As the Souris River was set to peak today, North Dakotans weren’t exactly wallowing in the misery of the worst flooding in memory—rather, they were rolling up their sleeves and doing whatever they could to help their neighbors. Evacuees helped others evacuate, others moved friends’ belongings to safety, and…
Continue reading …An 8-year-old girl became an unwitting suicide bomber in an attack on police today, according to Afghanistan’s interior ministry. Insurgents gave the child a package and told her to bring it to police, detonating the explosives as she neared them. No one else was killed in the attack, reports the…
Continue reading …Join us from Somerset for the final evening of Glastonbury 2011. Beyonce is headlining the Pyramid from 9.45pm, with Gruff Rhys, The Streets and Kool and the Gang also closing out the festival 11.33pm: More hardcore field action from Adam “dirty” Gabbett: Beyoncé’s down off the stage and shaking hands with a shrieking front row. She’s like Mother Theresa out here Hmmmm. No. She’s not. But she did help write this , which is a religious experience for those leaning like that. 11.19pm: Re: The medley of Destiny’s hits: Our man back-in-the-office, Ken MacFarlane, says: Take that Jive Bunny! Quite. Meanwhile Beyoncé’s American is showing. She’s singing Run The World and the video screens behind her are showing footage of President Barack Obama being sworn into office. The glory days, huh, Bonce? That could be a visual metaphor for this show. Good intentions, populist slant, bit mis-judged and slow in parts. And no guest stars (so far) other than Tricky. This is one of the three biggest popstars in the world, we’re talking about, mind. Best bring out Jay, Kanye, Chris Martin and Prince for your finale, Bonce. No. Gwyneth. No! Stay back there. 11.11pm: Here’s that Kool and the Gan tweet that you’ve all been waiting for: Take a moment now. I know that was big for all of us. Anyway, let’s keep it rolling. Bonce is doing a Destiny’s Child medley (Jumpin’ Jumpin’, Say My Name, Survivor) and would like us to say “We love you!” to The Other Two. I have never met either. So I will stick with a “I respect your music”, particularly this . 11.03pm: I’m sat in the cabin that I have been-warned-to-not-call-what-it’s-colloquially-known-as across the site from B’s performance, so I might be wrong when I say this but … it’s been a while since we heard a stone cold hit, hasn’t it? 10.53pm: There’s the Kings of Leon cover , which includes “a slow section where she’s lying down at the front the stage”. In other choice-of-movement-over-the-front-of-the-stage news Kool and the Gang’s lead singer has opted for roly-polying. Tweet proof to follow. 10.45pm: And then Tim adds: Suffice to say, we won’t be catching any QOTSA tonight. Which is a reminder that there is other stuff going here tonight. Personally my dream would be to see Josh “Big Duck” Homme of Queens of the Stone Age head Pyramid-ways and add some grit to the swish funk of Deja Vu . Or have Bonce scamper over to the Other stage to help out on backing vocals on Avon . One of these situations is more practical and likely than the other. 10.42pm: Re: The covers. Guardian.co.uk/music editor Tim Jonze says: An Alanis Morrissette cover can’t be my Glastonbury highlight can it? Can it?!?! 10.33pm: Here’s a cover of Alanis Morissette’s You Oughta Know and a cover of Eurythmics’s Sweet Dreams. Perhaps that “real music” will appease the minority of you in the comment field, who’ve decided to take your dislike of pop music on a wander through the stinky, slurpy bog of Ignorant Sexism. 10.31pm: Updates from our men and women quite literally in the field … Scott Cawley (tall, salt ‘n’ peppered, sensual) says: “He [Tricky, who has been involved in B's new album and came on briefly] looks like the cat that’s got the fuckin cream” Adam Gabbatt (tall, toned, personable) says: “She must be as strong as an ox. She’s averaging 30 squat thrusts per track” Tom Snell (Guardian reader, smaller, cynical) says: “Did Tricky actually sing?” 10.11pm: Naughty Girl. The track. Not the creepy chat-up line. Let’s have a look at what people who are only allowed to express themselves in 140 characters or less have to say about The Bonce’s performance so far: • Dizzee Rascal’s stage-mate DJ Semtex (@Semtex) says she’s “killing it”. • @HannaHanra says: “Beyonce is just so much better than lady gaga isn’t she?” • @timsowula mee-owws this: “I wonder where in Tottenham #Beyonce got her hair done this afternoon?” • And sort-of the Guardian’s @jonronson says this: “Beyonce’s ambitions for Glastonbury are exactly the same as my ambitions for twitter”. Which is cryptic. Fireworks, big hair and endless hits? I could go with that. 10.04pm: She’s come up through the floor and there’s fireworks going off and there’s a mass sing-a-long and she “looks hot” and “we are witnessing her dream” according to the Guardian’s Adam Gabbatt and global pop superstardom’s Beyoncé. Many, many people in a field in Somerset are trying to do this dance , without spilling their drinks. 10.03pm: We’re still waiting on Beyoncé. The Guardian’s Peter Sale and Scott Cawley are down in the Pyramid arena. Scott says: Crowd so bored they’ve started Mexican waves and are cheering them. And Pete says: Not on yet, few boos from crowd And the Pyramid arena crowd drown them both out with a mass scream that reverberates around our tiny sorta-porta. She’s on. And she’s doing Crazy in Love. 9.51pm: A brief bit on Pendulum’s performance from the commenters: Even the man who works at Glastonbury post office, in his entire life, hasn’t said “Glastonbury” as often as the [something rude] with the goatee and the rubbish voice out of Pendulum. I might go and watch an actual pendulum instead. says @earwicker Pendulum are an easy listening throwback to the early 90s and dull as [something that is VERY rude] says @earwicker Pendulum – they’re killing it! says @MookieB Linkin Park if they weren’t [something leading to libel] says @earwicker Earwicker – no fan of Pendulum. 9.46pm: In retrospect I wish I’d mentioned “crowd saucing” in that post about David Levine at the tomato fight. Unfortunately the ketchup pun pipped it. 9.44pm: Caspar Llewellyn Smith emails this from Pyramid stage, where the angry mob has turned on a couple of bully boys: Wedged into crowd for Beyonce. Great scenes when two big lads forced their way past us in deeper and then got so roundly booed by about 50 people that they beat an embarrassed retreat … 9.24pm: We’ve got a few minutes before Beyoncé gets on stage / performs a blinder / gets lauded in 5-star reviews that reference Jay-Z’s triumphant set in 2008, so let’s see what else is going on around the site: • Kaiser Chiefs are Wooooooooaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh-ndering off the Other stage after sounding a fair bit like golden era Blur for an hour. Chief Kaiser Ricky Wilson asked people to bob up and down and then called the bobbing “good”. • The mighty delts of many roadies are being strained as the burly men (it’s normally men) shuffle giant cans of Good Times onto the West Holts stage. Kool and the Gang will be there at to open them at 21:45. • The Man Who Bono Shot aka David Levene has been over at the Bullring, where people have been throwing tomatoes at each other, like what they do in Spain. We’ll ketchup with that story in a bit … 9.20pm: As ever you can sling your random thoughts / opinions / complaints about our drug intake (or a lack of) to us through an ambitiously broad variety of social media. There’s our Twitter account (@guardianmusic), where you can tweet a mini-review of any show you’ve seen today using the #gmreview hashtag. There’s our Flikr group , where you can send in your photos. And there’s our video email address ( your.videos@guardian.co.uk ), where you can stitch up your friends by posting embarrassing clips of them drunk and throwing up in their wellies. Or – you know – enjoying Pendulum. 8.57pm: Hello all. It’s the last night of the festival, so let us cater to you with a brief round-up of the best of our coverage from across the weekend. So far we’ve rang the alarm on the police’s “cheeky” request to drug test Glastonbury’s effluvia, given Billy Bragg the green light to jam with banjo man (and Guardian journalist) Tim Dowling and fallen crazy in love with Rastamouse . We’ve met baby boys and single ladies weird and wonderful both. And, mostly, it’s been so, so, so, so, so good . But, despite covering sets by two of the biggest bands in the world, we can’t shake the feeling that we’ve been building up to something. For me, that something is tonight’s headline set by Beyoncé “Bonce, B, Sascha Fierce, JuJu” Knowles who takes to the Pyramid stage in just under an hour. My name is Henry Barnes . I’m quite excited. And I am definitely ready for this jelly . You? 8.54pm: That’s it from me, I’m off to see Beyonce. Henry Barnes is taking over to steer the blog through the rest of Sunday. Bonne chance! 8.52pm: My colleague Vanessa Smith was in “the front of the Pendulum moshpit” during their set: Dodging flying toiletrolls, cider-can missiles and crowdsurfing blow-up T-Rexes, as 200 undersexed shirtless teenage boys bounce off each other like British Bulldogs. It’s pretty gnarly, and kind of like being caught in a riot at Borstal, only more fun. A shaved-headed ex-bouncer is beating people around the head with an inflatable flamingo. A crazed Banana-Man is bearhugging a man in a furry viking hat. Do you think I made them all angry when I offered them some face glitter, and asked if Pendulum was a folk band?? Hilarious. 8.47pm: Beyonce’s not adverse to the outdoors – as this Dazed and Confused snap of her barbecueing in highly practical clothing shows.. 8.42pm: Pendulum seem to have packed up after playing only half their allotted set, according to James Ball. The boys kicked off at 8pm but stopped playing at 8.35pm and don’t appear to be coming back – “I feel a bit shortchanged to be honest,” James laments. 8.29pm: Patrick Kingsley texts to say he’s just seen James Corden “pacing” – sounds quite a sight – towards the Other Stage. “Just in time for Kaiser Chiefs, perhaps,” Patrick speculates. 8.21pm: BREAKING: Tim Jonze has just confessed to eating my tin of fruit cocktail yesterday. Showing no remorse. 8.14pm: Gwyneth Paltrow was tweeting from backstage at the Coldplay gig last night – check out her pics:. 7.54pm: Caspar writes: Plan B: why? Although walking the path at the very back of the absolutely rammed field for the Pyramid, people are into it. EVEN WHEN HE MASSACRES Stand By Me… You can read Miranda Sayer’s Observer interview with Plan B here . 7.49pm: Tim Jonze saw Paul Simon too. Read his full review here, and there’s a snippet below: “Yeah, I’m happy to be here,” shrugs Paul Simon. “I’ve got a throat infection so if I’m not at the top of my game, that’s the reason.” Well, they say get your excuses in early. Not that Simon needed to apologise – at least not at first. Boy in the Bubble kicked off the New Yorker’s first ever Glastonbury appearance, an earlier signifier that this was to be an uptempo, hit-heavy set, especially with his band drawing out the ending with handclaps and a full-throttle electric guitar solo. Bathiki Kumalo, who has been in Simon’s band for more than two decades, even adds a finger-crippling bass solo – proving he doesn’t need You Can Call Me Al for some good old-fashioned showing off. Simon, who apart from a blue bow around his hat is clad head-to-toe in sun-defying black, then pulls out 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, but after this the set threatens to drift away. The thing with Glastonbury is you can’t simply rely on your setlist. It’s a delicate balancing act, making sure your songs suit whatever the elements throw your way. With this in mind, you might imagine a laidback, sleepy set would be just what the crowd needed while basking in the glorious afternoon sun. But it’s baking out here, and packed too – the audience are in search of an adrenaline rush that’s not provided by the likes of The Obvious Child or new song So Beautiful or So What. Even Slip Slidin’ Away threatens to do just that. However, a glorious Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes pulls things back, its crystal clear guitar refrain ringing out as the crowd join in. Simon leaves the stage early but it’s a false alarm and he returns to finish with You Can Call Me Al, a song that would be criminal to leave out of a Glastonbury set. 7.19pm: Paul Lewis has been getting people to sing at him: Most people who heard the Paul Simon set seem to have left a bit disappointed. But I found these two fans who didn’t have a bad word to say about his performance. “Doo-du, dudu. Doo-du, dudu.” 7.14pm: Henry Barnes is out enjoying some choons: Took forever for TV On The Radio to get going on The Other Stage, then they one-two suckerpunched us into submission with a frantic Wolf Like Me and superb and ridiculous cover of the Ghostbusters theme tune. 7.08pm: Beyonce’s larking about backstage here, downing pints and chugging on Marlboro Lights as she gets ready to close the Pyramid stage later… of course she’s not. She’s probably being fanned by assistants somewhere. However there have been a few celebs knocking about, not least old mates Wayne Rooney and Angus Deayton , who I happened across in the bar last night . Others celebs spotted by Guardian staff this Glastonbury include Toby Anstis, “someone from Made in Chelsea” and Will Young – who everyone seems to have bumped into at least three times. 6.52pm: Remember when Bono plucked a photographer’s camera from the press gallery during U2′s Pyramid stage gig on Friday? Well the photographer was the Guardian’s very own David Levene . At the end of U2′s third song, Bono knelt down in front of me and stretched his hand towards the camera. At first, I thought he was just doing a rocker pose. But then he got closer and closer, and I thought: He wants my camera. So I just gave it to him. I was initially worried he wasn’t going to be able to use it. You can’t generally take a photo with the camera unless the auto-focus is engaged – and that’s quite a faff to figure out. So it was only when I had a look later that I saw he’d fired off four or five frames. Check out Bono’s pictures of David here . 6.34pm: Caspar Llewellyn Smith is out on the prowl: Up by Bella’s Bridge – built a couple of years ago in honour of the late Arabella Churchill , granddaughter of Sir Winston Churchill and co-founder of this festival – there were some trolls, handing out free hugs . 6.20pm: Good evening, and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the final evening of Glastonbury. Beyonce is due onstage at the Pyramid at 9.45pm, AND the sun’s out, AND lots of the mud has dried. Hallelujah! We’ll be here til the small hours, and you can tweet us @guardianmusic , if you like. If not, then sit back and relax as we bring you news and reviews from the last few hours of Glastonbury 2011. Glastonbury 2011 Glastonbury festival Festivals Adam Gabbatt Henry Barnes guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Organisation that has been criticised for failing to fight for workers now gets backing from dissident Han Dongfang: China’s main union is yet to earn its job A Chinese activist who helped create the country’s first independent trade union has urged foreign labour campaigners to now embrace the country’s much-criticised official body. Han Dongfang set up the Beijing Autonomous Workers’ Federation during the 1989 protests in Tiananmen Square. It was broken up in the ensuing crackdown and he now works from exile in Hong Kong. Han says the ban on autonomous bodies has left workers with no choice but to take to the streets over their grievances. Activists often complain that the official union, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), is more concerned with ensuring social stability and protecting businesses than fighting for the rights of the world’s largest workforce. But in a striking commentary for the Guardian , Han, director of the workers’ rights organisation China Labour Bulletin , argues that a new era of worker activism has forced the ACFTU to look for ways to genuinely represent workers’ interests, such as helping to negotiate pay rises. “Times have clearly changed, and the approach of the international trade union movement needs to change too,” he writes. His remarks follow fresh unrest among workers, including riots and strikes in the Pearl river delta, the country’s manufacturing heartland. Fast-rising food prices and broader concerns about their treatment by officials have exacerbated grievances over wages and conditions. Han argues that the increasingly globalised market makes it vital to give China’s hundreds of millions of workers a voice and says the International Trade Union Confederation should discuss affiliation with the ACFTU. He suggests experienced overseas unions could help it to serve its members better “and eventually become a real trade union”. While the Communist party will determine its development, even the party now has to listen and respond to workers’ “increasingly clear and angry calls for change,” he concludes. China Human rights Tania Branigan guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Michelle Obama today wrapped up her weeklong tour of Africa, a whirlwind trek in which she hobnobbed with schoolkids, celebs, and dignitaries, and was hailed as American royalty by enthusiastic crowds. As Nelson Mandela’s wife, Graca Machel, said: “We welcome you as a daughter of African heritage and we can…
Continue reading …Groupon and other “daily deal” sites are great places to snag discounted meals, outings, and—somewhat counter-intuitively—medical services. When you’re looking at paying $2,400 for a $5,000 dental procedure or getting 81% off an eye exam, it probably seems pretty tempting. But is it a good idea?…
Continue reading …Accident on Neige Cordier peak in Hautes-Alpes region that killed six may have been result of human error Six climbers have died in an accident in the Alps in one of the worst mountain tragedies in France in recent years. The apparently experienced mountaineers, climbing in two groups in what were described as “ideal conditions”, are thought to have become unattached from the mountain and fallen into a steep pass 200 metres (656 feet) below to their deaths. Their bodies lay on the mountain for around 24 hours before being found by an English hiker, following a similar route, who made the macabre discovery on Sunday morning. The hiker immediately called a mountain rescue team to report finding the bodies at an altitude of 2,700 metres on the Neige Cordier peak, three miles (5km) from the village of Villar-d’Arène in the Hautes-Alpes region. The spot, in the Massif Ecrin mountain range, just south east of Grenoble in the southern French Alps, is popular with climbers and is not considered by mountaineering experts as especially dangerous. French police have launched an investigation into the accident. The sky was clear and locals say conditions could not have been better when the six French mountaineers – two men and three women aged between 42 and 64 and a 16-year-old youth – set off from the Villar-d’Arène area at 6am on Saturday, aiming to climb the 3,614-metre Neige Cordier peak. Police believe the group, equipped with crampons, ice axes and suitable climbing clothing, and making the ascent roped together in two groups of three, had not gone far before tragedy struck.Although they have not established the exact cause, investigators say that at some point on Saturday morning all six fell up to 200 metres into a steep pass that locals said was frequently used by snow walkers and mountaineers. At first it was believed the group had been hit by an avalanche of snow and rocks, but first examinations of the scene suggested human error. “On the face of it there wasn’t an avalanche. They came unattached [from the mountain]. At the moment we don’t know why,” local magistrate Rémy Avon said. He said that the first investigations showed “traces of slippage” in the Plate des Agneaux pass, a steep corridor where the bodies were discovered “halfway up”, and added that the first group appeared to have reached the top of the corridor before
Continue reading …In a close election that ran overnight, the Cherokee Nation elected a new principal chief today, with final results posted on the tribe’s website showing longtime councilman Bill John Baker defeating three-term incumbent Chad Smith by 11 votes. More than 15,000 votes were cast, and the margin between the…
Continue reading …Senior Conservative was ‘big rock in my life’, says PM, as details emerge of communications surrounding controversial note Christopher Shale, the close ally of David Cameron’s whose body was discovered in a toilet at Glastonbury on Sunday morning, may have died as early as the previous afternoon, according to a family friend who said he was briefed by medical staff. It emerged that Downing Street had contacted the senior Conservative on Saturday to warn him that a controversial note he had written describing parts of his party as crass and grasping had been leaked to a Sunday newspaper. One official contacted him by text just after 12.30pm to advise him not to speak to reporters; another suggested he get in touch with Conservative headquarters. Shale, chairman of West Oxfordshire Conservative Association and a prominent Eurosceptic, appears to have suffered a massive heart attack as early as lunchtime on Saturday. The prime minister said the death had left him and his wife, Samantha, “devastated”, adding “a big rock in my life has suddenly been rolled away”. Cameron had been aware of the note’s existence and there is deep concern inside Downing Street that its contents, known only to a small number of people, had been disclosed. The paper was essentially a strategy document setting out how to recruit members. It said the local party appeared “graceless, voracious, crass, always on the take” and needed to radically change. Judging by its blunt language, the memo was clearly not written for wide circulation in his local party. Shale’s family is said to have a history of heart failure. Earlier reports, including one from the Glastonbury festival organiser, Michael Eavis, suggesting Shale had killed himself, were dismissed. Avon and Somerset police said that the death was not being treated as suspicious. Party officials had earlier said that there was no suggestion from Shale’s behaviour that he was overly concerned about the leak of parts of his memo to the Mail on Sunday. Shale’s contacts with Downing Street officials were seen as routine and polite, and he is not believed to have taken up the advice to speak to the party headquarters. One senior party source said the heart attack was “just a dreadful coincidence”, adding: “The story in the Mail on Sunday did not concern us that much.” After receiving the texts, Shale did contact the Witney constituency agent Barry Norton, a West Oxfordshsire councillor. Norton said: “He was absolutely in good health, we understand that his death has been as the result of a heart attack, that is the information we have. There is a history of that in his family and anything to the contrary, at the moment, is totally scurrilous.” Asked if Shale was aware of the Mail article which used information he had gathered, he said: “Yes he was. He was very aware of that article. “He was very circumspect with it and was quite confident that this was something that was not really an issue and he was looking forward to increasing our membership and was working on a pilot to try and do that.” It was pointed out that Shale, 56, who worked in public relations, management consultancy and marketing, was a robust character who would not be fazed by the interplay of media and politics. He had been staying in one of the luxury caravans behind the Pyramid Stage. His wife raised the alarm early in the morning, but his body was not found until 9am. But Shale may have died in the early afternoon of the previous day, according to the family friend. Rupert Soames, a businessman and friend of Shale who was at Glastonbury and has been helping co-ordinate arrangements following his death, said through a spokesman that medics had told him and Shale’s family that they believe he died of a massive heart attack “around lunchtime” on Saturday. The prime minister, who has been MP for Witney in Oxfordshire for 10 years, said Shale had been “a huge support over the last decade”. Cameron said: “Christopher was one of the most truly generous people I’ve ever met – he was always giving to others, his time, his help, his enthusiasm and above all his love of life. “It was in that spirit that he made a massive contribution to the Conservative party. Our love and prayers are with Nikki and the family. They’ve lost an amazing dad, west Oxfordshire has lost a big and wonderful man and like so many others, Sam and I have lost a close and valued friend.” In a statement, Michael Eavis said: “I would like to express my deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the man whose body was found on the site early on Sunday morning.” Conservatives David Cameron Glastonbury festival Festivals Patrick Wintour Robert Booth guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Hugo Chavez is in critical condition in a Cuban hospital, according to reports in Miami’s Nuevo Herald. The Venezuelan president, who triggered health rumors earlier this month after he dropped out of view for surgery on a pelvic abscess, is “critical, in a complicated situation,” reports the paper. Chavez’s daughter…
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