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Man at centre of abandoned spy case has said he reported to Chinese company with clients that wanted to develop trading links with UK'Christopher Berry, the man at the heart of a controversial and now-abandoned Chinese espionage case, appeared to be aware that he was supplying information to a non-commercial client, according to messages seen by the Guardian.In August 2022, Berry sent a voice note saying that they want me to work for them directly instead of going through the company". Continue reading...

Climate scientists have long warned that warming oceans are making explosive storm development more common

Voters appear to have responded to idea that US president's generosity' would evaporate if Milei failed to winThe dollar always talks in the end," Donald Trump wrote in his 1987 bestseller The Art of the Deal.Javier Milei's surprise triumph in Argentina's midterm elections - after Trump bailed him out with 40bn of them - suggests there may be some truth to that assertion. Continue reading...

Price increases of as much as 40% will make sport exclusive privilege of the wealthy, says AssoutentiCompletely unjustified" prices rises for ski passes in Italy this winter mean the sport is at risk of becoming the exclusive privilege of the wealthy, the president of an Italian consumers' association has warned.From the Alps and the Dolomites in the north to the slopes of the central Italian region of Abruzzo, prices are poised to rise by as much as 40% compared with 2021, according to a report compiled by the watchdog, Assoutenti. Continue reading...

Six in 10 practitioners say loss of rehabilitation space in hospitals is harming chances of patients recoveringStroke patients and others in need of intense physiotherapy are facing declining care because of inadequate space and equipment in hospitals, a survey shows.The Chartered Society of Physiotherapists found that four in 10 NHS physiotherapy staff have lost or are expected to lose dedicated rehabilitation space. Continue reading...

Robert Ford, subject of an unofficial complaint', and Bill Barrett, suspended after leaked meeting, removed via emailTwo suspended Reform UK councillors from Kent have been expelled from the party over a misconduct allegation and after the Guardian published a leaked video which revealed tensions among its county council ranks.Robert Ford and Bill Barrett were removed from the party via an email from Reform HQ on Monday, which said they had undermined" the interests of the party and brought it into disrepute". Continue reading...

Inspector general of taxation and ombudsman, Ruth Owen, says she is receiving an increasing number' of complaints about tax office

Drummer played on Bitches Brew and other landmark recordings, as well as making numerous albums as a bandleaderJack DeJohnette, the jazz drummer celebrated as one of the genre's true greats - who worked with stars including Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Charles Lloyd - has died aged 83. A press representative for ECM, the record label that released many of his recordings, confirmed the news though no cause of death was given.Able to bring dynamic, highly musical playing to open-minded free jazz, R&B-leaning instrumental grooves and everything in between, DeJohnette is perhaps best known as the drummer in Davis's fusion period, contributing to albums such as Bitches Brew, Jack Johnson and On the Corner. He was also celebrated as a regular sideman and bandleader on elegant, progressive fusion releases from ECM in the 1980s. Continue reading...

Suspect, 32, apprehended in Birmingham after urgent appeal by police over alleged incident on SaturdayA man has been arrested on suspicion of rape after police believe a woman was the victim of a racially aggravated attack.West Midlands police were called to the Park Hall area of Walsall just after 7.15pm on Saturday after a woman was reported to be distressed in the street. Continue reading...

Storm could intensify further, threatening to cause catastrophic flooding in northern CaribbeanHurricane Melissa strengthened into a powerful category 5 hurricane on Monday, threatening days of catastrophic winds and rain in the northern Caribbean, while Jamaica's government ordered mandatory evacuations for vulnerable areas across the country including in the capital, Kingston.Jamaican officials had earlier urged those in low-lying and flood-prone areas to seek refuge as Melissa rapidly climbs up the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale. Continue reading...

Publisher last week reported jump in revenue in academic and professional arm thanks to AI licensing deal

Lehrmann, who is on bail and yet to formally enter a plea, is accused of raping a woman twice in Queensland in 2021

Wires brought down across greater Brisbane and Werribee resident tells ABC Radio of partner lifted and dropped' by huge wind

Beck Smith manages Queensland farm alone with help of three-year-old border collie Duke, winner of the 2025 Cobber Challenge

Commons committee describes successive governments' failures to manage hotel use, contracts, spending and safeguardingThe Home Office has squandered billions of pounds on asylum accommodation due to long-term mismanagement of a failed, chaotic and expensive" system, according to a report published by a powerful parliamentary committee.The Commons cross-party home affairs committee report, published on Monday, highlights the previous and current governments' failures to manage the mix of hotels, large sites such as the Wethersfield former military base in Essex, and shared housing. Continue reading...

One man arrested at Charles de Gaulle airport and another just outside Paris, officials confirmFrench police have arrested two suspects believed to have helped steal crown jewels worth an estimated 88m (76m) from the Louvre museum in Paris, officials have said, a week after one of the country's most spectacular heists in decades.The Paris public prosecutor confirmed media reports on Sunday that one man had been detained at about 10pm (8pm UK time) on Saturday at the capital's Charles de Gaulle airport by officers from the armed robberies and serious burglaries squad. Continue reading...

Health secretary hardens Labour line after Sarah Pochin said advertising doesn't reflect your average white family'Wes Streeting has accused the Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin of making racist" remarks after she said seeing adverts full of black and Asian people drives her mad".The health secretary said Pochin was only sorry she's been caught and called out", adding she had said the quiet bit loud" as he warned of a return to 1970s, 1980s-style racism". Continue reading...

Analysts say president's war on Russia's fossil fuel revenues is a chance to bring peace to Ukraine and profit to USDonald Trump's stated mission to broker peace in Ukraine could come down to this simple question: can the US president convince the world to stop buying Russia's fossil fuels?Last week, Trump imposed sanctions on Russia's two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, in an effort to damage Moscow's ability to fund its war machine. Continue reading...

Experts see move as Trump's latest attempt to shift power of the purse away from Congress and into executive branchBy ordering that US military personnel receive paychecks even though the government is shut down, Donald Trump is seeing to the needs of a politically untouchable constituency that has been caught up in the congressional logjam over federal spending.But experts who spoke to the Guardian warn that he is doing so in a way that is almost certainly illegal and, if left unchecked, bodes ill for Congress's constitutional authority to control government spending. Some fear it could set the stage for the president to unilaterally fund other contentious decisions in the future, such as the deployment of the military on US soil. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story hereLucy Powell has paid tribute to former Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner, saying she has some big shoes to fill", as she took to the stage to celebrate her win.Powell spoke about how division and hate" has increased. She said the desire for change is palpable". Continue reading...

Queensland Health has issued an alert for people to be aware of the products they warn could still be circulating in the Logan community

Treasury committee says move in November budget could push up mortgage rates insteadCutting the annual cash Isa allowance will not encourage many savers to switch to shares but could push up mortgage costs, MPs have warned the chancellor.Adults can put up to 20,000 a year in a tax-free Isa and spread the money between cash and stock market investments as they choose. In the 2023-24 tax year, 66% of all contributions went into cash savings. Continue reading...

Crushing defeat in Welsh byelection triggers renewed outpouring of anger and concern within LabourA wipeout for Labour in next May's local elections would spell the end of Keir Starmer's premiership, MPs have said, after the party suffered a crushing defeat in its traditional heartland in Wales.Though Plaid Cymru beat Reform UK to capture the Senedd seat in Caerphilly, the result highlighted a striking collapse of Labour's vote, prompting fears in Westminster that Labour could be reduced to third place in Wales, a loss that would leave the leader's position unrecoverable. Continue reading...

US House minority leader ends four-month standoff over backing for Democratic nomineeThe House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, endorsed Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor on Friday, ending a four-month standoff that left the Democratic nominee without the backing of one of the party's most powerful figures until the day before early voting begins.The announcement arrives after months of pressure from progressives in Congress and after the top Democrat has been repeatedly grilled by reporters about his reluctance to support his party's candidate. Continue reading...

Administration will manage basic services in cooperation with Arab brothers and international institutions', says joint statementThe main Palestinian factions have said they have agreed that an independent committee of technocrats would take over the running of Gaza after Hamas said it had received clear guarantees" from mediators that the war has effectively ended".A joint statement published on the Hamas website said the groups had agreed in a meeting in Cairo to hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a temporary Palestinian committee composed of independent technocrats', which will manage the affairs of life and basic services in cooperation with Arab brothers and international institutions". Continue reading...

Old Bailey judge says gang mounted campaign of terrorism and sabotage to help RussiaSix Britons acting for Russia's Wagner group have been jailed for setting fire to a London warehouse storing humanitarian aid for Ukraine.Sentencing the men, a judge at the Old Bailey said they had planned a campaign of terrorism and sabotage" in the interests of the Russian state. Continue reading...

David Pocock, Allegra Spender and Kate Chaney say past policy decisions on taxing gas profits must not be repeated as next resources opportunity beckons

Lindsay Whittle seized the Senedd constituency from Labour and resisted a fierce challenge from Reform UK

Millions of people across the US attended No Kings protests against Donald Trump last weekend. The president publicly denied he wanted to be a king, but he posted an AI-generated video of himself dressed as one, flying a fighter jet and dumping excrement on protesters.Jonathan Freedland speaks to the political scientist Barbara Walter about the tactics the Trump administration is using against protestersArchive: CBS News, CBS News Chicago, PBS Newshour, CNN, WHAS11, Global News, KREM 2 News, Inside Edition, Today Continue reading...

President says he may go to the Congress and tell them ... but I can't imagine they'd have any problem with it'Donald Trump said on Thursday that his administration could soon expand its military attacks on alleged drug smugglers from Venezuela and also begin pursuing them on land.Trump, who has faced questions over whether he has the legal authority to use lethal force against the people in boats from Venezuela, said during a press conference he was not sure whether the administration would seek approval from Congress to attack people from the South American country over land. Continue reading...

US vice-president suggests votes were stupid political stunt' as Israeli PM orders a stop to any further work on billsThe Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has ordered a halt to the advancement of parliamentary bills linked to the annexation of the West Bank after the US vice-president, JD Vance, described a vote on two bills in the Knesset as an insult".The bills applying Israeli law to the occupied West Bank, which would be tantamount to the annexation of land Palestinians want for a state, won preliminary approval from Israel's parliament on Wednesday, barely a week after Donald Trump pushed through a deal aimed at ending a two-year Israeli offensive in Gaza. Continue reading...

Marco Rubio warns Israeli politicians not to disrupt Gaza ceasefire after Knesset vote to annex West BankThe parade of senior US officials travelling to the Middle East in recent weeks is a clear warning from the White House to Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli political factions to not disrupt the recent Gaza ceasefire - including by an annexation of the West Bank - or face a serious rift in relations with the US.As the shaky ceasefire came into effect last week, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner quickly rushed to the region for consultations. Continue reading...

Hotline introduced to report on agents' vehicles after one said plates were changed every day in video

Prime minister says the identification would never be needed to access hospitals amid fears over civil libertiesKeir Starmer has set out his vision for digital IDs as he fights to win back public support for the scheme.The prime minister's plan for digital IDs was met with criticism when it was announced last month, and was described as a symptom of his reverse Midas touch". Continue reading...

Plan to connect nuclear plant to Russian grid was foiled and it has now been reconnected to Ukrainian powerAn attempt by Russia to connect the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to the Russian grid in time for Vladimir Putin's birthday earlier this month was foiled by Ukrainian forces operating behind enemy lines.The six-reactor plant was instead reconnected by Russian engineers to external electrical power from Ukraine on Thursday morning, ending a month-long emergency during which the site had to rely on diesel generators to power cooling systems. Continue reading...

In finding F not guilty of murder on Bloody Sunday, judge said evidence fell well short of the standard requiredIt is undisputed that members of the Parachute regiment shot dead 13 unarmed civil rights protesters in Derry on Bloody Sunday. But, more than 53 years later, it is not surprising that Soldier F, the only man put on trial for murder, was found not guilty.Though four of the Paras who entered Glenfada Park North had lost all sense of military discipline", according to Mr Justice Lynch, direct evidence against Soldier F fell well short of the high standard of proof required in a criminal case". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Treasury discussions include possibly adding 1p to basic rate or raising higher or additional tax ratesRachel Reeves is considering raising income tax at next month's budget to help reduce a multibillion pound shortfall, sources have told the Guardian.The chancellor is in active discussions over breaking one of her party's main manifesto pledges as she looks for ways to clear an estimated shortfall of more than 30bn, according to three sources close to the budget process. Continue reading...

Footage showing two men appears to have been filmed from nearby window in museumThe slow-motion getaway of two thieves from the Louvre clutching 88m (76m) of France's crown jewels was captured on video, it has emerged - the latest dramatic twist to the country's most spectacular heist in decades.The 36-second clip, which Le Parisien newspaper said it had verified, shows two men dressed in black, one wearing a yellow hi-vis vest and the other a motorcycle helmet, slowly descending on a furniture lift from the museum's Apollo gallery. Continue reading...

Highly unusual court application alleges more than 10 individuals breached foreign enlistment lawsA human rights group has launched an attempt to mount a private prosecution alleging British citizens unlawfully went to fight for Israel.An application to a magistrates court for a summons against a named individual was lodged on Monday. Continue reading...

Russian president says Moscow will deliver overwhelming' response to strikes inside RussiaThe Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, urged European Union leaders on Thursday to agree as soon as possible on a plan to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.Zelenskyy, who is visiting Brussels, said on X that the proposed mechanism for using frozen Russian assets was entirely legal and fair. He said Ukraine would use a significant part of the assets to buy weapons from its European allies. Continue reading...

Waitrose asked Tom Boyd not to return when he asked for a few hours of paid work after years as unpaid shelf stackerAn autistic man who was let go as an unpaid shelf stacker at a Waitrose supermarket despite volunteering there for years has been offered a job by Asda.Tom Boyd, 28, had worked in the Cheadle Hulme Waitrose store since 2021 with a support worker as his mother, Frances, said the role gave her son a sense of purpose and belonging". Continue reading...

Conservative chair of public accounts committee to raise questions about Andrew's deal at Royal Lodge. This live blog is closedRachel Reeves has announced a 500m investment package for new homes and stronger transport links between Oxford and Cambridge as part of a bid to create Europe's Silicon Valley" in southern England, PA Media reports. PA says:The Cowley Branch railway line in Oxford will reopen with new stations in Littlemore and Cowley, which the Treasury said would support up to 10,000 new jobs.The investment will also go towards the development of affordable homes in Cambridge, with plans to launch a consultation on forming a new centrally led development corporation to support the growth of the city. Continue reading...

Ellie, who now lives in Australia, tells policing inquiry she was deceived into an affair with officer infiltrating animal rights groupsA woman has told a public inquiry in London that she was left devastated and deeply mistrustful of police after an undercover officer deceived her into an intimate relationship at a young age.The woman, known only as Ellie, who now lives in Australia, told the undercover policing inquiry on Thursday that she had a year-long relationship with James Thomson while he concealed his real identity from her. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Lady Taylor of Stevenage says suggestion band would perform over five days in July 2026 was hypothetical'The wood-panelled chambers of the House of Lords aren't renowned for rock'n'roll hyperbole or as being the place where big music announcements are made.So when a British peer stood in the upper house and declared that Oasis would perform five back-to-back anniversary gigs at Knebworth House, the music world barely noticed. Continue reading...

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who first ran for elected office in 1982, announced he will run again in next year's electionThe Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has announced he will seek a historic fourth term in next year's presidential election, potentially extending one of the most remarkable and enduring political careers in modern Latin American history.The former metalworker, who returned to the presidency in 2023 after beating the far-right incumbent, Jair Bolsonaro, confirmed his decision during a speech in Indonesia's capital, Jakarta. Continue reading...

Critics warn boosting protections of officers at misconduct cases, introduced after fatal shooting of Chris Kaba, will undermine rule of lawNew rules in England and Wales will make it harder to punish police officers accused of wrongly using force, with critics saying it will lead to greater impunity and injustice".Ministers hope to quell fears among firearms officers that they will be hounded for doing their job. Continue reading...

If the US navy needs the subs, they cannot be sold to Australia, regardless of how much the president might wish it

Vipers target with precision, elapids bite repeatedly and colubrids saw their way in - and if they strike too fast, they might lose their teeth

This blog is now closed - see all our Middle East coverage hereTurkish peacekeeping forces will continue to help boost the Lebanese army's capability under a renewed deployment mandate in Lebanon, Turkey's defence ministry said on Thursday, reports Reuters.Turkey's parliament passed a bill on Tuesday to renew the military's deployment mandates in Syria and Iraq by three more years, and its deployment mandate under the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) by two years. The ministry said in a statement: