World news | The Guardian

Fire survivors and bereaved urge Barnet Group to reconsider' appointment of Laura Johnson, who pushed for cheaper contractorGrenfell survivors and bereaved relatives have criticised the outrageous decision" to hire a director who oversaw cost-cutting at Grenfell Tower in a 150,000-a-year senior council housing role.Laura Johnson, the director of housing at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) at the time of the 2017 Grenfell fire, has been appointed the permanent director of development and property at the Barnet Group, which manages the borough's 13,000 council homes. Continue reading...

In a new video, Klein and Taylor outline a ominous evolution taking shape on the far right - and how to stay loyal to this planet and each other

Party's economic spokesperson says donations are a breakthrough moment' as Labour's Angela Rayner warns of possible retrospective action

Iran war and turbulent global bond markets add to pressure before this week's series of rate-setting decisions

Search and rescue agency says 107 people brought to safety from vessel hit by bad weather in Java SeaRescue workers in Indonesia said at least six people had died and 130 others were missing on Sunday after a ferry sailing between the islands of Java and Borneo capsized in bad weather.Basarnas, Indonesia's national search and rescue agency, said 107 people had been rescued from the Virgo Transport 8 vessel, which set sail on Saturday with 243 people onboard, including 30 crew members, from the East Java city of Surabaya. Continue reading...

Key government meeting this month will consider US bid to try James Fergie' Chambers over alleged support for HamasAttorneys for James Fergie" Chambers, the US citizen and wealthy donor to leftwing and humanitarian projects worldwide who is currently imprisoned in Madrid and sought in extradition, have submitted a brief ahead of a decisive government meeting on the case.Meanwhile, Chambers' partner, the actor and activist Stella Schnabel, met last week with multiple members of the Spanish parliament to assert his innocence. Continue reading...

Iran-allied Houthis say drones and missiles used in attack that targeted weapons depots and command and control centres' in southern Saudi ArabiaHouthi fighters have said they used drones and missiles to attack a military base in southern Saudi Arabia, as Yemen's Riyadh-backed government described the rebels' swift advance along the Red Sea coast as a painful" development in a new front in the Iran war.The attack at the southern Sharurah base targeted weapons depots and command and control centres that are managing the aggression against our nation and people", the Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree wrote on X. Continue reading...

Angela Rayner says manifesto pledge is not being dropped but focus is now on building council houses

Party with neo-Nazi roots is in line for key ministerial positions if rightwing bloc wins the electionVoting is under way in Sweden in a high-stakes election that could lead to the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD) entering government for the first time.It comes after an unusually heated and polarised campaign punctuated by personal attacks between leaders, accusations of misinformation and Maga-inspired ads. Polls suggest an extremely tight race, with one showing just 0.3 percentage points between the left and right blocs. Continue reading...

Authorities were caught off guard by the disruption, which they labelled a protest' despite mass intimidation tacticsTo anybody watching the videos of a group of masked men, all wearing black, descending on the port of Dover last weekend, it was immediately obvious that something novel and disturbing was happening: a mass intimidation in uniform not seen in Britain since the 1930s.Yet to the police and the rest of the UK's intelligence apparatus, the arrival of the men chanting stop the boats" was a surprise, despite the fact that residents of a village 18 miles away tried to report that dozens of men were congregating there on the Friday, threatening to go to Dover and attack Muslims". Continue reading...

Richard Huye charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in apparent scheme linked to 2021 storm aftermathThe first defendant charged in connection with an alleged major property insurance fraud scheme in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida in 2021 in Louisiana appears poised to plead guilty, if federal criminal court records are any indication.Richard William Huye III, who faces a count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud while working as an attorney for Texas law firm McClenny Moseley and Associates (MMA), is scheduled to tentatively appear at a rearraignment hearing on 28 September, filings in New Orleans's federal courthouse show. Continue reading...

Ex-Tory chancellor says economy has fallen off a cliff' since Brexit but rejoining union could be quite simple'Former chancellor George Osborne said Britain's economy has fallen off a cliff" since Brexit and that rejoining the European Union's customs union would be the fastest route to recovery.Osborne, who resigned as chancellor after being part of David Cameron's cabinet at the time of the referendum, said it was important to rebuild links with the EU. Continue reading...

Minister points to legislation's retrospective effect, but Reform says it is confident funding is within the law

Campaigners say at current glacial pace some unpaid carers will die before receiving a refundUnpaid carers who were pursued for bills for thousands of pounds after welfare officials unlawfully changed benefit rules could wait years before learning whether they will get the money back, campaigners have warned.The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is working through 200,000 cases where carer's allowance benefit recipients were incorrectly given overpayments. An estimated 25,000 carers could receive full or partial refunds. Continue reading...

Women say they are too fearful to pursue criminal prosecution of rapes, for fear of having their claims refusedFemale asylum seekers are reporting rapes and sexual assaults by British men but many say they are too fearful to pursue criminal prosecutions.Their voices are rarely heard but some have spoken to the Guardian at a time when the far right is intensifying tropes about endemic rape of English women and girls by fighting age" male asylum seekers. Continue reading...

Vice-president wears religion on his sleeve but winding spiritual path could alienate evangelicals and CatholicsUS vice-president JD Vance has worn his religion on his sleeve since converting to the Catholicism in 2019. He recently published a book, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, and memorably met the late Pope Francis at the Vatican on Easter Sunday in 2025, a day before the pontiff died.But his religious identity could take on new weight as he positions himself for a presidential run in 2028, in which a successful campaign would make him only the third Catholic president in US history. Vance's winding spiritual path - combined with his avowed evangelical roots - have the potential to stymie him, as he seeks to retain the Christian nationalist voters that have sustained Donald Trump's Make America Great Again (Maga) movement while wooing fellow Catholics. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Supermarket joins line of firms and sports stars including Bellingham and Haaland to have their image hijacked via adsTesco has alerted City of London police after it became the latest in a string of companies and sports stars, including Barclays bank and Lewis Hamilton, to have its image hijacked in a scam" by unlicensed casinos advertising via Facebook and Instagram.The supermarket chain is among several household-name businesses to have been targeted in an apparent effort by casinos that cannot legally operate in Britain to capitalise on their brand recognition. Continue reading...

South Australian authorities say case discovered on Kangaroo Island is first for species of which less than 12,000 animals remain

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Criticism of three-year threshold repayment freeze prompts update to guidance warning terms and conditions could changeUniversity students taking out student loans are to be warned that the terms and conditions could change so they are better informed about what they are signing up to, the government has said.In July, a report by MPs said slideshows that compared student loan repayments to the cost of a mobile phone contract, and YouTube videos that did not mention the fact that conditions could be altered amounted to mis-selling by the government. Continue reading...

Rhun ap Iorwerth, the first non-Labour Senedd leader, questions Westminster's willingness to relinquish powersAndy Burnham has to be serious about devolution and understand that Wales is a nation and not a region in England", according to the country's first minister.Rhun ap Iorwerth, who is the first non-Labour leader of the Senedd since devolution, told the Guardian that while he was encouraged by initial discussions with the new UK prime minister, he was wary about Burnham being captured by a consensus Westminster view against relinquishing further powers. Continue reading...

Once central to rural life, cafe-bistros are closing in the face of depopulation and falling alcohol consumption, but campaigners are seeking new ways forwardIt is just past noon on a midweek day, and already every table at Au Bon Acceuil cafe-bistro in the northern Burgundy village of Saint-Martin-sur-Ouanne is taken.The three-course lunch menu today - including a choice of a hefty chunk of steak with chips or a meaty lasagne - is just 18, but villagers are not only here for the food. Continue reading...

Andrew Hastie also says One Nation leader is not the person I thought she was' and he feels sorry for Joyce

Prime minister's office tells families of those missing the nation stands with you' as search and rescue efforts continueOne person has died and more than 30 are missing after a ferry sank off the coast of Vanuatu, the country's government says.The vessel, MV Matui, had set sail with more than 40 passengers and crew on Friday from the island of Santo to Ambae island in very rough seas, but did not arrive. Continue reading...

Screen limits will become mandatory in NSW schools from 2028 as federal education minister says students may need a digital detox'

Exclusive: Strategic rethink urges progressive activists to respectfully steer one-on-one conversations with One Nation supporters towards economic concerns

Potholed roads are devastating political advertising' for the Victorian government - but Ben Carroll's made them the focus of his campaign

Some buyers say they are ready to absorb the fallout of housing weakness if it means boosting home ownership across the board

Local council and state government attempting to move on residents living in an encampment by the river in Wagga Wagga

Rightwing activists faced a heavy police presence and counter-demonstrations to their march against small boat crossingsTwo men and a teenage boy have been arrested in Portsmouth at a far-right protest against immigration.Far-right activists have gathered in Portsmouth for a second weekend after a small boat with 140 people seeking asylum on board was intercepted last Sunday while heading towards the city. Continue reading...

Party can boost its campaign power with funds from billionaire backers, but it can also lose support from ordinary BritonsAll things being equal, pretty much any political strategist would welcome a 72m war chest; a sum higher than the combined spending of every major party at the 2024 general election. But all things are not equal, and with such a huge amount comes risk.Reform UK has been vocal in its arguments that two sudden 36m windfalls from billionaires Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne merely levels the playing field" with the bigger parties when it comes to funding. Continue reading...

US president says on visit to republic that unification will happen eventually so may as well happen now'Donald Trump has said he would love" to see a united Ireland and that it may as well happen now".The US president appeared to endorse the push for constitutional change on the island at the start of a two-day visit to Ireland on Saturday. The unexpected intervention prompted a swift rebuttal from the UK government and Northern Ireland's unionist leaders. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Many use community protection as a cover for racist thuggery', raising concerns about fresh disorderAt least 28 anti-migrant vigilante groups have formed in the UK in the last 18 months, ranging from unauthorised street patrols claiming to protect women and children to groups harassing migrants in France and blocking ports.From Belfast to the south coast of England, the number of active groups has surged since the summer of 2025, according to analysis by the Guardian, amid widespread concerns over fresh disorder after black-clad vigilantes, many of them wearing balaclavas, blocked roads in Portsmouth and Dover last weekend. Continue reading...

Riyadh has increased use of East-West pipeline since start of war on Iran to bypass closure of strait of HormuzSaudi Arabia has shut down a critical oil pipeline, accusing militants in Iraq of launching drone attacks on the export route being used to bypass the lockdown of the strait of Hormuz.The world's largest crude oil exporter has increased its use of the 745-mile (1,200km) pipeline running across the Arabian peninsula, which links Abqaiq, near the Gulf, to the port of Yanbu, on the Red Sea, since the US-Israeli war against Iran began. Continue reading...

Royal guards carry casket through streets of Fort Portal amid row over appointment of Edward Rukidi KijanangomaUganda's King Oyo Nyimba Kabamba Iguru Rukidi IV, long the world's youngest monarch, has been buried among the tombs of his royal forebears as his Tooro kingdom looked to put a bitter succession battle behind it.Oyo's appointed successor, the news anchor Edward Rukidi Kijanangoma, cast nine coffee berries into the grave at the Karambi Royal Tombs, marking the formal handover of power in the western Ugandan kingdom. Continue reading...

Party leader, Nigel Farage, humbled' by contributions from billionaires as Harborne addresses media speculation'

Thomas was noted for collaborations with directors including Bernardo Bertolucci and David CronenbergJeremy Thomas, the distinguished British producer of films including Sexy Beast, High-Rise and the multi-Oscar-winning The Last Emperor, has died aged 77.A representative for Thomas said he died on Friday peacefully, at his country home in Oxfordshire, surrounded by his family and loved ones". Continue reading...

Incident is latest to raise questions over Israel's ability or willingness to stop violent settlers in occupied territoryAn Israeli soldier shot a Palestinian man, wounding him in the leg, as settlers confronted villagers by grazing livestock on Palestinian-owned land in the town of Faqqua in the occupied West Bank.Eyewitnesses said that a group of settlers had entered the area with their livestock, prompting residents to try to stop them. Israeli forces then intervened and, according to men at the scene, opened fire at residents. One of them shot Qassem Hussam, a Palestinian man in his mid-30s, wounding him in the leg. Continue reading...

Chinese president's arrival in Delhi seen as step towards reconciliation after deadly 2020 military clashThe Chinese president, Xi Jinping, has received a red-carpet welcome in India for a summit of Brics developing nations, as regional rivals Beijing and Delhi make a public display of thawing relations while quietly competing to lead at a time of shaky US global dominance.As Xi stepped off the plane, he was walked past an honour guard of Indian soldiers and traditional dancers in colourful dresses. Later on Saturday, he was due to attend a gala dinner for the two-day summit. Continue reading...

Petition to king, who remains Jamaica's head of state, is formally lodged in landmark visit to UK by officialsA palpable surge of emotion swept through Brixton's New Park Road Baptist church as the packed congregation rose to sing Bob Marley's Redemption Song.The service on Sunday marked the anniversary of the 1781 Zong massacre, when more than 100 enslaved Africans were thrown overboard so the ship's owners could claim insurance for lost cargo". Continue reading...

The Brookwood Church in Simpsonville only just disqualified Jerry Sidell from serving there in any capacityA registered sex offender who was sentenced to prison in the 1980s after he told authorities that he had molested several boys whom he met through his religious work with Christian youth in Georgia was later allowed to participate for decades in ministry at a South Carolina church.The Brookwood church, a southern Baptist institution in the South Carolina city of Simpsonville, only just disqualified Jerry Sidell from serving there in any capacity, after he joined it in 1999 and fulfilled various ministerial roles. Continue reading...

Chickens - which can test positive for viruses but cannot spread them - an ideal early warning system for mosquito-borne diseaseThe start of West Nile virus transmission began unusually early in some US states, with the most cases in early summer since 2004, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned in July - so Delaware turned to chickens.They kind of are the proverbial canary in the coal mine," said Tom Moran, head of the mosquito control section at the Delaware department of natural resources and environmental control. Continue reading...

As trust in institutions wavers, experts say local, collective action is more effective in driving changeWildfires, excess deaths, hosepipe bans, school closures: this summer many British people have experienced the often devastating effects of the climate crisis in ways they had not before. In that sense, policymakers and climate experts have a unique opportunity to engage with the public about what needs to happen to better prepare the country for the years ahead. But as trust in institutions wavers - and yellowed, drought-stricken grass begins to recover - can the messaging cut through?This week, reflecting on a summer as hot as hell", the UN's head of climate, Simon Stiell, said: Climate is sometimes seen as a partisan issue, as territory in the culture wars. That is palpably false." Continue reading...

Charity urges gardeners in England to swap thirsty brassicas for drought-tolerant cropsThey are an integral part of the British Sunday roast - but cauliflowers are now going to be off the menu, according to the Royal Horticultural Society.England's climate has changed so much that the RHS is now recommending that gardeners exclude the brassicas from their vegetable patches. Continue reading...

Hundreds of staff may have worked without legally required face-fitted masks over 20 yearsHundreds of London Underground workers could have been exposed to asbestos for almost 20 years without protection required under safety regulations, according to documents seen by the Guardian.Under 2002 rules on controlling asbestos and other hazardous materials, employers are required to take a series of precautions, including ensuring exposed workers are given individually fitted face masks to prevent inhalation of toxic dust. Continue reading...

Ben Delo was convicted in US for failing to implement adequate anti-money laundering controls but pardoned by TrumpReform UK has been given a record 36m donation by Ben Delo, a British cryptocurrency billionaire convicted in the US for failing to implement adequate anti-money laundering controls.The businessman, who has moved back to the UK from Hong Kong, is now the biggest UK political donor by far, dwarfing the 15m contribution to Reform UK from Thailand-based Christopher Harborne. Continue reading...

Operators blame lack of parking and councils bemoan lack of central regulation, as more than 3,000 badly parked bikes seizedLondon boroughs have seized at least 3,000 ebikes this year, a Guardian investigation has found, as hire companies face growing calls to stop bicycles littering streets and blocking pavements.Local authorities across the capital have seized 3,393 hazardously parked or abandoned ebikes so far this year, 23% higher than the number seized during all of 2025. Continue reading...

A militaristic operation with features of influencer culture, the new anti-migrant movement seems to show a shift in tactics and rhetoricShortly after 7am last Saturday in the English coastal town of Dover, livestreamed footage distributed by Britain's newest anti-migrant movement showed dozens of men in paramilitary outfits jumping out from the backs of vehicles, their faces covered beneath balaclavas, their hands in black gloves.Within an hour, hundreds more masked agitators, dressed head to toe in black, some wearing silver crosses around their necks, were marching through the town's streets, clapping and chanting Stop the boats" and Christ is king", blockading the busy port for hours. Continue reading...

Latest poll shows 0.3-point gap between left and right blocs, with country's reputation as global champion of human rights said to be at stakeSweden goes to the polls on Sunday in an extremely close election that could see the far right enter government for the first time if the country's rightwing parties can form a majority.Opinion polls show the centre-left opposition alliance ahead, with Magdalena Andersson of the Social Democrats the favourite to become prime minister again after four years in opposition, but her bloc's lead has narrowed considerably in the final days of the campaign. Continue reading...

Rebecca Howard spent two years visiting projects and painting landscapes that feature in West Sussex exhibitionRewilding areas do not usually conform to traditional notions of beauty in England's green and pleasant land. Detractors may bewail the beaver-felled trees, untidy scrub, deadwood, weeds, mud and mess".But a new exhibition highlights the aesthetic delights that can be discovered on rewilding sites where fungi grows on dying trees, water buffalo gather in new wetlands and brown-watered beaver pools flood once-desiccated fields. Continue reading...