Belgian policeman had admitted taking tooth from Patrice Lumumba’s body in 1961A Belgian judge has said that a tooth taken from the remains of the Congo’s first elected leader, Patrice Lumumba, should be returned to his family almost 60 years after his assassination by rebels overseen by Belgian officers.The tooth had been seized from a Belgian policeman who admitted taking it while helping to dispose of Lumumba’s body after the politician was murdered in 1961. The Belgian government of the time, the CIA and MI6 have also been implicated. Continue reading...
Musée d’Orsay, home to some of world’s most famous nudes, apologises for barring visitorOne of Paris’s biggest museums, whose galleries feature some of the world’s most famous nudes, has been accused of discrimination and sexism after refusing entry to a woman in a low-cut dress.In a case of life not imitating art, a zealous official told a literature student whose name was given only as Jeanne that “rules are rules” and ordered her to cover her cleavage if she wanted to be allowed into the Musée d’Orsay, a popular tourist attraction and bastion of the beaux arts. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#57ZV8)
Local route managers and signallers will be given more power to cut speeds or close linesHeavy rain could lead to more trains being cancelled or told to travel at low speed in future, following the Stonehaven crash that killed three people in Aberdeenshire last month.An interim report by Network Rail into the tragedy spelled out strengthened procedures that could hasten line closures in bad weather, pending safety inspections. Continue reading...
by Maanvi Singh in Oakland, Jason Wilson in Portland, on (#57YJH)
More than 85 significant fires are burning across the west, where a record 2.5m acres have been destroyedLarge, fast-moving fires raged on across the American west on Thursday, destroying hundreds of homes in the Pacific north-west and sending a dense plume of smoke that turned skies amber across parts of the region.Related: California, Oregon and Washington battle dozens of fires – live updates Continue reading...
Former deputy prime minister throws his weight behind John Barilaro as other Nationals warn it’s impossible to ‘out shoot the Shooters’While some federal Nationals watched the runaway events in New South Wales on Thursday with bemusement, the former federal leader of the party, Barnaby Joyce, rushed to the defence of John Barilaro for blowing up the state government over koala protection policy.Joyce, who used the first sitting day of federal parliament in 2020 – a day of bushfire condolences – to launch an unsuccessful leadership tilt against the man who replaced him, Michael McCormack, told the ABC on Thursday afternoon it was time for the Nationals to declare that enough was enough. Continue reading...
Maria Kolesnikova says she was told she would be leaving country ‘alive or in bits’The Belarus opposition politician Maria Kolesnikova said security officers put a bag over her head and threatened to kill her when they tried to forcibly deport her to Ukraine earlier this week, according to a complaint filed by her lawyer.Kolesnikova, one of the most prominent leaders of month-long protests against the re-election of President Alexander Lukashenko, prevented the attempt to expel her by tearing up her passport. Continue reading...
The prime minister criticised Queensland’s ‘mystifying’ decision which meant Canberra woman Sarah Caisip missed her father’s Brisbane serviceScott Morrison has doubled down on his attack against the Queensland government for refusing to allow a young woman to attend her father’s funeral, declaring Australia is in danger of losing its humanity during the pandemic.Sarah Caisip, a 26-year-old from Canberra, was denied permission to attend the Brisbane funeral of her father, Bernard, who died from cancer last week, but was escorted by authorities to a private viewing after the service. Continue reading...
Demonstrators appeal for end to veto on accepting people from burnt-out Greek campThousands of protesters in cities across Germany have appealed to the government to accept refugees from the burnt-out Moria camp on Lesbos in Greece, amid government resistance.In Berlin, an estimated 3,000 demonstrated under the motto: “We have room,” on Wednesday evening, condemning Moria as a “camp of shame” and calling for the resignation of the interior minister, Horst Seehofer, who has so far blocked the arrival of refugees. Continue reading...
Blaze reportedly at warehouse where oil and tyres are kept near site of August explosionA huge fire has broken out at Beirut’s port, triggering panic among residents traumatised by last month’s massive explosion there that killed and injured thousands of people.It was not immediately clear what caused the fire at the facility, which was devastated by the explosion on 4 August, when nearly 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate detonated and triggered a shockwave that blasted windows, doors and walls miles away. Continue reading...
Denis Mukwege had been left without protection as a result of a Covid outbreakThe UN has redeployed soldiers to protect a Nobel prize-winning doctor in the Democratic Republic of the Congo after being warned that he was at risk of assassination.The Guardian reported on Monday that Denis Mukwege, who shared a Nobel prize in 2018 for his work with victims of sexual violence, had been left without protection despite receiving death threats in recent weeks. Continue reading...
Barilaro and the Nationals should behave like they are part of the government or resign their ministries – the choice is theirsSince she became New South Wales premier , Gladys Berejiklian has practised the politics of appeasement when it comes to her Coalition partners.She has turned a blind eye to her deputy leader John Barilaro’s blatant pork barrelling in the bush, even laughing along during the last campaign when he called himself Barrell-aro. Continue reading...
Industry body IATA warns of capacity shortage for ‘biggest aviation challenge ever’Shipping a coronavirus vaccine around the world will be the airline industry’s biggest ever challenge, requiring the equivalent of 8,000 jumbo jet planes to get a single dose to 7.8 billion people, according to the aviation industry.The International Air Transport Association warned of severe capacity constraints that could hamper efforts to get a vaccine out quickly around the globe. While drugmakers are racing to develop a vaccine and get it approved by regulators, the international aviation group is working with airlines, airports, health bodies and pharmaceutical firms to draft an airlift plan. Continue reading...
Decision to show then withdraw video sparked crisis at MSF Canada, says reviewMédecins Sans Frontières (MSF) broadcast a $400,000 (£307,000) TV fundraising campaign in Canada despite warnings from staff that it was exploitative, reinforced racist “white saviour” stereotypes and breached the medical charity’s ethical guidelines, the Guardian has learned.A damning review of the decision to run and later withdraw the advert, which featured the REM track Everybody Hurts played over images of crying black children being treated by MSF medics, concluded it exposed a lack of trust in leadership and triggered an “organisational crisis” at MSF Canada. Continue reading...
How did Paul Rusesabagina, credited with saving 1,200 people during the 1994 genocide, end up on trial in Rwanda?Until late August, there was nothing exceptional about Paul Rusesabagina’s summer. For months, the 66-year-old had done little more than sit on the porch of his home in Texas, water his plants, telephone his children and chat with neighbours. A cancer survivor, he worried about Covid-19 and carefully observed the measures recommended to avoid catching the virus. His weeks passed without incident.But on the other side of the world, in Rusesabagina’s native Rwanda, security agencies were formulating plans to bring the former businessman to the capital, Kigali, to face terrorism charges, a trial and jail. Continue reading...
State department has been revoking visas since 1 June after Trump order to tackle intellectual property theftThe US has revoked the visas of more than 1,000 Chinese students and researchers it said had ties to the Chinese military, accusing some of espionage, in the latest dispute between the rival superpowers.China had been “abusing student visas to exploit American academia”, said Chad Wolf, acting secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, in a speech on Wednesday. “We are blocking visas for certain Chinese graduate students and researchers with ties to China’s military fusion strategy to prevent them from stealing and otherwise appropriating sensitive research.” Continue reading...
US secretary of state strikes more strident tone after Donald Trump said at the weekend he had not seen any proof of poisoningThe US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has said there was a “substantial chance” the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was ordered by senior Russian officials.“I think people all around the world see this kind of activity for what it is,” Pompeo said in a radio interview with conservative host Ben Shapiro. “And when they see the effort to poison a dissident, and they recognise that there is a substantial chance that this actually came from senior Russian officials, I think this is not good for the Russian people.” Continue reading...
South Africa’s president hails ‘one of the architects of our constitution’ who helped save Mandela from expected death penaltyGeorge Bizos, an anti-apartheid icon and renowned human rights lawyer who helped defend Nelson Mandela on treason charges for which he escaped the death penalty, has died aged 92.President Cyril Ramaphosa announced rights lawyer’s passing on Wednesday during a media conference. “I have just received news that legal eagle of our country George Bizos has passed away,” Ramaphosa said. “This is very sad for our country.” Continue reading...
Donald Trump said he was 'trying to avoid panic' by not revealing the severity of Covid-19, despite CNN audio published on Wednesday from an interview in February in which he acknowledged the virus was 'deadly'.The president, who defended his comments to the journalist Bob Woodward for Woodward's book Rage, insisted his strategy was focused on encouraging Americans to remain calm, as the virus spread across the country Continue reading...
Thursday: 1.1 million children will be affected by the cut to the coronavirus supplement. Plus, lithium brings together miners and environmentalistsGood morning, this is Richard Parkin bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Thursday 10 September. Continue reading...
Greek minister calls situation on Lesbos an ‘unprecedented humanitarian crisis’Thousands of people urgently require emergency shelter and aid after a fire destroyed Europe’s largest refugee camp, on the Greek island of Lesbos.As the Greek government declared a state of emergency and a delegation of officials rushed to the north-eastern Aegean island, the sheer scale of devastation wrought by the overnight blaze became increasingly evident. Continue reading...
The government’s proposals defy international law, destabilise the union and undermine Britain’s reputationTo protect national sovereignty, the government is proposing a law that will undermine the deal it signed last year with the European Union to restore that same sovereignty. The logic is hard to fathom. It makes sense only in the context of a Brexit project that can never be completed to the perfect satisfaction of the Conservative party.The internal market bill, published on Wednesday, represents the latest stage in the quest for an immaculate separation from Europe. Every vestige of EU influence over the territory of the UK must be purged. In pursuit of that goal, no diplomatic norm or constitutional principle – not even the duty to uphold international treaties – is safe. Continue reading...
This touching character study of a live-wire gang member has a bruising moral weight and pulsing vulnerabilityA pulse of vulnerability beats at the heart of Sam Kelly’s outwardly imposing but unexpectedly touching debut feature. Across three decades, it charts the punk’s progress of young New Zealander Danny into copiously tattooed street-gang life. After being sent to borstal in the 1960s for stealing food and brutalised there, he befriends a Māori boy called Moses. The two later form a gang, the Savages – named to nihilistically expose society’s true core – but torn by his loyalty to his birth family, Danny’s position is never secure. By the 80s, Danny has become “Damage”, a hulking, live-wire enforcer who wears his allegiances on his face in a bluish nose guard of gang-crest ink.Kelly occasionally gives in to the odd crime-drama mannerism, like the Savages swaggering out, Reservoir Dogs-style, for the first time. But he makes the smart choice of never being distracted from the emotional cost of holding your own in this self-inflicted prison of testosterone. Early on, Damage botches a hook-up with a banker’s daughter keen on a bit of rough because he can’t handle surrendering control. Seen across the decades, violence clearly has its roots in a pain and shame whose consequences won’t stop radiating. Kelly has a knack of putting these ideas across with light lyrical concision, like the row of dominoes that gets the childhood section underway. Continue reading...
by Presented by Heather Stewart, with Polly Toynbee, on (#57YFY)
Heather Stewart and Polly Toynbee discuss what the new Covid-19 restrictions entail, as well as the latest UK Brexit legislation, for which the government is willing to break international law. Anand Menon and Jennifer Rankin discuss the prospect of getting an EU trade deal. Plus Simon Murphy speaks to Tracey Crouch about the role footballers should have in politicsHeather and Polly question how dangerous the UK government’s admission that it plans to break international law might be. They also look at what the new restrictions announced by Boris Johnson will mean for people in England when they are introduced from next Monday.With the Brexit negotiations between the EU and the British government entering their eighth round this week, Heather speaks to the Guardian’s Brussels correspondent, Jennifer Rankin, and the director of the UK in a Changing Europe thinktank, Anand Menon, about how likely it is that the two sides will come up with a deal. Continue reading...
Family of six including a baby taken to safety after reaching rocks just before boat was lostA family including a baby and three other children were rescued after their father deliberately ran their boat on to rocks as it took in seawater and began to sink.Teenagers taking part in a coasteering expedition helped guide the stricken 7-metre (24ft) vessel on to the rocks in Devon. The family of six managed to scramble on to shore moments before the boat was lost. Continue reading...
About a million hectares (2.3m acres) have been burned so far in California as uncontrolled fires driven by high winds and unprecedented temperatures rage across the west coast of the US. The state governor, Gavin Newsom, has said he has 'no patience for climate change deniers' as the experience of the past few days was proof
Trial of 14 suspects linked to 2015 Paris terror attack hears more dramatic evidenceThe trial of 14 suspects linked to the terror attack on Charlie Hebdo has heard further dramatic evidence from survivors, including the man who now runs the satirical newspaper.Laurent Sourisseau, known as Riss, was injured when brothers Chérif and Saïd Kouachi stormed the paper’s offices, killing 11 people in retaliation for its printing of cartoons of the prophet Muhammad. Continue reading...
Peter Madsen, handed life sentence in 2018 for murder of Swedish journalist, makes confession in TV documentaryThe Danish inventor Peter Madsen, who was handed a life prison sentence in 2018 for the killing of the Swedish journalist Kim Wall, has confessed to the crime for the first time, in a television documentary.The 49-year-old, found guilty of premeditated murder, aggravated sexual assault and desecrating a corpse, had insisted during the trial that Wall’s death, on Madsen’s homemade submarine in August 2o17, was an accident. Continue reading...
Hundreds of local people involved in production of play, Daughters of Sunset, inspired by 2011 discoveryThe discovery of a young bronze age woman’s remains high on a remote Devon hillside has inspired a community play featuring the residents of two moors and also forms the centrepiece of a newly refurbished visitor centre.Hundreds of people, young and old, professional and amateur, have been involved in the production of the play, Daughters of Sunset, which is being performed on Dartmoor and Exmoor later this week and over the weekend. Continue reading...
Netherlands makes offer to Basim Razzo, who lost wife, daughter, brother and nephew when home wrongly identified as Isis HQAn Iraqi man who lost his wife, daughter, brother and nephew in an airstrike after US intelligence misidentified his home as an Islamic state headquarters, is believed to be the first civilian awarded compensation by coalition forces.Basim Razzo, 61, who cannot walk because of his injuries, has been made a “voluntary offer” of nearly €1m by the Dutch government, whose F16 jets were responsible for the attack near the city of Mosul five years ago. Continue reading...
China’s state media outlets claim Australian intelligence agents questioned several Chinese journalists and seized their devicesAustralia has cancelled the visas of two Chinese scholars because of security concerns, according to reports, adding a new element to the spiralling diplomatic dispute over the treatment of journalists.Chinese diplomats have also aired claims that Australian intelligence agents have questioned several journalists from Chinese media organisations and searched their devices “in violation of legitimate rights”. Continue reading...
New Zealand prime minister starts campaign with a sleepover at the ‘folks’ in the small rural town of MorrinsvilleNew Zealand’s prime minister has launched her election tour of the country from her parents’ home in rural Waikato – so her “folks” can babysit.The rescheduled general election, now taking place on 17 October, is unlike any the country has seen before, with party leaders hitting the campaign trail in face masks and practising social distancing. Continue reading...
Refugees were evacuated from a large camp on the Greek island of Lesbos on Wednesday after fires broke out at multiple points around the site. More than 12,000 people live at the Moria camp and the surrounding area. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Senior constable Brooke Cooper says she hadn’t read the NSW police handbook on family violence when Olga Edwards came to report the assaultsOlga Edwards’ allegations of domestic violence against the man who eventually murdered her children were misrecorded by a senior constable who had never opened the police handbook on family violence.In fact, senior constable Brooke Cooper hadn’t read the New South Wales police force’s domestic and family violence standard operating procedures until it was placed before her in the NSW coroners court on Wednesday. Continue reading...
by Julian Borger in Washington and Lisa O'Carroll Bre on (#57XN8)
Altering terms of withdrawal agreement on Northern Ireland could damage relations under Biden presidencySenior Democrats have warned that any attempt by the UK government to backtrack on the Brexit agreement on Northern Ireland would jeopardize a future US-UK free trade deal and could hobble bilateral relations across the board if Joe Biden wins the presidency.Biden, an Irish American, is a staunch defender of the Good Friday Agreement, of which the US is the guarantor, and which requires an open border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Continue reading...
by Nick Evershed, Andy Ball, Hannah Izzard, Patrick L on (#57XJS)
Guardian Australia brings together all the latest on active and daily new Covid-19 cases, as well as maps, stats, live data and state by state graphs from NSW, Victoria, Queensland, SA, WA, Tasmania, ACT and NT to get a broad picture of the Australian outbreak and track the impact of government response
Nominees must satisfy two of four key standards addressing onscreen and offscreen representationThe Oscars are raising the inclusion bar for best picture nominees, starting with the 96th Academy Awards in 2024.In a historic move, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Tuesday laid out sweeping eligibility reforms to the best picture category intended to encourage diversity and equitable representation on screen and off, addressing gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity and disability. Continue reading...
Boy charged after 15-year-old was shot near Kesgrave high school on MondayA teenager has been charged with attempted murder and firearms offences after a 15-year-old boy was shot on his way to school.Suffolk police were called shortly after 8.40am on Monday to reports that a teenage boy had been shot on a housing estate in Kesgrave. Continue reading...