Qerro Media Service - QMS: February 2021

Tunisia main party rallies supporters, escalating government dispute

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/2PiLQ0m A rally of tens of thousands in Tunisia’s capital raises the spectre of competing protest movements.

Myanmar ramps up violent crackdown on anti-coup protesters

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/3uEqYRh Security forces use rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades, signalling growing intolerance of anti-coup protests.

Why Black History Month makes me feel like a failure

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/3dZqAal I feel I’m letting my ancestors down by how little I know about them, but I’m learning from those making history now.

Myanmar protesters clash with police as junta fires outspoken UN envoy

Security forces fire stun grenades and shots as pro-democracy demonstrators defy crackdown

Myanmar police have thrown stun grenades and fired into the air to disperse opponents of military rule, sustaining a sweeping crackdown which has seen the hundreds arrested in town and cites across the country.

The action to stamp out the protests came after state television announced that Myanmar’s UN envoy had been fired after he urged the United Nations to use “any means necessary” to reverse the 1 February coup that ousted elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/28/myanmar-protesters-clash-police-grenades-democracy-junta-fires-outspoken-un-envoy

NSW police officer bitten on face after man allegedly incited his dog to attack

Officer to undergo facial surgery after responding to a domestic violence call-out in Sydney’s south-west

A police officer will undergo facial surgery after a man allegedly incited his dog to savagely attack the sergeant during a call-out in Sydney overnight.

Police were called to an address in Georges Hall, near Bankstown, about 1:30am on Sunday following reports of a domestic-related incident.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/feb/28/nsw-police-officer-bitten-on-face-after-man-allegedly-incited-his-dog-to-attack

Kidnappers release 42 abducted from school in Nigeria

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/3sr7X2W Twenty-seven students, three school staff and 12 members of their families were abducted last week by an armed gang.

'I'm operating': doctor makes Zoom court appearance while in surgery

California medical board to investigate after plastic surgeon appeared at a virtual trial from an operating theatre

Medical authorities in California have said they will investigate a plastic surgeon who appeared in a videoconference for a traffic violation trial while operating.

The Sacramento Bee reported that Scott Green appeared for his trial at Sacramento superior court on Thursday, held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic, from an operating room.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/28/im-operating-doctor-makes-zoom-court-appearance-while-in-surgery

Pope Francis expects to remain pontiff until his death

In a new book, Francis says he expects to die in Rome, not his native Argentina, either as ‘active or emeritus’ pope

Pope Francis expects to die in Rome, still the Catholic pontiff, without returning to spend his final days in his native Argentina, according to a new book titled The Health of Popes.

In an interview granted to Argentinian journalist and physician Nelson Castro at the Vatican in February 2019, the pope said he thinks about death, but does not fear it.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/28/pope-francis-expects-to-remain-pontiff-until-his-death

Ex-staffer Rachelle Miller to bring workplace lawsuit against ministers Tudge and Cash

Miller alleges bullying when media adviser while she and Tudge were in consensual affair, and during employment with Cash

Former Liberal staffer Rachelle Miller has engaged lawyers to bring a workplace harassment suit against the now education minister, Alan Tudge, and employment minister, Michaelia Cash.

The suit, to be run by Gordon Legal, relates to Miller’s allegations she was bullied when working as a senior media adviser while she and Tudge engaged in a consensual affair, and during her subsequent employment with Cash.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/feb/28/ex-staffer-rachelle-miller-to-bring-workplace-lawsuit-against-ministers-tudge-and-cash

Amnesty report describes Axum massacre in Ethiopia’s Tigray

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
An Amnesty International report says soldiers from Eritrea systematically killed “many hundreds” of people, the large majority men, in a massacre in late November in the Ethiopian city of Axum
Originally posted here: https://ift.tt/2NJp15m

‘Hold MBS accountable’: World reacts to US Khashoggi report

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/3q2ZxNo Calls for ‘accountability’ grow as US report finds Khashoggi killed by Saudi hit squad operating under command of MBS.

Second ex-aide accuses Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment

Move prompts New York governor to request independent investigation into allegations

A second woman has come forward to accuse New York governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment in a move that has prompted the under-fire Democrat to launch an independent investigation into the allegations.

Charlotte Bennett, who was an executive assistant and health policy adviser in the Cuomo administration until November, told The New York Times that he had harassed her last spring, during the height of New York’s fight against the coronavirus – which Cuomo led and which at the time gave him an international reputation for good leadership.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/28/second-ex-aide-accuses-andrew-cuomo-of-sexual-harassment

Coronavirus live news: US approves Johnson & Johnson vaccine; Auckland starts second lockdown in a month

Australian state of Victoria reports zero new cases; Auckland seven-day lockdown begins; UK records lowest cases in five months

1.25am GMT

The US Justice Department said on Saturday it will appeal a judge’s ruling that the nationwide eviction moratorium during the Covid pandemic is unlawful, Reuters reports.

The measure authorised by Congress and issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention covers most residential evictions in an effort to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. A federal judge in Texas ruled on Thursday that Congress did not have the power to authorise the moratorium under the US Constitution.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton said in a statement in addition to the health benefits, the moratorium “protects many renters who cannot make their monthly payments due to job loss or health care expenses.”

Siding with a group of landlords and property owners challenging the evictions freeze, US District Judge J Campbell Barker ruled Congress exceeded its authority under two provisions of the Constitution.

Boynton noted that the judge’s ruling only applies to the plaintiffs who sued in that particular case meaning that the moratorium remains in effect everywhere else.

The moratorium order was issued in September under President Donald Trump and extended on 21 January, the day after President Joe Biden took office, to run at least another two months.

1.15am GMT

More than 20 million people in the UK have received at least a first dose of coronavirus vaccine, with under 4% of those given as second doses.

Government data shows that of the 20.5m jabs given in the UK up to 26 February, 19.6m were first doses.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2021/feb/28/coronavirus-live-news-us-approves-johnson-johnson-vaccine-auckland-starts-second-lockdown-in-a-month

Historical rape claim against current minister a 'test' for PM, Albanese says

Labor leader says Scott Morrison must satisfy himself ‘the current make-up of the cabinet can continue’

Anthony Albanese has said a historical rape allegation against a current cabinet minister is a “test” for Scott Morrison, who must satisfy himself it is appropriate for the man to continue in his current position.

While agreeing that police were best to investigate the complaint of sexual assault, which allegedly occurred in 1988, the Labor leader argued on Sunday that Morrison must separately “assure himself … the current make-up of the cabinet can continue”.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/feb/28/historical-claim-against-current-minister-a-test-for-pm-albanese-says

Australia: The battle to get Big Tech to pay for news

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/3dTpFIo A new Australian law looks to reset Big Tech’s relationship with news media.

Rape scandal at the heart of Australia's parliament leaves PM exposed

Usually media-savvy Scott Morrison has been unable to find his footing dealing with the fallout of an alleged assault inside a minister’s office

Scott Morrison, the Australian prime minister, prides himself on his ability to shape media narratives. A former advertising executive, he is used to controlling the message. But over the past two weeks one story has refused to bend to his will and exposed a weak spot: women.

Morrison is struggling to manage growing anger over the handling of a young staffer’s rape allegation, the parliamentary culture at large, and how women working within it are treated.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/feb/26/scandal-at-the-heart-of-australias-parliament-leaves-pm-exposed

BBC’s Sonja McLaughlan reveals online abuse over Owen Farrell interview

Six Nations reporter targeted after Wales v England
McLaughlan: ‘In my car crying ... Hope you’re happy’

Sonja McLaughlan, the BBC rugby reporter, was the target of online abuse following the live broadcast of England’s 40-24 Six Nations defeat to Wales in Cardiff.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/feb/27/bbcs-sonja-mclaughlan-reveals-online-abuse-over-owen-farrell-interview

Nearly 20m receive first dose of Covid vaccine in the UK

Government data shows 19.6m get first jab and up to 770,000 inoculated a second time

More than 20 million people in the UK have received at least a first dose of coronavirus vaccine, with under 4% of those given as second doses.

Government data shows that of the 20.5m jabs given in the UK up to 26 February, 19.6m were first doses.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/feb/27/nearly-20m-receive-first-dose-of-covid-vaccine-in-the-uk

‘It’s a funeral march’: French artist JR’s powerful eulogy for Australia's Murray-Darling

Exclusive: The street artist’s latest work saw 60 people parade through Lake Cawndilla in NSW, holding aloft enormous portraits of local farmers and leaders as they fight to save Australia’s vital river system

The mood around Lake Cawndilla in western New South Wales on Saturday is funereal but defiant, as a procession of around 60 locals parade through scrub and sand around its banks.

They carry between them a series of 30m-long cloth figures: three local citrus farmers and prominent Baakandji artist William Badger Bates.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/feb/28/its-a-funeral-march-french-artist-jrs-powerful-homily-for-australias-murray-darling

Old-school Stellantis car factories gear up for the shock of electric

Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port plant is one of many whose future lies in the hands of the merged auto giant

Carlos Tavares is an unashamed petrolhead, with a rally-racing hobby that harks back to an earlier automotive age. Yet carmakers like Stellantis, which he leads, and its rivals have had to set aside affection for roaring internal combustion engines as environmental rules set the limits for the industry.

Stellantis was formed in January in a €50bn (£43bn) merger between France’s Peugeot and Italian-American Fiat Chrysler, in one of the clearest responses to the Tesla-driven electric revolution: the merger will allow them to share expensive investments in battery technology.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/feb/28/stellantis-old-school-car-factories-gear-up-for-the-shock-of-electric

Rings of steel: dog owners buy metal collars to deter thieves

Spate of audacious and often violent robberies leads to boom in sales of high-security animal accessories

A spate of dognapping in recent months has led to growing numbers of owners buying lockable, steel-core collars and leads that cannot be severed by bolt cutters as they walk their pets.

Dog theft has risen as animals available to buy have become scarcer since the pandemic began. The average cost of a puppy doubled to nearly £1,900 last year, and some breeds are worth more than £6,000.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/feb/27/rings-of-steel-dog-owners-buy-metal-collars-to-deter-thieves

Qerro Media Services's Post

Feb. 27, 2021

Day 31 of Hunger Strike

Jawar Mohammed, Bekele Gerba, Hamza Borana and other Oromo political prisoners are on the 31st day of their hunger strike in Kaliti Federal Prison. They are all in critical condition.

DEMANDS:

1. Release All Oromo Political Prisoners.

2. Allow Oromo political party offices to be opened and to operate fully.

3. End mistreatment of families of political prisoners while they visit their loved ones at Kaliti Prison and elsewhere.
_
By: via Qerro Media Services

Why Norway’s plan for deep-sea mining could wreck the environment

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/3bNjPp8 Norway could license companies for seabed mining by 2023 to meet demand for batteries, wind turbines and solar energy.

Timeline of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/2ZXxa94 A US intelligence report sheds new light of the murder of Khashoggi by Saudi agents in October of 2018.

Three families, one sperm donor: the day we met our daughter’s sisters

Every year, thousands of British children are conceived with the help of donor sperm. But few ever meet their siblings...

Caroline Pearson, a podcast producer from London, was a few days into her maternity leave when she discovered that her unborn daughter had two sisters. She had visited a website a friend had told her about, which allows recipients of donated sperm (such as her) to search for families who have used the same donor. If they’ve registered with this website, they could be anywhere in the world, since the US sperm bank chosen by Pearson and her husband, Francis, ships internationally, and the website, Donor Sibling Registry (DSR), is also US-based with an international reach. Pearson couldn’t resist, and typed in the donor’s reference number.

“Suddenly, I was overwhelmingly curious,” Pearson says. She didn’t expect to find anything – let alone two families living within a half-hour radius. The first profile was a single mother to a two-year-old girl, living nearby in London. It seemed an extraordinary coincidence. Caroline was “totally giddy”; her partner Francis, a photographer, was cautious. “I tried to rein things in,” he says. “Caroline was pregnant and we were already dealing with becoming parents, and the donor process. But all this other stuff, it was so unknown. I’m practical and you think: yes, that could be amazing – but what if they’re awful people?”

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source https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/feb/27/three-families-one-sperm-donor-siblings-meeting

House approves $1.9tn Covid aid bill despite minimum wage setback

Relief bill represents Biden first big legislative win but wage hike proposal to be removed from Senate version

The US House of Representatives has passed Joe Biden’s $1.9tn coronavirus aid bill in his first major legislative victory.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/26/joe-biden-coronavirus-stimulus-bill-aid-package

Can PM Pashinyan survive the political crisis in Armenia?

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/37UpjNL Pashinyan has accused the army of attempted coup and is resisting calls to resign.

Cabinet minister rape claim: victim’s friend says she wants alleged perpetrator ‘sacked’

Simon Birmingham rejects suggestion unnamed minister at centre of allegations should stand aside

As pressure builds on Scott Morrison to investigate allegations of a historical rape levelled against one of his cabinet ministers, a woman who had known the victim for 30 years has come out to say she “absolutely, 100% believes” her friend.

New South Wales police have confirmed the alleged victim reported the incident to them in February 2020, and the allegations have also been forwarded to the Australian federal police.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/feb/27/cabinet-minister-claim-victims-friend-says-she-wants-alleged-perpetrator-sacked

Blind date: ‘I never once attempted to check the football scores’

Ken, 60, sales director, meets Shelley, 63, Spanish interpreter

What were you hoping for?
A great conversation with a view to possibilities.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/feb/27/blind-date-ken-shelley

What’s worse than discovering a mouse problem? Half a mouse problem

I imagine a thriving mouse community going about its business behind the plaster, with an occasional member stopping to say, ‘I think I hear someone typing out there’

The oldest one is complaining about a mouse that he says lives in his bedroom.

“It scrabbles about under the floorboards,” he says. “It sounds big.”

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source https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/feb/27/tim-dowling-whats-worse-than-a-mouse-problem

What will be in Rishi Sunak's 2021 budget?

Expect measures to help economic recovery but watch out for capital gains tax and other tax rises

Rishi Sunak’s budget on 3 March is set to unveil a range of measures to help support the recovery of the UK economy, but tax rises are in the offing too. Here is what we can expect.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/27/what-will-be-in-rishi-sunaks-2021-budget

IAG reports $8.3bn loss, supports COVID vaccination certificates

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/2ZSnrRn IAG backed calls for digital health certificates to be issued to people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19.

With VPNs and fancy dress, Myanmar youth fight 'turning back of the clock'

For a generation used to freedoms that have come with democracy, going back to military rule is unthinkable

In the searing afternoon sun, Myo, 21, stood in front of a police barricade near Yangon’s Sule Pagoda – one of just a handful of protesters to gather at the rallying point on Wednesday. He stood alone, a towel wrapped around his neck to soak up the sweat, and held a sign that read “humanity” in front of the officers.

“The military took away my future,” said the digital artist. “My work can no longer pay me. This country had barely started trying to develop and now it’s 2021. I don’t know what made them think they should stage a coup.”

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/27/with-vpns-and-fancy-dress-myanmar-youth-fight-turning-back-of-the-clock

MBS approved operation to capture or kill Khashoggi: US report

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/3r1M9dM Long-awaited US intelligence report bases the assessment on the Crown Prince’s control of decisionmaking.

Lady Gaga's bulldogs returned unharmed after kidnapping

Dogs were dropped off at a police station in Los Angeles, while dog walker shot in the attack is recovering

Two French bulldogs belonging to Lady Gaga that were stolen at gunpoint earlier this week have been recovered unharmed, police in Los Angeles have said.

A woman brought the dogs to the LAPD’s Olympic community police station on Friday evening, said Jonathan Tippett, commanding officer of the robbery-homicide division.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/27/lady-gagas-bulldogs-returned-unharmed-after-kidnapping

Myanmar envoy urges UN to use ‘any means necessary’ to stop coup

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/3dRCdQr Ambassador appeals to UN to provide safety, security for Myanmar people as police crack down on anti-coup protesters.

The trouble with boys: what lies behind the flood of teenage sexual assault stories?

Young women are being failed by a society that seems unable – or unwilling – to address rape culture and its grave consequences

Page after page after page. Story after story after story: hundreds of them. Stories of boys raping girls, boys forcing girls to perform oral sex, boys anally raping girls, boys assaulting their girlfriends, boys assaulting girls who are unconscious, sharing the stories and the images and the videos with their friends. In one case, uploading illicitly-taken videos to a widely available porn website. Some girls are as young as 13. The boys are their peers.

These stories coalesced into a litany of horror over the past week as part of a petition started by former Sydney schoolgirl Chanel Contos, now 23, in an effort to convince the school principals of elite private schools in Sydney to implement consent education earlier and better.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/feb/27/the-trouble-with-boys-what-lies-behind-the-flood-of-teenage-sexual-assault-stories

Victoria bans single-use plastics by 2023 to slash amount going to landfill

Environment minister Lily D’Ambrosio says single-use plastics such as straws and plastic cups make up a third of the state’s litter

Victoria has become the third Australian jurisdiction to ban single-use plastics, including polystyrene containers, straws, cutlery, plates and plastic cotton bud sticks.

On Saturday the environment minister, Lily D’Ambrosio, announced a phase-out and ban of specific single-use plastics by 2023, including at bars, cafes and restaurants, in a bid to reduce the amount of plastic waste that goes to landfill each year.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/feb/27/victoria-bans-single-use-plastics-by-2023-to-slash-amount-going-to-landfill

Thousands of Algerian protesters march for second time this week

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/3pWM75x Security forces used truncheons and fired tear gas at demonstrators in the capital, Algiers.

Tribal conflict worsens in Papua New Guinea as firearms rewrite the rules

Land dispute in which 21 people died is the latest brutal conflict exacerbated by high-powered weapons, weak governance and erosion of traditional mores

At the height of the killing, women and children hid in the dense forests nearby or took shelter in homes in neighbouring villages. More than 6,000 people sought refuge as murderous mobs rampaged across three villages in Papua New Guinea’s Hela province, seeking retribution over a land dispute.

At the end of weeks of indiscriminate, roiling violence this month, 21 people were dead, including a woman and two girls, and dozens were more wounded.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/27/tribal-conflict-worsens-in-papua-new-guinea-as-firearms-rewrite-the-rules

Prison director and gang leader among 25 killed in Haitian jailbreak

Notorious gangster Arnel Joseph shot dead at police checkpoint after more than 400 inmates escape in country’s biggest breakout for 10 years

More than 400 inmates have escaped and 25 people have died in a prison breakout in Haiti, authorities say, making it the country’s largest and deadliest one in a decade. A prison director and a powerful gang leader were among those killed.

The breakout at Croix-des-Bouquets prison on the outskirts of the capital Port-au-Prince on Thursday was believed to be an attempt to free gang leader Arnel Joseph, who had been Haiti’s most wanted fugitive until his 2019 arrest on charges including rape, kidnapping and murder.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/27/prison-director-and-gang-leader-among-25-killed-in-haitian-jailbreak

Cattle stranded on ship in Spain must be destroyed, say vets

Spanish officials recommend 864 cows that have been at sea for two months are no longer fit for transport

More than 850 cows that have spent months aboard a ship wandering across the Mediterranean are no longer fit for transport anymore and should be killed, according to a confidential report by Spanish government veterinarians.

The cows have been kept in what an animal rights activist called “hellish” conditions on the Karim Allah, which docked in the south-eastern Spanish port of Cartagena on Thursday after struggling for two months to find a buyer for the cattle.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/27/cattle-stranded-on-ship-in-mediterranean-must-be-destroyed-say-vets

The value of ‘digital gold’: What is bitcoin actually worth?

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/3uyO4J4 Will investing in cryptocurrencies make you rich or just drain your digital wallet? Here’s what to know.

Victoria eases coronavirus restrictions after recording zero new Covid-19 cases

Queensland border reopened to greater Melbourne as New South Wales reports no new cases for 41st consecutive day

The Queensland border has been reopened to greater Melbourne, after the region was declared a hotspot on 13 February following a Covid-19 outbreak at the Holiday Inn quarantine hotel in the city.

It means travellers can enter Queensland without a border pass or quarantining, with Victoria recording no new cases of community transmitted coronavirus on Saturday as restrictions were again eased.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/27/victoria-eases-coronavirus-restrictions-after-recording-zero-new-covid-19-cases

Canada approves AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 shot in boost to campaign

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/3r0o7Qx Canada has ordered 20 million doses of the vaccine from AstraZeneca and is due to receive 1.9 million doses from COVAX.

Ivory Coast becomes second country to receive vaccines via COVAX

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/3sxCLPq Vaccination drive to begin on Monday after 504,000 doses arrive through the vaccine-sharing programme.

Prosecutors digging into Trump’s tax and financial records

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/3krIyn6 Manhattan district attorney finally gets Trump tax documents, but that doesn’t mean they will become public.

Woman who set herself on fire in Lesbos refugee camp may face arson charges

Pregnant Afghan woman, who has not been named, forced to give testimony to a prosecutor from her hospital bed

A pregnant Afghan woman who was severely injured after setting herself on fire in a refugee camp on Lesbos has been forced to give testimony to a prosecutor from her hospital bed as Greek authorities explore potential arson charges against her.

The 26-year-old woman, who has not been named, had been granted asylum by Greek authorities and had been scheduled to fly to Germany with other recognised refugees last week. But officials said doctors had advised against her making the journey because she was in the final stage of pregnancy.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/26/woman-who-set-herself-on-fire-in-lesbos-refugee-camp-may-face-arson-charges

High hopes: drones join fight to save New Zealand’s rarest dolphin

Numbers of Māui dolphins have been slashed by fishing and other threats, with only an estimated 63 adults remaining in the wild

The lives of New Zealand’s smallest and most endangered dolphins will soon become less elusive as drones take to the skies to study their location, habits and numbers.

Māui dolphins are a subspecies of the Hector’s dolphin and are one of the rarest dolphins in the world, living in a small stretch of ocean off the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/26/high-hopes-drones-join-fight-to-save-new-zealands-rarest-dolphin

Honduran president says US drug probe threatens cooperation

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/3bE4CGU US prosecutors say Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez accepted a bribe from Mexican drug lord ‘El Chapo’.

Hi Mom: comedy about death and parenthood becomes one of China's biggest film hits

Written by and starring comedian Jia Ling, the film has started a conversation about mother’s love and women’s identity

A Chinese comedian’s directoral debut about a woman who travels back in time to see her dead mother has become the fourth highest grossing film in the country’s history and the highest ever for a female director.

Jia Ling’s Hi Mom opened a fortnight ago and has drawn ticket sales of more than 4.5bn RMB ($700m US), according to box office tracker Maoyan. It is the fastest any Chinese movie has sold that much, the tracker said.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/26/hi-mom-comedy-about-death-and-parenthood-becomes-one-of-chinas-biggest-film-hits

‘Bizarre’: Spin dominates as India thrash England in 3rd Test

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/2P9tPkV Spinners take 28 out of 30 wickets to fall as tourists handed two-day hammering at world’s biggest cricket stadium.

Lawyer for Britney Spears' father responds to fans over conservatorship

Father Jamie Spears ‘saved Britney’s life’ says lawyer in response to the #FreeBritney movement that has advocated for the pop star

Fans of Britney Spears who believe her father should be ousted from his role overseeing her conservatorship “have it so wrong”, his lawyer has said.

The pop star’s finances and personal affairs have been controlled since 2008 by a contentious legal agreement that has given her father, Jamie Spears, control over her estate, career and other aspects of her personal life.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/feb/25/britney-spears-jaime-spears-conservatorship-lawyer

Billie Eilish: The World's A Little Blurry review – a fascinating look at an artist and idol

RJ Cutler’s two-hour-plus Apple documentary on the pop phenom reveals an exceptional artist grappling with both superstar fame and lame parent jokes

By age 19, the singer Billie Eilish has reached heights of fame and success that feel both otherworldly and familiar, carried by the same tides of generational mega-popularity that have buoyed such teen music idols as Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus before her, but with a Gen Z twist. It’s Eilish publicity canon that the then-15-year-old rocketed to social media fame after her older brother and co-producer, Finneas, posted a song they recorded for her dance class, Ocean Eyes, to Soundcloud, that they recorded her smash debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? in his childhood bedroom, that the two MaGyver everyday sounds – a dentist’s drill, the slurp of Eilish’s Invisalign retainer – into songs that garner billions of streams.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/feb/25/billie-eilish-the-worlds-a-little-blurry-review-a-fascinating-look-at-an-artist-and-idol

Meme stock frenzy: GameStop roars again with $5.9bn surge

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/3bHH4RC AMC Entertainment, Koss Corp, and Nokia Oyj also gained as retail traders revived the surge in Reddit-treasured stocks.

'This is historic': Malaysian man wins appeal against Islamic gay sex charge

Unanimous decision by highest court hailed a step towards acceptance of LGBT+ people

A Malaysian man has won a landmark court challenge against an Islamic ban on sex “against the order of nature”, raising hopes for greater acceptance of gay rights in the mostly Muslim country.

In a unanimous decision, Malaysia’s top court ruled on Thursday that the Islamic provision used against the man was unconstitutional and authorities had no power to enact the law.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/26/this-is-historic-malaysian-man-wins-appeal-against-islamic-gay-sex-charge

Twitter to launch paid 'super follow' function that lets users charge for content

Social media network also announces ‘Spaces’, a Clubhouse competitor that lets users participate in audio chats

Twitter has announced it will launch a “super follow” feature, which lets users charge followers for access to exclusive content, later this year.

The move comes as Twitter is branching out from advertising to find more ways to make money — both for itself and for its most prolific users.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/feb/26/twitter-to-launch-paid-super-follow-function-that-lets-users-charge-for-content

Two dead, hundreds arrested in Niger’s post-election violence

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/3kpip8g Violence erupted after former interior minister Mohamed Bazoum was declared winner of Sunday’s runoff vote.

US carried out airstrikes against Iran-backed militia in Syria

Operation, which was approved by Joe Biden, comes after a series of attacks against US targets in Iraq

The United States has carried out airstrikes in Syria targeting facilities near the Iraqi border used by Iranian-backed militia groups.

The Pentagon said the strikes were retaliation for a rocket attack in Iraq earlier this month that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a US service member and other coalition troops.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/25/us-airstrike-syria-iran-militia

Elephant kills Spanish zookeeper with one hit from trunk

Man was cleaning stables when he was hit by female, knocking his head against bars of enclosure

A zoo worker in Spain has died after he was struck by an elephant’s trunk, knocking his head against the bars of an enclosure, the zoo and local officials said.

The female elephant weighing around 4,000kg (8,800lb) hit the 44-year-old with her trunk on Wednesday morning at the Cabarceno Natural Park near the northern city of Santander, the zoo said. The man was rushed to hospital where he died from his injuries some three hours later.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/26/elephant-kills-spanish-zookeeper-with-one-blow-from-trunk

Words matter: how New Zealand's clear messaging helped beat Covid

One year on from the nation’s first case of coronavirus, Aotearoa has largely eliminated the virus - communications played a key part in its success

“Stay at home. Protect the NHS. Save lives.” The catch cry of pandemic Britain under Boris Johnson, revived last month, might sound familiar to New Zealanders now enjoying their “unstoppable summer”.

Johnson’s three-part slogan reportedly derived last March from a suggestion by Ben Guerin, a 25-year-old Kiwi who advised on the Conservatives’ social media strategy. His attention had been caught by a phrase that was increasingly prevalent in Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s messaging back home: “Stay at home, save lives.”

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/26/words-matter-how-new-zealands-clear-messaging-helped-beat-covid

Georgia counties sue Trump over failed election challenges

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/2O2OIxw Two counties in Georgia ask for over $15k in legal fees related to lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign.

Male lyrebirds resort to artful deception in the pursuit of procreation

Males use vocal trickery to fool females into thinking a threat is lurking, giving them time to sow their genetic seeds

Male lyrebirds in the throes of sexual union will mimic the sound of a distressed mob of other birds to fool their mate and stop her from escaping, new research from Australia has found.

The remarkable discovery was made after analysing audio and video of superb lyrebirds – a species known for extravagant dance routines and an ability to imitate the calls of more than 20 other species.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/26/male-lyrebirds-resort-to-artful-deception-in-the-pursuit-of-procreation

Thames Water hopes to harness human 'poo power' to heat homes

Company says sewage plan would avoid 105,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over 30 years

Thousands of homes in south-west London could soon be warmed by the waste from their local sewage works as part of England’s first poo-powered district heating scheme.

Thames Water hopes to harness the heat of human waste from its treatment plant in Kingston upon Thames to warm more than 2,000 new homes that form part of a regeneration plan for the borough’s Cambridge Road estate.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/feb/26/thames-water-hopes-to-harness-human-poo-power-to-heat-homes

Vanuatu coronavirus vaccine rollout to take until end of 2023

The majority of the Pacific nation’s population won’t be immunised for another two years, government planning documents show

Despite a tourism-dependent economy devastated by coronavirus shutdowns, Vanuatu’s Covid-19 vaccination programme will not inoculate most of its population until the end of 2023.

According to the ministry of health’s national deployment and vaccination plan, the first shots will be administered in April this year, but only the most vulnerable 20% of the population will get a jab in the first phase.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/26/vanuatu-coronavirus-vaccine-rollout-to-take-until-end-of-2023

Australia is the Covid lucky country. But we risk becoming cruel | Brigid Delaney

When you emerge relatively unscathed in a devastated world, there is a risk of being out of step, of lacking empathy

Most mornings, as soon I wake, I retrieve some voice messages left overnight on WhatsApp. Sent from friends in the Northern hemisphere, they are missives from the pandemic, a granular account of what daily life is like in lockdown over there.

For almost a year now, various friends and I record and send audio messages back and forth that contain the sort of ephemera that seems too slight and unimportant for email but satisfying to listen to in the morning as I have my first coffee.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/feb/26/australia-is-once-again-the-lucky-country-but-if-we-cant-feel-the-virus-pain-beyond-our-shores-we-are-simply-cruel

Massacre by Eritrean troops in Ethiopia’s Tigray region may constitute crime against humanity, Amnesty says

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
Eritrean troops “went on a rampage and systematically killed hundreds of civilians in cold blood."
Originally posted here: https://ift.tt/3aV5GHp

Amnesty report describes Axum massacre in Ethiopia’s Tigray

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
A new Amnesty International report says soldiers from Eritrea systematically killed “many hundreds” of people, the large majority men, in a massacre in late November in the Ethiopian city of Axum
Originally posted here: https://ift.tt/3pWUONe

‘Anarchist jurisdictions’ no more: Biden revokes Trump’s order

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/3uxFWZc Biden reverses order saying cities like Portland and Seattle are ‘anarchist’ havens, blocking them from federal funds.

Heavy snow blankets parts of Greece as cold front hits country

Temperature drops to as low as -19C, with strong winds disrupting shipping in the Aegean Sea

There was widespread snowfall in Greece last week as a cold front plunged southwards across the country. The snow in Athens on Monday was the heaviest since February 2008, blanketing landmarks such as the Acropolis. Florina in northern Greece recorded a minimum temperature of -19.0C. Strong winds accompanied the cold weather, with gusts of over 60mph (97kmph) across the Aegean Sea, resulting in disruption to shipping.

Meanwhile, heavy monsoon rains in Indonesia have caused severe flooding around the capital, Jakarta. Flood waters were about 1.8 metres (6ft) deep in parts of the city, with more than 1,300 people forced to evacuate. The Philippines also suffered flooding as Tropical Storm Dujuan approached at the weekend. More than 50,000 people were evacuated from some southern and central parts of the country before the storm made landfall on Monday.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/weather/2021/feb/25/heavy-snow-blankets-parts-of-greece-as-cold-front-hits-country

California vaccine sites see misuse of codes meant to prioritize Black and Latino residents

Intended as a tool to address distribution inequities, the codes were passed around by text and email, sometimes with misinformation

Access codes meant to give Californians of color priority access to Covid-19 vaccine slots have been getting passed around among other residents in the state, allowing some to cut the line and get appointments meant for underserved Black and Latino residents.

Misuse of these codes was reported at vaccine sites in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, said Brian Ferguson, spokesperson for the California office of emergency services, to the Guardian.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/24/california-coronavirus-vaccine-black-latino

Decrease in gender pay gap partly due to more men in lower-paid work

Data does not reflect structural changes to women’s position in the workforce and gap could increase in post-Covid world, equality advocate says

The national gender pay gap has narrowed slightly to 13.4% for full-time employees, a decline of 0.6 percentage points over the past six months, the federal Workplace Gender Equality Agency announced on Thursday.

The figure has been calculated from the latest average weekly earnings data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The gender pay gap equates to a $242.20-a-week difference on average between the amount women and men make.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/feb/25/decrease-in-gender-pay-gap-partly-due-to-more-men-in-lower-paid-work

Could COVID ‘vaccine certificates’ lead to discrimination?

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/2ZPLuQU Documents proving vaccination against COVID-19 pose ethical questions.

GameStop shares surge more than 100% as trading frenzy returns

Investors are puzzled about why the stock favoured by home-based investors soared by 104%, and then 85% after hours

GameStop shares more than doubled in afternoon trading on Wednesday, surprising those who thought the video game retailer’s stock price would stabilise after a fierce rally and steep dive that upended Wall Street in January.

The shares soared nearly 104% during the session in which trading was halted several times, then jumped another 85% after hours.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/feb/25/gamestop-shares-surge-more-than-100-as-trading-frenzy-returns

'Unique' petrified tree up to 20m years old found intact in Lesbos

Discovery of 19.5-metre tree with roots, branches and leaves is unprecedented, say experts

First came the tree, all 19.5 metres of it, with roots and branches and leaves. Then, weeks later, the discovery of 150 fossilised logs, one on top of the other, a short distance away.

Nikolas Zouros, a professor of geology at the University of the Aegean, couldn’t believe his luck. In 25 years of excavating the petrified forest of Lesbos, he had unearthed nothing like it.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/25/unique-petrified-tree-up-to-20m-years-old-found-intact-in-lesbos

'No cheering': Tokyo Olympics fans asked to stick to clapping during torch relay

Covid restrictions means event could be suspended if crowds lining route become too large, organising committee warns

People who turn out to catch a glimpse of the Olympic torch during its journey through Japan from the end of next month will be asked to applaud rather than cheer passing runners, and the event could be suspended if crowds lining the relay route grow too large.

The unusual provisions for the relay - the main precursor to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics - are another sign of the difficulties organisers face as they attempt to carry off an event involving tens of thousands of athletes, officials and journalists in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/feb/25/no-cheering-tokyo-olympics-fans-asked-to-stick-to-clapping-during-torch-relay

‘Deadly sea crossings’: 41 migrants drown in the Mediterranean

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/2Mmjotd Shipwreck was latest along central Mediterranean route where 118 migrants died this year and over 17,000 since 2014.

Biden to sign order tackling chip shortage amid automaker woes

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/37LhB8w A semiconductor chip shortage, exacerbated by the COVID pandemic, has hit US automakers hard and forced plant closures.

Biden reverses Trump actions on green cards, architecture and 'anarchist jurisdictions'

Move undoes actions that blocked many immigrants from entering the US and sought to cut funding to cities Trump deemed ‘lawless’

Joe Biden has formally reversed a series of executive actions taken by Donald Trump, including a proclamation that blocked many green card applicants from entering the United States.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/24/joe-biden-reverses-executive-actions-donald-trump-legacy

Oxfam GB released from supervision by watchdog after Haiti scandal reforms

Charity made changes after 2019 earthquake response report found allegations of child sexual misconduct by staff weren’t properly investigated

Oxfam will no longer be subject to strict supervision by the charity watchdog following “significant” reforms prompted by a 2019 report into conduct by its staff after the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

The Charity Commission for England and Wales found allegations that staff working in disaster zones sexually abused children were not fully disclosed, with the watchdog also citing a “culture of poor behaviour” among Oxfam GB staff sent to help victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/25/oxfam-gb-released-from-supervision-by-watchdog-after-haiti-scandal-reforms

Turkey's mobsters step out of shadows and into public sphere

After decades in hiding, in prison or keeping low profile, players from a bloody period in the country’s history are now seen as ‘folk idols’ by the Turkish right

At first glance, the photograph of two smartly dressed older Turkish men, posing for the camera in an office filled with flags, could be of any important figures in the country – but it is rare for a picture to say so much about both the past and the future.

On the left is Devlet Bahçeli, an ultranationalist political dinosaur who has in the past few years become an influential coalition partner in the government of Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/25/turkeys-mobsters-step-out-of-shadows-and-into-public-sphere

Bitcoin buy-in: MicroStrategy pours $1bn more into cryptocurrency

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/3uvmahe The business intelligence firm said it now owns close to 90,531 bitcoins and will continue to buy more.

Over a dozen killed in latest attacks blamed on notorious militia

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/3dKmant Deaths bring the number of civilians killed by armed groups in Beni since November 2019 to at least 1,013.

Sailor survives for 14 hours in Pacific Ocean by clinging to abandoned buoy

Vidam Perevertilov, a supply ship engineer, fell overboard between New Zealand and the isolated British territory of Pitcairn

A sailor who fell overboard from a supply ship in the Pacific Ocean at 4am spent more than 14 hours clinging to an old fishing buoy before being rescued.

Alone in the middle of the ocean, and without a lifejacket, at dawn he chose to swim towards a black speck on the horizon, a decision that would ultimately save his life.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/25/sailor-survives-for-14-hours-in-pacific-ocean-by-clinging-to-abandoned-buoy

New Zealand police reveal student binge drinking strategy: more pubs

Officers in Dunedin say having a few large pubs would place students into a ‘controlled environment’

It’s an unusual request from police: more pubs.

But officers in a South Island city renowned for student recklessness and couch burning say they wish more drinking holes would open, as it helps them manage the revellers.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/25/new-zealand-police-reveal-student-binge-drinking-strategy-more-pubs

Mammoth woolly: Baarack the overgrown sheep shorn of his 35kg fleece

Escaped merino ram found on the lam in regional Australia is said to be recovering well

A rogue overgrown sheep found roaming through regional Australia has been shorn of his 35kg fleece – a weight even greater than that of the famous New Zealand sheep Shrek, who was captured in 2005 after six years on the loose.

The merino ram, dubbed Baarack by rescuers, was discovered wandering alone with an extraordinarily overgrown wool coat, and was promptly shorn to save his life.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/feb/25/mammoth-woolly-baarack-the-overgrown-sheep-shorn-of-his-35kg-fleece

Facebook to invest $1bn in news business after Australia dispute

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/3dKdrli Facebook restored Australian news pages Tuesday after an unprecedented week-long blackout sparked by a proposed law.

Coronavirus live news: Pfizer vaccine found 94% effective in major study; EU states split over vaccine passports

Israeli researchers took data from 1.2 million people for Pfizer study; EU leaders to debate certificates for people who had Covid jabs; Toronto cancels outdoor events through July

12.13am GMT

Canada’s largest city Toronto is cancelling all large in-person, city-permitted outdoor events through July as the country seeks to stave off a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reports.

The city of Toronto announced Wednesday it is extending an existing cancellation of outdoor events, including the annual Pride Parade, which will be a virtual event, and 1 July Canada Day celebrations, which tend to cap off mid-summer festivities.

The announcement does not include professional sporting events, which need permission from provincial and federal governments in addition to Toronto Public Health.

“I want to thank all of these organisations for understanding the need to avoid large in-person gatherings in the coming months and thank you to those who have worked to offer virtual events to keep the spirit of these celebrations,” Mayor John Tory said in a statement.

Many Canadian provinces are gradually reopening businesses and cultural activities after a powerful second wave of the coronavirus forced authorities to issue stay-at-home orders.

12.08am GMT

More on the vaccine passports from Reuters:

Officials said the EU was working with the International Air Transport Association, which is keen to revive air travel, and with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the World Health Organization.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2021/feb/25/coronavirus-live-news-pfizer-vaccine-found-94-effective-in-major-study-eu-states-split-over-vaccine-passports

All suspects in Daphne Caruana Galizia murder arrested, says police chief

Angelo Gafa says all those who masterminded killing of Maltese journalist now apprehended or charged

Every person involved in the 2017 murder of the anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia has been apprehended, Malta’s national police chief has declared.

Commissioner Angelo Gafa was speaking before a court hearing on Wednesday evening at which two new suspects were arraigned.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/24/all-suspects-in-daphne-caruana-galizia-arrested-says-police-chief

The communist who raised me: photographer Ruth Maddison interrogates her father's Asio file

Wire taps and surveillance were everyday facts of life for Sam Goldbloom and his family. Now, his daughter reimagines that period of their lives in a major survey exhibition

From an early age, Ruth Maddison knew her father, Sam Goldbloom, was being watched. “He used to tell us not to worry about the men sitting in the car in front of the house … we were aware the clicks on the phone meant ‘they’ were listening too,” the award-winning Melbourne-born photographer says.

“They” were the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. In the 1940s, Goldbloom’s anti-fascist ideals drew Asio’s attention. He later joined the Communist party before becoming a major player in the World Peace Council. These associations made him a person of interest for more than 30 years.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/feb/25/the-communist-who-raised-me-photographer-ruth-maddison-interrogates-her-fathers-asio-file

Four arrested in Sydney and Canada after alleged extortion attempt of senior Iraqi MP

Family of politician, who is a dual Australian and Iraqi citizen, targeted via attacks on a Sydney home and online extortion attempts linked to an address in Edmonton

Police in Australia and Canada arrested four people accused of trying to extort a senior Iraqi politician, after what was described Wednesday as a year-long campaign of intimidation.

Dual raids were launched after a string of attacks on a Sydney home and online extortion attempts linked to an address in Canada.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/25/four-arrested-in-sydney-and-canada-after-alleged-extortion-attempt-of-senior-iraqi-mp

A call for global vaccine justice

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/2O2jzu7 Only a truly global vaccination strategy can ensure equal value is placed on the lives of the rich and the poor.

Yazidis have been forgotten during Covid. They need justice, jobs and a return home | Nadia Murad

Survivors of Islamic State brutality are pushed further into the margins as the pandemic causes the world to turn inward

Staring at the same four walls day after day, unable to find work, reunite with relatives, or send your children to school. The Covid pandemic has rendered this bleak picture a reality for many people across the globe. Yet for many who have survived or are living through conflict, these hardships are hardly novel.

For the Yazidi ethnic minority in Iraq, Islamic State’s 2014 genocide created adversity long before the pandemic ever did. For more than six years, hundreds of thousands of Yazidis have been in camps for internally displaced people (IDP) staring at the same four walls of their tents. They are unable to find work because Isis razed their farms and businesses. They cannot reunite with relatives still in Isis captivity or attend the burials of family members whose bodies remain in mass graves.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/feb/24/yazidis-iraq-justice-jobs-safe-return-home-nadia-murad

'Like moving a herd of elephants': San Francisco's history of houses on wheels

This weekend, the city moved a Victorian house six blocks – a practice that has continued for more than a century

Hundreds of San Franciscans lined the streets on Sunday – phones drawn and ready – to glimpse a unique procession slowly making its way through the city. “Ladies and gentlemen, please stand on the sidewalk,” a police speaker blared. “There’s a house coming down the street.”

The two-story, 5,170-sq-ft green Victorian, known as the Englander House, had spent more than a century in the heart of San Francisco. But for years it stood vacant and fell into disrepair, sandwiched behind a gas station and loomed over by new apartment buildings. The city, which suffers from a housing shortage, was ready to build a 48-unit building in its place.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/23/san-francisco-victorian-house-moved

Sri Lanka at 'tipping point’ with risk of return to past atrocities, activists warn

Civil rights groups say situation ‘getting worse on a daily basis’ as UN human rights chief expresses alarm over deepening impunity

Sri Lanka could descend swiftly back into violence and human rights abuses unless decisive international action is taken, the UN high commissioner for human rights and civil rights groups warned.

In a speech to the human rights council on Wednesday, Michelle Bachelet is expected to issue a stark warning that the Sri Lankan government has “closed the door” on ending impunity for past abuses and is facing a return to state repression of civil society and a militarisation of public institutions.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/feb/24/sri-lanka-risks-return-to-past-atrocities-activists-warn-rajapaksa

Moldova court rules against presidential decree on new government

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/3uAjdMr Sandu’s repeated nomination of Natalia Gavrilita as PM after Parliament rejection is unconstitutional, top court rules.

North Korean defector spends six hours walking around heavily guarded border unnoticed

Embarrassment for South Korea’s military after guards fail to heed alarms despite man being picked up by five sets of CCTV cameras

South Korea’s military is facing criticism over security lapses along the country’s heavily armed border with North Korea after a man was able to cross into the South despite being spotted multiple times by surveillance cameras.

The man, wearing a wetsuit and flippers, reportedly swam to South Korea in the early hours of 16 February, but evaded capture for more than six hours, according to the Yonhap news agency.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/24/north-korea-defector-border-unnoticed-security

Australia's dingo fence from space: satellite images reveal its effects on landscape

Dingoes eat kangaroos and kangaroos eat grass. So on the side of the fence where dingoes are rare, there is less vegetation

As one of the longest structures in the world, the dingo fence is an Australian landmark. It stretches more than 5,600km across three states, including 150km that traverses the red sand dunes of the Strzelecki Desert.

Since it was established in the early 20th century, the fence has had one job: to keep dingoes out. The effect of this on the environment has been enormous – you can see it from outer space.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/feb/24/australias-dingo-fence-from-space-satellite-images-reveal-its-effects-on-landscape

Lebanon’s COVID jabs funding at risk after MPs jump queue

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/3sr6tFZ International lender issues warning after MPs were inoculated inside Parliament in violation of agreement.

Aung San Suu Kyi tattoos flourish among Myanmar's resistance

Studios report surge in requests for tattoos of the deposed civilian leader – and some are using their profits to support protesters

In the last three weeks, Ye, 37, has inked more images of Aung San Suu Kyi than throughout his 19 years of tattooing.

“We love and respect her because she has sacrificed so much for us,” he says, showing a photo of his latest artwork – a lifelike rendering of the deposed Myanmar leader, complete with jasmine flowers, on a woman’s back.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/feb/24/aung-san-suu-kyi-tattoos-flourish-among-myanmars-resistance

Sri Lanka’s ex-president ‘should face charges over 2019 attacks’

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/3aNNuPW Investigation says Sirisena, intelligence chiefs should be prosecuted over 2019 Easter Sunday suicide attacks.

Ex-House security head: Intel said no need for troops before riot

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/3kjZV8Y FBI says it warned law enforcement of threat of the Capitol riot, planned in part on publicly available social media.

Justin Trudeau says US leadership has been 'sorely missed' during first meeting with Biden

Canadian PM congratulates US president on rejoining Paris accord, saying ‘it’s nice when the Americans are not pulling out all the references to climate change’

Justin Trudeau has praised Joe Biden for rejoining the Paris climate accord during their first bilateral meeting, saying: “US leadership has been sorely missed over the past years.”

The Canadian prime minister added: “And I have to say as we were preparing the joint rollout of the communique on this, it’s nice when the Americans are not pulling out all the references to climate change and instead adding them in.”

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source https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/24/justin-trudeau-says-us-leadership-has-been-sorely-missed-during-first-meeting-with-biden

AstraZeneca expected to miss EU Covid vaccine supply target by half in second-quarter – report

Expected shortfall of 90m doses could hit the EU’s ability to meet its target of vaccinating 70% of adults by summer

AstraZeneca has told the European Union it expects to deliver less than half the Covid-19 vaccines it was contracted to supply in the second quarter, an EU official told Reuters on Tuesday.

Contacted by Reuters, AstraZeneca did not deny what the official said, but a statement late in the day said the company was striving to increase productivity to deliver the promised 180m doses.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/24/astrazeneca-expected-to-miss-eu-covid-vaccine-supply-target-by-half-in-second-quarter-report

US economy will need support for ‘some time’, Fed’s Powell warns

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/3dH4KIw Recovery for the world’s largest economy remains ‘uneven and far from complete’, Fed’s Jerome Powell tells Congress.

SolarWinds hack was work of 'at least 1,000 engineers', tech executives tell Senate

True scope of the breach, which affected 100 companies and several federal agencies, is still unknown

Tech executives revealed that a historic cybersecurity breach that affected about 100 US companies and nine federal agencies was larger and more sophisticated than previously known.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/feb/23/solarwinds-hack-senate-hearing-microsoft

Dozens dead after Ecuador prison riots sparked by gang fights and escape bid

At least 62 inmates have been killed in jails in three cities, with 800 police required to quell the violence

Sixty-two inmates have died in riots at prisons in three cities in Ecuador as a result of fights between rival gangs and an escape attempt.

Edmundo Moncayo, director of prisons, said in a news conference on Tuesday that 800 police offices have been helping to regain control of the facilities. Hundreds of officers from tactical units had been deployed since the clashes broke out late Monday.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/24/dozens-dead-after-ecuador-prison-riots-sparked-by-gang-fights-and-escape-bid

Failure to enact public duty law 'has worsened England inequality in pandemic'

Exclusive: government urged to activate part of Equality Act that would impose duty on public bodies to tackle inequality

The failure of successive governments to enact part of the Equality Act, which would have imposed a duty to address socio-economic disadvantage, has exacerbated inequalities in England during the coronavirus pandemic, a thinktank has claimed.

The Runnymede Trust’s report, Facts Don’t Lie, says that the public sector duty provision would have imposed a legal obligation on education authorities in England to ensure working class children on free school meals were fed properly while schools were shut and had access to laptops for remote learning.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/feb/24/failure-to-enact-public-duty-law-has-worsened-england-inequality-in-pandemic

I have no motivation to work. How can I change my attitude? | Leading questions

You don’t get joy from work – not many people do, says Eleanor Gordon-Smith – but you won’t get more of it sitting at the computer promising yourself you’ll work soon.

I have always had a problem with work, I don’t have much internal motivation to do any and a lot of anxiety about it. Now I am supposed to be working from home I feel even more disengaged. I get up at 11am, then procrastinate around the internet for a few hours.

I do appreciate having a salary and it would logically make sense to try and keep my job. My colleagues are all running themselves ragged working and home schooling and all that stuff. I hate the idea of all that rushing about. How can I change my attitude, and persuade myself do a few hours work every day?

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source https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/feb/24/i-have-no-motivation-to-work-how-can-i-change-my-attitude

When Daft Punk went to Wee Waa: an ode to the strangest album launch of all time

The tiny Australian town was surprised but got into the spirit, selling daft pork sausages and random access rissoles while celebrating a dusty agricultural show it will never forget

In April 2013 word got out that Daft Punk planned to launch their album Random Access Memories from a regional Australian town barely anyone had heard of.

Dubbed the “cotton capital” of Australia, the small town (population 2,000) with the evocative name of Wee Waa in the Narrabri shire of New South Wales was not much known as a dance music hub. The news, which began with murmurs about Sony label reps scoping the area for locations, seemed just bizarre enough to be true. Daft Punk, after all, were never great adherents of the traditional album rollout – and, with the revered French duo announcing their split this week, it’s worth taking ourselves back to their strangest one.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/feb/24/when-daft-punk-went-to-wee-waa-an-ode-to-the-strangest-album-launch-of-all-time

Nepal’s Supreme Court orders reinstatement of Parliament

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/2ZJsi79 Order came after cases filed with the court said PM Oli’s decision last December was unconstitutional.

Iranian officials should be charged over shooting down of Ukrainian plane, UN expert says

In letter to Tehran, human rights advocate outlines six-month investigation into disaster

Many high level Iranian officials should be charged for the shooting down of a Ukrainian commercial airliner in January 2020, a UN human rights expert has said, describing the killing of the 176 people aboard as a “profound and serious indictment” of the country’s civil and military authorities.

Agnès Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, delivered a 45-page letter to the Iranian government which was made public on Tuesday, outlining her findings from a six-month investigation into the disaster, and complaining about the lack of Iranian cooperation, which has left many of her questions unanswered.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/23/iran-ukraine-flight-ps752-shot-down-un

Coronavirus live news: WHO says global deaths down 20% since last week; cases declining for six straight weeks

Global cases, deaths continuing to decline, says WHO; French ICU patients with Covid at three-month high; Ireland extends lockdown

12.18am GMT

Ireland is to start reopening some schools next week but is extending other lockdown restrictions until April to prevent another explosion in Covid-19 cases.

The government has prioritised education and childcare in a cautious new roadmap out of restrictions after a disastrous relaxation before Christmas led to Ireland having the world’s highest rate of infection.

12.03am GMT

The number of patients treated in intensive care units for Covid-19 in France has reached a 12-week peak of 3,435, as regional officials urge for a ban on public gatherings and consider a partial weekend lockdown.

Unlike some of its European neighbours, France has resisted a new national lockdown to control more contagious variants, hoping a curfew in place since 15 December can contain the pandemic.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2021/feb/24/coronavirus-live-news-who-says-global-deaths-down-20-since-last-week-cases-declining-for-six-straight-weeks

'Everyone knew him': San Francisco honors literary hero Lawrence Ferlinghetti

The co-founder of the City Lights Bookstore had global stature but remained a neighborhood fixture

By 2pm, a small memorial of flowers and a can of Pabst had begun to accumulate outside the door of City Lights Books, to commemorate the death of its co-founder Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

A vigil, unaffiliated with City Lights, will take place at 7pm tonight in the adjacent Jack Kerouac Alley. That tiny side street separates the bookstore – a tourist attraction and official city landmark for decades – from the celebrated Beat hangout Vesuvio Cafe.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/23/san-francisco-lawrence-ferlinghetti-city-lights

Tesla shares sink below S&P entry level, wipe out 2021 gains

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/2Nwvn84 The drop was fuelled in part by CEO Elon Musk’s comments over the weekend that prices of Bitcoin ‘do seem high’.

UK PM sets out road map to ease England’s COVID lockdown

from Qerro Media Service - QMS https://ift.tt/2ZGltTR Johnson sets out ‘cautious but irreversible’ plan to lift restrictions, with students to return to schools from March 8.

Revealed: 6,500 migrant workers have died in Qatar as it gears up for World Cup

Guardian analysis indicates shocking figure likely to be an underestimate, as preparations for 2022 tournament continue

More than 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have died in Qatar since it won the right to host the World Cup 10 years ago, the Guardian can reveal.

The findings, compiled from government sources, mean an average of 12 migrant workers from these five south Asian nations have died each week since the night in December 2010 when the streets of Doha were filled with ecstatic crowds celebrating Qatar’s victory.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/feb/23/revealed-migrant-worker-deaths-qatar-fifa-world-cup-2022

Global freshwater fish populations at risk of extinction, study finds

World’s Forgotten Fishes report lists pollution, overfishing and climate change as dangers

Freshwater fish are under threat, with as many as a third of global populations in danger of extinction, according to an assessment.

Populations of migratory freshwater fish have plummeted by 76% since 1970, and large fish – those weighing more than 30kg – have been all but wiped out in most rivers. The global population of megafish down by 94%, and 16 freshwater fish species were declared extinct last year.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/23/global-freshwater-fish-populations-at-risk-of-extinction-study-finds

HSBC looks to Asia after profits plunge 34%

More executive roles are expected to relocate to home base of Hong Kong as part of Asia shift, where most of its earnings come from

HSBC, Britain’s biggest bank, has recorded a 34% drop in profit for 2020 as it prepares to double down on its operations in Hong Kong and China despite concern about the political crackdown in the former UK colony.

The bank said on Tuesday that pre-tax profit was down from $13.3bn (£9.4bn) in 2019 to $8.8bn in the 12 months to 31 December, while the adjusted profit before tax of $12.1bn (£8.6bn) fell 76% on the year before.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/feb/23/hsbc-looks-to-asia-after-profits-plunge-34

'A lifetime sentence': children of the gulag fight to return from exile

Millions of Soviet citizens were sent to vast network of prison camps under Stalin. Now their descendants seek recompense

Alisa Meissner is paying to this day for the Soviet Union’s decision to exile her whole family from Moscow for their German heritage.

She still lives in a town just 30 miles from the gulag village where her family were sent in the 1940s after the outbreak of the second world war. And despite the rehabilitation of her exiled family, the denunciation of Joseph Stalin and the collapse of the Soviet Union, she has never been able to leave.

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source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/23/children-of-the-gulag-soviet-stalin

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