Arguments flare in the tiny, extremely conservative nation ahead of a vote on finally legalising abortionIt didn’t take long for the debate in San Marino to turn toxic. Soon after campaigning in the lead-up to a referendum on legalising abortion officially got under way, the walls of the tiny country, landlocked within central Italy, were slapped with posters from anti-abortion activists featuring a child with Down’s syndrome. The caption read: “I’m an anomaly, does that mean I have fewer rights than you?”Other posters featured the image of foetus alongside the message: “I’m a child even at 12 weeks, save me!” Continue reading...

Government says it’s ‘working hard’ to ease restrictions next week as country’s case numbers trend steadily down

Discovery made by a local girl comes decades after the bottle was put into the sea by schoolchildren as part of an experiment to monitor ocean currentsA glass bottle that was released into the sea 37 years ago by high school students in Japan has been found on the island of Hawaii, about 6,000km away.Students of the natural science club at Choshi High School in the eastern prefecture of Chiba released the bottle in 1984 as part of a project to investigate ocean currents, Japanese newspaper Mainichi reported. Continue reading...

Ruling on Duke of Edinburgh's will made to protect ‘dignity’ of Queen and her constitutional roleThe Duke of Edinburgh’s will is to remain secret to protect the “dignity” of the Queen because of her constitutional role, the high court has ruled. Philip – the nation’s longest-serving consort – died aged 99 on 9 April, just two months before he would have turned 100.After the death of a senior member of the royal family, it has been convention for over a century that an application to seal their will is made to the president of the family division of the high court. This means the wills of senior members of the royal family are not open to public inspection in the way a will would ordinarily be. Continue reading...

Prince’s lawyer claims settlement between Virginia Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein shields him from sexual assault lawsuitPrince Andrew can request the unsealing of a 2009 settlement agreement that his lawyer claims protects him from a lawsuit alleging he sexually assaulted a girl two decades ago, a US judge in New York has said.Judge Loretta Preska in Manhattan said in a written order on Thursday that the prince could seek the information to support arguments that the agreement between Virginia Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein disallows her lawsuit against the prince. Continue reading...

Warnings Alberta facing collapse of healthcare system; Figures for people aged 16 to 24 in UK take in those who have been infected or vaccinated; more than 70% of China’s population now fully vaccinated

Review of 14 international studies suggests long Covid symptoms in children rarely last longer than 12 weeks

Figures suggest remaining applications being dealt with by the Home Office stands at 450,000New government figures suggest the backlog of applications by EU citizens and their families received by the Home Office for the post-Brexit settlement scheme could be cleared by Christmas.Quarterly figures issued on Thursday showed just over 6.1m applications had been received for the scheme that gives EU citizens, EEA nationals and their families the right to live, work, study or retire in the UK if they were in the country at the time of the EU referendum in 2016. Continue reading...

Friday: Australia’s nuclear-powered submarine deal with the US and the UK sparks international fury. Plus: everyone is listening in Liane Moriarty’s new novelGood morning. The US, UK and Australia’s defence deal has upset not only China and France, but climate experts too. Labor’s national secretary has appealed to Google over misinformation concerns ahead of the federal elections. And the controversial British journalist Piers Morgan has joined News Corp.China has denounced Australia’s nuclear-powered submarine deal with the United States and the United Kingdom, raising the question of nuclear proliferation. The criticism from Beijing came as Morrison said he expected a greater US military presence in the Indo-Pacific and deeper UK defence ties. Continue reading...

Independent Office for Police Conduct informed of incident involving 70-year-old driver stopped over broken brake lightThe Metropolitan police has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct over an incident where an elderly black man was hospitalised after officers pulled over his vehicle in south London.The 70-year-old driver was stopped by traffic officers in Bromley over a broken brake light on Monday afternoon. Continue reading...

Nuclear submarine deal with Australia draws criticism from allies and China amid fears of conflictBritain and the US are battling to contain an international backlash over a nuclear submarine pact struck with Australia amid concerns that the alliance could provoke China and prompt conflict in the Pacific.Boris Johnson told MPs that the Aukus defence agreement was “not intended to be adversarial” to China. But Beijing accused the three countries of adopting a “cold war mentality” and warned they would harm their own interests unless it was dropped. Continue reading...

Sigrid Kaag makes decision to go after lower house passes motion of censure against governmentThe foreign minister of the Netherlands, Sigrid Kaag, has resigned after the lower house of parliament passed a motion of censure against the government over its handling of evacuations from Afghanistan amid the Taliban takeover.In a parliamentary debate on Wednesday, Kaag acknowledged that the government’s slow or muddled response to warnings about the situation in Afghanistan meant some local staff and people who had worked as translators for Dutch troops in the country had not been evacuated. Continue reading...

Nitrogen dioxide levels far exceed average recorded on traffic-clogged Marylebone Road, according to a studyThe amount of diesel pollution on some new trains is 13 times higher than on one of central London’s busiest roads, researchers found.Passengers travelling on board a Great Western Railway carriage running from London to Bristol, procured by the government as part of a £5.7bn scheme, are subject to huge spikes in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution when they switched to diesel from electric. Continue reading...

York Theatre Royal

In My Son, the actor goes from scene to scene without a script trying to find his child, a bizarre new low for pandemic cinemaThe pandemic has subjected us to a brave new world of cinematic experiences: a seance horror on Zoom, Anne Hathaway trying to rob Harrods, Naomi Watts taking phone calls in a forest, films that have shown either admirable ingenuity during an impossible period or that it’s really OK, nay better, at times to just put your tools down and bake banana bread instead.Related: What does Covid mean for the future of pandemic movies? Continue reading...

Tessa Stines, who has EU settlement claim in progress, detained by Border Force despite rule changeA French woman who has an EU settlement application under way was detained and held by Home Office officials at a London airport for more than eight hours.Tessa Stines has been living in the UK for the past year and volunteering for a charity, while making trips back to France during that period. Continue reading...

News UK TV station will be rival to floundering GB News and go on air early 2022Rupert Murdoch’s News UK has announced plans to launch a national television station called talkTV, which will be a rival to the floundering rightwing channel GB News and provide a platform for the return of Piers Morgan.In a U-turn after similar plans were cancelled this year, News UK said it would hire “exceptional talent” for the station. Bosses believe Morgan fits in that category and is the biggest name to have signed up to the project. Continue reading...

Google queried over its strategy to prevent being ‘exploited’ by political figures such as Clive Palmer and Craig Kelly, who have been accused of undermining Australia’s response to Covid

Nicola Sturgeon apologises to patients experiencing long waiting times as she calls in army assistance

Armin Laschet and Olaf Scholz face their toughest grilling of campaign at the hands of two 11-year-oldsWhen Germany elects a new government on 26 September the average voter age may be over 50, but a week and a half before polling day it is children who are asking the hard questions of the candidates who want to fill Angela Merkel’s shoes.Armin Laschet, of the outgoing chancellor’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and Olaf Scholz, of the centre-left Social Democratic party (SPD), were both left shifting in their seats in what has been hailed as their toughest grilling of the campaign trail – at the hands of two 11-year-olds. Continue reading...

The US, UK and Australia’s new strategic partnership has upset both China and FranceIt is a new three-way strategic defence alliance between Australia, the UK and US initially to build a class of nuclear-propelled submarines, but also to work together in the Indo-Pacific region, where the rise of China is seen as an increasing threat, and develop wider technologies. It means Australia will end the contract given to France in 2016 to build 12 diesel electric-powered submarines to replace its existing Collins submarine fleet. The deal marks the first time the US has shared nuclear propulsion technology with an ally apart from the UK. Continue reading...

Oxfordshire village life does not conform to outdated stereotypes, writes Chris RawlenceIn the piece on boy racers stirring up Cotswold villagers by their visits to Jeremy Clarkson’s farm (‘We’re just not used to it’: Clarkson farm shop causes stir in the Cotswolds, 10 September), I was sad to read the “frozen in time” and “Chipping Norton set” tropes that tend to characterise metropolitan takes on Oxfordshire village life. Chadlington is in fact alive with radical outward-looking initiatives in sustainable farming, arts in health, and sustainable tourism. The village has a thriving music community, being home to several composers and performers with international reputations.The recent Covid-inspired influx of Londoners, while making housing even less affordable for locals, was not driven by a desire to live a “chocolate box” life so much as to escape diesel particulates and find space for young families. And as for Chipping Norton, take a look at the recent local election map. There’s a red splodge there that’s chiming with the Green/Liberal Democrat Fair Deal Alliance that now runs Oxfordshire county council. The Chipping Norton set cliche has had its day.

Premier Jason Kennedy admits ‘we were wrong –and, for that, I apologize’ as he warns ICU beds may run out in 10 daysAlberta’s premier has announced sweeping new restrictions to combat the spread of the coronavirus, admitting the Canadian province was gripped by a “crisis of the unvaccinated”.The new measures marked a major reversal from Jason Kenney’s hands-off approach to the pandemic previously, and come amid warnings from frontline medical workers that the province’s healthcare system is on the verge of collapse. Continue reading...

Drawing has been in private hands since around 1910 and is now going on display in AmsterdamA pencil drawing of a broken old man, head in hands looking utterly exhausted, has been identified as a work by Vincent van Gogh.The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam said on Thursday that it had authenticated the drawing as being the work of the man himself. Teio Meedendorp, a senior researcher at the museum, said it was a “spectacular” discovery shining light on Van Gogh’s early career as an artist living in The Hague, a time less well known than his years in Paris or the south of France. Continue reading...

Ex-PM asks Boris Johnson what UK’s obligations would be under deal if China attempted to invade islandBoris Johnson has been challenged by his predecessor, Theresa May, as to whether the newly signed Aukus defence pact between the UK, US and Australia could lead to Britain being dragged into a war with China over Taiwan.The intervention came during a Commons debate on the three-country agreement, under which the US and UK will share sensitive technology with Australia to allow it to develop its first nuclear-powered submarines. Continue reading...

She was groomed as a child and has endured trauma – and to say she now ‘looks western’ is an insult to British Muslims

The French actor has directed her first film, a historical drama about women experimented on at a psychiatric hospital in Paris. She talks about the shocking story – and its resonance for women todayTwelve years ago, Mélanie Laurent was shooting Inglourious Basterds, playing a Jewish fugitive on the run from diabolical Christoph Waltz. At the end of each day’s shooting, Quentin Tarantino played music on set. After one particularly arduous day, David Bowie’s Cat People boomed out of the speakers. “We would dance. It was glorious,” she recalls.On the film’s release, Laurent was touted as France’s next big thing. Peter Bradshaw wrote: “She could easily be the new French star to make the crossover into the Anglo-Saxon film world, like Catherine Deneuve or Juliette Binoche or Emmanuelle Béart or Marion Cotillard.” Continue reading...

Student, 21, who said Israeli tourists raped her, launches attempt to clear her name in supreme courtA British woman found guilty of fabricating a gang-rape claim while holidaying in the Cypriot resort of Ayia Napa, has launched an attempt to clear her name before the island’s supreme court.In what lawyers described as a critical day for human rights in Cyprus, the 21-year-old Derbyshire student lodged the appeal as supporters protested outside the Nicosia tribunal. Continue reading...

Joe Biden has introduced a vaccine mandate affecting millions, but some countries have gone further

Staff at hospitals and care homes had refused Covid jab despite warning by Macron of September deadline

European Commission calls for action as it says 908 media workers were attacked in 23 EU states last yearEU governments have been urged by Brussels to take action to protect journalists, after an increase in physical and online attacks on members of the press.Issuing its first-ever recommendation on journalists’ safety, the European Commission called on EU governments to set up free contact points for media workers who face physical or online threats, in order to ensure a rapid response from police and prosecutors. It also wants to make sure journalists who become victims of crime have assured access to counselling, legal advice and shelters. Continue reading...

As she celebrates her engagement and fights for her autonomy, we celebrate the best of an artist who helped to define 21st-century popSpears previously flirted with dubstep on 2007’s Blackout, but it was Hold It Against Me that dragged the then-underground dance music into the mainstream. A decade later, and its blistering amalgamation of industrial EDM and saccharine pop melodies still feels every bit as audacious and innovative. Continue reading...

France’s foreign minister says move to buy nuclear subs from US in new defence pact is betrayal of trust

Germany’s election takes places on 26 September after which Angela Merkel will stand down after 16 yearsOn 26 September, Germany will vote for the 20th parliament of the postwar era, after which Angela Merkel will stand down as chancellor after 16 years. Continue reading...

Everyone has a dish that defeats them – no matter how often they try to make itAll cooks, however competent, have a kitchen skill that defeats them. Some cannot make mayonnaise. Others have a blind spot with pastry. Me? I cannot make bechamel. The first time I tried, it split. It turned into a coagulated, grainy mess, like the milky sick that newborns regurgitate down your back when you burp them. It happened the second time. And the third time. And for ever after that. Now it’s as if the ingredients, the butter and the flour and the milk, can sense my fear and shame. They sit on the work surface staring up at me. We know what you want us to become, they say. We know all about the velvety white sauce you wish us to be. Well, dream on, sucker. Not today.Once, during lockdown, while making souffle Suisse, that indecent Le Gavroche confection of gruyere, cream and whipped, bechamel-enriched egg whites which certain puritanical religious sects would doubtless regard as profoundly immoral, it worked. I made a perfect example. Hooray for me. Nailed it. But it turned out the ingredients were merely laughing at me. Because the next time it split, and the time after that, and so on. Continue reading...

Government has ruled care staff must be fully vaccinated with Thursday last day for first jab

Latest updates: Boris Johnson expected to continue reshuffling junior ministers as new cabinet begins work

Beijing denounces Aukus pact, raising question of nuclear proliferation, as Morrison expects a greater US military presence in Indo-Pacific and deeper UK defence ties

Protests, citizens’ assemblies, local referendums and mutual aid groups are pushing back against attacks on civil societyThe past decade has been a bruising one for the health of European democracy. The dramatic authoritarian turns in Hungary and Poland have attracted most attention, but nearly all European governments have chipped away at civil liberties, judicial independence and civil society.With Covid accentuating many of the challenges posed by populism, disinformation and a collapse in public trust, the narrative of democracy labouring in deep crisis is now well established. Yet as the threats have mounted, so have efforts to defend and rethink Europe’s democratic practices. Continue reading...

CBS says it will drop X-Factor-style competition from celebrity-fronted show after widespread criticismA reality TV show that planned to pit activists against each other in an X-Factor style contest judged by celebrities is to be drastically “reimagined” after it sparked a backlash from campaigners.The Activist, which had been due to air in the US in late October, prompted incredulity among many campaigners and elsewhere when its format was revealed last week, with many labelling it a “tone-deaf” distortion of true activists’ values. Continue reading...

Star will have operation on hip injury, and will move 22 arena dates to April 2023Elton John has announced he recently suffered an injury in a fall, and has postponed numerous UK tour dates as he recovers.In a statement, he said: Continue reading...

Russian president, 68, self-isolating after announcing outbreak among members of his entourage

Australia didn’t announce the ‘forever partnership’ while Donald Trump was in the White House. What happens if he returns?

Aukus described as ‘exclusionary’ amid French anger at scrapping of $90bn submarine deal with AustraliaChina has told the US, the UK and Australia to abandon their “cold war” mentality or risk harming their own interests after the three countries unveiled a new defence cooperation pact.The trilateral security partnership, named Aukus, was announced on Thursday by the three nations’ leaders via video link, and will include an 18-month plan to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines. Continue reading...

Blinded by medical intervention as a baby, Billups became one of the leaders of a groundbreaking, world-shaking 1977 protest. He talks about what drives him and why Barack Obama loves his energy“My mother used to tell us we had to be really good,” says Dennis Billups. “There were always two strikes against us – so you had to hit the third strike out of the park.” The “strikes” were being Black and being blind. And growing up in San Francisco in the 1960s and 70s, both were potential sources of open discrimination. “There were times when, even walking in our own neighbourhood, we would get: ‘You’re supposed to stay inside.’ ‘Don’t you have a dog?’ ‘Don’t you have a cane?’” At times this could turn physical. “Some neighbours would turn water on us and stuff like that.” Finding employment was also a challenge. “Being blind, they didn’t have to do too much except say: ‘We’re not going to hire you,’ or: ‘We don’t think you can do this.’ So it was a glass ceiling, more or less. I’m sure with my twin sister there was a lot more, being a woman, African American and blind as well, but she was a hell of a fighter.”Billups is a fighter, too, albeit one whose principal weapons are determination, congeniality, optimism – and a mellifluous voice. Now in his late 60s, speaking on Zoom from the San Francisco public library, he still radiates an infectious positivity that helped him as a young man when he played a key role in a lesser-known battle for civil rights. Continue reading...

Paul Keating slams submarine deal, warning of US-China tensions; Australian nuclear-powered submarines will be banned from entering NZ waters; Victoria to ease restrictions as state records 514 Covid cases; unemployment rate falls in August but hours worked plummets – follow all today’s news and Covid updates

Emmanuel Macron claims ‘another major success’ after death of Adnan Abu Walid al-SahrawiEmmanuel Macron has said French military forces have killed the leader of Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, claiming “another major success” in the fight against terrorist groups in the Sahel.The French president, who recently moved to reduce French troop deployment in the troubled sub-Saharan region amid broad consensus that the intervention was not achieving its aim, gave no further details in his statement on Wednesday night, though he mentioned French casualties. Continue reading...

One was a young footballer, another a dentist. Their shocking deaths haunt the families who could not stop their desperate bids to escapeWhen Zaki Anwari scaled the fence of Kabul airport, he was determined to escape. The 17-year-old footballer with the Afghan national youth team had taken a break from studying maths for his exams to accompany his brother as he tried to catch a flight. Zaki had always told his family he was not interested in going abroad, unless he could return to Afghanistan.But the Taliban takeover had changed things. Zaki did not have a passport but, as night fell on Kabul after the Taliban took control of the city, he told his brother Zakir that he wanted to leave. Zakir did his best to talk him out of it, but he would not let go of the idea. Continue reading...

Covid-19 has shown the effectiveness of local partners. If the sector is to respond and rebuild, it must redistribute powerThe UK’s cut to its aid budget comes to about £4bn a year. Such a dramatic reduction is a blow to many, but most of all to the local organisations who perpetually find themselves last in line for funding.New research by the Vodafone Foundation reveals that, too often, only a small proportion of philanthropic funding earmarked for African development reaches local, African-led civil society organisations. Instead, most development funding favours intermediaries in the global north and international organisations. Continue reading...

Workers in depressed sectors or regions won’t be able to plug gaps in areas that have been quicker to recover, ministers are being warnedThere are signs outside almost every pub, restaurant and hotel dotting Torquay’s harbour: Staff wanted.“It’s been packed solid busy, you can’t get a table anywhere,” said Brett Powis, owner of three hotels in the area including the Riviera and Lincombe Hall. For the hotelier, staff shortages made it harder to take full advantage of the busiest summertime boom in the Devon resort for decades. Continue reading...