Other top stories include Germany's failure to form a coalition government, the ongoing political crisis in Zimbabwe, and Lena Dunham's poorly judged support for Girls' writer
Happy Monday, this is Anna getting you up-to-date with the most important news from the past few days and today.
Death of evil - Charles Manson, notorious cult leader and mastermind behind late actress Sharon Tate’s murder, has died aged 83 from natural causes. Manson had been serving a life sentence in prison for his crimes. He was convicted, along with four of his followers, of orchestrating the murders in 1969 of Tate, wife of film director Roman Polanski, and who was pregnant with his child at the time of her murder, and six others in two attacks. Manson was the leader of a cult known as the Manson Family.
Charles Manson
Europe’s core shaken - German political talks on forming a coalition government have collapsed, leaving Angela Merkel, long seen as a symbol of stability in the European bloc, facing her biggest political crisis in 12 years. The free-market liberal FDP pulled out after four weeks of marathon talks with Merkel's CDU/CSU and the Greens. FDP leader Christian Lindner said there was ‘no basis of trust’ between them. The proposed coalition was Merkel’s only shot at forming a majority government. In all likelihood, German voters will be going back to the ballot box.
Mugabe refuses to go - Zimbabwe’s political crisis descended into chaos on Sunday after president Robert Mugabe failed to announce his resignation after a military coup last week. Instead, Mugabe offered no concessions to his critics, the thousands who marched calling for his resignation or the army commanders who led the military takeover. It is widely expected that top officials will push for his impeachment.
If you want to get up-to-date on what has been happening in Zimbabwe, please read our breaking news story and updates here.
Feminist failing - Lena Dunham has issued a public apology after she threw support under Girls' writer Murray Miller who is accused of rape. Actor Aurora Perrineau filed a police report that claimed Miller raped her when she was 17. Dunham was widely criticised for saying the alleged rape was ‘one of the 3% of assault cases that are misreported every year’. After a huge Twitter backlash, Denham and Girls’ executive producer Jenni Konner offered their apologies: ‘As feminists, we live and die by our politics, and believing women is the first choice we make every single day when we wake up.’
Lena Dunham
LGBTQ rights attacked - Turkey’s capital Ankara announced a blanket ban on all LGBTQ events until further notice, citing concerns for public safety. The governor's office said it had discovered ‘a number’ of LGBTQ events were being planned in the province, and claimed they posed issues for public order.
Morrissey’s misgivings - British singer Morrissey, known for his controversial comments, has defended Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstein in light of recent allegations of sexual misconduct and assault. He said Spacey had been ‘attacked unnecessarily’, adding it was ‘ridiculous’ that Spacey was being erased from an upcoming film. Morrissey also cast doubt on the dozens of women who have accused Weinstein of harassment, assualt and rape.