Serbia to abolish entry-exit document for Kosovo ID holders and Kosovo agrees not to introduce themSerbia and Kosovo have agreed on an arrangement for free movement between their countries, the EU’s foreign policy chief announced Saturday.Serbia agreed to abolish its entry-exit document for Kosovo ID holders, and Kosovo agreed to not introduce them for Serbian ID holders, said Josep Borrell. Continue reading...

Community-based groups are looking for candidates but they may find it harder to gain traction than federal independents

Party would insulate broadcaster from political pressure, says shadow culture secretary, as Liz Truss prepares to wage war on itLabour has pledged to strengthen the BBC’s political independence and retain it as a publicly-owned, public service broadcaster at the heart of British life, amid signs that a Tory government led by Liz Truss would wage war on the corporation.Lucy Powell, the shadow culture secretary, told the Observer she is examining a series of reforms to insulate the BBC from political pressures, including ending “revolving door” appointments of people in politics to top posts in the corporation, and extending the charter renewal period from 10 to 15 or 20 years to reduce pressures on BBC leaders to toe the government line. Continue reading...

Hard-up producers replace wheatfields and vineyards with a more lucrative, drought-resistant cropThey’re calling it green gold, the cash crop that could rescue one of Spain’s poorest regions from decline and depopulation as farmers plough up wheatfields and vineyards and replant them with pistachios.With farmers earning between 65 and 85 cents for each kilo of olives they produce, and around 65 cents for grapes, pistachios, which fetch €6-8 a kilo, are in a different league. Continue reading...

New data shows average waits for treatment at some hospitals in England are above 30 weeksNearly 40% of NHS hospital departments in England have average treatment waiting times above 18 weeks – with average waits at some well over 30 weeks, according to Observer analysis of NHS data.In England, the NHS Constitution sets out that patients should wait no more than 18 weeks from GP referral to treatment. But analysis of hospital waiting time data published on the NHS My Planned Care site shows that 813 out of 2,148 specialties at hospital trusts in England had average wait times for non-cancer treatment of more than 18 weeks in mid-August – 38% in total. Continue reading...

Rates of anxiety and depression have decreased since first year of the pandemic but there still aren’t enough therapistsEric Wood, a mental health professional who leads virtual support groups for Indiana judges and attorneys, can look at a screen full of heads nodding in reaction to what someone said and know that the meeting is providing some relief for participants who have struggled during the Covid-19 pandemic.Wood, who lives in Indianapolis, can also see how his wife, Diane Keller Wood, has made gradual improvements in her recovery from long Covid’s significant effects on her mental and physical health. Continue reading...

Ivy owner Richard Caring wins council permission to close part of Onslow Square, a busy ambulance and bus route, for two weeksRichard Caring, the billionaire owner of the celebrity hotspot restaurant the Ivy and private members’ club Annabel’s, has won permission to close a main road in South Kensington, central London, in order to have dozens of trees planted in the grounds of his £40m mansion.Caring, who has built up an estimated personal fortune of more than £1bn from his clubs and restaurants empire, which also includes the Sexy Fish in Mayfair, secured permission from the council to close part of Onslow Square for two weeks in order to install a crane to carry the mature trees over a row of neighbouring terraced houses. Continue reading...

Arrest of 33-year-old follows earlier arrest of 36-year-old man suspected of being the gunmanA second man has been arrested by armed police on suspicion of the murder of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel in Liverpool. The 33-year-old, from Dovecot, was also arrested on suspicion of two counts of attempted murder.He was arrested by armed officers on Lunsford Road in Huyton, Liverpool, on Friday afternoon. Merseyside police said the man has been taken to a police station where he will be questioned by detectives. Continue reading...

A rash of major health announcements is sure to spread further before the state election – but the devil is in the detail

Inquiry by commissioner for standards into Alan Campbell will look at source of emails sent to a mailing listThe Labour chief whip is under investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner for allegedly misusing confidential information given to him as an MP.The inquiry concerns allegations that Sir Alan Campbell breached rules on the “use of information received in confidence in the course of the Member’s parliamentary duties”, as well as on the use of his parliamentary email address. Continue reading...

Tour operators hope House of the Dragon will end long winter of low visitor numbersIn 2019, Northern Ireland seemed set for a sunlit future of Games of Thrones-themed tourism.Devotees of the HBO fantasy series flocked to the show’s locations in castles, forests and harbours, spending £30m each year, with more expected once an official studio tour opened in County Down. Continue reading...

Northern Lighthouse Board looking for someone to maintain lighthouses at Cape Wrath and Stoer HeadThe role of a retained lighthouse keeper is, says Barry Millar, an extremely attractive job. At 74, the former biology teacher has no intention of quitting his position maintaining 10 lighthouses across Ayrshire and Galloway across Scotland’s south-west coast.And his message to anyone considering an application to fill the vacancy for a keeper at the most north-westerly point on mainland Britain is simple: “Give it a go.” Continue reading...

Event’s boss says it ‘means too much to too many people’ for it not to have returned after Covid hiatusThe Notting Hill carnival is here to stay because it “means too much to too many people”, its organiser has said before the event’s return after a three-year hiatus.Matthew Phillip, the carnival’s chief executive, said Europe’s largest street festival, which was forced online during the pandemic, was stronger than ever, with 2 million people expected to gather and celebrate in west London this bank holiday weekend. Continue reading...

In a country where politicians are held to very high moral standards, it does not take much to provoke debateSanna Marin has been the focus of unusual – by Finnish standards – international attention ever since she became the world’s youngest prime minister at the age of 34 in December 2019. Not every Finnish prime minister makes it on to the cover of Time or has their holidays reported on in Italian national newspapers.Raised in modest circumstances by her mother and her mother’s female partner, Marin worked in her 20s as a cashier in a department store. Now, as well as prime minister, she is mother to a young child, has a social life and occasionally goes to festivals and parties. For the more conservative parts of society, all that seems hard to combine in one person. Continue reading...

T Raja Singh suspended earlier this week for hate speech after allegedly abusive commentsPolice in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad have arrested a suspended leader of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) for making allegedly abusive remarks about the prophet Muhammad.Police arrested T Raja Singh, 45, on Thursday after thousands of Muslims took to the streets in the city protesting against his speech. Continue reading...

The Dogger, which has not left the water in 134 years, will be ‘undressed’ so it can pass under low bridgesThe oldest houseboat on the canals of Amsterdam is being removed after being left unable to pass under the low bridges around it.The Dogger, built in 1865, is a former watership that transported drinking water to the breweries. It is believed to have moved into the Prinsengracht canal in 1888. Continue reading...

First Nations housing must meet minimum standards by 2031, under new targets set by joint council and states and territories

For the Zinthiya Trust and those in Leicester who it helps, the price cap rise is just one in a stack of mounting problemsA tear rolls down Shama Omar’s face. She is describing the pain of her disabled daughter’s death last year, after 29 years of attentive care. It is a familiar tale of delays and stretched health service resources. “If the GP had seen her on that day, my daughter would have not died,” she says.Now, she is surviving on one cooked meal every two weeks, deciding on whether to pay for council tax, food or water next. “I need to take cancer medication, which gives me hot flushes but I can’t afford to have the fan on all the time,” says Omar. “I had to think whether to spend £4.60 for the bus here, that could have helped me make meals for two days.” Continue reading...

State auditors express fears ‘pink education’ threatens boys’ mental health and the country’s economyHungary’s state audit office has issued a report about the risks of the country’s education system being “too feminine”, saying it could hurt the development of boys and create demographic problems.The report was issued last month but had not caught the public’s attention until a newspaper article was published on Thursday. Continue reading...

Government to build centre on mainland instead following community campaign against the development

The alleged offences were committed during an altercation with a freelance camera operator in Manly on 3 July

Former anti-corruption activist who has fled to Netherlands tells how Russian state infiltrated oppositionWhen Mikhail Sokolov signed up to work for the FSB security services, he never imagined his journey would end here: in a crowded refugee camp on the outskirts of a sleepy town in the rural Netherlands.“The last six years were a rollercoaster. I am happy I am no longer in the claws of the FSB,” the former FSB informant and staffer for the jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s anti-corruption network said in an interview with the Guardian this week. Continue reading...

Jaden Francois-Esprit, a trainee who died aged 21, had described bullying and racism at his Wembley stationThe family of a trainee firefighter who killed himself two years ago has called on London fire brigade to issue a public apology for “multiple failings” they believe played a part in his death.On the second anniversary of Jaden Francois-Esprit’s death on Friday, Francois-Esprit’s mother, Linda Francois, an NHS worker, 55, has called for major changes to the fire service to prevent similar tragedies.In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or by email at jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org. Continue reading...

State fair trading minister, Victor Dominello, welcomes David Chandler’s decision to stay in role, saying he’s ‘a big fan’

Justice secretary criticised by senior officials after board is ‘last to hear’ about important policy changesDominic Raab was accused by a senior Parole Board official of making a “difficult job next to impossible” after making big policy changes without notice, newly uncovered documents show.Members of the Parole Board also said the justice secretary would have to increase the number of prison places by 800 every year if he was to force through major changes. Continue reading...

Truss remained loath to ‘bung money’ at those struggling to afford spiralling bills, Sunak said millions may be forced into destitutionLiz Truss has doubled down on her reluctance to “bung more money” at those who will struggle to afford spiralling energy costs this winter while Rishi Sunak said millions may be forced into destitution without extra support, as the pair clashed at the penultimate hustings of the Conservative leadership race.With energy regulator Ofgem expected to raise the price cap to £3,500 a year from October for the average dual-fuel tariff, Truss warned the issue of spiralling fuel costs was not a short-term one. “If people think this problem is going to be over in six months they are not right. This is a long term problem,” she told the audience in Norfolk. Continue reading...

Watchdog refers case back to Met police for its own investigation over sprinter’s claims of aggression and racismThe police watchdog has ruled out an investigation into the Metropolitan police’s treatment of an athlete who was pulled over in his car by seven armed officers.Ricardo dos Santos, a Portuguese sprinter based in London, released a video of the incident in central London that took place earlier this month. Continue reading...

Employees at the Daily Mirror, Express and other newspapers were due to walk out in protest on FridayJournalists at the Mirror, Express and dozens of other newspapers have called off a planned strike just hours before it was due to begin.Staff were due to strike on Friday in protest at low pay, but have postponed the industrial action to allow further talks to take place. Continue reading...

Broadcaster denies any pressure from No 10 to apologise for presenter’s criticism of Dominic CummingsA BBC executive has said “in no way” did the government prompt the broadcaster to censure Emily Maitlis.Maitlis claimed the BBC went out of its way to “pacify” Downing Street when she said it was clear Dominic Cummings had breached lockdown rules in 2020. The presenter said BBC bosses were initially happy with her broadcast, only to change direction and issue a swift apology when No 10 accused her of bias. Continue reading...

Parliament voted in May to demolish Riga monument to Red Army’s victory over Nazi GermanyA concrete obelisk topped by Soviet stars that was the centrepiece of a monument to the Red Army’s victory over Nazi Germany was taken down in Latvia’s capital on Thursday, the latest in a series of Soviet monuments brought down after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Heavy machinery was spotted behind a green privacy fence at the foot of the nearly 80-metre (260ft) obelisk shortly before it was felled. The column, which had stood like a high-rise in central Riga, crashed into a nearby pond, causing a huge splash at Victory Park. Continue reading...

Nathan Smith receives 21-year minimum term for fatally stabbing Takieddine Boudhane before going on runA man has been jailed for life over the murder of a Deliveroo moped rider in a road rage attack captured on CCTV.Nathan Smith, 28, swung out with a knife and stabbed the part-time delivery rider Takieddine Boudhane, 30, on the evening of 3 January 2020 after an incident in Finsbury Park, north London. Continue reading...

Wisdom of foreign secretary’s criticism of first minister likely to be focus of leadership contest’s only event in Scotland.Senior Scottish Tories fear that Liz Truss’s “red meat” attacks on Nicola Sturgeon as an attention-seeker will alienate moderate voters, as Truss prepares to face Rishi Sunak in Perth.The lengthy contest to succeed Boris Johnson as UK Conservative leader and next prime minister enters its final phase on Tuesday with their only party hustings in Scotland; the Tories chose Perth, a city once seen as a Tory stronghold. Continue reading...

Daniel Křetínský-controlled Vesa Equity Investment could increase its shareholding to more than 25%Ministers are to conduct a national security review into the ownership of Royal Mail, after it emerged the Czech billionaire who is the 500-year-old postal firm’s largest shareholder has increased his stake.The intervention came as Royal Mail executives braced for the first of four days of national strike action over pay and conditions, with members of the Communication Workers Union set to walk out on Friday. Continue reading...

Traders whose fixed-price supply deals expire in October have already seen bills quadruple since early 2001Small business owners across Britain have told of sleepless nights and fears they will not survive the winter due to looming increases in their energy bills.Firms have experienced a 424% rise in gas costs and 349% increase in electricity since February 2021, data from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) shows.A hotel in Aberdeen which says it will be cheaper to close for the winter than heat rooms for guests.A fish and chip shop in Oswestry, Shropshire, where annual energy bills are rising from £9,000 to £35,000.A chicken takeaway franchisee in Peterborough who fears customers will desert him if he pushes up prices to pay his bills.An indoor mushroom farm in Bangor, Gwynedd, whose strong trading has been undermined by a “ridiculous” hike in its energy costs. Continue reading...

Subject’s popularity increases almost fivefold since introduction in 2014More students are choosing to study computing at GCSE level than PE for the first time since the technology-based subject was introduced.There were 81,120 entries for computing across all UK candidates, compared with 79,924 for PE, according to the latest figures from the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ). Continue reading...

Karim Khan’s play about two Muslim teenagers learning to swim wins £3,000 prize for best new writingA coming-of-age tale about two South Asian teenagers who learn to swim in order to impress girls at a classmate’s pool party has won a prize for best new play at this year’s Edinburgh fringe.Brown Boys Swim by Karim Khan has been awarded the prestigious Popcorn writing award 2022. Receiving the prize fund of £3,000, Khan said on Thursday he was “absolutely over the moon”. Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese labels saga a ‘human tragedy’ as former Queensland chief justice Catherine Holmes set to lead inquiry into Centrelink debt recovery scheme

As prices continue to spiral, six people tell why they have signed up for the campaign to tackle the cost of living crisis

Abellio UK’s CEO Dominic Booth is understood to be leading buyout and will help fund deal using own moneyThe Dutch state railway is to pull out of the UK with a management buyout of its subsidiary Abellio, which runs four rail lines and a number of London bus routes.Abellio, which for 20 years has run East Midlands Railway, Greater Anglia, Merseyrail and West Midlands Railway and employs 15,000 staff, is to be sold by the Netherlands state-run Nederlandse Spoorwegen to its UK management. The business will be operated by a new firm, to be known as Transport UK Group Limited. Continue reading...

Health expert says NHS needs money too and diverting promised £13bn is not a sustainable solution

Sombre first cabinet speech after summer break criticised as snub to poor who have already made sacrificesEmmanuel Macron has warned the French they are facing sacrifices and what he called the “end of abundance”, at his government’s first cabinet meeting after the summer holidays.The president, speaking before ministers at the Élysée, said the country was at a “tipping point” and faced a difficult winter and a new era of instability caused by climate change and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading...

Measures will initially remain in place for six months as country aims to reduce its dependence on Russian gasGermany’s government has approved a bylaw restricting the heating of public buildings and banning illuminated advertising hoardings, in an effort to save energy and tackle soaring energy costs.The legislation, which will come into force in just over a week’s time and will initially remain in place for six months, will mean that public buildings ranging from town halls to railway waiting rooms may not be heated to warmer than 19C (66.2F), and that radiators in corridors, foyers, entranceways and technical rooms must be turned off. Continue reading...

Leader defends work ethic and describes week in which she has been forced to defend her private life as ‘quite difficult’Sanna Marin has insisted she works hard as Finland’s prime minister but should also be entitled to a private life, after a photograph taken at her residence of two topless women kissing sparked renewed criticism of her partying.“I am human,” Marin told reporters on Wednesday at the conference of her Social Democratic party, describing the past week as “quite difficult”. On the verge of tears, she said she too sometimes longs “for joy, light and fun amidst the dark clouds”. Continue reading...

Prime minister tells Volodymyr Zelenskiy UK will ‘continue to stand with our Ukrainian friends’

Cost of living campaign planning 50 rallies in next month amid warning people will die because of crisisAndy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, is to back the growing Enough is Enough movement, whose leaders are planning dozens of rallies against the cost of living crisis which they say will result in people dying.Burnham’s support indicates a widening political base to a campaign that now has close to 450,000 supporters after it was set up earlier this month by trade union leaders, including the RMT general secretary, Mick Lynch, who said he wanted to “turn anger into action”. Continue reading...

Signed to International Anthem, Branch released two solo albums and her voracious collaborations included the likes of TV on the Radio, Spoon and Alabaster dePlumeJaimie Branch, the jazz composer and trumpeter, has died aged 39. International Anthem, the progressive Chicago label that released her music, confirmed that she died on 22 August at her home in Brooklyn, New York. No cause of death was shared.“Jaimie was a daughter, sister, aunt, cousin, friend and teacher,” the label said in a statement. “She touched countless numbers of people with her music and spirit, both of which are fearless, truthful and beautiful, and will live on in hearts and ears for ever. Jaimie’s family asks not just for your thoughts and prayers but also for your action. Show your love and support for your family and friends and anyone who may be in need – just like Jaimie did for all of us.” Continue reading...

Six months to the day since the start of the Russian invasion, here is what to expect for the next six monthsSix months of war may have gone by, but neither Ukraine nor Russia are ready to stop fighting, despite the losses they have sustained. Ukraine wants its occupied territories back, and Russia wants to keep inflicting pain not just on its opponent but, by proxy, the west also. The Kremlin believes winter will play to its advantage. Continue reading...

Surprise move by constitutional court throws Thai politics into confusionThailand’s prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, has been suspended from office by the constitutional court while it considers whether he has overstayed the limits of his term.The court agreed to hear a case brought by opposition MPs, who say that Prayuth, who came to power in a coup in 2014, should have left office this week. Under Thailand’s constitution, prime ministers are barred from ruling for more than eight years. Continue reading...