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Watchdog urged to start inquiry after Electoral Commission report raises questions about whether PM misled his ethics adviserBoris Johnson could face sanctions involving suspension from the House of Commons as MPs piled pressure on the standards commissioner to investigate spending on his flat in the wake of a serious censure by the Electoral Commission.Questions have been raised over whether Johnson misled his ethics adviser after the Conservative party was fined £17,800 for serious donation reporting failures over the financing of the Downing Street flat redecoration. Continue reading...

The singer says noise and pyrotechnics made it impossible to see the crush developing in the crowdTravis Scott has said he didn’t notice concertgoers pleading for help, during his first interview since the devastating crowd crush at Astroworld that left 10 fans dead and hundreds injured. “It’s just been a lot of thoughts, a lot of feelings, a lot of grieving,” he said, “just trying to wrap my head around it.”Over the course of an hour-long interview with Charlamagne tha God, the host of the Breakfast Club radio show, Scott was serious and downcast. He said he wasn’t aware of anything amiss until a news conference was called after his set. “People pass out, things happen at concerts – but something like that?” he said, his voice trailing. Continue reading...

Thomas Schreiber, 35, says he did not want to kill landowner or his mother but ‘demonic’ thoughts took holdAn aspiring artist who killed one of Britain’s wealthiest landowners and repeatedly stabbed his own mother has told a jury he went “completely crazy” after a voice in his head shouted: “Attack, attack, attack,” following months of rising family tensions exacerbated by being “trapped” in Covid lockdowns.Thomas Schreiber, 35, insisted he had not wanted to kill the hotelier and landowner Sir Richard Sutton or his mother, Anne Schreiber, but “demonic” thoughts took hold and he could not stop stabbing them both. Continue reading...

Private healthcare provider says symptoms in country’s fourth wave are far milder than in previous waves

Sudan has had more military coups than any other country in Africa, having undergone three popular uprisings since its independence from British colonial rule. The most recent revolution in 2019 is still under way, with protesters calling for the military to hand over to a civilian government. On 25 October, the military responded to these calls with another crackdown. Internet access was shut down for more than three weeks and unarmed protesters were met with violence. Journalist Yousra Elbagir talks us through the timeline of events in Sudan's fight for democracy Continue reading...

Controversial former prime minister’s divisive personality could make it hard to muster broad supportUndeterred by health woes, sex scandals and advanced age, the former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is doggedly pursuing a promise he once made to his mother: that one day he would become president.Parliament will choose a new head of state early next year and the 85-year-old is the first to put himself forward for a race that could transform the Italian political landscape but has no official candidates. Continue reading...

Draft legislation would improve status of millions of workers, with likely knock-on effect on UK despite BrexitGig economy companies operating in the European Union, such as Uber and Deliveroo, must ensure workers get the minimum wage, access to sick pay, holidays and other employment rights under plans for new laws to crack down on fake self-employment.Publishing long-awaited draft legislation on Thursday, the European Commission said the burden of proof on employment status would shift to companies, rather than the individuals that work for them. Until now, gig economy workers have had to go to court to prove they are employees, or risk being denied basic rights. Continue reading...

Funded by a gas billionaire and sited in a former power station, the huge GES-2 gallery aims to elevate Moscow’s standing on the art world stage. And its headline act? Ragnar Kjartansson’s reshoot of the US soap that became a cult hit in RussiaFirst Vladimir Putin came to visit. Then, for the second day in a row, the artists were turfed out of GES-2, a prestigious new arts centre built in a disused power station, as police and men in suits swarmed in for what looked like another VIP guest.Instead of our planned walkthrough, I trudged through the snow to catch up with Ragnar Kjartansson, the star Icelandic artist headlining the art centre’s opening by re-filming the popular soap opera Santa Barbara as a “living sculpture”. He had taken a booth in the nearby Strelka Bar and was taking the disruption in his stride, despite it coming one day before the grand opening. Continue reading...

NSW police confirm health department requested assistance at Sydney venue

Omicron cases in NSW rise to 42 after eight infections reported; Queensland and Northern Territory pass 80% fully vaccinated mark; Queensland hospitals ‘stretched to breaking point’, AMA says; Victoria records 1,232 new Covid-19 cases and nine deaths; NSW records 420 cases, one death; four cases in ACT, three in NT and none in Qld; vaccine mandate for most Tasmanian public servants. This blog is now closed

Survey by Women Beyond Walls finds 70% of groups working with incarcerated women do not receive funds from women’s rights foundationsThe global feminist movement is failing to support organisations working with women in prison, as donors shy away from funding projects aimed at people with “complicated” narratives, says lawyer and activist Sabrina Mahtani.Mahtani, founder of Women Beyond Walls (WBW), said many NGOs around the world were doing vital work “supporting some of the most marginalised and overlooked women” in society, including providing essential legal services and reducing pretrial detention time. Continue reading...

Nina Gladitz dedicated her life to proving beyond doubt the Triumph of the Will director’s complicity with the horrors of Nazism. In the end, she did it – but at a costOn 20 November 1984, in the southern German city of Freiburg, two film-makers faced each other in court for the first day of a trial that was to last nearly two and a half years. The plaintiff, Leni Riefenstahl, had been Hitler’s favourite film-maker. Now 82, she showed up to court in a sheepskin coat over a beige suit, her blond hair set in a large neat perm framing a tanned face. The defendant was a striking, dark-haired 32-year-old documentary maker. Her name was Nina Gladitz, and the outcome of the trial would shape the rest of her life.During the Nazi era, Riefenstahl had been the regime’s most skilled propagandist, directing films that continue to be both reviled for their glorification of the Third Reich and considered landmarks of early cinema for their innovations and technical mastery. Once the second world war was over, Riefenstahl sought to distance herself from the regime she had served, portraying herself as an apolitical naif whose only motivation was making the most beautiful art possible. “I don’t know what I should apologise for,” she once said. “All my films won the top prize.” Continue reading...

A whistleblower has accused the British government of abject failures in its efforts to manage the evacuation of people from Afghanistan as the Taliban took control in August. Emma Graham-Harrison returns to the country to find it facing a humanitarian crisisWhen the Taliban entered Kabul in August and completed their takeover of Afghanistan, thousands of people scrambled for the last remaining flights out of the city’s airport. It was chaos that turned deadly: a bomb attack on the airport’s perimeter killed more than 70 people as they crowded the fences, desperate for a way out. Now testimony from a whistleblower who was working on the UK government’s response to the crisis paints a picture of a callous, complacent and incompetent Foreign Office.It’s a picture that rings true for the Guardian’s senior foreign reporter Emma Graham-Harrison, who tells Michael Safi that while some of the staff in the Foreign Office acted heroically, the system as a whole had huge failings. The government has rejected the account of the whistleblower. A spokesperson said: “Regrettably we were not able to evacuate all those we wanted to, but … since the end of the operation we have helped more than 3,000 individuals leave Afghanistan.” Continue reading...

Legislation will mean people currently aged 14 and under will never be able to legally purchase tobaccoNew Zealand has announced it will outlaw smoking for the next generation, so that those who are aged 14 and under today will never be legally able to buy tobacco.New legislation means the legal smoking age will increase every year, to create a smoke-free generation of New Zealanders, associate health minister Dr Ayesha Verrall said on Thursday. Continue reading...

Deputy prime minister is experiencing mild symptoms and will remain in isolation until further advice

In 2020, Nayib Bukele’s administration ‘provided financial incentives’ to MS-13 and the Barrio 18 street gangs, US treasury saysThe US has accused the government of El Salvador president Nayib Bukele of secretly negotiating a truce with leaders of the country’s feared MS-13 and Barrio 18 street gangs.The explosive accusation on Wednesday cuts to the heart of one of Bukele’s most highly touted successes in office: a plunge in the country’s murder rate. Continue reading...

The world is divided on how to say the name of the latest Covid-19 variant. But however you pronounce it, we can all agree: it’s not as annoying as someone asking for ‘expresso’Name: Omicron.Age: The new and potentially more virulent Covid-19 variant was first detected in South Africa at the end of November. Young, then. Continue reading...

Gen Bipin Rawat, who was leading changes to his country’s military, died along with his wife and other senior officersThe Indian defence chief, Gen Bipin Rawat, was among 13 people killed in a helicopter crash on Wednesday, raising questions over the future of military changes he was leading.Rawat was India’s first chief of defence staff, a position that the government established in 2019, and was seen as close to the prime minister, Narendra Modi. Continue reading...

Revelations appear at odds with far-right candidate’s own statements about his father’s military serviceThe German-born father of Chilean presidential frontrunner José Antonio Kast was a member of the Nazi party, according to a recently unearthed document – revelations that appear at odds with the far-right candidate’s own statements about his father’s military service during the second world war.German officials have confirmed that an ID card in the country’s federal archive shows that an 18-year-old named Michael Kast joined the National Socialist German Workers’ party, or NSDAP, in Sepember 1942, at the height of Hitler’s war on the Soviet Union. Continue reading...

Halt in trading comes amid concerns developer with huge offshore debts may not meet a $400m repayment deadlineTrading in shares of the embattled Chinese developer Kaisa Group Holdings have been suspended on the Hong Kong stock exchange, prompting fresh concerns about the financial stability of the country’s indebted property sector.The suspension on Wednesday comes after Kaisa was reportedly to be struggling to make a loan repayment of $400m (£301m) by the deadline of Tuesday night in the US, Reuters said, citing a source with direct knowledge of the matter. Continue reading...

Graduate visa holders who were outside Australia when the borders closed have no way of getting back in for at least seven months

‘He had been used for logging on the Andaman Islands. When I found him, he was 60, living in retirement – and loving his swims’I lived at sea for 10 years. I co-owned and ran a global kiteboarding expedition business. We’d sail around the world on a 60-foot catamaran, following the trade winds, kiteboarding, surfing and paragliding in remote locations. One night, I watched a Hollywood movie called The Fall, which had a section where an elephant was swimming in tropical blue water. I didn’t know if it was real or a fake Hollywood thing. But I thought: “Man, if that does exist, I’d love to photograph it.”I searched the internet and found the elephant from the film was living in the Andaman Islands, an Indian territory in the Bay of Bengal. When we sailed into the capital, Port Blair, a few months later in 2010, I decided to hop off and try to find this elephant. I found Rajan on Havelock (now Swaraj) Island and spent two weeks with him, learning about his incredible story. Continue reading...

Dozens of animals disqualified after owners manipulate their looks with hormones, fillers and faceliftsSaudi authorities have carried out their biggest crackdown on camel beauty contestants, disqualifying more than 40 “enhanced” camels from the annual pageant, according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency.The camels disqualified in the competition, at the King Abdulaziz camel festival, were judged to have received Botox injections and other artificial touch-ups. Continue reading...

F1 sponsorship with insulation maker Kingspan terminated after one race amid widespread criticismThe Mercedes Formula One team and a firm that made combustible insulation used on Grenfell Tower have ended their sponsorship deal after outrage from bereaved friends and relatives, the survivors and the UK government.The team, whose main driver is the current champion, Lewis Hamilton, confirmed the short-lived partnership with Kingspan was terminated after just one race in which the logo of the firm that made some of the foam boards used on the tower was emblazoned on the nose cone of cars driven by Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas. Continue reading...

Kremlin leaves door open for further talks but estimated 100,000 Russian troops remain within striking distanceThe Kremlin has said it is expecting to begin a “discussion of strategic security on the continent” with the US after high-stakes talks between Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden.The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters on Wednesday that the two leaders had agreed to appoint representatives “who will rapidly begin a discussion of this complex, confrontational situation”. Continue reading...

Former Hamburg mayor secures 395 of 736 delegates’ ballots in parliamentary voteOlaf Scholz will succeed Angela Merkel as Germany’s new chancellor after securing a majority of 395 of 736 delegates’ ballots in a parliamentary vote on Wednesday morning.Scholz will oversee a liberal-left “traffic light” coalition government between his Social Democratic party (SPD), the Greens and the liberal Free Democratic party (FDP), the first power-sharing agreement of such a kind in Germany, and the first governing alliance with three parties since 1957. Continue reading...

Castrillo Mota de Judíos’ Sephardic centre was among four locations defaced in the ‘cowardly’ attackThe mayor of a Spanish village whose former name was an ugly reminder of the country’s medieval persecution of its Jewish population has vowed to carry on with plans for a Sephardic memory centre despite an antisemitic graffiti attack this week.Seven years ago, the 52 eligible residents of Castrillo Matajudíos – Camp Kill Jews in English, voted in a referendum to change the village’s name back to Castrillo Mota de Judíos, which means Jews’ Hill Camp. Continue reading...

The Zanzibari novelist spoke of migration, colonialism and how he became a writer in his acceptance lecture on TuesdsayThe Nobel laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah, who fled Zanzibar for England in the 1960s, has spoken of how he began writing “in refusal of the self-assured summaries of people who despised and belittled us”.Gurnah, who was awarded the Nobel prize for literature in October for his “uncompromising and compassionate penetration of the effects of colonialism and the fate of the refugee in the gulf between cultures and continents”, was speaking during his Nobel lecture on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Tammy Wynette and Johnny Cash cancelled gigs in Belfast during the violent 1970s, but Pride played on – and, with his song Crystal Chandeliers, became a sensation in the north and the RepublicWhen Charley Pride arrived in Belfast in early November 1976, the Northern Irish capital was at war. There were almost daily reports of shootings of civilians and soldiers on both sides of the sectarian divide. An armistice movement, the Peace People, had materialised that summer after three children were fatally struck by an IRA getaway car.Someone else intent on restoring normality to Belfast during the bloody 70s was Jim Aiken. This enterprising former schoolteacher-turned-concert promoter wanted to turn Northern Ireland into a second home for American country music – and rightfully so, since the Ulster Scots folk tradition was an essential ancestor of the genre. Aiken had invited over artists such as Buck Owens and Tex Ritter. Next, he had his heart set on Pride, the singer who found success as a Black artist in a roots genre that had come to be dominated by white artists.I never did fit in too well with folks you knewAnd it’s plain to see that the likes of me don’t fit with you Continue reading...

A Pacific labour scheme has been transformative for Kiribati families but the loss of nurses has hit the country’s hospitals hardEvery night, sitting in her room in the remote Queensland town of Doomadgee, Bwerere Sandy Tebau calls her husband and daughter 4,300km away in Tarawa, the capital of Kiribati.“There is no sea!” Sandy says, when asked about the difference between her new home in the red desert of Australia and her island home in the central Pacific. “There is just a lake and in the lake are crocodiles!” Continue reading...

Rennick’s social media posts on adverse vaccine events were ‘as far away from science as possible’, AMA vice-president says

Reporters Without Borders calls increasing media oppression in China a ‘great leap backwards’ and says Hong Kong journalism is ‘in freefall’Xi Jinping has created a “nightmare” of media oppression worthy of the Mao era, and Hong Kong’s journalism is in “freefall”, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).In a major report released on Wednesday, the journalism advocacy group detailed the worsening treatment of journalists and tightening of control over information in China, adding to an environment in which “freely accessing information has become a crime and to provide information an even greater crime”. Continue reading...

Australian Open organisers say ‘all players, participants and staff’ must be vaccinated as Djokovic, who has not revealed his vaccination status, is included in tournament drawTennis Australia has hit back at suggestions it is seeking to exploit a “loophole” in border entry rules so unvaccinated players can compete in the upcoming Australian Open, as it included Novak Djokovic in the draw for the January grand slam.Djokovic’s inclusion in the tournament draw, which was released on Wednesday afternoon, followed intense speculation about the world No 1’s ability to enter the country.Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning Continue reading...

The legendary director used to get scolded by his parents for singing its songs at the dinner table. As his version hits the big screen, he talks about his own dancefloor prowess – and the ‘obscure movie club’ he formed with SondheimIt’s a winter afternoon and you’re about to begin a video call with Steven Spielberg. The perfect opportunity, then, to make a quick brew in your Gremlins mug (Spielberg produced that devilish 1984 horror-comedy) then brandish it in front of the webcam for the director’s benefit. “Oh, I love that, thank you,” he says, chuckling softly. Then he wags a cautionary finger: “Don’t drink it after midnight!”The most famous and widely cherished film-maker in history is all twinkling eyes and gee-whiz charm today. He is about to turn 75 but first there is the release of his muscular new take on West Side Story, which marks his third collaboration with the playwright Tony Kushner, who also scripted Munich and Lincoln. Spielberg is at pains to point out that this not a remake of the Oscar-laden movie but a reimagining of the original stage musical. “I never would have dared go near it had it only been a film,” he says. “But, because it’s constantly being performed across the globe, I didn’t feel I was claim-jumping on my friend Robert Wise’s 1961 movie.” Continue reading...

We are raiding the Audio Long Read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors.This week, from 2016: When the battered body of a Cambridge PhD student was found outside Cairo, Egyptian police claimed he had been hit by a car. Then they said he was the victim of a robbery. Then they blamed a conspiracy against Egypt. But in a digital age, it’s harder than ever to get away with murder. By Alexander Stille Continue reading...

Niger state has been wracked by banditry for years. Now jihadists have moved in to communities just a few hundred miles from the capital, Abuja“They ordered everyone to come around, saying if you run, if you cry, you will die,” said Bala Pada, recalling the moment in April when jihadists rounded up people at a market in his home town of Kaure to witness the execution of two alleged vigilantes.Hundreds of jihadists have settled over the past year in Kaure and other remote communities in Niger state in Nigeria, according to displaced residents and local government officials. They began to arrive in November 2020, hoisting flags and declaring the communities under their control. Continue reading...

Scholz to lead coalition government after agreement was signed by party leaders on TuesdayOlaf Scholz is to be voted in as chancellor by the Bundestag on Wednesday, opening a new chapter in German and European politics as the Merkel era comes to an end.Scholz, the outgoing deputy chancellor and finance minister, will lead a government composed of his Social Democrat party, the business-friendly Free Democrats and the Greens, a coalition of parties never tried before at the federal level in Germany. Continue reading...

Scott Morrison has confirmed that Australian officials will not attend the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, joining the United States in a diplomatic boycott of the event. Morrison said a deterioration in the diplomatic relationship between Australia and China led to the decision, but said athletes will still attend.► Subscribe to Guardian Australia on YouTube

Registered births fell by 3.7% in 2020, with the total fertility rate at an all-time low of 1.58 babies per woman

More fatalities expected as search for survivors continues following eruption at Mount Semeru on SaturdayIndonesia’s president has visited areas devastated by a powerful volcanic eruption that killed at least 34 people and left thousands homeless, and vowed that communities would be quickly rebuilt.Clouds of hot ash shot high into the sky and an avalanche of lava and searing gas swept as far as 11 kilometers (7 miles) down Mount Semeru’s slopes in a sudden eruption Saturday triggered by heavy rain. Villages and towns were blanketed by tons of volcanic debris. Continue reading...

Analysis: After two decades of major financial aid, Beijing is rethinking its strategy on continent amid Covid crisis and fierce competition for power, analysts say

Boris Johnson denies staff gatherings took place or rules were broken during last year’s lockdownDowning Street is facing renewed pressure after TV footage emerged showing senior No 10 officials joking about a Christmas party during lockdown last December.In the leaked video, obtained by ITV, an adviser to Johnson is seen joking with Allegra Stratton, the prime minister’s then press secretary, about “a Downing Street Christmas party on Friday night”. Continue reading...

Early indications Omicron more transmissible than Delta, says Boris Johnson; Nicola Sturgeon says staff should work from home until mid-January

Exchange between Ed Oldfield and Allegra Stratton took place last December days after alleged party took placeBoris Johnson is facing accusations of lying after senior No 10 officials were filmed joking about a lockdown Christmas party that Downing Street insists did not take place.Johnson and his aides have repeatedly denied that the event, reportedly held for staff at No 10 in December last year, broke Covid rules or took place at all. Continue reading...

The head of the Foreign Office has been accused of covering up the prime minister’s involvement in the decision to evacuate pets from Kabul at a select committee hearing.Labour MP Chris Bryant made the accusation to Sir Philip Barton and read out a leaked letter from Boris Johnson’s parliamentary private secretary which he said implied Johnson’s 'fingers' were 'all over' the controversial decision.Barton did not accept the charge and, in a separate interview, Johnson dismissed the accusation that he was involved as 'complete nonsense'

Police say man, named as Khalid Aedh al-Otaibi, was arrested as he was about to board flight from Paris to RiyadhFrench police have arrested a man on suspicion of being a former member of the Saudi royal guard accused of being involved in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.The man, named as Khalid Aedh al-Otaibi, was taken into custody at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport as he was about to board a plane to the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Continue reading...