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Five defendants accused of being part of black team' tasked with overcoming security at Israel-linked firm Elbit near BristolPalestine Action activists brandished whips, hammers and kebab skewers to intimidate security guards and keep them at bay during a break-in at an Israel-linked arms factory, a court has heard.Five defendants are accused by prosecutors of being part of a black team", wearing black jumpsuits, whose role was to overwhelm security guards, so that a red team", wearing red jumpsuits, could break into the Elbit systems factory in Filton, near Bristol, and smash up equipment including drones. Continue reading...

Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Schumer criticize president after US added 29,000 new jobs in September, sharply less than the 84,000 economists had predicted

Guarantee will remain until 2030 but MPs will vote on changes during this parliament, government saysAndy Burnham will pass legislation to scrap the state pension triple lock in this parliament, even though the guarantee will remain until 2030, the government has said.The prime minister used his conference speech to announce a change to the policy, which guarantees that the state pension rises by the highest of 2.5%, inflation or earnings growth. Continue reading...

Opposition lawmakers join forces to defeat proposals made by Socialist-led coalition after eviction of 87-year-oldRightwing lawmakers in Spain have joined forces to reject emergency measures put forward to tackle the country's housing crisis, pitting a fractured parliament against the widespread protest movement that has swelled in recent days.As protesters outside the parliament building in Madrid held up homemade signs bearing images of vultures, the conservative People's party, the far-right Vox and the Catalan pro-independence party Junts voted against a package of decrees by Pedro Sanchez's Socialist-led coalition that included a ban on evictions until 2030 and the regulation of temporary lettings and lettings by room. Continue reading...

Kathy Hochul briefs journalists with state attorney general Letitia James, who will be taking over the entire case

The 1938 mansion, Casa Encantada, once belonged to Conrad Hilton and was sold at foreclosure auctionTech billionaire Peter Thiel has been revealed as the new owner of a storied Bel-Air estate that quietly sold in July for a staggering $130m.The 1938 mansion, Casa Encantada, was sold at an open-air foreclosure auction in Pomona, with the name of the buyer kept under wraps for months. The winning bid is now revealed to have come from a limited liability company linked to the venture capitalist and PayPal and Palantir co-founder, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the buyer's identity. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereBack to France, midday figures quoted by Le Figaro show that 564 schools and educational establishments have been disrupted by the ongoing unrest, and some 600 people have been arrested so far today as the high school protests continue.Europe environment correspondent Continue reading...

Exclusive: Education secretary sends Ofsted back to drawing board' as teachers raise serious concerns about new systemSchool inspections in England will be overhauled for the second time in a year, after a barrage of complaints that the new system was dangerously stressful and damaging teachers' mental health.Lucy Powell, the education secretary, will tell the schools regulator Ofsted to go back to the drawing board" after becoming concerned that inspection changes overseen by her predecessor, Bridget Phillipson, were creating problems for headteachers. Continue reading...

US says ship thought to be using common dark fleet' tactics was boarded and taken to Mexico as embargo continuesThe US Coast Guard has announced that it intercepted a large cargo ship carrying fuel bound for Cuba, as the Trump administration's crippling oil embargo against the island nation continued.The vessel named Grace was stopped on 5 September in the Caribbean Sea between Cuba and Mexico while using tactics to evade authorities, the Coast Guard said. The New York Times reported that the ship was 91 metres (300ft) long. Continue reading...

Plaid Cymru's Rhun ap Iorwerth says he has asked PM to put Wales on equal footing with Scotland as bare minimum'

From pillboxes and boaters to bicornes and buckets, characterful hats are making their way from the catwalk to the high streetHere goes - an order for a million hats," wrote Jackie Kennedy to Bergdorf Goodman before moving into the White House in the early 1960s. It's a line that could have been uttered by any number of people working in fashion today, because the hat - and not just the ubiquitous baseball cap - has been enjoying a very characterful resurgence.This season at the turbo-high-end brand Loro Piana, whose clothes are beloved by tech bros and Kendall Roy, almost every model was wearing a hat. At Thom Browne, straw boaters came shrouded in colourful mesh. At Chloe there were see-through hats to match see-through trenchcoats and white sailor hats atop all-white outfits. Courrege's hats were space-age, Burberry had big buckets, Bottega Veneta had hats brimming with charisma. Continue reading...

Home affairs department orders all federal government agencies to conduct review of legacy technology' amid fallout from AI agent hacks

This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereZack Polanski also insisted his authority as leader of the Green party of England and Wales does not depend on winning next week's Holborn and St Pancras byelection, amid suggestions that the party's popularity has peaked.Polanski, who is trying to take Keir Starmer's former seat from Labour, described the contest as probably 50/50 right now" and really on a knife edge".This will be our biggest and most exciting Green party conference ever, coming on the back of a year of unprecedented membership growth and extraordinary electoral success.Greens have turned hope into electoral wins - in councils, boroughs, in mayoral elections and with our exciting breakthrough in Gorton and Denton. Continue reading...

Exclusive: CrowdJustice platform says US firm Stripe, its payment processor, cannot support accounts or transactions' linked to groupAn online crowdfunder to raise money for the UK supreme court challenge to the ban on Palestine Action has been blocked as a result of US sanctions against the direct action group.CrowdJustice, a UK company, has declined to host a fundraiser for legal fees to fight proscription because the platform uses the US company Stripe as its payment processor. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Britain's largest private-sector employer has also trained managers to spot signs of domestic abuseTesco has become the first supermarket to introduce paid safe leave" for victims of domestic abuse, giving staff dedicated time to access support, secure their safety and take steps to move on with their lives.The UK's largest private-sector employer is offering up to three days of paid leave which can be taken flexibly for activities such as attending court hearings, arranging emergency accommodation, changing locks, securing childcare or separating finances. Continue reading...

France proposes that EU nations and IEA release oil and diesel from reserves as Iran war drives up cost worldwide

Derbyshire county council accused of worst kind of double speak' as it denies banning local democracy journalist but says it will ignore his inquiriesRows over potholes and a viral story about a garden gate have led to Reform UK's latest confrontation with local media, after one of its councils announced it would refuse to engage with a reporter behind the stories.Reform-run Derbyshire county council has been accused of setting a dangerous precedent" after withdrawing all cooperation with Eddie Bisknell, a Derbyshire Live journalist who is publicly funded to cover local democracy. Continue reading...

Baird, father of former NSW premier Mike Baird and journalist Julia Baird, helped win the Olympics for Sydney

Group says trading was helped by airing of Netflix documentary and opening of its 100th outlet

Exclusive: Party leader says outcome of knife edge' vote in Keir Starmer's former seat will not affect his position

Attack accessing historical data on bushfires occurred in June but not disclosed by the tech company until Thursday

Dispute over march will go to legal appeal on Monday after talks hosted by Northern Ireland secretary endTalks aimed at resolving the Drumcree parade dispute have broken up without agreement, with the Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Bryant, describing the situation as being between a rock and a hard place".Speaking on Thursday night after the latest talks with the Orange Order and residents of Garvaghy Road broke up, Bryant said: I think this is the end of these conversations. We haven't come to a settled agreement, and it's a shame, but my door remains open." Continue reading...

Pike alive but in critical condition as experts call ordeal that unfolded in Tennessee Wednesday unimaginably barbaric'Top lawyers, doctors and members of the faith community are calling for a moratorium on the US death penalty after Tennessee's failed attempt to execute Christa Pike left the prisoner alive but in critical condition and receiving life-saving medical care.The recent spate of harrowingly botched executions across US death penalty states reached a new low late on Wednesday when Tennessee's governor Bill Lee called off the procedure after Pike had been injected with two full syringes of pentobarbital. She is the only person to have survived being administered 5mg of the sedative - a massive dose that under normal circumstances is considered fatal. Continue reading...

Smit Machchhar says in video call with Indian PM that he realised if he did not get up then passengers would lose their lives'The Indian pilot who helped thwart an apparent attempt to crash a flydubai flight has described how he fought for his life in the minutes after his co-pilot stabbed him and the plane began a steep descent.Capt Smit Machchhar, who is recovering in an Abu Dhabi hospital, told the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, in a video call broadcast live on television news channels that he knew he had to get back on his feet to save the passengers onboard the aircraft. Continue reading...

Under new WA laws anyone who defies an exclusion order could face a maximum $36,000 fine and three years in prison

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Court hears audio of call made on morning Luke Davies and Jesse Baird were allegedly murdered by NSW police officerWarning: graphic image below

Exclusive: Met police say 70 women's accounts have hallmarks of trafficking, suggesting case numbers could riseAlmost half of the women who reported allegations of sexual abuse by Mohamed Al Fayed to the Metropolitan police are potential victims of human trafficking, MPs have been told.In a briefing for the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for the survivors of Fayed and Harrods in July, senior Met officers said a review earlier this year found 70 survivors' accounts bore the hallmarks of trafficking. Continue reading...

Britain's nursing union axes Teva UK as commercial partner over links to Israel's military and corporate track recordBritain's nursing union has cut its ties with an Israeli drug company over the firm's links to the country's military and track record of corporate misconduct.The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has axed Teva UK as a commercial partner and as sponsor of a forthcoming event on migraine and headaches at the union's London headquarters. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: When a passenger plane plunges 17,000ft amid claims of terrorism, hijacking and geopolitical intrigue, Guardian journalists have to try and separate fact from fiction in real timeGood morning. Shocking news of a cockpit stabbing. Graphic footage of bloodied crew members. Mid-air testimony from terrified passengers.This was the tenor of the heart-in-mouth reporting as the horrifying events unfolded onboard flight FZ 1073 to Tel Aviv: the early morning budget flight that plummeted 17,000ft in under two minutes before the courageous intervention of passengers and crew averted an apparent hijacking, potentially saving the lives of not just the 170+ passengers and crew on board, but many more.UK politics | Ministers are working up sweeping plans for welfare changes including scrapping a key disability benefit for under-25s and replacing it with a multibillion-pound package of support to get into work.Northern Ireland | Talks aimed at resolving the Drumcree parade dispute have broken up without agreement, with Northern Ireland secretary Chris Bryant describing the situation as being between a rock and a hard place".US news | Tennessee's governor has suspended all executions in the state and ordered an independent inquiry after a botched attempt to put a condemned inmate to death on Wednesday night.AI | When prompted, AI chat bots will edit images to remove the hijabs from Muslim women, a violation of one of the world's most common and visible expressions of faith.Europe news | A fast-growing protest by high-school students over long hours, teacher shortages and decaying facilities has escalated into urban violence", the French government has warned. Continue reading...

Redundancy process suggests home of Gavin and Stacey and Fleabag could go online-only again in 500m cuts pushThe BBC has started a redundancy process in its TV and streaming division, heightening staff fears that Matt Brittin will announce the closure of the poorly performing BBC Three and BBC Scotland channels next week.The corporation's director general, who has repeatedly said that linear TV and radio services may have to shut as audiences move online, is expected to inform staff on Wednesday of the latest stage of a plan to save 500m and shed up to 2,000 jobs. Continue reading...

NSW police allege the men, aged 18, 19 and 20, broke into homes in Arncliffe and Bankstown this week before assaulting the women aged 31 and 32

Speculation that Flavio Bolsonaro will try to strip Our Lady of Aparecida of position could become deciding factor in run-up to SundayA row of Biblical proportions has erupted in the run-up to Brazil's presidential election, with the country's patron saint, Our Lady of Aparecida, emerging as an unlikely kingmaker in the deadlocked race.Ahead of Sunday's vote, the two frontrunners - the leftwing president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and his far-right challenger, Flavio Bolsonaro - are level in the polls. Continue reading...

Four astronauts pulled up at International Space Station after eight-hour express flight led by Jessica WatkinsFour astronauts pulled up at the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday after launching on an eight-hour express that set a US speed record, and that created further history with the first Black woman to lead a crew to orbit.SpaceX launched commander Jessica Watkins and her crew for Nasa after a three-week delay to fix their Dragon capsule's leaking fuel system. Thick clouds threatened all morning to halt the countdown but skies cleared enough to allow a safe liftoff from Cape Canaveral at 11.10am (1510 GMT). Continue reading...

Latin America correspondent Tom Phillips reports on this Sunday's historic presidential elections in Brazil, as the son of jailed former president Jair Bolsonaro hopes to take powerYou would have been forgiven for thinking that when Jair Bolsonaro was convicted in September 2025 of attempting a coup, his political career was finished and his legacy forever tainted.But in the first round of Brazil's presidential elections this Sunday, another Bolsonaro has genuine hopes of victory - not Jair, but his son Flavio, who ialso campaigning to have his father released released. Continue reading...

EU Copernicus report shows surface air temperatures from June to August were 2.5C above decadal averageThe scorching heat that persistently baked western Europe this summer was the worst on record, a report has found, with more than half the continent seared by very strong" heat stress that felt hotter than 38C.Surface air temperatures in western Europe from June to August were 2.5C above the recent decadal average, according to an update from the EU's Copernicus climate monitoring service on Friday, while milder but still deadly heat across the rest of the continent made the summer Europe's third hottest on record. Continue reading...

Migration agents and lawyers selling false hope' to people seeking to stay in Australia also in government's sights as it seeks to reduce overseas arrivalsVisa hopping" international students, migration agents and lawyers trying to game" the migration system will be targeted by the government, as Labor unveils a further crackdown.The changes announced on Friday mean international students will soon need to apply for a separate visa to transfer courses, on top of previously announced rules that prevent transferring to a lower grade course, such as switching from a bachelor or masters' degree to a vocational program. Continue reading...

Russia's foreign ministry had called planned shows unacceptable due to rapper's glorification' of Adolf HitlerTwo sold-out shows that Kanye West was due to play in Russia have been cancelled after weeks of confusion, organisers have confirmed.The US rapper, who now goes by the name Ye, had been due to perform at the Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg on 10 and 11 October.Press Association contributed to this report Continue reading...

Rock band will still tour the UK, Europe and US over the next year but say decision to fall dormant' feels liberating'The British rock band Enter Shikari have announced they will go on hiatus at the end of 2027, a decision that may result in the band's extinction".The St Albans band, who formed in 1999 as Hybryd, are due to tour the UK in November, Europe and the US next year, and said they hoped to play some of their favourite places one last time". Continue reading...

After five years of work, 5,750 panels of toughened glass will help keep hundred of plants safe from Scottish winters - but more work needs to be doneIn the early autumn sunlight, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh's extensive plant collection appears safe in their glass enclosures. But danger lurks from above for the tropical ferns, cycads and rare alpine heathers.Soon the September sunshine will give way to the storms and gales of the Scottish winter, which can bring hundreds of glass panels crashing to the greenhouse floor on the windiest days. Nobody is allowed inside when the wind is above 30mph. Continue reading...

Planned rule change forms part of Burnham's bid to crack down on the little charges that add up'Airlines will be blocked from charging parents extra to sit with their children on planes, according to government plans.The new rule would require airlines to seat passengers aged under 14 next to their parents or an accompanying adult free of charge. Passengers will also no longer need to pay to tweak the name on their flight booking if they need to correct a mistake. Continue reading...

More than $237m will be distributed to drivers over firm labeling them independent contractors and not employeesLyft agreed to pay the state of California $272.5m on Thursday to settle claims that it stole drivers' wages by mislabeling them as independent contractors rather than employees.Rob Bonta, California's attorney general, called the agreement a landmark win for workers" and said it was the largest settlement involving wage theft claims in the state's history. Continue reading...

PM has praised Abu Dhabi group as huge partner' in reshaping Manchester, but critics say this ignores public cost of city's transformationIn July 2016, the Manchester City player Yaya Toure ambled into a small bar near Beijing's Workers' Stadium and offered a bemused smile as dozens of Chinese fans rushed towards him.Manchester City had just won their sixth trophy under the big-spending ownership of Sheikh Mansour's Abu Dhabi United Group and the blues were international megastars. They were also magnets for investment. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Plan under discussion involves intensive support to help young people into employmentMinisters are working up sweeping plans for welfare changes including scrapping a key disability benefit for under-25s and replacing it with a multibillion-pound package of support to get into work, the Guardian has learned.Whitehall sources said the package of changes under debate was much bigger than previously thought, as Andy Burnham's government hopes to persuade more people on benefits back into work. Continue reading...

Jorge Messias calls Guardian report an important alert for Brazilian sovereignty' as nation prepares to go to pollsBrazil's attorney general has said foreign meddling in his country's institutions and democracy cannot be tolerated" after a Guardian report revealed how the Trump administration was pushing to direct funds to a campaign against the Brazilian supreme court.Writing on X, Jorge Messias called the report an important alert for Brazilian sovereignty". The information is especially serious in light of Brazil's electoral process and the recent episodes of external pressure on our institutions," Messias added. Continue reading...

Chancellor faces global volatility and soaring energy costs as some insiders worry lack of clarity could trigger fresh market shockSenior Labour figures are privately voicing unease about John Healey's approach to his crucial first budget this month, against the backdrop of volatile global markets and soaring energy costs.The chancellor's work has been made significantly harder by the global bond sell-off, which continues to raise the cost of government borrowing, and ever increasing energy prices as Donald Trump continues the US war with Iran. Continue reading...

The former marketing executive is expected to play a big role in promoting the UK and could be the most influential spouse in No 10 in yearsSarah Brown called Gordon her hero, Samantha Cameron insisted David was incredibly funny", while Akshata Murty said Rishi was her best friend. When Marie-France van Heel spoke about her husband, Andy Burnham, in a rare public interview a decade ago, she joked that she had noticed his good looks ... and monobrow".The spousal humanising of a party leader is a well-worn political tool, but van Heel is likely to be a very different prime ministerial partner. The former senior marketing executive is poised to play a more significant role in promoting Britain than any other spouse in the last two decades, stepping up her political engagements after stepping back from her own corporate career. Continue reading...

Counter-terrorism police arrest 27-year-old in Westminster, while second man questioned under cautionDetectives have arrested a dual UK-Iranian national on suspicion of terrorism offences as part of an investigation into a suspected plot near RAF Fairford.Counter-terrorism police said the 27-year-old man was arrested on Thursday in Westminster on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts under section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006. Continue reading...

Ministers discuss drawing down EU countries' reserves after Donald Trump threatens to cut off US suppliesBritain is in talks with European allies over releasing emergency diesel stockpiles after Donald Trump threatened to cut off US supplies of the fuel.Ministers held calls with counterparts from the European Commission, Germany, France, Italy and Ireland on Thursday to discuss whether to draw down reserves after the Trump administration told Germany and France to release their stockpiles to help ease soaring global energy prices or face a US export ban. Continue reading...

The president said it was a warning if any countries were considering an attack on RussiaThe EU Commission, France, Italy, Ireland and Britain are holding a call on the possible need to release diesel stocks, an EU official said, as reported by Reuters.A Commission spokesperson had earlier declined direct comment on reports that the Trump administration has told Germany and France to draw down emergency diesel inventories to help to ease global fuel prices or face a potential US diesel export ban. Continue reading...