Film director injured on set says he is ‘gutted’ by death of cinematographer Halyna HutchinsThe movie director injured after Alec Baldwin shot what he was told was a “cold”, or safe, gun said on Saturday he was “gutted” by the on-set death of a cinematographer.Joel Souza, who was hit in the shoulder when Baldwin discharged the prop gun, which turned out to contain live rounds, broke his silence as the investigation entered its third day, with questions remaining over how the mistake killed Halyna Hutchins. Continue reading...
Supporters of Tehreek-e-Labiak Pakistan party are massing before rally in Islamabad to demand release of their leaderThousands of supporters of a banned radical Islamist party have departed from the eastern Pakistan city of Lahore, clashing with police for a second day, a party spokesman and witnesses said on Saturday.The group formed on Friday with the goal of reaching the capital, Islamabad, to pressure the government to release Saad Rizvi, the head of the Tehreek-e-Labiak Pakistan party. Continue reading...
by Edwin Waita and Reuters in Nandi County on (#5R28B)
The long-distance runner was buried in her home town in Kenyan highlands after being found stabbed to deathMore than 1,000 mourners gathered for the funeral of long-distance Olympic runner Agnes Tirop, a rising star in Kenya’s highly competitive athletics scene.Tirop was found stabbed to death in her home in the Great Rift Valley town of Iten on 13 October. Her funeral was held on the day she would have turned 26. Continue reading...
Italy’s far-right former interior minister goes on trial for refusing to let Spanish rescue ship dock in SicilyThe Italian far-right leader, Matteo Salvini, has criticised the approval of a Hollywood star as a witness in his trial on kidnapping charges for blocking the arrival of a migrant rescue ship.As the trial began on Saturday, the Palermo judge Roberto Murgia said all witnesses submitted by the parties would be allowed to testify, including the actor Richard Gere, who went on board the NGO ship Open Arms in August 2019 in a show of solidarity with the 147 stranded migrants. The next hearing has been set for 17 December. Continue reading...
by Patricia Lockwood, Anuk Arudpragasam, Maggie Ships on (#5R215)
Patricia Lockwood, Anuk Arudpragasam, Richard Powers and more on how they made the 2021 shortlist‘I did not see a character, but rather a horizon’ Continue reading...
They feel the same about the Tories, but not about Brexit – can two strangers find common ground over dinner?• Click here if you’d like to dine across the divideDavid, 73, StockportOccupation Semi-retired musician and former music college principal Continue reading...
UN says government was aware of plane carrying 11 aid workers as year-long conflict with TPLF escalates in Tigray and AmharaAn Ethiopian government airstrike on the capital of the northern Tigray region has forced a UN aid flight to abort a landing in midair.The UN has suspended its twice-weekly passenger flights to Mekelle for humanitarian personnel after the plane with 11 passengers had to abort the landing on Friday and return to the capital, Addis Ababa. Continue reading...
UN special rapporteur on Myanmar, Tom Andrews, says the world should be prepared for ‘even more mass atrocity crimes’The United nations fears another human rights catastrophe in Myanmar amid reports of thousands of troops massing in the north of the south-east Asian country, which has been in chaos since a February coup.“We should all be prepared, as the people in this part of Myanmar are prepared, for even more mass atrocity crimes. I desperately hope that I am wrong,” said UN special rapporteur on Myanmar, Tom Andrews. Continue reading...
Treasures worth millions found in the last five years along the Musi River could be the site of the Srivijaya empireIt was a fabled kingdom known in ancient times as the Island of Gold, a civilisation with untold wealth that explorers tried in vain to find long after its unexplained disappearance from history around the 14th century. The site of Srivijaya may finally have been found – by local fishing crews carrying out night-time dives on the Musi River near Palembang on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.Their extraordinary catches are treasures ranging from a lifesize eighth-century Buddhist statue studded with precious gems – worth millions of pounds – to jewels worthy of kings. Continue reading...
Angela Merkel, the outgoing chancellor of Germany, seemed wary of offering her hand for a full handshake with the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, at a Brussels summit. Von der Leyen instead grasped Merkel's hand by way of greeting, at what could be her compatriot's final EU summit as chancellor
by Presented by Katharine Murphy. Produced by Karishm on (#5R1GP)
Katharine Murphy speaks to the independent Indi MP Helen Haines about her plan to reintroduce a federal integrity commission bill to the lower house next week and why a commonwealth anti-corruption watchdog is vital for democracyRead more: Continue reading...
In the run-up to the Glasgow conference, James Shaw admits he is unhappy with New Zealand’s track record on emissions but insists there is room for hopeNew Zealand’s climate change minister James Shaw has revealed his official and unofficial coping mechanisms for reckoning with the country’s dismal climate record. The first is a measured speech on finding solace in making himself useful and working towards change. The second? “Whiskey,” he says.On the eve of the UN’s Cop26 conference in Glasgow, he may need to pick up a bottle of duty-free. Shaw admits he is embarrassed by the country’s record on emissions but says no leader can arrive at the conference holding their head high. Continue reading...
by Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Washington on (#5R1GQ)
Senior advisers discuss alleged targeting of French cabinet ministers’ phones with NSO Group spywareA top adviser to the French president, Emmanuel Macron, has met with his Israeli counterpart to discuss the alleged targeting of French ministers by a client of NSO Group, the Israeli spyware maker.A row over the alleged surveillance has been described as a major diplomatic headache for the government of Naftali Bennett, the Israeli prime minister. Continue reading...
Police detain 24-year-old man at Manchester airport in connection with the 2017 attacksDetectives investigating the Manchester Arena terrorist attack in 2017 have arrested a 24-year-old man.The suspect was detained on Friday at Manchester airport on suspicion of engaging in the preparation of acts of terrorism/assisting others in acts of preparation under section 5 of the Terrorism Act (2006), Greater Manchester police said. Continue reading...
Father of Anthony Walgate says further murders could have been avoided if police had ‘done their jobs better’The parents of the serial killer Stephen Port’s first victim described the investigation into his death as a “travesty” by “Keystone Cops” who insisted their son’s death was not murder, an inquest heard.Anthony Walgate, 23, a fashion student from Hull, was found dead outside Port’s flat in Barking, east London, in June 2014 after being given a fatal dose of date-rape drug GHB. Continue reading...
by Harriet Sherwood and agencies in Jerusalem on (#5R17T)
Defence ministry says the six groups have undercover links to militant PFLP movementIsrael has accused six prominent Palestinian human rights groups of being terrorist organisations, saying they have undercover links to a militant movement.Most of the groups document alleged human rights violations by Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Continue reading...
Royal watchers say Buckingham Palace ‘could have handled it differently’ after the news was leaked to a newspaperThe Queen is undertaking “light duties” after a hospital visit for “preliminary investigations” as Buckingham Palace faced questions over its handling of news of her overnight admission.The 95-year-old monarch is said be resting at Windsor Castle after undergoing tests at King Edward VII’s Hospital in central London, having been advised by doctors to rest for a few days and cancelled a two-day trip to Northern Ireland. Continue reading...
Prime minister unveils one-off ‘inflation payout’ and freezing of petrol prices for 2022France has announced a €100 (£85) handout for people on low to middle incomes and promised to freeze petrol prices to try to contain growing anger over record fuel prices and an increase in living costs.“We obviously want to protect French people, above all those who work hard and are taking the full force of these price rises,” said the government spokesperson, Gabriel Attal. Continue reading...
On-set deaths like Halyna Hutchins’ remain thankfully rare – but only one film director has been convicted in the US for such incidentsSafety on film and TV sets is under renewed scrutiny following the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins by actor and producer Alec Baldwin during production on Rust, a western being filmed in New Mexico.Baldwin, who has been questioned and released by the Santa Fe authorities, also shot director Joel Souza in what has been described as an accident involving a prop gun. Continue reading...
You are trying so hard, but at 22 he needs you to take a step back so he can breatheMy 22-year-old son is about to start his third year of a four-year degree course, and he is living at home. He has always been quiet and introverted, but popular. Three years ago, when challenged by one of his sisters as to why he never tells us anything, he confided that he had been suffering from anxiety and feeling worthless. I felt sad for him, and powerless.We also discovered that he was smoking cannabis. I threatened to throw him out if he didn’t stop. There have been times when he has barely come out of his room, and others when he’s been better. He has tried antidepressants, at my suggestion. I have also advised that he see a counsellor, and he has done so; he says it has been helping. Continue reading...
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins airlifted to hospital, where she died, while director Joel Souza also injuredAlec Baldwin is at the centre of a police investigation after shooting and killing his director of photography with a prop gun on the set of a movie in New Mexico in what appeared to be an accidental misfire.A statement from the Santa Fe sheriff’s office said Baldwin, who is acting in and producing the film Rust, had fired the prop gun in an incident on Thursday, which also wounded the movie’s director. Continue reading...
Relaxation is part of government rethink designed to keep users away from illegal marketAdults in Luxembourg will be permitted to grow up to four cannabis plants in their homes or gardens under laws that will make it the first country in Europe to legalise production and consumption of the drug.The announcement on Friday by Luxembourg’s government was said to deliver fundamental changes in the country’s approach to recreational cannabis use and cultivation in light of the failure of prohibition to deter use. Continue reading...
He started out working with big cats before becoming Hollywood’s go-to guy for menacing oddballs. He talks about The Deer Hunter, the perils of being a world-class dancer – and doing community service with Stephen MerchantIn between his early days as a lion tamer and his latest turn as an old lag doing community service in Bristol, Christopher Walken was Hollywood’s go-to guy for disturbed individuals. He was never quite as deranged as Dennis Hopper, perhaps, but those fixed staring eyes and a rictus smile more mirthless than Robert De Niro’s have helped convey instability and menace for more than half a century in more than 100 films and TV shows. “My whole acting career was a kind of accident,” he tells me down the phone from his home in rural Connecticut. “I guess you can blame Woody Allen. He must have seen something in me.”In 1977’s Annie Hall, Walken played Duane Hall, Annie’s oddball brother. “Can I confess something?” Duane asks Allen’s character Alvy Singer in a darkened room. “Sometimes when I’m driving on the road at night I see two headlights coming toward me. Fast. I have this sudden impulse to turn the wheel quickly, head-on into the oncoming car … ” “Right,” replies Alvy, sensibly backing away. “Well, I have to go now, Duane, because I’m due back on the planet Earth.” Continue reading...
Drone footage surveying the Cumbre Vieja volcano shows a massive river of thick lava flowing towards the Atlantic Ocean. Approximately 7,500 people have been forced to leave their homes since the Cumbre Vieja began erupting more than a month ago. Scientists say the eruption could go on for three months
SPD, Greens and FDP make pledge in acknowledgement young people must have say country’s futureThe three parties on track to form Germany’s next coalition government have been locked in tense negotiations over the future of Europe’s powerhouse. But regarding one seemingly radical issue, they are united – lowering the voting age to 16.The Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) have signed up to reduce the age at which Germans can vote from 18 in acknowledgement that an increasingly politicised generation of young people must have a future say in the way the country is run. Continue reading...
by Elias Visontay (now) and Mostafa Rachwani and Josh on (#5R04W)
Victoria announces quarantine for international arrivals ends 1 November as state records 2,189 new cases and 16 deaths; NSW reports 345 cases and five deaths; 13 cases in ACT and none in Queensland; Qantas to return to 100% of staff levels in January; Scott Morrison says travel agreement with Singapore is imminent; This blog is now closed
I created a persona to help me fit in – but no one can connect with you when you’re presenting a tough front. Once I left the narcissistic shores of TV, I learned to live very differentlyLoneliness was in our lives long before lockdown. We all pretended to be part of one big happy electronic family by zinging back and forth a few heart-shaped emojis to show we cared, but deep down we knew it was just a click of a button that meant nothing. I even sent those hearts to my plumber.Personally, I have always felt lonely. From childhood, my main motive was to be accepted so I didn’t have to feel alone. And certainly not alone with my parents, who brought the war from Europe into our breakfast nook. Continue reading...
Despite a dodgy hip, the superstar remains youthful thanks to pop star friends like Dua Lipa – but is still struggling with anger and childhood trauma. He explains how fatherhood is making him a better manA good illustration of Elton John in 2021 is how, last week, he scored the eighth UK No 1 single of his career and also had his right hip replaced. The 74-year-old certainly has his frailties – “my left hip is the hip of a two-year-old, and my right hip is the hip of a 92-year-old” – but is youthful in other ways. His enormously enjoyable and varied new album, The Lockdown Sessions, may feature a range of boomer-pleasing names, such as Eddie Vedder, Glen Campbell and two A-list Stevies (Wonder and Nicks), but there are also plenty of pop artists that could feasibly incite a TikTok dance craze: Dua Lipa, Lil Nas X, Rina Sawayama. One song pairs John with country singer Jimmie Allen over a drum’n’bass beat; another is interspersed with raps from Young Thug and Nicki Minaj.“Watching Young Thug freestyle was just amazing!” he enthuses over a video call, self-isolating the day before his operation, dressed in collared, lapelled pyjamas over a rugby top. Oil paintings of 19th-century figures flank him in the background. “I hate it when people knock rap and hip-hop – when you actually go in the studio and watch Young Thug in front of a microphone, it’s an incredible thing.” He’d had dinner with Lipa, who duets with him on their No 1 single Cold Heart, a few nights before; he rings up Olly Alexander of Years & Years, who covered Pet Shop Boys’ It’s a Sin with him, “a couple of times a fortnight. I feel an empathy with these people. I’ve got the enthusiasm of an 18-year-old, and enthusiasm keeps me going.” Continue reading...
Axel Springer is accused by ex-employees of turning a blind eye to sexual misconduct at flagship title BildThat Axel Springer, a media empire built on digging up stories of sex and sleaze among the rich and famous, should have turned a blind eye to sex and sleaze within its own offices will hardly have come as a shock to its readers.A chauvinistic “Wolf of Wall Street” office culture at its flagship title Bild has always been plain to see, say former staff members at the German media giant, named after its five-times-married founder who died in 1985. Continue reading...
The high-profile conservative commentator described Australia as a ‘tyrannical police state’ during an episode of her self-titled TV showOutspoken conservative political commentator Candace Owens has suggested the US military invade Australia in order to free its people “suffering under a totalitarian regime” while drawing comparisons to Hitler, Stalin and the Taliban.Owens made the comments on her self-titled Daily Wire TV show earlier this week, declaring Covid-19 had propelled the planet into an “ideological and psychological” global war. Continue reading...
The 15-year-old Ethiopian-born Latin dance star, who is replacing Emma Watkins in the popular children’s group, is pumped to be hitting the road with her childhood idolsThe colour scheme remains the same but fans of the Wiggles will notice some big changes with the recruitment of Tsehay (pronounced “se-hi”) Hawkins into the lineup of the venerable preschool edutainment phenomenon.Taking over the yellow skivvy from Emma Watkins, who has retired after 11 years with the troupe, Hawkins, 15, is the youngest member of the Wiggles by far (the group’s remaining founder-performer Anthony Field is 58) and the first woman of colour in its frontline quartet. Continue reading...
The struggling property giant has wired $83.5m to creditors, Chinese media says, but deadlines loom for another $193m in paymentsThe troubled property company China Evergrande Group has come up with the money to pay a $83.5m bond interest payment that it missed in September, according to reports.The company, which has debts of around $305bn, wired the $83.5m payment and noteholders will receive it before Saturday, China’s state-backed newspaper Securities Times said on Friday, citing relevant channels, according to Bloomberg. Continue reading...
I’m one of the city’s many undercover agents, ready to pounce on any and all lockdown infringementsNine weeks into Tāmaki Makaurau’s lockdown, having pushed the limits on baking, introspection and backgammon, I’ve taken to running.No, not for any of the health benefits – running at my size can’t be healthy; it’s a chance to go snooping. I’ve always enjoyed sticking my nose in other people’s business, but society has repressed these urges. Lockdown, finally, has given me the licence to pry. Continue reading...
The 5.9 magnitude quake forced the prime minister to pause and grip her podium before continuing to outline post-Covid lockdown plansNew Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has been interrupted by an earthquake midway through announcing the country’s plans for a post-Covid-lockdown future.The 5.9 quake rattled parliament in Wellington on Friday as Ardern was holding a press conference on the country’s new vaccination targets. Continue reading...
Despite weaving relatable scenes of Zoom calls and lockdown weight gain into her distinctive aesthetic, the stylised singer remains as elusive as ever on her eighth albumDespite some misguided early philosophising, the pandemic has not turned out to be a great leveller: we have all been, to borrow a viral metaphor, navigating the same stormy sea in very different vessels. It has, however, made Lana Del Rey a bit more relatable. The musician has often seemed more highly stylised cipher than everywoman, toying with romantic ideals of American culture and darkly dysfunctional love. Yet on her eighth album, Blue Banisters, she has more pedestrian activities in mind, such as Zoom calls and trips to Target.“If this is the end, I want a boyfriend / Someone to eat ice-cream with and watch television,” she sings on Black Bathing Suit, a song that appears to nod to lockdown weight gain (“The only thing that still fits me is this black bathing suit”). Later, she is overcome by signs of ordinary life returning: on Violets for Roses, once run-of-the-mill sights such as young women frolicking maskless and bookshops reopening can now elicit euphoria. Continue reading...
Friday: Fully vaccinated people are enjoying new freedoms in Victoria. Plus: tiny Queensland town overwhelmed by response to its plan to address a housing crisisGood morning. Melbourne exits its sixth lockdown today. Leaked documents show that high-polluting countries have been lobbying to water down a landmark UN climate report. And, as Australia’s big cities open up, eros is back.After 262 days, Melbourne is emerging from lockdown with 70% of Victorians aged over 16 having received two doses of vaccine. Students will return to class part-time, fully vaccinated people can get haircuts, groups can gather outdoors in larger numbers and people can have visitors in the homes. While pubs and restaurants will be open for limited numbers, entertainment venues will not, making the reopening bittersweet for those working in the sector. “Everyone is celebrating about coming out of lockdown,” says band booker Georgia Farry. “But we still feel left behind.” And the AMA’s Victorian branch has suggested “Covid-deniers” and “anti-vaxxers” should opt out of care in the public health system if they catch the virus. Continue reading...
Angharad Williamson is third person charged with murder after her son was found in a river in Bridgend in JulyThe mother of a five-year-old boy who was found dead in a river has been charged with his murder.Angharad Williamson, 30, from Sarn, Bridgend, is the third person to be charged with the murder of her son Logan Mwangi, also known as Logan Williamson. The child was discovered in the Ogmore River in Sarn on 31 July. Continue reading...
Ali Harbi Ali visited Houses of Parliament, an MP’s home and another constituency surgery, say prosecutorsThe suspect in the killing of the MP David Amess prepared terrorist acts over more than two years, it was alleged in court on Thursday.Prosecutors claimed that Ali Harbi Ali, 25, visited the Houses of Parliament, an MP’s home and another constituency surgery as part of reconnaissance for a potential attack. Continue reading...
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