The radical director of Breathless and Alphaville, and who was a key figure in the French nouvelle vague, has diedJean-Luc Godard, the French-Swiss director who was a key figure in the Nouvelle Vague, the film-making movement that revolutionised cinema in the late 1950s and 60s, has died aged 91, French newspaper Liberation reported.Best known for his iconoclastic, seemingly improvised filming style, as well as unbending radicalism, Godard made his mark with a series of increasingly politicised films in the 1960s, before enjoying an unlikely career revival in recent years, with films such as Film Socialisme and Goodbye to Language as he experimented with digital technology. Continue reading...
Secret Foreign Office unit distributed literature from fake sources to discredit Stokely CarmichaelThe British government targeted the American civil rights leader Stokely Carmichael and sought to weaken the Black Power movement with covert disinformation campaigns, recently declassified documents have revealed.The effort was the work of a secret unit known as the Information Research Department, based in London and part of the Foreign Office, which created and distributed literature from fake sources as part of a broader effort to destabilise cold war enemies. Continue reading...
by Richard Partington Economics correspondent on (#63JDB)
Thinktank says richest tenth of UK households would receive £4,700 on average, and poorest tenth £2,200Liz Truss’s plans for an energy price freeze and sweeping tax cuts will give Britain’s richest households twice as much financial support with living costs as the poorest households, according to a leading thinktank.The Resolution Foundation said the prime minister’s energy package, announced hours before news of the death of the Queen last week, would come with a “colossal” price tag for taxpayers that was poorly targeted to help those most in need when combined with tax cuts promised in her leadership campaign. Continue reading...
by Kalyeena Makortoff Banking correspondent on (#63JDD)
Exclusive: Move is part of Bank of England’s delayed health check of financial industryThe UK’s largest banks will be tested on their ability to withstand a rise in defaults linked to sky-high energy prices, as part of the Bank of England’s delayed health check of the financial industry.The Guardian understands that Threadneedle Street has crafted a new crisis scenario that will feature a deep economic recession, punctuated by soaring energy bills that could make it harder for some borrowers – particularly businesses – to afford loan repayments. Continue reading...
Community leaders are searching for people they fear may be buried under landslides triggered by a magnitude 7.6 quake on SundayThe death toll from a magnitude 7.6 magnitude earthquake that hit Papua New Guinea on Sunday has risen to seven, and authorities fear many more could be missing, dead, or buried under landslides.The earthquake struck in the Markham Valley, in Morobe, on the north coast of Papua New Guinea, and was followed by a second 5.0 magnitude earthquake. Continue reading...
Emergency budget will give chance to get back on front foot. But first, PM has to gauge nation’s mood in period of mourning Queen’s deathAs Liz Truss processed out of Westminster Hall behind King Charles, over the brass plaques marking the trials of Guy Fawkes and Charles I, and the spot where the Queen Mother lay in state, she looked like she was personally bearing the weight of history on her shoulders.Her face grave and drawn, the new prime minister may have been reflecting on the new King’s words when he addressed MPs and peers assembled in the 900-year-old building: “Parliament is the living and breathing instrument of our democracy.” Continue reading...
The price of some accommodation has apparently increased by more than 300%Accommodation bookings in London have increased as people from elsewhere in the UK and around the world make plans to head to the capital for the Queen’s funeral, with some hotels apparently raising their prices by more than 300%.Hotels ranging from budget to high-end have reported an increase in custom, with one travel expert saying demand for place to stay is at its highest since the 2012 Olympics. Continue reading...
Bloc including far-right Sweden Democrats on course for one-seat majority with last votes to be countedSweden’s future is balanced on a knife-edge as the country awaits a final tally of the votes in Sunday’s general election, in which a loose bloc of rightwing parties led by the far-right Sweden Democrats – now the second largest party – holds the slimmest of majorities.With 95% of the vote counted, the right bloc was on 49.7%, while four parties on the left, including the incumbent Social Democrats, stood at 49%. The final picture will come on Wednesday after the votes of Swedish citizens living abroad and those of some who voted early are counted. Continue reading...
Internal data shows 670 objections, in stark contrast with the 100,000 that accompanied death of husbandThe BBC’s wall-to-wall coverage of the Queen’s death has avoided the mass of complaints that accompanied its output when Prince Philip died, although broadcasters are edging back towards normal schedules as viewing figures start to dip.Internal BBC complaints data show it received about 670 objections from people who felt last Thursday’s coverage of the Queen’s death was excessive, compared with the 100,000 who objected to its output to mark her husband dying. Sources suggested the number had increased in recent days but remained relatively low, with a formal tally due to be published later this week. Continue reading...
As IAEA board meets, Israel says Iran will be able to produce enough material for three warheads in weeksTensions around a breakdown in talks between Iran and the US over Tehran’s nuclear programme escalated on Monday when Israel’s defence minister, Benny Gantz, claimed that Iran would be able to produce enough enriched uranium to make three nuclear warheads within a few weeks.Gantz also revealed a map detailing 10 facilities in Syria allegedly being used to arm Iran and its proxies, including Hezbollah. He said the facilities represented a threat to Israel’s security. Continue reading...
Campaigner’s daughter, Cassie Parris, says she will continue to ‘fight for those who face injustice’ in his nameTributes have poured in for Tony Paris, who became a campaigner for justice after being wrongly convicted for the notorious 1988 murder of Lynette White in Cardiff’s docklands.Paris, who has died aged 65, was one of the “Cardiff Three”, who were jailed in 1990 but cleared two years later at the appeal court. The real murderer, Jeffrey Gafoor, was convicted in 2003. Continue reading...
Jacinda Ardern says it is time to ‘turn the page’ on the pandemic as she scraps all but a handful of restrictionsJacinda Ardern has declared it “time to safely turn the page” on New Zealand’s Covid-19 restrictions, scrapping all but a handful of remaining rules.New Zealand, which once eliminated the virus through the toughest pandemic rules in the world, has made relaxations similar to Australian or European conditions. Continue reading...
by Kate Lyons (now); Joe Middleton, Winston Brown, Ma on (#63G6C)
This blog is now closedLabour will go ahead with its autumn conference later this month, as officials, advisers and politicians from all parties attempt to balance paying their respects to the Queen with avoiding a period of political paralysis.The Queen’s death and period of mourning has come at a moment of acute political tension, with concerns over the behaviour of Liz Truss’s new administration in Whitehall and significant gaps in the details of her energy price cap, set to cost well over £100bn. Continue reading...
Virginie Despentes’ book Cher Connard pushes problem of sexual harassment back into spotlightA novel depicting France’s #MeToo movement by the French punk feminist writer Virginie Despentes, irreverently titled Cher Connard – which roughly translates as Dear Arsehole – has become a bestseller, prompting a debate about sexual harassment and equality in the social media age.The story opens as Oscar, a novelist in his 40s, insults an actor on Instagram about the way she has aged. The film star, Rebecca, sends a furious reply just as Oscar is accused online by a young female press officer of sexual harassment years earlier. Continue reading...
by Martin Farrer (now); Maya Yang, Harry Taylor and T on (#63G7W)
Engineers working to restore power in region which has seen gains by Ukrainian forcesUkrainian forces have advanced north from Kharkiv to within 30 miles (48km) of the border with Russia and are also pressing to the south and east in the same region, Ukraine’s commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Gen Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, said on Sunday.Ukrainian troops have retaken more than 3,000 sq km of territory this month, he wrote on the Telegram messaging app, adding: “Ukraine continues to liberate territories occupied by Russia.” Continue reading...
by Haroon Siddique Legal affairs correspondent on (#63GNG)
Woman held in Edinburgh as man says he was taken away by police in Oxford as proclamation read outTwo protesters who expressed republican sentiments have been arrested at events proclaiming the accession to the throne of King Charles III.A man said he was arrested for shouting, “Who elected him?” when the proclamation was read out in Oxford. Continue reading...
by Jessica Elgot Chief political correspondent on (#63GNH)
Former cabinet secretary says move by Liz Truss on her first day in office was ‘very unusual and very regrettable’Liz Truss’s decision to sack the Treasury’s top official on her first day in office was “very unusual and very regrettable”, a former cabinet secretary has said, accusing the new prime minister of treating the civil service “improperly”.Robin Butler – who served under Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Tony Blair – said the decision to remove Sir Tom Scholar as permanent secretary at the Treasury would have implications on how well the the department would handle the economic crisis. Continue reading...