Pair allegedly tried to bribe top US official as attorney general says DoJ ‘will not tolerate attempts to undermine the rule of law’Two Chinese intelligence officers tried to bribe a US law enforcement official as part of an effort to obtain inside information about a criminal case against the Chinese telecommunications company Huawei, federal prosecutors alleged in an indictment unsealed on Monday.The announcement of charges against the two alleged agents came as attorney general Merrick Garland detailed two other cases in which Chinese intelligence operatives harassed dissidents inside the United States and pressured US academics to work for them. Continue reading...
Antisemitic comments from US rapper have led to the shelving of a finished documentary and major talent agency CAA cutting ties as ex-wife calls hate speech ‘never ok’A completed documentary about Kanye West, also known as Ye, has been scrapped amid concern and industry backlash over the rapper’s string of antisemitic statements in recent weeks.“This morning, after discussion with our film-makers and distribution partners, we made the decision not to proceed with any distribution for our recently completed documentary about Kanye West,” the co-leaders of film and television studio MRC – Modi Wiczyk, Asif Satchu and Scott Tenley – wrote in a statement on Monday. “We cannot support any content that amplifies his platform.” Continue reading...
by Léonie Chao-Fong, Zaina Alibhai and Samantha Lock on (#651WC)
US says Russia keeping lines of communication open after meeting between defense secretary Lloyd Austin and Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu. This live blog is now closed
Members at South Western Rail, Southeastern, West Midlands Trains, Northern and Great Western will strike starting from 3 NovemberA rail union has announced nearly a week of industrial action, including strikes in November in their ongoing dispute over pay, job security and conditions.Thousands of members of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association at Network Rail will strike on Thursday 3 November, Saturday 5 November and Monday 7 November, while members at individual train companies will take strike action and action short of strike on 3, 7 and 8 November. Continue reading...
Owner of Tastries Bakery in Bakersfield argued right to free speech and expression of religion trumps anti-discrimination lawA California judge has ruled in favor of a bakery owner who refused to make wedding cakes for a same-sex couple because it violated her Christian beliefs.California’s department of fair housing and employment had sued Tastries Bakery in Bakersfield, arguing that owner Cathy Miller intentionally discriminated against the couple in violation of California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act. Continue reading...
Death of Anthony Bird in 1980 had remained a mystery until John Paul gave himself up to police in 2021A man is facing life behind bars after walking into a police station and confessing to a murder from more than 40 years ago.Anthony Bird, a 42-year-old porter and part-time barman, was found naked with his wrists bound at his flat in Kensington Gardens Square, west London, on 6 June 1980. Continue reading...
Reported attack by military comes days before Asean meeting to discuss widening violence in countryMyanmar’s military has killed 60 people, including musicians, in a devastating airstrike that targeted a concert held by a rebel faction of the country’s minority Kachin ethnic group, according to organisers and a rescue worker.The reported attack came three days before south-east Asian foreign ministers were due to attend a special meeting in Indonesia to discuss the widening violence in the country. Continue reading...
Maritime experts believe wreck is sister ship of Vasa, which sank off Stockholm in 1629Swedish maritime archaeologists have discovered the long-lost sister ship of the 17th-century warship Vasa, which sank on its maiden voyage, the Swedish Museum of Wrecks has said.Launched in 1629, Applet (Apple) was built by the same shipbuilder as the famed 69-metre Vasa, which was carrying 64 cannon when it went down in a strait off the island of Vaxholm, just outside the capital, Stockholm. Continue reading...
Bolsonaro ally Roberto Jefferson said he was resisting arrest ‘in the name of freedom, democracy and family values’Brazil’s toxic presidential election has taken a surreal and violent turn after a radical ally of the far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, used hand grenades and a rifle to attack federal police officers as they attempted to arrest him.Roberto Jefferson, a former congressman who has called Bolsonaro a “personal friend”, launched the attack on Sunday after police arrived at his home in the mountains north of Rio de Janeiro. Two officers reportedly sustained non-fatal shrapnel wounds, while photographs showed a federal police vehicle riddled with bullet holes. Continue reading...
The US artist’s next mass nude installation will take place in November at a Sydney beach. ‘We’re hoping for a rainbow of people,’ he saysThe US artist who has made an international name for himself by urging volunteers to strip naked en masse in public is returning to Australia.Spencer Tunick’s next “nude installation”, commissioned by the charity Skin Check Champions to raise awareness of skin cancer and coinciding with National Skin Cancer Action Week, will take place on 26 November at a Sydney beach.. Continue reading...
Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker also says new elections will be called if deadline to return to Stormont passesThe Northern Ireland minister, Steve Baker, has made a direct appeal to the Democratic Unionist party to accept EU-UK negotiations on the Brexit protocol and return to powersharing in Stormont.He also warned that if the DUP did not return to Stormont by Friday’s deadline, the government would call fresh assembly elections . Continue reading...
Late Irish actor’s poems, photos, plaques and even his wedding list among items handed over by familyRichard Harris blazed through life as an actor, singer, boozer and womaniser but few knew he was also a hoarder.Poems, photos, letters, script notes, artefacts, documents, rugby plaques, his wedding guest list – he kept it all. After his death in 2002, the trove spanning 50 years of cinema and theatre gathered dust in a lock-up in Oxford, known only to his family. Continue reading...
Police say Arshad Sharif was shot after his car failed to halt at a roadblock near NairobiA senior Pakistani journalist living in hiding in Kenya was shot and killed by police after the car he was in sped up instead of stopping at a roadblock near Nairobi, police have said.Police said it was a case of “mistaken identity” that occurred during a search for a similar car involved in a case of child abduction. Continue reading...
After 31 January, consumers with non-valid versions will have to send off a form to secure a swapRoyal Mail is urging consumers to use up stamps without barcodes by 31 January 2023, when imprints featuring the late Queen Elizabeth II will cease to be valid for postage.There are 100 days left for people to rummage through wallets and drawers to track down stamps to use before the deadline, otherwise they will have to swap them for new barcoded stamps in order to send a letter or parcel. Continue reading...
Cameras are credited with huge drop in crime by and against law enforcement but Bolsonaro ally prefers ‘to trust the police’Two years ago, São Paulo became the first state in Brazil to issue body cameras to its police officers, and the results were stunning: the number of people killed in clashes with police fell by more than half and the number of people resisting arrest fell by almost two-thirds.So what is the favourite in the race to become São Paulo governor talking about doing? Removing the cameras. Continue reading...
Roslyn hit land as category 3 hurricane before weakening as it headed inlandTwo people died on Sunday from destruction caused by tropical storm Roslyn after it made landfall along Mexico’s Pacific coast as a powerful hurricane before weakening farther inland, authorities said.A 74-year-old man was killed in the town of Mexcaltitan de Santiago Ixcuintla when a beam fell on his head, Nayarit state’s ministry of security and citizen protection said. A 39-year-old woman died when a fence collapsed in the state’s Rosamorada district. Continue reading...
Boris Johnson dropped out of the race, and Rishi Sunak has secured at least 165 supportersFormer prime minister Boris Johnson has ended his bid to return to power within months of being ousted, claiming that although he had the numbers, he would not run to replace Liz Truss, who resigned as Conservative party leader on Thursday after just 45 days in office. Johnson claimed to have won the support of 102 colleagues – two clear of the threshold needed – but only about 60 had publicly stated their support for him.Johnson said he reached the decision reluctantly after recognising he would not lead “a united party in parliament”. He said, “In the course of the last days I have sadly come to the conclusion that this would simply not be the right thing to do,” and, “You can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in parliament.” Read his full statement here.Former chancellor Rishi Sunak appears set to become party leader and prime minister. He ended Sunday with more than 165 supporters ahead of Monday’s nomination deadline. Sunak came second in the race against Truss over the summer.The chances of a general election have risen, according to some estimations. Johnson supporter Nadine Dorries has said an election was now “impossible to avoid”. Labour, which has opened up huge poll leads, is demanding an election. Angela Rayner, the deputy leader, said: “The Tories are about to hand the keys of the country to Rishi Sunak without him saying a single word about how he would govern. No one voted for this. Perhaps it’s not surprising he’s avoiding scrutiny: after all, he was so bad that just a few weeks ago, he was trounced by Liz Truss.”Contender Penny Mordaunt, who missed out on the last contest’s run-off by just eight votes, will now come under pressure to concede rather than force the contest to a vote of members. However a source on the Mordaunt campaign insisted her campaign was continuing and that she wanted to get on the ballot so party members could decide the result.Johnson and Sunak held talks late into Saturday night, according to reports. The ex-leader also reportedly spoke on Sunday to Mordaunt, who was said to have rebuffed his calls to back him, noting her supporters were likely to split more for Sunak.Mordaunt could yet win over any former Johnson supporters who want to stop Sunak. Each needs to submit nominations by 2pm on Monday. If both get more than 100 nominations, 150,000 Tory members will be asked to decide the result.Sunak launched his official campaign with a declaration that “fixing the economy” was his priority, but he gave no media interviews or formal manifesto. If Sunak succeeds on Monday he will become Britain’s first non-white PM, and as a Hindu, his victory will be sealed on Diwali.Mordaunt spoke to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday, telling her she would be a “halfway house” between Sunak and Johnson but refused to be drawn on any economic policies or decisions on tax and spending.A survey by Conservative pollster James Johnson still found all three Tory candidates had negative favourability. The survey found that Johnson was on -24, Mordaunt -15 and Sunak -2. Continue reading...
Parents of Scott-Swaley Daniel Stevens pay tribute to ‘well-loved boy’ after garage wall fell on himThe parents of 12-year-old boy who died after a garage wall collapsed have paid tribute to their son.They said Scott-Swaley Daniel Stevens was a “well-loved boy” with lots of friends, that he “will be missed by so many” and that “as a family, we cannot explain the hurt we feel and we are broken”. Continue reading...
UK supply chains likely to be hit after talks over pay with Peel Ports fail, and Unite’s Sharon Graham criticises actions by boardHundreds of dock workers at one of the UK’s largest container ports are beginning a fresh two-week strike in a dispute over pay, which could further disrupt the country’s supply chains.Nearly 600 members of the Unite union at the Port of Liverpool, which is owned by Peel Ports, will strike again from Monday, after the union said talks designed to resolve the dispute ended “in chaos”. Continue reading...
Woman calls RSPCA after finding 3ft snake trying to get into her home in BasildonA woman called the RSPCA after a 3ft (90cm) snake tried to get into her bedroom window in Basildon, Essex, this month.Enola Evans, who was sent to remove the creature, having started work with the animal rescue charity only a month earlier, said: “It’s not every day you get woken up by a snake trying to get into your bedroom through a window. The woman was terribly shocked. Continue reading...
Divina de Campo starred in revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch at Leeds PlayhouseA star of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK has picked up a leading theatre award for her performance as an East German “slip of a girly boy” who lives bitterly in Kansas after botched gender reassignment surgery.Divina de Campo won the best performance in a musical award at the UK Theatre awards on Sunday, one of three prizes for the biggest winner of the day: Leeds Playhouse. Continue reading...
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