Officials in the north-western Chinese city of Xian are facing punishment for “not doing a good job” after a Covid-19 outbreak led to the lockdown of its 13 million residents. All domestic flights out of Xian and most trains from the city scheduled for Friday were cancelled. Officials say the outbreak has been traced to the arrival of a plane from Pakistan. The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in a statement that 26 people in Xian were being held accountable for failing in their efforts to prevent and control…
Day: December 24, 2021
Shortage of key ingredient puts Australia’s 2022 wine vintage at risk
Wine industry suppliers have been warned to plan ahead amid rising costs and international shortages of a key ingredient in the winemaking process. The sector has been affected by reduced supplies of diammonium phosphate (DAP), a nitrogen fertiliser commonly used during grape fermentation. Jason Amos, the chair of Wine Industry Suppliers Australia (Wisa), told Guardian Australia that shipping delays and a reduction in supply of DAP from China had combined to increase costs. “I’ve seen prices up to five times more expensive for us in the wine sector,” he said.…
Best long reads of 2021: The rich vs the very, very rich: the Wentworth golf club rebellion – podcast
In the first instalment of our series looking back at the best audio long reads of 2021, editor David Wolf introduces one of the long read team’s favourite pieces of the year. When a Chinese billionaire bought one of Britain’s most prestigious golf clubs in 2015, dentists and estate agents were confronted with the unsentimental force of globalised capital. By Samanth Subramanian How to listen to podcasts: everything you need to know The Guardian