World news | The Guardian

Israeli president tasked with choosing candidate to form Israel’s next government after inconclusive electionBenjamin Netanyahu has come out narrowly ahead of his rival, Benny Gantz, during consultations with Israeli parliamentarians on who should lead the next government, although it remained unclear if he would be chosen to form a coalition.President Reuven Rivlin ended two days of talks on Monday with representatives from all the Knesset parties, following a stalled election last week that has thrown uncertainly over the country’s political future. Continue reading...

Tottenham MP says Canadian PM’s scandal reveals ‘even liberal leaders’ perpetuate racismThe Labour MP David Lammy has blamed the decision by Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, to blacken his face at a party on pervasive racist tropes that even “liberal leaders” succumb to, as he made calls to tackle white supremacy and privilege.Speaking at a fringe event at the party’s conference in Brighton, the anti-racism campaigner spoke out about old pictures that have emerged of Trudeau in blackface, including one of him dressed up for an Arabian Nights themed gala while still a teacher in 2001. Continue reading...

Nine activists linked to network calling for civil disobedience arrested in Barcelona areaNine Catalan independence activists have been arrested in Barcelona and face charges of “rebellion, terrorism and possession of explosives”, authorities have said.Police said they confiscated material they allege could be used in bomb making during raids early on Monday morning. The raids were aimed at aborting actions that “could have caused irreparable damages”, prosecutors said in a statement. Continue reading...

They’ve faced accusations of privilege and pretension – but alté artists such as Odunsi, Santi and Lady Donli are walking their own path through an often conservative cultureJust after the release of his debut album, Mandy and the Jungle, 26-year old Santi is relieved. “I feel like I gave birth,” he says. “I don’t know how that feels, but if I could I’m sure it would kinda feel like that.”We’re in his flat in Victoria Island, an affluent area in Lagos. The near constant stream of visitors on a weekday afternoon reflects his position as one of the pioneers of alté: not a music genre, but a whole mindset in Nigerian music. Artists who align themselves with the scene are known for blending and fusing a variety of sounds, from R&B, soul and rap to Afrobeats and indie guitar music. Alté (which stands for alternative) draws heavily on western and Nigerian influences, and puts creativity, individuality and a sense of rebellion are at its core – qualities at odds with Nigeria’s conservative culture, where, in a country dominated by Christian and Muslim values, those who go against the grain are often treated with suspicion, derision or bewilderment. Continue reading...

Drone footage has emerged showing police leading hundreds of blindfolded and shackled men from a train in what is believed to be a transfer of inmates in Xinjiang. The video, posted anonymously on YouTube last week, shows what appear to be Uighur Muslims or people from other minorities wearing blue and yellow uniforms, with shaven heads, their eyes covered, sitting in rows on the ground and later being led away by police. Prisoners in China are often transferred with handcuffs and masks covering their faces

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg joins finance ministers of Canada, Singapore and Indonesia to call for compromise on tradeThe treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, has joined Australia’s voice to a coalition of nations urging the US and China to abandon their trade war, arguing the entire global economy is suffering as a result.In a pointed plea that doesn’t mention the economic superpowers by name, but is unmistakably aimed at them, the treasurers and finance ministers of four middle-power nations – Australia, Canada, Singapore, and Indonesia – have warned “the risks of collateral damage are growing”. Continue reading...

En route to the UN general assembly in New York, prime minister raises possibility that the British military could become involvedThe UK now believes Iran was responsible for a major attack earlier this month on Saudi Arabian oil facilities, Boris Johnson has said, also raising the possibility that the British military could become involved in helping secure the Saudis against future aggression.Speaking to reporters on his plane en route to the UN general assembly (UNGA) in New York, the prime minister said there was “a very high degree of probability” that Iran was behind the drone and missile attack two major oil installation on 14 September. Continue reading...

Supply fears after the Saudi attack are alarmist, the impact on Australian petrol prices marginal at most. But they also miss the point

French drug watchdog along with pharmaceutical firm Servier on trial over Mediator drug scandalA landmark trial over one of France’s biggest healthcare scandals will begin on Monday after a weight-loss pill was believed to have killed up to 2,000 people and left many more injured for life.The trial for manslaughter and deceit will attempt to lift the lid on France’s massive pharmaceuticals industry. Continue reading...

Campaigners say incidents are still underreported and more must be done to stop attackersSexual assaults reported on the tube have soared by 42% in the last four years, new figures show.Attacks recorded on the London Underground leapt from 844 in 2015-16 to 1,206 in 2018-19, according to analysis by the PA news agency. Continue reading...

Carmakers fear disorderly exit would cripple the just-in-time supply chain, investment and lead to tariff barriersThe European car industry has warned of catastrophic effects of a no-deal Brexit, saying it would have a “seismic” impact on making cars in Europe.In a rare joint statement, chiefs from 23 automotive business associations across Europe joined forces to caution against a brutal exit from the bloc by Britain, where auto giants BMW, Peugeot PSA and Japan’s Nissan have factories. Continue reading...

Model holds up hands with ‘mental health is not fashion’ during catwalk showIf fashion is a reflection of the times it is little wonder that the current round of shows have often felt discombobulating.Gucci’s show on Sunday night was was particularly surreal, opening with a series of models being propelled along a conveyor belt catwalk, staring bleakly ahead, wearing a high fashion take on straitjackets. Continue reading...

Areas of Wales with big English communities saw larger leave vote in 2016, according to studyThe question of why Wales voted to leave the European Union can in large part be answered by the number of English retired people who have moved across the border, new research has found.Despite being one of the biggest beneficiaries of EU funding, Wales voted leave by a majority of 52% to 48% in the 2016 referendum – a result that took some analysts by surprise. Continue reading...

Labour leader risks infuriating activists and MPs as he plays down splits at party conference

Police launch murder inquiry after teenager killed following altercation in Salt Park HillA murder inquiry has been launched after a 15-year-old boy was stabbed to death in a skatepark.Police were called to Salt Hill Park in Slough, Berkshire, at about 6.30pm on Saturday. The teenager was pronounced dead at the scene. Thames Valley police said his family have been informed and were being helped by specially trained officers. Continue reading...

The Pose star talks to the Guardian after a historic night when she became the first trans person to host a presidential forumOn Friday night in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Angelica Ross became the first trans person to host a presidential forum.Related: Cory Booker will exit presidential race if $1.7m not raised by end of month Continue reading...

Over 120 arrested as Black Bloc guerrillas infiltrate climate protest and gilets jaunes stage revivalDemonstrators from the so-called Black Bloc anarchist group infiltrated a peaceful climate change march in Paris on Saturday, smashing shop and business windows and torching mopeds and dustbins en route.Police made more than 120 arrests as the French capital saw a series of demonstrations. Continue reading...

At least 55 people reported arrested over protests calling for President Sisi to stand downHundreds of Egyptians took to the streets in Cairo and other cities in rare protests against the country’s president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, responding to an online call for a demonstration against government corruption.Videos shared on social media showed protesters in central Cairo as well as the port cities of Alexandria and Suez, demanding that Sisi leave office. Protests also occurred in the towns of Damietta, Damanhur and Mahalla. Continue reading...

Kenloy Clarke is said to have opened fire in Wood Green, north London, on Tuesday nightA man has appeared in court accused of trying to kill his brother and a woman who is critically injured.Kenloy Clarke is said to have opened fire in Lordship Lane in Wood Green, north London, on Tuesday night. Continue reading...

The president’s misconceived Middle East policy has been laid bare, and few allies will rush to the rescueThey must be laughing their socks off in Tehran. The days following last weekend’s attacks on Saudi oil facilities, blamed by the US on Iran, have seen an almost comical display of indecision, confusion and bluster by the leader of the world’s most powerful country. As a result, Iran looks stronger … and Donald Trump looks like a clown.If Iranian leaders intended to call Trump’s bluff, they have succeeded – for now at least. The president’s immediate reaction to the attacks was to declare the US “locked and loaded” for retaliatory strikes. Then he remembered he’s opposed to fighting wars in the Middle East and hopes to be re-elected next year. Continue reading...

Frank Bainimarama, Enele Sopoaga and Hilda Heine hope their urgent demands for action will save their island nations from the rising wavesIt is the final night of the Pacific Islands Forum in Tuvalu and the Fijian prime minister is explaining how to drink kava.“You clap first,” says Frank Bainimarama, as the smooth wooden bowl is passed around the circle. “Then you have to gulp in one go; then you clap again – one, two, three.” Continue reading...

Daphne Caruana Galizia, who wrote a popular anti-corruption blog, was killed by a car bomb outside her homeFollowing international pressure, the government of Malta has said it will launch an independent public inquiry into the murder of anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.Caruana Galizia, who wrote a popular anti-corruption blog, was killed by a car bomb outside her home on the island on 16 October 2017. Continue reading...

Toyota has seen a 2,000% rise in demand for parts for models that contain precious metalsAn explosion in thefts of catalytic converters from hybrid cars has left hundreds of owners of the vehicles unable to drive them because of a shortage of replacement parts, the Guardian has learned.Criminal gangs are believed to be targeting easily identifiable models such as the Toyota Prius and Lexus 400h, because hybrids contain more precious metals than other vehicles. Continue reading...

The bestselling author of The Testaments talks about her unusual upbringing and why it was time to revisit the dystopia of The Handmaid’s Tale“You are in chaos,” Margaret Atwood decrees calmly over tea. “It’s Cavaliers versus Roundheads.” We meet in London, the afternoon before she is due at Waterstones in Piccadilly to sell the first copy of The Testaments, the long awaited sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, at midnight, accompanied by women in the now globally recognised handmaids’ costumes. Further up the river, Westminster is shutting down for five weeks. Ever since Boris Johnson raised the prospect of proroguing parliament, people have been sharing a quote from The Handmaid’s Tale, published 35 years ago, just as they did in the US following the election of Donald Trump in 2016: “That was when they suspended the Constitution. They said it would be temporary. There wasn’t even any rioting in the streets. People stayed at home at night, watching television.”“It is another predictable mess that people have got drawn into because a big honking pack of lies was told about it,” Atwood says of Brexit. Apart from the legal questions – “actions have consequences, but what will the consequences be?” – she is most interested in “who is going to benefit from this financially? Who is shorting the pound? I can think of all kinds of people who might turn it to their advantage.” Continue reading...

Employees urge charity to consider using donations to fund jobs as management say job losses are unavoidableStaff at Amnesty International are to vote on whether to strike over a dispute about redundancies.The trade union Unite will ballot its 300 members at the human rights organisation next week. Continue reading...

‘Feminist emergency’ demonstrations follow series of high-profile rape cases

Campaigns to expose personal details of those on both sides of protests skyrocket, with nearly 1,000 cases being investigatedHong Kong has seen an unprecedented wave of doxxing – the malicious spread of private information online – since anti-government protests began in early June.Social media forums such as LIHKG, a Reddit-like website, and encrypted apps such as Telegram have played a critical role in organising the leaderless protest movement but are now being used to share names, photos, phone numbers, ages and the occupation of individuals on both sides of the protest line. Continue reading...

The head of the Earle Haven nursing home admits failings but claims government auditors were ‘anti-Semitic’The boss of a Gold Coast aged care facility where more than half the high-care residents were malnourished before it closed has said he is “fed up” and is getting out of aged care.Arthur Miller admitted to a Queensland parliamentary hearing on Friday that he was not up to the task of managing the high-care facility at his Earle Haven centre, which closed suddenly on 11 July, effectively leaving 69 residents homeless. Continue reading...

Pacific nation changes allegiance to Beijing just days after Solomon Islands also cut ties with TaipeiTaiwan has lost its second diplomatic ally in less than a week after the Pacific nation of Kiribati moved to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan and establish foreign relations with China.The decision comes after the Solomon Islands announced it was breaking away from Taiwan on Monday, and means that in just a week the number of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies has dropped from 17 to 15. Continue reading...

Irish PM Leo Varadkar says gap between sides still wide, as UK says it will table proposals when Boris Johnson is ready

Civil Aviation Safety Authority says it will make its own call on the 737 Max, which was grounded after two crashes left 346 deadAustralia’s air safety regulator may refuse permission for Boeing 737 Max planes to fly even if its US counterpart revokes an order grounding the aircraft, which has crashed twice, leaving 346 people dead.A Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesman said that the decision of the US Federal Aviation Administration would be an important factor in deciding whether to allow the Max to fly, but Casa would also take into account other information before making its decision. Continue reading...

The British designer’s SS20 range makes it clear he has got the measure of his customersIf the weight of being the most hyped designer of the moment has gone to his head, Bottega Veneta’s creative director, Daniel Lee, wasn’t showing it at his spring/summer 2020 show at Milan fashion week.It has been seven months since the British designer made his debut for the Italian house to huge critical acclaim in February. Before his arrival, the house had been helmed by Tomas Maier for 17 years and had built a strong identity for reliable, if safe, luxury. It was a rule book that Lee respected but rewrote with his first collection. The fashion industry raced to be the first to shoot it, Instagram blew up with adoration for it and waiting lists amassed before product hit the shop floor. Continue reading...

Contractor has been the subject of allegations of mistreatment while running immigration detentions

The months-old dispute between the two countries is only growing. They may not be the only ones affectedPerhaps the most striking aspect of the row between Japan and South Korea is that it is not in the interests of either side, yet continues to escalate. The rest of us should also pay attention because the repercussions could be felt much further afield.Simmering bitterness over the Japanese occupation from 1910 to 1945 bubbled up again with a row over the issue of the South Korean women who became “comfort women” (wartime sex slaves), and then last year’s ruling by the South Korean supreme court that workers were entitled to compensation from Japanese firms for their forced labour during the war. Tokyo sees Seoul as reneging on a 1965 bilateral agreement settling wartime claims; Seoul believes that Tokyo has not done enough to address its colonial past and says the deal should not prevent individual victims from suing. Continue reading...

Former president of Tunisia who fled to Saudi Arabia after the 2011 uprisingZine al-Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia’s autocratic former president who fled to Saudi Arabia in 2011 after a popular uprising, has died aged 83. The revolution that led to his downfall inspired uprisings in neighbouring countries that came to be viewed as the Arab Spring. But while Tunisia managed a steady transition to democracy, with free elections held last Sunday, economically many people are no better off.Ben Ali became president in November 1987 after Habib Bourguiba, the founder of modern Tunisia and president-for-life, was deemed to be too senile to rule. Bourguiba had appointed Ben Ali prime minister the previous month, and a popular, bloodless palace coup – “The Change” – followed. Continue reading...

Counter-terror police vow to thwart rise in violence driven by extreme-right ideologiesPolice have vowed to thwart the rise of the far right, which they have said is the fastest growing terrorist threat in the UK, as they try to stop race hate ideologues from bringing violence the country’s streets.Britain’s top counter-terrorism officer, the Met assistant commissioner Neil Basu, said the most likely attempts would come from “lone actors” and, as with Islamist terrorism, the authorities could not guarantee to foil every plot. Continue reading...

Pop stars are under pressure to produce a continuous stream of new music, with many releasing two albums a year. What’s behind the explosive pace?The music industry in 2019, says Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis, could be compared to a Pez dispenser. He is not talking about big heads – rather, the seemingly endless, instantly gratifying stream of new songs that drop each week, like tiny pieces of Pez candy. “It certainly feels as if there’s more music out there,” he says. “By virtue of that, a record just feels older quicker; it doesn’t have its place in the sun for long, because there’s new canopy growth. Everyone’s trying to get a bit of sunshine.”Philippakis is among a growing number of artists responding to this fast-moving dynamic by upping the pace of his releases. Foals will release their second album of 2019, Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part II, in October (Part I was released in March, and nominated for this year’s Mercury prize). The New York indie band Big Thief release Two Hands, their second LP of the year, this October. The 1975 are beginning to roll out their 2020 album Notes on a Conditional Form just eight months after releasing A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships. Continue reading...

Amnesty International report cites beatings, arbitrary arrests and ‘thirst for retaliation’

Forty were also injured in the Wednesday attack which struck farmers and labourers who just finished work, Afghan officials say

Prosecutors no longer pursing case against Jed Foster from BerkshireA 20-year-old man accused of killing the police officer Andrew Harper has seen the murder charge against him dropped after spending a month in custody.Prosecutors said they were no longer pursing the case against Jed Foster, from Burghfield, in Berkshire, who was arrested within an hour of Harper’s death on 15 August and charged four days later. Continue reading...

From early experiments in claymation TV to its forthcoming Shaun the Sheep big-screen sequel, we rate the animation studio’s outputAfter it was used for a perfume ad, Nina Simone’s jazz classic made it into the top 10 in the autumn of 1987. Inspired, no doubt, by the (non-Aardman) video for a successful re-release of Jackie Wilson’s Reet Petite earlier in the year, this music video became a second bite at claymation-meets-1950s. Peter Lord, who directed, went with a sultry singing cat and some artistic shots of piano keys. Continue reading...

Over-50s holiday company apologises for brochure after Twitter backlash

Victorian premier’s 11.8% salary increase a stark contrast to 2% rise offered to police, paramedics and train driversThe Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, has defended being awarded an 11.8% salary increase, making him the highest paid state leader in the country with a total income of $441,000 a year.The boost comes as the state’s police, paramedics and train drivers have been offered a much more modest 2% pay raise. Continue reading...

People living in the suburb of Anchar are battling to keep security forces out. Since India stripped Jammu and Kashmir of its special status, the disputed region has been on security lockdown. Anchar, part of the main city of Srinagar, is thought to be the only major pocket of resistance

From big-scramble zebra crossings to a man in a hedge, the award-winning street photographer revels in the life that swirls around him Continue reading...

Pro-choice activists say decision is a death sentence, after illegal abortions resulted in 15.6% of maternal deaths in 2014Clashes have erupted between pro-choice demonstrators and police outside Ecuador’s national assembly after lawmakers rejected a bill which would decriminalize abortion in cases of rape.Abortion is illegal in Ecuador except in cases where the life of the mother is in danger, or if the pregnancy is the result of the rape of a woman with mental disabilities. Continue reading...

Defence spokesman calls on ‘international community to hold Iran responsible’Saudi Arabia has ramped up the pressure on Donald Trump to respond to a devastating strike on two major oil installations, displaying drone and missile technology it insisted showed the attack was “unquestionably sponsored by Iran”.At a press conference in Riyadh a Saudi defence spokesman claimed that 25 drones and cruise missiles were used in the attack on the Aramco facilities on Saturday, saying repeatedly they had been fired from the north, the direction of Iran. Continue reading...

Long-term partner of Margaret Atwood had dementia but continued to travel with her on book tour for The TestamentsThe Canadian author and conservationist Graeme Gibson has died at the age of 85. Gibson was the long-term partner of Margaret Atwood, and was with the novelist while she toured to promote her new book, The Testaments.Atwood said in a statement this afternoon that her family was “devastated by the loss of Graeme, our beloved father, grandfather, and spouse, but we are happy that he achieved the kind of swift exit he wanted and avoided the decline into further dementia that he feared”. Continue reading...

Gadget entangles suspects in fibre and billed by US maker as painless alternative to TaserA Spider-Man-like gadget that brings suspects to a halt by entangling them in cord fired from a hand-held device could be adapted for use by UK police.The US-made BolaWrap 100 restraint, which is being demonstrated to forces in the UK this week, is billed as an alternative in some situations to the Taser stun gun. Continue reading...

Prime minister cancels trip to UN general assembly to deal with political crisisBenjamin Netanyahu and the opposition leader, Benny Gantz, have begun what could be a prolonged period of high-stakes political bartering after an inconclusive election in Israel showed neither had a clear path to form a coalition.Many Israelis hoped the poll, the second in five months, would provide clarity and pull the nation out of a political crisis. But the muddy results that trickled in on Wednesday appeared to deadlock the country instead. Continue reading...