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Emotions were raw as service began with Christian worship songs - and ended with a political speech from the president

MP determined to reconcile' with former Labour leader after fledgling party's membership sign-up rowZarah Sultana has said she will call off legal action after a public row with Jeremy Corbyn over the fledgling party they were to co-lead.The Coventry South MP acknowledged people felt demoralised" after the quarrel over her push for members to sign up to Your Party, the political outfit she established with the former Labour leader. Continue reading...

Israel threatens retaliatory West Bank annexations as move by UK, Canada and Australia increases tension with US UK, Canada and Australia announce formal recognition of Palestine, with wave of Israel's allies to followThe recognition of a Palestinian state by the UK, Canada and Australia will set off a global diplomatic scramble as Israel considers retaliatory annexations in the West Bank, a move that would deepen its standoff with Europe, widen its rift with the Arab states, and further distance the US from its allies around the world as the Trump administration maintains support for Netanyahu and Israel in its war in Gaza.Washington had warned allies ahead of Sunday's announcement that Israel would retaliate symbolically" and top officials were aware that Israel's response could imperil cornerstone Trump administration initiatives including the Abraham Accords, which sought to normalise relations between Israel and the Arab states but appear in danger of collapse. Continue reading...

Heidi Alexander approves expansion to allow 100,000 more flights a yearGatwick airport's 2.2bn second runway plan has been given the go-ahead by the transport secretary, Heidi Alexander.With the privately financed project, the West Sussex hub is aiming to increase its capacity by 100,000 flights a year. Continue reading...

Opposition leader Yair Golan blames government's political recklessness and refusal to end the war in GazaBenjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, called the UK's recognition of Palestine on Sunday an absurd prize for terrorism".In remarks to ministers released by his office, he said Israel would have to fight both in the UN and in all the other fronts against the slanderous propaganda aimed at us, and against the calls to create a Palestinian state that will endanger our existence and constitute an absurd prize for terrorism". Continue reading...

People in territory call for symbolism of imminent move by UK and others to be translated into practical measuresAbu Said, a barber, is busy. It is a weekend and though the narrow streets of al-Am'ari camp are hot and quiet, his shop is crowded.Everyone in al-Am'ari, on the outskirts of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, knows that the UK, France, Portugal and Canada have said they will recognise a Palestinian state imminently, following formal recognition of Palestine by more than 140 other countries. Continue reading...

Zaventem asks airlines to cancel half of Monday departures, while most of Heathrow flights expected to operateHundreds of thousands of passengers at Heathrow and Berlin airports faced flight delays on Sunday after a cyber-attack hit check-in desk software, while cancellations at Brussels airport suggested that disruption of Europe's air travel would continue into Monday.Airlines were forced to revert to slower manual check-ins from Friday night after the attack hit Collins Aerospace, which provides check-in desk technology to various airlines. Continue reading...

Sadiq Khan hails one-day closure of half-mile stretch to traffic as glimpse to what the future could be like'The mayor of London has said a one-day trial banning traffic from part of Oxford Street marks the day the fightback began to rescue this street".Sadiq Khan visited the street, where vehicles were prohibited from accessing a half-mile stretch of the road from Oxford Circus to Orchard Street between noon and 8pm on Sunday for the event called This is Oxford Street. Continue reading...

Duchess had promised convicted sex offender she would never have anything to do with him againThe Duchess of York humbly" apologised to her dear friend" Jeffrey Epstein a month after publicly disowning the convicted sex offender, according to leaked emails.Sarah Ferguson told the disgraced late financier that she never called him a paedophile in an earlier newspaper interview, and suggested that she had disavowed him to protect her career as a children's book author and philanthropist, according to emails obtained by the Mail on Sunday (MoS). Continue reading...

Group of students from Gaza with places at British universities are due to arrive in the UK within daysDavid Lammy has hinted that the UK government could U-turn to allow Palestinian scholars to bring their children to the UK.A group of 34 Palestinian students, including Chevening scholars, with places at British universities have been given permission to continue their studies in Britain. But nearly all have been told by the Foreign Office that they are not allowed to bring their children with them. Continue reading...

Civil liberties groups say swathes of new rules, including for swearing and wild swimming, criminalise normal behaviourShouting, leaving your spectacles in the sun and stroking a pony are among the rural activities outlawed by councils under the banner of managing antisocial behaviour this summer, according to campaigners.The Manifesto Club, a leading civil liberties group, said swathes of new public spaces protection orders (PSPOs) have been introduced or extended by local authorities, criminalising activities and behaviours under the banner of managing antisocial behaviour or environmental harm. Continue reading...

This blog is now closedLow tariffs not dependent on sit-down meeting with Trump, Bowen saysOn the potential for a meeting between Anthony Albanese and Donald Trump, Bowen has poured cold water on whether any charm offensive by the Australian PM might have turned the US from its present course.There are plenty of world leaders who have met with Donald Trump who haven't had good outcomes, who have got very high tariffs. Who have come over, had meetings, left optimistic and then they've got high tariffs. The way Anthony Albanese has managed the relationship, we have the world's lowest tariff on Australia.Results matter, David. Of course, the prime minister has made it clear he's very happy to meet, but results matter. And this prime minister and this foreign minister and this government have delivered pretty good results when it comes to the bilateral relationship.It's not my place to announce these things, David. I'm a humble cabinet minister.Of course a meeting with the president is always a good thing. But I'll tell you what's even more important is results. I'd much rather Anthony Albanese get a great result for our economy with the world's lowest tariff without a meeting, than to have a meeting and get the opposite result, which is what many other world leaders have found themselves in that situation.Well, we obviously have set Australia's foreign policy based on our interests and our values. And while everyone is entitled to their views, we will determine Australian foreign policy, not anyone else. And we've determined a couple of things - that the time is right, in concert, as you said, with like-minded states.We have been waiting 80 years for a two-state solution, and that we now see recognising Palestine as a step towards a two-state solution, not the result of negotiations. Continue reading...

Donald Trump allies, including Ted Cruz, pen letter warning Anthony Albanese against reckless policy'

Home Office figures for Friday end a spell of more than a week with no new arrivals in Dover due to poor weatherMore than 1,000 people crossed the Channel in small boats on Friday, according to Home Office figures, ending a spell of more than a week with no new arrivals.Thirteen boats carrying 1,072 individuals made the crossing on Friday, which averages more than 80 people a boat. It is the third time this year the figure for a single day has surpassed 1,000 and brings the total number this year to a record 32,103. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Documents show how fraught the effort was to line up a one-on-one between the Australian and US leaders in June, with the PM again hoping to meet Trump next week

Barbie Reynolds, 76, and husband Peter, 80, were released after being held without charge for nearly eight monthsA British couple who were detained without charge for nearly eight months by the Taliban in Afghanistan have arrived in the UK.Barbie Reynolds, 76, and her husband Peter, 80, were released on Friday, having been arrested as they travelled to their home in Bamyan province, central Afghanistan, in February. Continue reading...

Event comes a week after the largest far-right event in decades took place in LondonAnti-immigration protesters have clashed with anti-racist counter-protesters in tense scenes in Glasgow this afternoon, a week after the largest far-right event in decades took place in London.The statue of Scottish statesman Donald Dewar, father of the Holyrood parliament, was surrounded by union flags bearing the words: Stop the boats" and Unite the kingdom". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Alexander Stubb says a plausible deterrent and American backstop' are needed in the event of a future peace dealFinland's president, Alexander Stubb, has said security guarantees for Ukraine, which are being discussed by the so-called coalition of the willing", would compel the European countries that sign to fight Russia if Moscow launched military action against Ukraine again in future.Security guarantees in essence are a deterrent. That deterrent has to be plausible and in order for it to be plausible it has to be strong," Stubb told the Guardian, in an interview in Helsinki before travelling to New York for the UN general assembly. Continue reading...

Advocates advise staff and volunteers to practice caution but say they will not give up their first amendment rightsImmigrant advocacy organizations and activists are bracing for a crackdown from the federal government following threats from the Trump administration to root out and criminally prosecute non-profit groups it believes are sympathetic to leftwing" politics.Donald Trump and his closest allies have periodically threatened immigrant rights activists and nonprofits, including those that distribute food and water to migrants or provide immigrants with legal services, with arrest. But their rhetoric has been heightened in the days following the killing of rightwing activist Charlie Kirk this month. Continue reading...

Distinctive and critically acclaimed films and drama series from a big hub of talent' are appealing to audiences around the worldWhen it comes to film-making, Norway has long been left watching on while its Nordic neighbours Sweden and Denmark put out hit after hit by luminaries such as Lars von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg and Ruben Ostlund.But after years in the shadows, the country has finally found its place in the international spotlight with a number of distinctive, relationship-centred and critically acclaimed films and television shows in what many are describing as a Norwegian golden age". Continue reading...

The Greater Manchester mayor has made no secret of his Labour leadership ambitions, but faces significant obstaclesWhen Andy Burnham addressed a gala dinner this week, he was as coy as he could have been in a week when speculation about his future ambitions were in overdrive. I love this job," the mayor of Greater Manchester said. I am very happy where I am. I have no ambition to be ... ambassador to Washington."It was a gag that got a big laugh. Burnham has never played the game of pretending that he doesn't seek to enter No 10. But he also does not give the standard ambitious politician's response of saying that no vacancy is available. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Lib Dem leader says push to process cases would also ultimately save money and remove far-right targetEd Davey has called for an emergency programme to clear the asylum backlog and treat refugees with compassion, before a Liberal Democrat conference where the party aims to target disillusioned Conservative and Labour voters.Speaking before the gathering in Bournemouth, which begins on Saturday, Davey's intervention on migration marks a broadening of the Lib Dem policy focus, which at the last election was carefully aimed towards a handful of areas such as health, care and pollution. Continue reading...

Calls for sanctions on Israel and ban on trade that aids international law violations among snubbed motionsLabour has ruled out motions about Palestine being debated at its party conference later this month, triggering accusations that it is trying to stifle debate.The conference arrangement committee, made up of Labour elected reps and officials, has ruled about 30 motions about Palestine from local parties out of order. Continue reading...

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Former Scottish Tory leader alleges Hepburn grabbed him amid row over SNP's apparent failure to tackle gull attacksA Scottish minister has resigned after a row over aggressive gulls spilled over into an angry altercation with the former Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross.Jamie Hepburn, the Scottish government's minister for parliamentary business, tendered his resignation after Ross accused him of assault outside the parliament chamber on Wednesday. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Clearest sign yet No 10 is preparing to ditch policy as its preferred deputy leadership hopeful says issue is profoundly personal'

Man in his 30s and woman, 59, held on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughterTwo ambulance trust staff have been arrested in connection with the deaths of six people in Wiltshire, police have said.A man in his 30s and a 59-year-old woman, who were both employed by the South Western ambulance service NHS foundation trust, have been arrested and released on conditional bail. Continue reading...

Current and retired staff complain about delays, backlogs and poor communication at Teachers' PensionsTeachers who retired this summer have been left waiting for pension payments they were supposed to receive at the start of September, with some saying they are sick with worry" and unable to pay bills.Current and retired teachers have contacted the Guardian to complain about delays, backlogs and poor communication at Teachers' Pensions, which administers the profession's scheme on behalf of the government. Continue reading...

Problems have arisen in Dutch capital since introduction of a deposit scheme for small bottles and cansCity leaders in Amsterdam are taking a novel approach to keeping its streets clean - by taking away litter bins to combat rubbish in part blamed on people rifling through them to obtain refund deposits on some discarded items.There has been a surge in complaints about litter in the Dutch capital since the introduction of a deposit scheme for small bottles and cans. Last year, a quarter of residents described their neighbourhood as dirty or very dirty, rising to two in five in the city centre. Continue reading...

Figures show 15m more tax-efficient savings accounts were opened in 2023-24, with more following as fears grew allowance might be cut

Framework outlines legislation both sides will need to pass to create agency investigating Troubles-era crimes

Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal issues decision in case against Claire Gill, a partner at Carter-Ruck, over legal threats on behalf of clientA partner at the top libel firm Carter-Ruck was hired in furtherance of fraud" when she sent legal threats on behalf of a multibillion-dollar cryptocurrency scam, a tribunal has ruled.Claire Frances Gill is being prosecuted by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for allegedly issuing an inappropriate threat on behalf of the scheme, OneCoin, and its mastermind, Ruja Ignatova. Continue reading...

Secret report from CutlerMerz finds yearly cost of inspections - $520,219 - is more than cost of paying compensation - $28,375 a year

Increase of 0.5% in August helped by back-to-school shopping, while food stores also given liftBack-to-school shopping and warm weather helped to boost retail sales last month, according to the latest official data.Total retail sales in Great Britain rose 0.5%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, as parents prepared for the new school year and shoppers enjoyed a series of heatwave and the summer's last bank holiday. Continue reading...

Peter Kyle says bolstered Border Force is tackling small boat crossings, as second person is deported under one in, one out' schemeOne of Keir Starmer's senior ministers has dismissed suggestions by Donald Trump that the British government call out the military to help deal with irregular migration.Peter Kyle, the business secretary, brushed off the comments, which the US president made on Thursday at the end of his two-day state visit. Continue reading...

Rare atmospheric setup creates perfect conditions for storm formation amid wettest September in decadesThe yearly tornado record in North Dakota was shattered in just a few hours as the state experienced an extraordinary weather event. More than 20 tornadoes tore through South Dakota and North Dakota, with the storm system stretching across a 200-mile area, according to the National Weather Service.Since 1995, the annual average for the state was 29 tornadoes, with the peak season occurring in June and July. However, last weekend's intense outbreak pushed the total to a staggering 73, surpassing the previous record of 61, set in 1999. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Interior Design Landscape, which faced closure by HMRC early this year, made donation in JuneNigel Farage's Reform UK has received a 100,000 donation from a design and architecture firm that faced a winding-up petition from the tax authorities earlier this year.The party, which is leading in the polls, has been raising money from a wider range of private sources in recent months, with its treasurer, Nick Candy, talking of targeting high net worth individuals both in the UK and in low-tax jurisdictions. Continue reading...

In today's newsletter: Never has so much flattery been bestowed upon a US president. But will the efforts of the prime minister and the king make a difference to the UK?Good morning. Donald Trump has gone home, no doubt so thrilled by the Red Arrows and the chance to have dinner with Nick Faldo that he will enter the Oval Office this morning a changed man. Admittedly, at his Chequers press conference with Keir Starmer yesterday afternoon, the transformation hadn't entirely taken hold: Trump suggested, for example, that the UK should use the military to end the small boats crisis. But compared to his most chaotic unscripted appearances this year, it was tame enough an affair for Starmer to breathe a sigh of relief.Can Starmer view the state visit as a success? It depends on how you're counting. 150bn new investment in the UK from US firms, a respite from his own domestic woes, and the chance to butter up a president who appears uniquely susceptible to servility are the prizes that Downing Street will boast about, in slightly different terms, in the days ahead.Gaza | More than a quarter of a million people have been displaced from Gaza City in the last month, new figures from the UN reveal, with tens of thousands more forced to flee makeshift homes and shelters daily in the face of a new Israeli offensive.UK news | The Bank of England has left interest rates on hold at 4% and will slow the pace of its quantitative tightening" programme in the year ahead to avoid distorting jittery government bond markets.Immigration | The first Channel migrant has been deported to France under the controversial one in, one out deal, the Home Office has confirmed.UK politics | An extraordinary split has opened between Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana in the formation of their new leftwing party, with the former Labour leader suggesting he will take legal action over an unauthorised membership portal promoted by his co-leader.US news | Donald Trump suggested on Thursday that TV networks which cover him negatively" could lose their licenses after his celebration of ABC suspending late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. Trump said that Kimmel was not a talented person" who had very bad ratings". Continue reading...

Lawyers for former Kiama MP tell court Ward has lost political career and prospective legal career, while standing in community shattered'

Indian players refuse to shake hands with Pakistani counterparts after Asia Cup match, in sign that traditional onfield camaraderie is erodingAs nationalistic rivalries go, few run as deep as India and Pakistan. But even as the neighbours fought wars against each other, carried out rival nuclear tests and conducted nightly shows of strength along their heavily militarised border, there was always one thing that brought them together: cricket.But as the two sides came together on Sunday for a match in the Asia Cup tournament, the camaraderie that was once celebrated as cricket diplomacy had vanished. Continue reading...

This week, the US president has announced he is suing the New York Times for $15bn, and gloated that the late-night TV show Jimmy Kimmel Live! had been suspended. JD Vance has also promised to crack down on far left' groups.

Analysis reveals 24% of guilty doctors handed suspensions but are allowed to keep working in medicineUK doctors who are guilty of sexual misconduct are not being appropriately sanctioned due to weak disciplinary processes, research reveals.Nearly a quarter (24%) of doctors found guilty of sexual misconduct were handed suspensions but allowed to continue working in medicine, according to analysis of fitness to practice tribunals by the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS). This is despite the regulator, the General Medical Council (GMC), recommending they be struck off the medical register. Continue reading...

Move comes after Israel fails to meet UK conditions that would have postponed stepThe UK is preparing to recognise the state of Palestine as early as Friday, after Israel failed to meet conditions that would have postponed the historic step, including a ceasefire in Gaza.Keir Starmer insisted the timing of the UK announcement had nothing to do with Donald Trump's visit, even though the US president said at a press conference that he disagreed with Britain's decision, without elaborating. Continue reading...

Desk from Quarry Bank high school had been hidden by staff as teachers considered Lennon a nuisance'A desk used by John Lennon has gone on display after being found in the attic of his former school, where teachers had not wanted to remember the musician because he was a nuisance".Lennon attended Quarry Bank high school in Liverpool between 1952 and 1957, and the name of the Quarrymen, the band that would become the Beatles in their formative years, was inspired by the school's name. Continue reading...

Holding borrowing rates and continuing bond sell-offs were widely expected but an alternative was available

Arts institution seeks to make urgent' savings as it is thought to be facing a shortfall of between 5m and 6mMore than half of the Royal Shakespeare Company's staff are being encouraged to apply for voluntary redundancy as the struggling arts institution seeks to make urgent" savings to plug what is thought to be a shortfall of between 5m and 6m.The cuts are aimed at ensuring that the RSC is best placed to be a leading global theatre company", according to a statement that blamed the budget hole on increasing staffing costs after the pandemic, a decline in public investment and the cost of living crisis affecting takings. Continue reading...

Some have little to no documented experience with vaccines while others have undermined their safetyFive new advisers will join the vaccines committee for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) later this week, the agency and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on Monday, in a move that underscores the increasingly anti-vaccine stance of the committee.Some of the new members have little to no documented experience with vaccines, while others have repeatedly undermined the safety and effectiveness of vaccines and other measures to control infectious disease. Continue reading...

Home secretary's remarks about vexatious' claims will have real-life impact on trafficking victims, says Eleanor Lyons

Zack Polanski calls mass privatisation a failed experiment' as report finds it has cost UK households 250 a year moreThe privatisation of the UK's key industries is driving the cost of living crisis, damaging critical public services and making life harder for millions of people, the leader of the Green party, Zack Polanski, has said.Speaking after the Guardian revealed the British public have been paying a privatisation premium" of 250 per household per year since 2010, he described the mass privatisation of UK industry as a failed experiment". Continue reading...

Exclusive: Former poet laureate has reader contrasting pomp and ceremony of banquet with ruins left by warCarol Ann Duffy has written a poem about Donald Trump's state visit to Britain that appears to reimagine the ceremonial banquet as taking place in a bombsite.Duffy, who was the UK's poet laureate between 2009 and 2019, writes of the rocks and rubble" in lines that have the reader contrasting the diamonds of the great and good" with the ruins left by war. Continue reading...