Centurions found one lost world

Martin Shiwak is navigating his snowmobile along the frozen shoreline when his eight-year-old son Dane, who is riding on the back, points at a wall of stunted spruce trees. Shiwak cuts the engine, hops off the machine and quietly pulls out a .12 gauge shotgun. He hands the weapon to Dane, and the pair crouch behind their snowmobile. Dane fires two quick shots. Two white partridges, almost invisible in the tree line, drop dead. Dane runs to retrieve the birds, warming his hands against their bodies to ward off the chill from the cold wind whipping in from the North Atlantic Ocean. Shiwak is an Inuit trapper and hunter who grew up relying on the wild bounty of Labrador. He takes his son out for trips like this every week, trying to pass on generations of knowledge around living off the land: how to collect firewood, hunt and fish, and travel safely in a place where the rhythm of life is still built upon ice and snow. But he’s running out of time. The sea surrounding coastal … [Read more...] about ‘Sea, ice, snow … it’s all changing’: Inuit struggle with warming world

Two years ago, GCHQ's annual sports day took place on Wednesday 15 June at the Civil Service Sports Club in London. A mixed six-a-side football tournament was the centrepiece of the day, with matches kicking off at 11am sharp. The event was a jolly for those routinely cooped up in the agency's distinctive doughnut-shaped headquarters in Cheltenham, and they were furnished with six pages of rules and regulations to ensure fair play. "Each team MUST field at least ONE lady player at all times," the note said. "Appropriate footwear shall be worn. No crocs, sandals or flip-flops will be allowed. The wearing of shin-pads is COMPULSORY." Of all the highly classified documents about GCHQ revealed by the whistleblower Edward Snowden, this has to be one of the least sensitive. But it offers a glimpse into the world of the 6,100 people crammed into the open-plan and underground offices at GCHQ; the fact that there is a sports day at all reveals something about the agency which most people … [Read more...] about GCHQ: inside the top secret world of Britain’s biggest spy agency

Gerwyn Price became the latest high-profile casualty at the PDC world darts championship on Friday, letting a 2-0 lead slip as he lost to the world No 73, Nathan Aspinall. The Welsh No 6 seed was seen by many as an outside chance to reach the final after his victory over Gary Anderson at the Grand Slam of Darts, and looked to be cruising into the third round after winning both of the first two sets 3-2. Price had a match dart at the bullseye in the third set, but missed – and then saw the outsider clean up a 91 checkout to snatch the set. That marked a dramatic turnaround as Aspinall took six of the next seven legs to stun Price and delight the Alexandra Palace crowd. “I can’t describe the way I’m feeling now,” Aspinall told Sky Sports. “I’m so, so happy. It’s unreal. At 2-0 down, I still believed in myself. Now, hopefully, I can go deep in the competition.” Price has divided opinion with his aggressive on-stage demeanour, and … [Read more...] about Gerwyn Price beaten by Nathan Aspinall as PDC world darts shocks continue

James Wade was accused of thuggish behaviour after saying he wanted to hurt Seigo Asada in his nailbiting win over the Japanese qualifier. Wade, the world No 9, battled back from a set down to beat the Asian Tour No 2 player 3-2 but the match was overshadowed by his actions on stage as he appeared to be feeling the pressure. He shouted in the direction of his opponent after levelling the match at 1-1, and later defended his aggressive behaviour. “I dug in deep there. It’s a magnificent feeling. I could have easily lost that. I’ve done it for my son, for my country, so it’s good,” he told Sky Sports. “I kept giving it to him, I wanted to hurt him, I wanted to really hurt him in his face. It wasn’t a great game but I wanted to hurt him and I wanted to progress. That’s for my son, and also for the UK.” The former player Wayne Mardle, working as a pundit, described Wade’s behaviour as “thuggish” and said there was no … [Read more...] about James Wade accused of intimidation in PDC world darts win over Seigo Asada

Lizbeth Amores dropped off her son at her mother’s house before heading to a house party with her friend Verenice Guevara. They were last seen at a bar popular with local gangsters. The following night, María de Jesús Marthen was among a dozen or so young women invited to a private party at a ranch about an hour east of the city centre. On her way to the event, Marthen messaged her boyfriend, pleading for help. The next night, Karla Saldaña and her friend Luisa Quintana went out for tacos. They were spotted leaving a bar in an unknown vehicle. None of them were ever seen again, but they were not the only women to vanish: over the space of three nights in November 2011, at least 50 women disappeared in similar circumstances from Xalapa, the capital of Veracruz state, which had been convulsed by cartel violence and political volatility. Most of the missing women were in their 20s and came from modest families. Some were single mothers, some full-time sex workers, … [Read more...] about ‘Impunity has consequences’: the women lost to Mexico’s drug war

India vs Netherlands, Hockey World Cup: Netherlands scored the winning goal in the final quarter. © Twitter The Indian men's hockey team got knocked out of the 2018 Hockey World Cup after suffering a 1-2 defeat against World No.4 Netherlands in the quarterfinals at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Thursday. Both the teams played aggressive hockey throughout the game but Mink van der Weerden's goal in the final quarter proved to be the decisive difference between the two teams. India started exceptionally well, scoring the first goal through a penalty corner in the 12th minute. Akashdeep Singh gave India an early advantage with a brilliant reverse flick. But Thierry Brinkman soon scored the equaliser for the Netherlands in the 15th minute through a field goal. Both the teams then, continuously searched for the lead in the second and third quarter but were not able to break through the opposition's defence. In the 50th minute of the game, Weerden scored through a … [Read more...] about India vs Netherlands, Hockey World Cup Highlights: India Knocked Out, Lose To Netherlands In Quarterfinal