Northern mayors threaten legal action over what Andy Burnham describes as ‘an active choice to level down’Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageMayors of some of the UK’s biggest city regions were threatening legal action against the government last night as they went into open revolt against “grossly unfair” financial support for workers in northern England facing new local lockdowns.As No 10 desperately tried to win over council leaders before announcing new lockdown rules for the north-west and north-east on Monday, Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester and former health secretary, said Boris Johnson was leaving himself open to court action on grounds of discrimination, particularly against people in low-paid hospitality jobs across the north. Continue reading...

With high profit margins and low risk of long jail time, Catalonia is now the marijuana capital of Europe, police warnThe decor is nightclub chic meets Turkish opium den. The lighting, soft pink and electric blue. And, were it not for the sweet waft of marijuana, it could be the lobby of a Las Vegas boutique hotel. In fact, it’s one of Barcelona’s 156 cannabis clubs, known as asociaciónes.The idea was a quiet place where you could buy and smoke marijuana, often grown by members, and only on the premises, but many are now businesses and, police say, fronts for drug mafias. With the collapse of tourism, the cannabis business is one of very few thriving in Catalonia, but beyond the low lights and chilled vibe of the associations, darker forces are in play. An internal report by the Mossos d’Esquadra, the Catalan police, claims “Catalonia is the epicentre of Europe’s illegal marijuana market” and has become a net exporter of cannabis to other European countries. Continue reading...

The activist discusses a new film that follows her life and the role autism played in her journey from troubled child to eco championFor a teenager who first became famous for skipping school, Greta Thunberg has come a long way. The 17-year-old from Stockholm is today a global champion of the environment movement and the uncompromising scourge of climate crisis deniers. In the process, she has earned the disdain of Donald Trump and the plaudits of figures including the pope and David Attenborough. For good measure, Time made her the magazine’s Person of the Year for 2019.It is an astonishing journey that will be brought to our screens this week with the release of I am Greta, a 97-minute documentary that follows the activist, who has autism, on trips round the world as she raises the banners of green concern among young campaigners. Continue reading...

Seven year old was inside four-wheel drive when it was stolen on Saturday night

White House doctor doesn’t say if president is negative; Ireland sees record daily infections

Even if achievable, the strategy would kill too many people, say scientists

After civil war, decades of corruption and then the blast that ripped through Beirut this summer, things could hardly get any worse. But they haveIn early September, Mohammed Khaldoon sold a necklace his sister had given him and scrounged what he could from friends and family. He gave the sum total, $400, to a smuggler in his hometown of Tripoli, northern Lebanon, and took to sea, with 49 others in a rickety boat headed for Cyprus.“He left without saying goodbye,” said Fatima Mohammed, who gave him the necklace. “The boat was small but the smuggler said it was only needed for a 200-metre trip and then they would move to a bigger one. He took all their food, water and bags and left them with nothing.” Continue reading...

Donald Trump accuses his rival of being soft on China. If a crisis erupted over Taiwan he is not above exploiting it electorallyHow does Joe Biden lose? Dozens of national and swing-state polls dating back to the spring have consistently given him a winning lead. Nearly all now predict Biden will defeat Donald Trump handily on 3 November. Depending on how key states break, it could be a landslide – plus a Democratic clean sweep of Congress.Even if the polls are as wrong as they were in 2016, Biden, whose national lead is 10%, is still projected to win the popular vote by 7%. He still wins battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Florida and Arizona and, with them, the electoral college that was Hillary Clinton’s undoing four years ago. All Trump’s clumsy and divisive efforts to change the dynamic of the race have failed so far. His Covid-19 histrionics won him scant sympathy. It seems the die is cast. Continue reading...

PM says Australia must move ‘very cautiously’ to open up to all but a handful of low-risk Covid countriesScott Morrison has confirmed Australia will move “very cautiously” to reopen quarantine-free travel with a “handful” of countries, raising the prospect Europe and the United States will be excluded until 2022 unless a Covid vaccine is available.Morrison made the comments at a doorstop in Redbank, campaigning with Queensland’s Liberal National party leader, Deb Frecklington, and targeting the Labor premier Annastacia Palaszczuk over the state’s reluctance to remove its state border travel ban. Continue reading...

Unless the world’s big powers act, the fragile ceasefire is unlikely to holdThe fact that Azerbaijan and Armenia have gone back to war at a moment of acute global crisis is deeply dismaying. In March, the UN called for a global ceasefire in support of the bigger battle against coronavirus. Its appeal has been widely ignored. The conflict in the South Caucasus echoes ongoing, heedless violence in several Middle East countries where, it seems, enmity trumps humanity. War is its own disease.Renewed fighting over the Armenia-held Azerbaijani territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, which erupted last month and has killed or displaced thousands of civilians, vividly underscores the dangers inherent in the crumbling of the international, rules-based order. Regional powers initially failed to intervene or, in the case of Turkey, fanned the flames. The EU looked on as war engulfed its borders. The US did nothing. Continue reading...

Officials say 65 people were on board the bus when it was hit by a train two hours east of Bangkok

As coronavirus restrictions ease in Victoria, here are the current hotspots and what to do if you’ve visited them

Victoria records 12 Covid-19 cases, as premier agrees to hand over records that may reveal who decided to use private security for quarantine

The deaths of Xiaojun Chen and Uber Eats rider Dede Fredy have highlighted the precarious conditions for gig economy workersResidents of a Sydney suburb have helped more than $30,000 in three days for the Chinese family of a food delivery rider whose death last month has thrown a spotlight on the precarious conditions facing gig economy workers.Xiaojun Chen, a 43-year-old from a small village in rural China who worked for the delivery app Hungry Panda, was struck by a bus in the Sydney suburb of Zetland on 29 September. Continue reading...

Rescue team of 40 retrieve 62-year-old in ‘highly technical’ operation after he sustained a back injury in caving fallAn injured man has been stretchered out of a remote cave on Tasmania’s west coast after he fell several metres, triggering a complex eight-hour rescue effort.Police said the 62-year-old man, from the north-western coastal town of Ulverstone, was caving with friends near Mount Cripps on Saturday when he fell several metres off a ladder inside the narrow cave system, sustaining a back injury that left him unable to climb out. Continue reading...

Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig were arrested for alleged espionage after Canada held Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou for extradition to USChina has granted consular access to two Canadians detained in the country for the first time since January as the diplomatic standoff between the two nations continued.The Canadian government said on Saturday that Dominic Barton, Canada’s ambassador to China, was granted virtual consular access to Michael Spavor on Friday and virtual consular access to Michael Kovrig on Saturday. Continue reading...

Mexico’s president says the Vatican should apologise for ‘reprehensible atrocities’ in colonisation 500 years agoMexico’s president has written to Pope Francis to ask for an apology for the Catholic church’s role in the oppression of indigenous people in the Spanish conquest 500 years ago.The request was made in a two-page letter that also asked the Vatican to temporarily return several ancient indigenous manuscripts held in its library, ahead of next year’s 500-year anniversary of the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Continue reading...

Petition set up by the former PM caused problems for the Parliament House website after more than 38,000 people signed in 24 hoursThe former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd has launched a petition calling for a royal commission into NewsCorp’s dominance of Australia media, arguing Rupert Murdoch’s media company employs tactics that “chill free speech and undermine public debate”.The petition, launched on the Australian Parliament website on Saturday, had gained more than 38,000 signatures by Sunday morning, with Rudd tweeting that the popularity of the petition had caused the website to suspect users signing it were robots. Continue reading...

Treasurer says bringing forward the change for incomes between $45,000 and $200,000 would not have given the biggest ‘bang for the buck’ in the budgetJosh Frydenberg has “absolutely” recommitted to $130bn of middle and high-income tax cuts due to begin in 2024, despite the Coalition opting not to bring them forward in last week’s budget.Speaking on the ABC’s Insiders, the treasurer said the Coalition wanted government to act as a “catalyst” for recovery by allowing some businesses to fail while others grew and took advantage of tax concessions in the budget to hire and invest. Continue reading...

Scheme benefits just one in 15 workers in shut-down sectors, says shadow business secretary

Bag dispensers at 150 parks throughout the city have been left empty, but manufacturers say local supplies are availableBrisbane dog owners are kicking up a stink over a shortage of dog poo bags that the city council has blamed on Sydney’s Port Botany wharf industrial dispute.Bag dispensers at the council’s 150 dog parks have been left empty as the local authority waits for new supplies, with no date for when the compostable bags will be delivered. Continue reading...

The South Australian MP treads a narrow path amid changing demographics in her seat of Mayo and accusations of Liberal sympathies“You’re just stooges for the Liberal party,” one comment reads. “You are a sellout,” another says.The Centre Alliance MP Rebekha Sharkie’s Facebook page has been swamped with hundreds of angry comments in the wake of the party’s decision to support the federal government’s higher education reforms. Continue reading...

Amid the lockdowns, the sounds and sights of birds reminded me, most of all, of the extent of our connections to one another

Any hope for a truce in the long-running conflict in the Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh was short-livedThe streets of Stepanakert were quiet as a ceasefire went into effect on Saturday afternoon, but the local population’s ears are still ringing from shelling and drone strikes that have decimated this highland town over the past 13 days.The peace – and any hope of a lasting truce – was short-lived. Air-raid sirens in Artsakh, a de facto Armenian republic inside Azerbaijan’s borders, were screaming again before nightfall. Residents who have refused to flee the assault retreated back into bomb shelters and basements, bracing for another sleepless night. Continue reading...

West Midlands police apologise after names of young people at risk taken in BirminghamWest Midlands police has apologised after a notebook containing information on young people at risk from or associated with gangs was stolen from an unattended unmarked car.The force said officers were involved in a foot chase in the Ladywood area of Birmingham on 29 May during which time the notebook was stolen from the car, though details about the incident have only now been released. Continue reading...

London firm blames recent violent assault on home secretary’s remarks that ‘activist lawyers’ were frustrating the removal of migrantsBritain’s top lawyers have written to Priti Patel to express their concern after a knifeman threatened to kill an immigration solicitor last month in an attack colleagues say was directly motivated by comments made by the home secretary.On 7 September a man with a large knife entered a London law firm and launched a “violent, racist attack” that injured a staff member before the assailant was overwhelmed. Continue reading...

Truce comes into force but countries accuse each other of derailing dealArmenia and Azerbaijan agreed to a Russia-brokered ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh starting on Saturday, but immediately accused each other of derailing the deal intended to end the worst outbreak of hostilities in the separatist region in more than a quarter of a century.The two sides traded blame for breaking the truce that took effect at midday (8am GMT) with new attacks, and Azerbaijan’s top diplomat said the truce never entered force. Continue reading...

The UN must be allowed to conduct an inquiry into possible crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, the shadow foreign secretary saysBritain must oppose giving China a seat on the UN’s human rights body this week in protest at its abuse of Uighur Muslims, Lisa Nandy, the shadow foreign secretary has warned.With the government facing accusations of confusion over its relationship with Beijing, Nandy will join other organisations in calling for Britain not to support China’s place on the council until the UN is allowed to conduct an independent investigation into its treatment of the Uighurs. Continue reading...

UK and French leaders spoke as British and EU negotiating teams engage in eleventh-hour trade deal meetingsBoris Johnson has held Brexit telephone talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, as the clock ticks down to the deadline for a deal.The two leaders spoke on Saturday with seemingly just days remaining for an agreement on a future trade deal to be reached, after UK and EU negotiating teams met on Friday for what sources said was a positive meeting. Continue reading...

Socialite and reality TV star organized demonstration near Provo Canyon school after saying she suffered abuse at boarding schoolSocialite and reality TV star Paris Hilton has been speaking out about abuse she said she suffered at a boarding school in Utah, and on Friday took her push nearly to the school’s front doors.Hilton organized a protest in a park near Provo Canyon school, along with several hundreds of others who shared stories of abuse they said they suffered there or at similar schools for troubled youth. She is calling for the closure of the school. Continue reading...

Prime minister heads to polls in Auckland district after visit to suburban marketNew Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has voted in the country’s general election, a week before polls officially close.Ardern cast her vote in her Auckland district on Saturday after visiting a market in the suburb of Ōtara, where she was thronged by supporters. Continue reading...

Firefighters in Lebanon have been battling fierce wildfires across the Mount Lebanon area and along the country’s border with Israel. The Lebanese Civil Defense said rising temperatures and high wind speeds were contributing to the spread of the fires.

Salehe Bembury says he was stopped for ‘just being Black’ as video of incident emergesA black Versace executive says he was racially profiled close to the Los Angeles branch of the Italian luxury fashion brand.Salehe Bembury, the vice-president of sneakers and men’s footwear at Versace, was stopped and searched for jaywalking in Rodeo Drive, near Camden Drive and Wilshire Boulevard. Continue reading...

A fuel tank exploded inside a Beirut building on Friday night, killing four people and injuring several others, the Lebanese Red Cross said. The explosion came two months after a massive blast at Beirut's port killed nearly 200 people, injured at least 6,500 and caused billions of dollars worth of damage.

Emergency aid payments have helped Brazil’s president win support despite the virus raging. But things could soon changeBrazil’s hard-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, dismissed Covid-19 as a “little flu”, and said it should be faced “like a man, not a boy”.He sneered that self-isolating was “for the weak” and raged against lockdown measures. He clashed with state governors, and his own former health minister savaged his handling of the pandemic. Continue reading...

Police detain four men and five women suspected of arranging transport for activists who tried to flee by boat to TaiwanHong Kong police say they have arrested nine people suspected of helping 12 activists who fled the city in August, heading for Taiwan, but were intercepted by Chinese authorities and held on the mainland.The group of nine arrested on Saturday included four men and five women, some of whom had been previously arrested for participating in the massive protests that threw the financial hub into turmoil last year, were taken into custody for “assisting offenders”. Continue reading...

Move follows Belarusian government’s decision to expel 35 diplomats from neighbouring Poland and LithuaniaThe UK has temporarily recalled its ambassador to Belarus, Jacqueline Perkins, in response to the Belarusian government’s decision to expel 35 diplomats from neighbouring Poland and Lithuania.Minsk asked the two countries to scale back the number of diplomatic staff they had in Belarus on Friday amid ongoing political unrest following the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko. Continue reading...

Police divers and a remote underwater vehicle team are looking for the surfer who went missing at Kelp Beds beachA search has resumed for a surfer who was mauled by a shark near Esperance in Western Australia.The man could not be found after being attacked just before 11am on Friday at Kelp Beds beach. Another surfer tried to pull him from the water but was unable to do so, the Western Australian premier, Mark McGowan, said. Continue reading...

Nurse, fundraising quizmaster and volunteer paramedic among those recognised

Limits placed on movement in and out of area without a ‘reasonable excuse’

In Melbourne, 19 October has become a focus for many who are struggling in the face of hardship and uncertaintyPsychologically, Victorians are ready to come out of lockdown as they brace for 19 October, the date the state might move to reduced restrictions if certain criteria are met.Restrictions such as the curfew, lifted on 28 September, and the 5km radius, which remains in place, have disproportionately affected those who do not live close to amenities such as parks and beaches, who work shifts, who have disabilities or who live with their children in small apartments without outdoor space. Continue reading...

As Labor and the LNP try to woo regional and metro voters with at-times contradictory messages, minor parties thriveOn Sunday in Clermont – in the dusty heart of Queensland – the coal fanatic Liberal National party senator Matt Canavan and the mining magnate Clive Palmer will hold a rally, mocking the convoy of climate protesters who made a somewhat unwelcome voyage north last year.Three days earlier, almost 1,000km away in Brisbane’s trendy western suburbs, the Greens announced state election plans to provide free school meals, funded by a $55bn increase to mining royalties. Continue reading...

She is wildly popular in the polls but significant risk lies in Labour’s decision to pin all their hopes on their leader’s profile

Rishi Sunak announces new furlough scheme as tough curbs loom in parts of England

House speaker says UK system is not on a par with US’s ‘very stringent rules’ about vaccines

Both sides hope imminent Brussels summit will lead to decisive secret negotiationsBritish and EU Brexit negotiators have renewed belief that the bloc’s leaders will be able to usher in an intense and decisive “tunnel” negotiation for the last weeks of October when they meet at a summit in Brussels on Thursday.A meeting between the UK’s chief negotiator, David Frost, and his EU counterpart, Michel Barnier, in London on Friday morning was said by diplomatic sources to have been positive, with the negotiating teams now due to reengage on Monday. Continue reading...

Two sides urged to suspend fighting to allow for exchange of prisoners and recovery of bodiesRussia has moved to stop the worst escalation of fighting in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh in more than a quarter of a century by hosting ceasefire talks on Friday.Vladimir Putin called on Armenian and Azerbaijani forces to suspend the fighting that has raged in the disputed south Caucasus region for almost two weeks. The Kremlin said Putin’s initiative followed a series of calls with the Armenian prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, and the Azerbaijani president, Ilham Aliyev. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak announces new economic support measures; London mayor says ‘highly likely’ capital will face extra measures soon; Sturgeon concedes new Scotland cafe rules have caused confusion

Campaigner gives first major interview after being appointed as government adviser on issueThe UK needs a frank conversation about the fear of male violence that women live with every day, according to the government’s new adviser on violence against women and girls.In her first major interview since her role was announced on Friday, the feminist campaigner Nimco Ali – who has been a key figure in the global fight to end female genital mutilation (FGM) – said she wanted to work across political, ethnic and gender lines. Continue reading...

Rishi Sunak has said the government will cover two-thirds of workers’ wages at businesses forced to close during new coronavirus lockdowns. The chancellor said the government would subsidise pay by providing grants to companies forced to shut – most likely pubs, bars and restaurants.Under the expansion, firms whose premises are legally required to shut for a period over winter as part of local or national restrictions can receive grants to pay up to 67% of employees’ salaries