PERTH, Australia — 

Australia’s most populous state was paralyzed by “catastrophic” fire conditions Saturday amid soaring temperatures, while one person died as wildfires ravaged the country’s southeast, officials said.

“Catastrophic fire conditions are as bad as it gets,” New South Wales Rural Fire Services Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told reporters. “Given we have a landscape with so much active fire burning, you have a recipe for very serious concern and a very dangerous day.”

Areas in western Sydney were forecast to hit 115 degrees. Cooler air was expected to move through New South Wales late Saturday, although authorities warned that strong winds could push fires in dangerous new directions.

New South Wales is in a seven-day state of emergency, with about 2,000 firefighters battling 100 wildfires.

Two firefighters died Thursday battling blazes southwest of Sydney. Geoffrey Keaton, 32, and Andrew O’Dwyer, 36, were in a truck convoy southwest of Sydney when a tree fell and caused their vehicle to roll off the road.

Authorities confirmed Saturday that one person died and 15 homes were destroyed in South Australia as a wildfire ravaged the Adelaide Hills on Friday, just 25 miles from the state capital, Adelaide. Another person was critically injured after fighting to save his home from the fires.

That follows the death of a 24-year-old man in a road crash in South Australia on Friday, which sparked a fire in the area of the Murraylands.

Authorities said 23 firefighters and several police have also suffered injuries, as more than 98,842 acres burned across South Australia.

“It is going to be a real scene of devastation, especially for those people in the Adelaide Hills who have been most affected,” South Australia Premier Steven Marshall said. “We know that in addition to the buildings and vehicles lost, there are very significant losses in terms of livestock, animals, crops, vineyards.”

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The annual Australian fire season, which peaks during the Southern Hemisphere summer, started early after an unusually warm and dry winter. About 7.4 million acres of land have burned nationwide in the last few months, with nine people killed and more than 800 homes destroyed.

The devastation has put pressure on Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who has received criticism for going on a family vacation in Hawaii during the wildfire crisis. He apologized on Friday for any offense “caused to any of the many Australians affected by the terrible bushfires by my taking leave with family at this time.”

Morrison cut short his vacation and returned home Saturday night. He was due to visit the New South Wales Rural Fire Service headquarters on Sunday.

Debate has reignited on whether Morrison’s conservative government has taken enough action on climate change. Australia is the world’s largest exporter of coal and liquefied natural gas.

Fatih Birol, International Energy Agency executive director, believes Australia has missed opportunities to mitigate the impact of coal.

“I find the Australian energy debate far too emotional, far too nervous and far too hot. It is hotter than the climate change itself,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age.

Protesters on Thursday camped outside Morrison’s Sydney residence demanding urgent action on climate change.

Morrison, who critics have deemed a climate change skeptic, conceded this month that “climate change along with many other factors” has contributed to the wildfires.

In a county jail in central Texas, an inmate on suicide watch begins strangling himself with a phone cord. The guard watching him does not rush in because of security rules that prohibit him from going into a cell alone, leading to an agonizing 10-minute wait before another staffer arrives to provide backup.

Derrek Monroe, who died the next day in a hospital, was among the first of 48 jail suicides since the 2017 launch of a sweeping Texas law aimed at reducing such deaths through better screening and monitoring. That law hasn’t made a dent in the number of suicides, and experts blame its failure to address one of the most significant factors: the lack of staff to watch troubled inmates.

“Jails are understaffed and often very understaffed,” said Diana Claitor, executive director of the Texas Jail Project, which advocates for inmates and their families. “You know you have to check a suicidal inmate, but at the same time, another crisis or fight occurs down the hall, and you have to go there. If you don’t have any extra personnel because someone is sick, you’re doing everything alone.”

In a joint reporting effort, the Associated Press and the University of Maryland’s Capital News Service compiled a database of more than 400 lawsuits in the last five years alleging mistreatment of inmates in U.S. prisons and jails. Close to 40% involved suicides in local jails — 135 deaths and 30 attempts. All but eight involved allegations of neglect by the staff.

“It’s not always maliciousness,” Claitor added. “We’re talking about people who are doing a very tough job.”

Texas became a national focus in the debate over jailhouse suicides and treatment of mentally ill inmates after the highly publicized 2015 case of Sandra Bland, a black activist who died in a county jail three days after her arrest in a contentious traffic stop. Her death was ruled a suicide.

Her death led to protests, debate and ultimately an ambitious law in her name that sought to be a national model. It included policy changes that required mentally ill inmates to be diverted toward treatment, independent investigation of jail deaths, deescalation training for police, and funding for electronic sensors or cameras for accurate and timely cell checks.

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But critics note that the law had no requirement or money for additional guards, and jailhouse suicides remain a stubborn problem in Texas. The 22 suicides in the state’s jails this year through November already surpass the 17 in all of last year, a nearly 30% increase.

Since the Sandra Bland Act went into effect in September 2017, state figures show staffing levels at Texas’ 239 local jails have remained largely unchanged at around 25,000 jailers. Jails are still only required to meet state standards that mandate a minimum of one jailer for every 48 inmates in a single-story jail. In multistory jails, a guard is required for each floor with 10 or more inmates.

At the time of Derrek Monroe’s video-recorded suicide attempt on Oct. 1, 2017, the Coleman County Jail met state standards with a single guard overseeing nine inmates and two floors, even though Monroe was on a suicide watch because of an attempt the day before.

Details of Monroe’s case have emerged as part of his family’s lawsuit against the county. The guard and the sheriff acknowledged in a deposition last year that the guard could have stopped the 28-year-old Monroe, who was being held on unspecified drug or alcohol charges, if more than one guard had been working in the jail that day.

Brandon Wood, executive director of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, said another staffing-related challenge for jails is failing to carry out face-to-face checks of suicidal inmates every 30 minutes — the standard set by Texas administrative code even before the Bland Act.

The commission regularly inspects the state’s 239 jails for compliance with state inmate safety requirements and fails jails if there are one or more violations. The agency carried out 3,752 inspections since 2006, and jails failed one of every four inspections. When a jail fails, it is listed on the commission’s web page until it passes reinspection and ultimately could be shut down if it keeps failing.

Waller County Jail — where Bland died 4½ years ago — appeared on the list last December for violating five standards, including the 30-minute check requirement. A month later, Evan Parker, 34, hanged himself there while in custody on murder charges.

Sheriff R. Glenn Smith said the 30-minute check violation was caused by an error in the software system the jail used to track jailer rounds and had no bearing on Parker’s death.

Smith said the biggest issue in Waller County is keeping trained staff, noting that he often loses guards to larger jails in other counties where there are more opportunities for advancement. Other guards leave because they are burned out working hard hours for little pay.

“They’re incarcerated every day along with the inmates,” Smith said. “They just don’t want to do that 20 years.”

Texas state Rep. Garnet Coleman, a Democrat who introduced the Sandra Bland Act, explained that cameras and tracking equipment are one-time expenditures but that staffing requires a sustained commitment that would be too costly for the state. He said local governments have primary responsibility for funding jails and the wherewithal to do so with their own tax revenues.

“Nothing forbids governments from increasing taxes to improve our jails,” Coleman said. “But how can they convince people that it’s necessary? That comes only with educating people and with the rise of awareness. It is happening, but not fast enough.”

Neil McGowan’s play “Disposable Necessities,” having its premiere at Rogue Machine in Venice, is part sci-fi yarn, part comic farce and part timely social commentary. It’s hard to pin down its style, but one thing is certain: McGowan’s rich imagination challenges our expectations at every twist of its deliciously disturbing plot.

The action is set in the not-so-distant future, when the privileged of society become essentially immortal, able to download their identities into new “modules” — bodies of the recently deceased. Those enormously expensive bodies aren’t available to the have-nots, who must content themselves with providing carcasses for the affluent. Gender fluidity has taken on a whole new meaning in this brave new order, with people swapping sexes according to what is available. Youth and beauty, as always, drive the marketplace.

Once celebrated author Daniel (Darrett Sanders) is now a has-been supported by his wife, Al, nee Alice (Billy Flynn), who opted for a male module to advance her stalled career. (It worked.) Daniel got a new module way back when, but he’s clearly showing his age, so Al is nagging him to re-up and get a shiny new self. Their son, Chadwick (Jefferson Reid), went African American this time around — a cultural appropriation made all the more hilarious by Chadwick’s clueless attempts to adapt.

When Daniel’s old friend Phillip (Claire Blackwelder) arrives in the body of a nubile young woman, the sexual politics among the characters grow ever more complex and comical. Despite Al’s hectoring, however, Daniel is resistant to change, as is his estranged daughter Dee (Ann Noble), who has a particularly pressing reason for wanting to get out of her old body, pronto.

David Mauer’s scenic design has the right touch of the high-tech without veering into parody, as do Christine Cover Ferro’s shrewdly updated costumes. Matt Richter’s lighting, Christopher Moscatiello’s sound and Michelle Hanzelova’s projections all lend to the subtly futuristic ambience.

Director Guillermo Cienfuegos and a lively cast tear into their material with brio. As women play men, and vice versa, the actors could be accused of occasionally slipping into caricature, but what matter? They serve the piece’s comic rhythms and nail down the laughs — or, conversely, the pathos. Just don’t lay bets on where the story ends up. You’ll lose.

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Saturday’s clash at Goodison Park ended in a dour 0-0 draw but the visitors’ new manager will have been enthused by his players’ workrate

When Mikel Arteta stood in front of his Arsenal players for the first time on Friday, he told them he would be watching their attitudes while he sat in the stands at Goodison Park the following afternoon.

Arsenal’s new head coach – who officially begins his new job on Sunday – will, therefore, have been more than happy with what he saw from his team as they drew 0-0 at Everton.

Quality-wise, they were certainly lacking, particularly in the first half, but the workrate that was on show was far superior to anything we have seen from the Gunners in recent weeks.

In that sense, Arteta got what he demanded.

“I want people to take responsibility for their jobs and I want people who deliver passion and energy in the football club,” the Spaniard told reporters in his first press conference.

“Anyone who doesn’t buy into this is not good enough for this environment or this culture.”

Arteta’s words were evidently taken on board by the Arsenal players, even though it was Freddie Ljungberg who was in charge, for the final time, at Goodison Park.

And although the visitors mustered just six shots on goal throughout a fairly drab 90 minutes on Merseyside, they certainly put a shift in that will have been appreciated by both Ljungberg on the touchline and Arteta in the stands.

It was made more impressive by the fact this was Arsenal’s youngest starting XI for a Premier League match since the 2-2 draw at Fulham on the final day of the 2010-11 season.

Ljungberg handed Emile Smith Rowe his first league start, while Reiss Nelson, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli were also named in the Gunners XI.

Alexandre Lacazette was named among the substitutes, finally coming on after 77 minutes, but club-record signing Nicolas Pepe never made it off the bench.

Mesut Ozil, meanwhile, missed out through injury, although Ljungberg admitted before the game that the German – who reacted angrily to being substituted against Manchester City last weekend – would not have been involved even if he had been fit.

Given the form that Everton have been in under interim boss Duncan Ferguson, fielding such a youthful team was a risk from Ljungberg, but Arsenal’s youngsters certainly weren’t overawed at Goodison.

In an attacking sense, they offered little during the opening 45 minutes, other than a late effort from Martinelli which flashed wide, but they were disciplined in midfield and compact at the back, with Saka impressing at left-back.

And after the interval, they started to ask more questions going forward, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang drawing an impressive point-blank save from Jordan Pickford.

That was one of five shots on goal Ljungberg’s side had during a vastly improved second half. Everton, meanwhile, could only manage four.

Given Arsenal’s confidence-sapping run of form, which had seen them win just one of their last 12 games ahead of Saturday’s match, this was an encouraging showing from such an inexperienced line-up.

As Ljungberg enthused on BT Sport afterwards, “I loved the spirit we saw and that’s what you need in the Premier League.”

It certainly played its part in what was Arsenal’s first clean sheet on the road in the league since the opening weekend of the season at Newcastle.

Calum Chambers and David Luiz were excellent at centre-back, while in front of them Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka offered the defence the type of protection that has been missing for most of the campaign to date.

After taking in Saturday’s game, Arteta will certainly be even more aware of the size of the task that faces him at the Emirates, but Arsenal’s new head coach will also be pleased with how the players responded to his first rallying cry.

He wanted to see attitude and the club’s young Gunners displayed plenty.

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Meghan Markle et le prince Harry ne rejoindront pas l’appartement 1 de Kensington Palace comme il a été dit récemment. Ils sont contraints de vivre encore dans leur cottage, un peu à l’écart des Windsor. Pas drôle.

Pas facile la vie de jeunes mariés pour Meghan Markle et le prince Harry. On les disait prêt à déménager, emballer à l’idée de rejoindre l’appartement 1 de Kensington Palace où résidaient jusqu’à présent le cousin de la reine Elisabeth II, le duc de Gloucester et son épouse. L’adresse est magnifique, une vingtaine de pièces spacieuses, une quantité de salle de réceptions, des salles de bains… Là, le couple aurait pu organiser de belles réceptions, recevoir les nombreuses amies de Meghan et surtout accueillir leur future descendance. Meghan jubilait à l’idée d’intégrer les murs de la firme – les Windsor vivent quasiment tous à Kensington Palace, d’être voisine de sa belle-soeur, la duchesse de Cambridge, du prince William et de leurs trois enfants. Surtout que l’appartement 1 de Kensington Palace avait entièrement été rénové dernièrement. Il n’en sera rien. En effet, la porte-parole du duc et de la duchesse de Gloucester vient d’annoncer officiellement que le couple ne démangeait et restait bel et bien locataire de l’appartement 1.

Meghan et Harry sont donc priés de rester chez eux, dans leur dépendance du palais, Nottingham Cottage, une petite maison de deux chambres seulement. Du moins pour l’instant. A l’écart donc des Windsor. Quelle déconvenue !

Crédits photos : sipa press

Alors que les rumeurs laissaient entendre que Laurent Ruquier avait déprogrammé Eric Zemmour de son émission à la dernière minute, suite à la polémique qui l’opposait à Hapsatou Sy, le chef d’orchestre d’On n’est pas couché a tenu à mettre les choses au clair une bonne fois pour toutes.

Pour Laurent Ruquier, la page “Eric Zemmour” est bel et bien tournée. Alors, lorsque l’animateur est associé au polémiste controversé avec qui il ne travaille plus depuis huit ans, son sang ne fait qu’un tour. Au micro de France inter, le présentateur d’On n’est pas couché avait déjà fait part de son agacement, en déclarant : “On continue à me faire chier avec lui (…) Personne ne reproche à Eric Naulleau le fait de continuer à travailler avec Eric Zemmour depuis huit ans, alors j’ai envie de vous dire : adressez-vous à la porte à côté“. Invité sur le plateau de Quotidien, le 9 octobre, Laurent Ruquier a réitéré ses propos, demandant expressément “qu’on le lâche avec Eric Zemmour“.

Interrogé par Yann Barthès sur les rumeurs selon lesquelles l’animateur aurait déprogrammé à la dernière minute Eric Zemmour de son émission, suite à son clash très médiatisé avec la chroniqueuse Hapsatou Sy, Laurent Ruquier s’est insurgé : “Non, on ne devait pas le recevoir (…) On a des programmes de maison d’édition qui nous envoient les livres à sortir (…) on devait en parler à la rentrée, il se trouve qu’on a même pas eu le temps d’en parler puisqu’il y a eu ces débordements à nouveau (…)“. Puis de conclure : “Je ne l’ai pas débooké mais on ne l’a pas invité, en revanche. On a décidé qu’on ne l’invitait pas, puisque aucune décision n’avait été prise“. Des explications qui ont le mérite d’être claires.

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Crédits photos : Bestimage

Dans une biographie qui paraît ce vendredi 12 octobre, Laurence Pieau, directrice de la rédaction de Closer et François Vignolle dressent le portrait d’une femme complexe qui a vécu 22 ans avec Johnny Hallyday. Ils reviennent notamment sur son combat pour être mère qui l’a notamment empêchée d’assister au mariage de David Hallyday.

Laeticia Hallyday n’est ni une sainte, ni une harpie. Celle qui est vite passée du statut de femme aimante et dévouée à celui de marâtre manipulatrice a une personnalité bien plus complexe qu’on veut bien le dire. Dans le livre biographique Laeticia Hallyday, la vraie histoire, Laurence Pieau, directrice de la rédaction de Closer et François Vignolle, directeur adjoint des JT de M6 ont tenté de dresser le portrait de cette femme à la fois aimée et haïe des fans de Johnny, qui n’a parfois pas hésité à enjoliver la vérité pour plaire à son époux.

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Les deux auteurs sont notamment revenus sur les difficultés que Laeticia Hallyday a eu pour devenir maman et sa détresse à chaque test de grossesse négatif. “Son rêve d’enfant, c’était tout simplement d’être maman,” a confié Mamie Rock aux auteurs du livre. Les journalistes racontent “ses moments terribles, ses colères rentrées”, “les heures entières” restée “cloitrée dans sa chambre”. Ils reviennent également sur ses trois tentatives de fécondation In Vitro, qui se sont toutes soldées par un échec.

Puis un jour de juin 2004, l’espoir renaît. Les auteurs évoquent notamment une dépêche AFP qui se fait l’écho de la bonne nouvelle : “En raison d’un début de grossesse difficile qui ne lui permet pas de prendre l’avion, Laeticia Hallyday n’a pas pu accompagner Johnny au mariage de son fils David.” Celui-ci épousait, en effet, en secondes noces la riche héritière Alexandra Pastor. Mais le bonheur est de courte durée. Au lendemain de cette annonce, le couple révèle que Laeticia a perdu son bébé. Johnny Hallyday et Laeticia Hallyday décideront finalement d’adopter.

Crédits photos : FGA+LSN / KCS PRESSE

A l’occasion de la conférence de presse qui s’est organisée ce lundi 15 octobre autour de la sortie du dernier album de Johnny Hallyday, Maxim Nucci et Sébastien Farran ont expliqué le choix du titre Mon pays, c’est l’amour, qui a tant fait parler ces dernières semaines…

Lors de la conférence de presse qui a présenté le dernier album de Johnny Hallyday, ce lundi 15 octobre, à Paris, Maxim Nucci, réalisateur du disque, a raconté comment le rockeur avait lui-même choisi le titre Mon pays, c’est l’amour : “Au départ, nous étions tous très content de la chanson, comme du titre Made in Rock Roll, qui est une reprise d’un vieux rock old school.” Johnny avait eu envie de reprendre ce titre, chanté autrefois par BB King ou Ray Charles, et le parolier Pierre-Dominique Burgaud, collaborateur régulier d’Hallyday mais aussi d’Alain Chamfort, entre autres, s’était occupé de son adaptation en français.

Lorsque Johnny atterrit de Saint-Barthélémy à Paris, en septembre 2017, son équipe décide logiquement de lui proposer Made in Rock’n Roll comme le titre de l’album dont il doit terminer l’enregistrement, mais aussi comme le nom de la tournée qui devait suivre. Ce 15 octobre, Maxim Nucci s’est encore souvenu : “On s’est dit ça va lui plaire. Il m’a répondu : Tu me prends pour un vendeurs de t shirt ?” Sébastien Farran poursuit : “On a réfléchi tous ensemble, pour finalement se mettre d’accord sur un autre titre.” Résultat, l’album s’appelle Mon pays, c’est l’amour, un autre titre du disque aux sonorités rock à l’ancienne.

Un titre qui ne fait pas forcément l’unanimité, surtout du côté des enfants ainés de Johnny. Laura et David qui, tous deux, on fait connaître leur désapprobation plus ou moins ouvertement.

Crédits photos : Bestimage

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Le réalisateur Ridley Scott a déclaré que Alien: Covenant, suite de Prometheus, aurait droit à deux suites, ce qui portera à quatre le nombre de prequels consacrés à la saga Alien.

Ridley Scott semble s’être fixé sur son objectif : réaliser encore trois films prequels pour raconter les origines de l’Alien vu dans Le huitième passager. Après Prometheus, trois suites vont donc se tourner dans les prochaines années. Le premier d’entre eux a déjà un titre et un synopsis : Alien: Covenant.

Selon le synopsis officiel, Covenant sera le nom du vaisseau grâce auquel un équipage se rend sur une planète située aux confins de la galaxie, et qui paraît être un paradis inexploré. En réalité, c’est un monde sombre et dangereux qui les attend, ainsi qu’un revenant : l’androïde David, rescapé du désastre du Prometheus.

Ce nouvel épisode se filmera en Australie, comme probablement les deux opus qui le suivront selon Variety. Le tournage avec Michael Fassbender de retour en androïde se fera à partir de mars prochain, pour une sortie en octobre 2017.

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Le 19e Festival de l’Alpe d’Huez, qui se tiendra du 13 au 17 janvier, vient de dévoiler les films de la compétition, qui seront soumis au vote de Kad Merad et son jury.

Le 19e Festival de l’Alpe d’Huez, rendez-vous incontournable de l’année cinéma, vient de lever le voile sur les films de la compétition. Une programmation “100% comédie française” selon les organisateurs, bien décidés à défendre la culture et la création française, cette année plus que jamais. 

Au total donc, six longs métrages seront soumis au vote du jury. Un jury présidé par Kad Merad et composé de Karin Viard, Alice Pol, Philippe Lacheau et Patrick Bosso.

Entre le nouveau film de Franck Gastambide Pattaya, les atermoiements amoureux de Sandrine Kiberlain et Edouard Baer dans Encore Heureux, le voyage initiatique de Jamel Debbouze avec sa Vache ou la grossesse inattendue de Marilou Berry dans Joséphine s’arrondit le choix s’annonce cornélien. 

Joséphine s'arrondit Bande-annonce VF

Le Festival, qui s’ouvrira le 13 janvier sur Les Tuche 2, s’achèvera le 17 janvier. Mais le nom des lauréats sera dévoilé la veille. Alors qui succèdera à Toute Première fois, Grand Prix en 2015 ? Et bien la réponse dans quelques semaines.

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Les films en compétition

Adopte un veuf de François Desagnat

Tout pour être heureux de Cyril Gelblat

La Vache de Mohamed Hamidi

Joséphine s’arrondit de Marilou Berry

Pattaya de Franck Gastambide

Encore heureux de Benoît Graffin

Encore Heureux Bande-annonce VF