Licensed premises across central belt to close completely as coronavirus cases rise

Head of Greece’s Pakistani community says justice is sweet but might have come sooner“Justice is so sweet,” smiled Javied Aslam. “And when you have waited so long, it is beautiful too.”The head of Greece’s Pakistani community and one of the key witnesses in the marathon trial of Golden Dawn punched the air in joy as the trial verdict came through. Continue reading...

The Coalition has allocated only $46m to Aboriginal community-controlled organisations to meet new Closing the Gap targetsIndigenous groups and Labor have criticised the Coalition for allocating more than $39m of extra funding to a non-Indigenous sport-based initiative for boys, but failing to adequately fund Aboriginal community-controlled organisations to meet the new Closing the Gap targets in its budget.The government has set aside only $46.5m over four years to support capacity-building in Aboriginal community-controlled organisations to meet targets set out in the new Closing the Gap agreement. Continue reading...

Unsent messages recovered from mobiles reveal occupants feared they would not surviveThirty-nine desperate Vietnamese migrants suffocated as they were transported across the Channel, enduring unbearable temperatures, sealed in pitch darkness inside an airtight container for almost 12 hours, the Old Bailey has heard on the opening day of the trial of four men allegedly involved in a people smuggling conspiracy.The people smugglers who organised the transport of the migrants loaded too many people into one container, starving them of oxygen and exposing them to the toxic effects of excess carbon dioxide, the court heard. The migrants, 10 of whom were teenagers, travelled in a refrigerator unit, but the refrigeration was not turned on, and temperatures rose to 38.5C during the journey. Continue reading...

Scientists say idea of ‘focused protection’ for vulnerable people is very hard to achieve and likely to lead to even higher death toll

Hong Kong police say person who bought scroll thought it was a fake and too long to displayA calligraphy scroll by China’s former leader Mao Zedong, estimated to be worth millions, was cut in half after it was stolen last month in Hong Kong, police have said.The scroll was found damaged when police arrested a 49-year-old man in late September on suspicion of handling stolen property. The South China Morning Post, quoting an unidentified police source, reported that the scroll was cut in two by a buyer who had purchased it for 500 Hong Kong dollars (about £50) and believed the scroll to be counterfeit. Continue reading...

Labour leader tells Boris Johnson country is owed explanation of rationale behind key restrictions

UK prepared to retain act in order to secure security ties with EU, sources sayBoris Johnson is prepared to make a major compromise to secure security ties with the EU by pledging in a deal on the future relationship not to rip up the Human Rights Act.The UK is said by EU sources to be “moving” in negotiations on the issue in Brussels after previously insisting that the government would not tie its hands in any agreement on the future relationship. Continue reading...

Boris Johnson is due to tell European council president UK still wants deal by 15 OctoberThe EU’s Michel Barnier will not move Brexit talks into the so-called tunnel phase of more intense negotiations unless he gets a “very clear signal” from the UK that it is “willing to show some flexibility and realism” in its approach to a deal, Ireland’s foreign affairs minister has said.Simon Coveney’s warning came as Boris Johnson was due to call the European council president, Charles Michel, to tell him the clock was ticking on a deal. Continue reading...

Prolific reggae and dub pioneer worked with decades of stars from John Holt and Slim Smith to Beenie Man and Buju BantonJamaican producer Bunny “Striker” Lee, who helped cultivate rhythms of reggae and dub working with many of the island’s biggest stars, has died aged 79.His cause of death is not known, but it he was reported to have suffered kidney disease in recent months. DJ David Rodigan was among those paying tribute, saying: “The reggae world has lost another iconic figure; Bunny “Striker” Lee was unquestionably one of the most charismatic and inspirational record producers in Jamaican music with a phenomenal catalogue of hits. He drove the music forward across the decades & will be sorely missed.” Continue reading...

Force pays confidential sum to man who discovered at the age of 26 that his father, Bob Lambert, was a police officer rather than a leftwing activistScotland Yard has apologised and paid substantial compensation to a man who was fathered by an undercover police officer who formed a long-term relationship with his mother in the 1980s in order to spy on political campaigners.The Metropolitan police has been compelled to pay the confidential sum after the man said in a lawsuit that he suffered psychiatric damage after discovering, at the age of 26, that his father was not the committed leftwing protester he had been led to believe. Continue reading...

German capital tells bars to shut at 11pm, while fellow role model Belgium also tightens rules

It comes as data shows pandemic influencing birthrates in different ways around world

Abou was held offshore with other asylum seekers as part of anti-Covid measures despite being ‘very ill’

Thousands of people given emergency shelter at start of pandemic are now being evictedProtests are mounting against a Home Office decision to start evicting thousands of refused asylum seekers from emergency accommodation this week.Susan Aitken, the leader of Glasgow city council, has written to the home secretary, Priti Patel, describing the move as “unconscionable” and saying: “The city stands ready to fight this.” Continue reading...

Latest updates: Johnson asked to defend Covid strategy in PMQs; Prof Stephen Reicher warns UK risks chance to avoid stringent lockdown

Turkish Cypriot leader’s plan is described as ‘serious violation’ of UN ceasefire agreementThe EU’s diplomatic chief has condemned plans by breakaway northern Cyprus to reopen the beach of an abandoned resort in no-man’s land as a “serious violation” of a UN ceasefire agreement on the divided island.The Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar, backed by Ankara, has vowed to open a coastal section of disputed Varosha, prompting anger from the island’s internationally recognised government. Continue reading...

Huge creature took wrong turn after coming ashore and ended up in suburbs of Puerto CisnesChile’s overnight curfew, declared at the end of March to help curb the spread of Covid-19 through the narrow South American country, has not been universally observed by all species. Emboldened by the lack of people and cars, seven mountain lions have been captured on the streets of Santiago in recent months. Now it appears the large cats are not the only creatures keen for a change of scene.On Monday night, the residents of Puerto Cisnes, a coastal town 1,500km (932 miles) south of the capital, were treated to the decidedly un-swanlike spectacle of a two-tonne elephant seal hauling itself through their neighbourhoods at a surprisingly decent clip. Continue reading...

They may be a common sight, but privately owned motorised scooters are still illegal on Britain’s roads and pavements. But with rental scheme trials taking place across the country, could they be answer to getting to work in the pandemic?Standing upright, you glide, ghostlike, along the street. You have no emissions. You are alone, outside, unlikely to catch anything or pass anything on. You are no burden to the public transport system, nor do you contribute much to congestion. You take up little space.Now you join a busier road, one with buses. Perhaps you feel small, vulnerable. But when the traffic bunches up and stops, you can pass. Ha! This is the future of urban travel, isn’t it? Make that the present: it is here, you are here, going somewhere else quickly, with a smile. You are also breaking the law. Continue reading...

French film about pre-teen girls who form a dance group is called ‘prurient’ in Tyler County prosecution. Netflix defends story as social commentary against sexualisationNetflix has defended the controversial film Cuties after it emerged the streaming giant is facing a criminal charge in Texas over the movie’s allegedly “lewd” depiction of children.Cuties follows an 11-year-old Senegalese girl living in Paris who rebels against her conservative family’s traditions when she becomes fascinated with a “free-spirited dance crew”. Continue reading...

Following a revolution against rule from the Netherlands, a provisional government in Belgium declared its independence on 4 October 1830. See how the Guardian and Observer reported eventsAfter the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, Belgium became part of a single nation called the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, ruled by William of Orange. The traditionally Catholic Belgians in the southern provinces chafed with the largely Protestant people of the north leading to an uprising and declaration of independence on 4 October 1830. Continue reading...

Prime minister says post-budget debate over underlying assumptions, including turbo-charged economic growth next year, is ‘overstated’

The world’s most famous performance artist has spent almost 50 years facing down ridicule, death threats and conspiracy theories. Will the pandemic finally defeat her?Every morning, Marina Abramović gets out of bed and puts on a pair of slippers. One reads “fuck” and the other “negativity”. “That is how to start the morning with a smile on your face,” she says. Then she will make breakfast to tango music. Sometimes, she will retreat to a hut in the woods by her house in upstate New York, for six days with no food, to contemplate a giant crystal she keeps there and “connect with the memory of the planet”.This delicious glimpse into the life of the world’s most famous performance artist comes from a new documentary for BBC One’s Imagine series. “I think it’s important to demystify the idea of this glamorous life. It’s just down to earth,” she tells me, completely seriously, of the film – even though her house, built in the shape of a star, is filled with amazing furniture and art, and the grounds are vast enough to hold an aircraft hangar-sized shed containing her archive. It’s all fabulous – as is Abramović, who is funny, warm and yet somehow otherworldly (she goes in for shamanism, crystals, clairvoyants and star signs). I concede there are down-to-earth elements – when we speak via Zoom, for example, she is drinking a mug of Yorkshire Gold tea, discovered through a Welsh friend. Continue reading...

More than 7,500 people living in tents on squalid settlement, with two other camps on Lesbos set to closeThousands of people who fled the fire that destroyed the infamous Moria refugee camp in Lesbos, Greece, last month are living in dire and unsanitary conditions in a temporary settlement with little access to water or basic sanitation.Just over 7,500 people are now living in tents among the rubble and dust of a former shooting range in an informal settlement that has become known as “Moria 2.0”. Continue reading...

Archbishop of Canterbury said inquiry into C of E failings is ‘big wake-up call’The Church of England must “do whatever it takes” to put right its failings in the way it deals with sexual abuse, the archbishop of Canterbury has said.Speaking the day after an independent inquiry said the church had protected its own reputation and given abusers a place to hide, Justin Welby said: “Nothing must get in the way and we must do whatever it takes. This report is a big wake-up call.” Continue reading...

Allocations in areas from women’s support and the arts to offshore detention, the audit office and ‘ghost nets’ are a mixed bag

NSW grapples with three mystery cases and Victoria records two deaths, while Josh Frydenberg’s budget relies on tax cuts and business incentives but rests on some optimistic assumptions. Follow all the reaction and coronavirus news

Long queues and inflated prices amid fears that flu could complicate anti-Covid effortA surge in demand for flu shots in Chinese cities has caused shortages, long lines and triple markups on vaccines by scalpers selling them online.Residents, afraid of the possibility of catching both the flu and Covid-19 – what some have called a “twindemic”, have rushed to clinics since China began its flu vaccine campaign in September. Continue reading...

Guardian joint investigation finds both sides send military cargo planes to region, in blatant violation of agreement to end conflictTurkey and the United Arab Emirates are carrying out regular and increasingly blatant violations of the UN arms embargo on Libya, fuelling a proxy war that is evading political solutions, a joint investigation by the Guardian has found.Flight data and satellite images show both nations using large-scale military cargo planes to funnel in goods and fighters to forces or proxies inside Libya, routinely violating the 2011 UN arms embargo despite political promises to abstain. Continue reading...

The streaming giant’s ambitious initiative Made By Africa, Watched By the World is a welcome platform for the continent’s overlooked cinematic talent‘Have you ever had someone tell your story, take your voice … and replace your face until no one else can see or hear you?” These are the powerful words that Nigerian actor/director Genevieve Nnaji speaks to introduce the Netflix initiative Made By Africa, Watched By the World. Mixing new, original content with older African classics that have not previously been streamed elsewhere, this initiative, much like Strong Black Lead (2018), aims to showcase content that centres black stories but – unlike Strong Black Lead – it will be by and about Africans. It creates a path for stories that specifically address different slices of the African experience to see the light of day and reach a wider audience. Considering that there’s a growing feeling among Africans that inaccurate representation on screen is a given, that’s a good thing for everyone.So what does Made By Africa, Watched By the World give us? Netflix has purchased previously produced content and also produced its own, both TV shows and films. Kagiso Lediga and Pearl Thusi have followed up their 2018 romantic drama Catching Feelings with a TV show, Queen Sono, about an undercover spy, that premiered earlier this year. Nick Mutuma’s coming of age drama, Sincerely Daisy, is having its highly anticipated premiere on Friday, while other Kenyan films – Tosh Gitonga’s romcom Disconnect and Tom Whitworth’s Poacher – have also found a home on Netflix. Continue reading...

Françoise Girard and two others cleared of racial discrimination but report finds culture of fear and intimidation at IWHCThe president of a women’s health charity has resigned following an investigation into allegations of racism and bullying within the organisation.The findings of the independent investigation cleared Françoise Girard and two other senior managers at the International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC) of unlawful racial discrimination or retaliation against employees. Continue reading...

Mark Garson changes plea to admit killing 33-year-old in his sleep near Raglan and threatening to murder his Canadian fianceeThe family of murdered Australian surfer Sean McKinnon will be spared a trial after the New Zealand man who killed him pleaded guilty to murder.On Wednesday, the high court in Hamilton heard Mark Garson, accused of killing McKinnon during his sleep last August, had changed his earlier plea and admitted the crime. Continue reading...

How does it feel to be backstabbed? Do they still get shouted at in the street? Are the jobs fake? And does Lord Sugar need to use a booster seat? Past winners and losers relive their traumas and triumphs‘My tactics were to play the fool’

Institute founded by Sir James Dyson will be first alternative provider to be granted such powerThe technology institute founded by the inventor Sir James Dyson will soon have the power to award its own degrees – the first of the new wave of alternative providers.The Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology, which opened in 2017 on the site of Dyson’s design centre in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, has 150 engineering undergraduates who pay no tuition fees and receive a full-time wage during their four years studying and working alongside Dyson’s staff. Continue reading...

Berlin-Brandenburg Willy Brandt Airport, €4bn over budget and nine years late, now has virus to contend withAlmost three decades after the plans were first mooted, over nine years behind schedule and more than €4bn (£3.6bn) over budget, Berlin’s new international airport is finally ready to open its doors.But the already tortuous birth of Berlin-Brandenburg Willy Brandt Airport (BER) expected to open on 31 October, and once hailed as a celebration of the ambitious German reunification project, has only been compounded by the decision to unveil it in the middle of a pandemic. Continue reading...

Council pours cold water on ‘unsuitable’ plan to fence off part of sand for Amalfi Beach Club, which wants to offer private cabanas, food and drink for $80Authorities have poured cold water on an audacious plan to fence off a chunk of Bondi beach over summer for an exclusive “Euro beach chic” club aimed at surgeons, bankers and models.The Amalfi Beach Club is proposing to erect a private area on southern end of the iconic beach, where 100 guests, each paying $80 for two hours of entry, would be served food and drinks. Continue reading...

The Swedish example is regularly raised by libertarian-minded Conservatives when protesting against government restrictions aimed at quelling the spread of the virus in the UK. But what did the Scandinavian country do differently and could it be applied elsewhere?When politicians across the world were confronted with the reality of a spreading pandemic, hospitals nearing capacity and deaths rising almost all of them reached for emergency legislation to enforce lockdowns, curfews and other bans on social gatherings. But Sweden chose a markedly different approach.The Guardian’s Europe correspondent Jon Henley tells Anushka Asthana how in Sweden, the government vested its pandemic response in its unelected public health expert Anders Tegnell, who issued advice and guidance rather than strict lockdowns. It was highly controversial because of catastrophic failures in its care homes: deaths rose rapidly, far outstripping those recorded in neighbouring countries. But as much of Europe appears to be experiencing a second wave of Covid infections, in Sweden cases are not rising so rapidly. Continue reading...

Nash, who had been in declining health, rose from pop crooner to reggae star and topped the charts in 1972 with his positive-vibes anthemJohnny Nash, a singer-songwriter and performer of the million-selling anthem I Can See Clearly Now, has died at the age of 80.Nash, who had been in declining health, died of natural causes at home in Houston, the city of his birth, said his son, Johnny Nash Jr. Continue reading...

Survey in US, UK, Australia and 11 other nations shows unfavourable opinions about Beijing regime are highest ever, Pew saysUnfavourable views toward China have soared in the past year in the United States and many other advanced economies, according to a survey of 14 countries conducted by the US-based Pew Research Center.The survey, conducted between June and August this year and released on Tuesday, found that a majority in each of the countries polled had an unfavourable opinion of China. In all, 14,276 adults were polled by telephone. Continue reading...

Super-rich increase fortunes by more than a quarter during market turmoil

Nomcebo Zikode says the lyrics to the most Shazammed song in history came to her when she was ‘about to lose hope’It started in December in South Africa, with a few lines of gospel sung in the deep, raspy voice of Nomcebo Zikode and a music video made by fans in Angola – dancers eating their lunch as they moved to South African DJ Master KG’s disco-house beat.Jerusalema, produced late one night at Master KG’s studio near Johannesburg, has since become the world’s most Shazammed song and a bonafide viral hit – beloved by Christiano Ronaldo, Janet Jackson and a lot of nuns. Continue reading...

Leeds property developer Mansoor Hussain agrees payout after National Crime Agency investigationA wealthy businessman has agreed to hand over nearly £10m of assets, including dozens of properties across England, after investigators accused him of being a money launderer for major crimelords in the north of England.Mansoor Hussain, 40, a property developer from Leeds, was hit with an “unexplained wealth order” by the National Crime Agency (NCA), which compelled him to provide evidence of the source of his wealth. Continue reading...

Painting of Sarah Forbes Bonetta part of English Heritage project to highlight overlooked black figuresHer birth name, historians believe, was Aina but in the high society of 19th-century England she was Sarah Forbes Bonetta, an enslaved little girl from what is now the west African country of Benin who became Queen Victoria’s goddaughter.The remarkable life of Bonetta is being highlighted by curators at English Heritage who, on Wednesday, will unveil a new portrait of her by the artist Hannah Uzor – part of a project to commission and display paintings of black figures whose stories have previously been overlooked. Continue reading...

Son announces death of guitarist and founding member of band named after Van Halen and his brotherEddie Van Halen, the virtuoso guitarist whose innovative and blistering solos helped propel the band named after him into one of rock’s biggest acts in the 1980s, has died of cancer. He was 65.pic.twitter.com/kQqDV7pulR Continue reading...

Jihadists abducted Soumaïla Cissé in March, while Sophie Pétronin was taken in 2016Jihadists in Mali have freed a prominent opposition leader who was kidnapped earlier this year and a French aid worker held captive for almost four years, in a major exchange of prisoners with the country’s new transition government.Soumaïla Cissé, a 70-year-old former presidential candidate, was kidnapped in March while campaigning in his home town in the restive north of the country. Continue reading...

Billionaire philanthropist hails ‘victory’ but says court’s decision too late to save university’s presence in BudapestThe European Union’s highest court has ruled that changes by Hungary to its law on higher education, which effectively forced a university founded by George Soros to leave the country, were not in line with EU law.The European court of justice (ECJ) ruled against prime minister Viktor Orbán’s government, saying in the ruling that “the conditions introduced by Hungary to enable foreign higher education institutions to carry out their activities in its territory are incompatible with EU law”. Continue reading...

RBKC used ‘decisive influence’ to remove original contractor over budget concerns

Prime minister tells virtual Tory conference that country must not return to status quo