Online bookmaker's offer, one of a series texted during finals, was valid only if customer took up a suggested same-game multi bet

With Babi's victory the Czech Republic looks set to join Hungary and Slovakia in refusing support for UkrainePopulist billionaire Andrej Babi has won the Czech Republic parliamentary elections, preliminary results show, but fallen short of the overall majority.This win marks a political comeback for Babi, who was prime minister from 2017 to 2021. He is set to put the country on a course away from supporting Ukraine and towards Hungary and Slovakia, who have taken a pro-Russian path. Continue reading...

Hamas's agreement to release all hostages and surrender power hailed internationally as Israeli attacks continueWhen Arij al-Farra heard that Hamas had partially agreed to Donald Trump's plan and that the US president had ordered Israel to stop bombing Gaza, the first thing she felt was a flicker of hope. The second thing she felt was an explosion. An Israeli aircraft had dropped a bomb close to her tent in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.Though it was luck that saved al-Farra from death, she took the attack as a bad omen for the prospects for peace in Gaza. Continue reading...

Six people have been arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism after attack that left three deadCounter-terrorism police have been given permission to hold four suspects in custody until Wednesday after this week's attack at a Manchester synagogue.Six people have been arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism after Jihad al-Shamie killed a worshipper and seriously injured several others on Thursday. The attack took place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. Continue reading...

Man dies in weather-related incident' in Co Donegal, while Met Office issues yellow wind warning for whole of UK

Acoba advised Richard Fuller he could take up post with Investcorp Securities, a subsidiary of private equity firm backing Sense TimeA government watchdog advised a former minister that he could work with a subsidiary of a company linked to Chinese surveillance technology, the Guardian can reveal.Richard Fuller, who served as economic secretary to the Treasury in the governments of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, wrote to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) before joining Investcorp Securities as an advisory board member in 2023. Continue reading...

Two trains were hit in Ukraine's northern Sumy region, killing one and injuring about 30 others, officials sayTwo Russian drones struck trains at a station in Ukraine's northern Sumy region, killing one person and injuring about 30 others, officials said on Saturday, with Ukraine's foreign minister accusing Moscow of deliberately hitting passenger trains.A brutal Russian drone strike on the railway station in Shostka, Sumy region," wrote the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Telegram, posting a video of a wrecked, burning passenger carriage and others with their windows blown out. Continue reading...

IDF says it was directed to ready for first part of Donald Trump's plan to end war in Gaza after Hamas agrees to release hostagesThe Israeli military has been ordered to halt its campaign in Gaza City by its political leadership, Israeli army radio reported on Saturday, while it was preparing for the first phase of Donald Trump's plan to end the war in Gaza and release all hostages.In a statement, the Israeli military said it was directed to advance readiness" for the first part of the Trump plan. Army radio reported that operations in Gaza would be reduced to the minimum" with troops meant only to carry out defensive strikes. Continue reading...

This blog has now closed, you can read more on this story hereThe Environment Agency has issued two flood alerts where flooding is expected" for Keswick Campsite in the Lake District and locations near the River Ure, particularly around Boroughbridge Camping and Caravanning Site in North Yorkshire.Avoid using low-lying footpaths and any bridges near local watercourses. Take care and avoid walking, cycling or driving through flood water," it advises. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereTurkey said 36 of its citizens were expected to return home via a special flight on Saturday afternoon, after Israel intercepted a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.We expected 36 of our nationals on the Global Sumud Flotilla vessels seized by Israeli forces in international waters will return to our country this afternoon via a special flight," Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli said on X, adding that the final number has not been finalised. Continue reading...

Marcus Fakana, 19, died in hospital after police pursued a vehicle in Tottenham, London, which was then involved in a collisionA British teenager who was jailed in Dubai for having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl while they were on holiday has died in a car crash three months after he was released, a campaign group has said.Marcus Fakana, 19, died in hospital in the early hours of Friday after police pursued a vehicle in Tottenham, north London. Continue reading...

Faraj al-Shamie expresses deep shock and sorrow' at actions of son but in 2023 Facebook post he praised Hamas's 7 October attacks on IsraelThe father of Jihad al-Shamie, the man shot dead by police as he attacked a Manchester synagogue, has condemned his son's heinous act".Faraj al-Shamie, in a statement said to have been made on behalf of the wider family, said they wished to distance themselves from Thursday's attack, during which two people were killed and three seriously injured. Continue reading...

With Islamist militant group 40km from Mogadishu, a strategic stalemate' has been reached, but some fear worst is yet to comeOne night in early July, Maryan Abdikadir Geedi decided it was finally time to abandon her small shop in the town of Moqokori in the Hiiraan region of Somalia.Though she had heard of the rapid recent gains made by al-Shabaab, the Islamist militant movement, the 46-year-old had hoped to stay. Since getting married in 2013, Geedi had seen control over Moqokori change hands repeatedly. Continue reading...

Shadow Home Office minister who tweets in language of hard-right populism is talked of as future of conservatismPictured on her official website smiling on a country walk with her golden retriever, Katie Lam looks every inch the traditional Conservative MP. But make no mistake: this is a very modern breed of Tory, and one whose rise gives a clue to the current direction of UK politics.Still only 34 and in parliament for little over a year, Lam is named almost ubiquitously by fellow Conservatives as a likely future leader - even, some venture, a direct replacement for Kemi Badenoch. Continue reading...

Michael Ben'Ary says he was fired based on a social media post by a January 6 conspiracy theoristA senior national security prosecutor in the eastern district of Virginia said in a farewell note taped to his door to colleagues on Friday that he was apparently fired this week because a January 6 conspiracy theorist denounced him on social media for having worked for the deputy attorney general in the Biden administration.The veteran federal prosecutor, Michael Ben'Ary, was fired on Wednesday, the same day that Julie Kelly, a pro-Trump commentator who once called a Capitol police officer beaten by the pro-Trump mob on January 6 a crisis actor", suggested on social media that Ben'Ary was an ally of his former boss, Lisa Monaco, a senior justice department official who helped drive the investigation of Donald Trump's role in the Capitol riot. Continue reading...

Head of policy at Community Security Trust calls Saturday's planned protest against ban on Palestine Action self absorbed and insensitive'Antisemitism has been allowed to grow" by politicians and across wider society, the main Jewish security group has said in the aftermath of the attack on a Manchester synagogue, which left three people dead.Speaking before planned pro-Palestine marches on Saturday, Dave Rich, head of policy at the Community Security Trust, said it was remarkably self absorbed and insensitive" for people to attend a silent vigil for Gaza after Thursday's attack. Continue reading...

New work by Ben Crick and Kamal Kaan suggests we could benefit from knowing more about the machine-wreckers'If you ask artificial intelligence when in history we can learn lessons about the global challenges of AI it does, thankfully, agree with the composer Ben Crick: 200 years ago in the north of England.Crick believes we could all benefit from knowing more about the luddites, the Industrial Revolution machine-wreckers", and we need to draw lessons from them to address what is, for some, the biggest existential question of our time. Continue reading...

Mansfield Carpets (Contracts) Limited faced Companies House action over four consecutive years of delayed filingsThe carpet fitting business belonging to the family of Mick Barton - the Reform UK leader of Nottinghamshire county council who barred the main local paper - has been threatened with a compulsory strike off from Companies House for four consecutive years.Mansfield Carpets (Contracts) Limited, which is owned by Barton's wife Gail, is two months late filing its 2024 accounts. For the previous three years the business also appears to have been late publishing its confirmation statement, which provides details of a company's shareholders. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Executives at corporation say media monitoring and anti-disinformation are vital to national securityBBC bosses are lobbying to use the UK's defence budget to help pay for the embattled World Service, arguing that aspects of the service should qualify as vital for national security.Senior executives at the corporation are in talks with officials over whether parts of the service, such as media monitoring and anti-disinformation, should count towards Britain's security, as they attempt to avoid cuts of tens of millions of pounds. Continue reading...

Office of public prosecutions says decision has not yet been finalised', four months after judge referred comments including Kyle Sandilands saying lock that bitch up'

Sergiy Kyslytsia says Kremlin already at war with Europe and predicts that Vladimir Putin will escalate escalating'Europe needs to get serious" about the existential threat posed to it by Russia, Ukraine's deputy foreign minister has said, warning that Vladimir Putin will escalate escalating".In an interview with the Guardian, Sergiy Kyslytsia - Kyiv's former ambassador to the UN - said the Kremlin was already at war with Europe. He said Russia's recent drone incursions against several EU countries were well-calculated and an attempt to move the red lines". Continue reading...

About 6,500 passengers stranded as interior minister says earlier drone incident a wake-up call'Munich airport was forced to halt operations for the second day in a row on Friday over drone sightings, with dozens of flights and more than 6,000 passengers affected.Airports in Denmark, Norway and Poland have recently suspended flights due to unidentified drones, while Romania and Estonia have pointed the finger at Russia, which has brushed off the allegations. Continue reading...

Dozens of students remain unaccounted for at Sidoarjo boarding school as rescuers bring in heavy excavators to clear large slabs of concreteThe death toll from a school collapse in Indonesia rose to 14 on Friday after recovery crews pulled multiple bodies from beneath the rubble. Dozens of students remain unaccounted for and the death toll is expected to rise.Rescuers initially searched by hand for survivors after the building caved in on Monday. But with no more signs of life detected by Thursday, they turned to heavy excavators equipped with jackhammers to help them progress more rapidly. Continue reading...

The state opposition is changing tack in a bid to attract stronger candidates for high stakes seats and avoid an election catastrophe

Parents of another victim of 2024 crash say catastrophic' design flaw to blame for deaths of three peopleTesla is being sued by the parents of a another victim killed in a Cybertruck crash in the quiet town of Piedmont, California. This is the second suit filed against the car maker this week alleging a design flaw in its vehicle is to blame for the deaths of the passengers involved in the accident, according to court filings.The parents of Jack Nelson allege that the company that helped Elon Musk become the world's richest man knew about the flaw for years and could have moved faster to fix the problem but did not, leaving the passengers trapped amid flames and smoke that eventually killed them. Continue reading...

Irish police say they are treating the death of a man as weather-related and, meanwhile, many homes in Ireland and Northern Ireland are without power.A man has been killed and hundreds of thousands of homes on the island of Ireland are without power after Storm Amy brought widespread disruption on Friday.An amber weather warning, highlighting a danger to life, was also in place in the north of Scotland until 9pm on Saturday. Continue reading...

Sergeant arrested on suspicion of perverting course of justice after colleagues filmed making racist and sexist remarksA serving Metropolitan police officer has been arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice, after undercover footage showed colleagues at Charing Cross police station making racist and sexist comments.The footage, gathered for a BBC Panorama documentary, appears to show officers at a central London station calling for immigrants to be shot and boasting about using violence against suspects. Continue reading...

Leader says move is is necessary to protect our borders, our veterans and our citizens'Kemi Badenoch has announced that a Conservative government under her leadership would pull the UK out of the European convention on human rights.The move marks a lurch to the right for the Tories, who are attempting to stem a loss of support to Nigel Farage's Reform UK. Farage has long been a critic of the ECHR and has pledged to leave it if he becomes prime minister. Continue reading...

Daniel Walker helped worshippers hold doors shut as Jihad al-Shamie tried to force his way insideA rabbi who looked into the face of Jihad al-Shamie as he mounted a deadly attack on a Manchester synagogue has vowed not to allow the evil" and hatred" he saw to triumph.Rabbi Daniel Walker helped others to hold the doors of Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue shut as Shamie body-charged" them during Thursday's attack, throwing heavy plant pots" and doing everything he could to get in". Continue reading...

Prospect of light sentence for disgraced hip-hop mogul dims as judge says Combs has not fully expressed remorse

Adrian Daulby, 53, helped stop attacker from entering synagogue in act of profound courage'

Exclusive: Jihad al-Shamie had been under investigation over alleged sexual attack earlier this year, sources say

Rhythm guitarist to skip gigs in Seoul, Tokyo, Melbourne and Sydney to receive prostate treatmentThe Oasis guitarist Paul Bonehead" Arthurs has announced he will miss a leg of the band's reunion tour as he undergoes prostate cancer treatment after a diagnosis earlier this year.Arthurs, one of the band's founding members, said he would not be attending the Seoul, Tokyo, Melbourne and Sydney gigs. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Analysis of NHS data by Radiotherapy UK also shows some patients face waits of up to six monthsMore than 60,000 cancer patients a year are not getting the radiotherapy they need at all, while some patients in England face waits of up to six months to begin the treatment, according to research.The situation is so dire that nearly 100 heads of radiotherapy and oncology - three-quarters of England's radiotherapy leaders - have warned in an open letter that the government is failing patients. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Kevin Hollinrake's conference costs paid for by firm helping landlords convert homes for lucrative marketThe Conservative party chair, Kevin Hollinrake, accepted thousands of pounds worth of hospitality from a company that converts family homes into houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) for asylum seekers, official records show.According to the MPs' register of interests, Living Redefined covered 2,000 worth of flights, hotel accommodation and dinner for Hollinrake and a family member to attend a property conference in the south of France earlier this year. The entry, registered in April 2025, lists the hospitality as support for attendance at a conference". Continue reading...

Company removed IceBlock and similar immigration agent alert apps from its App Store, citing safety risks'Apple has removed an app from its App Store that uses crowdsourcing to flag sightings of US immigration agents after facing pressure from Donald Trump's administration.IceBlock, a free iPhone-only app that lets users anonymously report and monitor activity by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officers, was no longer available on Friday. The app's developer said last month that it had more than 1 million users. Continue reading...

Green party leader says a tiny few have taken our wealth and power' in address to Green party conference. This live blog is closedIn his FT interview Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, also dismissed speculation that Kemi Badenoch will be replaced as Tory leader within the next year. Many of her colleagues think she will face a successful leadership challenge, most probably after poor results in the Senedd, Scottish parliament and English local elections next May.Stride said that he thought Badenoch was similar to Margaret Thatcher, who was widely criticised when she became opposition leader in 1975 but who over time developed into an effective leader. He said:We had all this with Margaret Thatcher back in the 1970s. Her voice wasn't right, her hair wasn't right, her dress wasn't right, she wasn't very good at prime minister's questions. It took her some time to work her way into being the finished, formidable politician she was.She is incredibly resilient, as cool as they come. She goes away, thinks about it and comes to a decision. I'm very confident Kemi will be fine. But it's going to be bumpy - it's going to be difficult.Labour does not have any plan for growth. They thought that as soon as they got into power, things would just work because they're Labour and they believe in their own righteousness. That is not working - they need to get a plan to grow our economy, otherwise we will end up going to the IMF cap in hand.A lot of the indicators are pointing in that direction. Many very well respected commentators and economists are saying this.I think that's very unlikely. That's not to say we couldn't be heading for some kind of bond crisis with runaway yields. Continue reading...

Bavarian PM joins calls to strengthen Germany's air defences after latest incident. This live blog is closed

Women's average monthly earnings fall by 42% compared with one year before birth, ONS study findsMothers lose an average of 65,618 in pay by the time their first child turns five, as the motherhood penalty" risks their financial security, official figures show.Mums in England are hit by a substantial and long-lasting reduction" in their pay after they have children, as they become less likely to stay in paid employment, the Office for National Statistics have said. Continue reading...

Councillors withdraw Freedom of Hartlepool award over former ambassador's links to Jeffrey EpsteinPeter Mandelson will be stripped of a civic honour he received from Hartlepool, the town he represented as Labour MP, after the disclosures about his close friendship with the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.Councillors in Hartlepool voted unanimously on Thursday to withdraw the Freedom of Hartlepool from Mandelson, who represented the area between 1992 and 2004. Continue reading...

Daniel Gunter caused catastrophic and appalling' injuries to Brendon Staddon while nurses worked 5 metres awayA father who murdered his two-week-old son in a special care baby unit in Somerset while nurses worked less than 5 metres away will serve at least 18 years in prison.Experts said the injuries that Daniel Gunter, 27, caused to Brendon Staddon were like those they would expect to see in someone who had fallen from a high building, but the attack was so swift and silent that staff did not realise what was going on. Continue reading...

Billionaire Andrej Babi hands out doughnuts on first day of voting as polls predict his ANO party will winCzechs have begun voting in an election likely to oust their centre-right government, with polls favouring the populist billionaire Andrej Babi to return to power on pledges to raise wages and improve growth while reducing aid for Ukraine.The change would boost Europe's populist anti-immigration camp and could complicate consensus on climate policies in a country where no sitting government has won a second term since 1996. Continue reading...

Suspect Jihad al-Shamie did not have firearm and only shots fired were by police officers at scene

No 10 announces decision although role will not legally be taken on until January, before an enthronement serviceDame Sarah Mullally, a former nurse, has been named as the first female leader in the history of the Church of England as Downing Street announced the 106th archbishop of Canterbury nearly a year on from Justin Welby's resignation over the handling of a safeguarding scandal.A former chief nursing officer for England, Mullally, 63, a mother of two and the Bishop of London, is now archbishop of Canterbury-designate. She will legally become the archbishop at a ceremony in Canterbury Cathedral in January, followed by a formal enthronement service at a later date where members of the royal family are likely to be present. Continue reading...

Ephraim Mirvis says deadly attack followed unrelenting wave of hated against Jews' on Britain's streets and campuses

Warnings issued for Serbia, Romania and Greek islands amid forecast of prolonged rainfall and strong windsWhile storms and hurricanes have churned in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific, Europe has faced extreme conditions of its own. A low-pressure system that developed over the Mediterranean midweek moved north-east into south-eastern Europe on Thursday, bringing widespread showers, thunderstorms and prolonged rainfall.The system is expected to persist into Friday, with models on indicating 48-hour totals of 80-130mm of rain across much of the Balkans. Red weather warnings were issued for Serbia, south-west Romania, north-east Greece, and the Dodecanese and North Aegean Islands, highlighting the risk of flooding and threat to life. Strong winds also closed schools on Zakynthos in the Ionian Islands. Continue reading...

Officials at the Australian embassy in Tel Aviv are travelling to Ketziot to provide consular assistance to any Australian who requests it'. Follow the latest news live

Police say investigation found no evidence reported attack on woman in her 30s in Banbury last weekend happened

Beefed-up packaging tax will triple pub chain's costs from the levy to 2.4m a year, says Tim Martin

Shabana Mahmood calls for demonstrators to take a step back' and call off planned protests after Thursday's deadly attack