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MS for Cardiff South and Penarth, who stood down after 140 days as first minister, will not seek re-election in 2026Vaughan Gething, the Labour former first minister of Wales who stood down after a series of scandals, has announced he will not seek re-election for the Senedd.Gething, the MS for Cardiff South and Penarth, said it had been an immense honour" to serve his constituents, and in the Welsh government, as he made the announcement. Continue reading...

Potential class action against private prison operator raised after 175 inmates at Clarence correctional centre locked in their cells for days after assault by a single prisoner

Jenny Hastings had been missing since she failed to return from swim at Wardie Bay in Edinburgh on TuesdayA body has been found in the search for the wife of Scott Hastings, the former Scotland rugby player, who went missing after swimming in an estuary in Edinburgh, police have said.Jenny Hastings has been missing since Tuesday after failing to return from Wardie Bay after going for a swim in the Firth of Forth, according to her family.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

Demonstrators accuse Emmanuel Macron of perpetrating denial of democracy' by choosing conservative politicianThousands of angry leftwing protesters took to French streets on Saturday two days after Emmanuel Macron appointed a conservative prime minister.Demonstrators accused the president of a denial of democracy" after his decision to name the former EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, 73, as leader of the government. Continue reading...

Phenomenal show' of solidarity in city's George Square overshadows smaller anti-immigration demonstrationAnti-racism campaigners have welcomed a phenomenal show" of solidarity after an anti-immigration rally initially promoted by Tommy Robinson was overshadowed by protesters in Glasgow's George Square.The opposing rallies were separated by lines of police and metal barriers, with a Stand Up to Racism Scotland event, in coalition with trade unions and leading refugee rights organisations, taking over most of the square as speakers addressed a swelling crowd of several thousand. Continue reading...

A tenants' rights group is fighting for justice for residents of university halls who claim health affected by conditionsStudents across the country are demanding rent refunds from the UK's biggest university hall owner, claiming they have endured infestations of rats, mice and bed bugs, and had their health affected by mould and damp.Flat Justice, a not-for-profit tenants' rights group, has shared details with the Observer of group legal actions it is leading against Unite Students on behalf of hundreds of students who have lived in the company's halls in Liverpool, London, Coventry and Birmingham. Continue reading...

Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, was arrested near US border after allegedly planning attack with undercover agentsA Pakistani man living in Canada is facing federal criminal charges for allegedly planning to carry out a mass shooting in New York against Jewish people on the anniversary of the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack in Israel, the US justice department announced on Friday.Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, was arrested Wednesday in Canada and charged with attempting to provide material support as well as resources to a foreign terrorist organization: in this case, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham. Continue reading...

Officials believe victims were swept away in flash flood amid heavy storms, after body of British woman was also found on island on WednesdayPolice searching for a British man believed to have been swept away by heavy flooding in Mallorca have found a body.It comes after the body of a British woman was found on the Spanish tourist island on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Political veterans say Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves installing trusted allies in Whitehall roles par for the courseOf course we were always going to get our people' in! It's what you do," says one bemused veteran of the 1997 Labour government.Old political hands regard the furore over Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves installing cronies" into government jobs as par for the course - and certainly no worse than what the Tories have done for more than a decade. Continue reading...

Met Office says band of heavy and thundery rain' to sweep north through southern and central England and WalesHeavy rain is due to sweep across large parts of the UK this weekend, with many at risk of flooding.A new band of heavy and thundery rain" will arrive on the south coast on Saturday and move northwards overnight, affecting central and southern England and Wales, the Met Office said. Continue reading...

Spokesperson says government considering the advice' of Australian Electoral Commission on regulating AI use

Admissions officers report rise in number of inquiries from international students since general election

Removal of popular cabinet member Silvio Almedia comes as a blow to Lula's administrationBrazil's president has sacked one of his most popular cabinet members after claims Silvio Almeida sexually harassed at least two women - one of whom is another prominent figure, the racial equality minister Anielle Franco.Almeida, the human rights minister, has denied the allegations, while Franco thanked President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for his decisive action." But the scandal has dealt a major blow to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's administration and has been greeted with deep dismay by the Black rights movement. Continue reading...

Freddie Owens, who will now die by lethal injection, said it would be akin to suicide' to participate in decisionA lawyer representing the first death row inmate likely to be executed in South Carolina since 2011 has decided that he should die by lethal injection after the prisoner refused to choose between three different killing methods, saying that to do so would be akin to suicide".Freddie Owens is now set to be executed using a fatal dose of the sedative pentobarbital. The prisoner had been given until Friday to decide between the three execution methods: lethal injection, the electric chair and the firing squad. Continue reading...

Family of Paula Leeson sued Donald McPherson after criminal prosecution over fatal drowning collapsedA man who stood to claim a 4.4m estate from his wealthy wife has had his inheritance blocked by a judge who ruled he killed her.The family of Paula Leeson, 47, who was found dead in a swimming pool in a Denmark holiday home in 2017, sued her husband, Donald McPherson, 51, for unlawful killing after a criminal prosecution collapsed when there was not enough evidence. Continue reading...

Bodies of Dominik, 3, Nikodem and Kacper, both 2, and their father, Piotr Swiderski, 31, were found last weekThe deaths of three young boys whose bodies were found next to their father's at a house in Surrey last week are being investigated as murder, police have said.Last Saturday, police discovered the bodies of Dominik, three, and Nikodem and Kacper Swiderski, both two, with their father, Piotr Swiderski, 31, at a property in Staines-upon-Thames at about 1.15pm. Continue reading...

Inquiry follows investigation into governance of charity linked to community housing cooperative near city centreThe Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into a charity that was set up to help improve the lives of residents in Kirkdale, one of the poorest areas of Liverpool.The commission announced the decision to open the statutory inquiry, its most serious form of investigation, into the Eldonian Community Trust Limited on Friday following an 18-month investigation into concerns over the governance of the charity. Continue reading...

Government and paramilitary forces responsible for rape, violence and torture, according to civilian interviewsPeacekeepers should be deployed to Sudan immediately and an existing international arms embargo should be expanded to protect civilians from harrowing" rights abuses committed by the warring parties in the country's civil war, UN experts said on Friday.Sudan's army (SAF) and its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces [RSF], have raped and attacked civilians, used torture and made arbitrary arrests, according to a UN-mandated fact-finding mission based on 182 interviews with survivors, relatives and witnesses. The violations may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity", its report said. Continue reading...

Exclusive: renters' rights bill including ban on section 21 evictions to have its first Commons reading next weekLandlords will soon be banned from removing tenants without cause as the government prepares to launch a long-delayed package of measures for renters including stopping no-fault evictions within months.Ministers will bring the renters' rights bill for its first reading in the Commons next week, sources have told the Guardian, as they look to rush through key parts of its housing changes. Continue reading...

Row may signal that newly elected Tehran government is willing to take tougher line with MoscowIran's new reformist government has warned Russia against siding with Azerbaijan in a border dispute as concerns in Tehran persist over its relations with Moscow.The Iranian foreign minister, Sayeed Abbas Araghchi, took the unusual step of upbraiding Russia after Moscow sided with Azerbaijan over its calls for a land corridor along the Armenia-Iran border that Tehran fears could limit its access to Europe and the wider world. Continue reading...

Ricky Jones pleads not guilty after video emerged in which he appeared to call for far-right protesters' throats to be cut'A suspended Labour councillor has pleaded not guilty to encouraging violent disorder while addressing a crowd during an anti-racism demonstration in east London.Ricky Jones, 57, allegedly committed the offence during a speech to a gathering that was organised in response to the nationwide violent disorder, in Hoe Street, Walthamstow, on 7 August. Continue reading...

Emma Dent Coad, who was Kensington MP at time of fire, says former housing secretary should have grace to resign'Eric Pickles, the former housing secretary, is facing calls to quit as a Tory peer over the Grenfell inquiry, but he has blamed middle-ranking officials" for failing to act on a coroner's warning about fire safety.Emma Dent Coad, who was Kensington MP when the fire killed 72 people, said Pickles should have the grace to resign" from the House of Lords and as a government ethics adviser after criticism in the Grenfell report. Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, also said Pickles should be stripped of his peerage. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Campaigners accuse ministers of making misleading promises about protecting green belt sitesHuge expanses of green belt land in England could be built on to meet government housing targets, it has emerged, with guidelines saying that councils lacking enough brownfield sites will be expected to offer untouched plots for construction.The proposals, set out in consultation documents for the revised planning rules across England, prompted condemnation from campaigners, who accused ministers of making misleading promises about protecting the green belt. Continue reading...

NSW, Victoria, south-western Queensland and parts of central Australia had temperatures climb by 6C to 12C above average, BoM says

Abdelmadjid Tebboune set for second term as president after changed poll date is expected to favour himAlgeria goes to the polls on Saturday in a presidential election being held in the context of what rights groups have called a steady erosion of human rights" under the president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who is expected to win a second five-year term.As many as 24 million people are eligible to vote in the north African country in a process moved forward by three months. Continue reading...

Lehrmann's lawyer says he was exempt from $117,00 in court costs because he was on Centrelink'

Arrest warrant was issued for Guo, who is accused of having links to Chinese criminal syndicates, after she failed to appear before a Senate inquiryAlice Guo, a fugitive former mayor of a town in the Philippines accused of having links to Chinese criminal syndicates, has arrived back in the Philippines after she was deported from Indonesia.Guo, whose case has gripped the Philippines, was the subject of an arrest warrant after she failed to appear before a Senate inquiry investigating financial scams and human trafficking found to be taking place at a sprawling compound in her town, Bamban, in Tarlac province. Continue reading...

Dusky sea snake was placed on threatened species list this week and is known only to exist on a small number of reefs off the Kimberley coastlineConservation scientists advising the federal government have called for fossil fuel activity in the location of Woodside's proposed multibillion gas project to be urgently reviewed to protect the stronghold of an endangered sea snake.The dusky sea snake, Aipysurus fuscus, was placed on the country's threatened species list this week and is known only to exist on a small number of reefs off the Western Australia Kimberley coastline.Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Continue reading...

Police still searching for more than a dozen antique handguns after charging trio over Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum robbery

Health charities call for taxes on salty products and bans on junk food sponsorship of sport to help cut deaths from heart diseaseHard-hitting cigarette-style warning labels should be put on everyday foodstuffs, new taxes imposed on salty products and junk food sponsorship of sport banned to cut rising deaths from heart disease, health campaigners have said.These bold" measures should be imposed as part of a determined drive to reduce the number of people dying prematurely from heart attacks and strokes, they said. Continue reading...

Ministers, intelligence officers, Border Force and CPS staff to attend meeting at NCA headquartersYvette Cooper will chair a summit aimed at apprehending criminal gangs involved in smuggling people across the Channel in small boats, as the Home Office disclosed that MI5 officers had been given a key role in operations.Intelligence officers, Border Force staff and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) representatives will be present at the meeting on Friday at the National Crime Agency's headquarters. Continue reading...

Cabin crew member's sacking has been overturned by the Fair Work Commission but experts say case raises questions about workplace surveillance

Jenny Hastings, who loved the water', failed to return from Wardie Bay in EdinburghThe wife of Scott Hastings, the former Scottish international rugby player, has gone missing after going swimming in a Scottish estuary. Jenny Hastings, who loved the water", failed to return from Wardie Bay in Edinburgh on Tuesday after going for a swim in the Firth of Forth.Emergency services were alerted a report of concern" at about 2.45pm on Tuesday, and a helicopter, coastguard rescue teams, lifeboats and other nearby vessels all took part in a search. Continue reading...

Accounting firm tells its 26,000 workers move is to ensure workers spend minimum of three days a week' in officeThe consultancy PwC has told its employees it is going to begin tracking their working locations to ensure that all workers spend a minimum of three days a week" in the office or at client sites.In a memo sent to its 26,000 UK employees, the big four accounting firm announced that it will start monitoring how often employees work from home in the same way it monitors how many chargeable hours they work. Continue reading...

Dimitri Simes, 76, charged with working for sanctioned Russian state television network and laundering proceedsThe US government has charged a Russian-born US citizen and former adviser to Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign with working for a sanctioned Russian state television network and laundering the proceeds.Indictments announced Thursday by the US Department of Justice allege that Dimitri Simes and his wife received over $1m and a personal car and driver in exchange for work they did for Russia's Channel One since June 2022. The network was sanctioned by the US in 2022 over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...

Lord MacDonald warns of likely delays in criminal justice system as survivors denounce arrogant' building firms

A councillor at 22, now country's oldest premier in modern history, the former Brexit negotiator must win over a divided parliamentHe calmly but firmly negotiated the UK's departure from the EU after years of British squabbling over Brexit, and he prefers consensus to political punch-ups. But Michel Barnier faces his toughest challenge yet as France's new prime minister amid the country's biggest political crisis in decades.The discreet rightwinger, 73, known for his sensible anoraks, love of spreadsheets and his ever-present briefing dossiers wedged under his arm, is facing a baptism of fire in a deeply divided French political landscape. Continue reading...

Findings on 2017 fire at London tower block raise wide-ranging questions over prevailing attitudes and practicesAfter the damning findings of the public inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire and with the threat of criminal proceedings hanging over key players, the construction industry is facing a moment of reckoning.The 2017 fire that killed 72 people stemmed from a rotten culture in the construction industry", where multiple failures occurred across the supply chain, according to Dame Judith Hackitt, an engineer who led a review on building safety after Grenfell. Continue reading...

Gisele Pelicot says police saved my life' when they investigated her husband, who has admitted drugging her and enlisting men to rape herA French woman whose husband has admitted drugging her and inviting more than 80 men to rape her over the course of a decade has said she was sacrificed on the altar of vice" and treated like a rag doll".Gisele Pelicot, 72, said police saved my life" when they investigated her husband Dominique Pelicot's computer in November 2020, after a security guard caught him filming up the skirts of women in a supermarket near their home in a village in southern France. Continue reading...

Shell and Equinor say they will defend Jackdaw and Rosebank plans after Labour withdraws government supportTwo of Europe's biggest oil companies have vowed to fight two legal cases brought by environmental campaigners against their plans to develop new oil and gas projects in the North Sea.Shell and Equinor have said that they will defend their plans to develop new North Sea projects despite Labour's decision to withdraw government support for the plans, which were approved by the Conservatives over the last two years. Continue reading...

Stephen Chamberlain, an ex-VP at Lynch's firm Autonomy, died in hospital three days after being hit while out runningStephen Chamberlain, an associate of the tech tycoon Mike Lynch, died in hospital three days after being hit by a car while out running in Cambridgeshire, an inquest has heard.Chamberlain was hit on 17 August when he was about six miles into his run having set out from the city of Ely that morning. The 52-year-old was the former vice-president of finance at the British software firm Autonomy and a co-defendant with Lynch in a US fraud trial over the sale of Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in 2011 for $11bn. Continue reading...

Richard Blakeway tells social housing leaders to see people, not problems' after Grenfell inquiry's report into disasterSome social housing landlords still treat tenants like children and behave in the same adversarial and defensive way as the Grenfell Tower landlord, the government-appointed social housing ombudsman has said.Speaking after the publication of the public inquiry report into the 2017 fire that claimed 72 lives, Richard Blakeway warned leaders of social housing groups to end parent-child" relationships with tenants and instead see people, not problems". Continue reading...

Two others rescued after incident during training with HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier off Dorset coastA member of the Royal Navy has died after a Merlin Mk4 helicopter crashed in the Channel off the coast of Dorset during a night-flying exercise.Two other crew members were rescued after the crash, which took place during training with the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier. Continue reading...

Detentions involve Chinese citizens who marketed cancer drugs for firm's oncology divisionChinese police have reportedly detained five current and former AstraZeneca employees as part of an investigation into possible breaches related to data privacy and importing unlicensed medications.The detentions took place earlier this summer, and targeted Chinese citizens who marketed cancer drugs for the oncology division of the British pharmaceutical company, according to Bloomberg. Continue reading...

Proposals include having people reserve a slot to visit site, similar to measures at Acropolis and Sagrada FamiliaOfficials in Rome are mulling whether to limit access to the Trevi fountain, as the city grapples with the impact that overtourism is having on the late baroque masterpiece.The plans under consideration include having people reserve in advance to visit the monument. Personally I would be in favour of looking at a new form of access, limited and timed, to the Trevi fountain," Alessandro Onorato, the city councillor responsible for tourism, told the newspaper Corriere della Sera. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereEdouard Philippe, a former prime minister, has congratulated Michel Barnier, writing that there will be many to help him.Gabriel Attal has thanked the French people, as he leaves office. Continue reading...

Binding vote to take place next Tuesday and several Labour MPs sign motion asking for move to be reconsideredThe Labour government has confirmed there will be a binding vote on whether to axe the winter fuel allowance for all but the poorest pensioners, as unease grows within the party about backing the plans.The vote will take place next Tuesday after the Conservatives submitted a motion to annul the government's change to regulations - a change that ordinarily would not be subject to a vote. Labour had said previously there would be no vote on the measure. Continue reading...

Labour expected to roll back Conservatives' 5p duty cut in the autumn statement in first increase since 2011Petrol and diesel pump prices in the UK have fallen to their lowest levels in nearly three years, but motorists should expect a first rise in fuel duty for 14 years in next month's autumn statement.According to the AA, the average price at petrol pumps dropped to 139.5p a litre on Wednesday for the first time since October 2021, four months before Russia's invasion of Ukraine triggered a global oil market rise. Continue reading...

Retailer says it will use AI tools to match in-store and online prices of 25 competitors after axing policy in 2022