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Exclusive: Greens senator says racism takes an ‘immense toll’ on wellbeing and those responsible ‘must be held to account’

Actor will address her ‘unconventional upbringing in Baltimore’ and ‘complicated marriage’ to Will Smith in tell-all due next yearJada Pinkett Smith is putting her experiences on record in a new tell-all memoir, the publisher Dey Street, an imprint of HarperCollins, announced on Thursday.The “no holds barred” memoir, due next fall, will chronicle “lessons learned in the course of a difficult but riveting journey – a rollercoaster ride from the depths of suicidal depression to the heights of personal rediscovery and the celebration of authentic feminine power”. Continue reading...

Result not to debate its own damning report shows many states are unwilling take sides in power struggle between China and westIn a display of raw Chinese political power, the UN has voted to turn its back on a report written by its own human rights commissioner that accused Beijing of serious human rights abuses and possible crimes against humanity in Xinjiang province.The 47-strong UN human rights council meeting in Geneva voted on Thursday by 19 to 17 to reject an American-led call for a debate on the report at the next human rights council in spring. Eleven countries abstained. A simple majority was required. Continue reading...

Five Britons discuss their attempts to keep warm and reduce costs after the energy price cap riseFollowing the energy price cap rise on 1 October, many consumers are holding off putting the central heating on in an attempt to cut back on costs.Five people in the UK discuss how rising bills are affecting them and the measures they are taking to try to keep warm. Continue reading...

Hospitals struggle to cope even without more performance measures, say health leadersNHS bosses have told Britain’s political parties not to impose any new targets on the beleaguered health service in their efforts to win the next general election.The Conservatives and opposition parties should resist foisting new performance metrics on the NHS when it could not meet the hundreds under which it already operates, they said. Continue reading...

Sotheby’s describes 17th-century Cervantes editions as a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity for collectorsOne day in the early 1930s, a young Bolivian diplomat named Jorge Ortiz Linares walked into the illustrious Maggs Bros bookshop in London to ask if they might have a particularly fine edition of Don Quixote for sale.But even for Ortiz Linares – a dedicated bibliophile who also happened to be the son-in-law of Simón Patiño, the Bolivian tin magnate nicknamed the Andean Rockefeller – the answer was a polite no. The man at Maggs did, however, put his name on a waiting list and promise to get in touch should such a copy ever materialise. Continue reading...

Anthony Rapp has accused actor of trying to seduce him when he 14 at Spacey’s Manhattan apartment in 1986Kevin Spacey heads to court on Thursday to defend himself in a lawsuit filed by Anthony Rapp, the actor who in 2017 made the first in a string of sexual misconduct allegations that left the House of Cards star’s career in tatters.The trial, expected to last less than two weeks, will focus on an alleged encounter in New York City in 1986, when Rapp was a child actor and Spacey, then 26, was having a breakout moment on Broadway. Continue reading...

Remarks by Ireland’s deputy PM raise hopes of compromise as talks reopen over post-Brexit trade

Disability, sexual-orientation and religious hate crimes all increased last year while anti-transgender crimes rose by 56%More than 100,000 racist hate crimes were recorded in England and Wales for the first time last year, statistics show.Offences against all minority groups rose by more than a quarter, the largest annual rise since 2017. Police forces recorded 155,841 hate crimes in the year ending March 2022 – up 26% from the previous 12 months. Continue reading...

Council can not afford Bonfire Night events and German market hit by rising travel and visa costsLeeds has become the latest city to cancel its annual Christmas market and all its bonfire and fireworks celebrations due to “significant budget pressures”.Towns and cities across the UK have seen large-scale public events dropped as councils and organisers struggle to fund them amid rising costs and the need to prioritise essential services. Continue reading...

Recently serving officers including immigration official Rob Lewis set up WhatsApp group that shared racist memesThe new head of the Metropolitan police has promised to root out “corrupting” staff with “constructive anger” after it was revealed that recently serving officers have been posting racist content on WhatsApp.The Home Office has confirmed that it suspended Rob Lewis, an immigration official and former Met police officer, who set up the group, which frequently used racist language and shared racist jokes and memes. Continue reading...

PM goes along with Macron-planned gathering that aims to send message to Putin and discuss other issues

President Xi Jinping expected to start third term while citizens express frustration with restrictionsLockdowns and travel restrictions are continuing to cause chaos across China in the run-up to a crucial political meeting next week as the government holds fast to hardline zero-Covid policies.As thousands of Communist party delegates prepare to descend on Beijing for the twice-a-decade congress meeting, where Xi Jinping is expected to start his third term as leader, local authorities are under pressure to control contain outbreaks. This week 2,883 cases were reported across more than 25 provinces, including 227 on Wednesday. The number is small compared with global cases but relatively high for China’s zero-tolerance approach. Continue reading...

Police confirm incident in Bishopsgate area and say officers and ambulance crews at sceneThree people have been stabbed in an incident in central London in what is believed to have been a suspected robbery.Police officers and London ambulance service (LAS) paramedics attended the scene in Bishopsgate, near Liverpool Street station, on Thursday morning. Continue reading...

Volodymyr Zelenskiy calls on leaders to back next week’s UN vote condemning Russia’s purported annexation of four regions

Europe’s largest oil and gas firm says margins in refining business have nearly halved, hitting third-quarter profitsShell has signalled the breakneck growth that racked up record profits for the oil company earlier this year will slow as weaker gas trading and lower refining margins hit recent profits.The oil giant was criticised for making huge profits during the cost of living crisis as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed up prices of oil and gas. But Europe’s largest oil and gas firm said on Thursday that margins in its refining business had nearly halved, hitting its third-quarter profits which are due to be announced later this month. Continue reading...

Labour leader repeats opposition to standing with workers on picket lines, as nursing union prepares to ballot members

WHO says the contaminated medications may have been distributed outside of the West African country, with global exposure ‘possible’The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued an alert over four cough and cold syrups made by Maiden Pharmaceuticals in India, warning they could be linked to the deaths of 66 children in the Gambia.The UN health agency also cautioned the contaminated medications may have been distributed outside the West African country, with global exposure “possible”. Continue reading...

After the success of projects at Arsenal FC and in Rio de Janeiro, the Wembley to Soweto Foundation has been to the US west coast, teaching photography to young people in Los AngelesOver the last 12 years, an extraordinary grassroots movement has been working alongside global sporting events such as the football, cricket and rugby union World Cups, the English Premier League and the Olympic Games.Young ethnically diverse people from developing and developed countries have transformed themselves into professional photographers to record these festivals of sport within the context of their own lives and communities. Continue reading...

Boyle hopes he will be protected by public interest disclosure laws after he aired claims of aggressive tax office debt collection methods in 2018

The artistic director has resigned a year before his contract ends – within a week of former ACCC chair Rod Sims taking the beleaguered company’s helm

Major disruption to NHS over winter feared if ballot of 300,000 staff over 5% pay increase results in industrial actionHundreds of thousands of nurses across the UK are to be balloted about going on strike in a move that risks disrupting the NHS this winter.For the first time in its 106-year history the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is balloting 300,000 of its members about strike action and recommending that they vote in favour. Continue reading...

Sydney Theatre Company’s announcement of the work, written by Joanna Murray-Smith, aligns with 10-year anniversary of former PM’s misogyny speech

Coroner’s court also investigating allegations doctor was asked to backdate man’s death certificateA palliative care patient may have been alive when he was transferred to a Perth morgue, according to claims being investigated by the coroner’s court.The court has confirmed it is investigating the allegations, first reported by Business News, which include claims a doctor was asked to backdate the man’s death certificate in an apparent attempt to cover up the incident. Continue reading...

Leaked copy of report on lead-up to 2020 bankruptcy recommends that findings be raised with Met policeThe scale of corporate dysfunction at Croydon council prior to its collapse into bankruptcy two years ago was serious enough to warrant police investigation into potential misconduct in public office, according to an official report that has been kept under wraps for more than 18 months.A leaked copy of the report reveals grave concerns about the behaviour of top councillors and officials at the then Labour-controlled authority, which became effectively insolvent in November 2020 after council spending, including on a string of risky commercial property investments, spun out of control. Continue reading...

‘Political community’ gives PM a break from her party – but hope of reset in UK-EU relations may be unrealisticAfter a bruising fortnight of political turmoil, market panic and vicious Tory party infighting, Thursday offers something of a perhaps unexpected respite for Britain’s embattled prime minister, Liz Truss: a European summit in the gothic and baroque splendour of Prague Castle.Truss is attending the first meeting of the European Political Community (EPC), a new group proposed by the EU but set to include nearly every country on the continent, barring Russia and Belarus. This new geopolitical talking shop will discuss the war in Ukraine, but also how disparate countries can work together on common interests such as energy. Expected to attend are the 27 EU member states plus 17 non-EU countries, from Azerbaijan to Iceland. Continue reading...

With six launches in 12 days, North Korea is flexing its muscles and taking advantage of geopolitical turmoil across the worldMillions of residents of northern Japan will have felt a sense of deja vu on Tuesday morning when they were alerted to a North Korean missile flying overhead. Five years earlier, they had twice been shaken from their slumber by Japanese government warnings to seek shelter after missile launches by Pyongyang.The intermediate-range missile involved in this week’s test was far from buzzing the rooftops of Hokkaido farmhouses – it flew at an altitude of 1,000km as it made its way to the Pacific Ocean, where it splashed down, without incident, more than 3,000km east of Japan. Continue reading...

Robert William Eickenloff claimed the woman’s paperwork was ‘all good’ as they crossed a checkpoint

Bird strike contributed to crash near Maroota, north-west of Sydney, Australian Transport Safety Bureau says

Fraser says Albanese government should repeal stage three as the tax cuts are ‘even more unfair’ due to falling real wagesThe former governor of the Reserve Bank, Bernie Fraser, has criticised the Labor government for sticking to the “very dodgy” stage-three tax cuts, arguing they should be repealed to allow for spending on social programs.Condemning the tax cut package as “unfair and unwarranted”, Fraser said Labor in opposition had only supported the measure as part of its “small target strategy to gain political power for the party” and it now ought to be reconsidered. Continue reading...

State’s police commissioner reveals she too suffered sexual assault and harassment early in her career

Ruling based on psychologist’s opinion boy has mental capacity to form criminal intent

Severe weather warning in place for state’s inland regions as ongoing deluge sees flooding on rivers in west of NSW

Being carried across the gap between the air bridge and the plane risked his, his wife’s and airline staffs’ safety, says passenger

It’s been four weeks since Liz Truss became prime minister and her policies are already facing criticism from senior Conservative MPs. Rafael Behr reports on whether she’ll be able to hold the party togetherOn Wednesday, Liz Truss addressed her party at the Conservative party conference in Birmingham. She told the party that she was “ready to make the hard choices”, but with some Tory MPs already publicly criticising her policies, are her days as prime minister numbered?The speech was interrupted by two Greenpeace protesters holding up a banner saying “who voted for this?”, a sentiment shared by the former culture secretary Nadine Dories who tweeted earlier in the week “if Liz wants a whole new mandate, she must take it to the country”. Continue reading...

Independent review found a ‘serious dereliction’ of anti-money laundering responsibilities

Senior Communist Party officials present a united front, quashing internet rumours of a coupChinese authorities are ratcheting up nationalistic sentiment in the run up to a key meeting of the country’s ruling party where party leader Xi Jinping is expected to gain an unprecedented third term.

Victoria’s premier denies he stirred division in the community following appointment of Andrew Thorburn

Lawyers acting for more than 1,600 drivers say they have been wrongly classed as self-employedMore than 1,600 UK drivers working for the ride-hailing app Bolt are seeking compensation for missed holiday and minimum wage payments as they argue they have been wrongly classed as self-employed contractors.Lawyers for the drivers have written to the government-backed workplace conciliation service Acas, in the first stage of lodging the claim against Bolt. Continue reading...

New home secretary objects to increasing visas for Indians and critiques predecessor’s attempt to return overstayersSuella Braverman has again risked upsetting No 10 after saying she has “reservations” about Britain’s trade deal with India because it could increase immigration to the UK.Liz Truss said she wants to sign a trade agreement with India by Diwali at the end of this month. The Indian government is demanding an increase in work and study visas for Indian nationals and earlier this year Boris Johnson said the agreement would lead to increased immigration. Continue reading...

If the numbers 37, 42, 47, 39, 5, 17 and 20 ring a bell, you might want to check your Oz Lotto ticket

Western Australian Museum says discovery tells tale of global trade at turn of century

Launch was the sixth in 12 days and the first since an intermediate-range missile was fired over Japan on TuesdayNorth Korea has fired an unspecified ballistic missile toward its east coast, South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said on Thursday morning, following joint South Korean and US missile drills and the return of a US aircraft carrier to the region in response to the North’s recent missile tests.Japan’s coast guard said North Korea may also have fired a second missile. Continue reading...

Israel’s former PM kept for overnight observation after feeling unwell during synagogue servicesFormer Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been taken to hospital after feeling unwell during the Jewish fasting day of Yom Kippur.Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan, said Netanyahu, 72, was taken to Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek hospital after feeling chest pains while attending synagogue services. Local media quoted the hospital as saying he underwent a series of tests that came out normal, but was being kept under observation overnight. Continue reading...

Request is widely seen as symbolic, as moving nuclear warheads closer to Russia would make them less militarily usefulPoland says it has asked to have US nuclear weapons based on its territory, amid growing fears that Vladimir Putin could resort to using nuclear arms in Ukraine to stave off a rout of his invading army.The request from the Polish president, Andrzej Duda, is widely seen as symbolic, as moving nuclear warheads closer to Russia would make them more vulnerable and less militarily useful, according to experts. Furthermore, the White House has said it had not received such a request. Continue reading...

Welsh Tories say Bridgend’s £1.1m bill for agency social workers in year of five-year-old’s death shows risk of inconsistent careA local authority involved in the care of Logan Mwangi, the five-year-old boy murdered by his mother, her partner and his stepson, spent more than £1m on agency social workers in the year the child was killed, it has emerged.Bridgend county borough council in south Wales spent £1.1m on agency social workers in 2021/22 compared with £166,000 the year before. So far in this financial year it has spent more than £800,000. Continue reading...

Senior Tories aghast at removal of Isaac Levido in apparent deal with Liz Truss’s chief of staff Mark FullbrookIsaac Levido, the political strategist who ran Boris Johnson’s successful election campaign in 2019, has been dropped from his role at Conservative headquarters, party insiders have confirmed.The Tory aide, who was a protege of the controversial Australian strategist Lynton Crosby, is understood to have lost his contract, prompting incredulity from Tories who are already reeling after a turbulent few days for the party at their Birmingham conference. Continue reading...

Scottish Lib Dems had called on ministers to disclose if King Charles used crown consent to seek changes to lawScottish ministers have rejected calls to confirm whether King Charles III asked for changes to a Scottish rent freeze bill that could affect tenancies on his Highland estate.The Scottish Liberal Democrats wanted to change an emergency bill that is being rushed through Holyrood and will freeze rents for private tenants in Scotland for six months, in response to the cost of living crisis. Continue reading...

Press freedom policy paper says Australia’s foreign interference laws could be used to target journalists who ‘prejudice national security’

Measures include creation of census and national DNA bank to help locate and identify remainsFive decades after the death of General Franco, and three years after the Spanish dictator’s remains were finally removed from his hulking mausoleum outside Madrid, the country’s senate has approved legislation intended to bring “justice, reparation and dignity” to the victims of the civil war and subsequent dictatorship.On Wednesday afternoon, the upper house of Spain’s parliament passed the socialist-led government’s Democratic Memory law, with 128 votes in favour, 113 against, and 18 abstentions. Continue reading...