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Claims that children are worse off when raised by same-sex couples are ‘deeply offensive’, Jennifer Westacott saysClaiming children raised by same-sex couples are worse off is “deeply offensive and wrong”, the Business Council of Australia chief executive, Jennifer Westacott, has said.Speaking to Radio National on Thursday Westacott defended the right of businesses to take a stance on marriage equality and her desire for her more than 30-year same-sex relationship to be treated with the same respect as others. Continue reading...

Parents cling to rumours of earthquake survivors at Enrique Rebsámen school as volunteers arrive to pick through building’s remains

Helen Epstein responds to accusations that the sources she used for her Guardian article on Rwanda’s genocide were unreliableIn response to my article “America’s secret role in the Rwandan genocide” (12 September), Linda Melvern (Letters, 19 September) disputes my suggestion that much evidence points to the Rwandan Patriotic Front’s (RPF) responsibility for shooting down President Juvénal Habyarimana’s aeroplane in April 1994. I rely for information about the provenance of the launchers on Belgian historian Filip Reyntjens, who investigated the matter thoroughly shortly after the event (see his Rwanda: Trois jours qui ont fait basculer l’histoire, published in 1996).In addition, the various investigations linking the RPF to the plot to down the aeroplane rely on former RPF officers who took enormous risks to share their stories. I do not rely on “convicted génocidaires”, as Melvern claims. (See, for example, Kayumba Nyamwasa’s interview in the BBC’s Rwanda’s Untold Story and UN investigator Michael Hourigan’s affidavit in Uncovering Rwanda’s Secrets at theage.com.au.) Continue reading...

Emma Kelty, who posted social media messages before sending distress signal, was no stranger to solo adventuresPosting on social media on 10 September, Emma Kelty joked about a warning she had been given about the stretch of the Amazon river she was about to enter. “So in or near Coari (60 miles) I will have my boat stolen and I will be killed too,” she wrote. “Nice.”Two days later, Kelty, who was canoeing the length of the Amazon, said she was “in the clear”. But hours later she posted again, describing an encounter with armed men. “Turned corner and found 50 guys in motor boats with arrows!!! My face must have been a picture!! (Town was uber quiet ... too quiet!!) all go ... Continue reading...

Peter Wellington says councillors should be banned from voting on donor-related developments and prevented from taking up matters with council staffCouncillors should be banned from having any role in the handling of projects by developers who have donated to their campaign, Queensland’s parliamentary Speaker has said, after fresh controversy over developer donations erupted on the Gold Coast.

World middleweight boxing champion who inspired Martin Scorsese’s film Raging Bull and fought Sugar Ray Robinson six timesJake LaMotta, who has died aged 95, is generally acknowledged as one of the toughest men to have entered a professional boxing ring – a world middleweight champion best remembered for having fought the great Sugar Ray Robinson on six occasions. Brought up in poverty, a teenage hoodlum, married seven times, imprisoned for pimping, a confessed rapist and sometime actor and standup comedian, LaMotta led a life that reads like a film script and was the basis for the greatest boxing movie of all time, Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull (1980).Robert De Niro won an Oscar for his portrayal of the violent, paranoid, wife-beating LaMotta, who had nevertheless endeared himself to the American public at a time when boxing was a hugely popular spectator sport, commanding enormous newspaper coverage, with his almost unbelievable feats of bravery within the ring. The film was based on LaMotta’s memoirs, Raging Bull: My Story (1970), co-written with Joseph Carter and Peter Savage, and republished on several occasions. Continue reading...

Airline faces fresh trouble as pilots refuse to accept cash bonus to work on holidays and starting earlyRyanair customers face the threat of a fresh wave of flight cancellations as the airline’s pilots prepare to reject an offer of a cash bonus if they give up days off.The Guardian has obtained a draft letter signed by Ryanair pilots from across Europe, rejecting the offer and warning they will now “work to rule”. This means refusing to work beyond the terms of their contracts in order to help the airline, which would involve working days off, arriving at work early or even answering their phone when they are not at work. Continue reading...

Police think the final death toll will be about 80. So far, 60 have been named, along with 10 of the missingThe deaths of 61 people in Grenfell Tower have been confirmed by the police, though officers have said they believe the final death toll will be about 80.Scotland Yard named 32 of those who died and withheld the identities of a further 29 at the requests of their families. Besides those named by police, 28 people were identified when their inquests were opened and adjourned at Westminster coroner’s court – one of whom remains anonymous temporarily at the request of their family. Officers believe that about 240 people made it out of the tower.

Gillian Wearing, first female artist to create statue for London square, granted planning approval for tribute to Millicent FawcettThe first female artist to create a statue for Parliament Square in central London has unveiled the final design.Related: Millicent Fawcett was a heroine deserving of a statue | Letters Continue reading...

Of 2.2 million who sought asylum during crisis, more than half were still waiting for decision up to two years later, analysts sayMore than 1.1 million people who sought asylum in Europe during the continent’s biggest refugee crisis since the second world war were still waiting up to two years later to hear whether they would be allowed to stay, according to a study.In the first Europe-wide analysis of the status of asylum seekers who arrived in Norway, Switzerland and the 28-member EU during the 2015-16 crisis, the Pew Research Center estimated more than half were still in limbo in December last year. Continue reading...

Three-metre concrete wall erected in 1989 to protect residents on either side from sectarian attack is knocked downAnother of Belfast’s so-called peace walls separating Catholic and Protestant communities is being dismantled as part of a programme to eliminate barriers that divide the city into rival sectarian zones.

A look at the devastating path of Hurricane Maria. Aerial footage shows the destruction on the island of Dominica where at least seven people have died. Graphics show where the category 4 storm is heading next.

Group of up to 60 unaccompanied children expecting to come to UK have heard nothing about their applicationsDozens of unaccompanied children in Greece have been left in limbo for more than a year after they were expected to be admitted to the UK as part of the British government’s commitment to rescue Europe’s most vulnerable young refugees.The group of up to 60 children were expected to come to the UK under a scheme, created by the Labour peer Alf Dubs, that was intended to bring around 3,000 child refugees into the country. But despite being put through a time-consuming screening process and being identified as provisionally eligible this time last year, they have heard nothing about their applications since. Continue reading...

The AfD party has become increasingly nasty – and more popular too. That nationalists will have a voice in the German parliament once again is disturbingOn the face of it, Sunday’s general election will be the most boring in Germany’s history. The only question seems to be: will chancellor Angela Merkel continue her “grand coalition“ with the Social Democrats (SPD), or will she rule with the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) or the Greens, or both?One thing, however, seems as certain as Merkel’s continued premiership, and it’s more important: the far-right populist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party will enter the Bundestag. Polls put it at 10% or more. For the first time since the Reichstag fire of 1933, a nationalist, reactionary, racist party will sit in the building where the republic was proclaimed in 1918, where Nazis and communists helped destroy the democracy of Weimar, where the red flag was raised by Soviet soldiers in 1945, and which – redesigned by British architect Norman Foster – has come to represent the modern, multicultural and friendly Germany the world saw during the football World Cup in 2006, when Merkel had been in office for just one year. Continue reading...

Beyond the Sun, to be released at Christmas, tells story of children searching for God, with proceeds going to charityPope Francis’s screen debut in a narrative feature film gets its first official showing on Wednesday night at the Vatican, before the film’s Christmas release.Starring as himself, the head of the Catholic church has a cameo role in Beyond the Sun, an evangelical story about children searching for God. He is expected to attend the screening. A copy of the film has already been sent to him. Continue reading...

Five people are now in custody after two men aged 30 and 48 were held in Newport by police investigating London tube attackThree men from south Wales have been arrested by police investigating the Parsons Green tube bombing, bringing the number of people in custody to five.Two men aged 30 and 48 were held at an address in Newport at 5.10am on Wednesday by officers from the Metropolitan police’s counter-terrorism command. Continue reading...

Footage appears to show hugh slabs falling from a government building after a powerful earthquake hit the centre of the country.* At least 217 dead after powerful earthquake hits central Mexico* Drone footage reveals aftermath of Mexico earthquake – video

Death toll is expected to rise after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake strikes 120km from Mexico City, collapsing buildings and killing at least 217 people

An isolated Antarctic research station can now receive vital supplies all year round thanks to the Royal Australian Air Force lending its wings to science. Before this week Davis station, which lies 4,700km south-west of Perth, could only been reached from Australia by ship between October and April, a journey that took 12 to 14 days. But now air force planes are able to fly from Victoria whenever supplies are needed. A C-17A Globemaster III dropped supplies at the station on Tuesday, the first time replenishments have come by air rather than sea. The 700kg airdrop included fresh food, medical supplies and mail for the 17 expeditioners who have spent six months at the Antarctic base. Davis station leader Kirsten le Mar says: ‘In preparation for the airdrop today at Davis we’ve been measuring sea ice and grooming roads out to the drop zone.’ She says: ‘The airdrop means a greater connection to Australia ... What we’re most looking forward to is mail and fresh fruit.’ Continue reading...

Urban Nation, which will champion the movement and archive its works, opens with pieces by Banksy and Blek le RatFor some it is the largest and most democratic art movement the world has ever seen, for others it is unwanted visual pollution. But street art now has a permanent claim on the art world: an entire museum dedicated to the genre.Urban Nation in Berlin is the world’s first major institution built to champion and archive street art and graffiti, which fully emerged in New York in the 1970s with artists who would tag the subway tunnels. Since then it has grown into a global movement, with artists making works – mostly illegally – on cityscapes around the world. Continue reading...

Central Mexico has been hit by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake. If you’re in the region, you can share your experiences with us

‘You have to evacuate. Otherwise, you’re going to die,’ warns US territory’s safety commissioner as devastation of Dominica emergesAt least six people have reportedly been killed and 90% of buildings destroyed after Hurricane Maria lashed the Caribbean island of Dominica, as Puerto Rico braced for its turn in the eye of a “potentially catastrophic” category five storm.Puerto Rican officials urged residents to evacuate to government-run shelters on the island, which is expected to take a direct hit from a storm that currently has sustained wind speeds of 165mph (270km/h). Thousands of people have already fled to safety. Continue reading...

Rescuers and residents look for victims amid the ruins of a building knocked down by a powerful magnitude 7.1 earthquake that jolted central Mexico damaging buildings. The president, Enrique Peña Nieto has called for calm amid the emergency, which has left at least 224 people – including 20 children – dead. The earthquake comes 32 years after a magnitude-8.0 earthquake hit on September 19, 1985

Conflict and climate change have brought with them dangerous levels of hunger and malnutrition in many countries. Photojournalist Chris de Bode visits Burundi, Central African Republic and Niger to hear people’s stories of how simple interventions are helping communities to cope

Jon Henley and guests discuss the foreign secretary’s exaggerated and occasionally downright inaccurate picture of the ‘glorious’ future awaiting BritainSubscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Soundcloud and Acast, and join the discussion on Facebook, Twitter and emailAt the end of this week, Theresa May will make what has been billed as the third big policy statement laying out the government’s overarching vision of Brexit, after her Lancaster House speech in January and the Brexit white paper that followed. Continue reading...

Footage from the Regional Security System (RSS) reveals the extent of the damage to the island of Dominica after the passage of category five Hurricane Maria Continue reading...

Abbott wants to lead an insurgency to sink Turnbull’s climate and energy policy, which has always been a proxy for his leadership. It’s pure political expediencyTony Abbott has been an implacable force against rational climate action in this country for the best part of a decade, and nothing has changed.

Prime minister visits Queensland, where Labor premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is rumoured to be preparing to call a state electionMalcolm Turnbull has added fuel to the electoral arms race for Queensland, hoping to woo the state with the promise of a new coal-fired power station – but only if it votes his way in the upcoming state election.With speculation in Canberra mounting that the Labor premier will shortly call an election in Queensland, Turnbull will head to the state on Wednesday, missing his rival Bill Shorten by just hours. Continue reading...

Police investigating disappearance of Emma Kelty, 43, say they have arrested three people, including two 17-year-olds, and are looking for four othersTwo teenagers and a third man have been arrested over the murder of a British woman who went missing in Brazil while kayaking alone from the source of the Amazon to the Atlantic.Emma Kelty, a 43-year-old primary school headteacher, was last heard from when she triggered a distress signal last Wednesday while in a notoriously dangerous area.In a statement, police in the state capital Manaus said they had arrested one 17-year-old male on Monday in Codajás, 150 miles (240km) away, and a second on Tuesday in Lauro Sodré, where Kelty was killed. That Amazon community lies two hours from the town of Coari, where police arrested the third man, who has been named as Erinei Ferreira da Silva. They are also seeking four other suspects. Continue reading...

Man, 25, held in counter-terrorism raid in Wales, as family of suspect Yahyah Farroukh speak of their shock over his arrestA third man has been arrested in connection with the last week’s attempted bombing of a London Underground train.

Unison one of a number of institutions in Britain to withdraw honours in response to humanitarian crisisOne of Britain’s largest trade unions has suspended an award given to Aung San Suu Kyi during her time as a political prisoner, as international criticism mounts over her tepid response to Myanmar’s humanitarian crisis.The move comes as a number of British institutions say they are reviewing or removing honours bestowed on Aung San Suu Kyi during her campaign for democracy under Myanmar’s oppressive military junta.

Verbal abuse, apathy and voicemail are just some of the hurdles for those volunteering for the yes campaignOn Saturday afternoon, in a park in Sydney’s inner west, 30 young people gathered in the sun to debrief about the past hour they had spent cold calling for the yes campaign for marriage equality.“It was heaps harder than I thought it would be,” one woman said, to murmurs of deflated agreement. Continue reading...

We Germans are still dealing with a great deal of shame from the second world war, writes Silvia Daley, while Stan Labovitch says that Germans are incandescent not to have been consulted on refugeesTo give an opinion on a country’s political affairs after having only spent a week in Germany is impossible (Germany won’t be leading the world. It barely looks beyond its own borders, 16 September). We Germans are still dealing with a great deal of shame from the second world war, which will always hold us back from a potential leadership role in the Trump era, or any leadership role for that matter. It is also not fair to say that Brexit is not talked about – the whole country is still in shock, as the EU has secured peace in Europe for a very long time. Britain is a huge trading partner, and Germans are acutely aware of the implications. But it is true to say that Germany has taken a holiday. A holiday from the big, negative changes in Europe that are to come.

Allegations against Karin Strenz drag scandal over payments to European politicians into German election campaignRevelations over payments by Azerbaijan to European politicians have seeped into the German election as it emerged that a close ally of Angela Merkel allegedly received money from the authoritarian regime.The revelations are embarrassing for the German chancellor who on Tuesday was due to campaign with Karin Strenz, a Christian Democrat member of parliament, in the Baltic port city of Wismar. Continue reading...

Bodegas’ resident felines are symbolic of the relaxed environment that people appreciate about their local corner store. Could their bricks-and-mortar homes be put out of business by the latest tech startup? Won’t somebody think of the cats?Two former Google employees’ proposal to replace corner shops with automated cabinets promoted an outpouring of scorn on social media last week, but in among the gags (“vending machines already exist”) and the slurs was a semi-serious concern: won’t somebody think of the cats?

Russian creator of the AK-47, used to kill an estimated 250,000 people a year, celebrated in controversial ceremonyA statue of Mikhail Kalashnikov, the inventor of the AK-47 assault rifle, has been unveiled in central Moscow in a controversial ceremony that merged military pomp with religious ritual.The nine-metre (30ft) monument depicts Kalashnikov clutching his eponymous automatic weapon. Tuesday’s event was attended by high-ranking Russian officials including Sergey Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, and Vladimir Medinsky, the culture minister. Continue reading...

Authorities erect checkpoints and impose nighttime curfew in contested city of Kirkuk after deadly clashesIraqi authorities in the northern city of Kirkuk have imposed a nighttime curfew to prevent a deadly dispute from developing into ethnic clashes before a referendum on Kurdish independence, local residents have said.

US authorities begin sending appointment slips to refugees but Peter Dutton declines to commentRefugees on Nauru and Manus Island will soon learn whether they have been accepted for resettlement in the US, with the first to receive final determinations Wednesday morning.Refugees within both of the Australian-run offshore processing centres have been given appointment notices indicating the first meetings will begin in the morning. Continue reading...

A Melbourne court released CCTV footage of a man setting fire to a bank in the city’s south-east, allegedly in retribution for being kept waiting to make a withdrawal. Police allege Nur Islam, 22, poured petrol in the doorway of the Commonwealth Bank at Springvale on 18 November 2016 before lighting it, causing a large fire and creating ‘pandemonium’ as customers and staff stampeded to escape, Melbourne magistrates court was told on Tuesday. Continue reading...

On 17 June, a fire swept through the forests of central Portugal, killing 64 people and destroying more than 480 houses. After a summer of record numbers of wildfires across southern Europe, the Guardian travelled to devastated villages in Portugal to find out why the June fire was so deadly, and what can be done to prevent it happening again Continue reading...

Forced marriage is included for first time in worldwide statistics that show ‘money and debt’ to be at the heart of the exploitationAn estimated 40.3 million people were victims of modern slavery in 2016, a quarter of them children, according to new global slavery statistics released today.The figures, from the UN’s International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Walk Free Foundation, show 24.9 million people across the world were trapped in forced labour and 15.4 million in forced marriage last year. Children account for 10 million of the overall 40.3m total. Continue reading...

President will urge nations to confront Iran and North Korea … Caribbean battered again as Hurricane Maria hits … Britain’s debt timebombGood morning and welcome to the Guardian morning briefing. I’m Martin Farrer and these are the top stories this Tuesday morning. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Photographs of burned houses corroborates Guardian report on destruction of homes by the armyNew satellite images taken above the Myanmar village of Tula Toli have revealed the charred remains of the settlement, confirming a Guardian report earlier this month that detailed its demolition based on eyewitness accounts.

Prime minister says ‘we have enough taxes’ and health authorities should focus on promoting healthy lifestylesMalcolm Turnbull has rejected the push to introduce a 20% tax on sugary drinks to halt the rise of obesity in Australia, saying the economy already has too many taxes.He said health authorities would be better off focusing on promoting healthy lifestyles, and proper labelling of food products, and getting people to exercise more. Continue reading...

Julie Bishop responds to US warnings that military options remain open, saying Kim Jong-un is seeking leverage for talksThe foreign minister, Julie Bishop, has warned further pressure will be brought to bear on North Korea, as the US seeks to remind the “rocket man” that military options remain on the table.Bishop, in New York for the UN general assembly, told Guardian Australia through her spokeswoman, there was more room to force North Korea back to the negotiating table. Continue reading...

In a speech likely to draw comparisons with George W Bush’s ‘axis of evil’, the president will tell nations they must confront the twin threat to global securityDonald Trump will use his first address to the UN general assembly on Tuesday to call for international action to confront North Korea and Iran, which he will portray as twin threats to global security, the White House said.

Isis extremist content attracts more clicks in Britain than in any other European country, thinktank says, and internet firms are failing to curb itOnline jihadist propaganda attracts more clicks in Britain than in any other European country and the main internet companies are failing to curb it, a centre-right thinktank has said.Policy Exchange analysts have said that Islamic State is still producing, at a conservative estimate, about 100 items of new content each week, including execution videos and bomb-making instructions, despite big military defeats in Iraq and Syria. Continue reading...

Nathan French, 19, tackled Snowdon – the highest mountain in Wales – wearing nothing but Superman underwearPeople planning to climb Snowdon are being urged to dress appropriately after a teenager developed hypothermia after hiking up the mountain in just his underwear.An ambulance crew were called after 19-year-old Nathan French from Halewood in Merseyside completed the 1,085-metre climb of the highest mountain in Wales but became unwell at the summit. Continue reading...

Blaze at warehouse in White Hart Lane in Tottenham described as ’absolutely terrifying’ by onlookerMore than 100 firefighters are tackling a huge fire at a warehouse in north London on Monday night.A total of 25 fire engines were sent to the “absolutely terrifying” blaze in White Hart Lane in Tottenham, with 120 firefighters involved at the scene. Continue reading...

Lib Dem leader urges Jeremy Corbyn to ‘get off the fence’ and attacks ‘silly public school boys’ who led referendum debateBritain needs “political adults” to work together to halt a damaging Brexit, Vince Cable will tell the Liberal Democrat conference on Tuesday, urging moderate Conservatives and Labour MPs to work with his party.Cable will also call on the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, to listen to the many pro-EU voters who backed him in June. “He would do better to get off the fence and refurbish his revolutionary credentials. Jeremy, join us in the Anti-Brexit People’s Liberation Front,” he will say in his first keynote speech as Lib Dem leader. Continue reading...