Wednesday, 30 June 2021

Obituary: Donald Rumsfeld

Ruthless, resilient and divisive - he served as Secretary of Defense twice in a career spanning decades.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/3AcXmxb

Donald Rumsfeld, defense secretary for Bush and Ford, is dead at 88.


By BY ROBERT D. MCFADDEN from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3618BL9

Donald Rumsfeld, Defense Secretary Under 2 Presidents, Is Dead at 88


By BY ROBERT D. MCFADDEN from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2UfWSWJ

Visitors on Mars Send New Views to Earth


By BY MICHAEL ROSTON AND KENNETH CHANG from NYT Science https://ift.tt/2Tmx3Ee

Prioritizing People to Build Back the Economy


By BY RASHIDA TLAIB AND EDUARDO SUPLICY from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/2SCkq7A

Weisselberg, ‘Soldier’ for Trump, Faces Charges and Test of His Loyalty


By BY MICHAEL ROTHFELD, JONAH E. BROMWICH AND BEN PROTESS from NYT New York https://ift.tt/3jvADGW

Jack Downing, C.I.A. Chief in Cold War Capitals, Dies at 80


By BY SAM ROBERTS from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3hptODQ

Biden Made Gains With Moderate and Conservative Voters, New Data Shows


By BY NATE COHN from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3qEdhA5

Democrats Have a Year to Save the Planet


By BY FARHAD MANJOO from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/3qDYfKT

Genocide Designation for Myanmar Tests Biden’s Human Rights Policy


By BY LARA JAKES from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3jqMAgV

Behind Wayne’s Story


By Unknown Author from NYT Style https://ift.tt/2UgWSFD

Ford will extend production cuts into July because of global chip shortage.


By BY NEAL E. BOUDETTE from NYT Business https://ift.tt/3y9pIGJ

The city of Doral said it is reviewing all of the work of a former Surfside building official.


By BY FRANCES ROBLES from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2TnAL0b

Here are some key dates in the Cosby case.


By BY GRAHAM BOWLEY from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/3AhIb5K

Bill Cosby is freed after serving three years of his sentence for sexual assault.


By BY GRAHAM BOWLEY from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/3y1kWLw

‘The shame was overwhelming,’ Andrea Constand said in a victim impact statement in 2018.


By BY MAIRA GARCIA from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/3hktaYk

Today in On Tech: Why the internet didn’t melt down.


By Unknown Author from NYT Business https://ift.tt/3yae8ex

What’s in Our Queue? ‘Octonauts’ and More


By BY BEN SISARIO from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/3jtRiKM

Security guard found guilty of Brighton cat killings

Steve Bouquet, 54 convicted of killing nine cats, injuring seven and possessing a knife

A shopping centre security guard has been found guilty of carrying out a series of cat killings in Brighton, closing a case which puzzled police for months.

On Wednesday a jury at Chichester crown court found Steve Bouquet, 54, guilty of 16 offences of criminal damage, related to the nine cats he killed and seven he injured, and possession of a knife. He will be sentenced at a later date.

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from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3jwj8Gi

The Guardian view on state subsidy: Brussels was not the problem | Editorial

An obsession with sovereignty at all costs is not the right starting point for a post-Brexit economic model

The purpose of Brexit is summarised by its advocates in a word – sovereignty. In practice, that means the power to enact laws that European Union membership would forbid. With the exception of border control, the leave campaign avoided spelling out what those legal departures might be.

The picture is coming into focus. On Wednesday, the government described the outline for a system of industrial subsidy. These rules will replace the state aid regime by which Brussels enforces a level economic playing field between member states. The theory is that a nimble, proactive state can make strategic interventions to support up-and-coming sectors, enhancing British competitiveness.

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from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3ynuBfJ

The Guardian view on Canada’s residential schools: an atrocity still felt today | Editorial

The discovery of hundreds of graves of Indigenous children is forcing a deeper reckoning with the country’s past

It is hard to fathom the full horror of what happened in Canada’s church-run residential schools for over a century: systematic abuse and mistreatment, on an industrial scale, with an estimated 150,000 Indigenous children ripped from their homes. The last school closed in 1996. Thousands have since testified to widespread sexual and physical abuse, forced labour on starvation rations, the eradication of their language and culture, and diseases allowed to run rampant. Some witnesses even spoke of killings. The 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report called it cultural genocide.

But it has taken the discovery of hundreds of children’s bodies to fully awaken Canada. Last week, 751 unmarked graves were found at a former school in Saskatchewan province, weeks after 215 were located in Kamloops, British Columbia. Murray Sinclair, who led the TRC, suggests as many as 15,000 died: one in 10 of the students. Since the state funded over 130 schools, and many more were run by churches, others believe the toll could be much higher.

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from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3qDQGne

Australian universities may allow pseudonyms to protect students including those critical of China

University leaders considering major changes as research shows students have faced intimidation for criticising Beijing

Australian universities may allow students to submit written assignments under pseudonyms and in hard copy amid growing concerns about foreign government-linked harassment over politically sensitive topics.

The Guardian has learned university leaders are considering a range of options to protect academic freedom, including making it a disciplinary offence if students record some classes or share them with outside groups.

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from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3jsT5zE

The science behind the Covid Delta variant that’s shutting down Australia

A strain of Covid-19, called the Delta variant, has spread across Australia, triggering lockdowns in multiple states and territories. Governments and health experts worldwide have warned that this variant is highly infectious, with the NSW premier describing transmission in a recent case as “scarily” fleeting. Medical editor Melissa Davey explains what we know about the Delta variant, and the challenges this strain could pose in containing Australia’s outbreak

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from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2UOxCqB

Tuesday, 29 June 2021

Elizabeth Martínez, Voice of the Chicana Movement, Dies at 95


By BY KATHARINE Q. SEELYE from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3jyR3xU

Ellen McIlwaine, Slide Guitarist With a Power Voice, Dies at 75


By BY NEIL GENZLINGER from NYT Arts https://ift.tt/3x7q3K7

Serena Williams Exits Wimbledon With a Leg Injury


By BY CHRISTOPHER CLAREY from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/3juPkK6

That Heat Dome? Yeah, It’s Climate Change.


By BY MICHAEL E. MANN AND SUSAN JOY HASSOL from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/3dsi1ng

‘It is unsustainable’: Guardian readers on the crisis of Australian teacher shortages

Teachers tell us the stresses on the system are creating huge workloads and leading many to consider leaving the profession, to the detriment of a generation of schoolchildren

More than 200 people responded within three days to our callout on the effects of teacher shortages in Australia. Current and former teachers, and some parents, expressed their anguish at what unbearable workloads were doing to staff and students. Many referred to the casualisation of the workforce and the increase in administrative tasks asked of teachers.

Some also said they were routinely expected to deal with a rising number of behavioural problems of students, and others cited aggressive and unrealistic demands of parents as factors that contributed to burnout.

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from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3dqpmnj

Ethiopia Tigray conflict: Rebels build on capture of capital

Tigrayan fighters continue their advance after wresting the regional capital from government forces.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/3waa1O1

5,000-year-old man was 'oldest plague victim'

Scientists piece together clues from "patient zero", who likely caught the plague from a rodent.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/2Ud1hJI

Portugal exempts under-18s from quarantine

But they must be travelling with a fully vaccinated parent or guardian, say tourism authorities.

from BBC News - World https://ift.tt/3600puH

An uneasy silence from Ethiopia and Eritrea over what’s next.


By BY SIMON MARKS from NYT World https://ift.tt/3w4Oh6u

Tiny Love Stories: ‘She Adored Having a Gay Son’


By Unknown Author from NYT Style https://ift.tt/35YNIjZ

How Amazon, Google and Other Companies Exploit NDAs


By BY PAT GAROFALO from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/2ULhJkJ

‘What’s So Bad About Having Fewer or No Children?’


By Unknown Author from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/3qy3tb3

L.A. County recommends everyone, even if vaccinated, wear masks indoors over Delta variant concerns.


By BY DAN LEVIN AND MICHAEL GOLD from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3y5v3Ph

Supreme Court Backs Pipeline in Case on New Jersey Land Seizures


By BY ADAM LIPTAK from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3w3H46v

Facebook unveils ‘Bulletin,’ a newsletter subscription service.


By BY MIKE ISAAC from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3dt6dRz

Frieda Fritzshall, 91, Dies; Survived to Create a Holocaust Museum


By BY SAM ROBERTS from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/3qBDjE5

England beat Germany as Sterling and Kane send them to Euro 2020 last eight

For England, it was always going to be about finding the moment, the one to blow apart a tight game, to cut through so much negative tournament history – particularly at the hands of Germany. And for long spells, as the tension rose to near unbearable levels at a raucous and emotional Wembley, the home crowd wondered whether it would come.

Gareth Southgate, who had reverted to a 3-4-3 system, seeking a secure platform, had called for a hero. And, with 15 minutes to go, he found one. Yet again, it was Raheem Sterling.

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from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3w0d77f

Serbian secret police chiefs face verdict over atrocities in Croatia and Bosnia

Tribunal in The Hague to give judgment on Jovica Stanišić and Franko Simatović for role in ethnic cleansing in 1990s

The longest running war crimes case will come to a head on Wednesday with a verdict at The Hague tribunal on two former Serbian secret police chiefs for their role in atrocities in Croatia and Bosnia.

It is historic not just because of its length, but also because of what it will say about Belgrade’s covert role in the 1992-95 Bosnian conflict and about the legal accountability of covert state sponsors of paramilitary groups.

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from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3x5GlDc

Swedish opposition leader tasked with forming new government

Moderate Ulf Kristersson given three days to gain support before vote in parliament

Sweden’s speaker of parliament has asked the leader of the right-wing opposition’s largest party, Ulf Kristersson, to see whether he could rally the votes to succeed the ousted prime minister, Stefan Löfven.

Löfven announced on Monday he would resign rather than call a snap election after losing a vote of no confidence last week, leaving it up to the speaker to begin the search for his replacement.

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from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3jEBzsD

Delta variant: LA recommends indoor masks regardless of vaccination status

  • New guidelines designed to slow spread of Covid variant
  • 68% of LA county residents over 16 have had at least one shot

Health officials in Los Angeles county now strongly recommend that people wear masks indoors in public places, regardless of their vaccination status, to prevent the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus.

Related: Biden to visit Miami on Thursday as 150 still missing after condo collapse – live

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from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3hfuawV

French parliament votes to extend IVF rights to lesbians and single women

Under current law only heterosexal couples can access medically assisted reproduction methods

French gay rights campaigners are celebrating a milestone for equal rights after parliament finalised adoption of a bill giving lesbian couples and single women access to fertility treatment for the first time.

Under current French law, only heterosexual couples have the right to access medically assisted procreation methods such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

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from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3Ab7PJo

The Guardian view on the Chinese Communist party at 100: what does the next century hold? | Editorial

Few would have predicted the CCP’s triumph. Now it guards its power ruthlessly

One hundred years ago, 13 young Chinese men and two Comintern representatives met secretly in Shanghai’s French Concession. Fearing discovery by police, they soon fled to nearby Jiaxing, where they had to conclude discussions on a pleasure boat.

From these unpromising beginnings sprang the world’s largest and most powerful political movement: the Chinese Communist party, now 92 million strong. Within 30 years, it would control the country. A century on, it has grown into a behemoth that controls a fifth of the world’s population and its second-largest economy, and is shaking the confidence of its superpower, the US. To detractors, as well as supporters, its feat looks truly incredible. Three decades after its patron and rival, the Soviet Union, collapsed, the CCP is looking ahead: “We must march forward towards the second centenary goal,” its leader, Xi Jinping, said as celebrations of Thursday’s official anniversary gathered pace.

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from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3jsPbHg

‘They’re being watched’: Chinese pro-democracy students in Australia face threats and insults

Students experience harassment and intimidation from classmates for criticising China’s government, Human Rights Watch reveals

Wu Lebao, 38, recounts receiving a string of insulting messages and calls from a fellow student calling him stupid and a traitor to China.

The alleged harassment experienced by Wu – who is studying mathematics at the Australian National University in Canberra – recently took a disturbing turn.

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from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2UeYGyX

Monday, 28 June 2021

Honk if Helen Mirren and Vin Diesel Should Have Kissed in ‘F9’


By BY KYLE BUCHANAN from NYT Movies https://ift.tt/3hjdBAl

After Bodies Are Found, Some Say Canada Day Is Nothing to Celebrate


By BY IAN AUSTEN from NYT World https://ift.tt/2Sx8rrU

High Lumber Prices Add Urgency to a Decades-Old Trade Fight


By BY THOMAS KAPLAN from NYT Business https://ift.tt/3y3NWlS

Judge Throws Out State and Federal Cases Against Facebook


By BY CECILIA KANG from NYT Technology https://ift.tt/3diSU6j

A Black Scholar’s Path From Drug Dealing to ‘30 Under 30’


By BY MYCHAL DENZEL SMITH from NYT Books https://ift.tt/3AixnVg

France v Switzerland: Euro 2020 last 16 – live!

34 min: Pogba is fairly fortunate not to make it three bookings in four minutes as he clatters into the back of Embolo, who was in full flight down the left wing. Just a free kick, from which nothing comes.

33 min: Griezmann was upended by Elvedi as he played that ball to Rabiot, and the Swiss defender goes rightfully into the book.

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from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3w4KAxv

College Players May Make Money Off Their Fame, Powerful N.C.A.A. Panel Recommends


By BY ALAN BLINDER from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/3A4CNTA

It’s Some of America’s Richest Farmland. But What Is It Without Water?


By BY SOMINI SENGUPTA from NYT Climate https://ift.tt/2Tedg9X

Greece and Turkey, Together on One Menu at Iris


By BY PETE WELLS from NYT Food https://ift.tt/3dnrwEl

An Ode to Aegean Cooking


By Unknown Author from NYT Food https://ift.tt/3w4XQCh

Biden, Abortion and the Catholic Church


By Unknown Author from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/3y0YhPp

‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ to Slim Down Before Broadway Return


By BY MICHAEL PAULSON from NYT Theater https://ift.tt/3dpjVox

Is There a Shadow Army in Germany?


By BY KATRIN BENNHOLD from NYT Podcasts https://ift.tt/3h0351K

A Mental Health Crisis Flares Among Young Children


By BY CHRISTINA CARON from NYT Well https://ift.tt/2TggMjZ

¿Necesitas consolidar tu futuro financiero? Estamos aquí para ayudar


By BY RON LIEBER AND TARA SIEGEL BERNARD from NYT en Español https://ift.tt/2UDEas2

How to Talk to a Child Who Is Struggling


By BY CHRISTINA CARON from NYT Well https://ift.tt/3y3HdbC

On the Scene: ‘Springsteen on Broadway’ 🎸


By BY MICHAEL PAULSON from NYT Theater https://ift.tt/3ygclVx

Police Officers Will ‘Flood’ Times Square After Another Bystander Is Shot


By BY ALI WATKINS AND ASHLEY WONG from NYT New York https://ift.tt/3qEJuHO

The Coach Wanted the Job. His Agent Wanted More.


By BY TARIQ PANJA from NYT Sports https://ift.tt/3qwwrYI

Interim government of Tigray flees as rebels advance on Mekelle

Rebel fighters closing in ‘on every side’, official says, and celebratory gunfire heard in local capital

The interim government of Ethiopia’s war-hit Tigray region have fled their posts as rebels advanced into the local capital, according to local residents, marking a dramatic development in the nearly eight-month-old conflict.

“The capital of Tigray, Mekelle, is under our control,” Getachew Reda, the spokesperson for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), told Reuters by satellite phone.

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from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2TiCioh

Grenfell landlord boss told colleague to ‘do nothing’ over fire safety fears

Robert Black, who led Kensington’s tenants management body, dismissed blog that warned of disaster

The chief executive of Grenfell Tower’s landlord body told colleagues to ignore a resident who warned eight months before the fire that “only a catastrophic event will expose the ineptitude and incompetence of our landlord”.

Robert Black, who led the Kensington and Chelsea Tenants Management Organisation, told a colleague with responsibility for fire safety “we should do nothing” after Ed Daffarn, a 16th floor resident, posted a blog in November 2016 which predicted “only an incident that results in serious loss of life ... will shine a light on the practices that characterise the malign governance of this non-functioning organisation”.

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from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3qxiCcr

The Guardian view on France’s regional polls: democracy a big loser | Editorial

A record-low turnout was bad news for Marine Le Pen, but should also be a cause for wider concern

The morning after the final round of France’s regional elections, the two most likely contenders for the Élysée in next year’s presidential elections were left licking their wounds. Marine Le Pen’s far-right Rassemblement National (RN) had the worst night, failing to win any of five regions it had targeted – some of them with high hopes of victory. President Emmanuel Macron’s party, La République En Marche, also failed to win anywhere and remains a phantasmagorical presence in the country at large. For a grassroots movement set up five years ago to renew politics, polling at around 7% is not a good look. The big winner of the night was the centre-right Republican, Xavier Bertrand, whose presidential ambitions have been considerably boosted by an impressive victory in the northern region of Hauts-de-France. A Macron-Le Pen run off next spring is not the foregone conclusion it once seemed.

Perhaps the most eye-catching statistic of all, however, was the turnout figure. The overwhelming, runaway winner of these polls was the unofficial stay-at-home party. Less than 35% of those eligible to vote opted to do so – a record low and only a fraction above last week’s first-round vote (also a record). Among 18- to 24-year-olds, close to 90% may have ignored the elections, while a huge majority of under-35s also found something better to do.

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from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3hgHH7k

High court to hear bid to overturn New South Wales ‘ag-gag’ laws

Exclusive: Animal rights activists say laws stopping them filming in slaughterhouses breach their right to freedom of political communication

Animal rights activists have launched a landmark high court bid to overturn laws suppressing secretly recorded vision of cruelty and abuse in slaughterhouses, arguing that they breach Australia’s implied right to freedom of political communication.

The case will champion openness and transparency in the agriculture sector and push back against so-called “ag-gag laws” stopping activists using hidden cameras to highlight mistreatment.

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from World news | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3601JxU

Taiwan president's Hawaii trip draws Chinese anger

Lai Ching-te's trip to the US state is being billed as a stopover, but has been condemned by Beijing. from BBC News https://ift.tt/Sik...