Forces in England and Wales ‘decades behind’ in serving ethnic minorities

Friends and colleagues say top civil servant in intolerable position after advice ignoredFriends and former colleagues of the government lawyer Sir Jonathan Jones said his resignation suggested he had been put in an intolerable position, with a cabinet minister admitting the government intended to break the law.Jones resigned on Tuesday, giving no reason in his departure email to colleagues, but Whitehall sources and former colleagues said he had clashed with the attorney general, Suella Braverman, over the government’s intention to override parts of the withdrawal agreement. Continue reading...

State TV says British-Iranian dual national to appear in Tehran court on Sunday

Victoria’s path out of shutdown is contentious and uncertain for cinemas, beauty salons and hospitality venues• Australian stats interactive

The Turkish ambassador writes in response to a recent editorial about Turkish-Greek relationsYour editorial (6 September) suggests that the UN convention on the law of the sea supports both Greece and the status quo. That is not entirely accurate, as the same convention also refers to the principle of equity.Turkey has been inviting relevant parties to engage in negotiations based on international law and the principle of equity since 2003 for the delimitation of exclusive economic zones. Yet the Greek side has never engaged in sincere dialogue, in order to delay and avoid concrete negotiations. Continue reading...

Cartoonist “Coco” gives evidence at trial of 14 suspects accused of complicity in 2015 Paris attacksA survivor of the Charlie Hebdo massacre has described how Islamist terrorists forced her to open the door of the satirical newspaper’s offices at gunpoint as they arrived to murder 11 people.Corinne Rey, a cartoonist known as “Coco”, told a Paris court she was convinced she was about to die as the brothers Chérif and Saïd Kouachi entered the building saying: “We want Charlie Hebdo.” Continue reading...

Lula, who governed from 2003-2011, expected to run for president again at next election

Three former directors of division which ran electronic tagging contract have been charged after an SFO investigationThe UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has charged three former executives at security company G4S with defrauding the government.The three men were charged with seven offences of fraud in connection to false representations made to the Ministry of Justice between 2009 and 2012, the SFO said on Tuesday. Continue reading...

WikiLeaks founder told he faces removal after interjection during lawyers’ exchangeJulian Assange has been warned by the judge in his extradition case that he could be removed from court with the case continuing in his absence after he interjected while a lawyer for the US authorities sparred with a high-profile witness giving evidence in support of the WikiLeaks founder.The incident came on the second day of Assange’s extradition hearing at the Old Bailey, where the founder of the legal charity Reprieve said “grave violations of law” such as the use of US drones for targeted strikes in Pakistan had been brought to light with the help of documents published by WikiLeaks. Continue reading...

Ukrainian media says Maria Kolesnikova refused to enter country after being abducted from MinskThe Belarusian opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova ripped up her passport in order to avoid being deported from her own country, according to a Ukrainian minister and media reports.On Monday, masked men kidnapped Kolesnikova from the centre of Minsk and drove her away. Two of her opposition colleagues also vanished. The three activists were later driven to the Alexandrovka border with Ukraine in a car that arrived at about 4am on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Ralph Zurmély, who advises the gender equality ministry, says Pauline Harmange’s ‘ode to misandry’ should be withdrawn for inciting hatred

Octogenarian Harry Harvey is believed to have camped in the open for two nightsAn 80-year-old hiker, who had been missing in the Yorkshire Dales for nearly three days, had an emotional reunion with his family after turning up at a police press conference about his disappearance.Harry Harvey, who had been described as a “competent hiker” by officers, was reported missing in the Gunnerside area of Richmondshire in North Yorkshire at around 1.30pm on Sunday. Continue reading...

Premalal Jayasekara, who shot an opposition activist, escorted to parliament after court rules he can take up seatA Sri Lankan politician sentenced to death for murder has been escorted from prison to parliament to become the first convict to be sworn in as an MP, amid heckles from the opposition.Premalal Jayasekara, 45, from the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party (SLPP), was convicted in August of murdering an opposition activist after opening fire at a 2015 election rally. As his conviction and sentence came after nominations for the 5 August poll, he was able to contest the election and take up his seat. Continue reading...

Zhong Shanshan’s net worth rises to $51bn as Nongfu Spring shares launch in Hong KongThe stock market flotation of China’s biggest bottle water company has made its founder the country’s third-richest man, as shares in his company rocketed on their debut in Hong Kong.At one point the paper fortune of Zhong Shanshan, the biggest shareholder in bottled water company Nongfu Spring, briefly surpassed that of China’s two richest men, Alibaba founder Jack Ma and Tencent founder Pony Ma. Continue reading...

Qelbinur Sidik, who was coerced to teach Mandarin at two of China's Uighur 're-education' camps, has described what she witnessed there as well as her own forced sterilisation at the age of 50.As part of a government campaign to suppress the birth rates of women from Muslim minorities, Sidik says women between the ages of 18 and 59 were told they must have intrauterine devices (IUDs) fitted or undergo sterilisation.Sidik worked as a teacher in two camps where she says she saw starvation rations and unsanitary and humiliating conditions, including limited access to bathrooms and water. She also heard the screams of tortured prisoners and witnessed at least one inmate being carried out dead.In the second centre where she worked, which held mostly young women, a trusted colleague told her that rape of inmates by Chinese guards was routine

Laila Anita Bertheussen accused of staging attacks on her family and blaming anti-racist theatre groupThe partner of Norway’s former justice minister, a member of a rightwing anti-immigration party, has gone on trial accused of staging attacks against the couple and blaming an anti-racist theatre troupe.In the extraordinary case, Laila Anita Bertheussen is accused of vandalising her own home and threatening her family, making it appear as though the Black Box theatre group was to blame. Continue reading...

Foreign ministry spokesman defends questioning of Australian journalists Bill Birtles and Mike SmithAustralian news anchor Cheng Lei was arrested in Beijing on national security grounds last month, China’s foreign ministry spokesman has revealed, speaking just hours after two other Australian journalists arrived home after fleeing the country.Cheng, a business journalist for the state broadcaster CGTN, was taken into secretive detention in mid-August, the Australian government revealed last week. Consular staff were able to visit Cheng by videolink but were not told why she had been detained. Continue reading...

Jonathan Jones resigns after plans emerge to alter legally binding Northern Ireland protocolThe head of the UK government’s legal department has become the latest prominent civil servant to quit, reportedly over its decision to override parts of the Brexit deal on Northern Ireland.A spokesman for the attorney general’s office confirmed Sir Jonathan Jones had resigned but refused to comment further. Continue reading...

Nuclear-armed neighbours swap accusations after clash in disputed Himalayan regionTensions have escalated between Indian and Chinese forces along their disputed Himalayan border after accusations that shots were fired for the first time in 45 years.China released a statement late on Monday night claiming Indian soldiers had crossed over the contested border in Ladakh, known as the line of actual control (LAC), and “opened fire to threaten the Chinese border defence patrol officers”. Continue reading...

Guardian Australia understands four women and 10 children removed from the camp, handcuffed and driven away in white vanAustralian women and children have been snatched from the al-Hawl refugee camp in north-east Syria, where families of Islamic State fighters are detained, according to reports from inside the camp.It is understood at least four women and 10 children, all Australian, were removed from the camp, handcuffed and driven away in a white van overnight on Saturday. Continue reading...

Lawyers for Paul Rusesabagina, who is detained in Kigali, say he faces serious risk of tortureLawyers for Paul Rusesabagina have called on a UN investigator to immediately intervene in the case of the human rights activist – and inspiration behind the film Hotel Rwanda – who is being detained in Rwanda and is alleged to face a “serious risk of torture”.The letter to Nils Melzer, the special rapporteur on torture, comes one week after Rusesabagina, a prominent critic of the Rwandan president, Paul Kagame, was revealed to have been brought to Kigali from Dubai in what his lawyers have called an illegal rendition. Continue reading...

Police defended and settled almost 300 civil claims against officers during the last financial yearThe New South Wales police spent $24m of taxpayer money on almost 300 civil legal claims brought against officers during the last financial year.The figure, obtained by the NSW Greens, includes settlements for serious misconduct claims including battery, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution. Continue reading...

Guardian readers describe their frustrating experiences trying to obtain tests for coronavirus

With high levels of stress, anxiety and PTSD, experts worry that staff won’t be able to cope with a second wave

Colin died of Covid-19 at Home Farm care home in May. His wife had to wait outside his room while he took his last breath. Now his family is pushing for answersCovid-19 did not come to Skye for a long time, so much so that the people there thought they had escaped it. But Zoe Docherty knew better. Driving to her at-home visits on the Scottish island, the 27-year-old care worker heard a drumbeat of dread, a steady rat-a-tat, all through the months of March and April and into May.“I knew it was a matter of time,” says Zoe. “I didn’t see what makes Skye so special that it wouldn’t come here.” When the first case of Covid-19 in the Highlands was confirmed on 14 March, Zoe told a colleague: “It’s coming.” But her colleague was dismissive. “She said: ‘The Highlands is a big area,’” Zoe remembers. “I said: ‘You’re missing the point here. It’s a virus. It won’t not come here, just because we’re rural.’” Continue reading...

Exclusive: Ipswich police watch house being used to house children and teenagers after coronavirus outbreak linked to Brisbane Youth Detention Centre in WacolThe Queensland Human Rights Commission has called for the state to urgently appoint an independent inspector to oversee its prisons and youth detention centres, as detainees, including teenagers, have been locked down and largely confined to their cells.Guardian Australia can also reveal the Ipswich police watch house is being used to house children and teenagers placed on remand for an indefinite period, after a coronavirus outbreak was linked to several guards at the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre. Continue reading...

As calls to the coronavirus mental health helpline spike in Victoria, Melburnians living under stage four lockdown share video diaries of their feelings and experiencesMost Victorians are experiencing something few other Australians can relate to: being in lockdown for weeks on end, unable to leave their homes between 8pm and 5am, and limited to one hour of fresh air a day within a 5km radius of their homes.On 24 August, the Victoria’s deputy premier, James Merlino, told the state’s Covid-19 committee that nearly two-thirds of calls and webchats to the national coronavirus mental health helpline Beyond Blue in July came from Victorians. He also said demand to Lifeline rose by 22% in Victoria in July, while demand to Kids Helpline from Victorian youth increased 8% in July compared with the previous month. Continue reading...

As coronavirus community transmissions rise in New South Wales, here are the current hotspots and what to do if you’ve visited them

More traditional modelling might have meant location-based easing of restrictions for the same result with fewer economic and social costs

In August the US president said New Zealand was seeing a ‘big surge’ in cases, but it only reminded people of how well they had doneFollowing comments by Donald Trump that New Zealand was dealing with a “big surge” of new Covid-19 cases, Kiwis have snapped back with some light social media trolling under the hashtag #NZhellhole, which has trended at number two on New Zealand Twitter. Continue reading...

The ABC’s Bill Birtles and the Australian Financial Review’s Michael Smith forced to shelter with Australian diplomats during negotiations for their safe exitTwo Australian foreign correspondents in China have been urgently flown home after a tense diplomatic standoff, which Australia’s foreign minister called a “very disappointing series of events”.The ABC’s Bill Birtles and the Australian Financial Review’s Michael Smith both left China on Monday night after reportedly being questioned by China’s ministry of state security. Continue reading...

More than 100 health workers at two Sydney hospitals and 200 staff at Ipswich hospital are in isolation. Follow live

European Environment Agency calls for strong action to protect most vulnerable in societyCutting air pollution and improving green spaces in cities would immediately improve the health of the poorest people in society, a report from Europe’s environmental watchdog has found.Environmental factors inflict greater damage on the health of those in poverty, who already suffer a disproportionately greater burden of disease, than on the better-off, according to the European Environment Agency. Measures that reduce air pollution and give people greater access to parks and similar amenities are well within the reach of governments. Continue reading...

Brussels suspicions come as European commission chief warns Britain to abide by Northern Ireland protocolBrussels’ plummeting trust in Boris Johnson has been laid bare in leaked diplomatic cables obtained by the Guardian, as the Brexit negotiations reopen in London with a warning from the European commission president that Britain must respect international law.Ursula von der Leyen made her extraordinary intervention on Monday as Downing Street struggled to control the damage from disclosures suggesting it was backtracking on agreements made last year to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland. Continue reading...

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