The trial of two women accused of poisoning the estranged half brother of North Korea's ruler is scheduled to begin Monday in Malaysia's High Court, nearly eight months after the brazen airport assassination.

It’s probably safe to say Marshawn Lynch won’t be supporting a re-election bid for President Donald Trump.

They were supposed to generate a sense of camaraderie, enhance teamwork and encourage an open flow of ideas between colleagues after decades of segregation in booths. But open-plan offices are actually bad for productivity, allowing workers to be interrupted every three minutes by a range of distractions, a futurologist at BT has warned. Dr Nicole Millard, an expert in data, analytics and emerging technology, said that large offices are inefficient, especially for introverts who work better when they are not disturbed, and predicted they will soon die out. Instead, she has forecasts that employees in the future will become ‘shoulder-bag workers’ carrying their offices in backpacks and collaborating in small teams in coffee shops - or ‘coffices.’ Our technology has shrunk so we can literally get our office in a small bag. We are untethered, we don't have to have a desk anymore.Dr Nicole Millard, BT Although many firms believe large, open-plan workspaces help collaboration, in fact, unless staff are in close proximity ‘you might as well be in Belgium’, said Dr Millard. However research has shown that put workers too close together and they clam up, as if being stuck in a lift together. “The trouble with open-plan offices is they are a one-size-fits-all model which actually fits nobody,” Dr Millard said at New Scientist Live in London yesterday. “We're interrupted every three minutes. It takes us between eight and 20 minutes to get back into that thought process. Email. We get too much. Meetings, colleagues. It’s all distracting. “Is being switched on making us more productive? The answer is no. The problem of the future is switching off. The big damage is task-switching. You can tell you have been task switching when you switch off your computer at night and find there several unclosed windows or unsent emails still there because you were interrupted. “So we will become shoulder bag workers. Our technology has shrunk so we can literally get our office in a small bag. We are untethered, we don't have to have a desk anymore.” People will be using coffee shops and hotel lobbies more frequently than offices in the future  Credit:  Tim Robberts Source: Getty Images However Dr Millard said that offices are still important, if only for socialising. “We need a balance between we and me,” she added. “We need to give people options of how they can work, such as home working. “But I do go a tiny bit nuts if I am just at home, so I think we will start to embrace ‘the coffice’ I need good coffee, connectivity, cake, my wifi wings to fly me into the cloud. I like company. The ‘coffice’ could be a coffee shop or a hotel lobby.” Inside Google's funky fourth floor 01:23 Dr Millard said the ageing workforce will also change how offices work, because older people will no longer want to work nine to five or commute for long distances.   By 2039 the Office for National Statistics expects that the number of people aged 75 and over will have risen by 89pc to 9.9 million and one in 12 of the population will be 80 or over. When the state pension was introduced in 1909 it was intended to aid those aged 70 or older at a time when the average man died at 59 and the average woman at 63. “The average pension pot is designed to last only 18 years, so we’re going to be working a lot longer,” she said.   “We have an older workforce, which is fantastic because they have accumulated experience gained over many years but they are probably not going to work nine to five, or commute into work. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I worked from nine to five.” Robots are unlikely to take over most jobs in the workplaces  Credit:  Anadolu Agency Source: Anadolu She also said that it was unlikely the robots would take most jobs. “A lot of these technology won't replace us they will help us to the dirty, dull and dangerous jobs that we don't want to do. It's very difficult for robots to replicate humans. They don’t have the dexterity, the empathy, the gut feelings. “I think the rise of the droids is a positive trend and can make us feel more valuable as human beings.”

Muslim women in Austria were forced by police to remove their facial coverings on Sunday, as an anti-burqa law came into effect. The so-called 'burqa ban' prohibits facial coverings including niqabs and burqas, and also places restrictions on surgical masks, ski masks and clown make-up worn in public.  Yesterday, a woman wearing a niqab facial veil, which only leaves the eyes uncovered, was seen being told to remove her veil by two police officers in Zell am See, a city south of Saltzburg. Austria's ban on full-face Islamic veils comes into force following similar measures in other European countries Credit: BARBARA GINDL/AFP/Getty Images Those who defy the ban could face a fine of €150 (£132). While the rule applies to some non-religious facial coverings, it is mostly perceived to be directed at the extremely modest clothes worn by a minority of Muslim women. Police officers ask a woman to unveil her face in Zell am See, Austria Credit: BARBARA GINDL/AFP/Getty Images Full veils remain rare in Austria despite the surge of migrants and refugees into Europe in 2015, but they have become a target for right-wing groups and political parties.  The measures, similar to those in other European Union countries such as France, also apply to visitors even though large numbers of Arab tourists holiday in the Alpine country. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has previously indicated her support for a similar law in Germany, saying: “Our law takes precedence over codes of honor, tribal or family rules, and over sharia law.” Some Muslim groups in Austria have criticised the ban. Carla Amina Bhagajati of the Islamic Religious Community in Austria said the “handful” of fully veiled women she knows of in Vienna “now are criminalized and... restricted to their homes.” A model holds an information pamphlet about new Austrian restrictions  Credit: JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images The legislation was brought in by the outgoing centrist government of Chancellor Christian Kern. The government said: "Acceptance and respect of Austrian values are basic conditions for successful cohabitation between the majority Austrian population and people from third countries living in Austria."  However, the strong support for the new law could point towards political upheaval in Austria's general election on October 15. Austrian parties campaigning on anti-migrant messages are predicted to win and form a coalition government, reflecting a swing to the right in a country that has mainly had centrist governments since World War II. The election is expected to see the anti-immigration Freedom Party (FPOe) come second or third and potentially enter a coalition with Sebastian Kurz of the centre-right. Other measures that came into force Sunday include immigrants signing an "integration contract" and compulsory courses in the German language and "values".