Feeling down? You need to experience more awe, psychologists say. So I set off every day to explore my local area, leaving my phone behindI am in the middle of a cloud, halfway up a steep pike, and on a mission to get some awe. I am here thanks to a new study, which found that by paying close attention to our surroundings as we walk, we can get our happy chemicals pumping and enhance overall wellbeing. That sounded pretty good, so I find myself in the middle of nowhere on an oddly misty, humid day.Dacher Keltner, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, thinks I am in the right place. “It’s hard to think of a single thing that you can do for your mind and body that’s better than a little dose of awe,” he says. It was Keltner and a team of researchers who published a paper that found that awe can reduce stress, help inflammation, increase creativity and sociability and make you happy. “To me, that all says we urgently need to find awe.” Continue reading...

Fumio Kishida to announce dissolution of parliament as he takes advantage of honeymoon periodJapan’s new prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has decided to seek an early public mandate, amid reports that he is about to call an election for the end of the month, several weeks earlier than expected.Kishida, who was approved by parliament as the country’s leader on Monday, surprised many pundits who believed he would give his Liberal Democratic party (LDP) more time to regroup after a disappointing year under his predecessor, Yoshihide Suga. Continue reading...

Benjamin Glenn Hoffmann is accused of killing four people in a shooting spree in Darwin in 2019The ex-girlfriend of a man on trial for murdering four people during a shooting spree across Darwin has given evidence that the pair smoked dodgy drugs with one of his alleged victims before the killings.Benjamin Glenn Hoffmann has pleaded not guilty to four counts of murder over the alleged drug-fuelled rampage on the afternoon of 4 June 2019. Continue reading...

The RuPaul’s Drag Race judge puts together the soundtrack of her lifeAt my 10th birthday party, I got not one but three copies of Andy Gibb’s album Shadow Dancing. He was so hot! So sexy! But since I had three copies, I didn’t need to buy it. The first one that I used my own money to buy was Kenny Rogers’s The Gambler. It was No 1 on the radio, and I wanted that record. Continue reading...

As the Tzeltal people resist huge infrastructure projects across Chiapas state, the new national guard barracks springing up are alarming manyMicaela* always stops to kiss a cross at the base of three hills, a lush swath of land in the indigenous ejido of San Sebastián Bachajón, Chiapas. Her ejido, meaning communal land, is shared among more than 5,000 Tzeltal inhabitants. But soon, they will also have to share it with Mexico’s national guard.The national guard has built 165 barracks in Mexico since it was created only two years ago by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to replace the federal police, which he said was corrupt. Micaela’s community is leading the first lawsuit against one of 500 or so barracks planned across the country. Continue reading...

Force published about 2,100 seized knife images in a year, which experts say could be counterproductiveYoung people may be nudged into carrying knives by the police, research has found, as a new count showed the Metropolitan police circulated more than 2,100 images of seized knives on Twitter in a year.In the same period, three leading violent-crime prevention charities – Hope Collective, the Ben Kinsella Trust and Dwaynamics – circulated two images of knives between them, according to research by the Green party in the London assembly. Continue reading...

Fresh from a run in Joseph, and about to go on tour, the actor and singer reflects on superstardom, drug addiction and the steadying joy of fatherhoodDespite insisting that he likes to look to the future, Jason Donovan is confronted with the past much of the time. He has just started a UK tour – one that has been postponed twice because of the pandemic – singing the songs that turned him into a huge star in the UK in the late 80s and early 90s, after his role in the Australian soap opera Neighbours (which people also always want to talk about).“My catalogue of recent music is probably thin, so I tend to rely on my heritage a bit more,” he says. “This is a sort of moment of reflection.” But does he feel he is always being dragged back? Does it fill him with wistfulness? Does he think about time passing? “I do when I can’t sleep,” he says with a laugh. But the answer is no: “It’s just great to be able to sing those songs, still have a voice, still have an audience. I’m grateful. Those songs are going to live beyond me.” Continue reading...

All countries will now be on the red list or no list, with the fully vaccinated no longer required to test before returning homeAn overhaul of England’s Covid-19 rules governing international travel will come into force from Monday 4 October, replacing the traffic-light system.A single red list of countries will remain, with the previous green and amber countries becoming the “rest of the world” or “non-red list”. There will also be changes to the testing requirements when returning from a non-red-list country, if fully vaccinated. Continue reading...

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Prime minister says the use of vaccines means country now has ‘more options’ on how to control virus

After Beijing sends nearly 100 planes towards the island in three days, Washington says it is ‘very concerned’ by pressure on TaipeiThe United States has condemned China for “provocative” and “destabilising” military activity after Beijing sent nearly 100 fighter jets and bombers into Taiwan’s air defence zone over three consecutive days.“The United States is very concerned by the People’s Republic of China’s provocative military activity near Taiwan, which is destabilising, risks miscalculations, and undermines regional peace and stability,” US state department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. Continue reading...

A private plane crashed into an empty building on the outskirts of Milan, northern Italy, killing all eight people on board. The aeroplane, which had taken off from Milan's Linate city airport, was heading for the island of Sardinia, officials added. The crash occurred just outside a suburban metro station. Several vehicles parked along the street caught fire but no other casualties were reported.

PC David Carrick to appear in court on Monday over incident in Hertfordshire in September 2020A Metropolitan police officer serving in the parliamentary and diplomatic protection command has been charged with rape.PC David Carrick, 46, of Stevenage, allegedly attacked a woman in St Albans on the night of 4 September 2020 while off-duty. Continue reading...

Monday: Financial secrets of the rich and powerful exposed in biggest ever leak of offshore data. Plus: is the pursuit of Inbox Zero an unwinnable war?Good morning. The biggest ever leak of offshore data has exposed the financial secrets of the world’s rich and powerful. A new report shows that people in insecure, lower-paid positions have been hardest hit by the pandemic. And Donald Trump has asked a court to force Twitter to restore his account.The secret deals and hidden assets of some of the world’s richest and most powerful people have been revealed in the biggest trove of leaked offshore data in history. Branded the Pandora papers, the cache includes 11.9m files from companies hired by wealthy clients to create offshore structures and trusts in tax havens such as Panama, Dubai, Monaco, Switzerland and the Cayman Islands. More than 600 journalists have sifted through the files as part of a massive global investigation. Continue reading...

Paige Kimberley claims she wrote to Priti Patel and Cressida Dick about messages, but they did not respondA retired Metropolitan police detective has accused both Priti Patel and Cressida Dick of ignoring evidence of “vulgar and sexist” WhatsApp group messages involving police contractors and police officers.Former Det Supt Paige Kimberley said she wrote to the home secretary and the head of the Met shortly after the murder of Sarah Everard asking for a review of “how inappropriate behaviour is addressed amongst contract workers”. Continue reading...

Islamic State suspected of carrying out bombing outside mosque in Afghan capitalAt least five civilians have been killed in a bomb blast at the entrance to a Kabul mosque on Sunday, a Taliban official said, the deadliest attack in the Afghan capital since US forces left at the end of August.There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suspicion fell on Islamic State extremists, who have stepped up attacks on the Taliban in recent weeks, particularly in the IS stronghold in eastern Afghanistan. Continue reading...

‘Only when you become one of those numbers, when you’re in it, do you realise how serious it is’

Conservative Young Women condemns ‘deplorable’ police response to violence against womenThe Conservatives’ young women’s group has called for an investigation into “the apparent culture of misogyny in the police”, piling pressure on Boris Johnson after he faced down calls for a major independent inquiry.Conservative Young Women spoke out in the wake of Sarah Everard’s murder and after Met police officers were charged over photographs taken at the scene of the murders of Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman, which were then allegedly shared in a WhatsApp group. Continue reading...

Severed digit found in Southampton belongs to 28-year-old man who is now getting treatment in hospitalPolice have traced the owner of a severed finger that was found outside a block of flats in Southampton.It was discovered in a parking area in Lower Bannister Street on Saturday morning. Continue reading...

India’s tiny train has puffed up the Himalayas since 1881 but now the world heritage site is under threat“Darjeeling ko sano rail, hirna lai abo tyari cha / Guard le shuna bhai siti bajayo” (Darjeeling’s dainty train is all set to chug off / Oh, listen to the guard blowing the whistle): generations of children in Darjeeling have grown up hearing these lines from a Nepali nursery rhyme. Serenading the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR), it depicts the close relationship between the “Queen of the Hills” and local people.However, that relationship has become strained after the Indian government decided to hand over the running of the railway – listed by Unesco as a world heritage site – and oversight of the land adjoining the stations to a private company, threatening jobs and livelihoods. Continue reading...

Supporters of Saied – who seized power in July – take to the streets in Tunis to back his promised reformsThousands of supporters of the Tunisian president, Kais Saied, have rallied in the capital to back his suspension of parliament and promises to change the political system, acts his critics call a coup.The demonstration in central Tunis was by far the biggest since Saied seized executive power in July, a show of support by his supporters that dwarfed two protests against his actions over the previous two weekends in the same location. Continue reading...

US and European media give their verdict on the fuel, food and labour crisis they say is caused by BrexitGovernment ministers may insist it is “wrong” to blame Brexit for Britain’s fuel, food and labour shortages, but for the rest of Europe – and beyond – there is only one reason why the UK’s crisis is so very much worse than anywhere else’s.“One is tempted to tell the British: ‘You have only yourselves to blame,’” said Gabi Kostorz on ARD’s Tagesthemen, a leading German news show. “We tried to talk you out of it, but you decided otherwise. Now you have to face the consequences.” Continue reading...

Ambassador Qirjako Qirko said many Albanians living in the UK could step in as HGV drivers to ease shortfallAlbania has said thousands of its migrants to the UK would be willing to work for nothing to help tackle the petrol crisis.Albania’s ambassador to the UK, Qirjako Qirko, told the Guardian: “If your government would like, we can offer good reliable drivers, maybe 5,000 immediately.” Continue reading...

The three contenders to take the helm for the continent as era of outgoing German chancellor draws to a closeShe dominated Europe – a de facto leader in a time of crisis. For 16 years, Angela Merkel has used her signature cautious, calm pragmatism to steer the continent through the rise of the far-right, a blundered response to migrant arrivals, and, of course, Brexit.With the Merkel era drawing to a close, another European leader could emerge and take the helm. Here are the main contenders: Continue reading...

Oyster Court in Southwark doesn’t meet height threshold for bailout in wake of Grenfell Tower disasterNurses, teachers and post office workers are among those facing crippling fire-safety bills which they believe could reach £85,000 each despite only owning a fraction of their homes.Housing association Optivo this week told key workers in shared ownership properties in Oyster Court in Southwark, south London, that they faced a combined £2.6m bill to fix problems including combustible cladding, wooden balconies and missing firebreaks. Continue reading...

As an autobiographical novel by the writer is published for the first time in English, Sylvie Le Bon de Beauvoir – the adopted daughter with whom Simone shared the last 26 years of her life – talks about their bond“Simone de Beauvoir was haunted by the death of her childhood friend Zaza… I think she spent the rest of her life looking for the intimacy they’d had,” says Sylvie Le Bon de Beauvoir. “For a long time she didn’t succeed, but I believe she found it with me.”For all but the most ardent followers of the 20th-century feminist and author of The Second Sex this statement may come as a surprise. De Beauvoir is most famously linked to fellow writer and philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, with whom she enjoyed – and at times endured – a 50-year open relationship. Continue reading...

Preparatory sketch discovered beneath Norwegian master’s painting shows how he struggled with the original compositionIt is one of art history’s most evocative female forms, a painting of a nude woman arching her back sensually, one arm behind her head and the other behind her back. Now a preparatory drawing has been discovered beneath Edvard Munch’s Madonna in the National Museum of Norway, revealing that the Norwegian master struggled over how he should place her arms, initially showing them just hanging down, until inspiration came to him.The underdrawing also shows that this masterpiece is likely to have been the first of five painted versions that Munch created in the 1890s. Continue reading...

State treasurer declares his intention to take over from Gladys Berejiklian with Stuart Ayres as deputy Liberal leader

NSW treasurer Dominic Perrottet will contest Liberal Party leadership after Gladys Berejiklian’s resignation; NSW reports 10 deaths and 667 cases with 70% double-dose target in sight; cases continue to rise in Victoria amid vaccine mandate protests; Queensland readies for NRL grand final as state records no new local Covid infections; ACT records 38 new local cases. This blog is now closed

Queen’s dressmaker’s private documents and scrapbooks detailing furore over Princess Margaret’s wedding dress are up for saleDrawings and legal documents that once belonged to the Queen’s former dressmaker Sir Norman Hartnell have revealed details of a row that rocked the House of Windsor and his own illustrious fashion house 60 years ago.A rediscovered bundle of private papers and scrapbooks, to be auctioned next month, also includes previously unseen designs by Hartnell created for Princess Anne. “The colours are amazing and very evocative of the era,” said vintage fashion specialist Susan Orringe. Continue reading...

Top official says council ignores US weapons tests, after it met over Pyongyang’s anti-aircraft missile launchNorth Korea has accused the United Nations security council of applying double standards over military activities among UN member states amid international criticism over its recent missile tests.The council met behind closed doors on Friday upon requests from the United States and other countries over the North’s missile launches. Continue reading...

Twenty contemporary writers recommend overlooked novels, essays and poetry that deserve to sit alongside the classics on our bookshelves. Introduction by Kadish MorrisIt wasn’t until I started university in 2008 that I truly realised how little regard there was for Black authors. My creative writing lecturer was a Black poet, whose teaching material and reading lists were saturated with authors of colour, but each term, I noticed that the class was shrinking. One day, there was a discourse bubbling among my white peers; they deemed him too biased, and proclaimed that his reading list was too Black. He’d been suggesting interesting works such as Ishmael Reed’s Juice! and Clarence Major’s Painted Turtle: Woman With Guitar, but students banged their fists on the table for more Plath, more Twain, more Orwell.A 2017 report showed that of 400 authors named as writers of literature by 2,000 people, only 7% were from Black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds. Sunny Singh, co-founder of the Jhalak prize, which recognises Black and Asian writers in Britain, said the list reflected “a deeply entrenched imaginative conservatism, where the need to hold on to a nostalgic past combines with a fear of confronting a complex present in all its variety”. Continue reading...

The Polluter Pays principle applies to flats as much as fridges – and residents should not be left in the lurch

The singer describes a peaceful family day with gospel music, films and Caribbean cookingEarly riser? I’m not lying in with anyone, so there’s not much incentive to stay in bed, and my son is 24 – so there are no early starts with a child that you can’t reason with.Sundays growing up? We were all about Caribbean traditions. It was church and family. We’d have a breakfast of sardines, crackers and hot pepper sauce, then an early Sunday dinner of chicken, rice, peas, coleslaw and dumplings. Continue reading...

As the covers come off the Arc de Triomphe, work begins to realise an ambitious project in the desert and secure the artist’s legacyBefore he died last year the artist Christo had not one but two dreams: to wrap the Arc de Triomphe and to build a massive structure out of oil drums in the desert sands of Abu Dhabi. L’Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped was completed last month and today visitors to Paris will have one last chance to see the arch swathed in silver blue fabric before it is dismantled tomorrow.Once he has overseen the monument’s restoration to its original glory in time for Armistice commemorations next month, Christo’s nephew Vladimir Yavachev will turn his attention east to create the last monumental project that – if completed – will be the artist’s only permanent large-scale sculpture and the largest artwork in the world. Continue reading...

Those who report inappropriate behaviour in forces should be given more support, say senior officersPolice vetting procedures will be urgently reviewed as part of attempts to address the crisis engulfing policing after the murder of Sarah Everard.Senior officers in charge of UK policing standards also revealed that they wanted to rebuild trust by better protecting officers who challenged “unacceptable behaviour” by colleagues. Continue reading...

Dr Kerry Chant warns next week is ‘critical’ for state as Victoria and ACT see slight declines in numbers

A Taliban commander invited the media to inspect the site where America plotted killing raids and tortured prisonersThe cars, minibuses and armoured vehicles that the CIA used to run its shadow war in Afghanistan had been lined up and incinerated beyond identification before the Americans left. Below their ashy grey remains, pools of molten metal had solidified into permanent shiny puddles as the blaze cooled.The faux Afghan village where they trained paramilitary forces linked to some of the worst human rights abuses of the war had been brought down on itself. Only a high concrete wall still loomed over the crumpled piles of mud and beams, once used to practise for the widely hated night raids on civilian homes. Continue reading...

Put aside rights and wrongs and try to understand, says Philippa Perry. Being right is overratedThe question I am writing to ask your advice about our 22-year-old granddaughter. We house-sit for my daughter and her family when they are away. They have dogs, but don’t like to put them in kennels. We have always got on well with our granddaughter and indulged her, along with her brothers. But she is spoilt. Last month while we were there to house-sit, there was shouting between her and my husband. She didn’t like the fact that my husband had disciplined our dog when we arrived – but our dog was jumping up.I know my husband has a short temper, but it blows over quickly. Her reaction was over the top. She stormed off and wouldn’t look at him. She asked him to leave the lounge as she wanted to watch a film. She actually arranged for a friend to call every two days to check the dogs were being looked after OK, as if we are untrustworthy. She texted me to say we were not to go into her room and she referred to my husband by his name and not “Grandad”. Continue reading...

Taipei says 39 Chinese fighter jets crossed into its defence zone in two sorties, following a 38-plane incursion on FridayChina has for the second day in a row flown more than 30 military planes towards Taiwan in yet another record show of force.Taiwan’s defence ministry said 39 aircraft entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone in two sorties on Saturday, one during the day and one at night. That followed a similar pattern on Friday, when 38 planes flew into the area south of the self-governing island. Continue reading...

Fears that controversial leader is lining up his daughter as his successorPhilippine president Rodrigo Duterte has announced that he will retire from politics and abandon his bid to become vice-president in next year’s election, fuelling speculation that his daughter Sara Duterte will instead run for office.Duterte had previously accepted a nomination by his party to stand in the May election, a controversial plan that could have allowed him to retain power beyond the limits of his six-year term. However, recent polling suggests that many Filipinos disapproved of the idea, which critics warned would undermine the constitution. Continue reading...

More lava spews out on to La Palma island as scientists record eight earthquakes up to magnitude 3.5The erupting volcano on Spain’s Canary Islands has blown open two more fissures, with authorities reporting “intense” activity in the area.The new fissures, about 15 metres (50 feet) apart, sent streaks of fiery red and orange molten rock down toward the sea, parallel to an earlier flow that reached the Atlantic Ocean earlier this week. Continue reading...

Quarantine will no longer be required for fully vaccinated travellers from 45 other countries from later in OctoberThe prime minister, Boris Johnson, will open up more countries for hotel quarantine-free travel later this week, the Sunday Telegraph reported, saying the UK’s “red list” of destinations would be slashed to nine from 54.Fully vaccinated arrivals from countries including Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico and South Africa will no longer have to quarantine in a government-designated hotel for 10 days when they get to England from later in October, the newspaper said. Continue reading...

Delta strain continues to ravage unvaccinated countries; UK expected to scrap quarantine requirements for travellers from 45 countriesCampaigners have accused the UK government of creating a system of “vaccine apartheid” by blocking an intellectual property waiver for coronavirus vaccines.India and South Africa first proposed waiving intellectual property rights for vaccines at the World Trade Organization (WTO) a year ago today.Right now, Boris Johnson is enforcing a system of vaccine apartheid.Given the British government’s failure to export or supply more than a tiny trickle of doses, the least we can do is get out of the way of others producing their own vaccine. Failing to act will shame the UK for a generation or more.We have so much untapped vaccine manufacturing capacity, but corporate monopolies are creating an artificial shortage of Covid jabs. For an entire year, the UK has quashed pleas from low- and middle-income countries to waive patents and millions have died in the process.Ten thousand people die every day that the UK continues to block a vaccine intellectual property waiver at the World Trade Organization. Each one of those deaths should be a stain on the conscience of the prime minister.The beginning of a new session is a time for renewal and fresh thinking, providing an opportunity to look to the future and our future generations.Next month, I will be attending Cop26 events in Glasgow.Today is also a day when we can celebrate those who have made an extraordinary contribution to the lives of other people in Scotland, locally or nationally during the Covid-19 pandemic.I have spoken before of my deep and abiding affection for this wonderful country and of the many happy memories Prince Philip and I always held of our time here. Continue reading...

Family of Jorja Halliday from Portsmouth say medics did ‘everything they could to save her’A 15-year-old girl who tested positive for Covid-19 has died on the day she was due to have her vaccine, her family said.Jorja Halliday, from Portsmouth, died at the Queen Alexandra hospital on Tuesday, having tested positive for the virus four days earlier. Continue reading...

Blaze engulfs more than 200 houses and businesses, forcing hundreds of residents to fleeA huge fire destroyed or damaged more than 200 houses and businesses on the Honduran island of Guanaja on Saturday, forcing hundreds of residents to flee for safety and ravaging the tourism-dependent resort, relief authorities said.Dramatic video footage shared on social media showed rows of seaside houses engulfed in flames and wooden homes collapsing in Guanaja, a Caribbean island about 44 miles (77km) off the north coast of Honduras. Continue reading...

Fake arrest fears following the murder of Sarah Everard to be allayed through live contact with police control roomLone police officers in Scotland will offer a verification check to the public from Saturday to provide reassurance that they are genuine officers, following widespread concern after the murder of Sarah Everard.The new process will allow for the officer’s personal radio to be put on loudspeaker and for an officer or police staff member in a Police Scotland control room to confirm they are who they say they are, that they are on duty and the reason the officer is speaking to the member of the public. Continue reading...

Since Sarah Everard’s brutal murder, only one thing has changed – the death tollPeople said something had changed with the awful death of Sarah Everard. But the message certainly hasn’t reached the men who rape, harm and kill women. And I can’t see a difference in the government, police, Crown Prosecution Service or the judiciary either.Since Sarah Everard was abducted, raped, murdered and, in the words of her mother, “disposed of as if she were rubbish”, at least 81 other UK women have been killed in circumstances where the suspect is a man. It is absolutely ludicrous that we know this because of my work, a random northern woman in east London, not the government, not the National Police Chiefs Council. Each of these women will have died in terror and pain, just like Sarah. Each one leaves behind grieving friends and family for whom the loss will last a lifetime. Continue reading...

Joe Biden laments ‘astonishing death toll’ as 100,000 die since June despite the availability of vaccinesThe Covid-19 death toll in the US has now surpassed 700,000, despite the Covid-19 vaccines’ wide availability, in what one expert called a “tragic and completely avoidable milestone”.Data from Johns Hopkins University shows that the US went just past 700,000 deaths on Friday; the US had previously reached 600,000 deaths in June. The country has had a total of 43.6m confirmed cases of Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins. Continue reading...

It is the ‘mystery that must be solved’ – seven-and-a-half years after the Malaysia Airlines flight disappeared with 239 people on boardSomewhere in the vast expanse of Earth’s oceans lies MH370, the Malaysia Airlines flight that disappeared on 8 March 2014 with 239 people on board.Authorities closed the books on the search in 2017, but all over the world people are continuing the hunt. And one day the plane will be found. Continue reading...