Singer-songwriter Tio Massing writes songs from a sprawling banyan tree, and says ‘I have to do something for this earth, and the next generation’Vanuatu singer-songwriter Tio Bang Massing writes from a place that few still remember.He tries to live there too, with an almost Buddha-like simplicity, in a makeshift home tucked among the roots of a sprawling banyan tree. Continue reading...

Ivan Rogers, former UK ambassador to the EU, says prime minister will think ‘history was going his way’ if Donald Trump is re-electedSenior figures in European governments believe Boris Johnson is waiting for the result of the US presidential election before finally deciding whether to risk plunging the UK into a no-deal Brexit, according to a former British ambassador to the EU.Ivan Rogers, who was the UK’s permanent representative in Brussels from 2013 to 2017, told the Observer that a view shared by ministers and officials he has talked to in recent weeks in several European capitals, is that Johnson is biding his time – and is much more likely to opt for no deal if his friend and Brexit supporter Donald Trump prevails over the Democratic challenger, Joe Biden. Continue reading...

Man, 23, arrested after woman’s body found in National Trust woodlandPolice have arrested a 23-year-old man, who is in hospital with serious injuries, on suspicion of the murder of a woman whose body was discovered at a National Trust estate.Thames Valley police found the body in woodland on the Watlington Hill estate, Oxfordshire, just before 6pm on Friday. The victim was in her 60s and was known to the suspect, police added. Continue reading...

An exception meant for freelancers sees a roaring lunch trade, and No 10 doesn’t seem too bothered

Protests follow ruling that law allowing abortion of malformed foetuses is incompatible with constitutionThousands of people marched in cities across Poland on Saturday in the third straight day of protests against a near-total ban on abortion, with some promising further action in the coming days.The protesters were reacting to Thursday’s ruling by Poland’s highest court that an existing law allowing the abortion of malformed foetuses was incompatible with the constitution. Continue reading...

Deal trumpeted by Donald Trump cannot go ahead without approval of non-existent legislative councilA groundbreaking deal between Israel and Sudan trumpeted as a diplomatic triumph by Donald Trump on Friday will only go ahead if it is approved by Sudan’s legislative council, which currently does not exist, senior officials in Khartoum have said.The statements suggest the prospects of the agreement leading to concrete results in the near future are slim. If implemented, it would make Sudan the third Arab country to set aside hostilities with Israel in the past two months. Continue reading...

Police in Warsaw clashed with protesters during demonstrations against a constitutional tribunal ruling that imposes a near-total ban on abortion. Tens of thousands of people rallied across Poland on Friday, defying the country's tight coronavirus restrictions

How is America faring after four years of Donald Trump? Which way will voters turn? US authors including Richard Powers, Ocean Vuong and Kiley Reid share their hopes and fears

Historian Jenny Hocking and Australian Republican Movement say letter inappropriateA newly revealed letter, reportedly from Prince Charles to former Australian governor general Sir John Kerr endorsing his decision to dismiss prime minister Gough Whitlam, has been condemned as “inappropriate”.The letter, which was published by News Corp on Saturday, is dated 27 March 1976 – several months after the constitutional crisis as Kerr was facing a fierce backlash by the Australian public. Continue reading...

Bodies, which public prosecutor said appeared to be stowaways, discovered when container opened on FridayAuthorities in Paraguay have found at least seven badly decomposed bodies inside a shipment of fertilizer that left Serbia three months ago.The container, which came via Argentina, was unloaded earlier this week at a port on the outskirts of the Paraguayan capital, Asunción, and was collected by an agricultural company. Continue reading...

Defence lawyer sketches out case as trial of brother of former Labour leader is delayedPiers Corbyn was “specifically targeted” by police at anti-lockdown protests and there was a “politicisation in the enforcement of the regulations”, his barrister has told a court.Ben Cooper QC told Westminster magistrates on Friday that the 73-year-old weather forecaster was “very much on the radar” of officers patrolling London’s Hyde Park in May. Continue reading...

A federal government investigation into the scandal may cost more than the lavish gifts purchased in November 2018Four Cartier watches given to Australia Post senior managers were worth nearly $20,000 in total, $8,000 more than the organisation’s chief executive told a parliamentary hearing this week.Christine Holgate told Senate estimates on Thursday the watches, purchased in 2018 as a reward for the executives, were worth about $3,000 each. Continue reading...

After a court ruling in Poland imposed a near-total ban on abortions, police used pepper spray against those protesting against the changes.Polish photojournalist Kasia Strek, based between Paris and Warsaw, has covered the past few years of debate, protest and activism over Poland’s restrictive abortion laws as part of a wider project on abortion around the worldPoland, where the Catholic church remains hugely powerful, and rightwing social conservatives are in power, has some of the most restrictive abortion legislation in Europe, but one thing had seemed clear in recent years: attempts to tighten the rules even further were doomed to fail, due to public outrage.In 2016, a huge grassroots movement led by women sprung up in cities across Poland, when the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party flirted with the idea of backing draconian proposals put forward by rightwing groups seeking criminal liability for women seeking abortions, and investigations into “suspicious” miscarriages. Continue reading...

Amendments give Gotabaya Rajapaksa powers to sack ministers and limit oversight

Deposition made in 2016 as Maxwell faced questions about late sex offender Jeffrey EpsteinPrince Andrew asked Ghislaine Maxwell for information about a woman who had accused him of sexual misconduct while she was underage, court documents appear to show.The deposition, relating to Maxwell’s relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that she had given during past civil litigation involving the accuser, Virginia Giuffre, was unsealed on Thursday, moments before a court-imposed deadline. Continue reading...

Kasey Wright was the only nurse on duty during her night shift for three facilities with up to 1,000 prisoners, inquest toldA nurse who treated an Indigenous prisoner dying from an asthma attack denied she was influenced by prejudice when she asked other inmates what he had taken, a Sydney coroners court has heard.

Force says Austrac has not advised it of ‘suspicious activity’ in the transactions after Italian allegations of connection to George Pell trialVictoria police has confirmed being made aware of payments from the Vatican to Australia, but says that without evidence of “suspicious activity” it is not investigating them.On Tuesday, Australia’s financial crimes watchdog, Austrac, revealed it had provided information to the federal and Victorian police after it was asked to examine allegations that €700,000 (A$1.1m) had been paid from Vatican funds, allegedly in connection with George Pell’s court matters. Continue reading...

Use of contact tracing app has dropped ahead of three-day holiday weekend being seen as ‘rehearsal’ for Christmas

Exclusive: Dozens of MPs and peers write to UK foreign secretary, saying Beijing cannot be allowed to imprison activists on mainland ‘with little outcry or response’More than 60 UK MPs and peers have written to Dominic Raab calling on him to demand the return of young Hong Kong activists detained in mainland China after attempting to flee to Taiwan by boat.In the letter delivered to the foreign secretary on Thursday night, the parliamentarians warned of a profound chilling effect should Chinese authorities be allowed “to prosecute and imprison Hong Kong activists in the mainland with little outcry or response from the international community”. Continue reading...

Hospitality sector and eligible self-employed may benefit, but many will miss out

Holidays to the Spanish islands will be on sale in time for half-term. The Maldives, Mykonos and Denmark also added to list

Sir Patrick Vallance said there was ‘room for improvement’ with test and trace in the UK as only about two-thirds of the close contacts reached are done so within 48 hours of the case entering the system, according to performance figures released on Thursday.Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak presented a new package of government support grants during a televised briefing and also discussed vaccines and local restrictions

Report reveals Glyn Webster, bishop of Beverley, told victim ‘in effect, to move on’A Church of England bishop faces the possibility of being removed from office after an independent report concluded that he failed to act on a disclosure of sexual abuse by another bishop.Glyn Webster, the bishop of Beverley, told an abuse victim “in effect, to move on”, the report said. Continue reading...

Patriotism and arms sales | Politicians’ incomes | The Biscuitmen | Accents at school | Michael Gove’s honestyRe Nesrine Malik’s piece (‘Patriotism’ is the last refuge of a scandalous government, 19 October), I’ve had a not unrelated experience with my local Tory MP. After some correspondence in which I asked why the government was resuming arms sales to Saudi Arabia despite an appeal court ruling, his final words to me were: “If you want to support al-Qaida and IS, be my guest.”

David Shoebridge says a handful of emails is the only documentation of the massive Stronger Communities FundJust before the 2019 New South Wales state election, the Berejiklian government decided not to fund two projects to remediate the creeks in the Bronte and Tamarama gullies in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.Instead, it redirected $345,000 to the Bronte Surf Life Saving Club, one of the wealthiest in the state whose members include several Liberal stalwarts. Continue reading...

Canada concluded China’s actions against ethnic Uighurs in the Xinjiang province constituted a genocide and called for sanctionsChina has warned Canadian lawmakers to halt their “blatant interference” in its internal affairs, in the latest episode of a rumbling diplomatic feud between the two nations.Earlier this week, a Canadian parliamentary committee concluded China’s actions against ethnic Uighurs in Xinjiang province constituted a genocide and called for sanctions against officials complicit in the government’s policy. Continue reading...

Company plans to operate in Europe through ‘partnerships’ amid fashion chains crisis

Vietnamese national travelled in same container in which 39 people died two weeks laterA Vietnamese man who travelled to the UK in the same shipping container in which 39 people would suffocate to death a fortnight later has told a court of making the journey, for which his parents paid £13,000.The money was paid a day after he arrived in the UK, where he was kept in a flat until it was transferred into a Vietnamese bank account, the Old Bailey in London heard. Continue reading...

Suggestion prompts warning that long-term effects of virus are not yet known

Man who decapitated French teacher was reportedly in contact with Russian-speaking fighterThe killer of Samuel Paty, the teacher decapitated outside his school last week after showing his class two cartoons of the prophet Muhammad, was in contact with an Islamist fighter in Syria, French media has reported.France’s anti-terrorism prosecutor confirmed on Thursday that seven people, including two schoolchildren, had been charged with terrorism offences after Abdullakh Anzorov, 18, killed the teacher with a 30cm knife on Friday. Continue reading...

As the all-conquering queen of the blockbusting weepy ballad makes her return, hosting Saturday Night Live this weekend, we sift through her back catalogue, from No 1 hits to bonus Japanese tracksReleased on the flipside of 2008 single Cold Shoulder, Now and Then really sounds like a B-side. A gently wistful two-chord acoustic ballad, it’s notable only as point of comparison: Adele’s voice sounds noticeably mannered next to her later work. Continue reading...

From January 2021, those with British national (overseas) status can apply for new visa

Sophie Wilmès, 45, who tested positive for virus on Saturday, is said to be stable and conscious

Authorities say programme will continue after finding no direct links between the deaths and the vaccinesSouth Korean officials refused on Thursday to suspend a seasonal influenza inoculation effort, despite growing calls for a halt, including an appeal from a key group of doctors, after the deaths of at least 25 of those vaccinated. Health authorities said they found no direct links between the deaths and the vaccines.At least 22 of the dead, including a 17-year-old boy, were part of a campaign to inoculate 19 million teenagers and senior citizens for free, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said. Continue reading...

Arrested Lawyers Initiative gathering evidence on hundreds jailed or awaiting trialCampaigners are seeking to use the UK’s Magnitsky-style human rights sanctions against Turkish prosecutors and officials responsible for arresting and imprisoning thousands of lawyers.Organisers of the Arrested Lawyers Initiative (ALI) are gathering evidence about the alleged torture and mistreatment of judges and legal representatives detained in Turkish jails. Continue reading...

The assistant chief constable Owen Weatherill said during a home affairs committee meeting that England’s three-tier system of coronavirus regulations was confusing and, as a result, difficult for police to implement.In response, the minister for crime and policing, Kit Malthouse, has said it is important that people inform themselves about restrictions in their areas

UN and World Bank call for structural changes to tackle the effects of the pandemic on children, who make up half the world’s poor

Delayed freeze in Laptev Sea could have knock-on effects across polar region, scientists sayFor the first time since records began, the main nursery of Arctic sea ice in Siberia has yet to start freezing in late October.The delayed annual freeze in the Laptev Sea has been caused by freakishly protracted warmth in northern Russia and the intrusion of Atlantic waters, say climate scientists who warn of possible knock-on effects across the polar region. Continue reading...

Top club Santos signed a contract – now suspended – with the former Brazil striker who was convicted of rape in Italy in 2017A public debate over sexual violence and rape culture has erupted in Brazil after one of its leading football clubs tried to recruit a convicted rapist to lead its attack.Santos Futebol Clube – which has produced sporting legends including Pelé and Neymar – announced the highly controversial signing of the former Manchester City striker Robinho on 10 October. Continue reading...

Almost half of the 10,000-plus public submissions to royal commission referred to substandard care, with 588 mentioning sexual assault

Prayuth Chan-ocha seeks to end conflict but protesters give him deadline to resignThailand’s prime minister has lifted severe emergency measures imposed last week to halt months of pro-democracy protests that instead sparked even bigger, nationwide rallies against his government and the monarchy.Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former army general who first came to power in the 2014 coup, said on Wednesday he was moving to de-escalate the situation, adding that the country “must now step back from the edge of the slippery slope that can easily slide to chaos”. Continue reading...

Sunday’s referendum could mean end for 1980 constitution that allowed privatization to flourish and led to widespread inequalityCarlos Hinrichs clearly remembers the fear and repression of the Pinochet years.His father was jailed for supporting Salvador Allende, the leftwing president deposed in Chile’s 1973 military coup. His mother and sister were dismissed from their university positions. He saw classmates shot dead at protests. Continue reading...

Factory closures due to fashion industry order cancellations have pushed many former employees into often dangerous work

Meeting called with Germany’s consul general to lodge objections in what Hong Kong regards as ‘internal matters’ to ChinaHong Kong has accused Germany of “harbouring criminals” after it granted asylum to a student who fled charges over last year’s pro-democracy protest.Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, Hong Kong’s chief secretary for administration, warned against foreign interference in affairs that were “internal matters of the People’s Republic of China”. Continue reading...

The rollicking song about the souring of the 60s has now spawned a film, a musical and a children’s book. Its creator talks about its meaning – and reveals the family deaths underlying itWhen Don McLean was 15 years old, he had a premonition that his father was going to die. Distraught, he ran to tell his grandmother. “Don’t be ridiculous, Donny, why would you say such a thing?” she said. “Because it’s going to happen,” the boy replied. A few days later, his father dropped dead right in front of him. “I saw how he looked,” says McLean. “He’d turned green. I didn’t know what I was going to do without him. He was the king, the boss. He knew everything.”The singer-songwriter behind the 1971 classic American Pie is speaking from his home in Palm Desert, a town in California where he is now well into what he calls the “desert phase” of his life. Wildfires are still burning across the state. You can’t see the sun for the acrid smoke. “I’m feeling it in my lungs,” says the 75-year-old. Continue reading...

Veteran epidemiologist calls for review, and openness to adopting measures suggested by political rivals, now that voters have given PM a mandateJacinda Ardern won New Zealand’s election with a commanding majority, in part attributed to her handling of the Covid-19 pandemic in her country. But a veteran epidemiologist is exhorting the prime minister to use the political capital gained in her decisive victory to scrutinise the coronavirus response by her government and officials, and adopt strategies proposed by her opponents before Saturday’s vote.“New Zealand has shown it can be quite smart and flexible, but we can see we’ve got these blind spots and we need to have no blind spots,” said Nick Wilson, a University of Otago epidemiologist. “This is such an unforgiving disease and very few countries are doing it right so we need to smarten up our act quite substantially.” Continue reading...

22 October 1994: If we can’t be in step with Europe, we could at least be in time with itRelated: Hello darkness, my old friendAt midnight tomorrow we will all have to put our clocks back one hour, so cutting short the amount of daylight available to enjoy during the evenings. It doesn’t have to be so. Inflicting an extra hour of darkness on the evening is a peculiarly British act of masochism which flies in the face of the facts. Research by the Policy Studies Institute has shown that if Britain switched to Central European Time – giving us an extra hour of daylight in the evenings at the expense of losing an hour in the morning – not only would road accidents be reduced (including 140 fewer deaths), energy saved, crime cut and tourism boosted - but everyone, particularly children, would have the pleasure and the safety which lighter evenings would bring. The results of a governmental Green Paper were expected as long ago as 1989, but still haven’t arrived. It is not that anyone has disproved the PSI research, because every time they update it they find that the benefits are even greater than they originally thought; and practically every organisation in England and Wales, from the CBI to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, backs it to the hilt. A survey by NOP this week found that 75 per cent of people are in favour of a switch to Continental time – particularly in the 25 to 34 age group. Continue reading...

The NSW premier described the assertion made by Latham, and repeated by the opposition, as ‘factually incorrect’One Nation’s Mark Latham has told NSW parliament that disgraced former MP Daryl Maguire had a key to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s north shore home for many years.In a bombshell question time in the upper house, Latham asked the leader of the house, Don Harwin, whether Maguire had a key and cohabited. Continue reading...

Legal experts note role female lawyers took in confronting far-right party’s violent tacticsBehind the bench, before her mostly male audience, as the marathon trial of Golden Dawn entered its last act, supreme court justice Maria Lepenioti did what she has done every week: she kept the peace.It has not been easy. Emotions have often run high. Even as the curtain is about to come down on proceedings with a ruling on if those convicted will be jailed before an appeal can be heard, the Greek judge, both laconic and low-key, has had to pull off an extraordinary balancing act presiding over a case that has put more Nazi leaders and sympathisers in the dock than at any time since Nuremberg. Continue reading...

Storms over coming week forecast to peak on Saturday with ‘very heavy rainfall, damaging winds and large hail’Dangerous thunderstorms are set to cause large hail and flash flooding, destroy crops and drive deadly spiders into homes across large swathes of eastern Australia over the next week.Triggered by a low pressure system forming over the southern centre of the country and a trough across eastern Australia, the hazardous weather will escalate when the two systems combine on Friday, with the added tropical moisture present as a result of La Niña contributing to the severity of the storms. Continue reading...