The head of the World Health Organization will hold a special meeting with officials in Beijing on Monday to discuss how to contain the coronavirus that has killed 80 people and left more than 400 in a critical condition.
In an effort to reduce chances of infection during what is China?€?s busiest travel season, officials announced the end of this week?€?s lunar new year holiday would be postponed until at least 2 February. Authorities have also widened sweeping restrictions on travel across the country.
More than 200 survivors are to gather at the former Nazi extermination camp of Auschwitz, many probably for the final time, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of its liberation.
As rows over the make-up of the international guest list at the memorial ceremony threatened to overshadow Monday?€?s event, survivors who drew on harrowing memories of their incarceration warned the lessons from the atrocities sanctioned by Adolf Hitler?€?s administration and carried out often by ordinary Germans were in danger of being forgotten.
The NBA, and much of America, was in shock on Sunday after Kobe Bryant, one of the greatest basketball players in history, died in a helicopter crash. He was 41.
Bryant was on board the helicopter with eight others, including his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, when it crashed at 10am local time near Calabasas, 30 miles north-west of downtown Los Angeles, in foggy weather. The crash ignited brushfires, making it hard for rescue crews to get close to the site. There were no survivors. Bryant, who lived in the area for most of his life often used helicopters to beat Los Angeles?€? heavy traffic, and on Sunday he was taking Gianna to play in a basketball game at his academy outside the city.
The PMOS is not talking about some of the post-Brexit Whitehall arrangements.
He says there will be 40 officials working in government taskforce on the EU future partnership.
The PMOS says after Friday night the Brexit department will not exist. Asked about Stephen Barclay?€?s position as Brexit secretary, he says that there will be no department, but that cabinet reshuffle decisions are a matter for the PM.
Yesterday Barclay said that his gut feeling was that HS2 would go ahead. Asked if the PM trusts Barclay?€?s gut, the PMOS says:
In relation to HS2, discussion is ongoing. Once a decision is reached, we will let you know.
Netanyahu?€?s trip a welcome distraction from indictment while election opponent Gantz also visits White House
Donald Trump is set to disclose details of his much-delayed Middle East ?€?peace plan?€? during meetings with Israeli leaders in Washington on Monday, amid a rising global chorus of doubt about its timing and substance.
The choreography between the US and Israel has been interpreted as a convenient distraction for both Trump, who faces an impeachment trial, and Israel?€?s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces three criminal corruption indictments and an uncertain election campaign.
A Portuguese man behind one of the biggest exposés in the history of football has been identified as the source of a leaked cache of financial records about the business empire of Africa?€?s richest woman, Isabel dos Santos.
Lawyers for Rui Pinto, who is awaiting trial in Portugal on charges including alleged hacking and attempted extortion, said in 2018 he passed a non-profit whistleblowing organisation a hard drive containing data relating to Dos Santos?€?s business empire, which is estimated at $2.2bn.
Woman, 19, says she shared cell with eight others and lost 16kg while suffering from PTSD
A British teenager convicted of lying about being gang-raped in Cyprus has said she had nightmares about ?€?being raped again?€? every night while in prison.
The 19-year-old, who was remanded in jail for more than a month after being charged last July, says she lost 16kg (2st 7lb) and was given Xanax by prison doctors, which made her hallucinate during her ordeal.
League?€?s Matteo Salvini has failed to wrest crucial Emilia-Romagna from centre-left, projections suggest
Matteo Salvini, the leader of Italy?€?s far-right League party, has failed to overturn decades of leftwing rule in the northern region of Emilia-Romagna in an election that brought relief to the embattled centre-left.
With 98% of the ballots counted, the incumbent Democratic party (PD) governor Stefano Bonaccini had won 51.4% of the vote compared to 43.7% for Lucia Borgonzoni, the candidate backed by the League and its allies, interior ministry data showed.
The US National Security Agency is facing questions about the security of top Trump administration officials?€? communications following last week?€?s allegations that the Saudi crown prince may have had a hand in the alleged hack of Jeff Bezos.
Ron Wyden, a senior Democratic lawmaker, asked the director of the NSA whether he was confident that the Saudi government had not also sought to hack senior US government officials, including the White House adviser Jared Kushner, who has reportedly had a WhatsApp relationship with the Saudi heir.
Labour leadership favourite urges prime minister to face MPs?€? questions over 5G decision
Sir Keir Starmer has accused Boris Johnson of ?€?doing a runner?€? over the decision on whether to allow Huawei a role in the UK?€?s 5G infrastructure, as Washington gave a final warning to the UK government over what it called a ?€?momentous?€? choice.
Ahead of a likely decision on Tuesday, with the cabinet reportedly split and the Trump administration urging Downing Street to block any role for the Chinese telecoms firm, Starmer urged Johnson to make a statement to MPs in the Commons.
Critics fume over the omission of Oxford comma from phrase ?€?Peace, prosperity and friendship?€? as new coin enters circulation
It is a debate that has torn the nation in two, ripped friends and family apart, and entrenched deep and uncrossable lines throughout the land. Should the Royal Mint have used an Oxford comma on its Brexit 50p piece?
Three million coins bearing the slogan ?€?Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations?€? are due to enter circulation from 31 January, with Sajid Javid, chancellor of the exchequer, expressing his hope that the commemorative coin will mark ?€?the beginning of this new chapter?€? as the UK leaves the European Union.
The Senakw development aims to ease the city?€?s chronic housing crisis - and to challenge the mindset that indigeneity and urbanity are incompatible
The scrubby, vacant patch beneath the Burrard Street Bridge in Vancouver looks at first glance like a typical example of the type of derelict nook common to all cities: 11.7 acres of former railway lands, over which tens of thousands of people drive every day.
This is not any old swath of underused space, however. It?€?s one of Canada?€?s smallest First Nations reserves, where dozens of Squamish families once lived. The village was destroyed by provincial authorities more than a century ago.
Amazon have arrived in force in rapidly expanding Hyderabad, with designs on the currently almost non-existent Indian e-commence market
The futuristic lobby of the new Amazon building in Hyderabad feels as though it should have a permanent orchestra blasting out Also Sprach Zarathustra. The scale is intended to awe. A large slogan on a wall suggests the company is ?€?Delivering smiles?€?. The only sound that rises above the hush is a synthesised beep, coming from a giant screen playing a video of the campus at various stages of its construction.
Built on nine acres in this Indian city?€?s financial district, it is Amazon?€?s single largest building globally and the only Amazon-owned campus outside the US. It can house over 15,000 employees, but its size is its main architectural feature: it resembles the same cube of glass steel and chrome seen in corporate offices across Hyderabad, though a flash of magenta reflected in one of the top floor windows, from a billowing sari across the road, is a nice Indian touch.
Minibuses that run on Friday evenings and Saturdays buck state?€?s religious restrictions
Tel Aviv is one of Israel?€?s most dynamic cities, but the latest local craze could appear fairly humdrum to outsiders - a bus service that runs at weekends.
Packed 19-seat minibuses fill up fast with passengers, who excitedly gossip about the new routes. People patiently queue at bus stops, knowing they might have to wait for two or three buses to pass before there is a space. Still, they are upbeat. ?€?It?€?s a pleasure,?€? said Ben Uzan, a 30-year-old electronic engineer. ?€?It?€?s a blessed initiative.?€?
The Garbage Cafe in Ambikapur, India, is helping to tackle the country?€?s plastic waste problem - and their novel idea is catching on
On bad days, when his employer made some excuse for not paying him his paltry daily wage, Ram Yadav?€?s main meal used to be dry chapatis, with salt and raw onion for flavour. Sometimes he just went hungry. For a ragpicker like him, one of the thousands of Indians who make a living bringing in plastic waste for recycling, eating in a cafe or restaurant was the stuff of fairytales.
But last week, Yadav was sitting at a table at the Garbage Cafe in Ambikapur, in the state of Chhattisgarh, over a piping hot meal of dal, aloo gobi, poppadoms and rice. He earned the food in exchange for bringing in 1kg of plastic waste. ?€?The hot meal I get here lasts me all day. And it feels good to sit at a table like everyone else,?€? he said.
Bjarke Ingels is the go-to golden boy for Big Tech - and now Brazil?€?s Bolsonaro wants a bit of his magic. But should architects boycott oppressive leaders? Do their buildings glorify their ideology?
Sun-kissed walkways in the sky, platefuls of seafood ceviche, a private helicopter pickup from the beach - the Instagram account of Danish architect Bjarke Ingels has unfolded like an escapist travelogue epic in recent weeks, as his adventures in Latin America have taken their place in his dizzying globetrotting itinerary. But there is one photograph he hasn?€?t been so keen to share with his 730,000 followers: of him standing next to Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil?€?s far-right president, with the uneasy smile of a man who?€?s just secured his latest big commission from another unsavoury despot, in this case one who has boasted of being ?€?proudly?€? homophobic.
According to a statement from Brazil?€?s ministry of tourism, Ingels visited Brazil to tour several states and discuss strategies for developing sustainable tourism on its north-east coast, in partnership with the Nômade Group, which recently built an eco-conscious luxury resort in Tulum, the ruins of a Mayan walled city in Mexico.
Papers lodged in high court civil case say family was put under unlawful surveillance
Private detectives were hired by the Sunday People newspaper to target the family of the murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler in 2002, it has been alleged.
The claims are made in legal papers lodged as part of a civil action being taken by a range of claimants, including Prince Harry.
The money will be split between China and countries in Africa.
One supermarket shopper was unfazed by the visit to Wuhan of China?€?s prime minister Li Keqiang, Keith Zhai from Reuters reports.
While Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivering his speech in a Wuhan super market, this auntie in front can?€?t stop getting her groceries done. ?€?Nothing can stop me from buying veggies?€? #coronarvirus video from internet pic.twitter.com/A7CePMfis0
The fast-growing religious right - both Catholic and Protestant - see the president?€?s exit as a first step in transforming the country, leaving many indigenous Bolivians horrified
Some blame the defenestration of Evo Morales on a racist, rightwing coup. Others credit a popular revolt against a leader who had overstayed his welcome.
Equity sell-off deepens and oil falls below $59 as death toll from coronavirus rises, sparking fears over economic impact
Stock markets in UK, Germany and France fall more than 2%
Brexit uncertainty plus political turmoiled equalled financial distress for almost half a million British businesses in the final three months of last year, according to a new survey which measures corporate health.
494,000 companies were found to be in significant distress in the last quarter of 2019 by the latest red flag alert from insolvency firm Begbies Traynor, representing about 14% of all economically active firms and the highest number since the survey began in 2004. Significant distress is described as firms which have county court judgments of of less than £5000 filed against them, or businesses which have been identified by its credit risk system.
On currency markets, sterling has risen slightly versus the dollar and the euro (to $1.3087 and ?1.1872), as the Brexit date of 31 January approaches.
Minister disappointed that New South Wales did not submit Murray-Darling basin resource plans
The federal government is withholding millions of dollars from the New South Wales government for failing to complete water resource plans for the Murray-Darling basin.
In a letter to the state?€?s water minister, Melinda Pavey, the federal water resources minister, David Littleproud, raised concerns the 20 plans had not been submitted.
Housing officers are using their local knowledge to spot abuse and exploitation, particularly ?€?cuckooing?€? of vulnerable residents by drug gangs
Housing associations are playing a growing role in tackling county lines crimes, using their knowledge of local communities to spot early signs of abuse and exploitation.
In the north west of England, the exploitation of young people by drug gangs - known as ?€?county lines?€? crime - is a serious problem, not just in poorer areas but in York, Harrogate and places with good transport links. Now lawyers, housing associations and police are building networks of support to try and provide innovative solutions to the crisis.
In one of the poorest countries in the world, Burkina Faso, a very special school gives new hope to orphaned or disadvantaged girls
In Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso in west Africa, a school and training programme is combating entrenched attitudes and gender stereotypes that confine women to low-paid unskilled labour, or worse. At the CFIAM, girls and young women, often from disadvantaged backgrounds, can train to be car mechanics, a trade that offers them the skills necessary to enable them to pursue independent lives and achieve a measure of socio-economic progress. Such is the success of CFIAM and its students that it has been the subject of an award-winning documentary Ouaga Girls
Forced from their homes by floods and fighting, 800,000 people have crammed into informal settlements in the Somali capital. Now efforts are afoot to bolster local resources
The number of Somalians being pushed out of the countryside and into the capital Mogadishu has reached an unprecedented high, putting pressure on the city?€?s already poor infrastructure and threatening its faltering recovery from three decades of conflict.
More than 800,000 internally displaced people dwell in informal settlements across Mogadishu, according to the office of the mayor. They are crammed into makeshift shelters with little or no sanitation and limited access to the most basic services. There are ?€?critical?€? levels of malnutrition, according to an assessment by Somalia?€?s food security and nutrition analysis unit.
Campaigners say education funding would be ?€?inappropriate if not irresponsible?€? in light of ban on pregnant girls attending school
An opposition MP and activists in Tanzania are urging the World Bank to withdraw a $500m (£381m) loan to the country, amid concerns over deteriorating human rights, particularly for women and girls.
In a letter addressed to the bank?€?s board members, Zitto Kabwe said he feared the money would be used by the ruling party ?€?to distort our electoral processes?€??€? and ensure an easy victory in an election year.
Researchers sound the alarm after statistics reveal almost half of impoverished children in rural areas do not have enough to eat
Poverty has reached unprecedented levels in Zimbabwe, with more than 70% of Zimbabwean children in rural areas living in poverty, a UN study has found.
The report, compiled by Unicef and the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency, shows high levels of privation in rural areas, where 76.3% of children live in abject poverty. Statistics seen by the Guardian suggest that almost half of these children do not have enough of the right food to eat.
White House counsel says prosecution aims to pull off ?€?the most massive interference in an election in American history?€?
Welcome to Day One of the Trump Show.
It was, admittedly, an inauspicious start to what was teased as a ?€?trailer?€? for the rollicking show to come next week in the historic impeachment trial of Donald Trump.
London Breed, San Francisco?€?s first black female mayor, joins campaign following support from Stockton and San Jose mayors
There?€?s nothing surprising about a billionaire winning the support of the mayor of San Francisco, a city flush with tech wealth and new money.
But when the billionaire is Mike Bloomberg - and the endorsement is the latest from a string of California mayors he mentored and supported - the vow of support raises some eyebrows.
Wellington has restricted foreign political donations but its lax approach to Beijing suggests economic interests still trump national security concerns
Transparency International announced yesterday that New Zealand is the least corrupt country in the world. This is excellent news, but New Zealand cannot afford to rest on its laurels.
Transparency International?€?s Corruption Perception Index assesses whether countries have a corrupt judiciary and public sector. Some other aspects where corruption can also occur, such as political funding, are not included in the index.
The US president?€?s legal team has set out its argument in a three-hour session on the fifth day of the impeachment proceedings against him.
The White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, argued nothing Trump did in withholding aid to Ukraine merited impeachment. The Democrat leader, Chuck Schumer, said the legal team 'did not do a good job'
Footage obtained from Parnas's lawyer, dating back to April 2018, appears to show Donald Trump ordering attendees at a meal to 'get rid' of the US ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovitch. The video surfaced on Saturday 25 January.
Although they have been pictured together, Trump has said of Parnas: 'I don?€?t know him, I don?€?t believe I?€?ve ever spoken to him. I don?€?t need the help of a man I haven?€?t met before, other than perhaps taken a picture.' The removal of Yovanovitch has played a key role in the current impeachment proceedings against the president
On the fourth day of Trump's trial for impeachment in the US senate, impeachment manager Hakeem Jeffries warned that the president's actions toward Ukraine had put the country in jeopardy.
The New York Democrat also warned of a 'toxic mess' emanating from the White House, that 'is our collective job on behalf of the people to try and clean up'.
Huge locust swarms in east Africa are the result of extreme weather swings and could prove catastrophic for a region still reeling from drought and deadly floods. Dense clouds of the ravenous insects have spread from Ethiopia and Somalia into Kenya, in the region?€?s worse infestation in decades
Representatives from Europe, Russia and America warned against the resurgence of antisemitism at a memorial event at the World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem. Prince Charles, representing Britain, said the lessons of the Holocaust were 'searingly relevant to this day'
Large number of US citizens demonstrated against the war in Iraq (and the possible war in Iran) during this October weekend. Massive turnout in Boston and San Fransisco, and also in Chicago, LA and DC people took to the streets. The message was: NO more war in Iraq! NO to a war with Iran!
