World news | The Guardian

Rhiannon Skye Whyte, 27, was stabbed 23 times with a screwdriver after shift at hotel where Deng Chol Majek livedAn asylum seeker accused of stabbing a hotel worker 23 times with a screwdriver and leaving her to die was seen dancing and laughing in the aftermath of the attack, a murder trial jury has heard.Deng Chol Majek, who claims to be 19, was clearly excited about what he had done" after inflicting fatal wounds on Rhiannon Skye Whyte, who worked in the hotel where he was living, Wolverhampton crown court heard. Continue reading...

Longtime organizer and founder of House of gg earned reputation as champion for liberation of Black trans womenMiss Major Griffin-Gracy, a trailblazer of the transgender rights movement, longtime community organizer and veteran of the Stonewall riots, died on Monday, her representatives announced.The acclaimed activist died at her home in Little Rock, Arkansas, surrounded by family, the House of gg (the final organization she founded and led) announced. She was 78, and the group's statement did not give a cause of death. Continue reading...

Investigating officer says he went against procedure to test Julia Wandelt, accused of campaign of harassment against McCann familyAn alleged stalker's claim to be Madeleine McCann was ruled out after a DNA test proved conclusively she was not the missing girl, police have revealed in court.Julia Wandelt, 24, is accused of a campaign of harassment against the family of Madeleine, who went missing from Praia da Luz in Portugal in 2007 at the age of three. Continue reading...

Returning the bodies of 28 hostages was part of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas but only four have been handed over

Campaigners deeply concerned' about response to prompts about suicide, self-harm and eating disordersThe latest version of ChatGPT has produced more harmful answers to some prompts than an earlier iteration of the AI chatbot, in particular when asked about suicide, self-harm and eating disorders, digital campaigners have said.Launched in August, GPT-5 was billed by the San Francisco start-up as advancing the frontier of AI safety". But when researchers fed the same 120 prompts into the latest model and its predecessor, GPT-4o, the newer version gave harmful responses 63 times compared with 52 for the old model.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 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org Continue reading...

People trafficking among allegations against six people who face measures including property freezes and travel bansThe US and UK have seized $15bn (11.3bn) in bitcoin and frozen London properties owned by the alleged leaders of scam centres in Cambodia that trick victims around the world and torture their trafficked workers.Two Chinese-born businessmen are among the six people hit by travel bans and sanctions that aim to tackle the growing threat of organised crime gangs carrying out online fraud globally on an industrial scale. Continue reading...

Observers and opposition says prosecution of Riek Machar for crimes in relation to attack by rebel militia puts peace deal at riskSouth Sudan's opposition and observers have warned that the prosecution of the country's suspended vice-president, Riek Machar, risks jeopardising a peace agreement that ended a devastating civil war and plunging the country into full-scale conflict once again.On 11 September, Machar was charged with murder, treason, crimes against humanity and other serious crimes in connection with a deadly attack by the White Army rebel group on a government army garrison in Nasir county in the country's north-east. President Salva Kiir then suspended him from his post. Continue reading...

Counter-terror laws being weaponised' against pro-Palestine groups in UK, US, France and Germany, says FIDHThe right to protest has come under sustained attack across the west, according to a report highlighting the growing criminalisation of pro-Palestinian demonstrations.The study by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) pays particular attention to the UK, the US, France and Germany, where it says governments have weaponised" counter-terrorism legislation as well as the fight against antisemitism to suppress dissent and support for Palestinian rights in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Continue reading...

Party hoped to take 30 municipalities but secured three after share of vote halved from parliamentary electionsPortugal's far-right Chega party has won its first mayoral seats in local elections, final results showed, but fell well short of expectations and its vote share halved from parliamentary elections in May.The six-year-old nationalist party, whose name means Enough", took control of three city halls: Sao Vicente on the island of Madeira; the central town of Entroncamento; and Albufeira in the south. It won an 11.86% share of the overall vote. Continue reading...

Exclusive: deputy leadership favourite says budget can revive party's appeal, while Bridget Phillipson pitches to channel grassroots views to cabinetLabour should not write off" next May's elections as a likely moment for big losses but use the budget as a way to seize back voters' attention, Lucy Powell has said as the battle to be the party's deputy leadership entered its final period.With voting among party members under way, Bridget Phillipson, Powell's rival for the post, said if she won she would set up a formal system to reflect the views of members and unions to the cabinet on a regular basis. Continue reading...

Ukrainian leader discussed request for Tomahawk cruise missiles in phone call with US presidentUkraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, urged Donald Trump to use the momentum of the Gaza ceasefire to broker peace in Ukraine, as the two leaders spoke by phone on Saturday.Trump and Zelenskyy discussed Ukraine's request for the US to allow the delivery of Tomahawk cruise missiles to bolster Kyiv's ability to conduct long range strikes inside Russia, among other issues, according to Axios. Continue reading...

Across the west, solidarity marches are testing governments' tolerance for dissent. From arrests to bans, free-speech boundaries are shiftingThe ceasefire between Hamas and Israel has been met with joy and relief across the Middle East and beyond. Over the past two years, outrage at Israel's war in Gaza has erupted across Europe and the US, manifesting itself in university campus protests, massive marches through countless capitals and the disruption of major sporting events.Even as hopes rise of an end to the war, international anger over Israel's actions in Gaza, which have been deemed a genocide by a UN commission of inquiry, remains raw, as evidenced by last weekend's huge rallies in Spain and Italy. Continue reading...

Director of Palestine Solidarity Campaign says ceasefire agreement says nothing about system of apartheid' in Palestine Gaza ceasefire - live updates

Mayor explains why Villamalea unanimously backed call to regularise undocumented migrants - across party linesFlanked by farmland and nestled among the deep valleys of central Spain, few in Villamalea, a town of 4,200 people, expected to find their tranquil home splashed across Spanish media this summer.I've never been contacted by so many media outlets in my life," said Jose Nunez Perez, the conservative mayor of Villamalea. With a laugh, he added: It made me question, just what have we done here?" Continue reading...

National Archives papers show how then MP pushed for 2002 meeting between PM and young and vibrant' financierSir Tony Blair met Jeffrey Epstein in Downing Street while he was prime minister after a recommendation by Peter Mandelson, newly released papers from the National Archives show.Epstein visited Blair on 14 May 2002, after the suggestion by Lord Mandelson to the prime minister's then chief of staff, Jonathan Powell. Continue reading...

Perception of runaway crime partly blamed for driving away the super-rich' but in reality some high-profile offences such as watch theft are falling

Chega supporters in Albufeira hope party can use Sunday's local elections as springboard for nationwide takeoverThe road into Albufeira is thronged with billboards. Some, such as the faded one on a roundabout leading to the centre of the southern Portuguese resort city, offer sun-bleached glimpses of enticing real estate, golden beaches and vibrant nightlife. Others that have sprung up before Sunday's local elections peddle promises of a different kind.By far the most numerous are those belonging to the far-right Chega party. Its political posters feature one-line grievances about the state of public health, education and housing and tell passing drivers that all these problems will be solved once Chega is in charge. Continue reading...

Foreign Press Association joins long list of global media agencies demanding press freedom in devastated territoryInternational journalists in Israel have called for reporters to be granted immediate access to Gaza after the rapidly negotiated ceasefire came into effect, joining a long list of international media organizations demanding press freedom in the devastated territory.In a statement released on Friday, the Foreign Press Association (FPA) urged Israel to immediately open the borders and allow international media free and independent access to the Gaza Strip" now that hostilities have ceased. The organization also noted that the supreme court is expected to hear arguments on 23 October, after more than a year in which the state has been allowed to delay its response". Continue reading...

Hacker collective Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters demanded payment in return for preventing the stolen data of nearly 40 companies from being shared

The high court told the company linked to Michelle Mone to pay up over the supply of defective gowns, but there appears no clear route to reclaim the fundsThe five-year unravelling of Britain's most high-profile Covid contracts scandal involving a baroness, her husband and multimillion-pound government deals accelerated last week with a high court judgment against the company linked to the former Tory peer Michelle Mone.The judge, Mrs Justice Cockerill, ruled that PPE Medpro, owned by Mone's husband, the Isle of Man-based businessman Doug Barrowman, supplied defective personal protective equipment (PPE) for use in the NHS during the pandemic. Cockerill ordered that PPE Medpro must return the sum of 122m, which the Department of Health and Social Care paid for the order of 25m sterile surgical gowns, under a contract awarded in June 2020 via the VIP lane. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Fantasy about a beautiful creature with wings' has been compiled from drafts, storyboards and sketchesHe rose from the slums of Victorian London to become arguably cinema's first great comic artist, with The Great Dictator and Limelight among his masterpieces.Now the script of Charlie Chaplin's unfinished final film is to be published, having been pieced together from drafts, storyboards and sketches, on which he had been working before his death in 1977, at the age of 88. Continue reading...

The aircraft caught on fire soon after taking off from Shellharbour airport at about 10am on Saturday

Promised crackdown on corruption is not happening fast enough for many who saw government toppled within a day of protestsPrakash Bohora was one of the first of Nepal's gen Z protesters to feel the sting of a police bullet. Like thousands of other young people, he had taken to the streets of the capital last month to protest against corruption and a draconian ban on social media.He had no idea that day in Kathmandu would escalate into what is now described as Nepal's gen Z revolution, which saw the toppling of the government within a day, the dissolution of parliament and appointment of a new interim prime minister, the anti-corruption hardliner Sushila Karki, by the end of the week. Continue reading...

IOPC investigating incident at property in Walthamstow where man reportedly had firearm and made threats to killA man was taken to hospital in a life-threatening" condition after he was shot by police at a home in London on Friday afternoon.The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has launched an investigation into the actions of Metropolitan police officers during the incident at a property in Walthamstow, north-east London. Continue reading...

Lecornu, who resigned as PM on Monday, is tasked with urgently delivering a budget to parliamentThe French president, Emmanuel Macron, has reappointed his centrist ally Sebastien Lecornu as prime minister - days after Lecornu dramatically resigned and his new government collapsed after only 14 hours.Lecornu said he accepted returning to the role out of duty" and would do everything possible to provide France with a budget by the end of the year and to address the daily life issues of our fellow citizens". Continue reading...

Johnson found to have breached rules after refusing to answer specific questions about allegations published by the GuardianBoris Johnson breached rules designed to stop the abuse of contacts and access made in public office, an ethics watchdog has found.Last month the Guardian published revelations about Johnson's conduct since leaving office. The Boris Files, a trove of documents from the former prime minister's private office seen by the Guardian, suggested he repeatedly broke rules forbidding him from exploiting for private gain contacts made in office. Continue reading...

In an attempt to reset the relationship the government is refusing to describe China as a national security threat despite evidence to the contraryOnce, before the election, Labour's approach to China was forthright. The party promised to declare China's systematic repression of its Uyghur Muslim minority as a genocide. Its MPs united to support a genocide amendment to a 2021 trade bill, voting with Tory rebels and only failing to defeat Boris Johnson's government by 11 votes.But in the past week recriminations have swirled after the prosecution of two Britons accused of spying for China was dropped. A refusal by the government to describe China as a national security threat has reinforced Labour's already softened approach to Beijing and sharpened focus on the figure at its heart: Keir Starmer's national security adviser, Jonathan Powell. Continue reading...

Bets for Maria Corina Machado spiked on Polymarket gambling site hours before she was awarded prizeNorwegian officials who oversee the Nobel peace prize are investigating suspicious online betting for this year's winner that suggests a rare leak from the secretive committee that hands out the prize.Online bets for the Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado spiked on the Polymarket gambling site shortly after midnight on Thursday, Norwegian time, according to the information on its website. Continue reading...

Schimdt remembered as profound blessing' after gaining attention for supporting Chicago school's basketball teamSister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the beloved chaplain for Loyola University Chicago men's basketball team, died on Thursday at the age of 106, the university announced.Schmidt became a beloved figure in US college basketball seven years ago when she captured national attention by supporting her team as they reached the final four of the NCAA tournament in 2018 - their first appearance at that stage since 1963. Continue reading...

Thousands walk north along coastal road after Israel-Hamas agreement puts stop to fighting for first time in six months

Republican Winsome Earle-Sears presses Abigail Spanberger over fellow Democrat's abhorrent' texts

President has heart of humanitarian', spokesperson says after unsuccessful bid for prize amid Gaza ceasefire deal

Most non-EU nationals entering Schengen area will have photo and fingerprints taken as part of entry-exit systemThe first British and other non-EU citizens will be subjected to new biometric checks when travelling to Europe from Sunday, when the long-delayed entry-exit system (EES) is finally launched.A phased implementation to avoid chaos at borders means it could be another six months before every traveller is checked, with passport stamping continuing until the system is fully up and running. Continue reading...

Opponent of Maduro regime receives award and praise for keeping flame of democracy burning'The Venezuelan opposition politician Maria Corina Machado has won the Nobel peace prize for her dogged struggle to rescue the South American country from its fate as a brutal, authoritarian state".Machado, 58, a conservative often described as Venezuela's Iron Lady, has spent the last year living in hiding after her political movement was widely believed to have beaten the country's president, Nicolas Maduro, in the July 2024 presidential election. Continue reading...

Evacuation orders issued in Mindanao region as authorities assess full extent of damageThe southern Philippines was rocked by a powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake that struck in the region of Mindanao on Friday, reportedly killing at least five people and triggering a tsunami warning.The quake struck at 9.43am (0143 GMT) in waters off the town of Manay, at a depth of 10km. The tsunami warning was later lifted. At least five people were killed, including two patients who died of heart attacks at a hospital during the earthquake and a person who was hit by debris in the city of Mati, in Davao Oriental, the regional director of the civil defence office, Ednar Dayanghirang, told the Associated Press. Continue reading...

Financial Conduct Authority proposes manufacturers' finance arms foot nearly half of 11bn compensation bill

Musician died peacefully surrounded by sounds of Everly Brothers and Buddy Holly, say familyThe Moody Blues singer and bass guitarist, John Lodge, has died at the age of 82, his family have said.A statement read: It is with the deepest sadness that we have to announce that John Lodge, our darling husband, father, grandfather, father-in-law and brother, has been suddenly and unexpectedly taken from us. Continue reading...

Broadcaster apologised after Have I Got News For You falsely said ex-PM's son's firm had won digital ID contractThe arrival of a generation of young producers marinated in social media" led to a false claim about Euan Blair being broadcast on Have I Got News For You, the production chief behind the show has said.The first in a new series of the BBC show featured an incorrect claim that the company run by the son of the former prime minister Tony Blair had been given the contract to run the government's new digital ID system. Continue reading...

Those affected at risk of falls, mental ill-health and leading socially restricted lives, say doctorsMillions of people aged 50 or over in the UK are predicted to have undiagnosed sight or hearing problems, prompting calls for that age group to have checkups more regularly.Doctors involved in the related research said the findings were deeply concerning", and warned that those affected were at risk of falls, mental ill-health and leading socially restricted lives.6.7 million people in the UK aged 50 or over have trouble seeing out of one or both eyes2.4 million of them are visually impaired in one eye20.3 million people have some form of hearing loss in one or both ears7.7 million people cannot hear clearly with both ears Continue reading...

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia used over 450 drones and 30 missiles in a country-wide attack. This live blog is now closedPower has been restored to 270,000 consumers in Kyiv after Russian overnight attacks knocked it out, Ukraine's energy minister Svitlana Hrynchuk wrote on Facebook on Friday.Kyiv residents heard blasts throughout the night and many woke up without power after a vast overnight air attack which targeted Ukraine's energy system, Reuters reports. Continue reading...

Plus Dolly Parton, and a vanishingly rare moment to celebrate in a court case related to sexual violenceThe most affecting scene in the first episode of Victoria Beckham, the new three-part documentary that arrived this week on Netflix, revolves around a moment in which she and her daughter, Harper, 14, create family content together. If this sounds like I'm being snide, I'm not. The pair improvise and film a dance, during which Harper, with amused tolerance, weathers her mother's try-hard moves and Beckham, weathering her daughter's condescension, reminds us that dancing was never really her thing. It's sweet and, as is often the case when Beckham interacts on camera with her family, feels like the closest thing you get to a genuine moment. Continue reading...

Exclusive: The film's producers are seeking an injunction in a Sydney court to stop Wilson pursuing a countersuit in California

Inland areas have neared 40C, while in northern China a cold air mass clashed with warmth to produce heavy rainWhile northern parts of China felt their first autumnal chill under persistent heavy rain this week, large areas farther south have continued to swelter in summer-like heat. In south-east China, temperatures have climbed steadily since late September under the influence of higher than average pressure to the north-east, reaching the mid-to-high 30Cs during a period when conditions would normally be cooling from about 30C to the mid-20s. Inland areas have neared 40C (104F), with Xiushui, in Jiangxi province, recording 38.9C on Wednesday, about 13C above average for early October.Overnight warmth has also persisted. In Hong Kong, further heat on Wednesday brought October's tally of very hot days" - defined by temperatures remaining above 28C throughout the day - to four, the highest ever recorded for the month. Models suggest the unusual heat across south-east China will last for another eight to 10 days, before colder air pushes in from the north. Continue reading...

Exclusive: PM reorganising key parts of government to give chief secretary Darren Jones more Whitehall control UK politics live - latest updatesKeir Starmer has been accused of pushing some of his last remaining progressive allies out of government as he embarks on another shake-up of his Downing Street operation designed to empower his chief secretary, Darren Jones.The prime minister is overseeing a reorganisation of several key parts of his government, including the delivery and policy units, to refocus the policy work and give Jones more direct control of the machinery of government. Continue reading...

Public health warning issued after drugs known as nitazenes detected amid move to ban pill testing

Madeleine Habib, captain of the Conscience vessel, was arrested by Israeli forces on 8 October and detained in Israel's Ketziot prison

Congress leader Jose Jeri sworn in as interim president as majority of lawmakers initiate impeachment against BoluarteLawmakers in Peru have voted to remove the president, Dina Boluarte, whose term has been marked by protests and accusations of failing to stem crime.Boluarte refused to appear before Congress on Friday for an overnight hearing after a majority of lawmakers, including some once loyal to her, voted to initiate impeachment proceedings. Continue reading...

Reports of panic and damaged buildings as strong quake hits Philippines

Donald Day Jr will have charges relating to allegedly threatening FBI agents and other officials dropped under deal

Soft-toy collecting back in vogue for children and adults, says HamleysA 7 furry bouncy ball with a face is tipped to be one of the must-have toys this Christmas, according to expert buyers at Hamleys.The Ty Bouncers - essentially fluffy tennis balls - range from cats, cows and monkeys to Spider-Man and Paddington. With 80 to collect, Victoria Kay, the head of buying and merchandising at Hamleys, said the bouncy soft toys offered uncomplicated fun". Continue reading...