Vote in state’s upper house defeated on casting vote of John Ajaka, the Liberal presidentA no-confidence motion against Gladys Berejiklian in the state’s upper house has been defeated on the casting vote of the president, giving the New South Wales premier an important symbolic victory in her battle to hang on to the Liberal leadership.The initial vote was 20-20 but John Ajaka, the Liberal president, used his vote to defeat the motion. Continue reading...

The government is being urged to dispel myths and ensure drugs are available – and take responsibility for the millions of stray dogsBy the time the patient, a young man, reached Dr Ramesh Masthi at a Bengaluru hospital, it was too late to save him. After being bitten by a pack of stray dogs as he went out to buy some milk, his family had applied a paste of green chillis, then lime juice and finally, when the wound looked gruesome, turmeric.“He came about a week after he was bitten. The wound was serious, and we couldn’t save him. There is so much ignorance about dog bites and myths. A rabies shot in time would have saved him,” Masthi says. Continue reading...

Regional Victoria has now moved to “step three” of the roadmap out of lockdown. Here’s what you need to know

Religious events and Santa Claus may have to adapt to restrictions, but TV could be a unifying force

The Guardian follows Parit Chiwarak, known as Penguin, one of Thailand's prominent protest leaders as he helps organise one of the biggest anti-government rallies in years. He and many other young people are risking prison to demand a significant democratic overhaul: they want the power and wealth of the monarchy curbed. Parit said he already faced 18 charges, including sedition, for his involvement in previous demonstrations. More rallies are expected in Bangkok on Wednesday

Former Wagga MP admits to corruption hearing that he received payments from cash-for-visa scheme at his Parliament House office. Watch and follow the live stream• Berejiklian faces questions about meeting with convicted criminals

A British bomb left over from the second world war has been detonated in Poland. The 5,400kg Tallboy bomb was dropped by the RAF in 1945 during an attack on a German cruiser. It was rediscovered in September 2019 during works to deepen a waterway near the port of Szczecin. Navy divers from Poland had rigged a small explosion to disarm the bomb but instead it went off. There were no injuries. Continue reading...

The Carabineros face 8,500 allegations of human rights abuses in the past yearDamning allegations of human rights abuses, cover-ups and impunity have prompted growing calls for a root-and-branch reform of Chile’s national police force, known as the Carabineros.The force has been accused of a string of abuses since the outbreak of widespread protests a year ago – most recently when an officer was caught on camera bundling a 16-year-old demonstrator over the railings of a bridge in Santiago. Continue reading...

Trust in government of exhausted and impoverished country is diminishing as death toll continues to rise

The former NSW MP has told a corruption inquiry he accepted thousands of dollars in cash at his parliamentary office

The New Zealand opposition leader has pulled no punches after being thrust into the role just a few months before the election“I’m very aware that I’m not going to be able to come out and ‘out-Jacinda’ Jacinda Ardern,” says New Zealand’s opposition leader of her rival. “But I can be Judith Collins.”On Saturday, New Zealanders will be given the choice not only between parties but also between two very different women vying for the prime ministership. Continue reading...

Museum in Nantes pulls show after intervention by Beijing, which comes as Communist party hardens discrimination against ethnic MongolsA French museum has postponed an exhibit about the Mongol emperor Genghis Khan citing interference by the Chinese government, which it accuses of trying to rewrite history.The Château des ducs de Bretagne history museum in the western city of Nantes said it was putting the show about the fearsome 13th century leader on hold for over three years. Continue reading...

Here are the current coronavirus hotspots in New South Wales and what to do if you’ve visited them

Shepparton residents urged to get tested after three cases linked to Chadstone shopping centre in Melbourne on Tuesday, meanwhile NSW restrictions on outdoor venues and concerts are being eased. Follow liveFollow our global coronavirus live blogFull Australian Covid stats; Covid restrictions state by stateNSW cases map; Vic cases mapNSW hotspots list; Vic hotspots listSign up for Guardian Australia’s coronavirus email12.46am BSTIn other news, Victorian Labor MP Will Fowles, who you probably remember from this incident, appears to have drawn some inspiration from the West Wing in his speech opposing a no-confidence motion against premier Daniel Andrews last night. You can listen to a clip of it here, but these were the quotes:Martin Sheen as Jed Bartlet in the West Wing:We did not expect nor did we invite a confrontation with evil

The country’s MMP electoral system was designed to give more diverse voices entry to parliamentCoalition governments – regarded with horror in many other democracies – have become the norm in New Zealand since the country shifted to the MMP electoral system in 1996, ditching the British “first past the post” system.MMP – mixed-member proportional – was designed to allow more diverse voices entry to parliament, and award more power to smaller parties in an attempt to dilute the hold that the Labour and National parties had on government. Continue reading...

Lawyers say unsealing details related to Maxwell’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein will undermine her right to a fair trialA lawyer for Ghislaine Maxwell appeared remotely before three New York federal appeals court judges on Tuesday afternoon, in an attempt to keep under wraps a deposition from past civil litigation regarding her relationship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.The British socialite is urging the US second circuit court of appeals to overturn Manhattan federal court judge Loretta Preska’s July decision to unseal the 418-page deposition. Continue reading...

Amid talk of originalism, harking to a time when only white men with property could vote, Republican ears pricked up

Ioannis Paraskakis found guilty of killing Suzanne Eaton on the Greek island in 2019A Greek court has sentenced a man to life in jail for raping and killing an American scientist on the island of Crete in 2019.Suzanne Eaton, 60, a molecular biologist at the Max Planck Institute in Dresden, Germany, was found dead in a disused military bunker in July of last year, around a week after she went missing after going out for a jog. Continue reading...

After days of fierce protests against police brutality, Nigeria's government announced the dissolution of the infamous "Special Anti-Robbery Squad", commonly called Sars, a police unit plagued with allegations of extrajudicial killings, theft and abuse.The Guardian's west Africa correspondent, Emmanuel Akinwotu, explains what sparked the #EndSars demonstrations across the country, how the movement trended internationally on social media, and why demonstrators do not trust promises of reform

Result follows warnings from human rights groups that UN body’s credibility at stakeRussia and China have been elected to the UN human rights council for the next three years, but Saudi Arabia failed in its attempt to win a place on the 47-seat body.The result is a severe blow to the country’s efforts to improve its image in the wake of the admitted killing of the Saudi citizen and Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi. Continue reading...

Labour leader says Boris Johnson must ‘follow the science’ as Covid death toll rises sharply

Pyongyang’s latest military parade is another reminder of the dangers that have grown under this administration

Public asked to leave anonymous tips about emergency loan and grant scheme fraud

It was supposed to be ‘world beating’ but experts say it is having only a ‘marginal impact’

Tony Lane responds to the government’s plan to use nets at sea to stop Channel crossingsIt would be interesting to know the substance of the presumed consultations by Dan O’Mahoney, the Home Office’s clandestine Channel threat commander, concerning his piratical proposal to lay the marine equivalent of snares and mantraps in the form of nets designed to foul outboard engines’ propellers (Home Office may use nets to stop migrant boats crossing Channel, 11 October).Presumably he’s taken advice from the International Maritime Organization, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the International Federation of Shipmasters’ Associations, the International Transport Workers’ Federation, Nautilus International, the RNLI, the Royal Yachting Association and Trinity House, to mention just a few of the organisations familiar with the practices of safety of life at sea. Continue reading...

Latest ruling could inflame trade tensions from long-standing Boeing-Airbus dispute over subsidiesThe EU has been given permission to levy tariffs on US products worth $4bn in retaliation for subsidies given to Boeing, in the latest salvo in a bitter 16-year battle between the US plane maker and its European arch rival, Airbus.The ruling by the World Trade Organization (WTO), delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, could increase trade tensions shortly before the US presidential election on 3 November, although it could also set the stage for tariff negotiations between the EU and the US, which has already imposed levies on European goods in parallel action against Airbus. Continue reading...

The confirmation process to appoint Amy Coney Barrett, a deeply conservative judge who is Donald Trump’s pick for supreme court judge, has begun. Guardian US investigative journalist Stephanie Kirchgaessner has been looking at her career and personal life, including membership to the secretive Catholic group People of Praise, and discusses what her appointment would mean for the USIf Donald Trump has his way then he will use the few weeks remaining before Americans go to the polls on 3 November to install his choice as the ninth supreme court justice. If successful, it would mean replacing Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a ferocious campaigner for women’s rights whose work turned her into a liberal icon, with Amy Coney Barrett, a deeply conservative judge whose values push in the opposite direction. The move would shift the balance so starkly in America’s highest court that some fear it could lead to key rulings protecting civil rights being overturned – and possibly hamper the ability of Democrats to change laws for decades to come. Continue reading...

Foreign Office quango says some of NGO’s claims against machinery firm ‘merit further examination’The British heavy machinery firm JCB’s sale of equipment used in the destruction of Palestinian villages in the Israeli-occupied West Bank is being examined by a UK government body to determine whether its due diligence process complies with human rights guidelines set by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.The case is likely to test the degree to which multinationals are responsible if their export goods are sold by local distributors in ways that infringe human rights. Continue reading...

Woman tells court that incident at 2008 Christmas party left her feeling shockedA woman was left stunned after former Blue Peter presenter John Leslie made a “solid grab” of her breasts at a Christmas party, a court has heard.The pair had just shaken hands when the star grabbed both her breasts and laughed, his sex assault trial was told. Continue reading...

Official and lawmaker filmed pledging to support application from fictitious investor with criminal recordCyprus has announced the suspension of a “golden passport” scheme to sell citizenship to wealthy investors following a sting by investigative journalists.Al-Jazeera’s investigative unit filmed high-ranking Cypriot politicians, including the parliamentary speaker Demetris Syllouris, promising to support the sale of a Cypriot passport to representatives of a fictitious Chinese businessman with a money-laundering conviction. Continue reading...

Prosecutors allege drivers paid €3 per delivery and suffered degrading work conditionsTen people, including a senior operations manager at Uber in Italy, are under investigation over the alleged exploitation of vulnerable migrant workers by the company’s food-delivery arm, prosecutors have said.According to investigators, the workers were “subjected to degrading work conditions, paid €3 per ride”, and had their tips confiscated. Continue reading...

Chief negotiator says little prospect yet of EU and UK entering ‘tunnel’ negotiations

Israel imposed ‘circuit breaker’-style lockdown at same time UK ministers ignored advice to do just that

Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul believes she has a duty to speak out about her country’s politics

Three children aged four to eight pronounced dead at the scene on Monday nightFour members of the same family, including three young children, have died after the people carrier they were travelling in collided with a heavy goods vehicle on the A40 near Oxford on Monday night.Thames Valley police said officers were called at 9.50pm to reports of the collision between a silver Subaru and the HGV near to a railway overbridge west of Oxford. Continue reading...

From Black Panther to Black Lives Matter, I’ve felt a new sense of identity and pride, that I will pass on to my childrenGrowing up, I envied those who understood their mother’s native language. Speaking it was admirable, but the very act of comprehension was a beautiful thing to witness. From afar it seemed like a love language, something intimate and secretive spoken between families – it suggested a bond, a closeness that seemed impenetrable.As a child, it didn’t necessarily bother me that I was unable to understand my family’s mother tongue (my parents are Nigerian, and the language they used in our household was robustly and loudly Yoruba). I was too busy navigating all the complexities of being an adolescent to really notice that my parents actively chose to only speak English to their five children. It’s also fair to say that when I was growing up in the late 1980s and early 90s, I had no friends of a similar background to me – most were from the Caribbean. Certainly, Africa wasn’t deemed a cool destination, so that part of myself was mostly folded away. Continue reading...

A 23-year-old worker has died after he fell 20 metres when a roof collapsed on a building being constructed at Curtain University in Perth, Australia.Two other men were taken to hospital, one with serious injuries, following the incident on Tuesday

Research suggests that by targeting enhanced aid money more effectively and with greater innovation, a solution is possible

Owner of scooter that can go almost three times the speed limit faces prosecutionPolice in Oslo have seized a tuned electric scooter with a top speed of 36mph (58kph), nearly three times the legal limit.The scooter was seized during a control programme in Oslo in a joint operation with the Norwegian Public Roads Administration during which two electric scooters were stopped on suspicion of illegal speeding. Continue reading...

Opposition leader says Yoweri Museveni behind campaign of intimidation to stop him standingBobi Wine, the popular reggae star and prominent opposition leader in Uganda, has accused the country’s president, Yoweri Museveni, of seeking to block his candidature at next year’s elections through a series of “trumped up” legal challenges and a campaign of intimidation.Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, said he was calling on people all over the world to “keep their eyes” on Uganda because international attention was the only way to “stop human rights abuses and impunity in Uganda today”. Continue reading...

Prof George Williams doubts if the Morrison government can scrap Victoria’s belt and road initiative with BeijingThe Morrison government needs to overhaul its planned new foreign veto powers because the legislation contains “very serious” drafting problems and raises “fairly deep constitutional concerns”, a parliamentary inquiry has been told.The constitutional law expert, Prof George Williams, raised doubts about the federal government’s ability to scrap Victoria’s agreement with Beijing on the belt and road initiative, which is in Canberra’s sights. Continue reading...

Westminster Bridge leading to parliament in central London closed to trafficPolice have been called to a security incident at St Thomas’ hospital in central London, with nearby Westminster Bridge leading to parliament closed to traffic.The alert was being stood down, police said, and road closures in the area were being lifted. Continue reading...

One person has died and two others are in hospital after the workplace incident at the Bentley campus in south-east PerthA 23-year-old worker has died after he fell 20 metres when a roof collapsed on a building being constructed at Curtain University in Perth.Two other men in their 20s have been taken to Royal Perth hospital with multiple injuries following the workplace incident at the Bentley campus which occurred before 12.30pm local time on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Daniel Andrews says 10 ‘could be the new five’ as NSW announces seven new locally transmitted cases. Follow live

Rural women in Tamil Nadu are mostly excluded from land ownership, but collective farms can offer self-sufficiencyWhen all the shops closed due to the coronavirus lockdown, pulling together in small collectives was key to remaining self-sufficient for widow farmers in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu.“We had sufficient grains and vegetables at home, while others in the village were seeking government support,” says 46-year-old Poongani, one of the nine widowed Dalit women who form the Sivanthi Poo farming collective in the village of Thottampatti. Continue reading...

Boris Johnson faces doubt and frustration over new three-tier system that splits England into risk zones

Totally Under Control recounts the early days of the pandemic in the US, revealing in clinical detail a disastrous federal response to a preventable crisisIn May, as their city began to emerge from the paralyzing grip of coronavirus that killed over 33,000 residents, New York City-based film-makers Alex Gibney, Ophelia Harutyunyan and Suzanne Hillinger started retracing still-raw recent history on film. They tracked whistleblowers, and noted comparisons between the disastrous sprawl of coronavirus in the US and South Korea, which received their first positive coronavirus diagnoses on the same day: 20 January. Meetings were held by Zoom, interviews by remote camera draped by a shower curtain — a large, amorphous ghost, compliant with quickly adopted social distancing guidelines.Related: Totally Under Control review – shocking film on Trump's failure to handle Covid-19 Continue reading...

Scott Morrison says it’s ‘important not to get ahead of ourselves here’ while Anthony Albanese calls the reports ‘a huge concern’The Australian government is seeking assurances from China over the impact of reported curbs of coal imports, while calling on Beijing to end the freeze on ministerial talks as concerns grow about widening trade tensions.Related: China reportedly orders halt to imports of Australian coal Continue reading...

The actor’s latest project is about the joy of sex, as well as its capacity to exploit, control and kill. She discusses the pleasure of life after being written off by Hollywood and the beauty businessIsabella Rossellini is a busy woman. It is hard to know how the model, actor, writer, animal behaviourist and farmer finds so much time to talk about sex. But she does. In recent years, she has made numerous tiny films about the sex lives of animals under the umbrella titles Green Porno and Seduce Me. Now she hopes to take them to a larger audience – or, to be more accurate, she hopes to bring a larger audience to her farm.With theatre stymied by the pandemic, she is livestreaming a show from Mama Farm in Long Island, New York, where she lives with her sheep, goats, chickens, ducks and dogs. The show, called Sex & Consequences, is part circus, part animal cognition lecture and part penetration. Continue reading...

The battle over Nagorno-Karabakh, waged on and off for a century, has flared anew and civilians once again suffer the consequencesOver the road from the 8-metre-deep crater left by a medium-range missile, Sergei Hovhnnesyan and three of his neighbours are hunkering down in the basement storage space of their local grocery shop in Stepanakert, a mountain town in the heart of the Nagorno-Karabakh territory claimed by both Armenia and Azerbaijan. Continue reading...