No welfare check was carried out on Spencer Beynon after his father raised alarm, jury in Llanelli is toldThe father of an ex-soldier who died after being Tasered warned police hours before the incident that his son, who had post-traumatic stress disorder, was “insane” and needed sectioning, but no welfare check was carried out, an inquest jury has heard.Police did not go to try to find Spencer Beynon, 43, or visit his father, Christopher Beynon, to obtain more details, but instead officers logged the call for intelligence purposes. Continue reading...
Group record message for UK officials as visa rules for dependants add to practical difficultiesMore than 60 British nationals who remain stranded in Afghanistan have criticised the government for abandoning them and their families in an increasingly dangerous situation.About 20 of the group met outside Kabul this week to record a message for UK officials calling for urgent assistance with evacuation back to Britain. Continue reading...
Between the ‘chitlin’ circuit’ and her new rave tunes, the soul diva even picked up praise from Elvis. In our new series where you ask the questions, this storied musician reveals a few untold yarnsWhy do you think that your early 70s classic albums (I’m Just a Prisoner, Stand By Your Man, Candi Staton etc) are less canonised than other ‘classic’ albums of that period by the Stones, the Beatles etc? mesmBack then I didn’t get on the same chart as those guys because Black artists on smaller labels were put in the R&B charts, not the pop charts. It was musical segregation. To cross over you needed a big label and money behind you. There was a lot of politics. In the UK there was one chart, which is how it should be. Continue reading...
Ben Lister of West Yorkshire police tells court he thought woman’s body language indicated consentA police sergeant has denied allegations he raped a woman who was too drunk to consent after a night out, telling the jury he believed her body language had indicated her willingness.Ben Lister, 36, acknowledged he had sex with the woman when they were both drunk but said he believed it was consensual at the time and was not told otherwise. Continue reading...
LGBT group complains to Murcia government after teenager was given report that included line: ‘Current illness: homosexual’A family and an LGBT collective in south-east Spain are demanding answers and an apology after a 19-year-old gay woman who visited a gynaecologist over a menstrual condition was diagnosed with “homosexuality”.On Monday the woman went to an appointment at the Reina Sofía hospital in the city of Murcia. After being examined she was given a piece of paper that included the line: “Current illness: homosexual.” Continue reading...
Josef S, alleged to have worked at Sachsenhausen, is charged with 3,518 counts of accessory to murderA 100-year-old man has gone on trial in Germany accused of being an accessory to murder for serving as a Nazi SS guard at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp near Berlin during the second world war.The trial of the defendant, who is charged with 3,518 counts of accessory to murder, is being held at the Neuruppin state court, which moved the proceedings to a prison sport hall in Brandenburg for organisational reasons. Continue reading...
Anthony Walgate, 23, found cross-legged in an unnatural position outside Barking flat, jury hearsA paramedic called to the first victim of the serial killer Stephen Port believed the death was suspicious after finding the body cross-legged and in an unnatural position, an inquest has heard.The body of Anthony Walgate, 23, a fashion student from Hull, was found outside Port’s block of flats after the killer made an anonymous early hours 999 call. Continue reading...
Declaration, part of the Business Leaders Against the Death Penalty campaign, first launched in March by Sir Richard BransonMore than 150 global business leaders have signed a declaration calling for the end of the death penalty around the world and criticizing capital punishment for perpetuating inequality.The declaration, part of the Business Leaders Against the Death Penalty campaign, was first launched in March at the virtual South by Southwest festival by Sir Richard Branson, one of the campaign’s founders. Initial signatories included the billionaire fashion mogul Francois-Henri Pinault, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry’s, Arianna Huffington, and the leaders of Unilever and Bayer. Continue reading...
Sussex police said a man in his 40s and a man in his 20s were arrested after the alleged incident at a Brighton venueA Brighton and Hove Albion footballer has been arrested on suspicion of sexual assault after a woman was allegedly attacked in the East Sussex town.Sussex police said a man in his 40s and a man in his 20s were arrested after the alleged incident in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Both men have been released on conditional bail until 3 November while enquiries continue. Continue reading...
by Lisa O'Carroll Brexit correspondent on (#5QET3)
Maroš Šefčovič says bloc will issue ‘far-reaching proposals’ aimed at breaking impasse next weekThe EU has urged the UK to drop the “political rhetoric” in the row over Brexit negotiations for Northern Ireland, revealing it will make what it described as “far-reaching proposals” to break the impasse next week.The European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič told a conference in Dublin he had a good relationship with the UK’s Brexit minister, David Frost, but that his threats to pull the plug on the Northern Ireland protocol were “not helpful”. Continue reading...
Forty-four years after The Duellists, Ridley Scott draws swords again with his star-studded swashbuckler The Last Duel. But which one-on-one fight film is the champion? Let mortal combat begin …Inspired by Ridley Scott’s The Duellists, Gregory Widen wrote a screenplay about immortals trying to hack each other’s heads off with big swords. Former Olympic fencer Bob Anderson choreographed the showdown between Christopher Lambert and evil Clancy Brown, who is clearly having too much fun to live. “There can be only one!” Followed by a zillion sequels and TV spin-offs. Continue reading...
For decades, Guardian investigations have galvanised progress by exposing things that are wrong in our world. Now we need your supportPower is becoming more powerful.Democracy is at risk in many parts of the world. Autocracy is back in vogue. Unprecedented wealth is accumulating in ever fewer hands. Trillions have gone missing offshore. Even in mature democracies, the restraint on power is often alarmingly feeble.Make a contribution from just £1Become a digital subscriber and get something in return for your moneyJoin as a Patron to fund us at a higher level Continue reading...
by Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor on (#5QER4)
Adm Sir Tony Radakin is first chosen from navy in 20 years and reflects switch of focus to Indo-Pacific regionBoris Johnson has selected the head of the navy for the first time in 20 years as the next chief of Britain’s armed forces, a choice intended to reinforce the UK’s post-Brexit switch in focus to the Indo-Pacific region.The prime minister picked Adm Sir Tony Radakin for the £270,000-a-year position from a field of five to replace Gen Sir Nick Carter, who had been criticised over the messy retreat from Afghanistan. Continue reading...
Fourteen questions on general knowledge and topical trivia plus a few jokes every Thursday. How will you fare?The quiz remains the same. Fourteen questions on general knowledge and some topical date-based trivia, featuring some infuriating anagrams, the sublime Kate Bush and a hidden Doctor Who reference for you to spot. Do let us know how you get on in the comments – but beware, points can be deducted for displays of extreme pedantry.The Thursday quiz, No 24If you do think there has been an egregious error in one of the questions or answers, please feel free to email martin.belam@theguardian.com, but remember, the quiz master’s word is always final, and there will be so many things still in his inbox from during his holiday that he is sure to ignore it. Continue reading...
by Tom Phillips in Sinop, Novo Progresso and Brasíli on (#5QEQM)
Bolsonaro’s government plans to build a 1,00km railway to export soya beans despite warnings of a ‘catastrophe’ for indigenous people and the environmentThe Final Countdown blared from speakers and the crowd broke into applause as one of Jair Bolsonaro’s top lieutenants strode into the Amazon auditorium with glad tidings of a railroad to the future.“The ‘Grain Train’ is going to happen,” Brazil’s infrastructure minister, Tarcísio de Freitas, told the hundreds of mostly male spectators who had flocked there in a caravan of high-end SUVs. Continue reading...
City’s leader announces initiative as thousands still await trial, and also reveals project for new metropolisHong Kong will build a new megacourt to address a shortage of space as it works through a backlog of the thousands arrested during the 2019 mass protests, and the more than 150 arrested under the national security law.The city’s leader, Carrie Lam, announced the initiative on Wednesday in a policy address, which also included plans for a new metropolis on the border with mainland China and further tightening of national security laws. Continue reading...
by Josh Taylor (now) and Caitlin Cassidy (earlier) on (#5QE43)
NSW has reached 70.3% double vaccination doses among its over-16s, to be confirmed later today.Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has been doing the rounds on breakfast TV this morning, discussing the banking regulator’s tightening of mortgage rules. Continue reading...
Thousands could be left homeless in rural Ireland because of devastating building defectHomeowners in Ireland hit by a devastating building defect that causes walls to “crumble like Weetabix” are set to reject a government compensation scheme unless it offers to cover 100% of their costs.Campaigners say the prospect of dream homes being demolished is causing people to kill themselves and families to break up, and that thousands of people could be left homeless in rural Ireland. Continue reading...
In a new Netflix documentary, the stories of activists and volunteers who stepped up to help during an impossible time are celebratedThe film-makers behind Convergence: Courage in a Crisis set out to make a documentary on the pandemic, not politics. But separating the pandemic from politics can be as difficult as convincing your anti-vaxxer aunt to log off Facebook.Director Orlando von Einsiedel, alongside an ensemble of co-directors spread across the globe, from the US to India, began collaborating on the kaleidoscopic film in early April last year. They were capturing the uncertainty and the chaos, the apocalyptic emptiness of lockdowns, and the people who stepped up to help their communities; not just medical staff in underfunded and overwhelmed healthcare systems in places like Lima and London, but also those who stepped up to alleviate their burden. Continue reading...
Former prime minister meets Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei and suggests Australia has previously ‘overemphasised fostering democracy’ in ChinaThe former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott has told the president of Taiwan he hopes his visit to the democratically ruled island will help end its isolation from the international community.Abbott met Tsai Ing-wen at the presidential office in Taipei on Thursday. He said China’s recent incursions into Taiwan’s air defence zone made it even more important that “fellow democracies stand shoulder to shoulder with you”. Continue reading...
From atmospheric Berlin to Joyce’s Trieste, via Marseille’s markets and a wellbeing walk in Copenhagen, city strolls reward the curious ramblerThe art of flâneur-ing might be French and its most famous practitioners Parisians, but other European cultures have walking traditions, from the Italian passeggiata and Spanish paseo – social promenades to take the air as dusk falls – to German wanderlust: hiking with desire. Nothing opens up a city like a long ramble on foot. It’s the only way to make a place your own and unearth discoveries not listed in guidebooks or apps. Continue reading...
Hans Grundberg must recognise more than two factions involved in conflict, says pro-independence groupThe new UN special envoy to Yemen has been urged to broaden negotiations to end the country’s seven-year civil war and include the pro-independence Southern Transitional Council and other factions.Speaking to the Guardian from Aden, the head of the STC foreign affairs directorate, Mohammed al-Ghaithi, said the UN must recognise that outdated security council resolutions were restricting their efforts. Continue reading...
As well as measures to cut emissions and improve flood defences, the body is calling for action from governmentOnce seen as a sleeping green giant, the National Trust is now at the cutting edge of action on the climate crisis. Faced with large sections of the coastline it owns being undermined and overwhelmed by the sea, it is creating salt marshes and allowing sand dunes to migrate inland.Many of its rangers go about on electric bikes and use battery-powered tools rather than diesel or petrol, thus cutting pollution and giving visitors a quieter time. It is all part of the ambition to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030. Continue reading...
Former senior figures call for ‘Stephen Lawrence moment’ to overhaul forces in England and WalesSystematic underfunding of the police in England and Wales during 10 years of austerity “severely diminished” officers’ ability to recognise and target criminals who attack women and girls, according to former senior police figures.They called for a “Stephen Lawrence moment” of transformation in the service and a full judge-led inquiry to restore faith in policing. Continue reading...
Fresh from winning gold in Tokyo, the diver answers readers’ questions on everything from gay role models to his passion for knitting and the secrets of his successTom Daley, Britain’s most decorated diver, grew up in the spotlight. He was 14 when he made a splash at his first Olympics, in 2008, and at 15 he became a world champion. This year in Tokyo, at his fourth Games, he finally won a longed-for gold, with his synchronised diving partner, Matty Lee. In 2013, Daley came out – a rarity among professional sportspeople – and he has become a campaigner for LGBTQ+ rights. Now 27, he is married to the screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, with whom he has a three-year-old son.In a new autobiography, he describes struggles with injury, debilitating anxiety and coping with the death of his father, his biggest champion. Here, one of Britain’s best-loved athletes gamely answers questions from our writer and Guardian readers on all of the above, as well as his other great passion: knitting. Continue reading...
Almost since it first emerged on the streets of the Bronx, audiences have expected hip-hop to express a revolutionary purpose. But perhaps this music shouldn’t have to take a political standHalfway through side one of A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, the 1991 debut album by the hip-hop duo Black Sheep, some protesters interrupt the music. “Yo, man,” one guy says. “Why don’t you be kicking some records about, y’know, the upliftment of the Blacks?” Another asks why Black Sheep is silent about “the eating of the dolphins”. Someone else mentions “the hole in the ho zone”, turning environmental degradation into a dirty joke – perhaps unwittingly.In response to all these demands for instruction, the guys from Black Sheep can only chuckle. Something about hip-hop makes listeners greedy for more words, better words. But Black Sheep made a brilliant album. What more could anyone want? Continue reading...
Prime minister Scott Morrison has flagged changes to social media in Australia, saying people should be responsible for what they say online. "Social media has become a coward’s palace where people can go on there, not say who they are, destroy people’s lives, and say the most foul and offensive things to people, and do so with impunity," he said. "They should have to identify who they are, and you know, the companies, if they’re not going to say who they are, well, they’re not a platform any more, they’re a publisher."► Subscribe to Guardian Australia on YouTube
Even if her appeal against sexual harassment verdict is unsuccessful, Xianzi is proud that more women now feel they can share their experiencesSitting inside a Beijing courthouse late at night last month, Zhou Xiaoxuan and her lawyers came to a quick decision. Their years-long effort to seek justice for her alleged sexual harassment by one of the country’s most popular celebrities was clearly not going to go their way. In a short statement the court ruled she had tendered insufficient evidence.On Weibo she wrote to her supporters with a list of criticisms of the judgment and process. “Failure is not shameful, and I am honoured to have stood with you together in the past three years … Thank you very much, everyone, I will definitely appeal.” Continue reading...
Biden administration announces plan after meeting between US national security adviser and China’s top diplomatThe US president, Joe Biden, and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, are planning to meet by video link before the end of the year, a senior US official said on Wednesday.There is an “agreement in principle” for the “virtual bilateral”, the official told reporters on condition of anonymity. Continue reading...
The UN estimates conflict has driven 400,000 into famine-like conditions in northern Ethiopia with up to seven million people in need of food assistanceEthiopia is facing an “immense humanitarian crisis” amid civil war and famine, United Nations secretary general António Guterres has warned.The UN chief made the comments during an emergency meeting of the security council on Wednesday, calling for Addis Ababa to grant “unhindered” aid access, a week after the country expelled seven UN officials. Continue reading...
As a committed supporter of international institutions and the world’s 13th largest economy, Australia has real cloutFor an emerging superpower prone to petulant outbursts and coercive retaliation, China’s initial response to the recent announcement of the new three-way security pact between Australia, the United States and Britain seemed surprisingly tepid.Hours after the trio unveiled their “forever partnership”, known as Aukus, China formally requested that it be allowed to join an 11-member Asia-Pacific trade grouping, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Continue reading...
Collector’s daughter has promised to return more than 100 important sculptures acquired by her fatherCambodian officials have celebrated the return of five important ancient Khmer sculptures from the collection of Douglas Latchford, among more than 100 his daughter Julia promised to return after his death last year.Latchford, a businessman who lived between the UK and Thailand, was a world expert on Khmer antiquities and a prolific collector, but in 2019 he was indicted in the US on charges of smuggling and forging documents. He died in 2020 before reaching trial. Continue reading...
Jeymes Samuel’s gonzo revenge western, with a cast including Elba, Regina King, and Zazie Beetz is enjoyable, if face-splatteringly brutalThe London film festival saddles up for a gonzo revenge western which aims to reclaim the often erased African American side of this genre and history. It stars Regina King, Idris Elba and LaKeith Stanfield, and is created by the impressive hyphenate Jeymes Samuel, also known as singer-songwriter and film-maker The Bullitts, who also co-produces along with Tarantino veteran Lawrence Bender.Samuel has brought out short movies alongside his music releases in the past and now makes this headbangingly, face-splatteringly violent feature debut, featuring the gun-toting gangsters of the old west wearing old-timey hats of all shapes and sizes. This is a really cine-literate piece of work, with echoes of Sergio Leone, John Sturges and perhaps also Mario Van Peebles’s Posse. There are some terrific moments, although the pace and the drumbeat of violence, confrontation and standoff is maybe a bit uniform, and I would have liked a bit more witty or tender dialogue to go into the mix. But if it’s more style than substance, well it really is tremendous style, and the four-note punch that hammers out the title on the screen at the beginning – THE-HARDER-THEY-FALL – is inspired. Continue reading...
by Vikram Dodd Police and crime correspondent on (#5QDYW)
Patsy Stevenson says ‘likes’ were intimidation by officers who knew she was fearful of policeA campaigner whose photograph during her arrest became the defining image of the vigil for Sarah Everard has said she felt afraid after about 50 police officers and security guards then “liked” her profile on the Tinder dating app.Patsy Stevenson, 28, says she viewed the approaches as intimidatory by officers who knew she was fearful of the police after being bundled to the ground. Continue reading...
The striker tells of his parents’ remarkable journey, rejecting Ghana and playing a record 203 league games in a row“We were at home one day in Bilbao watching the television when something came on – I can’t remember exactly what – and I asked her again. My mum turned it off and said: ‘OK. The moment’s come for me to tell you. Sit down, I think you’re ready to hear the story of papa and me now. When she told me I was left cold. Hearing that leaves a deep impression. Wow. It’s like something in a film and my parents lived it.”Iñaki Williams stops and takes a breath. He was 20 that day, already playing for Athletic Club. Pushed into the public eye, he had been asked his story but couldn’t tell it properly because he didn’t know. Parts had been written wrong, but he didn’t really know that either. He too had asked, desperate to find out exactly where he was from. “It ate away at me,” he says. Until, at last, Maria told him. Continue reading...
by Helen Davidson in Taipei and agencies on (#5QCV4)
Comments come as Biden and Xi agree to stick to Taiwan agreements amid rising tension in Indo-PacificChina will be ready to mount a full-scale invasion of Taiwan by 2025, the island’s defence minister has said, describing current tensions as the worst in 40 years.Speaking to the China Times on Wednesday, Chiu Kuo-cheng said China was capable now but would be completely prepared to launch an invasion in three years. Continue reading...
Gloucestershire force refers itself to IOPC after Matthew Boorman killed and two others injured in Walton CardiffThe only suspect in a “horrific” stabbing attack near Tewkesbury that left one man dead and another in a critical condition had been contacted by Gloucestershire police before the incident.The force named the victim as father-of-three Matthew Boorman, 43. He died at the scene in Walton Cardiff on Tuesday before passersby, including two off-duty police officers, could intervene. Continue reading...
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