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Bernard Looney resigned having admitted to failing to fully detail relationships with colleagues

Increase in nominal spending contrasts with other recent surveys showing consumer confidence was languishing at depressed levels

Police say woman in her 40s remains under investigation over death of two-year-old Annabel MackeyA woman arrested on suspicion of murder after the death of two-year-old Annabel Mackey at a village pond has been released but remains under investigation.Hampshire police said the woman in her 40s had been detained under the Mental Health Act before her release. Continue reading...

The 1970s case that sparked headlines about supernatural activity has inspired a pair of stage productions. How does a fringe show compete with a starry West End behemoth?The Enfield poltergeist case gripped the British media between 1977 and 1979, and is about to grip theatres 45 years later as two plays based on it share the limelight. Paul Voodini's The Enfield Poltergeist has been playing at fringe events during the year, while The Enfield Haunting, written by Paul Unwin, and starring Catherine Tate and David Threlfall, will arrive in the West End in November.Why the enduring fascination with the story? Voodini remembers the furore at the time, saying he had always been interested in weird and wonderful things", but what stuck out was: It took place in a council house, a normal suburban setting, not an old haunted castle, stately home, or Transylvania." Continue reading...

Racing integrity commissioner's report finds abuse and assaults have occurred unchecked'

In fiery speech, Nick Kaldas says government and Defence moving at snail's pace' amid national crisis'The head of the royal commission into defence and veteran suicide has complained of far too much talk and not enough action" on military personnel taking their own lives.In a blistering speech on Wednesday, commissioner Nick Kaldas accused government departments of stonewalling" the royal commission's work, even though the senseless loss of life" was a national crisis.Sign up for Guardian Australia's free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading...

At likely final gathering of the TUC before next general election, focus was on chucking the Tories out of officeWith perhaps just months to go before a general election, Keir Starmer's message to union leaders gathered for dinner in Liverpool on Monday evening was simple - as one official present put it: eyes on the prize".The Labour leader gave a laid-back after-dinner speech to the assembled general secretaries, leavened with football gags - and received a standing ovation. Continue reading...

Kaja Kallas's partner owns shares in a company that continued to do business in Russia after the full-scale invasion of UkraineThe Estonian prime minister has described the controversy surrounding her husband's alleged Russian business links as a witch-hunt" by political opponents calling for her resignation.Kaja Kallas has been under pressure since reports emerged last month that her husband part-owned a logistics company that continued to do business in Russia after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Continue reading...

Indigenous academic says Liberal leader's Instagram post quoted headline from the Australian newspaper which falsely claimed she called no voters racist

Letter falsely claiming to be authored by Dylan Clarke wrongly suggests body is reacquiring land

Decision exposes embattled airline to mammoth compensation bill in major win for the Transport Workers Union

Extreme weather in the city of Maoming in Guangdong province caused lake to flood, allowing dozens of crocodiles to escapeA Chinese city has launched an operation to find a large number of crocodiles that escaped when floods hit the region in recent days, authorities have said.A typhoon brought sustained heavy rains to southern China last week, triggering inundations in Hong Kong and other areas. Continue reading...

The posting on Gannett's site appeared on Tuesday and quickly went viralWhile no journalism job is perfect, a new role posted by Gannett, the US media company, may just be a Taylor Swift fan's wildest dream.On Tuesday, a job simply titled Taylor Swift reporter" appeared on the Gannett Careers' Dayforce site. The desired reporter, who is being sought by both USA Today and the Tennessean, is to be experienced, video-forward" and adept at capturing the music and cultural impact of Taylor Swift".This article was amended on 12 September 2023 after an editing error resulted in a misattributed quote. Continue reading...

A 27-year-old found in Campsie with gunshot wounds to his head and chest is in hospital in a serious condition

Board will now consider permanent residents of the US and those who have made it their longtime primary home'The board that administers the Pulitzer prize announced on Tuesday that it will expand its eligibility requirements to consider authors, playwrights and composers who are not US citizens.The prestigious award for books, drama and music, which had previously been open to just US citizens, will now consider permanent residents of the US and those who have made the US their longtime primary home", according to a press release on behalf of the Pulitzer prize board. Continue reading...

Company says he only disclosed a small number of historical relationships prior to becoming CEO'The chief executive of BP has resigned less than four years into his tenure after admitting that he failed to fully detail relationships with colleagues.Bernard Looney, who has spent his entire career with BP, has departed the 88bn company immediately in a surprise move. On Tuesday night, the company informed investors that Looney did not provide details of all relationships and accepts he was obliged to make more complete disclosure". Continue reading...

Egypt, Vietnam and Indonesia among countries sending delegations to four-day DSEI at ExCeLEurope's biggest ever arms fair got under way in London on Tuesday with record numbers expected to attend, boosted by interest from countries with controversial human rights records.Authoritarian Egypt and Vietnam are among those sending delegations, defence sources said, as well as Indonesia and India - all countries whose arms-buying strategies have been affected by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...

Greenwich council are investigating the cause of the hole after it appeared next to a taxi office in ElthamA sinkhole the size of a car has opened up on a street in south-east London.The hole which takes up almost an entire lane of the road and runs alongside the kerb next to a postbox, emerged on Monday morning on Dunvegan Road, Eltham. The area around the hole has been cordoned off after locals initially used wheelie bins to prevent an accident. Continue reading...

Thousands of ordinary citizens are travelling from all over the country to bring aid to survivors of earthquake

UK's first pilot hailed as life-saving' expected to be approved after it goes before officials on 27 SeptemberThe UK's first safer drug consumption room is likely to be approved in Glasgow within weeks, after Scotland's most senior law officer confirmed users would not be prosecuted.The Scottish government's drugs minister, Elena Whitham, told MSPs on Tuesday afternoon that proposals for the life-saving" pilot scheme would now go before the city's integrated joint board of council and health officials on 27 September, where it is expected to be approved and put out to public consultation. Continue reading...

Complicated rescue effort continues as questions remain about king and government's responseHope of finding earthquake survivors trapped under their homes in some of the remotest parts of the Atlas mountains in Morocco was fading rapidly as rescue efforts continued into their fourth day.Search and rescue teams were still attempting to reach the smallest hamlets and villages in the mountainous region of Al Haouz, close to the epicentre of the 6.8-magnitude quake that struck on Friday night. Continue reading...

PwC says owner plans to reopen stores under Poundland brand throwing lifeline to as many as 1,800 staffPoundland is to acquire up to 71 Wilko sites that it intends to reopen under its own brand in a deal that could throw a lifeline to some of the about 1,800 staff who will lose their jobs at the stricken retailer.Under the deal struck by administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) with Poundland's parent company Pepco, the sites will be acquired only after all 408 Wilko stores are shut and more than 12,000 staff made redundant. Continue reading...

Ministers are said to be in favour of legislating against the devices due to concerns about children's healthLeading doctors and councils have welcomed reports that ministers are preparing to ban single-use vapes in the UK, but others have expressed fears a ban could lead to a flood" of illegal products on the market.The reports of plans to stop the sale of disposable e-cigarettes come as fears grow about their environment impact and the health risks they pose to the large number of teenagers taking up vaping. Continue reading...

Emmerson Mnangagwa also criticised for inflating size of cabinet and reappointing underperforming ministersThe Zimbabwean president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, recently returned to power after a disputed election, has been accused by the opposition of attempting to create a family dynasty after appointing his son as deputy finance minister barely a week on from conferring his wife with an honorary doctorate.Announcing his new cabinet on Monday, Mnangagwa said one of his younger sons, David Kudakwashe Mnangagwa, would be second in charge at the Treasury, while appointing a nephew, Tongai, as deputy minister in the tourism minstry. Continue reading...

Hundreds of thousands of raw sewage discharges were recorded last year. These maps show where these were and what the impact isMore than 384,000 discharges of raw sewage were reported by water companies across England and Wales in 2022, official figures show, in what the Rivers Trust has described as extremely bad news for environmental and human health".However, the true scale may be even greater, as a new legal challenge has claimed. Meanwhile, another set of water firms are under investigation by the regulator Ofwat and the Environment Agency for alleged illegal dumping of sewage from treatment works, and an independent watchdog is now saying that the government and even the regulators themselves may have broken the law by letting firms discharge raw sewage more often than law allows. Continue reading...

Campaigners say using same formula as this year for 2024 will push many season tickets over 5,000 mark

Paul Fotheringham says home secretary positioning police as political rather than inclusiveSuella Braverman's plan to clamp down on police officers who dance at Pride or wear badges could open the door to discrimination against marginalised communities, a senior police officer has claimed.Paul Fotheringham, the president of the Police Superintendents' Association (PSA), questioned why the home secretary had launched an investigation into police impartiality", saying it portrayed forces as political rather than inclusive". Continue reading...

Calls for further security measures including vetting of staffers after UK parliamentary aide arrested on suspicion of spying for China

In fiery return from holiday, Labor leader points to the state's firing economy and raises ghosts of past opposition leaders

Minister in former Coalition government alleges colleague also subjected her to thrusting' innuendo during question time

Greens and independent MPs says work to set up Independent Parliamentary Standards Commission is too slow and will stop people coming forward with complaints

Veronica Boquete alleges Jenni Hermoso's phone was hacked after kiss by football boss at World CupA former captain of Spain's women's national football team has described the weeks-long standoff over the fate of Luis Rubiales as a war" that has pitted more than 100 of the country's top female players against certain members of the Spanish football establishment.In an interview published on Monday, Veronica Boquete even went so far as to claim that Jenni Hermoso's phone had been hacked, which may have been an attempt to discredit Hermoso in the wake of the unsolicited kiss by Rubiales. Continue reading...

As scale of disaster become clearer, survivors in small mountain communities feel they have been abandonedAs the dirt roads leading to some of the areas worst hit in Friday's earthquake in Morocco were gradually cleared, the full extent of the disaster was being revealed, including whole villages destroyed in Al Haouz province.In the tiny hamlet of Tarouiste, in the Atlas mountain foothills above the town of Amizmiz, not one of a dozen houses was left standing. Only the village mosque had not been reduced to rubble. Continue reading...

Talks with HMV owner Doug Putman to save about half of retailer's stores fail

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says North Korean leader's journey to Russia and meeting with Vladimir Putin will be a full-scale visit'

West fears North Korea plans to supply Moscow with weapons to use in war against Ukraine

The Queensland premier defends her record as a political underdog but Labor MPs agitating for change remain unconvinced

Exclusive: Lack of punishment follows repeated promises by police commissioner Katarina Carroll to crack down on racism and mysoginy within serviceOfficers recorded making sickening" racist comments while working inside a Brisbane watch house have escaped sanction, despite repeated promises by the police commissioner to crack down on racism and misogyny within the service.

V/Line passengers are used to delays, slow journeys and rail-replacement buses. Now they face a new challenge: finding a seat

Memorial by Ben Twiston-Davies is sited in Wallingford, where the mystery writer lived for more than 40 yearsA life-sized bronze statue of Agatha Christie has been unveiled in the Oxfordshire town of Wallingford, near where the detective novelist resided for more than 40 years.The statue depicts the writer holding a book and seated on a bench overlooking the Kinecroft, an area of open grassland. Sculptor Ben Twiston-Davies - who also designed the Agatha Christie memorial in London - said in a YouTube video about the statue that it shows her looking out as if she's seen a clue for one of her stories". Continue reading...

Government-backed investment will help secure 4,000 jobs in electric vehicle production

Decision to quit over World Cup kiss welcomed in Spain but manner of announcement leaves many confoundedNews that Luis Rubiales had resigned, three weeks after his unsolicited kiss and defiant refusal to step down sparked outrage across Spain and around the world, was welcomed as a win for feminism even as questions swirled about his decision to make the announcement in an English-language interview.Late on Sunday evening, the head of the Spanish football association said that after speaking with his family and friends he had come to the conclusion that he had no choice but to resign after he grabbed the footballer Jenni Hermoso by the head, pulled her towards him and planted a kiss on her lips during the medal ceremony at the World Cup in Sydney last month. Continue reading...

German foreign minister says EU enlargement to include Ukraine is necessary geopolitical consequence of Russia's war'; Putin visits Vladivostok where he may meet Kim Jong-un

Exclusive: Police say a report has not been received about ex-Spanish football president but if one is officers will liaise with international authorities and assist where required'

PM hits back after Liberal leader criticised Albanese's relationship with the former Qantas chief executive

Ministers pledge to reverse rising deaths and self-harm among young and to aid other at-risk groupsMinisters have vowed to reduce suicide rates in England with the launch of more than 100 new initiatives amid particular concerns over rising deaths and self-harm among children and young people.The pledge to reverse the trends within two and a half years came as the government launched its first prevention strategy in more than a decade. In 2022, there were 5,275 suicides in England, equivalent to 10.6 suicides per 100,000 people, according to the Office for National Statistics.Medical experts to review whether reducing the amount of paracetamol people can buy in shops could help bring down suicide rates.The Department for Education (DfE) to examine whether suicide and self-harm prevention should be part of the school curriculum.Half of schools in England to have mental health support teams in place by April 2025. The DfE will also offer all state schools and colleges funding to train a senior mental health lead by 2025.More support for bespoke services to help middle-aged men, who are at a higher risk of suicide, including support and sports groups.Ensuring pregnant women and new mothers get support at every contact" with health professionals, who will be required to update a risk assessment at each appointment.Crisis text lines to be rolled out in all areas of England. Continue reading...

Opposition says prison escape, crumbling concrete in schools and alleged Chinese spying show Tory dereliction of public servicesThe escape of a terrorism suspect from Wandsworth prison epitomises how the government is failing in its duty to keep people safe", Labour has said, saying it comes in the context of other policy meltdowns such as crumbling concrete in schools.After Daniel Khalife, 21 was charged with escaping custody a day after he was arrested, the focus has turned to wider issues of staffing and resources in the prison service and whether these played a role in his escape. Continue reading...

Civilians who have been displaced by raids want to return home but say there is no protection for them thereThere was no warning. The raiders came late in the night, shouting and shooting. The unarmed farmers of Bujo had no chance to defend themselves, and those who were too slow to flee died. By the morning, the villagers' homes had been burned, livestock stolen and stores looted. They buried 17 victims in the communal graveyard and then walked the 15km to the nearby town of Bandiagara, where they remain.The attack in mid-August was one of more than a dozen assaults last month on similar villages in a small area of central Mali that have killed at least 100 people and displaced tens of thousands. Continue reading...

Former leadership contender says life of politician puts almost unsustainable' strain on mental healthThe former Conservative minister Rory Stewart has said some fellow MPs came very close to killing themselves when he was in the Commons, and the life of a politician placed an almost unsustainable" strain on people.Stewart, who was international development secretary and stood to be Tory leader before leaving the Commons in 2019, said other former colleagues experienced total breakdowns in public". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Sino-Australian relations expert had phone confiscated and was asked to provide information during heavy-handed' and counterproductive' episode