Centre-right opposition National party throws support behind the legislation that has been applauded around the globeJacinda Ardern’s landmark climate legislation has passed in New Zealand parliament, with historic cross-party support, committing the nation to reduce its carbon emissions to zero by 2050 and meet its commitments under the Paris climate accords.The climate change response (zero carbon) amendment bill passed on Thursday afternoon with the centre-right opposition National party throwing their support behind it late in the day, despite none of their proposed amendments being accepted. The bill passed 119 votes to one. Continue reading...

Thinktank says third parties such as Shia militias are more important to Tehran than nuclear plansIran now has an effective military advantage over the US and its allies in the Middle East because of its ability to wage war using third parties such as Shia militias and insurgents, according to a military thinktank.In one of the most detailed assessments of Iran’s strategy and doctrine across Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) concludes Iran’s “third party capability” has become Tehran’s weapon of choice. Continue reading...

Three decades on, the country’s unification is still a source of sadness and trauma – which the far right know how to exploitI was 15 when the Berlin Wall came down. Everything changed: the east adopted not just the West German currency, but all its laws and rules and values. Thousands of companies were privatised within four years of the wall falling – millions lost their jobs, and millions more migrated to the west in search of better paid work. In 1994, only 18% of East German employees still worked at the same place as they had in 1991, according to the historian Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk.There were new and often completely disorientating experiences for many: unemployment had not existed in the GDR. No one even knew the meaning of betriebsbedingte kündigung – compulsory redundancy – or where unemployment benefits came from. In the GDR, work had been so much more than a source of income; life revolved around the workplace. Companies often had their own singing or sports clubs, and their own childcare and health services. My dad, a metal worker, lost his job after the unification. It was a shock – he felt guilty and ashamed. But it took him years to find the words to express his feelings. “I didn’t realise the gravity of the situation,” he said to me 20 years later. Continue reading...

Kevin Lunney says kidnappers had sadistic ‘checklist’ in latest and most brutal act against QIH executivesThe business executive who was abducted and tortured near the Irish border has spoken for the first time about a crime that has shocked and bewildered Ireland.Kevin Lunney said the gang that kidnapped him went through a checklist of sadistic acts which left him in agony. Continue reading...

Victims at popular destination reported to include people from Mexico and SwitzerlandEight people including four foreign tourists were stabbed on Wednesday inside the ancient Roman city of Jerash, one of Jordan’s most popular sites for visitors.Authorities said the victims included tourists from Mexico and Switzerland. Police sources told the Guardian that three of those stabbed were Mexican and one was Swiss. The others included two Jordanian police officers, a tour guide and a driver. Continue reading...

Amid conflict in Syria, stifled free speech and oppressive machismo, rappers in Turkey are speaking out to hold their country – and themselves – to accountPop culture is usually a comfortable distraction, but sometimes it can wake you up. Take the Turkish rap epic Susamam, which translates as I Can’t Stay Silent: a 14-verse manifesto for a generation fed up with complicity, and the largest collaboration in the history of Turkish rap. For a quarter of an hour, 19 artists challenge a litany of social issues, ranging from domestic violence to animal rights and police brutality. It got 20m hits on YouTube in the first week alone.What makes the track even more impressive is the climate in which it was born: Turkey’s record on freedom of expression has taken an abysmal turn in recent years. Turkey is now the top jailer of journalists worldwide, and tens of thousands have been imprisoned in political witch-hunts that followed a failed military coup in 2016. With the nation now in active conflict in neighbouring Syria, it is common to see daily news reports of people jailed for something as simple as social media posts – even posting messages opposing war is considered support for terrorism. Continue reading...

Senior party figures accused of profiting from the state by overcharging for election kitsSeveral allies and close friends of the French far-right leader Marine Le Pen are due to go on trial in Paris accused of fraud during election campaigns in 2012.The seven defendants including senior figures in Le Pen’s party, the Front National, which has since been renamed National Rally, will appear in court on Wednesday accused of taking part in a fraudulent scheme to overcharge candidates for party election leaflets. Continue reading...

Former England international denies assaulting ex-Barnsley manager in stadium tunnelJoey Barton, the manager of Fleetwood Town football club, will go on trial next year accused of assaulting the former Barnsley manager Daniel Stendel during an incident following a match.Barton, 37, is alleged to have pushed Stendel at Barnsley’s Oakwell stadium on 13 April, leaving him with a damaged tooth. Continue reading...

Catalan question again dominates campaign ahead of Sunday’s general election

Mark Drakeford accuses Welsh secretary of arrogance amid claims he lied about knowledge of case• Latest election news - live updatesThe first minister of Wales has joined the growing criticism of the Welsh secretary, Alun Cairns, who has been accused of “brazenly lying” about his knowledge of an allegation that a former aide had sabotaged a rape trial.Mark Drakeford accused Cairns of being arrogant and out of touch and attacked him for not coming forward to explain the circumstances of a case that is threatening to overshadow the Welsh Conservatives’ campaign. Continue reading...

Company run by Masayoshi Son sees valuations of US firms WeWork and Uber plungeSoftBank Group, the Japanese tech investor, has slumped to a huge quarterly loss after the valuations of US companies WeWork and Uber plunged.The company, run by billionaire investor Masayoshi Son, made an operating loss of 704bn yen (£5bn) in the three months to the end of September, in results published on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Rees-Mogg suggests victims lacked common sense … Conservatives blocked from weaponising Treasury figures … and Green party’s $100bn climate pledgeHello again. From tomorrow your Guardian Morning Briefing will take on a different look as we expand our coverage of the UK election campaign. Make sure you are subscribed to have the latest election news hit your inbox bright and early each weekday. Continue reading...

Lib Dem leader criticised for not suspending activist who said MP’s experience was made upThe Liberal Democrats’ leader, Jo Swinson, has been accused by Labour of not properly investigating an activist who claimed one of their MPs had made up her experience of racism.Swinson said it was right that Steve Wilson, the husband of parliamentary candidate Angela Smith, had apologised to the shadow equalities minister, Dawn Butler, for writing on social media that she had lied about her experience of racism in the House of Commons. Continue reading...

Deputy premier John Barilaro says government establishing dedicated office of drought responseIn the midst of one of the worst droughts in history, the New South Wales government has jettisoned its drought co-ordinator, Jock Laurie, the former head of the National Farmers’ Federation, after less than a year in the role.Laurie, who was the land and water commissioner when he was appointed drought co-ordinator, was tasked with leading the second phase of the government’s emergency drought response. This has included working with regional councils to secure their water supplies in the face of a prolonged dry period. Continue reading...

Migrant workers at club owned by Boris Johnson-backer Robin Birley, asking for £10.55 an hourStaff at an exclusive private members’ club owned by a high-profile, Brexit-supporting backer of Boris Johnson are to go on strike.Celebrities coming to 5 Hertford Street – which has hosted figures including George and Amal Clooney, Margot Robbie, Alexa Chung, Bella Hadid and royals such as Prince William – will have to consider whether they want to cross a picket line at the Mayfair property. Continue reading...

Human Rights Watch warns non-national detainees were denied drugs and kept isolated by staff who ‘knew nothing about HIV’Prisoners in the United Arab Emirates who are HIV-positive but not from the country may have been denied regular access to life-saving treatment, Human Rights Watch has warned.On Monday the organisation claimed that non-national prisoners in at least one major UAE jail have seen delays, interruptions or a complete freeze on their access to antiretrovirals – drugs that suppress the activity of the HIV infection. Continue reading...

Cabinet minister promises no delays, despite PM having broken previous deadline

The woman, 32, and man, 24, were reported missing after failing to turn up to their jobs following a camping trip in the Goldsborough area near CairnsA couple reported missing after failing to turn up to their respective jobs have died after falling from Kearneys Falls in Far North Queensland.The couple – a woman, 32, and a man, 24, both from Townsville – were reported missing on Monday after failing to turn up to their respective jobs. Continue reading...

Don Winslow is the bestselling author of more than 20 novels and winner of numerous awards including the LA Times book prize and the Ian Fleming Silver Dagger.His latest book The Border is the latest in his Cartel trilogy, a series that covers murder, betrayal and family ties. Wanting to force the US to recognise that Mexico’s drug problem is also its own, Don talks to Alison about the personal toll of researching the stories of those murdered and targeted by the cartels, and his opposition to Donald Trump’s border policies. Continue reading...

Former MP Daryl Melham says Labor must focus on Indigenous affairs and hold firm on Uluru statementFormer Labor frontbencher Daryl Melham says Labor in this term must devote itself to dealing with unfinished business with Indigenous Australians, declaring “we need a soul, we can’t win on the economy alone”.While a number of frontbenchers are highlighting the primacy of campaigning on growth and jobs as the opposition waits for the release of the campaign review by Jay Weatherill and Craig Emerson on Thursday, Melham says Labor needs to drive the agenda in Indigenous affairs. Continue reading...

Acting PM takes action against MPs, ministry and public servants, alleging a breach of privacy in 2017New Zealand’s acting prime minister, Winston Peters, is suing two National party MPs, a slew of public servants and a government ministry for breach of privacy.Peters, who is currently acting PM in Jacinda Ardern’s absence, alleges that Anne Tolley and Paula Bennett breached his privacy by leaking his superannuation documents to the media. Continue reading...

Pollution in Delhi has reached its worst levels so far this year, at almost 400 times the amount deemed healthy. A week on from Diwali, the thick brown smog that shrouded the city after the festival has shown no sign of shifting. One local said the pollution was so bad it burned his nose and throat, making simple activities such as jogging difficult

McDonnell says voters should not trust Trump’s claims that NHS will not be part of US dealThe shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, has warned the public not to trust Donald Trump’s assurance that the NHS will not form part of post-Brexit trade deals as he committed Labour to eradicating all traces of privatisation from the service.Ahead of the first full week of general election campaigning, the senior party figure also described his sadness that Jewish newspapers had collectively suggested Labour under Jeremy Corbyn would endanger their community, and admitted that the party’s target to be carbon neutral by 2030 would be “tough” to meet. Continue reading...

Sixteen-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership will cover half the planet’s peopleThe world’s largest trade deal is unlikely to be signed this year, with a draft statement from south-east Asian leaders suggesting it will be delayed until 2020, despite China’s desire to bring it into operation as soon as possible as a counterweight to its debilitating tariff war with the US.The 16-country Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership – known as the RCEP – would be the world’s largest when operational, spanning India to New Zealand, including 30% of global GDP and half of the world’s people. Continue reading...

Adil Abdul-Mahdi says ongoing protests in Baghdad have cost the country billions of dollarsIraq’s prime minister called on anti-government protesters to reopen roads on Sunday after a month of major rallies to demand wide-ranging political change.Adil Abdul-Mahdi called for markets, factories, schools and universities to reopen after days of protests in the capital and across the mostly Shia south. He said the threat to oil facilities and the closure of roads had cost the country billions of dollars and contributed to price increases that affected everyone. Continue reading...

Announcement follows news UK human rights lawyers bringing case against BATThe US government has suspended all imports of tobacco from Malawi over child labour allegations.The ban follows the news that human rights lawyers are to bring a case against British American Tobacco (BAT)_in the high court in London over child labour in Malawi’s tobacco fields, as a result of revelations by the Guardian of the scale of the abuse last year. Leigh Day are acting for nearly 2,000 claimants – children and their parents – and expect that up to 15,000 will join the case. Continue reading...

FlixBus vehicle was driving from Paris to London when it toppled on its sideEleven Britons were among 33 people injured after a Paris-London bus overturned in northern France, French police have said.The vehicle, operated by the FlixBus inter-city service, toppled on to its side at around midday as it took an exit in the northern Somme region from the A1 motorway, France’s busiest route. Continue reading...

Exclusive: naloxone will be distributed on the streets as part of pilot scheme in Redcar and ClevelandA life-saving drug that reverses the effect of an overdose of an opioid, such as heroin, is to be handed out on the street to people in England under a pilot scheme to tackle the record numbers of drug-related deaths.The main life-threatening effect of an opioid overdose is to slow down or stop breathing – the drug naloxone blocks this effect and reverses breathing difficulties. Continue reading...

After the world was told that the Uluru climb would close, waves of tourists flocked to the rock as media commentators insisted the broader public was being robbed of their rights. In this episode Lorena Allam heads to Uluru to speak to the Anangu people about the complex relationship between their community, tourists and their sacred sites, plus their vision for the future of UluruLorena Allam has written about the the morning after closing Uluru here and the joy of the Anangu here. Both articles feature beautiful photographs by Mike Bowers. Continue reading...

Mike Pannett set up late-night car park meeting to return Stephen Morris’s 1709 TecchlerA man who picked up a £250,000 violin on a train needed to be convinced that he would not be arrested before handing it back to its owner at a late-night car park rendezvous, according to the retired detective who led the negotiation.Musician Stephen Morris was reunited with the 310-year old violin made by David Tecchler on Friday night after leaving it on a Southeastern train last month, prompting a nationwide appeal for its return. Continue reading...

Driver allegedly under the influence of alcohol and driving erratically before hitting teens he had just dropped offTwo teenagers have been seriously injured after an 18-year-old ride-share driver allegedly ran them down on the New South Wales central coast.The injured teenagers were part of a group who requested a local ride-share service about 3am on Sunday, police said. Continue reading...

Iran’s determination to shore up Iraq’s unpopular government does not augur well for democracy in the Middle EastIran’s leaders say they have no wish to recreate the Persian empire in the present-day Middle East. Unlike the US, they say, Iran is not an imperialist power. That is not how it looks to many people in Lebanon, where Iran’s close financial and military links to the country’s leading Shia political organisation, Hezbollah, became the focus of angry anti-government street protests last week.The benign view of Iran as friendly neighbourhood helper is also hard to square with its support for the Houthi rebellion in Yemen, where the death toll in four years of war has reached 100,000. This conflict resembles a classic proxy struggle between two external powers – Shia Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia – that are each vying for regional dominance. Continue reading...

Actor’s famous black trousers and leather jacket sold at auction along with other memorabilia, raising $2.4mOlivia Newton-John’s tight black trousers and leather jacket from the movie Grease have sold for $405,700 at a Beverly Hills auction, more than double the expected price.The outfit that marked the transition of Newton-John’s character in the 1978 musical from demure high schooler to sexy Sandy was among 500 items for sale at Julien’s Auctions to help raise money for the performer’s cancer treatment centre in Australia. Continue reading...

Health minister Greg Hunt promises ‘significant package’ for aged care but won’t commit to figureLabor has launched a new campaign targeting the government over aged care funding, as the health minister, Greg Hunt, commits to delivering a “significant package” for the sector before Christmas.Setting a deadline of 11 November when parliament returns, opposition leader Anthony Albanese said the “aged care, action now” campaign would gather signatures from across the country calling for immediate funding to address a crisis in the sector. Continue reading...

Musician reunited with 310-year-old instrument after it was hand back by man who took it from trainA 310-year-old antique violin worth £250,000 that was stolen from a train in London has been returned to its owner with no damage.Professional musician Stephen Morris, who said it was “devastating” to lose the instrument made by craftsman David Tecchler in 1709, reported the violin missing on 22 October. Continue reading...

Eight years after the Arab spring, unrest has shaken the Middle East and north Africa, amid youth joblessness and falling oil pricesA president toppled in Algeria. Renewed demonstrations in Egypt. More than 100 people killed in Iraq. The Lebanese prime minister’s resignation – brought about by protesters who say they are just getting started. It has been a year of rage across the Middle East.At the Al-Shareef Coffee Shop, on a dusty highway in the Jordanian capital, Amman, a waiter with a remote control flicks past news channels to an American movie playing silently. It is just after 1pm, and the cafe is filled with young men dealing cards, cracking jokes and staring at their phones. The unrest enveloping the region could be a million miles away, but such scenes point to a major contributor, according to analysts. Continue reading...

• Live reaction to the Springboks’ World Cup triumph

The Israeli army said the raids were in response to at least 10 rockets being fired at Israel from Gaza on FridayA Palestinian was killed by Israeli air strikes on Saturday, the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip said, in an attack launched in response to rocket fire.Dozens of strikes hit the Palestinian enclave in the early hours, targeting bases of the strip’s Islamist rulers and allied groups, a security source in Gaza said. Continue reading...

Tens of thousands took to the streets of Baghdad on Friday under clouds of teargas to demand the removal of the elected government in the biggest protest movement in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein. The city’s Tahrir Square was a chaotic scene of flag-waving demonstrators battling with security forces, while tuk-tuks ferried off wounded dissenters as riot police fired teargas.Amnesty International this week accused Iraqi security chiefs of using military grade teargas – up to 10 times more powerful than that typically used for crowd control – to try to quell the unrest

Photographer David Levene visited Malawi with Sarah Boseley, to document the impact of the tobacco industry on the wellbeing of the local farming communities whose livelihood depends on it. Human rights lawyers Leigh Day are working with Malawian translators and paralegals interviewing potential clients to join the watershed legal action against British American Tobacco

Exclusive: Report allegedly being withheld by No 10 contains submissions from ex-head of MI6 RussiaA report on Russian interference in British politics allegedly being sat on by Downing Street includes evidence from Christopher Steele, the former head of MI6’s Russia desk whose investigation into Donald Trump’s links with Moscow sparked a US political scandal.Steele made submissions in writing to parliament’s intelligence and security committee (ISC), it is understood. A counter-intelligence specialist, Steele spent his career tracking Russian influence operations around the world and investigated Alexander Litvinenko’s 2006 murder. Continue reading...

Most of £40m spent so far has gone on 150 lawyers representing inquiry and bereaved and survivorsThe Grenfell tower inquiry has cost the taxpayer at least £40m so far, more than 100 times the savings made by swapping fire-retardant cladding on the council block for cheaper combustible panels that fuelled the fatal fire.Most of the money went on the array of more than 150 lawyers and legal fee earners representing the inquiry and the bereaved and survivors from the 14 June 2017 disaster that claimed 72 lives. Continue reading...

• All Blacks surge to win in Steve Hansen’s final game

The government the PM leads finds activism inconvenient, but it is the same government that has sparked the activismIt takes some chutzpah to stand up with a straight face and deliver a speech foreshadowing a government crackdown on protest activity while in the same breath declaring that a new insidious form of progressivism is intent on denying the liberties of Australians.But Scott Morrison has never lacked confidence. Continue reading...

The delay to Brexit plus strict pre-election guidelines left few chances for trenchant jokes in David Walliams and Matt Lucas’s sketch showIn the many risk assessments of the possible consequences of Brexit happening on Halloween – lorry queues, drug shortages, street violence – scant attention was paid to a significant victim of its not happening: broadcasting specials timed to coincide with departure from the EU being forced to go out, even though the UK actually hadn’t.The special Brexit edition of Little Britain, bringing David Walliams and Matt Lucas’s sketch show back to Radio 4, where it started in 2000, was at a double disadvantage. Having been denied its calendar reason for being, it also now found itself broadcast in the run-up to a general election, when the BBC’s already contorted attempts at political impartiality become even stricter. Continue reading...

Ex-police officer claimed at time of stadium tragedy that supporters forced open a gateThe South Yorkshire police officer in command at Hillsborough in 1989, when a crush resulted in the deaths of 96 people, admitted at the subsequent public inquiry that he did not tell the truth about the disaster, falsely blaming Liverpool football club supporters for forcing a gate open, a court has heard.David Duckenfield, then a newly promoted chief superintendent in charge of the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest on 15 April 1989, made that admission in May 1989 and apologised at the official inquiry presided over by Lord Justice Taylor. Duckenfield acknowledged that he had “withheld” the truth – that he had ordered a large exit gate to be opened to alleviate a crush outside the Leppings Lane turnstiles and allow a large number of people through – from everybody at the stadium, including his own senior officer, assistant chief constable Walter Jackson.

Canada-based One Ocean Expeditions cancelled recent trip to Antarctica after it was unable to purchase sufficient fuelAn adventure travel company that charges upwards of US$20,000 for a single trip to polar regions has failed to pay many of its contractors in nearly a year, leaving some unable to cover living expenses, according to current and former crew.Related: Polar cruise boom harming the Arctic, explorer warns Continue reading...

The singer-songwriter talks candidly about her friendship with Jackie Onassis, being humiliated by Harvey Weinstein and why she has no time for the US presidentCarly Simon somehow appears both brittle and unbreakable as she opens the door to her hotel room in Boston, Massachusetts, where a publicist hovers discreetly. She is wearing a blue sweater, blue jeans and a blue scarf and is smiling broadly. Her hair is shoulder length with the familiar low fringe. She puts on a pair of glasses; lukewarm hotel tea is ordered and poured.The singer-songwriter is chatty and charming. She says she has just been listening to the audio version of her latest memoir, Touched by the Sun, about her friendship with Jackie Kennedy Onassis, the widow of former president John F Kennedy and the Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. It is read by Elizabeth McGovern, who plays the Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey. That is fine with Simon, a fan of British TV, including Downton and Last Tango in Halifax. Continue reading...

Chile’s embattled president has been forced to cancel two major international summits after government concessions failed to defuse weeks of violent protests