Tag Archives: WorldNews

Can guerrilla picnics end Tokyo’s 50-year war on public space?

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In 1969 Japan had its own ‘Occupy Tokyo’ moment – then the police cracked down. Now a new generation is fighting to bring public space back to the capital

It’s 3:30pm and a dozen Tokyoites are sitting in the middle of the asphalt road, on a street in the famously crowded entertainment district of Shibuya, having a picnic.

They’ve brought snacks, beer and an entire roast beef, as well as a couple of 19th-century picnic sets, one of which is worth roughly £6,000. Passersby pretend not to notice, but you can tell from their sideways glances that they think it’s a bit weird. Eventually a worried neighbour appears, ushering the group into his front yard, where there is a canopy to protect against rain.

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‘A simple pattern’: how Trump claims victory when facts suggest otherwise

blowhard pattern

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The president’s misleading agreement with Mexico showcases his reality-TV tactics – but the media keeps ‘taking the bait’

Another drama, another cliffhanger, another disaster averted at the last minute. Donald Trump had saved the world. Again.

The strange saga of the US-Mexico trade war that never was serves up the latest example of Trump’s reality-television presidency. Time and again he has manufactured crises, set deadlines, made threats, pulled back from the brink and claimed victory while keeping the details notoriously vague.

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Hundreds of new pesticides approved in Brazil under Bolsonaro

Money can’t buy you love or a ticket out of results of your actions.

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Many of those permitted since far-right president took power are banned in Europe

Brazil has approved hundreds of new pesticide products since its far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, took power in January, and more than 1,000 since 2016, a study has found. Many of those approved are banned in Europe.

Of 169 new pesticides sanctioned up to 21 May this year, 78 contain active ingredients classified as highly hazardous by the Pesticide Action Network and 24 contain active ingredients banned in the EU, according to the study published on Wednesday by Greenpeace UK’s news agency Unearthed. Another 28 pesticides not included in the report were approved in the last days of 2018.

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Russian officials tried to frame Ivan Golunov. Instead they made him a hero | Alexey Kovalev

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As the investigative journalist’s editor, I know how incredible his release was. Now there’s a chance the truth will be exposed

As of last Saturday, Ivan Golunov is officially the most popular personality in the Russian media, dwarfing Vladimir Putin. It feels surreal, even as I’m writing this, because Golunov is one of the humblest people I know. But since the weekend, his plight has captured the nation.

Golunov is a reporter at Meduza, the Russian news outlet where I am investigations editor. Early in the morning on 7 June I was woken up by a call from Galina Timchenko, Meduza’s chief executive. “We’re in trouble,” she said. “Ivan has just been arrested, something to do with drugs.”

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