The attorney general has been spouting attacks on election, and, critics say, has a deep sense of mission about re-electing the presidentDonald Trump’s astonishing suggestion at a campaign rally last weekend that the US president will deploy government lawyers to try to hit the brakes on the counting of ballots on election night relies on the complicity of one federal official more than any other.Related: Trump’s most powerful ally in undermining the election: William Barr Continue reading...

This week, the Upside confronts Covid 19 pessimism with a long list of things that are going wellIt’s the time of year for comfort reading. The equinox has come and gone, there’s more night than day now in the northern hemisphere, there’s a nip in the air, leaves on the ground, and the UK and parts of Europe look headed for another lengthy period of retrenchment as the Covid-19 pandemic resurges.But fear not, because the Upside will not be cowed by a pesky strand of RNA. The human spirit is infinitely stronger than the body. Whether things are “good” or “bad” merely depends on how you think, who you listen to, what you read. Continue reading...

Experts say that while contested ‘light touch’ response warrants study each country must find right approach for them

But the premier did not say health minister had signed off on private security guards and Mikakos has denied misleading inquiry

A summary of the major developments in the Covid-19 outbreak across the countryHere are this week’s key developments in the coronavirus pandemic in Australia. This is Elias Visontay and it’s Friday 25 September. Continue reading...

As the pandemic wreaks havoc on existing structures, we look at some visions for post-Covid cities – and how they hold up

Mayor among those wanted for unspecified offences during 2014 protests sparked by Isis seizure of KobaneTurkish authorities have issued arrest warrants for 82 people, including a mayor, over pro-Kurdish protests six years ago, officials and local media said.The warrants relate to October 2014 protests in Turkey sparked by the seizure of the mainly Kurdish-Syrian town of Kobane by Islamic State (Isis) fighters. Continue reading...

Kim Jong-un says death ‘should not have happened’ after man shot in North Korean watersNorth Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, has apologised for the “unexpected” and “unfortunate” killing of a South Korean official this week after he drifted across the countries’ maritime border, possibly in an attempt to defect.In a message to the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, Kim said he was “very sorry”, adding that the incident, which has raised tensions between the two countries, “should not have happened”, according to media reports. Continue reading...

Fewer mosques in China’s western region than at any time since the Cultural Revolution, says thinktankThousands of mosques in Xinjiang have been damaged or destroyed in just three years, leaving fewer in the region than at any time since the Cultural Revolution, according to a report on Chinese oppression of Muslim minorities.The revelations are contained in an expansive data project by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), which used satellite imagery and on-the-ground reporting to map the extensive and continuing construction of detention camps and destruction of cultural and religious sites in the north-western region. Continue reading...

Victorian premier is the last witness who can shed light on the decision to use private security guards, as border restrictions ease around Australia. Follow live

With food in short supply and prices rocketing, a wave of new farmers are growing produce on roofs, balconies and beyond

Landmark event scrapped as Brazil suffers; EU warns pandemic worse now than in March peak for some; Israel further toughens restrictions

Giant African pouched rat has cleared more than 141,000 square metres of land - the equivalent of 20 football pitchesA landmine detection rat has been awarded a gold medal for his “lifesaving bravery and devotion to duty”.Magawa, a giant African pouched rat, has discovered 39 landmines and 28 items of unexploded ordnance in Cambodia since he was trained by charity APOPO. He is the charity’s most successful Hero Rat, having cleared more than 141,000 square metres of land – the equivalent of 20 football pitches. Continue reading...

As HBO series based on Fernando Aramburu’s Patria begins, author says his goal was to document a shared horrorTowards the end of Patria, Fernando Aramburu’s sprawling examination of the human cost of Eta’s four-decade-long terror campaign, a character attends a talk by an author who, as it happens, has written a “testimony to the atrocities” and their enduring consequences.While he suspects the writer’s heart is probably in the right place, he reckons “nothing will really change because someone’s written a book. So far, it seemed to him, Basque writers hadn’t paid very much attention to the victims of terrorism. They were more interested in the killers, their crises of conscience, their emotional backstories – all that stuff”. Continue reading...

Sunday’s referendum with echoes of Brexit proposes limits on number of foreign workersSwitzerland will vote on Sunday whether to end its agreement with the EU on the free movement of people, in a referendum with echoes of the pro-Brexit campaign that led to Britain’s decision to leave the bloc.The largest party in the Swiss parliament, the rightwing, anti-immigration Swiss People’s party (SVP), has called for the vote, arguing that the country must be allowed to set its own limit on the number of foreigners coming in to work. Continue reading...

Head of the Vatican’s saint-making office renounces his rights and will not be able to vote for a new popeA powerful Vatican cardinal caught up in a real estate scandal resigned suddenly on Thursday and gave up his right to take part in an eventual conclave to elect a pope, in one of the most mysterious episodes to hit the Holy See in years.A brief statement, issued unusually in the evening, said that Pope Francis had accepted the resignation of Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, head of the department that decides who will be the saints of the Roman Catholic Church. Continue reading...

Duke and Duchess of Sussex racked up nearly £250,000 in travel costs on southern Africa tour, royal accounts revealBuckingham Palace is belt-tightening after a projected £35m double-whammy financial blow due to Covid-19, as royal accounts reveal the Sussexes’ flights to southern Africa cost nearly £250,000 and Prince Andrew took a £16,000 charter to a Northern Ireland golf tournament.The palace also confirmed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have made a “substantial contribution” for an undisclosed amount to the sovereign grant for Frogmore Cottage, their private Windsor residence refurbished with £2.4m in public money before the couple relocated to Los Angeles. Continue reading...

Daily deaths in Spain at highest level since early May; Portugal to extend restrictions; Netherlands hits record of 2,544 daily cases; 1,136 new infections in Poland

Clip showing movie-like pursuit and escape in Minsk spreads across social mediaAn unnamed Belarusian taxi driver who helped a man escape from riot police during protests against veteran leader Alexander Lukashenko has transfixed social media users who have shared footage of the dramatic incident.The 16-second video clip, filmed by a Euroradio.fm reporter, features a movie-like pursuit and escape that unfolded in a Minsk residential area on Wednesday evening as crowds protested against what they said was the illegitimate inauguration of Lukashenko. Continue reading...

Friday: Australia’s brilliant batsman of the 1980s and 90s has died of a heart attack, aged 59. Plus: Daniel Andrews to face hotel quarantine inquiryGood morning, this is Imogen Dewey bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Friday 25 September. Continue reading...

Brazilian investigation found company was one of several that secretly worked with 1964-85 military governmentThe German carmaker Volkswagen has agreed to pay millions in compensation to former employees in Brazil who were persecuted during the country’s military dictatorship.A Brazilian government-appointed investigation found that Volkswagen was one of several corporations that secretly collaborated with the 1964-85 military government to identify suspected “subversives” and trade unionists. Continue reading...

Student says she was punched in face in Strasbourg by three men who said ‘look at that whore’French police have opened an investigation after a young woman said she was attacked by three men and beaten in public for wearing a skirt.The government denounced the “very serious” incident as unacceptable, which came amid growing anger in France at physical and verbal abuse towards women over their dress in public. Continue reading...

Cryptome also published documents that are at centre of Julian Assange extradition caseUS authorities have never asked a WikiLeaks rival to take down unredacted cables that have been among those at the centre of the legal battle to send Julian Assange to the US, his extradition hearing has been told.The evidence was given by a veteran internet activist whose website, Cryptome, published more than 250,000 classified documents a day before WikiLeaks began placing them online. Continue reading...

Mixed feelings as icon of working-class London and Europe’s first ever large indoor retail centre makes way for developmentAfter 55 years the final few traders were packing up their shops and stalls at the Elephant and Castle shopping centre in south London with mixed feelings about what the future might hold.“It’s time for a change, because really everything has to be different,” Luz Villamizar, a “60-something” trader said with tears in her eyes. “It’s time because this is not a nice building now, anymore.” Continue reading...

Alexander Nix handed penalty for ‘potentially unethical’ behaviour linked to scandalAlexander Nix, the former boss of Cambridge Analytica, has been banned from serving as a company director for seven years over “potentially unethical” behaviour linked to his position at the centre of a global scandal.The Insolvency Service said Nix had allowed companies to offer potentially unethical services, including “bribery or honey-trap stings, voter disengagement campaigns, obtaining information to discredit political opponents and spreading information anonymously in political campaigns”. Continue reading...

Australia’s economy has benefited enormously from China’s extraordinary growth and the trade links have helped make Australia one of the world’s richest countries. But the relationship is increasingly strained. Daniel Hurst looks at the history of that relationship and what the options are for the futureYou can read Daniel Hurst’s feature on this here – Culture clash: has Australia miscalculated in its feud with China? Continue reading...

As the final witness at the inquiry he established, all eyes will be on Victoria’s premier

Bank accounts also frozen as part of lawsuit filed by catering firm, his spokeswoman saysAlexei Navalny’s bank accounts were frozen and his Moscow apartment seized as part of a lawsuit while the Russian opposition politician was recovering from a suspected poisoning in a Berlin hospital, his spokeswoman has said.His assets were seized on 27 August in connection with a lawsuit filed by the Moscow Schoolchild catering company, Kira Yarmysh said in a video posted on Twitter on Thursday. The politician and his allies have been involved in a long-running dispute with the company. Continue reading...

Media criticise PM’s Covid strategy, as UK adopts job support scheme similar to Germany’s own

International students who lost right to live and study in UK fight to clear namesInternational students who lost their right to live and study in the UK after being wrongly accused of cheating in an English language test sent a letter to Downing Street on Thursday, as part of an ongoing campaign to clear their names.The 200 students are some of about 34,000 accused by the Home Office of cheating in the English language tests they needed to pass in order to secure their visas. More than 1,000 students have been removed from the UK as a result of the accusation, and many were arrested and detained by immigration enforcement officers, but large numbers say they were wrongly accused. Continue reading...

Five measures absent from the chancellor’s winter economy plan

Sunshine-yellow drapes are backdrop for vintage-couture shapes and elegant silhouettesThe new looks at Prada are as intriguing to fashion aficionados as a feature co-directed by Spike Lee and Quentin Tarantino would be to film buffs.The arrival of the Belgian Raf Simons as co-creative director to Miuccia Prada at her Italian brand brings together two of fashion’s most original and esoteric designers. Continue reading...

French chanteuse and actor who was the musical embodiment of the existentialist movementJuliette Gréco, who has died aged 93, was the most influential French popular singer to emerge immediately after the second world war. With her long dark hair, soulful eyes and deep voice, she became the musical embodiment of the existentialist movement. Although she seemed the most modern of performers, Gréco belonged to the grand tradition of Parisian chanteuses. Like her illustrious predecessors Damia, Yvonne George and Yvette Guilbert, she attracted poets and philosophers who found in her a modern femme fatale. Many of the songs she made famous were composed for her, but Gréco also sang some of the standard chanson repertory.Her manner was simple: usually dressed in black, she would stand before the microphone and announce the name of the poet and composer. She deployed little of the showbiz formula: her stance was that of a priestess, someone with a deep and terrible knowledge of life and love, who was about to impart some of her secrets to the congregation. Continue reading...

Ex-National Security Council official claims she was pressured her to say manuscript contained sensitive information after her department had cleared it

We would like to hear about the grassroots projects and spectacles bringing joy to communities across the UKWe would like to hear about the grassroots projects and events bringing joy to communities across the UK. Continue reading...

Jerzy Kalina installation is response to controversial statue of pope being struck down by meteorAn unusual sculpture depicting John Paul II holding up a meteorite has been unveiled in Warsaw – as an artistic response to a controversial statue showing a meteor striking down the late pope.Jerzy Kalina’s installation outside the National Museum, titled Poisoned Source, shows the Polish pope holding the meteorite high over a pool of red water representing blood. Continue reading...

The replacement for the UK furlough scheme is similar to Germany’s Kurzarbeit

Used contraceptives found in warehouse in Binh Duong province were boiled, dried and resoldPolice in Vietnam have confiscated an estimated 345,000 used condoms which had been cleaned and resold as new, state media reported.Footage by state-owned Vietnam Television (VTV) this week showed dozens of large bags containing the used contraceptives scattered across the floor of a warehouse in the southern province of Binh Duong. Continue reading...

Ex-leader Salih Mustafa is first suspect detained by tribunal over 1998-99 warAn international tribunal investigating war crimes committed during Kosovo’s 1998-99 independence war has arrested its first suspect, a former commander of separatist fighters.The Kosovo Specialist Chambers, based in The Hague, said the former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) commander Salih Mustafa was arrested based on a “warrant, transfer order and confirmed indictment issued by a pre-trial judge”. The court’s statement did not identify the charges on which he was indicted. Continue reading...

Pushback comes after PM’s suggestion UK’s Covid-19 infection rate was worse than Italy because Britons loved their freedom more

Cindy Erazo was accused of aggravated homicide after an obstetric emergencyA woman sentenced to 30 years in jail after a stillbirth that was judged to be her fault has been released from jail in El Salvador.Cindy Erazo, 29, from San Salvador, was granted conditional freedom on Wednesday after six years in jail. Continue reading...

Chancellor announces ‘job support scheme’ to subsidise wages of people in work; VAT cut extended for hospitality and tourism sector until end of March

German former tennis star is accused of failing to disclose money and property informationThe tennis champion Boris Becker has denied a string of criminal charges over his bankruptcy as he was told he could face seven years in jail.The German former tennis star, 52, who was declared bankrupt in June 2017, is accused of not complying with obligations to disclose information. Continue reading...

Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife said to pack soiled clothes to be cleaned on foreign tripsWhile black-tie banquets, lavish royal receptions and priceless gifts are the most obvious extravagances of international diplomacy, Israel’s leader and his wife have spotlighted a lesser-known perk of the state visit: free dry cleaning.Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu have developed a reputation for lugging bags and suitcases of dirty clothes on foreign trips to be laundered at another country’s expense, a practice noticed by staff at the White House guesthouse, according to the Washington Post. Continue reading...

Luxury resort says island is virtually Covid-free and wants a live-in book lover to provide guests with bespoke help for their ‘reading journeys’

Builders renovating oldest surviving synagogue in city make discovery in original cornerstoneHidden deep within a cavity wall of the Manchester Jewish Museum, complete with its wax seal intact, lay a glass jar time capsule buried almost 150 years ago.As builders renovated the oldest surviving synagogue in Manchester they found the capsule buried next to the Museum’s Ark, the chamber which houses the Torah scrolls, filled with synagogue papers, newspapers and some old coins. Continue reading...

Verified incidents reported at 287 matches out of total of 2,663 fixtures in 2019-20 seasonOne in 10 football fixtures in the 2019-20 season had an incident of hate crime in England and Wales, data gathered by the police, the FA and anti-discrimination campaigners has revealed for the first time.There were verified hate crime incidents reported at 287 matches in the season, out of a total of 2,663 fixtures, data published by the Home Office shows. Continue reading...

CEO Ken Barton says a Crown director and CPH executive suggested he increase revenue projections

We would like to hear from people about working from home, after the government u-turn on returning to workplacesWe would like to hear from people about working from home, after the government advised people to continue to do so – in a reversal from previous apparent instructions to return to workplaces. Continue reading...