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Influential former minister hints he will not vote for mini-budget measures in blow to PMTory party conference: latest updatesMichael Gove has launched a sustained broadside at Liz Truss’s economic plans, saying it was “not Conservative” to fund tax cuts from borrowing and marked a betrayal of the party’s one nation 2019 election manifesto.In a frantic day of interventions, the former levelling up secretary first told BBC One – while Truss watched from the same studio – that it was probable he could not back the tax cuts in parliament, before embarking on a string of similarly damning fringe appearances at the Conservative conference. Continue reading...

Business secretary given police escort as protests take place over rising cost of living and government policiesJacob Rees-Mogg was heckled and chased by protesters outside the Conservative party conference in Birmingham, as hundreds gathered near the venue to express their anger at the government.The business secretary was escorted by police officers as he made his way through crowds of booing protesters in Victoria Square on Sunday who were demonstrating against rising energy costs and falling living standards. Continue reading...

Labour calls for clarity for businesses after home secretary appears to contradict chancellorMinisters have been accused of sending mixed signals to a business community seeking to employ foreign staff after the home secretary said the UK had too many low-skilled migrant workers and high numbers of international students who often bring dependants.Suella Braverman’s comments came days after the chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, said the government was launching a review of immigration policy as part of an attempt to boost growth after complaints from business groups that post-Brexit rules were too restrictive, especially for low-paid jobs. Continue reading...

Kostiantyn Bidnenko and Viktoriya Kiose’s emotional challenge was one of thousands of extraordinary storiesOn a day when the capital’s streets basked in permanent smiles and unexpected sunshine, more than 40,000 runners from 18 to 89 created their own special London Marathon memories. Some stories, though, were even more extraordinary than others.At the front of the field, the 23-year-old Ethiopian, Yalemzerf Yehualaw, became the youngest ever women’s winner of the race despite injuring her hip and knee when tripping over a speed bump six miles from the finish. Continue reading...

Lender also takes unusual move of issuing notice to brokers on Sunday, saying it was increasing its ratesThe government-backed lender NatWest has become the last big bank to raise interest rates on its mortgage products after last week’s market turmoil, dashing homeowners’ hopes of securing loans with rates lower than 4%.In an unusual move for a high street lender, NatWest issued a notice to brokers on Sunday morning, saying it was increasing rates on a swathe of mortgages following a surge in demand. Continue reading...

Shane Healey urges government to establish holistic and ‘individualised’ process for kids who spent formative years in violent conditions

Almost half of those polled support axing stage three cuts while one quarter thought they should be kept

Some patients are taking cannabis for conditions where there is little evidence it is effective, GPs and researchers say

Supporters of leftwing frontrunner confident he will prevail as 156 million Brazilians cast their votesGabriela Leoncio has been waiting for the chance to free Brazil from Jair Bolsonaro for four years. On Sunday that chance came.“It’s been a joke-slash-tragedy,” the restaurant host, 29, said of the president’s tumultuous far-right administration as she cast her vote against him in her country’s most important election in decades. Continue reading...

Almost 10,000 patients referred by a GP to a cancer specialist had to wait double NHS recommended 14-day waiting timePatients with suspected skin and breast cancer have experienced the largest increase in waiting times of everyone urgently referred to a cancer specialist, with one in 20 patients now facing the longest waits, analysis of NHS England data shows.Almost 10,000 patients referred by a GP to a cancer specialist had to wait for more 28 days – double the supposed maximum 14-day waiting time – in July. Three-quarters of them were suspected of having skin, breast or lower gastrointestinal cancer, a Guardian analysis has revealed. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Westminster council gave exemption for Hinduja brothers’ Old War Office developmentThe UK’s two richest people have been allowed to avoid planning rules that should have required them to build 98 affordable flats for key workers and low income workers at their new £1.2bn luxury development in London.The Hinduja brothers, named by the Sunday Times as the wealthiest people in Britain with a £28.5bn fortune, won approval to develop the historic Old War Office near Downing Street into 85 luxury flats and a 120-room five-star Raffles hotel. Continue reading...

Buses are running again and the market is crowded after the liberation of strategic Lyman nearby

Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed his troops had liberated the key eastern city, marking an embarrassing set back for PutinVolodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed Ukraine has “fully cleared” Russian forces from the key eastern city of Lyman, a day after Moscow admitted its troops had pulled out after they were encircled.In a short video clip on his Telegram channel, Zelenskiy thanked serving Ukrainian troops for liberating Lyman. “As of 1230 [Kyiv] local time Lyman is completely cleared,” he said, adding: “Glory to Ukraine”. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Refugees at Home says it is taking action as government scheme is unworkable

The Telegraph claimed the London mayor had ruled out a sculpture of the late Queen on Trafalger Square’s fourth plinthSadiq Khan has received a wave of social media abuse, some of it racist, after newspapers incorrectly reported he might block a new statue of the Queen, days after the London mayor warned some media outlets were “monetising” hatred.The story, initially reported by the Telegraph under the headline, ‘No room for Queen Elizabeth II statue on Trafalgar Square’s fouth plinth, rules Sadiq Khan,’ was printed despite a statement saying this was not the case. Continue reading...

Exclusive: members say they are ill-equipped and lack guidance on rescuing people crossing on small boatsLifeboat crews dealing with small boats crossing the Channel say they lack equipment, guidance, qualified staff and support in coping with the trauma involved as they accuse managers of complacency over the crisis.One member suggested crews needed bigger life rafts, more personnel, increased training for mass casualty events, and better onboard welfare facilities for rescued people. Continue reading...

City financier who co-founded investment firm with business secretary is made trade ministerThe City business partner of Jacob Rees-Mogg has been handed a peerage and job as a senior minister by Liz Truss’s government in a move likely to trigger accusations of cronyism.Dominic Johnson, a financier who co-founded Somerset Capital Management with Rees-Mogg, was appointed as a minister in the Cabinet Office and the Department for International Trade. Continue reading...

German billionaire restores Minsk cafe in Potsdam as showpiece of socialist realist architectureFor almost three decades it appeared to have been consigned to the scrap heap of history, a relic of East German communism considered as redundant and unsightly as the Berlin Wall and destined to fall victim to the wrecking ball.But a former terrace cafe in the city of Potsdam, just west of Berlin, is being lauded as a showpiece of socialist realist architecture having been saved from demolition by a billionaire German businessman who has recast it as an art gallery. Continue reading...

Police and match organisers under scrutiny after officers fired teargas in response to rioting fansOne of the world’s worst-ever sports stadium disasters has left 125 people dead and around 180 injured at a football match in Indonesia.Police used teargas in response to a pitch invasion by rioting fans, causing a crush among panicked spectators. Continue reading...

Friends and family fly in and Buddhist monks light pyre at funeral in Nepal of extreme skierA famed extreme skier from the United States who was killed after falling from one of the world’s tallest mountains was on Sunday given a traditional funeral at a Sherpa cremation ground.Buddhist monks officiated at a ceremony attended by family, friends and government officials. Continue reading...

Blackout during PM’s appearance on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg prompted social media quips about ‘interference’The BBC has apologised to viewers after the start of Liz Truss’s first live TV interview since the mini-budget was marred by “technical glitches”.The interruption on BBC One’s flagship political programme, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, led to online quips about potential interference, while others joked that it was preparation for energy blackouts to come. Continue reading...

Star Wars actor promotes Ukrainian drive for donations and compares Russia to ‘evil empire’The Star Wars actor Mark Hamill has said Ukraine needs more drones to fight off the Russian invasion and compared Moscow to the dark side of the force in the film series.Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in the films, was made an ambassador to the United24 project – which Ukraine set up to elicit donations, including the donation of drones to the Ukrainian army – by president Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Continue reading...

Neither will reveal how much they will spend hosting 2023 event – but taking crown seen as boon to eitherWill they be made up in Liverpool or pure gallus in Glasgow? Crowds at the Bank Arena or hordes at the Hydro? Will there be carousing in the Cavern Club or at King Tut’s?The cities of Liverpool and Glasgow are expected to learn within days which one of them will host next year’s Eurovision song contest and deliver a one-off spectacular on behalf of Ukraine. Continue reading...

The prime minister appeared at ease despite mounting Tory unrest after the mini-budgetLiz Truss had her first lengthy grilling since the mini-budget from Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday, after critics called a series of mini-interviews with BBC local radio and regional TV presenters earlier in the week a “car crash”.In a 20-minute interview on Sunday morning with the BBC’s Kuenssberg, the prime minister appeared at ease despite the mounting Tory rebellion over her chancellor’s mini-budget, which sent the markets into a spiral. Continue reading...

Frozen funds expected to be released in exchange for freedom of Baquer and Siamak Namazi, says state mediaIran is awaiting the release of about $7bn (£6.3bn) in funds frozen abroad, state media said on Sunday, after it allowed an Iranian-American to leave the country and released his son from detention.Baquer Namazi, 85, was permitted to leave Iran for medical treatment abroad, and his son Siamak, 50, was released from detention in Tehran, the UN said on Saturday. Continue reading...

PM says she accepts ‘we should have laid ground better’ after mini-budget sparked economic turmoilLiz Truss has refused to rule out public spending cuts and a real-terms drop in benefits to help pay for the mini-budget, as she sought to quell fury over her handling of the economy by admitting she should have “laid the ground better”.The prime minister offered a sliver of remorse for the way last Friday’s mini-budget was received. There was a temporary collapse in the value of sterling against the dollar, a rebuke from the International Monetary Fund and warnings that interest rates could be hiked again. Continue reading...

The Afghan Adjustment Act would offer permanent resident status to Afghans who fled the Taliban but Congress has not taken action​​A group of 12 people sit in camp chairs – chatting, smoking, listening – in the dark. Behind them, the Capitol building in Washington DC is luminescent, bringing into focus the Afghan flag. Well, the version of the flag before the Taliban changed it. It flies above their heads, catching the yellowy light of dusk.Since Kabul fell to the Taliban in August last year, military veterans and organizations have been lobbying Congress to offer Afghan evacuees long-term visas to stay in the US. Now, with no action taken and thousands coming to the end of their temporary stays, a different route is being taken to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act. This bipartisan bill would grant thousands of Afghans permanent status in the US. Continue reading...

Surging poll numbers mean the party can dare to dream of No 10, but it’s been here before, and the path is riskier than everTwelve short months ago, Boris Johnson’s Conservatives were riding a vaccine bounce, and high-spirited Tory commentators were speculating about another decade in office. Now it is Labour who are buoyant, as their poll numbers surge to record highs after a disastrous mini-budget from the new Truss administration unleashed economic and political turmoil. Some in Labour now dare to dream big. Could their party rebound from the worst performance in 80 years straight to a Commons majority?Veterans counsel caution. Labour has been burned before. Ed Miliband’s opposition posted regular big poll leads during the coalition only for these to evaporate come polling day. But history never repeats itself exactly. Unless the economic weather changes fast, the next election will be fought in the wake of inflation, recession and home repossessions. The Conservatives’ ratings on economic management are already the worst in a generation, with much of the real pain still to come. When their reputation was last torched like this, by the ERM crisis, the next result was a Labour landslide. Time to start humming Things Can Only Get Better?Robert Ford is professor of political science at Manchester University and co-author of The British General Election of 2019 Continue reading...

But hopes leftwing former president will defeat Jair Bolsonaro tempered by fear a runoff contest could mean weeks of turmoil and violenceBrazil’s former leftwing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is on the brink of an astonishing political comeback, with polls suggesting he is poised to defeat his far-right rival Jair Bolsonaro in Sunday’s election.Eve of election polls suggested Lula was within a whisker of securing the overall majority of votes that would guarantee him a first-round victory against Brazil’s radical incumbent, whose calamitous Covid response, assault on the Amazon and foul-mouthed threats to democracy have alienated more than half of the population. Continue reading...

Prime minister is facing the same fate as Theresa May when the Commons returns and could even be removed as leaderLiz Truss is already facing the possibility of crippling parliamentary rebellions over welfare, planning and a new wave of austerity, as MPs warn that No 10 has become “disconnected from reality”.With some Conservatives in talks with Labour over how to block elements of the prime minister’s sweeping plans, senior Tories believe that Truss is now heading into the bruising parliamentary warfare that characterised Theresa May’s beleaguered premiership. Continue reading...

Sydney United 58 supports ejected during Australia Cup final with video now being reviewed to uncover others who displayed ‘vile symbols and salutes’

Task Force Rusich, linked to the Wagner Group, advises its fighters not to report the capture of Ukrainians to Russian commanders

Outgoing president insists AFL club is not in crisis as WorkSafe urges anyone who experienced or witnessed ‘health and safety concerns’ to contact them

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Even as Russia lays claim to more of the country, confidence is growing that the former territory can be retaken

Clare O’Neil says Optus has emailed 10,200 customers who had their records posted online after 10 million people affected in larger cyber hack

Exclusive: More than 20 Australian women and more than 40 children related to Islamic State combatants held in al-Hawl And Roj camps

Exchange of Maduro nephews for seven Americans is unusual gesture of goodwill from socialist president but Washington denies any change in policyVenezuela has freed seven imprisoned Americans in exchange for the US releasing two nephews of President Nicolás Maduro’s wife who had been jailed for years on narcotics convictions.The swap of the Americans, including five oil executives held for nearly five years, follows months of back-channel diplomacy by senior US officials – secretive talks with a major oil producer that took on greater urgency after sanctions on Russia put pressure on global energy prices. Continue reading...

Attorney general Mark Dreyfus insists new commission ‘is not an exercise in political payback’ and says it could tap phones of federal politicians

Russian forces retreat from stronghold of Lyman hours after Putin declares it Russia’s ‘for ever’; Germany minister visits Ukraine; Nord Stream pipeline leak halted

Military defeat in Donetsk comes hours after Moscow declared that the region was Russian territory ‘for ever’

No need to apply because £400 discount will ‘reach people automatically’, says Rees-MoggA scam alert has been issued by ministers encouraging people not to fall foul of fraudulent messages asking them to provide bank details as the energy price guarantee comes into force.From 1 October, a limit on the price households pay for a unit of gas and electricity they use will mean a typical energy bill should be £2,500 a year. The first instalment of a £400 discount for households will also appear on bills. Continue reading...

Aides Alice Robinson and Mac Chapwell paid by company run by Liz Truss’s new chief of staffTwo of the prime minister’s most senior advisers are being paid through her new chief of staff’s lobbying company, it has emerged, days after Downing Street said it would employ the latter directly.The government admitted last weekend that Liz Truss’s chief of staff, Mark Fullbrook, was being paid through his lobbying firm, a move that could have helped him avoid paying tax. Continue reading...

Russian defence ministry says troops have withdrawn amid ‘threat of encirclement’

Teargas and stun grenades used by security forces as unrest over poverty and corruption flares up in the capital and other citiesIraqi security forces have fired teargas and stun grenades to disperse stone-throwing protesters in clashes that wounded scores of people near Baghdad’s Tahrir Square, where hundreds marked the anniversary of anti-government unrest in 2019.At least 86 people were wounded on Saturday, about half of them members of the security forces, and 38 protesters were hit by rubber bullets. Continue reading...

London museum bows to years of pressure and removes signs bearing name of family associated with OxyContin crisisThe Victoria and Albert Museum has bowed to growing pressure to rename key areas of its Kensington site, the Observer has learned, as it drops controversial ties with the Sackler family, benefactors descended from the American makers of addictive opioid prescription drugs.This weekend the signs that directed V&A visitors to the Sackler Centre for Arts Education and to the £2m tiled “Sackler Courtyard” on Exhibition Road, have gone, as the museum finally jettisons its damaging association with the opioid drug market. Continue reading...

Prime minister’s net approval falls to minus 37, while just 12% say mini-budget was ‘good’Liz Truss’s personal popularity ratings are lower than those of Boris Johnson when his premiership came to an end, a new Observer poll has revealed.The latest Opinium poll shows a precipitous fall in Truss’s personal ratings after the fallout from her government’s mini-budget, and Labour surging ahead with voters across a whole range of issues. Continue reading...

Conservative MPs urge Liz Truss’s removal from No 10 after poll reveals British public’s fury over tax plansThree-quarters of UK voters, including a staggering 71% of those who backed the Conservatives at the last general election, believe the prime minister, Liz Truss, and the chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, have “lost control” of the economy, according to a devastating poll for the Observer on the eve of the Tory conference.The survey by Opinium – which also reveals that Labour has extended its lead by a massive 14 percentage points in the last week alone, from 5 points to 19 points, and that Truss’s ratings are now lower than Boris Johnson’s at the height of the Partygate scandal – comes as some Tory MPs are beginning to demand the new prime minister’s removal from No 10 after less than a month in office. Continue reading...

Rio Tinto wants to fund rehabilitation but Ranger mine owner’s minority shareholders are pushing for further development

Clinton Fernandes argues in provocative new book the security pact will make it impossible to have an independent defence policy