Japan ranks among the most Covid-immunised countries, but only months ago the story was very different

Mako Komuro arrives with husband in US, leaving behind her royal status after months of public outcry and frenzied media attentionJapanese former princess Mako Komuro has arrived in the United States with her husband, Kei Komuro, swapping ancient imperial rites for the bright lights of New York after leaving the royal family and relinquishing her royal title.The pair tied the knot in Tokyo last month in muted fashion, following years of public attention over a minor financial scandal involving Kei Komuro’s mother, which Mako Komuro said caused her “sadness and pain”. Continue reading...

Report calls for programme to be moved out of Home Office due to lack of independence and delaysThere are “concerning weaknesses” in the Windrush compensation scheme, according to a legal charity that has called for the programme to be taken out of the Home Office.A report by the charity Justice, titled Reforming the Windrush compensation scheme, makes 27 recommendations after the working group found the scheme suffers from a lack of independence, delays and inconsistencies in decision-making and lack of experience and cultural understanding among caseworkers. Continue reading...

Toll from Saturday’s demonstrations rises to seven with death of 13-year-old girl as news outlet calls for journalist’s releaseSudanese security forces have raided the home of Al Jazeera’s Khartoum bureau chief and arrested him, the news outlet has said, a day after street protests across Sudan against a military takeover.The Qatar-based media organisation said it held Sudan’s military authorities responsible for the safety of all its employees after bureau chief El Musalmi El Kabbashi was arrested on Sunday. Continue reading...

London-born singer interviewed in same spot as Harry and Meghan in run-up to release of new albumThe thundering juggernaut that is Adele’s marketing campaign for her new album, 30, pulled in at the Oprah Winfrey Show on Monday, where the record-breaking artist opened up to the Queen of America about the struggles of divorce, becoming a “single parent” and juggling her career.Under the arches of Oprah’s rose garden, Adele discussed the meaning of new songs on her eagerly awaited album, which is set for release on Friday, in a two-hour special that featured a performance from the London-born singer. Continue reading...

Now in its 31st series, the motoring show continues to let men burn rubber and hail the patriarchy – though a tribute to Eddie Kidd shows there’s a heart somewhere under the bonnet“To find out what it’s capable of,” growls Chris Harris, as he accelerates a £280,000 McLaren 645LT towards its top speed of 200mph, “you’d better bring your A game. And possibly a spare of boxer shorts.” What he doesn’t say – but is possibly thinking – is “and your mum to do the washing”.Top Gear (BBC One) is back for its 31st series. It remains a space where men can be boys: perving over curves, pulling on their proverbial gear sticks and otherwise sublimating their erotic drives. Perhaps there are women behind the cameras – and, yes, there are a few in the studio audience – but by and large this is the BBC’s answer to the Garrick Club. Continue reading...

Public health experts liken phasing out tobacco retailing to removing asbestos and lead paint from the market

EU to impose new sanctions against Lukashenko regime as dozens of asylum seekers reportedly break through from BelarusThe Polish prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, has called for Nato to take “concrete steps” to solve the migrant crisis on Europe’s border as dozens of asylum seekers reportedly broke through Poland’s border defences with Belarus.Morawiecki said that Poland, Lithuania and Latvia may ask for consultations under article 4 of the Nato charter, indicating they believe their territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened. Continue reading...

National park chief wants to bring in more sustainable transport to stop worsening congestionFor most of the years he explored his beloved Lakeland fells, Alfred Wainwright arrived by bus, carefully timing his descents so he never missed the last service back to Kendal.Thirty years after his death, more than 90% of the Lake District’s 19 million annual visitors arrive by car, seeking – perhaps ironically – the unspoiled views, clean air and stunning scenery Wainwright extolled in his Pictorial Guides. Continue reading...

Gen Sir Nick Carter says alleged murder of Agnes Wanjiru by British soldier was ‘truly shocking’The head of the British armed forces has said the military will be working with Kenyan authorities to bring those accused of killing a young woman in the east African country to trial.The body of Agnes Wanjiru, 21, was found in 2012 after she reportedly went out partying with British soldiers at the Lions Court hotel in the central town of Nanyuki, where the UK army has a permanent garrison. Continue reading...

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi has spent past decade out of sight after his father was killed in 2011 uprisingSaif al-Islam Gaddafi, one of the sons of the former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, has confirmed that he is to run for the presidency of Libya in elections due to start on 24 December.He registered his nomination in the southern city of Sebha, the High National Electoral Commission has confirmed. Continue reading...

Bestselling author of adventure novels with African settings such as When the Lion Feeds and The SunbirdAt the age of eight, Wilbur Smith was given his grandfather’s Remington rifle, which had 122 notches on the butt. He shot his first lion when he was 14. Such a boy seemed destined to become a hunter, but it was on paper that Smith realised his dreams of adventure – and millions shared them through his 49 novels over half a century.In recent years Smith, who has died aged 88, would say proudly: “I don’t write literature, I write stories,” and added that he always saw himself as the hero in his books and always fell in love with his female characters. His African settings and blood-and-thunder approach to plotting proved a winning formula. Each of his thrillers, translated into 30 languages, sold in their millions, with his total sales more than 140m. Continue reading...

• I’ll be your throttle, he told Arcuri as mayor• Diaries could reopen misconduct inquiryExtraordinary details of how Boris Johnson allegedly overruled the advice of staff to promote the business interests of his former lover Jennifer Arcuri and win her affections are revealed in previously unpublished diary extracts by the US businesswoman.According to one entry, the then London mayor even offered to be her “throttle” in an attempt to accelerate her business career, claims that may reopen the possibility of Johnson facing a potential criminal investigation into misconduct allegations. Continue reading...

Across the county, homelessness is on the rise as landlords cash in on the letting boom. We meet anxious families – and the people helping themLike many other seaside towns across the country at this time of year, the streets of Newquay in November are a pretty drab affair. Ice-cream kiosks are locked up for the winter, and the town’s famous beaches – where, in summer, holidaymakers jostle for space – are now empty.It was one of the busiest summers on record for Cornwall, as Covid restrictions to overseas destinations made it a holiday hotspot. But now that the tourists have left, the impact of the staycation boom on the county is becoming abundantly clear as it faces up to a homelessness crisis out of all proportion to anything it has witnessed before. Continue reading...

The Communist party has anointed him the most powerful leader since Mao, but how will he deal with drying deserts and an ageing society?Last week, Xi Jinping gave himself full Marx. The Chinese Communist party’s sixth plenum, a gathering of top political cadres, passed a resolution on “Certain Questions in the Party’s History”, in which Xi’s system of thought was defined as “Marxism for the 21st century”. Not only that, but that it also served as “the essence of the Chinese culture and China’s spirit”.These are not terms that sound natural in English, but their significance is immense, because only two previous resolutions of this sort have ever been passed – in 1945 and 1981. The resolutions on party history are meant to provide a definitive statement on the CCP’s record in governing China. The 1945 resolution sealed Mao Zedong’s status as the definitive party leader, ahead of his victory in the civil war against Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists four years later. The 1981 resolution was more intriguing, because it was a very rare admission of fault by the party itself; its language was tortuous but it consisted of a grudging apology to the nation for the horrors of the Cultural Revolution. Continue reading...

UK also recorded 38,351 new coronavirus cases; German paper reports that 12,000 soldiers will be mobilised by Christmas

Glasgow climate pact adopted despite last-minute intervention by India to water down language on phasing out dirtiest fossil fuel

Starmer’s party is 1 point ahead in new poll, following Tory sleaze and second-job rowsLabour has recorded its first poll lead over the Conservatives for almost a year in the wake of the row over Tory sleaze and second jobs, according to the latest Opinium poll for the Observer.Keir Starmer’s party recorded 37% support, a single point ahead of the Tories. It is the first Labour lead with Opinium since January, when the UK was in the grips of a covid peak and the government had imposed emergency restrictions over Christmas. The Lib Dems are on 9%, Greens 7% and SNP 5%. Continue reading...

Spiros Vasilakis’s mother, Maria, died in the Melbourne aged care home outbreak. He is among 64 witnesses to give evidence at a coronial inquest starting Monday

It might be difficult to choose literature for a sheep. Lifestyle editor, Alyx Gorman, recommends this hopeful story about the rehabilitative effects of a reading program at an animal shelter

From Fresh Prince to King Richard, personal upsets have so far failed to derail his childhood goal to be the world’s biggest film starThere’s a seemingly offhand quality which is central to the appeal of Will Smith: an innate magnetism and loose-limbed, casual coolness. But the career path from teenage rap artist to TV actor to superstar status was anything but effortless; it was the result of a self-described “psychotic” work ethic and meticulous, perhaps even obsessive, planning.For a while, at least, he was one of the most bankable film actors on the planet – a planet that he saved on a regular basis in summer blockbusters. But while that kind of success rate is hard to sustain, Smith has shown himself to be extremely adaptable compared to his contemporaries. From film actor/musician, he has evolved into a multimedia phenomenon. He has adopted a very marketable openness and accessibility, and embraced personal failures as teachable moments. Continue reading...

President Lukashenko is using a humanitarian crisis to further his own ends – but his success depends on which path Putin followsGunshots echo through the forest as Belarusian soldiers fire warning shots to drive back terrified asylum-seekers from Iraq and Syria seeking aid. Along the border, Polish and Belarusian troops eye each other warily through razor wire fence. At night, Polish guards say they’ve been blinded by Belarusians wielding strobe lights and lasers as migrants sneak across.Asylum seekers have described hellish conditions in the forests and at improvised campsites, where they chop branches for firewood and ration water to survive. The body of a young Syrian man was found in the forest in Poland on Friday, at least the ninth person to have died this year. Others have been beaten by attackers and thieves waiting in the forest. Continue reading...

The continent is now the centre of the global epidemic – again. As countries from the Baltic to the Med brace for harsher winter measures, we look at what’s driving the fourth waveIt was almost as if the pandemic had never happened. In Cologne, thousands of revellers in fancy-dress jostled side by side in a tightly packed throng as they counted down to the start of the annual carnival season at 11am on 11 November.In Paris, the bars and clubs were open late and filled to bursting on Wednesday, with Armistice Day a national holiday. In Amsterdam, it was business as usual in the overflowing cafes and coffee shops around the Leidseplein. Continue reading...

The author, aged 88, on her first job working with Keith Waterhouse, giving advice to Sean Connery and her 56-year marriageI was a serious little girl growing up in Leeds and had supportive parents who were instrumental in my success. My mother sold my first story to a children’s magazine when I was 10. My father, an engineer, funded my addiction to taxis when I started working on Fleet Street.At 16, I started my first job in the typing pool at the Yorkshire Evening Post and became a reporter after secretly slipping stories on to the subs’ desk. I was the only woman in the newsroom. My mother told me: “Keep your head down and don’t flirt at work. Your attitude towards men will dictate their attitude towards you.” The best advice I ever had. Continue reading...

Sara Duterte will stand alongside son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 2022 elections in move that has alarmed rights activistsThe Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter has registered her candidacy for vice-president in next year’s elections and was chosen as the running mate of Ferdinand Marcos Jr, the son of the late Filipino dictator, in an alliance that has alarmed human rights activists.Sara Duterte backed out this week from her reelection bid as mayor of Davao City in the south, then took the place of a largely unknown vice-presidential candidate of her political party, Lakas CMD, in a move that allowed her to seek the second-highest post even after a deadline lapsed for candidates in the 9 May elections. Continue reading...

Antanas Jankauskas, 38, due in court after body of Sarah Ashwell, 47, found at her homeA man has been charged with murder after the death of a woman in Somerset.Sarah Ashwell, 47, was found dead at her home in Wells on the afternoon of 7 November. Continue reading...

Chancellor warns of difficult weeks ahead as Germany’s infection rate climbs to 277.4 new cases per 100,000 people

Mayfair hotel says it respects Daniel Humm’s plant-based vision but it ‘is not the path we wish to follow’The five-star Claridge’s hotel in Mayfair has lost its chef after it rejected his vision for an all-vegan menu at his restaurant.Daniel Humm, 45, will leave Davies and Brook at the end of the year after talks with management about transforming the kitchen in his London restaurant at Claridge’s hotel to serve only plant-based dishes. Continue reading...

When she landed in LA, aged 19, the model, actor and writer was plunged into a world where wealthy men were desperate to be seen with women like her. At what cost?To be paid $25,000 to show up to an event was the most ridiculous thing I’d ever heard. In 2014 my manager at the time, Evan, informed me that the billionaire financier behind The Wolf of Wall Street was offering to pay me that much to go to the Super Bowl with him. He explained that this person, Jho Low, “just liked to have famous men and women around” and there would be other celebrities going too. “He’s just one of those insanely rich guys from Asia.” Jho Low’s fortune came from family money, Evan said.“I’m sure Leo will be there, and a bunch of other people you’ll know, or, er, recognize. You know their movie is up for five Academy Awards next month?” Continue reading...

From supporting parts on TV to Hollywood stardom to her darkest role yet: the Oscar winner reveals why even the toughest jobs can’t compare to her role in The CrownOlivia Colman’s husband has written his first TV drama, a true crime series starring his wife, and I have so many questions about this that she says she can bring him downstairs to join in if I like. Ah, the possibilities when interviewing someone over Zoom. “Eddy!” she shouts up the stairs, while I peer into their comfy sitting room, somewhere deep in the English countryside (period fireplace, bookshelves). “I’m slagging you off!” she shouts with glee at him, followed by a distant grunt.We carry on alone, accompanied only by one of their dogs, the excitable Alfred, Lord Waggyson, and a child who briefly pops into the room to a big grin from mum. Colman, blessed with the friendliest, giggliest face on British telly, familiar from so many hit shows, somehow feels as if she belongs in my home, as if we are already friends. This, as we will find out, is something of a problem now she’s an international megastar. Continue reading...

Former major says withdrawal has prompted some British veterans to question value of time in countryThis year’s Remembrance Sunday commemorations will be the first since last summer’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, events that have prompted many British veterans to question the value of their time in the country.One of those is Rob Shenton, a former major who has suffered from bouts of depression and PTSD, and served two tours in the country before he was medically discharged by the army in 2016 after 25 years, after a period of poor mental health. Continue reading...

Planting trees to offset carbon emissions sounds great, but where are we going to put them all?As the United Nations Cop26 climate conference in Glasgow winds down, many world leaders and corporate boards are embracing an increasingly popular idea to solve climate change: trees.The United Arab Emirates – one of the biggest oil producers in the world – promised to plant 100m mangroves by 2030. India said it aims to plant enough trees to cover a third of its land area with forests. Earlier this month the Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos, announced a $1bn fund towards planting trees, “revitalizing” grasslands in Africa and restoring landscapes across the US. And at the start of the conference, more than 100 countries pledged to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030. “These great teeming ecosystems – these cathedrals of nature – are the lungs of our planet,” Boris Johnson said, exalting the effort. Continue reading...

‘Lapsed Liberals’ and grassroots community groups are fielding high-profile candidates. Their target: the balance of power in Australia’s 2022 electionAt the last federal election, the Coalition faced challenges from a string of hopeful independents in rural and city seats, largely running on climate issues. With two exceptions – Zali Steggall in Warringah and Helen Haines in Indi – they came up short.Next year the independents will be back for another shot, focusing on heartland Coalition seats in New South Wales and Victoria. The difference this time is there is a road-tested model of how to mobilise the local community and run a campaign, and a $3.6m war chest on offer from Climate 200, a group established by the climate activist Simon Holmes à Court. Continue reading...

Musician regains independence after legal arrangement denied her right to make key life decisionsA judge has approved the termination of Britney Spears’s conservatorship, freeing the pop star from the controversial legal arrangement that has controlled her life for nearly 14 years.The ruling marks an extraordinary victory for the singer who had fought for years to regain her independence from the courts, which in 2008 took away her rights to make basic decisions about her finances, career and personal life. Continue reading...

Talks expected to last into Saturday afternoon as delegates are told they must reach a deal or future generations will be forced into violent competition for resourcesChildren born today will be fighting each other for food and water in 2050 if the Cop26 climate summit fails, exhausted delegates were told as negotiators fight over the final details of a potential deal.The deadline for the fortnight-long talks to finish came and went as leading figures took to the floor for what they hoped would be the final time, to exhort each other to cooperate in the interests of people threatened by the climate crisis around the world. Continue reading...

It is a grim irony that my Irish family – paying to live on land colonised by the English – was involved in alienating Māori from their landOn the morning of the5 November 1881 my great-grandfather, Andrew Gilhooly, stood alongside 1,588 other men, waiting to commence the invasion of Parihaka pā (settlement), home to the great pacifist leaders Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi and their people. He would have participated in the weeks and months of destruction and despoliation – of people, property and cultivations – that followed.Andrew remained at Parihaka – which is on the west coast of the North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand – as part of the Armed Constabulary’s occupying force until late 1884. The occupation was not benign: on one occasion constables tore down 12 houses in retaliation for attempts by neighbouring Māori to bring goods into Parihaka (the attempt to feed starving people was dismissed by the Native Minister as being “in every way objectionable”). Continue reading...

UK government watchdog finds lack of due diligence over human rights in occupied territoriesJCB, the British tractor firm, has been found by a UK government watchdog to have failed to carry out due diligence human rights checks over the potential use of its equipment to demolish homes in the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT).The watchdog ruled: “It is unfortunate that JCB, which is a leading British manufacturer of world-class products, did not take any steps to conduct human rights due diligence of any kind despite being aware of alleged adverse human rights impacts and that its products are potentially contributing to those impacts.” Continue reading...

The Duchess of Sussex’s case against the Associated Newspapers offered much drama this week which looks set to continueAn 11th-hour intervention, an admission of forgetfulness, and an apology to the court; the potentially explosive developments in the Duchess of Sussex’s privacy case against the Mail on Sunday offered much drama this week.And it may be far from over. Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL) wants the court of appeal to overturn a judge’s ruling that the Mail on Sunday and Mail Online breached the duchess’s privacy in publishing extracts of her letter to her estranged father Thomas Markle, 77, and for the issues to go to trial. Continue reading...

Duchess says in messages to aide that Harry was receiving ‘constant berating’ from family over Thomas MarkleThe Duchess of Sussex chose to write a letter to her estranged father, Thomas Markle, to protect Prince Harry from “constant berating” from the royal family to do something to stop him talking to the media, texts have revealed.Meghan also believed a letter was better than an email or text as it “does not open the door for a conversation”. Continue reading...

Outside EU, people can no longer be returned to other European countries under legislation known as Dublin regulationRefugees living in northern France say Brexit has made it easier for them to reach the UK in small boats, as it emerged that record numbers of people crossed the Channel in one day.Despite the worsening weather conditions and the UK government’s attempts to deter them, 1,185 people made the crossing on Thursday, according to the Home Office. Continue reading...

Brussels Brexit chief offers glimmer of hope, but London says threat of article 16 still on the tableA glimmer of hope of a solution to the dispute over the Northern Ireland Brexit arrangements has emerged after a fourth week of talks ended on Friday.After a week of recriminations and the threat of a trade war, the European Commission vice-president, Maroš Šefčovič , said there had been a change in tone from the UK’s Brexit minister, David Frost, confirming the UK had stepped back from the brink of triggering article 16 of the Northern Ireland protocol. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Costa del Sol property firms owned by Goldsmith family ordered to pay €24m in unpaid taxes and finesThe luxury villa where Boris Johnson stayed on holiday last month is linked to Costa del Sol property businesses owned by Zac Goldsmith’s family that engaged in a multimillion-pound tax evasion scheme, according to Spanish courts.Court papers obtained by the Guardian show tax inspectors ordered two property companies owned by the Goldsmith family to pay €24m (£20m) in unpaid taxes and fines after investigating what they said was a suspicious property deal. Continue reading...

Sam Pybus was jailed for less than five years after choking Moss to death during sex in FebruaryWomen’s groups have called for a further overhaul of the law after the court of appeal declined to increase the sentence of a man jailed for less than five years after choking a woman to death during sex.Sam Pybus’s own wife described the decision as “extremely disappointing” and “victim-blaming”. Continue reading...

Move comes amid standoff between Belarus and EU over arrival of thousands of people at Polish borderTurkey has blocked citizens of Syria, Yemen and Iraq from buying flight tickets to Belarus, as the EU puts pressure on foreign governments over their role in the arrival of thousands of people from the Middle East at its eastern border.Belavia, the Belarusian state airline, said it would no longer carry citizens of those countries to Belarus, days before a planned announcement of new sanctions from the EU that could target airlines. Turkish Airlines, which is 49% state-owned, has also pledged to limit migrant flights to Belarus, European officials said on Friday. Continue reading...

Thousands of Iraqi Kurds and Syrians are living in tents near Polish border, and thousands more want to join themOn a dark forest road last month, Polish police were in pursuit of a speeding car that had skipped a checkpoint. The car’s driver was a people smuggler, and his passengers three Syrians who had paid thousands for him to take them to Germany, the final leg of their journey from the Middle East via Belarus. A truck coming in the opposite direction tried to dodge them but could not. Ferhad Nabo, 33, a married father of two from Kobane, was killed instantly in the crash.“He left Syria, like many others, to reach Europe,” said his cousin Rashwan Nabo, a Syrian humanitarian worker. From Erbil, in northern Iraq, Ferhad had boarded a direct flight to Minsk. “In Raqqa, Damascus and Aleppo, word has been spreading for months that the easiest and fastest way to reach Europe is a direct flight to Belarus,” his cousin said. Continue reading...

Exclusive: academics call on Christopher Geidt to step aside from role as chair of a London universityBoris Johnson’s independent adviser on ministerial interests is under pressure over his own financial dealings, with academics calling for him to step aside from his role as chair of a London university.Christopher Geidt, who is chair of the council of King’s College London (KCL), is facing scrutiny from the University and College Union (UCU) over his job as chair of a board of the investment firm Schroders, and his advisory role at BAE Systems until April this year. Continue reading...

The colossal mirrored bowl of the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen costs a fortune to clean and has upset a neighbouring hospital. So how are locals finding it?Inspiration often strikes at lunch in the office of Dutch architects MVRDV. It’s the one moment in the day when everyone breaks from their screens and comes together around a long communal dining table, spread with assorted salads, to eat and chat. One fateful day in 2013, during a lunchtime brainstorming session, the tableware would prove to be more inspirational than ever. Eight years on, a monumental Ikea salad bowl has been added to the Rotterdam skyline – a €3.99 Blanda Blank rising 40 metres high.

Analysts say Maha Vajiralongkorn’s trip abroad could be sign he considers situation is under controlThailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn has reportedly flown to Germany in what is believed to be his first trip abroad since pro-democracy protests escalated last year, breaking long held taboos to call for reforms to the monarchy.The German tabloid Bild reported that Vajiralongkorn arrived on Monday in Bavaria, where it said he and his entourage of 250 people and 30 royal poodles had booked an entire floor of the Hilton Munich airport hotel for 11 days. Continue reading...

Başak Demirtaş and her doctor sentenced over ‘falsified’ medical report on her miscarriageThe wife of a jailed Kurdish politician has been sentenced to two and a half years in a Turkish prison over a typo in a medical report on a miscarriage, in a case denounced as an “appalling” political persecution.A court in Diyarbakır handed down sentences of 30 months each for Başak Demirtaş, a teacher, and her doctor on Thursday for submitting a falsified medical report, a local Kurdish news agency reported. Continue reading...