The internal market bill will face opposition in the Lords and amendments from Tory backbenchers
The internal market bill, described by the government as a key element of Brexit legislation, has cleared its first Commons hurdle, with two Tory MPs voting against it and nearly 30 more abstaining. But why is the bill so significant?
Continue reading...Netherlands-based startup company behind eco-friendly fungi mycelium casket
After months of testing, the first funeral has taken place in the Netherlands using a fast-composting “living coffin” made of mycelium, the mat of fibres that forms the underground part of fungi.
“I didn’t actually go, but I talked to a relative beforehand – it was a moving moment, we discussed the cycle of life,” Bob Hendrikx, the founder of Loop, the startup producing the Living Cocoon, told the Metro newspaper.
Continue reading...Alexei Navalny says he can breathe independently in Instagram post sent from hospital in Berlin
The Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has said he is nowable to breathe without any external support, in his first public statement since he was poisoned last month.
Navalny, who German authorities said was poisoned with the nerve agent novichok, posted a photograph on Instagram of himself sitting up in a hospital bed surrounded by his wife and their two children.
Continue reading...Critics say advice should have been sought from lawyers without views on EU debate
The government is facing increasing scrutiny over its decision to use “committed Brexiteer” lawyers to provide advice on the legality of breaching the EU withdrawal agreement.
On Saturday, the attorney general, Suella Braverman QC, who chaired the annual general meeting of the Bar Council that represents barristers in England and Wales, faced repeated criticism over her role as the government’s chief legal adviser, according to those present.
Continue reading...Former chancellor Sajid Javid becomes most senior Tory MP to say he cannot back bill in its current form
The politics live blog will be paused for now, thank you all for reading along so far. We may be back later as the debate continues.
Heald also expressed his unhappiness at the UK government claiming precedent for breaking international law.
He said:
Can I just also say that I was surprised to see this justified by the precedent, allegedly, of the Finance Act 2013 General Anti-Abuse Rule by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
I was a law officer at the time, Dominic Grieve was attorney general. And one thing I can say about Dominic Grieve is that he was very correct and made sure that Government legislation did not offend the rule of law - he was extremely painstaking.
Continue reading...Greek authorities struggle to persuade former camp residents to move to a new temporary site as protests continue
Greece is facing mounting demands from refugees displaced by the devastating Moria refugee camp fire to either let them leave Lesbos or deport them.
The Greek authorities are struggling to persuade former residents of the camp to move to a new temporary site, and many people continue to sleep on the streets of the island.
Continue reading...Belarusian president flies to Sochi for talks with Russian leader after month of protests
The embattled Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko is holding talks with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, a meeting seen as crucial to determining whether or not Lukashenko can survive a protest movement against him.
The pair met at Putin’s residence in Sochi, the first foreign trip Lukashenko has made since protests began a month ago.
Continue reading...Russian opposition leader taken off ventilator and can leave his bed, hospital reports
The Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been taken off a ventilator and is able to leave his bed for short periods of time, German doctors who have been treating him for novichok poisoning have said.
In a significant update, the Charité hospital in Berlin said Navalny’s condition “continues to improve” and hinted that he was able to talk. It said latest news of his health was made public after consultation with Navalny and his wife.
Continue reading...Associates of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny celebrate victory in Siberia where he was poisoned
Allies of poisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny have said they have secured city council seats in Siberia as independent monitors condemned a reported “stream” of voting irregularities in regional polls.
In several dozen of the country’s 85 regions, Russians voted for regional governors and lawmakers in regional and city legislatures as well as in several by-elections for national MPs.
Continue reading...Criticism grows of plan to break international law as EU calls for bill to be dropped
Downing Street is facing a showdown with Conservative backbench rebels as criticism over its plans to break international law with a new controversial bill that could override parts of the Brexit withdrawal agreement grew louder on Sunday.
It is understood that opposition among the party is growing, with dozens of Tory MPs expected to support a key amendment to the internal market bill that would give parliament a crucial veto of any changes to the agreement.
Continue reading...Protesters hold placards criticising Russian support as they march on president’s Minsk residence
Attempts by Belarus’s president, Alexander Lukashenko, to crush popular protests against him failed on Sunday when more than 100,000 people marched on his residence in the capital, Minsk, with other demonstrations across the country.
There was no sign that the anti-Lukashenko movement is declining or fading away. Instead protesters took to the streets in huge numbers for the fifth weekend in a row, defying riot police who blocked off the city centre with military vehicles.
Continue reading...Infinite Cantabria by Okuda San Miguel is a riot of colours, geometric shapes and animals
A 90-year-old lighthouse perched on a lush cape in northern Spain is at the centre of a cultural row after a dazzling paint job by a local artist left the tower outshining its lamp – and some critics blanching.
For almost a century, the lighthouse, near the Cantabrian town of Ajo, was a mute, monochrome sentry beaming its light out over the Atlantic.
Continue reading...Justice secretary says he doesn’t believe international law will be broken, as discontent grows among Conservative backbenchers over internal market bill
The UK justice secretary, Robert Buckland, has said he would resign if the law was “broken in a way that I find unacceptable”, as Downing Street continued to come under pressure over planned legislation that would override parts of the Brexit withdrawal agreement.
In a remarkable scene in the Commons last week that astonished Conservative backbenchers, the Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis, admitted the internal market bill “does break international law in a very specific and limited way”.
Continue reading...Cases are increasing here and across Europe as universities plan to reopen. What is the outlook for autumn?
Is this the start of a second wave, and if so will it be as bad as the first?
The number of Covid-19 infections has almost doubled in a week, with 3,497 cases announced yesterday. Admissions to hospital have also risen. We’ll find out soon if this is a second wave but there are some indicators of what is coming.
Cases are rising quickly…
Researchers at Imperial College London said on Friday that the number of cases had been doubling roughly every 7.7 days in England, and that the reproduction rate was as high as 1.7. If the virus continues to spread at that rate, the UK would see about 10,000 new cases a day in the next two weeks, with 300 to 400 hospital admissions a day.
As Liguria prepares for next week’s regional elections, an unlikely candidate has energised the fight against the far right
A procession of about 100 people, most of them young, departs from the church of San Martino di Struppa, up a track into the mountains around Genoa. Above, every shade of green; below, the port and the sea, like an aqueous mirror reflecting the blue sky.
There’s history on these steep slopes, and that is why these people are here: the ancient paths were used by partisans during the war, and when they blew up a bridge, severing German troops from their supply lines, the priest of San Martino, Don Andrea Ricchini, was taken to Auschwitz in reprisal. He survived, and – after a funeral had been held, in absentia – returned to serve the parish for 30 more years.
Continue reading...Despite a big rise in infections, particularly among younger people, there is no sense of panic on the streets around Madrid
An hour or so before lunch on Thursday, Ángela Falcón stepped out of the church of Our Lady of the Assumption and on to the hot and busy streets of Parla.
“I’m scared and I very seldom come out but when I do, I stop by the church to pray,” said the 71-year-old.
Continue reading...Drama featuring McDormand as a retiree forced on the road after the 2008 recession takes top honours on the Lido, while Vanessa Kirby is named best actress
Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland, a recession-era road trip drama starring Frances McDormand, won the Golden Lion for best film on Saturday at a slimmed-down Venice film festival, which was held against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic.
Zhao and McDormand appeared by video from the United States to accept the award, as en virus-related travel restrictions made reaching the Lido in the Italian lagoon city difficult if not impossible for many Hollywood filmmakers and actors.
Continue reading...Turkish leader hits back after criticism from French president over warship deployment
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on Saturday warned his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, “not to mess” with Turkey, as tensions between the Nato allies escalated.
“Don’t mess with the Turkish people. Don’t mess with Turkey,” Erdoğan said during a televised speech in Istanbul on the 40th anniversary of the 1980 military coup.
Continue reading...Rally in Minsk against disputed re-election of Lukashenko was attended by thousands
Belarusian riot police detained several dozen women demonstrators and threw them into vans, as thousands took to the streets of the capital to protest against police violence and electoral fraud.
Before a massive protest expected on Sunday, columns of female protesters gathered in central Minsk for a peaceful women’s protest. Some beat saucepans with ladles and others chanted “Bring back our Masha”, referring to opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova by her diminutive name.
Continue reading...PM claims internal market bill is needed to counter EU ‘threats’ to put a blockade in Irish Sea
Boris Johnson has said his controversial legislation to override parts of his Brexit deal is needed to end EU threats to install a “blockade” in the Irish Sea.
The prime minister said Brussels could “carve up our country” and “seriously endanger peace and stability” in Northern Ireland if Conservative MPs rebel to block the internal market bill.
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