Agreement this week unlikely but talks are ongoing and PM is building Commons support

Escalating brutality has been central to the long standoff between the city’s authorities and its peopleWhen Hong Kong’s summer of protests began in June, the city was so shocked by police unleashing 150 canisters of tear gas and using their batons, it helped bring two million people into the streets to demonstrate again and denounce police brutality.Four months of rolling protests later, they used nearly 10 times as many tear gas rounds in 24 hours in a futile bid to control the city as China celebrated 70 years of communist rule last Tuesday. That day police shot a protester with live ammunition for the first time, seriously injuring the teenager. Three days later another schoolboy was shot in the thigh. Continue reading...

One man arrested following reports of an altercation at a property on Saturday eveningDetectives have launched a murder investigation after three men were found dead at an address in Colchester, Essex.Police were called to Wellesley Road at about 10.15pm on Saturday over concerns for the welfare of two men following reports of an altercation. Officers found two men dead inside a property and the body of a third man was discovered in a car outside. Continue reading...

Concerns raised over appropriate use of legal defence for youths exploited by drug gangsA legal defence for children who claim they are being exploited by county lines drug gangs needs to be monitored more closely, the Magistrates’ Association has warned.Judicial concern about the way section 45 of the Modern Slavery Act operates has emerged as gang violence escalates and the government focuses on the disproportionate outcomes for ethnic minority defendants in the criminal justice system. Continue reading...

Demonstrators in Hong Kong wore face masks on Sunday in defiance of a new law imposed after the government invoked colonial-era emergency powers. Protesters, who could face a year in prison for hiding their faces, threw teargas canisters back at police as tens of thousands marched through central Hong Kong

The actor says she discussed her part in The Crown with the deceased royal herselfSome actors avoid excessive research, but for Helena Bonham Carter to play Princess Margaret in The Crown meant reading all the biographies, talking to friends, ladies-in-waiting and relatives, and consulting an astrologer, a graphologist and a psychic.The last meeting meant she could talk to the princess herself, the actor told Cheltenham literature festival. Continue reading...

Record 2.4 million fans tried to secure ticket for festival’s 50th year next JuneTickets for the 50th year of Glastonbury have sold out in 34 minutes, as a record number of fans tried to secure a ticket for the event at Worthy Farm next June.Emily Eavis confirmed that a record number of people had registered to be eligible for the sale, which started at 9am on Sunday and was finished in little over 30 minutes. A record 2.4 million people signed up to have a chance of securing a ticket. Continue reading...

Boris Johnson’s Brexit proposals are filling those in rural County Fermanagh with dread and confusionTwo very different storms barrelled into Gortmullan last week, one from the west, the other from the east.Remnants of Hurricane Lorenzo unleashed wind and rain from the Atlantic across the area, a rural pocket of County Fermanagh that marks Northern Ireland’s border with the Republic. “Stay back, stay high, stay dry,” advised the authorities, and residents duly hunkered down. Lorenzo passed without major damage. Continue reading...

BBC investigation exposes Shia clerics in Baghdad advising men on how to abuse girlsI’m walking through the security cordon that leads into Kadhimiyah, one of Shia Islam’s holiest sites. I’m in a queue, along with dozens of pilgrims who have come from all over the world to pay their respects to the shrine of Imam Kadhim. At the gate, a female security guard pats me down and looks into my handbag, a reminder that the story I’m reporting on here isn’t going to be easy.As I walk around the market stalls surrounding the shrine, I notice the many “marriage offices” dotted around the mosque, which are licensed to perform Sharia marriages. I’d received tips that some clerics here were performing short-term mutaa [pleasure] marriages, a practice – illegal under Iraqi law – whereby a men can pay for a temporary wife, with the officiating cleric receiving a cut. Continue reading...

• Six thousand England fans expected in Czech capital

Bourke and Brewarrina brace for 40C day as dust storms set to sweep western parts of stateThe Bureau of Meteorology says an unseasonal heatwave hitting western and north-western New South Wales could demolish October heat records and place large swathes of the state at bushfire risk.While Sydney’s top temperature was expected to reach a mild 23C on Sunday, Bourke and Brewarrina braced for their first 40C day since March. Continue reading...

Five days of anti-government demonstrations across the country have left at least 99 dead and thousands woundedThe UN has called for an end to the violence in Iraq after five days of anti-government rallies left nearly 100 people dead, mainly protesters.The demonstrations – which have evolved from initial calls for employment and better services to demanding the fall of the government – carried on into Saturday night in various neighbourhoods of Baghdad and southern Iraq, as authorities struggled to agree on a response. Continue reading...

EU’s chief negotiator issues warning to UK government as talks appear on brink of collapse

Iron figures would extend four miles out to sea to celebrate shared Celtic and neolithic heritage of UK and BrittanyStark on a hill over Gateshead, Sir Antony Gormley’s Angel of the North stands as a symbol of Britain’s northern identity. And across the country, on the Mersey estuary, the sculptor’s group of imposing solo figures at Crosby beach has become part of the landscape.Now, on the eve of Britain’s potential departure from Europe, Gormley is planning a new and dramatic intervention on the beaches of northern France. He wants to erect a group of seven huge sculptures, made from iron slabs, on the coast of Brittany. They will look towards Britain, the lost island of Europe. Continue reading...

Famous for her engaging portraits, Soames’ work is held in collections around the worldThe newspaper photographer Sally Soames has died at the age of 82. Speaking on Saturday to the Observer, the newspaper that gave Soames her first assignment, her only child, Trevor, said she had died that morning at her home in north London, surrounded by her family and after a long period of illness. Continue reading...

A welcome gold award, and now the RIBA has begun to recognise that what matters is the teamSome kind of congratulations are due to the Royal Institute of British Architects for choosing as this year’s winners of the royal gold medal for architecture the Irish practice Grafton. For Grafton Architects is run by two women, Shelley McNamara and Yvonne Farrell, which means that for the second time since Queen Victoria awarded the first such medal in 1848, it has gone outright to members of the same sex as the late queen-empress. On two other occasions, women have won the prize together with their husband-colleagues.This year, the RIBA could hardly have done otherwise, given a campaign by an action group called Part W to highlight the scarcity of women among the winners of the gold medal and the world’s other top awards for architecture. It is flabbergasting that this conversation still has to be had now, in 2019. Still, baby steps. The choice of Grafton can’t be faulted, either – they are outstanding architects. Continue reading...

Officers raid building used by climate activists to store items for Westminster rallyPolice have taken pre-emptive action against environmental protesters who are planning to cause disruption in Westminster.Dozens of officers from the Metropolitan police’s territorial support group raided a building in Kennington, south London, where Extinction Rebellion activists were storing equipment to use in a demonstration next week. Continue reading...

The rightwing Law and Justice party may be authoritarian and anti-LGBT, but its welfare programmes have transformed the lives of low-income Poles“Every good Pole should know what the role of the church is … because beyond the church there is only nihilism.”– Jarosław Kaczyński, chairman of the Law and Justice party, 7 September Continue reading...

The star told her closest friend of her isolation in a series of notes that are now up for auctionGreta Garbo, the elusive Hollywood actress of the 1930s, was so inscrutable she was known as the Swedish Sphinx.Born in Stockholm, she is best remembered for leading roles in the movie classics Queen Christina and Anna Karenina and for the famous phrase “I want to be alone” – a misquoted line from her 1932 hit Grand Hotel. It fitted her image as a star who shunned the glitz and hoopla of Hollywood. Continue reading...

Aman Vyas extradited from India and accused of killing Michelle SamaraweeraA man has been charged with a murder in Walthamstow in 2009 after being extradited from India, Scotland Yard said.Aman Vyas, 35, arrived at Heathrow on Friday and was charged with the murder and rape of Michelle Samaraweera on 30 May 2009. Continue reading...

Four years after being turned away at the airport, the rapper talks about his battle with the Home Office, his funk reinvention – and why accusations of homophobia were wide of the markIt is a Tuesday afternoon in mid-September and Tyler, the Creator has been in London since the weekend, when he flew in from New York to Heathrow. Going through customs was surprisingly smooth, he says. “The lady said: ‘Hey, did you have a problem with immigration here in 2015?’” He laughs. “I said, yeah.”Four years ago, his experience was very different. The then 24-year-old rapper and musician, born Tyler Okonma, was supposed to be playing at Reading and Leeds festivals that summer. Instead, when he landed in the UK, he was taken into a detention room and shown lyrics from his first two albums: Bastard, a mixtape he had put out in 2009, when he was 18; and Goblin, from 2011. Okonma had been to the UK since those albums had come out (once, to host a screening of Napoleon Dynamite), but nevertheless he was told that he had been banned from the country for three to five years. The home secretary at the time, Theresa May, used anti-terrorism legislation to forbid him entry, releasing an official statement that said his work “encourages violence and intolerance of homosexuality” and “fosters hatred with views that seek to provoke others to terrorist acts”. Continue reading...

Allan Hyrons, 70, and Filipina wife Wilma were taken by armed men on Friday night in Mindanao regionA British national and his Filipina wife have been abducted from a resort in the southern Philippines.Allan Arthur Hyrons, 70, and his wife Wilma Paglinawan Hyrons were taken by armed men at 6:50pm on Friday from Hyrons Beach, a resort the couple owns in Tukuran town in Zamboanga Del Sur. Continue reading...

Men held on suspicion of murder after death of Tashan Daniel in Hillingdon last monthTwo men have been arrested on suspicion of murdering an aspiring athlete at a London Underground station, the British Transport police said.Tashan Daniel, 20, died at Hillingdon tube station on 24 September and police said they had been “working around the clock” to find those responsible for his death. Continue reading...

In this rare glimpse inside the BBC archives, we reveal the exasperated internal memos, the furious letters from wing commanders – and David Frost’s bid to bring them downIn a memo sent in 1969, the BBC head of comedy seems to have lost his sense of humour. “Please will you have a word with the writers?” said Michael Mills. “I haven’t reacted to the funny titles that have appeared on the scripts so far. I hoped that they would cease of their own accord.”The titles that irritated him included “Bunn Wackett Buzzard Stubble and Boot”, apparently a spoof legal firm, which came to be shortened to Bunwackett. The show, meanwhile, had the working title The Circus. Now, though, Mills had had enough: “The time has come when we must stop having peculiar titles and settle on one overall title … Please would you have words with them and try to produce something palatable?” Continue reading...

Police in Quito have used teargas and horses to quell a violent protest over rising fuel prices, which triggered transport disruption nationwide. Taxi, bus and truck drivers blocked the streets during the demonstration, which was supported by indigenous groups, students and trade union members.Ecuadorians were angered by President Lenín Moreno's decision to end subsidies for fuel after 40 years. Diesel and petrol prices are expected to more than double

Former leadership candidate announces plan to stand down as MP at next election

Unicorn theatre, London

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has tightened rules covering what qualifies as ‘owner-occupied’ home loansOwners of holiday houses may be hit with higher mortgage repayments as the effects of a change in the way the prudential regulator collects statistics works its way through the banking system.As part of efforts to make sure Australia’s banks are “unquestionably strong” and could resist another global financial meltdown, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has tightened the rules covering what type of loans qualify as “owner-occupied” home loans – the safest and generally the cheapest type. Continue reading...

Documents reveal diplomats explicitly asked for Biden inquiry ... Met ignored lawyer’s warnings about Carl Beech ... gold at last for KJTGood morning briefers. I’m Martin Farrer and this is all the news that’s fit to take you into the weekend. Continue reading...

The feared large-scale exodus of firms and financiers does not seem to be under wayIt is now well over three years since the UK voted, by a narrow but significant margin, to leave the EU. Yet we still have no idea what kind of economic relationship the UK will have with the 27 countries it leaves behind. (Some of the debate in London recalls in its insularity the apocryphal 1930s headline: “Fog in Channel: continent cut off.”) Insofar as one can hazard a guess, the most likely outcome seems to be a more remote relationship than leave supporters talked about in the referendum campaign and than most commentators envisaged shortly after the vote.But despite that change of direction, and the certain loss of the so-called passport, which would allow financial services to be sold freely across the EU, the feared large-scale exodus of firms and financiers from London does not seem to be under way. The French bakeries and German sausage shops are still doing a roaring trade. Why? Continue reading...

Critics say government should not be funding events to commemorate 250th anniversary due to sensitivity to MāoriNew Zealand is preparing for a potentially uncomfortable weekend, as the country prepares to mark – with celebration and protest – 250 years since Captain James Cook landed in the country.Prime minister Jacinda Ardern is making her way to Gisborne on the east coast of the North Island, to take part in government-funded events to commemorate Cook’s landing in Poverty Bay. Continue reading...

Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including Boris Johnson’s statement to MPs about his Brexit plan for a replacement to the backstop

Gunman killed in shootout outside Penrith police station after shooting at the Marayong home of Stacey TaylorStacey Taylor had not heard “a single word” from the father of her unborn child for more than six months when he targeted her western Sydney home during a terrifying shooting spree.Within an hour, the gunman, identified as bodybuilder Daniel King, would be killed in a shootout with police, after opening fire on his former lover’s home and two police stations with a 12-gauge shotgun. Continue reading...

For longtime residents of the Chinese city’s hutong neighbourhoods, a housing renovation project mean tough choices over whether to stay or leaveOn sunny afternoons, Yang takes his wheelchair-bound 90-year-old mother out along the Yu River, a canal near their home in Beijing’s historic Gulou neighbourhood. In the autumn, willow trees sweep their branches in the water, and the place gives the impression of a lazy, golden city from the last imperial days.Gulou, often called the heart of old Beijing, is one of the only areas left that still have the city’s ancient winding alleyways, or hutongs. Yang and his mother live in Yu’er hutong, which lies just off the well-known and tourist-packed Nanluogu Xiang pedestrian street and is a short stroll from the ancient Drum and Bell Towers once used to tell the time across the city. Continue reading...

Thirty-two-year-old has maintained he acted in self-defence after he came to aid of two Roma being assaulted by a group in BulgariaAustralian Jock Palfreeman says newly released footage of a 2007 brawl in which he fatally stabbed a Bulgarian man shows he was acting in self-defence.The 32-year-old was found guilty of murder in 2009 and sentenced to 20 years in jail, before being granted parole two weeks ago. Continue reading...

Star steps down as general director and withdraws from future performances, marking end to US careerThe opera star Plácido Domingo has resigned as general director of Los Angeles Opera – a company he helped found – amid allegations of sexual harassment that span several decades.Domingo also withdrew from all forthcoming performances at the LA Opera, his last scheduled shows in the United States, signaling an end to his half-century career in American opera. Continue reading...

Belfast prosecutors considering action against ‘Stakeknife’ and his British army handlersA police inquiry into one of the biggest spy scandals in the history of British intelligence has recommended that more than 20 people including senior security force personnel and ex-IRA members be considered for prosecution, the Guardian has learned.Operation Kenova, the multimillion-pound investigation into “Stakeknife” – the army agent at the heart of the IRA during the Northern Ireland Troubles – has now sent files identifying military commanders and at least one IRA veteran with a so-called “get-out-of-jail” card to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) in Belfast. Continue reading...

Clubs say Pemsel hired because of his ‘straightforward style and personal integrity’The Premier League has appointed the Guardian’s David Pemsel as its new chief executive.Confirmation of the appointment came at a Premier League meeting on Wednesday morning. Continue reading...

Leader also fighting to save political career after failing to secure election wins this yearDefence lawyers representing Benjamin Netanyahu have presented their arguments against looming bribery, fraud and breach of trust indictments as a long-awaited pre-trial hearing begins.Wednesday’s closed-door hearing, the culmination of three years of investigations, arrives at an especially fraught time for Israel’s longest-serving leader. Netanyahu is also fighting for his political life after failing to secure a clear win in two elections this year. Continue reading...

Brussels takes heart from PM stopping short of ‘take it or leave it’ Brexit statement

Group took over upper floors of house claiming squatters’ rights and changing locksTwo dozen homeless protesters have stormed a council-owned building in Chester, north-west England, and barricaded themselves inside.

The protester held two signs, one condemning anti-Islam party For Britain, and another that said ‘Bigmouth indeed’Morrissey has ejected an anti-far-right protester from a show in Portland. During his performance at the city’s Moda Center on Monday night (30 September), a woman held up two signs. One depicted the logo of the anti-Islam party For Britain struck through by a red line. The other read: “Bigmouth indeed.”In fan footage from the concert, Morrissey can be seen addressing the woman after the second song of the night. “Let’s be quite frank,” he says. “When you with the sign are removed, I will continue.” His fans then join in as he repeatedly shouts “go”, “we don’t need you” and “goodbye”, calling upon his lighting technician to bring up the house lights. Continue reading...

Lyttelton, London

Prince says he has been ‘a silent witness’ to Meghan’s private suffering for too long’

Pyne’s GC Advisory has been engaged by property developers to fight the state Liberal government’s land tax proposalsThe crossbench senator Rex Patrick has labelled Christopher Pyne’s lobbying of South Australian Liberals on behalf of property developers an “offensive” use of his political connections, while transparency campaigners have renewed calls for a five-year prohibition on post-ministerial lobbying.Pyne’s GC Advisory has been engaged by a group of influential South Australian property developers to fight the state Liberal government’s land tax proposals, raising eyebrows given Pyne’s recent leading role in the federal Liberal party. Continue reading...

Activists say onslaught has intensified as illegal loggers and land-grabbers take the president’s verbal offensive against indigenous communities as a green light to actMore than 30 bullet holes told Awapu Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau a sinister tale.“Their message is that they’re going to finish us off, isn’t it?” the village chieftan said as he examined the pockmarked sign warning outsiders to stay off the giant Amazon reserve he calls home. Continue reading...

A year on, no action has been taken about the killing. The Trump administration has much to answer forExactly one year ago, I stood outside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, waiting for my fiance, Jamal Khashoggi, to come out with the marriage documents we needed to begin our life together. I was optimistic, even excited. Yet I never saw Jamal again.I did not expect to have my life transformed. I did not expect to have to alert the authorities to Jamal’s disappearance, or to find myself at the centre of a story that would shake the world. I did not expect, on a day that seemed unremarkable, to have my dreams shattered. By necessity I was put on a path, compelled to begin a campaign for justice for the man who was not only stolen from me but also taken away from those who read his work, and who admired him for his courage and his unrelenting commitment to the truth. Continue reading...

Prince compares wife’s treatment to Diana’s as proceedings over private letter are announced

NRMA blames volatile world oil prices and says Australia is ‘hugely exposed’Motorists in Sydney and Brisbane have been told it is too late to fill up cheaply before the long weekend and petrol prices are set to hit record highs.In Sydney the average price of petrol is expected to reach 166c a litre on Wednesday and will not drop again until next week. In Brisbane the record average of 169.9c a litre across the city, set a year ago, will be threatened. Continue reading...

The capital’s skyline is filled with cranes. They can’t disguise sky-high rents, a cultural brain-drain and growing inequalityThere’s a reason that “Was it for this?” remains one of WB Yeats’s most recited fragments of poetry in Ireland. The line comes from Yeats’s September 1913, which poured scorn on how the greed and hypocrisies of the business class had replaced the romanticism of previous Irish generations.Ireland’s modern dismay, however, is at rampant and growing inequality, and the way in which its cities and cultural spaces are being hollowed out by speculation, gentrification, poor or absent planning and squandered opportunities. Continue reading...