Brokers say borrower confidence likely to lift after the first below 5% deal surfaces since June with more offers likely soonA fixed-rate mortgage priced at below 5% has gone on sale for the first time since June as leading lenders announced a fresh wave of home loan reductions.Brokers said a mortgage rate war is well and truly under way" and that the lower pricing should provide a boost to borrowers worried about the imminent end of their current deal, as well as would-be homebuyers who have been sitting on the sidelines. Continue reading...

While Labour aims for as grown-up a stance as possible, the Tories are attempting to paint them as trying to unpick Brexit

A prevention of future deaths report is sent to Steve Barclay after Allison Aules, 12, took her own lifeA London coroner has warned the health secretary that preventable child suicides are likely to increase unless the government provides more funding for mental health services.Nadia Persaud, the east London area coroner, told Steve Barclay that the suicide of Allison Aules, 12, in July 2022 highlighted the risk of similar deaths unless action is taken". Continue reading...

July figure is up from 7.57m in June, says NHS England, and is highest number since records began in 2007

Pollock's Toy Museum to put on puppet theatre shows in Hoxton at Open House festival, as search for permanent home continuesMore than 70 years after leaving its original home in east London, the capital's oldest and most whimsical toy museum is returning to its roots this weekend as part of an annual festival in which significant buildings open their doors to the public.Pollock's Toy Museum's extensive collection of puppet theatres, dolls, games, teddy bears and other Victorian toys has been in storage since January, after it was forced to leave its premises in central London. Continue reading...

Raelene Cooper has been granted an interlocutory injunction by the federal court in her case over potential impact on songlines

Three of officers face accusations of gross misconduct over search of Child Q at Hackney school in 2020Four Metropolitan police officers are to face disciplinary proceedings over the strip-search of a 15-year-old schoolgirl known as Child Q.The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said three of the officers faced accusations of gross misconduct over the search, carried out at a school in Hackney, east London, in December 2020. It is alleged that the decision to carry out the search, while the girl was on her period, was inappropriate; Child Q was discriminated against because of her race and sex; there was no appropriate adult present; and the officers did not get authorisation from a supervisor. Continue reading...

Committee describes shameful state of affairs' at Australia's tertiary institutions and says findings are serious indictment' on sector

STC will put on Tony award-winning musical's first original production since Broadway, an opportunity that artistic director Kip Williams describes as thrilling'

Greens senator David Shoebridge criticises move during parliamentary debate on transparency around lobbying

Thinktank says replacements for European Investment Bank have backed fewer, smaller and lower-risk projects'New public sector lenders created by the government since Brexit are investing two-thirds less than the UK was receiving from the EU's European Investment Bank, a new report finds.Over more than four decades, the EIB backed UK projects ranging from the Channel tunnel and the Manchester Metrolink to offshore windfarms and upgrading the National Grid. Continue reading...

Victim, 29, in serious condition with gunshots wounds to body and head after second shooting in suburban Sydney in two days

Exclusive: Papers, notebooks, letters, speeches and photos from 60-year career in public life donated by daughterThe British Library has acquired the archive of Shirley Williams, one of the most influential figures in British social democracy in the second half of the 20th century, who was known affectionately as Shirl the Pearl" by her admirers.Lady Williams, who died aged 90 in 2021, was a Labour cabinet minister in the 1970s and was later a member of the Gang of Four" that broke away from the Labour party to form the Social Democratic party (SDP).Shirley Williams: A Life in Politics is at the British Libraries' treasures gallery from 15 September until 25 February Continue reading...

David Shoebridge says statement calls into question deputy PM's claim that keeping flight details secret complies with the rules, but Marles insists all his travel accords with the relevant guidelines and security procedures'

Passengers in isolation with virus as Ocean Explorer remains stuck in Alpefjord national park

Mayor of flood-hit city of Derna calls for body-recovery teams as international aid starts to arriveRescue workers in the devastated Libyan city of Derna have appealed for more body bags, after a catastrophic flood killed thousands of people and swept many out to sea.International aid is slowly starting to reach the port city after Storm Daniel hit the northern coast of Libya on Saturday night. As many as 20,000 people are feared to have died. Continue reading...

Karin Kneissl says she is moving to Russia to lead a thinktank she set up with St Petersburg UniversityAn Austrian former foreign minister, Karin Kneissl, who became infamous in 2018 for dancing with Russian president Vladimir Putin at her wedding, has moved to St Petersburg - along with her ponies, which were flown in on a Russian military plane.In 2018, Karin Kneissl, then foreign minister of neutral Austria, made headlines when she invited Putin to her wedding. It drew widespread criticism, coming just months after some EU countries - excluding Austria - expelled scores of Russian diplomats in response to the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal in Salisbury. Continue reading...

Alleged remains of non-human' mummies presented at hearing, in country's first official event on UFOsMexican senators have heard testimony that we are not alone" in the universe and been presented with the alleged remains of non-human" mummies, in the country's first official event on extraterrestrial life.At a senate hearing on Tuesday, lawmakers were shown two shriveled bodies with shrunken heads - alongside video footage of unexplained anomalous phenomena" - by Jaime Maussan, a sports journalist turned UFO enthusiast. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Delay to work on five buildings in 2020 led to warnings of catastrophic' safety riskRishi Sunak blocked plans to rebuild five hospitals riddled with crumbling concrete three years ago, prompting warnings of a catastrophic" risk to patient safety, the Guardian has learned.Just two of the seven hospital rebuilding projects requested by the Department for Health were signed off by the Treasury at the 2020 spending review when Sunak was chancellor and Steve Barclay, now the health secretary, was his chief secretary. Continue reading...

Kim Jong-un pledged to support Russia's sacred' fight against the west; attack on Sevastopol damages vessels in Russia's Black Sea fleet

The homeware retail brand has also bought the intellectual property rights of Wilko, but none of its storesThe homeware retail chain The Range has struck a multimillion-pound deal to buy the Wilko brand as administrators sell off the remnants of the 93-year-old retailer.PricewaterhouseCoopers has been selling off parts of Wilko, founded in 1930 by JK Wilkinson in Leicester, after the chain went into administration last month, putting more than 12,000 jobs at risk. Continue reading...

Sources say there was speculation about Bernard Looney's relationships at the firm long before he became chief executive

Rachel de Souza says long-delayed guidance should be issued as soon as possible as teachers and families want claritySchools and teachers urgently need ministers to publish long-delayed transgender guidance to ensure that pupils are treated with consistency and fairness, the children's commissioner for England has said.Rachel de Souza said the guidance, which Rishi Sunak had promised to publish earlier this summer, should be issued as soon as possible, based on her conversations with parents, children and school leaders in England. Continue reading...

Tory MP steps down after four committee member called for no-confidence vote over praise for Afghan regimeTobias Ellwood has resigned as chair of the defence select committee after four of its members called for a vote of no confidence in light of comments he made praising the Taliban after a visit to Afghanistan in July.The Conservative MP said he had been guilty of poor communications" and that continuing to serve as chair would be a distraction, though he insisted that he retained the support of the majority of MPs on the committee. Continue reading...

Television chef blames food inflation, energy costs and rising wages for unpopular decisionRick Stein has defended his decision to charge 2 for condiments at his fish restaurant in Cornwall after criticism from some customers.The television chef and food writer's restaurant group charges customers for condiments and dips in Stein's Fish & Chips in Padstow to sit in, including gravy, curry sauce and aioli. Continue reading...

Judge condemns dastardly putschist attack' on Latin America's largest democracy as first four Bolsonaro supporters go on trialThe hate-filled vandals behind the dastardly putschist attack" on Latin America's largest democracy must be brought to justice, a supreme court judge has declared as Brazil held the first trial connected to Brasilia's 8 January insurrection.Thousands of followers of the ex-president Jair Bolsonaro marauded through Brazil's capital on 8 January this year in what his leftwing successor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, called an attempted coup d'etat. Nearly 2,000 militant Bolsonaro supporters were arrested in the days after the presidential palace, supreme court and congress were ransacked by Bolsonarista radicals outraged at his defeat in last October's election. Continue reading...

French president addresses Moroccans directly amid political rift between Rabat and ParisThe French president, Emmanuel Macron, has attempted to soothe tensions with Morocco over the supply of humanitarian aid, after a deadly earthquake centred high in the Atlas mountains.Search and rescue teams backed by the Moroccan military continued a frantic search to locate and airlift the wounded from remote mountainous villages in the Atlas mountains where the 6.8 magnitude quake struck last Friday. But as rescue efforts continued for a fifth day, the chances of finding survivors were fading. Continue reading...

London's answer to Met Gala' reveals behind-the-scenes power struggle between editorsSome of the biggest names from fashion and Hollywood will descend on the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in the West End on Thursday night for an event that is being hailed as London's answer to the Met Gala".Vogue World, described as a multi-act celebration of the British performing arts," has been contrived by Vogue's editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour, as a way of raising vital funds for London's struggling arts scene. Continue reading...

There are no reports of injuries on the Ocean Explorer, which was grounded in the remote Northeast Greenland National ParkA cruise ship with 206 passengers and crew onboard has run aground in north-west Greenland, and remained stuck even after high tide.Cmdr Brian Jensen of Denmark's Joint Arctic Command said that nobody on board was in danger and that no damage has been reported, but added that officials take this incident very seriously". Continue reading...

Ofgem said homes with young children were also part of expanded code of practiceEnergy suppliers have been officially banned from force fitting prepayment meters for elderly people and those with infant children after a scandal over companies' treatment of vulnerable customers.The industry regulator, Ofgem, said on Wednesday that companies would be forbidden from forcibly installing prepayment meters for people over 75 years old with no support in their house and in homes with children under the age of two. Continue reading...

Dan Rosenfield decides to sit as independent after being nominated by former PM in resignation honours list

Fallout from revelations has dominated news in UK but in China it has caused barely a rippleThe fallout from revelations that two people were arrested in the UK for allegedly spying for China has dominated British news since the story broke. In the heavily state-controlled media in China, however, it has caused barely a ripple.It took more than a day for state-controlled press to run the story, reporting a short statement from its embassy in London and then comments from the foreign affairs ministry. Continue reading...

West Midlands police arrest 60-year-old man over attack on Saturday that left Ana Paun with shoulder and arm injuriesA man has been arrested after a dog attack in Birmingham which left an 11-year-old girl with serious injuries.Footage shared on social media showed the dog, an American bully XL and Staffordshire bull terrier crossbreed puppy, running through the street after breaking free from its collar. Continue reading...

Visitors to Gower urged to maintain distance after spate of incidents, including newborn foal falling off cliffVisitors to a Welsh beauty spot have been warned not to go close to ponies to take selfies after a newborn foal fell to its death from a cliff.In another incident a woman was injured when she was kicked by a gypsy cob pony on the Gower peninsula in south-west Wales, while ponies have also been injured or killed by cars and disturbed by drones. Continue reading...

Report says IHRA definition has led to 40 cases against people and groups - of which 38 were cleared - and is stifling academic freedomsAn antisemitism definition adopted by most UK universities has come under fire in a report, which says it has led to 40 cases being brought against students, academics, unions, and societies - 38 of whom have been cleared.The remaining two cases have yet to conclude, meaning that none of the allegations - all based on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition - have been substantiated, according to the analysis by the European Legal Support Center (ELSC) and the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (Brismes). Continue reading...

Investigation into allegations of cover-up and medical negligence at Royal Sussex county hospital is extendedA police investigation into allegations of cover-up and medical negligence over dozens of hospital deaths has been expanded to include more recent cases amid internal claims about dangerous surgery.In June the Guardian revealed that Sussex police were investigating the deaths of about 40 patients in the general surgery and neurosurgery departments at the Royal Sussex county hospital in Brighton. Continue reading...

A new report shows that 175 of 244 US cities had extraordinarily warm temperatures made more likely by climate changeMost of the US population, 326 million people, have experienced at least one unusually hot summer day this summer, according to a new report by non-profit Climate Central.The largest number of such days occurred in places in the US south, south-east and, most relentlessly, south-west. Continue reading...

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...