World news | The Guardian

PM appears to be anticipating criticism of reforms that he will set out on Tuesday at the Labour party conferenceI can deliver': Burnham pledges radical change on eve of Labour conferenceKuenssberg puts it to Burnham that, according to the Health Foundation, a system offering adult social care free at the point of deliver (like healthcare delivered by the NHS) would cost 18bn.Burnham says the cost is not that high" (ie, not as high as 18bn).Not that high.But can I directly deal with this issue of the costs?Louise Casey is still doing an official review for us, so I will set out the vision, if you like, on Tuesday [in his speech to the conference].Louise will then help us with the how. How do we make this happen? When can we make it happen? Continue reading...

People evacuated from village as army inspects vehicles near airbase in Gloucestershire used by US forcesSeveral men have been arrested on suspicion of offences under the Explosives Act after the declaration of a major incident at RAF Fairford.Homes were evacuated and the army was also inspecting a number of vehicles as security was stepped up at the Gloucestershire airbase, which is used by US forces. Evacuated residents were being taken to a nearby leisure centre. Continue reading...

Seventeen people killed at bar near Johannesburg and 10 killed in separate incident at barbecue venue near Cape TownTwo separate mass shootings near South Africa's two biggest cities killed at least 27 people, police have said.The South African police service said on Sunday that 17 people were killed on Saturday night when eight suspects armed with AK-47 rifles and pistols opened fire at a bar in Wedela township, south-west of Johannesburg. At least 15 other people sustained gunshot injuries in that attack, police said. Continue reading...

A look evoking memories of All Saints and Destiny's Child has fashion editors, Brad Pitt and the high street all blending inDiscussing their style while in All Saints, Nicole and Natalie Appleton said earlier this year that some things don't change: Army trousers and combat trousers will always be a staple with us."If, for a long time after All Saints' noughties heyday, the sisters would have known this look was not the height of fashion, things have changed in 2026. Judging by those attending shows at London fashion week this month, camo is very much back. Continue reading...

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS trust apologises after illicit access of medical records of toddler who died in BranthamAn NHS trust has apologised after the medical records of three-year-old Noah Woods were accessed by unauthorised people after his disappearance.Noah was found dead in a pond in Brantham, Suffolk, after going missing from a playground. More than 1,300 members of the public joined a search for the boy before police discovered his body. Continue reading...

Online comments reflect class tensions at Scottish university between those from lower-income families and wealthier US undergraduatesWhen Sophie Rose Jenkins announced she would not return to St Andrews University this academic year because of her experiences of classism on campus, she did not expect much of a response. But in the two weeks since she published her story on LinkedIn, it has resonated with hundreds of others.Working-class students have been made to feel ashamed of their home life at university," the former comparative literature and classical studies student wrote in a lengthy post. Arriving at a university ranked first in the UK at the time from a background like mine, I thought I was doing everything right. Continue reading...

US president is said to expect renewed strikes after the midtermsDonald Trump has said he has rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the strait of Hormuz within a week and resume nuclear talks in return for the lifting of the US naval blockade of Iranian ports.They made a proposal but I reject it," the US president told reporters at the White House. Continue reading...

Bumper fees paid in the year's mergers and acquisitions spark anger over high City pay during cost of living crisisLondon's investment bankers and lawyers have made more than 1bn from a frenzy of takeover deals this year, sparking anger over high City pay during the cost of living crisis.The value of mergers and acquisitions of UK stock market listed companies has surged 175% in 2026 to $132.9bn (100bn), according to the London Stock Exchange, as overseas buyers snap up British companies at record pace. Continue reading...

Officer forced to admit relationship with woman lasting at least six months while working under fake name Dave EvansAn undercover police officer who infiltrated leftwing and animal rights campaign groups appears to have lied to the spycops inquiry when he claimed he did not have a sexual relationship as part of his deployment.The officer who used the fake name Dave Evans had originally testified that he did not have any relationships while using his fake identity. Continue reading...

Financial pressures, legal changes and shifting attitudes may help explain why couples are staying married for longerWe don't know anyone whose marriage hit the skids after just a few years," Celia said, reflecting on her divorce. Everyone seemed to cling on to their relationships for as long as they possibly could."It took Celia two years to initiate divorce after realising her 12-year marriage wasn't going anywhere - and the latest figures show this experience is increasingly common, with marriages that end in divorce now lasting longer than at any point since records began. Continue reading...

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Orange Order march along Garvaghy Road scheduled to take place for first time in 28 years after injunction dismissed on appealA controversial loyalist parade along a nationalist street in the Northern Ireland town of Portadown is set to go ahead for the first time in nearly 30 years, after an overnight court ruling cleared it to proceed.The Orange Order parade down the Garvaghy Roadis scheduled for 8am on Sunday morning, and follows a last-minute legal back-and-forth. Continue reading...

Decision follows disclosures that OpenAI agents searching government websites had acted in unexpected waysOpenAI said it has paused training of its latest artificial intelligence models as reports of AI agents going rogue mount.The decision to halt development came just hours after the company disclosed Friday that it was reviewing several incidents from the summer in which OpenAI agents searching federal government websites acted in unexpected ways beyond what was asked of them while gathering and distributing information. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Many applicants left feeling used, lied to, misled and gaslit', complaint letter seen by Guardian Australia says

Wasim El-Haj alleges NSW government school ordered him to stop wearing symbolic garment as it may cause discord'

Federal government to deregister graduate diploma of management in October over fears it was being used by non-genuine' students to remain in country

Eric Clark, 45, charged with murder as autopsy concludes Fortune was dead days before body discovered in treeA third person has been arrested in the death of 29-year-old Tasia Fortune in Mississippi's capital city, while investigators said they had determined the scene where her body was found hanging had been staged.Eric Clark, 45, surrendered to authorities on Friday and was charged with murder, according to the Jackson police department (JPD). Clark was scheduled to make a court appearance on Monday. Continue reading...

Pledges found covered in food in heated basement of fraternity house near University of Wisconsin-MadisonPolice are investigating suspected illegal hazing after about 30 partially clothed young men covered in food, condiments and other liquids were found recently in the basement of a fraternity house near the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.Madison police said some of the men, whom they described as pledges of a fraternity, had signs of being physically assaulted. Continue reading...

Emergency teams discovered victims after two-storey building in historic Plaka district collapsed in seconds'Greek authorities say they are trying to discover what caused a two-storey apartment block in the heart of ancient Athens to collapse in a matter of seconds", killing six people.Emergency teams found the victims, including four American tourists, on Saturday, more than 24 hours after the early morning explosion in the historic Plaka district. Continue reading...

Exclusive: UK prime minister says delivering fiscal stability would be crucial' to be able to fix bigger problemsAndy Burnham has said he can deliver on his promise of radical change for the country despite severe economic headwinds, telling the Guardian: There's always things you can do; it's just whether you're prepared to do them."The prime minister acknowledged public finances were challenging" ahead of next month's budget but said delivering fiscal stability would be crucial", because only then would the government be able to focus on fixing bigger problems. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Policy initiative for England will help more young people on to property ladder, prime minister tells GuardianA new help-to-buy scheme aimed at giving first-time buyers who cannot rely on the bank of mum and dad" is to be introduced in a big policy announcement by Andy Burnham.The programme, called Your first home", is intended to help buyers in England who have a regular income but have been unable to save for a large deposit or don't have financial support from their family. Continue reading...

Alexander Millington-Cotes is concerned for welfare of the 82-year-old, who hasn't been seen in public for two yearsThe stepson of Sir Ranulph Fiennes has launched a crowdfunder to pay for specialist legal advice" in an attempt to locate the explorer, who hasn't been seen in public for more than two years.Alexander Millington-Cotes, 31, has set a target of 55,000 for the fundraiser, to enable him to instruct lawyers to locate and safeguard" Fiennes. Continue reading...

Attorney says fishers losing their livelihoods', but Marco Rubio maintains US still willing to blow up ships if need be'While the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, was being decorated in Quito by Ecuador's president for helping to promote peace in the region", 10 Ecuadorian fishers whose boat had been blown up by US forces were adrift in the eastern Pacific.On 8 September, a day before Rubio arrived, a US patrol vessel intercepted the fishing boat Don Rufo in international waters near Ecuador. Continue reading...

Crowds line Place de la Concorde on second day of pontiff's first official papal visit to France in 18 yearsHundreds of thousands of people lined the Avenue des Champs-Elysees in Paris on Saturday to attend an open-air mass with Pope Leo, on the second day of his visit to France.The Vatican estimated 700,000 people turned out for the outdoor mass with the 71-year-old American pope - about 100,000 more than the number of people who had registered to attend. Continue reading...

BBC broadcaster was shot in 1999 in case detectives have previously said may never be solvedTechnological advances are allowing police to review old CCTV footage in the unsolved murder of the BBC broadcaster Jill Dando, Scotland Yard has revealed.Advances in CCTV enhancement technology have allowed detectives to return to 27-year-old footage of Putney Bridge Underground station, Scotland Yard said. But detectives stressed that the review was part of existing inquiries - not a new investigation. Continue reading...

Paper raises questions about safety of food and other products as early onset breast cancer rates surge worldwideNew research has identified at least 485 chemicals used in US pesticide products that are linked to breast cancer, raising questions about the safety of food and other products at a time when early onset breast cancer rates are surging worldwide.The new peer-reviewed paper, published in Environmental Health Perspectives, a top journal from the American Chemical Society, highlights what public health advocates say are a range of deficiencies in how US pesticides are regulated. The review includes active pesticide ingredients, but also hundreds of so-called inert", or inactive, ingredients that typically do not undergo a thorough safety review. Continue reading...

Outlet had been scheduled to fly with Donald Trump to Tennessee for a college football game, network said FridayThe White House has blocked CNN from traveling aboard Air Force One on Saturday, impeding its TV press pool duties in the latest escalation of the administration's battle with the news media.CNN had been scheduled to fly with Donald Trump to Tennessee for a college football game, the network said on Friday. The White House confirmed CNN's exclusion when it did not list the network on guidance sent to the press corps regarding Trump's schedule for Saturday. Continue reading...

Housing secretary says Home Office moved goalposts with disruptive' change to permanent residence rulesAngela Rayner has stood by her criticism of Home Office reforms that would make it harder for foreign care workers to claim permanent residence in the UK, describing them as disruptive".Last year, Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, announced that low paid migrants on jobs below graduate level would have to be in the country for 15 years before applying for settlement. Rayner previously attacked the plans as being un-British". Continue reading...

Wilber Rafael Garces Perez has bullet lodged in back as accounts differ over events leading to traffic-stop shootingThe Venezuelan man shot by federal immigration officers after a traffic stop in Texas needs surgery to avoid losing feeling on the left side of his body, according to his supporters.Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, has spent the past five days in detention with a bullet lodged in his back, after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rapidly removed him from a hospital in Austin where he had been taken on Sunday after the shooting. Continue reading...

Ministers have been speaking to farming activists to try to build bridges after tax changes introduced under Starmer soured relationsAs an arable farmer, Olly Harrison's WhatsApp messages are normally concerned with the more mundane matters of working the land: logistics, supplies and the occasional chat about the weather.So when a recent message came through from Andy Burnham, it was more than a little unexpected. Continue reading...

Israel categorically rejects' publication and says businesses on database have committed no wrongdoingThe UN human rights office has added 61 more companies to a blacklist of firms that it says are involved in violating Palestinian human rights through business ties to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.The vast majority of the total 214 companies, which are based in 11 countries, are Israeli. Five of the 158 companies listed last year were removed in the latest update. Continue reading...

Artists including Tinie Tempah and the Smiths' drummer Mike Joyce ramp up pressure on government to keep its pledge to outlaw for-profit resalesThe government has stepped up work on new laws to stop ticket touts fleecing fans, as the prime minister came under pressure from artists including the drummer from the Smiths, one of his favourite bands.Keir Starmer said last year that the government would stop fans from being ripped off" by outlawing the for-profit resale of tickets on sites such as Viagogo and StubHub, a pledge Labour first made in its 2024 election manifesto. Continue reading...

Behind the stories of bombings and mass deaths, the everyday challenges facing Palestinians living under siege portray a quieter tragedy we rarely hearWhat does it take to make a morning cup of tea in Gaza?For Alaa Hessi, in her final month of pregnancy, this small ritual begins with a calculation of gas rations. Her family gets a ration of 6kg of gas every three months - enough to heat a pot for 18 precious minutes a day. That's needed for cooking - so for tea, a fire must be built instead. Continue reading...

Alan Milburn said 16- to 24-year-olds with most complex needs should not have to keep proving they cannot workYoung people whose complex disabilities mean they have little prospect of getting a paid job should get fast-track access to disability benefits, an official review of youth employment will say.The review, by the former Labour health secretary Alan Milburn, will say 16- to 24-year-olds with the most severe lifelong needs should be guaranteed swift and unconditional benefit support rather than having to prove they cannot work. Continue reading...

Only 26% of PHEVs sold across top 20 models can use chargers with power of 50kW or more, analysis findsThree-quarters of the 20 top-selling plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in the UK cannot use rapid chargers, research has found, amid concerns that many are essentially petrol cars pulling round a heavy battery".The cars, which can run on electric batteries as well as combustion engines, have been promoted by carmakers as a way to cover long distances in a single drive - unlike fully electric cars - while still reducing emissions. Continue reading...

President's hard, drastic and necessary measure', likely to attract widespread public support, polls suggestThe Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has signed an order banning fixed-odds sports betting just over a week before the first round of the presidential election, in a move he said was designed to tackle the pervasive problem of families falling into debt.The decision ends the operation, offering, intermediation and advertising of betting. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Dog Painting 17 is believed to be one of only six of works from Dog Series in private hands and first to be auctionedDavid Hockney adored his dachshunds Stanley and Boodgie and let them run riot - so much so that after one had an accident in the LA home of the actor Dennis Hopper, the painter is said to have quipped: It'll be dry in the morning, luv, and you can just pick it up."But Hockney did not just indulge his four-legged companions, he treated them as portrait subjects for a series of paintings, one of which is to be sold by Christie's. Continue reading...

Cabin crew worker was among thousands of staff laid off during pandemic in what MPs called a national disgrace'During a 30-year career as a member of British Airways' cabin crew, Tess De Mello took pride in a job well done, saying she regularly went above and beyond to make passengers more comfortable. To her, the role was more than just employment - it was part of her identity.I took pride," she said. I really took pride in myself, I took pride in my role, I took pride in everything because it was everything I wanted to be." Continue reading...

Trump tries to dominate at the UN as his approval ratings plummet and even some Republicans stray from the scriptDonald Trump stood before the United Nations on Tuesday and threatened to annihilate" Iran. Yet even as the most powerful man on the planet flexed his military muscles, he was powerless to keep the gravitational pull of domestic politics at bay.Heading into the UN building in New York, the US president was questioned by Kaitlan Collins, an anchor at CNN, which he had banned from the White House before a judge ruled against him. I'm surprised that CNN is here covering me," the 80-year-old snapped. You should not be here covering me." Continue reading...

The deputy leader wants the party to take advantage of a split on the right and not be embarrassed to show its valuesLabour must reunite the progressive voter coalition" if it is to take advantage of a split on the right and win the next election, the party's deputy leader has said.Lucy Powell, who won the race to be deputy leader 12 months ago with a warning that Labour was losing the fight to be heard as Reform UK surged, said the government now had a second chance under Andy Burnham. Continue reading...

From a difficult economic landscape to decisions on oil and gas drilling, welfare spending and the Chagos Islands, we look at what's on the horizonAndy Burnham is riding high ahead of the Labour party conference after a successful first meeting with Donald Trump, and with his party faithful excited by their uplift in the polls. He plans to bring a message of hope and optimism to the autumn gathering in Liverpool, and will benefit from goodwill among members as he makes his first speech as leader on Tuesday.However, the real tests will start to land from October onwards, with a difficult economic landscape, the ongoing impact of the war in Iran and domestic challenges to navigate. Here is what Burnham has to look forward to after the conference is over. Continue reading...

Despite guidance keeping mobile phones out of England's schools, cheaper travel may only be available via an appSchoolchildren who do not own smartphones face paying hundreds of pounds extra in annual bus fares as cheaper travel passes are digitised.Critics argue that by only making discounts available through an app, operators are undermining government guidance to keep mobile phones out of schools. Continue reading...

Files could have seismic consequences for online casinos, including those accused of illegally targeting consumersThe secrets of thousands of online casinos have been laid bare in a vast leak of data that could have seismic consequences for offshore gambling firms, including some accused of illegally targeting consumers around the world.The Casino Secrets leak reveals tens of thousands of previously confidential files stored by the gambling regulator on the Caribbean island of Curacao. Continue reading...

Trial had been set for Monday over claims by Alabama that TikTok misled parents about tools meant to shield children from harmful contentTikTok has agreed to pay Alabama at least $100m and enact time limits and other restrictions for teenage users, avoiding a trial with a settlement that was modelled on Instagram-owner Meta's recent agreement with US states.Alabama described it as a first-in-the-nation settlement" with a state in the sweeping litigation over social media's affect on teen wellbeing. Continue reading...

Mountaineer's body recovered about 20 metres below the summit of Torrecerredo, the highest peak of the Picos de Europa rangeA British man has died after falling about 61 metres (200ft) while descending from the summit of a mountain in northern Spain, according to local law enforcement.The 28-year-old mountaineer fell down a vertical gully on the east side of the Torrecerredo - the highest peak of the Cantabrian mountains - on Thursday afternoon, the Spanish Civil Guard for the Asturias region said. Continue reading...

A council ban on drinking on the median strip in Canning Street, Carlton, sparks a peaceful protest featuring punch bowls, chips and laughter

Investigation determined Dale Caldwell violated state ethics rules and engaged in harassing behaviorDale Caldwell, the lieutenant governor of New Jersey, resigned from his position on Friday, after the release of a report accusing him of sexually harassing a female staffer, among other ethics violations.New Jersey's governor, Mikie Sherrill, announced on Friday afternoon that Caldwell had submitted his resignation to her earlier in the day. Continue reading...

Officials say man found dead in a church decades ago may be linked to poisonings in Chicago area in 1982A man found dead in an Idaho church decades ago may be connected to unsolved poisonings in 1982 in the Chicago area that were dubbed the Tylenol murders" and ushered in child safety caps for medicines, authorities announced recently.Detective Tim Cooper of the Ada county sheriff's Office reopened a cold case investigation in 2019 that led authorities to identify Dr Mathew Francis Betkouski posthumously. Betkouski fatally poisoned himself with cyanide more than 40 years ago and was buried anonymously. Continue reading...

The Trump administration is removing 760,000 people enrolled in the Affordable Care Act marketplace

Group calls for proper enforcement of ICC rulings as Trump administration widens attacks on courtThe US threat to impose sanctions on the international criminal court (ICC) as an institution, not just its leading judges, could fundamentally disrupt its operation and needed to be resisted, a coalition of countries to defend international law heard at the United Nations on Friday.Ronald Lamola, South Africa's foreign minister, issued the warning at an event during the UN general assembly called to protect the system of international law from a growing array of threats, including open flouting of its tenets and rulings by Israel. Continue reading...