World news | The Guardian

Man in his 30s and woman, 59, held on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughterTwo ambulance trust staff have been arrested in connection with the deaths of six people in Wiltshire, police have said.A man in his 30s and a 59-year-old woman, who were both employed by the South Western ambulance service NHS foundation trust, have been arrested and released on conditional bail. Continue reading...

Current and retired staff complain about delays, backlogs and poor communication at Teachers' PensionsTeachers who retired this summer have been left waiting for pension payments they were supposed to receive at the start of September, with some saying they are sick with worry" and unable to pay bills.Current and retired teachers have contacted the Guardian to complain about delays, backlogs and poor communication at Teachers' Pensions, which administers the profession's scheme on behalf of the government. Continue reading...

Problems have arisen in Dutch capital since introduction of a deposit scheme for small bottles and cansCity leaders in Amsterdam are taking a novel approach to keeping its streets clean - by taking away litter bins to combat rubbish in part blamed on people rifling through them to obtain refund deposits on some discarded items.There has been a surge in complaints about litter in the Dutch capital since the introduction of a deposit scheme for small bottles and cans. Last year, a quarter of residents described their neighbourhood as dirty or very dirty, rising to two in five in the city centre. Continue reading...

Figures show 15m more tax-efficient savings accounts were opened in 2023-24, with more following as fears grew allowance might be cut

Framework outlines legislation both sides will need to pass to create agency investigating Troubles-era crimes

Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal issues decision in case against Claire Gill, a partner at Carter-Ruck, over legal threats on behalf of clientA partner at the top libel firm Carter-Ruck was hired in furtherance of fraud" when she sent legal threats on behalf of a multibillion-dollar cryptocurrency scam, a tribunal has ruled.Claire Frances Gill is being prosecuted by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for allegedly issuing an inappropriate threat on behalf of the scheme, OneCoin, and its mastermind, Ruja Ignatova. Continue reading...

Secret report from CutlerMerz finds yearly cost of inspections - $520,219 - is more than cost of paying compensation - $28,375 a year

Increase of 0.5% in August helped by back-to-school shopping, while food stores also given liftBack-to-school shopping and warm weather helped to boost retail sales last month, according to the latest official data.Total retail sales in Great Britain rose 0.5%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, as parents prepared for the new school year and shoppers enjoyed a series of heatwave and the summer's last bank holiday. Continue reading...

Peter Kyle says bolstered Border Force is tackling small boat crossings, as second person is deported under one in, one out' schemeOne of Keir Starmer's senior ministers has dismissed suggestions by Donald Trump that the British government call out the military to help deal with irregular migration.Peter Kyle, the business secretary, brushed off the comments, which the US president made on Thursday at the end of his two-day state visit. Continue reading...

Rare atmospheric setup creates perfect conditions for storm formation amid wettest September in decadesThe yearly tornado record in North Dakota was shattered in just a few hours as the state experienced an extraordinary weather event. More than 20 tornadoes tore through South Dakota and North Dakota, with the storm system stretching across a 200-mile area, according to the National Weather Service.Since 1995, the annual average for the state was 29 tornadoes, with the peak season occurring in June and July. However, last weekend's intense outbreak pushed the total to a staggering 73, surpassing the previous record of 61, set in 1999. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Interior Design Landscape, which faced closure by HMRC early this year, made donation in JuneNigel Farage's Reform UK has received a 100,000 donation from a design and architecture firm that faced a winding-up petition from the tax authorities earlier this year.The party, which is leading in the polls, has been raising money from a wider range of private sources in recent months, with its treasurer, Nick Candy, talking of targeting high net worth individuals both in the UK and in low-tax jurisdictions. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: Never has so much flattery been bestowed upon a US president. But will the efforts of the prime minister and the king make a difference to the UK?Good morning. Donald Trump has gone home, no doubt so thrilled by the Red Arrows and the chance to have dinner with Nick Faldo that he will enter the Oval Office this morning a changed man. Admittedly, at his Chequers press conference with Keir Starmer yesterday afternoon, the transformation hadn't entirely taken hold: Trump suggested, for example, that the UK should use the military to end the small boats crisis. But compared to his most chaotic unscripted appearances this year, it was tame enough an affair for Starmer to breathe a sigh of relief.Can Starmer view the state visit as a success? It depends on how you're counting. 150bn new investment in the UK from US firms, a respite from his own domestic woes, and the chance to butter up a president who appears uniquely susceptible to servility are the prizes that Downing Street will boast about, in slightly different terms, in the days ahead.Gaza | More than a quarter of a million people have been displaced from Gaza City in the last month, new figures from the UN reveal, with tens of thousands more forced to flee makeshift homes and shelters daily in the face of a new Israeli offensive.UK news | The Bank of England has left interest rates on hold at 4% and will slow the pace of its quantitative tightening" programme in the year ahead to avoid distorting jittery government bond markets.Immigration | The first Channel migrant has been deported to France under the controversial one in, one out deal, the Home Office has confirmed.UK politics | An extraordinary split has opened between Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana in the formation of their new leftwing party, with the former Labour leader suggesting he will take legal action over an unauthorised membership portal promoted by his co-leader.US news | Donald Trump suggested on Thursday that TV networks which cover him negatively" could lose their licenses after his celebration of ABC suspending late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. Trump said that Kimmel was not a talented person" who had very bad ratings". Continue reading...

Lawyers for former Kiama MP tell court Ward has lost political career and prospective legal career, while standing in community shattered'

Indian players refuse to shake hands with Pakistani counterparts after Asia Cup match, in sign that traditional onfield camaraderie is erodingAs nationalistic rivalries go, few run as deep as India and Pakistan. But even as the neighbours fought wars against each other, carried out rival nuclear tests and conducted nightly shows of strength along their heavily militarised border, there was always one thing that brought them together: cricket.But as the two sides came together on Sunday for a match in the Asia Cup tournament, the camaraderie that was once celebrated as cricket diplomacy had vanished. Continue reading...

This week, the US president has announced he is suing the New York Times for $15bn, and gloated that the late-night TV show Jimmy Kimmel Live! had been suspended. JD Vance has also promised to crack down on far left' groups.

Analysis reveals 24% of guilty doctors handed suspensions but are allowed to keep working in medicineUK doctors who are guilty of sexual misconduct are not being appropriately sanctioned due to weak disciplinary processes, research reveals.Nearly a quarter (24%) of doctors found guilty of sexual misconduct were handed suspensions but allowed to continue working in medicine, according to analysis of fitness to practice tribunals by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS). This is despite the regulator, the General Medical Council (GMC), recommending they be struck off the medical register. Continue reading...

Move comes after Israel fails to meet UK conditions that would have postponed stepThe UK is preparing to recognise the state of Palestine as early as Friday, after Israel failed to meet conditions that would have postponed the historic step, including a ceasefire in Gaza.Keir Starmer insisted the timing of the UK announcement had nothing to do with Donald Trump's visit, even though the US president said at a press conference that he disagreed with Britain's decision, without elaborating. Continue reading...

Desk from Quarry Bank high school had been hidden by staff as teachers considered Lennon a nuisance'A desk used by John Lennon has gone on display after being found in the attic of his former school, where teachers had not wanted to remember the musician because he was a nuisance".Lennon attended Quarry Bank high school in Liverpool between 1952 and 1957, and the name of the Quarrymen, the band that would become the Beatles in their formative years, was inspired by the school's name. Continue reading...

Holding borrowing rates and continuing bond sell-offs were widely expected but an alternative was available

Arts institution seeks to make urgent' savings as it is thought to be facing a shortfall of between 5m and 6mMore than half of the Royal Shakespeare Company's staff are being encouraged to apply for voluntary redundancy as the struggling arts institution seeks to make urgent" savings to plug what is thought to be a shortfall of between 5m and 6m.The cuts are aimed at ensuring that the RSC is best placed to be a leading global theatre company", according to a statement that blamed the budget hole on increasing staffing costs after the pandemic, a decline in public investment and the cost of living crisis affecting takings. Continue reading...

Some have little to no documented experience with vaccines while others have undermined their safetyFive new advisers will join the vaccines committee for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) later this week, the agency and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on Monday, in a move that underscores the increasingly anti-vaccine stance of the committee.Some of the new members have little to no documented experience with vaccines, while others have repeatedly undermined the safety and effectiveness of vaccines and other measures to control infectious disease. Continue reading...

Home secretary's remarks about vexatious' claims will have real-life impact on trafficking victims, says Eleanor Lyons

Zack Polanski calls mass privatisation a failed experiment' as report finds it has cost UK households 250 a year moreThe privatisation of the UK's key industries is driving the cost of living crisis, damaging critical public services and making life harder for millions of people, the leader of the Green party, Zack Polanski, has said.Speaking after the Guardian revealed the British public have been paying a privatisation premium" of 250 per household per year since 2010, he described the mass privatisation of UK industry as a failed experiment". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Former poet laureate has reader contrasting pomp and ceremony of banquet with ruins left by warCarol Ann Duffy has written a poem about Donald Trump's state visit to Britain that appears to reimagine the ceremonial banquet as taking place in a bombsite.Duffy, who was the UK's poet laureate between 2009 and 2019, writes of the rocks and rubble" in lines that have the reader contrasting the diamonds of the great and good" with the ruins left by war. Continue reading...

Jensen Huang says UK is too humble' as he announces equity stake in British cloud computing firm NScaleJensen Huang, the co-founder and chief executive of the US AI chipmaker Nvidia, has predicted the UK is going to be an AI superpower" as he announced a new 500m investment in a British firm.Huang, who is due to join Donald Trump at Wednesday night's state banquet with the king, said he was taking an equity stake in NScale, a UK cloud computing company, and predicted it would earn revenues of up to 50bn over the next six years. Continue reading...

Oliver Steadman, 28, also charged with communication offences, say Scotland Yard and Crown Prosecution ServiceOliver Steadman, 28, has been charged with blackmail and communication offences in relation to five victims in Westminster politics, including MPs, the Crown Prosecution Service and Scotland Yard have said.More details soon ... Continue reading...

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Israeli PM's outline of partial autarky and more militarised society stirs up backlash and concern over pariah statusHours before unleashing a ground offensive against Gaza City on Tuesday, Benjamin Netanyahu braced his country for a future of mounting economic isolation, urging it to become a super Sparta" of the Middle East.The future the prime minister laid out for Israel, of a more militarised society, a partial autarky - or economically self-sufficient country - with limited trade options and relying increasingly on homemade production, has stirred up a backlash among Israelis who are ever more uneasy at the prospect of following him down the path to a pariah state. Continue reading...

Antonio Guterres says he wants to meet Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump at UN next weekWafa, the Palestinian news agency, has been told by medical sources that at least 38 Palestinian people, including women and children, have been killed by Israeli forces since dawn today.As well as facing relentless bombardments, Gaza City, the biggest built-up area of the territory, is being gripped by a famine caused by Israel's restrictions on aid. Continue reading...

IDF says advance aims to dismantle Hamas's grip' as UN report says Israel has committed genocide in territory

The actor, who was cleared of historical sexual assault allegations in 2020, says he has withdrawn as a result of a social media campaign against him

Keir Starmer will have to choose how to spend limited political capital, with most pressing issues ones UK and US do not agree onDonald Trump has repeatedly described Keir Starmer as a good man", distancing himself from the attacks on the UK prime minister mounted by other figures on the US far right such as Elon Musk.One of the many known unknowns, however, of a Trump state visit is what kind of Trump will show up when a microphone is placed in front of him. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Campaigners attack outrageous' situation, saying waters in protected areas should be cleanestSewage is pouring into the rivers inside national parks at twice the rate that is occurring outside the protected areas, it can be revealed.Campaigners described the situation as outrageous" and said rivers and lakes in national parks in England and Wales should be the cleanest and most protected in the country. Continue reading...

East Wiltshire MP says he hopes others follow his path and accuses former party of clinging to defunct institutions'The MP Danny Kruger has defected from the Conservatives to Reform UK, declaring the Tory party is over" and Nigel Farage is the new custodian" of conservatism and the political right's last hope" of governing Britain.Kruger, who represents East Wiltshire and previously served as political secretary to Boris Johnson, said: The Conservative party is over. Over as a national party, over as the principal opposition to the left." Continue reading...

Cybercriminals steal details of potentially millions of people in attack on labels' parent company KeringHackers have stolen data from customers of the luxury fashion group Kering, whose brands include Gucci, Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen.Cyber-attackers have stolen data of potentially millions of customers, including the names, phone numbers and email addresses of customers of the fashion group, it has emerged. Continue reading...

US secretary of state, who is visiting Jerusalem, warns of Israeli counter reaction' if allies recognise PalestineThe US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has put the Trump administration's full support behind Benjamin Netanyahu in a visit to Jerusalem, saying Washington's priorities were the liberation of Israeli hostages and the destruction of Hamas.In public remarks standing alongside Netanyahu, Rubio did not mention the possibility of a ceasefire, and did not repeat his earlier criticism of Israel for carrying out an airstrike last week aimed at Hamas leaders in Doha, the capital of another close US ally, Qatar. Continue reading...

Comments follow remarks by Keir Starmer who is under pressure to be more proactive in defence of diversity

Conviction comes as Hakainde Hichilema faces growing criticism for suppressing political oppositionTwo men have been convicted in Zambia of planning to use witchcraft to kill the president, Hakainde Hichilema.Leonard Phiri, a village chief, and Jasten Mabulesse Candunde, a Mozambican citizen, were arrested in December after a cleaner reported hearing strange noises. Authorities said they were found to be in possession of a live chameleon and other assorted charms", including a red cloth, an unidentified white powder and an animal's tail. Continue reading...

Former mixed martial arts fighter had vowed to curb immigration to shore up Irish culture' and give power back to the people'The former mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor has withdrawn from Ireland's presidential election and complained that nomination rules were a straitjacket" that prevented a true democratic contest.Following careful reflection, and after consulting with my family, I am withdrawing my candidacy from this presidential race," he posted on X on Monday morning. This was not an easy decision, but it is the right one at this moment in time." Continue reading...

Move made on same day as Guardian published interview with ex-aide's mother who criticised Bidzina IvanishviliThe mother of a jailed former aide to Georgia's de facto leader, Bidzina Ivanishvili has had her bank accounts frozen after she publicly accused Ivanishvili of pursuing a vendetta against her son.The prosecutor's office in Georgia acted against Marina Ramazashvili and her husband, Alexander, on the same day that the Guardian published an interview with her in which she criticised the billionaire and called for help from the west. Continue reading...

Parviz Sabeti crafted a low-profile life for his family - but now he faces a $225m lawsuit over atrocities committed in prisons in Tehran and elsewhereNeighbors in the upscale Florida community of Windermere know them as Peter and Nancy, the seemingly friendly retired couple they wave to on morning walks, and who always appear to enjoy visits from their two high-flying grown daughters, one a respected professor of science at Harvard University.Yet behind the high walls of their $3.6m lakefront mansion lies a darker, more closely guarded reality: Peter" is actually Parviz Sabeti, the alleged head of secret police and chief torturer of the former Shah of Iran's pre-revolutionary government, now facing a $225m lawsuit in Florida for atrocities committed in prisons in Tehran and elsewhere. Continue reading...

Korean media say Hyundai-LG workers treated as prisoners of war' over visa issue amid sense of betrayal by Seoul's allyMore than 300 South Korean workers arrived at Incheon international airport on Friday afternoon, ending a week-long ordeal that began with the US Department of Homeland Security's largest ever single-site raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, and has left South Korea questioning whether it can trust its closest ally.The 316 Koreans, along with 14 workers of other nationalities, landed shortly after 3pm local time on a chartered Korean Air flight after being detained since 4 September at a Hyundai-LG battery plant construction site in Georgia. Continue reading...

Officials hurriedly remove nearly three decades of finds in high-risk operation'An official in charge of nearly three decades of archaeological finds in Gaza has described how the artefacts were hurriedly evacuated from a Gaza City building threatened by an Israeli strike.This was a high-risk operation, carried out in an extremely dangerous context for everyone involved - a real last-minute rescue," said Olivier Poquillon, director of the French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem (EBAF), which housed the relics. Continue reading...

List leaves out oil pipelines and focuses on LNG expansion, mines and nuclear power as it fends off US trade warCanada's Liberal government has said that a liquefied natural gas facility, critical mineral mines, a nuclear reactor and port expansion will mark the first wave of major national projects to turbocharge" the country's economy as it fends off a trade war with the United States.Notably, the list unveiled by the prime minster, Mark Carney, on Thursday does not include any new oil pipelines - projects which have proven to be deeply divisive and politically fractious in recent years. Continue reading...

Far-right ex-president was found to have led a criminal organisation' to try to stay in power

After Russian drones entered Polish airspace, two authors of the UK strategic defence review said Europe would need to build up its defencesBritain should work with Nato allies in developing an integrated air and missile defence system after the incursion of nearly 20 Russian drones into Poland, according to two authors of the UK strategic defence review.Fiona Hill, a former White House adviser, said that Russia was testing the limits" of Europe's defences at a time when the military commitment of the US to Nato was uncertain. Continue reading...

Numerous European countries offer support but some allies dispute whether incident was deliberate attackAn emergency session of the UN security council will convene on Friday at Poland's request as Warsaw seeks to rally support after an incursion into the country by Russian drones on Wednesday.Numerous European allies pledged support for Poland, including a promise by Germany to strengthen its military presence on Nato's eastern flank, but some disputed whether the incursion was a deliberate attack on Poland by Russia and Donald Trump offered little in the way of public support. Continue reading...

On Wednesday night, Charlie Kirk, an influential rightwing activist and Donald Trump ally, was shot dead at a university campus in Utah. The US president immediately blamed the radical left' but failed to mention rising violence against Democrats.This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to the Guardian's Washington DC bureau chief, David Smith, about the increase in political violence in the countryArchive: ABC News, ABC7, CBC National, CBS News, PBS Newshour, Charlie Kirk, NBC News, Fox News, Turning Point USA, King 5 Seattle Continue reading...

Turning Point USA executive director has died after being shot during event at Utah Valley University

Mr and Mrs Smith writer Francesca Sloane reportedly tapped to bring back A-list cast of hit seriesA third season of award-winning drama series Big Little Lies is now in development.According to Deadline, Francesca Sloane has been tapped to write the first episode and she will also act as executive producer alongside series creator David E Kelley. Sloane is best known for co-creating Amazon's Mr and Mrs Smith series with Donald Glover. Her credits also include writing for Atlanta and Fargo. Continue reading...