World news | The Guardian

Premier confirms levy, which was intended to help pay for the multibillion-dollar Suburban Rail Loop and other Big Build projects, will be abolished

Entire populated areas swept away after glacial collapse causes catastrophic flood in mountainous region popular with trekkers and pilgrims

Airline declines to predict impact of new carry-on luggage charge on Jetstar revenue or ticket sales, saying it is offering customers choice'

Horticulturalists begin moving and propagating plants before the rusty and warped Palm House begins renovation - but some are too tall to saveIt will be a gut-wrenching moment for the horticulturalists at Kew Gardens when some of the magnificent trees in the Palm House have to be felled.There are some sad moments ahead," said Palm House manager, Will Spoelstra, who knows all the plants inside the cathedral-like greenhouse. Continue reading...

Exclusive: utility company wants to draw off tens of millions of litres of water a day from Thames and replace it with treated effluentLevels of a toxic forever chemical" rose to 13 times the legal limit during Thames Water pilots for a controversial multimillion pound water recycling scheme that will pump millions of litres of treated sewage into the River Thames during drought.The data from the pilots is in stark contrast to public comments from Thames Water that their water recycling project in south-west London will not harm the riverine environment. Continue reading...

Allegations Nathan Cofnas was unqualified for Ghent role and would cause negative impact' made to senior leaders months agoNathan Cofnas, the academic who accused Jason Arday of plagiarism, has been accused of having very limited expertise" for his academic role by professors also working at Ghent University, who say he has a far-right agenda".Cofnas secured a postdoctoral research role on the future of liberalism" at Belgium's Ghent University in March. Weeks later, Ghent's department of philosophy and moral sciences handed a 19-page statement to university officials, setting out why it believed it was improbable" that Cofnas was the best candidate. Continue reading...

The 80-seat venue at Edinburgh fringe combines sauna rituals with theatre, music, storytelling ... and sweatTucked away behind the Summerhall arts centre is the hottest new venue at the Edinburgh fringe ... quite literally. The Sauna theatre has proved popular among theatregoers at the world's largest performing arts festival, with shows inside its purpose-built, 80-seat sauna drawing sweaty, swimwear-clad crowds.Visitors may be forgiven for thinking the sauna is a gimmick, especially at the fringe where absurd, experimental and ludicrous performances are not uncommon. This year they include a man drinking his own urine, someone singing the same song over and over, physical feats of exertion and several fully naked shows. Continue reading...

Parliamentary committee welcomes fact most of 472 missing have been found but extremely concerned' for restForty children who went missing from hotels housing asylum seekers in the UK have still not been found, according to a parliamentary report.Ministers are facing calls from MPs and peers to explain what they are doing to locate the group, two of whom are believed to still be under 18. The figure emerged in a report on Thursday by the joint committee on human rights on how the social care system is failing young adults. Continue reading...

Comte, beaufort and abondance makers can temporarily supplement cows' diets as there is no grass left to eat'Strict production rules will be loosened for some of France's most famous cheeses after drought and repeated heatwaves dried out grazing pastures, threatening the livelihoods of traditional dairy workers.Comte, a hard cheese made from raw cows' milk in the Jura mountains, is France's top-selling traditional cheese, with more than 62,000 tonnes produced last year. The government announced on Wednesday that its producers would be granted a temporary change to strict rules on grazing after farmers said extreme heat had scorched their pastures, putting production at risk. Continue reading...

Powerful floods in Himalayan border area sweep away houses, roads and bridges

From the 1950s to the 2020s, Kusama produced vivid paintings, sculptures and vast installations that often drew on her experience of hallucinationsYayoi Kusama, the Japanese outsider artist who reached superstar status after decades living in a psychiatric hospital, has died aged 97.Kusama died in a Tokyo hospital on 14 August, her studio announced in a statement on her website on Thursday. Continue reading...

Paramedics called to northern beaches home on Sunday evening before 16-year-old dies in hospital on Tuesday night after sexual strangulation act

Actor says she had the weirdest six months of my life', after being diagnosed days after her Dawson's Creek co-star James Van Der Beek died of cancerBusy Philipps has revealed she had a brain tumour removed, which was diagnosed shortly after her Dawson's Creek co-star James Van Der Beek died from bowel cancer.The 47-year-old, born Elizabeth Philipps, starred in the hit US teen drama as Audrey Liddell opposite Van Der Beek, who died in February aged 48 after being diagnosed with bowel cancer. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Arturo Bejar, an ex-Facebook employee and whistleblower, said outcome is not an all clear to say the product is safe'

Both children were born on same day in November 2025 in situation so rare it had not been contemplated by state surrogacy laws

Andy Burnham stops short of pledging further help as gas and electricity prices due to increase by 4% in OctoberHouseholds are unlikely to receive further energy bills support before the October price cap, though more targeted measures could be looked at if there is a further shock in January, government sources said.Gas and electricity prices will rise by 4% from October under the new cap. The government has already removed VAT from domestic electricity bills to save average households 45 a year, a move announced in Andy Burnham's first week in office. Continue reading...

Paid employment can boost confidence and wellbeing, says Pat McFadden as jobs guarantee scheme gets under wayWork must be part of the answer" to the mental health crisis among young people, the work and pensions secretary, Pat McFadden, has said as he met some of the first beneficiaries of Labour's youth jobs guarantee scheme.He was speaking on a visit to Boots's headquarters in Nottingham on Wednesday, where several 18- to 21-year-olds were taken on under the job guarantee - with their wages paid by the taxpayer for six months. Continue reading...

DIY system will be stocked by big retailers, starting with Argos, enabling more homes to lower bills by generating own electricityPlug-in solar panels will go on sale in the UK for the first time from Thursday, allowing households unable to use rooftop panels to also generate their own cheap electricity.Households across the country will be able to join the millions across mainland Europe who generate their own renewable electricity using balcony solar panels", which will be stocked by some of the UK's biggest retailers. Continue reading...

More than 400 travellers are said to be missing after flood on Tibet border, including 33 Britons

PM said he would set bar at 500k, but trade unions say funding reforms could undermine their ability to donate to LabourAndy Burnham has dropped his support for capping political donations, causing anger among activists and Labour MPs who have long campaigned for change to the way parties are funded.The prime minister has decided not to back amendments to the elections bill, which would cap the amount a person or an organisation can give in a single donation, according to government sources. Continue reading...

Streeting says role is chance to show strength and challenge stereotype that persists in dark corners of internet'Wes Streeting has described receiving a mass of homophobic abuse since he was made defence secretary last month, while also saying his appointment had been welcomed by some in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) as a sign of change.Until 2000, gay men and lesbian women were banned from serving in the UK military, with about 200-plus personnel thrown out of the forces each year due to their sexuality - an estimate, as proper records were not kept. Continue reading...

At least 157 people dead and hundreds of tourists among missing after roads, bridges and power plants swept away

Murder inquiry launched after blaze in Grangetown area, amid investigation into collision in which seven diedA murder investigation has been launched after two people were killed in a house fire in Middlesbrough, with police not ruling out links to organised crime or the crash on the A66 on Saturday that killed seven people including two police officers.A child was one of those killed in the blaze in the early hours of Wednesday and a woman was in a critical condition in hospital. Three other people sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Two men aged 23 and 31 have been arrested on suspicion of murder. Continue reading...

FDA officials approve first-of-a-kind pill called daraxonrasib to fight one of the deadliest types of cancerThe US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a groundbreaking new drug for the most common form of pancreatic cancer, offering US patients a more effective treatment against one of the deadliest types of the disease.FDA officials gave expedited approval to the first-of-a-kind pill, called daraxonrasib, that blocks a mutated protein which fuels tumor growth in more than 90% of pancreatic cancer cases. It's an approach that has eluded drugmakers for decades. Continue reading...

Albanian criminal has cut bars, descended sheets and even used human pyramid in escapes in Italy and BelgiumPolice in Spain have arrested a dangerous Albanian criminal nicknamed the escape wizard" who has managed to break out of four jails in Italy and Belgium by sawing through bars, clambering down knotted sheets and even using a human pyramid to breach prison walls.The fugitive, who has not been officially named, was arrested after officers from the Policia Nacional force discovered he was living in the north-eastern Spanish city of Tarragona. He was the subject of a European arrest warrant issued by the Italian authorities. Continue reading...

Insecure Men singer has now been dropped by his record label and had tour dates cancelled after two women shared allegations about his behaviourSaul Adamczewski of Insecure Men and formerly of Fat White Family has been dropped by his record label and had tour dates cancelled after two women shared allegations of physical and emotional abuse against the musician.One woman said that the pair had a short relationship that resulted in a pregnancy, after which, she alleged, Adamczewski made it his duty to make me suffer. He has been violent, pushed me, thrown glass bottles at me, showered me with beer [...] insulted me, taken my passport from me, stolen my money and more, all while I had our baby." Continue reading...

The sense of futility hanging over the room was almost overwhelming as Robert Jenrick took the stageIt's turning out to be one of the longer sulks in Nigel Farage's already sulk-filled career. Few politicians are better at having a strop and holding a grudge than Nige. At least on this side of the Atlantic. Donald Trump could give Farage a run for his money, but skin doesn't come much thinner than Nige's. He's the soul of the Reform party as long as he's the centre of attention and the yes-men and women - that's everyone - around him are saying yes. But the moment reality challenges his narcissism, the mirror cracks.There was a time when you couldn't keep Nige away from a TV camera or a gathering of reporters. It's what he lived for. But ever since the Guardian revealed his 5m gift from the crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne, Farage has gone all shy. Unable to bear the humiliation of being seen for the man he really is. The posh. The entitled. The venal. The grifter. Everything he has spent the last 25 years trying to persuade people he isn't. Continue reading...

Bird eggs intercepted in homemade incubators at Johannesburg airport as officials try to halt wildlife traffickingSouth African police have arrested two Thai nationals in separate incidents for allegedly attempting to smuggle endangered parrot eggs out of the country as authorities try to stem the tide of wildlife trafficking.A 50-year-old Thai national was arrested at OR Tambo international airport in Johannesburg on 20 August, carrying 50 bird eggs in a homemade incubator in a hand-luggage bag, South Africa's environment ministry said in a statement. Continue reading...

Research finds just 0.1-0.4% of the total insured population will ditch insurance, while the government will save as much as $940m a year

Reform MP seeks to heap pressure on Tory leader amid confusion around details of meeting with Giorgia MeloniRobert Jenrick has accused Kemi Badenoch of telling a pack of lies" about her meeting with the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, as he launched a deeply personal attack on his former boss.The Reform UK MP sought to heap pressure on the Conservative leader amid confusion about whether Meloni urged Badenoch at a meeting in Rome to be her own woman" and resist doing a deal with his party. Continue reading...

Prime minister spoke to press while on visit to a Sainsbury's supermarket in London this morningOver 40,000 more people died on the hottest days in England between 1988 and 2025 than would be expected, according to data published by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday.The figures do not include this summer, when England has sweltered under a succession of heatwaves and is on track to record its highest ever number of heat-related deaths. The UK Health Security Agency announced on 30 July that an estimated 2,877 people had died in the May and June heatwaves alone. The total is almost double the figure for the whole summer in 2025. Continue reading...

Neil Gilson completes 230-mile challenge after a tough' 22-hour crossing of Lac LemanHe staggered rather than sprang out of the lake but it wasn't surprising.Neil Gilson, a former international athlete, could be forgiven for feeling a little wobbly, having become the first person to swim the 10 largest lakes in Switzerland, a total of about 230 miles (370km). Continue reading...

Academic was found unresponsive by family members, inquest told, as coroner adjourns proceedings to later dateA coroner has formally opened an inquest into the death of Jason Arday, who resigned as a professor at the University of Cambridge amid allegations of plagiarism.Arday, 41, died at his home in Battersea, south London on 14 August, nine days after his resignation. Family members watched the 10-minute hearing at London inner south coroner's court via a video link. Continue reading...

Scientists found those who had used hormone replacement therapy were 10% less likely to be diagnosed with dementiaHormone replacement therapy may reduce the risk of dementia, a study has found.Scientists tracked more than 180,000 postmenopausal women in the UK in the largest study of its kind. They found that those who had used HRT were 10% less likely to develop any type of dementia and 16% less likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the most common form, compared with those who had never used it. Continue reading...

To Nicola, Love Peter will focus on couple's relationship during 12-year period of embezzlement and fallout of caseChannel 5 is reuniting with the producers of Power: the Downfall of Huw Edwards for a drama about how Nicola Sturgeon's former husband embezzled 400,000 from the Scottish National party and the impact it had on her reputation.To Nicola, Love Peter will examine the couple's relationship over the 12-year period that Peter Murrell diverted funds from the SNP while he was the chief executive to spend on items including a 124,550 motorhome and more than 2,600 on a pair of luxury salt and pepper grinders. Continue reading...

The public health emergencies in 2022 and 2024 saw the virus reported in 145 countries, but in the new cases children appear particularly affectedA fresh outbreak of mpox in Guinea Bissau - the country's first - means the virus formerly known as monkey pox is back in the headlines. So what has changed?Since 2022, there have been almost 190,000 lab-confirmed cases of mpox reported worldwide in 145 countries. Before then, outbreaks of mpox tended to be relatively small and in a handful of African countries, where the viral infection was known to be endemic. Continue reading...

Efforts to rebuild domestic food production face severe challenges and have come at deadly costAs Gaza's population of 2.1 million has been hemmed into an ever smaller slice of the territory, farmers are using every last remaining patch of unspoiled earth, no matter how tiny, in their struggle to survive.With severe shortages of water, fertiliser and pesticide, and with more than 80% of greenhouses ruined, it has taken inventiveness and determination to clear land of debris and coax new seedlings into life. Moreover, venturing out into the open to tend to plants can be deadly. Continue reading...

ONS data shows rising toll of climate crisis, with officials warning this summer on track to set further recordsMore than 40,000 more people died on the hottest days in England between 1988 and 2025 than would be expected in normal temperatures, according to data published by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday.The figures do not include this summer, when England has sweltered under a succession of heatwaves and is on track to record its highest ever number of heat-related deaths. The UK Health Security Agency announced on 30 July that an estimated 2,877 people had died in the May and June heatwaves alone. The total is almost double the figure for the whole summer in 2025. Continue reading...

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Reproductive Freedom for All - one of the country's oldest pro-choice groups - backs Jackson in his fight against Republican Susan CollinsOne of the oldest abortion rights groups in the US is endorsing Troy Jackson, the Democratic nominee in Maine's critical US Senate race, according to details first shared with the Guardian.Reproductive Freedom for All is supporting Jackson, the former state senate president, in challenging Susan Collins - the fiveterm Republican incumbent who has been dogged on the campaign trail for her role in overturning abortion access in the US. Continue reading...

Legendary country singer died surrounded by loved ones after being diagnosed with cancer, her team says; Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Dionne Warwick lead tributes

In Ghana, a grassroots movement is championing nutritious, homegrown, climate-resilient produce, rather than western importsAfter three years at catering school, Abiro Wisdom was certain of one thing - he did not want to go into catering. At least not the route that he might be expected to take. His course at Accra Technical University had prepared students for working in international hotels, focusing on French, Italian and Mexican cuisine. The nutritious, homegrown food that Wisdom had eaten while growing up in Bolgatanga, northern Ghana, did not feature at all.I didn't see myself there," he says of the big chain hotels. I felt I wouldn't be myself working there - I wouldn't be able to talk about the food from where I come from." Continue reading...

Lily Tomlin, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Celine Dion and Oprah Winfrey are among those remembering the queen of country after she died aged 80

Commissioner Angela Jackson also said it was disappointing' that Anthony Albanese had ruled out changes to Western Australia's GST arrangements

Labor put levy on all public transport fares in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria' since January 2025, auditor general finds, as questions raised over premier's involvement

Authorities at biggest state hospital in Islamabad say 15 babies were in the ward when fire broke outAt least 14 newborn babies have died in a fire that broke out in the maternity ward at one of Pakistan's most prominent state hospitals.The blaze began in the early hours of Wednesday and engulfed the ward at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, the biggest state hospital in Islamabad. Continue reading...

Civil society groups argue climate crisis means transport sector needs to urgently reduce its carbon emissionsDozens of civil society groups have demanded the UK government do more to promote cycling and walking, after this summer's extreme heat exposed the desperate need to decarbonise transport.This summer's heatwaves and wildfires were immediate, real-world manifestations of the climate emergency", the groups said, making reform of transport - responsible for more carbon emissions than any other sector in the UK - an urgent priority. Continue reading...

Bureau of Statistics says CPI was 3.5% in July, casting doubt on Reserve Bank meeting its 2.5% inflation target without further hike

Australia's first Olympic breakdancer became a viral sensation after her performance at Paris 24, where she failed to receive a single pointRachael Raygun" Gunn says her performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics was not as bad as I thought!" after the Sydney-based breakdancer revealed she had finally watched back the moment that catapulted her to international fame - and mockery.The Sydney academic turned speaker was Australia's first Olympic breakdancer and became a viral sensation after her unconventional routine at Paris 2024, where she failed to receive a single point from the judges. Continue reading...