The Australian Institute of Architects' 2023 awards took a turn to sustainable designs that make the most of inner-city infrastructure and the environment
by Tom Phillips Latin America correspondent on (#6G0Z8)
Bolivia's leftwing government cuts diplomatic ties with Israel, alleging crimes and human rights abuses in Gaza, as Chile and Colombia recall ambassadors
by Amy Hawkins, senior China correspondent on (#6G14C)
More than 10,000 arrests and nearly 3,000 prosecutions, with 82% given jail including extraordinary high' proportion of childrenProtesters involved in the 2019-2020 pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong have been treated extraordinarily harshly by the criminal justice system compared with local and international norms, a report has found.The surge in arrests, detentions and charges in the wake of the anti-extradition bill protests that saw millions of Hongkongers taking to the streets to oppose closer ties with mainland China meant that the criminal justice system was put under extreme stress", according to Jun Chan, Eric Yan-ho Lai and Thomas E Kellogg at the Center for Asian Law of Georgetown University. Continue reading...
by Sally Weale Education correspondent on (#6G137)
Until the appointment of Annelies Kusters, UK had only hearing people as full professors in the fieldTrains in the Indian megacity of Mumbai are famously among the most crowded in the world, but they have also become deaf meeting spots" where deaf people meet and socialise on their daily commute.These unexpected gatherings in carriages reserved for disabled passengers have been documented by Annelies Kusters, who has just become the first deaf scholar to be made a full professor in the field of deaf studies and sign language studies in the UK. Continue reading...
Inaugural exhibition at new museum space will chart more than a century of musical development, from calypso and reggae to grime and drillFrom jazz to calypso, dub poetry to UK drill lyrics, drum'n'bass raves to grime freestyles, the brilliance and cross-cultural richness of Black British music will be the focus for the inaugural exhibition at the V&A's new outpost in east London.Opening in 2025, The Music Is Black: A British Story will span from 1900 to the present day, celebrating everyone from pioneers such as Winifred Atwell and Janet Kay to today's generation including Stormzy and Little Simz, and explore how artists from Fleetwood Mac to the Beatles adopted elements of the music created by the UK's Black community. Continue reading...
by Jane Clinton, and Caroline Kimeu in Nairobi on (#6G0Z7)
Visiting monarch speaks of sorrow and deepest regret for past wrongdoings' under British ruleKing Charles has spoken of Britain's abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence" committed against Kenyans during their fight for independence, but stopped short of an apology despite human rights groups demanding one.The monarch made the comments in a speech, delivered during a banquet in Kenya held in his honour, in which he referred to the greatest sorrow" and deepest regret" for the wrongdoings" of the past. Continue reading...
Disciplinary panel had found Julian Bennett guilty of gross misconduct for refusing test when accused of smoking cannabisA senior Metropolitan police commander who wrote the force's drug strategy has been sacked after he was found guilty of gross misconduct for refusing to take a drugs test when he was accused of smoking cannabis.A disciplinary panel cleared Julian Bennett, who has served in the force since 1976, of using the drug at home in late 2019, but found that he had breached force standards for honesty and integrity, orders and instructions, and discreditable conduct by refusing to provide a urine sample for a drug test on 21 July 2020. Continue reading...
Boris Johnson's former chief adviser denies contributing to an atmosphere of misogyny at No 10, saying he was much ruder about men'Heather Hallett, the chair, intervenes at this point. She asks Cain if he is defending the 10-day gap. She says she finds that curious if he is.Cain says locking down the country is a huge, huge undertaking. In government terms, that is government acting at speed. But it was longer than you would hope", he says.Do I understand from what you said earlier that you would defend the 10-day gap between the decision taken that there had to be a national lockdown and actually implementing that decision? Because I find that curious.As I said, I think it is longer than you would like, but I think it's important just to emphasise the amount of things that had to be done and the amount of people we had to take with us to deliver a nationwide lockdown.It's a huge, huge undertaking and to be honest, from my understanding of government, that is government moving at a tremendous speed - which maybe says more about government than other things. Continue reading...
Three men found guilty of terrorist crimes including attacks on immigrants and critical infrastructureThree Finnish men who embraced neo-Nazi ideology have been found guilty of committing crimes with terrorist intent including plotting attacks against immigrants, critical infrastructure, and their perceived political opponents.Prosecutors told the court that the men had produced semi-automatic weapons using a 3D printer in preparation for a race war" against their opponents. Continue reading...
Sentences range from eight to 20 years for men guilty of offences committed between 2004 and 2006Five men from Rochdale have been sentenced to between eight and 20 years in prison after being found guilty of grooming and abusing two girls between 2004 and 2006.The longest sentence was given to the oldest defendant, Jahn Shahid Ghani, a 50-year-old care worker. He was at least 30 when he took advantage of the girls when they were 14 or 15. He would pick them up from school while they were still in uniform and ply them with drink and drugs before exploiting them. Continue reading...
Breed will be added to banned list from 31 December and owners have until end of January to register themAmerican XL bully dogs will be added to the list of banned breeds from 31 December, the government has confirmed, as it released further details of how the ban will be implemented.Rules coming into force at the end of year will make it illegal to breed, sell, advertise, exchange, gift, rehome, abandon or allow to stray XL bully dogs in England and Wales. Continue reading...
Local authorities argue that Home Office would act unlawfully by moving refugees to RAF Scampton and RAF WethersfieldCouncil bosses have called for the high court to quash government plans to use the land of two former RAF bases to house asylum seekers.Lawyers representing West Lindsey district council in Lincolnshire argue that plans to use the disused RAF Scampton, where the dambusters" were based during the second world war, are unlawful. Continue reading...
Some told police they had been forced to quit their job and move house to avoid Michael SellersAt least eight women were harassed by the man who went on to murder Gracie Spinks, with some reporting that they had to quit their job and move house to avoid him, an inquest has heard.Michael Sellers, 35, is believed to have stabbed Spinks to death after he became obsessed" with her, having met her through work. Continue reading...
Artist spent months in a chamber below the Medici Chapels to evade Pope Clement VII's death sentenceMichelangelo Buonarroti left behind a trail of artistic marvels, including his statue of David and the sublime frescoes that adorn the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.Now a secret" room in Florence whose walls are sketched with doodles that the Italian Renaissance master is believed to have created while evading a death sentence ordered by Pope Clement VII amid his falling out with the powerful Medici family is to officially open to the public for the first time. Continue reading...
Xahra Saleem admitted offence relating to fundraiser before Bristol BLM protest when slave trader's statue was dumped in harbourA key organiser of the protest in Bristol during which a statue of the slave trader Edward Colston was toppled and dumped in the city's harbour has been jailed for two and a half years for fraud.Xahra Saleem, 23, admitted using more than 30,000 that was supposed to go to a charity for disadvantaged youngsters in the city to fund her lifestyle, including spending almost 6,000 on Uber rides. Continue reading...
Heir to throne pledges allegiance to constitution at congress in Madrid on her 18th birthdayPrincess Leonor, the heir to the Spanish throne, has pledged her allegiance to the constitution in a ceremony that was boycotted by republican government ministers and Catalan and Basque nationalist MPs.Leonor swore the oath in Spain's congress as she turned 18 on Tuesday, and was accompanied by her parents, King Felipe and Queen Letizia, her sister, Sofia, and Spain's acting prime minister, Pedro Sanchez. Her grandfather Juan Carlos, the self-exiled former king, was absent. Continue reading...
King urged to offer apology while in Kenya for UK's brutal and inhuman treatment' during the Mau Mau uprising in the 1950sThe Kenya Human Rights Commission has called on King Charles to offer an unequivocal public apology" for colonial abuses, during his visit to the country this week.We call upon the king, on behalf of the British government, to issue an unconditional and unequivocal public apology (as opposed to the very cautious, self-preserving and protective statements of regrets) for the brutal and inhuman treatment inflicted on Kenyan citizens," the KHRC said. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport correspondent on (#6G0CS)
Transport secretary asks train operators to withdraw proposals after public backlashRailway station ticket offices in England will not be closed, in a government U-turn.The transport secretary, Mark Harper, said the government had asked train operators to withdraw their proposals". Continue reading...
Recent union contract gains against a backdrop of decades of union decline, worsening wealth inequality and broken labor lawsThe US labor movement is having a moment amid some recent big union contract wins, surges in strikes, historic union election wins at aggressively anti-union corporations, and a presidential administration that touts itself as the most pro-union in history".Last week, the United Auto Workers reached a historic tentative agreement with Ford that includes 25% wage gains, then shortly after reached an agreement with Stellantis and General Motors. The UAW has called on other unions to time their contract expirations with 1 May to collectively pressure employers simultaneously, with the next UAW contracts at the Big 3 set to expire on 1 May 2028. Continue reading...
by Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent on (#6G0AN)
Results are company's first since shock exit of its chief executive Bernard Looney last monthBP has reported weaker than expected profits of $3.3bn (2.7bn) for the third quarter of this year amid lower global energy market prices and a slump in its gas trading business.The company said its profits halved in the three months to September after it made bumper profits of $8.2bn in the same months last year when oil and gas prices soared after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...
by Gwyn Topham Transport corrrespondent on (#6G0AR)
Inflation, wildfires and air traffic control chaos have not put people off travelling, Abta findsHeatwaves, soaring prices and flight meltdowns will not deter Britons from holidaying abroad next year in potentially record numbers, according to the annual travel industry snapshot.Nearly two-thirds (64%) expect to go overseas in the next 12 months, after 52% went abroad in the first full year without Covid-related restrictions, the highest level since 2019. Continue reading...
The Democratic party, the city's largest pro-democracy party, failed to secure enough nominations under new rules introduced by authoritiesHong Kong's leader has defended the rules for upcoming local elections as open and fair, even though an electoral overhaul means the city's remaining pro-democracy activists won't be part of the race.The city's largest pro-democracy party, the Democratic party, will be absent in December's district council election for the first time since its establishment in 1994. Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: 50 hotels will be closed by January - where will the many vulnerable people be moved to, and why? Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. I'm the Guardian's north of England editor, writing to you from slightly soggy Stockport, so don't be surprised if this briefing has a distinctly northern tinge.Today, we are looking at the government's announcement to stop housing asylum seekers in 50 hotels by the end of January - largely (and you may think unsurprisingly) in marginal Conservative constituencies.Israel-Hamas war | Hamas militants have reported clashes with Israeli troops in the north-west and southern Gaza Strip, as tanks and other armoured vehicles advanced on its main city.Coronavirus | Boris Johnson asked why damage was being inflicted on the economy during the pandemic for people who will die anyway soon" in a meeting with Rishi Sunak, the Covid inquiry has been told.Climate crisis | Banks pumped more than $150bn last year into companies whose giant carbon bomb" projects could destroy the last chance of stopping the planet heating to dangerous levels, the Guardian reveals today.Friends | Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer have issued a joint statement following Matthew Perry's death.Police | Black Metropolitan police officers have complained of being put under pressure by white colleagues to donate to a fund that has raised 130,000 for two officers sacked for lying over the stop and search of a black British athlete and her Olympian partner. Continue reading...
President William Ruto says change aims to boost trade and allow goods, services, people and ideas to move freely across continentVisas to visit Kenya are to be scrapped for other African nationals from next year as part of a movement towards opening up trade and travel within the continent.By the end of this year, no African will be required to have a visa to come to Kenya," Kenya's president, William Ruto, said at a climate change conference in Congo-Brazzaville.
The UN has said there is evidence that international humanitarian laws may have been breached by both sides in the conflictThe United Nations has said there is already clear evidence that war crimes may have been committed" by Hamas and the Israeli military since 7 October and that it is gathering evidence for potential prosecutions. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#6G081)
Repeated failings in NHS maternity units cost NHS in England 2.6bn a year in damagesParents of babies who have died or been harmed as a result of poor care are demanding that ministers order a public inquiry into repeated failings in NHS maternity units.They want Steve Barclay, the health secretary, to set up a judge-led statutory inquiry to investigate recurring problems in maternity services, which cost the NHS in England 2.6bn a year in damages. Continue reading...
Statement asks government to help stop AI tools using copyright-protected works with impunity'Four leading publishing trade associations have urged the UK government to help end the unfettered, opaque development" of artificial intelligence tools that use copyright-protected works with impunity."The statement, released Tuesday, was co-signed by the Publishers Association, the Society of Authors, the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society and the Association of Authors' Agents. It is the first joint statement from the publishing trade bodies on AI. Continue reading...
Hamas claims it is firing machine guns and anti-tank missiles' towards Israeli forces in Gaza; 33 trucks entered Gaza on Sunday, compared to 500 per day before war
by Presented by Michael Safi with Hazem Balousha and on (#6G06F)
As Israel steps up its military campaign in Gaza, residents trapped in the territory are facing a humanitarian crisisIsrael has begun a new phase in its war on Hamas as its armed forces move deeper into Gaza amid a continuous bombardment from the air. In a televised press conference on Saturday, Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said: We have unanimously approved the widening of the ground invasion ... Our objective is singular: to defeat the murderous enemy. We declared never again', and we reiterate: never again, now'."In Gaza, where communications have been all but impossible in recent days, the reporter Hazem Balousha tells Michael Safi that the intensifying assault is making everywhere in Gaza unsafe. As he speaks, the boom of aerial attacks plays out behind him and at one point he is able to catch a leaflet dropped by the Israeli Defence Forces warning him and others to evacuate the area. Continue reading...