World news | The Guardian

Singer reigns supreme in awards show filled with calls for social justice and recognition of Covid tragedyLady Gaga dominated an unusual year for the MTV Video Music awards, winning five awards in a strange and disconcerting evening.The singer, who led the evening with nine nominations and wore a variety of masks through the night, accepted awards for artist of the year, song of the year, best cinematography and best collaboration for Rain on Me and the inaugural Tricon award, which recognizes an artist who is highly accomplished across three or more disciplines. Continue reading...

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

James White, 30, from Warwickshire, is to appear at magistrates’ court on 22 OctoberA man has been charged with common assault after a far-right group targeted Coventry hotels used by the government to shelter asylum seekers during the pandemic.West Midlands police officers were called to reports of a disorder at the Coventry Hill hotel at 12.50pm on Saturday. “A man who works at the hotel was assaulted by two men as he encountered a group of people who were not staying there,” a spokesperson said. Continue reading...

Vessel suddenly caught fire as Italian naval ship was in the process of taking people onboard

Exclusive: Britain’s only ever black police chief says communities feel ‘humiliated’Britain’s only ever black chief constable has warned that a George Floyd-style killing could happen here, with police embroiled in a crisis over racial justice they were failing to address.Michael Fuller told the Guardian that stop and search was leaving black people feeling “humiliated”, “alienated” and that their human rights and dignity were not being respected. Continue reading...

Head of a Bearded Man revealed to be from same wood panel used for Rembrandt’s AndromedaA tiny painting of a weary, melancholic old man long rejected as a fake and consigned to a museum basement has been revealed as one from Rembrandt’s workshop, and possibly by the man himself.The Ashmolean museum in Oxford will this week put on display Head of a Bearded Man (c 1630) which was bequeathed to it in 1951 as a Rembrandt panel. In 1981, it was rejected by the Rembrandt Research Project, the world’s leading authority on the artist that effectively has a final say on attributions. Continue reading...

Fewer than 60 health and safety visits since October 2017 despite significant concernsLeicester’s garment district, which is home to more 1,000 factories, has received fewer than 60 health and safety inspections and only 28 fire inspections since October 2017 despite long-held concerns about working conditions.The city’s small clothing manufacturers, which employ as many as 10,000 people, were also the subject of just 36 HMRC investigations into payment of the national minimum wage between 2017 and March 2020, according to a freedom of information request filed by the Guardian. Continue reading...

Defence minister confirms security breach that may have supplied sensitive documents to KremlinThe French government is investigating a senior military officer over a “security breach”, the defence minister has said, following a report the person was suspected of spying for Russia.“What I can confirm is that a senior officer is facing legal proceedings for a security breach,” Florence Parly said. She gave no further details. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Douglas Ross says ‘more work needed’ for UK-wide trade dealThe Scottish Conservative leader, Douglas Ross, has said he would vote against allowing UK imports of chlorinated chicken and hormone-injected beef from the US in a post-Brexit trade deal.Ross said the UK government was listening to complaints from the National Farmers Union (NFU), which has a strong presence in his rural constituency of Moray and fears a US trade deal would threaten food standards. Continue reading...

Exclusive: architect leaked plans to Jewish militants leading to raid seen as signifying London’s declining controlThe family of a decorated British civil servant who built a notorious jail for the empire in Palestine has revealed he leaked the building plans to Jewish militants, helping them to launch a legendary prison break in 1947.The storming of Acre prison has been credited as a critical event that led to the British decision to end what was increasingly viewed as an onerous mandate in Palestine. Until now, details of how the highly sophisticated operation was so successful had remained elusive. Continue reading...

Visitors will have to show test results to enter Fernando de Noronha, which has so far suffered no coronavirus deathsOne of Brazil’s most celebrated tourist destinations, the paradisiacal archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, has announced it is reopening to outsiders – as long as they have had Covid-19.Tourists have been banned from the Unesco World Heritage site, which Charles Darwin visited in 1832, since late March when the pandemic forced many parts of Brazil into partial shutdown. Continue reading...

Mashal Naseem has got used to the death threats since she began campaigning for justice for her father, Tahir Ahmad Naseem, who was shot in a Pakistan courtroom last monthIt has only been a few weeks, but Mashal Naseem has already got used to shrugging off the online death threats that started pouring in when she began a campaign for justice for her father.Tahir Ahmad Naseem – who his daughter remembers as the kindest and most gentle of parents – was on trial in Pakistan for blasphemy when he was shot dead last month in a high-security courtroom. Continue reading...

French academic’s bid to become archbishop of Lyon reflects growing calls for women in leadership rolesA French female academic has put herself forward to be the next Catholic archbishop of Lyon in a move that is gathering support around the world even though she stands no chance of succeeding.Anne Soupa, 73, a theologian and biblical scholar, says there is “an awakening of women within the Catholic church”. Seven other Catholic women in France have followed her move in applying for ministries that are open only to men. Continue reading...

Police issue plea for help after ‘vicious attack’ in Withington on Saturday afternoonPolice are seeking a man after a “vicious and unprovoked attack” on a young woman out walking with her five-year-old child in Manchester.Greater Manchester Police (GMP) were called at 1.30pm on Saturday following reports of a stabbing on Rudheath Avenue in Withington, south Manchester. Continue reading...

As a reboot of All Creatures Great and Small begins, locals are bracing for an influx of tourists to God’s Own CountryRural Yorkshire has aways been dear to the hearts of its proud inhabitants, but it now seems to be the focus of rather a lot of admiring outside attention, not least on Channel 5.The channel’s documentary series Our Yorkshire Farm has just topped the TV ratings in the 9pm primetime slot. And the same channel this week airs a new dramatisation of James Herriot’s Yorkshire-set All Creatures Great and Small, marking the 50th anniversary of the book. Meanwhile, the seventh series of The Yorkshire Vet, based at Herriot’s old veterinary practice in Thirsk, continues on – of course – Channel 5. Continue reading...

It’s one thing turning your basement into a wine cellar, but some people are building replica streets, theme parks and even trains beneath their homesWhen Jason Shron and his wife, Sidura, were house hunting in 2007, the Canadian model-train-seller would always head to the basement before viewing any other room. In fact, Shron had only viewed the basement of his current family home when he told his estate agent he’d purchase the property: provided Sidura liked the upstairs, he was ready to go. Shron needed the perfect basement because, for nearly 30 years, he had dreamed of building a life-size replica of a 1970s Canadian VIA Rail railway carriage inside his house, the exact train that took him from Toronto to Montreal to visit his grandmother when he was a little boy.Step inside Shron’s basement today and you will be greeted by a 200lb blue-and-yellow train door. As you pass through it, an MP3 player will hiss the sounds of air circulation accompanied by the squeaking of gangway connections. Inside the carriage there are rows of vintage reclinable red-and-orange-striped seats, luggage racks, a real VIA garbage can removed from a scrapped train and a metal sign instructing passengers that smoking is indeed permitted. What Shron couldn’t find on the scrap heap, he made. He printed out orange litter bags, custom-printed napkins and engraved wine glasses. Continue reading...

Insiders say campaign for digital Victorian council could scuttle forensic audit of new membersFederal electorate conference chairs in 14 Victorian seats are campaigning for a virtual state council of the Liberal party – a sortie which party insiders fear is an effort to scuttle a forensic audit to deal with fresh branch stacking allegations.Labor has ratcheted up pressure on Scott Morrison to take action after fresh allegations were aired by the Nine network last weekend about Liberal party branch-stacking orchestrated by a conservative party powerbroker with links to the Victorian frontbencher Michael Sukkar and veteran MP Kevin Andrews. Continue reading...

Findings reveal anxiety, inability to concentrate and fears over employment at high levels among young people

Proposed UK envoy at odds with Boris Johnson’s assurances on environment and workers’ rightsTony Abbott, the former Australian prime minister, boasted that he signed deals with China because he was not “sidetracked by peripheral issues such as labour and environmental standards”, raising further questions over the UK government’s reported intention to use him as a trade envoy.Abbott will reportedly be appointed to the Board of Trade, which advises Boris Johnson and trade secretary, Liz Truss, on future trade deals and will be a vital component of the UK’s future post-Brexit trade strategy. Continue reading...

Five years ago, as more and more refugees crossed into Europe, Germany’s chancellor proclaimed, ‘We’ll manage this.’ Critics said it was her great mistake – but she has been proved rightMohammad Hallak found the key to unlock the mysteries of his new homeland when he realised you could switch the subtitles on your Netflix account to German. The 21-year-old Syrian from Aleppo jotted down words he didn’t know, increased his vocabulary and quickly became fluent. Last year, he passed his end of high school exams with a grade of 1.5, the top mark in his year group.Five years to the month after arriving in Germany as an unaccompanied minor, Hallak is now in his third term studying computer science at the Westphalian University of Applied Sciences and harbours an aspiration to become an IT entrepreneur. “Germany was always my goal”, he says, in the mumbled sing-song of the Ruhr valley dialect. “I’ve always had a funny feeling that I belong here.” Continue reading...

Man was shot multiple times in what NSW police say was a deliberate and calculated attack

New law hailed as justice for families of refugees – and could benefit thousands of BritonsTens of thousands of British citizens are among the many descendants of Jewish refugees who can apply for Austrian citizenship from Tuesday under a new law that campaigners say finally delivers a measure of historic justice for their ancestors’ expulsions under Nazi rule.About 120,000 Jewish refugees fled persecution after the Nazis took power in Austria in March 1938. The second most common destination after the US was the UK, with up to 20,000 refugees registered in 1945. Continue reading...

Sir Nicholas Kenyon, who directed the series for more then a decade, dismisses controversy as ‘kneejerk’ BBC bashingPoliticians “meddling in concert programming” over the Last Night of the Proms are a “laughable irrelevance”, according to a former director of the BBC concert series.Sir Nicholas Kenyon, writing in the Observer, described the “synthetic row” that has erupted over how Land of Hope and Glory and Rule, Britannia! will be performed without an audience. Continue reading...

In Fallowfield, local shops depend on trade from students, but worry that their behaviour may get out of handEnter 256, the popular student bar in Fallowfield, Manchester, and it’s usually the heat that hits you first. In ordinary times, and particularly during freshers’ week, the dimly-lit repurposed church building is packed with hundreds of sweaty youngsters dancing and enjoying booze-fuelled nights out.Covid-19 has rendered such gatherings unimaginable, and this year will be much quieter. Capacity has been slashed by more than half. The dancefloor has been replaced by tables and chairs. There will be no crowd surfing or drunken flirtations at the bar. You sit down at a table, or you’re out. Continue reading...

Didier Raoult has touted many dubious treatments but is a hero in France’s second city, which has long railed against ParisThe people of Provence in the south of France have a word for a particularly comic or bizarrely dramatic situation: pagnolesque.It is a tribute to one of the region’s most famous sons, the author Marcel Pagnol, who declared in his play Les Marchands de Gloire (The Glory Merchants): “In politics everything is a comedy.” Continue reading...

New legislation aims to ensure agreements by states and territories align with Australian foreign policy

Masks will be compulsory on public transport and strongly encouraged elsewhere, says prime minister, as restrictions wind back on MondayNew Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has thanked Aucklanders who come out of lockdown after Sunday night for their commitment to suppressing the latest coronavirus flare-up.Two new cases of Covid-19 have been reported on Sunday, both in the community and linked to the latest Auckland cluster. Ardern thanked the residents of New Zealand’s largest city for their adherence to the stringent lockdown requirements. Continue reading...

State records 114 new cases and 11 deaths as NSW announces seven new cases and closes a school in Sydney’s west

Residents in suburbs without power or drinking water from the storm on Thursday are exempt from coronavirus travel restrictionsThe Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting more damaging winds to sweep Victoria, while some Melbourne residents are still dealing with the impacts of Thursday’s storm.The Bom has forecast that strong north to northwesterly winds will develop early Sunday ahead of a front that will move across the state during the day. Continue reading...

Achuar people blame illegal logging for spread and are asking international community for aid

Police prevent hundreds from entering Reichstag and disband march protesting against Covid protection measures

Melbourne’s top five areas for coronavirus cases in the latest outbreak are among the city’s most culturally and linguistically diverse

UNHCR and IOM say 200 rescued people urgently need to get off Banksy-funded shipThe UN refugee agency urged European nations on Saturday to let in hundreds of migrants rescued from the Mediterranean by humanitarian boats, including one financed by the British street artist Banksy.The UNHCR and the International Organization of Migration (IOM) said more than 200 rescued refugees and migrants needed immediately to get off the nonprofit search-and-rescue ship Louise Michel, saying it was far beyond its safe capacity. Continue reading...

The basin has faced challenges throughout history but the system designed to protect it does not factor in a changing climate

Rising cases in Papua New Guinea, French Polynesia, and Guam raise fears of uncontrolled coronavirus outbreaks across PacificSurging Covid-19 cases in Guam are threatening to overwhelm the island’s healthcare system, while rapidly spreading infections across Papua New Guinea and new clusters in French Polynesia following the resumption of tourism have sparked fears of uncontrolled outbreaks in the Pacific.The Pacific region is still the least-infected in the world – several countries remain Covid-19 free – but there are troubling surges across countries with fragile health systems ill-equipped for large numbers of infections. Continue reading...

Arrest follows discovery of stabbing victim in Walthamstow on MondayA man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a stabbing in a north-east London park. Yassar Mustakim Moussa suffered a wound to his neck and was unresponsive when he was discovered in a brook at St James’s Park in Walthamstow on Monday.Police were called at about 1.40pm, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Continue reading...

Abiy Ahmed came to power promising radical reform, but 180 people have died amid ethnic unrest in Oromia stateEthiopia faces a dangerous cycle of intensifying internal political dissent, ethnic unrest and security crackdowns, observers have warned, after a series of protests in recent weeks highlighted growing discontent with the government of Abiy Ahmed, a Nobel peace prize winner.Many western powers welcomed the new approach of Abiy, who took power in 2018 and promised a programme of radical reform after decades of repressive one-party rule, hoping for swift changes in an emerging economic power that plays a key strategic role in a region increasingly contested by Middle Eastern powers and China. He won the peace prize in 2019 for ending a conflict with neighbouring Eritrea. Continue reading...

Party in despair, senior MP says, as Labour draws level in wake of exam chaos and Covid U-turns

About 30 incidents have been reported in stables and equine clubs in suspected ritual mutilationsAttackers are targeting horses and ponies in pastures across France armed with knives in what may be ritual mutilations.Police are baffled by the macabre attacks, which include slashings. Most often, an ear – usually the right one – has been cut off, recalling the matador’s trophy in a bullring. Continue reading...

Wardens in south Auckland say pensioners living alone are among the most vulnerable to Covid-19, fearful even of leaving their home

Met says 13 people now arrested in relation to case as hunt goes on for Imran Safi and his sonsA 31-year-old man has been arrested in east London in connection with the abduction of three young children by their father.The Metropolitan police said the total number of arrests related to the case over the past five days now stood at 13, as officers hunt for Imran Safi, 26, and his sons. Continue reading...

Danièle Obono describes rightwing attitudes in Valeurs actuelles as ‘odious and cruel’A French magazine has apologised after portraying a black lawmaker as a slave, as France’s government and officials across the political spectrum decried the publication.The legislator, Danièle Obono, from the far-left party La France Insoumise (Defiant France), said the publication flies in the face of those who complain that free speech is threatened by the fight against racism and sexism. Continue reading...

Tributes to groundbreaking star come from spheres of film, TV, sport and politicsChadwick Boseman has been widely praised for breaking down cultural boundaries and inspiring a generation of young black people, following news of his untimely death.The Black Panther star died at his home in the Los Angeles area aged 43, four years after being diagnosed with colon cancer. He was best known for his role as the regal T’Challa in the Marvel cinematic universe, the franchise’s first high-profile black superhero. Continue reading...

Leading imam condemns violence after police battle more than 300 on streets of the cityThe disorderly phalanx of young men and teenagers, many wearing face masks and hooded tops, started to accelerate, excitement rising, as it neared the row of police vans blocking off the troubled district of Rosengård in Malmö.“We’re gonna fuck this system up because they want to let a man burn the Qur’an,” one of them yelled, as the group starts hurling jagged chunks of concrete paving towards the armoured riot police sheltering behind the vans. “And we’re gonna fuck the police.” Continue reading...

Police appeal for information following killing of Murtaza Nazit on Friday eveningA man who died after being shot in Stechford, Birmingham, on Friday has been named as Murtaza Nazit, West Midlands police said.A murder investigation is under way after the 26-year-old man was fatally injured in a shooting in the Stechford area of the city, following reports of shots being fired. The victim was discovered at the scene by officers shortly before 8pm on Friday. Continue reading...

BBC journalists among those whose accreditation is revoked before fresh protests against election resultsBelarusian authorities have deported two Russian cameramen and withdrawn the accreditation of several foreign media journalists, including the BBC’s, in advance of fresh demonstrations challenging the results of the presidential election.On Saturday the BBC’s press team said two journalists working for its Russian service in Minsk had had their press accreditation revoked “with immediate effect”. Continue reading...

From Aleppo to Palmyra, many of the country’s architectural treasures have been reduced to rubble, but restoration has begunThe centre of Aleppo was a marvel. It was a demonstration of the multiplicity of both humanity and stone. It was an embodiment of the material and cultural wealth that once made Syria one of the luckiest and most civilised places on Earth – a California of the Middle East, blessed by climate, fertile land, physical beauty and its position between the Mediterranean and the Silk Road to the east. “My beautiful province,” as the seventh-century Byzantine emperor Heraclius called Syria, while retreating from Muslim conquerors, “what a paradise you will be for the enemy!”In Aleppo there was, and mostly still is, the citadel, a mound growing upwards into improbably massive walls, a dream of castle-ness realised with crushing weight. Then there were the souks, a huge web of covered alleys and streets, spaces made of produce and transactions as much as of masonry, in which gems of architecture – a polychrome portal or a serene dome – would make themselves known amid the action and clutter, their arabesque decorations indecorously garlanded with electrical conduits and air-conditioning units. Continue reading...

Prosecutor Ioannis Paradissis says messages from supporters of Manchester United footballer have shocked himThe fallout from Harry’s Maguire’s calamitous holiday in Mykonos has been swift, brutal and revelatory, not least for the Manchester United captain.Yet for Ioannis Paradissis, the Greek prosecution lawyer at the centre of the case following the footballer’s arrest after a late-night brawl on the isle, the drama is far from over. Continue reading...

The actor died at his Los Angeles home after being diagnosed with colon cancer four years ago

Lead piece etched with religious iconography found in remains of 5th-century churchA 5th-century chalice covered in religious iconography has been discovered in Northumberland, to the astonishment of archaeologists, who describe it as Britain’s first known example of Christian graffiti on an object. With its complex mass of crosses and chi-rhos, angels and a priestly figure, as well as fish, a whale and ships, it is believed to be without parallel in western Europe.Made of lead and now in 14 fragments, it was unearthed at the Vindolanda Roman fort, one of Europe’s foremost archaeological sites, near Hadrian’s Wall, during an excavation that has also discovered the foundations of a significant church of the 5th or 6th century. Continue reading...