This month the school scrapped several longstanding and unwritten rules that governed the behaviour of students for decadesFor more than a century the Takarazuka Music School has transformed thousands of young women from unpolished amateurs into accomplished singers, dancers and actors who perform to sell-out audiences with kitsch adaptations of everything from Japanese manga to classic western novels.But the school, based in the Japanese hot spring resort from which it takes its name, is not just in the business of nurturing talent. Continue reading...

Directors and arts educators say cuts to drama courses across nation will hit regional students especially hardTeachers are warning that the future of the Australian arts and entertainment industry is under threat as theatre degrees are cut across the country.Among the wide staff and course cuts prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic, multiple theatre and performance degrees have been closed or suspended indefinitely in recent months. Continue reading...

Rainy weather means households are struggling to find affordable ingredients for spicy pickleSouth Koreans are facing a shortage of a beloved dietary staple after a summer of extreme weather destroyed crops of cabbages – the main ingredient of kimchi.In what is being described a full-blown crisis, fields of Napa, or Chinese cabbages were wiped out in August and September, when the Korean peninsula was struck by typhoons, floods and landslides, sparking a sudden spike in the vegetable’s price. Continue reading...

Victim of attack Niyad Farah says officers who questioned her discriminated against herThe Metropolitan police has apologised for errors made in an investigation into a vicious racist attack. The victim says the errors resulted from discrimination by officers.Niyad Farah, 38, was with two friends when they were attacked by seven white men on Kilburn Lane, in north-west London, in the early hours of 22 December 2019. Continue reading...

Senior diplomats from several countries say the UK is missing from the world stageThe UK’s foreign policy is currently adrift, lacking in clarity, confidence, strategic vision and presence on the world stage, the foreign affairs select committee has found in a scathing report looking into Britain’s distracted and risk-averse diplomatic effort.The report cites senior diplomats from the US, France, Singapore, Nigeria, Jordan, Australia and India claiming the UK is missing from world leadership, retreating into at best a regional role. Continue reading...

Inquiry launched into ‘attempted homicide’ after car driven at gendarme on MondayFrench police have arrested seven British nationals, including two minors, two days after a policeman was attacked outside the Israeli embassy in Paris, according to the prosecutor’s office.A car drove at the gendarme in the early evening on Monday in front of the embassy near the Champs Élysées in central Paris. Continue reading...

Thursday: Report recommended Covid stimulus also address emissions. Plus: Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani faces questions about embarrassing footageGood morning, this is Imogen Dewey bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Thursday 22 October. Continue reading...

Demonstrators were braced for a confrontation but hail of bullets still left them – and the world – reelingIn the minutes before the shooting began, hundreds of mostly young protesters at a toll gate in Lagos, were sitting on the hot ground on a Tuesday evening, waving Nigerian flags, singing the national anthem and defying the government.Protesters had braced themselves, prepared for when security forces would surely arrive, said 21-year-old Shola Abdul, a kitchen assistant, to enforce a 24-hour curfew across the state that effectively banned mass protests against police brutality. Continue reading...

Jeremy Fleming’s remarks follow revelation that ethnic minorities were excluded until 1980sThe head of GCHQ has conceded that the British spy agency is “not nearly diverse enough” and admitted it urgently needs more black and ethnic minority recruits to better reflect the country as a whole.Jeremy Fleming told a security conference on Wednesday that GCHQ required “a different set of minds”, in remarks that came a few days after an official history of the signals intelligence agency revealed it enforced a colour bar from the 1950s to the 1980s. Continue reading...

Weather warnings have been issued across parts of the country, as heavy rain and gale force winds brought in by Storm Barbara hit the UK Continue reading...

Government considers curfew as political rows threaten efforts to control coronavirus

Displacement is growing in the Asia-Pacific region, and a new policy paper argues migration policies must be established nowAustralia should establish a new “Pacific Access” visa category that could be used by Pacific islanders forced from their homes by climate change and natural disasters, a new policy paper has argued, warning of growing displacement in Australia’s region in coming decades.Disasters displaced three times as many people as conflict around the world last year, the paper from University of New South Wales’ Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law says, and the Asia-Pacific region is the hardest hit. Between 2008 and 2018, the Asia-Pacific saw more than 80% of all new global displacement. Continue reading...

Suspected gas explosion in shop underneath flats led to collapse of building in EalingTwo people have died after a suspected gas explosion in a shop underneath some flats in west London caused a building to collapse, firefighters have said.Five people, including one child, were rescued after the blast at the shop in the Southall area , while another 16 people were evacuated, the London Fire Brigade (LFB) said. Continue reading...

Police violence prompted latest protests but anger at the government is growing

McCartney III, about ‘freedom and love’, continues solo series begun in 1970 in secret as the Beatles broke upPaul McCartney is to release a new album made entirely alone during lockdown.McCartney III, comes out on 11 December and will become the third in a loose trilogy of releases for which he has isolated himself from collaborators, after McCartney in 1970 and McCartney II in 1980. Continue reading...

Police fail to identify culprit via video footage and say motive for attack remains unclearPolice in Berlin have appealed for witnesses to help identify a mystery attacker who vandalised dozens of ancient artefacts and artworks at four galleries in the German capital.Details of extensive damage to 63 objects emerged only this week, after police failed to identify a culprit via surveillance camera footage and started to contact visitors who had booked tickets to the Pergamon Museum, the Museum for Islamic Art, the Neues Museum and the Alte Nationalgalerie on 3 October. Continue reading...

There was a guilty pleasure, at first, in the Covid-enforced absence of hen and stag dos in York. But the streets have emptied at a time when the city badly needs money – as does so much of our beautiful island

Others injured as thousands amass at Jalalabad grounds to apply for visas for PakistanAt least 11 women died in a crush at a football stadium in Afghanistan on Wednesday as thousands of people amassed to get visas to leave the country, officials said.Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the governor of the eastern Nangarhar province, said a further 13 people, mostly women, were injured at the Jalalabad stadium, where they were trying to get visas to enter Pakistan. Continue reading...

Hatice Cengiz files US lawsuit against leader and 28 ‘co-conspirators’ over journalist’s murderThe fiancee of the murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is suing the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, and two dozen other Saudis in the US courts, accusing them of direct involvement in the dissident’s gruesome killing in Istanbul two years ago.Hatice Cengiz and Democracy for the Arab World Now (Dawn), a Washington-based rights group set up by Khashoggi shortly before his death, filed a lawsuit in the US district court for the District of Columbia on Tuesday seeking unspecified damages against the kingdom’s de facto leader and 28 “co-conspirators” over the killing. Continue reading...

City’s bid is ‘glimmer of hope’ for UK arts sector amid Covid crisis, says creative directorCoventry will host the Turner prize, a south Asian film festival and a music festival curated by the Specials’ Terry Hall during its city of culture year, which is being billed as a “glimmer of hope” for the UK’s arts sector amid the Covid-19 crisis.The first 15 events for the year-long programme were unveiled on Wednesday by Chenine Bhathena, the creative director for Coventry’s city of culture year, who said it could be an example of how to put on Covid-safe arts events. Continue reading...

Maher al-Akhras has not eaten for 87 days in protest against detention without chargeA Palestinian man approaching 90 days without eating in protest against Israel’s extensive use of detention without charge is on the brink of death, his family and human rights groups have warned.Maher al-Akhras, 49, from the occupied West Bank, has been under administrative detention since late July, a policy that allows authorities to hold people indefinitely without trial, sometimes for years. Continue reading...

The Coalition minister was the subject of a scathing ruling after he failed to release an Afghan asylum seeker from detentionThe acting immigration minister, Alan Tudge, has launched an appeal against a federal court judgment that accused him of engaging in criminal conduct by refusing to free an asylum seeker.Tudge was the subject of the scathing ruling after he failed to release an Afghan asylum seeker from detention because he disagreed with the tribunal that ordered his release. Continue reading...

British summer time ends at 2am on Sunday, but Covid rules have scuppered one of the usual consolationsAt 2am on Sunday 25 October British summer time (BST) comes to an end, the country puts the clocks back an hour to 1am, and we go back to observing Greenwich mean time (GMT).The clocks going back is usually a bonanza for the entertainment and hospitality industry. If your bar shuts at 2am, by the time it rolls around, it is suddenly 1am again, and you can in theory stay open for another hour. However, under current coronavirus restrictions, everything fun has to shut at 10pm on Saturday night. If you are under tier 3 restrictions in England, mind you, there won’t have been much opportunity to go out anyway. Continue reading...

New South Wales coronavirus testing rates increase as Daniel Andrews says Victoria may have recorded its first case of re-infection. Follow the latest

Ministers had faced criticism for ordering closures while letting them stay open in other tier 3 areas

Almost 3,000 girls from the Kuria community have undergone female genital mutilation in recent weeks, despite crackdownKenya has seen a setback in its progress to eradicate female genital mutilation (FGM) after an open parade in defiance of the government clampdown on the practice took place this week.Almost 2,800 girls from the Kuria community in south-western Kenya have undergone FGM, which involves the removal of the outer layers of female genitalia and sometimes the clitoris, in the past three weeks, say local activists. Continue reading...

New York Times says records reveal company bank account in China, and documents show he paid more tax there than at homeDonald Trump maintains a bank account in China where he pursued licensing deals for years, according to a report that could undermine the president’s election campaign claim that he is tough on Beijing.Tax records reviewed by the New York Times showed a previously unreported bank account in China controlled by Trump International Hotels Management. The account paid $188,561 in taxes in China between 2013 and 2015 in connection to potential licensing deals, according the newspaper. Continue reading...

Testimony from asylum seekers alleging brutal border pushbacks, including sexual abuse, adds to calls for EU to investigatePeople on the Balkans migrant trail have allegedly been whipped, robbed and, in one case, sexually abused by members of the Croatian police.The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) has documented a series of brutal pushbacks on the Bosnia-Croatian border involving dozens of asylum seekers between 12 and 16 October. Continue reading...

Twenty-three cases caught at the border, with two more local transmissions linked to Sunday’s port worker case

Voice TV, which has links to former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, faces closure over coverage of youth-led protests against government and monarchy

Crackdown as rallies against police brutality continue in defiance of government curfewNigerian security forces have opened fire on hundreds of protesters in Lagos, as rallies against police brutality continued in defiance of a 24-hour curfew imposed by the government earlier in the day.Graphic scenes posted on social media showed protesters fleeing as security forces, including soldiers, shot live rounds towards the crowds. Continue reading...

Hostilities between Boris Johnson and Andy Burnham over coronavirus curbs on the northern city occupy the front pages

Government accused of making ‘punitive’ demands in rescue funding talksThe government has been accused of demanding “punitive” conditions to agree a funding deal with Transport for London.The Financial Times reported that ministers have told the capital’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, the government would take direct control of Transport for London (TfL) unless he accepts measures including higher council tax, a larger congestion charge zone and higher tube and bus fares in return for rescue funding. Continue reading...

Use of oily substance across three galleries reportedly related to claims they are centre of ‘global satanism’At least 70 artworks and ancient artefacts across three galleries on Berlin’s museum island were vandalised with an oily substance earlier this month, German media has reported.Objects including Egyptian sarcophagi, stone sculptures and 19th-century paintings held at the Pergamon Museum, the Alte Nationalgalerie and the Neues Museum sustained visible damage during the attack on 3 October, according to reports in the weekly Die Zeit and broadcaster Deutschlandfunk on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Protesters have vowed to continue demonstrating across Nigeria as the country's most populated city, Lagos, was put under a 24-hour lockdown on Tuesday.Police have continued to clash with demonstrators protesting against the notorious Sars police unit, now dissolved but long-accused of extra-judicial killings, torture and extortion.The government has adopted measures including judicial panels to investigate abuses and compensation for victims, and officials have called for protesters to suspend the demonstrations to give the government time to make good on its pledges

Former terror law reviewer David Anderson warns of serious impact on fight against cross-border crimePolice in the UK “will be increasingly unable to cope” in the event of a no-deal Brexit because existing data-sharing agreements with the EU will be cut, a former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation has said.David Anderson is one of a number of senior figures increasingly concerned that failure to strike a Brexit deal could have a serious impact on Britain’s ability to fight cross-border crime, as UK-EU talks remained stalled for their fifth successive day on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Labour’s ranks have been swelled by New Zealand’s first African MP, just one example of an more diverse ParliamentThe landslide victory for Labour will see 64 left-leaning MPs enter parliament this week – many of them fresh and untested.The new parliament is also set to be the most inclusive ever, LGBTQ+ members making up 10%, and a high number of female MPs. Continue reading...

Parent had campaigned against teacher’s use of Muhammad cartoons before beheading

While some residents welcome end to uncertainty many feel progress Tories were making in region is now lost

Unnamed cyclist in Najafabad detained for breaking Islamic law on veils for womenA young woman has been arrested in central Iran for “insulting the Islamic hijab”, state media said on Tuesday, after a video appeared to show her cycling without a veil.“A person who had recently violated norms and insulted the Islamic veil in this region has been arrested,” Mojataba Raei, the governor of Najafabad, told the IRNA news agency. Continue reading...

European aerospace giant and two Israeli arms firms win EU contracts totalling €100mAirbus and two Israeli arms companies will be paid €100m (£91m) to operate unmanned drones to spot refugees and migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean sea to Europe, according to EU contracts.Drone operations over the Mediterranean will start next year, after testing carried out on the Greek island of Crete. Continue reading...

PC Timothy Brehmer denies murder of nurse Claire Parry but admits manslaughter

Christopher Wild challenged Salman Abedi in the foyer of the arena during Ariana Grande concertA second witness has told the inquiry into the Manchester Arena terror attack that he suspected that Salman Abedi might be a suicide bomber, and that he even challenged him over his presence at the concert.Christopher Wild said he spoke to Abedi, 22, in the foyer of the arena, while he waited with his partner to pick up her daughter and her daughter’s friend after the Ariana Grande concert taking place that night. Continue reading...

Brazilian president’s stance on deforestation remains stumbling block for South America agreementBrussels is in talks with Brazil’s far-right nationalist president, Jair Bolsonaro, over commitments on the future of the Amazon as it seeks to persuade Emmanuel Macron and other EU leaders and parliaments to ratify the trade deal the bloc has negotiated with South America.The ratification of the draft trade agreement between the EU and the “Mercosur” or Southern Common Market free-trade zone – which spans Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina – has been in doubt almost since it was announced last June. Continue reading...

Boris Johnson refuses to specify how much support region will get

Brussels says schemes selling citizenship to wealthy investors are illegalBrussels has launched legal action against Cyprus and Malta over their “golden passport” schemes for wealthy investors, saying they were illegal and undermined EU citizenship.The European commission has written to the two countries, which both joined the EU in 2004, to demand explanations, warning that the schemes increased the risks of money laundering, tax evasion and corruption. Continue reading...

Boris Johnson confirms Greater Manchester in strictest tier 3 from Friday; mayor asks parliament to intervene to secure ‘a fair offer’

Hundreds of residents are set to protest amid claims wealthier landholders have received favourable planning decisionsA group of families left in “indefinite limbo” by planning decisions that favoured wealthy landowners near the Western Sydney airport have called for an end to secretive backroom dealing as they prepare to stage public protests against their treatment by government.Two separate scandals have now raised serious questions about the way land near the massive airport development is being handled, and the degree to which landholders are lobbying state and federal governments for favourable treatment. Continue reading...

Australia’s border policies continue to be felt in a country where almost 14,000 refugees and asylum seekers endure a ‘painful, hopeful wait’ to be resettled