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In an interview with al-Jazeera, the French president also tried to calm tensions with the Muslims world over caricatures of the prophet Muhammad The French president Emmanuel Macron has accused Turkey of adopting a “bellicose” stance towards its NATO allies, saying tensions could ease if his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan showed respect and did not tell lies. In an interview with al-Jazeera broadcast on Saturday,Macron condemned Turkey’s behaviour in Syria, Libya and the Mediterranean and said: “Turkey has a bellicose attitude towards its NATO allies.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/37VMbgJ

With winds of 225 km/h, authorities say storm surges could inundate coastal villages, including in Manila Bay Super typhoon Goni has hit the eastern Philippines with ferocious winds, with about one million people evacuated from its projected path, including in the capital, Manila, where the main international airport was ordered closed. “There are so many people who are really in vulnerable areas,” said Ricardo Jalad, who heads the government’s disaster-response agency. “We’re expecting major damage.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3kNicv4

The legislators were arrested over a May parliamentary hearing that saw lawmakers clash violently over control of a subcommittee Hong Kong police have arrested seven pro-democracy legislators over a parliamentary meeting which descended into violence in May, the legislators said on social media. The arrests on Sunday of lawmakers Wu Chi Wai, Andrew Wan, Helena Wong, Kwok Wing Kin, Eddie Chu, Raymond Chan and Fernando Cheung were announced on individual and party Facebook pages. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3jJYJdh

Leaked document shows Niugini BioMed, established in August, will be funded by government to find a treatment from existing drugs Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Papua New Guinea has approved nearly $US3m from its threadbare budget for an as-yet-unidentified Covid-19 treatment – allocating the money to an unknown biomedical company that was formed in August. The prime minister, James Marape, has insisted the national executive council had not completed its approval process to engage a PNG company to find a treatment, but leaked cabinet documents appear to show 10.2m Kina (US$2.85m) being awarded to Niugini BioMed Ltd for research into discovering a new treatment for Covid-19 infections from existing drugs. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3mJMbVl

Obama casually drains three-pointer while in Flint for rally LeBron James praises former US president in viral video Barack Obama briefly showed off his silky left-handed shooting stroke on Saturday as he walked through the gymnasium at the old Flint Northwestern High School in Michigan, where he spoke at a drive-in rally with Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. A video of the impromptu moment captures the former US president receiving a bounce pass, taking one dribble and lofting a step-back three-pointer that rips through the net amid cheers from onlookers. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/34N7peS

Boris Johnson announces lockdown from Thursday ; Italy records 31,000 new cases; Spanish PM condemns rallies against restrictions. Follow latest updates Johnson’s U-turn puts England under tough new lockdown US sets world record for coronavirus cases in 24 hours Add vitamin D to bread and milk to help fight Covid, urge scientists Australian wastewater provides a treasure trove for Covid-19 hunters See all coronavirus news 1.24am GMT In the Philippines , almost one million people have been evacuated from the projected path of super typhoon Goni, which slammed into the country this morning. 12.55am GMT The UK ’s culture secretary Oliver Dowden has provided more clarity on the lockdown measures due to be imposed in England from Thursday 5 November. Pubs and restaurants will shut unless serving takeaway food, and all leisure and entertainment venues and non-essential shops will close. However, Dowden said elite sport and film and TV productions will be allowed to continue behi...

The magnate, 87, is expected to have spent $250m this election cycle to support conservative causes, fundraisers say The casino billionaire and ardent Israel backer Sheldon Adelson is expected to have written about $250m in checks to back Donald Trump, Republican Senate and House members and conservative causes, say two GOP fundraising sources familiar with the mega-donor’s spending plans. Related: US Senate elections: the key races that will determine power in Washington Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3oJygQY

Its Ocado tie-up may bring Marks festive joy, but as restrictions and uncertainty bite, even Primark looks less than cheerful The next two months are supposed to be the most lucrative time of the year for the high street, but a grisly update from Marks & Spencer will this week provide a grim reality check as the pandemic sets up nightmarish trading conditions for the golden quarter. Analysts expect M&S to have made a loss of about £60m in the first six months of its financial year because of the huge sales hit suffered by its clothing arm during the three-month spring lockdown. This time last year, the UK’s biggest clothing retailer was reporting profits of £176m. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2HILwoh

Pride march follows national success story in curbing Covid-19 pandemic At the entrance to Taipei’s Pride march on Saturday, Pearl Jain and Lance Xie held up a sign offering free hugs. Similar placards were waved above the pulsating crowd of 100,000 sweaty and bedazzled party goers crushedalong the parade route. Xie had recently returned from Melbourne, where 5 million people have just emerged from one of the toughest lockdowns in the world and everyone is trying not to touch each other. It was good to be home. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/37UKwYN

The satirist who skewered the 1980s in What a Carve Up! is approaching elder statesman status. He talks about Brexit, prizes, cancel culture – and his Hollywood hero Billy Wilder One Sunday evening in 1975 in a leafy suburb of Birmingham, 14-year-old Jonathan Coe put off his school dread by switching on the telly. The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes was on BBC One, the beginning of the author’s lifelong fascination with director Billy Wilder, who was to become “a far more influential figure on the way that I write than any novelist,” he says, 45 years later. Such was the impact on the young Coe that he started recording the soundtracks of his favourite films from the TV so he could lie in bed listening to Wilder on his Walkman until “the rhythm to his dialogue kind of seeped into my subconscious”. That screening “set a lot of ripples in motion,” he says (young film buffs Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat also watched it that evening, leading to the hit TV series Sherlock ). Coe’s latest ...

The actor and screenwriter on her dog, her neediness and pinching a policeman’s bottom Born in London, Emily Mortimer, 48, studied at Oxford University. She co-wrote and starred in the television series Doll & Em and her films include Lovely & Amazing , Shutter Island and Mary Poppins Returns . Relic , her latest, has just been released. She lives in New York with her husband, Alessandro Nivola , and their two children. What is your greatest fear? Shouting out something inappropriate in a theatre – as an audience member or an actor. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/35PR1t5

Halloween treats may be thin on the ground this year, but these veggies should do the trick: spicy root veg with tahini yoghurt, buttered garlicky roast kohlrabi, and fun cassava fries with pickled onions ‘ Trick or treat, trick or treat: give us something nice to eat! ’This should be the day we are all carving pumpkins and setting up stall for the evening’s trick-or-treaters. I’m not sure how much communal rooting around buckets of sweets there will be tonight, so instead, make this Halloween one where the pumpkins get cooked and sweetness comes in the form of roast root vegetables. I can’t give you a trick or a treat, but these recipes will definitely give you something nice to eat. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/31ZmEiU

Described as ‘gorgeous’ by the man who found it, the great fox-spider has not been seen since 1993 One of Britain’s largest spiders has been discovered on a Ministry of Defence training ground in Surrey having not been seen in the country for 27 years. The great fox-spider is a night-time hunter, known for its speed and agility, as well as its eight black eyes which give it wraparound vision. The critically endangered spider was assumed extinct in Britain after last being spotted in 1993 on Hankley Common in Surrey. The two-inch-wide (5cm) arachnid had previously also been spotted at two sites in Morden Heath in Dorset. These are the only three areas in Britain, all in the comparatively warmer south, where it has been recorded. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/34GNKgm

Annual spend up £50m driven by multipacks and ‘sharing bars’, but smaller bars decline Spending on chocolate has soared by £50m year on year, powered by sales of chocolate bars bought in supermarkets to eat at home. The increase in sales of multipacks and large “sharing bars” has offset a dip in sales of single bars, often impulse buys to eat on the go, from newsagents and other outlets. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2TC0UFj

The new president of the University and College Union, herself suffering from long Covid, says staff are increasingly angry, as branches ballot their members Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage One weekend in May, when Vicky Blake, the new president of the University and College Union, was supposed to be helping her father with some decorating, she realised she could not lift her arms. “I felt I’d dissolved from the inside out and there was just no power left in my body,” she says. It was the start of months of what her doctor thinks is long Covid, with symptoms including “brain fog” and total exhaustion. But with so many of her members terrified or angry about being expected to teach face to face on campuses where Covid is spreading, and her union fighting to force institutions to move courses online, this has not been a time to slacken off. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/37XH67G

Stakes at the polls are ‘life and death’, epidemiologists say, but responses to the pandemic divide sharply on political lines The US has suffered its worst week for new infections of the entire Covid-19 pandemic just days ahead of the election, underscoring what some epidemiologists described as “life and death” stakes as Americans head to the polls. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2TJakP2

His books were a hit long before he took office, and some Christians see his presidency as a blessing The pursed, stony expression is familiar in Peter Odoakang’s striking oil painting of Donald Trump, but not the outfit. The US president is portrayed wearing a wine- and peach-coloured agbada and cap, traditional Yoruba attire, fitting him into the mould of a south-western Nigerian leader or “big man”, as Odoakang says. “People see him in agbada and say wow, it fits him. People really laugh about it and react to it,” says Odoakang, 23, of the portrait commissioned by a company in Lagos, which he says brings Trump’s “personality into our setting”. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/35WkKkq

She doesn’t believe in a stiff upper lip, or pretending – unless it’s for work. The actor talks about her split with Tim Burton, friendship with Johnny Depp, and playing the Queen’s sister Ding-dong, it’s the doorbell. And look who’s standing on my rain-sodden doorstep, it’s Helena Bonham Carter . In her stompy, clumpy boots and dark floral ruffled dress, curls piled on top of her head, she looks so exactly herself – which is to say, like a Victorian goth drawn in charcoal – that she could be an actor playing a character playing Helena Bonham Carter. Which, to a certain degree, she is. “I love dressing up and creating myself, as it were, according to the day and the mood. But it’s an illusion, because then the Daily Mail photographs you, and you see it and think, that wasn’t what I meant at all,” she says as we walk into my kitchen and I compliment her outfit. Her fashion sense – invariably described as quirky (“God, quirky ,” she says, as if repeating a doctor’s fatal diagnosis) – h...

Santander accused a designer of supplying forged documents – but refused to explain its actions A businesswoman who found herself placed on the National Fraud Database after she applied to Santander for a mortgage, says she went through a “nightmare” after the bank refused to admit it had made a mistake. When Claire Foster* from Hertfordshire applied for a buy-to-let loan, staff reviewing her application placed a note on the database of the fraud prevention service Cifas warning that she had attempted a fraud. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3kLCvsC

Chris Looney helped dismantle the first nest of Asian giant hornets in the US. Now he’s preparing for the next step The eradication of the first nest of Asian giant hornets on US soil somewhat resembled a science fiction depiction of an alien landing site. A crew of government specialists in white, astronaut-like protective suits descended upon the hornet nexus to vanquish it with a futuristic-looking vacuum cleaner, to the relief of onlookers. The nest of the fearsome invasive insects, notoriously known as “murder hornets”, was found in a tree crevice near Blaine, in Washington state, via a tracking device attached to a previously captured worker hornet. The Washington state department of agriculture (WSDA) confirmed the nest had been successfully removed, with dozens of live captives taken back for inspection. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/34Jj6Di

From a poet to a warrior, test your knowledge with the Weekend quiz 1 What was “catchier than IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence”? 2 Which rulers sat on the Peacock Throne? 3 The cat-like fossa is the largest carnivore on which island? 4 Where does A+B+C+D+E = Q? 5 Which poet was nicknamed after the jockey Steve Donoghue? 6 A serpent eats its own tail in which ancient symbol? 7 Which UK national park is a Unesco world heritage site? 8 What Japanese art form’s name means “pictures run riot”? What links: 9 Andoni Goikoetxea; Frank Rich; Douglas Haig? 10 Annabella Drummond (1394) and Mary Queen of Scots (1566)? 11 Mountain; tree; cobra; warrior; half lord of the fishes? 12 Banba’s Crown; Burr Point; Brow Head; Dunmore Head? 13 Nicola Adams; Split native; biggest Mexican state; Darwin’s ship? 14 NW8; SE11; B5; M16; LS6; NG2? 15 Chatterton (Wallis); Marat (David); Nelson and Wolfe (West); Gordon (Joy)? Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3kIRLXq ...

The situation could develop if the president appears to be leading on election night before all votes are counted – and for some officials, it’s too realistic for words Scenarios for how an election disaster could unfold in the United States next week involve lawsuits, lost ballots, armed insurrection and other potential crises in thousands of local jurisdictions on 3 November. But there is one much simpler scenario for election-night chaos, centering on a single address, that many analysts see as among the most plausible. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/34Juxeg

Five years ago, Candice Pires and her family moved to the ‘liberal, laid-back’ US city of Portland. Would the shockwaves of 2020 spell the end of their lives there? It was Labor Day. We were having a barbecue in our back garden when gale-force winds started out of nowhere. As we scrambled to hold down plates and glasses, our neighbour’s horse chestnut trees swayed menacingly, their leaves swirling around us. Over the next hour, smoke filled the air and the sky changed from bright blue to dirty grey. We moved everything inside and shut up the house. Soon after, the power went. We had no idea what was happening: rumours started online that protestors – some said Antifa , some said Proud Boys – were starting fires on the outskirts of the city. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2TC98Ny

Ruby, 24, senior account manager, meets Alex, 24, PR account manager What were you hoping for? A pleasant evening with a mystery suitor in a nice restaurant. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3oFMKkB

It is 3.27am and somewhere, intermittent and plaintive, a dog is barking. I pull on my trousers and creep downstairs I am woken by a dog barking. On the ceiling, the silhouette of a tree branch is waving in the light cast by next door’s security light. Having fallen asleep while checking the number of mail-in ballots received and accepted thus far in North Carolina and Wisconsin, I am still clutching my phone tightly in one cramped claw. It is 3.27am and somewhere, intermittent and plaintive, a dog is barking in the night. After some minutes it becomes clear that the barking dog is my dog. I listen to one more round to make sure, and then pull on my trousers and creep downstairs. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/34GFWve

Latest move in an ongoing saga comes after CEO Jack Dorsey was grilled by Republican lawmakers during a Senate hearing on Wednesday Twitter said on Friday it had changed its policy and lifted a freeze it placed on the account of the New York Post after the newspaper published controversial articles about Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. It is the latest move in an ongoing saga that called into question the moderation policies of social media platforms. Both Twitter and Facebook took measures to limit the spread of an article published by the New York Post on 14 October, which claimed to be based on documents gleaned from an abandoned computer belonging to the Democratic candidate’s son. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2TEOBrD

System with 265km/h winds is expected to make landfall on Sunday on main island of Luzon, home to Manila Philippine officials have ordered evacuation of thousands of residents in the southern part of the main Luzon island as a category-5 storm that is the world’s strongest this year approaches. Typhoon Goni, with 215km/h (133 mph) sustained winds and gusts of up to 265km/h (164 mph), will make landfall on Sunday as the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines since Haiyan, which killed more than 6,300 people in 2013. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3kOAlsk

Demonstrations held in Pakistan, Lebanon, Palestinian territories and Afghanistan Tens of thousands of Muslims in Pakistan, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories and elsewhere joined protests on Friday over the French president Emmanuel Macron’s vow to protect the right to caricature the prophet Muhammad. Demonstrations in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, turned violent as 2,000 people who tried to march towards the French embassy were pushed back by police firing teargas and using batons. Crowds of Islamist activists hanged an effigy of Macron from an overpass after pounding it with their shoes. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/31Xl0hw

England lockdown expected early next week ; US passes 9m infections ; New South Wales records four new infections, Victoria one. Follow the latest: Belgium facing new lockdown as Germany takes in patients Europeans seek ways to ride out Covid winter ‘An operational tsunami’: preparing for a winter surge of Covid Paris sees record traffic jams before lockdown See all our coronavirus coverage 1.48am GMT Mainland China reported 33 new Covid-19 cases on Oct. 30, up from 25 a day earlier, the country’s national health authority said on Saturday. Of the new cases, 27 were imported infections originating from overseas, reports Reuters. 1.44am GMT The Australian state of New South Wales has reported one locally transmitted case of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours. A further three cases were recorded among overseas travellers in hotel quarantine, NSW Health said in a statement. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/37WVA7R

Action needed to help tenants in second wave, says Resolution Foundation UK house price boom will collapse once buyers lose their jobs UK house prices jump but slowdown is likely, says Nationwide Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage Almost one in eight private renters are unable to meet their housing costs in full, according to a report warning that urgent steps are needed to protect households during the second wave of Covid-19. The Resolution Foundation said private and social renters are bearing the brunt of redundancies during the Covid recession and are more likely to have fallen behind with their housing costs than mortgagers. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3eabGfp

Campaigners urge more walking and cycling schemes despite opposition from ‘vocal minority’ Many Britons will have to get used to driving less if the country is to avoid gridlock on the roads once coronavirus restrictions ease, and councils must provide better routes for cycling and walking, transport experts say. Government statistics show motor traffic is almost back at pre-lockdown levels , and only 59% of employees have returned to their workplaces. One study predict s that with health concerns reducing the use of public transport, up to 2.7 million more people could end up using cars for commuting trips alone. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2TEqCc7

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Party in crisis after Corbyn suspended for rejecting antisemitism findings … Macron pleads for unity … New Zealand votes to legalise euthanasia Morning everyone. I’m Martin Farrer and these are the top stories this morning. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2TAtyGy

Job losses at fastest rate on record as economic recovery from first lockdown loses steam The government will close the furlough scheme this weekend, with redundancies rising at the fastest rate on record and the second wave of Covid-19 pushing Britain’s economy to the brink of a double-dip recession, according to a Guardian analysis. As the chancellor, Rishi Sunak , prepares to end the multibillion-pound coronavirus job retention scheme and launch a less generous replacement programme, early warning indicators show business activity faltering as local lockdowns take effect. The number of people losing their jobs is rising much faster than during the 2008 financial crisis, while the economic fightback from the March lockdown is gradually fading. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/37Tlid7

Leaders from the UK, US and Middle East express solidarity with France as soldiers are deployed to guard schools and churches Leaders from around the world have offered condolences and expressed their solidarity with the people of France after the nation suffered a second suspected Islamist extremist attack on its soil in a fortnight. President Emmanuel Macron said France was “ under attack ” in the wake of the killings inside the Notre-Dame basilica in the coastal city of Nice on Thursday which left three worshippers dead, but he vowed the French people would “not give in to any terror” in fighting intolerance. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2JbJ1uO

Scheme designed to resettle about 5,000 refugees a year is currently suspended due to pandemic The UK government needs to urgently restart its resettlement scheme after two young children and their parents died while trying to cross the Channel, the UN refugee agency’s UK representative has said. Iranian Kurds Rasul Iran Nezhad and his wife, Shiva Mohammad Panahi, both 35, and two of their children, Anita, nine, and Armin, six, drowned on Tuesday as they tried to reach Britain by boat . The fate of the family’s third child, 15-month-old Artin, is unknown. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2HLjJDq

Internet Watch Foundation says criminal content spotted by people spending time online during pandemic Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage A hotline for reporting suspected child abuse material online had a record month in September, with calls increasing 45%, driven by the shift to working from home and more time spent online, an internet watchdog has said. The UK-based Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), which identifies child sexual abuse content online, said it processed 15,258 reports from the public in September 2020, a record for the charity and up from 10,514 in September 2019. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2TDhwMQ

Sales surged in the spring amid coronavirus fears and climbed higher during protests for racial justice Americans have bought nearly 17m guns so far in 2020, more than in any other single year, according to estimates from a firearms analytics company. Gun sales across the United States first jumped in the spring, driven by fears about the coronavirus pandemic, and spiked even higher in the summer, during massive racial justice protests across the country, prompted by police killings of black Americans. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2HO8c5W

The president won narrowly in Maricopa county in 2016. Polls show his support is draining – and fellow Republicans are at risk In the agonizing days after the 2018 election, Christine Marsh, a Democratic candidate for state Senate in a traditionally Republican suburban Phoenix district, watched her opponent’s lead dwindle to a few hundred votes, with thousands of ballots left to be counted. In the end, just 267 votes separated them. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/38712oP

The Guardian’s live-updating app alert is one of the fastest ways to receive US election results. Sign up now On the night of the US election, the Guardian is offering readers a unique way to get live, up-to-the minute election results delivered to their mobile phones. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3kTle0A

In time for Halloween, Guardian writers have picked out their favourite underseen scary movies, from Brazil’s first horror film to a found footage gem Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/37SbyQm

Who better to ask how to handle the cold than people who work in the elements? Here, Guardian readers give their best advice – from the ideal breakfast to the perfect snood I was once working at a beer festival in -12C and high wind for 18 hours. It was so cold that beer brought outside would “steam” like a cup of tea. We kept warm by wearing about 10 layers (Scottish woolly jumpers and Norwegian merino thermals). Under-layers are much more important than jackets, but they must be breathable and not cotton. Old-fashioned all-in-one long johns with a vest suit (and a bum hatch) were the best thing I bought, as they keep your middle warm even if you move around a lot (regular vests come untucked). Wool is the best material, as it stays dry; damp is the real enemy. Your hands are the best indicator – they should stay warm without gloves and steam if cold water touches them. If your hands get cold, you need another layer. Kenn Flatt, market trader Take spare gloves for the afternoon. Th...

The pop-metallers’ frontman Oli Sykes has gone from ‘school punching bag’ to chart-topping star – but coronavirus brought back his childhood anxieties In 2019, Oli Sykes foretold “some fuckin’ mental disaster in a couple of years … We’re literally at the end, doesn’t it feel like that to you?” He imagined a tsunami or volcano. His words are from Underground Big, a 24-minute track by his band Bring Me the Horizon , and the first of two prophecies from this Cassandra of stadium rock. He got closer the second time with Parasite Eve, a song about a pandemic. “I had read about this superbug in Japan that was killing loads of people, and the article was saying this is the next war mankind will face,” he says now. “I didn’t think it was going to come this year.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3oEwlwJ

TAOYUAN, Taiwan — Two lesbian couples tied the knot in a mass wedding held by Taiwan’s military on Friday in a historic celebration with their peers. Taiwan is the only place in Asia to have legalized same-sex marriage, with more than 4,000 such couples marrying since the legislation passed in May 2019. The mass wedding with 188 couples was the first time same-sex couples have been wed and celebrated at a military ceremony. Both couples viewed their ceremonies with a sense of responsibility towards representing the LGBT community. “We are hoping that more LGBT people in the military can bravely stand up, because our military is very open-minded. In matters of love, everyone will be treated equally,” said Chen Ying-hsuan, 27, an army lieutenant who married Li Li-chen, 26. Chen wore a rainbow wristband and said she has always been open about her sexual orientation while serving. The ceremony at an army base in the northern city of Taoyuan was brief. The couples took par...

Trump and Biden scheduled to hold dueling events in Minnesota and Wisconsin Friday ‘Turning pain into purpose’: Covid is driving Arizonans to the polls The polls point to a Biden victory but can they be trusted this time? ‘It’s voter suppression’: the Republican fight to limit ballot boxes 5.54am GMT Tons of people continue to vote early in Houston, the crown jewel of Texas. (?) NEW: We just hit our highest voter turnout. Ever. Nearly 1.4 million votes have been cast in Harris County and we’re not even done with Early Vote yet. Let’s run up the score, Texas! Periodic PSA: if someone tells you who's on track win certain states based on modeled party ID of the early vote, they're full of crap. 5.36am GMT Senator Mike Lee of Utah has given rise to some consternation within the Mormon community for comparing Donald Trump to a hero from the Book of Mormon at a politics rally in Arizona. “He seeks not power but to pull it down,” Lee said, paraphrasing Mormon scripture, as...

Thursday’s traffic was 30% higher than the previous record as people headed out to escape lockdown and others headed back from half-term holidays A dash by Parisians to either escape the new national lockdown or scramble back to the French capital to prepare for the restrictions caused record traffic jams in and out of the city on Thursday night. The exodus in and out of the city created a record 706km of traffic on roads in the region by 6pm, according to France’s traffic department. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2HIbRCq

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealanders voted to legalize euthanasia in a binding referendum, but preliminary results released Friday showed they likely would not legalize marijuana. With about 83% of votes counted, New Zealanders emphatically endorsed the euthanasia measure with 65% voting in favor and 34% voting against. The “No” vote on marijuana was much closer, with 53% voting against legalizing the drug for recreational use and 46% voting in favor. That left open a slight chance the measure could still pass once all special votes were counted next week, although it would require a huge swing. In past elections, special votes — which include those cast by overseas voters — have tended to be more liberal than general votes, giving proponents of marijuana legalization some hope the measure could still pass. Proponents of marijuana legalization were frustrated that popular Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern wouldn’t reveal how she intended to vote ahead the Oct. 17 ballo...

Results must be enacted by the new Labour government by October 2021, but second referendum on legalising cannabis fails to find support New Zealanders have voted to legalise euthanasia for those with a terminal illness, in a landslide victory for campaigners who say anyone suffering extreme pain should be given a choice over how and when to bring their life to a close. The decision on whether to legalise euthanasia appeared as a referendum question on the 17 October general election ballot paper, alongside a second referendum question on whether to legalise cannabis – which did not succeed, according to preliminary results. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3jGC95d

Poll finds providers in deprived areas particularly vulnerable as a result of low demand A quarter of nurseries and childminders in deprived areas of England say they will not get by beyond Christmas without additional income, according to a survey. The poll by the Early Years Alliance (EYA) found that low demand for places and inadequate government support during the Covid pandemic could result in mass closures of childcare facilities. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/37SefS1

UK millionaire Dale Vince says lab-grown gems will be ‘world’s first zero-impact’ diamonds A British multi-millionaire and environmentalist has set out plans to create thousands of carats of carbon-negative, laboratory-grown diamonds every year “made entirely from the sky”. Dale Vince, the founder of green energy supplier Ecotricity , claims to have developed the world’s only diamonds to be made from carbon, water and energy sourced directly from the elements at a “sky mining facility” in Stroud. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/34DAzN9

Nichols Canyon described as ‘most significant landscape by Hockney to ever appear at auction’ A David Hockney painting valued at £27m ($35m) and described as “the most significant landscape by Hockney to ever appear at auction” has gone on show in London. The 1980 piece, Nichols Canyon, depicts a winding road through hills in Los Angeles, and marks the beginning of Hockney’s exploration of panoramic landscapes. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/35Q06SZ

From Cindy Crawford as a Hell’s Angel to Rihanna as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, here are some of the stars’ most memorable fancy dress moments over the last two decades Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3jFu2WJ

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Head of the European Commission warns EU hospitals ‘at risk of being overwhelmed’ by Covid; Greece brings in regional lockdowns; French PM lays out details of new France lockdown. White House taskforce warns of ‘unrelenting’ Covid spread Angela Merkel heckled by German MPs over lockdown France: children aged six and over to wear masks in school Taiwan marks 200 days without domestic infection Large China outbreak linked to Xinjiang forced labour 11.38pm GMT Hello and welcome to today’s live coronavirus coverage. My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be with you for the next few hours. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3mGcpYR

Nigerians arrested after SBS stormed Nave Andromeda will remain detained by Border Force Seven Nigerian men detained after British special services stormed an oil tanker off the Isle of Wight have been bailed, police have said. The raid was carried out by around 16 members of the Special Boat Service (SBS) , backed by airborne snipers, who secured the Nave Andromeda tanker in around nine minutes. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3ecy6N8

After being offered a prestigious international literary residency, Nkiacha Atemnkeng was excited for his first visit to the US – until he turned up at the embassy for his interview I am a western visa rejection expert. Three times – even though I work at an airport. But I am mostly a literary reject, a reality which also, somehow, always presents itself in sets of threes. Like a trilogy. I am at the US embassy in Yaoundé, Cameroon’s capital, waiting outside the gate and the high fence. I admire the white tiled buildings and poles flaunting American flags. We stand in the morning sun. A Cameroonian security guard walks towards us. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3kDlqRz

His father was brutally beaten by police, but instead of hating the force, he became an officer himself. Now John Boyega is starring in a film about Leroy Logan’s life. So did the first chair of the National Black Police Association make the right choice? One day in 1983, while working in his research lab at the Royal Free hospital in north London, Leroy Logan received a phone call. The news was bad. It was about his father, Kenneth, a lorry driver. “Dad was parked up in north London,” he remembers. “Two police officers said he was blocking the highway. He didn’t believe he was and started to measure the distance. They took the view that – as some police officers say – he had ‘failed the attitude test’.” Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3mybdGU

With a reported 323% rise in people swimming outdoors, here is the expert guide to ensuring you take the plunge safely – even when temperatures plummet When lockdown rules eased in May, a friend and I went for a surreptitious dip in a nearby lake. It was exactly what we needed. The shock of cold water provided the thrills, while merging into the landscape brought the bliss. Afterwards, we floated through the woods on a post-swim high. “Shall we do it again next week?” we said. With public pools closed, we weren’t the only ones rekindling a love of bracing outdoor swims this summer. And staring down the barrel of a second-wave winter, we are also not alone in our desire to continue. The National Open Water Coaching Association (Nowca) has reported a 323% rise in swimmers this October , and more official swimming lakes staying open all year. While, across the country, venues such as Lake 32 at the Cotswold Water Park , near Cirencester, are offering inclusive “ mental health ” swimmin...

Dramatic increase in recorded cases across country, with infection rate rising fastest in south Coronavirus – latest updates See all our coronavirus coverage The Covid pandemic has reached a “critical” stage in England, with prevalence doubling since last month with the fastest increases in the south where the R number has risen above 2, research has found. While cases remain highest in northern England, a dramatic increase in infections has been recorded across all areas, according to the latest interim findings from the React-1 study from Imperial College London. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3oBqqbY

Obama will campaign with Biden in Michigan on Saturday Sign up for Fight to Vote – our weekly US election newsletter 5.56am GMT The secretary of state of Vermont has written a letter to the clerk of the US supreme court to request that an error in a recent opinion by justice Brett Kavanaugh in a voting rights case be corrected. Attempting to make the case that it was appropriate for the state of Wisconsin not to count mail-in ballots received after election day, Kavanaugh compared Wisconsin to Vermont, which “ha[s] decided not to make changes to their ordinary election rules,” Kavanaugh wrote. We have formally requested that #SCOTUS correct the erroneous claim by Justice Kavanaugh that #VT has not changed voting procedures for the #2020Elections due to #COVID19 . When it comes to issuing decisions on the voting rights of American citizens, facts matter. pic.twitter.com/cWvAJTuIEl 5.33am GMT The footage out of the Georgia senate races only gets more amazing. Both US senate...

Unparalleled collection of one of the greatest Jewish dynasties in the world to go on sale in New York An unparalleled collection of Judaica amassed by one of the greatest Jewish dynasties in the world and not seen in public for over a century is to be sold at auction. The trove of 68 items includes silver objects, Hebrew manuscripts and family artefacts collected by the Sassoon family. Some items date back to the 11th century, and they originate from countries from east Asia to western Europe. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/3kCReGt

While many countries around the world are hitting new highs in coronavirus cases, Taiwan has achieved a different kind of record — 200 days without a locally transmitted case. Taiwan holds the world’s best virus record by far and reached the new landmark on Thursday, even as the pathogen explodes anew in Europe and the U.S. Taiwan’s last local case came on April 12; there has been no second wave. What did this island with 23 million people do right? It has had 550 confirmed cases, with only seven deaths. Experts say closing borders early and tightly regulating travel have gone a long way toward fighting the virus. Other factors include rigorous contact tracing, technology-enforced quarantine and universal mask wearing. Further, Taiwan’s deadly experience with SARS has scared people into compliance. “Taiwan is the only major country that has so far been able to keep community transmission of Covid eliminated,” said Peter Collignon, an infectious disease physician and prof...

Teenager arrested in south London after 24-year-old man found with serious injuries in Crawley A teenage girl has been arrested over the murder of a man in West Sussex. Emergency services were called to Russell Way in Three Bridges, Crawley, at 9pm on Tuesday where they found a 24-year-old man with serious injuries, Sussex police said in a statement. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2TAZZom

On China’s National Day this year, Thai student Bunkueanun “Francis” Paothong performed a song outside the Chinese embassy in Bangkok. “Arise! Ye who would not be slaves again,” a video posted on Twitter showed him operatically singing into the humid evening. The words famously open China’s national anthem, “The March of the Volunteers.” But they also appear in “Glory to Hong Kong”—the unofficial anthem of Hong Kong’s democracy movement —and it was this that Francis was singing at the Oct. 1 protest. “For Hong Kong, may glory reign!” he intoned. Written and composed anonymously last year, the song has come to represent Hong Kong’s youth-driven rebellion against Beijing. But its four stanzas are now also sung in Thailand where protesters against the military-backed government and the monarchy are not only adopting tactics of resistance from their Hong Kong counterparts but are also cross-promoting causes. Though their demands may be different, solidarity between the ...