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We are forced to take on more risk with every shift. And for patients, the emergency department is no longer always the safe place it should beIt wasn’t a surprise that working as a junior doctor in a Melbourne hospital emergency department during a pandemic comes with challenges.Covid-19 will be one of the biggest challenges of our generation, but despite pleas to politicians and the public to do everything they can to help us get through the pandemic safely, each shift there are new reminders that coronavirus will continue to wreak havoc on our jobs and lives. Continue reading...

The pandemic has prompted a rethink of tourism’s role on the island as some call for only ‘quality’ visitorsAfter being shuttered for 17 months, the upmarket Hujan Locale restaurant in the Balinese town of Ubud is slowly coming back to life.Outside, staff greet a box truck driver who delivers fresh vegetables and stacks of lemongrass, ginger flowers and kaffir lime leaves. Kitchen workers are busy preparing for the day ahead. A chandelier above a stairway is once again casting a warm yellow shimmer across the walls. Continue reading...

The prime minister was responding to book arguing old laws would prevent same-sex marriage for a monarch or their heirsA Dutch monarch can marry a person of whatever gender they choose without forfeiting their right to the throne, prime minister Mark Rutte has said.Rutte was responding to questions from parliament that arose from a recent book, Amalia, Duty Calls, which argued that old laws would appear to exclude the possibility of a same-sex couple on the throne, despite same-sex marriage being legal in the Netherlands since 2001. Continue reading...

Daughter of 1930s Stonehenge custodian shares memories as part of English Heritage projectShe recalls the skylarks soaring overhead and the dog violets in the woods, as well as her father’s battles with moles and his all-night shifts when the druids arrived for midsummer celebrations.Most of all Jean Grey, whose father, John Moffatt, was the custodian at Stonehenge in the 1930s, remembers the fun of the great stone circle being her extraordinary childhood playground. Continue reading...

Former health secretary’s role comes as MPs release damning report into UK’s pandemic responseMatt Hancock has announced he has been appointed a special representative to the United Nations. The former health secretary will focus on helping African countries recover from Covid-19.Hancock said he was “honoured” to have been given the role, adding on Twitter: “I’ll be working with the UN, the UN Economic Commission for Africa to help African economic recovery from the pandemic and promote sustainable development.” Continue reading...

Offer to lift up to 50% of customs checks aims to turn page on troubled relationship with Boris Johnson

What is the proposed EU solution – and will it please David Frost?Within the UK’s Brexit withdrawal agreement with the EU, a protocol lays out arrangements that effectively keep Northern Ireland in the single market, drawing a customs border between it and the rest of the UK, with checks on goods passing from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. Continue reading...

UK cases fall back below 40,000 mark; Moderna says boosters reduce ‘breakthrough’ infections

Leaders agree in principle that funds can be channelled through UN agencies to avert ‘humanitarian meltdown’G20 leaders and ministers have agreed they will have no option but to involve the Taliban in sending humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, but say that this stops short of political recognition of the Taliban as a government.The consensus view came at a video conference on the Afghan crisis at which the EU stepped up its aid to a total of €1bn (£850m), and it was agreed in principle that the IMF and World Bank could provide aid. Nearly $9bn of Afghan assets in overseas banks have been frozen by the US. Continue reading...

Review of indecent exposure and domestic abuse claims over last two years follows murder of Sarah EverardPolice chiefs have been told to review all allegations of sexual misconduct, indecent exposure and domestic abuse involving their officers over the last two years.The review comes after a fall in public trust over the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by Wayne Couzens while he was a serving Metropolitan police officer, and fears that forces were not doing enough to identify and stop offenders in their ranks. Continue reading...

Despite his party losing election, Andrej Babiš says he was Miloš Zeman’s choice to lead next governmentCzech politics has been thrown into fresh uncertainty after the billionaire prime minister, Andrej Babiš claimed the president had promised him a shot at heading the next government despite being defeated in a general election.In a statement that was met with widespread scepticism, Babiš told journalists thatMiloš Zeman, gravely ill in hospital, told him “repeatedly” that he would choose him to lead a new administration when the pair met on Sunday, a day after the unexpected poll result. Continue reading...

The director says his film was sympathetic to Mark Brandon Read and ‘on his side’. It had to be – to understand his violence. Culture editor Steph Harmon recommends this story about the depiction of a notorious Australian criminalYou can read the original article here: Andrew Dominik on 20 years of Chopper: ‘Ethics have nothing to do with it’ Continue reading...

Minister reprimands top bishop for claiming the secrecy of confessional ‘above laws of the Republic’Catholic priests must report all child sexual abuse allegations to police, including if they hear about it in the secrecy of the confession box, the French interior minister has said after reprimanding France’s top bishop for claiming that the secrecy of the Catholic confessional was “above the laws of the Republic”.France is reeling from the publication last week of a devastating independent report which found that at least 330,000 children were victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy and lay members of church institutions over the past 70 years, and that the crimes were covered up in a “systemic way” by the church. Continue reading...

Three submarines were in the area when the trawler went down off the Cornish coast, an inquest was toldTwo of the UK’s most senior Royal Navy officers have strongly rejected the suggestion that a submarine could have sunk a fishing boat that went down off the Cornish coast 17 years ago with the loss of five lives.They told an inquest that three submarines – from the UK, the Netherlands and Germany – were in the area to take part in a military exercise but were not close to the trawler when it sunk and claimed it was “unthinkable” that records of the military vessels’ movements had been falsified in a cover-up. Continue reading...

Latest updates: Labour accuses Lord Frost of asking EU to rip up agreement he negotiated after he called for changes to Northern Ireland protocol

It is thought to be the first time the 95-year-old has used a cane for comfort and not a specific medical reasonThe Queen has been seen using a walking stick for support for the first time on Tuesday as she attended a service at Westminster Abbey.The monarch, 95, was pictured using a walking aid at a service marking the centenary of the Royal British Legion. Continue reading...

Underwater 6.3-magnitude quake released ‘small tsunami’ with warning to avoid coastal areasA powerful earthquake, the second in just over two weeks, has rocked Crete, prompting “a small tsunami” in the south of the Greek island and an evacuation alert.The quake, which was felt as far away as Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean, had a magnitude of 6.3, according to the Geodynamic Institute in Athens. There were no immediate reports of casualties or injuries although rockslides were widespread. Continue reading...

Recipients of jab while pregnant recall confusing advice and ‘vicious’ social media comments

Pre-civil war, Yugoslavian musicians defied the limitations of technology to make superb electro-pop in an apparent socialist utopiaBell-bottomed revellers clad in shining shirts, dancing the night away, were a familiar sight in the party capitals of the world circa 1970. But in brutalist New Belgrade, it was a brand new experience: in the basement of a sports hall, the first discotheque in socialist Yugoslavia was born.The country no longer exists, having splintered into fragments following war in the 1990s. But before economic and ethnic fault lines appeared, and when the good times rolled, the country straddled the line between east and west – a successful socialist experiment, for a time, with an open society and vibrant cultural life. Yugoslavian disco, post-punk and electronic music thrived in the 1970s and 1980s – yet was mostly forgotten until recent efforts by hobby archivists and specialist record labels. Continue reading...

Lawyers’ report says bill will lead to multiple challenges under international human rightsPriti Patel’s controversial new borders bill breaches international and domestic law in at least 10 different ways, a report from a team of leading immigration lawyers has concluded.Four barristers led by the human rights QC Raza Husain claim that the nationality and borders bill, which is moving through parliament, will lead to challenges under international human rights and refugee treaties. Continue reading...

Welsh first minister expects Covid measures to continue until next year; Australia’s PM planning to fast-track international travel

The Premier League may soon regret allowing the takeover, writes Joe McCarthy, while Michael McCarthy says it shows how little power fans have. Michael Herron believes money has rotted the game and Dr Chris Haughton suggests a visit to Saudi Arabia by the Toon ArmyBarney Ronay is right that “English football has reached a particular kind of extreme” by agreeing to the Saudi takeover of Newcastle United (Newcastle’s Saudi takeover will cause faux morality of football to collapse, 7 October). The Premier League, in its consideration of the Saudi purchase, has reportedly seen basic human rights and TV piracy with a bizarre equivalence. However, once the piracy issue was resolved, the deal was given the go-ahead.Most ordinary people have higher moral standards than the rich and powerful. Normally the rich are very good at navigating this dilemma and don’t rub their immorality too much in the faces of the rest of us. But the Premier League has got this one wrong. Amnesty has already condemned the takeover. By allowing the arrival of Mohammed bin Salman into football’s “billionaire boys’ club”, the football authorities have drawn much attention to the amoral ownership model of some of England’s biggest clubs. They may soon regret it.

Four people aged 18, 19, 25 and 44 declared dead at scene in Headcorn and 15-year-old taken to hospitalFour people have died and a teenage boy was left fighting for his life after a vehicle crash in Kent.They had been travelling together in Headcorn, Kent when they were involved in the collision. Continue reading...

Crossings take place as French minister accuses UK of failing to pay promised £55m to tackle the problemMore than 1,100 people made the perilous journey across the Channel in small boats on Friday and Saturday, as France accused Britain of failing to provide funds promised to tackle the problem.After 10 days in which no crossings were possible, 624 people reached the UK on small boats on Friday – the fourth highest daily tally recorded during the current crisis – and 491 did so on Saturday. At lest 40 boats landed over the two days. Continue reading...

Tsai Ing-wen condemns China’s plans for Taiwan and says island will continue to build its defencesNo one will force Taipei to take the path laid out by Beijing, Tsai Ing-wen has vowed on Taiwan’s national day, pledging to continue bolstering the island’s military defences.Responding to repeated threats from China’s leaders that it will one day take Taiwan – by force if need be – and overthrow its democratically elected government, the president said Taiwan had the resolve to defend itself and its future, which “must be decided in accordance with the will of the Taiwanese people”. Continue reading...

Underground recalls brief but intense flowering of movement in city following death of FrancoWhen Spain’s repressive dictatorship finally came to a close with the death of Francisco Franco in 1975, the counterculture that had been bubbling away for years elsewhere in Europe arrived with a bang.“After years of repression there was an immense desire to do things; people were desperate to express themselves,” said Pepe Ribas, the curator of Underground, an exhibition that celebrates the intense but brief flowering of counter-culture of 1970s Barcelona. Continue reading...

Source close to Rishi Sunak accuses business secretary of ‘making up’ talks over support for manufacturersTreasury sources have hit back at the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, after he suggested Rishi Sunak was involved in negotiations over aid for struggling manufacturers hit by soaring energy bills.In a highly unusual slapdown, which occurred during a round of broadcast interviews with Kwarteng, sources close to the chancellor cautioned the business secretary against making any promises to companies and said there had been no approach to the Treasury. Continue reading...

Taiwan will keep bolstering its defences to ensure nobody can force the island to accept the path China has laid down that offers neither freedom nor democracy, President Tsai Ing-wen said on Sunday, in a strong riposte to Beijing. Claimed by China as its own territory, Taiwan has come under growing military and political pressure to accept Beijing's rule, including repeated Chinese air force missions in Taiwan's air defence identification zone, prompting international concern

Whether it’s a love of lawnmowers or mustard pots, these enthusiasts have turned niche hobbies into full-time obsessions. Michael Segalov has a wander around six unusual collectionsThe British gardening machine industry was the biggest and best in the world for well over a century. Our engineering ingenuity was second to none. What we’ve set out to do is save these mowing machines from the scrapyard in an effort to preserve their history, which otherwise was destined to be forgotten for good. Continue reading...

PM pays tribute to ‘national icon’ who turned country into atomic power but later confessed to sharing technology on black marketAbdul Qadeer Khan, considered to be the father of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons programme and later accused of smuggling technology to Iran, North Korea and Libya, has died aged 85.The atomic scientist, who spent the last years of his life under heavy guard, died in the capital, Islamabad, where he had recently been hospitalised with Covid-19. Continue reading...

At least 119 inmates died in a Guayaquil jail after local gangs’ links with Mexican cartels brought a new level of horrorIt was in mid-morning when María Elena Villacís got a WhatsApp message from her brother Darwín, who was jailed in the Litoral penitentiary, a notorious prison in the coastal Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil.“They’re starting a war in [Wing] 5,” it read. “Call the law, tell them to get into [Wing] 5.” Continue reading...

On the World Day Against the Death Penalty, the tide is turning in west Africa against this tool of colonial repression and racismIn July, Sierra Leone became the 23rd African country to abolish the death penalty. Although its use across the continent has dwindled – thanks to concerted efforts from human rights organisations and governments – the death penalty remains on many more countries’ statute books due to its strong colonial legacy.During the colonial period, punishments that were being abandoned in Europe found fertile ground in Africa. Among them was the death penalty, which was deployed as a key element in the mechanism of colonial repression. Continue reading...

A project in western Canada lets former military service members put their skills to use tracking bears with wildlife experts and helps both groups overcome mental and physical woundsOn a recent crisp sunny morning, a small group of wildlife guides and British and Canadian military veterans, reached a ridge in the mountains of British Columbia and found themselves within 15 metres of a grizzly bear.“He knew we were there. He could smell us but he was just doing his thing,” said Joe Humphrey, a former Royal Marine. The bear walked past them and ambled further up the valley. Continue reading...

As a teen, Daniella Isaacs sneaked a peek at her mother’s private journal – and was surprised at what she read. The discovery sent her on a life-long journey questioning the meaning of trust, desire and, ultimately, loveI discovered my mum’s diary in her bedside drawer. I read it compulsively and in secret. I was 14, that despicable adolescent age when my friends were desperate to swap body fluids and I just wanted to stay home and do magic tricks. I found the sacred book one Saturday night when my parents were out. I’d had a craving to go snooping. They always locked their bedroom door – it was no wonder I wanted to mine the off-limits zone.The diary rocked my existence. A tome of secrets that revealed the inner sanctum of my parents’ marriage, it consumed me, and ripped apart the fairytale narrative I had been sold, instead revealing the jagged truth of their relationship. The pain was addictive. But soon, reading the diary wasn’t enough. I started hacking into their mobile phones (it was easier back then). And it was the days of the landline, so I was able to silently listen into their hushed phone calls. I was a pubescent Nancy Drew trying to crack the mystery of my parents’ marriage. Continue reading...

In a lively and wide-ranging conversation, one of the most revered actors of his generation talks Hollywood rivalries, Scottish independence – and the future of the hit TV showOver the years, I have crossed paths several times with the Dundonian actor Brian Cox. In 2002, I interviewed him for the BBC about the controversial US indie film L.I.E., of which he remains particularly proud. We met again in Shetland, where I co-curate the annual Screenplay film festival, when he was campaigning for Scottish independence. More recently we did a podcast together in which he enthused about his love of Danny Kaye in the 1955 comedy The Court Jester, a film he rewatches every year. No wonder, then, that reading his hugely entertaining autobiography, Putting the Rabbit in the Hat, feels like catching up with an old friend.In his book he recounts being at the Golden Globes in 2020, where he won best actor in a TV series as Logan Roy in the scathingly satirical Succession. Among the attendees were Elton John and Al Pacino, both of whom pointedly praised Cox for his outstanding title role in the 2017 drama Churchill – a film that was overlooked at awards season in favour of Darkest Hour, for which Gary Oldman won an Oscar playing Churchill. Continue reading...

Turkey’s biggest city’s drivers caught in brutal power struggle between politicians, unions and wealthy licence holdersBeneath the minarets of Istanbul’s fabled skyline, an unusual turf war is simmering between the powerful taxi owners’ association and the city authorities.Being a cab driver in the metropolis spanning two continents and three waterways isn’t easy. Unlike other global cities, drivers don’t own their own cars – instead, Istanbul’s 50,000 cabbies rent the 17,395 licensed cars in operation, working in shifts. Continue reading...

First, it was a fad. Now, as meat consumption falls, it’s part of everyday life … the unstoppable rise of the plant-based dietIt says something about the gathering momentum of veganism that last week it breached not one but two bastions of British culinary culture. First there were complaints after that fanfare of eggs, butter and cream, The Great British Bake Off, was left with separated yolk on its face when its first vegan contestant, 19-year-old Freya Cox, was given animal products to use during a technical challenge.Then Cadbury announced that from next month there would be a vegan alternative to its signature confectionery, the Dairy Milk chocolate bar. The Cadbury Plant Bar substitutes almond paste for the “glass and a half of milk” said to go into every Dairy Milk bar. Continue reading...

Rock history has painted Paul McCartney as the man who broke up the band. Now he reveals that it was Lennon who was first to look for a way outIt remains the most analysed break-up in rock history: the one that set the template. When the Beatles split more than 50 years ago and Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr went their separate ways, it was McCartney who shouldered most of the blame.But now McCartney is setting the record straight for good. “I didn’t instigate the split. That was our Johnny,” he has insisted in a candid and detailed interview to be broadcast later this month. Continue reading...

Hollywood actor Selma Blair talks honestly and with refreshing humour about how her life has changed, her groundbreaking documentary – and the comfort of famous friends

The hit South Korean Netflix show, likely to become the most-watched TV series ever, is setting trends around the globeNot only is it likely to be the most-watched television series ever, but the South Korean series Squid Game is already having a global commercial and cultural impact.Fans have sent sales of the show’s signature green tracksuits and white Vans slip-ons soaring – up 7,800%, according to data provided by Sole Supplier – and South Korean dalgona biscuits are fast becoming a youth craze. Continue reading...

Scott Morrison backs ‘fast-track’ of international travel for NSW; Victoria records 1,890 new cases and five deaths; NSW records 477 cases and six deaths; 30 new cases in ACT; NSW lockdown for those fully vaccinated set to lift at midnight. This blog is now closed

Zachary Horwitz ran a five-year scam that defrauded wealthy investors of at least $227m by claiming to be in licensing deals with Netflix and HBOIt’s a tale about a Hollywood grifter that reads like an outlandish movie script. But this real-life story has left Tinseltown asking how an unknown, peripheral player could have scammed millions from so many out-of-town investors hoping to cash in on the boom of streaming platforms such as Netflix and HBO.Last week, Zachary Horwitz, a B-movie actor with a taste for the high life, pleaded guilty to a single count of felony securities fraud, carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. But behind the dry legalese of his plea, something more – though not necessarily new – was learned about the hunger for content and profit in the enduring global capital of the movie business. Continue reading...

Joe Biden’s wavering over what to do about China’s ambitions are fuelling its president’s dangerous swaggeringChinese president Xi Jinping’s menacing declaration that reunification with Taiwan is a “historical task [that] must be fulfilled and definitely will be fulfilled” came at the end of a fraught week. Provocative sorties by Chinese combat aircraft inside the island’s air defence zone are at record levels. Defiant statements by Taiwan’s leaders “to do whatever it takes” to repel invasion have acquired a new intensity. The US and regional countries are uneasy. Is war coming?Most analysts think not, not yet at least. Unlike previous verbal broadsides, Xi’s speech in the Great Hall of the People avoided an overt threat of force to defeat those he calls “independence separatists”. The People’s Liberation Army navy is building amphibious assaults ships and landing craft needed for an invasion. Chiu Kuo-cheng, Taiwan’s defence minister, predicts Beijing will be ready to attack by 2025. Continue reading...

Interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, says negotiations should begin for migration treaty between UK and EUThe French interior minister has called for the start of negotiations for a migration treaty between the European Union and Britain.Gérald Darmanin also urged the British government to “uphold its promise” to finance the clampdown against migrants who gather on the northern French coast seeking to cross into England. Continue reading...

The prime minister has enjoyed huge support during the pandemic – but the country’s new course may force unpopular trade-offsThis week, New Zealand’s locked down cities woke to a brave new world of lifted restrictions: state-sanctioned picnics in parks, the prospect of reopening schools, a chance to reunite with friends and family. Infusing the visions of grass-stained blankets and beach-side beers, however, is a strong dose of Covid anxiety. Cases continue to circulate in the community, and the country’s long-held commitment to elimination is being been cast off.As New Zealand steps into the unknown with its Covid approach, so does its prime minister, Jacinda Ardern. Having brought the country through the pandemic largely unscathed so far, she was richly rewarded with political popularity and trust. Now, the prime minister faces the difficult task of guiding it through a new era of Covid suppression – and it could be the most significant political challenge she has faced yet. Continue reading...

Men say ‘just brilliant’ that the actor helped publicise charity walk in memory of their daughtersDaniel Craig has donated £10,000 to a fundraising challenge by three fathers who lost their daughters to suicide.Andy Airey, Mike Palmer and Tim Owen are undertaking a 300-mile walk in memory of their daughters Sophie, Beth and Emily. The Three Dads Walking trek will see them travel by foot between their homes in Cumbria, Greater Manchester and Norfolk respectively to raise money for the national suicide prevention charity Papyrus.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org. Continue reading...

When the state fell, Ypi went from party Pioneer to traitor - in this extract from her acclaimed memoir she reveals the trauma of discovering the truth about her family and her country• Read an interview with Lea YpiEvery year on 1 May, portraits of Stalin were carried by the workers through the streets of Tirana to celebrate socialism and the advance towards communism. On Workers’ Day, TV programmes started earlier: you could follow the parade, then watch a puppet show, then a children’s film, then head out for a walk wearing new clothes, buy ice-cream and, finally, have a picture taken by the only photographer in town, who usually stood by the fountain near the Palace of Culture.The first of May 1990, the last May Day we ever celebrated, was the happiest. Or perhaps it just seems that way. Objectively, it could not have been the happiest. The queues for basic necessities were getting longer and the shelves in the shops looked increasingly empty. But I did not mind. Now that I was growing up I was no longer fussy about eating cheap feta cheese or old jam rather than honey. “First comes morality, then comes food,” my grandmother cheerfully said, and I had learned to agree. Continue reading...

The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, said on Saturday that reunification with Taiwan must happen and that it would happen peacefully, despite a week of tensions. Xi spoke at an official celebration in Beijing's Great Hall of the People that focused largely on the ruling Communist party continuing to lead China as the country rises in power and influence

The story of one of the world’s oldest carriers is told through photographs, posters and ephemera in Bruno Vandermueren’s book Aeroflot – Fly Soviet, published by FUEL Continue reading...