Top story: Nerve agent ‘unequivocally’ used on Navalny

Warren Murray with you and here’s Thursday again, right where we expected to find it.

World leaders are demanding answers from the Kremlin after Germany announced that the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a novichok type nerve agent. The “unequivocal” finding was confirmed by Angela Merkel, the German chancellor.

The White House described the poisoning as “completely reprehensible” and a US source said the use of the same chemical agent as deployed against Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in 2018 showed that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, was prepared to be bold. The UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, called the findings “outrageous” and said: “The Russian government must now explain what happened to Mr Navalny.” Navalny remains in a medically induced coma while German doctors treat the poisoning.

Coronavirus latest – The government is expected to announce the reimposition of 14 days of quarantine for arrivals from Portugal today, while Scotland will begin quarantining arrivals from Greece. Wales is asking only arrivals from the Greek island of Zante to quarantine. The Welsh health minister, Vaughan Gething, has asked the central government for an urgent meeting to consider potential risk from Greece. Routine weekly Covid testing of the population in England will be trialled in a bid to head off a winter second wave. The health secretary, Matt Hancock, said the government would scale up testing capacity and launch community pilots trialling repeat testing in schools and colleges, as well the population as a whole. Cambridge university researchers say swab tests can miss between 30% and 50% of cases and people should be given a fingerprick blood test at the same time to ensure an accurate result.

A vaccine against Covid-19 for health workers and high-risk groups may be available in November, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has reportedly told US officials. Critics fear the Trump administration is trying to rush a vaccine for political advantage so it is released before election day – possibly without the necessary safety tests. For someone so committed to ending the pandemic it might seem contradictory that the president is simultaneously pushing to accelerate cuts to US funding for the world’s peak health body, the WHO. Keep up with the very latest at our global live blog.

‘Bullying, misogyny, cronyism’ – The powerful GMB trade union has been described as “institutionally sexist” in an independent report. The barrister Karon Monaghan QC concludes women have been subjected to sexual harassment and are “underrepresented throughout the GMB’s ranks”, with branches “often organised in a way that deters women members’ participation”. “Bullying, misogyny, cronyism and sexual harassment are endemic within the GMB. The culture in the GMB is one of heavy drinking and late-night socialising, salacious gossip and a lack of professionalism.” The GMB’s general secretary, Tim Roache, stood down this year following anonymous allegations of misconduct. Barbara Plant, the GMB national president, said it would act on the report: “On behalf of GMB I apologise to all those who have experienced sexual harassment or bullying within the union. It’s clear that real and lasting change is needed for us to become a safe and inclusive place for all.”

Weather prompts Channel rush – At least 409 migrants have reached UK shores in small boats crossing the Channel, a new record for a single day. Scores of people took advantage of flat seas in the Dover Strait on Wednesday. Hundreds were intercepted on the water, while others managed to land on beaches. It brings the total who have crossed the sea to Britain in 2020 to more than 5,600 according to the PA news agency. More than 350 migrants rescued from the Mediterranean have been transferred to a quarantine vessel off Sicily, aid workers report. The 353 migrants, who had been on board the Sea-Watch 4, included those rescued last week by the Louise Michel, a 30-metre boat sponsored by the British street artist Banksy.

Wed where you want – Couples could soon be free to get married on the beach, in a private garden, at sea, or via videoconference in an emergency, according to proposed changes to outdated wedding laws covering England and Wales. One of the oddities of current laws, which date back to 1836, is that only Jewish and Quaker weddings are permitted to take place outdoors. The Law Commission has suggested weddings be permitted “on beaches, in parks, in private gardens and on the grounds of current wedding venues”. Couples currently have to choose between a civil or a religious ceremony – the commission recommends a new legal framework “that could allow non-religious belief organisations (such as humanists) and/or independent celebrants to conduct legally binding weddings”.

‘Sounds like a thud’ – Two black holes colliding produced a gravity wave that scientists were able to replay through their sound system. “It just sounds like a thud,” said Alan Weinstein, a Caltech university physicist. “It really doesn’t sound like much on a speaker.” The crash happened about 7bn years ago – when the universe was half its current age – but is only being detected now because it happened so far away. It is the biggest known cosmic event since the Big Bang, and resulted in the first known middle-sized black hole, which were previously thought unlikely to exist.

Today in Focus podcast: Is school safe?

As millions of children in England and Wales return to class, the Observer’s science editor, Robin McKie, weighs up the potential health impact.

Lunchtime read: The Christchurch testimonies

More than 90 people spoke at the sentencing hearing for the gunman responsible for New Zealand’s most deadly terrorist attack. Here we document their evidence.

Sport

After just three days at Flushing Meadows, there would appear to be nobody left in the 2020 US Open with a realistic chance of stopping Novak Djokovic after the Serb took four sets to beat Kyle Edmund in the second round. There was a big upset in the women’s draw on day three though as the No 1 seed Karolina Pliskova bowed out of the tournament after a 6-1, 7-6 (2) defeat to France’s Caroline Garcia. A stunned Adam Yates moved into the overall lead in the 2020 Tour de France after Julian Alaphilippe, of Deceuncink-Quick-Step, was penalised 20 seconds for taking an illegal feed in the closing kilometres of the fifth stage, from Gap to Privas. Dean Henderson has signalled his intent to oust David de Gea as Manchester United’s first-choice goalkeeper and insisted he will not settle for a place on the bench at Old Trafford. Gareth Bale has accused Real Madrid of making things “very difficult” for him by blocking his departure from the Bernabéu and has said he would be open to a Premier League return. And Guy Mitchell, who had his right eye removed at the age of five, has become the first jockey with one eye to win a race in Britain.

Business

Most Asia-Pacific stock markets have been on the rise today, though Singapore and Jakarta fell back, after Wall Street turned in its biggest daily gain since July despite uncertainty about the global outlook. The FTSE is tracking to be 25 points higher at the open while the pound is worth $1.333 and €1.127 at time of writing.

The papers

The Telegraph seems to be doing everything short of dragging us to the loom at the moment: “Campaign to get Britain back to work flounders”. Though it’s happier about other things: “New BBC chief orders Rule, Britannia U-turn” – at last, a chance to report on someone other than the PM and his ministers doing a volte-face. Others are also warming up their vocal cords, including the Express: “Britannia rules! BBC U-turn over Proms protest”.

The Guardian leads with “Pressure on Putin as Germans say rival was poisoned with novichok”. The i presents the story as “Kremlin accused over new novichok attack”. That story goes along the top of the Times but its lead is “Home Office exposed over failings on immigrations”, which takes in the record number of Channel crossings and the “flawed and unsafe” hostile environment policy. The Mirror has “Lineker exclusive: why refugee is coming to live with me” – we’ve followed up that one here.

Another day, another thing that Gavin Williamson got wrong: “The exams could have been held”, says the Metro, as Ofqual claims the education secretary ignored its advice. And in the FT: “Johnson and Sunak warn of tough economic outlook and rising taxes” as the PM and the chancellor try to gather themselves amid Tory outcry.

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