Error and fraud rate for scheme estimated at between 5% and 10%, says HMRC chief

The Philippine president pardoned a US marine on Monday in a surprise move that will free him from imprisonment for the 2014 killing of a transgender Filipino woman. Rodrigo Duterte said he had decided to pardon L/Cpl Joseph Scott Pemberton because the marine was not treated fairly after opponents blocked his early release for good conduct in detention. The case had led to calls from some in the Philippines to end the US military presence in the country, a former US colony with which Washington has a mutual defence treaty

Government told failure will damage UK economy as critical negotiations begin

Duke of Sussex says he will keep the 18th-century house as his UK residenceThe Duke of Sussex has paid back £2.4m of taxpayers’ money used to renovate Frogmore Cottage, his spokesperson has said.Harry and Meghan’s official residence was gifted to them by the Queen but required extensive renovation to make it habitable for the couple and their son, Archie. Continue reading...

Economic Freedom Fighters protesters damage some Clicks stores and force others to close

Scott Morrison is preferred PM of less than half of respondents for first time since April but still ahead of Anthony Albanese on 26%Public faith in government handling of the coronavirus is on the decline, with voters in Victoria most likely to complain their state and federal governments are not working well together on the pandemic.That is the conclusion of the latest Essential poll, released on Tuesday, which found Scott Morrison is the preferred prime minister of just less than half (49%) of Australians for the first time since April, but still ahead of Anthony Albanese on 26%. Continue reading...

Creation of computer-generated image of suspect leads to arrest in Haut-Rhin departmentFrench police have arrested a man on suspicion of mutilating horses after a string of attacks.The man was detained after a computer-generated image was circulated of one of two people suspected of inflicting cuts on horses in the Yonne department of central France, according to a police source who asked not to be named. Continue reading...

Jacob Billington, 23, from Liverpool died in city centre attack while out with friendsThe man who was killed in a series of stabbings in Birmingham on Sunday has been described as “the light of our life” by his family.Jacob Billington, 23, from Liverpool, was killed in the city centre attack while out with friends. Another 23-year-old member of the group – who were visiting a friend studying in Birmingham – was seriously injured and remains in hospital. Continue reading...

New cases show continued rise in new infections; Grant Shapps says seven Greek islands will be added to list on Wednesday

The brown bear, a master escapologist, is now back in its north Italian wildlife enclosureA brown bear nicknamed Papillon for its propensity for escaping from its enclosure has been captured by rangers in the Italian province of Trento after 42 days of freedom.Codenamed M49, the 149kg (23st) bear fled from the Casteller centre on 27 July after climbing over its enclosure, which had been reinforced following previous escapes. Continue reading...

European court of justice could fine UK or impose tariffs or sanctions on exportsThe latest Brexit dispute could end up in the European court of justice if it breaches the withdrawal agreement signed by Boris Johnson in January, legal experts have warned.A dispute would trigger a specific legal process ending in the Luxembourg court – and if the UK was found to have breached the international treaty it signed in January, the EU has powers to punish the country. Continue reading...

Experts fear that France and the UK will follow the country’s rapid rise in new infections

My father, Geoffrey Parker, who has died aged 94, overcame a difficult start in life to fulfil his dream of becoming a steam train driver.Born in Pode Hole, Lincolnshire, Geoffrey was the son of George Parker, a police sergeant, and Florence (nee Barwick). The eldest of five siblings, he was brought up in an austere Christian household.

Eight defendants jailed for between seven and 20 years in final ruling on caseA Saudi court has overturned five death sentences over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, in a final ruling that jailed eight defendants for between seven and 20 years, state media reported.“Five of the convicts were given 20 years in prison and another three were jailed for seven to 10 years,” the official Saudi Press Agency said, citing a spokesman for the public prosecutor. None of the defendants were named. Continue reading...

Barbara Pomfret came to aid of group left homeless in Madrid after forced removal from UK

Film credits offer thanks to eight government entities in region where rights abuses are alleged

Results show 94% of Covid sceptics would refuse vaccine and most describe themselves as free-thinkers

Yonas Tadesse is an Ethiopian photographer based in Addis Ababa who has been documenting doctors and emergency workers fighting coronavirus since the beginning of the outbreak. This series focuses on the taskforce at the Eka Kotebe hospital in Addis AbabaThe first case of Covid-19 in Ethiopia was reported on 13 March, when a team of first responders took in a 48-year-old Japanese man. Having never seen anything like his condition, they did not know what to prepare for, and thus started their new normal of battling the coronavirus in Ethiopia.Doctors, nurses, janitors, security guards and drivers donned hats they had never dreamed of wearing as they worked to develop systems and techniques to minimise the damage from the virus – often at the cost of their health, their home lives, their reputations, and sometimes their lives. Continue reading...

President’s move to free Joseph Scott Pemberton condemned as ‘shameless mockery of justice’

Condition of Russian opposition leader who was poisoned with novichok is improvingThe Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been taken out of an induced coma and is responding to speech, the Germany hospital treating him has said.The Charité hospital in Berlin, which has been treating Navalny since 22 August, said his condition was improving and that he was also being weaned off mechanical ventilation. Continue reading...

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news

Child’s mother says her daughter was buying art supplies when she was tackled and pinned to the ground by policeHong Kong police have been strongly criticised over the rough arrest of a 12-year-old girl whose family says was caught in a protest crowd while out buying art supplies.Video widely shared across social media and in Hong Kong media showed the officers seeking to corral a group of people including the young girl, who ducked aside and tried to run away. An officer tackled her to the ground, while several others helped to pin her down. Continue reading...

UK on collision course with EU and Ireland over unilateral powers for British ministers

WikiLeaks founder in court to face US accusations of stealing military secrets

Supporters of Denis Mukwege say he is at risk of assassination after criticism of armed groupsA doctor who shared a Nobel prize in 2018 for his work with victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is at risk of assassination after the United Nations withdrew peacekeepers guarding his hospital and residence, friends and supporters say.Denis Mukwege has received death threats in recent weeks after making a series of statements deploring recent violent incidents and calling for justice for perpetrators of possible war crimes committed in eastern DRC by militia, foreign troops and rebels. Continue reading...

Police seal off area as Kesgrave high school says pupil involved in ‘serious incident’A teenage boy has been arrested after a 15-year-old boy was shot near Kesgrave high school, Suffolk police said.The victim suffered “serious” injuries and was airlifted to Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge, Suffolk police said. Continue reading...

Police unions call for changes in law after Giuseppe Mastini again fails to return from day releaseA multiple murderer has absconded for a fourth time from an Italian prison.Giuseppe Mastini, 60, who was given a life sentence in 1989, absconded during day release from a high security prison in Sassari, Sardinia. Police launched a country-wide manhunt after he failed to return to the jail at midday on Sunday. Continue reading...

Chairman insists he is ‘not looking for scapegoats’ as inquiry hears of possible ‘missed opportunities’The Manchester Arena bomber was spotted “praying” at the venue 50 minutes before he carried out the attack, the inquiry into the bombing has heard.It was one of two possible “missed opportunities” to stop Salman Abedi in the hour before the bombing on 22 May 2017, the public inquiry into the attacks heard. Continue reading...

Melbourne’s stage 4 lockdown extended by two weeks in ‘roadmap’ as Victoria pursues aggressive suppression strategy. This blog has ended

Health secretary urges distancing to avoid second wave, and says hospitals could soon see impact

EU’s chief Brexit negotiator said full implementation of withdrawal agreement vital for avoiding a hard border

Exclusive: State and federal departments of health refuse to confirm figures as doctor condemns ‘outrageous’ secrecy around the dataMore than four out of every 10 Victorian aged-care deaths due to Covid-19 occurred across just 10 facilities, data obtained by Guardian Australia reveals.As of Monday, 532 of the state’s deaths were linked to aged care, with St Basil’s Home for the Aged in Fawkner recording 44 of those deaths. The home, which caters for the Greek Orthodox community, is where the most deaths have occurred. Continue reading...

Hongkongers have been left shocked by the rough police arrest of a 12-year-old girl whose family says was corraled into a protest crowd while out buying art supplies.It came amid the largest street protest seen in Hong Kong since 1 July, the first full day under the national security laws imposed by Beijing on the city, outlawing acts of sedition, secession, foreign collusion and terrorism

Johnson to deliver ultimatum to EU as minister defends plan as addressing ‘a few loose ends’Reneging on any obligations under the Brexit withdrawal agreement would make the case for breaking up the UK stronger, the government has been warned, as a minister defended the plan as simply addressing “a few minor loose ends”.After it emerged Boris Johnson is drawing up legislation that will override the Brexit withdrawal agreement on Northern Ireland, threatening the collapse of talks with the EU, the SNP said leaving without a deal would cause “lasting damage to Scottish jobs and the economy in the middle of a pandemic”. Continue reading...

Why should black founders jump through more hoops to earn funders’ trust?I was in Kibera, Africa’s largest slum, when I heard about the shooting of another black man, Jacob Blake, by US police. Close by is a mural of George Floyd, painted on a wall near where I grew up, a reminder that the current upheaval surrounding race in the US has global repercussions. Just as calls for racial justice echo in American and European streets, government offices and boardrooms, we must not forget that the legacy of racial injustice extends far beyond those borders and any honest reckoning must include open dialogue around race in international development.In Africa, white-led institutions have shaped the development and social entrepreneurship landscape, deciding who succeeds and who fails. Only recently has there been a growing recognition of these imperialist dynamics, which uplift foreign-led practitioners more than local ones. There is a growing consensus that the future should and must be created and led by Africans, because real progress requires it to be on our own terms. And yet, this is just talk until funders shift resources and power, at scale, towards local solutions. Continue reading...

Move threatens to collapse talks that PM has said must be completed within weeksBoris Johnson is drawing up legislation that will override the Brexit withdrawal agreement on Northern Ireland, a move that threatens the collapse of crunch talks which the prime minister has said must be completed within five weeks.Johnson will put an ultimatum to negotiators this week, saying the UK and Europe must agree a post-Brexit trade deal by 15 October or Britain will walk away for good. Continue reading...

Group including children was rejected by Malaysia and Thailand and ‘held hostage’, says organisationAlmost 300 Rohingya refugees believed to have been at sea for six months landed on a beach in Aceh province, Indonesia, early on Monday, Indonesian authorities have said.Acehnese police said a wooden boat carrying the Rohingya was spotted by local fishermen several miles off the coast of Lhokseumawe, before landing at Ujung Blang beach shortly after midnight Continue reading...

Hundreds of thousands without power on Kyushu after winds of 140km/h and heavy rain hit the regionFour people are missing and dozens more have been injured after a powerful typhoon battered south-western Japan on Monday before making landfall on the Korean peninsula.Typhoon Haishen left 440,000 homes without power and damaged buildings on and near the island of Kyushu. Continue reading...

The pandemic’s impact is long-term: the UN warns that it could lead to 13 million more child marriages over a decadeSamita (not her real name) is 17 and lives in the Lamjung district of Nepal. It was never easy, even before coronavirus, for her to attend school full-time. Living in a rural community in a family with little income she was expected to do housework as well.Samita persisted though. At the beginning of the year, the Sisters for Sisters project run by international development charity VSO was supporting her with an “older sister” mentor, who was encouraging her to keep up her education. Continue reading...

Labour calls on Matt Hancock to explain reasons behind increase and testing centre problems

Staff from the Wall Street Journal, CNN and Getty Images told restrictions were a ‘reciprocal measure’ after the US limited Chinese media visasChinese authorities have refused to renew the press credentials for at least three reporters for US news organisations based in China, in the latest deterioration of ties between the two countries.Journalists from the Wall Street Journal, CNN and Getty Images, who have recently attempted to renew their press cards, were told they could not because of recent US measures against China journalists in the US, according to those news organisations and people familiar with the matter. Continue reading...

Seven French departments placed on high alert; UK sees 3,000 cases in one day, the highest figure since May

Long-term competitiveness at risk if scheme ends for critical industrial sectors, says Make UKThe government’s furlough scheme must be extended for critical sectors of British industry or the country risks losing key skills as it recovers from the pandemic, according to the UK’s foremost manufacturing group.Make UK is joining calls for the government to change its mind about ending the coronavirus job retention scheme in the autumn, after a survey of its members showed almost two-thirds (62%) of companies agreed with the proposal that the scheme be extended. Continue reading...

The presenter probes the Trump-afflicted US-Mexico borderlands. Plus: how to stay calm in scary times. Here’s what to watch tonight Continue reading...

Recent acrimony as well as historical rivalry are making a crucial agreement on European access to British waters look increasingly remoteFishing has always been one of the biggest hurdles to a post-Brexit deal between the EU and UK. Now it is becoming one of the most bitter.The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, last week accused the government of treating European fishermen and women as “a bargaining chip”, while vowing that there would be no trade deal without a “fair and sustainable” agreement on fishing. Hitting back at Barnier’s speech, which also covered trade, a UK source said it was “a deliberate and misleading caricature of our proposals aimed at deflecting scrutiny from the EU’s own positions, which are wholly unrealistic and unprecedented”. Continue reading...

Queensland posts two new cases while authorities examine how three Sydney hospital staff were infected

Thirty years after murder of eight people, including six Jesuits, those who ordered deaths may finally face consequencesA few hours before he was shot dead in the campus garden of his university in San Salvador, Ignacio Martín-Baró rang his family back in Spain to let them know he was OK. “It’s all fine,” the Jesuit, psychologist and academic told his parents. “The army is all around us.”The following morning, Martín-Baró was dead, murdered by a military death squad along with five Jesuit colleagues, a housekeeper and her 15-year-old daughter. Continue reading...

Activists say detentions break promise to protect those standing up to sexual assaultEgyptian security forces have arrested six witnesses, including three women, in an investigation into an alleged gang-rape case previously hailed as a watershed moment for women’s rights.Feminist campaigners and a researcher from the organisation Human Rights Watch said six people had been arrested overnight in their homes by the country’s powerful National Security Agency, including a woman seized from her car in front of her building. Another was arrested at her holiday home after the NSA could not find her at her Cairo address. Continue reading...

Schools in Redcar, Hartlepool and Middlesbrough record positive cases as infections in north-east of England continue to spike

His first feature, Closely Watched Trains, won the best foreign language film in 1967Oscar-winning Czech film director Jiri Menzel has died aged 82 after battling serious health problems for a long time, his wife Olga Menzelová said on Sunday.“Our dear Jiri, the bravest of the brave. Your body left our mundane world in our arms last night,” she wrote on Facebook. Continue reading...