News Daily: Robert Mugabe dies and Boris Johnson shifts battleground to Scotland

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Robert Mugabe dies aged 95

Zimbabwe's first post-independence leader, Robert Mugabe, has died at the age of 95 after a battle with ill health, his family has told the BBC. Mr Mugabe was ousted from power in a military coup in November 2017, ending his three-decade reign. His time in office had been overshadowed by Zimbabwe's economic decline and allegations of brutality. Follow the latest reaction to his death.

You can read Mr Mugabe's obituary and review his life in pictures.

PM to move political battleground to Scotland

Boris Johnson winds up a turbulent week with a visit to Scotland. The prime minister will announce an additional £51.4m for Scottish farmers over the next two years to "correct an injustice" of them getting a "poor deal" from the distribution of EU Common Agricultural Policy payments. It is the "largest funding uplift for the sector in recent memory", according to the National Farmers Union in Scotland, although the SNP complains it is arriving "three years too late".

Mr Johnson might hope for a smoother reception than he received in West Yorkshire on Thursday, where he was heckled in the street. This on a day when his brother, Jo, quit as a minister, saying he was "torn between family loyalty and the national interest", and High Court papers revealed the PM had warned his cabinet there was a "high chance" he would fail to secure a fresh Brexit deal. Our political editor Laura Kuenssberg says some Conservatives worry the strategy of sticking to the 31 October deadline at any cost might "cause more trouble than it's worth".

Struggling to keep track of the latest political developments? See our five key moments from Thursday.

Hurricane death toll could be 'staggering'

As the grim task of surveying the devastation caused in the Bahamas by Hurricane Dorian continues, officials say hundreds - possibly thousands - of people remain missing. Morticians and 200 body bags are being sent to the Abaco Islands, the worst-hit part of the archipelago. And while the number of people confirmed dead stands at 23, the country's health minister says the final numbers could be "staggering", warning the public to prepare for "unimaginable information about the death toll and the human suffering".

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Call to tax supermarket booze more to help pubs

After a busy week at work, many will look forward to the prospect of winding down with a drink. But a think tank is proposing a different sort of "pub relief" - one aimed at easing the decline of the hostelry sector, which has lost a quarter of premises over a decade. The Social Market Foundation suggests higher alcohol taxes for supermarkets than pubs. And while one landlord tells the BBC he's sceptical, Katherine Severi, of the Institute of Alcohol Studies which commissioned the research, suggests it could have the added benefit of helping to "reduce societal harms", given landlords' duty of care towards customers.

The woman whose feminist radio station defies the Taliban

By Mike Thomson, BBC News

The northern Afghan city of Kunduz is not the kind of place you'd expect to find a radio station run by women, promoting women's rights. But this is precisely what Radio Roshani is, and it's broadcasting today despite several attempts by the Taliban to kill its founder and editor, Sediqa Sherzai.

In 2008, Sediqa set up Radio Roshani... but quickly found herself at loggerheads with the Taliban. Although no longer in government, it has remained a force to be reckoned with in many parts of the country. At first it warned Sediqa to stop broadcasting. Then, in 2009, rockets were fired at the station.

Read the full article

What the papers say

The relationship between Boris Johnson and brother Jo, who resigned his ministerial post on Thursday, is contrasted with that of young royal siblings on the front pages of Friday's newspapers. "Even Boris' own family don't trust him," says the Daily Mirror, while the Metro - picturing the brothers together during the Conservative leadership campaign - suggests it's a case of: "The blond leaving the blond." Like many papers, the Sun pictures Princess Charlotte alongside Prince George on her first day at school and muses: "At least someone's getting on with their brother..."

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Lookahead

08:30 The UK's largest mortgage lender, Halifax, publishes its monthly House Price Index.

21:00 The lander of India's second lunar mission Chandrayaan-2, Vikram, is expected to touch down on the moon's surface after a journey of more than 50 days.

On this day

1970 Four New York-bound airliners with hundreds of passengers on board are hijacked over western Europe by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, with three flown to Middle East airports. Crew and passengers on the fourth foil the attack.

From elsewhere

'I thought no one was coming to rescue us': Abaco Islanders flee Dorian's destruction (Guardian)

How Britain's staid Conservative Party became a radical insurgency (Economist)

Has Europe reached peak populism? (Politico)

Alpha yet relatable: The Duchess of Cambridge's school gate style explained (Telegraph)