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Michael Marra supports development of the North Sea sites, calling for a more rational' approach to energy policyScottish Labour's new leader Michael Marra has backed the development of the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gasfields in the North Sea in one of his first acts after being elected, calling for a more rational" approach to energy policy.On Saturday, the MSP for North East Scotland won a near two-thirds majority to lead the party in Holyrood, becoming Scottish Labour's 11th leader. He replaces Anas Sarwar after his shock decision to resign in July to join Andy Burnham's new government as a trade minister. Continue reading...

Steven Kolb of the Council of Fashion Designers of America was filmed during an altercation at New York fashion weekThe chief executive of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, Steven Kolb, has resigned after he was filmed physically restraining two animal rights activists during an altercation at New York fashion week.After 20 years leading the CFDA, I have made the difficult decision to step down as CEO and president," Kolb said in a statement. I am enormously proud of what we have built together and believe this is the right moment for both me and the organisation to begin a new chapter." Continue reading...

The revelation left experts scratching their heads at exactly what Donald Trump has in his cosmic arsenal'In Hollywood at least, space weapons are a relatively simple concept. The good guys, from Captain Kirk and his crew in Star Trek, to Luke Skywalker's rebel alliance in Star Wars, battle intergalactic villains with an array of colorful lasers and particle-beam cannons, then the bad guys get dispatched in a spectacular, explosive finale.The messaging coming out of the White House on the subject, by contrast, could not be more vague. Continue reading...

Case highlights severe financial strain on sector across UK as string of university housing schemes fail

Fed chair presided over unanimous decision to raise interest rates despite intense campaign from White HouseIn the end, Kevin Warsh's Federal Reserve acquitted itself well. For all the uncertainty he had sparked at the previous meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, when he refused to provide any indication of what he was prepared to do to tame stubborn inflation, the chair on Wednesday presided over a unanimous decision to raise interest rates for the first time in three years.Today's action starts to show that we're serious about this," he said at the press conference after the meeting, with this" meaning inflation in excess of the Fed's 2% target for over five years. Welcome though it was, his embrace of economic orthodoxy nonetheless did little to dispel the Keystone Cops quality of governance in Donald Trump's US. Continue reading...

As villagers take stock following symbolic vote, some fear far-right weaponisation of asylum dispute and influx of masked people like in Dover'The first significant event in the newly independent principality of Piddington was a decision to select the newt as the national animal, reflecting optimism that the amphibian's endangered status might help block plans to open a centre for 1,250 asylum seekers on neighbouring land.The choice was announced on Thursday morning, the day after Piddington announced that villagers had voted overwhelmingly to leave the UK. Parish councillors were also thinking about asking local children to design a flag and considering whether the new principality's national sport should be cricket or football. Continue reading...

Co-owner of Manchester United says Britain is in decline because of high taxes and immigrationThe co-owner of Manchester United Sir Jim Ratcliffe has described the UK as being a country on the slide" from the days when it had the greatest empire in the world".Ratcliffe, who founded petrochemicals giant Ineos, and has resided in Monaco, which has a relaxed tax regime, since 2020, said Britain is in decline because of high taxes and immigration. Continue reading...

About 280 people taken to safety from the Grand Burstin in Folkestone after blaze thought to have started in basementHundreds of people have been evacuated from a hotel in Folkestone after a large fire broke out overnight.Emergency services were called just after 1am on Saturday to the Grand Burstin hotel in Folkestone, where a fire is believed to have started in the basement, Kent fire and rescue service said. Continue reading...

Exclusive: key White House loyalist orchestrating multi-agency effort condemned by critics as cruel and racistStephen Miller is leading an unprecedented and intense White House drive across a host of government departments to accelerate the removal of undocumented immigrant children from the US, using tactics that critics say are cruel and racist and, in some cases, flout federal law, the Guardian has learned.As deputy chief of staff at the White House, focused on immigration policy, Miller is seen as the mastermind and enforcer behind Donald Trump's hardline anti-immigration agenda. Continue reading...

Jake Richards says changes would be part of carrot-and-stick' approach to try to turn around young offendersParents whose children commit crimes could lose their benefits, face fines and even be jailed, a minister has said.Jake Richards said the youth justice system should hold parents to account in a proportionate way for ensuring that they play their role in keeping communities safe". Continue reading...

Crypto billionaires' 72m will be used to hire campaign managers and professional staff in target constituenciesFor Nigel Farage, the 72m lavished last week on his party by the crypto billionaire donors Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne finally places Reform UK on a level playing field with its political rivals.The donations are the largest received by a UK political party since declarations became required in 2001 and led to warnings Farage was aiming to buy" his way to power, with a row still raging over whether they are legal. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Lib Dem leader bullish ahead of party conference despite static poll ratings and MPs' frustrationsThe Liberal Democrats have begun work on a new manifesto in case of a possible snap election, as Ed Davey said he understood the frustrations of some of his MPs who fear that the party's message is currently at risk of being lost.But Davey also urged his party not to panic at static polling numbers, arguing that with tactical voting and fragmented political loyalties, he fully expects the party to do even better at the next election than in 2024, when it won 72 seats, the highest total for a century. Continue reading...

Much of the UK is still officially in drought after its hottest summer on record, but grasslands are slowly recovering their colourThe landscapes of southern England and Wales are slowly regaining their colour after this summer's extreme heat.The UK's hottest summer on record left the south of the country dried out and brown, making the impact of the drought particularly visual. Continue reading...

German minister says companies are exploiting situation' in Middle East, as sky-high prices become major domestic issue for leadersEuropean governments have discussed imposing a bloc-wide windfall tax on energy companies, as near-record fuel and gas prices pile pressure on leaders desperate to contain mounting public discontent and the challenge of the far right.With elections due next year in eight EU countries including France, Italy, Spain and Poland, leaders are scrambling to head off the potential fallout from what analysts have warned could be one of the continent's biggest energy shocks in decades. Continue reading...

Man, 63, fatally bitten by shark at Sorrento beach on Friday morning

Exclusive: Survivors say luxury store's attempt to recoup money is at odds with its public acceptance of responsibilityHarrods is seeking to recover the cost of the compensation paid to hundreds of women allegedly sexually abused by Mohamed Al Fayed from his estate, the Guardian understands.The luxury department store is seeking full indemnity from the late billionaire's estate for any settlements it is required to pay, according to evidence seen by the Guardian. Continue reading...

Thinktank calls on chancellor to end housing allowance freeze with typical two-bedroom household facing 158 week shortfall amid rent risesMore than 1.1 million low-income families in rented homes face a cost of housing" crunch without action from John Healey in next month's budget, the Resolution Foundation thinktank has warned.Local housing allowance (LHA) has been frozen in cash terms since autumn 2024. Continue reading...

As Gaza documentary wins cinematic acclaim, its directors face vitriol in Israel amid a febrile election campaignFirst there was a moment of stunned silence. Then, in the Sala Grande, the main screening hall of the Venice film festival within the Palazzo del Cinema, the audience stood almost as one and turned to applaud the film-makers for 25 minutes.The film the audience had watched for 80 harrowing minutes was the Gaza documentary NAZA, which has been produced by the Guardian. Continue reading...

Exclusive: In her first media interview since fleeing Russia, Rita Flores describes her three years of being run by the FSBFirst came the blackmail and death threats to secure cooperation, then came a series of tasks, each more sinister than the last: to inform on fellow activists, to elicit personal information from protest-minded artists and - eventually - to help with a plot to kidnap and murder a Kremlin enemy.That is how Rita Flores, a 29-year-old Russian artist, activist and former member of the Pussy Riot collective, described her recruitment and three-year handling by officers from Russia's FSB security service, a cooperation she only broke when she fled the country last month. Continue reading...

California judge finds company vicariously liable' for driver's negligence in death of Emily Normandin-ParkerUber was ordered to pay $40m to the parents of a 23-year-old woman who was killed after a driver kicked her and a friend out of his car by the side of a California freeway, according to newly public arbitration documents.An arbitrator, retired Calfornia judge Richard A Stone, found that the ride-share company was vicariously liable" for the driver's negligence. Continue reading...

Edgars Rinkvis says drone warfare in Ukraine is moving at lightning speed' and efforts to prepare for an aerial war could be obsolete by next yearLatvia's president has warned that Europe is not keeping up with developments of drone and aerial warfare in Ukraine and that most countries in Nato could not repulse an attack by Russian missiles if the conflict expands.The remarks came during a Guardian interview in Washington DC in which Edgars Rinkvis said that the technological developments in drone warfare in Ukraine are moving at lightning speed" and that current efforts to prepare for an aerial war could be obsolete by the middle of next year. Continue reading...

Navy veteran David Voight, his wife, Amy, and their child were found dead as relatives report Voight was suffering from PTSDAuthorities are investigating what led to the tragic case of a family who was found fatally shot in their San Diego area home on Wednesday morning.The San Diego police department identified the family as Amy Voight, 54, and David Voight, 56, and the couple's 13-year-old daughter. The family died of gunshot wounds, police said, and investigators found a weapon in the residence. Continue reading...

The musician is serving a 50-month federal prison term for prostitution-related offensesAttorneys representing rapper Sean Diddy" Combs say they are no longer acting for the disgraced star in a dispute over months of unpaid legal bills.The musician, who is serving a 50-month federal prison term for prostitution-related offenses, has become increasingly belligerent in recent months, causing a total breakdown in cooperation and communication" with New York law firm Sher Tremonte, one of its partners, Michael Tremonte, said in a court filing.This article was amended on 18 September 2026. An earlier version wrongly stated that Combs sued record producer Jonathan Hay for defamation. Hay is the plaintiff. Continue reading...

Buckingham Palace has rebutted claim by Charles Spencer, Diana's brother, that then prince told him we'll forget her soon enough'Earl Spencer has doubled down on his bombshell claim that King Charles said of Diana, Princess of Wales, rest assured, we'll forget her soon enough" days after her death, saying he is telling the truth.The alleged comments, revealed in Charles Spencer's memoir, Swan Song: Diana, My Sister, which is being serialised in the Daily Mail, prompted Buckingham Palace to issue an extraordinary statement suggesting Diana's brother had misremembered events, saying the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise". Continue reading...

Police fire teargas as protests break out in city of Minna after deaths of suspected illegal goldminers, many of whom were childrenSurvivors from a prison cell in Nigeria where 37 suspected illegal goldminers died while in the custody of a paramilitary group this week have recounted their panic and struggle for breath, as police on Friday fired teargas at people protesting against the deaths and imposed an overnight curfew in the city of Minna.The victims - many of whom were children - were found dead on Thursday in the cells of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), which had raided suspected illegal gold mines and locked up dozens of miners in the city, the state capital of the mineral-rich state of Niger. Continue reading...

Critics say moves from leftwing incumbent president are electorally motivated two weeks before Brazil's electionsBrazil's president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has announced a 15% increase in the country's main cash-transfer programme for poor families, as well as free weight-loss jabs, prompting criticism from opponents who say the moves are electorally motivated just two weeks before the presidential election.On 4 October, the leftwing incumbent will face the far-right senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of the former president Jair Bolsonaro, who has been gaining ground in recent weeks. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Leader understood to have wanted to concentrate on Holborn and St Pancras campaign in London but executive committee voted against planZack Polanski requested that the Greens' ruling executive committee postpone the party's imminent annual conference so they could focus on the Holborn and St Pancras byelection but was refused.While party officials say the formal request came from staffers worried about diluting resources by staging a conference a week before Polanski tries to win Keir Starmer's former Commons seat, the Guardian understands the party leader wanted this to happen. Continue reading...

Error first occurred at 10am but major incident was not declared until 12.30pm, says report

Debut runway show with affordable pieces reflects resurgent style confidence at retailer after hit releasesJoan Collins declared the coats very chic", and has her eye on a graceful ivory evening dress with caped shoulders. Kemi Badenoch plans to snap up the classic black tuxedo jacket. If the British public are as enthusiastic as the celebrity front row, Marks & Spencer's first ever London fashion week catwalk looks like a hit.The show, held at the Design Museum for 310 guests including Ian Wright and Jamie Carragher, was a gamble on both sides. Would snobby fashionistas be traumatised by elasticated waistbands and practical rainwear? Would M&S customers be alienated by a world of 2,000 handbags and shoes you can't walk in? Continue reading...

The musician, who went from 90s altpop hits to Tony-winning Broadway success, died of organ failureDuncan Sheik, the singer-songwriter behind the 90s alt-pop touchstone Barely Breathing and the composer of the Tony-winning musical Spring Awakening, died on Thursday at a Manhattan hospital. He was 56.His death, from organ failure, was confirmed to the New York Times by his mother Suzanne Sheik. Continue reading...

Judge said Nina Power and her friend's social media posts had the whiff of threat and antisemitism'Reform UK's new mega-donor Ben Delo gave a 350,000 loan to a conservative writer fighting a legal case in which a judge later found she had engaged in online bullying and regrettable conduct with a whiff of threat and antisemitism".Nina Power and her friend, the writer Daniel DC Miller, brought the legal action for defamation against the performance artist Luke Turner, who they had accused of falsely calling them antisemitic. At the same time, Turner brought a counter-claim against the pair accusing them of harassment. Continue reading...

French president Emmanuel Macron earlier said he put measures in place to protect the country's critical infrastructureMicheal Martin, the taoiseach (Irish PM), thanked Andy Burnham for his stance on Israel as the two men met at No 10 North today.Support for the Palestinian cause is particularly strong in Ireland because of its historical experience of colonialism, and, in a reference to the sanctions on West Bank settlements imposed by Burnham's government, Martin said:I think for the United Kingdom under your leadership to take the stance that it's taken, I think, is important for ... standing up for humanitarian values and justice and fulfilling the rights of all in the Middle East to security, to peace and to some decent future for their children and generations to come.Formed in 1999, the UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) sees more than 300 children aged 11 to 18 democratically elected by their peers to represent young people in their area, who then debate and campaign on a variety of issues.Once a year, they hold a debate in the House of Commons chamber. Continue reading...

There are insufficient funds' to pay unpaid wages, tax owed to HMRC and overdue bills, accountants sayAccountants picking over the remains of BrewDog, the punk" beer company that collapsed earlier this year, have said that creditors who are owed about 190m will not be paid back.In an update on their progress, administrators at AlixPartners warned there were insufficient funds" to pay debts in full related to unpaid wages, tax owed to HM Revenue and Customs and overdue bills from other businesses. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Reserves at public service arm drop 66% as broadcaster undertakes large cuts in effort to save 500mThe BBC has spent hundreds of millions of pounds of its cash reserves in a single year, increasing concerns at the corporation over the perilous state of its finances.Cash reserves at the BBC's public service arm slumped by 66% in the last financial year, from 369m in 2025 to just 125m, according to analysis by the Guardian. This is the lowest figure in the last decade of accounts. Continue reading...

Rout raises questions about coordination and morale as some politicians claim billions of dollars were offered to persuade forces to abandon positionA bitter inquest is under way among Yemen's anti-Houthi forces as to how what was being billed as a decisive assault on Sana'a, the Houthi-controlled capital, suddenly collapsed into a military rout.More than 15 brigades were defeated as the country's entire west coast fell into Houthi hands. Efforts are now being made to reorganise the anti-Houthi forces representing the UN-recognised Yemeni government in order to capture the Kahbob mountains, a strategic point from which to restrict Houthi forces moving closer to the crucial Bab al-Mandab strait. Continue reading...

Soil and water around military bases show elevated levels of Pfas pollution due to chemicals used in firefighting foamMany US military veterans have much higher levels of Pfas forever chemicals" in their blood than non-veterans, new peer-reviewed research finds, raising more questions about health risks the nation's service members face after serving at polluted bases.Ground water, surface water and soil around military bases show among the highest levels of Pfas pollution in the US because the chemicals are used in firefighting foam deployed during training and emergencies. While the problem has been clear for over a decade, the new Brown University-led study is the first to compare levels in veterans' blood with those in civilians. Continue reading...

Latest data to defy economic gloom shows 0.5% rise boosted by purchases of sports items, aircon units and fans during heatwaves

Aid to lower-income countries fell by almost 7%, while higher-income countries saw their share of Britain's aid budget increaseThe world's poorest countries were worst hit by British aid cuts under Keir Starmer's government, while higher-income countries saw their share of aid increase, new figures reveal.The latest figures released by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office show a 6.7% decrease in funding to the least-developed countries and low-income countries, amounting to cuts of 118m. Continue reading...

The extraordinary danger is that a president who believes he is the law, and the law is him, remains intent on disrupting the electoral process

Four of Nurat Osman's alleged abductors were killed during rescue after she was taken from outside her home last weekA British woman kidnapped in Malawi last week has been rescued by police after a shootout in which four of her alleged abductors were killed.Nusrat Osman was abducted outside her home in the southern city of Blantyre on 11 September at about 12.30pm. Police had offered a reward of 30m Malawi kwacha (12,950) for information leading to her rescue and the arrest of the perpetrators. Continue reading...

Participants in Pittsburgh may never learn the results of their cognitive tests - and funding cuts that target DEI' have the potential to delay vital diagnosesRoderick Blair was surprised when scientific researchers appeared on his doorstep in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Here, on a recent summer day, police cars, an ambulance and a TV reporter crowded into a driveway on the edge of the neighborhood. A helicopter swung overhead. Saplings peeked over rooflines from gutters, windows were broken, screens tattered, doors boarded up and rippling sidewalks crumbled. Bedraggled chain link fences held back the season's tall grass. Continue reading...

When Mohammad Abdul Zinati, 15, rushed to help a man wounded in a bomb attack, he had no time to react before he too was hit. Plus, meet the cartographers who took on centuries of western biasGood morning.Mohammad Abdul Zinati was walking home from school through the rubble of Salah Khalaf Street in northern Gaza City when he stopped at a supermarket where a group of classmates and friends had gathered.What has Israel said about the incident? The Israeli military said the incident was under review. The IDF has repeatedly rejected allegations that it deliberately targets civilians, saying it assesses and takes into account the risk of civilian harm when carrying out strikes.What has Trump said about South Korea? Trump has criticised Seoul for what he called insufficient support for the Iran war and scaled back major joint military drills by the two countries' armed forces this summer, a move that unsettled the US ally. Continue reading...

Digital, culture, media and sport committee expected to hear evidence from BBC bosses and music industry expertsJoe and Jake. Daz Sampson. Electro Velvet. Who could forget them?Most people, probably. They are some of the many acts who represented the UK at the Eurovision song contest in the last 20 years that have failed to find a place in the country's cultural pantheon. Continue reading...

Simon Peter Carman appeared in a Pattaya court on Friday charged with killing Tunchanok DonhomlaAn Australian man accused of murdering a Thai teenager and putting her body in a suitcase pleaded not guilty on Friday in a hearing in the seaside resort city of Pattaya, a court official said.Simon Peter Carman, 45, was arrested in June after 17-year-old Tunchanok Donhomla was reported missing in Pattaya City, about 150km south-east of Bangkok. A suitcase containing her body was found shortly after. Continue reading...

Nearly 90% of children in federal custody being directed to GOP-controlled state that has unlicensed facilities and low legal representation ratesThe Trump administration has started sending a majority of undocumented children who came to the US alone and have new immigration court cases to Texas, where government facilities for them are unlicensed, their chances of getting a lawyer are low and advocates fear that a deportation churn-out factory" awaits them, the Guardian has learned.Almost 80% of children in federal custody who arrived unaccompanied by a parent or legal guardian and who were placed in immigration court proceedings in July - and over 90% in August - have been funneled into shelter networks somewhere in Texas, a dramatic upswing from the months prior, according to analysis shared exclusively with the Guardian from researchers at the immigration data insights platform bklg.org. Continue reading...

The African serval, illegally enclosed in the back yard, was subdued and transferred to an animal welfare facilityLouisiana firefighters responding to a small house blaze found a wildcat native to sub-Saharan Africa illegally enclosed in the back yard, and an animal welfare agency is now seeking to place the creature in an appropriate environment, according to officials.Firefighters investigating a report of a minor fire at a home in the suburban New Orleans community of Marrero on Tuesday spotted the cat in question - an African serval - behind the residence in a chain-linked enclosure resembling a cramped baseball batting cage, a spokesperson for the local animal protection services said. Continue reading...

Marzban, who won a best actress award for her portrayal of a woman held hostage by her father in Falling House, has received condemnations from authorities after dedicating her prize to the women of Iran'An Iranian actress who won the best newcomer award at the Venice film festival has come under severe attack from the country's authorities and state media after highlighting the plight of women in Iran in her acceptance speech.Laleh Marzban last Saturday won the best actress award in the Orizzonti sidebar competition for emerging talent, for her role in Mohsen Gharaei's Falling House, a film revolving around three generations of women who are incarcerated in their own home by the family's father. Continue reading...

At least one person dead as stormy weather causes severe flooding in Barcelona and ValenciaIntense and slow-moving thunderstorms broke out on Wednesday afternoon across parts of eastern Spain, bringing some severe flooding and killing at least one person.Storms first struck over the Castilla-La Mancha region during the afternoon before passing over Spain's east coast, becoming very slow-moving and continuing overnight. Torrential rainfall, strong winds and large hail were reported in Valencia and Barcelona, causing widespread flooding in both cities. Weather stations west of Barcelona recorded some of the highest totals with more than 100mm (4in) of rain falling in the space of a few hours, and locally 70mm in just 30 minutes in the early hours of Thursday morning. Cars and roads were submerged, and flights were cancelled across the region. Continue reading...

Sharangan Maheswaran denies message he received about NSW minister was related to work for fugitive property developer

More than 180 writers sign letter renewing calls for information on 12 authors detained incommunicado since 2001 crackdown on free speech by Isaias AfwerkiMore than 180 writers have signed a letter to Eritrean president Isaias Afwerki calling for proof of life for 12 writers arrested in 2001.Nobel laureates Olga Tokarczuk and JM Coetzee join prominent writers including Colm Toibin, Elif Shafak, Isabel Allende, Ben Okri, Yann Martel, Kamila Shamsie and Tsitsi Dangarembga in signing the letter dated 18 September, marking 25 years since a government crackdown on the independent press. Within days, Eritrea's free press and the nation's independent voices were systematically crushed," opens the letter. Continue reading...