World news | The Guardian

Exit poll points to victory for low-profile law professor Kais Saied over fellow outsider Nabil KarouiTunisians are voting on Sunday in a runoff presidential election between a low-profile law professor and a charismatic media magnate who was released from prison earlier this week.The Maghreb country, often held up as the lone success story of the Arab spring, appears set to successfully carry out its second-ever presidential elections, with an earlier round of voting winnowing the field from 26 candidates to the two self-styled outsiders, the lawyer Kais Saied and the businessman Nabil Karoui. Continue reading...

Amanda Hopkinson on the Austrian parliament unanimously approving a substantive change in its nationality lawOn 13 September the Guardian published a letter from me under the headline “Fight for the right to Austrian citizenship”. Within days I had been contacted by over 40 people seeking dual Austrian nationality, disqualified either through having an Austrian mother (not father), or being a second or third descendant of this paternal line. Within a week, on 19 September, the Austrian parliament unanimously approved a substantive change. While my grandchildren consider this to be the direct consequence of my letter appearing in the Guardian, it may be more surprising that the Austrian embassy in London had no idea that any such radical amendment was in train. In summary:Eligibility

Contrary to popular belief, the Florentine navigator Amerigo Vespucci has little to do with the name of the modern-day continent, writes Colin Moffat. Plus Patrick Billingham says Donald Trump has brought the US into disreputeI fear Thomas Eaton (Weekend Quiz, 12 October) is giving further credence to “fake news” from 1507, when a German cartographer was seeking the derivation of “America” and hit upon the name of Amerigo Vespucci, an obscure Florentine navigator. Derived from this single source, this made-up derivation has been copied ever after.The fact is that Christopher Columbus visited Iceland in 1477-78, and learned of a western landmass named “Markland”. Seeking funds from King Ferdinand of Spain, he told the king that the western continent really did exist, it even had a name – and Columbus adapted “Markland” into the Spanish way of speaking, which requires an initial vowel “A-”, and dropped “-land” substituting “-ia”. Continue reading...

More than two inches of rain could fall within 12 hours on Monday in parts of the countryParts of England could face flooding as heavy rain sweeps across the country, the Met Office has said.Forecasters warned that more than two inches of rain (50mm) could fall within 12 hours on Monday in some parts of the country. Continue reading...

• 25-year-old Kenyan ran 2:14:04 at the Chicago Marathon

‘Blossom everywhere’ tactic is a reaction to politicisation of MTR subway systemHong Kong protesters have deployed a new strategy of popping up in small groups in multiple locations across the city in an effort to avoid arrest, during their ongoing campaign against police and the local government.Small flashmobs of protesters demonstrated across a dozen districts after a call for protesters to “blossom everywhere” on Sunday, with many staying closer to home where they could evade police on foot or by bus. Continue reading...

A drama competition for 200 naked people in a giant sauna? Our writer gets a sweaty taste of ‘aufgass’ in the NetherlandsI am standing behind a partition rope, waiting for the theatre to open. An excited hum rises off the crowd, and there is jostling when the stewards throw open the doors. As a theatre critic, I have stood in countless such queues. I should not feel the fear that I do, but there is one vital difference here: audience members are wearing nothing more than bath robes and flip-flops.And then they’re not even wearing those. All clothes are discarded as they race to claim a seat on the tiered wooden benches inside the auditorium and lay down towels to mark their spot. In a matter of minutes, there is a neatly arranged room of almost 200 naked people sitting in a heated amphitheatre, waiting for the show to begin. I am as disrobed as the rest of them. Continue reading...

Kurdish-led administration in north Syria says riot broke out in camp holding women and childrenAt least 750 people with suspected links to Islamic State have reportedly fled a displacement camp in north-east Syria, local officials have said, raising fears that the Turkish offensive against Kurdish forces in the area could lead Isis to regain strength amid the chaos.The 249 women and 700 children of the “caliphate” held in a secure annex at the Ain Issa camp began to panic and riot and scared away the guards after Turkish shelling struck close to the area on Sunday, said Abdulkader Mwahed, the joint president for humanitarian affairs in the Kurdish-held part of Syria, in a statement. Continue reading...

SNP leader says there is rising support for independence at start of party conferenceThe Scottish National party leader, Nicola Sturgeon, has said she will request another independence referendum from the prime minister in “a matter of weeks”.Speaking at the start of the SNP’s autumn conference in Aberdeen on Sunday, Sturgeon set out imminent plans to formally ask the British government for another section 30 order of the Scotland Act 1998 which, if granted, would make way for “indyref2”. Continue reading...

Labour leader says he would prefer to fight election before any second referendum is heldJeremy Corbyn has poured cold water on the idea that Labour could support a bid to attach a referendum to Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal at next Saturday’s emergency sitting of parliament.The prime minister is expected to convene the House of Commons for a rare Saturday session, either to ask for support for his Brexit deal, if he succeeds in striking one at this week’s European council – or to request that MPs back a no-deal exit at the end of this month. Continue reading...

She’s been in some of the biggest blockbusters of recent years, yet has somehow always remained below the radar. But that’s all about to change. Alex Moshakis meets the star of the new Stephen King film, Doctor SleepRebecca Ferguson is almost entirely convinced the following ordeal is indicative of her true character, her deep down self, but she struggles with how.The story goes like this. Not long ago, Ferguson happened to see a woman collapse unconscious, and then she watched panic spread across the face of the woman’s husband and ripple on to the faces of the people around him. Though it was not her place, because she is a big-time Hollywood actor and is in no way a medical professional, she waded into the formed crowd, located the woman’s pulse (which she could not properly count) and began barking instructions. A stranger suggested water for the fallen woman, but Ferguson shouted, “No! Orange juice!” a tip she’d picked up watching ER. When the crowd edged closer, Ferguson yelled, “Some space, please!” The instructions tumbled out of her mouth before she could think to recover them, one after the other, an apparently natural act, until the woman came to and the crowd broke apart. As Ferguson walked away, someone asked, “Are you a nurse?” And she was forced to say no, she was an actor, that her actions had been formed in make-believe, a revelation she admits could have gone either way. Continue reading...

Influential British cardinal who died in 1890 is to be canonised before thousands including Prince Charles at Vatican ceremonyPrince Charles and several British MPs will join thousands of pilgrims in St Peter’s Square on Sunday for the canonisation of Cardinal John Henry Newman, a theologian and scholar regarded as one of the most influential figures of Victorian Britain.Newman, who was a Church of England priest before converting to Catholicism in 1845, is the first Briton to be made a saint since 1976. Continue reading...

City needed a protest song to unite it, says the anonymous writer behind the tune sweeping the barricadesThe orchestra wear hard hats and gas masks, the choir emerges from a swirl of tear gas-like smoke, and as the music swells, cutaway shots show crowds thousands-strong marching through the streets of Hong Kong.The video is for the song Glory to Hong Kong, which was written as a protester anthem but has become something even bigger for many residents – a kind of national anthem for a city that never had one. Continue reading...

PM said to want Merkel, Macron and Juncker to accept offer or agree to ‘friendly’ no dealBoris Johnson will speak to the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, president Emmanuel Macron of France and the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, by the end of Monday to urge them to support his Brexit deal, the Sunday Times has reported.Johnson will offer the three leaders the option to either help him deliver a new deal this week or agree on a “friendly version” of a no-deal Brexit by 31 October, the newspaper said, citing a source familiar with the conversations. Continue reading...

Threat of widespread flooding and landslides compounded by earthquake in Chiba prefectureAt least seven people have been killed and 15 left missing after the most powerful typhoon to hit Japan in decades paralysed Tokyo, flooding rivers and putting millions under evacuation warning before it ploughed up the north-eastern coast.Authorities lifted rain and flood warnings for the Kanto region around a becalmed Tokyo before dawn on Sunday but imposed them on areas further north after super-typhoon Hagibis blasted through the capital. Continue reading...

Demonstrators in capital Quito attack television station and national government buildingsPresident Lenín Moreno ordered the army on to the streets of Ecuador’s capital Quito after a week and a half of protests over fuel prices devolved into violent incidents, with masked protesters attacking a television station, newspaper and the national auditor’s office.Moreno said the military enforced curfew would begin at 3pm local time in response to violence in areas previously untouched by the protests. Masked protesters broke into the national auditor’s office and set it ablaze, sending black smoke billowing across the central Quito park and cultural complex that have been the epicentre of the protests. Continue reading...

The deadly virus wreaking havoc in Asia has been detected in Timor-Leste, just 680km north of DarwinOne month ago a particularly virulent strain of African swine fever – which has been wreaking havoc in Asia since it was detected in China last year and could potentially kill up to 25% of the world’s pig population – landed on Australia’s doorstep.The disease was detected just 680km north of Darwin, in Timor-Leste. Australian biosecurity agencies which had been screening major airports and mail distributors for illegally imported pork products redoubled their efforts. Continue reading...

Is kangaroo harvesting an ethical meat trade or a monstrous violation of animal welfare? Science may be on the side of the shootersIn the drought-affected dustbowl of inland Australia, the kangaroos are starving. Just five years ago, the annual aerial survey of the four largest kangaroo species, conducted to assess their abundance for commercial harvest, put their combined population at almost 50m.But now the rain has gone, and so has the feed. The population, as of 2018, had dropped to 42m. Big kangaroos are boom-and-bust species, breeding up when times are good and dying in equally large numbers when they are not. As drought spreads across mainland Australia, those kangaroos that are able to are descending on farms and competing with cattle and sheep for water and scraps of remaining feed. Continue reading...

A 15-year-old and an 18-year-old stabbed to death in attacks in Stratford and CamberwellTwo teenagers have been fatally stabbed within hours of each other in London.A 15-year-old boy was stabbed to death outside a busy shopping centre in Stratford, east London, shortly after 3pm on Thursday. Continue reading...

EU gives go-ahead to weekend meetings after PM appears to backtrack on customs stanceBoris Johnson has signalled that he will make a last-ditch U-turn on his plans for the Irish border, setting up 48 hours of intense negotiations that will make or break a Brexit deal.On a day of rapid movement in talks, EU sources said the prime minister had conceded that there could not be a customs border on the island of Ireland – a critical step away from his previous position. Continue reading...

US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gave a speech at a global mayors event on Friday, highlighting that the world's most advanced and richest economies are failing to take sufficient steps to combat climate change. Ocasio-Cortez's voice began to crack as she spoke about the future of any children she might have, stating that it was the current population's responsibility to steer the world away from environmental jeopardy Continue reading...

Hardened door and security cameras helped protect dozens of people from gunmanA German synagogue targeted in an attempted mass shooting this week had been upgraded to fortify its main entrance and install security cameras, measures that probably saved the lives of dozens of people hiding inside.The attack on Wednesday in the city of Halle left two people dead but the number could have been much higher as the gunman failed to break through the synagogue door, despite repeatedly shooting at it and attempting to blast it open with an improvised bomb. Continue reading...

The Irishman actor tells the Guardian that Trump and the Republicans ‘have to know they can’t get away with bullying us’Robert De Niro has renewed his criticism of Donald Trump, calling the US head of state a “gangster president” and saying he “can’t wait” to see him jailed.De Niro was speaking to the Guardian ahead of the London film festival premiere of The Irishman, Martin Scorsese’s new film, in which he plays mafia killer Frank Sheeran, now generally presumed to have been responsible for the murder of celebrated union boss Jimmy Hoffa in 1975. Continue reading...

British poet Sissay names persecuted Ethiopian writer and activist as this year’s ‘international writer of courage’The poet Lemn Sissay has won the PEN Pinter award alongside the Egyptian writer Befeqadu Hailu, who dedicated his award “to all those who use their voices for the voiceless”.Hailu, a writer, activist and co-founder of the blogging platform Zone 9, has been jailed four times for his work, although never convicted of the charges brought against him. Under the motto “we blog because we care”, Zone 9 sets out to create a space for freedom of expression, where individuals can speak out against human rights violations in Ethiopia. Continue reading...

Visual effects technician Sergey Koudryavtsev admitted murder following dispute over his petA former Lord of the Rings visual effects technician has been jailed for 26 years after he admitted killing his parents at their home in west London after a row over his dog.Sergey Koudryavtsev, 48, stabbed his 68-year-old mother, Tatiana Koudriavtseva, and 69-year-old father, Vladimir Koudriavtsev, at the family’s home in Appleford Road, Kensington, on 20 May. Continue reading...

Spanish deputy PM says dictator’s family will be given 48 hours’ notice of exhumationThe remains of the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco will be exhumed from the state mausoleum where they have lain since his death in 1975 within the next two weeks, the government has announced.Disinterring Franco from his tomb in the Valley of the Fallen near Madrid has been one of the key promises of Spain’s ruling socialist party, the PSOE, since it came to power in June last year. However, its efforts have been bitterly opposed by the dictator’s family. Continue reading...

Award recognises efforts for peace, in particular in resolving Eritrea border conflict

Green growth and ‘hedonistic sustainability’ have helped keep the public on board as the Danish capital seeks to reach its goal by 2025 – and so far it’s all going according to plan“We call it hedonistic sustainability,” says Jacob Simonsen of the decision to put an artificial ski slope on the roof of the £485m Amager Resource Centre (Arc), Copenhagen’s cutting-edge new waste-to-energy power plant. “It’s not just good for the environment, it’s good for life.”Skiing is just one of the activities that Simonsen, Arc’s chief executive, and Bjarke Ingels, its lead architect, hope will enhance the latest jewel in Copenhagen’s sustainability crown. The incinerator building also incorporates hiking and running trails, a street fitness gym and the world’s highest outdoor climbing wall, an 85-metre “natural mountain” complete with overhangs that rises the full height of the main structure. Continue reading...

As they seek safety away from Turkish shells, Syrian Kurds burn with anger at Donald Trump’s betrayalWaiting at a roadside depot, Hussein Rammo, a stooped elderly Kurd, his eyes wet with tears, had the look of a broken man. “Betrayal leaves the bitterest taste,” he said, his voice at a whisper as he discussed Donald Trump’s decision to abandon Syria’s Kurds.“I am 63 years old and I have never seen anything like this. Before there was regime oppression and now we are getting betrayal. This is worse.” Continue reading...

At 87, le Carré is publishing his 25th novel. He talks to John Banville about our ‘dismal statesmanship’ and what he learned from his time as a spyI have always admired John le Carré. Not always without envy – so many bestsellers! – but in wonderment at the fact that the work of an artist of such high literary accomplishment should have achieved such wide appeal among readers. That le Carré, otherwise David Cornwell, has chosen to set his novels almost exclusively in the world of espionage has allowed certain critics to dismiss him as essentially unserious, a mere entertainer. But with at least two of his books, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963) and A Perfect Spy (1986), he has written masterpieces that will endure.Which other writer could have produced novels of such consistent quality over a career spanning almost 60 years, since Call for the Dead in 1961, to his latest, Agent Running in the Field, which he is about to publish at the age of 87. And while he has hinted that this is to be his final book, I am prepared to bet that he is not done yet. He is just as intellectually vigorous and as politically aware as he has been at any time throughout his long life. Continue reading...

A fire in a block of flats in one of the city’s most expensive neighbourhoods has highlighted Berlin’s increasing gentrification – and the plight of vulnerable tenants Continue reading...

Despite hating guns, Harris stars as a tough cop up for a fight in her new action thriller. She talks about how she almost quit acting after Moonlight, the pain of her family’s past and Bond getting wokeLater this month, Naomie Harris appears in her first starring role in a film. She is 43. What has taken her so long? Not laziness. Harris has always been a grafter, acting on TV from the age of nine, saving every penny to pay for university (social and political science at Cambridge, one of only two black students in her year). The work ethic, she says, comes from her mother, who discovered she was pregnant when doing her A-levels and raised her daughter solo, funded by a job at the post office. She later went to university, worked as a scriptwriter on EastEnders and is now a reiki healer.So, Harris is no slouch. But for years she told her agents: supporting roles only. No leads. “I get consumed by the characters that I play, and acting is quite a stressful, adrenaline-inducing thing. So I didn’t really know how well I would cope with being a lead. It was partly a confidence issue, as well. I just thought I’d be biting off more than I could chew.” Continue reading...

After an earthquake struck in 2010, the US pledged to help rebuild the Caribbean country. A decade later, nothing better symbolises the failure of these efforts than the story of a new port that was promised, but never built. By Jacob KushnerWhen Bill and Hillary Clinton travelled to the Caribbean nation of Haiti as newlyweds in 1975, they were enchanted. Bill had recently lost a race for Congress back home in Arkansas, but by the time they returned to the US, he had set his mind to running for Arkansas state attorney general, a decision which would put him on the path to the White House. “We have had a deep connection to and with Haiti ever since,” Hillary later said.Over the next four decades, the Clintons became increasingly involved in Haiti, working to reshape the country in profound ways. As US president in the 1990s, Bill lobbied for sweeping changes to Haiti’s agricultural sector that significantly increased the country’s dependence on American food crops. In 1994, three years after a military coup in Haiti, Bill ordered a US invasion that overthrew the junta and restored the country’s democratically elected president to power. Fifteen years later, Bill was appointed United Nations’ special envoy to Haiti, tasked with helping the country to develop its private sector and invigorate its economy. By 2010, the Clintons were two of Haiti’s largest benefactors. Their personal philanthropic fund, The Clinton Foundation, had 34 projects in the country, focused on things such as creating jobs. Continue reading...

State’s union movement says Labor government’s move could easily be used to target striking workersThe Queensland union movement says anti-protest laws being rushed through state parliament are a “slippery slope” that could easily target striking workers or suppress the activities of trade unions.The state’s legal affairs committee is holding an 11th hour hearing in Brisbane on the proposed laws, which target the disruptive tactics of climate change protesters. Continue reading...

Headlines capture optimistic mood after Anglo-Irish summit but hint of serious obtacles to be overcomeThe meeting between Boris Johnson and Irish leader Leo Varadkar, which has been dubbed “an “extraordinary summit” resulting in a “surprising burst of optimism”, leads on most of the front pages today.The Daily Mail asks with – one imagines – bated breath: “Dare we dream of a deal?” Continue reading...

New analysis confirms the relationship between climate drivers such as El Niño, climate change and the Australian bushfire seasonSummer might be more than six weeks away but out-of-control bushfires have already torn across parts of eastern Australia in recent days, killing two people, destroying homes and threatening more lives.By Wednesday afternoon up to 30 homes were feared lost or badly damaged by bushfires burning in northern New South Wales. About 40 fires burned across the state. Continue reading...

Sterling Mervyn Free sexually assaulted the girl after luring her away from the store at Westfield North LakesA Queensland man who abducted a girl from a Kmart and sexually abused her in bushland has been sentenced to eight years’ prison.Sterling Mervyn Free, 27, lured the girl from a Kmart store at Westfield North Lakes, north of Brisbane, in December last year. Continue reading...

Writers including Salman Rushdie, Hari Kunzru and Slavoj Žižek say the 2019 Nobel laureate ‘combines great insight with shocking ethical blindness’

Eight uniformed officers were brought onto a stage and forced to address a crowd of thousands of activists but were not harmedIndigenous protesters in Ecuador have paraded a group of captured police officers on stage in a brazen show of defiance to the government of Lenín Moreno, as protests against austerity-measures dragged into a second week.Eight uniformed officers were brought onto a stage and forced to address a crowd of thousands of activists who have occupied the Casa de Cultura theatre in the capital Quito. A group of journalists, including the Guardian, were also temporarily prevented from leaving the theatre. Continue reading...

Friday: ErdoÄŸan defiant as tens of thousands run from fighting. Plus, Australia thrash Nepal in World Cup qualifierGood morning, this is Helen Sullivan bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Friday 11 October. Continue reading...

Former Australian headteacher to remain in jail for remainder of extradition case over alleged child sex abuseIsrael’s supreme court has overturned a decision to release alleged child sex abuser Malka Leifer to house arrest.In a shock ruling last week, a Jerusalem district court announced that the former Melbourne headteacher wanted on 74 sexual assault charges in Australia should be released on bail. Continue reading...

Tickets for Iran-Cambodia match sell out in minutes after four decades of near-total ban

Baby’s death in prison cell | Court pendu plat apple | Sark | Lost cars | High tea | DessertsWhen a newborn baby dies because the mother has been left alone with no medical care in a privatised prison, the time has come for political change (Inquiries launched into death of baby in prison cell, 9 October). Handwringing apologies which ignore the fact that four women have also died at HMP Bronzefield since 2016 are indicative of the increasing collapse of penal provision. A country is judged by its prisons and this latest disaster would have Elizabeth Fry turning in her grave.

France’s candidate Sylvie Goulard rejected over job with thinktank and misuse of fundsEmmanuel Macron’s government has said “a political game” brought down France’s choice for European commissioner following an overwhelming rejection of the candidate by MEPs.In a vote that spells trouble for the incoming European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, MEPs emphatically rejected the French commissioner candidate, former MEP and defence minister Sylvie Goulard. Continue reading...

China’s vice-premier, Liu He, to lead delegation in 13th round of talks as Trump tweets: ‘They want to make a deal, but do I?’

Europe says Polish judges can be disciplined for rulings and are not insulated from political controlPoland is being taken to the EU’s highest court over a law said to violate the principle of judicial independence.Just three days before parliamentary elections on Sunday, the European commission announced it was referring Poland to the European court of justice over its disciplinary regime for Polish judges. Continue reading...

Ceremony marks end of archaeological dig that unearthed web of tunnels and remains of 110 menThe plot of land – little bigger than two football pitches – has been described as “the first world war’s Pompeii”. But many of the secrets of those who fought and died on this Flemish field are still destined never to be told.At 11am on Thursday, the burial of 13 British and Commonwealth soldiers at Wytschaete military cemetery near Ypres brought to a close a nearby archaeological dig responsible for uncovering the remains of 110 men, an intricate web of trenches and tunnels, and arguably the most comprehensive snapshot of the changing fortunes and horror of the 1914-1918 war. Continue reading...

Prime ministers’ Wirral meeting appears to revive hope of agreement between UK and EU

Geraint Thomas, 47, from Cardiff had been accused of inappropriate sexual behaviourA partner at a global law firm who was found dead at the foot of cliffs had been suspended from his job for alleged inappropriate sexual behaviour at works parties, an inquest has been told.Geraint Thomas, 47, from Cardiff, worked for Eversheds Sutherland as a Brexit lawyer, giving advice to business owners preparing for the UK’s exit from the EU. Continue reading...