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Human Rights Watch claims new evidence of a systemic DNA collection drive across Tibet as part of a ‘crime detection’ programChinese authorities have been gathering DNA samples across Tibet, including from kindergarten children without the apparent consent of their parents, Human Rights Watch has said.In a new report released on Monday, the rights organisation claimed new evidence showing a systematic DNA collection drive for entire populations across Tibet as part of a “crime detection” drive. Continue reading...

Fifteen people are in hospital after attacks in 13 locations in two communities in the province

Government says it will use technology on public transport in crackdown on women’s dressThe Iranian government is planning to use facial recognition technology on public transport to identify women who are not complying with a strict new law on wearing the hijab, as the regime continues its increasingly punitive crackdown on women’s dress.The secretary of Iran’s Headquarters for Promoting Virtue and Preventing Vice, Mohammad Saleh Hashemi Golpayegani, announced in a recent interview that the government was planning to use surveillance technology against women in public places following a new decree signed by the country’s hardline president, Ebrahim Raisi, on restricting women’s clothing. Continue reading...

Australian consumer group Choice says people more vulnerable to being ripped off with fake dogs and cats during Covid pandemic

Prime minister Narendra Modi calls 54-year-old’s death ‘a big loss’ as politicians and business leaders express shock after accident near MumbaiCyrus Mistry, an Indian-born Irish businessman and former chairman of Indian conglomerate Tata Sons, has died in an accident after his car crashed into a road divider in western India, police said. He was 54.The crash occurred on a river bridge in Maharashtra state’s Palghar district near Mumbai on Sunday, police officer Prakash Gaekwad said. Continue reading...

Reports that prospective PM is also considering freezing energy bills this winter at a cost of up to £100bnLiz Truss has said she will press ahead with plans for the UK to be a low-tax economy with less focus on wealth redistribution under her premiership, despite calls for caution from Tory grandees.There were also reports that Truss, who is expected to be named as the new prime minister on Monday, was considering freezing energy bills this winter at a cost mooted to be as high as £100bn. Continue reading...

Federal government also confirms pension and jobseeker will rise 4% in line with consumer price index, as parliament returns

Around 70,000 demonstrators demand new gas deal with Russia and end to sanctions over war in UkraineThe Czech Republic is facing an autumn of discontent after an estimated 70,000 demonstrators gathered in Prague to protest at soaring energy bills and demand an end to sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine.Far-right and extreme-left elements coalesced at a “Czech Republic First” rally to call for a new agreement with Moscow over gas supplies and a halt to the sending of arms to Ukraine, while urging the centre-right government of the prime minister, Petr Fiala, to resign. Continue reading...

Psychological defence agency ready for chance of ‘something exceptional’ in lead-up to 11 September pollSweden has said it is on “high alert” for outside intervention in its upcoming election amid increased tensions with Russia.The Scandinavian country’s recently re-established psychological defence agency said it had seen heightened activity from foreign sources following its application to join Nato and it was prepared for the possibility of “something exceptional” in the lead-up to polling day on 11 September. Continue reading...

Photos show queues of cars filled with families trying to reach Dover as Brexit effect on tourism kicks inTravellers heading to the UK suffered delays of up to six hours on Saturday and Sunday as they queued at the Port of Calais.The ferry operators DFDS and P&O Ferries apologised on Sunday morning for the long wait times at UK border controls. Continue reading...

Police commissioner who retired early is alleged to have been put under pressure over investigation involving security contractGibraltar’s government is bracing itself for an explosive public inquiry into the controversial early retirement of its police commissioner, who is alleged to have been put under “inappropriate pressure” with respect to a sensitive investigation involving a security contract.A retired judge and a leading human rights lawyer from the UK are being flown in for the inquiry, which will resume with a preliminary hearing this month and hear allegations of corruption in the British overseas territory. Continue reading...

The Teacher’s Pet helped solve a 40-year-old murder but the popularity of real crime dramas raises questions and legal concernsFor the makers of The Teacher’s Pet, the result could not be better: an Australian man who murdered his wife 40 years ago was convicted after a detailed reinvestigation of the case by the true crime podcast.It uncovered flaws in the original police investigation and an unwillingness by prosecutors to charge Chris Dawson with the murder of his wife, Lynette. Continue reading...

Two of those killed had given Israel information that led to killing of Palestinians and three were convicted of murder, says ministryGaza’s Hamas authorities executed five Palestinians on Sunday, two of them on charges of espionage for Israel that dated back to 2015 and 2009, the interior ministry said.The dawn executions, by hanging or firing squad, were the first in the Palestinian territories since 2017. Human rights groups have criticised past cases of capital punishment in Gaza. Continue reading...

Home secretary looks again at ‘lethal’ tactic to deter asylum seekers as Rwanda deportation policy comes up for judicial reviewSex abuse survivors, human slavery and torture victims are among at least 19 people who have been warned in recent days that they face being deported to Rwanda as the Home Office keeps faith with its “brutal” policy before a major legal challenge this week.As signs mount that Priti Patel’s new plan for immigration is faltering, details have emerged of the next cohort of asylum seekers whom the home secretary wants to send on a deportation flight to Africa. Continue reading...

The Conservative leadership favourite ‘risks a repeat of sleaze scandals’ in choosing a new Tory MP for the privileges committee inquiryLiz Truss has been warned against attempting to install an MP sympathetic to Boris Johnson on the inquiry examining whether he lied to parliament, amid concerns that the government is already trying to rein in the investigation.It is understood that Truss, who is expected to be confirmed as the new prime minister on Monday , will have the power to put a new Tory MP on the privileges committee, which is investigating whether Johnson misled MPs over Downing Street lockdown parties. Continue reading...

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UK Lotto operator challenges the Gambling Commission’s decision to award £6.4bn contract to its rival, AllwynMore than £1bn for good causes could be lost over a legal action alleging the new licence to run the national lottery was awarded unlawfully, according to court filings seen by the Observer.Camelot, which operated the national lottery for nearly three decades, is seeking to reverse the decision to hand the licence to its rival Allwyn. It will go to court later this month in an appeal to delay the handover of the £6.4bn contract. The case threatens to embroil the lottery in its biggest controversy since it was launched in 1994 – and there is even a risk the lottery will be suspended for the first time in its history. Continue reading...

As average detention period blows out to a record 700 days, people inside say centres are rife with violence, drugs, and overcrowding

Shutdown over ‘oil leak’ comes only hours after G7 nations agree to impose a price capFears that Europe could be engulfed by a winter energy crisis reached new heights yesterday after the Russian energy supplier Gazprom extended the shutdown of gas flows it had imposed through its key Nord Stream 1 pipeline into Germany.The seriousness of the situation is underlined by the fact that Russia kept gas supplies to Europe flowing even at the height of the Cold War. By contrast, the pipeline has now been shut down twice since the Russian invasion of Ukraine: for 10 days in July in addition to the current indefinite closure. Continue reading...

Family of a 62-year-old man left with life-changing injuries after assault appeal for informationThe family of a Sikh priest who was left with life-changing injuries after a “violent” attack in Manchester have appealed for information.The 62-year-old man has been in hospital since the attack on 23 June. He was found in a pool of blood after police were called by the North West ambulance service to a report of a man found unconscious in the road on Tib Street just before 6.30pm.

Work goes on inside the bombarded Mykolaiv hospital near key offensive to retake Kherson

Liverpool and Everton supporters stand together to remember nine-year-old shot dead on 22 August

Europe’s largest plant offline on Saturday morning, with Russian-backed authorities claiming shelling destroyed key power line

After accelerated growth during the pandemic, grocery drop-off services such as Gorillas, Getir and Zapp are feeling the pinchRapid delivery firms are shedding riders and closing warehouses across the UK as the bubble bursts for ultra-quick grocery drop-off services.Some of the biggest names in the on-demand grocery sector, which persuaded cash-rich investors during the pandemic they were going to replace corner shop purchases with 15-minute deliveries, are pulling out of cities and towns as consumers desert their apps and doubts grow about the viability of the industry. Continue reading...

Pfizer/BioNTech ‘bivalent’ booster, targeting original and Omicron variants, approved along with Moderna jabA second “bivalent” coronavirus vaccine has been approved by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for individuals aged 12 and over.The regulator confirmed on Saturday that Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccine had met its standards of safety, quality and effectiveness. Continue reading...

Newcomer Meg Bellamy will play a young Duchess of Cambridge alongside Ed McVey and Rufus Kampa as Prince WilliamA young actor has landed her first professional role playing Kate Middleton in hit Netflix series The Crown.Meg Bellamy, 19, a former head girl at St Crispin’s School in Wokingham, Berkshire, was picked after submitting a self-taped audition after a casting call put out on social media. Continue reading...

Former business partner of Stake co-founders claims they used unlawful tactics to bully him out of businessStake UK, the crypto gambling company that sponsors Everton FC, has been hit with a $400m (£346m) lawsuit from a former business partner of its co-founders, alleging they stole from him and bullied him out of the business.According to court filings obtained by the Guardian, Christopher Freeman, a resident of Florida, claims that he was the brains behind Primedice, a predecessor company of Stake, which is now valued at more than $1bn. Continue reading...

Joseph Henney’s main companion is not an ordinary alligator. ‘He tries to comfort people and is famous for his hugs’Joseph Henney, 69, grew up on a farm in the same area of Dover, Pennsylvania he lives in now. From a young age, Henney was surrounded by a wide range of animals, such as cattle, coyotes, snakes and hogs, which makes owning a pet alligator perhaps the least surprising thing about him.But Henney’s gator companion Wally is not an ordinary pet – he’s an official emotional support animal and one that is now somewhat famous after video of Henney and Wally walking together in Philadelphia’s Love Park went viral and triggered a slew of news headlines. Continue reading...

Scrapping of ‘crazy’ cap that leads to early retirements would ‘inevitably save lives’, says shadow health secretaryWes Streeting, the shadow health and social care secretary, has said Labour would abolish the cap on doctors’ pensions which he believes would reduce waiting lists “and will inevitably save lives”.The MP for Ilford North claimed the “crazy” cap deters many experienced doctors from working late into their careers. Continue reading...

Ruined monastery in North Yorkshire and decommissioned royal ship in Edinburgh voted joint favourites in Which? pollAsked to guess what the UK’s favourite attractions were, you might be expected to say Stonehenge, Westminster Abbey or the Tower of London. But it’s Fountains Abbey and the Royal Yacht Britannia that have tied first-place in a survey by the consumer body Which?.The poll of nearly 3,000 Which? members ranked sites in April and May according to value for money, staff helpfulness and lack of crowds. Fountains Abbey, a famed monastic ruin in North Yorkshire, and the Royal Yacht Britannia, a decommissioned royal yacht moored in Edinburgh, emerged as joint favourites. Continue reading...

Coalition sues foundation, alleging mismanagement: ‘The assets that we built are under control of consultants’A coalition of Black Lives Matter chapters has filed a lawsuit against the BLM Global Network Foundation, a non-profit organization that grew out of the protest movement, accusing the foundation of defrauding the local activist groups.The complaint was filed on Thursday by BLM Grassroots, an entity made up of 26 BLM chapters in the US, UK and Canada. Continue reading...

Commander Julian Bennett refused to take a drug test in 2020 after his lodger contacted police alleging drug useA senior Metropolitan police commander who wrote the force’s drug strategy allegedly smoked cannabis in front of his lodger every day, a gross misconduct hearing has been told.Commander Julian Bennett later threatened to resign when he was asked to take a drug test on 21 July 2020, a disciplinary panel heard. Continue reading...

Gazprom delays reopening Nord Stream pipeline 1; UN nuclear agency team plans to remain at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

Extinction Rebellion protesters calling for a citizens’ assembly also locked themselves to gates of parliamentEight arrests have been made after climate protesters glued themselves in a chain around the Speaker’s chair in the chamber of the House of Commons.Extinction Rebellion said its supporters launched the protest in parliament in support of a “citizens’ assembly” to help deliver action on the climate crisis. Continue reading...

Appointment of Harry Mount to role overseeing Lords nominations triggers fresh cronyism accusations

IOPC report criticises detectives for failing to bring double killer Christopher Halliwell to justice soonerDetectives in Wiltshire missed “significant opportunities” to bring the double killer Christopher Halliwell to justice sooner for the murder of one of his victims and were slow to search a pond he used as a “trophy store”, an investigation managed by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has found.The current chief constable, Kier Pritchard, was criticised specifically for his role overseeing the flawed investigation into the death of Becky Godden-Edwards, which the report said was hampered by poor supervision, meaning good lines of inquiry were not immediately pursued and key evidence not forensically examined.A soil sample from a spade belonging to Halliwell that was seized when he was arrested in 2011 not being forensically examined until three years later, when it was found to match the field where Godden-Edwards’ body was discovered.Evidence from an RAC recovery driver who attended to Halliwell’s broken-down vehicle in the early hours of 3 January 2003, six miles from where Godden-Edwards’ body was buried. Police knew of this in 2011 but details of it were established only three years later.The testimony of a GP in April 2011 that Halliwell visited their surgery on 3 January 2003 with severe scratches to his face and damage to his hand, claiming he had been assaulted by a passenger in his taxi. Continue reading...

Edmonton decided Ken Lum’s paired figures of a bison and fur trader could ‘cause harm and induce painful memories’A Canadian city has pulled a public art project over fears that a pair of towering bronze statues could be seen as an endorsement of colonialism – the exact opposite of the work’s intended meaning, according to the artist.The work, which cost C$375,000 (US$285,000), comprises two large bronze figures which were intended to stand on either end of a pedestrian bridge in Edmonton. On one end, a 13ft bison was to stare out over the water. At the other, a colonial fur trader, measuring 11.5ft, would sit atop a pile of bison pelts. Continue reading...

Poultry processor Ranjit Singh Boparan says increase will add £1m a week to his business costsOne of the UK’s biggest chicken producers has warned food security could be under threat and shoppers exposed to a “price shock” after a more than threefold surge in the price of carbon dioxide (CO).Pig farmers, soft drink producers, brewers and bakeries are also being hit by the increase in the cost of the gas, which is used to stun animals before slaughter, as well as in packaging and as an ingredient. Continue reading...

South Cambridgeshire district council set to vote on pilot of shortened week for 470 desk-based employeesA Cambridgeshire council is poised to become the first in the UK to trial a four-day week, in a pioneering test of whether the working pattern can be applied successfully in the public sector without disrupting frontline services.Councillors at South Cambridgeshire district council will vote later this month on whether to pilot a shortened week on the same pay for 470 desk-based workers before possibly rolling it out to bin collectors. Workers at the authority – which operates in a district of more than 100 villages circling Cambridge – are being informed about the trial on Friday. Continue reading...

Victorian facility did not breach legislation for failing to afford woman dignity by declaring she was no longer technically a resident because she had died

Fairfield mayor says ‘people are suffering’ due to lack of affordable housing in migrant communities as PM pledges $575m investment

NSW government had threatened to terminate existing enterprise agreement with rail workers over ongoing industrial action

Years of mismanagement have led to soaring debt levels, but critics say that without meaningful relief, austerity will continueThe International Monetary Fund has approved a $1.3bn (£1.1bn) loan to Zambia, as the country scrambles to rebuild its crisis-hit economy after defaulting on its foreign debts in 2020.The Covid pandemic compounded Zambia’s economic woes, blamed on years of mismanagement and corruption, which left the country with unsustainable levels of debt. Continue reading...

Department store group says it is responding to customers’ demand for more sustainable shoppingSelfridges is aiming for almost half its interactions with customers to be based on resale, repair, rental or refills by 2030 as the upmarket department store responds to increasing demand for more sustainable shopping.The retailer said it wanted to step up action after increasing sales of secondhand items by 240% to 17,771 pieces last year and facilitating 28,000 repairs, more than a third of which were pairs of trainers, in its effort to trade in a more environmentally sustainable way. It also rented out more than 2,000 items to customers and sold more than 8,000 refills. Continue reading...

Wifi, Netflix, a laptop, presents for family and the odd night out with friends are in this year’s Minimum Income StandardWhat constitutes a no-fripperies minimum standard of living in the UK in 2022? It’s not just sufficient money for three meals a day, suitable clothes, heating and a roof over one’s head, according to the public, but enough for a Netflix subscription, a smart speaker, the odd night out with friends and a supply of Covid masks.It’s about being able to afford things such as a smartphone, a laptop, wifi, a cooker, a TV, the odd alcoholic drink and also enough to take an unostentatious week’s holiday away in the UK once a year, treat yourself to an occasional takeaway, buy presents for the children and family, and make charitable donations. Continue reading...

UK government accused of being devoid of understanding of issues in Scotland, Wales and Northern IrelandThe UK government’s dealings with the devolved nations has been described by former ministers as “demoralising”, “depressing” and devoid of understanding of issues in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.As the former Brexit minister David Frost is tipped to take charge of matters relating to the union in a potential Liz Truss government, nine former ministers in governments in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast have spoken out about their tussles and frustrations with Westminster in interviews with the Institute for Government. Continue reading...

Scott Roderick Glanville was waiting for help after his van rolled in 2019 when struck and killed by ute, Tasmanian coroner rulesA Tasmanian father-of-three who walked away from a car crash caused by black ice was killed moments later when he was struck by a ute that lost control on the same section of road, a coroner has ruled.Scott Roderick Glanville, 46, died on the side of a road in the state’s north on the morning of 25 June 2019. Continue reading...

Former Labor minister celebrated as one of the state’s ‘most respected daughters’

Notice in two major newspapers asks reporters to use ministerial emails instead of contacting James MarapeThe Papua New Guinean prime minister’s office has taken out a full page advertisement in the country’s two major newspapers urging journalists to stop calling and texting him directly.“This circular is to advise all members of the media fraternity, both national and international, that the Prime Minister Hon. James Marape MP will no longer accept direct press enquiries from the date of this correspondence onwards,” said the public notice published in the Post Courier and the National on Friday. Continue reading...

Clubs lobby is seeking charges of contempt against the YouTuber and Troy Stolz over interview