdown, pistachio orchards are expanding: the trees are more drought-tolerant than many crops, including other nuts such as almonds. But if pistachios end up becoming the nut of the future, how will we cope with record-breaking harvests? For now, here are 17 delicious ways to use up your personal allotment of this year’s yield. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 10:00:36

Dead cool and wolverine: from animal tracking to ski touring in Sweden

A prototype electric snowmobile and old-school wooden skis open up Sweden’s backcountry as our writer goes on the hunt for local wildlifeOn the slopes up to the ridge, the snow is deep and fresh. Long frozen arms of it hug the trees. Behind us the tracks of our skis gleam with a strange blue light, and in front, delicately drawn into the snow, is the perfect feathery imprint of a bird – like a pale icy fossil. My guide, Jens Sarlin, from Next Step Nature, stops. “Capercaillie,” he says. “It was feeding on pine needles up top and has landed here, then dug a burrow in the snow. It may still be there.”We edge forwards. A trail of bird footprints lead to a hole, but it’s empty except for some droppings. “They dig down and then sideways to fool the foxes,” says Jens. We move forwards again, silent on our hunters’ skis, antique wooden heirlooms that slip easily over deep soft snow. What we are hunting, with cameras only, is something rarely seen – the wolverine – and Jens knows the best places to find them. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 07:00:37

Share your experience of being a celebrity lookalike

We would like to hear from people who have been told they look like a celebrityWith celebrity lookalike contests such as Timothée Chalamet taking place, we’re interested in finding out more about the celebrities you’ve been told you look like.Have friends or family said you look like a famous musician, sports person or Hollywood star? Have you had any experiences of mistaken identity? If so, what happened? We’re also interested in hearing from anyone who has taken part in a lookalike competition. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 14:48:44

Share your experience of lightning strikes in Latin America and the Caribbean

We’d like to hear about the impact of dramatic lightning strikes in the region. How have you been affected?Scientists have warned for years that rising temperatures across the planet are likely to cause more lightning. The Caribbean is among those regions that have experienced an increase in damaging strikes over the past two decades, according to experts.Have you been affected by dramatic lightning strikes in the Caribbean? Do you have experiences or pictures of lightning impact in Jamaica, Belize, Barbados or any other country in the region? Or perhaps in Latin America? Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-20 12:00:05

Tell us: do you share a name with a politician or celebrity?

We want to hear people’s anecdotes about sharing famous namesLife got harder for the (not well known) David Cameron when another David Cameron became prime minister in 2010.Angry voters began to email him, “ranting” at the “state of the country and telling me I should be ashamed of myself,” the unfamous Cameron, an artist in Cheshire, told Metro. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-22 14:33:53

Share your thoughts about the collapse of the German coalition government and the snap election

We’re interested to hear how people feel about the collapse of German chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government, and which issues may decide their vote at the general electionThe collapse of Germany’s three-party ruling coalition has triggered a snap election that is to take place in February 2025.The German government collapsed after the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, unexpectedly sacked his finance minister, Christian Lindner, during a row over the 2025 budget, plunging Europe’s largest economy into political disarray, after months of bitter infighting that has contributed to the administration’s growing unpopularity amid a stagnating German economy. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-13 14:55:48

‘We learned the hard way’: Samoa remembers a deadly measles outbreak and a visit from RFK Jr

A few months before the outbreak in 2019, Kennedy travelled to Samoa and met with anti-vaccine figures, contributing to what health experts claim was a ‘significant disinformation campaign’The week before her three children died, Fa’aoso Tuivale and her husband took them for a swim in the river flowing behind their house in the Samoan village of Lauli’i.Itila, 3, and his twin siblings, Tamara and Sale, 13 months, had a fever and their parents hoped to cool them down. The children were ill with measles and were not vaccinated. When they worsened, on a Sunday, Fa’aoso took them to hospital in Apia, 9km away. They were seen, and sent home. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 02:17:28

‘Education is survival’: parents of Rohingya refugee children fight for their right to go to school in India

Official attitudes are hardening towards the minority group amid an anti-Muslim crackdown, say activistsFor Rohingya refugee Hussain Ahmed, the hope that his children might receive a formal education to secure a better adulthood than his own was what “kept him going”. After fleeing to India from Myanmar in 2016, he began working as a construction worker in a country where he is not allowed to seek legal employment. Then he met with a new hurdle.“For the last few years, I have been running from pillar to post, trying to get a local government-run school to enrol my 10-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter. I cannot afford the fees of privately run schools, so the government ones were my only hope. But all of them turned my children down,” says Ahmed, who lives in the Khajuri Khas area of Delhi with his wife and four children. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 08:00:04

How the battle of Claremont Road changed the world: ‘The whole of alternative London turned up’

Thirty years ago, more than 500 activists united to save a street – and their actions marked a major turning-point in the environmental movementWalking through Leyton, in east London, you could easily miss Claremont Road. It is hardly a road at all, but a stubby little side street between terrace houses that ends abruptly in a brick wall. But when it comes to the history of direct action, this could be one of the most significant sites in England. Thirty years ago, in November 1994, the scene here was very different: 700 police officers and bailiffs in riot gear marched into a significantly larger Claremont Road and waged battle against about 500 activists, who were dug in – some of them literally – against efforts to evict them.The activists occupied rooftop towers, treehouses, underground bunkers and even secret tunnels. It took three days to get them all out. In retrospect, the “Battle of Claremont Road”, as it came to be known, was an almost unbelievable event. “I talk about the three C’s that underpin this type of activism: creativity, courage and cheek,” says campaigner Camilla Berens, who was there. “It set the template for the next 20 or 30 years of how to do responsible disruption.” Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 10:00:08

From Egypt to India, five jailed men who feel abandoned by Britain

A media mogul, a computer programmer, a developer, a trade unionist, and a Sikh activist – the prisoners arbitrarily detained abroadThe cases of five British men, held for years without a fair trial, are being highlighted as MPs, families, and campaigners fight for their release and better help for all those arbitrarily detained abroad. Who are the five, and what has happened to them? Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 07:00:04

Revealed: how a San Francisco navy lab became a hub for human radiation experiments

Operations at a cold war lab exposed at least 1,073 people to radiation. Risks to the nearby communities persistExposed: The Human Radiation Experiments at Hunters Point is a special report by the San Francisco Public Press, an independent non-profit news organization focused on accountability, equity and the environment. In September 1956, Cpl Eldridge Jones found himself atop a sunbaked roof at an old army camp about an hour outside San Francisco, shoveling radioactive dirt. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 19:00:02

Drugs, hormones and excrement: the polluting pig mega-farms supplying pork to the world

Mexico is a leading international pork producer, but Yucatán residents say the waste oozing from hundreds of enormous hog farms is destroying the environmentThe stink of excrement was the first thing the residents of Sitilpech noticed when the farm opened in 2017. It hung over the colourful one-storey homes and kitchen gardens in the Maya town in Yucatán, and has never left. Next, the trees stopped bearing fruit, their leaves instead covered with black spots. Then, the water from the vast, porous aquifer emerged from the well with a horrible, overwhelming stench.“Before, we used that water for everything: for cooking, for drinking, for bathing. Now we can’t even give it to animals. Today, we have to give the chickens purified water because otherwise they get diarrhoea,” says one resident. “The radishes grow thin and the coriander often turns yellow. This has always been a quiet town, where life was very good until that farm started,” they say. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 11:00:39

‘What many of us feel’: why ‘enshittification’ is Macquarie Dictionary’s word of the year

The committee’s honourable mentions went to ‘right to disconnect’ and ‘rawdogging’“We’re all living through the enshittocene, a great enshittening, in which the services that matter to us, that we rely on, are turning into giant piles of shit,” author Cory Doctorow said earlier this year.In 2022, Doctorow coined the word “enshittification”, which has just been crowned Macquarie Dictionary’s word of the year. The dictionary defined the word as follows.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 01:36:15

‘I took one pill and my whole body was gone’: Kathy Bates on opioids, ageing and selfish co-stars

As she stars in new legal serial Matlock, about a lawyer using people’s prejudices about older people to her advantage, the Oscar-winner opens up about surviving cancer, the Sacklers and watching herself on screenKathy Bates plays an elegant game in Sky’s new reboot of the 1980s legal drama Matlock. She’s the eponymous lawyer Matty, forced out of retirement having fallen upon hard times, thanks to her no-good husband. Or at least that’s what she says. There’s a lot of mischievous observation about ageism and the opportunities it presents: people look through her, so she can glide past security guards; people underestimate her, so she can bedevil them in negotiations; people shout over her like she isn’t there, so she destroys them in a way that’s pleasing to watch.At first glance, this seems to be a straightforward whodunnit. But Bates would never have taken the role, she says, if that’s all there was to it. The show is certainly enjoyable, warming even, a bit like being hugged. Whether Madeline “Matty” Matlock is appearing in her assumed persona (cuddly, wise) or her true identity (passionate, crusading), she is always agreeably on the side of the angels. “We’ve had responses from people across all ages, across all demographics,” says Bates. “It is a comforting thing to be able to put your mind somewhere else, to something entertaining, that also has a bit of a mystery. People need that right now – to get away from everything and get lost.” Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 15:46:09

‘Woke’ didn’t lose the US election: the patrician class who hijacked identity politics did | Nesrine Malik

Why is this simple explanation being so widely embraced? Because it does not require a commitment to real, structural changeThe day that wokeness died. That has been one of the primary analyses of Donald Trump’s resounding election victory: that it was a resounding rejection of the “woke” left and the casting off of the shackles of political correctness. According to sections of the media and political establishment, people are tired of being harangued and scolded for not using the right language, annoyed by a constant focus on race and identity, and alarmed by a new orthodoxy of radical politics eager to please individual groups at the expense of common sense. “The era,” summarised one British journalist, “of Black Lives Matter, Latinx, critical race theory, pronouns and defunding the police is over.” It’s a neat conclusion – it’s hard not to see this result as a rejection of something. But was that something “woke” values in particular?As a starting point, it is worth looking at Kamala Harris’s campaign rather than the assumptions about it. In reality, she seemed to avoid any focus on identity and “wokeness”. She didn’t make much of her race, or even her gender, choosing instead to ground her identity in her background as a middle-class person raised in a rental household by a hardworking mother. Her position on race softened from when she was running in 2019: she previously backed “some form” of reparations but did not stake out a position as part of her bid. Trump wanted Harris “to say something to turn off white voters. She was wise not to take the bait,” wrote the author Keith Boykin. She was hardline on immigration, keen to show that she is a gun owner (memorably telling Oprah Winfrey: “If someone breaks into my house they’re getting shot”). And she was evasive on gender-affirming care for transgender Americans.Nesrine Malik is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 06:00:33

Kaya Scodelario on Skins, scares and sex scenes: ‘I was called an English rose – it really pissed me off’

She became famous in the late 00s as Effy in Skins, and now she’s back in Netflix drama Senna. She talks about growing up poor in London, why she loves doing action films – and the pitfalls of taking her kids to workAs well as an eight-year-old son and a two-year-old daughter, Kaya Scodelario is the dedicated parent of a 10-year-old French bulldog called Arnie. She is hiding from at least one of them during our video call, and says it’s the dog.She is in the cosy and, crucially, locked spare bedroom of her home in north London, where she sits cross-legged on the floor. The mood is decidedly wholesome, and spiritually a million miles away from the place where audiences first encountered her, on Channel 4’s landmark teen drama Skins. Her character, Effy Stonem – sister to Nicholas Hoult’s Tony – uttered barely a word in series one and two; by series three she was the lead, captivating the boys of Bristol’s Roundview sixth form, not least by challenging them to sniff glue and start fires in return for sex with her. All the while, she was slipping deeper into trauma and depression. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 05:00:33

NWSL glory for Orlando and USA head to Wembley – Women’s Football Weekly

Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzy Wrack, Megan Swanick, and Tom Garry to round up the NWSL season games and look forward to the big Wembley friendlyOn today’s podcast, the panel reviews the conclusion of the NWSL season, where Orlando Pride were crowned NWSL Champions for the first time in their history. They discuss potential developments in the coming months that could help make the NWSL an even bigger product by 2025, as well as what lies ahead for the iconic Marta, who won her first NWSL Championship at the age of 38.The panel also covers the only game in the WSL over the weekend, where Chelsea maintained their perfect run by defeating Manchester United on Sunday, putting them five points clear at the top of the WSL table. Can Sonia Bompastor’s side be stopped? Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 11:49:29

S8, E10: David Gray, musician

The multi-platinum selling musician David Gray joins Grace this week on Comfort Eating. His breakthrough album White Ladder topped the charts worldwide and sold more than 3m copies in the UK, making it one of the best selling albums of the 21st century. Now with his 13th album, Dear Life, he joins Grace to look back at how music changed his life, the food that sustained a three-decade career and how he avoids playing the celebrity game.If you liked this episode then have a listen to Grace’s conversations with Rufus Wainwright, Guy Garvey and Self Esteem.New episodes of Comfort Eating with Grace Dent will be released every Tuesday Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 05:00:03

The Israeli settlers preparing to move to Gaza – podcast

While Palestinians are fleeing the war, one group of Israelis are planning for beachfront homes on the strip. Bethan McKernan and Ruth Michaelson reportFor weeks people living in northern Gaza, like Dr Mohammad Salha, have been sheltering from a renewed offensive by Israel. Israel has told civilians to leave, and food and humanitarian aid has stopped. Salha is the acting director of the al-Awda hospital – and has stayed behind to treat patients. He says there is only one surgeon left to do life-saving operations in the area, and food, medicines and electricity are vanishingly scarce. He has watched as thousands have fled, including his family. It is not clear when they will be allowed to return or if they ever will.Yet just over the border from Gaza, one group of far-right Israelis have a plan. Settlers from the Nachala organisation have held a conference in the closed military zone of the strip’s periphery to discuss moving into the Gaza Strip and taking over land there, to build their own homes. The Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent, Bethan McKernan, was there and said so were members of the Knesset and cabinet ministers. And, she says, while plans to “re-settle” Gaza are at a speculative stage, the presence of politicians showi how the settler movement has grown in importance and power. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 03:00:08

‘Travesty of justice’: Cop29’s controversial deal – podcast

Madeleine Finlay hears from the Guardian’s environment editor, Damian Carrington, about the controversial climate finance deal that brought Cop29 negotiations to a close in the early hours on Sunday morning in Baku, Azerbaijan. Developing countries asked rich countries to provide them with $1.3tn a year to help them decarbonise their economies and cope with the effects of the climate crisis. But the final deal set a pledge of just $300bn annually, with $1.3tn only a target. Damian tells Madeleine how negotiations unfolded, and what we can expect from next year’s conference in BrazilFind all the Guardian’s reporting on Cop29Support the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 19:03:13

‘No alternative’: is Rachel Reeves channelling Thatcher? – Politics Weekly Westminster

The Guardian’s Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey discuss how Rachel Reeves’s budget has upset businesses, as the annual CBI conference takes place. Plus, what is the government’s plan for the welfare state and getting Britain ‘back to work’? Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 14:03:43

How having babies became so political - video

The pronatalist movement in the US is gathering pace once again, rekindled by Silicon Valley personalities and hard-right conservatives who are becoming increasingly vocal about whether or not women are having enough babies. But it's not just in the US, some governments in other countries have launched marketing campaigns encouraging people to have more children, while others have offered financial incentives. But while many of these policies claim to be about halting population decline, there are other factors at play. Josh Toussaint-Strauss interrogates efforts around the world to boost birth rates, as well as the underlying political motivations, from bodily autonomy to immigrationBirthrates are plummeting worldwide. Can governments turn the tide?When desperate measures to persuade women to have children fail, it’s time for fresh thinking Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-21 12:33:44

Clashes in Pakistan as thousands march on capital demanding Imran Khan release – video

At least five police and paramilitary personnel have been killed and dozens of people injured in Pakistan as thousands of supporters of the jailed former prime minister Imran Khan forced their way through security barriers and entered the capital, Islamabad. Authorities have enforced a security lockdown in the capital for the last three days after Khan called for supporters of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to march on parliament for a sit-in demonstration to demand his release. PTI alleges that Khan is being held as a political prisoner. Voted out of power by parliament in 2022 after he fell out with Pakistan’s powerful military, Khan faces charges ranging from corruption to instigation of violence, all of which he and his party deny.Pakistan: five killed, dozens injured as Imran Khan supporters clash with security forces Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 08:59:12

Drone footage shows Delhi cloaked in thick haze of toxic smog – video

Pollution levels in the Indian capital have soared to their highest levels this year, forcing schools and offices to close and cloaking the city in thick brown smog. In some parts of the city, a live air quality ranking by IQAir put pollution levels at more than 30 times the maximum level deemed healthy. The catastrophic levels of pollution have led to numerous emergency measures, including most schools being closed and lessons moved online. The smog arrives annually as the weather in the north of India gets colder, trapping toxic pollutants from the tens of millions of cars on the road, as well as from rubbish fires, construction and factory emissions. Experts say the toxic air quality is reducing life expectancy in the city by an average of seven yearsPollution in Delhi hits record high, cloaking city in smog Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-22 11:51:49

'World's most expensive banana' fetches $US5.2m at auction – video

Maurizio Cattelan’s duct-taped ‘banana’ artwork fetches US$5.2m at Sotheby’s auction in New York. The artwork, titled Comedian, debuted in 2019 as an edition of three, where its US$120,000 price tag made headlines worldwide. Its new owner has purchased the banana through Sotheby's China office and will receive a banana, a roll of duct tape, a certificate of authenticity and instructions on how to install the work► Subscribe to Guardian Australia on YouTubeMaurizio Cattelan’s duct-taped banana artwork fetches US$5.2m at New York auction Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-21 01:57:07

Atacms: what are the missiles Ukraine has fired into Russia for the first time?

American and Ukrainian officials have confirmed Kyiv employed US-made Atacms missiles to strike targets within Russia. The Kremlin stated that six missiles were launched at the town of Karachev, with fragments from one reportedly causing a significant explosion.In response, Russia has announced it is adjusting its nuclear doctrine. The Kremlin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said Moscow would interpret any attack against it carried out by a non-nuclear state using weapons supplied by a nuclear state as a joint assault. But what exactly are Atacms, and why has their deployment unsettled Russia so deeply?Atacms: what are the missiles Ukraine has fired into Russia for first time?Russia-Ukraine war live Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-20 16:44:49

Vladimir Shklyarov: a look back at the career of the acclaimed Russian ballet dancer – video

Born in St Petersburg in 1985, Shklyarov joined the Mariinsky Theatre in 2003 and became its principal dancer – the highest-ranking position in a ballet company – in 2011. During his 20-year career, Shklyarov starred in productions of Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, The Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote and Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. He performed all over the world, including with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and the Royal Opera House in London. Shklyarov has died at the age of 39 after falling from the fifth floor of a building, a spokesperson for the Mariinsky Theatre told the news outlet FontankaVladimir Shklyarov, Russian ballet star, dies aged 39 after falling from building Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-18 13:17:09

How the unrest unfolded in Amsterdam – video timeline

Conflicting reports emerged after violence erupted in Amsterdam around a Uefa Europa League football match between the Dutch club Ajax and Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv. The Guardian has analysed footage posted across social media to try to construct a timeline and understand what led to the clashes. For 24 hours, tensions rose across the city in what the mayor, Femke Halsema, called a 'toxic cocktail of antisemitism, football hooliganism and anger over the war in Palestine and Israel and other parts of the Middle East'‘Toxic cocktail’ led to Amsterdam violence, mayor says Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-15 07:25:50

Pride and protest: a photographic history of the fight for LGBTQ+ rights

Images by Fred W McDarrah feature in a new exhibition that follows key moments of community and liberationThe Manhattan photographer Fred McDarrah came to prominence documenting the Beat movement that overtook Greenwich Village in the 1950s, capturing, among others, Jack Kerouac (who sat for a portrait in McDarrah’s apartment) and one of the earliest photos of a very young and unknown Bob Dylan. It was this portfolio that made his name at the Village Voice, where he would work for an astonishing 50 years, but toward the end of the 1960s McDarrah began to photograph an entirely new movement sweeping over the Village.In spring 1966 at Julius’s Bar, a short walk from the Stonewall Inn, four gay men – Dick Leitsch, Craig Rodwell, John Timmons and Randy Wicker – engaged in what they termed a “sip-in” in order to challenge a law that made it a prosecutable offense for one man to buy another a drink. It was one of the first salvos in the incipient gay rights movement, and McDarrah was there to see it, perfectly capturing the decisive moment when a bartender – collaborating with the group – placed his hand over the drinks and stated that it was against the law to serve the men. The image is a perfect distillation of the encounter, a moment when customer and bartender are exchanging deep, meaningful looks that say so much more than words. Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 09:04:05

‘Portal to space’: the place where astronauts take off and land – in pictures

Every three months in Kazakhstan, a trio of cosmonauts and astronauts head off to the International Space Station – then return in small capsules. What do the locals make of it? Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-26 07:00:03

Hungary’s most deprived people donate blood plasma to survive – photo essay

The UK-based Hungarian Roma documentary photographer Béla Váradi spent months photographing the lives of blood plasma donors after he realised several old friends saw payment for plasma donation as a way of getting byIn the rust belt of north-eastern Hungary, a new economy is thriving – one built on human blood. Private companies have found a way to profit from the desperation of the region’s most marginalised population, the Gypsies. For many, the act of donating blood plasma has become a lifeline, a grim means of survival in a landscape of chronic unemployment and deprivation.Miskolc, Hungary. One man prepares for plasma donation, while the other shows his bandaged arm Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 14:51:57

Pride parade in Rio and a sinkhole in Wales: photos of the day – Monday

The Guardian’s picture editors select photographs from around the world Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-25 13:50:34

The big picture: earthbound reality at the International Space Station landing site in Kazakhstan

Andrew McConnell’s shot of a young scrap collector at the remote spot where astronauts return from space captures a curious juxtapositionThe photographer Andrew McConnell first went to Kazakhstan in 2015, to witness what the Earth’s primary space portal looked like on the ground. A particular corner of the remote steppe-land, near a village called Kenjebai-Samai, was where, every three months, astronauts and cosmonauts on the International Space Station fell to earth, having been launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome 400 miles to the south. McConnell had spent much of the previous years working in war zones and was keen to focus on something more life-affirming.He discovered a curious landscape that was both on the frontier of human exploration and unchanged for centuries. Over a dozen visits in the subsequent years, McConnell became used to the rhythm of the landings. He would sleep out on the steppe in a tent with the ground crew of the Russian space agency; on hearing the explosion that heralded the capsule separating in the sky above, they would drive out over the wasteland to meet it as it landed – a vehicle no bigger than a family car.Some Worlds Have Two Suns by Andrew McConnell is published by Gost (£60) Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-24 07:00:04

A nostalgic photographic road trip across Australia – in pictures

When photographer Trent Mitchell was on the road looking for surf all over Australia he’d throw a couple of rolls of film in the bag and snap pictures here and there. He focused on scenes that reminded him of childhood road trips, ones he couldn’t get at home or had a surreal feeling to them.After collating the images into a fun zine-like exhibition catalogue, he realised there was a strong base to work from and the idea to publish a book was born.Maurizio Cattelan’s duct-taped banana artwork fetches US$5.2m at New York auction Continue reading...

Published: 2024-11-23 23:00:06

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