Dutch group has not said how many of its 3,500 employees in the UK and Ireland will be affectedThe paint manufacturer behind Dulux is to cut about 2,000 jobs worldwide in a bid to slash costs.AkzoNobel said that it planned to complete a programme of redundancies by the end of 2025 to make its operations more efficient. Continue reading...
by Ashifa Kassam European community affairs correspon on (#6QZA9)
Ursula von der Leyen criticised for merging equality commissioner role into brief including crisis managementMore than 50 rights organisations from across Europe have expressed their shock and dismay" at Ursula von der Leyen's decision to do away with the standalone EU position of equality commissioner, describing it as a downgrading" of the fight against discrimination.Von der Leyen presented her lineup for the new commission in Brussels earlier this month. Her 27 commissioner designates - senior EU officials who hold positions akin to government ministers - included Hadja Lahbib, currently Belgium's foreign minister, who was tasked with a portfolio that spans preparedness and crisis management as well as equality. Continue reading...
Mogul's music sees 18.3% increase in streams during week of arrest in sex-trafficking and racketeering caseSean Diddy" Combs's vast music catalog has seen a jump in streams since his arrest and the unsealing of an indictment against him.Under his many professional monikers - including Diddy, Puff Daddy and P Diddy - the industry data and analytics company Luminate said the mogul's music saw an average 18.3% increase in on-demand streams during the week of his 17 September arrest compared to the previous week. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Group says giving votes to children as young as six would push governments to tackle long-term issuesA group of academics and activists have launched a global campaign to enfranchise children, by pledging to give their own votes to a young person until the voting age is significantly lowered or abolished.Some members of the Children's Voting Colloquium have already voted on behalf of a child even if this has meant opting for a different political party or candidate of their choice. Continue reading...
Yemen government vice-chair fears strikes intended to end shipping chaos are instead helping Houthis rally supportUS-UK airstrikes in Yemen designed to end the Houthi disruption of commercial shipping have not seriously degraded the group's military capability, the vice-chair of the UN-recognised government in Yemen has said.Aidarous al-Zubaidi told the Guardian in an interview he feared the Houthis were using the strikes to rally support behind their cause by portraying the west as the aggressor in Yemen. Continue reading...
by Denis Campbell Health policy editor on (#6QZ0H)
Admission by doctor at Guy's and St Thomas' made during inquest into deaths of three babies infectedAn NHS trust that gave four newborn babies contaminated feed has admitted that it was operating an entirely unsafe system" at the time they became infected.The admission came during evidence by a senior doctor at Guy's and St Thomas' trust (GSTT), who led its investigation into the outbreak, during an inquest into how one of the very premature babies died. Continue reading...
Exclusive: culture secretary says predecessors vandalised' the arts and pledges state funding for every communityThe Conservatives' violent indifference" to the arts has resulted in communities across the country getting poor access to culture, Lisa Nandy has said ahead of a planned funding review.The culture secretary accused her Tory predecessors of vandalism" as she pledged to get state funding to every community and make sure that private philanthropy reached beyond the major cities. Continue reading...
Exclusive: Scholar names Henry Porter as likely co-author of 1604 play after linguistic clues in his surviving workScholars have long suggested that Christopher Marlowe had a collaborator for the comic scenes of his classic play Doctor Faustus, although his name alone is on the 1604 published edition. Now a largely forgotten dramatist, Henry Porter, has emerged as the likely co-author, based on comparative linguistic evidence that has been unearthed from his surviving play.Doctor Faustus is a tragic story of vanity and greed, in which a scholar sells his soul to the devil in return for knowledge and power. The tragedy is mirrored by scenes of comic horseplay that are now thought to have been written by Porter, who was described by a contemporary as the best for comedy amongst us". Continue reading...
by Peter Hannam Economics correspondent on (#6QZ0N)
RBA decision was in line with economists' forecasts as economy endures persistent inflationary pressuresThe Reserve Bank has left its key interest rate unchanged for a seventh meeting as the central bank waits for clearer evidence inflation is in retreat before it begins cutting borrowing costs.The RBA ended its latest two-day board meeting on Tuesday by keeping its cash rate at 4.35%, the level its remained since November. The decision was as economists had expected. Continue reading...
Police stationed across territory and curfews tightened over concern of new outbreaks of violence after months of deadly unrestNew Caledonia was on edge on Tuesday, with fears tensions could spill over into fresh unrest as the territory marked the anniversary of the French takeover - and some independence figures prepared to issue calls for sovereignty.September 24 is a symbolic day in New Caledonia, long regarded as a day of mourning among the Indigenous Kanak population. This year the anniversary comes after months of deadly unrest and heightened tensions in the French Pacific territory between pro-independence Kanak people and the communities loyal to Paris. Continue reading...
Former diplomat Michael Kovrig, who was taken into custody in December 2018, says he spent months in solitary confinement and was interrogated dailyA former Canadian diplomat detained by China for more than 1,000 days said he was placed in solitary confinement for months and interrogated for up to nine hours every day, treatment he said amounted to psychological torture.Michael Kovrig, speaking to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp in his first major interview since his release, also said he had missed the birth of his daughter and met her for the first time when she was two-and-a half years old. Continue reading...
Analysis of satellite images show 60-metre crater at silo suggesting a catastrophic failure' after ignitionRussia's Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile - known in the west as Satan II - appears to have suffered a catastrophic failure" during a test launch, according to analysis of satellite images.The images captured by Maxar on 21 September show a crater about 60 metres (200 feet) wide at the launch silo at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. They reveal extensive damage that was not visible in pictures taken earlier in the month. Continue reading...
Chiapas, Oaxaca and Guerrero brace for impact as life-threatening' category 2 storm to make landfall TuesdayMexico's southern coast was bracing for flash floods and storm surges as Hurricane John quickly intensified into a category 2 storm on Monday afternoon.Originally forecast as a tropical storm, Hurricane John rapidly strengthened" into a category 2 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 100mph (160kmh), according to the US National Hurricane Center, which warned of damaging hurricane-force winds, life-threatening storm surge and flash flooding". Continue reading...
by Neha Gohil Community affairs correspondent on (#6QYN4)
Exclusive: Marieha Hussain asks police watchdog to look into claim the force pursued a politicised case against herThe teacher acquitted of a racially aggravated public order offence after she held a placard depicting Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman as coconuts at a pro-Palestine protest has called on the police watchdog to investigate the Metropolitan police over its handling of the case.Marieha Hussain, who was found not guilty at Westminster magistrates court earlier this month, claims the Met and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) pursued a politicised case against her without justification after she attended the march in November last year. Continue reading...
Filippo Turetta accused of killing university student Giulia Cecchettin in case that has ignited calls for cultural changeA major femicide trial has opened in Italy, after the brutal murder of a university student by her ex-boyfriend that triggered outrage and national soul-searching over the roots of male violence against women.The stabbing in November of Giulia Cecchettin, 22, a biomedical engineering student at the University of Padua, cast a grim spotlight on femicide in Italy, where the vast majority of victims are killed at the hands of their current or former partners. Continue reading...
Exclusive: store issues new statement as lawyers describe redress scheme it has set up as attempted whitewash'Harrods is investigating whether any of its current staff were directly or indirectly involved" in the alleged sexual abuse of women by its former owner Mohamed Al Fayed.With more than 100 women having come forward to allege being raped or assaulted by the Egyptian tycoon, the luxury store said it had launched a review and was in direct contact with Scotland Yard. Continue reading...
Bodies responsible for monitoring accounting and legal sectors not doing enough to stop money laundering, watchdog saysA lack of proper oversight across the City of London's network of lawyers, bookkeepers and accountants is hampering efforts to crack down on dirty money being funnelled through the UK, the City watchdog has warned.The latest report by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) flagged concerns over the work of the UK's 25 professional bodies - which oversee the accounting and legal sectors - and found that some were spending as little as 73 a year on anti-money laundering supervision or were outsourcing it entirely to third parties. Continue reading...
by Josh Halliday North of England editor on (#6QYER)
Inquiry into murder of babies at the Countess of Chester hospital hears about newborn girl fitted with stomaThe parents of an extremely vulnerable newborn girl have said they were disgusted to find her covered in her own faeces" while under the care of the nurse Lucy Letby.The inquiry into the murder of babies at the Countess of Chester hospital heard that one child had been fitted with a stoma as well as a catheter, known as a Broviac line, after her birth in October 2015. Continue reading...
Symphonic ballad will be released on Thursday, ahead of new album Songs of a Lost World which awaits an official announcementThe Cure have announced their first new song in 16 years, entitled Alone, to be released on Thursday.A post on the band's social media contains a snippet of the song: a symphonic ballad with heavy drums and lurching electric guitar, with frontman Robert Smith singing: This is the end of every song that we sing / the fire burned out to ash, the stars grow dim with tears." Continue reading...
by Jessica Murray Midlands correspondent on (#6QY4W)
Some areas may experience 100-120mm of rain with potential for disruption and flooding, says Met OfficeMore than a month's worth of rain could fall in parts of England on Monday, with flood warnings issued and an amber weather alert in place for central and southern parts of the country.The Met Office issued an amber weather alert for rain until 9pm in an area including Milton Keynes, Oxford, Reading, Bath and Gloucester, meaning some flooding and travel disruption was expected. Continue reading...
Director of public prosecutions says by contrast other parents seemed to view joining in disorder as a day out'A 14-year-old boy was spared prosecution for involvement in the riots that gripped parts of the UK this summer because his parents gave him a stern telling-off, whereas others had appeared to regard the disorder as a bit of fun, the director of public prosecutions has said.Stephen Parkinson drew a comparison with another case, in which the mother of a 12-year-old boy was ordered to pay 1,200 in compensation to his victims, and the child was given a referral order, after she went on holiday to Ibiza rather than attend court. Continue reading...
Many considered too old to be easily integrated into mainstream schooling and too young for further educationThousands of teenage asylum seekers are thought to be spending up to a year out of education in a no man's land" because schools are reluctant to accept them if they arrive after September, a report warns.Teenage asylum seekers are seen as too old to be easily integrated into mainstream schooling and too young for further education, leaving many stuck in a limbo that leaves them vulnerable to isolation, mental health deterioration and exploitation, according to research conducted by the charity Refugee Education UK (REUK) and funded by the Bell Foundation, an education charity. Continue reading...
Mark Rowley launches initiative that includes reset of stop and search, but acknowledges there is still a lot to do'Scotland Yard has launched its latest steps to try to rebuild trust with London's black community, which the Met police commissioner acknowledged had been let down for many years.Mark Rowley said there remains a long way to go and there is a lot more work to do", but that the force's race action plan was a step in the right direction. Continue reading...
Health secretary shares light-hearted quip at party's conference over embattled No 10 aideWes Streeting has joked that Keir Starmer's embattled senior aide Sue Gray also shot JFK" and was hiding Lord Lucan" amid a continuing row over her salary.The health secretary made light of suggestions of mounting acrimony at the heart of government as he spoke at an event on the sidelines of the Labour party conference in Liverpool. Continue reading...
More serious exchanges of fire could lead to cross-border attack but it is a move that is fraught with riskSo serious were the exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah this weekend, it is hard to be sure that the two sides have not already crossed the threshold of all-out" war.Israel's air force said it had struck 290 targets in southern Lebanon on Saturday, killing at least three. Hezbollah responded by launching 150 missiles, rockets and drones into Israel overnight, the deepest attack since violent hostilities broke out when the Iran-aligned group began launching rocket attacks in support of Hamas after 7 October. Continue reading...
by Robyn Vinter North of England correspondent on (#6QXN7)
Weather warnings to continue into Monday after weekend of flooding, lighting strikes and a tornadoA damp squib of a summer has abruptly ended in an appropriately biblical fashion after intense thunderstorms swept the UK over the weekend with severe weather warnings for rain continuing into Monday across most of England and Wales.Forecasters warned the public to be wary of flooding, with the potential for some communities to be cut off by flooded roads and a chance of power cuts, amid yellow and amber warnings for rain on Monday. Continue reading...
by Lorenzo Tondo in Jerusalem and agencies on (#6QXTE)
Director of Hamas-run housing ministry among dead after strike on building housing displaced people, officials saySeven people have been killed after an Israeli airstrike hit a school housing displaced people in western Gaza City, Palestinian health officials said, amid fears that Gaza's worsening humanitarian crisis might be forgotten as tensions boil between Hezbollah and Israel.The strike hit Kafr Qasem school in Beach camp on Sunday morning, officials in Gaza said. Among those killed was Majed Saleh, the director of the Hamas-run public works and housing ministry, they added. Continue reading...
Mateusz Kulik says Home Office has informed his lawyer that removal flight on Monday has been cancelledA Polish man who has lived in the UK since he was seven has been granted a last-minute reprieve after facing deportation because officials said he had not provided enough proof of living in the country for the last 20 years.Officials were planning to remove Mateusz Kulik to Poland on Monday morning despite the fact he completed primary and secondary education in Britain as well as a college course in travel and tourism. He pays tax in the UK and works for a transport company completing customs documents for goods exported from Britain to EU countries. He provided the Home Office with years of school records and bank statements to prove his long residency. Continue reading...
Simon Baker says REA Group's property portal is viewed jealously' by others around the world because the home-sellers pay the billsA former chief executive of the News Corp-controlled realestate.com.au says the company views real estate agents as its outsourced sales force", outlining how home sellers have been targeted with ever-rising advertising costs.Simon Baker, who was chief executive of REA Group from 2001 to 2008 and now works as a consultant in the property tech industry, says the vendor-paid" advertising market operating in Australian real estate is rare globally. Continue reading...
by Robyn Vinter North of England correspondent on (#6QXPF)
Police unable to find perpetrator, leaving residents of Shiptonthorpe unsure of whom they can trustA cloud of vitriol" hangs over an East Yorkshire village amid a two-year campaign of anonymous poison pen letters that have caused some people who lived there to move away, they have said.The personal, obscene and targeted" letters have caused chaos in the quiet hamlet of Shiptonthorpe over the last two years, leaving residents upset, frightened and unable to know who they can trust. Continue reading...
Ballot being seen as referendum on Olaf Scholz's government ahead of next autumn's general electionThe far-right Alternative fur Deutschland party is hoping to come top in an election in the German state of Brandenburg on Sunday, three weeks after making historical gains in two other regions.The AfD, which has been classified as rightwing extremist in several states by domestic intelligence agencies, is running almost neck and neck with Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) in the state, a belt of urban and rural communities that surrounds the capital, Berlin. Continue reading...
One trust reported more than 900 incidents including patient harms after it rolled out new softwareThere are serious safety risks" for patients in the rollout of electronic health records in hospitals across England, a charity has warned.Patient Safety Learning said incidents involving new systems were likely to be under-reported and must be flagged. It has urged the government to ensure adverse-incident reports are monitored more effectively. One trust reported more than 900 incidents, including potential patient harms after it rolled out new software. Continue reading...
Campaigners want Labour's key education policy to provide food for all primary aged pupils rather than just in schoolsMinisters are coming under mounting pressure to extend free breakfast clubs in primary schools to cover pupils in special schools and alternative provision to ensure they do not miss out on Labour's leading education policy.The government is planning to unveil the children's wellbeing bill early next year, outlining plans for free breakfast clubs in all primary schools in England. Ministers say the project - one of its key promises before the 4 July general election - will help children concentrate more in school, and make a big contribution to the wider fight against poverty by saving hard-working parents" more than 400 every year. Continue reading...
Take Home Naloxone program, which allows access without a prescription, sees rise in use after multiple reports of people who unknowingly used laced drugs and died
Opinium poll for the Observer finds a 45-point drop in the prime minister's approval rating since he won the electionKeir Starmer has suffered a precipitous fall in his personal ratings since winning the election, according to a new poll for the Observer that comes before his first Labour conference as prime minister.The latest Opinium poll reveals that Starmer's approval rating has plunged below that of the Tory leader Rishi Sunak, suffering a huge 45-point drop since July. While 24% of voters approve of the job he is doing, 50% disapprove, giving him a net rating of -26%. Sunak's net rating is one point better. Continue reading...
Lee Anderson, Richard Tice and Nigel Farage give speeches at Reform party conference. This live blog is closedRichard Partington is the Guardian's economics correspondentUK national debt has hit 100% of the country's annual economic output, the highest level since the 1960s, underscoring the challenge facing the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, as she prepares for next month's budget.As leader, you've got a huge job, because you're campaigning everywhere. You're sorting out the professionalisation with the chairman and so we're sharing and sharing alike and that's an important part of it. You can't be everywhere all the time. It's really difficult. But let me tell you, no one works harder than Nigel Farage.As a leader of a party that is now becoming mainstream, international affairs, our relationship with our most important, strategic international partner - the US - is very important and the world will be a safer place if Donald Trump wins the presidential election. Nigel's strong relationship with Donald Trump is actually to the benefit of this country and it's quite right that he cements and strengthens that.No one's got more visibility, frankly, than Nigel on social media. I'm getting millions of views on mine. The other three MPs, likewise. We're out there. We're making a noise. Frankly, we are the real opposition. The Tories have vacated the premises, we hardly ever see them in the House of Commons.I've spoken 16 times, I've challenged the zealot-in-chief, Ed Miliband. I've challenged the home secretary. I've challenged the health secretary on the failings of the NHS. So look, we're holding them to account. That's what people expect of opposition parties. Continue reading...
Rodent posed risk to electrical wiring on Scandinavian Airlines flightA mouse that crawled out of a passenger's meal has forced a Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) flight to make an unscheduled landing, the company said on Friday.The incident occurred during Wednesday's flight from Oslo to Malaga, forcing the plane to land in Copenhagen. Continue reading...
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