Brand, 51, faces three charges of rape, three of sexual assault and one of indecent assault against six womenA woman said Russell Brand degraded her and treated her like a piece of meat" when he raped her at his London townhouse, a court has heard.She alleged she repeatedly begged the 51-year-old comedian to stop the assault which left her bleeding for days and in pain. Continue reading...
Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka spent a week in jail after defying restrictions on protests in Delhi amid government crackdownAn Indian court has ordered the release of two leaders of India's Cockroach movement, who were jailed last week amid a mounting state crackdown on youth-led protests.The two leaders of the Cockroach Janta party (CJP) movement, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, had spent a week in Delhi's Tihar jail after being arrested by Delhi police last week. Continue reading...
by Shrai Popat (now) and Frances Mao (earlier) on (#796PK)
Likely voters prefer Democratic candidates over Republicans running for office by 11 percentage points, new poll shows; Trump campaigns in South Carolina
Zia Yusuf claims undercover investigation broke the law as broadcaster stands by its journalismHere is an explainer by Jill Ambrose about the Jackdaw decision.But environmental groups have condemned the decision. Ami McCarthy, head of politics for Greenpeace UK, said:Approving Jackdaw shows the toxic grip fossil fuel lobbyists still hold over our energy policy. Andy Burnham promised pragmatism [see 8.40am], but there is nothing pragmatic about rubber-stamping a project that won't lower energy bills, won't boost energy security and will create just 27 full-time jobs ...True pragmatism means severing our reliance on expensive oil and gas that leaves British households broke, supercharges extreme weather, and leaves our energy security at the mercy of petrostates.Is the prime minister living in a parallel universe? One where we haven't just endured our hottest summer on record, with droughts, wildfires and, in all likelihood, the most heat-related deaths on record? And where the UN hasn't warned that we're on the brink of breaching the all-important 1.5 degree warming limit?Shell will be cheering this decision but it won't knock a penny off our energy bills, which is what's keeping people up at night, or make a meaningful difference to our gas supply.
Students, teachers and civil servants have shown up in Athens, with demonstrations also in Thessaloniki and other citiesMeanwhile, back to Witkoff's meeting with Putin in St Petersburg, the US president, Donald Trump, has just welcomed the release of Stephen Hubbard, a US citizen held by Moscow on allegations of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine (11:24).In a post on Truth Social, he said:Stephen Hubbard, taken four years ago by Russia during the Biden Administration, was just released from prison, at the request of President Donald J. Trump, made directly to President Vladimir Putin in a telephone conversation last week.Stephen is on his way back home and will soon be with his family. The United States, out of respect for President Trump, was not required to give anything in return - an unprecedented situation for Russia. There was no swap" necessary for this release. Continue reading...
Department drops efforts to return Tony Hall to Barbados, a country he left at 12 and where he has no living relativesThe Home Office has lifted a deportation order handed to a 62-year-old man who has lived in Britain for 50 years after criticism of the department's attempts to remove him to Barbados, a country he left as a child.The Home Office wrote to Tony Hall on Tuesday to inform him that his deportation order had been revoked. His case had been highlighted in the Guardian a day earlier. Continue reading...
About 80 US, Israeli and British volunteers held near Nahalin in West Bank and taken to police stationThe Israeli military has detained about 80 US, Israeli and British volunteers helping Palestinians harvest olives near Bethlehem, including the New York Democratic congressional nominee Brad Lander, several rabbis and Israel's former deputy attorney general.I've been detained by the IDF, along with a group of rabbis and volunteers," Lander posted from a bus taking him to a police station. We were simply harvesting olives in a grove near Nahalin in the West Bank. The occupation is a crime under international law. Harvesting olives isn't a crime under any law I know." Continue reading...
Enthusiasts like Grimes and A$AP Rocky may embrace AI-generated content, but they won't produce it themselvesStreaming services, notable musicians and fans are confronting the growing presence of AI-generated music and drawing lines in the sand.On Tuesday, Spotify announced it had removed about 50m songs considered AI slop from its recommendations to users over the past year. Continue reading...
MPs say chaos' at Capita-run scheme could mean some claims miss tax-free time limit on lump sum paymentsBereaved families could face unconscionable" tax bills because of chaos" in the civil service pension scheme, the government has been warned.Some lump sum pension payments to families are only tax-free if made within two years of a scheme being told of the member's death. Continue reading...
by Rokhaya Diallo, Alexander Hurst, Michael Hubbard a on (#796R3)
At 3pm BST / 4pm CEST Friday 23 Oct, Guardian Europe columnists Rokhaya Diallo and Alexander Hurst will be live taking questions from our readers about the riots and protests in France. Send your questions by email now to conversations@theguardian.com, or join the discussion on FridayAfter weeks of protests and a weekend of riots in which a town hall was set ablaze, 2,000-plus shops were looted, 2,300 people were arrested and 1,000 police injured, the repercussions for France - for its society and its economy - continue. Allegations of police brutality surfaced, and the violent protests unnerved investors, resulting in a debt sell-off, with borrowing costs rising higher than for Greece. All of this ahead of a hotly contested presidential election that's now just six months away.The French government's escalating financial problems were covered by the Guardian's Europe correspondent Jon Henley who wrote: France's national debt, at 119% of GDP, is at its highest level since 1946. Its budget deficit, at 5.1%, is also among the highest in the EU. There is just no money in the bank to ease the cost of living squeeze that brought 550,000 people on to the streets on Saturday." Continue reading...
Unorthodox campaign is challenging the ruling party's 12-year reign with a bold democratic experimentOn a cool autumn evening, a team of Serbian student volunteers went canvassing in the housing estates of Krnjaa, a Belgrade suburb. They were equipped with lanyards emblazoned with the word victory", a stock list of questions and a mobile app that mapped visited homes and the level of support in each.The volunteers were part of a mass student movement, Student List, that has rocked Serbia with two years of constant protests. On Sunday, the group will represent the most serious challenge Aleksandar Vui has faced in his 12 increasingly authoritarian years in power, by putting forward their own candidates in parliamentary elections. Continue reading...
by Haroon Siddique Legal affairs correspondent on (#796K4)
Court of appeal decision prevents woman from suing police and CPS for disclosing her address to violent ex-partnerThe Labour MP Jess Phillips has said she hopes the UK's highest court sees sense" and overturns a ruling preventing a domestic abuse survivor from suing Sussex police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for disclosing her address to her violent ex-partner.Phillips said that if the supreme court upheld the court of appeal's decision when it hears the case on Wednesday and Thursday, it would prevent police from being held accountable for failures in cases of violence against women and girls. Continue reading...
by Alexandra Topping Political correspondent on (#796K6)
UK defence secretary had been due to unveil proposals on Thursday until concerns were raised at 11th hourWes Streeting has been forced to delay the publication of a plan to get more young people into defence industry jobs after pushback from trade unions, the Guardian understands.The defence secretary had been due to announce the proposals on Thursday, but some unions in the sector are understood to have reacted angrily to the plans, accusing the government of bypassing their members and minimising their roles in job creation. Continue reading...
During a summer fire that destroyed homes in Stourbridge, low pressure meant filling a water carrier took 40 minutesConcerns have been raised about how drought affects the UK's ability to cope with wildfires after MPs were told firefighters struggled for water supplies during this year's record summer.The government has been urged to set out water companies' statutory responsibilities during major fire incidents to improve the country's preparedness for the years ahead. Continue reading...
by Lorenzo Tondo and Quique Kierszenbaum in Jerusalem on (#796HQ)
Rights groups say the planned 1.4km route, which ends at compound run by far-right settler group Elad, will displace Palestinians and reshape the cultural landscapeA fifth foreign company has pulled out of a plan to build a cable car from West to East Jerusalem that threatens to involve the seizure of land and property rights from dozens of Palestinian families along its route, but local authorities insist the scheme is proceeding as planned.The project appeared to have stalled for four years until late September, just weeks before Israel's 27 October elections, when the Jerusalem Development Authority (JDA) issued a notice of intent to award a contract without a public tender to ROPES, a cable car engineering consultancy based in South Tyrol, Italy. Continue reading...
Morgan Carey sued his sister over claims in her 2020 memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, which he said falsely portrayed him as a violent drug dealerA judge has dismissed a lawsuit from Mariah Carey's brother, five years after he accused her of defaming him in her 2020 memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey.In the memoir, Carey described Morgan as a sometimes drug dealing, been-in-the-system, drunk-ass brother" and called him her ex-brother". Continue reading...
Case in Africa's most populous country was detected in a woman who had travelled from UgandaNigeria has confirmed an Ebola case in its capital, Abuja, after a woman who arrived from Uganda tested positive for the virus, the health ministry said.The woman began showing symptoms on 7 October and was admitted to a hospital in Abuja four days later, where she was later diagnosed with Ebola. It is unclear when she arrived in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country. Continue reading...
The hit Elizabeth Holmes documentary led to increased interest in the award-winning narrative series on Hulu as well as Bad Blood, a 2018 book on the scandal
Scott Kirby says wealth inequality is a danger to society' and calls for inheritance tax in recent interviewScott Kirby, the CEO of United Airlines, is under scrutiny from conservative politicians and commentators for saying wealth inequality is a danger to society" and calling for a national wealth and inheritance tax in a recent interview.Talking to the New York Times, Kirby was asked about the growing public distrust of CEOs and whether he felt any responsibility to quell that distrust. Continue reading...
Advance warnings of missile attacks were seemingly suspended last week by the White House, but Ukraine's president says: Now it works'The US has resumed sharing intelligence with Kyiv about Russian missile strikes, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday after a meeting with the US envoy Steve Witkoff in Norway.He said Ukraine was again receiving advance warnings of ballistic missile attacks, which were seemingly suspended last week by the White House. Now it works. It's great," he said, saying the US move would save lives. Continue reading...
Police seize doses of hepatitis B vaccine from people at center of dispute over research on African newbornsControversial vaccine researchers who have been praised by Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary, had their offices in Guinea-Bissau raided by judicial police, who seized doses of hepatitis B vaccines, officials said on Facebook.The researchers have been at the heart of an ongoing dispute over research on African newborns, supported by $1.6m from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and matched by the Pershing Square Foundation and the Bluebell Foundation for a total of $3.2m. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Admission from James Orr to undercover reporter came three months before party was given 72mA senior Reform UK official raised questions about whether major donations from billionaire backers Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo would be legal under the proposed new foreign donors cap three months before they gave 72m to the party.James Orr, who was then Reform UK's head of policy and a Cambridge professor, discussed potential difficulties around future donations from Harborne and Delo in undercover footage captured by the investigative reporting group Verbatim. Continue reading...
Amy Acton's brother calls campaigning on his sister's sexual abuse from their mother's husband a despicable low'The family of Amy Acton, the Democratic candidate for governor of Ohio, is criticizing her Republican opponent Vivek Ramaswamy for using Acton's estranged mother in a recently released campaign ad.In the ad, which has circulated among conservatives on social media, her mother, Donna Arthur, said: She says she grew up living in a tent. None of that is true. She's lied her entire life." Continue reading...
by Dan Sabbagh Defence and security editor on (#795WZ)
RAF Typhoon fighters to fly defensive missions over cities and infrastructure in extension of UK support for RiyadhRAF Typhoon fighters are to be used in efforts to protect Saudi Arabia from attack by Yemen's Houthis, flying protective missions over the country's cities and critical infrastructure as western allies increase their intervention in the escalating conflict.The operation - the most significant military mission signed off by Andy Burnham as prime minister - will involve RAF pilots attempting to shoot down Houthi missiles and drones, which attacked Saudi airports and oil facilities. Continue reading...
by Peter Beaumont Senior international correspondent on (#7967M)
Mounting anxiety as Russia's war on Ukraine reaches Nato's borders with targeting of vessels transporting agricultural cargoNato is deploying additional military assets to the Black Sea amid the recent deadly escalation of Russian attacks on merchant shipping, as five more vessels were attacked on Tuesday.Russia's military said it struck three cargo vessels in Ukraine's port of Reni and two other cargo vessels en route to Odesa. Continue reading...
by Jakub Krupa (now) and Yohannes Lowe (earlier) on (#795SP)
The Ukrainian leader says talks with US envoys covered security guarantees and he hopes to hear Russia's response tomorrowNordic correspondentAs well as Steve Witkoff, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy will also meet the Norwegian prime minister, Jonas Gahr Store and the Finnish president Alexander Stubb and Norway's new King Haakon during his visit to Oslo. Continue reading...
by Hannah Al-Othman, North of England Correspondent on (#7967N)
Five-month-old Esta High died at Leeds General Infirmary in November 2023 after doctors put her symptoms down to Covid-19A baby girl who died from meningitis may have been saved if doctors had tested her for the infection sooner, rather than putting her symptoms down to Covid, an inquest jury has found.Five-month-old Esta High died at Leeds General Infirmary in November 2023, days after she was taken into the emergency department with a high temperature and vomiting. Continue reading...
The ex-student writes she wants to share information that may be relevant' to vote of no confidenceThe former Cornell University student who accused seven men of sexually assaulting her at a fraternity house in 2024 recently wrote a letter to campus faculty leaders saying that she felt unsupported and disbelieved" by the Ivy League institution's president.The letter addressed to the Cornell faculty senate was obtained and published by the New York Times on Tuesday - and in it the former student said she wanted to share information that she believed may be relevant" as the panel considers a vote of no confidence in the school's administration. Continue reading...
Jurors in harassment trial told reporters who had written about far-right activist feared vigilante attack'Tommy Robinson told the Daily Mail's editor he would make the paper's journalists and their families famous", the harassment trial of the far-right activist has been told.The threat was made in a voicemail message left on the phone of Ted Verity as Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, allegedly waged a campaign of harassment against journalists from the newspaper. Continue reading...
by Jessica Murray Social affairs correspondent on (#7967Q)
Latest report paints a painful picture of the care sector during the pandemic. But timid recommendations and a lack of accountability threaten to undermine itOf all 10 reports due to be published by the long-running Covid-19 inquiry, this week's findings on adult social care were especially anticipated.The impact of Covid-19 on the care sector was calamitous: tens of thousands of people died, staff were forced to wear bin bags due to a lack of protective clothing and relatives were banned from seeing their loved ones in their dying days. Continue reading...
Duke of Sussex says there's enough drama in the world' without continuing to have issues with familyThe Duke of Sussex wants to repair his difficult relationship with his father and brother, he has said.Speaking to GQ magazine in New York, Prince Harry said of his complicated relationship with William and King Charles that from a family perspective it was a massively relatable issue for so many people". Continue reading...
Result is a victory for prime minister Mark Carney and supporters of Canadian unityVoters in Canada's Alberta have overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to begin the process of independence, delivering a decisive victory for supporters of Canadian unity and deepening divisions within the separatist movement.With nearly 1.9m votes counted, roughly 76% people supported remaining in Canada, while 24% backed beginning a process toward separation, according to unofficial results from Elections Alberta. Continue reading...
The prime minister endorses report that says the adult social care sector has been under-recognisedBadenoch says Britain needs tax cuts.We need to get out of the way of job creators who make our country richer. We need to encourage risk taking, wealth creation, enterprise.Britain's tax burden has never been higher. You are taxed on the heating in your home. You're taxed at the petrol pump filling up your car. You're taxed when you insure that car. You're taxed if you take the family away on holiday. You're taxed if you stay in the UK thanks to Andy Burnham's tourist tax. You're taxed to buy a home, taxed to live in a home, taxed to pass on your home. This is clearly not working. Britain does not feel better off.Andy Burnham wrote in The Times yesterday about the moral outrage of the current benefit system. But as far as I could work out, his answer is to spend even more on benefits. Continue reading...
by Tom Phillips Latin America correspondent on (#7965F)
Far-right presidential candidate's TV debate swipe at rival backfires as people take to social media to parody itTo Flavio Bolsonaro and his publicists, it must have seemed an ingenious idea that would expose his rival's supposed crookedness on the eve of Brazil's presidential election.But the far-right politician's decision to attend a primetime television debate against his leftwing opponent, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, with the word corrupto" (corrupt) written on the palm of his hand has backfired. Continue reading...
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