Michel Mercier accused of embezzling public funds by employing wife, daughter and phantom assistantA former French justice minister is due to appear in a Paris court accused of embezzling public funds by allegedly creating fake jobs, including one for a phantom part-time parliamentary assistant called Hubert Devillers.Michel Mercier is also said to have employed his wife as his assistant in the senate – the upper house – for four years, and then one of his daughters who was reportedly living in London at the time. Continue reading...
Retailer says proceeds will be reinvested in grocery stores, keeping down prices and reducing debtThe Co-operative Group has completed the sale of its petrol forecourt business to its supermarket rival Asda for £600m, saying the money will be reinvested in its grocery stores, keeping prices down and reducing debt.The group, known for its supermarket chains and businesses including a funeral service, had agreed to sell its 129 petrol stations to Asda in August 2022. Continue reading...
by Niels de Hoog, Elena Morresi and David Allison on (#659PS)
Interactive map shows spread of demonstrations over five weeks after woman’s death in custodyIran has been gripped by protests since the death in custody on 16 September of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish origin who had been arrested three days earlier for allegedly breaching the Islamic dress code for women. This interactive map shows how protests spread between 16 September and 21 October, fuelled by public outrage over a crackdown that has led to the deaths of other young women and girls. Now in their seventh week, the protests show no sign of ending.Methodology Continue reading...
by Robert Booth Social affairs correspondent on (#659NJ)
Rush to build courts ahead of expected boom in sociable participation sport that counts Andy Murray as a fanIf Andy Murray and Virgil van Dijk are right, padel, a hybrid of squash and tennis characterised by an addictive “pock” sound, is poised to break out as the next big UK participation sport.Better, one of the country’s biggest leisure centre chains, is preparing its first courts for mass use, councils are planning municipal courts and a company backed by the tennis champion and the Liverpool FC player expects to erect courts in at least 50 venues by the end of 2023. Continue reading...
by Amrit Dhillon in New Delhi with agencies on (#659ME)
About 400 people were on the bridge in Gujarat to celebrate a Diwali religious ritual when it collapsed, with many children among the deadThe death toll from the collapse of a pedestrian bridge over a river in Gujarat, western India, has risen to at least 130 as more stories emerge of the terrifying moment the structure gave way .Local officials say about 400 people were on the suspension bridge over the Machchu River in the city of Morbi on Sunday and the atmosphere was festive. Families had come out on to the bridge to celebrate a post-Diwali religious ritual in which idols are immersed into the river. Continue reading...
by Presented by Nosheen Iqbal, produced by Joshua Kel on (#659KJ)
David Taylor began his undercover career targeting small-time drug dealers before going deeper into the world of organised crime. But it ended when he was suddenly pulled from a major investigation and he wants to know whyIt’s very rare for an undercover police officer to talk about their work. It’s a job that combines a knack of assimilating into different characters, winning the trust of people from all walks of life and specifically from the criminal underworld.David Taylor has chosen to speak to the Guardian because he feels he was unfairly treated when he was abruptly taken off a covert operation. His superiors alleged that he had misbehaved, but he counters that any misdemeanours were trivial. Continue reading...
Frances O’Grady says YouGov survey shows key workers who got UK through Covid face more ‘pay misery’Nearly 2 million public sector workers could be close to quitting over poor pay, their representatives have warned, leaving the UK’s public services facing a looming crisis.The Trades Union Congress (TUC) said the efforts of millions of key workers got the UK through the worst of the Covid pandemic, but now those same workers were facing another year of “pay misery” at the hands of the government – while the cost of living continues to soar. Continue reading...
Police confirm suspect died after throwing two or three petrol bombs at site in KentA man threw petrol bombs attached with fireworks at a new Border Force immigration centre in Dover, police have confirmed, adding the suspect was found deceased nearby.The attacker, a white man in a blue-and-white gingham shirt, drove up to the centre in a white Seat sports utility vehicle. He threw three petrol bombs, one of which did not go off, according to a photographer for Reuters. The suspect was identified and located at a nearby petrol station where he was confirmed dead, police said. Continue reading...
Shiloh George Pottinger, 19, is due to appear at Manchester and Salford magistrates court on MondayA teenager has been charged with the murder of a student who was stabbed to death on Wednesday in Manchester.Shiloh George Pottinger, 19, was also charged with possession of a bladed article. He was remanded into custody after his arrest on Friday and interviewed by detectives from the Greater Manchester police’s major incident team. Continue reading...
by Tom Phillips and Andrew Downie in São Paulo and C on (#659DE)
Tens of millions of progressives turn out in hopes of unseating Jair Bolsonaro from presidency after bitterly fought campaignThe future of one of the world’s largest democracies and the Amazon rainforest was on a knife-edge as Brazil held its most important election in decades and its far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, battled to cling to power amid claims that security forces were engaged in a pro-Bolsonaro voter suppression campaign.Polls on the eve of the election had showed Bolsonaro trailing his leftist rival, the former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, by a margin of four to eight percentage points, although first-round polls had underestimated support for the incumbent. Lula won the recent first round by about 6mvotes but fell just short of the overall majority that would have guaranteed him an outright win. Continue reading...
CWU is involved in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions with the companyPlanned strikes by Royal Mail workers in the next two weeks have been called off after a challenge by the company.Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) are involved in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions. A series of strikes has taken place in recent weeks and more had been planned on 2, 3, 4, 8, 9 and 10 November. Continue reading...
Exclusive: cost-cutting plans would leave local stations in England with hardly any programmes made for their own listenersBBC local radio stations could be left with just a handful of programmes specific to their area under proposals set to be announced this week.A fresh round of BBC cuts is due to be announced on Monday, with sources telling the Guardian it will herald the end of most local radio stations as truly distinctive standalone outlets. Continue reading...
Jérôme Hugonnot, who ran a wildlife conservation park, was abducted in a restive border region with SudanA conservationist with dual French and Australian citizenship has been released two days after being kidnapped in north-eastern Chad, the country’s president said.Jérôme Hugonnot was working for the Sahara Conservation Fund in Wadi Fara province bordering Sudan at the time of his abduction Friday. Continue reading...
Case comes after Suella Braverman ignored advice that people were being kept at the centre unlawfullyA case of MRSA has been reported at the congested asylum processing centre at Manston in Kent, the Guardian has learned, after it emerged that Suella Braverman ignored advice that people were being kept at the centre unlawfully.The antibiotic-resistant bacteria was identified in an asylum seeker who initially tested positive for diphtheria. But they were moved out of the site in Ramsgate to a hotel hundreds of miles away before the positive test result was received, raising concerns about the spread of the infection. Continue reading...
Mayor demands government action including end to benefit cap and more resources for councils as cost of living crisis bitesNew warnings have emerged over a significant increase in rough sleeping in London, amid concerns that the cost of living crisis is forcing more people on to the streets and hindering the services trying to help them.The numbers sleeping rough in the capital have increased by 21% on a year ago. London mayor Sadiq Khan said that without government intervention, the progress made in sheltering people since the Covid-19 pandemic would be reversed. Continue reading...
Many Ukrainians are ending six-month stays and finding there is nowhere for them to go, local authorities sayMinisters need to act urgently to prevent a looming homelessness crisis among Ukrainian refugees, council leaders have warned.More than 100,000 people have become guests of British families under the Homes for Ukraine scheme, but many are coming to the end of their six-month stays and finding there is nowhere for them to go. Continue reading...
by Robert Booth Social affairs correspondent on (#6590W)
More than 3,600 people slept on capital’s streets between June and September, as charities say ‘hard-won’ progress being lostThe number of people sleeping rough in London has jumped 24% in the past year, according to an official count, meaning more than 3,600 people slept on the capital’s streets between June and September.More than half were found sleeping rough for the first time by outreach teams – 35% more than the same time last year – as street homelessness in London heads back towards pre-pandemic levels, with mattresses, tents and cardboard shelters again filling doorways and alleys. Continue reading...
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirms an Australian was among at least 150 others killed in the disaster on Saturday nightAn Australian is among the more than 150 people who have died in the South Korean capital after a stampede during Halloween celebrations.The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it had been notified of the Australian’s death in Seoul on Saturday night, local time. Continue reading...
Almost 1,000 references to misogyny and violent action are recorded each day on dedicated incel forumsAlmost 1,000 references to dehumanising misogyny or violent action are recorded each day in the “incelosphere” as the toxicity of male supremacist content continues to intensify.Analysis of the incel movement found that online references to inflicting violence and extremely degrading language on dedicated incel forums are running eight times higher than in 2016, when researchers first began tracking misogynist content on the internet. Continue reading...
Deadliest attack since a truck bombing at the same spot five years ago killed more than 500 peopleSomalia’s president says at least 100 people were killed on Saturday in two car bombings at a busy junction in the capital, Mogadishu, and the toll could rise in the country’s deadliest attack since a truck bombing at the same spot five years ago killed more than 500.President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, at the site of the explosions in Mogadishu, told journalists that nearly 300 other people were wounded. “We ask our international partners and Muslims around the world to send their medical doctors here since we can’t send all the victims outside the country for treatment,” he said. Continue reading...
by Josh Taylor (now) and Royce Kurmelovs (earlier) on (#658Q7)
People have been cleared to return to their homes as flood threat eases in Victoria, but the Bureau of Meteorology is warning of renewed flooding in parts of NSW. This blog is now closed
Polls – which underestimated incumbent’s vote in first round – give Workers’ party leader 52% to 48% advantageBrazilians head to the polls on Sunday in their most important election for years, with leftist challenger Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva the slight favourite to put an end to four years of destructive government by the far-right president Jair Bolsonaro.Opinion polls on the eve of the ballot gave Lula, as the Workers’ party candidate is known, a lead of between four and eight percentage points. Continue reading...
At least 150 people died when large crowd surged in narrow alley of South Korean nightlife district, officials sayAt least 150 people have been killed and around 80 injured in a crowd crush and stampede in a narrow alley during Halloween festivities in Itaewon, a popular leisure district of Seoul in South Korea.Officials said a large crowd began pushing forward in the sloped alley near the Hamilton Hotel, a party spot in Seoul. Some local media reports said earlier that people rushed to a bar after a celebrity was sighted.Many of the victims were women in their 20s, said a National Fire Agency offical, Choi Cheon-sik.Fire officials and witnesses said people continued to pour into the alley while it was already packed wall-to-wall. When those at the top of the sloped street fell, it sent others below them toppling over others.About 100,000 people had filled Itaewon’s streets for the biggest festivities since the easing of Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. Dozens of bars and restaurants were packed with revellers wearing elaborate Halloween costumes.TV footage and photos from the scene showed emergency workers and pedestrians performing CPR on people lying in the streets. The bodies of people who had been crushed or trampled to death lay in rows, covered with blankets or makeshift shrouds.Witnesses described chaotic scenes beforehand, with police appearing to have trouble maintaining control of the crowds. “It was at least 10 times more crowded than usual,” Moon Ju-young, 21, told Reuters. Continue reading...
Witnesses and bystanders in South Korean Halloween disaster tell how thick post-Covid crowds overwhelmed Seoul party district with deadly resultsPartygoers in costumes fleeing in panic, desperate attempts at first aid on the sidewalks, scores of bodies lined up under makeshift shrouds: in Seoul’s lively Itaewon district, a Halloween festival turned to tragedy on Saturday.At least 150 people were killed in a crowd surge and stampede, the cause of which remained unclear on Sunday. The popular, cosmopolitan district of the South Korean capital, located close to a former US military base, is renowned for its bars and clubs. Continue reading...
Reinstalled levelling up secretary says he understands public anger at party’s choice of Truss and her tax cuts for the richMichael Gove has said the Conservative party owes the public an apology for installing Liz Truss as leader.Gove, who was reinstated as levelling up secretary by Rishi Sunak this week, acknowledged that the Tories “made the wrong choice this summer about the path we should take”. Continue reading...
Civil servants say there was ‘significant disquiet’ over home secretary Suella Braverman’s dealings with Tory rightwinger John HayesHome Office officials raised concerns over a series of secretive meetings Suella Braverman held with an influential rightwing backbench MP weeks before she was forced to resign over leaking sensitive information to him, the Observer has been told.In addition, sources have claimed that the home secretary appears to have instructed officials to look at potentially implementing hardline proposals cooked up by a rightwing thinktank that would in effect prohibit “genuine refugees” from settling in the UK, a move that threatens an even more uncompromising approach to asylum seekers. Continue reading...
Ryan Murphy says controversial show’s team tried to speak to about 20 friends and family of serial killer’s victimsThe creator of Netflix’s recent controversial series on the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer has said his team tried to speak with about 20 of the victims’ friends and family before the show’s release but no one called back.Series creator Ryan Murphy’s remarks counter claims by some victims’ relatives that no one from the production notified them of the show or consulted them. Continue reading...
Many new products now need multiple safety test facilities for home and abroad, say entrepreneursBritish inventions are being brought to market overseas because new Brexit safety certification rules mean they can’t be sold in the UK.Trade bodies and entrepreneurs have blamed the government’s decision to stop accepting the European Union’s CE mark and instead create a new UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) mark showing that a product is safe. Continue reading...
Hossein Salami’s tough language raises fears security forces may be about to intensify crackdown on unrestThe head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards has told protesters that Saturday will be their last day of taking to the streets, in a sign that security forces may intensify their crackdown on unrest sweeping the country.Iran has been gripped by protests since the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, in the custody of the morality police last month, posing one of the boldest challenges to the clerical leadership since the 1979 revolution. Continue reading...
Homicide police investigating knife attack on 32-year-old near block of flats in LondonA man has died after being stabbed near Waterloo railway station in London, the Metropolitan police said.Officers were called to Lower Marsh, on the southern side of the station, at 2.15am on Saturday to reports that a man had been stabbed. He was found near a block of flats in Frazier Street. Continue reading...
Coronation of Misuzulu Zulu at football stadium follows bitter feuding over royal successionTens of thousands of people gathered at a football stadium in Durban on Saturday to celebrate the coronation of South Africa’s Zulu king.President Cyril Ramaphosa was to hand over the certificate to formally recognise the 48-year-old new ruler of the country’s richest and most influential traditional monarchy. Continue reading...
Comedian defends remarks about reaction to new PM’s appointment after widespread criticismThe comedian Trevor Noah has said he did not claim “the entire UK is racist” after a row over his skit about Rishi Sunak’s appointment as the UK prime minister.Noah said on the US news programme The Daily Show earlier this week that there had been a “backlash” over Sunak, comments that were widely criticised in the UK. The former chancellor Sajid Javid said Noah had been “simply wrong”. Continue reading...
Marius Mihai Dragici, arrested in Romania in August, faces 39 counts of manslaughterA man has been charged with manslaughter and being part of the conspiracy that led to the deaths of 39 Vietnamese nationals found in a lorry in Essex.The victims’ bodies were discovered in the back of the lorry trailer, which had been transported by ferry from Zeebrugge in Belgium to Purfleet early on 23 October 2019. Continue reading...
London landmark to signal end of daylight saving after major repair and conservation projectWhen do the clocks go back to end British summertime?All four faces of Big Ben will be put back to Greenwich mean time (GMT) this weekend for the first time in five years.British summer time (BST) officially ends at 2am on Sunday, and the clocks go back an hour, giving people an extra hour in bed – or partying. Continue reading...
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