World news | The Guardian

Met Office reports gusts of 80mph in exposed coastal spots and advises people in affected areas to stay indoorsStrong winds have battered Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England overnight as Storm Boelo hit the UK.It was the second named storm in as many days, after Storm Austen brought strong winds to parts of the UK on Friday. The Met Office said wind speeds reached 60-70mph, affecting areas in an amber warning zone that came into force at 9pm on Saturday. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Forensic analysis of found images continues as Meghan's father denies possessing child sexual abuse imagesAll signs point to Thomas Markle Sr being a possible sex offender of the grossest kind" although a full forensic investigation will give a definitive picture", the Philippine interior minister has told the Guardian.Authorities in the south-east Asian country are analysing digital images allegedly belonging to the estranged father of the Duchess of Sussex that were said to have been found at his former home in Cebu. Meghan's half-brother, Thomas Markle Jr, reported to authorities last week that he had apparently discovered a stash of child sexual abuse images. Continue reading...

Teesside town has come out worst in children's commissioner's report, but residents say such rankings are demoralising and counterproductiveIt's disappointing, it's just another kicking," said a youth worker after the town in which they work was labelled as the hardest place in which to be a child in England.It suggests our children are living unhappy lives," said a teacher, who described her pupils as joyful. Continue reading...

Exclusive: research for the Guardian shows pre-pack' deals with former management also pay far less to creditors

Andrew Woosnam took millions from his recruitment firms before creditors, including HMRC, were left out of pocket

Incumbent president lost in first round to senator and son of convicted ex-presidentBrazilians are going to the polls on Sunday in a highly unpredictable runoff in which the leftist president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is attempting an unprecedented comeback against the far-right senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who won the first-round vote.Bolsonaro's surprise victory despite not leading most polls made him the favourite three weeks ago, but since then Lula's campaign has gained ground, and the two go into the contest virtually tied. Continue reading...

Reality TV show returns to focus on childbirth, diversity and the sharing of stories in a social media ageWhen One Born Every Minute first aired in 2010, viewers loved its fly-on-the-wall take on life in a maternity unit, from midwives idly chatting about unusual pregnancy cravings to parents squabbling over whether to call their child Zeus.Almost two decades later, as the show is rebooted for a generation who spend their lives on social media, much has changed. Parents now share far more about their struggles with miscarriages, infertility and mental health; audiences have to be lured away from watching reels on their phones with more rigorous storytelling. Continue reading...

Novelist says demise of Britain's incredible' welfare system and housing struggles have led to deeper divisionsThe novelist Zadie Smith has said that inequality has made culture clashes feel existential", adding that it has become natural to look to your left and think who the fuck are you?'"In an interview with Dua Lipa as part of the Southbank Centre's London literature festival, Smith argued that the demise of Britain's incredible, historic" welfare system has led to greater divisions. Continue reading...

Sewage samples and crime statistics paint a picture of established users taking more cocaine, more often

Exclusive: Wastewater analysis in England suggests people took roughly 2.5bn lines of drug in one year

PM Benjamin Netanyahu vows to destroy this place' in retaliation for militant attack on army checkpointIsraeli troops have levelled a neighbourhood in Hebron, driving out hundreds of families in collective punishment for a militant attack on an army checkpoint outside the West Bank city, local Palestinian authorities said.The Hebron municipality estimated that 35 hectares (86 acres) had been destroyed or marked for destruction and about 1,500 people had been evicted from their homes by Saturday afternoon in the district of Ein Deir Baha. The whole city of 250,000 people was sealed off by checkpoints on every point of entry. Continue reading...

The story of the emirates' presence in Manchester winds from the Arab Spring to some of the most deprived places in England - with complicated results

Humanitarian catastrophe largely ignored as rivals Gadi Eisenkot and Benjamin Netanyahu vow to end Hamas ruleAs Israel prepares to go to the polls, Palestinians in Gaza are bracing for an outcome that could shape their future, knowing their fate rests with the country that has reduced much of the territory to rubble and killed nearly 75,000 people.Gaza, where nearly a million displaced Palestinians face dire sanitary conditions, water shortages and the constant threat of Israeli strikes, has been largely absent from the election campaign. Continue reading...

BoM predicts hail, damaging winds, flash flooding and power outages across southern Queensland, western NSW, the ACT and eastern Victoria on Sunday afternoon

Commissioner Krissy Barrett says women are more often singled out, often with threats of sexual violence

Kim Aris tells the Guardian chance to speak with detained Nobel laureate was public relations' move from military leadersMyanmar's former democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi appears to be in good physical and mental health but is living in near-complete isolation, her son has said after the first call with his 81-year-old mother in more than five years.She still sounds certainly all there mentally, and physically she sounds strong," Kim Aris said. I don't think she has anybody outside of the military or the police around her, so essentially she's been held in solitary confinement from what I gather." Continue reading...

Offenders still at large after shots fired from vehicle outside licensed premises in Loganholme

Prime minister is considering different options for new relationship with Brussels ahead of summit in NovemberAndy Burnham says he wants an honest discussion" with the British public about the possibility of a return to free movement between the UK and the EU as part of his plans for a new relationship with the bloc.The prime minister has been open about his desire to revisit the relationship between Britain and Brussels. He has said a new deal could mean the UK goes all the way" and rejoins the EU. Continue reading...

Fresh deluge of wet weather comes after Storm Austen brought strong winds to many regions on FridayAmber weather warnings have come into force as the worst of Storm Boelo could be set to hit parts of the UK.Storm Boelo's winds will peak from Saturday evening, leaving areas in the warning zone, including Scotland, parts of Northern Ireland and the far north of England, braced for gusts of 60-70mph and even 80mph in exposed coastal spots, the Met Office said. Continue reading...

Chancellor will build on Burnham's promise that local leaders in England will no longer have to come cap in hand to Westminster'Andy Burnham has promised that local leaders in England will no longer have to come cap in hand to Westminster" ahead of a fresh drive to devolve spending power in next week's budget.In his statement on Wednesday, the chancellor, John Healey, will include plans for a new 1.5bn borrowing facility, to be drawn up in collaboration with mayors over the next two years. Continue reading...

Nearly 159 million people to head to polls on Sunday in battle between leftwing incumbent and Flavio BolsonaroMore than one million supporters of Brazil's leftwing president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, have streamed on to Rio's most famous beach for a giant protest they hope will propel him towards a historic election fightback against his far-right rival, Flavio Bolsonaro.Nearly 159m Brazilians will vote in the election's runoff on Sunday, with the pair tied in the polls after Bolsonaro won the first round on 4 October by 47% to 45%. Continue reading...

French police have made 1,000 arrests and Italian officers have raided homes in Milan, with protests also taking place in Spain and AlbaniaJesse, 40, a charity worker from the north of Paris, had turned out for the street march.She said: I'm so angry. I'm here to support schoolchildren's demands for better conditions. I'm so proud of them and we have to stand together." Continue reading...

Met police say Anthony Lloyd, 38, was last seen on Friday in south London, and poses a risk to himself and the public'A manhunt is under way to locate a prisoner who police say poses a risk both to himself and the public" after he absconded from a medical facility in London.Anthony Lloyd forced his way out of a health unit in Lewisham, in south-east London, shortly after 4pm on Friday, the Metropolitan police said. Continue reading...

Almost 1,000 arrested as police charge crowd in Paris and teargas used to stop protesters reaching other city centresHundreds of thousands marched in cities across France on Saturday in largely peaceful protests to support schoolchildren's demands for more teachers and repairs to dilapidated buildings, as Emmanuel Macron faces a social and political crisis in his final months as president.In Paris, at least 110,000 people marched along the eastern edge of the city, according to government estimates. They supported high schoolers but also complained of the high cost of living and the government's heavy policing, saying riot police had been sent to target school protesters over the past month, instead of the government offering political solutions. Continue reading...

Fender criticises stadium pricing, calling it bollocks' and says it won't be happening' on his tourSam Fender has responded to criticism by fans about ticket prices for his 2027 stadium tour by promising he would lower the cost, telling followers on Instagram: They're getting changed."The 32-year-old musician announced his Proper Massive stadium tour earlier this week. Continue reading...

Fund will support feasibility study for potential bid to host Games in 2040s, backed by northern mayors and top athletesJohn Healey is to announce a 7m fund to examine a potential future bid to host the Olympics in northern England in his first budget as chancellor.The fund will be used to carry out a full feasibility study for a northern Games, which, if successful, would be held in the north of England in the 2040s. Continue reading...

About 200 firefighters deployed to tackle blaze at former Nazi mountain retreat in remote part of southern GermanyPolice have arrested a 33-year-old German citizen after a fire ripped through Adolf Hitler's former mountain retreat in Bavaria, leaving the historic Nazi meeting place - known as the Eagle's Nest - largely destroyed.About 200 firefighters were deployed on Friday night to tackle the blaze at the Nazi dictator's remote, purpose-built Kehlsteinhaus residence, a protected building on the peak of Obersalzberg in southern Germany. Continue reading...

Footage broadcast on state TV shows three attackers approaching Greek Orthodox church and firing shotsNine people have been killed after gunmen opened fire at a funeral at a church in Jordan in a rare attack on the country's Christian minority.Authorities described the attack on Friday as a terrorist act by extremists. Continue reading...

Scotland Yard says it shared letter about Thomas Markle Sr allegations in 2019 but did not pass claims to other agenciesThe Metropolitan police have confirmed they gave a letter to the Duchess of Sussex in 2019 concerning alleged offending" involving her father, after accusations arose on Friday about Thomas Markle Sr having child sexual abuse images.Scotland Yard said it had received a letter in January 2019 making a number of allegations about offending outside Britain. Continue reading...

North Korean leader travels over New Yalu River Bridge to meet senior Communist party memberKim Jong-un has visited China, inaugurating a bridge that connects the two countries and saying he hopes to expand cooperation with his neighbour.The North Korean leader arrived in the Chinese border city of Dandong on Saturday after crossing the New Yalu River Bridge, according to South Korea's unification ministry, which handles affairs related to North Korea, and China's official Xinhua news agency. Continue reading...

Second named storm will hit northern parts of UK as thousands remain without power after Friday's Storm AustenThe UK is bracing for a second storm this weekend, as strong winds and heavy rain are expected to disrupt travel and cause further power cuts in the north.Storm Boelo, the second named storm of the season, is expected to bring heavy, frequent showers and winds potentially exceeding 80mph to northern parts of the UK. Continue reading...

Leading restaurateur says Gulf countries actively help businesses set up, while east Asia has a better work ethicSome of London's top restaurants are opening branches in Dubai because of a tax tsunami" in the UK and better work ethic abroad, according to a leading restaurateur.James Robson, a co-owner of Fallow in St James's Market, regarded as the capital's hottest restaurant, serving 1,000 people a day, has just signed a deal to open an outpost in the Gulf. Continue reading...

Lobby group's figures, shared with John Healey, are misleading as they do not include major rival Paris, say campaignersA banking lobby group has been accused of cherrypicking data and trying to mislead the British government by claiming a tax rise for banks at next week's budget would leave London less competitive than rival financial hubs.UK Finance, which represents banks including Lloyds, JP Morgan and Revolut, commissions an annual report tallying up all the taxes shouldered by a large bank, including corporation tax, social security, VAT and bank-specific levies. Continue reading...

The 36-year-old died after two boys reportedly swept away by strong current near Bimini, police sayA British woman has died in the Bahamas while trying to rescue her two sons after a current swept them away as they were snorkelling.The Royal Bahamas police force said it had launched an investigation after the death of a 36-year-old woman on Tuesday. Continue reading...

Government campaign recommends three days' worth of stores for emergencies, but some are ahead of the gameDried foods, bottled water, medicine stocks and backup power banks: it could be the props cupboard on a disaster movie, but instead it is precisely what some UK residents are stockpiling amid official warnings about Russian state-sponsored terrorism" and the impact of the climate crisis.The government launched a campaign on Thursday advising people to set aside three days' worth of stores to deal with a whole range of eventualities, and some are already well under way. Continue reading...

Founding member of Planxty, Lunny went on to play for bands such as Moving Hearts, the Bothy Band and CoolfinThe Irish traditional musician Donal Lunny has died at the age of 79 from cancer.Lunny rose to prominence in the trio Rakes of Kildare alongside his brother Frank and Christy Moore. He went on to play in bands such as Planxty, Moving Hearts, the Bothy Band and Coolfin among others and toured the world. Continue reading...

Tim and Geli Harris have spent more than a decade fighting to protect Catfield Fen, a rare wetland in the Norfolk BroadsPolluters and regulators who fail to stop pollution must quake in their boots when they receive a letter from the lawyers for Tim and Geli Harris. The couple, who farm 460 acres in the Norfolk Broads, have now scored a hat-trick of landmark legal victories to save an internationally important wetland after they won again in the high court this month.Lady Justice Lieven found that Natural England failed in its statutory duty to protect Catfield Fen from pollution after nitrates and phosphates washed from arable fields into one of the finest examples of calcareous fen in western Europe, home to 2,500 species including rarities such as the fen orchid, crested buckler fern, breeding bittern and swallowtail butterflies. Continue reading...

Are we doomscrolling our way into a democratic crisis? That's what the playwright James Graham fears may be happening, as he suggests that our algorithms have led us into a massive crisis of the new' and are preventing us from imagining a different futureWatch the full episode with James Graham here.

Data released under freedom of information laws reveals hundreds of projects unfinished despite Tory promises on regional equality Can a 5.8bn scheme help revive Grimsby and other town centres?Most levelling up projects are not finished, years after funds were allocated, highlighting how ambitious Conservative promises of quick progress on regional equality have faltered.Data released under freedom of information laws and manually reviewed by the Guardian found 821 levelling up projects out of 1,347 were yet to be finalised as of May this year. Across the UK, 73 council areas that had a bid for a project accepted were yet to see a single one fully completed. The Guardian has identified 59 projects that were completed since the data was collected. Continue reading...

Closures within chain formerly under the WH Smith brand raise fears of high streets becoming postal deserts'Towns and even city centres face being left as postal deserts" after it emerged that more than a third of post offices within the troubled TG Jones chain are closing.So far this year 36 branches within the high street chain formerly known as WH Smith have closed and a further 34 are set to close by early 2027, according to Post Office records analysed by the Guardian. Continue reading...

Established under the Franco dictatorship, the lunchtime ritual is in decline but all is not lostA little before lunchtime each working day across Spain, evidence of one of the lingering, if less notorious, legacies of the Franco dictatorship is carefully traced in chalk, marker pen and printer ink.Beckoning to hungry workers from blackboards, whiteboards and pieces of paper hastily taped to windows, the competitively priced menu del dia, or daily set-price lunch, has been part of everyday Spanish life for more than half a century. But while 4m menus are still served each weekday, Spain is slowly losing its appetite for the familiar ritual. Continue reading...

Security forces to include elite units usually used for counter-terrorism after worst street violence in yearsFrance will deploy about 70,000 police around the country on Saturday as the government seeks to prevent more civil unrest after some of the worst street violence in years erupted on the fringes of cost-of-living protests last weekend.The interior minister, Laurent Nunez, said on Friday the security forces would include elite units usually used for counter-terrorism operations and hostage rescues, adding that there had been social media calls for violence from ultra-left" groups. Continue reading...

The prime minister has defined and dominated his country's politics for three decades and is putting his rivals on the defensive before Tuesday's general electionThey chant his name, they cheer and clap - and yet he is not the most dominant person in the room. Looming over the crowd that has gathered to hear Gadi Eisenkot, the former general who is the lead opposition challenger in Tuesday's Israeli election, is a man who is not there. It is the man Eisenkot seeks to replace as prime minister, the man who first served in that role three decades ago and who has held it, on and off, for 19 of the past 30 years. It is Benjamin Netanyahu.Naturally, the warm-up speakers at this evening rally in the modest city of Modi'in, halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, stress the virtues of Eisenkot, a son of working-class Moroccan Jews who rose through the ranks to become chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces and entered politics only four years ago. But every sentence might as well end with two words that go unspoken: unlike Bibi. Continue reading...

Humble breakfast staple at heart of trend stirred up by health concerns and hearty spoonfuls of nostalgiaThe clocks may be going back in the UK this weekend, but the biggest sign winter is coming is a steaming bowl of porridge on a breakfast table.A staple for centuries, porridge is traditionally made with oats, water and a pinch of salt or sugar. However, the humble dish is now experiencing its own renaissance, with the latest iterations transforming it from drab to decadent. The trend is being driven by a growing fibre-centric movement as well as by nostalgia. Continue reading...

Super typhoon weakening but large parts of Taiwan, including Taipei, still mostly closed and flights cancelledTyphoon Champi swept past Taiwan on Saturday killing one person, injuring more than 500, and uprooting trees and severing power as it weakened and headed north toward the Chinese coast.Earlier classified as a super typhoon and one of the strongest storms in the Pacific this year, Champi was still packing gusts of about 126km per hour (78 miles per hour) near its centre, according to Taiwan's Central Weather Administration (CWA). Continue reading...

WA politician says he considered attending Senate estimates virtually but was told it would be unacceptable'

Independent MP now serious but stable, according to update from Melbourne's Alfred hospital

Parts of Queensland, Victoria and South Australia can expect severe storms on Saturday, moving into NSW and Tasmania by Sunday

Campaigners call lack of progress staggering' as online regulator issues review of first nine months of new regimeLandmark online safety measures have failed to limit the proportion of children suffering harm from social media, the UK's online regulator has admitted, in an assessment branded staggering" by campaigners.The proportion of children being fed unsafe content that often left them frightened, confused and upset, was almost unchanged, according to an Ofcom review of the first nine months of supposedly strict requirements on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. Continue reading...

David Shoebridge's newly-minted leadership under pressure over handling of misconduct allegations as Senate estimates looms