From first horse at four to victory on the turf, contribution to the sport has been incalculableThe death of Queen Elizabeth II means horse racing has lost one of the most devoted and enthusiastic royal supporters of the sport in four centuries of association between the monarchy and the turf.Charles II turned Newmarket into the home of British flat racing in the 17th century, Queen Anne founded Ascot in 1711 and Edward VII owned Minoru, the Derby winner in 1909. No king or queen, though, has ever had a passion for racing and breeding thoroughbreds to stand any comparison to the lifelong dedication of Elizabeth II. Continue reading...

Broadcasters launched well-rehearsed plans – including pre-planned outfits – when news broke in the early morning

Respects were paid at Westminster and many told stories of humorous encounters with the Queen

Nation gets first glimpse of King Charles III on day of remembrance marking transition between eras

Twenty-five years after being widely vilified, she will be crowned alongside King Charles III

IAEA says shelling makes the ‘situation increasingly precarious’ as reliable supply is unlikely to be restored

Duke of Cambridge and now Cornwall inherits cross-country landed estate that paid Charles income of £21m last year

A man was held at Birmingham airport on Thursday night on suspicion of terrorism offences, Greater Manchester police saidA man has been arrested in connection with the 1996 bombing of Manchester city centre.Greater Manchester police said a man was held at Birmingham airport on Thursday night on suspicion of terrorism offences. Continue reading...

Brothers of Italy’s Federico Mollicone urges state broadcaster not to show episode with co-parenting polar bearsA senior member of a far-right Italian political party tipped to win general elections this month has appealed to state broadcaster Rai not to screen an episode of the globally popular children’s cartoon series Peppa Pig over the inclusion of a same-sex couple in its cast of characters.The episode, called Families, was shown for the first time in the UK on Tuesday, and features two co-parenting lesbian polar bears. A character called Penny announces: “I live with my mummy and my other mummy. One mummy is a doctor and one mummy cooks spaghetti.” The family then sit down for a meal together. Continue reading...

Cross-section of society gathers solemnly to reflect on a loss and to record an unforgettable moment

Mancunians express sadness and shock at death of monarch as city leaders lay flowers in St Ann’s Square

The Queen’s serene, controlled persona hid a sharp temper, quick wit and strong belief in family and religion

Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex expected to stay in Windsor until Queen’s state funeralThe Queen’s grandsons, the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex, have returned from Balmoral castle to Windsor to be with their families, where they are expected to remain until the Queen’s state funeral.

The new September temperature record is now 107F or 41.7C in Salt Lake City, UtahThrough this week the heatwave in the US has been continuing, allowing more September records to fall. Salt Lake City in Utah saw its September temperature record broken, with each day hotter than the last, until the current highest ever September temperature was recorded on Wednesday. The new September temperature record is now 107F or 41.7C, which astonishingly is also tied as the all-time temperature record for Salt Lake City. It is extraordinary to record a tied record high temperature in meteorological autumn.Farther south earlier this week, the tropical storm off the west coast of Mexico, previously Twelve-E, developed into a category 2 hurricane, bringing sustained winds of 100mph, and was named Hurricane Kay. The hurricane brought intense flooding all the way up the west coast of Mexico, from Oaxaca to Nayarit by Thursday 8 September. In the last 48 hours Kay has weakend into a tropical storm, but continues to bring extreme rain in its path, across the Baja California Peninsula and up towards the US state of California. Continue reading...

One of the monarch’s charities is also under police investigation, and what to do about Prince Andrew?• Britain mourns death of Queen Elizabeth - latest updatesKing Charles faces many challenges as he ascends to the throne. Here are some key issues in his in-tray.1. Prince Harry is expected to publish a memoir in late 2022 that his publishers have pitched as the definitive account of his “experiences, adventures, losses and life lessons”. Penguin Random House, which is believed to have paid $20m for the book, described it as “intimate and heartfelt”. Continue reading...

All monarchical discretion over the appointment of prime ministers fell away but she continued to exert influence at audiences with themFor 70 years, the Queen combined, with great success, two roles: head of state and head of the nation. These roles are both complementary and contradictory.As head of the nation, the Queen sought to represent the country to itself, and indeed came closer than any monarch in history to reaching the soul of the British people. A head of the nation has to represent the whole nation, not just one part of it, and that requires political impartiality. Continue reading...

From the first days of her reign, Elizabeth was seen as a character out of a fairytaleBack in May 2012, Barack and Michelle Obama made a state visit to the UK that involved the usual photo-friendly rigmarole such as wreath-laying and Beefeater-inspecting. They also spent the night at Buckingham Palace and attended a state dinner in their honour where Obama gave a short speech and toast to the Queen. Journalists, however, noticed something unusual about the man who is one of the most eloquent politicians of all time: he was nervous.“You could really see that he seemed a bit anxious,” recalled Max Foster, CNN’s royal correspondent. But if the Obamas displayed characteristic American hesitancy about royal protocol, they also shared that equally typical American sentiment in having an enormous fondness for the Queen. According to Foster, Obama later told the US ambassador that his visits to Britain were among his favourite trips abroad. Continue reading...

Her father coined term ‘the firm’ and as Queen she ran the royal institution with the acumen of a canny CEO who knows when to bend to public pressureGeorge VI is usually credited with first referring to the monarchy as “the firm” after abruptly inheriting a position he had neither anticipated nor sought, and having perhaps come to realise that, for all its pomp, the institution had much in common with an unwieldy family corporation. Certainly by the mid-20th century, when his daughter Elizabeth assumed the throne, one could argue that the business of being a monarch was less about ruling than about, well, business.The modern monarchy Elizabeth inherited required the skills of a canny manager rather than a roistering ruler: financial acumen, deft negotiating skills and an acute nose for PR. And then there were the opinionated, and sometimes downright troublesome, members of the board. Throughout her reign, the greatest challenge Elizabeth faced was managing not the relationship of the monarchy with the state, but the relationships of her children and extended family with their spouses, the press and the public. Continue reading...

Only Singapore has imposed sanctions, while others have been receptive to Moscow’s offers of friendship

As was Queen Elizabeth II’s ‘sincere wish’, Camilla has become Queen consort on her husband’s accession to the throne

First public sign that major event was afoot came when Liz Truss was briefed in the Commons during a debate

Messages flood in at end of British monarch’s eight-decade reign

PM praises monarch’s extraordinary achievements and sense of duty that has been ‘personal inspiration’• Queen Elizabeth dies – latest updatesLiz Truss has paid tribute to the Queen, describing her as “the rock on which modern Britain was built”, whose death is a “huge shock” to the country and the world.The new prime minister praised the deceased monarch’s “extraordinary” achievements during her 70 years on the throne, saying her sense of duty had been a “personal inspiration” to her and to many Britons. Continue reading...

Longest-reigning British monarch died at Highlands estate that had been a constant throughout her life

Notable deterioration only occurred in last two years and particularly after death of Philip• Queen Elizabeth dies - latest updatesThe Queen had smiled broadly but appeared frail, gripping a cane in her left hand, as she greeted Liz Truss, the 15th prime minister of her 70-year reign, in Balmoral Castle’s drawing room on Tuesday.An official photograph of the historic moment had also born witness to an ominous dark purple bruise across the top of the 96-year-old monarch’s right hand. Whether the result of a fall or perhaps the removal of a cannula, the palace was not commenting, and it had prompted public concern. Continue reading...

The contingency plans for the Queen dying at Balmoral were leaked a while ago

After success of federal ‘teals’, about half of all respondents are thinking about a shift away from major parties

Research into cases of arson and burn injuries suggests links between use or threat of fire, and domestic and family violence

Road safety experts say more needs to be done to reduce fatalities by focusing on young menMen would be banned from getting a driver’s licence until they are 21 under a “controversial” proposal being made to the New South Wales government.The proposal is one of several being made by road safety experts, who say more needs to be done to reduce road fatalities by focusing on young drivers – and particularly young men. Continue reading...

Plagued, which revealed Scott Morrison’s multiple ministries, also details secret discussions on China, defence and border closures

Ukrainian forces recapture about 154 sq miles of Russian-held territory, changing analysis of Kyiv’s military strategy

Chris Heaton-Harris makes first visit to Northern Ireland to say UK aims to get Stormont running and ‘solve problems of protocol’Sinn Féin has urged the new Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, to lean on the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) to restore the power-sharing executive at Stormont.Michelle O’Neill, the party’s first minister-designate, told Heaton-Harris on Thursday that the British government should stop “pandering” to the DUP, which has paralysed power-sharing in protest against the Northern Ireland protocol. Continue reading...

Crisis at debt-laden Chinese property developer deepens in wake of default last year and failure to sell buildingLenders to the struggling Chinese developer Evergrande Group have appointed a receiver to seize its Hong Kong headquarters, two sources have said, as the world’s most indebted developer struggles to emerge from its debt crisis.Evergrande is saddled with more than $300bn (£260bn) in liabilities and has been kept alive by a government-run rescue operation since it defaulted on $22.7bn of overseas debts in December last year. Continue reading...

Insurance market warns of financial fallout from conflict and tough year of natural catastrophes

Exclusive: In her first interview since being targeted on social media, Valentino argues for trans inclusionIt was the game that triggered a backlash and compelled Ireland’s Gaelic sports authorities to review whether transgender women can compete in female teams.Ireland’s first openly LGBTQ+ club, Na Gaeil Aeracha, was playing Na Fianna’s ladies E team in a minor championship at the end of July. Continue reading...

Greens leader Adam Bandt’s wife, Claudia Perkins, and Senator Sarah Hanson-Young wear dresses with slogans calling for end of fossil fuels

Myles Sanderson had been taken into custody in Saskatchewan shortly after his parents issued an emotional plea for their son to turn himself inThe fugitive wanted over a mass stabbing in Canada that killed 10 people and injured 18 has died in hospital after his arrest, police have confirmed, with sources saying it was from self-inflicted wounds.Myles Sanderson went into “medical distress” after his arrest and he was taken to hospital where he died, Royal Canadian Mounted police assistant commissioner Rhonda Blackmore said. Police found a knife in the truck, which police had rammed off the road into a ditch, but Blackmore would not comment on the cause of his death. Continue reading...

Zelenskiy reports ‘good news’ from northern front as Donetsk People’s Republic says Balakliia ‘encircled’

Cap says mobile and broadband users must get clear information about inflation-busting bill increasesThe UK advertising watchdog has launched an investigation into whether telecoms companies are misleading consumers about inflation-busting bill increases when promoting deals in their marketing campaigns.Telecoms companies make billions of pounds annually by instituting price rises to mobile and broadband bills midway through contract periods – increases that will add to the biggest squeeze on the cost of living facing households in generations. Continue reading...

Health department had denied Covid testing priority lane but new disclosure lists firms including lab behind false negativesThe government has admitted that 50 firms were put in a “priority” lane for securing test and trace contracts worth billions, including Immensa, the company involved in a scandal over 43,000 false negative results.The UK Health and Security Agency revealed the names of the 50 companies to the Good Law Project, the campaigning organisation that successfully challenged the government’s VIP lane for personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts in the courts. Continue reading...

Minister for Indigenous Australians lays out plan to win referendum as Peter Dutton criticises corporates willing to sign up ‘sight unseen’

Under parliamentary rules, government had six months to respond to recommendations

The ‘culture standard’ will trial family friendly hours, dedicated spaces for women and address pay gaps at two government sites

Monument commemorates desecration of Jewish cemeteries under former communist regimeThe desecration of Jewish cemeteries under the communist regime of the former Czechoslovakia has been given official recognition with a new memorial fashioned from headstones that were carved up and used for paving stones in Prague.The Return of the Stones monument, consisting of 7 tonnes of broken tombstones, was unveiled on Wednesday in the Czech capital’s old Jewish cemetery, which itself was partly desecrated to make a public park before becoming the site of the city’s soaring television tower. Continue reading...

Trevalga estate was put in trust in 1950s to preserve its future but trustees believe it can be sold because of archaic ‘royal lives clause’Perched above the jagged cliffs of the north Cornwall coast, the manor of Trevalga is dramatic, isolated and beautiful.The site of six let farms and 17 further houses and cottages, it is a peaceful place, much loved by its current residents. But their utopia is under threat as the trustees of the land have put the estate up for sale with a guide price of £15.75m, triggering a dispute that some are calling the “Battle of Trevalga”. Continue reading...

Felicity Cornelius-Mercer criticised cabinet system after Johnny Mercer replaced as veterans ministerThe wife of a sacked minister has said she has “no regrets” about an online outburst in which she likened the UK’s new prime minister, Liz Truss, to a muppet.In the wake of Johnny Mercer’s dismissal from government as veterans’ affairs minister on Tuesday, Felicity Cornelius-Mercer launched into a tirade on Twitter, branding Truss an “imbecile” and slamming a cabinet system that “stinks” and “treats people appallingly”. Continue reading...

New PM tells cabinet she will rethink how to deliver agenda, as source describes bill as ‘complete mess’

Books depicted sheep fleeing from invading wolves, which judge found aimed to incite hatred against ChinaA court in Hong Kong has convicted five speech therapists of producing “seditious publications” in the form of a series of illustrated children’s books that depicted sheep trying to defend their village from wolves.The convictions are the latest using a colonial-era sedition offence that authorities have deployed alongside a new national security law to stamp out dissent. Continue reading...