The Senate candidate denounced opponent Ken Paxton, calling out corruption allegations and support from MuskJames Talarico, the Democratic candidate for the US Senate in Texas, has taken aim at Elon Musk, warning that the tech mogul is trying to buy political influence and declaring: Texas is not for sale."Talarico held a campaign rally on Friday at the University of Texas at Austin, packing an auditorium at his alma mater with hundreds of students and other supporters, who cheered, whooped and waved campaign signs. Continue reading...
Super typhoon weakening but large parts of Taiwan, including Taipei, still mostly closed and flights cancelledTyphoon Champi swept past Taiwan on Saturday killing one person, injuring more than 500, and uprooting trees and severing power as it weakened and headed north toward the Chinese coast.Earlier classified as a super typhoon and one of the strongest storms in the Pacific this year, Champi was still packing gusts of about 126km per hour (78 miles per hour) near its centre, according to Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWA). Continue reading...
Letters from federal prosecutors represent latest escalation as Trump continues to make claims of voter fraudFederal prosecutors sent letters to county registrars across California on Friday demanding that local officials set aside and verify ballots that the Department of Justice said may belong to noncitizens, according to the Los Angeles county registrar and a letter obtained by the Associated Press.The letters are the latest escalation in a legal battle between California and Donald Trump's Department of Justice, which has recently focused on the state in its efforts to root out noncitizen voting ahead of the midterm elections. Continue reading...
Footage broadcast on state television showed two gunmen who appear to be holding pistols approaching the church and firing shotsGunmen opened fire during a funeral at a church in Jordan on Friday, killing seven people and wounding 40 others, authorities said.The shooting took place at a Greek Orthodox church in Karak, about 180km (110 miles) south of the capital, Amman. Continue reading...
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth alleges Confucius Institutes operating in disguise on US university campusesThe US defense department has designated Chinese-funded cultural centers on university campuses known as Confucius Institutes as a threat to US national security, defense secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday.Washington has long accused Confucius Institutes of being Chinese propaganda tools and has taken steps to crack down on them. Continue reading...
BBC series deliberately uses more organic' shots to assure viewers animals are not AI-generated, producers sayThe David Attenborough-narrated series Blue Planet III deliberately includes cloudier, less polished footage to counter AI fakery and assure viewers it is authentic", its producers have said.Nearly a decade after Blue Planet II shone a light on plastic pollution, and 25 years since the first Blue Planet aired, the hit BBC series is returning with more animal behaviour and cutting-edge technology, including the world's first underwater CCTV camera - dubbed stonefish" cam. Continue reading...
Campaigners call lack of progress staggering' as online regulator issues review of first nine months of new regimeLandmark online safety measures have failed to limit the proportion of children suffering harm from social media, the UK's online regulator has admitted, in an assessment branded staggering" by campaigners.The proportion of children being fed unsafe content that often left them frightened, confused and upset, was almost unchanged, according to an Ofcom review of the first nine months of supposedly strict requirements on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. Continue reading...
by Jamie Grierson and Yassin El-Moudden on (#798J0)
Dozens of schools in Cornwall also affected as Storm Boelo heads for Scotland, Northern Ireland and north of EnglandThousands of homes are without power and schools were closed as the first named storm of the year hit UK shores.Storm Austen brought severe conditions to parts of the south-west, with a gust of 76mph recorded at St Mary's airport on the Isles of Scilly on Friday morning. By 3pm, more than 31,000 homes in the south-west were without power, according to National Grid. Continue reading...
Republican senator faces critical re-election battle in state where president's trade war has outraged votersDonald Trump dropped some of the US's tariffs on Canada on Friday to better serve the public interest" the White House said, handing a win to Susan Collins, the embattled Republican senator for Maine, as she faces a tight re-election campaign that will help determine whether Democrats can flip control of Congress.Collins announced that the exemptions would apply to nine agricultural products, including blueberries, potatoes, apples and seaweed. She added that many of the state's farmers rely on specialized equipment and materials from across the border that are unavailable from American suppliers or cannot be replaced without incurring significant expense". Continue reading...
Justin Craig charged with official misconduct and fraud, after searching plates of wife and previous acquaintance'An Indiana police officer has been arrested on allegations that he misused Flock cameras hundreds of times in a case involving his wife and a previous acquaintance of hers.Georgetown police department officer Justin Craig was charged with official misconduct and two counts of fraud. Documents show that he searched his wife's license plate more than 80 times and that of a previous acquaintance" of hers nearly 250 times, the news outlet WLKY reported. Continue reading...
by Yassin El-Moudden, Lucy Campbell, Frances Mao and on (#798DD)
Residents in Oleshky have been enduring a worsening humanitarian crisis due to the lack of food, electricity and other resourcesThe French prime minister Sebastien Lecornu has just issued a statement on a shooting in a town west of Paris this morning where one person was killed and four others injured.Police said a gunman had opened fire in Trappes, in the Yvelines, and neighbouring La Verriere. The gunman was later arrested in nearby Coignieres. Continue reading...
Gunman opens fire from car in Trappes and Verriere, killing one and injuring five others, including a 12-year-old girlEmmanuel Macron has condemned racism in French society after a gunman opened fire from a car west of Paris on Friday, killing one person, wounding a 12-year-old girl and injuring four others in what the president called a racist terrorist attack".Macron arrived at the scene of the drive-by shooting in Trappes, a town west of Paris, on Friday night, saying he was deeply saddened by what he called the premeditated" attack. The 12-year-old girl, who was shot eight times, is being treated in hospital. Continue reading...
Unidentified object vanished suddenly and silently, anonymous senior military observers claimTwo senior military observers say they watched a mysterious black triangular object flying at an extraordinarily high speed over a sensitive site in the western US earlier this year, in the latest tranche of reported UFO sightings released on Friday by the Trump administration.The unidentified object showed none of the characteristics of a conventional military aircraft, their report to the defense department said, and it vanished suddenly and silently within seconds, leaving no exhaust trail or other evidence of its existence. Continue reading...
The board change is the latest development for the renowned New York hospital plagued by revelations related to Jeffrey EpsteinHedge fund billionaire Glenn Dubin, one of several Wall Street figures whose relationship with Jeffrey Epstein is facing scrutiny, has stepped down from the board of Mount Sinai hospital, according to sources close to the renowned New York institution.The revelation follows news earlier this year that Mount Sinai, which has long ranked as a top medical provider in New York City, had reportedly formed a committee to review its longstanding ties to the late accused sex trafficker. The hospital features prominently in the Epstein files released by the Department of Justice, including an incident in which a Mount Sinai doctor appears to have operated on a young Russian woman inside Epstein's Upper East Side townhouse after she got hurt during a stay on his Caribbean island. Continue reading...
At least one injured after flooding in Four Corners region - which includes Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and UtahSevere flooding in the Four Corners region on Friday led to water rescues - some from rooftops - and impassable roads, with some residents being told to evacuate low-lying areas of Colorado and New Mexico and others advised to shelter in place until water levels go down.It followed several busy days of flooding in the region that swamped dozens of homes in Utah. Earlier in the week, tornadoes blew off roofs, knocked trees on to houses and downed power lines in Arizona. At least one person was injured. Continue reading...
by Hannah Al-Othman North of England correspondent on (#798W4)
Houses being targeted because they are thought to hold immigrants, with dozens of properties affected in recent weeksCriminals are recruiting vulnerable people, including children, to damage houses suspected of being HMOs, police in Manchester believe.In recent weeks, dozens of properties have been targeted across Greater Manchester, mostly in Salford, but also in Stockport and Tameside. Continue reading...
by Emma Graham-Harrison in Jerusalem and Lorenzo Tond on (#798MY)
Benjamin Netanyahu and ministers promise demolitions and forced displacement after deadly gunfightIsrael has launched a campaign of collective punishment against Palestinians in Hebron after gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers and injured three near a checkpoint outside the city.Benjamin Netanyahu announced a siege on Hebron and neighbouring Halhul and said residents of the gunmen's home neighbourhoods would all be forced out. He promised mass demolitions of homes. Continue reading...
Multinational anti-war bloc' uses Istanbul summit to call for a diplomatic solution to Middle East crisisForeign ministers at a summit of eight European and Middle Eastern countries have urged the US and Israel not to renews their attacks on Iran, warning a fresh outbreak of fighting would spread conflict and push oil prices even higher.The development of a new multinational anti-war bloc" represents a challenge to the increasingly open plans by the US and Israel to relaunch strikes on Iran while talks on Tehran's nuclear programme remain deadlocked. Continue reading...
Prosecution says Robinson guilty of harassment of Daily Mail journalists because we do not live in a vigilante world'Tommy Robinson is guilty of harassing two journalists because we do not live in a vigilante world", jurors have been told, as the prosecution sought to use the far-right activist's words against him.Robinson had posted a video in which he told Daily Mail journalists he would find them after they wrote about his alleged role influencing England's 2024 riots. He told them he had obtained details of where they and their families lived and warned them to abide by men's rules". Continue reading...
Meghan reveals she was made aware of disturbing allegations' against him in 2018 by Met policeThe Duchess of Sussex has said she is deeply distressed" over accusations involving child sexual abuse images against her estranged father, Thomas Markle Sr, and revealed she was made aware of disturbing allegations" against him in 2018 by the Metropolitan police.Meghan issued a statement after the Sun newspaper published claims that her half-brother Thomas Markle Jr alleged he had found a stash of images belonging to their father at his former home in the Philippines. Continue reading...
Historic England archaeologist says some inns' claims to date back 1,000 years are inaccurate and oldest is from 1430With their low ceilings, timber beams and roaring fires, many of England's inns lay claim to being the oldest in the land and to have been visited by Vikings and Saxons.But an archaeologist working for Historic England says not one of the more than two dozen pubs that make this claim is being accurate. Continue reading...
by Rokhaya Diallo, Alexander Hurst, Michael Hubbard a on (#796R3)
Guardian Europe columnists Rokhaya Diallo and Alexander Hurst answered your questions about the recent protests in France, the role of the French police, foreign influence and the upcoming presidential election.Michael Wolfcarius asks: I cannot understand why the Guardian is selecting dots instead of joining them. France may have developed into the big story for many reasons, many of which have yet to be discussed, but it is not the only place where seemingly small incidents grew into massive protests, some also quite violent; Spain, Italy, Serbia and Albania come to mind. The crystallising reason may be different but the conditions leading up to it are quite similar. Can you put all these events into perspective, context and relation? There are obviously underlying currents making it difficult for people to refrain from making themselves heard'.Rokhaya: I agree that these movements deserve to be considered together, while at the same time, recognising their different specific national contexts. Housing in Spain, living costs and public services in Italy and France, and corruption in Serbia and Albania are bringing people onto the streets. These concerns touch the foundations of a decent life and people's ability to shape their future.What connects them, in my view, is the widening gap between what people need and what political institutions seem willing to deliver. These incidents that have led to protests are not small ." Serbia's movement began after a deadly railway-station canopy collapse, which became a focus for anger over corruption and accountability. My reading is that these protests express a crisis of political responsiveness.Alexander: I think people in all these places - Albania, Spain, France - feel that the political systems that exist aren't capable of dealing with the sheer scale and nature of the crises facing us, and they're responding to a sense of loss of control' (the Brexit campaign really did strike upon a brilliant slogan) over where their societies are headed. There is a general social sense that has flipped from this is broken, but things can and will get better", which gives people a stake in the institutions around them, to this is broken and things can and will get worse".The impact of the arrival of AI has been understated. Not just on labour markets, or on the environment, but ontologically. The investment pitch of the most powerful companies in the world, the ones amassing trillion dollar valuations, isn't just that X-subset of jobs are replaceable, it's that human beings themselves are replaceable. That the things we do fundamentally don't matter, and that their goal is to bring this into being. I think that feeling is there even if we don't immediately put our finger on it in those terms. Continue reading...
After Brody called out the death and misery' in Palestine, the Netflix hit's Jewish creator said they don't see eye to eyeThe creator of the hit Netflix comedy Nobody Wants This has responded to star Adam Brody's recent support of Palestine amid the Israel-Gaza war.Everyone is entitled to a different opinion," Erin Foster said in an interview with the Not Skinny Not Fat podcast when asked about Brody calling for a free Palestine. Continue reading...
by Carlos Mureithi in Nairobi and agencies on (#798MZ)
Switzerland says patient is wife of Swiss diplomat and believed to have contracted virus while travelling in UgandaHealth officials across Africa are racing to determine how Nigeria's first Ebola patient in more than a decade became infected, amid fears the outbreak could spread further after reaching a fourth African country.The Swiss foreign ministry said on Friday the patient in Nigeria, the Ugandan-born wife of a Swiss diplomat based in Abuja, had not travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the outbreak was first detected in mid-May before spreading to Uganda, Kenya and now Nigeria. The woman was believed to have contracted Ebola while travelling with her husband in Uganda, the ministry added. Continue reading...
The prime minister said the government is having conversation about emergency preparednessA DUP minister has said he is confident MP Carla Lockhart will stay in the party despite leaving its main decision-making body amid a row with party leadership over the future of Stormont.Lockhart is at odds with DUP leader, fellow MP Gavin Robinson, over whether the party should withdraw deputy first minister Emma Little-Pengelly from the power-sharing executive. Continue reading...
by Alexandra Topping Political correspondent on (#798HY)
New PM has prioritised small fixes to show voters Labour can make a real difference, and government insiders are delighted at the public's reactionIn the first episode of Armando Iannucci's political satire The Thick of It, the hapless minister Hugh Abbot is in the back of a taxi, frantically brainstorming for an on-the-hoof policy he can announce to the assembled national press.So you want something sexy and eye-catching, and that is free and universally popular and instantly applicable. No one can possibly object to it," says the addled junior adviser Ollie Reeder. Well, really, you should have said something before then, because I've got a file about that fucking thick of that back in the office." Continue reading...
Investigation marks a rare move by the DoJ against an ally of the US president. Plus, why the world's coral reefs are facing a dire futureGood morning. Corey Lewandowski, a former political adviser to Donald Trump and top aide at the Department of Homeland Security, is under criminal investigation over allegations he profited off his role in the US government. The DoJ has not yet issued subpoenas or other legal demands in the criminal investigation, and a lawyer for Lewandowski did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The justice department under Trump has investigated several prominent critics of the president, but investigations of people close to Trump have been rare.Lewandowski served as a top aide to Kristi Noem during her tenure as homeland security secretary. Lewandowski allegedly signed some DHS contracts despite having questionable legal authority as a special government employee, according to one DHS official. Certain grants and contracts, including those involving the Federal Emergency Management Agency, were put on hold at Lewandowski's direction, according to two other sources.Where else has Trump suffered a legal setback? Donald Trump has been ordered by a US judge to cooperate with the discovery process mandated for his lawsuit against the BBC and to sit for a deposition by 11 December - or else he could be subject to sanctions, including possible dismissal of the $10bn lawsuit.What request has Trump claimed he made of Google? Trump has said Google rejected his request to rename the Atlantic Ocean after himself or America. Google has previously acceded to Trump's demands, with locations labeled Gulf of America" and Lake America" for US users at the president's request. Continue reading...
World's second largest brewer says use of drugs such as Wegovy can reduce desire to drink alcohol Business live - latest updatesHeineken has warned British bars and pubs that the boom in popularity of weight-loss drugs could lead to a fall in sales of beer and cider.The world's second-largest brewer sent a presentation to British hospitality customers earlier this month that said the use of GLP-1 medication - such as Ozempic and Wegovy - could reduce the desire to drink alcohol. This in turn could result in fullness and fewer serves" of pints in pubs and bars, it added. Continue reading...
by Richard Partington Senior economics correspondent on (#7988V)
Economic fallout from war in Middle East adds to pressures on consumers and on chancellor before budgetConsumer confidence in the UK has fallen at the fastest rate outside the Covid pandemic since the 2016 Brexit vote as the escalating economic damage from the war in the Middle East hits Britain.With less than a week before John Healey's first budget, the latest barometer from the data company GfK indicated confidence plunged by 11 percentage points in October to -24 amid pressure on consumers from the rising cost of living. Continue reading...
Case filed in 2022 by patient unable to afford medicine leads to cap on drug prices for millions who face ruin if diagnosedThe Indian government has moved to reduce the price of cancer drugs after a retired bank clerk took her case to the supreme court.From next month, 137 cancer drugs in India will be cheaper as the government tries to tackle the tragedy of poorer patients either forgoing treatment, selling land or falling into debt to meet the high cost of some medicines, which are making large profits for hospitals and pharmacists. Continue reading...
Officials will call on UK to step up' financial support at Brussels summit - with post-Brexit issues also on agendaEU leaders will press Andy Burnham at a summit in Brussels to contribute more to Ukraine's defence effort in 2027.EU officials argue that the UK, Canada and Japan should do more to support Ukraine, but entreaties to these G7 countries for extra financial aid at recent international meetings have not been answered, Brussels says. Continue reading...
Regular users detail their frustrations - and question whether Andy Burnham's crackdown on antisocial behaviour will actually workAndy Burnham has announced a campaign against nuisance behaviour on public transport, including headphone dodgers" who play loud music.We've all been on the train when someone starts blasting music or videos from their phone," Burnham said in a statement. It gets on your nerves and can quickly spoil the journey." Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: Born from the fury surrounding the deadly Novi Sad station collapse, Serbia's Student List has taken its protests all the way to the elections in an unprecedented grassroots campaignGood morning. As waves of youth-led protests swell across Europe, prompted by the cost of living, unaffordable housing and education standards, in Serbia the younger generation is taking on the apparatus of the state itself.In tight-run parliamentary elections this Sunday, the country's most consequential political movement in decades, Student List, is challenging former Slobodan Miloevi henchman Aleksandar Vui and his 12-year domination of Serbian politics.UK news | Every Briton is being urged to stock up to nine litres of bottled water and three days' worth of food in new government guidance designed to ensure that households can survive a weather, cyber or other serious emergency.Ukraine | Russia has carried out a massive demonstrative" attack on Ukraine, bombarding Kyiv with ballistic missiles just hours after Vladimir Putin said he had agreed to resume trilateral negotiations.UK politics | Nigel Farage's newest billionaire donor was in business with a powerful Iranian religious foundation under the authority of the country's supreme leader.Europe news | Emmanuel Macron has said illegitimate" demonstrations will be banned over the coming days as France seeks to get a grip on civil unrest after some of its worst street violence in years.Energy | Great Britain is expected to pay some of the highest energy costs in Europe this winter as its reliance on imports to ensure a steady supply is forecast to deepen. Continue reading...
Official forecasts show country will meet energy demand by paying high prices to secure importsGreat Britain is expected to pay some of the highest energy costs in Europe this winter as its reliance on imports to ensure a steady supply is forecast to deepen.Energy system operators have said the country will have enough gas and electricity to meet demand over the coldest months - in part because of paying higher market prices than neighbouring markets to secure imports. Continue reading...
Protests and fringe violence expose sharp divide between marginalised and immigrant youth and those with greater prospectsMartina Micciche was filming riot police kicking and beating a teenager with batons as they dragged him along Piazza del Duomo, the central Milan square hosting its cathedral, when she was struck by a flying object, causing a deep gash and bruising near her right eye.The journalist had joined hundreds of mostly young people marching through the northern Italian city on Saturday afternoon to protest over soaring living costs and unaffordable housing, echoing the wider wave of economic discontent fuelling protests across Europe. Continue reading...
Exclusive: West Streeting says MoD in talks amid legal challenge by LGBT staff forced out of militaryWes Streeting is pursuing an out-of-court resolution to a legal battle over compensation for gay veterans who were forced to resign from the armed forces because of their sexuality.The defence secretary told the Guardian the Ministry of Defence was holding talks this week in the midst of a high court challenge over rules that blocked some veterans receiving 50,000 payments despite being forced out of military service. Continue reading...
by Lisa O’Carroll Senior correspondent on (#798AF)
Visa quotas, university fees and NHS surcharges remain sticking points ahead of post-Brexit negotiations next monthA deadline for a youth mobility scheme between the EU and the UK could be deferred by six months in a bid to ensure Andy Burnham has a successful reset" summit on 20 November, diplomats have said.EU ambassadors in Brussels on Wednesday heard that the UK was still insisting on international tuition fees, quotas and an NHS surcharge for EU students. This has fuelled fears the summit could fail, just as the prime minister is promising to unveil a new vision for Britain's long-term relationship with the EU. Continue reading...
People succumbed to heat at highest rates in Malta, Italy and Hungary, with health issues, loneliness and poverty exacerbating tollHeat killed a record 50,000 people in European cities this summer, new research suggests, with scientists blaming climate breakdown for two in every three of the deaths.Morgues and funeral homes filled with bodies from June to August as the heat added by planet-baking pollution cut short an extra 32,000 lives in urban areas, the researchers found. Hot days pushed vulnerable bodies into overdrive and warm nights prevented them from recovering. Continue reading...
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