World news | The Guardian

Fires displace people on massive scale and trigger one of the largest peacetime civilian evacuation operations ever carried out in France

PM's team can be seen as backward step even though in some ways it is more diverse. Yet its makeup points to wider access to power

Experts say evidence for cognitive screening desired by health secretary not great' as taskforce idle since last yearThe US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, has called for better Alzheimer's screening - but a critical federal panel that might have helped researchers find practical ways to do that has been prevented from meeting for more than a year.The panel, formally called the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), had planned to issue a recommendation on screening for cognitive decline this year, alongside 13 other topics as varied as autism screening and food allergy prevention. Continue reading...

President harks back to red scare of his childhood to attack US left - but will such language resonate beyond Maga base?Perhaps above all else, Donald Trump is a child of the cold war.Three months before the US president was born, Winston Churchill delivered a historic speech in Fulton, Missouri, that ushered in a generations-long existential struggle between western capitalism and Soviet communism. Continue reading...

PM promises to defend national interest before anything else' in first big broadcast interview since entering No 10Andy Burnham has promised to disagree with Donald Trump if necessary, including in public, in his first big broadcast interview since becoming prime minister.Burnham's comments came as Wes Streeting, the new defence secretary, said he did not believe the Trump administration was looking for allies who suck up", but rather those with the confidence to set out disagreements when needed. Continue reading...

Authorities ask for help finding 21-year-old, identified only as Abdul B, after van ramming in German capitalGerman authorities have issued a wanted notice for a fugitive suspect in the van ramming near Berlin's Pride festival that left one person dead and injured at least 16 others.Police and prosecutors asked for help in finding the 21-year-old, whom they identified as Abdul B. They said he was believed to have injured several people with a moving vehicle on Saturday night, and that one or more people apparently then left that vehicle. Several people were also apparently stabbed, they added. Continue reading...

England's progress provides best football-related uplift of recent years, with one pub too packed to host its Dolly Parton tributeLate opening hours and England's progress to the semi-final of an expanded World Cup helped provide the best football-related uplift of recent years for pubs, figures suggest.Pubs poured 30m extra pints over the course of the tournament compared with a normal trading period, with busy pumps delivering 150m in added sales, according to the British Beer & Pubs Association (BBPA). Continue reading...

Adrian Howe's family believe that fears his deal would be financially ruinous led him to kill himselfThe family of a former mobile phone store manager who was found drowned days before his new Vodafone franchise was to open its doors is pressing the government to introduce a new franchising law in his name.The call comes a week after Vodafone settled a long-running legal claim filed by 62 of its former franchisees who alleged that the company unjustly enriched" itself at their expense by up to 85m. Continue reading...

The president really has no power over elections - but that hasn't stopped Trump from laying the groundwork to challenge results in NovemberWhen Donald Trump commandeered primetime US television last Friday, he delivered a familiar, but still extraordinary, message. The president argued once again that the results of the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden, were illegitimate.US elections are vulnerable to being rigged and stolen", Trump alleged, claiming that the trust of the American people was lost" when he was defeated. Continue reading...

Government-backed investigation finds risks are normalised amid a narrowing of the public conversation'Journalists are self-censoring their reporting on rightwing protests, Donald Trump's administration and trans issues because of growing concerns about their personal safety, with newsrooms accused of normalising" the risks they face.Hundreds of journalists from across the UK have anonymously disclosed increasing nervousness over their security. Some have reported avoiding or altering coverage on certain topics due to intimidation, leading to self-censorship and a narrowing of the public conversation". Continue reading...

Allowing use of two neonicotinoids to combat crop-ruining disease will kill bees and reduce harvests, union saysBeekeepers and environmentalists in France have reacted furiously after parliament approved a bill reauthorising two banned pesticides scientists say can poison bees.There are no words to describe the frustration," said Carolyn Bouguet, a beekeeper in Essonne, greater Paris. Bee populations have already been badly compromised by climate change, new parasites and loss of habitat. And now this." Continue reading...

This blog is now closedWe're cohesive': PM says after muted ALP national conferenceThe prime minister, Anthony Albanese, spoke with David Speers on Insiders as Labor's 50th national conference in Adelaide was wrapping up.Well, our government does listen to people but [there was a] broad consensus about the direction in which we're taking government ... A government that doesn't sit idle. We don't just occupy the space. And there's recognition of that from delegates that we are a united party We're cohesive. Continue reading...

Campaigners say existing federal ban on phone or video calls for assisted dying consultations adversely affects people living in regional Australia

Scottish first minister thanks Nethy Bridge residents and aid workers after earlier requesting UK military aid to fight 10-day fireResidents of Nethy Bridge have been told they can return to their homes after a large fire broke out in the Cairngorms national park.Supt Judy Hill of Police Scotland said: Thanks to the efforts of fire crews, gamekeepers, contractors, partners and many others over the past 24 hours, there is no longer the immediate threat which prompted the evacuation of properties in Nethy Bridge. Continue reading...

Scotland Yard is looking at two 250,000 donations to the party by Britain Means Business before the 2024 electionPayments to Reform UK first revealed by the Guardian are now being investigated by the Metropolitan police.The inquiry is scrutinising payments made to the party via a company controlled by its deputy leader, Richard Tice. Continue reading...

Temperatures of 95-105F (35-40C) are expected, spanning Gulf of Mexico coast to the Great Plains and the midwestAbout 70 million people in the US are set to face excessive heat advisories as dangerously hot temperatures scorch much of the country's southern and central states.The third major heat dome" event to hit the US in the past month is gathering strength over the weekend, spanning a vast swathe of the country, from the Gulf of Mexico coast to the Great Plains and the midwest. Continue reading...

Vega made remarks to ABC's John Quinones at National Association of Hispanic Journalists conferenceCecilia Vega, the former 60 Minutes correspondent, said on Thursday she felt pressured by CBS News's executives to incorporate political bias" into segments for the broadcast program.Vega made the remarks during an onstage interview with John Quinones, the ABC News correspondent, at the National Association of Hispanic Journalists' annual conference in New Orleans. Her comments were first reported by Status. Continue reading...

Meanwhile, in the UK, a blaze in the Cairngorms national park has been described as very serious' by Scotland's first minister

Hundreds of firefighters battle blazes as strong winds drive fires towards Bordeaux and smoke prompts health warnings in MadridUnrestrained wildfires in Spain and France have forced more than 250,000 people to flee, authorities from both countries have said, as they struggle to contain the blazes.About 70,000 people were evacuated from central Spain, while 197,000 people fled in France, including tens of thousands from the wine region city of Bordeaux. Continue reading...

Dharmendra Pradhan steps down after demonstrations over exam leak scandal, prompting celebrations among thousands of protestersIndia's education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, has resigned after a week of mass demonstrations, handing a major victory to a new youth movement that has posed an unprecedented challenge to Narendra Modi's government.In a statement on Saturday afternoon, Pradhan said he had submitted his letter of resignation to the prime minister after student pressure. Continue reading...

Bollywood stars accused of cowardice' as hundreds of thousands of young Indians take to the streets to challenge governmentBollywood stars and other Indian celebrities have faced fierce criticism for staying silent in the face of some of the biggest protests India has seen in years.Hundreds of thousands of young Indians took to the streets this week as part of a new youth movement that calls itself the Cockroach Janata party (CJP), demanding accountability over exam paper leaks in an unprecedented challenge to prime minister Narendra Modi's government. Many vented their anger against what they saw as cowardice" from India's biggest celebrities. Continue reading...

Robot from company that acquired sex doll maker to be introduced in school with large Native American populationA humanoid robot is being introduced as part of a pilot program, along with an AI teaching assistant, at Salamanca high school in Salamanca, New York, located on the Allegany territory of the Seneca nation.Teachers have criticized the program, deeming it inappropriate" and claiming it dehumanizes the profession with the introduction of human-like robots. Some local Native American residents have also criticized the pilot program, citing its implementation as culturally tone deaf". Continue reading...

Initiatives including cutting permits just to serve ice-cream amount to a sweeping program of deregulationRed Scare? The democratic socialist mayor of New York City spent this week talking about red tape.On Tuesday, Zohran Mamdani - the politician at the center of a revived rightwing panic about socialists and purported communists winning elections across America - posted a video on X of himself putting a sheet of paper with the phrase RED TAPE" into a paper shredder. Other pieces of paper, with phrases like cumbersome fees and fines" and a permit you need just to serve ice-cream", were shredded too. The video, set to Wu Tang Clan's If Time Is Money, shows Mamdani joining a handful of city officials and small business owners throwing the resulting paper shreds into the air like confetti. Continue reading...

Jewellery made from BC Iran worn at Odyssey photocall throws spotlight on the trade of rare archeological findsThe Odyssey has stormed cinemas, but while its take on the Homeric epic has created ripples among western classicists, it is an actor's earrings that have made waves further afield.Zendaya, who portrays the goddess Athena in the movie, provoked outrage when she appeared at a London photocall wearing earrings that were allegedly made from Iranian artefacts dating back to the 1st millennium BC. Continue reading...

Comment follows news Axel Rudakubana was transferred from prison to psychiatric hospitalThe lawyer for the families of Axel Rudakubana's victims has said the Southport killer is trying to retraumatise the families from his cell" after it emerged he had been transferred from prison to a psychiatric hospital.Rudakubana, now 19, was given a life sentence for the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and the attempted murder of eight other children and two adults. Continue reading...

I can't tolerate this life,' said the 24-year-old in his last voice message to his relatives. Attacked by the military, a rebel army and criminal gangs, Siraz Ullah risked all for a better futureThe fear was audible as he spoke, recording a message to his family, asking for their prayers. After pressing send, 24-year-old Siraz Ullah boarded a boat he hoped could deliver him from the violence and persecution surrounding him at home in Myanmar.Instead, Siraz is among 500 Rohingya refugees who have vanished at sea after setting sail for Malaysia in late June. Continue reading...

Campaigners urge government to introduce right of access to water, particularly as heatwaves become more commonAlmost three-quarters of riverbanks in England have no public access, according to data released by the Right to Roam campaign.Across the country, the public cannot use riverbanks or gain access to the rivers themselves in most of the river catchments from the west of Cornwall up to the Tweed, which flows through northern England and Scotland. Continue reading...

In the Warrington suburb of Culcheth, people are hopeful about what one of their own can achieve as the first northern PM in half a centuryThe Cherry Tree pub is an unassuming local. On a busy road in the Cheshire village of Culcheth, it is a chain-run pub where four shots cost 8, every burger comes with a soft drink, and sport is shown all day on the big screens. It is also a favourite of Andy Burnham, the new prime minister.Many of the drinkers have a story about - arguably - Culcheth's most famous son. Continue reading...

Jalsa Salana in Hampshire has had enhanced support from police, emergency services and local authoritiesSecurity has been increased by several hundred additional staff at the UK's largest Muslim convention, Jalsa Salana, alongside enhanced coordination with police, emergency services and local authorities, against a backdrop of growing anti-Muslim sentiment.Last month, another big Islamic gathering was forced to close early after 12 people were arrested, including three on suspicion of conspiracy to murder, over a suspected far-right threat. Continue reading...

In sea pools built with sandbags and rubble, Amjed Tantesh gives traumatised children brief respite from their daily livesSwimming classes have started again in Gaza after three years of war, with hundreds of children learning to float, doggy paddle and take their first strokes in five makeshift sea pools built from sandbags and rubble.The lessons allow a few hundred girls and boys to reclaim their childhood for a few hours in a place where there are no playgrounds, no formal education and children live in fear of continuing Israeli attacks. A UN survey in March found that 96% of children felt death was imminent.Activity on the Gaza seafront Continue reading...

Don't delay in taking advantage of the competition that is pushing up interest rates and increasing choice, experts sayIt is shaping up to be a decent summer for savers as fierce competition among providers pushes up interest rates and increases choice.You can currently get instant- and easy-access accounts that pay up to 5% interest, and fixed-rate savings bonds that pay almost that much. Meanwhile, those looking for a regular savings account can now get up to 8%. Continue reading...

Syngenta says it will stop selling paraquat in Australia after new regulations on chemical linked to Parkinson's disease

Officials have long lobbied for peak that rises 2,918 metres above sea level to be given coveted designationMore than four decades have elapsed since Evangelos Geroliolios made his first ascent to the home of the ancient gods. At the top of Mount Olympus, on the rocky peak of Greece's highest mountain, he felt unalloyed awe.I've never forgotten that unique moment, that unique feeling up there on the throne of Zeus," recalled Geroliolios, who as mayor of Dion-Olympus now spends a great deal of his time administering the area around the site. Continue reading...

Highly unpredictable' blaze forces evacuation of Cap Ferret on French coast and Spain declares national emergencyMore than 200,000 people have fled or been ordered to lock down as huge wildfires swept Spain and France on Friday, prompting Madrid to declare a national emergency and the French authorities to order the total evacuation, by land and sea, of one of the country's best-known holiday spots.Authorities in south-west France ordered the Cap Ferret peninsula on the Atlantic coast to be evacuated village by village" in the face of an intense, highly unpredictable" wildfire that has burned through more than 19,000 hectares (47,000 acres) of forest. Continue reading...

Isobella Perrie Sullivan, 25, remanded in custody after intelligence-led operation against dissident republicansA 25-year-old law student has been charged in relation to an extremely significant" bomb intercepted near the UK-Irish border.Isobella Perrie Sullivan, from Clane, County Kildare, was charged with possession of explosives at a special sitting of Trim district court on Friday evening. Continue reading...

After Google fined 890m by EU, US president said Brussels was robbing' American companies and taxpayers

The film-maker, also behind A Nightmare on Elm Street 3, died on Wednesday in his San Diego homeDirector Chuck Russell, who helped propel actors such as Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz and Dwayne The Rock" Johnson to the Hollywood A-list, was found dead in his San Diego, California, home on Wednesday. He was 74.Russell directed several box office hits in his decades-long career including A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, The Blob and The Mask. In 2002, his film The Scorpion King featured The Rock in his first leading role. Continue reading...

Colt Gray, who was 14 at time of attack on Apalachee high school, admits 55 charges including four counts of murderThe wife of a teacher killed in a high school shooting in Georgia two years ago told a court on Friday that the families of the four victims had been handed a life sentence of grief and trauma" by the teenage student who murdered them.Shayna Aspinwall, whose husband Richard died at Apalachee high school, about 45 miles north-east Atlanta, on 4 September 2024, was speaking at the sentencing hearing for Colt Gray, 16, who earlier pleaded to 55 charges, including second-degree murder. Continue reading...

Joanna Ruth Shields' body was discovered in a pool of water with suspicious marks, driving speculation she was attackedA young woman whose body was found in the backcountry of California's Big Sur with suspicious marks on her face and neck died of alcohol withdrawal, the Monterey county sheriff's office said on Thursday.The discovery of Joanna Ruth Shields' body back in April had driven widespread suspicion that she had been the victim of a violent attack. A group of hikers found Shields, 37, naked in a pool of water in the Sykes hot springs area of the Ventana wilderness with marks on her neck and a cut across her forehead. Continue reading...

The latest milestone, a recorded 2,318 infections, makes 2026 the worst year for measles in the US since 1991The US has officially surpassed last year's record number of measles infections, marking the highest case count since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000.New figures from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released on Friday show the country has recorded 2,318 measles cases in 2026, overtaking the 2,289 cases reported during all of 2025 - with five months still remaining in the year. The country crossed the 2,000-case threshold last month before climbing even higher in July. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Andy Burnham thought to be considering waiving stricter right to remain rules for people already working in the sectorHundreds of thousands of care workers could be exempted from the home secretary's plans to toughen up the immigration system under proposals being considered by Andy Burnham as he looks for ways to relieve pressure on the social care sector.The prime minister will give a speech next week spelling out his determination to start creating a National Care Service before the next general election as he looks to accelerate the process set up by his predecessor, Keir Starmer. Continue reading...

Member states vote to remove British barrister found to have committed serious misconduct over alleged sexual abuseThe prosecutor of the international criminal court, Karim Khan, has been removed from office after the court's oversight body found he had committed serious misconduct in connection to allegations of sexual abuse.The ICC's member states voted on Friday to oust the British prosecutor in an unprecedented move that concludes a damaging episode for the court two years after the allegations were first raised. Continue reading...

No end to fighting in sight as Revolutionary Guards launch drones at targets in Bahrain, Jordan and KuwaitThe US has struck targets across Iran, reaching as far as the Caspian Sea, as Donald Trump threatened major military punishment" for Tehran and its Houthi allies in Yemen for extending the war to a second shipping chokepoint at the entrance to the Red Sea.As Iran retaliated on Friday with missile and drone fire against US bases and allies across the region, the New York Times reported that Tehran had rejected a US ceasefire proposal delivered by the Iraq prime minister, Ali al-Zaidi. This despite the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, claiming a day earlier that Iran was begging for a ceasefire. Iraq later disputed the report. Continue reading...

At least 90 active blazes in British Columbia in what PM says is one of the country's most intense seasons on record

Metropolitan police say officers on marine policing boat are receiving treatment after incident in central LondonFive officers have been injured after a police boat struck Westminster Bridge in central London on Friday afternoon.The Metropolitan police said the incident occurred at about 3.40pm and involved a boat from the marine policing unit. Continue reading...

Latest attacks come after Trump vowed major military punishment' for Tehran and its Houthi alliesAs we reported earlier, Iran's military said on Friday that it carried out attacks targeting US military assets in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait in retaliation for Washington's latest strikes on the Islamic republic.Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corp, meanwhile, said they had targeted a data centre in Bahrain belonging to Amazon, according to state media, though neither the US tech giant nor Bahrain have commented on the claim. Continue reading...

Party briefing notes say: Daily routine of hit jobs and smears will not deter us from winning next general election'Reform UK has instructed its councillors to describe a police investigation into donations from the mother of George Cottrell as an establishment stitch-up, as polling showed the party's popularity plummeting.Internal briefing documents circulated to the party's councillors included instructions to respond to questions about a Metropolitan police investigation into party donations with: It is now clear that the establishment will try anything to stop us", the Times revealed on Thursday. Continue reading...

V&A event celebrates all shapes and sizes as wider fashion industry stalls on body diversityVisitors to London's Victoria and Albert Museum on Friday afternoon to watch Sinead O'Dwyer's Fashion in Motion show would have encountered something a little different. The cast of performers and models wore everything from underwear to skirt suits and sequins, and sometimes danced interpretively on the catwalk to a performance by the band Jeanie and The White Boys, but most notably came in all shapes and sizes.O'Dwyer's work has pushed against fashion's insistence on a thin body type since she appeared at London fashion week in 2021. If most brands make the samples for clothes shown on the catwalk based on a size 4-8, she uses a size 18. She has won awards for her work, as well as celebrity fans including Cardi B and Bjork. Continue reading...

A physio, a tailor and a historian on the style trends that can put women in hospital and how to avoid the dangersBuyer beware" is one of the oldest principles in English law. Now, a pair of wide legged trousers from Zara is bringing the phrase back to the forefront of shoppers' minds.On social media the 25.99 wide-legged trousers from the high-street retailer have earned the moniker Zara death pants" thanks to a slew of videos showing wearers tripping over the leg of the trousers and injuring themselves. Continue reading...

A 10,000 bar tab was drunk, there was a lot of anger', and now ex-ministers are thinking how to cooperate in futureKeir Starmer's leaving party had been planned for some time. But in years to come it might be seen as the birth of a new Labour movement.Dozens of ministers, aides and Starmer himself headed to the Grafton pub in Kentish Town on Monday night to drown their sorrows, hours after the former prime minister left Downing Street for the last time. Continue reading...