Nine out of 10 people felt motivated to act after watching film outlining threats to food security, economy and public healthThe British government must be honest about the scale of the threat posed by climate and nature breakdown, researchers have said, after nine out of 10 people surveyed after watching a briefing on the issue felt more motivated to act.Last November, in the first-of-its-kind national emergency briefing", nine experts gave stark assessments in Westminster Hall in London of the scale of the changes needed in the UK to adapt to the rapidly changing climate and ecological landscape. Continue reading...
Teddy Young, 24, from Bedfordshire, charged under National Security Act after arrest by counter-terror policeA serving member of the Royal Navy has been charged with spying, police have said.Teddy Young, 24, will appear today at Westminster magistrates' court after he was charged with obtaining protected information which could benefit a unnamed foreign power. Continue reading...
Demonstrators have rejected a promise by Sebastien Lecornu to present a plan to fix the country's education system by the end of the monthHigh school protests across France show no sign of slowing down, with nearly 400 educational establishments facing disruptions this morning.Demonstrators have rejected a promise by prime minister Sebastien Lecornu to present a plan to fix the country's education system by the end of the month, demanding he fully engages with their demands sooner than that. Continue reading...
Foreign secretary says former consulate general will remain independent, operational and serving Palestinian peopleThe foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, has said Britain's consulate general building in East Jerusalem will not be closing but will be known as a UK mission, remaining independent, operational and serving Palestinian people.Israel had ordered the British consulate in East Jerusalem to close on Thursday over the UK's plans to impose sanctions on settlements in the West Bank. Continue reading...
More than half of US students surveyed said the problem damaged their ability to do academic work, study findsProcrastination is the biggest problem that can harm students' academic performance at university, according to a study of more than 65,000 young people who placed it above issues such as ADHD, anxiety or financial worries.The study found that nearly half of the students surveyed named procrastination as the thing damaging their ability to do academic work, more than twice the number who named depression, while the same proportion said procrastination caused them significant distress above any other problems including family pressures or bullying. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Senior political correspondent on (#78XFJ)
Zack Polanski has led energetic campaign for the Greens, while Labour will hope to hold on to Starmer's old seatVoting has opened in the Holborn and St Pancras byelection, a contest seen as a key gauge of Andy Burnham's ability to energise voters and whether Zack Polanski's Greens can still peel off support from Labour's left.Polanski, who leads the Greens in England and Wales, is standing for his party in the north London constituency, previously held by Keir Starmer before he stood down as an MP shortly after resigning as prime minister. Continue reading...
by Peter Walker Senior political correspondent on (#78XFM)
Exclusive: Thinktank says Britain's drive towards global commitments is symptom of outdated foreign policy'The UK's military is too focused on global commitments at the expense of domestic defence, meaning the government's planned increase in defence spending is likely to result in even greater waste, a thinktank report has warned.According to an analysis by researchers at the Transition Security Project, Britain has the most overseas-oriented military among European nations, with almost a quarter of the defence budget spent on commitments across five continents. Continue reading...
In today's newsletter: A youth-led movement is protesting crumbling school buildings and teacher shortages while turning adult focus onto wider educational inequalitiesGood morning. In my experience, at any protest, the most memorable and encapsulating slogans are always the ones written by hand with marker pen on cardboard placards.School is a right, not a privilege," read one such sign held aloft by a student in Paris, where huge youth protests over the state of high school education have brought tens of thousands of young people and adults on to the streets, with further strikes planned today.UK politics | Kemi Badenoch has announced that the Conservatives would abolish inheritance tax on family homes if elected, prompting criticism that she is prioritising cutting taxes for the rich.Education | Labour's flagship changes to special education in England are at risk of unravelling because parents are rushing to secure support for their children before the system changes, new analysis has found.Spain | Maria del Carmen Abascal, the 87-year-old whose eviction set off a nationwide wave of protests against Spain's housing crisis, has died.Science | A type of gene therapy based on Nobel prize-winning science is safe and can partly restore sight in blind people, researchers have revealed.Epstein | British billionaire Sir James Goldsmith warned that Jeffrey Epstein was a sexual deviant" decades before the FBI closed in on the abuser, a Guardian investigation has found. Continue reading...
by Ben Quinn with photographs by Graeme Robertson on (#78XFR)
Little if any sign Bury Park is a place where any group might fear to tread, despite Tory MP's comments to the contraryFrom behind the counter of his chippie, Tanner Ahmed is wrestling with the notion that the regular stop-off point for fans attending Luton Town's nearby football ground could be in a no-go zone" for white people.The whole point of setting up was to cater for thousands who were coming through here every week, especially in the first year when the club was in the Premier League," said Ahmed, affectionately known as Mr T, in the Bury Park area, a predominantly Asian district of Luton. Continue reading...
by Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent on (#78XFQ)
Move expected to make pump pricing more transparent and encourage competition after diesel hits record 2 a litreDrivers will be able to see live petrol prices on Google Maps for the first time from Thursday, in a move that will help motorists shop around for the cheapest fuel.Millions of motorists will be able to find the cheapest petrol and diesel prices by searching for a local forecourt in the Google app, in what could prove to be a major development" in making fuel prices more fair, according to campaigners. Continue reading...
Operation on 19-year-old who had no sperm after chemotherapy offers hope of preserving children's fertility after cancer treatmentSurgeons have performed the first testicular tissue transplant on a teenager in the UK, offering hope that boys left infertile by chemotherapy could one day have biological children.The 19-year-old had his tissue removed and frozen three years ago before undergoing treatment for a serious blood disorder. He said he was incredibly grateful" to the medical team behind the pioneering procedure, which represents a potential breakthrough for male fertility preservation. Continue reading...
In Bolotana, 70 miles from island's original blue zone, 13% of women who reach 70 will live on to a centuryThe secret to longevity is being a woman - specifically, a woman in one part of Sardinia. At least, that is the conclusion of a study on centenarians in a tiny mountain village on the Italian island.Sardinia became known as a haven for longevity, especially for long-lived men, in 1999 when a cluster of remote villages nestled in the slopes of its central and eastern provinces were classified among the world's five blue zones" - geographic areas with high concentrations of centenarians. Continue reading...
Investigators probe Asahi, Kirin, Suntory and Sapporo breweries - which together control more than 90% of Japan's beer marketJapanese authorities have raided the country's four biggest breweries over suspicions they colluded to set the price of beer and other beverages - a practice media reports said could have forced drinkers to pay over the odds.Officials from the Fair Trade Commission this week searched the offices of Asahi Breweries, Kirin Brewery, Suntory Beer and Sapporo Breweries - which together control more than 90% of the domestic market. The quartet are suspected of violating the anti-monopoly law. Continue reading...
by Oliver Holmes in Bangkok and agencies on (#78XEH)
NGOs in Indonesian Borneo file class action lawsuit calling for government to better manage annual fires andThe Indonesian government has been accused of gross negligence" in a class action lawsuit over its handling of wildfires that have cloaked large parts of South-east Asia in a toxic haze, shuttered schools and caused a spike in respiratory illnesses.The lawsuit, filed by indigenous and civil society groups in the Indonesian part of Borneo, named President Prabowo Subianto and the governor of West Kalimantan among 10 defendants. The case seeks comprehensive recovery and rehabilitation measures that would include covering the healthcare costs of residents. Continue reading...
MIT computer scientist led development of software for moon mission and earned Presidential Medal of FreedomMargaret Hamilton, the computer pioneer whose software powered the first moon landing, has died, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) announced on Wednesday. She was 90.In an era before titles such as software engineer and computer scientist became mainstream, Hamilton, who died on 30 September, learned to program under the tutelage of a renowned MIT meteorologist. Continue reading...
Hundred-and-fifty-year-old Wych elm in Newcastle, Co Down has grown sideways owing to strong windsThe astonishing and bizarre" Bendy Tree in Northern Ireland has been crowned the winner of this year's tree of the year competition.The wych elm tree, located in Newcastle, County Down, owes its name to its near horizontal trunk, which has grown sideways owing to the strong seaside winds coming off the Irish Sea. Continue reading...
by Andrew Roth Global affairs correspondent on (#78X9B)
In the shadow of the Parthenon, the secretary of state gave a selective reading of history as he urged Europe to awaken from its slumber'The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, delivered a classically inspired apologia for Donald Trump's America first" foreign policy on Wednesday, giving a sweeping speech to the backdrop of the Parthenon in Athens that appeared tailor-made for campaign ads if he runs for president in 2028.In the speech, the top US diplomat drew historical parallels from the founders, philosophers and conquerers of antiquity to the modern American spirit - as well as his family's own journey to the United States - as he called on Europe to awaken from its long slumber" and reject a future of atrophy and servitude and decline". Continue reading...
Ethan Scott Brown died after being wrongly told he would not be eligible to graduate from the University of GlasgowThe family of a student who took his own life after being wrongly told he would not be eligible to graduate have said the University of Glasgow will be held to account".Ethan Scott Brown, 23, was due to graduate in December 2024 after studying geography. Continue reading...
by Luke Harding Senior international correspondent on (#78X96)
Transparent information sharing' from Moscow is required to conduct full risk assessment, UN agency saysThe World Health Organization has said it does not have the full picture" from Russia following the suspected death from plague last week of a 28-year-old laboratory worker in Siberia.Darya Shipilova died two days after falling ill with cold-like symptoms. She was an employee at the anti-plague research institute in the eastern city of Irkutsk, with some reports suggesting she was infected after a workplace accident. Continue reading...
Group's fighters hit key airport in Aden with explosive moments before plane from Cairo was due to landHouthi forces appeared to be making slow advances on Wednesday in south-west Yemen, approaching the city of Taiz and firing a missile and an explosive towards the airport in Aden, the chief international hub of the Saudi-backed government.The explosive hit the key airport moments before a plane was due to land. The British ambassador to Yemen, Abda Sharif, said the attack could have endangered thousands of people. It forced the flight - from Cairo - to be diverted to Jeddah and led to a review about the safety of flights in Aden. Continue reading...
Pentagon chief tries to play down problems onboard carrier as it returns to dock after 260 days at sea without port callPete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, told service members on the USS Abraham Lincoln on Wednesday that their deployment wasn't easy" as the carrier prepares to dock after spending over 260 consecutive days at sea without a port call, setting a navy record.For months, there have been widespread concerns since reports first emerged of supply shortages and deteriorating mental health onboard. In his remarks on Wednesday, however, Hegseth again sought to play down the issues. Continue reading...
Isaias, which succeeded Tropical Depression Nine, would be the first hurricane of the belated Atlantic seasonTropical Storm Isaias formed early on Wednesday in the warm waters off eastern Mexico and forecasters said it was expected to strengthen into the first hurricane of the belated Atlantic season, as early as Thursday, before hitting the US Gulf coast later in the week.Isaias succeeded Tropical Depression Nine as it strengthened overnight. It was located about 285 miles (460km) west of Progreso, Mexico, and about 580 miles south-west of where the Mississippi River spills into the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). The storm on Wednesday morning had maximum sustained winds of 40mph (65km/h) and was moving east to north-east at 8mph. Continue reading...
Inquest under way into why President Lula's success in curbing Amazon deforestation has not led to success at pollsMore fire, more ash, more crime, more death. And a globally important ecosystem driven ever more rapidly towards a point of no return. That is the prospect for the Amazon rainforest for at least the next four years if Flavio Bolsonaro holds on to the lead he established this week in the first round of Brazil's presidential election.This appears to be of far more concern to the outside world than to voters in Latin America's biggest, richest and most biodiverse nation. Continue reading...
by Nadeem Badshah (now), Jakub Krupa Tom Ambrose (ear on (#78WNV)
Nearly 460 schools are affected by continuing protests today, just over a half of those that joined the day of mobilisation' yesterdayWe are getting reports of a knife attack at a vocational school in Ostroka, Poland, which left at least seven people injured, including two seriously, as reported by Poland's RMF FM radio.The city mayor, Pawe Niewiadomski, confirmed in a statement that the situation has been contained.Henri Kagan discovered a new way of manipulating chemical reactions, allowing a greater excess of one of the mirror images to be created than was previously assumed possible. His discovery has been revolutionary for chemists who develop reactions for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, flavours, scents and new materials.Kenso Soai designed the first chemical reaction in which only one of the potential mirror images was formed. Other than life itself, no one had ever achieved this feat. The Soai reaction is one of the most spectacular chemical experiments ever conducted." Continue reading...
Party hopes to win over affluent middle-class voters as leader rejects calls to unite the right' in conference speechKemi Badenoch has announced that the Conservatives would abolish inheritance tax on family homes if elected, prompting criticism that she is prioritising cutting taxes for the rich.The Tory leader also said couples would be able to leave an additional tax-free sum of 1m to their families, as the party attempts to shore up its traditional base in southern England. Continue reading...
Organisations honour those who died three years ago as Andy Burnham says government stands with British JewsBritish Jewish organisations gathered in central London on Wednesday for a vigil honouring victims of the 7 October attacks in Israel, after a day of tributes from politicians and community leaders.The vigil took place at Richmond Terrace, opposite Downing Street. The Board of Deputies of British Jews said: Three years ago, Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel, murdering 1,200 men, women and children, injuring thousands and taking 251 people captive. May their memories for ever remain a blessing." Continue reading...
The Tory leader's proposal to slash the tax would shovel 6bn of taxpayer money to the already-wealthyKemi Badenoch's inheritance tax gambit is a Conservative classic. After all, it was George Osborne's high-profile pledge to take the family home out of inheritance tax" in 2007 that put Gordon Brown off calling a snap general election.In practice, Osborne's plan involved a 1m threshold for inheritance tax - and given the global financial crisis had blown a hole in the public finances by the time the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition came to power in 2010, it never came to pass. Continue reading...
Energy and housing costs threaten biggest decline in modern times unless bold action taken, says thinktankSoaring energy and housing costs mean Labour is on course to preside over the worst parliament for living standards in modern times, a stark analysis warns.Three weeks ahead of John Healey's budget, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation said Britain faces a dire" outlook unless the government takes bold policy action". Continue reading...
The Tory leader is now too big for the party to allow her to fail, so everything she does is acclaimed a work of geniusWhere's AI slop when you need it? It could all have been so much simpler. Just ask ChatGPT to write me a leader's speech in the style of Kemi Badenoch. Make it an hour and 10 minutes long, so plenty of room for padding. Go heavy on the slogans, cliches and the obligatory crap politician jokes. Ones we've all heard many times before. Not least at this conference.Make the usual digs at Labour and put the boot in to Reform. The main aim of the speech is to try to reposition a party that is tanking in third place on 20% in the polls as the main opposition to the government. Continue reading...
Building in Pryluky destroyed, killing nine people including three children, officials say, night before Russian president's 74th birthdayVolodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russia's military of deliberately killing civilians and bombing residential buildings as a macabre gift for Vladimir Putin, who celebrates his 74th birthday on Wednesday.Ukraine's president described Russia's overnight drone and missiles strikes, which killed at least 24 people, as despicable". The Russians wanted to strike painfully and demonstratively," he said. Continue reading...
Exclusive: 11 facilities shut, seven for lack of staff and four over issues such as infestations or lack of running waterEleven bail hostels that were supposed to have housed dangerous prisoners during the early release of stalkers and domestic abusers in England and Wales have been closed, the Guardian can disclose.Seven of the halfway house facilities, known as approved premises, were shut because of a lack of qualified staff, and the other four because of problems such as infestations or lack of running water, Whitehall sources said. Continue reading...
Conservative leader says proposed measures would halve the number of families paying inheritance taxChris Philp, the shadow home secretary, is speaking now at the conference. He described Nick Timothy as the Bob the Builder" of the next parliament on the basis of the Tory pledge to build 50,000 prison places.Can he fix it? Yes he can," Philp said. He went on:I know we didn't get everything right in government, but we now have a plan to make things better, whereas Labour is making them worse.Dangerous men released early from jail. Police numbers down by 2,000. Stop and search opposed. 92% of crime unsolved. Illegal immigrants and foreign criminals not deported.So many parts of government are corrupted by radical identity politics and a deference to clan culture.We can no longer trust our institutions to work for us all, to uphold the principle that justice is blind, that we're all equal before the law. Continue reading...
Campaigners set up in more than 1,200 tents in Puerto del Sol square say challenge now is to translate a groundswell of public support into concrete changeAt a makeshift lunch counter tucked within a maze of tents at a housing protest camp in Madrid, Selpide San Luis pointed to the dizzying pace of change.We built a city in a week," said the 26-year-old, whose videos documenting day-to-day life at the encampment have attracted tens of thousands of views on social media, as she pointed to the more than 1,200 tents set up in the central Puerta del Sol square. We have urban planning, the streets have names and we've put surveillance systems in place. And thanks to what we're doing here, media have not stopped talking about the issue of housing - something that we've been trying to get on the agenda for so long." Continue reading...
Celebrated for his earnest, dextrous voice, Jackson crossed into the pop charts with the hits Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake) and You Are My LadyFreddie Jackson, the US singer whose smooth and romantic take on R&B found a huge audience in the 1980s, has died aged 70.A statement from his family on social media reads: Freddie was more than a legendary voice. He was a kind, generous soul who loved his fans, his family, his friends and his music with everything he had. For decades he gave us the songs that became the soundtrack to our love stories, our celebrations and our most treasured memories. That gift will live on for ever." No cause of death was given. Continue reading...
An initiative on November's ballot aims to overturn the 9.9% tax on earnings above $1m - who's winning the fight?Voters in Washington state will soon decide the fate of the state's so-called millionaire tax" - a 9.9% income tax on earnings above $1m that was signed into law in March and is now facing a conservative-backed effort to repeal it.An initiative on November's ballot aims to overturn the tax, claiming that the tax represents a slippery slope, and would eventually result in taxes for more than just millionaires. A coalition of advocacy groups and unions opposing the initiative say taxing the state's 20,000 highest-earning households could raise approximately $3.5bn in necessary annual revenue to fund core priorities like education and healthcare, and expand tax credits and sales tax exemptions. Continue reading...
Lack of majority for Parti Quebecois puts any referendum in doubt, especially amid bruising trade war with TrumpThe victory of the Parti Quebecois in Monday's election in Quebec might seem to bring its signature goal, of separating the French-speaking province from Canada, much closer - but Canadian unity may not be nearly as threatened as may first seem.The PQ's victory was both impressive and disappointing. The party added 56 seats to its roster and more than doubled its vote share compared to the 2022 election, giving it its first taste of power in 14 years. Crucially, however, it was left five seats short of a majority, making its promise to hold a referendum after Donald Trump leaves office in 2028 nearly impossible. Continue reading...
by Jillian Ambrose Energy correspondent on (#78WQ6)
Record prices caused by global shortages amid shutdown of war-damaged refineries in Middle East and RussiaShell's refineries are expected to make almost double the profit from every barrel of fuel produced owing to record prices caused by shortages around the world.In a market trading update on Wednesday, the energy supermajor forecast profit margins of $42 a barrel in the July to September period, far above the $24 a barrel of the second quarter and the previous high of about $28 in mid-2022. Continue reading...
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