World news | The Guardian

Rescue services say they saved 27 of the 84 people aboard the vessel believed to have come from MauritaniaNine people are confirmed drowned and at least 48 are missing after a boat carrying migrants capsized off Spain's Canary Islands overnight, rescue services said on Saturday, the latest in a series of such disasters off the west coast of Africa.Sea rescue teams said in a statement they had answered a distress call off El Hierro, one of the islands in the Atlantic archipelago, shortly after midnight. They managed to save 27 of the 84 people on board. Continue reading...

Residents of Lebanon's capital flee their homes and seek shelter as the death toll from Israel's airstrikes risesGunshots fired into the air, women wailing in the streets, the ever-present buzz of drones and the distant thud of Israeli airstrikes: this was the sound of mourning in Beirut on Saturday. Hassan Nasrallah, who led Hezbollah for 32 years, was dead, killed in an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, the day before.For many in Lebanon, his killing had been unimaginable. But Israel's war with Hezbollah had long surpassed what was previously thought possible. Pagers had exploded in hands, walkie-talkies blew up in belts and Israeli warplanes killed hundreds in half a day. The death of Nasrallah was one more blow to the Lebanese psyche, already struggling to grasp soaring death tolls and, for some, the loss of their home overnight. Continue reading...

Politician cites cruel and unnecessary policies' as she lambasts prime minister's managerial and technocratic approach'A Labour MP has resigned from the parliamentary party after criticising Keir Starmer's cruel and unnecessary" policies and lambasting the prime minister's managerial and technocratic approach" to politics.In a furious letter announcing her decision, Rosie Duffield, the Canterbury MP, said she felt relief in making the decision. She said the row over freebies handed to Starmer and his top team demonstrated that sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice are off the scale". Continue reading...

Incident at London's National Gallery came just hours after other members of group jailed over similar protestThree protesters have been charged with criminal damage and will appear in court after soup was thrown at two Vincent van Gogh paintings on Friday.Just Stop Oil activists poured soup over two paintings in the National Gallery, London, just hours after other members of the group were jailed for damaging the gold frame of the artist's Sunflowers painting. Continue reading...

Residents from Michoacan to Oaxaca evacuate after storm ravages Pacific coastline, bringing floods and landslidesResidents in south-western Mexico on Saturday evacuated from homes flooded by the remnants of Hurricane John that ravaged the Pacific coastline for a week, bringing deadly floods and landslides that left 22 people reported dead.In Guerrero, the worst-hit state and one of Mexico's poorest, 18 people were killed, according to local media, many due to mudslides that crushed houses. To the south, local media reported three deaths in Oaxaca, and a young boy died in a river to the north in Michoacan state. Continue reading...

IDF says southern front commander Ali Karki and other senior leaders killed in bombing of Beirut headquarters, as fears grow of spiralling conflict

Former prime minister's claims about wanting to seize Covid vaccines being held in the EU may have been a joke'Senior Tories have cast doubt on Boris Johnson's claim that he seriously considered invading the Netherlands to seize vaccines during the pandemic, saying the story had obviously been overblown and re-heated to boost sales of his memoirs.The former prime minister says in his new book, Unleashed, that he asked senior members of the armed forces about the possibility of conducting an aquatic raid" on a warehouse in Leiden in March 2021 in order to get hold of 5m doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine which he believed the EU did not want to be exported to the UK. Continue reading...

Schools that are part of the Harris Federation accused of taking too long to help staff get UK teaching qualificationTeachers recruited from Jamaica to work for a major chain of academy schools in London have spoken of their devastation" on finding out that they are being paid thousands of pounds a year less than English-trained recruits with similar levels ofexperience.The Harris Federation, England's second largest academy chain, with 54 state-funded schools, has been recruiting from Jamaica in recent years, bringing teachers to the UK who are attracted by higher salaries than they can earn in the Caribbean. Continue reading...

Reports of dissenters working for 4 a day on onion plantation owned by Saxony state parliament AfD member Jorg DornauMidway through Nikolai's shift sorting onions alongside other political prisoners in a warehouse in western Belarus, a tall and bald foreigner entered the building.He arrived in a car with German license plates. Then he came over and greeted us warmly," Nikolai*, recalled in an interview with the Observer. Continue reading...

Former PM likens Keir Starmer to a bullock having a thermometer unexpectedly shoved in its rectum' in UnleashedPlanning military incursions into the Netherlands, likening himself to ancient Greeks and comparing Keir Starmer to castrated bulls: the serialisation of Boris Johnson's forthcoming memoir kicked off in characteristic fashion this weekend.Excerpts from Unleashed, which will be released on 10 October, have been published in the Daily Mail on Friday and Saturday, and the Mail on Sunday is due to reveal more. Continue reading...

Former PM says leadership candidates must understand that party lost election because it trashed our brand'The Conservatives failed to see the threat from the Liberal Democrats" while focusing too much on the rise of Nigel Farage's Reform UK, Theresa May has said.Writing in the Times on the eve of the party's annual conference in Birmingham, Lady May said the remaining candidates for the Tory leadership could play into Reform's hands" by failing to understand the reasons behind their electoral humiliation. Continue reading...

Once hailed as a philanthropic marvel, Fashion For Relief ran up hefty expenses and left charity partners angryFive years ago, a glitzy charity fundraising gala in the British Museum organised by the model Naomi Campbell was commonly accepted to be a triumph. It was the toast of London fashion week and a powerful showcase for Campbell's philanthropic mission to raise money for young people in poverty.Awash with celebrities (Naomie Harris, Pierce Brosnan, the rapper Skepta and Alexa Chung) and wealthy paying guests, it combined a catwalk show with a charity auction of art (drawings by Matisse, Dali and Tracey Emin, a signed Warhol print), jewellery and luxury watches. Continue reading...

PC Ross Benson accused of smacking the girl, who was known to him, multiple times in 2018A Metropolitan police officer has been sacked and banned from policing after allegedly spanking a 12-year-old girl's bare bottom.PC Ross Benson, of the North West Basic Command Unit, was accused of smacking the girl several times between April and August 2018 when she was aged 12 to 13, and there was an alleged sexual element to his behaviour. Continue reading...

Long-understood rules governing balance of deterrence between militant group and Israel have been blown away

Early years experts warn of lack of staff, playgrounds and toiletsPrimary schools may not have enough space, specialist facilities or staff to deliver the 100,000 new nursery places in England that the government has promised, early childhood experts have warned.Labour is under intense pressure to create enough places to fulfil its promise of 30 hours of free childcare a week for eligible parents of children from the age of nine months to three years from next September - a commitment inherited from the previous government. Continue reading...

Richard Fuller's pre-conference remarks echo others who worry candidates have edged right to combat ReformThe new Conservative leader must make sure the party focuses on its traditional base rather than just chasing voters who defected to the likes of Reform, its chair has said before the Tories' first conference since their crushing election defeat.Richard Fuller, the North Bedfordshire MP, who has served as interim chair since the election, will announce details of a review of the loss at the gathering in Birmingham, as well as structural changes to start modernising the party. Continue reading...

Magic Notes tool records and analyses face-to-face meetings and suggests follow-up actionsHundreds of social workers in England have begun using an artificial intelligence system that records conversations, drafts letters to doctors and proposes actions that human workers might not have considered.Councils in Swindon, Barnet and Kingston are among seven now using the AI tool that sits on social workers' phones to record and analyse face-to-face meetings. The Magic Notes AI tool writes almost instant summaries and suggests follow-up actions, including drafting letters to GPs. Two dozen more councils have or are piloting it. Continue reading...

Explosions have rocked Lebanese capital again, a day after massive Israeli strike apparently targeting Hassan NasrallahIsrael has launched another series of attacks on Beirut and Lebanon, a day after it carried out a massive strike on a southern suburb of the Lebanese capital in an apparent attempt to kill Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, a key ally of Iran.Reuters witnesses heard more than 20 airstrikes before dawn on Saturday. Abandoning their homes in the southern suburbs, thousands of Lebanese congregated in squares, parks and sidewalks in downtown Beirut and seaside areas. Continue reading...

This blog is now closed. Our latest live coverage of the Middle East crisis is here

Exclusive: Calls for urgent reform after figures show almost half of donations since 2010 given in last two yearsMPs have declared more than 6m in freebies" since 2010 with the cash price of gifts given almost tripling over two years, analysis reveals, leading to calls for urgent reform.The value of gifts, benefits and hospitality" declared by MPs was 1.3m in 2023, analysis shows, up from 483,507 in 2021. And the amount of gifts increased to 768 from 337 during the same period. Continue reading...

There will be meet our candidates' Q&As, and fringe events - but limited self-reflection at the gathering in BirminghamThe first party conference after a defeat generally tends to be a cross between a wake, an inquest, and a beauty contest for those who believe they have the answers to what went wrong. The Conservatives' gathering in Birmingham is set to be no different - but with a particular emphasis on the third.So what is in store from Sunday for the embattled party faithful and remaining MPs, plus sections of the media and lobbying industry who decide it's worth going along for a look? Continue reading...

Australian broadcaster's Europe correspondent Kathryn Diss and camera operator Fletcher Yeung accused of illegally' crossing into Russia from Ukraine on 31 August

Kenneth Toll, a 62-year-old diabetic, was found dead in a private NSW hospital's bathroom three days after his operation

Former prime minister admits in extract from forthcoming book that he discussed possible military operation at height of pandemicBoris Johnson considered an aquatic raid" on a Dutch warehouse to seize Covid vaccines during the height of the pandemic, he has revealed in his memoirs.The former prime minister discussed plans with senior military officials in March 2021, according to an extract from his forthcoming book, Unleashed, published in the Daily Mail. Continue reading...

Police say the 46-year-old woman was found with significant injuries at Pokolbin in the Hunter Valley on Friday afternoon

The Grammy-nominated singer took the plunge with Jeremy Dufrene in waterside outdoor venueIn what some might see as an unlikely union, the Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey has married a swamp tour guide from Louisiana.The Daily Mail obtained exclusive video and photos of the 39-year-old Del Rey's wedding on Thursday to Jeremy Dufrene, 49, in Des Allemands, Louisiana, about a 45-minute drive south-west of New Orleans. Continue reading...

Two men, believed to be in their 20s, and an older man and woman, were killed in the incident near Dubbo

To half-empty chamber, Israeli PM says his country seeks peace' but will continue degrading' Hezbollah

Police watchdog finds boy restrained for longer than necessary by officers involved in stop and search in LondonOfficers who handcuffed and restrained a 14-year-old black schoolboy on the ground during a stop and search in London committed misconduct, the police watchdog has said.PC McCorley Clewes and former PC Benjamin Morgan were among four Metropolitan police officers involved in the stop in Blackhorse Lane, Croydon, on 23 June 2022 at about 5.30pm after reports of a stolen mobile phone. Continue reading...

Far-right president has been battling inflation by imposing steep cuts in spending, resulting in widespread povertyArgentina's poverty rate has soared to almost 53% in the first six months of Javier Milei's presidency, offering the first hard evidence of the far-right libertarian's tough austerity measures are hitting the population.The new poverty rate, reported by the government's statistics agency on Thursday, is the highest level for two decades, when the country reeled from a catastrophic economic crisis, and means 3.4 million Argentinians have been pushed into poverty this year. Continue reading...

US rapper says her visit to indoor market led to her spending two days sweating out' an illnessThe US rapper Azealia Banks has accused Birmingham's fish market of making her ill, comparing it to a Wuhan wet market".In an unlikely intervention, the American star posted on X that city officials needed to do something" about the stalls before comparing the market to the site in China identified as the place where the Covid pandemic most likely began. Continue reading...

Advisers to prime ministers are often targets of sniping but being in news is not sustainable for Starmer's chief of staffFor someone who was not even in Liverpool for the Labour conference, Sue Gray was the subject of a remarkable amount of conversation. So what does the future hold for Keir Starmer's chief of staff - and how much is she just a victim of circumstance?The basic facts, as far as they are agreed, are well-aired: Gray is either a much-needed injection of civil service professionalism or a control-freak bottleneck to decisions. Either way, she has been the focus of much briefing to the media, often negative. Continue reading...

Chinatown's renowned Wong Kei prosecuted for food hygiene offences and fined more than 40,000A restaurant in London's Chinatown once called the capital's rudest has been fined more than 40,000 after mice and cockroaches were found in its kitchen.Wong Kei, which has traded on Wardour Street for decades and was once famous for its impersonal level of service", as the online guide to Chinatown puts it, was prosecuted for food hygiene offences and after its owners were found to have falsified documents. Continue reading...

Robert Holden used hidden cameras to film 28 women in bathrooms and bedrooms over a period of almost 15 yearsA depraved and selfish" former councillor who filmed 28 women in bathrooms and bedrooms using hidden cameras over a period of almost 15 years has been jailed for six years and two months.Bradford crown court heard emotional statements from many of the women targeted by Robert Holden, 51, describing how his perverted fetish" had left them feeling violated, disgusted and mortified" and in many cases had wrecked their lives. Continue reading...

Those in the top tax bracket three times more likely to be negatively geared property investor, says economist

Exclusive: Dr Marianne Jauncey says NSW government must make hard decisions' to combat growing threat of synthetic opioids

Venue owner says Sicilian Letters, about the Cosa Nostra leader Matteo Messina Denaro, doesn't interest me'The owner of the only cinema in Castelvetrano, the Sicilian hometown of the notorious Cosa Nostra mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro, has refused to screen a film based on his life.Denaro died of cancer in September last year, nine months after he was arrested following 30 years on the run. Continue reading...

Russell Findlay, a former crime reporter, has been appointed as the next leader of the Scottish Conservatives after the most fractious period in the party's historySeverin Carrell is the Guardian's Scotland editorRussell Findlay, a former crime reporter, has been appointed as the next leader of the Scottish Conservatives after the most fractious period in the party's history.Russell Findlay, 2,565 votesMurdo Fraser, 1,187 votesMeghan Gallacher, 403 votes Continue reading...

Kieran Usher, of Sunderland, pleaded guilty to charge and is given sentence of four years and four monthsA man who was the first person in the UK to be convicted of a charge of riot after widespread disorder this summer has been jailed for four years and four months.Kieran Usher, 32, from Hendon in Sunderland, was jailed at Newcastle crown court after previously pleading guilty. Continue reading...

Residents of Albergaria-a-Velha tell of the fear and losses brought by a blaze that evoked memories of 2017 disasterThe fires are out in Albergaria-a-Velha now, their embers washed away by the heavy rain. But their reek still carries on the damp air, rising from the sooty earth, the scorched tree trunks, the burned-out cars and houses, and the puddles of black and acrid water.If the numbers offer a glimpse of the toll that last week's wildfires took on this northern Portuguese municipality - four people dead, at least seven injured, 25,269 hectares burned and 81 homes damaged - they cannot convey the sense of fear and loss that the 26 metre-high flames brought with them. Continue reading...

Two televised debates ahead of 6 October mayoral election turn physically violent, with participants treated in hospitalBrazilians call overcast Sao Paulo their country's land of drizzle".But in recent months it has been raining punches not precipitation as Latin America's largest city endures what observers call the most violent and unruly election in its history. Continue reading...

From Germany's border checks to France's vow to restore order, rejection of open borders could threaten Schengen zoneIn 2015, when more than 1.3 million people headed to Europe, mostly fleeing a brutal war in Syria, the response of Germany's then chancellor, Angela Merkel, was to say Wir schaffen das" (We can manage this"), and open the country's borders.Less than a decade later, and faced with a flow of irregular arrivals less than 10% of what it was at the peak of the bloc's migration crisis, EU capitals are increasingly saying, No, we can't." Or, perhaps more accurately, We won't." Continue reading...

Former crime reporter says Scottish Tories are acutely conscious' of threat from Reform party in Scotland UK politics live - latest updatesRussell Findlay, the newly elected leader of the Scottish Conservatives, has said his party faces a significant threat from Reform in Scotland.Findlay said the Scottish Tories had to listen to the tens of thousands of Tory voters who defected to Reform UK at the general election if his beleaguered party is to successfully mount a revival. Continue reading...

Damning report by police chiefs in England and Wales reveals systemic failures in support for victims and calls for changeSystemic failures in the way police deal with stalkers are leaving victims at serious risk" with some given wrong and potentially dangerous" advice, a damning report by police chiefs in England and Wales has found.Ten months after a coroner warned that stalking victims were facing a postcode lottery" of support following the death of Gracie Spinks at the hands of her stalker, an internal examination has found evidence of the risks of stalking being downplayed, officers failing to join the dots between stalking incidents and a lack of training and confusion over what constitutes stalking.A lack of assessments may be leaving some victims at serious risk.Laws and guidance for police are confusing and inconsistent".There is a lack of understanding by police of the scale and types of stalking in their area.Problems with the quality and resourcing of some investigations.Worryingly low" use of stalking prevention orders (STOs). Continue reading...

Moderate faces challenges over cost-of-living crisis, public trust and threats to regional stability from China and North KoreaShigeru Ishiba's determination to lead Japan has never been in question, and now the veteran MP is poised to achieve that goal at the fifth time of asking after winning the race to lead his country's ruling Liberal Democratic party (LDP) on Friday.The 67-year-old will be installed as Japan's new prime minister on Tuesday by the LDP-controlled parliament. Continue reading...

Suitors such as Dovid Efune and new Spectator owner Paul Marshall have until end of Friday to submit offersPotential suitors to buy the Daily and Sunday Telegraph have until the end of Friday to submit second-round offers, with the US owner of the New York Sun and Sir Paul Marshall, the backer of GB News and the new owner of the Spectator, viewed as the frontrunners to win the auction.Marshall, who earlier this month sealed a 100m deal to buy the Spectator magazine, is leading a consortium backed by Ken Griffin, the US billionaire founder of the Citadel hedge fund. Continue reading...

The man, who Guardian Australia cannot name, has pleaded not guilty to nine charges, including five counts of rape

The BoM has issued a severe weather update for parts of north-east NSW and south-east Queensland as wet and windy weather continues to batter the east coast

Opposition leader's comments on 2GB prompt warnings unwelcome atmosphere' will deter people from studying in Australia