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A US judge has dismissed Spencer Elden’s claim that an image of him as a naked baby on the 1991 album constituted child sexual abuseSpencer Elden, who appeared on the cover of Nirvana’s 1991 album Nevermind as a baby, has lost his lawsuit claiming that the image constituted child sexual abuse.In the suit Elden claimed that the album cover, which depicts him at four months old and was taken by a family friend, had caused him “permanent harm” and a lifelong loss of income-earning capacity”. Continue reading...

News Corp columnist framed himself as among a minority of white men who could no longer voice their opinion

Karl-Peter Griesemann’s Cessna 551 crashed near Latvia after flying across Europe with no radio contactA private jet that crashed into the Baltic Sea off Latvia after flying halfway across Europe from Spain without responding to controllers’ calls belonged to the German businessman Karl-Peter Griesemann, his company, Quick Air, has said.The jet, an Austria-registered Cessna 551, left Jerez in southern Spain on Sunday afternoon, turning at Paris and Cologne before flying straight out to the Baltic Sea, where it spiralled into the water east of Gotland, flight tracking data showed. Continue reading...

Temperatures nearing record of 52.2C set in Mecca, California, in 1950

Former Bovis Homes snaps up smaller rival after campaign by two US activist investorsTwo of the UK’s largest housebuilders are to merge after Vistry Group agreed a £1.3bn cash and shares deal to take over smaller rival Countryside.The deal would represent a victory for two US activist investors in Countryside, Browning West and Inclusive Capital Partners, which have been pushing for a sale of the company. Continue reading...

Former prime minister says he does not want to engage with those ‘having a big crack at me’ in first TV interview since revelations

Detectives, arson unit are investigating after blaze at heritage Northwood home took 50 firefighters to extinguish

Billionaire appeals against Kensington’s ruling that he installed windows without permissionRichard Caring, the billionaire nightclub and restaurant entrepreneur, is refusing to remove three “incongruous and dominant” windows from his £40m house in South Kensington despite the council issuing an “enforcement notice” ordering him to do so.Caring, 74, who owns the celebrity hotspot restaurants the Ivy and Sexy Fish as well as the private members’ club Annabel’s, has launched an appeal against the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s ruling that the windows were installed “without planning permission” and “fail to preserve the character and appearance” of the conservation area. Continue reading...

‘We hope you accept our invitation and listen to what we have to say’, said one community leader

The truck was responding to an emergency when the crash occurred in Haymarket, leading to traffic and light rail delays

With a hearing expected later in the year, the outcome could have far-reaching consequences for revenue raising from electric vehicles, lawyers say

Family of 23-year-old raise alarm after the experienced skier failed to return to his car in NSW Snowy mountains on Sunday

Party weighs up foreign secretary’s vulnerabilities as it hones tactics to defeat her in No 10If, as widely assumed, Liz Truss takes over from Boris Johnson, it will not just be the nation having to adjust. Labour must adapt at speed from an ideologically flexible prime minister happy to improvise, to one with a much clearer idea of what she wants.One thing is certain – Keir Starmer and his team will not underestimate an opponent they largely view as talented and hard-working. Continue reading...

Independent MP for Fowler says her community was ‘neglected and abandoned by the major parties’ as she spoke of her family’s arrival in Australia as refugees

Government likely to block some of the expected amendments by influential peers at committee stageThe government’s flagship energy bill will come before the House of Lords for a series of potential amendments on Monday that campaigners say could help protect the poorest households from the worst of soaring energy bills.The bill is to enter its committee stage, at which influential peers are expected to advocate crucial changes to the legislation that if accepted could help to reduce costs for consumers. Continue reading...

New Economics Foundation sets out proposals for government to pay for gas and electricity use up to a limit

State subsidies for No 10 and No 11 mean she will be insulated from soaring energy costs for householdsLiz Truss will pay no more than £2,000 in total for all her energy bills in Downing Street this winter because of state subsidies, Labour has calculated.If Truss, as widely expected, is elected as Conservative leader and prime minister on Monday, she is expected to move into the four-bedroom flat above 11 Downing Street, the larger of the two official residences. Continue reading...

Devolution deal for joint mayor of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire criticised for excluding neighbouring countyLeaders in Leicestershire have expressed anger at the region being excluded from a first of its kind devolution deal for the east Midlands, saying it will be “relegated to the second division”.On Tuesday, plans for a groundbreaking devolution deal between Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire were announced, which would see the areas grouped as a Mayoral Combined County Authority (MCCA), led by one mayor, and which would receive £1.14bn funding over 30 years. Continue reading...

Ten people were killed and at least 15 wounded in series of stabbings in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan on Sunday

Exclusive: People who took out insurance with collapsed insurer at 1 April 2020 to receive payout equal to original promised amount

With 96% of the ballots counted, the rejection camp has 62% and the approve team accept defeat in bid to replace Pinochet-era settlementChileans have voted comprehensively against a new, progressive constitution that had been drafted to replace the 1980 document written under Gen Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship.With 96% of the votes counted in Sunday’s plebiscite, the rejection camp had 61.9% support compared with 38.1% for approval amid what appeared to be a heavy turnout with long lines at polling states. Voting was mandatory. Continue reading...

Police extend search for two suspects over three provinces after attacks at 13 different locations

Ousted leader’s estranged brother has won a court case allowing villa, considered a symbol of democracy in Myanmar, to be soldThe future of the lakeside villa in which Aung San Suu Kyi spent 15 years under house arrest is feared to be in jeopardy, after a court ruled in favour of her estranged brother, allowing the property to be sold.The colonial-style house at 54-56 University Avenue, which stands besides Yangon’s Inya Lake, is – for many in Myanmar – a symbol of the country’s struggle for democracy. Continue reading...

Deaths confirmed by Siskiyou sheriff on Sunday as high temperatures add to challenge for firefightersTwo people have died in a wildfire that ripped through a Northern California town, a local official has said, as firefighters in the far north of the state on Sunday battled blazes that forced evacuations and destroyed dozens of homes.“There’s no easy way of putting it,” said Siskiyou county sheriff Jeremiah LaRue as he shared the news of the fatalities on Sunday afternoon during a community meeting held at an elementary school north of the rural community of Weed. He did not immediately provide names or other details including age or gender of the two people who died. Continue reading...

Fighter jets scrambled to make contact ‘saw no one’ in plane carrying family of three from Spain to CologneA private jet carrying four people that was due to land in Germany but which continued to fly across Europe as air traffic controllers tried unsuccessfully to make contact crashed off the Latvian coast, authorities said.The jet “was flying between Spain and Cologne but when it changed course, air traffic controllers were not able to make contact”, the Latvian civil aviation agency said in a statement. Continue reading...

Party warns of further income squeeze as analysis suggests five-day cost is more than weekly food shopLabour has warned that families with young children face another potential income squeeze this autumn after data suggested the cost of after-school clubs had risen one-and-a-half times faster than consumer inflation since 2010.Citing analysis that says families using after-school provision five days a week are spending £800 a year more than in 2010, Labour called for ministers to do more to address what it said was another significant cost of living pressure. Continue reading...

Tennis-playing publishing force also represented Ken Kesey, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Amiri BarakaSterling Lord, a literary agent who among other triumphs worked for years to find a publisher for Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, has died. He had just turned 102.Lord died on Saturday in a nursing home in Ocala, Florida, according to his daughter, Rebecca Lord. Continue reading...

Visitors in London for birthday trip were in bed when Adam Lockwood waved to them on way to top of 72-floor landmarkA couple staying on the 40th floor of the Shard have spoken about spotting a barefoot climber ascending the London skyscraper on Sunday morning.Paul Curphey spotted Adam Lockwood scaling the 72-floor building, which hosts flats, a hotel and offices, at 6am when they saw him waving and climbing past Curphey and his partner Treasaidh’s window. Continue reading...

Man aged 34 held on suspicion of murder after fatal shooting of nine-year-old in Dovecot area of LiverpoolThree men have been arrested over the killing of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel, Merseyside police have said.The force said earlier on Sunday that a 34-year-old man from Liverpool had been arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. Continue reading...

A Guardian investigation reveals the firm has been accused of ‘gross negligence’ that allegedly led to gang rape, murder and mistaken solitary confinement in its US facilitiesThe US private prisons operator likely to take over Australia’s offshore processing regime on Nauru has previously been accused of “gross negligence” and “egregious” security failures that allegedly led to the gang-rape of a woman in detention, the murder of two retirees by escaped prisoners, and the months-long solitary confinement of a US citizen wrongfully held in immigration detention.The Department of Home Affairs is finalising negotiations with the US-based Management and Training Corporation, which the department has announced as its preferred tenderer to provide “facilities, garrison, transferee arrivals and reception services” for Australia’s offshore regime on Nauru from next month. No contracts have yet been signed. Continue reading...

Matt Bach has written to UN subcommittee about the ‘systematic’ isolation of youth detainees he says contravenes international law​​Get our free news app, morning email briefing and daily news podcastVictorian Liberal MP Matt Bach has written to the United Nations subcommittee on the prevention of torture, urging them to investigate the “systematic” use of isolation in the state’s youth justice facilities during an upcoming visit.The subcommittee is set to visit Australia from 16-27 October to inspect places of detention and examine the treatment of detainees. Continue reading...

Fears grow of energy rationing in Europe over shutdown of Nord Stream 1 because of ‘fault’Analysts are expecting gas prices to surge to record highs this week after Russia shut down a key pipeline to Europe.At the same time, a growing number of UK manufacturers have warned that they are already cutting production or making job cuts as a direct result of “out of control” energy bills. Continue reading...

Downing Street’s ‘chief mouser’ has apparently thrown his collar in the ring to replace Boris JohnsonTwitter users were delighted to see billboards across London announcing that Larry the cat, No 10’s “chief mouser”, has thrown his collar into the ring to become the country’s next prime minister.Either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak will be declared as the new leader of the Conservative party on Monday, but the campaign team behind Larry4Leader has gone to extra lengths to ensure the tabby’s stance is known. Continue reading...

Lisa Cash, 18, and twins Christy and Chelsea Cawley, eight, killed in incident at house in Tallaght as man in his 20s arrestedIrish police have named the three young siblings who died after a violent incident at a house in Dublin.They said that Lisa Cash, 18, and eight-year-old twins Chelsea and Christy Cawley died at a property in the Rossfield estate in Tallaght. Police were called there at about 12.30am on Sunday. Continue reading...

18-year-old also in critical condition after disturbance in Bow but police cast doubt on reports of armed throngsA 17-year-old boy has been stabbed to death and another teenager is in hospital after a brawl in east London.Police were called to Bow just after midnight on Sunday to reports of a disturbance involving about 100 people, some armed with machetes. Continue reading...

Ivan Safronov could be handed record sentence after being tried on secret evidence behind closed doorsMoments before the journalist Ivan Safronov was told he would be facing 24 years in prison, a Russian prosecutor offered him a deal.Sign a confession, she said during a final courtroom break, and she would recommend a 12-year sentence instead. Safronov answered immediately. Continue reading...

Change to registration process will pave way for thousands of staff trained overseas to come to UK, says governmentMinisters will introduce legislation as soon as parliament returns on Monday to tackle the NHS’s worsening staffing crisis by making it easier for overseas nurses and dentists to work in the UK.The move is part of a drive by the health secretary, Steve Barclay, to increase overseas recruitment to help plug workforce gaps in health and social care. Continue reading...

Zelenskiy urges EU to prepare fresh sanctions; Russia hits multiple residential targets in Mykolaiv

Denys Shmyhal’s comments on visit to Berlin show easing of tensions over response to Russian invasion

Mykolaiv governor says Russian forces damaged homes and three hospitals in strike; UK intelligence says Russian troops hampered by problems

First minister hits out amid reports of plan to make it more difficult to secure yes vote for independenceNicola Sturgeon has warned Liz Truss against any attempt to “gerrymander the rules” on Scottish independence amid reports that ministers are planning measures to make securing a yes vote more difficult.An unnamed supporter of Truss, who is expected to become prime minister this week, suggested her government would introduce a requirement to demonstrate 60% support for another referendum before a new independence vote could be held. Continue reading...

Escalation of action follows ministers’ refusal to agree to 25% increase in fees as backlog grows to 60,000 cases

Inequality and national identity are high on the agenda as the country votes. But few want to heed Covid’s lessonsIn the Stockholm neighbourhood of Tensta, the pandemic has left many feeling hopeless and disenfranchised, says Fatuma Mohamed.While much of Sweden – including politicians – appear to have forgotten all about Covid, the health communicator and longtime resident said that many in the area are still grappling with its impact. Continue reading...

Artist who painted Melbourne mural of soldiers hugging has apologised and said his intention was ‘to promote peace’

Approval would replace Pinochet-era document, recognizing Chile’s Indigenous peoples and requiring action on the climate crisisChileans head to the polls today to either approve or reject what has been described as the world’s most progressive constitution, which would replace the 1980 document drawn up during Gen Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship.The referendum marks the culmination of three tumultuous years of protest and political upheaval, in which a protest over subway prices grew into a broad uprising against deeply rooted inequalities and a disconnected political class. Continue reading...

The Old Dairy Brewery, named in a government video, has seen sales slump because of excessive paperworkA Kent brewery chosen to help champion export opportunities for the government after Brexit has revealed that burdensome customs checks and paperwork have left it with just one remaining customer in the EU.The Old Dairy Brewery in Kent – a Department for International Trade export champion for the south-east – appeared in a government video last year promoting the potential to boost Brexit export sales. Continue reading...

Greens senator Nick McKim says homeowners took on massive debt believing rates wouldn’t rise before 2024 and are now getting ‘smashed’

Federal Coalition also takes aim at Tony Burke, who last week said he wanted to change law that has become central to Sydney train strike dispute

New figures raise further questions about failure of government fund to reach the poorest areas of UKThe south-east of England, the most affluent region in Britain outside London, last year received almost twice as much money as the north-east from the government’s levelling up fund aimed at boosting deprived areas.Projects in the south-east benefited from £9.2m from the fund in the year to 31 March 2022. By comparison, the north-east only received £4.9m, despite being the poorest region in Britain by disposable household income. Continue reading...