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This is voter fraud at the highest level,' president tells rally crowd in South Carolina; Alaska governor orders inquiry into Peltola campaign amid Republican outcry

Pentagon says it has referred leak case to justice department for criminal investigationThe US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has reportedly dismissed Lt Gen Brett Sylvia, a high-ranking army strategist serving on the Pentagon's joint staff, following allegations that he disclosed classified information to the public.The Pentagon announced on Thursday that it had referred an alleged information leak case for criminal investigation, maintaining that the removal of the senior general was essential to protect sensitive information", the Washington Post reported. Continue reading...

Court of appeal is set to rule on the two appeals from 10am in the high profile Australian mushroom triple-murder case

Star Trek: the Next Generation and X-Men actor died at his home after a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia'

The Department of Homeland Security asked an Icelandic hosting company to take down data obtained through hackThe US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) asked an Icelandic hosting company on Thursday to take down or limit access to data related to thousands of agency personnel, saying the content put them at risk, according to the request posted online by hosting company FlokiNET.The database places more than 40,000 identifiable individuals at risk of harassment, stalking and physical harm", the request said. Continue reading...

Democrat Mary Peltola's campaign allegedly collaborated with party operatives to confuse voters in midtermsThe US justice department on Thursday is reported to have issued subpoenas in response to a report that the Alaska Democrat Mary Peltola's campaign collaborated with party operatives to get a challenger with the same name as the Republican senator Dan Sullivan on the midterm ballot.ABC News reported the subpoenas, citing sources familiar with the matter. The federal investigation comes a day after the New York Times found that the effort to recruit a second candidate named Dan Sullivan in the Senate race set to be decided on Tuesday was led by Peltola's campaign, which had for months denied involvement. Continue reading...

Experts round on chancellor over scattergun' budget, saying he ducked big tax and spending decisionsJohn Healey has backed away from cutting the cost of welfare this parliament, amid dire warnings his first budget could lead to brutal spending cuts because of a 28bn shortfall in public finances.Experts rounded on Healey's steady-as-she-goes budget on Thursday, with the Institute for Fiscal Studies saying he had left himself a mountain to climb by ducking big tax and spending decisions. Continue reading...

Move comes as Philippines police investigate alleged child sexual abuse images reportedly found at Thomas Markle Sr's former homeThe Metropolitan police has referred itself to the police watchdog over potential errors in its handling of a 2019 letter warning of dangers to the security of the Duchess of Sussex posed by her father.The letter made allegations about Thomas Markle, the father of Meghan, who is facing claims of child sexual abuse images offending linked to the Philippines, which he denies. Continue reading...

Ministry of Justice figures show recalls rose 27% in year to June despite emergency measures to ease overcrowdingMore people were recalled to jails in England and Wales in the first half of this year than were released, despite government efforts to reduce the prison population, according to figures released on Thursday.Ministry of Justice (MoJ) data shows that 12,338 people were recalled to custody between the beginning of April and the end of June, while 12,278 people were released. It continues a trend set between January and March, when 13,193 people were returned to prison and 12,977 released. Continue reading...

Blaze was world's deadliest residential fire since 1980, but some survivors and bereaved families say justice has yet to be servedHong Kong's leader has apologised for government shortcomings that contributed to a fire that killed 168 people in the city last year, a rare sign of public contrition that nevertheless failed to impress some victims' families.The chief executive, John Lee, and seven other officials bowed in apology at the release of a report that pointed to decades of failure" by government bodies. Continue reading...

Emergency services, drones and dog unit continue to comb carriages as Civil Guard sets up clinics for relatives to provide DNA samples

Caroline Voaden says Reform UK leader grabbed her by the arm and tried to push past her in incident in May UK politics live - latest updatesA female Liberal Democrat MP has accused Nigel Farage of shoving her aside at the state opening of parliament after which one of her male colleagues intervened.Caroline Voaden gave her account of the incident in May this year after Farage revealed on Wednesday that there had been a physical altercation" in parliament which meant he had decided to avoid the budget. Continue reading...

Netanyahu's claim of interference in election also dismissed by Israeli police and opposition parties

The trouncing of the far right provides a playbook for social and environmental movements in other countries facing elections, including the US, Spain and FranceThank you, Brazil, for demonstrating how the far right can be trounced while protection for the Amazon is strengthened. In a world where nature and democracy appeared to be bleeding out in tandem, voters and forest defenders in this global south powerhouse have shown it is possible to staunch the flow. This should provide much needed inspiration and, more practically, a playbook for social and environmental movements in other countries facing elections, including the US, Spain and France.The astonishing comeback victory of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Sunday's presidential runoff against his extreme right challenger Flavio Bolsonaro has brought oceans of rapturous supporters on to the streets, while also thrilling conservationists, climate activists and social justice campaigners across the world. Continue reading...

Prime minister wrote to ministers saying he did not want them to advocate for specific options or opine on the likely outcome of the process'Selling nicotine-free vapes to children under the age of 18 has become illegal from today, the government has said.Children were already banned from buying vapes containing nicotine. But, under the Tobacco and Vapes Act, shops across the UK will now be banned from selling nicotine-free vapes, and nicotine pouches, to children.Vaping can be a way to help established adult smokers who are already addicted to nicotine from tobacco to swap to a less dangerous product. Vaping is considered safer than smoking, but that is a low bar. Vapes should therefore never be used by children or non-smokers.Some children have already come to harm from bad reactions to vapes. The long-term health harms of vaping in today's children will only become clear over time. They are however unlikely to be good; inhaling multiple, often heated, chemicals into the lungs may well do irreversible harm. Continue reading...

The Berlin-born actress had a gift for languages that took her to Hollywood, landing roles alongside Peter Sellers, Dick Van Dyke and Paul NewmanElke Sommer, the prolific German star of the Pink Panther film A Shot in the Dark, early 70s Agatha Christie adaptation And Then there Were None, and British sex comedy Carry On Behind, has died aged 85. Bild magazine reported that Sommer had died in Los Angeles of heart failure.German-born Sommer, whose best-known film roles were in the 1960s and 70s, was one of the wave of European performers who crossed over to Hollywood and English-language cinema with considerable success, following the post-war emergence of European New Wave cinema. Sommer was one of the few German actors to make waves at the time, as Hollywood made much of her bombshell image. Continue reading...

The Guardian's money and economics editors Hilary Osborne and Heather Stewart answered your questions on energy prices, tax thresholds and the global events pressuring the economy.FelonMarmer asks: What is going to stop landlords just transferring their tax increase onto tenants, while complaining about how hard done by they are?Heather says: Unfortunately, there's nothing to stop landlords passing their higher tax bills onto their tenants, aside from what the local rental market will bear. Indeed, the Office for Budget Responsibility did suggest one result of this and other recent policies (the 2p rise this year followed another 2p last year) could be a steady rise in rents," as some landlords whack up rents and others leave the market altogether. I think John Healey's answer would probably be a fairness one - that income made through renting out property should be taxed more heavily than that earned through work.Heather says: That's a really good question: Labour strategists are adamant that they wouldn't. I can't help thinking that voters were so convinced the public services were in a dire state, they could have accepted the argument that taxes needed to rise. Certainly, the Tories didn't seem to get much electoral credit for Jeremy Hunt's desperate cuts to national insurance contributions in his last couple of budgets. But we'll never know.Another question is whether Labour should have bust the manifesto promises - either when they first got in, on the basis the public finances were worse than they thought; or at some point in the last year, given the impact of the Iran war (which has added 14bn to the government's interest costs this year alone). Continue reading...

John Healey aced the morning-after media round because his Martin Lewis measures left nothing to challenge him onMaybe it had been one of the greatest acts of political genius after all. The day after the budget is usually the moment when things start to fall apart. When clued-up journalists and economists have had a chance to go through all the fine points the chancellor would rather everyone had missed. The forecasts that suggest everything is predicated on a wing and a prayer. The hidden unfunded tax cuts. The greater-than-expected spending commitments.But on Thursday morning Andy Burnham and John Healey could afford themselves a sigh of relief. All had gone about as well as they could have hoped. It turns out that when you don't make any massive tax or spending commitments, there isn't a great deal to unravel. All there had been was a raft of small-scale interventions designed to help people with their personal finances. Call it the Martin Lewis budget. In fact, Healey and Lewis now seem unable to get through the day without spending some time with each other. They certainly can't stop talking about one another. It's becoming unhealthily co-dependent. The gods of small things. Continue reading...

Possible candidate to run World Economic Forum departs ECB nine months early, saying she wants to speak her mind about world affairsChristine Lagarde, the eurozone's top central banker, has said she is stepping down nine months early to speak her mind about world affairs and confront the misrepresentation of the truth".Ending months of speculation about her future at the European Central Bank, Lagarde said she would quit her role as president in March rather than October next year because the rules of neutrality that governed her job prevented her from influencing debate about financial and economics affairs. Continue reading...

Party aims to build a significant national publishing operation' as first edition of the Reformer is distributedReform UK has launched what it is calling a newspaper, featuring large pictures of Nigel Farage, which the party hopes will replace mainstream media for its supporters.Though the party is hiring qualified journalists to write its newspapers, the only reporter" credited with writing articles is Farage, the party leader. Continue reading...

Audio file appears to point finger at control centre, but there are questions around signalling and technical issuesAt least 69 people died when a high-speed train from Madrid to Seville hit another train on the same track from behind near Toledo on Wednesday morning.Both trains had been brought to a halt earlier when the signalling system failed. The driver of the state-owned Spanish train, a Renfe AVE service, was told by controllers to restart the journey, but crashed into the train in front, run by the private operator Iryo. The front carriages of the AVE train and rear of the Iryo train were destroyed and others derailed. Continue reading...

Giving evidence at her husband's rape trial, Laura Brand says couple previously split up over his promiscuityRussell Brand's wife has told a court that they previously split up over his promiscuity but that he was a wonderful father" and an amazingly attentive husband".Giving evidence at her husband's rape trial, Laura Brand, 39, said they fell in love after meeting in 2006 but that the comedian found monogamy difficult. Continue reading...

Vana-Reese Schuster-Togiatau was injured during the shooting outside Fitzy's Loganholme pub on Saturday

As John Lewis reports a 96% rise in searches for CD players, music fans share their reasons for ditching streamingCDs appear to be having a resurgence. John Lewis said searches for CD players are up 96% since July, while another report on trends in music and film this year found that CD sales are up 16%.With this in mind, we asked music fans why they favour discs over other formats, and if it is a new preference or a lifetime habit. Continue reading...

Miracle' cache of letters written by French scientist who died in ill-fated La Perouse mission give personal account of 1785 voyageAs he prepared to climb the scaffolding to be publicly executed by guillotine on 21 January 1793, Louis XVI is reported to have asked: Is there news of Monsieur de la Perouse?"He was referring to Jean-Francois de Galaup, the count of Perouse, a naval officer and navigator whom the French king had dispatched in 1785 on a round-the-world scientific mission to rival discoveries made by the English explorer Captain James Cook. Continue reading...

Owner Gordon Brothers is filing notice of intent to begin process after rejecting management-backed rescue bid

Chief financial officer says he hopes budget measure is temporary as sector provides loans that fuel growth

Healey's attempt to provide breathing space' gives rich almost as much as poor, says Resolution Foundation

Sanrio ends association with TV drama Vivant after China says portrayal of ruthless Chinese agents is deliberate smear'The company behind the successful Hello Kitty franchise has apologised and ended its commercial tie-up with a Japanese TV drama after Chinese state media and netizens condemned the show's deliberate smears" against China.Sanrio, a Japanese firm whose characters are popular around the world, said in a post on the Chinese social media site Weibo that it had decided to end its association with the TV drama Vivant after concluding that it contained elements inconsistent with Sanrio's core values". Continue reading...

Energy firm to return $5bn to shareholders as climate campaigners criticise high profitsShell has doubled its profits in the last quarter after the Middle East conflict drove up the price of oil and gas and created shortages in the global market.Shell reported on Thursday morning that it made an adjusted profit of $10.8bn (8.1bn) in the July-September quarter, up from $5.432bn in the third quarter of 2025. The results beat analyst expectations for a rise to $10.33bn. Continue reading...

Chancellor's comments come as fiscal watchdog says disability benefits will cost 100bn a year before end of decade

From a young chef and a single father to business owners and a pensioner, Guardian readers reveal how John Healey's measures will affect them

Prime minister vows not to slash health and education funding amid political problem over handling of economy

Richard Norton, 75, went into cardiac arrest in March 2025 after injecting prescribed but unapproved CJC1295 and ipamorelin

Survivors tell rights group that serving officers who worked as guards administered electric shocks and beatingsCambodian police and military officers worked as private security guards in scam compounds where thousands were forced to work in the online fraud industry, according to a report by Amnesty International.The global rights group alleged they worked for security companies as part of a system that enabled slavery and rape in the compounds, with some guards using electric batons to keep people trapped. Continue reading...

Case in Pimlico is latest instance of tensions between small countries seeking a space in capital and residentsIt is not a classic neighbour-from-hell dispute, what with the protagonist inviting everyone over for evening drinks and canapes. But the sudden conversion of a five-bedroom family home in Pimlico, central London, into the embassy of Montenegro has triggered a neighbourhood row that has gone all the way to the desk of a high court judge.The first stirrings of trouble came when one resident argued in a submission to the council this spring that the new embassy's flagpole and rather tacky-looking flag stick out like a sore thumb" among Cambridge Street's Grade II-listed homes. Continue reading...

Official's controversial September request for Senate hearing footage to not be shared on social media has been heavily criticised

Concerns raised about appointment of former federal senator who has previously supported the rights of people accused of sexual assault

After two years of protests, a student-led movement has defeated Serbia's authoritarian leader, Aleksander Vui, at the ballot box. But can a leaderless movement govern a country? Send your comments and questions to tif.questions@theguardian.comSerbia's political landscape has been upended. On Sunday, record numbers of people went to the polls and voted to end the 12-year rule of Aleksandar Vui. And who did they back instead? A list of candidates, half of whom have PhDs, put forward by student activists whose protests have rocked the Balkan country for the past two years.Helen Pidd speaks to the Serbian-American journalist Ana Milosavljevic, the student activist Tara Blagojevi and the MP-to-be Milica Jovanovi about how the Student List managed to defeat Vui's increasingly authoritarian regime. Continue reading...

The fine - six times the average monthly salary - will apply to people present at violent protests, even if they don't personally commit violent actsAlbania has introduced fines of more than $6,000 for demonstrators who participate in a protest that turns violent, even if they don't personally commit violent acts, as the government tries to clamp down on the gatherings calling for the prime minister's resignation.The capital, Tirana, has been racked by months of anti-government protests that in recent days have deteriorated into pitched battles between the security forces and protesters. Continue reading...

Nothing done to stop planting weapons on dead Afghans, ADF inspector says, as breakdown of command' allowed egregious behaviour'

This live blog is now closed - you can read the latest elections news hereOne apparent loser from Tuesday's election was far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who was expected to better his party's result of six seats from the 2022 elections.But instead there was stunned silence at the watch party for Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) in central Israel as results from the exit polls flashed across the screen, with most channels suggesting the party would remain on just six seats. Continue reading...

NSW government imposes water restrictions after Menindee water volumes fall below 2021 levels

CBS News editor-in-chief sidesteps viewership concerns and says flagship show doing tremendously well'CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss has spoken publicly for the first time about the ratings challenges the network has experienced under her year-long tenure, sidestepping concerns about diminished viewership at the Sunday show 60 Minutes by saying it was not her top priority.I could never build anything if I were focused on the precise number of people that happen to tune in to the second feature on 60 Minutes on a given Sunday," she said at an industry conference on Wednesday organized by the tech publication the Information. The news organization did not offer press credentials. Continue reading...

Far-right senator and family land in US after crossing from Brazil into Argentina and then flying via EcuadorFlavio Bolsonaro declared himself the true president" of Brazil after losing last Sunday's presidential election and fleeing to the United States.After landing on a private jet with his family in Miami, Florida, on Wednesday morning, the far-right senator published the claim in a letter - even though his own party has recognised the legitimate victory of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, as have all of Brazil's institutions, and international observers who monitored and endorsed the vote. Continue reading...

Former comedian, in court on rape and sexual assault charges, says he misused position but consent is more important than sex itself'Russell Brand has told a court that he was wrong to have used his fame and success to facilitate" sexual activity with women.The 51-year-old comedian said he had misused" his position very selfishly" and dedicated his life to reckless philandering and idiocy". Continue reading...

Watered-down version of statement to be issued at end of Montreal summit instead offers ever closer association'The EU has backed away from its offer to Canada to start talks on becoming an associate member" after disagreements between members states just as an EU-Canada summit was set to begin in Montreal.A draft of a joint statement to be issued after the end of the summit, which runs Thursday and Friday, showed a watered-down version offering an ever closer association of Canada to the EU, short of full membership itself". Continue reading...

Bush Heritage hopes to buy Wooroora station, which links wet sclerophyll forest and savanna woodland and is home to 12 endangered species

Pedro Sanchez says the government will act with urgency to clarify what has happened, why this tragedy occurred'