Cynthia and Victor Liu’s release follows the US ending a legal case against Huawei executive Meng WanzhouTwo American siblings prevented from leaving China since 2018 have returned to the United States, their release coming shortly after the United States ended a legal case against a top Huawei executive.Cynthia and Victor Liu returned to America over the weekend, according to a US official, after more than three years during which they were not allowed to leave China under an “exit ban” despite not facing criminal allegations. Their father, former bank official and fugitive Liu Changming, is wanted in China to face fraud charges. Continue reading...
by Ashley Townshend and Thomas Lonergan on (#5Q2F2)
Joining Aukus sends a clear message but the submarines are years away – in the meantime Canberra must creatively push back against BeijingCanberra’s momentous decision to acquire nuclear-powered submarines through the new Aukus arrangement with London and Washington is an unmistakable sign of Australia’s commitment to balance China’s military power in the Indo-Pacific region.But it’s far from enough. Assuming all goes to plan with the design, negotiations, building, budget, training and testing, Australia’s first submarine won’t enter operational service until the late-2030s at the earliest. Continue reading...
Queensland has recorded four local Covid-19 cases. The premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said there is 'no need to panic' but some of the new cases are concerning. Mask rules will be tightened for indoor areas in the Brisbane and Moreton Bay areas. Restrictions will also be imposed at aged care centres, prisons and in disability settings. Palaszczuk also announced the state would make Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory for all truck drivers using the freight paths. Truck drivers will be required to have their first dose by 15 October and their second dose or a booking by 15 November
Factories were closed to avoid exceeding limits on energy use imposed by Beijing to promote efficiencyWidening power shortages in China’s north-east have left homes without power and halted production at numerous factories, while some shops operated by candlelight as the economic toll of the squeeze mounted.Residents in the north-east, where autumn temperatures are falling, reported power cuts and appealed on social media for the government to restore supplies. Continue reading...
by Rowena Mason, Aubrey Allegretti, Dan Sabbagh, and on (#5Q270)
Keir Starmer and industry leaders call on PM to do more as ministers decide against immediate deployment of troopsBoris Johnson has ordered the army to remain on standby to help fuel reach petrol stations hit by panic buying, as Keir Starmer and businesses called on him to get a grip on the shortages rippling across the economy.No 10 said army drivers would be ready to help deliver petrol and diesel on a short-term basis, but stopped short of an immediate deployment, even though some essential workers have not been able to carry out their jobs without fuel. Continue reading...
Arrivals in 2021 stand at 17,085, despite vows from government to make such journeys ‘unviable’The number of people who have made the dangerous journey across the Channel in small boats this year is double the total for all of 2020 – with more than three months left of 2021.Related: Home Office planned speedy removal of Vietnamese trafficking victims Continue reading...
by Daniel Boffey, Rowena Mason and Heather Stewart on (#5Q1VK)
Olaf Scholz, poised to become next chancellor, wades into row over HGV driver shortageThe centre-left politician in pole position to replace Angela Merkel as German chancellor has pinpointed the decision to end freedom of movement with Europe after Brexit as the reason for Britain’s petrol crisis.Olaf Scholz, who is seeking to form a coalition government after the SPD emerged as the biggest party in Germany’s federal elections, said he hoped Boris Johnson would be able to deal with the consequences of the UK’s exit from the EU. Continue reading...
by Vikram Dodd Police and crime correspondent on (#5Q22K)
Koci Selamaj, 36, was arrested on Sunday over death of Nessa, 28, whose body was found in KidbrookeA man has been charged with the murder of Sabina Nessa, the teacher who was found dead in a park close to her south London home.Koci Selamaj, aged 36, was arrested by police early on Sunday morning in East Sussex, just over a week after the body of the 28-year-old teacher was found. Continue reading...
Trial of the singer had theme of Kelly using his fame and power to subject his victims to sexual and physical abuseR Kelly’s conviction on racketeering and sex trafficking charges came after a trial that shocked the US and opened the eyes of a nation to claims of shocking, decades-long abuse that predominantly targeted young Black girls.Jurors in a New York federal court heard from multiple witnesses over the weeks-long trial of behavior by the singer, with a common theme of Kelly using his fame and power to subject his victims to sexual and physical abuse. Continue reading...
A carer, a GP and a social worker speak about the impact its having on them and their workWith people in places across the UK still unable to fill up their tanks while petrol stations have run dry and British fuel prices have hit an eight-year high, three key workers – a carer, a GP and a social worker – spoke about the impact the situation was having on them and their work. Continue reading...
Sculpture based on the poem The Gleaner of Sapri was unveiled by former PM Giuseppe Conte on SaturdayA statue depicting a scantily dressed woman from a 19th-century poem has sparked a sexism row in Italy.The bronze statue, which portrays the woman in a transparent dress, was unveiled on Saturday during a ceremony attended by the former prime minister Giuseppe Conte in Sapri, in the southern Campania region. Continue reading...
The 25m-year-old fossil reveals ancient eagle had features unlike any seen among modern hawks and eaglesA 25m-year-old eagle fossil discovered on a remote outback cattle station in South Australia has been identified as one of the oldest raptor species in the world.Palaeontologists discovered the eagle fossil on the shore of a dry lake known as Lake Pinpa in 2016, and have since identified it as a new species, Archaehierax sylvestris, in a study published in the journal Historical Biology. Continue reading...
by Adam Morton Climate and environment editor on (#5Q1X9)
Could the calamity unfolding in Britain happen in Australia? Is a net zero target to blame, as the deputy PM claims? Adam Morton looks behind the Nationals leader’s claims
Party that entered German parliament in 2017 drops about 2% nationally despite performing strongly in eastThe far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), which made a whirlwind entry into the German parliament in 2017, is set to lose its status as the main opposition force following Sunday’s election but has at the same time emerged as the strongest party in parts of eastern Germany.The party, which rose to prominence on an anti-immigrant ticket after the arrival of around 1m refugees in 2015 but has more recently focused its attention on attacking the government’s pandemic management, dropped just over 2% nationally to secure 10.3% of the vote. Continue reading...
Policy uses women as tool for economic goals and could endanger their lives, says rights groupChina’s pledge to limit abortions puts women’s bodies under the state’s control just as the one-child policy did and could endanger the lives of women seeking abortions, rights groups have said.The Chinese government announced on Monday that it would seek to reduce abortions for “non-medical reasons” – a move seen as being in line with its attempts to accelerate birthrates. Continue reading...
Claudia Webbe, who has had the Labour whip withdrawn, denies harassment chargesAn MP has been accused of threatening to use acid against a woman she believed to be in a relationship with her partner, a court has heard.Claudia Webbe, 56, allegedly became “obsessed” with Michelle Merritt due to her friendship with the Leicester East MP’s partner, Lester Thomas. Continue reading...
Christopher Johns talks about what conditions are like for drivers in the UK and whether any solutions might be forthcomingChristopher Johns, 37, from Burwash, Sussex, has been an HGV driver for more than 10 years, and drives long distance in UK and Europe. Here he speaks about what conditions are like for HGV drivers in the UK, and why he feels there may be no quick solution to the current truck driver crisis.“I’m always staggered by how much truck drivers have been taken for granted in the UK. We work so hard for very little money. Our wages have desperately needed improving for such a long time. A friend’s starting salary at Lidl is the same as that of many trucker friends. I could earn more if I did temp work, like many others do, but I have a wife and three kids, I need job security. I only earn enough now because I do a lot of overseas work, where you get bigger expenses allowances. Continue reading...
Actor helped deliver food to people onboard NGO vessel that was refused entry to Italian port by then ministerRichard Gere has agreed to testify against Italy’s far-right former interior minister Matteo Salvini, who is standing trial for refusing to let a Spanish migrant rescue ship dock in an Italian port in 2019.Prosecutors in Sicily have accused Salvini of dereliction of duty and kidnapping for blocking the NGO vessel Open Arms from docking in August 2019 as part of his closed-ports policy. Onboard were 147 people rescued in the Mediterranean. During the standoff, as the ship was anchored off the island of Lampedusa, some people threw themselves overboard in desperation. Continue reading...
‘Spotters’ were seen scoping out movements of Mark Rutte, who cycles to work in The HagueThe Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, who cycles to work in The Hague, has reportedly been given extra personal security in response to raised fears of a kidnapping or attack by organised crime.The decision was made after “spotters” were seen scoping out Rutte’s movements, raising concerns about a possible move by one of the country’s drug gangs. Continue reading...
A leading epidemiologist says if people are admitted to hospital in time ‘it could be in fact a life-saving presentation’A leading epidemiologist has expressed concern at the number of Covid-positive people dying at home in Australia without having a test for the virus.Associate Prof Sanjaya Senanayake from the Australian National University said there had been multiple deaths from Covid due to people developing severe symptoms at home without being tested and receiving medical assistance. Continue reading...
Frances, 70, and Rien, 68, met on a European exchange visit in 1972. Having brought up their family in England, they now live in the Dordogne, FranceWhen Frances finished school, she took a college course in cartography, the study of maps. By May 1972, she had found a job as a cartographer with the civil service. As part of her work, she went to Delft in the Netherlands to visit the Dutch equivalent of Ordnance Survey. At the time, Kingston upon Thames (where she had studied) was twinned with Delft, a city in South Holland, and residents of the two regions were encouraged to do exchange visits, where they would stay with local families to get to know the area. Frances agreed to go, even thought she was terrified. “I was 20 and it was my first time out of the country. I didn’t speak a word of Dutch,” she says.Frances soon discovered she would be staying with Rien, who lived with his parents and siblings. When she arrived at the town hall, he was there to pick her up. They were introduced by the mayor of Kingston and the burgemeester of Delft. “My instant reaction was that she was beautiful and I needed to get to know her. It was love at first sight for me,” he says. She was grateful that he was able to speak English and over the course of the next week a friendship blossomed. “He was friendly and handsome, but it was just friendship for me at first,” she says. “I’m more pragmatic than romantic.” Continue reading...
Documents seen by Guardian refer to fast-track system not intended to be used in trafficking casesThe Home Office detained more than 100 Vietnamese nationals who arrived on small boats in May but planned to speedily remove them from the UK despite them being potential victims of trafficking, the Guardian has learned.In an exercise codenamed Operation Ammonite, the Home Office chartered two deportation flights to Vietnam, one in April of this year and one in July. The flights carried 27 and 21 deportees respectively. However the Home Office plan was to fill the second plane with many more Vietnamese nationals. Continue reading...
Dr Nader Alemi, who opened the country’s first private psychiatric hospital, had received death threats before being taken on his way home from work last weekOne of Afghanistan’s most prominent psychiatrists has been abducted on his way home from work by a group of armed men.Dr Nader Alemi, 66, who opened the country’s first private psychiatric hospital in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, was stopped by seven men in a white car last week, said his family. Continue reading...
Confident microbudget feature zones in on one woman’s unhappiness, and how skydiving provides an unlikely but dramatic releaseDeragh Campbell is an award-winning Canadian actor and film-maker whose recent movie MS Slavic 7 I have to confess to finding weirdly inert and indulgent. She has a starring role in this movie, which is a confident, intimate microbudget feature shot almost entirely in searching closeup, directed by Campbell’s longtime collaborator Kazik Radwanski. It is a more approachable piece of work and Campbell’s performance is unsettlingly real.She plays Anne, an unhappy young woman with a job in a children’s daycare centre and an undiagnosed anxiety disorder, whose life is turned upside down when she tastes the ecstatic thrill of skydiving. Anne gets on pretty badly with her grumpy, humourless colleagues – who may nevertheless have a point about her unprofessional, casual and derisive attitude – and argues with her mother. She meets a nice guy called Matt (Matt Johnson) at a co-worker’s wedding, though she may well be about to alienate him too. But all this is against the background of skydiving, which she took part in as part of the bachelorette party: the bride and all the maids-of-honour did it once, but Anne wants this amazing and passionate experience again and again. Could it be a miraculous therapy for her? Or is skydiving simply enlarging and intensifying her already troublesome and anarchic personality? Continue reading...
Restrictions amount to ‘sexual assault’ on women by Japanese state, say rights campaignersWomen’s health campaigners have urged Japan’s government to amend a law that forces married women to seek consent from their husbands before they can have an abortion.Japan is one of only 11 countries that require third-party consent for abortions, despite calls to end the practice by the World Health Organization and other groups. Continue reading...
Harrison McLean was one of hundreds of people arrested after Victoria police and protesters clashed in rallies across the cityOne of the organisers of Australia’s anti-lockdown movement has been charged with incitement.Harrison McLean was one of hundreds of people arrested by Victorian police after a week of protests across Melbourne saw violent clashes between officers and demonstrators. Continue reading...
Lack of jobs and Covid lockdowns fuel boom in cheap but lethal hooch made in backyard stillsIt is 7pm and inside the shebeen, or unlicensed bar, in Harare, men and women clutch small bottles of “whisky” and talk animatedly as they dance to loud music.One man staggers and falls over, to the amusement of other drinkers. He mumbles inaudible words as he drifts into sleep. Nearby, two other men doze after spending hours in the bar on a sweltering September day. Continue reading...
Largest major survey of its kind finds 70% of respondents first saw child sexual abuse material when they were under 18The largest major survey of people who watch online child sexual abuse has found that one-third of respondents attempted to directly contact a child as a result of the illegal images they watched online.The survey, by Protect Children, a Finnish human rights group, was posted on the “dark web” so users would find it while actively searching for illegal content of children. The analysis was based on more than 5,000 people who responded initially to the survey about why and how they watched children being abused online, although 10,000 responses have been received so far. Continue reading...
Hoshyar Ali has cleared more than 750,000 landmines in 104 villages, despite having lost both legs to landmines. Iraqi Kurdistan is one of the most contaminated countries for landmines and explosive remnants of war, according to a report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian AffairsA dust cloud trails behind a metallic grey Kia Sportage as it meanders along a rocky dirt road toward the last town on this thoroughfare before reaching the Iraq-Iran border.People walk along the road, waving at independent deminer Hoshyar Ali as he drives by, recognising him by the red flag on his antenna, indicating the vehicle is transporting explosives, and by the stickers of various landmines on his vehicle. Continue reading...
The UK/Australia Season is the largest ever cultural exchange between the two nations, including the sacred knowledge held in songlines, a 19th-century Indigenous cricket team and uprising anthems linking Brixton to Palm IslandMargo Neale is feeling proud. “Here we are,” she says, “250 years after the British set out to colonise and civilise us, taking our culture to the British – to teach them how to survive in this fragmenting world.” Neale, an Indigenous Australian from the Gumbaynggirr and Kulin nations, is just warming up. “It is our civilisation,” she continues defiantly, “that had the resilience to survive over millennia: the ice age, sea rises, drought, invasion, violence, all sorts of oppression and pandemics. So, this is us showing Britain we have the knowledge to survive – knowledge held in the songlines.”Neale, who is also of Irish descent, is talking about the plan to bring the National Museum of Australia’s extraordinary 2017 exhibition Songlines, which she co-curated, to Britain. The show will have its European premiere at the Box in Plymouth – which is where, Neale can’t resist pointing out, Captain James Cook set sail from in 1768, becoming the first European to set foot on the east coast of Australia. Continue reading...
Former Afghan government’s ambassador in Greece appalled by Athens’ media blitz against ‘illegal migrant flows’In other times, Mirwais Samadi would have welcomed a campaign to deter his compatriots from opting to become illegal migrants and embarking on the often dangerous trek from Afghanistan to Europe.By far the worst part of his job as Afghanistan’s ambassador to Athens – apart from the strange limbo he has found himself in representing a nation whose leaders he refuses to recognise – is notifying families back home of loved ones who died along the way. Invariably they are the victims of smuggling networks motivated solely by profit. Continue reading...
Two Israeli soldiers were also seriously wounded after violence erupted when troops tried to arrest suspected Hamas militantsFive Palestinians have been killed after gun battles erupted when Israeli troops conducted a series of raids against suspected Hamas militants across the occupied West Bank.The fighting on Sunday was the deadliest violence between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants in the West Bank in several weeks. Two Israeli soldiers were seriously wounded. Continue reading...
The former army colonel, who was sentenced to life in prison for crimes against humanity, died in hospital in MaliTheoneste Bagosora, a former Rwandan army colonel regarded as the architect of the 1994 genocide in which more than 800,000 ethnic Tutsi and Hutus who tried to protect them were killed, has died in a hospital in Mali.His son Achille Bagosora announced the death in a Facebook post: “Rest in Peace, Papa.” Continue reading...
Initial election result gave women 33 seats, but total was later revised down to 30Iceland briefly celebrated electing a female-majority parliament on Sunday, before a recount produced a result just short of the landmark for gender parity in the north Atlantic island nation.The initial vote count gave female candidates 33 seats in Iceland’s 63-seat parliament, the Althing, in an election in which centrist parties made the biggest gains. The result would have made Iceland the first country in Europe to have more women than men in parliament. Continue reading...
Over 40% of residents of landlocked state in central Italy voted to end total ban in place since 1865Residents in San Marino have voted overwhelmingly to legalise abortion.Over 40% of the population of about 33,000 in the tiny state, which is landlocked within central Italy, participated in the referendum, with 77.3% voting in support of allowing abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, according to results published by San Marino TV. Continue reading...
Exit polls suggest Olaf Scholz’s centre-left SPD will be the largest party in Germany’s federal parliament. Get all the latest results as they come in, and find out what coalitions will be possible to form the country’s new governmentGerman election 2021 – live coverage
Ministers to discuss emergency plan Operation Escalin after BP reveals a third of its forecourts have shortagesHundreds of soldiers could be scrambled to deliver fuel to petrol stations running dry across the country due to panic buying and a shortage of drivers under an emergency plan expected to be considered by Boris Johnson on Monday.The prime minister will gather senior members of the cabinet to scrutinise “Operation Escalin” after BP admitted that a third of its petrol stations had run out of the main two grades of fuel, while the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), which represents almost 5,500 independent outlets, said 50% to 90% of its members had reported running out. It predicted that the rest would soon follow. Continue reading...
Serious themes are undercut by the flippant tone of this story about a Syrian refugee who becomes a conceptual art objectHere is a muddled caper of movie that doesn’t know what it wants to say; it doesn’t work as a satire of the international art market, nor as a commentary on the racism of white European culture. And its attitude to Syria is undermined by a silly and unconvincing ending that leaves a strange taste in the mouth. It is inspired by the Belgian conceptual artist Wim Delvoye and his human artwork called Tim: in 2008, Delvoye tattooed an elaborate punk-crucifixion scene on the back of a Zurich tattoo parlour owner named Tim Steiner, who in return for a cash payment agreed to sit still with his tattooed back on show in galleries for a certain number of times a year and have his tattooed skin surgically removed and put on display after his death. And of course it is this macabre destiny that lends fascination to the ongoing live events.This movie from writer-director Kaouther Ben Hania imagines a Syrian man, Sam Ali (Yahya Mahayni) in love with a well-born woman Abeer (Dea Liane). But when he is wrongfully arrested by the tyrannical Assad government, Abeer’s family pressures her into marrying a smooth diplomat, Ziad (Saad Lostan), who takes her to live with him in Brussels where he is an embassy attache. Sam Ali manages to escape from police custody (the least of the film’s implausibilities) and get over the border into Lebanon where, hungry and hard up, he gatecrashes art exhibitions and gobbles the free canapes. And this is where he is approached by a preeningly arrogant artist, Jeffrey Godefroi (Koen De Bouw), who looks like Roger De Bris, the theatre director in Mel Brooks’s The Producers. If Sam will agree to the humiliation of having a massive “Schengen visa” tattooed on his back, then Jeffrey will be legally able to transport him to Brussels as a conceptual art object rather than a human being, as part of a show about the commodification of humanity, and Sam will be able to see Abeer. Continue reading...
Alan Partridge star will take on ‘complex’ character of notorious paedophile in The ReckoningSteve Coogan will play Jimmy Savile in a forthcoming BBC drama series about how the high-profile presenter spent decades living a double life as one of the country’s most notorious paedophiles.The Alan Partridge star said the decision to portray Savile on screen was not one he “took lightly” but the series had “an intelligent script tackling sensitively an horrific story which – however harrowing – needs to be told”. Continue reading...
Melanie Chisholm, Boyzone’s Shane Lynch and S Club 7’s Hannah Spearritt latest to allege voicemail interceptionA group of 1990s pop stars are among the latest individuals to launch phone-hacking cases against Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, as the scandal that has dogged the company for more than 15 years continues to rumble on at the high court.Melanie Chisholm from the Spice Girls, Shane Lynch from Boyzone, Hannah Spearritt from S Club 7, and Steps’s Ian Watkins and Lee Latchford-Evans have recently filed claims against the company. Continue reading...
New analysis reveals misogyny increasingly prevalent online and being used to steer people into racism and antisemitismSexual violence is increasingly being promoted by the British far right, according to new analysis documenting how misogyny is used to steer individuals towards adopting racist and antisemitic views.Investigators found that pro-rape comments were “not uncommon” among the UK extreme right and that a culture has taken root that endorses sexual violence. Analysing misogyny and anti-feminist channels on the messaging app Telegram, a key online platform for the far right, they found sexual assault was a “prominent theme”. Continue reading...
Parliamentary delegation to hold talks with university in effort to shed light on student’s killing in EgyptAn Italian parliamentary delegation is to travel to Cambridge this week to hold talks with the university over the 2016 death of the postgraduate student Giulio Regeni, who was abducted and killed in Cairo while researching Egyptian trade unions.Four senior members of Egypt’s powerful security services were last year charged by a Rome judge over their suspected role in the disappearance and murder of the 28-year-old Italian. The trial will take place in absentia after the Egyptian state refused to recognise the Italian legal process or extradite the four suspects. Continue reading...
Andrew Hickman’s obituary of Carmel Budiardjo, the campaigner for human rights and justice in Indonesia, refers to the political effects of the cold war in south-east Asia. One consequence was that the west turned a blind eye to the 1965 massacre in Indonesia and to the anti-left purge under General Suharto.Carmel’s organisation Tapol was a lonely voice in exposing the plight of tens of thousands of political prisoners and their families. She was wonderfully forthright and focused on the cause. In 1990 when I visited Indonesia for the Guardian to cover the – largely ignored – 25th anniversary of the massacre, her help with contacts included the great novelist and ex-prisoner Pramoedya Ananta Toer, and proved to be invaluable. Continue reading...