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Mason and Eddie Izzard vying for nomination in safe seat but two local councillors seen as favourites

Exclusive: more than half of legal professionals in survey said they saw a judge acting in a racially biased wayThe judiciary in England and Wales is “institutionally racist”, with more than half of legal professionals surveyed claiming to have witnessed a judge acting in a racially biased way, according to a report.The study by the University of Manchester and barrister Keir Monteith KC found judicial discrimination to be directed particularly towards Black court users – from lawyers to witnesses to defendants. Continue reading...

MP and doctor Dan Poulter says health secretary’s ideas over ‘nanny statism’ are stopping action on obesity and smoking

UK government lawyers tell asylum seekers they can return to Sri Lanka or be removed to undisclosed countryTamil refugees seeking asylum from the British-claimed Chagos Islands face being forcibly removed to a third country under Rwanda-style plans drawn up by the UK government.Government lawyers have told the asylum seekers that if they cannot be returned to Sri Lanka they will instead be removed to another undisclosed country. Continue reading...

Defence secretary would hold Truss to pledges, says source, as he flies off for security talks in Washington

Chinese recruitment ‘to understand the capabilities of our air force’ of concern, says James Heappey

Rio’s heavily armed paramilitary groups have exploded in influence in recent years to wield power over dozens of communitiesThe theme from Mel Gibson’s Braveheart filled the air as the man accused of helping spawn Rio’s paramilitary mafia movement was lowered into the soils of a graveyard called the Garden of Longing. Fireworks exploded overhead.“My brother was a noble man with a magnificent heart,” said the dead man’s sibling, Natalino Guimarães, as he and hundreds of mourners prepared to say their last goodbye. Continue reading...

Publisher who founded Virago Press began as a campaigning outsider who introduced UK readers to authors including Angela Carter and Margaret Atwood

As number of prepoll votes rise, rule has become redundant and may also encourage misinformation, TV broadcasters and social media groups say

In interview from capital, Saleh Kebzabo says he wants powerful rebels to join transitional governmentChad’s new prime minister has said that uniting the population “is the only way forward” for the chronically unstable African country after its president, Mahamat Idriss Déby, appointed him to head an interim national unity administration.Saleh Kebzabo, 75, a former opposition figure and journalist, has been tasked with leading the country towards the first free and fair elections in its political history. Continue reading...

Evacuation orders are current for Echuca and Barmah on the Murray River, Kerang on the Loddon, and Rochester on the Campaspe

Rolfe, who was acquitted over death of Kumanjayi Walker, was banned from applying to Queensland police over ‘integrity breach’

Judge says there ‘was absolutely no excuse’ for Benjamin Jansen to attack Rex Kable Keen in 1976

Agents in former chancellor’s constituency are glad to see him go after his effect on property marketIt was one of the more startling claims made over the weekend, in the wake of the sacking of Kwasi Kwarteng. Someone in an estate agent in the then chancellor’s constituency reportedly made an “obscene gesture” at him through the window, in apparent disgust at the way his mini-budget had tanked the economy.None of three estate agents on Shepperton High Street in Surrey will admit that someone in their office was responsible for the alleged gesture towards their local MP when he toured local businesses shortly before he was sacked last week. Continue reading...

Worker mistakenly accelerated while the car was in reverse, crashing into the building’s roughly 500-year old wooden doorJapan’s oldest existing toilet, dating back hundreds of years, has been damaged after it was accidentally rammed by a car driven by an employee of an organisation that preserves cultural relics.The 30-year-old man, who works for the Kyoto Heritage Preservation Association, damaged the communal toilet, located inside Tofukuji temple in Kyoto, after he mistakenly accelerated while the vehicle was in reverse, crashing into the building’s wooden door, according to media reports. Continue reading...

Comments by US secretary of state come after Xi told Communist party Congress Taiwan is core to plans for China’s ‘rejuvenation’

From key workers to bar staff, parts of county increasingly off limits as landlords and investors cash in

In their closing arguments to the jury, the prosecution says there were ‘strong political forces’ at play when Higgins initially decided not to report to police

Shadow immigration minister also raises concerns about Labor ‘allowing New Zealand criminals to stay’ in wide-ranging speech before press club

In Kyoto, local shop owners are ready to welcome back tourists but there is a way to go before a return to pre-Covid daysAfter more than two years of near-total isolation, Japan has reopened its borders to overseas visitors – but the road back to the pre-Covid tourism boom could be long and bumpy.Last week, the country lifted some of the strictest pandemic border controls in the world when it removed a 50,000 daily cap on arrivals, reinstated waivers for short-term visas and dropped a rule requiring tourists to visit as part of group tours. Continue reading...

Bureau of Meteorology says its ‘insights, wisdom and data’ are more important than ever as it asks media to use its full name

The court appearance relates to a string of arrests and erratic behavior by the actorEzra Miller has pleaded not guilty to stealing bottles of liquor from a neighbor’s home, after one of a string of arrests and reports of erratic behavior by the Flash actor that stretch from Hawaii to Vermont.Miller, 30, appeared on Monday with their lawyer remotely from Burlington, Vermont, for the arraignment in Bennington on accusations of felony burglary and petit larceny, a misdemeanor. They accepted the conditions that they not have any contact with the homeowner or go to the residence. Continue reading...

Residential building in Yeysk, near the Ukraine border, hit by Su-34 fighter-bomber, says defence ministryA Russian military jet has crashed into a residential building shortly after taking off near the border with Ukraine, sparking a major fire that has reportedly left at least six people dead and six missing.Video and photographs uploaded to social media on Monday showed a residential building engulfed in flames in Yeysk, a port and resort town in Russia located just south of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol across the Sea of Azov. Continue reading...

Scheduled session brought forward in view of dire conditions – rampant gang violence, a cholera outbreak and escalating famineThe US and Mexico have proposed the deployment of a multinational force in Haiti to help break the stranglehold of gangs over the distribution of fuel, water and other basic goods.Presenting a resolution at a special session of the UN security council on Monday, the US envoy to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield called for “a limited carefully-scoped non-UN mission led by a partner country with the deep, necessary experience”. Continue reading...

New chancellor tells Commons there will be tax rises and spending cuts, as PM dodges urgent questionJeremy Hunt has shredded Liz Truss’s economic plans in one of the most astonishing U-turns in modern political history, including slashing the energy price freeze which the prime minister had repeatedly championed.The new chancellor dismantled almost all of the platform that Truss’s leadership victory had been built on, including the majority of her tax cuts, and hinted a new windfall tax was in his sights – a move the PM had previously said she would not countenance. Continue reading...

Judges described the Sri Lankan author’s second novel as a ‘rollercoaster journey through life and death’ and praised its audacity and ambitionThe Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka has won the Booker prize for fiction. The judges praised the “ambition of its scope, and the hilarious audacity of its narrative techniques”.Karunatilaka’s second novel, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida comes more than a decade after his debut, Chinaman, which was published in 2011. The Booker-winning novel tells the story of the photographer of its title, who in 1990 wakes up dead in what seems like a celestial visa office. With no idea who killed him, Maali has seven moons to contact the people he loves most and lead them to a hidden cache of photos of civil war atrocities that will rock Sri Lanka. Continue reading...

Savills says move is ‘best feasible outcome’, but some experts say risk remains of ‘significant’ house price fallsJeremy Hunt’s move to rip up most of last month’s mini-budget should help strengthen a housing market that was beginning to wobble and could relieve some of the downward pressure on prices, analysts have suggested.However, other experts warned the new chancellor’s intervention might not be enough to stave off the risk of “significant” house price falls, and that even if new mortgages did become temporarily cheaper, the sizeable interest rate rise expected in November meant many borrowers would still face hikes in home loan payments. Continue reading...

It’s unclear why the PM would stay in office now; Hunt has become the face of change and Mordaunt made smart moves in her place

Movies may go straight to streaming service Disney+ unless government changes distribution regulationsDisney is to release Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in French cinemas next month but has warned that future blockbusters may go straight to its streaming service, Disney+, unless France relaxes film distribution rules.There had been speculation that the Hollywood studio might bypass cinemas with one of the most eagerly anticipated releases since before the coronavirus pandemic to put pressure on the French government to reform its highly restrictive rules. Continue reading...

Strict biosecurity measures introduced from midday after largest outbreak yet in UKAn avian flu “prevention zone” has been declared across Great Britain in the face of rising case numbers as the country battles its largest ever outbreak of the disease.At midday on Monday, it became a legal requirement for all bird keepers in Great Britain to follow strict measures to protect flocks from bird flu, including keeping free-range birds in fenced areas and stringent biosecurity for staff on farms. Continue reading...

At least two people dead on Greek island after torrential rain. Elsewhere, cold snap grips swathe of USAt least two people have been killed and more injured after torrential rain hit the popular holiday destination of Crete on Saturday morning. Heavy, thundery rain turned streets into rivers. The worst effects were felt in the Heraklion part of the island where there was huge damage. Cars were washed into the sea while beaches were covered in all sorts of debris, with the resort of Agia Pelagia on the north coast particularly affected.An area of low pressure moving south-eastwards from Italy brought torrential downpours and thunderstorms to the island, which continued through the afternoon and evening in places before easing. Northern and eastern parts of the island received the highest rainfall totals, with 130mm recorded in 30 minutes and about 300mm seen within three hours. Continue reading...

RTBU says Opal machines will be turned off from 3pm to 7pm every weekday as industrial dispute continues

Angela Rayner to set out plans to ensure tips are paid in full, along with collective workplace grievance rightsHospitality and leisure sector workers are missing out on about £200m in tips every year according to Labour figures, with the party pledging to “stamp out” unfair deductions for good.Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, will set out plans this week to ensure employers allocate all tips, gratuities and service charge payments to workers in full, without any deductions apart from statutory taxes, by the end of the following month. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Largely female and low-paid UK school staff report being kicked and punched by pupilsTeaching and classroom assistants (TAs) working in mainstream schools in the UK have described being kicked, punched and spat at by pupils in a new study that explores for the first time aggression targeted at support staff, who are predominantly female and low-paid.They told researchers they had been hit in the face, bitten, had objects thrown at them and received death threats, with incidents reported in primary and secondary schools. Their injuries included cuts, a black eye, a dislocated thumb, a broken finger and torn ligaments, according to the University of Roehampton study. Continue reading...

Exclusive: MTC, which ran Rainsbrook youth jail, now providing security at Manston asylum seekers’ facilityA private prison firm that was criticised over dangerous conditions at a youth jail is now providing security at an asylum seekers’ centre where Border Force staff have warned that overcrowding and assaults are creating a pressure cooker situation.Management & Training Corporation (MTC) was repeatedly criticised by the regulator Ofsted over conditions at the Rainsbrook secure training centre, near Rugby, where children at young as 15 were locked up for more than 23 hours a day with “no justifiable rationale” during the coronavirus pandemic. Continue reading...

Navy veteran and lawyer joins Derryn Hinch’s party but expert warns against calls for harsher bail laws

During her evidence in the trial of Bruce Lehrmann, senator agrees it would have been ‘political suicide’ to have covered it up

Casey report uncovers internal failings that let racist, corrupt and misogynist officers remain in their jobsMetropolitan police officers suspected of serious criminal offences including sexual assault and domestic abuse have been allowed to escape justice, a damning review has found, with the force’s leader admitting that hundreds of racist, women-hating and corrupt officers have been left in the ranks.Massive failings in how Britain’s biggest force roots out wrongdoing were exposed in a report by Louise Casey, which found “systemic” racism in the Met, and misogyny. Continue reading...

Government urged to develop cross-Whitehall strategy to warn world of potential crimes against humanityThe UK can take a lead in trying to forecast and avert mass atrocity crimes, MPs suggest in a report published on Monday.Calling on the government to develop a cross-Whitehall mass atrocity strategy, the international development select committee says Britain could deploy its diplomatic network to warn the world if conflicts are threatening to spill into greater crimes against humanity. Continue reading...

Defence secretary, 52, appears to have had change of heart after not putting himself up as candidate last summerHe was a surprise absentee from the leadership race in July, but the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, is now being touted as a replacement for Liz Truss.The 52-year-old, a staunch remainer who is a favourite among many Tory members, ruled himself out of this summer’s contest on personal grounds. Continue reading...

Body believed to be that of a man in his 40s who had gone missing from a north London address alongside a woman in her 30sThree arrests have been made after the discovery of a man’s body in woodland in Essex, as police investigate whether two people were taken against their will.The body is believed to be that of a man in his 40s, who had gone missing from an address in north London alongside a woman in her 30s who has since been found physically unharmed. Continue reading...

Agency claims most tenants ‘are agreeable’ to the rent increases, which Tenants Queensland calls ‘opportunistic price-gouging’

Family members and protesters demand answers over blaze that state media reports left 61 injuredFamily members and protesters gathered outside the notorious Evin prison in Tehran on Sunday after a fire engulfed some of the building the night before, leading to the deaths of a minimum four prisoners and injuring a further 61.The official death toll was released by Iranian state news agencies, which said the four died from smoke inhalation. Ten of the injured were hospitalised. Continue reading...

President puts China’s expansionist foreign policy and control at home at heart of his plans in address to Communist party summitChina’s president, Xi Jinping, walked into the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sunday to open the Communist party summit and lay out his vision for the next five years. He is expected to be formally returned to power this week, and over 104 minutes his speech gave a foretaste of what is in store for the next half decade.There were no bombshells. His address paid tribute to the party’s achievements under his rule in the last decade and pledged more of the same. Aggression abroad and control at home remain the heart of those plans. Continue reading...

Independent media and human rights groups report arrests and physical assault as authorities try to suppress news of protestsAs nationwide protests enter their fourth week in Iran, the government is increasing its crackdown on activists and journalists. On 22 September Niloofar Hamedi, an Iranian journalist, was arrested after posting a picture she took of the parents of Mahsa Amini hugging each other in a Tehran hospital on the day of their daughter’s death.Amini, 22, died in police custody on 16 September after she was arrested for not wearing her hijab properly, which sparked the protests that then spread across the country. Continue reading...

Body of a woman, who was in car with a man who also died, discovered off resort of Agia Pelagia on Greek islandRescue workers have recovered the body of a woman who is the second person to die in flash floods caused by severe storms that swept across the Greek island of Crete.With the aid of drones, the fire service’s special disaster unit found the 49-year-old on Sunday in the Mediterranean off Agia Pelagia, a seaside resort north-west of Crete’s capital, Heraklion. The victim, a mother of two, had been swept into the sea as she tried to get out of a car washed away by the floods. Continue reading...

Justin Welby ‘deeply sceptical about trickle-down theory’ and can see no moral case for budgets that disproportionately affect poorThe archbishop of Canterbury has delivered a critique of tax cuts for the wealthy saying he is “deeply sceptical” of trickle-down economics and could see “no moral case” for a government setting budgets that disproportionately affect the poor.In an interview with the Guardian while on his tour of Australia, Justin Welby said that although he did not wish to be party political he could not see why the rich should be given more money, as they were more likely to simply save rather than spend the extra pounds. Continue reading...

Treasurer Jim Chalmers warns global economy on ‘increasingly perilous path’ with lower growth expected amid key trading partners

Popular disposable brand will still be able to sell products in Britain, despite being accused of flouting advertising regulationsChina has banned the sale of flavoured e-cigarettes as part of a wide-ranging crackdown on the industry. The new rules mean vapes that have flavourings other than tobacco – such as those that taste fruity or sweet – cannot be sold on the domestic market.But they can still be manufactured in China to be shipped around the world, including to the UK, where Chinese-made brands such as Elfbar, known for its range of flavoured disposable vapes, are popular. Continue reading...

Conservative newspapers struggle to reposition themselves after praising Kwasi Kwarteng’s tax-cutting plans that triggered financial chaos“This was the best budget I have ever heard a chancellor deliver, by a massive margin,” wrote Allister Heath on the front page of the Daily Telegraph the day after Kwasi Kwarteng had outlined his plans for Britain’s fiscal future on 23 September.“The tax cuts were so huge and bold, the language so extraordinary, that at times I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.” Continue reading...