World news | The Guardian

Police remove demonstrators staging sit-down protest at airport’s railway stationSeveral people have been arrested as dozens of Extinction Rebellion demonstrators staged a sit-down protest at an entrance to London City airport.Protesters chanted “fly today, gone tomorrow” as they sat at the exit of the airport’s Docklands Light Railway station, blocked by a line of police from entering the airport, just after 9am on Thursday. Continue reading...

Visitors disappointed as Instagram-famous tracks in Hanoi closed for safety reasonsSelfie-snapping tourists railed against the closure of Hanoi’s “train street” on Thursday after police blocked off the Instragram-famous tracks for safety reasons.The narrow railway corridor in central Hanoi has become a hotspot among visitors seeking the perfect holiday snap on the tracks – often dodging the trains that rumble through daily. Continue reading...

Samer Nashef, author of The Angina Monologues, tells of coronary bypass that didn’t go to planIt was a routine heart operation which was all going smoothly until one thing led to another and the surgeon set fire to his patient.The alarming but entertaining story of how a patient was flambéed on the operating table was told at Cheltenham literature festival by the leading heart surgeon and Guardian crossword setter, Samer Nashef. Continue reading...

Ontario premier, whose stock as an electoral asset has plummeted as the party struggles to build momentum outside their base, has been compared to TrumpWhen a brash businessman-turned-politician won a majority government in Canada’s most populous state in 2018, Conservatives in the country wondered if they could ride a similar populist wave to national victory in this year’s general election.Promising to slash income tax, cut fuel prices and repeal carbon pricing, Doug Ford took 41% of the vote and ended 15 years of Liberal rule in Ontario. Continue reading...

Former Supreme will make first appearance at the festival in Sunday teatime slotDiana Ross will play the Sunday afternoon “legends” slot at Glastonbury 2020, her first performance at the festival.“To all my fans across the world, this is my tribute to you,” Ross said. “Every concert feels like a private party, I can see your eyes and feel your hearts. I’m coming to Glastonbury, with love.” Continue reading...

‘They didn’t help us in WWII,’ fighters who stopped Isis are told … England v France cancelled due to typhoon … and Johnson to meet VaradkarGood morning, I’m Warren Murray and we can’t make the news all good, but we can make it all a bit more clear. Continue reading...

Deputy leader Richard Marles says ALP must be more pragmatic and become the party of ‘aspiration’Labor must be prepared to disappoint its supporters by avoiding “manufactured parliamentary tests” and helping to pass Morrison government legislation, its deputy leader, Richard Marles, suggests.In a draft of a speech to be delivered at the John Curtin research centre on Thursday, Marles has argued the opposition’s “clumsy” attempts to “walk the tightrope” on the Adani coalmine left blue-collar workers feeling abandoned at the last election and it must take a more pragmatic approach even if it risks disappointing “purists”. Continue reading...

Queensland government had asked for Guy Debelle to speak to meeting of state treasurers on climate and monetary policyThe treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, knocked back a request for the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank, Guy Debelle, to address a meeting of state treasurers on climate change.The Queensland treasurer, Jackie Trad, wrote to Frydenberg in June asking for Debelle to talk to treasurers at the October meeting of the council of federal financial relations in Canberra on Friday about how climate change could affect monetary policy, inflation and economic growth. Continue reading...

Woman, now 38, accused of killing baby boy when she was 14 and 55-year-old man now faces charges of historic child sexual abusePolice investigating the death of a newborn baby in 1995 have charged a Queensland man with raping the baby’s 14-year-old mother.The boy’s body was found in a caravan park in Kambalda, a mining town 60km south of Kalgoorlie, on 12 July 1995. Police believe it was discovered soon after his birth. Continue reading...

John Wood and Gemma Harris got married in West Sussex on 50th anniversary of show’s first broadcastA British couple spent two years and thousands of pounds planning their Monty Python-themed wedding in the hope of inspiring other superfans to try to find their Python-mad soulmate.John Wood, 59, who once won a competition looking for the biggest fan of the surreal comedy sketch show, and Gemma Harris, 35, tied the knot in a “totally bonkers” ceremony in West Sussex on 5 October, the 50th anniversary of the first Monty Python broadcast. Continue reading...

British rocker delays tour for second time and tells fans he is taking longer than expected to recover after a year of illnessBritish rocker Ozzy Osbourne has postponed his solo European tour for a second time but insisted that he was not dying or retiring despite a year of bad health.“I’m not dying, I am recovering. It’s just taking a little bit longer than everyone thought it would,” the 70-year-old former Black Sabbath frontman said in a video posted on his social media accounts. Continue reading...

Secret briefing spotted at media conference reveals US will not allow Anne Sacoolas to face questioning over crash that killed teenagerThe wife of a US diplomat suspected of involvement in the death of a British teenage motorcyclist will not be returned to the UK for trial, according to briefing notes provided to Donald Trump.Briefing notes for a press conference on Wednesday, pictured by a Washington Post photographer, tell the president to say: “(If raised) note, as Secretary Pompeo told [foreign secretary] Raab, that the spouse of the US Government employee will not return to the United Kingdom.” Continue reading...

Police investigation under way after blaze on Springfield Street on Wednesday afternoonTwo men have died in a fire at a working men’s club in Lancashire, police have said.They were rescued from the fire at the Gordon working men’s club in Morecambe, but died a short time later. Lancashire police said they were in the process of contacting next of kin. Continue reading...

Trump offers only mild criticism of ErdoÄŸan offensive as civilians flee bombing

Ali Jabernansari’s engagingly downbeat comedy-drama offers intriguing insights into life into modern Iranian lifeThree lonely souls in Tehran search for love in this interesting, downbeat comedy-drama from writer-director Ali Jabernansari. Part portrait of alienation in Iran, part examination of modern dating, its characters suffer as much from their own human frailties as they do from the oppressive politics of Iran’s theocratic regime. There are echoes here of Abbas Kiarostami and Asghar Farhadi, and something, too, of the bittersweet air of an American indie pic hangs over it.Forough Ghajabagli injects genuine sympathy into the sad-sacky role of Mina, a receptionist at a beauty clinic, unhappy with her weight and smouldering with bitterness. In her spare time, Mina anonymously stalks hot guys who come to the clinic (for laser hair removal mostly), messaging them with fake photos, pretending to be a model-beautiful woman called Sara. Continue reading...

Oversight committee says PM failed to provide details of contact with businesswomanBoris Johnson could be summoned by the London assembly after failing to provide details of his contact with a US businesswoman and explain how any potential conflict of interest was addressed.The assembly’s oversight committee gave Johnson 14 days to explain how grants and privileged access to trade trips were awarded to Jennifer Arcuri during his time as mayor. Johnson’s confidential response was sent to the watchdog on Tuesday night an hour after the initial deadline. Continue reading...

Campaigners demand change as study finds system may push jurors towards acquittal in rape casesCampaigners against sexual violence have renewed calls to abolish the controversial Scottish verdict of not proven as the UK’s largest study of jury behaviour reveals that the availability of this option may push more jurors towards acquittal before they have even discussed the evidence.Welcoming the landmark research, Scotland’s justice secretary, Humza Yousaf, said whether to move from a three- to a two-verdict system was central to further consultation on reform. Continue reading...

More than 50 MPs could refuse to stand at election if no-deal pledge is in manifesto

Leave.EU co-founder says it went too far after anger over anti-German meme

China is destroying Uighur graveyards where generations of families have been laid to rest, leaving behind human bones and broken tombs in what activists call an effort to eradicate the ethnic group’s identity in XinjiangSatellite images of a graveyard in Aksu, Xinjiang province, in 2015 where Uighur poet Lutpulla Mutellip was buried, and the same view in 2019 showing a new area called Happiness Park. Continue reading...

Protesters gathered outside the White House in Washington to demand Donald Trump reverse his decision to withdraw US troops from north-eastern Syria, warning that Kurds would be targeted in a Turkish offensive. The Turkish government claimed the US president had handed it the lead on the military campaign against Isis, and said its forces would be crossing into Syria 'shortly'

Activists say police racially profile black communities, despite Puerto Rico’s image as a melting pot without racial problemsWhen Nina Figueroa, 25, protested with fellow Puerto Ricans this summer to oust the then governor, Ricardo Rosselló, she believed she stood out to police. Figueroa, a college student studying comparative literature, had been arrested multiple times while in the streets and was starting to notice a pattern.“I have been arrested in protests three times and all three times I was doing nothing,” says Figueroa. “I asked myself: ‘Why do the police arrest me so much?’ And obviously it wasn’t until I understood that I’m an easy target for the police because I’m a black woman.” Continue reading...

Prospects look remote of deal before 31 October … Turkey poised to invade Kurd-held Syrian territory … and housing estate a ‘modest masterpiece’Hello – I’m Warren Murray, here to walk you through the news at a leisurely gallop. Continue reading...

As Kurds claim border is already being shelled, US appears to backtrack but Ankara says it will not be ‘controlled by threats’Turkey has signalled its intent to press ahead with an attack on US-backed Kurdish-led forces in north-east Syria despite confusion over US policy after officials appeared to backtrack on Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from the area.The vice-president, Fuat Oktay, said Turkey would execute its own plans regarding national security and would not be “controlled by threats”. Continue reading...

Clare Stokes says images that seemed to show couple fighting were ‘twisted’ by paparazziThe wife of the cricketer Ben Stokes has dismissed allegations of a physical altercation between the couple at an awards ceremony.Pictures have emerged of Stokes and his wife, Clare, appearing to be embroiled in a confrontation during a Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) prizegiving at the Roundhouse in Camden, north London. Continue reading...

Police failed to provide relevant investigation details into fictitious VIP abuse ring, says Howard RiddleThe judge who issued the search warrants during the disastrous Operation Midland investigation into a fictitious VIP abuse ring has suggested he was “misled” by police officers.Howard Riddle, who has since retired as a senior district judge and chief magistrate, has backed the findings of a damning report by Sir Richard Henriques, which concluded he would not have granted the warrants had police given him all of the relevant information. Continue reading...

The LGBT community criticised the comedian for associating with the former president who has a dismal record on gay rightsEllen DeGeneres typically kicks off her show with a set of jokes. Yesterday, she took a different approach.The 61-year-old comedian responded to online criticism brewing over her hanging out with former president George W Bush at a Dallas Cowboys football game on Sunday. Critics – who are predominantly part of the LGBT community – derided DeGeneres for getting close to a president who actively stood against the legalization of same-sex marriage. Continue reading...

British Divers Marine Life Rescue says body spotted near Kent townA humpback whale spotted in the Thames over the weekend has died, marine experts who were tracking its movements have said.Volunteers from British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) said they saw the body of the animal floating lifeless in the river near Greenhithe in Kent. Continue reading...

Liza Womack claims son’s overdose occurred after negligence from company that ‘fostered, promoted and encouraged’ illegal drug useThe mother of rapper Lil Peep has filed a lawsuit against his management company over negligence related to his death from an overdose in 2017.According to court documents obtained by the New York Times, Liza Womack has claimed that First Access Entertainment, the agency and label that oversaw her son’s career, plied and propped him up with illegal drugs. Continue reading...

Nobel-prize winning author remarks after president dismissed deputies as the country is rocked by a constitutional crisisNobel prize-winning author Mario Vargas Llosa has praised Peru’s president Martín Vizcarra for dismissing the country’s rightwing opposition-dominated parliament which he said was made up of “semi-illiterate swindlers”.Related: Mario Vargas Llosa quits writers' body over Catalan remarks Continue reading...

Compulsory purchase order could effectively block plans for parts of Earl’s Court siteHundreds of council housing residents in west London are celebrating after councillors agreed to take forward compulsory purchase order plans that could halt one one of the largest luxury developments in Europe.The West Kensington and Gibbs Green council estates are home to more than 2,000 people. For more than a decade, the residents have lived with uncertainty about whether or not they will lose their homes as part of a 31 hectare (77 acre) development in Earl’s Court by Capital & Counties, known as Capco, a FTSE 250-listed company. The developer has planned a £12bn redevelopment of the site and refers to the project as its Earls Court Master Plan. Continue reading...

Drugs worth billions of pounds thought to have been smuggled in lorries from NetherlandsPolice have arrested 13 men across the country suspected of being part of the biggest drug smuggling gang ever uncovered in the UK.The National Crime Agency (NCA) said the men, aged between 24 and 59, were held in dawn raids on Tuesday in London, Manchester, Stockport, St Helens, Warrington, Bolton, Dewsbury and Leeds. Continue reading...

Cpl Joshua Hoole died within an hour of collapsing on a hot day in Wales in 2016An army officer was reported to military police after allegedly telling a more junior soldier to help change statements about a march on a very hot day in which a colleague died, an inquest has heard.Cpl Joshua Hoole, 26, died within an hour of collapsing on a hot day during an annual fitness test (AFT) in Brecon, south Wales, in July 2016. The tragedy came three years after three army reservists suffered fatal heat illness during an SAS selection march in the Brecon Beacons. Continue reading...

Nguyen Quoc Duc Vuong is being held in conditions ‘conducive to mistreatment or torture’, says Human Rights WatchHuman rights groups have called for the immediate release of a Vietnamese activist arrested for criticising one-party Communist rule on his Facebook page.Nguyen Quoc Duc Vuong, 28, from Ho Chi Minh city was arrested in late September and now faces charges of “making, storing, disseminating or propagandising information” intended “to oppose the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam”, said Human Rights Watch (HRW). Continue reading...

With the country’s major cities set to run out of groundwater in 2020, volunteers are helping to conserve precious suppliesDrenched in perspiration on a muggy Sunday afternoon in New Delhi, Ashia Saifi climbs up and down the stairs of apartment buildings, ringing on doorbells and asking if residents have any leaking taps they want fixed.Sometimes, the door is slammed shut in her face. People are scared of intruders and strangers, even though Saifi sports a little white cap that’s the emblem of the Aam Aadmi party (Common Man), or AAP, which rules the Indian capital. Continue reading...

Hard discs of judge re-examining Northern Ireland killings were removed in 2002, BBC documentary saysMI5 removed and destroyed the files of a judge who was investigating security force collusion in the 1989 murder of the Belfast solicitor Patrick Finucane, it has been reported.MI5 agents entered the office of Peter Cory, who was appointed in 2002 by the British and Irish governments to re-examine certain killings in the Northern Ireland Troubles, and removed computer hard discs that were then wiped, according to a BBC documentary to be aired on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Policy reversal by Trump raises fears captured militants could escape and return to the UKBritish Isis fighters held in north-east Syria could end up being released if the US allows Turkey to invade the territory, UK politicians and the parent of one detainee have warned.A cross-party group of MPs and peers who visited the region last month warned that Donald Trump’s unexpected Sunday night decision to give Turkey a free hand “risks global security” because it could allow Isis members to escape and regroup. Continue reading...

Mana ends city’s ‘ludicrous’ exclusion from prestigious guide to eating outManchester has been awarded its first Michelin star in 40 years, bringing an end to a situation that has been denounced in recent months as “ludicrous” and a “crime”.The star was earned by the former Noma chef Simon Martin whose Ancoats restaurant, Mana, opened in October last year to great fanfare. Continue reading...

MPs say thousands of jobs, many in rural Scotland, could be at risk from planned 25% taxMPs are calling on Boris Johnson to intervene directly with Donald Trump to prevent the US imposing punitive tariffs of 25% on imported scotch whisky later this month.The US announced last week that scotch would be among a range of European goods subject to hefty import taxes from 18 October, as it hits back against the EU in the long-running trade dispute over subsidies for Airbus. Continue reading...

Confidence in force’s leaders said to be shaken at senior levels after abuse claims furoreThere is “concern and dissatisfaction” at senior levels of the government about the Metropolitan police leadership’s handling of the disastrous investigation into an alleged VIP paedophile ring, according to sources.The furore forced the Met commissioner, Dame Cressida Dick, to make her first remarks on the fallout from Operation Midland, and the police watchdog attracted intense criticism for a report clearing officers of deliberately misleading a judge to get search warrants and saying none deserved to face disciplinary action. Continue reading...

Westminster and Trafalgar Square among sites targeted as number of arrests rises to 217Almost 220 people had been arrested by late afternoon on the first day of Extinction Rebellion’s planned two-week shutdown of central London in protest against the lack of action to tackle the climate crisis.Westminster Bridge, Lambeth Bridge, Trafalgar Square, Smithfield market as well as several roads in Westminster were blockaded by activists, with a focus on the areas around parliament in an attempt to force politicians to heed their warning. Continue reading...

Helena Bonham Carter says she discussed her part in The Crown with the deceased royal. What advice might Her Royal Highness have for Boris Johnson?Oh, it’s you, Johnson. I suppose once that silly Bonham Carter woman had blabbed about our conversation then it was inevitable that you would come out of the woodwork. Not that you can even trust her to report what was said accurately. All I said was that I had been dead for more than 17 years and I didn’t give a damn if she played me or not. Personally, I could think of several others – Grace Kelly, for one, who would have done a better job – but as they have all croaked as well, I suppose that might have been tricky.Will you please stop talking while I’m interrupting? And why did you have to call at such an inconvenient time? Didn’t anyone tell you that I spend the hours between two and four sleeping off the first few drinks of the day? Continue reading...

Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen

Child’s mother was also stabbed in incident in Wallsend and is in stable conditionA three-week-old boy who was stabbed along with his mother last week has died in hospital.The child was taken to hospital with his 21-year-old mother after they were found with life-threatening injuries at their home in Wallsend, Newcastle, last Wednesday. Continue reading...

Many mothers and fathers admit to having a preferred child – and experts say that being a sidelined sibling can cause serious problemsDiya says she was never in any doubt her mother had a favourite child – and that it was not her. Now, with three young children of her own, the 27-year-old thinks it is because she looks like her father, who left when she and her sister were very young.“I remember my dad coming to my defence once when I was about 12, telling my mum that she couldn’t choose to love one daughter more than the other. That was the last time my mum let him in the house,” she says. Continue reading...

White House reveals policy shift following conversation between Trump and ErdoğanThe White House has given the green light to a Turkish offensive into northern Syria, moving US forces out of the area in an abrupt foreign policy change that will in effect abandon the Kurds, Washington’s longtime military partner.Kurdish forces have spearheaded the campaign against Islamic State in the region, but the policy swerve, after a phone conversation between Donald Trump and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday, means Turkey would take custody of captured Isis fighters, the White House said. Continue reading...

It is unclear whether Turkey has the will or capacity to take over detention campsIn early 2015, as Islamic State trampled over armies of the Middle East and menaced the west, the US turned to the Kurds for help. It was a familiar call, having been repeated over the decades whenever Washington needed a friend in the region. The outcome has been similar too.Four years on, the people who helped safeguard the global order have been abandoned by the US on the eve of a Turkish push into Kurdish lands across north-eastern Syria. Betrayal has been an enduring theme whenever the US and the Kurds have partnered, but never before as nakedly as this. Continue reading...

Scottish court rejects request to order Boris Johnson to seek extension if he cannot get deal passed by MPs