World news | The Guardian

Head of foreign affairs select committee urges government to adopt ban amid rising settler violence, after foreign secretary rebukes Israel over construction tenderPrime minister Andy Burnham is deploying Whitehall officials to mayors' offices as part of his bid to shift powers out of Westminster.The move will see between five and 10 civil servants seconded per mayoral authority in the pilot starting in the autumn, PA reported.No 10 North is putting more power into every postcode across the country so communities can unleash and unlock their own potential.I'm bringing together mayors from different political parties to work on these challenges, because people deserve problem-solving rather than point-scoring.The days of Westminster hoarding power are over.This government has kickstarted the biggest transition of power and resources in a generation, taking it from Whitehall and putting it back in the hands of local communities.A licensed film production is taking place on and around parts of the parliamentary estate over the weekend.Members of the public may see actors portraying armed police officers, specialist vehicles and simulated incidents as part of the filming. Continue reading...

First Muslim woman and Afghan American elected to California legislature held lead throughout race over main opponent Melissa Hernandez

Aeroplane maker said to have watered down plans to restrict working from home to one day a weekAirbus has reportedly bowed to employee demands on remote working, after a series strikes over its chief executive's return-to-the office orders.The world's largest aeroplane maker is said to have watered down plans to restrict remote working to one day a week from September. Currently, staff are able to work remotely for two. Continue reading...

The USS George Washington has arrived in the Middle East. Plus, an investigation into the add-on utility fees that can lead to evictionsGood morning.The USS George Washington aircraft carrier has arrived in the Middle East, to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln from its record deployment amid concerns about poor living conditions and morale.What are conditions like on the Lincoln? The ship has spent more than 250 days at sea supporting US operations against Iran without a significant port visit or date to return home for the 5,000 sailors and marines onboard. Reports from families of crew members published in the Navy Times and Stars and Stripes military newspapers described food and water shortages, disrupted mail services, plumbing problems, low morale and worsening mental health, prompting Democratic lawmakers to demand answers from the Pentagon.How are people fighting back? At least 13 lawsuits have challenged Rubs since the start of 2025 across five states - including a case in California that led to a nearly $500,000 settlement last fall with a national property manager. Some California landlords have tried to get away with illegal rent increases by shifting utilities and other fees to tenants and pretending those new charges are not rent'" under state law, Rob Bonta, California's attorney general, said when announcing the settlement. Efforts to limit or ban add-on utility fees are also gaining momentum across several cities. Continue reading...

Business owner Assim Alkhawaja was arrested by ICE as he dropped off Lyft passengers at a military base. Now he's stuck in a terrifying fight to stay in the USDeep within the bowels of San Diego's federal courthouse, Assim Alkhawaja sat on the floor outside a nondescript office, waiting to be called for his ICE-mandated immigration appointment. He stared straight ahead, his posture tense, his face a mask.The hallway was brown, as was the carpet. Above Alkhawaja's head hung a framed stock photo of a waterfall. A few paces away, official government signs encouraged people without legal status to self-deport. Leave on your own terms," they read, in several languages. Claim a free flight and an exit bonus for each member of your family." Continue reading...

The tabloid boasted in a now-deleted article that they found White and promised to reveal her secret new life'The Daily Mail newspaper secretly tailed and photographed a woman in Detroit and then published an article and photographs falsely accusing her of being former The White Stripes drummer Meg White, even after she told the newspaper it had mistaken her identity, multiple sources have told the Guardian.The rightwing British tabloid quietly removed the article and photographs, first published on 6 August, from its website last week. The Mail did not issue a correction or editor's note explaining the removal. Continue reading...

UK Foreign Office condemns use of national security law to convict activists Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tungTwo Hong Kong activists who organised annual vigils marking China's deadly Tiananmen crackdown in 1989 have been found guilty of incitement to subversion" in one of the most high-profile cases in Hong Kong since Beijing imposed its national security law in 2020.Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, incited other persons to organise, plan, commit or participate in acts by unlawful means with a view to subverting the state power", a press summary handed out to reporters said. The defendants each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail, with sentencing expected at a later date. Continue reading...

Authorities believe handguns found in forest near Berlin were to be used to carry out assassinations for Russian intelligence, Sueddeutsche reportsGerman security authorities discovered handguns stashed in a forest near Berlin last year that they believe were to be used to carry out assassinations on behalf of Russian intelligence, Suddeutsche Zeitung reported on Friday.The Russian embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Planning documents show datacentre in north Ockendon will be incompatible with UK net zero targetsA hyperscale" datacentre in outer London would generate more than 1m tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, equivalent to the carbon footprint of 27,000 flights from London to New York, planning documents show.The East Havering Data Centre Campus (EHDCC) in north Ockendon would be one of the largest datacentres in Europe if approved by Havering council, using 218 hectares of green belt to run servers and data storage systems for AI and cloud computing. Its developer, Digital Reef, has described the scheme as a unique opportunity to create a sustainable datacentre campus of the future". Continue reading...

With plentiful jobs and community support, one Mexico City neighbourhood has become a haven for those who have lived much of their lives in the USWith its wide avenues lined with tall palm trees, its quaint cafes and old-school cantinas, as well as the mix of English and Spanish spoken on the street, the Tabacalera neighborhood in downtown Mexico City has a certain US feel - so much so that it is has become known as Little LA.The nickname is about more than appearances, however. In recent years, this corner of the metropolis has become a haven for many Mexicans deported from the US, particularly those who spent years or decades living across the border and for whom Mexico feels like a foreign country. In Little LA, they have found a more familiar place to belong. Continue reading...

Art of international significance planned for 17m redevelopment of museum whose closure sparked uproarWorks by Tracey Emin, Steve McQueen and Olafur Eliasson have gone on display at a new contemporary art gallery and museum in north-east England which aims to show works of international significance.The Light is a 17m redevelopment of a museum in Durham that closed 10 years ago to local uproar. Continue reading...

Volume of goods sold in stores and online dropped 0.5% in July, ONS says

Downpours break records and cause transport chaos, evacuations and deaths, as people get trapped inside vehiclesSouth Korea and Japan were hit by extreme rain late last week and into this week. On 13 August in the city of Chiba near Tokyo there was a record-breaking 115mm of rainfall in just one hour, while the nearby city of Sakura broke its own record with 97mm in one hour. Local authorities issued a level 5 emergency warning for heavy rain, the highest alert level and the first time one has been issued since the system was implemented in May.More than 100,000 households were asked to evacuate, with more than 20,000 in the Chiba prefecture left without power, while thousands of people were stranded at Tokyo's Narita airport. Thirteen people have been confirmed dead, at least three of whom were found trapped inside their vehicles. One person is still missing. Continue reading...

Film emerges as France says it has stopped 185 small boat events' in three months since new 660m deal with UKFootage has captured the moment French police officers clashed with people on a beach in northern France as the authorities tried to intercept a dinghy attempting to reach the UK.Men wearing lifejackets appear to throw objects at the police to try to keep them away from their dinghy. The officers then use Pava spray before slashing the inflatable boat with a knife. Continue reading...

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Vladmir Teslov, 27, charged after allegedly seeking to provide information about Ukrainian forces to Russian intelligence services'Australian police have charged a man who allegedly joined the Ukrainian military and sought to provide information about its activities to people he suspected were Russian agents.Vladimir Teslov, a dual Russian-Australian citizen, appeared in court on Friday after the Australian federal police (AFP) charged him with an attempted foreign interference. The offence carries a 20-year prison sentence. Continue reading...

July data shows total public debt was 2.98tn, or 94% of GDP - up 96bn on a year earlier

David Elliott tells inquiry of branch stacking and death threats as Catholic Schools NSW sack boss after appearance

Report says violence is moving from Israeli-controlled areas to those earmarked for a future Palestinian stateViolent Israeli settler attacks in the two areas of the occupied West Bank under direct Palestinian rule have almost doubled since 2025, as settlers pursue a self-proclaimed great settlement revolution" in the very heart of the territory earmarked for a Palestinian state.According to a report by the Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din, shared with the Guardian, data shows that almost two-thirds of incidents of settler violence so far in 2026 have taken place in the so-called Areas A and B - placed under Palestinian Authority governance in the 1995 Oslo accords. Continue reading...

Church director tells parliamentary inquiry reporting by Nine newspapers a complete lie'

Decade-long study finds stark gender difference in outcomes of people with heart diseaseMillions of men with heart disease have a higher risk of developing and dying from cancer, according to a decades-long study.The biggest drivers behind male cases were smoking, obesity and drinking too much alcohol, researchers said, with the link most pronounced in lung and oesophageal cancers. Continue reading...

National Trust's Holnicote estate says restored wetlands and rivers offer proof of resilience to drought, wildfires and floodingAerial footage of an estate in Somerset has revealed the benefits of rewilding land in the face of extreme weather brought about by the climate crisis.The area of the National Trust's Holnicote estate where rivers have been returned to their natural courses and wetlands have been restored have remained green and lush during the five heatwaves across the summer. In contrast, the surrounding countryside has become parched and brown. Continue reading...

Pacific fleet launched missile drills near what Moscow calls the Kuril Islands but Japan regards as its Northern TerritoriesJapan has criticised missile tests carried out by Russia's navy around the disputed islands visited by Vladimir Putin last week amid continuing tensions between the two countries.Russia's Pacific fleet said on Thursday that it had fired Bastion surface-to-ship missiles from Etorofu, the largest island in the disputed archipelago, simulating an attack on enemy vessels, hitting all of its targets approximately 300km away. Continue reading...

Jenny Ware, member of inquiry that recommended wagering advertising ban, says public health crisis' demands stronger response from major parties

Chester zoo resident, 23, back to her usual feisty self' after electrochemotherapy for tumour in her jawA 15ft (4.5-metre) python is believed to be the first snake in the world to be given a pioneering, life-saving cancer treatment normally used on humans.The 50kg reticulated python, named Jodie Foster after the Hollywood star, has just turned 23 and lives at Chester zoo. Keepers first became concerned that she may be unwell when she began eating less and spending more time inactive in her habitat. Continue reading...

Value of banknotes in circulation rises from 1bn in 2016 to 1.6bn in 2026 as people advised to keep stash of cashThe number of banknotes in circulation in the EU is increasing despite widespread smartphone payments, new data shows, with wildfires ripping through parts of Europe fuelling demand for an emergency stash of cash.While cash plays second fiddle to contactless payments in many cities across Europe, the amount in circulation is actually going up, Philip Lane, the chief economist of the European Central Bank (ECB), said at the MacGill summer school conference in Ireland. Continue reading...

Man, 32, charged with six counts of rape, stalking and assault after woman was allegedly attacked in Brookfield

Court finds defects' in investigation of two senior constables charged over 2024 incident at Mareeba watch house in far north Queensland

The former gang leader was charged with planning the drive-by shooting that killed Tupac Shakur in 1996Jurors on Thursday heard Duane Keffe D" Davis tell detectives in 2008 that his nephew Orlando Baby Lane" Anderson fired the shots that killed Tupac Shakur.Davis, who said in the interview that he was also in the car with Anderson, is accused of orchestrating the 1996 killing of the 25-year-old hip-hop superstar in Las Vegas. At the time of the interview, his nephew had been dead for a decade. Continue reading...

Supreme court ordered transfer of ex-leader whose health is reportedly deteriorating and following public protestsPakistan's jailed former prime minister Imran Khan has been taken to a hospital in the country's capital on supreme court orders after weeks of uproar about his deteriorating health.A spokesperson for Khan's party, Zulfikar Bukhari, said: Imran Khan has been shifted from Adiala jail to International Shifa hospital in Islamabad following the supreme court's order." Continue reading...

Missile and drone attack one of heaviest since war began, with children's hospital and residential areas hitA heavy Russian missile and drone bombardment has killed at least 16 people in and around Kyiv in one of the most intense aerial attacks on Ukraine's capital since the start of the war.Vitali Klitschko, the city's mayor, said homes, a school and a children's medical centre were among the buildings damaged overnight in an attack that began at about midnight and was continuing into the early afternoon. Continue reading...

Jose Mejia Hernandez, 45, who was hospitalized for his injuries, was then transferred to an ICE office and fitted with an ankle monitorA man in Virginia was hospitalized with a brain injury and severe bruising all over his face after he was arrested by US immigration agents, according to his lawyers, who shared photos and medical records with the Guardian.Jose Mejia Hernandez, 45, was walking to a bus stop in Arlington on the morning of 11 August when two agents got out of an unmarked vehicle and started chasing him, according to one of his lawyers, Margaret Hellerstein. The man recalled being hit by some kind of stun gun, but did not remember what happened after that, only waking up hours later in the hospital, Hellerstein said. Continue reading...

Ex-White House ethics tsar calls it shocking' that executive assistant to US president didn't have clearance for a year

Agreement is among largest third-country deportations driven by Trump administration's immigration crackdownTwenty deportees from the United States arrived in Liberia on Thursday, as part of a new agreement that will see the west African country receive as many as 1,200 people under the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.The group arrived at the Roberts international airport outside the capital, Monrovia. The Liberia-US agreement is one of the largest third-country deportation arrangements pursued by the administration since Trump returned to office last year. Continue reading...

The attorney for Clancy, who strangled her three children, says she suffered from postpartum psychosisHundreds of Lindsay Clancy supporters, many wearing pink clothing emblazoned with phrases such as Believe", She Needed Help" and Peace For Lindsay", gathered on Thursday outside the courthouse where she is on trial in the killings of her three children.Several of the 300 women, and a few men, said Clancy's story resonated with them and that they wanted to raise awareness about how the mental health system treats women. Clancy's lawyer does not dispute that she killed the children, but says she should not be held criminally responsible because she was mentally ill. Continue reading...

Military orders criminal investigation into deaths of five-year-old and six family members in Gaza in 2024The Israeli military admitted on Wednesday its troops had opened fire on a car carrying five-year-old Hind Rajab and six family members in Gaza in 2024, saying it had ordered a criminal investigation into the killing.The killing of Hind and her family was one of the most high profile of a series of incidents involving civilian casualties during the first months of the Gaza conflict which prompted international outrage. Continue reading...

DHS says Manuel Ernesto Hernandez-Umana is in US illegally after lying to border patrol when he entered in 2007The captain of a boat that capsized in the New York harbor, resulting in the death of a woman and her infant daughter, has been taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with the federal agency saying it intends to deport him.The deadly incident unfolded near the Statue of Liberty on 8 August. Authorities said a 911 call was received at approximately 10.25pm that prompted a major emergency response including multiple boat teams, a scuba team and a helicopter unit. Continue reading...

Government announce plan for stepping stone' qualification as 620,000 year 11 students face retaking maths or English after failure to achieve grade 4The government's plans to make young people continue studying maths and English if they fail GCSEs could be demotivating and ineffective, according to education experts and school leaders after retake pass rates slumped this year.Only one in seven students in the age group retaking GCSE maths after a previous failure got a grade 4 or above this summer, while only one in six managed to pass English, meaning the majority will have to retake the exams next year if they remain in education or training. Continue reading...

Researcher Nathan Cofnas previously claimed Black people would hold few high-profile positions in a meritocracyNathan Cofnas, the academic who made plagiarism allegations against Prof Jason Arday before his death, has been suspended by a university.Arday, 41, resigned from his role at the University of Cambridge this month after Cofnas accused him of plagiarism. The allegations, which were not proven in any formal investigation, triggered questions about Arday's achievements. Continue reading...

Federal agents also seized electronic devices' from former Democratic representative at San Francisco airportAuthorities are said to have searched the Washington DC home of disgraced former California Democratic representative Eric Swalwell on Sunday amid an ongoing law enforcement investigation into sexual assault allegations.CNN reported that federal agents on Saturday seized electronic devices" from Swalwell at the San Francisco airport, citing unnamed sources familiar with the investigation. Multiple other outlets have confirmed the federal search; the Daily Mail was the first to report this law enforcement activity. Continue reading...

USS George Washington will replace warship families say suffers from shortages, plumbing problems and low moraleThe USS George Washington aircraft carrier has arrived in the Middle East, where it is expected to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln from its record deployment amid concerns about poor living conditions and morale.US Central Command announced on Thursday that the Washington arrived in the area on Wednesday, and posted an image of sailors working on the flight deck as the ship transited the Arabian Sea. No date has yet been announced for the Lincoln to return to the US. Continue reading...

Prof Katya Rubia withdraws support for The Great ADHD Myth? as other leading figures voice criticismsA contributor to a controversial Channel 4 documentary on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has withdrawn her support for the programme, saying it was biased and could lead to an increased suicide risk by encouraging parents to take their children off medication.Katya Rubia, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King's College London, also said The Great ADHD Myth? misrepresented her views. Continue reading...

Prime minister wishes couple well in their move back from the US to a non-royal residence outside London

Volodymyr Zhuravlev had been consulted on Snake Island, a dramatised reconstruction of incidentEarlier this month locals in Zagreb noticed something odd outside an art deco building. Sandbags and barricades appeared in front of the Esplanade hotel, along with a film crew and extras sporting Ukrainian military uniforms. Soon afterwards the actors Sean Penn and Adrien Brody were spotted on the set in the Croatian capital, together with Doug Liman, the Hollywood director of the Jason Bourne movies.Liman had come to shoot his latest fictional political thriller. Its subject: the 2022 Nord Stream explosions, in which a team of Ukrainian divers allegedly blew up a pipeline supplying Russian oil to Germany. One of the chief suspects, Volodymyr Zhuravlev, had twice eluded the Germany authorities: once allegedly slipping out of Poland in the boot of a diplomatic car, and on another occasion freed by a court. Continue reading...

The prime minister plans to bring in the National Crime Agency to tackle the gangs behind dumpsValue being generated by student loans is not what it should be", Reform UK's deputy leader said.Asked by reporters about the funding of the scheme by stopping foreign students accessing loans, Richard Tice said:Regarding the funding of this, cash is cash. Whether you think that it's cash as a positive in a balance sheet or a bank account, or whether you're borrowing it, it's money. It's cash.As Suella quite rightly said, the amount of money going into student loans, it's all government money, and this government is borrowing vast sums.In terms of Mickey Mouse courses, listen, this has been well-chronicled for many years. Whether it's gender studies, whether it's golf course studies, I think I've seen there's not a necessity. There's not a value in many of these degrees.Now I know that might be uncomfortable to those people who have those qualifications, but the reality is you've got to ask yourself: what are your graduate outcomes looking like? Continue reading...

Exclusive: Federal government notified after whistleblower says controllers have minimal confidence in their ability to handle' rule changes related to second airport

Family relationships remain damaged and there is no clarity on how Sussexes' security concerns have been resolvedJust as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's departure from the UK six years ago came as a complete surprise, so too is their shock announcement they now intend to return.Their unilateral decision could fairly be said to have blind-sided the royals. King Charles was only informed on Sunday and is said not to have been involved in the decision making. No mention was made when Harry, Meghan and their two children visited Charles at his private home at Highgrove last month. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Bridget Phillipson says politicians have helped fuel hatred and that police are not taking violence against women and girls seriously enough

Derailed carriages lifted using two cranes as workers operate under very challenging circumstances'

Joanna Boydell steps down after widespread criticism over company's handling of guest safety issues