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The museum has held one of the most spiritually important statues of the Chilean island’s stone monoliths for 150 yearsThe governor of Easter Island has tearfully begged the British Museum to return one of its famous statues, saying: “Give us a chance so he can come back.”The museum has held the Hoa Hakananai’a – one of the most spiritually important of the Chilean island’s stone monoliths – for 150 years. Continue reading...

Peak aid body review finds victims of abuse by humanitarian workers included childrenAustralian international aid groups reported 76 incidents of alleged sexual misconduct over the past three years, including one case in which a humanitarian worker impregnated a local woman.The peak body for the aid sector – the Australian Council for International Development (Acfid) – commissioned an independent review into sexual misconduct earlier this year following revelations that Oxfam UK staff had hired prostitutes in Haiti after a major earthquake in 2010. Continue reading...

Hayley Weatherall, her boyfriend and his daughter tried to kill Raymond WeatherallA woman, her boyfriend and his daughter have been jailed for life over a plot to murder the woman’s terminally ill husband.Raymond Weatherall survived being shot in the face, jurors at Maidstone crown court heard. His wife, Hayley Weatherall, also planned to kill him using sleeping tablets and insulin. Continue reading...

Brexiter claims very few Tories want Theresa May to lead the party into 2022Jacob Rees-Mogg denied that his attempt to remove Theresa May had ended in humiliation as he called on Conservative MPs to seize their chance to topple the prime minister now or face the prospect of her leading the party into the next election.A total of 48 MPs must write to Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the backbenchers’ 1922 Committee in order to trigger a full confidence vote – 15% of the parliamentary party. But six days after May set out her EU withdrawal agreement only 26 MPs have publicly said that they have submitted a letter, leading rebels to privately concede that the move against May is likely to lie dormant until she loses a vote on the deal in parliament. Continue reading...

Friedrich Merz, frontrunner to become next CDU leader, says class is not just about moneyA frontrunner to take over from Angela Merkel as leader of Germany’s main conservative party is facing criticism for describing himself as “upper middle class” despite having amassed a fortune working in the financial sector and owning two private jets.Friedrich Merz, 62, who has been selling himself as the man who can save Germany from political and economic stagnation, and is seen as the most likely to succeed Merkel as head of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), was forced to disclose this week that his annual earnings amounted to around €1m (£890,000). The size of his personal fortune is estimated to run to several million. Continue reading...

Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen11.01am GMTSteve Baker, the ERG deputy chairman, has also been giving interviews. He says it is “very difficult” to see how there won’t be 48 Tory MPs demanding a no confidence vote in Theresa May if she loses the “meaningful vote”. But he does now know if the 48 letters will go in beforehand, he says.10.54am GMTHere are the key quotes from Jacob Rees-Mogg on the Tory leadership. Asked why the necessary 48 letters to force a confidence vote had not materialised, he said:Patience is a virtue, virtue is a grace. We will see what letters come in due time.Do 47 want to come with me or not? I may find that they don’t or they don’t do it today but when we get the meaningful vote. That’s a decision for them.What we are seeing from this government is a deliberate decision not to deliver a proper Brexit. We have a government led by remainers who want to keep us tied into the EU as tightly as possible. Continue reading...

Italian migrant and Bourke Street attack victim remembered as someone who made ‘everybody feel special’Golden light poured through the arch windows at St Patrick’s Cathedral as thousands of Melburnians turned out to bid farewell to much-loved Italian restauranteur Sisto Malaspina.An Australian flag was draped over the coffin of the Pellegrini’s Espresso Bar co-owner, along with a mound of roses arranged in the colours of the Italian flag. Continue reading...

Using ratings, competitions and bonuses to incentivise workers isn’t new – but as I found when I became a Lyft driver, the gig economy is taking it to another level. By Sarah MasonIn May 2016, after months of failing to find a traditional job, I began driving for the ride-hailing company Lyft. I was enticed by an online advertisement that promised new drivers in the Los Angeles area a $500 “sign-up bonus” after completing their first 75 rides. The calculation was simple: I had a car and I needed the money. So, I clicked the link, filled out the application, and, when prompted, drove to the nearest Pep Boys for a vehicle inspection. I received my flamingo-pink Lyft emblems almost immediately and, within a few days, I was on the road.Initially, I told myself that this sort of gig work was preferable to the nine-to-five grind. It would be temporary, I thought. Plus, I needed to enrol in a statistics class and finish my graduate school applications – tasks that felt impossible while working in a full-time desk job with an hour-long commute. But within months of taking on this readily available, yet strangely precarious form of work, I was weirdly drawn in. Continue reading...

Suspected officer Jose Mina allegedly killed three 18-year-old men and injured five others at Dili memorial celebrationA drunk police officer has allegedly shot and killed three teenagers at a party in Timor Leste, prompting protests against police brutality and lack of discipline.The suspected officer, Jose Mina, was off duty at a memorial celebration in the Kuluhun district of Dili on Saturday, when he allegedly drew his firearm in an attempt to stop two people arguing, Associated Press reported. Continue reading...

PNG’s security forces have gone on a destructive rampage through the country’s Parliament House. ‘The situation is quite tense’, opposition MP Bryan Kramer says inside parliament. ‘Numerous staff of parliament were assaulted’. Security forces and police say they have not been paid their allowances from the Apec conference which was held in the country over the weekend.

Officers are believed to be angry over unpaid allowances from the Apec conference over the weekendPapua New Guinea’s national parliament is in lockdown after a group of soldiers and police officers attacked the building, smashing vehicles and entryways on Tuesday afternoon.The officers are believed to have attacked the parliament in protest against unpaid allowances from the Apec conference over the weekend. Continue reading...

Speech by documentary filmmaker Fu Yue censored after she calls for Taiwan to be recognised as an ‘independent entity’The Chinese-language version of the Oscars, the Golden Horse Awards, have become the latest flashpoint in tense relations between China and Taiwan after a film director questioned the island’s political status.Documentary filmmaker Fu Yue called for Taiwan to be recognised as an “independent entity” during her acceptance speech, fighting back tears as she said, “this is my biggest wish as a Taiwanese”. Her speech was quickly censored on Chinese television and streams, with the coverage going black. Continue reading...

This report summarises the results of a weekly poll conducted by Essential Research with data provided by Your Source. Some questions are repeated regularly (such as political preference and leadership approval), while others are unique to each week and reflect current media and social issues Continue reading...

Joint counter terrorism team executes four warrants in city’s northern suburbsPolice have arrested three men alleged to have been plotting a “terrorist act” in Melbourne.The Australian federal police and Victoria police said on Tuesday morning that they would allege the three men arrested were “involved in undertaking preparations for planning a terrorist act”. Continue reading...

Trump administration had earlier sent Acosta a letter saying credentials would be pulled when 14-day order is over

Government pathologists forced to describe gunshot wounds as stab injuries, report allegesDoctors in Zimbabwe have accused “state agents” of pressuring medical officials to falsify diagnoses to cover up violence by security services and the army after historic elections this year.In a report, the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) alleges government pathologists at public hospitals were forced to describe gunshot injuries as stab wounds. Continue reading...

Two helicopters and one boat sent to rescue people who had attempted sea crossing to GreeceTurkey’s coastguard has rescued 44 people stuck on an island after they attempted the crossing to Greece.The coastguard said in a statement that it dispatched two helicopters and one boat following a rescue request call by someone on the island. Aerial footage showed groups of people on an island off the coast of the western province of Balıkesir. Continue reading...

South Western Railway blames overrunning works for train cancellations between Surbiton and Waterloo stationPassengers on some of the busiest rail routes in England have been warned not to travel because of overrunning engineering works.No South Western Railway (SWR) trains were operating on Monday morning between Surbiton and London Waterloo – the UK’s busiest railway station. Continue reading...

Prime minister to insist her deal would allow the UK to control immigrationTheresa May will move to seize back the initiative from mutinous Tory MPs on Monday by promoting her Brexit deal with a defiant speech to business leaders, even as critics in Westminster scramble to trigger a no-confidence vote in her leadership.As she enters perhaps the most perilous week of her premiership, May will insist at the CBI annual conference in London that her deal delivers on the central demand of voters in the 2016 referendum, by allowing the UK to control immigration. Continue reading...

Treasurer says defence minister is ‘giving his opinion freely’ as divisions within cabinet intensify over controversial moveJosh Frydenberg has publicly rebuked Christopher Pyne for commenting on the Coalition’s possible moving of Australia’s embassy in Israel, describing the defence minister as a “legend in his own lunchtime” as divisions within the cabinet intensify.Pyne, who last month floated the idea of two diplomatic presences in the fraught territory, an idea he repeated on Monday, said it was up to his colleagues to explain why such a delicate foreign policy debate was being played out publicly. Continue reading...

UN-backed tribunal that convicted the last two surviving leaders of genocide faces closure without government’s helpCambodia has reiterated it intends to end the work of the UN-backed tribunal that last week convicted the last two surviving leaders of the Khmer Rouge of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.Deputy prime minister Sar Kheng said the tribunal’s work had been completed and there would not be any additional prosecutions for acts that led to the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people in the 1970s. The only other person convicted was the regime’s prisons chief. Continue reading...

Showpiece outside women’s healthcare centre culminates with 14-metre newborn which has previously raised eyebrowsHealth authorities at a hospital in Qatar are braced for an outcry after unveiling 14 giant bronze sculptures by British artist Damien Hirst that graphically chart the voyage from conception to birth.The vast open-air installation greets patients arriving at the $8bn (£6bn) Sidra medicine hospital and is the centrepiece of a modern art collection that officially opened this week in Doha. Named The Miraculous Journey, it shows a foetus growing in the womb and culminates with a 14-metre (46ft) newborn. Continue reading...

All kinds of violent deeds have been perpetrated in the name of religion, from wars to witch-burnings to child sex abuse cover-ups. Why don’t we use the word cult more widely?Cults are hot right now, or so it would seem. One of the bestselling literary debuts of recent years, Emma Cline’s The Girls, tells of a teenage girl’s flirtation with a Manson-like cult in the summer of 1969. American Horror Story’s seventh season, subtitled Cult, delivers a political horror story that references the Manson family and Jonestown alongside Trump and creepy clowns. Netflix viewers binged on the 2018 documentary series Wild Wild Country, with its deliriously cool soundtrack and archival footage of the Rajneeshees – followers of controversial guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.Related: Jim Jones' lover: inside the mind of the cult leader's right-hand woman Continue reading...

Plan allows two extra years for negotiation, but would cost billions and enrage Tory BrexitersEurope’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has raised the prospect of the UK remaining under EU control until the end of 2022, a proposal that would cost billions and infuriate Tory Brexiters.At a special meeting with ambassadors from the EU’s 27 member states, Barnier floated the prospect of extending the Brexit transition until the end of 2022. His idea would allow an extra two years to negotiate a trading relationship, but means the UK would continue to follow EU rules and pay into its budget with no say for six and a half years after the 2016 vote to leave. Continue reading...

Woollarawarre Bennelong was a warrior and a peacemaker who became, perhaps, the country’s most misunderstood Indigenous manWoollarawarre Bennelong’s grave could not be more underwhelming, given all the myth and drama attached to his short life as the most renowned and, perhaps, misunderstood Indigenous man in the first three decades of Australia’s post-invasion settlement.Bennelong was a warrior and a peacemaker for a time held captive in chains by his European dispossessors. He took the pragmatic path of becoming an envoy for the Gadigal of Sydney to the invaders. Continue reading...

Turkish defence minister says killers of Khashoggi may have taken his dismembered body out of Turkey in a luggageDonald Trump has refused to listen to audio tape of the murder of Saudi dissident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, while saying the killing was “vicious”.In an interview with Fox News broadcasting on Sunday, the president told presenter Chris Wallace: “I don’t want to hear the tape, no reason for me to hear the tape.” Continue reading...

As more and more women go under the knife in pursuit of curves, it’s clear they are paying with their healthThe press briefing for October’s Clinical Cosmetic Reconstructive Expo in London was delayed – there had been another death. A cluster of journalists gathered on the mezzanine while below them visitors filtered past signs for She Lase and Zero Gravity Skin and a stand for a company called Eurosilicone that claims to have been “Empowering women for over 30 years”. At the far end of the conference hall, a woman was having her jawline enhanced with fillers in front of a rapt crowd; the Safety in Beauty stand was empty.Back on the mezzanine, there was a rustle of suits as the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) entered the room. Apologies for the delay, one said solemnly, there has been another death. A second British woman has died this year after a Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL). Which made their announcement that they were henceforth warning surgeons not to perform the procedure particularly urgent. The brief was called “The Bottom Line”. Continue reading...

Peter Schlesinger rejects interpretation of work that has broken record for living artistIt has been interpreted as the depiction of a very particular moment in the romantic life of David Hockney. Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), which sold for $90.3m (£70.3m) at auction in New York last week, shows his former lover and muse standing beside a pool – and a man who might be the painter’s new boyfriend swimming under water.But Peter Schlesinger, Hockney’s ex-partner who was one of his students at the University of California, Los Angeles, has rejected the interpretation of the work that has now made the Yorkshire-born painter the world’s most highly valued living artist. He says it is not an “emotional” depiction – and is probably not even, in any meaningful sense, a portrait of him. Continue reading...

The joint facility, which will host more warships in the Pacific, comes at a time of concern about rising Chinese influenceAmerica will partner with Australia to develop the Lombrum naval base on Manus Island, telegraphing a strategic commitment to the region at a time of concern about rising Chinese influence.The joint facility, which crowds out an aspiration by Beijing to develop the port, was first unveiled by Scott Morrison and his PNG counterpart, Peter O’Neill, at the beginning of the month. Continue reading...

EU says longer transition would lead to a bigger bill as PM prepares for critical weekTheresa May’s hopes of securing her Brexit deal were dealt a new blow on Saturday night as the EU warned the UK would have to pay about £10bn more to Brussels to win extra time for a smooth exit.Ahead of what Downing Street said was a “critical” week for the prime minister, cabinet ministers also piled on the pressure by publicly insisting that she change the proposals. Pro-Brexit cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom said there was “still more to be done” to achieve the Brexit “that 17.4 million people voted for”. Continue reading...

As an unstable coalition falls apart, MPs are resisting the return of former strongman president Mahinda RajapaksaIn 1987 grenades ripped through Sri Lanka’s parliament, killing two people and narrowly missing the country’s president and prime minister.Ranil Wickremesinghe, who until three weeks ago occupied the prime minister’s office, had been in the building that day, he reminded journalists on Friday. “I’ve been here when a bomb was thrown,” he said. Even so, the scenes in Sri Lanka’s parliament this past week have been shocking, he said. “This is the breaking-up of parliament by a group of people claiming to be the government.” Continue reading...

Former PM tells Bar Association that policy remains evasive as long as group of Coalition MPs believes climate change is a fraudThe former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull says a “constituency” of Coalition MPs believes climate change is a fraud, and that the issue has become a “third rail” for the Liberal party.Speaking at the Australia Bar Association’s annual conference in Sydney on Friday night, Turnbull, the guest of honour at the event, said a climate-sceptic group within his own party held the line that “if you don’t do what we want, we will blow the show up,” the Australian reported. Continue reading...

Lawrence Bruce Byron, who claimed to be under CIA command, had been in custody after crossing in from China on 16 OctoberNorth Korea has expelled a US citizen who tried to enter illegally, an unusually swift resolution of a case that could have further complicated reconciliation moves between the two countries.The man, identified as Lawrence Bruce Byron, had been in custody after crossing into North Korea from China on 16 October, the official Korean Central News Agency said. Continue reading...

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967 in a move that was never recognised internationallyThe US will oppose for the first time a UN resolution that calls for Israel to end its occupation of the Golan Heights, in a symbolic move on an issue that Israel has been lobbying hard for since Donald Trump entered office.Related: How Trump's presidency has divided Jewish America Continue reading...

Jury returned accidental death ruling in case of five men who died at scrap metal plant

Thousands of mourners pay respects to journalist, whose body has still not been foundThousands of people across the world have gathered to pay their respects to Jamal Khashoggi, reciting funeral prayers in absentia because the journalist’s body has still not been found.Six weeks after his killing by agents from Riyadh at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, prayers for the writer rang out at the prophet’s mosque in the holy Saudi Arabian city of Medina on Friday morning. Continue reading...

Dolly Parton and Keith Urban among those paying tribute to the Grammy-winning musician and TV hostRoy Clark, the Grammy-winning country music guitarist and TV host, has died aged 85, at home in Tulsa, Oklahoma following a bout of pneumonia.Dolly Parton was among those paying tribute, saying he “was one of the greatest ever … his spirit will never die. I loved him dearly and he will be missed.” Brad Paisley called him a “hero” who “shaped my path … I practiced his style, then practiced making his facial expressions.” Continue reading...

From Belize to Barbados, tourist beaches have been swamped by huge tides of foul-smelling sargassum – and climate change could make the problem worse“It was like something out of a science fiction movie,” says Barbara Hall from the office of the beachside hotel she runs in Placencia, southern Belize.“I woke up at 6am, looked out my window and realised we had a big problem. It was absolutely overwhelming.” Continue reading...

Court filing submitted by US authorities in an unrelated case mentioned existence of criminal charges against someone named ‘Assange’Julian Assange, a major target of the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 US election, has been criminally charged in secret, an apparent mistake in a court filing has indicated.The court filing, submitted by US authorities in an unrelated case, mentioned the existence of criminal charges against someone named “Assange” even though that was not the name of the defendant. Continue reading...

Pomp and ceremony marks arrival of Chinese president, who is vying with Australia for influence in the PacificPapua New Guinea has literally rolled out the red carpet for Chinese president Xi Jinping who arrived in Port Moresby ahead of the Apec Leaders Forum this weekend.Xi, the first Chinese leader to take part in a state visit to the nation, touched down on Friday, days before other leaders are due to arrive for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit. Continue reading...

Some year 13 New Zealand students who took history exam said they should not be penalised for getting confusedNew Zealand high school students have demanded examiners ignore that they don’t know what the word “trivial” means, after it appeared in a final-year exam and left many confused.Some students who took the year 13 history exam claimed the “unfamiliar word” was too hard, and the exam should now be marked according to each student’s different understanding and interpretation of “trivial”. Continue reading...

Nauruan president Baron Waqa claimed he brokered a deal for NZ to accept 80 refugees, which has also been deniedThe New Zealand government has rejected suggestions it has blocked refugees on Nauru visiting the country on holiday visas, and that it has offered to accept 80 on a permanent basis.The Nauruan president, Baron Waqa, said this week he had personally brokered a deal for the New Zealanders to accept 80 refugees from the island, according to a report in the Australian. Continue reading...

The Guardian revealed that a company owned by Peter O’Neill secured a $32m government contract despite ‘serious irregularities’Opposition MPs are calling for the prime minister of Papua New Guinea to step down in light of the Guardian’s revelations that his company secured a multimillion dollar government contract in a process the Asian Development Bank says may have violated its anti-corruption guidelines.The revelations centred on Wild Cat Developments. Prime minister Peter O’Neill was sole shareholder of Wild Cat in 2014 when it secured a $32.86m contract to build 12 bridges in the country from the Asian Development Bank. Continue reading...

John Kerry, the former US presidential candidate and secretary of state for the Obama administration, discusses his life and career with the Observer's chief political commentator, Andrew Rawnsley. Watch their discussion live as it unfolds in London's Central Hall from 8.30pm GMT/3.30pm EST.Kerry served as the 68th secretary of state from 2013 to 2017. As the US's top diplomat, he guided the department’s strategy on nuclear non-proliferation, combating radical extremism and the threat of climate change. His tenure was marked by the successful negotiation of the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris climate agreement. Early in his career he served in the US navy, completing two combat tours of duty in Vietnam for which he received a Silver Star, a Bronze Star with Combat V, and three Purple Hearts.

A 16-year-old boy has been been found guilty after hitting stepfather who was looking for stolen bikesA 16-year-old boy has been convicted of murdering a stepfather who was hit with a cricket bat while searching for his family’s two stolen bicycles.The teenager, who cannot be named because of his age, was found guilty by a unanimous verdict after a jury at Stafford crown court rejected his claims of self-defence and lack of intent to cause serious harm. Continue reading...

France, Spain, Denmark and Netherlands say agreement must not give UK unfair advantageFrance’s finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, has welcomed the draft Brexit withdrawal agreement but warned Paris would be vigilant on its final terms, amid mounting concern from EU member states that the UK was being given too soft a deal.Related: Theresa May's Brexit deal is best we can do, Brussels warns Continue reading...

Duke of Cambridge accuses social media firms of being on the back foot over challengesThe Duke of Cambridge has called on the world’s leading social media companies to “reject the false choice of profits over values” and do more to counter cyberbullying and other problems they are creating.Prince William expressed concern “that on every challenge they face – fake news, extremism, polarisation, hate speech, trolling, mental health, privacy and bullying – our tech leaders seem to be on the back foot”. Continue reading...

Charities press for Windrush-style taskforce to help those who want to return homeStuck in a bureaucratic limbo that left him unable to return home to India but also unable to work or access services in Britain, Sodhi Singh spent more than a decade sleeping rough on the streets of London.“They don’t want me in India and they don’t want me in the UK. I’d rather be dead than living on the streets,” he said, two weeks before he died in hospital this month after being found unconscious in the car park of Redbridge council’s offices in east London. Continue reading...

Sitting abandoned after speaker rushed by MPs loyal to Mahinda RajapaksaOne MP was hospitalised and another accused of brandishing a knife during an all-out brawl on the floor of Sri Lanka’s parliament, in the latest escalation of the political turmoil that has left the country without an agreed prime minister or cabinet.The session on Thursday morning was abandoned after supporters of Mahinda Rajapaksa, the disputed prime minister, rushed at the parliament’s speaker, Karu Jayasuriya. Continue reading...

Bill Shorten says PM made Australia ‘look stupid’ with Israel embassy plan as Coalition attempts to allay Indonesia’s fears. Follow all the day’s events, live4.51am GMTBrendan O’Connor has given Labor’s response to the unemployment figures:We note the modest increase in the number of jobs created last month, but it is clear that there is still more to be done.The youth unemployment rate continues to be double the national average at 11.3 per cent.4.30am GMTSomeone come get the Senate.Eric Abetz just said Labor is like skimpy swimwear?